Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Tell Your Taleby BronySonicFanChapters1. Sisters Take Flight2. A Home to Share3. Zipp's Flight School4. Nightmare Roommate5. Welcome to Mane Melody7. Foal Me Once8. Clip Trot9. It's T.U.E.S. Day10. Sunny-Day Dinners11. Maretime Bay Day 2.012. The Game Is Ahoof13. Dumpster Diving14. Alicorn Issues15. Making a Foal of Me16. Neighfever17. Queens for a Day18. On Your Cutie Marks19. Lost In Translation20. One Trick Pony21. My Bananas23. Another Pony's Trash24. Starscout Code25. Pony Partay26. Puphunt27. All That Jazz28. Pippsqueaks Forever29. Dragon Dad30. Nightmare Night Party31. Haunted House32. Baby Critters Club33. Filly Filling35. Making a Meal of It36. Taking Flight37. Snow Pun Intended38. Foal Food39. Under the Mistytoe40. Secret Canter41. A Day In The Life42. Firework-ing Together43. Bridlewood Spog44. Secret Ad-mare-er45. Ponykind Parade-emonium46. Sparky's Sick48. The Hunt for Eggmund Bunny49. Mission Imponable50. Villains Alone51. Mare Family Mare Problems52. Ponytropico53. As The Misty Clears - Part 154. A Chaotic Birthday - Part 255. I've Seen Fire And I've Seen Rain(Bows)56. Sunny And The Black Blur57. Omega's Day Off58. Sparkle School59. Nightmares From The Past60. Moon Festival62. Bridlewoodstock 2.063. Diva and Conquer64. Hot Day, Huh?65. Who Framed Sonic The Hedgehog?66. Scents of Adventure67. The Sonic Walkthrough68. Attack of the Bunnisus69. Chaos Pocks70. Return to Cyberspace71. Nightmare Market72. The Family Social73. Very Bad Hair Day74. Sparky In Space75. Double Date Night76. Letting Go78. The Rise and Fall - Part 179. The Crystal Ball - Part 280. Friends ForeverEpiloguePrologue6. The Unboxing of Izzy22. Zipp's Yes Day34. Sneaksy Strikes Again47. Sunny's Smoothie Moves61. When Light and Darkness Collide77. Friday Night Food Fight1. Sisters Take FlightFar away, in the highest mountains of Equestria, Zephyr Heights came to view as a pegasus worker flew towards it but bumped into another pegasus who twirled around in mid-flight. "Hey! Watch it! I'm flyin' here!" The pegasus worker scolded the other. Pipp was in her room inside the castle, trying to pack her things into a suitcase. She and Zipp were getting a few things at their home that they would bring to the Crystal Brighthouse so they would have some comfort while moving close to their friends. However, Pipp struggled as she tried to close her bag. "Get-in-get-in-get-in-get-in-get-in!" She said repeatedly, trying to keep the suitcase shut. But after that failed attempt, clothes burst and scattered everywhere, as a piece of clothing landed on Pipp's head. "Augh, come on!" Pipp groaned in frustration, trying to keep her things in place as she moved the clothing out of her eyes. But then, she looked in the mirror and now had sparkly eyes. "Ooh! Cuuute!" She sang, taking out her phone and taking a selfie. Zipp came to her sister's door as she knocked. "Hurry up, Pipp. Mom wants to say a 'little' goodbye," she said, smiling, knowing that their mom would say a longer goodbye so she could keep her daughters in Zephyr Heights for as long as possible. But then she heard Pipp grunting and panting as she struggled with her suitcase. "Everything okay in there?" "Yep! Totally... fine…" Pipp replied, standing on her bed. She then backflipped as she dived into her suitcase. "Hi-yah!" she cried as she dived straight to her bag. Zipp opened her sister’s door suddenly and saw Pipp lying down in her bag with a thud. Zipp looked at her sister in confusion, wondering why she had jumped on her bag. "Phew!" Pipp exclaimed in relief. Hey, Zipp! Just finishing all my packing," she said, exiting her suitcase with a smile. But then, her smile disappeared when her suitcase started straining. The clips opened up, causing all of her clothes to fly out and spread to the entire room. And, for some reason, Cloudpuff was in it as well, as he flew out. Pipp looked nervously as her clothes spread out. Then she looked at Zipp, who was looking confused at her sister about why she had packed so many of her things. Pipp saw that Zipp was dressed like a queen with royal garments, a necklace, a crown, and a robe on her, as Zipp held Cloudpuff in her hooves. Pipp looked at her sister with sparkling eyes and a smile. "Aww, Zipp!" she said, taking out her phone and taking a picture of Zipp wearing royal garments. She found it beautiful. Zipp looked in the mirror and gasped in shock at what she was wearing. She grumbled furiously while taking the royal garments off her, not a fan of wearing anything royal. She tossed Cloudpuff away, and he hopped away with a bark. "Ugh, let's go!" she told Pipp, grabbing her bag and placing it over her. "Grab your bag," she told her sister. Pipp cleared her throat as she turned to her. "Ahem... Bag?" she asked sheepishly as she turned to the corner. "About that…" she stated, revealing that she packed two dozen or so bags as Cloudpuff barked and jumped into the pile. Zipp gasped in shock, seeing so many bags her sister had packed, wondering why she would need all that stuff. Meanwhile, back at the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic found himself in the room he would share with his friends since Hitch would continue to live in town. He had spent the last few hours trying to figure out how to reactivate the Chaos Emeralds because even though he had found them - or at least 3 - in a forest, they didn't seem to have as much energy as before. Usually, when Sonic came into contact with a Chaos Emerald, it reacted immediately and released some static in Sonic's body. But as soon as he took one of them, nothing happened: it didn't glow brightly nor give off that static that gave Sonic a certain feeling of chill, nor did it float slightly. He tried again with the other 2, but the result was the same: nothing happened. Another thing he noticed was that despite retaining their colors, they were faded as if they were cheap copies made to trick him. But that was strange too: the Emeralds were glowing when Sonic found them, their glow fading as soon as Sonic touched them. "What is happening?" Sonic asked himself, looking at the Emeralds on his bed. "Usually I feel like they speak to me as soon as I touch them, but this time a little touch turned them off. Did they spend some of their energy just for me to find them? Damn... If Tails were here, he'd help me find out what's up with the Emeralds, no doubt, but I'm in this alone." 'Actually, I'm not...' he thought suddenly, remembering that he had made new friends in that dimension. "No," he told himself immediately. "They don't have to deal with my problems. I know they'd be willing to help me, but getting involved with the Chaos Emeralds is a danger they're incapable of dealing with... I hope I never blurt out a comment like that with them." He turned to see the Emeralds again as more doubts flooded his mind. He tried again to use 'Chaos Control' with two of the Emeralds, but he didn't feel their energy coursing through his body, any breeze entering the room, or the gems he held even glowing. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. "Oh, come on!" Sonic yelled in frustration. "This is supposed to shine! It's my goddamn ticket home, and it's not like I want to leave now, but eventually I'll have to! And at least having the exit ready would be nice! But these things don't want to work, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY!!!" he yelled again, his newfound power buoying up and throwing the Blue Emerald towards a wall to blow off steam. But as soon as the Emerald reacted with his new ability, it regained its usual glow, and Sonic noticed that, with his new power disappearing. He moved closer to the Emerald, but when he touched it, his glow disappeared again. Seeing what happened before he made her glow again, he had an idea: he closed his eyes and let the electricity out of her body, causing her quills to light up in a neon hue. Immediately, the Chaos Emerald he held in his hand began to shine again and even floated. Sonic opened his eyes, which were blue now and was glad to see that the Emerald was shining again. Worse, his joy didn't last long because he hadn't noticed that part of the electricity released by his body collided with the other two emeralds, which also shone again. Soon, the 3 Emeralds began to synchronize with each other and were preparing to release a powerful beam that could pierce through the Brighthouse, so he let go of his newfound power, and the Emeralds fell, no longer glowing. "Wow…" Sonic said. "Looks like my new power can recharge the Emeralds, but if I keep it up long... who knows what might happen? Maybe I should..." But the sound of Sunny's voice approaching the room made him panic. He felt the door open a little, so he concentrated some energy to slow down time, lift the mattress off his bed, put the Emeralds in a bag, put the bag under the mattress, put the mattress in place, and arrange the sheets. It was only when his hands touched the sheet that time returned to normal while Sunny entered the room. "There you are, Sonic!" Sunny exclaimed. "The farewell parade for Zipp and Pipp is about to start. We're going to watch the live broadcast on TV. Do you want to come?" "Sure! I wouldn't miss it even if I were crazy!" Sonic said with a smile as he walked towards Sunny. He took one last sidelong glance at his bed, hoping no one would check under his mattress. 'For now, I won't tell anyone this. I'll check another time to see what happens to the Emeralds.' And with that, Sonic and Sunny went down with Izzy and Hitch to see their pegasus friends in a parade that he already sensed would not be a 'little' goodbye. Outside Zephyr Heights Castle, a crowd of ponies was waiting for the queen and princesses to leave. Suddenly, the front door opened, and the crowd saw a balloon version of Queen Haven come out, and they began to scream with excitement. "And here come the royal balloons!" Skye Silver announced, while two more balloons, looking like Zipp and Pipp, shot out from the castle wall as the crowd cheered. But two pegasi accidentally bumped into something amid the cheers, and another hit a statue while a foal hit its face with the Queen Haven balloon. Dazzle and Skye wince as they almost bump into each other. "Ooh! Another close call, Skye," Dazzle announced. "There's been a lot of those lately, Dazzle," Skye pointed out with a smile. Magic was still relatively new to the Pegasi, so they hadn't mastered flying yet. "It's true. But you know what they say, Skye. Progress over perfection!" Dazzle responded with a smile, then saw something that made her gasp, “Here comes the royal family now!” She yelled as she saw Queen Haven and her daughters coming with a pure gold chariot with their thrones. The crowd cheered as they saw the royals walking past the crowd during the parade. The three royals greeted the ponies here. Zipp waved nervously, not used to having so many ponies admiring them. When she saw the balloon version of herself approaching her, she freaked out and then growled. "For the record, mother, this is not a 'little' goodbye!" "Smile, Zephyrina," Haven told her daughter with a smile. "This is all for you," she pointed out, waving to the crowd. Zipp rolled her eyes, thinking her mother had gone too far with her goodbye. Pipp, on the other hand, was blowing kisses and loving the crowd. Then, a bouquet came towards her when he caught it. "Awww!" she said in thanks. A group of fillies and foals screamed with excitement as they tossed the flowers, and one earth pony filly was about to faint with excitement when another earth pony filly caught her. Pipp then took the camera phone out of her and took several selfies. Zipp realized what Pipp was doing and immediately gasped as she ducked down to stop her sister from taking pictures of her. "Pipp, no pictures!" she yelled, trying to make Pipp understand that she didn't want to be seen on camera. "Come on, Zipp," Pipp said, trying to convince her sister of hers. "Just one? Don't you wanna remember today?" she asked, obviously talking about the parade. And suddenly, a colt wearing a Zipp mask appeared right before her. "I love you, Zipp!" she yelled, causing Zipp to duck out of sight as the colt returned to the crowd. "And which part exactly would I want to remember?" Zipp asked, looking at her sister, disturbed by what she had just seen. "Oh, I don't know..." Pipp said rhetorically. "How about the loving send-off from your mother? The queen?" she pointed out, getting straight to Zipp's face. They touched muzzle while reading at each other. "Enough!" The Haven queen yelled, Tired of hearing her daughters argue. "Zephyrina, you are the future queen. Now sit up straight and wave!" she said sternly to Zipp, who immediately returned to smiling and waving very forcefully. She glanced sideways at Pipp, who was looking at her back with a leer. Pipp sighed at her older sister's rebellious personality as she waved to the crowd. Back at the Crystal Brighthouse, the three remaining ponies of the mane 5 and Sonic were watching TV on the couch. They saw Zipp and Pipp in the goodbye parade, and Zipp and Pipp turned away from facing each other, waving at the crowd. "Look! There they are!" Sunny called out happily, putting her front hooves in the air in a cheer. "Hi, Zipp. Hi, Pipp!" she called out. "Geez and I thought that parade at Soleanna was fancy as hell, but Queen Haven took it to the next level," Sonic snorted, impressed that Haven had gone that far to say goodbye to her daughters. "Soleanna?" Sunny asked with a little smile. "Sounds a little fancy. Is it a kingdom or something similar in your home?" "Yup," Sonic answered, smiling back. "Weird... every time I think about Soleanna, I feel like something's missing... Meh, it's probably nothing important." The TV then changed to the next scene, showing foals screaming on screen to the royalties. "Are those pegasi crying?" Hitch asked in confusion. "Sounds more like they're yelling excited," Sonic added. "I guess the royals have more fans than they can imagine." Izzy sighs dreamily at the cheers. "I know exactly how Pipp and Zipp feel right now..." she says, flashing back to how Bridlewood felt when she was leaving for Maretime Bay. Izzy twirled her bag from her hoof to land, prepared to move to the Crystal Brighthouse. The Unicorns were cheering for Izzy to live her dreams as she walked down the pathway, blowing kisses at them and waving to the ponies. But then it's revealed that Izzy was only daydreaming while walking through the forest on the path to Maretime Bay. No pony was around but a lone unicorn foal playing the kazoo to her as Izzy kept smiling. Izzy smiled at that memory, completely oblivious to what happened, lost in her little world. "I remember it like it was yesterday..." she commented. "Maybe because it was yesterday, Izzy," Sonic reminded her as he, Sunny, and Hitch looked at her with a boring expression. "Was it? Oh!" Izzy questioned with a smile. She had forgotten that she had told them about that. "Ooh, look! The queen!" she squealed, as the others looked at the TV with excitement. "Hope that those giant balloons don't cause a little trouble to the royalties," Sonic said, looking with a neutral expression on the TV. On a stage at the front of the Castle, Queen Haven made a little speech to the crowd about her daughters. "It seems like only yesterday my daughters were adorable little fillies..." she said, as she pointed out some pictures of Zipp and Pipp that were taken over the years: one when they were fillies, one where Zipp was not amused with the picture and Pipp was laying on a cloud; and then finally one where Pipp pose to the camera and one with Zipp sleeping on her bed. "But look at them now!" she gestured to her daughters to the side as the crowd cheered them. Pipp was blowing kisses to the crowd, but Zipp blushed a lot in embarrassment after their mother revealed those photos. She looked around, trying to get her mind off of the pictures. At the Crystal Brighthouse, Sunny, Izzy, and Hitch couldn't stop laughing at the photos Haven showed. They had seen a lot of Pipp before since he was a celebrity, but they had never seen photos of Zipp, much less ones this embarrassing. Sonic took out his phone with a smirk and took a picture of the TV, saving Zipp's pictures for his convenience. "And click!" he exclaimed after taking the photos. "I'll pester Zipp with this until it bores me," Sonic said with a smirk. "I feel a little bad for her, but sweet Chaos was that hilarious! Embarrassing, but hilarious." "Right!" Hitch responded with a snort. "Oh, when Zipp gets back, she will never hear the end of this!" Sunny exclaimed as she laughed. At the stage, Queen Haven started to sob because she saw her daughters go. "All grown up... and leaving me…" she said. Then she realized that she was crying and cleared her throat while recomposing herself. "And to celebrate their new adventure together, I now present…" She stopped and turned to two of her guards on the other side as they removed the tarp, revealing a stone statue of Zipp and Pipp doing a flight pose. The crowd cheered, and a few pegasi took pictures of the statue by flying close to it but didn’t realize they were about to bump into each other. All of them shouted out but smacked into each other anyway. One pegasus crashed into the statue, while the other screamed and collided against the balloons, napping them and letting them go. The crowd gasped, and the royalties looked worried at the balloons that crashed against some pegasi flying. They tried to dodge the balloons but then crashed into other things: a blue pegasus crashed into the Queen Haven balloon as it popped, causing the real Haven to duck. Then, the blue pegasus crashed into the strings of Pipp’s balloon, which caused the strings to snap, and the blue pegasus got stuck as the crowd gasped. The blue pegasus started to regain his focus as he realized he was tangled and was now floating away, as she screamed in panic. Pipp looked on with a cringe, but then she saw a yellow pegasus trying to keep her flying together. Pipp ducked and turned, nervously whimpering as the yellow pegasus came back screaming. The yellow pegasus continued to scream and zoom as she smacked Thunder, sending him flying in a roll. Thunder screamed as he smacked right into Zipp’s balloon. The crowd gasped as Zipp, Pipp, and Queen Haven braced themselves for what could come next, but Thunder whimpered nervously and clutched Zipp’s balloon, keeping him steady. Now, the royal family and the crowd sighed, relieved. "As I was saying…" Haven tried to keep going with her speech, but she didn't know that Zipp’s balloon started to deflate. "May I now present, Sisters, Take--" She was interrupted when Zipp’s balloon explosively deflated, as the explosion wind came right at the royal family, with Thunder wailing from being blown away, along with a couple of other pegasi with them. The wind stopped, but it left the manes of the royal family made a mess, as Queen Haven finished her speech in an amused tone, "... Flight..." Haven, Pipp, and Zipp looked at each other but then smiled and busted out laughing, and the crowd started to laugh as well, finding funny all that happened, besides finding their manes funny as well. Pipp took out her phone as Zipp and Queen Haven huddled together for a family photo. Pipp clicked her camera as they took the photo, which Pipp labeled as "SISTERS TAKE FLIGHT!" with a heart emoji and a pony smiley face emoji on it to remember this day. Once again, the four friends were laughing back on the Crystal Brighthouse. "Say, that was a hell of a goodbye!" Sonic said with a giggle. "And don't make me talk about the aftermath! Gold comedy right there!" "I know! That was really funny," Sunny replied with a smile. "Did anything like that happen on that Soleanna parade you mentioned before?" "Nope. It wasn't half as entertaining as this one," Sonic replied with a smirk. But then he felt a little headache, and he shook his head while scratching it, feeling a little confused. There's that sensation again. "Why do I always feel like this whenever I think about Soleanna?" "Are you okay, buddy?" Hitch asked with worry as he and the two mares looked at Sonic. "I... I don't know..." he replied, still confused. "It's something that always happens to me whenever I think or hear about that kingdom... but my memories in that place aren't too interesting or relevant. I just arrived one time for some celebration, and then I saw a feather flying up to the sky; then I saw one of Eggman's ships up in space and went to fight it. That's everything I ever did in Soleanna..." he explained, still not so sure why he felt that something, or someone, was missing. "It must be weird, for you, I mean," Sunny said, putting her hoof on Sonic's shoulder. "Eh, it's okay. I'm pretty sure that if I forgot something, it probably isn't important at all," he assured with a smile, and then his smile became bigger as an idea crossed his mind. "I totally have to tell you about the adventure I had once I arrived on that ship. It was great, yet unbelievable!" "Maybe we should wait for Zipp and Pipp to arrive," Hitch suggested. "Well, once they get here, we'll decorate the Brighthouse. And after that, it's story time!" Sonic assured with confidence, excitement going through every inch of his body. Zipp and Pipp then started flying past their statues as they left Zephyr Heights on their way to Maretime Bay to be with their friends. "Zipp?" Pipp called, turning to her sister while flying through the sky. "Aren't you gonna miss Zephyr Heights, even a teeny bit?" she asked, wondering if she would miss their home. "I dunno" Zipp answered, but then she smiled at her sister. "But... I know I am ready for a new adventure. You know, together" she added with a chuckle. Pipp smiles at Zipp’s answer. "Yeah, me too. All we really need is each other!" she replied as she stuck her hoof out, wanting Zipp to touch it. Zipp smiled at her joyfully, and then they touched hooves, holding each other while flying to Maretime Bay. Behind them, Thunder and Zoom were carrying Pipp’s bags. "All you need is each other?" Thunder asked in confusion. "Then what's in the bags?! " he asked tiredly as he and Zoom carried them. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 2. A Home to Share"Welcome to the home of our dreams!" Sunny yelled joyfully as she and her friends admired their new home as her old lighthouse home had been redecorated into the Crystal Brighthouse. Suddenly, a loud stomping was heard, and a giant crab came stomping to the Brighthouse, hit the roof, broke it in half, and then roared. But a hoof grabbed him, revealing that the Brighthouse was just a model of what Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, and Sonic looked at before the crab destroyed it. Hitch laughed nervously at what one of his animal crew did. "Cool it, McSnips-a-lot," he whispered to the crab, but then McSnips snipped off a piece of his mane, leaving Hitch with an unamused look at his crab’s actions. "Forget the model. We're going to make the real Crystal Brighthouse perfect!" she screamed excitedly while she pointed to the real Brighthouse beside them, ready to be finished inside. Izzy gasped and squealed after seeing the Brighthouse. "Then we can spend every minute of every day together for the rest of our lives!" she said excitedly with sparkling eyes. Zipp, however, laughed nervously at what Izzy had just said. "What?" she asked, not sure she had heard Izzy correctly. "It's going to be iiiicooooniiiic-kuh!" Pipp exclaimed, singing out the last word. "This is it," Sonic said. "This, right here, is the start of a new and exciting adventure. I hope you guys are ready because I feel things will get a bit crazier from now on." "And I'm gonna teach this little fella how to build a shelf!" Hitch spoke up as he picked up a wrench with his hoof. "You know, I'm actually pretty hoovesy!" he said, spinning the wrench around, but then he dropped it, destroying what remained of the model. "Whoops..." he said in embarrassment as the rest looked at him with a bored expression. "There's a lot to get done, but we can do anything if we work together!" Sunny said, walking towards the supplies they have for the final decorations. "Now, I think if we just—" but before she could finish, Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, and Sonic started stampeding and took some of the supplies before heading straight into the Brighthouse. That caught Sunny off guard, but then she smiled. "Enthusiasm! I like it!" she giggled and then ran to help her friends. "Wait up, roomies!" she exclaimed. Sunny gasped at the sight of her friends working, trotting back and forth between their respective lines of work in their own ways. Pipp was livestreaming the whole thing on her phone. "Hello, Pippsqueaks! And welcome to the ultimate D.I.Y. home makeoveeeer!" she yelled excitedly as the Mane 5 and Sonic started their tasks. Just a little touch-up Just a little paint And we'll be done in no time Sunny saw Zipp painting the walls at her fast flying as she zigged and zagged the paint around the Brighthouse. Sonic was cleaning up some dust he found and throwing it out the window. Izzy painted purple paint on her side while holding the paint jar with her magic. She nearly dropped and spilled it when she saw Sunny approaching her, but Sunny caught the paint jar just in time. "Hey, this is looking great!" Izzy said as she looked at her progress with Sunny. 'Cause they say many hooves And the work gets lighter Hitch then looked at the shelf instructions while showing McSnips how to set it up, with Sunny coming up to him with a smile. Hitch used his measuring tape, but McSnip snapped the tape with his claws, and Sunny walked away with a worried look. Hitch felt irritated with McSnip's continued snipping of his things. And working with your friends Will make the whole day brighter The 6 friends then group up together with a smile as they continue their progress on decorating. Gonna work, work, work Got so much to do Sunny was sweeping the floors with a broom to help Sonic with the dust while the group kept going with their tasks: Zipp kept painting; Izzy was running with the paint; Hitch was trying to catch McSnip to teach him more about the setting up the shelve thing, and also making sure he won’t snips anything else in the Brighthouse, Pipp kept livestreaming her progress with her phone while holding a wallpaper, and Sonic was keeping every tiny little dust away, with Sunny smiling at her friends’ progress. Well, I don't mind the work 'Cause I get to work with you Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true Izzy continued painting, but instead of following a specific order, she painted the whole wall. Hitch looked at the shelf piece as he inspected it, then threw it away. He brought up his wrench, and McSnips grabbed a hammer and hammered a nail into the wood. Sunny saw that her friends were going a little overboard with their tasks, and she started to get worried and have second thoughts about their progress. 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do Pipp then starts rapping and brings out a piece of purple wallpaper. "I found the perfect color!" Hitch started rapping with his glasses and McSnips on his back while bringing out his measuring tape. "Yeah, and you know that I measure, right?" Zipp kept painting and zig-zagging, and Sonic kept cleaning dust. "'Cause we'll be done in no time!" they both rapped. Izzy then levitated the purple-pink bucket. "And we'll make this place a delight!" she rapped as she chucked the whole paint into the wall. 'Cause they say there is magic In every pony And when I need a hoof I've got you there beside me Gonna work, work, work... Sunny saw the chaos her friends were making, then saw Zipp, who stopped to realize that she had painted zigzag the whole wall of her area. A bird flew into an open window and got stuck to the wall where a 'paint line' was. Zipp saw that, confused, and looked at her bucket, realizing she had used wall glue the whole time. She chuckled in embarrassment. Sunny was sweeping, desperately trying to clean the floor, and Pipp flew over her while still livestreaming on her phone. "This blank canvas is getting the royal treatment!" Pipp announced, then she flew in circles around Sunny, but her wind current blew the pile of dirt that Sunny swept right onto her head. "Big dreams for such a tiny little price!" Pipp commented. Sunny looked irritated at the dirt on her head and Pipp’s comments. "Hey!" she shouted. Then Sonic suddenly appeared at her side, with a handheld vacuum in his hand, looking at the dirt on her head with a frown. "More dust to clean? Not under my guard!" he yelled as he carefully sucked the dust off Sunny's head and then ran off, not even giving Sunny a chance to thank him. Izzy laughed as she kept splattering the wall with different colors of paint. "It needs more! More!" she cheered with sparkling eyes as she splattered more paint onto the walls. Sunny ducked before a paint hit her, but another painting splattered a pony portrait, and Sunny tried to rub the paint off. Hitch was having trouble setting up the shelf, and McSnips was on it tilting. He dropped to the floor as he yelped. Pipp was then setting up photos of herself on the walls. "Fan art!" she sang cheerfully, but then Zipp flew by and wallpapered the wall with Pipp’s pictures. "Hey!" she shouted to her sister. "Uh, ponies? I think we're losing focus here!" Sunny told the group as she was about to freak out. Hitch then caught up to his crab friend, who was carrying his measuring tape away. "McSnips-a-lot!" he lectured to the crab. Sunny shouted as a chair nearly hit her, as she ducked the incoming object. She then turned to see Izzy sweeping the floor with her right rear leg, carrying the dishes with her left front hoof as she levitated the chair with her magic. "Multitasking!" Izzy commented. "Design hack!" Pipp called as she put wallpaper on the wall. "Picture wall!" she announced. Sunny's jaw dropped at her friends, who were not focusing on their tasks. The only one who wasn't making a mess was Sonic, who was still cleaning dust. Then she turned to see something and shouted as she saw the chair about to hit one of her plants. She at least caught it in time but then heard someone screaming. "Aaahh!" Zipp yelled as she wobbled and fell to the ground Pipp was trying to put her throne upstairs but was having trouble with how heavy it was. "How... much... further?!" she panted, as Cloudpuff - who was with them for some reason - was helping her by showing the way with safety signal sticks. "What about my automatic breakfast butler bot?" Izzy asked as she presented her machine from the kitchen and turned it on, which started to spit out pancakes. Zipp then got tangled in the ceiling lights as she hung upside down with McSnips on one of her hooves. "Help!" she called out while struggling. "Help!" Hitch called out while hammering the shelf and having trouble setting it. "My ice sculpture's melting!" Pipp cried out as the ice sculpture of herself in a pose started to melt. Sonic, who wasn't even paying attention to the disaster, finally stopped and turned to see Pipp. "Did you seriously bring an ice sculpture of yourself?" he asked in disbelief. Pipp laughed nervously and blushed while Sonic rolled his eyes and kept working. "Glitter!" Izzy announced as she threw glitter into the air, then at the fridge. "Glitter!", then at the same picture she was painting before, "Glitter!", then to a bird stuck into a wall. "Glitter!" finally, she put glitter on Sunny's face. "Glitter!" she sang as she twirled away from Sunny, who was looking shocked and concerned simultaneously. Sunny went to check out the rest of the Brighthouse but immediately regretted it: with a freaked-out expression, she saw the living room a mess, then went to look at the bedroom and plopped to the floor with a shocked expression. She then checked out the bathroom, which was surprisingly intact, clean, and finished, leaving the earth pony with a big smile on her face, relieved that at least one room in the Brighthouse was intact and not messy. "Oh. That's actually quite nice!" Sunny commented at the sight, but then she ate those words as Izzy came in and made a mess. "Glitter! Glitter! Glitter!" Izzy shouted as she threw glitter all over the bathroom. Sunny started to twitch her eye as she tried to stay calm amid all this chaos. "Ugh…" she grunted from the mess her friends had made. "Phew!" Sonic said, arriving at her side. "I'm finally done with all the dust. So, what did I miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii—" he didn't finish because he saw all the mess his friends made while he was cleaning the dust. "How, when, where, why?!" Sonic exclaimed, looking with shock at the disaster. Sunny tried to explain, but then their friends started to break down. "I can't get it straight!" Hitch shouted as he plopped to the floor, admitting he couldn’t set up a shelf. "What about the breakfast bot?!" Izzy yelled, not knowing what to do with her breakfast bot. "Can somepony get me down?" Zipp asked, tangled in wallpaper again and hanging upside down with the ceiling lights while Pipp was panicking. "Ponies!" Sunny called out, trying to calm them all down, while Sonic looked around in shock. Suddenly, the pancake from the breakfast bot nearly hit Pipp as she flew out of the way, but it hit the picture of Sunny and her father. It tilted as it dropped from the wall, about to hit the floor. "No!" Sunny gasped, but at that moment Sonic got out of his shock state and also noticed the picture falling. So he immediately ran to grab it and give it back to Sunny. She sighed in relief while hugging the picture but then looked at her friends again and ran to the bedroom, quickly closing the door behind her. Sunny turned to see the bedroom made a disaster, but even if it was messy, the sight of the rainbow shining through the roof comforted her. She put the picture of her and her father on the front of her bed. "I don't understand! I thought working together would be easy, but it turns out it's super messy!" she stated, but then a paper got stuck on her right hoof, and it took her a hard time to shake it off. Sonic quickly ran into the room, closing the door behind him and laying on it to catch his breath. Then, he looked at Sunny with a concerned face, "Working out with these guys is super messy!" he yelled in shock. But then looked at Sunny's sad face and thought he had said something wrong, so he tried to correct himself. "I-I mean, I've seen places that are messier, and this place is super clean in comparison," he said, but seeing that Sunny's sad face was still there, he sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry, Sunny, I shouldn't have said that..." "I'm not mad with you, Sonic, nor sad because of what you just said," Sunny said, which made Sonic feel a little better, but he was still concerned about her friend's state. "I also think this is all a mess," she pointed out the room then suddenly a light fell from the ceiling and cracked in the ground. "At this point, saying that this place's a mess is more of a compliment than an insult," Sonic said sarcastically. "I'm going to try to calm things down out there. Come when you're ready, Sunny," he requested her with a smile and then left the room. Sunny sighed, sat beside her father's photo, and grabbed it. "I wish you were here, Dad. You always knew how to bring out the best in me. And right now, I really need my best..." she admitted. She looked at the photo, then at the door where she was, and then realized something as she smiled. "Wait. Maybe that's what my friends need me to do! To bring them together, to bring out their best!" she said, then kissed the picture and put it down, then walked to the door before taking a last look at the photo as she smiled. "Thanks, Dad," she said, opening the door and closing it. In the main room, Sonic was trying to untie Zipp, who was still stuck on wallpaper, while Hitch was biting on the shelf in frustration, and Pipp kept livestreaming the bathtub that somehow got gems with Cloudpuff in it, with Izzy levitating the whole tub. Sunny then walked in front of the group with a serious face. "Okay, everypony! Just stop!" she called out to the group as silence came to the room, with the others looking at Sunny in shock. Izzy undid her levitation, which resulted in a thud to the ground, and Pipp turned her livestreaming off. Sunny continued with a calm and gentle look, "Look, I love how much energy you're bringing to this. But this is supposed to bring us together, not pull us apart. And right now…" she gestured to the whole Brighthouse of the mess they made: one of the windows was covered in paint while a wallpaper piece fell to the floor, the breakfast bot was rolling around until it slip and fell on the floor from the mess on the ground, and the bird from earlier is still glued to the wall. The group, except Sonic, realized the mess they made. Zipp got the wallpaper piece off herm, thanks to Sonic's help, and spoke out. "It's a mess..." she admitted with a frown. "Yeah, I-I-I didn't want to say anything..." Izzy confessed with a frown as well. "I'm in way over my head!" Hitch added as he leaned into the shelf with McSnips next to him. "This is a total makeover fail!" Pipp dramatically called out as she flopped to the ground. "I mean, it doesn't make my top 10 list of messed-up places you don't want to live, but still..." he said with a neutral expression as a wallpaper piece covered him completely. "It's a mess," he finished, still down the wallpaper. "It's not a fail. It's a work-in-progress!" she called out. Then the group started smiling at what their friend said while Sonic took off the wallpaper piece and smiled. They all came closer to Sunny with big smiles. "Come on, everypony. We can do this…Together!" she shouted as the Mane 5 and Sonic got back to work and cleaned up the mess they made, keeping their focus this time. Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true Izzy was levitating the furniture, with Hitch helping her decide where to put it. Once he found the perfect spot, Izzy set the furniture down. 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do Zipp was flying around, setting up the wire lights in a perfect pattern. Gonna work, work, work Got so much to do Sunny was setting up the pillows on the couch, and McSnip helped to pound them to make them fluffy. Well, I don't mind the work 'Cause I get to work with you Pipp removed the portraits of herself while Sunny put one of her childhood drawings in. This drawing, in particular, showed how the lighthouse looked, with a rainbow next to it on a sunny day. Zipp used her wings to blow away the dirt to hit the shovel Izzy was holding as the two ponies smiled at their accomplishments as they hoove each other. Sonic carefully took the dirt shovel and slowly took it out of the Brighthouse. Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true In the bedroom, Sunny is setting up her photo of her and her dad beside her bed while Pipp is setting one of her picture frames next to hers. Sonic decided to frame his picture with Tails and Knuckles and put it beside his bed. Then, the three friends looked at each other with a smile. Hitch, on the other hand, was using McSnips as a power drill so he could screw the nail in place so the shelf stayed in place. 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do! In the bedroom, the Mane 5 and Sonic got some decorative stains on them while working, but they finally finished the Brighthouse. Pipp flew in front of the group with her phone on a hoof. Getting the hint, the rest came close to Pipp’s phone line of camera. "Say 'besties'!" Pipp called out as the camera clicked and snapped the group together in a photo. A little while later, they printed the photo from Pipp’s phone, and Sunny then framed it on the shelf Hitch had made earlier. The shelf then tilted a little, and both Hitch and Sunny gasped at it, worried that the photo might fall. They sighed in relief as the photo and the shelf didn’t fall. The group then took in the view of the complete Crystal Brighthouse: on the outside, the Brighthouse was shining the rainbow right out of it, so everypony in Equestria could see it; in the bedroom, the glass of the rainbow to where the elevator to the top of the Brighthouse is was shining the rainbow to the top with the five beds of the Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, and Sonic, staying there to fit each of their personalities. In the main room, the group looked on with a smile at their teamwork. "It's even better than I imagined!" Sunny commented. "Now this is the power of teamwork!" Sonic stated with a big smile. The group smiled as they continued to look at their new home, but then a loud pounding was heard, startling the six friends. They looked around to find the source, only to realize that McSnips was pounding on the stairway of the Brighthouse. This surprised the group and made them wonder how strong that tiny krab actually was. "Leave it, McSnips-a-lot!" Hitch lectured his animal friend. McSnips stopped to look at him for a brief moment before resuming his pounding, but way faster now, which caused Hitch to face hoove himself at McSnips's misbehavior. "I guess you'll have to teach Mr. McSnips-whatever-was-the-rest to behave himself a little," Sonic replied with a boring expression. "Don't tell me..." Hitch said with a sarcastic tone. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 3. Zipp's Flight SchoolIn the middle of the day, Zipp was flying around Maritime Bay at high speed as she zoomed around, bounced off a trampoline, and zoomed straight to the sky, then she zoomed down to the ground in a puff of smoke, sliding and standing straight with pride. While she smiled proudly, Pipp live-streamed the whole thing through her phone, which Zipp noticed in shock. "That's all, Zippsters!" Pipp called out as Zipp ran away from the camera. "Like and subscriiiiibe!" Pipp sang while waving at the camera, but then Zipp came next to her with an irritated look. "Stop trying to make 'Zippsters' happen, Pipp!" Zipp yelled at her sister while Pipp flinched at the reaction. "I don't want followers!" Zipp added, then she put Pipp's phone down, ending the livestream immediately. Meanwhile, Sunny served her fruit smoothies to Hitch, Izzy, and Sonic at her stand. Sunny then gave three smoothies to three of her best friends. "And that's three pineapple punch smoothies with extra…" she announced as she turned around and saw that the fruit supplies in the crates were empty, making her gasp in surprise. "Nothing?" she asked in shock, then turned to face her friends. "Sorry, everypony. My fruit delivery was supposed to get here hours ago!" she apologized and explained. "I mean, you know what they say: a late delivery is probably safe!" Izzy suggested with a smile, thinking that the delivery would be here soon. "Yeah... sorry, Izzy, but I don't buy it," Sonic replied doubtfully. "You'd think a safe delivery would have arrived by now." Suddenly, the group saw a shadow over them. "Huh?" Hitch questioned. "Uh... what was that?” Sonic asked. Sunny looked out the window and saw what was up in the sky, then gasped in a little shock. The four friends gasped in shock when a pegasus mare carrying fruit supplies crashed down into a glass stand, sending fruits flying by. Both Sunny and Izzy screamed and ducked, Sonic turned into a ball and Hitch looked in shock while a green fruit splat right into his face. The two mares and the hedgehog looked at the crash site and saw the pegasus mare. The pegasus had iris-colored hooves and bright lilac eyes; her mane, tail, and flight feathers were light yellow; her mane was wavy and tied in a ponytail; she was wearing a pink visor and bag; and her Cutie Mark was two yellow shooting stars with trails. She groaned from the crash and was covered in fruit juice, then recovered quickly and cleared her throat. "Fifi's Flying Fruit Smoothies Smooth Fruit Delivery Service! Where every delivery is... smooth!" she said with a nervous tone and a sheepish smile, while an earth pony mare slipped on a banana peel and fell to the ground, the an earth pony stallion looked in shock at the destruction of the stand. Sonic then returned to normal, cleaned up the dust off his body, and spoke. "Well, I hate to be the skeleton at the feast, but ever since magic came back, Zipp is the only pegasus I've seen able to fly properly. Oh, and Pipp as well," he commented in a concerned tone. "The other pegasi... they need help. Like, A LOT of help." "I see your point there, Sonic," Hitch said, cleaning up the fruit mess on his face. "I have to fill out the paperwork for this stand and report about this," he said annoyedly. Sonic then suddenly grabbed his ear while Hitch groaned in pain. "Stop thinking about your job for a second, Hitch!" he scolded, then let his ear go, and Hitch rubbed it. "Look, I'm not an expert on flying since Tails always carry me, but I can tell that these pegasi have to learn how to fly properly, or else more crashes will happen. Or even worse: someone might get hurt." Pipp came to the group with a concerned frown after seeing the crash. "I agree with Sonic. We need to find a solution to the pegasi's lack of flying. I can’t stand to see one of my own falling like that..." she confessed since she was a pegasus too. Sonic stroked Pipp's mane a little, which made her blush suddenly, but she didn't complain since it felt good, although she wasn't about to admit it. "Don't worry, Pipp. We'll eventually find a way to help these pegasi to fly better..." he assured her. Then the group looked at Zipp, who was walking toward them, and she laughed at the incident. "Whoa. Somepony really needs to teach these Pegasi how to fly!" she pointed out as she laughed. Sonic looked at her with a bored expression at first, but then suddenly, something came to his mind, and he smirked at Zipp. The rest of the mane Mane 5 all thought what Sonic was thinking as they looked at Zipp with sparkling eyes. "Ahhhh…" they said together while Pipp brought Fifi into the group, looking confused. Zipp stopped laughing and looked at her friends with a worried expression, knowing what her friends were thinking. "Oh, No-no-no-no-no!" Zipp nervously started as she started to sweat. "There's no way I would ever…" A while later, the others convinced Zipp to teach the Pegasi to fly since they were in an open area of Maritime Bay, where Zipp was recruiting her students: two of her royal guards, Zoom and Thunder, and a pink Pegasus named Windy. Zipp read the introduction in an unenthusiastic tone next to a sign that said WINGS, with Zipp's lightning bolt for the I and her wings in the sides. "Welcome to W-I-N-G-S. 'The Wonderful Institute of No-Gravity Sky-walking?'" she questioned the title with confusion. "It means flight school," Pipp corrected as she came to her side with a smile. "It's really more of a one-off training day," Zipp pointed out to Pipp since she wasn't planning on teaching the pegasi about flying for the rest of her life. "I was told it's an academy," Zoom pointed out, very interested in flying right. Fifi then came to the rookies. “Uh, is this the University of Flying?” she questioned with a confused smile. Zipp then raised an eyebrow at Pipp, who smiled nervously and backed away. Zipp turned to the others, as Sunny shrugged and Izzy shook her head. Hitch laughed, and Sonic tried very hard not to, but they ended when Izzy glared at them and shook their heads, saying it wasn't them either. Zipp faced hoof herself as she sighed. "Ugh, whatever. Let's just get started," she pointed out, then turned to the rookies. "Who can tell me how to do a double roulette twist?" she asked them with a smile. The four pegasi looked confused and stayed silent until Windy spoke. "Oh! I know about flapping!" she answered as she flapped her wings. Zipp's face walked again in frustration, and Sunny came to her. "Uh, Zipp?" she questioned. "What is it?" Zipp asked with a look. "Oh, it's when you move your wings up and down over and—" Windy said, thinking Zipp asked her but was cut off. "Not you, Windy..." Zipp pointed out, and Windy stared in surprise. Then Zipp looked back at Sunny. "Maybe you start with something simpler... Like an obstacle course?" Sunny suggested that since it was easier for the pegasi to learn, "Obstacle course?" Zipp asked, confused. "I don't have an…" she was cut off by a certain unicorn voice. "Ta-daaaaa!" Izzy cheered as the group turned to see that she had used her ‘Unicycling’ skills to create an obstacle course with a starting line, a jumping board, and some hoops for flying—the basics. Sonic was at Izzy's side, meaning he used his Sonic speed to help finish the process faster. The starting line sign tilted slightly, but Izzy ran to it and straightened it out. "What?!" Zipp called out in surprise as Sunny smiled at the sight. "Where did that come from?!" she questioned. "Fastest thing alive, Unicycling skills," Sonic replied boredly, pointing at himself and Izzy. "Just do your thing now, Zipp," he pleaded. "Over to you, captain!" Pipp spoke out with a salute and a smile. "I'm not a capta—!" Zipp yelled out but stopped in the midsection. "... Fine..." she groaned as she came to the students. "Everyone, watch carefully," she pled calmly and then demonstrated her flying tricks to the rookies. She flew into the air at the starting point of the obstacle course, then flew up and down through the first obstacles, zig-zagged through the hoops, and then flew straight to the clouds, grabbed some, and used them to make a Pegasus shape. Down below, the four Pegasi students are in awe of Zipp's expert flying stunt. Sonic smirked while looking at Zipp. "Show off!" he exclaimed. "Easy," Zipp said with pride. "Now, who wants to go first?" she asked the pegasi so they could show how they fly. Still in shock from Zipp's demonstration, none of the students volunteered, so Windy lifted Thunder’s hoof, with Thunder not noticing until a few seconds later. Zipp sighed, a little bored. "All right. You're up, Thunder," she called out while Thunder was nervous. Thunder came to the starting point and looked at the sign, a little dizzy. He flew up but hit the starting sign with a grunt and crashed to the floor. The other three Pegasi cringed at the sight while Thunder groaned in slight pain. Zipp looked with a sigh. "This is gonna be a loooong day..." she said, stating that this flying lesson would be harder than she thought. "Oh, I'm so gonna enjoy this!" Sonic exclaimed while rubbing his hands. "I'm gonna get some chilidogs to watch the show!" he stated, then ran off and returned with one chilidog in each hand. Windy came next, staring at the starting line with a determined look, ready to start the obstacle course. But suddenly, she saw a daisy flower in front of her, and she shrieked in fear. "Aah! Daisies!" she yelled, then zipped away and ran to a bush behind Zipp. "My greatest fear!" she cried as Zipp shook her head. Sonic, Zipp, and Hitch were now next to each other. "Okaaaay... Next?" she questioned with a bored expression. It was Fifi's turn; Hitch cheered to the pegasus while waving at her. Fifi looked with a determined smile as she spread her wings, with her fruit cart behind her, to see if she could do it without crashing this time. She flew over the starting line, but her cart hit the sign as she rolled in the air, then crashed to the ground, with her fruits falling out of the cart as she crashed. Her head popped up in dizziness as Hitch did as well, being the pony who was a victim in the crash and once again covered in fruit. "From animal magnet to fruit magnet. What a progress!" Sonic mocked as both he and Zipp burst out laughing. "I can hear you two, you know!" Hitch called out in annoyance. Zoom flew up straight to the sky, sloppy grabbing some clouds as she zoomed around, making the clouds she caught into the shape of a sloppy pegasus picture that Zipp had done earlier. Zipp looked at it with a raised eyebrow while Izzy shook her head with sparkly eyes and smiled at seeing the picture. But when Zipp looked at Izzy, she corrected herself by shaking her head in disagreement with the picture. Hitch and Sonic used safety sticks to help Fifi steady her flying, but Fifi fell on her back with a grunt. The fruit cart crashed again as well, making Hitch look in shock and worry, but Sonic ran away when some fruits came towards them, and one hit Hitch in the face... again, which caused him to take a bored expression and groan. Sonic returned and helped Fifi get up, but when he turned to see Hitch, he burst out laughing at him again. "Ahahahahaha! I'm not getting this over with anytime soon!" he snorted as Hitch looked at him with annoyance. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, Hedgehog," Hitch replied. Izzy and Sunny pushed Windy to try to fly through the starting line, with Pipp right in front of them taking photos, but Windy started screaming since she didn't want to try again because she was afraid of finding more daisies. Zoom and Thunder crash into each other in the air with painful grunts. A little while later, the four Pegasi were on the ground. Fifi, Thunder, and Zoom were groaning from their crashes, and Windy had a freak-out expression while rocking back and forth, with piles of fruits everywhere around them. Zipp spoke out in frustration. "Well, I'm sure you all enjoyed that more than I did," she said as she spread her wings. "Good luck," she said to the four pegasi and then flew away, leaving her friends behind as she couldn't take it anymore. "... Well, this sucks..." Sonic said with a little sadness as he kicked a piece of fruit. Zipp then landed on a hill. Looking down in exhaustion, she saw something below her. "Huh..." she said as she saw two Pegasi, a mother and a foal. The mother was teaching her son how to fly as she lifted her son into the air. Zipp briefly watched the foal fly into the air as he giggled, but he stopped when he lost his balance and fell to the ground. The mother gasped in shock at seeing her son fall as she ran towards him to see if he was alright. Her son landed on a bush to her relief, so she picked him up. "Yay!" she cheered out for her son on his first flight as the two nuzzled each other's heads. Zipp immediately had a flashback of her trying to fly before the magic was restored when she was just a filly. Years ago, when the three tribes were still divided, and the magic was lost, Young Zipp was trying to fly with her mother, Queen Haven, beside her daughter with a smile, who placed pillows all over the floor so Zipp wouldn't hurt herself while trying to fly. Zipp giggled and jumped up and down the chair, flipped over the air, and spread her wings, thinking she was flying, but then she fell to the floor with a grunt. She crashed into the pillows to soften her landing, but when she got out of the pile, she whimpered since she couldn’t fly, thinking that she would never fly like the other pegasi couldn’t either. Haven came to her daughter with an encouraging smile. "Come on, Zephyrina. Don't give up!" she spoke to her, wanting her daughter to keep trying. Zipp got up with a determined look and then hopped to her mother, trying to fly. She hopped from pillow to pillow with a grunt from hopping on each pillow, then flipped and glided to her mother. Haven smiled at her daughter’s determination to keep trying. "Don't give up!" she repeated, then hugged her daughter. Zipp had a heartful look from that memory, then saw that Izzy was next to her left ear, whispering the word in her flashback. "Don't give up. Don't give up,” Izzy repeated, which Zipp now noticed with her raised eyebrows. Then, with a smile, Zipp turned to the unicorn. "Thanks, Izzy," she said, as Izzy smiled back at her. Zipp then looked down at the four pegasi, groaning from their flying lessons as they lay on the ground. All right!" Zipp called out as the four pegasi looked at her, flying over them with a smile. "Listen up! I'm gonna get you flying if it's the last thing I do!" she said, then immediately cleared her throat and corrected herself. "Before five. Day ends at five," she pointed out with a smile. The four Pegasi laughed and cheered. They stood tall and proud, determined to learn how to fly. A while later, back at the obstacle course, Thunder flew straight through it while dodging a couple of obstacles that came his way. He tripped on one as he was about to crash, but this time, he got some help from Pipp and Zipp since they were using two air blowers to blow Thunder back into the air to keep trying. Zoom was nervously laughing as she was tied to a rope around her mid-waist, with Sunny tied to the other end to help Zoom with her balance as Sunny trotted across the field. Zoom hit a pile of clouds and then made a pegasus picture again, a little sloppy but better than the last one, which Zipp nodded her head, approving. Fifi was whooshing through the obstacle course with her fruit cart again, but this time, she went through the obstacle as she flew to the 'X' that Hitch and Sonic made while using the safety sticks again. Fifi stuck the landing perfectly, but her fruit cart wasn’t so lucky as it flew over her and crashed. Sonic was next to the crashed cart with the fruits spilled out, but Hitch was unlucky again since he was covered in spilled fruit with a watermelon on his head as he groaned from the crash. "Yup, still funny," Sonic said, laughing a little. Izzy then gave up a sock puppet show with a daisy and a puppet of Windy to help Windy overcome her fears of a daisy. "I'm Windy! Come on, daisy! Let's be friends!" Izzy laughs as she reveals her head to Windy and looks at her. Windy nervously whimpers with a smile. Then the four Pegasi started flying around, with Zipp looking at them with pride, seeing how they had improved. Hitch’s crew watched as McSnips tried to fly by flapping his claws but fell off the bench he and the two birds sat at. Thunder zoomed through the obstacle perfectly, Zoom flew to the clouds and made a perfect copy of Zipp with the right picture this time, and Fifi flew through the hoops and landed on the ground with a grunt. Her cart didn’t fall out or crash this time. Hitch’s crew then showed McSnips how to flap properly, and the crab tried it and made sure he didn’t fall off again. Izzy then made a necklace out of daisies for Windy, who gasped in shock as Izzy threw the necklace into the air, which landed around Windy’s neck. Windy was a little freaked out but calmed down as the daisies weren’t doing anything to her. Then, the four Pegasi flew side to side at top speed, making a rainbow based on their coat colors as they flew by. Zipp saw this and formed a proud smile. The four Pegasi returned a while later, and Zipp gave them waste bands. There was a rainbow with Zipp’s wings and Cutie Mark on it, and they looked at Zipp with a smile. The Mane 5 and Sonic were on stage, and Izzy whipped them up. "Cadets!" Zipp shouted, "This morning, you looked like a bunch of Earth ponies with wings taped to your back!" "Awww…" Fifi groans in disappointment, with the other pegasi looking on in confusion. "But now you're captains of the sky!" Zipp continued with a smile as the Pegasi smiled with joy. "Ooh!" Fifi said joyfully. "You may now throw your hats," Zipp called out, as it was time for them to celebrate. The Pegasi cheered as they threw their hats to the sky but accidentally hit a pegasus, Fruit Delivery, who was also carrying a fruit cart. The Pegasus shouted as she crashed, and fruit flew out of the cart. Sonic was about to get hit by a pineapple, but he immediately moved next to Pipp, and karma struck again since Hitch was hit by a fruit again. Hitch had an irritated look and groaned. Pipp tried not to laugh, but Sonic did laugh and then pulled his phone out. "Alright, I'm saving this one!" he said with a smile, then ran back with Hitch and took a selfie. The four Pegasi then laughed at their accomplishments in flying as Sunny came to Zipp’s side. "Zipp, that was amazing! You're a natural," Sunny smiled as she placed a hoof on Zipp. "I suppose it was kind of fun..." Zipp admitted with a smile. You know, maybe I'll run that flight school after all…" she suggested, which shocked Sunny. Zipp continued with a smirk. When crabs fly!" she finished with a smile. She and Sunny started laughing at the joke, and the entire group enjoyed their moments together. Unknown to them, the two birds Hitch’s crews carried McSnip into the air so he could experience what flying is like as they flew to the sky and into the clouds. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 4. Nightmare RoommateIt was nighttime in Maretime Bay, and the four mares and the hedgehog in the Crystal Brighthouse were sleeping peacefully in their respective beds. Suddenly, a shadowy floating figure was passing over Sunny, then Sonic, then Zipp, and then finally Pipp, who didn't have her bed sheet for some reason, as she tossed and turned with a giggle in her sleep. Then, the shadowy figure revealed to be some ghost with a smiley face and hovered next to Pipp, who woke up slowly, opening her eyes. Once she saw the 'ghost,' she started to shake in terror and screamed in panic as she flew around the room, which caused Sunny to wake up from her screaming. "Wake up! WAKE! UP!" Pipp cried out as she shook Sunny awake, then turned to the ghost. "Gho-o-o-ost!" The ghost came right in front of them, and now Sunny and Pipp panicked and screamed. The two mares hugged each other in fright, then spread out while the ghost flew around. "No! No no no no no no no!" " Sunny cried out in panic. The ghost came in front of Zipp's bed as she worked up. Zipp rubbed her eyes to see what was going on, then saw the ghost in front of her. She screamed in panic, and she jumped out of her bed, flying away to get away from the ghost. Various screams were heard around the room as the three ponies tried to escape the ghost, flying or running back and forth in the room to hide or escape from the ghost. Sunny hid behind her bed and looked at the ghost cornered Zipp to the wall. Suddenly, Sonic woke up in a bad mood, with his quills a mess and an angry expression. He looked from his bed at the three mares terrified by the ghost, which Sonic looked at with even more annoyance. Still in his bed, he awakened his new power, charged electricity into his fist, pointed a finger at the ghost, and released a small shock. When it hit the ghost, it immediately fell to the ground like it was nothing. The three mares looked at Sonic in surprise, while he was just furious, and his eyes lit up blue. But then they turned green again, Sonic stretched a little, scratched his head, took his blanket and lay down again, immediately falling asleep. The three mares looked at each other and slowly walked towards the 'ghost,' expecting it to wake again, but it didn't. "Hey! Hold on…" Sunny yelled as she narrowed her eyes in realization. She walked towards the switch light and turned the lights on, revealing that the 'ghost' was just a bedsheet. "Hey, that's my bedsheet!" Pipp exclaimed, picking it from the ground with a frown. Sunny then looked over at Izzy, who was still sleeping, but her horn was glowing, meaning that she had levitated the bedsheet and kept moving it around as if it were a ghost. "Thanks, Izzy..." Pipp said, irritated with the sleeping unicorn, not caring if she heard her. Pipp then inhaled and flew back to her bed. "I am, like, so super traumatized right now. I'll be lucky to get any sleep!" she exclaimed as Sunny turned off the lights and returned to her bed, and Zipp did as well. Sunny yawned as she lay on her bed with her eyes closed. "Just shut your eyes, count pegasheep, and--" she instructed but was cut off by Izzy and her annoying snoring. "Glitter glitter glitter glitter glitter glitter…" Izzy mumbled between her snores as she twisted and turned on her bed with a smile. Pipp, Zipp, and Sunny were both annoyed at Izzy's snoring and mumbling. Pipp placed a pillow over her head to try to block out Izzy’s noise. Zipp groaned and placed her blanket over her head, and Sunny groaned as Izzy mumbled in her sleep. The only one who wasn't even hearing the snores was Sonic since he was already deep sleeping. The morning sun appeared as a rooster crowed outside the Crystal Brighthouse. Izzy was in the kitchen, singing to herself in a cheerful tone with a tiara in her head. "Ha! This is how a unicorn sings, first thing in the morning. Oo-ooh!" she sang, humming to herself and dancing in the kitchen. Izzy then found a hairspray can, twirled it for a bit, and then sprayed herself with it, styling her mane. She then found a crossword book and grabbed the pen with her hoof as she kept humming and wrote something in the crossword book. She tossed the book away as she hummed and placed the pen in her mouth, then went to the refrigerator and found peanut butter in it. She places the pen down to grab the peanut butter, which means she placed the pen in the fridge. Then she placed peanut butter in some bread, getting a little messy with some peanut butter on the table and some on her hoof. She continued humming and grabbed Pipp’s phone, took a selfie with her peanut butter, and got some peanut butter on Pipp’s phone. She put the phone down on the table, dropped the peanut butter bread on the floor, and then trotted away from the kitchen. In the main room, Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp sit there with a tired expression. Izzy’s snoring and mumbling kept them up all night, which didn’t allow them to get any sleep. Izzy trotted to the main room with a happy expression. "Oo-ooh! Morning!" she said to her friends, as they were too tired to do anything but listen to the hyper active Unicorn. "Don't you just love waking up to a new morning? It is just so new and morningy!" she exclaimed and hummed out of the main room, unknowingly knowing that her friends were tired. "Waking up?" Zipp asked, looking very tired. "We didn't sleep!" she pointed out since Izzy had not let them sleep properly. "Uhh... Was that my tiara?" Pipp questioned, noticing that Izzy had something on her forehead. The mares then walked to the kitchen and saw a mess Izzy had made. Zipp grabbed her hairspray as it puffed out, revealing it was empty. Pipp grabbed her phone and saw it messy with peanut butter oozing out. "Ugh!" Pipp groaned in disgust. Zipp then saw her crossword book, seeing that Izzy had scribbled it out with the pen from earlier. She grabbed the book to look closer as her right eye began twitching. She then ran towards Sunny, showing her what happened. "Everything's ruined!" Pipp came toward her sister's side as she looked at Sunny, who was about to freak out as well. "Sunny, you have to do something! Izzy's becoming a total nightmare roommate!" She then pointed to the unicorn on the other side. Izzy was trotting by still humming, then gobbled down a cereal as she threw the box away, and she continued humming, walking away with a cheerful expression. Sunny groaned tiredly, not knowing exactly what to do with Izzy. She decided to go to the bathroom to brush her teeth. "They're probably just cranky because they didn't get much--any--sleep, " she thought, trying to defend Izzy somehow. And... Uh, where's my toothbrush?" she asked to herself. Izzy then opened the door, and she poked her head out. "Hey, Sunny! Love your ear-cleaner…" she said, then brought out Sunny’s electric toothbrush and turned it on. Sunny turned around and looked at Izzy in shock as the unicorn brought Sunny’s toothbrush to her ear. "Oh, yeah. Mm, uh-huh..." she said as Sunny looked on with her mouth open while Izzy was using her toothbrush to clean her ears. "And my ears have never been so minty fresh!" she commented as she giggled and shut the door, leaving Sunny alone and shocked. Sunny then turned to the mirror with a determined look. She was going to solve this problem with Izzy because using her toothbrush to clean her ears was crossing the line. "Okay. Something's gotta be done!" she spoke out. A little while later, the three ponies walked through Maretime Bay, wanting to solve this problem as Sunny explained to Zipp and Pipp about her problem. "But confronting Izzy is just too awkward and embarrassing…" she added since discussing with Izzy means that they might accidentally hurt her feelings and find it awkward to argue with her over the small things. Suddenly, a blue blur passed by them, and it started running around all the buildings of Maretime Bay, then passed by them again and ran towards the Brighthouse, but it ran outside of the building and then ran over the water to quickly ran towards some toy on a high spot. The blue blur started to slow down a little, revealing Sonic smiling while looking straight into the toy. Sonic then jumped, still a bit far from the toy, but once he was at the same height, he used his 'boost' to move faster in the air and then grabbed the toy to stomp back to the ground. The mare was looking at him with her jaws dropping, and Pipp felt her wings opening suddenly as she was blushing, but she quickly closed them and tried to think of another thing so the blush could go away. "Phew!" Sonic exclaimed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Here you go, little buddy," he said to an earth pony foal, looking at him with sparkling eyes and a smile. "Next time, try not to throw it off too high, okay?" "Thank you, Mr. Hedgehog!" the foal thanked, then ran away laughing with his toy. "You're welcome, kiddo. And please, call me Sonic!" he pled. "Ah, kids will be kids, I guess..." He then turned to look at his mare friends, but when he saw the dark circles under their eyes, he immediately felt bad for them. "Geez, girls. It seems like you couldn't sleep at all after what happened last night," he said, approaching them. "Yeah... Izzy kept snoring and mumbling loudly after she levitated my bedsheet as a ghost..." Pipp replied and then yawned. "And not only that... she's also using our stuff and messing up everything!" Zipp exclaimed. "We're trying to figure out what to do and how to face her without feeling awkward..." Sunny explained. "Well, if you ask me, I think you should just spill the beans on her face," Sonic suggested, but the mares blinked at him without understanding. "Could you elaborate a bit?" Zipp asked. Sonic just facepalmed and looked at them with a boring expression. "Go to the point, tell her the truth, don't hesitate, c'mon girls, it's not that difficult!" he exclaimed. "Look, just face Izzy and tell her what is bothering you about her. Being honest hasn't killed anyone as far as I know, and as cheerful as Izzy might be, I'm pretty sure she's also reasonable, so she'll understand. I found her trying to use my hair gel, but I told her that it would be good if she didn't take my stuff without asking, so she smiled at me and left... and yes, I use hair gel so my quills can get straight and not messy, leave me alone." "Yeah... But we could also hurt her feelings, Sonic," Sunny pointed out. "And I don’t want our friend to be crying if we tell her that. Ooh! I know! Let's ask Hitch; he'll know what to do!" she exclaimed with a smile as Zipp and Pipp looked at her bored. "Okay then, but I'm pretty sure he's gonna say the same thing to you," Sonic warned with a little smirk. "Anyways, gotta go now, see ya!" he exclaimed as he ran away quickly. Walking to the Sheriff's place, the three ponies walked inside as they opened the front door and saw Hitch on his desk, playing with his landline phone. But as he made a bad movement, the phone wires tangled Hitch around, and he saw his friends looking at him blankly. Hitch chuckled nervously, embarrassed that his friends had to see that, then twirled around. When he stopped spinning, he was a bit and fell to the ground with a thud from his dizziness. This caused Sunny, Pipp, and Zipp to gasp startlingly as they looked at Hitch, wondering if he was okay. A few minutes after Hitch recovered, the girls told him about their problem with Izzy. Hitch hung up the phone and gave the girls some advice. “Well, it sounds to me that Sonic's right. You just have to be honest with Izzy,” he said, agreeing to Sonic's idea of telling Izzy the truth. "As a pony of the law, I can tell you honesty is always the best policy!" he assured with a confident smile. "Hey!" a voice yelled out, and it turned to be a light blue earth pony named Rufus, who was wearing a jail hat and was in a cell. Hitch caught him doing something against the law earlier and put him in a cell until his short sentence was finished. "Keep it down, will ya? I'm tryin' to get some peace in here!" he yelled out, then turned his back against the others and faced the wall. "Hold on one second," Hitch told his friends with a smile. He knew what to do as he came to the cell with a teacup and gave it to Rufus. Rufus turned his head as he saw the teacup and smiled. "Aw, oh, this is lovely!" he said in a happy tone, then sipped some of the tea. "My favorite! Thanks, Hitch. Uh, sorry I bothered ya," he apologized for his outburst earlier. Hitch then smiled at his friends. "Of course, sometimes a thoughtful gift can work wonders," he winked at them. Sunny, Pipp, and Zipp all blinked at the same time twice before getting an idea for Izzy. "Ohh!" they all said in unison. Sunny presents a present to Izzy at the Crystal Brighthouse as the three mares smile at her. "You guys got me... a BOX!?" Izzy said in excitement as she grabbed the box and held it in her hooves. "I love it! Best gift ever!" she cheered as she held the box. "Uh, Izzy. The gift is inside the box...?" Zipp called out with a sheepish smile, seeing that Izzy didn’t know the gift was inside. "Oh...!" Izzy said as she started to laugh as she opened the box, but then stopped laughing as she looked at what was inside with a look. She looked through the box, finding a hairspray, a crossword book, and a toothbrush. "Your own stuff," Sunny announced. "So, you don't need to use ours anymore!" she added with a smile, as did the rest of her friends. Izzy then chuckled nervously, not sure what to say, but she saw where they were going with this. "'Cause... it was getting kinda annoying," Zipp added sheepishly to her with a smile. "Hey! Honesty is the best policy, right?" she asked Izzy from the motto Hitch told them earlier. Then, the four ponies stood in silence as Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp waited for Izzy to respond to what she thought about what they said and what they gave her. They stare at each other as the three mares sweat, thinking that their honesty and gift for Izzy didn’t work. Izzy then stared at them with a sad look for a few seconds until she returned to her cheerful look and smiled at them. "Oh! Well, in that case, I don't really like these presents!" she called out, placing the gifts back into the box and giving them back to Sunny. "Honesty!” Izzy cheered as she explained why she used all that. "I was just taking selfies of my breakfast like Pipp, doing my hair like Zipp, and scrubbing my ears like Sunny! I also tried to dye my hair like Sonic, but he told me not to without permission," she explained, which caused the mares to gasp, realizing that both Sonic and Hitch were right about being honest. "I've never lived with best friends before. I was just trying to fit in with you all," Izzy admitted. "Huh," both Zipp and Pipp said as they faced each other. "We should've been honest from the start!" Sunny said, then walked to Izzy and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Izzy, you don't need to try and fit in," she told her as Zipp and Pipp approached her. "You're already perfect as you are," Zipp pointed out, and the group comforted Izzy with a smile. Izzy looked at her friends with a loving smile as they reunited for a group hug without noticing that their Cutie Marks started to glow. "Whoof, great! 'Cause trying to fit in is…" Izzy said and then yawned in mid-sentence before continuing. So exhausting..." She then walked to the couch and lay on it. "I just need a…" She then went to sleep as she snored loudly. The three ponies looked at her while she slept, really annoyed because Izzy’s snoring was the main problem for their sleep. "We can work on that..." Sunny called out as Pipp face hoofed herself at Izzy’s annoying snoring. At the police station, Hitch let Rufus go since he had already served his short sentence. Now, he was just reading a few complaints from the mailbox. Suddenly, Sonic walked quickly through the front door and immediately closed it, leaning against it and looking at Hitch with a worried expression and a nervous smile. "Hey there, partner..." Sonic greeted the sheriff. "Can I talk to you? Man to man..." "Hello, Sonic," Hitch said, exiting his desk and approaching Sonic. "Of course!" "Great!" the hedgehog exclaimed, still with a nervous smile, while he locked the door of the police station and also closed the shutters. "Uh, why did you just...?" Hitch was going to ask, but Sonic cut him off. "First of all, SWEAR to me that not a word I say right here, right now, will leave this station," Sonic said with a serious expression, staring at Hitch. "I-I..." Hitch tried to reply. "SWEAR IT, TRAILBLAZER!" Sonic yelled, this time a bit more violent. "Ok, ok. I swear, calm down now," Hitch requested. "Okay…" Sonic said, starting to calm down a bit. "I'd like to clarify that I'm entrusting this to you because I highly doubt the girls can keep it a secret." "Really?" Hitch asked, confused. "Don't you think that's overkill? I know they could keep it as well as I can." "Izzy would tell immediately after I told her not to; Sunny is bad at lying, Zipp hates lying, and Pipp would livestream the entire conversation," Sonic explained with a bored expression. Hitch blinked a few times, with one helmet up and his mouth open, but he lowered his helmet as he could not contradict Sonic. "Okay, good point. So what do you want to tell me that's so secret that only I know about it?" the sheriff asked in a whisper. Sonic didn't answer, instead walking over to the sheriff's desk. He pulled out a small bag from his spikes, and Hitch looked at him even more confused. "Remember those Emeralds I talked about when we were heading to Bridlewood for the first time?" Sonic asked. "Uh, yeah. What were they called? Chaotic Emeralds? Disastrous Emeralds…" Hitch tried to remember. "Chaos Emeralds," Sonic corrected, with a hint of concern. "Ah yes, those. Yes, I remember. You said they could help you get back home. Why do you ask?" the sheriff questioned. "Well..." Sonic flipped the bag on the desk, and the 3 Emeralds he found a few days ago fell into it. Hitch's jaw dropped; for now, he understood why Sonic wanted to keep this conversation a secret. "But what...? How did you...? When did you...?!" Hitch asked endlessly. "The day before we decorated the Brighthouse, I went for a walk in a forest I've never been to, and I found them," Sonic answered, pacing the station. "But this... this is a good thing, isn't it?" Hitch asked, a little wistfully since he didn't want Sonic to leave, but at the same time, happy that he already had a way to get back home. "It means you can get your friends back home!" "I thought the same... but I can't go back..." Sonic confessed with a sad look. "What?!" Hitch exclaimed. "Why not?" "Because I already tried, but just like now, the Emeralds aren't shining like they usually do," the hedgehog explained. "When I touched and found them, they stopped glowing. I've tried to reactivate them again, but it doesn't work. And my new power managed to power them, but they almost went through the room, so using that isn't an option either..." "So, you can't go back yet…" Hitch deduced. "No… but it's funny because that's not what worries me the most…" Sonic revealed it now with an analytical look. "There are 7 Emeralds, and they were all together when the portal sucked me in, but I only found 3 of them, which means there are still 4 Chaos Emeralds out there that have probably also lost their power. I'm afraid they'll fall into the wrong hands, or hooves in this case, and be used to destroy this world..." Now, Hitch looked worried and considered what to say. But he then got an idea and looked at Sonic with confidence. "...I'll help you find them, Sonic," assured Hitch. "What?! No!" Sonic refused to accept help. "This is my problem, and you have enough taking over Maretime Bay, dude. This is my fight..." "Now it's mine too," assured Hitch again with a confident smile. "You confessed this to me, and I won't say anything. But helping someone in need is what a sheriff does, and I'll help you whether you want it or not." "...I don't want to cause you trouble, Hitch..." Sonic assured. "And you won't, but I'm not going to leave you alone in this either," Hitch said with a smile. Sonic smiled back and looked determinedly at the Emeralds on the desk. "Fine. So, until we figure this out, we won't tell anyone about the Emeralds…" he said firmly, and Hitch nodded in agreement. Now, the two had a mission: discover how to reactivate the Chaos Emeralds and find the location of the missing ones... THE END...? Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 5. Welcome to Mane MelodyIn Maretime Bay, ponies were walking into a salon. This salon was a white brick building with light pink trim and a dark gray roof. Its establishment's logo consists of two music notes, each shaped like the letter "M" in the front. A yellow earth pony named Posey Bloom came into the salon, where she saw Pipp on a stage at the end of the mall as she started to sing. Over time, Pipp opened up a salon run by her; since styling is more her thing and have a gift for styling, she wanted to share that gift by opening up her own business, and thanks to the help of her friends, she finally got the shop in her image, with a stage to walk for her singing talent to entertain the ponies coming in, so they can enjoy the song and get their styles as well. Clickity clack, who's that? It's your girl Pipp, styling with a brand new track Pipp sang as she flapped into the air, then flew to Posey. Setting up shop, got a brand new gig With colors that pop and a drip so big She then put Posey in a hairstyle machine and went to her friends for their style. Come in and get your hooves buffed, your mane puffed Everypony's getting their tail fluffed Pipp went to Sunny first and twirled her around, styling her mane with a ponytail on her head while Sunny sipped a drink and smiled at her new look. Pipp went to Sonic next and twirled the hedgehog around, styling him with a ponytail, which Sonic liked, and smiled at Pipp. She went next to Hitch and twirled him, giving him a mane cut and a mane style that his mane is combined to the side, as Hitch smiled at his new mane style. Dance to the beat, dance to the beat Who could ever sit still with a groove this sweet? Pipp then went to an empty seat. She suspected Zipp of sitting there for her mane style, but she wasn’t, so Pipp looked around for her. Behind the stage was Zipp, hiding from her sister. She didn't mind her sister running a business, but when it came to style and makeup, she would rather not. She liked her mane the way it was and couldn’t let her sister change it. So, she hid from her to protect her mane and tail from being changed. Zipp hid further into the stage as Pipp looked for her, wondering where she’d go. A place you can go Where you already know You can find your pony flow When you step through the door Putting aside finding Zipp for now, Pipp showed Izzy a mirror that somehow made selections of the main styles of her or anypony choosing. Izzy found it amazing and made a funny face for a little humor as Pipp searched through the sections to see what fit Izzy the most. When Izzy turned around, Pipp picked a section with her mane down and a crown with stars and hearts. Izzy loved that section, so Pipp twirled Izzy around, and she got said mane style, but since she got her head turned, the style covered Izzy’s whole face, but Izzy found it great. Izzy took out the homemade phone she made with her ‘Unicycling’ skills and picked all five stars to review Pipp's salon. Pipp, a pegasus named Rocky, and an earth pony named Jazz danced on stage as they sang to their customers. Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can't you see it? The ponies in the salons are getting their manes matched to their styles and giving Pipp's salon a five-star review as they all sing together. Woah-oh-oh, oh-oh, woah-oh-oh (Hey!) Woah-oh-oh, oh-oh, woah-oh-oh Sunny, Izzy, Hitch, and Sonic joined in the song as they sang, while Zipp kept trying to hide from her sister for trying to touch her mane. She failed to hide by holding a pillow covering her face since Pipp was approaching her. Zipp freaked out and ran away from her. Pipp saw her sister with a smile and tried to catch up with her, wanting to give her mane a new style. Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can't you see it? At Mane Melody (Hey!) At Mane Melody The ponies in the salon sang together as they showed the styles of their manes. Posey, with a new mane spike style, walked to the door after her new mane style was finished. She brought out her phone but gave a three-star review to the salon. Pipp heard the pop and saw the three review stars, shocking her as she never had three stars in a review of somepony before. "WHAT?!" she yelled out as she landed on the ground with a thump; she looked at Posey while the ponies around looked at her, then at Posey, who looked confused. Pipp tried to go with it as she corrected what she said. "What... a... L-" she gulps nervously as she continues. "Lovely review, heh. Thank you... so much, Posey," she finished with a creepy smile as she was about to explode. Posey looked at Pipp for a moment and smiled nervously, then opened the doors and jumped through them as the door shut. Pipp regained her composure as she calmed down, finding that review had nothing to worry about as she spoke out. "So, Who is ne-ext?" she sang and asked for the next pony to get styled. The doors then opened, revealing Phyllis Cloverleaf, Canterlogic's CEO and Sprout's mother. The ponies on the local gasped while looking at her. "I am," Phyllis said to Pipp in an intimidating voice. Phyllis then walked through the salon as various ponies whispered in fright, telling each other rumors of how Phyllis came to grand opening businesses to inspect them to see if they were great since she was a CEO. Now, she was at Mane Melody to see if Pipp's salon was okay or if it should get shut down. Pipp and Phyllis looked at each other as a tumbleweed of cut-up manes blew past them. Phyllis stared at Pipp like some Wild West showdown, while Pipp was scared and hoped she would get a good review from Phyllis. "So, you're the new stylist in town?" Phyllis asked as she adjusted her glasses. "That's me!" Pipp cheered with a smile. "Welcome to Mane Melod--," she tried to sing but was interrupted as Phyllis chuckled. "We'll see about that," Phyllis said to Pipp, smirking. Pipp gulped nervously, thinking that if Phyllis gave her a bad review, she'd lose her salon in a day. Phyllis then came to a salon seat and sat down, looking at the mirror as she put her phone down. Meanwhile, the rest of the Mane 5 looked worried at Phyllis, while Sonic scratched his head and looked at Phyllis with confusion. "Uh... Sunny?" he called out, "I'm gonna need some context here. Why is the ponyfied Karen acting like she's about to destroy Pipp's carrier with a review?" he asked seriously, since he hadn't met Phyllis at all, just looked at her agreeing with being friends with unicorns and pegasi, but that was all. "Because she IS going to do that if she doesn't like Pipp's work!" she whispered. "Phyllis has shut down five salons in one month because of how much she disliked them. And if she considers Pipp's styling horrible, it is the end of Mane Melody!" she exclaimed with worry. Sonic's neutral expression became worried now that he understood the bad situation. "Man, this sucks..." he said with worry. Pipp came next to Phyllis as she inspected her mane. "So…" she started with a nervous chuckle as she continued. "Um, what can I do for you?" she asked Phyllis. "Surprise me," Phyllis requested, which caused Pipp to freak out even more as Phyllis continued. "You know, this place used to be a restaurant until I reviewed it," she told Pipp, recalling when it used to be a restaurant before it became a salon. "Free all-you-can-eat pizza? Puh-lease!" she added in disbelief. "Uh... yeah," Pipp said nervously, but she was surprised that the salon used to be a pizza joint. She looked at Phyllis' phone, which had the review stars option, and she felt more nervous while turning on a haircut machine. "Before that, it was Fancy Filly Fashion Boutique, Painting Palomino's Pottery Café... oh, and a salon, actually." Phyllis listed the business she reviewed in the same building they are in now, which didn’t put Pipp's mind at ease. "Hair Today? More like Out of Business Tomorrow!" she laughed as Pipp brought the haircut machine and cut off part of Phyllis's mane. Pipp saw what she had done and gasped in shock, seeing that she had made a bald spot on the back of Phyllis' hair. She backed away, whimpering nervously, and then ran out to the door, with Sunny, Sonic, and Zipp seeing all of this. Zipp was about to follow after her, but first, she grabbed Sonic's hand with her hoof. "You are coming with me!" she whispered to him. "The what now?" Sonic asked, confused, but Zipp grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the building. On the other hand, Sunny grabbed two Kiwis from the beverages Jazz was passing on the cart. "Hey!" she called out, but Sunny didn’t listen since she wanted to distract Phyllis long enough for Pipp to return. Sunny splatted the kiwis into Phyllis’ glasses, blocking her vision. "Ugh!" Phyllis cried out in surprise at the Kiwis. "Oh, good, now there's food on my face," she groans, never having done that part of a salon before. "They're fruit!" Sunny corrected her as she laughed nervously, pretending it was part of the salon. "And very good for all those wrinkles!" she added, waving her hoof in a cheer. "Huh!?" Phyllis asked in shock, and Sunny realized what she said as she chuckled nervously, trying to buy enough time for Sonic and Zipp to find Pipp before things got worse. Zipp and Sonic were looking for Pipp, trying to find where she went, and they searched the front of the salon. They turned to the left side of the salon after hearing a distressed painting, then turned to the left again and saw Pipp hiding in an alleyway next to the salon. "Pipp! There you are," Zipp said, relieved that her sister didn’t go that far. "You have to come back inside!" "I can't!" Pipp cried out as her mane was a little messy, and she had a mental breakdown from her screw-up. "You saw what happened--I took a huge chunk out of her mane!" she sighed and continued. "Who's the style icon now?" she asked sarcastically, hitting her head against the wall. Zipp and Sonic looked at her with sadness and worry, but then Sonic sighed and smiled. "You are, princess," he said, surprising Zipp. He smiled and looked back at her sister. "Always have been, always will be," he finished. Pipp turned a little to face her sister and her crush, still feeling down. "So you shaved one bald spot... Big whoop!" Zipp exclaimed. See all that confidence and swagger?" she asked. Then she, Sonic, and Pipp turned around, and Zipp pointed out the crowd of the ponies Pipp had styled their manes from her salon. A unicorn pony then squeals in delight at the mane style, while the ponies around Maretime Bay admire Pipp’s work in style and love it. "You brought that to Maretime Bay!" Zipp added. "You did that," she cheered on Pipp's styling skills. "I did...?" Pipp questioned while still having her face on the wall. Then she looked at Posey, looking in the mirror to check her spiky mane style, and admired it. Posey was busy looking at her mane, but a Pegasus mare named Maverick came flying down. "Hey, nice new 'do, Posey!" she complimented, but Posey trotted away scared. Pipp smiled at seeing that her styling skills were great for every pony. "I did!" she cheered as she got her head off the wall. "Why, of course," Sonic said, pushing Pipp a little on her shoulder. "And I gotta say, I'm one of those people who hate when their hair is touched, but thanks to your wonderful work, I think I'm going to start touching up my style now and then, so don't be surprised if you see me around sometimes" he admitted, then winked at her and left back to Mane Melody, leaving Pipp behind with sparkling eyes and blush. But Zipp suddenly cleared her throat, and Pipp quickly focused on getting into her salon and working her magic. Sunny had been busy keeping Phyllis in the salon, using a brush and a hairdryer on her mane. However, since Sunny is not as stylish as Pipp, this resulted in her mane being all poofy. "Then there was the Museum of Unnatural Hoof-story, the twenty-four-hour tramponyline park, the Golden Tree of Knowledge…" Phyllis said, listing even more of the businesses she saw and shutting down from her reviews, not knowing that Sunny messed up her mane since she still had kiwis over her eyes. Behind her, Rocky and Jazz watched Sunny's job nervously and then looked at each other in fear. Sonic, who had entered back a few seconds ago, was standing next to them, and he was just as afraid as the ponies since he wasn't sure how Pipp would fix that mess. The door suddenly opened, and Pipp came in with a determined look, ready to finish what she started. The ponies and Hitch gasped at Pipp's return and determination. Sunny gasped and smiled at Pipp’s return, and the pegasus walked to where Sunny and Phyllis were. Zipp looked at her with a proud smile. Sunny laughed, glad Pipp was back. She stepped back to let Pipp take charge. The pegasus cracked her hooves and stretched, then grabbed the haircutter and hairdryer, ready to start. One, two, three, four Bring that tail right through the door Pipp then reclined Phyllis's seat and wet her mane with soap and water, washing it down to remove the poofiness. Five, six, seven, eight You're not leaving here 'til you feel great Pipp brought more tools as she ruffled Phyllis’s mane in determination, styling the CEO’s mane with four tools simultaneously. Shine bright, sparkling glow Flick that mane with a flow like woah She bit down the mane, straightened it out with the straightening iron, and cut a piece of loose hair sticking out. Vibe... you're on it You're a brand new pony so flaunt it Hey Pipp smiled at her progress, then continued to brush, comb, blow, and straighten until she covered Phyllis' mane and got the hair dryer blowout machine on top of her. Pipp twirled Phyllis around and did some style as the ponies in the shop gasped at Pipp’s amazing work. Zipp smiled at her sister’s inspiration as she looked into the mirror, thinking she should get Pipp to do her mane. She started to like the idea once Sonic confessed that he usually doesn't like to change his hairstyle, yet he tried it out and liked it. Pipp then removed the kiwis from Phyllis' eyes, and the CEO looked at her reflection as she tried to process how she looked. "It's... it's...!" she tried to find the right words. Sunny was biting her hoof nervously, and then Jazz came to Sunny's side, filing her hoof that she had been biting earlier, as she was also nervous. "It's... exactly the same…" Phyllis pointed out as Pipp brought her mane back to how it was before it was messed up. Phyllis looked carefully at the mirror, then brought out her phone for the review stars, thinking over her mane style. At the same time, everypony and Sonic were nervous, san Pipp and Izzy because Pipp was smirking, and Izzy couldn’t see anything with her mane blocking her sight. "Just the way I like it," Phyllis announced, then pressed the five-star review, making Pipp's business good. Phyllis walked out the door, her bald spot covered with curls. She flipped her mane, but the curls behind her head fell, revealing the bald spot. The rest gasped in fright, hoping that Phyllis wouldn’t notice it. But to their relief, Phyllis walked out the door as it closed. The whole salon cheered and shouted in victory over Pipp’s success since she got all the perfect reviews she needed for her salon to keep running. Sunny, Sonic, and Zipp came to Pipp’s sides. "That was amazing, Pipp! I knew you could do it!" Sunny congratulated. "Way to go, Little Pipp!" Sonic said jokingly, smirking at her. "That was a show to remember for sure!" Pipp sighed in relief and smiled. "Thanks for covering for me, Sunny. Thanks for giving me some motivation, Sonic. And thanks for always being there for me, Zipp. You're the best sister ever--" she was saying, but then gasped as her eyes sparkled at seeing Zipp sitting in a salon chair with a smile. Pipp came straight to her sister’s side in disbelief. "Really? You never let me style your mane!" she cheered, still unbelieving that her sister was not hiding this time. "Mmh," Zipp said with a smirk, letting her sister style her mane for once. Pipp inhales in excitement. "Oh, my pony!" She called out, then brought Zipp to a mirror to see which option she would style her sister’s mane. "I always thought you'd look amazing with a pony perm, or like, okay, a manehawk or maybe in a different color!" She selects the options of mane styles for Zipp, who cringes at the sight of them, having second thoughts about this. "Okay, okay. How do you feel about bangs?" Pipp suggested to Zipp, which caused her to regret letting Pipp style her mane. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 7. Foal Me OnceIt was another sunny day in Maretime Bay. The ponies were doing business when suddenly, a pony galloped past them at high speed, surprising them. This pony turned out to be Hitch as he trotted across town, smirking while wearing sunglasses. Four ponies were chatting to each other, but when they saw Hitch trotting to them at high speed, they moved out of the way. Fifi, carrying her fruit cart, saw Hitch approaching her and gasped in fright, thinking that Hitch would crash into her. But Hitch jumped over Fifi, who was ducking for cover, and the ponies around him gasped in amazement. Fifi stopped covering her head as she saw Hitch galloping away. Hitch then skidded his hooves to a stop as he approached an earth pony mare in front of her flower stand. "What seems to be the problem, neighbor?" he asked the mare with a smile. The earth pony mare pointed to a spilled trash can next to the stand, and Hitch gasped in shock at that sight because if there's one thing Hitch hates besides ponies breaking the law, it is litter in the streets. Hitch took a picture of the spilled trash can, drew a circle around it with some chalk, used a cotton swab to get a sample of the trash, and put it in a tube for evidence. Then he took out his measuring tape to check the size as he got back up to the mare with a smile. "I'll get to the bottom of this," he assured the mare, but suddenly, a bunnycorn jumped up and down, trying to get Hitch's attention. Hitch looked down and found two other bunnycorns holding a sandwich to him. "Not now, bunnycorns!" he told the bunnycorns since he didn't have time to eat right now. "The only thing I'm hungry for... is justice!" he said in a cool tone, then galloped away from the earth pony mare and the bunnycorns. The bunnycorns sigh in disappointment that Hitch won't even take a lunch break because he is so attached to his job as sheriff of Maretime Bay that he would do nothing but get the job done. In the end, one of the bunnycorns chomped the sandwich, so at least it won't get to waste. Hitch galloped back to the station to solve the case of somepony that had made that litter from the trash can. But once he entered the station, he saw all five landline phones ringing off the hook on his desk. He came up to the desk and answered one of the phones. "Sheriff's station. You got Hitch!" he answered with a smile. "Hitch, all the fruit. It's gone!" Sunny called out on worry. "What?" Hitch asked in shock, but he didn't get an answer as another phone rang. "Hang on, Sunny," he told her as he picked up the other phone. "This is Hitch!" "They're gone… All gone!" a pony stallion answered, leaving Hitch confused. "What's gone? Are you there?" Hitch asked over the phone, but another phone rang, so he hung up the two phones and picked up the third one. "Hitch here!" "Are you listening? Hanging on the wall, the picture was right here…" Posey called out that a picture was missing, and Hitch had a feeling that it must be from the Maretime Bay museum. Hitch cringed, getting overwhelmed, and another phone started ringing. "Yikes! Be right with you!" se said to Posey, then hung up and picked up the fourth phone. "Hello?" he asked but only heard sobbing from a pony stallion. And then, the ringing intensified as the other phones started ringing simultaneously. Hitch tried to answer them by juggling the phones around all at once, but he only got himself tangled in the landline phone wires. And then the left door opened as Zipp poked her head out. "Hitch! Is this a good time?" Then, the other door opened completely as Sonic stepped in. "I was going to ask the same..." he said while looking at Zipp. But once they turned to see Hitch, they saw him tangled up in the phone wires as he tried to keep his balance. "...Maybe we did come in a bad moment," Sonic said as he smirked a little. "Yeah, because you seem to be a little... tied up," Zipp said in a pun as she tried to stifle her laughter, but Sonic did laugh up loud. They both came close to Hitch. "You really should find a new deputy," she told Hitch since Sprout was fired because of some of his actions. Hitch grunted while trying to get the phone's wires off him. "I've got this under control, guys," he grunted as he pulled the wires off him. He fell to the ground and then got up. "Anyway, I work alone," he said with a narrow, determined look as Sonic and Zipp looked at him. "There's only one perfectly groomed sheriff capable of handling it all: Me!" he said with a smirk and sunglasses on. "Crime waits for nopony!" he yelled, then ran towards the door. Zipp rolled his eyes with a smile, and Sonic facepalmed in frustration. "Guess he'll learn the hard way, then..." Sonic said, then smirked a little. Hitch opened the door, ready to roll, but in front of him were his animal critters, who chirped in cheer to Hitch. However, he didn't notice and galloped away, leaving the critters a little sad. At the Maretime Bay Museum, Hitch was investigating the case of the missing painting, which happened to be the Pony Lisa. Things have gone missing from all over town I've gotta inspect, gotta write things down With a beret hat on her head, Posey pointed out to the missing Lisa as she freaked out. Hitch looked around at the rest of the paintings, looking for clues while taking out his magnifying glass to see if the thief had left a hoofprint or a clue. A little while later, Hitch was outside writing down what he had learned in his journal about the missing painting, a picture of a fruit smoothie, sunglasses, a horseshoe, and some lines drawn to connect the dots of the missing things. Hitch is closing in with his well-groomed face Hitch turned around and looked at Sunny with a worried face. He stopped at Sunny's fruit stand as she showed him an empty fruit box, as somepony must've stolen them. Just a few more steps and we will close this case Hitch inspected the box and sniffed for a scent. He then looked closer and found something, so he grabbed it. It appeared to be a green piece of fer in the box. Time to catch this devious colt or mare. Hitch then headed to the glasses stand to find that the stallion who owned it had revealed all his glasses were gone. The stallion was breaking down, and Hitch wrote down what he was saying. A mastermind is behind this. But who, and where? Hitch wondered who had been stealing these things lately and where they were now. Back at the police station, Hitch was putting together a mystery chart of everything stolen from the ponies he had seen while connecting red strings to find out the source. "Hitch knew this was the work of a genius criminal mastermind," Hitch said in the third person. "But somehow, someway, he would connect the dots," he said as a red string came off from the top of the Pony Lisa. "Uh... strings," he corrected himself, putting the string back in place. But suddenly, he began to cough as he touched his throat. "I'd arrest somepony for a super citrus smoothie right now," he said, since his throat was dry and coughed again. Suddenly, he heard a thunk and turned his head to find a smoothie on his desk. "Woah. That's convenient!" he said, surprised and smiling. "I don't remember picking this up," he added as he took the smoothie and slurped some of it. "Strange... Delicious! But strange..." he said with sparkly eyes, looking suspiciously at the smoothie, wondering where it came from. The next morning, Hitch yawned and got up, his mane having a bedhead. "Look out, crime! Hitch is coming for ya!" he cheered, getting the blanket off him and getting out of bed. Hitch came to his closet to prepare for the day, but as he opened it, a mountain of stuff fell over him. Hitch got his head out of the pile. He looked at it and gasped in shock at what he was seeing. "Smoothie cups?" he saw the smoothies that were either spilled or emptied, and he began to worry; "Sunglasses?" he saw the pile of glasses on the ground as he freaked out. "The missing painting?!" he cried out as he saw the Pony Lisa on the ground and then gasped. "Am I the criminal mastermind?" he asked himself as he thought he was the one who stole those things. Later, Zipp came to the station along with Sonic to check on how Hitch was progressing. "Hey, Hitch! We came to--" Zipp said but then stopped because she realized that Hitch wasn't at his desk. "Uh... Where did he go?" Sonic wondered, but then he heard a harmonica playing. Sonic and Zipp turned to the cell to find Hitch looking up inside, playing the harmonica. "This is... unusual," Sonic said in confusion. "Uh... Whatcha doing in there, buddy?" Zipp said with a confused expression and smile, wondering why Hitch locked himself in the cell. "I'm all washed up, guys," Hitch cried in despair as he took out the keys and gave them to Sonic and Zipp. "Here. Take the keys! Find a new sheriff!" he cried out as Zipp picked up the keys, and she and Sonic looked at him in confusion. "Dude, what the hell is going on?" Sonic asked, not getting why Hitch locked himself just like that. "Something caused Hitch to snap," Hitch answered in the third person, then pointed to the mystery board as Sonic and Zipp walked. "He had gone down a dark road..." he added, still thinking he may be stealing things in Maretime Bay. Zipp and Sonic looked at the board, examining the things Hitch investigated. Sonic was initially confused, but Zipp found a connection between the dots. "Um, Hitch? These are all your favorite things." Sonic looked at them again and gasped. "Hey, it's true. These are everything you like, dude," Sonic also pointed out. "This smells like a set-up. And…" Zipp stopped in the midsection as she sniffed the air. "Super citrus smoothie?" she asked in confusion, as Sonic started to smell as well, wondering where it came from. They got their answer when they heard slurping and turned to see Hitch slurping the smoothie he had brought. Hitch stopped slurping when he realized what he was doing and screamed in panic while throwing the smoothie away. The smoothie was going to hit Zipp, but Sonic was trapped in time and started to look it around with suspicion. Hitch whimpered in shock, then looked at Sonic with the smoothie and then at Zipp, who looked at him bored. "Uhh, you might be onto something..." Hitch said, regaining his composure. He tried to get out of the cell but forgot it was locked, so he tried to push it open with a grunt. Hitch started panting, then remembered that he had given the keys to Sonic and Zipp, and he turned to them with a sheepish smile. "Um... Guys? A little help?" he asked them. Zipp swings the keys around on her hoof as she and Sonic smirk at Hitch. "Oh, so you do need help?" she asks teasingly. "You're right, Zipp," Hitch said with a smile. "Maybe I do need a new deputy." "So you finally recognized, huh," Sonic said with a smile. "Better later than never, as they say. Now, maybe you should go make some justice, Hitch." "Good idea," Zipp agreed, then tossed the keys to Hitch. "Now go get 'em, sheriff!" she called out as Hitch caught the keys and gave a determined smile while putting on his sunglasses, ready to solve this case. A little while later, Hitch's office was dark until said earth pony turned the lamp on. Hitch was wearing sunglasses and paced back and forth. "You had me running all over town..." Hitch said in a tough tone. But now we've finally got you," Hitch finished as he slammed his hooves on his desk. It turns out that he was talking to a bunnycorn, but not just to him, Hitch turned the lights back on, and all the other animals that Hitch wasn't paying attention to where there too. "What do you have to say for yourselves?" Hitch asked sternly, but then a bunnycorn peeped as it gave him a smoothie. "Wait. Did you steal those things for me?" he asked the critters as they giggled, answering 'yes,' they did steal those for Hitch. "Well, I'm flattered, but you can't go around taking things. You've broken a dozen laws, not to mention health code violations…" he pointed out to the critters as they looked down in guilt. "Go return everything!" he lectured to them as the critters nodded in agreement and smiled a little. Posey was looking at the art at the museum as the creatures put Pony Lisa back in her place. Posey heard something behind and glanced sideways but found nothing as the creatures hid. When he looked back from him to the front, the creatures turned to right Pony Lisa and turned away again. Posey looked back again, fully this time, and smiled sparkling when he saw Pony Lisa had returned. At Sunny's fruit stand, Sunny looked around with a down expression, still sad that her smoothie supplies were missing. Then, the critters skated through the stand in Sunny's roller skates and put the smoothie supplies back on Sunny's roller skates before Sunny noticed them. Sunny turned around and smiled as she saw the smoothie supplies and her roller skates were back, but then she noticed the raccoons, which stopped when she saw them and started to whistle while walking away. The critters then put all the glasses back on the stand while the stallion was asleep, but not before a bunnycorn looked into the mirror, admiring himself, and flew away before the earth pony stallion woke up. Back at the police station, the animals cheered Hitch as the sheriff stood smiling in the middle of the critters. "I'm sorry for ignoring you," Hitch apologized to the critters as they shared a group. "But... you did the crime, and now you gotta do the time!" he said to them as he took them all for a snapshot. The critters gasped at this while the camera clicked with their ID numbers in front of them as they had guilty looks. After locking up the critters in little cages, Hitch sighed in relief that this case was closed. However, the door opened, and Sonic poked his head. "Hey buddy, did you finish the case?" he asked with a smile and curiosity. "Yep!" Hitch assured with a smile. "And I looked the thieves already!" he pointed to the critters in the little cages. Sonic looked at them, a little confused. "Okay... so... If you finished, can we talk about it now..." Sonic looked around. He first locked up the door, then pushed down the shutters. He got close to Hitch, looking at his surroundings once again. "The thing?" he whispered to his ear. At first, Hitch was confused by Sonic's attitude, but once he mentioned the thing, he gasped and then nodded to the hedgehog. Hitch walked over the board and turned it around to reveal another mystery chard with pictures and strings, this time about the Chaos Emeralds and how they're not working properly. "Okay, so what's happened now?" Hitch asked, looking at Sonic. "I tried to activate the Emeralds with my electrical powers as I had been doing the past 3 months since I found them, but... this time, I didn't stop. Hitch, I... I made them glow until the very end..." Sonic confessed. "What?!" Hitch yelled in surprise. "And then what happened?!" "I thought they were going to throw some light ray and destroy the walls or the ceiling, but instead... they brought a paper out of nowhere and drew a map," Sonic explained, as he both remembered what happened when he activated the Emeralds without cancel his powers this time and took out the map. He opened the map on Hitch's desk, and the two male creatures examined it. It was an Equestrian map showing the three cities they knew already—Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, and Bridlewood—and the distance between them. However, there was another location that neither Sonic nor Hitch had seen or heard of before: a dark purple castle that seemed to be hidden somewhere, far away from Maretime Bay. "Opaline's Castle?" In confusion, Hitch said, "I've never heard about that place..." "Me neither," Sonic added, just as confused as Hitch. "Why would the Emeralds give me a map with a place I've never seen before?" he questioned with concern. "And not only that, but it appears that there's somepony called 'Opaline' as well," Hitch pointed out since the castle didn't have a proper name. "This is suspicious, Sonic..." "Oh, but it doesn't end there, Hitch," Sonic revealed. Hitch looked at him surprised and frowned a little as he let Sonic continue. "I tried to make them glow again, but it didn't happen... not even with my electrical powers," he explained. "Oh boy!" Hitch exclaimed. "Then that changed our theories a little. We thought the Emeralds were not working because they were not in their dimension. "He explained as he started to change some dots on the board and added a new one with the map. "But now that the Emeralds don't react to my new powers, we know that it has nothing to do with the new dimension they are on...." Sonic continued. "Then... maybe they are recharging?" Hitch suggested, but Sonic looked at him a little confused. "Think about it: they only worked when you used your powers, but once you let them glow completely and made the map, they stopped working again, right?" "Yes..." Sonic nodded and then realized where Hitch was going. "Wait a minute! You're right! Maybe they were trying to recharge, but I just speeded the process! And once they were fully recharged and made the map..." Sonic started to theorize. "They went out of energy, and now they're recharging properly!" Hitch finished with a smile. Sonic nodded in agreement, smiling as well. "Okay, now that we know why the Emeralds aren't working, maybe the next step should be finding out where Opaline's Castle is and why the Emeralds want me to go there," he stated, as Hitch nodded in agreement. They looked back at the map, but Hitch focused on one of its corners and saw something. "Wait a second... What is this?" he asked as he pointed out the corner. Sonic decided to take a look and then gasped. "It's a drawing of the 7 Chaos Emeralds!" Sonic stated. But... they're separated in three rows," he also said, seeing one row with his three Emeralds and the other two rows with two Emeralds each. "'Sonic's Emeralds,' 'Opaline's Emeralds,' and 'Remaining Emeralds, '" Hitch read. "Wait, this Opaline has two Emeralds?" he asked in confusion. "This is bad... this is very bad..." Sonic said with a worried look. "This Opaline sounds bad, and I mean a villain, Hitch. If they have two Chaos Emeralds and find a way to activate them, we'll have big trouble..." "Then let's start investigating this, Opaline," Hitch suggested with a determinate look and a smile, as Sonic put the same expression and smiled back. "Also, you should be looking for your surroundings more carefully from now on. If we can find the other Emeralds before this Opaline, or somepony else, we'll have a huge advantage," he stated. "Right!" Sonic cheered with a big smile. Give me a high hoof, sheriff!" he said, raising his hand and walking with Hitch. We'll get to the button of this, no matter how much we have to work..." he assured with confidence. THE END...? Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 8. Clip TrotPipp was in front of the Crystal Brighthouse, looking at her phone. In the background, a video of bunnies wearing glasses and hats was playing in sync with the song's rhythm. Bunny, bunny Do the bunny-unny-unny Bunny, bunny Do the bunny-unny-unny Kick up your paws and slide to the right Shake your tail, now, side to side Do a little zip and bring it up quick Hop around and let's see you twist... Pipp gasped at the video and squealed. "Ponies!" she called out to her friends, wanting to show them what she just found. Meanwhile, inside the Brighthouse, Sonic was considering applying for a job he could apply for to earn some money and compensate his friends since he was living for free. Sunny, Izzy, Hitch, and Zipp were trying to help, although Sunny was trying to change his mind more. "Sonic, it's okay," Sunny assured again, thinking Sonic was in a little. You don't have to pay us anything, really," she said as the rest nodded in agreement. "I do. Even if I'm not from this dimension, that doesn't mean I have to leave for free and have my life here granted. I need to earn my money the right way," Sonic stated, not thinking about changing his mind. "Besides, the fact that I'm from Equestria isn't an excuse for me to not have my own money." "Well, if you're interested in the job, I'm still looking for a new deputy," Hitch suggested. "You just have to do the same thing I do, except for some specific ones, of course." "I usually wouldn't mind, but I don't think you'll accept 'Gotta go fast' as a medical condition," Sonic joked around, getting laughs from the others. "But seriously talking, technically, you still would be paying me your own money, even if it's in different circumstances," he pointed out. Before the conversation could continue, Pipp opened the door with an exciting look. "Have you seen this Clip Trot? It. Is. So.Awe-some!" She sang the last word and showed her friends the video of bunny hip hop. Her friends looked surprised at the video, clearly never seen it before. Pipp looked at them and found it weird that they didn't know about the clip. "It's the Hip Hop Bunny Bop? The new dance craze? It's only got, like, a million hoof taps," she pointed out with a smirk. "A million hoof taps?" Izzy questioned with a smile, "Surely you only need four!" she called out, clearly not getting what hoof taps mean, then she started to scat and hoove tapping on the floor with a little dance.. She saw her friends looking at her weirdly since that was a little weird to see. Izzy then chuckled awkwardly, feeling a little embarrassed. "Okay, you're a tough crowd..." she said to them, saving herself from embarrassment when her friends stared at her. Pipp then came to Izzy with sparkling eyes. "We have to try it!" she said as she squealed. My pippsqueaks will be expecting it!" She placed her phone on a phone holder and tapped the record button. "Aaand five, six, seven, eight," she announced to her friends to get ready to show their skills in front of the phone. Sunny smiled at her friends, convinced to try out Pipp’s idea. "Just listen to the beat, feel the rhythm, and... most importantly, be yourself!" Sunny advised her friends as she got in front of the camera and danced while the Bunny Hip Hop song started to play. She danced a bit and then hopped away, while Izzy walked backward and laughed while dancing around with an added spin and waved her hooves; then she moved backward with a smile, waving at Zipp to come into the camera’s view. Zipp poked her head and then danced and flopped to the floor as she shook her head, made a backflip as she struck the landing, and walked backward. Sonic made Michael Jackson's moonwalk, stopped in front of the camera, break danced, and then made a backflip to get out of sight. "C'mon, sheriff!" Sonic cheered up, and Hitch came into view of the camera and danced. Hitch laughed and jumped a little, "Hitch has got it, uh-huh!" he cheered as he danced. Izzy laughs as she and the rest of her friends, san Pipp, free dance as they listen to the rhythm. Pipp, however, did not like what they were doing. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. "Cut! Stop. Stop it," she called out, but while the others stopped, Zipp continued to dance. Zipp hummed as she still danced, getting really into it. She then flew and flew around, ending her dancing with a twirl in the air and landing back into the ground as her friends watched her in awe. "Yeah!" she cheered, "Upload that!" she called out to her sister, wanting to post that video with her moves. "Way to go, Zippster!" Sonic said with a smile as he nicknamed Zipp like that, and surprisingly, she didn't get mad because she fist-bumped the hedgehog. "I can not upload THAT!" Pipp protested. "That was nothing like the bunnies! Watch. It goes like this," Pipp added. Then she got in front of the group and put on her glasses as she danced to the music. Time to get fluffy I said it's time to get fluffy Here we go now Here we go Bunny, bunny Do the bunny-unny-unny Bunny, bunny Do the bunny-unny-unny... Pipp then danced to the same moves the bunnies did in the video with effort grunts, which was a little way the least. Her friends looked at her weirdly and were a little disturbed by her trying to dance the bunny dance. But Sonic found it cute, although he wouldn't say it like that. "Oh! Uh, is that the time?" Zipp said suddenly, trying to find a way out of Pipp’s weird bunny dance. "Gotta do that thing I was telling you about. Sunny, you remember? That thing?" she winked at Sunny as she chuckled and ran off. Seeing where Zipp is going with this, Sunny decided to play along. "Uh... Uh, yeah! That... thing! Wasn't I supposed to help you?" she acted as well, then ran after Zipp. "Me too!" Hitch called out as he ran after the two mares, leaving Sonic and Izzy with Pipp. Pipp then stopped dancing as she took her glasses off. She looked at her two remaining friends, seeing that the rest were gone, as Izzy and Sonic looked at each other. "Aaand yeah, I can't think of an excuse. Gotta go!" Izzy called out as she ran out of the house, leaving Sonic behind. "Man, I never saw them running that quick before, and the fastest thing alive tells you!" Sonic chuckled a bit. Pipp looked down, disappointed, upset that her friends left her while she danced. Sonic noticed her sad look and felt bad for her, so he smiled. He was the only one there, so his duty was to cheer her up. "Hey, Pipp, look at me," he pled to her as she faced him while blushing a little. "I'm sorry the rest ran off like that. It's just that we think the bunnies are the only critters that can make that dance look good and adorable," he tried to explain. "Although I have to say, you did make it kinda cute," he whispered in her ear. This made Pipp blush and nervously laugh as she tried to speak clearly. "T-Thanks, Sonic..." she said clearly at last. "Anytime, Pipp," he said with a smile, then started to walk towards the door. "Now, I'm going to take a little walk to find a job since I'm serious when I say I'm not staying for free. Wanna come with me?" he asked her while stopping at the door, thinking that maybe a walk could make her feel better. "You can distract your mind as well," he pointed out. Pipp smiled at him and nodded after thinking about it for a while. "I would love to," she said, still blushing. Pipp and Sonic walked through Maretime Bay. Pipp tried not to think about the video while Sonic listed a few jobs he was interested in on his phone and started to look for one that would fit him. "Let's see... I could be a mailman... although no one writes letters that often anymore, so it would be a lost cause," Sonic said to himself, as he marked with an 'X' the 'Mailman' option in the list. "Maybe a Pizza delivery guy? No, my sonic speed would leave the pizzas made a mess," he was concerned, as he also marked an 'X' on the 'Pizza delivery guy' option. "Maybe I should accept Hitch's offer to be his deputy... then again, he technically will be paying me his own money, even if is for a good job. Say, Pipp, don't you need any help with Mane Melody? Besides Jazz and Rocky, I mean," Sonic asked the pegasus. "Hm?" Pipp said while looking at him in a bad mood. "Uh, no. We're good, Sonic. Don't worry," she assured, a little down. Sonic noticed that but decided to let her get lost in her thoughts. Soon, they were walking next to the Mane Melody, and Pipp gasped when she saw a familiar pony coming out. Jazz was coming out of the salon, ending her daily job for the day, then she turned and saw Sonic and Pipp there. "Hey, Jazzy-babe, loving that hooficure!" Pipp said to Jazz with a cheerful tone. "Cu-ute!" she said in admiring Jazz’s hooves. Sonic took a look and nodded in agreement with a smile, then returned his sigh to his phone. "Oh, wow, thanks!” Jazz replied with a smile. "I just--" she tried to say but was cut off by Pipp. "So, I could use your help on some like, amazing content," Pipp asked for a favor as she blinked with sparkles in her eyes and gave Jazz the phone. Sonic automatically moved to Jazz's side, still looking at his phone for a job. "And five, six, seven, eight!" Pipp cheered and began to dance as she sang the song while Jazz looked at Pipp strangely. Come on, ponies Show me what you got I said show me what you got Here we go now Here we go! As Pipp was dancing, Jazz looked at her with a cringe. Sonic looked for a second at Pipp, then returned to his phone. He immediately looked back at Pipp in disbelief, just putting an amused face on how Pipp was still trying to do that dance. Yeah! Uh-uh-uh-oh-ooh! Who needs those ponies? Not me. I'll just do it myseeelf! Pipp then panted a little while Sonic facepalmed in frustration. The point of the walk was to make her forget the thing, but it didn't work. Pipp turned to Jazz and Sonic to find out how she did it. "What do you think, guys?" she asked them to judge. Sonic looked at her with a bored expression. "Am I telling you the truth, or are we still friends?" he asked sarcastically as Jazz pushed him hard on the shoulder and then spoke herself. "Ah, I mean... It's... great," Jazz said while trying to think of the right words. "But…" she tried to explain, but she was interrupted when Posey came out of nowhere. "That's so last week," Posey said, answering for Jazz while she smirked at Pipp in amusement. Sonic rolled his eyes since he already knew Posey was like that, and Pipp looked at her in confusion. "Elaborate, Posey," Sonic asked with annoyance. "What?" Posey replied as she laughed at the pegasus and the hedgehog. "Have you two been living in a cave?" she asked rudely as Jazz flinched at Posey’s comment. After hearing the cave part, Sonic and Pipp looked at each other and started having flashbacks from last week. A week ago, the Mane 5 and Sonic decided to go on a camping trip. Hitch suggested taking a break from all of the technology and took his friends camping in the woods. But as bad luck has it, it was raining where they set up their camp. So they refuged in a cave, and they were all soaked and wet from the rain outside and stood close to the fire for warmth while both Izzy and Sonic covered themselves with a blanket, as the four girls and Sonic glared at Hitch for getting them lost in the forest while trying to get back home. "We're not lost!" Hitch said, trying to stay optimistic as he came up with the right words. "We're just... slowing down. Living life unplugged!" he stated with a smile. "You should be glad those aren't my thunders, Trailblazer!" Sonic yelled out in anger as electricity came out of his body. Pipp then tried to use her phone to see her stats and if anything new popped up but only received beeps, and she taped her phone repeatedly in frustration. "No canternet?" she groaned as this would be a long day without her phone. Pipp shook her head to get out of the flashback, now knowing why she didn’t know of the Hip Hop Bunny video earlier, while Sonic just looked with a concerned expression. "Uh... kinda?" he answered Posey's question. "So, no one does the Hip Hop Bunny Bop anymore?" Pipp questioned in shock, realizing the Hip Hop Bunny Bop was outdated. Posey chuckled at Pipp’s realization. "Nope," Posey answered. "We're waiting for the next big thing," she added with a wave of her hoof. And then Pipp smirked, coming up with an idea. "The next big thing, huh? Hmm…" she said, putting a hoof on her chin. Pipp then grabbed her phone from Jazz and pressed it, editing some videos into what she thought would be 'the next big thing.' Both Jazz and Sonic looked carefully at Pipp’s editing and smiled. "Hmm. That really is gonna be the next big thing. Explode it!" she said with a smirk as she raised her hoof to Pipp and made a hoof bump. "Aaand upload!" she said. as she uploaded the edited video to the web. Do a little dip and bring it up quick Trot to it now, let me see you twist Look at you glow, look at you shine Show me that spark, everypony, unite... The video showed Pipp's friends dancing in front of a four-way split mirror with stars in the background. Rocky, Jazz, and Posey looked at the video with smiles. "Now that is fire!" Rocky commented to the other two ponies. "Hooftap!" the three ponies said in unison as they liked the video. It's the pony hip hop! The gardener earth pony poured water on her flowers as she hoof-tapped the video. She danced to the music but didn't notice McSnips growling because she was wetting him. Do the pony-ony-ony Pony pony Do the pony-ony-ony Everypony, everywhere In Bridlewood, Alphabittle was tapping his hoof while bobbing his head and dancing to the song's beat. He twirled around with a smile, then hoof-tapped the video. Trot to the beat, you can feel it in the air Pony pony And then, in a cave or so, two magical creatures that looked like raccoons somehow had a phone with them in their magic as they bobbed their heads to the music, loving it. Do the pony-ony-ony Pony pony Do the pony-ony-ony… In Zephyr Heights, Queen Haven and her fellow ponies watched the video on the big screens as they bobbed their heads to the music. "Hooftap!" Haven cheered with sparkles and a smile as she backflipped while a random pegasus mare approached the screen. "Hooftap!" the pegasus mare cheered as she somehow hooftaped the screen. Back in Maretime Bay, the Mane 5 and Sonic looked at the video with smiles of joy. "We. Look. Amazing!" Izzy cheered out with a smile. "I've never seen so many hoof taps!" Sunny said with surprise. "I bet everypony in Equestria has seen this!" she added as the group smiled at the thought. "Hey, pippsqueaks!" a filly voice spoke out loud as the Mane 5 and Sonic turned and saw three fillies, each of a different tribe. "You be Sunny, you be Izzy, and will be Pi-i-i-i-ipp." she said as she sang Pipp’s name. Pipp smiled at her pippsqueaks as she spoke to them while the fillies giggled. "Or... How about you just be yourselves?" she said to the fillies, then gave a wink to Sunny, who smiled proudly at Pipp and winked back. The fillies smiled a bit as they began to dance in their way. "Yeah-hah! That's it! You got it!" Pipp cheered to the fillies as she laughed, and her friends smiled, except for Sonic, who was once again on his phone, looking for a job, and Izzy, who started beatboxing, scatting, and dancing. "Is anypony getting this?" Izzy asked her friends as she continued to dance. "Because I'm an icon!" she cheered as she bobbed her head up and down, twirled around, and then jumped up and down. The rest of the Mane 5 smiled at Izzy’s cheerful side and laughed a little. Then Hitch looked at Sonic and walked towards him. "So, who's the job searching going?" he asked curiously. "Well, I just have one option left," Sonic confessed as he showed his phone to Hitch, and the others came closer to look as well. The remaining option was a job that required controlling the pegasi guards' speed since now they could fly better thanks to the students who said that Zipp was tough to fly. "I thought that it was far away, but then I remembered my sonic speed, so problem solved!" he stated, returning his phone to his sight. "Wait, how did you know about the pegasi guards thing?" Zipp asked with suspicion. "Your mom told me when I reunited with her and Alphabittle last week at the Crystal Tearoom," Sonic said calmly, looking at his phone. Looking back at his friends, he found surprised expressions on Sunny, Izzy, and Hitch but shocked ones on Zipp and Pipp. "I like tea, okay? I go there sometimes when Queen Haven has some free time," Sonic said with a bored face. "And I'm just bonding with those two; they'll be nice once you know them better. Besides, I needed to look for some jobs out of town in case none of the ones here convinced me. But those things aside, I didn't do anything bad," he explained to his friends as they came up with neutral expressions again. "...So, when are you starting?" Sunny asked with a nervous smile after a few minutes of awkward silence. "I'll have to check on Queen Haven to see my schedule," Sonic replied, then put his phone on his quills. "But I'll do that later; I think I'm just gonna 'stretch my legs' and call it a day," he said with a smirk and then ran off. "Gotta go fast, guys! See ya later!" he yelled out from a distance. The Mane 5 laughed at Sonic's attitude, while Pipp looked enthralled at the figure of Sonic that gradually became more distant. Zipp noticed this and smirked as she thought about teasing her sister. "You like him, don't you?" Zipp asked with amusement. "Yes…" Pipp answered, almost sighing, until she realized what her sister meant and tried to correct herself. "I mean... what?! No! Of course not! Why would I like someone like Sonic?" Pipp asked, covering it up as she pretended to be confused and offended. "Uh… Pipp?" Hitch said. "Zipp never said who exactly…" the sheriff revealed, as he laughed slightly along with the others. This caused Pipp to realize that she had exposed herself. She blushed but smiled a little as her eyes sparkled, still entranced by the hedgehog from another dimension who had captured her. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 9. It's T.U.E.S. DayIn the Crystal Brighthouse, balloons and streams were on the floor, and Izzy chanted and scatted in excitement."It's T.U.E.S. Day! Woohoo!" she cheered and chanted with joy. "Uni-KA! Uni-KO! Uni-FA! Uni-FO! Uni-MEE! Uni… MOH!" she ended with a holler that caused the Brighthouse to shake. Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp looked at Izzy strangely while eating breakfast. "Uh... No, Izzy. It's Thursday," she pointed out, not getting what Izzy meant. Then she looked at the time and saw it was about to be nine and gasped. "Aah! And I'm late to open the smoothie court!" she cried out as Zipp and Pipp also saw the time and ran off to their daily routines. "Ugh! The pegasus marathon already started!" Zipp cried out as she put her things for the marathon in her bag. "Mane Melody can't open without the mane attraction!" Pipp boasted as she put some makeup on her face. "No, it's T.U.E.S. Day. T. U. E. S. The Unicorn Expression of Sparkle Day! A special day for every unicorn…" Izzy tried to explain what she was talking about, but the rest were too busy preparing for the day. Sunny got into her roller skates and, alongside Zipp and Pipp, ran out the door since they were late, leaving Izzy alone and sad. " ...and their friends..." she finished with a sigh. She walked over to the table and looked at her reflection in a cereal with a sad face. "I miss Bridlewood. Earth ponies and pegasi are great, but it'd be nice to make another unicorn friend..." she said with sadness. Then, something came to her mind, thinking of somepony, or better say, some hedgehog. "Maybe Sonic is free! I hope he let me explain properly..." she said, trotting upstairs to the bedroom. Meanwhile, Sonic was holding one Chaos Emerald in each hand, with his electrical powers activated, trying to make the Emeralds glow and shine again. But as it had been since the Emeralds created the map two months ago, they were not shining anymore, not even with his new powers. "Did something change?" Hitch asked on the other side of Sonic's cellphone since they were talking on a normal call 'cause Hitch needed to attend his work in a few minutes. "No..." Sonic answered with disappointment. "This is starting to worry me, Hitch. There's no sign of the Emeralds activating again. I've tried everything I know, even shouting 'Chaos Control,' but nothing happens! And I've already looked under every unknown place of Equestria, and yet haven't found the other Emeralds..." he explained with worry, as he got close to a copy of the map he had - since Hitch had the original one - and marked an 'X' on another location. Hitch did the same in the station, in the same spots on the map Sonic told him to. "And we haven't discovered anything about this Opaline nor the Castle they live on..." Hitch stated, looking worried at the board with all the information he and Sonic had gathered over the past five months. We're approaching the dead end, aren't we?" Hitch asked, concerned. "I'm afraid so..." Sonic answered back on the Brighthouse. "I think we should leave it for today, Hitch. You have to work, and I need to clear my mind..." he stated while rubbing his eyes with one hand. "Ok then. See you later, Sonic," Hitch said. "See ya..." Sonic said back and finished the call. He put his phone back on his quills, then put the Emeralds on the bag and hid it under the mattress. Once he put the mattress in place, he sighed and leaned on the bed, looking at the ceiling and wondering why the Emeralds weren't working anymore. A moment later, Izzy came into the bedroom smiling and found Sonic lying on his bed. Sonic heard the door opening and sat down, wondering why Izzy was so excited. "Morning, Izzy. What brought you up here?" Sonic asked with a smile. "Hey, Sonic! Do you, uh, wanna celebrate T.U.E.S. Day with me?" While Sonic looked at her in confusion, Izzy asked, stood up, and walked towards her. "I thought today was Thursday..." Sonic said, scratching his head, not understanding what she meant. "Not Tuesday, silly. T.U.E.S. Day," Izzy corrected. "It is short for ‘The Unicorn Expression of Sparkle Day’! It's a special day for every unicorn to celebrate friendship with their friends!" she added with a squeal, then made the motto she did earlier. "Uni-KA! Un-KO! Un-FA! Un-FO! Un-MEE! Un… MOH!!!" she said the last part with a holler that shook the room as she finished with a smile. "So that was what made the room shake before..." Sonic said while he scratched an ear. "Never heard about that, but I gotta say that a free day with your friends sounds like fun. Do the rest know about this?" he asked with curiosity. "No..." Izzy said in a sad tone. "I tried to tell them what the holiday meant, but they thought I was talking about the day of the week. And when I tried to explain it, they just ran off in a hurry since they have plans today; they didn’t even stop to listen to me when they were in a hurry!" she said with sadness and sat down. "And I know Hitch will be busy with his job as a sheriff, so he’s out of the question..." she finished. Sonic looked at her and felt bad but also a bit mad that his friends didn't even take a moment to listen to Izzy. "Man, that sucks. I get they were late, but listening for a moment wasn't going to kill them," Sonic said aloud with a little anger, then looked back at Izzy and smiled. "Lucky for you, I'm free today, and I'm not starting to work until next week," he pointed out his schedule. "Besides, you say it yourself: it's a special day for unicorns and their friends, and I'm your friend, after all," he stated with a smile. Izzy's eyes sparkled, and she started to jump in excitement. "Really?! Thank you so much, Sonic!" she called out, hugging Sonic very tight. "Anything for my friends!" he replied, trying to catch his breath. "Now, could you let me go so we can enjoy the day?" he asked, wanting to feel his breath again. "Oh, right, sorry!" she said in embarrassment as she let Sonic go, who sighed in relief and caught his breath. "Great... Let's go out and have some fun!" he yelled excitedly as he and Izzy ran off to the main door and shut it. At Mane Melody, Izzy was getting pedihoofs and giggled at her hooves' rainbow colors. Meanwhile, Rocky was giving Sonic a little massage on his back. "This is goooooood," Sonic said with satisfaction as Rocky massaged his back. While Izzy giggled at her pedihoof, Pipp watched from a distance at the two having fun and frowned, thinking this looked like a date. Later, Sonic and Izzy were in the movie theaters, with Posey behind them, watching the ponyfied version of Transformers, 'Trottformers.' Sonic and Izzy saw the leader of the Trottformers, the ponyfied Optimus Prime named 'Optimare Prime,' giving orders. "Trottformers... Roll out!" he called out to his offscreen comrades. "Wow!" Izzy cheered as she giggled at the movie. "Man, this movie is already better than the Michael Bay movies back home, and that's saying a lot!" Sonic joked as he ate some popcorn. "Autobots... Transform!" Optimare Prime announced in the movie, and Posey fell to the ground with a groan as she hit the floor with a thud. Sonic and Izzy turned to see what the sound was but found nothing and resumed watching the movie. Izzy drank some grape soda and tossed the empty can away, hitting Posey in the head. "Ugh..." Posey groans from being hit with a can. A while later, Izzy and Sonic were at a spaghetti restaurant. Izzy ate some from her muzzle, but when she got her head up, a whole tomato on the spaghetti got caught on her horn, which she didn’t notice. Sonic laughed at Izzy's horn with the tomato. "What?" Izzy asked in confusion. "Ahahah! Look at your horn, Izz!" Sonic said while laughing. Izzy looked at her horn and realized why Sonic was laughing in the first place. She then snorted and laughed with Sonic because she also found it hilarious. Hitch, who was doing his rounds around the town, noticed the unicorn and the hedgehog having so much fun and then smiled. "Hmm… I wonder what got those two happier than usual... " Hitch wondered since he knew they were both usually hyperactive and optimistic, but today they were happier. Later, Sunny was blending her fruits to make smoothies when Sonic and Izzy came to the booth. "Two strawberry sunshine, please!" Izzy requested. "Coming right up!" Sunny said as she blended the smoothies. When she turned to the front of the boot, she saw Izzy and Sonic in front of her. "Oh, hey, guys. Nice to see you!" she said with a smile, then noticed Izzy's pedihoof and that Sonic was wearing one of Izzy's friendship bracelets because Izzy gave it to the hedgehog as a thank you for passing the day with her. "Wow, seems like you guys are having fun," she commented. "You bet!" Sonic said with a smile. "A day at Mane Melody, a movie, lunch, and smoothies. We're having tons of fun today!" he assured. "Well, it's good to see you two having fun," Sunny assured with a smile. "Although you are way too happy today..." she finished while raising an eyebrow and giving them the smoothies. "Thanks, Sunny!" Izzy thanked Sonic as she and Sonic grabbed their smoothies. Sonic gave Sunny some bits to pay for the smoothies. "Happy T.U.E.S. Day!" both Izzy and Sonic said as they walked away with a smile. Sunny giggles at Izzy. "Sonic, I think Izzy got you confused. It's Thursday today, not Tue--" she was saying, but that's when she realized what Izzy really meant. "OH! T.U.E.S. Day!" she cried out as she went through the stuff she kept in her bag, looking for the journal as she completely forgot about the holiday. "Say, Sonic. Wanna race back to the Brighthouse?" Izzy asked with a smirk, her smoothie floating with magic. "Oh, it's on!" Sonic said as he smirked back. Sonic and Izzy started to run away playfully as they passed by Hitch and Zipp. "Anypony think Izzy and Sonic are even more energetic than usual today?" Hitch asked in confusion. "Yeah. I was flying, and I thought I saw them hang out all day having fun," Zipp commented as she chuckled. "I mean, I know those two are very energetic, but today is different..." she added. "Well, if you think about it, Sonic was Izzy's first friend. And... Izzy is also the first friend that Sonic made when he arrived..." Hitch realized. "Perhaps they're just bonding their relationship a little bit more," he theorized. "Yeah, yeah. How cute..." Pipp said, a little mad, as she came next to Hitch and Zipp with a frown. "They arrived at Mane Melody earlier, and they were having a good time..." she explained with a little disappointment, which caused Hitch and Zipp to look at each other, worried that Pipp may have misinterpreted things. Sunny found her book, brought it down on the counter, and opened it. She looked through it and then found what she was looking for. "See? Today isn't Tuesday," she told her friends in front of her with a smile. The three looked at her with smiles. "Yes, Sunny. We know," Pipp said with a smile. Zipp smirked. "I think she's forgetting the week, too," she said to Pipp as she turned to Sunny with her hoof raised. "How many hooves am I holding up?" she asked with a smile. "No, today isn't Tuesday. It's T.U.E.S. Day—The Unicorn Expression of Sparkle Day!" Sunny explained as her friends looked on in shock. "I can't believe I forgot! It's a special day for unicorns to celebrate friendship," she told them with a smile. That's when they realized what Izzy meant in the morning. "Oh! That’s why those two were having fun all day together. Izzy must’ve told Sonic about T.U.E.S. Day!" Hitch said. "Wait... so they were just celebrating?" Pipp asked in disbelief, now feeling guilty of misunderstanding the situation. "Guys, we have to make it up to her... to both of them," Sunny said confidently as the other nodded. Later that evening, Izzy and Sonic walked back to the Crystal Brighthouse as Izzy grunted and sat in front of the Brighthouse door. Sonic came and sat down in front of her. "I told you all that pasta was going to hurt later," Sonic said with a little smile. "Sorry, Sonic. I should not have had all that pasta..." Izzy apologized as she rubbed her belly to ease the ache a bit. "We had a fun day, Sonic," she told him. "We sure did," Sonic replied with a smile, but then he frowned when he remembered that the rest of their friends didn’t join them. "But it would've been even better with the rest," he said with a sad look. "Yeah..." Izzy said in agreement as she frowned a bit. "It just doesn't feel like T.U.E.S. Day without my frie--OUAUGH!" Izzy cried out as the door suddenly opened, and she fell on her back. Sonic saw this and immediately ran towards her. "Is everything okay, Izz?" he asked her. "I’m fine, but who opened the door?" Izzy asked as she and Sonic saw their friends circle them with smiles. "Happy T.U.E.S. Day! Uni-KA! Uni-KO! Uni-FA! Uni-FO! Uni-GO!" Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp cheered in unison as they repeated Izzy's chant from the morning. As they now remember, Izzy smiled at her friends, but Sonic was still a bit mad. "Aw, you ponies remembered? Uh, did you just pretend to forget?" she asked them with a smile, thinking that her friends were just playing tricks on her. "Yeah, did you just casually remember the holiday now?" Sonic asked with an accusing look. Sunny and the others looked at each other with guilt on their faces as Sunny spoke out. "Well... No. We forgot," Sunny confessed to Izzy and Sonic, then got in front of them while Izzy got back up. "We are all still learning about everypony's special days, and I guess we need to try a bit harder," she finished with an embarrassed smile. "We're sorry, guys," Pipp apologized with a smile. "Sorry," Zipp added with a smile. "We'll do better, I promise," Hitch finished as the four friends smiled. "But we were thinking... Maybe there's still time to do our own T.U.E.S. Day! All together?" Sunny asked as she and her friends wanted to make up for Izzy and Sonic. "Are you kidding?! Sonic and I had a whole day of fun, and now we have to do it all again with you ponies?!" Izzy asked them in excitement as her friends nodded their heads. "I don't know..." Sonic said suddenly, his eyes closed and his arms crossed, which surprised the rest. "You guys were in a hurry this morning, and I understand it, but c'mon guys, just giving a few seconds to Izzy to explain wasn't gonna kill you," he stated with a frown but then smiled after a few seconds. "However, you want to make it up, so... What the heck? Let's do it!" he stated with a big smile. "Woo! This is the best T.U.E.S. Day ever!" Izzy cheered as the Mane 5 and Sonic smiled together and started music with flashing lights inside the Brighthouse, having a party together. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 10. Sunny-Day DinnersSunny was making breakfast for her friends and flipping the pancakes in the kitchen. "And... Perfect!" Sunny cheered as she put the last bit of pancakes on the table with a pile of pancakes, a basket of apples, some muffins, orange juice, some toast, and an omelet with tomatoes on the side. "Breakfast of champions!" Sunny cheered for her success. "Everypony needs a hearty meal before a busy day," she stated with a smile. "Ponies, family breakfast!" Sunny announced. Zipp trotted towards her. "Sorry, Sunny. Gotta rush," she apologized to the mare as she grabbed an apple, chewed it in her mouth, and zoomed away to her daily routine. Suddenly, Sonic grabbed a plate with some pancakes and muffins, eating at high speed since he was a bit late. He also grabbed some orange juice in a cup and drank very quickly. Then he put the dish and the cup in the sink and went upstairs. Then he came back with a hat with two wings, a microphone on his ear, and a little book with the same wings drawing of his hat. All of that in a matter of 10-15 seconds. "Sorry, Sunny, but I can't be late again for the speed inspection of the royal guards. Gotta go fast!" Sonic apologized, then boosted out of the Brighthouse. Sunny heard humming sounds; she turned and smiled when she saw Izzy approaching her while listening to music on some headphones. Izzy chomped on the pancakes as she took a bite. "Mmm! Good pancakes, Sunny!" she yelled out since she was listening to music. Before putting the pancake piece, she took a bite back onto the pile of pancakes as the saliva from her bite oozed down. Sunny cringed in disgust, finding it gross that Izzy would take a bite out of something and then put it back. "Do-do-do, do-do…" Izzy sang as she hummed away. Then the front doors opened, and Sunny saw Hitch running towards her with a panicked expression. "They're doing it again with the garden tools!" Hitch cried out as he pointed outside while Sunny looked and saw what was happening. Outside, the Racconicorns were growling on a pile of garbage as they levitated gardening pitchforks at a pegasus rat, who was holding a can of leftover food from the garbage. The pegasus rat was so afraid that he dropped the can in fright. Sunny then brought out some pancakes to Hitch. "You can't deal with that on an empty stomach!" she told him with a smile, but then she noticed that she had picked up the chomped pancakes and threw them away. Hitch didn’t seem to notice since he was panicking. "There's no time!" he cried, galloping away to stop those critters from hurting anyone. "Uh, er-- Good luck!" Sunny said with a smile, but a little hurt that her friends didn’t even stay for breakfast together. Then Sunny’s phone started to vibrate on the kitchen counter, showing Pipp calling on FaceTime as Sunny answered the call and picked up her phone. "No," Pipp said to somepony. She spoke to the ponies in Mane Melody while holding her phone. "Oh, excuse me," she started to laugh awkwardly. "Oh, sorry. Excuse-moi," she apologized to some pony as she looked at her phone and sighed. "Can't be-lieve I missed your pancakes this morning, Sunny!" she apologized for not being there for breakfast. "But Mane Melody is totes slammed, heh. Okay, later, bye!" she said to her as she blew a kiss. "Laters, heh…" Sunny said to Pipp before ending the call, looking sad at the picture Pipp had taken the day finishing up the Brighthouse. "Everyone is so busy; it feels like we're drifting apart," she said in a sad tone as she looked down. But then, she looked up and smiled, knowing she had a way to pass the time with her friends. Sunny turned on the camera on her phone to record a video. "Turn it arou-- Ah hah! There we go!" Sunny cheered as she turned the front camera on to face her. "Hey, ponies! I know everypony's got a lot going on, but we can't forget to make time for each other," she said to the recording with a smile. "Who's up for a hike to Prancing Point?" she asked them. "Don't forget!" she said to finish the video and then sent the message to her friends. Zipp's icon with stars for eyes was the first to respond with a hoof-up. Hitch’s icon responded next by sending a video of him dancing with joy. Pipp’s icon with a heart for eyes appeared as she sent a heart. Sonic's icon responded with a 'Nice!' text in blue, and lastly, Izzy’s icon popped up with a voicemail. "GLITTER!" Izzy’s voicemail announced cheerfully. Sunny smiled at her friends’ responses, glad that her friends were on board for the hike so they could spend time together. A little while later, Sunny was standing still in the woods, ready for the hike, but she had a down expression because her friends were not there, and the wind was blowing at her. "Ugh, they forgot!" Sunny groaned in disappointment. "Oh! Forgot what?" Izzy asked with a smile, arriving at the place with a rainbow cart full of rocks. Sunny turned to see Izzy and then smiled. "Phew!" Sunny sighed with relief. "Ha, I thought nopony was coming. Aw, you're the only one who remembered, Izzy!" "Remembered?" Izzy asked with a hoof on her chin as she looked up. Then she realized the hike from earlier, which clearly she had forgotten. "Oh! Yes, totally! Nothing slips out of this brain!" she laughed awkwardly as Sunny looked at her strangely. "Nope, di-did not forget. Nooo way," she finished whistling, hoping that she would buy it. "...And you brought a trailer full of rocks on the hike?" Sunny questioned with a raised eyebrow. Izzy started to sweat nervously, then sighed and dropped the act. "They're gemstones. And okay, I did forget!" she cried out before she smiled with sparkling eyes. "But I'm here now!" Sunny smiled at Izzy in forgiveness. "And that's all that matters!" she stated with a smile as she placed a hoof on Izzy’s shoulder. Suddenly, a blue blur passed at their side, but it returned and stopped on Sunny's other side, revealing himself to be Sonic. "Sup, girls!" Sonic waved to the mares. "Sonic! You're here!" Sunny cried out in excitement. "Of course I am! Sorry to get late, but Thunder had a little accident with the speedometer, and I struggled to fix it..." Sonic explained while stretching his arms and then putting them on his back. "But I'm here now, ready for a new adventure!" he assured with a wink. But then he realized that Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp were missing. "Say, where's the others?" he asked while looking around for the rest, but then immediately realized what might have happened. "They forgot, didn't they?" he asked, looking at Sunny with a bored expression. "Yeah..." Sunny replied in a sad tone. "Why am I not surprised?" Sonic asked himself as he rubbed his eyes with a hand. "Well, guess it is just the three of us, huh? Like in the good old times!" he said, trying to be optimistic. "Now that's the spirit, Sonic!" Sunny exclaimed. "Prancing Point, here we come!" she announced as she, Izzy, and Sonic hiked through the woods, smiling at each other. The three friends were chatting with each other as they laughed. Then they stopped when they saw a wooden arrow sign pointing down. They blinked in confusion because they didn't know if they should go to the left or to the right. Trying to decide which path to take, the three smiled at each other, and Sunny grabbed the sign and spun it around to guess which path they should take. When the arrow stopped spinning, it pointed right, which caused the three to smile and take the right side of the path, but the sign tilted back down again as the three friends kept walking. A little bit later, Izzy and Sunny were frightened by the many eyes staring at them in all directions, while Sonic didn't understand why there were so many eyes in the middle of the forest. Izzy laughed nervously as she and Sunny huddled together and hid behind Sonic, realizing they had taken the wrong way. Izzy and Sunny screamed with fright as they started running away from those creepy eyes, trying to find a way out of the forest. Sonic just looked at them with a bored expression, rolled his eyes, and chased after them. Back in Maretime Bay, Zipp was enjoying her flying in the sky but then remembered something important and gasped in realization. In the police station, Hitch was twirling with the phone with a smirk. Then he remembered something important as well and gasped. In Mane Melody, Pipp is doing Phyllis Cloverleaf's mane with the mane cutter but then gasps in realization since she forgot something, while at the same time cutting off a piece of Phyllis' mane in the process, but was too shocked to care. "D'oh! The hike!" Zipp, Pipp, and Hitch all gasped in unison as they’d forgotten about Sunny’s invite for the hike. At the Crystal Brighthouse, Zipp, Hitch, and Pipp opened the front door to see if Sunny was still around. "Sunny, w-we're here, we're so sorry!" Hitch said but stopped as he, Zipp, and Pipp looked with wide eyes that the Brighthouse was empty. "... Sunny!? SUNNY!" he cried out as he began to freak out. "Izzy and Sonic are not here either!" Pipp cried out in panic as she checked the kitchen. "Uh, well, maybe they're together?" she asked, hoping those two were with Sunny. "Let's hope so..." Zipp answered. "It's getting late, and they should've been back ages ago. Something's not right…" she thought as she rubbed her chin. Zipp and Pipp then saw that Hitch was hyperventilating with a paper bag. He was worried about Sunny and her friends, as he was wearing safety gear that he might use if Sunny or any of his friends were hurt. Pipp and Zipp looked at each other strangely, wondering how Hitch put a gear on that fast. "Don't worry, Hitch. We're, like, totally gonna find them!" Pipp tried to assure him, but Hitch continued hyperventilating in the paper bag, leaving Zipp and Pipp worried. Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp at the sunset brick were trotting and flying through the woods, trying to find their friends. "Izzy!" Zipp called out, hoping they could hear them. "SUNNY!" Hitch cried out in panic, really worried. "Sonic!" Pipp cried out next as they looked through the forest. They searched through the forest to find Sunny, Izzy, and Sonic. But unknowingly, they kept passing each other on two different paths as the latter three friends were trying to find their way out while the former three ponies were looking for their friends. They couldn’t tell that their friends were there because they were on two different paths. A little bit later, Sunny and Izzy were exhausted from trying to find their way out of the woods. They were now wearing headbands, and some dirt, twigs, and leaves were on them from all the running about. Sonic poked out his head from Izzy's car with rocks and growled. "Where even are we now?!" he asked in frustration, tired of running in circles. "And why are you wearing headbands?!" he questioned. Suddenly, Izzy heard twig cracks as she stopped, which caused her to stop her cart, which resulted in Sunny bumping into the back of it. "Oof-- Izzy!" Sunny said to the unicorn, wondering why she stopped. Izzy stammered nervously and then whispered to her friends, "Did you hear that?" she asked and then gasped. "Something is out there! I can smell it..." she whispered, narrowing her eyes through the trees and plants. "Izzy, we heard nothing," Sonic replied with annoyance. "It's just your imagination," Sunny added with an assuring smile. There's nothing out there—" she stopped in midsection as she and Sonic heard a thump. Sonic came in front of them with a frown and charged his electrical power, while Sunny came next to Izzy. "We heard that. Come on, let's... go the other way..." she suggested as they walked backward. Unknowingly to them, Zipp, Hitch, and Pipp were walking backward as in freight since they got lost in the forest as well. The two groups walked backward, not realizing they were about to bump into each other. They hit each other's flanks, butt in Sonic's case, which resulted in all of them screaming in freight and Sonic shooting out the lighting in the air, as birds started fluttering away from the loud freighting screams and trying to stay clear from Sonic's lightning. "Not the face!" Pipp cried out in fear. Later that night, after getting Sunny, Izzy, and Sonic cleaned up from the dirt and twigs they had, the Mane 5 and Sonic set up a camp on the hill for the night so they could find their way back home in the morning. "Hitch, I'm telling you. This is the fastest way home!" Zipp said to Hitch as she showed him the map. "Agree to disagree," Hitch replied at Zipp’s suggestion with his hooves crossed and eyes closed, while Zipp narrowed her eyes in annoyance at Hitch’s picky directions. "Dude, let Zipp take the leadership this time," Sonic pleaded with a smile. "Your sense of direction got us lost last time, and I honestly trust Zipp more with a map," he added, as Hitch growled in annoyance, and Zipp smirked. Pipp then nervously giggled as she looked out at the night sky. "It's kinda spooky out here, right?" she asked. Then a rat pegasus flew over her head, and Pipp screamed and ducked before starting to laugh. "I love it!" she said with sparkling eyes. Izzy, on the other hand, started to rap a song. "Levitate your hooves in the air, earth ponies don't clean their underwear." She then stopped as she looked beside her and gasped with a smile because she saw a bunnycorn with a gold bit. The others looked at Izzy strangely, finding her rapping lyrics weird. "Uhh, Izzy? I think it might be time for some new lyrics," Zipp told her as Izzy looked at them, biting the gold bit to see if it was real. Pipp, Zipp, Hitch, and Sonic laughed at Izzy’s expression while Sunny looked at them joyfully. Then, looking up at the night sky, they saw a shooting star passing by. "See? This is all I wanted. Good old-fashioned quality time,," Sunny said as she inhaled the moment. "Let's eat!" she announced as they were about to eat carrots on sticks that they had roasted from the fire. "Instead of Sunday dinners, we have Sunny-day dinners!" she said while laughing as she stuck a carrot to her stick. "Get it? Do you ge--" she asked them as she cleared her throat with a smile. "It's totally a thing, though." "That's it! I got it!" Izzy announced with a smile, then cleared her throat and started rapping again. "Raise your hooves up high and bring together all ponykind!" she sang, raising her hooves high with a smile. The rest of her friends smiled and raised their carrot sticks high. "Hey! Ho! Hey! Ho! Hey! Ho!" They all sang together and enjoyed the rest of the night. Not so far from their camp, a bluebird stood on a tree branch, looking straight at the group of friends. The thing is... that isn't a bird. It's a robot that's been working as a camera, following Sonic and the Mane 5 around for the last two months. This robot isn't controlled by anyone other than Dr. Ivo Robotnik, a.k.a. Dr. Eggman, as he watches from an unknown location for our heroes at everything they have done so far. Things like their viral video or T.U.E.S. Day with Izzy and their routines, favorite spots, things, private conversations, etc. Eggman was with his alicorn mare partner, Opaline, watching their movement as they waited for the perfect time to attack them by surprise. "This is a waste of our time, Doctor,," Opaline complained. "We should have attacked them when we returned from your dimension!" she yelled. "Patience, my dear Opaline," Eggman requested. "The best attack you can perform on your enemies is the one they never expect. Sonic has no idea that I'm in Equestria, but he will find out once we execute Phase 2 of the plan. Besides, now we know a lot about these 'Mane 5', and we can use that information against them," he explained. "Which is exactly why we should attack now!" she yelled. "The more time we waste waiting, the stronger they can become and..." "Relax, Opaline. The Emeralds Sonic has with him aren't working, so we have a huge advantage," the doctor assured. "Besides, I feel those ponies would be dealing with more stuff than they used to. And while they have their problems, we'll move Sonic away from them and destroy him. With Sonic out, his new friends would become weak, and that's where you do your performance," he explained with an evil smile. "And how do you plan to eliminate Sonic, exactly?" Opaline asked to end with Sonic since she didn't know what Eggman's weapon was. "That's the best part of all of this, my dear," he smirked sinisterly and turned to a dark alley with several of his machines. "Follow me; there's someone I want to introduce you." With doubt, Opaline decided to follow Eggman through the alley. It used to be an empty place in her Castle with no life, but once Eggman's machines arrived and worked their 'magic,' it started to be alive again. The doctor stopped in front of a capsule that had some kind of robot connected to cables on the other side. "Open capsule MS1497," the doctor ordered to his computer. The AI on his device followed its orders as it opened the capsule they had in front of them. It was revealed a blue robot with silver metallic parts, his chest had a yellow hole, he had ears, nose and spikes that replicated Sonic's, red feet also to copy his shoes and a black screen above his nose where they would usually go his eyes. "With this guy over here, we'll make the perfect distraction to keep Sonic away from his new friends," Eggman explained to his partner. "I'm afraid I still don't get it, Doctor," Opaline confessed. "How does this robot put Sonic away from the Mane 5?" she asked with confusion and a frown. "You'll see, dear Opaline: my research on this world and its festivities has found that a holiday called 'Maretime Bay Day' will take place in that location in around two weeks," he explained. "But these ponies don't know that not everypony is happy with the new structure where other races are included. If these Unity Crystals you have told me about only work through peace and friendship, they would start to glitch because of the disharmony between races, putting magic in danger." "Why in Equestria would that be a good thing for us?!" Opaline yelled at the doctor, thinking that he was going to screw things up. "Because they would learn their lesson and start to work together, Opaline," Eggman said with a smile. "And once the magic is fully restored and stable..." "The chance to take what is mine... would finally come!" Opaline exclaimed, now understanding what the doctor meant. "Now we're on the same ride. And while you take care of your enemies, I will take care of mine once and for all!" Eggman stated confidently, then looked at the robot in the open capsule. "Of course, after he takes care of Sonic for a while..." he finished. "He, huh?" Opaline smirked as she saw the robot with an evil grin. "Does he have a name?" she asked in curiosity. "Oh, of course, he has. Geez, where are my manners?" Eggman joked as he presented his machine formally. "Ms. Opaline, I present to you the eighth wonder of the world, my greatest creation, the perfect match in speed for Sonic, and the greatest weapon we have: Metal Sonic!" he introduced. As the doctor spoke his name, his eyes turned to red light, and he was ready to start his mission. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: MAKE YOUR MARK Author's Note And as the last sentence says, were moving to the special now! Since it's just one chapter of many words, I'm not putting TYT on hiatus, but we won't see more stories here until Friday September 30th. See ya on Monday with the Prologue and the Special. Byeeee! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 11. Maretime Bay Day 2.0Author's Note WARNING!!! I highly recommend you to NOT read from this chapter on without having read the first chapter of Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Make Your Mark first. If you do, go ahead, but don't blame me when you don't get half of the things that are going to happen. Once I cleared that out, let the story start! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 11. Maretime Bay Day 2.0 On the beaches of Maretime Bay, Posey and four other earth ponies were putting the finishing touches on a sand castle they had built since they were on a sand castle building contest on the beach. "Steady... Steady..." Posey advised, sweating, as the other ponies put themselves on top of each other with Posey on the top, trying to put the flag on the top of the sand castle. But when Posey was about to put the flag on the top of the castle, the water from the ocean hit the edge of the castle, which caused it to collapse as Posey and the other earth ponies lost their balance. The pony's back at the bottom cracked, and Posey was about to fall, but then she was paused because it was just a video on a pink laptop with wings. "Oh. That is golden," Pipp said with sparkling eyes. "I am a pony in the zoney," she sang as she typed in the comment and then sighed. "Amazing what a little peace and quiet can do," she said with a smile, unaware that the rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic poked their heads behind the couch she was sitting on with smiles, wondering what she was doing on her laptop. "What are you doing, Pipp?" Izzy asked cheerfully. "Ah!" Pipp screamed, so surprised by Izzy’s voice that she flipped her laptop in the air but caught it before it dropped to the ground. "Hey, everypony!" she greeted with a smile, regaining her composure. "Just cutting together my Maretime Bay Day Blog," she explained in a little singing tone. The other four ponies and Knuckles gasped in awe with sparkling eyes. "Gasp," Hitch said with a smile since he didn't gasp. Sonic and Tails, however, just stood with smiles and looked at Pipp with joy. "A Maretime Bay Day blog, huh?" Sonic said, now smirking a little. "Sounds cool!" Tails complimented. "I know. It was so special; I just wanted a way to remember it forever," Pipp replied with a smile. "Plus, it’ll be great for my ponygram. Check it out! I got bloopers," Pipp said as she opened up her laptop and showed Jazz and Fifi trying to make Cotton Candy, but then Jazz’s mane got stuck in the Cotton Candy spinner. Her mane got all puffy like a Cotton Candy, and Jazz then laughed at her style. "Behind the scenes," Pipp kept saying with a smirk, switching to a video where Hitch was doing a weird dance, singing in front of the camera, with a high-pitched voice in an embarrassing way. Hitch saw this and felt embarrassed of himself as he looked at the girls and Tails giggling at the video. But Sonic and Knuckles were dying of laughter on the floor as they let tears out. "That's just hilarious!" Sonic said between laughs. "And I thought I danced terribly!" Knuckles snorted. Hitch lifted his chin and put a hoof on his chest. "I regret nothing," he said with pride as the girls and Tails gave him a weird look, but Sonic and Knuckles laughed a bit more before finally calming down. "I even caught the moment earth ponies got their magic!" Pipp said excitedly as she showed another video with Posey in it. She stomped her hooves twice, using her earth pony magic to make a giant pink flower, and gave off a proud smile before the flower came to fly and chomped Posey, trapping her inside the flower. "Nice one, sis," Zipp congratulated her sister as Pipp shook her head with a smile. Sonic whistled as he examined the blog closer. "You never cease to amaze me, Little Pipp," he admitted with a little smile. Pipp's cheeks turned a little red as she smiled nervously. "T-Thanks, Sonic." Suddenly, Izzy zipped around the couch and sat beside Pipp, grabbing her laptop into her hooves. "Whoa. So, it’s kind of like making a daisy chain. But instead of daisies, it's weird talking picture squares," she said with a smile. Pipp started to feel nervous about Izzy having her laptop since she had never had one before. "Oh, right. But it kind of took me all day to put it together," she pointed out with a nervous smile. "So, just be…" "So many memories," Izzy said cheerfully while going through Pipp’s files to see other videos on the blog. Like the one where Sunny tried to teach ponies how to make smoothies. "And this!" Izzy said, scrolling to another video with two of Hitch’s animal crew standing in front of a picture of Izzy and Hitch with holes to make them look like them. Two Pegasi laughed at the animals. "Oooh. And this!" Izzy said as she started to pass between several videos. The others smiled as Izzy went through the blog, while Sonic felt bad about this, and Pipp looked nervous. "Seriously, Izz. You're going to press…" she was about to say, but... "Files erased," the laptop announced, shocking the Mane 5, especially Pipp, Izzy, and Team Sonic. "...the delete button," Pipp finished with a shocked expression. "Um," Izzy said with a nervous smile and sweating. "Don’t worry. I know how to fix this. More typing!" she assured nervously and typed more on the laptop. "Files gone forever," the laptop said. The rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic gasped in shock. Pipp stared at Izzy with a mean look and twitchy eye, about to explode in anger, while Izzy gasped and nervously sweated before giving Pipp a nervous smile. "Even more typing?" She suggested. "Izzy, NO!" everyone else yelled as Pipp grabbed her laptop back before Izzy messed up more than she had already done. "You did enough for a day, kiddo!" Knuckles added. Izzy then looked at Pipp with an apologetic expression. "I’m so sorry, Pipp!" she tries to apologize. "My hoof slipped. And then the button slipped. And then the picture squared slipped into the trash. And I just…" she tried to explain her mess up. Pipp was tearing up and started to shake, looking at her laptop. She closed her eyes and laptop, placing a hoof on her forehead. "It’s okay," Pipp said as she faced the rest of her friends with a forced smile. "We’ll just do it again next year!" she said as tears started coming. "No worries. Totally fine," she said with a cracked voice, and then she got up from the couch. "Um, I'm just gonna take a nap," she finished and walked upstairs into the bedroom, slamming the door while everyone else flinched from the slam. Sonic then looked at his wrist as if he had a clock, and Tails looked at him confused. "Um, what are you–?" he tried to ask, but Sonic cut him off. "3, 2, 1," Sonic counted down with his fingers and then pointed at the bedroom door. And just like he expected, Pipp started wailing and crying out loud while her friends felt bad for her. "Oh, it hurts!" she cried out. The rest looked at Izzy while she felt bad for her screw-up and began to lower herself to avoid her friend's looks. Tails then approached the laptop and looked at it, a little idea crossing his mind. He ran towards Sonic's ear and told him the idea, and Sonic's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you sure? Do you think you can do it?" "I have hacked Eggman's deleted files thousands of times now," Tails reminded his brother. "Some pictures and videos from a laptop? It's a piece of cake!" he assured with a smirk, then took Pipp's laptop and flew away. "Uh, what is he doing?" Zipp asked, confused. Sonic approached her ear and whispered what Tails told him, and Zipp's eyes widened as well. "He can do that?!" Zipp asked in disbelief. "He didn't earn the title of 'wunderkind' for nothing!" Sonic replied with a smile. "But he needs time, so we have to cheer up Pipp somehow as he does his magic work!" he stated confidently, as Zipp smiled back and nodded. "Wait, Tails has magic?!" Knuckles asked with surprise. "I'm gonna pretend you're just being sarcastic for my sanity's sake," Sonic said with a bored expression. "Everyone! We are going to cheer Little Pipp up, even if it's the last thing we'll do today!" he stated with a confident look as everyone else nodded in agreement. A while later, Pipp was sitting on her bed with the pictures she had managed to print. However, they were hardly good without the videos and the rest of the files since they were gone, which made Pipp sob. Then someone knocked on the door. "You can come in," Pipp said, sobbing while taking one of the pictures. The door opened, and Izzy entered the room, holding a homemade picture frame of Pipp that she had made with her Unicycling skills. "Hey, look. It’s me, Pipp," Izzy said, making it sound like her voice was coming through the frame. "The most iconic, pegasus in Maretime Bay," she said, walking closer to Pipp. "With a song in my heart and a sparkle in my eye," she finished, and one of the frame's eyes fell off. Pipp cringed a little disturbed but then smiled a little. The door opened again, and a giant smoothie entered the room. "And did someone order a giant strawberry ripple smoothie with pegasus wings?" Sunny asked with a smile as she and Zipp emerged from behind the smoothie, carrying a can of whipped cream. Sunny waved her hoof at Zipp, signaling her to add the wings from the whipped cream. Zipp got the signal and shook the can of whipped cream, then flew up to the top and was about to spray, but then started flying around uncontrollably as the whipped cream sprayed out, making the shape of wings on the smoothie. Zipp came down as she and Sunny smiled at the great work, but then one side of the cream wingtips dropped on Sunny's face. Pipp smiled again, finding the situation funny. "Or…" Knuckles' voice called out as Pipp turned and saw Knuckles, Hitch, and his animal crew right before her. "How about a cheer-up dance!" Hitch cheered as he, Knuckles, and the animal crew wore red coats. They tried to dance, but Hitch tripped on one of his animal friends, fell to the ground, and bumped into his crew and Knuckles, leaving them dizzy. Pipp then giggled at this as she smiled at them. "And if that doesn't work..." Sonic's voice was heard, and when she turned around to see him, her whole face became just as red as Sprout's. "Maybe a little glow-up can make you feel better," Sonic added with a smile and a deep, serious voice. He wore a black dinner suit, a white button-down shirt, and a blue tie. Miraculously, he wore pants, as he detested them, and black shoes, resembling his normal shoes, were much more elegant. "Huh..." Knuckles said with surprise. "That girl has to mean something to him if he's willing to wear pants," he pointed out. "I'm sorry, what?" Hitch asked, confused, still lying on the floor. Pipp felt her heart race like never before, and she started feeling warm, too. She secretly took out her phone and took a photo of Sonic in his suit while her eyes sparkled. She smiled in delight at the hedgehog. She then calmed down a little and looked at all of her friends. "Thanks, guys. But none of this is gonna bring back Maretime Bay Day," she said sadly as her friends looked at her feeling bad. Pipp walked out of the room while her friends looked at her with concerned looks, especially Izzy. Suddenly, Zipp and Sonic understood what she said. "Bring back Maretime Bay Day!" they both said with smiles. "That’s it!" Zipp said as she walked towards the pictures on Pipp's bed and grabbed one with all of them from Pipp. Zipp nodded, looking at the picture. "Everypony, follow me!" she announced as she trotted towards the door, with Sonic following her immediately. The rest looked at each other confused but decided to follow afterward until Sonic returned and stopped Sunny. "Sunny hit the shower first," he requested. Sunny picked a piece of the whipped cream off her and gave a chuckle, then trotted out of the room. Later that evening, Pipp was in the kitchen, assembling a castle made of bread. "Yay," Pipp said in a nonchalant tone, still feeling down because her files had been deleted. Zipp and Sonic suddenly zoomed by, smiling, and faced the young pegasus. "Pipp, come out into the garden. We got something to show you!" Zipp said as she faced her sister and her crush. "Um. I’m clearly a little busy building a sand castle," Pipp pointed out to the castle she had made. However, it crumbled and fell apart, causing Pipp to flop onto the table in depression. "Hey, Little Pipp, trust us on this one," Sonic assured with a comforting smile as Zipp got Pipp to stand on the chair and push it out the door and into the garden. "Look, unless you’ve recreated Maretime Bay Day in the garden…" Pipp was saying, but then she gasped when she looked at the garden. "Ooohhh! You’ve like totally recreated Maretime Bay Day in the garden!" she cheered, returning to her happy self as she flipped into the air and landed on all four hooves. She saw that her friends made a replica of Maretime Bay Day festivities in the garden with the stands, flowers, and a picture of Pipp in the back over a fountain. Pipp came to the cake stand and looked at the cakes in awe. Then she went to the corn on a stick stand and ate one. Finally, she saw a sand castle, where the rest of her friends had popped up from behind it. "Surprise!" the rest of the Mane 5, Tails, and Knuckles cheered to Pipp with a smile. Pipp gasped joyfully and looked at her friends with tears and a smile. "It's perfect! Oh, wow, so many feels!" she cried out as her friends came in front of her. How did you do all this?" she asked them. "Well, we had pretty great materials to guide us," Izzy answered, motioning her head to the board behind them, which held the pictures Pipp had taken and printed before the files were deleted. Zipp pulled out Pipp's phone and extended it to her. "Here, so you can refilm it," she said with a smile. "Thanks, Zipp!" Pipp thanked them and smiled back as she took her phone. She pointed the camera at her friends, who were looking at her with a smile, but then she started to have second thoughts about it. "But you know, I think I'd rather just enjoy an amazing time with my even more amazing friends," she confessed. The rest smiled at Pipp’s decision, and Sonic and Tails blinked at each other, knowing that Pipp would love her surprise. Pipp got on stage and looked forward with a determined look and a smile. "A one, two, three, hit it!" she yelled excitedly as she started to dance along with Hitch and Izzy. (Hey) Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can't you see it? Zipp, Sunny, Tails, and Knuckles moved their heads through Pipp’s song while Sonic tapped his foot in time to synchronize with the music. Woah-oh-oh, oh-oh, woah-oh-oh (Hey!) Woah-oh-oh, oh-oh, woah-oh-oh The rest decided to follow the song's example and sang along with Pipp while enjoying the replica Maretime Bay Day festivities they also made. Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can't you see it? Izzy, Sunny, and Knuckles were at the cotton candy stand. Izzy used the maker to make one big batch of cotton candy. Two of Hitch’s animal crew were dancing to the song, still in the same outfits of earlier. Sunny was placed on top of Hitch's back to put the finishing touches on the sand castle they had built earlier, as Pipp filmed the whole thing with a smile. Sonic, Tails, Pipp, and Zipp emerged from the bushes and sang as the flowers bloomed. At Mane Melody (Hey!) At Mane Melody Hitch and Knuckles were back in the red coats, dancing with Hitch's animal crew. Pipp flew around the sky before landing on the sand castle, where she and her friends finished the song. But the sand castle couldn't sustain Pipp’s weight, and it collapsed, making Pipp fall while her friends looked in shock, except for Izzy, who smiled as the picture was taken while catching Pipp before she fell to the ground. A little while later, Pipp printed the pictures she had taken of the Maretime Bay Day replica her friends made and placed them on the board. She looked at it with a smile, and then Zipp, Tails, and Sonic came close to her. "I hope you liked your surprise, Little Pipp." Sonic was the first to speak. "Like it?! I'd love it!" Pipp exclaimed as she went to hug Sonic and Zipp. "Thank you guys so much for that gift!" she thanked. "You're welcome, sis," Zipp replied with a smile. "Anytime, princess," Sonic said, smiling as well. "And there's another thing," Tails added, smiling while hiding something behind him. "More?" Pipp asked. "What could be better than my best friends recreating Maretime Bay Day in the garden for me?" she asked rhetorically since she could not think of anything better. "How about getting your files back?" Tails asked as his smile grew bigger. "Oh, that would be great, but unfortunately..." Pipp said, but then she stopped as an idea appeared. She felt some hope growing inside her. "W-Why are you asking me that?" she questioned. Instead of answering, Tails took her computer from his back and put it on her desk. He then opened it and walked apart to let Pipp look at it. Nervous, Pipp walked to her laptop and put her password in. Once the laptop unlocked, her eyes sparkled, and little tears of happiness appeared: her blog was intact, and everything Izzy deleted was back, like it never left. "H-How?!" Pipp asked in disbelief as she read the whole blog, confirming everything was back. "I have some magic tricks of my own," Tails said with a smile. "And I don't need actual magic to make it work," he added, scratching his head a little in embarrassment. "B-But I thought they were all gone!" Pipp exclaimed, still not able to believe that her blog was intact. "Yeah, Tails has a natural talent with technology; it's his thing," Sonic explained. "And since he has restored deleted files thousands of times before, he wanted to do this for you," he added with a proud smile toward his brother. Pipp immediately squished Tails into a hug as the fox struggled to breathe. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much, Tails!!!" Pipp thanked with tears of joy. "Y-You're welcome... princess," Tails replied, trying to catch some breath, as Zipp and Sonic laughed a little at the scene. THE END 12. The Game Is Ahoof"It lives. My monster lives!" a mad scientist pony cheered for his precious creation as lightning struck his lab with wires. But it was nothing but a movie that The Mane 5, sins Zipp, who wasn’t there at the time, and Team Sonic were watching at night in the Brighthouse. Sunny and Pipp were a little creeped out; Hitch was covered with a blanket in freight, Tails was hiding on his tails with fear, and Izzy was munching on some popcorn while watching the movie. Sonic was a little bored since he didn't find the movie scary, and Knuckles was asleep and snoring since boredom made him tired. Sitting next to Sonic, Pipp got a little more scared and hid her face on Sonic's shoulder, which made the hedgehog blush a lot, but he didn't complain either. He just let her hide on him and focused back on the movie to distract his mind since he didn't actually care about the movie. Izzy was about to eat some popcorn on her hoof, but then she and the others looked up and saw Zipp with a furious look as the lightning from the movie scared them. The whole group, in Sonic and Knuckles, screamed in fright as Izzy, Sunny, and Tails hopped to the back of the couch while Pipp hid on Sonic's chest, which caused his blush to increase even more. "It’s Frankenstallion’s monster!" Hitch screamed as he jumped out of the couch with the others, losing the blanket. All the noise woke Knuckles, who yawned and stretched before he could open his eyes completely. Then he looked up and saw Zipp as well. "Hey, Zipp. What’s wrong?” he asked, not even scared one bit. The others popped their heads up from behind their couch to see that it really was Zipp; Pipp poked her head and realized what she was doing, then quickly got apart from Sonic with a big blush. Zipp flew down and went in front of the TV, looking at her friends angrily. "I’m only gonna say this once. Who... Took… My… Sunglasses?!" she yelled at them as one of her eyes twitched. The others just looked at Zipp, scared, except for Sonic and Knuckles, who were confused, and Izzy, who was munching some popcorn. Zipp was so irritated that she snatched Izzy’s popcorn and threw it aside. "Everypony, follow me!" she said to the rest with anger as she pointed in the direction they needed to follow. Knuckles stretched again and got up. "I just hope this is worth waking me up," he said as he and the others followed Zipp. A few minutes later, Zipp brought her friends to a wall, where she took pictures of them with mugshots: first Hitch, then Pipp, who stroked a pose, then Sunny, who was very confused, then Sonic with a rolled-eye expression, then Knuckles with a bored expression, then Tails, who was very scared, and finally Izzy, who wrote her name on her board number and smiled with a pose for the picture. And then, in the bedroom, Zipp had tons of paper on her bed while her friends looked at her in confusion and at the mess she had made. "Love what you've done with the place, sis..." Pipp said with a hesitant tone and an awkward smile. Zipp turned and gave them an intense glare. Then she bucked the front of her bed, which turned into a secret board she used, connecting her friends' pictures and the places they visited in Maretime Bay to the sunglasses picture in the middle. The rest looked in shock, wide-eyed, that Zipp even had this. "Whoa," Sunny said as she pointed at the board with a forced smile. "That’s intense." "More like overboard if you ask me," Sonic commented blankly. Zipp walked back and forth as she looked at her friends. "Let’s start with our first pony of interest. What do you say, Hitch?" she said with a glare as she pointed at his picture. The rest looked at Hitch momentarily, then got their attention back to Zipp. "Remember this morning at the beach, Sheriff?!" she asked him angrily as she started to tell him what happened in the morning. Zipp, Hitch, Izzy, and Knuckles were walking along the beach as they enjoyed their time, with Zipp wearing her sunglasses. "Another bright and sunny day in Maretime Bay. Too bad I left my sunglasses back at the station...” Hitch said as he turned and gave out a mischievous smile at Zipp, with Izzy using a measuring tape to measure the glasses and Knuckles looking confused at Hitch. "I'll just steal yours, Zipp!" he said with an evil laugh as Zipp, Izzy, and Knuckles looked in shock. "Objection!" Hitch protested as he popped his head in front of the flashback. "That is not what I said!" he pointed out. "This guy can't hurt a fly unless you break the law, girl!" Knuckles pointed out, pupping his head as well. "Look, just rewind this thing and see what happened," he added, as the flashback rewinds to the beginning. Zipp, Izzy, Hitch, and Knuckles walked through the beach while Zipp wore her sunglasses. “Another bright sunshiny day in Maretime Bay!" Hitch said, then turned to Izzy, Knuckles, and Zipp while Izzy measured Zipp's glasses. "Sure wish I hadn’t left my sunnies back at the station," he said, a little embarrassed. "I told you to take them before we left..." Knuckles pointed out with a frown. "...7 times." The flashback ended, and Hitch and Knuckles popped their heads back up, gesturing to the true flashback. Zipp wasn’t convinced about the story, as Izzy kept measuring Zipp's head. "Back at the station. Really?" Zipp questioned, wondering if Hitch and Knuckles were telling the truth. "Hmm," Hitch nodded and then smirked. "Although, I don’t need sunglasses to…" He put on his usual sunglasses and lowered them a bit. "See the problem with your theory," se finished and winked at her. Team Sonic, Sunny, and Pipp groaned in annoyance at Hitch’s bad pun while Izzy giggled a little. "I like that. That was good," she said with a smile. "My ears should be bleeding right now," Sonic said, looking at the ceiling. Zipp raised an eyebrow at Hitch’s terrible pun. "Okay. Okay," she said, seeing that Hitch was not the thief. "What about you, Pipp?!" she said now to her sister, who looked at her phone and then at Zipp in disbelief. "I get it. We're sisters, Pipp. And you borrowed something without asking," she said, smiling, walking around before stopping beside her. "Just give 'em back, and we'll forget it ever happened," she added before walking back to the board. "Why would I take your sunglasses, Zipp?" Pipp questioned her sister. "They're so not my style," she added, flipping her mane a bit. "Remember? 'Function over fashion'?" Zipp said with a grin. Pipp gasped at the reminder that her sister had brought that memory up, and Sonic sweated a little since he was there when that happened. Zipp decided to tell her story about when she was at Mane Melody with her sister. "You were so excited to show off…" Zipp said while remembering. "...Brand-new auto-mane-tic shampoo and shine!" she announced at Mane Melody with a smile, while she put kiwis on Izzy’s eyes, who was there with Zipp and Sonic, ready to try out Pipp’s new style machine, while Zipp and Sonic just watched. "A perfect 'do in two minutes!" Pipp said, then pressed the red button on the machine. The machine started by rinsing water out of the big sprayers, but then it got out of control as the sprayers sprayed shampoo water around the salon. Pipp, Zipp, and Sonic gasped as they ducked from the incoming shampoo water, but other ponies weren't so lucky when the water hit them, as the rest screamed for cover. The sprayers are still out of control, and Pipp tried to turn it off but got sprayed on the face and pushed back with a scream. When she got up, her eyes were so soaked that they burned, and she started to tear up. "I think I got it in my eyes!" she cried out, feeling the burn as Zipp and Sonic cringed at Pipp's eyes burning. "Quick! Give me your sunglasses!" she cried out to Zipp. Zipp took off her sunglasses. "But you said they were so last season," she protested, but Pipp grabbed the glasses. "Sometimes, Zipp, you've gotta take function over fashion!" Pipp declared but then realized what she had said. "Oh! Never tell anypony I said that!" she told her sister with a threatening tone, then turned towards Sonic. "That goes to you too, young man!" she stated as Sonic gulped because of her tone. Pipp ran and then jumped, heading towards the button. The shampoo water sprayed Pipp, but thanks to the sunglasses, her eyes were shielded from being burned as Pipp wiped some from her face. Pipp pressed the button, shutting off the machine and stopping the spraying of shampoo water before it caused more disaster. Tails blinked at the story and then looked at Sonic with confusion. "What were you doing there?" he asked his brother. "I wanted to try the machine out, too," Sonic replied. "I borrowed your sunglasses one time!" Pipp told Zipp. It was an e-mer-gen-cy! But why would I steal them? I have plenty of my own," she pointed out to the supplies of sunglasses she had on her side of the room, on her bed. "Wow... that's just a lot of sunglasses," Knuckles said, surprised and confused about why Pipp had so many glasses. Then everyone looked back at Zipp, who was sweating a bit. "W-Well, uh…" she said nervously, running out of ideas as she looked around. "W-What about you, Sunny?" she pointed to said pony as Zipp got into her face. "Making smoothies all day in the sun, you must need—" she was cut off when Sunny put on a bored expression and flipped a pair of sunglasses, proving that it was not her as she slurped from a smoothie. Izzy and Zipp looked at her sweating, and Sunny stopped slurping. "Uh…" Zipp gave a nervous laugh, seeing Sunny’s point. "Right," she said, then looked at Team Sonic. "What about you g—" she tried to say but stopped after seeing the trio. They were all wearing sunglasses that matched their skin color, as Sonic and Tails stood with their arms crossed and Knuckles put his hands on his waist. "Try again, Zipp," the three of them said in unison. Zipp stared more nervous than before because she was being proved wrong way too much. She ran back to the board and looked at it. "That only leaves…" she said, looking through her photos of her friends, realizing who was left. "Izzy?" she asked and then gasped in realization. "Of course! All... that... measuring…" she stated, having the same previous flashbacks, only that she realized Izzy measured her head on them this time. "Making sure that my sunglasses would fit you! Before you stole them!" she yelled, facing Izzy and looking close to her face while the unicorn backed up, a little nervous. "Noooo…" Izzy said and then laughed nervously. "Zipp, see, I mean... The thing, actually... uh... DISTRACTION!" she cried out as she used her magic to levitate the papers on Zipp’s bed and hit Zipp with it before running out of there. Zipp yanked the paper out of her face and growled while Izzy ran out the door, heading downstairs with a yelp. Zipp flew out through one of the bedroom's windows, heading for the front before Izzy could. Downstairs, just when Izzy was about to head for the door, Zipp opened it and blocked her way while she screamed and ran the other way. She started to run around the Brighouse, with Zipp behind her the whole chase. "Izzy, stop!" Zipp called out, but then Izzy levitated the blanket from the couch. "Whoa!" Zipp called out as she hit the blanket and crashed into the ground. Izzy ran the other way while Zipp got her head out and groaned at the unicorn. The rest watched from upstairs, fearing for Izzy, but Tails could not keep watching as he growled. "That's it! I watched enough!" he exclaimed as he jumped from the second floor, which caused the ponies to gasp but Sonic and Knuckles to gulp nervously since making Tails mad was a sign of being scared. Izzy then came to her Unicycling spot with all the supplies she had made with her unicycling skills and wrapped some presents in a box with a ribbon. "End of the line, Iz!" Zipp called out with a frown from behind her as Izzy looked at her, sweating. "Nowhere left to trot! We can do this the easy way or the—" she tried to say, but she could not finish since someone got in front of her. Tails stood there, extending his arms to block Zipp's way. "Stop it!" "Tails?! What are you doing!?” Zipp questioned. "Stopping you before you do something you regret!" Tails replied with a frown. "I get that you want to find your glasses, but why blame your friends from all the... ponies?!" he questioned. "B-Because... I...! I don't know..." Zipp finally admitted as she calmed down. Tails sighed in relief and tiredness, then looked over to Izzy. "I hope you finished that thing already, Izzy, or else someone's gonna get hurt," he pointed out. Izzy nodded with a smile and then approached Zipp. "Here you go, Zipp! I hope you like it!" she said with a smile. Zipp was a little shocked as she grabbed the box. "Buh... For me?" she asked as Izzy smiled at her. Zipp opened the box and gasped in amazement at the gift. It is revealed to be a pair of techno goggles called Z-Goggles with details matching Zipp’s colors. Zipp picked them up in amazement and put them on. "Whoa...!" she said as she saw the goggles have night vision and looked at Tails and Izzy, then ultra-light vision as she could see their body heat and hearts, and then x-ray vision as she saw their skeletons. "Incredible!" she said in amazement. "I didn't take your sunglasses, Zipp. I swear," Izzy told her as Zipp took the goggles off. "I was taking your measurements to make these for you!" she smiled and then looked at Tails. "And, well, he helped with that," she added as she smiled at the fox. "Yup!" Tails admitted. "Izzy told me how much she wanted to give you something that could make your job as a detective more interesting, so I came up with the idea of the googles," he explained. "I just put the advanced stuff, but the design and the goggles in general? That was totally Izzy's creation!" he finished with a smile. "And any good detective has super fancy gadgets," Izzy added. Zipp then hugged both Izzy and Tails, thankful for the gift they made to her. "Oh! Thanks, guys!" she said, putting on the goggles as she looked around the Brighthouse. Izzy and Tails smiled at Zipp's hype for her new gadget. She looked around the living room, then moved to the kitchen and turned the X-ray on while sawing through the cabinets. Then she picked up an apple from the basket, only to see a worm inside eating the apple. "Ewww, gross," she cringed in disgust and then dropped the apple. Then Zipp, Izzy, and Tails returned to the bedroom with the others. Zipp trotted around and then jumped on her bed with a smile. "Best gift ever! Izzy, Tails, I love them!" she cheered, then slipped on the messy paper on her bed and fell into it. She tried to get up but heard a crunching sound when she placed her hoof on her pillow. Curious about the sound, she lifted the pillow and found her sunglasses broken in half straight through the middle. Zipp took off the goggles and laughed nervously. "Guess I found them..." she said in embarrassment. "Sorry," she apologized to her friends for all the commotion she had caused. The rest looked at Zipp, both shocked and confused. "I can fix those!" Izzy said cheerfully. Tails, however, facepalmed in disbelief. "Are you serious?!" "Ugh!" Pipp grunted in frustration as she started to walk away. "Amateur," Hitch said with a bored expression, walking away as well. "You've gotta be kidding me," Sunny stated with boredom and a frown. "What a waste of time," Sonic said with sarcasm, walking alongside Pipp. "This was not worth waking up!" Knuckles complained since he could be sleeping right now. Izzy followed the rest, and Tails followed his friends with a bored expression. Zipp looked at them with a sheepish smile on her bed. "Uh, b-but that was fun, right? Right?" she asked them but got no response. "Ugh," she groaned, placing a hoof over her head, realizing that she was dramatic over her sunglasses. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 13. Dumpster DivingAuthor's Note This episode happens during the Special, after Hitch ignored Posey on the station and before Zipp kept looking at the Crystals for days. That also means that Tails and Knuckles were not with the Mane 5 and Sonic yet. Once I cleared that, enjoy the episode! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 13. Dumpster Diving "And a hush descends as Neptune steps up to take his dive," Skye Silver announced, while a blue Pegasus put her goggles down with her swim cap on, then jumped on the diving board three times and flew into the air, doing a couple of front flips before whooshing into the water. "Whoo-hoo!" Zipp cheered at the TV since it was just a show she, Sunny, and Hitch were watching. Sunny looked on in awe with sparkling eyes, and Hitch found it interesting while he looked at Zipp with a smile. "That's how you make a splash in this competition! Go, Zephyr Heights!" she cheered. Meanwhile, Izzy was in her Unicycling, wearing her goggles and using a tool on an object. "Yay!" she cheered with a smile before the item she messed with broke, and parts came flying by. She took a closer look at the part she was looking for, a ring-shaped part, but the one she was holding wasn't what she was looking for, so she rolled her eyes and threw the ring away. "Ehhh…" Hitch thought, while Sunny still had sparkles in her eyes and Zipp was bopping her head. "I still think a Pegasus has an unfair advantage in the diving competition," he said with a smirk and then crossed his hooves. Izzy grabbed one of Sunny’s roller skates and hammered the wheels a bit before they fell off the shoe. Izzy inspected one of the wheels but sighed in frustration since it still wasn't what she was looking for, and tossed the wheel away. Izzy went now to one of the legs of the couch and unscrewed it with her wrench, losing up the leg and removing it as a gold metal ring came off. Izzy grabbed the ring with a smile. "Aha! Well, hello, perfect little ringy-thingy!" she said, then giggled a bit. "Next diver up!" Sunny announced with a smile, with none of them noticing that Izzy took one of the couch's legs. "Maretime Bay can still win this!" she stated confidently, but then the couch tilted and fell backward, landing with a thud as the three ponies sitting on it fell backward with it as well. "IZZY!" Sunny, Hitch, and Zipp all yelled out, now knowing that Izzy had taken one of the legs. The three looked bored, and then a pair of red shoes with a white stripe in the middle came into their vision. "Uh... What's going on here?" Sonic questioned, confused about why the couch was like that. "Take a guess..." Zipp told him with a frown. Sonic looked confused at first, but after a few seconds, the answer came to his mind, and he put on a bored expression as well. "Izzy broke the couch?" he asked rhetorically. "Izzy broke the couch," Sunny confirmed. Sonic sighed and put the couch back in place. He quickly ran away and came back with another golden ring, a wrench, and the missing leg, then fixed up the couch. "There we go!" he stated with a smile. "Thanks, Sonic!" Hitch said with a smile. "Hey, I may not be as skilled as Tails nor Izzy with fixing some stuff, but I know the basics," Sonic said with a smirk. "Now, I'm gonna talk to our unicorn friend before she does something that takes the house down..." he said with a neutral expression. "... again," he added, remembering when Sprout took the Lighthouse down before it turned into the Brighthouse. Sonic walked towards Izzy, who tried to put the ring she got from the couch on the lantern that Sunny’s father made when Sunny was a filly. But once she put it on the top, the ring fell to the middle of the lantern because it was bigger than needed. "Awww!' Izzy groaned in disappointment. "Now, this Maretime Bay Day gift for Sunny will never be ready in time," she added with sadness. "Izz?" Sonic spoke to her, and Izzy looked at him in a panic. "What are you doing?" he asked with his arms crossed. "H-Hi, Sonic!" Izzy greeted nervously, as she sweated a bit. "N-Nothing important! Just unicycling some stuff for something important," she said nervously. "Izzy, you just contradicted yourself... in the same sentence," Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. Come on, Izz. We've known each other for a few months now. You can tell me anything," he assured her with a smile. Hypocrite. You hide secrets from your friends, and you dare to say they can tell you anything? What a fucking bastard you are, Sonic. Sonic felt guilty after hearing that he still hadn't told his friends about his encounter with Metal Sonic or about the Chaos Emeralds being there but not working as they should. In the end, he ignored his thoughts and focused back on Izzy. "W-Well... If I tell you, promise you won't tell anypony, not even Sunny!" Izzy whispered. Sonic nodded with a smile, and the feeling of guilt returned, but he quickly ignored it to stay focused on Izzy. "Remember Sunny's old lantern? The one her father made for her?" she asked with a smile. "Yup. I saw it when we first met with Sunny," Sonic replied. "Well, I want to fix it to give it to Sunny as a present for Maretime Bay Day, but I can't find a piece that looks like a metal ring thingy," she said again with sadness. "I've tried everything. Even the—" She held a pink circle but didn’t get to finish because they all heard Pipp's screaming. "AAHHH! What's wrong with the shower?! Izzy!" Pipp cried out from the bathroom. "You messed with the shower?!" Sonic asked her in panic, while Izzy nodded embarrassedly. Sonic sighed and then quickly looked at Izzy with determination. "Let's get out of here before Pipp yells at you," he stated, then grabbed one of Izzy's hooves and ran out of the place with the unicorn. Pipp screamed and came out of the bathroom, all wet with a towel around her. She looked around with anger and growled, trying to see where Izzy was, but since she wasn't there anymore, she got back into the bathroom. Izzy was now wearing a helmet on her motor-scooter, while Sonic ran at her side, getting away from the Brighthouse - and Pipp - and heading to the town to find the piece Izzy was looking for. Once they arrived at Maretime Bay, Izzy took a hoop from a pegasus filly who was playing with it, while Sonic looked with a bored expression since he knew too well Izzy's antics. "Nah. Too big," Izzy pointed out. "Give me that!" Sonic said as he snatched the hoop and gave it back to the filly. "Sorry, kiddo. She's just looking for something important for a friend," he apologized with an embarrassed smile. Izzy then looked at the key change on Rufus's saddle strap. "Too small," she said, as the earth pony stallion looked at Izzy weirdly while the unicorn laughed nervously. Sonic facepalmed, not only because this was not only ridiculous but also embarrassing, since Rufus obviously thought she was talking about something else. Then, Izzy and Sonic arrived at a donut shop and looked at the pile of donuts as Izzy inspected one. "Too doughnut-y," she said, and then she chomped the donut she was holding. "Tasty as well," Sonic added, chomping a donut himself and paying for the donuts. A while later, a unicorn filly played with a triangle instrument while Izzy looked at the triangle for a second. "Not ring-y enough" she pointed out.. "That's not even a ring, Izzy," Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. And then, Izzy grunted as she tried to take the Mane Melody billboard, but it couldn’t be removed. Izzy looked down below, where Sonic and Posey looked at her with surprise and disbelief. "Too stuck-to-a-building-y," Izzy said sheepishly to them. "Pipp's already mad at you because of the shower, Izz. You shouldn't make her even madder," Sonic pointed out with a concerned look. A while later, Izzy was driving her scooter slowly again and sighed in disappointment. "Cheer up, Izz," Sonic said as he walked alongside her with a comforting smile. "I'm sure we'll find that piece you're looking for," he assured her. "But I'm afraid we won't make it in time..." Izzy said with a worried face and tone. But she gasped when she saw Posey's blue circle earrings. "But that is absolutely perfect!" Sonic saw Posey's earrings as well. "Are you sure?" he asked, not because he thought it was a bad idea but because Posey was the one wearing the earrings. Izzy didn't answer and prepared to boost behind Posey with her scooter. However, Sonic stepped in and looked at her. "Whoa, calm down, Izzy!" "But...!" she was going to strike, yet Sonic cut her off. "Let me handle this" Sonic said, running until he reached Posey. The earth pony mare frowned when Sonic stepped in front of her. "What do you want, Sonic?" she asked with annoyance. "Hello to you too, Posey," Sonic replied with a smirk. "I know you and I are not on very good terms, but I want to ask... Can I borrow one of your earrings for a second? It will be quick," he asked, now with a neutral expression. "Why do you need my earrings?" Posey questioned with a raised eyebrow. "A little gift for Sunny," Sonic said. "But I know the earring won't work. Just give it to me so Izzy sees she doesn't need it," he whispered at her. Posey just rolled her eyes, took one of her earrings off, and gave it to Sonic. "You better be quick," she warned with a glare. "Quick is my middle name!" Sonic joked, then ran back to Izzy and extended the earring to her with a smile. "I thought your middle name was 'the'," Izzy said confusedly as she took the earring and examined it, while Sonic just facepalmed. "Nah. Too plasticky," Izzy said as she gave the earring to Sonic. Sonic ran back with Posey and gave her the earring back. "Thank you very much!" he said, and once Posey took the earring, he returned with Izzy. "Okay, that didn't work either. Now what?" he asked her. Before Izzy could answer, she saw two critters rolling a circle net and gasped with a smile. "That could work! Wait up!" she said, then decided to follow the critters. "Okay, whatever she saw, I'm not letting her get in trouble!" Sonic told himself and followed her. "Not without me!" he added with a smile. Izzy came to the alleyway and found the critters dragging the net. She zipped and gasped with a smile, but it faded once she saw a deflated float instead of the net she was looking for. "Awww, no good," Izzy said with sadness, as Sonic caught up to her. "Still nothing, Izzy?" Sonic asked. "No..." Izzy answered and then groaned. "This is hopeless, Sonic. I'm never gonna—" she tried to say but then gasped in awe with sparkling eyes at a sight. Sonic looked in the same direction as Izzy and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" he questioned, since she was looking at a dumpster while a raccoon corn jumped on a homemade diving board on the side and crashed into the dumpster. "Whoaaaa…" Izzy said in amazement, then headed to the handmade diving board. "Izz..." Sonic called out. "Please tell me you're not going to do what I think you'll do..." "Oh, I'm totally doing it, Sonic!" Izzy cheered. Sonic looked at her with concern. "You do realize what you’re doing is unsanitary, right?" he questioned Izzy. "Yeah, but this is for Sunny!" Izzy cheered again. She climbed up the diving board and jumped with a flip. "Whoo-hoo!" she cheered as she dived into the dumpster. Sonic cringed in disgust. He has done some gross things himself in the past, but it was for the sake of the world. "I admire her dedication to her Unicycling job, but this is reaching a line I never thought it was possible to reach," he told himself. Izzy: Makin' a splash A splash into trash Reaction this trash Don't have to be so slapdash Uni-cycled in a flash Could be a table or mustache Anything really for trash T-R-A-S-H Doesn't mean it's waste T-R-A-S-H With a dash of taste Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo Make it brand new-ooh, ooh-ooh Whoo! Come on in, the trash is lovely Lookin' for a ring for Sunny Call it waste, call it misplaced But always with a dash of taste You might think it's rotten But I think you have forgotten It's anything really for trash (Oh, yeah!) T-R-A-S-H Doesn't mean it's waste T-R-A-S-H With a dash of taste Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo Make it brand new-ooh, ooh-ooh Whoo! As the musical number finished, Izzy poked her head out of the dumpster looked at the ring she had on her horn, and smiled since it was exactly what she was looking for. "Aha! There you are, my circly little friend!" she said as she grabbed the ring and polished it a bit. "It took you some time, Iz," Sonic said with a little smile. "I heard some music and many weird sounds inside there. Was there some kind of party or something?" "Sorta," Izzy replied, as she left the dumpster completely. "Now let's go! I have to finish the lantern!" she shouted, then ran away. "But hit the shower first, Izzy!" Sonic pled her as he followed the unicorn. Back at the Brighthouse, Sonic watched Izzy putting the ring on Sunny’s lantern. "Ta-daaaaah! All uni-cycled up!" Izzy cheered as she raised her hooves in the air. "All this trouble for a ring," Sonic said with a smile. "And I'm the one talking," he pointed out, since he's usually looking for rings to power up his resistance, although those were other kinds of rings. "Huh... Something's still not quite right," Izzy said, putting a hoove on her chin. She gasped as she realized something. "Oh! I know!" she said cheerfully and then grabbed a box of rocks. She opened it and then smirked when she took out a crystal. Izzy put the crystal on the lantern and closed it, and then the lantern began to float. "Wow!" both Sonic and Izzy said in awe as the lantern started to float off the table. Without noticing, Izzy's Cutie Mark started to glow. "The floating is unexpected, but Sunny's gonna love it!" Izzy stated with a smile. "I'm pretty sure she will, but since when did you get magical crystals?" Sonic questioned. "You know how there's lots of crystals in Bridlewood, so I just collected them now and then!" Izzy explained. "Hm... Interesting..." Sonic said as he looked back at the lantern floating. "Izzy! What's happened to my manedryer?!" Pipp spoke, which caused Sonic and Izzy to cringe. Izzy grabbed the lantern and hid it in her drawer as Pipp came to them with her mane little frizzed out while holding her broken mane dryer. "It's missing, like, all the pieces!" she cried. "Sorry, Pipp." Izzy apologizes to the pegasus. "I can fix it! Hang on!" she says as she runs out the door. "Izzy?! Where are you going?!" Pipp cried out. "Come back! No one can see me like this!" she cried, not wanting anypony to see her with her mane messed up. "Yeah... you don't want to know where she's going, Pipp," Sonic said with a concerned look, feeling his whole body shake with goosebumps. "Geez, just imagining the place makes me shake," he said, hugging himself. Pipp felt a little panicked that Sonic was there as well, since she didn't want him especially to look at her like that, but Sonic was a little traumatized to even notice her messed up mane, so she sighed in relief. As for Izzy, she returned to the dumpster with the homemade diving board, ready to grab some parts for Pipp’s manedryer. Weeks later, after Team Sonic's Reunion and Maretime Bay Day, Sonic told the whole story to Tails and Knuckles as the trio looked at Sunny's lantern in her area of bedroom. "So, what are you trying to say, exactly?" Knuckles questioned, not getting Sonic's point. "Guys, the crystal shines, just like the Emeralds should. But since they're not working, I was thinking... maybe we should find alternative ways to go home," Sonic explained with his arms crossed. "Like these crystals?" Tails asked. "Yeah," Sonic replied. "If the Emeralds don't want to help us, then we should find other options, starting with the crystals in Bridlewood." "You know, I would agree if it weren't because we're still missing one Chaos Emerald, and we still have no idea where Eggman is hiding," Knuckles pointed out. "We can't leave without both." "I know, I know. I'm not saying we have to leave now," Sonic corrected himself. "I'm saying that we should start researching alternate routes to go back, so once we get egghead and the remaining Emeralds, we have our route to get them out before they cause more trouble to these ponies." "Sounds good to me," Tails said with a little smile. "I can research these crystals a bit before testing them to open a portal," he suggested, taking out a little notebook and starting to write. "I think I can bring some when I go back to Bridlewood when Izzy works on 'bigger stuff' in her home," Knuckles added, still unconvinced at all but on board all the same. "We sure need some way out, anyways." "Good, because I feel like Eggman has something big prepared on his hands, and we have to be careful from here," Sonic stated as the trio looked again at Sunny's Lantern. THE END...? 14. Alicorn Issues"Whoo!" Izzy cheered as her friends came to her and Sonic to celebrate T.U.E.S. Day together. "Hey! Ho!" the Mane 5 and Sonic sang when they went hiking in the woods to spend time together. "... Cause I get to work with you!" the Mane 5 and Sonic sang together as they worked together to finish up the Crystal Brighthouse. "Besties!" Pipp cheered as she and the others huddled together for a group picture. Then several images of the Mane 5 Cutie Marks shining pass by, unnoticed by them. In the bedroom of the Brighthouse, the girls and Team Sonic were sleeping peacefully. But suddenly, Sunny, who was still sleeping and had her messy mane, started to glow and levitate from the bed. Sonic, Tails, Izzy, and Zipp woke up from the glow and were shocked to see Sunny floating in the air. The magic sparkled around Sunny and activated her Alicorn form, which shocked Sunny awake and caused glitter to fly around the room. "Aaah!" Zipp yelled out in surprise as glitter hit her face and some on her bed. Izzy got the same outcome as Sonic, but Tails ducked under the blanket to dodge the glitter. As for Pipp, she got some over her mane and bed, and Knuckles was sleeping with his mouth open, so... some glitter ended on his mouth as well. Sunny looked on in shock as her alicorn magic activated, but as soon as she looked at them, her wings and horn disappeared, and she fell into her bed, now covered in glitter. Sunny groaned tiredly and rubbed her forehead. "What happened?" she asked tiredly, getting up on her bed. Tails emerged from the blankets and flied towards her. "Your magic wings and horn came out of nowhere," he explained to her, "Literally," he added. "You also exploded into a pile of…" Zipp tried to point to the glitter, but... "Glitter!" Izzy cheered, seeing so much glitter as far as her eyes could see, feeling like she was in paradise. "Glitter!" she cheered as she hugged a pile. "Glitter!" she scooped some in a jar. "Glitter!" She went to Pipp’s bed, grabbed some glitter,, and tossed some in the air. "Man, cleaning this up is going to be a mess," Sonic complained as he removed some glitter from his body. Pipp got up because of Izzy and got her head off the pile of glitter. "Don’t you guys know what time it is?" she asked tiredly but then noticed the pile of glitter on her bed. "Wait, what?" she asked herself, noticing some glitter on her head, and gasped in shock. "All this glitter is drying out my mane!" she cried in panic. Suddenly, Knuckles poked his head out of the pile of glitter on his bed and spat the glitter out of his mouth. "Why is there glitter in my mouth?!" he cried out with concern, noticing the whole room full of glitter. "Why is there glitter in the whole room in the first place?!" he yelled confusedly. "Sorry, everyone." Sunny apologized to her friends as Zipp, Pipp, Sonic, and Knuckles approached her while Pipp shook the glitter off her mane. "My Alicorn magic has a mind of its own; I can't control it," she worriedly explained. "Maybe you need a magic word?" Zipp suggested. "Something to help bring out your inner alicorn." "Ohh! How about a catchphrase?" Izzy said cheerfully, swimming in her pile of glitter. "Like, 'Wing it'! Or 'Let’s fly'!" she started to suggest, then gave an exciting expression with sparkling eyes. "Oh, oh, oh! I know! 'Alicorn it up'!" she said, standing at Sunny's side, and then walked a bit away. "Alicorn it up?" Sunny repeated with a confused look, but then her magic started to sparkle again. Her right wing grew and shone brightly as she and the rest of Team Sonic looked with surprise. "Good timing," Knuckles said with a little smile. "That's incredibly convenient," Tails said in confusion. "That's just lazy writing," Sonic said with a bored expression. But once her wings settled, they were the size of a little filly wing and flapped rapidly. Izzy got to Sunny's side and looked at her wings. "It might need some work," she snorted. "You’re not going to fly very far with those wings," she pointed, giving a raspberry while Sunny put an unamused expression. "Sshh," Zipp and Pipp shushed Izzy, not to make fun of her wings. "Not helping, Izzy," Sonic said with a little frown. Sunny, however, groaned with embarrassment at her wings. "Izzy’s right! I can’t help anypony like this!" she pointed out worriedly. "Don’t worry, Sunny. All you need is a new look," Pipp said a little excitedly as she flew around Sunny with sparkling eyes and placed her hooves around her. "A makeover fit for an alicorn," she added while Sunny looked at Pipp with doubt. "Before we do that, can we at least clean up first?" Sonic asked as he pointed at the room still full of glitter. "Since when do you, from all people, care about cleanliness?" Knuckles asked, looking at Sonic with confusion. "Ever since I lived here," Sonic confessed with a smirk. He looked at Tails. "Say, mind to help me out?" "Usually, I'm the one asking, but okay! Let's do it!" Tails cheered as they both boosted and ran through the room with boxes and jars, filling them with glitter. Sonic put the jars at Izzy's Unicycling spot, while Tails put the boxes outside to find a later use for the remaining glitter. The rest of them and Knuckles looked in awe at how clean the room was now that the glitter was cleaned up as Sonic and Tails returned and looked around with pride. "Wow, nice work, guys!" Zipp complimented with a smile. "This was peace of cake, thanks to Tails' help!" Sonic assured as he put an arm around Tails. "Once we start to work together, nothing can defeat us!" Tails cheered. "Running faster than sonic speed, get your tails on the field!" Sonic and Tails made their handshake, finishing it with a fist bump. "Now, Sunny-bunny, let's change your style or whatever Pipp said!" Sonic stated with a smile as he looked at Sunny. Later, at Mane Melody, Pipp took Sunny and the others to the salon to have Sunny’s mane styled. "Ahh!" Sunny cried out as Pipp spun her around and placed her on a seat, with Sunny looking at the mirror. Team Sonic, Izzy, and Zipp watch from the sidelines as Pipp inspects Sunny’s mane while Jazz and Rocky look from behind them. "We are going to need highlights, low lights, hoof glitter, hoof polish, a facial, and a curl," Pipp said as she inspected every part of Sunny. "You don’t mean…" Jazz said as Rocky looked at her. "Oh, I do," Pipp answered, turning to Jazz and Rocky. "The works," she declared as Jazz and Rock gasped. One, two, three, four Pipp starts to sing, holding a manecut machine, with Jazz holding a hoof polisher and Rocky holding a brush. Bring that tail right through the door Jazz polished Sunny’s right hoof with a pink sparkle. Five, six, seven, eight You're not leaving here 'til you feel great Rocky placed some facial cream on Sunny and then put some kiwis on her eyes. Pipp grabbed a brush and held a mane-cutter, and Jazz gave her a mirror while Rocky gave her the manedryer. Shine bright, sparkle and glow Flip that mane with a flow like "whoa!" Pipp then used the four tools with all four hooves and assaulted Sunny's mane with her mane styling skills. Vibe, you're on it You're a brand new pony, so flaunt it Hey! In the end, Pipp twirled Sunny around and finished her mane, giving her the style she got on the Mane Melody's opening day. Sunny looked at her mane in amazement as it sparkled a bit. "And voila," Pipp said with a cheerful smile. "I never thought I'd see the day where we pass from lazy writing to lazy drawing, but here we are!" Sonic said with a sarcastic tone, although everyone seemed to ignore it. Sunny smiled at her mane style, but once again, her magic started to act up and made her mane glow a golden color. Sunny started to float again, but this time with a smile. Team Sonic, Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp looked at Sunny with a smile, thinking that Sunny's magic must now be under control. But her mane grew a lot, and now her horn appeared too. As the light faded, the others gasped in shock to see Sunny’s new aspect. "Uh. I don’t think it worked," Sunny called out. "Man, wish I could understand magic; it would be a lot easier to help you with your problem, Sun," Tails said as he approached the alicorn. "Aww, don't worry, Tails. I'm pretty sure we'll discover how to control my powers," Sunny said, and even if Tails could not see her, he knew she was smiling. "Somehow..." Sunny added. Izzy trotted next to the two and excitedly inspected Sunny’s mane. "Whoa, Pipp," she said with awe and sparkling eyes. You’re good. Do me next!" she cheered, wanting a longer mane, too. Sonic, Knuckles, Zipp, and Pipp came to the rest as Pipp chuckled nervously. "Look on the bright side! At least the mane covers those tiny wings!" she pointed out as she moved some of Sunny’s mane to show those wings, which flapped briefly. "Not helping, kiddo," Knuckles said with a bored expression. Zipp shook her head, agreeing with Knuckles. "No. No. No. This is about more than a mane; it’s about inspiration," she said as she zipped around Sunny with a smile. "I don't like where this is going," Sonic said with a neutral face. "And nothing inspires quite like a little…" Zipp added, looking at Sunny with a grin. A little while later, the group was at the abandoned Canterlogic building. After the three tribes united, Phyllis closed the place, and now the old factory was completely abandoned. "... Danger," Zipp finished, introducing the obstacle course she had made to the others. The first part was three logs swinging back and forth, a little pole over a tub of green bubbly goop slime, and the three hoops that head straight to the finish line. "A bit of danger will trigger your alicorn abilities," Zipp assured Sunny with a smile. "Uh... this looks excessive," Tails said as he hid a little behind Sonic. "Yeah, even I know this is a lot, and I love to do reckless stuff," Sonic admitted. "I don’t know about this either, Zipp," Pipp said to her sister. "Um. What am I looking at?" Sunny asked her friends since her mane was covering her completely. Zipp moved Sunny's mane out of her eyesight, and Sunny stared in fright at the obstacle course. "Are you sure? Because this looks…" Izzy cut off Sunny. "Fun!" Izzy cheered with sparkling eyes. "Impossible," Sunny corrected with a nervous smile. "I guess we'll never know if we don't try... but I'm going to bet this won't work," Knuckles said with a neutral expression. "For once, I'm with Knuckles on this one," Sonic said, looking at Sunny with a worried look. "Pttss! She'll do great!" Zipp assured with confidence. "Here. Let’s get that mane out of your face," Pipp said, and after a few minutes, Pipp styled Sunny’s mane to look like Phyllis', and now Sunny could look perfectly with her mane tied up. "There! Much bet…" Pipp tried to finish, but then she, Sunny, and Tails - who helped to tie her mane - saw Izzy putting a stocking on a button at one side of Sunny’s mane. "It will do," Pipp said with a bored expression. "Ready…" Zipp called out as she went next to Sunny. "Set… Go!" she finished and then pushed Sunny to the obstacle. Sunny screamed, rushing through the obstacle and dodging the logs. Sonic, Tails, and Pipp cringed while Knuckles, Zipp, and Izzy smiled. Sunny kept screaming and tried to balance on the log over the green slime. But then she started to scream even more as everyone else looked frightened at the scene. Sunny hopped over the hoops covered in slime, and as she made it past them, her left wing started to glow and grow into the normal size of Alicorn wings, but the right side stayed small, meaning Sunny still couldn’t fly without both wings. Sunny screamed and fell to the ground, and the rest came to her worried. "Sunny! Are you all right?" Pipp asked as she helped Sunny to get up, but then looked up at her mane covered in slime. "Your poor mane!" she cried out, then turned and glared at her sister. "Zipp. What were you thinking!?" she yelled at her. "This is the best alicorn yet." Zipp smiled as she pointed out that Sunny was nearly complete to her alicorn form, as Sunny shook some slime from her left wing. "Ah, we need better transformation words," Izzy suggested again. "How about 'Hooftastic-maneriffic-canterlogic-docious!'" she cried out. "A new alicorn outfit would do the trick. Maybe a few accessories?" Pipp suggested it as well. Sunny watched her friends come up with ideas, but she didn't feel too well, so she walked away from the group, and no one noticed. No one, except for Tails, looked at the exact moment she came out of the factory, and then he looked at the girls with a frown and growled. At hearing the most calm and reasonable growling, Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other in fright since they knew things would heat up if Tails got mad. "Maybe if I add fire to the obstacle course..." Zipp suggested, and that was what made the fox explode. "STOP IT, FOR THE SAKE OF CHAOS!!!" Tails shouted at the mares while some smoke came out of his head, and his face was red with anger as he glared at the ponies. The three mares immediately stopped and looked at Tails, both surprised and afraid. They never thought Tails from all the creatures would shout at them like that. "They either die in the next few seconds or make them feel like talking trash," Sonic whispered to Knuckles. "Either way, they're screwed," he added. "Oh, they are," Knuckles assured with fear. "None of these things are helping!" Tails yelled again, this time a bit more calmed. "B-But we were trying to help Sunny," Pipp pointed out. "Maybe if we get her a new dress..." she tried to add, but... "HOW?!" Tails shouted again. "How are some makeup, a deadly obstacle course, and some stupid made-up words going to help her with her problem?!" he asked, waiting for any of the mares to answer. "For what you have told me, she hasn't been able to control this form for a while, and instead of trying to do something to make her feel better, you did something that makes YOU feel better!" he pointed out. "Pipp, a dress and a new style can change her outside, but did you make her feel better inside? NO! Because it's makeup! Izzy, you're funny. I'm not denying that, but not everything can be fixed with a catchphrase! And Zipp, Sonic gets his ass in danger every single week, and yet he hasn't done anything as dangerous as that obstacle course! You could have killed Sunny!" he pointed out to the three mares as he started to take deep breaths. There was silence for a moment. Sonic and Knuckles were weirdly quiet, while Zipp, Izzy, and Pipp were both ashamed of their attitude towards Sunny and scared of Tails, although it seemed like he finally calmed down. Izzy was the first one to talk to them after a while. "I-I'm sorry..." she said with a guilty tone as the rest looked at her. "I guess I just tried to make her feel better instead of helping..." she admitted shamefully. "I'm sorry too," Pipp said, not in a dramatic tone as usual, but in an actual ashamed tone. "I shouldn't have made up those styles since she isn't me. Of course, that wasn't going to help..." she pointed out as she looked at the ground. "And I shouldn't have made the obstacle course at all," Zipp admitted with guilt. "I'm sorry," she said. Tails seemed to finally be calm, as he softened his gaze and looked at the mares. "I'm sorry, too, for exploding like that. I'm usually the one who tries to calm things down," he said with embarrassment. "Well, I'm glad things cooled down a bit..." Knuckles said as he and Sonic arrived at Tail's side. "Now, the only thing we have to deal with..." Sonic started as he stared at the exit. "It's finding Sunny," he finished with a worried look and tone. A little while later, Sunny was at the beach after she had removed the slime and looked at the ocean with a sad face. Three foals were making a sandcastle next to her, a little bit far, while Hitch walked towards Sunny. One of the fillies was shoveling the sand, but then her shovel got out of her hoove and landed next to Hitch. He picked up the shovel and returned it to the filly with a smile. Hitch smiled at those foals and saw Sunny over at the corner. "Aha," Hitch said with a smile, walking towards her. Sunny got the rest of the slime of her mane. "That was a complete disaster," she said, still sad for not controlling her magic. "I figured I'd find you here," Hitch said to Sunny. "Knux told me what happened. Are you okay?" he asked her. Sunny looked down and sighed. "Everypony else seems to be growing so fast. I just feel... stuck," she said, looking at him concernedly. "You helped everypony believe in magic," Hitch said with a smile. "Now it's time to believe in your magic, Sunny. In here," he added, placing a hoof on Sunny’s chest where her heart should be. Sunny smiled at her best friend, feeling a little better. "Thanks, Hitch. If only it were that simple..." she said, but something caught her attention. The two ponies saw a big wave coming to the beach, and then Sunny gasped in shock once she saw where the wave would hit. "Oh, no! The foals!" Sunny cried out while the foals looked at the wave and were too scared to move in time. Sunny and Hitch ran to get the foals out of the way, but Hitch hit a little hole that caused him to trip and fall into the sand. He got the sand off his face but gasped as the wave approached. "Come on, Sunny! You can do this! Those foals need you!" she said, giving a determined look. She started to glow as her Cutie Mark sparkled. Her alicorn form took form, and her mane got fixed. Now Sunny got her full Alicorn form back and flew to the sky. Hitch saw Sunny with an awed expression and sparkling eyes. Sunny came right in front of the foals and faced the wave. Then, she focused her magic on her wings and blew them at the wave, which caused it to turn into a pile of glitter. The fools looked at Sunny with amazement, and once she landed, she looked at herself with joy now that she had her alicorn form under control. "I did it!" Sunny cheered as she laughed a bit. "Now, if I can just figure out how to turn off the glitter..." she added sheepishly. "I knew you could do it, Sunny!" Hitch said in a muffled sound, trapped in a pile of glitter, while Sunny looked at him with a smile. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 15. Making a Foal of MeIn Mane Melody, Pipp came out from a room with four pineapple drinks for her and her friends. She took Sonic, Tails, Sunny, Hitch, and Izzy to Mane Melody for facial treatment. Zipp and Knuckles didn’t join them because Zipp is known not to like makeovers, and Knuckles felt he was 'too cool' to have a facial treatment. Pipp hummed happily while she brought the drinks. "Now I hope everyone is feeling nice and relaxed" she said with a smile, then took one of the drinks to give to her friends, but as she turned around, she saw Hitch... now as a foal. Hitch started to talk - or something like that - while Pipp shrieked. "Aah! Hitch?!" she asked him, not believing what she was seeing. She suddenly heard num-num sounds and turned to a salon chair. When the chair turned around, Sunny was nibbling a piece of kiwi and was now a little filly. "Sunny?!" Pipp gasped and asked. She heard somepony run past her and heard a thud, and when she turned, she saw Izzy, a little filly as well, on the ground with Cloudpuff as the two played over the spilled makeover on the floor. "Izzy!" Pipp cried out again. "What is going on?!" she asked herself, placing her hooves on her head. But the thing didn't end there: now, a blue blur passed around Mane Melody, as little giggles sounded everywhere. Pipp looked around, confused, but then the giggles stopped, and Pipp looked down to find Sonic as a baby. His skin was light blue, his eyes were completely black, and he wasn't wearing gloves, but he did have brown shoes. "Sonic!!" Pipp cried out as she looked at her crush, who had become a baby. Baby Sonic looked at Pipp with sparkling eyes and immediately climbed on her back, tenderly embracing the pegasus's fur. Pipp blushed a little, but then she noticed that someone was on her dresser. She got closer and gasped with sparkling eyes: Tails also turned on a baby, sleeping tenderly with his tails around him. "Tails!" Pipp squealed, finding the scene of Baby Tails sleeping very cute. But then she saw Filly Izzy still playing with the spilled makeover, so she focused back and picked her up. Foal Hitch was sitting on a salon chair with his sunglasses on, but when he tried to get down, the chair bounced from being reclined down and sent Foal Hitch flying across the salon. Pipp shrieked at this, put Filly Izzy down, and flew off to catch Foal Hitch before he got hurt. Once she caught him, Pipp sighed in relief that Hitch was okay. But then she heard Filly Sunny cooing and turned to see her in the bin that Pipp brought over with the drinks. She saw Sunny get a pineapple drink on her head while spilling some drinks and hitting one with juice from her hooves. Pipp picked up Sunny and tried to understand why her friends were babies. "What. Is. Happening?!" she asked herself while Baby Sonic was still on her back and Baby Tails kept sleeping. A few minutes later, Pipp gathered her baby friends and placed them on a bench. Filly Sunny still had the pineapple on her head while she doodled on a book with a pen. Foal Hitch watched her draw while Baby Sonic stayed behind her, and Baby Tails was still sleeping on Filly Izzy's side. Pipp covered the windows with the curtains, closing Mane Melody early so that nopony would see her friends as babies. Pipp then took a deep breath and started to think. "No pony panic. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this," she said to herself, then looked at her baby friends as Filly Izzy and Sunny both played around Foal Hitch, who looked with a bored expression. Pipp took a breath and looked at Baby Sonic, who was hugging her back. "I just need a moment to think," she said with a blush and tried to think about what to do. But Baby Sonic opened his eyes and saw something that made him touch Pipp's fur. Pipp turned to see Baby Sonic, and he pointed to the bench where their friends should be, but once Pipp looked at it, only Baby Tails and the pineapple Filly Sunny had on her head were there, and the rest were gone. "Who’s ready for a pamper party?!" Pipp’s voice spoke up, but Pipp didn't say it; it was a recording of her voice. Pipp turned to the stage and saw Foal Hitch playing around with the stage controls while Filly Izzy was smiling back and forth on the disco ball. Filly Sunny was in a sink to wash manes, mixing many different colors of shampoo and conditioners on it, playing and giggling around the sink. "No, no!" Pipp tried to get Filly Sunny off the sink, but Filly Izzy swung by on the disco ball. "No!" Pipp cried out and tried to get Filly Izzy down. Then she got back with a towel for Sunny but saw the rainbow shampoo and conditioners had overflowed the sink and washed over to her, having the rainbow bubbles on her mane as she cooed at Pipp. "Cloudpuff, help!" she cried out, but then saw Cloudpuff put some makeup over him, and then he ran away when he saw that Hitch was chasing after him. "Please!" Pipp begged. "If Zipp and Knuckles see you like this, they’re going to be so…" she tries to get her baby friends to calm down, but... "Pipp!" Zipp’s voice called out, causing Pipp to freeze as she turned and saw Zipp and Knuckles coming in through the door. They saw Filly Izzy still swinging on the disco ball, Filly Sunny playing with the bubbles, Foal Hitch and Pup Cloudpuff chasing each other, Baby Tails sleeping on a bench, and Baby Sonic hugging Pipp's back. "What in the sake of Chaos it's going on here?!" Knuckles asked in shock, looking at their friends as babies. "Our friends are fillies!" Pipp cried out in panic; then Foal Hitch cleared his throat. Pipp looked at him while Foal Hitch gave her a look. "And Foals!" she added since Hitch was not a girl. Baby Sonic also cleared his throat, and Pipp looked at him as Sonic glared at her. "And babies!" she added once again. "Uh-huh," Zipp said as she and Knuckles approached Pipp. "But how?!" "Is this some magic thing that we have no explanation for?" Knuckles questioned as he held Foal Hitch in his arms, giggling at the echidna. Before Pipp could answer, Filly Sunny came passing by them on a chair. The three grown-ups looked in shock and worry at Filly Sunny. "Grab that filly!" Pipp called out as she and Zipp raced to catch Filly Sunny while Knuckles stood with Foal Hitch. Suddenly, the Equidna had an idea to keep Foal Hitch calm, and he smiled. "So... wanna travel around on Knuckles-express?" he asked the foal, as Foal Hitch cheered and Knuckles put him on his head. "Hang on thigh!" he warned, and then Knuckles started to run slowly around while Foal Hitch laughed and had fun. Meanwhile, Filly Izzy giggled as she drew a unicorn on the wall, using kiwis as the eyes. Suddenly, Pipp grabbed Izzy before she could make a bigger mess. Then, we had Filly Sunny sliding around the place and laughing. She kept sliding and then saw that she was about to hit the glass cabinet that contained Pipp’s salon supplies. Sunny giggled, but then she was saved by Zipp at the last second, and she placed Sunny on the floor. "Pipp! How did this happen!?" Zipp questioned. "I don’t know!" Pipp panicked, not knowing how this even happened. Then she yelled out and ran off to grab Filly Izzy, who was climbing on the glass cabinet, trying to grab a couple of face cream. Pipp grabbed Filly Izzy, but as she put her down, she started running off, and Pipp chased her. "I’m starting to lose it!" Pipp cried out, starting to lose her patience. Sunny started to run alongside Izzy as well. However, the two fillies stopped when they saw Knuckles throwing Foal Hitch slightly into the air. The two fillies laughed and started jumping at Knuckles, meaning they wanted to be trowed as well. Knuckles looked with doubt at first but then sighed in defeat and grabbed the fillies; then he began to throw them in a juggling way while the babies laughed, and Knuckles looked bored. Pipp saw this and panicked even more. "What are you doing?!" she questioned the Equidna, worried that he might accidentally let them fall. "I don't like to do this either, kiddo, but it's keeping them entertained and in one place, so you better solve this before I get tired!" Knuckles pointed out. "Alright, keep them like that," Zipp said as she put on her Z-Goggles and scanned the place to find anything that could work as a clue, but nothing was out of the ordinary besides Knuckles juggling with the fillies and the foal. "Pipp, try to stay calm and just tell us what happened," Zipp said as he took her Z-Goggles off and looked at her sister, who was still panicked about seeing her baby friends being juggled. "Every detail from the beginning," Zipp added. "Okay," Pipp said as she calmed down a bit. "So, I invited everypony to Mane Melody for an amazing spa day, except Knuckles, who rejected it," she started, then stared at Knuckles with a little anger. "I regret nothing!" Knuckles assured, as he kept juggling the fillies and foal around. "And everypony was loving it! They were so relaxed. Everything was perfect!" Pipp kept explaining as she remembered everything was going great before they became babies. Zipp then inspected the colored shampoo bubbles on the floor, sniffing and licking them. "Was it something they ate? Something they drink?" Zipp asked her sister before turning to Pipp’s messy makeover supplies on a mirror table. "Something in this weird beauty stuff?" she asked, looking at the supplies. "It is not weird!" Pipp corrected her sister, feeling insulted. "Can you girls hurry?! I'm running out of ideas to entertain them!" Knuckles begged, carrying the babies around the place on a homemade plane as Hitch simulated driving, and Sunny and Izzy giggled. Just then, the three grown adults heard Cloudpuff barking at them. "Puppy Cloudpuff!" Pipp, Zipp, and Knuckles said with sparkling eyes and smiles. But then, Zipp snapped out of her adoring expression and realized something about Pup Cloudpuff. "Wait," she called out and came close to Pup Cloudpuff. Zipp used a cotton swab to pick some glitter off of Pup Cloudpuff and inspect it. "What’s this?" she asked her sister. "That?" Pipp asked. "Oh! It’s my all-new, totally natural, fabulous fruity face mask!" she answered with a smile. "Okay... Should it be glowing? I'm pretty sure it shouldn't," Knuckles pointed out since the glitter glowed slightly. Pipp saw this and then panicked. "Uh-oh," she said, now knowing why their friends turned into babies. "Well..." she added. Then she remembered her face mask was smelling horrible, and she could not put it on her friends, so she grabbed a jar that had some of the glitter that came out of Sunny's magic and put the glitter on the face mask. "You put magic glitter in the face masks?" Zipp asked in disbelief, holding Filly Izzy and Filly Sunny holding on her hind leg, while Knuckles had Foal Hitch on his head. "I didn’t know it was magic!" Pipp defended herself. "Wasn't the glow and magic burst clear enough to you?!" Knuckles yelled with frustration. Pipp just gave a sheepish smile and chuckled nervously. "How are we gonna get them back…" Zipp tried to ask but then felt pain in her leg and saw Filly Sunny biting her leg. "Sunny! No biting!" she scolded the young filly as she tried to shake her off. "Come on, Pipp. You can fix this. This is your thing," she said to herself. She came to her makeover supplies as Zipp and Knuckles kept their baby friends busy. "Think. The face mask has ingredients to make you look younger. But maybe with a different mix of ingredients, I can make them look older!" she gasped, now that she found a way to change their friends back. "Zipp! Knuckles! I have an idea!" she called out with a smile. A little while later, after going through Pipp's plan, they gathered the ingredients they needed to transform their friends back into their grown-up selves. Zipp and Knuckles mashed, cut, and mixed some fruits and vegetables that make ponies grow up. They smashed some bowls with their hooves/hands, but then Zipp saw Pipp mixing hers with some added liquids. Pipp smiled, and her Cutie Mark started to shine, while Zipp smiled at Pipp and continued her work. A little bit later, they got the face masks ready, with the glitter added again. Zipp grabbed Filly Sunny so Pipp could apply the mask, but Sunny didn't want the mask on her since she's a filly and protested against the adults. When Pipp was about to put the mask on Sunny, she swatted the brush away and returned to the ground with Foal Hitch and Filly Izzy. Pipp tried to use the brush on Filly Izzy, but Izzy also swatted the brush away. Knuckles, Pipp, and Zipp looked at their baby friends worried, and Pipp was about to tear up because her baby friends didn't want the mask on them. Zipp was going to comfort her, but then Baby Sonic hugged Pipp's neck and patted her mane a little like he was saying everything would be okay. "Aww!" Pipp said since Sonic looked cute as a baby while he comforted her a little. "Even as a baby, he still has a kind and careful heart," Knuckles pointed out with a little smile. "Look, Pipp, I got this," Zipp said, referring to the situation with their baby friends. Once upon a time..." she called out to them, getting their baby friends' attention. Two sisters were very different. And even though they liked different things—different things—that was what made life together so fun," she said to their baby friends with a smile while they started to yawn and feel sleepy. Pipp placed a hoof over her chest and smiled at Zipp. "Oh, you used to tell me bedtime stories," she said as she nuzzled her sister, and her cutie mark glowed again. "The sisters traveled together across Equestria..." Zipp kept telling the story while Pipp finished putting on the face masks. They watched their baby friends with a smile. Knuckles brought Tails over, who was still sleeping, and Pipp also put the mask on him. Finally, Knuckles took Sonic, who also fell asleep, and Pipp put the mask on him, finishing with the masks. "You know, I was thinking..." Knuckles said as he placed Sonic on a blanket. "Sonic told me that he was 20 times more hyperactive when he was a kid and that the only things that could stop him were food and... someone he admires," he added with a smile, looking at Pipp. Pipp immediately blushed a little because she didn't expect Sonic to admire her, or at least not to the point where he could stop running around. "W- What are you implying?" Pipp questioned, still blushing. "...The signs are very clear, even for me, yet you don't get them..." Knuckles replied with a bored expression. A little while later, Hitch woke up like a fully grown stallion again as he stretched and yawned. Behind him were Sonic, Tails, Sunny, and Izzy, now fully grown up, with blankets and pillows around them while sleeping on the stage of Mane Melody. Cloudpuff was also back to his right age as well. Izzy and Sunny woke up from their nap while Hitch shook his head and touched his face with a smile. "Hey. Wow. I do feel younger," he said while Cloudpuff barked happily at them. Izzy touched her face with a smile. "Huh. That was amazing! I am going to tell all my friends about this!" she said to herself with sparkling eyes. You gotta try this new spa!" she said to Sunny, who was also touching her face. Sonic and Tails started to wake up as well. "Man... I feel at least 20 years younger!" Sonic said as he stretched a little and touched his face. "Yeah!" Tails said with a smile. "I slept like a baby!" It was clear that they had no memories of them being babies. Otherwise, they would be freaking out about everything they did around the place. "Whoa," Sunny said as she saw Zipp, Pipp, and Knuckles sleeping with a cowboy hat covering his face. They were so tired of the whole babies thing and cleaning up the place while the rest slept. You three look exhausted," Sunny commented as they woke up, seeing that their friends were back to normal. You should treat yourselves to one of these face masks," she added, holding one of the face masks. Zipp and Pipp smiled at each other, chuckling that their friends didn’t realize they were turned into babies, while Knuckles smiled a little, knowing that they would have to fill their friends in what happened later. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 16. Neighfever"Flowers!" Dahlia called out, holding a pack of flowers. "Homegrown flowers!" she announced to the ponies of Maretime Bay with her right eye twitching. "Anypony? Flowers!" she said to the ponies around her flower stand, but they got a little freaky from her and ran off. "Anypony? Homegrown flowers! Flowers! Anypony?" she asked, but everypony just kept walking. Next to her flower stand was the smoothie stand Sunny works at, while Hitch and Knuckles were borrowing smoothies, and Tails started to help Sunny deliver some smoothies. They all watched Dahlia desperately trying to get anypony to buy her flowers. "Poor Dahlia. Now that earth ponies have magic, no pony is buying her flowers anymore," Sunny said in sympathy for Dahlia as they watched her waving the flowers in her hooves. "One of a kind!" Dahlia announced while Posey walked by, and Dahlia turned to her. "Can’t be found anywhere else," she said to Posey but said Earth pony stomped her hoof and made a flower sprout from the ground. "Ooohhh!" Sunny, Hitch, Tails, and Knuckles cringed at Posey, proving her point. "Oh..." Dahlia said sadly as Posey picked the flower she had made, placed it on her mane, and then walked away. "Perfect for a special occasion," Dahlia kept saying with a sad smile, knowing that nopony would buy her flowers anymore. "It’s too hard to watch!" Hitch called out, since he could not stand seeing Dahlia sad and that nopony was buying her flowers. "I can’t take it anymore!" Knuckles added, and he walked towards Dahlia, with Hitch following him since both would buy her some flowers. "I hate to see this..." Tails said with a sad tone and his ears down. "It's sad to watch that somepony's supposed special talent is not so special anymore..." he added, feeling bad for Dahlia. "Yeah, I get what you mean," Sunny confessed. "There must be some way to help her," she added. Tails then put a hand on his chin and smiled with an idea. "I think I might know what to do..." he smirked. In the afternoon, Dahlia watered her flowers at home, which helped distract her from her lack of sales lately. "Hey, Dahlia!" Sunny’s voice spoke, and Dahlia turned and saw Sunny and Tails flying to her from the sky. Sunny was still practicing her flying and tried to land on the ground, a little shaky. Dahlia got startled and lost her balance. She tossed her watering can into the air and fell into her flower patch while Sunny and Tails landed on the ground. Dahlia coughed some of the petals she had gotten from the fall, getting some on her mane as well, but then she recomposed herself and smiled at her visitors. "Hey, Sunny. Hey, Tails," she greeted them. "Hi!" Tails said as he waved a hand at her. "Sorry, Dahlia." Sunny apologized for scaring her as she took off her alicorn form. "I’m still getting the hang of this Alicorn thing," she chuckled. "It’s okay. No harm done…" Dahlia tried to say, but she got cut off when her water can fell on her head upside down, getting water on her mane. She sighed, grabbed the water can from her head, then shook it to get water out of her mane and looked at Sunny and Tails. "Can I help you two with something?" she asked them. "It’s time you start growing your flowers with magic!" Sunny answered to Dahlia with a smile. "Magic? Oh, no. I haven’t got any of that," Dahlia said to her, thinking she hadn’t gotten any magic. "Of course you do," Sunny said. "Every Pony has some kind of magic," she assured her. "You might not know yet, but it is there somewhere, waiting to rise and surprise the world!" Tails added with a smile as he flew a little around. "That's the spirit!" Sunny said, then got next to Dahlia. "Now..." A little bit later, Sunny showed Dahlia how to use her earth pony magic. First, she showed her the moves on how to use it. Dahlia followed her movements and stomped her hoof down, which caused a small spark of her magic. The two mares and Tails watched closely as Sunny brought out her magnifying glass and saw that a tiny flower sprouted. Dahlia looked sad, but Sunny and Tails supported her since it was a good start. A moment later, Dahlia moved her legs again and did a twirl before stomping all four hooves on the ground. That sprouted an actual-sized flower, but the petals fell off the stem the second it sprouted. Sunny smiled and raised her hoof for Dahlia to give a high hoof, but Dahlia wasn’t happy since the flower petals fell off, and Tails just gave a nervous smile. Later, Dahlia stomped her hoof down and sprouted a small field of flowers. Dahlia smiled, and Sunny raised her hooves to give Dahlia a high hoove. Dahlia was about to give her the high hoove, but the flowers whittled and died. Dahlia gave a discouraging look to Sunny and Tails while they both smiled sheepishly. A little bit later, the three decided to take a break while Dahlia was discouraged about her progress. "It's no use, guys. Face it. My flower business is over," she said sadly. "Don't think like that, Dahlia," Sunny said, not wanting her to give up. "Yeah. You're making good progress so far, no matter the results!" Tails assured her. "All you have to do is believe in yourself. Feel the magic inside, and think of something that makes you happy," Sunny said with a smile. "Hmmm..." Dahlia said, starting to think of something that made her happy. "I do love a big... beautiful... flower!" she smiled, then moved her hooves, which started to glow green, and stomped her hoof down. And then, a big stem starts to grow as Dahlia backs away and comes to Sunny and Tails. They all watched in amazement a flower as big as a tower with giant red petals. "Wow!" Sunny said in amazement. "Now that is Flower Power!" Tails said with a smile. "See, Dahlia? We knew you could do it! Try again!" Sunny cheered to Dahlia with a smile as well. As they walked around Maretime Bay, Dahlia got so overjoyed by her earth pony magic that she kept making big flowers wherever she walked. At first, Tails did not consider this very important, but as more flowers grew, more pollen appeared, and when he finally noticed, he knew he had to stop Dahlia. "Um... girls?" Tails called Sunny and Dahlia, but none of them were listening. "Whoo-hoo!" Dahlia cheered. "I've got magic!" she smiled. "Girls!" Tails called again. We have to take the flowers out before they sick everyone with their pollen!" he warned, but the mares kept ignoring him. "Aw man, this is bad... This is really, really bad!" he said with worry as he flew away back to the Brighthouse. After a while, the wind began to whistle around Maretime Bay, and the giant flowers began to tilt. When the ponies noticed that, they ran away for cover while Sunny and Dahlia stared in fear. Then, a big red flower next to them tilted and broke off, falling towards them. Sunny and Dahlia screamed as the flower fell with a thud, which caused the pollen to come out of the flower. Since the flower was so big, it held a lot of pollen, and it spread out to Maretime Bay. "Ah... Ah…" Sunny and Dahlia felt like sneezing, and then... "Achoo!" Sunny and Dahlia let out a sneeze, then they turned and saw the amount of pollen that was spilled in Maretime Bay. "Uh-oh..." Sunny said, having a bad feeling about this. "What have I done?!" Dahlia asked in shock at her actions of overdoing her magic with the big flowers. Sunny: You're feelin' kinda crummy And things are gettin' tough But it's not time to give up yet Sunny and Dahlia walked through the covered pollen street of Maretime Bay as the ponies around them sneezed and looked at Dahlia. Dahlia: Haven't I done enough? I thought I had the magic But I look like a phony Have you ever felt like, yeah Felt like everypony Dahlia felt ashamed of herself for getting Maretime Bay covered in pollen as she trotted away from Sunny. Zipp was flying by, seeing Maretime Bay covered in pollen, and then sneezed, which caused her to fly backward and caused her to pass a Fifi poster sign. Then Dahlia saw two ponies at her sides as they sneezed and looked at her. Dahlia ran off as Sunny ran to catch up to her. Dahlia stopped next to Hitch and Knuckles as they began to sneeze, along with three bunnycorns and a racconicorns next to them. Dahlia ran off in guilt as Sunny tried to stop her. Sunny and Dahlia: Is lookin'? ACHOO! They're lookin' at you Dahlia: They're whispering, they're pointing their hooves Izzy was nearby, wearing her goggles to try to keep the pollen off her eyes. She failed because she was tearing up her goggles. Then, she sneezed and fell into a barrel as Dahlia continued to run off. Sunny: You tried your best, so don't worry You'll solve this problem, yeah, you'll see Dahlia ran past Mane Melody with Sunny by her tail. Inside Mane Melody, Pipp was putting a face mask on a unicorn mare, but the pollen was getting to her, and she sneezed at the face mask's content. Pipp cringed and looked around in the hope that nopony noticed, and once the coast was clear, she stirred the face mask as fast as she could and then applied it to the unicorn mare, hoping nopony would notice. Sunny and Dahlia: Because... ACHOO! There's sparkle in you Sunny: And it will shine your way right through Dahlia returned to her house and looked back to the ponies still sneezing from the pollen as Sunny gave her a sympathetic look. Dahlia: I'd rather hide so they can't see Because... ACHOO! They're lookin' at me Dahlia opened the door and closed it, feeling guilty about all this, while Sunny gave a pity expression, feeling bad for Dahlia and also guilty since she was part of all this. Back at the Brighthouse, Tails, and Sonic wore protective suits since Tails could only warn him about the imminent neighfever before it could happen. "Thanks for the warning, little bro," Sonic greeted again. "My only complaint is that this is too tight, but I'm not sneezing, at least," he added with a smile. "I just wished I could see this coming so Dahlia wouldn't have planted all those flowers," Tails said, feeling guilty. "This is my fault," he added, saddened. "This is also my fault..." Sunny added that they were sitting on the couch in the living room with Izzy, watching TV and the News on the neighfever spreading quickly across the town. "We've made everything worse!" Sunny added with frustration. "Aaaachoo!" Izzy sneezed again, but then she fell backward and landed on her back. "I dunno, I kinda like sneezing. It's like a sneaky nose surprise. Achoo! See? So sneaky," she said to the rest. "Well, usually I will say, 'let's just roll with it', but I know we can't live sneezing the rest of our lives," Sonic commented. "And in my case and Tails', we cannot be trapped in these suits forever either. We need to use the bathroom, you know..." he pointed out with a bored expression. "And we cannot leave Dahlia now!" Tails added. "Not when she needs us more than ever!" he told Sunny. Sunny gave off a determined expression. "You’re right, Tails. We've gotta fix this!" she declared as she and the fox ran out the door to fix their mistake. "Well, while they do that, I'm going to hit the shower," Sonic said as he ran upstairs to use the bathroom. Later, again, Dahlia was watering her flowers, also having a stuffy nose from the pollen all over Maretime Bay. She turned and saw Sunny and Tails coming by again, with Tails still using the protection suit. "Ugh! Not you two again!" she groaned, still upset and guilty from what she had done to the town. "Haven't you two done enough? Achoo!" she asked them and started sneezing on the flowers. "We’re so—" Sunny started but stopped when Dahlia sneezed on her flowers again. "Achoo," Dahlia sneezed. "—sorry, Dah—" Tails kept going, but he got cut off by the sneezing, again on the flowers. "Achoo!" "We were just—" Sunny said and got cut off again. "Achoo!" "—trying to—" Tails said and again got cut off. "Achoo!" "—help!" Sunny and Tails both finished. "Achoo!" Dahlia sneezed on her flowers again, but then they started to shine and glow with the colors of the rainbow. Dahlia, Sunny, and Tails saw this with awe, and Sunny found the perfect idea for all their problems. "I think there's a way to make everypony forget all about this neighfever nightmare!" Sunny said to Dahlia with a smile. Tails realized what she meant and smiled. "It would also help to return your flower business in no time!" he added. "Keep sneezing, Dahlia!" both Sunny and Tails said. Dahlia smirked, seeing what those two were planning. "Now that I can do it! Achoo!" she said to them, then continued sneezing on her flowers. After cleaning up the whole town from the pollen and with everypony feeling better now, Sunny and Tails told Dahlia what she had to do to keep her business going. Meanwhile, Pipp was livestreaming through her phone, filming Izzy wearing a necklace of flowers glowing one color at a time. "And there you have it. The perfect accessory for the ultimate cool pony style," she said to the viewers of her livestream. "Cool pony?" Izzy asked in confusion, then gasped with sparkling eyes. "Is that me?" she asked cheerfully. Pipp looked a little nervous to Izzy since it seemed she forgot about the plan to tell everypony about Dahlia's new necklaces but decided to let it slide and go along with it. "Um, yeah," she said to Izzy before facing her livestream again. "Now don't forget, Pippsqueaks. You can get your cool pony necklace at Maretime Bay's one-stop style shop – Dahlia's flower cart! Squeak ya later! Mwah!" She blew a kiss and ended the livestream. At Maretime Bay, everypony was wearing Dahlia’s flower necklaces, finding them great, stylish, and amazing as well, while ponies were lining up on Dahlia’s flower stand, who was very happy that her flowers and new flower necklaces were a hit again. Sunny, Hitch, Tails, and Knuckles looked at Dahlia, who was also wearing necklaces, with smiles. They were happy that Dahlia had gotten her flower business back. Also, Tails wasn't wearing his protection suit anymore. "Now, this is something great to watch!" Knuckles said with a smile, happy that Dahlia was having clients again. "And another problem was solved successfully!" Tails added with a big smile. "Gotta love a happy ending!" Sunny added, also smiling. Suddenly, Sonic arrived with a big smile, wearing a necklace as well. "Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys!" he said, as he stopped in front of them. "Pipp will perform a new song to honor this new style! Come on, you don't wanna miss this!" he said, happier than usual, and then ran off to Mane Melody. "You know, I never seen him so excited for a Pop Star singing before," Knuckles commented. "It's Pipp, the one singing, so I expected it," Tails said with a smirk. "Wait..." Hitch spoke as he and Sunny looked at Tails and Knuckles, a bit confused. "Why are you talking about Sonic like that?" he questioned. "Isn't it obvious? He likes..." Knuckles almost shouted, but a glare from Tails was enough to make him realize he was talking too loud, so he whispered at Sunny and Hitch. "Sonic likes Pipp," he whispered with a smirk. That made Sunny and Hitch gasp with sparkling eyes since they had known for a while now that Pipp also liked Sonic. "By your reactions, I'm guessing it's a reciprocal thing that everyone but them notices, right?" Tails asked the ponies. "Yup!" Sunny answered, still with sparkling eyes. "Should we tell them?" Hitch suggested. "Nah, let's enjoy seeing those two love birds being so ignorant about their reciprocal love for now," Knuckles said. And let them enjoy it before we leave Equestria, maybe forever, he thought. "Let's make him some company, so if he makes something stupid, we can mock him the whole month!" he added with a smile. They all walked laughing towards Mane Melody, not noticing that the flowers from their necklaces started to lose their colors and drip off the petals, probably causing Dahlia's business to get into trouble again. But that's a story we'll tell another day, or probably never. THE END...? Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 17. Queens for a DayPipp popped her head from behind a bush in Zephyr Heights, out of the Royal Castle. She yelped before she ducked down and hid beside her friends and sister since they hid behind the bush. "Oh. My. Glitter!" Pipp said excitedly as she turned to her friends. "This is going to be the best surprise ever!" she sang the last word excited. Suddenly, they heard rolling sounds, which meant that someone was coming. "Here she comes," Zipp whispered to her friends with a smile. Then, she turned to Team Sonic, next to a fireworks batch. "Guys! Light them up!" she said to them, raising their thumbs in approval. "3, 2, 1!" The Mane 5 counted down in excitement, then got out of the bush and shouted "Happy Mares Day!" in unison and with a strike of pose. To be clear, 'Mares Day' is the equivalent of 'Mother's Day' in Equestria. But then they gasped when they didn't see Queen Haven, but Fifi pulling a fruit cart and a Pegasus Stallion next to her, looking confused at the group. The fireworks were set off behind them since Team Sonic didn't know they got the wrong pony. Fifi and her partner gave an awed expression when they saw the fireworks. "Look. You’re missing the fireworks!" Fifi said to the group with a smile. Team Sonic popped their heads from behind the bush, and as Knuckles gave a bored expression and Tails facepalmed, Sonic frowned and sighed in defeat. "You've gotta be kidding me..." Pipp groaned in frustration. "We thought you were the queen." Fifi snorted a bit before replying. "Imagine that. Me. The queen," she said to her partner with a smirk. Fifi's partner playfully bowed to her. "Well, hello, Your Majesty!" se said in a playful tone and smiled as he and Fifi walked past the Mane 5 with a chuckle at their joke. "And now we’ve completely wasted the fireworks. Ugh. I knew this would happen," Zipp said with a frown. "Zipp, you don't need fireworks to show the queen how much you care about her," Sunny assured her. "Which is great, 'cause now you don't have any!" Izzy smiled but then realized it came out wrong and nervously laughed. "Yaaaay…" she said weakly with a sheepish smile. "Izz, we talked about this. Think before you speak," Tails said as he, Sonic, and Knuckles approached the Mane 5. "Sorry..." Izzy apologized as she scratched her neck a bit. Tails smiled and patted her back, assuring that everything was fine at the end. "But what about the Queen, though?" Sonic said. "She didn't stop talking about how much she was looking forward to this day when she, Alphabittle, and I reunited," he pointed out. "Maybe she's just... running late," Hitch suggested. Zipp frowned since she knew her mother way too well. "No. I know exactly where she is," she said angrily. "Oh no..." Knuckles whispered. "She's mad. Should I get worried?" he asked Sonic as he and Tails looked at the hedgehog. "Yup," Sonic said with a bored expression. "Yeah, we should," he added. Queen Haven and Zoom were in the throne room, while Haven was surrounded by paperwork she needed to do since she’d been very busy today. "What's next on the royal to-do list, Zoom?" Haven asked her Royal Guard. "Well, we are running a bit late, your Majesty..." Zoom said to her Queen while checking the to-do list pad she was holding. But for item eighty-one, you were supposed to—" she tried to explain. But then Haven gasped in shock. "Meet my daughters in the royal square!" she said in panic, forgetting completely about that. The royal gates burst with a thud, showing the Mane 6 and Team Sonic coming in, with Pipp and Zipp being very upset that their mother didn’t show up, while the rest of their friends smiled sheepishly. Haven saw her daughters' frowns and sweated a bit. "Oh, dear..." she said while her daughters and their friends approached her. "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise," she said nervously to her daughters. "You were supposed to meet us in the square. I even made an appointment with Zoom this time!" Zipp shouted out, Zoom covered herself with the to-do list pad she held. "Being a no-show is, like, totally harsh, Mother!" Pipp pointed out, while Haven heard them with sadness. "And on Mares Day?! Rude!" she shouted out. Haven closed her eyes a bit with stress. "I know! I'm so sorry I've let you down! And on this special day!" she apologized to her daughters with a guilty tone, while Pipp and Zipp felt bad for their mother. "Believe me, there's nothing I'd like more than to take a break from being queen," she came up to her daughters and gave them a forgiving hug. But there's just too much to do..." she pointed out. Sonic then ran next to them. "On her defense, and I say this as a knight appointed by a talking sword, Royalty requires a lot of responsibility and time," he pointed out. "As a Queen, it's normal for her to get some things forgotten, no matter how important they are..." he added with a compassionate look towards Haven. Zipp thought about that for a second and then smiled with an idea. "Then why don't we give you a break?" she said to their mother as she and Pipp broke off the hug. We'll do all of your queenly duties for the rest of the day," she offered to her mom. The rest saw where Zipp was going, so they smiled and nodded in agreement. Haven gave Zipp an amusing smile. "Really? You want to be queen?" she asked since Zipp had been trying to avoid the fact that she would be the Queen of Zephyr Heights someday. "Come on, Mom. How hard can it be?" Zipp asked with a smirk. Haven put a hoof to her chin, thinking over Zipp's proposal, then smiled with sparkling eyes and zipped straight next to Zoom. "Okay then! Zoom will ensure you have everything you need!" she said quickly, then zoomed straight to the door. "Good luck!" she waved to her daughters and their friends as she closed the door. Zoom blinked a bit before saluting her Queen with a smile. "Of course, your Majesty!" she called out before scrolling through her to-do list pad. "Ordering the royal to-do list now!" she said, then sent the royal to-do list to Zipp. Zipp picked up her phone and saw many messages on it; all of them were part of the list. The messages kept going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on, and... You get the point. There's lots of stuff to do. The rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic looked at Zipp’s phone, seeing more messages popping up. Pipp smiled nervously as the messages kept going. "That's not…" she started before clearing her throat. "So bad," she finished. But then the beeping speeded up since even more list messages popped up, which surprised the group. "'Come on, Mom. How hard can it be?'" Sonic said, trying to imitate Zipp's voice. "Way to go, Princess," he added with a bored expression. "Would you look at that? It just keeps going and going and going and going and going and going…" she said to the group while circling Zipp, who was having a nervous breakdown over this much work, starting to regret this idea. "This'll be... f-fun. Right?" Pipp nervously asked her friends with a forced smile. "Yeah... You and I have very different concepts of 'fun,' Pipp," Knuckles said sarcastically as the phone finally stopped beeping. "This is going to be a looooong day..." Tails said as he and the rest looked at the list with worry. A while later, Zoom led the group to a door, still helping them follow the list in order. "Item eighty-two – the newborn foal's portrait," Zoom told them as she opened the door, revealing eight young foals pegasi on a couch bench. "Awwww!" the Mane 5 and Team Sonic cooed with sparkling eyes at the adorable foals. The pegasi foals started to giggle as they hopped up and down. The group gasped in fear, knowing very well that hyped-up foals can be tricky to calm down or even get them to hold still, so they decided to split up and catch them. "H-Hey! Get back here!" Zipp called out to one of the foals, trying to get it to stand still for the portrait. Sunny jumped, trying to catch one of the foals flying, while Pipp had the same problem with another. And then, not paying attention, the two foals got between Sunny and Pipp, flying out of their path while Sunny and Pipp crashed into each other, with Sunny lying on top of Pipp. The two had bored expressions while the foals just giggled at them. Tails was growling in frustration as he flew and tried to catch one of the foals. Knuckles screamed as one of the foals grabbed one of his ears and tugged it. "G-Get off me!" he complained since he didn't want to hurt a little foal with his big hands. Sonic was chasing around one of the Foals, but he didn't want to catch him with his speed since he thought it could hurt one of them. And Hitch was being dragged by two foals from his rear legs while he pawed at the floor. "I'll be... right... behind... you!" he grunted. The group finally got the foals under control and sat them back on the couch to take their picture. The foals giggled, and the Mane 6 stood behind them, with Hitch holding one of them with a nervous smile. The camera took the picture, showing the Mane 5 and Team Sonic having trouble with the foals again. The next picture showed Hitch wearing makeup from the foal he was holding, with a sad expression as the foal laughed at him. The last picture showed Pipp taking a selfie with her Pippsqueaks followers. A little bit later, after taking pictures with the foals, Zoom led the group to a playground where ponies took pictures of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic behind a ribbon to inaugurate the playground. "Item ninety-seven – the grand opening of the royal playground," Zoom instructed. Zipp laughed, actually feeling relief about this part of the list. "This'll be easy," she said to her friends with a smile. Zipp grabbed the giant scissors and tried to snip the ribbon, but it wasn’t cutting. Zipp kept trying, but somehow, it still didn't cut. Pipp came to her sister’s side, and now they snipped the scissors together, but they still didn’t cut the ribbon. Izzy came to them, grabbed the scissors, and started to rip the ribbon again, but it still didn't work. Sunny came to Izzy's side, and the two ponies worked together to try to cut the ribbon, but the scissors still didn't cut it. "Uh, this is hard to watch," Flare, a white pegasus with a fire-styled mane, said to herself and the pegasus beside her. Sunny and Izzy continued to try to cut the ribbon while they started to sweat. "Must... cut... ribbon!" Izzy said in frustration and determination. "Just go on without us!" Sunny cried out with tears. Team Sonic watched this in disbelief, finding it a little dumb that cutting a ribbon was hard. Tails sighed in frustration and came before the ribbon while Sunny and Izzy kept trying to cut it. "Well, this is ridiculous," he said, taking a Swiss Army Knife from one of his tails and cutting the ribbon in one shot. The crowd cheered now that the ribbon was finally cut, as Sunny and Izzy sighed in relief. "Uh, Tails... Why do you have a Swiss Knife with you?" Sonic questioned. "You always have to be prepared," Tails replied with a little smile. A picture shows Zipp giving a public speech with reporters' microphones in front of her. Zipp looks nervous about the whole thing while Pipp is photographing it behind her. Another picture showed Zipp and Pipp helping with the construction plans for the construction ponies, but mostly Zipp since Pipp was taking selfies of the whole thing. The next picture showed Hitch leading the ponies in a fashion order while keeping them in line for something. A while later, Zipp and Pipp were in Zephyr Heights Hospital to pay a visit to an injured pegasus stallion, who was all bandaged up from head to hooves as the cameras were taking pictures of the three ponies. Pipp gently placed a comforting hoof on the stallion to avoid hurting him. But Pipp dropped her phone when she tried to take a selfie, which landed on one of the stallion’s legs. The pegasus stallion patient screamed in pain while the pictures were taken, and Pipp felt guilty about it while Zipp tried to calm the patient down. Later, Zipp was digging a hole to plant a new plant on the ground. The cameras took pictures of her as Zipp smiled, but then Pipp cleared her throat. Once Zipp turned around, she saw Pipp had dirt on her head from shoveling while she held the plant. The picture showed Pipp throwing dirt on Zipp playfully, and Zipp laughed at Pipp’s payback. Later, In the throne room, Pipp and Zipp were doing the paperwork their mother had to do at a fast paste as they sweated to get the papers done. Knuckles placed the papers they’d finished on a wagon that Sunny and Hitch brought. But then, Izzy showed up with another load of papers through the door, about to hit Sunny and Hitch and take the papers out. "Whoa!" Hitch cried out as he and Sunny stopped. "Look out!" Sunny cried out. Izzy realized that she was going to crash into them. "Yikes!" she cried out. She then crashed into her friends, scattering all the papers and leaving the three ponies dazed on impact. Pipp and Zipp saw this with wide and tired eyes, and Pipp groaned in frustration. Tails and Knuckles poked their heads out of one of the piles while Sonic looked around and picked some papers. One had a seal and was signed by Pipp, another was signed by Zipp, and the last one didn't have either the seal or a sign. He looked at the pile of papers and nodded with a determined face. In less than 6 seconds, all the papers were organized again: the already signed ones were on Sunny and Hitch's wagons, while the blank ones were again at Zipp and Pipp's sides. Sonic then stopped and looked at his work with a proud smile. "Before you ask, the signed papers are on the wagons; the ones you have with you are blank," Sonic said before Zipp or Pipp could complain about doing the thing so fast. "Just because I consider myself the fastest thing alive doesn't mean I don't like things organized," he said with a smirk. Haven was alone in the dining room, feeling lonely and wondering how her daughters and their friends were doing. "I do hope everything's okay," she said to herself. The door opened, and Haven turned to see that the Mane 5 and Team Sonic had arrived, looking really tired from their duties. "We did it!" Zipp called out with an exhausting smile. "We're late for dinner, but we made it!" she added. "And how did it go?" Haven asked them with a smile. "A newborn foal gave me a shiner!" Hitch said in a panic, pointing to the shiner in his left eye. "My legs hurt from chasing foals!" Knuckles complained. "Being queen is much harder than it looks!" Sunny groaned. "I've never been this stressed in my entire life..." Tails confessed with an exhausted expression. "Look at all this dirt in my mane!" Pipp cried out, pointing to the dirt on her mane. "I have to get rid of my knight title!" Sonic cried out in panic. "I'll never use scissors again!" Izzy yelled with frustration. Haven held a hoove over her mouth, seeing them tired and overworked. "The truth is there were eight of us. We didn't even come close to finishing the royal to-do list," Zipp admitted, and then she came next to her mother. I can't believe you do that every day," she added, now better understanding the responsibility of a Queen. Pipp came up next to Haven on the other side. "Yeah, I think we were the ones being harsh earlier. Sonic was right about the big responsibility of being a Queen. You are super amazing," she added, hugging her mother. Haven smiled and placed a hoof on Pipp's shoulder. "That means a lot, Pipp. Thank you," she thanked her daughters, then clapped her hooves together. After the clap, the doors suddenly opened, and Zoom and Thunder came with a cart of food and placed it on the dinner table. The Mane 5 and Teams Sonic gasped in amazement at the feast before them. Zipp turned to her mom with a smile and sparkling eyes. "You think of everything," she said in amazement, while Haven nodded her head with a smile. "Now, everypony, dig in!" Haven announced it to the group with a smile. Now, the Mane 5, Team Sonic, and Queen Haven are digging in on their food as they chat while enjoying their well-deserved feast. Zoom smiled as she placed the failed picture with the foals on the wall. Then, she took out her pad and checked off the last thing on the to-do list, ending the royal duties for the day. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 18. On Your Cutie Marks"Clear for landing, Team Pegasi!" Sunny’s voice called out as Zipp and Pipp were leading a group of pegasi over, with Thunder carrying a basket full of balls while the others carried one ball each. They threw the balls, Rocky catching two of them, and then he threw them to Zoom. Zoom hit the balls back while Zipp came zooming by and caught two of them, juggling them. Pipp caught the two more and backflipped in the air before she flew by. Sunny came by with a speakerphone on her head. "It's just a little sports day, ponies. No need to show off," she commented since the pegasi were showing off a little too much. "All of Equestria is a stage, Sunny," Pipp said with a smile, tossing a ball on top of the other in her hooves. Hitch, light the lanterns!" she called out through her earphones as well. "Lanterns?" Sunny asked, but when she realized what Pipp meant, she turned to her left with her hooves up. "No, Hitch!" she cried out to him. "Roger that. Lanterns lit," Hitch declared, standing in front of a red button and about to hit it. "Wait, Hitch!" Sunny tried to stop him, but he had already pushed the button. The lanterns lit and floated all over Maretime Bay while Sunny looked on with a nervous expression. "Oh, no..." Sunny muttered as she sweated a little. "Did you say 'oh, go'?" Izzy’s voice asked through her earphone. "Izzy, no!" Sunny cried out to her. "Go?" Izzy asked her again. "NO!" Sunny cried out clearly to Izzy, already frustrated that the exercise was not going well. Izzy, of course, clearly thinks she meant to go and turned to her team of unicorns. "You heard her, Team Unicorn! Go, go, go!" she announced, as they used their magic to levitate streamers over their heads while some unicorns laughed and a few of them danced around, and then the streamers flew into the air. "Bogey at three o'clock!" Thunder cried out to Zoom, seeing the streamers coming at them. "Gross!" Zoom said, not understanding what Thunder meant when the streamers came at them. Then Zoom got hit, and Thunder moved out of the way. "Aah!" Pipp cried out as the streamers hit her, Zipp, and the other pegasi. Zipp got tangled in one of the streamers, and that caused them to drop the balls and hit the lanterns. Sunny saw the lanterns and balls fall from the sky. "Everypony, take cover!" she shouted to everypony around them. The balls and lanterns crashed all over Maretime Bay, and the ponies around them tried to run for cover, but some got hit by them. "Aah!" Rocky shouted as he flew around, got tangled in a streamer, and crashed into the ground. Just then, Sonic, Queen Haven, and Alphabittle came out of Mane Melody. "Are we ready to begin?" Alphabittle asked with a smile. But then Sonic felt his quills getting up as he looked up and saw what was coming at them. "Look out!" Sonic shouted as he pushed Haven and Alphabittle out of the way. "Aah!" Alphabittle and Haven shouted in surprise at Sonic's push before two balls and a lantern hit them. They ran for cover while more balls and lanterns fell from the sky. Sunny was seeing this outcome as her right eye began to twitch. Sonic, Haven, and Alphabittle came out from under the bridge once the coast was clear, while Sunny came closer to them. "I'm so sorry!" Sunny apologized to the two leaders and the visitor from another dimension for this outcome. "This was supposed to be the best day ever, and I—–!" she tried to explain, but Alphabittle cut her off. "It's okay, Sunny," Alphabittle assured her. "No harm—–" he tried to say but got cut off when Thunder came screaming from the sky and fell and landed on a pile of boxes. "Maybe a little harm done," he corrected himself. With all of Equestria competing for the first time, this is a big job," he said to her. "How are you doing?" he asked her with curiosity, wondering how she was handling being in charge. "I'm okay!" Thunder called out to them from the box. "Not you, Thunder," Alphabittle said with a bored expression. "Even for a Queen, it would be a lot to handle alone," Haven pointed out to Sunny. "I'm the Alicorn," Sunny said to them, summoning her Alicorn form to prove her point. "I've got this," she said nervously. "Being a leader means recognizing when you can't do something, Sunny. If this is a lot to take, it's okay to say it," Sonic said with a little smile while Alphabittle and Haven nodded in agreement. "It's okay, Sonic. I can do this!" Sunny said again with a nervous chuckle. "Let the Equestria Games begin!" she announced nervously to the ponies around them while the crowd cheered. As Sunny walked away, Sonic raised an eyebrow at Haven and Alphabittle. "We agree that she doesn't get this, right?" he asked them rhetorically. "Yup," Alphabittle replied with a bored expression. "Oh, absolutely," Haven said with her eyes closed. And then Tails and Knuckles arrived with them, panting for all the running they had done. "Sorry... we got... late..." Tails apologized as he tried to catch his breath. "We overslept... again..." Knuckles explained, also catching his breath a bit. "Did we... miss something?" Tails asked, finally catching his breath. "Not yet, my friends. But I feel these games are going to be rough..." Sonic said to them. Sunny was watching the first game of beach ball at the beach, with Zipp and Izzy competing against each other. Zipp kept punching the beach ball. Being a pony known for sports and flying, Zipp had the advantage in the game while Izzy and her team tried to catch the ball and hit it back. But the ball suddenly landed on Izzy’s horn, which resulted in the ball getting popped and stuck on it. Sunny whistled for a time out when she saw this and came close to Izzy to get it off, but Izzy didn’t stand still, and she used her magic to levitate the deflated ball off her, which caused her to restore the ball and make two more. Izzy threw the three balls at the pegasi, not knowing that she summoned two more of them. Zipp screamed as the ball came to her and then flew away. Pipp and Rocky screamed as well when the other two balls came towards them, so they flew around while the balls chased after them. Sunny tried to figure out how to handle the situation, but then she got hit by one of the balls and fell into the sand. Queen Haven and Alphabittle saw the whole thing, looked at one another, and shook their heads while Sonic facepalmed with frustration, Tails looked on, feeling bad for Sunny, and Knuckles slurped from a smoothie with a bored expression. "Well, she's handling this great," Knuckles said sarcastically. The next game was a running race across the forest. Hitch trotted across the muddy path, taking the lead. Pipp was behind him, trying to catch up, while Sunny was on her roller skates, monitoring the race. Pipp and Hitch were side by side while Hitch got a second wind and trotted ahead of Pipp. Pipp then realized her hooves were full of mud and stopped. "My hooficure!" she cried out when she saw her hoofs so dirty and then smirked as she thought of something. Hitch still trotted across the muddy path, but then Pipp came next to him, using her wings to win the race. Hitch saw her smirking at him as she flew past him. "Stop...! Flying's... against... rules!" se said, panting from all the running. Hitch stopped and stomped his hoof on the ground, using his earth pony magic to summon a plant vine that tangled Pipp around and trapped her on the ground while Hitch ran with a smirk. Sunny blew her whistles as they saw them cheating, but Sunny didn’t pay attention to the road and tripped over the vine Hitch made. Hitch laughed, thinking he would win, but Sunny crashed into him, and they rolled into the mud. Pipp growled, trying to bite the vine off, but then turned and saw Hitch and Sunny about to hither. The three ponies crashed and got tangled in the vines, while a unicorn skipped happily by them as she came to the finish line. Alphabittle shook his head with a hoove on his forehead, Haven shook her head as well with a bored expression, Knuckles just looked in disbelief and a glare, Tails facepalmed, and Sonic had an arm crossed and a hand covering his mouth. He then pointed with the hand covering his mouth to Sunny, Hitch, and Pipp. "This is by far the worst race I've ever seen in my life," he said with annoyance. Sunny was on a boat in the ocean sometime later, holding the starting flag for the boat race. “On your marks... get set––" Sunny announced, but before she could finish, the three teams raced past Sunny. "Go!" all the ponies on three boats shouted as they sped up. Zipp, Pipp, and Thunder grabbed their boat and used their wings to lift it into the air. Izzy and her unicorn partners used their magic to row the oars as fast as they could. Hitch, Dahlia, and Jazz used their earth pony magic to make a big piece of seaweed from the ocean, which lifted their boat up. Sunny was rowing her boats while blowing her whistle to get her friends to stop using magic, but it broke off once she whistled. Zipp looked at her side and saw Izzy and her unicorn partners next to them side by side. They gave each other challenging glares while Zipp gave Pipp and Thunder a signal. The three pegasi spread out their wings and started flying so fast that a big wind boomed, and Izzy and her partners screamed since their boat was blown back from the wind and into the air. Hitch screamed right before Izzy and her partners crashed into each other, resulting in a splash. Sunny groaned from the paddling she had done, but then she saw Hitch and Izzy, along with their team partners, falling down to her screaming. Sunny looked with wide eyes, feeling that this was going to hurt. Alphabittle, Haven, and Team Sonic watch and cringe as the ponies crash into Sunny. They came to shore in boat pieces, while the Mane 5 sins Sunny were covered in sand and seaweed from the crash. "The rules never said our boat had to be in the water!" Hitch frustratedly called out to his friends. "I should know! I read them seventeen times!" he pointed out, holding his rule book. "Maybe if the unicorns controlled their oars better…" Zipp called out while glaring at Izzy. Izzy shook her head to remove some seaweed and glared back at Zipp. "We controlled them fine, actually, until we didn't!" she argued back. And Pipp popped her head up between them, covered in so much seaweed. "I need an emergency re-styling!" she cried out and then screamed, plopping her head back on the sand ground. Sunny got up and shook the sand off herself, then looked at her friends arguing to each other about the way they did to the game. Sunny gave on a sad look, as Team Sonic arrived to her side. "Well, it seems like you don't have this at all," Sonic said with a little smirk, but that just made Sunny feel worse. "At least it can't get any worse..." Knuckles said with a chuckle before he realized what he just said. "And I just jinxed us all, didn't I?" he asked rhetorically. Tails looked at the Brighthouse in the distance, and he gasped, worried. "Oh oh..." he said, touching Sunny's shoulder to get her attention and pointing at the Brighthouse. Sunny also turned to see the Crystal Brighthouse and gasped with worry: the rainbow lightning was glitching again, meaning that magic was fading on Equestria... again. "Uh-oh!" Hitch’s voice cried out as Sunny and Team Sonic turned to the others and saw what was happening. "Our magic!" Hitch cried out as he stomped his hoof to try and use his magic, but no plant appeared at all. Zipp flapped her wings, trying to fly, but she couldn't. Izzy tried to levitate a rock next to her, but it faded out. "This was supposed to unite us…" Sunny muttered sadly and stepped back a little. Team Sonic saw this, but before any of them could comfort her, Sunny turned around and ran off to get away from the fighting. Sonic felt bad for Sunny and Tails and Knuckles, too, but Sonic's sadness immediately turned into anger as he looked at the rest of the Mane 5 with anger. At first, Knuckles gets worried about Sonic's attitude, but as he turns to the other ponies, he also feels angrier. Tails was the only one who stayed neutral, although he knew things were going down when BOTH Sonic and Knuckles got mad. While Team Sonic walked towards the rest of the Mane 5, the rest kept the conversation going. "The Pippsqueaks can't see me like this!" Pipp cried out about the seaweed all over her. "Don't worry, everypony," Izzy called out, trying to keep a positive mind. "Sunny always has a plan. Right, Sunny?" she asked the earth pony, but then they all saw Sonic and Knuckles walking towards them, very mad. "Huh?" Izzy asked, as she and the others felt a little scared by Sonic and Knuckles, while Tails was just behind, quiet and worried. "Can you please explain to me what the heck is wrong with you?" Sonic asked with a threatening voice but calmed for the moment. "You know, I like to compete a lot, but even I know when something's just for fun, and this is one of those cases!" Knuckles yelled out. "You're supposed to represent friendship and unity among tribes, but instead, you turned this into a nonsense competition!" he pointed out as he moved his hands dramatically. "Guys, we get that it’s all about having fun, but some ponies don’t follow the rules!" Hitch complained as he looked at Zipp with a frown. "Oh, yeah? Well, some ponies should not be using their magic to win a game!" Zipp yelled and glared at Izzy. "Some ponies were using their wings to win as well!" Izzy complained, glaring at Zipp and Pipp. "I was trying to keep my image; I can't look like a laughing stock!" Pipp said with a frown. But the fight just made Sonic and Knuckles growl at the same time, and then... "JUST SHUT UP!!!!!!!" Sonic and Knuckles yelled in frustration at them, with Sonic awakening his electrical powers while the ponies got knocked to the ground, and they saw in fear at the Hedgehog and the Equidna. Tails knew that he didn't want to listen to whatever was going to happen, so he covered his ears with fear. "I couldn't; I LITERALLY couldn't care less about who started this bullshit!" Sonic shouted, not holding back his anger or swearing. "You ALL fault this, FACE IT!" he yelled again. "Hitch! Don't you DARE to come up with rules stuff when you cheated on the racetrack!" Knuckles pointed out as he pointed at him. "You're supposed to be the law, man! What kind of sheriff breaks a rule and then goes shamelessly to talk about respect them?!" he yelled again, touching a weak point on Hitch's ego as he scratched his head with shame. "Zipp! You complain about unicorn magic, but YOU used yours!" Sonic yelled at her. "You used your flying skills in the volleyball game and the boat race! What the heck, girl?! This is NOT the kind of princess I pictured from you!" he pointed out, as he also touched a weak point on Zipp. "Izzy," Knuckles said a bit softly but still mad. "I know on the volleyball game it was accidental, but you shamelessly used magic on the boat race, and you perfectly know that's not playing fair," he pointed out with a frown while Izzy looked away with shame. Sonic looked at who remained, and he felt like he was about to cry. But he knew she had to hear it, even though she wouldn't like it. "Pipp," he called, mad but soft. "Your makeup doesn't matter on a game. You never cared about it before, so why now? Why on something like this?!" he pointed out with a frown. Pipp looked hurt and felt her heart broken, while Sonic also felt hurt. He needed his feet on the ground right now, and he looked at the four ponies. "Look at the Brighthouse," he said, pointing a finger at the building in the distance. The rainbow lightning was still glitching, and the four ponies gasped in shock. "No, no, no... Not again!" Zipp muttered. "Yeah, it's happening again, Detective Zipp," Sonic said in a threatening voice. "You spent an entire week trying to prevent things like this, and now you're part of the cause. How ironic," he added with anger. Tails, who has been quiet all this time, stopped covering his ears after Sonic stopped yelling. He felt a little angry as well, remembering Sunny's face when she ran away, so he got close with a frown. "You know what's the worst part? Sunny feels it's her fault that you're fighting. She feels this whole Equestria Games thing is a failure," Tails said with anger, although he didn't yell at them. "How does that suit you, guys? Being her supposed friends, and yet you just keep fighting like five-year-olds," he added, now concerned as well. Instead of staying there, Tails turned around and walked away, now feeling mad at his friends, sins Sunny. "You know, for the ponies who are supposed to be the representation of unity and friendship since they helped bring magic back, you suck. You do," Knuckles added as well and followed Tails away. Sonic looked at them; their shocked and broken expressions hurt him, but he knew they needed to stay on the ground, so he added something. "This 'Twilight Sparkle' Sunny talks often about... she would be pretty disappointed in you. You bring her legacy back, and now you're destroying it again because of bullshit. Say, even I'm disappointed... I always thought you were better than this... too bad I was wrong," he said with sadness and honesty as he turned around and walked away, leaving his friends in shock at his words. But Pipp was probably the most broken of the four. Her crush just told her the face he was disappointed at her actions, and that was what broke Pipp completely. She stayed there and tried to let her tears out in silence, but Zipp noticed and put a hoof on her; Pipp immediately stood and hugged her sister, letting the tears out. Hitch and Izzy stood in silence, but deep down, they were hurt and broken as well, even tho they didn't show it. Sunny was on the other side of the beach, looking at the ocean water while thinking about what had happened in the whole game. She closed her eyes in sadness, still thinking this was all her fault. "Being a leader's tough, isn't it?" Haven said as Sunny turned and saw Queen Haven and Alphabittle coming to her side. "Everypony thinks we have all the answers," she said to Sunny. "All these different ponies together... It's easy to get under each other's hooves," Alphabittle said to Sunny. "You and your friends must be the same," se added with a wink and a smile, while Haven nodded in agreement. "Sometimes, I guess..." Sunny admitted. We're all so different. It can be hard..." she said, recalling a time she was with the rest of the Mane 5 trying to bake a cake. Everything was going terrible, so they all worked together and baked the cake right. "But when we work together and listen to each other, all our differences become strengths," she finished. "Kind of like a team?" Haven asked with a smirk, as Alphabittle smiled as well. That gave Sunny an idea, but before she could make it, she noticed that, not too far from her, Team Sonic was sitting on the sand, looking at the distance in silence, and Sonic and Tails had their ears down. Sunny walked over to them, worried. "Guys?" she called out. "Is everything okay?" she asked. None of them turned to see her, but Knuckles spoke first. "No..." he replied with honesty. "We... argued with the rest..." Tails added. "An argument?" Sunny asked. "How bad could it have been?" she asked again with a little smile. "We destroyed their self-esteem with our words," Sonic replied with sadness. "... Oh..." Sunny said. "But... you can go and say you're sorry, right?" she suggested, smiling a bit. "I doubt they would accept it," Sonic confessed. "Man, I hate when anger gets over me," Knuckles said with frustration. "It's like I lose control over my mouth," he added. "Sunny, go keep going with the games," Tails said, finally turning to face her. "We'll catch up with you later," he added. Sunny was not really convinced about letting them there, but if she had no other choice, she just left, as Team Sonic sighed with sadness. Sunny got the pony's crowd together a little later as Hitch, Izzy, and Zipp were behind them. The Mane 5 apologized to Sunny after they screwed it in the games and after the little scold from Team Sonic as well. "Ponies! Ponies!" Sunny announced to the crowd. "These games aren't about winning! They're about celebrating our differences and working together!" she announced as she turned to her friends, who nodded in agreement. Hitch, Izzy, and Zipp ripped off their stickers while the crowd murmured in confusion. "From now on, each team will be a mix of all ponykind," Sunny declared, then Pipp flew into the air and tossed new stickers. "A representation of the unity that makes Equestria so great!" Sunny added as Izzy used her magic to levitate the stickers for every pony in the crowd. The crowd gave awed sounds as the stickers were placed on their chest. "Let the games, uh, re-begin!" Sunny stated, ready to give the games a second chance. Later, the crowd cheered as they saw the beach ball game again, but this time, each team had all ponykind tribes on the same team. Izzy levitated the beach ball before tossing it to Dahlia. She saw the ball coming and used her earth pony magic to summon a big flower that caught it and tossed it into the air. And then, Zipp came flying by and hit the ball in the air while it hit the other side of the net. "Hah!" Zipp, Izzy, and Dahlia all cheered at winning this match together. Sunny smiled at this sight, feeling happy that things started to go great now. Back at the mud track, Hitch trotted ahead and tossed a stick to Pipp in the air, who caught it with her hoof before flying off. Sunny came by with her roller skates and smiled, seeing that this was going well. Back in the ocean, the three boats were racing again but with each of all ponykind in one boat. They raced across the ocean to the finish line, where Sunny waited for them to cross the finish line. Sunny blew the whistle once they all crossed the line and smiled, now finding the Equestria Games a complete success. A little bit later, after the end of the games, Sunny was holding a card with a trophy on it, meaning she was about to announce the Equestria Games winner. "And the winner of the first All-Equestria Games is... nopony!" Sunny said to the crowd as they looked at her in confusion. "Every team won one contest, so it's a tie!" she declared with a smile. The crowd murmured in confusion before they started laughing and cheering while Sunny gave off a smile. "I suppose it makes sense," Haven spoke as she and Alphabittle came next to Sunny with smiles. "The first Equestria Games," she announced. "And all of Equestria has won," Alphabittle smiled. "Together. Well done, Sunny," he added with a smile. "Hey!" Izzy called out with a wave of hoof as the three leaders turned to her. "Can we go play now?" she asked them with sparkling eyes. Back on the beach, Tails looked over his advanced tablet to distract himself while Knuckles drew random things that popped into his head in the sand, and Sonic threw rocks into the ocean. "We were too harsh on them," Knuckles said suddenly as he stopped drawing. "I know," Tails replied, putting his tablet aside. "But at least they apologized to Sunny." "That doesn't skip the fact that we told them they were failures, guys," Sonic pointed out, still throwing rocks into the water. "We crossed a line on them. Usually, I say to myself that it's for the best, but not this time. I know I should just stay quiet. Just like Knuckles said, anger got into us... and we were not controlling our mouths anymore," he added with frustration. Then, Zipp arrived and looked at them with a smile. "Oh, here you are," she said, then turned to call for someone. "Guys, I found them!" she shouted to the rest of the Mane 5. Knuckles and Tails got up, and Sonic stopped throwing rocks. The three of them had guilty expressions after everything they said to the Mane 5 sins Sunny. Then the rest arrived, and Sunny sighed in relief. "Oh, thank hoofness," Sunny said. "I thought you guys already left," she added with a smile. "Even if we tough about it, we have nowhere to go," Tails pointed out. "Hey, um... we're... We're sorry, guys," Sonic spoke, getting straight to the point as he looked at the Mane 5, especially at Pipp. "Yeah, we crossed a line before. We were supposed to help you realize what was happening, and we did... in the worst possible way..." Knuckles added with a sad look. "You may have got out of line, but we did too, and we told things we didn't want to because of anger," Tails added, looking down with guilt. "Sorry, guys" "And what I said before about Twilight being disappointed... that's not true," Sonic corrected himself. "She would be proud of everything you accomplished so far. Yeah, she would probably be sad that the tribes are still fighting, but she won't be disappointed in you," he added with a little smile. If anything, she would be disappointed in us for being such jerks..." he finished as he looked down. "Sorry... for everything we said..." he added. Surprisingly for Team Sonic, they were gathered in a group hug with the Mane 5. "Uh... I expected at least a punch in response, not this..." Knuckles confessed as he, Sonic, and Tails felt confused. "Guys, we're not mad," Hitch assured me with a smile. "Yeah, we actually wanted to apologize as well" Zipp spoke next, smiling as well. "Thanks to your 'not so soft' words, we could overcome our differences and enjoy the games!" Izzy cheered and smiled. "You may have been harsh on them, but it helped," Sunny added with a smile. "Let's just try to control our anger next time, okay?" she said and winked. "B-But... W-We literally..." Sonic tried to say. "You were cruel, and you hurt us, blah, blah, blah, chill, Sonic! You should know better than anyone that these things can be forgiven, and we already did," Pipp said as she flew over to Sonic and hugged him by his neck. "So... we can act like we never fought in the first place... right?" Knuckles asked, juts to be sure. The Mane 5 looked at each other and smiled before nodding at Team Sonic. "Phew!" Tails said in relief. "Sorry again, guys. Next time, we'll try to be more soft and let anger aside if possible," he assured with a nervous smile. "Okay, then..." Sonic said, as they all stood in silence for a while. "The last one to get to the Brighthouse makes dinner tonight!" he shouted and then boosted straight to the Brighthouse. "Oh no, I'm not cooking again!" Tails said as he flew quickly behind Sonic. "Don't let me here alone, guys!" Knuckles said as he ran to follow his friends. The Mane 5 followed behind, running as fast as they could and laughing at the situation. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 19. Lost In TranslationHitch poked his head out from behind a tree with an explorer hat before hiding back. Then he came from under a rock and popped out from hiding behind a bush with his bag, which had a robot claw holding a map. "According to the map, the schmoogleberry bush should be right here!” Hitch called out, reading the map. Once he put it down, he saw Sunny and Knuckles with bored expressions, while Sunny had a raised eyebrow since she and Knuckles were right next to the schmoogleberry bush with a basket. "Huh? How’d you get here so fast?" Hitch asked them. "Um..." Sunny said with a cough. "We’re in our garden, Hitch," she said with a smile. "The Brighthouse, it's literally over there," Knuckles added, holding a basket with grapes and still with a bored expression, while pointing to the Crystal Brighthouse that wasn't too far away from the garden. "Huh... I definitely overpacked," Hitch said as he opened his adventurer's pack, revealing his tent, two chairs, and a fireplace that somehow lit itself up, making the garden look like a campsite. Knuckles leaned a little and whispered into Sunny's ear. "How's that this guy became the sheriff again?" he asked her sarcastically while Sunny giggled a little. "Well, let's get picking," Sunny announced as she turned to the bush. That’s Schmoogleberry Pie isn’t going to 'schmo ogle' make itself," she added with a smile and then laughed. "Sweet Chaos, my humor, it's so broken..." Knuckles said with a smirk, since he found the pun funny, even tho he knew it was terrible. Sunny was about to grab a schmoogleberry but gasped in surprise when the bush started to twitch. "Watch out, Sunny!" Hitch warned and placed a hoof in front of Sunny for her safety while the two ponies backed up. This bush could be dangerous!" he pointed out and took out a spork from his bag as a weapon. "Never trust anything that starts with schmo ogle," he added with a frown. "What are you going to do with a fork? Invite whatever is behind the bush to lunch?" Knuckles asked sarcastically, but Hitch ignored him and started to walk towards the bush. As he got closer, he moved some of the bush open to reveal a raccoonicorn, wearing a hat and a badge, and a pegasnail, also a hat, fighting over a schmoogleberry. Sunny and Knuckles gave uncertain looks. "Huh. Not what I expected," Sunny said. "I don't even know what I expected," Knuckles confessed. While the critters continued fighting, Hitch smiled at his friends. "Guys. You are about to see a master class in…uh..." he said, trying to devise a name for his ability to talk to animals. "Critter Talkery," he said with a sheepish smile. He then turned to the critters, now with a normal smile. "Guys. What seems to be the problem?" he asked the two critters. The raccoonicorn cleared his throat, although only Hitch could hear his voice. "Well, you see us, raccoonicorns have been nibbling on these here branches for generations!" se answered to Hitch. "Illegally, I might add," the pegasnail said. "We pegasnails have rights to all fruit-bearing plants in the garden. It says so here in the Great Snail Scroll," she added, lifting up the scroll, which was just a leaf with words and a signature on it. "That's just a rolled-up leaf!" the raccoonicorn pointed out with a glare. "You're just a rolled-up leaf!" the pegasnail retorted as she glared back, and Raccoonicorn threw the leaf away. The Lead Pegasnail and Lead Raccoonicorn tugged the berry they were both holding and broke it apart. The two critters glared and started to slap each other. Knuckles, Sunny, and Hitch looked at the critters with nervous expressions. "We don't even need you to translate, Hitch," Knuckles assured. "We can see what's happening," he added. "Anything we can do?" Sunny asked as she pointed to herself and Knuckles. "Nope," Hitch answered with a confident smile. "All under control, guys. I got this," he assured them. "I highly doubt it..." Knuckles said with a glare. "Well, if you need me, I'm going to be collecting some more grapes—some for the pie and some for me," he added as he walked away. "And I'm gonna go find some apples for the pie," Sunny added, taking the empty basket and walking away. The pegasnail and the raccoonicorn continued their slap fight; then Hitch approached them. "Look, there's gotta be a simple way to resolve this," Hitch told them. The Lead Raccoonicorn thought of what Hitch said and smiled. "You're right!" he said, then jumped to the ground and turned in a direction. "Raccoonicorns, assemble!" he announced while three of his raccoonicorns comrades arrived with a homemade catapult behind them. "Pegasnails, also assemble!" the Lead Pegasnail called out to her comrades, who popped up from behind the bushes and moved a catapult of their own, but at a slow pace since they were snails. "We're going to need a minute..." the Lead Pegasnail said to the others, feeling embarrassed since she forgot that the Pegasnails are slow when trailing on the ground. A few minutes later, Hitch and the Racconicorns fell asleep waiting for the Pegasnails. Once they were close enough, the raccoonicorns and pegasnails gave out challenging glares at each other. Hitch saw they were about to fight, so he got in between the two sides. "Okay! This isn't what I had in mind!" he called out to them. "No fighting, no swords, and no unbelievably adorable catapults!" he scolded. "All we need is a schedule. The raccoonicorns can pick from the bush one day and then the Pegasnails on the other. You'll take it in turns. I'll be watching to make sure you all stick to it," he declared with a smile. One of the pegasnail soldiers was on the catapult, and it accidentally tossed the pegasnail over them and crashed to the other side. Later, Hitch finished the schedule and placed the sign down, with pictures of the Raccoonicorns and Pegasnails to take turns. "Trust me. This is foolproof. Rules and regulations fix everything," Hitch assured with a smile, while the Lead Raccoonicorn and the Lead Pegasnail looked at each other, not really convinced of Hitch's idea. Hitch: Come on! Got an issue (issue)? Got a problem (problem)? Did you know I got the thing that's gonna solve 'em? You need a guide, yeah, no substitutions So listen here and I'll give you the solution No time for playin', you must be selfless (yeah!) So we can make sure that everypony benefits And if we're gonna all win, no, we can't fool around We just gotta make sure that we write it all down We gotta all get along – we got a rule 4 that That's why I'm singin' this song – we got a rule 4 that We're gonna get the job done, don't forget to have fun As a matter of fact, we got a rule 4 that 'Cause we all gotta learn – we got a rule 4 that When everypony gets a turn – we got a rule 4 that Things are much better when we all work together Got a rule 4 that, we got a rule 4 that Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Oh-oh, oh-oh! (Come on!) Oh-oh, oh-oh! Hey, hey! (We got a rule 4 that!) Hey, hey! Oh-oh, oh-oh! Oh-oh, oh-oh! Throughout the song, the raccoonicorns and pegasnails were sabotaging each other in various ways. Hitch would always catch them in the act and put up various signs prohibiting such acts, but to no avail because the raccoonicorns and pegasnails kept fighting and fighting and fighting. Hitch started to feel overwhelmed by this fight since nothing he did to prevent them from fighting was working. A few moments later, Sunny came back carrying a basket full of apples. Knuckles arrived as well, holding a basket full of grapes in one hand and eating some with the other. "Um, how's it going, Hitch?" Sunny asked as she and Knuckles came to view, only for them to widen their eyes in shock. The raccoonicorns and pegasnails were fighting each other, while Hitch started to sweat and pant after spending almost the whole day trying to calm them. "It's, um... going pretty well?" Hitch tried to say and gave a weak laugh before he started to cry, losing it completely since this was going terribly. "Ha! Take that!" a pegasnail soldier called out as he and his comrade dropped dandelion against the Lead Raccoonicorn and one of his comrades with the catapult. "Dandelion incoming!" the Lead Raccoonicorn cried out while his comrade launched the catapult at the incoming rival. The garden turned into a small war zone since projectiles came flying back-in-forth, and Hitch, Sunny, and Knuckles watched with worried looks. "What the heck is going on here?!" Knuckles asked in a panic. "Ah! What did I do wrong?!" Hitch cried out, panicked. "I thought I could use my new critter communication skills to make a difference! But I just made things worse!" he cried out in a sad tone. Sunny came to her friend, and she placed a hoof on his shoulder for comfort. "It's okay, Hitch. You gotta try a different approach," she suggested with a smile. "And the quicker, the better; all this war, it's gonna mess up the berries," Knuckles pointed out. "Like a weekly roster instead of a daily one?" Hitch asked. "No," both Sunny and Knuckles said since that idea already demonstrated no use. "Why don't you try seeing what they have in common?" Sunny suggested. "Remember, there's magic in unity," she added with a smile. "Literally," Knuckles added with a little smirk. "See what they have in common…" Hitch repeated, then looked at a raccoonicorn soldier being attacked by a pegasnail on top of him, his head covered in dandelion. "Ooh! Ow! Ow! Watch the hair! Watch the fur!" the raccoonicorn cried out. Hitch looked back at his friends and placed a hoof on his chin. "Hmmm…" he hummed to himself, thinking of what these critters could have in common. The Lead Pegasnail led her comrades for a strike while carrying dandelions. "En masse! Pegasnails en masse!" she cried out. "Raccoonicorns, attack!" the Lead Raccoonicorn cried out to his comrades as they charged at the pegasnails. But before they crashed into each other, Hitch came in the middle of them with a table where he stood and looked at the two groups of critters with a frown while the fractions stopped their strike. "Hey, I'm battling here! What is this?" the Lead Raccoonicorn asked with a little anger. "This is the talking table!" Hitch answered, having enough of this battle between the critters. "We're going to sit around it, and we're going to talk this thing out! Now!" he yelled, very mad at their attitude. The Lead Raccoonicorn and the Lead Pegasnail sat at the table with Hitch. They started speaking in their animal languages, discussing their differences about the berry bush they’ve been fighting for. They exchanged angry chatter as Sunny and Knuckles watched, both worried and confused. "You know, there's this weird aura around Hitch that I only see in him every time he talks to critters," Knuckles said suddenly. "Aura? Like his sparkle?" Sunny questioned since they usually refer to it as a sparkle, or at least Izzy does. "No, not that thing Izzy sees in everyone else," Knuckles corrected. "It's... a weird aura that shines a little whenever he talks to animals. I don't know how to explain it better, it just shows up out of nowhere when he talk to the critters. It's like... like if he had this ability in another time..." he frowned. "I don't know what else you expect me to say..." he finished as he and Sunny looked back at Hitch and the discussion between the critters. "I hear you, but we all have to work together if we want––" Hitch tried to state to the critters but was cut off. "Work together?! Ugh! Impossible!" the Lead Pegasnail protested as she flew off the table. "Hey!" the Lead Raccoonicorn yelled out with offense. Lead Pegasnail and Lead Raccoonicorn yelled at each other again in animal language while Sunny and Knuckles watched back and forth between the arguments. "Oh, come on now," Hitch said, breaking the tension again, trying to calm the critters down. "There's gotta be something you both—–" he tried to add, but again, he was cut off. "Unless it's gotta do with baking, I don't wanna hear about it!" the Lead Raccoonicorn yelled angrily. "Oh! Baking?" the Lead Pegasnail said in shock and surprise as she landed back on the table. "I also love to bake!" she said with a smile. The Lead Raccoonicorn and the Lead Pegasnail looked at each other, then smiled with tears in their eyes and hugged each other as they cried joyfully. "Hey, bring it in here!" the Lead Raccoonicorn cried out as the Lead Pegasnail laughed. Hitch smiled at the two critters before turning to Sunny and Knuckles. "You were right, Sunny!" he said to his childhood friend as he walked to her and Knuckles, who were smiling at the new outcome. "Turns out they both love making berry-based treats, and now they're best friends!" he added, happy that the two critters' fractions are now friends and share the berries and other fruits for baking. "This is certainly an unexpected change of attitude, but a very welcome one as well!" Knuckles said with a smile. "I'm proud of you, Hitch," Sunny said with a smile, placing a hoof on Hitch's shoulder. "Me too, sheriff," Knuckles said, touching Hitch's back. "You truly are a creature charmer." Hitch smiled at his friend's comments. "Thanks, guys," he thanked with a smile, then turned to the other critters. "Hey. So, uh…" he started with a nervous smile. "... now can we pick some of those berries for our pie?" he asked them since they still needed some. The critters and the Leaders looked at them at first with blank expressions, but Sunny, Hitch, and Knuckles perfectly knew what was about to happen because the critters and Leaders glared at them and started throwing multiple things at them. Sunny and Hitch screamed as they ran away, while Knuckles followed and tried to avoid the attacks from the critters. "Forget what I say! They're not charmed at you!" he shouted in panic. The three got lost in the sunset while the raccoonicorns followed them very close, and the pegasnails got behind since they were too slow. As the critters got away from the garden, Sonic and Pipp arrived a few seconds later and saw all the signs and the mess. "Uh... what happened here?" Pipp questioned with confusion. "I have no idea," Sonic replied honestly, ducking and grabbing the basket with apples that Sunny left behind. "But whatever problem got into the garden, those three were here. There's a basket with apples," he said, showing the basket to Pipp. "And one with grapes," Pipp added as she ducked and picked up the basket Knuckles also left behind. "They didn't even get the schmoogleberries," she pointed out, looking at the schmoogleberry bush. "Well, wherever they are, we'll scold them later. Let's just pick the berries before Tails and Zipp lose their minds," Sonic said as he took an empty basket and collected some schmoogleberries. "Again..." he added with a bored expression. "Ugh, don't tell me! I don't want to hear those two complaining," Pipp said as she grabbed a basket and collected some schmoogleberries. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 20. One Trick PonyPink clouds with sparkles suddenly appeared, then cleared off, and Rufus appeared as a magician, floating in front of a crowd of ponies. "Behold! The awesome power of The Great Hoofdini!" Rufus announced to the crowd that only Izzy, Knuckles, and three fillies from each tribe were looking at their phones since they found Rufus' tricks boring. "Oh, hey, Rufus!" Izzy greeted, smiling and waving her hoof. "Hi!" Knuckles greeted as well with a smile. "Oh, that he floats in the air! Yes, as he levitates objects," Rufus said as he floated around and lifted a bunch of bushes and plants in a pot. "How does he do it? It’s Mare-aculous!" "Wow!" Izzy cheered with a smile, awed at his tricks. "Nice!" Knuckles added. "He clearly uses his wires," the earth pony filly named Seashell said with a blank expression. "Ponies have, like, real magic now," the pegasus filly named Glory said blankly while she and the other fillies walked off. "Okay, that was just rude, especially for kids of that age," Knuckles commented with a frown. Rufus dropped his allusions, revealing the wires and plants tied to him. "Ugh. Who am I kidding?" he said as he lowered himself back to solid ground with a sad expression. "Since real magic came back to Equestria, nopony is interested in my tricks," he said sadly. "WHAT?!" Izzy said, zooming right in front of Rufus while Knuckles came closer as well."That can’t be true, Ruf… I mean, Hoofdini!" she said with a smile as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. Then Rufus remembered some other times he tried to impress other ponies with his magic tricks. First, he made the bunny trick in the hat in front of an earth pony stallion and a unicorn mare, but they gave unamused expressions, and the bunny flew away since it had wings. Then, he made the trick of the rose behind the ear to an earth pony mare, but the mare rolled her eyes and stomped the ground two times, making appear many bushes of roses, which left Rufus in shock while the rose on his hoof died. Finally, he made an apple levitate with invisible wires, but he turned around and saw a unicorn mare levitating a whole house with little effort. The mare noticed that and chuckled a little. "Oh! Just helping them move house," she said to Rufus. "So where do you want it?" she asked the earth pony couple moving the house. After Rufus told them about the flashbacks, Rufus, Izzy, and Knuckles walked together. "See? All washed up," Rufus said sadly as he looked at the ground with sadness. Izzy and Knuckles gave him a sympathetic look, feeling bad for him. "Man, that sucks. I've seen many magicians retiring before but never forced to retire against their will," Knuckles said. "Come on, Rufus. You’re an Earth Pony. Why don’t you use your growy-growy plant magic? It is so cool!" Izzy suggested with sparkling eyes. "Whenever I try to grow plants, it takes forever when I forget to water them, and they all die," she added, remembering that she always forgets to water her plans. "That would not happen if you write a reminder on your phone or your calendar, Izz," Knuckles said to her with a bored expression. We have talked about this... 16 times!" he pointed out. But yeah, why not use your magic, man?" he asked Rufus, getting back to the topic before they took the conversation in the wrong direction. "I don’t have any magic," Rufus revealed with a sad look. "All I have are my tricks. And now, they belong in the garbage dump," he said, then lowered his head in depression. Izzy and Knuckles looked at Rufus sympathetically, then at each other before giving Rufus a comforting smile. "Lucky for you, my specialty is giving all kinds of things a second chance," she told Rufus. "I may not be an expert on helping someone find their place, but I would do what I can to help you with your problem, pal," Knuckles said with a smile as he touched one of Rufus' shoulders. The three arrived at Izzy’s scooter while the unicorn opened her compartment. "See? Garbage…" she started, taking out a bike steering piece and twirling it around. "... Into a fabulous… uh?" she continued, then stopped to think about what to turn the steering piece into. "Bow tie!" she announced, bending the bike steering piece into a bow tie. "Ta-da!" she cheered and placed the bent metal bow tie on Rufus, but he fell into the ground because of the weight of the bow tie. "Little heavy," Rufus pointed out with a little strain. "Well, you get the point, don't you?" Knuckles asked as he ducked to face Rufus. Then Izzy suddenly got in between their faces, and their cheeks smooshed together. "Come on! We're gonna turn you into something new and awesome, too!" she cheered with a smile. A bit later, Izzy and Knuckles took Rufus with Hitch to the Police Station at Maretime Bay. "So, a wannabe sheriff, eh?" Hitch asked with a smirk. "Well, it's an amazing job but very demanding," he advised them, opening his jail cage to show Rufus around. You have to be hyper-aware of your surroundings," he added, looking around. But then Rufus closed the cage door, locked it with the key, and swallowed the whole key chain in one gulp. Hitch, Izzy, and Knuckles looked at Rufus with shock after he ate the key. "Was that... Did you just swallow the key?" Hitch asked Rufus, who gave a sheepish smile in response. "Why would you do that?!" Hitch asked in shock. "Sorry," Rufus apologized with a little smile. "I'm an escape artist. Swallowing keys is what we do," he said, explaining one of the many tricks he performs on his magic shows. Hitch was not amused by this and glared at Rufus, seeing that his being a wannabe sheriff wouldn’t cut it, while Knuckles facepalmed in frustration. Izzy looked between them and gave a sheepish smile. "Cards, anyone?" she asked them with a nervous chuckle. Rufus took out his deck of cards and threw them around the cage. Knuckles shook some of the cards and looked at Hitch. "Hitch, my man, I appreciate our friendship ever since we met two months ago, so I hope that what I'm going to do doesn't affect that," he said to the sheriff, as Hitch looked at him confused. "What do you––" Hitch was going to ask, but then Knuckles literally ripped the cage door with his hands and put it aside as he walked out of the cage. "I'll pay you later for the damage," Knuckles assured as he walked off the station, letting the three ponies with their jaws drop as they looked at each other in shock. After that little mishap, they went to Zephyr Heights, where they told Queen Haven about Rufus and wanted to do something for his talents. Izzy explained the whole thing, making both Haven and Knuckles yawn since her explanation took too long. "And Hoofdini will do the best job of guarding the crown jewels," Izzy explained. Rufus cleared his throat and came close to Queen Haven. "What crown jewels?" he asked, then worked his magic tricks to poof Haven's crown and necklace away, which caused her to yelp in shock. "Where did they go? How did he do it?" he said with a smile, still repeating his act. "Thief! Guards!" Haven yelled out as Thunder and Zoom came by since she didn't take this magic trick well. Rufus poofed next to Izzy and Knuckles. Izzy began to panic, and Knuckles facepalmed again. "Uh... Okay! Gotta go!" Izzy cried out with panic as she grabbed Rufus and zipped away. "Just for the record, the jewels are back on your cabinet," Knuckles said before turning around. "He told me if you're wondering how I know," he added, and then he boosted out of the palace to catch up with Izzy and Rufus. A little bit later, once they made it to Bridlewood, they went to the Crystal Tea Room, where Rufus tried out being a tea maker with Alphabittle. Rufus shook the tea mixer, then turned to Izzy and Knuckles, who winked at him, feeling that this would be the one job he could do perfectly. Onyx and her bongo unicorn stallion friend were in front of Alphabittle. "Gimme a tea, Alpha-B. Peppermint B, pretty P," she ordered in a cool jazz tone as her friend played the bongos. Alphabittle nodded his head and turned to Rufus so he could take the order. "Comin' up!" Rufus called out as he brought a cardboard tube and lifted it to reveal a teacup. "Ta-daaaa!" he cheered. But before Onyx could get her tea, Rufus lifted a hoof to stop her and summoned another teacup. "Oh!" he said, then he thought for a minute, summoned another teacup, and chuckled. Onyx clapped her hooves, but just before she could get her teacup, Rufus summoned more tea cups all over his side of the table. "I ain't payin' for all these teas if you please," Onyx said, a little mad, while Alphabittle glared at Rufus. "Uhhh…" Rufus groaned from summoning so many cups while Izzy lowered herself to avoid eye contact, and Knuckles banged his head on the table with frustration. He then took a bag out of his quills, looked at the inside, took out 10 bits, and extended the rest of the bag to Alphabittle. "For the teas, thank you," Knuckles told the unicorn as Alphabittle levitated the bag with his magic. Knuckles slurped some tea from one of the cups to try and relax himself a bit. After Knuckles paid Alphabittle for the teas and drank them all, the three of them returned to Maretime Bay, while Rufus felt depressed since his tricks didn’t seem to fit anywhere. "Oh, this is hopeless," Rufus groaned in sadness and frustration. "My tricks never fit in anywhere. I might as well forget 'Hoofdini' and just be plain old Rufus," he added with sadness. "Come on, man. We can't give up now. There has to be... litter!" Knuckles tried to say, but he saw some litter on the street, then quickly grabbed it and threw it in a trash can. "This disrespectful ponies throwing litter..." he muttered, then faced Rufus again. "Where I was?... Oh yeah! As I was saying, there has to be something that fits you and your tricks; we need to find it," he said to him, then looked around with one hand covering his forehead. "Yeah! We just haven't found the right thing to uni-cycle you into yet," Izzy said in agreement with Knuckles. While they walked around Maretime Bay, they walked past the three fillies from earlier. "Ugh! Buffering?! We're missing Pipp's new livestream!" Seashell complained since their phones had been loading for an eternity now, and they didn't want to miss Pipp’s livestream. "You gotta hold your phone way higher than that!" Glory said, and then she flew away to get a better signal, with her friends losing sight of her when she flew into the sky. Rufus watched Glory fly off and sighed with frustration. "No wonder my magic doesn't impress anypony. Everypony can do it!" he pointed his hoof to Glory to prove his point while Izzy and Knuckles gave him a sympathetic look. Meanwhile, Glory looked at her phone in the sky and saw that she was high enough to get a connection since her signal bar went up to all five. "Yes! Full bars! Not going to miss a whinny of Pipp's new livestream!" she cheered as Pipp’s livestream started. "Hey, Pippsqueaks!" Pipp greeted her followers. "Still haven't figured out my amazing, show-stopping entrance. Sad face!" she said, giving a sad face before returning to a happy one. "Hit me up with your suggestions in the comments!" she advised her followers. "Ooh, I've got an idea!" Glory said, but before she could comment, a construction pegasus flew by and moved him out of his way. "Hey! Watch it!" the pegasus stallion yelled, while his push caused Glory to spin around. Glory gasped when she started to spin, and that spin caused her to drop her phone. She flew down to catch it, but once she got it, she twirled around and lost control of her flight. Then, since she was falling now, she started to scream. "Whoa! That pony! She's fallin'!" Rufus said with worry, while Izzy and Knuckles also worried about that filly. Seashell and her unicorn friend came to their side, seeing Glory falling from the sky. "Somepony! Do something!" Seashell cried out in worry, while Glory continued to scream while falling from the sky. "I got her!" Knuckles said as he started to charge up his SpinDash and boosted towards the pegasi, now gliding in the air and extending his arms so he could catch the filly, but he started to descend a little and unfortunately got off track. He crashed against a wall and fell into the ground, a little dizzy. "Knux!" Izzy cried out as she checked on the echidna. "I-I'm fine, Izz..." Knuckles assured, still a little dizzy. Izzy looked back at Glory with worry. "Look out!" she cried out and tried to use her magic to catch Glory to slow down her falling, but Glory was falling so fast that her magic wasn't working at all, and it ended up dying. "No use! She’s falling too fast! And Knuckles can't glide to catch her!" Izzy cried out as Glory kept falling and screaming. Rufus looked around for something to help and saw three vines on a building. And ran towards them and picked one up. "If only these vines were longer!" he cried. But then his Cutie Mark began to glow, and so did his hooves, while the vine he touched spread to the other vines, and his magic made the vines longer on top. Rufus gasped as he realized that not only did he unlock his earth pony magic, but he could also save Glory now. "Saddle-cadabra!" he called out as he used his magic on the vines. When Glory was about to hit the ground hard, Rufus caught her riding on the vines. He used the vines to move around on the vines, then jumped and summoned a bush on the ground that helped him land safely on the ground. He placed Glory down, and she smiled at her savior. Her phone landed safely in the bush as well. "Whoo-hoo! I knew it!" Izzy cheered to Rufus at what he just did. "You had earth pony magic all along!" she said to him with sparkling eyes. Knuckles arrived as he scratched his head a little in pain. "Auch..." he complained since his head still hurt from the hit on the wall. "Great job, man. I wish I could have helped more, though. My gliding is usually better." He felt bad for not helping out more. "Aw, it's okay, Knuckles. You did your best," Izzy said to him as she hugged him, glad that he was okay after all. "And Rufus has earth pony magic now! Isn't that just great?!" she cheered with sparkling eyes. "It sure is," Knuckles said, smiling a bit. "Congratulations, man. We told you you got it on you," he added. "Guess so! Just needed a good reason for it to start workin'!" Rufus said to them with a smile, glad to finally bring out his earth pony magic. Meanwhile, Seashell and Glory hugged each other, and Seashell felt glad that her friend was okay. "Hoofdini! You saved Glory! You're not just a magician! You're a hero!" Seashell cheerfully said to Rufus, thanking him for saving Glory. Rufus started to tear up with joy as Izzy and Knuckles smiled at him, and Izzy wrapped a hoof around him. "What did we say, huh?" she asked him with a smile. "Nothin' belongs on the garbage dump. Uni-cycle!" she cheered out. Knuckles then looked at Glory's phone, seeing that Pipp’s livestream was still going. He picked it up carefully since his hands were giant, and an idea popped into his head. "Aha! And for your next trick…" Knuckles said to Rufus with a smile. Izzy looked at Knuckles confused, then at the phone, and then she understood his idea as she looked at Rufus with sparkling eyes. Later that day, Pipp was still livestreaming, now in front of the stage of Mane Melody. "Shout out to my friend Hoofdini for this new, big, show-stopping entrance! It's magiiiiic!" she said with a big smile, singing the last part to her followers and pointing to Rufus, next to the stage with vines around him. Rufus used his magic to control the vines and use the stage controls, flipping a switch as they played the instrumental of 'Believe it', as the lights shone and the ponies around and Sonic - yes, he was there cheering too - watched in awe as the vines keep the show going and pressed buttons and switch, playing the music. Rufus, Izzy, and Knuckles - now an ice bag on his head to reduce pain from his head - watched with smiles at the performance while Rufus turned to his two friends. "What do you think, guys?" he asked them. "I'll say you found the right place for your tricks, Hoofdini," Knuckles said with a smile. "And it’s Mare-aculous!" Izzy cheered with a wink. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 21. My BananasIt was a nice sunny day in Maretime Bay while ponies were talking to each other. Passing by them, Sunny was on her roller skates, giving smoothies to the ponies around. Following her by flight was Tails, who started to work with her so he could get some money to buy materials for his inventions since Sonic was busy working on Zephyr Heights as the speed moderator for the Royal Guard, and Knuckles... he hung a lot with Izzy to help her with her Unicycling stuff. Sunny came to Posey and gave her a smoothie. "Morning, Posey. One tropical treat to go," she said to her, then moved slightly and stood before Dahlia. "Dahlia. Free banana berry blast?" she smiled while Dahlia nodded. "I’ll be right with you," she said, then headed back to her smoothie stand, but she slipped on a banana peel on the floor and tripped. "Whoa!" she shouted as she tripped into the air, and all the bananas and a couple of smoothies flew out from her cart. "Myyy Baanaanaasss!" she cried out while things were moving slowly. The ponies watched as the smoothies spilled to the ground. A family of pegasi were taking a picture together outside of Mane Melody. At the same time, an earth pony mare held the camera phone, but just when the picture was taken, Sunny got into the camera's view, and the picture taken showed her in a funny way from the trip. Sunny screamed and crashed into the ground, and a pile of bananas fell on her while the ponies around gasped. Tails also saw this and gasped as well. "Sunny!" he cried out, then boosted flying to her. Sunny poked her head out of the pile, and a banana peel slipped off her helmet and into her face. Sunny picked it off and held it with an embarrassed look. "Um... Sunny?" Tails called out as he looked at what was in front of her. Sunny looked in the same direction, and her embarrassment worsened since everypony saw that. At first, everyone was in shock, but then Posey started to laugh, and then everypony in the crowd laughed as well, finding Sunny's little accident funny. "Okay, so everypony saw that..." she said with a sheepish look as the crowd continued to laugh. She saw in all directions, and then Tails helped her get up. "Let's just, uh... Let's get you out of here, Sunny," he told her as they both boosted out and towards the Brighthouse. At the Crystal Brighthouse, Hitch, Pipp, and Zipp were watching something on the TV when the door opened, and Sunny and Tails came inside. Sunny was sad, while Tails had a hand over her shoulder to comfort her. "You are not going to believe what happened to me today!" Sunny said to her friends. "Did you do an epic fail in front of tons of customers and land in a big pile of bananas?" Zipp asked with an amusing smile. Hitch and Pipp did their best not to laugh but snorted a bit anyway. "Huh?!" Sunny cried out in surprise. "How did you guys know that?" Tails asked, confused. "Sunny's gone viral," Pipp answered. "Everypony is talking about it!" she said as she picked up the remote and changed the channel on the TV. The video immediately showed Sunny tripping, screaming, flopping to the floor, and getting covered in the banana pile. Then, Skye and Dazzle of the Zephyr Heights news appeared, and Skye cringed at the video. "Ooh, now that's embarrassing!" he said with a smile as he and Dazzle laughed from the video. "Let’s play that again," he requested with a smile while the video played again. "No!" Sunny cried out with her hooves on her face. And then Izzy started to sing behind her. "My bananas! Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na! My bananas!" she sang, then got to Sunny’s face and started to vocalize. "Sunny! Sunny! Break it down! My bananas!" she sang. Then she started to beatbox, waiting for Sunny to break down, but it didn’t come as Sunny was still upset. "Not helping, Iz," Tails said with a frown. "And it isn't that funny at all," he added. "What isn't so funny?" Sonic asked as he and Knuckles arrived with the rest. Knuckles, however, looked immediately at the TV, at the video of Sunny tripping, and snorted a bit. "Falling to a banana peel! What a classic!" he said with a smile, but then he faced Sunny with a neutral expression. "But now that I have context, yeah, it isn't so funny," he added. "Eh, I've seen worse trips," Sonic added with a neutral expression. "This... is... the... worst!" Sunny cried out as she got in front of the TV and changed the channels, but they all showed the same 'epic fail' of her. "Ugh, I'm everywhere! I'm supposed to be the Alicorn defender of pony unity, and now I'm a joke!" she said with sad puppy eyes. "Chill, girl. It's just a viral video of the internet, and the internet evolves quickly. Everypony will get bored about it eventually," Sonic said with a smile as he put a hand around her. "He's right, Sunny. These things happen all the time!" Hitch smiled, then approached her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Trust me. In a couple of hours, they'll have forgotten all about it," he assured her. Sunny smiled at her two friends. Maybe they were right, and everyone would forget about the video... Or maybe not. Sunny was covered in her blanket at night and watched from her phone, which was still playing her 'Epic Banana Fail.' A song called 'My Bananas' was even played in the background while Sunny kept looking at her video. She tapped the screen and saw two ponies wearing banana hats, a guy wearing a banana suit, and then Dazzle in the news again. "'Sunny side down,' am I right?" Dazzle asked in a terrible joke, and she laughed. Sunny tapped the screen again, now feeling even more humiliated. Now she saw Posey on the screen, participating in some contest. "My bananas!" she called out as she pressed a button, then rainbow lights appeared behind her and the audience off-screen cheered. "Yeah!" Posey cheered as well. Then the screen went back to the news, and Skye appeared. "Not a 'smoothie' operator?" he joked and laughed. The screen changed to a Unicorn Filly holding a lunchbox with a batch of bananas, then to a Pegasus mare who gasped at Sunny's video, and then back to the news, where Dazzle appeared again. "Time for a banana 'splat'!" Dazzle laughed at her joke. Then the screen showed Queen Haven laughing after seeing the video. "My bananas!" she laughed out loud. "Slip of the 'peel'?" she joked. Sunny groaned in frustration and flopped to her bed, clearly seeing that the banana thing wouldn’t stop anytime soon. The next morning, Sunny was still lying in bed, embarrassed and covered in her blanket to hide herself, as her friends were beside her bed. "Maybe I was wrong..." Sonic said with a worried tone, looking at Sunny with worry. "Sunny, what about the smoothie stand?" Pipp questioned. "There's no way I'm going back out there," Sunny answered from inside her blanket. "It's too embarrassing," she added, not wanting to leave the Brighthouse. "Come on, Sunny. I get it's embarrassing for you, but you can't let this affect you!" Tails tried to resonate with her. "Yeah, what's the worst could happen?" Knuckles asked with a smile. "I can list a few things, but for Sunny's sake, I'm not going to do it," Sonic said with a bored expression, looking at Knuckles. "Come on," Hitch said with a comforting smile, returning to the topic. "It's not the end of the world. Hey, nobody even remembers that time I tried to arrest a baby raccoonicorn," he added, now with an embarrassed smile. A baby raccoonicorn held some gems and stood on a tree branch. Then, the branch tilted slightly when the baby raccoonicorn saw Hitch on it. "It's the end of the line, raccoonicorn!" Hitch cried out. "Time to—!" he tried to walk towards the baby, but the branch snapped. Hitch and the raccoonicorn fell, but then Hitch’s straps got caught in another branch, leaving him dangling while the baby raccoonicorn landed on him with the gems in his paws. The baby raccoonicorn hopped up and down, making Hitch yelp while the ponies around him saw everything. After Hitch told them that, a construction pegasus flew by through the window. "Hey, aren't you that 'raccooni-cop'?" he asked Hitch, who flinched at that old nickname. "Get out of here!" Hitch cried out as he covered the window with the sheets. He turned to see Izzy, Pipp, Zipp, and Team Sonic stifling, laughing at him. "Okay, bad example," he said with a bored expression. Sunny groaned because of this, and she flopped back to her bed since Hitch's idea didn't help her at all. "Just get back out there and act like you don't care," Zipp suggested with a smile. "Or just wear a disguise and start a new life!" Izzy strangely suggested. "Worked for me!" she cried out, which startled Sunny while Izzy laughed and flopped back into the ground. "Uh... You did that before?" Knuckles questioned with both worry and confusion, but he got no answer. "No!" Sunny yelled, a little freaked out by Izzy, but decided to ignore her. "It's hopeless!" she cried as she covered her face. "Looks like I'll have to stay here forever!" she muffled in the blanket with a sad tone. The rest looked at Sunny with sadness, feeling bad for her. Sonic, however, had a bored expression and got close to Sunny. "Well, this is ridiculous, and I have seen enough," Sonic said to her. Then he took Sunny’s blanket off, but he yelped once he saw her mane made a disaster. "Yikes!" he said in surprise. "Uh... Sunny, does your hair always look this bad in the morning?" Pipp asked, getting close to Sunny and Sonic. "Yes," Sunny replied, still looking sad. Sonic and Pipp looked at each other and nodded. "Okay, ponies, leave this one to us," Pipp requested as she motioned them out of the room. Sonic took out his phone, looked for something quick, and showed it to Sunny. "Look at this," Sonic said as Sunny took his phone to watch a video. The video showed Sonic and Tails testing one of the many portals they tried to open. Once Tails pressed the button to activate the portal, it exploded, and even though Sonic was fine, he was now covered in smoke. But that wasn't the worst of all: near them was an Ice Cream stand, and part of the explosion caused some ice cream to fly out and fall straight into Sonic's head. "Ten billion views. And that happened last week," Sonic said with a smirk. "It's called 'Sonic the Hedgehog's most epic fail so far," he added with a smirk. "So far?" Sunny asked. "Yeah, there's a few more, like, for example..." Sonic said as he moved to another video. This one showed him running as usual, but then he tripped with a rock that he somehow didn't see, rolled down the street, and crashed against a big sign that said 'Welcome to Maretime Bay'. "I would like to say I tripped with style, but I would be lying," he added again with a smirk. "Now watch this," Pipp said as she clicked on her phone and gave it to Sunny. The first video showed Pipp, Rocky, and Jazz singing their main song on the Mane Melody stage. "Try something new, take a chance, just—" Pipp started, but then she lost her balance. "Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!" she cried out, falling off the stage into the ground. The next video showed Pipp eating spaghetti, but as she slurped some of the noodles, the whole spaghetti smacked on her face and fell to the floor, leaving Pipp with some sauce on her face and a shocked look, then she looked around and putted on her sunglasses to avoid eye-contact. The next one showed Pipp vocalizing herself, but her voice cracked slightly. "The video was called 'Princess Pipp's Top Ten Most Epic Fails,'" Pipp explained to Sunny. "It has…" she started, cleared her throat, and continued. "... thirteen billion views," she pointed out, leaning on Sunny’s bed with a smile and shaking her tail. That last action made Sonic blush a bit, so he tried to ignore the movement and looked at Sunny, who was laughing at the other video of Pipp. "We may have embarrassing moments, but you can either feel ashamed for the rest of your life or laugh with the rest," Sonic said with a smile. "You see, Sunny?" Pipp said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "You've got to own your fails. If you play this right, they could remember for months," she said, but that just made Sunny groan. "Bad choice of words, Little Pipp," Sonic whispered at Pipp. "Look, Sunny. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" Pipp said with a smile. "And when life gives you bananas…" she said, while waiting what Sunny thought of this. Sunny thought for a moment before replying. "... make a banana smoothie?" she said in confusion since a line for bananas had never been said before. Sonic and Pipp looked at each other before gasping, as they both had the same idea. "That's it!" they both yelled in unison. "Leave this to us!" Pipp said to Sunny with a smile. "You won't regret this, I promise!" Sonic added, smiling as well. In Maretime Bay, the 'My Bananas' remix played on speakers on both sides of Sunny’s smoothie stand while the ponies around were carrying banana balloons, wearing banana hats, banana suits, and everything banana-related. The Pegasi family from yesterday was taking a picture, mimicking Sunny’s face when she tripped and wearing banana hats. As the sales continued, Rufus was selling banana plushies, some with unicorn horns on them. Clearly, Pipp and Sonic's idea was to use Sunny’s epic failure to start a festival to help Sunny accept this failure. Unknowingly to them, Sunny went through the crowd in disguise, wearing a fake mustache, glasses, and a hat with an 'S' on it, heading to the smoothie stand as quickly as possible. Pipp flew around the stand while she amplified her voice through the microphone. "You know her from the videos! You know her from the memes! You know her from the funky dance remix!" she said closer to the crowd with a little dance before backing up. "And if you like 'My Bananas'..." Sonic said to the crowd, arriving with a microphone as well. "'My Bananas'!" the crowd cheered to Pipp and Sonic. "... then you'll love her Oopsy-Doopsy Banana Smoothie!" Sonic finished while striking poses after each word of the smoothie title "Everypony, put your hooves together for... Sunny!" both Pipp and Sonic pointed out to Sunny, walking through the crowd. After Pipp announced her name, she stopped and looked back, taking off her disguise, giving a nervous smile to the crowd, and walking back to the smoothie stand. But what surprised her was that, instead of laughing at her, Seashell popped up with a gasp. "Sunny! Sign my banana!" she cried out while holding a banana plushie. "I want eighteen smoothies!" Dahlia cried out to Sunny. Sunny laughed a bit inside her stand. "I guess this wasn't such a disaster after all," Sunny said with a smile. She placed a banana in the blender to make a banana smoothie. "Thanks, guys." She thanked Pipp and Sonic for helping her make this epic fail better. "Of course. Anything to help," Pipp said with a smile. "Anytime, girl," Sonic said with a wink. But then the blender started to get a little too fast, and the three friends looked at it. It blended the banana so much that it popped open and splatted the banana juice on Sunny, Pipp, and Sonic's faces while the crowd of ponies gasped and took their phones out to take pictures of this moment. Then, Sunny, Pipp, and Sonic looked at each other and started to laugh out of this, since it was better to laugh at moments like this one. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 23. Another Pony's TrashSunny opened the window where a bird was sitting, but it flew away, and Sunny sighed in relaxation. "Another beautiful day in…Agh!" Sunny tried to say but was startled when a newspaper flew straight into her face. She turned away from the window and tried to get the newspaper off while her friends - having breakfast - stifled their laughter. Once Sunny got the newspaper off, she sighed in relief but then read the article on the paper. "'Maretime Bay Trash Heap of Equestria?' Huh? 'Filling Visiting Numbers Caused Chaos?'" Sunny read in disbelief. "Pfft, can you guys believe this?" Sunny asked with a snort. "As if Maretime Bay has a trash problem," she added, then wrinkled the paper and threw it through the window. "You just contradicted yourself by throwing that litter, Sunny," Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. "Litter? Not while I'm still alive!" Knuckles said as he jumped from the window, picked up the litter, and came back to throw it into a trash can. "These disrespectful kids..." The others looked at each other, knowing Sunny didn't know what was happening. "Um. Are you kidding? It’s like all over 'Clip-Trot,'" Pipp pointed out and showed a Clip-Trot video where the bunnies were dancing on the beach, but then a wave hit them, and the bunnies were washed up from the ocean with some trash on them. "And it’s not just trash. I’ve been getting a lot of complaints on how busy Maretime Bay is now," Hitch said to Sunny, then pointed to the board of complaints behind Sunny. "They are mostly from Posey, but still." "Why do you have your Complaint Board on here again?" Tails asked, as having that on the Brighthouse instead of in the station made no sense. "I have no more space back in the station..." Hitch replied with an embarrassed smile, scratching his head a little. "Unicorns are gasping too much at the views!" Posey’s voice was heard while each note said it all. "Pegasus wings created unwanted breezes! Unicorn smell!" After the smell part of a note, Posey poked her head through the window with an irritated look. "And another thing…Agh!" She got cut when Sonic threw her a pancake in the face. "No one cares, Posey!" Sonic yelled at her and then closed the window with a slam. Once he turned back to his friends, he cleared his throat and looked at Sunny. "Keep going, let's just pretend she never showed up," he said with a little smile. "Hey!" Posey yelled from the other side of the window while Sonic just rolled his eyes. "Oh, pony boloney, these news ponies always make things worse than they are," she assured the others. "I’m sure it’s just a big fuss over nothing," she finished, then turned around and walked out to her smoothie job. Hitch raised his hoof to stop Sunny, but he lowered it since she already walked out. Sonic came next to him. "Let her go, sheriff," Sonic said, touching his shoulder. "She's going to realize how wrong she is in a few seconds," he pointed out since he knew Sunny would see how bad the situation was in Maretime Bay. On the town streets, Sunny was dragging her smoothie cart and looked at the street in total shock, with her right eye twitching at sight: Maretime Bay was completely covered in the trash; ponies around were holding phone sticks and taking selfies; pegasi were flying around holding their phones at top speed; and earth ponies were dragging rickshaws with other ponies riding on them. Sunny walked by and looked around: she saw a raccoonicorn digging in a pile of trash in a recycling bin, then she saw Rufus trying to clean up the litter on the street, but a pony tossed a crumpled-up paper on the other crumpled up papers, which caused the rest to fall on the floor and made Rufus groan in frustration at this. Sunny got a nervous smile, looking at her surroundings. "See! Everything’s… whoa!" she was startled when a couple of fillies ran past her. "Fine!" she finished, shaking her hoof to let go of a piece of trash stuck on it. Then she looked at her other hoof and saw it got some trash as well, and then ducked when a newspaper was about to hit her, then a pegasus flew by, creating a breeze, then another pegasus flew by, and the breeze hit another newspaper on Sunny's head. She got the newspaper off of her face with a bored expression. "You’ve got to be kidding me," she said in a dead tone. Suddenly, an earth pony mare came before her, holding a selfie stick and carrying a cart full of them. "Selfie sticks! Get your selfie stick!" she announced with a smile. Sunny turned away, but another mare approached her with a megaphone in her hoof. "Megaphones! Get your megaphones!" she called out through the megaphone, which caused Sunny to cringe and back away from this. Sunny came near the edge where the view of the ocean was, but then she saw a stallion going fast and dragging a rickshaw coming at her. Sunny moved out of the way while the stallion passed by her, but then ponies around her were holding selfie sticks, blocking her way, and she ran off. And then a Unicorn colt was holding a selfie stick, but didn't notice an earth Pony mare with another in the rickshaw coming up fast at him. Sunny gasped and jumped in to grab the colt before he got hit by the cart. Sunny landed on her hooves after the roll and sighed in relief. Then, she checked at the colt, who giggled happily at Sunny. A newspaper hit him in the face, and Sunny chuckled sheepishly. "Okay. We may have a problem," she said, clearly seeing that Maretime Bay was a mess. Later, Sunny returned with their friends at the Crystal Brighthouse to tell them everything she saw. "Ponies. You were right," Sunny said to her friends with a sad look. "Maretime Bay is a trash heap!" she called out. "I’ve seen actual trash heaps that are much cleaner," Zipp whispered to Pipp. "Oil Ocean, it's the synonym of clean compared to Maretime Bay," Sonic whispered to Tails. "Well, I’m not going to sit around and watch our town turn into a complete disaster!" Sunny called out, pacing back and forth with a determined look. She faced her friends with the same look. "It’s time to take out the trash," she said with a dramatic smile. "Oh. But I took out the trash this morning," Izzy complained while Hitch was reading his sheriff book, and Knuckles ate some grapes behind her. "Not literally, Izzy," Tails clarified, coming next to her with a bored expression. "Oh! Yeah, that makes a lot more sense," Izzy answered. "Well, then, let's clean up this place before it gets worse," Sonic said with a smile. Then he turned to look at Hitch and Knuckles with a smirk. "And yes, guys. You can pick up lots of litter," he added. Hitch and Knuckles got up, smiling, crying joyfully, and hugging each other. "Music to my ears!" Hitch said dramatically. "We were born for this moment!" Knuckles said dramatically as well. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were walking past the ponies in Maretime Bay, wearing sunglasses, Izzy wearing her goggles, and a pair of green hats, each symbol of a mop and a broom. Two of Hitch’s animal crew were also there, with Kenneth holding a broom and McSnips beside Pipp. The ponies around them watched them with awe as the Mane 5 and Team Sonic stopped walking, and Pipp held out her phone to face Sunny and livestream the whole thing. "Listen up, Team Clean!" Sunny called out with a determined look. "If we want to live together, we’re going to have to work together!" she stated. "Clean every corner! Sweep every sidewalk! Mop every…. Uh? Moppable area!" she called out. Then, Sunny turned to Zipp and Knuckles. "Zipp, Knuckles, track down those litters!" she said to them, while Zipp brought out her magnifying glass and Knuckles brought a litter pickaxe. "Izzy, Tails, you’re on redecoration!" she said to Izzy and Tails with a smile, while both of them saluted and smiled back. "Hitch, Sonic, sort out the rickshaw problem!" she told them, while Hitch smiled and held up to a sign for 'Stop', and Sonic held one for 'Go'. "They'll never know who stopped them!" Sonic stated with a smile. When Sunny came to her, Pipp was holding the selfie stick with her phone, trying to take a selfie. "Pipp, selfie sticks," she said, while Pipp smiled at Sunny since she knew exactly what she needed to do. Now Sunny turned to Hitch's animal crew. "Critters… Just stay adorable," she said cutely to them with a smile, and the critters saluted in response. Sunny stood side by side with her friends, now ready for action. "Okay, Maretime Bay. Time to sparkle and shine!" Sunny announced. After a while, Zipp and Knuckles picked up the litter and put it in a trash bag on their backs. "This… is… disgusting!" Zipp cried out, grabbing a litter and placing it in her trash bag. "Who lives like this?!" she questioned herself, wondering who could live in a place that looks like a trash can. "People who have no sense of sanitation," Knuckles replied, picking up litter with his pickaxe and putting it in his trash bag. "Now I get why Hitch is always so strict with the litter," he added. "Yeah, me too," Zipp confessed as she picked up another litter. "Phew! That’s better," she said with a smile, but then a shadow appeared over her and Knuckles. They both turned and lifted their sunglasses, staring in shock at a mountain of trash that piled up in the trash bin with the raccoonicorns digging through it. Zipp's sunglasses fell off, and Knuckles let go of the pickaxe, both still in shock. "You’ve got to be kidding me," she said, staring at the insane amount of trash. "Sonic was right," Knuckles said, staring with disbelief at the mountain of trash. "Oil Ocean is cleaner than this town," he added. Meanwhile, Izzy and Tails were trying to put up some decorations for Maretime Bay, while Izzy tried to lift some lights on a building and Tails some posters to replace the old ones vandalized with some drawings. "Okay... Almost there…" Izzy said to herself, keeping her balance over a stool. "Just a little bit— Aah!" she cried out as her stool lost balance, and she tilted side to side, falling and screaming while a crash was heard, but luckily, only the stool broke off since Izzy was now tangled in light wires. "A little help here?!" she called out. "Coming!" Tails said as he quickly arrived with the unicorn and started to untie her from the lights. Hitch and Sonic tried to keep order in the rickshaw problem on the street in front of Mane Melody, but nopony listened. "Hey! Slow down, pal! Hey! Order! ORDER!" Hitch called out to the ponies, but then he twirled around when a rickshaw hit him. He twirled until Sonic helped him to stop. "There you go, sheriff," Sonic said with a little smile. "Man, this is disrespectful on so many levels..." he commented, looking around with a frown. However, Pipp was livestreaming how to clean up Maretime Bay and hold the selfie stick properly. "See? It's super easy. Like this," she said to the viewers, but then two colts, a unicorn, and a pegasus, were clashing selfie sticks as if they were swords and playing around. Pipp saw this and gasped in shock. "Oh. Oh, no. Oh! Oh, be careful! Oh! Look out!" she cried out, and she chased after the two colts. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic regrouped. They felt tired and sweating from cleaning and maintaining order, especially since it wasn't working. "It's no good, Sunny. We need more help," Hitch said with a worried expression. "This is getting out of our hands," Sonic admitted, wiping sweat with a towel. "There's so much garbage. The town's about to explode!" Zipp cried out. "So much litter, I'm gonna explode..." Knuckles said with desperation. Then, the grown started to rumble, and the Mane 5 and Team Sonic saw a bunch of ponies coming at them in a stampeding fashion, with Posey leading the rest with a determined expression while the ponies surrounded the Mane 5 and Team Sonic. "Um... Posey?" Sonic asked, a little confused. "What the heck is going on here?" he added. "W-What's all this?" Sunny asked, wondering why there were so many ponies there. "We saw Pipp's video," a pegasus stallion answered, holding his phone and playing the video Pipp uploaded about Sunny telling them to work together to clean the town. "Pretty inspiring stuff," a unicorn mare said with sparkling eyes while the other ponies smiled. "We're here to help clean up!" Posey started as she stepped in front of Sunny. "If we want to live together, we're gonna have to work together—" Sunny cut her off. "Yeah, yeah, we remember the speech," Sunny said to Posey, giving her a grateful smile. "Wow. Okay, um... Izzy!" Sunny called out to her unicorn friend. "Get these ponies some 'Team Clean' caps!" she told her while Izzy saluted with a smile and placed some 'Team Clean' caps on Posey and some other ponies. "Alright, everyone! It’s time to clean up Maretime Bay like there's no tomorrow!" Sonic called out to the ponies. "There's no tomorrow?!" an earth pony mare asked in a panic, then ran off screaming. The Mane 5, Team Sonic, and the other ponies watched the mare go with a strange look while Sonic facepalmed. Zipp and Knuckles motioned the unicorns to help lift the pile of trash. They levitated trash from the ground, while the pegasi carried bags as the unicorns put the trash in them. Rufus skied down a mountain of trash, picked the litter, and put them in the bags on his side. Meanwhile, a pegasus mare sweeps the floor for the dirt that the pile of trash left behind. In another section, Izzy and Tails were putting up a can of decorative soda cans to make the street look good, but when she was about to tie it up on a streetlight, a can tilted and spilled some soda content left in it. Izzy looked down and saw a colt drinking the contents since some still had soda. Later, a traffic light was set up and turned on. The ponies stopped after seeing the traffic light, and Hitch and Sonic smiled now that the streets were in control. Then they saw Jazz and Rocky doing a victory dance while Jazz laughed, and the four ponies, two dragging the other two on the rickshaw, watched on and bobbed their heads. Pipp showed the fillies around her how to use the selfie sticks as they took pictures from their phones. In front of them were another group of ponies and a pegasnail holding selfie sticks. Pipp clapped her hooves with a smile at their great work. Sunny smiled at the ponies working together while cleaning Maretime Bay. The rest of the Mane 5 also smiled while their Cutie Marks started to shine, and Sunny levitated. Then, her alicorn magic activated, and her wings and horns appeared. Sunny smiled. "Their Cutie Marks shine sometimes..." Tails pointed out, looking not only at Sunny but also at the rest of the Mane 5. "Yeah, I guess it's some kind of pony thing or something," Sonic said, smiling at Sunny. "Should we worry about that?" Knuckles questioned. "Nah, what's the worst that can happen with glowing tattoos on their butts?" Sonic added with a relaxed smile, but he didn't believe in his own words for some reason. A little bit later, in front of the old Canterlogic building, Sunny walked in front of the stage while her friends—sins Team Sonic, who decided to be part of the crowd this time—were around her, facing the crowd of ponies. "Everypony, today is a wondrous day!" Sunny called out as she spread her wings. "Tuesday?" Rufus asked with a smile, while Knuckles patted his back with a little smile since he was standing beside Rufus, alongside Sonic and Tails. "Yes! Thank you, Rufus," Sunny said to him with a smile. "But it's also the day we proved that ponykind can live together in unity! So long as we clean up once in a while," she called out, which resulted in the crowd cheering at her. "So I hereby announce the brand-new yearly Cleanup Carnival!" she called out, unraveling a sign that showed three ponies, each from one tribe, carrying cleaning tools as the crowd cheered on. "A special day to clean Maretime Bay from head to hoof. All overseen by 'Team Clean'!" Sunny added as she and her friends lifted their hooves, and the crowd cheered to the Mane 5. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," Rufus said proudly. "I liked cleaning before it was cool," he said with pride as Knuckles patted his back again. "Make that two, pal!" Knuckles called out with a smile as he fist-bumped Rufus. THE END Author's Note Just because I feel like I have to, I'm dropping my HC for the Mane 5 ages. Sunny and Pipp are 24 years old, Hitch and Zipp are 25 and Izzy is 26. As for Team Sonic, I won't tell. Just know that, in both groups, Tails is the youngest one and Knuckles the eldest. Don't worry, I do tell Tails age on Sonic x Make Your Mark, but you'll have to wait to find out :) P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 24. Starscout CodeIt was a nice day in the Brighouse, and the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were doing a little spring cleaning. They also helped Sunny organize some things in the process. Sunny and Tails walked to the center of the living room and smiled as they watched their friends help with the cleaning. "You gotta love spring cleaning." "Absolutely!" Tails said with a smile, holding a list and a pencil. "And nothing beats cleaning in an organized way!" Then, Sunny saw Zipp holding her old roller skates from when she was a filly. "Aw. My first roller skates. Keep," she said with a smile, spinning one of the wheels that popped out and hit Sunny in the forehead before bouncing and crashing into something. "Or maybe recycle," Sunny said with a sheepish smile. Pipp picked up a big hat, which she found weird that Sunny even had. "Donate!" Sunny suggested. "Izzy! What do you wanna do with all these nosy-glowy gems?" Hitch asked as he walked in with a box with gems on his back. "Sorry, Hitch. We asked for those, actually," Sonic said with a sheepish smile. He grabbed the box and ran upstairs to put it on Tails's working desk. "Yeah, we still need to do more tests on a portal to get home..." Tails said with a nervous chuckle. "If we can make it work, that is, and if we already defeated Eggman, of course." "Okay..." Hitch said, a little doubtful. "But, where is Izzy anyway?" he asks as the rest look around for their unicorn friend while Pipp is wearing the hat to post a picture to her Pippsqueaks. "Uh, Izzy?!" Hitch called out again. Then they heard someone grunting and looked upstairs to find Izzy trying to open a closet with her teeth. "I almost got it," Izzy grunted. While the rest looked at her weirdly, Sunny looked worried since she knew what was in the closet very well. "Izzy! No!" Sunny called out, but it was too late. Izzy finally got the closet door open, but then piles of junk burst out, and it rivered downstairs with Izzy in tow, hitting the three ponies and the fox as they screamed. Izzy popped her head out of the pile and gave her usual cheery smile. "And for my next trick, let's do that again!" she cheerfully told her friends. The rest also popped out of the junk pile, and Tails felt anxious. "It was all perfectly organized..." he said with a scary and sad tone. "Now we have to start over from scratch..." he said, as he dramatically fainted on the pile. "How can you even put so much stuff in one closet?" Knuckles questioned as he shook Tails, who started to wake up. Sunny rubbed her head, then gave a sheepish smile. "I just couldn’t decide what to throw away or what to keep," she replied, a little embarrassed. "Off-topic: should that thing be glowing?" Sonic asked, suddenly arriving at Sunny's side and pointing to something glowing in the ground. Sunny walked close to it and unwrapped it, seeing what looked like an earth pony-themed blanket with a throne, crops around, an earth pony, and an echidna resembling Hitch, his critters, and Knuckles. When she unwrapped it, Sunny saw something else behind the blanket, which appeared to be a film player. She picked it up to look closer, but it fell from her hoof. When it hit the floor, it turned on and showed a film on the wall of Sunny's father, Argyle Starshine. The rest of her friends, near the wall where the film started to play, saw this in shock. "Surprise, Sunny-Bunny," Argyle said in the film, waving with a smile. Sunny gasped at the film as it showed an image she hadn't seen in a long time. "Dad?" Sunny asked with a heartfelt expression as tears formed in her eyes. "I guess you found the old family blanket. Quite something, isn’t it?" Argyle guessed, adjusting his glasses. Sunny walked closer to the film with the same expression while her friends huddled around her. "It’s actually an ancient pony artifact, passed down from ten generations," he explained the true purpose of the blanket. "Other pieces were hidden in Zephyr Heights and Bridlewood years ago," he said, while Sunny looked at her friends to check if they knew about this but got a 'no' reply. "One day, magic will return. And Sunny, I know you will be the one to do it," he said to his daughter. Sunny gave a teary smile and wiped a tear, and her friends looked at her with a smile. "It's even happier when you know that it already happened," Sonic said with a smile. "But even still, it will take the whole family to get the other pieces," Argyle said in the film. "Whole family?" Sunny asked in confusion, facing the film with teary eyes. "But it’s just me now..." she said with sadness. The rest of her friends looked at each other and then gave Sunny a sympathy look since she didn’t have any family left by blood. Zipp turned off the film player and then sniffed the ancient blanket. "This smells... like a mystery!" she announced with a smile. Sonic smiled and placed his arm around Zipp, giving the blanket a closer look. "It smells more like an adventure to me!" he announced, grabbing the blanket momentarily. "Time for another treasure hunt!" he added, ready for another adventure. "That’s right, Sonic! Come on, everypony!" Sunny called out, placing the blanket on her back and trotting off with the rest of her friends following her. Later, Queen Haven, Thunder, and Zoom walked around Zephyr Heights peacefully until they saw the Mane 5 and Team Sonic running towards her. "What a wonderful surprise," Haven said with a smile, walking close to her daughters and Team Sonic, who were the first to arrive. The rest of the Mane 5 caught up, out of breath, since they had to run the rest of the way. "Queen Haven!" Sunny called out through her panting. "We need to ask you! " She stopped and showed the blanket to Haven. "Wow! That blanket!" Haven said, recognizing it. "My throne room hasn't looked like that in centuries! Wherever did you––?" she tried to ask but got cut off when Zipp zipped in when she mentioned the throne room. "The throne room! I knew it looked familiar!" Zipp said with a smile. "Thanks, Mom!" she thanked her mother as she and the other Mane 5 zoomed past her to get the other piece. Haven looked confused as she watched the Mane 5 go. "Y-You're welcome, darling! I think," she said. "Excuse them, your majesty," Sonic said since he and the rest of Team Sonic were still there. We're on a quest again, but it doesn't need to steal or break up anything this time," he assured her with a smile. "Hopefully," he added, now unsure that nothing would break. Later, the whole group made it to the throne room, where Sunny looked at the blanket and then at Haven's throne. "Huh. I guess that's where the next piece is?" Sunny asked with a little doubt. "How do we––?" she got cut off when Izzy walked by and cleared her throat to gain their attention. "I've got this, ponies. Open sesa-pony!" Izzy called out as she used her magic to levitate Haven’s throne, but she started to strain since it was too heavy to lift. "Any... minute... now!" she strained as Haven’s throne started rumbling side to side. Zipp looked on and smirked as she looked at her sister. "Hmmm…" she muttered, using her head to tell Pipp something. Pipp saw the gesture and smiled. "Mom's not going to like this!" she said, and then the two sisters flew to the throne. And now Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp were straining while they tried to lift the throne, but it was still too heavy. "This is painful to watch," Tails said as he scratched an arm slightly. Sunny watched her friends straining and then looked at the blanket, focusing on the figure of an earth pony. "Hitch! We need earth pony magic, too!" she said to Hitch. Hitch walked in front of Sunny with a confident smile on his face. "Say no more, Sunny. Critters, roll out!" Hitch ordered as two of his crew birds posed beside him before going in front of the throne. "Now... lift!" he ordered as the two birds tried to lift the throne, but they suddenly got thrown to the ceiling, with the rest watching in surprise. "Hitch, I, um... meant our other earth pony magic," Sunny pointed out while the two birds landed on Hitch. "Yeah, that... makes more sense," Hitch said, giving Sunny a sheepish smile. "Good hustle, team," he said to his critters, thanking them for their efforts. Sunny and Hitch summoned their earth pony magic as their hooves glowed, and they stomped them down on the ground as vine roots began to lift Haven’s throne a little, but it still didn't get up. Tails then looked at the blanket again and noticed something that made him gasp. "Knuckles! We need your muscles, too!" he called out to his equine friend. "It'll be my pleasure," Knuckles said with a smile as he cracked his knuckles and got behind the throne. Once he started to grunt, the throne finally started to lift. Once it elevated completely, a new piece of the blanket was revealed. Sunny picked up the piece and unraveled it to see that it had three ponies, a hedgehog, and a fox. One pony at the bottom looked like herself in her alicorn form, with the hedgehog next to her looking like Sonic. Two pegasi over them looked like Zipp and Pipp flying alongside the fox, which looked like Tails. Also, this piece was shining. Izzy got next to Sunny, and she gasped when she saw something familiar on the blanket. "I know that place!" she cheered out, but she lost her concentration as the throne stopped levitating and crashed over Knuckles, breaking into pieces. The Mane 5 and Team Sonic looked at the destroyed throne worried, but Pipp and Zipp were the most worried ones, as Knuckles pocked his head out of the destroyed throne and looked at it in shock. "Um, we should probably…" Zipp stammered. "Yes! Let's!" Pipp agreed with her sister. "Gotta go fast!" Sonic called out as he grabbed Knuckles's arm, and they all left the castle. The palace doors opened, and Haven came in. She looked in shock at her throne, now destroyed. "My throne! Guards!" she called out, wanting the guards to fix the throne as soon as possible. After escaping Queen Haven’s wrath a while later, Izzy led her friends to another part of Bridlewood that looked like a swamp with bubbles popping and big crystals all around. "Ta-daaaaa!" Izzy cheered, but her friends Sonic and Knuckles cringed in disgust since they found the swamp disturbing. "I told you! Just like the picture! Let's see if I remember how it works..." she said as she approached the big crystal. "Uhhhh... uni-cadabra!" she called out, and once she touched the crystal, it began to glow and make chiming sounds. Then, one by one, the crystals all around the area started chiming in a pattern. The rest watched in amazement, and their disgusted thoughts of the place vanished once they saw the crystals glowing. "Whoa…" Hitch said with awe. "It's beautiful!" Sunny called out with sparkling eyes. "I'd say it again: you ponies never cease to impress me!" Sonic complimented with a smile. "Ready, ponies?" Izzy called out to her friends. "Once I hit the big gem, you have to hit all the others in order, okay?" she instructed them on what to do. Sunny came next to one gem and hit it as it chimes. "Ohhhh. Like Just Prance!" she clarified, remembering the dancing game she entered to get the Unicorn Crystal. Hitch touched another crystal, which glowed in red and made an off-key chime. "Only bigger, harder…" he pointed out. "And muddier!" Pipp cried out because she got mud on her hooves, and then Sonic returned and cleaned up one of them. "We've got this," Zipp confidently said to the group. "Let's do it!" Tails stated with a smile. "Well then... uni-kazam!" Izzy announced and pressed the big crystal, signaling her friends to start. The Mane 5 and Team Sonic got off to the wrong start, as multiple off-key chimes occurred as they hit the wrong crystals. Sunny looked around, following the pattern, until she pointed to one for Zipp to hit. Once she did, a harmonious chime came out of it, saying it was right. The group looked at each other, knowing what they needed to do. Izzy then pressed the big crystal to restart. This time, the group hit the right crystals since multiple harmonious chimes were coming out of them. Pipp and Zipp find the last crystal that needs to be pressed, so they fly off as fast as possible to press it. However, they crash into a bunch of vines that tangle them up. "Whoa, whoa!" Zipp called out from the vines. "Ew, ew, ew, ew!" Pipp was grossed out to have swamp vines wrapped around her. Sonic saw this and tried to run to hit the last crystal and help the sisters, but his feet got stuck in the mud. "Are you serious? Right now?!" he complained. Then, he remembered that the second piece of the blanket had Tails on it, so he looked at him. "Tails! Try to catch the crystal!" Sonic called out. Tails then looked at the crystal and gave a determinate look. He prepared his Tails, twirled them around, and boosted out, flying towards the crystal. Some vines appeared in front of him, but he smirked and used his tail as a pruner to cut the vines out of his way, and then he touched the crystal, sweating a little but smiling as well since he made it in time. He then looked at the sisters and boosted, flying towards them, then used his tails as a pruner again to free them from the vines and flew back with the rest as Zipp and Pipp followed him. "Go, Tails!" Hitch congratulated them as they regrouped. "Did you see that?!" Izzy asked in excitement. "You did it!" Zipp exclaimed to Tails. "Way to go, little bro!" Sonic said as he hugged Tails from behind, and the young fox giggled. "Great work, Tails!" Knuckles congratulated with a smile as well. But then, rumbling started as a chest came out of the ground and sparkled. Sunny opened the chest, and she smiled with sparkling eyes, picking up the last piece of the blanket with a picture of Maretime Bay and a unicorn that looked like Izzy. The group returned to the Crystal Brighthouse sometime later, and Izzy was putting the blanket pieces back together with her sewing skills. While the rest waited, Zipp and Sonic could hardly contain their excitement. "Is it done? Come on! Let me see!" Zipp said in excitement as she flew around Izzy. "Please, Izz! I can't take it anymore!" Sonic said with a smile, running around the unicorn. "And... presto!" Izzy called out as she spread the blanket. Now that they had the full picture, they saw a blanket with the Mane 5 and Team Sonic in the three of their tribe's hometowns, with Sunny and Sonic in the middle and Sunny in her Alicorn form. "Well, that is something," Hitch said in amazement as the blanket glowed. "It's hooftag #Vintage!" Pipp cheered as she took a selfie with the blanket on her phone. "It's... us," Sunny said with a smile as they saw the blanket. "I believe destiny wanted us to reunite, one way or another," Sonic said with a smile. "I guess ending on Equestria wasn't an accident after all; it had to happen if this thing was made before we arrived here, of course," he pointed out. "Like some kind of prophecy?" Tails asked. "Yeah," Sonic replied with a smile. "Now I feel glad to have activated that machine, except for the part where I scared these two for six months," he added, hugging both Tails and Knuckles. Then, Sunny accidentally hit the film player with one of her hind hooves, which resumed Argyle’s filming. "Now, you're probably thinking our family's a little too small to do all this," Argyle chuckled as the Mane 5 and Team Sonic watched the film, and Sunny paid close attention to her father's words. "And you'd be right. But 'family' is just a fancy word for ponies that always stick together," he said, as he picked up Filly Sunny, wrapped in the blanket as she snuggled close to her father in her sleep while Sunny watched with a heartfelt expression and tears forming in her eyes. "Your friends can be a family you choose. And Sunny, hoof to heart, I know you'll find that someday," he finished. Sunny then gave her father a teary smile and looked at the rest of her friends, who were smiling in return, knowing that Sunny had friends to be there for her. Sunny then looked at the film of her father one last time. "I already did, Dad," she said to her father as she smiled tearfully. The rest of the cast comforted Sunny while Argyle cuddled his young daughter in the film. On a distant hill, where the Brighthouse could be seen, a robotic camera zoomed in on the Mane 5 and Team Sonic hugging while it looked specifically at Sonic and Sunny, gathering some info on them. It's then revealed that Metal Sonic has somehow reactivated himself, using lots of trash and damaged pieces as body parts. He was ditched in a dumpster after Team Sonic defeated him on Zephyr Heights. "Objectives located," Metal said to himself. "Current mission: Kill Sonic the Hedgehog and Sunny Starscout. Mission status: Ongoing. Success rate: 89.4%. Pending missions: Steal the Unity Crystals and the Chaos Emeralds. Current status: damaged, must repair main functions immediately," he said to himself. He then zoomed back at the Brighthouse, but now at the Unity Crystals, and if he had a mouth, he would be giving a mischievous grin right now. "Soon enough, I'll get my revenge, Hedgehog," Metal confidently stated. "And as for you, Sunny Starscout, it would be a pleasure to meet you finally... too bad I'm going to have to kill you, tho. We won't have enough time to meet," he added, chuckling a little. "Until that moment arrives, enjoy the last few days of peace you and your friends would have..." he finished as he started to walk away from where he was standing. THE END...? Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 25. Pony PartayIn the Crystal Brighthouse, Pipp was doing a mane wig makeover, placing a couple of flowers on the wig with a smile at her accomplishment. "Hooftag #Gorgeous," Pipp said, and then an explosion was heard while glitter got on Pipp's mane and the wig. Pipp turned around and saw Izzy, covered in glitter, with a big cannon beside her. "Glitter Cannon! At the ready, captain. Oohh!" she said with a salute and a cheery smile. Pipp looked confused at Izzy and shook the glitter off of her mane. "What?! Why do we need a glitter cannon?" she asked. "For Sunny’s party," Izzy answered with a smile. It was Sunny's birthday, and her friends were planning a party for her. Zipp then zoomed in through the kitchen window and did a loop, wearing roller skates and a helmet with her signature colors. She landed on the ground in front of her sister with a smile. "The skate ramps are all secured. This party will be epic!" she stated since Sunny loved roller skating. "Skate ramps?!" Izzy and Pipp cried out in shock, as this wasn't part of the plan. And then Hitch danced his way to the group while humming a tune to himself, wearing a purple sparkle neck collar, a red sparkle party tie, and party glasses. "Hey! The dance floor’s all ready for…" he tried to say but got cut off when Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp looked at him in shock. "... Sunny’s party?!" the three mares cried in unison. "No, no, no. We agreed to throw her a 'makeover' party!" Pipp pointed out with a little frown. "Uh, no! You said an 'awesome' party!" Zipp said, glaring at her sister. "An awesome art party," Izzy pointed out, carrying a paintbrush and a wooden palette in her hooves. "But I already choreographed a ground dance number!" Hitch said with a nervous smile. "I already built a skatepark!" Zipp complained. "What in the name of Chaos is going on here?" Sonic called out while the group turned to see Team Sonic standing at the kitchen entrance. Sonic stomped on the floor and crossed his arms while Tails and Knuckles looked confused. "It's that a glitter cannon?" Knuckles asked as he pointed at the cannon beside Izzy. "Yup!" Izzy replied with a cheery smile. "We were supposed to make Sunny's Party! But we all made different things for her!" Zipp explained with worry. "So you don't remember who gave the idea of the party, and now you planned four different parties..." Tails summarized with a confused look. "And I thought we didn't know how to organize ourselves," he added, looking at Sonic and Knuckles. "What about you guys? Have you planned something for her?" Hitch asked Team Sonic. "Nah, we're terrible on that aspect," Knuckles said with a neutral expression. "Yeah, we just made a little gift for her, and we'll give it to her eventually," Tails added with a smile. "Getting back on the topic, what kind of party do you want to make for Sunny?" Sonic asked the rest of the Mane 5. "Makeover party/Art party/Awesome party/Dancing party!" the ponies all yelled in unison. "What?! No!" they all cried out again. "Yeah, that doesn't help at all..." Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. But then they all heard the Brighthouse's door open, and they knew what that meant. "Oh no! Sunny’s back!" Hitch cried out in fear. "Okay! New plan: We’ll all throw our own party for Sunny!" Pipp declared with determination. "After all, four parties are better than one, right?" she asked her friends with a smile. "Right!" The group, except for Team Sonic, agreed to Pipp's plan. "Oh, Little Pipp, you're so adorable sometimes that I could squeeze you," Sonic said with a soft smile, which caused Pipp to blush a lot, while Zipp at her side snorted a bit. "But let me be honest here: that is a terrible idea that I'm not going to support," he said, now frowning and with his arms crossed. "Yeah, this should not be done in a rush," Knuckles pointed out. "Come on, guys. This is Sunny’s birthday, which we’re talking about. What can go wrong?" Pipp asked with a confident smile. Sonic immediately looked at her, almost saying, 'Really?' with his face. Knuckles gave a bored expression, and Tails took out a little notebook and a pen. "Want me to write the 237 things that can go wrong with this plan?" Tails asked rhetorically, with a bored expression as well. "NO!" the four ponies replied to him. "This is going to bite us in the rump later," Sonic said to himself. "Fine! Do your plan and make the parties for Sunny. We still have to finish up the gift for her," he added, still unconvinced of the idea, but he knew they wouldn't listen for any reason. At the front door, Sunny came in and sighed in relief since she had a good day today, but then she screamed in surprise when she saw her friends with party decorations and birthday signs around the main room of the Brighthouse. "Surprise!" the rest of Mane 5 and Team Sonic called out to Sunny. "I hope you’re ready for the best parties ever!" Pipp said with sparkling eyes and a smile, singing the last part. "Oh!" Sunny said with a smile and sparkling eyes. "That’s so…" she got cut off when Izzy grabbed and dragged her off. "Aaahhh!" she cried out from the sudden snatch. "Do you still feel this is going to end badly?" Knuckles asked Sonic. "Yup," Sonic replied with a bored expression. Sometime later, Sunny and Izzy painted with McSnips-a-lot as their model while the crab sat on a chair with a scar around him. "Aw. Thanks, Izzy." Sunny thanks her unicorn friend. "I do love a good crafternoon!" she jokes. Izzy laughed at Sunny’s pun as well. "'Crafternoon'! Oh, Sunny!" she said while she painted McSnips on her painting board. However, her painting was childish, while Sunny’s was more detailed and professional. Sunny and Izzy cheered with their smoothies as they slurped some down. Mane 5: Party, party, party Then, Zipp suddenly appeared between the two ponies wearing a headband. "You know what this party needs?" she said to the two ponies. "The element of danger!" she declared as she grabbed Sunny and dragged her out. Outside the Brighthouse, Sunny got into her roller skating gear and raced against Zipp at a fast paste. So tonight we’re gonna party So throw your hooves up, everypony We got that glitter, gonna roll It's time to glow up the disco 'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party, oh yeah Once they finished the race, Sunny took off her helmet and smiled. "This is so cool!" she cried out with excitement. And then Pipp popped up between them, which slightly startled them. "Glamor waits for nopony! Come on, Sunny!" she cheered, holding two makeover brushes and hugging Sunny. Team Sonic watched the whole race and the scene with Pipp showing off. "Well, everything is going well so far!" Tails cheered with a smile. "Watch it fade when the smoke rolls in, little bro," Sonic warned him, which made both Tails and Knuckles look at Sonic confused. "You'll get it eventually, guys," he added. Sometime later, back inside the Brighthouse, Pipp got Sunny in a chair and put on some makeup. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Then Pipp got Sunny to try out three kinds of mane wigs to see how she looked. The fourth wig was pink and had yellow flowers on it. Sunny smiled at her new look with sparkling eyes. "I like it," she said to Pipp with a smirk. "Of course you do," Pipp replied and smirked back. Party, party, party Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Pipp reclined Sunny’s, laying her down and applying mod makeup on her forehead while Sunny sighed in relaxation. "Oh, I needed this," Sunny said relaxedly while Cloudpuff flew wearing a red bowtie and holding a drink for Sunny. "Say 'hooftag #BeautyGoals'!" Pipp said to Sunny, holding her phone. Sunny posed in the camera, but as Pipp took the picture, it showed Hitch grabbing Sunny, which startled her, and when Pipp put her phone down, Sunny was gone. "Hey!" she cried out with a frown. Hitch danced beside Sunny on the dance floor, who was a little surprised. So tonight we're gonna party Hitch lifted his hoof while Sunny smiled and clapped her hoof with Hitch’s. "Crazy noodle! Unicorn-a-conga!" he called out as Sunny joined and danced with him. After a while, they faced each other with smiles while Sunny had sparkling eyes. After the dance, they made their signature hoof-shake. "Up high, down low, hitch it to a post! Flip it sunny-side up and on a piece of toast!" they cheered, grabbing each other's hooves and holding onto one another as they twirled around. Team Sonic watched on with a smile. "Huh, you were right, Sonic. They have a shake with their names included, just like us," Tails pointed out. "Told ya," Sonic replied with a smirk. So tonight we're gonna party "Whoo-hoo!" Sunny cheered and laughed while they kept twirling. "Well, she's enjoying it," Knuckles said with a smile. "Yeah, maybe I was wrong, and everything would work out in the end," Sonic admitted, since up to this point, everything was going great. "Whoa!" Sunny cried out because she couldn't stop twirling. She then twirled to some buckets of paint and fell on the painting board, covering the paint in the process. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles cringed at this. "Or maybe not..." Sonic stated, regretting saying those words too soon. Izzy gasped cheerfully with an idea. "Paint angels! Great idea!" she cheerfully said, then dumped some yellow paint on herself and fell on the second painting board, making paint angels. Zipp grabbed Sunny and dragged her out of the Brighthouse while Sonic groaned at the scene. "This is gonna bite us in the rump at any minute now..." he said to himself. Back outside, Zipp got Sunny back into her roller skates, and Zipp was on a skateboard. They rode down the path, but Sunny started to lose her balance. Zipp: Can't stop, won't stop, the big move Strike your best pose, do the pony hip-hop "Call me 'Pony Hawk'!" Zipp said with a smile, then flipped into the air and landed on the ramp while striking her hind hooves, but Sunny was having trouble keeping her balance while Zipp landed on the ground at the end of the ramp. Mane 5: We might blow the roof off this place Sunny screamed since she knew she wasn’t as good as Zipp at skating moves, and she was going so fast that she flew over the ramp and hit her face with a wall of the Brighthouse. She slid down and landed on a pile of leaves Pipp prepared on a wagon. "That's gonna leave a mark..." Knuckles said as he cringed at the scene along with Sonic since Tails was finishing some details on Sunny's gift in the bedroom. Back to Pipp’s party section, Sunny sat on the chair again, looking worse because of Izzy's paint and her smack on the wall because of Zipp’s ramp. So tonight we're gonna party "Ugh," Sunny groaned. "Sunny, your pores seem really tense," Pipp said as she wrapped Sunny in a blanket. "Well…" was all Sunny could say, feeling slightly nervous. Pipp brought up her makeup brush, brushed it on Sunny's face, then placed two kiwis on her eyes and went off. So throw your hooves up, everypony, uh-huh We got that— "There's my dance buddy!" Hitch said, arriving suddenly and startling Sunny, grabbing her from the chair and bringing her back to the dance floor, losing the kiwis as she twirled to the other side. It's time to glow up the disco "Are you ready?" Hitch called out. "What?" Sunny asked, confused and nervous. "Catch me!" Hitch called out as he jumped to her. Sunny looked nervous, and then Izzy came next to her. "Craft time!" Izzy called out as she dragged Sunny off, leaving Hitch to land on the floor. A little later, Izzy returned Sunny to the art section and used hardened clay to make sculptures. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Sunny was having trouble with her clay going fast, but as she touched it to slow it down, the clay turned into the shape of Pipp's head. Izzy gasped in amazement. "It's a masterpiece!" she cheerfully said while Sunny looked at it in amazement. Then, Pipp popped up from behind her head, shaped like clay, and looked at Sunny with a cheery smile. "Time to tame that mane!" Pipp announced and dragged Sunny back to her section. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh Izzy decided to give Sunny's sculpture head of Pipp the final touch, adding googly eyes and a cut-out mouth. Back in Pipp’s section, Pipp put a blue wig with some pearl necklaces on Sunny. So tonight we're gonna party, oh yeah So throw those hooves up, everypony Sunny felt unsure about this, but then Pipp turned Sunny’s head in the other direction, and Cloudpuff sprayed her with mane spray. And now, for some reason, Sunny was at the highest ramp Zipp made, and she was shocked and scared because of how big the ramp was. Zipp saw Sunny up with a shocked look. "Whoa! You're starting from way up there?! You go, Sunny!" she cheered. Sunny did not like this, but her hooves slipped, and she rolled down the ramp at a super fast pace, screaming. She went so fast that she flew off in the air at the end of the ramp and right through the Brighthouse’s open window. Before she could hit the ground, however, Tails grabbed her in bridal style, then slowly descended until he landed on the ground and put Sunny safe. "Are you okay, Sunny?" Tails asked her once she was safe. "A little dizzy... and overwhelmed..." Sunny confessed as she shook her head. Then she looked around to find only Team Sonic with her, and she sighed in relief, feeling like she had finally found peace. Then they heard the door opening, and their friends came stamping in. Sunny began to freak out as she hid behind Sonic while Team Sonic stepped in front to protect her. "I am so inspired right now!" Izzy said, holding some painting supplies. "Sunny! I've been practicing the lift!" Hitch called out next. "I just beat your track time by zero-point-three seconds, Sunny!" Zipp called out. "Time to curl those eyelashes!" Pipp announced while holding an eyelash curler. "Okay! Everypony, That's it! This is too much! I can't handle it!" Sunny spoke out, finally stopping her friends from dragging her to four birthday parties. "If only someone had told you that this wouldn't work... Oh, wait! WE DID!" Knuckles yelled out at the rest of the Mane 5. "Look, I get that you wanted to make her birthday special since it's the first time she has us in her life... but you couldn't have possibly chosen a worse way to do it," Sonic pointed out with a frown. "And 49 things on my list ended up happening..." Tails said, rolling up the list of everything that could go wrong if they made four parties for Sunny. "I don't wanna say that we told you, but we told you," he added with a bored expression. "They're right, guys," Sunny said to the rest with a smile. "I've had so much fun with you all. But it's not what I want. I want all of us to have fun together," she said. "Just like it should be," Sonic added with a smile and a soft tone The rest of the Mane 5 looked at each other and then smiled. "You know, it's pretty hard to do a conga line with just two ponies," Hitch admitted with a sheepish smile. "And races are better with more competition," Zipp said with a little chuckle. "Maybe we should…" she started but kept quiet for a second. "...combine all our parties?" Izzy suggested with a smile. "To make a…" she was cut off when Pipp gasped. "... a roller-disco-beauty-glitter party?!" Pipp questioned in excitement. "I love iiiiit!" she sang with sparkling eyes. But then Sonic cleared his throat and called her attention, and she saw him pointing toward Sunny and immediately got the message. "Uh, that's if you love it, Sunny," she said to Sunny with a nervous smile. Sunny smiled back at her friends. "Yes!" she cheerfully said. Mane 5: 'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party A bit later, Sunny and Hitch worked together to lift a disco ball to the ceiling and then smiled at each other. Zipp and Sonic were too busy painting some indoor ramps, but then Izzy and Knuckles helped by using their hooves and feet to stomp the blue paint on the ramps. Zipp and Sonic smiled at their friend's idea, while Izzy and Knuckles smiled back. So tonight we're gonna party (oh yeah) So throw those hooves up, everypony (uh-huh) Pipp and Tails used makeover hair curlers to curl the streamers down for decorations while Sunny brought in another decorating item, and they smiled. Finally, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic finished with the decorations and smiled at their accomplishment with sparkling eyes. We got that glitter, gonna roll It's time to glow up the disco Then, the group got their gear on one of their perspective sections, and while Sunny was a combination of all of them, Team Sonic wore clothes in the 90s style of their world since they had no section before. 'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party, oh yeah Hitch then turned on the boombox as the Mane 5, and Team Sonic started to follow his dance moves and broke it on the dance floor in perfect sync. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Party, party, party Then, the group got into roller skates and skated around the room as they partied along. Sunny gave a happy smile and reached Zipp, twirling around when they grabbed each other's hooves before they let go. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Party, party, party, oh yeah! Then Pipp brought out her phone, and the whole group huddled together to take a selfie to remember the party. Then they saw Izzy coming in front of them with her glitter cannon. "Glitter cannon!" Izzy cheered as the glitter cannon fired glitter in the air, and it sparkled down on the group. “Now, this is what I call a party to remember!" Sonic cheered with a smile as he twirled Pipp around and then let her go. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot it!" he said, then boosted out roller skating to the bedroom. When he returned with a blue box with a red gift bow and a yellow birthday card, he whistled. Tails and Knuckles stopped dancing and rolled skated to Sonic's side. The Mane 5 noticed that, and Hitch stopped the music so everyone could focus on Team Sonic for a second. "Well, Sunny. We didn't have a party like the rest because we were doing something else... so, Happy Birthday!" Sonic said as he extended the gift to Sunny. Sunny gasped in surprise and curiosity. "For me?" she asked as Team Sonic smiled. She opened the box both excited and curious, and then her eyes sparkled at what she saw: wood-crafted figures of the Mane 5, just like the ones Sunny had of the Mane 6 from Ancient Equestria. She took out the one of Hitch first and then the one of Zipp, still with sparkling eyes. "Wow!" Hitch said, admiring the wood-crafted figure of himself. "No way!" Zipp exclaimed, looking at her figure as well. Pipp and Izzy looked inside the box and took the figures of themselves. Pipp took a selfie with her figure, and Izzy looked at it with a big smile. Sunny then gave them the Hitch and Zipp figure and took out two figures of herself: one with her earth pony form and one with her alicorn form. "We literally spent two hours discussing which form we should craft you, but in the end, we decided to make both," Knuckles explained to her. "This... this is amazing!" Sunny said, admiring her figures. "Did you guys make them?" she asked Team Sonic. "Yup," Tails answered. "Knuckles brought the materials, I crafted them, and Sonic painted them." Izzy looked again at the box and saw three more figures. She used her magic to levitate them, and they also appeared to be figures of Team Sonic. "Wow, you even included yourselves!" Izzy cheered with a smile as she grabbed Knuckles figure, while Zipp grabbed the Tails one and Pipp grabbed the Sonic one. "Yeah, well..." Sonic started, not in a very cheery tone anymore. "Ugh, let's face it already: We won't be here in Equestria forever," he said with a sad face and tone, which gained the attention of the Mane 5 again. "We are loving every day we spend with you, guys, and we want to take advantage of that because... the day we might leave can come at any second now," he added, then stopped to hold the tears back. Tails saw that and decided to keep going. "So, besides Sunny's birthday gift, we wanted to give you something to remember us as well, and since we decided to make crafted figures of you, we crafted some of us, too," he added with a sad smile. "We hope... No, we know that the day we leave, it's still far away, but we decided to give you this anyways," Knuckles added, with a little sad smile as well. "We try too hard not to think about that, but yet... it's something we cannot avoid as much as we would like to..." he finished with a cracked voice while a tear fell from his right eye. The Mane 5 listened and now felt sad as well. They knew very well that Team Sonic would leave one day, but they didn't want to happen yet. Sunny looked back at the crafted figures of Team Sonic and then at the crafted figure of herself with her earth pony form. He smiled, and then he hugged Sonic and Tails suddenly. "Even if we cannot avoid it, let's enjoy every day together as if it were the last, okay?" Sunny said to them with some tears in her eyes. Both Sonic and Tails hugged Sunny back and could not hold the tears anymore since they started to wipe out of their eyes. Eventually, all the rest joined in and had a group hug. They were all crying now, but they were happy as well since this just made them grow closer. "Okay, let's not cry at a moment like this," Sonic said between sobs as the group broke the hug and wiped the tears from their eyes. "This is a celebration after all, let's deal with emotional hurtful moments when we have to" he added with a smile. "And again... Happy Birthday, Sunny", he finished, looking at Sunny with a smile. "Thank you guys. All of you." Sunny thanked her friends for the birthday. "Best party ever!" she announced with joy. Then, the group decided to continue to party, skating and dancing around while Hitch’s animal crew danced to the music on the window, enjoying the party. But when they did the twirling, McSnips fell out the window and fell to the floor, but the two birds knew that he would be okay and continued dancing to the music. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 26. PuphuntIn the Brighthouse bedroom, Pipp's phone started to ring, showing Queen Haven calling on Facetime. Pipp answered the call and saw her mother crying a lot. "Pipp! Pipp, he’s gone!" Haven cried out to the phone as her eyes were tearing up. "Gooonnnneee!!!" she cried out again, which caused Pipp to stare at her mother and cringe slightly. "I looked everywhere! He’s missing!" she cried out, placing her hooves over her eyes. "Wait. What? Who’s gone, mother? What are you…" Pipp tried to ask but was cut off when Haven cried out again. "So fluffy! And cuddly! And now, he’s gone!" Haven cried out as she brawled a storm. Zipp then approached her sister with a smile. "What’s wrong? Did she say missing?" she asked before gasping. "Is someone missing?" she asked and scooted closer to Pipp's phone, which squished Pipp's cheek in the process. "What's happening, and why is your mom crying about someone missing?" Tails asked, arriving with the sisters since he was in the room, too, testing out a portal to get back to Mobius. "Wait! Who's missing?" he asked, then got close to the phone and squished the other Pipp's cheek. "So sweet! Yippy! I love him!" Haven cried out on the phone. "Wait," Zipp said, starting to think about what her mother had said. "'Sweet'?" she asked. "'Yippy'?" Tails asked next. "'Fluffy'?" Zipp asked again. And then realization hit the three of them like a train. "Cloudpuff?!" Pipp called out as the three friends looked at each other. "He's gone missing!" Tails cried out with worry. "We've gotta do something!" Zipp pointed out that he was worried for Cloudpuff since he was family to her and Pipp. "Leave it with me!" Pipp pointed out and tapped on her phone. "This is where the Pippsqueaks, like, totally shine!" she stated as she sent the message to her followers. Dahlia was the first pony to see the message and gasped in shock. "Cloudpuff?!" she cried out. "Cloudpuff!" Windy cried out as well. "Cloudpuff?!" Rufus called out. "Cloudpuff?!" Sonic called out as well. "Cloudpuff?!" Posey also got the message. Even a raccoonicorn and pegasnail got the message as the raccoonicorn squeaked at the message. And then, one by one, almost everypony that could be called a Pippsqueak got the message that Cloudpuff was now missing. Sometime later, a crowd of ponies was in front of the Crystal Brighthouse, with the Mane 5 facing the crowd for an announcement about Cloudpuff's disappearance. "Have you heard?" a mare in the crowd asked a pony among them. "It's just awful," a pegasus stallion said. "Excuse me!" Sunny called out to the crowd, trying to get their attention. "I heard he ran off with the raccoonicorns," an earth pony stallion said. "Hey! Everypony!" Sunny called out again, but the crowd was busy talking among themselves. "Can I have your attention?!" she called again, but they didn’t hear. Hitch saw this problem and blew his whistle so loud that the crowd of ponies got startled and stopped talking, then turned and faced the two ponies. Sunny looked at Hitch in shock while he gave an authoritative expression. After all, he was the sheriff of Maretime Bay. Sunny smiled at him after he had calmed the crowd down. "Thanks, Hitch," she thanked him before facing the crowd. Now, as we all know, Cloudpuff has gone missing, and we need to work together to find him!” she called out to them. Zipp hopped on the stage next to Sunny and Hitch and faced the crowd with determination. "Everypony needs to spread out! When somepony or some pup is missing, the first forty-eight hours are critical!" she instructed the crowd. "Dewdrop any information directly to my flyPad!" she added, holding her flyPad on her hoof. Pipp then jumped next to her sister and started to cry. "Cloudpuff is a brother to us! We have to find him!" she cried, worried for Cloudpuff. "Everypony has their assignments!" Hitch called out with determination. "Let's move out!" he ordered, pointing his hoof in a direction. Then, Izzy jumped next to Hitch and cheered to the crowd. "Thank you for all your—" she tried to say but was cut off when the wooden platform the Mane 5 were on started to creak. "Five ponies on a table is too many," Izzy pointed out with a nervous smile. The table creaked more, but when it seemed to break, it stopped moving and stood still, which confused the Mane 5. However, they heard gasps from the crowd looking down the platform. Izzy popped her head down and smiled at who she saw. "Oh, hi, Knuckles!" she greeted since Knuckles was holding the platform so it wouldn't fall apart, with Sonic and Tails at his side. "Hello, Izz," Knuckles replied. "It seems like you needed a little help up there," he joked. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can you guys get off so we can drop this thing and look for Cloudpuff already?!" Sonic asked, his arms hurting a little. "Sonic's right, we've gotta go!" Zipp pointed out with worry. "Cloudpuff is out there... somewhere!" she called out. Later, in Zephyr Heights, Pipp brought out her phone and started to livestream. Sonic was there too because he knew Pipp was too sensible now, so he thought he could comfort her if she broke into tears. Pipp sighed as she started talking to the camera. "I am live-streaming to you with devastating news. Our beloved and loyal pup…" She started to whimper as Sonic came by her side and touched her shoulder. "... Cloudpuff is missing," she stated as she held up a missing poster of Cloudpuff. Meanwhile, Zipp was wearing her Z-Goggles and used them to control a drone that she got to search every corner of Zephyr Heights. Tails were flying all around Equestria, with some goggles he made for himself and scanned every corner of the land. "My sister Zipp is searching high and low in Zephyr Heights, and Tails is looking on every corner of Equestria," Pipp narrated. "And back in Maretime Bay, Hitch, his critters, and all the Earth ponies are leaving no stone unturned in the search for this pampered pooch," Pipp narrated while Hitch and his critters were putting up missing posters of Cloudpuff on a building. In the forest, Hitch and a Pegasus mare were putting missing posters of Cloudpuff on the trees while the critters on top of a hill rolled a rock down. Hitch and the Pegasus mare saw this and ran for cover as the boulder hit a tree with a Cloudpuff Missing poster, and the tree fell to the ground. "Even as far as Bridlewood, everypony is finding creative ways to come together to find our sweet little pup," Pipp narrated. At the same time, Sunny, Izzy, and Knuckles searched Bridlewood for any signs of Cloudpuff. Knuckles was digging holes; Sunny wore her roller skate gear and placed a poster on a tree, while Izzy used her homemade detector to find any trace of Cloudpuff. Izzy’s detector went off and blinked in red, which made the two ponies see a slobber trail. Thinking it could be Cloudpuff, the two ponies follow the trail, but then Izzy stops and gasps in shock and disgust. The trail they followed was from Alphabittle, who was taking a nap while drooling, which made the drool trail. "Ewwww!" Izzy cringed in disgust. "Aah! Ugh!" Sunny cried out since she slipped on Alphabittle’s drool because of her rolling skates and bumped into Alphabittle, who woke up from his nap and looked at Sunny, who gave off a nervous look with a chuckle. "You're not Cloudpuff, are you now?" she nervously asked while Alphabittle continued to look at Sunny. Then, Knuckles popped his head out of the ground as he made another hole. "No signs of Cloudpuff down there," he announced to Sunny and Izzy, but then he looked at the scene with Sunny in front of Alphabittle. "I'm not even going to ask; I honestly don't wanna know," Knuckles said, cringing at the scene. "The only thing we know for now is that if you're out there, Cloudpuff, we will find you!" Pipp narrated with a little sad tone. Fifi knocked on the door back in the Brighthouse, and Hitch opened it, holding his sheriff book. He was watching over the Brighthouse while the others searched around Equestria for Cloudpuff. Hitch turned and saw Fifi holding a box with Zipp and Pipp's faces and the Zephyr Heights stamp. Hitch shook his head, telling Fifi that Zipp and Pipp were not there right now, and went back into the Brighthouse as he closed the door. For some reason, the box shook, and Fifi placed a return stamp on it. The box also growled. "Even if it means we must cross all of Equestria, we will never… stop... looking!" Pipp finished as she faced her phone closer and finished her livestream in Zephyr Heights. "Hey, Pipp," Sonic called out, not using the nickname he had given her since this was a critical moment for her. We'll find that pup, even if it's the last thing we'll do, I promise," he assured her with a comforting smile. Pipp smiled at him with teary eyes and kissed his cheek as thanks. "Thanks, Sonic," she said, then hugged him with a blush. Sonic blushed, too, but hugged her back and kept his smile. Zipp’s flyPad started to beep a little bit later, and she checked her messages. "Ooh," Zipp said, hoping the messages would give her a clue about where Cloudpuff was. Tails entered the place sweating a little since he had flown around all over Equestria but hadn't found Cloudpuff. "My tails hurt a lot..." he complained. Then he looked at Zipp and her phone. "Any luck, Zipp?" he asked her. "Not yet," she answered, as she looked over at the messages on her phone, which were not what she expected. "Ugh! That's a bunnycorn! What's this? A street sign? Not helpful! Fan photo of random picture of Hitch, fan photo, fan photo... A sad selfie of Pipp?! Really?!" Zipp called out while Tails came closer and looked at the photos. "Seriously? Ponies know we're in an emergency, and they use your phone number to send nonsense trash?" Tails complained about the ponies that sanded things that were not helping. "Ugh! It's hopeless!" Zipp cried out as she searched through the photos with a down expression. "We're never going to find—! Hang on," she said as she saw something in one of the photos. She tapped the photo of Zephyr Height’s mailroom and enlarged it. "What's that?" she asked both Tails and herself as they saw a piece of a purple gem next to some mail. "Wait a second!" Tails called out, recognizing the gem. "Isn't that a gem from Cloudpuff's collar?!" he pointed out with shock. "Yeah, but... In the mailroom? Hmmm…" Zipp told herself she might have a lead and sent several messages to Pipp and Haven. Haven and Pipp's phones vibrated, each receiving a message from Zipp. After seeing the messages, Pipp and Queen Haven smiled with sparkling, and Haven boosted towards the mailroom. Sonic grabbed Pipp and ran towards the same place. He was still with her when he saw the message. Zipp inspected the gem piece in the mailroom while Tails looked around for more clues. Zipp sniffed on the floor and walked around to find more clues but then got up and groaned. "Right. Doesn't make any sense," she said while looking at the gem in her hoof again. "The gems from his collar are here, but he isn't," she added worriedly. "Strangely, looking for a dog is like looking for a needle in a haystack," Tails pointed out as he got to Zipp's side. "It should be easier," he added with concern. Then the mailroom's doors opened suddenly, and Queen Haven busted in with Pipp and Sonic, which startled Zipp and Tails. "Where's my fluffy boy?!" Haven and Pipp called out for Cloudpuff but didn't see him. Zipp and Tails turned to the rest with startled expressions but then got sad since they hadn't found Cloudpuff yet. Getting the hint of silence, Haven started to cry as her eyes brawled up a storm. "Oh, why, why, why?!" she cried out. "Where are you, Cloudpuffy-poo?!" Pipp cried out as tears began forming, and Sonic patted her back with a worried face. Then, Tails noticed the table had paw tracks made from stamp ink. "Hey, look at this," he said to the others. He looked closer at the table with a device and scanned the track. Zipp was also looking at the paw tracks with her magnifying glass. "This might sound crazy, but I think Cloudpuff was here," she said to rest. "Yup!" Tails agreed as he got the scanning results. "The paw tracks on the desk match with Cloudpuff's paw tracks, so he was here," he pointed out. "Here?!" Haven called out as she came next to Zipp and Tails. "Why should he be here?! How should I know?!" she cried out in a panic. "Mom!" Zipp called out, snapping her mother out of it. "Just calm down and think. Why would Cloudpuff have been in the mailroom?" she asked slowly. "I don't know. I mean, I did send you and Pipp a care package of all your favorite things this morning," Haven explained, walking around the mailroom while her daughters, Sonic and Tails, paid attention to her. "Maybe he followed me down here, and..." she widened her eyes at the realization of where Cloudpuff was. "WHAAAAAT?! What if I mailed my baby?!" she cried out. "So he's on the mail..." Sonic said calmly at first, then widened his eyes in realization. "Hold on! HE'S IN THE MAIL?!" he cried out with worry, shaking Tails a little. In the Brighthouse, Hitch looked tired from waiting for somepony to give him a clue, then his walkie-talkie gave off static, and he answered. "Hitch! Has anything been delivered to the Brighthouse for me or Pipp?" Zipp asked to him. "Think!" she cried out, while Hitch remembered that Fifi had come earlier with a package for them, but he rejected it, and Fifi left with it. "Uhhh…" Hitch said to the walkie-talkie, starting to panic about his mistake. "Well, funny you should ask. I, uh... You know what it's like. Today has been crazy. And I, uh…" he said to Zipp, trying to find the right words to say that he had Cloudpuff in his sight without knowing it. The Royal family, Sonic and Tails, grew more worried. "Is this a bad time to make a sarcastic joke about how Hitch screwed it?" Sonic asked innocently. "Yes, it is" Tails stated, still worried about Cloudpuff but frowning at Sonic. Suddenly, the mailroom door creaked open, and the Royal family, Sonic and Tails, turned to see Fifi coming in with the package. Fifi placed the package down and wiped a brow from her forehead. "Phew! Just the ponies I was looking for!" she said with an added laugh. And then the package made a muffled growling while the others stared at the box, knowing that Cloudpuff was in there. "Oh, don't worry," Fifi said with a little chuckle. "It's been doing that all day," she said with a smile. "Wiggliest parcel I've ever tried to deliver!" Fifi stated that she had flashbacks of trying to get the package from the mailroom while it wiggled and growled. After Fifi left since her work was done, the package gave muffled groans, which made the rest look at each other. Zipp ripped the tape off to open the box and saw Cloudpuff growling through a box with some makeup on him. Sonic, Tails, Zipp, and Pipp gasped in joy, and Haven smiled while they all looked at Cloudpuff with smiles and sparkling eyes. "Hey!" both Zipp and Pipp said together in joy. Cloudpuff heard their calls, got his head out of the box, and made yip sounds at Haven. When Cloudpuff got out of the package, the royal family embraced together around their beloved dog, glad that he was okay. Pipp then saw something in the package and broke the hug along with Zipp. "Ugh! All of my Luscious Lilac bath bombs?! Cloudpuff, really?!" she complained to Cloudpuff as she held some of the broken bombs in her hooves. "Uh, neigh way!" Zipp called out as she grabbed a box kit. "Is this my hoofprints kit?!" she asked, seeing that Cloudpuff had also gotten into her detective kit. "I'm afraid so, my dear," Haven said to her daughters a little sheepish. Then she nuzzled Cloudpuff, relieved that he was okay and found. "What do you have to say for yourself, you naughty little puppy?" she said with a coed baby voice to Cloudpuff. And then Cloudpuff passed gas as he stinks in the room, which caused Haven to cringe in disgust. "Oh, dear! That is truly awful!" she said as she smelled the stank. "Cloudpuff!" she said to the dog. "Cloudpuff!” Pipp cried out as she and Zipp covered their noses to block Cloudpuff's stink. Zipp coughed from the smell before speaking. "It seems like he's paying the price already," she stated. "Ugh!" she groaned from the smell. "Ew..." Tails said as he covered his nose as well. "Well, it seems like it's time to work!" Sonic said, wearing a mask to cover his mouth and nose from the smell, while he took off his gloves and gave them to Tails. "Hold them for me until I'm done with the pup, lil' bro," he asked, then came closer to Queen Haven and grabbed the dog. "Alright, little buddy, let's clean you up before you leave a gift," he said to Cloudpuff as he got him out of the room. Then, Tails used his tails to make some wind and get the smell out of the room. "And there it goes, the smell," he said with a smile. "Oh, thank you so much, dear," Haven thanked him. "No problem, Your Majesty," Tails replied with a smile and a little bowing. "Help! It's what we do!" he added, pointing out Sonic's help with batting Cloudpuff. Sometime later, after Sonic got Cloudpuff clean, he sat on a high spot over the Royal Castle, contemplating the sight of Zephyr Heights and Equestria with a smile. "So here you are," Pipp's voice said as she flew over and sat beside him. Sonic's smile grew, and a little blush appeared. "Hey, Little Pipp," he greeted. How's your mom doing now that Cloudpuff's safe?" he asked curiously. "Ah, you know, I'm being a little too dramatic about him," Pipp replied with a chuckle. "Hey, um, thanks for helping out, Sonic. Not only for looking for him but also for actually caring for and bathing him after... well, that," she thanked with blush and also pointed out the little situation back in the mailroom. "I'm glad I could help," Sonic replied with a kind smile. "As long as somepony, pet, or animal in general gets in danger, I cannot just stand and wait for a miracle to happen. It never happened before; why would it happen now?" he pointed out. "Better take action yourself than wait for someone else to do the job," he added with a smile. "You know, I've never got to ask... who taught you so much?" Pipp asked with curiosity. "I mean, you've been through lots of crazy stuff in your life, and I can say you have faced death several times, but I don't get how you say so many wise words after everything that has happened to you," she pointed out, a little worried. "Life taught me most of the things I appreciate nowadays, but if I have to give someone credit for most of the things I know... that has to be my mentor, Longclaw," Sonic said, as he started to feel a little nostalgic. "She was my mother, raised me since I was a baby, and taught me lots of stuff that I didn't get back then, and I appreciate a lot now..." he added with a sad smile. "'Was'?" Pipp questioned. Sonic then gave a sad look as he looked down and his ears down. "You know that sometimes life is not fair, and it can take something you love with your soul at any second... it took her away years ago," he explained, now looking at the sky with sadness. "She said she was going to help some people in a town... and a few days later, that town was burned to ashes," he added. Pipp gasped and covered her mouth with a hoof, not expecting the shocking answer. "For a very short time, I thought she was alive, but I found her scarf on those ashes, completely burned..." Sonic added, now letting tears out of his eyes. "A-And the worst part is... that I never said goodbye to her..." he chuckled in pain. "I-I would give anything to see her one last time, to thank her for everything, t-to..." he was cut off when Pipp suddenly hugged him. "Don't hold back, Sonic," Pipp begged him. "Let it all out; don't hide your emotions just to comfort others, and comfort yourself first," she added softly. Sonic immediately broke his shelf after her words: that confidence and cockiness faded completely away to let out a vulnerable and scared Sonic, that started to cry and let all his pain out. He hugged Pipp back and buried his face in her soft fur. Usually, Pipp would make a whole scene for her fur getting wet, but she wouldn't stand to look at Sonic holding onto his shelf again so that she couldn't care less now. He spent most of the afternoon letting out his pain on her fur until no more tears were left, and Sonic fell asleep on her. Pipp looked at the sunset with a smile, then looked at Sonic resting on her back and kissed his cheek. "Sweet dreams, my little prince of blue quills," she said with a chuckle, then returned her sight to the sunset. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 27. All That JazzAt Mane Melody, Dahlia was looking for a hooficure on the mirror, which looked like a pink square circle with sparkling yellow. Pipp admired the hooficure as Dahlia and Pipp smiled, while Pipp had sparkling eyes. "Loving iiiiiit!" Pipp sang. "But what about this?" she asked, then used the style makeover mirror selection to poof Dahlia’s hooves into different hooficures. "Or this? Or this? Or––" she stopped with an exciting look before continuing. "Ooh! What about this?" she said excitedly and then gave Dahlia a pink hooficure with flowers. Dahlia gasped and smiled with sparkling eyes. "It's so me! I love it!” she cheered at the right choice of hooficure. "Great choice, Dahlia," Jazz said as she pointed in one direction. "Right this way," she said while Dahlia placed one of her hooves into a pillow so Jazz could make her hooficure. "I love all your designs, Jazz!" Dahlia said to Jazz, while pony gave her the requested hooficure. "Oh, they're not mine," Jazz honestly said, then she brought out her phone tablet and showed the images of the hooficure pictures to Dahlia. "I just copied them from a huge library of hooficures," she explained, scrolling through the pictures before placing her phone down. "I've never created my own designs before," she said and finished Dahlia's other hoof. "Oooh-weee!" Pipp cheered with a smile and sparkling eyes, appearing next to Jazz. "Those hooves are super-gorge! Mind if I Ponygram them, Dahlia?" she asked, bringing out her phone. Dahlia smiled and lifted her front hooves to the camera while Pipp took her picture. Later, Jazz scrolled through her hooficures pictures to see if there was anything else the ponies might like and gave other ponies the hooficures they requested while she smiled at her work. Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can ya see it? Whoa-oh-ohhhh-oh-oh Pipp took pictures of the hooficures while the customers loved them. Pipp and Jazz smiled at each other, and Pipp scrolled through her phone, humming to herself, seeing that the pictures she had taken had many positive reviews and likes. Suddenly, Mane Melody's front door opened, and Izzy came in with a smile and decided to get a hooficure for her. Knuckles was with her, too, since he would make her company for an event that night. "Hey! I need a hooftag #Hooficure!" Izzy called out with a cool face as she front-flipped to Jazz, who was done giving Rufus a hooficure, while Knuckles just walked normally to her side. "It's music night at the Crystal Tea Room tonight!" Izzy explained with a cheer. "The gal here wants a new style in her hooves for the occasion," Knuckles added with his arms crossed and a smile. "Got anything music-y?" Izzy asked with a cheerful smile. "Something music-y, huh?" Jazz said with an interesting smile as she brought out her phone. "Let's see what we got." But when she scrolled to her next picture, it showed a big red X in a black circle, which threw Jazz in the loop while Knuckles raised an eyebrow and Izzy placed a hoof on her chin. "Uhhh, not sure. Black isn't really our color," Izzy pointed out. "I doubt that's a style, Iz," Knuckles corrected her. "Uh-oh," Jazz said nervously and started to sweat since she was only getting the same image with the X in the black circle. "No! Uh, hang on! No! The designs! I think I've used them all up!" she worriedly said. "No biggie," Izzy said with a smile. "I'll have the same as ol' Rufus here. We can be hoof buddies," she said while giving Rufus a wink. "No way, Izzy," Rufus stated. "Nopony with any style would be caught wearing the same design," he added as he walked out of Mane Melody. "Rufus is right!" Jazz said with panic. "If I'm out of designs, nopony will come to Mane Melody for their hooficures!" she stated as she kept swiping her phone, getting the same result while Knuckles and Izzy came next to her. "Can't you just make new designs or something?" Knuckles asked. "Knux is right, Jazz. You gotta make some new ones!" Izzy assured with a smile. "That's just it! I don't know how!" Jazz confessed, putting down her phone with a worried look. "I've always just copied the designs! And now I've run out! What am I going to do?!" she cried out in panic. "First of all, calm down. No one's dying, and the world isn't ending," Knuckles said to Jazz as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "We won't deal with that until season 3 at least," he added. Now, let's think..." he said, touching his chin. Izzy and Knuckles thought of a way to help Jazz with this kind of problem, and then, Izzy smiled, came next to Jazz, and placed a hoof over her shoulder. "Stick with us. I know exactly what you need. Jazz Hooves, you've got a date with destiny!" she declared, getting Jazz cheek’s against hers with a side hug. "Destiny?" Jazz asked in confusion. "What are you talking about, Izz?" Knuckles asked, confused as well. Later, Izzy led Jazz and Knuckles to the Crystal Tea Room in Bridlewood and stopped at the front door. "Get ready to have your mind totally blown, Jazz!" Izzy said as she playfully imitated explosions. "You still got me lost, Izzy," Knuckles admitted. "Why are we here again?" he questioned. "You just wait and see, Knuckie," Izzy said with a cheery smile as she pushed the door open, and the trio entered. Jazz looked around while jazz music played, with ponies around the tea shop enjoying their tea. Onyx was playing her saxophone, and her friend Jasper was playing the bongos for the jazz music while Alphabittle was washing his tea cups with a calm smile. Izzy found them a table, and she down tapped her hooves with clinging sounds. She smiled at Jazz and tapped the table to get her to sit. Getting the signal, Jazz sat down while Knuckles sat on the other side. "Wow," Knuckles said in awe since this was his first time at the Crystal Tea Room. "This place looks amazing," he admitted with a smile. "It sure is!" Izzy said with a smile, then turned to Jazz. "Can you feel the artistic, creative-y vibes flowing right through you?" she asked, getting close to Jazz. Onyx and Jasper continued playing jazz in sync while Jazz listened to the music and smiled. She closed her eyes a bit and visualized the jazz notes while tapping her hoof on the table to the tune. Knuckles now realized Izzy's plan. "Oh, I get it now," he said with a smile. But then, the trio heard wild saxophone tunes that caused the jazz music to mess up, bringing Jazz out of her little world. "Oh, no! Onyx is playing the wrong song!" she said, looking at Onyx with worry. "Nah, I don't think so," Knuckles replied with a smirk. "Wait for it... Wait for it…" Izzy told Jazz with a smirk, knowing Onyx well enough to show some surprises for her music. The ponies around smiled at Onyx's new jazz tune as she continued to play her saxophone wildly. She looked at Jasper with a knowing look, and Jasper followed in Onyx's tune, banging his bongos, which made Jazz smile widely with sparkling eyes while everypony in the tea shop was tapping their hooves on the table to the tune pattern, including Alphabittle. "I just love it when they do their own thing," Alphabittle said to a unicorn with a smile. "Whoa! This is amazing!" Jazz cheered, smiling at Izzy. "It sure is!" Knuckles agreed as he tapped his hands on the table, finding the music catchy. "Now that's what you call creative inspiration!" Izzy started with a smile. "Sometimes, you just have to throw out the rules and make something new," she pointed out while Onyx and Jasper finished their show, which caused the crowd to applaud them. "See, girl? If these guys can make amazing music sound even more amazing, you can create even more amazing designs from scratch," Knuckles told Jazz with a smile. Jazz smiled at him, and she envisioned the music notes around her. The notes turned into other images: a lightning bolt, a heart, a flower, an umbrella, a bush, and a pinkish-straight heart. They all flew into Jazz, giving her some inspiration for her designs. "See? You can feel it, too!" Izzy said, winking at Jazz with a smile. "Now all you gotta do is take the feeling and put it into your art!" she encouraged Jazz. "Wow! Maybe I really could create my hooficure designs!" Jazz cheered with sparkling eyes, feeling inspired. "Yeah, you can!” Izzy cheered. "And we know just the guinea ponies to help you practice!" Izzy announced while giving Jazz a wink. "I mean, it's more for practice, but yeah, calling them guinea ponies works, too," Knuckles said with a smile. Back in Mane Melody, Izzy and Knuckles told their friends everything, and they fully agreed to help Jazz practice her new designs, except for Sonic and Tails. Since they're not there, we'll get with them later. "Let's do this!" Izzy cheered in her chair as she pointed to Hitch next to her. "Don't hold back!" Hitch called out with a smile after he turned his chair around. "Follow your heart!" Sunny said, turning her chair around and hovering over her heart. "Unleash your inner artiste!" Zipp cheered after she turned her chair. And then a raccoonicorn turned his chair, eating a piece of food, and he squeaked at Jazz, encouraging her as well. Jazz smiled at the rest of the Mane 5, took a deep breath, then gave a determined look and brought out her hooficure makeover supplies with sparkling eyes and a smile, then she applied them on the Mane 5. Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can ya see it? At Mane Melody, hey! At Mane Melody! Jazz started with Hitch by applying a hooficure to his hoof that is all dark blue with light blue lightning, and Hitch gave a smile with sparkling eyes. Then, Jazz sprayed some makeup on Pipp’s hooves, making them dark purple with a crown. Pipp smiled with sparkling eyes, finding them beautiful. Next, Jazz cheerfully added three colors as they hit Zipp’s hooves, giving her a rainbow hooficure. Jazz did Izzy next, and she made her hoofs all purple with a yellow music note in it. Then Jazz did the raccoonicorn next, making a piece of a berry on his paw's nails. The Mane 5 and the raccoonicorn huddled together and looked at their hooficures. Sunny's were the darkest pink with a light pink swirl. She smiled along with her friends, finding their hooficures great. "Jazz, how did you know?" Sunny asked with a wide smile and sparkling eyes. "Triple-berry is totally my favorite!" she happily added as she looked at her hooficure. "Yay!" Jazz cheered in response. "Ka-chow!" Hitch announced as he stomped his hoof down. "Who's yo' daddy?!" he called out with a pose, with the raccoonicorn looking at him with hearts in its eyes. The Mane 5 high hoof each other while their hooficures sparkled from the light. "I feel an exclusive hoof reveal video coming on!" Pipp cheered as she brought out her phone, turned the camera on, and placed her hoof in front of the camera. At the same time, the rest of the Mane 5 and the raccoonicorn huddled together to get given the camera to show their hooficure. Pipp took the picture and posted it on the web as it went viral, along with other pictures of Jazz’s new hooficures they have taken together. Jazz hoof tapped one of the pictures and came next to Izzy and Knuckles, looking out the window. "Thanks, guys. Without your help, I would've never been brave enough to create my own designs," she said, thanking them for helping her find inspiration for new designs. "Don't give us all the credit," Knuckles told her with a smile. "We may have inspired you, but you made the designs. Don't forget it," he added. "And it looks like you're gonna need all the inspiration you can get," Izzy said with a smile. "Check it out!" she pointed out the window, and the three saw a huge line of ponies in front of Mane Melody muttering to each other. Jazz was amazed that there were so many ponies to try out her new hooficure designs. "Wow. That’s a big crowd," Knuckles said, impressed to see many ponies waiting in line. "Seem like you’ll be busy for a while, Jazzy," he told her with a smirk. Izzy, Jazz, and Knuckles walked out of Mane Melody to get a closer look at the crowd, and Jazz smiled with sparkling eyes while Izzy and Knuckles looked at her with joy. "It's the hooficure queen!" the ponies in the crowd called out to Jazz. "Hey!" Rufus appeared among the crowd, not understanding why there were so many ponies, but then smiled widely when he saw Izzy’s hooficure. "Your hooves are fierce, Izzy!" se complimented her. "Can I get one of the same designs as her, Jazz?" he asked. "Fantabuloso!" Izzy cheered. "Finally, a hoof, buddy!" she said, placing a shoulder on Rufus and giving him a side hug. "Contradicts what you said earlier, but sure, go ahead," Knuckles said with a smile. "Neighway, Rufus," Jazz began with a smile. "Every Pony gets its one-of-a-kind design," she explained. "Follow me," she said to Rufus as he, Izzy, and Knuckles followed her back into Mane Melody, only for Jazz to gasp in surprise at the number of ponies already inside. "Sweet grapes from the gods!" Knuckles said in surprise. "Seems like you'll be very busy today..." he added with a wide smile. "Well, it'll be worth the wait," Jazz quickly said as she turned to Rufus. "I promise," she promised Rufus while they all smiled at each other. While Rufus took a seat to wait and Jazz went to work, Izzy and Knuckles came out of Mane Melody again. "Well, another pony helped, another day saved," Knuckles said with a smile. "By the way, where are Sonic and Tails? I thought we told them to try this, too," he pointed out, referring to his two friends' absence. "They were there when we told them, but honestly, I don't remember hearing or seeing them agree to help," Izzy said, placing a hoof on her chin, trying to remember if Sonic and Tails also said they would help Jazz. "Well, even if they accepted, there's no point with us," Knuckles pointed out. "We always use gloves, and even if we remove them, we have to put them back, so the manicures, in our case, would get lost," he explained. "But they could say something at least..." he added, but then his phone started to ring, and he took out of his quills. "Wow, that's a very good timing!" Izzy pointed out that since the call was from Sonic, Knuckles answered the call, but Sonic shouted from the other side before he could say anything. "KNUCKLES!!!" he yelled, which startled both Izzy and Knuckles. Knuckles almost dropped his phone but caught it in time. "Geez, calm down, man!" Knuckles said. "What's gotten into you?" he asked, confused. "Where are you?!" Sonic asked with a concerned look on the call. "Near Mane Melody, why?" Knuckles replied. "I need you to come to the Brighthouse right now!" Sonic shouted again. "It's an emergency!" he stated, immediately ending the call before Knuckles could ask anything. Knuckles frowned after Sonic ended the call. "Izz, go with the others and tell them what happened," he told the unicorn, then boosted straight to the Brighthouse before Izzy could say anything. "But I... uh..." Izzy tried to say. "Okay, I'll tell them!" she shouted, hoping Knuckled heard her, and then went to look for the rest. At the Crystal Brighthouse, Knuckles slammed the door of the bedroom open and entered to find Sonic and Tails with worried looks. "I came here immediately! What happened?" Knuckles asked. Instead of answering with words, Sonic and Tails looked at each other, and Tails grabbed the chest with the Chaos Emeralds and opened it. And now Knuckles got what the emergency was: the Chaos Emeralds, after 7 months of being practically dead, were shining brightly once again. "Oh my Chaos..." Knuckles said. "B-But how?! When did this happen?" he questioned. "I was running a test on the portal like usual..." Tails started to explain. "Then one of the glowing gems that Izzy brought for us slipped from my hands and landed on the Emeralds," he added. "The crystal became dust, but the Emeralds started to shine again," Sonic finished. "And now... the glow doesn't go, not even when I pick them..." he said, grabbing one of the Emeralds that kept shining in his hand. "So... does that mean that..." Knuckles wanted to ask. "That's the thing... we don't know!" Tails said. "There's a huge chance that they still won't work," he pointed out. "Our chances to succeed and make a portal to go home are of 2.5%" he added, since he knew Knuckles would ask how bad were their chances. "And my connection with the Emeralds hasn't returned either," Sonic worriedly added. "It's like if they were back to the times when we all thought there were only six Emeralds and not seven," he said since his connection wasn't there either. "Oh..." was all Knuckles could say. "I have many questions right now... how are these crystals magical? Why did they make the Emeralds react? And why is Sonic's connection with them still dead?" Tails asked with worry and panic. "Connection..." Sonic repeated, then looked at Knuckles. "Knux, how's your connection with the Master Emerald?" he asked. Knuckles closed his eyes and focused on the Master Emerald. He visualized the giant Emerald in the same place on Angel Island, but then he felt the image fading, appearing, fading again, and it kept going on that loop. "It's getting weaker and weaker," Knuckles replied, then he opened his eyes again. "It's still there, but I feel it grows apart every day we spend here," he added with concern. "I'm starting to run out of ideas..." Tails confessed. "These crystals don't work, and the Chaos Emeralds might be shining again, but are we sure they still work?" he questioned. "We'll never know if we don't try," Sonic said with a little smile. And then, the Mane 5 came in suddenly, panting since they ran a lot to catch up with Team Sonic. "I... did it..." Izzy said with a tired smile, still trying to catch her breath. "It took me a while, but I did it!" she cheered. "Uh, what's with the hooficures?" Sonic asked, a little confused. "I'll give you context later," Pipp said, finally catching her breath. "So... why were you shouting so loud about an Emeralds thing?" she asked Sonic. Again, instead of saying something, Sonic answered, showing the Chaos Emeralds now shining as they usually did. "Wow!" the Mane 5 said in unison with sparkling eyes since they never saw anything shining like the Chaos Emeralds did. "Wait, they're shining again!" Zipp pointed out. "But... doesn't that mean that...?" Hitch tried to ask, but Sonic cut him off. "Before you put all sad and sentimental: No, we don't know if they work because a) My connection with the Emeralds is still dead, and b) They started to shine after some random crystal became dust over them, so we don't know if it's still working the same way they should" Sonic quickly said. "But as I say, we'll never know if we don't try," he repeated. He grabbed the Purple Emerald and threw it to Knuckles, who caught the Emerald and looked at it confused, then at Sonic with the same look. Sonic grabbed the blue one, then looked at Knuckles and smirked, which made the echidna realize what he wanted to try as he nodded to Sonic. "Uh, what are they doing?" Sunny questioned. "It's better if we stay back," Tails advised, as he stayed at a very significant distance while the Mane 5 stood behind him. "Ready, Knucklehead?" Sonic asked with a smile. "Let's roll!" Knuckles replied with a determinate look. Sonic and Knuckles stood before each other and placed the Chaos Emeralds on their hands together. "Chaos Control!" they both cried out, and the Chaos Emeralds started to shine even more. But they were doing it at a slow rate: first bad signal since they usually responded immediately. The second bad sign came when Sonic and Knuckles struggled to keep the Emeralds stable and functioning. Still, the third bad sign came in: Sonic's veins from the hand he held the Emerald started to turn blue, while Knuckles' veins from the hand he held the Emerald turned purple, and both struggled even more from pain. "Guys, let them go, now!" Tails shouted, but neither Sonic nor Knuckles listened to him. The Mane 5 also got worried as they looked around and tried to find anything that could help. Then, Izzy had a very bad idea, in her opinion, but it seemed like their only choice. While Sonic and Knuckles struggled, the colored veins reached their whole arms. A blast reached the Chaos Emeralds they were holding, and they fell to the ground. Sonic and Knuckles fell backward and struggled in pain while they grabbed their arms. The rest looked at Izzy, whose horn was glowing, meaning she had freed Sonic and Knuckles. "S-Sorry!" she apologized, thinking she had done something wrong. "Don't, Izz," Tails said with a soft smile. "You saved them." Knuckles could still stand up since he had a lot of strength, but the pain was still there since his veins were still purple. Sonic was almost shouting as he grabbed his arm with blue veins. "This... totally... sucks!" Knuckles cried out as he held his arm, and then Izzy, Zipp, and Hitch came to his side. Sonic still shouted from pain as Tails, Sunny, and Pipp came to his side, with Pipp holding the same arm he was. Then, the pain suddenly stopped, Knuckles stopped growling, and Sonic stopped shouting. Their arms' veins became normal again, and Sonic breathed in relief. "That was... something," Sonic whimpered, looking at the blue Emerald still shining but not as bright as when he and Knuckles activated it. Tails walked towards the Emerald and grabbed it. "Until I know for sure what's happening, neither you nor Knuckles are touching the Emeralds," he said with concern. Then, he placed the blue and purple Emeralds back into the chest and closed the chest. "For your own good, whatever happened before, we can't risk any lives." "I'm not planning on touching them soon," Sonic said, getting up and looking at his arm. "I just hope that, wherever the last Emerald is, it doesn't make a struggle to us..." he added with worry. "I want to throw those things, but we still need them..." Knuckles said with a frown. "Because I don't want to feel whatever was that again!" he added angrily while Izzy placed a hoof on his shoulder, slightly calming Knuckles. "Are you okay?" Pipp asked Sonic after a while. "I feel okay," Sonic said. "But I don't know if I really am..." he added with a worried look. THE END...? Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 28. Pippsqueaks ForeverAt Mane Melody, Pipp and Tails were working on new products for Pipp's fans. They both wore protection goggles, and Tails even had a little shield on his back, just in case. "Totally amazing new products are coming at you!" Pipp said with sparkling eyes as she shook a drooper with a blue liquid and dropped all the contents into a bowl. "Wait! You shouldn't have––!" Tails tried to warn, but once the entire content dropped on the bowl, it exploded and threw lots of blue glitter around the room and almost on Pipp and Tails' faces if it wasn't because of the shield. "...drop the entire thing..." Tails finished once the explosion passed. Pipp sighed in relief that she didn't get all that glitter on her face. "Thanks again for the help, Tails," she thanked him. "This could be a very difficult task without your help," she admitted with a smile. "I'm glad to help," Tails replied with a smile. The more I can do, the better since Sonic and Knuckles are still recovering from whatever happened a few days ago," he added. Let's try again with another substance, but this time, just put a drop," he advised. After cleaning up the room, Pipp tried again with a pink liquid, but she dropped the whole thing again, and Tails looked on with worry. This time, there wasn't an explosion—the content came out of the bowl like a rocket instead and jumped all over the room. Pipp and Tails dodged the 'rocket,' but when it crashed on Pipp's face, Tails used the shield again, and the substance dissipated. Once again, they cleaned the room, and this time, Tails decided to put the drop in the bowl. The liquid was green this time, and he put one drop in the bowl, just as planned. But not even that worked because the bowl's content floated like bubbles and then exploded in the air. This time, Tails wasn't fast enough to take out the shield, and the explosion covered their heads with green glitter or something similar to glitter. Pipp growled in frustration and shook her head to take off the glitter. "What. Is. HAPPENING?!" she cried out in panic. "This isn't working as we thought," Tails replied, taking off the 'glitter' with a towel. He then looked at Pipp's boring expression, and his eyes widened. "Oh! It was rhetorical..." he realized, chuckling nervously. After cleaning up the room again for the third time that day, Pipp went over a shelf and looked for something. "Aha!" she cheered with sparkling eyes, pulling out a bottle with a rainbow liquid. "There you are!" she added with a smile. "Um... are you sure about this, Pipp?" Tails asked. "Everything hasn't worked out pretty well so far," he pointed out with worry. "Oh, I'm sure this one will work, Tails," Pipp said confidently. She pulled some of the bottle's contents with the dropper and shook again. Carefully, she dropped the whole content on the bowl, and both she and Tails stepped back, with Tails using the shield. Since nothing exploded this time, they both got closer to the bowl and saw it glowing a rainbow color. "Wow!" they both said in awe. But then, the substance exploded on their faces and covered the room in rainbow glitter. "Ugh!" You have got to be kidding me!" Pipp cried out with frustration. "This is the fourth time we have to clean up the place," Tails said with a bored expression. "I guess we'll have to keep trying until it works," he pointed out. "But I promised the Pippsqueaks a new product! Today!" Pipp pointed out with worry. "Hey, it's not that big of a deal," Tails tried to calm her down. "I get it! Why don't you get out and try to clear your mind? A little walk always helps the ideas flow," he suggested with a smile. Pipp's eyes sparkled, and she shook the rainbow glitter out of her mane. "Great idea, Tails!" she said with a smile. However, Tails looked at her in shock because she had a rainbow beard, and Pipp didn't seem to notice it. "U-Um..." he tried to warn her, but Pipp walked towards the exit. "I'm just gonna get a smoothie, and then I'll come back and try again!" Pipp said with a nervous chuckle. "No point in freaking out!" she added, then she got out of the salon. "Pipp, wait!" Tails shouted and shook his head, too, but then he noticed he also had a rainbow beard. "Oh no!" he exclaimed with panic. "Ok, don't panic, Tails. Just find a way to take the beard off, clean the place, and then look after Pipp," he told himself. "Let's just hope nobody notices her..." he whispered to himself, although he knew she wouldn't be unnoticed. After a while, Pipp was near Sunny's smoothie stand with a worried face. "I'm freaking out!" she cried out in panic. "Sunny! Help me!" she begged to her earth pony friend. Sunny was blending some strawberries for Pipp's smoothie with a smile. "Morning, Pipp!" she greeted her pegasus friend. "I have your inspiration-packed strawberry ripple smoothie ready for you—– Agh!" she said, bringing the smoothie to Pipp, but she stopped at the end once she noticed Pipp's rainbow beard. Pipp took the smoothie with sparkling eyes and a smile. "You are a total lifesaver!" she said to Sunny. "Ahah..." Sunny replied with a nervous smile while she sweated a bit. Pipp slurped a bit from the smoothie and then looked at Sunny worriedly. "My morning has been a complete disaster!" she explained. "Ahah..." Sunny said again, still with a nervous smile. "I'm supposed to reveal my new product today!" Pipp kept explaining with worry. But everything keeps exploding!" she pointed out. "And Tails has been trying to help me, but the explosions keep happening!" she added. Sunny then turned around and started to laugh nervously, grabbing an apple to distract herself. "Sunny, you're acting weird. Is everything okay?" Pipp asked her. Sunny chuckled nervously again and turned back to Pipp. "W-Well... Now that you mention it... There is... something you need to see..." she told Pipp, then brought out a mirror so Pipp could see herself. Once Pipp looked at herself, she screamed in panic and touched her rainbow beard. "I. Have. A. BEARD!!" she cried out in panic. She tried to take it off, but it didn't work. "How did this happen?!" she yelled with worry and panic. "Why didn't Tails tell me anything?!" she asked in the air, while Sunny just looked at her nervously. "Just keep refreshing, Glory," Seashell's voice spoke. "Oh no, Pippsqueaks!" Pipp cried out in panic. "They can't see me like this!" she said before entering the smoothie stand and hiding behind the table. Glory, Seashell, and Peach Fizz arrived at Sunny's stand. Glory and Seashell held their phones, waiting for Pipp to post her new product. "Refresh! Refresh!" Glory said as she refreshed the page, but still nothing. "Three strawberry ripples please!" Seashell requested Sunny with a smile. "That's Pipp's favorite, right?" she asked. "Sure is!" Sunny replied with a smile. "Coming right up," she added, and then she got back to making the smoothies. "Ugh, still nothing!" Glory cried out. "But Pipp said it's coming out today," she pointed out. "Just keep trying; Pipp won't let us down!" Seashell pointed out. Meanwhile, inside the stand, Pipp grew nervous when she heard her Pippsqueaks say that, knowing that she didn’t have a new product to show yet. "There you go," Sunny said to the three fillies as she brought out three smoothies. "It's exactly how Pipp likes it. Enjoy!" she added. The three fillies looked at the smoothies with sparkling eyes, then slurped from them. They thanked Sunny for the smoothies and then left while Sunny waved a hoof to the fillies. At that moment, Pipp came out of her hidden spot and looked at her Pippsqueaks, leaving with a worried expression. "See Sunny?" Pipp called out. "The Pippsqueaks are waiting for my new product, and all I am going to do is let them down!" she cried with sadness. Sunny started to think for a moment. "Aha!" she said, once she had an idea to help Pipp. "Maybe if you got to know the Pippsqueaks a little better, making products they love would be easier!" she smiled. You could even create something together!" she pointed out. Pipp then smiled and looked at Sunny. "Sunny! You are a genius!" she said. "It's time to go undercover!" she announced with a grin. "Uh... I-I didn't mean..." Sunny tried to correct herself, but Pipp cut her off. "Now, all I need is a disguise..." Pipp said while rubbing her rainbow beard. Then she put on a hat and pink sunglasses, got out of the stand, and followed the fillies. And at that exact moment, Tails came out of Mane Melody, now without a beard and holding a spray with a yellow liquid and a towel. He saw Sunny's stand and boosted towards it. "Sunny!" Tails called out to her, which startled Sunny a bit. "Have you seen Pipp?!" he asked with worry. "She left a few minutes ago," Sunny replied with a little smile. "What?! No!" Tails cried out. "I need to find her!" he explained. "This is because of her beard, isn't it?" Sunny asked with a grin. "Yeah..." Tails replied and then boosted out, flying to search for Pipp. The three fillies from before played on the swings in a little park while Pipp spied them from behind a bush. Seashell pushed Peach Fizz on the swing, and Glory sprayed her hair. Once Peach Fizz stopped moving, she looked at her hair glowing and sparkling and smiled with joy. Pipp looked through her binoculars and gasped in awe at Peach Fizz's new style. "So creative!" she said, and then she wrote down what she was looking at. Later, Pipp followed the fillies again and watched them from a three-branch downwards. Seashell and Peach Fizz were dancing to a song that Glory was singing on her mic, which was connected to a speaker. But then, Glory flew a little over her friends and accidentally disconnected the mic from the speaker, which disappointed the three fillies. "Total design flaw," Pipp said and wrote in her notebook, but then she fell from the tree. A little bit later, the three fillies went to Rufus's sunglasses stand, where he also sold lip gloss. The fillies grabbed a lip gloss each and passed it over their lips, but Seashell stopped with a disappointed look. "Ugh, mine didn't work!" she complained. "Look! My lips aren't sparkly at all!" she pointed out. "Yeah, this glitter isn't sticking to mine either," Peach Fizz added. Pipp was watching them behind a cardboard copy of herself without eyes, but now it had her eyes since she was listening to her Pippsqueaks. "Glitter... lips..." Pipp repeated, and then she gasped with excitement. "Yes, that's it! Pippsqueaks, you are brilliant!" she called out and suddenly emerged from the cardboard, startling the fillies. "Pippsqueaks! I need your help!" she said to them with a smile. The fillies screamed when they saw Pipp. "Help you?! We don't even know you!" Seashell cried out and then turned to her friends. "Come on, ponies! Let's get out of here!" she said. "Wait! It's me! It's Pipp!" Pipp cried out as she took off her hat. "Um, no," Glory answered, not convinced. "That is Pipp," she pointed to the cutout behind her, which made Pipp gasp since she had forgotten about her rainbow beard. "You have a beard. Nice try," Glory said while she and her friends walked away. Pipp thought of a way to make the fillies realize she was the real Pipp. "Let out your light, shining bright, can ya see it? At Mane Melody!" she sang, while the fillies came back and looked at her with sparkling eyes, realizing that she was Pipp after all. "Wow! It is you!" Seashell said with sparkling eyes. "But... what happened to your face?" she asked, a little confused. Pipp gave the fillies a sheepish smile before answering. "That is a seriously long story," she replied, looking in all directions with embarrassment. "And more importantly, your lip glitter idea is genius!" she said with a smile. "Ah!" the fillies said together with smiles. "Would you ponies want to create it together?" Pipp asked with sparkling eyes. The fillies giggled at Pipp’s request, knowing that this was one of the best moments of their lives to help their favorite pop star. "Our answer is yes!” Seashell answered as she and her friends looked at Pipp with sparkling eyes. "Pipp!" Tails' voice called out as he landed next to the pegasus. "I finally found you!" he added with joy. "Tails!" Pipp said with a smile. "Where have you been?" she asked. "I've been looking around for you," Tails confessed. "I tried to warn you about the beard, but then I realized I had the same problem!" he said, showing the spray with the yellow liquid inside. "Really? How did you––?" Pipp tried to ask, but Tails sprayed her beard and passed the towel. When he retired it, the beard was gone, and Pipp touched her chin, confirming that she was free from her rainbow glitter beard. "Tails, you are a lifesaver!" she said with sparkling eyes and hugged the fox. "I'm glad to help!" Tails said with a smile. "Now, I heard about your fans' idea," he smirked. "How about we go back to the salon and make it come true?" he suggested to Pipp and the fillies. Sometime later, back in Mane Melody, Pipp placed her goggles over her eyes. "Ready?" she asked her fellow Pippsqueaks and Tails next to her, who were also wearing goggles. "Ready!" the fillies answered with sparkling eyes. "I was born ready!" Tails stated with a smile. The four ponies and the fox started pouring contents into a white bowl: lemons, flowers, and some honey. In a blue bowl, they smashed some vegetables together to liquefy them, and Pipp stirred them together. The bowl filled with purple glitter started to sparkle while the fillies, Pipp and Tails, looked at it in amazement with sparkling eyes. The fillies' and Pipp's Cutie Marks began to glow while the content was in the air before landing back down on the bowl, turning into a rainbow sparkle glitter that glowed. Pipp, Tails, and the Pippsqueaks gasped in fright and ducked for cover, with Pipp holding a shield to cover herself while Tails covered him and the fillies with his shield. "Hmm?" Pipp said, realizing that the glitter didn’t blow up this time. "Oh!" the fillies called out once they realized it didn’t blow. "Wow," Tails said, looking like the bowl didn't explode this time. The five of them cheered with giggles as they looked at their now successful new product. Then they high-hooved each other, with Tails using his fist since he had fingers. Later, Pipp started her livestream to show her new product to her fans and to everyone who watched the stream in general. "Hey, Pippsqueaks! My newest product is finally here!" Pipp cheered in the video. "And this one is extra special because the idea came from you, my friends!" she said while looking at Tails and the fillies, who giggled in response. "And here with a sneak peek at lip glitter is…" she said, then turned the camera to her fellow Pippsqueaks. "I'm Seashell!" Seashell called out with a yellow lip glitter on her. "And I call this color 'Maretime Bay Babe'! Mwah!" she winked before blowing a kiss to the camera. The camera turned to Glory, who had a pinkish lip glitter on her. "And I'm Glory! And my lip glitter is called 'Pega-Sassy'!" she said, winking at the camera. The camera finally turned to Peach Fizz next, with a purple lip glitter on her. "Hey, it's me, Peach Fizz! And this lip glitter is called... uh... uh…" She stopped with a nervous look and started to think about something. "'Unicorny Morning Breath'!" she announced with a nervous smile. Pipp returned the camera to her, laughing nervously at the name Peach Fizz gave to the lip gloss. "Well, you know, we're still working out all the details," she said to the viewers, holding the purple lip glitter with a wink. "But lip glitter is coming soon! Laters!" she said and then ended the livestream. "'Unicorny Morning Breath'?" she asked Peach Fizz in amusement. Peach Fizz felt embarrassed when that weird name came out of nowhere. "Uh... I'm so sorry, Pipp!" she cried as tears began forming. "I-I panicked! I've never done a livestream before!" she cried out. And then Pipp, Tails, Seashell, and Glory laughed at Peach Fizz's panic. Then, Glory and Seashell brought her in a group hug, while Pipp brought the three fillies into a big group hug, wrapping her hooves around her three Pippsqueaks with a laugh. "The time has finally come to take some action!" Eggman declared with an evil grin as he pressed a button that opened the capsules before him. Slowly, the five capsules containing the Metal Mane opened up. The five robots' eyes turned on, and they stepped out of the capsules to put on formation and Face Eggman. "My masterpieces, my Metal Mane, your mission to blame and destroy the Mane 5 will have to wait," Eggman started to explain. "Right now, your priority has to be finding the location of the remaining Chaos Emerald," he declared. "Even if the ones I possess right now aren't at their full potential, having the remaining one must be a warning for Sonic to understand that I'm not playing around this time," he stated. He then walked to his computer, made some images of Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, and Bridlewood appear, and turned back to the Metal Mane. "Search up and down on each one of these cities," Eggman ordered with a frown. "Brake into places, mad some ponies, look under every single place, even on the ocean if you have to! But don't you dare to return unless you have that Emerald, understood?!" he questioned with a big frown at the Metal Mane. "Yes, doctor," the five robots replied. "Very well, then. Now, fly up!" Eggman ordered as the five ponies got out of the lab by a secret passage so that Opaline wouldn't notice them. Eggman turned his gaze back to the computer and made an image of Team Sonic and the Mane 5 appear. "Sonic, little ponies, be as happy as you can. Soon enough, I will erase those smiles," Eggman declared with an evil grin. He then started to laugh maniacally, ready to finally kill Sonic. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: MAKE YOUR MARK (CHAPTER 2) Author's Note Once again, we're moving out to the Main Series! But, unlike last time, I am going to put TYT on hiatus since it's going to take two weeks or three to publish the whole series before Winter Wish Day, so we're not coming back here until Monday November 14th or something like that, because after publishing Make Your Mark, I'm publishing Issue 6 of the IDW Comics. Anyways, see ya on Wednesday with Sonic x Make Your Mark: Chapter 2! Bye! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 29. Dragon DadAuthor's Note WARNING! Important to read Sonic x Make Your Mark from episodes 2 to 9 before continue. P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 29. Dragon Dad At the Sheriff Station, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were playing with Sparky as he was swinging in a bucket with hoof cuffs on a lamp to stabilize it; Izzy pushed Sparky to swing, and the rest smiled at the cute baby dragon while Sparky cheered in joy and Zipp began to swing Sparky next, though a little too hard at the swinging when she hit the bucket. Hitch and Knuckles watched from Hitch's desk, keeping a close eye on Sparky, being overprotective of that dragon after he disappeared a few days ago. Their worry grew when they saw a tiny crack in the cuffs' chain, and they gasped in panic. "Ponies, stop! The hoof cuffs are about to…" Hitch tried to warn but got cut off when Zipp hit Sparky's bucket so hard that the hoof cuff snapped and shot Sparky into the air, with the rest looking in shock and Zipp surprised at her strength, while Hitch shrieked in panic and trotted off to catch his dragon. Sparky cheered at the excitement as his bucket fell, while Hitch cried out as he flopped to the floor and caught Sparky, but then he skied through the floor and hit a table cabinet with a fruit bowl on top, and then a pineapple landed on Hitch’s head. "Great," Hitch groaned, glad that Sparky was okay but really annoyed that he got fruit on his face again. Sparky licked some pineapple content off Hitch's head as he cheered at the taste, with Hitch sighing at this outcome. Hitch got up from the floor while Knuckles retired the pineapple from his head, while Hitch held Sparky in his hooves. "Right. That’s it. You ponies obviously need a refresher on the 'Three S'es of Successful Pony Parenting,'" Hitch said to the group as he put down Sparky. "The Three S’es?" Sunny asked as she and the others were confused. "You didn't just make that up, did you?" Sonic questioned with a raised eyebrow and his arms crossed. Hitch looked at them in disbelief, realizing that he just made up the new rules, and he tried to think about them carefully as he smiled nervously. "Pssh, no! Uh..." he then started to laugh nervously. "You know. Um… Uh… My foolproof system for perfect dragon parenting!" he quickly said, thinking about the rules while Sparky shuffled around with the bucket on his head as Knuckles chased him. "Uh… Number one: Keep them safe! Yeah," Hitch said while Knuckles launched himself in front of Sparky and placed a surge on the side of his desk before he hit it, which caused the dragon to sit on the ground from the sudden soft impact. "Number two: No snacks!" Hitch cried out, wrapping all the snacks in a cloth from the table and starting to shred them on the shredder. Izzy gasped at the shredded snacks and smiled. "Spaghetti snacks!" she said with a cheery smile while Knuckles facepalmed at Hitch, overthinking things... again. Hitch turned to his friends again for the last S rule. "And three: Never let them out of your sight! Wait, where’d he go?" he asked, looking around and not seeing Sparky anywhere. "Sparky? Sparky?!" he called out to him with worry and panic. The rest looked at him strangely as Zipp chuckled at Hitch and pointed to his head. "Up top, sheriff," she said to Hitch. Hitch looked up where Zipp was pointing and saw Sparky on top of his head. "Yah!" Sparky cheered, waving his paws. "I know!" Hitch quickly said with an embarrassing smile. "That was… a test," he said, chuckling sheepishly. "And you passed," he added with a sheepish smile. Knuckles rolled his eyes at Hitch’s attitude. "Man, you are overthinking and overprotective again," he said boredly. "I don’t overthink things, Knux. I’m just trying to keep Sparky safe," Hitch said stubbornly, but Knuckles' face said otherwise. "Oh, come on! When was the last time I overthought things?" he asked him and the others. "Those times you used to think unicorns and pegasi were bad news," Sonic said with an amusing expression. Hitch blinked at the mention of that. "Okay, good point. But aside from that?" he asked with a confident smile. "That time when you made every earth pony, Sunny included, from using their magic, it backfired," Tails reminded me with a bored expression. "You even tried to erase it from existing," he pointed out. "And the actual last time, you put us in a chase all around Maretime Bay that ended up scaring everypony," Knuckles listed with a frown. "Heck, you even threatened them on a terrible Robin cosplay!" he pointed out. "Who's Robin?" Izzy asked in whispers to Sunny at her side. "I have no idea," Sunny replied in whispers. Hitch blinked in surprise at all those points and then chuckled sheepishly. "Okay. I see your point, guys," he said with a chuckle. But this time is different! I’m just trying to look after Sparky, and these three rules will keep him safe," he assured. "Well, I hope so because last time he got lost, I got a scar on my back," Sonic said with a frown and his hands on his hip. "And even tho another scar would look badass on me..." he said with a little smile that faded away once he saw Pipp staring daggers at him. "... I'd rather not get another one if that means I have to get her rage again," he added with an anxious look. "Uh, who's 'her'?" Tails questioned. "You live better without knowing it," Sonic replied. Misty was walking by outside the station, but then she stopped and saw the window open, curious to know what was happening inside. Back in the station, Sparky giggled a bit but then stopped as he felt a burp coming up. With that burp came his magic dragon fire, which went out the window. "Whoa!" Misty cried out as she ducked from Sparky’s dragon fire. "Wait a second," she said, placing a hoof on her chin. "That looked like... dragon fire?!" she called out with wide eyes in realization, since she saw that fire when Opaline asked her to capture him. And then Misty’s medallion, which Opaline gave her to stay in contact, opened up glowing and floating, pointing to the open window of the station. At the same time, Misty peeked through it and watched Sparky on Hitch’s head. Hitch panicked because Sparky kept shooting his dragon fire. Misty saw this and brought out her notebook to write down what she saw. "If I can get some juicy intel on Sparky’s dragon fire, maybe Opaline will finally stop talking about it," she said with an annoying look, as she remembered every time Opaline mentioned that dragon fire. Opaline was shaking Misty, growing dizzy, while Eggman cringed behind. "Get me that dragon fire!" Opaline demanded Misty, while said unicorn looked scared at Opaline’s outburst. Them, Opaline was showing Misty and Eggman a diagram with a candle on her hoof as she turned with a mischievous smile. "With dragon fire, I’ll be the most powerful Fire Alicorn of all time!" she announced with an evil laugh, while Misty looked on with a nervous smile, nodding her head to Opaline and looking around, while Eggman rubbed his eyes with one hand in annoyance. And finally, Opaline was taking a nap on her throne straight up with a hoof on her cheek. "Dragon…" she said as she snored. "fire…" she snored again, then turned to the other side with her other hoof touching her cheek while Misty looked worried at Opaline since she was so obsessed with dragon fire. "Misty, I swear I'll end up killing someone if you don't bring her her damn fire..." Eggman said with an annoyed look. Misty ended her flashbacks with a strange and focused her attention back to the station to keep notes of what she saw. In the station, Hitch looked determined as he walked in front of the others, Misty peeking through the window without the others' knowledge. "The station is danger-proof from head to hoof! Hey, that rhymed," Hitch said with a small smile. "Oh!" Sunny realized as Izzy nodded. "Like putting those safety locks on cover doors," she said while pointing to the covered door with a safety lock. "Uh. Try a six-point laser-triggered alarm system!" Hitch said as he pulled a red button from his hoof and pressed it, making two laser stands appear and six lasers appear in front of the cover door. "Dude, if you made this because of what I said when we first met about having worse security than Eggman, then please grow up," Sonic said with a bored expression, while Tails at his side just looked confused. Izzy ran to the stands and touched the laser with her hoof, which caused the alarm to go off as the station glowed red. Izzy felt amazed as she stopped touching the laser, but then, of course, she placed her hoof back on the laser, touching it repeatedly as the alarm went off with each touch. Knuckles came close to Izzy with a bored expression as he shook a pair of keys in front of Izzy, which got her attention as she stopped touching the laser. Knuckles walked backward while Izzy hopped after the keys. Hitch sighs at Izzy's personality since he should've seen that coming. Behind him, Sparky was playfully chopping a carrot with a knife quickly. Hitch turned, saw this, and gasped in panic, running towards Sparky as he snatched the knife from his paws. "And there are sharp objects," he nervously said, putting the knife in his toolbox and locked it in a safe. "Always keep them locked safely away," he said, putting the safe in a bigger safe with a hoof scanner and locking it in the cage. "And under constant watch!" he cried out as he got his animal crew, with cop hats on their heads, out of a wall door; they saluted Hitch and hopped down to the floor, walking back and forth while guarding the safe. Zipp looked strangely at Hitch's overdoing things while Pipp smiled strangely. "Hmm. Nice and simple," she said to the stallion's safety lessons. And then, Hitch appeared between the two sisters, startling Zipp and Pipp at his sudden appearance. "Lastly, make sure you cushion all the hard corners and edges," he said, placing bubble wraps on every hard corner and edge in the station, including his framed on the wall, the map, and some hard-edged objects. He even wrapped Sparky in bubble wrap for safety. "See! No risk of harm whatsoever," he said to the others, starting to sweat under pressure. Sparky jumped up and down while trapped in his bubble wrap, then tripped to the floor, which caused his dragon fire to come out again. Sparky’s dragon fire hit a stabler behind Zipp, who dodged the dragon fire while the stabler turned into a gag, winded up teeth, and bit Zipp's tail as she cringed in pain. "OW!" Zipp cried out in pain. "Well, I hope you learn how to control that dragon fire soon as well," Knuckles said with a frown, carefully pulling the teeth off Zipp's tail and throwing them away. "It's getting wilder," he pointed out. Outside the station, Misty kept watching as she wrote down what she saw in her notebook with an awed expression. "Whoa! No wonder Opaline wants that dragon fire. It’s so powerful!" she said in amazement, then ducked. "Yikes!" she screamed, tossing her pen into the air and dodging another of Sparky’s dragon fire, which hit her pen and turned it into a green mini guitar, which Misty caught and stared in shock at. Later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic walked through Maretime Bay, with Hitch holding Sparky on a child's leash so he won't go far. "Now, Mane Street is the best practice for what I call 'snack resistance' training," he said to the rest while an earth pony stallion passed by, pulling a cart with cotton candy. "Sparky needs to be able to---!" he tried to say, but then cried out in surprise when Sparky rushed off after the cotton candy, dragging Hitch along while the rest watched with surprised looks. "Sometimes I don't understand how a baby dragon like him can have such strength..." Knuckles said with an anxious look. Hitch screamed as Sparky dragged him while trying to get the cotton candy, moving past ponies on the sidewalk and running past some bushes while Hitch hit them as he was being dragged. Misty was hiding in a trash can to get more intel on Sparky’s dragon fire without being noticed, but then Sparky started running towards her at high speed, with Hitch being dragged as he screamed with a bush on his head. Misty looked on in shock as Sparky hit Misty’s trash can, tossing it into the air. Misty crashed back to the floor with a thud while the trash can landed on her head. Hitch continued to scream with the bush on his head, but luckily, it didn’t last long since he came to a stop. Hitch shook the bush off his head, which messed up his mane from the rush and bush as he regained sight. But then Sparky started rushing off again past the dead bush, while Hitch screamed again, then got hit by a pole that Sparky circled as they came to a stop with Hitch sweating in the exhaust, while Sparky carried a giant cotton candy he got from the stand. Hitch chuckled nervously as he continued to where he had left off with the rest while a cake cart walked past them. "As I was saying. He needs to be able to…!" he got cut off again as he cried out since Sparky saw the cakes and ran to them, dragging Hitch along again as the others watched on. "This is going to take a while..." Sonic said with a bored expression. Sometime later, Sparky carried a cake as he giggled. Hitch flopped on the floor, looking very tired with his messy mane. Sparky placed the cake on a pile of treats and snacks he grabbed after seeing them while the others watched in amazement and shock at what had just happened. Hitch got up, looking tired as he looked at his friends. "It's a learning curve," he said tiredly, trying to cover up his embarrassment at what just happened. Izzy popped up from the pile of snacks, smiling as she ate a cupcake. "This learning curve tastes like blueberries!" she said cheerfully, eating the whole blueberry cupcake. "At this point, I can't believe you're still in one piece taking care of Sparky," Tails confessed with a neutral expression. "Thank Chaos I was there, Tails; otherwise, he would be dead by now," Knuckles whispered to him. Then Sunny, Zipp, Pipp, and Team Sonic gave panicked expressions at what they saw next. "Um, Hitch? What did you say the third 'S' was?" Sunny asked nervously. "Never let them out of your sight," Hitch said with a smile. But when he saw Sunny pointing to the leash quietly and with a nervous look, Hitch turned and panicked when he saw Sparky’s child's leash was empty. "Ah! Where’s he gone? Where’s Sparky?! We have to find him!" he cried out in panic. "Oh Gosh, here we go again..." Sonic muttered as he facepalmed in frustration. Hitch then turned to his friends. "Izzy, check the beach!" he pointed to Izzy, who saluted him in response as Hitch got between Sunny and Zipp. "Zipp, Tails, be our eyes in the sky!" he said to Zipp and Tails as they flew into the air, and Hitch turned to Sunny. "Sunny, you… uh… skate around until you find him!" he said, running out of ideas, as Sunny nodded with a determined smile. "And Sonic…” Hitch said while looking at Sonic. "I know, I know. Run around town, Gotta Go Fast, blah, blah, blah..." Sonic replied with a bored face. "Yeah!" Hitch said with a smile as he and Knuckles trotted off to look for Sparky again. But before Sonic could boost out running, he turned to see Pipp looking at him with a frown. "And...?" she questioned, still frowning and raising an eyebrow. Sonic rolled his eyes and sighed, frustrated. "And I'll be as careful as my reckless attitude and spirit allows me to be," he said with a little smile. Pipp just nodded, satisfied with the result, and then flew away, while Sonic sighed in relief and scratched his head. "I'll guess we'll act like that kiss never happened, huh?" Sonic muttered to himself with a little smile. "Oh well, better remember it then," he stated, boosting out to search for Sparky. At the beach, Izzy used her detector to find Sparky while Misty, hiding behind a rock, spied on her. Izzy’s detector blinked in red as it found Sparky's footprints. Izzy smiled excitedly as she trotted off at high speed, which made the sand blowing off the ground and onto Misty, who coughed at the sand in her mouth and on her. In the sky, Zipp was wearing her Z-Goggles, while Tails used his high-tech goggles. Both were scanning an area in Maretime Bay for Sparky in Thermal mode. Then, their sight stopped at Mane Melody, spotting Sparky cheerfully running inside the salon. That made Zipp and Tails gasp as they looked at each other, knowing they had found Sparky. Zipp quickly contacted Pipp, who is closest to Mane Melody. Inside Mane Melody, Sparky was playing around with some of Pipp’s makeover supplies, placing shampoo bottles on his head and creating blue, pink, and yellow bubbles. Then, Pipp came rushing in with a pant, startling Jazz in the process. Pipp looked around for Sparky, turned to Jazz, and shook her. None of them noticed Sparky walking behind them and out of the salon with a yellow mane wig on his head as Jazz rushed out of Pipp’s sight, a little scared at Pipp’s reaction while Pipp looked around for Sparky, and then stepped on a bottle as it squirted some yellow content. Misty was reading a magazine in Mane Melody while sitting in a chair, spying on the group's movement, but she saw the yellow content hit her on her mane, which caused her mane to get poofy in the process as Misty looked at it in shock. Sunny was skating around somewhere else in Maretime Bay while placing Missing Posters of Sparky for anypony to find him. But Sunny didn’t know that Sparky was behind her, giggling and folding up the posters into paper airplanes as he launched them away before doing it again to the others with giggles. Behind Sparky was Misty, who looked exhausted from what had been happening to her today, having three paper airplanes from Sparky on her poofy mane. Misty gasped as she saw another one coming and tried to shoo it away, but then tripped over the railing and fell off the cliff side, hanging onto a branch to keep her from falling into the ocean. Sonic ran around town to look after the baby dragon. "Come on, Sparkeroni! Where are you?!" Sonic questioned, as he kept running until he spotted something in the corner of his eye. He then ran closer to one of the cake carts from before and found Sparky eating a whole cake. "Well, look at that," Sonic said softly, lifting Sparky with his hands. "You enjoy giving your father, uncles, and aunts a big scare, don't you?" he said to Sparky, who just giggled in response. "Oh well, let's take you back with your dad before he does more crazy stuff," he stated. Once again, Sparky giggled and cheered while Sonic boosted towards the station with the baby dragon in his arms. Back at the station, the Mane 5, Tails, and Knuckles returned after having no signs of Sparky anywhere, while Hitch started to break down. "I can’t even look after one baby dragon!" Hitch cried out over the missing Sparky as he flopped to the floor. The rest gave him sympathetic looks, and he started to tear up. Something zoomed past Hitch, and then a dragon fire shot over Hitch, which startled him. He got up and saw that dragon fire hit his tail. He looked in the direction where the shot came from and found Sonic with a smirk, as he had Sparky playing over his head. "Sparky!” Hitch called out in relief as he ran towards Sonic and grabbed his baby dragon. "Oh, thank hoofness!" he breathed, nuzzling Sparky before placing him back down. "I was so worried! I thought you might have fallen into the sea or baked into a pie or eaten by bees or…!" he cried out dramatically. Izzy then came in front of Hitch with a comforting smile while holding Floppy in front of him. "Look at little Floppy, Hitch. Look at little Floppy," she said to Hitch as he looked at Floppy. Once Hitch looked at the bunny, who smiled cutely at him, he calmed down as he took a deep breath. "There we are," Izzy said with a calm smile. "Wait! Where do you find him, Sonic?" Hitch asked the hedgehog. "On the cake cart... again," Sonic replied with a smirk. "Oh, okay..." Hitch said, then sighed in relief. "I’m sorry, everypony. I just… Aah! All I want is to be a great dragon dad!" he said, his voice cracking as he held Sparky. "Oh, Hitch, Hitch, Hitch... You say that, but you don't realize you already are one," Sonic said, placing his arm around his neck. "Sonic's right, Hitch," Sunny told him. She and the others smiled at him, and Sunny walked towards him. "You are a great dragon dad," she said, placing a hoof on his shoulder before looking at Sparky. "Just look at how much you cared about Sparky," she pointed out as the rest huddled close to him. "But honestly, I think you can relax a little bit," she added. "Yeah, man, try to chill a little bit," Knuckles said with a smile. Outside the station, Misty crawled to the open window again as she groaned, exhausted at what she had gone through today, with her mane still poofy and having paper airplanes on. "Sunny and Knuckles are right," Zipp said with a smile. "Sparky might be a baby, but he’s made of pretty tough stuff," she said while giving Sparky a belly rub. This caused the baby dragon to laugh, but then he began to puff up, and Hitch knew what that meant. Once Misty tried to get a close peek at the window, she got hit by Sparky’s dragon fire, which caused her mane to turn into a flower. That did it as Misty fainted from that, having endured enough punishment for one day. In the station, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic stared in shock at Sparky's surprise dragon fire as Sparky puffed some out of his mouth. "But seriously, tho, we need to find a way to control that fire breath of his..." Sonic pointed out with widened eyes. "Thanks, everypony," Hitch said with a smile as he placed Sparky down. "And you’re right. I need to be less controlling," he said in guilt as he scratched his neck. Hey Sparky, I’m sorry I was so…" He tried to apologize but stopped once he and the rest realized that Sparky was missing again. "Sparky?" Hitch called out again as they looked around for any sign of him. "Why does this dragon keep disappearing?!" Knuckles cried out with frustration. It didn’t take long for the group to look out the window and see Sparky rolling across a giant ball of bubble wrap, which he wrapped together from Hitch’s office. "SPARKY, NO!" the Mane 5 and Team Sonic cried out in unison as Sparky continued to roll the bubble wrap ball across Maretime Bay for more fun. THE END...? 30. Nightmare Night PartyIn Mane Melody, Pipp gave a determined smirk, wearing a royalty costume, and looked at the crowd, who were also wearing costumes. "Who’s ready for a Nightmare Night fright-shion show!?" Pipp called out on the stage through her microphone. The crowd cheered in response as they were ready for the show. It was Nightmare Night in Equestria, the equivalent of Halloween for the ponies, where they could dress up and have treats or do scary tricks, so Pipp decided to build a party in Mane Melody since this is the first-ever Nightmare Night of all three tribes together after generations. "Let’s kick off with the Triplets of Terror!" Pipp announced as she pointed to her Pippsqueaks. Peach Fizz, Seashell, and Glory wore the same blue dresses as they walked on stage with blank, scary looks. "Aw, adorable, right?" Pipp asked the crowd, finding her Pippsqueaks adorable. The crowd disagreed, finding their looks scary, just as it should be. Pipp smiled as she looked back at the stage with a smirk. "Princess Zephyrina is clear for takeoff!" she announced as the light shone on Zipp. Zipp, wearing a red archer costume, smirked and flew off. She did a twirl and a loop twice as she flew around Mane Melody, then did a front flip and landed back on the stage with a proud smile as applause was heard from the crowd. Pipp looked at her paper card and smiled. "Next, it’s the random Rufunzo!" she announced, as Rufus came out of the stage next while hopping around in a silly way. Rufus' costume was just a silly clown costume, with makeup, a red nose, a rainbow clown wig, a bow tie, and clown boots. He hopped around the stage while making squeaky noises and smiling. Then he hopped into the air, posed, and landed on the stage, making squeaky noises as the crowd smiled at his performance. "Here’s Hitch as…" Pipp announced as Hitch walked into the crowd, wearing the disco costume he wore to Sunny’s party; he danced around, and the crowd cheered. "... Hitch, but with a mustache!" Pipp finished as Hitch pointed to the fake mustache on his face, which made the crowd cheer him on. "Our next costume is... Ooh! Treasure hunter Knuckles!" Pipp announced with a smile. Then, Knuckles entered the stage doing tricks with a noose as he wore his cowboy hat, brown variants of his shoes, black gloves with metallic knuckles, and a beige jacket. Knuckles then made a loop on air, putting the noose aside professionally and posing with a smile on the stage as the ponies cheered at him. Backstage, Sunny looked at her compact mirror and inspected herself in costume. Meanwhile, Sonic struggled to place the fake sharp teeth in his mouth correctly. "Hurry up, Tails! After Sunny, it is our turn, and I still need to put the spikes on the shoes!" he told Tails, who was dying the tip of Sonic's quills white. "I know, I know," Tails said, a little annoyed but with a smile. "I'm almost done, don't worry," he assured. "Trading the Shine of the Sun for the Dark of the Moon…" Pipp's voice was heard. "Looks like it is my turn..." Sunny said with a smile, closing the mirror and putting it aside. "Good luck, Sunny!" Tails told her, waving his hand. "Go get them, girl!" Sonic told as well, raising his thumbs. "Thanks, guys!" Sunny smiled. "Good luck to you as well!" she told them, heading towards the stage. "And... there!" Tails announced, as he got down Sonic and the hedgehog looked at himself in the mirror. "Now look at that. Despite the size, I look exactly like I did when I got the real transformation," Sonic said with a smile. "So, are you ready, lil' bro?" he asked Tails. "I'm ready! Ready to bring Tails Doll legend alive!" Tails stated with a smile, now putting on the full costume. "Well, then... let the Night of the Werehog begin!" Sonic stated, now with a deep voice and a smile that showed his fake sharp teeth. "... Sunny!" Pipp announced to the crowd outside the stage that blue mist had appeared, and so did a shadow figure, Sunny, as she spread her wings. Sunny walked down the stage as the ponies were frightened by Sunny's costume, while she gave a scowl expression. "Mmm," she hummed, making a mean look and spreading her wings, making the crowd gasp, revealing that Sunny was wearing a Nightmare Moon costume, armor, black wings, and a horn with a helmet to boot. "Hey, everypony!" Sunny called out suddenly with a wave and a smile. The crowd cheered at Sunny's costume and the performance she did, almost looking so real when she acted like the actual Nightmare Moon. "Now, two of our visitors from another dimension have brought old legends of their home to life!" Pipp announced on the microphone. "The adorable Tails has embraced a dark and spooky side as... Tails Doll!" she announced in a spooky tone. The lights turned on to show Tails sitting menacingly like an actual doll. He had small white tape around his hands, tails, shoes, belly, and head, a white mask covering his mouth, and a headband with a red jewel in the middle. He then started to spin his tail to fly around the stage but only moved his tail since the rest of his body stood still like a doll. The crowd looked in fright at the performance, scared that Tails could be that scary. At the end of the stage, Tails himself falls like a doll on the ground, which startled th audience a bit. And then... "BOO!" Tails shouted, standing up quick enough to show widened fake red eyes and fake claws on his hands, which scared the crowd a lot as they screamed. After successfully having scared the crowd, Tails took off his mask on his mouth and smiled at them. "Happy Nightmare Night, everyone!" he said in a cheerful tone, as the crowd cheered at him, too, liking his performance as a scary doll of himself. "Our second legend from another world, portrayed now by Sonic the Hedgehog: The Werehog!" Pipp announced with a smile on the mic. "I have no idea what that is, though," she muttered to herself, away from the microphone. Then, smoke came out of the backstage, and a pair of green eyes opened menacingly in the darkness. Then, Sonic started to walk slowly on the stage. His fur was Prussian blue, and the tip of his quills was white. He wore gloves, white fur on his wrists, and big grey hands with sharp claws. His shoes had spikes over the white stripe, and he growled as he showed his sharp teeth. As he growled, he walked on four legs like a wolf, looking with a scowl at the crowd, who again looked in fright at Sonic's costume. Just to be clear, it is just a costume, but it looks very real. Even some colts and fillies started to shake in fear at the weird costume Sonic was wearing. And once he stopped in front of the the stage, he stared at the rest for a few seconds, until.... "OWOOOOO!" Sonic howled as he showed his teeth at the crowd with a growl, and they all screamed until Sonic started to laugh it up with his usual smirk, still showing his sharp teeth. "Hope you enjoy the party, ya'll!" he said as the crowd cheered at the performance again. Sonic looked sideways at Pipp and winked at her before getting down from the stage, which caused the pegasus to blush and laugh nervously. At the back of the stage, Jazz was doing Sunny hoof... now hold on a second. Sunny's hoof? Strange, she's out there with the others... right? "And… Done!" Jazz said with a smile after finishing the hooficure on Sunny's hoof. "Thanks, Jazzle-Dazzle!" Izzy’s voice spoke as Sunny's hoof waved at her. Izzy the whole time, with a costume on that somehow involved Sunny. "Bye!" Izzy waved as she went out to the stage, and Jazz smiled. Thank God! I thought I was going crazy for a second... "Here comes Izzy!" Pipp announced while Izzy came into view to the crowd with sparkling eyes, waving her hoof at them quickly. Izzy's costume was... something. She was wearing makeup of different body parts of each of her friends: Sunny’s rainbow mane on the left, Knuckles red hair on her right, Sunny's hoof on the left, Hitch's hoof on the right, Zipp's hoof on her right hind leg, Pipp's hoof on her left hind leg, Tails' tails, Pipp's wings on her back and her hooficure on her hind legs were a resemble of Sonic's shoes. "Ah!" The camera-pony said. He found Izzy’s costume amazing, and the crowd cheered for Izzy. "Oh-ho-ho, and she's brought all her best friends!" Pipp announced, while Izzy just smiled at the crowd. "And next to the stage, we have Mane Melody's very ooooown... Jazz!" she called out with a smile. At the backstage, Jazz gasped in panic. Since she didn’t have a costume yet and was trying to see which one was right for her, she scrolled through the style mirror that showed her with a purple mask on. "Oh, no, no! Come on, Jazz! Pick one!" Jazz frankly said to herself in a panic, checking which one suited her the best while the mirror showed her wearing an eyepatch, then the next one wearing a winking helmet and wig. Suddenly, Misty sneaked into the product room, wearing a half-peacock mask and a hood as she checked to see if the coast was clear. Jazz didn't notice since she kept checking for what costume she should wear, while Misty hid behind a costume pile, checking to see if the coast was clear again, then ran out of her hiding spot. "What do I do?! What do I— Whoa!" Jazz cried out as she didn’t see Misty, who didn’t see her either. The two ponies bumped into each other, and Jazz hit a rack of costumes. Some fell on Misty as Jazz rolled away. "Jazz has come as…" Pipp announced, turning to the stage as Jazz rolled down on it, wearing different pieces of each costume. The ponies gasped at the sight, and Jazz felt dizzy from the rolling. "...whatever this is," Pipp said sheepishly, having no idea what happened. The ponies cheered at what they saw while Jazz smiled at them. "Awww!" she said as she bowed at their kindness. "Never saw something like that, but who am I to complain?" Knuckles said with a smile. Back in the product room, Misty got out of the pile of costumes as she looked at her amulet. "Okay, Opaline. We're in," Misty said to the amulet. Now that nobody was around, the amulet clicked open, and some dark magic mist emerged from it, forming into Opaline, who yawned tiredly at the long wait. "Took you long enough," Opaline said to Misty, looking around. She saw some familiar decorations and gave a bored look. "Ugh, puh-lease! Nightmare Night is so—" she got cut off when a Pegasnail flew through her spiritual face, which startled her. "Was that a... flying snail?" she asked in shock and then groaned. "Ugh! This place has gone downhill. Ugh," she groaned, then looked at Misty. "Anyway, tell me the plan again, Misty," she ordered. Misty smiled at Opaline as she pointed in the other direction. "First, I need to get—" she tried to explain but was cut off when Opaline interrupted and got in Misty’s face. "Get these ponies to use their magic so we can figure out how it works and then take it from them!" Opaline ordered, then laughed evilly. Misty gave a forceful laugh, wanting to join in with Opaline, but Opaline stopped and looked at Misty with an amused look. "You need to stop doing that. It throws me off," she stated before giving her a serious look. "Now, get. To. Work!" she demanded with an angry look, while the smoke sucked back into the amulet as it closed, with Misty giving a sad look. Misty sneaked around among the crowd in Mane Melody's main room and smirked. “Oh, everypony looks great!” Pipp announced to her microphone while flying with a smile. At a table, Team Sonic watched the whole party going with smiles. "I can't believe the costumes worked!" Tails cheered. "I was scared they would think it looked poor." "I guess this guy is easier to impress than we give them credit for," Knuckles pointed out. "I'm just glad the party's going well so far," Sonic said with a smile. "Aaand I jinx us all..." he added with a bored expression. "Now, let's get the party started! Hit it!" Pipp announced, but she didn’t hear anything as she turned to Jazz, who smirked at her and blew her hoof. Jazz then played the music, adding wolf howls as she bopped her head to it. Pipp then got between two ponies as she began to sing with a smirk. Pipp: There somethin' kinda creepy Happenin' tonight Jazz: So call your favorite ghoulies And get your costume right Rocky: They may look freaky But I promise they won't bite As Jazz sang, Rufus tried to catch an apple tied to a rope in the apple bucket but failed repeatedly as the apple kept moving. Misty was the one moving the rope with her hoof, smiling evilly with an evil chuckle. Pipp: And they say the place is haunted But the dancing's a delight Pipp sang with a smirk as the ponies around were laughing and dancing to the music. Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky: It may look scary But don't be afraid The 'Triples of Terror' were taking a drink from a Halloween fountain, their expressions from the stage still present. Misty walked to the fountain after them and turned the dial red. 'Cause nothing's what it seems At a monster partay Pipp sang as she flew up, singing to the crowd. Misty chuckled sinisterly at her actions and whistled innocently as she walked off, leaving the fountain to overflow. It may look spooky But don't have a fright 'Cause at this monster party We'll rock all night As Pipp sang, she stopped momentarily when she saw Rufus still trying to get the apple. He kept failing, and he cried a bit. Misty kept walking as she muttered to herself. "I am just being normal. Normal! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo-hoo!" she cheered as she began to dance. She could not resist dancing to the music, so she danced around and kicked her hind hooves to the party. Misty danced backward, and then her flank hit Izzy; with Zipp and Tails next to her, Misty stopped dancing and turned around to see the three friends smiling at her. "Wow! Great mask, Misty," Izzy complimented, with Zipp nodding in agreement. "Yeah! Did you make it yourself?" Tails asked curiously. "What, this old thing?" Misty asked with a smile, but before she could go any further, her amulet started to glow and dragged her away from them. "Whoa-oa-oa! I love this song!" she protested to the amulet while the ponies in the crowd saw this, confused. Izzy, Zipp, and Tails gave Misty a strange look and looked at each other. "That pony’s sparkle is all mixed up," Izzy said, looking suspiciously at Misty. "And that amulet seemed strange..." Tails said with a raised eyebrow, rubbing his chin. "Yeah," Zipp agreed with the two, giving a suspicious look as well. "Something's very suspicious about her— Whoa!" Zipp cried out as the fountain drink began to flow to them while the ponies in the party backed up from the overflow drink. It may look scary But don't be afraid 'Cause nothing's what it seems At a monster partay It may look spooky But don't have a fright— Misty kicked a pumpkin, messed up the decorations, and ripped off some stickers around Mane Melody. Rufus finally managed to grab the apple, but then Misty yanked the rope tied to it, causing Rufus to fall into the apple bucket. This wet the ponies around it, and Rufus emerged with an irritated look and his clown makeup undone. Misty pulled a plug that turned off all power in Mane Melody, and the music stopped. The ponies started murmuring to themselves, wanting to know what had happened, as Misty gave a sinister chuckle. "Everypony, stay calm!" Pipp announced through the microphone on stage to get everypony to calm down. "We can fix this!" she assured them. "Yeah, you jinxed us, Hedgehog," Knuckles said, looking around confused. "Be glad my claws aren't real, Knucklehead," Sonic told him with a frown as he showed his fake teeth, and Knuckles did get a bit scared while they both got on stage to stay away from the overflow. Behind the stage, Misty took out the amulet. "Well?" she asked Opaline about all this through the amulet. As the amulet clicked open, Opaline’s spiritual figure appeared again as she looked around at what Misty had done. "No one loves ruining a party as much as I do, Misty," Opaline said to Misty as she smiled. "But I'm here to see them use their magic, remember?" she reminded her with a frown. "Wait for it…" Misty said with a smirk. At the apple bucket, Rufus ducked his head many times to grab an apple, but when he finally caught it with his teeth, his hooves touched the bottom of the buck, accidentally activating his earth pony magic. And then, a giant plant grew out of the bucket, with Rufus at the top. Opaline gasped with a smile at this outcome while the ponies murmured to themselves. The fountain bubbles overflowed, and the Pegasi flew out of range. "Oh, no!" Zipp cried out, seeing the decorations begin to overflow. "Pipp's decorations!" she cried out. "Don't worry, Zipp!" Izzy called out with a determined smile on the stage walk, with Sunny, Hitch, and Team Sonic behind her. She used her magic to levitate the decorations off the stand but accidentally hit the Pegasi. "Ah!" Zipp cried out while dodging one of them. "Izzy, watch out!" she pointed out. A pumpkin then fell into the fountain bubbles, and Izzy covered her face when it made a splash. Knuckles then pulled out his noose, used it to grab some of the decorations, and pulled them back. "Tails, hold me up!" Sonic told the fox as he jumped to stand on his hands, and Tails grabbed him from his feet. He then carried Sonic around as the hedgehog grabbed as many decorations as possible to put them on safety. Opaline laughed at this outcome. "I've seen all I need to see. Look at this chaos," she said to Misty with a smile. "Once I have that dragon fire, none of these ponies could ever challenge me!" she confidently stated. "And Misty?" she called out, as Misty gave a smile with sparkling eyes. "Don't dawdle on your way home this time," she said with a bored expression as the amulet closed, leaving Misty sad since Opaline didn't thank her for her hard work. "Left a bit…" Zipp's voice spoke, and Misty turned to see Zipp telling Izzy where to put the decorations while Izzy strained herself as she used her magic. "All right! Now, Izzy!" Zipp told her with a smile as the unicorn placed the decorations correctly. Then, the pegasi and Tails laughed as they used their wings and tails to create dust and wind, clearing out the overflow bubbles and clearing Mane Melody, while the ponies gasped at the clean sight. "Whoa!" Misty called out in awe with sparkling eyes. Rufus finally chomped on his long-deserved apple, ate it, and climbed back down. The 'Triples of Terror' gasped in amazement at Rufus as they giggled. But then Rufus sneakily came behind them and honked his red nose horn, causing the fillies to scream in fright from the sudden noise, turning and gasping, startled when they saw Rufus behind them, then giggled at his sudden scare as Rufus took a bow. Then, Pipp walked towards Jazz, next to the music player, and she plugged it back in. "Jazz, you know what to do," Pipp said with a smirk. Jazz smirked back and pressed the play button. The music continued, and Pipp began to sing again. Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky: Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah 'Cause at this monster party We'll rock all night Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah The ponies in Mane Melody began to dance to the music again, as Hitch and Sunny danced close to each other while Tails and Zipp did the same. Misty looked around at this, and then Izzy dragged her back to the party as the two unicorns danced close to each other. The ponies around started to laugh with one another at the party. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 31. Haunted HouseIn front of Dahlia's house, Izzy, whose hood looked like Hitch’s, knocked on the door as it opened, and Dahlia herself smiled at the Mane 5 and Team Sonic. "Trick or Treat!" they all said, with Sparky being held by Pipp. The group was all wearing costumes to start their Trick or Treats in Nightmare Night. They held up their bags, and Dahlia placed some treats in them. "Thank you!" they all said to her. Later, the group was in front of Mane Melody as Jazz, who was still wearing her mixed-up costume, and Rocky, who just wore a skeleton mask. Rocky opened the door and smiled at them. "Trick or Treat!" they called again as Jazz and Rocky gave them the treats and put them in the bag. "Thank you!" they all thanked the two ponies. Later, "Trick or Treat!" the group called out in another building as the building owners gave them the treats. "Thank you!" they said once they had the treats in their bags. Later again, the group knocked on another door, and Posey opened it holding some treats. "Trick or treat!" they called out, surprising her beside the door. That scared Posey, and she screamed, tossing the treats in the air and closing the door in a startle as some dropped to the floor and one bumped into Pipp's head. "Hey!" Zipp called out in annoyance. "Not cool!" Tails cried out with a frown. "Huh?" Hitch said in confusion as he raised an eyebrow while Sparky glared at the door. "You've got to be kidding me..." Knuckles said, facepalming in annoyance. "Ugh," Sunny groaned in frustration. "Why am I not surprised?" Sonic said with a bored expression. "Rude!" Pipp called out in annoyance. "Was it something we said?" Izzy asked, confused. And then, Sparky’s stomach started to rumble, which worried Hitch since he knew what was coming. "No, no, no, not here, Sparky! Buddy, we're right here!" he cried, raising the baby dragon and knowing this was the last place Sparky’s dragon fire should be. Sparky then blew one of his fires on Posey’s flowers, turning them into spaghetti, while the others watched in horror. "Well, time to go!" Hitch said quickly; as the group sins, Izzy nodded in agreement and left. Posey opened her door and then gasped in horror. "My flowers are... spaghetti?!" she questioned while holding one of the flowers-turned-spaghetti in her hooves. "SPARKY!" she yelled out in rage. "Everypony knows that pasta gives me—" she tried to explain, but then she heard slurping and turned to see Izzy slurping on one of the spaghetti. "That little dragon sure does make a tasty noodle!" Izzy said with a smile, grabbing another one and slurping it. Posey glared at her, and Izzy saw Posey in front of her as the earth pony growled and pointed a hoof at her, really angry as her head turned red, which made Izzy nervous. "I should... go," Izzy said nervously, finishing the spaghetti and running off. "UGH!" Posey yelled out in rage. Later, the group stopped by Sunny's smoothie stand for a break from their trick-or-treat walk. Pipp placed her smoothie cup down and groaned. "Not even a strawberry ripple smoothie can cheer me up tonight. All I want is some actual Nightmare Night spoooookiness," she said excitedly while the others slurped their smoothies. "Pipp, the night is young," Sunny assured, stacking some apples in the stand. "Who knows what kind of spookiness might be just around the corner?" "Ugh, please," Pipp said. "Earth ponies wouldn't know spookiness if—" she was cut off when Izzy popped up behind her. "Boo!" Izzy cried out to Pipp as she growled at her, but Pipp shook her head at Izzy, not finding it spooky one bit as Izzy dropped the act and walked backward with a down expression. "As I was saying, earth ponies and... unicorns…" Pipp continued before looking at Izzy, who popped up again to try and scare her but failed, as Izzy sheepishly walked backward. "… have a lot to learn about creating spooktacular vibes," she said with a confident smirk. "Hmm... 'spook-tacular vibes', huh?" Sonic muttered with a grin and then dragged Tails aside to whisper something in his ear; Tails also heard Sonic's idea and smirked. "Oh, I'm totally in!" Tails stated. "Great, because we're going to give the lady here exactly what she wants," Sonic said, looking at Pipp with a grin. "I mean, first, you need an abandoned house with super creaky floorboards, and it's gotta have all the cobwebs. And it has to be, like, so dark…" she listed, as her friends got excited at Pipp’s suggestion for something spooky, except for Sonic and Tails, who sneakily got away from the others and then boosted to the Brighthouse. But as Pipp kept talking, Misty spied on them in an alley. Suddenly, her amulet clicked open, and Opaline appeared, smiling at who she saw among the group. "Ooh. Those silly ponies have the dragon with them," Opaline said as she saw Sparky in Hitch's hoof, drinking a smoothie before he belched some out with a cute smile; then Opaline turned to Misty. "Now get him for me, Misty. He has the dragon fire I need," she stated with an evil smirk. "And Misty?" called out as Misty gulped nervously. "Don't let me down. Or else!" she warned with a glare before the amulet closed as Misty turned to the group. "Ooh, and the music is key!" Pipp said excitedly, still working on her idea. "Something like…" she said in a haunted vocalization, and her friends smiled in response. Misty also smiled, having an idea of how to get Sparky, as she disappeared into the alley. Then Knuckles noticed that Sonic and Tails were very quiet this time, and when he looked around for them, he realized they were gone. "What are those two up to now?" he muttered. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Knuckles were walking down Maretime Bay when Misty popped up from an alley disguised as a ghost, and she bumped into Pipp. "Oh, excuse me! Sorry about that!" Misty said in a deep, gravelly voice as she picked up the posters she 'dropped.' "Oh, don't worry about—" Pipp was saying as she picked up a poster and then gasped in awe at what it said as she had sparkling eyes. "See ya!” Misty said to them as she zipped off from them, leaving the group confused. "A haunted house? Now, this is what I'm talking about!" Pipp said excitedly as her friends saw this with a smile, and then Knuckles rubbed his chin. "Hmm... first, Sonic and Tails disappear, and now a haunted house poster drops..." Knuckles muttered to himself with a frown. "This is incredibly convenient," he pointed out. Misty was hiding from a side of the bridge, taking off her ghost costume and giving an evil look with a smirk as she laughed evilly. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Knuckles made it to the haunted house by following the address on the poster as thunder was shown behind it. "Come on, ponies!" Pipp said excitedly with sparkling eyes as she turned to the others. "This is exactly what we need! So, so fun!" she said, while the rest looked scared, except for Izzy, who was nodding her head excitedly with sparkling eyes, while Knuckles just looked bored since he had lived scary situations before, so this wasn't anything amazing for him. Sparky giggled and responded as he ran to the haunted house with the others behind him. "Sparky, wait!" Hitch cried out worryingly as Sparky and Pipp ran to the haunted house. "Stay with Pipp! Ah!" he called out but dropped his party glasses and picked them up. "It's gonna be so dark in there!" he said, scared and sweating. "You're not afraid of the dark, are ya... sheriff?" Zipp asked teasingly to Hitch with a smirk. "Who, me?" Hitch asked with a nervous smile. "Hah! Neighway!" he said, holding on to Knuckles in fright. "Just stay right by my side, Knux! G-Gotta protect the girls!" he frankly said. "Character downgrades at its finest, ladies and gentlemen," Knuckles says to you, the readers, with a bored expression. "Man, I may be your deputy, but I'm not going to babysit you," he told Hitch with a frown as he pulled his hoof from his neck and walked slowly to the haunted house. Sunny and Zipp placed their hooves over their mouths. They laughed with a smile at Hitch, and they all raced off into the haunted house. But once they were inside the haunted house, the doors closed, and thunder appeared again, while two shadows appeared in front of the house, ready to scare the ponies. Inside the haunted house, Hitch looked around in fright in the dark. "Sparky?! It's so dark! I can't see a thing!" Hitch cried out. "Sparky? Sparky? Where are—" he got cut off once Izzy turned on her phone for some lighting, but Hitch was in front of her face. "Aah!" he cried out as he hugged Sunny from the sudden scare. "Again, this is character downgrade at its finest," Knuckles said with a bored expression. "Pipp is right!" Izzy said with a smile. "This is fun!" she added while her friend Knuckles smiled. Izzy then moved her light into the ceiling, and Pegamice hung from it like a bat before flying at the group while squeaking. They yelped in, startled by the sudden scare from the Pegamice, but Knuckles rolled his eyes. "This is gonna be a long night..." Knuckles muttered to himself with annoyance. A little bit later, the Mane 5 were walking down the hallway, while the walls of paintings of ponies had their eyes glow in green. They followed the group as Pipp and Sparky led them, not scared, as they found this fun. Hitch and Izzy stopped once they saw the paintings looking at them and screamed in fright. Then, Pipp started to laugh as she and Sparky went downstairs with Sunny and ZIpp behind her. Then, two ghosts got on both sides of the two ponies and screamed in fright while hugging each other. Knuckles, on the other hand, stood at the main entrance after the rest decided to explore the house around him since he decided to wait for Sonic and Tails. "If the news of this place spread quickly, they should be here soon," he theorized. "That is, of course, if they haven't come yet..." he said. Suddenly, a red light shone bright behind him, and he turned to face a doll of Tails floating in the air with a red crystal on his head for some reason. "Tails, you already did this at the Monster Party at Mane Melody. This is ridiculous," Knuckles said with a bored expression. "Oh, there you are, Knux!" Tail's voice spoke, as Knuckles eyes widened in horror... because the voice spoke behind him. He slowly turned his head to find Tails still wearing his costume and smiling at him. "I've been looking at you and the others," Tails told him. "What? He tried to ask what's with the—–" but then he saw the actual Tails Doll behind Knuckles and panicked. "... You... made a big... mistake... by coming here..." Tails Doll spoke with a deeper Tails voice, as his black eyes turned red, which made both Tails and Knuckles scream in pure fright as they ran away from the doll, who started to follow them. In a secure room with all the screens for the cameras and the controls, it showed the Mane 5 going around in the haunted house as they all screamed in fright, except for Pipp and Sparky. Opaline and Misty watched as Opaline contacted them through the amulet again. "Yes... That's it, little dragon," Opaline said with a smile. "Bring that dragon fire of yours this way!" she said to Sparky, but then her breath smelled over Misty. "Ugh! Is that garlic breath?!" Misty asked Opaline as she cringed from her stinky breath. "Misty! Focus!" Opaline yelled out, but once she saw her breath, she breathed her hoof and smelled her breath, then cringed in disgust. "Ugh. Oh, dear. That is potent," she admittedly said. Misty waved her face to get the scent of bad breath out of her nose, but then she accidentally flipped a switch. In the hallway, the Mane 5 ran through as two skeletons appeared, grabbing Zipp and Hitch as the two ponies screamed in fright at the sudden grab. Back in the control room, Misty sweated as she pressed a button. Back in the hallway, the rest of the Mane 5 kept running as four ghosts appeared around Sunny and Izzy, making the two ponies scream in fright as they hugged each other. In the control room, Opaline was unhappy about this outcome and faced Misty with a glare. "Get me that dragon, Misty!" Opaline demanded as she got close to Misty's face. "Or you can kiss a Cutie Mark goodbye!" she yelled as her nose touched Misty, who was scared of Opaline. Pipp was livestreaming the whole thing on her phone in a room in front of a cobweb. "Puh-lease. Look at these cobwebs. So last season," Pipp said to her followers with a smile. "Am I right, Sparky?" she asked the baby dragon, but then she saw that he wasn't there, which worried Pipp. "Oh, no. Sparky? Sparky!" she cried as she ran down another hallway to find Sparky. And then the rest of her friends ran up to the cobwebs, getting tangled while Sunny, Zipp, and Hitch groaned at being stuck in a sticky substance. "Hey, everypony! Look at me! I'm stuck!" Izzy, she called out with a smile. Suddenly, they could hear screams coming from the other side of the hallway, and then Tails and Knuckles crashed against them, freeing them from the cobwebs and startling them. Sunny groaned a bit dizzy before turning to her friends. "Is everypony okay?" she asked the rest, who groaned in response. Once everyone stood up slowly, Tails looked in all directions in pure fear while Knuckles stared at the path they passed through before crashing against the others. "Uh, what's the matter with you–– Whoa!" Zipp tried to ask something, but Tails sat on her back and hugged her neck as he shook in fear. "T-Tails! W-What comes?!" she asked in surprise and shock, as her face blushed a lot. "Let him be, Zipp," Knuckles said in a deeper voice than usual as he grabbed his cowboy hat and put it on again since it had fallen when he crashed with the others. "I was wrong about this place. It's getting on my nerves," he said with worry and fear. "Don't tell me you are scared, Knux," Hitch said mockingly while Sunny and Izzy giggled, and Zipp felt slightly uncomfortable with Tails. "I have a very good reason to," Knuckles replied with a frown. In the control room, Opaline and Misty saw Sparky enter a room as Sparky giggled. "Now, Misty, now!" Opaline called out as Misty gave a determined look and pressed the big red button, closing the door Sparky came from and trapping him in as he wandered around while Opaline sighed in excitement. "After all these moons, dragon fire will finally be mine!" she said excitedly. Misty watched with a smile, but then Opaline gave Misty a look. "What are you waiting for?! GET HIM!" she ordered. Misty turned and ran to where Sparky was, but a pile of robes grabbed her by the hoof, and she rolled across the floor. Opaline saw this and yelped as she was pulled along, and she and Misty got tangled in the process. "Ugh! I have to do everything myself!" she yelled out as she tossed Misty away, but she forgot that Misty had the amulet and was dragged along again. In the room Sparky was trapped in, Misty sneakily made her way and hid behind a crate, making sure Sparky didn’t see her since he didn’t like her. Then, Sparky's stomach started to rumble as he groaned at the feeling. Misty grew nervous at that. "That can't be good..." she said to herself. And then Sparky farted as his dragon fire came out his rear end. "Oh, no!" Misty cried out as she was covered by Sparky's dragon fire, which hit the door and burned a hole into it. Sparky started to giggle and ran off the room cheerfully while Misty's amulet pointed at Sparky, and Misty ran out of her hiding spot to catch Sparky. Misty started to pant and sweat while Sparky giggled as he ran. "Don't worry, Opaline! I'll get him!" she said to the amulet. Sparky kept giggling as he and Misty ran through a series of doors, going back-in-forth of each door, then Sparky shut a door and Misty hit it. Misty landed on all four hooves from the hit as a white rag over the door fell on top of her. She slowly got up and shook her head, but then she turned to walk off when she bumped into something. At first, she only saw a grey belly on a Prussian blue fur, but when she slowly moved her gaze upwards, she saw something that made her scream and run away. In another hallway, Pipp was running through to find Sparky as said dragon ran past her with giggles. Pipp stopped once she realized who passed her. "Sparky! Wait! Slow down!" she called out as she chased after him. In another part of the haunted house, Izzy comforted Hitch, who was so worried for Sparky, by placing a hoof on his shoulder while Knuckles was on alert as he looked at his surroundings. "We'll never find my sweet little dragon baby!" Hitch cried out dramatically as Sparky appeared and sat on his hoof. "Oh, hey, Sparky," Izzy greeted with a smile. "Wait, what?" Hitch asked as he raised his glasses for a better look and saw Sparky in his hooves. "Oh, thank hoofness! Let's get out of here!" se called out to Izzy and Knuckles. "Please! I'm seriously on my nerves here," Knuckles said in a begging tone. "Going somewhere?" Tail's voice had a deep tone, and Knuckles immediately panicked as he, Hitch, and Izzy turned around to see Tail's Doll floating behind them. "T-T-Tails?!" Hitch asked with fright as he covered Sparky's eyes so he didn't see its red eyes. "That's not Tails... That's the actual Tails Doll!" Knuckles cried out. "Leave... NOW!" Tails Doll said with anger. His closed mouth revealed sharp teeth, and his fingers came out as claws. Knuckles, Hitch, and Izzy screamed in pure fright as they all started to run away while Tails Doll followed them. In another part of the haunted house, Zipp - still with Tails hugging her - and Sunny looked around for the others when Pipp arrived. "Did you ponies see––" Pipp tried to ask, but then she saw Tails scared as he hugged Zipp's neck. "Uh... what's the matter with him?" she asked, referring to Tails. "It's hard to explain," Zipp said as she blushed again. "Anyways. Did you ponies see Sparky?!" Pipp decided to ask frankly. "Uh, no," Zipp said, a bit confused. Sunny shook her head in no, and Tails replied a low 'no.' But then, they suddenly heard a scream as Misty - still with the white rag over her - passed by the mares and the fox, who finally lifted his head to see the 'ghost' running away as she screamed. "Huh, weird," Sunny said with a confused look. "Usually, ponies are the ones that run away from them," she pointed out with a little smile. And then, a giant gray hand with white fur on the wrist grabbed Tails and dragged him to the ceiling. "Whoa!" Zipp cried out as she felt Tail's hand getting out of her neck. She and the other looked up to find Tails scared as the hand dragged him to a dark alley before them. "Tails!" Zipp and Sunny cried out in fear, but Pipp just smiled sparklingly. "Isn't this fun?!" Pipp asked with excitement, thinking this was part of the act. But then, the hand returned as the Prussian blue arm extended and almost grabbed Pipp. "Pipp, watch out!" Zipp warned her, and Pipp saw the hand just in time to dodge it before it could grab her. The hand's claws nailed into the floor, chirping as the arms retracted to the dark alley. Then, a pair of green eyes opened in the alley and stared with rage at the three mares. Slowly, the figure walked on light to reveal himself as a Werehog, an actual werehog showing his sharp teeth to the mares, who looked at him in pure fright, even Pipp, unsure if this was part of the act anymore. Before the girls could say anything, the werehog roared at them angrily, and the mares screamed in fear and started to run away. Pipp then brought out her phone and continued her livestream, smiling forcefully at her viewers. "This is spooktacular!" she called out, a bit excited but still scared. She put her phone away, and then the three mares bumped into Hitch, Izzy, and Knuckles, and they all fell to the ground. "Ugh..." Zipp groaned as she got up. "Guys! We have to get out of here!" she panicked to the others. "We know!" Hitch cried out. And then, Tails Doll appeared behind Knuckles, Izzy, and Hitch with a smile that showed his sharp teeth, while the werehog stomped his feet on the ground behind Zipp, Sunny, and Pipp as he growled. They all screamed in fear and quickly ran towards the exit of the haunted house. But before they could reach the door, the werehog extended his arms and loudly closed the door. Then he jumped over the group and landed in front of them. Tails Doll appeared at his side, roaring at the group. They just screamed, terrified for a while, and hugged each other with closed eyes. But their screams stopped when they heard someone laughing. They opened their eyes slowly and found the werehog laughing a lot while Tails Doll stopped moving. Then, the werehog turned with a poof on Sonic, wearing his werehog costume, while the doll fell to the ground and was attached to some invisible wires. Tails also appeared with a poof and started to laugh as well. "W-What?!" Knuckles said in confusion. "Sonic? Tails?" he questioned. Sonic and Tails' laughs stopped as they smirked at the group. "You should've seen your faces!" Sonic said with a playful smirk. "They can!" Tails said with a smile, showing his phone with a picture of the others screaming in fear. "Oh, I'm uploading this!" he stated, quickly publishing the picture on his social media. "I-I don't get it..." Sunny said, confused. "D-Did you just made a prank on us?" she asked. "Oh, heck if we did it!" Sonic said with a chuckle. "Little Pipp wanted a good scare, so we did that exactly," he explained with a smile. "Since we had the costumes and resources to give the werehog and Tails Doll actual life, we decided to do it," Tails added. "But we didn't know how exactly until we saw some posters of this place," Sonic continued. "And when we saw you going inside, we knew it was time for action!" Tails finished. "Wait, so you two were the ones chasing us?" Hitch asked, a bit confused still. "Yup!" Sonic replied with a smirk. "All thanks to some of Tail's gadgets!" he pointed out as Tails snapped his fingers and made the doll of himself disappear. "So, what do you think?" Tails questioned with a smile. The other looked at each other in silence before laughing at the outcome. "You guys gave us a big scare tonight!" Zipp said with a smile. "Yeah! We were terrified!" Sunny added, smiling as well. "Oh boy, I needed this. A good chase always smiles at you," Knuckles said with a wide smile. "Let's do it again!" Izzy cheered excitedly. "Let's not," Hitch said with a nervous smile. He enjoyed it a bit but would rather not go through that again. "I love it!" Pipp cheered as she side-hugged both Sonic and Tails. "You guys got the message! This was spook-tacular!" she added. "I'm glad you guys like it," Sonic said with a smile as Pipp broke the hug. "Now, Tails, should we take this to the next level?" he asked with a grin. "Oh!" Tails stated with the same grin. "Say guys, are you up to do some... tricks around town?" he asked the others. The rest looked at each other for a moment before grinning back at Sonic and Tails as they all went out of the haunted house with laughs, ready to make the same prank with the werehog and Tails Doll around town. Misty made it to the front door, still wearing her ghost costume, and looked sad at another failed attempt to catch Sparky. "Three tickets, please!" Misty heard a filly's voice as she looked down and saw Seashell and her two friends beside her smiling. "Pipp said it was spook-tacular!" Seashell said while adding a spooky voice to it, having heard of the haunted house from Pipp's livestream. Misty then widened her eyes at many ponies waiting in line miles behind the fillies, having seen Pipp's livestream and wanting to see the haunted house. Misty grew nervous and started to sweat from this outcome. "What have I done?" she asked herself with worry, feeling like she would be busy the whole night. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 32. Baby Critters Club"Are you sure you're okay to critter-sit for us, Jazz?" Sunny asked, standing with the rest of the Mane 5 in front of the Brighthouse door, wearing fancy dresses, on their way to some party and looking at Jazz with concerned looks. "We don't have to go," she said with a little smile. "Oh, you ponies, enjoy your night out," Jazz said to them with a smile. "I'm sure these little floofs won't be a problem," she said with a cute tone while smiling at the critters, as they gave cute looks at Jazz with sparkling eyes. The pink bunnycorn, however, just gave a bored expression, which made the other critters give him a look as one of them nudged his shoulder. Now getting the picture, the bunnycorn gave a cute look with sparkling eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure you can handle it," Hitch said confidently to Jazz, with a smile approaching her side. "Just don't let McSnips-a-lot get a hold of anything sharp!" he sternly said, which scared Jazz a bit from Hitch's sudden seriousness. "And don't let them get into my marshmallow spread!" Zipp sternly pointed out. "Or poop in my craft corner! Again!" Izzy said irritatedly, which was weird because she was usually cheerful. "And most importantly, do... NOT... let them into the bedroom!" Pipp finished with a scary, most serious look to Jazz, not wanting the critters to be in their bedrooms to make a mess. Jazz started to sweat and looked around with a nervous smile. "McSnips-a-what?" she asked nervously while the Mane 5 looked at her unamusedly. "Do I have to?" Knuckles' voice spoke with concern, while Tails just walked towards the Mane 5, only wearing a black smoking and a red bowtie, and Sonic - wearing a light blue shirt, white smoking, and button-up shirt, and a red tie - pushed Knuckles towards the exit. The echidna wore a white button-up shirt, brown smoking, black tie, and regular white gloves instead of his usual boxing ones. "We all accessed to do this, Knucklehead, so don't back up right now!" Sonic stated with a frown. "Sorry to get a bit late, but Knuckles didn't wanted to put on the freaking tie" Tails explained a bit concerned. "I hate it, okay?" Knuckles confessed. "This thing is crushing my neck; I feel like I could explode at any second!" he exclaimed dramatically. "Just ignore him, and we'll be fine," Sonic said with a bored expression, then walked towards Jazz. "Also, Floppy's probably the only critter around that's gonna hear you and obey," he whispered to her with a proud smile. "My baby is very well trained," he added with a wink, walking out of the Brighthouse, followed by Tails and a grumpy Knuckles. "Think that's it! Come on! We're going to be late!" Pipp called out with a smile as the rest of the Mane 5 did the same, and they all followed Team Sonic out of the Brighthouse. Pipp popped her head back inside and smiled at Jazz. "Thanks so much for doing this, Jazz! Just put the critters to bed, and you'll be fine! Byeeeee!" she said quickly, waving at Jazz before closing the door to catch up with the others. Jazz was left in the middle of the Brighthouse, unsure what to say after the Mane 5 and Team Sonic left. "Well... that should all be easy enough. Eh, critters?" she asked, turning to the critter’s section, but then her eyes widened in shock as she realized the critters were not there. "Uh, critters? Don't be scared. It's just me, Jazz," she said as she looked through the houses of the critters but then heard clicking sounds. "Huh?" she asked, looking around, not knowing the critters were moving around in the shadows. "Hey, come on, critters. It's bedtime. Where are you—?" She tried to ask but then screamed as she ducked to an incoming raccoonicorn, who was laughing while swinging on a ceiling decoration. "Huh?" Jazz asked herself. She turned and gasped as she saw the bunnycorns jumping on the couch while laughing. "Whoa! What?!" she cried, then ducked again at two birds flying at high speed while squawking. "Down from there!" she called out to the birds and saw a pegasnail clicking on the TV remote as it kept changing the channel. "Stop that!" she scolded the snail. McSnips then came crawling by with a fork and a plate of cake. Jazz gasped and trotted to catch McSnips while panting, and then McSnips clamped at the side of the wall as Jazz looked up at him. "Where'd you get a birthday cake?!" she asked in disbelief, and then the cake fell off his plate, landed on Jazz’s face, and slipped off, making the earth pony stylish to give a bored expression. Jazz then looked at the ground in shock. She saw the bunnycorns laughing while playing with what was left of the cake, which made even more mess. "No!" Jazz called out irritatedly while the critters stopped, leaving the Brighthouse like a mess. "I promised the ponies I'd put you to bed! Time to settle down!" she scolded them, but then the critters continued their havoc as they laughed while making even more messes, and Jazz sighed at this outcome. A raccoonicorn bit on a pillow and shook it around in its mouth with some stuffing coming out. McSnips threw a knife at a cake with a Pipp sculpture pose on top, and the knife slice sliced the legs. McSnips walked off, while the Pipp sculpture fell off the cake and onto the table with a splat. The birds flew around while squawking, and they flew by a shelf that nearly made one plant pot fall off, but Jazz caught it just in time. "Whoa! Hey!" she cried out as she caught a pillow tossed at her. "This is way too much energy!" she said with worry, arriving with the pegasnail that was still flipping the channels on the TV, giving a nervous smile. "Hey, who wants a nice hot cocoa?" she asked nervously. "Hmm?" she exclaimed in panic, seeing the raccoonicorns laughing and going upstairs. "No! No! Not upstairs!" Jazz cried out. She tried to chase after them but then slipped on the spilled destroyed sculpture of Pipp from the cake and fell on a piece of cake face. Jazz got up and shook the cake off her face, then gasped when she saw the rest of the critters going upstairs. They laughed, and she chased after them. "Not the bedroom!" she called out to them. Once Jazz reached the bedroom, she opened the doors and gave off an even worried look. She saw the raccoonicorns, one on top the other, wearing Zipp's Z-Goggles, then they crashed into the closet door that opened up and a bunch of stuff fell on them. Jazz looked down and gasped in shock when she saw the birds singing in one of Pipp’s music stations. Jazz gasped again as she screamed when she saw the pegasnails trailing glitter on Izzy's bed from the jar of glitter. They laughed. "No-no-no-no-no-no-no!" Jazz cried out in panic, picking up a magazine of Pipp from the floor. "Hey, critters! Who wants a sleepy bedtime story?" she called out to the critters, while two of them came up with squeaks and looked at her with sparkling eyes. "Awww…" Jazz cooed at the critters, but then a bunnycorn laughed and launched itself to the magazine, snatching it from Jazz’s hooves and ripping it to shreds while Jazz sighed and put her head down. "Come on! Ugh!" she groaned with a face hoof and grabbed her head. As she tried to think of a way to get the critters under control, she saw them laughing and playing around Sonic's side of the room. She also saw some racconicorns juggling the Chaos Emeralds at Tail's side of the room and even a pegasnail messing with Knuckle's side of the room with glitter. Jazz smirked, now with a plan in her mind. "Okay... How about a nice relaxing lullaby?" she approached Kenneth and grabbed his microphone. "Give me that!" she angrily called out, having enough of the critters' misbehavior, and got into a tug-a-war with Kenneth as she grunted in the effort, but Kenneth was surprisingly stronger since he won the tug, and he and Jazz were pushed back from each other. "Aah!" Jazz cried out as she crashed into the closet, having a pile of stuff fall over her. Then, the two bunnycorns looked at Sunny's Alicorn mirror as one of them looked at their reflection. "Ooh…" the yellow one said as it clicked a button. The mirror turned on and showed Opaline curling her mane and wearing a face mask. "What? Who is this? Is this a prank call?!" she questioned as she couldn’t see the bunnycorns at all. They gave a confused look at this and looked at each other. "When I find out who you are...!" Opaline warned, but then the bunnycorns tossed the mirror away before she could finish. McSnips started ripping pictures of the Mane 5 with his claws on Pipp's bed. Jazz popped her head out of the pile and gasped in shock at the critters, making an even bigger mess as they laughed. She saw the pegasnails making a trail of glitter on the walls and on Zipp’s poster, two bunnycorns pillow fighting each other, the birds singing on the microphone, a raccoonicorn and a pegasnail spilling the glitter on the floor around the room, and a bunnycorn pooping on Izzy’s crafting desk next to her bed. "UGH!" Jazz groaned as she flopped to the floor. "I'm not a pet sitter! I'm a stylist!" she cried out. At that moment, Floppy arrived at her side to nuzzle her for comfort, and Jazz smiled a bit. "Aww," she said to the little bunny. In case you're wondering, he was trying to get some sleep, but all the noise the other critters were causing didn't help at all. "Sonic was right; you are behaving yourself," Jazz told the bunny with a smile. She then turned and saw a raccoonicorn climbing Pipp's bed and jumping on a pile of stuff. Then he returned with a hat, two sunglasses, and a yellow scarf. The raccoonicorn laughed at this style and liked it. Jazz got back up, and she gasped, having an idea that might work. "I'm a stylist!" she said cheerfully, picking up a mask from the pile as the critters looked at her. "Okay, so I guess you critters aren't ready to sleep, huh? Well, I'll be doing some super-fun makeovers downstaaiirs!" she sang the last word as she walked downstairs with a smirk, and Floppy immediately followed her. The critters looked at each other momentarily before they laughed and followed Jazz out of the room. A bit later, Jazz placed some makeover supplies on the ground while the critters ran towards her, shrugging at each other because they didn't know what to do. Jazz, wearing sunglasses, a hat, and a scarf, held up her makeover supplies on her hooves. Mane 5: We'll party, party, party, oh yeah Sunny: Kickin' off this party, all my ponies feelin' great Pipp: Manes right, looks tight Mane 5: We might glow the roof off this place! Jazz did a little makeover on a pegasnail, making a little brush on its shell and a gem on its shell and giving her eyelashes on its eyes. The pegasnail smiled at her new look as she flew. Critters then smile with sparkling eyes, finding the look on that pegasnail great and wanting to try it out. Hitch: You know it's gonna rain G-L-I-double-T-E-R Jazz then placed some face masks on the raccoonicorns, and they cheered at her. Izzy: When we're movin' these hooves like we're ClipTrot stars! Jazz sprayed on the birds, wearing tuxedos, and Kenneth wore a matching hat. Then, she placed some face makeovers on the raccoonicorns with a smile as the raccoonicorns posed at their new hairdos, wearing neck chains on their necks as well. Jazz then smiled as she held up a rug. "You critters are killin' it!" she announced as she unrolled the rug on the floor to make a style stage path. "Mmm! Work that scuttle, critter girl!" she called out to the critters with a microphone on her hoof. A raccoonicorn walked down the path of the rug with a robe around it as it twirled and unwrapped itself to show the other raccoonicorns stacked together to make them taller as they squeaked together. "What a reveal!" Jazz said with a smile. Then, McSnips appeared, his claws blue with starfish pictures on them. He held two pink clothes in his claws as he twirled around. "McSnips-a-lot is serving claws! Work it! The glamor! The talent!" Jazz announced, but then realized something from the clothes McSnips was holding. "Are those curtains?" she asked herself as she turned and saw a window with pink shredded curtains. "Yikes!" she cried out nervously, making a list of how to fix that before the Mane 5 and Team Sonic returned. Sometime later, a pegasnail, a bunnycorn, and Floppy posed at the cameras to take their pictures, with the former having a hat on its shell, the latter wearing a cape, and Floppy using a black top hat and a monocle. "Beachwear!" Jazz announced while a raccoonicorn and two birds were wearing beach wear, and the raccoonicorn held a beach ball. "Formal glamor!" Jazz announced again as the critters formed a fashion line while they stroke poses. "High fashion!” Jazz announced again as the critters stacked their fashion style on as they smiled. Jazz then smiled at the critters around her. "Everycritter says, 'Gorgeous'!" Jazz cheered, and the critters cheered as well, with Jazz’s phone facing them. Then she took a picture of them in their fashion clothing. Later that night, Zipp opened the Brighthouse's doors with a smile. "Hey, Jazz! We're back," Zipp called out to Jazz as the Mane 5 and Team Sonic walked back inside, Sunny laughing along the way. The whole group gasped when they saw the critters sleeping in their section, completely exhausted after the fashion clothing. "Oh, you're home already?" Jazz asked with a smile as the Mane 5, and Team Sonic turned and saw her sitting on the couch while reading a book. Pipp smiled at Jazz as she walked towards her. "You would not believe the evening we've had!" she said excitedly. "It was a fun night after all," Knuckles confessed with a smile. "Says the guy who didn't want to leave at first," Sonic said mockingly, pushing Knuckles on his arm with a smirk. Hitch smiled at the sleeping critters. "Wow, you got all the critters to go to bed?" Izzy gasped in awe while Zipp looked on. "That's a first," she said, surprised, as Zipp smiled at Izzy and nodded in agreement. "That's impressive... we barely can make them listen," Tails pointed out impressed. "I just did my best!" Jazz said with a smile. "We knew you'd be able to get them under control," Sunny said to Jazz with a smile while Pipp walked upstairs. "Maybe we should do this more often," she added while placing a hoof on Jazz and winking at her. And then, Pipp screamed loud enough for everyone in the Brighthouse to hear her, as all the others gasped at her screaming and raced upstairs. Pipp screamed in shock once she saw the bedroom in a complete mess. The others came to Pipp's side and gasped at the sight of their room in a complete mess as they turned to Jazz in a shocked state. "Huh?" Izzy asked confused. "Uh... Jazz? Did the critters get out of control and make a mess here?" Sonic asked in a shocked tone. Jazz looked at the Mane 5 and Team Sonic nervously, and she gave a nervous laugh. "We... might've hit a few snags along the way?" she answered, uncertain how to put it. She did manage to clean up the Brighthouse, but the bedroom was so messed up that she didn’t have enough time to clean it up before the others arrived. "I wanna say so many things, and none are rated E for Everyone..." Knuckles said with an anxious expression. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 33. Filly FillingTeam Sonic was at the Brighthouse bedroom, with Tails using a gizmo he made up to scan Chaos Energy around. He was looking out for the Chaos Emeralds Eggman had. With some luck, he could track down their location and attack him and Opaline without them even seeing the attack coming, but so far, there was no sign of them. "Still nothing, Tails?" Sonic asked with concern. "No..." Tails replied with worry. "I can't believe Eggman found out a way to restore the Emeralds he has! Now he could power his machines with a non-dying battery and Chaos Energy!" he pointed out with worry. "It's also a good thing because we don't have to worry about restoring them anymore..." Knuckles tried to sound optimistic. "Yet again, is Eggman we're talking about, so..." he admitted with a frown. "Thanks for trying anyway, Tails," Sonic said with an honest smile. "Ever since I felt my connection with those two restored, I felt bad. Thank Chaos; nothing bad has happened so far, but still..." he worriedly added. "Yeah... Eggman is always bad news, and many things happened that same day," Tails pointed out. "Sparky went missing, the Metals were defeated once and for all, you got a big scar on your back, and your connection with the Chaos Emeralds increased..." he listed. "And he got to be all alone with Pipp," Knuckles added mockingly. Just like he expected, Sonic blushed completely, but not for the reason he thought. Even if they've been trying to act normal and chill around each other, for the last 3 weeks, Sonic and Pipp have been avoiding each other because of the kiss that happened that day. None of them were mad, but they felt completely awkward when they were too close, especially when left alone. None of the others knew about their sudden kiss, and it's been almost two months since it happened, but every time someone brings up that day, the fact that they were alone more precisely, they always avoid the subject and try to come up with anything else. Why were they hiding it? They knew the others would mock them for years if they could, so they wanted to keep it hidden as much as possible. And right now, Sonic needed to avoid the subject. "N-Now, just look at the time!" he said with a sheepish smile, looking at the watch in his hand. "T-The others need our help with the pumpkins, remember?" he said with a very nervous chuckle. "G-Gotta go fast!" he stated, boosting out of there before Tails or Knuckles could question him. "... He does know these watches can't show the hour, right?" Knuckles questioned Tails with a raised eyebrow. "I believe so," Tails stated with a suspicious look. Sunny, Sparky, and Hitch were running from something as the two ponies, except for Sparky, screamed in panic at a hilltop. "Ruuuuun! Pumpkin-lanche!" Sunny cried out as she and Hitch screamed, while Sparky cheered as they ran down the hill with several giant pumpkins rolling after them. Sunny and Hitch turned back and saw the giant pumpkins closing in on them, making them scream at the sight as they ran faster down the hill. The pumpkins finally stopped, with some splatting around the hill, while Sunny and Hitch, with Sparky on his hooves, popped their heads up from the piles, having some pumpkin guts on them as Sparky laughed a bit. A little bit later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic regrouped as Izzy and Knuckles chased Sparky around to play while Zipp, Pipp, Hitch, Sunny, Sonic, and Tails looked at the amounts of pumpkins. "Good season for pumpkins this year. If anything, a bit too good," Hitch commented with a concerned tone. Sonic, who was sitting over a pumpkin, groaned, frustrated. "For once! Can we, like, for once, not have any problem? I don't care if it's magic or Eggman-related; give me a break already!" he screamed, smashing his head against the pumpkin he was sitting on. "You didn't get your daily fill of chilidogs, did you?" Tails asked with a bored expression. "No," Sonic replied. "That's explains it all..." Tails said, facepalming with frustration. "What do you even do with this many pumpkins?" Zipp asked, getting back on topic. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked her sister next to her. "I don’t know," Pipp answered. But I can ask my followers," she said with a smile, twirling her phone before answering it. Zipp raised an eyebrow at Pipp. "Any ideas... of your own?" she asked while giving Pipp a look. Pipp stopped and frowned at her sister after hearing what she had heard. "Um, what’s that supposed to mean?" she asked with an offended look. "You’re always asking the Pippsqueaks for help," Zipp answered, then smirked. "Maybe you should try trusting yourself to come up with an idea occasionally," she added. Pipp grew nervous at this, smiling nervously at Zipp. "Um… easy!" she said with a nervous chuckle. "I can think of one right now. Right now. And it’s coming up. Idea coming up. Any minute. Here we go!" she stammered while Zipp rolled her eyes at her sister. "And, uh…." she thought momentarily but couldn’t think of anything, growing more nervous. Sonic would try to cheer her up at a moment like this, but the simple idea of getting close to her after that made him back up completely, which didn't pass unnoticed by Tails, Sunny, and Hitch. "Guys, is it just me, or Sonic has been... avoiding Pipp lately?" Sunny asked the other two. "Oh, thank Chaos!" Tails exclaimed. "I was worried that I just got crazy or something because he is avoiding her," he explained with concern. "And not only him," Hitch added. "I've seen Pipp avoiding him as well," he said with worry. Pipp, Sonic, Tails, and Sunny were baking some of the treats they used for Nightmare Night, but as soon as Sonic and Pipp bumped into each other accidentally and looked at each other, their faces turned completely red, and they just kept going as if nothing happened at all. Tails and Sunny watched that and raised an eyebrow at the scene. Then, Pipp was at Mane Melody doing Hitch's mane, while Rocky styled Sonic's hairstyle differently. But once Sonic stood up to leave, he crossed his sight with Pipp's again, and their faces became fully red... again. "Nope!" Sonic said, immediately walking away from her. "Neighway!" Pipp said, also walking away from Sonic. Hitch saw this and looked at them with concern and confusion. And then, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were all at the Brighthouse having a 'Just Prance' dance-off battle, with Sonic and Pipp winning over the rest. However, once it was their turn for the grand finale, they once again blushed, but they couldn't just ignore each other as always, so they improvised. "I-I need to see Jazz at Mane Melody!" Pipp shouted nervously. "I need to finish playing Metroid Dread!" Sonic shouted at the same time. Not waiting for a reply, they both ran out of the living room, confusing all the others. "Yeah, those two are avoiding the other," Knuckles concluded, joining the conversation soon enough. At the same time, he frowned at Sonic, who was pretending to do something on a pumpkin, and he avoided even looking at Pipp. Suddenly, Sparky sneezed and released one of his dragon fires, which hit a pumpkin and turned it into a carriage, like in a fairy tale. The others looked at it in awe while Izzy picked Sparky up in her hooves and smiled. "Oh! Great idea, Sparky!" she said to the baby dragon, which giggled in response. "Everypony loves a pumpkin carriage!" she added with a smile. "Reminds me of fairy tales from back home," Tails smirked. Hitch, however, thought otherwise. "Uh, except, as Maretime Bay Bylaw 927 clearly states, 'No vehicles can be made from vegetables'!" he said while reading through his rule book, earning weird looks from his friends, even Sparky. "What? I don’t make the laws," he defended himself. "Don't get me started on the 'No earth pony magic' rule you made on my first day as your deputy, Hitch," Knuckles warned with a bored expression while Hitch chuckled sheepishly. The others didn’t know that Pipp checked the pumpkin carriage as she flew around and went inside it. Except for Sonic, who still looked at her no matter how hard he tried not to. "Ooh! These pumpkins are super-luxe!" Pipp said, finding the inside of the pumpkin carriage amazing as she took out her phone to take selfies in the carriage. Hitch then walked up to the carriage with the others, and Sparky followed him. "Luckily, Sparky can turn that carriage back, easy as pie," he said with a proud smile towards Sparky, while said baby dragon giggled while waving his paws. "Of course!" Sunny announced, now having an idea thanks to what Hitch just said. "Let’s make these pumpkins into giant pies and have a pie-eating contest!" she announced, finding great use of these pumpkins as her friends smiled at the idea. "Sounds good to me," Sonic said with a smile. "After all, we cannot use them as Hallow—– I mean, Nightmare Night decorations," he quickly corrected himself. "Sorry, I'm still trying to get used to pony names for our festivities..." he confessed, scratching his head embarrassed. Meanwhile, Pipp kept taking selfies in the pumpkin carriage, striking poses as she clicked on her phone to take the pictures. "Ooh. Sounds like a piece of cake!" Izzy said, placing her hooves on her face with sparkling eyes. "Or a slice of pie. Either way, it sounds delicious!" she said with a smile as she, Sunny, Zipp, and Team Sonic ran off to set up the contest. Hitch picked up Sparky and aimed him at the pumpkin carriage. Sparky released his dragon fire, which began changing back to a regular pumpkin. Pipp, who was still inside the pumpkin carriage, noticed the change. "Whoa! What’s happening!?" she asked herself, startled, while the carriage started to turn back into a pumpkin. Then, Hitch ran off to catch up with the others with Sparky in his hooves. "Why is it all pumpkiny in here?" Pipp asked, trapped inside the pumpkin. The inside was now full of seeds and pumpkin guts with some on her, and she tried to push her way out but couldn't. "Hello?! Anyone?! Hello?!" Pipp asked any of her friends if they could hear her but got no response, and then she gasped with an idea. "My Pippsqueaks!" she said, taking out her phone to send a message to her Pippsqueaks to help her. But before Pipp could turn her phone on, she thought of what Zipp had just told her. "You're always asking the Pippsqueaks for help…" the thought as Zipp’s voice echoed through her mind. Pipp then scowled at that thought, looking back at her phone. "No, wait! I can do this myself," she said determinedly, putting her phone away. "Zipp is wrong. I don't always need my fans. I am perfectly capable of—Whooooaaaa!" she cried out as her pumpkin began to roll. Outside the pumpkin, Hitch was rolling it as he started to whistle, not hearing Pipp's cries inside. Later, at the Brighthouse, Izzy and Tails made a bunch of pumpkin pies; Izzy started scattering and singing, tossing a spoon in the air as it landed in a bowl, and she twirled around. Then, the front doors opened as Hitch came in, looking slightly out of breath from rolling the giant pumpkin. "That's the last one of 'em, guys," he told Izzy and Tails, sweating a bit as he placed the pumpkin. Tails then looked at the bot Izzy made, her 'Breakfast Bot,' which she kept. "Alright, Froggy McBakertons. Let's make some pies!" he announced to the bot, now named Froggy, as he started to turn on and headed to the pumpkins, specifically to the one where she was trapped. Later on, the Mane 5, sins Pipp, and Team Sonic set up the pumpkin pie contest, with Jazz and Rufus sitting on the stage, while Sunny and Izzy stood at the side as ponies around them ate pies while chatting to each other. An earth pony even got bloated by eating so many pies, and he burped with ponies looking down at him strangely. "This was a very good idea," Tails said with a smile as he ate a slice of pie. "By the way, where's Pipp?" he questioned. "I don't know," Zipp said, sitting with him on a table. "I'm starting to get worried about her," she confessed. "Hmm..." Tails muttered as he rubbed his chin. Then he looked at Sonic, who ate his pie peacefully. "Hey, Sonic, can you look for her?" he asked with an analytical look. Sonic spilled his pie away and looked at all places as he started to sweat. "I-I got to feed Floppy! BYE!" he shouted, running away from there. "Okay, that's it!" Tails said with anger. "After the festival, we're interrogating those two and making them spill what the heck is wrong with them!" he stated. "Agreed," Zipp said with a frown. "I'll get Sunny and Izzy to interrogate Pipp; you take Hitch and Knuckles to make Sonic speak as well," she instructed, with Tails nodding in agreement. "It's the final round in Maretime Bay's first annual pie-eating contest! Just two ponies remain," Sunny called out to the crowd, pointing at Rufus and Jazz, the former doing some stretches while the latter was filing her hooves, with each having smirks on their faces. "Bring on the pies!" she announced. Izzy pulled a lever as the conveyor belt brought out two giant pies. "Mm-mmm! Freshly baked! Final pies of the day!" she announced while the two pies came up before the contestants. Inside Jazz's giant pie, Pipp, who surprisingly survived Botty’s cooking while baked into a pie, heard Sunny’s announcement. "Ugh! I never thought I'd ever be in a pie-eating competition! And certainly not as the pie!" she squeals in worry, shaking her head in panic. "I gotta get out of here!" she cried, tapping her hooves at the pie crust to break out, but it wouldn’t budge as some crumbs fell off. "Oh, no! It's a thick crust!" Pipp cried out, sweating nervously. Outside the pie, Sunny got in front of the two contestants. "The first pony to finish their pie wins! Ready..." Sunny said with a smirk as Rufus got into stand-ready. "Set…" she kept going. "Looks delicious," Jazz said with an exciting smile at her pie as she placed her hooves at her cheeks with sparkling eyes. "... EAT!" Sunny announced as Rufus and Jazz started to eat their pies. Inside the pie, Pipp saw Jazz chomping through the crust and began to get even more nervous. "Jazz! No! Stop! DON'T EAT ME!" she called out through the pie as she groaned, startling Jazz as she stopped and backed away a bit. Pipp moved back and forth in the pie while the ponies around saw this and grew nervous. Then, Pipp got her eyes through the holes Jazz chomped through and got her legs out from under the pie, making the ponies around to scream and run off, while Pipp jumped off the stand and began to run away. "Uh, what is going on?" Hitch asked anypony in confusion, a little scared of their panic until he saw something. "What the heck?!" Knuckles cried out in shock at his side as they both saw the ponies running in fright while Pipp stomped around the contest, making thudding sounds. "Aah! Zombie pie! A 'zom-pie'!" Hitch cried out in shock and fright. "... 'Zom-pie'? Seriously?" Knuckles questioned with a bored expression. Posey then came out of a tent with a raised eyebrow. "Zom-pie?" she asked in confusion, having heard Hitch until she bumped into the Pie-trapped Pipp and looked in shock. Pipp turned around as she felt the bump and saw Posey. "Posey? Is that you?" she asked through the pie. Posey then screamed and pointed at Pipp. "ZOM-PIEEEEE!" she screamed out in fright, jumping on the table and running away, while Pipp crashed into the table as she gave chase. Pipp followed a couple of ponies while hitting one of the pumpkins, breaking it in the process, then hitting the balloons as they flew away. The ponies ran around the contest while Rufus was still eating his giant pie, and Izzy just looked around the place while Pipp, in the pie, continued to run around. "Run! Run for your lives, everypony!" Hitch screamed in panic, although he wasn't moving at all. Zipp flew near to Hitch and gave him a strange look. "Uh, Hitch? You're not going to get far on that, buddy," she said while pointing down at Hitch. Hitch looked down at where Zipp was pointing, seeing that he was on the conveyor belt as he kept running. "Oh, yeah! Good call!" he thanked Zipp for pointing that out, getting down and clearing his throat. "Run for your lives! Zombie pie!" he cried out as he ran off. "Hitch! You're supposed to be the sheriff!" Knuckles yelled, following him. "Instead of running away, find a way to stop it!" he pointed out. "Hitch! Knuckles! Wait up!" Pipp called out to them from in the pie, running past Zipp and following after Hitch and Knuckles. "The pie knows our names!" Hitch cried out in fright as he ran faster. "Stop acting like a baby!" Knuckles complained. "Hey... I've seen that hooficure before…" Zipp said, seeing the hooficure style of the pie, then her eyes widened in realization. "Pipp?! That you?!" she asked out to the trapped pony in shock. "Wait, Pipp?!" Sonic called out, arriving out of nowhere. "You're telling me that pie is Pipp?!" he questioned Zipp with an anxious look. "Apparently!" Zipp said with worry. Not willing to hear anything else, Sonic ran off and followed Pipp at high speed while chasing Hitch and Knuckles. Suddenly, she slipped on some pumpkin substance and started rolling on the side of the pie. "Whoa-whooaaaaa!" she cried out, starting to roll. Hitch screamed in fright as she caught up to him and Knuckles. "Knuckles!" Sonic's voice spoke from the watch. "Take Hitch out of the way! NOW!" he ordered. Knuckles turned around and saw Sonic running behind Pipp. Sonic looked determined as the echidna smirked. "You don't have to tell me twice!" he replied, grabbing Hitch ducking for cover behind a table. The ponies close to them screamed as they ran off to get out of the rolling pie's way as Pipp kept rolling. Then, the pie hit a tree, making it stop and crack as the crust broke into pieces. Zipp and Sonic came next to the pie as Pipp got out of the crumble crust, looking dizzy from the rolling and messy from the inside of the pie. The ponies around, even Hitch, looked on in shock to realize Pipp was inside that pie. "Whoa! Some entrance!" Izzy said with a cheery smile, thinking that was a great entrance. Sonic pulled her out carefully, then checked her around, making Pipp blush completely. "Are you okay?! Did you get hurt in there?! How many fingers am I lifting?!" Sonic asked her in a worried tone, not showing the slightest sign of embarrassment and lifting two fingers. Pipp couldn't say anything, so she only shook her head in 'no', while Sonic sighed in relief. "Thank Chaos, you're not hurt..." he said, smiling at her. "Wait, you've been stuck in that pie?" Zipp asked her sister as she approached Sonic and Pipp, who shook the pie contents off her. "Why didn't you ask for help?" Zipp asked her with concern. "Oh, I don't know," Pipp started as she looked at Zipp before turning her back to her. "Maybe because somepony thinks I'm always asking for help?" she sarcastically frowned while Sonic stood back to give the sisters some space. "Ooooh. Ouch," Zipp cringed while placing a hoof at her chest. "Pipp, I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I didn't think—" she tried apologizing, but Pipp cut her off. "It's okay, Zipp," Pipp said to her sister before turning to her with a forgiving smile. "See? I got out by myself after all. With no help," she stated with a smirk. Zipp chuckled at her sister with a smile. "Yeah, you did," she said, giving her sister a light punch on the shoulder for her effort. "No other pony could have ever pulled off an idea like that," she said, proudly smiling at her sister. "Yup!" Pipp cheered as she sighed. "Big ideas are my thing," she added, gesturing to herself. This caused the sisters to laugh as their Cutie Marks started to shine. Sonic couldn't help but chuckle as well at the sight. He still felt a bit uncomfortable around her, but he was totally glad she was okay, so at least he would try and talk to her as he used to before that happened, no matter how hard it could be. Meanwhile, at the stage, Rufus finished eating the last piece of his giant pie, ignoring what had happened as he focused on the contest. "And…" he then ate the last piece as he belched. "... finished," he said, rubbing his belly from the giant pie. Sunny got up a bit, looking a little dirty from the chaos Pipp had made and dizzy. "Uh, I declare Rufus the winner of Maretime Bay's first... and last... pie-eating competition!" she declared Rufus, the winner, then flopped on the floor, passing out as Pipp approached her with worry. "Huh?!" Jazz asked in shock at what Sunny said. "No fair! My pie escaped!" she cried while Pipp looked at her sheepishly before backing away, knowing she wouldn't talk about this ever again. After cleaning up the whole mess, the four mares returned to the Crystal Brighthouse. Once Pipp, Sunny, and Izzy were inside, Zipp immediately closed and locked the Brighthouse's doors. "Huh?" the other three mares exclaimed confused. Zipp made a sign with her hoof, indicating that Sunny and Izzy should stand at her side. "Alright, Pipp. It's time to talk about the elephant in the room," she instructed. "What elephant?" Izzy asked, confused, while Sunny's face hoofed and Zipp rolled her eyes. "I'm with Izzy on this one. What elephant?" Pipp questioned. "Pipp, we're not blind," Sunny said with a bored expression. "You've been avoiding Sonic for weeks now," she explained. That made Pipp panic again, as she started to sweat and blush. "Can you please tell us what's going on with you two? Because Sonic is also avoiding you," Zipp pointed out with concern. Pipp gulped, looking around to try and save herself from this, but she knew it wouldn't happen. "W-Well... t-the thing is..." she said nervously. At the exact same time, Hitch, Tails, and Knuckles were at the station asking Sonic the same questions. Sonic blushed at the question of why he was avoiding Pipp, but he also looked at his friends with a bored expression. "Pipp kissed me after she healed me the day Sparky disappeared," Sonic confessed. The other three stared at him for a few seconds, speechless. For a very short amount of seconds, that is. "SHE DID WHAT?!" the three of them shouted in disbelief. Sonic rolled his eyes at their attitude. "Go on, shout it more so everyone can hear us," he said sarcastically. Tails then punched Knuckles on his stomach when the echidna opened his mouth. "Sorry, Knux, but I know you take this stuff too literally," he told the echidna. "Dude, that happened almost 2 months ago!" Hitch pointed out. "This is very big!" he added with a little smile. "Why didn't you say anything?!" Knuckles questioned. "Because you guys were going to mock me till dead with the matter, and Pipp never mentioned it, so I assumed we were both going to act like it never happened..." Sonic explained. "You kissed him, Pipp!" Zipp cried out to her sister since Pipp had already told the whole thing. "You cannot just pretend that it never happened and hope everything will still be the same!" she pointed out. "Yeah, I realized that too late," Pipp confessed with shame. "It was easy at first; we were still the same," she explained. "But it got awkward after a while..." Sonic also explained to the guys. "We could barely see each other in our eyes, and... we decided to avoid each other..." he finished. "For a guy who loves to run towards his problems, I didn't expect you, of all people, to avoid a situation like this," Hitch said with a smirk. Sonic looked at him with a bored expression. "If Sunny did the same to you, whatever intentions she could have by doing it aside, would you still look at her as usual? Could you barely see her in her eyes or talk to her like you used to?" he questioned. Hitch blushed at the idea but scratched his head, not knowing what to reply. "That's what I thought," Sonic said. "Still, avoiding the situation is going to make it worse," Sunny pointed out. "Hoping everything will be the same after a while doesn't work, Pipp," she added with concern. "Sunny's right. If you want to solve this, talk to him," Zipp said. "Otherwise, you two will grow apart until you become strangers," she explained. Pipp looked at them with sadness and worry. She wanted to talk with Sonic, but it was hard, and she wasn't sure how to do it exactly. "Just... take your time if that's what you need, Pipp. But the sooner you clear this up with him, the better," Zipp told her with a smile, placing her hoof on her shoulder. Pipp finally smiled after a while. "Thanks, girls... I... I will think about it," she promised. "Man, I'm not a love expert, but I know that avoiding her will make everything worse," Knuckles pointed out with a frown. "And your relationship with her will decrease to the point that you don't even know each other anymore," Tails added with concern. Sonic frowned at them because he knew they were right, but he didn't want to hear it. "Try to talk with her, okay?" Hitch suggested with a smile. "Clear this up so you two can stop acting so childish," he added mockingly, smirking. Sonic looked at him with a bored expression but eventually smirked as well. "I'll think about it, guys. And thank you, I think talking about this helped me," he confessed. "Anytime, dude," Tails said with a smile. "But don't expect us not to mock you with this," Knuckles warned with a grin. "Oh, shut it, Knucklehead," Sonic said with a frown. He walked out of the station, leaving the other three laughing. However, Sonic himself smiled eventually because he knew everything would work out well in the end. THE END...? Author's Note I didn't wanted the kiss thing to just be thrown on the window. I know in real life, if something like this happened, the two parts would absolutely avoid each other as much as they can, and I wanted to portray that here. Also, I don't know if it would be on the next one or on 35 where Sonic and Pipp decide to finally talk properly about this. Guess you'll have to wait and see :) P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 35. Making a Meal of ItAt the Brighthouse, Sparky was setting up a heart-shaped Wreath based on the fall season on the door. Then Pipp suddenly opened the door quickly, and Sparky was knocked off balance and into a bush beside him. "Alright, ponies!" Pipp called out in panic as she came inside the Brighthouse. "Mom’s gonna be here for Harvest & Hugs Day any minute," she pointed out, pulling out a pink paper clipboard. "Are we all set?" she asked with a serious expression. "Izzy! Tea!" Izzy settled up her tea set on a flower stack with the teapots stacked on top and the tea cups on the bottom in a great way. "Check!" Izzy smiled as Knuckles stood at her side with his thumbs up. He was wearing black smocks and sunglasses since he would play the part of a butler. "Carrot Cake!" Pipp called out the next thing. "Check!" Sunny and Tails called out. Sunny held the carrot cake while Tails was a bit covered in frosting. The two friends smiled and wore pink and blue aprons. "Check…" Zipp said in a tired and dull tone, holding a spoon and a pink apron while Sunny smiled at her. "You look adorable on that thing," Tails muttered and winked at her, which caused Zipp to blush and chuckle nervously. "Ceremonial red carpet?!" Pipp called out again. Hitch was setting the carpet in the right place with an eye-zoom-in lens to ensure it was at the perfect spot. "Check!" he answered with a smile. "Totes emote harvest music?" Pipp asked as she brought out her phone to play harvest music. "Check!" she said to herself with a smile. "Speakers?!" she called out once again. Then, a blue blur suddenly passed, and Sonic appeared with a smirk, lying on the giant pink speakers that Pipp had asked for. "Check!" he called out with a wink. Pipp smiled and blushed, then she got in front of Sparky, who got out of the bush and cleaned some dirt off him. "And Sparky, you have the honor of blowing this when Mom arrives," she said to Sparky as she gave him a trumpet. Sparky smiled and inhaled, then blared at the trumpet, but his face got a little red as he flopped to the floor, out of breath from blowing too hard. Pipp turned to the others and started to panic even more, her mane getting slightly concerned as she gave a panicked smile. "So just make sure everything's perfect, times it by a million, and then make it even more perfect than that! Okay, great!" she said nervously as she started to sweat and break down while biting on her hooves. "Pipp, why are you so nervous?" Sunny asked in concern as she placed the carrot cake on the counter. "It's just Queen Haven. She's been here many times," Tails pointed out with a smile. "No offense for this, Zipp, but I can expect you to get nervous by just talking to her," Sonic said with a neutral expression. "However, I don't understand it from you, Little Pipp," he also told her with concern. Zipp then approached Sunny and Sonic, looking nervous and sweating. "Harvest and Hugs Day is, like, a weirdly big deal in Zephyr Heights, especially for Mom," she explained to her friends, a bit worried. Years ago, Filly Pipp was sleeping on her bed while sucking on her hoof, and then a shadowy figure came over her, which stirred her awake. "Huh? Aah!" she screamed, startled once she saw who was over her. Haven smiled at her while holding a carrot cake in her hoof. "Who wants carrot cake?!" she asked her daughter excitedly as she presented about ten big stacks of carrot cakes around Pipp’s room; Filly Pipp looked around in shock. After Zipp explained, Sunny, Tails, and Sonic stared at her anxiously. "Then I guess 'Mom gets very excited over a holiday' is a multiversal thing," Sonic said nervously. "Like Longclaw used to do on Christmas?" Tails asked nervously. "Yup," Sonic replied. Pipp then approached her three friends, giving a very panicked smile and reaching her breaking point. "So it's got to. Be. Perfect! Got it?!" she asked them with panic, startling Sunny and Tails. Sonic, however, just rolled his eyes and approached her by patting her mane a bit. "There, there, Little Pipp. Remember to try and chill out! You can be nervous, of course, but it is your Mom at the end of the day," he pointed out to her with a cheery smile. "Nothing bad is going to happen," he assured. Spoke too soon, sadly. Sparky blared the trumpet again and accidentally blew one of his dragon's fires out through the trumpet. Sparky’s dragon fire hit the red carpet, which caused it to burn up as the Mane 5 and Team Sonic watched in shock; the fire then went to the other end of the carpet and into the fall decorations that hung from the ceiling while one ended up on the floor. The group watched in shock as the fire spread to the rest of the decorations and burned them away, with a little piece falling on the stove, burning it up and breaking it. Another piece of the fire fell on the carrot cake, which burned it into dust. The Mane 5 and Team Sonic stared at the carrot cake in shock and worry. Knuckles lifted his sunglasses slowly as he looked anxiously at the burned cake. "Uh... don't worry," Izzy said with a sheepish smile to ease the tension as her friends looked at her. "At least we still got the tea…" she said as she pointed at her stacks of tea sets, which fell off and spilled a little crack since the teapots were too heavy, while the top pot tilted and spilled some tea out as Izzy looked on in shock, which the rest of her friends looking on with panic expression with wide eyes and Pipp left eye twitching. "Well, at least Queen Haven hasn't arrived yet. There's still time to—" she tried to say, but then the doorbell rang, which meant that Haven arrived, making Izzy turn to the door while the others still looked on in panic. Before Izzy spoke again, Knuckles placed his index finger over her mouth and shushed her softly. "That's enough for a day, Izz," he told her with a bored expression. "Well, we're just going to have to... PANIC!" Pipp cried out in panic as she entered the living room and started hyperventilating. Sonic grew worried for her, but he needed to keep it cool for now, so he approached her with a serious expression and made her look at him in the eyes. "Now listen here, Pipp Petals," Sonic called out seriously. "This has a solution. We can still fix this mess, but by losing your mind, we can't go anywhere," he stated, then softened his look. "Now, breathe in and out slowly," he requested. Pipp nodded with a slight blush, and she slowly breathed in and out to calm herself down, who worked after doing it for a while. "Feeling better now?" Sonic asked her with his usual smile as Pipp nodded at him. "Good, now: Zipp, you, Pipp, and I will take care of your mom," he instructed. She rolled her eyes at Sonic because of his 'protective side' over Pipp and his bossy attitude as she walked past Sonic and Pipp. "Sunny, do you think you can handle the rest with the others?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "S-Sure!" Sunny replied nervously. "L-Leave it to us!" she stated. "It's fine!" Pipp said suddenly, panicking again. "Cakes are supposed to catch fire, right?!" she asked her friends with a panicked smile before Zipp grabbed her sister and dragged her to the door. I'm pretty sure that's trending right now!" she added as she started to whimper. "Does my mane smell like a burnt carrot?" she asked her sister and Sonic, tearing up. "Pipp, it's not the end of the world," Sonic told her with a bored expression. "Is your mother not the ruler of another country that wants to conquer us or something?" he pointed out. Zipp opened the doors, and Haven appeared with her royal guards behind her. Haven smiled at her daughters. "Darlings! Happy Harvest and Hugs Day!" she cheered to her daughters happily. Zipp and Pipp looked on nervously as the two sisters closed their doors. They smiled nervously at their mother and sweated a bit while Sonic looked at her with his usual smile. "Welcome, Heen Quaven! Uh, I-I mean, Queen Ha—uh, Mom!" Pipp spattered nervously as Zipp's face hoofed at her sister’s attempt. Queen Haven looked confused, and Sonic now forced his smile with a twitchy eye. "Um, lovely weather we're having!" Pipp said nervously, now approaching her mother. "Am I being filmed? Is this going on ClipTrot?" Haven asked with suspicion while Pipp sweated even more. Zipp grew nervous, and Sonic smiled even more as his electrical powers increased. However, he managed to relax a bit and smile normally again. "Your daughters are just very excited, Haven," he told her casually. "If they're acting like this, it's probably just that," he added. Zipp just nodded eagerly at his side in agreement, sweating nervously herself. "Pssst!" Zipp heard someone, turning to see Sunny waving at her through the window, telling them they were good to come in. Zipp then came to her mother with a sheepish smile while Pipp was still panicking while biting her hoof. "Uh, right this way!" she said to her mother as they entered the Brighthouse. "Wow. What a... unique spread," Haven said nervously as she saw the Brighthouse with red paper to replace the carpet while there were drawings of pumpkins, leaves, and decorations. Izzy kept pouring the tea into a cup on the table with a nervous smile as it overflowed, dripping off on the table, while Sunny was stirring the cake mix with a paper of the carrot cake in front of the bowl with Tails next to her as they smiled nervously at Haven. Sparky held up the trumpet and inhaled to play it again, but Hitch panically snatched it from Sparky and tossed it away to ensure he didn't let out another dragon fire. Sonic facepalmed after staring in disbelief at all of this. "Next time, I'm staying inside to fix it all at Sonic Speed," he muttered, entering the place with a bored expression while following the Royal Family. Haven walked to the throne that Pipp brought down to one end of the table as Hitch came to her with a smile. "Your Royal Hoofness!" he said as he presented the throne to Haven. "Oh. Thank you," Haven thanked Hitch with a smile as she sat on the throne. "Now, we have an exquisite array of classic Harvest and Hugs Day tea blends freshly prepared by our master tea-smith Izzy!" Hitch said as he brought Izzy next to him, who was smiling nervously along with Hitch. Haven gasped happily at them. "Do you have elderberry bushel blast?! It's a Zephyr Heights classic!" she said, her hooves on her cheeks. "Well, we didn't destroy it all in a fire before you arrived!" Hitch said as he gave a nervous laugh before getting a punch on the head. "Ah!" he cried out, seeing Knuckles 'passing by' with a serious expression. He moved his head in negation while Hitch laughed nervously. Izzy gave the same laugh. "Elderberry bushel blast comin' up!" she said as she zipped to the kitchen. Izzy arrived at a pot in front of her and muttered, placing some stuff in the pot. She had to improvise without knowing what elderberry bushel blasts are made of. "Little of this... A little bit of this... Um, okay, that'll work…" she muttered nervously. Haven saw Izzy and looked confused. "Is that a new recipe?" she asked with a nervous smile. "No new recipes," Tails called out with a nervous smile as he mixed the cake. "Yeah. Just good old-fashioned, age-tested tradition!" Sunny added as she was shredding some carrots, but in her haste, she accidentally tossed what was left of the carrot as it flew into the air, which made her grow worried. While carrying the tea Izzy made, Hitch didn't see the carrot piece Sunny tossed before him, making him slip on it from one of his hooves. "Aah! Whoa!" he cried out, but as he tried to gain balance, the tea Izzy made spilled out of the pot and splattered all over the kitchen. Izzy screamed as she ducked for cover of the incoming contents; Haven ducked when someone came close to her when it hit the throne seat. Hitch kept screaming as he slipped and flopped to the table. The tea Izzy had made spilled out from it, and Haven cringed at it. "Just how you like it! Right?" he asked nervously. "I'm gonna have a heart attack if things keep going this badly," Sonic muttered as he sat on the stairs and stared at the others anxiously. "Please don't say that," Pipp begged, sitting at his side as she kept biting on her hooves. Sunny, Tails, and Zipp smiled in the kitchen as Sunny held up the carrot cake batter. "Carrot cake 2.0 ready to go into the... broken oven. Ugh!" she groaned, forgetting that Sparky’s fire broke the oven, so they can’t use that. "How are we gonna bake a cake without an oven?" "I could try and fix it with my powers, but it can take a while since I need a lot of energy to repair something with them, not build from scratch," Tails pointed out with worry. Zipp gave a nervous look as she groaned. "Hold on tight. I might have something..." she said embarrassedly to the others. A little bit later, Zipp returned with a small pink oven, and she gave Sunny and Tails an embarrassed look. "You have a Bakey-Boo Oven?!" Sunny asked in a cute tone as she smiled with sparkling eyes, remembering she also had one when she was a filly. "Aww! I didn't know this side of you, Zipp," Tails said mockingly. "I used to make Harvest and Hugs Day fairy cakes, okay?" Zipp explained quickly, embarrassed to the two. Tails smirked at Zipp while Sunny still smiled with sparkling eyes. I was a filly. I'm not proud of it," she added with a raised eyebrow as she placed her old filly oven on the counter next to them. "Awww, I think it's sweet!" Sunny said in a cute tone while Tails kept smirking, and Zipp still felt embarrassed. "All right, let's do this!" Sunny declared as she now got serious. Zipp opened her old oven, and Sunny placed it inside and closed it to set it on '5:0' while it began to bake. "Mmmm!" Haven’s voice was heard, which startled the trio as they turned and saw her behind them. "That carrot cake smells divine!" she said with a smile, while Pipp and Sonic appeared behind her with panicked expressions as Pipp bit her hooves. Sunny, Tails, and Zipp tried to block her view of the oven to prevent her from seeing the unfinished cake. "Well, Zipp taught us the family recipe, so it should be... delicious?" Sunny said nervously. She, Tails, and Zipp looked on nervously and began sweating. Pipp kept biting her hooves nervously, and then Sonic whispered something in her ear, which made her look at him and nod as they zipped off and grabbed Pipp's giant music speaker, placing it next to Sparky. Pipp then brought out her phone as she played bluegrass music, but she didn’t realize how loud it was until it played. Pipp jumped, startled, and even startled Sparky from the loud sound as he tried to cover his ears. Sonic curled into a ball to hide from the sound. Sunny, Zipp, Tails, and Haven turned and saw how Pipp landed on Sparky’s tail, which made the baby dragon scream in pain as he released one of his dragon fires in the process, while Pipp gave an apology look at Sparky. Izzy ducked from Sparky's dragon fire, but the tea she made was tossed into the air as it landed on Sunny’s face. She tried to get it off, but she tripped and opened Zipp's oven, which caused the baking carrot cake to spit out and hit Haven’s face. The Mane 5 and Team Sonic looked in shock and panic while Pipp, Sonic, Tails, and Hitch also screamed. Pipp got next to her mother and got the cake off her face, who had wide eyes at what had happened. "We're so sorry, Mom!" she cried out, letting her tears go as Haven looked at her daughter. "We had everything prepared, but then it caught fire, and the tea exploded, and the cake dissolved, and now we've ruined your favorite holiday!" she cried out quickly. Haven looked at her daughter sympathetically. "Pipp, my dear, calm down. You've not 'ruined' anything." Pipp calmed down as she turned to her mother. "Well, you're wearing the traditional carrot cake as a face mask, so we're not exactly winning," she pointed out with concern, still crying. Haven wiped the contents off her face as she looked at Pipp. "You think I like Harvest and Hugs Day just because of a cake?" she asked her daughter with a smile. Pipp thought of what her mother just asked. "Um... kinda?" "Well, it is delicious, but no," Haven said with a smile as the Mane 5 and Team Sonic gathered around and listened to Haven. "Look, when I was growing up, Harvest and Hugs Day was one of the few days a year we managed to get all the family together," she stated, as she brought up an old picture of herself when she was young, sitting on the table while her family gathered around her with their Harvest & Hugs Day feast on the table. Zipp came close to her mother and sister as she and Pipp smiled. "That's why I love it so much. Because we were always together," she added as she hugged her daughters close to her. "We could be eating mud pie and worm stew for all I care," she jokingly said with a smile. "Now, that I can do!" Izzy cheered with a smirk while picking at the weird tea she made. "Don’t you even think about it, Izzy," Knuckles warned with a bored expression. "Come on, ponies," Haven called out to the others. "Let's get whatever food we can find, throw it on the table, and make some precious memories together," she declared as the others smiled at her idea. Izzy set a bowl of pinecones on the table. Pipp passed the plates to her mother as they smiled at each other. Sunny, Tails, and Zipp baked a loaf of bread in Zipp's oven as they smiled at their accomplishment. Knuckles decided to bake a grape pie, which he learned to do with Amy a while ago. Once the table was set, the Mane 5 and team Sonic were enjoying their meal while Haven watched them with a smile. Then, Sparky came behind Haven as he giggled at her with a smile. Haven smiled back at the baby dragon next to her. "Sparky, could you do the honors and get this feast underway?" she asked the baby dragon as she gave him the trumpet. Sparky smiled as he grabbed the trumpet and took a deep breath to blow the trumpet. The others saw this and started to panic again. "No, no, no, nooooo!" they all cried out in unison and panic since this was something Sparky shouldn’t do after his last attempt with the trumpet. After Haven left, Sonic and Pipp decided to stay behind to clean up the place, while the others left them alone to see if they would finally talk about the thing. "Thank Chaos that Sparky's dragon fire didn't cause any more trouble," Sonic commented, cleaning up the fridge from the spilled tea. "Agreed," Pipp replied as she cleaned up one of the kitchen walls. She then took a deep breath before turning to Sonic. "Hey, um... thanks for helping me out earlier when I was panicking a lot," she said with a smile. Sonic turned to her and smiled back. "Anytime, Little Pipp," he said. Before they came to silence again, Sonic took a deep breath and approached Pipp, lying on the clean part of the wall she was cleaning. "So, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room already?" Sonic asked with his eyes closed and a serious tone. Pipp stopped and panicked again, although she managed to stay controlled by the moment. "W-What elephant?" she asked nervously. Sonic looked at her with a bored expression and a raised eyebrow. "That you kissed me?" he pointed out. Pipp blushed and gulped at the mention of that. "O-Oh..." she replied nervously. "W-Well... I-I don't know..." she said, unsure. "Come on, Little Pipp. We're both adults here," Sonic pointed out with a neutral expression. "We cannot just ignore this and hope everything will be fine in the end," he added. "I-I know..." Pipp confessed, now sitting on the ground with a worried expression, as Sonic sat at her side and looked at her expectantly. "Look, the way we were both acting that day almost made us kiss at first glance and then Tails interrupted us, so I just decided to kiss you anyway... Why? I... I don't know... I guess I just went with the flow at the moment and... I-I'm sorry for doing it, Sonic..." she said with a few tears in her eyes. "Pipp, I'm not mad," Sonic said with a soft smile. "It took off my guard, but I didn't dislike it. I wanted to give you some space and time after that, but eventually... I got uncomfortable myself," he explained with guilt. "Then again, ignoring this won't solve anything. I want to talk, laugh, and chill with you, the same way we always did... but I guess that kiss made things uncomfortable for both of us," he pointed out. "I admit, I also miss talking with you the same way we used to," Pipp said with a genuine smile. "Then let's just do it!" Sonic said with a smile. "We don't have to ignore that we kissed, but we don't need to act so dramatic over it either, right?" he added in a playful tone while Pipp giggled at him. "Besides..." he started again, standing up alongside Pipp and giving her his back. "I'm always up for a round two," he smirked. That comment made Pipp's face turn completely red as she frowned. "SONIC!" she scolded him, as Sonic laughed loudly and ran away to finish cleaning. Pipp rolled her eyes but smiled as well. "Please never change, Blue Star," she muttered with a blush, resuming her clean-up. THE END Author's Note Finally! The Sonic and Pipp drama is over... at least for now. Even though you're about to read it, the next chapter will have a subplot with Tails since, well, his birthday is tomorrow. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. See ya! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 36. Taking FlightZipp and Tails were flying around in the sky as they flew high with a few loops and looked at Maretime Bay below her. "Wow! Look at this view!" Zipp said with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Flying is the best!" she cheered. "Heck yeah!" Tails cheered. "Thanks for tagging along, Tails," Zipp said with a smile. "W-We haven't spent much time together lately," she added with a slight blush. "No problem!" Tails said with a smile that made Zipp's heart jump happily. "I owe it to you after I... you know, I was a jerk with you instead of just talking calmly," he said with a guilty expression. "Hey, it's okay. I deserve it for getting too overboard with my 'detective side' and all," Zipp said with a smile. "And, what better way to bond than flying?!" she said, quickly looping in the sky. Tails chuckled as he happily flew around Zipp. "Flying's the funniest way to make amends! Hands down!" And then suddenly, Izzy somehow came next to them, in the sky, as she sighed with a smile. "Isn’t it just?" she asked. "Wind in your hair, total freedom…" Zipp listened with a smile while neither she nor Tails realized that Izzy was flying next to them somehow. "There's nothing else like it!" she announced with a smile and sparkling eyes. "I could not have said it better myself," Izzy said with a smile as she winked at her friends. "Cheerio, Zipperoonie! Milesy! Whoo-hoo!" she cheered as she flew down. Zipp laughed happily. "See ya, Izz," she called out with a smile, but then she and Tails realized who they had just spoken to. "Wait. Izzy?!" they both called out in shock. "How, when, what, why?!" Tails asked out in shock. It turns out that Izzy made a glider that she levitated with her magic. But her glider snapped into pieces after a while, and the magic stopped glowing. Izzy turned and looked at her broken glider in shock. "Uh-oh..." she said, now falling from the skies... with a smile. "Wheeeeee!" she cheered as she fell beside the abandoned Canterlogic building. Zipp and Tails started to sweat in worry and anxiety, seeing that Izzy was about to hit the ground. They both flew at a fast paste to Izzy before she turned into Pony Pancake on the pavement. Izzy kept smiling as she fell, but that ended when Zipp and Tails grabbed Izzy as they carried her and took to the air. The glider came off as it fell on the pavement in front of Posey, startling her as a pony stallion next to her gave a confused look, wondering what had just happened. Izzy, Zipp, and Tails all screamed, about to hit the roof of the Canterlogic building, which had some stuff and something big under a tarp in the middle of it; the three friends hit the roof and rolled across it before hitting the thing under the tarp. Once they crashed, they groaned from the impact of the hit. Zipp got up and gave Izzy a look while sweating a bit from the sudden fright of Izzy nearly killing herself. "Izzy! What were you thinking?! You could've been hurt!" she scolded. "Worst-case scenario? You could have killed yourself!" Tails said, as he also sweated a bit. Izzy fixed her mane as she got it out of her eyesight and gave an apologetic look to her friends. "Sorry, Zipp, Tails," she said, then smiled at them. "But you two made flying look so fun; I wanted to do it, too!" she explained as she gave sparkling eyes. "Still, doing something so reckless could have cost your life, Izz. And that would be no good," Tails pointed out with a frown. "Yeah. It would be amazing if we all could fly. But we can't," Zipp pointed out. "So––" she tried to add but was cut off when Izzy got between Zipp's and Tails' cheeks with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Maybe we can?" Izzy asked with a smile. Zipp raised an eyebrow at Izzy, and Tails looked on, confused. Then, Izzy grabbed the tarp behind them and unraveled it to show the old run-down tramcar Izzy had shown the others after they'd found Sparky. "Ta-daaaaa! My ultrasonic, fantastatronic, skyblastonic flying machine!" she called out excitedly while Zipp and Tails raised their eyebrow before the tramcar door fell from Izzy’s weight; she fell to the floor while her two friends looked at her to see if she was okay, but then Izzy got her head up and pointed her hoof at them with a smile. "I'm okay!" she called out. "You want to transform a tram car into a flying machine?" Tails said, confused. "It was not the weirdest thing I'd ever heard, but still..." he added with concern. "Yup! It might need a little work, but it's got good bones!" Izzy called out as she tapped it with a smile. But then the tramcar began to creak, and the front titled to the front. The middle of it began to crack in half as the back half rolled backward, which made Tails, Zipp, and Izzy gasp. Then, Izzy used her magic to put a spare wheel at the back end of the back half to keep it from rolling off the roof as she came next to it while having some sweat from the effort she used. "So, uh, what do you say, Zipperoonie and Milesy? Fix it up together? Take it to the skies?" she asked them with a smile. Zipp gave an unsure look as she tapped on the mirror of the tramcar. "The skies?" she repeated, but after the second tap of the mirror, it nearly fell off as Zipp caught it and put it back gently. "I don't know, Izzy. This thing is in no condition to fly," she pointed out with worry. "Hmm... with some slight modifications, we could make it fly up to the skies..." Tails pointed out with an analytical look. "And who knows more about flying than you, Zipp?" Izzy pointed out with a wink. "And who knows more about vehicles and technology than you, Tails?" she added by giving a wink to Tails. "With your knowledge, guys, and my creativity, we'll have this baby uni-cycled in no time," she declared, waving her hooves when she mentioned her 'creativity.' Then, a piece of the floor behind the tramcar fell off as Izzy looked at it. "I don't see why we can't try!" Tails said with a smile. "I'm on board, captain!" he joked while making a salute. Zipp, on the other hand, sighed after thinking about what Izzy said. "It would be pretty sweet for all of us to be able to fly together," she said with a smile. "Yes?" Izzy asked with a smile as she got closer to Zipp. "Just think – day trips in Zephyr Heights…" Zipp listed with a smile. "Yes?!" Izzy asked again, very excited with wide and sparkling eyes. "...weekends in Bridlewood…" Zipp added. "YES!" Izzy cheered excitedly while waiting for Zipp's answer. Zipp turned to her with a determined expression and a smile. "Okay, Izzy! I'm in!" she declared. Izzy squealed in excitement as Zipp and Tails came up to her with smiles on their faces. "Go, Team Zipzyils!" she announced cheerfully as they tapped hooves/hands. Zipp and Tails gave her small smiles and walked off to get some tools and make plans for the tramcar. "Get it? It's Izzy, Zipp, and Tails, but all squishy up!" Izzy added with a wave of her hooves. "No nicknames!" Zipp called out to Izzy. "Aw..." Izzy groaned in disappointment. "Good names, though, Izzy!" Tails called out, making Izzy smile a bit. In the meantime, Sonic was sneaking around the streets of Maretime Bay, acting like a ninja and moving quietly and nimbly. He stopped in front of a building, looked at both sides and made a hand sign to indicate someone had to move. Sunny, who pocked her head from behind a dark alley, went back inside it and came out of it again, lifting some boxes as she sneaked in Sonic's direction. Behind her came Hitch and Knuckles, with the former carrying boxes on his back and the latter lifting wooden planks. The three of them waited for Sonic to open the building door he was in front of. Then the hedgehog pushed the door open, still in 'ninja mode,' as the two ponies and the echidna entered the place. Then, Pipp quickly arrived flying, with a box on her hooves. She nodded to Sonic before entering the building, and Sonic himself entered. Inside, he and Pipp covered the windows with curtains, and Knuckles put a 'Sorry, we are closed' sign in the front door, then sighed in relief. "We didn't forget anything, right?" Knuckles asked. "The prints!" Hitch said with panic. "Dang! I probably left them on..." he tried to add, but... "The kitchen table?" Sonic asked, pulling out the blueprints Hitch was talking about. "I took them before leaving the Brighthouse," he added with a confident smirk, rolling up the prints on a table to show some places and machines that Tails wanted to put... in his workshop. "What are we seeing exactly?" Pipp asked. "Well, as I've been telling you for a few days now, Tails' birthday is tomorrow, and I want to give him something more special than a simple gift," Sonic smiled. "And I discovered these prints of his a few days ago. So... here we are!" Sonic said, pointing at the empty building they were in right now. "So you want to turn this place into a workshop and give it to Tails as a birthday present?" Knuckles summarized. "You're certainly getting better at this 'bro' thing," he added mockingly. "Yeah, laugh it up, Knucklehead..." Sonic said with a bored expression. "Wait!" Sunny said suddenly. "I think this is a great idea, but... shouldn't we worry about Tails coming in suddenly, ruining the whole surprise?" she asked with concern, while Hitch at her side nodded in agreement. "That's why we asked Zipp to take Tails out for the day," Pipp said with a smirk. "And Izzy said something about needing their help with something, so they'll be out for a while," Knuckles added with a smile. "Okey then," Sunny said with a raised eyebrow and a smile. "If we're done already, let's get started!" Sonic declared with a smile. Sometime later, Zipp and Tails got some tools they would need for the tramcar. They turned and saw Izzy coming in with wallpaper, paint, and Sunny’s lantern on the wagon she strapped herself with. Izzy, Zipp, and Tails started having lunch as they munched on their sandwiches. Zipp put her sandwich down, took out her phone, and drew the designs for the tramcar to fly. She showed it to Tails and Izzy, with Tails smiling at the design and Izzy nodding with sparkling eyes. Then she showed her desert, which she had shaped into a vehicle with wings before it dissolved. "Huh?" Zipp asked in confusion before she groaned from that, while Tails chuckled nervously. A little bit later, Zipp tried to put a star in an area of the tramcar but couldn’t keep it in place. Izzy came to her as she held up a blowtorch and placed her blowtorch’s mask down on her face. Then, she held two blowtorches and wielded the star in place. Izzy and Zipp smiled at this as Zipp nodded in accomplish of Izzy’s work, but as she tried to walk off, her tool sash got stuck on the star Izzy wielded, which gave the unicorn an irritated look from the pegasus as Izzy smiled sheepishly at her mistake. Sometime later, Izzy levitated her glitter cannon with sparkling eyes on a wooden wing of the tramcar. "Glitter cannon! Check!" Izzy announced with a determined smile. But then, the weight of her glitter cannon made the wooden wing fall, causing it to roll across the roof as it turned to Tails, who was measuring something for the tramcar. Then, he turned and saw the glitter cannon facing him, which made him look confused. The glitter cannon then went off, and a ball of purple glitter hit his face, shocking him. Izzy got to the fox, giving him a sheepish yet apologetic look as she sweated nervously. "Y-You actually... have a little something on your…" she said, then tried to wipe the glitter off him, but after a wipe, his face was now covered in rainbow glitter as he gave an irritated look at Izzy. "Yeah..." Izzy said. Tails shook his head with a cough as he got the glitter off his face and some on his mouth, and then he looked on with a tired expression. Zipp then arrived at Izzy as she got to her face. "Izzy! We have to start working together as a team, or this thing will never fly!" she called out as she pointed to the tramcar, both halves glued back together with mac and cheese, and the two wooden wings fell off as they fell on the ground. "And please, no Glitter Canon this time, Izz," Tails begged with a bored expression. "You guys are right. Team Zipzyils?" Izzy asked them as she raised her hoof to them. "Team Zipzyils," both Tails and Zipp said in unison as they gave Izzy a hoof tap with smiles. "Now, let’s get to work!" Tails said with a determined smile as the three friends started to work together. Sometime later, the three friends got to work on making the tramcar flight worthy. Mane 5: Just a little touch-up Just a little paint And we'll be done in no time Izzy was searching through a box while tossing some things away, looking for something, when Zipp came by her side. She held a rope on her hoof with a smile, and Izzy smiled at her. On the planning table, Tails reviewed the plans the three friends thought together. Zipp was trying to get the engine block in a dryer machine with googly eyes and a heart on its door in front of the tramcar, but it was too heavy since she couldn’t get it off the ground. But then the engine block levitated as Zipp let go of it; she saw it go into the dryer and smiled when she saw Izzy using her magic to hold the block in place as she smiled back. 'Hey, this is looking great!' Izzy thought to herself with a smile as she used her blowtorches to wield the railings of the front of the tramcar in place and fixed up its controls. She smiled at Zipp and Tails. 'Cause they say many hooves And the work gets lighter Tails attached a broken bike wheel to the place where the steering wheel was on the controls as he attached it. Izzy used her magic to repaint the tramcar with a little rainbow color on the boarded wood on the windows. And working with your friends Will make the whole day brighter Zipp and Tails used gray paint to repaint the tramcar's roof, while Izzy levitated a paintbrush and painted some pinkish-reddish color. Gonna work, work, work Got so much to do Well, I don't mind the work 'Cause I get to work with you Then, Zipp was on top of the tramcar to indicate to Izzy where she should put the wings on the tramcar. She focused her magic on where to put it, but she had difficulty placing it where it was supposed to go. Zipp smiled, and then Tails flew and kicked the wing in place. Zipp and Tails landed with Izzy as they looked at their flying vehicle. They finished with smiles and sparkling eyes and gave each other hoof/hand taps at their hard work together. Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do And then, the two ponies, Cutie Marks, began to glow as Sunny’s lantern started to fly past them; they saw it in shock and amazement while the lantern floated itself to the front of the tramcar, which used its magic to transform it into a motor vehicle with pegasus wings on its side, big window in front for the driver with a door with a heart window at the back and the windows on the side. The colors are light blue, purple, pink, and white, with a symbol of the Unity Crystals on the front. "Whoa!: Zipp awed as Izzy and Tails looked at it in amazement. "Look at this thing! Incredible!" Zipp added with a smile. "I did not see that coming," Izzy said in amazement. "Sunny's lantern is full of surprises. It used the Prisbeam power to upgrade the tramcar into… This!" Tails said in awe. A little bit later, Tails, Izzy, and Zipp entered the new vehicle as Izzy pressed her hoof on a hoof scanner. "Thrusters?" Zipp asked Izzy. "Check!" Izzy answered as the wings opened up from the side. "Ignition?" Zipp asked again as Tails flipped a switch. "Check!" Tails answered with a smile as the engines started roaring and the tailpipes in the back burst rainbows. "Super-cool shades?" Zipp asked again with a smirk as she, Tails, and Izzy got their sunglasses on and put them on their eyes. "Check!" all three friends said in unison. Zipp grabbed the wheel with her hooves and clicked it forward, and the new flying motor vehicle began to move forward, with a rainbow trailing behind. "Mare Stream ready for takeoff, Zippster and Milesy!" Izzy announced to her friends. "Whoo-hoo!" Zipp cheered before realizing what Izzy had just said as she turned with a smile. "Did you say 'Mare Stream'? I love it!" she declared. "Put the full speed, Zippster!" Tails declared with confidence. "Whoo-hoo! Let's go!" Izzy cheered as the Marestream took flight, leaving a rainbow trail behind as it took to the skies. The rest of the gang was finishing up the last details for Tail's new workshop at the building. Sonic and Sunny painted the walls of the building yellow and orange, the basic colors for recognizing Tails. Pipp was placing some decorations around, like a small replica of the Tornado I in the ceiling, some clouds to decorate the place, and even the two-tail sign that Tails had originally placed on his workshop back on Mobius. Knuckles and Hitch were placing the tables and some of Tails' inventions around. They also brought Tails' tools for work. After a while, they finally finished up the basic parts of the workshop. "Well, that's settled," Knuckles said with a smile. "Now what?" he asked. "We'll surprise Tails tomorrow! He'll decide if he wants to add something else or not," Sonic said with a confident smile. Thanks again for the help, guys. Buying the building was one thing, but getting this far for us..." he tried to add, but Sunny cut him off. "Tails is also our friend, Sonic. And we're glad to help!" Sunny said with a smile. "Besides, this is something he needs right now," Pipp pointed out. "You know, he's been a little... messy in the Brighthouse lately..." she said, remembering the few times Tails caused a mess because of his job. "Yeah, I know," Sonic said with a little smile. "Let's just hope Tails likes it..." he added, a bit concerned. Sometime later, the Mare Stream flew above the clouds as Izzy looked out the window in amazement. "Zipp! Tails! We're flying!" Izzy said cheerfully as she got to the controls, but she accidentally knocked Sunny’s lantern off its spot. Without Sunny’s lantern to power Mare Stream, the motorhome vehicle lost its power, falling from the sky. "IZZY!" Tails cried out as he hung on to the vehicle. "WE'RE NOT FLYING!" Izzy cried out as she tried to place the lantern back in place but couldn’t. "Guys! Nothing is working!" Zipp cried out as she kept pressing on the controls, but nothing was happening. "Sunny's lantern is the power source! Without it, we'll be part of history!" Tails cried out with worry. "We're going to crash!" Zipp cried out. as they saw they were about to fall into the forest. Izzy started to grow nervous as she sweated. Then, she tried to use her magic to lift the Mare Stream or slow it down a bit, but it frizzed out as the Mare Stream kept falling, and Izzy panted from the effort. "We're falling too fast! My magic isn't strong enough!" she cried out. "I wish I knew Chaos Control!" Tails cried out. "The temporal moment where time stops around could be really helpful right now!" he pointed out with concern. "There must be something!" Zipp cried out to her friends. Izzy started to whimper as she looked around for something they could use. Then, she turned to the interior of the Mane Stream and saw a giant cloth attached to a rope. "I've got something, but I'm not gonna lie to you, guys–– it's risky!" she called out to them as she held the rope. "Just do it, Izzy!" Zipp and Tails called out. Izzy opened the ceiling window on Mane Stream's roof and got the cloth out while gruntingly attaching the rope to it, with the other end attached to Mane Stream. "There we go!" she called out with a smile. At the controls, Zipp and Tails were pressing buttons in desperation. "Izzy, we are still falling!" Zipp cried out to Izzy, who came back to them with a smile. "What did you do anyway?!" Tails questioned in anxiety as he and Zipp braced themselves for the impact. "Wait for it… Now!" Izzy called out as the Mane Stream got tugged into the sky since Izzy used the tarp as a parachute to slow the Mare Stream down. Tails, Izzy, and Zipp cheered with laughter as they felt relieved they were saved. The Mare Stream landed on something with a thud, and the three friends took off their sunglasses and looked at each other with smiles, relieved that they were saved. Zipp opened the door with a smile, but she looked down and groaned once she saw that the Mare Stream had landed on top of some trees. "Ugh. Izzy, Tails, how are we going to get this thing down?" she called out with concern. "No idea. I have never had this kind of struggle before with any version of the Tornado, so I don't know how to get something this big down here either..." Tails admitted. Izzy gasped before smiling. "No idea either. But if there's one thing I know for sure, Zipper-doodle, we can do anything together. Hoof bump!" she called out as she raised her hoof while Zipp and Tails smiled and raised their hooves/hands. "Team Zipzyils," Izzy cheered as the three friends bumped hooves/hands with each other. But then, the Mare Stream started rattling, which shocked the three friends. The motor vehicle then started to fall from the trees, seeing that the trees were not strong enough to support the weight. "Whoa!" all of them cried out as Izzy held onto the couch while Zipp and Tails hit the ceiling from the force of the fall; the Mare Stream parachute then got caught on some branches, preventing it from crashing into the floor. Izzy landed on the couch once the fall was over and smiled when she realized she was okay. She turned to give Zipp and Tails another hoof bump but then looked up and saw Zipp and Tails crashing into the floor with a thud since they didn’t have time to react to hang onto something or use their flying skills. Izzy came down to Zipp's and Tails' level as she gave them a smirk. "Perfect landing, captain!" Izzy said cheerfully while Zipp smiled back at the unicorn. "Zipp..." Tails called out, and then Izzy giggled when she saw that Zipp was over Tails, almost crushing him into the ground. "Please get off me..." he begged with a bored expression and puffed cheeks, while Zipp blushed slightly and chuckled before slowly standing up and giving some space to Tails. "S-Sorry for that, Tails..." Zipp apologized. "It's okay, Zipp," Tails said to her with a little smile, standing up and shaking his body. The next day, Tails was suddenly woken up by Sonic, who only told him to put a bandage on his eyes, grab his hand, and follow him. "Sonic..." Tails called out for the millionth time already. "Can you tell me where you are taking me already?" he asked in annoyance, suddenly waking up and having no idea what was happening. "Trust me, lil' bro; it's a place I know you'll like," Sonic confidently assured. Even though Tails could not see his face, he knew he was smirking, which made him feel more annoyed now. In the end, Sonic suddenly stopped, which caused Tails to stop, too, since Sonic was grabbing his arm. Sonic let go of his arm and stepped away slowly from him. "Okay, Tails. Remove your bandage in three... two... one!" he counted down. Tails sighed in relief and removed the bandage as he got used to the light of day again. Once he got his sight completely back, he gasped in shock at the sight: a yellow brick building with orange trim was in front of him, with a sign at the top of the main doors that had the logo of his new business, 'Electronic Tails.' The letters on his own name had two tails shaped at the start. "SURPRISE!" Sonic cheered to his brother, standing in front of the building. "T-This... This is..." Tails tried to say, but no words came out of his mouth. "I knew you'd like it," Sonic said with a smile, placing a hand on Tails' back. What do you say if we go inside and take a look?" he suggested. Tails was speechless, but he managed to move towards the main door. Once he opened it, he felt a wave of emotions through his body when he saw the inside of the building. His inventions, decoration, and even his two-tail logo on the wall hit like home for him. It was perfect. "Happy birthday, Tails!" the Mane 5 and Knuckles said as they came off their hideouts to congratulate the young fox. More emotions got into him because of that. "D-Did you guys do all of these?" Tails managed to ask. "Yup!" Sunny replied with a smile. "I mean, Izzy and I got you a bit busy yesterday... but yeah, this place is a gift from all of us to you, little guy," Zipp said with a smile. Tails chuckled slowly, and some tears of happiness fell down his cheeks. "D-Dang it... I got emotional too soon..." he said with a smile, getting a big hug from Sonic. "You're growing up fast, lil' bro. You're 24 now! I couldn't be more proud of you!" Sonic said, ruffling his brother with his hand. Soon enough, Knuckles and the Mane 5 joined the hug, with some, like Zipp and Sunny, nuzzling the fox to congratulate him. "T-Thank you, guys..." Tails said with a smile. "I appreciate this..." he added. During the last 2 months, Eggman hasn't talked with Opaline, mainly because he threatened her with killing her. However, this month wasn't useless for the doctor because he had some books from Opaline's library. As he was still trying to translate the glyphs from the cave Metal Sonic, Metal Pipp, and Metal Sunny found a while ago, he found two very interesting things in those books that caught his attention: the first one was a story about a place called the Starfall Islands, where ancient technology was waiting for him, or at least that's what Eggman tells himself. The second was about a Wishing Star that had the power to grant a wish to those who could look at it. As the evil genius he is, he was planning to steal the power of said star or destroy it in the attempt. "All the magical properties of this star amaze me..." Eggman told himself. "But the vital thing that I'm missing is the exact coordinates of the closest spots where the star will travel..." he said with concern. And then, a thought came to his mind, one that could succeed if he planned everything carefully. "I know just the person that can help me on this assignment... or should I say pony?" Eggman said with a grin as he pressed a button on his computer, and the image of a certain earth pony mare showed up. "It'll be a pleasure to finally meet you properly, Sunny Starscout," he stated with a confident smile. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: MAKE YOUR MARK (WINTER WISHDAY) Author's Note Ok, so. Winter Wishday comes out tomorrow. I'll start working on it this week, and I should have it ready for Saturday. Also, no. I wasn't going to end this chapter without an angst :) Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode, which is also my way to celebrate Tails' birthday since it's tomorrow. See ya on Saturday with both the Winter Wishday special and the Epilogue of Season 1! Bye, bye! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 37. Snow Pun IntendedAuthor's Note Warning! I highly recommend to read Winter Wishday first before reading from this chapter on. Not precisely for this chapter, but for the future ones. P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 37. Snow Pun Intended Snowballs were thrown around as Posey screamed and ran in panic. At the end, Posey ducked into a snowy bush while peaking out to look around, shaking in fright. All around Posey, the ponies were having fun in the snow. Since unicorns in Bridlewood realized they were unconsciously using a spell, the leftover snow was still all over Equestria, so it would take a while to melt away. Still, the ponies decided to have fun in the snow since there had never been snow in Maretime Bay. Two earth pony foals, a mare and a stallion, were playfully throwing snowballs at each other while laughing. Seashell, Glory, and Peach Fizz made a snowman, stacking the snow together to make a buddy. They made a face with pebbles, rocks, and a carrot for a nose. With Sparky on his back, Hitch jumped right in front of a snow version of Izzy, with snow versions of the other girls around them as well. "Freeze!" he called out but realized what he said as he picked up a snowball. "Uh? I mean, un-freeze!" Suddenly, the snow Izzy shook its head, revealing the true Izzy hiding under it. "Aw. How’d you know?" she asked Hitch with disappointment. Hitch smirked at her, tossing the snowball on his hoof. "There isn’t much I don’t see coming… Ah!" Hitch cried out as he saw a snowball from out of nowhere about to hit him, so he ducked, and it went overhead. The snowball headed straight to Posey, who got her head out of the bush as she looked around in fright but didn't notice the snowball about to hit her. Hitch and Izzy gave a panicked expression while Sparky looked on in shock. "No!" both Izzy and Hitch cried out in panic. Posey turned to where the two ponies were screaming while the snowball hit her in the face, which made her look irritated. The ponies around her gave out nervous and shocked expressions. Sunny looked at Posey nervously. Pipp and Zipp were in the air, holding snowballs in their hooves and looking at Posey in shock as well. Team Sonic just looked at each other before staring back at Posey with panic. Glory, Seashell, and Peach Fizz also gave shocked expressions. Seashell smacked a snowball on Peach Fizz in a panic while Glory took a picture of Posey in shock. Hitch and Izzy got in front of Posey with a guilty expression. "Sorry! I was aiming for Izzy/I was amazing for Hitch, but…" they both tried to explain, but Posey lifted her hoof to shut them. Posey looked angrily at them with the snow still on her face. "Just. Take. Me. Home. NOW!" she yelled out in rage. Zipp then came zooming to Izzy’s side while she and Hitch gave fright looks at Posey’s outburst. Even Sparky, on Hitch’s head, had a worried expression. "Home? But it’s a snow day!" Zipp pointed out with a smile. "The first ever in Maretime Bay!" Sunny added with a smile. "Perfect to share with friends and followers!" Pipp called out excitedly as she took a picture on her phone while livestreaming Posey, emojis coming out as Posey shivered in the cold. "Just because it's new does not make it good," Posey pointed out, still frowning. "Whaaaaat?" the Mane 5 all cried out in shock at what Posey said. On the other hand, Team Sonic looked at each other before shrugging and saying "Meh" in unison. "Well, if you don't like it, then that's your miss," Sonic said with a bored expression as he, Tails, and Knuckles turned around and started to leave. "Come on, boys!" he called out. "Let's see if we can get Rocky and Jazz on a snowball war or something," Knuckles suggested. "I'm calling Dahlia too. I bet she will love to be involved," Tails added, taking out his phone and texting Dahlia. The Mane 5 gasped in shock at Team Sonic's attitude since they didn't seem to care about Posey not liking snow. Sunny suddenly approached them to stop them. "Guys! Why do you act so careless?!" she asked in shock and panic. "Posey doesn't like snow, and what?" Sonic said. "If she doesn't like it, then that's her thing," he pointed out. "Yeah, we cannot just make her like snow. That's not how it works," Tails added with a neutral expression. "Also, she does have a big point that not everything new has to be good," he confessed. "Maybe I wasn't here when that happened, but when the Unity Crystals were failing, didn't you say that just because we like something doesn't mean everyone has to?" Knuckles questioned with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. Sunny had no words to counter that, so she just smiled nervously. "Well, it is a bit overwhelming to be outside with everypony out in the snow," she admittedly said. "Maybe somewhere quieter?" she suggested, now looking at Posey. "No, that won't be––" Posey tried to object, but Zipp cut her off. "Oh! Like Prancing Point!" Zipp called out with a smile. "We're painted or something," Tails said with a bored expression. "We suddenly became walls," Knuckles said with a bored expression. Then, Izzy got to Posey's side and wrapped a hoof around her, which startled Posey. "To the Marestream, ponies!" she announced as she and the others raced to the Marestream while dragging Posey along with them. "This is going to be one of those episodes where they don't learn their lesson until the end of the episode, isn't it?" Tails questioned with a bored tone. "Pretty much," Sonic replied with an eye roll. A little later, the Mane 5, Team Sonic, and Posey flew towards their Mare Stream destination. "Prancing Point, here we come!" Zipp announced with a smile as Tails got in the driver's seat with a bored expression. The Marestream flew across the sky as Sunny took a deep breath and sighed in relaxation. "Much calmer. Right, Posey?" Sunny asked Posey with a smile but saw Posey covering her face with her hooves on the ground while shaking in fright. "I'm an earth pony, not a sky pony!" Posey cried out in panic while Sunny looked with worry at her. "I'm an earth pony, not a sky pony! Are we there yet?! Are we there yet?! ARE WE THERE YET?!" she cried out in panic. "Uh, Posey?" Zipp called out with a raised eyebrow. "We're here," she said with a smile as she pointed outside. Pipp was taking a selfie in the air with Sonic, standing on the Marestream ceiling, while Izzy, Hitch, Sparky, and Knuckles were playing a snowball fight. Izzy threw hers at Hitch, and Knuckles laughed. "Phew!" Posey said, relieved that the flying part was over. Sometime later, the Mane 5, Sparky, Team Sonic, and Posey were on a spot where they would show Posey what makes snow fun. "Here is the complete list of all good snow day activities!" Hitch said with a smile as he held up his clipboard. Pipp raised her hoof excitedly as she waved it, while Posey felt very uncomfortable. "Oooh! Even snowponies?" Pipp asked Hitch with sparkling eyes. "Snowponies?" Hitch repeated, looking around nervously before giving a nervous smile. Of course! It's right here on my list!" he lied. "Well, we better get started if we want to fit everything in!" he announced with a smile. "Whoo-hoo!" Izzy cheered excitedly as she trotted around. "Yeah! Snow day!" she said with a big smile and sparkling eyes. "Yes! Snow day!" Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp all called out in unison as they laughed a little together. "Well, if we're going to be proven right, the least we can do is enjoy whatever these guys are going to do," Sonic pointed out as he shrugged, while Tails and Knuckles nodded in agreement. Posey, however, still felt very nervous and unsure about this. She wished that the Mane 5 had listened to Team Sonic and left her to go home. "First up is... what Pipp said... that I had written down," Hitch said nervously as he sweated a bit. Pipp gave a smile and sparkling eyes. "Snowponies are so much fun!" she excitedly trotted ahead. "To make them hashtag #snowmazing, all you need is…" she tried to add, but Zipp cut her off. "Loads of snow!" Zipp called out excitedly as she flew up, spun, and then dived down, impacting the snow that formed around her and her friends. A little bit later, Zipp and Tails showed Posey how to make snowponies as Zipp stacked some snowballs together. "Roll as much snow as you need, then triple it!" Zipp said as she rolled some snow together to make a big ball and held it on her hoof. "The bigger, the better!" she added with a smile while Posey looked down at her snow pile. "But don't cross the line," Tails suggested. "Zipp has a weird obsession with making things bigger," he whispered to her. Later, while Posey tried to stack her snow pile together, a shadow came over her. She looked in shock at a giant snowball on a hill that Zipp made, which made Posey sweat nervously and gulp. "This is exactly what I meant..." Tails said with an anxious look while also sweating. Then, Zipp stood on top of her snow pile with a proud smile, but as she got on it, it tilted and started rolling down the hill, with Zipp on it as she moved her hooves backward to try and keep her balance. Posey and Tails screamed as Zipp's giant snowball started chasing them. Zipp flew off the giant snowball as it crashed but got Posey and Tails on it as they poked their heads off with irritated looks. "Was it necessary to make it that big?" Tails questioned tiredly, while Zipp just smiled sheepishly and chuckled nervously. Sometime later, Pipp placed a giant scarf on the body of a snowpony. "And the bigger the snowpony, the more snow-ccessories you can add," Pipp said with a smile as she and her friends kept it steady while the snowpony looked like a giant stallion with Pipp's blanket on its back and two big rocks for the eyes. Posey came to them after getting out of the snow pile with a bored expression as she shook her head to get the snow off herself. Pipp came to her and gave Posey some rocks, and the earth pony gave her a curious look while Pipp smiled at her. Then, Posey placed the rocks on the chest part of the snowpony and gave a smile; then she looked up and saw Pipp adding some twigs and leaves on top of the snowpony for the main part and the chest as the ponies looked on in awe. Pipp took out her phone to take a selfie of the snow pony with her and her friends, but then the snow pony titled as it was losing balance. Posey screamed as the Mane 5, sins Pipp, moved out of the way, and the head of the snowpony fell on Posey while Pipp covered herself from that impact. As this happened, Sonic looked bored. "Well, this is going great," he said sarcastically. "I know! And it took me like 10 minutes to cover his body," Knuckles said with a smile as he transformed Tails into a snowman except for his head, while Tails just gave a bored expression. "I can't believe you convinced me to do this..." Tails groaned while Knuckles put a black top hat on his head. "I was not talking about––" Sonic tried to argue, but after seeing Tails transformed into a snowman, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit before laughing and falling to the ground. Tails groaned more while Knuckles placed a scar similar to Zipp's around Tails' neck. Soon enough, Hitch and Zipp also arrived, staring confused at Sonic since they didn't understand why he was laughing. "Sonic? What's the mat––" Hitch tried to ask, but then both he and Zipp saw Tails' current state, and now Hitch joined Sonic in the loud laughing, while Zipp just covered her mouth with a hoof and giggled. "This is humiliating..." Tails groaned more, not changing his bored expression at all. "Aww, but you look so cute like this!" Zipp said with a smile as she nuzzled her cheek with Tails'. "T-That doesn't help, Zipp!" Tails complained as his cheeks puffed in frustration. Later, after Tails finally got out of his snowman body, Izzy smirked at Posey since it was her turn to show Posey how fun snow could be. "Touching all that snow? Nuh-uh! Neigh way! No frosty hooves here, folks!" Izzy said to Posey, who was still under the pile of snow as she got out and gave an irritated look again. "I have a better way," Izzy said while wiggling her eyebrows with a smirk, then she pointed to her horn. "With a little bit of unicorn magic, you can make anything with snow," she said. Then, she gave an evil laugh and a creepy look. "Anything!" she repeated as she got right into Posey’s face, which scared the earth pony, and Izzy gave another evil laugh. Suddenly, someone behind her cleared their throat, and Izzy gulped as she turned around to smile sheepishly at Knuckles, who looked at her with a frown and crossed arms. "What did we talk about?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "That I shouldn't laugh like that..." Izzy replied in a sad tone. Knuckles nodded and patted her back with a smile, which made her feel better and smile. The others gathered around Izzy as the unicorn concentrated her magic. Then, some snow started to come out from the ground. The others looked up and saw Izzy’s magic forming into a big ball before it exploded. A rainbow swirled around them, and the snow pieces sparkled with a glow like a rainbow. Posey watched in awe and smiled. Zipp laughed at the amazing sight while Tails, at her side, looked at her with a smirk. Pipp watched with sparkling eyes and a wide smile, and Sonic looked at her with a wide smile. "Ahhh," Hitch also said in awe, finding it amazing. Sunny looked at him with a smile and a slight blush. "You never cease to impress me, Izz," Knuckles told her as he kept looking around. Sparky smiled at this as he tried to catch snow with his claws, but he giggled when he saw it was gone. Izzy was amazed at what she did, so she decided to focus even more now, which she used to make mini snow ponies as they danced around, all thanks to Izzy's magic, while the others continued to watch in amazement. Posey looked up as she smiled widely with sparkling eyes, but then the wind started whistling as everything began to speed up. Since Izzy was putting too much magic into the snow, she smiled with her eyes closed while concentrating, not knowing she was making it go too fast. The others got worried as everything began to speed up around them while Posey and Knuckles approached Izzy, tapping on her sides and shaking her to snap out of it. "Izzy! Stop! You're crossing the line!" Knuckles called out as he and Posey got Izzy to snap out of her concentration by shaking her, making her dizzy. Izzy got out of her dizziness and stopped moving the snow around, which caused the snow to fall on the heads of the Mane 5, Team Sonic, Sparky, and Posey. Posey raised an eyebrow and looked at Izzy while Knuckles looked on with a bored expression. "Perhaps you got way too excited..." he said, while Posey nodded her head in agreement and Izzy gave a sheepish smile. Later, Hitch and Sunny's turn arrived, and Sonic decided to join them because of what they planned to do. "No, no, no. You ponies have this all wrong," Hitch said to the others, as some, like Knuckles and Pipp, looked at him with bored expressions while Tails, Izzy, and Zipp raised their eyebrows. "They're all good ideas, but I think they just made Posey hate snow more than she already did," Sonic pointed out. "It's not about doing stuff with the snow. It's what you can do on the snow!" Sunny pointed out with a smile as she smirked at Posey. "Like…" she started, making Posey grow nervous. "Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it!" Posey cried out in panic as she began to sweat and covered her eyes with her hooves. Suddenly, Posey was wearing a helmet and standing on a snowboard, which made her look in fright. With Sparky on his back, Hitch and Sunny came by in their snowboard gear as they surfed down the snowy hill past Posey. "SNOWBOARDING!" the two ponies called out as they boarded downhill in their snowboards. "Tada rirakkusu, Posey!" Sonic smiled and told her to relax in Japanese. He arrived with the same winter gear he used on Winter Wishday. "Just take it slow, and you'll be fine," he assured. Then he wore his winter glasses and followed Hitch and Sunny down the hill. Posey rubbed her head nervously while her snowboard tilted to the edge of the hill, which made Posey even more scared. "This... is... my... NIGHTMARE!" she cried out as she began to snowboard downhill and screamed in a panic, getting between Sunny and Hitch while still screaming as the two ponies smiled at her. "Snowboarding is all about discipline. Control. Being serious," Hitch explained, trying to look cool while Posey rolled her eyes at that. "It's about balance, courage, speed!" Sonic added as he snowboarded by doing some twirls around and air tricks. Sunny did snow tricks on her board by twisting and tossing snow. "It's about grace, being free, having fun, but most of all…" she tried to add, but... The snow Sunny tossed landed on Sparky's eyes, which made him yelp and fall on Hitch's face, which covered his eyes as he and Hitch screamed. Suddenly, they crashed into Posey and Sunny, which made the four of them start rolling down the hill into a giant snowball as they crashed into the ground, looking dizzy from the rolling and the crashing. "...not crashing," both Sunny and Hitch said in unison. Sonic stopped before the three ponies and put his snow glasses on his forehead. "Say, Posey, you're not liking this, are you?" he asked in concern. "No..." Posey replied in a dead tone. Sparky popped his head off on the top as he shook the snow off him with an annoying expression. Then, he blew one of his dragon fires on a hill that melted the snow and grass off, showing nice ground on which to lay. Sparky came down and landed on Posey's helmet. He giggled with sparkling eyes and sat down on the warm ground. Sonic looked at Sparky, then Posey, and then he smirked with an idea. He whistled at Tails and Knuckles, who were making a new snowman - not using Tails this time - when they heard Sonic calling them, so they boosted towards him. "Guys, let's give Posey a little warm," Sonic said with a smirk, pointing at where Sparky was sitting. Knuckles felled a tree on one hit; then he smacked the tree even more to make firewood for a campfire. Tails went to the headless snowpony they had made before and grabbed Pipp's blanket while Sonic helped Posey stand up. "No more snow for you, Posey," Sonic told her with a smirk. "What do you mean?" Posey asked with a raised eyebrow. Sonic pointed to where Sparky was sitting, now with the firewood organized by Knuckles and Tails waiting for her with the blanket and a smile. Posey smiled at the sight; then she looked at Sonic with a thankful look as he winked an eye at her. Meanwhile, the Mane 5 gathered around as they tried to devise other ways for Posey. "We could always try sledding," Hitch suggested as he held up a sled. "Or snowballs?" Zipp suggested while holding a snowball. "Or snow cones?" Pipp suggested, popping between Hitch and Zipp as she held up a snow cone she made with a cherry on top with a smile. "They're so delish, Posey!" she called out. But the Mane 5 turned and saw Posey with Sparky on the spot Team Sonic made as Posey was wrapped on Pipp's blanket, and the sun shone down on her. Sparky used his dragon fire again to make a fire on some wood and giggled, while Posey smiled at the warmth, also shivering a bit. "Maybe some ponies just don't like the snow," Izzy said to the others in a sad tone. "We told you!" Sonic called out as he, Tails, and Knuckles walked away. Sunny thought of what Izzy was, and then an idea popped up. "That's it!" she called out with a smile. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were having fun with the snow. Posey was sitting in a beach chair, drinking a smoothie, and Sparky was also sitting in a chair. They also had a cutout of a life-size palm tree, and Posey was wrapped in a blanket. "Now, this is my kind of snow day!" Posey said with a smile. Meanwhile, Sonic helped Tails and Izzy turn Knuckles into a snowman as revenge, while Knuckles looked on with a bored expression. "This is worse karma than being the guardian of a giant green emerald," Knuckles said in annoyance. "It's my revenge, Knucklehead!" Tails cheered, putting a black top hat on Knuckles' head. As Sonic laughed at Knuckles's new aspect, since he always took every chance he could to make fun of Knuckles, Sunny approached him. "Hey, Sonic," Sunny called out. "Um... I should apologize. You, Tails, and Knuckles were right; we shouldn't have dragged Posey along if she didn't want to play in the snow. " She apologized with a little smile. Sonic smiled back at her before smirking and crossing his arms. "I suppose I could forgive you..." he said in a playful tone. "But that would be too easy and no fun, so..." he added. Sunny rolled her eyes with a smile, knowing that Sonic was messing with her. "Then what do you have in mind?" she asked. "A race!" Sonic stated with a confident smile. "You and I, snowboarding down the hill. I'll forgive you if you can defeat me," he explained. "A snowboarding race?" Sunny asked with a confident smile. "It's on!" she stated with a challenging look. So Sonic and Sunny decided to go and have that race. Of course, Sonic had already forgiven Sunny, but he only wanted to have fun with her. After all, it was a snow day, so they had to enjoy it as much as possible, right? THE END 38. Foal FoodIn the kitchen, Sunny was sweating nervously as she tried to make a cookie batter using the stand mixer. She then rolled the dough while grunting in an effort to flatten it, and then she stirred it in a bowl at a fast paste. After a while, Sunny smiled sparklingly, looking at a big dough with sprinkles. "I’ve done it!" Still, the dough deflated and puffed out some sugar and sprinkles on Sunny's face, who was shocked at this outcome and then sighed in disappointment, while Hitch and Knuckles popped up from behind her, looking at each other as Sunny looked at the dough, that suddenly let out some air. "Uh..." Knuckles said with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, buddy," Hitch said slowly, looking anxious and smiling. "How’s it going?" Just then, Izzy popped up beside Hitch and Knuckles with a cheery smile. "Oh! Are we dressing like mimes? Fun!" she cheered, while the sisters Sonic and Tails appeared next to know what was happening as well. "I am so ready," Izzy said, then started to do a mime presentation with her front hooves. She laughed slightly while the others looked at her, confused. Even Sunny raised an eyebrow at Izzy's weird question. "Uh, no," Sunny answered, wiping the dough and sprinkling it off her face. "I just wanted to make you all your favorite Winter Wishday cookies again," she explained. "But I don't remember where I put the recipes! I can’t find the right ones anywhere!" She pointed out the mess she caused by baking ingredients and stacking recipe books in the kitchen. "And you complain about me being messy whenever I work," Tails muttered to Sonic boredly. "Don't get me started, lil' bro," Sonic warned with the same bored expression. "I mean, I’ve never even heard of a Kiwi Pile of Crystal Unicorn Cookies…." Sunny pointed out, tossing the book she was reading. Izzy popped up from behind a counter with sparkling eyes and her tongue out as Sunny picked up another book. "Or Royal Banana Bite…" she added, which made Zipp and Pipp smile as Zipp licked her mouth and placed their hooves on their cheeks. "Or… or…" Sunny tried to remember the name of another cookie. "Grandma Figgy’s good old fashioned Marshmallow Citrus Crumblies?!" Hitch asked with a smile while placing his hooves on his face with sparkling eyes. "Exactly!" Sunny confirmed with a wave of her hoof. "I have no idea what half of those are, but they sound delicious," Knuckles said with a smirk and his arms crossed. "Don’t worry about it, Sun," Zipp told her with a smile, placing her hoof on her shoulder. "We haven’t eaten those cookies since we were little foals," she pointed out. "Yeah!" Izzy called out as she suddenly poked her hoof between them. This startled Sunny and Zipp as they backed up, but Izzy still did the mime thing, pretending that she was climbing a rope. "And they’re never gonna taste as good as you remember them anyway," she added with a smile. Sunny just glared in shock before giving out a challenging expression. "Oh, really…?" she asked them with a raised eyebrow. "Oh boy, this should be interesting," Sonic declared to himself. "Hey, Sunny-bunny! I have no idea what you're doing, but I'm going too!" he stated with a smirk. Sometime later, Sunny and Sonic were in the Marestream while flying through the sky, with Sonic driving it. Sunny looked at her book with a determined smile. "Time for Operation: Wishday Cookie!" Sunny announced with a smile as she looked at her book. "First, we'll get Grandma Figgy's recipe, then we’ll get Alphabittle's help in Bridlewood, and then we’ll break into the palace at Zephyr Heights to find the top secret royal recipe," she listed out, but then both Sunny and Sonic gave an odd look at the last part. "I'm sorry, what?” Sonic asked in confusion as he looked sideways at the book, wondering how that got there. "I-I didn't write this!" Sunny pointed out in shock and confusion. "Either Izzy wrote on your book, or Zipp thinks everyone's her," Sonic said in a playful and sarcastic tone, while Sunny just rolled her eyes and smiled. "Maybe," she retorted with a smirk. "Next stop, Grandma Figgy’s house!" Sonic called out with a confident smile. "Where your boyfriend's grandmother lives!" he added, now with a teasing smirk. Sunny blushed, embarrassed after Sonic said that. "Sonic!" she scolded him. "Hitch and I are just friends! We're not a couple," she pointed out, frowning and still blushing. "Yet," Sonic said with a confident smile. Sunny groaned in embarrassment. "You've been mocking us with that ever since we met. Care to explain why?" she asked, a bit annoyed. "You two are quite a show," Sonic said with a smirk. "You like each other; I can see that a mile away. I wonder what would have happened if you two kissed down the mistletoe instead of Pipp and me," he added teasingly. Now, it was Sunny's turn to smirk teasingly as she brought her phone out. "Oh, you mean this kiss~?" she asked mockingly, showing Sonic the picture that Tails had taken and that he had decided to send to the rest except for Sonic and Pipp. Sonic rolled his eyes and looked at Sunny with a smirk. "You guys aren't going to leave us alone after that happened, are you?" "Nope!" Sunny replied with a smile. "Ossharu tōri, misu toreirubureizā," Sonic said with a teasing tone, which caused Sunny to blush and hit him on his shoulder playfully. In case you wonder what he said, he called her 'Miss Trailblazer' in Japanese. A bit later, Figgy sat in her rocking chair, humming happily while knitting something. And then Sunny suddenly came in by opening the door with no previous warning. "Grandma Figgy!" she called out in panic while a thundering lightning bolt appeared behind her. This startled Figgy as she tossed her knitting in the air, and her chair tipped over, causing her to fall to the floor. Her knitting supplies were about to fall, but then Figgy stood up with a serious look and caught one of her needles, with the knitting thing on it, with one of her hinds hoofs, while also catching the other needle with her front hoof. "Wow," Sonic said, surprised. "From now on, I'm not underestimating my elders anymore!" he smiled. "Wise decision, dear," Figgy said with a smirk. Sunny then rushed in towards Figgy. "You gotta teach us how to make Hitch's favorite Wishday Cookies!" she pleaded but stopped when Figgy pointed a needle at her face with a look. "Uh… Please?" Sunny asked while sweating nervously, thinking Figgy was mad at her. Figgy adjusted her glasses a bit while still giving her a look, and suddenly, she smiled happily. "Hmm… Oh, Sunny. I'd love to teach you!" she said with a smile before getting serious again. "If you think you’re ready," she added while giving a stink eye to the pony and the hedgehog. "Uh… W-What?" Sunny asked, confused. "S-Sure thing! He he he..." Sonic said with a nervous smile. I should have stayed on the Marestream... he thought with concern. Back in the Brighthouse, Tails was sitting on the table near the kitchen, watching the trailer for a movie on his Miles Electric with headphones, while Pipp at his side looked at her social media... or at least she tried to, but something was wandering around on her mind. "Hey, uh, Tails..." Pipp called out. Despite wearing headphones, Tails had low volume, so he could hear Pipp calling him out. "Yeah?" he said, putting his headphones and Miles Electric aside. "With Sunny making this cookie for us and Sonic now deciding to go with her, I was wondering... do you guys happen to have a favorite cookie back home?" Pipp asked curiously. Tails thought about it for a bit, but he was not sure. "Well... aside from Chilidogs, I've never seen Sonic eating anything that he loves that–– Oh wait!" he said suddenly, then boosted towards his room, to be back soon enough with a grey book. He opened the book and revealed that it was actually a photo album, and Pipp just smiled brightly with sparkling eyes at the adorable pictures of Sonic as a kid. "Oh, my. Glitter!" Pipp smiled, looking at a picture of Sonic with a Santa hat and coat. Sonic looked bored at the camera. "This is so cute~!" she added with a giggle. "Yeah... Longclaw used to dress us like a guy called Santa Claus back home," Tails explained. "But Sonic has always been an 'I'm too cool for this' kind of guy, so you can imagine how much he hated it," he added with a smirk. "But I'm not showing you this so you can see how adorable we were back then," he pointed out, then moved to a certain picture and showed it to her. "This picture was taken the same year I met Sonic," he said. The picture in question was one of Longclaw patting Sonic's and Tails' heads with closed eyes and a smile while both Sonic and Tails happily chomped on a cookie that looked like a chocolate one but also had different sprinkles and a strawberry glaze. "That's Longclaw?" Pipp asked curiously. "Yeah," Tails replied with a sad smile. "She raised Sonic and taught him everything she knew. Then she accepted me like a son as well," he explained. "And she loved to cook a lot. Those cookies were the best part of our Christmas," he confessed. "They were the only thing Sonic loved more than Chilidogs... even more than running," he added. Pipp looked at the picture sadly, noticing how adorable Sonic was as a kid and how happy he looked. With a determinate expression, Pipp looked at Tails. "Do you remember the recipe?" she asked him. "Of these cookies, I mean," she added. "Yeah. I used to cook them with Longclaw sometimes, so I know the recipe," Tails said with a smile that vanished as he raised an eyebrow. "Why?" he questioned her. Pipp let out a sigh before looking up at the ceiling. "I... I want to give something to Sonic," she confessed. "Not only as a Wishentine/Christmas present but also as a personal thing..." she added with a slight blush. Tails smiled kindly at her. "That's a pretty good detail, actually," he said. "And it's the perfect excuse for you to get close to him after he gave you a smooch," he added mockingly. Pipp blushed a lot after he mentioned that. "T-Tails!" she scolded him. Tails laughed a bit before calming down. "I can give you a hand with the cookie recipe, actually, but since I feel like Sunny is going to use the kitchen once she comes back, we should do this somewhere else," he pointed out. "Wait! You're going to help me?!" Pipp asked with a smile. "Of course!" Tails said, smiling back. "I was planning to surprise him with the cookies anyway, but I think he'll love them more if they come from you directly," he added with a teasing smirk. Pipp just hugged him tightly in response. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you so much, Tails!" she said brightly. "N-No... problem", Tails barely said as Pipp hugged him. A little bit later, Sunny and Sonic each put on a green apron with stars on it, while Figgy placed some tablespoons on different sides, then a green spoon, and then held up a whisk with a determined expression. Sunny: What a day, magic everywhere Snowflakes in the air I wanna share it with you It's time to celebrate To "Jingle All the Way" Oh, there's so much we can do Figgy tossed the whisk in the air with a smile and then began to stir a batter in a bowl. "So, uh, do you have the recipe written down somewhere, or…" Sunny asked with a smile. "Oh, no, dear," Figgy answered with a smile. "It's all in here," she said while pointing a hoof to her chest, where her heart was. "Aw, that's sweet," Sunny said with a smile while bringing out her book and pen to write it down. "So, how much flour?" she asked while Sonic rolled his eyes with a smile. Pipp: Reachin' for rainbows, spreadin' good cheer "Why, just listen to your heart, and your hooves will follow," Figgy said with a smile as she walked off to get the next one. Zipp: Cherish the moment, Winter Wishday is here "Oh, boy…" Sunny said with anxiety. "This will take a while..." Sonic muttered in annoyance. Sunny, Pipp and Zipp: Family and friends and good times with you It's the best thing to do In the Bridlewood tea shop, a unicorn stallion was about to walk out the door, but then he heard something coming as Sunny and Sonic opened the doors, with Sunny having a pot on her head while Sonic had a bored expression. "Alphabittle, we need your help!" Sunny said quickly with a twitchy eye. Alphabittle looked at the two with a determined smile, putting on a chef hat. Mane 5 and Team Sonic: 'Cause all I want to do Is celebrate with you Because I love you From my heart to your hooves "Now, stir three times clockwise, throw some salt over your left shoulder, and break an egg with your right hoof," Alphabittle explained while Sunny and Sonic were stirring the batter, and Sunny grabbed some salt. "That's to chase away the cake ghosts," Alphabittle whispered to them and walked off, leaving Sunny and Sonic with strange looks. Sunny threw salt over her right shoulder, which made Alphabittle panic. "Aah! I said left shoulder! Do you want cake ghosts?!" he asked in a panicked tone as he got into their faces. Sunny and Sonic gave Alphabittle a nervous look as Sonic threw salt over his left shoulder. "Man, I didn't expect to become a chef today..." Sonic muttered with concern. Some time ago, in Figgy’s house, Figgy twirled around while Sunny and Sonic watched her, confused. Figgy hopped around and did a little dance around them. "And Hitch still believes she's a perfectionist," Sonic retorted with a smirk while Sunny giggled at his side. We're makin' memories, everypony The holidays are here It's the sweetest time of the year Figgy then put some sprinkles, a teaspoon of sugar, and one egg into the bowl, which caused Sunny to write it down quickly in her book as she sweated because of how fast Figgy was going. Figgy then held up something peeled as she kissed it on both hoofs while the ponies and hedgehog looked at the bowl. "Bake with your heart, not with your hooves!" Figgy said with a smile as she put the peeled things into the bowl. Sunny: So much fun, a holly jolly time A joyful Wishentine I wanna spend it with you Back in Bridlewood, Alphabittle made some weird moves with grunting sounds, surrounded by bowls and pots. Sunny tried to follow his moves, feeling a bit ridiculous as she grunted in an effort, while Sonic just stared at them with a 'you've gotta be kidding me' expression. But just when he was about to turn around, he slipped with a pot and landed on the floor with his face as the pot he slipped on flew in the air and landed on his head, making him growl in annoyance. Hitch: Reachin' for rainbows Alphabittle used a blue spoon to pick some kiwis and put them on his bow with a serious expression. Tails: Spreadin' good cheers Sunny and Sonic followed along, with Sunny holding a pink bowl while Sonic's was blue. They put their kiwis in their bowls, but then Alphabittle screamed as he came next to them. "Aah! You used the Jinxie spoon, Sunny!" he cried out in a panic, and Sunny looked at her spoon in shock while Sonic facepalmed. "These unicorn jinxies are giving me a headache..." Sonic muttered in annoyance. Sonic: Cherish the moment, it's the best time of year Sometime later, after Alphabittle, the Marestream flew straight to Zephyr Heights and headed to the palace. While making it to the Royal Palace, Sunny and Sonic hid behind a pillar, while Zoom and Thunder came out of a door while doing their guard duties. Knuckles: Family and friends Izzy: And all ponykind However, while Sunny had the plan to sneak in, Sonic suddenly stopped her. "What?" Sunny asked, confused. "Instead of sneaking in and doing something illegal, leave this one to me, Sunny. I have an idea," Sonic said confidently. "Are you sure?" Sunny asked, worried. "Don't worry, Sunny-bunny. I've got this!" Sonic declared, walking towards the two pegasi with a confident smirk. Once he got in front of them, the pegasi saluted at him, so he replied with a smile and another salute. "Hey guys! I know Queen Haven is busy, but my friend Sunny is over there..." Sonic started to explain, pointing at Sunny, still hiding behind the pillar, as she slowly came out and waved her hoof with a sheepish smile. "... needs a recipe to surprise Zipp and Pipp at the Brighthouse. Can I get in and request the recipe for a second?" he asked with a friendly tone. Zoom and Thunder looked at each other briefly before nodding and stepping aside to let Sonic in. "Thanks, guys!" Sonic smiled. "I'll be back in 2 minutes," he told Sunny before entering. Mane 5 and Team Sonic: Let's have a good time In Figgy’s house, Sunny was following Figgy's instructions. She gave her marshmallows kisses and placed each in her bowl while Figgy nodded in approval. 'Cause all I want to do Is celebrate with you Because I love you From my heart to your hooves Inside Zephyr Heights’ palace, Sonic walked down the corridor and whistled at the view of the place. "I swear, every time I enter this place, I'm always flabbergasted," Sonic said with a smile. "Sonic?" a female voice called out. Sonic saw Queen Haven in front of a book on a pedestal, looking a bit abandoned, to tell the truth. "Hi, Haven!" Sonic smiled. "Sorry to interrupt, but I need to request a little favor, if you don't mind," he said, now scratching his head a bit embarrassed. We're makin' memories, everypony The holidays are here It's the sweetest time of the year After two exact minutes, Sonic came out of the palace smiling and walked towards Sunny. "So, did you get it?" Sunny asked desperately. Sonic's smile grew bigger, and he took out his phone to show her a picture of the recipe from the book, which made Sunny smile with sparkling eyes. "I told you I've got this," Sonic said proudly. "Now, let's return to Maretime Bay!" he added. He and Sunny got on the Marestream as Sonic flew the vehicle towards the Crystal Brighthouse in Maretime Bay. (Hoof to hoof, hoof to hoof) The sweetest time of the year (Hoof to hoof, hoof to hoof) The sweetest time of the year At Figgy’s house, Sunny looked determined as she put her cookie batters on the baking plate at a fast paste. Figgy smiled before tossing a brush from her tail at her. But then Sunny smirked, caught the brush with her hoof, and twirled it around. Figgy gasped in shock before smiling. "Now... you're ready," she said with a smile. "Somehow, I got all messy, yet I didn't cook..." Sonic pointed out, confused and covered in flour. He stood next to Figgy, who had just tossed a broom at him with a smirk. "And this is what happens when I open my mouth..." he told himself with a bored expression and then started sweeping. (Hoof to hoof, hoof to hoof) The sweetest time of the year Sometime later, Sunny and Sonic returned to the Brighthouse after they received the recipes for their friends' favorite cookies. Sunny was trying to make the cookies in the kitchen but was having some trouble. "Spin four times? Or five times?" Sunny asked, panicked, as she added a lot of flour and stirred it fast. "Add a pinch of, uh... Wait, what was it? Something about a sunbeam?" she asked herself as she poured a bunch of other stuff into the bowl and looked at her journal with the recipes inside, but then the cookie batter exploded into her face as it was covered with flour again. Sunny coughed and sighed in disappointment. "It seems like you could use some help," Sonic said with a smile, appearing at her side with a towel he had used to clean her face of flour. "I mean, sure, but..." Sunny said, sighing again in sadness. "This isn't working out as I thought..." she added. Sonic smiled softly at her. "Hey, you traveled across the country to make your father's and your dream come true; you saved magic from disappearing and created new magic. You're even aware of a darker force coming up, and you're preparing to face it!" he pointed out at her. "Some cookies aren't that big of a deal. And besides, you're forgetting the most important step: bake with your heart, not with your hooves," he finished with a confident smirk, pointing at her chest with a finger. Sunny looked down at her chest, remembering what Grandma Figgy said. 'Bake with your heart, not with your hooves...!' Figgy’s voice echoed through her mind as she calmed down and gave a determined expression. "My heart, not my hooves," she said confidently. "Exactly," Sonic said with a smirk. "Now, let’s get baking!" he declared while Sunny nodded in agreement. Mane 5 and Team Sonic: 'Cause all I want to do Is celebrate with you Because I love you From my heart to your hooves Sunny twirled around with a smile while placing some ingredients as Figgy did. Sunny smiled at the marshmallow as she placed it in the bowl. Then, she kissed a box of flowers and poured some into the bowl. Sonic then threw salt over his left shoulder with a determined look. The cookie batter sparkled, then gave out some ghost-like smokes, which startled Sonic completely. "Perhaps the unicorns aren't that crazy with the Jinxie stuff after all..." Sonic said with an anxious look. Sometime later, after Sunny and Sonic baked the cookies, they walked to the table where their friends were. Tails and Knuckles stood alongside Sonic since the cookies were not for them. "Your extra-special Winter Wishday cookies are served!" Sunny announced as she and Sonic placed the three plates of different cookies, one of each tribe's favorites for their friends, on the table. "Meshiagare!" Sonic added with a smile, telling them, 'Bon Appetite!' in Japanese while he was covered in some flour. The rest of their friends smiled at this while Izzy gasped in awe. "Come on, guys, you didn't have to…" Hitch tried to say it with a smile, but when he picked up a cookie from the Earth Pony plate of cookies, he saw the cookie bubbling. "Oh," he said, finding his cookie weird. Pipp and Zipp picked up some cookies from the pegasus plate as they frizzed like fireworks, while the two sisters gasped in shock. Izzy saw her plate of cookies as ghost smoke came out of a cake with a little wail, which made Izzy's spine chill as she sweated nervously. "Oh! Cake ghost!" she whispered, turning her head away. "Kinda saw this reaction coming, but still... Ouch," Sonic muttered with worry as he sweated a bit. "Okay, I know they don't look exactly how you remember, but—" Sunny tried to say, but Hitch cut her off. "No! Uh, they look great!" Hitch called out with a nervous smile. "Uh-huh." The rest of the Mane 5 agreed, and they smiled nervously. "Can't wait to taste it. Uh…" Hitch said nervously as he got the cookie closer and took a bite. Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy followed along as they took a bite of their cookies. But then, the four ponies' eyes widened as they started to remember... Fillies Zipp and Pipp were together at the Zephyr Heights castle, eating cookies similar to what Sunny and Sonic made as they looked at each other before giggling together. Filly Izzy was in The Crystal Tea Room in Bridlewood, eating a cookie similar to what Sunny and Sonic made. "Ah!" Young Izzy said to a spoon with a smiling face on it and a pencil glued to its head like a unicorn with a teacup in the back to keep it balanced while trying to share her cookie with it. Foal Hitch was at his grandmother’s place, and he sighed with a smile when Figgy rubbed his head before giving him a cookie similar to what Sunny and Sonic made. "Ah!" Young Hitch said as he grabbed the cookie and took a bite out of it with a smile, while Figgy smiled at his grandson. Sunny and Sonic looked at their friends with raised eyebrows. Then, the Mane 5 sins Sunny started to eat the cookies rapidly, which startled both Sunny and Sonic. Hitch held up two cookies on his hooves and gave a tearful expression. "Just like Grandma Figgy used to make!" he said with a nostalgic tone. "Okay, the change of attitude was unexpected, but I'm not complaining," Sonic said with a smile. "I'm still surprised you managed to cook without burning the whole place down," Tails told Sonic with a smirk. "It was a one-time thing!" Sonic groaned in frustration. "I only wanted to make breakfast!" he pointed out with a frown. "And it ended on Longclaw punishing you without Chilidogs for two months," Knuckles pointed out with a smirk. "I wasn't there, but Tails told me everything," he added while Sonic groaned and rolled his eyes. Pipp then came next to Sunny with a smile. "We made a Wishday cookie for you, too!" she said, pointing behind her and seeing Izzy holding a stack of cookies resembling Sunny in her Alicorn form. "Oh!" Sunny said as she turned and gasped at the cookies. She picked one up, and despite some decorations falling, she didn't mind. Sunny tried to take a bite but cringed as she removed the cookie. Now, a piece of her tooth was broken. "I'm not sure we got the recipe quite right," Hitch said sheepishly, giving Sunny an apologetic smile. Sunny just laughed it up, with the rest joining her. Sonic, however, just went aside to clean up the flour of his body, and Tails 'surreptitiously' approached Pipp and pushed her shoulder slightly while indicating with his head that she should go with Sonic. Pipp gulped nervously but still decided to give it a shot as she walked towards Sonic, who was cleaned up with a kitchen towel. "H-Hey, Sonic..." Pipp called out nervously, also blushing. "Hey, Little Pipp," Sonic greeted back with a smile. "Are you okay? You seem a bit nervous," he pointed out, concerned. "Y-Yeah! E-Everything's fine!" Pipp said, gulping again as she brought a paper bag from her wing. "I-I just, uh... I-I wanted to give you this," she said, extending the bag to Sonic. Sonic grabbed the bag and looked inside, finding some cookies that seemed familiar, but he couldn't exactly tell why. "Wow, this looks delicious!" Sonic said with a smile. "Thanks, Little Pipp. You shouldn't have!" he added. While Pipp smiled nervously, still blushing, Sonic chomped the same cookie he had taken out to widen his eyes. Now it was clear why the cookies seemed familiar: Longclaw used to bake them, and they tasted exactly like she used to. "Pipp..." Sonic called out in shock. "H-How did you..." he wanted to ask, but the intensity of his emotions prevented him from speaking properly. "I kinda help her with the recipe, but she wanted to make them just for you!" Tails decided to step in since Pipp was too nervous to speak, but she just nodded with a sheepish smile at what Tails said. "I-I-I wanted to give you something that could remind you of your mother figure, a-a-and I thought that the cookies could be the perfect excuse," Pipp explained, sweating nervously. "B-But if you don't want them, it's okay! N-No need to––" she tried to add, however... Sonic put the cookie back in the bag, then put the bag aside and suddenly hugged Pipp. Pipp was taken aback, and her blush just increased. "Pipp... thank you," Sonic whispered to her weakly and smiled. "Y-You have no idea how much this means to me," he added. Pipp smiled softly as her blush finally disappeared. "It was my pleasure, Blue Star," she said, wrapping the hedgehog warmly. THE END Author's Note Well, I guess it is time for you guys to know how Longclaw used to look like on this story: With that said (and showed), I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! See ya! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 39. Under the MistytoeAuthor's Note Apparently, this episode happened at the same time than the Winter Wishday episode ending, so I decided to change it and adapt it so it can be more fitting with what I wrote there. P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 39. Under the Mistytoe The Marestream landed in front of the Brighthouse, and the whole gang sins Sonic got out of it to see an explosion in the air. "Do you see him?!" Pipp asked in worry and concern. The gang looked around for Sonic until Sunny saw a pink light coming from the sky. "There!" she said, pointing her hoof toward the pink light. Sonic, who transformed into a pink variation of Super Sonic using the only Chaos Emeralds they had, descended in slow paste until he finally touched the ground, where he couldn't take the Emeralds' power anymore, and he let them go. The Emeralds fell to the ground, and Sonic fell on his knees as he started coughing and breathing heavily. As the group moved towards their hedgehog friend, at the front of the Marestream, a bush stood up with hooves under it. It walked further away from the Marestream, and then a pony poked its head out of the bush, revealing itself to be Misty. "Awww. Look at their matching hats. They look so cute!" Misty said with a smile. "But why are they so worried, tho?" she wondered, raising an eyebrow. Then she saw Dr. Eggman talking to the group from his Eggmobile and flying away towards Opaline's Castle. Misty's amulet clicked open, and Opaline appeared while looking at the Mane 5 and Team Sonic gathered, watching the direction where Eggman boosted away. "Ivo?" she asked with a scoff. "What was he doing here?" she questioned with a glare. Misty shrugged while Opaline rolled her eyes. Then, she noticed the group's outfits and scoffed again. "What are those ridiculous things on their heads?" Opaline questioned while giving a distasteful look. "Oh, yeah..." Misty said with a nervous chuckle. "It must be an Earth Pony Wishday thing," she suggested. Opaline groaned after hearing that. "Silly ponies and their pointless holiday traditions. It's sad, really: All that power, no intellect," she smirked. "Yeah..." Misty said with a nervous laugh, also clearing her throat. "So sad," she added, looking sadly at the ground. At the top of the Brighthouse, the Mane 5, Sparky, and Team Sonic gathered around, looking at the sky as the Wishing Star approached them. "Okay, everypony! Get ready to make your wish!" Sunny announced while her friends grew excited. "Three, two, one!" she counted down, smiling with sparkling eyes at the night sky. Just then, the Wishing Star appeared and flew above the Brighthouse, giving a shimmering glow while the group looked and spoke in awe at the Wishing Star. Suddenly, the Brighthouse shot a rainbow while the Mane 5’s Cutie Marks glowed. Then, their magic shootout and merged with the rainbow. At the same time, the Unity Crystals started to resonate as well, merging as the Wishing Star stood in place and began to glow brightly with a rainbow circling it. The Unity Crystals suddenly projected the Mane 5 Cutie Marks in the sky and, soon enough, Team Sonic's faces. Misty and Opaline saw the whole thing, with Misty looking on in awe. "Wow! Look at that!" she said in amazement with sparkling eyes but then noticed how Opaline didn't respond. "Uh, Opaline? Are you okay?" she asked. Opaline stared in shock at the spectacle, trying to process what she had just witnessed. "Did you see that?! That magic! That power!" she cried in rage while Misty grew nervous at Opaline's sudden outburst. "It should be mine! All mine! All I need is that dragon fire, and then my powers can finally be restored to their full strength!" she called with wide eyes and an evil smile, also getting closer to Misty's face, who looked at her, scared and nervous. "And you are going to make that happen... or else," she warned, while Misty began to sweat nervously as Opaline went back into the amulet, leaving Misty a bit nervous now. Misty disguised herself in a giant present and arrived at the Brighthouse a little later. She stuck her hoof in a secret hole and rang the doorbell before putting her hoof back inside. "... take me on a sleigh, hey!" Izzy sang as she opened the door and saw the big present right before her, which caused her to smile with sparkling eyes. "Ooh! Another present!" she said cheerfully as she read the card on the present. "'Do not open until tomorrow morning.' Ooh, mysterious!" she added excitedly, then levitated Misty's disguise present with her magic but struggled since the present was heavy. "What is... in here?" she asked as she got the present inside the Brighthouse. In the Brighthouse’s main room, the rest of the group played around with the 'cloud gifts' Izzy brought out with a smile while Sparky played in one of the boxes, and Pipp smiled at him cutely. Then, Knuckles turned and noticed Izzy struggling with the box. He ran towards her and stood down from the box to lift it. "Huh," Izzy said, not noticing Knuckles helping yet. "Suddenly, it doesn't feel heavy anymore..." she said, then noticed Knuckles lifting the box as well. "Oh, thanks, Knuckle!" she said brightly. Knuckles gulped and blushed a bit before smiling back. "A-Anytime, kid," he said, but as soon as Izzy let her magic go, Knuckles felt his muscles almost cracking by the weight of the box. "Holy s––" he almost said. "E for everyone, Knux," Sonic said with a glare, suddenly zooming to his face and showing a sign with the letter 'E' on it. "Rated 'E' for everyone," he reminded again in a whisper, then boosted back with the others. Knuckles just gave a bored expression and walked forward before putting the present on the ground. "What the heck is inside this box, anyway?" he questioned. Pipp suddenly approached them and looked excitedly at the big present. "Ooh, this big one must be for me!" she said cheerfully. Inside the fake present, Misty grew nervous, afraid that Pipp would open it and not only ruin her mission of capturing Sparky but also make her explain why she was in there, probably making her expose herself and tell that she was working with Opaline and Eggman. But just as Pipp was about to touch the present, Izzy got in front of her and glared. "Hooves off this one, Pipp," she said before smiling. "It can't be opened 'til tomorrow morning. Check the label," she explained, showing the card to Pipp to prove her point. "Awwww. Sad," Pipp said with a down expression. Then Sonic came by and patted her back. "Don't worry, Little Pipp," he told her with a smile. "Let's follow up on Izzy's game and open the present tomorrow," he winked. Pipp blushed a bit but smiled back and nodded. "Sounds good," she said. Then she took out her phone and took a quick selfie with the gift, moving towards the fireplace zone to publish it on her social media. She stood down a mistletoe without noticing it. "Phew. That was close," Misty muttered inside the box, relieved she hadn’t been caught. "I see where you're going, Princess," Sonic said mockingly. "Okay! I'll please you this time only," he stated, standing up and walking towards Pipp. Misty heard his voice, and out of curiosity, he opened the hole she used to ring the bell before and looked at Sonic, lying on the wall near the fireplace with a relaxed smile. Pipp kept looking at her phone. She also noticed the mistletoe and gasped quietly, knowing what would happen. "You know, Little Pipp..." Sonic called out, but when Pipp finally noticed him, she put her phone aside and paid attention to him. "You still owe me something," he said, looking at her. "I do?" Pipp asked, confused. "What?" she questioned. Instead of replying with words, Sonic stood before her and pointed upwards with his finger. Pipp looked up and finally noticed the mistletoe as well. "Hang on, isn't that a mistle––" Pipp tried to ask... but her words were cut off when Sonic kissed her. It took Pipp completely off guard, as she didn't know how to react. Her eyes were wide open, her wings opened, and her face turned red. Sunny, Izzy, and Tails gasped in shock and excitement at Sonic's move, while Knuckles and Hitch looked on with their jaws dropped, and Zipp smirked at them. Tails snapped a picture of Sonic and Pipp's kiss down the mistletoe. "I'm mocking them with this!" he stated. Misty smiled and giggled a bit at the sight. "These two are surely taking their time to confess to each other!" she muttered. Sometime later, the Mane 5, Knuckles, Cloudpuff, and Sparky were sleeping in the living room on their sleeping bags. Then, Misty looked through the hole, and once she saw the coast clear, she squeezed through the hole with effort until she got out of the present and fell to the floor. She immediately got up and covered her mouth with her hooves to stay quiet before waking anyone up. "What am I doing? These ponies are so nice," Misty said to herself with a guilty expression, but then she shook her head and focused back on her task. "Oh, come on, Misty! You get Opaline, that dragon; you get a Cutie Mark, and Eggman congratulates you for your efforts! Stay focused!" she said to herself with a determined expression. Misty sneakily went through the room to look for Sparky while Izzy and Knuckles were snoring, as Izzy was wrapped on Knuckles' right arm and muttered something about glitter. Suddenly, she turned to Misty's side, making Misty duck slightly in panic. She thought Izzy was about to wake up but realized she was still asleep since she snored. Then, Misty sneakily went past Pipp, sleeping peacefully next to Sonic's empty sleeping bag. As she snored a bit, Misty froze in place. "Oh yes, Blue Star. Please do it," she muttered in her sleep with a chuckle, tucking herself more into her blanket. "Yuck!" Misty muttered disgustedly, passing by the sleeping pegasus and continuing her search for Sparky. She went to where Hitch was sleeping for the night in the Critter Corner since it was too late for him to return to the station. And then, Misty heard a rustling sound as she turned to Izzy's crafting table. She smiled when she saw Sparky eating a ball of yarn and burping out a dragon fire with his eyes open. Misty grew nervous, thinking Sparky was waking up, but then the baby dragon continued to eat the ball yarn. He was sleeping, walking, and eating at the same time. "Hmmm…" Misty hummed to herself, an idea forming in her head. "I know just how to get that little dragon's attention," she declared with an evil smirk, rubbing her hooves like Eggman had taught her to do so. Later on, Misty baked a fresh donut and hid behind a counter with an evil smirk. Then, Sparky sleepwalked towards the donut by following the smell, snoring and mumbling about something as he climbed up the counter and chewed on the donut face first. Misty smiled, seeing her plan working out. Then she released a rope, and a net was about to fall over Sparky. But the baby dragon finished his donut and blew his dragon fire on the net, which turned into cupcakes. Sparky laughed happily, grabbed some of the cupcakes, then exited the counter and walked off. Misty groaned in sadness, seeing that her first plan failed and got turned into cupcakes... literally. Misty tried out the classic lured prey technique a little bit later by following a food trail to get trapped in a box. Misty used mini sandwiches as a trail to lure Sparky in. Misty then hid behind the counter again, with a rope tied to the stick holding one edge of the box. She gave an evil smirk, pretty confident that this plan would work. Sparky walked by, still snoring as he ate the sandwich trail while sleepwalking, getting closer to the box trap. Misty smiled, confident that this was it—she would finally capture Sparky. But then the baby dragon grabbed the stick holding the box and chewed on the stick, splitting it in half. "What?!" Misty asked in disbelief at what happened and wondered why Sparky would eat a stick. "Ugh!" she groaned in frustration, reaching the limit of her patience. She then zipped out of the counter and tried to grab Sparky. She was tired of making silly plans and wanted to get straight to the point. Sparky started to run in his sleep while an irritated Misty chased him around, and Sparky's yarn ball, which he was chewing on earlier, rolled ahead of them. Misty ran back around and looked to see where Sparky ran off, too, with an irritated look. Suddenly, something behind Misty at Izzy’s crafting table came rushing into it, and a can of spray rolled across the floor. Misty turned and gave an evil smile, then rushed to the crafting table and looked at the shadowy figure, thinking it was Sparky. "Gotcha!" Misty called out as she came over it with a red sack, trapping what she believed was Sparky inside as she approached the door. With a smile, she brought out her own winter hat, thinking she had finally succeeded in her task. But as soon as she was about to open the door, one of them slammed on her face and got her behind it. Sonic entered the Brighthouse with a tired expression, carrying a sleepy Tail. They were outside, sending their letter to Longclaw on a floating lantern, and after a while, Tails felt sleepy, so Sonic decided to carry him back, but Tails eventually fell asleep. "I can't believe you can handle both me and Knuckles in the air, but I can barely carry you around anymore," Sonic muttered to the already asleep Tails on his back. Sonic smiled at Tails' sleeping back beside Zipp and placed the young fox over it, covering him with his blanket. Misty got out from behind the door, a bit dizzy. Then she shook her head and noticed Sonic awake. She panicked and quickly exited the Brighthouse, slamming the door a bit. No one but Sonic seemed to notice that, and the hedgehog turned towards the door, finding Sparky still sleepwalking and trying to chew the yarn ball. "Sparky, what are you doing here?" Sonic asked with a little smile, grabbing the baby dragon and putting him back with Hitch on the Critter Corner. "There you go, little guy. Sweet dreams," he wished him. After that, he walked to his sleeping bag at Pipp's side, saw the Memorial Christmas Tree for Longclaw on a corner, and smiled sadly again. "Good night to you too, Longclaw. Wherever you are," Sonic muttered. After that, he covered himself on his blanket over his sleeping bag, closed his eyes, and fell asleep almost immediately. At Opaline’s castle, she surprisingly wore a Wishday green hat and coat as she sang happily to herself. "Dragon fire, dragon fire. That's what I desire––" Opaline sang happily to herself. It seems she loves holidays. But of course, she's a big bad girl who wants to steal magic. She's an evil alicorn, blah, blah, blah. You get why she wants to hide it from Misty, right? Suddenly, the door opened, and Misty came in with a smile. "Opaline!" she called out happily, which startled Opaline from Misty’s sudden appearance. Not wanting Misty to see her hat or hear her singing, she quickly removed the green hat and coat with a nervous smile while sweating nervously. "Misty! I, uh... Well, I wasn't expecting you back so soon," she said nervously. "Clearly," Misty said with a raised eyebrow. "Were you just... singing?" she asked confused. Opaline laughed and sweated nervously. "No! What?! Of course not!" she stammered nervously while Misty placed the bag with 'Sparky' in it. "Singing? Me? You must be hearing things again," she stated before gasping when she saw the red bag. "Is that what I think it is?!" she asked hopefully with a smile. "Open it," Misty instructed with a smirk, thinking she would love what was coming. Opaline gasped with joy as she walked towards the bag with a smile. "After all these moons, finally, I have what I need to resume my rightful place as the most powerful Fire Alicorn in history!" she said evilly with an evil smile. But when she opened the bag, Cloudpuff came out, still wearing his bed mask over his eyes, barking at her. Opaline looked on in shock, her jaw hanging, as Cloudpuff kept barking and hitting Opaline's face, giving her an irritated look as she and Misty looked at Cloudpuff running around. "What is that?" Opaline asked, irritated, while Misty looked on in shock as she looked at the sack, realizing she caught the wrong creature. "Does that look like a dragon to you, Misty?" she sarcastically asked Misty with a glare while Misty sweated nervously, and the evil alicorn groaned in frustration. "Can't you do anything right?!" she asked in rage. She angrily approached Misty’s face, and the unicorn cringed fearfully. "It was dark!" Misty tried to explain while tears formed in her eyes. "I-I thought it was the dragon! I'm sorry, Opaline!" she apologized; while Opaline trembled and tried to keep her rage in check, her back turned to Misty. "Well, don't just stand there," Opaline said as she turned to Misty. "Get it OUT OF HERE!!!" she yelled in rage while pointing at Cloudpuff, who was still running around the room. Misty got scared of Opaline’s outburst and rushed to catch Cloudpuff and return him to the Brighthouse. The dog ran around barking, and Misty fell to the floor when she tried to catch him. Opaline face walked and groaned, not only from Misty’s screw-up but also annoyed about Misty’s trouble catching that dog. Then, because of all the noise, Eggman opened his lab's door and stared daggers at the mares. He wore blue pajamas with his logotype all over, a hat matching his clothes, and pink slippers. For some reason, he also had curlers on his mustache, and he wasn't wearing his gloves or glasses, which made his angry stare a lot more terrifying. "What's with all this noise? You two won't let me sleep?!" Eggman shouted in anger while both Opaline and Misty looked at him, both scared and confused, since they didn't expect to see Eggman wearing pajamas. Cloudpuff, however, kept running around and barking, finally calling Eggman's attention. "Opaline... what is the dog of the influencer pegasus doing here?" Eggman asked with a bored tone and expression. "Ask Misty," Opaline replied, glaring daggers at Misty, who gulped nervously. "Misty?" Eggman called out with a raised eyebrow. "What happened?" he added. Misty chuckled nervously as she looked around and sweated. "W-Well... t-the thing is..." she said before explaining the whole thing to Eggman. The next morning, back at the Brighthouse, Izzy opened the door. After the doorbell rang again, she saw nopony but a small present in front of her. "Ooh, another present?" Izzy asked with a smile as she went to the side of the present and read the card on it. 'Open immediately.' Don't mind if I do!" she said with a smirk. She opened the present and saw Cloudpuff barking happily while his sleeping mask came off. It seems that the only way Misty could return to Cloudpuff was the same way she got inside the Brighthouse the first time. "Cloudpuff!" Izzy asked happily after a little gasp. Cloudpuff jumped out of the box onto Izzy's hoof, licked her cheeks, and landed back on the ground. "Ooh! How'd you get in a box?" she wondered before she gasped again. "I was in a box once. It's so fun," she said to the dog with a smile. Then she and Cloudpuff went back inside the Brighthouse as the door closed. THE END 40. Secret CanterIn the Crystal Brighthouse, the Mane 5, minus Izzy, Sparky, and Team Sonic, were putting up the Winter Wishday tree in the living room. Sparky, Tails, and Zipp flew to the high corners to place decorations while Hitch was about to warp the white decorative stream around the tree. Knuckles placed the lights, and Sonic helped Pipp unpack some decorations. Suddenly, the power went out on the Brighthouse, with only the fireplace and the lights around the tree giving some light. "Huh?" Sunny and Pipp asked in confusion from the sudden blackout. "Just for the record, I didn't do anything bad this time," Sonic defended himself, looking around, confused. Then, the front door suddenly opened, and a pony with a red cloak on, with its face hidden inside the hood, came in with some fog around it. The rest of the Mane 5 gasped in fright, with Sunny and Hitch covering the back of the couch, Zipp side hugging Tails as she hid her face on his neck, Pipp doing the same with Sonic and Knuckles just standing behind the tree, confused with a raised eyebrow. Sparky also got spooked by this because it made him fart out dragon fire from his rear, which durn the decorations box. The baby dragon laughed a bit before hiding as well. Sonic ignored what Sparky did, placing an arm in front of Pipp to protect her and glaring at the mysterious pony. "Alright, shadowy pony. You better start to explain who you are and what you want!" "You'll find out soon!" the pony replied in a familiar tone, their voice sounding a bit female. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me..." Knuckles muttered, silently facepalming and shaking his head in disbelief. "Kinda saw it coming, but still..." Tails muttered with a bored expression and an eye roll. "Ponies! The time has come…" the mysterious mare called out, while Sunny, Hitch, and Sparky popped out behind the couch with scared looks. Tails landed, and Zipp hid behind him, and Pipp did the same with Sonic, still hugging him. But then, the pony took her cape off and revealed to be Izzy, who smiled cheerfully at her friends. "... To do 'Secret Canter!'" she cheered as she started to dance and sing around. "Secret Canter time. It’s Secret Canter time!" she sang with a twirl as she struck a pose with a wink and smiled at her friends, who were looking at her in confusion. Knuckles had no idea what was happening, and Sonic and Tails looked at each other anxiously. "Time to canter secretly. Sing the chorus repeatedly. Secret Canter Time," Izzy sang with a cheery smile. "Uh, Secret what-er?" Pipp asked. "Izz, honey, please stop saying nonsense without giving out some context first," Knuckles begged with a bored expression, tired tone, and a hand on his hip. "It’s an annual Bridlewood Wishiehoof tradition," Izzy smiled. "Full of secrets!" she added with a spooky tone and expression. "Izzy, stop trying to be spooky," Knuckles said again. "You're only making yourself cuter than you already are," he added while the rest nodded in agreement. After that sudden comment, especially from Knuckles, Izzy blushed and chuckled sheepishly, but she couldn't understand why. She doesn't understand why she sweats and gets nervous when Knuckles is simply being Knuckles, but she doesn't have time to find out now. Sometime later, Izzy lit up some candles and got her hood back on, giving a mischievous smirk to the others. "Come forth, ponies!" Izzy called out to her friends while they watched on, confused and shrugging at each other. "And let the sacred Wishiehoof vestal reveal if you’re Pony it to you!" she announced, holding up a holiday hat to the others, still smirking. "So, we draw names from the hat?" Sunny asked, summarizing what Izzy was trying to say, while the rest just looked on with raised eyebrows and, in Sonic's case, a bored expression. "Kinda," Izzy said with her usual tone and smile. "But with magic and mystery!" she said, shaking the hat and whispering the 'mystery' part. However, Pipp noticed what hat Izzy held and gasped in shock. "Hey, my elf hat!" she cried out, giving Izzy a look that made her cringe. "I’ve been looking for that!" she added with anger. "Silence!" Izzy shouted, quieting Pipp and holding up the hat with a smirk. "The time for secret selection is upon us," she announced. Pipp raised an eyebrow, confused, as she placed her hoof in the hat. "Hmm," she hummed as she searched the hat and took out a card. One by one, the rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic also picked out a card from the hat. "You may secretly check what pony you are picking," Izzy stated, still smirking. The others looked at Izzy for a bit, then at each other in curiosity. Then they opened their cards and looked at who they had picked as they gasped. Sunny and Tails smiled at who they picked while the others were surprised. "Now, this should be interesting!" Sonic muttered with a grin. "Now go!" Izzy cheered with a smile. "And make them a present!" she announced with a wave of her hoof. "Whoa there!" Hitch called out, raising his hoof. "Make? You mean 'buy,'" he corrected with a nervous smile. "Besides, Tails, since he built a lot of gadgets, we're not makers, Izzy. We…" he added sheepishly, but Izzy cut him off. "Secret Canter demands…" Izzy said in her acting tone before speaking normally. "... You craft the best gifts you can," she instructed while winking at her friends. "And remember ponies…" she started with a smirk. "We need to do it in secret, right?" Tails asked with a smirk as well. Izzy approached Tails with a playful smile. "Are you sure you haven’t done this before?" she asked playfully as the Mane 5 smiled and laughed together. "More or less," Sonic replied instead, looking at Tails with the same smirk as they winked at each other. Just so you know, Team Sonic made Secret Santa with the rest of their friends back in Mobius every year, so this isn't anything new for them. Later, Izzy held a cake recipe and began to stir the batter. Izzy tasted the batter and sighed with a smile, liking the taste of the cake. Sunny tried to tape something together in another room but groaned in effort. She had some tape and diamonds on her, then placed the tape down on her gift with a determined expression. In another room, Pipp unwrapped some clear candy wrappers and inspected them to see which one was useful for her, but then she sighed tiredly and flopped onto the counter dramatically. Zipp tried to open a bag in the other room but struggled and grunted in effort. Then, she ripped the bag open, and lots of red glitter got into her face. In the Police Station, Hitch was covered in blue glitter. He splattered some on a yellow box but accidentally splattered the glitter too hard, getting some on his face. Hitch tried to shake the glitter off him while Sparky played with spilled yellow paint on the floor. But then Hitch slipped on the paint and started to lose his balance. He then tripped on some paint cans before him and fell on the floor with a thud. Sparky saw Hitch fall to the floor but continued to play with the spilled paint as he giggled happily. Tails was at Electronic Tails, using Sonic's old Soap Shoes and modifying them with his tools and gadgets. He smirked and then placed safe goggles before starting his job. Sonic bought some bear traps and took out a few spikes, knowing perfectly what he would make, smirking as he saw the spikes. Knuckles placed some pink glitter over a pink book, getting some over him and working far away from Maretime Bay since he wanted his receiver to like his present. He still couldn't figure out why, but he didn't have time to find out now because he had a gift to finish up. Sometime later, in the living room of the Brighthouse, Izzy gathered all her friends again. "The time is upon us!" Izzy called out cheerfully. "Revealing your gifts!" she added, hanging upside down while looking at her friends. The rest of Mane 5, Sparky, and Team Sonic looked at the eight gifts on the table with smiles and sparkling eyes. "Whoa…" they said in awe. "Step forward for your gift, and you may keep it. But whoever it's from shall forever remain secret!" Izzy stated while whispering the last word with a smirk. "So, uh... Who begins?" Sunny questioned. "Well, my name might be in the franchise title, but I'm not the only protagonist," Sonic said with a smirk. Then, Sonic pushed Knuckles forward, who grunted a bit and looked confused at Sonic. "Come on, Knucklehead! Suit yourself!" he stated, now smiling normally. Knuckles moved forward and grabbed a small red box with a purple bow, and once he opened it, his jaw dropped, and his eyes sparkled. "A-Are these... spiked knuckles?!" he asked with a big and bright smile, putting on two black three spiked knuckles and punching them together. "Aw, heck yeah!" he cheered, quickly moving around the living room and striking random poses, enjoying his new gift. "Don't care who gave these to me; I'll be forever in debt with you!" he shouted excitedly. "Wonder who gave him those..." Sonic said sarcastically with a smirk, stepping forward and grabbing a slightly bigger box than Knuckles grabbed, a blue box with a pink bow. Like Knuckles, Sonic's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened in glee as he took out two new pairs of shoes. They were some fusion between his regular shoes. They still had the red color, the white stripe, and the golden buckle on the sides, but now they also had a black sole, a green tip, and the space of the original Soap Shoes. "I'm copying Knuckles here: I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ON WHO MADE THEM, I LOVE THEM AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH 'TILL THE DAY I DIE!!!" Sonic screamed, immediately putting on his new footwear and running around the Crystal Brighthouse, feeling like a little kid again when he got his first pair of shoes. Tails smiled at Sonic's attitude toward his new gift while Sunny smirked. "Anything you know about the gift, Miles?" she asked in a teasing tone. Tails glared daggers at her before giving out a normal, bored expression. "No idea what you are talking about," he said innocently, moving forward and grabbing the big yellow box with a white bow. He smiled kindly as he took out a new empty toolbox, not minding it being empty since he already had enough tools. "Whoa! This is a cool and useful gift!" he said with an honest and grateful smile. "Someone broke mine, and now I have all my tools everywhere in my workshop," he complained, referring to Sonic as he tried to glare at the still-running hedgehog. "Let me enjoy my gift, Tails! Complain later!" Sonic shouted, still running, while Tails rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I wonder who gave you that!" Hitch said innocently, removing the blue glitter from his face, grabbing a blue gift, and opening it with a smile. "Ooh, a photo album! For pics of me and Sparky! And covered in red sequins—Sparky's favorite!" he said happily to the homemade photo album while Sparky giggled at the album with sparkling eyes. "Thank you, whoever this was from!" he thanked with a smile. While Zipp was smiling, Pipp smirked at her sister and didn't notice she had some red sequins on her muzzle. "Hmmmm, who could it be? Eh, Rudolph?" Pipp mocked her sister with a smirk, knowing that Zipp had made it since the red sequins on her muzzle had given it away, but Hitch didn't notice it. Zipp saw what Pipp was talking about, wiped the sequins off, and embarrassingly walked backward from her sister with a sheepish smile while Pipp silently chuckled to herself. Zipp grabbed the next gift, which had her color scheme on it. "Oh! Oooh! Perfect for my detective work! A magnifying glass…" she said excitedly but then realized that the magnifying glass was made of wrappers. "... Made from candy wrappers... That doesn't magnify anything…" she pointed out, seeing through the homemade magnifying glass, as it didn’t magnify at all. Pipp laughed nervously and started to sweat a little. "Whoever made you those must know you well," she said nervously. Since she didn't have the right glass for the magnifying glass materials, she had to deal with what she had. Then, she walked towards her gift with sparkling eyes and a smile. "I guess I can move my head closer to the clue?" Zipp mocked Pipp, using the homemade magnifying glass at the candies stuck on Pipp’s mane, while Pipp herself gave a sheepish smile. Pipp opened her gift and saw a pair of goggles, which looked like the ones she used to create new products with Tails and the Pippsqueaks. "Oooh! Perfect for creating new products at Mane Melody!" she said excitedly, putting them on to see if they fit and then removing them with a smile. "Awwww! Thanks, secret mystery pony!" she said happily while hugging the goggles. Sunny tried to get the glue, tape, and diamonds off her as she tried to shake it off. "Oh, very mysterious," she said to Pipp with a smirk. Then, she opened up her gift and saw some dessert, which appeared to be a chocolate cake with pink frostings and orange sprinkles. "Wow! It's a... uh, I want to say a cake? Or maybe a cookie?" she asked with a smile after lifting the dessert out of the box and seeing that the cake was as flat as a cookie; then Izzy suddenly tossed some baking soda over Sunny. Izzy had baking soda on her face as she unwrapped her gift. "Hey, did you know that we're out of baking soda?" she asked as her hood came off, which revealed the baking soda on her face. "Not that I have any reason to know that," she added, quickly wiping the baking soda off her face and looking at her gift with sparkling eyes. "Oooh! Oh, it's a diary!" she excitedly, picking up the pink glittery diary with a drawing rainbow and a lock. "Because I love secrets! And glitter!" she cheered as she happily tossed some loose pink glitter into the air. "And glittery secrets," Knuckles said with a smirk to Izzy, cleaning up the pink glitter of his face with a towel and throwing it backward as the towel timing landed on Sonic's face, who fell to the ground with his face, while Pipp was taking selfies with her goggles on and a smile. "I'm okay!" Sonic said, still lying on the ground and raising his thumbs. "Oh, that was fun, Izzy!" Sunny said happily. "Anypony want some cookie cake?" she asked the others with a smile while holding out the cookie cake, but then it deflated as Hitch and Sunny cringed. Zipp, Pipp, Tails, and Knuckles saw that Zipp's magnifying glass top piece came off and fell to the floor. Pipp's goggles landed back on her eyesight but broke in half as they fell to the floor. Then, Hitch's photo album's red sequins came off completely. Tails' box paint also came off, and the spikes of Knuckles' spiky knuckles also fell off. The only remaining gifts that were still intact were Sonic's new shoes and Izzy’s diary. "Uh…" the entire group exclaimed, while Sonic regrouped with the others with a confused look. But in the end, they all laughed at this outcome. "Sorry, Izzy," Pipp said with a chuckle. "I guess we're not expert crafters like you or Tails," she added, since they were not as skilled as Izzy and Tails. "Oh, pshaw. You put your hearts into crafting these gifts," she said, smiling while the others put their gifts on the table. "It's the thought that matters in Secret Canter," she smiled. "Yeah, well. I guess this wasn't a disaster after all," Sonic said with a smile. "I still need a new toolbox, tho," Tails complained. The Mane 5, Sonic, and Knuckles laughed at this, while Tails looked on with a bored expression before slowly smiling and joining the laugh. None noticed that the Mane 5's Cutie Marks were glowing, nor that Team Sonic's bodies let out electrical sparkles with their skin colors. Sparky giggled as well, but then some smoke from Sunny's deflated cookie cake came to his nose. "Ooh!" he said with sparkling eyes, looking at the cookie cake and sniffing it, but he cringed at the smell. "Ah... Ah... Ah…" Sparky sneezed on the homemade gifts as his dragon fire hit them. But after Sparky’s dragon fire settled, the gifts became better than ever: Sunny’s cookie cake was now a three-layer cake; Hitch's photo album had a true book cover with a horseshoe symbol on it; Pipp’s goggles were now stylish protective goggle; Zipp’s magnifying glass was turned into a complete detective suitcase with all the detective gears in it; Tails' toolbox was now a high tech box, still empty in tools, but now having a touch screen; and Knuckles' spiky knuckles looked almost the same, just assembled properly this time. The group sins Sonic gasped with sparkling eyes, amazed at what Sparky's dragon fire did to their gifts. "Whoa, check it out!" Pipp said excitedly as she put on her new and improved goggles. "A Wishentine miracle!" she cheered, smiling as she took selfies from her phone. "Yeah!" Zipp said with a smile. "Now, this is what I was trying to make!" she added excitedly. "Me, too!" Hitch agreed with a smile. "Sparky’s dragon fire did us a favor!" Tails said excitedly as he and the others, minus Sonic and Izzy, looked at their new and improved gifts. "Quoting Sonic here: he's just a baby now; imagine everything the little guy's gonna do when he grows up!" Knuckles added with a smile as well Sunny then turned to Izzy and Sonic, noticing their gifts hadn't changed. "Aw, guys. Your gifts are just the same," she said with a little smile. "Hm. You can't improve perfection," Izzy said with a smile as she held her diary close. Knuckles noticed that, and as he tried his new, improved, spiky knuckles, he turned to hide his sudden blush from the rest. "W-Why does she always have to be like this?" he muttered, not getting how Izzy could have that effect on him. "And I don't think these babies could be any better than they already are!" Sonic said as well, liking his new shoes the way they are. The rest laughed a bit at that. "Oh!" Izzy said cheerfully, looking at something behind herself. "Ponies! Look! Over there!" she said as she pointed to an extra eight gifts under the tree. "Oh, gosh! There seems to be an extra gift for each of us!" she said excitedly to the others. The rest, minus Izzy, each grabbed a gift and opened them, gasping at what they saw. "Hey, look!" Pipp said with a nervous smile. "We've all got…" she started. "... crafting belts," Zipp finished sheepishly, as they each had identical crafting belts. "We could all use the practice," Sunny said sheepishly. Thanks to whoever got us those," she added with a smile. "Wonder who bought us this one," Sonic said with a sarcastic tone and a smirk. "Oh, I have a slight suspicion about that one," Tails said with a smirk. "I'm gonna say it was Sparky,” Hitch said with a smile while Sparky giggled behind him, muffling his sneeze to prevent his dragon fire from coming out again. Izzy giggled, trying her best not to call out, but she couldn’t help herself as she smiled at her friends. "They're from me! I made them for you all! They're from me! Me, me, me, me!" she said excitedly while popping around her friends, who looked surprised and confused at her, except for Knuckles, who looked at her neutrally. "Me! Me! Me! They were from me! Izzy! Izzy! I-I-I-Izzy! Me, me, me!" she kept saying. "Uhhhh…" the rest said confused. "Well, that didn’t take so long," Knuckles said with a neutral expression. "Hah!" Izzy cheered as she hopped on the couch, opened up her new diary, cleared her throat, and started to write down in her diary. "Dear diary... Whew! Keeping a secret is hard work!" she said aloud as she wrote it down, but then realized her mistake, turning around and seeing her friends still looking at her. "Oh. Wait, did I say that out loud?" she asked with a sheepish smile. "Yup," Sonic said with a wide smile, while the others just laughed it up. Outside the Brighthouse, Kenneth and his bird partner were on a tree branch, holding a gift for each other. Then they chirped and hugged happily together. THE END Author's Note I wanna thank JesusG0987 for suggesting me the idea of today's chapter with Team Sonic. It really helped me out, buddy! Thanks! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 41. A Day In The LifeIn the Brighthouse bedroom, Pipp adjusted her phone so the camera could be facing her since she was starting a livestream. "Morning, Pippsqueaks!" Pipp announced with a smile while many emojis started to pop up on her dashboard. "Now, lots of you have been asking what a day in the life of Pipp Petals is really like..." she said, getting close to her camera with a determined expression. "Well, get ready! Your sneak peek starts noooooow!" she sang the last word before twirling her phone around, then twirled happily before flying off. Pipp flew around the bedroom as she sang and went towards Izzy first. Pipp: A brand new day Izzy woke up on her bed when she heard Pipp singing. She rubbed her eyes tiredly but smiled as she saw Pipp flying and singing. "Whoo-hoo!" she cheered, now wide awake, as Pipp landed on the floor. Pipp came next to her sister, who was covered in her blanket, while Zipp gave an irritated, tired expression to her sister for singing and filming so early. A brand new chance, a brand new way Pipp sang as she moved her phone around to film herself with everything around her, including Zipp, who widened her eyes at Pipp filming her and groaned, covering her whole head in her blanket. "Ooh!" Izzy cheered as she appeared behind Zipp with sparkling eyes. Pipp continued smilingly filming on her phone, and Izzy was behind her. Later, Pipp opened the Brighthouse's front doors and met with a crowd of ponies, a.k.a Pippsqueaks, all filming her with their phones or cameras as they chattered excitedly. Pipp landed on the ground and smiled at the crowd as they took pictures of her while Pipp signed their autographs. Then, she vocalized and grabbed Glory to get her in for the pictures, which made Glory smile with sparkling eyes. Then Pipp brought more people among the crowd. "Whoo!" Pipp cheered with giggles as she, Seashell, Glory, Peach Fizz, Dahlia, and Flare gathered together while an earth pony stallion took a selfie with them, giving them many emojis. Pipp flew around in the clouds a little bit later while two pegasi took pictures with their cameras. Pipp was still smiling and vocalizing while striking poses for the cameras. She then flew around the clouds while going through one, using the clouds to make music notes as she flew by. Sometime later, Pipp arrived at Mane Melody. She went in with a smile and saw Rocky in front of her. Rocky smiled at Pipp as he showed her different perfumes so she could choose the best one. Pipp smiled and looked at the heart-shaped perfume. "Um, yes!" she said as Rocky showed another one. "Oh, yes," she said again, and Rocky showed her a purple one. "No," she said, then Rocky showed a green and white line. "No," she said, pushing it away. Rocky brought out a small light-blue vial. "No!" she said again as Rocky showed her a pink container. "Yes!" Pipp said with a smile while pointing to that one, then flew around the salon with a smile. Then, Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky got on the stage and tapped their hooves together, singing and dancing in sync. Every day's so bright, every day's full of magic Pipp flew to three ponies seated in the salon chairs, one of them being Posey, and Pipp twirled them around to do their manes. Posey had a new look that she liked, while Flare got the same style as Zipp when her friends got her to say 'yes' to have fun with them. Posey and Flare smiled wide with their hooves in the air. Every day feels right, every day is a classic And just when I think it can't get any better Pipp got her hooves out as Jazz brought out Pipp’s signature hooficure on her tablet, then she did Pipp’s hooves. Pipp looked in the mirror as she lifted a hoof and gave a wink to her reflection with a smile. Then she rushed out of Mane Melody with Jazz and Rocky side by side as they sang and danced together, with Posey, Rufus, and some other ponies dancing and singing along with them. Every new day is the best day ever Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh Pipp then smiled at her followers on her phone through the livestream. "Stick around for more unfiltered access to my entire day! See you soon, Pippsqueaks! Mwah!" she said as she blew a kiss to her phone and ended her livestream for the moment. The rest of the Mane 5 were hanging out at the smoothie stand while Izzy looked at her homemade phone. "Whoo-hoo!" Izzy cheered and laughed a bit. "Check it out!" she told her friends, showing them her phone. "Uh, yeah, Izz," Zipp said as the others smiled. "We're watching it in real life. Right... there?" she trailed off as she turned to her left and raised an eyebrow. The others also turned and saw Pipp with Rocky and Jazz next to them, and Jazz and Pipp waved at them. Izzy kept smiling with sparkling eyes as she cheered. "Whoo-hoo! Pipp! I love your dance moves, Pipp! Yeah!" she cheered as she appeared around Pipp, who smiled at Izzy while Rocky and Jazz smiled. "Well, after all that, I'd say somepony needs to refuel with a strawberry ripple smoothie," Sunny said with a smile as she brought out Pipp’s favorite smoothie. "Ugh! Sunny, you are the best!" Pipp smiled as she winked at Sunny and sipped her smoothie. "Mmm!" she hummed happily. Meanwhile, Team Sonic was on a video call with an Italian plumber at a table near the smoothie stand. "Dude, I seriously can't believe you're finally getting a movie!" Sonic said with a smirk. "It was lame that they didn't give you your iconic Italian accent, but Chris is doing his best, so I let it slip... this time," he added mockingly. "I simply loved every reference on it!" Tails exclaimed excitedly. "The Tanooki suit, Peach and the Fire Flower, the Yoshis, the Karts..." he listed joyfully. "YOU MAD LADS EVEN PLACED RAINBOW ROAD!!! FREAKING RAINBOW ROAD!!!" Knuckles exclaimed as he shook Sonic's phone excitedly as if he were shaking Mario. "I think what Knux is trying to say..." Sonic said as he took his phone away from Knuckles. "We are happy for you and your achievement of getting a movie! Hopefully, you can pull a few strings to let us attend the premiere!" he said with a wink and a smirk. "Oh yeah!" Mario replied from the other side of the call with a smile. "Well then, gotta go now! Take care, see you soon, and tell Peach we say 'hi'!" Sonic told Mario with a smile, also waving his hand. "Okie-dokie!" Mario assured with his thumbs up. "Say 'hi' to Luigi for me!" Tails exclaimed. "If you see Yoshi around, tell him to bring some of those apples of his next time we see each other!" Knuckles said as well. "See ya, plumber guy!" Sonic waved once again. "Bye bye!" Mario waved back, ending the call with Team Sonic. "Man, I can't believe they are making another movie after... well... you know... after that attempt on the 90s..." he muttered with a cringed expression. "Well, at least this one looks good so far!" Tails pointed out with a smile. "Even for Illumination standards." "You saw how badass Bowser's looking?!" Knuckles asked in excitement. "I may consider myself a good guy, but damn! Bowser's killing it with that look!" he stated. "I do admit, Bowser looks good," Sonic confessed. "You know who looks ugly, though? Donkey Kong," he said with a frown. What did they do to my boy, DK?!" he exclaimed in frustration. "Yeah, he looks so off," Tails admitted. "And why does Princess Peach seem more like Anya Taylor Joy than... well, Princess Peach?" he asked, confused. "No clue. But I like her personality!" Knuckles said. "From damsel in distress to absolutely badass princess? Oh, heck yeah, sign me in!" he exclaimed with a smile. "Let's hope Peach does consider inviting us to the premiere," Sonic said with a smile. Then, the Team noticed the Mane 5 talking to each other, and while Tails and Knuckles raised their eyebrows, Sonic panicked. "Oh no..." Sonic said. "Please tell me today isn't that day..." he begged. "What day?" Knuckles asked, but Sonic didn't reply. Instead, he moved towards the Mane 5, while Tails and Knuckles looked at each other, confused, before following him. "H-Hey, guys!" Sonic greeted with a nervous smile as he sweated. "What, uh... whatcha doin'?" he asked, trying to pose calmly, but his nervous movements worsened. "Oh, hey, guys!" Pipp greeted back with a smile. "I'm recording my entire day for my Pipsqueaks!" she confessed. That just made Sonic gulp since he knew about this, while Zipp just gave her sister an amused expression. "Did you say you're giving your fans total access to your whole day?" Hitch asked in curiosity. "That sounds exhausting," he pointed out, and Zipp nodded her head in agreement. "Well, it's what I have to do if I want to get a hundred million followers," Pipp said with a wave of her hooves. "One hundred million followers?!" Hitch asked in surprise, also sweating a bit. "No offense, but there's no way that's how many people there are in Equestria," Knuckles said, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. "Well, if we consider that Zephyr Heights is the most populated city in the country, I will say otherwise," Tails pointed out with a sheepish smile while Knuckles gave him a bored expression. "How do you even come up with this stuff?!" Hitch asked as he got close to Pipp. Some time ago, Pipp took pictures with Floppy, Sonic's bunny, as they giggled at the silly picture they took. Sonic arrived and looked at what his crush and little buddy were doing. "Wow! Let me see those," he said to Pipp with a smile, taking a closer look at Pipp’s phone to see the pictures better. "Awww! Look at you two!" he said with a smile and sparkling eyes, then picked up Floppy. "Who's the cutest bunny, huh? If you had a Ponygram, you'd have one hundred million followers! Wouldn't you? Oh, yes, you would! Everybody would want to follow you!" he said to Floppy in a baby-tone voice, nuzzling his nose. Pipp heard what he said, and an idea popped into her head. "A hundred million followers…" she repeated aloud, then gasped excitedly with sparkling eyes. "I should shout my mouth sometimes," Sonic deadpanned. "Please!" both Tails and Knuckles said with frowns while Sonic scratched his head sheepishly. "Just be careful, Pipp," Zipp told her with concern, getting close to her. "You know what happens when you do too much. You always get s—" she tried to explain but was cut off. Pipp gave a deep gasp before frowning. "Zipp! Don't you say it!" she warned with anger. "Say what? 'Sick'?" she asked in confusion before she gasped in fright. "Oh, no! Is that word jinxie?!" she asked, scared. Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky came together after hearing Izzy and made a ritual dance, also reciting some words. "We are healthy! We are fine! Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle! Shine, shine, shine!" the three ponies said together while looking nervous at the same time. The rest of the Mane 5 and team Sonic looked at them strangely, while Zipp raised an eyebrow in a non-surprise expression, and Izzy smiled sheepishly at them. "... I-I got nothing..." Sonic said with an anxious look. "I... I simply can't... There are no words to describe... that..." he pointed at Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky, not making any sarcastic joke or comment about their dance. Before anyone could reply, Rocky's phone started beeping, which caused Rocky to gasp as he brought out his phone. Then he looked at Pipp. "Pipp! It's time!" he said. "I hope she does not take the 'Get 100 million followers' thing seriously," Sonic muttered with worry, as it was his idea. "You're asking for too much, buddy," Zipp told him with a bored expression, which caused Sonic to gulp nervously. Later, Pipp smiled and looked at the camera at Mane Melody, starting a new livestream over the stage. "Hey, Pippsqueaks!" Pipp announced with a smile. "Ready for more? Here we go!" she said, tapping her phone and singing again, along with Jazz and Rocky. Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like Pipp sang on the stage with her microphone, flying around while doing a loop in the air. Somewhere in Maretime Bay, the Pippsqueaks tapped on their phones with smiles to give a heart to Pipp's livestream. Every new day is the best day ever In the Brighthouse, Pipp was eating her lunch while smiling and winking at the camera... but it was somepony watching the livestream on their phone, giving it a like. Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like Every new day is the best day ever In the back room of Mane Melody, where Pipp makes her products, she nervously put a drop of a makeover ingredient into a bowl as it explored some yellow stuff on her face, which caused her to give a tired smile. She finally learned to use just a drop instead of the whole substance, and you can thank Tails for that. Then we have a photo sequence in which Pipp grows increasingly tired and exhausted but still does her livestream. The first photo shows her singing on her stage, sweating and looking tired; the second one shows her getting some makeover glitter on her face, looking even more tired; and the final picture shows her trying to do some mare's mane, but she is falling asleep and now has eye bags. Later, Pipp and the rest of her friends were at Dahlia's while she was showing the flowers to Pipp. "These flowers will add such a yummy sweetness to your next perfume, Pipp," Dahlia said with a smile as she picked a yellow flower up. Pipp sniffed the flower and then smiled tiredly. "Ooh, it does smell delicious––" she tried to say but cringed when she started to cough before giving off a shocked expression. The rest of her friends gasped in shock and worry, while Jazz and Rocky gasped the same way, and Sonic started to sweat nervously. "Well, shit..." Sonic said in shock as well. "Oh, no" Dahlia said in concern. "You're not getting sick––" she tried to ask, but Pipp cut her off. "Neighway!" Pipp denied as she spoke. "I never get––" she tried to say while smirking. "––Sick?!" Pipp asked in disbelief. She was now in Brighthouse's bedroom, on her bed, covered in her blanket, with used tissues and a tissue box beside her. "Ugh! I can't be sick! I don't have––" Pipp started but then gave a short cough before continuing. "–– time to just lay in bed and––" she gave another cough. "–– do nothing and––" she coughed again, giving a sad and sick expression since she couldn't continue her livestream. On the other side of the bedroom door, Sunny looked at Pipp through the door with sympathy. "Poor Pipp," Sunny said, turning to the others. "She sounds super rough." Izzy scoffed for some reason. "Have you seen her lately? She looks even worse!" she called out with a wave of her hoof. "Izzy!" the others scolded her, and Sonic frowned as his eyes turned blue for a second. "What? Honesty," Izzy said in defense. "Honesty does not mean make things worse, Izz," Knuckles pointed out with a worried frown. "Ohhhh. Whoopsies," Izzy said with a sheepish smile as she embarrassed herself. The rest continued to hear Pipp coughing from the other side. "Ugh!" Zipp groaned, placing a hoof on her head. "This always happens when she pushes herself too hard!" she called out, giving another frustrated groan, while Tails placed a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. "At least it's not your fault that she's in that state," Sonic said with a sad frown. "Ugh!" he groaned, laying on the wall and sliding until he sat on the ground. "Why do I always have to make everything worse whenever I open my mouth?" he complained with annoyance and sadness. "That's not true," Sunny said with a smile. "I said I wouldn't put you guys in danger, but Eggman created the Metal Mane," Sonic started to listen. "I said Metal wouldn't bother us, and then he and his team blamed Hitch and Izzy for things they didn't do. I said that we wouldn't need to defend ourselves from danger on Wishday, but Eggman tried to kill us with his Badniks!" he pointed out with concern. "Do you want me to keep going?!" he asked rhetorically. Sunny couldn't find the words to say anything positive after Sonic backfired with all of that. No one could, not even Izzy or Tails, who, like Sunny, always tried to find a positive side in the situation. And then, their phones chimed, which caused all of them to take them out and widen their eyes when they saw Pipp doing her livestream in her sick state. "Hey, Pippsqueaks," Pipp said with a sick smile. She sniffled as her livestream gave out some sad emojis. "I know I promised a whole day of my life, but it's…" she tried to say, but then she couldn't take it anymore as her eyes started watering and gave a sad, indistinct squeaking. The rest of her friends, including Sparky, looked sympathetically at Pipp, while Sonic felt his heart destroying into millions of pieces. In times like this, he wished Amy was here. She was great at helping someone sick since she cared for Tails and Cream when they got sick better than he could. But Amy wasn't here. And right now, Pipp didn't need anyone else but him. He got her, unintentionally, on that state in the first place, so he was going to help her to get out of it. With a determinate expression, he got up and looked at Tails. "Let's go, lil' bro. We gotta help Pipp," he stated while Tails smirked and nodded. Later, Pipp was still sick in her bed, holding her phone and looking at pictures of her in her sick state. "Ugh! No! No! Yuck! Neigh way! Ew! Ew, ew, ew!" Pipp cried out dramatically, not liking her sick selfies. Then, Sonic came into the room with a rolling carrier table with something when he saw Pipp complaining. "EW!" Pipp cried out as she tossed her phone on the floor and gave a whimper. Then, she saw Sonic coming in with the carrier while Tails sneaked in and took Pipp's phone. Then, she stepped back and pointed the camera to the 'love birds'. "Take it easy, Little Pipp," Sonic told her worriedly. "You had enough of your social media life for a day," he added, while Pipp kept whimpering but nodded to him. "I'm sorry for saying that nonsense about getting more followers," he apologized with a guilty expression. Pipp coughed before replying to her crush. "Honestly, Blue Star, it's not so much about the followers," she said, then sneezed and blew her nose with a tissue as she started to tear up. "It's just, well, I... I hate letting my fans down, you know? They mean so much to me," she said with a sad smile. However, Sonic couldn't help but snort a bit with a slight blush after hearing Pipp sneezing. "What?" she asked confused. "S-Sorry, Pipp. But your sneeze... it's just so adorable!" Sonic said with a little chuckle, causing Pipp to blush in embarrassment and let out a groan that sounded even cuter than her sneeze. Sonic chuckled again, then coughed as he tried to 'keep his cool.' "Look, I get that your fans are really important to you, but they love you!" he pointed out with a smile while Pipp looked at him curiously. "And sometimes, we have to look after ourselves first before we can take care of everybody else that needs us," he added with a smile. Pipp couldn't help but smile a bit, her blush finally disappearing. "Says the guy who can't do anything without thinking about anyone else," she said playfully. Sonic snorted at the comment. "This is about you, Little Pipp. Don't drag me to your sickness," he said playfully as well, causing Pipp to laugh a bit without coughing, and that's when he discovered he loved to hear her laughing. Then, he brought out a bowl of soup to her. "Here, have some soup. An old friend back home uses it on Tails when he gets sick, and I can promise you it can work wonders," he said with a smile and a wink while Pipp accepted the soup with a slight blush. Pipp's eyes began to tear up happily as she smiled at Sonic even more. "Awww, Sonic..." she started, but then gave a quick cough before continuing. "That is so sweet. You are a wise and handsome hedgehog," she added before quickly kissing Sonic's cheek. That caused the hedgehog to blush a lot, as he chuckled and smiled nervously, also scratching his head a bit embarrassed. And of course, on Pipp's livestream, Tails kept recording as he was smiling and laughing quietly. The chat was going wild with Pipp's move since lots of emoji hearts started to pop in on the screen. Then, Pipp slurped from the soup Sonic gave her and smiled. "Mmm! Delicious," she said; Sonic couldn't help but nuzzle at her, and Pipp nuzzled back, smiling and blushing a bit. And again, Pipp's chat on her livestream went wild with the heart emojis. "You can thank me later, lovebirds," Tails said with a smirk, still holding the phone to livestream those two. All the ponies in Maretime Bay have been watching the whole thing that Tails was live-streaming. Pipp lay in her bed, and Sonic placed the blanket over her to comfort her. Some of the ponies watching were Dahlia, Rufus, Windy, Fifi, Alphabittle, Queen Haven, Jazz, Rocky, Glory, Seashell, and Peach Fizz. Many other ponies smiled along with all the mentioned with sparkling eyes, and then they all tapped the subscribe button on their phones and liked the livestream. This made Pipp gain more followers followers at a very fast rate. "Awwww!" Posey said, somewhere in Maretime Bay, with sparkling eyes and a smile. She felt touched and found what Sonic did for Pipp beautiful. Then, she also liked and subscribed. And just like that, Pipp reached her goal of gaining 100 million followers, with confetti and an alarm popping up. In the bedroom, Tails was still holding the phone that made the fanfare noise, but Sonic tossed it from Tails and placed it in Pipp's drawer, not wanting to disturb Pipp's sleeping. "Blue star?" Pipp called out, a bit sleepy. "Tell me, Little Pipp," Sonic said with a smile. "Could you..." Pipp tried to say, but first, she yawned tiredly before continuing. "Sing to me?" she requested. Sonic was slightly surprised by the sudden petition but still smiled at her. "Sing? You know that's not one of my strengths, right?" he asked her. "That's... not true..." Pipp said, yawning a bit again. "Please?" she begged tiredly. Sonic sighed heavily but smiled at her. "Alright, Princess Petals. As you wish. Maybe not sing, but I can hum you that lullaby I taught you on Bridlewood a while ago," he told her. And just like he said, he started to hum the melody of his lullaby, also caressing Pipp's mane, while she finally fell asleep with tears of joy. Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, and Knuckles watched them from the door, smiling at Sonic for caring for Pipp. Meanwhile, Tails recorded everything again, but with his phone, so he could upload it to his social media and mock those two until they eventually started to date formally. "Again, you can thank me later, lovebirds!" Tails muttered with a smirk. THE END Author's Note I wanna apologize to the Pitch shippers for the change I made. But for the sake of consistency with my canon, a sacrifice must be done! Also, Happy Holidays! I hope you guys enjoy with your families on this special day! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 42. Firework-ing TogetherThe Crystal Brighthouse threw glitter bombs in the air that exploded like fireworks. You're right; it is New Year's Eve in Equestria. Sunny arrived as she stood at the front door and smiled at Izzy. "Izzy, come on!" she called out. "Or you'll miss seeing the real firework display!" she pointed out, pointing her hoof outside the Brighthouse. Outside, Pipp, Glory, Seashell, and Peach Fizz entered the Marestream while Hitch and Knuckles supervised everyone in getting inside the vehicle. "Hey! These look pretty real to me!" Izzy said with a smile and sparkling eyes, but she twirled so often that she started to feel dizzy. "All that spinning made me one, Dizzy-Izzy..." she said jokingly before falling to the ground. "Ladies, if you're done doing whatever is going on there, get on board, and let's get out of here before we're late," Knuckles said, lying on the Marestream and waiting for Sunny and Izzy. After a while, Izzy stopped feeling dizzy and got inside the Marestream along Sunny. Hitch and Knuckles were the last ones to enter, with the latter closing the Marestream door while the Pippsqueaks - Glory, Seashell, and Peach Fizz - sat down on the passenger seats in the main cabin. "Next stop: Bridlewood for the Grand Unity Fireworks Display!" Zipp announced with a smile as she sat beside Tails, who would drive down the Marestream towards Bridlewood. "I love that we are all together for this!" Sunny said with excitement, then gasped with sparkling eyes. "I love fireworks!" Izzy squealed excitedly, also stomping her hooves on the ground. "And these are no ordinary fireworks!" she said with a smile. "Unicorn Fireworks are, like, totally magical!" "Half of the stuff in this land has been magical ever since the Crystals made that rainbow explosion," Sonic said with a smirk. "At this point, I'll be questioning what isn't magical." After that, Tails turned on the Marestream, and the flying vehicle's engine roared. Then, it flew through the sky and towards Bridlewood. However, Izzy was so excited about the fireworks that she kept throwing her glitter bombs outside from the window, also making explosion sounds with her mouth. "Izzy..." Knuckles scolded with a deadpan. "Sorry..." Izzy apologized with a sheepish smile. Later, the group made it to the forest in Bridlewood, with the Marestream parked away while the Mane 5, Team Sonic, Sparky, and the Pippsqueaks followed Izzy. After all, Bridlewood is her home. "Okay, the viewing spot is just ahead," Izzy instructed. "Follow me. I know this forest like the back of my hoof," she said with a smile as she looked at her hoof. "And the front of it," she added, turning to face her friends and winking at them. Sunny giggled as she and the others smiled and trotted after Izzy, running through the forest while hopping over roots. Zipp moved a branch aside, but Hitch got smacked in the face by it since he was behind Zipp. "Ow! Hey, watch it!" Hitch called out as he moved the branch aside and continued to trot ahead while looking around the forest. "All these roots everywhere! They should be tidied up before somepony––" he tried to add but got cut off when he didn’t see a root on the ground, which made him trip, and he could have fallen with Sparky if it wasn't because of Knuckles, who grabbed the sheriff from his belt with a bored expression. "Gets hurt? Where are you going to say that?" Knuckles asked as he pulled Hitch slowly away from the cliff. "You two okay?" he asked. "Mm-hmm," Sparky nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Thanks, Knux. That was a close one," Hitch said with a sheepish smile. "You know, knucklehead, I'm glad you have more respect for the forest now," Sonic said mockingly. "What do you mean?" Knuckles asked. "Don't you remember what happened the first you entered a forest with us?" Sonic asked as he dodged a tree branch. "No?" Knuckles replied, confused. "Okay, now you got me interested," Pipp said. "What happened?" she asked. "Well..." Sonic said with a bored expression. 11/10 Years ago, Knuckles was breathing heavily with an angry expression, his body covered in mud, and he had some tree branches on his hair. "I HATE TREES!!!" Knuckles shouted in rage as he launched to destroy even more trees since he had already destroyed a few around him. Not so far, Sonic, Tails, and Amy stood confused about Knuckles' attitude against the forest. "Amy..." Sonic called out. "We left you with Knuckles for 5 minutes. HOW, in the name of Chaos, did THIS happen?!" he cried out. "Honestly? I've been trying to figure that out myself..." Amy replied, just as confused as Sonic and Tails. "And to this day, we still have no idea why Knuckles lost control over the trees," Sonic finished explaining with a bored expression. "... Huh..." Knuckles said. "I kinda remember being mad for something, but not the reason, tho..." he confessed, dodging another tree branch. "You destroyed an entire forest and don't even remember why?" Sunny asked, a bit mad. "It happened about ten years ago, woman," Knuckles said with a frown. "Don't blame me for not wanting to remember some embarrassing things in my life," he pointed out. "Be glad Amy isn't here. Otherwise, she'll be mocking you up with that 'till she gets tired of it!" Sonic said with a playful smirk. "Don't mention it..." Knuckles complained. "I'm sorry, but who's Amy?" Pipp asked, suddenly feeling a bit jealous. "The best way to put it? It's an old friend who used to be obsessed with me," Sonic replied with a bored expression. Pipp stopped and stared at Sonic, confused about why he said it as if it was nothing, but she decided not to question him and kept walking. Behind them, the Pippsqueaks and Tails were following, and while Peach Fizz was giggling happily as she trotted ahead of her friends, Seashell and Glory carefully followed behind. Then, Glory tripped and flipped over the branches. "Aah!" she cried out, landing flat on the ground. She slowly stood up, but one of her hind hooves got stuck on a loose root on the ground. She grunted in the effort as she tried to free her hoof. "Oh, no! I'm stuck!" she cried as Seashell came to her side, and they both tried to free her friend. Tails noticed that, and so he decided to also help the filly get out of her stuck state. But the pull was too hard, and the three of them started rolling across the forest. They screamed in fright and hit a branch that got them up into the air. Then, they went through a broken tree and slid down. Once they made it to the other end, they landed on a pile of mud and got some on them. "Why does this stuff keep happening?" Tails asked himself, his bored expression turning into a worried one when he looked at his surroundings. "Whoa. Where are we?" Seashell asked as she stood up alongside Glory and Tails. "It must be another part of the forest," Tails answered. "But I cannot tell which one exactly..." he confessed, then gulped nervously. "Peach Fizz? Ponies? Hello?" Glory called out, as she and Seashell got scared and tears formed in their eyes. "Oh, no. I think we might be…" she said, and then the two fillies teared up as they hugged and cried out, their tears flowing like waterfalls. "Lost!" Glory and Seashell cried out while Tails approached them and comforted them to calm them down. "Hey, girls, it's okay," Tails said with a soft smile. "We might be lost, but I know we'll get out of here," he assured them. "Hopefully," he muttered to himself with worry. In the meantime, the Mane 5, Sonic, Knuckles, and Peach Fizz arrived at their destiny, with Izzy coming out of a bush as she raised her hoof with a smile. "Ta-daaaa!" Izzy cheered. Peach Fizz came out next to her and raised her hoof as well. "Yay! Ah!" she said with a smile. In front of them, everypony from Bridlewood, Zephyr Heights, and Maretime Bay was together. Even Alphabittle and Queen Haven also came as they chatted while waiting for the right time to set off the fireworks. Then Sunny, Zipp, Pipp, and Hitch came out of the bushes, looking tired from trotting through the forest, while Sonic and Knuckles came out like it was nothing, making Sunny groan tiredly. "I seriously can't remember why I hated the forest back then," Knuckles said with a confused look. "It wasn't that bad!" he added with concern while Sonic rolled his eyes in annoyance. "How's my hair?" Pipp asked the others, as her mane was a little frizzy from all the trotting through the forest. "Does it look like I've been dragged backward through a hedge?" she asked. "Just a little something right... there?" Hitch unsurely replied to Pipp while tapping something on her mane. Pipp turned her head, shocked that a bird's nest somehow got in her mane. A bird squawked and flew out of the nest while Pipp opened her mouth in shock. "Stand still, Little Pipp," Sonic said as he approached her and took the nest off her mane, being very careful since he didn't want to hurt Pipp. "There!" he said with a smile, taking the net off Pipp's mane. Pipp sighed in relief and smiled at Sonic. "Thanks, Blue Star," she said, nuzzling Sonic's shoulder while the hedgehog caressed her mane with a smile. "Look!" Sunny called out with a smile while pointing to the crowd. "Every ponykind is here!" she said with a smile. As Sonic put the nest away, Hitch and Knuckles were doing a headcount on the group... but then they got worried when they didn't count everyone. "We've done a headcount, and, uh... not everypony is here," he said to Sunny grimly while Sparky gasped in shock. "Glory and Seashell," Pipp said as she saw that Peach Fizz was there, and then she gasped in worry. "Oh, no! The Pippsqueaks!" she called out in worry. "They're missing?!" Sunny cried out in shock. "Missing?!" Alphabittle cried out in shock, hearing what Sunny called out as the crowd gasped. "Oh, no! Poor Pippsqueaks!" Rufus cried out in panic. "These woods will eat them alive!" Thunder called out, which made the crowd panic more. "Okay, everypony, just stay calm!" Sunny called out, but Sonic then placed a finger on her mouth as he noticed something. "Hang on, Sunny," Sonic said with a worried frown. "There's someone else missing here..." he said, making the crowd gasp again. "He's right..." Zipp said as well. "Wait! Where's Tails?!" she asked in panic. She has no idea of how big that mistake was. "Oh no..." Knuckles muttered with panic. "Tails?" Sonic asked, a bit panicked. "Tails?" he started to call out, but he got no answer. "Tails?!" he asked again, but this time, he started to breathe heavily as some awful flashbacks came to his mind. "TAILS!!" he shouted, desperate now. Not waiting for anyone to speak, Sonic boosted through the forest at top speed, panicking that Tails was missing. He returned, grabbed Knuckles, and started to shake him violently. "We. Have. To find him. NOW!" Sonic shouted, for the very first time in years, having a panic attack. Knuckles had no option but to slap him to make him calm down. "Control yourself, Hedgehog!" he shouted. The Mane 5 and the crowd were shocked to learn that Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog, the most relaxed guy everyone has ever met, was having a breakdown and panicking. Sonic started to breathe heavily again, and Knuckles took out a paper bag and gave it to him, while Sonic abruptly took the bag and started to breathe heavily on it. As Sonic slowly sat on the ground while trying to calm down, Knuckles gestured for Sunny to keep going. "Right!" Sunny replied with a determined expression. "We need to work together to find Glory, Seashell, and Tails," she instructed. "Izzy knows Bridlewood like the back of her hoof! Right, Izzy?" she asked with a smile. Izzy smiled and nodded. "Oh, yeah! Totally! No problem!" she assured, turning around before speaking again. "Well, there's maybe one problem. Bridlewood is gigantic! Where would we even start?!" she cried out in panic as she began to sweat nervously. This made everypony else gasp more, and it caused Sonic to panic even more as well. "This is terrible! We'll never find them!/They're doomed!" two earth ponies called out as they chatted in worry. Hitch stomped his hooves on the ground to get the ponies' attention, but not loud enough. Knuckles saw this, and while he wanted to keep Sonic company, he was still the sheriff's deputy, so he got to Hitch's side. Then he charged up his hands with his electrical powers before doing a powerful clap that made the ground rumble, startling the ponies, including Sunny and Hitch, to quiet down and look at Knuckles in shock as he gave a determined expression at them. "Ponies, focus!" Hitch called out to the crowd. "We need a plan if we're gonna find those ponies and that fox quickly!" he added. "I say we use earth pony magic and part the trees of the forest!" Rufus declared while lifting a hoof that was glowing green. "Neighway!" Thunder argued, flying in the air with Flare and Windy. "We need to fly above the forest! We'll find them quicker if we search from the air!" he pointed out. "Hah!" Alphabittle called out. "You pegasus think everything could be solved by flapping up in the sky!" he commented rudely. The ponies started to argue about their plans to find Glory, Seashell, and Tails, while Sunny got worried about this. "So we're repeating that animated special plot, but instead of jealously, we have two lost children and Tails," Knuckles said with a bored expression, but mentioning that Tails was lost again made Sonic panic even more as he curled on a ball in the floor and breath even more heavily on the paper bag. "Oh, right... I forgot you are still panicking," Knuckles said sheepishly. "But we do need to find him!" Zipp pointed out with an anxious look as she started to fly around and shouted Tails' name as well. "Okay..." Pipp said, approaching the rest. "I kind of get why Sonic's worried about Tails, but why is Zipp's acting like that?" she asked, confused. "You don't know yet?" Hitch asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know what?" Pipp asked. "That Zipp likes Tails and vice versa?" Sunny said as if it was obvious. Pipp gasped dramatically in shock with sparkling eyes. "My sister is in love, and none of you have told me about it?!" she said with a wide smile. "Yeah, yeah. Congratulations to her later. We still need to find two kids and Tails," Knuckles said. "Right, right..." Pipp said as she calmed down despite the exciting news of her sister being in love. "But why look for someone who's already gone?" Sonic asked with a nervous smile as he lay on the ground and looked at the sky with a twitchy eye. "Tails is smart and all, but so was Longclaw. It's probably too late already, hahaha," he added anxiously while his friends, especially Pipp, worriedly looked at him. "This is what I wanted to avoid... but it's too late now", Knuckles said, closing his hands in fists. "But why is he so worried?" Pipp asked. "I get they consider each other brothers, but still," she said with worry. "Longclaw also 'disappeared' before Sonic only found her scarf," was everything Knuckles could say, causing everyone else to gasp, even Zipp, who finally stopped panicking momentarily. "Ever since he's afraid any of us can also disappear... and never come back," he explained. "Of course, Tails should be okay. He has to be... right?" Sonic asked, chuckling in pain before turning that chuckle into a painful laugh that ended up with him tearing up... And for the very first time, his shelf was broken. No more joking or chilling out... Sonic was actually crying in public. He tried to wipe out the tears by placing his arm on his eyes, but his friends were already seeing him with sadness, and Pipp even approached him by extending her hoof. However, Sonic didn't hesitate and hid his face on Pipp's chest as he let his pain out as quietly as possible while Pipp wrapped her hoof around Sonic and nuzzled her head over his. "We have to find Tails ASAP!" Knuckles stated with a determined look, but his eyes widened as soon as he turned to see every pony else. "What in the Mystic Ruins?!" he cried out in shock. The others, Pipp and Sonic, turned as well and gasped in shock. What did they see? Well... Rufus was using his earth pony magic to move a tree aside, making Izzy and Peach Fizz gasp in surprise and away. The other earth ponies followed Rufus' example and used their magic to move many trees to clear a path. At the same time, Thunder and the other pegasi flew into the air and searched over the trees to see if they could find Glory, Seashell, and Tails. At the same dam time, Alphabittle and other unicorns used their magic to lift an entire tree, which showed a raccoonicorn, as many other trees started to lift, with the raccoonicorn yelping in fright as he was on a broken log and lifted into the air. "Aah!" Thunder and a few other pegasi yelled as they hit a few trees and fell from the sky. Posey and an Earth Pony stallion were using their magic to move the trees, but the stallion saw the trees falling from the sky, so he screamed and ran way before the tree could hit him. Posey looked at the trees falling from the sky in surprise and shock, and she trotted out screaming as well. An earth pony stallion next to Peach Fizz moved a tree but gasped when he saw the raccoonicorn heading right for him as it landed on his face and fell backward. Hitch ran among the crowd to figure out how to calm everyone out, but then he got smacked to the face again by a tree branch that was set free from an earth pony's magic. "Ow! What is it with these branches?!" he asked himself in disbelief. "They hate you, apparently," Knuckles commented with his arms crossed. Sunny watched the unfold speechless, while Zipp came next to her with a raised eyebrow. "Not quite the display of unity we hoped for, huh?" she asked while the ponies were screaming in panic. "I don't want to pull an Izzy here, but if this is your concept of unity, I don't wanna be part of it," Knuckles commented again as he carefully returned a tree to its place. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Izzy asked, a bit mad, as she walked towards Knuckles with a frown. "Izz, honey, please don't make me answer to you," Knuckles said with a bored expression. Sunny ignored them and looked determined. "I've got an idea!" Sunny called out. Then, she focused her magic and began to glow and levitate in the air while Zipp smiled and backed up a bit to give her some space. Alphabittle, Rufus, and Thunder glared at each other, but then they saw Sunny glowing. "Huh?" Alphabittle said in confusion and surprise while Rufus and Thunder gasped. Sunny focused her magic as she summoned her Alicorn form. Her horn and wings appeared as she smiled and flew around before striking a pose as she shone bright. Everypony looked surprised as a tree landed on the ground with a thud, but the ponies ignored it as they paid close attention to Sunny. "Everypony, listen up! Right now, two little ponies and a young yellow fox are lost; all that matters is that we find them!" Sunny explained. "Sunny's right. We have to work together," Alphabittle told the crowd, while Jazz nodded in agreement and Rocky looked at the crowd. The ponies looked at each other and gave determined looks as they nodded to each other. The rest of the Mane 5 smiled, too, with Sonic seeing a bit better but still nervous about Tails, while Knuckles patted his back and smiled at him, which made Sonic smile a bit as well. Sunny began to sparkle and flew high into the air, boosting at high speed to begin her search for Seashell, Glory, and Tails. Somewhere in the forest, Seashell, Glory, and Tails were still covered in mud, with the fillies still tearing up since they were really scared, even with Tails being with them. "Don't worry, girls," Tails told them, still with an assuring smile. "We'll get out of here," he assured again, then looked at his watch and pressed a button. "Sonic, Knuckles. Can you guys hear me?" he asked, but instead of an answer, he got static since there was a terrible signal in the forest. "Dang it..." he muttered with frustration. Suddenly, Seashell tripped and grunted, falling to the floor. Glory picked up her friend, while Seashell gave a whimper. Then, Tails came up to them and kneeled at their height. "Do not part away from me, girls," Tails told them. "I know you're scared, and I honestly am as well. My Tails are so muddier that I cannot fly out of here, and my communicator has no signal, but I know we'll be fine as long as we stick together, okay?" he added with a smile, and the two fillies nodded at him with little smiles. Then, they looked up and saw a glow passing by, a.k.a. Sunny, flying overhead of them with a determined expression. Glory and Seashell smiled tearfully at the Alicorn, waving their hooves at her. "Sunny! Over here! Help us!" Glory cried out happily. "Sunny!" Tails shouted as well. "We're down here!" he added, still screaming. Sunny heard their voices, so she looked down and saw Glory, Seashell, and Tails with a smile. "Found them! They're safe!" Sunny called out happily. "Ponies, create a path between me and the clearing!" she instructed the ponies below her. The ponies gave a determined expression as they got into position, following Sunny and warming up their magic. Where the two fillies and Tails were, Thunder landed in front of them. "Ah!" they said happily. "Follow the Cutie Mark trail!" Thunder declared as he focused magic into his Cutie Mark. That glow shot up into the sky, with other ponies' Cutie Marks shooting light, making a path for Seashell, Glory, and Tails to follow. Are we ever going to explain how they learned to do that? Probably not. Seashell and Glory giggled happily as they followed the Cutie Mark trail with Thunder behind them, while Tails sighed in relief and followed the two Pippsqueaks. The three of them slide down some roots that were grown by Posey, who was smiling, while they kept following the trail as they passed by Rocky and Jazz. Sunny watched overhead as more Cutie Marks glowed into the sky. And then, a rock that was blocking the path was levitated away; then the trees were moved aside as well. Zipp and the other Pegasi flew over them to make sure the other Ponies on the other side knew where they were so they could clear the path. Finally, Alphabittle moved a bush out of their way with his magic, making space for the two fillies and Tails to keep trotting off. After all of this, Seashell and Glory ran straight to Peach Fizz and Pipp, with the latter tearing up happily that her friends were okay; the four got into a group, and the Pippsqueaks started to cry happily. "Pippsqueaks! Oh, I'm so happy you're okay!" Pipp said in relief, hugging them with little tears in her eyes while the rest of her friends smiled at this. As for Tails, Sonic immediately wrapped him in a massive bear hug, and he wasn't planning on letting him go. "Whoa, there! Someone missed me, apparently," Tails said with a chuckle, but when Sonic kneeled, still hugging him, he got worried. "S-Sonic?" he asked, a bit scared. "... D-Don't you dare... to give me a scare like that... ever again, young man" Sonic said with a broken voice, as he hugged Tails a bit tighter. "I-I thought I lost you too, Tails..." he confessed, sobbing a bit. Tails understood why Sonic was acting like this, and his ears lowered. So, he returned the hug with a little smile. Knuckles was behind them the whole time, trying not to sob at the scene, but Sonic dragged him to join the hug. Sunny smiled at this, glad the Pippsqueaks and Tails were okay. And just then, the fireworks popped up from the sky behind the Alicorn, as the ponies looked in awe at the fireworks. "What a sight!" Thunder said in amazement. Izzy got in front of the crowd with a smile. "Yeah! And the fireworks are pretty awesome, too!" she cheered, thinking Thunder was talking about the Pippsqueaks reunion and Team Sonic's hug. Sunny landed on the ground and sighed happily. "We really can do anything when we work together," she said with a smile to the crowd. Then she looked at the fireworks and gave an excited smile. "Ooh, look! They're starting!" she cried out happily with sparkling eyes, also pointing a hoof at the fireworks. The fireworks go off individually as they show each ponykind: an Earth Pony, a Pegasus, and a Unicorn. The crowd, the Mane 5, and Team Sonic looked in awe at the fireworks, with Izzy smiling with sparkling eyes, Pipp taking a picture of the fireworks with her phone and a smile, Team Sonic side hugging each other, and the Pippsqueaks looking in awe. Sunny looked at the fireworks with a bright smile and sparkling eyes, happy to finally see the fireworks. At the top of a hill, not so far from Opaline's Castle, Dr. Eggman was looking at the fireworks since they could be seen from all across Equestria. He had his arms on his back, and he was frowning at the fireworks. He was not happy that another year was ending, and his losing streak just kept growing bigger and bigger. "Another year that ends, another year begins," Eggman said with annoyance. "Will this be another year of failures? Or will I finally defeat that stupid Hedgehog? Only time will tell," he added with a frown. "However, I will not be waiting on my lab this time!" he stated with an evil grin. After that, he turned around and slowly walked back to Opaline's castle, pressing a button on his suit. "Sage," Eggman called out. "Yes, doctor?" Sage asked through the computer installed on his suit. "Save next Friday's date on my calendar: Starting next week, we'll tease that disgusting hedgehog and his friends until Season 2 drops!" Eggman instructed, with his grin growing bigger now. "As you command, doctor" Sage replied. After that, Eggman kept walking back to the castle, not laughing maniacally this time because he was waiting for the right moment to strike and be the one who laughed last. THE END...? Author's Note For the next episodes, I'm gonna explore a bit of Team Sonic's relationships between some Sonic characters, as well as keep placing a few more flashbacks like the one on this episode. Of course, it doesn't mean there's gonna be a flashback on every single episode, just in a few ones and if the episode requieres it. And yes, I enjoy making Sonic suffer because of Longclaw's death, how can you tell? Also, Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks you so much for reading up until now. I know I remark this a lot, but I seriously need to thank you all for still liking this story despite its flaws. I really hope 2023 will be even greater than this year! See you later! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 43. Bridlewood SpogAt Mane Melody, Izzy, and Knuckles were with Pipp, helping to decorate the salon because Pipp would make a massive presentation of her brand-new product. "Whaaaaaaaaat?!" Pipp cried in shock while Knuckles and Izzy were beside her. Knuckles crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Izzy gave Pipp a cheery smile and waved at her to get her attention. "What do you mean you lost the glimmerberry shampoo?!" she asked the pony on the phone in shock. The pony on the phone gave a high-pitched response because only Pipp could hear it on her phone, while Knuckles and Izzy couldn't. "Raccoonicorns?!" Pipp asked in disbelief, receiving a high-pitched response. "Attacked the trailer?!" she asked again, getting another high-pitched response. "ATE IT ALL?!?" she asked in shock and disbelief about what had happened to her product. Izzy looked out the window and saw one of the raccoonicorns that ate all the glimmer berry shampoo walking by, with their belly bloated from the amount they ate, belching out bubbles from the shampoo and covering their mouth, also sitting on the floor. Izzy gave a strange look at the raccoonicorn, and Knuckles approached soon enough as well. "There's no way these critters survived this long..." "Well, how am I supposed to do a product launch without any product?!" Pipp asked the pony on the phone in a panic, gaining another high-pitched response. "UGH!" she groaned in frustration, ending the call and pacing back and forth desperately. "Okay," she said, panting and sweating nervously. "Think, Pipp. Think," she said to herself. "Ah! I can help!" Izzy said to Pipp excitedly with sparkling eyes. Pipp didn’t hear Izzy and instead took out her phone, looking at the countdown while Izzy also took a closer look at it. Knuckles looked from behind them. "Four hours 'til we launch. No time to make my own," Pipp said with worry. "I can help!" Izzy said to Pipp again with a smile. "She's either ignoring you or not listening," Knuckles muttered. "Maybe we should do something to call her attention?" Izzy smiled with sparkling eyes as an idea popped into her mind. "Knuckle! You're handsome and a genius!" she said with a bright smile. However, both her face and Knuckles' turned red (yes, Knuckles became more red than he already is, that's possible) after they both realized what Izzy said. "Y-You think I'm... em... well... You think that about me?" Knuckles asked with a sheepish smile, scratching his head and feeling his face blushing a lot more, if that was possible. "I-I... W-Well... Y-You see... U-Um..." Izzy said nervously, sweating and blushing like a tomato. "Y-Yeah... I-I do think that..." she confessed, and for some reason he couldn't understand, Knuckles felt his smile growing and his heart jumping in joy after hearing that. "A-Anyways! W-We have to call Pipp's attention, s-so... follow me!" she said, zooming away. Before being able to say anything, Izzy used her magic and levitated Knuckles to follow her. Pipp didn’t pay them attention as she bit her hoof nervously but smiled with an idea. "Wait! We just got a shipment of new hoof cream!" she said with a cheery smile and sparkling eyes. "I'll launch that instead!" she stated with a smile, but once Pipp opened the door, she gasped. "Izzy! Knuckles!" she cried out in shock. Izzy used the hoof creams in the storage room to paint the walls. All the hoof creams were opened, and Izzy got messy because of the cream. "I mean, the mane's a little off," Izzy said with a smile while looking at the hoof cream painting of Jazz she did with the hoof cream. "Izzy... this isn't what I meant when I said we should CALL HER ATTENTION!" Knuckles scolded with a frown. Izzy flinched from Knuckles' scold and sheepishly smiled. "Okay, I might have got a little carried away. Sorry..." she apologized to both of them before facing Pipp. "But seriously, Pipp, I can help!" she assured her. Pipp sighed with a hoof on her head and walked towards Izzy and Knuckles. "Fine. Izzy, I need your help," she said to her. Izzy smiled at the answer. "Awesome!" she cheered with a raise of her hoof, while Pipp was a little nervous, and Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "Follow me! It's time for a day at the Bridlewood Spog!" she stated. "Bridlewood Spa?!" Pipp said with excitement and sparkling eyes while Izzy wiped the hoof cream off her with a towel. "I don't know if that's what she said at all..." Knuckles said with his arms crossed. "I'm tagging along just in case," he added determinedly. "You're just coming because of Izzy, aren't you?" Pipp asked with a teasing smirk, and Knuckles sudden blush and wide eyes made her chuckle playfully, then she looked back at Izzy while the unicorn twirled her towel in her hoof. "You never told me there was a Bridlewood Sp––" she tried to say but got cut off when Izzy almost smacked the towel on Pipp's face if it wasn't because of Knuckles' fist that received the smack. "Izzy, honey, watch where you twirl that towel around, please," Knuckles called out. Izzy sweated sheepishly from her mistake and smiled nervously, but she blushed after Knuckles called her 'honey.' "S-Sorry! Come on!" she called out, leading the way as the three friends exited Mane Melody. "By the way, aren't you going to hang out with Sonic and Tails?" Pipp asked. "They said something about investigating a place that could have the possible location of the last Chaos Emerald, and Sunny and Zipp tagged along with them," Knuckles explained with a bored expression. "They explicitly told me to stay here in the Bay in case Eggman attacks or something, but they're just exaggerating," he stated with a confident smirk. "Besides, wherever those two go, problems follow them close, so thanks but no thanks," he finished. Sadly, that only made Pipp feel worried about them, but she decided not to think about it, at least for now. "WHY DO WE ALWAYS GET OURSELVES IN TROUBLE?!" Sonic shouted with a frown. Tails, Zipp, and Sunny, were flying at his side at top speed as they ran away from a bunch of Buzzers and Buzz Bombers, as well as Eggman's Egg Beater, or at least a smaller version of it. The group thought the location of the final Emerald was a trap made by Eggman. He gathered them there and planned to 'destroy them all,' as the doctor himself would say, but the group managed to escape. Now, they were running for their lives. "How's that you convinced us to tag along with you?!" Zipp cried out in worry, flapping her wings as fast as she could. "We just told you about the signal!" Tails pointed out. "You didn't even allow me to explain myself and said you'd" be tagging along! And here we are now!" he explained in panic. "I just came because I was bored! Flying away to save my life wasn't on my checklist today!" Sunny confessed, also flapping her golden wings at a fast paste. "How we ended up here doesn't matter! How we are going to escape does!" Sonic said with a determined look. "First, we need to eliminate those badniks," he explained. "How are you expecting us to fight back that?!" Zipp cried out in panic. "We cannot do the same things you do, like curl into a ball and crash against those things!" she pointed out in worry and panic. "First of all, it's called a Spindash," Sonic said with a bored expression and fists on his hips. "And second, yes, you can!" he assured confidently. "We can?" both Zipp and Sunny asked, confused. "It's pretty simple!" Tails added, now with a determinate look as well. "You just got to visualize a finish line, and then, as the name already implies, you just have to... Spin!" he shouted, spin-dashing himself and launching against some Buzz Bombers that fell to the ground and were destroyed. "Tails, little bro, I couldn't have explained better myself!" Sonic said with a proud smirk before charging up his Spindash. He turned around and crashed against some of the Buzzers in the air. Sonic and Tails returned, still with plenty of badniks behind the group. "You just have to give it a shot!" Tails assured, dodging some of the shots that the badniks started to shoot at them, with Zipp, Sunny, and Sonic also dodging some of the attacks. "And the sooner you do that, the better!" Sonic said with a worried frown. Sometime later, Izzy led Pipp and Knuckles through the Bridlewood forest and towards the Bridlewood Spog. Izzy couldn't help but give an excited squeal. "Ooh! Okay. It's the best-kept secret in all of Equestria. Feel the stress float out of your mane and calm seep into your hooves," she said, suddenly stopping and causing Pipp and Knuckles to do the same. "Here it is!" Izzy said excitedly, using her magic to move some bushes aside and reveal a bubbling mud-green puddle. While Izzy smiled at the sight, Pipp cringed at this, and Knuckles seemed neutral about it. Pipp looked down and saw a bubble forming in the pond, and it popped. "Aah!" she cried out, startled, which caused her to flap her wings and jump back a bit. "This is Bridlewood Spa?" she asked Izzy. "Spa?" Izzy asked, confused. Then she smiled and laughed a bit. "No, no-no-no! Spog! S-P-O-G! Spog!" she corrected Pipp. "Spog? Izz?" Knuckles asked with a bored expression. "What is a spog?" Pipp asked, confused. "Oh, it's a special bog," Izzy said with a smile, pointing at the bog. "'Bog' because it's a bog, and 'special' because it's special," she said with a smile and sparkling eyes, placing a hoof on her cheek. Pipp still looked a little disturbed by this. "Come on, I'll give you both the tour," she said happily, skipping ahead. "Let me guess: you regret coming, don't you?" Knuckles asked Pipp with a bored expression "Yeah," Pipp said honestly, gulping and cringing at the sight of the bog. "This is a little disturbing," she added with disgust. "Well, if you compare it with the rest of Bridlewood, this has its sense of beauty," Knuckles pointed out as he walked off to catch up to Izzy. "Fair point," Pipp said, still disgusted by the bog. She jumped a bit and then ran off to catch up with Izzy. Once she caught up with them, she saw an old unicorn mare relaxing in the bog with tomatoes in her eyes. "Look, Izzy, I appreciate the help and showing this to me, but, um, bog mud isn't exactly on brand for Potions by Pipp," Pipp said as she shook off a piece of mud from her hoof and pointed to herself with a small smile. But as she looked back at where Izzy used to be, she saw her friend was gone. "Izzy? Izzy?!" she called out in panic. Suddenly, on one of the bog puddles, it started rumbling as it burst out, which caused Pipp to scream in shock and surprise. But she soon realized that it was Izzy because she babbled and shook the mud off her, also sighing in relaxation. "What are you waiting for? Put some vegetables on your face and get in here!" she said with a smile, placing two carrot pieces on her eyes and laying back in the puddle. "No need to tell me twice," Knuckles said, already in the puddle, without his gloves and shoes since he didn't want them to get muddier. "Told y–– O-Oh... m-my hoofness," Izzy muttered, accidentally letting one of the carrots from her eyes fall and blushing like a tomato again at the sight of Knuckles showing up his chest more than usual. For some reason, and without his gloves, Izzy could see Knuckles' muscles much better now that she was staring at him longer than usual. She gulped nervously, and she also suddenly felt hot. Knuckles didn't seem to notice that, tho. "Say, Pipp. Are you joining us or what?" he asked her. Pipp was still grossed out at the spog. "Ummmm... yeah, I just... I think this mud is, um…" she tried to say with a nervous expression. Izzy shook her head and finally shed her blush as she smiled at Pipp. "Y-Yeah, it's way too bubbly," she said, pointing at the puddle before turning to Pipp again. "Say no more, 'cause I got something I know you two are gonna love," she said as she got out of the mud puddle and approached Pipp, who gave Izzy a disgusted expression. Knuckles opened one eye and got out of the puddle, shacking the mud away and putting back his shoes and gloves. "Well, I wasn't expecting a mud bath today, but I don't complain," he said with a smirk. "It was refreshing," he added. The old unicorn mare in the mud puddle suddenly tossed her tomato pieces in the air before they landed in her mouth as she ate them. Sonic and Tails had to dodge many laser attacks to launch their Spindashes at the badniks finally, but somehow, there were more and more of them. "Is it just me, or are they multiplying?!" Tails questioned in panic. "I swear there's more and more every time!" Sunny cried out. "Girls! We could use your help here!" Sonic said. "For the millionth time, we cannot spin like you! We're not that flexible!" Zipp pointed out with anger. "Ugh! We don't need you to do a Spindash!" Sonic stated with anger now. "Look, just attack them with what you have!" he instructed. "With what we have?" Sunny questioned. "What do you mean?!" she asked again in panic. "Sunny, you're an Alicorn!" Tails pointed out. "You may not be able to do a lot of spells, but you're still really powerful! Put those spells and lessons to good use–– whoa!" he exclaimed as he dodged a laser from a Buzzer, who he ended up destroying with his tails. "And Zipp! Those hooves of yours are way too strong even to be normal! Use that!" Sonic told her with a smirk before slowing down and then making a Homing Attack on a Buzz Bomber, followed by a Stomp Attack on another. Zipp and Sunny looked at each other before nodding with determination, making a loop in the air, and then boosting towards the badniks and the Egg Beater. Tails used his powers to create two giant metallic gloves to destroy some Buzzers with his bare fists, while Sonic Spindashed over some more Buzz Bombers. Then, a massive golden laser passed by him and destroyed a bunch of Buzz Bombers, and he felt surprised at what he saw: Sunny was using her Alicorn magic against the badniks. She was destroying them with massive lasers from her horn, teleporting to dodge some of the surprise attacks, and even using her magic glitter to make the badniks explode. "Look at you, Sunny-bunny!" Sonic cheered with a big smile. "You should have told me you are an amazing robo-butt kicker!" he stated as he kicked a Buzzer away, which exploded once it crashed into the ground. "I could have if even I knew it!" Sunny replied with a serious expression, launching another massive golden laser toward the badniks, making them explode. In the meantime, Tails was exchanging many of his weapons in the middle of the fight: first, he was using a laser arm similar to Mega Man's; then he switched to plasma guns for both of his hands; then he made a giant hammer similar to Amy's; then he switched to giant metallic gloves to strike quite a punch to the badniks. But he was about to be shot in the back by one of them if it wasn't because of Zipp, who saved his butt at the last minute. Literally. And how? Well... Zipp was boosting through the sky, excitedly making loops and zig zags, until she kicked the badniks at fast paste with her hind legs. She was as fast as Sonic, but in the sky, she kicked the hell out of his enemies instead of spin-dashing. Tails, of course, blushed with sparkling eyes at the sight as he created another 'Mega Man' like laser arm and shot at a badnik that tried to take him by surprise. Zipp noticed that and decided to tease him a bit. "Like what you see, Mr. Prower?" she asked in a flirty tone, crossing her front hooves in the air and smirking at Tails. Tails himself gulped and quickly turned away. "Y-Yeah... Y-You're an amazing fighter, Zipp. I-I expected that from an amazing girl like you," he said nervously, with his blush increasing, and he shot at another bank who also tried to shoot him by surprise. Zipp blushed a lot now, and she kicked a Buzzer that tried to surprise her. After they shook their heads and focused on the important matter, they realized that almost every badnik was defeated. "Woo!" Sunny cheered as she landed with a smile, panting a bit. "We did it!" Zipp cheered as well. "We didn't," Sonic said with a frown, glaring at the Egg Beater. "We still have to get rid of the big guy," he stated. "But we managed to destroy the badniks already. A small replica of the Egg Beater shouldn't be a problem!" Tails said confidently. Too bad the Egg Beater raised a punch and smashed the ground, making it rumble a lot. "You had to open your mouth, don't you?!" Sonic scolded Tails, now posing to fight against the machine. Tails smiled sheepishly, posed with a plasma shotgun, and pointed to the robot while Zipp and Sunny also prepared to fight against the machine. Back in Bridlewood, Izzy led them to another part of the bog, which had a mud stream with rocks over it. Izzy cleared her throat while Pipp seemed to cringe at the sight of something. "And now we're going to step into the hooficure stream, full of hoof-nibbling bugs that nibbly-nibble-nibble on your hooves," Izzy said while Pipp looked at the stream. She saw a hoof-nibbling bug on the stream, cutely rolling around, and then a lot more appeared suddenly from the stream. Pipp whimpered at the sight, while Knuckles didn't seem to care. Izzy lifted her hoof, now covered in mud and some bugs. "It makes them soooo smooth," she said with a smile, waving her hoof at Knuckles and Pipp before jumping ahead. "Usually, I wouldn't mind, but I have no hoofs for them to clean, and I don't want to be beaten either, so I pass," Knuckles said with a bored expression, jumping and following Izzy ahead. Pipp gave a nervous laugh and smile. "Just what everypony wants..." she started, jumping on the rocks as well, grunting in effort and hopping on each one, avoiding the bugs and mud. "...to put on their hooves," she said, hopping on another rock. "Bug paste," she finished. She hopped on another one, but it turned out that she had landed on a big turtle shell since the turtle had woken up and glared at Pipp, which caused her to scream and dash off in fright. A little bit later, in a spa room in the bogs, the three of them were laying on their bellies in relaxation beds while a unicorn mare placed some mud on Izzy's back and a unicorn stallion was giving a big massage to Knuckles. Izzy sighed in relaxation at the touch of the mud on her back. "This is life, huh?" she asked Knuckles and Pipp with a relaxed smile. "It helps get the knots out of your back," she added. "Oh, for sure," Pipp’s voice called out as she was hiding underneath the bed and sweating nervously. "I feel like a brand new pony. Ugh," she acted, feeling a little nervous about this. "Oh, yes. You got the spot. Keep it up. It sure feels amazing..." Knuckles said joyfully as the stallion was 'abruptly' massaging his back. Seeing that Knuckles was a bit distracted, Izzy whispered back to Pipp. "Hey, Pipp," she called out nervously. "Hmm?" Pipp replied with no emotion. "Can I... um... Can you help me understand that weird feeling in my belly?" Izzy asked, sweating a bit. Now, Pipp felt a bit intrigued. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Well... um... lately, I've been feeling something weird inside me whenever I'm near Knuckles," Izzy explained. "It always feels weird... like something wants to get out of me," she added. Pipp leaned her head, confused at the question. Hasn't Izzy realized yet that she likes Knuckles despite being obvious to everyone but himself? "Do you feel your cheeks turning red and your body feeling hot and warm whenever Knuckles talks to you in some specific way... or at all?" Pipp asked her. "Um, yeah. Many times, actually," Izzy confessed. Pipp chuckled playfully after hearing that. "Oh, Izzy. That's exactly how I feel whenever I'm near Sonic! And you already know why," she stated with a smirk. Suddenly, Izzy's face went red again, and she felt her heart beating faster. How's it that she never realized that before? "S-So... y-you're saying I... like... Knuckles? Like, I like like him?" she asked, with her blush somehow increasing. "Yup!" Pipp replied with a smile. Izzy looked sideways at Knuckles and gulped nervously. The sight of the echidna smiling in relaxation made her heart flinch in joy, and she unconsciously smiled at the sight. She still needed some time to process this feeling, but she could say one thing: she didn't mind liking Knuckles at all. After that, Pipp and Izzy were in a steam room with towels on them as heated rocks steamed up the place. Knuckles stood outside to guard them up since he's a male, and he knows perfectly nobody will see with good eyes a man in a steam room with two girls, or mares in this case. "And this is the steam room," Izzy said with a smile. Pipp finally smiled, finally liking something about Bridlewood Spog. "Huh. This is nice," she commented. Izzy then pulled down a rope next to her, making a shower faucet appear above them as it dripped out mud. Pipp gasped at this, then screamed as she flew out of the steam. "Pipp?" Knuckles called out, confused. "What's the mat-" he was going to ask, but then more mud came flowing down from the steam room and covered him entirely. Pipp landed after the sudden mudslide and started to pant from the adrenaline, giving an irritated look. "Look, Izzy, you're not listening—–" she tried to say but then screamed as mud splattered her face. Izzy walked out of the steam room with giggles, holding a bowl of mud while having some on her face. "Mud mask?" she asked Pipp with a smile. Knuckles came out of the mud and cleaned some off him, but there was still some around his body. "Okay, enough mud for one day," he said with a bored expression. "Ah, gross!" Pipp cried in disgust as she wiped some of the mud off her. "Gross-gross-gross-gross-gross-gross-gross-gross-GROSS!" she cried out, then growled at Izzy. "I-I-I don't want to sell this slimy green mud in my store, okay?!" she called out to her. "It's more of a burnt seaweed color actually––" Izzy tried to say innocently but got cut off. "I don't care!" Pipp snapped at Izzy, reaching the limit of her patience as Izzy flinched from Pipp's outburst. "It just doesn't fit in the Potions by Pipp product line! END! OF!" she yelled at Izzy’s face, which caused the unicorn to tear up. Knuckles felt pure rage go through his body as he charged his electrical powers on his fists and clapped them strong enough to make the entire earth rumble. Once the rumble was over, both Izzy and Pipp looked at Knuckles, startled, but then Pipp flinched when Knuckles saw her with a cold stare. "I'm making myself clear once, Petals," he warned with a menacing tone. "One of these days, I swear you'll have to try things out on your own before judging them. But of course, miss 'perfection' needed to keep her damn image clean when no one around cares at all. Tch. I'm disappointed in you, Pipp. I thought you were better than this, but perhaps I was wrong," he said angrily. Pipp scoffed and groaned after hearing this. "Well, sorry for disappointing you, but I'm not willing to get all myself muddier for the sake of fashion. Now, if you excuse me, I'll return to Mane Melody," she called out. She also began to tear up and then walked away, leaving a tearing Izzy and even more disappointed Knuckles. "I wonder what Sonic saw on you," Knuckles said suddenly, low but loud enough for Pipp to hear it since the pegasus stopped suddenly. "I bet he'll be disappointed as well once he finds out what you did today," he added, turning and opening his arms to Izzy, who immediately buried her face on Knuckles' chest and sobbed a bit loudly. Pipp, on the other hand, felt panicked after hearing the last thing Knuckles said. Part of her hoped Sonic never found out about her sudden outburst and attitude, even if she knew he would find out anyway. The Egg Beater pulled a massive wrecking ball from its back, similar to the one Sonic confronted when he first met Eggman. The robot started to smash the wrecking ball into the ground, intending to smash the group. "What's the matter, Eggy? Feeling nostalgic today?" Sonic asked with a mocking tone and smirk. However, to his and Tails' surprise, Eggman said nothing. "Eggman?" Sonic called out again, this time with a confused look, and he still got no response as he dodged a laser coming from the palm of one of the robot's hands. "Focus on the fight; mock him later!" Zipp said as she dodged in the air and kicked the robots back, which turned and started to shoot at her. But as the four of them dodged the attacks, Tails started to feel that something was off. "Guys, something's not right..." Tails said with a worried frown. "Eggman never stays quiet this long... or at all! He always mocks Sonic back," he explained with concern. "And unlike his badniks, his attacks aren't that specific, precise, and predictable... most of the time, at least," Sonic added with a frown. "Can you wrap this up quickly so we can find out what's wrong?!" Sunny suggested, desperate, launching another laser attack from her horn towards the Egg Beater, which protected itself with a shield installed on its left arm. "You're right, Sunny," Sonic stated. "Let's stop playing games!" he added with a smirk. "Guys caught his attention! Leave the killer punch to me!" he instructed. The others nodded and started shooting and kicking, in Zipp's case, the Egg Beater to distract the machine from Sonic. Then, Sonic started to run in his place until his feet formed the shape of an eight. He also charged up his electrical powers, with his quills and eyes turning neon blue, and then he launched against the machine. He curled in a ball and passed through the robot's chest, which stopped moving in its place. The wrecking ball fell to the ground with a loud thud, and the machine slowly turned off until it fell completely into the ground. The group gathered around the robot, and after a few seconds of silence, Zipp finally decided to break it. "That... was... AWESOME!" Zipp shouted, twirling with excitement in the air. "I know!" Sunny said with a smile. "It was kinda scary at first, but once we started to use our powers... Eee! It was amazing!" she added. "Gotta say, I feel impressed, girls," Tails confessed with a smile. "Sonic's right: you should have told us you were amazing fighters, even if you didn't know it yourselves," he added. Sunny scratched her head with a sheepish smile, and Zipp blushed at the compliment and smiled nervously. "I agree with Tails," Sonic said with a smirk. "You two were awesome!" he added before turning to the Egg Beater and walking towards its face with a frown. "Alright, Eggman. The game's over. Let's see why you are so quiet today," he added. He used his Spindash to cut the robot's head and then rip it from the machine, launching the head away. However, Tails, Zipp, and Sunny's gasp made him think that something was wrong, and in fact, it was: when he got to their side by a jump and looked inside the robot... he saw that Eggman wasn't there. "What the—–" Sonic said with a shocked look. "It's empty," he said in disbelief. Tails approached the driver's seat and looked at all the combination buttons inside. "Auto Pilot is on," he said. "We were never fighting Eggman himself but some kind of decoy," he pointed out. "Eggman just uploaded instructions and sent the Egg Beater and some badniks to us to make a trap and kill us," he explained. "So, Eggman didn't show up? He was looking from wherever he's hiding with Opaline?!" Zipp asked, a bit mad. "I know Eggman can be a coward sometimes, but... this is nothing like him," Sonic said with a frown. "He never attacks without a proper reason. As Tails said, it seems he just wanted to get rid of us, but... why do I feel this is something else? What I'm not seeing?" he questioned, rubbing his chin with concern. "After Wishday, I had clear this guy lost common sense, but... I feel this attack has another reason, which isn't just to get rid of us..." Sunny said with worry. Unknown to them, Sonic threw away the Egg Beater's head, which was still on, and looked at them, but it suddenly turned off not long after. Hours later, at Mane Melody, ponies were gathered around as they were having a little party for Pipp to make her announcement while Jazz, Rocky, and Hitch passed some snacks for them. Hitch stopped before a pegasus stallion as he presented his snack plate. "Help yourself," he said with a smile as his eyes closed. Before the stallion could get a snack, Sparky gobbled up the entire plate very quickly and burped, which gave the stallion a bored expression and made him walk away. At the same time, Hitch looked at his plate in surprise as Sparky blew out his dragon fire, which startled Hitch and the ponies around him. Pipp was in her products room, still with some mud on her, and she sighed with worry, then looked at herself in the mirror with a nervous smile. "Presenting my brand new Potions by Pipp product... Nothing!" she sarcastically called out, her right eye twitching in panic, then sighed in despair. "Enjoy," she said, tearing up as she got some mud off her. However, she gasped in awe when she looked back at the mirror. "Neigh... way!" she said, smiling since her mane was sparkling. She quickly rubbed the rest of the mud off her and looked at her mane with sparkling eyes, waving her mane around. It was sparkling bright, so she struck a pose to her reflection. Pipp picked up more of the mud and rubbed it together in her hooves, making them sparkle. Pipp gasped with sparkling eyes at this, having the right idea for her new products. "Knockity-knock," Izzy’s voice spoke, and Pipp turned to see Izzy at the doorway of the product room, smiling at her. Pipp smiled back and got close to her. "Izzy! Oh, my glitter, this mud is incredible!" she sang the last word happily, waving a piece of mud around her hoof. "It is?" Izzy asked in surprise while sweating nervously. "I mean, uh, yeah! It is!" she said with a nervous smile. "No, it is!" Pipp excitedly assured Izzy. "It super is! It is IS!" she excitedly said with sparkling eyes, squealing and turning back to the mirror. "I should've given your spog a chance instead of worrying about what it looks like, just like Knuckles said... I'm sorry, Izz," she apologized to Izzy. "Thanks, Pipp," Izzy said with a smile. "And I'm sorry, too. I know mud isn't exactly what you had in mind for Potions by Pipp, which is why…" She pointed her hoof to the doorway, which showed three bunnycorns, one of them holding a bottle of purple something while the other two carried a crate load of them, and Knuckles followed soon enough with a bunch of crate loads as well. "Knux and I made you something I think might work better," Izzy added as she held out a bowl with the bunnycorn, purring the purple stuff. "We even colored the mud to make it less gross," she said with a small smile. Pipp looked at the bowl with sparkling eyes. "It's…" she started, tearing up now and sniffing happily. "...totes perfect!" she said with a little squeak. Then, Knuckles placed the crate loads on the ground and scratched his head, embarrassed. "Hey, um... I'm sorry for how I snapped at you, Pipp," he said with guilt, avoiding eye contact with Pipp. "I got carried away by anger and said things I didn't mean, and... I'm sorry... I should have explained myself better," he added, now looking at her in the eyes. Pipp wiped out the tears and smiled at Knuckles. "It's okay, Knux. I deserved it for being a jerk with Izzy, and... I think you were right to feel disappointed in me," she confessed, still smiling. "I also should be apologizing to you—–" she tried to add, but Knuckles cut her off. "Nah, you just made a mistake. Big deal! No one's perfect, not even me, and again, I shouldn't have spoken with anger controlling me, but... Let's put the past in the past and focus on the now!" he stated with a confident smirk. "Right!" Pipp said with a determined look, grabbing one of the new and improved mud bottles as she twirled it around in her hoof. "This launch is back on!" she declared with a determined expression and a smile. Knuckles quickly decorated the place with images of Pipp's new product, using his super speed to finish the job at a fast paste and pass unnoticed by the crowd. Then, at the stage of Mane Melody, the room darkened suddenly, getting the ponies' attention as Pipp's voice echoed throughout the room. "The age of shampoo is over!" she announced, and the lights turned on while the ponies turned to the stage and saw Pipp on her microphone with her mane sparkling. "The age of Bridle Shine has begun!" she declared as Izzy came up on stage, and Pipp placed the purple mud stuff on Izzy's mane and rubbed on it. "Exfoliating! Rejuvenating! Shine-ifying!" she declared while Izzy tossed her sparkling mane around and posed with a smile to the crowd. "Whoa!" all the ponies in the room said in awe. "'Whoa' indeed..." Knuckles said with a massive blush and sparkling eyes, and Hitch at his side chuckled at his attitude. "It's the magic of Bridlewood's finest spog bottled for your beauty!" Pipp finished with a smile and winked at the crowd. Just then, a unicorn filly appeared with a wide smile and sparkling eyes as she waved her money at Pipp, wanting to try Bridle Shine herself, and then all the other ponies in Mane Melody started to cheer and wave their money out to Pipp as well with sparkling eyes. Izzy and Pipp smiled at the crowd with sparkling eyes, and then they looked at each other and tapped each other's hooves with wide smiles. The crowd approached the two ponies in excitement while Pipp and Izzy passed out the bottles. "Two bottles over here! And for you, sir? One bottle?" Pipp said to the ponies in the line as she grabbed the money. Then she gave them the bottles, the amount, and how much they were paying for them. "Form a line for Bridle Shine! Yes, yes! Come one, come all! Get it!" she announced with a smile as she tossed one of the bottles away to somepony. Or some critter in this case, since McSnips grabbed the bottle and opened it, poured some on himself, and a sparkling yellow hair appeared on his head, so McSnips smiled at this result. "Well, another day that ends well," Hitch said with a smile. "Except for the part where we don't know where the rest are," Knuckles pointed out with a worried expression, and now Hitch felt worried about the rest as well. At Opaline's Castle, Eggman was in his lab with Opaline herself, looking at the recordings of the Egg Beater of Sonic, Tails, Sunny, and Zipp attacking the badniks and the Egg Beater itself. "Mission report: the badniks have been destroyed, the Egg Beater has been defeated. Sonic and company's data has been recorded and uploaded to your system, doctor," Sage reported. "Well done, Sage. Rest for the time being," Eggman instructed, then turned to Opaline. "Now you understand? This is why we must be careful with Sunny and her little friends, even if they seem harmless!" he pointed out with anger. Opaline sighed in defeat and nodded. "I hate to admit it, but you were right, Ivo. Sunny is a dangerous pony when she's not happy. All of that power wasted in friendship... and yet, she still manages to surprise me just as much as she disappoints me," she said with a frown. "That's why we must be careful with her," Eggman repeated. "In the meantime, I'll be making what I like to call 'Experimental Attacks' on these pests for the next few weeks," he stated with a sinister smile. "Experimental? Explain yourself better," Opaline said with a bored expression. "My next attacks will be like the one I did today: Attack them because I can, then study these ponies' moves and attacks, and then use that info against them," Eggman explained. "However, I need to make sure they won't suspect a thing about this, so next time, I'll be attacking them in person..." he stated with an evil grin. Opaline wasn't so sure about this plan, but it seemed to work so far, so at least for now, she'll let Eggman have all the fun attacking the Mane 5 and Team Sonic. THE END...? Author's Note This is, by far, the longest episode I ever wrote for Tell Your Tale. I think all of the upcoming ones will be similar, since now I'm adding Eggman's fights against Sonic and company. He's not attacking on all the episodes, of course, but he won't stay with his arms crossed all the time either. He'll eventually take a break before attacking the Mane 5 and Team Sonic more. Anyways, I'm really tired after writing this, so today I'm taking a break. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! See ya on Sunday with Issue 8 of the comics! BYE! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 44. Secret Ad-mare-erIzzy slept peacefully on her bed in the Crystal Brighthouse. She was snoring loudly and had a sleeping mask with wacky eyes over her. At her side, there was a bunnycorn clock alarm and a calendar with a heart circled on one of the dates. Suddenly, the alarm went off, spreading paper hearts and waking Izzy. Izzy gasped and placed her hooves on her cheeks with excitement. "It's Hearts and Hooves Day!" she exclaimed excitedly, and then she ran off from her bed. But then she crashed against one of her Bridlewood decorations and fell to the ground since she still had her sleeping mask on. Then she stood up with her mask off and smiled. "I am okay!" she shouted in excitement, launching a bunch of paper hearts into the air. Zipp was in the kitchen, right in front of a plant. She had a dropper in her hoof, and she was about to place just a drop on the plant, not noticing that Izzy was right behind her, snicking around until she stopped right beside her with a party horn, blowing it on Zipp's ear and startling the pegasus, who jumped after Izzy's sudden appearance. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Zipperdoodle!" Izzy said cheerfully with sparkling eyes before appearing at her side and wrapping a hoof around her neck while holding a camera with the other. "Will you be my Valentine?" she asked, taking a picture with Zipp, who seemed confused at Izzy's attitude. However, soon enough, Zipp realized what she was talking about and started to sweat nervously. "Oh, great, yeah... Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, buddy..." she told Izzy with a sheepish smile. "So, whatcha growing?" Izzy asked as she approached Zipp's plant, and then she gasped. "Is it a friendship plant?" she asked, then gasped again. "With friendship leaves?! Or flowers that open up and have tiny little boxes of chocolates in them?!" she asked excitedly. "It's a Venus fly trap," Zipp replied with a smirk before approaching Izzy slowly, who began to sweat nervously after hearing about the plant. "It eats bugs," Zipp said. Soon enough, the two mares heard a gasp, and they turned to see a butterfly crying and flying away in panic after hearing what Zipp said. The two mares blinked, confused, and Izzy put down the pot with the plant since she grabbed it for some reason. "That's not heartsy or hoovesy," she said with concern. "Eh. I'm not that into Hearts and Hooves Day," Zipp confessed with a smirk. "All the lovey-dovey decorations and hearts everywhere?" she added, trembling slightly at the idea. However, Izzy suddenly appeared dressed up, with many hearts around her and a basket full of pink letters, which widened Zipp's eyes. Izzy herself laughed sheepishly after hearing that Zipp doesn't like the holiday. "That is a really good joke, Zipp. You are so funny! Because obviously, everypony loves Hearts and Hooves Day, right?!" she asked in a crazy maniac tone, with her right eye twitching at the idea of someone not liking Hearts and Hooves Day. "I don't," Tail's voice came out suddenly. The mares turned to find Tails in the living room, with lots of metallic stuff in the ground, the toolbox Hitch gave him for Wishday, and blueprints spread all around the floor. "What was that?" Izzy asked, with her eye twitching again. "I don't like Valentine's Day, or as you guys call it here, Hearts and Hooves Day," Tails explained with a frown as he put on some big brown gloves over his regular ones. "What's the point? You either end up with your heart broken or your wallet empty and for what? Your gifts and flowers ending up in the trash after everything's over? Yeah, no thanks. I'm happy as a single man with his gadgets and inventions," he explained, putting on a welding mask and grabbing a welding machine before turning it on and using it over one of the metals on the floor. "Out of curiosity, why aren't you in your workshop?" Zipp asked. "The town is decorated with a bunch of Valentine's stuff, and I refuse to approach there if that means I have to see a bunch of people kissing each other. Yuck!" Tails replied. "Fair enough," Zipp said with a smirk. "Oh yeah? Well, you guys will see that everypony loves this day! You'll all see!" Izzy shouted to McSnips, who began to sweat nervously and moved away. "See you later, guys!" she waved them cheerfully, leaving Zipp confused. Once Izzy left, Tails raised the welding mask and looked at Zipp. "I lied. Out there, nobody's happy either, and that's what got me in a bad mood today. I don't mean anything I said before about this holiday," he said with a bored expression before putting the mask back on and resuming his job. Zipp felt surprised after hearing that, but she smiled softly at him. "Me neither," she said before resuming her job with the plant. Izzy was walking towards Maretime Bay with a smile. "Time to see how Maretime Bay celebrates the greatest holiday of the year!" Izzy said with a cheerful tone, and then she gasped in excitement. "I can picture it now!" she said with sparkling eyes, placing her hooves on her cheeks as she began to imagine how Maretime Bay could celebrate Hearts and Hooves Day. In her mind, probably everypony was spreading and showing love towards each other. It didn't matter to her if it was a friendly or romantic interaction: the idea of spreading love around is what she loved about Hearts and Hooves Day. She could picture ponies running around, caring for each other, and spreading love. "Yeah..." Izzy said with a big smile after she stopped daydreaming. "It's gonna be just like that," she tried to assure herself. However, once she looked at the town, she realized how wrong she was: there was only a big letter with hearts, and that's it. The ponies were not in a happy mood either: An earth pony mare was talking with somepony on her phone, and she didn't feel happy at all at what she was hearing; two couples were fighting in the middle of the street, a pegasus stallion flew away, and his flight cause the letter to fall over an earth pony stallion, who removed the letter with an angry expression before throwing it to the ground and jump over it with anger. Speaking of anger, Knuckles exited a store with a frown and his electrical powers up. He wasn't happy, but Izzy still smiled when she saw him. "That stupid old man will pay for my stack of grapes! I can't believe he ate them all... WHEN HE SAW MY NAME RIGHT THERE!!!" Knuckles shouted in anger. "Hey, Knuckie~!" Izzy greeted with a smile. "Fuck damn it!" Knuckles exclaimed in shock, but he relaxed a bit once he saw it was Izzy. "For Chaos' sake, Izzy... don't... don't do that." "One, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," Izzy apologized with a sheepish smile. "And two, I should scold you for swearing on a story for everypony, but since Sonic got away with it a while ago, it's fair for you to swear without interruptions," she pointed out. After she said that last thing, Knuckles's anger seemed to leave his body. He chuckled a bit and smiled. "Yeah... It's fair for me to do it for once," he said in a better mood. "Can I ask why everyone is so... grumpy on this very day?" Izzy asked, confused. "I was grumpy because an old man ate all my grapes... but I can go and buy more at any time now that I think about it, so it doesn't matter anymore," Knuckles explained his situation. "As for everyone else... I honestly don't know. They've been like this since this morning," he pointed out. "By the way, cute outfit! Suits you up, Izz!" he complimented, with a wink, before walking off towards the station. He was now in a good mood after simply talking with Izzy. Speaking of her, she began to sweat nervously and blush after Knuckles complimented her outfit. "W-Well..." Izzy said, sweating and looking around as she chuckled, but then she remembered the current mood of everypony in Maretime Bay and frowned with worry. "Minor setback... No problem!" she assured to herself. Dahlia was watering her plants at Dahlia's flower stand, but she got startled when Izzy popped up in front of her beside the stand. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Dahlia!" Izzy said, placing flowers and heart-shaped cards in her watering can, which confused Dahlia. At another stand, Posey Bloom was sniffing some flowers, but then Izzy lifted a card right in front of them, which caused them to hit Posey in the face from sniffing hard, irritating the earth pony. "Oh, happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Posey!" Izzy said cheerfully as she trotted off while Posey growled at Izzy's actions. Then, Izzy stopped in front of a tree with white flowers on it, with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Wow, this is a great tree," Izzy said happily, placing a card on one of its branches. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Mr. Tree!" she happily cheered, stomping her hooves on the floor. But then, she saw Posey angrily placing the card into a recycling bin and walking off happily with a smile. Izzy jumped in front of the bin with a frown. "Hey! That's not the spirit..." she said to Posey, who felt annoyed at Izzy before walking off entirely, leaving Izzy a little saddened. Suddenly, Fifi flew by with her fruit cart, and Izzy started to trot after her, panting and sweating as she ran as fast as she could to keep up with Fifi. "I... am... right... in... thinking Hearts and Hooves Day is everypony's absolute favorite day of the year, right?!" Izzy quickly asked Fifi with a nervous smile. Fifi felt uneasy about Izzy's question and sweated a bit. "Uhhhh, yes?" she questioned uncertainty, but then she screamed when she saw something in front of her and Izzy. So she landed on the ground and skidded her hooves to stop herself while Izzy stopped next to her. But Fifi's fruit cart opened up and tossed some fruits out. "Ow!" Hitch's voice cried out while Fifi and Izzy saw Hitch in front of them, with a pineapple that hit him in the face as it fell off, leaving Hitch covered in pineapple juice, and his right eye twitched a bit in irritation since this was like the 6th time he got fruit over his face. Knuckles was at his side, trying so hard not to laugh at him, but one glare from Hitch made him roll his eyes and walk back to the station. "I know, I know. Back to work," Knuckles complained, but as Hitch nodded and walked away, Knuckles couldn't help but laugh lowly to himself. Fifi and Izzy stared at Hitch for a second before Fifi spoke again. "Uh... no," she corrected herself with a bored expression before flying off as some dust formed from her takeoff. Izzy gasped in shock at Fifi's answer. "Is that so...?" she asked with a changeling look. Well, we'll see about that!" she stated with a determined smile. Izzy: Just show a little heart It's all about your fellow pony Izzy started to toss some cards and heart confetti in the air with a wide smile and sparkling eyes. But in the process, she got the cards on a Pegasus stallion from head to chest, on a soup from an Earth Pony mare with glasses, and a Unicorn mare's face while she sipped her smoothie, which frustrated them all. We all need a little love Don't have a heart of stone-y If you're feelin' what I'm feelin' Then get up and show me 'Cause today's not the day For bein' lonely Then, Izzy appeared in front of Posey again with a smile. She gave her some roses, which Posey accepted, and she even smiled back at Izzy. The unicorn walked backward, but when Izzy twirled around with a little laugh, tossed some heart confetti in the air, and trotted off, Posey saw that a piece of the flower bushes had been ripped off, and as she looked at the flowers that Izzy gave her. Then, at the bushes again, she realized the flowers on the bush matched the ones on her hooves. That made Posey mad, making her face turn red in rage at Izzy's actions. "Aaaahhh!!" she screamed in rage as she looked around for any signs of Izzy, who trotted happily behind her as she went out of sight of the raging earth pony. In Maretime Bay, an Earth Pony mare was sipping a smoothie while a Pegasus Stallion looked at his phone. They were minding their own business, but then Izzy appeared and jumped into the air with a front flip before landing on the bench with a smile and sparkling eyes, breaking the bench in two. Oh, oh, I'm spreadin' the love Like, oh, oh, it's all I've dreamt of Oh, no, don't hesitate The two ponies were surprised by Izzy’s appearance as she tossed some more confetti in the air and trotted off, leaving the two ponies to slide down to each other from the broken bench as the Pegasus' phone clicked a picture of the two faces together. Izzy repeated the same process on some other benches while tossing some confetti into the air two times, with one being with a young Unicorn mare and an elder Unicorn mare sliding down and a Pegasus filly and an Earth Pony colt sliding down in surprise from Izzy. At the same time, Hitch appeared in front of them and blew his whistle at Izzy for breaking the benches, while Knuckles also arrived and wrote down all the laws Izzy broke. "I may like her, but the law is the law," Knuckles said with a bored expression. Once he put his notebook aside, he noticed Hitch looking at him with wide eyes. "D-Did you just... you admitted you like Izzy?!" Hitch asked in shock. "I may not chuckle like Sonic, but you know what I do? Deny that I like someone," Knuckles replied with a slight frown. You better follow your heart, it ain't gonna wait Izzy got to a dumpster where a raccoonicorn and bunnycorn were going through the trash; when Izzy used her magic to levitate them out of the dumpster and place them on a table with a chocolate cake piece, they got irritated. The raccoonicorn tossed the cake away, hitting Izzy’s face while she was holding a camera. The cake slid off her face, and Izzy gave a bored expression. Love, I'm gonna show it Love, I'm gonna show it Two stallions were giving each other a hoof bump, but then Izzy placed an arch of hearts over them and smiled at them, tossing some confetti in the air; the stallions got startled and rushed off, leaving Izzy confused. The purple one rolled across the floor and stopped, now tied in balloons. Another stallion, a unicorn, was drinking some smoothie, but then Izzy tossed some heart confetti in front of him, which startled him as he spit the smoothie in Izzy’s face. She felt surprised by that while the unicorn glared at her. Izzy then approached a Unicorn mare, placed a card into her face, and smiled with sparkling eyes. However, the mare took the card off her face and gave an irritated look, saddened Izzy. Ain't no doubt about it Love's in the air, let's shout it Somewhere in a corner, Misty and Opaline were talking to each other. Since Eggman, for the very first time in his life, decided to leave Sonic alone with his plans, my money's on Opaline and Misty coming up with a plan together to kidnap Sparky and take his dragon fire... because they have no better ideas on how to make Opaline more powerful. Izzy walked past them in a sad mood and was too sad to notice Opaline was RIGHT THERE. She tossed a flower necklace that landed on Misty's neck, and Opaline gave a bewildered expression. Misty looked at the flower necklace around her neck and smiled widely at it, while Opaline rolled her eyes and looked at Misty, who looked back at Opaline uncertainly. Opaline raised an eyebrow at Misty, and the unicorn chuckled sheepishly. Sometime later, Izzy walked by sadly until she stopped in front of a trash can. Izzy sighed sadly after a long day of deceptions. "Nopony cares about Hearts and Hooves Day. What's the point?" she asked herself sadly, tearing up and levitating all the cards and hearts from her saddlebag to toss them in the trash. Next to Izzy, Zipp and Tails were at Dahlia’s stand, picking up some flower food for Zipp’s flytrap. "Thanks for tagging out with this, buddy," Zipp thanked the young fox with a smile. "No biggie, Zipp," Tails replied with a smile. "I kind of needed to get some air after three hours of building up that wing," he pointed out. "What are you building again?" Zipp asked with a smirk. "Oh, I'm sorry, Princess Storm, but I'm afraid it'll remain a surprise, even for you," Tails replied with a smirk and a mocking tone, but instead of bothering Zipp, her wings opened up, her face got completely red, and her heart skipped a beat at the nickname. Suddenly, they heard rummaging and turned to see a raccoonicorn grumbling as it popped out from the trash filled with hearts and cards, angrily grumbling at Izzy as she sadly walked away. Zipp and Tails walked to the trash and inspected it. "Hmmm…" Zipp said in thought. Then, they saw Izzy beside the tree she had placed the card on earlier, giving it a small smile. The card fell off the tree branch, and Izzy watched it land on the fly, which made her sigh sadly as a heart antenna on her head fell off and landed on the card, making Izzy tear up again. Zipp and Tails walked next to Izzy in concern. "Uh, you okay there, Izz?" Zipp asked. "I tried so hard to bring a little Hearts and Hooves magic to Maretime Bay, but... nopony even wants to celebrate," Izzy answered sadly, as some tears dropped from her eyes. "Oh, come on. It couldn't be that bad," Tails assured Izzy. "I would say it was worse," Knuckles said as he approached the trio and pointed in a certain direction. "This is awful!" a business unicorn stallion cried out as he tried to shake the balloon attached to his right hoof off but couldn't as he walked off with a whimper. Then, a blue raccoonicorn came in with a bag, while a green raccoonicorn popped out from the trash and tossed some cards out in the air. The blue one caught one in the bag as they made squeaking sounds. Zipp raised an eyebrow, Tails cringed, and Knuckles gave a bored expression while Izzy started to tear up again. "I don't like to say this kind of stuff out loud, but I'm thinking 'unity among ponykind' isn't still a thing at all," Knuckles commented. "Otherwise, stuff like this wouldn't happen," he pointed out. Tails smacked Knuckles' head and frowned at him while Zipp placed a hoof on Izzy with a comforting smile. "Look, Izzy. Love and friendship aren't things you can magic up with cards and heart-shaped balloons. It takes time," she said. "Zipp's right, Izz," Knuckles agreed. "And those things can't be shown just by nice words, gifts, or cards. Your actions also have to speak for you," he said with a smile. "You know, like a seed!" Tails were added while Zipp decided to show her nearly sprouted flytrap, which grew quickly as its stem was up straight. "You care for it and nurture it, and eventually…" Zipp said, but before she could finish, her flytrap sprouted and formed its mouth, starting to chomp as it closed its mouth. The four friends looked at it in amazement while Zipp smiled at her fully grown plant. "Yes! See? It grows into something amazing!" she said happily. A Pegasnail was humming happily to itself, but then the flytrap chomped it with its mouth, and the Pegasnail ruffled around in it before the flytrap spat it out, making the Pegasnail yelp a little dizzy before recomposing itself and fly away happily as it continues to hum to itself, like if nothing ever happened. "Let's just try to keep it away from Hitch's bug friends, you know," Tails muttered to Zipp. "Agreed," Zipp replied with a smirk. "Huh?" Izzy asked in confusion. "So you guys are saying friendships can grow like plants?" she smiled. "Exactly," Tails answered with a smile. "And love can blossom like a flower?" Izzy asked them again with sparkling eyes and a smile. "Right!" Zipp added as she placed her flytrap down. "And we can all have two heads like Venus flytraps?!" Izzy suddenly asked excitedly again. "Yup! Wait, what?" Knuckles asked, confused at Izzy's sudden question. Tails looked down and widened his eyes at what he saw. "Zipp... perhaps you wanna see this one..." he said, pointing at the flytrap. Zipp followed and saw that her flytrap had somehow grown an extra head, as both mouths were chomping. "Huh! What do you know?" Zipp said, surprised but with a smile as well. "The whole point is... Love isn't something you demonstrate with stuff but with actions." Knuckles finished, taking out something that made Izzy gasp in awe and excitement. "I-Is that what I think it is?!" Izzy asked in disbelief. Knuckles was holding a bracelet Izzy used to wear on her tail, but it broke even before she met Sonic, so she put it away and never bothered to repair it because she felt sad that it broke in the first place. Now... Knuckles was holding that very same bracelet on his hand, repaired as if it never broke in the first place. "You mentioned that you didn't want to repair it because the idea of it being broken made you sad. So... with some help from Tails, I'm not denying it... I managed to sew it and repair it," Knuckles explained. But I'll understand if you don't w—–" he tried to add, but Izzy wrapped him in a tight hug that cut him off. He blushed a bit at first and felt awkward by the action, but he smiled and hugged her back. Izzy smiled happily, sparkling her eyes as she broke the hug. "Knux... thank you... Y-You don't know how much this means to me..." she said happily before putting the bracelet back on her tail, and then she hugged Tails and Zipp as well. "And thanks to you two as well, Zipp and Tails. You're both real friends. The three of you," she said with a smile, now looking at Knuckles as well. "Hoof to heart for Hearts and Hooves?" she asked while raising her hoof at them with a smile. Zipp, Tails, and Knuckles smiled at Izzy as they tapped hooves/fists together. "Hoof to heart!" they all said together. Zipp then picked up her flytrap, which was still chomping its mouth as the sun was setting. "Come on. We better get this thing in some soil before it eats one of us," she joked, saying the last part in a playful, spooky tone while the four of them dodged a chomp from the flytrap bites. "You guys go ahead," Tails said with a smile. "Now that the coast is clear, I need to pick some materials," he stated before heading towards his workshop. "And I need to help Hitch with Sparky on the station," Knuckles added. "See you later!" he smirked before walking towards the station. As Tails and Knuckles walked away and Zipp began to walk towards the Crystal Brighthouse, Izzy got at her side with a smile. "Soooo, have you got your eye on anypony?" she asked sparklingly, while Zipp felt uncomfortable by Izzy's question. "Any secret crushes? I know it's Tails, by the way," she suddenly said excitedly while waving her hooves and placing them on her cheeks with sparkling eyes and a smile. Zipp blushed after hearing that, but she kept focused on the road. "Ooh, you would make such a cute couple! You two together will be cute, and we'd all love it!" she happily said. Zipp groaned, feeling she would never hear the end of this. After Pipp squealed and blew at her with thousands of questions over why she never told her anything about her crush on Tails, she was getting sick of the same questions coming out from Izzy. It wasn't like she thought about Tails all night without sleeping... right? Sonic and Pipp were walking across a forest. Since it was Hearts and Hooves Day, or as Sonic knows it, Valentine's Day, they decided to have... can we call it a date? A friendly outing? A hike? The point is that Sonic decided to take Pipp out to show her something. "I'm still surprised you asked me to hang along," Pipp confessed with a smile. "It's actually... quite adorable that you wanted this to be just for us," she blushed. Sonic blushed at the compliment and smiled nervously as he scratched his neck. "I-It's no big deal, Little Pipp," he said. Usually, I don't enjoy this holiday because of certain experiences I'd rather not talk about, but... let's say I have the feeling you're going to like what I have in store for you," he said with a smirk. "I promise you this is worth your time," he assured. "Oh, I bet it is~" Pipp replied in a flirty tone, and Sonic felt his face blushing again. After walking for a few minutes, Sonic stopped Pipp and told her to cover her eyes. Pipp raised an eyebrow, but she gladly did so and followed Sonic, who decided to take her hoof and guide her over the next few steps. "Alright, Little Pipp," Sonic said with a smirk. "You can open them now," he assured him. Pipp stopped and opened her eyes, and she couldn't help but gasp in awe with sparkling eyes at what she had in front of her: the sight of all of Equestria as the sun set on the horizon. Maretime Bay, the forest covering Bridlewood, and even Zephyr Heights. She could see the entirety of her home, and it was simply... beautiful. "S-Sonic... t-this is..." Pipp tried to say but was so amazed that she couldn't form the proper words. "One of the reasons I love to run around is that I always find amazing views like this one," Sonic said as he sat on the floor, and Pipp joined him soon enough. "Perhaps it is not the most beautiful place on the planet, but... I don't know. I guess I saw this, and it reminded me of you," he confessed with a smile, still looking at the view. Pipp felt her cheeks turning red after hearing that. "R-Really?" she asked. Sonic nodded, and then he looked back at her. "I don't enjoy this holiday back home because people believe it is all about wasting money to show love instead of showing it with their actions," he confessed. "At first, I thought bringing you here could be enough, but... Pipp, no words, actions, gifts, anything in general, could ever be enough to tell you how important you are to me," he added with a smile and a slight blush. Pipp felt her heart pumping faster, and she tried to say something, but no words could come out of her mouth. So, she decided not to use words. Instead, she leaned and kissed his cheek, which made Sonic's heart skip a beat, and he unconsciously wrapped an arm around Pipp. Pipp herself rested her head on Sonic's chest and smiled. "Sonic... I cannot describe in any known way to tell you how much you mean to me, either," she also confessed. "I... I-I guess the only possible word I could use is... I... I... I love you..." she muttered lowly. Sonic, however, heard her perfectly, and he couldn't help but smile brightly. He wrapped his other hand around the pegasus and kept her close to his chest. "I... I-I... I-I love you too, Pipp," he muttered. Pipp did hear him, and she smiled, nuzzling her head over his chest with joy. It seemed like they had no more words to share, so they just stood there, enjoying each other's company while the sun hid in the horizon to welcome the night. THE END Author's Note TELL YOUR TALE IS BACK, YA'LL!!! Originally, Eggman was going to attack Sonic and Pipp, but the boss I wanted to use for that battle fits better with the context of the next episode. I mean, Knuckles is gonna have a birthday party, and what better than a big crusher for it? Also, I'm not wasting a TYT episode on Sonic and Pipp becoming a thing. I know you guys might think they already are together, but no, they're not. They're just that oblivious within each other's feelings. P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 45. Ponykind Parade-emoniumThe Mane 5, minus Hitch, Sonic, and Tails, were at Mane Melody. The girls wore carnival costumes since today was the Ponykind Parade. After dressing up entirely, the girls posed on a stage. Pipp and Zipp were the only ones smirking and 'correctly posing,' although Sunny and Izzy also stood well. Meanwhile, Team Sonic was sitting on a couch, with Sonic's face completely red and his jaw dropped, while Tails was hiding his face on a pillow, and Knuckles put his hands together while covering his mouth and having both a blush and sparkling eyes. "Not to... uh... uni my own corn, but... these costumes are totally hooftacular!" Izzy said with sparkling eyes while getting off stage and twirling around. However, Sunny felt uncomfortable with her costume since her dress seemed too long for her hind legs. "They'll be great in the Ponykind Parade––" she tried to say, but then she almost tripped as she tried to free her right hind leg from her dress. "They are, uh... A little big–– WHOA!" she exclaimed before falling to the floor by mistake. "Yup~ " Pipp said with a smile as she flew forward and stood at Izzy's side. "So everypony can see us and know how equally #PonyPerfect we all are~!" she stated with sparkling eyes, bringing out her phone and posing for a picture with Izzy. "And... equally itchy––" Zipp said with a cringed expression, also scratching her chin desperately, but then Pipp appeared at her side with a raised eyebrow and a twitchy eye, also recording her with her phone. "––ing to dance that parade!" Zipp corrected herself with a nervous smile while sweating a lot. Pipp moved away and was about to say something, but then she noticed Team Sonic's weird attitude and how incredibly red It was. "Uh... guys? Are you okay?" she asked them, confused. Sonic was the first to snap back to reality as he shook his head and cleared his throat, although he still blushed a lot. "Y-Yeah. Sorry, girls. It just... a little bit too hot in here..." he said, trying to keep his cool... and failing terribly in the process. "I had so many dirty thoughts, and now I'm ashamed of myself..." Tails confessed as he hugged a pillow and hid his face there. "You girls look great; just ignore us," Knuckles said, relaxed before pulling out a bucket of water and pouring it over himself. "Our hormones are working as they should, I guess." Pipp raised an eyebrow at that, and while she suspected what Knuckles meant, she decided not to question them or stare at that area of Sonic's body. "If Hitch can rehearse around all his peacekeeping and sheriff thing, we all can dance," she said with a smile. "Right, Hitch…" she tried to ask, but then she gasped when she realized that Hitch wasn't there with them. "Where is Hitch?!" she asked in shock. "Helping ponies setting up for the parade in town with his critters helping," Knuckles explained, grabbing a towel and drying off his fur. "You expect way too much of him if you think he's just gonna drop his job, even to have some fun," he pointed out with a frown. "Speaking of duty, are you here to skip that, or Hitch gave you a free day for coming into existence today?" Sonic asked him with a raised eyebrow. "The latter," Knuckles replied. "I'm sorry, 'you came to existence today'?" Sunny asked, confused. "What does that mean?" "Is his fancy way to say it's his birthday?" Tails replied with a bored expression. "I'm sorry–– KNUCKLES B-DAY IS TODAY?!" Izzy shouted in shock. "Why didn't you tell me, Knuckle?!" she asked him with a huge smile and sparkling eyes. "Don't get excited, please," Knuckles requested. Today is just Thursday, February 2nd, alright? It's not the French Revolution or any big deal," he pointed out. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Pipp said as she shook both her head and her front hooves. "What do you mean is not a big deal?! Your birthday is a big deal!" she pointed out. "Yeah, not for me," Knuckles replied with a bored expression. "It's not that I don't like to celebrate it; I simply don't think making a whole drama over turning a year older and being closer to kick the bucket is necessary," he confessed. "That, and he didn't want to bother when he found out you were doing this Parade today," Sonic added mockingly. Knuckles glared at him, sighed in defeat, and looked at the girls again. "Yeah, he's right," he confessed. "Knuckles, you wouldn't bothered! We could have just moved the parade to another day!" Sunny confessed with a smile. "Still, I stand to my posture: I don't want it to be a big deal, alright?" Knuckles said. "If you want, we can do something on the Brighthouse when the Parade is over, but right now, you should be concerned about somepony missing," he pointed out with a frown. "Yeah, Hitch is surely getting his time... Better check he's not doing anything stupid!" Sonic said with a smirk before boosting away. "Ah, great... now I'll have to make sure he's the one not doing something stupid..." Tails complained as he stood up from the couch and slowly walked out of Mane Melody. Somewhere in Maretime Bay, in the middle of the street, Hitch is helping ponies set up the parade with the help of his trusted critters, while Sparky is right next to him. "McSnips-a-lot, snip that hedge a lot!" Hitch ordered McSnips with a smile while pointing at the hedge before him. Sparky babbled assertively, trying to repeat what Hitch said as McSnips snipped the hedge quickly so that he made it look like Hitch’s head. "Raccoonicorns, that street should be so clean, I could eat my dinner on it!" Hitch stated that the raccoonicorns used brooms or tails to sweep the street’s floors. Sparky gave another assertively babbling, acting like he was the sheriff. Then, some signs on both sides of the building started to lose up as one end started falling off, which made both Hitch and Sparky gasp in shock. "Keeeenneeeeeth!" both Hitch and Sparky called out to Kenneth to catch that end of the signs. He came whooshing down with a determined look and caught the line just in time. Then he tied it back on with a twirl before doing a front flip and landing on the ground while saluting Sparky and Hitch. "Close one. Attaboy, Kenny," Hitch said in relief with a salute, while Sparky looked at Kenneth in awe before saluting as well, and then Kenneth flew off. "It's going to be a good day. Sparky!" Hitch said with a smile as Sparky smiled back. What they didn’t know, however, was that Misty was spying on them on the roof of a building when his amulet suddenly opened up, and Opaline appeared. "Did you follow all my instructions, Misty?" Opaline asked Misty with a look. "Sure did!" Misty replied with a smile and sparkling eyes. "One batch of blazeberry buns fresh from the oven!" she said while pointing to the three baked blazeberry buns in an alley across the street. “Ah, the blazeberry..." Opaline said with a smile while Misty listened, also smiling. "One sniff brings out a critter's inner beast, which means chaos for them. And plenty of dragon fire for me!" she stated with an evil grin. "And a cutie mark for me!" Misty said in an attempt (a pretty good one) to make an evil tone as well. Sparky was walking around when he saw the blazeberry buns, making him smile with sparkling eyes. He ran towards the buns, which excitedly made Misty and Opaline smile. Sparky picked one up and took a sniff at it. Still, then he cringed as the smell made him sneeze out his dragon fire, hitting the buns and causing an explosion; it made Sparky fly around, leaving a trail of dust from his dragon fire as he flew across the street while the ponies and critters around the area watched him go. Hitch walked by while looking behind him with a smile. "At least the snacks are on––" he started but gasped in surprise when he saw Sparky coming at him fast, then he groaned when Sparky hit him in the chest. Luckily, Hitch caught Sparky in his hooves and picked him up, with Sparky holding a donut, which was originally the blazeberry bun he was holding. "Whoa, Sparky. Hope you're not coming down with something. We've got a parade to march in," se said to Sparky as the baby dragon rubbed his nose from the sudden sneeze. Back on the roof, Opaline growled while Misty looked at her, scared. Hitch then remembered something and panicked. "Ah! And we are so late!" he called out, remembering the parade rehearsal he had to do with the girls. He placed Sparky on his back while the baby dragon chewed on his donut happily and with a smile. "Critters, let's roll out!" he called out, but then he and Sparky turned and saw the critters glaring at Hitch and Sparky, with their eyes looking like they were on fire, as the ponies looked around nervously. Kenneth was normal, but once he sniffed the dust in the air Sparky made, his eyes went on fire, and his left eye twitched a bit. Hitch smiled and sweated nervously while Sparky felt nervous about this. "Uhhh... critters?" Hitch asked them nervously, not liking where this was going. One of the raccoonicorns sniffed the air before it started to growl, and McSnips-a-lot came in front of him, clamping his claws angrily under the same effects. Sparky started to whimper, scared at the critters for being like this. Hitch then looked at Sparky, knowing that they were in trouble. He smiled nervously and backed away a bit. "Well, Sparky, we should probably…" he didn’t get to finish as the critters hissed at them angrily, and in a second, Hitch started trotting away. "... ruuuuuun! he screamed as he and Sparky screamed in panic while the angry critters chased them. Back on the roof, Misty and Opaline saw the whole thing. Misty looked nervous, while Opaline laughed at this outcome, which made Misty look at her. "It may not be the dragon fire I asked for, but at least it's entertaining," she said with an amusing smile. However, she soon gasped when she saw Sonic and Tails arriving at the place, with all the decorations now ruined. "What the hell happened here?" Tails asked, confused and concerned. "I don't know, but either Hitch lied to Knuckles, or he'd be doing a terrible job because this place is a mess..." Sonic pointed out... but then, he sensed something in the air, some smell that felt weird and different. "What?" Tails asked once he noticed that. "Don't you sense a weird smell in the air, too?" Sonic asked him with a worried frown. Tails raised an eyebrow, sniffed the air, and also felt confused. "Hey... you're right! Something's... off..." he pointed out in concern. As the two kept smelling the air, they soon opened their eyes... now turned on fire as they slowly frowned in anger. Opaline and Misty saw this as well, and while Misty gulped in fright, Opaline grinned sinisterly. "This is going to be interesting, " she said. Back in Mane Melody, Pipp was walking back and forth nervously since Hitch wasn't here yet, and both Sonic and Tails didn't respond to Knuckles' calls. "This dance is totally ruined without Hitch!" Pipp cried out in panic. "And Sonic and Tails don't respond, either," Knuckles said with concern, pressing the call button on his watch but still getting no response. "And for the last time, Izzy: I'm not wearing that!" he scolded her while Izzy tried to approach him sneakily with Hitch's costume for the parade. "Aww..." Izzy said in disappointment. "It's not like Hitch to be late," Sunny pointed out in concern. "No... It isn't…" Zipp said while placing a hoof on her chin. Then she walked to the still slightly panicked Pipp and gave her a comforting smile, also placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I won't let anything ruin your parade, sis," she stated with a wink before trotting off. Pipp gasped in surprise at what Zipp had just said as she turned to her sister, who was at the door. "But... I thought you didn't care about this stuff!" she said. "If you care, I care!" Zipp said with a determined smile before finally leaving Mane Melody Pipp gave a heartfelt smile with sparkling eyes at what her sister said. Knuckles, however, felt frustrated as he tried to call Tails and Sonic again. "Hello! You're calling to Tails' number! If you get this message, I'm not currently available. Sorry!" Tail's voice replied in a recorded message. Knuckles growled before trying again, this time with Sonic. "I have no idea of how this works... Uh... I'm busy right now, alright? Have to run!" Sonic's voice replied in a recorded message. "Generic answers..." Knuckles muttered before scoffing and walking towards the exit. "Alright, guys. Let's see in what mess you two dragged yourselves into," he stated with a frown before punching his fists together and walking off Pipp's salon. A little bit later, Zipp flew to where the parade should be, with Knuckles arriving by run, only to see some dust and the decorations a mess as some were on the floor. "Huh. Where is everypony?" Zipp asked, confused. "No idea... but there are no signs of them. Nor Hitch, nor Sonic or Tails... not even Sparky is here..." Knuckles pointed out. As they both walked by, they noticed the weird atmosphere. "What is all this orange stuff?" Zipp asked again, still confused. "I have no idea, but..." Knuckles said as he smelled the air. "That smell makes me feel madder than usual, which could never be a good sign," he pointed out. Soon enough, Zipp noticed a blazeberry on the floor and grabbed it. Then, she brought out her Z-Goggles to get some information. "Blazeberry?" she asked herself in surprise, as she was familiar with this kind of berry. She took off her Z-Goggles with a worried expression. "Oh, no!" she cried out in concern. "A what now?" Knuckles questioned, confused. "Blazeberries are a kind of berries that can make critters bring out their inner beasts! And this orange dust is full of its essences!" Zipp summarized with worry. "So a berry that can make animals in general go nuts..." Knuckles guessed with a frown, and Zipp nodded in worry. "If that's the case, let's hope neither Sonic nor Tails smelled it..." he said with concern. However, it seemed that Knuckles spoke too soon because something passed by quickly and snatched the blazeberry from Zipp's hoof, startling her and Knuckles, so they were both positioned to fight if necessary. They both heard growls, and a shadow was running on four legs around ceilings, so they just waited for it to make the first move. Soon enough, something launched against Zipp with a girlish warrior cry, and Zipp was startled. Thankfully, Knuckles was fast enough to grab a metal tube and put it between Zipp and the attacker. However, both Zipp and Knuckles gasped in shock when the attacker ended up being Tails, who was biting furiously at the metal tube with his eyes closed. "Tails?!" both Zipp and Knuckles said in shock and confusion. "What are you doing, young man?" Knuckles asked, but when Tails opened his eyes, they looked like they were on fire, and again, both Zipp and Knuckles felt startled at that. "This is what I didn't want to happen!" he said with concern. Tails kept growling at Knuckles, but his growls stopped once he looked at Zipp. Even if his eyes were still on fire, he stopped biting the metal tube and approached Zipp, sniffing her all around, which made her feel a bit uncomfortable as she blushed, embarrassed. Soon enough, Tails was sitting before her, tilting his head confused before smiling and suddenly hugging her with delight while his tails moved happily like a dog. "U-Uh... w-what's happening?" Zipp asked, extremely confused, blushing a lot from Tails' move. "Hmm..." Knuckles muttered, placing a hand on his chin as he analyzed the situation. "It seems like Tails' beast side was awakened after smelling the air," he explained, trying to caress Tails' head, but the now wild fox hissed at him. "However, it seems like he loves your company, so... it's sure to say that you're some kind of half-cure for his current state," he pointed out. "But why me?! And why he has to be so effective?!" While Tails decided to sit on her back while hugging her, Zipp complained, still moving his tails happily. "Girl, you and your sister are so oblivious that I would punch you if we weren't friends..." Knuckles replied with a bored expression. Zipp wanted to question him since she frowned, but suddenly, McSnips-a-lot came rushing by them, which made both Zipp and Knuckles look at each other and nod with determination before running off to follow him. They followed McSnips to the abandoned Canterlogic building. McSnips went through a broken window while Zipp and Knuckles looked through one of its holes and gasped in shock. They saw Hitch and Sparky surrounded by wild, angry critters slowly approaching them angrily. "I just wanted to make Ponykind Parade special for our friends, but nothing has gone to plan!" Hitch said in fear to his critters, who kept hissing at him and Sparky. Hitch backed away nervously, and his hooves shook in fear. "Ah, great..." Knuckles muttered in annoyance. "Zipp, go get the girls and see if you can also find Sonic," he instructed. "I'll give the sheriff a hand," he stated determinedly. "What about Tails? I cannot enter Mane Melody without giving some context..." Zipp pointed out with an embarrassed blush. "Hey, Tails," Knuckles called out, and Tails opened his eyes, frowned, and hissed at him. "First of all, calm down, young man. I need your help, alright? Once we're done, you can go back with Zipp," he said with a frown. Tails growled lowly, but Zipp sighed and nuzzled her cheek with Tails'. "Little guy... help Knuckles out, okay? I'll be back soon, I promise," she told him with a smile. Tail's ear went down, so he nuzzled his cheek with hers again before going down in four legs and staring at Knuckles with a frown, although not as mad as before. As Zipp flew away, Tails and Knuckles came through the window and stood before Hitch. Knuckles raised his electrical powers and stood to fight while Tails hissed back at the critters, showing his sharp teeth. "Guys!" Hitch said in surprise and relief, but then he noticed Tails acting like a wild fox instead of himself. "Oh no... Don't tell me he's—–" he tried to ask in panic. "He's on our side. Now, stay behind us!" Knuckles instructed, and Hitch gulped nervously but nodded. And then Kenneth came chirping to Sparky as he tried to grab his donut. Sparky babbled in protest as he kept hold of his donut, and Kenneth lost his grip and flew back. Hitch realized something as he grabbed Sparky’s donut and showed it to the feral critters. "Oh, you want this? Sure! Go fetch!" he said, tossing the donut to the other side, which made the critters growl at it as a raccoonicorn caught it, and then all the critters ate it like manias. Tails seemed to control himself a little when he saw the donut, although he wanted to follow up deep inside. Once they were finished, they turned and growled at Hitch, Sparky, Tails, and Knuckles, who were looking nervous at them. "And now we know they're hungry. Great!" Hitch said nervously as he gulped. "If we want to live another day to tell this tale, I'm afraid we'll have to..." Knuckles began, gulping nervously. "Hurt them..." he said with worry. Tails hissed back at some raccoonicorns, using his left hand as if he were trying to catch them. Suddenly, they heard clanging sounds and tuned to see the Canterlogic’s doors opening, with the girls each holding mane dryers. "Looks like you critters need to blow off some steam!" Zipp announced with a determined smile. "Chaaaaarge!" Pipp announced as she and Zipp took to the air while Sunny and Izzy hopped down from the railings. Sparky cheered at their friends being here. "Yay!" Hitch cheered as well. "The cavalry arrived!" Knuckles announced with a smirk while Tails tilted his head, confused at what was happening. "Knuckles! Catch!" Sunny called out while holding out a spare mane dryer. She tossed it to Knuckles, who caught it with his hand. "Use the mane dryer to blow away the dust! Once it’s gone, the critters will return to normal!" she explained. "Roger that!" Knuckles replied with a determinate look, using the dryer to blow Tails' face first, who got a bit startled as he closed his eyes. Once he opened them again, they were back to normal, and he shook his head before sitting down. His eyes moved around, and he felt dizzy. "Ha, it works!" Knuckles cheered with a smile before blowing up more critters with the dryer. Zipp screamed and grunted as she blew off the flying critters and the dust in the air. Sunny screamed and grunted as she blew off the dust and ducked when a raccoonicorn tried to tackle her head but missed. She smirked but fell to the floor since she lost her balance due to her costume. "Get gone, critters!" Pipp yelled out as she landed on the ground and blew off some dust and some critters chasing after them. "And this! In the face!" she said with an angry look. Izzy grunted in effort and blew away some dust and critters, then she smiled and settled her mane dryer on full blast before pointing to the critters. "Yah!" she declared as she blew away dust, and the critters flew back from the big wind. Hitch arced back while Sparky held on to Hitch so he wouldn't blow away. Kenneth and McSnips-a-lot shook their heads as they opened their eyes, which returned to normal as the dust cleared. Kenneth chirped happily while McSnips smiled. "It's working!" Hitch cheered as he and Sparky smiled. On the ceiling, Misty's on the roof and looking through one of the holes as she watched the Mane 5 and Knuckles blowing away the dust and turning the critters to normal. And then, some of the dust came right up to Misty’s face as she began to cough. Misty stood up to fan off the dust, but then, a raccoonicorn appeared next to her, having a fire in their eyes and growling with the dust all over the roof, which caused Misty to feel nervous while Opaline watched, confused. "Opaline! What do I do?!" Misty asked in fright as she sweated. Opaline raised an eyebrow at Misty’s question. "Why are you asking me? This is your mess," she said with rolled eyes. She disappeared while the amulet closed. Misty grew nervous as she kept sweating. "Uh…" she said in a scared tone as she tapped on the amulet to bring Opaline back while the feral raccoonicorn approached her. "Opaline?" she said nervously as she backed away in fright, but then the raccoonicorn started screeching at Misty, who screamed in fright and trotted away from the raccoonicorn, who was following her as she made her way to the door. Back in the building, Zipp twirled her mane dryer and blew at the top as the Mane 5 and Knuckles looked at the critters and Tails on the ground, now back to normal, while the blazeberry dust was gone. "Phew!" Sunny said in relief, glad that’s over, and Hitch and Sparky are okay. "Ugh... what happened?" Tails asked as he stood up and cleaned some dust from his body. "I was on Mane Street... how did I end up here?" he asked, confused, as he scratched his head. "Welcome back, little buddy," Knuckles said with a smile as he patted his back. "Let's just say your inner beast came to light," he smirked. "Inner beast?" Tails questioned, confused. "Long story short: you smelled a berry that made you mad, okay?" Zipp told him with a smirk. "Huh... that'll explain why Sonic and I felt weird with the smell in the air..." Tails said as he rubbed his chin. Suddenly, Knuckles eyes widened. "HANG ON! THE HEDGEHOG SMELLED IT TOO?!" Knuckles shouted in shock. Soon enough, the wind blew by behind; the entire group turned but found nothing there. Then, the wind blew again, and again, and again, until they could hear and see something moving in the shadows. And then, something charged against them, but thankfully, Knuckles placed his hand in front of the group and stopped something that kept spinning on his hand—a blue ball charged with blue electricity. Knuckle struggled, but then he charged his fist with red electricity and punched the ball to the ground. The ball uncurled and revealed to be Sonic, who groaned in pain with his eyes closed. "Sonic?" Pipp called out, confused. Knuckles, however, frowned, and so he took out his dryer just in case. When Sonic opened his eyes and they showed to be in fire, the hedgehog stood up and hissed at his friends in anger as he stood on four legs. Then Knuckles blew the dryer on his face with a bored expression, and when he put it away, Sonic opened his eyes, once again normal, and shook his head, confused. "Uh..." Sonic exclaimed before realizing he was on four legs. He stood up normally and cleaned some dust off. "What the heck happened, exactly?" he asked, confused. "We'll explain later," Knuckles said, putting the dryer away. "It seems like we're done dealing with critters—and anthropomorphic animals—in anger," he said with a smirk. "Yeah. I'm glad that’s over," Sunny said with a smile. "At least we can get back to the parade like nothing happened," she started as they all walked out of the Canterlogic building to return to the parade. But once they got to where the parade should be, the group and the critters cringed at the sight. They saw the parade and decorations a mess and abandoned from the feral critters' attack as a tumbleweed came by. "Um, I was expecting decorations, but trash is good, too!" Izzy optimally said that she wanted to stay positive. She held up a fish can that smelled terrible and sniffed at it. "Mmm!" She said with a forced smile before she started to gag as she dropped the can. "Did we do all of this because we went mad?" Tails asked. "And I thought things were bad whenever Knuckles was mad..." Sonic said with shame. "Unlike you, I control the beast in me all the time," Knuckles said with a bored expression. Pipp began to sob at the ruined parade with teary eyes. "It's all ruined!" she sobbed as she placed her hooves on her face. Hitch and Zipp looked at each other with knowing smiles. "It wouldn't be so sure," she said with a smirk. "Critters, roll out!" Hitch announced with a smile, which caused the critters to salute him as they began to fix up the parade. The pegasnails lifted the signs back up, the raccoonicorns picked up the trash with one of them sweeping the dust into the trash bin while the other two picked it up and closed the bin, and McSnips alined the streamers on the roofs as he tied them up. Then, in just a short time, the ponies started to come out and smiled as they saw the decorations back up while the critters saluted at their work. Then, the critters helped Hitch put on his costume as he and the girls posed together in the crowd of ponies. Soon enough, carnival music started playing as the ponies started cheering to the Mane 5, while Hitch stepped in first, twirled around, and started showing off his dance moves. The rest of the Mane 5 follow along as they dance together in the center of the crowd as the ponies watch them go as they enjoy the Ponykind Parade together. Team Sonic stood aside as they watched the party go on with smiles. "By the way, Knux..." Sonic called out. "You also smelled the blazeberries in the air, but... you seemed to be under control. Why is that?" he asked curiously. "Yeah, I was wondering that myself!" Tails confessed. "I deal with anger issues every day, guys," Knuckles pointed out. "You need more than just a weird smell from a berry to make me go nuts. Besides, as I said earlier, I always have my beast under control. The only way I could let that thing get free is if my friends got hurt... or my family..." he pointed out. Sonic and Tails both smiled. Then they looked at each other, nodded, and decided to drag Knuckles into a group hug for his eternal annoyance. "Just go with the flow, Knucklehead," Sonic told him with a smirk. "And Happy Birthday, Knux," Tails added with a smile. Knuckles rolled his eyes at his friends' cheesy attitude, but he smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around them as well. THE END Author's Note You might be wondering why Eggman didn't attacked today, aren't you? Well, I have decided that I will only implement him when the episode seems like it could use them. I know I said today's episode would have a battle with him, but I want to give a sense to his battles, and him just popping out of nowhere simply didn't convinced me, so I decided to not use him today. Also, this episode was planned to celebrate Knuckles' birthday, but with everything he did on this episode, I think the message is pretty clear. Well, anyways. Next episode, whatever it is, it's going to be special. When it comes out, you'll find out why! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 46. Sparky's SickThe Crystal Brighthouse doors were suddenly opened by Hitch and Knuckles, who had panicked expressions. "Sparky is sick!" Hitch and Knuckles shouted in panic, while Sparky came out of Hitch's hair and erupted with a painful expression. Suddenly, he burped his dragon fire against Sunny, Zipp, and Tails, who ducked down to dodge the fire. "Was that a... hiccup?" Sunny asked with a raised eyebrow. "I think it was a burp?" Zipp said, confused. "Maybe even both?" Tails commented. Sparky burped again, still in pain, while Pipp zoomed close to him with sparkling eyes and a smile. "Is a hiccup burp!" she exclaimed before squealing in excitement. "So adorable!" Sparky burped again, with Hitch holding him with worry, while Izzy zoomed close with sparkling eyes and a smile, just like Pipp. "Aww! Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine, Hitch!" she assured him. "Like Elderflower says: If it's gassy, let it pass." Sparky extended his hand, almost asking for help, but then, he burped against a teapot over the table in the living room and turned it into a watermelon. "Okay... That's less adorable and a lot more annoying," Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. "He's been hiccup-burping all morning!" Hitch explained, placing Sparky on the floor and ducking at his side. "We don't know what to do, and I'm already freaking out here!" Knuckles added with panic. "Yeah, we can see that, Knux," Tails replied with a bored expression before he noticed his fluffy tails moving a bit from the corner of his eye, and he suddenly felt the impulse to grab them. "We... are not..." he tried to add. However, he soon tried to grab his tails, but they moved away. He tried again, but his tails kept moving. And so, he started to chase his tails on his place like a dog, which made everyone but Sonic look at him confused. "Eh, don't mind us," Sonic said with a bored expression before feeling the impulse to scratch the back of his ear with one hand at a fast paste. Once he was done, he looked back at the others. "Ever since we smelled those blazeberries last episode, our animal's instincts are still showing up," he explained. Once Tails finally managed to grab his Tails, he blinked and realized what he had just done. He blushed, embarrassed, and chuckled nervously as he let go of his tails and stood up normally. "Um... sorry for that..." he apologized. However, the attention returned to Sparky once he burped another of his dragon fires. "Please, guys, help these dragon daddy and uncle out!" Hitch begged, while Knuckles only imitated his actions and nodded in agreement. Sunny, Zipp, Pipp, Sonic, and Tails looked down at them with concern, but then they got startled when Izzy popped out nearby. "Oh, oh, oh! I know an ancient unicorn remedy that'll help!" she assured with sparkling eyes and a smile. "I'm sure I have a recipe somewhere..." Sunny said, rubbing her chin and thinking about where she read the recipe she was talking about. "I could try to make a special soup someone always makes for us back home when we get sick," Tails said, scratching his neck. On the other hand, Sonic took out from his quills a white phone with a black symbol that seemed like a ball and two lines crossing together. He marked a number and placed the phone on his ear before walking away. "Yo, Bowser! I know you probably didn't expect me to call at all, but I need help with some parenting stuff..." he said on the call. "Oh, and there is this special Showbiz trick..." Pipp added as well with a smile. However, Zipp smirked confidently. "Don't worry, ponies: I know exactly what to do!" she stated with a determined look. "Please don't say flying, please don't say flying, please don't say flying..." Knuckles begged in whispers. "Curse my stupid mouth..." Knuckles said with a bored expression. Outside the Brighthouse, Zipp placed Sparky in a kangaroo bag for babies and put safety goggles on him and herself. "A few high-octane stunts will shock the hiccup burp right out of ya!" Zipp assured Sparky before looking at the sky with a determinate look while Hitch shook in fear behind them. "This is a Friendly reminder that you can legally demand her if Sparky ends up worse or even hurt," Knuckles muttered to Hitch. Then, Zipp zoomed to the sky and started to fly at top speed while doing some tricks over the clouds and then boosting through a forest, while Hitch popped his head from a tree with a worried expression. Meanwhile, Sparky's mouth was moving funnily as Zipp kept flying faster and faster. "I bet you're feeling better already, huh?" she told him with a confident smirk. However, Sparky burped a massive dragon fire that turned a tree into a need of spaghetti with tomato sauce. "Whoa!" Zipp exclaimed, surprised. She tried to slow down, but instead, she lost control of her own flight. "Spaghetti straight ahead!" she shouted in panic. And then, she crashed against the spaghetti net, which sent her backward as she and Sparky shouted in fear. Holding some binoculars, Hitch noticed that and tried to move, but Zipp and Sparky crashed against him as they all fell to the floor. Now, Hitch and Zipp were all covered by tree branches, with some even sticking on their manes, while Sparky came out of the branches as well, hugging his belly and at the edge of crying. Knuckles came by and grabbed Sparky while approaching Hitch with a frown. "Want me to prepare a legal demand?" he asked him. "No... No, I won't demand anyone..." Hitch replied, and Knuckles shook his head in disapproval. None of them noticed, however, that a pair of yellow eyes with red iris were looking at them from a bush, as the eyes closed a bit in a glare. Later on, Hitch and Knuckles took Sparky with Sunny on her Smoothie Stand. She brought four books and started to read one at a paste but found nothing, so she threw it away and then began to read the next one. Suddenly, Sunny stopped and smiled once she found the recipe she was talking about. "Six bananas!" she instructed while Knuckles put six bananas over the blender. Lots of mustard!" she informed, while Hitch squeezed a mustard jar on the blender, but with a worried expression. "Chocolate sprinkles!" Sunny said again, throwing chocolate sprinkles in the air while some fell over the blender. Toothpaste!" she finished, with Knuckles letting go of the contents over the blender. Once all of this was in, Sunny closed the blender and blended the ingredients, making a very weird-looking smoothie. Then, Hitch gave the smoothie to Sparky, who tried to reach it, but he burped before trying to reach it again while Hitch gave it to him. Sparky sipped the smoothie and tasted it before looking back at Sunny, Hitch, and Knuckles. Then, he felt his belly roaring again in pain while Knuckles curled into a ball, and Hitch and Sunny hugged each other in fear. However, Sparky's belly stopped roaring after a few seconds, and Sunny and Hitch smiled brightly. "It worked!/You did it!" Sunny and Hitch said happily. "Up high! Down low! Hitch it to a post! Flip it Sunny-side––" They tried to make their iconic handshake. However, Sparky started to feel bad again and burped his dragon fire at a cart passing by the smoothie stand, so he turned the cart into a giant mushroom, leaving both the mare riding it and the stallion pulling it confused. Knuckles popped his head and looked at the mushroom with a bored expression, now standing up completely. "At least it doesn't have eyes," he pointed out. "Why would a mushroom have eyes?" Sunny questioned, confused. 'You don't wanna know," Knuckles replied, still bored. Later on, Hitch and Knuckles returned to the Brighthouse to see how Izzy could help. They placed Sparky over a chair in the living room while Izzy placed some candles and crystals around. Hitch and Knuckles looked at each other, confused, unconvinced that this could work. Meanwhile, Izzy was doing a weird dance ritual and singing with a smile. "Hold your breath and count to three! Shake your tail and bend your knees! Throw some feathers in the air! Spin around and give them a scare!" she finished, with a 'mean look,' as she roared cutely and approached Sparky. However, Sparky only tilted his head, confused at Izzy, while Knuckles blushed and tried to stay calm because of Izzy's attitude. Izzy, however, felt confused by Sparky's reaction to her attempt to scare him. "Hmm... That wasn't scary enough..." she pointed out, rubbing her chin and shaking her head before smirking evilly and looking away. "Well... I guess we'll have to try something... BAD!" she shouted, now wearing a clown's hair and nose while smiling and illuminating her face with a lantern. Sparky felt afraid of that as he trembled, but then, he burped again and turned Izzy's clown hair into a bunch of grapes, and Sparky tried to reach for some. Izzy moved away and grabbed some grapes with her hoof while Knuckles zoomed by with his mouth and tongue watering as he also grabbed some grapes and licked his lips. "Bon appétit!" he exclaimed, throwing the grapes in the air and then eating all of them in one chomp. He chewed the grapes with happiness while Izzy giggled at his attitude. Nobody noticed, however, that some critter with long white hair was watching them through the window, with their yellow eyes glaring dagger at them. Soon enough, a snap was heard, and the critter disappeared. Moving on, Hitch and Knuckles took Sparky with Pipp, sitting him on her bed. Meanwhile, Pipp placed her microphone on the stand and put it in front of Sparky. "Let's try some vocal exercises," she said with a relaxed smile. Hitch felt very nervous about this, while Knuckles crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Just do what I do, okay?" Pipp smiled and winked at Sparky before bringing out her lucky microphone. "Deep breath..." she instructed, and Sparky did so. "And... me, me, me, me, me, me!" she sang with a smile. "Me, me, me, me, me, meeee!" Sparky sang back with a smile. "Yes!" Pipp cheered to him in excitement. "Now... ma, ma, ma, ma, ma, maaaa!" she sang again on her microphone. "Ma, ma, ma, ma, ma, maaaa!" Sparky sang as well with a smile. "Good!" Pipp cheered at him before they both did a few more vocal exercises. Once they were done, Pipp squealed and nuzzled Sparky's cheek. "Aw, so cute! Oh, my glitter, we should collaborate," she said with a smile. However, as Pipp pulled the microphone aside, Sparky felt the urge to burp another dragon fire, which made Pipp duck down for cover. In the process, she threw the microphone in the air, and Sparky's dragon fire turned it into a palette that fell into Pipp's mane. "Ew!" Pipp exclaimed panickedly before moving to see herself in the mirror. Then she smiled and pulled out her phone to take some selfies. "I can work with this," she confessed confidently. Sparky came by and looked at the palette on Pipp's mane with sparkling eyes, but then Hitch pulled him away, and Sparky complained. Meanwhile, Knuckles groaned in frustration and rolled his eyes, also facepalming. Next, Tails was in the kitchen, mixing ingredients like milk, coconuts, peanuts, and chili. "Tails, what the heck are you doing?" Knuckles asked him, confused. "Remember that special soup Vanilla cooks whenever Cream, or anyone in general, gets sick?" Tails asked. "I once helped her cook it and learned the recipe and which ingredients to use," he smiled. "Are you sure this can work?" Hitch asked in worry. "We had already tried a smoothie before, but it didn't work out too well," he confessed with concern. "It always did wonders with everyone back home!" Tails replied with a smile, now putting the soup over a feeding bottle and extending it to Sparky, who grabbed it and started drinking it. One sip made his eyes sparkle as he started to sip the soup faster. "Huh... he likes it!" Hitch said with a smile. "Vanilla's recipes are amazing. Thanks to her, I can cook so well!" Knuckles replied with a smirk. "I tell you, sheriff: Sparky should be good as new in no time after this!" Tails assured with a confident smirk. However, once Sparky was done with the soup and sighed in relaxation, he soon felt his belly roaring, so he let out a massive fireball that turned the kitchen's microwave into a pile of mint cans. "Ah, dang it..." Knuckles said with a frown. "If Vanilla's soup can't help either, it is very bad..." he pointed out with concern. "Then what do we do now?!" Hitch asked in a panic. However, they were startled when they heard the sound of cans falling into the ground. They turned to see Tails chomping something with his cheeks puffing out. "Tails, for the love of Chaos!" Knuckles exclaimed in panic. "How's that there's three empty cans of mints already?!" he asked with worry and concern. "... Make it five," Tails replied as the other two cans fell to the floor after he swallowed all their mints. "Tails! Isn't that a comical amount of mints?! You're exaggerating!" Hitch said with concern. "And now make it six!" Tails replied with a frown as another empty can fell to the floor. "Tails! You're worrying us!" Knuckles pointed out with concern. Now, everyone went outside the Brighthouse with Sonic, the one Hitch and Knuckles feared the most. Sonic had the most reasonable idea: he grabbed Sparky and laid the baby dragon's head over his shoulder. He also started gently hitting his back, and Sparky burped more dragon fire. Behind Sonic, a pile of junk started to turn into food once Sparky's fire hit the things. Everyone's jaws dropped after they saw Sonic doing this, especially Hitch and Knuckles' jaws since they couldn't believe Sonic had the most effective solution. Sonic, of all people. Tails, however, just tilted his head, very confused at Sonic's smart move, while Pipp blushed and giggled as she covered her mouth with a hoof. "I just hope Bowser is right, and this helps," Sonic muttered. "Can you believe the same guy who kidnaps Peach every week is also an excellent father? It's still feels surreal to me," he confessed. After a while, Sparky seemed to have finally stopped burping, and Sonic raised him in the air with a smile. "Feeling better, little guy?" Sonic asked him with a smirk, but then, Sparky cringed a bit before burping another dragon fire above Sonic's head, which made him duck down and once Sparky's fire turned the pile of now junk food into a lot of chilidogs, Sonic sighed in defeat and gave Sparky back to Hitch. "Sorry, man. Seems like that didn't work, either..." he said with concern. While Sonic grabbed a bunch of chilidogs on a plate, Hitch placed Sparky down with worry. "Ugh... nothing is working!" Zipp pointed out with concern. Then, Sparky burped another dragon fire that transformed a tree near the Brighthouse into a giant carrot. "And they're getting worse!" Hitch exclaimed with panic. However, none noticed a figure watching over them as the creature groaned in frustration before disappearing again. Misty was walking over Maretime Bay with a smile. However, as she stopped over Sunny's smoothie stand, she cringed when she saw the giant mushroom that used to be a cart, but of course, Sparky transformed it with his dragon fire. Worse, the ponies used it before leaving it there, and now it had raccoonicorns trying to take it away. "Is that a... giant mushroom?" Misty asked, confused. Then, the ground suddenly rumbled, and Misty turned her head to see an orange juice explosion coming from the ground near the Crystal Brighthouse. "Orange Juice?!" Misty asked, concerned and confused. Soon enough, Misty's amulet opened, and Opaline came out of it confusedly. "What's going on, Misty?" she asked her. "I've just felt a powerful surge of dragon magic in Maretime Bay––" she tried to explain, but then she also noticed the giant mushroom and cringed while raising an eyebrow. "Uh..." Misty tried to say something, but then Opaline got into her face with a frown, and Misty started to sweat nervously. "What are you waiting for?!" Opaline shouted to Misty. "Fetch me that dragon!" she instructed angrily before disappearing again, leaving Misty worried and sad. Sparky was now burping completely out of control. His dragon fire was turning everything into food, even the bushes where the Mane 5 sins Izzy and Team Sonic hid to stay covered from Sparky's fire. Suddenly, Sparky's burps worsened, and he burped even more towards the group. However, Sonic and Knuckles joined their arms with the watches and turned on their electrical powers, which caused their watches to activate some shield since their electrical powers combined. Meanwhile, Tails was on the floor, checking his Miles Electric as he tried to find a solution to Sparky's hiccup burp, but so far, he got nothing. Suddenly, one of Sparky's fires crashed against a bush, turning it into a giant red jelly. It tilted and was about to crush a snail that passed by. Once the snail noticed the jelly about to fall over him, he screamed in panic, but he was soon saved by Sunny, who launched over him and protected him from the jelly while she ended up all covered. She popped her head out of the jelly and smiled when she saw that the snail was safe and sound, also licking her lips as she swallowed a bit of jelly on her mouth and smiled afterwards. Sparky, on the other hand, was tearing up and rubbing his belly in pain as Hitch and Knuckles approached him. "What's wrong with your tummy, buddy?" Hitch asked him with concern. "I wish you could tell me how to help you..." he worriedly confessed. "Blame the writers for making him talk sometimes, and some others just make him do gibberish sounds," Knuckles said with a frown. "Damn you, Jessica and Naomi!" he shouted to the sky with anger. Suddenly, Sparky grunted and tried to go somewhere while Hitch held him. Then he and Knuckles noticed the three-layer cake in front of them as Sparky tried to go to it, which made the two friends smile. "Finally! Something we understand!" Knuckles cheered with a smirk. "You are telling us, aren't you?" Hitch asked Sparky with a smile. "Oh, Sparky, good boy!" he said to Sparky as he turned and faced Sunny. "Sunny, the food is the cure!" he told her with a smile. Sunny gasped in realization after hearing that. "Of course!" she called out with a smile before turning to the rest of their friends, who were hiding for cover while Pipp appeared out of a giant strawberry cake; Zipp was on top of a giant flower, Izzy appeared from a pile of cookies which she was eating, Sonic was digging deep in a pile of chilidogs. Tails came out of a big pumpkin. "Everybody, grab a little of everything! We're going to make a gross smoothie!" she said with a determined look and smile. And so, everyone grabbed a piece of every food or treat around while a raccoonicorn was carrying a pile of pretzels. Izzy levitated one off the pile and trotted off with a smile, which made the raccoonicorn yelp and drop the pile of pretzels on top of themselves, buried in the pile. Then, the group placed the food in the blender. Sunny brought it out as she closed the lid and blended all the food. Once the smoothie was ready and done, everyone cheered that the smoothie was completed. Unknowingly to them, Misty appeared behind some bushes and got her eyes on Sparky with a frown while Hitch gave Sparky the gross smoothie. Sparky cheered with a smile, grabbed the smoothie, and gulped it down at fast paste. Misty gave a sinister chuckle, waiting for the right moment as Sparky finished the smoothie before his stomach began to rumble again. "It didn't work?!” Sunny asked in a panic. "He's gonna blow!" Zipp called out in panic. "Everyone! Take cover!" Sonic called out, immediately grabbing Pipp and launching to a bush to cover. Knuckles did the same with Izzy, and Tails and Zipp followed up as they also covered in the bush. "Hitch!" Sunny called out as she grabbed Hitch and dragged him behind the bushes with them to take cover. "Sparky," Hitch cried out as he tried to reach Sparky, struggling to break free from Sunny's grip, and they hid behind the bush. After that, Tails returned and activated another shield with his watch, just in case. Misty smirked evilly at this outcome, then jumped out with a grunt, about to grab Sparky. However, the baby dragon gave ended up farting out his dragon fire, which surprised Misty, who unfortunately got hit by it, while a stink smell came off her, and her eyes swirled from the stink, feeling dizzy from that. "Aah!" Misty cried out before falling to the floor with a thud. Sparky fell on his back and sighed in relief, feeling much better now that he farted out, while Misty got up, feeling dazed as she started to groan and aimlessly walked around, also smelling bad, and then made a dopey face before falling to a bush face first with a thud. Then, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic got out of their hiding place; seeing it all clear, they started cheering, including Sparky, who was feeling all the better as he jumped happily. "I'm so glad you're feeling better, bud," Hitch said in relief, smiling. "You had me scared for a moment there," he said as he nuzzled Sparky. "And to think that you're only a baby, yet all-powerful!" Knuckles said with a smile. And then, all the big food Sparky's dragon fire made returned to normal, while the Mane 5 and Team Sonic regrouped and laughed at this outcome, glad Sparky was feeling better. Meanwhile, Misty was still hiding from the Mane 5 and Team, still dazed and stinky from Sparky's fart. Then, her amulet opened, and Opaline appeared as she looked around. "So? Where is he? Where is my dra––?" she tried to ask, but then she was cut off when Misty's stinky smell came to her. Opaline covered her muzzle and cringed as she looked down and saw Misty on the ground. "Misty! What happened here?! What did you eat?!" she questioned her. "I... DO NOT... want to talk about it..." Misty replied with shame on herself. Misty was obligated to return to the Castle several hours later, still smelling bad. She was received by Eggman, who cringed at her smell at first. Then he pulled a press from his pocket and put it over his nose, making Misty enter the place as she looked down with shame. After that, Eggman guided Misty to his personal bathroom, which actually looked very nice compared to the rest of the Castle: the sink, bathtub, shower, and walls were all white, while the floor seemed to be a very shiny grey. The towels were black and red, all with Eggman's symbol. Then, Eggman grabbed Misty and removed her amulet before adding a lot of tomato sauce. He then used a brush and started to wash her stinky smell. Misty sighed in relaxation while Eggman took care of her. "I keep telling Opaline that she should just ditch that stupid plan of the dragon fire already," Eggman said while washing Misty's back. "That thing is powerful, yes, but is way too powerful, and it could perfectly backfire her. But noooooo! She insists that only dragon fire can make her powerful enough, like if there weren't any other magical things out there that could help," he pointed out angrily. "She's stubborn," Misty pointed out with a sad expression, even though she still felt relaxed from the bath Eggman had given her, even though it was with tomato soup. "Tell me about it..." Eggman said with annoyance. "The worst part? She sends what I cannot say if it's her daughter anymore to nonsense missions that always get her in some dangerous and nonsense trouble, we could avoid if she had the guts to do all those things for herself," he pointed out angrily. "But don't even tell him that, Misty. You could end up hurt... or worse, and I don't want to imagine what she could do to me," he told her. "It's not that I could—whoa!" Misty exclaimed as Eggman suddenly opened the shower, and all the tomato juice washed away from her body. "It's not like I could tell her, anyway. She's too intimidating for me, and I honestly doubt I could form a full sentence without being interrupted or called incompetent," she said with sadness. "Well, know this: as long as I'm around, Opaline won't put a single hoof over you," Eggman assured, using a new brush to wash her mane again as the tomato soup ran over her body and left, thanks to Eggman's cares and thanks to the water. Then, Eggman closed the shower and pulled Misty out before drying her up with a towel. Misty puffed a bit, which made her look on with a bored expression, while Eggman chuckled a bit. Once Misty fixed her mane and fur, she and Eggman left the bathroom. However, Eggman still stopped her for a moment before she left. "Since Opaline has a very critical eye over you, I wanted to give you this," Eggman said, as he took out of his pocket a small but robotic ladybug that immediately turned on and flew over until it landed near her ear, which made her smile with sparkling eyes. "This ladybug would watch over you when you are in trouble. It's also my way of looking after you and staying in contact," he explained with a little smile. "Just try to hide it from Opaline, alright? We don't want her to take it away from you," he instructed. Misty only smiled warmly at him, and without warning, she hugged Eggman tightly, startling the evil scientist as he blushed in embarrassment. "Thanks... Dad..." Misty said with tears of joy, still hugging Eggman. Eggman blushed even more since he had perfectly heard what Misty whispered. Still, he smiled and patted Misty's back with a hand, embracing the hug a bit longer for her. Several days later, Sunny and Pipp came out of the Brighthouse running while Zipp was flying in the air and Tails was standing on the ground with a board. "If you’re done livestreaming, we’ve got a game of flyball to play!" Zipp called out to Pipp with a mocking smirk. However, as Sunny and Pipp moved away, an eagle arm closed the door of the Brighthouse and started to move away. The creature walked away, not noticing that they had accidentally moved one of the vases from its original position or that one of their white hairs had gotten stuck. The creature entered the Brighthouse's bedroom and approached the elevator. However, instead of entering it like any other person, they traversed the crystal and started to float towards the ceiling, traversing it. Finally, the creature reached the top of the Brighthouse and entered the Crystal Room, as they stared at the Unity Crystals with a frown. Soon enough, they grabbed the Crystals with their other arm, which seemed to be a lion. They removed the Unicorn and Earth Pony Crystal before throwing them to the floor. They stared at the Pegasus Crystal on their lion hand, still frowning in rage. The critter was finally shown and seemed made of many animal parts. His name was Discord, and he was better known as the Lord of Chaos. Discord stared daggers at the Unity Crystal and snorted in disbelief. "You silly, little ponies... Soon, you'll thank me for getting rid of all magic in Equestria and bring up real unity among ponykind..." he stated with a smirk before snapping his fingers and disappearing. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: IDW COMICS Author's Note FINALLY! Ladies and gentleman: Behold! The Tell Your Tale episode that connects with the IDW Comics story! Since the next issue is gonna be the last one I'll be adapting, I decided that it was finally time to connect this story with the comics, and here it is! Next episode, however... Alright, you know what? I'll describe next episode with this phrase: Love will be in the air! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 48. The Hunt for Eggmund BunnySparky was running around happily in the sheriff's station with much energy. Hitch was trying to catch him, but Sparky was moving incredibly fast. He might exaggerate, but he could swear he was more energetic than Sonic. Also, the entire station was filled with paperwork everywhere, and Hitch hadn't had time to finish it. "Who wants chocolate egg? Oh!" Zipp said as she entered the station with a basket of chocolate eggs, but then she got startled when she saw Hitch chasing Sparky. Worst of all, Sparky launched himself towards Zipp and grabbed one of the chocolate eggs before eating it entirely, as his face got messy with chocolate. He rubbed his belly happily after eating the entire egg before burping a bit. Then, Hitch popped his head out of a mountain of paper with messy hair and a tired expression. "Sorry, Zipp," Hitch apologized. "He gets excited at the holidays," he pointed out as he approached Zipp and Sparky, lying on the floor. "And all the other days," he added with a bored expression. "Come on, nap time," he told Sparky with a tired smile as he grabbed the baby dragon with a hoof. However, as he placed Sparky over a desk, Sparky moved his arms in excitement, meaning he didn't want to nap. And then, Tails entered the station as well, with another basket of chocolate eggs, as he couldn't help but eat one of them too. "Hey, Zipp. I heard a noise in here. What's going––" Tails tried to ask, but then he noticed the amount of paperwork around the place and Hitch's tired expression with Sparky. "Uh... what's happening here?" Tails asked, confused. "I don't know, but there are a lot of case files pilling up here..." Zipp pointed out with a sheepish smile. And then, Kenneth and another bird came out of one of the piles of paper, with papers on their faces, as they chirped and tried to run away from the pile, but then they crashed with Zipp's front legs and fell to the floor. The papers on their faces were finally removed, so both birds ran away. "Huh..." Tails muttered as he rubbed his chin, confused. "Isn't Knuckles the one that cleans all this stuff?" he pointed out. "Yeah, he does," Hitch replied. "But he's been asking for free days way too often lately," he explained with concern. "He said something about planning something for somepony that required his full attention... So I've been on my own these days," he pointed out, placing Sparky's Blankie on his head. "I wanna get back to work, but I'm so exhausted. How am I meant to look after a baby dragon and be sheriff at the same time when my deputy's been busy with other stuff?!" he cried out with panic. And then, Sparky burped some dragon fire, which caused Blankie to switch to bananas. He let out a fart, not magical, but a fart anyways. Hitch's face hoofed at that, exhausted from dealing with Sparky alone. "Just take baby steps," Zipp suggested. "Or dragon baby steps, in this case," Tails corrected with a chuckle, and Zipp chuckled. "All you gotta do is start with something small," Zipp pointed out with a smile. "Like what?" Hitch asked. "I don't know. Find a dragon-sitter, finish 25% of your paperwork, and bathe." Tails started to listen with his fingers. Suddenly, Zipp's phone biped, so she took it out and read a message from her mother on her phone. "Chocolate emergency in Zephyr Heights?" Zipp read with a raised eyebrow. "Help, please?" she read again. "Chocolate emergency? What's this about? A lot of bunnies out of control with chocolate eggs or something?" Tails asked rhetorically with a snort. "I don't know..." Zipp said with honesty before smirking as an idea popped into her head. "But that could work. Hitch!" she called out with a determinate smile. "We need your help, buddy!" she added confidently before being tackled down by Sparky, who launched towards her face and made her fall. Tails, however, laughed nervously as he looked around. "Uh, what do you mean 'we'?" he asked with a sheepish smile. He put his hands together and looked nervously at Zipp. In the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic was lying on his bed with Floppy resting on his chest while Sonic looked at a YouTube video. "... and after all the research, after all the eBay searches, I've come down to which one would give me the most unique game collection of them all, which one is, in fact, the rarest game of all time" a guy in the video Sonic was watching said, then that guy threw something since something falling in the floor was heard. "It's Sonic 2 with a line!" the same guy shouted before a melody started to play once the video was over. Sonic burst out laughing once the video was over, as he placed his phone at his side and tried to calm down from his laughing. "Aw, man..." Sonic said with a smile. "This Scott guy has to be the most original content creator I've ever seen... after Pipp, that is..." he said with a chuckle. Suddenly, however, Knuckles entered the room and smashed the door behind him. He looked around, and once his sight stopped on Sonic, he immediately ran with him. "Hedgehog!" Knuckles said with panic. "Ah, what––" Sonic tried to ask, but Knuckles started to shake him violently. "I need help!" Knuckles shouted, desperate. "I've been planning this for weeks, running across Equestria, practicing with Rufus... I even put my deputy job aside to make this work! But now that the day finally arrived, I'm scared as f$&3!" he exclaimed. "You need help with... what, exactly?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow. Knuckles looked around the room, afraid someone might hear, then leaned closer to Sonic's ear and whispered. "I have a crush on Izzy..." Knuckles said. "And I want to ask her out, not only as in a date, but... I also wanna tell her I like her..." he confessed with a slight blush and a concerned look. Sonic's eyes went wide after hearing that. "Wait... you wanna ask her out and be her boyfriend?!" Sonic asked in shock and disbelief. "Man... I owe Tails so much money..." he muttered to himself. "Uh, what?" Knuckles asked, confused. "A little bet we did a while ago. He said you'd declare to Izzy before I would to Pipp," Sonic explained. "I said you wouldn't, but you're about to, so... yeah, I owe Tails 200 bucks now..." he added with a bored expression. "... YOU KNEW I LIKE IZZY?!" Knuckles shouted in shock. "Dude, everyone in Equestria but Izzy knows that," Sonic pointed out, still with a bored expression. "Should I feel terrified that everyone BUT Izzy knows about it? Because she's the only one I care for to know about it..." Knuckles said with concern and anxiety. "I wouldn't worry that much," Sonic said, rolling his eyes since he knows Izzy likes Knuckles back, but Knuckles himself doesn't know about it. "And why ask me and not someone like Sunny or Pipp?" he asked, confused, raising an eyebrow. "They are girls; I bet they could help you even more than I could," he pointed out. "How?" Knuckles asked. "I know they are girls too, but why couldn't you help me?" he questioned. "One, because I'm a free spirit who isn't ready for a relationship, which is why I haven't told Pipp that I like her," Sonic started to listen as he crossed his arms. "And two, because I screwed it last time I liked someone, and now that someone hates me," he pointed out. "You mean that squirrel girl that was conveniently also a princess or that human girl in Soleanna?" Knuckles questioned. "The former," Sonic replied with an eye roll. "Also, I never liked Elise," he added with annoyance. "Listen, Knucklehead: If you like Izzy, just go for it! There's no yes or no in here. And if she likes you back, which I'm pretty sure she does, it will end well for both of you! And if she isn't, then she's not the right one," he pointed out with a little smile. "That last thing concerns me the most!" Knuckles said with concern. Sonic, I like her, but if she doesn't like me back... I don't want to lose her, not even as a friend..." he confessed with concern. "This is going to be hypocritical coming from me, but isn't it better to tell her now what you feel rather than leave this dimension and never tell her at all?" Sonic questioned him with concern. "Telling her how you feel isn't kill you, Knux. You confronted dangers and death itself before. Why back up to a life-changing decision if you have done them before?" he asked with a little smile. "So what?" Knuckles asked, now crossing his arms and frowning. "I cannot just run to her and tell her 'I love you' and expect her to tell me the same, can I?" he asked with concern while Sonic groaned and rolled his eyes. "Come with me; we're asking Sunny and Pipp for some advice," Sonic replied with annoyance. "But I'm pretty sure they're gonna say pretty much the same," he pointed out as he exited the Brighthouse. Knuckles hesitated initially, but then he sighed in defeat and decided to follow Sonic. In Zephyr Heights, Sky and Dazzle were giving the news as usual. However, behind the two pegasi, there were a lot of bunnies jumping around, all of them trying to hide chocolate eggs literally anywhere. "Oh! Just hours before the start of the Royal Eggstravaganza, Eggmund Bunny has gone missing!" Dazzle exclaimed with worry. "Tradition dictates that his army of egg-hiding bunnies can't stop hiding eggs until Eggmund declares the hunt open!" Sky explained with concern. As Sky told this, a pegasus mare was trying to eat her sandwich in peace, but then, a bunny placed a bunch of eggs in her mouth instead. An old pegasus stallion tried to grab a book from a shelf in a library. However, a bunch of eggs fell straight into his face, causing him to fall. There were also many eggs hidden behind the book he grabbed. A bunny launched all the eggs into the sink in a bathroom, overflowing the water. Outside the bathroom, a pegasus stallion arrived to use it. However, once he saw the water overflowing, he regretted his decision and stepped back, immediately running away. Back with Sky and Dazzle, some bunnies placed chocolate eggs before them, startling both pegasi. "As you can see, Zephyr Heights is bursting with eggs," Dazzle said with a sheepish smile. Suddenly, both pegasi heard a noise behind them. They turned to see a mailbox full of chocolate eggs. Since the mailbox was overwhelmed with eggs, it exploded and launched Eggs in all directions. Sky and Dazzle ducked down and yelped while the eggs exploded, and one even landed right in front of the news camera. Hitch, Zipp, and Tails saw all that with anxious expressions while Tails carried Sparky in a kangaroo bag for babies. "This is starting small?!" Hitch cried out in panic. "Yeah, I wasn't talking about this, either..." Tails said with concern. "Why are you carrying Sparky again?" Zipp asked Tails with a raised eyebrow. "Last time you carried him, you made him get through dangerous loops. While he was sick," Tails pointed out with a frown. "No offense, Zipp, but I can't trust his life on you after that," he added. "... Fair enough," Zipp said with a bored expression. "Also, is this bunny guy seriously called Eggmund?" Tails questioned with a snort. "Because if that's the case, I know about a certain Eggman that won't be happy if he ever finds out," he pointed out with a chuckle. At Opaline's Castle, the villains were sitting over a dinner table. Eggman was reading the news on a digital screen with his device, Opaline was sipping some tea, and Misty was chomping a sandwich that Eggman prepared for her. Suddenly, Eggman turned his head and looked around the castle confused, something that Opaline and Misty noticed. "What's the matter, Ivo?" Opaline asked with a raised eyebrow. "There's... a disturbance..." Eggman replied. "Sage, call my lawyer. I will patent the name 'Eggman' before someone tries to steal it. Or make a cheap copy out of it!" he stated with anger and a frown. "On it, doctor" Sage replied. Opaline and Misty just looked at each other for a second with confused looks before shrugging at Eggman's attitude as Opaline sipped more tea and Misty chomped her sandwich again. Back at Zephyr Heights, Tails, Zipp, and Hitch kept looking at all the bunnies around in panic until Queen Haven approached them. "Zipp, Hitch, Tails! Thank hoofness you're here!" Haven said with concern. "This is getting out of control!" she pointed out, tossing some eggs off her crown before putting it back on. "Eggmund has never missed a Royal Eggstravaganza! Never!" she added with worry. "If I hear another stupid joke related to eggs, I'm out of here," Tails said angrily. "I already deal with Sonic making egg jokes whenever we fight Eggman; I won't stand this with anyone else. I don't care if we're on Easter Week," he added with a frown and fists on his hips since he couldn't cross his arms because of Sparky being on the kangaroo. However, Zipp pushed his shoulder harshly with a bored expression before looking back at her mother and Hitch with a smirk. "Well, with Sheriff Hitch helping me with the case and the smartest little guy around Equestria, I'm sure we'll find him soon!" Zipp assured, while Hitch rolled his eyes and Tails blushed a bit. "Oh, I hope so!" Haven said with worry. "I've never seen Cloudpuff this nervous," she added, turning to Cloudpuff, hiding behind her tail and looking nervous. Cloudpuff came out of Haven's tail, whining and whimpering, and then a bunny came in, holding out an egg for him. Cloudpuff barked in fright and curled himself into a ball, still whining, while the bunny hopped away with a glare. "... I don't wanna know what that bunny wanted to do to Cloudpuff..." Tails said with an anxious look. "Your Majesty!" Zoom called out suddenly as the four turned to her while she landed at Haven's side. "Eggmund Bunny's been spotted down at the supermarket buying carrots!" she informed. "That's... pretty normal and reasonable. He's a bunny, after all," Tails pointed out. "Hmmmm…" Zipp said with a smirk as she approached Hitch, who was still not into this yet, so Zipp also cleared her throat, still smirking playfully at the sheriff. Seeing Zipp's expression, Tails whistled his 'Believe in Myself' song's melody while he pushed Hitch slightly on his shoulder. On the other hand, Hitch felt extremely pressured by his friends. Seeing that he had no word from them, he sighed in defeat and put on another tired expression. "All right. Let's find us a bunny," Hitch said with annoyance. "My only complaint with all this situation is that I'm probably gonna hear more stupid jokes about eggs," Tails said with a bored expression as he grabbed two chocolate eggs from the floor and gave one to Sparky. As both Tails and Sparky ate their chocolate eggs, Tails noticed that Hitch was looking at him with a bored expression while Zipp covered her mouth and snorted at his attitude. "What? I won't let these sweet threats go to waste!" Tails pointed out. Sonic lead Knuckles to Mane Melody, where they meet with Pipp and Sunny since the latter was having a relaxing treatment by the former. And no, no magic glitter was involved this time, so no one's going young again. "So, what is this big thing you are talking about?" Pipp asked while Sunny was using the massage chair. "Knucklehead wants to tell Isabella how much he likes her!" Sonic said mockingly, while Knuckles groaned in annoyance and rolled his eyes, also blushing slightly in embarrassment. "WHAT?!" Pipp and Sunny shouted in shock. The former had sparkling eyes and a huge smile, while the latter was shocked. "Aww, Knux!" Pipp exclaimed as she hugged Knuckles sideways, and Knuckles' blush increased slightly. "This is so exciting! You are making an amazing and important decision here!" she excitedly said. "And I owe Tails a lot of money..." Sunny said nervously. "You too?" Sonic asked with a snort as he smirked at her. "Damn, Tails is making us run off money, and all because we made a bet," he pointed out with another snort while Sunny chuckled a bit. "Anyways. Knuckles here went to me and asked for advice. I gave it to him; he didn't like it, and here we are now," he explained with a bored expression. "Well, you came to the right salon, honey!" Pipp told Knuckles with a confident smirk. "So, what you wanna know?" she asked. "I just want to ask her out to tell her I like her," Knuckles replied, still blushing in embarrassment. "But whenever I get close to her, I immediately step at least 50 meters back!" he explained with concern. "Aww, but that's normal!" Sunny said as she approached the echidna and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Everypony feels nervous when it comes to asking their crush out on a date," she said with a smile. "And then there's you, who cannot even accept you like Hitch," Sonic said with a mocking smirk, which made Sunny flinch and blush in embarrassment. "T-That has nothing to do with this!" Sunny said with a frown, still blushing. "You didn't deny iiiiiiit!" Sonic sang with a mocking smirk again while Sunny groaned in annoyance and face hoofed. "Look, Knux. Just... be genuine. I'm sure Izzy likes you too, just like you are!" Sunny told him with a smile. "Ask her out, let things flow, treat her well, just like you always do!" she explained. "And when the moment seems proper, just tell her!" Pipp added with a smile as well. "Everything should work out fine, Knux! You two are gonna be a couple in no time!" she assured with sparkling eyes. "But what if I screw it?!" Knuckles asked in a panic. "Knux, isn't it better to go with her and go for it than live the rest of your life wondering what could have it been?" Sunny asked him, now with a concerned look. "You won't be here forever. Besides, I've seen you stressed lately. Maybe Izzy is what you need to feel better!" she said, smiling again. "I told him something similar, but he didn't listen to me..." Sonic said with annoyance, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "Knux, just stop being so dramatic over it and ask her out!" he pointed out. "And be firm! You can always be nervous, but if you show her some security over yourself, she'll be dating you soon!" Pipp assured again with a smile. "... So... All I have to do is go for it... and wait for the best... right?" Knuckles asked, once again blushing in embarrassment. "Just go out there and tell your little crush how much she means to you!" Sonic said with a smirk. "And no matter what happens at the end, just remember to have fun with her!" he winked. Knuckles smiled, then took a deep breath and looked on determinedly. "Alright... Let's settle this!" Knuckles said confidently. He started to walk out of Mane Melody while Sunny, Pipp, and Sonic cheered for him behind, giving him more courage to go on and ask Izzy out. Hopefully? Things would go well... Later, Hitch, Sparky, Zipp, and Tails moved to the Zephyr Heights supermarket security room, with an elder purple pegasus mare, a.k.a. the store owner, showing them the footage. "This is from this morning. 9:00 A.M," the Store Owner said as she showed them the footage The video showed an anthropomorphic bunny wearing a white robe and carrying a cart of carrots. It was Eggmund Bunny, who looked tired as he approached the cashier to pay for the carrots. "There he is!" Zipp called out. "Huh... That explains why you recognized Sonic as a hedgehog since the first day you met..." Tails pointed out. "You're already used to having anthropomorphic animals around..." he added with a little smile. "Yup!" Zipp said. Then she turned to the camera and saw Eggmund rolling the cart out of the supermarket while carrots fell. "Pause! Zoom in!" she said as the camera paused and zoomed in on a trail of carrots from the cart. "Look. All we have to do is follow that trail of carrots!" Hitch said with a smile. "Come on, guys!" he said to Zipp and Tails as they ran out the door. Later, Zipp, Hitch, and Tails followed the trail of carrots that Eggmund had dropped, leading them into a field. Hitch: Sometimes we get lost in the new (in the new) And we forget what we love to do (what we love to do) Hitch picked up the carrots, tossing them to Sparky, who ate each one he caught as Zipp and Tails followed behind him, wondering how big Sparky's appetite was. Zipp: You gotta reignite the spark in you (In you) Yeah, come on, pony, let me walk you through First step, you gotta find your rhythm Then, Hitch found a rabbit hole and laughed joyfully, thinking they found Eggmund's home. He jumped in while Tails and Zipp looked in surprise at Hitch. He crawled through the rabbit hole and ran past several bunnies with a dining table set. When Hitch reached the other side, he saw that he had exited the rabbit hole; he turned his head and saw Sparky, Zipp, and Tails behind him, sighing with a face hoof, realizing this wasn't Eggmund's home and that the carrot trail continued. At a river stream, the three of them hopped on some rocks to get to the other side, then they landed on a log, and Hitch leaped in surprise to try and keep his balance. Tails: Make your way back to the life you're livin' Second step, have fun with it It'll come naturally Once they were all in the log, it started moving downstream as Zipp, Tails, and Sparky laughed while Hitch looked nervous. They steer the log with their bodies to avoid getting hit by rocks, and Hitch finally started having fun as he smiled at them. They jumped over a waterfall, raised their hooves/hands, and landed on the water. Hitch, Zipp and Tails: Don't lose your groove Keep your attitude They got off the log with a laugh and touched the land before continuing to follow the carrot path. Now we're all just livin' it up We're here, we're just havin' fun Don't lose your groove It's what makes you you (It's what makes you you) Then, they bumped into a fallen tree in front of their path. Hitch smirked as he turned to Sparky and picked him up before tossing him in the air. Sparky laughed and landed on Hitch's hoof. After that, Sparky released his dragon fire, which hit the fallen tree and turned it into apples that exploded. This made Tails, Zipp, and Sparky laugh while Hitch smirked. You'll always find your way back So, pony, have fun with that Like, uh, uh-huh-huh-huh And then, as they reached a ravine, their path was destroyed. However, Hitch just kept smirking and brought out his hoof, which was glowing green. He stomped his hoof on the ground, using his earth pony magic to grow giant vines that begin to form a bridge, while Tail, Zipp, and Sparky watched on, and Hitch kept smirking as he wiped a brow and walked on the path. Zipp and Tails smiled afterward. They saw that Hitch was doing great and that their idea was working. Zipp: Find your groove, get back to it, back to it On the vine bridge, Hitch did a quick dance of confidence as he twirled around before he trotted to the other side, while Zipp trotted after he and Tails flew in the air as he had Sparky, and they laughed while they made it to the other side. Hitch, Zipp and Tails: Uh, uh-huh-huh-huh Tails: Find your groove, get back to it now A little bit later, Hitch stopped and gave a confident smile while Zipp and Tails caught up to him, and what they saw in front of them surprised them. "Huh?" Zipp asked in surprise. "Ah!" Hitch gasped with a smile. "Weird..." Tails commented. They saw a hill that looked like a home, with a carrot garden on the side and bushes shaped like rabbit ears with chocolate eggs surrounded by followers. "Hmm…" the three friends said to each other as they walked up to the front door. Once there, Hitch knocked on the door, and after a while, Eggmund opened it. He looked tired; one of his cubs was in his left ear, and many more were playing inside the house. However, the three friends couldn't help but smile at having found Eggmund Bunny. "There you are–– Whoa!" Hitch said in surprise as he, Zipp, and Tails looked at his house with wide eyes since there were a lot of baby bunnies having fun in Eggmund's house while making a mess. "Now, that is a lot of bunnies!" Hitch said in surprise. "This is... not what I expected... at all..." Tails said with concern. "Can I help you?" Eggmund asked them, getting his baby bunny off his ear. "Um, hello?" Zipp said, unsure, with a small smile. "Aren't you forgetting something? You're supposed to be opening the Eggstravaganza?" she told him/ "Nope. I can't do it. No way," Eggmund simply said tiredly. "Zephyr Heights is literally about to explode with chocolate!" Tails cried out in panic, getting close to Eggmund. "And you, sir, have a job to do," Hitch added. "Sorry, but... I'm too exhausted!" Eggmund cried out as tears came out of his eyes. "Do you know how hard it is looking after sixteen baby bunnies all on your own?!" he questioned, giving them a tired and angry look. "I kinda do," Hitch said honestly as he turned to Sparky, who climbed on Zipp's head and placed a carrot on her mane with giggles while Zipp looked at him cutely before Tails grabbed Sparky and placed him on one of his tails. Then, he started to swing Sparky from one tail to the other, as Sparky giggled while having fun, and Zipp also giggled at Tail's smart move to entertain Sparky, while Hitch smiled at his baby dragon, then he turned back to Eggmund. "Look, I know it's hard. Believe me. I've gone through ten fire extinguishers in the past week," Hitch said with a panicked look, especially considering that Knuckles hasn't helped since he's been busy dealing with how to confess to Izzy. "But you don't have to do it alone. We can help you!" Hitch assured with a smile. "I'm not much of a babysitter, but sure. I'm always willing to help!" Tails smiled, and Zipp walked next to Eggmund. "They are right. We could, um…" Zipp tried to say, but she trailed off as she felt a baby bunny hopping on her back and strained slightly from the vibration. "... look after the bunnies for you," she said uncertainly with a forced smile while the baby bunny grabbed her mane and tugged it. "Really?" Eggmund asked heartily as tears began to form in his eyes. "You'd do that?" he asked gratefully. "Of course," Hitch answered with a smile, while Eggmund eyes got hearts on them as he quivered with a smile. "Parents gotta stick together," Hitch added. "Besides, helping out is the best we know to do!" Tails added with a smile. "So what do you say?' Zipp asked as she, Hitch, and Tails got in front of him. Eggmund thought of what they would say as the three friends smiled at him sparklingly while the baby bunny he held gave cute squeaks. After seeing how generous their offer was, he smiled at them. "Oh, all right!" Eggmund said with a smile, accepting their help. You three grab the stroller! I'll get the ceremonial scissors!" he instructed as he returned home to get ready. "Yes!" Zipp, Hitch, and Tails cheered as they were high-hooved each other. Then, they looked through Eggmund's house and saw the stroller next to the door, surprised to see sixteen seats. "... It's in moments like this one where I wished Vanilla was here..." Tails muttered with concern. Knuckles was walking towards the Crystal Brighthouse, where he would probably find Izzy in her crafting spot. To say he was nervous was just the tip of the iceberg because he was terrified. Asking Izzy out sounded simpler than actually doing it, but... Sonic and Sunny's words were stuck with him. Did he want to leave Equestria when the day arrived by letting his feelings sink until they disappeared, wondering for the rest of his life what could have been a relationship with her? Or go for it and expect the best of it? "... Feelings are complicated..." Knuckles muttered to himself with concern. Eventually, he entered the Crystal Brighthouse, and just hearing a hum and a lot of stops crashing was enough for Knuckles to know that Izzy was there. His heart began to beat fast, sweat ran down his body, and he glanced at his hands... He was shaking. He never shook before, not even when he felt a small glance of fear... No, this wasn't fear. He was just nervous. He still didn't want to lose Izzy's friendship, and now he would ask her for a date. A date. Something that's always related to romantic stuff. Yet, he was here already. He made it this far, so why step back when you can go for it? Taking a deep breath to relax, Knuckles walked over and stood behind Izzy, who seemed focused on something she was unicycling. "Um, Izz?" Knuckles called out nervously as he gulped and rubbed his hands nervously. Izzy felt a bit startled when she heard that, and her magic accidentally let go of a cardboard tube that booted all over the living room, but when it was heading straight to Knuckles, the echidna just grabbed the tube in the air and looked at it with a raised eyebrow. "Uh... sorry for startling you, I mean," Knuckles apologized with a sheepish smile. "Oh, Knuckle!" Izzy said happily as she immediately zoomed to his side and hugged him. Dang it! Knuckles though with concern. This is going to complicate things... he panicked a bit. "Thanks for catching this up for me!" Izzy said cheerfully as she used her magic to levitate the cardboard tube off Knuckle's hand. "Y-You're... welcome..." Knuckles said nervously. "U-Um... Izz? I, um... Well, I was wondering if––" he tried to ask. "Mhm?" Izzy asked as she quickly returned to her unicycling project. Knuckles took another deep breath before blushing entirely in panic and... "PLEASE GO ON A DATE WITH ME!!!" Knuckles shouted in panic. He immediately covered his mouth while Izzy let everything she was levitating fall to the ground. Her face blushed entirely because she was unsure if she heard well. "U-Uh... w-what?" Izzy asked, turning around and looking at Knuckles, whose face was even redder than usual. Knuckles had no choice but to retire his hands from his mouth to look at Izzy nervously. "I-I... Izzy... w-would you like to get out... o-on a... d-d-date with..." Knuckles managed to say, but since he couldn't finish with a word, he just used a thumb and pointed at himself, looking away from her. Izzy felt her heart racing a marathon, and her eyes literally turned into two little hearts as she stared in delight at the echidna. Without hesitation, Izzy tackled Knuckles to the ground, gave him a massive hug, and kissed his cheeks multiple times, wagging her hind legs happily like a filly. "YES!" Izzy shouted in excitement. "Yes, yes, and a thousand times, yes! I'd love to have a date with you, Knuckle!" Knuckles felt his face redder, but... he was also smiling now. This went better than he expected, so he also embraced Izzy in the hug. Sometime later, back in Zephyr Heights, ponies were gathered around in front of the town center while the bunnies were still hiding more eggs. At the top of the stairs, Eggmund was in the middle with Queen Haven and Thunder by his side, and he was about to cut the red ribbon while wearing his hat and bowtie. Zipp, Hitch, and Tails smiled at Eggmund before turning to the sixteen baby bunnies, who were squeaking cutely while Sparky was wearing a pair of bunny ears and making silly faces at the baby bunnies. Thunder brought out a trumpet and blew it, resulting in a chocolate egg coming out, surprising him. "I hereby declare the Royal Eggstravaganza... open!" Eggmund announced as he cut the red ribbon. After that, all the bunnies hiding the eggs finally stopped. They either dropped them or cleared some filled with bricks into containers like trash cans or a building. They squeaked while running out of the way to get rid of them. "Thanks, ponies, " Eggmund said as he walked to the three friends and his children. "I couldn't have done this without your help. And it felt good to be Eggmund Bunny again," he added in nostalgia. "You know, two good friends once did the same thing for me," Hitch said, as he looked at Zipp and Tails with a smile while the two latter smiled back, and the three of them hooftapped together, while Zipp and Hitch Cutie Marks glowed without them knowing. "Besides, helping others is pretty much our job," Tails said with a smile. "But seriously, anytime you need help, I'm a call away," Hitch added to Eggmund with a smile. Eggmund smiled after hearing that suggestion, finding the idea very tentative, as he brought out his phone. "Weeeeell... it's funny you should say that, 'cause I'm gonna need bunny-sitters on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays," Eggmund said with a smile, while Hitch, Zipp, Tails, and even Sparky were shocked and surprised by this outcome, as the baby bunnies started to climb on the three shocked friends. "Oh! I could do it with help on my morning carrot run on Fridays. And also on Saturdays, I like to do a little rumba, so I do some dancing. So you could come over on Saturday nights, then get my rrrrumba on!" he added, making chitter sounds in happiness. Suddenly, however, Eggmund got a mail on his phone, and once he opened it, his eyes went wide in shock. "WHAT?!" Eggmund shouted in panic. "Who the heck is 'Dr. Eggman'?! And why is he demanding me for falsification and appropriation of identity?!" he questioned with worry. "This is exactly what I didn't want to happen..." Tails muttered with an eye roll and an annoyed look. Knuckles and Izzy were staring at the horizon as they watched the sunset, and Izzy rested her head on Knuckles' shoulder. Their date was pretty wild. Since they were already in the Brighthouse, they decided to start by unicycling random stuff. Then, they went to the movie theater and watched a 'horror' movie, but they both laughed the entire time because the movie was terrible at being scary. Then, they ate at a pasta restaurant, and Knuckles got the entire plate of spaghetti stuck in his face. Ultimately, they had a small pillow fight back in the Crystal Brighthouse. They just wanted to finish this by watching the sunset at the edge of a cliff near the Brighthouse. "... Knux?" Izzy called out after a while. "I... um... First of all, I wanna thank you for today. It was... magical..." She thanked him with a slight blush and a smile, and Knuckles also blushed slightly, but he returned the smile to her. "Thanks to you for accepting... I was... kind of afraid you wouldn't want to..." Knuckles confessed. "I would have to be crazy to not want to, Knuckie," Izzy said with a chuckle that made Knuckles' heart skip a beat. "... Y-You know... I, um... I've been wanting to tell you something for a while..." Knuckles said as he scratched his neck nervously. "... M-Me too..." Izzy confessed as well. "But I... I don't know if you'll like to hear it... or if it could even work, considering you'll leave one day..." she pointed out. Knuckles could be a bit lost sometimes, but that sentence? That was clear to him, and he could feel his heart beating faster. "... Izzy... I, um..." Knuckles tried to say. However, he couldn't even finish his sentence because Izzy suddenly pulled him into a kiss... on the lips. Knuckles felt his entire face heating up, and his heart was racing a marathon now. Izzy's heart was also beaten wildly, and she finally pulled away from the kiss, blushing a lot while she stared at Knuckles' eyes. "... I... I like you... ever since... ever since you became a deputy, Knux..." Izzy finally confessed. "B-But I'll understand if you don't––" she tried to add. However, now it was Knuckles who kissed her suddenly, interrupting whatever she would say. It took her off guard, but eventually, she kissed him back, even placing her hooves on his chest, while Knuckles carefully caressed Izzy's cheek as well. "... I like you ever since the Unicorn Sleepover..." Knuckles confessed as well. "And... I was afraid that you wouldn't like me..." he added. "I'm... also afraid of how things can go once Sonic, Tails, and I leave this world... But until then, I want to spend all my days in Equestria with you, Izz... as your partner... as your lover..." he added with a smile. Izzy felt her eyes becoming little hearts again, so she tackled Knuckles down on the floor again, and they kissed each other once more, with Knuckles wrapping Izzy and carefully caressing her back. Right here, right now, nothing and no one else mattered. It was just the two of them sharing their love without a care about what the world had to say about them being together as a couple. Not so far, Sonic, Sunny, and Pipp were watching everything, with Sunny and Pipp smiling as the latter was also crying in happiness for both of them. "This is so beautiful!" Pipp cried out dramatically, and Sunny at her side sighed. "I adore happy endings," Sunny said with a smile. Sonic, however, was more impressed by the fact that he now respected Knuckles a lot more. He no longer cared about the bet he lost with Tails; he admired Knuckles for being brave to take this step. Then Sonic looked at Pipp. He couldn't do it yet. Not being ready was just an excuse he used with Knuckles. He is ready, but he still wants to wait a bit longer. "... Just a bit longer, Sonic..." he told himself. "Just a bit longer..." THE END Author's Note Welp, there it is, guys! Knuckles and Izzy are dating now! The reason why I wanted them to be the first ones to become a thing is because it can be a pushover for both Sonic and Pipp to also make that big step, but that's an issue for Season 2, alright? Now, I seriously do not care what next episode is gonna be about, it's gonna play exactly as it comes out, with no Team Sonic intervention, because they're gonna have their own plot the entirety of next episode. I'm telling you this now in case you suddenly get ideas and want to tell me. Not because I don't want to hear them, but because what I have planned for next episode cannot be moved, no matter what. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode, as well as the first couple of lovebirds finally becoming a thing! See you later! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 49. Mission ImponableAbove the Crystal Brighthouse, Eggman was watching the building with a pair of binoculars. He was riding his Eggmobile, and Misty was behind him. He looked scared of being so high and wearing skydiving gear. "Hmm... the coast seems clear..." Eggman said. "Those three pests are out for a 'Movie Premiere' in the Mushroom Kingdom, so the ponies are alone. Good," he added as he put the binoculars aside. "Are you sure you still wanna do this, Misty?" he asked her with concern. "No, but you know Opaline," Misty replied with a nervous smile, sweating heavily. "She wants that information. To get it without being noticed, I must do this..." she pointed out, gulping nervously but now preparing to jump from the Eggmobile. "I mean, it isn't a requirement to––" Eggman tried to point out, but he got interrupted when he heard Misty screaming in fear. He popped his face from the edge of his Eggmobile, and his jaw dropped when he saw Misty screaming as she skydived towards the forest near the Crystal Brighthouse. Eggman facepalmed and groaned. "... jump..." he finished with annoyance. Meanwhile, as Misty was still falling, her amulet opened, and Opaline appeared. "Honestly, Mis…" she started, but as soon as she noticed Misty falling from the sky, she started screaming. "Whaaat is happening!? " she cried out in shock and surprise. Misty's eyes were covered with Opaline’s cloud dust from the amulet, and she tried to avoid it. "Opaline, can’t see!" Misty called out as she tried to pull the line to her parachute while Opaline continued screaming. "Misty, do something!" Opaline cried out in fright because even if she communicated from the amulet, she was also feeling the experience. "Just… a second!" said Misty as she struggled to find the release string. "Aha! There you are!" she cheered, pulling the string and opening her parachute, safely bringing them to the ground. However, Misty's chute got stuck to a tree, and Opaline had her eyes closed while her cloud-like arms hugged around Misty's head. "Uh, Opaline, you can let go now. We're okay!" Misty smiled assuringly at Opaline. Opaline opened one of her eyes and saw that Misty was right, but as karma struck, the parachute gave out, and the two fell to the ground. "Whoa!" both cried out; Misty landed face first, and Opaline landed on top of her with a startled yelp. Soon enough, Opaline got her bearings and looked at Misty in shock and irritation. "What was that, Misty?!" she scolded her. "Skydiving!?" she yelled in rage. "Oh, this?" Misty asked with a small smile, gesturing to her gear. "You never listen!" Opaline scolded, which made Misty flinch. "All I ask you to do is––" "Get more information about the magic crystals and how they work," Misty abruptly interrupted, looking at Opaline with annoyance. "That is still what you want," she added, now glaring a lot at Opaline, who was surprised at Misty speaking to her like that. "Isn’t it, Opaline?" Opaline raised an eyebrow and stood silently, surprised that Misty stood up and told her off like that. "Yes..." Opaline said calmly, coinciding with herself. "You have been joining Eggman way too much lately. Now hurry up!" she added, then returned to the amulet. Misty sighed in relief and gave a determined smile. "Let’s do this!" "Good luck, Misty" Eggman said through the ladybug on her ear. "Oh, and be careful with Tails' security system!" he warned as well. Misty smiled and nodded. "I will!" she assured confidently. Later, a bunnycorn popped out of the ground, but Misty was underneath, crawling through a tunnel. In a clearing underground, a family of bunnycorns enjoyed their carrot dinner, but suddenly, their home started to shake, surprising the bunnies. They look at their family portrait as it falls to the ground, revealing Misty, who keeps digging. "Oh! Hey bunnycorns." Misty greeted sheepishly. "Don’t mind me, enjoy your dinner," she added. The bunnycorns were shocked by this, and the adult male fainted while the rest screamed in panic. A little bit later, Misty got out of the tunnel, where a bunnycorn first surfaced; one of them, who was eating a berry, screamed and ran off as the one on her head screamed and ran off. Misty groaned and pushed herself out of the rabbit hole but landed with a thud. In the bedroom, Zipp heard the thud and placed tiredly her blanket over her head. Outside, Misty was feeling tired as she climbed the walls of the Brighthouse with her suction cups on her hooves. Suddenly, a small camera popped from a hidden spot and started to scan the area. Misty was startled by that and stopped moving. She closed her eyes and waited for the camera to stop on her and accept her destiny. However, the robotic ladybug beeped and activated a shield around Misty. Once the camera scanned the area where Misty was standing... it kept moving. After that, the camera returned inside the Brighthouse, ignoring Misty's presence. Misty opened her eyes and felt completely confused when she saw she had been saved and the camera had disappeared. She was also confused about why a shield was around her, but the ladybug on her ear deactivated the shield. Deciding it was better not to question it, Misty shrugged and finished climbing up the wall to reach the top. Once Misty got there, she felt dizzy and out of breath. However, it was all worth it because she saw the Unity Crystals shining bright through the crystal protecting it. Someone should have told Misty that there was an open zone at the top of the Brighthouse to reach the Crystals and that there was no need to make a perfectly circular hole in the middle of the glass with a blowtorch. But she did it anyway, then placed her suction cups on it to remove it. Misty struggled to remove it, so she grunted and took it out with both hooves. Misty managed to remove it but apparently lost her balance and walked backward. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoooaaa!" she cried out, reaching the balcony's edge, leaning on her back, and dangling the glass over the edge. "Did not think that through," she said with a little smile that disappeared when the glass fell from her hooves and fell towards the ground. Wuh-oh..." she said nervously as the glass shattered on the ground. In the bedroom, the four mares woke startled by the shattering sound. "What was that?!" Pipp questioned in shock. At the top of the Brighthouse, Misty knew she had screwed it up, so she quickly started to descend through the wall of the Brighthouse. "Did you ponies hear that?!" Sunny asked in panic inside the bedroom. "Yeah... It seemed like it came from the Crystal Room..." Zipp pointed out with a concerned frown. Suddenly, however, the ground started to rumble violently, startling the four mares. They all went outside the Brighthouse, but Zipp stopped them at the entrance when they saw something coming from the ground. Sunny immediately stepped in front and activated her Alicorn form, preparing to protect her friends from whatever was coming. However, no one expected a giant green pipe to pop from the ground and stop before them. The four mares looked at each other confused, but as soon as the pipe started making weird sounds and lights showed up from the top, Sunny opened her wings and lightened up her horn, still prepared to fight if necessary. But then, all doubts and fears dissipated when the pipe stopped making sounds, and then Knuckles came out of it, wearing a black suit with a red tie, a pair of sunglasses with the shape of the letter M, and a party whistle that he blew. The four mares looked confused, especially since they didn't expect the Knuckles of all people to come out of a giant pipe. "Knuckles?" Izzy called out, confused. "Hey, girls!" Knuckles greeted with a smile, also waving his hand a bit. After Knuckles got down the pipe, the next one to come out was Tails, who flew about in the air as he cheered before also landing in front of the pipe. Tails was also wearing a black suit with a yellow tie. He wore a green hat with the letter L on the front. Finally, Sonic also arrived, jumping out of the pipe while curled into a ball before returning to his normal state. He wore a black suit, blue tie, and fake mustache. As soon as Sonic came out, the pipe behind them got back into earth, leaving the mares even more confused. "Sup!" Sonic greeted with smirk. "Sorry if I woke you up with the pipe, but the party is over," he explained. "I haven't had that much fun since that sleepover Izzy made a while ago!" Tails added with a huge smile. "I even won this Fire Flower!" he added as he pulled out a small capsule with a Fire Flower from the Mushroom Kingdom. "Also, Luigi says he's sorry for what happened the other day when he came," Knuckles added, blowing the party whistle again. The four mares blinked a few times before looking at each other, extremely confused about what was happening. "Uh... who?" Sunny questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Remember that ghostbuster we had to call because someone did something incredibly dangerous only for views even after I told them like 5 times not to?!" Sonic asked with anger and a frown as he glared daggers at Pipp. Pipp only blinked a few times and looked away sheepishly as she hid her face with her hooves in embarrassment. "Yeah, we do..." Zipp replied, looking at Pipp with a bored expression as well. "Why?" she asked to Sonic with a raised eyebrow. "Well..." Sonic stated, looking at the ceiling and thinking about the proper words to use to say this. After Discord's redemption, Pipp started to lose followers like a maniac. She was afraid that her Pippsqueaks were bored of her, so to bring them back... she literally summoned a ghost. Team Sonic immediately stepped back and refused to participate. Sonic even told Pipp that if her followers loved her, they would stick with her no matter what. He also tried to make her understand that not everyone's gonna like what she posts, but she refused to listen and still went ahead with her dumbass idea of playing the pony world equivalent of the Ouija and summoning a ghost. This ghost, in particular, was from a girl tricked by her 'friends' to assist at a party where they never showed up. So, her soul wanted revenge, and Pipp accidentally summoned her. At first, it all seemed to be just Zipp tricking Pipp since she wanted to teach her a lesson, but in the end, there was a ghost there, and while Zipp believed it was real, Pipp was convinced that it wasn't anything. However, Zipp told Tails everything to be sure. Zipp also told Luigi to go to the Brighthouse with his Poltergust G-00 to get rid of the ghost. Luigi, being the sacred man he is, was trembling the entire time as he hugged the vacuum of his Poltergust. "Don't worry, man. I'm pretty sure Zipp's just exaggerating about something," Sonic said to the Italian plumber with a reassuring smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Uh, let me doubt it for a second," Tails said, using his Miles Electric to monitor any paranormal activity in the Brighthouse. "I do have some paranormal signals here," he revealed. That made Luigi gulp, but he was still willing to help if necessary. Suddenly, Tails' Miles electric went beyond crazy with the beeps, startling Sonic, Luigi, and the young fox. "This is about to get wild, guys..." he warned with concern. Suddenly, a ghost with the figure of a pony appeared, but it wasn't the one Pipp had summoned. Still, the three screamed in fear, so Luigi turned on his Poltergeist to capture the ghost. Let's say that after all was said and done, the Mane 5 and Knuckles arrived for dinner, but they found Sonic, Tails, and Luigi panting heavily after capturing the ghost. However, the instant Luigi saw the Mane 5 and Izzy said 'Hi!', Luigi fainted on the floor, shocked to see ponies talking, even if he had also seen weirder stuff. The four mares made a collective 'Oooooh...' after Sonic explained the entire thing. "Yeah... we should have been a bit more sensitive..." Pipp confessed. "Agreed," Zipp said with a little smirk before frowning again. "But as much as I would like to hear how you guys even left to that other world or how the party was, I'm afraid we have a bigger thing to look after now," Zipp said with concern. "What kind of 'thing' are you talking about?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow, removing the fake mustache from his face. The whole group made it up to the Crystal Room a little later. Team Sonic was still in their suits, but Tails put the hat and the Fire Flower in his room while Knuckles removed his sunglasses. They were all surprised to find that the glass in the Crystal Room had been cut open in a perfect circle. "Oh... is that kind of thing..." Sonic complained, even though he was frowning. "Somepony tried to break in here," Zipp stated, looking at the hole with a frown, as Sunny, Izzy, Pipp, and Tails gasped while Sonic and Knuckles frowned. "But who would do that? And what do they want?" she questioned with worry. "Oh, I could name a certain doctor that would try to get in here..." Sonic said angrily, as some electricity showed off and his eyes turned blue for a second. On the other hand, they turned blue. Sunny looked concerned and worried at the ground. Sunny was cooking breakfast in the morning, still worried about what they saw last night. "Maybe the glass just fell out like that!" Izzy called out while Pipp, Zipp, Sonic, and Tails gave her bored expressions. "Whaaaaat?" she asked before taking a bite out of a pancake. "It could happen," she added with a smirk. "Izz, I love you, but a perfectly cut circular hole doesn't come out of nowhere," Knuckles pointed out to his girlfriend with a neutral expression. "Still, with how much weird stuff happens daily, I wouldn't be surprised," he confessed. "Knux, I get she's your lover, but please don't encourage her..." Sonic begged with a tired tone and a bored expression. Pipp was eating a salad, while Sunny was still concerned as she placed more breakfast. "It's kind of exciting. Like a real-life 'who done it,' you know?” she said with a smile. "Yeah... not exciting if you ask me..." Sonic said, still with a bored expression. "Last time a maniac tried to steal a Crystal, we had an unnecessary 10-issue arc to catch him. It only took a video and nice words to show him he was being a dumbass," he pointed out. "Hey!" Discord complained with a frown as he suddenly appeared in a small mid-air portal. "Am I wrong, though?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow. Discord raised a finger from his lion arm and prepared to reply something, but after thinking about it, he got nothing, so he put on a bored expression and snapped his tongue. "... Fair point..." Discord recognized before getting into the portal again and disappearing. "Sonic has a point, Pipp," Zipp said with a frown while Sunny placed more breakfast. "Somepony tried to steal the crystals that gave us magic again. That's not exciting. It's dangerous," she added. "Especially considering that Opaline is looking after the Crystals," Tails added with a frown before chomping a sandwich madly, even though he wanted to smile since the sandwich was delicious. "Zipp and Tails are right," Sunny said with concern before showing a determined expression that surprised the rest. "As the Alicorn, it's my job to protect the Crystals and keep everypony in Equestria safe," she stated while the rest smiled at her. Just then, Hitch arrived with Sparky, and both had bee stings on them while a couple of bees circled. "Sorry, I'm late! Sparky turned my keys into a swarm of bees, and then I had to get some honey to... and... Well, what'd I miss?" he asked sheepishly while Sparky burped out a bee and groaned a bit. "Someone tried to steal the Crystals last night," Sonic explained vaguely, which made Hitch gasp. "And no, Discord's not the one behind it this time. Already checked that out," he added, which made Hitch sigh in relief. "And you're just in time, Hitch. It's time for me to become the Alicorn that Equestria needs!" Sunny said determinedly. "But to do it, I'm gonna need everypony's help training!" she added, winking at her friends. The rest cheered at herm, and they shared a high hoof, although Team Sonic put their fists instead. After that, Sunny summoned her Alicorn form, ready to train and become a more powerful Alicorn. Later on, Sunny and Zipp went to town and lowered down a bit, spreading their wings. Sonic was in front of them, holding two speedometers and pointing them at Sunny and Zipp. "Alright, girls. When I say 'Go!' and Izzy waves the flag, you boost flying, alright?" Sonic stated to them, as both of them nodded with determinate looks. "Very well, then. On your marks... Get set... GO!" he shouted as he boosted away backward. Soon enough, Izzy waved the flag to start with a smile while the two ponies boosted right past her as well, making her twirl around very fast, but thankfully, she was caught by Knuckles. "Already ending in my arms, honey? It's only been 3 minutes~" Knuckles told Izzy with a flirty tone. However, Izzy snorted a bit, although she still blushed. "You just love to hold me like this, don't you, sweetie?" she asked him in a flirty tone. "Maybe I do~" Knuckles replied, which increased Izzy's blush as she chuckled nervously. Meanwhile, Sunny and Zipp flew past many ponies, creating dust from the winds as they went at high speed, while ponies around, like Misty, looked at them in surprise. Sonic was measuring their speed with the speedometer, and even if he was running backward, he was still dodging everything so he wouldn't crash against something or somepony. As Sunny and Zipp were neck to neck with each other, Zipp suddenly flew ahead of the Alicorn, and Sunny tried to zoom off to reach Zipp. A little bit later, Sunny and Izzy were at the community garden. Sunny used her horn to levitate a tomato, not noticing that Misty snuck up behind them. She wanted to see their training and learn more, but then Sunny turned and looked at Izzy with shock and surprise, while Misty hid behind a pillar as she watched as well. They saw that Izzy was levitating two giant tomatoes with her magic, spinning them around her body until they stopped, while Izzy smiled at what she did. Sunny was surprised by this and lost her focus entirely, which caused her horn to stop glowing. As a result, the tomato she was levitating fell on her face with a splat. In Mane Melody, Sunny was standing on a stage, while Sunny turned off her Alicorn form. She stared at Pipp and Sonic, confused, especially since they wore sunglasses. "Okay, Sunny, say it with us..." Pipp instructed with a smile. "I am strong!" Sonic and Pipp said as they both posed. "I am strong!" Sunny repeated with a smile, following Pipp's and Sonic's movements. Behind them, Misty stood behind the stage and smirked, feeling that this could be interesting information. Somewhere else, a bunnycorn and his cubs were trying to move a dead tree out of the way. Right then, Sunny and Hitch arrived along Tails, and the two Earth Ponies looked at each other with determinate looks before nodding and lifting their hooves that glowed in green before stomping them on the ground. That activated their Earth Pony magic, which created two vines from the ground. In a clearing, Sunny was standing a few meters away from Knuckles. "Now, let's put your skills to good use, Sunny-bunny!" Knuckles stated with a mocking smirk. "Hit me with everything, Knucklehead!" Sunny mocked up with a confident smile. Knuckles snorted after hearing that before putting over a serious expression. "With pleasure," he stated, as his eyes turned red and electricity came out of his body. After that, he smashed the ground with his right arm, which was charged with electricity, before literally taking a piece of earth off the ground and launching it at Sunny. Sunny squealed in panic, but then she frowned and used her magic to shoot a laser into the piece of ground, turning it into a lot of confetti. She smiled at that, but as soon as she saw that Knuckles was taking several pieces at a time and launching them at her, she put on a serious expression and spread her wings before boosting herself towards the pieces of earth. Sunny shot several lasers at those pieces, turning them into small gems, golden rings, confetti, pink glitter, and even pillows that couldn't harm anyone. However, Knuckles did hear Sunny when she said he should launch everything he gots, so he pulled his wildest trick yet: He dug in the earth, very, very, very deep on it, and after a while, the entire ground started to rumble, which startled Sunny. However, what did surprise her was when the entire earth came out of the ground, being held by Knuckles, looking at Sunny with a frown and red eyes but still smiling. "You said 'everything,' Starscout," Knuckles reminded. Sunny gulped nervously, but then she spread her wings again and boosted towards Knuckles. Knuckles let out a warrior cry and launched the giant piece of earth in the air before jumping and digging at supersonic speed through it. Once he came out, he stood in the air for a few seconds before charging up his hands with electricity and then making a supersonic clap, which caused the piece of earth to shatter into multiple pieces. However, Sunny didn't flinch. She charged up another powerful laser bean with her horn and shot it toward all the pieces of earth that exploded in glitter. Knuckles immediately dug into the earth to avoid getting covered by it, while the glitter covered everything else. Sunny landed and smiled, also panting heavily because of the effort. Still, she sensed something strange and summoned a golden shield to protect herself before opening her eyes and noticing that Sonic just uncurled from the Spindash he launched towards her. "Good job with your training with Knuckles, Sunny-bunny," Sonic mocked up with a smirk. "But now you gotta take me and my little bro down!" he stated confidently. Sunny was still panting. She passed a hoof on her forehead to wipe some sweat away, but then she gave a determinate look and launched against Sonic. Sonic smiled, and then he charged a Spindash against Sunny again. "I am confident!" Sunny, Pipp, and Sonic said together. At the Community Garden, Izzy levitated three giant tomatoes and smiled with sparkling eyes. However, she looked at her side, surprised to see Sunny levitating three giant tomatoes with a smile. Then she looked at Izzy, who smiled back at her. However, the unicorn lost her focus, and her magic faded out, so she looked up and saw that her tomatoes were about to land on her. She braced herself, but then she saw that they stopped and moved away. Sunny seemed to have taken the tomatoes away, and she looked focused and determined as all six giant tomatoes circled her. "I am the Alicorn!" Sunny and Pipp said together, while Sunny’s Alicorn form appeared and began to glow. "I'm not a pony, so I'm not shouting that," Sonic said as he looked at you smugly and winked at you. The bunnycorns were still trying to move the dead tree, but they saw the vines coming and moved aside. The magic vines wrapped around the dead tree and lifted it tree up, revealing a rabbit hole, which made the bunnycorn family smile since they could go back home now. The vines lifted the dead tree, but Sunny focused on the magic vines that put it back into place. These vines made the tree grow leaves, flowers, and vines, bringing it back to life. Sunny, Hitch, and Tails smiled with sparkling eyes, but then Tails noticed how close Hitch was to Sunny, so he turned around and whistled innocently before 'accidentally' pushing Hitch closer to Sunny. Hitch bumped a bit with Sunny, and both earth ponies blushed a bit, but Sunny still rested her head on Hitch's shoulder, making Hitch's heart bump faster than ever, as he also laughed nervously. "Tails, you are a great wingman!" the young fox told himself, patting his back with a confident smile. "I am strong!" Sunny said determinedly. All the fruits and vegetables in the garden began to levitate and circle Sunny while she and Izzy looked at them with smiles and sparkling eyes. "Whoa!" Izzy said in awe. Sonic was trying to hit Sunny with Homing Attacks and Spindashes. However, the Alicorn kept dodging his attacks or created golden shields to protect herself from Sonic's attacks. Desperate, Sonic decided to charge his fists with electricity and tried to punch Sunny through her shield, but she only smirked and used her magic to levitate Sonic in midair, turning his powers off. Sonic looked down at Sunny before smiling sheepishly. Sunny just smirked, then used a harmless laser beam to send Sonic through the sky, several meters away. "Nante osoroshī kimochideshou!" Sonic shouted in fear, screaming, 'What a horrible feeling!' in Japanese. Seeing what just happened to Sonic, Tails jaw dropped, and as soon as Sunny looked at him sideways, Tails pulled out a white flag, immediately giving up before Sunny could do anything to him. Sunny rolled her eyes but also giggled a bit at Tails' attitude. "I am confident!" Sunny said again, with determination growing inside of her. Sunny and Zipp were flying high in the sky, with Tails holding the speedometers this time and flying backward since Sonic cannot fly. Sunny looked on with determination, focusing her magic on her wings, which glowed bright and surprised Zipp. And then, the Alicorn boosted away, knocking Zipp back. The surprised Pegasus rolled in the air before regaining her balance, and she looked in surprise at how Sunny zoomed off, leaving a trail of magic and creating a sonic boom while disappearing into the distance. "Whoooaaa!" Zipp cheered in awe with sparkling eyes. Tails was still going as fast as Sunny to calculate her speed, and he was surprised to see that she had already reached 500,000 meters. This wasn't impressive to him since he was that fast, but he was happy to see how much Sunny had improved. "Nicely done, Sunny!" Tails said with a smile, as he couldn't help but hug Sunny brotherly. That made them stop flying so fast, but Sunny smiled and returned the hug to him. "I am... the Alicorn!" Sunny called out with a determined look. Pipp wiped her tears of joy, and Sonic smiled and patted her back. Soon enough, Sunny glowed so much that she also brightened all of Mane Melody. At the front of the Brighthouse, Misty was hiding behind a bush. However, as soon as she saw Sunny approaching the Brighthouse, she hid inside her bush. Meanwhile, Sunny zoomed by and flew around the Brighthouse before landing on the top balcony. Looking down, she saw her friends and Sparky cheering for her with sparkling eyes. The Alicorn smiled at her friends, then flew up and landed on the ground with them. However, Eggman was watching her again in the skies with his binoculars with his binoculars. He frowned, as he had been watching her the entire training, and he didn't like how powerful Sunny was becoming. "Misty..." Eggman called out with a frown, communicating with the unicorn through the ladybug on her ear. "Reveal your position and say you were hiding from whatever's gonna show up, alright?" he instructed. Inside the bush, Misty gulped nervously but looked on determinedly. " O-okay, doctor..." she replied. After that, Eggman closed the capsule of his Eggmobile and backed away while Sunny was talking with her friends. "Sunny, that was incredible!" Zipp cheered with a smile and sparkling eyes while Misty's bush moved behind them. "I've never seen anypony that isn't Tails fly so fast!" she added. But as Misty was hiding, her necklace opened up, and Opaline appeared with a groan. "Tell me something about those crystals, Misty! What is taking so long?!" she complained, growing impatient. "Well…" Misty started with a nervous laugh, also clearing her throat. "Funny story. I, uh…" she tried to explain, but as she placed her hoof down, she almost hit Pegamice inside the bush with her, and they squeaked in surprise. The Mane 5 and Team Sonic heard the squeaking, and they started to look around. "What was that? Is somepony there?" Sunny questioned with a raised eyebrow. Misty gasped and panicked a lot. "We better get out of here! I'll fill you in later, Opaline!" she said quickly, pressing the amulet to close it. "What do you mean you'll tell me later, Mistyyyyy?!" Opaline questioned loudly as she faded out, while Misty flinched once Opaline disappeared. "I heard something right over…" Sunny started, still looking around. The bush where Misty hid moved and rustled a bit, which caught her attention. "...here..." she finished with a suspicious look. "Um, that hedge just moved," Hitch said with a raised eyebrow while the others approached the bush. "Ah, Hitchy-poo," Izzy waved it off with a smile. "You're seeing things, buddy. Hedges don't just––" she started, but Misty ran off with the hedge before she could finish, which surprised them. "Oh, wow, look! There it goes!" Izzy cheered in surprise as Hitch gave her a bored expression while the rest looked surprised. Sonic was about to say something, but Sunny spread her wings and boosted them at high speed before he could, leaving her friends surprised. Misty tried to escape while in the hedge, but Sunny landed before her, choking the poor unicorn. Sunny frowned and looked very intimidating, which was already surprising, but then, Sunny activated her Earth Pony magic and stomped her hooves down to bring out two giant vines that grew on her sides. After that, she focused the vines to move them towards the hedge and moved them out of the way, revealing Misty’s face. Misty yelped from this as she saw she was revealed, panicking a bit. However, as soon as she remembered what Eggman told her about acting like she was hiding from something else, she recomposed herself. "Oh! Thank hoofness is just you, Sunny! I-I thought you were that weird guy!" she said shyly. "Misty?" Sunny asked in surprise, smiling and retracting the vines back to the ground. Oh, thank goodness it's you. I thought it was somepony dangerous," she added in relief, while Misty gave a nervous smile. Look, guys! It's just Misty," she told them, still smiling. "Hi, Misty!" Izzy cheerfully greeted her, appearing next to her with a wave. This surprised Misty a bit, but she still turned to her with a sheepish smile. "Yup, just your old pal Misty," Misty said as she got out of her hedge nervously and laughed while the rest smiled at her, except for Zipp, who felt suspicious about her. "Hey, uh, Misty?" Tails called out. "If you don't mind me asking, why were you hiding?" he questioned, even though he was still smiling. "Yeah, I was wondering the same thing," Zipp confessed, although she managed to smile a bit so no one could tell she was suspicious of Misty. "Hang on... You mentioned that you were glad I wasn't a weird guy... what did you mean?" Sunny asked, a bit concerned. "U-Um... well... you see... I-I was hiding from––" Misty tried to explain herself. However, the ground started to rumble before Misty could reply, startling Team Sonic, the Mane 5, and Misty. Soon enough, something approached them as it dug into the ground. Sunny and Sonic stood in defensive positions to protect everyone else, while Hitch grabbed Sparky protectively, and Knuckles stood in front of Izzy to protect her. Then, a giant driller emerged from the ground before showing off Eggman himself, riding his Egg Driller with a smirk. "Kon'nichiwa!" Eggman greeted mischievously, opening the capsule of the Egg Driller and popping his head out of it. "... him..." Misty replied with a genuinely scared look, not because of Eggman but because of his machine. "So Egghead was messing with ya, huh?" Sonic asked with a frown, charging his electrical powers. "Explain yourself, Eggman!" he demanded. "I don't need to explain anything!" Eggman stated with a frown. "By the way, nice training, Sunny! You finally are being useful after almost a year with magic, huh?" he mocked up with a smirk. "Sonic has made a clear point, doctor," Sunny said with a frown. "Now, leave immediately, or I will make you," she warned with a frown. "You think I'm scared of a pitiful pony with fake wings and a horn and a childish and nonsense dream? Ha! Even the Werehog is more intimidating than you, and he looked ridiculous!" Eggman mocked up. "Oh, you are asking for it now, Egghead!" Sonic said with a frown. "Let me repeat what Sunny said: Leave immediately, or we will make you leave!" he warned one last time. Eggman, however, only snorted and entered the Egg Driller again, closing the capsule and turning on the driller. "The hard way it is..." Sunny stated, frowning but also smirking. Sonic adjusted his glove and then looked back at Sunny. They both nodded with determinate looks. After that, they accelerated towards the Egg Driller, and Eggman himself only smiled sinisterly. The doctor separated the drill from the rest of the kart and launched it towards the Alicorn and the Hedgehog. Sonic immediately moved aside, but Sunny smirked and turned the drill into a lot of glitter while Eggman started launching missiles at Sonic. However, he not only dodged the missiles and made them explode in the ground, but he also managed to make them crash against each other. Eggman groaned, so he pressed a button to remove two drillers from the sides of the kart and launched both at Sonic. The hedgehog noticed that and started running away, but Sunny soon joined him. "I think we should wrap this one quickly!" Sonic stated with a smirk. "Me too!" Sunny agreed, also smirking. "Wanna give Eggman a bit of his own medicine?" she asked. "Girl, you just read my mind!" Sonic said with a chuckle. So, both turned around and boosted towards the drills before jumping over them and then boosting towards Eggman again.T. The drillers spun before following them again. Meanwhile, Eggman panicked once he noticed that Sonic and SUnny were boosting towards him. "Oh boy..." he complained, his mustache flatted slightly. Sonic charged up a Spindash and crashed against the Egg Driller, causing Eggman to hang into his chair. Then, Sonic landed on earth and grabbed Sunny before launching her toward Eggman. Eggman panicked even more but couldn't escape because Sunny used earth pony magic to attach vines to the kart and avoid any attempt to escape. Then, Sunny used her magic and punched the Egg Driller with another laser beam, startling Eggman even more now. Sunny was elevated in the air for the finisher, and Sonic jumped and curled into a ball. Then, Sunny levitated Sonic and started spinning him fast around her while Sonic charged electricity. After a while, Sunny launched Sonic toward Eggman, with Sonic surrounded by both a golden aura and his electrical powers. As a result, Eggman screamed in a very girlish way, so he pressed the eject button on the Egg Driller. This caused him to be sent backward in the air with everything and his Eggmobile. "CURSE YOU, SUNNY STARSCOUT! COURSE YOU TOO, HEDGEHOG!" Eggman shouted in anger as he was ejected away. As he did that, Sonic crashed into the Egg Driller and smashed it completely. Then, the two drillers from before also arrived and crashed into the Egg Driller, making it explode entirely. The others saw everything with amazed looks, especially at the last trick pulled by both Sonic and Sunny. Misty looked in horror at how they almost crushed Eggman. Since he had left safe and sound, or at least sort of, she sighed in relief and decided to run away before anyone could notice. Soon enough, Sonic and Sunny returned with their friends, and they smiled at each other and fist/hoof bumped. "Guys! That was BEYOND amazing!" Hitch said with sparkling eyes. "I mean, I knew you were good at fighting, but this is something else!" Tails exclaimed as well with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Thanks, guys!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Now that should teach Egghead to not mess with us ever again, right Misty?" he stated with a smile. However, since nobody replied, they all realized that Misty was gone. "Uh... Misty?" Sunny called out, confused. Zipp, however, noticed something below the bush where Misty had been hiding before. When she lifted it, she found broken glass. She frowned, then looked back at the Brighthouse and saw that the hole in the Crystal Room was still there. "Something's wrong with that mare..." Zipp muttered to herself with suspicion. "Was she hiding from Eggman... or was she hiding from somepony else?" she questioned with concern. She knew perfectly that nobody would trust her if she said that she suspected something about Misty, especially Tails and Izzy, so that she won't tell anyone about her suspicions... for now... THE END...? Author's Note Welp... This chapter went through 5 different drafts in a matter of 2 days, but this is the definitive one. I am not satisfied with the final result, to tell the truth, but it doesn't matter this time. I don't have any other pre-established plots in mind, so I'm just gonna do what I've been doing so far: Adapt the episode the way I find the best. Also, if that One-Shot of IDW based on the next special (called Bridlewood Stock) comes out in June, wouldn't that mean that Chapter 4 comes out this month? I'm just gonna leave that there. If it doesn't comes out, you already know who to blame for giving you fake hopes :) P.S.1: Tails is a W wingman. P.S.2: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 50. Villains AloneAn empty couch was in the Crystal Brighthouse's living room. Emphasis on was because Sonic arrived in a few seconds and sat down with his legs crossed, with Tails and Knuckles joining him soon. They all had party hats over their head, and Knuckles even had a party whistle in his mouth. "Hello there, fellow readers!" Sonic greeted you. "Yes, to you, the ones reading this. Before you go on and read today's episode, the three of us want to say a few words!" he explained with a smile. "As you can see, we reached Episode 50!" Tails declared with a huge smile, then he pulled out a button and pressed it. Afterward, a party letter appeared above them, with the words 'Episode 50!' printed on them. Then, a few party cannons launched confetti, and Knuckles blew his whistle in time. "Can't believe there's 50 episodes of this thing already! Pretty nuts, right?" Sonic said with a smirk, looking at his friends. "Yeah! And we've been through a lot of things!" Tails agreed, also smiling. "Not only through 'Tell Your Tale,' but also 'Make Your Mark,' the IDW Comics... and, of course, the beginning with 'A New Generation'!" Knuckles pointed out as well. "And there's a lot more adventures coming right away!" Sonic assured, once again looking at you. "But first, we want to thank all of you, fellow readers, for coming through this journey with us!" he stated with a huge smile. "Your constant support with likes and comments has inspired our author, BronySonicFan, to keep going with this story," Tails added, now looking at you as well. "Even if you only read this without reacting to the story, we still wanna thank you, guys!" he assured. "And, of course, we cannot wait for you to watch our next adventures!" Knuckles assured with excitement, also looking at you. "Maybe the release dates have suffered changes in the past few weeks, but that's the author's problem to explain, not ours," he added with a bored expression. "The point is... we are so thankful to you, guys!" Sonic stated once again. "And we hope you're still up for the ride that this story represents, 'cause we're not going anywhere!" he assured. "Also, we're the only ones saying this because the Mane 5 aren't fully aware that we're fictional characters..." Tails pointed out with a sheepish smile. "And it's better that way..." Knuckles added, still bored, before placing the party whistle in his mouth again. "With all of that said..." Sonic started. "Thanks for everything, and enjoy!" all Team Sonic said with smiles as they waved their hands at you while Knuckles blew the party whistle one last time. On Maretime Bay's beach, the Mane 5, Team Sonic, and Misty were gathered on a picnic blanket as Sunny came holding a pie. "Alright, everypony and creature. Grab a slice!" Sunny announced, placing the pie down while her friends grabbed a slice. "These are the best fruit pies in all of Maretime Bay!" she cheered. Zipp was the first to take a bite from her slice, and her eyes sparkled while she swallowed her bite. After her, Tails went over and chomped his slice, with his eyes sparkling. "Mmm!" he muttered happily, his tails wagging slightly. Next, Izzy squealed in joy with sparkling eyes as some fruit content ended on her face. "Delicious!" she said cheerfully. "Forgive me for the kind of echidna I'll become after tasting such a glorious banquet..." Knuckles said dramatically with his eyes closed, also chomping his slice. "Oh yeah!" Pipp cheered with sparkling eyes as well. "Sorry, Vanilla. But I have a new favorite kind of pie!" Sonic stated with a huge grin, chomping happily his slice of pie. "Nice!" Zipp commented, too. Meanwhile, both Hitch and Sparky were eating their respective slices as well. Suddenly, as Pipp chomped her slice, she looked at her friends. Then, she snorted and giggled without control, lifting her phone and facing the camera at the others. "Look at your faces!" she laughed, gesturing to the fruity pie contents in their faces. At that, Zipp gave her sister a bored expression. "Pipp, you have pie in your ears," she pointed out. "Huh? Oh!" Pipp said with a wide smile before she looked up and saw pie crumbs in her ears, laughing as they fell out. "It’s everywhere! Ooh!" she kept laughing. Then, she looked at her phone while the rest of the Mane 5, Sparky, Misty, and Team Sonic huddled together, and they took a group picture. Soon enough, more pictures were taken, the first one showing Izzy and Knuckles cheerfully shoveling their pie slices into Hitch's mouth while Sparky fell off with a smile. The next picture showed Sunny, Tails and Pipp having a food fight, with Pipp tossing some pies. Moving on, this picture showed Zipp having two pie slices splattered on her head with Misty watching, and then, the next picture showed Hitch and Sonic throwing another one at her cheeks while Misty placed her hooves on her cheeks in shock. Finally, the last picture showed Zipp flying above Hitch and Sonic with a wide smile. She tossed one of her slices at Hitch and the next at Sonic, hitting Hitch's cheeks and Sonic's face while Sparky flew above and threw pies around. "Aah!" Misty cried out as a pie slice hit her in the face and slid off, then gave a smile and laughed. Then, Pipp came next to Misty with a laugh, and they took a picture together, smiling. "Awww, that one's cute," Pipp said joyfully as she and Misty looked at their picture on Pipp's phone. "Soooo, I was thinking..." Sunny's voice came, calling both Pipp's and Misty's attention. "For ice cream, we could––" she started. However, Misty immediately felt her necklace shaking, which worried her a bit. She grabbed it to stop the shaking and turned to see Sunny. "Uh, I-I'll be right back!" she called out nervously as she trotted off while the others looked at each other in confusion. Tails, however, raised an eyebrow since he's noticed that Misty's necklace shakes a lot lately. "Hmm... That necklace makes me think..." he said, rubbing his chin as well. Sonic arrived at his side, chomping a slice of pie with a neutral expression. "You also think she should change the batteries of that thing?" he asked. "Yup!" Tails replied with the same expression. Sonic extended his slice of pie to him, and he took it, also chomping it. Misty looked around, hiding behind a rock wall. Once she sees the clear coast, she clicks on the amulet, making Opaline appear. "Misty! What on Earth is taking so long?! Have you forgotten what I sent you for?" Opaline questioned angrily, getting close to Misty's face while the unicorn grew nervous. Opaline noticed the pie mess on Misty. "Is that pie in your mane?" she asked, confused, raising an eyebrow. "Oh!" Misty said, giving a nervous chuckle and wiping the pie contents off her. "Yeah. Long story. I'll... I-I'll get it soon. I promise!" she nervously assured. "Remember, Misty. This task is very important," Opaline said firmly, getting close to Misty with a stern expression, which scared the poor unicorn. "Do nounicornail me.” She finished. "Hey, Misty!" Sunny called out as the rest discussed with each other. "We're voting on ice cream flavors! Hurry up!" she called out to her with a smile. "Uh, coming!" Misty called out with a small smile. Then she turned again and saw Opaline laughing maniacally as she returned to the amulet. At Opaline's Castle, after Opaline ended the call, she kept giving her evil laugh until she started to cough. At that, she cleared her throat for laughing for too long while Eggman was sitting on her throne with a bored expression. Opaline recomposed herself, just standing around her Throne Room and looking around. "Hmmm... Hmmm…" Opaline hummed, then looked at her clock, which was ticking a lot. After a while, she gave an annoying look and growled. "Ugh! I can't just sit around all day waiting for that pathetic little pony. I have important business to attend to," she said with a small smile as she brushed her mane. "What kind of business, Arcana?" Eggman asked mockingly, even though he still had a bored expression. "Because the only useful thing you have done since ever is send Misty to get her hooves dirty in your place!" he pointed out with annoyance. Opaline rolled her eyes and frowned at Eggman. "What about you? You constantly go out there and always return after another failure!" she pointed out. Eggman was fighting against Team Sonic with his Egg Crusher, but of course, it all failed. "CURSE YOU, RODENTS!!!!" Eggman screamed as Knuckles sent a punch that made him fly through the air. Eggman brought the Big Arms towards the Mane 5 with an evil laugh. However, Hitch used his Earth Pony magic to attach the arms with vines, while Izzy used her unicorn magic to 'unicycle' the robot with Eggman still inside. "Hey! Who turned off the lights?! I can't see––" Eggman tried to point out, but then, Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp came flying at top speed, kicking the robot with their forelegs and sending it away. "AAAAAAAAAH!" Eggman screamed in fear. And finally, his most recent loss. Sunny levitated Sonic and started spinning him fast around her while Sonic charged electricity. After a while, Sunny launched Sonic toward Eggman, with Sonic being surrounded by both a golden aura and his electrical powers. As a result, Eggman screamed in a very girl-ish way, so he pressed the eject button on the Egg Driller, which caused him to be sent backward in the air with everything and his Eggmobile. "CURSE YOU, SUNNY STARSCOUT! COURSE YOU TOO, HEDGEHOG!" Eggman shouted in anger as he was ejected away. Opaline couldn't stop laughing after reminding him of all that stuff, while Eggman just deadpanned at her. Even his mustache flattened a bit after Opaline started to make fun of him. "It was proving your point, Opaline. Not humiliate me..." Eggman deadpanned. "Oh, but it wouldn't have been fun!" Opaline said, still laughing. At that, Eggman rolled his eyes and placed a hand over his cheek while Opaline brought a remote and pressed the middle button, making blue flames appear. Later on, Opaline was surrounded by the blue flames, wearing a crown and a black cape. "Bow before me, Earth pony!" Opaline called out with an evil smirk, revealing she was looking in the mirror. Opaline: You could call me evil, but I will go and take just what I need Don't need nopony with me As Opaline sang to herself, she winked and tossed her black cape off, now wearing a new one with purple stripes. Yes, it might be villainous But that's what makes me the perfect queen You will bow to me A little bit later, she put on a new gown with a shape-like crown made from what appeared to be pink wood while she looked at herself in the mirror. After that, she sat on her throne with a pose while Eggman seemed to be playing an instrument that created the ambiance of music to her song. So hush, filly, just Get lost in the rush Hypnotized by the words I'm saying Opaline opened her dresser, looking through her clothes and tossing some away. "Keep..." Opaline said as she brought out green shoulder straps with green spikes. "Donate..." she said, tossing a blue dress with stars. Eggman picked it up and put it over a box. "Keep. Keep..." she said again, placing down a pink dress and a sky-blue one. However, when she brought out a ruff in her dresser, she frowned angrily. "DESTROY!" Opaline yelled in rage as flames appeared around her, while Eggman came by with a welding helmet and a flamethrower, ready to burn down the ruff. Feel the heat, then the beat Mesmerized, go to sleep Like a lullaby, I'll be singing However, Opaline looked back at the ruff with a second thought. "Hmmm... But does it spark fear?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Eggman lifted his helmet and looked at Opaline with a bored expression. "No. It doesn't..." he stated. Later on, Opaline was wearing the ruff around her neck and a fancy hat. Then, she walked down a stage, and as the lights shone bright from the floor, she raised her hoof with an evil smirk. I've got the POWER! (power) "Fierce!" Opaline started with a fierce look... "Powerful!" Opaline stated that she was wearing the green shoulder straps from before and her sunglasses, while her background showed her on a cliff with dark clouds and lightning striking. Then, Opaline was wearing another crown and cape as she walked on the stage with an evil look. "Oh, you should be scared!" she said with an evil smile. In front of Opaline, pictures of the Mane 5 were placed on furniture, with darts all over them. Sunny was in the middle, Hitch and Pipp at her sides, Zipp was at Pipp's side, and Izzy fell in front of Hitch. After that, Opaline kept singing while Eggman played the background music. And you're going to feel You're going to feel the fla-a-a-ames, fla-a-a-ames La-da-da-dee-da-da-da Oh, you'll feel As Eggman kept playing, Opaline sang with a wide smile. Later, Eggman started playing with small dolls of Team Sonic and himself as Opaline started playing the background music. Eggman: I'm an evil genius, and I will get exactly what I want The world belongs to me! As Eggman himself started to sing, he made Knuckles doll get crushed by a giant spiny ball. Then, he launched the Tails doll towards a cauldron with a green toxin that melted the toy slowly. Finally, Eggman grabbed the Sonic doll with his hand and crushed it, with his head and arms flying away. You might think I'm wicked, but Don't be mad because I have a plan It spells out victory (so, so, so) After that, Eggman tossed the doll's remains away and looked down at a digital blueprint of the robot, which had the label 'Death Egg Robot Titan' on top. The doctor grinned mischievously. Later, both Eggman and Opaline returned to the Throne Room. Opaline was wearing an aquamarine cape and golden crown with purple feathers, while Eggman was now wearing a suit that combined red and black, with black gloves that had buttons in the fingers and palms, long, fully black pants, and new goggles that were black with red lenses. Opaline and Eggman: We've got the power! (do you hear me?) The fire that runs through our veins We've got the power (power, power, power) Eggman pressed a few buttons on one of his gloves with a smirk, and soon enough, lights illuminated the Throne Room while more flames appeared around the two villains as they sang together. And you're going to feel You're going to feel the fla-a-a-ames, fla-a-a-ames La-da-da-dee-da-da-da (feel the fire!) Oh, you'll feel the fla-a-a-ames, fla-a-a-ames La-da-da-dee-da-da-da (oh, you'll feel) Once they were done singing, both Opaline and Eggman felt incredibly bored. Opaline was lying upside down on a couch, while Eggman was lying facewards on the floor. "What is taking so long, Misty?" Opaline asked, communicating with Misty through her magic. Misty was talking with Opaline at the beach, while Opaline’s mane was up straight due to her hanging upside down. "I promise, I'm working on it!" Misty said a bit quietly so that the others won't hear her. "There is zero room for error here, Misty," Opaline said firmly while Misty flinched. However, Misty saw Opaline floating up just before hearing a thud and a groan from Eggman and Opaline. It resulted in Opaline landing right above Eggman and the two villains letting out another angry groan. "Don't worry, Opaline," Misty said with a determined look as the smoke returned to the amulet as it closed. I won't let you down!" she finished. Just then, Tails came by and held out two scoops of ice cream to her. Misty gasped in surprise as she turned and saw Tails giving her an ice cream. "Here you go!" Tails said with a smile. Misty blushed at the sign but still smiled back and took the ice cream. Later, Opaline and Eggman started to play with crafted mini figures of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic. Opaline played around with Sunny's figure while Eggman had the Sonic's. "'Ooh! I'm Sunny! And I think that everypony should have magic! I have so many friends!'" Opaline said, imitating Sunny with a playful smile. "'Oh, hi, Sunny!'" Eggman said, imitating Sonic's voice as he approached Sunny's mini figure. "'I am Sonic the Hedgehog! Gotta go fast! Hey, let's spread some friendship and be annoying together!" he added mockingly. Then, they both brought figures of themselves, each with an irritated look. They glared at the Sunny and Sonic figures. "Enjoy your magic while it lasts, little pony," Opaline said in her normal tone before giving an evil smirk and tossing her figure to grab Sunny's. "Because as soon as I get one hoof on that dragon fire, I'll be the most powerful Alicorn!" she declared before glaring at the figures and stomping her hooves on the other figures. "And you and your pathetic little besties will answer to me for the rest of your lives!" she declared with an evil smile before starting to laugh like a maniac. "And you three aren't exempt from this!" Eggman said as well, now talking with his regular voice and looking madly at Tails and Knuckles' figures while using his figure to punch them. Then, he also tossed his figure and grabbed Sonic's. "Once I get my hands over the Chaos Emeralds, I will destroy you, Hedgehog. And your stupid furry friends will go down with you! I will make my Empire a reality, and you won't be here to witness it!" he declared confidently. After that, both Opaline and Eggman stared at the figures of Sunny and Sonic, respectively, before growling in anger and stomping the figures with their hoof/hand. Then, Opaline put her hooves on a table covered in silver makeover with diamonds while the alicorn watched one of Jazz's videos through her phone as she brushed her hoof quickly. "Welcome to Hooficures with Jazz," Jazz said through the video with a smile as she held out a brush and brought out some things for the video to follow the instructions. "Now, all you need to get started is a stencil and your favorite hoof polish. At home, hooficures can be super chic!" she instructed. However, Opaline suddenly noticed that one of the stencils had become stuck on her hoof and then another on her other hoof. So, she shook her hooves to try to remove them, but she ended up leaning back and falling to the floor. While Opaline did this, Eggman connected the original SEGA Genesis to the TV and placed the first Sonic game on it. However, as soon as the game started in the first act of Green Hills, he smirked and moved Sonic far enough for him to touch a badnik and die since he had no rings. He did this again with the two remaining lives until the 'Game Over' screen came. "And that's how you properly play this trash they call a game!" Eggman cheered with a huge grin. Later, Opaline was in the living room watching TV, playing 'My Bananas' as it showed the song and Sunny's ripping. Opaline watched this with a hysterical laugh, having her mane rolled up and kept in place. "I can't!" Opaline said through her laughter, really enjoying Sunny's most embarrassing moment. Eggman was in his lab, watching a video compilation in which Sonic kept falling face-first into the ground. "Ohohohohoho! This is peak comedy!" Eggman managed to say, chomping some popcorn while wearing just a blue bathrobe and no gloves. Opaline went to the kitchen part of the castle, searching for a snack in the cabinets and placing some bags and boxes on the counter. However, when she moved a soda can, she saw a blue raccoonicorn eating in the cabinet that turned and hissed at Opaline while the Alicorn Queen screamed in fright. "You foal!" Opaline called out angrily through Misty's amulet while the unicorn looked confused at the amulet. "Uh?" Misty said, confused. "How did you let a raccoonicorn in here?!" Opaline questioned madly, standing on a stool and holding up a broom as she tried to swipe the raccoonicorn while it ran around her. "A what?" Misty asked with a raised eyebrow. "Opaline, are you okay?" she asked to be sure she heard right. At the castle, the raccoonicorn dressed up in one of Opaline’s capes and crowns as it looked in the mirror and posed to itself. "Put that cape down or so help me...!" Opaline demanded in anger, lightning up her horn and making it spark with electrical magic. The raccoonicorn turned and squealed in fright when they saw what Opaline was about to do. Opaline grunted and aimed her horn at them, but when she did, her horn frizzed out, making her groan. The raccoonicorn took their chance to escape, leaving the cape and crown behind. At that, Opaline growled and glared at the raccoonicorn. "I'm warning you, rodent!" she angrily said, moving her magic to her hoof as it sparked up, but it fizzled out as soon as she aimed at them, and Opaline growled in frustration. "If I had my powers...!" she said to herself angrily as she clenched her hooves. Then, the raccoonicorn popped up from her piles of clothes with a pink wig and a crown on their head, posing happily before squeaking in fright when they saw Opaline coming towards them. "Yah!" Opaline groaned angrily as she waved her broom at the raccoonicorn and chased them around with a grunt. The raccoonicorn hid behind the barrel in Hitch's picture but then jumped and dodged Opaline's broom as she hit the chair in Sunny's picture. They fell to the floor. Then, the raccoonicorn jumped on the lamp with Zipp's picture on it, falling into the ground as well, which made Opaline growl in frustration. After that, the raccoonicorn went through the food on the counter and knocked it to the floor. "If that stains, so help me...!" Opaline yelled at it with rage. Finally, the raccoonicorn squeaked before bumping into Eggman's leg as the doctor grabbed the critter and frowned at them. "Well, well, well. Looks like another blue rodent sneaked in here!" he said madly, while the raccoonicorn moved to try and escape but miserably failed. "Oh, you'll pay for this, devious little...!" Opaline started, grabbing the raccoonicorn and glaring hatefully at them for making a huge mess in her castle. However, she didn't get to finish because right then, Misty entered the castle. "Opaline! I did it!" Misty called out with a smile, now showing up a smoothie. "Kiwi-paya blast with a purple heart! Just like you asked!" she said happily, showing the smoothie. Yup. Misty's mission wasn't anything magic related... Just a request to get a smoothie. Opaline tossed the raccoonicorn away and, for once, she turned to Misty with a smile. "Finally!" she said as she snatched the smoothie from Misty and slurped on it before sighing. "That's better..." she stated happily before looking at Misty. "Now, Misty, this... is... crucial!" she declared with a firm expression. "Uh…" Misty said uncertainly, placing a hoof on her chin nervously. "I need you to help me choose a power crown," Opaline explained, pointing to shelves of sparkling crowns in a dresser. "Also, if you got some extra time..." Eggman called out, still using only a blue bathrobe, pink slippers, and no gloves. "Should I wear green and black, or red and black for when I get to kill that Hedgehog?" he asked, showing the same red and black suit from before with green stripes. Misty was surprised by Opaline and even Eggman's requests, giving a nervous smile at them. "Uh, but, um, you told me to stake out Mane Melody this evening, and, you know, the karaoke will be starting soon, and I can't miss that!” She called out as she t ande door, apparently Misty is joining the others in karaoke Pipp is having in Mane Melody and she does not want to miss it. "The what?!" Opaline called out in surprise rage. "Misty Brightdawn! Get back here in this instant!" Eggman called out with a frown. "If we're gonna rule over everyone, at least we gotta look good!" he screamed to her. "I'll be back soooon!" Misty called out as she trotted out the door. Opaline and Eggman groaned from that, with Opaline's left eye twitching in irritation while Eggman rubbed his teeth in anger. Ultimately, the two villains went to the living room with the raccoonicorn, watching a drama TV show. Opaline was holding her smoothie, Eggman had a soda can that said 'Chaos Soda,' and the raccoonicorn was holding a bowl with popcorn. Still looking at the TV, Opaline gave a scoff. "She'll never marry that peasant!" "If anything, the peasant will marry his best friend he's been in love with since childhood..." Eggman pointed out with a bored expression while both Opaline and the raccoonicorn nodded in agreement. "How cliche..." he complained. After that, Opaline and Eggman grabbed some popcorn from the bowl while the raccoonicorn kept eating some himself. THE END Author's Note WE HIT EPISODE 50, YA'LL!!! Wow... It feels like yesterday when I was writing the first chapter out of fun... And now here we are, hitting episode 50 of this slice of life series. As Team Sonic stablished in the beginning, thanks to all of you for staying! It doesn't matter if you're just reading this for the sake of reading something different, seriously, I don't mind. Thanks anyways for being here and read this story... it means the world to me. I would like to say so much more, but I think that thanking you for reading this so far is more than enough. Also, I updated the TYT cover and descriptions to include Tails and Knuckles as well (yeah, I know, this is the 40th episode they're in, and I only updated that until now.) I honestly have no idea what else TYT has in store for us, but I only know that I'll be there to adapt and bring you the best! See ya later! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 51. Mare Family Mare ProblemsTwo figures with thief masks arrived in Zephyr Heights Castle's Throne Room. The Throne Room was full of lasers, probably to keep anyone away from stealing anything, but that wouldn't stop the two thieves from what they were gonna do. Also, they're not thieves: they're Zipp and Pipp, who were in here with a surprise for their mom since it's Mares Day—again, yay! They also had black bags on their backs. They looked at each other, nodded, and took off. Both sisters started to dodge the lasers, with Zipp dodging all of them with her athletic skills, while Pipp did it in a more fancy and elegant way. Once both sisters dodged the lasers, they split up, with Zipp going down and Pipp going up. Then, they both placed a golden hook on the wall, and Zipp placed one side of a purple rope in her hook before turning to see Pipp with a worried frown. "Quick! Before somepony sees us!" Zipp said to her sister with worry, also checking her surroundings. "Just a little... more..." Pipp muttered, a bit exhausted since she was having difficulty extending the other side of the rope. However, the side that Zipp had already placed got out of place, and when Zipp tried to grab it, she was sent a fast paste toward her sister, who screamed in fear. Pipp noticed and also screamed before being crushed by Zipp. Then, both of them fell screaming to the floor, where the sisters had brought many balloons and other decorations. When Pipp got up with dizzy eyes, her ears touched one of the lasers, so the alarm jumped, turning on the lights in the Throne Room. Then, the doors of the Throne Room burst open to show Queen Haven with her sleeping mask on her forehead, Zoom, and Thunder, the three frowning at the masked sisters. "What is the meaning of this?!" Haven asked with anger as she pointed at the masked sisters. Zipp and Pipp sweated nervously. They removed their masks to reveal their true identities, and their manes were slightly messed up. "Happy... Mares Day!" both sisters said nervously. However, an orange signboard fell over them since that's what they were trying to put when dodging the lasers. Back in Maretime Bay, Sonic happily whistled one of Pipp's songs, as he always does when she's not around. Since the two sisters wanted to spend this year's Mares Day alone with Haven, without the rest of their friends helping around this time (especially after how it ended up on them being Queens for a day), everyone else stood behind, with Knuckles and Izzy having a date on Bridlewood, Hitch being the Sheriff, Tails working on his workshop, Sunny selling smoothies, and Sonic doing Sonic. However, as he was passing right in front of Mane Melody, he couldn't help but notice that Sunny wasn't in her smoothie cart, after all, which was weird for him since she never closed on Saturdays. Unless it was for being Mares Day, he couldn't find a logical explanation for why she was absent. He was going to shrug and keep walking, but then he remembered that he had seen Sunny more down and dull during breakfast, and Izzy had even said that her sparkle wasn't shining at all. Yet, Sunny tried to assure that she was fine, and she even said she would be on her cart if anypony needed her... but the cart was closed, and it was 2 in the afternoon already. It was clear to him that Sunny lied for some reason, which couldn't be good. So, determined to find answers, he walked to the Sheriff's station. There, he found Hitch reading something on paper, with all his podcast stuff around him. Meanwhile,e same time, Sparky was very busy sleeping on Kn, hugginggged tightly Knuck tightlyles' plushie. Now, why Hitch of all ponies? Well, I don't know if you have paid attention to all these stories, but I think Hitch has some romantic feelings for Sunny, and he knows her better than anyone else in their group. But that might be just me, who knows! Anyways. As HitcAnyway, as Hitch putinto its place, inoticed Sonic's presence. "Oh, good evening, Sonic!" he greeted with a ssmiled. here?" he asked curiously. "Hi, sheriff..." Sonic said with a nervous smile. Um, I was just wondering if you have any idea why Sunny isn't in her Smoothie Cart today?" he asked, confused. However, that only made Hitch blink a few times confused. "Wait, what? Sunny's not in her stand?" he asked, startled. "Yeah! Everything is closed!" Sonic pointed out. "And weirdly enough, she was feeling down this morning. Izzy even said that her sparkle was dull and off. But then, Sunny heard what she said and assured with a very fake smile - I know one when I see it - that she was fine and that she'll be working if needed," he explained with concern. "Feeling down? Lying about her job and then not showing up? Her sparkle is dull?" Hitch listed, and then, his eyes widened. "Wait... Sonic... what day is today?" he asked, startled. "May 6th?" Sonic replied, a bit confused and somehow innocent as well. Hitch facepalmed and groaned, a bit annoyed. "No! I mean the day!" he pointed out. "... Saturday?" Sonic replied, still confused. Hitch groaned louder and grabbed Sonic from his shoulder, shaking him violently. "I MEAN IF THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL HAPPENING TODAY!!!" he shouted this time. "Uh... Oh! I get it now!" Sonic said, now smiling norm. "Yeah, today's Mres Day, remember? That's why Zipp's not helping you with your podcast today," he pointed out,. Hitch's eyes widened again, and he let go of Sonic, then looked at his desk with concern. "... I... I think I know why she isn't in her smoothie stand today..." he said with concern. Judging by Hitch's tone, Sonic could feel this was very serious, so he just grabbed a chair and sat down in front of him. "... I'm all ears, sheriff," he assured me with a serious expression. Later on, in Zephyr Heights, Zoom and Thunder help the sisters clean themselves after what happened. Thunder gave Zipp a glass of water while Zoom tried to help Pipp with her mane, but she only shushed her, so Zoom brought out a mirror so Pipp could fix her mane for herself. Then, Haven approached her daughters with a nervous look, which made Zoom and Thunder make reverence and leave, while Zipp and Pipp looked back at their mother with Pipp smiling at her. "I can't believe you made it!" Haven said nervously to her daughters. "I-I hadn't heard from you, I... uh... Well, sort of made... other plans, you see––" she tried to explain. "Of course we made it!" Zipp stated with a smirk, cutting her mother off. "And we have a whole day planned!" she added. "Oh, that's lovely, but––" Haven tried to explain again... "First: Spa treatments to make us look picture perfect for our glam fam photo shoots!" Pipp said happily, as smiledtook herphone out and took several pictures with Haven, who was looking around incredibly nervous. Then, Haven placed a hoof on Pipp's cheek while trying to explain again. "Sounds lovely, but I should tell you––" she tried to say, but... "Then, we're making all your favorite foods and feeling the wind in our wings as we fly off to our favorite spot for a sunset picnic!" Zipp said with a smile as she flew in the air before giving a wink to her mother. "Ta-daaaaa!" Pipp cheered with a wave of her hoof. "Oh, my darlings, that sounds wonderful!" Haven said to her daughters with a smile, giving them a nuzzle on their cheeks, before getting nervous again. "But, as I said, I'm afraid I made––" she tried to finish, but then, a doorbell rang, which startled and worried her a lot. Then, Zoom and Thunder opened the doors, revealing Alphabittle on the other side, who was wearing awith a yellow bowtie and a purple flower on it while holding a banquet of flowers on his hoof. "... other plans!" Haven finished with a small smile, while Zipp and Pipp looked shocked and surprised at Alphabittle's sudden arrival. Then, Haven walked up to Alphabittle. "Oh, Alphie, those are lovely!" she told Alphabittle about the flowers. Just hearing what their mother called him, Zipp and Pipp immediately cringed, looking completely in shock at them. "Oh, Alphie... Alphie... Alphie…" Haven's voice echoed in their minds with a distorted echo, realizing that their mother and Alphabittle were in a romantic relationship, aka dating, aka they had more frizz than the sisters in terms of dating. I know what I wrote, and I don't regret it! "I'm not interrupting, am I?" Alphabittle asked Haven with a small smile while she sniffed the flowers, and Thunder brushed up some dirt on the ground. "Oh, no, no!" Haven assured him with a smile. "My girls have just flown in and surprised me for Mares Day," she explained, while Zipp and Pipp were still shocked at the fact that their mom was dating. Then, Zipp got up in between them and forced a smile. "Yup! Big day! Lots of plans!" she said quickly before pushing her mother away from Alphabittle. "Thanks for stopping by, Alphabittle!" Pipp said quickly as well, with a forced smile, before pushing Alphabittle out the door and closing it. However, Haven opened it again and gave Alphabittle a small smile. "Perhaps you could... join us," she gested, ,and Alphabittle smiled with sparkling eyes at that suggestiand Pipp glared daggers at their mother, clearly not on board with this idea, but then Haven gave them an even deeper and more menacing glare that made them flinch. Remembers, kids: Never rise up against your parents, it's a fight you'll never win. The two sisters looked at each other nervously before giving forced smiles again. "What a wonderful idea," Pipp said nervously through gritted teeth while sweating nervously. "Yes. Please do join us," Zipp said, also nervously and also through gritted teeth. Then, Alphabittle and Haven gave each other loving looks with smiles while Zipp and Pipp watched and cringed. Pipp's mane went down, and both hers and Zipp's eyes twitched at the sight. In Maretime Bay, many ponies brought their mothers to spend Mares Day with them. It was all fun and laughter, or at least in the main area of the beach, because it was far away, in a corner almost nobody dared to visit. Sunny was sitting all alone, as she had her gaze lost in the ocean. She was feeling down, to the point even her Cutie Mark seemed dull and black. Suddenly, however, Sonic arrived, slowly walking towards her until he stopped at her side. "Hey, Sunny..." Sonic greeted with a little smile, which made Sunny's ear perk up, and she turned to see him, a bit surprised that he had found this place. "Hitch told me you'll be here. Mind having me as your company?" he asked her. Even if she wasn't in a good mood, she still gave him her most honest smile and nodded, and Sonic sat at her side, also staring at the horizon now. They stood silently for a while, but Sonic could tell that Sunny was not feeling, well, sunny at all because she was looking at the sand with sadness. So, Sonic sighed and decided to finally break the silence. "... You know? I'm not an expert at reading people, but... I know when my friends are not feeling well. And you aren't feeling well," he pointed out. "So, I'm gonna tell you this: If you're feeling bad and want to talk about it, I'll listen. And if you don't, that's okay. I won't pressure you," he assured her with a smile. Sunny's ears perked up again, and she turned to see him, smiling at him with a bit more joy. "... I guess you already know it, but... today is Mares Day..." Sunny reminded, again feeling sad and looking back at the floor, while Sonic only nodded at her statement. "... I used to celebrate it with my dad all the time since... since my mom died after I was born..." she confessed. Sonic looked at her surprised when she confessed that, and he got a bit more worried about her. "But after dad died... This day only gets even more emotional for me... No father nor mother to spend it with makes me feel... lost and alone, even if I know that I'm not..." Sunny kept explaining. "I always come here on Mares Day to distract my mind. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't... And I think today's one of the times it doesn't..." she added with sadness. "But... You looked very happy last Mares Day..." Sonic pointed out. "Well, not absolutely, but you did look more like yourself than today..." he corrected himself. Sunny chuckled a bit at that. "That's because we were helping Zipp and Pipp to surprise Queen Haven, Sonic..." she said with a sad smile. "My mind was distracted, and with us doing her Royal stuff to help her relax, I barely had time to think about my parents... Unlike this year, though..." she said, feeling down again. Sonic looked at her with concern again, and he looked back to stare at the horizon. He hated to see his friends feeling down, even if it was normal. He allowed everyone to feel what they had to when they needed to, but still, he hated to see them suffering or feeling sad. And with Sunny, a cheerful and optimistic girl, feeling so dull and sad right now, he couldn't help but feel as if something was wrong. And then, he had an idea, one that Sunny herself gave him without even noticing it: Last Mares Day, she was distracted with helping Queen Haven to relax. So, maybe distracting her would cheer her up a bit, and she could still mourn her dad's absence if she wanted, but she would also show his spirit that she's not alone. So, Sonic quickly took out his phone, texted both Tails and Hitch and after explaining everything in a big paragraph, he put his phone putnd stood up, extending his hand to her. "Well, then. How about we go and distract our minds?" Sonic suggested her. Sunny looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, confused. "Hey, your dad may not be here anymore, and you can feel sad about that..." Sonic pointed out with a compassionate look. "But you can also still enjoy this day. Either to 'distract your mind' or honor the old times... It's up to you to decide on how it is. But I'm pretty sure that he'll like to see his Sunny-Bunny all happy, cheery, and helpful as always!" he added with a smile as he rubbed her mane a bit and messed it up, which actually made Sunny giggle a bit, as she pulled him apart with a hoof. "So, what do you say, Sunny?" he asked her with a smirk. Sunny looked back at the floor, thinking deeply about it. Then, she looked back at the ocean and the horizon before looking back at Sonic and smiling at him. "Okay... Maybe I should give it a shot. But, I don't promise I won't feel down, though," Sunny told him with a little smile. "Trust me, Sunny-Bunny! You'll be good as new at the end of the day!" Sonic assured her with a smile. Back in Zephyr Heights, the sisters decided to put their plan into action, now with Alphabittle joining suddenly. They were in the spa section of the castle, with Thunder doing some throat singing while Zoom played the harp, as the Royal Family and Alphabittle were relaxing with a facemask and kiwis on their faces. Haven sighed, relaxed; Pipp hummed happily to herself as she touched her face mask. Zipp ate one of the spare kiwis with the facemask on her, and Alphabittle tried to climb onto the relaxing bed, struggling a bit but eventually got on it. But then, Alphabittle’s facemask began to bubble. Smoke started to steam up until Alphabittle screamed in pain as he started to run around, which made the Royal Family take off their kiwis and see him rinse his face off from the fountain, before he turned and still screamed, as his face was all swelled up. The Royal Family cringed in shock, and Haven and a pegasus mare tried to help him. Still, then Alphabittle accidentally used his magic, making his horn glow and levitating some makeover supplies and kiwis off the benches. The kiwis flew past Thunder and Zoom, as Zoom ducked from the incoming kiwis while Thunder caught one in his mouth, which he swallowed in one gulp. Also, Zoom's harp strings got broken from the bowl, and Thunder continued to throat sing for some reason, which made Zoom give her partner a bored look. Pipp and Zipp flinched to an incoming object, which Zipp caught, resulting in the facemask container. However, this one had a warning label with a unicorn icon on it, meaning that unicorns shouldn’t use it, while Alphabittle kept wailing as Haven and the pegasus mare tried to calm him down while holding rags for his face. Zipp gave a nervous look and tossed the facemask away, tapping her hooves together and whistling nervously. We could assume that she either was the one who brought the wrong facemask by mistake, or she just wanted to prevent Alphabittle and Haven from reading it. Moving on, Pipp flipped her hair gorgeously as the Royal Family huddled together for a family photo, with flowers behind them, as Thunder held up the light while Zoom prepared the camera. "Ahem," Zoom said to them with a raised eyebrow, as she reminded them that they had forgotten somepony. Haven gave a knowing smile, while Zipp and Pipp gave irritated looks as they; turned and looked at Alphabittle, whose face's still swelled up from the facemask, and he gave a surprised look. "Alphie!" Haven cheered with a smile and a wave while the two sisters looked surprised at their mother, also sweating a bit. Alphabittle smiled with sparkling eyes and walked to them. However, they struggle a lot on this one because Alphabittle is a little too big, so he, Zipp, and Pipp grunted while Haven just giggled at what was happening. Then, Alphabittle accidentally stomped on one of Zipp's hoofs. "Aah!" Zipp cried out in pain from the stop as tears formed a bit. And then, Alphabittle’s horn got caught on Pipp's bandana as he accidentally lifted her. "Aah! Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Pipp cried out from the tug while Alphabittle tried to get Pipp freed. At this, Zoom gave a small smile and cleared her throat. Suddenly, the entire photo background fell apart, and all four ponies screamed as the background fell on them right when Zoom took the picture. Said picture showed them on the ground, with Alphabittle having his horn pierced through the cloth, while the sisters looked irritated and Haven just smiled at all of this. After the photo incident, they went to the kitchen to make their lunch for the picnic. Pipp and Haven hummed happily, placing sandwich toppings on their sandwiches (duh), while Zipp sliced the bread. Then, Pipp stacked a sandwich on a stacking set, which had some cupcakes, cakes, and sweets with flowers on the top, she and Zipp smiled with sparkling eyes, and Haven just smiled. Suddenly, they heard a thud, and so they turned to see Alphabittle placing four cups down and pouring in some kind of tea on each one. Then, he passed each one to the Royal Family, as Haven smiled while the sisters looked a little unsure. Pipp picked up her cup, but the cup gave out ghost-like smoke and sinister whispers. When Pipp smelled it, she gulped in disgust and groaned, leaning back and falling in Zipp's hooves, also looking dizzy from the smell. Zipp also smelled the tea, still giving sinister whispers, and Zipp began to gag. On the other hoof, however, Alphabittle and Haven were sipping their tea together, which they seemed unfazed by and not disgusted in the slightest. "Mmmm!" Haven hummed happily with a smile, and Alphabittle smiled at her in return. Pipp and Zipp saw this, and Zipp's eyes twitched in disgust. Then, the two sisters groaned and fainted on the floor while Haven and Alphabittle tapped each other's cups. Meanwhile, in Maretime Bay, Sonic decided to take Sunny around town to keep her distracted. First off, he surprised her by taking her to her smoothie cart, which already had a small row of ponies, since Tails was attending the cart in her place. And yes, he was also in Electronic Tails because the one attending the cart was a clone, but don't worry, he's not gonna vanish, and he can interact with physical objects, so everything's fine. In the daylight Gonna go fast Gotta beat the red light Ain't no time lapse Sunny feel very surprised to see that a Tails' clone was taking charge of her stand, and she looked at Sonic with a confused expression, but Sonic just shrugged with a smirk at her. Once they both got their smoothies from Tails' clone, Sonic smirked and started to sip his smoothie faster, almost daring Sunny to finish it before him. With a determined smile, Sunny decided to play along, and so she also started to sip on her smoothie a lot faster, and as surprising as it might sound, she won against Sonic, who looked at her in shock once she was done with her smoothie. In the night time I'ma keep on Racing the shooting stars til the dawn Sunny smiled with pride at first, but soon enough, her expression cringed, and so she grabbed her head in pain since she suddenly had a brain freeze. Sonic laughed at her at first, but he suddenly also got a brain freeze and started to complain in pain, grabbing his head with his hands. At that, Sunny laughed at him, even though she was still in pain on her brain freeze. After their brain freeze was over, Sonic took Sunny to Mane Melody, where Jazz and Rocky attended them. Sonic got a full massage treatment, while Sunny's mane got a new treatment, now having two pigtails instead of just her regular one. We can be friends, but I won't team up If you wanna come along, then try to keep up Then, both Sonic and Sunny try out different outfits as they pose and take several pictures with their suits. At some point, they even started to match their looks so their pictures could get increasingly silly with time. Jazz and Rocky had a really hard time not bursting into laughing at their show, but eventually ended up losing their cool and fell backward, as they laughed loudly at how ridiculous Sunny and Sonic were looking... probably because they were both wearing shirts that matched perfectly. Sunny's shirt said 'If lost, return to the idiot', while Sonic said 'I'm the idiot'. I'm the fastest, I'm the fastest alive Need no practice If you insist I'm a liar However, none noticed that and looked at Jazz and Rocky confused, or in Sonic's case, with a bored expression. But then, they look at each other, and when they notice the other's shirt and then theirs, they look at each other again before bursting out laughing as well. Then, Sonic took Sunny back to the beach, but he took her to the more public zone. As they walked by, Sunny couldn't help but notice a little filly playing in the sand with her mother, as they both built a Sand Castle together before the mother picked the filly up and twirled her in the air a bit as she finished by nuzzling her cheek with hers. That brought back a bit of sadness to Sunny, who looked at the ground with low ears and sad eyes... However, she had no time to mourn again because her face suddenly got hit with sand, which made her eyes open wide. How's about you watch me now? I'll prove you wrong in a heartbeat She looked behind her, and she saw Sonic just whistling innocently as he looked around and just crossed his arms. Of course, Sunny knew it was him, so she threw a bit of sand at him as well. Sonic shook his head and looked back at her, who was smirking mischievously, also holding a ball of sand on her hoof. Sonic smirked back as he quickly made a ball of sand again and threw it to her. Never gonna tell you how Speed just runs through my bloodstream Yeah Soon enough, they both were having a sand fight with each other, as they laughed loudly and just kept throwing sand at each other. Then, that sand fight turned into a little tag game, where Sonic chased down Sunny on the beach. Of course, he wasn't going as fast as usual because he just wanted to enjoy his time with Sunny. Then, Sonic took Sunny to the snowy mountains of Equestria, where Hitch was already waiting for them with winter gear and snowboarding tables. Sunny's eyes sparkled, not only because they were going to snowboard but also because Hitch was also here, which made things a lot better for her, and Sonic could notice that, so he smiled. I can't even explain it But I know I'll never stop this feeling Then, the three of them started to snowboard downhill over the mountain, with both Sonic and Sunny doing some bold and more risky tricks while Hitch decided to go in a safer manner, but he still was happy to see that Sunny was feeling a lot better now. The speed in my soul The speed in my soul Sunny had sparkling eyes as she kept going downhill, while Sonic positioned at Hitch's side with a smile. And their smiles grew wide thanks to the fact that Sunny's Cutie mark not only got its color back, but it was also starting to shine a little, which meant that Sonic's plan of distracting her mind was working, and she was enjoying this day now. So, Sonic and Hitch looked at each other with knowing smiles and winked before going downhill to catch Sunny, who was way ahead of them at this point. After that, and as you might expect, Sonic took Sunny on a run across Equestria. Well, he was running because Sunny was flapping her wings in her Alicorn form at a very fast paste, flying just as fast as Sonic moved. And I can't even restrain it So I'm gonna keep, keep on running The speed in my soul Sonic started to make some tricks out of fun with rocks, trees, and plants as they entered a forest. At the same time, Sunny dodged tree branches, some birds, and even a few trees too, replicating Sonic's tactic of just doing it for the sake of having fun, as she giggled happily while doing so. Then, as they got out of the forest, Sunny started to fly a bit above Sonic while Sonic himself curled into a ball and jumped over her, they kept doing this while laughing, clearly just doing it for the sake of having fun and live life to the max, just like Sonic likes it. And nothing's gonna stop me I'ma keep on running, oh! Then, Sunny started to fly lower again. Still, as she did so, Sonic stared at her Cutie Mark, and he smiled brightly because it was glowing bright now, clearly showing that Sunny's sunny side was back and that she was feeling incredibly happy right now, just having fun with her friend. Sonic's smile grew wide, and so, he put on a determinate look before boosting towards Maretime Bay. Sunny noticed that and smiled with sparkling eyes as she also boosted with her wings, being right behind Sonic. Once they made it back to Maretime Bay, they stared at the sun setting on the horizon as they sat on the beach with smiles. I can't even explain it But I know I'll never stop this feeling The speed in my soul The speed in my soul Then, Sunny leaned and rested her head on Sonic's shoulder while Sonic rested his head over hers and sighed happily. After all, his plan went exactly as he had expected it to go, and now Sunny was once again in a bright and sunny mood, which just made his smile grow bigger, if that was even possible. A few hours earlier, with the Royal Family and Alphabittle... Okay, I'm running out of transition phrases here... Maybe I should sit down one of these days and see how I improve these, because I can't keep saying the same thing all the time... Anyways, the point is that after making lunch for the picnic, the Royal Family and Alphabittle flew towards their destination for the picnic. Now, how the fell was Alphabittle flying along? Well, he was being carried by Zipp and Pipp with straps and leashes, and the sisters were struggling a lot since he's very heavy, but neither Haven nor Alphabittle noticing because they were too lost in each other, and also they were laughing at something. Also, Alphabittle was using his magic to carry his tea and the stacking set with their lunch. However, Zipp wiped her forehead with her hoof, and by doing so, she accidentally let go of her leash, which made Pipp carry the extra weight and, therefore, make both her and Alphabittle fall. Pipp and Alphabittle both started to scream in fear as they fell from the sky, and both Haven and Zipp's eyes widened, so Zipp zoomed down and grabbed her leash. Both sisters started grunting and flapping their wings as fast as possible, but they managed to stop the falling before Alphabittle hit the ground, releasing the leashes once they saw he was safe. "Oof!" Alphabittle yelped as he hit the floor, while his cup container landed on his head and the stacking table of the picnic food landed on him before the food fell to the floor and some landed on him. Zipp and Pipp landed on the ground, exhausted from what just happened. Haven landed in front of them and gasped, and the two sisters gave her an assuring smile. "Oh!" Haven cried out in worry while Zipp and Pipp smiled with sparkling eyes... But then, Haven ran past them, surprising the two sisters, as they turned to her and Alphabittle. "Oh, my Alphie! Are you okay?!" she asked him, concerned, approaching Alphabittle, while he gave her an assuring smile. Pipp and Zipp just looked on with shocked expressions that suddenly changed to irritated ones because they had enough. "Ugh! Him?!" Pipp retorted in disbelief and anger as she pointed at Alphabittle. "He's the reason we crashed!" she pointed out. "And why the whole day's been a disaster!" Zipp added ,frustrated. "Girls! Manners!" Haven scolded her daughters for their outbursts, while Alphabittle felt guilty about their words. "No, no, they're right..." Alphabittle said in a guilty tone turning to the two sisters. "Sorry for messing up your day, girls," he apologized, while the two sisters felt surprised by this. "I think it's best I leave you ponies for your special family day" he finished, walking off from them while looking a little sad. Haven extended her hoof and tried to say something so he could stay, but no words came from her mouth. Then, Zipp and Pipp came behind their mother with guilty expressions. "I'm very disappointed in you both. All Alphie did was try to join in and make us all happy!" Haven said to them with concern. "But we wanted to give you the most perfect Mares Day!" Pipp said in defense, while Zipp nodded in agreement. "And he ruined everything!" Zipp added with a wave of her hoof. "And I know a lot of it was an accident, but still!" she pointed out. "All anypony needs to make a day special is to spend it with their favorite ponies," Haven explained to her daughters, while the two sisters gave surprised looks before they looked down in guilt. "It doesn't matter what we do or how right or wrong it goes," she finished with a frown before turning around and walking off, still disappointed in Pipp and Zipp. The sisters watched their mother go, feeling bad for how they treated Alphabittle and looking at each other with guilt. Near sunset-time, Alphabittle was still walking with a down and sad expression. Suddenly, Zipp and Pipp flew to him and landed on each side of him, which surprised him a lot. "Wow, walking is so slow," Zipp started with a small smile, trying to converse. "Hey, Alphabittle?" Pipp called out with a small smile while the unicorn turned to her. "We're sorry. We didn't mean what we said," she apologized to him. "We were just trying to make Mares Day perfect," Zipp reasoned with guilt before turning to Alphabittle with a smile. "But mom's day can only be perfect if you're there, too," she added, pointing a hoof at him. "We're really happy our mom has a new friend..." Pipp added before turning to him with a wide smile. "And now, we do too!" she stated, as she waved her hoof excitedly. "There's still time for that picnic if you're interested," Zipp suggested, as she lifted Alphabittle's tea canteen and gave him a small smile. Alphabittle thought about it momentarily, while Zipp and Pipp lifted their hooves to him and gave him a genuine smile and sparkling eyes. So, Alphabittle smiled back at them. "I'd be honored," He answered as he lifted his hoof and gave them a rooftop. And so, later on, they returned with Haven, who was happy that Alphabittle had returned, as he and the Royal Family were enjoying their picnic. Then, Alphabittle dipped his sandwich piece into his teacup. "Dunkies, anypony?" he asked. Zipp and Pipp cringed a bit, unsure if they want to, but they can’t judge him if they don’t try it. So, they accepted the two Dunkies Alphabittle offered them and ate their pieces before smiling with sparkling eyes, finding them amazing. The two sisters nodded at Alphabittle while he and Haven smiled at them as they all laughed together and enjoyed the rest of their picnic. "By the way, girls..." Haven called out suddenly as Zipp and Pipp grabbed another Dunkies and chomped on them. "When are you two going to stop playing around Sonic and Tails and ask them out already, huh?" she asked with a smirk, while Alphabittle smirked and chuckled. That made both Zipp and Pipp go wide-eyed, as they also blushed profusely and spitted their Dunkies, coughing in the process, before looking back at their mother with frowns. "MOM!" they both cried out with anger and embarrassment, but Haven and Alphabittle's laughs only became louder, while the sisters' blush became more redder as well. At this point, Pipp tried to distract herself with her phone, but the fact that the first thing to appear on her feed was a picture of Sonic, Sunny, and Hitch in the mountains didn't help since her blush increased even more. And Zipp wasn't any better, because she tried to hide with a wing and look anywhere else, but she suddenly got a message on her phone. When she checked it out, it was a message from Tails asking about borrowing her Z-Googles for a moment. Of course, she didn't blush more because of what the text said, but of how fortunate Tails was to send the message right when she was feeling embarrassed that her mother just asked about her crush on him... The two sisters were incredibly red now, and Haven and Alphabittle just kept laughing about their situation, making them feel even more embarrassed... Back to the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic and Sunny were laughing a lot. After everything they did today, they went back to the Brighthouse and started to tell stories of when they were kids in the living room. "You seriously think you were a bird?!" Sunny asked in between laughs. "I know, I know... I was just a kid back then!" Sonic pointed out with a smirk. "Yeah, but... You stick leaves in your body!" Sunny pointed out with a giggle. "Aren't you the same filly that pretended to be a pegasus on Nightmare Night when you were 10 years old?" Sonic pointed out with a mocking smirk. Sunny rolled her eyes at that and looked back at him with a smirk. "At least I didn't break my father's favorite vase~" she mocked back. Sonic groaned and covered his face with his hands, making Sunny chuckle again. "Thanks for taking me out of there, Sonic..." Sunny thanked him. "I had a lot of fun today! And, even if I did remember Dad... It didn't feel hurting anymore. I prefer to remember him and all the fun stuff we used to do with a smile, rather than just sit in the beach and mourn about it," she confessed. "Hey, I just like to help, Sunny!" Sonic said with a smile and a wink. "Besides, I couldn't just leave you all alone the entire day. Life is too short, and you must live every second as if it were the last! Taking you out there to have a little fun made me realize how much I love to live life to the max with my friends around. And honestly? I couldn't have it any other way..." he assured. Sunny smiled brightly at him, and so she hugged him tightly, with Sonic feeling a bit startled at first but then smiling and hugging her back. Everything went perfectly as he had planned. Heck, even better in his opinion, and he was glad to see that she was back to her old and happy self. THE END Author's Note Wooo! This episode was pretty fun to do! I did struggled at first because I didn't knew how the heck to make Team Sonic fit in here, but thanks to BenictheHedgehog's help, I managed to fit Sonic perfectly in here, without affecting Zipp and Pipp's story with haven and Alphabittle. Also, ALPHAHAVEN IS REAAAAAAAL! With this, we now have two ships made canon in my story! (reminder that Knuckles and Izzy are dating now. I know, I know, I haven't really do much with them, but don't worry! I'm not leaving their relationship aside, either.) Now, for the next couple to be canon, you'll have to wait until Sonic x Make Your Mark: Season 2! 😈 P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 52. PonytropicoIn Maretime Bay, Hitch couldn't stop blowing his whistle to everypony around town. He had an extremely tired expression, with eye bags below his eyes and everywhere else, and he was also desperately sweating. "Is the daily grind of your life getting you down?" Sky's voice asked with a relaxed tone. In Mane Melody, Pipp also seemed to have an extremely tired expression as she was doing Posey's mane with a mane iron. However, Pipp stopped for a second because she was sleepy. This made Posey scream in panic because Pipp accidentally burned a part of her mane. Of course, Posey was beyond mad, and Pipp was trying to calm her down, even though she still felt incredibly tired. "Does it seem like nothing is going right?" Sky's voice spoke again, still with a relaxed tone. In the Brighthouse, Izzy seemed to be working on something for 'Izzy Does It' on her crafting corner. She placed some blue glittering glue in a tree's trunk, but she put way too much, and now her hooves and cheeks were also stuck to the trunk. "Oh... That's not good..." Izzy muttered with concern. Knuckles, who was with her the entire time, grabbed her from her belly and started to pull her to free her from her situation. Yet, he probably pulled too hard because even if he did manage to get her free from the trunk, they both got sent backward, and they landed in a bunch of pillows in the middle of the living room. Knuckles was on the bottom, and Izzy ended up on top of him, as they both had incredibly dizzy eyes because of the crash. "... Okay... Maybe that wasn't a smart idea..." Knuckles complained with a chuckle. Izzy shook her head and giggled before placing a little kiss on his cheek. In Maretime Bay, Sunny also looked tired as she roller-skated around with her Smoothie Cart. However, she slipped so badly and tiredly that her cart and smoothies flew away, crashing against Zipp and Rufus, with the latter dressed as a clown for some reason. Zipp groaned in annoyance at the smoothies falling over her, and she flew away. Then Sunny came by, looked at Rufus with a sheepish smile, grabbed a cup that ended in his clown hair, and purred the smoothie contents into the cup. "No charge for this one!" Sunny said nervously as he gave the smoothie to Rufus, who smiled back at her. "Don't you wish you could just get away and take a break from it all?" Sky's voice spoke again, but this time, it came from Rufus's phone, which fell to the ground after the smoothies crashed with him and Zipp. We get a better view of what the phone is showing. Some bush appeared in the middle of what Sky was saying, and when they moved away, Sky was now wearing sunglasses instead of his regular ones and a beach hat on his head. "Well, you can!" Sky announced happily with a smile. "Paradise is much closer than you think! Isn't that right, Dazzle?" he asked to his co-worker. Then, Dazzle entered the scene, wearing sunglasses and a beach hat, although she also had a coconut beverage on her hoof. "It certainly is, Sky!" she assured with a smile. "Here at Ponytropico, there is something for everypony!" she said. Then, Sky and Dazzle had to duck down because an earth pony stallion on a paraglider passed right above them with a smile. The scene changes, and now, Sky and Dazzle are at the top of a hill, while in the background, we see two earth ponies with paragliders having fun in the sky. "As you can see, Ponytropico has it all!" Sky announced that an earth pony mare had passed by with a paraglider, but she had fallen into the ocean. Then, an earth pony stallion was driving a yacht while dragging an earth pony mare above water, smiling brightly. "Whether you're looking for adventure..." Sky kept narrating. "Or to find your inner creative!" Dazzle added. The scene changed again, and now it showed an earth pony mare making an abstract painting of three unicorns in the sand, levitating a bunch of rocks with smiles. "To be pampered in luxury!" Sky announced joyfully as the scene changed again. This time, Flare was applying a facial mask and kiwis over her eyes, while Jazz was lying over on her bed at her side, also with kiwis in her eyes. "Or to get some much-needed rest while you enjoy gourmet meals!" Dazzle added with a relaxed tone. Now, the scene showed Dahlia and an earth pony stallion making a toast with non-alcoholic drinks (this story is still rated # for Everyone;; alcohol is not allowed here). Behind the two earth ponies, and just like Dazzle said, there was a huge gourmet banquet with all kinds of food. Finally, Sky and Dazzle stood on a hill, not so far from Ponytropico, a massive 5-star hotel, while many ponies traveled across the sea over some boats. "So what are you waiting for?" Sky asked with a smile. "Book your vacation to Ponytropico today!" Dazzle added, also smiling. The Mane 5 were watching the announcement through Sunny's phones this time. They all had sparkling eyes as they watched the entire commercial, while Sunny only smiled at their reactions. Even so, it was clear that they all loved the idea of going to Ponytropico. "Ugh... Ponytropico..." Hitch sighed with a sad smile. "I can sure use a relaxing trip like that..." he said. As he was telling this, Sparky was running around the Brighthouse happily until he made something crash, which opened both Hitch and Sunny's eyes wide. "Sparky!" Hitch called out with panic as he ran towards his baby dragon. "And did you see those ponies on waterskis?!" Zipp asked Izzy with a smile, while Izzy smiled back and nodded. "I'd love to drive that!" she added with sparkling eyes, and Izzy also got sparkles in her eyes. "Well..." Sunny's voice spoke, calling her friends' attention. "I sure am glad you ponies think it looks fun! Because..." she smirked before squealing in excitement, and then brought out eight tickets for a ferry that led to Ponytropico. "Everypony, pack your bags! Ponytropico, here we come!" she declared with a smile. At this, the rest of the Mane 5 smiled and cheered with sparkling eyes, impatient to go and enjoy everything Ponytropico offers. Sunny closed her Smoothie Stand, even placing a picture indicating she went on vacation. Pipp turned around the 'Open' sign of Mane Melody to 'Closed,' also closing the salon's curtains. Izzy just placed her Unicycling Cart in a random place, but she also placed a chain with a padlock on the front wheel before walking away, humming to herself. Knuckles, who passed by her, noticed that she was way too happy. When he saw the Cart in the middle of nowhere, just with the chain and the padlock, he facepalmed. "I love that more, but CHAOS, DANG IT. She's just too oblivious sometimes," Knuckles said with a bored expression as he grabbed the Cart and walked towards the Crystal Brighthouse. "I'll talk with her later," he added with concern. And finally, Hitch closed the Sheriff Station, since he was sure that Knuckles was also going to Ponytropico. However, as he turned around, he felt surprised when he saw his critters, who were very sad because he was leaving. They were all crying, and the raccoonicorns and bunnycorns were all hugging his hooves. "Come on! It's only for a week!" Hitch said with a sheepish smile before starting to walk away. You critters will be fine!" he assured them. One of the racconicorns sniffed a bit more before grabbing a pegasnail, who was also crying. "We have to... Stay strong for each other..." the raccoonicorn told the pegasnail. However, he did not even believe in his own words because he started to cry dramatically, while the pegasnail that he was hugging also started to cry. Later on, the Mane 5 were getting their things ready for their trip towards the ferry that would take them to Ponytropico. Team Sonic was doing this in the bedroom as well. But then, a bip sound came from Tails' Miles Electric, and once he checked what it was, his eyes widened. "Guys! Eggman's at it again!" Tails announced with panic. At this, Sonic and Knuckles' eyes also widened. "That son of his egg mother!" the latter groaned. "Alright, Team! Forget the bags! We have an Egg that must be stopped!" Sonic declared with a smirk. With this, Team Sonic dropped everything and boosted downstairs towards the exit. However, as the Mane 5 were packing their things for Ponytropico in the living room, Team Sonic rushed past them at full speed, something the ponies noticed, so they quickly rushed towards them. Once outside, they noticed that Team Sonic was boarding the Tornado IV, but judging by their expressions, they seemed to be in a rush. "Hey guys!" Sunny called out. "Where are you going?!" she asked confused. "Sorry, Sunny. We should told you earlier..." Sonic said with a sheepish smile. "I promise we'll explain everything when we catch up with you, guys!" he assured, now confidently. "Wait... You guys are not going to Ponytropico with us?!" Pipp asked in a panic. "We are, but we must take care of something else first!" Knuckles replied while Tails turned the plane on. The plane erected itself in its place, and the wheels retracted to hide inside the flying vehicle. "So you'll catch up with us on the ferry?!" Zipp asked. "But then... Who's gonna fly the Marestream?!" she questioned in panic. "You got a license, Zipp!" Tails pointed out. "Hitch even registered it and all, remember?!" he added. "Oh... right..." Zipp said with a sheepish smile since she forgot about that. "Be careful on whatever you're gonna do!" Hitch shouted to them with a smile. "Careful? Where's the fun in that?!" Sonic snorted with a confident smirk. "Make sure to text me, honey! Love you!" Izzy shouted cheerfully to Knuckles. "I will, babe! Love you too!" Knuckles said with a smile and a wave of his hand to his girlfriend. However, as he sat normally again, he was surprised to see that Tails and Sonic were looking at him with mocking smirks. And then, he realized why, so he frowned. "Ugh! Grow up, you two!" Knuckles said with annoyance, crossing his arms, while Sonic and Tails chuckled. And then, Tails made the Tornado IV boost away. A little later, the Mane 5 were ready to head towards Ponytropico. They were all wearing vacation outfits when they got into the Marestream. The first one was Pipp, who giggled as she went in. She was followed by Hitch, who laughed with Sparky on his back. Sunny entered next with a giggle, and finally,, Izzy, who twirled around before heading inside as the door closed since Zipp was already inside. Thanks to Tails' guidance and Hitch's supervision, Zipp managed to get a driving license for the Marestream the legal way, so she was authorized and trained to drive the Marestream now. She pressed the flying button with a smile, and the Marestream started up by moving forward... But it didn't take fly, because it was really heavy. Zipp kept pressing the button, now starting to grunt, frustratedly. She looked at the lantern and the steering wheel. "Come on! Ugh!" she groaned in frustration then frowned at her sister next to her. "Pipp!" she yelled to her, who was holding out her phone. "Ugh, fine!" Pipp said, annoyed, as she tossed her overpacked luggage out of the Marestream and dusted her hooves. With that, the door of the Marestream closed, and the vehicle finally took off. On the other hand, Tails landed the Tornado IV in a random place in Bridlewood, while he, Sonic, and Knuckles decided to keep going by walking. Usually, they would run run directly towards the forest,, but they needed to be careful,aboutnd you will soon unwill soonwhy. The team finally stopped behind a bush and looked at each other before nodding in agreement. So, the three of them popped their heads from the bush and looked ahead. What were they seeing? A whole army of Egg Pawns digging and mining over the magic glowing crystals from Bridlewood inside a cave, while Eggman himself supervised the entire thing with an Egg Pawn holding a clipboard at his side. "There he is..." Sonic muttered with a frown. "Mining the crystals of Bridlewood from a cave, just like you said, Tails..." he pointed out angrily. "He's been doing it for weeks now... I thought at first that this was maybe for Opaline or even that it wasn't even related to anything bad... But then I remembered that it's Eggman we're talking about," Tails explained with concern. "Why would Eggman want to steal this many crystals?" Knuckles questioned with a raised eyebrow but also frowning. "If he wants to lecture their energy and power, one crystal should be enough for that task..." he pointed out. "When it comes to Eggman, there's nothing as 'enough' for him..." Sonic pointed out with anger. "If it were, he would have stopped trying to take over the world years ago," he added with concern. "Well, I've been making analysis of the crystal's energy for a while, but there's nothing that tells me what's Eggman's goal here..." Tails pointed out with concern. "But again, it's Eggman we're talking about. Nothing's ever good when it comes to him..." he added with a frown. "So, what do we do?" Knuckles asked. "So far, he hasn't noticed us" Sonic whispered. "Let's keep it that way for now," he stated. "Tails, you go and find a way to deactivate all the Egg Pawns in one shot," he instructed "Got it!" Tails replied with a smirk and a thumbs up before ducking down entirely and then crawling into the ground as he moved away from Sonic and Knuckles, but still being sneaky so Eggman wouldn't notice them. "Knux, you and I will attack Eggman by surprise!" Sonic muttered with a smirk. "An ambush, huh?" Knuckles snickered with a grin, smashing his fists together quietly. "I smell a funeral, instead!" he stated confidently. "Oh, and it'll be a good one!" Sonic said with confidence as well. And then, Knuckles dug into the ground and entered the hole he made while Sonic followed behind. Meanwhile, the Marestream zoomed through the sky as the ponies watched the clouds pass out the window. "I spy... Ooh!" Izzy called out as she and the others saw something. "A bunch of very dangerous-looking storm clouds!" she said... cheerfully... as usual... "Uh, Zipp? Are you sure we––?" Sunny tried to ask with concern. "Don't worry, ponies. I've got everything under control!" Zipp assured her, not noticing the lightning strikes that were flashing ahead. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Just a little rain!" she added with a slight chuckle. Thanks for the jinx, Zipp. Right after she said that, thunder started to form, while the Marestream shook around, and Zipp tried to keep it balanced. Meanwhile, behind her, the rest of the Mane 5 started to scream while being rattled around the Marestream, except Izzy and Sparky, who just laughed around. Then, the Marestream was struck by lightning, which caused Sunny's lantern to go off. As the rainbow and prism beam magic faded, the Marestream lost power and fall from the sky. With this, the Mane 5 started to scream again, except Sparky and Izzy, who kept cheering as they fell from the sky. Back with Eggman, he was still supervising the carving for the crystals in that cave on Bridlewood. "How's the production going?" Eggman asked with a serious expression. "Thanks to the new units' arrival, production grew a 30%. We should have finished looking for crystals in this cave by sundown," the Egg Pawn with the clipboard replied in a robotic voice. "Eggcellent!" Eggman stated with a huge grin. "Then that means I can finally find a connection between those crystals and the Chaos Emeralds! After all, there's a reason why they only worked after the magical properties of the crystals got into them..." he pointed out. "How long would it take to transport the crystals to my hideout?" he asked. However, he got no response at all. The robot's eyes stopped glowing suddenly, and it just froze in the last position it was when it talked to the doctor. "... Did you hear anything? I asked––" Eggman tried to repeat himself angrily, but it was then that he noticed that the robot was shut down. Then, he looked around, and his eyes widened even more because all the Egg Pawns stopped working, all with their eyes completely off, and freeze in several positions. Eggman was confused about how this happened... but then he frowned because he could now tell what was doing this. Or rather, who was doing this. "You certainly know how to pull off your tricks, Young Prower," Eggman said with a snort before slowly turning around and looking at Tails with anger. The young fox was standing in front of a small yellow device that sent a wave across the area. This wave deactivated all kinds of technology from a near radius, which meant that all the Egg Pawns wouldn't move again until Tails shut off his device. "I may not be a genius at your level, Eggman. But even I know when to pull my cards!" Tails stated with his arms crossed and a confident smirk. As Tails had Eggman's attention, Sonic and Knuckles quietly came out of a hole behind the doctor, and they both prepared to jump behind him and surprise him. "True... However, you know what they say: 'Better alone than in bad company.' And I come very well accompanied!" Eggman mocked up with a sinister grin. Right then, Sonic and Knuckles jumped towards him... just to be sent away by something else that approached and saved Eggman. "What the––" Tails exclaimed, confused. On the other hand, Sonic and Knuckles shook their heads and looked up confused, only to have their eyes widen at seeing an old and familiar figure. "Well, well, well... Look what the Egg brought..." Sonic said with a mocking smirk, although he was also frowning. "It's been a while... Mecha Sonic..." Knuckles added with anger as his electrical powers showed up and his eyes turned red. Right in front of the duo, Mecha Sonic Mark II was standing, but what we could consider as his 'eyes' were blue instead of the regular yellow. Then, Eggman's Egg Bouncer arrived. Eggman jumped inside the vehicle while the capsule closed, and the doctor stared down at Tails with a grin. "T-This doesn't make any sense!" Tails said, confused. "How are your machine and Mecha Sonic still on?!" he questioned. "There's no better combo for a fight than high tech and magic!" Eggman stated. "Thanks to my partner, Mecha Sonic, and my Egg Bouncer are immune to any signal that deactivates them!" he grinned. "It seems like this funeral's gonna be much more complicated than we thought..." Sonic muttered with a frown. Meanwhile, the Mane 5 were fine, but the Marestream got stuck in a pile of mud. Zipp was inside the vehicle, grunting and pressing a few buttons, while the others were behind the Marestream, hoping that she would make the vehicle turn on again. "Almost got it...!" Zipp grunted as she kept pressing buttons. And then, the Marestream's engine started up again, as the tailpipes sputtered out rainbow color. The others cheered at this, but then, the Marestream splattered some mud over them as they groaned in annoyance and disgust while Sparky fell from Hitch. Only Izzy didn't mind the mud since she was smiling. "It’s very facial!" Izzy said cheerfully turning to her friends with a smile. "Hey, everypony, look on the bright side. At least Pipp still got her spa day!" she joked as she snickered. "Dah-dah, dah!" She imitated a drum shot with a smile and a wave of her hooves. However, Pipp was covered in mud, giving whimpering sounds, and not happy. "Too soon, Izzy... Too soon!" she whimpered glaring daggers to Izzy for her terrible joke. "All we need to do is stay calm," Hitch advised with a smile, and Izzy nodded in agreement. "Luckily for all of you, I packed a map that will show us exactly how to get––" he said confidently, as he held up a map, but then he saw Sparky eating the map up, as the baby dragon dangled from the map with his mouth. "Aah!" Hitch called out in surprise dropping what's left of the map and Sparky. Sparky landed on the floor and ate up the rest of the map before burping it and rubbing his stomach, also spitting up a little bit of dragon fire. At this, Hitch only sighed, disappointed. Pipp, on the other hand, groaned in frustration, not liking their situation. "Not only are we going to miss the ferry to Ponytropico, but now we are lost, too!?! Ugh! Could this day get any worse?!" she questioned. And right then, as everyone could have expected, thunder struck, followed by rain, which made the Mane 5 give dull expressions from the karma. Thanks for nothing, Pipp. However, Sparky smiled when he saw the mud puddles forming. Then he jumped into one, starting to giggle and toss some mud around while having fun. The Mane 5 looked at Sparky playing in the mud, then up at the rain clouds as they took off their sunglasses to get a better look. Then, they laughed and smiled at each other, having the same idea, while Izzy hopped and splashed mud on her friends. And just like that, the Mane 5 were having a mud fight as Sunny threw some mud at Pipp's face, who gave an irritated look before smirking mischievously. Mane 5: Just a little touch-up Just a little paint And we'll be done in no time Izzy: Hey, this is looking great! Meanwhile, Zipp was chasing Hitch and Sparky with a laugh while Izzy rubbed some mud on her face with a smile. Then, Hitch splashed some mud on Sunny while the earth pony mare giggled and covered her face with a hoof, but then they, including Sparky, suddenly got covered completely in mud from above. When they looked up, they saw Zipp and Pipp holding a sheet filled with mud and smiling playfully at the two earth ponies and baby dragon while they smiled back at the sister's playful trick. Mane 5: 'Cause they say there is magic In every pony Inside the Marestream, the Mane 5 hunkered down and cleaned off the mud on them with towels wrapped around them and having some tea while Pipp was doing her mane. Then, Sunny came behind Zipp and Pipp with a smile, holding out a picnic blanket and spreading it out. And when I need a hoof I've got you there beside me Later, they spread out the food they packed as a picnic inside the Marestream. As they enjoyed their meal, Sparky suddenly got between Sunny and Hitch. They and Zipp were eating their food peacefully. Sparky grabbed Hitch's food and ate it all in one bite. Hitch turned and saw in surprise that his food was gone, while his friends also saw this in surprise. Gonna work, work, work Got so much to do Well, I don't mind the work After their meal, they decided to pass the time to play cards. Zipp looked at her sister while whistling innocently, but then Pipp turned in shock at her sister looking at her cards, while Zipp gave an innocent smile and sweated nervously. At this, Pipp gave a dull look and pushed Zipp back. Then, Hitch put down his last card and Sparky and he raised their arms or hooves in victory. The others smiled or laughed. Zipp, however, looked down at the fact that she had lost. After this, the Mane 5 huddled and sang together while Pipp fled around and sang through her microphone. 'Cause I get to work with you (I get to work with you!) Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true Then, the Mane 5's Cute Marks started to glow and sparkle, and magic started to flow into Sunny's lantern. Its rainbow and magic recharged and levitated to their spot, hooking on their place. 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do! And so, the lantern’s magic powered up the Marestream again, with Zipp getting back on the wheel as the vehicle got out of the mud, while the Mane 5 gasped in amazement and smiled in awe, some with sparkling eyes like Pipp. "Whoo-hoo!" Sunny cheered with her hoof raised. "Come on, ponies! If we hurry, we might still be able to catch the last ferry of Ponytropico!" she announced with a smile while the Mane 5 cheered. "And hopefully, Team Sonic will catch up with us!" she added. Speaking of them, however, they were pretty busy dealing with Mecha Sonic and Eggman. Sonic and Knuckles got sent backward after getting hit by Mecha Sonic, but they still managed to stand while Eggman launched many fake Eggmans to Tails to avoid him getting closer. "Mecha! Kill those two pests while I deal with the fox!" Eggman instructed with a grin. "Hah! You think you're gonna have it easy, huh?!" Tails asked with a snort before charging his electrical powers around his body to seem more intimidating. "Think again!" he challenged with a huge grin. However, this only made Eggman chuckle and grin even more. "Bring it on, Miles!" he mocked up. And with this, Team Sonic started to fight against Eggman and Mecha Sonic. On one hand, we have Tails fighting against Eggman and his Egg Bouncer as Eggman launches one of the seven orbs surrounding his Eggmobile. Said orb turned into an Eggman decoy with the same Eggmobile that also could shoot lasers towards the enemy. However, Tails had faced this machine along with Sonic before, when they were kids, so he already knew perfectly the trick to defeating it: Just dodge the lasers and punch the decoy one time to destroy it, then take his chance and hit Eggman's Eggmobile, which he could do easier nowadays thanks to the Homing Attack. So, that's exactly what Tails did: He dodged the few lasers the decoy was launching at him before using his Tails to cut in several pieces the fake Eggman before Homing Attack the real one, who got sent a bit backward and growled in anger. That's why he launched three more of the orbs, which also turned into Eggman decoys, and they all launched a bunch of lasers towards the young fox. Yet, Tails only chuckled at this before spinning his tails at fast paste and elevating in the air, as he not only dodged all the lasers thrown at him like a freaking pro, but he also used his tails to cut the decoys once again, before cloning himself two with his watch. Then, he and his two clones charged their Homing Attacks, hitting Eggman one by one in the process. Meanwhile, Sonic and Knuckles were fighting two against one with Mecha Sonic. The robot had bigger upgrades this time because it couldfast as Sonic and Knuckles, thanks to Sonic's quill power. Yet, this fact didn't seem to be a problem for Sonic and Knuckles because as Sonic distracted the robot into making it think he was going to attack it, Knuckles sneaked from behind and blasted a punch into its back. With this, Mecha Sonic curled into a ball, showing off his spiky quills, and he jumped in the air high enough before diving into the ground. even if both Sonic and Knuckles dodged, he did make the ground rumble, making them lose their balances for a second. Taking advantage of this, Mecha Sonic quickly used the powers of Sonic's quill and rushed towards Knuckles, grabbing the echidna from his neck and preparing to blast him with laser eyes, a new upgrade Eggman added to Mark II. Still, then, Sonic used the watch and created a sword, which he used quickly to make a deeper cut in Mecha Sonic's back. The robot turned his entire face around after that and prepared to shoot a laser towards Sonic. Still, then Knuckles took advantage of this and sent a punch straight to Mecha Sonic's chest, which not only made him get free of the robot's grip, but it also allowed Sonic to kick Mecha's face, as the robot's eyes went from blue to red. "I think we finally got him nuts!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Good, then let's make sure he stays that way!" Knuckles stated with a grin as both he and Sonic jumped toward Mecha Sonic. Back with Eggman and Tails, the latter already took down another of the decoys, this time using a plasma gun and another Homing Attack against Eggman's Eggmobile. "Grr! This is completely useless!" Eggman said with anger before launching the last two decoys and then boosting himself towards the young fox. However, Tails only smirked at this as he used his plasma guns to destroy the remaining decoys. Then, as Eggman charged a laser with his Eggmobile and shot him, Tails twirled in the air like a pro before shooting with his plasma gun at Eggman's laser, then charging up a Spindash and then boosting towards Eggman, not only sending him backward, but also making the Eggmobile crash against a wall. With that, Eggman fell from his Eggmobile and landed facewards to the ground, while his now damaged Eggmobile landed behind him. Finally, we have Sonic and Knuckles, who both Homing Attacked Mecha Sonic, but the robot shielded their face with their arms, which also made the two anthropomorphic creatures get on their sides. Then, Knuckles tried to punch Mecha, but the robot ducked and dodged the attack, while Sonic tried to kick them, Mecha grabbed his feet and not only moved it down, but they also ducked again and dodged a kick from Knuckles. Next, mecha tried to Kick Knuckles this time, but the echidna managed to block the kick with his arm before trying to punch the robot again. However, mecha not only grabbed Knuckles' arm, but he also punched his chest, making Knuckles groan in pain and then fall to his knees, also grabbing his chest. Tails noticed this, and since Eggman was still a bit dizzy on the ground, he decided to go over and assist his friends. He used his powers to create a bow, but instead of an arrow, he also created a spear, which he pointed right at Mecha Sonic's chest. "Sonic, Knuckles! MOVE!" Tails instructed from the air. Both Sonic and Knuckles looked up, and when they saw what Tails had planned, they smirked and nodded at him before charging up their Spindashes towards Mecha Sonic. Of course, Mecha just punched both creatures in their ball forms and sent them backward... but as the machine did that, Tails let go of the spear that traversed Mecha Sonic's chest, which not only startled the robot, but it also made its systems started to fail. So, with Mecha Sonic finally being vulnerable, Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other with smirks before activating their electrical powers and then putting their right hands together before charging up a double boost attack and launching it towards Mecha Sonic, destroying the robot entirely. Both Sonic and Knuckles landed like superheroes, while Mecha Sonic's parts landed around them, and when Knuckles looked up, he smirked and extended his hand while Mecha Sonic's head landed on it. "We crushed his spirit. Am I right? Huh, huh?" Knuckles said with a smirk as he lightly pushed Sonic's elbow. Sonic snorted at the joke, actually find it great. "Alright, I'll admit it... That's a clever one, Knux!" he said joyfully. "You guys okay?" Tails asked as he landed in front of Sonic and Knuckles. "Oh, we are. He's not!" Sonic said mockingly, pointing at Mecha Sonic's head. Knuckles chuckled and fist-bumped him, and Tails only rolled his eyes with a smirk. However, as they did this, they didn't notice that Eggman already woken up and sneaked behind Tails' device that was still shutting down the Egg Pawns. Then, Eggman smashed the machine with his feet, which made the Egg Pawns turn on again, startling Team Sonic. "Retreat!" Eggman shouted with anger. After shouting this, one of the Egg Pawns shot a smoke bomb to the ground, which made Team Sonic cover their faces and cough a lot. When the smoke dissipated, however, all the Egg Pawns, the Eggmobile, and Eggman himself were gone, although he left all the crystals behind and Mecha Sonic's destroyed body. "Oh, come on!" Knuckles groaned with frustration. "We were finally going to find out about his plan, and he escaped!" he said angrily. "Fan-freaking-tastic," Tails complained, crossing his arms madly. "It seemed like we were close to something, and now we're back to the speculation zone," he pointed out with concern, rubbing his chin. "He had expected us to arrive if he had th Egg Bouncer and Mecha Sonic Mark II ready..." Sonic pointed out with a frown before looking back at the crystals. "But the question remains... What's Eggman's goal with these crystals?" he questioned with concern. The Mane 5 made it to the docks in their vacation gear, but they looked off in the distance with shocked looks. "Oh, there it goes!" As she pointed her hoof in the distance, Izzy cheered, showing that the ferry already shipped off, too far even to fly there or call it out. "Ohhhh, there it goes..." Izzy repeated, realizing what she said. Sunny blinked a few times before giving a small smile. “Hey, there's always next year, ponies!" she said to her friends while they gave down expressions, and Pipp even started to tear up. "Anyway, we don't need Ponytropico to have fun. Right?" Sunny asked her friends with a smile. Pipp thought about it for a second before smiling and wiping her tears away. "Yeah! I can't believe I'm saying this, but who needs a luxury spa?" She asked her friends with a smile. "Or pony paragliding?" Zipp added as she took off her sunglasses with a smile. "Or a restful day at the beach?" Hitch spoke next with a smile. Then, Izzy lifted her sunglasses over her head. "Or a beautiful seashell mosaic?" she added. "All we need for an amazing holiday is... each other!" Sunny finished as they huddled together and leaned at each other's heads with smiles while their Cutie Marks started to glow again. And then, Zipp gasped with an idea before looking at her friends with a smile. "You ponies thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" she asked her friends with a smile as they smiled in return. Later, the Mane 5 returned to the Marestream and landed at the spot they crashed in with laughs. ...I don't mind the work 'Cause I get to work with you Then, they exited the Marestream, and Zipp set up some lights around the vehicle. Meanwhile, Izzy and Pipp are in the mud puddle, taking a mud bath while taping each other's glass cups, with their faces covered in mud masks. Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true Inside the Marestream, Sunny was blending some smoothies in her blender as Hitch came in with a basket full of berries with a smile to Sunny, and she smiled wide at the berries. Outside, Zipp is roasting a marshmallow on a fire while the Mane 5 all enjoy their vacation together. 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do! Then, Sparky burped out some dragon fire into the air after eating a bowl full of snacks, which startled the group for a moment before they burst out laughing. However, as they seemed to enjoy their picnic, they suddenly heard an engine roaring. They looked upwards and saw the Tornado IV making several spins in the air before finally landing near the Marestream as the flying vehicle shut down, and Team Sonic immediately got out of the plane, with Tails carrying Mecha Sonic's head. At this, the group immediately smiled and rushed to them. Izzy hugged Knuckles tightly, and he hugged her tightly back, twirling her in the air before kissing her lovingly. Meanwhile, Sunny dragged Tails into a hug like an older sister would, and Tails not only chuckled but also placed Mecha Sonic's head on the ground to return the hug to Sunny. Finally, Pipp also hugged Sonic Sonic tightly. Sonic was startled and confused at first, but seeing that it was just Pipp, he smiled and caressed her mane softly. "Wow, there!" Zipp exclaimed, amazed, as she looked at Mecha Sonic's head with surprise. "What is that thing?" she asked, pointing at the robot's head. "A little souvenir..." Knuckles said with a smirk. "We tracked Eggman and found him extracting crystals from Bridlewood," he explained, now frowning. The Mane 5 gasped while Tails grabbed Mecha Sonic's head. "Don't worry! We managed to stop him and the other Sonic robo-copy he invented after Metal Sonic failed,," he explained with a smile. However, and even if he didn't manage to take any crystals—–" he tried to say. "As far as we know..." Sonic said with concern. "We're still wondering why he's been mining them for weeks now..." Tails kept going with a slight frown. "Hopefully, there's some information inside this thing that can tell us what Eggman's up to. Heck, it might even say where he's hiding with Opaline!" he pointed out with a slight chuckle. "But before we go to that... Did you guys miss the ferry to that Ponytropical thing, or however it is called?" Knuckles asked, confused, finally noticing the camping and the different place they were in. "Yeah..." Sunny replied with a chuckle. "We have a lot to explain ourselves, too. But don't worry! We can tell you everything as we eat! You can even explain to everything you did, too,," she said with a smile. And with that, everyone smiled and cheered except for Sonic, deep in thought. As the rest headed to the Marestream to eat and explain what they had to do, Sonic stood behind and frowned, something that only Pipp noticed. She could feel that he was worried about something. "There's a reason why the Emeralds only worked after the magical properties of the crystals got into them..." Eggman's voice echoed in Sonic's mind. "... Maybe he's not so incompetent..." Sonic muttered with concern. "Blue Star?" As Sonic looked at her, Pipp called out, but he was still frowning. "You okay?" "... Bridlewood's magic crystals are the reason why the Chaos Emeralds work again..." Sonic pointed out as he raised an arm and made the Blue Chaos Emerald appear. "The question is... why?" At this, Pipp stared at both the Emerald and Sonic, now starting to wonder about this herself... In Eggman's lab, hidden under Opaline's Castle, Eggman was frowning at his computer. He was making an analysis to the energy lectures of Bridlewood's crystals and the Chaos Energy of the Chaos Emeralds. Still, there was no coincidence nor connection so far, which was what made him feel so frustrated. "Hmm... It doesn't matter..." Eggman stated, now starting to grin. "One way or another, I'll find the connection between the Emeralds and the crystals. And then... everything will be mine!" he added with confidence, also laughing like a maniac. THE END...? Author's Note I had a completely different idea for this episode when the first clip came out two weeks ago, but now that it's out, I had to change several things, so here we are now. It might not be my best job, but it definitely isn't the worst one, either. Now, I need you ALL to watch out for next episode, because that very same day, I'm publishing a blog post with an important announcement. Stay tuned! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 53. As The Misty Clears - Part 1Misty was having an internal crisis in the middle of a hill, behind some bushes, and not so far from the Crystal Brighthouse. On her right hoof, she carried a puppet of herself with an 'evil' face and the necklace Opaline had given her. "Get dragon fire for Opaline!" Misty said in a slightly deeper voice. "Evil laugh!" she added, as her puppet started laughing as evil as Misty could make it. Then, she brought with her left hoof another puppet of herself, one with a more friendly face and without the necklace. "No! Be loyal to your friends!" Misty said, speaking in a high-pitched tone as the left puppet. Happy laugh!" she added, starting to laugh, more nervously than happy. She was starting to doubt whether she should remain loyal to Opaline and, therefore, Eggman or her friends despite being on them for quite a while now... However, as she kept laughing nervously, a voice behind her startled her. "Hey, Misty!" Sunny greeted happily, and Misty got so nervous that she quickly shook her hooves and removed the puppets. "What you doing?" Sunny asked with a smile. As she did so, the rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic arrived, although Zipp and Knuckles seemed to have a raised eyebrow at her attitude. Misty got even more nervous when the rest arrived, so she quickly hid her puppets with some leaves on the ground. "Uh... Just, uh..." she said nervously, getting up from the floor and grabbing a bit of grass with her hoof. "Admiring this grass!" she said, still nervously, before smelling the grass she grabbed. "Mmm! Green!" she added with a sheepish smile. Of course, this made everyone but Izzy look at Misty with weird expressions, and Knuckles even glared a bit at her, feeling like something was off with her. "No inner struggle between good and evil over here!" Misty added again, still with a sheepish smile. "That was... utterly specific..." Sonic pointed out, rubbing his chin and raising an eyebrow. Then, Misty's necklace started to act up right in front of the rest, startling her and making her panic. The necklace opened to show Opaline's face coming out. "Misty, where are you––" she tried to ask, but at this, Misty quickly grabbed her and put her back in the necklace. Opaline grunted at this while Misty looked around nervously, and the others were completely confused by this... They either didn't know who came out of the necklace, or they didn't notice but instead felt confused about why her necklace was moving and making these weird sounds. Well, everyone except for Izzy. She just kept smiling. "I'm cleansing it;; it's... uh..." Misty started to say as the necklace moved around. Then she tried to call Opaline again. "Energy?" she added nervously. "Love a good energy cleanse!" Izzy said with a smile before bringing some brushes and putting on sparkling eyes. "Can I help?!" she asked excitedly. However, Misty kept struggling to hold the necklace in place. "Nope!" she replied,, smiling, still grunting to hold it. "All good!" she assured herself before grunting again. "I got it!" she stated. But the rest didn't seem to believe she got it, not even Izzy this time, who seemed to whimper and look sad and confused. As for the rest, they seemed startled at her attitude, and now Pipp was glaring at her. "There's something strange about that necklace," Zipp pointed out with a concerned expression. "You've been acting kind of weird lately," she added. A few days ago, Sparky gave Hitch and Knuckles trouble around the Station. The three of them had toilet paper around, with Sparky holding a piece in his hand and running around happily, while Hitch and Knuckles had toilet paper all over their bodies as they chased down the baby dragon. Unknown to them, however, Misty was hiding inside an old and rusty clock, walking around the station and sticking to the walls so she wouldn't raise suspicions as she smiled inside the clock and wrote down everything he saw on her notebook. Another day, Sparky was near a garbage can, sipping happily a smoothie. However, he didn't notice that Misty was sneaking behind him and over Knuckles' desk, as she was wearing a classic black thief suit with the cape, the mask, and even the little hat. She prepared herself and jumped, hoping to catch Sparky... But instead, she landed on the trash can. Misty got dizzy eyes at this while Sparky happily sipped his smoothie. However, he looked to the trash can and noticed Misty, feeling confused about how she got there in the first place. Another day, Knuckles was alone at the station with Sparky on his head. The echidna seemed to be wearing headphones and listening to music, and he cleaned around the messed up station. Misty, hiding behind Hitch's desk, decided to take advantage of Knuckles hearing music to take Sparky away from him. "Here I come, rougher than the rest of them. The best of them, tougher than leather" Knuckles started to rap, as he brushed the floor, while Sparky on his head wore sunglasses and bobbed his head as the echidna rapped. While he did so, Misty tried to approach and grab Sparky, but that made her face get hit by the brush because Knuckles was twirling it around as he cleaned. "You can call me Knuckles, unlike Sonic I don't chuckle, I'd rather flex my muscles" Knuckles kept singing as he twirled the brush again and hit Misty on her flank by mistake. This made the unicorn yelp and rub her slammed back with a painful expression before getting hit by the brush on her face again, as Knuckles spun on his place while extending the brush. "My heart is nails, it ain't hard to tell, I break 'em down whether they're solid or frail" Knuckles rapped more, as he then grabbed a vacuum cleaner and ride it like a cowboy. Sparky head laughed happily as they both moved around the station with the vacuum cleaner, while Misty panicked and threw herself through the window, landing in a bunch of bushes outside the station. "Unlike the rest, I've been independent since my first breath. First test, feel the right, then the worst's left" Knuckles finished rapping, as the station shone bright by how clean it was left. Meanwhile, Misty popped her head out of the bushes with a dizzy expression, also having some leaves on her mane. Finally, Hitch was putting all his pens in a perfect manner, walking away with a satisfied look. However, as he did that, Misty came from below his desk and moved one of the pens, hiding again with a mischievous look. Zipp recorded all of what I just told on her phone. Yes, even Knuckles danced around the station. Hitch looked at Zipp's phone with shock since he didn't expect Misty of all ponies to move the pen as she did. "That was you?!" Hitch asked Misty with shock and anger. Misty looked at him a bit scared gulping and smiling sheepishly. "Pretty funny, huh?" she said, now laughing nervously and looking around helplessly. Of course, Hitch only looked at her with a frown. "Yes. Ha, ha, ha..." he laughed falsely, also rolling his eyes. "I don't know how to feel about the fact that you recorded me," Knuckles said, frowning. "I thought you said you hated that song?" Sonic asked Knuckles, confused, even if he did want to mock him up for singing that out loud. "Oh, I do hate it. But it's also too catchy to ignore," Knuckles pointed out, still frowning. "Whatever you say, Knucklehead," Sonic mocked up, and Knuckles rolled his eyes. "You know, I would normally say she's just overreacting over stuff as always... But I gotta agree with Zipp this time," Tails commented with his arms crossed. "You are acting weird, Misty," he pointed out. "Right–– Wait! What do you mean I'm overreacting as always?!" Zipp asked Tails with a frown. "Do I tell you the truth, or are we still friends?" Tails replied boredly. "Regardless of her antics, Zipp's right," Sunny also pointed out as she started to approach Misty. "Why don't you just take it off for a little bit?" As she said this, she slowly approached her hoof to Misty's necklace, which startled the unicorn, as she stepped back with a jump. "No!" she shouted, holding her necklace with a hoof and smiling sheepishly again. "I-I can't take it off. It's... It's special to me," she said nervously. The rest just stared at her, even more confused than before after she did that, and Sunny's eyes widened at how she shouted when refusing to take off the necklace. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got errands to run!" Misty stated quickly turning around and running away without explaining further. Sunny and Tails raised their hoof/hands at her, but no word came out of their mouths as Misty ran away. On the other hand, Zipp seemed to suspect something over Misty's necklace, rubbing her chin with a hoof as she glared at Misty's figure, which became less and less visible as she trotted away. Several minutes after running away later, Misty finally stopped. She was sweating a lot and panting heavily, but she sighed, relieved after running away from the rest. "That was too close!" she said with a concerned expression. "Misty!" Eggman's voice startled her, and she jumped on her place, falling backward over a bush. Misty got herself out of said bush, with leaves once again on her mane, and she groaned frustrated before shaking her head to remove the leaves and look at the robotic ladybug on her ear with a frown. "Dad–– I mean, Ivo–– I MEAN! Doctor!" she complained. "Oh, uh... Sorry, kiddo," Eggman apologized. "I just wanted to check if you were alright. Those punny ponies and those rodents almost caught you this time..." he pointed out with a concerned tone. "Don't mention it..." Misty said with a nervous tone and look. "No, seriously. Please don't mention it anymore, especially to Opaline!" she begged. "I got your back, Misty. Opaline won't find out. But you have to be more careful from here on. We don't wanna risk your alibi as our spy, nor our intentions. Just stay hidden, alright?" Eggman instructed. "Okay..." Misty replied with a down expression. As the conversation ended, she looked up again, and she was surprised to see an orange tree with some blackberries, ironically called Shadow Berries. "Oh, Shadow Berries! They're Opaline's favorites!" Misty said with a smile. After that, she went over and tried to climb over the tree to grab one of the berries, but her necklace kept making her get stuck on one of the tree branches, which made it difficult for her to actually grab the berry. So, she returned to the ground and removed her necklace, placing it over a rock in hopes that it'll be there by the time she grabbed the berry. "Don't. Move!" Misty said to the necklace before turning around and returning to the tree. However, as she did so, Tails' hand grabbed the necklace, and he hid under a bunch of bushes afterward. "Aw, man. I hate to do this to Misty, but Zipp is right,," Tails muttered with concern. "Something's wrong with this thing, and I'm going to find out what it is." Meanwhile, Misty returned to the tree and managed to grab one of the Shadow Berries, smiling as she walked back to the rock where she left the necklace. "She's gonna love me for at least five minutes when she sees these!" Misty said happily with sparkling eyes and a chuckle. "My god, Misty..." Eggman spoke suddenly through the ladybug, but this time, he didn't startle her. "Once you get here, we're doing some family therapy on how wrong that statement is..." he stated with concern. Misty rolled her eyes and shrugged, but as soon as she looked at the rock where she had placed her necklace, she gasped in horror. "Necklace?!" she called out in panic. "Where are you?! I said don't move!" she shouted. Then, she moved some leaves on the ground, even throwing some in the air, but not looking at her necklace around, she started to tear up in panic. Back in the Crystal Brighthouse, Tails returned the necklace without being noticed by Misty. So, he went over to his area of the bedroom and started to make several analyses of the necklace. However, his computer sent an 'Error' message, confusing Tails. So, he tried to make the analysis again, but the message appeared again. Seeing that this was more complicated than just analyzing the necklace with his computer, he got his hands dirty. That's why he put some brown gloves over his regular ones, as well as some goggles, and then he grabbed the necklace with his hand. Then, he grabbed some tweezers and used them to open the 'eye' of the necklace. However, this seemed to do nothing for a moment. Emphasis on that last word because as soon as Tails turned the necklace around to see the back part, some kind of purple laser came out and hit a pencil that first turned into a darker one before just falling out as a pile of dust. At this, Tails' eyes widened, so he closed the 'eye' of the necklace and quickly went downstairs, removing his brown gloves and goggles in the process. Once down, he placed the necklace on a table in the living room, with everyone else already gathered around it. "So?" Sonic asked Tails with a raised eyebrow. "Let's just say that this thing is magical, and... It's completely out of my league..." Tails replied with concern. "Not only does my computer keep sending an 'Error' message, but the necklace itself seems to have some defensive mechanism that puts my life in danger..." he explained. "I'm telling you: Something's not right with this thing!" Zipp said with a frown as she touched the necklace with her hoof. Then, Izzy came by and put some goggles before checking the necklace closer. "On the one hoof, it has signs of something evil!" she said, grabbing the necklace and staring at it with a frown. "Say no more!" Knuckles shouted with a frown as he raised his arm and charged his fist with electricity... just to be stopped by Izzy and her magic. "Aw, come on!" he complained. "On the other hoof, it's super shiny!" Izzy added with a smile and sparkling eyes as she stared at the necklace. Of course, this also made her let go of Knuckles, who landed facewards on the ground with a grunt. After this, Izzy decided to put the necklace just to use it... But that made the necklace's eye open again, making Izzy's eyes go from natural purple to red. This made everyone feel a bit nervous, as they all started to sweat and looked at each other. "Um... Izz?" Sonic decided to call out, approaching her and bopping her cheek a few times. "You okay, buddy?" he asked with a sheepish smile. However, Izzy's forehead got a bit darker, and the unicorn mare started to laugh sinisterly, which made the rest panic, and Sonic stepped back several steps after that. Then, Izzy caught a microphone that came from... I don't know... Pony heaven? The point is that she grabbed a microphone and removed her goggles. "Hey, I'm Izzy. Here's a stupid poem!" she said suddenly with a frown, startling her friends since she never used that word before. "Perhaps Eggman's conquering the world today because... IZZY'S FREAKING SWEARING!" Sonic said with panic, shaking Tails violently. "Well, 'stupid' is not swearing, BUT STILL!" he pointed out, freaking out again. "Earth pony smell and pegasi stink!" Izzy started to recite while getting closer to Pipp's face with a frown, which made Pipp feel nervous. "They all take baths in the kitchen sink!" she kept reciting, now walking literally to the kitchen sink and jumping over it, splashing some water in the process. Then, she got off the sink and walked madly towards her crafting corner while Knuckles sat down on the floor and rubbed his head in pain. However, it didn't take long for him to notice Izzy's strange change of attitude, and he frowned with worry as he stared at his girlfriend. "What the..." he muttered concerned. "Also, crafting's totally lame!" Izzy added as she smashed a horse made with pallets with her hoof. At this, both Sunny and Knuckles gasped, but the latter did it very dramatically, almost sounding like a girlish cry and not a gasp. So, Knuckles approached Izzy, who was still smashing the pallet horse and removed the necklace from her. "Keep my girl's innocence away from your bucking magic!" he shouted launching the necklace to the other side of the Brighthouse. Once Izzy recovered her regular eye color and herself, she looked at what she did and gasped. "Sylvie Stickerton!" she cried out as she hugged the now destroyed horse, and tears came out of her eyes while Knuckles hugged her with a worried frown, and Izzy buried her face in his chest. "It's like it turns you into the opposite of who you truly are!" Sunny said with concern and a frown for a moment. "We gotta get that thing out before it ends on anyone else!" Sonic said with a frown, also pointing at the necklace. However, the necklace opened its 'eye, and started to float on its own, staring straight at the Mane 5 and Team Sonic. This made them gasp in horror and sweat nervously as the necklace moved around the floor like a snake preparing to catch their prey. At this, Knuckles stood in front of his girlfriend with a frown while Izzy hid behind her boyfriend and hugged him from the back. With the rest, Sonic, Sunny, and Zipp were standing in front of Tails, Hitch, and Pipp, respectively, all trying to stay away from the necklace. Finally, the magical object stopped moving, and it sstaring straight ats. "That thing is some kind of Anti-Sparkle!" Knuckles cried out with panic. Then, the necklace jumped and tried to land on Knuckles' neck. So, the echidna gulped but then frowned and prepared to hit the object... To feel surprised when Hitch got in the middle instead, as the necklace landed on the Sheriff's neck. "HITCH!!!" Sunny cried out with panic and worry. Then, Hitch's eyes got red, and his forehead got darker as he smiled mischievously. "Rules? Who needs them?!" he declared with glee. This made the rest gasp in fright, and Knuckles even got a twitchy eye after hearing that. "Hitch... Don't you dare to––" Knuckles tried to say, his eye still twitching. "Pipp!" Hitch called out angrily as he walked towards the younger pegasus, who gulped nervously and stepped back, also covering her face in case Hitch was going to cross a line. "Do more littering!" the sheriff instructed bringing a trash can and throwing some litter in the floor. Pipp kept sweating nervously, so she did what she was told to and started to throw litter on the floor. "Yes! More!" Hitch instructed with an evil smile as Pipp threw something smaller. "YES! MORE!" he instructed again, and Pipp desperately threw litter in the air while Hitch laughed like a maniac. As this was happening, Knuckles stared at all the litter on the floor with shock and a twitchy eye before he started to growl madly, as his eyes turned red because of his powers. And then... "You... TRAITOR!!!" Knuckles shouted with rage, red thunder coming out from his body. Then, the echidna removed the necklace from the sheriff's neck and stared at it with anger as he prepared to smash it into pieces, just for the necklace to get free from his grip and then get on his neck. At this, his powers dissipated, but his eyes were red, pretty much because of the necklace. Everyone else gasped, and Izzy even tried to approach him, but Tails stepped in and held her back, both afraid and sad that Knuckles had the necklace now... But any fear and worry went away when Knuckles fell facewards to the ground again, just that this time around it made him snore loudly and lay on the floor without moving. The rest blinked a few times, looking at each other and everything, before looking back at Knuckles, lying on the floor. "... Well... I was not expecting that kind of response..." Sonic said with a cringed expression. "I mean, if that thing is an Anti-Sparkle, and Knuckles is usually a guy that likes to work constantly, no matter what kind of work it is... Yeah, him being lazy suits this change of attitude..." Tails pointed out. However, the necklace seemed to agree that this was too lazy because it got out of Knuckles on its own before landing on Pipp's neck. This made everyone else gasp, and Sonic even got a twitchy eye, while Knuckles stood up from the ground suddenly and looked around with a panicked expression. "What the heck just happened?!" he shouted in panic, but then he noticed Pipp now had the necklace. "Oh..." he said with shock and terror. On the other hand, Pipp yelped and tried to get the amulet off her neck, but she failed miserably because her eyes turned red and gave an evil laugh. "Anyone for a song?" she asked maniacally before bringing out a four-base metal guitar and playing a loud solo with two big speakers, which made all the glass shatter. At this, everyone covered themselves from the sound, except for Sonic and Knuckles, with the latter just staring with a mix of a blank and confused expression at Pipp, while Sonic covered his mouth while his eyes sparkled and his cheeks showed a slight shade of red. "... Okay, but hear me out––" Sonic tried to say, as he pointed together his hands at the still possessed by the amulet pegasus. "No... Sonic, just no..." Knuckles immediately replied, still staring at Pipp. As for Pipp herself, she smashed the guitar into the ground, breaking it and giving another evil laugh, before taking off the amulet and twirl ittwirlingt to toss it away, turning her back to normal. "Huh?" she gasped, bringing out her compact mirror and seeing her reflection, to feel utterly shocked at seeing her messed up mane. "What just happened to me?!" she asked the rest in panic. "I discovered I like sides of you everyone else considers questionable..." Sonic replied with a sheepish smile while Knuckles looked at him with pure anger. "... I'm sorry, what?" Pipp asked, confused. "Tails..." Knuckles called out with anger. "I'll do it..." Tails replied with a bored expression before flying a bit in the air and then using his powers to create a bat. The next thing that happened? The entire Brighthouse shook for a reason, and a loud 'bonk' sound was heard. "OUCH!!!" Sonic shouted in pain inside the building. "NO HORNY!" both Tails and Knuckles said with anger. Meanwhile, not so far from the Crystal Brighthouse, Misty was looking everywhere for the necklace. Even Eggman decided to help by sending the robotic ladybug to take a quick fly around the forest near the Brighthouse, using the small robot's scanner to look for the necklace. Yet, he had no luck, so the ladybug flew back with Misty. Speaking of her, she got her head inside a log to look after it, but of course, it wasn't there, so she grunted as she pulled her face away from the log and took a deep breath to catch her air. "It can't have just disappeared!" she pointed out with concern before noticing that the robotic ladybug returned. "Did you got any luck, Dad–– I mean! Doctor!" she quickly corrected herself with a sheepish smile. "I'm afraid I didn't, Misty..." Eggman replied with concern. "You shouldn't have removed that thing!" he pointed out. "I know, I know! Please don't rub it in my face!" Misty begged with a desperate and concerned look. "Oh... Opaline's gonna be so mad!" she cried, covering her face with her hooves. "Not if we can find that damn amulet in time!" Eggman stated with a confident tone. However, before they could say anything else, they heard Izzy’s indistinct shrieking coming from the Brighthouse. So, both of them looked at the building, noticing one of the windows broken, Izzy's figure running by, some green substance splatting on the window, and a blue blur passing at super speed. With that, the ladybug stood on Misty's ear again as Misty covered her mouth with her hooves. "Oh no..." she muttered with panic. "So those fools have your necklace... I don't like where this is going..." Eggman said with concern. "Me neither!" Misty said with more panic if that was even possible. "That necklace was specifically made for me because I have no magic nor Cutie Mark! But if those ponies have magic, and Tails and his friends have pow––" she tried to add before her eyes widened. "I NEED TO GET IT BACK!" she screamed before quickly rushing towards the Brighthouse. Misty slammed the door open, and her panic escalated to levels she never thought existed. There was a weird smoke around the Brighthouse, coming out from the necklace over the living room's table, while the entire place was a mess. If this wasn't enough, Izzy was stomping on one of her crafts with an evil smile while Hitch came out of a pile of trash and threw litter all around. On a couch, Knuckles was just watching TV as he carelessly scratched his belly and ate some junk food from a bag, not even caring about all the mess around. Then, Pipp came over and laughed maniacally while Sunny rushed to one side of the living room and grabbed some pictures before throwing them into the floor. "Who..." she started, before tossing the figures of herself and Team Sonic that the latter group gave her as a birthday gift, with a Misty figure included as well now, from the shelf they were on. "Needs..." she kept saying before tossing more pictures into the ground. "Teamwork?!" she finished with anger. "It's everypony for themselves!" she stated with a frown before grabbing the picture she took with Sonic and the rest of the Mane 5 the day they finished the Brighthouse and tore it apart. Then, in a corner of the room, Tails seemed to be quite busy with something until he finished it and started to laugh like a maniac, standing up and turning around, showing off his red eyes and a sinister smile that could only compare to that old 'Tails Doll' tale from Mobius. "I finally have it... The key to rule the entire world!" Tails stated with a smile, laughing sinisterly in the process. After saying this, he put on what seemed to be some kind of backpack. Once he closed it with a brooch on his chest, he pressed the button that formed on it, which made his backpack turn into seven large and mechanical tails, which only made him look more sinister, as he started to spin his natural tails, while 5 of the mechanical ones moved and formed some kind of throne for him, with the remaining two showing a pair of lasers. "From now, you all shall adore me as... TAILS NINE!" Tails stated with another maniac laugh, as he started to fly around and shot lasers at a blue blur running fast all around the brighthouse. Then, we have Zipp standing over a chair in the living room and also wearing a tiara. "I'm the heir of the Zephyr Heights throne!" she stated with a more dominant and confident tone that would make her mom proud if she wasn't possessed. Also, Hitch kept throwing litter around. "Bow down before me!" Zipp demanded with a sinister smile. However, her smile faded when the blue blur snatched her tiara, and she touched her head before panicking at noticing the tiara wasn't there. "My... My tiara..." Zipp muttered in panic as she got down from the couch and started to look for her tiara all around the floor, even throwing more litter in the process. "Yes... YES! MORE LITTER! MORE!!!" Hitch said with glee, as he laughed maniacally, while Zipp kept throwing more litter, desperately searching for her tiara. "Where is it? Where's my tiara?!" Zipp cried out with panic, which turned into rage as she frowned in anger. However, it didn't take long for her to hear a maniac laugh, so she turned around, just to find Sonic, standing over the second floor, as he laughed maniacally while twirling around Zipp's tiara in one finger. Wanna know how maniac Sonic's laugh sounds? It's literally like hearing DC's Joker coming out and possessing Sonic. "Oh? What's the matter, pretty girl? Are you looking for this?" Sonic asked mockingly, as he moved the tiara with a hand and smiled sinisterly. "Hey! That's mine!" Zipp complained with anger. "Oh?" Sonic asked as his sinister smile grew wider. "Then go and get it, Zephyrina!" he stated with another maniac laugh before throwing the tiara in the air as it landed right in the top of a lamp, very high in the ceiling. "Hey!" Zipp said with a frown. "You shouldn't have done that, you blue rat!" she added with rage. "And what are you gonna do about it, your highness? Cry about it?!" Sonic mocked her up with a sinister smirk before bursting out laughing again. "With those chickening wings of yours, I doubt you can even reach me!" he added, pulling out his tongue and showing off an eye before running away. Zipp growled even more as she flew to the ceiling and put her crown back before looking down at the blue blur running around once again. "You'll regret messing with the future Queen of Zephyr Heights!" she stated angrily. However, she barely dodged a laser that almost hit her wing, and she looked at who launched said laser with more anger, while Tails, the one that launched the laser with his mechanical tails, looked at Zipp with a sinister grin. "Oh, don't worry, Zephyrina. I'll make sure that blue pest is gone... When I'm done with you first!" Tails said with a twitchy eye and a maniac laugh. After this, he started to launch a bunch of lasers towards Zipp while the pegasus dodged them all with a confident smirk, even laughing at Tails' failed attempts as she did so. "Is that the best you can do, you dwarf fox?" Zipp mocked up as she kept dodging the attacks. "You laugh now... But once I robotize you, the one bowing before me will be you!" Tails stated as he kept shooting lasers while laughing maniacally. Meanwhile, on the floor, Sonic went over and threw some litter in Hitch's way, making him trip and fall over his face, while Sonic laughed at him with joy. Then, the hedgehog moved over to Izzy, who was using her magic to tear apart some masks she made, before getting her face covered in glitter, which was thrown at her face by Sonic, who once again laughed and enjoyed messing with her, before going over with Sunny, as he simply put a foot right where she was about to run. In consequence, Sunny tripped and landed on a bunch of ripped pillows, while Sonic chuckled lowly. Then he simply walked by Pipp and grabbed her bandana, extending it long enough for Pipp to complain in pain. When he let go of the bandana, it slammed into Pipp's face, and she, of course, yelped in pain. This only made Sonic laugh even more maniacally, however. He grabbed his head and laughed, laughed, and laughed more. At the same time, his forehead darkened. Everything that could be seen was his sinister smile as he kept laughing and his now red eyes because of the necklace's effect. Misty was perplexed by everything around the Brighthouse, but it wasn't only how badly things were with the Mane 5 and Knuckles... What scared her the most was how Tails was acting and talking like Eggman would do, while Sonic seemed to be completely insane and cruel with his friends, and he was enjoying it. Eggman himself also felt horrified by this. He was surprised that Knuckles just turned into a lazy man, but considering how much he likes to work, it was also predictable. Yet, the fact that Tails was acting like him... He could tell why Sonic wanted to stop him so badly. Not that he would stop doing what he does, of course, but still... He has a new light now on why he does so. But Sonic himself was his biggest concern... He turned literally into a Speedster Joker that loved to mess around with anyone around him for no reason whatsoever. He liked to see them in pain... And that was no good. "Let's see: The sheriff applied to the rules is now corrupted, the art lover hates it, the sweet pop star is now rude, the useless without friendship is now useful without friendship, the one who hates being a princess wants to be queen, the guy who loves to work is now lazy, the smart and kind one is now like me... I never thought I would say that... And the blue rat went from being Spider-Man with speed to the bucking Joker with The Flash powers..." Eggman pointed out. "Oh no!" Misty cried out after Eggman said all of this before looking at the necklace on the living room's table. "What are you doing to my friends?!" she asked with concern. "Misty, listen carefully..." Eggman called out through the robotic ladybug as the machine flew from her ear and stopped right before him. However, as he was about to speak, Misty had to duck down at Sonic passing by. Still, Eggman's ladybug didn't manage to save itself, as it got hit by Sonic, and once it fell to the ground, it broke before getting smashed by Izzy, as she was stomping over more of her creations. "No!" Misty cried out when the ladybug got destroyed. Unlike the necklace, the ladybug was a gift from Eggman. It was a little companion for her that would help the doctor keep an eye on her and make sure Opaline's cruelty didn't get the best of her. But now, that gift has been destroyed, all because of Opaline and the necklace she gave her. But no more. Misty was tired of this. She reached her limit, and she wasn't allowing Opaline to hurt her, Eggman, or her friends. So, with a determinate look, Misty hopped inside the Brighthouse, dodging some cloud tentacles that came out of the smoke made by the amulet, while Izzy laughed maniacally and stomped on her craft. As Misty dodged another one of those tentacles, Hitch kept tossing litter in the air, and Knuckles kept eating snacks and watching TV. Misty was getting closer to the necklace when suddenly, a last tentacle headed towards her, with Opaline's laugh being heard in the background. Yet, this did not intimidate Misty, as she jumped over the tentacle and then drifted to the floor before stopping right in front of the necklace and grabbing it with her hoof. Then, she put the necklace back, and it finally closed entirely, with all the smoke going into the necklace. This made the Mane 5, and Team Sonic's eyes go back to normal, while they all gasped and looked on, confused at what they were are doing. Sonic even stopped running and tripped on the floor. "Whoa..." Sunny groaned as she shook her head and looked around confused, also blinking a few times. "I do not feel like myself..." she confessed, as she stared at the scissors on her hoof and the picture she was about to cut. "Aw, man..." Sonic groaned as he stood up and looked around at all the mess made. "Uh... Did we throw a party with alcohol again? That's the only explanation I find for all this..." he pointed out. Tails, on the other hand, was having a hard time staying on air because of the seven mechanical tails around him. "W-What the heck is this?!" he asked, confused, before pressing the release button on the backpack, as it fell with a loud thud on the floor, while Tails himself also landed. "Gosh..." Knuckles complained with a cringed expression and his face turned green. "I-I don't need what the hell I ate, but––" he tried to add... However, he couldn't because he immediately rushed towards the bathroom and closed the door, while throwing up sounds were heard from there. "I don't think any of us is feeling as themselves..." Sonic pointed out, as he scratched his head sheepishly and shamed himself because he started to remember what he did while the necklace controlled him, and he wasn't any proud about it. "Yeah, I don't feel like myself, either..." Misty said with a down expression, looking once again at the necklace, hating on how it made so much trouble for her friends. So, she looked back at them with a smile. "Come on. Follow me," she told them. The rest just looked at each other, confused, before looking back at Misty and following her. Right then, Knuckles came out of the bathroom after being done with his throw up before noticing the rest leaving, so he quickly moved to leave with them. Later on, the group followed Misty to a cliff that led to the ocean. "You were right, Zipp..." Misty said as she looked at the mentioned pegasus. "This necklace is bad news!" she added, taking off her amulet. After that, she decided to drop the amulet, which fell to the sandy beach on the ground and shattered into pieces, also giving an electrical magic discharge... Before shooting out a dark magic laser into the sky, everyone gasped in surprise while the laser got bigger. Eventually, it faded away, and the group looked nervously at each other after what happened. "Well..." Sonic spoke after a few minutes of silence. "That was... something..." he pointed out with a concerned look. Then, Sunny turned to Misty with a smile. "So, how do you feel?" she asked her. Misty herself took a second to look at the sun setting on the horizon before smiling brightly. "I feel... good. Lighter. Happier. More like... me!" she said with a smile, placing her hoof on her chest. "That's amazing, Misty!" Tails smiled and side-huggered her. Misty blushed slightly but also smiled back. "So, really, who gave you the necklace?" Zipp stepped in with a raised eyebrow, but she was also smiling. "Was it an heirloom? A birthday present? Did you find it in Bridlewood?" she asked her several times. "Trust me, you do not wanna know," Misty answered with a smile as she walked off, while Zipp immediately went after her. "Come on, give me something!" Zipp begged, while Tails walked beside her and rolled his eyes, shacking his head and smiling at her attitude, while everyone else followed behind. "It's not pegasus jewelry. Critter jewelry? Do critters make jewelry?" she asked many questions. "Zipp, what did we talk about bombing at somepony with questions?" Tails asked with a mocking smirk. Zipp groaned in annoyance at him but still answered. "Be polite and not intrusive..." she replied with a bored expression, while Tails nodded, satisfied with this response. Then, Hitch suddenly stopped as he held up a crumpled-up paper that he kept before giving a sinister smirk tossing the paper onto the ground and walking off. However, it didn't take him long to come back and pick up the litter before catching up with the others. Opaline and Eggman were staring at Opaline's boiler in her castle. They stared at the image of the now-destroyed amulet. Opaline was grinding her teeth madly while Eggman kept staring at the boiler with no comments. "I'm gonna have a serious conversation with that young mare when she returns..." Opaline stated with anger boiling through her skin. Meanwhile, Eggman kept staring... He was sure about one thing now that the necklace was broken: Misty seemed to have chosen her side, and unfortunately for him, they were on opposite sides now... To be continued... Author's Note Okay, this is my longest TYT episode so far... And it came out on the first try, WHOO! Now, there's a lot I would like to say about this chapter, and maybe it helps you guys to get some stuff. First of all, no, writing Knuckles as a lazy guy when he's "evil" is not bad writing. Knuckles genuinely shows he enjoys doing stuff in general as long as he's busy, and it shows if you read my previous stories. Second, Sonic being totally insane and, as Eggman stated, a Joker with The Flash powers fits more with the way I imagine an evil Sonic: He still makes fun of everyone, but he enjoys doing harm and even killing if the chance presents. Third, Tails pulling out a Nine, but acting like Eggman, is accurate even in the games' canon. After all, if Tails never met Sonic, or if he met Eggman instead, I'm pretty sure he would be the Bowser Jr. of Sonic, or even take Metal Sonic's place. Finally, you guys might be wondering why this Episode is still not teasing Season 2. In fact, if you read carefully, this episode is labelled as "Part 1". Heck, it even teases a continuation for the next episode, not for my Season 2. Well, that explanation will be better integrated on this blog post I made, but let's just say that I decided to divide the tie up with my Season 2 in two parts. This episode is part one, the next one will be part two. Now, before you ask how am I going to do next Episode when it comes out after Make Your Mark: Chapter 4... I have one answer: Fanfiction works like that. My story, my rules. I'm "the god" of this stories, so I can make the changes I see necessary. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this episode, and I'll see you next time with part 2. Also, please red the blog I posted, it has info you should definitely read. Bye! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 54. A Chaotic Birthday - Part 2In Opaline's Castle, Opaline walked back and forth in front of her throne with a frown. Meanwhile, Eggman stood at one side of the throne, his glasses' glow illuminating him, giving him a very intimidating look. Misty stood before both, trying not to shake in fear as she gulped and waited for Opaline to speak. "So, let me recap this: Those idiots got influenced by the necklace's magic, and since you didn't want anyone more evil than Ivo and I to take over Equestria, your solution was to destroy the necklace?!" Opaline asked/shouted in rage. Misty gulped again after that outburst and nodded with a sheepish smile. At this, Opaline ground her teeth and growled before sighing and frowning at Misty. "While I'm not happy with the necklace's destruction, I agree that having those ponies, and whatever those three are supposed to be, is evil. It could be problematic," she admitted. "Still, you broke the necklace, Misty. Now I have no way to communicate with you... again!" she roared. "You know, Opaline? Maybe it's for the best," Eggman spoke as he stepped in. Opaline glared at him, and Misty looked at him in fear while sweating. "Your power is weakening again, remember? The flame of that lizard's fire that Misty brought you months ago is starting to fade away from your body. Are you going to waste what's left of your power in a 2-minute call to hear that she hasn't trapped your so-desired dragon?" he questioned with a frown. Opaline blinked a few times after hearing that. "... I suppose you have a valid point..." she admitted. "But I'm still concerned that it was destroyed. Are you sure you didn't destroy it on purpose, Misty?" she asked the mare with a glare. Misty started to sweat nervously after being accused of that. It was the truth, but Opaline didn't need to know. "No! It was to prevent any evil competition, you know?" Misty replied in a nervous tone and smile, chuckling nervously. "You better be telling the truth, Misty," Opaline warned. "I'll let you take your day free today. I hope you use it to reflect on your actions," She then left the Throne Room, leaving Misty and Eggman alone. Both sighed in relief after she was gone, and Misty turned to see Eggman with a smile. "Thanks for covering my back, Dad–– Doctor!" she quickly corrected herself with a blush. "I don't wanna imagine what she would've done if she found out what happened..." she pointed out nervously. "Well, you technically didn't lie," Eggman pointed out. "Yeah, sure, you didn't mention that you helped them to get back into their senses before destroy the necklace, but other than that? You didn't lie at all!" he added with a smile. "Well, when you put it like that..." Misty said as she rubbed her chin with a hoof. "Besides, I'm also right in this: Her power is weakening, so destroying that necklace would have crossed her mind eventually," Eggman pointed out again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta see how to mess with that Hedgehog today. You should go and––" he tried to add. "Wait... TODAY'S JUNE 23rd?!" Misty shouted in panic while placing her hooves on her head. "I gotta go! I really, really gotta go! I was supposed to buy the donuts or Tails, and Pipp will get upset!" she stated as she rushed out of the castle as fast as possible. Eggman blinked a few times down his glasses after she panicked and ran away. "Uh... I guess I'm gonna get to work, then..." he said, shrugging and walking towards his lab. But then, Misty returned and popped her head from behind the door. "Oh, and Doctor?" she called out as Eggman turned to face her. "Happy Birthday!" she said with a cheery smile before rushing to the exit again. Eggman stood completely in shock after hearing that, also blushing in embarrassment. Ever since he can remember, no one ever wished him a happy birthday, not even his own family, his birthdays always consist of another day at the job for him, and after finding out that Sonic shares the same birthday as him, his schemes consist of eradicating him, or at least defeating him, as his birthday present. But today, for the first time in years, somepony wished him a happy birthday... That... That made him smile. Genuinely smile. "Heh... Guess It will be a good day after all," Eggman said with a joyful expression as he entered his lab while whistling a happy melody. Misty and Knuckles were busy in the Crystal Brighthouse's kitchen, the Mane 5y. Izzy was placing gloves around and a big blue banner with golden stars that said "Happy Birthday, Sonic!" that she rolled up to hide from him. Sunny and Hitch placed plates and cups on the table; Pipp put a plate with cupcakes; Zipp was twirling some serpentines on the ceiling; Misty put two plates with donuts; and Knuckles put a blue cake with a Sonic figure on top. Suddenly, Tails burst into the Brighthouse, panting heavily, and then rushed to the rest in the kitchen. "He'll be here! Any second now!" he exclaimed with panic. Everypony gasped after hearing that, so they quickly gathered around the table, Tails included, as they stood as close as possible to hide the threats. Then, Sonic entered the Brighthouse, curled into a ball, before standing straight again and sliding with his feet on the ground to stop. "Hey guys! What's going on?" Sonic asked with a smile. Slowly, he walked towards his friends until he noticed the decorations around them. " Are you guys having a party or something?" he asked curiously. Then, Tails looked at the rest and counted to three with his fingers. When he reached three, they spread and revealed the treats while Knuckles raised the cake and Izzy unrolled the banner. "Surprise!" they all said together as Pipp and Zipp made two hoofheld confetti cannons explode and spread confetti around. Sonic was surprised to see this happen. He felt some deja vu for some reason, but that didn't stop him from smiling at his friends. "Aww, you guys!" he said with happiness. He approached the table to join his friends, and as he did so, Pipp approached and peeked a small kiss on his cheek, which weirdly made him chuckle but not laugh. "It's kind of impossible to surprise you!" Sunny pointed out with a little smile. "We had to be really precise on when to plan all of this out without you finding out," Zipp added with a smile. "Good thing you always go out for a run every morning," Knuckles said, patting his back with a smirk. "Otherwise, this would've been complicated to pull off." "But by your reaction, we did a good job!" Pipp said happily as she side-hugged him with a smile. "Well, you certainly got me this time!" Sonic said with a smirk. "I had no idea!" he confessed. "Yeah, right!" Tails cheered with a smile. "Happy Birthday, Sonic! Hope you like this!" he added, as he brought out a plate that had a Chili Dog on it with a red ribbon around. Emphasis on had, because as soon as Tails showed the Chili Dog, Sonic snatched it and chomped it happily, while Tails stared down at the empty plate with wide eyes. "Like it?!" Sonic asked, turning to Tails with sparkling eyes and a huge smile. "I love it!" he declared, raising his thumbs. "Well, that's great!" Sunny said with a smile, as Sonic chomped a second time the Chili Dog. "Say, are you up to a day full of fun activities for the birthday boy?" she asked with a smirk and wink. "Depends. This is not like that dumbass 'Four parties in one thing' from your birthday, right?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow while finishing the Chili Dog. "Nope! Knuckles and I made sure that said mistake won't happen again!" Tails assured as he and the echidna fist-bumped with smirks. "We organized ourselves this time so we can all do what we want to do with you in one go!" Hitch explained with a smile, showing a list on his phone. "And there won't be any interruptions in the middle!" Izzy added with a cheery smile. "We're gonna make sure that you have the best birthday ever!" she cheered happily, wrapping a hoof around his neck. "Well, if you guys coordinated yourselves as you should've, I guess I'm down for some fun!" Sonic said with a smile. "My only concern is a walking egg obsessed with killing me as a his birthday present, but we haven't heard from him in a while, so it's sure to say he's out of ideas. Let's freaking do this!" he cheered out loud. Everyone else cheered alongside, ready to give Sonic a birthday to remember. Eggman had his robotic Flicky watching over the conversation. He was sitting in front of his computer at the lab in the castle. Thanks to the Flicky, he heard everything about the birthday they had prepared for Sonic, and he couldn't grin more if he tried. "So those fools wanna give Sonic a birthday to never forget, huh?" Eggman said with a chuckle. "Well, I'm down for contributing to that statement!" he added, laughing maniacally for a bit. Then, he got up from his chair and walked towards his Eggmobile. He then jumped inside, closed the capsule, and started flying out of Opaline's Castle and towards Maretime Bay. As he did so, he also pressed another button on his Eggmobile. "Sage, while I'm out, take another lecture between the Chaos Energy of the Emeralds and the magical properties of Bridlewood crystals, okay?" "I'll work on it," Sage replied. First, and as anyone should've expected, Pipp took Sonic to Mane Melody. She sat him down on a chair in front of the magic mirror and started showing him several looks he could try out: a spiky head, which he denied; a ponytail, which he had already used before, which is why he denied it again; and a haircut that lifted his quills and also had green stripes. This made him shake his head like a maniac in denial since he almost looked like a Shadow doppelgänger with different-colored skin. Finally, however, she gave him an emo/punk vibe that made him smile with sparkling eyes. Then, with a smirk, he raised his thumbs approvingly at Pipp, and Pipp smiled back. Let's go! Now it was Izzy and Misty's turn to spend time with Sonic. Izzy brought over a giant empty wall, while Misty brought a bucket with balloons full of paint. Izzy grabbed one with her hoof and threw it against the wall, and Misty followed along. However, Sonic had a better idea of how to to paint the wall AND have some fun, so he first followed their game along... He suddenly threw one balloon at Izzy's face, covering it in red paint. Izzy's eyes widened when that happened, and she looked at Sonic, who whistled innocently as he launched another balloon against the wall. However, Izzy smirked mischievously because she wouldn't allow him to go away with that one. So, she grabbed a balloon and threw it at Sonic, who got his right arm painted with green paint. This made him chuckle, as he grabbed several balloons and started to splat them against Izzy, as the unicorn ran away from him while laughing. Izzy ran across the board so the wall could get the paint instead of her, but she still got paint over her body. As Sonic did that, Misty looked at them with a smile and a raised eyebrow until Izzy got behind her, and Sonic launched a balloon splatted on her face, covering it with yellow paint. Misty's eyes widened in shock while Sonic and Izzy snorted at her. That made Misty smirk mischievously as she grabbed a balloon and splatted it on Izzy's face, covering her in blue paint. So, the three friends started a paintball fight. They laughed and tried to cover themselves with as much paint as possible, completely forgetting about the wall. However, they didn't know that Eggman was watching them from behind some bushes, grinning as he pressed a button on his Eggmobile. Long time no see I know Whatcha got on your plate today? Do you want to run away? After that, a Moto Bug arrived and glared at his objective in the distance: Sonic. The badnik ran towards Sonic and prepared to stab him in the back now that he was not looking. Still, as soon as he moved to launch another paint balloon at Misty, the badnik tripped and slid on the floor with all the spread paint until it crashed against the wall, as more paint fell on him because of the fight between Sonic, Izzy, and Misty. We'll make it, no breakin' Awake and ready to escape No stopping 'til all the way However, once Misty looked back at the wall, she gasped with sparkling eyes and pointed her hoof at it: Thanks to the battle, a beautiful painting of Maretime Bay, with the sea and the sun rising high in the background, had been made. Sonic and Izzy also looked at the wall, and their eyes sparkled at the paint. There was no logical explanation as to how such a beautiful thing happened, but with how many weird things happen to them every day, this is just a new addition to the list. Suddenly, however, the Moto Bug from before fell to its side and got dizzy eyes, covered in pink, orange, and blue paint, while Izzy, Sonic, and Misty looked at it with confused expressions. Still, they shrugged, and Izzy used the empty bucket to smash the badnik. After that, the three turned and left, while Eggman deadpanned on his hidden place because of what happened to the badnik and then facepalmed. Next, Sonic went with Sunny and Hitch. The two earth ponies knew how much he liked to compete in all kinds of sports, soy they decided to have a Baseball play. Sonic will be the Southpaw pitcher, while Hitch would be catching the ball, and Sunny would be the batter. Meanwhile, Eggman hide behind a rock, and instead of pulling out one of his trustful badniks, he went for an easer rout and decided to use something not made by him nor from his world, but equally dangerous: A big, black cannon with a skull symbol at the bottom. It was a Bill Blaster, and Eggman placed it on the sand while pointing at Sonic since he was giving his back again. Don't count me out Chasin' disaster, I'm goin' faster Free my feet, I'll be unleashed Once Hitch blew a whistle, Sonic started to prepare to launch the ball, while Eggman behind laughed and pressed a button that activated the Bill Blaster, sending a Bullet Bill straight towards Sonic. However, this didn't make that much because Sonic jumped and curled into a ball, which made the Bullet Bill keep going straight, while Sonic landed and now launched the ball. now Of course, seeing the Bullet Bill coming to her and thinking it was the ball, Sunny hit it and sent it away, but then the real ball came, and Hitch caught it, blowing the whistle again to indicate that Sunny got a strike, which confused her. As for the Bullet Bill? Well, it spun in the air and headed towards Eggman and the Bill Blaster, which made the doctor deadpan again, as his mustache flattened in boredom, while he and the Bill Blaster got hit with the Bullet Bill and then sent away. Now, it was Zipp's turn. She perfectly knew how much Sonic liked to race, and since Tails recreated the Blue Star II Extreme Gear, they could race in the sky now. So, after a little test with Tails, Sonic and Zipp were now having a competition in the air, with Zipp flapping her wings as fast as possible, while Sonic wore new shoes and a pair of glasses on his forehead, riding the Blue Star II to race against Zipp. Meet ya there, I dare ya to come through In the air, we'll dance like we used to Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na You're givin' me a little mania While Sonic and Zipp were too focused on the race, Eggman hid in his Eggmobile behind a cloud.bbed his hands mischievously, and then hessed a button that launched a Buzz Bomber from below the vehicle. With this, the Buzz Bomber began to chase down Zipp and Sonic, but it didn't take them long to notice the badnik. However, they both looked at each other with bored expressions, rolling their eyes and then slowing down to be at the Buzz Bomber's side, which widened the bandit's eyes. Then, Sonic and Zipp smashed their bodies together against the badnik, damaging it greatly. Zipp kicked it hard enough to send it backwards as it headed towards Eggman, who once again deadpanned and accepted his destiny. The Buzz Bomber crashed with the Eggmobile and exploded, sending Eggman flying away once again. And finally, Sonic went with Tails and Knuckles. The three of them stood on a hill for a while, chatting happily as they waited. What were they waiting for? Well, since Eggman has been trying to kill Sonic the whole day, they all decided it was best to face him off in a proper battle. Soon enough, Eggman arrived with the Egg Beater, charged up and ready for a proper fight against Team Sonic. In a dash, we'll crash down the party I can taste the race in your heartbeat Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na You're givin' me a little mania Yet this battle was shortened, because Sonic Spindashed on the ground and charged against the Egg Beater, who was trying to smash him down with its fists, Sonic jumped on the Egg beater's face, sending it a bit backwards. Next, Tails Spindashed around the robot, disarming the machine's arms and then creating a plasma gun with his powers, which he used to blast a powerful laser that sent the Egg Beater even more backward. Da-da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Mania! Da-da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Mania And finally, Knuckles cracked his fists with a smirk before charging electricity on one of them and then sent the Egg Beater, with Eggman on it, flying thousands of miles away with one punch, as the doctor screamed in fright. Da-da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Mania! Da-da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da With the short battle done, the three friends gathered together and smirked before fist-bumping each other in celebration of their victory over Eggman... again. The entire group gathered together at sundown, this time outside the Brighthouse. To celebrate his birthday, Sonic decided to picnic outside the Crystal Brighthouse with all the food his friends had had prepared for him. It was such a good time where they all just spent together and laughed about stuff, enjoying a good time without worries. Even Misty seemed a bit more open than usual and less nervous, even if she was still trying to be careful with her words not to screw it up and suddenly say that she works with Eggman and Opaline. Finally, they were ready to finish this off with Sonic blowing the candles off his cake. Still, while Knuckles and Hitch struggled to decide if either to use the '26' numbered candles or 26 regular ones, Sonic had an internal conflict with Eggman. Indeed, he constantly tries to kill him, and it's also true that he gets more obsessed with the idea on his birthday, but... He never stopped considering why in the first place. Was it because of his frustrations? Was it because he wanted so badly to finally defeat him and say, at least once, that he managed to beat Sonic the Hedgehog? Or was it because his birthdays have been bad even before meeting him? Maybe that would explain why he tries to kill him on this very day every year... Because he saw a target in Sonic, he could release all his stress of never having an actual happy birthday... Worse of all, as he looked in a certain direction, he gasped because he saw Eggman standing behind some bushes with a frown, but Sonic could see him... Seeing Eggman frowning wasn't anything new, but... He could see in his face that this had been anything but a happy birthday, just like he expected. "Sonic!" Tails' voice called out, and Sonic turned to see the young fox. "The candles are ready!" he said with a smile, pointing at the blue '26' candle over the cake. "Ready to blow it away and make a wish?" Sunny asked, smiling as he approached. Sonic, however, still seemed conflicted, and before replying, he glanced once again at Eggman hiding behind the bushes, seeing how the doctor sighed and refused with his head before turning around and starting to walk away. That made Sonic feel... bad for him. He barely had any sympathy for Eggman, but... looking back at all the times they fought on their birthday, he realizes that Eggman wanted to be happy on his birthday, and Sonic still defeated him. For a good reason, true, but... that just made Eggman's unhappy life even more miserable... Sonic smiled and glanced back at his friends. "Well, I was thinking that this cake needs one more thing," he replied, gaining confused looks from his friends. Izzy, you don't happen to have a '50'- shaped candle, do you?" he asked her with a smile. Eggman was walking across the forest with a frown. Once again, this was a horrible birthday... He lost against Sonic again, and worse of all, he was humiliated by him and his friends as usual... It wouldn't bother him; it was just a normal day, but no... It was his birthday, and he still didn't get his present. He approached his Eggmobile, which was a bit damaged because of the impact he got on the Egg Beater earlier, and the sight just made him sigh heavily and rub his eyes again. "What's the point anymore? I keep fighting this hedgehog on his birthday every day, and I still lose..." Eggman said with a frown and a disappointed tone. "Why do I insist on defeating an unstoppable force? Why can't I accept that I lost?!" he shouted in rage. "Because you never give up," Sonic's voice spoke, which surprised the doctor. He slowly turned around and found Sonic, holding the cake his friends made for him with the blue '26' candle already on. However, it also had an Eggman figure besides the Sonic one, which made Eggman raise an eyebrow, confused. "I dismantle your plans, destroy your robots, defeat your badniks, kick your butt, and make fun of you..." Sonic pointed out as he walked with the cake towards Eggman, who didn't flinched nor tried to step back. "And you still keep fighting because that's who you are... Ivo," Sonic finished with a smile. Okay, this was something new for Eggman... Sonic only called him by his real name whenever he was mad or upset in general... But he was calling him by his name with so much calm that whatever kind of insult he had prepared for him when he was done speaking just faded away. "Even if you are still a pain in my ass, I find pretty admirable that you look back at your failures and still manage to come back better than the last time," Sonic kept speaking. "It's pretty hard to top yourself sometimes, and you still do it... Even if it threatens millions of lives, but still... It's impressive how much you outdo yourself," he added with a smirk. Then, he carefully moved the cake to one side revealing something that made Eggman's eyes widen: a red '50' candle right beside the other one. This surprised the doctor because that's how old he's becoming today, and the cake that was supposed to be only for Sonic now had his age in there as well... That would explain why there was a figure of himself beside Sonic's. Soon enough, as the sun settled on the horizon, the Mane 5, Misty, Tails, and Knuckles arrived slowly, holding either a blue or red candle while humming a melody and surrounding both Sonic and Eggman, with Sonic smiling at his friends. At the same time, Eggman felt confused on what was happening. "I know we're not pals, Eggman... And I know that tomorrow we'll both wake up and desire to defeat each other as usual..." Sonic admitted with a sad smile, carefully placing the cake on the ground and then looking back at Eggman. "But... I say we make a truce, just this one time, and let ourselves enjoy this day. It is our birthday, after all!" he pointed out with a smirk. "So, what do you say, Ivo? Wanna have a happy birthday today?" he asked, extending his hand at him. Eggman had no words to describe how he was feeling right now... These people... These ponies... They've been frustrating his plans for months now, and right now, they were trying to make him feel special and appreciated on his birthday... He had no idea why they were doing it. Was this a trick to catch him with his guard down? Was this just a prank? But Misty was with them... He didn't realize that until now... She was smiling as she hummed along with the rest. Why would she do that if this was a prank? He looked back at Sonic with his hand extended... And even if he hated to do it, he had to recognize it: Sonic was right. This is their birthday. And, despite everything they have lived before that have settled them as enemies, Eggman wanted to have one happy birthday... Maybe it was time to take that chance now that he had it. So, he sighed, looked Sonic in the eyes, who was still smirking and smirked back, stretching his hand with the hedgehog. Once the enemies separated their hands, the humming from the test stopped, and the the cake started to float,, thanks to Izzy's magic. Sonic and Eggman looked around, then at each other,, and nodded with smiles, knowing exactly what to do now. Both of them closed their eyes, even if it couldn't be seen with Eggman because of his glasses, and then they blown the cake candles with their wishes, which made the rest around them cheer at them, even at Eggman, for his surprise. Sonic's wish was to keep having these good momentse with those who mattered to him, even if bad experiences came along the way... Eggman's wish? Despite being a villain, his wish was pretty surprising, even for himself... He just wished to have another happy birthday like this one next year... On the snowy parts of Equestria, a white portal appeared suddenly during a blizzard. Team Dark and Amy Rose appeared from this portal and landed on the snow. Shadow was the first one to stand up and look around quickly. But he saw nothing but a snowy storm around. "W-Where are we?!" Amy asked as she started shivering from the cold. "No idea," Shadow replied casually. He was also shivering but wanted to stay calm to 'not lose his cool'. "O-Omega... S-Scan the area a-and report," Rouge said, also shivering from the cold. Omega stood up and scanned the place. "Current location: unknown," he informed. "G-Great... Now what?" Amy said with frustration. "I think we're in the right place,," Shadow said suddenly,, his arms crossed and eyes closed. "H-How can you tell?!" Rouge asked in concern and anger. "Because I haven't felt the energy of the Chaos Emeralds ever since they disappeared with Sonic," Shadow explained, opening his eyes again and looking at Rouge. "But right now... I can feel it again," he added. "... T-Then... t-that means..." Amy tried to say in excitement. "We did it," Shadow said in her place. "We arrived in Equestria," he stated. Despite being freezing almost death, Amy still smiled happily, while Rouge kept trembling because of the cold. "G-Great... N-Now, can we find a place to stay and get warm? P-Please?" Rouge begged shaky, hugging herself. "As much as I would love to go after those three and Dr. Eggman, Rouge has a point," Shadow recognized. "Not even I could survive this kind of temperature," he confessed. "Y-You admitting you c-can't do something?" Amy mocked up with a smirk, even if she kept trembling from the cold. "A-Are we sure you were n-not exchanged with an S-Shadow from another universe or s-something?" she mocked more. Shadow only rolled his eyes in annoyance and turned to see the robot. "Omega. Find the warmest place possible. We don't need to die from a cold here," he instructed. Omega immediately started to scan his surroundings, searching for such a place, but because of the storm, he could barely see anything that wasn't a bunch of snow. "Current climate condition messes with my visual contac,t" Omega replied. "My services cannot help right now," he added, looking down in shame. Shadow frowned, Amy facepalmed, and Rouge groaned in annoyance after hearing that. "G-Great! N-Now, what do we do?!" Rouge asked with concern. Shadow let out a long sigh. "I guess we'll have to look for cover by ourselves..." he said with concern as he started to walk on the snow in a random direction. Amy groaned after hearing this but still decided to follow Shadow, with Omega following as well, while Rouge let out a very loud and frustrated groan before sighing in defeat and following the others as well. In Eggman's lab, Sage was running several tests on the registered lectures she had. So far, there still seemed to be no relation nor connection between the Chaos Energy of the Chaos Emeralds and the magical properties of Bridlewood's crystals, which was making Sage frustrated, even if she was just an AI program. However, as she was about to give up, one of the many tests she ran finally showed something satisfying, so she quickly opened said test and presented the data onscreen. "Coincidence: Found" Sage said out loud. The data generally said that the magical properties from the crystals and the Chaos Energy were... the same kind of energy, just with a different origin on their creation... TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: MAKE YOUR MARK - SEASON 2 Author's Note Guys, this is it... In one week exactly, Sonic x Make Your Mark: Season 2 premieres! Also, behold! The very first original episode in Sonic x Tell Your Tale I've ever made! And it came in the first try again, WHOO!!! Now, there's several things I wanna talk about today's Episode: 1- Since the actual TYT Episode released today had stuff that I cannot talk about because... Well, spoilers, I decided to make my own thing today! And I like it, to tell the truth. I think I still captured what TYT usually does, but now by having Sonic and Eggman as the protagonists. 2- You might think that because Season 2 premieres on Sonic and Eggman's actual birthday, the first episode is a birthday episode... Yeah, go buy some clown makeover, you're gonna need it. I wanted to make this episode Sonic's birthday because of the same reason that Season 2 doesn't has it: Eggman. I wanted him to have a wholesome birthday, and it honestly works better in TYT than in MYM. 3- Team Dark's arrival is half of a copy paste, I know, but I wanted to tease them in TYT for the very first time before actually using them in Season 2 next week. 4- That last thing with the Chaos Emeralds and Bridlewood's crystals having the same kind of energy with different origins... Yeah, Frontiers goes deeper on this subject, but let's just say: If you think you know everything about the Chaos Emeralds, you're really gonna use that clown makeover... And that's pretty much everything I can say! Thanks so much for reading so far, and brace yourselves, 'cause we're dropping Season 2 next week! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 55. I've Seen Fire And I've Seen Rain(Bows)Author's Note WARNING! I recommend to read Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Make Your Mark - Season 2 before keep reading. 55. I've Seen Fire And I've Seen Rain(Bows) In Opaline's Castle, Opaline was laughing maniacally. Then, she turned around to look at Sparky, who's Dragon Fire was being drained by the Dragonstone. He was also trapped in a bubble. "Finally, it's mine. All mine!" Opaline said, as she looked at Sparky in glee. Meanwhile, Sparky looked really weak from getting his Dragon Fire taken, as his scales turned gray. "Oh please..." Opaline said with an eye roll, walking up to him. "You couldn't handle so much power, anyway" she added with a smirk. "I, on the other hand, know exactly what to do" she stated, as she stomped her hoof down and lifted up her other one, which lit up a flame. "It's finally time to take my rightful place as the most powerful Fire Alicorn of all time!" she declared with an evil grin, as her hoof lit up brighter and she then tossed her fire blast into a vase, breaking it. However, the same raccoonicorn from when Opaline was waiting for Misty to bring her a smoothie came out from behind the vase Opaline blasted, as he ate a sandwich. "You again?" Opaline asked in surprise at the raccoonicorn, then glared at them. "How many times have I told you…" she started, then closed her eyes, and then, five fireballs appeared over her head. "... Get out of here!" she yelled in anger, shooting the fireballs at the raccoonicorn. The raccoonicorn got startled and leapt away from the fire blasts, as they destroyed the remains of the vase and their sandwich, while the critter ran around the room, dodging some fireballs and screeching in fright. Sparky, on the other hand, whimpered in pain, as his Dragon Fire was still being drained out of him and charging the Dragonstone, while Opaline laughed maniacally as she shot more fireballs like crazy. "Nopony can stop me now!" Opaline boasted with a sinister grin, as she laughing maniacally while fire streams shot out around her as she spread her wings. Back to reality, in Mane Melody, Pipp was imitating Opaline with a maniac laugh. This was just Pipp trying to retell the encounter the Mane 5 and Sonic had with both Opaline and Eggman. Besides herself, the Mane 5, Misty, Team Sonic, Shadow, Rouge, Jazz and a couple of raccoonicorns where in the salon as well, with Jazz feeling scared by Pipp's story while the others just look at her in silence. Oh, and now that Misty is not living with Opaline anymore, she has moved to live with the Mane 5 and Team Sonic in the Brighthouse, which the Unity Crystals expanded again to give Amy and Misty some sections on the bedroom as well after restoring everything else once Sonic used his Super form to restore them. Now, Misty's mane and tail were a mix purple and orange, a change she made to start a new chapter in her life, far away from what she used to be with Opaline. "W-W-Wait..." Zipp said confuse, as she stopped her sister's narration. "A raccoonicorn? That can't be right, Pipp" she said, then she looked at the other mares. "Do you ponies remember a raccoonicorn?" she asked them. Of course, all the mares started to think back on that day, which was just a week ago, and they all denied that they saw a raccoonicorn. Then, they all saw Sonic, who was sitting on a chair in the salon like the other Mobians, and he shrugged. "Don't look at me! I arrived 10 minutes after Opaline captured you, remember?" he pointed out. Then, Pipp lowered to her friends and groaned in annoyance to her sister. "Ugh. Zipp. You're interrupting my story!" she pointed out as she stood up. "I'm just getting to the good part" she added with a smirk. "Remind me, why is your girlfriend narrating again?" Shadow muttered to Sonic with an annoyed look. "As much as I hate to say it, you have good narration skills..." he pointed out. "Because if I don't let her, she's gonna make a whole-ass drama on how a terrible boyfriend I am..." Sonic replied with a bored expression. "... You know what? I'm not even gonna say anything about that..." Shadow replied, returning his attention to Pipp's story. "Good choice" Sonic replied. "... And then, Misty raced across all of Equestria to find her friends and give them the horrible, dreadful news!" Pipp narrated. Misty was running across Maretime Bay with a panicked look, racing towards the Crystal Brighthouse and opening the door. Of course, inside, Tails was knocked out in the couch, and Sonic and Shadow were nowhere to be seen, but Misty was concerned for other stuff. "Quick ponies! I saw somepony dragon-napping Sparky!" Misty said with concern. "What?!" Hitch cried out in panic, as he came next to Misty. "Dragon-napped?! What are you saying?! Where did they go?! This can't be happening?!" he shouted, utterly panicked at this point, then he faced Misty, who was sweating nervously at Hitch's breakdown. "DID YOU SEE WHERE THEY WENT, MISTY?!" he cried out. "Um. I did..." Misty replied, still nervous because of Hitch's breakdown. "But we have to hurry!" she pointed out. "You guys go!" Knuckles told the others with a confident look. "We'll keep an eye on Tails" he added with a nod. "And we'll look after your Crystals as well" Rouge added with a slight frown. "If Eggman or Opaline come around, we're gonna be very polite with them!" Amy added, as she brought out her Piko Piko Hammer. The Mane 5 all nodded at them, then they rushed out of the Brighthouse with determinate looks and got into the Marestream as they flew off. "But could Misty save the day, and get the ponies to Sparky before it was too late?" Pipp narrated again. Pipp finished her story with a worried expression. "I don't know about saving the day, Pipp" Misty said with a nervous smile, while the rest turned to her. "I mean, I was the reason that Sparky got dragon-napped in the first place" she pointed out with a guilty expression. "You know, helping Opaline and Eggman all that time" she finished. "It's okay, Misty" Sunny told her with a smile, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "All that matters is that you did the right thing when it counted the most! You choose friendship" she pointed out happily. "Yeah!" Zipp added with a smile, as she came next to Misty. "Betraying Opaline to help us was totally brave. And… you got yourself a real Cutie Mark to replace the one you always drew on!" she pointed out, also pointing at Misty's new Cutie Mark. "It's just what I told you: You only had to prove you were our friend!" Sonic reminded, as he approached Misty as well and wrapped his arm around her neck, also winking at her. Misty grabbed the wood in her mouth and ran full speed at the bubble, slashing it and freeing everyone, but it sent her flying backwards. Thankfully, Sonic caught her just in time and put her back in the floor. Suddenly, Misty's hooves and legs began to glow bright blue, before she was lifted up into the air, as a sphere of blue light appeared around Misty. Then, the sphere touched her right flank... where her own cutie mark finally appeared. It was a Butterfly with blue and pink spots on top and blue and pink spots on the bottom. After this, Misty brushed her mane and tail with orange and purple colors for her new appearance, as she fling her mane around with a smile. Zipp, Misty and Sonic smiled as they looked at Misty's Cutie Mark. "By the way..." Amy spoke, as she approached Misty and softly touched her mane. "Even if you looked nice with that green and blue mane, the new looks are beautiful, Misty!" she said with a smile. "Agreed!" Rouge said, as she flew upside down and looked at Misty with a smile as well. "The colors does suit your sparkle a lot better" she pointed out. Misty blushed slightly embarrassed at so many compliments since... well, she wasn't used to them just yet. "Um... W-Well... Thanks!" she said shyly. "Hey! I didn't wanted to bring this up all of a sudden, but are you guys renaming yourselves 'The Mane 5 and Misty', or are we going for the better route and straight up change the group name to 'The Mane 6'?" Tails questioned. "I guess we'll go with the easy route and say we're Mane 6 now" Zipp replied with a smirk. "After all, Misty is not living with Opaline anymore. She's one of us now!" she pointed out. "Yeah!" Izzy agreed, as the others turned to her. "And then Sonic and Sunny, they were all like… Pew! Pew!" she imitated shooting blast sounds. "Kablamo!" she yelled an explosion, as she moved around with a yell, trying to mimic the battle Sonic and Sunny had with Opaline, while the rest looked at her confused. "Is she always like this?" Shadow asked with a cringed expression. "Nope. Sometimes she's 10 times more hyperactive than this" Knuckles replied with a proud smile, while Shadow's eyes widened, as he frowned to Knuckles with concern. "You'll get used to. We all had to" he added, still smiling. "... I regret having coming to this world..." Shadow muttered in annoyance with a bored expression. "And then, they were like…" Izzy imitated shooting blast sounds again, with the rest still looking confused at her. Misty then turned to Sonic and Sunny with a smile. "You really were amazing, guys!" she said, while Zipp nodded in agreement. "Together, you two were just as strong as––" she tried to finish. But then, Pipp groaned frustrated, tired of all the interruptions. "Ponies! Can I please just tell my epic story already?!" she questioned, giving her friends an annoyed look. Sunny gave a sheepish smile, Zipp glared at her sister, Sonic rolled his eyes, Amy raised an eyebrow, Rouge putted on a bored expression, and Misty gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Pipp" Misty apologized with a nervous chuckle. "If I didn't loved you, I would say pretty harsh stuff right now" Sonic said with a bored expression, as he walked back to his chair and sat on it again. Pipp putted a bored expression at the rest as well, then she cleared her throat and gave a serious expression. "Full of strength, our hero…" she continued the story. "... Sonic the Hedgehog, looked up at the villainous Opaline, from her own throne!" Pipp narrated again. This time around, Opaline was facing Sonic with a frown, as the Hedgehog stood right in front of the Alicorn's throne, carrying a sword on his right hand. "Let me guess: Queen Opaline?" Sonic asked with a mocking tone. "Indeed!" Opaline replied with glee. "And you must be Sonic, the blue pest Ivo's been dealing for years now" she added with anger. "The one and only!" Sonic replied with a smirk. "And now that we had introduced each other, how about we skip the role play and get straight to the fight, huh?" he suggested confidently, now holding the sword with two hands. "You just read my mind..." Opaline replied with a sinister grin, now lightening her horn up. "Prepare to die!" she declared, as she launched a massive fire blast towards Sonic. At this, Sonic immediately moved away and ran over the wall. "Bring it on!" he declared, before jumping in the air with a spin and then swing the sword towards Opaline. Opaline managed to create a shield just in time to block Sonic's attack, and then, she sent him backwards, while the hedgehog landed on his feet, and then putted he sword on his back before charging a Spin Dash against Opaline, launching at her and hitting her face. Sonic: I don't care what you're thinking As you turn to me 'Cause what I have in my two hands Is enough to set me free (set me free) Opaline shook her head and then growled, creating with her magic some fire balls that materialized into sticks, and then she launched them against Sonic, who quickly dodged all of them, before charging his electrical powers and redirect them to the sword, then jumped in the air and made a Homing Attack against the Alicorn. Sunny: I could fight the feeling To resist it over time But when it's just too much to take You sneak up from behind However, in the air, he uncurled and aimed the sword to her horn, something she noticed, so she quickly launched a fire blast against him. Sonic noticed this with wide eyes, so he quickly cancelled his Homing Attack by making a Stomp Attack to the ground, where he landed and then looked at Opaline again with a frown. Sonic and Sunny: Is it me, you say, you're looking for Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for... (here for) Next, he putted the sword aside and then started to run across the wall in the room, then he jumped once he was above Opaline and launched the sword to her. At this, Opaline grinned and used her magic to launch the sword away, but as she did so, she didn't noticed Sonic coming to her, so she got her face punched by him, who then jumped backwards and landed in the floor again, while Opaline fell to the floor with a painful grunt. Then, Opaline shook her head and growled, then she started to fly and chase down Sonic across the Throne Room, while Sonic himself just ran away from her with a smirk, clearly enjoying this despite being aware of the dangers in the situation he's in. Sonic: Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy Sonic and Sunny: Let me show you just what I'm made of At some point, one of her fire blasts hit some stuff on the corner that has Eggman's logo, which made the boxes explode, while some stamina rings got spread across the room. Sonic noticed this, so he smirked and quickly charged his Spin Dash, then boosted across the room to collect as many rings as he could. Once he had at least 25 or 30, he stopped rolling around and then started to run backwards to mock Opaline. Sunny: Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me Sonic and Sunny: Let me show you just what I'm made of now... However, he did a bad turn, because he tripped with something in the floor, and when Opaline noticed that, she grinned and fired a blast of magic against Sonic. He flew backwards because of this, and he crashed against a wall, loosing several rings in the process. Satisfied with this result, Opaline smirked and tried to fly away, heading towards her studio... A plan that failed, because Sunny, who activated her Alicorn form, stepped in and blocked her way. "And just when hope seemed lost, Sunny Starscout entered the scene and looked down at the villainous mare!" Pipp narrated again. "So, you're the evil Alicorn we were warned about!" Sunny said firmly, glaring daggers at Opaline. "Well, not exactly..." Opaline said with a grin, then she spread her wings and flew up. "Thanks to your little dragon baby and all his Dragon Fire, I'm not just an Evil Alicorn, I'm... A FIRE ALICORN!" she declared, while her wings and horn lit up with fire magic as she laughed maniacally. But then, she got hit on her face by Sonic's Spin Dash, as the hedgehog landed at Sunny's side with a confident smile. "Wanna play co-op?" Sunny asked Sonic with a smirk. "You know it, Sunny-Bunny!" Sonic smirked back, also cracking his fingers. Opaline growled in anger at the duo, and so, she quickly fired at the Alicorn and Hedgehog with a warrior cry, while Sunny and Sonic moved away and split up. Sunny: Like a million faces I've recognized them all And one by one they've all become A number as they fall (as they fall) Sunny flew off and dodged Opaline's blast as she tried to blast her, but she kept dodging and moving around to avoid getting shot at. Then, she landed on a tree stem and brought up a shield that protected her from getting blasted, while Sonic ran behind Opaline and aimed at her with a successful Homing Attack. Sonic: In the face of reason I can't take no more One by one they've all become A black mark on the floor With Opaline shaking her head dizzy because of Sonic's attack, Sunny focused her magic on her shield and expanded it, hitting Opaline once more and disorienting her for a second. Opaline opened her eyes and frowned, but when she saw Sunny flying towards her, she screamed in rage and charged another blast towards Sunny, while the younger Alicorn protected herself with another shield. The two Alicorns started to fly around the room, with Opaline launching blast after blast to hit Sunny. Sonic and Sunny: Is it me, you say, you're looking for Let me show you who I am and what I have in store... (in store) But then, Opaline had enough at some point and shot her magic up to the ceiling, which caused a piece of it to fall off and head towards Sunny. "Sunny, move!" Sonic called out, as he boosted to her. Sunny gasped as she saw the wall piece going to her, and Sonic tried to move her aside, but instead, it fell on both Sonic and Sunny, trapping them both below the piece of ceiling. "I tried to warn you, little pests, but did you listen?" Opaline mocked, as she walked up to them with her wings and horn in fire. "Ugh. So pathetic!" she added in disgust, before grinning sinisterly. "Nopony, nor creature, could ever stop…" she tried to add. However, she was cut off when a donut suddenly hit her in the face, which made her turn to the source as more donuts started hitting her over and over agin. "Hey!" Opaline yelled in rage, before a donut landed on her mouth and she took it out. "Donuts?!" she questioned, as she then got hit by another donut on the face. Back in reality, Izzy suddenly levitated many donuts with her horn and, again, interrupted Pipp's story. "And I was all… Pew! Pew! Take that!" Izzy called out, as she tossed some donuts around, while Pipp just stood there on the stage with a twitchy eye, and Izzy kept throwing donuts. "Bam! Do-nut mess with us, Opaline!" she said with a stink eye. The others were trying to get cover from the donuts as Izzy kept launching them with a laugh. Shadow, on the other hand, just kind of accepted his fate as several donuts crashed on his face and he sighed in defeat. Next, Izzy got to Zipp's side, who got startled by the unicorn's sudden arrival. "You see what I did there? Donut? Cause I like…" she started, then jumped over and tossed donuts all over Mane Melody while making explosion sounds. "No!" Pipp complained, ducking from some donuts and turning to Izzy. "Izzy, those are supposed to be for Mane Melody customers" she pointed out, then ducked from another donut and growled irritated. "She's getting mad... Should we worry about it?" Amy asked Tails, as they both hid behind a chair in the salon. "Yes, you should..." Tails replied with an anxious expression. "And also, you absolutely did not fire donuts at Opaline, Izz!" Zipp pointed as she ducked from another donut. "Yeah, not only you, Pipp and Misty threw stuff at Opaline, but you also got trapped in a bubble" Sonic reminded as well, as he caught a donut in the air with his hand and ate it, while Shadow at his side removed the donuts from his eyes, then shrugged and ate them as well. Izzy stopped throwing donuts after the reminder. "I didn't?" she asked as she turned to the rest and realized that they were right. "Huh. Oh yeah. I maybe I didn't" she remembered with a smile, as she let the donuts fell to the floor and came next to Pipp. "You're just such a good storyteller, Pipp, that I got all caught up at the moment" she said cheerfully. "Okay, keep going. Keep going" she added, as she walked off stage. Pipp cleared her throat again with an annoyed look for being interrupted. "Sunny, Sonic and Opaline were locked in an epic battle!" she continued. Opaline lightened her horn and wings again with an evil grin, as she fired a strong beam of magic at Sunny and Sonic. They combined their shield, with Sunny using a magical one and Sonic using the one from his watch, blocking Opaline's magic to protect themselves and Izzy, Misty and Pipp as well, since they were trapped in a bubble behind. Sonic and Sunny: Is it me, you say, you're looking for Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for... (here for) "Don’t give up, guys!" Izzy called out. "We love you!" Pipp cheered. "You two are the most amazing people I know!" Misty encouraged as well. "Don't give up!" Pipp added. Opaline kept screaming in rage, blasting at Sunny and Sonic as much as she could, but Sunny was keeping her shield up, and Sonic still hit her successfully. Just then, Zipp and Hitch came into the room. "Yeah! We have your backs!" Zipp encouraged them with a smirk. "Get her!" Hitch called out as well. Sunny: Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy Sonic and Sunny: Let me show you just what I'm made of Then, both him and Zipp ran downstairs, while Hitch used the stick to pop the prison bubble their friends were in. Opaline screamed in rage as she charged another blast towards Sunny, while the younger Alicorn protected herself with another shield. The two Alicorns started to fly around the room, while the other ponies but Misty started to cheer at them, not noticing that their Cutie Marks were glowing. Meanwhile, Sonic began to jump around the room, going around Opaline without hitting her at top speed, but don't worry, this is completely planned. He knows what he's doing. Sonic: Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me Sonic and Sunny: Let me show you just what I'm made of now... Then, Misty looked at her friends, then at Sunny and Opaline still fighting, and then she remembered Sonic's words from earlier... "If you truly are our friend, which I know you are, then prove it!" Sonic's voice echoed on her mind. Misty opened her eyes and smiled determinate, as she looked back at Sunny. "You can do it, Sunny!" she started to cheer loudly as well. With this, Misty's Cutie Mark started to glow as well, which seemed to be enough to feed Sunny's magic, because trials of magic came out of the five ponies' Cutie Marks, as they reached Sunny's and gave her more power, something that made Opaline gasp in panic. Meanwhile, Sonic finally stopped moving and uncurled from his ball form, landing behind Opaline with a frown, as his electrical powers turned on. After that, he pressed a button on his watch, and then, an electrical lasso came out of it, as it automatically followed Sonic's previous path he made around Opaline... Sonic's plan was to tie her up this whole time, he just needed to be specific with his moves while Sunny kept her busy. Once the lasso stopped moving, Sonic smirked and pulled the lasso to trap Opaline on a perfect fit, all thanks to the moves the lasso made. With Opaline tied up, and with Sunny's powers charged up thanks to her friends' magic, the latter shot her magic to the Fire Alicorn, who got sent backwards. Then, Sonic pulled the lasso a bit, still with Opaline trapped on it, and he started to twirl it around the room at fast paste. Try to reach inside of me (Let me show you what I'm made of) Try to drain my energy (Let me show you what I'm made of) Let me show you just what I'm made of Opaline groaned and panicked as she was being twirled around, until Sonic finally let her go towards her Throne, which she destroyed with her own body, as she fell to the ground with a loud grunt of pain, while the Mane 5 and Misty cringed, as Sonic let go her body from the lasso, and Sunny even created a golden bubble around her. Opaline shook her head inside the bubble as she got up, then noticed that she was trapped, so she growled in anger and then shot a fire beam to the bubble, but it didn't exploded. "You can't keep me here forever!" she shouted in rage. "Mwahahaha!" Pipp made an evil laugh with an evil smile once she finished her story. "Okay, okay, Pipp" Hitch called out with a nervous smile. He was at the corner of Mane Melody in front, where Sparky was covering with his blanket as he trembled in fright. "Maybe that's enough of the scary stories for today?" he suggested. Even if Sparky recovered the Dragon Fire that Opaline stoled from him, he was still traumatized by the experience of being dragon-napped by Opaline, and Pipp's story didn't helped at all. Pipp felt guilty and ashamed after seeing how much Sparky was trembling, so she walked up to him. "Aw. I'm sorry, Sparky. I didn't mean to scare you" she apologized. "Well, at last the worse part is over... Right?" Amy asked, although she didn't sound so sure herself. "... Yeah... Not exactly..." Sonic replied with a bored expression. Once the Mane 5, Misty and Sonic were done saving Sparky and defeating Opaline, they walked towards the exit. However, right before they could do so, a really long robotic arm with three giant spikes came out of the door that leads to Eggman's lab in the castle and stopped them. Then, the door was completely traversed by the original Death Egg Robot, as it stared down at the Mane 5, Misty and Sonic, while its blue eyes changed to red. "Leaving the party so soon?" Eggman asked on a very sadistic tone, followed by a maniac laugh. "But if we are just getting started!" he stated, now launching the left arm against the group. The ponies and Sonic quickly split up, while the Death Egg Robot's head started to spin in 360 degrees to scan the entire room, and therefore, his enemies. First, he attacked Hitch by shooting some purple splats that got the Sheriff stuck to the ground. Next, he launched a pair of nets to Zipp and Pipp that not only trapped them together and around their wings, but the second one also trapped them a second time as they fell to the floor. Then, he launched a jar with glitter that exploded and covered Izzy on glitter, which left her completely freeze'd up on place, with her face being the only spot not covered on glitter. Then, Eggman extended the right arm of the Death Egg Robot to Sunny, who dodged and launched a magic beam to the machine, but Eggman moved away and tried to punch her. Next, Sonic charged up his Spin Dash and launched against the machine. Meanwhile, Misty sneaked and approached Hitch, trying to free him with her magic, but whatever the splats were made off seemed to be immune to magic, because it wasn't even being surrounded by Misty's. "I cannot move it!" Misty whispered with concern. Eggman was starting to get tired of Sunny and Sonic of them, since they were flying and running around him as mosquitos. So, he quickly made a jump in the air with the Death Egg Robot, and then he stomped in the ground with a very loud thud. This made Sonic loose his balance as he ran over a wall, and as he started to fall towards the ground, Eggman quickly moved the left arm of the Robot and hit Sonic, sending him towards a wall, as the hedgehog crashed on his back on the wall really hard, loosing all his rings this time around. Then, he fell to the floor weakened, even if he was trying to get up. "Sonic!" Sunny exclaimed in panic when she noticed that, and she quickly flew towards Eggman with a frown. However, the Death Egg Robot turned to her, and just when she was about to blast another laser from her horn, Eggman moved the left arm of the machine and grabbed Sunny's body, then smashed it to the ground and kept her steady right there. "Sunny!" Izzy and Hitch screamed in panic. "Did you really thought that you were going to get away that easily? That you would just get in here and save Sparky? That's hilarious!" Eggman mocked up. As this happened, Hitch turned to Misty with a determinate look. "Misty, take Sparky and get back to the Brighthouse. We need backup!" he pointed out to her. Misty was conflicted after hearing this, but... Hitch had a point. "I'll bring the help!" Misty said, as she grabbed Sparky from Hitch's back and sat him on hers, then quickly sneaked away as she headed towards the exit. Now, even if she did left, Eggman still noticed her escape over his shoulder, even seeing Sparky on her back, as well as her new Cutie Mark on her flank. He sighed sighed in concern and disappointment inside the Death Egg Robot, but still frowned and looked back at his captured pray with a smirk. After that, he spread a green gas that made everyone but Opaline and himself unconscious. The Mane 5 were trapped each on a capsule on Eggman's lab. Sonic was in a capsule similar to the one Shadow was sent to Earth from the ARK, unconscious and tied from wrists and ankles with metallic claws. A Warp Ring was open, right in front of the Unity Crystals, that were grabbed by Eggman and removed from their place, which made the rainbow light glitch behind the doctor. "At long last... We have the Unity Crystals!" Eggman said with a sinister grin, as she approached to Sunny's capsule, while Eggman came back to the lab, as the Warp Ring closed behind him. "Now, all the magic will be mine again, and you and your pathetic besties will answer to me for the rest of your lives!" she assured with a maniac laugh. Sunny frowned in anger at Opaline, but then, Opaline herself got hit by an electroshock from her back, that made her scream in agony, before falling into the ground in pain. "Wow..." Eggman said with an amused expression, as he tossed the stunner he used away. "I'm impressed that you actually fell for the trick, Opaline!" he mocked up with a grin. And then, Eggman grabbed the Unity Crystals with a hand and pointed them at the 6 ponies in the room, and the Crystals started to absorb all the magic away from them. Zipp and Pipp flapped their wings, but they couldn't fly anymore; Izzy's horn lightened alone and then stopped; Hitch's hooves glowed for a second before stopping as well; Sunny's Alicorn form glitched for a second before disappearing, while her rainbow strike dissolved as well, and Opaline's wings disappeared when her magic was absorbed. The ponies Cutie Marks disappeared along their magic, and then, Eggman grabbed the Unity Crystals, now fully charged with magic, as the doctor grinned and let out a maniac laugh, while a purple blast traversed the ceiling of the lab. "MAGIC. IS. POWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!" Eggman screamed in joy. And then, just in a flash, both Eggman, the Chaos Emeralds he had capsuled, and the purple blast disappeared. The flash appeared once again, and now, a giant robot with Eggman's face appeared above Maretime Bay. This robot had fingers instead of spikes, it was red with light blue and black colors, its eyes and chest were purple because of the power of the Unity Crystals, and it could follow any movement Eggman did inside of the head. This was the Death Egg Titan, and it was ready to conquer Equestria, starting by smashing down the Crystal Brighthouse with just one punch, and then launching a bunch of silver-colored badniks with unicorn magic and purple stripes towards the town. Ponies in Maretime Bay screamed in panic, with Posey even letting out the loudest and girlish scream ever, as everypony started to run away and head towards Canterlove Studios. However, as they all did so, four blurs passed by and headed towards the army of badniks. The blurs soon ere identified as Team Sonic, with Amy even carrying her Piko Piko Hammer as she ran along the other three. Then, Sonic curled up into a ball and launched himself at Knuckles, who grabbed him with his hand and threw him at a Buzzer, destroying it in the process. Following, Sonic straightened up in the air and was caught by Tails, who started spinning with the hedgehog holding hands, destroying several badniks on the spot: Sonic with his feet and Tails with his tails. Now, Knuckles took a Buzz Bomber and used it to destroy a Buzzer, destroying both badniks in the process. He then jumped into the air and spun with his fists outstretched, destroying various debris thrown at him by Moto Bugs, as well as some more Buzzers. Amy then used her hammer as momentum to jump into the air and spin with the hammer, destroying Buzzers and Buzz Bombers alike, then slamming the hammer into the ground, destroying several Crabmeats, before holding hands with Sonic and spin both in the air, while Sonic used his electrically charged fist, and Amy used her hammer. Then, Knuckles extended his fist at him and destroyed a Moto Bug that was launched at his face, while Sonic did a series of Homing Attacks against Buzz Bombers and magically levitated debris. Soon enough, the group split up at an intersection: Sonic went in the middle, Tails went to the right, and Knuckles and Amy went to the left. Now, the blue hedgehog stopped just below Eggman's robot with a frown. "All right, Egghead!" Sonic sneered, though he still was frowning. "You want me? Come and get me!" he challenged, still with a mocking tone. "You don't tell me about coming and getting!" Eggman declared rhetorically, as the robot pointed at itself. "I am on the cutting edge of coming and getting!" he added furiously. Inside the robot, Eggman began to imitate walking movements, while the machine did move on the outside. In turn, the doctor repeatedly said "Coming, getting!". Sonic, for his part, ran off into a forest near the town, with the robot and Eggman following close behind, unaware that Tails, Knuckles, and Amy were climbing in the back of the robot. Several minutes later, Sonic was limping toward the Light Blue Chaos Emerald weakly. Once he finally arrived to it, he grabbed it on his hands and smiled weakly, but then he looked up at the Death Egg Titan with a frown, and when Eggman launched the laser with the robots' eyes, Sonic simply closed his eyes and accepted his fate, since he was too tired to fight back. Yet, the hit never came, something that freaked him out, so he opened his eyes and felt amazed when he saw that Sunny and Pipp were both in front of him, with the shield of Tails' watch activated, as Sunny hold the watch with her hoof, while both she and Pipp protected Sonic from the laser. Yet, that didn't did anything, because Eggman approached as he still launched the laser, then stopped launching the laser and raised a foot, ready to stomp and kill down the three of them. "Oh crap..." Pipp said with wide eyes. Suddenly, the 7 Chaos Emerald surrounded Sonic's body and entered on him, making a slight white light to appear on his chest. And then, Eggman smashed the trio with the Death Egg Titan's foot. "NOOOOO!" Zipp screamed with pain and horror, while the rest gasped in shock. "I got him!" Eggman cheered with a maniac laugh. "I FINALLY got him!" he kept cheering, feeling happy that he finally finished Sonic's life, and Sunny and Pipp's as well in the process. However, his time of celebration was shortened when the Death Egg Titan suddenly shake, which startled him and confused everyone else outside of the robot. Then, a golden light appeared below the foot, and Sunny and Pipp raised their heads confuse, realizing that they were fine, but a golden light was blurring them. However, as soon as the light's intensity minimized, they felt surprised, because they saw Sonic surrounded by a golden light, with his blue fur going golden as well, and his quills lifting up too. Next, Sonic blasted through the foot to keep them safe. In the process, the foot stepped backwards and let Sunny and Pipp free. Sonic stopped right in front of the Death Egg Titan's head, showing his full might as Super Sonic to Eggman, who got startled at seeing his transformation. However, Eggman soon enough growled in anger and charged the right fist of the robot, with some rockets showing up even, as he boosted it towards Sonic. And yet, this didn't did anything, because Sonic blasted through the arm and destroyed it entirely in the process. That startled Eggman again, who still growled in anger, and so, he charged the left arm this time, but Sonic once again blasted through the arm and destroyed it completely. That seemed to worry Eggman, because he gulped nervously. "Oh dear..." he muttered in panic. Tired of these games, Sonic began to go through the entire robot using his super speed to tear it to pieces. He tore through the entire structure, at full speed, delivering the final blow by finally passing through the robot's chest. Finally, with the robot already in pieces, Sonic slowly approached his face, where Eggman was looking terrified at the golden hedgehog. And then, with a little touch of his foot, Sonic made the robot fell backwards, as severals parts of the robot exploded, until it landed in the floor and caused a massive rumble, that also made everyone else cover their faces from the amount of dust it released. Then, the Death Egg Titan shut down completely, with the face of the robot shutting down entirely. Back in reality, Sonic finished reminding everything else after saving Sparky. "Huh... He does have good narration skills..." Rouge realized with an amused expression. "I know... I was shocked as well when I found out" Shadow told her with a slight smirk. "I just realized we went through a lot of crap in the short span of six hours..." Tails said with a bored expression. "We're gonna need a long vacation..." he added. "Yeah, that's pretty much about it!" Sonic said with a smile. "Of course, we have the whole thing about the Chaos Emeralds being around the globe and we have no idea where they are..." he realized with a twitchy eye. "But! I'm pretty sure we'll find them again" he assured confidently. "Hopefully, we won't last a whole-ass year this time around" Knuckles pointed out with a bored expression. After hearing the next events of the story, which were pretty epic compared to Opaline's fight, Sparky smiled a bit more relaxed now, gibbering happily and removing the blanket from himself. "Aw. Don't you worry, Sparkeroni!" Izzy said in a cute tone to Sparky. "Sunny and Sonic took care of that evil pony Opaline, and that maniac Dr. Eggman. They won't be bothering us anymore" she assured him, turning to Sunny and Sonic with a smile. "Right, guys?" she asked them. Sunny's eyes widened in panic, while Sonic looked at her with a bored expression. "The former still has that weird rock with Sparky's fire that Misty mentioned––" Sonic started to remind. "Dragonstone!" Misty quickly corrected with a sheepish smile. "And the latter has been coming back whenever we kick his ass... What makes you think he's gonna stop this time?" Sonic finished, still with a bored expression. "Well, I want to believe we won't hear from them in a good while, right?" Sunny said with a little smile. "If we're lucky enough, we'll be the next 4 or 5 Episodes free of Eggman or Opaline related stuff" Shadow pointed out with a little smirk. "If we're lucky enough..." Rouge reminded with a concerned frown. "Let's face a day at a time, alright?" Sonic said with a smirk. "I agree with Sonic!" Sunny said with a determinate look. "If Eggman or Opaline show up here again, we'll be ready to smash them down!" she stated confidently. The rest cheered in agreement at the statement, with Shadow and Rouge only nodding in agreement, while Misty smiled and nodded as well... But then, she looked out of the window with a worried expression, because she knew perfectly that both Eggman and Opaline will be back at some point... In Opaline's Castle, Opaline herself was at her study room, lightening her hoof in flame. Despite Eggman and Misty's betrayal, she wasn't any demolished nor sad. After all, they were nothing but pieces on her game, like a chess board where she moved the pieces strategically, and then removed the ones she didn't needed anymore. Now that she was totally on her own, she was happy, because things were now going to play the way she wanted, and nopony, nor Mobian, was going to interfere on her plans this time around. "Hmm…" Opaline muttered with a smile. "If one dragon is awake, then the rest must be stirring..." she said to herself, as she made a dragon-shape out of her magical flame. The best theory here? Sparky is just one of many dragons out there, probably meaning that she was going to look after them and steal their magic as well. After all, even if she lost the fire that she stoled from Sparky when Sonic restored the Unity Crystals, she still had a lot of it on the Dragonstone, so she could still use as much Dragon Fire as she wanted. "With more Dragon Fire, I'll be able to steal all of the magic, including the Alicorn's!" Opaline declared with a smirk, as she looked at the dragon-shaped flame. "Wake up, my dragon darlings. Opaline's coming!" she stated to herself in glee, while the dragon-shape flame unleashed a pink flame. Eggman's 'Next Level' plan failed, which meant that she still had a chance to take all the magic in Equestria for herself and take over both this land and Mobius. After all, she would gain enough power to open a rift that would allow her to travel to any other world, Eggman's included... Eggman hid on his lab, tapping on his computer's keyboard like rapidly. He spent the past week investigating everything he could about the Starfall Islands, its rich technology, and how to use it on his favor. With so many information gathered from internet and books he stoled from Opaline's library, he could finally found something useful: Apparently, the long lost civilization that arrived to the islands, which Eggman discovered is named 'The Ancients', used a strange digital world called 'Cyber Space', where they saved all their hopes, dreams, and memories. If that civilization's memories was inside Cyber Space, that meant that the secrets behind the Ancients' technology were stored in there as well. "Simulations completed" Sage's voice spoke through Eggman's computer. "My calculations define that the Ancients' tech is highly secured in Cyber Space's memory drive. However, there's a way to brake it down, but it requires thousands of simulations and tests..." she pointed out. "Mmm..." Eggman muttered with a frown and arms crossed. "I don't like the idea of running more simulations... Last time I did, I still lost after 8 months of work!" he pointed out with anger, before taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "But I rather run more of them if it makes my chances of success bigger... Go ahead, Sage" he instructed. "Right away, doctor" Sage replied, as she began to work. As Sage did so, Eggman opened another window on his computer and loaded several images of the Starfall Islands, grinning sinisterly at them. "Soon, the Ancients' secrets will be mine!" Eggman declared with sinister grin, before letting out a maniac laugh. THE END...? 56. Sunny And The Black BlurSunny was surprised to see that the new Mobians adapted so well and so fast to Equestria. Amy and Rouge quickly managed to fit in, specially Amy, who quickly got a job with Pipp in Mane Melody. As for Rouge, Pipp gave her a shift in there as well, and Rouge is even staying with Jazz on her home for the time being. Of course, Rouge was still worried for what happened to Omega in the mountains, but she wanted to get to know this world better so she could introduce it to Omega once she decided to go after him. However, even if Amy and Rouge managed to fit in Maretime Bay so well and so quick, Sunny was concerned because... One of the new visitors wasn't that much comfortable around, and she still couldn't understand why. Not only Shadow barely showed up to the Brighthouse, unlike Amy and Rouge, but when he did so, he never said a word. He was cold, silent, always frowning... And the thing that might be the worse for her, he seems to be avoiding her, because anytime she approaches him, he either teleports away with no shame, or he simply makes an excuse to leave. Did she did something wrong and she doesn't remembers it, or Shadow is just like this because that's how he is? Sonic did mentioned that Shadow was his opposite on everything, and now she understands what he meant... But that wasn't going to stop her! Shadow might be a bit grumpy, and he might be avoiding her, but she was going to find out why and fix it! Hopefully, it wasn't anything that bad, and Shadow just wanted to be alone... But to be absolutely sure, she had to talk with the only two people that seemed to know him very well... "I never thought I would see a day were you would ask about Shadow of all people, Sunny-Bunny... But here we are!" Sonic said with an amused smile, as he, Rouge and Sunny sat on the Crystal Brighthouse's dinner table. "I guess you wonder why he's alone all the time, or why he seems to avoid you, right?" Rouge asked Sunny with a concerned expression. "Yes! That's exactly why I called you two!" Sunny exclaimed with panic. "I don't know if I did something wrong, if I said something wrong, if he hates me for no reason, or if I'm just overthinking this a lot!" she groaned, before covering her face with her hooves out of frustration. "Usually, my answer to this would be 'Shadow's just being Shadow', but... I do gotta admit that he's been particularly evasive with you..." Sonic confessed. "Now, why? You lost me there..." he added with a sheepish smile. "Hmm... Maybe I have an idea..." Rouge said. "Really?!" Sunny said with sparkling eyes and a hopeful smile. "Don't get too excited, kid. This story is not a reason to smile" Rouge warned with a frown. "You said that Dr. Eggman mentioned his cousin, Maria, when he had you and blue hostage, right?" she asked. "Uh... Yeah... He said that she was... killed in front of him..." Sunny replied with concern, while her ears dropped. "Well... I, uh... Look, if I tell you this, you have to swear you won't say I told you!" Rouge warned with a frown, pointing a finger at the earth pony mare. Sunny blinked a few times and looked at Sonic, who shrugged at her, so she looked back at Rouge. "Um... sure?" she replied sheepishly. "SWEAR IT!" Rouge said, now grabbing Sunny from her saddlebag and glaring daggers at her. This made Sunny yelp and squeak in panic, as she nodded quickly with fear. "I-I swear it! I won't tell anyone!" she replied nervously. With this, Rouge let her go from her saddle bag, before looking at Sonic at her side, and Sonic looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I love to mess with Shadow, but I'm a man of word, Rouge. Whatever is told here, would stay and die here" he assured. Rouge nodded, satisfied with this answer, before looking back at Sunny. "Look, Sunny... Shadow is avoiding you, but not for the reasons you might believe" she confessed with concern. Sunny, who was still kind of shocked after Rouge made her swear to not tell a soul anything, gasped slightly after hearing that Shadow is avoiding her. "Shadow is reserved in everything, so if he ever starts to show emotions beyond indifference, panic!" Rouge started to explain. "I second that..." Sonic commented. "He also barely talks, and if he does, he only says what he thinks it's necessary" Rouge added. "Unless you mock him up. He'll mock you back, but either to mock as well or to straight up insult you..." Sonic pointed out. "He also... Well... Because of Maria, he's been feeling a bit weird about you..." Rouge confessed. "The few times we've talked these days, he has told me that... That you remind him of her" she added. "What?" Sunny said, both confused and startled. "I... I remind him of Maria?" she questioned. Rouge nodded. "Don't ask me how, because Shadow barely talks about her. I would even say that he never talks about her, not since..." she tried to add, but regret it. "The incident with the Black Arms... right?" Sonic asked, now looking down at the floor with concern, and Rouge nodded, so he sighed. "Look, Sunny... If Shadow really sees similarities between you and Maria, you better watch what you will say, and how you approach him... When it comes to talk, it's complicated with Shadow..." he explained with concern. "And whatever you do, don't mention we talked!" Rouge remarked once again with a frown. "Shadow won't take lightly that we talked about Maria with someone..." she pointed out. "Specially from me..." Sonic added with a bored expression. After hearing this, Sunny looked down at the table and thought on everything Rouge and Sonic told her about Shadow, and she knew exactly what she had to do... Shadow stared at the horizon with a frown. He was standing at the top of a hill with his arms crossed, as many thoughts ran through his mind... He's been in Modern Equestria for almost two weeks by this point, and he couldn't get used to the friendly atmosphere. It's not like he hasn't been in a similar position before, anyways. He was dragged into Sonic's 20 year birthday party after the Time Eater thing, after all, and he seems himself involved in Sonic's and Eggman's mess from time to time... Now, it is one thing to be dragged into this kind of stuff sometimes, but every single day?! Yeah, he was not used to this much colors and happiness, nor this much positivism, on a daily basis... What was even the point to get used to it, anyways? This wasn't his home, and there was a lot of stuff to worry about: Find the Chaos Emeralds, bring back Omega, find Eggman and capture him... His concerns were justified, and everyone else understood him perfectly... But for some reason, he seemed to be the only one who wanted to embrace those concerns, while the rest wanted to chill and take a break after all the chaos that happened with Eggman and Opaline... It was understandable, actually, because a very, very, very small part of him wanted to rest for a minute as well, but he also didn't wanted to leave Eggman and the Chaos Emeralds out there. And, for some reason, just like Sonic, he didn't wanted the Equestrians to suffer, either. Eggman was not their problem, and it should've never had been. Is weird he feels empathy for these colorful ponies, but maybe it was because–– "Shadow?" Sunny's voice spoke suddenly. Shadow was dragged out of his thoughts and his eyes widened, so he slowly turned around and saw that Sunny was standing a few meters away from him... She is the reason he wants to leave as soon as possible. For some strange reason, she reminds him of Maria, and not only because Sunny acts like her in some aspects... But also because her voice is the same as hers. And that's why he tries to avoid her as much as he can. He has nothing against Sunny, he simply does not wants to be around her because he does not want to feel attached to her. He does not wants to bond with her because, if he looses her too, no promise is going to hold him back from killing everyone this time around. He's... He's scared of what could happen if he bonds with Sunny, and he feels he has to be away from her. "... Didn't expected anyone else to come here..." Shadow finally replied after he had that internal monologue with himself. "Nopony ever comes here, which actually makes it perfect to stay away from everypony else" Sunny pointed out. "I'm glad I did found you here, though. I was looking for you everywhere!" she confessed. Yeah, that's another sign: Her cheerful tone and attitude towards everypony reminds him of how Maria used to be with him and everyone in her family, even the younger Eggman (whom which he has barely any memories of, to tell the truth). "... You were... Looking for me?" Shadow asked confused, but before he could turn around, Sunny quickly position at his side and sat down, also looking at the horizon now. "Why?" he added. "Because I wanted to talk with you..." Sunny said with a fake smile... Why could he tell her smile was fake in the first place? What the heck is this mare doing to him?! "... That's... odd, to say the least... Barely anyone I've met here has dared to take a word on me" Shadow said, returning his sight to the horizon. "That's because barely anyone wants to know more about you. But I do." Sunny replied, now actually smiling instead of forcing a fake one. No, seriously, what is she doing to him?! His heart skipped a beat happily, and his tail actually wagged a bit... What is going on?! "... You want to know me? That's even odder..." Shadow replied. "Well, that mysterious and distant attitude of yours just called my attention!" Sunny replied with a sweet smile. "Many might want to turn around and run from you. But not me. I don't judge by appearances, and honestly? I would like to meet the real you, not the Shadow that everyone talks about. Don't ask me who that'll be, though..." she added with a sheepish smile. And then, the unthinkable happened... Shadow couldn't help but smile at her words... For the very first time in years, Shadow felt... happy... Hearing that Sunny was approaching him because she wished to know him better was... It was hard to describe, but it brought immense happiness to that whom calls himself 'The Ultimate Life-Form'. "... Heh... As odd as all your words are... I gotta say... I'm quite interested on on hearing what you wanna know?" Shadow replied with a little smile. Sunny couldn't help but smile back. Even if Rouge said that Shadow showing any other emotion beyond indifference was a motive to panic, something about him smiling made her happier. "Well... I may be going straight to the point with this one, but... I guess instead of asking something personal, I will go with: Are you... avoiding me?" Sunny dared to ask. For some reason, Shadow's heart stopped for a second after hearing that. Yeah, maybe teleporting away from her or excusing himself whenever she approached to him was not the best way to express his desire to not be close to her because of his fear of actually bond with her... "... I... Yes..." Shadow decided to be frank about it. Lying was not one of his strengths, anyways. "I... I've been avoiding you these past days..." he added. "Huh... I guess I'd rather you being honest with me than lying..." Sunny said with a nervous chuckle. "Well... Can I ask, then, why are you avoiding me?" she added, now looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Shadow let out a long sigh, before looking back at her. "It's not personal, if you wonder or fear that. Nothing you did or say is the reason why I'm dodging talking with you" he replied. "Oh, thank hoofness!" Sunny said with a smile and a relieved sigh, which actually made Shadow chuckle a bit. "But then, why are you avoiding me?" she asked again. "Well... I've heard from Sonic that you dream of a unified world..." Shadow started to explain. "He says that you want to see the three tribes of ponies living in harmony and peace... Yet, you saw with your own eyes that not everyone is going to follow that lead with Opaline, and Dr. Eggman even beat the crap out of you..." he reminded. "So, why do I feel like you are still going to fight for the world you dream of despite everything?" he asked. "Because I will!" Sunny replied with a cheerful tone and a determinate look, as she made her Alicorn powers come to life. "Eggman said that I have incredible power, enough to do things like stop hunger or corruption. And, even if all of those things are serious and should be stopped... I want to use my power for so much more... To protect everypony! Because if I can't do that... what kind of Alicorn would I be?" she added. Shadow listened closely to her, and with every passing thing she said, she reminded him more and more of Maria. "I know that not everypony will be on board with this idea, and I know that more evil forces beyond Opaline could pop one day out of nowhere... But it won't stop me from doing my job!" Sunny stated once again. "As an Alicorn, I have the power to protect everypony in Equestria, and it's a huge responsibility... But if I've learned something from Sonic, is that I don't have to do it alone!" she added with a determinate look. "Shadow, I don't know nor understand why you are the way you are. Maybe I never will... But I will love if I could call you my friend as well, and I will love if you helped us, too! Not because you need to defeat Eggman, but because you care, too... But... If you don't want to, I won't force you to do so" she declared with a smile. After hearing all of this, there was no doubt now: Shadow was convinced that Sunny was Maria's counterpart in Equestria... And he was... not concerned with the idea... At first, he was convinced that staying around Sunny was just going to hurt him, that it wasn't a good idea to even try to bond with anyone in this world, because he was seriously afraid of loosing that anyone, and then go ahead and kill somebody... But now, after hearing everything Sunny just told him... He was genuinely considering the idea of following up. So, he let out a long sigh and looked at Sunny once again. "Look, Sunny. I'll be totally frank with you: I've been avoiding you because you are too similar to Maria..." Shadow finally confessed. "The way you act, the way you talk, even the way you dream... I see so much of Maria on you that... That I'm afraid... Afraid of bonding a lot with you, and then... and then loose you... The exact same way I did with her..." he added. Sunny gasped, and her ears went flat after hearing that. "S-Shadow... I-I'm so––" she tried to say, but Shadow raised a hand, so she cut off whatever she was going to say. "I've been trying to move on from her pass away ever since... After destroying the Black Arms, I told myself I would let die whoever 'Shadow the Hedgehog' used to be in the ARK, and embrace a new leaf... But it's been really hard to ignore everything that I was before Dr. Eggman woke me up..." Shadow kept going with a frown as he looked down to the floor, and then, he looked at Sunny. "You remind me of the only person I've dared to call my friend. Rouge and Omega are comrades I really care about, but... I don't see them as friends... And now... You ask me to help stop that Alicorn Opaline and help you with your dream of a unified world..." he added, but his frown started to fade away. Sunny looked at him a bit nervous now. Did she said something wrong? Did she made him mad? Judging by his frown fading away, she probably didn't, but it was still concerning. "... Maria made me promise to protect all the living creatures on the planet, no matter if some of them were rotten to the core..." Shadow confessed. "And your dream of a unified world is too similar... I'm seriously thinking you are Maria in this Equestria land" he added with a smirk. That actually made Sunny chuckle a little, and Shadow chuckled slightly as well. "Okay... For a guy that barely jokes around, that was actually funny!" Sunny said with a smile. "Oh, I do know when to joke. I just don't do it to play cool like Sonic 'Gotta go Fast' the Hedgehog" Shadow replied with a slight smile, before sighing and face Sunny entirely, extending hid hand. "... Sunny... Give me your hoof" he requested. This made Sunny look at Shadow a bit startled, but she nodded and placed her hoof on his hand, while he carefully hold it. "I promise you... That I will help to stop Opaline, that I will make my part to help out this universe... And that I won't rest until your dream of a unified world is accomplished" Shadow said with a serious expression, but also smiling at the mare, who looked at him with genuine surprise and shock. "And maybe, just maybe... If you don't really mind, I would like to know you better as well and... Actually be your friend, Sunny" he finished, although it seemed like he struggled saying that last part. However, all he just said left Sunny speechless. Maybe he has known Shadow for just a couple of days, but he's clearly demonstrating that despite having a cold and distant attitude compared to the other Mobians... He did had a heart, and right now? He was doing something that would leave the rest flabbergasted. Still, Sunny smiled widely and then wrapped her hooves around Shadow, pulling him into a big hug, which did startled Shadow and made him feel kind of awkward. "Sorry for this if you're not used to hugs, but... Gosh! I'm just so happy to hear you saying that!" Sunny exclaimed happily, as she broke the hug and looked up to him. "I promise you, you won't regret this! We don't have to be friends the same way you were with Maria, we just gotta be ourselves around each other!" she added with a cheery smile. Again, Shadow's heart skipped a beat after seeing her smiling. However, this time around, he allowed himself to smile back at her. He was still hesitant at the idea of bonding too much with Sunny, since he seriously didn't wanted to loose her like he lost Maria... But maybe, Sunny herself was the key to get over that trauma. Her cheerfulness was just contagious, after all, even for him! So... Just this time, he was going to let his guard down, and embrace a new chance on friendship with this optimistic earth pony mare. THE END Author's Note Well, once again, I wanna thank BenictheHedgehog not only for suggesting me to do this episode, but also to help me out with pretty much everything that happened here! I actually never realized how much Sunny and Maria have in common until Ben pointed it out to me, so making Shadow bond with Sunny... It was logical, it had to happen, and here it is! In the next episode, however, we're gonna see Tails fixing his biggest mistake in the entire saga: Underestimating Zipp's suspicions over Misty. Also, this is not only the very first TYT Episode in months of less than 4000 words, but is also the first time since November that I release two episodes together... huh... Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode, and I'll see you all next week with either an altered Canon Episode, or another original one featuring the idea I just said... Bye! 57. Omega's Day OffIn the mountains, a Warp Ring opened up. Then, from said Warp Ring, Tails came out by flight, holding his Miles Electric and scanning the ground to find anything metallic that could be buried in the snow. Soon enough, Tails' device made a beep sound that called his attention, so he stopped moving and landed on the snow with special boots he made to not get buried in the snow, while he read what his Miles Electric found. The screen said 'Metallic objects found', and with this, he looked back at the Warp Ring, that was still open, and whistled. With this, Knuckles arrived with special boots as well, and Tails simply pointed a finger to the ground, which made Knuckles nod with a smirk, and so, he dig into the snow, while Tails putted his Miles Electric away and brought out a big box, which he extended while stepping a bit back from the hole Knuckles made. Then, several metallic parts came out from the snow, followed by a pair of shoulder pads (one had the Omega [Ω] logo), two long arms, and finally, Omega's head, which was still shut down because of being blowed up by Eggman weeks ago. With all the parts of the robot's body in the box, Tails and Knuckles went back to the Warp Ring, which closed behind them. Now that they made it back to the Brighthouse, Tails placed the box over the living room's table. As he did that, he boosted towards the living room, while Rouge came by and grabbed Omega's head, looking at it with a concerned expression. Shadow approached her and looked at Omega's head with a worried frown, while also placing a hand on Rouge's shoulder. "Tails is a genius boy, Rouge. He's gonna fix him. I'm sure of it" he assured her. "For once, I can agree on something with you, faker!" Sonic mocked up, as he approached Shadow and lay on his shoulder, while Shadow groaned in annoyance. "If anyone can leave Omega as good as new, that's Tails!" Sonic stated with a wink. "And he has a record of restoring a lot of stuff" Knuckles added with a smirk. "Um, what are you guys doing?" Zipp's voice asked, as she and Izzy approached Team Dark, Sonic and Knuckles, with Zipp raising an eyebrow confused, and Izzy smiling cheerfully as usual. "Tails is going to fix up Omega now that we found all his parts" Knuckles explained with a smile. "Who's Omega?" Izzy asked, even though she was still smiling. Rouge turned Omega's head so his dead eyes could look at Zipp and Izzy. "A robot?" both mares asked, Zipp did it confused and Izzy did it cheerfully with sparkling eyes. "A special one!" Tails spoke, as he came back from the bedroom with the tool box Hitch gave him on Wishday and his laptop, which he placed over the same table than the box with Omega's body. "This guy is a robot made by Eggman that hates Eggman as much as we do" he explained. "I would say he hates him more, actually..." Sonic said with a smirk. "A robot created by Eggman that hates Eggman?" Zipp asked, also rubbing her chin with a hoof. "That's interesting..." she confessed. "And so cool, too!" Izzy said with a wide smile. "Yeah, well, Omega is pretty cool" Tails confessed with a smile. After this, he grabbed Omega's head from Rouge's hands and put him down on the table, then he connected him to his computer and clicked some more on it, before pressing the enter button, which made Omega's head slowly turn on, with the eyes turning orange for a second. "Systems activated. Initiating user registration" a female voice spoke. With this, Sonic and Knuckles stepped aside, while Omega's scanner scanned Shadow and Rouge. "Users detected: Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat" the female voice spoke once again. "Registration complete" she added. After that, Omega's eyes changed from orange to their typical red, while all his systems started to show up on his inner screen. Then, Omega looked up at Shadow and Rouge, before scanning his surroundings, or at least as much as he could, since he couldn't move his head because of the lack of a body. "... What the hell is happening...?" Omega said confused. Rouge sighed in relief after hearing his normal voice again, and Shadow nodded with a smirk. "Where is my body? What is going on?" Omega asked, then he looked up at Shadow and Rouge. "Why are you taller than usual? I demand an explanation" he requested calmly. "There's better ways to phrase this, but long-story short: Eggman blew missiles against Rouge, you pushed her aside and got hit instead... I guess you can tell the rest on your own" Shadow replied with his arms crossed. "Now, Tails is gonna rebuild your body" Rouge added with a smirk. "So don't worry, you won't be just a head for too long" she assured. "Yup!" Sonic agreed. "Tails is gonna have you good as new in no time!" he stated. However, Tails chuckled awkwardly and looked at the rest while sweating nervously. "Um, I do can fix him, but not 'in no time'..." he said sheepishly. "Huh?" Sonic said, blinking confused. "There's a lot of encrypted data in Omega's base, probably Eggman's doing" Tails started to explain. "I need to unlock all his functions again first and download the blueprints of his body. Only when that's done, I can repair him, but... It's gonna take some time..." he pointed out with concern, scratching his neck. "How long?" Rouge asked. "Well, I can unlock all the encrypted data in 20 minutes, maybe less, but building up his body? That's gonna take me all day, at least" Tails replied. "All day?" Shadow questioned. "Can't you accelerate the process somehow?" he asked. "I can't risk fry his systems by mistake if something goes wrong!" Tails pointed out. "If I'm gonna repair him, I'm gonna make sure is the right way! Besides, this is the first time Omega's been destroyed..." he added. "Hopefully it'll be the last..." Rouge muttered, while Shadow nodded in agreement. "And I have no idea how his physicality works, which is why I need to study the blueprints once I have them" Tails finished explaining. "So the whole day it is..." Shadow said with his arms crossed and an eye roll. "I cannot stay as a head the whole day" Omega said a little angry. "I need to move around" he added. "Did that blow up made your systems deaf or something?" Rouge asked with a frown. "Tails needs the whole day to fix your body! Like it or not, we can't accelerate the process" she added. "Maybe I could help?" Zipp asked with a smile, as she flew ahead and landed at Tails' side. "You know how we worked together to build up the Marestream, right? With a pair of extra hooves, we could have this guy's body done in no time!" she pointed out happily with sparkling eyes. "Sure thing!" Tails said with a wink, a smile and his thumbs up. "All the help I can get is welcome!" he stated. "That still doesn't change the fact I have no body" Omega replied with annoyance. "Well, see it as a day off to being a walking weapon!" Sonic pointed out with a smile. "You can be with your Team so they can catch you up with everything that happened after you exploded, and explore Maretime Bay as well!" he added. "I agree with Big Blue over here!" Rouge confessed with a smirk. "And, it could help you to spare your time instead of just waiting here for your body to be ready!" she added. "Sounds tempting, but I still would like a body, even if it's temporal" Omega replied with a bit of anger. Shadow and Rouge groaned and rolled their eyes in annoyance, with Rouge even facepalming. "Alright... Let's get you a body so you can stop complaining..." he said with a frown. "Ooh, I can help with that!" Izzy declared with sparkling eyes. "Follow me!" she declared, as she grabbed both Shadow and Rouge with a confident smirk and then dragged them away, with Shadow and Rouge yelping, while Sonic stared at them amused and Knuckles followed them along. Izzy and Knuckles went over to Izzy's crafting spot. As they seemed to be creating something, while also having a reference picture of Omega over the table, Shadow and Rouge waited for whatever Izzy and Knuckles were doing, while Rouge held Omega's head on her arms. Finally, after several minutes, they finished whatever they were doing and looked back at Team Dark with smirks. "Lady, gentleman and robot! I have come with the solution to all your problems!" Izzy declared confidently. "Maybe not all of them..." Shadow muttered with a bored expression. "Behold... The 'Omega's Day Off Replacement Body'!" Izzy said, now showing off a body Knuckles and her build for Omega so he could use in the meantime while Tails and Zipp fix his real one. "But you can also call it the O.D.O.R. Body!" she added cheerfully. This new body had a big similarity to Omega's normal body, but this one was white were there was yellow, and turquoise where there used to be red. On the arms, there were white lines, the shoulder pads where bigger and round, and it had the '23' number drawn on the chest. "Huh... This kind of body reminds me of an American Football player" Shadow said with a raised eyebrow. "That's because we used an old Football suit I had to make this new body" Knuckles explained with a smile. "Is just as resistant, big and functional as the original one! But of course, it's a temporal body Omega can use until Tails and Zipp are done with the normal one" he added. "I have many complaints with the design, but it works" Omega stated. "At least you're being thankful of having a body..." Rouge deadpanned. Suddenly, Omega's head was surrounded by Izzy's magic and levitated away from Rouge's hands, as the head landed on top of the body and was spun around, until it stopped and fit perfectly. With that, Omega's eyes went from red to green, fitting better with his new body, and he started to try it out: First, he walked a bit ahead, then extended his arms and spun them entirely, before doing the same just with his hands and finally move his fingers. "So? How's your body doing, Omega?" Shadow asked. "As I stated before, I have complaints over it. But it does the job" Omega replied. "Now you're ready to go!" Izzy stated, as omega slowly made a thumbs up and head towards the exit, while Rouge followed along. Shadow was going to do the same, but Knuckles stopped him. "Before I forget! Try to not overcharge him. I know Omega is used to make multiple tasks, but this body isn't that capable, so an overcharge––" he tried to explain. "Would lead to disaster, right?" Shadow asked with a bored expression. "Yup!" Izzy replied instead, jumping over with a cheerful smile. "I'll keep it noted" Shadow said with a nod, as he boosted out of the Brighthouse. Team Dark reached the main town. The first thing Rouge did was to guide Omega to Mane Melody, where she properly introduced the robot to Pipp and Jazz in the salon. Of course, the two ponies first impression on seeing such a huge robot was to feel a bit concerned... However, as soon as Omega turned to face the magic mirror, he saw that he had a completely new look: His shoulder pads where blue with pink stripes, his arms were fully colored on red and had some pink stripes as well, while his chest turned fully black and had the letters 'S' and 'R' over the place where the 23 used to be. Omega's database could not process the information properly, or at least, it didn't found any logical conclusion, but he was really intrigued on this new aspect the magic mirror was giving him. Pipp and Jazz also noticed that, and when they saw Omega's look in the mirror, they smiled with sparkling eyes. So, without asking the robot for permission, they managed to drag him to the biggest chair they had and sat him down. Then, they started to make all this changes they saw on the mirror, while Omega simply stood still, not feeling bothered by the sudden change. After a few minutes, Pipp and Jazz were done, and they dragged Omega to a normal mirror so he could see the new look he had... It was weird, but Omega seemed to actually like how he looked like. So, he looked back at Pipp and Jazz and raised his thumbs up, approving this new look he just got from them. With this, Pipp and Jazz prepared to take a selfie with Omega, with Rouge getting in the middle just to not be left out, while Shadow had to resist the urge to laugh at Omega's look, since he thought the robot looked ridiculous. Next, Shadow and Rouge dragged Omega across Maretime Bay to show him a bit around. As they did so, ponies seemed to either feel amazed, confused, or scared at the sight of Omega. Of course, the ones being scared of him were justified since Eggman's Death Egg Titan attack was still pretty recent. However, he also seemed to have a less violent attitude because of the absence of weapons on this body, so even if it took him a while, he still took the time to slowly turn to the ponies and wave his hand at them. Some still freaked out, but some were friendly and waved their hands back at him with smiles. The Pippsqueaks, Glory, Seashell and Peach Fizz, also seemed a bit scared at Omega at first, but the fact that he ducked down and putted his hand in the ground as a way to ask if they wanted to climb on top of him, that made them smile. So, without hesitation, the three fillies got over Omega, while the robot started to playfully carry them in the air, the same way parents would do with their child. If anything, Omega was showing himself to be more friendly around these ponies, probably because he's already in context and knows what Eggman did with his Death Egg Titan, so he wanted to calm them down by showing himself in a more friendly manner, specially with the colts and fillies. One thing was for sure, thought: Omega had more reasons to hate Eggman now, and that was messing with these ponies. Now, Hitch was patrolling Maretime Bay's streets while whistling happily to himself. Soon enough, however, he crossed paths with Omega, and he got not only startled by the fact that he was a tall robot, but he also frowned in anger, because the last robot that was here, destroyed the entire town. But to his surprise, Omega slowly moved his hand and made a salute to him, since his scanners detected Hitch's Sheriff Badge on his chest, so he decided to be polite and show the proper respect to the authority in front of him. Hitch's eyes widened a bit confused after Omega did this, so he looked at Shadow and Rouge behind the robot, with Shadow having his arms crossed and also looking confused at Omega. Both him and Rouge shrugged at Hitch, since they didn't knew what to do or say to this sign from Omega. So, Hitch shrugged as well with a smile, before putting on a serious look and return the salute to Omega. Finally, Team Dark went over to Sunny's smoothie stand, where Misty was helping Sunny send smoothies. Of course, Omega couldn't drink anything because, you know, he's a robot, but Rouge insisted to present him to Sunny and Misty, since they were the only ones left from the 'regular group' he hasn't met yet. "Hey, Sunny!" Rouge's voice called out. "A Fruity-colada and a Magic Mango and Coconut, please!" she requested. Sunny smiled and turned around, since she was blending a smoothie. "Coming right away, Rou––" she tried to say, but when she turned around, her eyes widened in panic, because she did found Shadow and Rouge... but she also found Omega behind them, and like everyone else did at first she panicked. Her mind flashed back to images of the Death Egg Titan raising from water, destroying the Brighthouse and then causing a massive chaos around Maretime Bay, as well as remembering how she almost got crushed along Sonic and Pipp. "Uh, Sunny?" Misty's voice spoke, and that seemed to bring Sunny back from het PTSD. "Are you okay?" Misty asked with worry. "You seemed kind of... alarmed" Shadow pointed out with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. "H-Huh? O-Oh!" Sunny said a bit alarmed, before chuckling sheepishly and gulp. "I-I'm okay! I-I just, uh... W-Who's this guy?" she asked, pointing nervously at Omega. "I'm E-123 Omega, the most powerful of the Dr. Eggman's E-100 Series line of robots" Omega replied. "Do not fear, however. I hate my creator as anyone else around these corners" he stated. "Wait, Eggman created you?" Misty asked confused, while Sunny at her side seemed really paranoid. "And you hate him, too? Why?" she questioned. "Eggman deactivated and sealed him in an abandoned base to guard me" Shadow replied instead. "He feels his powers were being wasted this way, which is why he wants revenge with Eggman" he added. "Now he looks to defeat him like the rest of us" Rouge added with a smirk. "As he said, you don't have to worry. The only objective he cares for is Dr. Eggman" she assured. Sunny, however, wasn't so sure about this, and she still looked paranoid at Omega. She couldn't allow herself to lower her guard ever again, not after everything that Eggman did to her, to her friends, and to her home. Shadow seemed to notice this, so he sighed and approached her by teleporting inside of the stand, which only startled Misty, because Sunny's sight was still on Omega. "Sunny, look at me" Shadow requested, and even if it seemed difficult, Sunny managed to look over at Shadow and ignore Omega for a second. "I get that you're concerned. Whatever Eggman did to you inside of his lab, I get that it has marked you. But I also know that you're understanding, so I hope you do understand that Omega isn't an enemy. We've been fighting alongside him for years, and I can assure you that if anyone ever deserved to beat the crap out of Eggman, if not Sonic nor I, that's him. In fact, he'll offer himself without thinking it twice" he added with a slight smirk. That got a chuckle out of Sunny, and she smiled a bit at Shadow. "My point is that Omega's someone you can trust, or at least, someone you don't need to have your guard up with" Shadow stated. "But you can stay a few steps back if you still feel uncomfortable around him" he added. "Well, that... That actually sounds really, really nice..." Sunny said with a smile. "I mean, a robot made by Eggman that hates Eggman? You don't see that everyday! Still, I'm gonna keep my distance. I just... Don't want another PTSD of the incident with that giant robot..." she added a bit concerned. "Wait... What do you mean you're getting PTSD?!" Shadow asked, a bit more panicked than he would liked to sound. However, before Sunny could reply something to calm him down, they both heard how many ponies were suddenly surrounding Omega and asking a lot of requests. Shadow's eyes widened at this, and he quickly teleported out of the stand, approaching to Omega and trying to drag him away. But this plan didn't worked, because more ponies arrived from the direction he tried to push him, so he tried to push him to another direction, but more ponies came as well. This started to get worse, and soon, Team Dark was completely surrounded by a crowd of ponies, all of them asking questions to Omega. Of course, Omega was doing all he could to analyze all the questions he was being made and answer all of them, but his systems were starting to fail and overcharge. This wouldn't happen on his normal body, but... Yeah, you already know... "This is bad..." Shadow muttered with a concerned frown. "What is bad? That Omega's getting all this attention?" Rouge asked confused. "Yes!" Shadow replied with anger, much to Rouge's surprise. "Knuckles warned me about not overcharge him, or else––" he tried to explain. Yet, saying it wasn't necessary, because they both heard Omega's system failing already, as the robot's eyes twitched, and his green eyes switched between the same green, yellow, orange and red, while the head spun in 360 degrees, and some sparkles came out of what should be considered his neck. "Error 500. Data not processed. System overcharged" Omega spoke, but his voice sounded distorted and mixed with the female voice from earlier. After saying this, the head stopped spinning and showed fully red eyes, while his rockets turned on and he was suddenly sent to the sky, leaving behind a huge smoke of dust that made everyone around the robot cover themselves. Once the dust was gone, everyone heard some ponies screaming, and so, they all moved aside before getting hit by Omega, who was now flying out of control across the town. Hitch, who was still patrolling around, noticed Omega and ducked, before looking at him, frown and blow a whistle with anger. Meanwhile, Shadow and Rouge, who stood in front of Sunny's Smoothie Stand, looked over at the same direction, with Shadow frowning and Rouge covering her mouth in concern. "Or else that will happen..." Shadow finished with a growl. Meanwhile, in the Brighthouse, Tails and Zipp were now building up Omega's body. After unlocking the encrypted codes, Tails downloaded Omega's blueprints and studied it along Zipp. After an hour or two, they both got full understanding on how to build Omega's body again, so they go down to work. The chest and arms were already assembled at this point, which left Omega's legs to be placed together. But as Zipp seemed to be reading over the blueprints again with a focused look, Tails could barely concentrate on placing the legs together, because he started to think about something that's been bothering him ever since Misty revealed to be a traitor. Of course, Misty was at their side now, but... That didn't change the fact that he trusted so blindly on her for so long... "... Zipp?" Tails called out, as he pulled himself away from Omega's body and approached Zipp, who was sitting down on a spinning chair. "Yeah?" Zipp asked, still focusing on the blueprints. "We need to talk..." Tails stated with concern. "Well, technically we're already doing it..." Zipp pointed out with a slight smirk, before looking back at the blueprints. Tails chuckled a bit, but then let out a sigh and turned Zipp around, startling the mare a little bit. "Zipp... I'm really, really sorry..." he apologized. Zipp's eyes widened, and she raised an eyebrow confused. "Sorry? For what?" she asked. "Don't act like if you didn't know!" Tails said with concern. "You were right about Misty all along, and I still shut you up because I was too blind to see the truth in front of me!" he explained, looking down in shame and rubbing his arm. "Misty lied to us all this time. She worked with Opaline, with Eggman, she used us and tricked us for so long! And I... I... I defended her and threat you like if you were the enemy... But you were right all along, and I'm sorry for not see it before..." he added with sadness. Zipp was taken aback by this, and honestly? She had no idea what to say... On one hand, yes, of course one of the first things she thought after Misty confessed to be working with the enemy was that he had to apologize to her after defending Misty for so long when, in the end, Tails was wrong. On the other hand, however... Could she really be mad? Yes, she was right about Misty, but... That doesn't change the fact that she jumped to a conclusion way too fast sometimes. What if she was wrong? Maybe they wouldn't had this conversation, but they were. "I also want to apologize for being so rude over your investigations, stopping you from trying to help Pipp when Eggman's robot almost killed her, not being so supportive with you after all the crap Eggman told you..." Tails listed down. "In a little bit of a slump, I'm sorry for being such a bad friend all this time. You wanted to protect us from something bad, you warned us several times about being in danger, you suspect Misty for good reasons! And I still got on her side just because she tricked me like everyone else, and I'm really sorry for that..." he apologized once again. Zipp's heart skipped a beat, her cheeks immediately blushed, and her eyes sparkled and watered, while she looked at Tails with a loving gaze that she never had for anyone before. All Tails did was apologizing for being rude and sometimes too mean with her, something he has done before... So why was this different? Why was this one specifically so marvelous to her that she was at the edge of crying? She didn't knew, but it didn't mattered the answer... She liked it, she liked him. So, with no hesitation, Zipp giggled a bit and then pulled Tails into a warm and tight hug, which surprised Tails a lot more than he expected. "Uh.. Z-Zipp?" Tails called out confused, also blushing a bit embarrassed. "Tails... I have no words to describe how much this apology means to me" Zipp said with a smile, as she let out some tears of joy. "But you think you're a bad friend? You couldn't be farther from the truth!" she added, now braking the hug and quickly whipping out her tears. "Huh?" Tails said confused. "B-But I yelled at you for trying to protect us! I defended Misty so much, and I was the clown at the end of the day!" he pointed out with wide eyes. "You were defending a friend, man..." Zipp assured with a smile. "And, you said it yourself: Misty tricked everyone. We all thought that she was on our side, but she was with Opaline and Eggman. Even so... We both did what we both thought was the right thing. You were protecting Misty because your heart told you she was good, and I was blaming her because my heart told me she wasn't somepony we could trust" she pointed out. "In a way, we were both right, because even if Misty was working with our enemies, she betrayed them, proving that she was always our friend, even if she did something really, really wrong by lying to us..." she added with a smirk. "That doesn't changes the fact that I threat you badly! I-I even dismissed some of your investigations because of––" Tails tried to point out, but Zipp placed a hoof on his mouth and chuckled at his attitude. "Dude, relax!" Zipp told him with a smile. "Yeah, you might had crossed the line a few times when you were defending Misty, like in the Ball..." she pointed out, waving her hoof in the air a bit. "And I'm happily gonna rub that I was right in your face for the rest of your life!" she assured with a mocking smirk. "Yeah, I deserve that one, honestly..." Tails chuckled sheepishly. "But that doesn't change the fact that, even if I was right, I also did things wrong" Zipp kept talking. "We both were right and wrong in some things, but honestly? I'm happy that you apologized to me. It... kind of gets over a little problem I had with you" she added with a smirk. "Well, I was a clown for shut you down when you were right all along..." Tails pointed out with an ashamed smile, also scratching his neck nervously. "So... Are we good now?" he asked a bit confused. Zipp smiled, then looked around to make sure no one was around, and then kissed Tails' cheek softly, which made Tails blush madly, while some smoke came out of his ears. Zipp giggled after seeing his reaction and smirked. "Now we are~" she replied, before turning again and focus back on Omega's blueprints, but now with a huge smile and a slight blush. Tails on the other hand, smiled awkwardly and started to laugh like an idiot, while he stared at Zipp's back like an idiot and rubbed the cheek she kissed, with some little hearts coming out of his head. Zipp noticed this as she looked over her shoulder and grinned, before looking back at the blueprints. "Are you gonna stare at my back all day, or are you gonna finish that robot, little Romeo?" she asked with a flirty and mocking tone. This made Tails shook his head and snap back to reality, as he chuckled sheepishly and started to walk backwards. "R-Right! I-I gotta finish Omega's body, then calibrate it, then test it out, and all that stuff, heheheh..." he said nervously. And just then, he tripped with a piece of Omega's body and fell backwards, groaning in annoyance and pain, while Zipp giggled at him and shook her head on disbelief. Back in Maretime Bay, Omega kept flying around out of control. The robot was occasionally crashing with the road, walls from several houses and shops around the town, and even letting out some sparks, while his arms occasionally spun and made contact with the ground. Just then, a black blur and a white one passed by, chasing down the robot out of control. Said blurs were Shadow and Rouge respectively, who were boosting across Maretime Bay to try and caught Omega before he hurt somepony. "You should had told me that we couldn't overcharge his system with this body!" Rouge said a bit mad. "Are you going to blame me now?!" Shadow said with a frown. "You're the one that left with Omega when Knuckles said we couldn't let this happen!" he pointed out. "Oh, now you're the one blaming me!" Rouge shouted, not truly mad. "Look, let's blame each other later if you want. Right now? We gotta stop Omega before something bad happens!" Shadow said. "Fine!" Rouge agreed, even though she was still mad. As Omega passed by Mane Melody, crashing with the street by mistake, Sonic opened the salon's door and looked confused at the flying robot. Then, Shadow and Rouge passed by, and that confused him even more, so he ran on his place, with his feet forming the shape of an 8, and then boosted towards them. 2 seconds later, Sonic was running along the two member of Team Dark. "Um, Shadow? How about a little context?" he requested. "Knuckles and his girlfriend build a new body for Omega while Tails fixed the normal one!" Shadow explained without looking at him. "But his system overcharged, and now he's out of control!" Rouge added with a frown. "Okay, yeah... That's enough context for me!" Sonic stated, before curling into a ball and accelerate towards Omega. Soon enough, Sonic was running side to side with Omega, but before he could do anything, he had to jump since the arms of the robot started to spin like crazy again. After dodging the arms for about a minute, Sonic frowned, jumped and did his Homing Attack, landing on Omega's back and holding to him. "Alright, Meg! Time to shut down your syst––" Sonic tried to say with a smirk, charging up his electrical powers on a hand, but then, the robot started to shake violently in the air, which made his powers fade away. "WHOA!!!" he cried out in panic. As this was happening, Shadow and Rouge just stood there, looking at the sky with bored expressions. "I appreciate that he wants to help, but we can agree that riding Omega just makes it worse, right?" Rouge said with a tired tone. "Is Sonic we're talking about. He acts without thinking most of the time" Shadow pointed out. "Mind to give me a boost?" he asked with a smirk. Rouge smirked back, before grabbing Shadow from his hand, then spin him in the air, and then launch him towards the air. There, Shadow used the rockets on his shoes to get an extra impulse, before landing over Omega when he was passing by. Over the robot, Sonic was screaming in panic because of the wild moves of Omega, while Shadow looked at him with a bored expression, something that the Blue Blur noticed soon enough. "Oh, hey, Shadow!" he greeted with a smile, almost acting like if he wasn't screaming a few seconds ago. "What the heck was your plan here, anyways?!" Shadow asked with a frown. "Using my powers to deactivate his body–– Whoa!" Sonic replied, as Omega dived to the floor and started to fly across Maretime Bay's streets again. "But apparently, he shakes to much for me to even use them!" he pointed out with a frown, while holding tight to the robot. "Then let me help with that!" Shadow stated, placing his palms over Omega's back. "Chaos Control!" he shouted, as he focused some energy from his body and sent it to Omega's body. This made the robot stop flying and freeze in the air, while Shadow grunted in effort as he kept the Chaos Control effect working. "Huh... That's actually useful!" Sonic said with a smirk, as his eyes and quills turned on in neon blue lights. After that, he jumped in the air, charged up his Spin Dash with electricity and then hit Omega's back one, then two, then three times, and finished the combo with a Stomp Attack, which made the robot explode and separate all the pieces of his body, as Sonic and Shadow slid in the road, while Omega's head flew in the air. Rouge managed to fly to the air and catch Omega's head just in time, as she slowly landed in the floor. Omega's eyes were showing red 'X' marks, until they slowly glitched and showed Omega's regular red eyes, while the robot looked around, before looking at Rouge confused. "... What the hell happened?" Omega asked confused. "Long-story short? Your new body wasn't stable enough to process too much data" Rouge replied with a little smirk. "The important thing here is that you're fine, and that no one's hurt" Shadow pointed out, while he cleaned some dust from his body. "Yeah... I'm not so sure about that last one, Shads..." Sonic said with a cringed expression, as he pointed at the town. Streets were a mess, light posts were all destroyed, Hitch and Knuckles were taking pictures of all the private property that Omega destroyed, and Izzy was all searching over her Unicycling Cart like a maniac for materials to fix everything. Rouge's eyes widened, Shadow sighed frustrated, and Omega blinked a few times. "... My bad..." the robot said with somewhat an ashamed tone. That made Shadow facepalm and Rouge roll her eyes, while Sonic snorted playfully at Team Dark's situation, since he never expected them of all people to be this problematic with non-Eggman related stuff. Tails and Zipp assembled Omega's legs as the final touch. With this, Omega was ready to be reintroduced to his original body. So, Rouge gave Omega's head to Tails, since she, Shadow, the rest of Team Sonic and the rest of the Mane 6 were at the Brighthouse to witness Omega's fully recovered body. Tails flew over to the empty space on top of Omega's body and placed the head, before spinning it several times until it fit perfectly on the metallic body. With this, Omega's eyes glitched a bit between yellow, orange and red, until they were red again. Then, Omega slowly started to move his arms, testing out if his hands and fingers could move, as well as replacing his fingers with his gunshots, but of course, not using them. Then, Tails and Zipp removed the ties on his chest they had to keep the body balanced, and Omega tested out walking a bit ahead, as well as scanning everything in the Brighthouse to see if even that worked well. Seeing that everything was fine so far, he looked back at the rest of the group. "So? How you feeling?" Tails asked with a smile. "All systems are functional. No missing pieces detected" Omega informed, before testing out the rockets on his feet, which worked fine, so he landed in the floor again. "Flying systems work perfectly. Conclusion: I'm ready to haunt down Dr. Eggman" he informed. "Yes!/Yeah!" Tails and Zipp cheered, fist/hoof bumping each other happily, while Rouge and Shadow approached Omega, and everyone else just cheered for Omega's comeback. "Welcome back, Omega" Shadow said with a slight smirk and his arms crossed. "We thought you'll never came back!" Rouge added with a playful smirk. "Eggman needs more than a missile to destroy the world's most powerful robot!" Omega informed confidently, also closing his hand on a fist. Rouge chuckled and Shadow rolled his eyes after Omega said this, while the robot looked over at Tails and Zipp and walked towards them. "Young Prower, Princess Storm" Omega called out. "You have my eternal gratitude for restoring me to my old glory" he stated. "Eh, it was no biggie!" Tails said with a smirk and a wink. "Right! We're happy to help!" Zipp added with a smile. "But please, never call me 'Princess' ever again... Just call me Zipp!" she requested. "... Understood, Princess Zipp" Omega replied with a salute. That made Zipp groan and facehoof, while Tails chuckled at her side. THE END Author's Note I know that yesterday's Episode wasn't related to Bridlewoodstock, but I still wanted to delay it and use it later on because, well, this premise was supposed to be a sub-plot, yet I liked it too much to leave is as just that, so is now a full on Original Chapter focused on Team Dark. Also, having Tails and Zipp apologizing after all the shit Zipp went through with Tails defending Misty was going to happen at some point, so here it is! Next episode is already known to be focused on Misty and her new Cutie Mark, so expect a lot of feedback from Izzy and Tails towards the unicorn mare. 58. Sparkle SchoolIn Maretime Bay, Sparky was running top speed for some reason. First, he passed besides a pair of stallions, which looked at him confused. Then, he traversed a bunch of bushes and could had bumped into a pegasus stallion, if he didn't noticed Sparky at the last second and flied aside. Meanwhile, in Mane Street, there seemed to be some kind of running competition between the ponies, and Windy was the one that got closer to the finish line, while the crowd around cheered to her, Misty included, since she was there as well. "I've done it! I've done––" Windy was cheering, but then, Sparky launched a small blast of his Dragon Fire to the finish line, making it disappear entirely, which shocked the crowd and angered Windy. "Hey!" she said madly. On the other side of town, Hitch was running by some ponies. "Sorry!" he apologized, before jumping over the Pippsqueaks, which were all eating Ice Creams. "Excuse me!" he apologized again. However, he stopped looking were he was going, because he crashed with a cake that an earth pony mare was selling to a unicorn mare, and the cake splatted on his face. Then, as Hitch kept running, he was passing right in front of an earth pony family that was taking a picture in front of the sea, but he jumped in front of them and smile sheepishly at the camera, still with the cake on his head. "Cheese!" he said, just when the picture was taken. "Gotta go!" he said, as he kept running, leaving the earth pony family confused. Just then, both Hitch and Sparky saw at each other, and they both smiled happily. "Sparky!" Hitch exclaimed with joy, while Sparky babbled like the happy baby dragon he is. And finally, Sunny was at her smoothie stand, making a smoothie on her blender, but her expression showed that she had a rough night. Still, she was willing to keep working and give ponies their orders, no matter how many times Eggman and his Death Egg Titan tortured her in her nightmares. However, Sparky jumped over a bowl of fruits she had over the stand's counter and felt startled, while Sparky grabbed an orange and jumped in the air, before happily land on Hitch's hooves, as father and son smiled at each other. Then, Sparky launched the orange to the air, followed by him launching a spark of his dragon fire. Once the fire hit the orange up in the sky, it transformed it into a bunch of french fries that fell to the ground. "Aw, Sparky!" Hitch said with a touched smile, as he looked at his baby dragon. "You know fries are my favorite!" he pointed out happily, as he caught one with his mouth and chomped it happily. "You're the best little buddy ever!" he stated, as he hugged the baby dragon, while his Cutie Mark started to shine brightly, and Sparky giggled at Hitch's hug. Not so far from them, Misty and Tails watched the whole thing with smiles. "Wow! Hitch's Cutie Mark is so, so sparkly!" Misty said with a smile, while she placed her hooves on her cheeks and her eyes literally turned into hearts. "Yup!" Tails said with a smile as well. "Everypony's flank shines whenever unity among them is strong! Although, Pipp's Cutie Mark shone bright when she confessed to Sonic, and he's not a pony... Maybe the fact that our powers are half-magic has something to do with it, I don't know" he pointed out. However, Misty looked over at her own Cutie Mark and felt sad. "Mine has never sparkled like that..." she said with disappointment. "Really?" Tails asked confused. "Are you absolutely sure, Mist?" he added. Misty rubbed her chin and thought about it for a second... A few days ago, Sonic, Zipp and Misty were racing across the sky. Sonic once again was using the Blue Star II to keep up with Zipp, while Misty was being held on an Extreme Gear herself that Tails made for her. It was pink and blue with her Cutie Mark below the board, and all she had to do was to move her hooves to guide the vehicle properly, which se was doing well so far. However, as she enjoyed her time along Sonic and Zipp, she noticed that her Cutie Mark was starting to shine, and her eyes sparkled for a second... But the moment she turned to see her Cutie Mark, it stopped shining, and she lost her balance, almost falling from the sky if Sonic didn't caught her in time. Another day, she decided to help out in Mane Melody. Misty sweated a bit nervously as she levitated some boxes and the stuff inside to put them on their place in an open shelf, while Pipp instructed her where to put them with a smile. However, Misty looked at her Cutie Mark for a second again, thinking it was going to shine, but by doing so, she accidentally moved the box she was levitating, and it ended up landing on Jazz's head, as the products inside fell to the ground, although none of them broke, while Amy and Rouge came by to pick up the products and get the box off Jazz's head. And finally, another day, Misty helped Hitch, Sunny and Knuckles. They had to deal with some critters that stoled some cupcakes both Sunny and Knuckles baked as a dessert for dinner that night, and Misty grabbed the last one from a bunnycorn, while the critter looked down in shame for stealing the cupcake in the first place. With this, Misty's Cutie Mark was starting to shine again, and both Sunny and Misty smiled at it... But then, a raccoonicorn and Sparky grabbed two of the cupcakes and ran away with them. "Sparky!" Hitch called out in panic. "Come back here, you young dragon!" Knuckles scolded as well. This called Sunny and Misty's attention, which also made Misty's Cutie Mark stop shining, as the three ponies and echidna ran off to chase down Sparky and the raccoonicorn. Misty looked down in sadness after explaining everything to Tails. "Hey, come on. Cheer up a bit, Mist!" Tails told her with a smile, as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "These things take time. You can't expect everything to go smoothly at the first try!" he pointed out. "Is still a bit disappointing..." Misty pointed out with concern. But before Tails could say anything to cheer her up, Izzy zoomed by suddenly and side-hugged the unicorn mare, startling her a bit. "Hey, Misty-twisty!" Izzy greeted her with a cheerful smile, before looking over at Hitch and Sparky with sparkling eyes, also placing her hooves on her cheeks. "Aww! Hitch and Sparky are totally the cutest, aren't they?" she asked, while Hitch and Sparky were feeding fries to each other happily. "Is good to see that Hitch lets Sparky be more Sparky!" Tails said with a smile. "Totally gets them off the schedule" he pointed out. "Yeah..." Misty agreed. "And look at that Cutie Mark! It's so bright..." she pointed out, before looking at her Cutie Mark with concern again. "I don't think mine works right... It's never shine like that..." she said with disappointment. "Whaaaaat?!" Izzy asked confused, as she looked around and tried to think on any time Misty's Cutie Mark did shine, but she got nothing. "Sure it has, Misty!" she said anyways, in an attempt to cheer Misty up. "Didn't it shine like that when Sunny was using her magic against Opaline?" Tails questioned confused. "No..." Misty denied, shaking her head. "But it's okay!" she assured with a smile. "It probably just... doesn't work like everypony else's because I got it so late..." she pointed out, looking down in sadness and concern. "Aww!" Izzy said sadly, before smiling and drag Misty away by grabbing her from her hoof, which startled the unicorn mare a bit, while Tails flew and followed them from the air. "It's never too late to get your Cutie Mark magic coming, Misty!" Izzy assured her with a smile. "Yup! I agree with that!" Tails said, as he landed and dragged Misty away, making her twirl around a bit and face him, which made Misty blush a lot. "We just have to figure out what really get it going!" he stated with a wink, and Misty's blush increased, while she also felt butterflies on her stomach. However, she had no time to process that, because Izzy spoke next. "Listen closely to me! Finding your sparkle is just like poetry!" she explained with a smile, before hoping away. "I was going to say something else..." Tails said, as he rubbed his chin. "Your Cutie Mark almost did shine when you were helping your friends out... Maybe that's they key to make it sparkle!" he pointed out with a smile. "Yeah, that sounds a lot more appealing that the poetry thing..." Misty said with a sheepish smile, before turning to the other unicorn mare. "Izzy, I'm not sure I understand––" she tried to argue. "My thoughts exactly!" Izzy interrupted her, getting to her side again. "Come on, Misty! You're one of us now, and best friends always help you sort stuff out!" she declared happily, as she made Misty twirl around a bit. "They do?" Misty asked confused. "Of course!" Tails spoke this time, side hugging her and nuzzling his cheek with hers, which made her get all red and flustered. "Friendship's about helping each other if we can! And we definitely can help you, Mist!" he added with another wink. Misty chuckled with a massive blush, and then, she was twirled around by Izzy, until she landed on Izzy's Unicycle Cart, while Izzy levitated a helmet with Misty's Cutie Mark over the named mare's head, with Izzy wearing her helmet as well. "All you need is a little bit of sparkle school!" Izzy stated happily, before hopping on her cart next to Misty. "Wanna come with us, Tails?" she asked him with a smile. "Smash the gas, Izz, 'cause we're moving at top speed!" Tails replied, flying with a loop in the air before stopping behind behind the cart and use his powers to get a helmet on his head and some rockets on his shoes. "Let's do this!" Izzy stated, as Tails turned on the rockets and made his tails spin, while Izzy smashed the gas pedal and drove her cart away. At the Brighthouse, Izzy took Misty to her workspace as the first thing to help Misty find her sparkle. Misty: Take a look a little closer now (closer now) Things turned out a little different than how I thought I thought they would Both Izzy and Tails putted their welding helmets on, with Misty doing the same. Then, she used her welding tool on a piece of metal, while her Cutie Mark started to flick a bit. This caught Misty's attention, and she lifted her helmet up, but this made her hold her welding tool a bit too strong, and so, she started shaking around while yelping. Once she turned off her welding tool, she fell face first, with Tails immediately moving over to help her stand up, while Izzy's workspace was all torched up, and Misty hardly stood up with Tails' help, because she was feeling dizzy. Next, the trio went to the Sheriff Station. This time, they were with Hitch, Knuckles and Sparky, with the sheriff doing some paperwork and Izzy and Knuckles being all lovey-dovey with each other, while Tails and Misty smiled at Sparky, and the baby dragon giggled at them excitedly. Izzy: If you have hope, then let me hear it (hear it) If you have sparkle, we can cheer it (cheer it) Misty turned away and closed her eyes, while Tails gestured Sparky to hide, so the baby dragon ran off. After searching for a while, Misty opened the closet with a smile. "Boo!" she exclaimed cheerfully, since she found Sparky, while the baby dragon giggled happilly. Tails: It ain't over when you have each other After searching for Sparky again, Misty checked the drawers. "Gotcha!" she cheered, while Sparky popped up and her Cutie Mark flickered again. She turned and looked at it, but it stopped flickering, and it saddened her. Tails noticed this and placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling warmly at her, and even if Misty got a slight blush again, as well as more butterflies on her stomach, she still smiled back at him. Now, Misty and Zipp were rolling skating around Maretime Bay, with Tails following them. "Whoo-hoo!" Misty cheered, as the two mares kept rolling skating happily. Izzy and Tails: If you're down, down, down Just look up, up, up You know that I got you Even when it's tough Zipp got in front of Misty and jumped with a twirl, while Misty jumped as well. "Yeah!" she cheered and laughed, looking at her Cutie Mark again that was flickering a little stronger, but since she got distracted, she hit face first in a cart full of apples and slumped. The apple cart was Fifi's, and the pegasus looked shocked by this, while Izzy, Tails and ZIpp went to Misty with concern because of her crash. If you're down, down, down Get back up, up, up Now, In Mane Melody, Misty was in the storage back room with Pipp, Amy and Rouge, since the girls were mixing some makeup and glitter ingredients. Again, no magic ingredients involved. Never on your own 'Cause you've got us Misty putted the final drop into the batch, which turned orange, and Pipp spread her wings with a smile, while Misty smiled at their work as well, while her Cutie Mark started to sparkle, drawing her attention again with a smile. But in her distraction, Misty accidentally putted another drop into the bowl, making Pipp and Amy gasp, while Rouge raised an eyebrow confused and Misty turned to see that the bowl started to glow. And then, the bowl exploded, covering the two ponies and two Mobians in orange glitter, with their manes and hairs blowing back from the reaction, while all the girls just stood there with wide eyes. When everything fails, there's just one thing to do: Give up. Nah, just kidding. Now that everything else didn't worked, Tails decided to take Misty to Sunny's smoothie stand to see if that would finally help her out. However, Misty was feeling overwhelmed instead, because there were a ton of ponies around the stand that wanted their orders to be attended. "Uh, okay! That's one Strawberry Dream. No-no-no, I mean, uh, a Dreamy Ripple?" Misty corrected herself, trying to get the orders right, while Sunny walked around, although because of her lack of sleep, she barely payed attention at the orders. "Oh! Order up! Here you go!" Misty said, but when she was about to give the smoothies to a stallion, she accidentally splat them on his face and some on her mane. "Ah! Sorry!" she said sheepishly, while the stallion looked irritated at her. Shortly after, another batch of smoothies were made, but Misty tripped again, and two more smoothies flew off. Soon, several amore ponies kept getting splashed with smoothies, each time Misty tried to pass them down. And at the end? Multiple smoothie flavors covered the entire pony crowd, including Misty, who was covered in multiple flavors, while Sunny was busy making more smoothies to even notice, although her tiredness could also be playing an important factor here. "What is wrong with me?!" Misty questioned herself with concern. "What was I thinking?! I can't do this!" she cried out, now tearing up. Outside the stand, Izzy and Tails were about to enter to see how Misty was doing, but then, the door opened itself, and Misty trotted off in despair, which surprised them both, while Sunny finished the smoothies. With a yawn, Sunny putted the straws in Smoothie cups. "I've got two Dreamy Greenies all ready, Misty" she said tiredly, but with a smile, one that faded away when she turned around and saw many cubs on the ground, while Misty wasn't there anymore. "Misty?" she called out confused, and her eyes widened. That's when she looked out of the stand and noticed Misty running away in despair, also covered with smoothies. "Misty! Come back! It's okay!" Sunny called out with concern. "Misty..." Tails muttered with concern, before rubbing his chin and think about something. "Her Cutie Mark was so close to sparkle whenever she was helping her friends... But we never considered helping her!" he realized. "What?" Izzy asked confused at his side. "I know how to help her! And I'm gonna need Omega for it" Tails stated, but instead of explaining himself, he boosted away at top speed. Sunny was about to follow him, but when he mentioned Omega, her mind flashed back to the day Eggman almost conquered Equestria with the Death Egg Titan, and she grabbed her head in pain, something Izzy noticed as she went and placed a hoof on her back and the other one on her cheek. "Sunny?!" Izzy called out, confused and worried for her. "... I... I'm fine, Izz..." Sunny lied with a nervous smile. "I guess I'm just a bit lost lately..." she pointed out. In the Brighthouse, Sonic and Shadow were a bit busy. After what happened in Mane Melody, Pipp and Amy requested help from the two male hedgehogs to clean them off the orange glitter, while Rouge decided to take a bath, refusing to let either Sonic or Shadow to put a hand on her. However, as Shadow putted on a bored expression while drying off some glitter from Amy's left arm, Sonic was casually drying off Pipp's mane with a smile, and Pipp even purred like a kitten. I mean, they have bathed together and dried each other's body after showering and... doing other stuff not rated E for Everyone. Suddenly, though, Sonic's watch made a beep sound, so Sonic pressed the button to attend the call. "Yo!" he greeted with a smile. "Sonic! Have you any idea where's Omega?!" Tails' voice spoke desperately. "Uh..." Sonic muttered, before looking around the Brighthouse, until he spotted Omega, turned off and recharging on the station that Tails built for him near Izzy's crafting corner. "He's here at the Brighthouse on his Recharge Station. Why?" he asked curiously. "No time to explain! Just sent him to my coordinates!" Tails replied and immediately ended the call. Sonic just stared at his watch confused, but decided to shrug it off, and so, he walked towards Omega's station. Misty was still running in tears, as a pegamouse flew by after hanging on a tree branch like a bat. "Ugh. Even with everypony trying to help me, my cutie mark still doesn't work!" Misty said in despair, before shaking off the smoothie contents off her and wipe her tears. "Who was I kidding? I'll never fit in with these ponies..." she said disappointed. And then, multiple eyes from within the trees started appearing around Misty, hissing madly at the unicorn mare, while Misty looked scared at the eyes. "And now you're in some super spooky woods, all alone!" Misty continued, looking around in fear at the eyes watching over her. "Good one, Misty. Can't you do anything right?" she questioned herself with a frown. My gosh, Misty. Can you ever do anything right?! Opaline's voice echoed on her mind, and her eyes widened after she realized what she just said, before sighing in defeat and just lay on a tree. It didn't mattered how many times her friends told her she was forgiven for working with Opaline and Eggman, she hasn't forgiven herself. Specially because she remembers how hurt and broken Tails seemed after she came out clean to him... She still can't believe he forgive her as well, because she believes she doesn't deserve him... "No... Is not only him..." Misty muttered to herself, while tears started to show up again. "I don't deserve any of them..." she added in sadness, as she sobbed a bit. "And who says so?" Tails' voice spoke softly, which made Misty open her eyes widely. She looked at her side and noticed that not only Tails, but also Omega were there, looking down at her, with Tails smiling sheepishly. "Tails? Omega?" Misty said surprised, wiping away her tears. "W-What are you doing here?" she asked confused. "I was worried about you" Tails said. "I mean, it's kind of my fault that you were so overwhelmed helping our friends out, as well as Izzy's, but I still want to understand why you ran away, Mist" he pointed out with concern. "... W-Why would you want to check on me, though?" Misty asked with a frown, although she was tearing up again. "What kind of question is that?" Tails asked with a confused frown, before softening his look and sit at her side. "Misty, you are my friend! You should worry the day I don't want to check how you doing" he pointed out with a warm smile. "But why are you so... So nice to me?!" Misty snapped, although Tails didn't flinched. "I worked with Opaline and Eggman ever since I met you! Y-You spent months protecting me from Zipp's suspicions, but she was right in the end!" she pointed out with anger, although it was hate for herself. "I-I shouldn't have ever come with you, guys! I don't fit in here!" she cried out loudly. "Misty..." Tails muttered with concern. "It doesn't matter how many times ponies say they forgive me... I haven't forgive myself!" Misty shouted, while tears rolled down her cheeks. "And how could I? I hurt you, I hurt our friends, Sparky almost died because of me! I don't even understand why Sonic was so mad with the other ponies when they were absolutely right to be mad with me! He should've been on their side, b-but he still protected me... And I don't deserve it..." she said, but now her voice was lowering to a whisper. "Y-You should all had leave me with Opaline... I wouldn't be happy, but at least I wouldn't be bothering anypony here in Maretime Bay..." she finished. After saying all of this, Misty was expecting Tails to speak and say either that she was wrong or right, but instead, Tails wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight, but really warm hug. Her eyes widened again, and her face blushed a bit as well. She couldn't understand why she always felt like this with Tails of everypony, but she never disliked the feeling either. However, she was also confused on why Tails was still here with her, nor why he hasn't snapped at her the way Knuckles did when she confessed to be a traitor. Soon enough, Omega managed to kneel down and somehow wrap both Misty and Tails in a hug as well. He was a robot, and he had little knowledge on how feelings work, but he knew that in times of sorrow, the best way to comfort someone was with a hug, and since Tails was doing that to Misty, he wanted to join in as well. Misty was startled by this, but her tears and the mixed feelings of sadness and anger didn't allowed her to think straight, so she buried her face on Tails' chest and cried, while also wrapping her hooves around him, letting the fox and robot comfort her. They stood in that position for a long while. Around 10 minutes, to be exactly. With the hug over, Misty sobbed some more before she finally wiped some last tears, and then, she looked over at Tails with a smile. "... Thanks, Tails..." Misty said happily, then she lean to him and kissed tenderly his cheek, although Tails didn't seemed to mind, and he even chuckled a bit. Then, Misty looked up at Omega and smiled at him too. "And thanks to you too, Omega!" she said happily again, also managing to kiss the robot's face. Omega just blinked confused and tilted his head at that gesture, but he still considered this a win since Misty wasn't crying anymore, which made him believe that the hug worked, so he felt victorious already. "Misty... Let me tell you something..." Tails called out, and Misty turned to him. "When you first told us about you being a traitor, I... I did felt bad... Seriously, you have no idea. Many things ran through my mind, and I felt like a complete idiot for all those times I treated Zipp so badly to protect you..." he confessed, looking at the ground with a frown for a moment, before looking back at Misty with another smile. "But when you told us that you got your Cutie Mark after freeing our friends... Part of my anger towards you left" he explained. "Part of it?" Misty asked with a raised eyebrow. "While it's true that you betrayed Opaline and Eggman, I was still mad with you..." Tails confessed again. "I mean, I found a pony in this world who I can relate a lot with because I went through similar things, but then she turned out to be working with our nemesis... How did you expected me to react or feel?" he questioned. "Oh, trust me... Even if you didn't said anything, Knuckles was clear with his words..." Misty said, looking down in sadness. "Also, your face told me you were not happy with the news" she pointed out. "Well, I wasn't..." Tails rolled his eyes. "But... I don't feel like that anymore, Mist. I know that you're one of us now, that you have abandoned Opaline and Eggman for good. And I meant it! you have proved yourself to have genuinely turned your life around!" he pointed out with a smile. Misty felt her face turning red again, and again, there were butterflies on her stomach. "In my eyes, you have redeemed entirely, Misty. And you do belong here" Tails kept talking. "However... I'm still concerned about you not forgiving yourself..." he confessed with worry. "Well, how could I?" Misty said with disappointment, looking away from Tails. "I lived with Opaline for so long, and Eggman always acted like a father with me... Even though he probably hates me as much as he hates you all, I still can't forget what I did to all of you..." she pointed out with concern. Tails looked at her with worry, but then, Omega slowly and carefully placed a hand over her head, calling the unicorn mare's attention. "... I was created by Dr. Eggman, long time ago" Omega spoke. "I'm the best of his E-100 series of robots... A walking weapon that hates his creator for sealing him away with Shadow... If you stop to consider it, I'm a badnik that redeemed himself" he explained. "Well, yeah. I mean, his robots usually want to destroy it all..." Misty pointed out with a giggle. "I can relate to your feeling of not belonging here" Omega confessed. "For the longest time, I also felt out of place, considering I'm one of the few badniks that went against their creator, yet a Badnik at the end of the day... But I found my place in Team Dark" he pointed out. "Really?" Misty asked curiously. "Even if I don't consider Shadow and Rouge my friends... I know for a fact that I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for them" Omega confessed. "They showed me that my past, that what I am, do not define who I am. After all, Shadow also went through something similar after loosing his memories..." he pointed out. "And I once felt out of place too..." Tails reminded, as Misty turned to see him again. "When I moved to live with Sonic, I felt so clumsy and out of place on his house..." he confessed. "I remember that everytime I tried to follow the long list of chores Longclaw and him knew from memory, I either messed up or made disasters that went beyond repair at first sight. I considered to give up so many times..." he explained, while looking up the sky as he remembered all he just told. "And what did you did?" Misty asked. "I talked my worries out with them" Tails replied with a smile, before looking back at Misty. "They listened to my concerns and assured me that there was no problem with me adapting to their schedule, that I just needed time" he explained. "And after living with them for months, I finally got the hang of their routine!" he finished cheerfully. "I suggest you try it out, little unicorn" Omega said, as he raised his thumbs up. Misty looked at Omega, then at Tails, who nodded in agreement with Omega's words, and so, Misty let out a sigh. "... Sometimes I feel like I just don't belong here..." Misty admitted, looking sad to the floor. "I know for a fact that not having forgive myself for being working with Opaline and Eggman has a big meaning behind, but... Sometimes I feel like you guys don't want me around... Even though I know it isn't true..." she explained with concern. "... You know..." Tails called out. "When magic first returned and Sunny became the Alicorn, she felt a little lost as well. And because she was the only Alicorn, she thought nopony would understand her..." he explained. "That sounds really hard..." Misty said with concern, not noticing that she started to glow. "She must've felt so alone..." she added, while her glow became brighter. "Well, she did for sure at first..." Tails said with concern, before smiling. "Then she realized that she was alone only if she kept her worries to herself. But, if she shared her worries with ponies who cared, then she'll never be alone! And that's exactly what I just told you, about me moving with Sonic and Longclaw. I felt alone until I shared my worries with them!" he pointed out with a huge smile. "Kind of like all you guys were there for me today?" Misty asked, remembering all the things she did today to try and make her Cutie Mark sparkle. "Everypony tried so hard to get my cutie mark to sparkle!" she said with a smile and sparkling eyes, standing up and glowing brighter. "Exactly! Because that's what friends do!" Tails said, as he stood up, while the white fur of his tails started to release some electrical sparkles. "And you know what? Even if you never got a Cutie Mark when you helped our friends to escape from Opaline's bubble, knowing that you betrayed them would've been enough for me to still call you my friend. And I know for a fact that everyone else would agreed! Because you belong with us, Misty" he declared with a smile, also nuzzling his cheek with hers. Misty felt her heart melting, and the butterflies she felt in her stomach seemed to fly even crazier than before, but she still smiled warmly at Tails' words and chuckled. "Aww... You mean that?" Misty asked him, as she started to tear up again, but out of happiness this time. "Hoof to heart?" she added, placing a hoof on her chest. Tails smiled and placed his forehead in front of hers with chuckle. "Hoof to heart" he assured her. Misty blushed for what felt like the millionth time that day, but she still smiled back at Tails, and they both closed their eyes, while Omega kneeled and wrapped his arms around the two of them, and they didn't seemed to mind. Just then, Misty's Cutie Mark started to glow so brightly, that it ended up bringing a magical image of itself, something that Tails didn't lasted so much to notice. "Mist... Look!" Tails called out with a smile, pointing at her Cutie Mark. Misty turned to see it, noticing that it was sparkling and created a magical image of a butterfly. The image flew up above the trio, and Tails' powers reacted even more, as some sparks came out of his tails and re-created the box of tools with yellow lightning Cutie Mark he obtained when he turned into a pony for the Manesquerade Ball that one time. The box of tools flee in the air, alongside Misty's Cutie Mark, as it circled around the butterfly, which gave off magical sparkles. Tails and Misty watched with amazed looks and sparkling eyes, while Omega's eyes shone brightly at the sight, probably the way his eyes sparkle when he finds himself amazed. Soon, the two images shone brightly one last time, before Misty's Cutie Mark returned to Misty, while the box of tools with yellow lightning dissipated in electricity after it made contact with Tails' tails. "Well, I didn't knew my powers could do that, but see?!" Tails told Misty happily, now side hugging her, while Misty giggled happily. "I knew your Cutie Mark would shine like that!" he stated. Soon, the rest of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic joined in the cheers, while Shadow and Rouge came by to see what Omega was doing here, although they couldn't help but smile slightly at Misty's accomplishment, since they knew she's been working hard on making her Cutie Mark glow. "Wow!" Zipp said amazed, as she walked up to Misty. "How'd you do it? It was the parkour, wasn't it?" she asked with a smirk. "Well…" Misty said with a sheepish smile, placing a hoof on her chin. However, before she could explain herself, Izzy placed a pink glitter graduation hat on Misty's head, with the unicorn mare looking at Izzy surprised. "Izzy! What's all this for?" Misty asked with a smile, despite still being confused. "It's your sparkle school graduation celebration, silly!" Izzy explained cheerfully, as she twirled around and lightened up her horn. "Pew-pew!" she cheered, and then, fireworks were made from her magic as they exploded in the sky. Soon, she got between Sunny and Misty, as they and the rest of them smiled at each other, with Izzy and Misty even hoof-bumping each other. However, as the firework show continued, Tails heard a beep sound coming from his Miles Electric, which was hidden on his Tails. So, he quickly glanced at the rest and made sure they were busy, before sneaking away behind some bushes. Once he made sure to be completely alone, he took out his Miles Electric and checked out what was going on. He sent out a drone months ago to track down the Chaos Emeralds after they spread once Super Sonic restored everything the Death Egg Titan destroyed, and apparently, said drone finally got the signal of three Emeralds... But something was off with the three signs. Usually, the Chaos Emeralds spread far away from each other... But the three signs all came from the exact same place, something that never happened before. "Three Emeralds are reuniting in the same place?" Tails questioned. "That's very odd..." he pointed out. Then, he zoomed out the whole map, noticing that the drone tracked down the three Chaos Emeralds towards a set of five islands, located far away from Equestria. "Five Islands, and the Emeralds are getting dragged there..." Tails muttered. "Could these be... The Starfall Islands Longclaw was talking about?!" he questioned in surprise, before he quickly flew off towards the Crystal Brighthouse, because he needed to investigate this further. THE END...? Author's Note So... We're not so far from the next Hiatus, to tell the truth, so I think it's time to tease more for Frontiers. This episode in particular is one of my favorites, but because of the 5 minutes format, I felt that it was missing more feedback from Misty's part, so I decided to add more feedback by having her question why both Sonic and Tails didn't snapped at her the way the other ponies and Knuckles did when she came clean on being a traitor. Also, Omega being thrown in here to show her that she shouldn't let her past define her. So what if Omega is a badnik? He has already showed that he's not sided with Eggman, and Misty can do the same: Leave her past with Opaline and Eggman behind to fully embrace friendship. And finally: Sunny and her PTSD. She was replaced with Tails in my canon for a very important reason, but we won't see that until the next episode! Oh, speaking of that... You might want to stay alert on my updates with this story, 'cause next episode is coming earlier than usual! But I won't explain further. See you all later! 59. Nightmares From The PastIt all starts in a dark place, where nothing but darkness itself can be seen. "Hello?" Sunny's voice called out nervously, as the earth pony mare tried to look around for something, anything. Suddenly, however, a light turned on over her, and she had to cover her face with her own hooves. But once she got used to the light, her eyes widened, and her heart started to race in panic, while her breath increased as well: She was back in Eggman's lab, in the middle of the same place he beat her up. "N-No... No, no, no, no, no, no..." Sunny muttered in panic, as she stepped back several times, just to suddenly stop as she bumped up with something. But it wasn't something, it was someone... It was Eggman. Sunny gasped, and by instinct, she made her Alicorn Powers come up, as she blasted a laser beam to the doctor. However, this didn't did anything, because not only Eggman wasn't there when she launched the laser beam anymore... He also managed to move fast enough to be behind Sunny again. Sunny bumped with him again in panic, but this time, she had no time to react, because Eggman grabbed her and launched her against a panel control. In the process, her Alicorn form faded away... It was happening again... Soon enough, Eggman approached her with a growl and tried to smash her, but Sunny moved just in time when Eggman smashed down the panel control with his fists. Followed by this, Sunny tried to quickly summon her Alicorn form again, but she couldn't even flap her wings once it did so, because Eggman approached her and grabbed her from her tail, quickly smashing her against the floor. Then, he stomped on Sunny's tail and made her groan in pain, since she tried to get away from him. After that, he stomped on Sunny's back and pressed over her bones, while Sunny screamed in pure agony and pain. "N-No... N-Not this again!" Sunny cried out in pain, while some tears came out of her eyes. But this was far from being over, because Eggman then grabbed her tail and started to smash Sunny in the floor from one side to the other. Sunny cried out in pain, and she felt more tears coming out as Eggman did this to her again... But then, Eggman finished by sending her towards a door that she traversed. She rolled in the ground and grunted in pain, but once she shook her head and looked ahead, she gasped, and her eyes widened again: She was now in Maretime Bay, with Eggman's Death Egg Titan coming out of water and looking down at her. Sunny looked back and saw that Mane Melody's doors were open, but they closed alone, and so, she returned her sight to the Death Egg Titan, now frowning in rage. However, the Death Egg Titan slowly turned to see the Crystal Brighthouse, which didn't had the rainbow light anymore, before the machine closed its right hand into a fist, and then, it smashed the Brighthouse in on single punch, destroying the entire building in the process. "No!" Sunny screamed with panic, before looking over at the Death Egg Titan with a bigger frown. And so, she summoned her Alicorn form again and flew towards the robot. She charged up a laser beam on her horn and launched it against the Death Egg Titan's face, but the machine didn't even flinched. In fact, the machine charged up its laser eyes and launched them against Sunny. The mare gasped and managed to quickly create a shield around herself, but the impact with the laser sent her backwards, as the laser not only pushed her, but it also destroyed all in it's way, including several buildings in Maretime Bay, like Mane Melody and the Museum. Sunny found herself coughing and laying on the floor weakly, while her magic vanished, as well as her Alicorn form, but she still managed to painfully stand up and look over at the Death Egg Titan with a frown. However, the Titan was not facing her anymore. Instead, it was using its laser eyes to destroy the rest of the town. ".. I-I... N-Need to... G-Get closer..." Sunny muttered to herself, as she started to walk painfully, because she wasn't strong enough to summon her wings and horn right now. But then, while the machine kept destroying everything, Sunny managed to see something in the distance... or rather, somepony, running up to her as fast as they could. Sunny narrowed her eyes to look better... and then her eyes widened in shock, as her lips started to tremble, while her heart ran like a marathon, and tears formed in her eyes. "... D-Dad?" Sunny muttered with disbelief. Precisely, Argyle Starshine, Sunny's dad, was running towards her daughter with both a panicked and concerned expression for his daughters well-being. "Sunny!" Argyle's voice spoke with both relief and worry, as he trotted faster. Sunny couldn't believe what she was seeing... Her dad died years ago... But here he was, running towards her. She had no time to process how this was possible, she simply needed to get to him. So, she managed to move a bit faster than usual and run towards her father. Argyle and Sunny were so close to each other... But before they could even say something, the Death Egg Titan's right foot stomped over Argyle and killed him again, much to Sunny's horror, while she looked up at the robot, whom launched its laser eyes against her... "NO!!!" Sunny screamed in panic, as she sat down on her bed and breathed heavily. Everything we just saw was a nightmare. One that felt very real, of course, but a nightmare at the end of the day... One that Sunny's been having for weeks now, ever since the defeat of the Death Egg Titan, actually. However, her scream made everyone else in the room wake up as well... Okay, everyone but Knuckles. He just kept sleeping while snoring loudly with his mouth open. Sunny kept breathing heavily, while Sonic, Tails, Izzy and Zipp immediately rushed to her side and tried to calm her down. Tails placed a hand on her back, the other one on her hoof and told her to breath deeply; Sonic placed his hand over her hoof as well and told her the same; while Izzy and Zipp limited themselves to hug Sunny. As for Pipp, Misty and Amy? They just approached and watched the scene with concern, while Knuckles kept sleeping. After several minutes, Sunny was breathing normally again, and she felt her heart bumping regularly as well, while she took one last deep breath and sighed in relief. "... Thanks, guys..." Sunny said with a smile, despite having her eyes closed. "No problem, but... What happened?" Tails asked with concern, still not letting go of Sunny's hoof. Sunny's smile faded away, and she looked down with concern, while some tears dared to show off on her eyes. "Let me guess... Another nightmare with Eggman's Titan?" Sonic said with a frown, but his voice showed concern for Sunny. Sunny slowly looked over to Sonic and nodded. "It... I-It was that thing killing my father... again..." she muttered, while some tears fell from her eyes and she tried to wipe them away. "Dang it!" Zipp muttered with anger, while she also rubbed her face with a hoof. "Sunny, this is the second time this week, and like the seventh one ever since Sonic launched that thing to the Sun and Moon knows where!" she pointed out with concern. "I-I know..." Sunny replied with concern, while she caressed her mane with her free hoof. "Okay, I know we all made a bow to never mention this again, but I think is time we have the turkey talk!" Sonic stated with a frown. "What did Eggman did to all of you while I was unconscious?" he asked. Sunny's and Zipp's eyes widened in panic after he asked that, while Izzy tilted her head confused at the question. Let's just say that Izzy's mind blocked out the memories of what Eggman did to Sunny and everything he said the day he ponynapped them, since it was just to traumatic for her to process it. "Um... D-Do we really have to talk about it?" Sunny asked with concern, also looking away from him. "I-I don't think it's gonna change anything––" she tried to protest. "Sunny..." Tails called out this time around. "I know that Eggman did something so bad that you want to forget it... But I think Sonic wants you to say it because that is what keeps giving you nightmares... And I honestly agree with him" he said with concern. "I'm usually not that much into making anyone talk about their traumas, but I agree with Sonic and Tails" Amy spoke, as she approached along Pipp and Misty. "The sooner you talk this out of your system, the sooner these nightmares will fade away" she pointed out. "And you'll sleep good again!" Misty added with a small smile. "Sunny... I also think they're right..." Pipp spoke. "In all honesty, we all had nightmares from that day at some point, but you're the one who's having the worse of them!" she pointed out with concern. "I... Don't really know what you all are talking about, but I think they're right. You should tell us what's wrong" Izzy agreed with a smile. Sunny opened her mouth to say something, but as soon as she did so, she immediately regret it and closed her mouth, also looking down in shame. This made everyone else sigh, and Sonic even rubbed his eyes with slight annoyance. Tails let out a sigh, but he still looked at Sunny with a smile. "Well, then... How about you go and see a therapist?" he suggested. "Unlike us, they're more experienced at dealing with traumatic events, you know?" he pointed out. "Actually... That's a really good idea" Sonic agreed with a smile. "If you can't take it out with us, at least try and see an expert in the matter!" he stated. "Yeah!" Zipp agreed as well. "If we gotta be honest, Pipp and I went with one for a whole week, and it helped us stop having nightmares about that day!" she confessed with a sheepish smile. "Wait... You took therapy and never told me?!" Sonic asked Pipp, as he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her with panic. "You were going to freak out if I ever told you!" Pipp pointed out with an eye roll. "Well, what else would I've had done?! I love you, for Chaos sake! Of course I would've worried!" Sonic pointed out with a frown. "Wait... Is that why you asked me to sleep close to you a whole week?" Tails asked Zipp, while raising an eyebrow at her and deadpanned as well. Zipp blushed and chuckled sheepishly, looking away and scratching her neck embarrassed. "You two sleep together?" Misty asked confused, but also frowning at Tails. "Technically, she slept wrapped to my tails..." Tails corrected himself, still deadpanning. "Getting back on track!" Amy called out. "I agree that you should see a therapist, then. I'm sure they could help you!" she assured with a smile. "I... Don't think so..." Sunny said. "Besides, I already made plans for this week, and I have to run my stand in the morning... Maybe if I find some free time in my schedule, I would see a therapist, but right now? I just wanna go back to sleep..." she confessed, also letting out a yawn. "Oh, no!" Sonic said. "You are not avoiding another problem like this! Last time you did so, magic almost caused the end of the world, and we created new magic because racism isn't an option in this generation, apparently" he added with a bored expression. "But this time around is worse, because it affects you and your life!" Tails pointed out. "Come on, Sunny! Don't this to yourself and just see a therapist!" he begged with the sad puppy eyes that only he can made. However, that trick wasn't going to work, because Sunny still shook her head in denial. "Guys, I'm gonna be fine! I just need to distract my mind with happy thoughts at night, and my sleep will be okay!" she assured. "I promise that this isn't a big deal" she stated. "Ā, anata wa raba yori mo gankodesu!" Sonic said with a frown, and then he started to swear a lot of not rated E words in Japanese, as he walked over to his bed again. "What did he said?" Zipp asked confused. "The first sentence was 'You are more stubborn than a mule'! Which I agree with!" Amy replied, also looking at Sunny slightly annoyed. "As for everything else? You don't wanna know..." she said, as she yawned and also head back to her bed. Soon, Pipp, Zipp and Izzy did the same, with just Misty and Tails staying with Sunny. "Sunny, if you keep hiding what Eggman did to you that day, when the truth is out, everything's gonna be really bad" Misty told her with concern. "Trust me, I know why I say this..." she assured with an ashamed expression. "The sooner you tell everyone what's waking you up, the better" she finished, before turning around and walking up to her bed as well. "She's right, Sunny" Tails agreed. "Avoiding this won't do any better to you. But... If you really want to act like nothing's wrong, then we won't stop you" he added, before hoping off her bed and flying towards his, while Sunny stood behind and looked down at the floor in concern. She could understand her friends worry for her, but she seriously didn't wanted to talk about what happened that day, specially since she knew that Sonic and Tails wouldn't take it so well. So, she decided to stick to her word and lay on her bed, resting her head against her pillow and slowly drifting back to sleep, hoping she wouldn't have that nightmare again... Yeah, let's emphasize on hoping, because she slept terribly. That very same day, in the morning, and because of the lack of sleep, Sunny struggled to make breakfast this time around. She poured the content for the pancakes and, since she was too tired to even look at what she was doing, she also broke some eggs over the pan... where the pancakes' content was already poured. In the process, she mixed pancakes and eggs, something that she didn't realized until Zipp pointed it out when the rest of the breakfast was served. Of course, nobody seemed to complain with the mix, but Sunny still yawned and gave a sheepish smile at the rest, something that made Sonic and Tails frown at her. The next day, Sunny went to her smoothie stand. Once again, she had a terrible night because of nightmares with Eggman and the Death Egg Titan, which was now affecting her work as well. Still sleepy and yawning, she took the orders from Posey, Dahlia and Mayflower, who were asking for their usual, something Sunny heard clearly... However, as she started to look after the ingredients, she yawned with her eyes closed again, and instead of grabbing a pear for Dahlia's smoothie, she grabbed a pearnana, which she already putted in the blender. This got worse with Posey's, because Sunny replaced the usual ingredients she used on her smoothie with some that Posey not only disliked, but Sunny also placed one that Posey was allergic to. With Mayflower's smoothie, weird enough, she was paying attention and got it right... But when she delivered the smoothies, however, both Dahlia and Posey spitted their smoothies away, much to Sunny's and Mayflower's surprise, followed by Posey's face swelling and turning red from her allergy. Of course Posey screamed in panic and ran away, with Dahlia immediately following, while Sunny got red herself from embarrassment, as she slowly ducked behind her stand while covering her face with her hooves. The next few days, things just got worse. First it was messing up breakfast, then it was delivering the wrong orders at work, and now? Now she was getting late to all the meetings with her friends that they planned months ago, even before Team Dark, Amy and Misty were part of the crew. First, she got late to a monthly reunion she always had with Sonic, Queen Haven and Alphabittle about important stuff regarding ponykind, something that never happened before. A few days later, not so far from Hitch's birthday, she got late to the secret planning. She, along with Zipp, Pipp, Izzy, Misty and Team Sonic, agreed to make secret meetings behind Hitch's back, while Team Dark would make their best effort to keep him busy and away from them. These meetings were to plan out a surprise birthday party for Hitch, but everytime these meetings happened, she always got late. In fact, they were at least three or four times close to be discovered by Hitch, if it wasn't because Knuckles always managed to trick him by saying that a critter stoled something, which immediately made Hitch ran away. Still, it didn't changed the fact that Sunny wasn't helping around that much, but instead was complicating things and, sometimes, even making them worse, which only concerned Sonic and Tails even more, because she has never been a problem in this kind of stuff, specially when it comes to Hitch. After that, there was a small reunion in the Brighthouse. Well. it was more a party thrown out of nowhere for absolutely no reason, but a party regardless... One that Sunny did't even showed up, because she was busy with her work, which was now starting to fail because of herself failing at make the proper orders as ponies asked them. This last thing was noticed by Hitch, who finished his rounds and was heading to the party, but when he saw Sunny having trouble in her stand, as well as her tired expression, he frowned in worry, and Sparky on his back babbled concerned too. And finally, the worse thing of all happened... This occurred exactly one week after Sunny's friends advised her to go get therapy. Sunny was walking towards her smoothie stand with a tired expression, as she let out a yawn. Her aspect was horrible: There were massive eye bags that anyone could notice even from afar; her mane was messed to the point that she barely bothered to brush it so it could look as good as usual; and she wasn't even wearing her saddlebag today, which she never left behind. But as if looking bad wasn't enough, she tripped with a rock and fell to the floor with a thud and a grunt. She shook her head and blinked a few times, but as soon as she got up and rubbed her eyes, she looked ahead again, just for her eyes to open in panic, because right in front of her was Eggman, not wearing glasses and glaring daggers at her. That made her scream and trip again, as she fell backwards and landed on her back this time around. She sat down on the road and rubbed her head with a hoof, also shaking it, but once she looked ahead again, Eggman was gone... Was he even there to begin with? Who knew, but one thing was for sure: Sunny was seeing things now. She got up and scratched her head confused, but as she looked around to make sure nopony saw her, she yelped and fell backwards again, because she was convinced that she saw the Death Egg Titan raising from the water. Yet, when she opened her eyes and shook her head, the Titan wasn't there. The mare sighed in relief and got up, once again looking around to make sure nopony saw her. Yawning tired, she walked towards her stand, not knowing that Hitch and Sparky saw all of this again, which only worried the Sheriff even more, while the baby dragon made sad puppy noises, clearly concerned about her as well. However, they were not the only ones who witnessed Sunny's strange attitude, because Shadow was watching her as well. In fact, he's been noticing her strange attitude ever since the incident with Posey at the beginning of that week, and he couldn't feel more concerned for her. In just a short amount of time, Shadow managed to get over his stupid rule of 'not getting attached to Sunny' and gave her the chance he promised he would give her... It has evolved to this point, where he needs to find out why she's acting this way lately. Later that same day, Hitch and Sparky went to Electronic Tails. Despite her horrible aspect and bad reputation, Sunny still managed to sell good smoothies and keep her business running, despite it being really obvious at this point that she wasn't okay. So, Hitch decided to directly ask Sonic and Tails about her, because he's also been noticing that they frown at her whenever she gets late to any event, which made him suspect that they knew what was going on with her, which was also the reason why they've been frowning at her lately. Sonic and Tails were on Electronic Tails' ceiling, with Tails fixing up the Tornado IV after the Death Egg Titan damaged it on its robot form, while Sonic help Tails out by passing him tools and any part he could need for the plane. "Hey, guys!" Hitch called out, as he approached the brothers. Sonic looked over at him and smirked. "Well, well, well! The Knight in yellow armor has arrived!" he mocked up. "Hi, Hitch" Tails replied instead, but he didn't sound any happy at all, while he was fixing the plane's motor. Hitch seemed to notice that, because he smiled a bit sheepishly. "Um... If you two are not that busy, can I ask you something?" he requested. "It's about... Sunny..." he added, now frowning with concern. That made Sonic look over at him with wide eyes, while Tails got out of the plane's motor and looked over at Hitch with a frown, even though he was all covered in black tint. "Look, I know you guys have noticed it, too" Hitch spoke with concern. "Sunny's acting really weird lately: She gets late everywhere, she's delivering wrong orders to her clients, and she even mixed up breakfast! Knuckles told me" he pointed out. "And don't even make me talk about her aspect. She's always so beautiful, cheerful, optimistic, so... so Sunny! Now, she doesn't even brush her mane!" he added with concern, also pointing at Sunny at the distance. She was at her stand, giving the Pippsqueaks their smoothies, as the three fillies smiled at the flavors, payed Sunny and walked away with their smoothies, while Sunny putted the money away and yawned tiredly. This immediately made Sonic and Tails cringe, while they both looked at each other in concern, before looking back at Hitch. "And, today Knuckles asked for a free day so he could take Izzy out to Bridlewood and distract her a bit from what's happening with Sunny!" Hitch continued. "Yes, he said it explicitly like that..." he added with a bored expression. "D'oh! Knuckles..." Sonic and Tails both muttered, with Sonic facepalming and Tails rubbing his eyes with a hand. "I know really well that you two have at least an idea of what's going on with her, and I want an answer!" Hitch stated with a frown, before sighing and giving a pleading look to Sonic and Tails. "Please, guys... I... I need to know what's going on with her..." he begged. At this, the two Mobians looked at each other before nodding and look back at Hitch. "Ever since we defeated the Death Egg Titan, Sunny's been having nightmares with that day... About what Eggman did to her in his lab, and about that thing smashing her father as he tries to help her..." Sonic started to explain. "At first, it wasn't a big deal. It only happened one or two times a week, and we thought it wasn't such a problem..." Tails confessed. "But since the seventh time, we suggested her to take therapy to deal with the trauma... She refuses to do so..." he added with a slight frown, also rubbing his arm. "Worse of all, not only the nightmares have come all the week now, but it also changes who Eggman kills" Sonic added with concern. "First it was her father. But then, as days went by, it changed. First it was Izzy, then Tails, then me, then you, then Zipp... And she even got to witness her mom dying!" he added with panic. "... Her Mom?" Hitch asked. "But she only have sawn her on an old picture where she's marrying Argyle..." he pointed out with an anxious look. "Ugh, why didn't I asked sooner? And why none of you told me?!" he asked them panicked. "Sunny insisted to not tell you when we finally come to suggest that..." Tails spoke. "And, as you can see, this is the result of her being so stubborn..." he added, once again frowning. "So, Sunny's been having nightmares because of what happened with Eggman and his robot?" Hitch asked, looking down at the floor in concern, while Sonic and Tails nodded. This made Hitch sigh and look at them with a determinate look. "I have a feeling she's gonna hate me because of our bow... But you guys deserve to know the truth!" he stated. "Wait... Are you going to––" Sonic tried to ask, as his eyes and Tails' widened. "Yes. I'm gonna tell you what happened... exactly like it happened" Hitch replied. And so he did. He told them everything: From Eggman using Chaos Control on Sunny, to him beating the crap out of her, to him manipulating Zipp, Pipp and Izzy mentally, and even destroying all hopes from Sunny by telling her that her dream of unity will remain as that once she was gone. Of course, if Sonic and Tails thought that they couldn't hate Eggman more, they were very wrong, because it was one thing to destroy the Brighthouse, but literally destroy Sunny? That was going to far... And they were not the only ones who felt in that way. Shadow has been hiding behind the Tornado IV this whole time, and after hearing from Hitch everything that Eggman did to Sunny, he couldn't be angrier. If he knew where Eggman was hiding, he would go there right now and finish him off with his bare fists, not minding what anyone would tell him if he did so, because in his eyes, that's what Eggman deserves for everything he did not only to Sunny, but also to everyone else he has affected through the years. Yet, he had to deep breath and calm his anger down. He could deal with his anger later. First things first: He had to find Sunny and talk to her about this. So, nodding to himself, he glanced at Sonic, Tails, Hitch and Sparky one last time, before teleporting away. The next day, Sunny was walking alone in the beach. Everyone in the Brighthouse told her to take the day off while they filled her duties in her place. Sunny accepted without hesitation, not only because she didn't wanted to argue with her friends, but also because she hated how her lack of sleep because of her nightmares was affecting them now too. She decided to walk around the beach. Despite her eye bags still being noticeable, at least Pipp and Izzy offered to brush her mane, so that was something good, at least. Still, it didn't changed the fact that she was feeling awful for all these nightmares. Anyone would think that seeing your dad dying over and over again was bad enough, but seeing him and your friends dying non-stop, aside from getting the crap beat out of you? It was worse than a nightmare... Sunny looked over to the sea and sighed with concern. "... I wish you were here, dad..." she muttered, before looking down with low ears, while sniffing a bit. Soon enough, however, footsteps where heard, but she didn't wanted to see whoever was getting at her side right now. At least, not a first, because when he spoke, it was a whole new story... "I get the feeling this is the part where I brake into a song out of nowhere just to cheer you up..." Shadow's voice spoke, as he slowly got at Sunny's side with his arms crossed, while Sunny herself opened her eyes widely and looked at her side, surprised to find Shadow here. "But I don't think my voice is that good at singing, nor that any song I could ever come up with would make you feel better" he added, although he seemed to have a playful smirk instead of the usual seriousness. "... Shadow?" Sunny called out confused, wiping her tears the best she could, but more kept coming out no matter how much she rubbed her eyes with her hooves. "W-What are you doing here?" she asked weakly. "A little birdy told me what Eggman did to you weeks ago, and how it has affected your mental health" Shadow replied. "I can always go after that piece of garbage and beat the crap out of him if you just say it" he added with a playful smirk. That actually made Sunny chuckle a bit, as she sobbed again. "O-Okay... I'll admit that was funny..." she said with a sad smile. "But if you're talking seriously, no thanks. As much as he would deserve it, I don't really wanna trigger him even more..." she added, looking down at the floor with sadness. Shadow sighed and frowned in concern. "Yeah... I thought you were going to say that..." he replied. "I really haven't heard that much of your nightmares, so if you don't mind me asking..." he said, as he finally sat down at her side. "What's the matter?" he asked. Sunny sorbed from the nose a bit and then sighed. "All my nightmares start the very same way: I appear back at Eggman's lab, then he appears out of nowhere and... B-Beats me again... Then he launches me to a door that makes me exit Mane Melody, and I appear in the middle of Maretime Bay, just when his giant robot is attacking. Then, he destroys the Brighthouse, I try to fight against him, I loose, and then... The worse part comes... E-Either dad o-or any of you guys appear to try and help me, b-but Eggman stomps over them and... a-and..." she tried to add, but she couldn't. Instead, she immediately broke into tears, covering her face with her hooves, since remembering seeing her dad and friends getting killed over and over again in the span of one week was... She couldn't take it anymore. And Shadow? Shadow was frowning in rage. Eggman crossed a line he never though he would cross, which was his big mistake. Whenever he underestimates how far is Eggman willing to go to accomplish his dream, he gets surprised with the results the doctor gives. And, of course, he wanted so badly to go and look after him just so he could get a taste of his own medicine... But he not only wasn't going to because Sunny told him so, but also because he had no idea where Eggman even was hiding... Sighing frustrated with this fact, he looked at Sunny at his side... And did something no one would ever thought he would do... He hugged her. Not because she asked her to, not because anyone else dare him to, not because the world could be at stake... He did out of kindness, because he wanted to do it. Of course, Sunny wasn't surprised with this gesture. In fact, she needed it, because she immediately buried her face on Shadow's chest, also wrapping her hooves around him, while Shadow limited himself to let her cry and hug her tightly, even rubbing her back from time to time. After several minutes of crying her sadness out, Sunny finally calmed down and pulled away from Shadow, finally wiping away the few tears left and looking up at him with a smile. "... T-Thanks, Shadow..." Sunny said with a sad smile. "I... I really needed that..." she added, rubbing her right hoof a bit embarrassed. Shadow smiled back and nodded at her. "I'm not good with words nor actions when it comes to be affective, but... I guess one can always make an exception" he said with a playful tone. "Jokes aside. I do believe you should ask for profesional help if the nightmares aren't over at this point" he suggested. Sunny sighed after hearing this. "I've been hearing that the whole week! But I don't want to see a therapist!" Sunny confessed. "There's no guarantee that I will stop having that nightmare, nor that I will sleep any better!" she pointed out, placing her hooves on her head. "Maybe not, but a therapist could help you to deal with the trauma of what Eggman did to you" Shadow pointed out. "And if they can't?!" Sunny asked desperately. "Sunny, keeping this to yourself is gonna blow on your face at one point" Shadow stated with a frown. "Your life is being consumed by the lack of sleep, and if you don't make sure you deal with that trauma, it isn't going to get any better. I know that, because I once couldn't let go of my past" he added with concern. This made Sunny's eyes open wide, and she tilted her head curiously. "What do you mean?" she asked. "... I was created out of the blood of a sinister creature named Black Doom..." Shadow started to explain. "He was... technically my biological father. He tried to make me join his side and destroy humanity... But I refused to. Maria would had hated me if I ever did so. In the end, when I discovered who he really was, well... I felt stupid, dumb, used... He only cared about my power and what it could do. So, once I decided to forge my own path without depending on my past anymore, I destroyed Black Doom myself..." he added. "Many think I was like nothing after that, but... That's not true. I literally killed my 'father'... You really expected me to walk out of that without sequels?" he asked with a bored look. Sunny was surprised to hear all of this, specially the part where Shadow confesses that he directly killed his own 'father' out of rage. "So... You took therapy?" Sunny asked. "Kinda" Shadow replied. "While I did saw a therapist for a week or two, I still started to get nightmares where I accepted to side with Black Doom and eradicate the planet. It... It took me a long time to finally sleep again, and even eat the same way I used to" he explained. "But you did went back to your normal self... Didn't you?" Sunny asked him with a smile. "Yeah... Now, I'll be lying if I said that I never got that nightmare again, but it just pops out of nowhere sometimes" Shadow added. "The relief of waking up and see that none of that happened makes me relax again and fall sleep to never have the same nightmare for a very long time. Sometimes I had lasted years not having the same nightmare again" he explained. "... All because you asked for help?!" Sunny asked in shock. "I may be proud and arrogant, but I know when to ask for help if I need it... Even if my only available option is Sonic..." Shadow replied with a slight smirk. Sunny giggled at this, even covering her mouth with a hoof, and Shadow couldn't help but smile like an idiot at the sound of her voice. After that, the ultimate life-form got up and looked down at Sunny. "So? What are you gonna do now?" he asked her. Sunny looked down to the ground and thought about it... On one hand, there was still no guarantee that therapy was going to help her with her problem... But on the other hand, if she kept going with this, her friends would feel even more hurt to see her like this, and she couldn't allow this anymore. So, with a sigh and a nod, Sunny stood up for herself and looked up at Shadow with a smile. "I know what I have to do now" she stated. Shadow nodded at her with a smile, and Sunny turned to leave, but before doing so, she smiled, returned with Shadow and hugged him tightly once again, which startled Shadow a bit since he didn't expected it. "Thank you, Shadow. You really are a good friend, like it or not" Sunny told him with a smile and a wink, before turning around and running away. However, as she did so, Shadow found himself amused, because after she called him a good friend, he... He couldn't help but smile brightly, while his heart started to bump like if he ran a marathon. It was weird for him to smile out of nowhere, but this... It actually felt nice to him... Maybe getting attached to Sunny wasn't so bad after all. The next day, Sunny, Hitch and Sparky were in the waiting room of the therapist's office. Sunny was still hesitant with the idea of talking with a therapist, but once Hitch and everyone else offered to go with her to the sessions, alternating between each other, she accepted immediately. After all, she doubted that she could visit a therapist on her own without panicking. This last thing was something that Hitch noticed, because Sunny was rubbing her own hoof with an anxious expression. "Sun?" he called out. "You okay?" he asked. "Not at all..." Sunny replied. "I... I still think this is a really bad idea..." she confessed. "Hey, look at me..." Hitch said, as he placed a hoof on her chin and made her look at him in the eyes. "It's gonna be okay. I'll be with you the whole time, and whenever you feel unsure to say something, know that I won't go anywhere" he assured her with a smile and a slight blush. Sunny blushed a bit as well, but she still smiled back at him, giving him a small peek on his cheek as a way to thank him, which made Hitch's blush increase, as he also chuckled sheepishly. Sparky also wanted to assure Sunny as well, so he jumped from Hitch's back to land on Sunny's, then he went to nuzzle and hug her neck, which made Sunny's heart melt by the gesture, as she smiled warmly at the baby dragon and nuzzled him back. Then, the therapist's office door opened. "Sunny Starscout?" a stallion's voice called out. This was a pegasus stallion that had gray fur, pink hair and beard, light blue eyes, and a winged badge as his cutie mark. When she heard her name, Sunny gulped nervously and hopped off her seat, with Hitch following close and taking Sparky again, sitting him down on his back. "H-Here!" Sunny called out nervously. "Oh, excellent!" the stallion said with smile, as he extended his hoof to her, while Sunny extended it back. "Nice to meet you, Sunny. I'm Dr. Andrew Windwards, but everypony calls me Dr. Andy" he presented himself. "Um... Nice to meet you, too..." Sunny replied with an awkward chuckle. "Um... I never did this before, but I kind of understand that we must to the session alone, right?" she asked nervously. "What? Oh, no, no, no! That won't be necessary!" Andy replied with a smile. "Other therapists are way too strict for my liking in that aspect, but if my patients need somepony to come with them, they are welcome!" he stated with a wink. This made Sunny sigh in relief, and Hitch at her side bumped her playfully. "That's good to hear. So, Hitch and Sparky can come in with me? I would feel better if they were in the session with me" she confessed. "Be my guests!" Andy replied, as he stepped aside and allowed Sunny and Hitch to get inside of his office. With a last glance to Hitch, who nodded at her with a smile, Sunny smiled as well, and so, they both got inside of Andy's office, while the therapist closed the door behind him. "Well, then. Tell me what's been bothering your mind, Sunny" Andy requested, as he sat over a big chair, while Sunny, Hitch and Sparky sat on a couch. Sunny hesitated at first, but when she felt Hitch's hoof over her own, she smiled sweetly at her best friend, her love, the most important pony in her life, before taking a deep breath and look at Andy, as she started to tell the whole story. THE END Author's Note Happy first anniversary to me on FIMFiction! When BenictheHedgehog suggested me this idea (thanks for that by the way), I saw the perfect chance to delay Canon Episode 59 for later on and do something else. And here it is! If I'm being honest, the idea of some of the girls from the group taking therapy after what happened in "Dancing With Destiny" was going to be nothing but a silly joke in Episode 60... Yet Ben came by and told me how to make that silly joke into, well, this Episode. I also got some inspiration from Flamewarrior02 and his story (Path to Peace) for the final part where Hitch goes with Sunny to her therapy sessions. That story is also kind of the reason why I wanted to joke with the therapy thing in the first place, so thanks to you for the help as well, Flamewarrior02! (I have no nickname for you, sorry! ) Now, how are the events of this Episode getting acknowledge? At the beginning of the Next Episode, as well as on Season 3. Which reminds me, next episode is the last one before going to Frontiers! I know, I know. Only 6 Episodes between Season 2 and Frontiers, but that's how things work here! Let's see what awaits us for the next episode! See ya! 60. Moon Festival"So? How's the nightmares been doing, Sunny?" Dr. Andy asked her. "Honestly? They've barely popped up ever since I've been coming here three times every week..." Sunny replied. She's been coming to see her therapist for the past month. Like she said, and just like her friends expected as well, her nightmares were finally stopping. She still had them, but it was once or twice in a week. Yet, and like Shadow told her, she felt relieved waking up and seeing it was all in her mind, so she always went back to sleep peacefully. Right now, she was on her second visit this week, laying over a couch and answering Andy's questions. "I see..." Andy replied, taking some notes down on his notebook. "And how has your routine turned out to be now that the nightmares are almost over?" "Well, I can pay attention to my clients and attend my orders as usual again" Sunny replied. "I've been able to cook breakfast, haven't gotten late to any other meeting I had with my friends... And I even managed to reunite with Queen Haven and Alphabittle as I used to." "Okay..." Andy replied, writing down even more stuff. "Now, tell me about Eggman, Sunny. How do you feel now that you think about him?" Sunny felt a bit anxious with this question, but still took a deep breath before replying. "I... A part of me still fears him because of what he did to me on his lab... But I know for a fact that I can fight it back. That I can fight him back. I've actually managed to do that in some of my nightmares. Sometimes I won, sometimes I didn't, but I didn't let the times I lost get the best of me." "And how do you feel about him right now?" Andy asked one more time. "I swear if I found him just buying his chores, I'll beat the crap out of him. Not only for what he did to me, but also for almost destroying my home, for destroying my house, and for playing psychologically with my friends!" Sunny replied with a frown, and her Alicorn form activated in the process. However, it didn't took long for Sunny to noticed what she said, so she quickly shook her head from those thoughts, and her Alicorn form even disappeared. "Sorry! Didn't wanted to say it like that..." Sunny apologized with a sheepish smile. "What I mean is... I'm angry at him, and I know for a fact he must know that... But I'm willing to fight back if necessary. Eggman is menacing, no doubt, but he made the biggest mistake ever: He messed with my home, and with the ponies I have to protect!" "Very well" Andy said, finishing up his notes and then looking over at Sunny with a smile. "I've gotta hand it to you, Sunny: Your recovery has not only been going incredibly well, but I also believe you're almost done with it!" Sunny gasped with a smile after hearing this. "Really?!" she asked excited. "Indeed!" Andy replied with joy. "I believe or next session this Friday will be the last one. After that, I'll discharge you and you won't have to come see me anymore. Hopefully, there will be no more traumatic moments for you!" Sunny chuckled after hearing this. "I really hope so. Thanks again, Dr. Andy!" she said with a smile, also waving her hoof. "I'm just doing my job!" Andy replied with a smile. As soon as Sunny stepped out of her therapist's office, she met outside with Shadow, who was laying over a wall on the waiting room, but his ear twitched when he heard Sunny approaching, so he opened his eyes and looked over at her with a smirk. "So? How did it went?" Shadow asked. Of course, Sunny hugged him as a greeting before replying something, which made Shadow feel a bit uncomfortable, since he wasn't still used to be hugged, but he let her be. "Oh, it went just great!" Sunny replied with a smile and sparkling eyes. "My therapist said that my next session will be the last! Which means that my recovery is almost complete!" she added in excitement, squeezing Shadow's cheeks with her hooves. "Uh... Great..." Shadow replied, once again feeling a bit uncomfortable. Sunny seemed to notice this, and her eyes widened a bit in panic. "Oops! Sorry, Shadow!" she apologized sheepishly, letting go of his cheeks. "I forget you're still not used to get affective in public..." "Eh, it's fine..." Shadow replied with a little smile, before getting serious again. "I just wanted to check on you before my Team and I left." "Huh?" Sunny exclaimed surprised with wide eyes. "You guys are leaving? Why?!" "It'll be just for a couple of months" Shadow replied. "We need to find Dr. Eggman and capture him. To do that, we must find the location of his current lab, no matter where it is!" he pointed out with a frown. "Besides, I wanna have a word with him for what he did to you..." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a second!" Sunny said. "I get that finding him is important in order to stop his wacky idea of taking over Equestria, but don't you think you're thinking this way too ahead? At least stay with us for the Moon Festival!" "Omega tried to convince me on the same thing, but I'll stand my position..." Shadow said with a serious expression. "We can't risk ourselves to let Eggman do something as dangerous as stealing magic and creating another Death Egg Titan, or something even worse. I promised to help you fulfill your dream of a unified world, and to do that, we must stop both Opaline and Eggman." Sunny still wanted to talk him out of the idea, but she had to admit he had a really good point. "I assure you that, if we don't find him, we'll immediately return to Maretime Bay" Shadow stated. "Eggman can't hide forever, anyways." Sunny let out a sigh after hearing this, but still smiled up at Shadow. "I wish you good luck, then. And if you really wanna beat Eggman, kick him hard enough for me!" she said with a wink. "Oh, trust me. I'm gonna enjoy it when I do so!" Shadow stated with a confident smirk. And so, he prepared to boost away, but even if a part of him didn't wanted to do it, he still stopped himself and turned to hug Sunny, which surprised the mare, but she still smiled and hugged him back, before Shadow broke the hug and then boost away. The next day, at night, the Mane 6 and Team Sonic went to Zephyr Heights. There, the ponies are celebrating the Moon Festival Sunny mentioned earlier, with lanterns decorations hanging and some stands with supplies or food around. Everything was quiet and peaceful so far... At least until a giant decorative moon fell above them and started rolling across the festival, making ponies scream in panic. To this, both Zoom and Thunder started flying after it anxiously. "Run for your lives!" Zoom shouted to the crowd, as the ponies moved out of the way, while Thunder and her chased after the decorative moon to try and stop it. Queen Haven, the Mane 6 and Team Sonic looked shocked and surprised at what they just saw. "We literally just got here... How the heck did things are going wrong already?!" Sonic asked with wide and panicked eyes. "Plot convenience?" Knuckles replied with a bored expression. "And so…" Queen Haven started with a sheepish smile, trying to change the subject and keep the tour for the Mane 6 and Team Sonic going. "Every ten years, when the moon reaches its closest point in Equestria," she said, now gesturing to the moon, which is blocked by some the clouds, while a pegasus flew by at unusual high speed, screaming in fright and trying to gain control back on her magic. "We throw a great big party to celebrate." Then, the big decorative moon came rolling by again, with Zoom and Thunder screaming and still chasing after it, while the whole scene got the group's attention again. "Okay, Sonic has a point: How's this happening when we're just a minute and a half into the episode?" Tails questioned. "Actually two minutes..." Amy deadpanned. Queen Haven felt a bit embarrassed, before recomposing herself and look at Zipp and Pipp with a smile, also placing a hoof on her chest. "Oh, my daughters have always loved the Moon Festival!" Pipp and Zipp looked at each other, both raising an eyebrow, and also remembering when they were fillies and the time for the festival came around. Many years ago, when Zipp and Pipp were fillies, Pipp was dangled and Zipp was holding her, while being tied to a moon floating lantern. Pipp was crying and waving her hooves in fear with tears flowing out, while Zipp giggled excited, because it felt like if they were flying, although Pipp wasn't feeling the excitement like her sister. The two filly sisters were flying high in the sky outside the Zephyr Heights palace, while the moon glowed brightly, but Pipp kept crying in fear. After remembering this, Pipp looked at her sister with a dull expression at the memory that she would like to forget. "Correction, Zipp always loves the Moon Festival" Pipp corrected sarcastically and waving her hoof, while Zipp looked at her sister. "Me, haha, not so much." Zipp smirked after hearing this, while Sonic was taking deep breaths and massing his own head. "What's gotten into you now?" Amy questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I'm just trying to calm down the jokester in me so I don't burst out laughing..." Sonic replied, still taking deep breaths, while Amy deadpanned, Tails facepalmed and Knuckles rolled his eyes. "And now, as it's the first Moon Festival since magic returned, we're putting on an extra special aerobatics finale featuring Zephyr Heights' finest flyers!" Haven said with a wave of her hooves, while the Mane 5 had sparkling eyes in excitement. But then, an Aerobat Pony flew right past them while screaming, which started the group as they saw the pony screaming, and for some reason, their wings gave off an electrical charge. The pony kept flying around uncontrollably, before crashing into one of the big decorative moon's holes. "Uh-huh... 'Finest'..." Knuckles said sarcastically. "Are we sure Zipp's flying school you talked about really payed off results?" "I honestly don't know anymore..." Sonic said with a raised eyebrow. Queen Haven smiled sheepishly after this and looked nervously at the Mane 6 and Team Sonic. "Some of them are still getting to grips with the routine" she admitted. "Takes a long time to master your magic" she added and walked off, while the others followed around. "Magic's been back for a year and a half, and there's still ponies with problematic magic?" Tails questioned. "This smells fishy... Too fishy..." "Agreed. Maybe something's wrong with magic again..." Zipp pointed out. However, as Zipp started to look around, Tails' watch made a beep sound, so the young fox quickly checked it, trying to keep it as a secret from Zipp, and then an holographic screen showed him the signs of the Yellow, Blue, Red and Purple Chaos Emeralds in movement. Of course, this concerned him, but before he could investigate on the subject further, both Zipp and Him saw Berries landing in front of a stand, but his wings gave off an electric charge and blew the stand away with a huge gust of wind, while the mare attending held on and seemed shocked at what just happened. "Whoa!" Zipp said in surprise. Tails decided to let the thing of the Emeralds aside for now and looked at the two ponies with a raised eyebrow. "Okay..." he muttered confused. Then, they turned and saw three unicorns levitating three moon decorative moon, when suddenly two of them started floating in their magic as well with surprised smiles, while their third friend looked at them shocked. And finally, as Dahlia walked by, she didn't noticed that her hooves were glowing in green. And, as she stomped her hooves on the ground, Luminous Dazzle was caught in a giant flower stem, since she was walking behind Dahlia, and the giant plant started to grow. "Unicorns levitating themselves... Izzy did it once, nothing new here" Tails pointed out with a bored expression, before turning at Dahlia with a raised eyebrow. "But Floral Magic out of control? That's not normal." "Yeah... Something seems strange…" Zipp said with suspicion. "If you're planning on investigating, remember what we talked about..." Tails said with a mocking tone and smile.' Zipp groaned and rolled her eyes after hearing that. "I know, I know. Ask gently, not jump over ponies and assume things just because my instincts told me to..." she deadpanned, before smirking mockingly. "Although they were right about Misty!" Tails topped walking and his eyes widened, before he groaned loudly and facepalmed. "Me and my stupid mouth..." he complained silently. Zipp passed by and chuckled, also hitting her tail on Tails' face, while the young fox blushed a lot and gulped, before quickly catching up with Zipp. Queen Haven lead the Mane 6 and Team Sonic to a room. There, Rufus was working as the bodyguard of the place, and he moved the red waiting line out of the way. "Welcome to the Royal Box!" Haven announced, as the doors opened. At the other side of the doors, there was a room with a balcony that had an amazing view of the night sky, with tables sets and a food buffet for the Mane 6 and Team Sonic, as well as moon decorations all around. "Wow!" Izzy cheered amazed, as she and everyone else had sparkling eyes. "So cool!" Hitch commented with a wide smile, as they entered the room. "Ah, the wonders of befriending royalty!" Knuckles cheered excited. Sunny gasped as she saw the set up with sparkling eyes. "Wow! Oh, my hoofness! Incredible!" she said happily, while Sparky started chomping on the food already with sparkling eyes. "Uh, quick question" Izzy spoke, and rest turned to her, just to see that she had the red waiting line on her with a fashionable expression. "Does this clash with my mane? Ooh!" she said, holding the red waiting line, but then she looked at Rufus, who deadpanned at her before snatching the line back from her. "I was gonna tell you it's not clothing, dear..." Knuckles muttered at her, before walking her towards the table with a flirting smirk. "But regarding your question: You definitely slayed that thing!" Izzy blushed entirely after hearing that with that tone, and she chuckled sheepishly while looking away. Meanwhile, Zipp walked up to Sunny, who was distracted along Tails by the table. "Sunny, I think something's glitching out with magic again!" Zipp said concerned. "Oh, yeah, it's great having magic again..." Sunny said with a smile, not hearing what Zipp just said and getting distracted by the setup, before seeing something that made her gasp and give an excited look with sparkling eyes. "Ooh, they have confetti cannons!" After saying this, Zipp looked ahead, just when then the confettis came out of the cannons, while the crowd started cheering with sparkling eyes as well, although Zipp wasn't as excited. "Whoa!" Sunny said amazed. "Uh…" Zipp tried to say, but was cut off when the lights of the Royal Box turned off and Skye spoke through his microphone. Tails noticed Zipp's concern, and so, he deadpanned at Sunny, before whispering to Sonic. "Hey, Sonic. Didn't Sunny went through a whole-ass special ignoring Zipp's warnings, which caused magic to almost kill us all in the first place?" "Uh, yeah?" Sonic replied with a raised eyebrow. "But why are you asking about something so oddly specific, though?" "Because it's happening again..." Tails deadpanned. "What?!" Sonic said loudly. "Magic glitching or Sunny ignoring Zipp's warnings?!" "Both" Tails kept deadpanning. "Awarena kuso yarō-me!" Sonic exclaimed, but since what he said isn't rated E for Everyone, I'll let you guys investigate on your own this time. "Distinguished ponies!" Sky said with a smile. "Please stomp your hooves for... the Zephyr Heights Aerobats!" he announced with a laugh, while three pegasi came flying from behind the stage and started to do some stunts. One of them did a twirl as the three of them flew around the crowd, then they spread out, and the crowd made awestruck noises. The Mane 6 and Team Sonic watched the performance, even Zipp, who was smiling at the aerobats. "So amazed and so jealous at the same time." Then, the Aerobats swirled together in sync and flew up to pose in the air, but as the clouds showed the moon, their wings gave an electrical charge again, which made their eyes open wide at the feeling, before starting to fly around at really uncontrollable speed while screaming. Sonic's eyes widened after seeing that ponies were having electrical charges around their bodies. "HOLY CHILIDOGS!" he exclaimed out loudly. Haven saw this as well with a small smile. "Oh. I don't remember these moves in rehearsals" she pointed out, while Sunny gave an amazed expression with sparkling eyes. However, neither Zipp, Sonic nor Tails were amazed by this. "Those aren't moves..." Zipp said with concern, while the Aerobats kept flying around like crazy while screaming. "It's like... like magic is being supercharged or something!" "Those pegasi had electricity on their wings..." Sonic said anxiously with a twitchy eye, before grabbing Tails and shake him violently. "Why do they have electricity in their wings?!" "Why should I knoOoOoOw?!" Tails replied with a dizzy expression. Then, the trio heard Izzy's munching sounds, so they turned and noticed that Knuckles, Rufus and her were being levitated in Izzy's magic and eating some snacks, while none of them seemed to care at the fact that they were floating. "Well, that's just Izzy being IZZYYYYYY!!!" Sonic suddenly screamed, because when he tried to point out that Izzy was just being herself, his shoes suddenly started to glow with blue electricity and dragged him out of the room. "What the heck?!" Tails exclaimed, but then, his own powers turned on, and his tails started to spin in his own, which made him deadpan. "Aw crap..." After this, Tails was sent out of the room as well at top speed, while Knuckles felt his power turning on as well, but because he was surrounded on Izzy's magic, the only thing that happened was him braking a tea cup he was holding. Still, he slurped the content in the air because it was being levitated, and simply shrugged off the fact that his powers activated alone. At this, Zipp gave a panicked expression, before it turned serious. "I've got to get to the bottom of this before somepony gets really hurt!" she declared. Later, Zipp trotted around the festival to start her investigation. Besides the fact that Sonic was now walking by using his arms, while his feet just moved on their own in the air, and the fact that Tails tied his tails up, nothing seemed that out of place so far. So, Zipp stopped moving and turned to Berries, who was walking by. "You!" she called out, and Berries stopped to look at her surprised. "What did you eat today? Breakfast, lunch, and dinner!" Berries felt uncomfortable for a moment before replying. "Um... pancakes, pancakes…" he listed out, before gasping with a smile. "And pancakes!" After that, he giggled and then walked off, Zipp looked at Berries with wide eyes, while both Sonic and Tails came by and looked at him with shock as well. "Pancakes all day..." Zipp said surprised, placing a hoof on her chin. “Didn't even know you could do that. Huh." "Knuckles has grapes for all his meals, even for the ones that don't require grapes" Sonic pointed out with a deadpan. "And I'm pretty sure Izzy uses glitter in some of her food..." Tails pointed out. "No, I unfortunately didn't made that up..." "Okay..." Zipp cringed, looking around as well, before shaking her head and get back on track. "Anyway, pancakes wouldn't have caused magic to supercharge." "And I doubt every single pony in Equestria ate pancakes for breakfast today" Sonic pointed out. "I mean, we didn't eat pancakes for breakfast, for example." However, Zipp chuckled at him because of he was standing on his hands. "I'm sorry, Sonic, but In can barely take you serious when your head is upside down!" she mocked up and snorted. Sonic deadpanned and rolled his eyes, before quickly standing up normally again and then check that his shoes were not getting out of control, and they thankfully didn't. "Phew!" Sonic sighed in relief and smiled. "Seems like the effect is over!" "I'm still keeping my Tails tied" Tail said with a frown. "You can never be too sure." And then, Zipp saw Onyx walking by and had an idea. "You! Levitate this hat!" he quickly said, as she snatched a hat Posey was wearing, who gave an irritated look to Zipp, before tossing the hat to Onyx. Onyx simply grabbed Posey's hat in her magic, but then it flicked out with an electrical charge as well, which surprised Onyx, while Posey's hat was tossed into the distance. Onyx stood in silence for a second before speaking. "I'm, like, way better with crystals" she simply said and walked off. "She didn't noticed her horn glowing with electricity, did she?" Sonic deadpanned. "I don't think so." Tails deadpanned as well, and then, his watch beeped again, so he turned to see that the sign of the Chaos Emeralds was approaching to Zephyr Heights, which made his eyes open wide and he gasped. Zipp also gasped with wide eyes, but she did so because of what Onyx said about crystals. "Of course! The Unity Crystals!" she called out, now spreading her wings, that gave an electrical charge. "Uh, Zipp?" Sonic called out. "Maybe you wanna think twice before––" he tried to warn, but it was too late, because Zipp took off at a very high speed that not even she could do, even making the ground shake a bit. "... taking flight..." Sonic deadpanned, before catching Posey's hat with a hand, then quickly clean it and fix it. After that, he placed the hat back on Posey's head, while Posey looked at Sonic with a bored expression. "Sorry, Posey. Won't happen again. Gotta go now!" Sonic quickly apologized with a smile. Then, he walked far enough from her and grabbed Tails from his hand, before boosting ahead at top speed. Meanwhile, in the air, Zipp was flying so fast that she couldn't even slow down, as the wind was pushing back hard on her while her wings gave an electrical charge. She eventually reached the tallest tower of the castle, holding into the pole and twirling around on it before stopping. At the same time, Sonic started to run normally over the tower's wall, while Tails screamed in panic, but when the moon was visible again, his shoes glowed in blue electricity and sent him so fast that he literally ended up accelerating to the sky. "Holy Chaos!" Sonic exclaimed, but when he spotted Zipp on the pole of the tower, he smirked, and then looked at Tails. "Wanna make a Double Boost, little bro?!" Tails looked at him confused, but then he looked at Zipp on the pole and his eyes widened, before he looked back at Sonic with the same smirk and nodded in agreement. After this, they both clapped their hands together and then twirled around each other as balls, before they fused as one single and giant electrical ball of blue and yellow, and then, they both boosted towards the pole in a combined Homing Attack, landing over the ceiling. However, Sonic's shoes kept glowing in blue electricity, and soon, Tails' tails did so in yellow electricity, although they were still tied up together. "Why are our powers getting out of control for no reason?" Sonic questioned confused, as he choose to hold into the pole just in case his feet acted on their own again. "No clue, but we gotta figure it out and fast!" Tails declared. "Right! Something must be going wrong with the Crystals!" Zipp agreed, before putting on her Z-Googles and aim at the Crystal Brighthouse's direction. "Hopefully they aren't glitching, or else this'll be Maretime Bay Day all over again..." Sonic said with a concerned frown. Meanwhile, Zipp looked into her Z-Googles and zoomed into the top of the Brighthouse, seeing the Unity Crystals still in stable condition, before McSnips-a-lot showed up with a menacing look in her way. "Ah!" Zipp got startled by him. "What? What's the matter? Are the Crystals glitching again?!" Tails asked with panic. "No, they are fine..." Zipp answered, before putting her Z-Googles away and groan. "I don't get it! If it's not the Unity Crystals that's causing this, then what is?!" "I don't know, but my feet wanna take me on another unexpected and undesired trip!" Sonic said with concern, because the moon behind was showing again, and his feet moved on their own. And then, the trio watched down a group of ponies walking by a bridge, with the moon's reflection on the lake below them. Suddenly, the pegasus mare that was walking in front of them had her wings giving an electrical charge, before flying away at high speed, leaving the two ponies behind worried, so they trotted after her. However, even if that surprised Zipp, Sonic and Tails, they instead stared at the moon's reflection, because the mare was just fine until she walked by it. "It couldn't be…" Zipp said concerned, placing a hoof over her chin. "Oh, but I think it is..." Tails pointed out, also concerned. Back at the performance, the Aerobats were still flying like crazy and screaming in fear. However, the crowd was cheering, because they still believed that everything's part of the show, and even the Mane 6, Knuckles and Amy believed so, but Sunny was starting to get concerned for the Aerobats. But before getting more concerned, Sonic, Tails and Zipp arrived at her side. "Sunny! Team huddle! Now!" Zipp said seriously. "This is serious and we need to talk about it!" Tails stated with concern. "Magic's glitching again, and you learned the lesson of not ignoring warnings twice, so let's apply it!" Sonic warned with a frown. Later on, the Mane 6 and Team Sonic went back to the festival. Sonic, Tails and Zipp were quickly explaining everything they've seen and experienced so far. "We figured it out" Zipp spoke first. "It's the giant moon that's supercharging magic. Look!" she pointed to the moon. They turned and saw a pegasus stallion flying normally, but once he flew by one of the pillars, his wings suddenly gave off the electric charge and was pushed forward a bit to another pillar, which caused him to stop and look back in shock, before moving past another pillar again and get pushed forward, then again to the next whenever the moonlight shined on him. "Whoa!" Sunny said surprised, while the others looked shocked. "You may be onto something there, guys" she admitted, before turning to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles with a raised eyebrow. "Wait a second... Why are you three affected by this?" "Our powers are half-Chaos Energy and half-magic, which means that they get affected by the moon as well" Sonic explained, as he sat over while having his feet in the air, because they still moved on their own. "Is like if my feet had a mind of their own now!" "Wait... is that why you guys putted this on my hands?" Knuckles asked, as he pointed at the metallic giant yellow handcuffs that covered his entire hands. "Your strength is overboard, Knux!" Tails pointed out. "We don't want you braking stuff around, and that thing will resist the energy overboard until we can find a solution." "Right! We've gotta do something!" Zipp called out seriously. "What can we do?" Hitch asked concerned. "It's not like we can just shrink the moon." "Maybe not, but we can definitely destroy it!" Sonic said casually, but the bored looks of Tails, Knuckles and Amy, as well as the panicked ones of everyone else, clearly told him they didn't approved that idea. "I was kidding! It was a joke!" "Jokes are supposed to be funny, Hedgehog..." Knuckles deadpanned. "And even if we could, we're definitely not destroying the moon!" Amy scolded with a frown, and Sonic chuckled sheepishly once she glared daggers at him, because he felt like if she was staring at his soul. "Hmm..." Zipp muttered and tried to think on something, before looking around and see one of the ponies holding a moon lantern that blocked the others, and that finally gave Zipp an idea. "No... but we can block it!" she called out with a smile, before turning to her friends. "Everyone, grab as many lanterns as you can and follow me!" After saying this, her friends gave her determinate looks and nodded. Meanwhile, the Aerobats kept screaming and flying out of control on the performance stage Queen Haven was still in the Royal Box and saw the whole thing concerned, as one of the Aerobats passed flying right in front of her while screaming in fright. Then, Zipp came rushing to the stage while panting, before tapping on the microphone to see it was on for a second. "Uh, and now for the finale of the finale..." she announced, as she turned to her friends, who were holding a huge tarp, so she smiled. "Everypony, release your lanterns!" With this, Sunny removed the tarp, while many moon lanterns started flying away, and the crowd started cheering, as well as the rest of the Mane 6 and Teams cheered at what they did. Zipp also smiled once the lanterns were released. "Wow!" she said amazed with sparkling eyes, but then she gasped when she saw the lanterns were separating and moving around from the moon. "Oh, no! The lanterns are going all different directions! They'll never block the moonlight this way!" she called out in panic, and the others panicked as well. "Tails? Can't you fly up and gather the lanterns together?" Misty asked him with concern. "Nope!" Tails replied with concern, showing that his tied up tails were releasing yellow electricity, meaning he couldn't fly up. "Ah crap..." Knuckles muttered with concern after Tails pointed this out. With this, Sunny decided to get serious and brought out her Alicorn form, flying straight into the air in front of the moon while facing the lanterns. "I got this, ponies!" she declared with a determined smile. "Aw great! They gave her plot armor but I have to keep myself from running?! Come on!" Sonic complained. Then, Sunny flew around the lanterns with no trouble or overcharge by the moon, and she placed the lanterns together, then she used her horn to form a magical bubble around them to keep them together. The rest of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic sins Sonic himself cheered to Sunny's success, while Queen Haven and the crowd looked awed at what Sunny was doing, and Sonic just deadpanned. "Wait, how is Sunny not affected by the moon?" Zipp asked confused. "Her horn and wings are etherial. Not solid magic has no reason to be affected by the moon!" Tails explained with a smile. "That's just plot convenience..." Sonic said, still deadpanning. "Are you grumpy because the moon affects you but not her?" Amy asked with a mocking smirk. Sonic took a deep breath, and the grabbed Amy from her shoulders and shook her violently. "SHE TOOK AWAY MY PLOT ARMOR, WOMAN!" he complained out loud in anger. Meanwhile, Sunny used her magic to move the bubbled lanterns in front of the moon with a determinate look, and once they lanterns were in place, the moonlight glowed through the lanterns, giving a multi-color shine with sparkles around them, making the crowd, the rest of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic look amazed by this and with sparkling eyes. On the other hand, the Aerobat mare screamed, but then her wings stopped giving the electrical charge, and nos she is flying normally again, as well as her two partners, while they looked around surprised and confused on what just happened. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles' powers also stopped getting out of control, and Sonic once again could walk normally because of his feet not glowing anymore, while Tails could fly normally again now that his tails weren't out of control, so he untied them, and Knuckles could finally stop feeling his own hands glowing, so Tails removed the handcuffs, and Knuckles smashed his fists happily. Zipp saw all of this with a smile, so she turned to the Aerobats again and spoke through the microphone again while waving her hoof. "Over to you, Aerobats!" The Aerobats gave determined looks, then they flew up in circle formation and spread their wings in a pose, while the crowd started cheering to them. Queen Haven watched this as well with sparkling eyes. "Now that's what I call a finale!" The Mane 6 and Team Sonic were cheering on the stage, and Sunny landed between her friends, while the crowd cheered to them, as they waved and cheered back to the crowd. Zoom and Thunder watched behind them, standing next to the big decorative moon, and Zoom gave tears of joy. "It's just so inspiring and––" Zoom tried to say, but she was cut off when she leaned on the moon, and then it started rolling away again, which shocked Thunder and her, the latter groaning. "Ugh. Not again..." she facehoofed. With Posey on a stand, she was checking out one of the festival's souvenirs, while the pony stallion saw the big moon rolling towards them, so he screamed and trotted off, leaving Posey at the stand before she turned and looked with wide eyes that the moon was rolling towards her. However, since Posey was used to this crap, she simply sighed in defeat and accepted her fate. On the other hand, as the Mane 6 and Team Sonic cringed when the moon rolled over Posey, Tails' watch beeped again, so he quickly boosted away and hid behind the stage, before checking over his watch again. The data showed that the Chaos Emeralds were flying... right above him in this instant. "Huh?!" Tails exclaimed with wide and surprised eyes, so he looked up and, in fact, saw the Yellow, Blue, Red and Purple Chaos Emeralds flying over and heading into a certain direction. Tails narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but feel concerned about this, so he decided that he'll keep watching over the Chaos Emeralds signs until he could develop a proper conclusion about their attitude. After a whole week of researching, Tails finally had a conclusion. He was looking at his computer on his side of the room in the Crystal Brighthouse, and he had the 7 Chaos Emeralds tracked. All of them were now at the Starfall Islands, the place Longclaw mentioned on her message for Sonic and Sunny when the Emerald and Unity Crystal combined. Tails knew for a fact that there was a reason behind why the Chaos Emeralds were gathering there lately, and he needed to share it with his friends. So, he looked at his watch and pressed a button. "Sonic, Knuckles. Please bring Amy and the Mane 6 to the Brighthouse!" he instructed, before looking back at the computer with a frown. "There's something you guys have to see..." Meanwhile, in the computer, the images of the Chaos Emeralds were glowing and beeping, like indicating that something was happening in the Starfall Islands, something sinister... Meanwhile, at Kronos Island, the first one of the Starfall Islands, Dr. Eggman landed one of his many assets on the island, while the rest spreed to the other islands as well. Inside the asset on Kronos Island, Eggman was sitting on his Eggmobile, looking at multiple archives of the Starfall Islands he managed to gather. Despite being busy with his past plan, he had lots of free time, and after checking Opaline's library for at least 4 or 5 times, he managed to fin some books of his interest. They all talked about the Starfall Islands, and Eggman was very interested on their ancient technology. So, he gathered all the info he could and downloaded it on his computer. "Status report!" Eggman instructed to Sage. "Assets have been deployed to all islands. Supply caches have been distributed" Sage replied. "Excellent!" Eggman cheered with an evil grin. "Now I can begin surveying the islands. Soon, the long-lost technology of the Ancients will belong to me!" he stated with confidence. And then, on his screen suddenly appeared a recording, taken by Sage, of Sonic, Tails, Sunny and Zipp defeating the giant Crabmeat at the island's coast. "Doctor, apparently Sonic and his friends defeated Unit D3-CO4" Sage informed to him. "What?!" Eggman cried out with worry. "And you're telling me now?!" he asked with anger. "Analysis of data transfer shows significant delay between unit destruction and contact" Sage said through the computer. At this, Eggman growled with annoyance, before sighing heavily. "Gosh... I really miss Misty sometimes... She's a lot better than any of my previous AI's to Metal Izzy and Metal Hitch. I take the time to program life-like personalities into minions, and all it does is frustrate me" he confessed with anger. "Once–– just once!–– I'd like one of my creations to fill me with pride instead of regret!" he complained. "The relics hidden on the Starfall Islands are staggeringly advanced. Maybe once I take them for my own, I can finally craft the ultimate creation..." he suggested to himself. He pressed some buttons on his computer, and not only the images dissipated, but also his Eggmobile roared as it started to float and prepare to explore Kronos Island. "First things first! The rodents is undoubtedly on his way here. I'll have to accelerate my plans" Eggman stated, then he started to download Sage AI on a HDD. "Warning. A.I. integration untested. System stress test untested. Accelerated timetable is not advised" Sage warned. "Ah, but I developed you to protect me, and my coding is impeccable!" Eggman assured with confidence. "There's no time to waste with Sonic on the way. Hurry up and download yourself for deployment!" he ordered with annoyance. "Download complete" Sage announced. "Very good!" Eggman said with an evil grin, grabbing the disk where Sage downloaded itself. As Eggman exited the asset, his Eggmobile was received by rain, but he didn't cared at all. In fact, his machines were all water proof, so he wasn't worried a single bit. After moving around Kronos Island for a while, Eggman spotted one of the ancient technology ruins. He got down of his Eggmobile with the disc that had Sage, and grinned sinisterly. "My latest, greatest artificial intelligence will make short work of the Ancient's cyber security! And then all of their fantastic achievements will be mine to control!" Eggman stated with confidence. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC FRONTIERS X MY LITTLE PONY Author's Note WILL THE WHOLE WORLD KNOW YOUR NAME WHEN WE DANCE WITH DESTINY I'VE BEEN THERE, AND I'VE SEEN IT I'M NEVER GONNA STOP BELIEVING YOU'LL FIND YOUR FLAME Sorry, sorry, I got too excited, but can you blame me?! WE'RE MOVING TO SONIC FRONTIERS X MY LITTLE PONY NEXT WEEK!!! However, before that, I've gotta explain a few things regarding both Frontiers and Equestria Girls G5: 1- Both stories were written way back int December of 2022. Back then, I had a very vague concept of what Season 2 and Season 3 will end up being. With Season 2 out, only one change was made to Frontiers, but the final update of the game might make change other stuff as well. As for EG G5, the few things I changed were to establish which direction the plot was taking. 2- Since these two stories were made before Seasons 2 & 3, this means that Team Dark, Amy and Misty have no relevance in Frontiers nor EG G5. Well, Misty does appear in the latter, but only as a pony that shares something about Eggman's plans by the end of the story. Out of that? She's little to no relevant. Please don't hate me for excluding them in these stories, but like I said, they were written way back in December 2022. They do get mentions on why they aren't there, don't worry. 3- Since Frontiers, Season 3 and Equestria Girl G5 all release in a row, that means that TYT is going to be on its longest hiatus so far: We won't have any new Episodes until December 22nd. Yup, a 3 month hiatus because of the three stories releasing a week apart from each other (in the sense that when one of the stories finishes, you guys will only have to wait a week for the next one). 4- Finally, and I might be getting too ahead of myself here, but the title for the ninth entry in the saga is revealed in EG G5's Epilogue, so you guys might want to look out for it. I wanna apologize for rushing Sunny's recovery at the beginning of this episode, but I had to made her recover before Frontiers, specially since it justifies her attitude towards Eggman both in that story and in Season 3. Also, yes: I updated the cover, the short and long descriptions of this story again. I wanted to add Team Dark as well, but they aren't featured in the cover of these kind of stories usually, so I ended up scrapping the idea... Besides, the cover already looks full like it is now. We don't need to full it more. Now I'll leave to finish some details for Frontiers. See ya next week when it releases! 62. Bridlewoodstock 2.0Bridlewoodstock arrived... Again! Since Unicorns loved the holiday so much, they decided to celebrate it everytime the moon reached it's full phase, which is also when the Lumi-Bloom happens again, so it's perfect! Right now, in Pipp's stand, Pipp herself was twirling her mane dryer around, before flying up and wink. Pipp: I'm feelin' Fresh Like my mane is on fleek Happiness is all I need Spreadin' love from you to me Uh, Uh As Pipp started to sing, she mane dried Fifi's mane and gave her a big poofy style in a ponytail with sparkles, which made Fifi smile widely with sparkling eyes, as she touched her mane. Next, Posey got her mane covered in a mane style machine that gave a rainbow glow, before it stopped and released, which gave her mane some green highlights, and Posey smiled with sparkling eyes as well. Now, Pipp used her mane spray on Thunder, as the pegasus guard closed his eyes with a smile while Pipp sprayed him. Somethin' about the way I'm feelin' (feelin') Like everypony got a glow (Glow) Shinin' brightly with a power (Power) To spread the colors of the rainbow (Rainbow) Then, Pipp placed some style glasses on Alphabittle, who had some highlights and flowers on him, while Pipp and him took a selfie together and smiled at the camera. The next picture showed Onyx and Bongo Beats taking a selfie together, while their manes had some accessories and highlights on them. Now, the next picture showed the Mane 6's hooves together with some accessories, while Hitch hoof's had a hooficure on it and sparkles around it. Then, Pipp winked and twirled Fifi's chair around, twirling the delivery pegasus in the process as her towel came off from the twirl. Later on, Fifi, Posey and Thunder all posed at their makeover: Fifi had flowers in her mane with some purple highlights and purple eyeshadows; Posey had flowers and green highlights on her mane, a pink eyeshadow and a new hooficure with an accessory on the right side of her hind leg; and Thunder had a punk style mane with blue, green and reddish streaks, while also having some accessories on him. "Ooh! Yeah!" Pipp cheered, pointing to the three ponies with a smirk. "Check it out. That is how it's done! Love it!" She sang the last word, then came up to Fifi, who was wearing heart-shaped glasses with a smirk. "It's giving style…" Pipp started, now flying up to Posey and smiling a little, also lifting her hoof up that gave a sparkly glow. "It's giving sparkle…" She continued, now going with Thunder. "It's giving glam!" She finished, while Thunder smiled and spread his wings in a pose. The crowd of ponies in front of her watched and clapped their hooves together with sparkling eyes. "I can't wait for my turn!" Windy said in excitement. "Great!" Pipp said with a smile, while the rest of the Mane 6 were behind her, and she brought out her mane spray and twirled it around. "Who's next to get festival-fabulous?" She asked to the crowd, but as she pressed on the mane spray, it only gave out a tiny spray, which made her eyes widen, and she gasped in shock. "Oh no! Am I out of manespray!?" "Uh, Pipp?" Zipp called out to her sister, while Amy and her were next to a pile of boxes. "It's not just manespray..." "We're out of everything!" Amy exclaimed in panic, as she showed the empty boxes, while a raccoonicorn held out a mane spray bottle. "And the line of ponies isn't going to get smaller anytime soon..." Rouge said a bit concerned, since she was checking out all the ponies outside of Pipp's stand, waiting for their turn to get some makeover as well. "What?!" Pipp said with a panicked look. "What happened to all the beauty supplies I ordered from Mane Melody?!" In a random place of Bridlewood, the Mobian males stared at a swamp. This swamp in particular had nothing so special... Except for the fact that it had a Pegasus Cart stuck on it with all the supplies Pipp's looking for in the Bridlewoodstock festival. Sonic, Shadow and Knuckles stared at it with bored expressions, and Tails looked at it with a raised eyebrow, while Omega had no clue on what was exactly wrong. "Okay... How the hell did we ended up like this again?" Sonic asked. "You and I were dragging the cart, Hedgehog," Shadow replied with his arms crossed. "Then Knuckles sneezed, hit Tails, who hit the cart, which hit us, which made us trip and sent the cart flying..." "Huh... So I pushed the cart on you two..." Tails realized. "Does that makes me strong, or an idiot?" "For your own sake, Tails, I'm not answering that," Knuckles deadpanned. Pipp, Amy and Rouge got nervous after remembering that the guys went to grab the supplies. To this, Sunny chuckled nervously and sweated a bit. "Uh… Nopony panic" She told the three girls, who looked at her nervously, but Sunny gave them a calming smile. "I'm sure they're just running late!" And yet, the trio didn't felt assured as she ran up to the tarp. "But all these ponies have come for… our… makeovers!" Pipp pointed out, as she began to hyperventilate. "We can't keep them waiting!" "R-Right..." Amy said nervously, as she shook her head. "I-I think we should keep the other ponies busy until the supplies arrive!" "Agreed!" Pipp said with a nod. "In the meantime, I have to find that shipment or my reputation will be ruined!" She stated, now walking up to the tarp, before giving a fierce expression. "No! I'll handle it" She then turned to her friends. "Can you ponies keep things running while I fix this?" "Of course!" Sunny said with a smile. "And, uh, how exactly?" "Oh just the basics..." Pipp shrugged with a small smile, now giving to her friends the things they needed to use. "You need french braiding, fresh branding, pierce branding and floral branding," She stated, as she gave Izzy some brushes and a mirror, gave Zipp a box full of accessories, gave Misty some brushes, gave Sunny some flowers, and then went up to Hitch with a frown. "And make sure to post everything on Clip Trot and Ponygram!" She added, making Hitch feel nervous, while Pipp flew off the tart. "Okay, bye!" The rest of the Mane 6 just stood there with blank stares because they understood nothing of what she just said, while Amy and Rouge were not so sure about this. "Uhhh, did you ponies get any of that?" Izzy asked her friends confused. The others shook their heads. "No/Neigh way/Not a word/Na-ah," Zipp, Sunny, Hitch and Misty said together, not getting what Pipp told them either. "Couldn't she had write it down, at least? It would've been nice..." Misty pointed out with concern. Then, Sunny came up to the tarp and opened it slightly, seeing that Windy was looking at her phone with an excited smile, while other ponies were waiting in line. "But, I guess we'll just have to improvise!" Sunny stated to her friends. "I don't like were this is going..." Rouge muttered with a deadpan, while Amy at her side gulped nervously Later on, the rest of the Mane 6 started their jobs. Yet for some reason they choose Zipp to be the one in charge of social media... Yeah, this isn't ending well. She looked at her phone-tablet and prepared to make a ponygram livestream. "Ponygram. Okay. How hard can this be?" Zipp asked herself with a smile as she started the live, turning the camera around and making it face her, while some emojis started appearing. "Oops. Is it on? Am I live?" She asked herself as she tapped the screen, just to realize that it was on. "Uhhhh, h-hey! Uh, this is Zipp, coming at you live from the Mane Melody Festival Fabulous Tent at Bridlewoodstock!" She then turned the camera to Hitch. "And as you can see, everything is going great!" However, things were not going great, because Hitch looked nervous and smiled that way, as he brushed on an elderly unicorn mare mane, when some kind of braid came off, and that made Hitch panic. "I have no idea what I'm doing!" He cried out in panic, which startled the elder mare. At that, Zipp turned the camera away from Hitch and sweated with a nervous smile, before turning the camera to Sunny, who was doing Dahlia's mane, who had pink highlights and eyeshadows, while her mane was tied up with flowers and a wing accessory on it. However, Sunny was having trouble tying it up, to the point she made it too tight, and that made Dahlia's mane to fall again and cover her head. "Hey!" Dahlia called out from under her mane, while Sunny felt nervous and guilty. Amy facepalmed and Rouge rubbed her eyes to not explode in anger against the two earth ponies/lovebirds. Then, Izzy then came up from behind Sunny, who looked confused at her unicorn friend. "Mud masks are just mud, right?" She asked them cheerfully, as she held out a bowl full of mud that had some sticks on it, and Sunny gave her an unamused expression before facing the camera. "Hello!" Izzy cheered, as she waved her hoof to the camera. Zipp turned the camera back to her with a nervous expression. "Uh, so, uh, yeah, make sure you stop by! Uh, okay, goodbye!" She then tapped on her phone to stop the streaming, but accidentally turned on the picture filters, the first one showing her as a clown. "How do I turn it off?" She tapped again, making it look like she's a bull. "H-How do I turn it off?!" She then tapped again to turn off the stream, but had trouble and got closer to the camera in panic. "That's it! Give me the camera, Zipp!" Amy's voice called out, as she pushed Zipp away and snatched her phone from her hooves, while she fell to the ground with a yelp, as Amy turned off the livestream. Somewhere in the forest, Pipp saw the whole thing and gasped, before tossing her phone away. "What! Are! They! Doing?!" Pipp asked herself in panic, before she turned and saw something that made her gasp more. "No, my supplies!" She saw that Sonic and Shadow were tied to the cart with Pipp's supplies, as they both ran on their places to try and take the cart out of the mud, with Tails, Knuckles and Omega pushing it from behind, but they weren't moving the cart a single inch. To this, Pipp rushed to them and frowned. "What in the name of styling happened here?!" The five of them stopped what they were doing and looked at Pipp with wide eyes, while Sonic even panicked and gulped with a sheepish smile. "Um... Hi, uh, Little Pipp!" Sonic greeted her nervously with a eave of his hand. "Don't you 'Little Pipp' me, Sonic!" Pipp said with a frown, as she dragged Sonic from his jacket. "Care to explain what is the meaning of this?!" She asked enraged, pointing at the cart stuck in the mud. Sonic chuckled sheepishly. "Well, long-story short: One of us sneezed, then pushed the other, then pushed the cart, which made two of us trip, and then the cart was sent flying and got stuck on the mud..." He explained nervously. "Are we, uh, getting grounded for this?" He added with a slight blush, and Shadow at his side rolled his eyes. "You are if you don't help me to get this cart out of here!" Pipp stated, as she went to the back of the cart and tried to push it free, grunting in the process and hitting it with her back, before she started sobbing a bit, and then she got a determined expression. "This is a style emergency!" She stated, as she went up and flew around, before flying fast like a blur with a roar. Pipp whooshed past two raccoonicorns, who were having some tea and crumpets, just when Pipp hit her supply cart with a slam, which startled the two raccoonicorns as they gave bored expressions. Pipp, on the other hand, hit the cart face first and then slid off it. Pipp fell into the mud puddle, then she got up, now covered in mud while spitting some out, before starting to sob again. Sonic immediately went to help her get out of the mud and tried to clean off as much mud as possible, also drying some of her tears with his thumbs. "Pipp, we'll get that thing out of there, even if it takes us the whole day!" Sonic assured her with that smile that always melted her heart and cheered her up, which caused in her the desired effect for the Blue Blur. Meanwhile, Shadow lay on the cart with a bored expression. "I'll never understand her bipolarity..." "She's a girl, dumbass," Knuckles pointed out. "All of them are like that. Sometimes, Izzy also goes from one emotion to another one with no logical reason behind..." "Zipp too. And trust me, you don't want to see her with a bipolarity attack..." Tails deadpanned with his arms crossed. Just then, Omega came by and looked at the three other Mobians. "I'll never understand woman..." "Dude, we're all on that page here..." Knuckles deadpanned, while Tails and Shadow nodded in agreement. Back at Mane Melody, Izzy was going through some stuff in a couple of bowls. Then, Izzy then gasped with sparkling eyes at the stuff. "There's so much cool stuff here! Anything can be a hair accessory!" She said cheerfully, as she held out a spoon and placed it on Thunder's mane. "Like this! Or this!" She then placed a kabob stick on Posey's mane. "Um.../Wait…" Both Thunder and Posey said in unison, trying to say something to Izzy, but then their eyes widened when they saw Izzy rolling in a wagon full of dead branches, twigs, and some crystals. "I found this in a swamp!" Izzy cheered, twirling around and holding up a pile, also smiling with sparkling eyes. Both Posey and Thunder cringed at this, since they had a bad feeling of what Izzy was planning. Meanwhile, Pipp watched how things were going through the livestream. First, she saw Hitch holding up a face mask jar and a brush, while he saw a group of ponies, including the Pippsqueaks, in front of him, as the Pippsqueaks giggled a bit. "Okay. Mud masks. It's just like painting a wall... right?" Hitch asked nervously, as he held up the brush that had some mud mask on it. Soon, we see through the livestream that Hitch was applying mud masks on the ponies, but he was brushing them too hard, which obviously made the ponies grunt a bit in pain. The Pippsqueaks were groaning too from the messy mud mask Hitch gave them, and Seashell even started to tear up. "Ew!/Hey!/You got mud in my mane!" They called out. Hitch smiled sheepishly at this and waved at the camera with the brush. "What is he doing?!" Pipp's voice asked in panic. "Screwing things up. Nothing new," Knuckles voice said in a bored tone. The next scene showed Izzy putting some mud, rocks and twigs on Onyx, while Sunny and Misty watched nervously, also sweating a bit. "It's swamp chic!" Izzy cheerfully said with a wink, while Sunny and Misty smiled nervously and Onyx gave Izzy a look. "That's not even a style, Izzy!" Rouge's voice said from behind in anger, followed by a groan from her. To this, Zipp looked nervously at the camera, because things were clearly going very wrong so far. After watching all of this, Pipp felt completely in shock, and the boys around her as well. They were all still covered in mud, and they couldn't still get the cart off the swamp so far... Although they were never gonna if they kept watching the whole livestream, anyways. "This is a nightmare! We've got to get back in there!" Pipp said, as she started to push the cart again. Soon, Knuckles and Tails joined her, while Sonic and Shadow went to the front part and tried to pull it out of there, and Omega joined the two hedgehogs on this side as well. At first, it seemed that the cart was actually moving and was finally going to get out of there, but then, Sonic and Shadow ended up boosting away without the cart, and Omega flew away as well, while Knuckles, Tails and Pipp got pushed back, falling on the swamp and getting more mud over them. The trio got out and cough mud, while Pipp gave a bored expression. "COME ON!" "This is starting to get annoying and stupid..." Tails said with a frown. After that, he took a deep breath and then dived on the swamp, as he started to push the cart from below. Seeing what he wanted to do, Knuckles and Pipp smiled and quickly got behind the cart to push it again, while Sonic, Shadow and Omega came back, all of them having leaves attached to their bodies. Yet, once they saw that the rest were still trying, they quickly went and started to pull the cart again, while this time around, it did started to move. And, after some effort, the cart finally got out of the swamp, all thanks to the fact that Tails pushed it from below. "Yes!/Yeah!" Knuckles and Pipp cheered, while Tails took a deep breath to catch some air back after pushing the cart. "Nicely done, little bro!" Sonic cheered to him as well, and Tails smiled, while they both fist bumped. "I suggest we move forward before this festival leads to disaster," Omega informed. "Right! We gotta get back to Bridlewoodstock!" Pipp stated. "Then get on board, and let this faker and I drag you back to the festival!" Sonic stated, as both him and Shadow were tied to the cart. Soon, Tails, Knuckles and Pipp got over the cart and hanged to it, while Omega grabbed it from behind, and as Sonic started to run over his place, making an 8 shape with his feet, Shadow charged up his air shoes. And then, they both boosted away with the cart, heading towards Bridlewoodstock. Back at the tent, Zipp, Sunny, Misty and Hitch were... doing their best, I guess. Then, Sunny chuckled nervously. "Ponies, I have no idea what I'm doing!" "And here I thought that styling wasn't that difficult..." Misty chuckled sheepishly. "Pipp makes this looks so easy!" "You're telling me!" Zipp agree, holding up a plant vine and a crystal. "I don't know how to do any of this stuff!" "Okay, time for an intervention!" Amy said, as Rouge nodded and followed along, with the two Mobian girls approaching the ponies. "Guys, you are thinking this way too much." "Huh?" The ponies said confused. "You don't need to think through this so much!" Rouge said, while rolling her eyes. "Instead of worrying so much on what Pipp's gonna think, worry on how they wanna look!" However, the ponies but Izzy blinked a few times, clearly not getting what they meant. "Seriously?!" Amy said with anger. "What is so hard to understand?! Just don't worry about it and enjoy what you do!" Just then, Izzy got between her friends and giggled. "What Amy and Rouge are saying is that you don't need to worry so much!" She said to her friends, as she brought out a pack of flowers. "Just. Have. Fun!" She added, singing the last word and tossing some flowers around. "Uh, what do you mean, Iz?" Misty asked confused. "I'll show you!" Izzy stated cheerfully, as she grabbed some makeup tools and got to a pony with a brush and manedryer on her hooves. Then, she quickly made makeover, giving the mare a style that had some leaves and vines, also making the mane more poofy. The others watched her confused, while Izzy walked past them with some flowers and vines on her. Next, she did the pony's hooves with blue hooficure, which made others' eyes widen. Finally, Izzy dusted the mare's hooves with a smile and then showed the pony. The pony mare looked at her new style, wearing a green cape with red flowers, some leaves on her neck and blue bubble hooficures. She smiled with sparkling eyes at her new look. "Yes! Exactly!" Amy said, as she quickly grabbed her phone and livestreamed the whole thing. "She got it fast!" "Have I ever told you you're my favorite pony, Izzy?" Rouge asked her playfully, before zooming to Zipp and push her towards a certain direction. "Now you go!" Pipp: I'm feelin' Fresh Like my mane is on fleek Happiness is all I need Spreadin' love from you to me I'm feelin' Fresh Seeing what Amy, Rouge and Izzy meant, Zipp decided to try it out herself. She came up behind Posey, holding up a flower and thinking what to do with it, while Posey gulped nervously. Then, Zipp smiled and color painted Posey's fur, putting some flowers on her. "Wow! This is so cool!" Posey said with a wide smile as she looked at herself, while Zipp smiled from the compliment and Amy came by to livestream the moment. ...Celebration never ends Oh, 'cause we always a ten Ooh-hoo-hoo-hooooo-hooooo Then, Izzy did another pony's look for the festival, while said pony mare smiled with sparkling eyes. Next, Misty did Windy's makeover, while the pegasus mare looked at herself in the mirror. She had blue and green highlights on her mane and tail, a blue cape with plant vines on it, and a homemade crown made of crystals, which made Misty smile at her work, while Rouge arrived and livestreamed that after doing the same with Izzy. Now, Hitch held up a face brush in front of Thunder, who got his eyes closed while Hitch felt really nervous and used the puff on Thunder, which made Hitch panic a little, until Sunny came up to him. "We've got this!" Sunny encouraged Hitch with a smile, as she brought out her face brush and puffed it in green makeup. I'm my best self, everypony can tell Ooh-hoo-hoo-hooooo-hooooo I'm my best self, everypony can tell Izzy and Misty placed a flower crown on a pony each, as the ponies smiled with sparkling eyes, with the two unicorn mares smiling back. Zipp painted more flowers on the ponies, while a pony mare smiled at her look and made a pose. And finally, Sunny and Hitch finished Thunder's look, now having multicolor face makeup, and he looked at his new appearance. "Whoa! Festival style is wild!" Thunder said with a smile and sparkling eyes, also laughing a bit, while Amy was livestreaming this with a smile. "See? It wasn't so difficult now, was it?" Rouge asked the ponies playfully, also laying on Hitch's shoulder with a smirk. The rest of the Mane 6 nodded, then looked at each other with smiles, but just when they were going to hooftap each other, they heard Pipp yelping. The young pegasus came rushing in through the tent, while the Mobian males dragged the cart inside with grunts, and both Sonic and Shadow were sweating and panting exhausted. "I'm back! Everyone, stop panicking!" Pipp called out, but then she realized that nopony was panicking. "Huh?" She said confused and surprised, because she saw the ponies liking her friends' work, including Jazz as she walked by. "Check out how different I look!" Windy said to Posey in excitement, while Posey had a new mane look with two buns tied with three branches that had leaves. "I love these eco-friendly accessories!" Posey added with a smile, as she and Windy took a picture together with their new looks. Tails and Knuckles, who were over Omega's shoulders, got down and looked with wide eyes at the ponies around. "Whoa..." Tails said amazed. "I wasn't expecting this considering what we saw earlier on the livestream..." "Ditto..." Knuckles agreed with a nod. Omega looked around and scanned all the ponies around for a while. "I find 0 customers unpleased. I label this situation as not what my parameters expected." Pipp could only silently agreed with what Omega said, because she wasn't expecting so many happy customers, either. "Oh, thank hoofness!" Hitch said in relief with sparkling eyes, as he and the rest of Pipp's friends approached her. "This makeup stuff is way harder than it looks!" Zipp added a bit concerned. "But it was fun!" Sunny pointed out with a smile. "Even though it took us a while to get the hang of it, heheh..." Misty chuckled sheepishly. "And we might or not might had pushed them in the right direction!" Amy added with a smirk, as she and Rouge fist bumped each other. "You like what we did? Hmm?" Izzy asked, as she, Sunny and Misty looked at Pipp with smiles and sparkling eyes. "Ponies, I…" Pipp started, before giving a smile with sparkling eyes as well. "I love it!" She cheered, before she looked at the ponies her friends did their makeup on and gave a gasp. "Oh, so unique! So creative! I mean, maybe not quite as polished as I'd do it, but…" She said, after looking at the two ponies, Posey and Windy, also inspecting the looks before returning to her friends with a smile. "But maybe that's what festival fashion is about. Trying something new!" She added, giving sparkling eyes again. "I'm inspired! What do you say, ponies? Let's get styliiiiing!" She sang, while holding some hoof polish and a curling iron with sparkling eyes and a smile. The rest of the Mane 6 smiled in response, but as the ponies went to keep styling, Amy and Rouge came to notice that Sonic and Shadow were panting exhausted and sitting down on a pair of chairs. "Uh... What the hell happened to you two?" Rouge asked with a raised eyebrow. "We ran 9.4 kilometers in unison while dragging a cart full of makeup, a pegasus, a fox, an echidna, and a 1230 kg robot..." Sonic replied with an anxious look. Amy and Rouge's eyes widened after Sonic said that. "... I... Wasn't expecting that kind of answer..." Amy confessed. "I don't want to see that cart in my life ever again––" Shadow tried to say, but as he looked at his side, his eyes widened when he saw the cart with Pipp's supplies. "OH, COME ON!" Ooh-hoo-hoo-hooooo-hooooo I'm my best self, everypony can tell Ooh-hoo-hoo-hooooo-hooooo Pipp made a homemade flower crown with crystals and held it with a wide smile and sparkling eyes, as she turned and looked at Izzy, who was holding the same thing, and the two smiled at each other. Then, Zipp placed a flower on Fifi's mane, as the delivery pegasus smiled with sparkling eyes, while Zipp and Pipp watched with a smile. Next, Pipp did Flare's face, as the pegasus mare held up a mirror and looked at her makeup face, while Pipp turned to Hitch with a smirk, since Hitch was writing it down on his journal, and the two ponies smiled at each other. Now, Pipp and Misty did a couple of ponies' hooves together, as they finished and the two ponies smiled at their hooficures, with Pipp and Misty smiling at each other as well. Then, Sunny held up a brush and manespray, as Pipp did the same and the two smiled at each other. The Mane 6's Cutie Marks began to glow together, and they took a picture along Rouge and Amy after having everypony done and ready for the second Bridlewoodstock Music Festival in Equestria. THE END Author's Note Honestly, that joke with Rufus not recognizing Pipp just because she was covered in mud was stupid. I got rid of that, thankfully. I kind of didn't had a full picture with this episode as a whole, to be honest, because I didn't planned to use it at all at first. And yet, here it is... I'm satisfied with the final result, even though I know it could've been handled better. Also, I didn't said this in the previous chapter, but don't expect the remaining episodes to tease MYM Season 4, because I want to keep that season as a massive surprise, even if it involves the multiverse. Anyways. I'm honestly not excited to make the next TYT Bridlewoodstock themed episode, because I hate it to be frank, but I'm still gonna do it because I know myself: I won't have peace ever again if I don't adapt it. By the way, happy holidays, everyone! I hope you all have a good time and enjoy Christmas with your beloved ones. Thanks for an amazing year on the platform! That's all for today. See you next time! 63. Diva and ConquerYeah, Bridlewoodstock 2.0 is still up. On a stage, Rufus was showing off his magic tricks, having Bongo Beats inside, as they were in front of a crowd of ponies. Just then, Pipp flew up to the front of the stage with a smile. "That's our open mic staaaage!" She sang to Electric Blue, giving them a tour around Bridlewoodstock, with the rest of the Mane 6 following behind them. Now, Pipp gestured to the food truck stands behind her, as we see Team Sonic moving around with food. Sonic had a Chilidog, what a shock; Amy was eating Strawberry Shortcake; Knuckles was holding at least 7 bags full of grapes; and Tails was eating Mint Flavored Ice Cream. Team Dark was also around, with Shadow strangely brushing Seashell's mane; Rouge fixing some makeover on Peach Fizz, since it got ruined when the three fillies were playing around; and Omega was slowly moving his left arm in circles, while Glory hang to it and giggled, feeling like in some kind of Amusement Park attraction since Omega wanted to entertain her. "Here's the food truck village where you can get everything to eat!" Pipp said with a smile. Electric Blue smiled, as the group and the Mane 6 kept walking, but Izzy was still standing with a thoughtful look. "Everything?" Izzy repeated, before smiling cheerfully with sparkling eyes. "I love everything!" "And ta-da!" Pipp cheered, while gesturing to three big tents. "Your very own super-glam V.I.P. tents!" "Thanks, Pipp," Fretlock said, while Jam Donut and Arpreggia smiled. "We just need our gear and outfits and we're ready to rock!" Just then, Hitch was coming in with Sparky on his back, both grunting a bit and pushing a pile of luggages with tired looks. "Did you… really need…" He started, before a luggage fell on his head. "...all of this stuff?" Electric Blue frowned after Hitch said this, but as Fretlock raised a hoof to reply... "Um, Electric Blue are stars," Pipp pointed out in defense and with a frown as well. "If they say they need something, they need––" She was suddenly cut off when the ground started to shake. "Whoa. Whoa!" Hitch said, as he tried to balance himself with the shaking, but then suddenly, the ground beneath him and Sparky cracked, as they fell over with the luggages. "Whoa!" The V.I.P tents also fell down as well in the process. "My microphone!" Arpeggia called out in shock. "Our gear!" Fretlock called out next. "Not my lucky underpants!" Jam Donut cried out while raising his hoof. "Hitch!" Sunny and Misty called out in panic. "The super-glam V.I.P tents!" Pipp cried out, as she placed her hooves on her cheeks, while her friends gave her unamused expressions. Soon, the ground started shaking again. "Whoa!" Hitch called out through the hole, as mud then sprouted out of it, with Hitch and Sparky along with it. "Whoooaaaa!" he cried out again. Electric Blue and the rest of the Mane 6 watched with wide eyes, before they were covered in mud. And, just as Hitch screamed in fright, he was caught in the air by Tails, with Sparky landing on the fox's head. Soon, Tails slowly descended and placed Hitch on the ground, while he also placed Sparky on his back, and the mud sprout decreased, giving a squirt. Tails cleaned up his gloves and began to walk away, just to get stopped by Electric Blue, who were frowning at him. "You saved that guy and the dragon, but not our stuff?!" Fretlock asked Tails with anger. To this, Tails deadpanned and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I miss the part where that's my problem," He retorted, before walking away. "Also, your music is mid!" He added, while Electric Blue stared at him with shocked looks and disbelief. Yeah, Tails has a huge grudge against them after Fretlock referred to him as 'The fella that's always following Pipp's boyfriend', so he acts very savage with them, feeling absolutely no shame as well. "Uh... What was that?" Misty asked confused, referring to the earthquake, the hole in the ground and the mud sprouting out of the floor. "Aw!" Izzy said in a cute tone, as she placed her hoof on her cheek with a smile. "The last sinkhole of the year! So cute!" She said happily, now placing both hooves on her cheeks, while her friends looked at her with bored expressions. Later, the Mane 6 and Electric Blue stopped next to the Marestream. "So, since your V.I.P. tents are…" Pipp began with a sheepish smile, before clearing her throat, while Electric Blue gave her dull expressions. "Unavailable. Here is your extra super-glam V.V.I.P. home of the festival, the Marestream!" Then, Izzy got next to Electric Blue with a button on her hoof, as she pressed said button. "With one teensy press, it becomes the most ultimate glamping van ever!" She cheered quietly, while the Marestream opened up its awning and the carpet, tables and picnic stuff came out, and now they were all set, with the Mane 6 smiling at it. Electric Blue just looked at the Marestream for a second, before a pony mare spoke through the speaker. "Electric Blue, to the main stage please?" The mare announced. "Well, it's not gonna be the same since everything we need is in a sinkhole now..." Fretlock said sarcastically, as he gave a disappointed expression. "But, hey, come on. Let's get this over with." "Wait, wait, wait!" Sunny quickly said to Electric Blue. "What if we can find what you need so that you can still have a great show?" "I guess there's a few things that would help," Fretlock said, going give Sunny's idea a shot. "Hello? Electric Blue to the stage. Huh? Is this thing even working?" The announcer called out again. "What about the crowd?" Arpeggia asked after an eye roll. "Don't worry!" Hitch called out, as he skid backwards in front of his friends with confident smiles. "We've got this!" He declared, as he and Sparky put on glasses while Sparky laughed a bit. Knuckles was laying on a food truck while using a toothpick. Soon enough, Hitch arrived to his side. "Hey, Knux! I need your help!" "With what–– Yipes!" Knuckles exclaimed, since Hitch didn't explained himself and simply dragged him away. On the main stage, the crowd was waiting for Electric Blue to appear. I mean, anyone could expect this, since there was techno music playing in the background... But instead, Hitch, Knuckles and Sparky were the ones to appear. "Hellooooo, Bridlewoodstock!" Hitch called out, while the three of them were smiling sheepishly. The crowd of ponies stared at them for a moment, before they all frowned and brought out tomatoes. Back with the rest of the Mane 6 and Electric Blue, Fretlock brought out a big list. "We can't perform in muddy outfits," Fretlock pointed out with a bored expression. "New outfits? On it!" both Sunny and Zipp said with determined smiles. "And our manes stink!" Arpeggia added, as she sniffed her muddy mane and cringed in disgust. "Ugh. Literally." "Leave that to me!" Pipp declared, as she twirled her mane dryer around with a confident smile. "Oh, oh! And an 'everything' bagel would be nice!" Jam Donut said with a smile while his bandmates looked at him confused. "You know, for energy!" "Everything on one bagel?!" Izzy repeated in shock with wide eyes, before getting next to Jam Donut and chuckling. "You've come to the right pony!" "Oh, oh! Can I help you, Izzy?!" Misty asked with a smile and sparkling eyes. Izzy gasped, before putting her hoof around Misty's neck. "Misty, I was gonna ask for your help, anyways!" "Okay, ponies," Sunny called out with a smile, while Izzy and Misty came next to her. "Let's get this show back on the road! I mean, t-the stage!" She quickly corrected, extending her hoof in the air. The rest of the girls placed their hooves together and hooftapped each other, then raised their hooves in the air, and then trotted off to get the stuff for Electric Blue. Pipp: Fresh Like my mane is on fleek Happiness is all I need Spreadin' love from you to me I'm feelin' Fresh Magic all around my friends Izzy and Misty went to the food stands, first stopping at a bagel stand. Izzy pointed to everything on the menu, while the pony mare vender smiled and she gave Izzy an 'everything' bagel, just like Jam Donut asked. Izzy levitated the bagel with her magic and smiled with sparkling eyes, while Misty looked confused at the giant bagel. However, as the two mare walked off, Izzy stopped and thought of something, turning to the other food stands with sparkling eyes and waved at them, which made Misty cringe, because she knew what was her plan, and she didn't liked it. At the main stage, things were... interesting. Knuckles was on a unicycle, holding Hitch over his shoulders, while Hitch had Sparky on his head. Knuckles was trying to keep balance on the cycle, while Sparky was juggling some balls to try and impress the crowd, until he dropped one. Posey was among the crowd, and she smirked mischievously, while she and the crowd held up their tomatoes again. Celebration never ends Oh, 'cause we always a ten Ooh-hoo-hoo-hooooo-hooooo I'm my best self, everypony can tell Knuckles, Hitch and Sparky saw this and gave nervous smiles, but then, Knuckles accidentally lead the unicycle backwards, which made it trip over the ball Sparky dropped, and Sparky fell off of Hitch, landing on the ground with a split, which caused him to release his dragon fire in the process. Meanwhile, both Knuckles and Hitch yelled in surprise, with Knuckles loosing his balance, while the two balls Sparky tossed in the air were hit by his dragon fire and got turned into fireworks. As Knuckles tripped from the unicycle, he managed to land in the floor while doing a pose, with Hitch accidentally landing on his hand while also doing a pose, as the fireworks went off behind him. "Awwww!" The crowd said, as they started cheering with smiles, except for Posey, who looked at the crowd in shock before whimpering in anger, because she really wanted to launch that tomato to Hitch and Knuckles. I'm my best self, everypony can tell When did this mirror get so gorgeous? Who's that? Is that me? In the air, Zipp was flying over the festival to look for any clothing she could bought for Electric Blue, when she saw Rufus and Bongo Beats at their stage, with Rufus still doing his magic trick, while Zipp smiled and flew down towards them. Just then, Rufus pulled the middle part of Bongo's box out, while Bongo Beats looked surprised. However, Zipp flew past them and made the two twirl around a bit, leaving them dizzy. Rufus realized that his cape was gone and turned where Zipp flew off, but then Zipp flew by again, taking the background of the stage, which made Rufus and Bongo Beats spin around again as they fell to the floor. Rufus was looking Dizzy, while Bongo saw that his three boxes stacks now toppled to the ground, and his tail part revealed an earth pony stallion in a box, who gave a sheepish smile and waved at the crowd. Back in the Marestream, Pipp was working on Electric Blue's looks. "How's this?" Pipp twirled Arpeggia first. "What about this?" She twirled Fretlock next. "Uh, maybe one of these?" Now she twirled Jam Donut, trying different styles to see if it fit them. However, none of them were really liking anything that Pipp was doing to their manes, which made the pegasus mare scream in panic Around the carnival games set for the Festival, Team Sonic was moving across them. Knuckles choose to leave Hitch and Sparky on their own and go back with his team because he didn't wanted to get smashed with tomatoes. The team approached to one of your typical 'Basketball Dunk' stand, one where Sonic and Tails decided to play against each other. In the end, Sonic made 287 points, while Tails wasn't so far with 263 points. However, as they were about to move away, Knuckles saw a 'Strength Test' stand and immediately went to it, grabbing the hammer from the stand and managing to hit the highest score in one single swing and with no effort. Of course, he smirked confidently, but Amy at his side rolled her eyes, before grabbing the hammer and doing the same. Yeah, she applied way too much force, because she broke the whole game, even making it release some sparkles. Team Sonic cringed at this, as Knuckles and Amy stepped back while the whole team widened their eyes, before they all looked at each other. Then, Sonic gestured to his back, with the rest nodding in agreement, and they all walked away while whistling innocently. With Izzy and Misty on the food stands, things were going... complicated... See, Izzy was giggling and levitating some popcorn over the 'everything' bagel, which was leaving all the food stands without food because of her. Just then, one pony arrived to the popcorn stand and was about to request some. "It's all gone, folks!" Luminous Dazzle, the pony attending the stand, announced to the pony, who frowned at Izzy and Misty as they walked away. "We're so sorry, everypony!" Misty apologized with a sheepish smile, as she pushed Izzy away of the food trucks. I feel meeeee! Sunny was with Dahlia, giving her puppy eyes and tapping her hooves together. Dahlia, for some reason, was not really on board with whatever Sunny suggested her, but in the end, she sighed, before lifting up her hoof and activate her earth pony magic, as she stomped her glowing hoof to the ground. I'm feelin' Fresh Like my mane is on fleek Happiness is all I need A plant sprouted, and it wrapped itself around Sunny, with vines and flowers sprouting over her. Once they stopped growing, Sunny was covered in flowers and leaves while keeping her balance, which made Dahlia thought she got a little overboard. However, Sunny smiled at Dahlia, probably assuring her that she didn't needed help. Spreadin' love from you to me I'm feelin' Fresh On the main stage, Hitch and Sparky were dancing, while the crowd lifted their hooves up and down in a pattern, trying to see if Hitch made any mistake so they could throw tomatoes at him. Yes, Posey was eager for him to fail, what a surprise. Magic all around my friends Celebration never ends Oh, 'cause we always a ten With Izzy and Misty, Fifi placed a cherry on top of Izzy's 'Everything' bagel. At this point, every food from the stands were stack together into one giant mega bagel, which made everypony around look in shock, even Misty herself. However, Izzy smiled cheerfully and hopped away with the 'everything' bagel, with the other stands closing since they are out of food. "Um, Izzy? I don't think this is a good idea, anymore!" Misty said with worry, as she rushed behind her. At the carnival games, Omega apparently was hanging out with the Pippsqueaks. Shadow and Rouge were just following behind because they didn't wanted another incident similar to what happened in Maretime Bay when Tails and Zipp were repairing his body and he had to use another one. Soon, the fillies stopped at one of the typical carnival games and saw a set of three plushies. The three plushies were resembling Omega, and the Pippsqueaks wanted them, because they were looking at them with sparkling eyes. However, Omega had knowledge on how carnival games were usually a scam. So, he approached to Shadow and Rouge with an idea on how to win the game: They payed for three tries on the game, but they grabbed the balls and charged them on Omega's left cannon. After that, Omega aimed at three blanks at the same time and shoot, hitting all of them at one shot. The pony in charge of the game dropped his jaw and was about to object, but two things stopped him: The first one, the happy squeals of the Pippsqueaks that stunned him. The second one: Team Dark glaring daggers at him. "You will give them their prices, or I will make you," Shadow declared with his arms crossed and a frown. "We will make you!" Rouge added with her hands on her hips and a frown as well. "I will not make the tiny ponies cry," Omega declared behind the Pippsqueaks. Gulping nervously, the pony in charge of the game smiled sheepishly and gave each of the fillies one of the three Omega plushies from the prices, as they three fillies hugged their plushies happily. Of course, Rouge giggled at their reaction and Shadow rolled his eyes in annoyance... But Omega? His eyes kind of shone bright after seeing this. It was probably the way his eyes sparkled, and he would smile with no doubt down at the three fillies. Later, the girls from the Mane 6, sins Izzy and Misty, regrouped back near the Marestream. "And voila!" Pipp said, as she gestured to Electric Blue, who now had new looks and new styles as they posed. "You look perfect!" Sunny commented cheerfully. "Now we're ready to rock!" Fretlock said with a smile, while his two bandmates smiled as well. "Ponies!" Izzy called out, while the group turned and looked at her, as she waved her hoof at them cheerfully. "Wait up!" She yelled out, before using her horn to levitate something, which made her start straining from the weight. "You... forgot... your... snack!" She wheezed, as she levitated the 'everything' bagel, which moved some trees out of the way, showing that it was as big as a mountain, while the girls and Electric Blue looked shocked by this. "One bagel with everything!" Izzy said cheerfully, followed by a maniacal laughter and a tired groan. Soon, Misty arrived as well, panting exhausted after chasing Izzy down with the bagel, just for her eyes to widen when she sees that the bagel was bigger than she thought it'll be. "...Oh boy..." She gulped. "Um, on second thought, I don't like to eat right before a performance," Jam Donut said nervously, since he didn't mean that the 'everything' bagel had to have everything on it. But then, the bagel mountain started to rumble, and Izzy's magic started to frizz out, which made everyone else look at it nervously. "Is that gonna...?" Sunny started nervously. "It's gonna blow!" Pipp cried out. After Pipp shouted this, everypony but Izzy screamed in fear and and tried to run for cover, while Izzy just stood there, looking nervously at the bagel. And finally, the 'everything' bagel exploded, covering the girls and Electric Blue in food leftovers. "We can't go on like this!" Fretlock said with a frown, taking a piece of food off his mane. "The show's canceled!" He declared, as he and his bandmates walked off in regret. "Sorry, Pipp." "No! We can fix this!" Sunny said desperately. "We'll remake the costumes a-and the hair! The full V.I.P. treatment! Right, Pipp?" However, Pipp frowned and looked around the festival. She saw Glory flying by with a balloon, with her friend Seashell chasing her with giggles, while Peach Fizz and Omega followed them close behind, with Omega carrying the unicorn filly over his left shoulder. Meanwhile, the crowd was laughing at Hitch's current performance... Yes, even Posey was laughing now. And on other zone, Knuckles was drinking down 1 gallon of grape juice, while the rest of Team Sonic was cheering to him as they all said "Deep, deep, deep, deep!" to him. "No, Sunny," Pipp said, before walking up ahead and then turn to her friends. "Music isn't about the costumes, glamour, or being a V.I.P. It's about sharing your sparkle with the world!" She explained with a smile, not knowing that Electric Blue was listening as well. "That's what Bridlewoodstock is about, too. We may look and smell terrible, but Hitch is on that stage right now, and he's... well, he's actually doing pretty well..." They all turned to Hitch, who was still on the main stage, now telling jokes to the crowd. "So, uh, what do you call a pony at the top of Prancing Point? Lost!" He joked with a laugh, while Sparky did a rim shot with a set of drums with a bored expression, while the crowd started laughing at Hitch's jokes. "I'm going to go out there and give these ponies the show they deserve!" Pipp declared with a determined smile. "Me, too!" Sunny said with a smile and her hoof raised. "Count me in!" Misty agreed with a smile as well. "Sounds fun!" Izzy cheered. "I'm in!" Zipp called out next with her hoof clenched. "Pipp's right," Fretlock said with a down expression. "We got so carried away trying to make everything perfect. But if we're together, it will be perfect!" He stated with a smile, while his bandmates smiled as well and nodded in agreement. "Even if it's a little messy, too," He added, shaking some food rests off himself with a cringed expression, before chuckling and coming up to Pipp. "Thanks, Pipp. Come on, Electric Blue! Let's rock!" At the stage, Hitch was still doing his comedy talk. "So I said, 'Un-ni-corn? I need corn too, pal!' Yeah!" Hitch joked with a laugh, before Knuckles came by and lifted him off stage, while the curtains behind opened. With this, Electric Blue appeared from under the stage with their instruments, and even if they were still a mess, they were determined to play. "What's up, Bridlewoodstock?!" Fretlock announced to the crowd. Electric Blue started to play, with fireworks going off behind them, while the crowd started cheering loudly to them, ignoring the fact that they were all messed up. The Mane 6 watched them play, moving their heads and hooves to the music with smiles. However, as everyone at the Bridlewoodstock festival enjoyed themselves, none of them knew that they were being watched from the distance by a robotic camera, which zoomed to see Team Sonic, as Amy patted Knuckles on the back because he was throwing up on a trash can, while Sonic and Tails cringed. The camera scanned the four faces, and marked them all as objectives to eliminate. Soon, it is revealed that the camera belonged to Metal Sonic, who was watching over the Mane 6, Team Sonic and Team Dark, since he had instructions from Doctor Eggman: To destroy Sonic, Sunny and their friends. THE END...? Author's Note Yeah, I still don't like this chapter with my adds and changes. Look, I think Electric Blue as a whole is lame. They look lame, they talk lame, they act lame... And yes, I'm with Tails: Their music is mid. I don't like these characters, I'm really sorry. But! At least we saw more of Omega being a softy with the Pippsqueaks, and we got that little teaser in the end as well... I want to let you all know that Metal Sonic will be dealt with here in TYT, and we won't see him on MYM Season 4 nor the last story of the saga. Enjoy him while he lasts. Anyways. That's all I gotta say for now. See you later! 64. Hot Day, Huh?Summer's here again, since it's making a pretty damn hot day in Maretime Bay. Soon enough, we see Zipp surfing in the ocean on her board, as she passes through a big wave. "Alright!" Zipp said excitedly, as she surfed through the wave and was launched to the air. "Now that's what I call riding the needle!" She cheered, before diving down into the ocean. "Whoo-hoo!" She exclaimed, before floating back up, looking soak and hanging on to her board to stay afloat while laughing. "Yeah!" She cheered, before looking around. "Ponies, did you see those epic waves?!" She asked to the air, because she's talking to no one. "Huh?" The beach was totally empty, and empty means empty, not a single pony was on the beach at all, not even her friends. Heck, not even Tails, her boyfriend, was there. "Huh. That's strange," Zipp said surprised, as she got out of the water and dried herself off, walking up to the beach and looking around confused. Zipp walked up next to a crab, who was wearing sunglasses for some reason, then it got up and pinched its claw in front of her, which made her stop for a bit, before the crab crawled away. Zipp ignored the crab and kept looking around confused. "Hmm..." She hummed, before bringing out her phone. "1400 hours on a super hot day and the beaches completely deserted?" She told herself confused, as her voice echoed throughout the beach. "Where is everypony?" She asked again, now moving to call her friends. The five phones of the Mane 6 started to ring, but none of them were being answered. Then, she tried to contact Team Sonic, but none of them answered either. Finally, she tried to call Team Dark, but they didn't answered, just like the rest. Zipp sighed and groaned annoyed, not understanding why no one was at the beach on such a hot day. Zipp decided to go to the Crystal Brighthouse first, considering that she lived there with here friends. A part of her was ready to be disappointed at finding nopony there, but her eyes widened when she saw that Team Sonic was preparing themselves for a beach day, with Sonic, Tails and Knuckles wearing yellow, red and green swimsuits respectively, no gloves and sandals; while Amy had a red swimsuit, no gloves and sandals as well. "You sure you got everything we need, Tails?" Sonic asked him with a smile. "Yup!" Tails replied with a smile as well. "Everything required for a day in the beach is up and ready to go!" He stated with a wink, but then he looked over at the entrance, and his eyes sparkled a the sight of his girlfriend. "Hey, Zippy!" He greeted her, before boosting to her and drag her into a hug. Zipp chuckled and hugged him back, before kissing his cheek for a second, which made Tails chuckle as well. "Hey, babe~" Zipp said with a smile, before looking back at the rest of Team Sonic. "What are you guys doing here? Is really hot, and perfect––" "For a beach day?" Knuckles finished for her with a smirk. "We know. That's literally the place we're heading just about now!" He brought out some sunglasses and put them on. "Yes!" Zipp cheered loudly. "I've been in the beach the whole morning! I thought more ponies would show up, but the beaches are empty!" "What? The beaches are empty?!" Amy said confused, before bringing out her phone. "But we're 1415 hours on a super hot day!" "I know!" Zipp groaned. "But the beaches are empty! I tried to contact you all guys, but nopony answered me!" "We were busy preparing everything, and we muted our phones," Knuckles explained. "Yeah, I think Team Dark is heading there as well. They never answer even if we have a live or death emergency, though..." Sonic explained as well with a bored expression. "Hot day and empty beaches? Sounds like a really bad combination to me..." Tails muttered while rubbing his chin, before smirking and activate his electrical powers. "Or should I say..." He started, as his powers restored his blue shoes, gloves and googles. "Like a mystery!" Zipp chuckled and nuzzled herself on Tails' shoulder. "You just read my mind, honey~" She teased him with a smirk. "But even if I would love you to come with me, I'll say you go with the rest and enjoy sometime on the beach as well!" She added, as she pushed him back with Sonic. "Uh, are you sure?" Tails asked a bit concerned. "Hey, you've been working so hard the whole week on your workshop!" Zipp pointed out. "You deserve a brake! Besides, I can handle an investigation on my own!" "...Um... Well... If you say so..." Tails said with a shy smile, using his powers again to put over his beach outfit again. "And while you are busy with that, we'll be busy at the beach vibing!" Sonic said, before putting over some sunglasses as well with a confident smirk, and his teeth even shone for a second. Zipp went over to Maretime Bay to investigate. Once in the town, she saw many ponies looking hot under the heated sun. Some ponies were fanning themselves, eating ice cream, sipping smoothies and even hiding under the shade to stay cold. Even two raccoonicorns were sweating, as one of them was fanning themself. The Pippsqueaks were eating some ice cream and sweating because of the heat, when Zipp approached them with a smile. "Hey, Pippsqueaks! You know, those ice creams would totally taste better at the beach!" Zipp suggested eagerly. "No way, Zipp!" Seashell declined as she shook her head. "It's way too hot for the beach!" "Yeah, that hot sand would burn my little hooves," Peach Fizz added with worry, also shaking her hoof. "Whaaaaat?" Zipp asked confused. "It's not that hot..." However, the moment she said that, the Pippsqueaks' ice creams melted, some splatting on the floor. "Huh?" They all said at the same time, before starting to cry at their melted ice creams. Zipp sweated nervously with a sheepish smile at what just happened, and she stuttered as she tried to find the right words to help the Pippsqueaks to stop crying. Misty was walking by, sweating a bit from the heat, when she saw what Zipp was going through, and she felt bad for her. "Poor Zipp. Nopony is really listening to her." On another place, Posey was fanning herself. Her face was red because of the heat, and she was sweating a lot, groaning because of the heat. Just then, Zipp came next to her with a small smile. "There's a nice cool breeze down at the beach!" "The beach?!" Posey questioned with a raised eyebrow. "What are you, nuts?! In this heat?!" "I was just there, Posey," Zipp reasoned again, while Misty came behind her again and watched. "Team Sonic, and even Team Dark are down there right now! And as long as you have some sunscreen and maybe an umbrella, it's really not…" She listed out, but Posey got so annoyed and walked off. "Okay, so I'll take that as a maybe?" "Neigh way!" Posey yelled out, which made Zipp flinch a bit. Zipp just sighed and walked away. "Ugh…" She groaned, before bumping into Windy. "Oh, sorry, Windy" She apologized sheepishly, before her eyes went wide. She saw a huge line with ponies, all holding fruit cards for Sunny's smoothie stand, and Hitch and Sparky grabbed the cards, since they were helping Sunny today. "Okay, Sunny!" Hitch called out with a nervous smile. "We've got two super citrus…" "Yup!" Sunny replied at fast paste, while she placed two smoothie covers on the smoothie cups. "...Three triple berries…" Hitch continued. "Got it!" Sunny said, as she placed some fruits into a blender, while Hitch gave her a broccoli card. "...One dreamy creamy, and one grilled cheese with extra-cheesy french fries?" Hitch read with a confused look. "Huh?" Sunny raised an eyebrow confused. "Wait a second..." Hitch said, before he turned to Sparky with a smirk, since the baby dragon started to giggle and gave a playful wink. "Nice try, Sparky! Silly little dragon," He said in amusement, as he rubbed Sparky's head, while the baby dragon kept giggling. Zipp started to walk through the line and got in front of the two earth ponies, while the ponies in line grumbled and complained about her cutting in line. "Calm down, everypony," Zipp called out calmly to them. "I just need to talk to…" She was cut off when Hitch placed three smoothie cups down, and Zipp turned to them with a smile. "Sunny, Hitch! How about closing up shop and heading out for a beach day? The waves are seriously amazing!" She called out excitedly, as she raised her hooves with sparkling eyes. "No can do, Zipp!" Sunny said, shaking her head. "Huh?" Zipp said confused, as she putted her hooves down. "We gotta keep everypony hydrated in this heat!" Sunny pointed out, while Hitch nodded in agreement, and Sunny held out a smoothie cup just when Dahlia came to the stand. "Oh, here you go, Dahlia. Stay cool!" Dahlia looked so heated from the hot day, but once she saw the smoothie, she smiled with sparkling eyes and grabbed the smoothie. "Ah!" She said excitedly, slurping her smoothie at fast paste and gulped it down, sighing in relief at the cool beverage before slurping it again. Zipp stared at Dahlia strangely for a moment before talking. "But down by the water, it's much cooler!" "No time to chat, Zipp," Hitch said with wide eyes, as he looked at the fruit cards for a while before looking back at his crush. "Sunny, we need a triple berry smoothie, stat! Windy looks like she's gonna––" Windy wasn't looking too good in the heat. In fact, she was looking straight at the sun, as her tongue was sticking out, while the heat was really getting the best of her. "Oh, dear...!" She muttered, while eyes spun a bit, before she fell to the floor. "...Faint!" Hitch finished in panic, as he rushed to Windy and held her by the head, while the ponies around them gasped in worry for the pegasus. "Oh, no! Sunny, pony down! I repeat, we've got a pony down!" "I'm on it, Hitch!" Sunny said with a salute, but before she went back to work, she looked again at Zipp. "Sorry, Zipp. It's just not a great day to go to the beach..." Sunny went back to work after saying this. "But! But... Even Tails and Shadow are down there..." Zipp said with concern, sighing sadly in defeat, while Misty saw her from behind with worry. At Mane Melody, there was a line of ponies waiting to enter the salon. "Izzy!" Pipp called out, since she and Izzy were fighting over the fans. "We need the fans inside to keep everypony in Mane Melody cool!" She pointed out, while Jazz is doing Fifi's hooves, Rocky was fanning himself, and them, along other ponies, were watching the two ponies fight over one of the fans. "But, Pipp, what about the ponies outside?!" Izzy questioned, while pointing to the window, where the ponies outside were fanning themselves from the heat outside. "They need to stay cool, too!" Izzy and Pipp kept tug-a-waring a fan, even glaring to each other, but then, Pipp accidentally pressed the power button and turned the fan on, which made both ponies gasp, and the fan blew Izzy away, while the unicorn mare hang onto the fan. She started to scream, moving around Mane Melody, then crashing into some bottles with purple glitter. "Ah! No, no, no!" Pipp cried out, while Izzy kept flying around, covered in purple glitter, but then, she flew over some other ponies and got glitter on them as well. Then, Pipp flew in front of the stage with some bottles stacked behind her. "Not the stage, not the stage!" She begged, but then, Izzy flew over and splashed her with purple glitter as well. Outside, Zipp was about to enter the salon, but once she opened the door, purple glitter burst out of it and covered Zipp, which made her cough and then look at her sister, who was covered in purple glitter, and the entire place was a mess. "Pipp! Why are all you ponies inside? Everypony should be at the beach!" Zipp pointed out, starting to loose her patience. "The beach?" Pipp questioned with a raised eyebrow as she flew to her sister. "Neigh way, sis. Today is definitely an inside kind of day." However, Izzy sneakily levitated two fans while Pipp was talking to Zipp. "So I'm just... I'm gonna borrow these..." She said quietly in a hushed tone. And then, Pipp saw Izzy and glared at her in anger, which made Zipp flinch in surprise. "Izzy, get back here with those!" She called out, as she chased after Izzy out the door outside. "I'm telling you! It is much, much cooler down by the water! The Mobians are down there already!" Zipp tried to reason, walking to the front door and seeing Izzy and Pipp fighting over the fan. Then, Izzy used her magic to levitate the fan and run away. "Izzy, come back here!" Pipp yelled out, chasing after Izzy. Zipp frowned and sighed frustrated. "Ugh! That's it!" She yelled out, as she turned to the ponies around her, who flinched at her outburst. "Obviously you ponies are not gonna listen to me! Well, if anypony needs me, which they clearly won't, I will be nice and cool down at the beach! See ya!" "Izzy, come back here!" Pipp called out, because she didn't hear anything her sister said at all, since she kept chasing Izzy to get the fan back. Misty was inside of Mane Melody, covered in glitter, and she did heard Zipp's outburst. "I've never seen Zipp so upset before... Except for when she discovered that I worked for Opaline and Eggman, but still..." Back at the beach, the Mobians were enjoying their time. As Rouge stood over a blanket to take some sun with sunglasses, Shadow was sitting on a chair with sunglasses and crossing his legs, and Omega was near by on resting mode; Team Sonic was having a volleyball competition, with Sonic and Knuckles teaming against Amy and Tails. However, as they were enjoying their day, Zipp came back with a frown, humming madly to herself, already having cleaned the purple glitter off her face. Tails noticed that she seemed upset about something, so he quickly called for a brake and went to Zipp. "Zippy?" He called her out. "You're back sooner than I expected. How did it went?" "...Nopony listened to me..." Zipp replied with anger, before flying off and grab her surf table. "What?!" Tails exclaimed with wide eyes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sonic interfered, as he zoomed by Zipp and started to walk backwards, since she was still walking ahead. "No one heard you? Not even Pipp?!" "Nor Izzy?!" Knuckles came by as well with wide eyes. "No!" Zipp said with anger. "Everypony is either ignoring me, or they think that being here at the beach isn't good enough! But that's their loss," She finished, before going back into the water with her surfing table. At this, Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other with concern, then up to the town. They wondered why Pipp and Izzy ignored Zipp, but considering how stubborn they could both be sometimes, it was better to let them be... for now. Later on, Zipp was surfing again over the waves. Or at least trying, because she could barely concentrate on the wave she was over now, since she feels bad that nopony would enjoy the beach along with her. The Mobians were here, and that should kind of relief her, but doesn't changes the fact that there's no pony here. Her lack of focus accidentally made her flip while surfing under a wave tunnel, and so, she lost her balance, also falling into the water with a splash. Soon, she she floated back up on her board and groaned annoyed, but then, she turned and saw somepony setting up beach stuff, making her gasp and smile with sparkling eyes. "Hey! Somepony came!" She said with joy, as she swam out of the water and trotted to the pony with a pant, but then she stopped when she saw who came. "Misty?" "Hey, Zipp!" Misty said with a smile, also waving her hoof, while Zipp walked up to her. "You were definitely right about one thing: It is much cooler at the beach than on Mane Street!" "Wow! I didn't think anypony even heard a word I said back there!" Zipp said with amusement. "Yeah, well, sometimes ponies get so caught up in their own ideas, they forget to listen," Misty admitted with a sheepish smile. Just then, Tails zoomed in. "Mist!" He said with a smile and sparkling eyes, as he went and hugged Misty tightly, and Misty chuckled at his Izzy-like attitude. "Now this is starting to look like an actual beach day!" "I couldn't miss it!" Misty replied cheerfully with a smile. "And also, I've never had a beach day before..." She confessed, standing up from her place. Both Zipp and Tails were surprised after hearing this. "Never had a beach day?" Zipp asked with an amusing smile. "Ever?!" Tails added, also with an amusing smile. "Mm-mm!" Misty denied with a smile. I mean, what else you expected? She lived with Opaline her whole life, it's normal she was never allowed to have fun and live a little. With this, Zipp and Tails looked at each other for a second, before smiling and getting to both of Misty's sides. "Well, then why didn't you told us, Mist?! We'll make sure your first day at the beach is unforgettable!" Tails declared confidently. "Uh, then what are we waiting for? Beach day number one comin' up!" Zipp declared as well with a smile, while Misty smiled back at them. Mane 6 and Team Sonic: ...'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party, oh yeah Later, Zipp and the Mobians started to show Misty about beach day. Misty brought out her phone and took a selfie with Zipp, who was holding a sunblock, while Zipp felt uneasy about being on the phone but smiled as she let Misty have her fun. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Then, Misty, Zipp and Tails made a sandcastle, but then a crap popped out of it, which startled the two ponies and the young fox, while Amy took picture of them. Soon, we see Amy posting pictures on Misty's Ponygram account. Of course, Misty herself requested to do so, while the unicorn mare herself tagged the Mobians that had Ponygram and Zipp. One of the pictures that Amy posted was the one she just took of the crab getting out and startling Misty, Zipp and Tails. Another picture had the crab being close to the camera, while their head was covered in a seaweed-like a hair, with Knuckles holding an actual seaweed behind with a smirk. The next and last picture posted so far showed Misty and Sonic having some coconut drinks, with a crab being on top of Sonic's head while wearing glasses and holding a tiny umbrella. Two of the ponies watching the pictures smiled with sparkling eyes... Seriously, all the background characters in this generation lack braincells until a main character does something... Party, party, party Back on the beach, Misty was laying on a towel with a blanket covering her as she sipped on her coconut, but then, a shadow drawn over her, so she looked up and saw Zipp holding two surfboards with an eager smile. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Party, party, party, oh yeah! Misty got on one of the boards, and now Zipp and her dived down together into the ocean, while the boards floated them back to the surface. Then, we see that Zipp's teaching Misty on how to surf, which she was having trouble at first as she tried to keep her balance, but then a big wave formed over them and splashed them down. Now we have more pictures taken by Amy: One showed Misty tripping over her board, and the next one showed her falling into the water next to Zipp. However, the last one showed Misty surfing perfectly along Zipp, while another picture is added with Tails and Knuckles surfing along, until Knuckles tripped and fell to the sand on the next few pictures. The last one showed Knuckles tuck on the sand, while everyone around was wheezing at the side, and Amy even got in the middle of the picture to show how much she was laughing as well. None of them knew, however, that the ponies looking at the pictures, including the rest of the Mane 6, were watching the set of pictures and smiling with Sparkling eyes, since they could clearly see how much fun Zipp, Misty and the Mobians were having down at the beach. Later on, Misty and Zipp decided to surf a bit more. Team Sonic, on the other hand, decided to resume their volleyball game, while Zipp and Misty resurfaced from the water. However, they soon noticed that some ponies arrived to the beach and were setting up their beach gear, taking pictures, playing ball or relaxing. Hitch was chasing Sparky, wearing a hat with and a flower necklace, while Sparky ran away from him with giggles, as Sunny put on some sunglasses from her basket with a smirk. Pipp and Jazz were building a big sandcastle together with Izzy and Rocky on the beach, Rocky being a mermaid-pony with a sand-tail on him, while Pipp took a picture of the sandcastle and Izzy looked through a basket. Sunny was laying with a crab on the sand, both wearing sunglasses, while Sunny was sipping on as smoothie, when a shadow got over her, so she took off her sunglasses to see Misty and Zipp in front of her. "Well, well, well!" Zipp said with a smile. "Would you look who decided to join us at the beach, Misty?" "Zipp! It's perfect down here!" Sunny said with a smile as she stood up. "Cool breeze, warm sunshine…" She continued, as she sipped on her smoothie again and sighed happily. "Somepony really should've suggested this ages ago," Pipp said with a smile, as she put the finishing touches on the sand castle. "I know, right?" Izzy agreed while wearing sunglasses, but also levitating the fan she and Pipp were fighting in Mane Melody to cool off as she walked away. "What a great idea!" "Izzy!" Pipp called out, as she flew to Izzy to get her fan back after seeing it. Zipp then started to hold her breath and started turning red in rage, while tea kettle whistling sounds could be heard since she was suggesting the idea all day to her friends, but she was ignored, feeling like exploding any second of their oblivion. "Zipp!" Tails came by, as he held her hoof and placed a hand on her back, also smiling at her. "Let's take a little breathing, okay honey?" Misty agreed and placed a hoof on Zipp's shoulder with a calming smile. "Deep breaths, Zipp. Deep breaths." Zipp calmed down and looked at Zipp and Misty with a smile. "Great idea." However, as the three of them ran towards the beach to have more fun on it, Sonic and Knuckles zoomed to Izzy and Pipp and separated them calmly. "Pipp, Pipp, Pipp, my sweet, angelic and beautiful Pipp..." Sonic started with a calmed smile. "You know that I love you more than anything in this dimension, right?" He asked her with a lovey-dovey smile. "Duh!" Pipp said with a smile and a little eye roll. "I don't think we could possibly love each other more than we already do!" "Yeah, well... I wanna apologize beforehand for the scene we're gonna make, you know?" Sonic told her with a cringed expression. "Apologize? Scene? What are you talking about, Blue Star?" Pipp asked confused. With that, Sonic's left eye twitched and he lost his cool. So, he took a deep breath and snapped. "Because you and I are gonna have a serious conversation about being so stubborn, young lady!" He shouted in anger, before he dragged her away... by dragging her from her right ear. Of course, Pipp was groaning constantly in pain and begging Sonic to stop or be more gentle, but he was beyond furious with her attitude, and he didn't gave a damn about everypony's stares across the beach. Yet, that was not the only concern going on, because Knuckles was carrying Izzy over his shoulder like a bag, also with a frown. "Knuckles! Please put me down! I don't wanna be scolded!" Izzy cried out like a filly. "Complain all that you want, Isabella! You ARE hearing me, and that's final!" Knuckles replied with anger. As both couples left the beach, with Pipp and Izzy crying over their boyfriends' attitudes, everypony else at the beach stared at them with pure shock and confusion. Sunny was among the confused ponies, and soon, Shadow arrived at her side while drinking over a coconut. The Ultimate Life-Form had red sandals, was still wearing his gloves with his inhibitor rings, red sunglasses, and also a red beach shirt with sunflowers around it. "Uh... How bad is that Sonic and Knuckles are both mad?" Sunny decided to ask, a bit concerned. As Shadow slurped some more from his coco, he then sighed relaxed. "I'll say they'll think it twice before making them mad again... Which could also be labelled as 'they're gonna have a hell of a time', and not in the good sense..." He explained with a bored expression. "Oh boy..." Sunny muttered with concern. None of the ponies nor Mobians in the beach knew, however, that they were being watched from a distance by a robotic figure: Metal Sonic. The robot watch them all with pure hate and anger, before nodding at himself and then fly away at top speed. THE END...? Author's Note Are Sonic and Knuckles overreacting in this episode? NOPE! Izzy and Pipp deserve that scolding, and you guys know it! I don't care if people thinks Sonic and Knuckles shouldn't be doing this on public, that's what they deserve and I won't hear anyone telling me otherwise! Okay, maybe I'm getting too ahead of myself here... The point is that Zipp didn't deserved to hear that last line, and even though I did wanted to put an apology, I think Pipp and Izzy getting scolded is a satisfying result as a whole. Well, all the characters in this episode but Zipp and Misty (and the Mobians in this version, as you already saw) are stupid in general, let's not lie to ourselves here... Anyways. Next episode, Metal Sonic makes a move! See ya! P.S: As stated before in this blog post, the episode has been released earlier. Expect something similar for the next episode. 65. Who Framed Sonic The Hedgehog?It was nighttime in Maretime Bay, when suddenly a figure boosted through the sky. This same figure moved way too fast for the eye to even notice it. In fact, this figure moved across Maretime Bay and caused a lot of chaos: It entered Mane Melody and left the place like a disaster by using Pipp's merch to paint in the walls and windows of the salon. Then, the figure boosted to Posey's garden and destroyed it. Now, they moved behind the Sheriff Station and painted a graffiti in the walls that had Hitch's face with devil horns and sharp teeth, as well as Sparky at the side with his tongue out and eyes turned into an X. Now, the figure went and placed old anti-unicorn and pegasi posters across all the building in Maretime Bay. And finally, they went to Electronic Tails' ceiling and painted over the Tornado IV, also leaving a mark of claws over it. Satisfied with the result, the figure boosted away, not noticing that they dropped a small torn that had Eggman's logo on it. The next morning, the Mane 6 sins Hitch and Team Sonic were having breakfast. However, as they enjoyed themselves, the doors bursted open, and Hitch entered with a panicked expression. "GUYS! IS A DISASTER! AN UTTER, UTTER DISASTER!" He exclaimed, as he grabbed Knuckles and shook him violently. "Whoa, there, Sheriff!" Sonic said, as he pushed Hitch away from Knuckles. "What's the matter? Why are you so urged?" "Yeah, I've never seen you this panicked before," Sunny pointed out. "Because I just saw something that makes me wanna scream so loudly!" Hitch said with wide and panicked eyes. "Come see it for yourselves!" After saying that, he simply ran away from the Brighthouse, leaving everyone else confused. "Eh, better get this over with before our breakfast gets cold," Knuckles said with a bored expression, as he boosted towards Maretime Bay. "Ugh! This better be worth our time..." Pipp deadpanned, as she and everyone else left the Brighthouse to head towards Maretime Bay and see what is Hitch panicking about. Yeah, well, it was worth their time. The whole group was completely shocked at the sight, since they all had their jaws dropped and their eyes where wide, because they saw that Maretime Bay was made a disaster: Beauty products spread around, chomped flowers everywhere, graffiti in thousands of walls... This was like what Sneaksy did one time, but instead of being a good-intended cause, it was clear that was meant to make mad everyone in Maretime Bay... and it did. All the ponies across town where grossed out at the state their beautiful town was right now, and even Izzy saw all of this as a direct attack to everything she loved, because this was not art: It was vandalism, which meant that someone wants to see Maretime Bay in this state. "What in the name of Chaos happened here?!" Sonic asked confused. "I-I don't know!" Hitch exclaimed with panic. "I just woke up to make my usual rounds, and then I found the town like this!" "This is... This is horrible..." Sunny said with concern, looking at her home all messed up. Soon, Omega passed by with a vacuum cleaner attached to his back, as he cleaned up the ground and approached the group, cleaning the zone of the ground that they were standing over. "This had to happen last night, no doubt... But who could have done it?" Zipp questioned with concern, also rubbing her chin. "It couldn't had been Sneaksy," Pipp pointed out out. "At least what she did added some beauty to the bay, even though it made Mom take away your wall..." She added with a sheepish smile while looking at Hitch. "I'm aware Sneaksy didn't do any of this!" Hitch confessed. "Like you said, she did what she did out of love for art! It was still illegal, and I'm still mad for my wall, but I know for sure that we're in front of someone else... Someone who doesn't appreciates art." "So this is a new mystery, huh?" Tails muttered with a smirk, as he looked at Zipp on his side. After hearing this, Zipp's eyes widened, before she smirked and putted her Z-Googles on. "Oh, yeah! Detective time!" She cheered, making a loop in the air and then flying away, while Tails decided to follow her around. "While the lovebirds are investigating, I say we should all give a hand on cleaning this place..." Sonic, said, taking out a green hat with a mop and broom symbol and putting it over, before boosting away, grab a brush, and start to clean up the ground. "I agree! I mean, it's gonna take a while, and we are not compromising the crime scene that much, are we?" Sunny pointed out with a smile. The rest of the group nodded with smiles in agreement, except for Knuckles. "But... But our breakfast!" Knuckles said with wide eyes, but he got shut up when Amy placed a hat like Sonic's over his head. "We have things to do, Knucklehead..." Amy said with a bored expression, while Knuckles deadpanned at her. In the skies, Zipp and Tails were flying side to side with their advanced googles. They both scanned the whole bay to get a better picture on how bad the situation was, and it was definitely a really worrying one, because everything in the town was messed up by the mysterious bandit. "Geez... Whoever did all of this has something against Maretime Bay..." Zipp said with concern, removing her Z-Googles. "You're telling me..." Tails said with concern, as he rubbed his chin. "Something smells fishy, though... I mean, considering how big this disaster is, wouldn't our mysterious bandit have lasted the whole night and part of our day doing what they did?" Zipp though on his words for a moment, and she had to admit that he had a good point. "You might be into something, babe... Let's go slowly, though. First, we gotta check for clues down there!" Tails nodded after hearing this, and so, they both boosted towards the ground again. There, they started to look after all kinds of clues: They checked the trials of beauty products used on the ground, at least after hearing Pipp screaming in panic because of all her products gone. Then, they checked all the graffitis, and for some reason, they could already tell that something was off with them, because every graffiti had a Mane 6 or a member from Team Sonic and/or Team Dark... except for Sonic. "Okay... That's weird..." Tails muttered, and Zipp nodded in agreement. After that, they went over to Electronic Tails' ceiling, where Tails had to resist the urge of screaming in panic and horror at the sight of the Tornado IV all messed up. However, as Tails tried not to scream, Zipp noticed that the plane had a big claws mark, which already made clear that whoever did all of this had claws, so that left everypony out... But that's the thing. Every pony isn't a suspect anymore. "This might be a crucial clue, Tails..." Zipp said, and even though looking at his plane with a claw mark was still making him paranoid, he had to admit that it could be an important clue, so he took a picture of the claws mark. Suddenly, though, their phones buzzed off, so they looked at each other confused, before taking out their phones and see a message from Hitch in the group chat, asking everyone to go to the Sheriff Station as soon as possible. "Ugh... This better be good, Hitch..." Zipp muttered with a slight frown. "Hey, maybe he found a clue!" Tails cheered her up, and Zipp smirked at him. So, the two of them decided to leave and go to the Sheriff Station, not noticing that they left the torn with Eggman's logo behind. Once everyone arrived to the Sheriff Station, the all gathered around Knuckles. "I was checking the security cameras across the town to see if they caught anything regardless or mysterious bandit..." Knuckles explained. "This is what I found..." Soon, the echidna played the recordings from last night, and each camera seemed to be fine at first... But then, one second passes on each camera and everything's made a mess, like if it just popped up out of nowhere. "What?!" Zipp said with wide eyes. "One second is all fine, and then it's messed up?" Pipp questioned. "That doesn't makes any sense..." "Oh, but that's not all what I found..." Knuckles replied with a frown. Then, he replayed the video, but this time in the maximum slow motion capacity the security cameras allowed... And the content shocked everyone: Instead of just seconds passing between the normal picture and the disaster, now there was a blue blur passing in front of the normal video, moving to the disaster that it made. Of course, everyone gasped in horror after seeing this, except for Sonic, who had wide and open eyes after seeing that video, while everyone suddenly turned to him, with Knuckles frowning and raising an eyebrow. "Anything you wanna share with the class, Hedgehog?" The echidna asked in anger. "Hey, come on now! Don't look at me! I didn't did anything!" Sonic said with raised hands. "I spent the whole night sleeping in my bed!" "Uh... Don't you constantly say that, uh, that you're the fastest thing alive?" Sunny pointed out with a sheepish smile, also sweating nervously. "Yes, and yet I never had a reason to show it off unless it's necessary?" Sonic replied with a bored expression. "Besides, I'm constantly saying that I love this place! Why would I suddenly change my mind and make all of this?!" "Didn't you said something about having dark thoughts sometimes?" Misty pointed out with concern. "Is one thing to think, I would never do it!" Sonic defended himself. "Look, Sonic... Just tell us you alibi. Maybe this is just a big misunderstood," Hitch pointed out with a smile. "Like I said, I slept the whole night in my bed on the Crystal Brighthouse!" Sonic said. "Well, I did went to the bathroom at some point, though..." However, after he said that, everyone else looked at him with concern, and Pipp even covered her mouth with her hooves, as she started to tear up. "What?" Sonic asked confused, but then his eyes widened when he realized what he said, and so, he deadpanned. "Ah crap..." Still in the exact same position, Sonic's background changed to the cell in the Station. Then, Hitch closed the cell with the bars and looked concerned at Sonic. "Sorry, Sonic, but I'm afraid I have to arrest you until we have solid proves that you're innocent." Sonic let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes with a hand. "Eh, it's fine, Sheriff... I guess this is what happens when you spent all the time saying 'Gotta Go Fast!' and then expect to just move on that easily..." "B-But this must be a mistake!" Amy said. "Sonic would seriously never do any of this!" "Well, even if it is a mistake, until proven otherwise, I must follow the protocols," Hitch explained with concern. "Sonic is a prime suspect, so he has to stay on the cell until someone can prove his innocence." "But Hitch... Can't you make an exception?" Sunny asked with a sad expression, low ears and puppy eyes. "Don't even try it, Sunny," Hitch said with a bored expression, moving Sunny's face away. "The law is the law, and no one is above the law. Not even my friends." "You guys are worrying too much for me," Sonic said with a smirk. "I'll be fine! Besides, this isn't the first time I'm framed for something I didn't made, remember? If you don't trust my word, ask Shadow!" "Shadow?" Zipp questioned. "What would Shadow had to do with any of this?" However, Tails' eyes widened after he realized what Sonic meant. "Shadow framed Sonic and he was blamed..." "What?!" Sunny screamed with a slight frown. "What are you baffling about?!" "When we first met Shadow, the government confused him with Sonic!" Tails explained with a frown. "Shadow always got away while Sonic was encaged in a cell!" "I don't think Shadow has anything to do, though..." Sonic said. "Oh, thank hoofness..." Sunny said with a relieved sigh. "Why not?" Pipp asked. "Shadow is the Black Blur, guys. I'm the Blue Blur!" Sonic pointed out. "Whoever's trying to frame me, they know this, because what we see in that video is––" "A Blue Blur!" Zipp said with wide eyes, and then gasped. "So our culprit has claws, and can move as fast as Sonic, leaving behind a blue trial as well..." she listed out. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Knuckles interrupted. "How do you know that the culprit has claws?" "While searching for clues, we found this on the Tornado IV," Tails replied, showing Knuckles the picture of the claws mark. "The rest of the plane had graffitis over it, meaning that whoever's behind this also vandalized the plane..." Zipp pointed out with concern. "Hmm... Sonic doesn't has claws..." Knuckles pointed out. "It might be a clue that proves your innocence, Hedgehog." "But I know for a fact that it isn't enough to prove it," Sonic deadpanned. "Well... It isn't enough to prove Sonic's innocence..." Zipp confessed. "But it is enough to narrow down the culprit!" "Are you thinking it is who I think it is?" Tails said with a mocking smirk. "Oh, you know it!" Zipp said with a mocking smirk, nuzzling her face on his neck. "But to prove our theory, we're gonna need everypony's help!" She declared, and their friends cheered in agreement. "Uh, except you, Sonic. You have to stay in the cell for now..." "Eh, it's fine," Sonic assured with a smile. "I'm not gonna be relevant until the next 2 episodes, anyways." "Alright, everypony!" Zipp declared confidently. "Here's the plan: First, we need someone to watch over Sonic the whole night." "I can do it!" Knuckles stated with a smirk. "I've guarded over the Master Emerald for years! I'm made for this stuff!" He assured, punching his fists together. "While you watch over Sonic, our culprit might come back and make chaos across Maretime Bay again..." Tails pointed out. "We'll let them do it again!" "What?!" Sunny exclaimed in panic. "Tails, are you nuts?! We can't let them mess up our home again!" "Trust me! We need this to happen again!" Tails stated. "Because if we're not calculating bad, then our mysterious bandit might go to wither Zephyr Heights and Bridlewood to cause some chaos as well!" "If he does so, with Sonic being in the cell the whole night, and with Knuckles guarding over him..." Zipp continued. "Sonic would had a trusty alibi! And he'll be proven innocent!" Pipp said happily with sparkling eyes. "Well, that plan sounds great and all, but aren't you guys forgetting that we still need to capture the culprit?" Sonic pointed out from the cell with a bored expression. "One step at a time, Sonic!" Tails said with a confident smirk. "First, let's see if our culprit does show up and makes a disaster to frame Sonic even more!" "Okay, but can we at least go and clean the Bay now?" Rouge voice's asked suddenly, and so, everyone turned to see Team Dark on the entrance, standing there with cleaning materials, clothes and hats. "I don't know what Sonic did this time that made him end on that cell, but it wasn't me," Shadow said with a deadpan. "Yeah, we already figured that out" Knuckles replied with a bored expression. At night, after everypony spent the whole day cleaning Maretime Bay, they all went to bed. Inside the Sheriff Station, Knuckles was watching over Sonic's cage with his eyes wide open. Since he was used to spent nights awake by guarding the Master Emerald, he was perfect for the job of watching over Sonic's cage as he slept peacefully on it, probably because he's at peace since he's innocent. Suddenly, weird sounds were heard from outside, and even though Knuckles wanted to go and check, he had to stick to the plan and watch after Sonic so the alibi could be valid. The next day, everypony woke up and witnessed Maretime Bay made a mess again. This time around, it was broadcasted in the news, and everyone in the Crystal Brighthouse sins Sonic and Knuckles were watching Skye and Dazzle spreading the news across Equestria. "This just in!" Dazzle said with a worried look. "This morning, Maretime Bay has started the day with a chaotic and massive chaos of vandalism across the town!" "But not only that: Zephyr Heights has suffered the same treatment!" Skye added with a slight frown. "There's drawings making fun of Princesses Zipp and Pipp all around the city, as well as drawings from Queen Haven!" Everyone watching this in the Brighthouse had panicked looks at the news. "This is getting bad!" Sunny said with concern. "Whoever's framing Sonic is going too far! They must really hate him!" "But why my Blue Star of all the ponies?!" Pipp said with sadness, as she started to tear up. "We have an official declare from Queen haven regarding our mysterious culprit!" Dazzle stated. Soon, the image on the TV switched to show Queen Haven over a stand with many microphones, as she was frowning in anger at the cameras recording the whole thing. "We still have to find whoever is behind this atrocious attacks against our city, against myself, and against my precious daughters!" Haven stated with a frown. "But once we do so, they'll be brought to justice and will face with my worse. Punishment. EVER!" That statement made both Amy and Pipp faint, with Rouge catching Amy and Izzy catching Pipp, while they made some wind to the poor girls to make them feel as better as they could. "This is worse than bad at this point..." Tails muttered with concern and an anxious look. Suddenly, Knuckles boosted inside the Brighthouse, holding Sonic with a pair of handcuffs. "GUYS, I HAVE GREAT NEWS!" Knuckles exclaimed with a creepy smile and wide eyes, while his quills were a mess. "He didn't slept all night, hence why he looks... like this..." Sonic explained with a bored expression. "And thanks to MY lack of sleep, I can proudly say it!" Knuckles said with a twitchy eye, before literally ripping apart the handcuffs from Sonic, leaving him free. "He slept the entire night while the culprit made a mess in Maretime Bay! HE'S INNOCENT!" After that, he collapsed in the floor and fell asleep, even snoring loudly, while everyone else but Izzy deadpanned at him. "Aww, he had a rough night!" Izzy said with sparkling eyes and a cute smile, levitating the echidna and kissing him on his cheek for good night, before resting him over a couch in the living room, even placing a blanket over him. "Yeah..." Sonic said, before literally taking out some handcuffs from his quills and put them over his hands again. "Even if I have an alibi now, I'm aware you guys still need to investigate more. You can always check the camera of the Station, anyways." "We would like to, but we don't have time!" Zipp stated. "We have to get to Zephyr Heights and check for the clues we know we're gonna find before Mom even suspects that Sonic might have something to do with this!" "Right! We need that evidence!" Tails agreed, before taking out a Warp Ring and launch it. The Warp Ring extended and opened a portal to Zephyr Heights, with the couple traversing it and quickly flying all across the city, taking pictures like maniacs in order to get the evidence they need. "Wow... And I thought I was fast when desperate..." Sonic said with a raised eyebrow at the scene. "I'll argue you can be worse sometimes..." Shadow mocked up, and Sonic rolled his eyes annoyed. Just then, Zipp and Tails came back after boosting like maniacs across Zephyr Heights, and so, they were panting exhausted because of that, but they were also smiling, probably meaning that they found what they were looking for. "So? How did it go?" Pipp decided to ask. "We... found... what we needed..." Zipp replied, also wiping some sweat from her face. "And it seems... that our guess on the real culprit... is right!" Tails added, also wiping some sweat. "Well, you two better get started on talking, because I still don't get who the heck is blaming me!" Sonic complained. "Actually, the answer is so painfully obvious that we almost feel dumb for not seeing it before!" Zipp said. After that, she quickly brought her board where she places all her theories down whenever she's working on a mystery, and after placing everything in order, connecting the dots, and explain the whole investigation to the rest, both Zipp and tails finished by placing the picture of the culprit in the middle of the board, making the rest but Team Dark gasp, while Shadow, Rouge and Omega's eyes widened in shock. As if that wasn't enough, Tails showed another piece of evidence he found while cleaning his Tornado IV: A small torn with Eggman's logo on it. "Now you see why we say is so obvious that we feel dumb for not seeing it before?" Tails questioned. "Gosh, you've got to be kidding..." Shadow said with a frown. "Aw, come on!" Amy groaned. "Seriously?" Sunny deadpanned. "Yeah, it is painfully obvious..." Misty deadpanned as well. "That son of his Egg father!" Sonic exclaimed in rage, as his electrical powers showed up. "Okay, it is clear that Sonic is innocent!" Hitch said, as he went over and free'd Sonic from the handcuffs, since it was Hitch himself who gave them to Sonic long ago. "But how are going to capture the real culprit?" "By making a trap!" Zipp and Tails stated in unison. "But first, we're gonna need everypony's help cleaning Maretime Bay!" "So the culprit can show up and make a mess––" Sunny was about to question, but then her eyes widened when she understood the idea. "Oh! That's a genius idea, guys!" "Um, I'm kinda lost..." Hitch said. "Why do we need the bay clean again?" "Because Maretime Bay is the trap!" Sunny replied with a determinate look. The rest of the day, everyone spent cleaning up Maretime Bay and Zephyr Heights. Zipp decided to explain the whole situation to her Mom before things could get out of hand: Sonic's arrest, Zipp and Tails looking for clues, the coupled finding out the real culprit, and the plan to capture him. Of course, Haven not only understood the whole situation, but she also decided to bring some backup by having some royal guards travel back with them and help out in the plan on everything they could. While Zipp seemed hesitant at first, Tails encouraged her to accept the offer, so she did. And now that nighttime came back to Maretime Bay, it was time to put the plan in action and wait for the culprit to appear. However, the wait was long, because the culprit didn't appeared until it was almost midnight, but the ones pulling the plan were all thankfully awake. So, once the culprit boosted at top speed and headed towards Mane Melody to do the same they always do to mess up the town, a light illuminated right in front of the entrance, showing that Pipp, Amy and Rouge were waiting there with smirks. Noticing this, the figure stopped moving and flew to another direction, the Sheriff Station. But of course, once the figure was close, another light illuminated, this time showing Izzy, Hitch, Sparky and Knuckles, all frowning at the figure, while Knuckles had his powers turned on. Soon, the figure took another turn and tried to run to Electronic Tails, but a light illuminated the workshop again and showed up Tails, Sunny, Misty and Zipp, standing in front of the workshop. Noticing this, the figure took another turn and head towards Canterlove Studios, now trying to fully escape since their plan was ruined, but another light illuminated and showed Shadow and Omega, both waiting for the figure to approach if they even dared. The figure attempted to escape once more, but this time, a light illuminated over them and finally revealed their true identity. Just like Zipp and Tails said, it was painfully obvious: The culprit could fly, move as fast as Sonic, also be a blue blur, they had claws, and they even dropped a small torn with Eggman's logo after damaging the Tornado IV and then boost away from the crime scene. The culprit was none other than Metal Sonic, and the lights illuminating over him as he attempted to escape belonged to the pegasi guards that Queen Haven sent to help her daughter capture Metal Sonic. Of course, Metal Sonic growled in anger and tried to move away once again, but just when he was about to move, he literally moved aside in one last desperate second, because Sonic came from behind and tried to aim a punch, which made Metal Sonic frown in anger and slid in the ground, now facing Sonic with rage. "So, you've been making chaos across the bay and trying to blame me, huh?" Sonic said with a smirk, also crossing his arms. "I'm honestly not surprised. We help you fix the mess your daddy did with the Metal Virus, and then you decide to mess up my life... You're so predictable..." To this, Metal Sonic clenched his fists, and his left eye showed some sparkles, probably meaning it was twitching. "It doesn't matter now, though. Everyone knows that you're the culprit, and my name is clean!" Sonic said with confident smirk, before starting to tap a foot on the finger while rubbing his nose. "So now we can get down to the real fight! The last Sonic standing will be the winner!" Metal Sonic felt something strange after hearing this, but it was probably happiness. So, he decided to imitate Sonic's moves by also tapping a foot on the ground and rub his nose. He also made a strange noise, but Sonic did understood him. "What? This world isn't big enough for both of us and one of us has to go?" Sonic translated with a frown and his arms crossed, while Metal Sonic also crossed his arms and nodded at Sonic's question. "Well, I agree!" After saying this, Sonic ran on his place and made the shape of an 8 with his feet, while Metal Sonic charged up his rockets, and so, they both boosted against each other. Sonic ended up jumping over Metal, and as time went in slow motion, Metal Sonic slowly looked upwards confused, while Sonic had his arms behind his back and made the peace sign with a mocking smirk. Then, once time went normal again, Sonic landed in the ground and boosted towards Canterlove's factory ceiling. There, Metal Sonic arrived and aimed a punch at Sonic, but the hedgehog smirked confidently and moved aside, which made metal Sonic to slam his fist against a metallic tube. With that, Sonic showed off an eye and pulled out his tongue mockingly, before running away towards a grass field, while Metal Sonic boosted behind to chase him down. They constantly collided against each other in several occasions, until they both got tired of games and went on their separate ways at some point. Then, they both started to run at top speed towards each other, something that everyone else noticed, so they panicked. "EVERYPONY, COVER YOURSELVES!" Hitch shouted, while all the ones watching hid inside buildings and behind bushes, while metal Sonic and Sonic finally collided against each other's heads. This sent a massive and electrical wave all across Maretime Bay, which made all the lights flicker a bit, while the ones covering down protected each other as much as they could, with Hitch protecting Sparky and Sunny; Knuckles covering Izzy and Amy; Tails looking after Zipp and Pipp; and Omega protecting Misty, Shadow and Rouge. Meanwhile, Sonic and Metal Sonic were fighting to push the other one just with their heads, as Sonic kept moving his feet like and 8 at top speed, while Metal Sonic used his rockets. "Heh... You might now everything I'm going to do..." Sonic started to mock up with a smirk, before frowning in rage. "But that's not going to help you since I know everything you're going to do! STRANGE, isn't it?!" 'Growling' in anger, Metal Sonic charged up a Spindash, and so, Sonic decided to do the same, before they both started to jump across all Maretime bay like if they were pinballs, while they did managed to encounter each other in some occasions, but that only made them to keep jumping across the town, at least until Metal Sonic uncurled and then extended his hands. With this, he managed to stop Sonic, as he kept Spindashing against the robot, but Metal refused to loose, so he punched Sonic out of his Spindash and them kick him on his chest, making him roll int he ground and grunt in pain. "Sonic!" Pipp exclaimed in panic after she noticed this. Of course, she tried to go and help him, but Amy stopped her from doing so and shook her head with denial, looking back at the fight with a confident smirk, while Pipp looked in concern. Meanwhile, Sonic stood up and chuckled a bit, while Metal Sonic boosted towards him with a raised punch, but this made Sonic smirk. And so, the Blue Blur not only moved aside, but also jumped in the air and made a Wild Rush, kicking Metal Sonic right on his back and burring him in the ground. Of course, this was painful enough for the robot... But Sonic wasn't done yet. Soon, Sonic curled into a ball and jumped in the air, making a Homing Shot and launching all the spheres to Metal Sonic, who's face got buried into the ground again. Next, Sonic made a cross Slash and completely damaged Metal Sonic, but the robot still managed to stand up and look over at Sonic with hate and anger, although his body was sparkling, and his eyes were flickering, still not deciding on either shut down already, or if keep fighting until the end. "...You know, Metal?" Sonic called out with a sympathetic expression. "I know for a fact that you're one of Eggman's best creations... I just wished we didn't shared the same name, because doing this would be a lot easier..." After saying this, Sonic got down to his hands and knees, getting ready to run straight at his target. After a few seconds, Sonic sighed sadly, before his eyes turned blue and his body let go electricity. And then, he launched himself against the robot, making a direct hit. He kept doing this process over and over, and getting faster and faster from every single hit until Sonic stopped and skid across the ground on his starting position, leaving the machine at an even worse state than it initially was. And yet, Metal Sonic was stubborn and refused to be defeated. Sonic sighed again after seeing this, and so, he pressed a button on his watch and used his electrical powers to create a sword, then boosted to Metal Sonic and traversed the robot with it. Of course, Metal Sonic's eyes widened anxiously, and he could feel all his systems slowly turning off, while Sonic retired the sword from his chest, as Metal stepped back and blinked a few times, before his eyes flickered even more than before, and he even grabbed his chest in pain. However, as he tried to stay up and looked upwards, Sonic placed his fingers over Metal's head like a gun, which made the robot feel more anxious. "...Well... Can't say I'm surprised with the result..." Sonic said, before smirking mockingly. "Once again, I've proven to be the superior Sonic!" He stated, before 'pulling the trigger' and let out a spark of electricity. This spark touched Metal Sonic, and once it did so, the robot fell on his back and looked at the night sky with wide eyes, before it slowly turned off, meaning that he lost the fight... as always. Sonic looked down at Metal Sonic with shame, while everyone else approached and circled the robot's corpse. "So... what do we do with it, now?" Zipp asked. "Keeping it is not an option," Tails stated. "Even if I could re-use some parts, you never know with Eggman. Between throw him to the ocean or burn the body." "What?!" Izzy exclaimed with wide eyes. "Are you completely nuts?! I cannot even describe how many things I can Unicycle with––" "NO!" Knuckles stepped in and interrupted her. "Sorry sweetie, but I'm with Tails on this one. Metal Sonic is too dangerous, and we are NOT keeping him around. Not even as a Unicycle spare parts bot!" "Aww, come on! Just a tiny piece?" Izzy requested with sad puppy eyes. "No, Izzy. This one isn't negotiable," Sonic said with a bored expression, before grabbing Metal Sonic's body and then launch him to the ocean. There, Metal's body crashed against a rock, and then it fell and drowned in the ocean, a small spectacle that Sonic watched with a sad expression, because he believed that Metal could be so much more, but the robot choose his path. "...So long, Metal..." Sonic said, even making a small salute. So, with a sigh, Sonic turned around and went back with his friends... On the hidden lab, Eggman and Sage saw the whole thing, even Metal's body being drowned. Of course, Sage hated to see her 'brother' being treated the way he was during this whole fight, while Eggman frowned and felt disappointed at another failure from Metal Sonic. "...Father?" Sage called out concerned. "Yes?" Eggman replied. "...Is... Is it really necessary to sent the badniks to sacrifice like brother did all the time?" Sage asked with concern. Of course, this kind of question took Eggman out of guard. He was still new at parenting, and even if Misty was kind of daughter for him, he never really thought about fully being a dad until now. So, Eggman sighed and looked at Sage. "...If we want the Eggman Empire to become an actual thing... I'm afraid we must make that sacrifice, my daughter... Do you understand?" Sage didn't liked to hear this, but... she really wanted to help her father to make his dream a reality. So, this time she only limited herself to nod, even though she had very conflicted feelings about what happened to Metal Sonic... THE END...? Author's Note When I said "enjoy him while he lasts", I'd never said he'll last long. To be honest, after the Metal Virus thing, I had no idea on what to do with Metal Sonic anymore, so this episode is unfortunately just an excuse to kick him out and move on. Yes, I say "unfortunately" because I know Metal Sonic is a favorite, and I know he has big potential... A potential I cannot explode, so I hope you guys understand that this is not mean-intended. Also, yes, I placed a reference to the Sonic OVA because I really like that thing, and a story that has Metal Sonic but no Ova references does not work for me. Anyways. I still hope that you guys liked this episode regardless, and I'm really sorry if I disappointed you with how Metal Sonic was treated, but I seriously have no idea on how to use him anymore... And once again, as I stated on this blog post, the episode has been released later than usual. Thankfuly, we're back to the usual schedule on January 2nd! With this chapter done, I must go and wish you all a Happy New Year. See ya on 2024! 66. Scents of AdventureIn Mane Melody, a crowd of ponies surround the salon's stage. The Mane 6 were on stage, besides a product covered by a small tarp, and the Mobians were just a part of the crowd today, although Omega had to move to the left in order to not block everypony's sight. "Welcome, everypony, to the launch of my all-new, all-natural scent!" Pipp announced, as she removed the tarp to reveal five new scent products, which the crowd looked in awe. "It's delicate!" She smirked, spraying out a green essence from the product. But then, the ground started to rumble all of a sudden, and everyone looked around confused, while Pipp was feeling nervous, but still decided to keep going. "Uhhh... it's elegant!" Pipp said nervously, spraying the scent again, but this time, the ground rumbled stronger, and the balloons decorating around flew away, as well as the background wall, while the ponies looked around nervously. "The hell is going on?!" Sonic said confused, as he looked at Tails. "Don't look at me! I'm as confused as you are!" Tails complained, trying not to loose his balance. "It's... magnifique!" Pipp said nervously, spraying more scent. However, the rumbling stopped at last, then everyone turned and saw a bunch of critters at the salon's front door, leaving them confused. "Huh?" Pipp exclaimed confused. "Crap, I left the door open..." Knuckles deadpanned, and the Mobians around deadpanned at him as well, while Amy facepalmed and shook her head in disbelief. The critters sniffed the scent that Pipp sprayed, and then they started chittering excitedly before rushing to the stage. The crowd moved out of the way, while the critters rushed to the Mane 6, with raccoonicorn pouncing on Pipp and her products as they fell to the floor. The bottles fell, and some of them were sprayed by the critters, who sniffed the scent happily, and a raccoonicorn rolled around the floor of a cracked bottle. The crowd sniffed the scent in the air, but then they cringed in disgust, and Posey gave Pipp a look. "Really?! This perfume launch stinks!" She called out, before the whole crowd quickly exited the salon to get away from the smell and the critters. Pipp crunched down while covering her head from the critters, before they were suddenly levitated off the ground by Izzy and Misty, both using their magic and levitating the critters out the door that they quickly closed. "Hitch, can you please keep your damn critters under control?" Amy asked him with a bored expression. "I know I wasn't there when it happened, but I know that this isn't the first time they do something like this!" "I've tried to resonate with them!" Hitch confessed with concern. "But they won't listen that easily..." Then, Sunny picked up one of the remaining bottles. "That's weird... Well, this perfume was a hit, all right!" She then sniffed the bottle but cringed a bit before smiling sheepishly. "With every critter. Wonder why..." "Come on, now... It can't be that bad!" Sonic said, as he grabbed the bottle from Sunny's hoof and then sniffed it. One frame later, he was on the 'Family Guy' death pose, with Knuckles pushing a stick on him with a bored expression. "He dead..." Knuckles said with no emotion. "And here I thought that Pipp was the only dramatic one..." Tails muttered, while Amy facepalmed again, this time with both hands. Soon, Shadow grabbed the bottle and sniffed too, but he had to resist the urge to poke as his eyes suddenly widened, and he even placed a fist on his mouth. "Damn... This thing literally smells like garbage..." "What?!" Pipp asked confused, shocked and offended. She soon snatched the bottle from Shadow's hand and sniffed it a swell, but that that made her want to poke too, and that was precisely the problem that made her panic. "But how did this happened?! I didn't put anything that smells so bad while making it!" Pipp pointed out with concern. Sonic coughed and started to stand up again, as he sighed in relief once he got the smell out of his system. "I don't know what happened, Little Pipp... But that thing... STINKS!" He groaned, even pulling out his tongue for a moment. Yeah, that made Knuckles hit him on the head, and Sonic groaned, while Knuckles frowned at him and shook his head disappointed. "Well, something had to happen to the mix when making it..." Rouge pointed out with a slight frown. "What happened, though?" Suddenly, Izzy laughed nervously, and the rest turned to her. "Oh, well! I guess it's always just gonna be a mystery!" She said nervously while sweating a bit. Knuckles deadpanned and took a deep breath, then placed his palms together and walked up to Izzy. "Izzy, Izzy, Izzy... My beautiful, wonderful, divine, Isabella Moonbow..." Knuckles said with a smile as he petted his girlfriend's mane with a hand and a smile... That suddenly turned into a bored expression. "What did you do this time?" Izzy chuckled sheepishly and began to sweat even more. Earlier, Izzy was on Pipp's supply closet. The problem is that she was listening to some music in her headphones and danced around, but at some point, she twirled around and kick a trash can, which flew off and conveniently landed on the substance that Pipp made as a perfume. The color from the substance changed from pink to green in a matter of seconds, and as Izzy approached and looked down at what she did, she cringed disgusted, before smiling nervously. "Well…" Izzy said with a nervous chuckle, covering her mouth with a hoof. Izzy laughed nervously after telling what happened. Her friends looked at her in shock, while Zipp and Knuckles glared at them with anger, and Sonic deadpanned. "You did what?!" Misty asked in shock. "Isabella!" Knuckles scolded with a frown. "You cannot keep doing this, young lady!" "Two seasons, a trip to Alaska, a journey to a human world, and 23 chapters... Yet you didn't learned anything, did you?!" Sonic asked Izzy with anger as well, also with a twitchy eye. "Nooooo!" Pipp cried out dramatically, and she was about to faint until Sonic caught her on his arms. "See what you've done now?!" Sonic said with anger. "Great. Now there's two of them..." Shadow deadpanned and rolled his eyes annoyed with his arms crossed. "I'm so sorry, Pipp!" Izzy said with guilt, also looking around nervously. "B-B-But don't worry! We can fix this!" She stated with a wide smile, getting close to Pipp's face. Pipp, however, felt incredibly nervous when Izzy suggested to help, because she knows it can either end surprisingly well, or expectably wrong. Sonic rolled his eyes and sighed, before turning to Knuckles with a bored expression. "I know, I know..." Knuckles rolled his eyes once he noticed Sonic's look. "We'll go, too... Is not like we have something better to do, anyways..." "Even if we had, we're still going!" Sonic said with a deadpan, as he began to walk to the exit, still with Pipp on his arms. Later, the two couples arrived to Bridlewood. Of course, Izzy brought the others here to look after a flower that could replace the smell she messed with, and while Knuckles and Pipp kind of trust her because she showed that the Bridlewood Spog was effective, Sonic was regretting having tagging along. It was his idea, anyways, so if he expected to escape this one, he literally cursed himself without knowing it. "Bridlewood is full of amazing, sweet-smelling blooms!" Izzy said, as she held up a red flower in front of her friends and boyfriend, as they sniffed it, before the flower burst out some air, which made them cringe back, before continue to follow Izzy. "We'll find you one just right for your next perfume, Pipp!" Pipp highly doubt that. "Yeah, as if we're just going to stumble across a flower never before discovered by––" She was cut off when she tripped, falling on a bush with a thud. Sonic and Knuckles popped their heads from the bush, the former looking down in panic. "Pipp?!" Pipp got her head out of the bush and coughed up some leaves with a deadpan, before she saw something that made her smile with sparkling eyes. "Oh, my glitter!" She cheered, and soon, Sonic, Knuckles and Izzy popped their heads as well. They were seeing a massive hill filled with blue colored flowers, as the area sparkled and shimmered around. "Huh... And here I thought that this place couldn't surprise me more..." Sonic muttered, although with an amused smile, as he walked around the place without ripping off any flower. "I'm with Sonic on this one..." Knuckles confessed, not ripping any flower off either. "What are these, Iz?" "I don't know!" Izzy confessed with a smile. "I've never seen flowers like these before. So awesome!" Pipp went close to a flower and sniffed it. "Oh! Smells of strawberry ripple smoothie! And a million hooftaps!" She called out with a wide smile and heart-shaped eyes. Sonic sniffed one as well and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure, Pipp? It smells to me like Chili Dogs... and your perfume..." Knuckles did the same, and he also raised an eyebrow. "Well, I smell grapes and that plum scent that comes from Izzy..." Izzy got her head in a huge pile of flowers and sniffed them as well. "I'm getting glitter and Unicorny Flakes!" She said with a smile and heart-shaped eyes, before she had a thought. "Wait a sec! These flowers must smell like your favorite things!" "That'll explain why we all smell something different!" Sonic said with a smirk. "I wonder how they know specifically what's your favorite smell, though..." Knuckles came and placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Some answers are best not to seek, Hedgehog..." Pipp, on the other hand, gasped excited with Sparkling eyes. "Izzy, this is perfect!" She said excited, then suddenly zoomed towards the rest with a shovel. "Grab as many as you can, guys! We're gonna––" She tried to say, but then her eyes widened and she shook her head. "No! No, no, no, no. I won't do this again..." "...Uh... What?" Sonic asked confused with a raised eyebrow. "Last time I tried to do something that disrespect Bridlewood, we almost loose our voices to the Troggles!" Pipp pointed out with concern. "And, I know I've gotta have respect for the forest! So, as much as I would like to take many of these flowers, I've learned from my mistakes. Maybe just one will suffice." After saying this, Pipp tossed the shovel away and then carefully picked up one of the flowers. She was not convinced it'll be enough, but so long as she was respectful with the forest, she didn't minded. She walked away, and while Izzy followed her along with a proud and touched smile for her words, Sonic and Knuckles stared at her with disbelief. Heck, Knuckles even had his jaw dropped, but Sonic was smiling with pride for his girlfriend, since she has demonstrated she learned her lesson. "Before you ask: No. I didn't told her anything. That was all her!" Sonic said, as he walked away to follow Pipp and Izzy out of the forest. "...Okay... I was not expecting that..." Knuckles said, before getting out of the field as well. Back in Mane Melody, it was time to try again. Pipp was ready to retry her announcement, now holding up a silver bottle that was made with the flower. "I announce my new new scent with hints of... whatever you like best!" Pipp announced with a smile, as she sprayed the perfume on Hitch's face. Hitch sniffed the scent and then smiled. "Smells of law! And order!" Jazz was sprayed next as she smiled. "Mmm! Smells like a freshly polished hooficure! Sign me up!" She said with sparkling eyes. "Sign me up first!" The Pippsqueaks - Seashell, Glory and Peach Fizz - said excitedly to Pipp, as they waved their arms with sparkling eyes. Pipp smiled and tried to spray the perfume again, but it only gave out small scents, which made her get anxious. "Oh, no! It's all gone! Uggghhh! You don't get much from just one flower!" Of course, being the terrible fans they are, the crowd frowned and glared at her with anger. Heck, Posey even brought a tomato as the entire crowd approached her, while Pipp got nervous, and Sonic immediately jumped in front of her in a protective manner, just in case. "But... I... I can get more!" Pipp assured nervously. "Everypony, you just wait here! Wait here!" After saying the last thing, Pipp rushed out of Mane Melody, while Sonic followed behind, but not without stopping on the entrance and turn back to the crowd with a glare. "Kimitachi ni chūmoku shi teru nda yo, kono yarō!" Sonic said, telling the crowd 'I've got my eye on you, bastards!', but in Japanese. Back where they found the flowers, Pipp looked at them anxiously. Sonic soon zoomed as well and looked at her with concern. "Pipp... You're not thinking on taking more flowers, do you?" He asked her with a slight glare. "Come on, Blue Star! Just one extra can't hurt," Pipp replied with a sheepish smile and a twitchy eye, before turning her gaze back to the field. "Or two. Three will be fine..." As Pipp picked the third flower, Sonic frowned for real this time. "Alright, Pipp. That is enough!" After that, he started to walk away, but then, Pipp started to pick up more and more flowers, as she filled three baskets and giggled a bit maniacally, before looking at the last flower. "Okay, and just one more!" Sonic rolled his eyes on annoyance, but as he did so, he turned around, just for his eyes to widen in panic when he noticed that there wasn't a field of flowers anymore. "PIPP!!!" Sonic shouted in panic and placed his hands on his head, which made Pipp flinch, so she turned and saw Sonic with an anxious expression, while also looking at the field. "What... What did... WHAT DID YOU DO?! The field is gone! You picked all the flowers!" Pipp didn't really had processed the weight of her actions, not until now that is, because once Sonic pointed out what she was doing, her eyes widened in panic, and she screamed. "Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no! What have I done?!" Pipp asked in panic, as she began to hyperventilate, even stepping back away from the baskets with flowers. Sonic immediately went with her and quietly asked her to take deep breaths so she could calm down, while Pipp started to do that in order to not loose herself. However, they both widened their eyes when they suddenly heard something, so they looked back to where the last of the flowers was located... Just to realize that they both stepped over it and killed it. "Oh boy/Uh-oh..." Sonic and Pipp cried out in shock. Suddenly, the field's life began to die out around them, which made them panic even more. Pipp looked around in panic, then look one of the flowers from her baskets. "I-I'm sure it'll grow back!" She said, as she replanted the flower, but the moment she did, the flower immediately died, making the couple gasp in shock. "This is going from bad to worse!" Sonic cried out in panic. "Neither Izzy or Knuckles can ever know!" Pipp said with panic as well. "Ooh, hi, friends!" Izzy's voice called out, which surprised the couple, so they slowly turned and saw Izzy and Knuckles behind them with watering cans, which made them grow nervous and get even more panic then before. "Just have to water that glade of amazing flowers we found, but––" Izzy tried to say, but then she came to notice the lifeless ground. "Hold on a second..." As both Izzy and Knuckles looked around, Knuckles dropped his watering can and his jaw dropped as well once he also noticed the area, while Sonic and Pipp smiled sheepishly and tried to hid the baskets with flowers behind them. "This can't be it! Not this dry, wilted, shriveled-up, old place that could never sustain life!" Izzy said with panic, as she approached to Sonic and Pipp along Knuckles. As they did so, some trees suddenly came crashing down, and the two couples noticed this. Pipp felt worse now that she knows what she's done, and she began to cry. "Oh, Izzy! This is the spot! And it's all my fault! I picked all the flowers!" Both Izzy and Knuckles looked at the baskets with flowers and gasped in shock and horror. "What the heck?!" Knuckles screamed in panic. "I tried to stop her, and even if I did, we still killed the last flower by mistake!" Sonic said with concern, grabbing two of his quills and extending them to cover his face in shame. "Okay, you screw it but realized in time that, yet you two still screw it up even more... Am i getting this right?!" Knuckles asked, and both Sonic and Pipp nodded in panic. "Good. So explain me, then: Why is the forest rumbling?!" "Because the delicate Bridlewood ecosystem has been unbalanced!" Izzy answered horrified and panicked, as she shook her boyfriend. "And why didn't you told us that?!" Sonic asked with panic and a bit of anger. "Izzy, you gotta tell us all the details when something can AND is going to go wrong, not just say what you believe is the only important stuff!" And then, the ground began to shake even more, to the point cracks started to form, making the two couples back away as more trees came falling down. "Okay, the lesson we learned today is: Mess with nature, and nature will mess with you! Got it!" Sonic said with panic. "Can we please have some main character luck and save our butts now?!" "Now's not the time to break the fourth wall, Hedgehog!" Knuckles complained, as he placed a hand in front of Izzy to protect her. Pipp started to whimper in fear, before looking back at her baskets. "We need to get these flowers back in the ground!" "No time! There's too many of them!" Izzy pointed out anxiously. "The forest will be already down by the time we're done!" Sonic pointed out with concern, also placing an arm in front of Pipp to protect her. "Sonic's right! We'd need a small army to help us!" Knuckles added with a frown. However, that made Pipp's eyes widen, and then she smirked with an idea. "A small army, huh?" She asked them, as she brought out her stinky perfume. "Pipp, that thing was literally a big oof, and it even dragged a bunch of––" Sonic tried to say in anger, but then his eyes widened when he realized what he was going to say. "Oh... I get it... Well, spray that out, honey!" "Aye, aye, captain!" Pipp replied with a giggle, and then she sprayed the stinky perfume in the air. Not so long after, the critters came rushing to the source of the stinky scent. As they did so, some of them were dragging Sunny and Hitch along. Out of all the earth ponies in Maretime Bay, they dragged them specifically... I'm just leaving that in the air. "Uh... wait, what? Umm…" Sunny said surprised and confused, also holding a smoothie and trying to make the critters to put her and Hitch down. "I was literally about to put my hooves up when these little guys came and dragged me away!" Hitch complained, while the two couples came to them as the critters put them down. "Sunny! Hitch! No time to explain!" Sonic said with an anxious expression, as he zoomed into the two ponies' faces. "Bridlewood is about to collapse and cause the end of the world for some reason if you two don't fix it!" "Sonic's right! We need you to do your... Earth pony stuff!" Pipp quickly explained, pointing to the flowers they and the critters replanted, all dead on contact with the ground. "And quickly!" Sunny and Hitch looked at each other, now understanding the situation. They nodded and made their hooves glow in green, before stomping them down hard, while their Earth Pony magic spread across the field. Yet this wasn't enough, so they stomped again, and their magic glowed stronger, making the flowers come back to life and sprout. At the same time, some vines sealed the cracks and lifted the trees up back into their foundations, which made the group look around with smiles of joy and relief, since the field is back to normal and Bridlewood is now stable. "Woo! The day's saved again!" Sonic cheered with a smirk and his arms raised in the air. But it was not over yet, since the center of the field suddenly began to glow, so they all stood back as vine roots grew, and purple petals sprouted from the ground, spreading across the field, making the group look in awe. "Sweet grapes of havens!" Knuckles said amazed. "And once again, Equestria proves me to be an amazing place!" Sonic cheered loudly with a smile. Izzy sighed in relief. "Natural order is restored!" She said with sparkling eyes, before noticing Pipp seeing the tree with sparkling eyes as well, but not noticing that some petals were filling the basket, which made Izzy smile. "Awww! I guess this is the forest saying 'thank you'!" Pipp now noticed the basket filled with petals, so she looked at the tree with tears of joy. "Thank you, forest! I promise to only ever take what I need... And to look after and protect you..." Izzy giggled and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Now you're gettin' it, Pipperoni!" She said, as the two ponies hoofbumped. "And I'm proud too, Little Pipp!" Sonic said with a smile and wink down to his girlfriend. Back in Mane Melody, Pipp looked at the crowd again while holding up a new perfume bottle. "My brand new, totally organic, all-natural perfume!" Pipp announced. "I call it 'Harmony'! Because I want all my products to work with nature, not against it. And I pledge to plant a tree for every bottle sold!" She said, as she gestured to pots of sprouted trees next to her, with her friends and boyfriend next to them. "Har-mo-ny!" The Pippsqueaks sang, then the three fillies brought out some money, and so did the crowd as they cheered Pipp on. "Phew! Now that's more like it!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Whoa. One tree for every bottle sold?" Sunny asked Pipp in surprise as she turned to her. "You're gonna need a small army to do all that planting." "Luckily, I got just the thing!" Pipp said with a smirk, as she held up her first stinky perfume and sprayed it. However, that made the ground rumble, and everyone already knew what that meant: A bunch of critters entered the salon and towered over Pipp, who looked at the critters with wide eyes. "Ah crap..." Sonic deadpanned. "INCOMING!" Pipp yelled out in panic and covered, already knowing what was coming next. THE END Author's Note Well, this certainly was an interesting episode. I didn't liked how Pipp had to learn not to mess with Bridlewood when Bridlewoodstock literally treated that already... So, I changed it this time by making Pipp herself realize this on her own, yet letting her obsessive side that needs constant approval to still screw things up, but also almost realize it in time before, well, still fuck it up along Sonic. In my opinion, it works better this way, and comes to show that Pipp did learned from Bridlewoodstock and is willing to respect nature, even if she'll fail in the end all the same. And that's pretty much everything I can say about this chapter. The next one has the Mane 6 showing a bit of their gamer sides. You'll see what I mean eventually. Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year people! Bye! 67. The Sonic WalkthroughA camera was turning on and showed some static. Soon enough, though, the static stopped, and it showed Sonic, who was adjusting his camera so it could face him. "I think I finally got–– Oh, there we go!" Sonic said with a smile, so he sat on his desk and twirled around on his chair. "Hello, hello, and welcome, everypony! I'm yours truly Sonic the Hedgehog, the one and only! Streaming straight up from the Crystal Brighthouse!" He showed the background for a moment, revealing that he was in his section of the Brighthouse's bedroom, while many heart and pony laughing emojis were showing on the screen. "Now, I've been reading all your comments from my previous streams, and came to realize that many of you are very activate regarding my posts about the games based on my adventures!" Sonic said. Soon, his camera became smaller on a corner, while a bigger screen showed Sonic's Ponygram and many pictures he has posted on it. Most of these pictures were from Pipp and him together, but there was a bast catalogue of pictures where he was with the rest of his friends as well. But there was also a massive section of pictures were he was playing the games from his world along Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and even Shadow. For example, there's a picture of Shadow trying to not loose his cool after Sonic defeated him in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, playing as Shadow. "I've also noticed that you all are pointing out something I honestly didn't realized at first, and is that I've never had put any of my fellow ponies to play!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Well, today I'm changing that! We're gonna see the Mane 6 playing through 6 of my games! This. Is. THE SONIC WALKTHROUGH!!!" After saying this, many party cannons exploded and some balloons floated in the air, while the chat exploded with more heart emojis, ponies laughing, and even ponies with heart eyes. "Now, why only 6 games? Well, considering there's 32 mainline games, which increases to 100 if we count the spin-offs, I had to be really selective on which games suit my friends best," Sonic explained with his iconic smirk and a wink. "Now, I'll shut up already so we can move to the gameplay!" After saying that, he boosted away to look for his first friend to try out the first game. ZIPP STORM PLAYS: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 Soon, Sonic came by to be in front of the camera again, while Zipp arrived with an annoyed look. "Alright, guys! I'm back in action, and this time? Zipp's with me!" Sonic said with a smile, as he pointed at Zipp. "Uh... Hey..." Zipp waved her hoof with a sheepish smile at the camera, since she still hated to be in the spotlight. "And as I stated on the tittle card, she's gonna be trying out Sonic 2!" Sonic stated with a wink. "So, anything you've gotta say before we get started, Zippster?" "Ugh... Let's get this over with..." Zipp replied, as she placed her headphones and grabbed the Sega Genesis controller, while Sonic shrugged and placed his headphones as well. After that, the camera pointing at Sonic and Zipp became small on a corner again, while the bigger screen showed the 'Sonic the Hedgehogs 2' title screen. "So, uh... Do I have to select the character, or...?" Zipp asked. "Nah, the character has been selected already. You just have to press start!" "If you say so..." So, Zipp decided to press start like Sonic said and start to play. Soon, the music from Emerald Hill Zone started playing, and Classic Tails appeared in the middle of the stage, which Zipp took as the sign to start playing. "Alright, lets see..." Zipp said, as she first decided to test out how the controllers worked, so she pressed A, B and C, all making Tails jump in the screen. "Jumping is with these buttons..." She muttered before pulling the stick on certain directions, until she accidentally also pressed A while holding the stick down, which made Tails start to roll on his place in the screen. "Whoa! W-What am doing?!" "Chill out, sis-in-law. That's just the Spin Dash!" Sonic pointed out with a smirk. "Oh, right... Wait, can I fly in this––" Zipp was going to ask, but when she jumped and pressed the same button again, Tails started to fly a bit in the air. "Oh, now we're talking!" After that, Zipp finally started to move across Emerald Hill Zone, collecting rings and either jumping over badniks or Spindashing against them, as she also reached the star panels. "Wow... You're a natural at this, Zippster!" Sonic mocked up with a smirk. "Are you sure you never played this before?" "I'm pretty sure, bro-in-law! I guess I'm just really good at––" Zipp tried to mock back, but when she reached a star panel, some sparkles appeared over it, and when she jumped and touched the sparkles, the entire scenario changed. "... W-What's happening?" Soon, the screen showed Tails running through a large corridor, while his name appeared on top of the screen, as well as a ring counter, while some music started to play in the background. This confused Zipp, as she looked at Sonic at his side. "Um, Sonic? How about a little context?" "This is the special stage!" Sonic replied with a smile. "You enter them anytime you touch the sparkles over the Star Panels, but you can only access to them if you cross the Star Panels with 50 rings or more." "And what are these 'special stages' for, exactly?" "To collect the Chaos Emeralds! Once you get the 7, yo can turn Tails into Super Tails and be invincible! After you collect 50 rings, and if you loose all of them, you'll be back to be regular Tails..." Sonic explained the last part with a bored expression. "Oh, interesting!" Zipp said with a smirk. "But how do I clear these stages?" As she asked this, in the screen appeared a giant text that said 'Get 30 rings!' "Just collect as many rings as the screen asks you to!" Sonic explained. "Of course, you gotta dodge some obstacles and make sure you don't miss any rings––" "Done!" Sonic's eyes widened after hearing this, and so, he looked at the screen to see a thumbs up and the text 'Cool!', while the ring counter said that Zipp collected 53 rings. "...You collected those while I was talking?" Sonic asked in shock. "And now I'm going for the 70!" Zipp stated confidently. And so she did: She collected 106 rings and even dodged some bombs that came out of nowhere. Her final challenge arrived when she needed to get 130 rings, and she collected 156, while also dodging some other bombs. Finally, Tails reached the end of the corridor and obtained the Light Blue Chaos Emerald. Once he did so, another melody played in the background, while a text said 'Tails got a Chaos Emerald'. "Yeah! How about that, partner?" Zipp cheered with a confident smile. "You still need to clear the rest of the stage" Sonic mocked up with a smirk. "That thing? Piece of cake!" When Zipp said it was a piece of cake, she mean it. Zipp cleared the whole first act of Emerald Hill Zone with no problems, and she even collected other 5 Chaos Emeralds on the special stages. It all came down to the final boss in the second act: Eggman and the Egg Driller. "You think you can handle him, Zippster?" Sonic asked her with a mocking smirk. "Stand back and learn, hedgehog!" Zipp mocked back. Then, Zipp simply started to jump over the Egg Driller everytime he appeared on screen. She still got hit and lost all her rings, but at the same time, she managed to defeat Eggman and free all the animals from the giant capsule at the end of the level. "...Okay, yeah, you're really good at this, I'll admit it," Sonic said with an eye roll, but still with a smile. "Never doubt by gaming skills, man!" Zipp mocked up with a confident smirk. "Well, as much as I would like to see you getting to the end, we gotta keep moving with the rest of our friends," Sonic pointed out. "Thanks for coming, sis-in-law! Now, let's get to the next contestant!" After saying this, Sonic moved his hand to make a transition scene. IZZY MOONBOW PLAYS: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 & KNUCKLES Sonic appeared in front of the camera again, spinning over his chair. "Kon'nichiwa, mata okaerinasai!" Sonic greeted again, saying 'Hello, hello, and welcome back!' in Japanese. "So, we just saw that Zipp is actually really good at my games, but let's see if our next participant has the same luck! Everypony, please welcome Izzy Moonbow!" Soon, Izzy arrived by spinning on her chair while moving wildly around the bedroom, until she was heading towards Sonic and his setup. Panicking, Sonic activated his shield and protected himself and his setup from the unicorn, who ended up crashing against the shield and then falling backwards. Still, when Sonic deactivated the shield to check on her, Izzy stood up with dizzy eyes, before looking at the camera. "Hi!" Izzy greeted with a cheerful smile and sparkling eyes, also waving her hoof. "Welcome to The Sonic Walkthrough, Ms. Moonbow!" Sonic greeted her. "As I told you, you're gonna be playing Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles!" Izzy gasped dramatically after hearing this. "Can I play as Knuckie?!" "That's the plan!" Sonic replied, placing the headphones over Izzy. After that, he quickly started the game, selected Knuckles on an empty file, and then gave Izzy the controller. "Enjoy yourself, Iz!" Sonic said with a smile, while Izzy squealed excited. So, after a little cinematic in the game were a bomb appeared in front of Knuckles, exploded and startled him, followed by some animals running away, and then a robot appearing, which made Knuckles made, the game finally started on the first act of Angel Island. Of course, Sonic tried to relax himself, believing that Izzy was going to struggle with the game... She didn't. In fact, Izzy passed through the entire first level of Angel Island like a pro, which made Sonic's jaw drop, while the chat watching the stream went wild in disbelief, since nopony or creature expected Izzy to be this good at the game. In fact, she was so good that Sonic never had to open his mouth to instruct her on anything. Izzy was a natural at this, even more than Zipp, because the unicorn mare didn't even practiced to adapt to the controls. When she got to Angel Island's Act 2, she didn't needed help on anything again, leaving Sonic flabbergasted. She collected rings, elemental shields, and even attacked badniks like if it was a natural thing. She didn't collected any Chaos Emerald, though, but by how far she has gotten, it was clear she didn't needed them. Finally, Izzy reached the final boss on the second act, where she had a fire shield and din't even had to dodge the fire blasts thrown at her by the enemy, which was controlled by the same robot from the earlier cinematic and not by Eggman, as it was usual in these games. And finally, Izzy made a last hit to the robot in the game, defeating him and then freeing all the animals from the floating capsule that was descending, clearing the whole Angel Island zone with no problem. At this, Sonic had his jaw dropped and wide eyes, while Izzy just smiled and hummed happily to herself after completing the two levels, until she noticed Sonic's expression. "H-How..." Sonic called out. "HOW DID YOU CLEARED THE ENTIRE ZONE WITH NO EMERALDS AND AT THE VERY FIRST TRY?!" "Oh, well, I was just imagining myself doing all that cool stuff, which kind of helped me to get through the whole stage with no problem!" Izzy explained with her usual cheerful smile, while Sonic slowly looked at the camera of the livestream. The chat was still going wild, and some even were dropping some comments. RoseGirl What the hell?! MaximumPrower And here I thought that Cream beating Shadow was impressive... PerfectJewel Lol! UltimateLifeForm @MaximumPrower I'm gonna put some dirt in your eye StrongerThanSonic Haha, that's my girl! Sonic cringed a bit after reading that, before looking back at the camera with a deadpan and sigh. "Thanks for your time, Iz... Next participant..." HITCH TRAILBLAZER PLAYS: SONIC 3D BLAST "Okay! Now we're moving to Sonic 3D Blast! And this time, Hitch's gonna try it out!" Sonic announced with a smile, while both males had their headphones on already. "Thanks for inviting me, Sonic!" Hitch said with a smile, before deadpanning. "I do hate that we must do this as fast as we can, though, because I know that Knuckles is watching the stream instead of doing my rounds as I told him..." StrongerThanSonic ¡Me declaro culpable! Hitch rolled his eyes, before pressing start and accidentally skip all the cutscenes by mistake. "Oops!" "Eh, it's fine, Hitch. All you got to know is that there's critters encaged in badniks and you have to defeat all the robots to free'd them!" he pointed out with a smile. "Oh! Well, that actually makes things easier!" "Kinda..." Sonic muttered with a smirk. Soon, the game started on the first act of Green Grove Zone, but as Hitch began to move, he could barely keep Sonic moving on a straight line, because Sonic in the screen kept moving from one side to the other. "Uh... Sonic?" Hitch called out. "Am I going crazy, or is this controller so... stiff?!" "No, the controller is stiff," Sonic replied with a bored expression. "And don't bother to try on changing the controls, it'll make things worse." Still, Hitch was trying to make some progress in the game by jumping and collecting rings, but because of the weird 3D ambience in the game, it was hard to tell where the heck he was standing half of the time. StrongerThanSonic Dude, I haven't laughed this hard watching a gameplay in years! MaximumPrower Good Sheriff, terrible gamer JesusG0987 Yikes Flamewarrior02 LOL fail Eventually, Hitch managed to rescue all the animals after a stressful gameplay. "I DID IT! I'M DONE WITH THIS!" He cheered loudly with a twitchy eye, before running away while laughing like a maniac. Sonic scratched his head confused after that, so he looked back at the screen and shrugged. "Well, I guess this was not that good of a choice after all." StormySkies You guess? SunnyDelight Oh, trust me. He's just... not that good at video games MaximumPrower Yeah, we noticed BenictheHedgehog Shouldn't we move on? "Oh, right! Thanks for the reminder, Ben!" Sonic said with a smile and a wink. "Onto the next one!" SUNNY STARSCOUT PLAYS: SONIC HEROES "And now we go to the one game I know was made for you, Sunny-Bunny!" Sonic stated with a smirk. Sunny at his side, wearing headphones already, giggled after hearing this. "Oh, I'm pretty sure that any game you put me to play was going to be fine, Sonic!" "Oh, but this one is special: Its main gimmick is the power of teamwork!" Sonic explained with a smile. After hearing this, Sunny's eyes widened, before she gasped and her eyes sparkled, as she also placed her hooves on her cheeks. "TEAMWORK?! Why didn't you said that before?!" "I knew you'll like it!" Sonic said with a wink and this thumbs up, before moving over to the game and put everything but the characters. "I'll usually had this ready, but I'll let you choose who you wanna play with. I do warn you, though: The game either gets easier or harder depending on who you choose." "Oh!" Sunny said a bit confused. "Well, I guess I'll just pick you guys 'cause I honestly just want to get this started!" "Be my guest!" Sonic said with a smile. And so, after a cinematic of Eggman threatening Team Sonic, the game started on Seaside Hill, where Team Sonic ran across a beach before the level finally started with Sonic leading Tails and Knuckles. With this, Sunny began by boosting ahead with Sonic, but then accidentally switching to Knuckles, which made her eyes widen. "Uh... Did I did something wrong?" She asked a bit concerned. "Nah, you're fine, Sunny," Sonic assured with a smile. "That's just how the game works! You've gotta switch between me, Tails and Knuckles to clear the stage. Sometimes you gotta accelerate with me, sometimes you've gotta fly with Tails, and sometimes you've gotta fight with Knuckles!" "Oh! So that's why this game is about teamwork! I just gotta find a balance between the three of you!" "That's the spirit!" And so, Sunny spent her whole gameplay enjoying it. She smashed down the robots with either Knuckles or using Sonic's Homing Attack, while in the zones that required it, she used Tails to fly Sonic and Knuckles up to keep moving on. Collecting rings and even getting shields at time was never more fun, and Sunny was really enjoying the game so far, despite it still being just the first stage. At the end, Sunny defeated a final batch of robots by using all the characters whenever she could. Then, she pressed the Z button on her controller and made the move called 'Team Blast', which was Knuckles grabbing Tails and spinning around, while Tails grabbed Sonic and then let him go, as Sonic booted across the stage like a pinball. This move defeated all the enemies, and so, Sunny reached the giant golden ring to clear the stage. The same one finished with Sonic and Knuckles grabbing each other's right hands with smirks, while Tails used their united hands to jump over them and get in the air, as the three member of Team Sonic posed to the camera in victory. "Yes!" Sunny cheered, while Sonic cheered as well and hugged her sideways. "Hah! I knew you'll make it, Sunny-Bunny!" Sonic said happily. "You know, Sonic? You were right! This game is really fun and made for me!" Sunny kept cheering. "I can't wait to get through the rest of it!" "Time to meet your creator!" Eggman's voice spoke in the game. "UGH!!!" Sunny screamed in rage, since this was her 27th attempt on the final boss of Team Sonic's story. "I swear if he doesn't shuts the buck up, I WILL burn this thing down!" As Sunny struggled to make a single hit at the Egg Emperor in the game, Sonic stepped back nervously, then boosted to grab the camera of the stream and moved away, but Sunny could still be seen in the background. "Well, she lost her patience a lot later than I thought she would..." Sonic confessed with a bored expression. "I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS, EGGMAN, EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I'LL DO IN MY LIFE!!!" Sunny screamed enraged behind. "...Eggman, if you're watching this, I advice you to embrace yourself, because she's saying it both to you in the game and in real life..." Sonic pointed out with a deadpan. BrightdawnButterfly Uh... Shouldn't we do something to calm her down? BaySheriff Nah, I'll say we let her be. Is kinda attractive, anyways... StormySkies No bucking way you just wrote that! MaximumPrower LOOOOOL UltimateLifeForm @BaySheriff You are so done, Sheriff PerfectJewel HAHAHAHAHA! StrongerThanSonic OMG, he actually wrote that?! JesusG0987 I didn't know Sheriff Hitch was that risky BenictheHedgehog Is this real? We didn't just saw things, did we? Flamewarrior02 Hitch and Sunny, sitting on a tree. K, I, S, S, I, N, G! Sonic himself was trying not to burst laughing after hearing that, but then, Sunny on his back groaned in rage again. StrongerThanSonic Anything you've gotta say about that, @BaySheriff? StormySkies HAHAHAHAHA! MaximumPrower I love it here! BaySheriff I'll use my rights to remain silent UltimateLifeForm Like if that's gonna make you look less stupid after what you said PerfectJewel OMG I'M STROKING, HELP–– RoseGirl I haven't laughed this hard in YEARS! MoonBro Hitchy! Wanna share something with the class? HMM?! Kreotre We got you, Sheriff! RealAllBridge LOL "Okay, as much as I'm loving to read all of this, we gotta keep moving!" Sonic stated with a smirk, covering the camera's lens for a second, but then, Sunny groaning loudly could be heard. "NO, SUNNY! DON'T BRAKE THE––" And then, an image that said 'We're having technical problems. We'll be back!' was shown. PIPP PETALS PLAYS: SONIC COLORS After taking Sunny out, Sonic came once again in front of the camera. "Okay... We just have two players left" Sonic said with a smile. "Our next participant doesn't really needs a presentation... BUT!" After saying this, he clapped his hands and the lights turned off, while Sonic turned the camera around and pointed it to a little stage that pointed to Pipp's side of the bedroom. "Ladies, gentleman, ponies who still doubt their likes and non-binary creatures!" Sonic greeted through a microphone. "Let's give a warm welcome to the one and only pop-star princess, the most gorgeous pony that's ever lived, and my beautiful girlfriend... Marefriend... Is it fillyfriend? Eh, she's my soulmate, okay?. The one and only: Princess Pipp Petals!" With this, fake claps were heard and a light illuminated over the stage, now showing Pipp herself, who was smiling confidently, as she walked downstairs on an elegant and formal manner, while Sonic decided to follow her game by making a reverence, although his tail was waggling against his will. Soon, Sonic went and turned the camera back, while Pipp sat at her side, and as Sonic was fixing some stuff on his desk, she surprised him with a kiss on his lips, which made him blush madly. This little action also made the whole chat go nuts and comment like if their lives depended on it, although Sonic only chuckled sheepishly at his girlfriend's action, before shaking his head and focus back. "Shūchū, harinezumi, shūchū!" Sonic told himself with a serious expression, saying 'Focus, hedgehog, focus!' in Japanese. "Soko ni iru anata no chīsana aibō to issho ni kangaete kudasai, burūsutā~?" Pipp mocked up with a smirk and a blush, also waving her tail a bit, while Sonic's face went incredibly red after that. As for what Pipp told him, she said 'Thinking with your little buddy down there, Blue Star~?', but in Japanese. Sonic shook his head and decided to focus again. "Um... Y-Yeah! Uh, our next participant is Pipp Petals! S-She'll be playing Sonic Colors... If she stops teasing me..." He added with a slight annoyed tone, but Pipp only giggled innocently, and of course, that made him blush again while his heart skipped a beat. Still, he managed to keep his cool, and so, he started the game, putting it over Tropical Resort: Act 1. "There. The rest's up to you, Little Pipp!" Sonic told her with a smile, giving her the Wii controller. Yes, this is the original Wii version, not whatever 'Sonic Colors: Ultimate' attempts to be. Soon, Pipp decided to focus on the game, and as soon as Sonic appeared on screen while stretching a bit, Pipp moved the character a bit ahead, collecting some rings in the process. Then, when she grabbed a capsule with wisps, she noticed that a small bar in the bottom left corner was a bit full, so she pressed A, and the Sonic in the game boosted at top speed. Then, she reached a point where there were several balloons, so she pressed A two times, which made Sonic jump and the made a Homing Attack. Getting the hang of the game now, Pipp was definitely determinate to finish this stage at last. So, she accelerated and destroyed some more enemies with the Homing Attack, before boosting and collect a bunch of rings, followed by another section with enemies that she destroyed with the Homing Attack, and then a rail section where she boosted thanks to the bar in the corner being half-full. Without much problems, she simply kept boosting against some more enemies and balloons, and she could pass with no problems the 2D sections of the level, until she finished the level by freeing some wisps from a giant capsule. The end level was different this time, and as the final results showed up, indicating that she got a B as her highest score, but she could still control Sonic for some reason, and she jumped over the scores, somehow making it a bit bigger and even getting some rings, but the final score she got was still a B. "Huh... That was actually really fun!" Pipp said with a smile. "Yeah, well, Colors is really criticized because of reasons that aren't worth my time mentioning..." Sonic confessed with a somehow sad expression. "But I really enjoy this one... Specially because it has the lullaby I was taught as its main theme... I just wished people would had appreciated this more..." Pipp noticed his change of mood, but she still smiled and decided to gently kiss his cheek. "I don't know what has been said about this game, and a part of me honestly doesn't care..." Pipp said with a warm smile. "I personally enjoy it, and even if this is just the first stage? I'm pretty sure the rest of the game is as entertaining." After hearing this, Sonic looked over at Pipp and smiled, before kissing her tenderly on her lips. "...Thanks, Pipp... I really needed to hear that..." Pipp giggled after hearing this. "Anything for you, Blue Star~" MISTY BRIGHTDAWN PLAYS: SONIC GENERATIONS "And finally, our last competitor today!" Sonic declared with a smile. "Um... Sonic?" Misty's voice called out, but she couldn't be seen on-screen, because she was hiding below the desk. "A-Are you sure I can do this? I'm still afraid to be on-screen..." "Come on now, Mist. Trust me!" Sonic assured her with a smile, as she grabbed her from her hidden spot and sat her on the chair at his side, while Misty felt a bit dizzy. "Once you start playing, you won't even remember that you're being recorded in the first place!" Misty shook her head a bit dizzy, but once she was back to normal, her eyes moved the camera, and so, she freeze'd on her place with wide eyes. Meanwhile, Sonic prepared the game and selected Modern Chemical Plant, but once he looked over at Misty, he smiled sheepishly. Still, he gave her the controller and moved her face towards the screen with the game, which free'd her from her shocked state. "Just focus on the game, Mist!" After hearing this, Misty took a deep breath, and looked determinately at he screen. Soon, she started to boost across the level, collecting rings, and even moving over rails and Homing Attacking enemies, since she learned a lot from both Sunny and Pipp's gameplays. "Whoa!" Sonic said with a smile. "I'm impressed, Mist! You're talented! You definitely forgot about the stream fast!" However, after he said that, Misty's eyes widened, and she panicked again, so she hid below the desk again. "Oops... I shouldn't had said that..." Sonic muttered with concern, before pausing the game. "Well, uh... Since the game ended up earlier than I expected, I guess we reached the end of 'The Sonic Walkthrough'. Thanks to everyone who joined us today! And if you have any more suggestions, please go follow me on my Ponygram account! That's all for today, guys! Gotta Go Fast!" After saying this, Sonic boosted away, while the stream finally reached its end. THE END Author's Note Thanks to Flamewarrior02 for the suggestion of this chapter, who also got a small cameo along some other users! I honestly never thought about the Mane 6 playing some of Sonic's Games, but I guess it was a matter of time until it happened, and this episode is all about that! I also tried a lot with the "Stream Format" since it only made sense for Sonic to want to either show off how good his friends are at his games to everyone, or even make fun of them. Either way, I think this format works for this episode, but I don't think I'll use it ever again. And yes, I know that you cannot fly as Tails if you play as him in the original game, but: My story, my rules. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed. See ya! 68. Attack of the BunnisusIn Bridlewood, Sunny and Windy were at the Crystal Tea Room. There, the two mares were making a clay vase. Suddenly, some of Sunny's clay splattered out while making her vase, and she got some on Alphabittle, who smiled sheepishly. Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky (Every new day is the best day ever) Pipp: A brand new day Before Alphabittle could say anything, Sunny showed her complete vase, and Windy finished hers as well, which made Alphabittle smile at their work, making them earn a a clay sculpture badge on their sashes, so the two ponies hooftapped together. A brand new chance, a brand new way To be my very best pony In the Brighthouse, Sunny was sewing a picture of Windy Windy also sewed a picture of Sunny, and that made them earn their sewing badge. And live my best life, 'cause there's only one now Yeah, only one now At a field, Sunny brought out her Alicorn form with a determined smile. Then, she used her Earth Pony magic on the field to make many carrots sprout, while Windy fled over the field with a watering can and watered the carrots. But then, the ground started to rumble, because the critters rushed out of the bushes and started to eat the carrot ropes, which made Sunny and Window watch them amused. After a while, the critters lay on the ground, one bunnycorn burped, and the mares hoof tapped together, earning their critters badges. A little bit later, Sunny and Windy were looking at their badge stashes. "Oh, look at all our badges, Sunny!" Windy smiled with sparkling eyes, and Sunny had the same expression, then Windy came next to her and placed a hoof over Sunny's back. "I knew you'd love being a part of the Trail Trotters just as much as I do!" "Check it out, Windy! There's still room for more!" Sunny exclaimed with a smile and sparkling eyes, also pointing to the empty spot on the sash, then she gasped at an idea. "Wait. Are there any badges that you can earn with your friends?" "Let me just have a look in the Trail Trotters guide…" Windy replied, looking through the guide book before smiling widely. "Oh, yes! The Wilderness Survival Badge has to be earned as a whole group." Sunny smiled widely as well and tapped her hooves together. "Oh, I think I might know a few ponies who would totally love that!" A little bit later, Sunny got her friends together to join in on the fun. Well, the rest of the Mane 6 agreed. Team Dark was not even around, but Sunny already suspected their answer, and Team Sonic choose to stay in town to look after it in case unexpected visitors arrived. Yes, they obviously mean Eggman or Opaline, who else might it be? Scourge? He's not even canon. The Mane 6 all grabbed their camping supplies, but as soon as they entered the forest, it was now pouring down rain, with thunder striking, while the Mane 6 deadpanned, Windy smiled, and then a critter moved pass them very fast, startling the Mane 6. "Oh, the outdoors. Doesn't it just make you feel so peaceful and calm?" Windy asked the Mane 6 with a smile. Pipp looked around nervously and smiled in that way while tittering. "Oh, yes. We are totally–– Ah!" She cried out when a vine grabbed onto her right hind leg. "––at one… Ugh!" She cried out as she got her hoof free from the vine, before falling on her stomach in a pile of mud. "...With nature." She tried to stand up, but fell again, this time face first into the mud. "Left here, ponies!" Hitch announced with a smile, with Pipp stood up with an irritated look, shaking the mud off herself, while Misty held onto Izzy nervously, Zipp gave a bored look, and both Sunny and Windy just looked at him. "Getting that Wilderness Survival Badge is gonna be a piece of… Huh?" Hitch suddenly trailed off because he saw a big mud puddle that is bubbling on the ground, which the rest noticed. "Hmm... This wasn't on my map." Hitch said confused, analyzing the 'map' on his hooves. Just then, Zipp came next to him and analyzed the map as well, before giving Hitch a dull look. "Um, that's because that map isn't a map. It's one of Sparky's drawings!" She pointed out, grabbing the map to reveal it was just a drawing Sparky made earlier. Hitch facehoofed himself in disbelief, and if Knuckles was here, he'll definitely smack him on his head. "Then what happened to the map?!" But before they could question further, they heard someone burping, so they turned and saw Sparky sitting in the ground, rubbing his belly and giggling with a satisfied smile. "Sparky!" The Mane 6 scolded him. "Ugh!" Pipp groaned frustrated. "So now we're lost, too?!" She questioned, then she started to cry, tears flowing out of her eyes. "No, no, no, no!" Suddenly, Izzy giggled and moved her mane out of her eyesight. "And we might want to find a new path. That bog is way too stinky." She explained, gesturing to the big puddle, while a pegasnail came trailing by, and Izzy grabbed it when it started sinking and pulled it out. "We put one hoof in there, and we're gonna be mud ponies forever!" She cheered with a silly look, then she smiled. "Could be kind of fun." Pipp chuckled sarcastically before deadpanning. "Yeah, that's a hard no for me, Iz. Any other ideas?" Sunny started to look around, before noticing something that made her smile. "Nopony panic. I know that rock." She said, gesturing to the rocky hill where she got lost with her friends a long time ago. "Follow me!" Later, the rain finally stopped, the skies cleared up, and the sun was shining down again. Meanwhile, the Mane 6 and Windy were setting up a camp, with Sunny placing a blanket with food on the ground; Pipp humming happily to herself next to a speaker with a microphone; Zipp putting up the tent, and Izzy gathering wood to make a fire. "Oh, yeah!" Izzy cheered with a smirk. "What's a campfire without…" Pipp started, then she grabbed the microphone and cleared her throat, before flying up to her sister. "...campfire songs from ME-ME-ME-MEEEEE?" She sang through the microphone, amplifying her voice and making Zipp cover her ears from the loud sound. On the other hoof, Misty was moving a stick strapped to her side and humming happily while dragging the stick to the ground to form a perimeter, but then she bumped into Sunny with a grunt. "Camp perimeter secured, Sunny," Misty said with a smile, then she dropped the stick, while Sunny smiled back. "Leave it to me to keep watch." "And I'll light the campfire," Hitch said with a smile, rubbing a stick over some logs, while Sparky watched him. "Stand back, Sparky." Yet Sparky started to feel his stomach rumbling, so he stood up and turned around, but before he could ran away, he farted out a dragon fire that hit the logs, lighting up in flames. Sparky felt ashamed for what he just did, while Hitch stared at the fire a bit disgusted. Sunny, however, giggled after seeing this. "All that's left to do is… dinner!" She stated, then she stomped her hoof down, using her Earth Pony magic that spread across the ground to the seeds Izzy was planting and watering. Soon, Sunny's magic reached the seeds and made carrots grow from the ground, then Sunny picked a carrot up. "We are well on our way to earning that badge!" Windy said with a smile. Just then, a bunnisus came from behind a bush with squeaks and heart-shaped eyes, because it saw the carrots crops and hopped towards them, just to be stopped by Misty. "Shoo! Shoo!" Misty said to the bunnisus with a frown, but then she realized that she was being too harsh, so she kneeled down and smiled sheepishly at the critter. "Uh, if-if-if you wouldn't mind, please." The bunnisus squeaked with a frown, but it still choose to hop away, although not without glaring at Misty, making the poor mare flinch and sweat nervously by it. Despite having shown bravery in other kind of circumstances, she was still very shy in front of some circumstances. The bunnisus hopped through a bush with an angry look, but then it saw a stack of glowing pink crystals. It got curious and touched one, which made it glow in sparkling pink and start to grow in size. Back at the campsite, Pipp was vocalizing through her microphone. Zipp watched her sister with a smile, while Izzy came back with more wood for the fire, but suddenly, the ground started to rumble, and loud thudding sounds could be heard, with caught the Mane 6 but Misty's attention, as well as Windy's, as they looked around confused. And right Before any of them could question anything, they saw Misty running towards them, while dust was following behind her, as she gave a panicked expression. "RUUUUUN!" Yet all the group did was stood there in shock, seeing the bunnisus in front them, but in gumbo size. "Everypony, look out!" Sunny warned and ran way with Windy. As the two mares moved out of the way, the bunnisus hopped over them and kicked the wagon full of carrots in the air, then it caught it in the mouth and ate it, before burping out the wagon pieces. Pipp, Zipp and Misty screamed when they saw the giant bunnisus jumping towards them, as it knocked them away while destroying their camping stuff. Also, the wind from the gigantic critter's jump blew towards Hitch, blowing away the fire and his tent. "Come on!" Hitch groaned, and Sparky whimpered in fear. The bunnisus roared loudly, and then it began to hop away, towards Maretime bay. "Oh, no! The bunnisus is destroying everything!" Sunny pointed out at the destruction the giant bunnisus is making. "Including any hope of earning that Wilderness Survival Badge." Zipp whispered to the rest of the Mane 6. "All that matters now is stopping that bunnisus before anypony gets hurt!" Sunny said with a determined look, then she looked around and noticed one of the remaining carrot carts. She saw a carrot on the floor, and now she finally had an idea, so she smiled and used her Earth Pony magic to make the carrot grow bigger. "Everypony with me?" Sonic was sleeping peacefully at the Crystal Room in the Brighthouse. He was no heavy sleeper, so the minimum sound was going to end up waking him up... Which is exactly what happened once the entire ground rumbled and lift him in the air. "Huh?!" Sonic exclaimed in panic, sitting down and looking around confused, just for the ground to shake again and lift him a second time. "What in the name of Chaos?!" Sonic looked at the Unity Crystals with a raised eyebrow, but when the ground rumbled again and he noticed that the Crystals remained intact, he knew that the Crystals were fine. Yet another rumble made him stand up and ran to stand at the very top of the building. Once he saw what was going on, his eyes widened at the sight of the bunnisus, which literally destroyed the Community Garden outside the Brighthouse. "Oh-oh..." Sonic said with wide and panicked eyes. "Sunny's not gonna like this." After saying that, he noticed that the bunnisus was heading towards Posey's, and he panicked even more, because he knows that Posey has gone through enough crap because of them, so he attempted to boost towards her... Just to make a bad move and trip. He fell in a bush with spikes, and of course he screamed loudly in pain because of that. After that, the bunnisus hopped pass Posey's house. It landed on one of her flower patches, making her open her door to see what was all that noise about. "Huh?" Posey exclaimed, then she turned to see her ruined flower patch, so she screamed very loudly in shock. Shadow was staring at the ocean from a hill, probably reflecting about his life for the millionth time. Yet his thoughts were interrupted when the ground rumbled, so he posed defensively and looked around. "What the hell?" Shadow muttered confused. It seems this bunnisus hopes too damn hard. I say this, because both ponies from Bridlewood and Maretime Bay could hear the thudding sounds, since in Alphabittle's Tea Shop, said unicorn was giving a Unicorn mare a tea, just when the ground rumbled. In Mane Melody, Jazz and Amy were applying makeup over an Earth Pony mare. But when the ground rumbled loudly, Jazz ruined the lipstick, and Amy ruined the eye shadows. Worse of all, Rouge was near a mirror, applying some makeup over herself, but the rumble ruined it too. Yeah, she didn't took it too well, I'll tell you that. Her scream was... Quite loud and horrible to hear. Tails was at his workshop, fixing Fifi's delivery cart since the wheels popped off. However, just as he was about to put the final wheel, the ground rumbled loudly, and the cart was now trembling as well because of that, which made Tails accidentally drop the wheel, just for the ground to rumble again and made the cart fall over his back. Of course, this made Tails feel incredibly painful, but he managed to resist a scream of agony and pain. Omega was literally glaring daggers at a colt. He was at the beach with the Pippsqueaks Glory, Seashell and Peach Fizz, because he promised to their parents that he'll look after them the same way he's been doing for the past several months. Right now, however, he was being more menacing than ever. One of the colts in the beach 'accidentally' hit Seashell with a ball, and instead of apologizing, he made fun of her, then ran away and minded his own business. Of course, Glory and Peach Fizz saw this happening, but so did Omega, who's red eyes shrink a bit, then he grabbed Glory and placed her carefully on his shoulder, while he followed the colt along the other two fillies, and once they spotted him, they cornered him. The colt stared up at Omega in pure fear, but the robot did not care. "Apologize to the tiny Earth horse girl right now, or we will make you," He demanded in anger. Yet before the colt could do so, or even say or do anything at all, the ground rumbled violently, which made Omega grab the three fillies on his arms to protect them. He looked around confused, then the ground rumbled again, which confused him even more, and even though he was still mad with the colt for what he did to Seashell, he still felt bad for him when he saw him loosing his balance, so he grabbed him as well. After that, he turned on his rockets to stay in air in case he had to boost away for shelter. Back in town, Knuckles was doing his rounds around and watching over town. However, as soon as the ground rumbled, he almost lost his balance, but still managed to keep it at stake, and then as he looked around, he noticed the bunnisus in the distance. "What in the name of the Master Emerald is going on here?!" Knuckles asked confused and in shock. The bunnisus glared daggers down at Knuckles, but just when Knuckles was ready to fight... "Over here, Mr. Hippity-Hoppity!" Misty called out, cutting Knuckles off and standing in front of Canterlove Studios, also levitating the big carrot Sunny made earlier. "Come and get it!" The giant bunnisus saw the carrot, so it hopped towards Misty, which made the unicorn loose her courage. "Whoa. Whoa!" Misty cried out while sweating nervously, then she started running away, while the giant bunnisus followed behind her. Misty ran into the woods, then she turned back and saw the bunnisus getting closer to her and the carrot. "Whoa!" Misty said, then she tossed the giant carrot away with a grunt, making the bunnisus hop next to her. The bunnisus glared in anger, but then he saw Hitch running with a wagon that held the big carrot, so it hopped after him, while Hitch ran as fast as he could, then stop himself and made the the big carrot fly off, just to be caught by Windy caught in the air, then she flew off. "Over here!" Pipp called out, appearing suddenly from some trees, so Windy tossed the carrot to Pipp, who caught it and then flew away, while the bunnisus hopped after her. Soon, Pipp stopped and tossed the carrot to Zipp, who flew below some tree vines and dodged a few trees. Soon, the giant bunnisus hopped, so she flew up and twirled around to toss the carrot to Sunny. The carrot landed on Sunny's wagon, then she started running away with a determined smile, but then she saw a cliff ahead, so she gave a determined look and jumped over the edge, bringing out her Alicorn magic and flying up, which made her wagon get lose and fell off her straps. The carrot was now falling, and even though Sunny could have levitated it, Shadow came at tops speed and jumped, then kicked the carrot back to Sunny, who smiled and caught it with her hooves. After that, the now Alicorn mare flew off, but when she turned, she saw the giant bunnisus over her with it's wings spread and a smirk, making her gasp, so she flew faster into the forest, dodging around trees with no problem and heading towards a familiar spot. The giant bunnisus hopped into the mud puddle bog Izzy mentioned earlier. When the critter noticed this, it tried to fly out of the mud, but it was stuck, and it made it feel sad and defeated. "Phew!" Sunny said in relief, but then she giggled sheepishly, while her friends behind looked at the critter confused. "Uh, careful, little–– uh, big critter." Then, the bunnisus started to cry because of being stuck, while Shadow suddenly appeared at Sunny's side. "The hell happened to them to get that big?" He asked confused. "I don't think it matters anymore. What's important is that we prevented a major disaster." Sunny said with a smile. "You start to sound like Sonic. I should worry, a lot," Shadow deadpanned. Sunny rolled her eyes and giggled, then looked at the bunnisus with a smile "We'll get you free just as soon as you're back to normal." Just then, Izzy grabbed some crystals and stood up. "These ought to do it," She smiled, then levitated the crystals around the giant bunnisus. The crystals shimmered brightly and used their magical properties to shrank the bunnisus back into its normal size, while Izzy caught it with her magic, making it squeak a bit in a very cute way. Then, Izzy brought it to her hooves and hugged it with a cheery smile. "Awww! What a little cutie!" Izzy said with sparkling eyes, nuzzling her cheek with the bunnisus'. This made the rest of Mane 6 and Windy cheer to their success, while Shadow just shrugged and teleported away, since he felt this was none of his business. "Now look out for those giga gems, you hear?" Izzy said to the bunnisus, as she put it down, while the critter hopped towards the giant carrot and began to chomp it quickly. Then, Misty came up to Sunny with concern. "Sorry things didn't work out how you'd hoped, Sunny." "Aw, thanks, Misty," Sunny told her with a smile. "But we can always try to earn the Wilderness Survival Badge some other time. Right, Windy?" Windy, however, smiled and cleared her throat. "Actually, the Wilderness Survival Badge isn't just about putting up tents or lighting a campfire. It's about working together," She explained, holding up the badge, while the others listened with smiles, and Sunny smiled with sparkling eyes, with Windy coming up to Sunny. "Which... is exactly what we just did!" "Aw, yeah!" Sunny cheered joyfully. After that, the Mane 6 and Windy put their earned survival badges on their respective sashes, and then they all started to cheer at their success, hooftapping each other as a team, while the Cutie Marks of the seven ponies started to glow and sparkle up. Meanwhile, in the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic was trying so hard not to scream. After falling on that bush with spikes, Amy had to come from Mane Melody and attend him with a bored expression, removing the spikes from his body that got attached to it. "I'm the Fastest–– OW!" Sonic groaned when Amy removed another spike from hi back. "––Thing Alive. I have survived literal–– DANG IT!" He groaned again when Amy removed a spike off his shoulder. "––Explosions! I have conquered gods and machines–– Hahaoya!" He groaned when Amy took off a spike from his arm, also saying 'Mommy!' in Japanese. "But then I fell on a bush with spikes, and now everything hurts. Why?! I'm a hedgehog! I have quills, for Chaos–– SAKE! GAH!" Amy rolled her eyes after removing another spike off his back. "Should I remind you that you are no god, and that you're just as mortal as any of us?" She asked sarcastically. "Well, it'll be great if I wasn't!" Sonic groaned a bit mad, then groaned again and loudly when Amy removed a spike from his arm again. Meanwhile, Tails was not so far, laying on his back over a giant piece of ice after his incident earlier. "I won't be able to sit for a freaking week, guys..." Tails groaned painfully, also pulling his tongue out to add more drama. Amy rolled her eyes again in annoyance and shook her head in disappointment. "I'm surrounded by toddlers..." THE END Author's Note That... actually went better than I expected. Since I had no idea on what to do with the Mobians in this episode, I choose to leave them as background characters having several situations that affects them all because of the bunnisus earthquakes. Also, I think that I have written Amy more like a Mom to Team Sonic than anything else, but I think it fits her character. She keeps the guys on line, after all. Anyways. Next episode: Sonic Superstars stuff. That's all I'm gonna say. Bye! 69. Chaos PocksIn the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic hold the Blue Chaos Emerald with a smirk. "Chaos... Control!" Sonic shouted, as the Emerald began to glow bright on its color, soon followed by Sonic's body glowing in the same color scheme as well. After that, Sonic's body literally started to multiply, until the room was filled with thousands of Sonics. Fun fact: This was not Sonic using his super speed to multiply himself, but instead, it was the Chaos Emerald's power literally multiplying Sonic's physical form. Once all the Sonics were here, they all looked over at Zipp, who was taking notes about the Chaos Emeralds' abilities, but she also had her jaw dropped once Sonic multiplied himself without using his speed. "Hello, Zippster!" All the Sonics said with smirks. "Sweet ponyfeathers!" Zipp said amazed and with wide eyes. "You... are... and even... You are literally everywhere!" "Yeah, all thanks to the power of this Emerald here!" The Original Sonic that used the Chaos Emerald said with a smirk, also pointing at said Emerald on his hand. "But that's not the only power that I can use!" One of the other Sonic's said, laying on Zipp's shoulder. "Just you wait until you see me using the the rest of them!" Another Sonic said with a smile. "Then you better get to show me, sir! Or... Sirs? I honestly don't know, this is confusing," Zipp said with a sheepish smile. In the daylight Gonna go fast Gotta beat the red light Ain't no time lapse Later on, Sonic and Zipp were outside near the beach. Sonic was holding the Light Blue Emerald on his hand, and he smirked confidently before using the Emerald's power to turn his body into literal water that melted and went to the sea, which both surprised and concerned Zipp, because she knows he can't swim. In the night time I'ma keep on Racing the shooting stars til the dawn However, her worry didn't lasted long when Sonic came back to the surface with a smirk, just that now, his whole body was made of water, and that made Zipp's jaw drop again. Still, she ended up smiling, taking a picture of Sonic, and then writing down her observations on her phone. We can be friends, but I won't team up If you wanna come along, then try to keep up Now, they went to Bridlewood to test out the Green Chaos Emerald's power. Sonic grabbed said Emerald and made it glow, then once his body was glowing on the same green color, he smashed the ground and made a giant vine grow from it, since this Emerald's power worked similarly to the Earth Pony's magic, but with Chaos Energy. Zipp was surprised by this once again, but she still smiled, took a picture, and wrote her observations down. I'm the fastest, I'm the fastest alive Need no practice If you insist I'm a liar Soon, they moved towards Zephyr Heights with the Yellow Chaos Emerald. While all the Chaos Emeralds can use the 'Chaos Control' ability to stop time entirely, only the Yellow One can slow it down, and Sonic was ready to do a demonstration of such quality. So, Sonic grabbed Zipp's hoof, then used the Emerald's power and made time slow down around them. Zipp looked around amazed, and she realized that everypony else around was till moving, but at a very slow pace. She wondered if this is how Sonic feels the whole time. Still, she decided to question him that later, because she wrote down her observations on her phone again. I can't even explain it But I know I'll never stop this feeling Now, they came to Canterlot City with the Red Chaos Emerald. There, they explained to Discord what they were doing, and Discord even decided to help by snapping his fingers and make a bunch of objects, or 'obstacles', to appear around the abandoned city. This is because the Red Emerald's power is to transform the user into a living bullet that boots around at the speed of sound, and Sonic activated the power of the Emeralds to turn himself into a bullet, so he charged his Spin Dash and then started to boot around. The speed in my soul The speed in my soul He always hit all the obstacles that Discord placed, and he destroyed them all in a matter of seconds, something Zipp recorded with a smile, then she wrote down her observations again on her phone. And I can't even restrain it So I'm gonna keep, keep on running The speed in my soul And now, they went back to Maretime Bay to try out the Purple Emerald's power. There, Sonic grabbed Zipp's hoof again before using the Emerald's power again, which made the entire environment around them to change, but this time around, they were looking at a bunch of purple invisible platforms floating around Maretime Bay. These platforms could only be visible and touchable thanks to the Emerald's power, which meant that only Sonic and Zipp could not only see them, but also touch them as well. So, Sonic started to jump all over the platforms to have fun, and Zipp decided to join him over, feeling surprised that the platforms where this solid despite being invisible for everyone else, but she still smiled and started to make tricks over platforms along Sonic. And nothing's gonna stop me I'ma keep on running, oh! The two of them laughed as the kept jumping over platforms, not noticing that Knuckles and Hitch were looking at them from the ground, since they were patrolling around the town. But as soon as they noticed that Sonic and Zipp were making tricks and 'platforming' in the sky, floating around, Hitch's jaw dropped confused, while Knuckles groaned and facepalmed, because this wasn't the first time that Sonic was doing something like this. "Not this crap again..." Knuckles muttered to himself in annoyance. Later on, Sonic and Zipp returned to the Crystal Brighthouse. Zipp was now at her laptop, uploading all the info she wrote down of the Chaos Emeralds on her phone and now putting it on her computer with a huge smile, while Sonic stood at her side with a smirk. "I can't believe that the Emeralds could do all of that this whole time!" Zipp said with a smile, then her eyes opened wide, and she looked at Sonic with sparkling eyes. "Wait! Does this mean that Super Sonic has been using the power of all the Emeralds combined and is not just an exclusive thing of the Super form?!" "Yup!" Sonic replied with a smirk. "Well, I mostly only use the Bullet Power, Avatar Power, Time Stop Power, and Extra Power. The other three? I barely have used them as Super Sonic." "Extra Power?" Zipp asked confused. "I don't think I have that one down..." "Oh, that's because I haven't showed you the Silver Emerald's power," Sonic explained with a smile, then he made the Silver Chaos Emerald appear on his hand. "Want me to show you what it does?" "Of course!" Zipp said with sparkling eyes, also taking out her phone to record. "Hey guys!" Sunny's voice suddenly spoke, as the two of them turned to see her entering the room with a smile. "Whatcha doing?" "Hey, Sunny-bunny!" Sonic said with a smile. "Not too much, just showing Zipp the special powers of the Chaos Emeralds." "Special powers?" Sunny asked confused. "What is that?" After Sunny asked this, Zipp zoomed into her face while holding her laptop on her hooves. "Each Chaos Emerald has a special ability. Sonic's been showing them to me the whole morning!" She explained, as she showed Sunny the videos of what the first six Chaos Emeralds could do. Sunny's eyes sparkled after seeing this. "Whoa!" She exclaimed happily. "I didn't knew the Emeralds could do all of that!" "We rarely use those abilities 'cause they're not necessary, but Zipp had a good point when she asked me if I could show her what the Emeralds are capable of," Sonic explained. "Which is?" Sunny asked with a smirk, since she noticed that Zipp wanted so badly to share what she had to say. "Well, we know a bit about the Unity Crystals and what they can do," Zipp began to explain. "However, we barely know about the Emeralds' power. Sure, we know stuff like that they're from Equestria and come from space, but what do we know about their power for sure?" "I mean, we have seen Sonic use them to stop time, and I'm pretty sure he told us the Ancients used them to create the Titans from the Starfall Islands," Sunny pointed out. "But we didn't know they each have different abilities, so I totally see your point, Zipp." "And now, Sonic's gonna show me what the last Emerald's power is!" Zipp said with a smile, once again pointing her phone at him to record the demonstration. "Ooh, I wanna see this, too!" Sunny said with her hooves together and sparkling eyes. "Okay, ladies. I'll show you the power of the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic stated. "Now, this one in particular has the Extra Power. It's called like that because it gives you and extra ability in combat you can't usually do as yourself. In my case?" After saying all of this, he pointed the Emerald high and made it shine brightly. Then, the said 'Chaos Control' and activated the Emerald's power, making his entire body shine brightly in a silver light. Once the Emerald Power was activated, Sonic twirled around on his place. You may think this does nothing, but in reality, it transformed him into a literal living driller, although the driller part was upwards, hence why Sonic was twirling with his hands pointing to the ceiling. Of course, this made Sunny and Zipp gasp amazed with sparkling eyes, and Zipp even took a good video of Sonic's demonstration about the Emerald's power. Then, the hedgehog stopped twirling and smirked at his friends after finishing showing the Extra Power. "So? Whatcha think?" Sonic asked confidently. "Amazing!" Zipp said, still with sparkling eyes. "I knew that the Emeralds were powerful, but this goes beyond my expectations! I must write this down and investigate further. I may not discover how they do what they do, but I know I'll get something!" After saying this, Zipp went over to her laptop so she could write down what she just saw, while Sunny approached Sonic and stared at the Emerald on his hand with sparkling eyes. "Say, Sonic..." Sunny called out, and Sonic turned to see her. "You won't happen to know if somepony can use the Chaos Emeralds, do you? I mean, we know you can use them and all, but what about a pony?" Sonic blinked a few times, then crossed his arms and looked down in thought. "You know? I actually never wondered that before... I honestly don't know what could happen." "I see..." Sunny said, then looked at the Emerald on his hand. "So, what would happen if I––" Sonic noticed that Sunny was trying to grab the Emerald with her hoof, so he quickly moved it away from her. "Whoa! Hold on, Sunny!" Sonic said with concern, then he frowned slightly. "A Chaos Emerald can't be used just like that." "Why not? I have seen you using them several times! Even transforming into your Super self," Sunny pointed out with a smile. "That's because I have been exposed to Chaos Energy for years," Sonic pointed out. "I also have a special connection with the Emeralds, but said connection was forged after I trained myself to resist their power." "Resist their power?" Zipp asked this time, joining in the conversation and taking out her phone to record Sonic's dialogue. "Can you explain what do you mean?" "The Chaos Emeralds are gems of miracles, jewels capable of amazing things," Sonic started to explain. "On the right hands, they can be used to create incredible stuff, but in the wrong ones, they can be used to cause a destruction like nothing you've ever seen. And, not everyone can use a Chaos Emerald. You have to train yourself in every aspect to resist their energy: Your body, your mind, your soul. They all have to be in sync when using a Chaos Emerald. If not, all three of them could get affected in ways I don't even want to think about." "Whoa..." Both Sunny and Zipp said in surprise with wide eyes. "It's a miracle that Tails is not dead after using the seven Emeralds to cure the Metal Virus," Sonic said with a concerned frown. "He never used that much power before. I still wonder why he survived, but I'm very glad he did." "Wait... Tails could've died?!" Zipp asked in panic with wide eyes again. "Hence why only Shadow and I use the Emeralds," Sonic pointed out. "And it'll be amazing if it remains like that. I'm serious, Sunny: Don't use the Emeralds. Either Shadow or I can train you to resist their power, just like I'm doing with Tails, but until then, I don't want you or anyone else to even think about using a Chaos Emerald. Understood?" "Oh, I'm siding with you, bro-in-law," Zipp said, then she turned to see Sunny. "We are not using the Chaos Emeralds. If Tails survived even though he should've died, I don't want to even know what could happen to the rest of us." "But I––" Sunny tried to argue. "Sunny. This is out of question," Sonic scolded her. "I know why I'm telling you not to use the Emeralds' Power. Besides, there's a reason why I tell you not to use them without being prepared. Tails is alive by a miracle, but we don't know if you'll have the same luck, and I won't risk your life to find out the answer. Please, just don't touch the Emeralds." Sunny didn't liked that she was treated like a child by her friends sometimes, but she also understood that Sonic's concern comes from the idea of her dying because of the Chaos Emeralds, and she honestly didn't liked the idea of dying either when she still had so much to see and say. So, Sunny sighed frustrated and nodded. "Okay... I won't use the Chaos Emeralds." Sonic's frown disappeared, and his smile returned. "That's all I need to hear," He stated, then he approached to the Capsule where they've been protecting the Chaos Emeralds for the past month after what happened in the parallel human world and placed the Silver Emerald back on place. "I'm almost late for dinner with Pipp. We're going out before our order gets cancelled... Again. See ya!" After saying that, Sonic boosted out of the Brighthouse. "And I have to reunite with Tails. He said something about discovering something cool from Cyberspace," Zipp said with a smile as well, so she headed to the exit, but before leaving, she turned to see Sunny. "Don't you dare to use the Emeralds, Sunny! We know you, and if you are planning on using them, forget about that idea!" With that being said, Zipp left the place and closed the door of the bedroom behind, while Sunny turned her attention back to the capsule where the Emeralds were being protected. "Is it really that bad for a pony to use a Chaos Emerald?" Sunny questioned, and then decided to do precisely what she was told not to: She removed the crystal protecting the capsule and grabbed the Silver Chaos Emerald with her hoof. "Maybe Sonic's just exaggerating. How bad can it be? Now, what's the word he uses? Chaos Control?" Just when Sunny said that, the silver Chaos Emerald started to glow, and it made her body shine brightly in a silver color as well. However, this made her panic a lot since she wasn't sure if she'll be okay considering what Sonic said about training mind, body and soul. So, in a desperate and panicked move, Sunny placed the Chaos Emerald back into the capsule and closed it quickly, then sighed in relief when both her and the Emerald stopped glowing. "Phew! That was close," Sunny smiled, then checked around her body to verify she was fine, and everything seemed to be in order. "Well, nothing seems to be wrong. But I think I'm actually going to hear Sonic and Zipp's words. I mean, I technically didn't used the Emerald, so I should be fine, right?" Sunny chuckled awkwardly to herself, then she sighed and turned around to leave... Not noticing that her Cutie Mark was now glowing in a silver color, the same tone of silver than the Chaos Emerald of said color. At the same time, said Emerald was glowing brightly. After dinner that night, everypony went to sleep. All of them were all cozy and nice on their beds, enjoying the sensation of comfort their beds where giving them after a long day on their respective jobs around Maretime Bay. However, they were all so asleep that none of them noticed that Sunny's body was glowing on a silver tone again, not even Sunny herself, and the Silver Chaos Emerald from the capsule was glowing brightly once again, as well as Sunny's Cutie Mark, which glow in the same color scheme. This glow started to make physical changes on Sunny's body, and then, bot the Emerald and the Earth Pony mare stopped glowing, but the Emerald's job over Sunny's body was done... The next morning, Sunny was the first one of the group to wake up as usual. She head downstairs to prepare breakfast like every morning, but just as she was about to exit the door of the bedroom, she noticed that the doorframe seemed to be smaller than usual for her. She had no idea why this is, but choose to shrug it off for now. She ducked down and passed through the doorframe, then entered the kitchen and started to think what to do for breakfast today. Some bacon and eggs with salad should do it, or so she thought. Once she decided what to make for breakfast, she prepared to get everything ready for cooking, but she also came to notice that the kitchen was smaller, and that she could reach higher and farther places than normal, something that she couldn't do before. This was confusing her more and more, nut when she took a small glance at her hoof, she saw claws instead, and that made her eyes open wide, followed by a very loud and startled scream. This made everyone else in the Crystal Brighthouse wake up startled as well by the scream, and Knuckles even fell from his bed. Everyone looked around for the source of the scream, but when they noticed that Sunny's bed was empty, the first ones to rush downstairs were Sonic and Tails. Once there, they looked around for Sunny, only to gasp in shock when they finally noticed her in the kitchen, but completely transformed into something else. "What the–– Sunny?!" Tails was the first one of the brothers to speak. "Uh... I think so?" Sunny replied with a sheepish smile. If you wonder why they screamed, well: Not only Sunny had claws on her front hooves now, but her figure was taller, probably as taller as Princess Cadance was back in the day, and her tail looked more like a lion's tale than a pony's, which made things even stranger. "This... This makes absolutely no sense..." Sonic said confused. "What happened to you?" "I have no idea!" Sunny replied with honesty. "I felt normal by waking up, but then everything started to seem smaller for me, and when I realized, I already looked like this!" Tails was going to question her further, but before doing so, the rest came rushing downstairs. "We heard the scream as well! What's going–– Whoa!" Zipp cut herself off when she and everyone else noticed Sunny's current state, as she smiled sheepishly at them and waved her hoof with claws. The rest was shocked to see Sunny like this... except for Izzy. "Hi, Sunny!" She said cheerfully as usual. Pipp, on the other hand, directly fainted in the ground for the shock, while the rest was concerned for Sunny. "Sunny?! What's going on?!" Zipp asked confused and concerned. "How did you got like this?" "I have no idea!" Sunny said frustrated, covering her face with her hooves, while Pipp started to wake up and felt dizzy, but then felt concerned when she saw Sunny in her current state. "Did you wake up like this today?" Amy questioned. "Because if I recall correctly, you were just fine last night." "Well, I think so?" Sunny replied. "Ugh! I just don't know, guys! Everything's so confusing right now!" "What's so confusing?" Hitch's voice asked suddenly, and everyone's eyes widened, so they all turned and saw Hitch, Shadow and Rouge entering the Brighthouse, but as soon as they lay their eyes on Sunny's current aspect, their eyes widened as well. "Sweet hoofness! Sunny?!" "What the actual $&@#?!" Shadow screamed out loud, but the last word was censored with a bip and the word 'SEGA' covering his mouth. "Uh, did we missed something important here?" Rouge said. "What part of I don't know everyone can't understand?!" Sunny shouted out loud in rage, as her body glimmered in a silver color, while her voice echoed across the entire Brighthouse, which actually took everyone off guard. "...Huh... That's a pretty dope voice." Sonic said with amusement. "This is getting weirder and weirder with every second." Knuckles muttered with concern. "Sorry, guys..." Sunny apologized for shouting. "Is just that I don't know what's happening..." She pointed out, but then her whole body was covered by silver spots that disappeared as soon as they came, yet it was still weird. "And it's just getting worse!" This was concerning everyone, specially Hitch, Sonic, Tails and Shadow, who wanted so badly to know what's happening to Sunny and how they could help her to get back to normal. But then, something made 'clic' on Tails' brain, because he remembered something. "Hold on. Physical change, a strange glow, and spots covering the body... I have read about this before." "You have?" Sonic asked him with a raised eyebrow. "Hold on a second!" Tails said, then he boosted towards the upper floor and came back with a brown book, which had a drawing of seven emeralds in the cover. "Let's see... Power boost, Chaos Control, Emerald Power–– Oh, here it is: Chaos Pocks." After Tails said this, everyone else in the room blinked and stared confused at the young fox. "Um, babe? How about you explain yourself?" Zipp said. "I was getting into that," Tails deadpanned a bit. "Chaos Pocks is an infection that can only be obtained after someone with no previous preparation has attempted to use Chaos Control. The side effects of this infection are physical changes, constant popping of spots across the body, intense glowing for no reason, constant changes in attitude, and if not treated in time, Negative Chaos Energy could take control over the infected and turn them into an outrageous monster." After Tails explained what the Chaos Pocks is, everyone stared at him with wide eyes, and Sunny even gulped nervously at that last thing, specially because she didn't wanted to become a monster that would loose control over herself and destroy everything on her way. "Wait a second... 'An infection that can only be obtained after someone with no previous preparation has attempted to use Chaos Control'?" Sonic questioned, then his eyes widened, followed by a frown and a growl, as he turned to Sunny behind him, who flinched and gulped nervously at his angered look. "Sunny... Did you used Chaos Control when I specifically told you not to?!" Sunny smiled sheepishly and scratched her arms ashamed. "Well... I was a bit curious on how the Emeralds' power worked, so... Maybe I did used the Silver Chaos Emerald? Just a tiny little bit?" "Sunny!" Sonic scolded her with a frown. "This is the exact reason why I told you not to use a Chaos Emerald! I know it can have consequences on anyone that's not trained to use them!" "I'm sorry!" Sunny apologized. "I just thought that it'll be harmless!" She said, but then her eyes glowed in silver color, then she shook her head and looked down at Sonic with anger. "If anything, this is your fault for not making sure I left the room!" "Oh, we're going down that route?!" Sonic said with anger. "I worry about you! I have more experience with the Emeralds, which is precisely why nothing I said about them was a joke, woman!" "Well, you should have warned me even harder than that!" Sunny said with anger, getting her face closer to Sonic's. "What is that supposed to mean?!" Sonic said in rage, also getting closer to her face and growling. "Stop fighting!" Tails said, as he got in the middle of them and pushed them away from each other. "This isn't going to solve Sunny's problem! We need you both to calm down so I can look after a cure to bring Sunny back!" Sunny and Sonic were still a bit mad, but Sonic ended up sighing and shaking his head. "You're right... Sorry. I shouldn't let my anger get the best of me." Sunny, on the other hand, was still mad, so she huffed and looked away, also crossing her hooves. "The infection is already making effect..." Hitch noticed with concern, because Sunny's attitude clearly changed all of a sudden, so he looked over at the young fox. "Tails, how do we help her?" "Hmm..." Tails muttered, as he read though the book he brought earlier, while Sunny started to loose her patience over Tails taking so long. "Apparently, to revert the Chaos Pocks, we have to bring the infected one in a calmed and serene state, then make them use the Chaos Emerald they attempted to use and let them be the one that reverts the effect." "So we only have to keep Sunny calm and with her mind clear to bring her back to normal?" Pipp asked, then she smiled. "That actually sounds pretty easy." "Well, yeah, it sounds easy, but we have to do it quick!" Tails said with concern. "If we don't revert the Chaos Pocks back, the Negative Chaos Energy on her body is going to intensify, and then––" But before Tails could finish explaining, the room was suddenly covered in a silver light coming form Sunny's body, as said light was shining so brightly that it illuminated the place and blurred everyone's sights. Then, Sunny's body started to mutate even more: Her entire body was growing, to the point she was almost as big as the Crystal Brighthouse, spike scales began to grow from her mane, her voice was getting louder and deeper, which was noticeable because she was grunting to her transformation. And finally, her usually green eyes were switched by red and bloody ones that clearly showed how enraged she was, so she quickly went ahead and roared in anger, before traversing the Brighthouse. She destroyed the front part of the building, if it wasn't noticeable, and she roared in rage once again, then she saw ahead Maretime Bay and frowned. The Negative Chaos Energy was corrupting her beyond imagination, and now, she has turned into a beast like Chaos, God of Destruction. Sunny headed towards the town to cause chaos around, while her friends stopped covering themselves because of her outburst and looked at her running away with concern. "...and then that will happen..." Tails finished with concern. "SUNNY!" Hitch called out from the Brighthouse with concern, then he rushed towards town so he could help her, even adjusting Sparky on his back so he wouldn't fall from it. "I'm going with him!" Shadow stated, boosting away without waiting for anyone to say anything. "We're all going!" Zipp stated. "She's our friend and needs our help!" "Right!" The rest but Knuckles agreed with nods. "I'll go ahead and get as many citizens as I can out of the way!" Knuckles declared. "You guys go and bring our friend back to normal!" In Maretime Bay, everything seemed to be very peaceful so far. Omega decided to patrol the streets on his own to cover for both Hitch and Knuckles since they went to the Brighthouse along Shadow and Rouge for breakfast, but when the ground suddenly rumbled, the robot got startled and started to look around with concern. This was the second time this week that the ground rumbled like this, and he didn't liked it. The robot prepared his guns to shot just in case, but when the rumbling felt closer than ever, he turned around, and he saw with anger at Sunny, or rather, at Chaos Sunny, since her form resembled Perfect Chaos. Of course, Omega's first instinct was to attack straight at the monster that his sensors were detecting, but as soon as he scanned her Cutie Mark on her right flank, he could not shoot at her, because he recognized that as Sunny's Cutie Mark, and he had her registered as a friend on his database. Yet he soon realizes that ponies around were panicking because of the sudden 'monster' that came out of nowhere, so even though he could not attack Sunny, he could put everyone else to safety. So, Omega quickly created an improvised path for the ponies to follow. Everything pointed at Canterlove Studios, since it was the safest place in town, so everypony quickly started to run towards there, and Knuckles soon arrived to help Omega put everypony to safety. "Come on, everypony!" Knuckles called out with a determined expression. But then, he noticed that Hitch's animal crew was trapped inside of a box, so he boosted towards the box, opened it, and let the critters be free and get shelter on the studio as well. "No pony or critter is left behind as long as I'm around!" Knuckles declared with a smirk. Meanwhile, as Knuckles and Omega put everyone to safety, the rest of the gang was busy trying to figure out how the hell where they going to calm Sunny down, because she was being very destructive over all the buildings around, even stomping some of them with no mercy. "Serious question: How are we gonna make Sunny calm down if we can barely reach her?! She's a freaking giant!" Pipp pointed out with concern. "Giant or not, that's still Sunny." Shadow said with a frown. "There must be a way to bring her back to her senses..." "Hmm... How about we plan something out the same way you guys dealt with that bunny with wings?" Amy suggested, looking at the ponies in the group. "You mean make a trap to keep her on place?" Zipp asked. "Well, that could work, but what do we do after she's captured?" Once Zipp questioned this, Sonic and Shadow looked at each other, and despite their differences in the past, they knew exactly what to do, so they nodded to each other and looked back at the rest. "We know what to do," Shadow stated. "It's gonna be thought, but we need you guys to follow our lead," Sonic added. "We might know how to stop Sunny before this gets completely out of hand. It might seem like it is, but we still can save her." After the two hedgehogs said this, the rest nodded with determinate looks, willing to follow their lead. Chaos Sunny spent at least 10 minutes making a big disaster on Maretime Bay. This was similar to what the Death Egg Titan did months ago, but with a much smaller creature that was out of control because of corruption. The Negative Chaos Energy in Sunny's body just amplified her most destructive side, and now her home was paying the consequences. Suddenly, however, Chaos Sunny heard a whistle, so she turned around and saw Sonic standing over a ceiling. "Hey there, Sunny-bunny!" Sonic called out to her with a mocking smirk, which made Chaos Sunny feel angry. "How about we get you out of here to be a big, scary and outraged creature somewhere else, huh?!" After saying that, Sonic chuckled and boosted away at top speed, which enraged Chaos Sunny a lot, so she chased after Sonic in a desperate attempt to catch him. Chaos Sunny started to launch several attacks, like making her claws separate from her body and grow back, launching them at Sonic like projectiles, or even trying to vaporize him with lasers that she could make now that she looked like Perfect Chaos. Yet Sonic dodged these attacks easily, and then boosted ahead at top speed since she got her pretty far from Maretime Bay already, which made Chaos Sunny growl in anger. Yet before she could do anything to show this, Shadow suddenly teleported in front of her and looked at her with remorse and shame. "I'm sorry, Sunny. But this is the only way!" After saying that, Shadow kicked Chaos Sunny's face hard enough to make her groan loudly in pain, which was going according to the plan. Then, Hitch used his Earth Pony magic to make some vines grow and tie Sunny from her hind legs, while Amy used the Vine Power of the Green Chaos Emerald to tie her front hooves as well. Next to this; Tails, Rouge, Zipp and Pipp started to twirl around her head so they could make her dizzy and avoid her to try and escape from her current ties. This made Sunny wobble a bit, until she eventually fell to the ground and made it rumble entirely, as Sunny and Amy stopped using the vines and let her go. Meanwhile, Izzy and Misty approached her and they lightened their horns, aiming to her head and casting a small but effective spell on her mind to get her back into her senses. At least that's what Tails said when he teach them the spell, hopefully it does work. Well, it did worked, because Sunny started to open her eyes, but when she did so, she was once again the same Sunny. "Ugh... Huh?" Sunny said confused, her eyes were green again, and her voice was normal as well, but her gigantic form remained the same. "What... Guys? What... What's going on? Why are you all so... small, compared to me?" "We'll explain you later, Sunny," Hitch said, as he placed a hoof on her nose with a smile. "Right now, we only need you to go back to be yourself. The same Sunny we all love and care for." "The Sheriff's right," Sonic said, as he approached and made the Silver Chaos Emerald appear on his hand, then he placed it over Sunny's nose and let go, while the Emerald floated and stood in contact with Sunny. "Now, we just need you to say the exact same thing you said when you used the Emerald. "When I used the––" Sunny tried to say confused, but then her eyes opened wide when she remembered how she used the Emerald, how she turned into this... and how she went into a rampage because of the Negative Chaos Energy. Sunny felt really bad for her actions, but before apologizing, she had to go back to normal first. So, Sunny closed her eyes and let a lonely tear run down her cheek. "...Chaos... Control..." She said, and both her body and the Silver Emerald glow brightly, making her mutation revert and slowly return her back to normal, until both she and the Emerald stopped glowing. The Chaos Emerald remained floating in the air after Sunny was back to normal, so Sonic extended his hand to take the Emerald back on his hand. Then, he and the rest of his friends looked at Sunny, who was a regular pony once again, the only real difference being her mane not being tied in any form. Once everything seemed to be fine, Sunny sat down on her place, and now that she remembered everything she just did, she couldn't help but start to sob in pain, until it intensified and became actual crying. This made her friends feel bad for her, so with the exception of Shadow and Rouge, everyone else approached and surrounded her on a group hug for comfort, which made Sunny just tear up more and burry her face on Hitch's chest, while also rubbing Sonic and Tails' arms to feel their comfort. Shadow wanted to comfort her as well, on his very unique way, but he was willing to wait until the rest where done with their hug... Which he knew wasn't going to be anytime soon. A while later, everyone went back to the now destroyed Brighthouse. They all stared at the building's front part being destroyed. While it wasn't as bad as with the Death Egg Titan months ago, it still was very sad to see this place destroyed. It was going to take a good while before restoring the Brighthouse back to its glory, but the will pull it out. But even so, Sunny was very sad and ashamed of letting herself getting corrupted. She, the Alicorn that's supposed to look after Equestria. How could she accomplish such a task if she let the Negative Chaos Energy drive her insane moments ago? "I'm very sorry for all the trouble I caused..." Sunny apologized, then she looked over at Sonic. "You were right, Sonic. I was not ready on any of those ways to use the Emeralds' power, and I still tried to. If only I listened to you..." "Sunny, we cannot think on what could it been anymore," Sonic told her with a smile. "I forgive you. And nobody was hurt, right? That's a win already. Sure, we have a lot to rebuild in both Maretime Bay and the Brighthouse, but with magic and the power of what I like to call 'teamwork', I'm sure we'll pull this off in no time." "And, if you still insist on learning about Chaos Control, perhaps we can teach the proper way next time," Shadow suggested, placing a hand over Sunny's shoulder. "Just listen to us the next time we warn you about the Chaos Emeralds. Like Sonic said, those warnings are not for nothing." Sunny smiled slightly and nodded. "Maybe when I feel ready to learn, I'll do it," She stated, then she looked back at Maretime Bay. "For now? I have to make it up to the town for my disaster, and to you guys for destroying my home. Our home. Is the least I can do before I actually learn to control the Chaos Emeralds." "You don't owe us a thing, Sunny," Zipp said with a smile. "You only where curious to see what could happen." "It could have been any of us, you know?" Pipp pointed out. "I had felt curious myself, and I'll be lying if I say I didn't wanted to try it out..." "Pipp..." Sonic deadpanned at her, while Pipp smiled sheepishly. "But we are not mad, Sunny!" Izzy said, side-hugging her with a cheery smile. "We're just glad to have you back as the same Sunny we love!" "And we'll help you to rebuild everything," Hitch assured with a smile, while Sparky on his back babbled in agreement. "After all, that's what friends are for, right?" Misty added with a smile. Sunny felt really touched after hearing her best friends saying all of that, so she smiled and sniffed, then wiped out her tears and nodded in agreement. "I'm so lucky to have you all as my best friends." She declared joyfully, some tears of happiness still showing. However, Sunny didn't noticed that her Cutie Mark was glowing with the seven colors of the seven Chaos Emeralds for a moment. Sonic did noticed it, though and he wonders why that is. But seeing that Sunny was fine, and that she didn't realized about the glow, he simply sighed and smile. He will investigate further on this matter in other occasion, but for now? It'll be his little secret. THE END Author's Note So... Ever seen that "Manga/Anime/Netflix Adaptation" Meme? This episode in particular falls in that category, and BenictheHedgehog can confirm this because he suggested today's chapter. Originally, it was intended as a two-parter, but what he suggested me to do was so damn difficult to fit in the TYT kind of style that I had to scrap at least 65% of what he suggested me and use only 35%. This is the final result, and while he still told me that he liked the episode as it is, I still find it funny to compare this chapter to what he originally suggested. There was a lot more going on, but again, I decided to cut it off because I don't want a two parter to steal a spot for a future original chapter. Is a matter about giving other ideas a chance, you know? Anyways. This chapter's done. Next one is an original one as well, and fair warning: We're heading back into Cyberspace! Because suffering in the Starfall Islands wasn't enough, apparently. See ya! 70. Return to CyberspaceKnuckles grunted in effort as he pushed something ahead with his legs. It turned out to be the Cyberspace portal that Knuckles accidentally activated, which also sent him, Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, Sparky and Hitch's animal crew to the Starfall Islands by mistake. Once the portal was back in place, Tails flew up and used his electrical powers to repair the portal and keep it steady, since he needed the portal to work completely and not just be entirely destroyed. After all, the portal had to be in good conditions to grant access into Cyberspace. Once Tails finished fixing the portal, he flew down and smiled at his work, just when Sonic and Sunny entered the cave and stared at the portal with uncertain expressions. "Um, Tails?" Sonic called out. "Remind me why you want to activate this thing? 'Cause last time I checked, it sent us all into an adventure across 5 islands where I had to destroy Evangelion-kind of robots, free you all from being digital ghosts, and got possessed by a weirdo that was trapped in there before we arrived." "Is this still to build a trap for Opaline?" Sunny questioned. "Because we could not pull that off since, well, you know. Metal Zombies Apocalypse and all that stuff." "I know you two doubt that this can work, but trust me! Cyberspace might be the key to defeat Opaline," Tails stated confidently, then he looked at Sonic with a smirk. "Also, did I mentioned that we can turn the Cyber Corruption into a really cool power?" "Yes, you have," Sonic deadpanned. "And I'll stand my position: I don't want to get that thing on me again. Not after the last time I had it." "While I understand your concern, trust me when I say that this is going to work for sure!" Tails declared with a smile. "Now, I only need to activate the portal, and we should be online!" As Tails moved towards a computer that was connected to the Cyberspace portal, Sonic kept staring at the monument with a frown and his arms crossed, because he clearly didn't remembered the Cyber Corruption with glee, and Sunny came to notice this, so she smiled and pushed him slightly on the shoulder. "Cheer up, Sonic. Trust Tails in this, okay? He's been working hard for weeks to make sure that the portal actually works, and you know that," Sunny pointed out. "I trust Tails, Sunny," Sonic remarked, sounding almost offended that Sunny even thought he didn't. "But I don't trust Cyberspace. Is a tricky place for the mind, and if not approached carefully, it could blown on my face. On our faces. I cannot risk that. I cannot risk you or anyone else. Not after The End showed his true colors." "Well, The End won't be a problem for a while," Sunny pointed out. "And if I'm being honest, I don't trust Cyberspace, either. I just trust Tails, and I'm confident that he's gonna make things for out. He's not Eggman, remember? He knows what he's doing." Sonic let out a sigh and nodded. "For everyone's sake, Sunny, I hope that you're right." "Okay, guys!" Tails called out, and his siblings turned to see him preparing the computer so he could turn on Cyberspace. "I think everything's ready. Stand back from the yellow line, though. I don't want anyone to be close and get swallowed into Cyberspace again." Both Sunny and Sonic looked down and noticed the yellow line Tails was talking about, so they obeyed and stepped back from it, while Tails nodded with a smile and pressed a button on his computer. After he pressed said button, the Cyberspace portal started to react. At first, it seemed like it was reactivating successfully, because the top of the structure was glowing like it should... But after a few seconds of waiting, the entire structure shut down, and it didn't turned on at all. "Huh?" Tails said confused, then he read his computer and realized that a message was warning about a failure, which made him roll his eyes. "I know there's been a failure, but why?" "Maybe the portal is not working anymore," Sonic suggested. "I mean, before you repaired it, it was slashed in a half. Perhaps it finally kick the bucket?" "That's... plausible, but we don't know for sure if that's what's going on," Tails pointed out. "I'm gonna take a closer look on that thing." "I'll go with you. I cannot risk you getting trapped in Cyberspace," Sonic stated, as he walked along Tails towards the portal. "Wait, guys!" Sunny called out, as she rushed towards them as well. The three of them were now climbing over the platform that grants access to Cyberspace, and while Tails analyzed the portal while rubbing his chin, Sonic still looked at it with a frown, and Sunny just tilted her head. "It seems that the gear is not fully on place for the portal to work," Tails pointed out. "Knuckles probably placed it with no effort, but is not entirely pushed." "Then how did the portal teleported him and the rest of our friends to the Starfall Islands?" Sunny asked confused. "It was probably The End's doing. He wanted so badly to get out of his prison, so he dragged more people I care for in order to make the Cyber Corruption work better," Sonic suggested with anger. "And here I thought he'll stop being a pain in the ass, even after not stalking me anymore." "We can figure out that stuff later," Tails said. "I'm just gonna put this gear in place." "What?!" Sonic said, now with wide and panicked eyes. "Tails, wait! Don't––" But it was too late to be stopped: Tails pushed the gear forwards in the Cyberspace portal, which immediately made the structure glow in red. This made the young fox smile, but it also made his body start to glow in red, while som red particles were coming from him. "Ah crap..." Tails deadpanned, accepting his fate. Sonic, on the other hand, grabbed his hand and tried to pull him away, while Sunny came and tried to pull Sonic away, but this only made them be surrounded by a red light and releases some red particles as well. The next thing the siblings know? They're dragged back into Cyberspace, as the portal stopped glowing. In the middle of Kronos Island, a red glow suddenly appeared. Then, said glow transformed into Sonic, Tails and Sunny, all reappearing in Kronos Island suddenly. The siblings were covering their faces in fear, but once they realized that they were fine, they looked around confused, just for their eyes to open wide when they realized they were back in the first Starfall Island. "Oh no..." Sunny muttered in panic, as she stepped back nervously. "Oh no, no, no, no... Not this place again!" "Seven months without visiting this place, and now we're back..." Sonic deadpanned. "Maybe I shouldn't have pushed the gear into the portal like I thought..." Tails said with a sheepish smile. "You think?!" Both Sonic and Sunny scolded him. "On the bright side, this is good news!" Tails tried to be positive. "This means that Cyberspace is back online, and that we can use it to trick Opaline!" "But is also bad news, because we have to find our way out!" Sonic pointed out. "And considering this place looks exactly like Kronos Island, I doubt we'll get out the same way I did in the actual islands." "Actual islands?" Sunny asked confused. "Wait, are you guys implying that we are not in the actual islands, but in Cyberspace instead?!" "I'm not implying it, Sunny. That's precisely what's happening. Look at the sky!" Sonic said, pointing at the sky. Sunny looked up, and confirmed Sonic's theory, because she noticed that the sky seemed glitchy and digital. "Well, like I said, Cyberspace is back online!" Tails reminded with a smile. "But, like Sonic said, we have to find our way out of here. The question is, if this is not like when Sonic visited earlier, then how do we find the exit?" Just as Tails asked this, a sudden digital screen appeared in front of the siblings, startling them, and then a text appeared that was giving them precisely what Tails was asking for. "Okay... A screen with what seems to be the way out of here," Sonic said with a raised eyebrow. "How convenient," Sunny raised an eyebrow as well. "Let's see... 'To escape Cyberspace and return to your reality, you must succeed in the 10 challenges ahead. Complete them all, and the door to your freedom will be revealed'," Tails read. "Challenges?" "Door to freedom?" Sunny questioned confused. "Bullshit," Sonic deadpanned and rolled his eyes. "Well, we have to complete the challenges that Cyberspace throws our way. Guess we have no choice." "Do we really don't have one?" Sunny asked concerned. The screen suddenly disappeared after Sunny asked that, and instead, a group of 6 Soldiers appeared. "...Forget it. I have my answer," Sunny deadpanned. "Eh, is just a bunch of Soldiers. These are a piece of cake!" Sonic declared with a smirk, then he launched himself against one with a Homing Attack and destroyed it immediately, followed by him jumping in the air and making a Stomp Attack over the next. He smiled, then looked back at his siblings. "See? Is that easy!" "If you say so!" Tails said, then he smiled to himself and charged up a Spin Dash, launching it against one of the soldiers, then jumped in the air and made his own version of the Stomp Attack, which he named Spike Stomp: He used his powers to create a yellow driller, and then smashed down the Soldier with the driller. Sunny smiled and giggled after seeing this, then she looked ahead at the two remaining Soldiers with a determinate look. She made her Alicorn form appear and turned into one, then charged her horn and shoot a laser towards one of them, followed by her spinning in the air and then finishing off the remaining one with a stomp. Once all the Soldiers were defeated, a bip sounded and echoes across Cyberspace, which called the siblings' attention, as they looked around confused. "What was that?" Sunny asked first. "I think that means that the first stage was clear," Sonic pointed out. "Okay, but... what do we do know?" Tails questioned. And just after Tails said this, they suddenly disappeared in a red flash without previous warning. Another red flash made them appear in other zone of Kronos Island. This time, they were on the abandoned temple from the very beginning of the island, the one where Sonic first encountered a Ninja that took him completely off guard and made him loose rings. This time, however, and having confronting the upgraded versions even, Sonic smirked at the sight. "That Ninja is our second challenge, but he's no match for the three of us!" Sonic declared with a confident smirk. "I'll go down, you guys go up!" Tails and Sunny nodded with confident looks, then they waited for Sonic to make the first move. Sonic smirked, charged up his Spin Dash and then launched himself against the Ninja, hitting him several times, then jumped in the air and kicked the enemy backwards. The Ninja rolled in the ground, but just when it was coming to a stop, Tails flew by at top speed and used his Tails to spin and hit the enemy a few times, then kicked him towards the air, where Sunny arrived and launched another blast from her horn that completely destroyed the Ninja. With that, the bip sound that announced their win was heard, and the three of them huddled together for a Power Bump, then were surrounded by the red light and transported to the next challenge. The trio appeared on the next zone near the temple of the island. When Sonic realized this, he deadpanned. "Wouldn't it had been easier if we just walked on our own?" "Uh... What are those things?" Sunny asked. She was pointing at a pair of strange robot that looked so much like a cluster of white spheres, each with a glowing red eye, surrounding a central black sphere with a red aura that the white spheres protect. When Sonic noticed them, he smirked, and stepped back from them. "Why don't you guys figure this one out?" Sonic suggested. "Is not hard to guess how to defeat those Bubbles." "Bubbles? Are they actually called like that?" Tails asked with a chuckle. "I didn't made the names," Sonic raised his hands in defense with a smile, then stood quiet. Both Sunny and Tails knew that Sonic wouldn't say a thing from here on, so they choose to follow his game and looked at the Bubbles, then looked at each other with grins. "One for each one?" Sunny asked. "You get the one back there, leave this other one to me!" Tails replied. After saying this, they spread: First, Tails looked over at one of the Bubbles and smirked, then used his powers to make a replica of the Tornado III on its Cyclone mode, and then charged the Cyclone's cannon to shot at the Bubble, destroying all the white spheres in the process. Once no white spheres were left, the central black sphere didn't even bothered on fighting back, because it self-destructed and made a small explosion happen. Seeing what Tails, did, Sunny smirked, so she then lightened her horn and charged another blast, then shoot it at the remaining Bubble, also destroying all the white spheres and making the black remaining one self-destruct, which made her giggle and cheer at her accomplishment. "Told you guys it wasn't hard to guess!" Sonic told Sunny and Tails with a mocking tone. "By the way, Tails. The Cyclone? Really?" "It was a good callback, and you have to admit that!" Tails said with a mocking smirk as well, while Sunny just giggled and hoofbumped with Tails' fist. Then, the siblings suddenly disappeared again, because they managed to complete the challenge once again. In the next zone they appeared, they found two new enemies, at least new for Sunny and Tails. These enemies were called Shell, red bipedal robots that possess black legs, masquerading themselves with a sharp, metallic and flexible blue shield each that covers its otherwise thin interior. Sonic recognized them immediately, and then smirked. "Say, guys! Why don't you leave these ones to me?" He asked. "Think you can handle them both on your own?" Sunny asked with a mocking tone. "Plu-ease, Sunny! The question offends me!" Sonic stated, then he adjusted his gloves and boosted on his own against the Shells. He used his Cyloop around the first one of them, making the robot's blue shield to fly in the air for quite a while. Once this happened, Sonic took this moment to make a Homing Attack against the enemy and then punch the crap out of it, until he managed to destroy it, and when the shield fell back, it also destroyed itself. Then, Sonic used the Cyloop again with the other enemy, and when its shield flew away, he instead used the Sonic Boom attack to destroy it even faster, making it explode along the shield once this last one fell. Sonic landed on the ground and smirked, then turned to his siblings. "And that's how you survive on 5 deadly islands!" Both Sunny and Tails rolled their eyes with amusing smiles at Sonic's attitude, while Sonic chuckled and crossed his arms confidently. Then, and just like it's been happening for the past 3 challenges, their bodies glow in red, then they disappeared and head towards the next challenge. The fifth challenge seemed to be the easiest one so far, and Sonic knew it. The enemies to defeat where 3 Bangers, robotic constructs sporting a crimson polyhedronal "core", each with a crimson wheel-like ring surrounding it, and two sharp rhombus-like black structures floating near their sides. "So how are these ones called, Mr. 'Expert on the Starfall Islands'?" Tails asked Sonic with a mocking tone. Sonic rolled his eyes and smirked. "These ones are Bangers. They're pretty easy to defeat, actually. You just have to hit them, then step back and parry when their about to attack, because the self-destruct after one single shot, so we have to parry them if we don't want to explode along." "Understood!" Sunny said with a smirk. And so, they each proceed to hit a Banger. Then, the enemies prepared to attack them, but just like Sonic told them, they parried them away and made them explode, meaning the passed the challenge again. With that, they glowed in red and moved into the next stage. In the next stage, they encountered a particular enemy. This one was named Squid. And is not so hard to guess what resembles this thing, right? Yup, a robotic squid, although it looks more like a crayfish, but it does have several flexible spines or tendrils resembling the arms of its namesake, so is not a mistake at all. "Crap..." Sonic deadpanned, then rubbed his face stressed. "I hate this guy! Everytime I was just relaxing and appreciating the sight, BOOM! This son of his Ancient mother came out of nowhere and just stared at me before flying away!" Tails and Sunny stared at him confused after he said that, since is not the kind of answer they were expecting. "And... Is he dangerous or...?" Sunny questioned. "Nah. He's still annoying, though," Sonic said, then he proceed to follow the Squid. "Should we, uh, follow him or something?" Tails asked. "I think he can handle it on his own," Sunny said with a smile. "Let's do the next one on our own instead." Tails nodded in agreement, then they both turned their attention to see how Sonic was doing, but when they turned, their eyes widened, because Sonic already got rid of the Squid, since they saw the robot exploding. At the same time, Sonic came back with a smirk. "Told ya he wasn't so dangerous!" Tails was about to say something, but the siblings were teleported away before he could say anything at all. In the next level, there was a platforming section. There were actual platforms, springs, boos rings, and even a few Cyclones around. By the way, Cyclones are thin gray robots that surround themselves with a black and red rib cage-shaped barrier each. They also have triangular red eyes and have spikes protruding out from their barriers. "Oh, so this is the kind of stuff you were platforming over that we couldn't see and you could?" Tails asked with a mocking tone, and Sonic rolled his eyes annoyed. "How many times are you guys going to mock me up and say that I was floating instead of actually traveling over rails and platforms?! You could've said something!" Sonic said with his arms crossed and a frown. "We could, but it was so funny looking at you enjoying yourself while there was nothing there!" Sunny said with a giggle. Sonic just rolled his eyes annoyed and let Sonic and Tails handle this on their own, since he took charge of Squid on his own, so his brother and sister had to finish this one in exchange. Tails could not make the Homing Attack like Sonic, since he hasn't learned to, so instead he shrug it off and started to launch a bunch of wrenches towards the Cyclones, and he destroyed two of them that were blocking the way, allowing him and Sunny to climb over the platforms and use a spring to reach the higher ones. Once there, they saw two more Cyclones, and Tails tried to hit them with his wrenches as well, but he did nothing to them because the enemies were protecting themselves with electrical shields. Sunny noticed this, so she used her magic to blast through the shields and destroy the Cyclones, which allowed Tails to jump over the spring and through the boost ring. He saw in the distance the last Cyclone, so he visualized a mental objective, then brought out a wrench and charged it with electricity before launching it. This actually made the wrench divide in several more wrenches that hit the Cyclone and broke its shield, also destroying him in the process. Once this was done, Tails and Sunny hoof/fist-bumped, then they went back with Sonic with smiles. "So? Whatcha think?" Tails said with a smirk. "Pretty good," Sonic smirked back with his arms crossed. "One question, though... Why the wrenches?" "What? Can't handle my style, Hedgehog?" Tails asked mockingly, and Sonic rolled his eyes with an amusing smile, while Sunny giggled at their attitude. After this, they glow again and disappeared into the next challenge. Only three more to leave Cyberspace... In the next stage, they found themselves before a Tower enemy. Do I really have to explain this one? Is a tower with several levels that you have to destroy, what else can I say? "Okay. This one's easy. We just have to hit the first six levels of Tower, then hit with everything we got straight to the head when is what remains!" Sonic explained. "Lead the way, Sonic!" Sunny said, as she spread her wings ready to fight, while Tails prepared a driller to fight as well. Sonic smirked, then jumped in the air and aimed at the lowest level of Tower, then made a Homing Shot and launched all the spheres. After this, he made a Wild Rush in the air and hit the next floor, then made backflip and allowed Tails to follow, so the young fox made another Charged Wrench Attack against the enemy. This is how Tails called the electrified wrench that multiplies itself, by the way, and the attack actually worked, because it destroyed two more levels of Tower. That only left Sunny, who lightened her horn and surrounded the two remaining levels, then concentrated her magic fully on them and started to crunch them together, until they were completely smashed like trash and destroyed, leaving only the head to be destroyed. With only the head remaining, the three of them huddled together with confident smirks, then Sonic and Tails charged up their Spin Dashes, while Sunny levitated them and launched them against Tower's head. With this, the enemy exploded destroyed, and Sonic and Tails jumped back with Sunny, once again all smiling at each other and fist-bumping. Then, as it's tradition so far, their bodies glow in a red light, and so, they were teleported away towards the ninth challenge of Cyberspace. The next challenge was an Azura. Remember him? Big monster with two tiny kegs and three massive arms that need to be destroyed? I really hope that lazy description rings a bell, and if not, go Google it. Then, as soon as the siblings appeared, they all stared at Aura in the distance.' "Oh, I think Hitch and I saw you taking down one of these!" Sunny told Sonic with a smile. "We have to hit all the arms 'till he's down, right?" "You got it right, Sunny-bunny!" Sonic said with a smile. "Let's do it to it!" "Right behind, big siblings!" Tails declared with a smirk, then the three of them boosted towards the Azura. The enemy detected their presence, so it stomped one of its arms in the ground, but Sonic smirked at this, because that's what he needed, anyways. He Spin Dashed across the Azura's arm, and once he reached the top, he used Loop Kick and then Cross Slash, then destroyed the arm with a Cyclone Quick. With one arm down, Tails flew as fast as he could to the next arm, then used his Tails as a saw and hit the arm several times, before finishing it off with the Spike Stomp, destroying the second arm in the process. Finally, Sunny went ahead and surrounded herself in a golden shield, then spin in the air and hit the arm, basically making her own variation of the Spin Dash. And next, to finish the enemy off for good, she casted a new spell she was working on: She made golden copies of herself, and then launched them all against Azura. This destroyed the arm and finished off the enemy entirely as it exploded, while the sibling cheered loudly before being teleported away for their last trial... One they're probably not gonna like. The siblings appeared near the final stage. Once everything was clear, they all looked around, just for their eyes to open wide when they noticed that the final challenge was to defeat Giganto, Kronos Island's Titan. Of course, this shouldn't be a bad thing... But they have not a single Emerald with them. "...How are we going to defeat that thing if we don't have Chaos Emeralds?!" Sonic said loudly with anger. "Ugh, I knew we couldn't trust Cyberspace! There's always a trick it pulls on us!" But as Sonic complained, Tails started to check on his pockets, and his eyes widened, then he pulled his hands out... and he had the Yellow, Green and Silver Chaos Emeralds on his hands. "Um... guys?" Tails called out, and when Sunny and Sonic turned to him, they gasped as well. "How the hell?!" Sunny asked in shock. Sonic decided to see his pockets as well, and his eyes went wide, then he pulled out the Blue, Light Blue and Red Chaos Emeralds. "...I guess this means that we have to reach Giganto's head to grab the last Emerald. After that, we destroy Giganto, and then it's go time!" "Are you sure we can defeat it, Sonic?" Tails asked concerned. "I don't know if I wanna go Super again. Not after I barely resisted their power when curing the Metal Virus..." "Hey, you won't be holding all its energy, remember? I'll be containing it, too!" Sonic reminded him with a smile, also placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know if the three of us work together, we can defeat that Titan!" Tails smiled slightly after hearing this, then took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. "I'll keep myself at stake with Alicorn magic. I'm still not training to hold Chaos Energy, so I'll use what I have to fight against that thing," Sunny declared with a smile. "Then wait for us while we take that Emerald!" Sonic stated, and Sunny nodded in agreement. After that, Tails carried Sonic through the air and towards Giganto's head. Once they reached it, they landed on it, then saw the Purple Chaos Emerald. Sonic extended his hand, then the Emerald floated and landed on it. Soon, he turned to Tails with a smile, and the grabbed their hands together over the Chaos Emerald. Soon, the other six surrounded them, and the brothers were elevated in the sky. After this, the 7 Chaos Emeralds entered on their bodies and turned them into Super Sonic and Super Tails. I'm hanging on to the other side I won't give up 'til the end of me Sonic and Tails slowly descend from the sky with theirs arms crossed, until they were at the same height than Giganto's head. Soon, Sunny arrived as an Alicorn her entire body glimmering in a golden light, and the three of them were ready to take this Titan down. (Go!) First, Sonic boosted towards the Titan at sonic speed, while the Titan raised his fist and prepared to strike back at Sonic. However, Sonic himself just kept smirking and raised his fist as well, and then the two of them launched their fists at each other, crashing and fighting to win dominance over the other one. Unfortunately, Giganto managed to gain more strength and punched Sonic away, but he didn't felt anything now that he had Chaos Energy on his body. Still, he wasn't happy with this outcome, so he decided to start and play serious, boosting towards Giganto again and directly punching his face this time. (Yeah!) Welcome to the mind of a different kind Where we've been growing slowly Think I'm on eleven, but I'm on a nine Guess you don't really know me After punching Giganto for a while, he used his Sonic Boom move on his head, then he used the Wild Rush and the Stomp Attack on his shoulders. all of that charged up the Phantom Rush, and he flew back to Giganto's face, punching him multiple times now that he could multiply himself with the Super form. Running from the past is a losing game It never brings you glory Been down this road before Already know this story Face your fear Suddenly, Giganto prepared to attack Sonic back, but Tails interfered and parried the's Titan attack, sending him a bit backwards. Then, Tails charged up his Spin Dash and hit his face, then he moved to the air, where he created multiple copies of himself and hit Giganto's head. Face your fear Tails smirked, but his smile faded when Giganto recovered real quick and punched him, sending him way back on the field. The young fox shook his head, and looked at Giganto with a frown before boosting towards him once again. It's time to face your fear 'Cause when your time has come and gone I'll be the one to carry on (carry on) Tails parried another of Giganto's attack that the Titan charged up before he could boost, then Spindashed against his head again and multiplied on the sky to attack him. After that, Tails dodged the recovery attack, while Sunny joined the fight by blasting a laser blast on the Titan's shoulders, then she surrounded herself on a golden shield and punched him on his face. After this, she made a Stomp Attack, and then used her magic to multiply herself again and hit Giganto all over his body. And you can throw me to the wolves (throw me to the wolves) 'Cause I am undefeatable Then, Giganto tried to use the same punch it used to attack Sonic before, but Sunny parried the attach with no effort and punched Giganto's face, sending the Titan a bit backwards, thing that she decided to use as an advantage to multiply herself again and start to beat the crap out of that Titan. I'm hanging on to the other side I won't give up 'til the end of me I'm what you get when the stars collide Now face it, you're just an enemy Giganto used his spin attack again, but Sunny wasn't able to dodge it this time, as she flew backwards and almost crashed against a mountain, but she saw the mountain and smirked, looping in the air and landing on the mountain, then using it as a spring to boost back to Giganto and punch his face. (woah, woah) You're crossing the line (woah, woah) Then, Sonic came and used his Sonic Boom and the Stomp Attack on him, making more damage to the Titan. Now we've run out of time (woah, woah) I'll take what is mine Giganto was taken aback by that last move of Sonic, so the Titan decided to make things difficult for the siblings: He ducked for a second, just for spikes to come out of his body. These spikes were read, and charged with Cyber Energy. They suddenly started to launch lasers out of the top, and Giganto couldn't help but roar again, this time looking at Sonic, Tails and Sunny, who descended a bit and looked at him with a frown. "No more games, guys," Sonic told to his siblings. "It's time to defeat this monster, once and for all!" Sunny and Tails nodded in agreement, then they all boosted towards the Titan. And when the story ends It becomes a part of me I've given what it takes I'll find another way Sonic punched Giganto's face two times, but the titan suddenly pushed him back and opened his mouths, charging up a laser against Sonic. The hedgehog was completely took off guard by this, but still he placed his hands in front of him and tried to move the attack away. I used to never know But now it's crystal clear This feeling's just a ghost Struggling and grunting, Sonic was able to move the attack towards the sky, and then he boosted towards Giganto's face again, punching him there several times, using the Sonic Boom again and the Stomp Attack as well. It's time to face your fear 'Cause when your time has come and gone I'll be the one to carry on (carry on) After that, Sonic punched Giganto on his face again, but then the Titan prepared his spin attack and used it, although Sonic did managed to doge it this time, using both his Homing Attack and Spindash to hit his face, then moving to the air and creating multiple copies of himself to hit Giganto's head. And you can throw me to the wolves (throw me to the wolves) 'Cause I am undefeatable Giganto decided to charge up another laser from his mouths, but this time, Tails and Sunny joined Sonic by placing their hands and hooves together with his, as they all tried to push the attack away. I'm hanging on to the other side I won't give up 'til the end of me This time, and thanks to Sunny and Tails' help, Soni didn't struggled that much, and they launched the laser attack to the sky again, together, as a team, as a family. I'm what you get when the stars collide Now face it, you're just an enemy This time, Sunny went ahead and started to punch and kick harder the Titan, not only his face, but also his shoulders, arms and stomach, getting ready for the final act. However, Giganto suddenly clapped his hands together, trying to crush Sunny, but then Tails came by and dodged the attack for her. Unfortunately, Giganto make another move: He bit Tails and tried to crush him with its teeth, but Tails managed to use his strength to push the teeth up, and then kick Giganto's head. The titan was bleeding a purple substance, and his body was glitching the same way Sage's body used to. Sonic knew that a few punches more were everything it would take to defeat the Titan, so he once again used his Homing Attack and Spindash on the Titan's face, then multiplied himself and stomped him. I'm hanging on to the other side (to the other side) I won't give up 'til the end of me (end of me) I'm what you get when the stars collide (stars collide) Now face it, you're just an enemy Once again, Giganto tried to bit Tails, but this time Sunny came and helped him repeat the same process from before, then they kicked Giganto's face together, before Sonic land a punch that finally weakened the Titan entirely. Welcome to the mind of a different kind We've been growing slowly Think I'm on eleven, but I'm on a nine Guess you don't really know me With Giganto being weakened, the siblings huddled together, then they started to spin and charge a Triple Boost attack, before boosting towards Giganto and go through its chest at Super Sonic speed. Running from the past is a losing game It never brings you glory Been down this road before Already know this story Giganto opened its mouth in pain, but then his whole body exploded and turned into a red and digital ball that became smaller and smaller, until it exploded and destroyed the Titan entirely. And with this, the Cyberspace challenge was completed, so the siblings glow in red and got expelled from the virtual reality. The Cyberspace portal teleported them back to reality. They were sent back in the same platform from earlier, and they looked around curiously. They also looked at their hands, hooves, bodies, verifying that everything was in order. Since nothing was out of normal, they smiled at each other and then sighed in relief. "Well... That definitely was something!" Sunny said with a smile and a giggle. "Definitely!" Tails smiled. "I think I'm gonna leave this whole deal of Cyberspace for another moment. As much as I like the idea of tricking Opaline, I don't want to go through things like that so constantly." "As long as you don't get yourself in so much trouble, you're free to do what you want, buddy," Sonic said with a smile, also playfully pushing him on his shoulder. "Say, now that we're free, why don't we all go and have some lunch? All that Cyberspace stuff has me starving!" "I actually could dig into something to eat!" Sunny smiled. "I really need to eat something." Tails chuckled and followed them towards the exit of the cave, but not before shutting down his computer and use his powers to make it disappear. In this way, he makes sure that no unexpected guests come here and try to access into Cyberspace again. "Wait for me, guys!" Tails called out with a smile, as he followed his siblings outside. THE END Author's Note I made a very strange mix with this episode. Kronos Island Boss Rush, some of Tails' abilities from "The Final Horizon", Super Tails as a playable character (even though this doesn't happens in the game, which is lame), and Sunny smashing down Giganto along Sonic, which is actually a scrapped idea from the Frontiers story. It was scrapped because I didn't wanted to traumatize Sunny with The End the same way I traumatized Sonic. She has gone through enough crap and trauma with Eggman and the Death Egg Titan. Besides, I wanted to explore Cyberspace again, and this chapter was the perfect chance to do so. Also, happy birthday to BenictheHedgehog, whom I dedicate this episode as his birthday gift! Anyways. Thank you all for reading. See ya! 71. Nightmare MarketThe Breezie Night Market was open in Bridlewood during night time... Obviously. There, the Mane 6, Team Sonic, Team Dark and Alphabittle were watching a stallion put something in a cauldron, making a green mist burst out of it, surprising everyone but Team Dark. "Cauldrons! Get your cauldrons!" The pony trader exclaimed, twirling around in excitement. Just then, Izzy went to a stand and twirled a globe around with sparkling eyes, and Zipp saw a unicorn levitating three balls over a unicycle. The group kept walking around the Night Market, but then Alphabittle, Misty and Izzy saw a pegasus mare walking by with stacks of ice, making the two latter smile with sparkling eyes. Hitch and Sparky were now looking at a mirror that made their heads huge. "Does my head look big in this?" Hitch asked with an amusing smile, while Sunny at his side laughed with tears of laughter coming out. Sonic approached a stand of Hot dogs, which had tons of topics for the dog, specially spicy ones. "Oooh, now this totally shouts my name!" He stated as he rubbed his hands, then grabbed a hot dog and stated to put all the spicy and hot stuff over it with a grin. "You are a maniac, you know that?" Tails told him with a grin. "I'm a maniac, indeed, buddy. A maniac for spicy stuff!" Sonic replied with a smirk, making Tails roll his eyes. Meanwhile, Pipp stood in front of the pony juggler with her phone on her selfie stick, since she was livestreaming. "Oh, I loooove the Night Market! Look at all this great content!" On the other hand, Alphabittle and Misty were walking together. "So excited to finally get some quality time together, Misty," He said to her daughter with a smile, while she returned the gesture. "Now we can make up for all those foalhood memories we missed, huh?" After saying that, he extended a cotton candy to her, and Misty accepted it with a smile, but then Alphabittle gave her a lollipop, then a unicorn plushie that he rubbed in Misty's mane, making her blush embarrassed. "Daaaad!" She said embarrassedly, since her father is treating her like a filly again, and yet, Alphabittle gave Misty a warm smile with sparkling eyes, feeling joyful to spend more time with his daughter. Meanwhile, the rest of the group went up to a glitter stand, where Zipp picked up a hat. "Whoa!" She exclaimed, putting on the hat. "Whoa!" The rest of the Mane 6 all said, as they looked at the different colored glitters. "Who needs so much glitter, anyways?" Amy asked confused with a deadpan. "A pony that has stacks of glitter," Knuckles shrugged. "A.k.a., Izzy," Sonic added with his arms crossed and a smirk. However, as the rest of the ponies kept looking at their own stuff, Pipp eyed a familiar pink glitter, which she recognized immediately because she gasped in shock. Yet before she could say anything and warn about what it can do, Izzy appeared between her and Sunny and picked up the bowl with pink glitter. "Ooh! Glitter!" Izzy gasped with sparkling eyes, making Pipp gasp again. But she wasn't the only one, because when Knuckles noticed which bowl of glitter his girlfriend picked up he gasped with wide eyes, then rushed and threw the bowl off her hooves. "¡Sáquese, Satanás!" Knuckles exclaimed with a frown, making the ponies flinch, before he looked at the glitter and pointed at it with anger. "¡Esa cosa es del Diablo!" Noticing this, Sonic facepalmed, then walked up to him and carefully pulled him away. "Knuckles, yo no hablar el españolo. Can you explain yourself without recurring to anger?" "First of all, is 'Yo no hablo español'," Knuckles corrected him with a bored expression, making Sonic roll his eyes annoyed. "And second, that glitter is a danger to society!" "I've seen this stuff before!" Pipp said nervously, as she picked up the bowl again. "You've got to be super careful, or it'll totally turn you––" Yet as she tried to explain herself, Zipp tried on a hat with feathers that tickled Hitch's nose. This made him move his head back since he felt like sniffing, making the five mares around him panic. In the end, Hitch sneezed, hardly enough to make the pink glitter cover the six of them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa! Let's rewind a bit back..." Amy said with a very confused look. "You're telling me that Sunny, Izzy, Hitch, Sonic and Tails turned into babies because of that glitter?!" "That sounds like a pain in the ass," Shadow deadpanned with his arms crossed. "Eh, Sonic and Tails were not a big deal. The former was with Pipp the whole time, and the latter slept like a rock. The other three? I still have nightmares of that day because of them..." Knuckles said anxiously. "Then let's make sure that those six stay away from–– HOLY CRAP!" Sonic exclaimed with wide eyes, as he turned to see the Mane 6 in shock, and when the rest did the same, their jaws dropped, and Knuckles felt anxious again. Just then, Alphabittle came beside the Mobians with a tray of ice cream. "Hey, ponies! Who's ready for some ice cream––?" He tried to ask, but then he screamed in shock at the same thing that the Mobians were looking at. It turns out that the Mane 6 became foals again, while Sparky was on Foal Hitch's head, unaffected by the glitter since he was already a baby, but he looked in shock at his father figure and his friends turned into foals. The babies, however, all giggled playfully in the mess of glitter left behind by Hitch's sneeze. "...Kuso yarō," Sonic said with a twitchy eye, but I won't translate that this time around. Knuckles then placed his hands over Sonic and Tails' shoulders, still with an anxious look. "Welcome to hell." "Aww! They look so cute!" Amy said with her hands together and sparkling eyes. "Don't let their looks fool you! They are little devils disguised as angels!" Knuckles said with a frown. "Really? Because they just look like kids to me," Tails pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know... For once, I actually think we should listen to the Knucklehead," Rouge said, rubbing her chin with a raised eyebrow. "Kids tend to be masters of delusion." "Agreed," Shadow nodded. "Besides, he already dealt with only three of them. Now imagine how bad it'll be with them being six." Then, Alphabittle heard giggling, so he looked down and saw a Filly Misty holding his hoof with a cute giggle. "M-Misty? Is that you?!" He asked surprised, while Filly Misty looked up at her father with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Aw, Misty! You are cute as a filly," Tails said with a smile and sparkling eyes as well, picking up the now filly, who giggled at being picked up. "Sorry to brake it to you, Tails, but we should focus on bring them back to normal," Sonic pointed out. "Agreed," Alphabittle and the other Mobians but Tails said in agreement. "Okay! Okay, okay! Nopony move!" Alphabittle ordered, lookin at the foals. "You all stay right there, and don't you dare to––!" Knuckles tried to warn, but as the Foal 6 looked at them, they zipped off and scattered around the market while giggling. "Crap..." "No!" Alphabittle screamed in panic with his hooves on his head. "Ponies?!" He called out, then Filly Misty got behind her father and trotted off. "Misty!" He called out again, then he ran after her, but Misty was already out of sight. "I-I can't–– I won't lose you again!" With that being said, Alphabittle ran after his daughter, while the Mobians but Omega groaned annoyed. "Great, is like if my second biggest nightmare became real..." Knuckles deadpanned, but still ran in a random direction to look after the foals. "We should catch them all before this gets out of hand," Tails declared, also running into a random direction. Shadow, Rouge and Amy followed his example, while Sonic stood behind and groaned again. "This is definitely not gonna work," He stated, then turned to Omega. "Meg? You have better luck with kids if your experience with the Pippsqueaks is anything to go by. Think you can come up with something to keep those 6 in place once we catch 'em all?" Omega rubbed his chin for a moment, then an idea crossed his mind, so he nodded and raised his thumbs up. "Great. You work on that, and let the capture for us!" Sonic stated, as he ran in a random direction as well, while Omega made a salute and then boosted by flight in another direction. Somewhere else in the market, Knuckles was chasing after Filly Izzy. The filly giggled excitedly, while Knuckles jumped towards her, but missed and fell face first to the floor, while Filly Izzy ran off. "Crap!" Knuckles exclaimed. "This is gonna be harder than I thought..." In another zone of the market, Tails was trying to catch Filly Zipp. The filly jumped through a fabric stand, and Tails jumped to catch her, but missed since she took off with giggles, while he hit the fabric counter, which startled Windy and a Breezie passing near by. At a fruit stand, Filly Sunny giggled and jumped into a purple apple crate. She chomped said apple, but then her hooves started sparkling, and she took off into the air, leaving behind a trail of purple mist, which startled the unicorn mare watching. Filly Sunny flew in the air, then twirled around and took off high, making a firework display go off that gently sent her back to the fruit stand and fell back into the purple apple crates. Filly Sunny poked out with exciting giggles and sparkling eyes, then she picked up another apple to repeat what just happened. "Oh no, you don't!" Shadow said, as he rushed with her and snatched the apple from her hooves. "Awww..." Filly Sunny said disappointed, as she blew a raspberry at her for ruining her fun. "Don't look at me like that," Shadow deadpanned, then he grabbed the filly on his hands, but Sunny only huffed offended and looked away. "Ugh, I'm not made to be a babysitter..." "Whoo! Ooh-ooh-ooh!" Filly Zipp cheered, as she suddenly used Shadow's head to gain some impulse to and hop on the top of the stands. Tails chased her as he noticed this. "Zipp! Get down from there! You're gonna get hurt!" He begged concerned. "Ooh!" Filly Zipp kept hopping on the top of the stands, then she did a flip and fell through one. "Aah! Ugh!" She exclaimed as she fell into a cotton candy stand, which startled the unicorn stallion. She popped up unharmed while giggling, before noticing the cotton candy on her head. "Ooooh!" She rubbed the cotton candy with sparkling eyes. Soon enough, though, Tails came by and grabbed her with his hands. "This is so awkward, but you are a cute filly, Zipp," He said with a nervous smile. His compliment made Filly Zipp's cheeks pout, as she crossed her hooves. "Huh, you don't like to be called cute even as a filly, huh? I'll use that against you once you're back to normal." On the other hand, Filly Pipp was climbing next to a cauldron. She looked at it with sparkling eyes, while the unicorn stallion was distracted by his phone. "Oh, no, no, no, no!" Sonic exclaimed in panic, quickly rushing to Filly Pipp and grabbing her with his hands to keep her away from the cauldron. However, the moment Filly Pipp lay eyes on Sonic, she started to look at him with a strange pink aura surrounding the ambience with hearts floating around, and as Sonic turned to her with a raised eyebrow, Filly Pipp's eyes sparkled, and she gasped with a huge smile over her newfound crush. She then got free of Sonic's grip and hugged his chest tightly with a cute smile, while Sonic looked down at her with wide eyes and an awkward expression, since he has literally made Filly Pipp fall for him. "Well, this is awkward... It's gonna be hard to tell you about this once you're back to normal, Little Pipp," Sonic said with a chuckle, then he picked her up and put her on his head, making her giggle a bit and get comfortable over him. "Aww, I can't be mad at you when you're so cute. Huh, it's ironic, don't you think? First you took care of me when I turned a baby, now the roles changed." Pipp just giggled again and nuzzled over Sonic's head happily, while Sonic smiled and walked away. "Wheeee!" Filly Izzy cheered, jumping into the glitter stand. First, she dig into pink glitter, which made her mane have multicolors of orange, yellow, and light green. Then, she jumped into orange glitter, which made her horn turn into a carrot. Finally, she went into the purple glitter, which gave her a glitter beard, which made her giggle with sparkling eyes, before she trotted off. "Isabella! Come back here right in this instant!" Knuckles shouted desperate, since he's tire of chasing her around the market like a maniac. Then, as Shadow tried so hard not to shout at Sunny, because she was on his back and pulling his quills a bit, the Ultimate Life Form noticed Sparky trying to get Foal Hitch away from a purple glowing crystal. Amy, who's been trying to catch Hitch, was panting heavily after chasing him around the market. "Isn't that the weird crystal that turned a bunny into a giant 3 episodes ago?" Shadow asked, pointing at the crystal that Foal Hitch tried to touch, weirdly enough, with his tongue. "The what now?!" Amy shouted, and when she noticed what Shadow meant, she panicked and started to sweat nervously. "Don't do it. Don't do it!" Yet Foal Hitch was approaching his tongue to the crystal even more, making Amy's panic increase a 1000%. "D-Don't, don't, don't, don't!" Amy cried out, but it was too late, because Foal Hitch's tongue touched the gem and shrunk. This surprised Sparky, as he fell to the floor when he lost grip of Hitch's tail, while Amy groaned tiredly. Then, Amy rushed into the stand and looked around in panic. "Oh, no! Where'd he go?!" She cried out concerned. Suddenly Sparky gurgled, as he pointed to the floor in front of him, because he was seeing the tiny small Foal Hitch, which Amy noticed as well. Yet when Hitch touched the same glowing gem with his tongue again, he grow twice his regular foal size, even making Sparky sit on his back again. "And there he is," Amy said nervously. "A big boy already, I see..." Big Foal Hitch gave a low-pitch giggle, then he jumped around, causing the market to shake a lot, and then he trotted off with Sparky still on his back, while the ponies around ran for cover. "I don't get paid enough for this crap..." Amy said anxiously, while Knuckles came to her side with Filly Izzy on his arms, as the filly happily chomped a cookie the echidna gave her. "Were things this difficult for you, Zipp and Pipp?" "Nope. They were a lot easier, actually," Knuckles replied with a bored expression. And then, Filly Misty was floating thanks to a green glowing hat she was wearing. "Whoo! Whee! Whoo!" She cheered, making some spins before falling without the hat. Alphabittle noticed this and panicked a lot "Misty! Noooooo!" He cried out, then his fatherly instincts kicked in, so he jumped ahead and caught Filly Misty before she hit the floor, then hold her closely. "I'll always be here for you, Misty! Hoof to heart!" "Ah," Filly Misty said with a smile and sparkling eyes. "I really hate to brake this to you, Alpha B, but we have problems to take care of..." Sonic pointed out, still having Filly Pipp nuzzling happily over his head. It turns out Amy's still chasing Foal Hitch around, while Filly Izzy discovered she can use magic and is now levitating Knuckles around wildly, Filly Sunny is chomping over Shadow's quills and Rouge is trying to take her off without hurting her or making Shadow cry out loudly, although he really wants to... And finally, Tails is chasing down Filly Zipp again, because she managed to escape from him. "Ugh, I'm too old for this..." Alphabittle said with a tired expression. "You should be thankful only them turned into babies," Sonic pointed out with a deadpan. "If I turned into one as well, I'll be the most hyperactive and impossible to catch baby you're ever going to see." Alphabittle gulped after hearing that, because just the day on it's own was already giving him a headache. In Eggman's lab, Eggman was trying o plan down his next move against his enemies. Now that he had Sage back, he thought that coming up with something to take them down would be easy... But he forgot that his AI turned daughter still has a kid's mind. Sage herself was sneaking near Eggman, something he hadn't noticed yet. She had on her hands a really old camera that she found on the basement. Soon, she managed to appear right besides Eggman, then lifted the camera and made a funny face, just when Eggman finally noticed her. "Huh?" Eggman said confused, but then the camera flashed and blurred his sight. "Ugh! Sage!" Sage just giggled playfully and flew away, while Eggman got up his seat and started to chase her around. Later on, everyone but Sonic and Alphabittle were still struggling to catch the fillies. "Well, this is starting to get ridiculous," Sonic deadpanned with his arms crossed. Meanwhile, Tails finally managed to get Filly Zipp, and he quickly flew up with a bored expression, looking down at the filly on his hands. "You, young lady, are harder to catch than as an adult," He said, then his eyes widened in panic. "No, wait, that sounds way too creepy..." Suddenly, and just when Shadow managed to keep Filly Sunny in line, Knuckles got off Filly Izzy's magic, and Amy managed to get Foal Hitch back to his regular foal size, a train whistle was heard. Everyone looked around confused, while they fillies and foal looked around interested, until they noticed a small red and black train coming by. Said train had three double seats for kids, and Omega was sitting on the 'driver's cabin' with a machinist hat, while he actually drove the train, which actually was a toy made for foals. "All aboard on the Omega Express," Omega stated, making the train whistle again. "Omega, what the f––" Shadow was about to ask with a very confused expression, but then Filly Sunny suddenly got so excited that she got off his hands and rushed to the train, then got over the seat right behind Omega. "Well, that's something..." Amy said confused, but then Foal Hitch also got off her grip and ran excited to the train, right besides Filly Sunny. And then, one by one, the other four fillies also got into the train with excitement, with Fillies Zipp and Pipp sitting behind Sunny and Hitch, while Fillies Izzy and Misty sat behind the royal sisters. This just left everyone else speechless, but Sonic just smirked and crossed his arms. "Glad to see you work quickly, Meg!" "I'll keep them busy, you work on bringing them back to normal," Omega instructed, then blew the train's whistle again and started to move around, while the six fillies all cheered happily. "...Well, that was... something, I guess..." Rouge said with a confused expression. "Agreed," Alphabittle nodded, then he shook his head and focused on what Omega said. "Think, Alphabittle, think. There's got to be some way to get those ponies back to normal." "We'll have to ask the only one here who already had experience in the matter," Sonic pointed out. With that being said, everyone turned to see Knuckles, who looked back at the rest confused. "What? Do I have something in my face, or...?" "Knux, you're the only one along Zipp and Pipp that already knows how to turn back de-aged people - or ponies - back to normal," Tails pointed out. "What did you, Zipp and Pipp did to turn us back into adults?" "Hmm..." Knuckles said, rubbing his chin a bit. "Well, that time you and Sonic de-aged with Sunny, Hitch and Izzy was because you put on the face-mask that was mixed with the pink glitter. To revert the effect, Pipp made another mask that reverted the pink glitter's effects." "Okay... So we just need to find a way to revert what the glitter did..." Tails said, rubbing his chin. "However, I believe that putting the mask over babies was hard enough as it sounds, which means we need something else that they'll use or consume without protesting." "And how the hell are we gonna find something that specific in this place?" Shadow deadpanned with his arms crossed. Just then, as Alphabittle looked around, he noticed Onyx at a tea stand. "Come get your herbal teas. Calming teas. Relaxing teas..." Onyx said to the customers. "That's it!" Alphabittle called out, then he rushed to Onyx's stand. "Excuse me! This is a tea-mergency!" Alphabittle exclaimed, then he pushed Onyx away. His sudden change of attitude confused the rest, but they still followed him. Then, Alphabittle started putting in some adult ingredients in the teapot as fast as he could. When a kettle whistled, Alphabittle poured the hot water of the kettle in another one, then started stirring. "Ooh!" Filly Zipp was about to fly after a Breezie she saw, before Tails grabbed her hind legs and put her back with the others in the train. "Nice try, young filly!" Tails scolded her with a frown, while Filly Zipp blew a raspberry to him. "Ha ha ha, so mature..." Tails rolled his eyes. "Omega, bring those kids over here!" Alphabittle instructed. Omega simply nodded and drove the train towards the stand. Once there, he placed the fillies and the foal in front of a table, where Alphabittle passed six teacups with the tea he just made. "Let's get you back to normal." Alphabittle said with a smile. Foal Hitch picked up his cup and smelled it, but then he cringed at the smell. "Bleh!" He groaned and pushed the cup away. The rest of them smelled it and cringed in disgust as well, so they turned away from their cups, which made Alphabittle and the Mobians but Omega groan. "Great, now they don't want to be adults anymore..." Sonic deadpanned. "As a kid, you don't have to pay taxes. I don't blame them," Knuckles pointed out with a shrug. "Uhhh…" Alphabittle thought for a moment, then he searched through the supplies and found six drinking straws. "This should do it." With this, he showed the straws to the Young 6, which turned and saw said straws, which made them start to giggle in excitement. With this, Alphabittle started placing each straw in their cups, which they started sipping, which also made them glow, meaning the effects of the tea were working. "Oh, thank Chaos!" Knuckles said, removing some sweat of his forehead. "I thought we'll never bring them back to normal..." But just when Filly Misty was the last one Alphabittle was about to put her straw in her cup, he stopped and looked at his filly daughter with sadness. "Goo-goo, ga-ga! Goo-goo, ga-ga!" Filly Misty said with a cute face and smile with sparkling eyes, while Alphabittle looked at her still sad with sparkling eyes. This also reactivated something on his memory, something he thought he'll never ever get back... Many years ago, before Misty disappeared, she was on the swing with her father. Filly Misty giggled at each push Alphabittle gave her, before she flew back from the swing and Alphabittle caught her, as she kept giggling with a smile, while Alphabittle smiled back at her. Back then, he would've done anything for his daughter, and now days? He'll still do it. Alphabittle gave a fond smile at his daughter after remembering that. "My little filly. You're just like I remember you..." He said with tears of joy in his eyes, then he placed Misty's straw in her cup. Then, Filly Misty started drinking her tea and glowing, still giving a cute smile. Later on, the group but Alphabittle was flying back to Maretime Bay. "So we turned into babies again?" Sunny asked with a sheepish smile. "I hope we were not that much of a problem to you, guys." "You pulled my quills, Sunny..." Shadow deadpanned with a bit of anger, which made Sunny chuckled sheepishly. "I'm just glad you guys are back to normal," Sonic said with shrug. "Also, is good you six were the only ones that turned into kids. Just imagine how much chaos would be around if everyone else turned as well." "Better not think on what could it be, 'cause I seriously don't want to..." Knuckles said with a twitchy eye. "I still don't understand one thing, though..." Tails pointed out while rubbing his chin. "How did Sunny's pink magic glitter reached the market? Was it there before, or someone else trade it?" "I can't believe I'm gonna say this of all ponies, but maybe that's a mystery that should remain unsolved," Zipp pointed out with a bored expression while driving the Marestream. "Agreed," Everyone else replied. THE END Author's Note Well, this episode wasn't so hard to write. Honestly, besides the fact that I removed Opaline's parts because Chapter 6 won't be adapted in my story, there's nothing else I can really say as 'fun facts' of this chapter. So, I'll only thank you for reading, and I'll see you soon. Bye! 72. The Family SocialA ZH News Broadcast started, and we see Sky and Dazzle along Queen Haven and Alphabittle. "And now, a special announcement from your Majesty, Queen Haven from Zephyr Heights, and Alphabittle from the Bridlewood forest!" Sky announced with a smile. "Thanks, Sky," Haven said with a smile, then she turned to the camera. "Alphabittle and I are so very glad to announce a brand new event for all ponykind: The Family Social!" "This bran new event will be held in Zephyr Heights, Bridlewood, and Maretime Bay, and event where everypony gets together with their families to have fun and compete in fun events," Alphabittle explained with a smile. "All the families - or teams - that participate and win in an event will get a blue ribbon like this one," Haven added, holding up a blue ribbon with a golden medal that had the Unity Crystals printed on it. "However, the winner of our very first Relay Race that takes the entire team across Equestria will win a big, golden trophy!" As Haven said this, Alphabittle smiled and levitated said trophy in front of the camera. Said trophy was made of gold, and it had a symbol that represented the three pony tribes in the middle. "Wowie Zowie!" Dazzle exclaimed with sparkling eyes. "Now that's what I call being shiny!" "The race will start off in Maretime Bay, then leaving the city to enter Bridlewood and dodge obstacles, just to finally head towards the finish line, here at Zephyr Heights!" Alphabittle explained, still smiling. "However, there's a set of strict rules to be followed," Haven stated. "The first rule: You have to compete with two more member of your family. If you cannot, well, you can still bring over your closest friends! At the end of the day, they're family as well." "Rule number 2: No competitor is allowed to take advantaged of their magic," Alphabittle kept going. "For example: If a Pegasus on a family team tries to fly during the relay, they have to go at normal speed with the other ponies that can't." "This comes to justify Rule number 3: No pony is left behind during the team events, and everything has to be done as a team," Haven declared. "And finally, Rule number 4: Remember to haven fun with the ones you love!" Alphabittle finished with a bright smile. In the Crystal Brighthouse, the Mane 6 but Hitch and Pipp were watching the broadcast. "We cannot wait to see so many families attending and working together on this new event!" Haven said in the TV. "And we can't wait to cover it as usual!" Sky said with a smile. As this happened, Sunny was on her place, trying so hard not to squeal in happiness, while Izzy, Misty and Zipp only watched at the TV with smiles. When the broadcast finally got ever, Sunny could not take it in anymore and squealed loudly in excitement, startling her friends a bit. "Uh... You good, Sunny?" Zipp asked confused. "That was a... really loud squeal..." Misty said with a little dizzy expression. "Yeah! Not even I can be that loud, not even when I'm not trying," Izzy said, although with a cheery smile. "Is it weird that I actually agree with you, Iz? Because I barely remember the last time that happened." "I can't believe it, they really did it!" Sunny said suddenly out loud, as she started to happily jump on her place like a filly. "Okay, seriously, what's got you so excited, Sunny?" Misty asked, now as confused as Zipp. "Queen Haven and Alphabittle actually listened to my idea!" Sunny explained with a smile. "A full on day that you can spend with your friends or your family?! That's exactly what I wanted to do!" "Oh, so this 'Family Social' thingy was your idea?" Izzy asked with an amused smile. "Indeed! And now that is happening..." Sunny started, then squealed loudly and placed her hooves on her cheeks, while also having sparkling eyes. "I can't wait for this day to come!" "Honestly, I'm not surprised this whole thing is your idea," Zipp confessed with a smirk. "However, I do gotta thank you! Because Pipp and I are planning to get in with Mom and spent some quality time! Well, that, and we also plan to win the Relay Race!" "And how did you came up with the idea, Sunny?" Misty asked, as she approached her. "I just thought it'll be a great way of showing off how family bonds help to make the ponies we are today!" Sunny replied with a smile. "After all, we should feel proud of who we are because of them." "And who are you taking with in that case, Sunny?" Zipp asked curiously. Sunny stopped to think about for a second, rubbing her chin with a hoof. "Well, I was thinking about going with Hitch and Sparky. Unless you girls are free to race?" She turned to Izzy and Misty with a smirk. "Oh, uh..." Misty said, chuckling a bit nervous. "That would be great, Sunny, but Dad told me in advance about the Social, and I already promised him to participate along him and Izzy." Hearing that made Izzy gasp with sparkling eyes, as she rushed and hugged Misty tightly. "Alphabittle wants me to be with you two on the Social?!" "W-Well, he said something about you being his unofficial second daughter since you were always around him," Misty replied. "I guess that makes you an honorary member, and also kind of my unofficial sister?" This only made Izzy squeal loudly in excitement. "Oh, Misty! I'm so honored to hear this! Ah, now I have an unofficial father, and an unofficial sister! This is the greatest news ever!" Misty chuckled at Izzy's attitude and hugged her back eventually, also jumping along her for fun. Sunny, however, felt a bit bad because this means she cannot form a team with them, nor with Zipp and Pipp. Zipp notices this, so she approaches her and places a hoof on her shoulder with a smile. "Hey, Sunny. You still have Hitch and Sparky to ask, remember?" This brightness Sunny's mood immediately, as she smiles widely with sparkling eyes and a slight blush. "You're right! I still can ask him out!" She realized, then she went over and put her roller skates and helmet on, then head off to the town. "Thanks for the reminder, Zipp!" With all said and done, Sunny excitedly left the Brighthouse behind, roller skating towards the town. In Maretime Bay, Sunny skated around while humming to herself towards the Sheriff Station. However, she decided to make a quick stop at Mane Melody, where she found Amy, Rouge, Jazz and Rocky attending the place. Pipp was in the backstage, but Sunny already knew she was going to participate in the Social with her sister and her Mom, which is why she will ask Amy and Rouge about the Social and try luck. "Yeah, not happening," Rouge said with a bored expression and her arms crossed after Sunny explained herself, but her response made Amy push her with an elbow and frown while shaking her head. "What Rouge is trying to say is that we appreciate the offer, Sunny," Amy told the Earth Pony mare with a sheepish smile. "Unfortunately, we can't go with you." "Huh? And why not?" Sunny asked, disappointed for the answer, but also curious for the reason. "Pipp's gonna attend to the Social, as you already knew, and Jazz and Rocky will go as well with Rufus," Amy explained. "Which leaves Amy and I left to look after the place," Rouge added, while also checking her nails. "We would go on other circumstances, but the salon gets full 'cause many ponies gather to watch these kind of stuff from here." "Oh... I see..." Sunny said, once again disappointed, but then she gasped, and her smile immediately came back. "And what about––" "Omega is staying to watch the Crystals and the Emeralds, which means that he can't go," Amy pointed out, then she deadpanned with her arms crossed. "Specially considering what happened last time Eggman took the Unity Crystals and tried to take the Chaos Emeralds." "And Shadow is not even around," Rouge added. "He's back into panic mode while searching for Eggman's current installment so he can take him off guard. You know, Shadow stuff." "...I see..." Was all that Sunny replied, before quickly turn around and roll her way out of the salon. Amy noticed her change of attitude and felt bad for her, while Rouge just shrugged it and went back to work. Amy didn't liked her attitude, but eventually decided to follow her example and resumed her job as well. Sunny was heading towards the Sheriff Station once again. She hoped that Hitch and Sparky were going to be available and would actually accept be part of the Social with her. If not, then it was a lost cause, because asking Sonic, Tails and Knuckles would be stupid. They're already a team of three, and she was convinced that they were appointed to the Social for themselves. Reaching the Station, she entered the building, but found herself surprised to see that only Knuckles was inside, putting some papers away on the cabinets behind Hitch's desk. However, that wasn't the weirdest thing: The fact that Knuckles had the cowboy hat he only uses when he's in charge was it, and shed had a bad feeling about it. Is it because of Knuckles being temporally Sheriff? Nope, because he has proven to be worthy of such a tittle just as much as Hitch, unlike certain red pony... "Uh, Knux?" Sunny called out, as she rolled inside the station. "Yo," Knuckled replied, closing another cabinet and turning to Sunny. "Ignore the hat, if you want. Is just my sign of 'temporal sheriff position' for everypony to understand." "Yeah, I know that," Sunny said with and awkward chuckle. "Um, Knux, where are Hitch and Sparky? I thought they'll be here today." "Oh, they left to Zephyr Heights this morning with Hitch's Grandma," Knuckles replied. "They're heading off for the weekend to that... Social Familiar, or however is called. They're all participating as a single team, which means I'm the Sheriff this weekend." This news absolutely destroyed Sunny. So all of her friends were attending with their families, but she had no one to go with. She had no biological family left, as far as she knows, and now she was alone. Her friends were her family, true, but Zipp and Pipp had their Mom, Misty and Izzy had Alphabittle (he technically raised Izzy, even though she had family alive as a filly), and Hitch had Sparky and his Grandma Figgy. She, however, didn't even had her dad anymore, and even if he was her, who else would go with them? Knuckles noticed that Sunny was suddenly looking gloomy and raised an eyebrow confused. "Sunny? You good?" "...Fantastic!" Sunny replied with a very forced smile, as she sobbed a bit and tears started to flow from her eyes. "All of my friends are going to the Social, while I stay behind because I don't have any family left. I've never been better!" After bursting out like that, Sunny turned around and rolled skated as fast as she could back to the Brighthouse, while Knuckles just looked at her confused, not getting why she got mad all of a sudden. "Hmm... She was crying, and she sounded very sarcastic and heart-broken in her last sentence..." Knuckled noted, then he looked over at his watch. "This might be a good time to call Sonic and Tails." Sonic was just resting over the sand in the beach with a smile. Suddenly, however, his little moment of relaxation got interrupted when his watch beeped, so he answered it. "Yellow?" Sonic asked mockingly. "No, it's Knuckles," The Echidna replied from the other side, but after a few seconds, he spoke again. "Oh, you were just joking... Got it." Sonic rolled his eyes after hearing that. "Hey, Knuckles," Tails' voice joined the conversation as well. In Electronic Tails, the young fox was replacing the Tornado IV's engine with a more powerful one. "What's the motive of you calling us?" Tails asked Knuckles, finally placing the last torn of the engine in place. "Well, Sunny came here looking for Hitch, I told her he's out of town because of that thingy Queen Haven and Alphabittle promoted on TV, then got mad at me for reasons I still don't get, and then left crying to the Brighthouse," Knuckles said. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sonic called out from his side. "Sunny got mad at you?! The very same Sunny that always tries to look for a solution to even the smallest and dumbest of problems?!" "Yup. That Sunny," Knuckles replied. "I think you confused her with somepony else, Knux..." Tails said. "She'll never get mad at anyone–– Wait! You said she left crying?!" "Mm-hmm. That's why I called, actually," Knuckles confessed. "I'm pretty sure that crying is a bad sign, specially if it comes from Sunny. You two think you can check on her and see what's going on?" "I think you just called the right guys, Knucklehead," Sonic replied, immediately cutting the call. "Agreed. Thanks for telling us this, Knux," Tails said, then he also cut the call. After that, Tails rushed to close the workshop, placing a sign that said 'Close for Family Matters', and then he saw a blue blur in the distance entering to the Brighthouse. Tails knew that was Sonic, so he flew up in the air and then boosted towards the Crystal Brighthouse as well to check on Sunny along Sonic. Sonic and Tails bursted into the Crystal Brighthouse, looking around for Sunny with concern. But then, they both heard sobs and whimpers coming from upstairs, and they both already knew who was crying. Looking at each other concerned, they nodded, then rushed upstairs and entered the bedroom. There, they found Sunny crying over a pillow in her bed, while hugging both the Lantern of Hope (her lantern) and the framed picture she had of herself with her dad when she was a filly. Those two were her most valuable objects left from the destroyed lighthouse, and Sonic and Tails knew she's very bad if she's hugging them both. "Sunny?" Tails called out first, as the two brothers approached the Earth Pony mare. "Sunny, we're here." "Knuckles told us you suddenly got upset over him," Sonic pointed out with concern. "That's completely out of character for you... What happened?" Sunny sobbed a bit more on her pillow, and she just lifted her face to see them with a heartbroken expression, which only broke Sonic and Tails' hearts in return. "G-Go away!" Sunny begged, burring her face on the pillow again. "I-I want to be alone!" "Sunny, we don't like to see you like this," Tails pointed out with concern. "We just want to know what's wrong." "Come on now, Sunny-bunny," Sonic added with a little smile. "We're your friends. Heck, even more: We're your brothers from another mother... and dimension. You can count with us!" Hearing that actually made her perk her ears up and look up from her pillow. She suddenly sat at the edge of her bed, still hugging the pillow despite not crying on it anymore, and when she saw that Sonic and Tails were both smiling at her, she couldn't help but smile back, then took a deep breath before explaining herself. "Well... I was very, very excited for the Family Social, because is an event were you can participate with your friends or biological family," Sunny started to explain. "I wanted this to show that we should feel proud of who we are thanks to our family, but... I cannot feel proud of who I am when I have no one to participate with. Everypony is already busy with either their jobs or being part of the Social with their own families, and... I feel like I'm staying behind, alone. Dad's not here anymore, so..." Seeing her worry, Sonic and Tails felt bad for head, with their ears lowering a bit. However, they soon perk up again when they both had the same idea, so they looked at each other, smiled and nodded. Next, Sonic went ahead and sat at Sunny's side. "Well, if being left out is what's bugging you, why didn't you said so? We can go with you and be a chaotic trio of siblings having fun!" This made Sunny's eyes open wide, and she looked at Sonic confused and shocked. "I'm sorry, what?!" "What you heard!" Tails added, as he sat at Sunny's other side. "We have spent a lot of time together, Sunny. Almost two years! We're a little broken family that fixed itself when we got together. I mean, my parents didn't even acted like ones with me, and it wasn't until I met Sonic that I knew what is it to actually have a family." "And even if I had Tails, a part of me always wondered what it'll feel like to have a sister," Sonic added with a smirk. "I found that in you, Sunny. And now, you are the little sister I never knew I always wanted." With every word spoken by both Sonic and Tails, her eyes watered, and she sniffed with a little smile. "You guys mean it? I... Am I actually your family?" "Well, of course you are!" Sonic assured, as both he and Tails side-hugged the Earth Pony mare with smiles. "So what if we're not the same species? Neither are Sonic and I, but we know we are brothers!" Tails pointed out with a smile. "And just like we've been there for each other in good and bad situations, we'll both be there for you as well." "You're our sister, after all. And as your brothers, is our job to look after you," Sonic added with a smile as well. If Sunny could cry a river, she definitely would do it right now. She wrapped her hooves around them both and pulled them closely for a bigger hug. She ended up smiling with joy, while her Cutie Mark started to glow, and Sonic and Tails' electrical powers came afloat, but none of them noticed this. "So... You guys are actually going to the Social with me?" Sunny asked once again, just to make absolutely sure. "We already promised to go, so now we're going, sis!" Sonic stated with a smirk. "Besides, it'll be pretty low of us to tell you all of this and not mean it. Who do we look like, Eggman?" Tails added jokingly, causing the three of them to laugh. The weekend of the Family Social arrived. This meant that it was time for the trio of sibling to participate in all of the activities. Sonic, Tails and Sunny were all going as 'The Chaotic Siblings' as their team name, since they needed one to participate. So far, the siblings were having a blast in all the competitions: For the baking contest, they could've won at least second place if the first recipe didn't exploded in their faces. They laughed about it, but they also knew they lost and only got third place, although they didn't minded since they enjoyed their time. Next, they had an eating competition where they were far to win, but Sonic did laughed a bit at how Sunny and Tails' faces got covered with food rests, which made them cover his face back, and they laughed about it. Finally, they had a charades competition, where every team was free of doing whatever imitation they wanted in such a short notice. They won second place on this occasion, but they had to resist the urge of laughing at Sonic's funny faces whenever he was trying to imitate anything. By the time of the Relay Race, however, it was time to put the game serious. Sunny will start the race in Maretime Bay since it's her home, then Tails will continue the race in Bridlewood, and Sonic will be the one finishing the race by going to the finish line in Zephyr Heights. Sonic had to put over his shoes a blocker that Tails invented. This blocker neutralizes Sonic's speed, so he can run to the same speed than an average pony and make things fair and square. However, that didn't meant he wasn't going to make an extra effort in order to win. In Maretime Bay, everyone put over their positions, ready to start the race. In the line, we have Hitch, Pipp, Sunny, Misty, Rufus, and Posey, while Knuckles is in a corner with a whistle on his hand, also waiting for the sign of Sky and Dazzle to start the race. Once they announced the race could start, Knuckles looked over at the competitors and walked in front of them. Hey let's go! "On your marks, get set..." Knuckles started, and then, he blew the whistle. Hey let's go! Let's take a journey all the way through time Step forward then rewind With this, the race started, as the six ponies rushed off and ran ahead as fast as they could. But, and to no one's surprise, Sunny and Hitch were the ones in the lead. Despite there being other Earth Ponies racing, these two know Maretime Bay better than their own names, which gives them a huge advantage over the rest. No matter where we go its you and me We can rewrite history After running for a while, they left the town and headed towards Bridlewood. There, they found Figgy, Haven, Tails, Izzy, Jazz, and Onyx waiting for their partners to arrive from Maretime Bay. Once Sunny and Hitch arrived, though, they gave Tails and Figgy the stick of the team, so they immediately headed off towards the inside of the forest. Of course, Tails was playing fair as the rules dictated, so even though he could speed ahead and give the stick to Sonic already, he couldn't leave Figgy behind. (Oooh) That's right everyone I'm here Now I wanna hear you screaming loud and clear Coming at you with a proclamation That'll be passed down through the generations It didn't took long for the other four competitors to catch up, and now, the six teams were all heading towards the next teammate now that they have passed the obstacles. It's all bout how you live and learn Hit the road and watch that rubber burn Don't you know that time's an illusion When your running on dreams of absolution In the next line, which's road lead towards Zephyr Heights, therefore the finish line, therefore the trophy, we have Sparky, Zipp, Sonic, Alphabittle, Rocky and Windy waiting for their teammates to arrive. And when they did, the six teams were now rushing towards Zephyr Heights as fast as they could. You know that we've got nothing left to loose So take the leap and grab the prize Now's the chance we've waited our whole lives for Sonic and Zipp were the ones in the lead, however. Even with his speed kept on line to make a fair game, Sonic was still fast enough to keep up the pace he likes. But having to beat Zipp? That was a challenge he welcomed. We're not slowing down anymore As long as your hand's in mind Eventually, they both reached Zephyr Heights and got closer to the finish line. They were constantly accelerating and passing the other one, sometimes Sonic was in the lead and sometimes Zipp was it. This was a very tight race, and just when they both crossed the finish line, a picture was taken. We'll concur any road block The fast lane we'll rock That's right 'Cause I've got my friends right by my side With the race done, both Sonic and Zipp panted heavily after crossing the finish line. Sonic was not used to 'surpass limits' since he didn't had one in other circumstances, but again, he welcomed the challenge. Soon enough, though, the results of who won the race came in, and the picture showed that, despite both being so close to each other, Sonic crossed the line first by a shoe inch, which meant the the Chaotic Siblings were the winners. Sonic just smiled at this, and even though Zipp lost, she still smiled and congratulated him. Later on that day, the Chaotic Sibling enjoyed a meal with their trophy. Sunny was glad that Sonic and Tails came in the end to the Social with her, and she couldn't be any happier for it... But something was still concerning her. "Guys..." Sunny called out, and both Sonic and Tails turned to her. "I, um... Well, first of all, thanks for coming with me. I couldn't have asked for a better team to participate in the social." "Hey, that's what your brothers are here for!" Sonic assured her with a smile. "Yeah! Whenever you need us, we'll be there!" Tails added, also with a smile. "About that, um, the thing of you two being my brothers... If the time of you leaving back to Mobius comes, will you two still be my family? Even if we're not physically together anymore?" Sunny asked with concern. Seeing where she was going, Sonic and Tails looked at each other for a moment, but then they both smiled. "Sunny, Sunny-bunny, little sis. Even if we were miles away from each other, different dimension or not, we'll always be here with you," Sonic said with a smile, wrapping an arm around her and pointing at her heart. "Well, that, and I could also put some projects aside and find a way for us to stay in touch, even if we're various dimensional levels away from each other," Tails added with a smile as well. Sunny smiled with joy after hearing this, then hugged them again, while they both smiled and hugged her back. THE END Author's Note Ah, BenictheHedgehog, you have a good row of chapters, my friend. Thanks to you for suggesting me this, It was honestly so wholesome that I couldn't ignore it. I mean, technically "Return to Cyberspace" already acknowledges them as siblings, but having them all officially saying it out loud works too, though. Anyways. Thank you all once again for reading. See ya! 73. Very Bad Hair DayIt was another morning in the Crystal Brighthouse. Just then, Sunny came into the bedroom rolling a tray cart with a yellow covered plate. "Yoo-hoo! Pipp!" She waved her hoof with a smile, then approached the bed with the uncovered plate that had a tower of pancakes. "When you taste these pancakes, you are gonna hit the…" Yet she trailed off and yelped when Pipp stood up with a yawn, even launching the pancakes to hit the ceiling. It turns out that the young princess' mane was wild and messed up, it even looked bigger than it actually is, but Pipp hasn't noticed yet, and she just smiled tiredly at her friend. "Through… roof..." Sunny finished with an awkward smile, before the pancakes fell on her head. Meanwhile, Pipp made it to her mirror and started brushing her wild mane. "I'll be right with you, Sunny-bun––" She trailed off when she saw her reflection and finally noticed her wild mane with wide eyes. "O…M…P! Am I having a…" She trailed off again with teary eyes. "Bad hair day?!" She then went with Sunny and shook her slightly in panic. "Tell me I'm not having a bad hair day, Sunny!!" Sunny stepped back with a nervous smile while sweating. "Uh, well, I-I-I mean it's a little weird, for sure. But! No, no, no. But, I-I'm sure we can brush it out, right?" She then quickly moved the brush around Pipp's mane back to its original style, which made the Pegasus smile. "See?" Yet the happiness didn't last long, because Pipp's mane suddenly popped back into its wild unkept place, which knocked the Earth Pony to the ground while, Pipp's eyes opened wide in panic. "Ugh!" Pipp cried out, now hyperventilating. "How... am I... meant to work... when I look... like this?!" She questioned while tugging her mane. Sunny looked at her concerned, then began to look around the Brighthouse for something that could help, before her eyes stopped to see the lamp on Pipp's side of the bedroom. Of course, Sunny knew Pipp wouldn't like what she has in mind, but it's also better than nothing. So, sweating nervously and pointing at the lamp, Sunny looked back at Pipp. "Oh... Well..." Pipp looked at Sunny confused at first, but then looked at where she's pointing, and then she gasped in panic. She knows what she means, and just like expected, she doesn't likes it. In the Brighthouse's bathroom, Sonic just got out of the shower. As the Blue Blur hummed a tune to himself, he dried of his fur and then launched the towel away. Soon, he approached the mirror of the bathroom and noticed his quills were a mess. So, to fix it, he open a cabinet, and now he had to make a choice. One one hand, he had Pipp's new mane Softener, which she launched just yesterday. On the other hand, however, he had his usual Hair Gel. His quills are his hair, after all, hence why he uses a gel. He picked up Pipp's softener, opened the bottle and smelled it. The softener had a good sense, but is not what he likes to use, so he choose to put it aside and bring out his usual Hair Gel, then applied some on his hands, and then started to fix his quills so they could say in place like usual. "Sorry, Little Pipp, but I don't trust untested products until I see their result," Sonic muttered, then left the bathroom and prepared to head towards the kitchen and get some breakfast. However, as he was going to do so, he saw that Pipp was getting downstairs with her mane covered by her own lamp's upper part, and he raised an eyebrow confused. If this was another viral thing to do, then he truly has seen everything by this point of his life. "Uh, Pipp?" Sonic called out, and Pipp's eyes widened in panic when she heard his boyfriend. "What are you––" "I'm having a bad hair day, okay?!" Pipp said in panic. "Sunny suggested to cover it up with the lamp, but I honestly don't know how that's gonna help. What if somepony sees me? They're gonna... take pictures and... I'll go viral for... looking terrible!!!" "Pipp!" Sonic called out, placing his hands on his marefriend's shoulders. "Pipp, my love, my angel, calm down!" Sonic told her with a smile. "We're gonna think this through, okay? But first, let's breath in and out to stay calm." Pipp was still hyperventilating a bit, but she choose to hear her boyfriend's words, so she started to do that: She breath in and out to calm her nerves, until she could finally think clearly again. "Feeling better?" Sonic asked with a smile. "A bit..." Pipp replied. "Is just, my mane looks like a disaster, and I don't want to be reminded of it for the next 3 or 4 weeks!" "And if I go with you?" Sonic suggested. "To make sure you feel less stressed or scared." "...You know what? That actually could help. Thanks, Blue Star!" Pipp said happily, hugging tightly her boyfriend. Sonic snickered, then kissed down her nose. "Anything for my princess~" He stated in a flirty tone. Sonic did exactly what he said he would: He accompanied Pipp to Mane Melody. However, Pipp whimpered in fear all the way from the Brighthouse to the town. She placed a piece of her mane back into the lamp cover on her head, since it was coming out, and then looked around completely terrified, something that Sonic noticed, making him feel concerned for his marefriend. "This is so embarrassing!" Pipp cried out. "It's not a big deal, Pippsy," Sonic tried to assure her with a smile. "I haven't seen how your hair currently is, but it can't be as bad as you make it look, can it?" "I'd rather not answer that question..." Pipp replied nervously, right before hiding behind a pillar when she saw Dreamy and a foal coming their way. Once they moved away, Pipp came out of her hiding spot. "Pipp, you're overreacting. Remember what I said time ago? If your fans really love you, they will accept you, no matter how you look!" Sonic reminded her with a smile, but as they moved ahead, they bumped into Dahlia, who had a bag over her head, before she gave a panicked look like Pipp. "Um, Dahlia?" Dahlia laughed nervously. "Hey, Pipp, Sonic. Lovely weather we're having," She said, rubbing her head. Pipp responded with the same expression. "Heeeey, Dahlia––" She cut off with a scream when Dahlia's mane started hissing and hair came out from the bag, right before Dahlia grabbed it, while Pipp gasped in shock. "You too?!" She asked while grabbing Dahlia. "Uh, is it that bad with you, Pipp?" Sonic asked confused. He's not freaked out at living manes because... Well, when an ancient entity possess your body and uses it against your own friends, nothing surprises you anymore. Just then, however, Pipp turned and saw something that surprised her. "What... Wait, what?!" She exclaimed, as she saw many ponies in front of Mane Melody wearing pots, big hats, bags, or buckets on their heads to also hide their manes. "So many ponies having a bad hair day?" Sonic questioned, then he rubbed his chin in thought. "This is way too strange to be just a coincidence..." "I agree!" Pipp said, then she rushes to face everypony else. "What is happening?!" She questioned, before the wind blew by and blew her lamp cap away. She yelped and managed to grab the lamp cap before it flew away. "Phew!" "Oh, yeah... It is that bad after all..." Sonic said with a cringe expression towards his marefriend. "Huh?" Pipp said confused, but then she noticed that the crowd was looking at her and gasped, meaning they were now seeing Pipp's mane current state, so she simply put the lamp cap again and approached the crowd. "Pipp! There you are!" Posey said, as she pushed through the crowd while showing a bottle spray from Mane Melody. "We all used your new Mane Softener, and this is what happened!" She explained, taking off the pot covering her mane, which began to hiss and snarl for some reason while holding a cane. "...No... Yeah, no, this is nothing weird, actually..." Sonic shrugged and deadpanned. "This is just another Tuesday for me." "That's nothing!" Fifi exclaimed, then everyone turned to her as she took off her cap. "Mine's learned to juggle!" She declared, while her mane was juggling bananas on her head. "Mine won't stop eating things!" Rocky exclaimed, as his mane was holding a raccoonicorn and began to chomp at it. "Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!" "I know it's bad and all, but it's also kinda cool," Sonic said with a little smile. Pipp, however, smiled nervously at the crowd. "Well, lucky for you ponies, I have the solution right behind this very lockable door!" She said nervously as she opened the door and dragged Sonic in, while he looked at her confused. "Okay, bye!" She said quickly before slamming the door and lock it. The crowd looked concerned, then they walked up to the door to try and get it open so that Pipp could help them. Inside the salon, Pipp sighs in relief, while Sonic looks at her with an arched brow. "Now what freaky experiment did you make this time that made manes come to life, Pipp?" Sonic questioned his marefriend with suspicion. "I don't make freaky experiments!" Pipp countered with a frown. "And I didn't used any weird product to make my softener, honest! I really don't know what went wrong!" "Well, this definitely didn't went wrong on it's own–– Oh, hi, Windy!" Sonic suddenly trailed off with a smile. "Hi Sonic, hi Pipp!" Windy replied with a smile, but since Pipp didn't know she's here, she was startled and screamed, before turning to see Windy smiling to her, also wearing her badge sash and having her mane normal. "Oh, what are you doing here?" Pipp asked confused. "Just the pony I was looking for!" Windy replied her happily. "I'm right on time, for my 9 A.M. hooficure!" She explained, then she saw a bottle similar to the one Posey showed. "Oh! Is this a new Mane Softener?" She asked, picking up the bottle. "Windy, hold on!" Sonic said in panic once he noticed the design of the bottle. "Uh, no-no-no, I wouldn't if I––!" Pipp as well panicked. Then, a drip came out of the bottle and hit a flower, making the plant's petals grow a bit and hiss, making stare in shock Windy at what happened, while Pipp's lamp cap came off to reveal her wild mane. "I think Sunny's plan had a failure..." Sonic deadpanned after Pipp's lost her cap again. Pipp, on the other hand, groaned. "All right, you caught me! My new Mane Softener is turning everypony's hair into monsters!" She whimpered, tugging her mane as it hissed and moved on its own. "Yeah, I'm actually glad I choose not to use it this morning..." Sonic said with a shrug. "No offense, Pipp." "Honestly? I can't blame you now that I see what happened with the softener..." Pipp said anxiously. Suddenly, they heard something pounding, so they turned and looked out of the window, noticing two mane pieces. Soon, they revealed to be Flare's and Rufus' manes, as they pulled said ponies to the windows with their faces to the glass, startling the two mares and concerning Sonic. "This is starting to get out of control, and I don't like it..." Sonic muttered with a frown. Windy, however, looked at the manes, then thought about something while rubbing her chin with her hoof. "Hmm. I'm sure I've seen this before..." "Oh, what am I gonna do, guys? This is a disaster!" Pipp cried out dramatically with concern. "I honestly don't know," Sonic replied with honesty. "I'm not used to deal with hair suddenly getting alive. Windy? Any ideas?" "Well, in Trail Trotters, we learn to stay calm and assess the situation, so, in this very particular case…" She started, just before they heard more pounding and saw Flare's and Rufus' manes burst through the window and braking it, while the manes dragged the two ponies inside, and more came from under the door. "...I believe we should RUUUUN!" "I second that!" Sonic exclaimed, as the monster manes from Rufus and Flare came after them with hissing sounds, while the three of them screamed and ran out the backdoor. After getting to safety, Sonic quickly shut the door before the monster manes came at them. "Phew!" The three sigh in relief. "Well, I guess we're gonna need to find other way to get ourselves out of here..." Sonic suggested, right before the three of them noticed a couple of costumes of the same Mane Softener bottles in the corner of the backdoor. "...That's convenient..." He deadpanned. In the end, Sonic had to use another costume that wasn't a Mane Softener bottle. While Windy and Pipp put on the bottles' costumes, Sonic had to use an Eggman costume from a product line Pipp scrapped before even launching. It's redundant to say he hates this so much. "If any of you ever tell anyone about this, I swear I won't answer for my actions..." Sonic growled in anger. The three of them walked out of the alleyway, but Pipp's mane hissed before Pipp herself got it back into the costume. Then, they saw many ponies' manes hissing and snarling, also hitting each other or moving around, while ones like Rocky's ate a mailbox. They quickly walked past the crowd, right before the manes roared when they noticed the three of them, which made them scream and run away. Inside the Sheriff Station, Sparky was peacefully sleeping on his bed. Hitch wore a towel on his mane and around his body, since he got out of shower, and he also managed to get Sparky to sleep. Well, with a bit of help from Tails, who came by to move Sparky around his tails until he got tired and finally drifted to sleep, for the two adults' relief. "Phew. Finally," Hitch said with a content smile. "Thank Chaos Pipp made that softener, it's really helping my tails feel more alive than usual!" Tails said with a smile, applying the softener over his tails. But then, the door of the station opened up and then slammed, which startled not only Hitch and Tails, but Sparky as well, who breathed out Dragonfire onto Hitch's face, while Sparky burped. "Hey!" Hitch exclaimed with a frown, turning around and wiping off the soot on his face. "It took me 30 minutes to put Sparky to sleep!" Tails complained with a frown as well. Yet when they turned around, they saw Pipp's panicked expression and Monster Mane that started hissing. "Aah!" Hitch and Tails exclaimed in fright, the latter pulling out a gun and pointing it at Pipp. "It's okay! It's me! It's Pipp!" She quickly said to avoid getting shot, while Hitch and Tails still looked scared at her. "What happened to you?!" Hitch asked Pipp with an anxious look. "And why did you went from generic princess to freaking Medusa?!" Tails asked in panic. "Another product went wrong, and now her mane looks like this..." Sonic interfered, while both him and Windy stood at Pipp's sides. "Huh?/The what now?" Hitch and Tails said confused. "Okay, long story short: New Mane Softener turns hair into monsters, monsters chasing us, need a hideout––" Pipp tried to explain. However, both Hitch and Tails looked at her with panic and shock. "Wait, Mane Softener?!" Hitch asked first. "Y-You mean... t-t-t-this mane softener?" Tails asked nervously, shaking a lot while lifting up the softener on his hand. Both Sonic and Pipp looked completely shocked and panicked at their friends. "Oh boy..." Pipp said with a nervous smile. "We're all gonna die, aren't we?" Sonic asked with a twitchy eye. And then, Hitch's towel on his head shook as his mane burst out while hissing. "What's happening to me?!" He cried out. But as if this wasn't enough, Tails' tails started to shake, until they grow as well and hissed. "Ah! I don't like this! I really, really, really don't like this!" He cried out panicked as well. "Now I'm really glad I didn't applied that thing on me..." Sonic said with an anxious look and an awkward smile. "Just imagine all my quills going feral because of that thing..." "I really don't want to, thanks," Windy said with a nervous smile. Then, Sparky suddenly appeared in Pipp's wild mane, as he laughed and started to move around. "Not now, Sparky! We're trying to panic here!" Pipp cried out, while Sparky grabbed some hair and tied it together to make a mustache over his face. But Windy saw this, she thought for a moment, and then gasped. "That's it! Oh, I'm a genius!" She exclaimed happily, then she brought out her Trotters book and flipped through the pages. "I know where I've seen this hair before! Here! Look! In the Trail Trotters Guide to the Dragon Lands!" As she exclaimed this, Pipp was trying to get Sparky off her mane, while Sonic tried to keep Tails' tails and Hitch's mane in one single place so they could all think on a solution together, but everytime it seemed her finally got it, the wild mane and tails escaped again, making him groan annoyed. Yet when Windy spoke, both Sonic and Pipp stopped what they were doing. "Dragons?" "Let me check that thing!" Sonic said, as he grabbed Windy's book and read what it said. "Mm-hmm... Uh-huh... I see... So this thing basically says that a dragon's hair can make any other creature's hair become alive if swallowed by food or applied by any kind of product... That's just lazy writing." "And also incredibly convenient..." Tails deadpanned, while his tails swallowed Knuckles' desk. "Wait..." Pipp called out with wide eyes and a shocked expression. "A-Are you saying that Sparky..." Yesterday at Mane Melody, Sparky grew a mustache through his nose. The baby dragon plucked one of side of his mustache out and and toss it into the pot filled with Pipp's Mane Softener formula, while he walked of with a shrug and a smile. Of course, he failed to notice that the bowl with Pipp's softener gave off a black and hissing purple smog. "...grew a dragon hair, plucked it out, dropped it in my product..." Pipp continued, while her tone got higher in shock. Back in reality, Pipp was still panicking a lot. "...and accidentally created some sort of mutant pony/dragon magic hair monster potion?!" Pipp finished in shock, as she clutched her head, while Sparky's still on her head with giggles. "Yes!" Windy replied with a nervous smile. "Oh, my hoofness, that's exactly what I'm saying, just with less words!" "Again, that's just lazy writing..." Sonic deadpanned this time around. "I don't want to alarm anyone, but... help me!" Hitch cried out in panic, while his mane lifted him up from the floor and roared in rage. And then, Tails' tails started to shake violently around while swallowing everything, as Tails himself cried out in panic. "Don't just stand there and help!" He begged. Windy, Pipp, and Sonic walked back, while Pipp was holding Sparky. "Oh! Stay back, you unruly mane monsters!" Windy yelled, just before the three of them dodged an attempt of Hitch's mane to hit them. Tails' tails eventually joined, although they were focusing in attacking Sonic only, almost ignoring Pipp and Windy. However, as Pipp dodged several attacks from Hitch's mane, and barely a few from Tails' tails, one piece of Hitch's mane reached Sparky's nose and made him snort a bit. And then, Sparky sneezed, which brought out his dragonfire, which hit Hitch in the process. However, and surprisingly, Hitch's mane returned to normal as he fell to the floor with a thud. "Huh?!" Sonic said confused, before he grabbed Sparky from Pipp's hooves and dodged some more attacks from Tails' tails, then pulled out a quill and tickled Sparky's nose, making him sneeze again and release his dragonfire over Tails. In the process, Tails' tails also went back to normal, and he also fell to the ground with a thud. "Ow!" He exclaimed in pain. "That's it!" Pipp exclaimed happily with sparkling eyes. "Dragonfire can fix this!" She stated, then placed Sparky down and brought out an empty spray. "Okay, here we go, Sparky! Give me some of that dragonfire!" She opened the bottle and placed it in front of Sparky, while the bay dragon responded by breathing his dragonfire into the bottle, which caused it to be filled before Pipp closed it up and sprayed herself with some dragonfire, making her monster mane return back to normal. Pipp smirked and chuckled. "Look out, bad hair day! I'm coming for you!" Sonic, on the other hand, just cleaned himself out and helped Tails stand up again. "We should rename this show from 'Tell Your Tale' to 'Convenient Tales'," He deadpanned. "You should really stop complaining about this stuff, man..." Tails deadpanned as well. Back outside, the ponies' Monster Manes were still going crazy. Just then, though, Windy stood in front of them, laughing and waving her hoof to the manes. Posey's and Fifi's manes hissed and charged right at Windy, which made the pegasus scared. But then, Pipp appeared in front of her while holding a bottle and spraying its dragonfire over Posey and Fifi's mane, which turned them back to normal, making the umbrella and cane their manes were previously grabbing to fall on their heads, but they smiled because of them being back to normal. On the other hand, Rocky's mane was trying to eat Fifi's fruit cart, but then Sonic walked backwards and sprayed over his mane, making it go back to normal as well as Rocky smiled. It also released the raccoonicorn his mane ate earlier, and now the critter was traumatized for life. And like that, one by one, Pipp and Sonic sprayed more dragon fire at the Monster Manes, as they dodged the manes attempts to hit them, right before spraying dragonfire over Rufus, Flare, and Dapple in that order, making their manes go back to normal, while their bags or hats fell on their heads. Then, Windy is pulling on Glory to try and get her, Seashell and Peach Fizz free, because Glory's mane is tied to a lamppost, Peach Fizz is tangled in the middle, and Seashell is tied to the lamppost through her own mane. Fortunately for the three fillies and the adult pegasus, Pipp and Sonic arrived, spraying dragonfire at the Pippsqueaks, which freed them and returned their manes back to normal. Smiling, they waved at the two ponies and hedgehog with grateful smiles, while they returned the gesture and moved on. A few sprays later, everypony's manes were back to normal. With the job done, Pipp and Windy's Cutie Marks glowed, while Sonic's quills lightened in a bit of lightning without him realizing. Sonic and Pipp stopped in front of Mane Melody, twirled their bottles, and then put them back on place. "Ah, if only we had some champagne, we could make this a bit more romantic, don't you think?" Sonic asked jokingly, wrapping an arm around his marefriend's neck. "Ooh, I love the sound of that~" Pipp said in a flirty tone with a smirk. And then, Windy came up to the couple, wiping some sweat off her forehead. "Phew! Well, paint me impressed, Pipp Petals! That was a very creative solution! One that any Trail Trotter would certainly get a badge for," She started to search through her saddle bag. "Uhhh, do we have a Dragonfire Hair Mo––? Aha!" She exclaimed with sparkling eyes, bringing out a purple badge with a lightbulb on it. "The Big Ideas Badge!" Pipp smiled at the badge with sparkling eyes, grabbing the badge. "Awww! Well, I couldn't have done it without your help, Windy! Nor yours, Blue Star!" She stated with a smile, then put her badge away and entered Mane Melody. "Now, how about that hooficure?" She suggested, but then, a shadow loomed over them. The three of them stopped and saw the flower that Windy spilled the mane softener on earlier, which somehow grew huge and had a giant mouth, while its petals were a huge monster mane. The monster plant roared in rage at the three of them, while the wind blows right at them. But if that didn't seemed enough, another figure appeared from behind. Soon, said figure revealed herself to be Amy, with her hair made a monster as well because of the Mane Softener. "Pipp!" Amy cried out in panic. "You have to help me! I used your new product, and look at what happened!" "...All my worse nightmares have prepared me for this very moment..." Sonic glared at Amy's monster hair, then smirked at his marefriend. "You ready for a round 2, babe?" "Absolutely!" Pipp declared with a smirk, as they both brought out their sprays again. "Juuuuust a sec, Windy," Pipp stated, then both Sonic and her sprayed their sprays over the plant and Amy to return them back to normal. THE END Author's Note What the actual heck was this episode? Don't know, don't care, because it was fun to write. There's nothing much I can say for this episode, honestly, other that I'm glad this episode didn't took place during or after Chapter 6, because again: I'm not adapting said chapter, I simply won't. Anyways, thanks for reading, and we'll see each other later. Bye! 74. Sparky In SpaceIn the Crystal Brighthouse, Hitch and Knuckles were leaving Sparky with Sonic and Sunny. "Are you guys sure you can take care of Sparky?" Hitch asked Sunny and Sonic with concern. "Specially you, Hedgehog?" Knuckles added with a glare, as he looked at Sonic, and Sonic only. Sonic and Sunny agreed to take care of Sparky, because Hitch and Knuckles will take care of a big case about a bank robber along Zipp and Tails. They'll usually ask Izzy, but she's in Bridlewood with Misty, visiting Alphabittle; Pipp is busy along Amy and Rouge in Mane Melody, and Shadow and Omega are unavailable. "Pff! Relax, guys!" Sonic said with a smirk. "We have taken care of world-ending threats. Taking care of a really hyperactive kid? Piece of cake!" "Sonic's right. We can definitely take care of Sparky!" Sunny assured with a smile. "Besides, he already loves us as playmates!" She nuzzled with the baby dragon since she had him on her hooves, while Sparky giggled and nuzzled back. "Well, he can be a bit hoof-ful to deal with sometimes," Hitch pointed out with a sheepish smile. "We can still take him with us––" "And let him wonder around while possibly messing up your little investigation day? Sir, no sir!" Sonic denied with his head. "I agree. You two focus on finding that bank thief! We'll take charge of Sparky," Sunny assured with a nod and a smile. "Keep in mind that Sparky can be a bit of trouble. Even when he's sleeping," Knuckles stated with his arms crossed and concerned. "Besides, none of you have ever dragonsit him before." "Is all about trial and error. As long as we keep an eye on him and he's safe, everything should be just fine!" Sonic assured once again. "Now go with Zipp and Tails to the crime scene before they get grumpy and mad with you." "...I guess we can leave you two in peace, then... But I'll keep my eye on you, Sonic!" Knuckles warned once more, making Sonic roll his eyes, then the echidna left. "Just to be sure, here's a list of things that––" Hitch tried to say, but Sunny snatched the list from his hooves and threw it away with a smile. "Hitch, Hitchy, you handsome and irresistible stallion. Just relax!" Sunny told him with a smile, pretty much noticing Hitch's blush after all the things she told him, which made her giggle. "We'll take good care of this baby dragon," She nuzzled with Sparky once more, making the baby dragon babble happily and nuzzle back again. "You just go out there and solve that mystery. Sparky is in good hands and hooves!" Hitch blushed slightly after seeing Sunny being so motherly with Sparky, but he still smiled and nodded. "Alright... I'll leave him to you, guys," He stated, then he approached and nuzzled a bit with the baby dragon. "Goodbye, Sparkeroni. Be a good boy and don't make trouble to Sunny and Sonic, okay?" Sparky happily hugged Hitch back. While Sonic went inside of the Brighthouse. But as Hitch was ready to leave, Sunny pulled him from his belt with a hoof and gently kissed his cheek, which made Sparky's eyes sparkle. "Consider that a good luck charm, Hitchy~" Sunny said in a flirty tone, then passed her tails over his face as she turned back into the Brighthouse and closed the door, while Hitch was still stunned for her action. Knuckles, having noticed what happened, rolled his eyes and grabbed Hitch from his belt, dragging him away. Meanwhile, inside of the Brighthouse, Sunny hummed happily to herself while twirling Sparky up and down like a mother would with her son. Despite the few times that she has interacted with him, she actually adored Sparky just as much as Hitch did, and Sparky didn't seemed to mind, either. However, she had to stop herself when she noticed Sonic smiled mockingly at her. "What? What's so funny?" Sunny asked confused. "Don't think I didn't saw you kissing Hitch's cheek, sis," Sonic said with a grin. Sunny blushed a lot after hearing that, but then she huffed and rolled her eyes. "So? Is not a big deal." "Uh-huh," Sonic replied, still with his mocking smirk. Sunny rolled her eyes again and walked away with Sparky, while Sonic grinned and took out his phone. He took a picture of the moment Sunny kissed Hitch's cheek and sent it to Tails. "Lmao! Those two are hitting Endgame already! 🤣🤣🤣" Tails replied, which made Sonic chuckle. He then put his phone aside and followed Sunny, since taking care of Sparky today was also his responsibility. Mane 6 'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party, oh yeah Sparky was happily running around the living room, with Sunny chasing him around. Zipp: Can't stop, won't stop, big mood, big stomp Strike your best pose to the pony hip-hop Sparky suddenly hid behind the kitchen's counter, and Sunny decided to follow along his game by pretending she had no idea where he go. This made Sparky giggle a bit while covering his mouth with his hands, but then, Sunny surprised him by picking him up by surprise, and Sparky only babbled happily. Ah, oh, let's go, sick beat, sick flow Hitch: We're gonna sparkle, we're gonna glow 'cause Later on, Sonic pilled up a bunch of pillows to form a tower. Mane 6: We're all lookin' fancy, yeah We're all feelin' fine However, as this happened, Sparky smirked and giggled, then he jumped over and made the entire tower of pillows fall over Sonic, almost burring him on it. Both Sparky and Sunny laughed, but then Sonic quickly got out of the pile that fell over him, shook his head, and then grinned sinisterly, before tossing a pair of pillows on their faces. They fell backwards with a yell, but then the grinned as well, and so, a pillow fight started. Pipp Petals: If you're havin' a good time Just let those cutie marks shine! Now we have a short sequence of pictures following up. First, we see a picture of Sunny and Sparky teaming up against Sonic with a pair of pillows and smiles, while Sonic is smiling as well and covering himself to avoid getting hit with the pillows. Then, the next picture shows Sonic matching some payback to the baby dragon and the Earth Pony mare by throwing pillows back at them, as Sunny has Sparky on her hooves and is closing and eye while raising a hoof to protect herself, while Sparky just smiled widely and had fun. Mane 6: So tonight we're gonna party (oh yeah) The next picture showed them all thrown in the ground, laughing their lungs out after finishing with their pillow fight, with Sonic being in the right, Sunny on the left, and Sparky in the middle. So throw those hooves up, everypony (uh-huh) Later on, Sonic was throwing Sparky in the air, making the baby dragon babble happily. We got that glitter, gonna roll It's time to glow up the disco Sunny, however, was bitting her hooves nervously, afraid that something could happen to him, but then Sonic suddenly grabbed her and threw her in the air as well, and she yelped in panic at first, but eventually laughed along Sparky, specially because seeing him so happy make her happy as well. Soon, Sonic was jumping with them as well with his arms crossed on his back and his legs crossed as well. The three of them were jumping because Sonic used his super speed to bring over a trampoline. 'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party, oh yeah They eventually jumped and then landed in the bunch of pillows they used fro their pillow fight from before, as the three of them laughed loudly. Sparky was definitely in very good hooves and hand, just like Sonic and Sunny assured his father and uncle. They were good with kids, after all. Later, around 2 P.M., Sonic and Sunny took Sparky to Zephyr Heights in the Marestream. There, they had a nice little picnic on the ZH's Together Tree, until Sparky fell asleep at Sonic's side, while he lay on a tree with his arms crossed on his back and a smile, and Sunny was reading a book. "I don't know what was Hitch baffling about, 'cause taking care of Mr. Sparkeroni here was easy!" Sonic said with a confident smirk. "I know, right?" Sunny replied with a smile. "Sparky was so good behaved! Maybe Hitch is just way too overprotective over him, which leads him to be so, well, hoof-ful sometimes." "Or Sparky just likes to behave like that with Hitch for fun," Sonic suggested with a smile, then he looked over at the baby dragon that slept peacefully at his side. "I wonder what is he dreaming about." Sparky, on the other hand, simply rested on Sonic's shoulder while dreaming... On his dream, Sparky was flying at top speed across space on a spaceship. Said spaceship has the shape of his head, and it was flying away at top speed from a ship that not only had Opaline's head shape, but it also was being piloted by Opaline herself, who was chasing sparky across space with a sinister grin, and then, she laughed sinisterly. "You can't get away from me! I'll get ya and your dragon fire!" Opaline declared from inside her ship with a grin. Sparky just frowned and flew away as fast as he could. However, some lasers that Opaline was shooting from her ship hit his, and Sparky looked back with a frown, while Opaline grinned sinisterly. Sparky frowned again, then he flew away on his ship and dodged all those lasers, before making a turn and then head towards Opaline at full speed with a warrior cry, also starting to shoot a bunch of lasers of his own towards the evil Fire Alicorn. In reality, Sparky was mumbling and moving a bit because of his dream. He started to move and mumble so much that he ended up throwing the crab plushie he was grabbing to sleep, and his groans called Sonic and Sunny's attention. "Uh, Sparky?" Sonic called out with a raised eyebrow. "What's gotten into him?" "I... I don't know," Sunny replied honestly with concern, closing her book and picking up the sleeping baby dragon on her hooves. "Is he having a bad dream?" "If that's a bad dream, why is he moving so much?" Sonic asked confused. Back in Sparky's dream, he was still fighting against Opaline. Both him and the Fire Alicorn were shooting lasers at each other. But not only that: They also started to move their spaceships closer to collide constantly and try to push the other. Eventually, though, Opaline won the upper hand and shoot Sparky's spaceship on a weak spot, which made her laugh. "Now, to get your Dragonfire!" Opaline said with a sinister smile. Sparky growled in anger after hearing that, and he tried to make his ship get back on track. In reality, Sparky suddenly got off Sunny's hooves and started to sleepwalking. "Eep!" Sunny exclaimed, then she tried to chase Sparky down, but Sonic stopped her with a smile. "No need to do that, Sunny. Sparky's just having a dream," Sonic pointed out. "What's the worse that could–– CRAP!" Sonic immediately cut himself off and went ahead to put a hand in front of Sparky, because he almost fell to a pool that was recently installed in front of the Together Tree. Once Sparky turned around and walked away, both Sonic and Sunny sighed in relief, but then, Sparky suddenly tripped, which made them panic again since they thought that he'll burst out crying... But he simply snored loudly, which made both Sonic and Sunny get some sweat in their faces for some reason. "Where you saying?" Sunny asked with a frown and a glare. "Yeah, yeah. I know. It was stupid. But hey! At least he's safe n––" Sonic tried to point out with a smile, just to look down and notice that Sparky was missing, which made his eyes widen in panic. "Where the heck did he go?!" "Oh, no, no, no, no!" Sunny said panicked with wide eyes. "Where is he?! Where's my baby?!" "Hitch and Knuckles are gonna kill us if we don't go back with that guy alive, or at all!" Sonic pointed out in panic. After that, the siblings spread and started to look around for the baby dragon in panic and concern. Back in the dream, Sparky was feeling sad inside of his ship. The blast Opaline shoot to his flying vehicle destroyed it, and now Sparky was worried, because he had no guarantee that he could be victorious over Opaline, specially because she's more powerful than him. However, when he saw a framed picture of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic, he was immediately reminded why he was fighting her alone. She has kidnapped him, and his family has fought to bring him back from her hooves. Now, he had to return the favor by fighting on his own. So, he boosted towards Opaline once again with a determinate look and a warrior cry... In reality, however, he was walking asleep and climbing over a tree branch from the Together Tree. The baby dragon was barely hanging from the three branch, but he still managed to climb over it, and then, he started to walk on his sleep towards the edge of the very same tree branch. Sonic, who was passing by, noticed Sparky and what was he going to do, so he immediately panicked. "Sparky! Don't!" Sonic shouted, then he rushed towards the tree branch. Sunny heard Sonic's cry, and then she also panicked with a gasp when she saw that Sparky was about to jump. Sonic reached the branch just in time, but as he smiled and prepared to grab Sparky, the baby dragon jumped from the tree branch and flew away thanks to his wings while still sleeping. This surprised both Sonic and Sunny, and while they were glad that he ended up fine, Sonic still fell from the branch and right on the pool. Thankfully, he fell over a float that was there, so he didn't sink. Yet he still lifted his face off the pool with a bored expression, while Sunny had to resist the urge of not laughing off at him. She still used her magic to levitate him out of the water and get him back on land, but Sonic still remained frowning, before they remembered Sparky and looked over at him. He was moving his fists on place, like if he was fighting against someone, and that confused Sunny and Sonic, as they looked at each other with raised eyebrows for a moment, then back at Sparky. In the dream, Sparky and Opaline shoot lasers at each other like maniacs. Opaline laughed sinisterly and planned on capturing Sparky again to stela his Dragonfire, just like she stated, but Sparky was going to be brave and fight against Opaline. And why in space of all places? Because fights in space are cool. So, the baby dragon and Fire Alicorn once again launched at each other. In reality, though, Sparky was running around quickly, so Sunny started to chase him around. Sonic limited himself to watch because he was drying his fur from after falling into the pool, but unlike Sunny did earlier, he couldn't help it and bursted out laughing at how she chased around the baby dragon. "Seriously, Sunny. You truly look like Sparky's mother with how much you're chasing him around!" Sonic mocked her up. "Well, you're technically his Uncle in that case, so get your ass up from there and help me!" Sunny scolded him with a frown, then she resumed her chase of Sparky. Sonic rolled his eyes annoyed and decided to go on and help her catch Sparky, not noticing that Eggman somehow was sneaking behind them while climbing from a cliff. He was exhausted from climbing all of that, but then he grinned when he realized he reached the top. He was investigating the Together Trees, and since the ones in Zephyr Heights and Maretime Bay are the most exposed ones, they were the perfect targets for him. But he couldn't help it and noticed that Sonic and Sunny were chasing Sparky around, as he now started to fly away from them, while they both were talking on a very desperate attempt to get him down again. This confused Eggman, but he also grinned, because it meant it was his perfect chance to approach the tree. Taking advantage that Sonic and Sunny were busy catching their breath from chasing Sparky, he quickly sneaked towards the Together Tree and started to scan it with a small device on his hand. Sparky, however, fell to the ground suddenly, still sleeping, but also calling Sonic and Sunny's attention. In the dream, Sparky was blown out of his ship by Opaline. The Fire Alicorn laughed maniacally after defeating the baby dragon, but unlike she previously said, she didn't captured him and simply flew away, leaving Sparky behind to die in space. Sparky himself was starting to get freeze'd because of the lack of oxygen in space, and he closed his eyes, waiting for his death. However, he suddenly was surrounded by a golden light, a light that also gave him oxygen, and Sparky looked around confused, until he saw who arrived. At his right was Team Sonic, all of them turned into their Super forms, with Sonic having golden fur, Tails having white fur, Knuckles pink fur, and Amy a mix of white and gold fur. Then, at Sparky's left, were the Mane 6, with Sunny having her Alicorn form up and surrounding the other ponies in a golden aura. Sparky smiled after seeing all his family coming to help him, then he looked ahead at Opaline's ship with a determinate look, then they all were heading towards it at top speed. Opaline was really chill for a moment, still thinking that she has won over the baby dragon, but when she noticed a golden light approaching, she turned around, and then absolutely panicked at the sight of Team Super Sonic, the Mane 6 and Sparky approaching her at top speed with warrior cries. In reality, Sparky was running on his sleep with a fist extended towards Sonic and Sunny. When they noticed that, they simply deadpanned, and Sonic even raised a foot to let him pass down here and keep going forward, even though a punch of Sparky would pretty much feel like getting tickled to him. But they still failed to notice Eggman, who got all the info he needed regarding the Together Tree, and he was returning right were he came from. However, he did saw Sparky coming at him, and while he also thought that he wouldn't feel pain from a punch from the baby dragon, he was completely wrong. Sparky punched him in the face very hard, and in his dream, said punch was aimed to Opaline, but in reality, Eggman was suddenly sent backwards, while Sonic rushed to grab Sparky on his arms. Both Sunny and Sonic approached the cliff Eggman was hanging over a few seconds ago, and they witnessed how he fell several meters to the ground, to the point he got lost below the clouds and even left a whole in one of them, making both Sonic and Sunny blink a few times confused. Eventually, though, Sonic smiled, then placed Sparky over his shoulder and nodded satisfied, while Sunny at his side deadpanned at him, and Sonic sweat a bit nervous, because he could feel her glare over him. Later on, they choose to go back to the Crystal Brighthouse on the Marestream. The vehicle landed right besides the building, with the sun setting in the horizon, while Sonic and Sunny exited the vehicle, with Sparky now normally sleeping over Sunny's back. Well, that is after managing to take him off Sonic's face, because he grabbed the blu blur's nose and tried to pull it off for some reason. Still, they entered the Brighthouse and lay on the couch, with Sunny carefully and gently holding Sparky on her hooves. Even though capturing him while he slept was exhausting, she still smiled down at him. "...You know? This is going to sound weird, but... I actually like the idea of being Sparky's second Uncle," Sonic spoked after a while. "I guess that makes Pipp his aunt as well." "That also means that Tails and Zipp are his uncle and aunt as well," Sunny pointed out with a chuckle. "And honestly? I don't mind being Sparky's Mom, either," She yawned a bit. "It actually sounds... amazing..." That's all she managed to say before falling asleep as well, and Sonic smiled at that. He went over and placed a blanket around his sister figure and the baby dragon. He patted Sparky's head for a moment with a smile, but just when he was going to leave, something unexpected happened... Sparky was too comfortable over Sunny's chest, to the point that he spoke. "Mmm... Mama..." Is what the baby dragon muttered. Both Sonic and Sunny's eyes shot widely open, because even if she felt tired, Sunny was still able to hear when Sparky called him 'Mama', and she looked down at him in shock. "...S-Sonic?! P-Please tell me that you––" Sunny tried to ask. "Yes, Sunny. I heard it," Sonic replied in shock and with wide eyes. "He, uh, he called you his 'mama'," He chuckled a bit. Sunny also chuckled a bit, but then she straight up laughed with some tears of joy. Why did it made her so incredibly happy when she wasn't even Hitch's girlfriend? And why didn't he called any other one of the girls that way? She would understand with Izzy simply because she dragons sit him more, but why her? It didn't really mattered, though, because she nuzzled with the sleeping baby dragon with a huge smile, and Sonic himself couldn't help but smile a bit as well, approaching them. "So, how will you explain Hitch that you have become Sparky's mom?" Sonic asked her with a teasing smirk. "Oh, I think he's gonna be more red than Knuckles," Sunny replied. That just made them both burst laughing, while Sparky nuzzled even closer to his new Mom. But then suddenly, knocks were heard out of the Brighthouse, so Sonic went ahead and opened the door, just to be pushed aside by Hitch and Knuckles, both entering to the place with panicked looks. "Sparky? Sparky! Where are––" Hitch was calling out, but as soon as he saw that Sunny - once again - fell asleep on the couch with Sparky on her hooves, he sighed relieved and smiled. Knuckles noticed this as well, and he whistled amused. "And here I thought that you'll be in trouble." "See, Knucklehead? You've gotta believe in me a bit more! You un-trust everyone way too much," Sonic said with a mocking tone and smirk, also laying on his shoulder. "Over my corpse," Knuckles groaned, and Sonic deadpanned while rolling his eyes. "I can't believe that Sparky and Sunny fell asleep together..." Hitch said with a slight blush, but also with a smile. "You really managed to tire him huh?" "Yup! And it was a bit troublesome, not gonna lie, but we pulled well in the end," Sonic grinned. "Anyways. How about your robber? Did you got him?" "Yup," Knuckles nodded. "It was Sprout." "Oh, I s––" Sonic tried to reply, but as soon as he processed who Knuckles mentioned, his eyes widened. "...I'm sorry, did you just said Sprout?" "Mm-hmm," Knuckles nodded once again. "...Sprout Cloverleaf..." Sonic deadpanned, and Knuckles nodded once more. "The same Sprout Cloverleaf that went insane and became emperor? The same Sprout cloverleaf that teared down Sunny's lighthouse? The same Sprout cloverleaf that hates you because you're a better deputy than he ever was?" "Yes, yes, and yes," Hitch replied instead with a smile. "He was a terrible robber, by the way. He literally left behind clues everywhere!" "Is kinda weird, though," Knuckles said. "I feel like he copied that trick from himself, but from another universe..." "...Knux, the multiverse crap is not a problem to worry about until 6 episodes and epilogue from today..." Sonic pointed out to him with a deadpan. "I know, I know, but it's a plausible theory!" Knuckles pointed out. "Let me doubt it," Hitch deadpanned as well and rolled his eyes. "Anyways. Is there anything aside from Sparky that we missed out, Sonic?" "Oh, not so much. Just, you know, Sparky calling Sunny his 'Mama'. Nothing from the other world," Sonic replied with a shrug and a very casual tone. "...Sparky did what?!" Hitch and Knuckles asked at the same time. However, the former did it with a huge blush that left his face just as red as Knuckles', while the latter just bursted out laughing, and soon, Sonic joined in the laughing. But despite the embarrassment, Hitch looked back at Sunny and Sparky cuddling together, and he actually smiled. He was not a couple with Sunny... Not yet, but he definitely didn't minded having Sunny as Sparky's mother. Why would he, anyways? He has no eyes for any other mare that isn't Sunny. THE END Author's Note So I was watching the Chao In Space short, and this episode came to life. In all honesty, this episode seemed as the perfect excuse to show that Sonic has a weak spot with kids, and also to show a bit of Sunny interacting with Sparky. She's the one that interacts the less with Sparky, but the few times she does, she acts like a caring mother with her child. And what about next episode? It ends with some... interesting results, that's all I'm saying. Anyways, thank you guys for reading! See ya! 75. Double Date NightIn Mane Melody, Sonic was deadpanning while Amy fixed a tuxedo suit on him. Meanwhile, on a corner of the room, Rouge was grooming Tails' tails with a brush, at the same time that Sunny was fixing his hair. If you wonder why they're being prepared for: They're gonna have a double date with their girlfriends, which Tails doesn't really minds, but Sonic hates the dressing up part. "Ugh... Do we really need to dress up this fancy? We're going to the see a movie, not to witness the Great Gatsby!" Sonic groaned annoyed, trying so hard not to move. "You're also having dinner on the fanciest restaurant in ZH, so of course you've gotta look fancy!" Amy pointed out, as she started to finish by tying up his blue tie. "This still feels like way too much for a dinner and a movie hang out..." Sonic deadpanned. "It's a double date, man," Tails reminded with a smile, right when Sunny finished to fix his hair and started to tie his yellow tie as well. "Besides, Pipp herself asked for us to dress like this, remember? And you didn't complained!" "Because Pipp used her sad puppy eyes before I could protest!" Sonic said with a frown. "How can I say no to her if she cheats with those eyes?!" "Don't be such a baby, Sonic!" Amy scolded with a glare. "Pipp wants this night for both of you to be magical, and for her sister and Tails as well. Also, both she and her sister want to make up to you two for leaving you hanging and cancelling so many dates these past days. Give them the joy of making up their mistake by dressing fancy!" "I gave Pipp that joy a lot of times! Can't we go informal as usual? This suit is killing me!" Sonic complained, scratching his neck a bit while feeling uncomfortable. "While it's true that these suits can be a bit too much, I think Amy's right," Tails said with a smile. "And again, big fancy restaurant requires big fancy clothes. And unless you're willing to wait for 2 or 3 hours until Zipp and Pipp are ready after the movie, we were dressing up like this, anyways." "If that was your attempt to make me feel better, then try harder. I just feel worse now..." Sonic deadpanned again. "Aw, come on, Sonic!" Sunny said with a little smile. "I'm pretty sure everything will go fine down the line!" "The movie, I'm sure it will," Sonic shrugged with his arms crossed, then frowned. "The dinner? Pipp sometimes gets so excited in the fancy places, and that can be a problem..." "...And Zipp gets too demanding when it comes to food, no matter the kind of we order..." Tails said, and now he started to feel as anxious as Sonic. "Okay, maybe you're right, Sonic. This starts to sound like a terrible idea..." "Or, you two are panicking way too much," Rouge deadpanned. "Girls tend to be like that. And confronting them is not the way to go, or else a big misunderstanding might happen." "Oh, but we have good reasons to panic, Rouge," Sonic said with a slight frown. "And we're definitely gonna be a bit embarrassed because of their... particularities," Tails admitted nervously. "So you two are going to––" Amy was about to ask. "Cancel the date? No, but we definitely need to be careful tonight," Sonic said with an eye roll. "Pipp's shenanigans will get in the way, I'll tell you that..." "And Zipp's gonna be intense by trying to make everything perfect when she clearly can't..." Tails said with an anxious look. "Huh... Pipp does the same sometimes," Sonic confessed, making Tails' eyes widen in panic. "No matter what happens tonight, it seems like it'll be an interesting one..." He pointed out. "Is that a good thing, or a bad one?" Sunny questioned. "...50/50, I guess," Sonic replied. Later on, as the night was beginning, Sonic and Tails went to the front of the Brighthouse. There, Knuckles and Hitch were waiting and guarding the doors, as if two bodyguards were protecting the one person they're getting paid to protect. Of course, they didn't had the fancy suits, and were just chilling while making sure no one entered the Brighthouse, but they have the same job as a bodyguard, anyways. "Well, you got here a lot later than I thought," Knuckles mocked up with a smirk. "Did Amy and Rouge took their time to dress you guys up?" "Yeah..." Both Sonic and Tails replied, the former with a deadpan, and the latter with a sheepish smile. "How long have you two been here guarding the entrance?" Tails asked. "Around an hour, maybe two. The sun was starting to set when we got out here," Hitch explained. "That was an hour and a half ago..." Sonic raised an eyebrow, then his eyes widened. "Wait! You guys thought we'll get here first or something?" "Well, we definitely knew you two would be ready before the sisters," Knuckles confessed. "We're just surprised you weren't here by the time we came down to watch the entrance." "In other words: Yeah, we expected you guys to show up before us," Hitch added with a chuckle while scratching his neck. "And how long is it gonna take them to be ready?" Tails asked, concerned to find out the answer. Yet before he could get an answer at all, a knock was heard from the other side of the Brighthouse's doors, and both Sheriff and Deputy knew what to do, so they stood back and opened the doors. When they did so, Sonic and Tails' faces flushed in bright red, and their eyes widened while their jaws dropped: The sisters were wearing matching dresses, with Pipp's being golden with a golden band tying her mane in a ponytail, while Zipp's dress was almost identical to Pipp's, just in silver colors. Her man wasn't tied like Pipp's because it isn't long enough to be, but Tails still found her as the most beautiful girl that's ever existed, and so did Sonic with Pipp. "...Something awakened in me, and it's definitely not feelings..." Sonic said with a huge blush, while Tails' tails propelled themselves and made him almost fly away if Sonic didn't caught his leg in time to bring him back down. "What's the matter, you two?" Pipp asked with a teasing smirk. "Seems like you saw a ghost or something~" "Want us to get some fangs or ice to cool you down~?" Zipp added with another teasing smirk. Sonic had to pull part of his suit's neck aside to ease the tension a bit, while Tails was about to have a nose blood. Noticing their couples attitudes, the sisters only snorted, then approached them and kissed their lips, before pulling them into a hug, one that finally calmed them down. "I know what you're thinking, Sonic. Keep yourself controlled, and you may get what you want by the end of the night~" Pipp teased with a giggle. Sonic only snorted slightly. "Maybe I am thinking in that, but lewd thoughts aside?" He broke the hug and looked at Pipp with a genuine loving smile. "You look gorgeous, Little Pipp." Pipp blushed slightly, but she still smiled back and pulled him in for another short, but gentle kiss. On the other hand, Zipp was not braking her hug with Tails yet. "No matter what happens tonight, man... Tonight we're not sleeping~" She teased with a grin. Tails' face flushed red, and he gulped nervously, but also a bit excited after getting what his marefriend may be insinuating, so he broke the hug. "If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, I hope you're not as noisy as you say you'll be when we have talked about that before." "I don't promise anything~" Zipp teased giddy, and that made Tails blush like mad again. "If you four are done insinuating that you're all gonna get laid, get the hell out of here and go get laid anywhere else," Knuckles requested with a deadpan. "Aren't you the one driving us towards Zephyr Heights for the date, Knucklehead?" Sonic deadpanned. "Nope!" Knuckles replied, then boosted inside the Brighthouse for a moment and came back within 3 seconds with a red tie and some flowers, but nothing else. "I have a date of my own with Izzy. See ya!" With that being said, Knuckles boosted away, leaving the two couples behind with bored expressions. "...Honestly, I feel safer knowing I'll be driving to ZH. I can't trust Knuckles with a vehicle," Tails confessed, getting agreement comments from his brother, his marefriend, and his sister-in-law. ONE TRIP TO ZEPHYR HEIGHTS, AND A TWO HOUR MOVIE LATER... After the movie was over, the two couples exited the Movie Theater while bursting out laughing. If you guys winder what movie they saw, well, they saw a movie name "Stream 3". Is not a movie about streaming, if that's what you think, but the pony version of "Scream 3"... Yeah, they find it hilarious, not scary. "Can you guys believe that movie was trying to be scary?" Sonic asked with a snort. "Honestly, I felt like I was watching a Looney Tunes cartoon instead of a gory movie." "And the killer in the end was, like so obvious to guess!" Zipp added with a smirk. "Is like if they didn't even tried with this one!" "I'm not the one that actually likes to watch gory movies, but my gosh, those were the lamest deaths I've ever seen in any movie!" Tails said, sounding more disappointed than anything. "Agreed!" Pipp said. "I'm not really into the gory stuff, either, but I love the Stream movies! I'm really disappointed we got those cartoonish-ass deaths instead of, you know, 'Stream' deaths!" "You do have to admit that, even if the killer was pretty obvious, the way they revealed him was creative for a change," Sonic pointed out. "Oh, absolutely. Best killer reveal in the franchise, despite also having the worse plot and deaths," Tails agreed. "If you think about it, is the story really that important?" Zipp questioned. "I know the first two movies had a consistent story, but lately, the horror movies just focus on being generic slashers and leave the story aside, which leads to plot holes, and theories, and waste of time and money..." "Except for the fact that we actually liked the movie, even if it was kinda dumb," Pipp pointed out with a smile. "Yeah... Anyways!" Sonic said, stretching out a bit. "Next on our list is the dinner, right? I'm starving!" "Yup!" Pipp replied, still with a smile. "And our reservation is just in time, because we're about 3 minutes away from the restaurant!" However, as Pipp was talking, Zipp looked in certain direction, and then her eyes widened in panic. "...Uh... Sis?" She called out, then lifted her hoof and pointed at a certain building. "Is... that the place we're supposed to stay over?" Pipp, Sonic and Tails looked in the same direction than Zipp, and the former's eyes widened in panic as she let out a girly and startled scream when she saw that the restaurant they reserved over was, well, getting close down with a pair of tapes with yellow and black stripes by Thunder. The sisters immediately rushed towards the pegasus guard, while Sonic and Tails looked at each other confused, then went ahead to follow their girlfriends and see what's going on. "What do you mean the shut the place down?!" Pipp asked Thunder in panic. "Sorry, Princesses, but your Mom came here earlier today to make the sanitary revision before your date, and... She found some plagues in the Kitchen," Thunder explained with a sheepish smile. "She wanted to tell you sooner and change the reservation herself, but..." "Royal duties?" Zipp asked with a deadpan. "Yeah... Again, sorry Princesses," Thunder apologized once again, before leaving the scene by flight. Sonic and Tails heard everything, and while Sonic tried to come off with a joke to ease the tension in the air, he got nothin in the end, so he closed his mouth and played nervously with his fingers, while Tails approached the sisters, both looking down with concern, but Pipp was at the edge of tears. "Um... How bad is this looking for you two?" Tails choose to ask. It may be a dangerous place to go in, but he knows it's better if they get it out of their system now. "...Well, the dresses now look kinda ridiculous..." Zipp said mockingly with a little smirk, which made Tails smile and nuzzled with her a bit, while Sonic snorted, then approached Pipp. "Pipp? You, uh... You good?" Sonic asked her with a but of concern. "...I don't know... I just, well, you guys pointed out how we've been keeping you aside lately for our own business..." Pipp started to explain. "Yeah... All those cancelled dates, the few times we left you hanging, and that one time we sent Knuckles or Sunny to cancel the date for us..." Zipp said with a sheepish smile, then her eyes widened, and then she blushed in shame. "Okay, yeah, I'm gonna shut up now." "The point is that... We wanted this dinner to be our apology to you guys!" Pipp said sadly with low ears. "But with the place shot down, I guess Zipp's right. The dresses look ridiculous now..." Yet after Pipp explained herself, Sonic and Tails looked at each other, then they both started to laugh a bit, which confused the sisters, almost leading to offending them. "Girls, If you wanted to make up for that, then why didn't you said so?" Sonic asked with a smirk, as he started to untie his tie. "There's no need for a fancy dinner for all of us to have fun!" "Nor to make up for the cancelled dates!" Tails added, as he also untied his tie and removed his entire tuxedo suit piece by piece. "I mean, with the movie alone you two already gave us that time!" "R-Really?!" Pipp asked in shock with wide eyes. "B-But I thought that you guys were mad with us!" "Me too! We've been really, uh... Not so good girlfriends by cancelling our dates," Zipp added, confused and concerned. "Pff! That's nonsense!" Sonic said with a smile, finally removing his entire suit and kicking it aside with his foot. "We all get busy with our own lives sometimes, but we were not mad at you to begin with!" "That's true!" Tails agreed, also kicking aside his suit after removing it entirely. "Sure, we did had a bit of fear because of your shenanigans during dinner, but that's on us! And, we don't need a fancy place to spare our time as couples!" "But then what else can we do?" Zipp asked confused. "We get out of here, and go live a little!" Sonic replied with a smile. "What do you mean with that?" Pipp asked next, also confused. Sonic: Hey, girl, I'm waiting on ya, I'm waiting on ya Come on, and let me sneak you out As Sonic suddenly started to sing, he pulled Pipp away by grabbing her hooves and running backwards, while Pipp followed and flapped her wings to fly and keep up the pace with him. In the process, she untied her pony tails to let the wind hit her mane, and she ended up smiling widely. Tails: And have a celebration, a celebration The music up, the window's down With Tails joining into the song, he grabbed Zipp and made her twirl a bit on her dress, which actually made Zipp giggle a bit, before they both took off and followed Sonic and Pipp. Sonic: Yeah, we'll be doing what we do Just pretending that we're cool and we know it too It's been raining the past few days, which has made some muddy swamps in the streets. Sonic noticed this, and he grinned while singing, then he decided to be a bit goofy and throw some of the mud to Pipp, mudding her up and her dress. Of course, Pipp wanted to panic, but then Zipp launched to her. This made the two sisters fall to the muddy swamp, and while Zipp laughed at Pipp, the younger pegasus made payback by launching a small ball of mud to her, which took Zipp off guard. Tails: Yeah, we'll keep doing what we do Just pretending that we're cool, so tonight... And then, Tails joined in by launching several muddy balls with his tails that Sonic was creating at top speed and then launching at them using Tails' tails. Of course, this made the sisters squeal, but the eventually managed to make their payback to the boys by launching them mud balls when they got distracted. Sonic & Tails: Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy 'til we see the sun I know we only met, but let's pretend it's love And never, never, never stop for anyone Tonight, let's get some And live while we're young The mud brawl continued between the two couples, with them switching teams anytime it was convenient for them. It was either siblings vs siblings, couples vs couples, or siblings-in-law vs siblings-in-law. Either way, it didn't took away the fact that they were having a blast, and it got to a point were the sisters decided to removes their dresses and make up, then throw it away. It didn't mattered anymore to act so fancy when they were having fun by not being it. (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) Wanna live while we're young (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) Tonight, let's get some And live while we're young Once they stopped playing with the mud after about 30 minutes, rain started to fall, but none of them seemed to mind. They all simply looked up, then noticed their bodies getting wet as the mud removed. Sonic: And, girl, you and I We're 'bout to make some memories tonight As Sonic began to sing again, he hold Pipp's chin with a smirk and a loving gaze towards her. Pipp blushed slightly, but she also smiled, and Sonic invited her to make a little dance down the rain, even twirling her around for a more dramatic effect, and she giggled happily. Tails also invited Zipp to make the same dance with the same twirls, while Zipp smirked and enjoyed herself, because if she was with the guy she loved, she didn't mind making what she considers to be a generic dance. Tails: I wanna live while we're young Pipp & Zipp: We want to live while we're young Sonic, Tails, Pipp and Zipp: Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy 'til we see the sun I know we only met, but let's pretend it's love And never, never, never stop for anyone Tonight, let's get some And live while we're young The two couples began to play even more with the mud while the rain kept falling, and at this point they had no idea of what they were doing, but did it really mattered? They were young adults in love, doing random stuff in the mud out of fun. After all, and as the song says, they were living while being young. Come on, young (Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live) Wanna live while we're young (Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live while we're young) Tonight, let's get some And live while we're young In the end, the four of them threw to the muddy ground and began to laugh uncontrollably because of their time down the rain and in the mud. In the end, they all definitely enjoyed their time together. Later on, the two couples went to the Zephyr Heights Castle. They'll be staying here for this night before returning to Maretime Bay in the morning, and after each one of them took a shower to remove all the mud from their bodies, they were now eating something made by Haven herself on the big room they were all going to sleep, also laughing while chit-chatting with each other. "Oh, I've gotta say, even if we didn't had that dinner in the end, I had so much fun tonight!" Pipp said happily. "Yeah! Those mud battles were awesome!" Zipp agreed, while having her mane covered in a white towel. "Still, sorry for making you guys dress up so fancy. We really thought that would make up for all our cancelled dates." Tails just smiled and dragged Zipp into a side hug while nuzzling with her. "It's okay, Zippy! We just wanted to have fun with you, girls, and we did in the end!" "I'm just a tiny bit frustrated a didn't get to try that flan you were hyping me about, Pipp..." Sonic confessed, making Pipp smiled sheepishly. "But I can let it pass. The world won't end just because I didn't got my dessert." "I still owe you that dessert, babe," Pipp admitted with a little smile. "In fact, we still owe you two a lot of dates, and even if a dinner can't make it up for that, I have something else in mind~" With that being said, Pipp got off from Sonic's lap - since she was sitting there - and approached her own sister, whispered something to her ear, then giggled when Zipp blushed at the idea. However, Zipp eventually smirked back and nodded, then the two sisters started to walk towards the beds they would share with their respective couple, while flapping their wings together and wagging their tails. Fun fact that matters: The beds have curtains so they can close them and have more privacy. Sonic was more red than a tomato after seeing what the sisters just did as they climbed on their beds and looked at the brothers over their shoulders with seductive looks, while Tails was confused. "Uh... What's going on?" Tails asked with a raised brow. "Dude..." Sonic started with a gulp, also sweating nervously. "That's a mating dance..." After Sonic said this, Tails' eyes widened, then his face flushed in bright red, and he also gulped nervously. Whatever happened that night is not something I will show nor describe because I've got to keep that E for Everyone... But you don't have to be a genius to guess what happened. THE END...? Author's Note Remember Episode 49 of this series? An Episode I wasn't happy with the result? It happened again. However, this chapter didn't went through 5 drafts like with Episode 49... It went through 15. Fucking. Drafts. I am so done with this chapter that, if you don't like it, I honestly don't blame you. I just... I got really stuck with it, you know? Now, don't think I was going to publish this unfinished, I still tried to pull my best, but I just don't like the final result. Is really hard for me to enjoy it when I myself consider it very lame, but I have it done, and I'm here giving it to you all. I really, really, really want to say how sorry I am for not giving out a better result, because you guys deserve a great episode, something I unfortunately couldn't deliver today. Oh well, it's fine. Sometimes you make great episodes, sometimes you make lame ones. I do promise, though, that next episode will be better worked over. With nothing else to say, I thank you all for reading this all the same. See ya! 76. Letting GoSonic and Sunny were rushing at top speed towards Zephyr Heights. There were multiple reports from the pegasi city about multiple badniks and Eggman himself making chaos everywhere, all in order to catch Sonic and Sunny's attention. "Eggman disappears with no sign for a full month, and then he suddenly attacks Zephyr Heights?!" Sonic asked with a frown as he ran at top speed, while Sunny had her Alicorn form activated and kept up by flight at his side. "It's Eggman we're talking about, Sonic," Amy pointed out through Sonic's watch. In the air, the Tornado IV and the Marestream flew towards Zephyr Heights as well. The rest of the Mane 6 were flying in the Marestream, while the Mobians but Rouge and Omega travelled over the Tornado IV towards the pegasi city, and Rouge and Omega followed the two flying vehicles by flight. Why did Sonic and Sunny went ahead? To evaluate damage, and also to face Eggman already. "His last plan involved the Chaos Emeralds. He tried to steal them, and instead sent them to a parallel world where we're all humans instead of ourselves," Knuckles pointed out. "What's his plan this time if it requires destroying Zephyr Heights?" "Getting our attention, that's for sure!" Tails declared. "Dr. Eggman is too smart to not realize we'll obviously go towards him. Perhaps that's what he wants, or perhaps he has no plan at all... We can't really know until we're there." "The more time we spent talking, the more time Eggman destroys our home!" Pipp pointed out in panic and concern. "Pipp's right! We can't just stand here and wait for a miracle to stop Eggman, we have to act now, and on our own!" Zipp agreed with a frown. "Approaching to Eggman without a plan is the dumbest move to make!" Shadow pointed out, standing over the Tornado IV's wing. "We need to have a plan, or at least, some guidance on what to do!" "Well, here's a plan: Half of us supervise the damage and look out for any harmed citizens. The other half looks after Eggman and takes him down before this actually turns into a problem we cannot control. Does that sound good?!" Sonic asked through his watch. Both the rest of the Mane 6 and the Mobians muttered their agreements, while both the Marestream and the Tornado IV boosted faster towards the pegasi city. Meanwhile, Sonic and Sunny arrived to Zephyr Heights already. The sight before them was atrocious: Several badniks all around the place, ponies running away in panic, shops and homes destroyed. Heck, there even was fire around the city. Eggman could not be seen anywhere close, but his machines causing this much damage was already a sign that he was in the area. "I can't believe Eggman has made this much damage already..." Sunny said with concern and low ears. "Well, I can," Sonic said with a frown. "Eggman never feels it's enough with one time, so he tries again, and again, and again, until it works for him." "Even at the coast of innocents lives?!" Sunny asked with worry and an anxious expression. "To Eggman? There's not such a thing as 'innocent lives'," Sonic replied with concern, then he looked over at his watch. "Guys, the coast is full of badniks, but there's not sign of Eggman yet." "Roger that. We're looking for a safe place to land. We'll go with you in a minute!" Tails replied. "Be careful out there, guys! Eggman could be anywhere!" Hitch plead with a worried tone. "Roger that, Sheriff. Tails," Sonic replied, then ended the call. "Come on, Sunny. Let's get the coast free of badniks!" "Right behind ya, brother!" Sunny said with a smirk. With that, Sonic and Sunny launched themselves to destroy the badniks in their way. It wasn't any difficult to destroy them since, well, they're badniks, not Eggman's current machine to defeat. Sonic Spin Dashed, used Homing Shots and even Wild Rushed towards the enemies, while Sunny blasted them away with her magic, and even managed to make some 'Loop Kicks' on her own, although they were more 'Loop Punches' since she used her front hooves to make the attacks. However, Sunny came to a stop after a while and realized that something was... odd about all this invasion. If Zephyr Heights was under attack, why weren't Haven's Royal Guards around? "Um, Sonic? Something's not right here..." Sunny tried to point out, but the moment she called out Sonic, he didn't replied, which concerned her. "Sonic?" She turned back where he used to be, just for her eyes to widen when she realized he wasn't there anymore. "S-Sonic?!" Sunny called out again in panic. "Sonic, if this is some kind of joke, is not funny!" But the joke's on her, because the ground suddenly cracked, and she was falling through a hole while screaming. She desperately tried to flap her wings to fly up, but her Alicorn form suddenly disappeared, and as much as she tried to make it return, it simply didn't responded. She then groaned in pain when she hit the ground with her body, then shook her head and slowly stood up, just to find herself looking in a mirror, while everything else around was just a dark background. "A... mirror?" Sunny said confused, then she slowly approached her reflection and place a hoof over the crystal, but since she touched it and didn't traversed it like she thought she would, she simply stood back. "Is not the magic portal mirror to that human dimension Sonic went to recover the Chaos Emeralds. Is just... a mirror..." Well, that's what she thought at first, because her reflection suddenly smirked and stepped out of the mirror. "What the hay?!" Sunny exclaimed out loud in panic, stepping even more back after seeing this. "What's the matter, Sunny? Can't handle seeing yourself?" Sunny's reflection said with a grin, which only made Sunny feel awkward. "...What's going on?" Sunny asked, now feeling very confused. "I'll tell you what's going on, Sunny..." Sunny's reflection replied, but now with a frown and anger. "You're still fighting that nonsensical mission your Dad started many moons ago, and for what? Lead ponykind to the same non-ending cycle where just one wrong move is enough to put the three races against each other, meaning this entire fight for 'friendship' is useless? Do you seriously want to be the butt of the joke of your own hometown for the rest of your life?" "...Uh-huh... I'm sorry, is this another one of Eggman's tricks to destroy my moral?" Sunny asked with a deadpan and a raised eyebrow. "If so, tell him the first time worked flawlessly, but it's gonna take him more if he wants to catch me with my guard down ever again." With that said, Sunny turned around and walked away... But then her reflection started to laugh sinisterly. "Oh, is that so?" Sunny's reflection said, and Sunny turned around to see that her reflection's eyes changed into yellow, before her entire body was covered by a dark cloud. "Then why do you still have this same nightmare?" "Uh, this is... not the nightmare..." Sunny pointed out. "We're not in––" Yet before she could finish talking, her eyes widened when she realized that she was back into Eggman's lab... But she was not being the one beaten up. Instead, she saw the entire play of Eggman beating the crap out of her in front of her friends though some kind of third person point of view. "W-What is this..." Sunny said concerned. "This is what you fear the most, Sunny. What you can't still get over with," Her reflection, which strangely disappeared, replied, as her voice echoed. "Your body might sleep and feel at ease... But your mind? That one hasn't forgotten about this. And don't even get me started with the Metal Virus thing and how almost all your friends turned into Zombots." Now, she was looking at Zombot Hitch, Zombot Sparky, Zombot Shadow, Zombot Rouge, Zombot Amy, Zombot Izzy, Zombot Knuckles, Zombot Sonic, Zombot Pipp, and other Zombots actually approaching her. "Your fears are still consuming you," Her voice echoed around. "T-That's not true!" Sunny said in panic, but then Zombot Hitch grabbed her flank and hugged it, while other Zombots also grabbed her, making her squeal in fear. "You fear loosing your friends with something like the virus again... You fear beating defeated and not strong enough to protect those you care for..." Her voice still echoed. "You want this fears to go away? Destroy the source of your defeat..." "N-No!" Sunny cried out scared, while the Zombots consumed her and the Metal Virus extended through her body. "Destroy the source of the Metal Virus!" Her voice echoes, this time more feral. "L-Let me go!" She tried to demand to the Zombots consuming her. "Destroy the very problem that hasn't left your world alone ever since it arrived!" Her voice echoed, and now it was distorting with a male and deep voice. "S-Stop it!" Sunny shouted in anger and pain, tears rolling down her cheeks. "DESTROY. DOCTOR. EGGMAN!!!" Her voice shouted loud and clear in anger. As her voice shouted this, the Metal Virus stopped spreading across her body, making her form change to have orange metallic skin, yellow eyes with red sclera, spikes near her hooves, sharped teeth, and a loud roar that made her feel like a beast instead of herself... Sunny managed to take a deep breath and wake up in time, breathing heavily. She was still laying on her bed as she woke up, thankfully, then she decided to sit on her bed and look around. Everyone else was sleeping, and that made her feel calmed and relieved. She lay on her bed again and stared at the ceiling with concern. This was, like, the third or fourth time that she has dreamed about Eggman attacking someplace in Equestria, just for herself to literally talk to her and try to demoralize her again. She thought it'll be nothing, but maybe she's wrong. "...I'll go see Dr. Andy in the morning. I hope he can help me..." Sunny said with a sigh, then drifted back to sleep. In the morning, and just like she said she would, she went to visit Dr. Andy with Hitch and Sparky. Sunny decided to enter alone, though, and while Hitch protested at first, he eventually agreed to let her go alone. The therapist decided to listen carefully to Sunny and her recent dreams about her own reflection trying to convince her that 'destroying' Eggman is the only way she can stop feeling so concerned. Andy himself turned into a Zombot, and he remembers nothing about it (thankfully), but hearing from Sunny how terrible it was for her to see her beloved friends turn into Zombots definitely made him feel lucky for not remember anything, but he also could see where Sunny's concern was coming from. "...And then, the dream ended with me turning into a Zombot, while my own voice said that I had to destroy Eggman to stop feeling so afraid," Sunny finished explaining with a sigh. "Is the third –or fourth time– that I dream with that same dream, and... I'm worried it could lead me to do something I don't want to!" "Mmm-hmm..." Andy muttered as he wrote down on his notes. "And what do you want to do, Sunny? Last time you were here, you said you wouldn't doubt in beating the crap out of him. Judging by how you speak, you have encountered him after that session, but you didn't did what you said you would, did you?" "I... No," Sunny replied. After all, last time she saw him, she and her friends had to join forces with him in order to stop The End of destroying Equis. "Let's just say that the last time I saw him, we had to join forces in order to keep the planet safe. Is a long story, and I'd rather spare the trauma to you, doc. I just... I'm not sure what do I want to do anymore." "The reason why Sonic and Eggman are enemies is because they're too similar," Sunny kept explaining. "None of them give up, they don't take a no as an answer, and even if they make the same moves while fighting, they somehow always manage to be unpredictable. How can I stop an unstoppable force?!" "I think I know what's gotten into you, Sunny," Andy said, putting his notes down. "You still have a grudge against him for his actions. Not only to you, but also to your friends. A fear of lost has grown into you because of that, the fear of loosing those you care for the most, but above all... A fear of loosing yourself, of become something you don't want to be." Sunny gasped a bit after hearing this, perhaps because it actually sounds like what's gotten into her. "In order to let go of that grudge, you may have to find the source of that fear after all," Andy pointed out, but noticing Sunny's pale look and widened eyes, he realized he said that in the wrong way. "Let me rephrase that: You have to find Eggman and face your fear. Not 'destroy him' like your inner voice tells you. Just show him that you don't fear him anymore." "Oh. Yeah, that actually sounds better than what I thought you were suggesting..." Sunny said relieved and sighed. "So I have to confront Eggman and show him what I'm made of... Sounds simple enough." "Right, it sounds simple. But is it really?" Andy questioned. "That's something you'll have to discover on your own, Sunny." "Well, at least now I know what to do," Sunny said with a smile. "Thanks again, Doc. I'm really glad I came to see you." Sunny and Hitch exited the place and head towards the Brighthouse again. Yet, as they walked ahead, Hitch couldn't help but notice that Sunny was thinking deeply about something. He wondered if he should help, but then realized that questioning it was stupid. So, Hitch cleared his throat, and that called Sunny's attention, since her ears perked up and she turned to him. "You've been really quiet ever since we left the clinic, Sunny," Hitch pointed out with concern. "Are you okay?" "Um, I guess?" Sunny replied uncertainly. "In all honesty, I'm kind of concerned for what I must do..." "You mean, the whole thing of facing Eggman like Dr. Andy said?" Hitch asked. "I personally think that's not the smartest idea, but I also know that you can take care of yourself. You are an Alicorn, after all. Is just... I don't want you to feel scared in front of that guy, you know? It was bad enough that I couldn't do anything for you being right there..." Hitch looked down to the floor in concern and sadness, something Sparky noticed, because he walked over his father's back and hugged his neck. Sunny noticed his attitude as well, and she went over to nuzzle with him, an action they always did between each other when one was feeling down. "Hitch, I know that what Eggman did to me affected you just as much as it affected me and the rest of our friends..." Sunny began to explain. "But you said it yourself! I'm an Alicorn, and I know for sure that I can face Eggman on my own." "I know, that Sunny," Hitch said, still feeling concerned. "Is just... I was there when Eggman put his hands on you. Trapped, but there anyways. The idea of something similar happening when I'm not there to help you... It terrifies me. I lost my parents already way before meeting them... I don't know what I'll do if I loose you, too." Sunny blushed a lot after hearing this, but she also smiled warmly. "Aw, Hitchy..." She said happily, giving the stallion a side hug with joy. "I'm gonna be okay. And you know why? Because I have a lot in Equestria to fight for, in order to defeat that old man. I know where to attack, and how to make it clear that I'm not the same Sunny he defeated that one time." "So you'll go on your own against him?" Hitch asked, still feeling concerned. "I must if I want to let my fear go," Sunny declared. "Besides, if I'm the one that confronts him already, Sonic, Tails and Shadow will finally stop saying they're the ones that will beat the crap out of him." "You know I would go with them too, right?" Hitch asked with a smirk. Sunny giggled, making the Sheriff's heart melt with joy. "I know, Hitchy~" She said, kissing his cheek softly, making him go entirely red. "I just think it's time I'm the one that fights my own battles. I can't have you or the other boys always fighting for me. Is time I'm the one that stands up for myself." "Well... I have the feeling there's no way to talk you out if this, so I wish you good luck, Sunny," Hitch stated with a smile. "Be careful, and... please come back to us... To me..." Sunny did heard that last sentence that Hitch thought he only whispered to himself, so she smiled and kissed his cheek once again, making the Sheriff blush a lot again. Then, Sparky babbled as he extended his little arms to Sunny, and she knew what he wanted to do. "Aww, don't worry, my beautiful baby!" She cooed, picking him up with her hooves and nuzzling with him, while Sparky babbled again and nuzzled back with her. "Mama will be back with you, okay? Just stay with your papa and be a good boy." Hitch felt his heart melting again at how motherly Sunny acted with Sparky. Not that he minded, nor that he had a choice. After all, Sparky calls Sunny his 'Mama', and Sunny really liked to be Sparky's Mom, so who is he to deny that joy to her childhood friend and not-so-secret crush, as well as to his adopted baby dragon? "Okay. Good luck out there, Sunny. Whatever you plan to call his attention, I really hope it works and won't end bad," Hitch stated. "Thanks, Hitch," Sunny said with a smile, then she activated her Alicorn form. "I'll be out for two, maybe three hours. If I'm not back by launch time, gather everypony else and go look after me." With that being said, Sunny spread her wings and took off, then flew at fast paste towards a certain direction, far away of Maretime Bay. Hitch only stared in said direction and sighed concerned. "I hope you truly know what you're doing, Sunny," Hitch muttered to himself. Eggman was holding a book on his hands, one of the many he could steal from Opaline. He was reading about a powerful artifact that could literally tear apart the wall that separates this reality from any other one, a power that can afford him the ability to travel across universes. However, just when he was about to get into some interesting details about said artifact, his computer sent an alert that call his attention. He put the book aside, using a separator on the last page he read before closing it, then approached to his computer and checked what was the alert about. It turned out to be an alert from the very same basement he was turned into a Zombot, and the image showed Sunny shutting down all the cameras except one, where she instead stick a note. "To Eggman. Meet me in the daisy field where we beat your Egg Beater decoy. Signed: Sunny." Eggman raised an eyebrow confused. Why was Sunny, out of all his enemies, the one that wanted to meet him? This was strange, sure, but he'll be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued to see where this was leading. So, without hesitation, he left Sage in charge and left... But he took one of his machines with him, just in case. Sunny was sitting down on a daisy field with her eyes closed. This field was special, at least to her. Is where she and her friends travelled through while heading towards Bridlewood to get the Unicorn Crystal in order to restore magic back to Equestria. Is also the place where Sonic first woke up when he arrived... Well, he actually woke up in the tree, but it's a part of the field, so it definitely counts. The field might be just another one of the many fields that are in Equestria, but to Sunny? Is a crucial part of her story with her friends. It was peaceful at first, but said peace faded away once she heard an engine roaring and the wind blowing her mane, which crazy moved around because of it. She opened her eyes and looked on front of her with a frown: There was a big red robot with silver legs in front of her. Said robot had, as usual, Eggman's face on it, it was being piloted by Eggman himself, but it also had a couple of removable spike-like hands that he could shoot at his objectives. "Well, well, well... But if it isn't Sunny Starscout!" Eggman said from inside the Egg Pulveriser, the machine's name, with a mocking tone. "I'm honestly surprised – and kind of honored – that you decided to meet me instead of waiting for my next move. What do I own the pleasure?" No response. Sunny said nothing to him, which confused him. She simply stared daggers at him, but remained quiet. This was new for Eggman, but instead of complaining, he instead choose to try something else. "What's the matter? Did the cat eat your tongue?" Eggman mocked up. "Or are you terrified of looking at me after my little number over you? I mean, I did swap the floor with your body, and your friends were witnesses! Can't believe you're still standing here, fighting for that hopeless dream of your father. Is sad watching suck potential being wasted." No response again. In fact, Sunny didn't even flinched when he mentioned what he did to her, nor that her father's dream was hopeless. She simply kept staring at him, and now, Eggman started to worry. He wasn't used to this much quiet when he mocked up his enemies. What was Sunny's goal? "Come on, now, Starscout. Don't leave me hanging over here," Eggman begged. "Or what? Are you expecting me to apologize? Well, get yourself comfy, because you're gonna wait that apology for the rest of your life. After all, I'm not wrong! Your dream and your father's of a unified world is gonna die along with the dreamer!" "...Maybe you're right," Sunny finally spoke, and of course that she took Eggman off guard. Of all the things he expected her to say first, her agreeing with him was not even close to what he expected. "One day, I'll die, and so will my friends," Sunny said, but her serious expression remained intact. "When that happens, it might take years, months, weeks, or even just days for somepony to make everypony else split each into their own group again... But that's not a problem that I have to fix." "...What?" Eggman said, now completely confused. "The future is mysterious for us all," Sunny pointed out. "No one knows what's gonna happen. But honestly? If ponykind splits up again, that won't be a problem I'll take care of because I won't allow it to happen as along as I live. My dad believed in the current Equestria we live now, and I won't let you, nor Opaline, nor anyone to destroy that dream. You're welcome to try, Eggman, but know this: As long as me and my friends live, as long as we're still around, we'll stop you, Opaline, and anyone that stand in our way to make a better world." Eggman growled in anger after hearing all of this. "And then what?! You'll fight for this purposeless dream and then die to avoid watch how all your life's work be worth nothing in the end?!" "Sounds like someone wants to reflect their own failures on someone else," Sunny quipped with a smirk. Eggman's eyes widened after hearing Sunny's counter, since he didn't expected it. "...What?" "You told me that you tried to make a name by the legal way, and it didn't worked, so you turned into this," Sunny reminded, but she kept smirking. "Only those with a weak will surrender to evil thoughts the way you did, Ivo." "W-What are you––" Eggman tried to say, but barely any word could come out of his mouth. "You destroy cities, terrorize people, attempt to build an empire where you are on top... And yet you fail all the same, each time more miserably than the previous one," Sunny kept talking. "You try so hard to prove that anything you've ever done in your sad, pathetic and miserable life is worth it, but no one really cares. You seek so desperately for something you'll never get: Approval, from those who once doubted you." "S-Stop it... Shut it! Don't make me––" Eggman said, now feeling rage boiling his blood. "But in the end, you loose. Time and time again, you keep loosing the battle, and no matter how hard you keep trying, it never is enough, is it?" Sunny asked. "In the end, you always realize the truth: You can play and act like an 'evil genius' all that you want, but we both know that you'll never be anything more than a sad old man that dreams bigger, but reaches lower..." "Shut up already!" Eggman said with anger, now trembling in rage and covering his face with his hands, as he tried to do something, anything to stop hearing her... But he couldn't. "That no one truly cares for him..." Sunny kept talking. "That he has no real friends because he's too busy thinking about himself and an empire that will never rise..." "Starscout, I swear to Chaos that if you don't shut up, I'll––" Eggman tried to threat her. Big mistake. "You'll what? Sent your machines against me? Press a button on your low-budget Hulk costume to kill me?" Sunny quipped mockingly. "I'm not afraid of you, Eggman. Not anymore. And honestly? I doubt I'll ever feel afraid of someone that's not the big man on campus he claims he is!" That was the last straw in Eggman's patience, so he launched himself on the Egg Pulveriser against her, while Sunny made her Alicorn form appear and she boosted to the air, dodging the machine. After that, she took a dive towards the upper zone of the machine and hit it. Eggman groaned, then he made the machine from the torso to the top turn around and shoot one of the spiked hands against Sunny, but she instead made a loop in the air and kicked the hand with her tail. This sent the hand back to Eggman himself, hitting the machine again. The doctor pulled his own mustache in rage, so he then shoot both spiked hands against her. He believed she couldn't dodge them both. Yet he made a big mistake: He underestimated Sunny, because the Alicorn mare repeated the same trick from before and returned one of the spiked hands against him. The other one, however, she allowed it to follow her, because she started to fly around at top speed, while the remaining hand chased her. Eggman managed to dodge the first hand, even putting it back on place on his machine... However, his mistake was to turn around and give his back to the enemy, therefore lowering his guard. With this, Sunny smirked and dive bak to him, with the other hand still following her. When Eggman turned around again, he was hit by a laser blast that Sunny launched from her horn. Not being enough, she quickly flew up, while the other hand hit the machine and made it start to fail. "No, no, no, no!" Eggman cried out in anger, then he pressed a button that destroyed the legs, while the chest, head and arms remained floating in the air. "Now let's see how good you do after this, Starscout!" He laughed like a maniac, while a couple of arm that twirl over and above the remaining chest of the Egg Pulveriser attached to said machine. These arms have spikes everywhere, and now the machine could fly like Sunny to chase her around, but this fact didn't seemed to bother her. "You really are a pain in the flank, Eggman..." Sunny deadpanned, then she headed towards the machine. Eggman boosted towards her as well, but Sunny simply teleported away, confusing the doctor. Then, she reappeared right below the machine and kicked it, making it crazily twirl around in the air. Finally, Sunny finished off the machine, and therefore defeated Eggman, by flying higher than the machine, and then kick it towards the ground, destroying the machine and kicking Eggman out of it over his Eggmobile, which rolled in the ground for a bit before it came to a stop. Eggman got out of the Eggmobile with a dizzy expression, his head spinning, while his face was a bit burned. However, when he noticed Sunny landing in front of him, and he panicked. "O-Okay, okay! I get it now! I'm the loser here! No need to get more violent!" Eggman cried out in panic. "You think I can get as low as you, Eggman?" Sunny deadpanned. "Sure, I can make you regret all your choices in life, but actually put a hoof over you? Perhaps you haven't studied me that well." She smirked. "S-So that's it? You destroy my machine as it usually happens, a-a-and then you leave?!" Eggman asked with disbelief. "Yup. That's it. I have no desire to harm you anymore than I already have, Eggman, because I'm not like you, and I'm really glad and happy to say that I'll never will," Sunny declared. "Is really low to hit someone who's on disadvantage, but is even lower if that someone repeats the exact same treatment to their bully, even if it's deserved." With that said, Eggman sighed relieved, and Sunny turned around and spread her wings to leave, but first... "Let me tell you something, Eggman... Next time you show up in my home? Don't expect me to go easy on you," Sunny warned, then she looked over her shoulder at him with anger. "I'm not as sunny as usual when I'm mad, and you don't want to meet me mad. Understood?" Eggman gulped in fear, and he nodded at the Earth Pony mare. Sunny nodded back, then she took flight and boosted towards the Crystal Brighthouse, leaving behind a stunned doctor Eggman that could barely understand how he didn't died today, but was glad about the fact anyways. He looked at his now destroyed Egg Pulveriser, then at the direction Sunny flew away, and he snorted with a grin. He lost and felt terrified, true, but it was still a very good fight. "I can't wait for our next encounter, Sunny Starscout!" Eggman grinned and laughed maniacally. THE END...? Author's Note Sunny was eventually getting her payback, and here it is! I'm honestly really satisfied with this episode's result. It may not be my best work, I recognize that, but I wanted to show off more of Sunny, and having her fight alone against Eggman as a way to finally let go her fear of him seemed the right call. I told you guys that this episode would be more worked on, and I think it was worth it! Thanks for reading this chapter, guys. Bye! 78. The Rise and Fall - Part 1On a camera, Opaline started her own livestream to make an announcement. Hopefully this has nothing to do with Shadow messing with somebody's wife, right? ...Right? Well, that lame joke aside, Opaline looked at the camera with a sinister smile while wearing a dark crown, a long purple cape that's gonna get her killed 'cause capes are more dangerous than they seem, and a golden necklace that has the Mane 6's Cutie Marks but Sunny's.... Wait what?! Uh... Did we just woke up in the wrong timeline or something? A-Anyways. Opaline started to laugh maniacally, just for her to cough and then step back while rubbing her throat with a hoof. "Start again," Opaline said, which made the camera turn on. In a new video, Opaline looked at the camera again and still with a sinister smile. "It's me, Opal––" She was cut off when she fling her cape, but it flew around and smack her on the face, "Oof!" In the next video, Opaline lifted her hoof up while blue flames came out of it, as she kept smiling sinisterly. "Bow to me, Equestria! Nopony can stop me!" Opaline announced, while flames burst from behind her as she began to laugh like a maniac. However, when she turned around, she panicked, because her cape was on fire from the one that burst behind her. She scream in panic and then ran around, while the raccoonicorn that's holding her phone to record watched her go, as she tried to extinct the fire on her cape. The next video is just Opaline burping and covering her mouth with embarrassment. Next video again, Opaline walked up to the camera with a smirk. "The time has come for you poonies to bow to––" Opaline tried to say, radiating a sinister look while getting close to the camera, but then the raccoonicorn gave off giggles, confusing her and making her frown. "What's so funny?!" The raccoonicorn got nervous, so it quickly turned around Opaline's phone and showed her the recording. "––you poonies to bow to––" Now understanding why the raccoonicorn laughed, she started to laugh as well. "It's quite funny! 'Poonies'!" She said with tears of joy and kept laughing... Should I feel worried she's having fun? I probably should... At Zephyr Heights, Queen Haven was walking around the throne room. Suddenly, though, her phone chimed, so she took it out to notice a new notification. "Oh! A message!" She said, then opened it to see what it is. "Do I know you?" Posey questioned with a brow as she got the same message on her phone. "Who's this?" Thunder asked confused, looking at his phone. "New message?" Zoom asked, looking at her phone as well. One by one, basically every pony in Equestria looked at their phones to see a message on it. Even some critters got the message on their phones. In the Crystal Brighthouse, Sunny also got the message, but she was deeply concerned. "Oh, no. This can't be good," Sunny said with worry. "Hello, ponies," Opaline said as she turned and fling her mane while waving her hoof. At the Sheriff Station, Hitch saw the message as well with panic. "Don't look! It's the evil Alicorn again!" He cried out as he covered his eyes, while Amy and Rouge stared at him with disbelief, since they were in the station, watching the video as well. "My gosh, Hitch..." Amy facepalmed with a growl. "Man, your'e such a pus%& sometimes," Rouge deadpanned, although the second to last word was censored with a bip and the word 'SEGA' covering her mouth. In Zephyr Heights, Pipp and Zipp saw the messages on their phones as well. Pipp's reaction to it? She started to screamed in panic and fly around the room while Zipp watched her. "Pipp, stop screaming!" Zipp said with a frown, then she put her phone into her ear. "I can't hear what she's saying!" In Bridlewood, Izzy looked at her phone with a determined look. "Oh, yeah?! Bring it, Opaline! You'll pay for taking Knuckie away!" Izzy challenged, putting her phone into her own face. Opaline looked at the camera and shook her head with fake disappointment. "Tsk-tsk-tsk. It's a shame that we're getting to know each other so late. But, you know, I have been ever so busy," Opaline said with a smirk. "There are an awful lot of you…" "...pathetic little ponies in Equestria," Opaline narrated. As she did so, we see Zephyr Heights and its Together Tree, where a portal opened up, showing Opaline coming through with a smirk, two tall adult dragons, and Tails and Knuckles. Both the dragons and he mobians where under Opaline's control thanks to a spell, and the Pegasi felt shocked and frighten by this. "And even with the help of my new dragon and mobian friends, taking all of your Cutie Marks – well, it's been a full-time job," Opaline said, while magical tentacles launched towards the ponies. One of said tentacles reached Thunder and removed his Cutie Mark, while Zoom watched with wide eyes and then ran away from one of the tentacles, leaving Thunder screaming for loosing his Cutie Mark. In Bridlewood, Opaline and her mind-controlled minions came to as well. The the magical tentacles that came out of the Wishing Tree started to grab the Unicorns Cutie Marks, and as Alphabittle ran to try and reach for one of them, another tentacle grabbed his Cutie Mark and took it away. When Alphabittle realized what just happened, it was already too late. “Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Give that back!" Alphabittle ordered with a glare. In Maretime Bay, Dahlia and Windy were running for their lives... And their Cutie Marks as well. "Quick, Windy! Run!" Dahlia called out in panic. "Oh, this is just terrifying!" Windy exclaimed. The two ponies turned a corner, but then they stopped with panic, because right in front of them, Opaline stood with a sinister smile, then she lightened her horn and took Dahlia and Windy's Cutie Marks. "No!" The two ponies cried out in concern and sorrow. "I liked that cutie mark. Sad," Windy said and started to tear up. Back in the present, Opaline kept broadcasting and terrifying the ponies across Equestria. "Not only is all this Cutie Mark magic making me the most powerful Fire Alicorn of all time!" Opaline declared with a sinister look as fire came from behind her, before she pointed to her side. "They are really sprucing up the place." The raccoonicorn turned the camera to where Opaline's pointing, and showed the Cutie Marks from the ponies of all Equestria Opaline stole from on the leaves and stems of the Together Tree in her castle. She's using them as prizes and as decorations for her place to look as nice as it can. "We're doomed!" Dazzle cried out when she looked at her phone. "Somepony stop her!" Onyx exclaimed while pointing at her phone with concern. "She's awful!" Rufus said in fright. Skye was crying at his phone after seeing the announcement from Opaline. Sonic was back at the Starfall Islands with Eggman, Sage and Shadow. They all where hearing and watching Opaline's livestream, standing in front of a Cyberspace portal and frowning at the realization that, ever since they left, Opaline has become stronger after stealing pretty much all the Cutie Marks in Equestria, now she's only missing Sunny's. "Perhaps we shouldn't had left in the first place..." Shadow said with a frown and concern. "No, it was the right call," Sage stated. "Now that Sonic controls his Cyber Corruption, we have a chance of 90% to defeat Opaline and return all the magic she has stolen before she explodes all her potential." "If she even realizes it's there..." Eggman pointed out with a frown. "Sonic, you must hurry up to her Castle and give her a fight that'll make her regret everything, even taking Misty away from her actual family!" "That's been the plan since the beginning, Egghead!" Sonic said with a smirk, then he looked at Sage with a slight frown. "You sure I can use Cyber Corruption against Opaline? 'Cause I'm going Super, not as my regular self." "The plan will work, honest!" Sage nodded with a confident look. "Now hurry! I feel your friend Sunny is about to face her!" "Right!" Sonic nodded. "Shadow, Eggman: The Chaos Emeralds! You got them?" After asking this, Shadow brought out the Green, Yellow, Grey and Light Blue Emeralds, while Eggman did the same with the Red, Blue and Purple ones. "You took your damn time with those trials, Hedgehog," Eggman mocked up with a smirk. "Makes you wonder if you truly are the Fastest thing alive or not!" He laughed Sonic rolled his eyes and grabbed the Yellow Emerald from Shadow's hand, then lift it in the air and let it surround him. Next to this, the other six Emeralds flew from Eggman and Shadow's hands, also surrounding Sonic and then lifting him up in the air, where they entered into him and turned him into Super Sonic. With this ready, Sonic grinned, then charged up Chaos Energy and boosted at the speed of light towards Opaline's Castle in Equestria, ready to take her down for good. Back with the livestream, Opaline continued to speak through the camera. "Now I must admit, there were a few of you that did put up teensy-weensy adorable little fights!" Opaline said with a small kitty smile, pretty much just making fun of those that put resistance on her. In Maretime Bay, Hitch saw Opaline approaching him. "No!" Hitch exclaimed with a frown, stomping his hoof down, using his Earth Pony magic to summon some vines around Opaline, "Stop right there!" He ordered, while the vines grabbed Opaline and lifted the Fire Alicorn up. However, this didn't stopped Opaline, because she focused her magic on the vines to burn them down, and then she spread her wings with a roar, freeing herself from the vines before zapping Hitch's legs and tie them together, making him fall into the floor, while Hitch struggled to break free. "Aah! Thief!" Hitch cried out, while Opaline walked up to him with a small smile and lit up her horn, stealing Hitch's Cutie Mark and making it fly out of his flank. "Ah! No!" But just as Opaline was about to leave with her newly acquired Cutie Mark, something came from her left side and kicked her, and that same something made her lost Hitch's Cutie Mark. The Cutie Mark rolled in the ground, until it was stopped by a red boot. Then, it was picked up by Amy, who held Hitch's Cutie Mark on her hand with a smirk, while Rouge landed at her side with a frown, since she's the one that kicked Opaline away with her feet. Speaking of her, Opaline stood up with a growl and glared daggers at Amy and Rouge. "Give me back that Cutie Mark!" "Why don't you come and get it, huh?" Amy challenged while rolling the Cutie Mark on her finger, also carrying her Piko Piko Hammer on her shoulder. "Or are you too afraid of loosing~?" She mocked up with a chuckle. Opaline screamed in rage and launched against Amy and Rouge, both of them splitting up as they charged back at the Fire Alicorn. Amy slid under Opaline, while she looked confused at the pink hedgehog. However, she had no time to think, because Amy hit her face with her hammer. Opaline groaned in pain, but then said pain incremented when Rouge came from up her and kicked her on her back and towards the ground, where she crashed and groaned in pain again. Amy approached her and lifted up her hammer, but just when she was ready to slam it down on her, her hammer suddenly wasn't moving, and even if Amy tried to move it, it remained on it's place. However, it wasn't until she tried to pull it away when she realized that Knuckles, being mind-controlled by Opaline, was grabbing her hammer and keeping it steady, which made her eyes widen, and she smiled sheepishly. Knuckles, however, simple moved his hand backwards and threw Amy away. Still holding the hammer, Knuckles could sense that Rouge was heading towards him from behind, so he simply moved aside to let her go straight, then aimed the hammer at her, and then threw it. Rouge couldn't see it coming, and so, the hammer hit her and made her fall in the ground, rolling painfully and groaning, while Amy did the same and landed near Hitch on her back, making him gasp concerned for her. Then, a red blur passed by, then moved away back to Opaline. This red blur was none other than Knuckles, who took Hitch's Cutie Mark away from Amy and gave it to Opaline, as the Fire Alicorn grinned and took the Cutie Mark back, placing it on her golden necklace. In the Crystal Brighthouse, the Unity Crystals vibrated because of a new failure. At the same time, the yellow stripe of the rainbow faded away after Hitch's Cutie Mark was removed. Opaline, the two mind controlled dragons and Tails then made it to Zephyr Heights at the old station. There, Pipp flew around the three of them while vocalizing in fear of them. To this, however, Opaline just gave a bored expression, and Tails even began to charge a gun-net just in case this was a trap, although both him, the dragons and Opaline were getting irritated by Pipp nervous flight and vocalizing. "Hey!" Zipp's voice called out, Making Opaline turn just to see Zipp fly in and wrap a tarp around Opaline, Tails and the two dragons, as she and Pipp grab each a side of the a rope and tried to trap them. Yet this did nothing, because Opaline burned through the tarp, while Tails launched himself at top speed against the two sisters, making them gasp and fly away in panic and concern. Tails managed to fly in front of them and block their way, smirking sinisterly and moving his index finger to them in a mocking way. Despite being a mind-controlled minion right now, a part of him still wants to resemble his big brother, even though he makes Sonic's taunts to mes with his own girlfriend and sister-in-law. Zipp and Pipp got worried, but they still tried to run away by turning around. Unfortunately, Tails used his powers to create a gun, and with said gun, he shoot a net to them, tying the sisters together. "Aah!" Zipp yelped as soon as she and Pipp fell to the floor. "Aah! Hey!" Pipp cried out, but thanks to Tails' move, Opaline stole hers and Zipp's Cutie Marks, extracting them away from their flanks. "That's mine!" "Give that back!" Zipp called with a glare at Opaline. "I'll take these!" Opaline said with a smirk, as she levitated the sister's Cutie Marks to her necklace and place them in the middle, right above Hitch's. Back at the Brighthouse, the Unity Crystals shook again, this time with the white and pink stripes fading. In Bridlewood, Izzy levitated some tomatoes at Opaline. "Take that! And that!" Izzy exclaimed, as she threw the tomatoes at Opaline, getting hit with a couple. "And this!" She threw more tomatoes at her. Opaline managed to use her magic to block the tomatoes, but she eventually ran out of patience, so she roared in rage and extracted Izzy's Cutie Mark. However, and unlike many would expect, the Unicorn didn't seemed worried in the slightest. Instead, she continued smirking. "Ooh, you want that, do ya?" Izzy taunted, while Opaline got Izzy's Mark to her hoof, but then was shocked when she saw that it was a fake. "Hah! Well, that's not even the real one!" Izzy then jumped into her scooter and put on her helmet. "Not today, Opaline! Not today!" She drove off, leaving Opaline sneering in anger. Yet as Izzy tried to run away, something came from below the ground and hit the scooter, sending her flying away from her cart, and then getting tied by Opaline. The one that hit her cart was Knuckles, still mind-controlled by Opaline, and upon seeing that the one that caused her doom was the very same echidna she loved with her soul, Izzy began to tear up. And then, Opaline used her magic to steal Izzy's Cutie Mark away from her flank. "Oh. I guess maybe today..." Izzy said sadly, watching her Cutie Mark flying to Opaline with teary eyes. In the Brighthouse, the Unity Crystals shook again, and the rainbow lost the purple strike. In Zephyr Heights, Misty faced Opaline at the Together Tree, with the two ponies glaring at each other. "I earned that Cutie Mark through true friendship, Opaline!" Misty said with anger, a feeling that Opaline returned with a glare towards her once adopted daughter. "You can't take it from me!" Yet this seemed to be nothing but a foolish attempt, because Tails once again used his net-gun and shoot at Misty, tying her hooves together and making her loose her balance. Misty fell with a thud in the ground, then Tails created a Zero gravity device, pointed it at Misty and 'levitated' her towards himself and Opaline. Misty felt devastated and shocked at the fact that Tails was completely under Opaline's spell, while Tails himself didn't seemed to mind hurting her. At all. Opaline, on the other hand, laughed with glee at the scene. "Oh, Misty. Really?" She asked in amusement, before she take Misty's Cutie Mark from her flank. "Aren't you a little old to believe in fairy tales?" After mocking the unicorn with a sinister smile, Opaline put Misty's Cutie Mark in her amulet, creating a new spot right below Hitch's Cutie Mark. Back in the present, Opaline showed off the 5 Cutie Marks on her amulet with pride. "And now only one little Alicorn and that stinky blue rat stand between me and total domination!" Opaline finished with a crazed sinister look, spreading her wings and making them glow for the camera. "Looking for me, Opaline?" Sunny’s voice spoke, which surprised Opaline as she turned and saw her on her Alicorn form. This also made the raccoonicorn to cheer for Sunny, dropping the phone in the process as it landed on the rock, somehow still livestreaming the whole thing. "Ah, Sunny. There you are," Opaline said with a smirk. "Where's that blue rodent you care for so much as your brother? I've been dying for a rematch! Or are you here to save the little fox man and that red dumbass? Can't believe Tails once managed to defeat me, and now look at him! He has turned into a wonderful, little minion that obeys my every command!" In Maretime Bay, Amy and Hitch frowned after Opaline called Knuckles a dumbass. "That stupid witch!" Amy cursed her with anger. She was also mad for Tails falling into Opaline's claws, since - as the Alicorn herself said - he was the one that previously defeated Opaline from succeeding with the Metal Virus. "Sunny, hit her hard!" Hitch said madly, and even if Sunny couldn't hear him, he has a feeling that she will kick Opaline's flank hard enough anyways. In Bridlewood, Izzy stared in anger at Opaline for what she said to Knuckles. "You'll pay for taking him away, you moron!" Izzy said in anger, although some tears dared to come out of her eyes. Finally, In Zephyr Heights, Zipp was resisting the urge of crying as much as she could. Watching her boyfriend falling into that damn Alicorn's hooves was horrible as it already sounds, but the fact that Opaline seems to enjoy what she's doing to him is what hurts her, and Pipp could see this, so she hugged her sister for comfort. After all, Sonic has fallen into a villain's control before as well, so she understands. Misty, however, seemed really hateful towards Opaline, and she was hoping that Sonic would arrive soon and put Opaline in her place. She never wanted Opaline more gone as much as she wants it now. Back in the castle, Sunny glared in anger at Opaline and her mockery towards Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. "I'm here to take you down, Opaline! Even if I fail in the attempt!" Sunny declared with a determinate look. Despite surprised, Opaline grinned and lightened her horn. "This is going to be fun!" She then laughed, and next, she blasted her horn at Sunny, who yelped before quickly create a magic shield to protect herself, even though she was pushed back. Still, she yelped again as she dodged another blast from Opaline, and then the two Alicorns began to fly around, as if they were playing the 'Cat & Mouse' game. Sunny kept either dodging all the blasts from Opaline or protecting herself from them with shields. However, since Opaline was getting too close, she choose to fly away to keep her distance. "Oh, please! You still think you can defeat me? Hah!" Opaline mocked up, then fired a beam at her, but Sunny quickly blocked it with her shield. "Even when I have all the Cutie Mark magic?" She then fired another beam at her, which Sunny once again blocked before flying away. "You know, for an Alicorn, you really aren't very clever!" She mocked, then blasted at her again. Sunny blocked her attack once more, then frowned at the Fire Alicorn. "All I know is that I have to try!" She then began to fly around her, although she was also panting exhausted. "You may be able to take my Cutie Mark, Opaline," She started, then Opaline fired again, making Sunny strain and barely create a new shield. "But you can never take what makes me... ME!" "Is that right?" Opaline questioned with a smirk, while Sunny charged at her with a yell, but then Opaline moved aside and surprise attacked her, tying her hooves together. "Watch me!" Opaline laughed like a maniac, then lightened her horn up. "No!" Sunny exclaimed, but it was too late: Opaline removed her Cutie Mark and took it away. At the Brighthouse, the Crystals shook greatly once more... But they weren't recovering this time. Then, the rainbow light faded away, and then the Crystals fell to the floor, marking Opaline's victory... Unless! Back at the Castle, Sunny fell on the ground with a thud, loosing her Alicorn form, while Opaline kept grinning. The rest of the Mane 6, Amy and Rouge all reacted in panic at Sunny's defeat. To make it even worse, everypony in Equestria saw this as well: From Maretime Bay, to Bridlewood, to Zephyr Heights... Everyone knew that Opaline has defeated the only Alicorn they had at their side, and they also knew that all magic in Equestria was now lost into Opaline's hooves... UNLESS!!! Back in the castle, Opaline kept grinning, and she was already floating Sunny's Cutie Mark to her amulet... However, just when it was about to attach, a yellow blur passed by and snatched the Cutie Mark away. This made Opaline blink a few times, before shaking her head and realize what happened. "What the... The Cutie Mark... W-Where the hell did it go?!" Opaline asked, confused and starting to enrage again. "Looking for something, Queen of Targaryen?" A male, cocky voice spoke, and Opaline's eyes widened, but then she growled in anger, then she turned and saw Sonic on his super form, floating a few meters away from her with a cocky smirk and his arms crossed. Sunny gasped with a smile after seeing that Sonic has finally arrived. "Sonic!" She cheered. "You!" Opaline growled to the Golden Hedgehog. "Who else? The man behind the slaughter? Rack your brain, witch! You can't seriously forget the guy that kicked your flank in this same castle not so long ago!" Sonic mocked up, still with his cocky grin. "I'm gonna erase that grin of yours!" Opaline threatened, but Sonic didn't felt anything by hearing her. "Now give me back the Cutie Mark I just stole!" Yet Sonic pointed his index finger at her and moved it side to side. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. That's not how things work when I'm around, Opaline," He declared confidently. "You already had your fun stealing Cutie Marks... Now we play my way!" With that being said, Sonic opened his other hand and showed Sunny's Cutie Mark, but then he snapped his fingers with said hand and the Cutie Mark disappeared. However, it didn't took long for Sunny herself to look at her flank, and then gasp with a smile and sparkling eyes when she saw her Cutie Mark back on place. This also restored her Alicorn Form, and so, she took flight and stood right besides Sonic, both of them facing Opaline with grins, and Sonic even crossed his arms again to stand his territory. "What?! No! How did you do it?!" Opaline asked Sonic in shock and anger. "Oh, that's pretty simple: Your magic is not that impressive nor powerful," Sonic mocked up with a grin. "After all, your fire is extending over a giant birthday cake!" "Now we only have to blow the candles!" Sunny mocked up next. Opaline growled in anger after hearing all of this. "Minions! Destroy them!" She ordered. With that being said, the two dragons, Tails and Knuckles charged against them, but since they were attacking from their backs, Sonic only had to look over his shoulder and shrunk his left eye to let go a Chaos Energy wave that reached the dragons and Mobians minds, freeing them from Opaline's control. The dragons fell to the ground with loud thuds and dizzy expressions, while Tails and Knuckles fell face-first on the floor, before they both groaned and eventually stood up confused. "Uh... Where the heck are we? And how did we got here?" Tails asked confused. "I had the weirdest dream..." Knuckles said while rubbing his head, but then looked around with wide eyes. "Ah, crap, it wasn't a dream!" Sunny was surprised after seeing this, then she looked at Sonic. "How did you do that?!" "You really thought I'll come to save your flank without preparing myself?" Sonic asked her with a mocking smirk. "I'm a box full of surprises!" He winked at her. Seeing that her mind-controlled minions were free, and that Sonic was quite powerful as Super Sonic, Opaline shouted loudly in rage. "That's it! You're going down, bastard! I desperately need to wipe that smirk of yours away, then I'll steal her Cutie Mark again, and then I'll––" "Oh, shut up already and fight, you damn witch!" Knuckles interrupted her. "We don't care about your motives, we just want to see Dragon Ball-styled battles!" "For once, I agree with Knuckles," Tails deadpanned, before frowning. "Now wipe her ass!" "Well, you heard the public!" Sonic said with a grin, before suddenly frowning, teleport in front of Opaline, and then one-punch her towards the air, making her traverse the ceiling. "Let's finish this off in MY territory!" With that being said, Sonic boosted to the sky through the already made hole in the ceiling, while Sunny followed him as fast as she could, leaving two confused dragons behind, as well as a astonished Tails and a deadpanning Knuckles, who rubbed his nose a bit for some reason. "...You got the camera?" Knuckles suddenly asked Tails. "Right here!" Tails grinned, lifting up Opaline's phone, then using his powers to attach a drone to it. After that, Tails let the drone go, as it took flight and followed Sonic, Sunny and Opaline towards the sky, as it prepared to record the final battle between the villain and the two heroes. Opaline was screaming as she was flying out of control into the skies. However, it didn't took her long to regain her composure, flap her wings and shake her head, but she also rubbed her chin since that's where Sonic hit her. Speaking of him, both the golden blur and Sunny arrived, and the three unaware of this, the drone with Opaline's phone still recording the battle also arrived. Yeah! Opaline growled in anger as she stared at Sonic and Sunny. "You two have caused me enough trouble! If this fight is the only way I'll get that Cutie Mark, then so. Be. IT!" "Bring it on, Arcana!" Sonic challenged with a smirk, while Sunny grinned as well. Don't look down! Don't look down! Opaline groaned annoyed and launched herself against Sonic and Sunny. Sonic didn't thought twice and launched himself as well. Opaline fired a blast to him, but Sonic passed thought it and then punched Opaline. I've been here waiting for the longest time I can't believe it's real She was sent backwards and groaning in pain, a pain that increased when Sunny came from below and kicked her face with an air backflip. Opaline growled and started to blast against Sunny again, but the younger Alicorn has learned from her previous battle that dodging and clocking Opaline's attacks is not enough. So, with s grin, Sunny simply blocked the first two blasts, then dodged the third one, and then charged her own blast that Opaline didn't dodged, because she never expected Sunny to fight back. You lose the battles that you never fight Can't hide from what you feel Still, Opaline grit her teeth and blasted against her once more, but this time, Sonic came in the middle and shielded his sister with his own body. Once Opaline gave up with that attack, however, her eyes widened when Sonic and Sunny were not at sight, but then she yelped when somepony grabbed her from her tail. Sonic did so, then he began to twirl her around with a grin, and after 8 spins, he let her go, making her crash on a mountain with a loud thud that made the ground rumble, because the mountain cracked. (Come on!) No more compromise, this is do or die And now you've crossed the line You'll wake the beast inside However, the reason why the mountain cracked is not only because of Sonic throwing Opaline away, but also because Opaline herself was levitating the upper part of the mountain and ripping it apart. Then, we see her enraged, and with a warrior cry, she split the mountain in pieces and launched it against Sonic and Sunny. Both Sonic and Sunny gasped, but then Sunny reminded that she has trained with Knuckles before with similar objects, so she smirked and launched herself against the attack, surprising Sonic a lot. No more compromise, this is do or die I'll warn you one last time You'll wake the beast inside! Sunny used her horn to blast the pieces of the mountain in her way and turned them into small gems, golden rings, confetti, pink glitter and even pillows, all things that couldn't harm anyone. Sonic was impressed that she used her magic in the opposite way Opaline does, but he still smiled. And, not wanting to stay behind, Sonic boosted ahead and began to use the Cyloop into the mountain rubble, making it explode in the air while allowing clearing more path for him and Sunny. However, this seemed to enrage Opaline even further, so she levitated some rubble surrounding her and then burned it in fire, followed by shaping the rubble into literal daggers that she threw in a row against the heroes. Sonic and Sunny, however, grinned even more, and they boosted ahead towards the daggers. Sonic's body was fully protected thanks to Chaos Energy, which is why the daggers had no effect on him and melted when touching him. Meanwhile, Sunny used her magic to turn the daggers into harmless objects. Opaline shouted in rage, then flew straight to Sonic and almost punched him, but Sonic got away in the last minute. Too bad Sunny didn't had the same luck, because Opaline blasted a fire blast at her, one Sunny could barely dodge by covering herself in a magic shield of her own. You'll wake the beast inside! Sonic frowned upon this, so he quickly teleported behind Opaline and punched her back, sending her downwards. However, Opaline stomped in the ground and boosted back to the sky. This shocked Sonic, but he frowned and moved aside, letting her keep going straight up. Then, Sonic flew at her and grabbed her from her tails, pulling her down and then using his Phantom Rush to hit her multiple times at Super Sonic speed, not even letting her defend herself nor fight back at all. However, Opaline didn't had time for games, so she blasted him away once more. However, she never saw Sunny coming, who suddenly grabbed her from her neck and tried to tight her grip on her. You'll wake the beast inside! Surprised by this, Opaline began to swing around like a maniac mid-air, until she finally managed to get Sunny off. She also blasted a bunch of fire daggers against both Sonic and Sunny. However, the siblings noticed this, so they both used their powers to create a shield around them. This not only protected them from the daggers that Opaline was throwing at them, but it was also a great defense against her next two fire blasts, the second one making it as she flew closer to them. Don't look down! Don't look down! Seeing her so close made them split up, but it also made Sonic run out of patience. So, he decided to level up his game: His right hand was suddenly covered by Cyber Energy, but he was under control. He made the energy surround his entire body, and then, he released a massive expansion wave of Cyber Energy. When the wave dissipated, he had a new form: His quills and arms got similar marks to Shadow's, but they were glitching, and so were his shoes and gloves; he was now surround by a red aura, and his eyes were cyan blue. As simple as it looked, it is more powerful and chaotic than regular Super Sonic: It was Super Sonic 2. With his transformation completed, Sonic looked at Opaline with a serious and cold expression. His grin and cockiness were gone, but his mission remained the same: Stop Opaline for good and restore all the magic of Equestria. He looked at the Fire Alicorn, then pointed at her, then raised two while provoking her to come at him. So break through it all and don't look down You won't fade out, 'cause the fire in you never dies This enraged Opaline a lot, and without hesitation, she headed towards Sonic while blasting her magic again. However, Sonic simply moved his hand to the side, sending the attack in said direction like nothing. It comes around to light the flame They'll know your name, burned into their memory Opaline did got surprised after seeing this, but she refused to fall just yet, so she launched herself against Sonic with a warrior cry. However, Sunny first appeared in front of her and launched a beam of light, one Opaline could not dodge as she was hit, hurt and blurred by the attack, all in a matter of seconds. (So break through it all) Don't stop, we're on a mission Overdriving over all the competition Counting up the damage when it's done After that, Sonic crossed his arms and waited for Opaline to be closer. When she did, Sonic's eye looked at her, and in just an instant, he moved so fast that he not only hit her several times, but he also sent her across the sky, then she crashed against the ground painfully. Opaline lay painfully over the ground, while Sonic kept his arms crossed and gave her his back, but then he looked at her over his shoulder with a very cold expression. (So break through it all) We can't pretend to listen Sorry if it puts you in an imposition We won't stop until the battle’s won Opaline tried to stand up and fight back, but before she could even do so, Sunny suddenly appeared and blasted her back into he air with her own magic beam. This made Opaline grunt in pain again, but then, Sonic used the Quick Cyloop around her, making several golden chains hold her still on her place. Then, Sonic started to use several attack for a combo: Cross Slash, Cyclone Kick, Spin Slash, Homing Shoot, Loop Kick, and finally a Stomp Attack, making a lot of damage to the Fire Alicorn, who roared loudly in rage. What goes around comes back around again But Sonic was not done, because he then snapped his fingers, and then a massive laser came from the sky that hit Opaline and sent her downwards. There, Sunny charged against Opaline again by charging up another laser beam of her magic, then shoot it without hesitation. Opaline screamed loudly in rage and panic. But then, Sunny teleported in front of her, and then shoot a beam that divided and then hit her several times in different zones. And if we don't come down, we'll be lost in the wind Opaline once again screamed, this time in pain, then she was sent towards Sonic, who used his phantom Rush to create copies of himself and hit her even more. Then, with a snap, all his copies were gone, then Sonic himself charged Chaos Energy on his right fist and hit Opaline down, sending her back to her castle. The Fire Alicorn traverse the ceiling again, laying painfully on the ground after Sonic's punch. She barely noticed that the dragons, Tails and Knuckles were not here anymore. Not that she cared, anyways. (What goes around comes back around again) I know that we will find our way We'll do whatever it will take Soon enough, Sonic and Sunny both landed in her castle, stomping loudly their feet/hooves in the ground and making a green trial of magic come out of them. This is because Sunny's using her Earth Pony magic and Sonic his Ivy Power to make some vines grow behind Opaline and then suddenly grab her. "Agh!" Opaline cried out in panic, but then said panic incremented when another vine growed and grabbed her Cutie Mark away from her flank. "NO! My My mark! My power!" She extended her hoof in a desperate attempt to reach her Cutie Mark and get it back, but it has already been taken away and dragged by a vine, deep inside of the Together Tree of her castle. (And if we don't come down, we'll be lost in the wind) And if we never reach the crown We'll take the whole thing down "Your reign of terror ends here, Arcana!" Sonic said with anger, then he snapped his finger while at the exact same time Sunny shoot with her magic at the leaves that had all those Cutie Marks. Doing this free'd the Cutie Marks, as they all began to fly back to their respective owners. Meanwhile, Sonic snapped his fingers one last time, melting Opaline's amulet and freeing the rest of the Mane 6's Cutie Marks so they could also go back to their respective owners. Meanwhile, the roots that got Opaline began to drag her inside her tree, making her scream, but right before getting completely dragged, she hold into the tree and glared daggers at Sonic and Sunny. "This... isn't... over!" Opaline declared in rage. "I will come back! I always come back!" "You're not William Afton, witch," Sonic said calmly, although conserving his frown. "That phrase doesn't work for you." Don't look down! Don't look down! With that being said, they stomped their feet/hooves in the ground again, making the roots drag Opaline deep into the tree and bury her entirely, then the tree itself closed, which made Sonic and Sunny boost around the castle and tear it entirely down, then leave at top speed from there, as the castle collapsed behind them. Meanwhile, all around Equestria, each of the Together Trees released the Cutie Marks. Each one flew back to their respective owners, making the ponies smile in joy and glee that Opaline's defeated. At the same time, each of the rest of the Mane 6's Cutie Marks flew back to their owners, each of them smiling in joy, since they have their Cutie Marks back. They're also happy to know that Opaline was defeated. Sonic and Sunny were flying over the Brighthouse with smiles. Sonic's new form disappeared and returned him to the previous Super state, as he and Sunny appreciated the Equestria they just saved... At least for a few seconds, before the environment suddenly began to turn purple, which confused them both. "You didn't thought this is over, did you?" A sinister voice mixing male and female tones spoke, sending a shiver down Sonic's spine. "Ah, crap..." Sonic muttered, as both him and Sunny turned to see a giant purple moon descending from the sky, while a maniac laugh echoed across all Equestria, indicating this wasn't over... And then, the entire vision finishes to show a crystal ball over a table. We also see Sonic and Sunny in one side of said table, while Knuckles is at the other side, wearing a black cape that's covering his look for some reason. And then, Sonic looks at Knuckles with a confused look. "Knux... What the hell was that?!" To be continued... Author's Note Yeah, I know, none of you have an idea of what the hell just happened. That's because this is a two parter, and my intention was always to leave you all completely confused in the first part. Why? Well, I know some of you are not happy with my decision of not adapting Chapter 6 (some have been really annoying about this, even). That being said, I do wanted to write down "The Rise and Fall", but considering that's very Chapter 6-sy, I knew I had to find a way into explaining why and how is it canon to my story... So here we are! Now, what's the purpose of this two-parter? To show you a "What if" scenario of what would've I done if I did made Chapter 6. How? Well, Knuckles' gonna explain that next chapter better, but let's just say I'm using fragments of what I did for Project Endgame in here. In fact, some stuff I just shown could've be considered spoilers, but since you don't know what happens and what don't, I'll just leave it as a "possible future that won't happen if you have read this story so far". So yeah, these two episodes are gonna show what I could've done with Chapter 6 if I adapted it. I hope it is enough to feed your hunger of Chapter 6 from my part! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in the second part. Bye! 79. The Crystal Ball - Part 220 Minutes earlier... In Maretime Bay, Sonic was loudly slurping a smoothie while laying on Sunny's smoothie cart. As Sunny herself kept doing her job and gave smoothies to the ponies of Maretime Bay, she also breaths fresh air and sighs happily, a mood she's been radiating more frequently ever since she beat the crap out of Eggman. Sonic noticed this, and even if he did scolded her for summoning Eggman without telling anypony but Hitch, he still felt kind of proud that she finally let go that ghost of her past. He does fear for her safety still, and he hopes Eggman won't ever pull a trick as cruel on her, or else he'll do some stuff he won't be very proud of... "You know? I haven't seen you this happy in a long time, sis," Sonic told Sunny with a genuine and kind smile. "After all the crap Eggman put you through months ago, it's good to finally see you smiling genuinely." "Well, I did managed to strike quite a punch at him!" Sunny pointed out with a smile. "I feel so relieved to finally have broken that chain that didn't allowed me to sleep at night. I can finally go through my routine and feel relaxed!" "If you ignore the fact that we still have to find Eggman and capture him for good, that is," Sonic reminded with a mocking tone. Not to mention we also still got a certain Alicorn to defeat." "Let's face a day at a time, okay?" Sunny suggested. "Sure, stopping Eggman and Opaline is important, and if we don't, we could all probably die, but I think we're already used to it at this point." "It took you a year and a half to get used to the constant chance of getting killed," Sonic told her as if it was something she should be proud of. "It took Tails, Knuckles, Amy and I like 3 or 4 years to get used to Eggman. I actually envy you!" "Should I feel flattered or concerned considering the kind of thing you envy me for?" Sunny asked with a chuckle, which made Sonic chuckle as well. However, just as they finished this short conversation, the Pippsqueaks passed in front of them in a rush, moving at top speed towards a certain direction. You may think this is normal, but the fact that several other ponies, some much older than the three fillies, also passed by and rushed into the same direction. The Pippsqueaks alone called Sonic and Sunny's attention already, but what seemed to be the whole town? Something big's going on. "We can agree that a bunch of ponies running to a certain place is strange, right?" Sonic asked Sunny. "Not really, but I do wonder what's getting them this excited," Sunny replied, then pull out a sign that said 'Be back after lunch!' and put it on the stand's counter, then exited the truck. "Let's go check it out ourselves! Maybe it's something worth our time!" "I really hope so," Sonic replied, finishing what's left of his smoothie, then throwing the cup into a trash can, and then rushing along Sunny to where everypony else head to. Once they reach the same place, they noticed a bunch of ponies seeing curiously at a big and brown tent that had a big sign at the top of the entrance, this one reading 'Crystal Ball Fortune Teller'. Realizing this, Sunny raised an eyebrow intrigued, while Sonic deadpanned. "A fortune teller... Really? Isn't Amy precisely that but with cards? What's a ball made of glass gonna tell? Get a free pie out of nowhere right after someone comes out of that tent?" And right after he said that, Izzy jumped out of the tent with a smile. "The crystal ball told me that there is a super yummy pie in my future!" This was already surprising for Sonic, but before he could say something else, Hitch came out of nowhere with a smile, holding a pie and extending it to Izzy. "Here you go. Iz. I know how much you love pie." "Whoa!" Izzy cheered with sparkling eyes. "Did you ponies see that?! Mind totally blown! Whaaaa!" Right after this, Izzy took the pie and started to eat it, while Sunny was jaw dropped and Sonic had wide eyes, one even twitching. He then took out some reading glasses and a book. Said book said 'The Crystal Ball - Part 2: Script' on the front, and Sonic started to read it anxiously. "I need to check who's the writer of this episode, because they cannot keep getting away with this!" Sonic said in anger. "That was... Well, something..." Sunny said confused and still shocked. Just then, Pipp came out of nowhere and looked at the tent with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Okay, I gotta try this!" Just as she said this and entered the tent, Zipp, Hitch, Tails and Amy followed along, although Amy seemed kind of mad for some reason. Sonic and Sunny, however, didn't seemed to trust this tent that much. And then after a moment, Hitch came out of the tent with a panicked look. "The crystal ball said I was gonna lose Sparky!" He cried out, looking around for his baby dragon while Sunny looked at him in panic. "Sparky?! Sparky?! SPARKYYYYY!" "Where is he?!" Sunny exclaimed in worry. Then, Zipp came out with a smirk. "Calm down, you two. The crystal ball told me that I would find Sparky," She said, and then, Shadow suddenly arrived with a bored expression, while he opened a path on his left arm, allowing Spike to crawl through it and then climb to his head, much to Hitch and Zipp's surprise. "Huh. Would you look at that?" Sparky seemed to happy around Shadow, and when he almost fell by doing a front flip from Shadow's head, Shadow himself just caught him by extending his arms, while Sparky babbled happily after getting caught. Then, Shadow looked at Hitch with a bored expression. "Your son has been following me the whole day," Shadow said, no specific tone on his voice, he simply told Hitch the truth. "Heheh... Sorry for that..." Hitch apologized sheepishly, quickly getting Sparky on his hooves while Shadow teleported away. Next, Pipp came out of the tent with a frown. "Ugh! Get real! That ball thingy told me I wouldn't be able to stop squawking like a bird. What? As if," She scoffed, just before she made a squawking sound, which made her cover her moth in shock. "Oh, no! Oh, no-no-no-no!" She then squawked again. "No-no-no-no-no!" She then ran off, making the others look at her confused before Pipp squawked again. "Okay... four predictions in a row..." Sonic said with wide eyes and concern. "I'm actually scared." Now, Tails came out of the tent while scratching his neck confused. "Huh. The crystal ball says I'm gonna fly away anytime a sneeze for no reason the rest of the day. I probably should be concerned, but come on. How bad can it really––" He tried to say, but then he sneezed and flew away, landing on his stomach over a lamppost, groaning in pain. "Never mind..." He then slid and landed on the ground painfully, while Zipp looked concerned and rushed to him. "That's... five in a row..." Sunny pointed out. "This starts to get creepy." And finally, Amy came out of the tent with an anxious look. "So the crystal ball said that my hammer's gonna be thrown at me... I feel in danger now." "Okay, that's quite an impossible one," Sonic said with a confident smirk, also crossing his arms. "Amy's hammer is as heavy as a car, there's no way someone can throw it at––" Yet just before Sonic finished talking, Amy's hammer fell right on her head and made her hold it in pain while groaning, then he and Sunny looked up at Rouge, who was covering her mouth with wide eyes. "Oh gosh, Amy! I-I'm sorry! I-I just wanted to bring you back your hammer!" Rouge said concerned. Amy just groaned, picked up her hammer and walked away, leaving Sonic and Sunny with their jaws dropped. If the bar was set to just two or three, both of them would've label wall that happened as simple coincidences. However, six guesses ina. row was alarming, and they had a terrible feeling about this. "Okay. Six in a row. Whoever's inside there, knows what they're doing," Sonic said with concern. "There has to be some sort of trick behind all of this..." Sunny stated. "Whoever's guessing this cannot get everything right, can they?" "Just one way to find out..." Sonic declared, as he stepped inside the tent, and Sunny followed him. Inside the tent, Sonic and Sunny found themselves confused, yet also surprised. Everywhere they looked, there were several cut cardboard signs, some having the word 'fortune', some having the word 'luck', and the majority of them had the word 'future' in them. "Huh... Okay... Whoever hosts this place knows their brand pretty well," Sonic commented with an amusing smirk. "Maybe too much..." Sunny said unease, since there was also a bunch of creepy triangles with an eye around. "I wouldn't pay any mind to those things," Sonic advised her. "Is just a shape with a human eye, what's the worse it can do?" But then they heard a hum coming from inside the tent, and then, they saw a table with a mantle, as well as the crystal ball their friends have been talking about. At the other side, a creature covered by a cape with a cover sat and hummed, awaiting for both Sonic and Sunny to approach. "Seems like we found our fortune teller..." Sonic deadpanned and approached them, with Sunny hesitantly following behind. They sat down at the other side of the table, but as they noticed the little light in the room, they noticed the red skin of the covered creature, as well as his white and big boxing gloves with spikes in the knuckles. This sell away who was at the other side, shocking the two siblings. "KNUCKLES?!" Both of them shouted. "Heya!" Knuckles said happily while waving his hand, before clearing his throat and adopt his fortune teller posture. "Come, my child, and let me show you the wonders of the future––" "Cut the act, Knucklehead!" Sonic interrupted. "The hell are you doing?!" "And where did you get that crystal ball?!" Sunny asked confused. "A-And how are you guessing the future precisely as it happens?!" "Well, it all started when I found this crystal ball in the basement," Knuckles began to narrate. "When I touched it, the ball said my future had a stack of grapes waiting for me. I didn't pay too much mind at first, but as soon as I put the crystal ball back on it's place and went to the kitchen, guess what I found?!" Sonic and Sunny looked at each other, then back at Knuckles. "A stack of grapes?" "A stack of grapes!" Knuckles said happily with sparkling eyes, before clearing his throat and calm himself down. "Now, it said that the stack of grapes would be found on the fridge, yet I found it on a box over the kitchen's table. That help me discover how the predictions of the ball work." "Wait, what?" Sonic said confused. "Turns out the crystal ball shows you fragments of the future, just not precisely what will happen or how," Knuckles started to explain. "For example, Izzy saw a pie on her future, right? Yet the ball shown her that she'll find the pie, but instead, I heard from here that Hitch give it to her. See what I mean?" "So you found this random crystal ball that shows some kind of possible future combining fake elements and actual ones that will happen, right?" Sunny asked, as Knuckles nodded. "So what are you doing here exactly with it?" "Well, Maretime Bay's school needs some money to repair a classroom that flood last week, and also some new instruments, so I said 'Screw it, let's make money by showing ponies their future'!" Knuckles replied with a smile. "...Wait, you're playing like a Fortune Teller for charity?" Sonic asked. "That... That's actually pretty sweet. But was the Illuminati logo necessary, though? I find it kinda strange to be here." "Illumi–– what now?" Knuckles asked confused. "I don't know what are you talking about, Hedgehog, 'cause I saw those statues and they remind me of Bill Cypher, so I used them because of that." "...Honestly, I'm impressed you don't know what are the Illuminati..." Sonic confessed. "Let's keep it that way." "Right..." Sunny rolled her eyes, then focused on Knuckles. "Well, now that we're here, we might as well get a glance to our future as well!" She smiled. "Great!" Knuckles said, then extended his open palm. "But if you want me to make the ball show your future, you gotta pay for the school. It's 10 bucks per person." "I'll usually complain you're charging up your own friends, but since this is charity we're talking about, makes sense you make no exceptions," Sonic said with a smirk, then payed his 10 bucks, while Sunny did the same. "Well, then. Let the vision begin!" Knuckles stated. "Oh, but before that, quick warning: The vision you'll see can either last a few seconds or a few minutes. However, here in the real world, it's just around 4 or 5 seconds, so you won't be delaying the line outside the tent." "That's pretty clever, actually," Sunny said with a smile. "I wonder why you found that crystal ball in the basement, though. I mean, Dad didn't had it... Or at least I don't remember have seen it before..." "We can find that out later, Sunny," Sonic suggested. "Now hit us with our future, Knucklehead!" "Just remember: You asked for it!" Knuckles warned them. After saying this, Knuckles put his hands on the crystal ball and activated it, then let Sunny and Sunny have their vision, as their eyes turned blue for a moment while they stared for five seconds at the crystal ball. However, when their eyes went back to normal, they looked over at Knuckles extremely confused. "Knux... What the hell was that?!" Sonic asked in panic with wide eyes. "I dunno, I didn't saw what you," Knuckles shrugged. "T-That thing... I-It showed us a really creepy scenario!" Sunny said. "Sonic and Eggman were working together, Opaline was stealing Cutie Marks, Sonic had a strange yet cool power up, w-we literally beat the crap out of Opaline!" "Not to mention, THE END!" Sonic shouted. "What was The End doing there, and why did the vision finished right before showing us what The End planned to do?!" "Calm down, you two!" Knuckles spoke. "As I said, the vision don't shows you exactly what will happen, it just mixes actual future events with fake ones and mixes them into a possible scenario, just not the one that will happen." "So what we just saw might happen but in a different way?!" Sunny asked in panic. "Pretty much," Knuckles nodded. "Why, thank you, Knucklehead! Now I feel so much better!" Sonic spoke with sarcasm and rolled his eyes. "We didn't even got the full picture! I need to see that until the very end!" He stated, then put other 10 bucks in the table. "Me too! It cannot end with The End coming out of nowhere, right?!" Sunny said concerned, also placing other 10 bucks. "Eh, do as you want, you two. You're helping the cause, so I guess another peek won't hurt," Knuckles said, snapping his fingers and allowing the siblings to continue their vision. The sky changed from its usual blue and switched to a deadly purple color. Then, in the middle of all Equestria, the ground started to glow in a crimson red color, while seven gigantic arms with just three fingers emerged and stomped the ground, making it rumble violently. Soon, the source of the arms began to rise from the mysterious portal in the ground. This creature seemed to be a giant and corrupted version of an Ancient: It was a black creature with red veins all over their body, 8 fin-like protrusions on the back of their head, a tall bulge on top, and 8 red eyes. They also had a red aura surrounding them, as well as a strange red symbol floating behind them, which works as the wings of this creature. Finally, they had one single leg that looked like a sharp sword. This creature was none other than the killer of the Ancients' planet: The End, on its final and true form. The End roared loudly in rage and then went down to the ground, placing its main arms in front while the other five moved wildly behind. It then looked forward to stare at Sonic with anger, while Sonic himself stared back feeling the same. He then closed his eyes, charged up Cyber Energy on his right hand, then snapped his fingers. With this, his body released a wave of Cyber Energy, while he transformed into Super Sonic 2 again and glared daggers at The End. He was beyond ready to take this entity down once and for all. The End cyber corrupted the Together Trees and feed on the ponies magic, leaving them weak and useless. So now, Sonic's gonna make sure he's gone for good. Thankfully, he has learned that The End's real form is mortal, so destroying him this time will actually kill the entity for good. Feeling confident, Sonic pointed a finger at The End, then raised two while provoking it to come at him. He wanted it to be the first one attacking, make it loose its cool and aim at him, something that worked. The End roared in anger, and so, it launched several spheres of Cyber energy against Sonic in an attempt to damage him, but each time any of those attacks was gonna hit Sonic, he always raised his left hand and moved the attack away like nothing, like if it wasn't even a problem. The attack ended up destroying a big portion of the ground instead, but The End didn't seemed impressed with the attacks... Except that the last one Sonic dodged went at it instead of the ground. The attack stunned The End, long enough for Sonic to start punching him with a combo of several attacks: Spin Slash, then Phantom Rush, then Loop Kick, then some regular punches by multiplying himself, then another Spin Slash, then more punches at Super Sonic speed, and finally Quick Cyloop. This caused a golden gust of wind to lift up The End in the air, and even though it tried to attack Sonic again, he parried the attack, then began to punch The End again with Phantom Rush and another Loop Kick. And finally, Sonic punched The End a bit more before snapping his fingers, which made a massive golden laser came from the sky and hit The End, stunning the former Ancient for a second, before Sonic took advantage of his two most powerful moves: Phantom Rush and Stomp Attack. With this, The End was now weakened and roared in pain, but Sonic knew that wouldn't be enough. So, he focused some Cyber Energy and snapped his fingers, which made an exact replica of Supreme appear. After this, Eggman floated on his Eggmobile towards the top of the Titan, where a free spot was available for him to attach his vehicle. He did so, and soon, Supreme turned on with blue lights, indicating the Titan was in Eggman's control. He then looked ahead at Sonic and nodded with a smirk, while Sonic nodded back. Follow me I'm standing on the border of everything Listen close Yet The End recovered faster than anyone would've liked, then it roared in anger and shoot a bunch of daggers made of Cyber Energy against the three Equestrian cities, as well as against Eggman and Supreme. Can you hear the spirits sing Lost messages of long ago? (Long ago?) Seeing this, Sage gasped and quickly moved ahead to create a massive shield that protected both the Titan and her father. However, the daggers in the other three cities were still moving at top speed, and Sage gasped again, because she knew that she didn't had enough power to protect the three pony towns. (GO!) However, this was a problem that she didn't had to solve, because suddenly, an orange shield was activated over maretime Bay, then a red one in Bridlewood, and finally a yellow one in Zephyr Heights. These shields were activated by Shadow, Knuckles and Tails respectively. Shadow had to remove his inhibitor rings so he could use Chaos Control to make the shield in Maretime Bay, while both Knuckles and Tails had to exceed their limits with their powers to explode the magical side and create their shields. (YEAH!) Seeing that the cities and themselves were safe, Sage smiled, then looked ahead at Sonic and nodded, while Sonic nodded back and the looked at The End, who roared in rage at the fact it couldn't kill anyone. Leave the life you knew before See a new world worth fighting for Sonic boosted ahead towards The End, but before he could pull the trick he wanted to, the creature roared again and covered its head with its main arms, while it moved wildly the other five in the air. Noticing this, Sonic moved ahead and approached the other arms, then parried and sent The End a bit backwards. Find the truth of who I'm meant to become Another path I must now walk on Followed by this, Sonic began to hit The End until his Phantom Rush was charged, then made a Stomp Attack, and then finished off this short combo with a Wild Rush. I'm here Reaching far across these new frontiers With my life I fight this fear Sonic repeated the same combo up to the Stomp Attack, because when he was ready to punch The End's face again, the creature began to launch Cyber Energy spheres at him again. Noticing this, Sonic stopped and began to dodge them all, and once all of them were gone, The End roared in rage again. In my hands I hold the ones I love Walk forward through the cold dawn Always to new horizons After that, Sonic crossed his arms and waited for The End to attack, something it did as it approached him like a spider ready to bite on it's prey and eat it with no mercy. However, The End's plan failed, because as it was face to face with Sonic, the latter's eye looked at it, and in just an instant, he moved so fast that he not only hit The End several times, but he also made it roll painfully in the ground, until it was laying on its back and loudly groaning in pain. Meanwhile, Sonic gave his back to The End and kept his arms crossed, but then he looked at The End over his shoulder with a very cold expression that only radiated his hate for the former Ancient. Getting up and more enraged than before, The End ducked down and allowed its other five arms to charge up the biggest Cyber Energy sphere yet, one that it shot directly at Sonic with no shame nor remorse. Seeing this, Sonic placed his hands in front and attempted to stop the attack, but he couldn't do so. This also caused him to go back into normal Super Sonic, as his eyes went red again, his shoes and gloves were not glitching anymore, the red of his arms and quills disappeared, and got a golden aura instead of red again. Come with me We'll travel through the trials and tragedy Blessed and bleak He thought he could stop the attack... But that was not the case, because the attack was so strong that it even sent him back to his regular self, with the Chaos Emeralds getting out of his body, and when Sonic noticed this, he panicked, and then the attack pushed him backwards, making him loose a lot of rings in the process. Can you hear the spirits shout The secrets in their melodies? (Their melodies?) Eventually, the sphere exploded right in Sonic's face, making an explosion that could make anyone think Sonic was gone, and that The End has gotten exactly what it wanted. But that wasn't the case, because when the smoke of the explosion faded away, Sonic was completely fine, the Emeralds still surrounding him and everything. He smirked, then snapped his fingers and turned back into Super Sonic, before closing his eyes and start to charge the Cyber Energy of his body again. Dream Explore the mysteries Breathe A new life is revealed to me It took him a while, but he eventually his gloves and shoes glitched again, his arms and quills got red lines, his golden aura turned red , and his eyes switched to cyan blue, meaning he once again turn into Super Sonic 2. Once again we'll start our story anew Don't be afraid I will be with you Then, he took a deep breath, before pointing ahead at The End, open his eyes again, and then dare it to come at him. He was so glad that this new form was working, that Master King's trial has awakened a power he never knew he needed, and now, he was ready to go all out on The End if necessary. I'm here Reaching far across these new frontiers With my life I fight this fear The End lost its patience and charged up a laser against Sonic, but the Golden Blur didn't dodged it this time: He parried it, and then teleported to the place where the attack would fall and parried it again. This sent the attack towards The End and stunned it in place, then Sonic went towards The End's chest and punched it towards the air. Once there, Sonic moved his hands and feet like if he was punching the air, and then sent those attacks against The End, hitting it and moving it even more upwards. In my hands I hold the ones I love Walk forward through the cold dawn Always to new horizons Then, as The End was falling towards him, Sonic closed his eyes and extended his left hand, then closed it into a fist, flew upwards, and sent The End towards space in the process, stunning it again. Noticing this, Eggman gasped, and then frowned with a determinate look. "Sonic, it's now or never!" He stated, pulling out Supreme's sniper and holding it for use. Hearing this, Sonic turned to his nemesis and nodded, then he flew ahead and entered Supreme's sniper, the Titan still being controlled by Eggman. Once Sonic reached the very deep end of the sniper, he came to a stop and let out a sigh, remembering Master King's words... "That power is a fragile thing and it was not meant to you. It has been synchronized to your form as best it can, but if used recklessly, the power will leave you entirely." Sonic sighed again, then turned around to face the sniper's exit. "Sorry, Master King. Looks like I'm going all-out after all!" After saying this, Sonic closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, and then he let the Cyber Energy remaining on his body take control over his entire body as Super Sonic 2. Now, not only his gloves, shoes and red body lines were glitching, but his whole body in general started to glitch out as well. He was still grunting in pain, but then he opened his eyes and nodded to himself, then let out a combination of a warrior and painful cry, as the Cyber Energy kept extending though his body. Sonic was now glitching completely in blue, then he extended his right hand, his left leg, and then his head started to move like crazy while glitching, as his eyes turned into blue spirals and he cried out in pain. Eggman took Sonic's screams of agony as his sign to shoot, so he started to elevate the sniper and pointed it as much as he could to The End. However, to make absolutely sure that he'll hit it, he used his super hight tech advanced glasses to calculate the exact point he'll shot at. (Whoa) It took him a moment to calibrate the exact point where he'll shot, but he eventually managed to do it. (Ohhh, Who-o-ohhh) (Who-o-ohhh) (Who-ohhh) Once he did, Eggman didn't had to think twice and shoot the sniper, releasing Sonic from it... But now with his new aspect, he wasn't Super Sonic 2 anymore. He was Cyber Super Sonic. Standing here (Standing here) The way ahead's becoming clear All across these new frontiers Sonic zig-zagged in the air and growled in anger as he headed towards The End, while the former Ancient's eyes widened in terror, since it knew that it was finished. Its entire plant, all the chaos it caused across Equestria, all the magic it stole from the ponies... In the end it was all for nothing, because it lost. Meanwhile, Sonic let out a warrior cry with his eyes closed and his hands extended, then he closed his hands in fists and traversed The End in space, making the entity scream in pain and charge up to explode. In my hands I hold the ones I love Walk forward through the cold dawn Always to new horizons After traversing The End and release all the Cyber Energy of his body, Sonic fell unconscious as regular Super Sonic. His body was dirty and beaten up, meaning that going all-out on The End made him use more energy than he should've... But even if Sonic fell unconscious, he was smiling, because he managed to give The End the definitive blow that actually killed it forever, even though he had knowledge on this last fact. As for The End? Well, it exploded and died, finally putting an end to all the atrocities it made to Equestria, to the Ancients, and to Sonic's and Longclaw's ancestors forever. Their souls could finally rest in peace. Once the second vision ended, Sonic and Sunny blinked and shook their heads. As they did so, Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "So? How did it went?" "...I... I don't really know what the heck I just saw..." Sonic replied. "But if that's my future, well, might as well start writing down my testament." "...I don't know what I saw, either..." Sunny said, as she and Sonic stood up and head to the exit. "Uh, thanks for showing us that, Knuckles... I guess... Um, good luck with the charity!" "Good luck in therapy! I feel you're gonna need it after whatever you just saw," Knuckles replied with a smile. "For once, you might actually be right, Knucklehead..." Sonic said anxiously, exiting the tent along Sunny. "Hmm... Should've I tell them that whatever the crystal ball shows them will be forgotten in 24 hours just to leave the timeline intact since knowing the future could kill us all?" Knuckles wondered, then shrugged. "Eh, they won't remember tomorrow anyways." Once outside of the tent, Sonic and Sunny were received by Tails. "Oh, there you are!" Tails said with a smile, then flew ahead and put his arms around his siblings' necks. "So? How did it went? What did the crystal ball told you, guys?" As he asked this, Pipp suddenly came to them. "I hope for your sake it had––" She suddenly squawked again. "––nothing to do with birds!" She then gave another squawk and began to sob. "Why?!" Sonic and Sunny looked at each other over Tails' head, and even if they shared no words, just by looking at each other they silently agreed into keep what they saw in the crystal ball to themselves and not tell anyone. After all, how do you tell your friends you saw some of them mind controlled and some without Cutie Marks? "In a little bit of a slump: Some wild months are awaiting us..." Sonic replied with a little smile. "Yeah, that's the best way to describe it," Sunny agreed, then both of them walked away, leaving Tails and Pipp confused. "Uh, you guys realize how little that sentence narrows your vision down, right?" Tails called out, following them. "Yeah! I need to know if you guys have a bird fortune or something!" Pipp said, just before squawking again. "AW, COME ON!" On his lab, Eggman was walking back and forth as he held a book. Not so far, Sage had her eyes closed, touching one side of Eggman's computer that glitched to her touch. Eggman has been searching the past few months for a power source that can literally tear apart the wall that separates this reality from any other one, a power that can afford him the ability to travel across universes. With the Chaos Emeralds on Team Sonic's power, Eggman had no choice but look after a different power source if he wanted to gain access to other realities. Thankfully, he created a new body for Sage, and now she's twice as useful and helpful as she was when Cyberspace transformed her program into a living being. "I'm so glad to have you here, Sage," Eggman confessed with a smile, but still looking at the book he was holding. "To tell the truth, getting a new body for you was pretty difficult, but... it was worth it. You are my greatest creation, and I couldn't stand the idea of loosing you, so... having you here, by my side... feels surreal to me." Sage opened her eyes and looked at Eggman for a second, before smiling warmly at him. "I'm glad to hear that, father," She said. "I just wish I could have been here before, physically, to help you out better." "No need to apologize, dear," Eggman assured. "If anything, my recent failures have opened my mind a bit: If I wanna defeat that hedgehog, first I'll have to conquer any world to prove him how superior I really am." "Father... I know you answered this on Cyberspace, but... Why do you keep respecting Sonic the same way you hate him?" Sage asked confused, as she retired her hand from the computer, that shut down after she did that. "I get you are enemies and it's a common thing, but... why not just finish him off directly?" Eggman put the book aside and rubbed his chin with a raised eyebrow. "Hmm... perhaps I could explain to you why this is so important. Alright, kid. Listen closely: Sonic is a formidable foe. He's a pest that loves to make stupid and unfunny jokes, true: But he's a great fighter. He doesn't use his speed to run away, no: He turns it into a weapon! He's smart, he has courage, and he's willing to stop me even if could cost his own life!" "Just like how he handled the Cyber Corruption... even if it was killing him..." Sage remarked. "Perfect example, Sage!" Eggman said with pride. "He's that formidable! If only he didn't messed up with my plans, perhaps we could actually hang around the same way he hangs with Shadow. But since we are enemies, I need to prove myself to be just as formidable! The Death Egg Titan was, probably, the nearest I've ever been to fulfill my dream, but he still ruined everything." "So... you wanna be at his level?" Sage asked. "That's one way to see it," Eggman replied. "I don't want him death, even though I've been close to murder him a few times. I want to prove him that I'm superior, that I'm better than him! Conquering everything he knows and loves and crush it before his eyes! And after all of that... I don't know. Maybe I will kill him, or just turn him into a robot, only time will tell!" Sage placed a hand on her chin, thinking about everything she heard, and comparing the new data with all the one she just downloaded from Eggman's computer. After processing all the data for a couple of seconds, she opened her eyes with a determinate look and a smile towards Eggman. "I think I have something that might help you with you wish, father." Eggman raised an eyebrow again at her. "Proceed." Sage made her hand glow, and one of the many books spread on the ground floated, opened in a page, and then it moved towards Eggman, who grabbed the book and took a closer look at the object he was looking at: Some kind of weird looking prism of four different colors, these ones being red, green, yellow and blue. "This is the Paradox Prism," Sage began to explain. "According to all the data I gathered, it's a legendary prism with the ability to tear apart the invisible wall that separates this reality from any other one." Eggman's eyes widened and he looked between the image of the prism and Sage. "I'm sorry, what?!" He shouted in surprise, but also in disbelief. "The Prism has powerful abilities that go beyond imagination," Sage began to explain. "It is powerful enough to destroy every wall between this world and any other one. If you had this in your power, you could travel to any world you wanted with no problem! You could conquer many worlds were Sonic does not exist, or even join forces with your counterparts across the entire multiverse!" Eggman saw the image in awe, and an evil grin was drawn over his face. "Dear, could you please do that thing of yours?" Sage grinned back, and with just moving one hand, she made an hologram of the Paradox Prism be projected, which made Eggman's grin grow bigger, if that's even possible. "With this Prism... I could not only conquer my world and Equestria... every single reality in existence could be at the palm of my hand..." Eggman said with joy, then he turned to see Sage and he caressed softly her head. "Good job, my girl. Now, prepare searching units! We must find this Prism and explode all it's capabilities!" "Yes, father!" Sage replied. THE END...? Author's Note So? Did you guys liked this concept? Keep in mind that, as Knuckles said, these visions only shown some stuff that will happen, just not how. After all, I'm not making Chapter 6 (yes, I have to repeat it so it stays clear). I cannot really say much about this second part 'cause pretty much all I wanted to share previously was already done in the first part. However, I do wanna share The End's true form so you all can appreciate it since, again, I don't like putting images in the middle of my stories: Pretty sick, right? I know it is. Well, thanks for reading this chapter, and I'll see you all on Tuesday for the series finales. Bye! 80. Friends ForeverIn the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic was at his side of the bedroom. He was holding the Blue Chaos Emerald in his right hand, and he stared at it for a few seconds. Then, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on triggering his electrical powers to affect the Emerald. His powers seemed to be doing something at first, because the Emerald was genuinely glowing, but it eventually began to fade away, even though Sonic's powers were still afloat. He tried his best to keep the Emerald glowing, but when it stopped doing so, he groaned frustrated and frowned, as his powers deactivated. He's been trying to trigger the message that Longclaw left for him, the one where she reveals his ancestors come from Equestria. However, no matter how hard he uses his powers, the message simply won't show up. "Was the message a one time thing only?" Sonic questioned concerned to himself. "Why would Longclaw leave a message for me, and then never let me hear it whenever I want ever again? That makes no sense..." Saying that Sonic missed Longclaw was just a soft way to put it. She was the whole world to him, the one that loved him and raised him like a son despite being a different species. She taught him to walk, to control his powers, to talk, to read, to write... She meant everything to him, and one day, she was gone forever. That message she recorded in the Chaos Emerald seems to be all he has left to physically interact with her in some way... But as much as he has tried to trigger the message, it simply won't work. This had him depressed. That's his only way to at least see her from time to time, and it turns out he can't trigger it anymore? Why would Longclaw do this? Why would she make a message and record it, just for him to be unable to see it and hear her voice, see her face ever again? What was the point? "Why did you do this to me, Mom?" Sonic mumbled to himself with disappointment, but also with anger. "Sonic?" Sunny's voice suddenly called out, and it pull the hedgehog away from his thoughts. Sunny went into the bedroom looking after Sonic. The entire group was preparing to eat their dinner, cooked by Knuckles, but since Sonic was taking too long, she came to see what's taking him so long. Yet she could already tell she came in a bad moment, judging by Sonic's slight frown, as well as the fact that he's holding the Blue Chaos Emerald AND the fact that she and everyone else already know he's been trying to trigger Longclaw's message again for the past few days. "...This is a bad moment, isn't it?" Sunny asked with a cringed expression. "...Maybe..." Sonic replied, then looked away. "I suppose you and everyone else are already waiting for me, right?" "I–– Yeah," Sunny went straight to the point. She has learned to be direct and not mess around when Sonic's mad. "I wanted to check on you, but again; it seems I came in a bad moment." "Eh, it's fine. I'm starting to think triggering that message is a lost cause, anyways," Sonic shrugged. "I'll be down in a minute, or maybe two. I... I wanna calm myself down before I get really mad and say something I don't want to..." Sunny understood that, but instead of leaving, she decided to stay, sitting down next to Sonic since he's on the edge of his bed, and she wanted to cheer him up a bit, even if it won't work. "...You miss her that much, don't you?" Sunny asked, trying to approach the matter as careful as possible. "Everyday, at all times," Sonic replied with a sad smile. "It almost feels like I can't let go just yet. No matter how many times I tell myself is for the best, I... I simply can't do it..." "...I understand," Sunny said, sighing sadly as she spotted from the corner of her eye the framed picture of her as a filly, riding over her dad's back that was resting over the nightstand besides her bed. "My dad died after I turned 19. Ever since, I have tried to stay as positive as when he was around, but... It not always works. Sometimes, I just want to curl into a ball, cover myself with my sheets and––" "Cry until no tears can be dropped anymore..." Sonic finished for her, and she looked over at him surprised, a surprise that faded away when she remembered they have gone through the same kind of lost. "After Longclaw died, I used to cry under the borrowed sheets Tails gave me whenever I stay on his workshop. It was the only way I could release my sorrow so I wouldn't be harsh on people... Not again, anyways." "You started doing that before or after you, uh, tried to finish Eggman?" Sunny asked. "After," Sonic replied. "It also happened after I hurt someone else, someone I used to care for, but now days I know she hates me..." "Who?" Sunny asked again. "...She's a princess, too. I... snapped at her after Longclaw died," Sonic replied. "Well, I snapped at almost anyone. The 6 months following Longclaw's death were just me being a grumpy hedgehog that threat you like trash simply because I had no better ways to release my anger. Knuckles and Amy offered me to train so I could release my anger in a fight, and while I eventually accepted the offer, it took me a therapist and Tails slapping me to realize what I was doing." "And what happened with that girl you also threat badly?" Sunny asked one more time. "She hates me," Sonic replied with a chuckle. "I... I tried to make things up, but she doesn't want to. I don't really blame her, though, since I said really rude things that a simple 'sorry' can't fix. Maybe she'll never forgive me." "Never say never, Sonic," Sunny told him with a smile. "Maybe not in the near future, but I'm sure she'll accept your apology someday. No one can stay mad forever!" "With her attitude? I wouldn't be so sure," Sonic replied with a shrug. "It's fine, though. You can't get along with everyone, but you don't really have to." "I'll usually disagree, but Opaline is a pony that hates everypony because they're not Alicorns, so..." Sunny said while making circles with her hoof, also smiling sheepishly. "No exactly my point, but eh, I guess it works, too," Sonic smirked. "At least I'm trying to help!" Sunny pointed out with a smile. "For example, do you feel mad still?" "No... I'm still frustrated I can't trigger the message, though," Sonic replied sadly. "Like, your dad left you a message you can watch at anytime with your projector. Why did Longclaw made a message for me too, but I can't watch it as well? Sorry if it comes out as me complaining or being rude, but... I just wanna see her and hear her voice again..." "I know you're just sad that you can't trigger the message, Sonic," Sunny assured him with a smile, even placing a hoof on his shoulder. "Really! I know you'll like to see her again, even if it's only through a message." "Still, I shouldn't be complaining about this with you," Sonic pointed out. "You're here to cheer me up and make sure I'm fine, while all I do is complain about this message because... Even if I don't show it, I'm jealous of you, Sunny. You can watch your dad's message anytime, and I can't even watch my mother's..." Sunny was surprised to hear that Sonic was jealous of her. She has heard that from many ponies, actually, but that is because they're jealous she got Alicorn powers. That's probably why they only liked her as an Alicorn that one time, because they wanted to feel they were special since they thought she was special. Sure, she is special, but because she's who she is, not because of a horn an a pair of wings that technically do not exist, they're just projections that come and fade away when she wants them to. Yet the reason Sonic's jealous of her... Is because she can watch a death familiar she was so close with through a recorded message that he left for her, while he cannot even trigger it anymore. This is... New for her, but she also feels bad for something that not even her can control... Or can she? An idea suddenly popped into her mind, and she smiled widely, then looked over at Sonic. "You're trying to trigger the message from the Emerald itself, right?" "Yeah," Sonic replied, then raised a brow. "Why do you ask?" "I'm thinking... If the Emerald are part magic, can't I try to use my own to trigger the message?" Sunny suggested with a smile, but Sonic didn't shared the joy she's having. "What?! Are you nuts?!" Sonic exclaimed with panic. "I mean, I appreciate the offer of help, I really do! But, you think you can handle their power? I know Shadow and I've been training you, but there's no guarantee that you won't have another 'Chaos Pocks' situation! I... I don't want that to happen to you, ever again." "I know you're worried for me, Sonic, and I really appreciate it!" Sunny said with a smile, also giving Sonic a big and tight hug. "However, I'm a grown mare. I can take care of myself, thank you. And, I'm pretty sure that I can handle the power of the Emeralds!" "But what if you can't?!" Sonic asked with panic. "Well, it's worth the shot," Sunny replied. "We'll never know until we try." Sonic really disliked this idea, but he knows Sunny: When she gets an idea about something, anything, she won't stop until said idea is put into test. He probably hates that of her because, well, he's the exact same. Groaning, Sonic rubbed his face with a hand, then deadpanned at his sister figure. "Fine! But Imma help you out with my own power, because I seriously don't want you going Godzilla fused with Chaos again!" "Be my guest!" Sunny pulled her tongue out playfully, making Sonic roll his eyes in annoyance. Still, he let her made her Alicorn form appear and then surround the Blue Chaos Emerald in her magic. Followed by this, Sunny made a small trial of magic come out of her horn and touch the Chaos Emerald, while Sonic did the same by extending his hand and releasing part of his electrical powers over it. Yet this didn't seemed to be doing what they wanted it to do. Instead, the Chaos Emerald's energy started to fight back by using Sonic and Sunny's bridges of power to pass its own to them. This made them panic, and they tried to cancel what they were doing, but the Emerald reacted even faster than them and interacted with their minds, making their eyes go fully white and remain freeze in the exact same position. Whatever Sonic was going to say, since he opened his mouth, died out when the Emerald took over him. Sonic and Sunny blinked and shook their heads, feeling dizzy about what just happened. However, once they came back to their senses, they both gasped as they realized that they were no long in the Crystal Brighthouse, but instead in a strange and dark place where they seemed to be standing over invisible water. Sunny had no idea on what's happening, but Sonic did: This is the very same place he was transported months back, when Eggman almost crushed them along Pipp, when the Chaos Emeralds entered his body and brought him to this place so he could met his parents and talk to Longclaw again before defeating the Death Egg Titan... His eyes widened at this reminder: He managed to talk again with Longclaw once he reached this mysterious place, and if he was back here, then it means... "Uh... What's going on?" Sunny asked confused. "Where in the Tartarus are we supposed to be?" "...The place? I don't know how's it called, but... I've been here before..." Sonic replied. This made Sunny's eyes shot open. "You have?!" "Yeah," Sonic replied with a nod and a smile. "Remember what happened when the Chaos Emeralds entered my body right before Eggman's Death Egg Titan crushed us with Pipp? About how I talked with Longclaw and met my parents?" "Yeah... What about it?" Sunny questioned confused. "This is the place, Sunny," Sonic replied. "Oh..." Sunny said at first, then her eyes began to open up little by little. "Oh... Oh! Oh my pony! A-Are you saying what I think you're saying?!" Sonic was about to reply, but then they both saw a pair of lights showing up in front of them, so they covered their eyes with their hands and hooves. When the lights dissipated, though, they both gasped loudly with wide eyes: Longclaw and Argyle appeared right there in front of them, almost flesh and blood. "Mom!/Dad?!" Sonic and Sunny said together with disbelief, but the former more so with joy as well. With no hesitation, Sonic boosted and hugged Longclaw tightly once again, while Longclaw herself giggled and hugged the Blue hedgehog back as well. He missed to do this so much, like he cannot even describe. Sunny, however, was hesitant on approaching Argyle. Sure, it looked like her dad, but was it really him? It could be an illusion, or a trap. Argyle himself noticed the doubt in Sunny's eyes, but he also saw that she wanted to cry so badly, so he smiled tenderly and slowly began to approach her. Sunny, by instinct, took a step back, yet she didn't kept going as she saw her father approaching her, little by little, with the very same smile he never tried to hide because, well, he never stopped smiling to her. Her heart was racing like a marathon right now. She had her dad in front of her, yet she had no way to assure it was him. Still, he approached her with the same smile he died with. He kept walking and she kept staring, her lips trembling and her ears lowering back. She was also breathing a bit heavily. And when Argyle finally got in front of her, he simply sat down and grabbed Sunny's cheeks with his hooves. The touch of her father's firm hooves on her cheeks made her gasp, and tears immediately rolled down. "...D-Dad?" Sunny called out with disbelief, also sobbing as she moved a hoof to her dad's chest. "Hello, Sunny-bunny," Argyle greeted her, still with the same smile. "I'm happy to see you again!" That's it. Sunny couldn't take it anymore. She simply burst into tears and wrapped her hooves around her dad, hugging him tightly and feeling his fur once again after so long. She didn't cared if this is a trick or not anymore; the simple fact she was hugging her dad again years after he died was beautiful and amazing on its own. Her tears fell like a storm down her cheeks, but a smile also was formed by her lips. And how couldn't it? She had her dad with her again! Or so she thinks. Maybe she should ask him, but for now, she'll just enjoy herself. "D-Dad... I-I can't believe it..." Sunny said, braking the hug and looking at her dad with teary eyes. "I-Is this really you? A-Am I not dreaming? A-Are we not dreaming?!" She asked Sonic. "No, sis... This is real, more real than you think," Sonic replied with a smile. "He's real, she's real..." He pointed at Argyle and then at Longclaw. "This is really happening!" "You must be Sonic, right?" Argyle asked the blue hedgehog. "The one and only!" Sonic replied with a smirk, extending his hand to the stallion, as he smiled and stretched his hoof with Sonic's hand. "It's nice to finally meet the real savior of magic in Equestria." "Please, I just did what I could to lead Sunny into bringing ponykind, but the credit goes to you two and your friends," Argyle stated with a smile. "Are you kidding me?! I just did what you always said was the right thing!" Sunny told her father with a smile. "I spread the magic of friendship as much as I could across Equestria, and while some ponies are still hesitant to it even now days, I couldn't have even done it if you never taught me all I know!" "What she said," Sonic smirked and placed a fist on his hip. "Besides, I wanted to thank you, anyways. If not for you and your knowledge, Sunny wouldn't even had liked other races to begin with. Because, what's the chance the very same pony that wanted peace and harmony back being the very same pony that turns into a FREAKING ALICORN?! It can't be that high." "Sonic!" Longclaw scolded him. "I'm sorry, is speaking facts being a crime? Because if so, well, I declare myself guilty!" Sonic replied smugly. Sunny rolled her eyes, then smiled at Longclaw. "And you must be Sonic's mom! Or mother figure. Eh, same thing," She then squealed. "Oh, I'm so happy to finally meet you! Sonic has talked a lot of you and how many he has learned from you!" "I bet he did," Longclaw smiled, then smirked as she looked at Sonic at the corner of her eye. "Have you ever told her about how you used to stick feather around you and pretend to be a bird when you were little?" That made Sonic's eyes widen and his face blush in bright red. "MOM!" He exclaimed in anger, yet Longclaw turn her head 180 degrees away in a mocking way, frustrating Sonic a lot. "Oh, he has told me that, among other embarrassing stuff," Sunny replied playfully. "Yeah, yeah, we're not gonna talk about this..." Sonic deadpanned. "However, I must ask... Why?" He turned to Longclaw. "Last time I was here, the Emerald wanted to boost my spirit and hopes by making me talk to you again, as well as meet my parents. Why am I here again? And why are Sunny and Argyle here as well?" Hearing this made the two adults look at each other for a moment, then nod, and then look back at their kids. "...You two have grown into amazing people," Longclaw began. "Sure, you had struggles to overcome in the way, but don't we have all?" "You both were talking about how much you missed us," Argyle continued. "And the Chaos Emeralds work in mysterious ways, remember? Maybe they wanted to grant your wish of talking with us one last time." "A last time?" Sonic and Sunny both asked concerned. "Wait... Y-You're saying that we... That we won't talk to you ever again after today?" Sonic asked, his ears lowering as he looked at Longclaw.' "B-But there's so much we need to talk about!" Sunny said to Argyle with panicked and wide eyes. "I-I haven't been able to control my Alicorn form to a 100% yet, a-and even if I'm training daily with Sonic, I-I still don't know how to make so many things, o-or how to accept the fact that you're gone, o-or..." "Sunny, my girl, my beautiful Sunny-bunny..." Argyle call her out with a smile. "It's okay, really! You two have learned how to move on your own... You just need to let go one more time." "Yet we know it's easier say it than do it," Longclaw recognized. "I could never move on from your parents death, Sonic. Lying to you about them became painful, like if I was betraying myself and betraying them... But I knew I had to do it in order to raise you to be the man you are today." "I went through the same with your mother, Sunny," Argyle confessed to Sunny, who's expression said she wanted to cry again. "Even if I can see her everyday now... I still can't stop and think what could go different to avoid her death... But what can you really do to avoid dead by giving birth? Not much, that's all I say." Yet none of the words they were sharing seemed to be any comforting for either Sonic or Sunny. If anything, they looked more depressed than before entering this strange realm to talk with them. Noticing this, the parents knew they needed a different approach, so the stallion went straight to the point. Argyle grabbed Sunny's chin and lifted it. "Sunny, my daughter. I know you feel alone most of the time, that ever since my death, you haven't been able to move on and continue with your life, that you struggle to find yourself when you feel so lost... But you are not alone. You've never been, not even when nopony in Maretime Bay believed us." "...I'm not?" Sunny asked confused. "Hitch was always at your side," Argyle reminded. "He never believed in you until a Unicorn show up along Sonic, true, but he eventually did and apologized to you. And now, thanks to your efforts, you've got lots of new friends at your side. Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, Misty... All from different races, all your friends you can always relay on, as your family. Remember what I told you, in my message with the blanket?" "You... you said that family is a fancy word for ponies that always stick together..." Sunny replied, then her eyes widened. "...And my friends are always with me, no matter what... Because they're my family... Why do I keep forgetting that? I have them at my side, forever and ever." "You've got them, the same way they've got you," Argyle stated, still smiling. "And if that's not enough, you also got a brother! Well, two, actually, yet they care so much for you I'm honestly happy to know that you're in both really good hooves and hands!" "Yeah... I... I'm really lucky to have them in my life," Sunny accepted with a smile, not only referring to her friends, but also mainly talking about Sonic and Tails, as she looked over at Sonic happily. Sonic smiled back, but then he felt sad again when he remembered this is the last time he's talking with Longclaw forever. It was just really heart-braking for him. "And us being death in live doesn't really mean we're dead," Longclaw called out, making Sonic and Sunny turn around to face her. "We may. Not be with you anymore in the living world... But we'll always be with you." "Right here," Longclaw and Argyle said in unison, pointing at Sonic and Sunny's chests respectively with smiles. Sonic and Sunny knew what their parents meant, so they smiled sadly and decided to hug them tightly one last time before getting sent back to Equestria. They know perfectly that they have each other, but it doesn't makes saying goodbye to those that forged them into the people they are today any easier. Still, they know they have to be strong in order to make them proud, to show that all they always fought for was worth it, that they're worthy successors to keep the peace in Equestria going. And with that last hug, they were covered in a flashlight, leaving this reality forever, and therefore, unable to speak with Longclaw or Argyle ever again. However, the two adults know their kids are in good hands and hooves, and they are positive they'll overcome all the challenges t come like they've been doing so far. Sonic and Sunny's eyes stopped glowing in white and made them feel dizzy. In the process, their power deactivated, Sunny's Alicorn form disappeared, and the Blue Chaos Emerald stopped floating, landing back in the ground after bringing Sonic and Sunny back. The two of them looked around confused, as if they have forgot for a second what they were doing here in the first place. However, when they finally remembered they just talked with their parents for the last time in their lives, depression attacked and made their ears go flat against their heads. Even with their advice, letting them go was hard. The second, third, fourth... It didn't mattered which number of time they were saying goodbye to them, it was always so hard and painful to do so. "...I... I think we should go with the others," Sonic spoke after a while. "They're waiting for us, you know?" "...Yeah," Sunny nodded. "Let's go." With that being said, Sonic made the Blue Chaos Emerald go back to the crystal protecting the Emeralds, then both of them went downstairs to reunite with their friends. After all, they've been up here for about 15 minutes ever since Sunny arrived, and their friends were probably feeling worried for them. Once they went down, they found the others sitting in the living room, talking to each other. Since they were all waiting for Sonic and Sunny to come down, they all agreed to not eat their dinner until they finally show up down here. Even Team Dark was waiting, although Shadow was a bit annoyed. However, the group didn't took long to notice that Sonic and Sunny arrived, but they all could sense the gloom and the sadness surrounding them. Izzy could even see that their sparkles were dull and dark, a big contrast to how usually sparkly and shiny they are most of the time. "Uh, guys? You two okay?" Tails was the first one to call them out. It seems that the two of them were in their own little worlds, because they snapped back to reality after the young fox called out to them. "...Kinda..." Sonic replied with honesty. He was good at lying, but he also knows how to act in order to fool the rest, and not being his cocky, happy self wouldn't help into the lie. "We just, uh, had a little moment upstairs," Sunny said with a sad smile. "Nothing to really worry about." "...Yeah, I'm not buying it," Zipp deadpanned. "Me neither, you two are upset or sad over something," Amy agreed with Zipp. "The thing is, what are you two upset or sad about?" Hitch questioned. Sonic and Sunny looked at each other for a moment, still with their sad expressions. While it's true that they've been all into crazier adventures and have accomplished all kind of stuff, there was a limit for how credible some things are, even for their world. That's just how nature works, you know? So how are they going to explain they talked to their death parents? Well... Just doing it, I guess. "...We... had some kind of spiritual talk with Longclaw and Argyle," Sonic replied first. "For the last time. Which only makes us sad and concerned because, well, saying goodbye again after so many years is not any easier than the first time." "And it... It hurts," Sunny added, almost at the edge of tears. "It hurst to know that we lost them, that we'll never feel their warm ever again. Even with all the things we have lived and all the adventures we've been through, the pain of loosing the most important figures in our lives remains there. It may not come to surface all the time, but it exists, and... It burns our souls." After hearing this, and the way Sunny said it, the others got worried for their friends. Even Team Dark seemed concerned for them, but Shadow was mainly worried for Sunny and her way to say what she said. So, decided to help them out, the rest huddled around and started to talk between them for a second. This left Sonic and Sunny confused, and it also confused Team Dark since they were not part of the huddle, but they decided to let the group be and tell what they have to when they're done. Eventually, they separated and all nodded with smiles, then looked back at Sonic and Sunny. "Guys, come over here," Pipp called them out first, and while Sonic and Sunny were still confused, they obeyed and approached the rest, sitting down on a couch with the others surrounding them. "Look, it's completely fine that you two miss those that helped to forge the people you've become today," Tails started ti explain with a smile. "And it's also totally fine that you have to let out the pain in ways some might not understand," Izzy continued with her usual cheery smile. "However, it's fine you do that so long as you always remember that you're not alone," Amy added. "You guys have us, your friends, your family, right here with you!" Misty said with a smile. "And you can all relay on us anytime!" Knuckles added with a smirk. "You don't have to pretend your happy when you're not," Hitch pointed out with a smile, while Sparky on his back nodded in agreement. "But if you guys need a shoulder to cry whenever you are not feeling in the mood, well, feel free to always come to any of us!" Zipp finished with a smirk. Just by hearing the incoming music, Team Dark knew what was coming, although only Shadow seemed really annoyed by this fact, because Rouge chuckled at his attitude, and Omega tilted his head confused. Izzy, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, Misty, Tails, Knuckles & Amy: We are, we are Not your ordinary fami-mily But we can all agreed that We are, we are Close as close can be So it don't matter what it looks like We look perfect to me We got every kind of lover We're so lucky indeed They can keep on talking It don't matter to me 'Cause we are, we are family Izzy, Zipp, Pipp & Amy: We are, are, are, are Hitch, Tails & Knuckles We are! Izzy, Zipp, Pipp & Amy: We are, are, are, are Hitch, Tails & Knuckles We are! Izzy, Zipp, Pipp & Amy: We are, are, are, are Hitch, Tails & Knuckles We are! Zipp: We are, we are family Pipp: So what? We don't look, we don't act We don't walk, we don't talk Like you do Izzy: So what? If we hang, just a hang Ain't no shame We gon' do what we want to Hitch: 'Cause we come from everywhere Misty: Searching for ones to care Amy: Somehow we found it here Tails: We found us a home Izzy, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, Misty, Tails, Knuckles & Amy: We are, we are Not your ordinary family But we can all agreed that We are, we are Close as close can be So it don't matter what it looks like We look perfect to me We got every kind of lover We're so lucky indeed They can keep on talking It don't matter to me 'Cause we are, we are family As the song went on, Sonic and Sunny started to slowly smile, also remembering some of the best moments they all shared together, like their first Nightmare Night with magic; Zipp's Flight School; their first T.U.E.S. Day together; their first Equestria Games; their adventure to put together Sunny's family blanket... More and more events they all've been through together played in their minds as their friends kept singing, and little by little, that sadness they felt at first was fading away and shifting into happiness. Amy: Okay, so the links in our chains Make us strange But really, they make us stronger Zipp: And I wouldn't replace not a thing Mother or father 'Cause we Knuckles: 'Cause we come from everywhere Izzy: Searching for ones to care Tails: Somehow, we found it here Misty: We found us a home Izzy, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, Misty, Tails, Knuckles & Amy: We are, we are Not your ordinary fami-mily But we can all agreed that We are, we are Close as close can be So it don't matter what it looks like We look perfect to me We got every kind of lover We're so lucky indeed They can keep on talking It don't matter to me 'Cause we are, we are Family (family) (We are) Pipp: We are, we are family Now that the song was done, Sonic was smiling brightly, and Sunny teared up, even cleaning away a tear. "You guys..." Sunny smiled. "Oh, how am I supposed to feel sad when you do stuff like this?! I feel so happy and joyful right now! I really needed to hear something like that..." "Yeah... I mean, I know braking into a song is the norm around, but I still find a bit strange that's what put me in the mood," Sonic said jokingly with a smirk. "Still, Sunny has a point: We really needed to hear all of that. Thanks, guys. For being there for us 'till the end." Followed by this was, as you might be expecting, a group hug of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic. Sure, Team Dark was not a part of the hug, but they were still there, smiling and also glad to see that Sonic and Sunny seemed to feel better after feeling so sad about what happened to their parents. However, Shadow still frowned slightly and looked down in concern, because all this wholesomeness wasn't a factor that could stop him from having a bad feeling that something big and bad would happen... Sage and Eggman were at the top of a mountain, looking through a whole in it. "The crack has been completely opened by an absurd amount of power discharge!" Sage analyzed in awe. "This actually saved a lot of time. Even if Sonic and company arrive here, I calculate we can take the Prism off the ground by sundown if we start right away." "Excellent!" Eggman cheered with a grin. "Sage, take the drillers and Big Arms inside. We must find and take the Paradox Prism off the floor before sundown!" "Yes, father," Sage nodded, before snapping her fingers. This made the drillers to get inside the cave, as well as the Big Arms. Eggman got on his Eggmobile again, and entered the cave as well, being followed by Sage. Once inside, they saw nothing but darkness, so Eggman had to turn on the lights of his Eggmobile, while Sage made her own body glow as well to illuminate the cave. "Gosh, it's pretty dark in here... I can't see anything!" Eggman groaned as they kept descending. However, something called Sage's attention, and she stopped. "Wait..." She said, and Eggman also stopped moving. He looked confused at her before looking on the same direction, noticing that there was a small crack with a light that changed between red, green, blue and yellow... the same colors that form the Paradox Prism. "Sage, take that wall down!" Eggman instructed. Sage nodded, and by moving her hand, the driller robots began to create the crack on the wall bigger, and then one of the Big Arms approached and destroyed it with a single hit. After the wall was down, Eggman grinned sinisterly while Sage gasped in amazement: the Paradox Prism not only looked just like the picture of that book, but it was also brighter and bigger. It was stuck to the ground, but knowing Eggman, he'll find a way to get the Prism out of there. "Sage... We hit the jackpot!" Eggman cheered with a maniac laugh that echoed around loudly. To be continued... Author's Note Wow... 80 Episodes of Tell Your Tale now done... What a journey! With this, we have officially come to the end of "Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale"! Honestly? I'm really happy with how this slice-of-life series went! Regarding the Season 1 episodes I used, that is. From the 70 canonical episodes, I only used 66, while making 14 original chapters. That's actually a really good mix! I was planning on making more, but I don't want to extend myself too much, and since I'm not making Chapter 6, there's no need to adapt those other 4 episodes. I really don't know why, but I'm not as sad as I thought I'll be when saying goodbye to this series. Maybe is because after 80 episodes, you actually start to wish we reach the end... That's pretty much what I did, but it's still a boomer this is the last Slice of Life thing I'll be writing for the saga before going into Season 4 and Project Endgame. Thanks for reading this humble series! Now let's move to the Epilogue! EpilogueMeanwhile, in another universe... Somehow, Sonic broke the sky for a tiny, little moment before it went back to normal. As for Sonic himself, he fell into some kind of metallic ground, where he rolled for a while and grunted in pain before he finally stopped moving. He laid on the floor with his eyes closed. His gloves got dirty after the fall, and the sole of his shoes were glowing in a neon white light, as well as releasing a few electrical sparks. It didn't took him long to finally open his eyes, just to be welcomed by a dark and blue sky, as well as lot of industrial buildings surrounding him. "Ugh..." Sonic groaned in pain. "W-What?" He said, as he slowly sat down and looked around confused. Everywhere he looked, there where either big metallic structures that he wasn't so sure if he could call buildings, or actual industrial buildings, releasing smoke to the sky. There were also a lot of robots around, all looking like anthropomorphic animals, walking slowly and looking... lifeless, even for robots. "What the heck is this place?" Sonic questioned confused, before standing up and look around in search of something that could look familiar. "Tails? Pipp? Knux! Geez, I'll even take Shadow if that means I can see a familiar face around here," He said with concern, as he started to walk on this new place. The more he walked around this new place, the more he hated what he watched: More robots that looked like animals, more industrial buildings, and even a giant base that had the shape of an egg in the distance. "Seriously: What IS this place?!" Sonic complained with a frown. "It's giving big Eggman vibes... and I don't like that." And then, one glance to his hand made him squeal in panic, since they were more... flat, and his body even looked more cartoonish than usual. Yes, he has a very wacky design, which added sense to why he was often confused as a porcupine, but he's never been this wacky and cartoonish before, specially since his quills were only three in row. Suddenly, a light appeared on his back, and when he noticed that because of his shadow, he turned to see some kind of green-floating vehicle moving towards him at top speed. He frowned again and jumped just in time before being hit by the vehicle, but then he noticed a bunch of other ones coming as well, so he dodged all of them by run. Yeah, it wasn't a good idea. Apparently, the new light on his shoes affected his super speed, because he couldn't control it anymore. "What the––" Sonic exclaimed, before being carried around by his feet instead of being the one in control. "Hey! What comes?! Ow!" He said in pain, as he crashed against several walls, before crashing entirely against a last one that finally made him stop. He groaned in pain again, before slowly standing up and stretch his body to make sure he didn't broke anything. "Geez... that was weird..." Sonic said with concern, before looking down to his shoes and finally notice that weird glow with sparkles around. "Huh? My shoes? Why are they glowing?" After a few seconds, however, they stopped glowing, and the sole was just as dirty as his gloves, another thing that he was realizing just now. "I'm gonna have a talk with Tails about his polymer once I got back, because these are looking terrible today..." Sonic muttered in annoyance. "That is, if I even discover where am I in the first place, how do I got here, how to go back home and maybe eat some Chilidogs, because I skipped lunch today." Since he was on a strange alley, where he accidentally got himself into because of his shoes, he decided to run over one of the walls and climb to the very top until he could get a better sight or where he was. He noticed his shoes were glowing again, and he even had a struggle to keep them under control, but he still managed to do so. And once he reached the top, he stopped, thankfully not being dragged to another unknown place by his feet this time, but he gasped in shock and fear at the sight: A big industrial city, full of not only robots looking like animals, but also regular robots that looked like humans... except for the head. The central building, the one with a shape of an egg, was bigger than he thought, and it was very intimidating. "Sweet Chaos... this place is like my worse nightmare turned into a reality," Sonic said with concern, and then he saw a letter with neon lights, that seemed like a 'Welcome' sign, but he didn't felt welcomed at all. "Huh... 'Welcome to Robotropolis'... Never heard of this place before," He said with a frown, before looking back at the egg-shaped building. "I'm clearly not in Equestria, but... this isn't Mobius, either... Right?" Just when he thought this place was only full of metal and machines, he saw that, in the distance, there was some kind of cliff, and on top of that cliff, there were trees. "So this isn't just a junkyard of robots after all, huh?" Sonic stated with a smirk. "Seems like I have my next destination defined!" However, just when he thought this place was only full of metal and machines, he saw that, in the distance, there was some kind of cliff, and on top of that cliff, there were trees. "So this isn't just a junkyard of robots after all, huh?" Sonic stated with a smirk. "Seems like I have my next destination defined!" However, just when he launched himself to the ground and landed on his feet, a bunch of lights illuminated over him, blinding him for a while before he placed a hand over his forehead to see a bunch of robots, as well as some of those weird flying vehicles, pointing their lights and guns at him. "I don't know what brings you here today, Hedgehog," A male voice said, a voice that sounded familiar but different at the same time to Sonic. "But if you were asking for a quick death, then this is your lucky day!" "The what now?" Sonic said confused. "What's the matter, Sonic? You're usually more talky and annoying," The mysterious man pointed out. "Um, excuse me, mysterious man from the speakers I cannot see..." Sonic called out with a sheepish smile. "I'm afraid I'm not aware of what are you talking about. Who are you? How do you know me? What did I ever did to you? And what the heck is going on?!" "This kind of foolish game is new to me, I must say," The voice said. "But it doesn't matter to me! I have you just where I want you! Now, KILL HIM!" "In name of Doctor Robotnik, you must surrender to be roboticized," One of the robots instructed, now charging up one of its guns against Sonic. "Excuse me, Robotnik? EGGMAN DID ALL OF THIS?!" Sonic shouted in shock. Before getting any form of response, his shoes began to glow again, dragging him away from the machines and robots, who began to shot as Sonic screamed because of the sudden moves of his feet. As his feet dragged him away, the robots got over the flying vehicles and chased him around the city, with Sonic struggling as he tried to take control over his own feet once again. However, it seemed like his feet worked alone, because they were moving him in a way he could always dodge the attacks... but that's not what Sonic wanted. "What the heck is happening today?!" Sonic groaned. "Look, I have no idea of what's controlling my feet, but I don't want to run away! If anything, I should be kicking all these robots asses if Eggman's really behind this! So please let me go!" It seemed to work, because his shoes stopped glowing and he finally felt like he was controlling his feet again. "Neat!" Sonic cheered, before curling into a ball and charging up his Spin Dash against the robots and flying vehicles. As the machines feel to the ground, more started to arrive towards him, but that just made Sonic smirk confidently. He charged his Spin Dash again and used it against some enemies, then he stopped right in front of one of them and used a Homing Shot, followed by a Stomp Attack that turned the robot into pieces. Then, he used Wild Rush in several enemies that exploded, before using Loop Kick on another one at the end. Then, he used a Homing Attack against one robot before grabbing it and spin it to use it as some kind of hammer that smashed all the other robots, before throwing the one he grabbed and launch it towards a wall, where the robot destroyed itself. Finally, and seeing that this wouldn't stop anytime soon, Sonic charged up his electrical powers and charged up his Spindash, before booting over thousands of robots at super sonic speed, destroying all of them in the process. Sonic finally stopped and stood over a pile of all the robots he destroyed with a smirk. "Now that's what I call another job well done in my life!" He said with a confident smirk, but then frowned once he remembered what that robot said about surrounding in Robotnik's name... In a room, right in the top of the egg-shaped building, a figure was looking at several monitors showing Sonic's image. "Eggman! I don't know where are you hiding, you coward, but once I find you, I'll kick your butt harder than ever if you really are behind this nightmare-ish city!" Sonic stated, before it moved away from the camera's vision rang. "Hmm... this is really interesting. Don't you think, Snively?" the man that threat Sonic asked to a skinny man with green clothes at his side. "It is indeed, sir," Snively replied. The man stood up and revealed himself to be some kind of half man and half robot, since it had black sclera with red iris, and his arms and legs were replaced with robotic prosthesis. He wore a black and yellow cape, a red suit with a black circle in the middle with yellow stripes around and black pants. His name was Julien, but everyone referred to him as Robotnik. "I highly doubt this is the same Sonic that messes up with us," Robotnik said with a sinister grin. "He's faster, stronger, powerful! Didn't you saw all what he can do? It was simply amazing! Whoever this guy is, he also answers to the name 'Sonic', but he is different. More... special... We must take this power for us! He must. Be. ROBOTIZED!" He shouted, followed up by a maniac laugh. "Snively! Sent all the units to look after that mysterious hedgehog!" "Y-Yes sir! R-Right away!" Snively replied nervously, moving towards a panel control and pressing several buttons to move all units to look after Sonic. Sonic already lost track of time, but he could feel like it's been a whole day. He didn't eat, he didn't slept, and he didn't found a way to leave Robotropolis yet. He still found more robots that he beat up easily, and there was no sign of Eggman either. Everything looked the exact same to him, and despite how tired he felt right now, he wasn't going to sleep until he left this place. Sonic stopped suddenly and stared to a mark on a building that felt very familiar to him at this point. "Hang on, didn't I passed this alley, like, 3 times already?" He questioned, now looking everything around him, and then groaning once he realized he, indeed, passed over here already. "How am I supposed to find something coherent here?! Everything looks EXACTLY the same! I'm not going home anytime soon WHEN I KEEP WALKING IN CIRCLES!" After a long and awkward moment of silence, Sonic sighed in defeat and decided to lay on the ground, looking at the blue and dull sky that already made him sick since it wasn't any beautiful to see... nor smell. "Maybe I should just give up... Wherever I am, it seems like Eggman already has the high ground..." Sonic complained. Suddenly, he heard a bunch of sirens, and he lifted his head a bit before raising and eyebrow. Soon enough, he stood up and boosted to the direction where the sirens sounded a lot louder, and within seconds, he reached a place where he saw a bunch of red flying police-like humanoid robots, riding floating bikes that were chasing after something he could not see, and right now? He didn't cared either. He also spotted one of those green-floating vehicles guiding some kind of large blue-floating convoy to someplace. However, before he could make a sarcastic comment about anything, he saw a manhole cover opening, and out of it came out a bunny girl with robotic prosthetics, a coyote with a weird uniform... and a familiar face he never expected to see ever again. "...S-Sally?" Sonic muttered in shock. In fact, it was Sally Acorn, an old... acquaintance of his. The truth is, Sally and Sonic do not have the best of relationships. Let's just say that Sonic screw it at some point in his life, and now Sally hated him. So, seeing her down there, along two guys he never saw before, made him feel... strange? Weird? Maybe even happy? That last thing was probably only because of his current situation, since Sally is the first familiar face he has seen ever since he arrived here. "...Should I go down there?" Sonic wondered. "I mean, I now we're not in the best of terms, but... maybe she can help me find a way to return to Equestria." However, the convoy passed right above Sally and company, and once it was gone... they were gone too. "Huh?" Sonic said confused. "Okay... that's... really odd, but... Hang on a second!" He exclaimed, as he noticed that the convoy was moving towards some kind of big door at the limits of the city. "This thing is exiting this nightmare-ish city! Maybe that's what Sally and those guys are trying to do... Better follow up from here and make sure that I'm right!" He stated, moving above the buildings to follow the convoy, and also to avoid more unexpected encounters with robots. He was really starting to get tired of them. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: MAKE YOUR MARK - SEASON 4 Author's Note This is it, ladies and gentleman. After a year and 4 months, Tell Your Tale has reached its climax... BUT, as you already know, this is not the end for our heroes' journey, because everything continues in Sonic x Make Your Mark: Season 4, the final season of Make Your Mark and the penultimate story in the whole saga! I seriously can't thank you guys enough for being here with me from the very beginning. Well, I also wanna thank those who arrived along the way. Is thanks to all the readers that my "Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony G5" saga has come so far. Now that Tell Your Tale is done, let's not wait anymore and move ahead to Season 4! I'LL SEE YOU ALL IN THERE! BYEEEEEEEEEE!!! PrologueThe magical land of Equestria! A place where friendship and harmony have lasted for centuries, or at least until one day, Earth ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns stopped talking to each other. But thanks to the valiant efforts of 5 ponies and a blue hedgehog from another dimension, the magic is back, and all the ponies are getting along again. In Maretime Bay were those five ponies: Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Hitch Trailblazer, Zipp Storm, and Pipp Petals. They were fine-tuning the last details of the structure of their new home: the Crystal Brighthouse. "Phew!" Zipp exclaimed. "I can't believe it's almost done!" "I know!" Izzy exclaimed happily. "I can't wait anymore!" "I find it hard to believe that it only took us a month to finish it," Hitch said. "We should have taken several months at least!" "Thank magic for making the job easier, Hitch!" Sunny said, giving the sheriff a little shove on his shoulder. "Soon, we can start decorating the interior and start our lives together!" "Sorry we had to build on the foundation of your old house, Sunny…" Pipp commiserated. "I know you had a lot of memories at the lighthouse before… well, you know…" "Aww, don't worry, Pipp," Sunny assured. "Besides, I'd rather build a new house if it means I can live with my best friends!" The five ponies reunited in a group hug after that. "Well, let's move on. The faster we get this done, the faster we can pack up and start decorating!" Zipp exclaimed as she flew away. "Speaking of going fast... has anyone seen Sonic?" Hitch asked out of curiosity. "He must be running around to 'stretch his legs,' as he calls it," answered Pipp as she picked up a golden material that functioned as a balcony. When she turned around, she was met with confused looks from her friends and a warning look from Zipp. "He usually runs in the mornings. He told us when we thought he left without saying goodbye!" the pegasus exclaimed, but seeing that her friends didn't seem to understand anything, her expression turned bored. "You don't remember, do you?" Hitch whistled innocently, Sunny rubbed her neck, Zipp smiled nervously, and Izzy was more direct and said, "Nope!" with a smile. Pipp rolled her eyes and bowled to the top of the Brighthouse. "You just have to wait; he'll be here any minute..." Whoo! Oh yeah! Meanwhile, in the field where he first appeared, Sonic was running at full speed with a smile. Rollin' around at the speed of sound Got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow! He jumped over a small cliff, and the moment his feet hit the ground, he shot off into the mountains where Zephyr Heights was located. Can't stick around, got to keep movin' on Guess what lies ahead, only one way to find out! He ran over the buildings and screens of the city at full speed without going unnoticed, although that wasn't his plan. Several pegasi were surprised at the blue blur that passed through his city until it stopped at the castle's highest point to contemplate everything around it. I don't care what lies ahead No time for guessin', follow my plan instead After appreciating how big the land of Equestria was for a while, he grinned and jumped from his spot. Just as he reached the mountains, he touched the rocky surface with his feet and once again shot off towards Maretime Bay. Find that next stage, no matter what that may be Take my lead, I'll set you free He ran around Bridlewood Forest, curling into a ball as if to charge his SpinDash as he sped through a field of flowers at top speed. Follow me, set me free Trust me and we will escape from the city I'll make it through; prove it to you Follow me! Follow me! Finally, he reached his destination: the Crystal Brighthouse, where his new friends were already finishing building the new lighthouse. I'll make it through Oh yeah! He braked before he could hit anything, and once he stopped, he began to walk slowly toward the construction site. "Sup, everypony!" greeted the hedgehog. "Sorry for getting late. I had to stretch my legs a little. Also, I like to appreciate how beautiful Equestria is." "Don't worry, Sonic," Sunny assured with a smile. "We're already finishing up anyway." Sonic decided to take a closer look at the Brighthouse: at first glance, it was quite obvious that it was bigger than the previous lighthouse; it was painted pastel blue with a turquoise ceiling and white trim; around it, there were pink trees that gave it a more lively touch; the front door was pink and framed by an arch of stained glass. There was even a replica of the Unity Crystals - as they decided to call the three united crystals - at the top of the building. Sonic whistled in awe of how nice the new lighthouse at Maretime Bay looked. "A month of work for a spectacular result. I love the taste that you ponies have with decoration; it is a great contrast to how simple the buildings are at home," added the hedgehog. "It sounds like there are things that are very different about your home, Sonic," said Hitch, approaching him. "In some aspects. There are others that I do feel familiar with," Sonic confessed. "Anyway, let's finish this once and for all; it won't decorate itself!" The six friends spent the rest of the day finishing fine-tuning some details in their new home. Several hours later, they were walking around town to hang out and rest after spending all day finishing up the Brighthouse. "Isn't it great to see the three tribes together again?" Zipp said after a while. "Great? Great?! My dad and I have dreamed of seeing this since I was little!" Sunny exclaimed, jumping up and down with joy. "The truth is that I'm glad I was involved in all that journey to find the crystals and unite all the ponies. I had to see to believe," Hitch confessed. "Admittedly, it was fortunate that the sheriff followed us to Zephyr Heights despite all the chaos Izzy and I inadvertently caused here in Maretime Bay," Sonic commented. "All the fun would have been lost! By the way, did you finally remove all those traps that are now useless?" Hitch snorted. "Don't worry. Sprout and some trusted ponies deactivated those traps after we made friends with the three tribes," he stated. "Although it was a headache to hear Sprout rub it in my face how easy they were to remove..." "Are you still upset that I said your traps were worse than Eggman's?" Sonic asked with a little smirk. "You had to mention it…" Hitch grumbled. Soon, the group was passing by other ponies, who greeted our heroes, as it was thanks to them that all the ponies were reunited. The Mane 5, as the ponies were called, waved back, and Sonic also waved to those looking at him in surprise. Their entire adventure went viral, and there wasn't a single pony or creature in Equestria that didn't know about the exploits of the Mane 5 and Sonic. Those who greeted the most were Sunny and Sonic: Sunny for being the alicorn who took the first step toward change, and Sonic for being from another world and crucial in uniting the ponies. But Sunny felt so embarrassed, and she hid behind Sonic's spikes, careful not to get too close so she wouldn't accidentally prick herself. "Uh... everything okay back there?" Sonic asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Don't worry, Sunny. It's over," Hitch assured. Sunny peeked out, sighed in relief, and felt a little embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I'm still not used to being famous," she confessed. "Why not Sunny? You and Sonic have become celebrities all over Equestria! Even my Pippsqueaks explode excitedly when I post videos or photos with you two," Pipp said. Although only Sonic is there, she thinks he doesn't have to know. She took out her phone, took a selfie with both, and uploaded the photo to social networks. Within seconds, the photo had hundreds of likes and positive comments. "See? Even my Pippsqueaks love you!" "Well, I don't care. I save people from a robot with Eggman's mustache at least 2 times a week, so I've had to learn to live with this," Sonic confessed with disinterest. "But not everyone's ready to be famous, Pipp. A little time for yourself and your private life isn't going to kill anyone... except maybe extreme fans." "Well, when you put it that way... it's understandable. But that doesn't stop me from being so happy to have my Pippsqueaks back!" Pipp exclaimed as she flapped her wings happily. Zipp rolled her eyes with a smile at his little sister's antics. "As long as you're happy and don't lie to them, I'm fine with that," she said, and her sister smiled at her. "Put me on that train too, seriously. No more lies, Pipp," Sonic said. "I'm just happy to be with you!" Izzy exclaimed, jumping up and down with joy. "I'm glad we don't have to be apart!" "I'm glad I helped solve all this," Sonic said with a smile. "However, if these ponies were more open-minded, we would have been spared the battle with a robot with Sprout's face and immense damage to private property," he whispered the last to Izzy, who was walking beside him, while the unicorn nodded energetically. "Well, I'm sorry to cut the fun short, but Pipp and I have to leave. We're returning to Zephyr Heights to pack our stuff and start decorating the Brighthouse tomorrow," Zipp explained. "Don't worry, we'll wait for you here tomorrow," Sunny assured. The sisters said goodbye to their friends and flew to Zephyr's Heights. "I should go to Bridlewood to pack too. See you tomorrow!" Izzy said goodbye to his friends. "I must attend to my duty as sheriff; I'll see you later!" Hitch said, waving goodbye to Sonic and Sunny, walking back to the station from him. "I have to put Dad's things in the basement; that will give us more space," Sunny said. "What will you do in the meantime, Sonic?" "I think I'll buy some things to decorate my room," Sonic replied thoughtfully. "And I'll also buy a new phone because mine... well..." Sonic pulled his phone out of his quills, which had a cracked screen and was slightly bent. It also gave off a few sparks, rendering it completely useless. Sunny looked at the phone, somewhat embarrassed, and Sonic looked confused. "This thing has survived hundreds of punches and attacks from Eggman, but this guy Sprout comes to hit me once, and it leaves my cell phone in a mess..." said the hedgehog with some frustration. "Anyway, I think I'll run a little more, too. The faster, the better; it's how I like it." "Well, have fun!" Sunny said, waving goodbye to Sonic. "And try not to get in trouble!" "When have I ever gotten into trouble?" Sonic asked into the air with a confused expression. "Don't make me answer you!" Sunny yelled from afar. Sonic just put on a bored expression, rolled his eyes, and quickly started moving around various Maretime Bay shops, using Pipp generously to give him money. I'll make it up to her one day, Sonic thought, because he didn't see it as fair to receive something without giving something else in return. After having bought several posters that he liked, a laptop, some new headphones, a new blue cell phone, a figure of himself - that not even Sonic understands how they made it so fast - and a bedding set that fit With his likes, Sonic ran back to the Brighthouse, and went up to the place of the rooms. There were five beds in the place, of which only one was decorated, Sunny's, while the remaining 4 had notes with the name of who that bed belonged. "AHA!" Sonic exclaimed when he saw the bed with his name on it, and in a heartbeat, his entire 'section' was already decorated with everything he just bought, except for his phone, which he kept in the quills with him. "Perfect! And now that I've finished decorating my room - and saved that part for tomorrow - let's go for a walk!" he told himself. Afterward, he shot out of the Crystal Brighthouse and decided to go, this time through a strange forest that he had never been to before, which made him go and explore even more. The forest was large, and the trees mostly covered the sky, making it hard to tell if it was day or night in case he accidentally got stuck there. But when he reached a darker area deep in the forest, something caught Sonic's attention. There was a point with three glows, red, blue, and green, respectively. Sonic felt his heart stop momentarily because he could not recognize that glow anywhere. No... it can't be... it's not possible... He quickly approached the place. The glitters came out from under a rock, and he lifted the stone with some effort and moved it away. As soon as he saw what was below, he gasped in disbelief. "Holy chilidogs…" Sonic blurted out, seeing what had left him stranded in Equestria: 3 of the Chaos Emeralds right before him. Author's Note Welcome, every reader, to the beginning of my TYT adaptation with Sonic included as well. As you can see, I'm including a side plot for Sonic! There will be some episodes where we have the main problem of the episode, and the Sonic plot with the Chaos Emeralds. I'm not gonna be focusing all the time on Sonic and his problems, since it can get a little annoying with time. I hope you enjoy reading this new adaptation of TYT! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing the prologue! 6. The Unboxing of IzzyIn the middle of the afternoon, in Maretime Bay, Hitch trotted in front of his friends as he gave them the news. "Get ready for the ultimate Maretime Bay tour!" Hitch announced that he and Sunny should show their friends the rest of their hometown and special places to visit. "Yay!" Izzy cheered out in excitement. "I can't wait!" Zipp announced with a smile. "I love tours!" Pipp added with a cheerful smile. "Sounds fun!" Sonic replied with his arms crossed and a little smirk. Izzy got all excited as she pointed around at random things near them. "Ooh, I'm gonna see this!" she pointed to the flower stands, "I'm gonna see that," pointed to a doughnut sign, "And I'm gonna see--ahh!" she was about to point to the glasses. Still, when she stepped over a familiar 'X,' a familiar trap surrounded Izzy, trapping her in one of the leftover unicorn traps with her horn sticking out of the hole. The earth pony beside the glasses stand ran off in fright as Izzy was trapped in the unicorn trap. "...Total darkness?" Izzy said in her usual cheerful tone. "Izzy!" Pipp, Zipp, and Sunny cried in concern as they headed toward the trap to get her out. On the other hand, Sonic looked at the scene in disbelief, facepalmed, and groaned because he thought Hitch had said all the traps had been removed. "Here we go again, great," Sonic said with annoyance and sarcasm. Hitch looked at the trap in confusion with a raised eyebrow. "I thought all the unicorn traps were disabled!" he called out, then brought out his sheriff book. "Note to self: Check traps for--" he wrote down, but then was interrupted by his friends trying to get Izzy out of the trap as they struggled. "Hitch, a little help here?" Sunny asks her friend to help Izzy out of the box. Hitch smiled to himself as he walked toward them, humming to himself. He walked before the release button, waved his mane with his hoof, and then pressed the button. But the trap didn't release for some reason, and Hitch and the others were surprised it didn't work. Hitch pressed the button repeatedly to get the trap open, but nothing happened, and he began to sweat. "Ugh, the release button isn't working!" Hitch cried out as he kept trying, as Sunny gasped in shock. "What?" Sonic exclaimed, quickly moving Hitch aside. "But it worked the first time! Let me try..." he said, while he cracked his hands, ready to press that button as if his life depended on it. "Sonic's the name. Speed's my game!" he yelled with a confident smile, quickly pushing the button with his hand. However, after at least 30 seconds of trying, he started to lose his patience and slowly groaned until he gave up and pushed the button hard with his forehead. The others looked at him with grief since the hit was too loud, and Pipp covered her mouth with worry. "Okay, that didn't work either," he said with frustration. "Also: ouch..." he fell to the ground in pain. "That hurt a lot..." "Then how are we going to get her out?!" Sunny cried out as Pipp helped Sonic sit down because he was still hurt. "I'm fine," Izzy said to them in a cheered tone from inside the box. "This'll be fun!" she assured and then gasped. "I've never been a box before!" she added with sparkly eyes and a cheerful smile. "But I planned a tour with stops I knew each of you would love!" Hitch pointed out with sadness that he was excited to make the tour. "Izzy can't do a tour in a box!" he said. "Ooh, you just gave me an idea!" Izzy suddenly said, then she focused her magic on the box, and the box started to levitate off the ground slowly. The others looked in awe at Izzy's plan as the box levitated because she could now move around even if she were still inside the box. Izzy then gasped as she felt the trap moving. "Is it levitating? Did I do it? Am I a levitating box?" she asked to her friends. "Yep, it's working," Sonic replied, standing with an ice bag over his forehead. "This is ridiculous. You can't even see!" Hitch called out, finding Izzy's plan silly since she can't see outside the box. "But I can use my imagination!" Izzy cheered as she moved the box from side to side. Hitch narrowed his eyes, thinking that this wouldn't work out. "Tour's canceled!" he yelled out with anger. Pipp, Zipp, and Sunny gasped at what Hitch said. Sonic looked at him in disbelief and said, "The what now?" as the sheriff walked away. The rest looked at each other, trying to think of a way to change his mind. "Wait, Hitch, look!" Sunny called out. Hitch turned around and saw that the girls had tied Izzy's box with a rope to carry her around without losing her. Hitch was still unsure about this, and Sonic - still with the ice bag on his forehead - doubted, but then he smiled. "You know, this can actually work out," he said, giving this idea a chance. Hitch exhales at the girls' persistence to go on the tour while also seeing that Sonic is willing to give the plan a chance. "Okay, fine. Right this way!" he cheers out with a smile. "Our tour begins with the Maretime Bay town square!" He leads the way as the group smiles at each other, happy that Hitch is willing to keep the tour going. The Mane 5 and Sonic, with Izzy in tow, looked awed at Maretime Bay town square, loving the scene as they passed by some ponies and looked at the buildings. As Hitch showed them the movie theater, Sonic noticed that the movie announced at the top was a pony version of Transformers, with a ponyfied Optimus Prime. The group walked past it, but Izzy's box hit the frame of pony Optimus on the sign, leaving a hole in it as it floated away, then hit a sign on the wall, dented a lamppost, and crushed a bench where an earth pony was sitting. Izzy wailed as she impacted, then hit a window sill of flowers where an earth pony mare was watering, and the flowers on the window fell to the ground while the mare stared in shock. Hitch turned his head and showed his friends the now abandoned Canterlogic Building. He then looked shocked as he and his friends saw the destruction that Izzy's box made while being pulled, and the ponies behind them screamed in fright. Hitch cringed at the sight and gulped his throat, thinking that this might have to fill in some paperwork. Later, at the Maretime Bay Museum, Houvre, Jazz, and Posey, with another earth pony, painted their version of the Pony Lisa based on their manes and coats. Hitch pointed at them, then turned to look at his friends, but then he questioned what they were doing. Pipp was painting Izzy's box with her face on it, with hearts in her eyes, a heart next to her head, and a rainbow on the other side, as Pipp giggled at the painting. Izzy gasps as she can tell what Pipp is doing. "Uh-huh!" Izzy said great work, even though she couldn't see it. Hitch grumbled, stating that his friends were not following the tour as he walked away. "Woohoo! Woo!" an earth pony stallion shouted as he swung from swing to swing. Hitch brought his friends to a place where Maretime Bay had a forest with bridges and swings on trees for ponies to enjoy. Hitch laughed and pointed to the bridges but stopped as he looked at his friends again. Hitch saw Zipp and Sonic swinging on two ropes of Izzy's box as they laughed. "Woohoo!" they cheered as they swung back and forth. Sunny laughed as Pipp jumped up and down with a cheer, but then she gasped when she noticed Hitch looking at them. He grumbled and walked away. A little while later, Hitch showed them the coast with a bored expression. "Last stop: the beach," he said in a motto tone as he showed them the ocean view. "Wow," Pipp, Zipp, and Sunny said as they looked towards the ocean. Sonic whistled and looked at the beach with a little smile. "Man, I hate water, but I'm not denying that this is an amazing look," he admitted. Hitch then turned to Izzy with a sad look. "I thought you'd love this, Izzy," he told the trapped unicorn. "I do love it, Hitch!" Izzy called out. "My favorite place in all of Maretime Bay!... We're looking at a parking meter, right? Oh, I love those things!" she called out, but it didn't make Hitch feel better. Hitch narrows his eyes, having enough of Izzy being trapped in that box. "That is it! We have to get Izzy out of there now! Ahh!" he cried out as he tackled Izzy's box to the ground. Hitch tried to use a stick to snap the box open, but the stick broke, then he moved the box, then jumped up and down on the top of it, and then uses his teeth to try and bite it open. "Will nothing open this adorable cube prison!?" he cried in frustration. "Well, that was sad to watch..." Sonic said with a bored expression, and Sunny hit him on his arm with a frown, so he decided to shut it for now. "Don't you ever give up, Hitch. We just gotta think!" Izzy said with optimism, keeping Hitch positive of the circumstances. "Me and you, pony and box!" she cheerfully added as Hitch nodded confidently. Hitch and Izzy started to hum, thinking of a way to get Izzy out of the box. The others looked at the two ponies in curiosity. They were both moving back and forth. Hitch stopped momentarily, and Izzy bumped into him, then giggled a little. Hitch looked at her with annoyance before resuming their thinking as they continued moving back and forth. Hitch stopped as he turned the other way, but Izzy kept moving as Sunny saw that Izzy was getting too close to the edge. Pipp, Zipp, Sunny, and Sonic gasped as they saw that Izzy was about to go over the edge. "Izzy!" the mares all cried out as she was on the other side of the edge, and Sonic ran towards her and tried to stop the box. "Izzy, stop!" he said while trying to slow the box down with his feet, but it was too late since Sonic stopped feeling the ground and looked down to find they would fall. "Oh damn..." he simply said, and they fell below. Hitch turned and saw this when he heard the girls. "IZZY! SONIC!" he cried out, and the rest of the Mane 5 ran to the edge when they saw Izzy and Sonic rolling downhill. Izzy was cheering excitedly, but Sonic groaned in pain as he fell. "Ahh, this is amazing! Woo-oo-oo-oo!" Izzy cheered as she rolled up to a ramp on the hill and flipped into the air. "This is a nightmare!" Sonic yelled, still in pain with every hit, as he flipped. The box landed on a sea stack, and Sonic impacted with the box. "Auch..." he groaned as the sea stack broke apart from the impact, but surprisingly, the box remained intact as it fell into the water, with Sonic falling as well. The others saw this and were worried and shocked. They worried for Izzy and Sonic but were also shocked at how strong that trap was since it didn't break on impact with the sea stack. "You have got to be kidding me..." Hitch said in disbelief, hoping that Izzy was okay but also wondering what Phyllis used to make these traps that strong. The trap resurfaced, relieving the group as Izzy laughed inside the box, finding it quite fun. On the other hand, Sonic was sitting over the top of the box with an orange fish on his face. He took the fish out and threw it back to the sea, grinning out loud. "I hate water..." Hitch fell to his flank as he felt down about what had happened that day. "My perfect tour... ruined!" he cried out. He flopped his head to the ground in despair, and the girls watched him. Izzy levitated herself back to the group with Sonic still sitting on top. "Hey there, Hitchy-poo. What's wrong, buddy?" she asked in a concerned voice. Hitch then answered her as he looked down to the ground. "This tour was supposed to show you that Maretime Bay is an amazing place to live!" he pointed out, wanting to show his friends that Maretime Bay is amazing. "Well, mission complete, sheriff," Sonic spoke as he wrung the water from his gloves and put them back. "Huh?" Hitch called out in curiosity, trying to get what he meant by that. "We just had a blast. And it's all thanks to you!" Izzy pointed out as the other girls smiled at Hitch. "Yeah, I've always wanted to see the Houvre. It's like a totally famous museum!" Pipp spoke from the museum earlier, stating that she always wanted to see it and got her wish thanks to Hitch. "And how cool was that ropes course?" Zipp pointed out the rope course they had seen earlier and found the obstacle amazing. "I'm definitely going to check that out!" she added, wanting to return there sometimes. "Count me on that boat too, Zipp!" Sonic yelled joyfully, getting water out of his shoes as he let the water drop on the edge. "So...You all like Maretime Bay?" Hitch asked with a smile. "We love it!" Pipp called out with a cheer. "I feel more at home now," Zipp replied. "Best tour I've ever been on. Seriously." Izzy said, even though she didn't look anything at all. "It was an amazing ride," Sonic added with a smile. "Except for the part where I fell into water..." Sunny came to Hitch smiling. "See, Hitch? When something doesn't go to plan, you just have to…" she stopped in midsection as she gave Hitch a smirk. "Wait for it... Think outside the box!" she punned out as she laughed at that joke. Sonic smirked a little and rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Okay, that was a good one, I admitted," he confessed with a smile. "That is so funny 'cause I'm inside a box!" Izzy stated, seeing Sunny's pun as Zipp and Pipp smiled at the pun. Hitch laughed at that joke, but then he gasped as he remembered something. "Outside the box!" he called out. The sheriff searched Izzy's box, trying to find something with a little grunt; he checked the bottom and found that it had an emergency release switch. "Ah-hah!" he cheered out as he flipped the switch. Then the Unicorn trap unfolds itself, releasing Izzy from the trap as her friends look at her with smiles. Izzy checked her surroundings as she trotted around her friends. "I'm a unicorn again!" she cheered as she bent down to the 'X' spot of the box. "We made some good memories though, didn't we, box? Now I can take the real tour!" she announced with a smile, as her friends smiled as well. A little while later, the group retook the Maretime Bay tour to show Izzy what they had seen. "Right this way, and you'll see... Ah!" Hitch tried to show them something but was cut off when he stepped on another unicorn trap, this time being him the one trapped, as the others looked at him with a look and Sunny's face walked herself. "...Uugh!" Hitch groans as karma strikes him. Sonic, whoever, didn't take it too well and groaned. "OH, FOR CHAOS SAKE!" he yelled, as his electric power unleashed around his body. He pressed the red button, but since it didn't work like the last trap, he moved the box to one side, making Hitch groan in pain inside the box, and pressed the emergency switch button. Once Hitch was free, although lying on the floor, Sonic took the trap and strongly threw it into the ocean. "I hate those stupid boxes!" he yelled, but once he turned around, he found the shocked faces of his friends. He then realized how he was looking, closed his eyes, and the electricity faded away. "Hehe... I guess I crossed the line there, didn't I?" he said with a nervous smile, blushing a little. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 22. Zipp's Yes DayIn the Maretime Bay smoothie stand, Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, Sonic, and Knuckles were gulping down their smoothies as fast as possible. "Go! Go! Go! Go!" Sunny and Tails cheered out in encouragement. Sunny held a timer stopwatch, and Tails had a little notebook with the scores. "Aaannnddd…" Sunny said, keeping her eyes on the watch with excitement. At that moment, Pipp finished her smoothie fast and slammed the glass on the counter. "Totally done!" she called out with a little hiccup. "Again!" she added with a smile. Sunny stopped the watch and checked the time record. "7.1 seconds. It’s a new Gulpathon record, Pipp!" she announced with a smile. "And with that..." Tails said as he twirled a pencil with a hand and wrote a point for Pipp. "... Pipp and Sonic are now on a tie 4 vs 4!" he finished, as the scores showed Pipp and Sonic on a tie, while Knuckles had 2 points, Hitch 1 and Izzy got none. Pipp smiled at her record as she turned to the others. Sonic finished his smoothie next, took a breath, and looked over at Pipp. "Well, look at that. Someone's been practicing," he said with a smile. "Learned from the best," Pipp replied as she winked at him, which caused Sonic to blush a little. The next to finish was Knuckles, who slammed his glass on the counter with frustration. "Damn! I thought I finally got it!" he cried out. Hitch finished his smoothie next and breathed after slurping the cold smoothie, while Izzy hadn't finished her smoothie yet. Izzy looked at what was left of her smoothie, not wanting to feel left out, so she smirked and looked around to verify her friends were paying attention, then tossed the smoothie content out of the cup. "Done!" she called out with a smile. "Hey!" Posey’s voice was heard behind them. "Hooo! I drank that whole smoothie so fast!" Izzy lied with a smile and sparkling eyes. It was the fastest I’ve ever done. Wow," she finished. Then Posey cleared her throat and tapped Izzy on her shoulder, making the unicorn turn. Then, Posey saw Posey next to her, with an angry look and some smoothie that Izzy had accidentally tossed at her. "Oh. Hi, Posey," Izzy greeted with a smile. "Loving the new do. Purple highlights? Funky!" she cheered to Posey, thinking the smoothie was a new dew. Posey got even madder since her head became red with gritted teeth. "Unbelievable!" she snapped and walked away in anger. The four ponies and Team Sonic watched her go, a little shocked by her outburst. "And here I thought that she would be a lot nicer after Bay Day..." Sonic commented with concern. "Guess I should have expected that it wasn't going to happen," he added with a bored expression. And then, Tails looked at Pipp and counted down with his fingers. "3, 2, 1..." he said. After counting down, Pipp gasped when she started to feel something painful. "Uh-oh! I knew it!" she said while holding her head as it started to turn light blue. "Here it comes!" she said while clutching her head. "No! Agh, no! No, no, no, no, no!" Sonic cried out as he held his head, which turned light blue as well. His quills turned on with some electricity because of the pain. "You've gotta be kidding me!" Knuckles yelled as well, holding his nos light blue head. "Ah! Can’t stop it now!" Hitch said, clutching his head as it turned blue as well. "Brain freeze!" Pipp, Sonic, Knuckles, and Hitch cried out since drinking their smoothies at a fast rate frizzed their brains. "Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!" Pipp cried out while Hitch moaned in pain from his brain freeze. "Agh, why does this always happen with cold drinks?!" Sonic complained as he groaned in pain. Izzy was the only one who didn’t have a brain freeze since she didn’t drink all her smoothies that fast, but she didn't want to be left out, so she played along. "Oh, no! I've also got the... the freeze!" she cried out fakely, pretending to have a brain freeze. "Oh! Ooh, it burns! I mean, uh, so cold!" she said. Zipp was flying by in the sky, and then she saw her friends sin Sunny and Tails groaning in pain from the brain freeze they were having. "Oh, no!" Zipp yelled with worry, then flew down in front of the stand, where Sunny was cleaning a smoothie cup, and Tails was preparing some more smoothies for another round. "What happened? Are they okay?" she asked with worry. "Oh, it's just a bit of a brain freeze. It'll be over any second," Sunny smiled. "We’re playing a contest on who gulps down their smoothie first as fast as they can, and now Pipp and Sonic are fighting for the first place!" Tails explained to Zipp. "And Gulpathon, round twelve is up next, and there's a smoothie with your name on it, Zipp," Sunny added, holding a green smoothie for Zipp and winking at her. "What do you say?" she asked. "Yeah... tempting, but no, thanks," Zipp politely answered as she pushed the smoothie back a bit. "I'm good. I'm working on some Pegadives. Check this one out," she said and then flew to the air and did a dive bomb towards her friends. The others screamed and moved out of the way, with Sonic grabbing Pipp and Knuckles grabbing Izzy, but Sunny dropped the smoothies she was carrying, and they flew into the air. They were about to hit Posey, who was smelling a flower, but then she felt like she was moved. When she turned around, she widened her eyes since she saw Sonic covered in all the smoothies that were about to hit her. He walked to a balcony and jumped to stay on the side where he could fall into the water. "You're welcome, by the way," Sonic said in a dead tone, splashing into the water. At the Crystal Brighthouse, Izzy, Sunny, Knuckles, and Pipp were baking something while Pipp sang the Pony Hop song with a spoon as a microphone and moved around in the kitchen. Pony-pony, do the pony-ony-ony Pony-pony, do the pony-ony-ony Zipp came walking by and saw her friends in the kitchen and Pipp singing. Pipp noticed Zipp and moved closer to her, swinging her mane around. Pick up your hooves and slide to the right Shake your mane now side-to-side Then Pipp held up the spoon closer to Zipp, wanting her to try it. "Come on, Zippy! You love this song!" she cheered to her sister. "No, thanks. I'm good," Zipp answered, then she flew out of the Brighthouse. Pipp scoffed at this outcome. Izzy held a cookie in her mouth, and Sunny and Knuckles looked on with worry. "Well, that sure was something," Knuckles commented. Zipp headed to the beach a little later and landed on the sand. She looked around for her friends, but nopony was there. "That's weird. They said they'd be here," Zipp said to herself, wondering where her friends were. And then, from out of the sand, Sunny, Hitch, Pipp, and Team Sonic busted out from under the sand, startling Zipp with their sudden appearance. "Surprise!" the group called to the pegasus. "Hey!" Zipp called out in surprise. "What are you guys—?" she couldn't finish and screamed again when Izzy popped up behind her. "Surpri—!" Izzy tried to cheer but got sand in her mouth and began to cough. Zipp gave a bored expression, and the others just watched with a smile. "Okay, Zipp, it's... your turn," Izzy managed to say through her coughs. And then, Zipp responded by flying back into the sky, making a pile of sand that the others got into. Izzy spitted the rest of the sand out and looked up. "Don't you wanna be a seapony?" she asked Zipp. "No, thanks, I'm good," Zipp answered with a forgiving smile before burying them into the sand and flying off. Then, Sonic's eyes started to twitch. "No, thanks, I'm good. No, thanks, I'm good. No thanks, I'm. So. DAMN. GOOD!!!" he yelled out in anger since Zipp kept rejecting hanging out with them. Pipp shaved her head off the sand, spat some out of her mouth, and gave an annoying look. "Ugh! That's it! We have to do something! All she ever says is 'no'!" she pointed out to the rest. "I get that she has a rebellious spirit, but this is going far!" Tails complained with a little frown. "Sonic got a similar spirit, but here he is with us!" he pointed out. "Because I enjoy it even more than running," Sonic confessed with a smile. "But we gotta make her join us a little. It's starting to annoy me that she says 'no' like it was the only word in her vocabulary," he added with a frown. "But what should we do?" Knuckles questioned as he got himself out of the sand and the rest. "It's not like we can make an invitation that says, 'Want to play with us?' and put yes as the only possible answer," he pointed out. "Hmmm…" Pipp thought about what Knuckles had just said, and an idea popped into her head. "Aha!" she called out, planning to get Zipp to join them. At Mane Melody, the Mane 5 sins Zipp and Team Sonic listened to Pipp’s plan to get her sister to join while they all looked at her phone. "This is exactly what she needs…" Pipp said, then the door opened, and Zipp walked in, causing Pipp to say something that would make their plan work. "... but Zipp'd neeeeever do anything like this!" she called out, playing an act to trick Zipp. "I'd never do what?" Zipp asked with confusion. Pipp chuckled as the rest of their friends turned to Zipp. "Oh, hey, Zipp," Pipp greeted her and walked towards her sister. "Didn't see ya there. We were just watching a bunch of 'Yes Day' clips. Have you heard of 'em?" she asked. "You'd hate it," Sunny added, playing along. "You have to say 'yes' to anything," she said, which caused Hitch, Pipp, and Team Sonic to laugh as Zipp looked around in confusion. "Can you imagine?" she asked them. "Anything you want for a whole day?" Pipp added. "It would be a pain," Tails said with a smile. "You totally won't last even a second!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Big L for you, princess," Knuckles mocked with a smile. "Hey, I bet Zipp could—" Izzy tried to say. Still, she got cut off when her friends looked at her with Sunny shaking her head, Hitch waving his hoof over his neck, Pipp silencing her with a frown, Tails looking at her worried, and Sonic almost going through her soul with a glare and Knuckles holding a sign saying 'I will show them your search history'. Izzy gasped, realizing she almost screwed it, so she decided to play along. "... never do it! No way, missy! No 'Yes Days' in your future! Only 'No Days' for you for the rest of your neigh-saying life!" she cried out dramatically. Sunny, Tails, Hitch, and Pipp looked at Izzy, confused, while Sonic and Knuckles looked at her with bored expressions. On the other hand, Zipp walked closer to Izzy, giving her a tense look, and Izzy began to sweat and gulp. But then they felt relieved when Zipp answered. "I could do a 'Yes Day.' Easy," Zipp said with a confident smile. This just made the rest of the crowd laugh since their plan was working, and now they had to keep going with the act. "Good one, Zipp!" Tails mocked her as if she had just said an amazing joke. "No way!" Hitch called out. "You wish!" Sonic said with a chuckle. "Not in a million moons!" Izzy finished, keeping the pressure on. "I totally could say 'yes' for a whole day! I'll prove it!: Zipp protested to her friends. Pipp's eyes sparkled with a wide smile, and she came closer to her sister. "Re-he-heally? Zipp Storm, are you saying 'yes' to a 'Yes Day'?" she challenged her sister, placing a hoof around Zipp's neck. Zipp darted her eyes around uncertain before answering. "...Yes?" Later, Pipp started doing Zipp's mane in her salon, using her special stylish tools to do Zipp’s mane. After finishing her work, Pipp put a mirror in front of Zipp once she gave her a new look: rainbow spiky-style mane with a light bolt makeover on her face. Zipp looked surprised before smiling at her sister, loving the new look, while Pipp smiled back, and the two sisters tapped their hooves together. But while Zipp was admiring her new look, Izzy grabbed Zipp, catching said pegasus by surprise as they made it out of the salon. A little later, Izzy and Zipp were wearing helmets on Izzy's motorcycle. Izzy drove at a high speed, and Zipp screamed at the speed Izzy was going. Once Izzy stopped, Zipp jumped off the motorcycle, looking dizzy from the trip and taking off her helmet with a groan. "Whoo!" Izzy cheered, which caused Zipp to turn and see Izzy on a homemade high-diving board next to a pool filled with glitter. Izzy jumped on the board and flipped in the air. "Glitterball!" she cheered before she dived into the glitter pool, splashing glitter out in the process. Zipp looked on and smiled in awe as she approached the high dive board. She looked down at the pool, seeing Izzy swimming around in the glittering pool. "What do you say, Zipperoonie? The glitter's warm," Izzy told Zipp, encouraging her to join the glitter pile. Zipp looked at Izzy for a moment before smiling. Wanting to make things more exciting, Zipp flew into the air. With a flip, she let gravity take over as she dived into the glitter pool. "Yeaaaah!" she cheered as she splashed into the pool. Then, Sonic and Zipp race against each other, with Sonic running on the ground and Zipp flying in the air. "What's the matter, princess?" Sonic mocked up with a smirk as he was slightly ahead of Zipp. "Are you gonna let an old man kick your pegasi flank?" he kept mocking her, which caused Zipp to snort at him with a smirk. "I bet I'm older than you, hedgehog!" Zipp mocked back as she managed to pass him a little bit. "I'm 35, you know," Sonic revealed with a smirk as he boosted a little to pass Zipp. "WHAT!!" Zipp asked in shock and stopped, not expecting Sonic to be that old. Then she saw why he did this and smirked. Sonic was close to the finish line and smiled confidently since he thought he would win, but then Zipp passed him and crossed the finish line. "Yeah!" Zipp cheered while Sonic arrived and stopped with a smile, and the rest of their friends cheered at Zipp's victory. "Nice race. I like a good challenge, and you certainly are one, Zipp!" Sonic congratulated Zipp as they shook his hand and her hoof. "Thanks!" Zipp said with a smile. "By the way, is that your age, or did you just say that to win?" she questioned. "That, I am not going to tell you... yet," Sonic replied with a smirk and a wink. Later, again, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were back at the smoothie stand, with Tails joining the contest as well. "Okay, ponies. Time for the Giga Gulp!" Sunny announced while holding two big giga cups filled with smoothies, giving seven of them to her friends. Zipp caught her giga smoothie and smiled at Sunny. Sunny nodded her head, and the others smiled at her. "Aw, yeah!" Zipp said, which caused the rest to cheer. Then, they again started to gulp from the smoothies, and this time, Zipp was the first to finish her smoothie—with no brain freeze. "Yeah!" she cheered since she had won the first round. "Uh-huh!" Zipp cheered as she did another thing. "Uh-huh!" she cheered again. "Aw, yeah!" Zipp called out, having the time of her life with sparkling eyes. And then, at sunset, Zipp was forcing a smile a bit since Izzy and Tails were turning her into a seapony, while Sonic and Knuckles tried to keep themselves from laughing at how funny Zipp looked in her seapony form. Pipp then brought her phone out in front of her friends with a smile while the others saw this and huddled together. "Say 'Yes Day'!" Pipp announced as they took their group picture together. "And... post!" Pipp said to herself as she posted the picture and turned to her sister. "Okay, Zipp. Just one last thing," she said to her sister as she dragged in her big bass speaker. Come on, ponies Show me what you got I said show me what you got Here we go now, here we go The sound from the speaker was so loud it dissolved Zipp's sand sea tail. Zipp looked up at her sister, holding a smiling microphone, but then Pipp saw the sun setting. "There's no more time! Ugh, ponyfeathers! But you did it, Zipp! How do you feel?" she asked with a smile, wondering how Zipp felt after this whole thing. "Honestly, I thought it was going to be the worst day ever," Zipp confessed and smiled. "But actually, I've... well... I've had so much fun! I should say 'yes' more often!" she admitted and realized how fun hanging out with her friends was. The rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic cheered at Zipp with smiles, glad that Zipp would finally join them more often. "Hand it over, sis," Zipp said, sticking out her hoof, while Pipp smiled with sparkling eyes and gave her microphone to her sister. "I really do love this song!" Zipp said with a smile and sparkling eyes as she bobbed her head to the music before singing through the microphone. It's the pony hip hop! Do the pony-ony-ony! As Zipp sang, the rest were dancing to the music, once again glad that Zipp was giving them a shot to do some fun stuff with them. THE END Author's Note Just to be clear: No, Sonic isn't 35 in this fanfic. None of Team Sonic members have their canonical ages in this story, the only thing I'm respecting is that Knuckles is a year older than Sonic, but Sonic is 3 years older than Tails as well. As for their actual ages, you'll find out eventually :) P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 34. Sneaksy Strikes Again"And now, for the street art!" Posey announced to Sunny, Izzy, and Knuckles with a smile. They were all in the museum, with Posey showing one of the street art pieces, an earth pony mare holding a flower. Izzy gasped with sparkling eyes, while Sunny and Knuckles just smiled as Izzy approached the art. "It’s so beautiful!" Then Posey showed them another piece of street art: a multi-colored stallion. "Neighway!" Izzy cheered in excitement. And then, they saw a rainbow with a can of beans taped to it, and Izzy started to cry joyfully at the art. Sunny and Posey gave her a strange look, and Knuckles stared at the paint, confused. The next art was a pair of multi-colored hooves painted on a 3-D sculpture, and Izzy zipped right in front of it. "Hoof-five! Don’t mind if I do…" she said, about to touch the art until Posey got in front of her. "Hoof off Izzy! No touching the art!" Posey strictly said, which startled Izzy from her outburst. "Those are the rules," she firmly pointed out. "I would say you're just pulling off a Hitch, Posey... but I'm the deputy, and I have to follow up rules, so... yeah..." Knuckles said, scratching his head a bit embarrassed. Izzy sighed in disappointment, but then Sunny smiled and lifted her hoof to Izzy, who gasped at her and smiled. They gave each other a high hoof as Sunny laughed a bit. Now, Posey showed them many other street art on the walls. "Many street artists keep their identities secret," she explained. They believe that art can be anywhere in anything and should be experienced by everypony!" she announced with a smile. "Wow. Art can be anywhere. That’s a cool idea!" Sunny said with a smile, but then she and Knuckles looked at Izzy, who was giving a blank look while staring at the art. "Uh. Everything okay there, Izzy?" Sunny asked. "Hello? Earth to Izzy?" Knuckles called out as well. "Art can be anywhere..." Izzy repeated what Sunny and Posey said as her eyes widened and her pupils shrunk a bit, having an idea pop into her head as she zoomed away from the others. "Woohoo!" For some reason, Izzy cheered as she ran across the room, across the ceiling, which greatly confused the others. "I can be anywhere!" Izzy cheered as she popped up from the right side and then the left with a cheerful expression. "For anypony!" she added as she got between Sunny and Posey, wrapping them with her hooves and sparkling eyes. "Did you hear that? The world will never be the same!" she said, as letting the ponies go. "Well, not exactly 'anywhere.' If you want to make art in public places, you must get permission first…" Posey explained but then stopped and gasped with wide eyes. "What?" Knuckles asked, confused. Then his eyes widened as he saw the open window, and one of its sides fell into the ground, and Knuckles facepalmed. "You have got to be kidding me..." "Art! It can be anywhere!" Izzy’s voice called out through the window. Outside, Izzy waved her hooves in the air with sparkling eyes. "Did everypony hear that?!" Izzy excitedly called out to the ponies around her. She grabbed a stallion beside her and shook him, which startled the stallion. "Everything is art!" she cheered out. While looking out the museum window, Posey looked unamused. Knuckles rolled his eyes, and Sunny gave a sheepish smile. "Uh. Artists. Am I right?" Sunny said sheepishly. "Sometimes I wonder how someone so cute and pretty can be so dumb occasionally..." Knuckles muttered to himself. "I have no intention of offending you, of course." At night, the rest were asleep in their beds while Izzy was still smiling with sparkling eyes on her bed. Izzy giggled and looked around, hoping that everyone else was asleep. Once she knew they were, she got out of bed and quietly made it to the door, quietly opening it. Then she gently closed it and brought out a black hoodie with rainbow lines and stars, putting it on with a smirk. "I'm going to have to be extra sneaky if I want to get this right," Izzy said with a smirk before gasping at what she had just said. "Oh, Sneaksy! That’s good!" she said, having come up with the right name to keep her identity a secret. Sometime later, Izzy was on the roof of a house somewhere in Maretime Bay at night. Izzy: Look out, it's Sneaksy Style is on fleek-sy Take something dull And go all night to freak-sy Izzy started using her art supplies to make three art life-like designs of three ponies and mares of all three tribes as she hoofed one of her unicorn ones. "Oh yeah!" Izzy cheered. Gonna take something average And make it shine Gotta add that beauty To the Maretime Somewhere else, Izzy was creating snowflakes with red paint drops on them as she used her magic to levitate them onto some stands. Make their dreams a reality Gonna turn this place into a gallery Just let it all out for all to see 'Cause we know art's for everypony Izzy twirled next to a lamppost as she used her magic to bend it into a heart shape. She cheered. "I love it!" she said with a little laugh at her work. Then, Izzy levitated a couple of paintbrushes and sprayed paint with sparkling eyes as she cheered in excitement. She painted on a wall while she used the spray bottles next. It goes round and round, yeah We know that art makes the world Go round and round (makes the world go round) 'Cause art is for everypony Izzy twirled around as she levitated a bunch of flowers in the air, levitating her brushes and spray paint, then running with a smile and laugh as she twirled around with a cheery smile and sparkling eyes at her work. She used the spray bottle to leave her alter-ego, 'Sneaksy,' on a heart in the center with wings, a purple circle in the back with yellow lines from top to bottom as she looked on with sparkling eyes. Next to her logo was a giant street art with a crown on top, a rainbow, a yellow painting in the center, and a heart with wings on the side as Izzy waved her hoof at the sight of her work. The next morning, the others were up as Sunny looked around for something. "Has anypony seen my keys?" Sunny asked her friends. "Knuckles! Did you take my mints again?!" Tails called out from the bedroom. "For the last time, Miles, I did not take your stupid mints!" Knuckles replied in anger. "Don't you dare to call me by my name again, Knucklehead!" Tails warned from the bedroom while Knuckles just rolled his eyes. On the other hand, Hitch was chasing Sparky while holding a batch of pancakes in his hooves. "Sparky, you gotta eat some breakfast," he said to the baby dragon, who kept playing while running around. "Phone! Phone!" Pipp cried out upstairs in a panic state as she started to sweat. "Where is my phone?!" she cried out again. "Uh, Pipp..." Zipp called out to her sister with a raised eyebrow. "Check your hoof," she said while pointing at her hoof. Pipp looked at her hoof and saw that she had her phone the whole time. "Oh, phew!" she sighed in relief. Sonic, however, got downstairs quietly as he hummed to himself a familiar melody in a cheery mood. Sparky kept giggling as Hitch tried to feed Sparky on the couch, but then the baby dragon dropped the TV remote he was holding, and it clicked on a button that turned the TV on the news channel. "Breaking news!" Skye Silver announced with a smile. "Ponies are flocking to Maretime Bay to get a glimpse of the art created by a new street artist going by the name 'Sneaksy'," he announced as he showed ponies all over Maretime Bay, admiring the artwork Sneaksy did as he brought out its logo with a wink. Sunny smiled with sparkling eyes at the news. "How exciting! Maretime Bay has its street artist!" she said excitedly as Zipp and Pipp came next to her; Pipp gasped in amazement with sparkling eyes. "Gotta love a secret identity," Zipp said with a smile. Hitch had second thoughts as he held up a pen while pacing back and forth in front of the TV. "Sure, but even street artists have to follow the rules. Look at all those code violations!" he pointed out the art on the screen as he wrote in his book. "Code forty-seven-eighty-one... Looks like that's a four-twenty-three," he said with concern. Sunny just gave Hitch an amusing smile, Zipp covered her mouth with her hoof to stifle her laughter, Pipp just gave Hitch a bored expression, Knuckles came by and raised an eyebrow, and Sonic approached with a neutral look. "Is this guy aware that there's more in life than rules?" Sonic asked casually. Knuckles snorted at that. "Yeah, sure. The same way Tails knows that he needs to stop staying awake half of the night when he's doing new gadgets," he replied sarcastically. "So it's a pretty massive no," Sonic simply stated. "Exactly," Knuckles said with a frown now. "I could punch him right now, but I don't want to end up on the cell for six hours... not again," he stated. "Not again?" Sunny questioned as she and the rest looked at him, confused. "Don't ask," Knuckles begged. Then, Izzy came to them, yawning a bit tiredly. "Morning, ponies. Oh, whatcha watchin'?" she asked them after seeing the TV on. "It's being reported that her Majesty, the Queen, is relocating the most recent Sneaksy mural to Zephyr Heights," Skye Silver said to the news as it showed Queen Haven in front of the heart rainbow crown art on Hitch's station wall as she took a selfie with it, then stepped aside for Thunder, holding a power saw, to cut the wall. Hitch was slurping on a smoothie before he spit from hearing what the news had just said. "She what?!" he cried out in shock while placing his hooves on his head, knowing what that painting was attached to. "Oh boy..." Knuckles said with worry. "Sayōnara, heiwana ashita…" Sonic said with a bored expression. A little later, Thunder and Zoom used their power saws to remove the wall with the art. "STOP!" Hitch called out to the two Pegasi Guards with a look. "First Sneaksy painted on my wall without asking, and now you're stealing it?!" he yelled as he stomped his hoof in rage. Zoom and Thunder said nothing while the station's wall fell backward and crashed on the floor, where Hitch's cage is, and the three raccoonicorns in it started laughing and ran out of the giant hole in freedom. Hitch pointed at the escaped critters. He groaned with a shocked look as Zoom flew in front of him. "It's not stealing. We have a royal decree," Zoom corrected Hitch as she brought out the degree and unrolled it. Hitch looked at her while Sparky belched out one of his dragon fires, which hit the degree and turned it into a cake. Zoom just shrugged and flew back to Thunder as Hitch pointed at the giant hole in the wall. "And did your royal decree say who would fix my wall? Huh? No?" Hitch asked the two pegasi rhetorically while Zoom and Thunder walked off with the street art wall strap on a wagon. "Hey, come back here!" Hitch called out to them in anger. "You can't blame the queen for appreciating great art," Izzy pointed out, arriving next to Hitch. "Yeah, it is possible to make and love art and not break the law!" Hitch argued as Izzy grew nervous and sweated at Hitch's words. On the other hand, Hitch didn’t notice it and put on his sunglasses. "Come on, Sparky. We've got criminals to deal with," he said to Sparky, who was eating the cake he'd poofed up. Sometime later, back at the Brighthouse, Izzy talked with the friend she trusted the most about her work, Sneaksy... "You know? I'm not even surprised that you are Sneaksy, Izz," Knuckles confessed. "But you know, Hitch. He can't—he really can't—enjoy things without thinking about his stupid laws," he pointed out to her. "I know..." Izzy said with shame. "But I wasn't trying to break the law! I just wanted to make art everywhere for everypony, like a real street artist," she said to the echidna. "Well, I hope you learned your lesson, Izzy," Knuckles told her with a smile. "Next time, you–– I mean, 'Sneaksy' just need to get permission first," he added with a wink. Izzy gasped and blushed a bit but smiled as well. "Totally! Then until somepony needs my art, Sneaksy is gonna lay low," she stated. "Thanks, Knuckle!" she said as she hugged the echidna, who also blushed but returned the hug anyway. "Anytime, kid," Knuckles replied. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were fixing up Hitch's wall. They had already stacked the brinks, so they were painting it in to finish it up. "Honestly, I'm kinda sad that Sneaksy's gone into hiding," Pipp spoke, a bit concerned. "I say hasta la vista, lawbreaker! Troublemaker!" Hitch called out, feeling glad Sneaksy was out of the radar for now. "Awww…" Izzy said quietly to herself, feeling sad that Hitch would say that. "Hitch! Harsh!" Sunny scolded Hitch for his words. "Sneaksy was just trying to fill Maretime Bay with beautiful art," she pointed out, but Hitch sighed and rolled his eyes at this. And then, Knuckles gave him a good smack to the head. "Ow! Hey," Hitch called out while rubbing his head. "I've been holding back the entire morning," Knuckles said proudly. "And you've been deserving it, too," he added. "Can't say you didn't ask for it, sheriff," Tails said mockingly. "I'm pretty sure you'd be as mad as me if you got the wall of your building sawed or something," Hitch retorted. "Mad? No doubt," Sonic confessed. "But to disparage an artist's work as trash? Not even someone with little understanding of art would do something so cruel," he frowned. "Well, I would love for Sneaksy to create an original mural for Mane Melody," Pipp said with a smile, then she gasped with sparkling eyes. "Talk about the most epic selfie wall ever!" she sang the last part as she got to Hitch’s side, who sighed, seeing that he couldn't win this one. "Do you hear me, Sneaksy? Pleeeease make me a wall!" she called out. Izzy gasped with a smile and sparkling eyes, having an idea for Pipp's request, while Knuckles saw this and gave a small smile. "Let's just hope Sneaksy knows to be invisible or something," Sonic said with concern. "I know by experience it's not pretty to meet Pipp mad," he pointed out. "Make that two, partner," Zipp said with a wide smile. "Hey!" Pipp complained with a frown. "Don't make me remind you about my recently acquired scar," Sonic told her with a bored expression. "Or the time I borrowed your phone when mine died out," Zipp added with a bored look. Pipp wanted to complain again, but after thinking about it for a few seconds, she realized they were right. "Fair points..." she said with a sheepish smile. Meanwhile, Sunny and Tails muttered to themselves, a bit apart from the rest so that they couldn't hear them. "It's good to see that Sonic and Pipp seem more comfortable talking to each other now," Sunny said with a smile. "I know," Tails said. "Let's just hope those two talk things out soon, because ignoring it isn't going to solve anything" he added a bit concerned. Later at night, the whole group was sleeping peacefully when Pipp's phone suddenly buzzed. Pipp heard her phone and tried to grab it while groaning tirelessly since she got her bed mask on. Pipp grabbed her phone but was too far from the edge of her bed. "Whoa! Whoa!" she cried out, falling to the floor. She got up and looked at her phone. "Huh?" she asked herself in confusion before she gasped in shock. "What?!" she said, looking at one of the security cameras she connected to in Mane Melody. She saw somepony, aka Izzy, aka Sneaksy, inside the salon, and the camera followed her movement. "Aah! Thief! That must be why we are always out of manespray!" Pipp called out as she got up and gasped, which caused Zipp to wake up from Pipp's tone as she looked tired at her sister. "Oh, you won't get away with this! Not on my watch!" she said, running out of the bedroom to catch said 'thief.' What she didn’t know was that on Izzy’s bed was her unicycled Izzy copy, which she put in to trick her friends into thinking she was sleeping. At Mane Melody, Pipp opened the doors and gave a victorious smile once she got there. "Aha! Gotcha!" Pipp called out with a smirk while pointing, but she only saw a spray paint bottle twirling around on the floor while Sneaksy hid behind the stage. Pipp growled at this but then gasped in amazement at what she saw next to her. "Oh, my glitter! It's better than I could've imagined!" she cheered sparklingly. She saw a sparkling mural of Mane Melody's logo on the wall, with some paint still fresh. "My very own Sneaksy mural!" Pipp said happily as she brought out her phone to take selfies. She giggled at this outcome while Izzy looked from behind the stage. But then, some glitter spilled on one of Pipp's wings, and it got her attention. "Huh?" Pipp asked herself as she wiped the glitter off her wing and looked at it on her hoof. "That is a lot of glitter," she said, then gasped in shock. "There's only one pony I know who loves glitter that much..." she said with a smirk before she gave a deep gasp in shock. "Wait! Could Izzy be Sneaksy?!" she asked in shock, placing her hoof on her chin while thinking. Izzy began to whimper, thinking Pipp might blow her cover as she ducked for cover and went out of sight. "Hmmm…" Pipp thought hard for a moment. "Nah!" she said with a smile before she started laughing. "Neighway!" she added, laughing while taking even more selfies. Outside of Mane Melody, Izzy made it out and watched Pipp, feeling relief that her secret was still safe. THE END Author's Note Yeah. The Sonic-Pipp drama didn't fit on this episode, so I'm delaying it for now. I hope the next episode can finally solve that, because I don't want to delay it forever, specially with Winter Wishday around the corner... Also, yeah, I remembered Sonic can speak Japanese, so I just added that phrase to remember that. Expect to see more 'Sonic talking in Japanese' moments in the future from now on :) P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 47. Sunny's Smoothie MovesIt's been a week since the Mane 5 and Team Sonic recovered the Pegasus Crystal from Discord. Now that magic was restored for the third time, things could finally return to normal, at least for a while. But when I said 'going back to normal,' I didn't mean for Sunny to run down an alley surrounded by ponies dressed up as fruits. No, seriously, that's literally what's happening right now because Sunny is sweating a lot, and she's cornered in a dark alley by ponies dressed up as fruits. "Sunny, stop right there!" one of the ponies said, and Sunny turned around and looked at the ponies with fear. "There's no escape!" an earth pony stallion dressed up as a banana said with a frown. "No getting away now!" An earth pony mare, who's dressed up as an orange, stated with a frown. Suddenly, another stallion appeared, also wearing a strawberry costume. "Not without putting us into your…" he started with a frown before he and the other two ponies gave her cheerful smiles. "All new smoothies!" he finished, as the three ponies smiled with sparkling eyes and held out a smoothie. After that, Sunny turned around, and the background changed to show fruits behind her. "Sorry! Our brand-new smoothies only contain all-new fruits! Grown in the community garden!" she said with a smile, while the background switched to the community garden, with so many fruits that the earth pony has grown with their magic. "Like kiwi-paya, pear-nana, and razzleberries!" she listed, showing each type of fruit with a smile and sparkling eyes. Then, the scene changed to the three ponies, still in their costumes, sipping smoothies with smiles. Finally, the scene switched to Sunny at the smoothie stand. Sunny was holding up a tray of smoothies while sweating exhaustedly. "Try 'em all today!" she called out with a smile. "You'd be bananas not to!" The stallion, dressed as a banana, cheered beside her, holding his smoothie cup. "And cut!" Tails' voice called out as he tapped his phone, revealing that he was livestreaming the whole thing to show Sunny's new smoothies to the ponies quickly. "Perfect! We got it this time for sure!" Tails said with a smile. "And the giant fruit?" Sunny asked hopefully. "All added with the filters!" Tails replied with a cheery smile as he appended his phone to show the filters of the giant fruit costumes the three ponies wore. Upon hearing that, Sunny squealed in excitement. "Amazing! Thank you so much for your help, Tails!" she thanked him. She hugged him, and Tails chuckled and smiled back at Sunny. Then, she gasped in excitement. "I can't wait for ponies to try these new flavors! They're gonna love 'em!" she cheered with a smile. "Maybe not immediately... but I'm pretty sure they'll be more open with time..." Tails tried to assure with a nervous smile. Just then, Posey came to the stand and held out a pear-nana with a bored expression and a small smile. "New flavors?" she asked with a snort. "I think not. Tropical treat for me, as always," she said to Sunny with a smirk, who appeared inside the stand with a sheepish smile. "Are you sure we can't interest you in––?" Sunny tried to ask, grabbing the pear-nana and trying to convince Posey. "Tropical treat, please, Sunny," Posey repeated firmly with a frown. "And banana smoothie here. Thanks," Thunder said with a small smile as he approached the stand. Tails also entered the stand and looked at the clients with a bored expression. "Told ya," he remarked. Sunny sighed in disappointment. "The same old smoothie flavor is coming right up," she said with sadness, walking to her blender to make the smoothies. "Aw, come on, Sunny. Don’t be sad..." Tails told her with worry as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "They just heard about new flavors, yet they still want the same thing. Just let them get tired of those flavors to give a chance to the new ones finally, okay?" he assured her with a little smile. "Sometimes, trying something new is just hard, and it can also be scary for some people... and ponies..." he pointed out. Suddenly, Sunny gasped after he said that and smiled. "You're right, Tails. So, we need to make trying the new flavors easy," she stated with a determined look. "... Sunny..." Tails said with a raised eyebrow. "You are not trying to force ponies into buying your smoothies now, are you?" he asked, crossing his arms. "Because last time you tried to force something, the entire town ended up covered by giant flowers," he pointed out with a bored expression. Sunny chuckled nervously at that reminder. "I'm just gonna make ponies' choices easier! They're free to choose their usuals, but what I have in mind might inspire them to try something else! Promise!" she assured with a smile. "... Are you absolutely sure?" Tails asked with concern. "I don't want you to feel disappointed, you know? Not after what happened to you when everypony just listened because you are an Alicorn... Nor when ponies made fun of you on your trip... Nor when you made a lot of effort to bake those cookies for our friends..." he confessed, scratching his arm nervously. "I know I probably didn't help that much in all these, but... I do understand how badly you must felt when the world either laughed at you or followed you just because of what you are and not by who you are... I understand that a lot..." he added with worry. "... You do?" Sunny asked with concern. "I wasn't popular the way I wish I could have been back home..." Tails started to explain. "People made fun of me because of my extra tail. They all thought I was a weirdo... They hated me because I was different. After meeting Sonic, my confidence did grow a bit, but I managed to do some things on my own with no help from anyone. I never stopped hearing people making fun of me. It wasn't about my tails anymore, though, but... It still hurt me. Nobody liked me just for who I am, or for what I believe..." he confessed, as he started to tear up a bit sad now. "I-It doesn't bother me that much anymore, b-but... It hurts to think that some people don't appreciate me for being... me..." he finished with sadness. Sunny gasped after Tails said all of this. Her ears fell in sadness, and her heart broke into pieces. Immediately, she pulled him into a comforting hug, which startled him a bit. "Tails... You are not a weirdo..." Sunny said with a little smile. "You are one of the most brilliant, wonderful,, and heroic creatures I've ever met. What you do, why you do it, and for who you do it speaks miles more about you than you or anyone could ever imagine..." she stated with a confident tone. "Ever since you arrived in Equestria, you've been to me like the little brother I always wanted! No wonder why Sonic trusts you so much. You are a wonderful friend and brother, Tails..." she finished. Tails felt more tears fall since all those words touched him. He hugged her tightly, allowing himself to smile a bit. "T-Thanks, Sunny..." Tails said, breaking the hug and drying his tears. "I... I really needed that," he assured. "I wanted to tell you this because I don't want you to feel disappointed again if this doesn't end up like you expect it," he confessed. "Don't worry, Tails," Sunny said with a smile. "With what I have in mind, I'm sure this is gonna work!" she assured confidently. Later on, Sunny and Tails gathered the rest of the Mane 5, Sparky, Sonic, Knuckles, and even Misty, who came along to take a break from Opaline's silly plans to steal Sparky's dragon fire. And yes, Eggman allowed her to leave and have fun, even though he knew she'd be hanging out with his mortal enemies. "Listen up! It's time to try something new!" Sunny announced to her friends with a smile. "But before we move to that, Where's Discord?" Tails asked with a raised eyebrow. "He said something about not coming because he's having some time to meditate about why he stoled the Pegasus Crystal and why he caused us so much trouble for 10 issues that could have been perfectly 5," Sonic replied with a bored expression. "In other words, He's giving himself therapy for making us look after him for around 3 months," Knuckles stated with his arms crossed. "So he's not showing up, then?" Sunny asked. "Nope," Sonic replied. "Nuh-uh," Knuckles added, as he negated with his head. "Guess I'll explain him another day," Sunny said with a bored expression. "Anyway, there are over three million new flavor combos for my smoothie stand!" she announced cheerfully, her eyes sparkling. She also placed her hooves on her cheeks with a smile. "Blah!" Izzy called out, which startled everyone else. "Three million?! How do you remember anything after two million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine?" she asked in confusion. "I swear, Izzy, that you and this Knucklehead are the only beings in the entire multiverse that can count to that number without sweating..." Sonic said with a bored expression, also pointing at Knuckles at his side. "... I'll usually complain, but you're right. I do can," Knuckles stated with a mocking smirk. Sunny giggled at that before looking back at Izzy. "It's easy to count that many with the help of…" she started, giving Izzy a smirk and pointing at her smoothie stand. Just then, Bot-y McBakertons came wheeling by as he stopped and showed that he had been upgraded. Now he had a screen that showed different fruits, some tubes with a filter, a blue bowtie, and a hole at the end of the tube and holder for a cub to be. Then, Tails tapped his finger on the screen, pressing the razzleberry icon, which caused McBakertons to beep and play an eight-bit music that reminded a lot of that kind of games. Then, it dropped a cup, poured some smoothie of the razzleberry content, closed it up, and placed the straw on it. "Wow!" Sunny and the others said in amazement, looking at the smoothie with smiles and sparkling eyes. "Bot-y McBakertons!" Izzy cheered for her chief bot and saw the upgrades Sunny and Tails gave him. "I love the bowtie. It's very robot-chic," she said with a smile. "We gave a few updates to old McBakertons here," Tails said with a smile. "Hope it doesn't bother you, Izz!" he added, now with a sheepish smile. "Bother me? I love it!" Izzy stated with a cheery smile. "I AM... BEEP-BOP-BOOP! ...PROGRAMMED TO SERVE... BEEP! ...SMOOTHIES," McBakertons said in his robot voice. Sunny and Tails smiled at this outcome, turning back to the others. "Go ahead! Choose your smoothie. Let's find that perfect combo!" Sunny said to the others, who were looking on with sparkling eyes, while Sunny picked up a razzleberry. And so, Izzy came first as she looked at McBakertons' screen with a small smile. "Hmmm, let's see now. So I always get dreamy creamy. But today, I think I'll have... ooh, ummm…" she thought for a second, while Sunny and Tails came next to her with smiles, as Izzy swiped on the screen to pick her options. "Ah! Oh, yes! I found it! Dreamy creamy!" she cheered. Sunny and Tails were surprised that Izzy chose her usual choice, especially Sunny. "Oh, but Izzy, why not try––" Sunny tried to say but was cut off. "Super citrus for me!" Hitch called out with a smile while Sparky licked his lips and babbled happily, nodding in agreement with Hitch's choice. "Hitch!" Sunny calls out, sweating nervously, while Hitch realizes what he just said, sweating a bit as well. "And I'll have my usual: Peanut butter and banana!" Zipp stated with a smile, while Misty came next to her as she waved her hoof to Sunny with a smile. "Merry berry, please!" Misty cheered. "Um, guys? You're missing the point––" Tails tried to reason with them but was cut off by Pipp, who flew next to Sunny. "And put me down for one––" Pipp started. "Let me guess. Strawberry ripple?" Sunny asked with a bored expression. "Sunny, you know me so well," Pipp said, as she landed with a smile at Sunny. "Sorry, Sunny, but we know what we like," Hitch said to Sunny with a sheepish smile, while Misty and Zipp nodded in agreement. "It's risky to try anything else," he added. Sunny looked down in sadness while Tails at her side placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "You guys missed the whole point," Knuckles said with a bored expression as he approached McBakertons and tapped at the icons of the pear-nana and the kiwi-paya. Once the smoothie was done, the echidna grabbed the cup and walked away while Sonic zoomed by, pressed the razzleberry icon, and grabbed his smoothie after it was done, not saying a single word as he tossed two bits to Sunny with his right thumb. In comparison, the earth pony grabbed the two bits, and then looked confuses at Sonic and Knuckles. "This tastes good!" Knuckles said with a smile. "Also, we did pay attention in class," he added mockingly. "Besides, helping is what we do!" Sonic added with a wink and smirk towards Sunny while he toasted his cup with Knuckles'. Sunny and Tails smiled at this outcome, but then, Zipp zoomed past them and went to McBakertons with a smile. "PB and B!" Zipp cheered as she tapped on the screen. "Ripple!" Pipp cheered as she appeared beside her sister with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Dreamy creamy!" Izzy cheered next with sparkling eyes as well. And then everyone, except Sunny and Team Sonic, started to tap their suggestions over McBakertons', which caused Bot-y McBakertons to twitch and his head to spin as he started to smoke. "Whoa! Everypony, slow down! Bot-y can't handle so many orders at once!" Sunny called out, sweating nervously. "You guys should stop right now!" Tails called out in panic. "If you keep going, he's going to––" he tried to warn. Unfortunately, McBakertons was already losing control. "FLAVOR ERROR! FLAVOR ERROR! FLAVOR ERROR!" he called out, while his head kept spinning and sparks and screws were flying out of him. The rest of the Mane 5, Sparky, and Misty, stopped tapping his screen as they realized their mistake, sweating with nervous expressions while McBakertons brought out one of his tubes and aimed it at them. "Aah! Look out! Smoothie incoming!" Zipp called out in panic. After that, they all ducked for cover as McBakertons started to spin around and shoot out different smoothie flavors all over the town while the ponies around them ran for cover as well. "SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION! SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION! SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION!" McBakertons called out as the Mane 5, Sparky, Misty, and Team Sonic watched him go with wide eyes as the robot wheeled into town. Soon enough, however, Sunny gave a determined look and decided to chase him, with her friends following up, although Sonic and Knuckles finished their smoothies before tossing them into a trash can. Misty stopped suddenly before following the rest, as she felt the ladybug Eggman gave her, moving from its hidden spot on her collar and approaching her ear. "Misty, darling, be careful with that thing. If washing out a bad smell is bad, don't get me started on washing off fruit from the body!" Eggman instructed her through the ladybug. With a nod and a determined look, Misty rushed up to catch up with the others. In another street of Maretime Bay, Bot-y McBakertons continued to shoot smoothie flavors all over the town while it also hit some ponies. "SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION! SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION! SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION!" McBakertons called out, moving to an alleyway and wheeling down while the others followed them, dodging some smoothies that came their way. Hitch followed next with Sparky on his back, but he slid across the floor on a smoothie path on the ground, which caused Hitch to scream while Sparky giggled in excitement as they slid away from the group. Knuckles noticed that, so he stopped moving before opening up a portal by pulling out a warp ring from his quills and throwing it to a wall. Then, the portal opened right in front of Hitch, and Knuckles placed his hand in front of the stallion so he could stop sliding, but in the process, he seemed to hit his head with Knuckles' arms way too hard, because he fell knocked out into the floor, which made Knuckles cringe since he hit him too hard by mistake. The rest, however, saw the mess McBakertons caused, with a pony covered in smoothies, while Dahlia tried to shake one-off, and a bunnycorn was covered in a green smoothie and shaking in fear. Then, McBakertons came rushing while chasing two mares, an earth pony and Flare, as they tried to escape the robot. "It's loaded with three million fruit combos!" Sunny called out nervously, while the rest looked at her with worry before Sunny gasped in realization. "Oh, no, the whole town is gonna be covered in sa moothie!" she called out in panic. "I thought you were just exasperating about the three million fruit combo!" Tails said in panic. "Why did you have to put that many in McBakertons?!" he asked her in shock. "I thought it was a good idea at the time, okay?!" Sunny replied in panic. "I just wanted to let the ponies try something new and give it a chance!" she cried out worriedly. "Yeah, but not like this!" Tails pointed out with anxiety. "You two, stop fighting!" Sonic said as he got in between Sunny and Tails. "We got more important stuff to worry about!" he pointed out with a frown. "Like the fact that Queen Haven's gonna get her hair messed up?" Knuckles asked with a panicked expression as he held Hitch on an arm and Sparky on a shoulder while the sheriff was feeling dizzy because of his early hit with Knuckles' arm. "I'm sorry, who's gonna what now?!" Pipp asked in a panic. And right then, from Mane Melody, the door opened as Thunder and Queen Haven walked out of the salon, with Haven having a new mane style. "Your style's a masterpiece, Majesty. Not a single hair out of place!" Thunder complimented her with a smile. "And after five hours in Mane Melody, I'd like to keep it that way," Haven said, not noticing that McBakertons was coming on her way while spinning and shooting smoothie out. The group gasped in shock after they realized that. "Mom! Nooooo!" Zipp called out in panic. "Her hair will be ruined!" Pipp cried out dramatically. With that in mind, Zipp gave a determined look and boosted towards McBakertons as she sped up while Thunder and Haven were distracted. Then, McBakertons shot out a smoothie, but before it could hit any of them, Zipp came in front of them, and caught it in her mouth, eating the smoothie in the air. The rest saw this with smiles, except for Misty, who looked at her in surprise. "Huh... That’s it!" Tails called out with a smile. "Hope you're thirsty, guys, 'cause we got fresh smoothies coming up!" he stated to the others confidently. Meanwhile, the McBakertons kept shooting smoothies, spinning out of control. Once they noticed this, Thunder and Haven startedled. Thunder stood in front of Haven to protect her and her mane, but then Sunny and Tails came in and caught each smoothie in their mouths. Next, Hitch, Knuckles, and Izzy did the same as they caught two more, while Thunder and Haven smiled at their timing. Finally, Sonic and Pipp caught a smoothie in their mouth, landing on the floor while Pipp tasted the flavor. "Mmmm! Hey! Straw-nana?" she guessed from the taste, gasping with sparkling eyes and a smile. "Not bad!" she said. Sonic licked his fingers, finishing up with his thumb. "You know? You are right! This mix tastes great!" he stated with a smirk. However, McBakertons kept spinning and moving across the town while ponies were screaming and running out of the way. "Quick! It's the only way to stop the town getting 'smoothie'd'!" Hitch called out with a determinate look while he and the rest rushed after McBakertons. The Pippsqueaks were looking at their phones with smiles until McBakertons came over them, startling the Pippsqueaks and making their eyes grow wide in surprise. "SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION! SMOOTHIE––!" McBakertons called out as he spun and shot a ton of smoothies out towards the Pippsqueaks while they huddled together and closed their eyes, prepared to get hit by smoothies. However, both Sonic and Pipp appeared in front of them and caught each one a smoothie in her mouth. At Posey's place, she was placing her white sheets on a hanger line with a smile. "—IE MALFUNCTION!" McBakertons' voice spoke, which made Posey turn and see him spinning and shooting smoothies toward her sheets, which made Posey scream as she tried to cover her white sheets. But just then, Sunny and Tails came in and caught each smoothie in their mouths while Posey watched them in surprise before McBakertons moved away as Sunny and Tails smiled at Posey. "Take this as a favor for all those times our mess affected you, too, Posey!" Tails said with a smirk and a wink. Posey smiled and nodded at him, accepting his apology. Somewhere in Maretime Bay, Rufus was about to show off his magic trick to the crowd of ponies, but then, McBakertons came right behind them. "SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION!" McBakertons called out as the crowd screamed and moved out of the way. Then, Izzy appeared from Rufus' magic hat, surprising the stallion, while Izzy caught smoothies in her mouth, and then Misty jumped up in front of them and caught smoothies in her mouth as well on both sides. "You're welcome!" Izzy said to Rufus with a wink. "Haha! That's my girl!" Eggman cheered on Misty's ear through the ladybug, which made Misty smile proudly on herself. In an alley, Sparky, a raccoonicorn, and bunnycorn were running away from McBakertons. However, they unfortunately hit a dead end, huddling in fear as McBakertons was coming close and two smoothies were about to hit them, but then, Hitch and Knuckles got in front of them as they caught each a smoothie in their mouths. "SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION!" McBakertons called out as he kept shooting smoothies and started spinning. Hitch and Knuckles acted quickly, reaching each smoothie in their mouths at a fast pace until McBakertons stopped spinning and wound down, falling to the floor and finally shutting down. The rest of the Mane 5, Sonic, and Tails made it with Hitch and Knuckles. They saw the entire thing and were amazed by the sheriff and deputy of Maretime Bay. "Whoa! Guys! That was seriously heroic!" Sunny said with a slight blush and a huge smile. "Nice reflexes, Knucklehead!" Sonic complimented with a smirk. "Didn't know you had that on you!" he confessed while Tails at his side nodded in agreement. However, Hitch and Knuckles looked at their friends, their mouths filled with all the smoothies they had caught, their faces a little messy, and their cheeks puffed up, before they gulped them down in one go and gave their friends a tired smile. "Just... doing our share of duty," Hitch said tiredly, as he groaned at the amount of smoothies he caught and swallowed. "Is... part of the job... Jesus... I'm gonna get sick at this rate..." Knuckles said with a painful expression. Just then, Sparky climbed on Hitch's back and hugged him, while the two critters hugged Knuckles by his legs, thanking them for saving them, while the sheriff and deputy smiled at them. "Sorry about Bot-y McBakertons, Izzy..." Tails apologized, scratching his neck in shame. "Ah, don’t worry, it was our fault for overloading him. Besides, I could fix Bot-y right ahead! He should be good as new in no time!" Izzy assured with her usual cheery smile. Suddenly, Sparky started to lick some smoothie from Hitch’s cheeks, and he seemed to love it because his eyes sparkled, and he moved his arms towards Hitch's face, trying to reach for more of that smoothie. "Hey, if Sparky likes it…" Hitch started picking some off his cheeks and licking it before gasping with sparkling eyes and a smile. "All the smoothies have run into each other! This might be the most delicious one yet!" he stated confidently. Knuckles raised an eyebrow, and so, he picked some from his eat and tasted it, as his eyes sparkled as well while a light illuminated over him. "Is this how the glorious banquets of the gods taste?!" he asked dramatically. "Oh, come on, it can't be that––" Sonic said, as he grabbed some from the floor and licked it before his eyes sparkled. "Holy cow, this is amazing..." he ended up replying. Sunny picked some up from Hitch's cheek and licked it, smiling afterward. "It's a smoothie... made out of smoothies! Oh, the perfect combo!" she cheered with a smile and sparkling eyes before smirking at Hitch. "What can we call it?" she asked him. "I guess... It is made up of all the best bits of everything. Why not call it the 'Alicorn Special'?" Hitch suggested with a smile. Sunny then smiled with sparkles in her eyes at Hitch's name idea, finding it perfect. As both earth ponies smiled at each other, Tails got right in between them from the ground and smirked at them. "So... is this the part where you two love birds kiss each other and go get a room now?" he asked with a teasing tone and a mocking smirk. Sunny and Hitch immediately blushed at that statement and looked down at Tails with a frown. "Shut up, Tails!" they scolded him, as Tails got away with a mocking chuckle while everyone else busted out laughing at his joke. Later on, ponies were lined up at the smoothie stand while Sunny and Tails were passing smoothies as the ponies chattered while they waited in line. Around them, other ponies already had their smoothies and were slurping them while Sunny waved her hooves at them with a smile, although she didn't notice her Cutie Mark glowing. Soon enough, Pipp joined them at the stand. "Whoa, Sunny! The Alicorn Special is, like, totally a hit!" she cheered with a smile. "I've never seen this many ponies lining up before!" Tails pointed out with a smile. "This is a 'must try' once everypony gets tired of it!" he confidently assured. "Yeah! Only the problem is... now nopony wants to try anything else!" Sunny pointed out with a small smile. "Oh well... As I said, they'll eventually get tired of it... Maybe..." Tails said with an anxious look now. After that, the three friends burst out laughing at the comment. THE END Author's Note No Love-bird declaration today. Checking out the TYT schedule, what I originally had planned for this episode, I decided to move it for the next one, and what I was going to do with next episode will be delayed to Episode 49. Sorry to disappoint you, guys, but I hope you understand this change is for the better. P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 61. When Light and Darkness CollideAuthor's Note WARNING! I highly advice to read Sonic Frontiers x My Little Pony, Sonic x Make Your Mark: Season 3 and Sonic x Equestria Girls G5 before keep reading This is definitely the biggest amount of stories dropped in-between TYT Episodes, and even if this episode is a recap of all the stories I just linked, it's still better to go and read them all because 1- You get better context, and 2- I get support to keep going. With that warning out, enjoy the episode! 61. When Light and Darkness Collide The first Cyberspace portal in Kronos Island started to shine bright. Soon, Sonic was sent by launch out of the portal, and he rolled a bit in the grass before stopping, with his face now smashed into the floor. "Ugh..." Sonic groaned, before slowly standing up while shaking his head. Then, he started to look around confused. "Uh... Tails? Sunny?! Zipp!" "Mortal," A robotic voice spoke suddenly. "Yow!" Sonic exclaimed, turning around to find... nothing. However, he heard a voice coming from the sky, so he looked up to face the sky. "Hello?" "You have done the impossible," The voice replied. "You have escaped Cyber Space through your own power. You... are the key." "'Key', huh? Sure beats being called a rodent," Sonic said with a bored expression. "Are you saying I can rescue my friends?" He questioned with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. "Find the Chaos Emeralds," The voice replied. "Destroy the titans," they instructed, while Sonic moved his index finger desperately. "Tear down the walls between dimensions." "Yeah––okay––sure..." Sonic replied with a bored expression. "How about a little context?" He requested, but surprisingly, the voice didn't said anything. "Hello?" With no response coming, Sonic deadpanned and shook his head in both annoyance and frustration, not noticing that a mysterious human-like figure was watching him on the skies. "Oh well," Sonic said as he shrugged, then he tapped the tip of his right shoe on the ground, preparing for running a bit. "Some direction is better than none. Here we go!" "Wait just a second!" Shadow's voice suddenly interrupted... Back in reality, in the Brighthouse's living room, Sonic blinked a few times confused. But then, he deadpanned when he realized that Shadow cut him off, so he looked at him with an annoyed expression. Sonic was apparently re-telling all the events of the Starfall Islands, since Misty, Amy and Team Dark didn't had the chance to hear the whole story because once everyone arrived from there, they stood just three or four days and then left on their separate ways for 6 months, but now it was time for them to know... That is, of course, if anyone lets Sonic tell the story and doesn't interrupts him. "Yes, Shadow?" Sonic asked with a bored expression, also raising an eyebrow. "You heard a strange and creepy voice coming out of nowhere and didn't questioned it?" Shadow deadpanned. "Didn't Black Doom showed up in front of you, told you some gibberish, then left, and you decided to collect the Chaos Emeralds because of that?" Sonic countered, still with a bored expression. Shadow raised a finger to reply, but seeing where Sonic was going with the question, he regret it and shut up. "That's what I thought. Now stay quiet and let me narrate in peace," Sonic said with a frown, while Shadow rolled his eyed annoyed. "As I was saying, I ran across Kronos Island..." "Just then, I found Sunny encaged!" Sonic narrated. Sonic approached the capsule were Sunny was trapped, which broke after a few seconds, while the energy of it entered on Sonic's left arm, which he was using to cover himself from the capsule's sudden explosion. Sunny looked around confused, then slowly landed on the grass. However, something was wrong with her: She was on a digitalized state, meaning that she was here, but not at the same time. Sunny looked around a bit confused. She could recognize that this was Kronos Island, since she read about the place before, and also saw some pictures; but she didn't get how she ended up here in the first place. Sonic lifted up his sight and looked at Sunny, both happy but also half concerned. He technically saved her from the capsule, but her current state was a clear sign that she still needed help. "Hey there, Sunny-bunny!" Sonic greeted with a mocking tone, with his left hand still absorbing the energy of Sunny's capsule, having a glitchy aspect and a red with black color. "Sonic!" Sunny said with a small smile, that vanished when she saw Sonic's arm. "Are you alright?!" "Me?" Sonic said with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smile. "You're the one who's only half here!" Sunny looked at herself, wondering why she was on such a weird state, but still worried about Sonic. "I feel fine. But that energy that was holding me prisoner went into you!" "Eh, I've been infused with weird zappy stuff before," Sonic pointed out calmly. "Besides, I feel like it gave me some kind of boost!" "Still... I doubt that you should be absorbing that energy," Sunny pointed out, still worried. "It's okay, Sunny. As long as I can get you out of this state, I don't mind," Sonic assured with a smile. "Well... in that case, we need to get moving," Sunny stated, now a bit more relaxed. "If I was trapped, I'm pretty sure Tails and Zipp are too!" "Good call," Sonic told her. "This place has the Chaos Emeralds capsuled, so if you could give me a hand to find them, it would be great! As for Tails and Zipp, I'll scout around to look after them and find you later. Deal?" He added, boosting away from her. "Deal!" Sunny shouted. "Be careful!" Sonic came out of nowhere from behind her and stopped in front of her, turning around with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Careful? Where's the fun in that?" Montage time! Now we see Sonic freeing Hitch, Sparky and the critters from their Cyber Cage, while Sunny wrapped Hitch into a hug, while the cage's Cyber Energy entered into Sonic's body and affected him. Next, we see Sonic running across different Cyberspace stages, successfully getting out of every stage with the keys to unlock the Chaos Emeralds and collect them. I don't care what you're thinking As you turn to me 'Cause what I have in my two hands Is enough to set me free (set me free) Now, we see Sonic grabbing the Red Chaos Emerald after getting out of one of the stages. But as he ran away towards the next Chaos Emerald, a Titan appeared in front of him and blocked the way. Even weirder, a human-like girl was floating next to the titanic creature. Still, Sonic shrugged it off and tried to keep going. The Titan looked directly at Sonic, and raised a leg to stomp once again. Sonic smirked, confident that he'll dodge the attack again, but then, the Titan stomped in the ground, which make it broke and flew in the air. Sonic tried to stop, but then he went flying as well, as he screamed in the air. He managed to gain composure, and used his Homing Attack against some rocks to get close to the Titan's head. Then, he started to use his Homing Attack several times on the Titan. However, he stopped for a second when he noticed that the Titan was moving his right hand... but got no time to react when it grabbed him. Sonic grunted in pain, trying to get free of the Titan's grip, but the creature then threw Sonic strong enough towards some pillars, until Sonic crashed on his back against a wall. "Ouch..." Sonic muttered, before rolling down on the mountain, until he landed on a metallic platform and fell unconscious. I could fight the feeling To resist it over time But when it's just too much to take You sneak up from behind Once Sonic woke up, he decided to take this task seriously. So, he ran over a canyon, before jumping ahead and then run towards the Titan, named Giganto. Sonic then used the blue rings around his body to be boosted in the air, and once he reached the head, he grabbed the last Chaos Emerald he was missing, before transforming into Super Sonic and boost in the air, now facing Giganto with a confident smirk. Is it me, you say, you're looking for Soon, Sonic started to fly around Giganto like a mosquito, while the Titan roared in rage and tried to hit him with its arms, even making appear some spikes that throw lasers on his back at some point. And yet, Sonic was doing nothing but fooling the Titan, because he then started to fly towards him at top speed, while the Titan raised his fist and prepared to strike back at Sonic. However, Sonic smirked and raised his fist as well, and then the two of them launched their fists at each other, crashing and fighting to win dominance over the other one. Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for... (here for) Then, Sonic moved away and charged on his place, before boost through Giganto's chest, making the Titan open his mouth and roar in pain, before turning into a red and digital ball that became smaller and smaller, until it exploded and destroyed the Titan entirely. Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy In the next island, Ares Island, Sonic found and rescued Knuckles and Izzy from Cyberspace. He also discovered some stuff about his ancestors, obtained the Chaos Emeralds after loosing them again, and even had a small encounter with the Island's Titan that ended up better than with Giganto. And he also got some temporal memory loss after getting into Cyberspace, but again, it was temporal, nothing to call home about. Speaking of the Island's Titan, Wyvern, Sonic was right now being boosted to the air, ready to collect the last Emerald that was on the Titan's head. So, Wyvern launched a bunch of missiles against Sonic, but the Hedgehog used the missiles to his advantage and jumped over them, before using a Homing Attack to get over Wyvern's head and then collect the Chaos Emerald, once again turning into Super Sonic. Let me show you just what I'm made of Once as Super Sonic, the Golden Blur chased Wyvern all across Ares Island, while the Titan tried to get away from him. However, at some point, Sonic not only caught him, but he also grabbed him from his tail, and then started to twirl him around, until he launched the Titan against one of the mountains of the island. At this, the Titan roared in rage, before shooting a bunch of missiles against Sonic, who managed to dodge all the Attacks and even grab one of them, as he made a sick transition on camera. Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me This transition transported Super Sonic to Chaos Island now. So, the missile was launched instead against Knight, the Titan of this place, who used its shield to protect itself. In Chaos Island, Sonic free'd Tails, Zipp and Pipp from Cyberspace, his memory loss got worse, his body started to hurt because of all the Cyber Energy it absorbed from the Cyber Cages his friends were trapped in, he found out more about his ancestors, and he collected the Chaos Emeralds after loosing them... again... Oh yeah, he also met Sage, Eggman's AI program that Cyberspace transformed into the girl that made Giganto attack him back in Kronos Island. It seems that Sage wanted to desperately protect Eggman from a mysterious entity that destroyed the Ancients, a civilization that inhabited the Islands alongside Sonic's ancestors long time ago. Back into the battle, Sonic dodged all the missiles that Knight was launching at him, before making a sick loop in the air and then hit Knight right in the face. To this, Knight raised the sword and prepared to split Sonic in two, but Sonic grabbed the sword in time and smirked. However, Knight wasn't done there, and it jumped in the air, then landed and spin the sword around, before crashing it against a wall. Sonic was struggling a bit to hold the sword, but he managed to push it and then he kicked it, making Knight spin around and stand in a defensive pose, willing to keep fighting. Let me show you just what I'm made of now... Sonic got tired of games, and he charged up Chaos Energy around his body before boosting towards Knight. Knight raised the sword and prepared to attack again, but Sonic flew around the sword and the Titan's arm, then he punched Knight in the face hard enough, to the point Knight raised its hand and let go the sword by mistake. The sword landed in the volcano, and Sonic used the Cyloop around it. Then, the sword started to separate from the ground and it elevated on the air, but here's the thing: Knight didn't took the sword, Sonic did. After that, he raised the sword and split Knight in half with a warrior cry. The Titan split, and one of the half's began to descend slowly, making the entire Titan's body explode. Knight turned into another one of those giant spheres that reduced little to little, until it exploded completely, leaving no trail of what the Titan once was. You can take another life long try You can take another try... In Rhea Island, things escalated a little too quickly. There, Sonic saw visions from the Ancients and his ancestors. However, this is also the place where he deactivated some towers that free'd his friends, while the Cyber Energy in his body finally reached its limit and corrupted him, trapping his mind in Cyberspace, but leaving his body in the real world. This also made the voice that was guiding him all along reveal who they truly was: The entity that wiped out the Ancients planet and made them travel to Equis, called The End. This same entity took control over Sonic's body and transformed into Cyber Sonic, who had a merciless fight with the Mane 5, Tails and Knuckles. In the end, when Cyber Sonic was too weak to keep fighting and wobbling in pain, Tails and Knuckles came by and used their watches to create a lasso with their electrical powers to keep Cyber Sonic still by tying his arms, and Hitch helped as well using his earth pony magic to create some vines that grabbed his feet. "Everyone: NOW!" both Tails and Knuckles shouted. In a flash, the Mane 5 appeared around Cyber Sonic, and they made their Cutie Marks shine. Then, their Cutie Marks blasted five colorful lasers towards him, and he started to groan in pain and struggled to get free, but it was useless at the end. Finally, the lasers sent Cyber Sonic towards the floor, and even thought he tried to stand up and fight back, a white glove trapped in Cyber Space grabbed his hand. He got startled and turned to literally face himself. Or, well, to face Sonic, trapped on Cyber Space like the rest were on the other Starfall Islands. Then, Cyber Sonic's body began to squirm in pain, and a bright red light was launched towards the sky. Sonic smirked again, and then he entered to his own body. The wall between Cyber Space and the real world got closed by the red light that came out of Cyber Sonic, and he stopped being controlled by the enemy. His body stopped shining, his quills got back to normal and he shook his head as his entire body was restored completely. No amnesia, no Cyber Energy, no headache, no pain. Sonic was finally back. Now that Sonic was back, Eggman and Sage decided to join forces with him to stop The End. After this, the whole group went to Ouranos Island, where one last Titan awaited: Supreme. Thanks to Sage accessing Cyberspace instead of Sonic, collecting the Chaos Emeralds was 10 times faster. Now, with all the Emeralds gathered, and Eggman appearing at the last minute to give Sonic the final Emerald, the Blue Blur turned into Super Sonic again and went to fight against Supreme, since this last Titan was being controlled by The End. Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy At some point during the fight, Supreme punched Sonic away, but really, really far away, since Sonic was now flying over the ocean, far from Ouranos Island. He recovered quickly and boosted back to the island, but then Supreme took out its sniper and pointed at Sonic, the shoot a massive and potent golden laser to him, that flew across the sky at super sonic speed. However, Sonic dodged the attack like if it was nothing, and then boosted towards Supreme, punching the Titan on its face again. Then, Sonic used Cyclone Kick on the Titan's face, followed by Homing Shot. That seemed to leave Supreme stunned, since it started to wobble on its place, and so, Sonic decided to use this as and advantage to punch the Titan one last time on its face. Let me show you just what I'm made of However, this made The End abandon Supreme's body and go towards space to regain her final form. Decided to not let The End get away with this, as well as to protect her father from the entity, Sage decided to take control over Supreme, and so, both Super Sonic and her boosted towards the space, ready for the final showdown against The End. Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me In space, The End at first took the form of a Moon... However, after Supreme (controlled by Sage) shoot light and dark matter lasers against the enemy for a while, The End's form changed to something far worse than a purple moon: He transformed into a creature with the long body of a purple snake, but his head was resembling a dragon with purple eyes and teeth, with three glowing pink scales on his forehead and three more on his parietal bone. Also, twelve long pink tails came out if his head, working as some kind of hair. The End turned into a monster, ready to destroy Equis once and for all. So, Sonic and Sage went down to business and started to fight The End's new form with everything they had. At some point during the battle, Supreme grabbed The End from his abdomen and head, while The End fought to get free from Supreme's grip. Sonic then charged up his Spindash and began to attack The End several times at super sonic speed. But eventually, The End got tired of games, and it slapped Sonic away with his tail, leaving the hedgehog unconscious for a couple of minutes. In that little time, The End got free from Supreme's grip, and he even bitted the left arm of the Titan, ripping it off entirely and causing a lot of damage to it. The End also launched another massive laser towards Supreme, damaging more the Titan, sending it backwards and shooting it down for a few minutes. Let me show you just what I'm made of now... Then, The End launch a massive laser towards Sonic, who placed his arms together to try and protect himself. But the attack was so powerful that Sonic was struggling, and despite having the power of the Chaos Emeralds all over his body, he could feel how his skin began to burn because of the laser. Still, Supreme's remaining hand came by and helped out by protecting Sonic, returning the laser to The End. "Now or never!" Sonic stated with a determinate look. Then, Supreme grabbed Sonic with the remaining hand, and then, the Titan launched him at super sonic speed against The End's open mouth. Sonic literally passed from The End's face to destroy his tail as he came out of that zone... but when Sonic turned around, he felt terrified when he saw that The End was about to explode, probably planning to launch itself against Equis and destroy along with this form. When Sage saw this, she shouted "NO!", and then launched herself and Supreme against The End. Soon enough, Supreme crashed against The End, and once the creature exploded, he and Sage were completely gone. Try to reach inside of me (Let me show you what I'm made of) Try to drain my energy (Let me show you what I'm made of) Let me show you just what I'm made of Back in reality, Sonic was panting heavily and sweating exhausted. He spent the whole narration singing his lungs out, while also explaining everything that happened in the Starfall Islands the best and most understanding way possible. Of course, after his whole explanation was done, only Misty, Amy and Team Dark had wide eyes and jaws dropped, while everyone else didn't interrupted him, because they knew precisely what happened since, well, they were all there. "So... What you guys think?" Sonic asked after he finished explaining. "...The Chao... Those little and adorable creatures nobody gave a damn about where they come from... THEY ARE EVOLVED ANCIENTS?!" Amy shouted, as she went to grab Sonic and shook him violently. "Chaos is the closest to an Ancient we've ever seen..." Shadow said with an anxious look, looking at his hands with wide and panicked eyes. "All my life is a lie again..." He said, having huge PTSD of when Black Doom told him he was technically his son. "The thing that was tormenting you for months was the same thing that possessed you and tried to destroy the planet?!" Rouge exclaimed. "Error 706: Data not processed. Initiating reboot process..." Omega said, but in the last sentenced, his voice turned off along him, as he started to reboot himself. "...I don't even understood half of what you just said because of the song..." Misty confessed, and Tails at her side looked at her a bit confused. "Yeah, you guys are reacting the way I expected to," Sonic said with a smirk. "Well, I gotta hand it to you, Blue Star: You definitely know hot to make a good narration!" Pipp congratulated him with a smile. "Yeah! You start to speak and everyone pays attention to you without interrupting. Is impressive!" Knuckles admitted with a smirk. "I do wonder, though... Is there something you don't like to narrate?" Zipp asked. "What do you mean with that?" Sunny asked confused. "I know where Zipp's going with this!" Sonic said with a confident smirk. "I like to talk about what happened in the Starfall Islands because it's a good experience! Even if I was tormented by The End as a consequence, and even though it still happens sometimes..." A few nights ago, The End/Cyber Sonic appeared on the bedroom to mock Sonic up. "I am inevitable... I cannot be denied..." The End/Cyber Sonic said with rage. "You are not brave, you are not victorious... No matter what form I take... The End comes for you all." However, all Sonic did was yawn with a bored expression. "Dude, is 4 a.m. in the morning. Your appearances were scary for 6 months, but I can't take you serious anymore... So, if you're done with your edgy monologue, just go away and let me sleep..." He begged, now laying on his bed and immediately falling asleep. Of course, The End/Cyber Sonic deadpanned, and so, he simply disappeared. Back in reality, Sonic was deadpanning. "Yeah, he was way scarier when he was a giant snake..." Sonic pointed out. "Still, I narrate those events with passion because I like to! Now... Who wants to hear me narrate about the deadly virus Tails saved us from?!" "You mean the Metal Virus?" Tails asked confused. "Yeah, that thing..." Sonic replied with a smirk. In Maretime Bay, there were a bunch of Zombots across the town. The young fox kicked the door of the workshop, just to witness how Opaline was blasting a powerful fire blast against Sunny and growling in rage, while Sunny tried to protect herself with her own magic, but the trick wasn't working... "Hey!" Tails voice called out, and Opaline's ear twitched, before she stopped hitting Sunny and slowly turned around with a frown. "Leave her alone!" He stepped closer and glared daggers at Opaline, who growled in rage and lightened her horn again, but this time, she aimed it at Tails. "You just don't know when to quit!" "Yup! I'm stubborn like a mule!" Tails replied with a smirk, also wiping some blood coming out from his mouth. Opaline growled more, and without further ado, she charged up her most powerful and devastating blast. Then, she let out a loud warrior cry and shot her blast against Tails, who didn't even flinched nor attempted to move away, even placing the jar with th cure in front of him with a frown. "TAILS, NO!!!" Sunny shouted, and right at that moment, Zombot Hitch touched her back, which made the virus start to spread across her body. As for Tails, he could feel time stopping around him for a second. He was staring at the blast, that was inches away from him and the cure for the virus. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on the energy of his body. He knew for a fact that his electrical powers had some Chaos Energy, so maybe he could focus on that and contact the Chaos Emerald to use their power. After all, they could make the job of defeating Opaline and spread the virus' cure a lot easier. So, he focused, and focused, and focused, until time stopped moving for a moment, and the Chaos Emeralds surrounded him. They twirled around him for a few seconds, before entering his body and illuminate it entirely. Soon, a light shone bright, and when time started to run normally again, Opaline's blast hit Tails and the jar with the cure. "NO!" Sunny screamed, while her body was getting covered with the Metal Virus. As for Opaline, she laughed like a maniac at her accomplishment... One that failed, actually. We won't back down, we won't (Yeah, yo) Soon, the dust from Opaline's blast hitting Tails dissipated, and it showed that the young fox actually survived the hit, and was now glowing in a bright white color that covered his fur. His eyes turned red as well, and all the cuts he got, as well as the bleeding mouth and the purple eye, healed thanks to the power of the Chaos Emeralds. Yes, he went Super Tails, why aren't you clapping? Tails opened his eyes and smirked, before making the jar with the cure float on his own, and then, he boosted towards Opaline, making her traverse a bunch of walls with one single punch, while the Fire Alicorn grunted in pain because of that single hit. Will the whole world know your name When we dance with destiny? With Opaline down for the moment, Tails smirked and used the Chaos Emeralds' power to make the cure float out of the jar, and soon he pointed it to the sky, as he started to accumulate energy with his body. I've been there, and I've seen it I'm never gonna stop believing You'll find your flame Soon, Opaline shook her head and noticed what Tails was doing. "NO!" She shouted in rage and tried to fly towards him, but she got a blast that made her crash on her back against the wall and then fall to the ground. "Not so fast!" Misty said with a frown, as her horn was lightened up and sparkling, while Sunny joined her, despite the virus still being infecting her. (So take this as a lesson Cause it's all that we know) Opaline growled in anger and tried to stood up, but then, both Sunny and Misty shoot a powerful and combined blast against the Fire Alicorn, which made her yell in pain. Will the whole world know your name When we dance with destiny? (We won't back down) Meanwhile, Tails was growling in pain as he extended the cure for the virus and made it so big that it was almost covering half of Equestria, but he started to feel the power of the Emeralds flickering, probably because he never used their power at all in the past. I've been there, and I've seen it (We won't) I'm never gonna stop believing (Back down) You'll find your flame (We won't) "You just got to find the courage to put your fears and doubts aside!" Sonic's voice echoed on his mind, and his eyes widened, before he nodded to himself with a determinate look. He wasn't going to let fear take over himself when his friends needed him. He allowed it to happen when Infinite attacked, but he wouldn't fear today... Not anymore. So, with a warrior cry, Tails focused all his energy and finally finished extending the cure, before releasing it over all the Zombots, and Sunny included. Now here we go, it's the end of the show Hear them, they're calling your name Soon, the cure started to make its work, and it slowly began to cure all the infected ones, who at first shone bright once the cure made contact with them. Once the light was gone, all the infected ones where back to normal, and they started to look around confused. With that done, Tails looked at Opaline, still being attacked by Misty and Sunny, the latter being cured as well from the virus. With a determinate look, Tails boosted towards Opaline and punched her on the face, which made the Alicorn groan in pain, but before she could attack back, Tails grabbed her from her tail and twirled her around for a while, which made her have a huge Dejà vu, before Tails launched her far away, while Opaline screamed loudly in rage and fear. "I'LL GET MY REVENGE, STUPID FOX!" Opaline shouted maniacally, getting lost in the distance. Cause in the end It's you and your friends You'll find your flame (Oh, we can save the day) With Opaline gone, Tails started to pant heavily exhausted, but he still smiled satisfied. He did it... He spread the cure... He defeated Opaline... He won... Back in reality, Sonic wrapped his arm around Tails' neck. "You truly saved our butts there, little man!" Sonic told him with a smirk, also messing a bit with his hair. Tails laughed and got off Sonic's grip, then adjusted his googled and fixed his hair. "It wasn't such a big deal. Sure, I spread the cure, but Zipp and Misty finished it, remember?" "Oh, don't be so humble on yourself, Tails!" Knuckles said, softly patting his back with a hand. "You saved our butts big time, and that's something you don't have to be embarrassed of!" "Right!" Zipp agreed, wrapping Tails with a wing and nuzzling with him, making the young fox blush. "You are the hero of this story, like it or not!" "But you should definitely be proud of it!" Misty added with a smile. "And regarding of your question, Zippster..." Sonic called out, now laying on Zipp's shoulder with a bored expression. "I do narrate some stuff with no emotion whatsoever." "Stuff like?" Zipp asked while raising an eyebrow confused. "My weird trip to that alternate human Equestria world from last week," Sonic replied, still with a bored expression. "Is just the typical 'alien and human roadtrip' adventure with the Chaos Emeralds being the important alien item to recover! Although, I do feel like it was also just a lazy rip-off of some movie, but I can't get behind which one quite yet..." "I think we have more important stuff to worry about that copying movies and brake the fourth wall, Hedgehog..." Shadow pointed out with a frown. "Like what, Mr. Ultimate Life Form?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow and a mocking smirk. "Like Opaline and her plot with Dragon Fire?" Rouge replied instead of her teammate with a bored expression. "Or like doctor Eggman and his 'next sinister plot that will be unbeatable', like he said..." Omega added, narrowing his eyes like if he were also making a bored expression. Sonic rolled his eyes and shrugged their worries off. "Eh, if you guys are still worried for Opaline..." Meanwhile, in Opaline's Castle, the Dragonstone was just 25% full of power. To this, Opaline's eyes widened, and then she groaned in annoyance. "Ugh! I already used most of its power for the barrier around the castle! I can't go and capture that foolish Sparky again! Nor look for other dragons, either! I would have to leave the castle unprotected, which would make me come back and get ambushed, and––" Then, she let out a massive groan of rage and blasted another wall of her castle with her magic, but then, her eyes widened after she realized her mistake, and she started to tear up, before bursting out crying and cover her face with her hooves. "I have lost everything!" Opaline cried dramatically, while her makeup got ruined because of her tears. "Her Dragonstone probably has little to no magic left," Sonic shrugged off, but now smiling. "As for Eggman, this isn't the first time he say he has a bigger plot. He fails anyways!" "Even though he's been close to win many times..." Tails muttered while deadpanning. "Chill out, Tails!" Sonic said with a smile. "All the damage he has done to us has gone into therapy sessions like the wind!" He reminded confidently, also wrapping an arm around his neck, but Tails rolled his eyes in annoyance and shook his head. On his lab, Eggman was tapping over his computer at fast paste. After his failures with the Ancient's technology, the Metal Virus, and stealing the Chaos Emeralds from the Brighthouse, the doctor decided that it was time for a change of strategy in his game. He managed to reopen Sage and download her code. Once that was done, he moved forward to a capsule and placed the key with Sage's code on it. After a few minutes, the capsule opened to reveal some kind of life form... a pale child with white hear and black clothes. Once Sage's code was uploaded to said body, the capsule removed the green liquid inside and opened, with the child almost falling to the ground... if it wasn't because of Eggman, who managed to catch her just in time. Slowly, the girl opened her blue eyes and stared at the ground for a second, before gasping as she realized that she was looking at all. She slowly looked at her hand, not glitching like it used to in the Starfall Islands, and then she looked up to face up Eggman... her dad. "F-Father?" Sage called out in surprise. "Is good to see you again... dear daughter," Eggman replied with a warm smile. "We have a lot to talk about..." THE END...? 77. Friday Night Food FightIn Bridlewood, Misty is running as fast as she can while dodging an incoming cake. Said cake was being tossed around for some reason, and she quickly dodged more of them, making as many flips as she could while trying to avoid the incoming food, which some is either old or rotten. Just then, three unicorns came up from behind a bush with mischievous smiles, making Misty gasp and stop. "Give it up, Misty! There's no escape!" The unicorn stallion in the middle stated, levitating four more pieces of food, while his two friends beside him held up their own. Misty grew nervous and backed away a bit, just before turning around and gasp when she saw Onyx and Dapple appearing behind her with smirks, also levitating more food and tossing it at her. This made her quickly dodge the food, being close to get hit by it at several times. But even with all her reflexes, she gasped when she noticed many ponies surrounding her, preparing to toss their food at her with sinister smiles. But before this happened, Izzy front-flipped over to her. "Misty! Get down!" She called out, tackling Misty to the ground before the unicorns tossed their food to hit each other instead of Misty. After this, Izzy grabbed some food and started to throw it around with a wicked smile, hitting unicorns with the food. A unicorn mare even grabbed Dapple to block an incoming pie, and she smiled when the pie didn't hit her, but then she was hit with another pie in her face all the same. Meanwhile, Misty kept trotting away, while Izzy trotted beside her. "Yay!" She cheered, startling Misty bit. "Don't you just love Friday Night Food Fights?!" She asked, but then, she saw some foals like Peach Fizz and more unicorns appearing with more food to throw. "Whoa! Look out!" Izzy grabbed Misty, then they danced the tango while dodging as much food as they could. "All the weeks' food that's old and rotten…" She ducked an incoming donut, "Gets saved up…" She ducked again, "And put to good use…" She then lean Misty back from incoming food again. "In the best, unicorn tradition!" She twirled Misty around, which caused her to spin and land in a bush, while Izzy jumped in after her. Behind the bush, Misty was panting from the rush. "I'm not sure about this, Izzy. Isn't there someplace I can just watch?" Yet as Izzy looked over to see if the coast was clear, here eyes widened when she saw the unicorns advancing towards them with mischief smirks and rotten foods ready to throw. "The Tea House! Home-sies is safe-sies!" Izzy quickly answered, so Misty trotted off. "Quick, Misty! Make a break for it! I'll cover you." She exclaimed with a determined expression, then she started to laugh maniacally while looking at the other unicorns. "Oh, yeah? Take that!" Then, She tossed some food at the unicorns to the face, while a rotten pizza hit a stallion in the mouth. "And that! And––" Izzy tried to keep going, but she was cut off when Onyx, Dapple, and a unicorn mare came out of hiding with smirks, levitating some pies that they tossed at Izzy, who go buried in a pile she had to climb out of. "Or maybe I'll get covered... in pies!" She quipped cheerfully, then laughed at her joke. "Pies! Get it?" Yeah, a pie hit her in the face right after she asked that, and then more pies began to hit her. Back in Maretime Bay, Sunny had her Alicorn form activated, and she took a deep breath. In the other side of where she was standing, Sonic and Shadow were waiting for her to give them a sign, being surrounded by the Chaos Emeralds. They were still training Sunny to make her resists Chaos Energy, just like Sonic promised they'll do back when she got her Chaos Pocks. "Are we totally sure both of us going Super and fighting her is the best way to make her resist Chaos Energy?" Shadow questioned with his arms crossed to Sonic. "Our options are that, or expose Sunny to the Emeralds again and risk her by making her transform into that strange lizard/dragon or whatever it was that triggered her Chaos Pocks." Sonic replied with a deadpan. "Then going Super it is." Shadow nodded, even though he still had second thoughts with this idea. "Ready whenever you are, Sunny!" Sonic shouted to his sister with a smile. Sunny stretched herself a bit and then shook her body a bit, before taking a deep breath and spread her wings, then look ahead to Sonic and Shadow with a determinate expression. "Do it!" Sunny instructed. With the sign up, Sonic and Shadow immediately focused, and the Chaos Emeralds floated from the ground, surrounding them and transforming them both into Super Sonic and Super Shadow, then they boosted towards the air, and so did Sunny, since this is where the training begins. Now that she was in the air, both Sonic and Shadow charged against her, so she simply flew around them to dodge whatever they were gonna do, but even if she did, Shadow still teleported in front of her. Startled and gasping, Sunny created a shield in front of her that protected her from Shadow's punch, but she barely could see Sonic coming from below her and punching her to the sky. Of course, Sunny yelped startled, but she still recovered as quick as possible and tried to attack back to the two Super Hedgehogs. She launched a blast against Sonic, but he dodged the attack like nothing and then launched himself as a bullet towards Sunny, then charged the Sonic Boom and launched several crosses to her. Sunny dodged the crosses, then managed to hit Sonic in the face, and judging by his grunt, she supposed it hurt. Her instinct to apologize came afloat, but knowing that he'll be fine and that this is just part of the training made her regret the idea. However, she barely dodged one Shadow's Chaos Spares. She turned to him with a frown and launched against him. She was going to punch him in the face, but Shadow stopped her hoof effortlessly, although Sunny smirked and made a flip, kicking his face with her hind legs. Startled, Shadow grabbed his jaw and rubbed it, just to be blasted away by Sunny. She smirked, but then barely created a bubble shield around her to protect herself from Sonic's Homing Shot. She then managed to teleport behind him, only for Sonic to turn around and protect himself from a punch with his arms. With that, Sonic then grabbed Sunny and twirled her around, making her yelp startled, then launched her away. Sunny got dizzy as she was thrown away, twirling around constantly while yelping. And then, Shadow appeared and hit her towards the ground, making her groan in pain. Sunny landed in the ground on her back, deactivating her Alicorn form, while Sonic and Shadow's eyes widened, and they even panicked to the point they both rushed down to check on her. When they both reached land, they released the Chaos Emeralds. The jewels landed in the grass, while the two hedgehogs approached Sunny, who slowly got up with a dizzy expression and a sheepish chuckle. "...I think I went overboard..." Shadow said concerned, then he looked away and grind his teeth. "Sorry." "I still could heard your apologize, Shadow." Sonic deadpanned, and Shadow glared daggers at him. "I-I'm fine! Really!" Sunny assured, shaking her head and fixing her mane a bit since it got messy. "I just need more practice to avoid you both going all fast on me." "Uh, maybe Shadow was right earlier, Sunny-bunny." Sonic hesitantly admitted. "Maybe you should consider other route. Why's us beating the crap out of you while being Super the only way you can learn to resist Chaos Energy, again?" "Because if I want to use their power one day, I must be ready to resist powerful punches like the ones from Super forms like yours!" Sunny pointed out. "I'm an Alicorn and powerful, true, but if I can't resist a punch from a powerful source like the Chaos Emeralds, then what kind of Alicorn am I?" "While you have a point, telling us not to hold back is not really safe for you. Are you sure you want us to go all out on you?" Shadow asked concerned. "Absolutely!" Sunny nodded with a smirk, making her Alicorn form appear again. "Now come on! Hit me with all you've got!" With that, she boosted back into the air, leaving behind two concerned hedgehogs. They looked at each other concerned, but they still went Super again and follow her along. In Bridlewood, Misty kept running and dodging food through the path to her dad's working place. Just then, she saw Crystal Tea Room ahead, which caused her to gasp joyfully in relief with sparkling eyes. She simply kept dodging more and mored food, until she finally made it to the tea room, where Alphabittle's cleaning a teacup. Yet when Misty gets in and he notices, her daughter quickly shuts the door. Misty choose to peak outside again, just so see more food getting thrown in the air, so she quickly closed the door again and then turned to her father. "Dad! Quick! It's not safe! We got to get out of here! This food fight has gotta stop!" Yet this last comment seemed to surprise Alphabittle. "You mean to tell me you don't like Friday Night Food Fights?" He asked, then smiled. "Hah! Oh, you sure changed your tune." He then walked to her. "Very well, then. If that's what you want, I will put an end to all this food-flinging nonsense." Yet as Alphabittle walked out of the Tea Room, Misty then got really worried. "No, Dad, wait! Don't go out there!" Outside, Alphabittle waved a white flag while frowning. "Listen up, ponies! From this day forth, I declare a ceasefire!" He called out, which surprised the unicorns. "Lay down your old lasagna, your rotten bananas––" He ordered, but the unicorns only smirked at each other, then one launched a rotten tomato to Alphabittle's eye, making his other eye widen. He clenched his hoof in anger, but then another tomato hit his other eye, then a rotten banana landed on his mouth, and then more rotten food was launched and piled over him, making Misty gasp. More and more food was getting launched over Alphabittle, until the poor older unicorn was entirely covered in a pile of rotten food. He did managed to get a free hoof from the pile he was under, but it was still shocking for Misty to see, since she gasped in horror at the sight. "Nooooo!" Misty cried out dramatically, then she ran to her father and started digging him out of the pile. "No! He was only trying to end this battle!” She cried out, getting her father's head out, who looked dazed. "This can't be happening! Why?! Oh, why, oh, why, oh, why?!" In Mane Melody, Zipp and Pipp were having their brunch together. However, Pipp suddenly stopped once she was going to chomp her food again, and started to look around with a glare and a raised eyebrow, something Zipp noticed. "You okay sis?" Zipp asked confused. "...Don't ask me why I do this, but I feel like somepony's being more dramatic than me..." Pipp replied. "...Well, Twilight have mercy on us of that's the case..." Zipp said with a snort and a mocking smirk. Pipp's eyes widened, and even if she snorted too, she still looked at Zipp with a glare. "Hey!" Zipp only chuckled at her own joke, while Pipp rolled her eyes annoyed. Back in Bridlewood, Alphabittle shook his head and looked confused. "Hang on." Alphabittle said, standing up and turning to his daughter. "Are you telling me you... you don't remember?" A few years ago, Alphabittle was feeding his young daughter some food, holding a spoon for her. "The Pegasus soars through the air! It's coming into land! Ooh!" Alphabittle said with a smile, moving the spoon around like a pegasus and bringing it close to Filly Misty, who got her mouth open, yet Alphabittle boop Misty on the nose, getting some food on it. Filly Misty looked at her nose for a bit before smiling widely. "Yaaay!" She cheered while waving her hooves, which Alphabittle responded with a smile as he moved the spoon around his daughter. Yet this only made Misty smirk, so she stood up on her place and focused on the spoon, before she tried to catch it, but it flicked out of her father's hoof. The spoon flew around until it hit a unicorn mare on the head. The mare's friend started to laugh at her, irritating the mare a lot. However, said mare was eating a salad, so to get revenge, she threw her salad piece at him, but he ducked before getting hit, which made an old unicorn stallion get the hit instead. Izzy: It's the place where love and friendship starts It's for me, yeah, it's for you, yeah, it's for everycritter The stallion glared at the mare that launch the salad piece, while the mare flinched frightened, and so did her stallion friend that got up again after ducking down. The elderly stallion's eye twitched, but then he smirked and lifted a piece of food, which he hit the other stallion with it. Don't be aloof, pick up your hoof and play your part Just show a little heart The mare and stallion smirked, then they picked up more food and threw some at the elder, starting this way a food fight where everypony else in the Tea Room ended up joining. Alphabittle saw this surprised, but then he heard his daughter's giggle, so he turned to her with a smile, while Filly Misty giggled and waved her hooves in excitement. In the end, she's the one that started this whole food fight in the first place. By accident, true, but she did it, anyways. If you're feelin' what I'm feelin', then get up and show me 'Cause today's not the day for bein' lonely But then, Alphabittle was hit in the face with some food, and so was Filly Misty, while a watermelon hit a bow with fruits. Yet this only made Filly Misty giggle again, making Alphabittle giggle as well. Then, he joined the food fight by grabbing the watermelon and throwing it at somepony in the Tea Room. With that explanation done, Misty was left shocked with a twitchy eye at the revelation. "Hang on. Are you telling me I started this tradition back when I was a filly?!" Misty asked her father in surprise. "Yes, that's–– Oof!" Alphabittle was cut off when more rotten food was thrown at him and made him fall to the floor. Misty gasped and felt terrified at the sight, before looking ahead with anger and determination combined. "That's it! If I started this, I can finish it, too!" She snapped, ready to get revenge from her father's defeat. Back in Maretime Bay, the sky was a festival of flashlights. Yet this wasn't because of fireworks or something like that, but because Sunny was still training along Super Sonic and Super Shadow. This time, her strategy was simply fly away from them until she could catch the Super Hedgehogs off-guard, but she hasn't had any luck so far. The most damage she could do to any of them was blast them towards the ground a couple of times, but considering there's two of them, she could only blast one and then dodge the other's attack. Repeating this process several times wasn't leading anywhere, so she had to play a new strategy: This time, she multiplied herself and split up in two different directions. Of course, this finally took the Super Hedgehogs off-guard, but they still split up as well, each one chasing one Sunny. Of course, they were faster than the two Sunnys together, so they could catch them at any second... But they never expected the two Sunnys to go against each other. Then, when the Sunnys crashed, they went back to be one, then Sunny teleported away. This made Sonic and Shadow crash against each other instead, which made them loose their Super forms and fall into the ground with groans of pain, while the Chaos Emerald fell around them both. Sunny landed in the ground and smirked down at the two hedgehogs. "Hah! You guys still think this is a bad idea?" She only got painful groans from Sonic and Shadow as an answer, while both Hedgehogs started to slowly and painfully stand up after literally crashing in their backs because of loosing their Super forms. "I think that we underestimated your strength, Sunny..." Shadow said with a chuckle, just to groan loudly in pain again. "But I also think we need to go to a hospital..." "Come one, it wasn't that bad––" Sunny rolled her eyes and tried to shrug it off. However, Sonic groaned in pain again after he tried to put his right foot on the ground. "...No, seriously. We need to go and see a doctor, like right now..." "...Oh geez..." Sunny said with wide eyes and a sheepish smile, also blushing embarrassed. In Bridlewood, sh*t was gonna get real. Misty stomped her hoof on a pie, then drew some marks on her cheeks, and finally tied a headband in her head. After that, she roared in anger and charged towards the unicorns, ready to avenge her father. After all, and as she stated earlier: She started this, so now she's finishing it. Izzy: It's the place where love and friendship starts It's for me, yeah, it's for you, yeah, it's for everycritter The ponies looked surprised at Misty, but then they all smirked, while Misty rolled behind a pile of food. Am I the only one questioning why are these piles still intact? Eh, cartoon logic, I guess. Don't be aloof, pick up your hoof and play your part Just show a little heart Then, Misty stood up and tossed some pies to a pair of unicorn mares, surprising them before getting hit. Then, two other unicorns came behind them, ready to throw their food at her, but Misty turned her head and saw them with a smirk, so she ducked down to avoid the pies. After that, Misty threw two pies at the surprised unicorns like shuriken, hitting them both in the head. With that, she trotted off, while Izzy saw Misty with pride and a tearful smile, also eating some of the rotten ponycorn. She's gonna be fine, though. Why? Because Izzy is built different, that's why! If you're feelin' what I'm feelin', then get up and show me 'Cause today's not the day for bein' lonely Oh, oh, I'm spreadin' the love... Then, the unicorns levitated more food and tossed it at Misty, who quickly hid behind a pile of food. Yet she also noticed some rotten eggs, so she smirked, grabbed some and tossed them in the air, then levitated them with her magic, and then started to hit the unicorns with them, most hitting Dapple's mane. "Eww! Rotten eggs?” Dapple exclaimed in shock. "My mane's gonna smell for weeks!" "Revenge is sweet!" Misty quipped with a smirk, as she levitated some gelatins with whipped cream and sprinkles on them before twirling around and threw the gelatins at the unicorns, hitting pretty much every single one of them. ...You better follow your heart, it ain't gonna wait Love, I'm gonna shout it Love, I'm gonna shout it Then, Misty grabbed some grapes and put them in her mouth, standing up and spitting them out like a cannon, hitting the unicorns as they all ran for cover, but got hit all the same. "Nopony messes with my dad!" Misty called seriously, while Alphabittle was behind her wiping some rotten food off him. Ain't no doubt about it Love's in the air, let's shout it Whoo! Then, Misty stomped on some ketchup bottles, which hit a couple of unicorns. Next, she threw a pizza like a frisbee, making it land on a foal's open mouth, before Misty smirked and levitated a bowl full of honey, which she used to cover a unicorn mare in it. Don't try to hide now, no, don't run from fate Love's in the air and, ooh, it's smelling great Don't be afraid, it's not too late for a new start Just show a little heart Then, Misty tossed some jawbreakers at Onyx and Dapple, making them trip and crash from losing their balance. Next, she brought out two loaves of bread and frowned, before whacking some ponies with them. And finally, suddenly and literally out of nowhere, she brought out a cannon she strapped herself with, pulling the string to activate the cannon and shot some pretzels at a unicorn mare, which she tried to dodge. Finally, Misty levitated some spaghetti and tied a couple of unicorns together with it. "Hasta la vista, pony!" Misty quipped with a smirk. She choose to stay still for a moment to see so many unicorns around her that were down, but then she noticed a few more unicorns coming from behind her thanks to their shadows being really visible. "How'd you like an extra big helping of... this?!" The unicorn stallion stated, as he and three unicorns levitated a ton of rotten food and threw it at her. Misty gasped at the incoming rotten food, so she closed her eyes and focused her magic on her horn. If you're feelin' what I'm feelin', then get up and show me 'Cause today's not the day for bein' lonely The rotten food stopped mid-air, and while Misty strained a bit, the unicorns' jaws dropped in shock at the scene. Then, Misty gave a determined look and reeled back, stomping her hoof while roaring and tossing the food back at the unicorns, all getting hit and thrown to the ground, some even feeling a bit dizzy. After the whole food slaughtering was down, Izzy walked up to Misty. "Misty, you were amazing! Food fight champion!" She cheered. "But what about all this food?" Misty asked concerned, gesturing to the piles of rotten food, while the unicorns got out of them. "What, that? Aww, the forest will have that for lunch." Izzy assured with a smile, now gesturing to a rotten apple. "See? All that musty old food was only ever good for one thing – mulch." She said, right when the rotten apple was absorbed into the ground, and some newly sprouted plants grew there. "It helps grow Bridlewood, enrich the soil, and keep the forest alive." Misty smiled with sparkling eyes, but then she heard her father. "A prize for the food fight victor!" Alphabittle said, while Misty turned to him with a smile, as she saw him levitate a two-stack rainbow cake with strawberries and butterflies on it. "Thanks for avenging me." Misty kept smiling with sparkling eyes, just as Izzy wrapped her hoof around her. "Friday Night Food Fight battle champ! That's sure a side of you I've never seen!" She said cheerfully, while Alphabittle came up to them and placed the cake down. Misty smiled at Izzy, then she turned to the cake and gasped happily with sparkling eyes. But as she walked to it, she slipped on a banana peel, which caused her to trip. "Aah!" Misty cried out, falling into the cake, completely covered in frosting and cream, while Izzy and Alphabittle walked to her. "Thaaaaat's more like it!" Izzy said with a small smile, then she started to laugh, and soon, Alphabittle and Misty began to laugh along. Back in Maretime Bay, Sonic was now resting a foot over a pillow with a frown and his arms crossed. It turns out that Sunny's hit caused Sonic to sprain his foot, and now he has to rest for at least a month. It means he won't run for a whole month, which means he's now upset with Sunny for spraining her foot. Worse is the fact that Shadow recovered as if nothing had happened, because he is not injured. "Are you still mad with me, Sonic?" Sunny asked with a sheepish smile. "Yes." Sonic replied coldly. "But I said I was sorry! Like, a millionth times already!" Sunny pointed out with concern. "Like if being sorry is going to un-sprain my foot." Sonic rolled his eyes. "Look, I know I got carried away with the training, but I'm really sorry!" Sunny apologized again. "It was not my intention to sprain your foot, I-I only wanted to prove I've got stronger!" "Yeah, and how did that turned out? Shadow may be unharmed, but thanks to your excitement, I'll be the next month in bed without running!" Sonic complained. "If Eggman or Opaline attacks, I won't be able to do anything!" "I... I'm sorry..." Sunny apologized again. "You're right, I should've thought in that before making the attack. Guess my excitement is a bit overboard sometimes, huh? Perhaps that's why sometimes I can barely see the entire picture around me. Maretime Bay Day, Winter Wishday, Misty's betrayal, Discord's reasons to destroy magic! And now this... I'm really sorry, Sonic." "...You apologize too much, you know that?" Sonic said with a little smirk, and Sunny actually smiled a bit as well. "...I'm not that mad with you, Sunny. Sure, I may not be able to run for the next month, but... Accidents happen. Also, don't be so harsh on yourself. Not everyone can see the picture around them, not even me." "Still, I should've thought of what would happen to you and Shadow! And I didn't..." Sunny pointed out concerned. Sonic sighed, but then he wrapped an arm around his sister. "Cheer up, sis! As you said, it wasn't your intention. And, thinking about it, a month can pass flying by! So don't be so pushy with yourself! Nothing wrong happened here, okay?" "You changed your mind really quick, you know that?" Sunny teased with a smirk. "I don't like to see my sister so sad." Sonic replied with a smile. "And if that's a crime, then I declare myself guilty!" Sunny laughed and hugged Sonic, while Sonic just smiled and laughed along her. Sure, he's gonna be a month without running, but having a sad Sunny around? Not under his watch! Eggman was at his hidden lab, reading through some old books he hasn't checked in a while. He's still investigating about that powerful artifact that could literally tear apart the wall that separates this reality from any other one, a power that can afford him the ability to travel across universes. His ambition was beginning to grow again, and even if he knows so little about this artifact, he loves what he's seen so far. "Fascinating... With this power, I could rule over not only one reality and two dimensions... but every universe with every dimension that comes with them!" Eggman exclaimed out loud with excitement and a sinister grin. "Oh, this is gonna be good!" As usual, the doctor laughed like a maniac, and he couldn't wait to learn more about this mysterious artifact. THE END...? Author's Note Eh, this chapter was a little bit "eh" to work with, if I'm being honest. I had no f*cking clue on what to do with the Sonic cast, then I remembered that in "Chaos Pocks", Sonic mentioned he and Shadow would train Sunny so she can handle the Chaos Emeralds' power. In the end, that's how we got here, and what I wrote is what you got. I really have nothing else to say this time around, so let's keep it short lived. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all later! Bye!
1. Sisters Take FlightFar away, in the highest mountains of Equestria, Zephyr Heights came to view as a pegasus worker flew towards it but bumped into another pegasus who twirled around in mid-flight. "Hey! Watch it! I'm flyin' here!" The pegasus worker scolded the other. Pipp was in her room inside the castle, trying to pack her things into a suitcase. She and Zipp were getting a few things at their home that they would bring to the Crystal Brighthouse so they would have some comfort while moving close to their friends. However, Pipp struggled as she tried to close her bag. "Get-in-get-in-get-in-get-in-get-in!" She said repeatedly, trying to keep the suitcase shut. But after that failed attempt, clothes burst and scattered everywhere, as a piece of clothing landed on Pipp's head. "Augh, come on!" Pipp groaned in frustration, trying to keep her things in place as she moved the clothing out of her eyes. But then, she looked in the mirror and now had sparkly eyes. "Ooh! Cuuute!" She sang, taking out her phone and taking a selfie. Zipp came to her sister's door as she knocked. "Hurry up, Pipp. Mom wants to say a 'little' goodbye," she said, smiling, knowing that their mom would say a longer goodbye so she could keep her daughters in Zephyr Heights for as long as possible. But then she heard Pipp grunting and panting as she struggled with her suitcase. "Everything okay in there?" "Yep! Totally... fine…" Pipp replied, standing on her bed. She then backflipped as she dived into her suitcase. "Hi-yah!" she cried as she dived straight to her bag. Zipp opened her sister’s door suddenly and saw Pipp lying down in her bag with a thud. Zipp looked at her sister in confusion, wondering why she had jumped on her bag. "Phew!" Pipp exclaimed in relief. Hey, Zipp! Just finishing all my packing," she said, exiting her suitcase with a smile. But then, her smile disappeared when her suitcase started straining. The clips opened up, causing all of her clothes to fly out and spread to the entire room. And, for some reason, Cloudpuff was in it as well, as he flew out. Pipp looked nervously as her clothes spread out. Then she looked at Zipp, who was looking confused at her sister about why she had packed so many of her things. Pipp saw that Zipp was dressed like a queen with royal garments, a necklace, a crown, and a robe on her, as Zipp held Cloudpuff in her hooves. Pipp looked at her sister with sparkling eyes and a smile. "Aww, Zipp!" she said, taking out her phone and taking a picture of Zipp wearing royal garments. She found it beautiful. Zipp looked in the mirror and gasped in shock at what she was wearing. She grumbled furiously while taking the royal garments off her, not a fan of wearing anything royal. She tossed Cloudpuff away, and he hopped away with a bark. "Ugh, let's go!" she told Pipp, grabbing her bag and placing it over her. "Grab your bag," she told her sister. Pipp cleared her throat as she turned to her. "Ahem... Bag?" she asked sheepishly as she turned to the corner. "About that…" she stated, revealing that she packed two dozen or so bags as Cloudpuff barked and jumped into the pile. Zipp gasped in shock, seeing so many bags her sister had packed, wondering why she would need all that stuff. Meanwhile, back at the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic found himself in the room he would share with his friends since Hitch would continue to live in town. He had spent the last few hours trying to figure out how to reactivate the Chaos Emeralds because even though he had found them - or at least 3 - in a forest, they didn't seem to have as much energy as before. Usually, when Sonic came into contact with a Chaos Emerald, it reacted immediately and released some static in Sonic's body. But as soon as he took one of them, nothing happened: it didn't glow brightly nor give off that static that gave Sonic a certain feeling of chill, nor did it float slightly. He tried again with the other 2, but the result was the same: nothing happened. Another thing he noticed was that despite retaining their colors, they were faded as if they were cheap copies made to trick him. But that was strange too: the Emeralds were glowing when Sonic found them, their glow fading as soon as Sonic touched them. "What is happening?" Sonic asked himself, looking at the Emeralds on his bed. "Usually I feel like they speak to me as soon as I touch them, but this time a little touch turned them off. Did they spend some of their energy just for me to find them? Damn... If Tails were here, he'd help me find out what's up with the Emeralds, no doubt, but I'm in this alone." 'Actually, I'm not...' he thought suddenly, remembering that he had made new friends in that dimension. "No," he told himself immediately. "They don't have to deal with my problems. I know they'd be willing to help me, but getting involved with the Chaos Emeralds is a danger they're incapable of dealing with... I hope I never blurt out a comment like that with them." He turned to see the Emeralds again as more doubts flooded his mind. He tried again to use 'Chaos Control' with two of the Emeralds, but he didn't feel their energy coursing through his body, any breeze entering the room, or the gems he held even glowing. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. "Oh, come on!" Sonic yelled in frustration. "This is supposed to shine! It's my goddamn ticket home, and it's not like I want to leave now, but eventually I'll have to! And at least having the exit ready would be nice! But these things don't want to work, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY!!!" he yelled again, his newfound power buoying up and throwing the Blue Emerald towards a wall to blow off steam. But as soon as the Emerald reacted with his new ability, it regained its usual glow, and Sonic noticed that, with his new power disappearing. He moved closer to the Emerald, but when he touched it, his glow disappeared again. Seeing what happened before he made her glow again, he had an idea: he closed his eyes and let the electricity out of her body, causing her quills to light up in a neon hue. Immediately, the Chaos Emerald he held in his hand began to shine again and even floated. Sonic opened his eyes, which were blue now and was glad to see that the Emerald was shining again. Worse, his joy didn't last long because he hadn't noticed that part of the electricity released by his body collided with the other two emeralds, which also shone again. Soon, the 3 Emeralds began to synchronize with each other and were preparing to release a powerful beam that could pierce through the Brighthouse, so he let go of his newfound power, and the Emeralds fell, no longer glowing. "Wow…" Sonic said. "Looks like my new power can recharge the Emeralds, but if I keep it up long... who knows what might happen? Maybe I should..." But the sound of Sunny's voice approaching the room made him panic. He felt the door open a little, so he concentrated some energy to slow down time, lift the mattress off his bed, put the Emeralds in a bag, put the bag under the mattress, put the mattress in place, and arrange the sheets. It was only when his hands touched the sheet that time returned to normal while Sunny entered the room. "There you are, Sonic!" Sunny exclaimed. "The farewell parade for Zipp and Pipp is about to start. We're going to watch the live broadcast on TV. Do you want to come?" "Sure! I wouldn't miss it even if I were crazy!" Sonic said with a smile as he walked towards Sunny. He took one last sidelong glance at his bed, hoping no one would check under his mattress. 'For now, I won't tell anyone this. I'll check another time to see what happens to the Emeralds.' And with that, Sonic and Sunny went down with Izzy and Hitch to see their pegasus friends in a parade that he already sensed would not be a 'little' goodbye. Outside Zephyr Heights Castle, a crowd of ponies was waiting for the queen and princesses to leave. Suddenly, the front door opened, and the crowd saw a balloon version of Queen Haven come out, and they began to scream with excitement. "And here come the royal balloons!" Skye Silver announced, while two more balloons, looking like Zipp and Pipp, shot out from the castle wall as the crowd cheered. But two pegasi accidentally bumped into something amid the cheers, and another hit a statue while a foal hit its face with the Queen Haven balloon. Dazzle and Skye wince as they almost bump into each other. "Ooh! Another close call, Skye," Dazzle announced. "There's been a lot of those lately, Dazzle," Skye pointed out with a smile. Magic was still relatively new to the Pegasi, so they hadn't mastered flying yet. "It's true. But you know what they say, Skye. Progress over perfection!" Dazzle responded with a smile, then saw something that made her gasp, “Here comes the royal family now!” She yelled as she saw Queen Haven and her daughters coming with a pure gold chariot with their thrones. The crowd cheered as they saw the royals walking past the crowd during the parade. The three royals greeted the ponies here. Zipp waved nervously, not used to having so many ponies admiring them. When she saw the balloon version of herself approaching her, she freaked out and then growled. "For the record, mother, this is not a 'little' goodbye!" "Smile, Zephyrina," Haven told her daughter with a smile. "This is all for you," she pointed out, waving to the crowd. Zipp rolled her eyes, thinking her mother had gone too far with her goodbye. Pipp, on the other hand, was blowing kisses and loving the crowd. Then, a bouquet came towards her when he caught it. "Awww!" she said in thanks. A group of fillies and foals screamed with excitement as they tossed the flowers, and one earth pony filly was about to faint with excitement when another earth pony filly caught her. Pipp then took the camera phone out of her and took several selfies. Zipp realized what Pipp was doing and immediately gasped as she ducked down to stop her sister from taking pictures of her. "Pipp, no pictures!" she yelled, trying to make Pipp understand that she didn't want to be seen on camera. "Come on, Zipp," Pipp said, trying to convince her sister of hers. "Just one? Don't you wanna remember today?" she asked, obviously talking about the parade. And suddenly, a colt wearing a Zipp mask appeared right before her. "I love you, Zipp!" she yelled, causing Zipp to duck out of sight as the colt returned to the crowd. "And which part exactly would I want to remember?" Zipp asked, looking at her sister, disturbed by what she had just seen. "Oh, I don't know..." Pipp said rhetorically. "How about the loving send-off from your mother? The queen?" she pointed out, getting straight to Zipp's face. They touched muzzle while reading at each other. "Enough!" The Haven queen yelled, Tired of hearing her daughters argue. "Zephyrina, you are the future queen. Now sit up straight and wave!" she said sternly to Zipp, who immediately returned to smiling and waving very forcefully. She glanced sideways at Pipp, who was looking at her back with a leer. Pipp sighed at her older sister's rebellious personality as she waved to the crowd. Back at the Crystal Brighthouse, the three remaining ponies of the mane 5 and Sonic were watching TV on the couch. They saw Zipp and Pipp in the goodbye parade, and Zipp and Pipp turned away from facing each other, waving at the crowd. "Look! There they are!" Sunny called out happily, putting her front hooves in the air in a cheer. "Hi, Zipp. Hi, Pipp!" she called out. "Geez and I thought that parade at Soleanna was fancy as hell, but Queen Haven took it to the next level," Sonic snorted, impressed that Haven had gone that far to say goodbye to her daughters. "Soleanna?" Sunny asked with a little smile. "Sounds a little fancy. Is it a kingdom or something similar in your home?" "Yup," Sonic answered, smiling back. "Weird... every time I think about Soleanna, I feel like something's missing... Meh, it's probably nothing important." The TV then changed to the next scene, showing foals screaming on screen to the royalties. "Are those pegasi crying?" Hitch asked in confusion. "Sounds more like they're yelling excited," Sonic added. "I guess the royals have more fans than they can imagine." Izzy sighs dreamily at the cheers. "I know exactly how Pipp and Zipp feel right now..." she says, flashing back to how Bridlewood felt when she was leaving for Maretime Bay. Izzy twirled her bag from her hoof to land, prepared to move to the Crystal Brighthouse. The Unicorns were cheering for Izzy to live her dreams as she walked down the pathway, blowing kisses at them and waving to the ponies. But then it's revealed that Izzy was only daydreaming while walking through the forest on the path to Maretime Bay. No pony was around but a lone unicorn foal playing the kazoo to her as Izzy kept smiling. Izzy smiled at that memory, completely oblivious to what happened, lost in her little world. "I remember it like it was yesterday..." she commented. "Maybe because it was yesterday, Izzy," Sonic reminded her as he, Sunny, and Hitch looked at her with a boring expression. "Was it? Oh!" Izzy questioned with a smile. She had forgotten that she had told them about that. "Ooh, look! The queen!" she squealed, as the others looked at the TV with excitement. "Hope that those giant balloons don't cause a little trouble to the royalties," Sonic said, looking with a neutral expression on the TV. On a stage at the front of the Castle, Queen Haven made a little speech to the crowd about her daughters. "It seems like only yesterday my daughters were adorable little fillies..." she said, as she pointed out some pictures of Zipp and Pipp that were taken over the years: one when they were fillies, one where Zipp was not amused with the picture and Pipp was laying on a cloud; and then finally one where Pipp pose to the camera and one with Zipp sleeping on her bed. "But look at them now!" she gestured to her daughters to the side as the crowd cheered them. Pipp was blowing kisses to the crowd, but Zipp blushed a lot in embarrassment after their mother revealed those photos. She looked around, trying to get her mind off of the pictures. At the Crystal Brighthouse, Sunny, Izzy, and Hitch couldn't stop laughing at the photos Haven showed. They had seen a lot of Pipp before since he was a celebrity, but they had never seen photos of Zipp, much less ones this embarrassing. Sonic took out his phone with a smirk and took a picture of the TV, saving Zipp's pictures for his convenience. "And click!" he exclaimed after taking the photos. "I'll pester Zipp with this until it bores me," Sonic said with a smirk. "I feel a little bad for her, but sweet Chaos was that hilarious! Embarrassing, but hilarious." "Right!" Hitch responded with a snort. "Oh, when Zipp gets back, she will never hear the end of this!" Sunny exclaimed as she laughed. At the stage, Queen Haven started to sob because she saw her daughters go. "All grown up... and leaving me…" she said. Then she realized that she was crying and cleared her throat while recomposing herself. "And to celebrate their new adventure together, I now present…" She stopped and turned to two of her guards on the other side as they removed the tarp, revealing a stone statue of Zipp and Pipp doing a flight pose. The crowd cheered, and a few pegasi took pictures of the statue by flying close to it but didn’t realize they were about to bump into each other. All of them shouted out but smacked into each other anyway. One pegasus crashed into the statue, while the other screamed and collided against the balloons, napping them and letting them go. The crowd gasped, and the royalties looked worried at the balloons that crashed against some pegasi flying. They tried to dodge the balloons but then crashed into other things: a blue pegasus crashed into the Queen Haven balloon as it popped, causing the real Haven to duck. Then, the blue pegasus crashed into the strings of Pipp’s balloon, which caused the strings to snap, and the blue pegasus got stuck as the crowd gasped. The blue pegasus started to regain his focus as he realized he was tangled and was now floating away, as she screamed in panic. Pipp looked on with a cringe, but then she saw a yellow pegasus trying to keep her flying together. Pipp ducked and turned, nervously whimpering as the yellow pegasus came back screaming. The yellow pegasus continued to scream and zoom as she smacked Thunder, sending him flying in a roll. Thunder screamed as he smacked right into Zipp’s balloon. The crowd gasped as Zipp, Pipp, and Queen Haven braced themselves for what could come next, but Thunder whimpered nervously and clutched Zipp’s balloon, keeping him steady. Now, the royal family and the crowd sighed, relieved. "As I was saying…" Haven tried to keep going with her speech, but she didn't know that Zipp’s balloon started to deflate. "May I now present, Sisters, Take--" She was interrupted when Zipp’s balloon explosively deflated, as the explosion wind came right at the royal family, with Thunder wailing from being blown away, along with a couple of other pegasi with them. The wind stopped, but it left the manes of the royal family made a mess, as Queen Haven finished her speech in an amused tone, "... Flight..." Haven, Pipp, and Zipp looked at each other but then smiled and busted out laughing, and the crowd started to laugh as well, finding funny all that happened, besides finding their manes funny as well. Pipp took out her phone as Zipp and Queen Haven huddled together for a family photo. Pipp clicked her camera as they took the photo, which Pipp labeled as "SISTERS TAKE FLIGHT!" with a heart emoji and a pony smiley face emoji on it to remember this day. Once again, the four friends were laughing back on the Crystal Brighthouse. "Say, that was a hell of a goodbye!" Sonic said with a giggle. "And don't make me talk about the aftermath! Gold comedy right there!" "I know! That was really funny," Sunny replied with a smile. "Did anything like that happen on that Soleanna parade you mentioned before?" "Nope. It wasn't half as entertaining as this one," Sonic replied with a smirk. But then he felt a little headache, and he shook his head while scratching it, feeling a little confused. There's that sensation again. "Why do I always feel like this whenever I think about Soleanna?" "Are you okay, buddy?" Hitch asked with worry as he and the two mares looked at Sonic. "I... I don't know..." he replied, still confused. "It's something that always happens to me whenever I think or hear about that kingdom... but my memories in that place aren't too interesting or relevant. I just arrived one time for some celebration, and then I saw a feather flying up to the sky; then I saw one of Eggman's ships up in space and went to fight it. That's everything I ever did in Soleanna..." he explained, still not so sure why he felt that something, or someone, was missing. "It must be weird, for you, I mean," Sunny said, putting her hoof on Sonic's shoulder. "Eh, it's okay. I'm pretty sure that if I forgot something, it probably isn't important at all," he assured with a smile, and then his smile became bigger as an idea crossed his mind. "I totally have to tell you about the adventure I had once I arrived on that ship. It was great, yet unbelievable!" "Maybe we should wait for Zipp and Pipp to arrive," Hitch suggested. "Well, once they get here, we'll decorate the Brighthouse. And after that, it's story time!" Sonic assured with confidence, excitement going through every inch of his body. Zipp and Pipp then started flying past their statues as they left Zephyr Heights on their way to Maretime Bay to be with their friends. "Zipp?" Pipp called, turning to her sister while flying through the sky. "Aren't you gonna miss Zephyr Heights, even a teeny bit?" she asked, wondering if she would miss their home. "I dunno" Zipp answered, but then she smiled at her sister. "But... I know I am ready for a new adventure. You know, together" she added with a chuckle. Pipp smiles at Zipp’s answer. "Yeah, me too. All we really need is each other!" she replied as she stuck her hoof out, wanting Zipp to touch it. Zipp smiled at her joyfully, and then they touched hooves, holding each other while flying to Maretime Bay. Behind them, Thunder and Zoom were carrying Pipp’s bags. "All you need is each other?" Thunder asked in confusion. "Then what's in the bags?! " he asked tiredly as he and Zoom carried them. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
2. A Home to Share"Welcome to the home of our dreams!" Sunny yelled joyfully as she and her friends admired their new home as her old lighthouse home had been redecorated into the Crystal Brighthouse. Suddenly, a loud stomping was heard, and a giant crab came stomping to the Brighthouse, hit the roof, broke it in half, and then roared. But a hoof grabbed him, revealing that the Brighthouse was just a model of what Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, and Sonic looked at before the crab destroyed it. Hitch laughed nervously at what one of his animal crew did. "Cool it, McSnips-a-lot," he whispered to the crab, but then McSnips snipped off a piece of his mane, leaving Hitch with an unamused look at his crab’s actions. "Forget the model. We're going to make the real Crystal Brighthouse perfect!" she screamed excitedly while she pointed to the real Brighthouse beside them, ready to be finished inside. Izzy gasped and squealed after seeing the Brighthouse. "Then we can spend every minute of every day together for the rest of our lives!" she said excitedly with sparkling eyes. Zipp, however, laughed nervously at what Izzy had just said. "What?" she asked, not sure she had heard Izzy correctly. "It's going to be iiiicooooniiiic-kuh!" Pipp exclaimed, singing out the last word. "This is it," Sonic said. "This, right here, is the start of a new and exciting adventure. I hope you guys are ready because I feel things will get a bit crazier from now on." "And I'm gonna teach this little fella how to build a shelf!" Hitch spoke up as he picked up a wrench with his hoof. "You know, I'm actually pretty hoovesy!" he said, spinning the wrench around, but then he dropped it, destroying what remained of the model. "Whoops..." he said in embarrassment as the rest looked at him with a bored expression. "There's a lot to get done, but we can do anything if we work together!" Sunny said, walking towards the supplies they have for the final decorations. "Now, I think if we just—" but before she could finish, Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, and Sonic started stampeding and took some of the supplies before heading straight into the Brighthouse. That caught Sunny off guard, but then she smiled. "Enthusiasm! I like it!" she giggled and then ran to help her friends. "Wait up, roomies!" she exclaimed. Sunny gasped at the sight of her friends working, trotting back and forth between their respective lines of work in their own ways. Pipp was livestreaming the whole thing on her phone. "Hello, Pippsqueaks! And welcome to the ultimate D.I.Y. home makeoveeeer!" she yelled excitedly as the Mane 5 and Sonic started their tasks. Just a little touch-up Just a little paint And we'll be done in no time Sunny saw Zipp painting the walls at her fast flying as she zigged and zagged the paint around the Brighthouse. Sonic was cleaning up some dust he found and throwing it out the window. Izzy painted purple paint on her side while holding the paint jar with her magic. She nearly dropped and spilled it when she saw Sunny approaching her, but Sunny caught the paint jar just in time. "Hey, this is looking great!" Izzy said as she looked at her progress with Sunny. 'Cause they say many hooves And the work gets lighter Hitch then looked at the shelf instructions while showing McSnips how to set it up, with Sunny coming up to him with a smile. Hitch used his measuring tape, but McSnip snapped the tape with his claws, and Sunny walked away with a worried look. Hitch felt irritated with McSnip's continued snipping of his things. And working with your friends Will make the whole day brighter The 6 friends then group up together with a smile as they continue their progress on decorating. Gonna work, work, work Got so much to do Sunny was sweeping the floors with a broom to help Sonic with the dust while the group kept going with their tasks: Zipp kept painting; Izzy was running with the paint; Hitch was trying to catch McSnip to teach him more about the setting up the shelve thing, and also making sure he won’t snips anything else in the Brighthouse, Pipp kept livestreaming her progress with her phone while holding a wallpaper, and Sonic was keeping every tiny little dust away, with Sunny smiling at her friends’ progress. Well, I don't mind the work 'Cause I get to work with you Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true Izzy continued painting, but instead of following a specific order, she painted the whole wall. Hitch looked at the shelf piece as he inspected it, then threw it away. He brought up his wrench, and McSnips grabbed a hammer and hammered a nail into the wood. Sunny saw that her friends were going a little overboard with their tasks, and she started to get worried and have second thoughts about their progress. 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do Pipp then starts rapping and brings out a piece of purple wallpaper. "I found the perfect color!" Hitch started rapping with his glasses and McSnips on his back while bringing out his measuring tape. "Yeah, and you know that I measure, right?" Zipp kept painting and zig-zagging, and Sonic kept cleaning dust. "'Cause we'll be done in no time!" they both rapped. Izzy then levitated the purple-pink bucket. "And we'll make this place a delight!" she rapped as she chucked the whole paint into the wall. 'Cause they say there is magic In every pony And when I need a hoof I've got you there beside me Gonna work, work, work... Sunny saw the chaos her friends were making, then saw Zipp, who stopped to realize that she had painted zigzag the whole wall of her area. A bird flew into an open window and got stuck to the wall where a 'paint line' was. Zipp saw that, confused, and looked at her bucket, realizing she had used wall glue the whole time. She chuckled in embarrassment. Sunny was sweeping, desperately trying to clean the floor, and Pipp flew over her while still livestreaming on her phone. "This blank canvas is getting the royal treatment!" Pipp announced, then she flew in circles around Sunny, but her wind current blew the pile of dirt that Sunny swept right onto her head. "Big dreams for such a tiny little price!" Pipp commented. Sunny looked irritated at the dirt on her head and Pipp’s comments. "Hey!" she shouted. Then Sonic suddenly appeared at her side, with a handheld vacuum in his hand, looking at the dirt on her head with a frown. "More dust to clean? Not under my guard!" he yelled as he carefully sucked the dust off Sunny's head and then ran off, not even giving Sunny a chance to thank him. Izzy laughed as she kept splattering the wall with different colors of paint. "It needs more! More!" she cheered with sparkling eyes as she splattered more paint onto the walls. Sunny ducked before a paint hit her, but another painting splattered a pony portrait, and Sunny tried to rub the paint off. Hitch was having trouble setting up the shelf, and McSnips was on it tilting. He dropped to the floor as he yelped. Pipp was then setting up photos of herself on the walls. "Fan art!" she sang cheerfully, but then Zipp flew by and wallpapered the wall with Pipp’s pictures. "Hey!" she shouted to her sister. "Uh, ponies? I think we're losing focus here!" Sunny told the group as she was about to freak out. Hitch then caught up to his crab friend, who was carrying his measuring tape away. "McSnips-a-lot!" he lectured to the crab. Sunny shouted as a chair nearly hit her, as she ducked the incoming object. She then turned to see Izzy sweeping the floor with her right rear leg, carrying the dishes with her left front hoof as she levitated the chair with her magic. "Multitasking!" Izzy commented. "Design hack!" Pipp called as she put wallpaper on the wall. "Picture wall!" she announced. Sunny's jaw dropped at her friends, who were not focusing on their tasks. The only one who wasn't making a mess was Sonic, who was still cleaning dust. Then she turned to see something and shouted as she saw the chair about to hit one of her plants. She at least caught it in time but then heard someone screaming. "Aaahh!" Zipp yelled as she wobbled and fell to the ground Pipp was trying to put her throne upstairs but was having trouble with how heavy it was. "How... much... further?!" she panted, as Cloudpuff - who was with them for some reason - was helping her by showing the way with safety signal sticks. "What about my automatic breakfast butler bot?" Izzy asked as she presented her machine from the kitchen and turned it on, which started to spit out pancakes. Zipp then got tangled in the ceiling lights as she hung upside down with McSnips on one of her hooves. "Help!" she called out while struggling. "Help!" Hitch called out while hammering the shelf and having trouble setting it. "My ice sculpture's melting!" Pipp cried out as the ice sculpture of herself in a pose started to melt. Sonic, who wasn't even paying attention to the disaster, finally stopped and turned to see Pipp. "Did you seriously bring an ice sculpture of yourself?" he asked in disbelief. Pipp laughed nervously and blushed while Sonic rolled his eyes and kept working. "Glitter!" Izzy announced as she threw glitter into the air, then at the fridge. "Glitter!", then at the same picture she was painting before, "Glitter!", then to a bird stuck into a wall. "Glitter!" finally, she put glitter on Sunny's face. "Glitter!" she sang as she twirled away from Sunny, who was looking shocked and concerned simultaneously. Sunny went to check out the rest of the Brighthouse but immediately regretted it: with a freaked-out expression, she saw the living room a mess, then went to look at the bedroom and plopped to the floor with a shocked expression. She then checked out the bathroom, which was surprisingly intact, clean, and finished, leaving the earth pony with a big smile on her face, relieved that at least one room in the Brighthouse was intact and not messy. "Oh. That's actually quite nice!" Sunny commented at the sight, but then she ate those words as Izzy came in and made a mess. "Glitter! Glitter! Glitter!" Izzy shouted as she threw glitter all over the bathroom. Sunny started to twitch her eye as she tried to stay calm amid all this chaos. "Ugh…" she grunted from the mess her friends had made. "Phew!" Sonic said, arriving at her side. "I'm finally done with all the dust. So, what did I miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii—" he didn't finish because he saw all the mess his friends made while he was cleaning the dust. "How, when, where, why?!" Sonic exclaimed, looking with shock at the disaster. Sunny tried to explain, but then their friends started to break down. "I can't get it straight!" Hitch shouted as he plopped to the floor, admitting he couldn’t set up a shelf. "What about the breakfast bot?!" Izzy yelled, not knowing what to do with her breakfast bot. "Can somepony get me down?" Zipp asked, tangled in wallpaper again and hanging upside down with the ceiling lights while Pipp was panicking. "Ponies!" Sunny called out, trying to calm them all down, while Sonic looked around in shock. Suddenly, the pancake from the breakfast bot nearly hit Pipp as she flew out of the way, but it hit the picture of Sunny and her father. It tilted as it dropped from the wall, about to hit the floor. "No!" Sunny gasped, but at that moment Sonic got out of his shock state and also noticed the picture falling. So he immediately ran to grab it and give it back to Sunny. She sighed in relief while hugging the picture but then looked at her friends again and ran to the bedroom, quickly closing the door behind her. Sunny turned to see the bedroom made a disaster, but even if it was messy, the sight of the rainbow shining through the roof comforted her. She put the picture of her and her father on the front of her bed. "I don't understand! I thought working together would be easy, but it turns out it's super messy!" she stated, but then a paper got stuck on her right hoof, and it took her a hard time to shake it off. Sonic quickly ran into the room, closing the door behind him and laying on it to catch his breath. Then, he looked at Sunny with a concerned face, "Working out with these guys is super messy!" he yelled in shock. But then looked at Sunny's sad face and thought he had said something wrong, so he tried to correct himself. "I-I mean, I've seen places that are messier, and this place is super clean in comparison," he said, but seeing that Sunny's sad face was still there, he sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry, Sunny, I shouldn't have said that..." "I'm not mad with you, Sonic, nor sad because of what you just said," Sunny said, which made Sonic feel a little better, but he was still concerned about her friend's state. "I also think this is all a mess," she pointed out the room then suddenly a light fell from the ceiling and cracked in the ground. "At this point, saying that this place's a mess is more of a compliment than an insult," Sonic said sarcastically. "I'm going to try to calm things down out there. Come when you're ready, Sunny," he requested her with a smile and then left the room. Sunny sighed, sat beside her father's photo, and grabbed it. "I wish you were here, Dad. You always knew how to bring out the best in me. And right now, I really need my best..." she admitted. She looked at the photo, then at the door where she was, and then realized something as she smiled. "Wait. Maybe that's what my friends need me to do! To bring them together, to bring out their best!" she said, then kissed the picture and put it down, then walked to the door before taking a last look at the photo as she smiled. "Thanks, Dad," she said, opening the door and closing it. In the main room, Sonic was trying to untie Zipp, who was still stuck on wallpaper, while Hitch was biting on the shelf in frustration, and Pipp kept livestreaming the bathtub that somehow got gems with Cloudpuff in it, with Izzy levitating the whole tub. Sunny then walked in front of the group with a serious face. "Okay, everypony! Just stop!" she called out to the group as silence came to the room, with the others looking at Sunny in shock. Izzy undid her levitation, which resulted in a thud to the ground, and Pipp turned her livestreaming off. Sunny continued with a calm and gentle look, "Look, I love how much energy you're bringing to this. But this is supposed to bring us together, not pull us apart. And right now…" she gestured to the whole Brighthouse of the mess they made: one of the windows was covered in paint while a wallpaper piece fell to the floor, the breakfast bot was rolling around until it slip and fell on the floor from the mess on the ground, and the bird from earlier is still glued to the wall. The group, except Sonic, realized the mess they made. Zipp got the wallpaper piece off herm, thanks to Sonic's help, and spoke out. "It's a mess..." she admitted with a frown. "Yeah, I-I-I didn't want to say anything..." Izzy confessed with a frown as well. "I'm in way over my head!" Hitch added as he leaned into the shelf with McSnips next to him. "This is a total makeover fail!" Pipp dramatically called out as she flopped to the ground. "I mean, it doesn't make my top 10 list of messed-up places you don't want to live, but still..." he said with a neutral expression as a wallpaper piece covered him completely. "It's a mess," he finished, still down the wallpaper. "It's not a fail. It's a work-in-progress!" she called out. Then the group started smiling at what their friend said while Sonic took off the wallpaper piece and smiled. They all came closer to Sunny with big smiles. "Come on, everypony. We can do this…Together!" she shouted as the Mane 5 and Sonic got back to work and cleaned up the mess they made, keeping their focus this time. Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true Izzy was levitating the furniture, with Hitch helping her decide where to put it. Once he found the perfect spot, Izzy set the furniture down. 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do Zipp was flying around, setting up the wire lights in a perfect pattern. Gonna work, work, work Got so much to do Sunny was setting up the pillows on the couch, and McSnip helped to pound them to make them fluffy. Well, I don't mind the work 'Cause I get to work with you Pipp removed the portraits of herself while Sunny put one of her childhood drawings in. This drawing, in particular, showed how the lighthouse looked, with a rainbow next to it on a sunny day. Zipp used her wings to blow away the dirt to hit the shovel Izzy was holding as the two ponies smiled at their accomplishments as they hoove each other. Sonic carefully took the dirt shovel and slowly took it out of the Brighthouse. Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true In the bedroom, Sunny is setting up her photo of her and her dad beside her bed while Pipp is setting one of her picture frames next to hers. Sonic decided to frame his picture with Tails and Knuckles and put it beside his bed. Then, the three friends looked at each other with a smile. Hitch, on the other hand, was using McSnips as a power drill so he could screw the nail in place so the shelf stayed in place. 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do! In the bedroom, the Mane 5 and Sonic got some decorative stains on them while working, but they finally finished the Brighthouse. Pipp flew in front of the group with her phone on a hoof. Getting the hint, the rest came close to Pipp’s phone line of camera. "Say 'besties'!" Pipp called out as the camera clicked and snapped the group together in a photo. A little while later, they printed the photo from Pipp’s phone, and Sunny then framed it on the shelf Hitch had made earlier. The shelf then tilted a little, and both Hitch and Sunny gasped at it, worried that the photo might fall. They sighed in relief as the photo and the shelf didn’t fall. The group then took in the view of the complete Crystal Brighthouse: on the outside, the Brighthouse was shining the rainbow right out of it, so everypony in Equestria could see it; in the bedroom, the glass of the rainbow to where the elevator to the top of the Brighthouse is was shining the rainbow to the top with the five beds of the Sunny, Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, and Sonic, staying there to fit each of their personalities. In the main room, the group looked on with a smile at their teamwork. "It's even better than I imagined!" Sunny commented. "Now this is the power of teamwork!" Sonic stated with a big smile. The group smiled as they continued to look at their new home, but then a loud pounding was heard, startling the six friends. They looked around to find the source, only to realize that McSnips was pounding on the stairway of the Brighthouse. This surprised the group and made them wonder how strong that tiny krab actually was. "Leave it, McSnips-a-lot!" Hitch lectured his animal friend. McSnips stopped to look at him for a brief moment before resuming his pounding, but way faster now, which caused Hitch to face hoove himself at McSnips's misbehavior. "I guess you'll have to teach Mr. McSnips-whatever-was-the-rest to behave himself a little," Sonic replied with a boring expression. "Don't tell me..." Hitch said with a sarcastic tone. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
3. Zipp's Flight SchoolIn the middle of the day, Zipp was flying around Maritime Bay at high speed as she zoomed around, bounced off a trampoline, and zoomed straight to the sky, then she zoomed down to the ground in a puff of smoke, sliding and standing straight with pride. While she smiled proudly, Pipp live-streamed the whole thing through her phone, which Zipp noticed in shock. "That's all, Zippsters!" Pipp called out as Zipp ran away from the camera. "Like and subscriiiiibe!" Pipp sang while waving at the camera, but then Zipp came next to her with an irritated look. "Stop trying to make 'Zippsters' happen, Pipp!" Zipp yelled at her sister while Pipp flinched at the reaction. "I don't want followers!" Zipp added, then she put Pipp's phone down, ending the livestream immediately. Meanwhile, Sunny served her fruit smoothies to Hitch, Izzy, and Sonic at her stand. Sunny then gave three smoothies to three of her best friends. "And that's three pineapple punch smoothies with extra…" she announced as she turned around and saw that the fruit supplies in the crates were empty, making her gasp in surprise. "Nothing?" she asked in shock, then turned to face her friends. "Sorry, everypony. My fruit delivery was supposed to get here hours ago!" she apologized and explained. "I mean, you know what they say: a late delivery is probably safe!" Izzy suggested with a smile, thinking that the delivery would be here soon. "Yeah... sorry, Izzy, but I don't buy it," Sonic replied doubtfully. "You'd think a safe delivery would have arrived by now." Suddenly, the group saw a shadow over them. "Huh?" Hitch questioned. "Uh... what was that?” Sonic asked. Sunny looked out the window and saw what was up in the sky, then gasped in a little shock. The four friends gasped in shock when a pegasus mare carrying fruit supplies crashed down into a glass stand, sending fruits flying by. Both Sunny and Izzy screamed and ducked, Sonic turned into a ball and Hitch looked in shock while a green fruit splat right into his face. The two mares and the hedgehog looked at the crash site and saw the pegasus mare. The pegasus had iris-colored hooves and bright lilac eyes; her mane, tail, and flight feathers were light yellow; her mane was wavy and tied in a ponytail; she was wearing a pink visor and bag; and her Cutie Mark was two yellow shooting stars with trails. She groaned from the crash and was covered in fruit juice, then recovered quickly and cleared her throat. "Fifi's Flying Fruit Smoothies Smooth Fruit Delivery Service! Where every delivery is... smooth!" she said with a nervous tone and a sheepish smile, while an earth pony mare slipped on a banana peel and fell to the ground, the an earth pony stallion looked in shock at the destruction of the stand. Sonic then returned to normal, cleaned up the dust off his body, and spoke. "Well, I hate to be the skeleton at the feast, but ever since magic came back, Zipp is the only pegasus I've seen able to fly properly. Oh, and Pipp as well," he commented in a concerned tone. "The other pegasi... they need help. Like, A LOT of help." "I see your point there, Sonic," Hitch said, cleaning up the fruit mess on his face. "I have to fill out the paperwork for this stand and report about this," he said annoyedly. Sonic then suddenly grabbed his ear while Hitch groaned in pain. "Stop thinking about your job for a second, Hitch!" he scolded, then let his ear go, and Hitch rubbed it. "Look, I'm not an expert on flying since Tails always carry me, but I can tell that these pegasi have to learn how to fly properly, or else more crashes will happen. Or even worse: someone might get hurt." Pipp came to the group with a concerned frown after seeing the crash. "I agree with Sonic. We need to find a solution to the pegasi's lack of flying. I can’t stand to see one of my own falling like that..." she confessed since she was a pegasus too. Sonic stroked Pipp's mane a little, which made her blush suddenly, but she didn't complain since it felt good, although she wasn't about to admit it. "Don't worry, Pipp. We'll eventually find a way to help these pegasi to fly better..." he assured her. Then the group looked at Zipp, who was walking toward them, and she laughed at the incident. "Whoa. Somepony really needs to teach these Pegasi how to fly!" she pointed out as she laughed. Sonic looked at her with a bored expression at first, but then suddenly, something came to his mind, and he smirked at Zipp. The rest of the mane Mane 5 all thought what Sonic was thinking as they looked at Zipp with sparkling eyes. "Ahhhh…" they said together while Pipp brought Fifi into the group, looking confused. Zipp stopped laughing and looked at her friends with a worried expression, knowing what her friends were thinking. "Oh, No-no-no-no-no!" Zipp nervously started as she started to sweat. "There's no way I would ever…" A while later, the others convinced Zipp to teach the Pegasi to fly since they were in an open area of Maritime Bay, where Zipp was recruiting her students: two of her royal guards, Zoom and Thunder, and a pink Pegasus named Windy. Zipp read the introduction in an unenthusiastic tone next to a sign that said WINGS, with Zipp's lightning bolt for the I and her wings in the sides. "Welcome to W-I-N-G-S. 'The Wonderful Institute of No-Gravity Sky-walking?'" she questioned the title with confusion. "It means flight school," Pipp corrected as she came to her side with a smile. "It's really more of a one-off training day," Zipp pointed out to Pipp since she wasn't planning on teaching the pegasi about flying for the rest of her life. "I was told it's an academy," Zoom pointed out, very interested in flying right. Fifi then came to the rookies. “Uh, is this the University of Flying?” she questioned with a confused smile. Zipp then raised an eyebrow at Pipp, who smiled nervously and backed away. Zipp turned to the others, as Sunny shrugged and Izzy shook her head. Hitch laughed, and Sonic tried very hard not to, but they ended when Izzy glared at them and shook their heads, saying it wasn't them either. Zipp faced hoof herself as she sighed. "Ugh, whatever. Let's just get started," she pointed out, then turned to the rookies. "Who can tell me how to do a double roulette twist?" she asked them with a smile. The four pegasi looked confused and stayed silent until Windy spoke. "Oh! I know about flapping!" she answered as she flapped her wings. Zipp's face walked again in frustration, and Sunny came to her. "Uh, Zipp?" she questioned. "What is it?" Zipp asked with a look. "Oh, it's when you move your wings up and down over and—" Windy said, thinking Zipp asked her but was cut off. "Not you, Windy..." Zipp pointed out, and Windy stared in surprise. Then Zipp looked back at Sunny. "Maybe you start with something simpler... Like an obstacle course?" Sunny suggested that since it was easier for the pegasi to learn, "Obstacle course?" Zipp asked, confused. "I don't have an…" she was cut off by a certain unicorn voice. "Ta-daaaaa!" Izzy cheered as the group turned to see that she had used her ‘Unicycling’ skills to create an obstacle course with a starting line, a jumping board, and some hoops for flying—the basics. Sonic was at Izzy's side, meaning he used his Sonic speed to help finish the process faster. The starting line sign tilted slightly, but Izzy ran to it and straightened it out. "What?!" Zipp called out in surprise as Sunny smiled at the sight. "Where did that come from?!" she questioned. "Fastest thing alive, Unicycling skills," Sonic replied boredly, pointing at himself and Izzy. "Just do your thing now, Zipp," he pleaded. "Over to you, captain!" Pipp spoke out with a salute and a smile. "I'm not a capta—!" Zipp yelled out but stopped in the midsection. "... Fine..." she groaned as she came to the students. "Everyone, watch carefully," she pled calmly and then demonstrated her flying tricks to the rookies. She flew into the air at the starting point of the obstacle course, then flew up and down through the first obstacles, zig-zagged through the hoops, and then flew straight to the clouds, grabbed some, and used them to make a Pegasus shape. Down below, the four Pegasi students are in awe of Zipp's expert flying stunt. Sonic smirked while looking at Zipp. "Show off!" he exclaimed. "Easy," Zipp said with pride. "Now, who wants to go first?" she asked the pegasi so they could show how they fly. Still in shock from Zipp's demonstration, none of the students volunteered, so Windy lifted Thunder’s hoof, with Thunder not noticing until a few seconds later. Zipp sighed, a little bored. "All right. You're up, Thunder," she called out while Thunder was nervous. Thunder came to the starting point and looked at the sign, a little dizzy. He flew up but hit the starting sign with a grunt and crashed to the floor. The other three Pegasi cringed at the sight while Thunder groaned in slight pain. Zipp looked with a sigh. "This is gonna be a loooong day..." she said, stating that this flying lesson would be harder than she thought. "Oh, I'm so gonna enjoy this!" Sonic exclaimed while rubbing his hands. "I'm gonna get some chilidogs to watch the show!" he stated, then ran off and returned with one chilidog in each hand. Windy came next, staring at the starting line with a determined look, ready to start the obstacle course. But suddenly, she saw a daisy flower in front of her, and she shrieked in fear. "Aah! Daisies!" she yelled, then zipped away and ran to a bush behind Zipp. "My greatest fear!" she cried as Zipp shook her head. Sonic, Zipp, and Hitch were now next to each other. "Okaaaay... Next?" she questioned with a bored expression. It was Fifi's turn; Hitch cheered to the pegasus while waving at her. Fifi looked with a determined smile as she spread her wings, with her fruit cart behind her, to see if she could do it without crashing this time. She flew over the starting line, but her cart hit the sign as she rolled in the air, then crashed to the ground, with her fruits falling out of the cart as she crashed. Her head popped up in dizziness as Hitch did as well, being the pony who was a victim in the crash and once again covered in fruit. "From animal magnet to fruit magnet. What a progress!" Sonic mocked as both he and Zipp burst out laughing. "I can hear you two, you know!" Hitch called out in annoyance. Zoom flew up straight to the sky, sloppy grabbing some clouds as she zoomed around, making the clouds she caught into the shape of a sloppy pegasus picture that Zipp had done earlier. Zipp looked at it with a raised eyebrow while Izzy shook her head with sparkly eyes and smiled at seeing the picture. But when Zipp looked at Izzy, she corrected herself by shaking her head in disagreement with the picture. Hitch and Sonic used safety sticks to help Fifi steady her flying, but Fifi fell on her back with a grunt. The fruit cart crashed again as well, making Hitch look in shock and worry, but Sonic ran away when some fruits came towards them, and one hit Hitch in the face... again, which caused him to take a bored expression and groan. Sonic returned and helped Fifi get up, but when he turned to see Hitch, he burst out laughing at him again. "Ahahahahaha! I'm not getting this over with anytime soon!" he snorted as Hitch looked at him with annoyance. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up, Hedgehog," Hitch replied. Izzy and Sunny pushed Windy to try to fly through the starting line, with Pipp right in front of them taking photos, but Windy started screaming since she didn't want to try again because she was afraid of finding more daisies. Zoom and Thunder crash into each other in the air with painful grunts. A little while later, the four Pegasi were on the ground. Fifi, Thunder, and Zoom were groaning from their crashes, and Windy had a freak-out expression while rocking back and forth, with piles of fruits everywhere around them. Zipp spoke out in frustration. "Well, I'm sure you all enjoyed that more than I did," she said as she spread her wings. "Good luck," she said to the four pegasi and then flew away, leaving her friends behind as she couldn't take it anymore. "... Well, this sucks..." Sonic said with a little sadness as he kicked a piece of fruit. Zipp then landed on a hill. Looking down in exhaustion, she saw something below her. "Huh..." she said as she saw two Pegasi, a mother and a foal. The mother was teaching her son how to fly as she lifted her son into the air. Zipp briefly watched the foal fly into the air as he giggled, but he stopped when he lost his balance and fell to the ground. The mother gasped in shock at seeing her son fall as she ran towards him to see if he was alright. Her son landed on a bush to her relief, so she picked him up. "Yay!" she cheered out for her son on his first flight as the two nuzzled each other's heads. Zipp immediately had a flashback of her trying to fly before the magic was restored when she was just a filly. Years ago, when the three tribes were still divided, and the magic was lost, Young Zipp was trying to fly with her mother, Queen Haven, beside her daughter with a smile, who placed pillows all over the floor so Zipp wouldn't hurt herself while trying to fly. Zipp giggled and jumped up and down the chair, flipped over the air, and spread her wings, thinking she was flying, but then she fell to the floor with a grunt. She crashed into the pillows to soften her landing, but when she got out of the pile, she whimpered since she couldn’t fly, thinking that she would never fly like the other pegasi couldn’t either. Haven came to her daughter with an encouraging smile. "Come on, Zephyrina. Don't give up!" she spoke to her, wanting her daughter to keep trying. Zipp got up with a determined look and then hopped to her mother, trying to fly. She hopped from pillow to pillow with a grunt from hopping on each pillow, then flipped and glided to her mother. Haven smiled at her daughter’s determination to keep trying. "Don't give up!" she repeated, then hugged her daughter. Zipp had a heartful look from that memory, then saw that Izzy was next to her left ear, whispering the word in her flashback. "Don't give up. Don't give up,” Izzy repeated, which Zipp now noticed with her raised eyebrows. Then, with a smile, Zipp turned to the unicorn. "Thanks, Izzy," she said, as Izzy smiled back at her. Zipp then looked down at the four pegasi, groaning from their flying lessons as they lay on the ground. All right!" Zipp called out as the four pegasi looked at her, flying over them with a smile. "Listen up! I'm gonna get you flying if it's the last thing I do!" she said, then immediately cleared her throat and corrected herself. "Before five. Day ends at five," she pointed out with a smile. The four Pegasi laughed and cheered. They stood tall and proud, determined to learn how to fly. A while later, back at the obstacle course, Thunder flew straight through it while dodging a couple of obstacles that came his way. He tripped on one as he was about to crash, but this time, he got some help from Pipp and Zipp since they were using two air blowers to blow Thunder back into the air to keep trying. Zoom was nervously laughing as she was tied to a rope around her mid-waist, with Sunny tied to the other end to help Zoom with her balance as Sunny trotted across the field. Zoom hit a pile of clouds and then made a pegasus picture again, a little sloppy but better than the last one, which Zipp nodded her head, approving. Fifi was whooshing through the obstacle course with her fruit cart again, but this time, she went through the obstacle as she flew to the 'X' that Hitch and Sonic made while using the safety sticks again. Fifi stuck the landing perfectly, but her fruit cart wasn’t so lucky as it flew over her and crashed. Sonic was next to the crashed cart with the fruits spilled out, but Hitch was unlucky again since he was covered in spilled fruit with a watermelon on his head as he groaned from the crash. "Yup, still funny," Sonic said, laughing a little. Izzy then gave up a sock puppet show with a daisy and a puppet of Windy to help Windy overcome her fears of a daisy. "I'm Windy! Come on, daisy! Let's be friends!" Izzy laughs as she reveals her head to Windy and looks at her. Windy nervously whimpers with a smile. Then the four Pegasi started flying around, with Zipp looking at them with pride, seeing how they had improved. Hitch’s crew watched as McSnips tried to fly by flapping his claws but fell off the bench he and the two birds sat at. Thunder zoomed through the obstacle perfectly, Zoom flew to the clouds and made a perfect copy of Zipp with the right picture this time, and Fifi flew through the hoops and landed on the ground with a grunt. Her cart didn’t fall out or crash this time. Hitch’s crew then showed McSnips how to flap properly, and the crab tried it and made sure he didn’t fall off again. Izzy then made a necklace out of daisies for Windy, who gasped in shock as Izzy threw the necklace into the air, which landed around Windy’s neck. Windy was a little freaked out but calmed down as the daisies weren’t doing anything to her. Then, the four Pegasi flew side to side at top speed, making a rainbow based on their coat colors as they flew by. Zipp saw this and formed a proud smile. The four Pegasi returned a while later, and Zipp gave them waste bands. There was a rainbow with Zipp’s wings and Cutie Mark on it, and they looked at Zipp with a smile. The Mane 5 and Sonic were on stage, and Izzy whipped them up. "Cadets!" Zipp shouted, "This morning, you looked like a bunch of Earth ponies with wings taped to your back!" "Awww…" Fifi groans in disappointment, with the other pegasi looking on in confusion. "But now you're captains of the sky!" Zipp continued with a smile as the Pegasi smiled with joy. "Ooh!" Fifi said joyfully. "You may now throw your hats," Zipp called out, as it was time for them to celebrate. The Pegasi cheered as they threw their hats to the sky but accidentally hit a pegasus, Fruit Delivery, who was also carrying a fruit cart. The Pegasus shouted as she crashed, and fruit flew out of the cart. Sonic was about to get hit by a pineapple, but he immediately moved next to Pipp, and karma struck again since Hitch was hit by a fruit again. Hitch had an irritated look and groaned. Pipp tried not to laugh, but Sonic did laugh and then pulled his phone out. "Alright, I'm saving this one!" he said with a smile, then ran back with Hitch and took a selfie. The four Pegasi then laughed at their accomplishments in flying as Sunny came to Zipp’s side. "Zipp, that was amazing! You're a natural," Sunny smiled as she placed a hoof on Zipp. "I suppose it was kind of fun..." Zipp admitted with a smile. You know, maybe I'll run that flight school after all…" she suggested, which shocked Sunny. Zipp continued with a smirk. When crabs fly!" she finished with a smile. She and Sunny started laughing at the joke, and the entire group enjoyed their moments together. Unknown to them, the two birds Hitch’s crews carried McSnip into the air so he could experience what flying is like as they flew to the sky and into the clouds. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
4. Nightmare RoommateIt was nighttime in Maretime Bay, and the four mares and the hedgehog in the Crystal Brighthouse were sleeping peacefully in their respective beds. Suddenly, a shadowy floating figure was passing over Sunny, then Sonic, then Zipp, and then finally Pipp, who didn't have her bed sheet for some reason, as she tossed and turned with a giggle in her sleep. Then, the shadowy figure revealed to be some ghost with a smiley face and hovered next to Pipp, who woke up slowly, opening her eyes. Once she saw the 'ghost,' she started to shake in terror and screamed in panic as she flew around the room, which caused Sunny to wake up from her screaming. "Wake up! WAKE! UP!" Pipp cried out as she shook Sunny awake, then turned to the ghost. "Gho-o-o-ost!" The ghost came right in front of them, and now Sunny and Pipp panicked and screamed. The two mares hugged each other in fright, then spread out while the ghost flew around. "No! No no no no no no no!" " Sunny cried out in panic. The ghost came in front of Zipp's bed as she worked up. Zipp rubbed her eyes to see what was going on, then saw the ghost in front of her. She screamed in panic, and she jumped out of her bed, flying away to get away from the ghost. Various screams were heard around the room as the three ponies tried to escape the ghost, flying or running back and forth in the room to hide or escape from the ghost. Sunny hid behind her bed and looked at the ghost cornered Zipp to the wall. Suddenly, Sonic woke up in a bad mood, with his quills a mess and an angry expression. He looked from his bed at the three mares terrified by the ghost, which Sonic looked at with even more annoyance. Still in his bed, he awakened his new power, charged electricity into his fist, pointed a finger at the ghost, and released a small shock. When it hit the ghost, it immediately fell to the ground like it was nothing. The three mares looked at Sonic in surprise, while he was just furious, and his eyes lit up blue. But then they turned green again, Sonic stretched a little, scratched his head, took his blanket and lay down again, immediately falling asleep. The three mares looked at each other and slowly walked towards the 'ghost,' expecting it to wake again, but it didn't. "Hey! Hold on…" Sunny yelled as she narrowed her eyes in realization. She walked towards the switch light and turned the lights on, revealing that the 'ghost' was just a bedsheet. "Hey, that's my bedsheet!" Pipp exclaimed, picking it from the ground with a frown. Sunny then looked over at Izzy, who was still sleeping, but her horn was glowing, meaning that she had levitated the bedsheet and kept moving it around as if it were a ghost. "Thanks, Izzy..." Pipp said, irritated with the sleeping unicorn, not caring if she heard her. Pipp then inhaled and flew back to her bed. "I am, like, so super traumatized right now. I'll be lucky to get any sleep!" she exclaimed as Sunny turned off the lights and returned to her bed, and Zipp did as well. Sunny yawned as she lay on her bed with her eyes closed. "Just shut your eyes, count pegasheep, and--" she instructed but was cut off by Izzy and her annoying snoring. "Glitter glitter glitter glitter glitter glitter…" Izzy mumbled between her snores as she twisted and turned on her bed with a smile. Pipp, Zipp, and Sunny were both annoyed at Izzy's snoring and mumbling. Pipp placed a pillow over her head to try to block out Izzy’s noise. Zipp groaned and placed her blanket over her head, and Sunny groaned as Izzy mumbled in her sleep. The only one who wasn't even hearing the snores was Sonic since he was already deep sleeping. The morning sun appeared as a rooster crowed outside the Crystal Brighthouse. Izzy was in the kitchen, singing to herself in a cheerful tone with a tiara in her head. "Ha! This is how a unicorn sings, first thing in the morning. Oo-ooh!" she sang, humming to herself and dancing in the kitchen. Izzy then found a hairspray can, twirled it for a bit, and then sprayed herself with it, styling her mane. She then found a crossword book and grabbed the pen with her hoof as she kept humming and wrote something in the crossword book. She tossed the book away as she hummed and placed the pen in her mouth, then went to the refrigerator and found peanut butter in it. She places the pen down to grab the peanut butter, which means she placed the pen in the fridge. Then she placed peanut butter in some bread, getting a little messy with some peanut butter on the table and some on her hoof. She continued humming and grabbed Pipp’s phone, took a selfie with her peanut butter, and got some peanut butter on Pipp’s phone. She put the phone down on the table, dropped the peanut butter bread on the floor, and then trotted away from the kitchen. In the main room, Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp sit there with a tired expression. Izzy’s snoring and mumbling kept them up all night, which didn’t allow them to get any sleep. Izzy trotted to the main room with a happy expression. "Oo-ooh! Morning!" she said to her friends, as they were too tired to do anything but listen to the hyper active Unicorn. "Don't you just love waking up to a new morning? It is just so new and morningy!" she exclaimed and hummed out of the main room, unknowingly knowing that her friends were tired. "Waking up?" Zipp asked, looking very tired. "We didn't sleep!" she pointed out since Izzy had not let them sleep properly. "Uhh... Was that my tiara?" Pipp questioned, noticing that Izzy had something on her forehead. The mares then walked to the kitchen and saw a mess Izzy had made. Zipp grabbed her hairspray as it puffed out, revealing it was empty. Pipp grabbed her phone and saw it messy with peanut butter oozing out. "Ugh!" Pipp groaned in disgust. Zipp then saw her crossword book, seeing that Izzy had scribbled it out with the pen from earlier. She grabbed the book to look closer as her right eye began twitching. She then ran towards Sunny, showing her what happened. "Everything's ruined!" Pipp came toward her sister's side as she looked at Sunny, who was about to freak out as well. "Sunny, you have to do something! Izzy's becoming a total nightmare roommate!" She then pointed to the unicorn on the other side. Izzy was trotting by still humming, then gobbled down a cereal as she threw the box away, and she continued humming, walking away with a cheerful expression. Sunny groaned tiredly, not knowing exactly what to do with Izzy. She decided to go to the bathroom to brush her teeth. "They're probably just cranky because they didn't get much--any--sleep, " she thought, trying to defend Izzy somehow. And... Uh, where's my toothbrush?" she asked to herself. Izzy then opened the door, and she poked her head out. "Hey, Sunny! Love your ear-cleaner…" she said, then brought out Sunny’s electric toothbrush and turned it on. Sunny turned around and looked at Izzy in shock as the unicorn brought Sunny’s toothbrush to her ear. "Oh, yeah. Mm, uh-huh..." she said as Sunny looked on with her mouth open while Izzy was using her toothbrush to clean her ears. "And my ears have never been so minty fresh!" she commented as she giggled and shut the door, leaving Sunny alone and shocked. Sunny then turned to the mirror with a determined look. She was going to solve this problem with Izzy because using her toothbrush to clean her ears was crossing the line. "Okay. Something's gotta be done!" she spoke out. A little while later, the three ponies walked through Maretime Bay, wanting to solve this problem as Sunny explained to Zipp and Pipp about her problem. "But confronting Izzy is just too awkward and embarrassing…" she added since discussing with Izzy means that they might accidentally hurt her feelings and find it awkward to argue with her over the small things. Suddenly, a blue blur passed by them, and it started running around all the buildings of Maretime Bay, then passed by them again and ran towards the Brighthouse, but it ran outside of the building and then ran over the water to quickly ran towards some toy on a high spot. The blue blur started to slow down a little, revealing Sonic smiling while looking straight into the toy. Sonic then jumped, still a bit far from the toy, but once he was at the same height, he used his 'boost' to move faster in the air and then grabbed the toy to stomp back to the ground. The mare was looking at him with her jaws dropping, and Pipp felt her wings opening suddenly as she was blushing, but she quickly closed them and tried to think of another thing so the blush could go away. "Phew!" Sonic exclaimed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Here you go, little buddy," he said to an earth pony foal, looking at him with sparkling eyes and a smile. "Next time, try not to throw it off too high, okay?" "Thank you, Mr. Hedgehog!" the foal thanked, then ran away laughing with his toy. "You're welcome, kiddo. And please, call me Sonic!" he pled. "Ah, kids will be kids, I guess..." He then turned to look at his mare friends, but when he saw the dark circles under their eyes, he immediately felt bad for them. "Geez, girls. It seems like you couldn't sleep at all after what happened last night," he said, approaching them. "Yeah... Izzy kept snoring and mumbling loudly after she levitated my bedsheet as a ghost..." Pipp replied and then yawned. "And not only that... she's also using our stuff and messing up everything!" Zipp exclaimed. "We're trying to figure out what to do and how to face her without feeling awkward..." Sunny explained. "Well, if you ask me, I think you should just spill the beans on her face," Sonic suggested, but the mares blinked at him without understanding. "Could you elaborate a bit?" Zipp asked. Sonic just facepalmed and looked at them with a boring expression. "Go to the point, tell her the truth, don't hesitate, c'mon girls, it's not that difficult!" he exclaimed. "Look, just face Izzy and tell her what is bothering you about her. Being honest hasn't killed anyone as far as I know, and as cheerful as Izzy might be, I'm pretty sure she's also reasonable, so she'll understand. I found her trying to use my hair gel, but I told her that it would be good if she didn't take my stuff without asking, so she smiled at me and left... and yes, I use hair gel so my quills can get straight and not messy, leave me alone." "Yeah... But we could also hurt her feelings, Sonic," Sunny pointed out. "And I don’t want our friend to be crying if we tell her that. Ooh! I know! Let's ask Hitch; he'll know what to do!" she exclaimed with a smile as Zipp and Pipp looked at her bored. "Okay then, but I'm pretty sure he's gonna say the same thing to you," Sonic warned with a little smirk. "Anyways, gotta go now, see ya!" he exclaimed as he ran away quickly. Walking to the Sheriff's place, the three ponies walked inside as they opened the front door and saw Hitch on his desk, playing with his landline phone. But as he made a bad movement, the phone wires tangled Hitch around, and he saw his friends looking at him blankly. Hitch chuckled nervously, embarrassed that his friends had to see that, then twirled around. When he stopped spinning, he was a bit and fell to the ground with a thud from his dizziness. This caused Sunny, Pipp, and Zipp to gasp startlingly as they looked at Hitch, wondering if he was okay. A few minutes after Hitch recovered, the girls told him about their problem with Izzy. Hitch hung up the phone and gave the girls some advice. “Well, it sounds to me that Sonic's right. You just have to be honest with Izzy,” he said, agreeing to Sonic's idea of telling Izzy the truth. "As a pony of the law, I can tell you honesty is always the best policy!" he assured with a confident smile. "Hey!" a voice yelled out, and it turned to be a light blue earth pony named Rufus, who was wearing a jail hat and was in a cell. Hitch caught him doing something against the law earlier and put him in a cell until his short sentence was finished. "Keep it down, will ya? I'm tryin' to get some peace in here!" he yelled out, then turned his back against the others and faced the wall. "Hold on one second," Hitch told his friends with a smile. He knew what to do as he came to the cell with a teacup and gave it to Rufus. Rufus turned his head as he saw the teacup and smiled. "Aw, oh, this is lovely!" he said in a happy tone, then sipped some of the tea. "My favorite! Thanks, Hitch. Uh, sorry I bothered ya," he apologized for his outburst earlier. Hitch then smiled at his friends. "Of course, sometimes a thoughtful gift can work wonders," he winked at them. Sunny, Pipp, and Zipp all blinked at the same time twice before getting an idea for Izzy. "Ohh!" they all said in unison. Sunny presents a present to Izzy at the Crystal Brighthouse as the three mares smile at her. "You guys got me... a BOX!?" Izzy said in excitement as she grabbed the box and held it in her hooves. "I love it! Best gift ever!" she cheered as she held the box. "Uh, Izzy. The gift is inside the box...?" Zipp called out with a sheepish smile, seeing that Izzy didn’t know the gift was inside. "Oh...!" Izzy said as she started to laugh as she opened the box, but then stopped laughing as she looked at what was inside with a look. She looked through the box, finding a hairspray, a crossword book, and a toothbrush. "Your own stuff," Sunny announced. "So, you don't need to use ours anymore!" she added with a smile, as did the rest of her friends. Izzy then chuckled nervously, not sure what to say, but she saw where they were going with this. "'Cause... it was getting kinda annoying," Zipp added sheepishly to her with a smile. "Hey! Honesty is the best policy, right?" she asked Izzy from the motto Hitch told them earlier. Then, the four ponies stood in silence as Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp waited for Izzy to respond to what she thought about what they said and what they gave her. They stare at each other as the three mares sweat, thinking that their honesty and gift for Izzy didn’t work. Izzy then stared at them with a sad look for a few seconds until she returned to her cheerful look and smiled at them. "Oh! Well, in that case, I don't really like these presents!" she called out, placing the gifts back into the box and giving them back to Sunny. "Honesty!” Izzy cheered as she explained why she used all that. "I was just taking selfies of my breakfast like Pipp, doing my hair like Zipp, and scrubbing my ears like Sunny! I also tried to dye my hair like Sonic, but he told me not to without permission," she explained, which caused the mares to gasp, realizing that both Sonic and Hitch were right about being honest. "I've never lived with best friends before. I was just trying to fit in with you all," Izzy admitted. "Huh," both Zipp and Pipp said as they faced each other. "We should've been honest from the start!" Sunny said, then walked to Izzy and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Izzy, you don't need to try and fit in," she told her as Zipp and Pipp approached her. "You're already perfect as you are," Zipp pointed out, and the group comforted Izzy with a smile. Izzy looked at her friends with a loving smile as they reunited for a group hug without noticing that their Cutie Marks started to glow. "Whoof, great! 'Cause trying to fit in is…" Izzy said and then yawned in mid-sentence before continuing. So exhausting..." She then walked to the couch and lay on it. "I just need a…" She then went to sleep as she snored loudly. The three ponies looked at her while she slept, really annoyed because Izzy’s snoring was the main problem for their sleep. "We can work on that..." Sunny called out as Pipp face hoofed herself at Izzy’s annoying snoring. At the police station, Hitch let Rufus go since he had already served his short sentence. Now, he was just reading a few complaints from the mailbox. Suddenly, Sonic walked quickly through the front door and immediately closed it, leaning against it and looking at Hitch with a worried expression and a nervous smile. "Hey there, partner..." Sonic greeted the sheriff. "Can I talk to you? Man to man..." "Hello, Sonic," Hitch said, exiting his desk and approaching Sonic. "Of course!" "Great!" the hedgehog exclaimed, still with a nervous smile, while he locked the door of the police station and also closed the shutters. "Uh, why did you just...?" Hitch was going to ask, but Sonic cut him off. "First of all, SWEAR to me that not a word I say right here, right now, will leave this station," Sonic said with a serious expression, staring at Hitch. "I-I..." Hitch tried to reply. "SWEAR IT, TRAILBLAZER!" Sonic yelled, this time a bit more violent. "Ok, ok. I swear, calm down now," Hitch requested. "Okay…" Sonic said, starting to calm down a bit. "I'd like to clarify that I'm entrusting this to you because I highly doubt the girls can keep it a secret." "Really?" Hitch asked, confused. "Don't you think that's overkill? I know they could keep it as well as I can." "Izzy would tell immediately after I told her not to; Sunny is bad at lying, Zipp hates lying, and Pipp would livestream the entire conversation," Sonic explained with a bored expression. Hitch blinked a few times, with one helmet up and his mouth open, but he lowered his helmet as he could not contradict Sonic. "Okay, good point. So what do you want to tell me that's so secret that only I know about it?" the sheriff asked in a whisper. Sonic didn't answer, instead walking over to the sheriff's desk. He pulled out a small bag from his spikes, and Hitch looked at him even more confused. "Remember those Emeralds I talked about when we were heading to Bridlewood for the first time?" Sonic asked. "Uh, yeah. What were they called? Chaotic Emeralds? Disastrous Emeralds…" Hitch tried to remember. "Chaos Emeralds," Sonic corrected, with a hint of concern. "Ah yes, those. Yes, I remember. You said they could help you get back home. Why do you ask?" the sheriff questioned. "Well..." Sonic flipped the bag on the desk, and the 3 Emeralds he found a few days ago fell into it. Hitch's jaw dropped; for now, he understood why Sonic wanted to keep this conversation a secret. "But what...? How did you...? When did you...?!" Hitch asked endlessly. "The day before we decorated the Brighthouse, I went for a walk in a forest I've never been to, and I found them," Sonic answered, pacing the station. "But this... this is a good thing, isn't it?" Hitch asked, a little wistfully since he didn't want Sonic to leave, but at the same time, happy that he already had a way to get back home. "It means you can get your friends back home!" "I thought the same... but I can't go back..." Sonic confessed with a sad look. "What?!" Hitch exclaimed. "Why not?" "Because I already tried, but just like now, the Emeralds aren't shining like they usually do," the hedgehog explained. "When I touched and found them, they stopped glowing. I've tried to reactivate them again, but it doesn't work. And my new power managed to power them, but they almost went through the room, so using that isn't an option either..." "So, you can't go back yet…" Hitch deduced. "No… but it's funny because that's not what worries me the most…" Sonic revealed it now with an analytical look. "There are 7 Emeralds, and they were all together when the portal sucked me in, but I only found 3 of them, which means there are still 4 Chaos Emeralds out there that have probably also lost their power. I'm afraid they'll fall into the wrong hands, or hooves in this case, and be used to destroy this world..." Now, Hitch looked worried and considered what to say. But he then got an idea and looked at Sonic with confidence. "...I'll help you find them, Sonic," assured Hitch. "What?! No!" Sonic refused to accept help. "This is my problem, and you have enough taking over Maretime Bay, dude. This is my fight..." "Now it's mine too," assured Hitch again with a confident smile. "You confessed this to me, and I won't say anything. But helping someone in need is what a sheriff does, and I'll help you whether you want it or not." "...I don't want to cause you trouble, Hitch..." Sonic assured. "And you won't, but I'm not going to leave you alone in this either," Hitch said with a smile. Sonic smiled back and looked determinedly at the Emeralds on the desk. "Fine. So, until we figure this out, we won't tell anyone about the Emeralds…" he said firmly, and Hitch nodded in agreement. Now, the two had a mission: discover how to reactivate the Chaos Emeralds and find the location of the missing ones... THE END...? Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
5. Welcome to Mane MelodyIn Maretime Bay, ponies were walking into a salon. This salon was a white brick building with light pink trim and a dark gray roof. Its establishment's logo consists of two music notes, each shaped like the letter "M" in the front. A yellow earth pony named Posey Bloom came into the salon, where she saw Pipp on a stage at the end of the mall as she started to sing. Over time, Pipp opened up a salon run by her; since styling is more her thing and have a gift for styling, she wanted to share that gift by opening up her own business, and thanks to the help of her friends, she finally got the shop in her image, with a stage to walk for her singing talent to entertain the ponies coming in, so they can enjoy the song and get their styles as well. Clickity clack, who's that? It's your girl Pipp, styling with a brand new track Pipp sang as she flapped into the air, then flew to Posey. Setting up shop, got a brand new gig With colors that pop and a drip so big She then put Posey in a hairstyle machine and went to her friends for their style. Come in and get your hooves buffed, your mane puffed Everypony's getting their tail fluffed Pipp went to Sunny first and twirled her around, styling her mane with a ponytail on her head while Sunny sipped a drink and smiled at her new look. Pipp went to Sonic next and twirled the hedgehog around, styling him with a ponytail, which Sonic liked, and smiled at Pipp. She went next to Hitch and twirled him, giving him a mane cut and a mane style that his mane is combined to the side, as Hitch smiled at his new mane style. Dance to the beat, dance to the beat Who could ever sit still with a groove this sweet? Pipp then went to an empty seat. She suspected Zipp of sitting there for her mane style, but she wasn’t, so Pipp looked around for her. Behind the stage was Zipp, hiding from her sister. She didn't mind her sister running a business, but when it came to style and makeup, she would rather not. She liked her mane the way it was and couldn’t let her sister change it. So, she hid from her to protect her mane and tail from being changed. Zipp hid further into the stage as Pipp looked for her, wondering where she’d go. A place you can go Where you already know You can find your pony flow When you step through the door Putting aside finding Zipp for now, Pipp showed Izzy a mirror that somehow made selections of the main styles of her or anypony choosing. Izzy found it amazing and made a funny face for a little humor as Pipp searched through the sections to see what fit Izzy the most. When Izzy turned around, Pipp picked a section with her mane down and a crown with stars and hearts. Izzy loved that section, so Pipp twirled Izzy around, and she got said mane style, but since she got her head turned, the style covered Izzy’s whole face, but Izzy found it great. Izzy took out the homemade phone she made with her ‘Unicycling’ skills and picked all five stars to review Pipp's salon. Pipp, a pegasus named Rocky, and an earth pony named Jazz danced on stage as they sang to their customers. Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can't you see it? The ponies in the salons are getting their manes matched to their styles and giving Pipp's salon a five-star review as they all sing together. Woah-oh-oh, oh-oh, woah-oh-oh (Hey!) Woah-oh-oh, oh-oh, woah-oh-oh Sunny, Izzy, Hitch, and Sonic joined in the song as they sang, while Zipp kept trying to hide from her sister for trying to touch her mane. She failed to hide by holding a pillow covering her face since Pipp was approaching her. Zipp freaked out and ran away from her. Pipp saw her sister with a smile and tried to catch up with her, wanting to give her mane a new style. Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can't you see it? At Mane Melody (Hey!) At Mane Melody The ponies in the salon sang together as they showed the styles of their manes. Posey, with a new mane spike style, walked to the door after her new mane style was finished. She brought out her phone but gave a three-star review to the salon. Pipp heard the pop and saw the three review stars, shocking her as she never had three stars in a review of somepony before. "WHAT?!" she yelled out as she landed on the ground with a thump; she looked at Posey while the ponies around looked at her, then at Posey, who looked confused. Pipp tried to go with it as she corrected what she said. "What... a... L-" she gulps nervously as she continues. "Lovely review, heh. Thank you... so much, Posey," she finished with a creepy smile as she was about to explode. Posey looked at Pipp for a moment and smiled nervously, then opened the doors and jumped through them as the door shut. Pipp regained her composure as she calmed down, finding that review had nothing to worry about as she spoke out. "So, Who is ne-ext?" she sang and asked for the next pony to get styled. The doors then opened, revealing Phyllis Cloverleaf, Canterlogic's CEO and Sprout's mother. The ponies on the local gasped while looking at her. "I am," Phyllis said to Pipp in an intimidating voice. Phyllis then walked through the salon as various ponies whispered in fright, telling each other rumors of how Phyllis came to grand opening businesses to inspect them to see if they were great since she was a CEO. Now, she was at Mane Melody to see if Pipp's salon was okay or if it should get shut down. Pipp and Phyllis looked at each other as a tumbleweed of cut-up manes blew past them. Phyllis stared at Pipp like some Wild West showdown, while Pipp was scared and hoped she would get a good review from Phyllis. "So, you're the new stylist in town?" Phyllis asked as she adjusted her glasses. "That's me!" Pipp cheered with a smile. "Welcome to Mane Melod--," she tried to sing but was interrupted as Phyllis chuckled. "We'll see about that," Phyllis said to Pipp, smirking. Pipp gulped nervously, thinking that if Phyllis gave her a bad review, she'd lose her salon in a day. Phyllis then came to a salon seat and sat down, looking at the mirror as she put her phone down. Meanwhile, the rest of the Mane 5 looked worried at Phyllis, while Sonic scratched his head and looked at Phyllis with confusion. "Uh... Sunny?" he called out, "I'm gonna need some context here. Why is the ponyfied Karen acting like she's about to destroy Pipp's carrier with a review?" he asked seriously, since he hadn't met Phyllis at all, just looked at her agreeing with being friends with unicorns and pegasi, but that was all. "Because she IS going to do that if she doesn't like Pipp's work!" she whispered. "Phyllis has shut down five salons in one month because of how much she disliked them. And if she considers Pipp's styling horrible, it is the end of Mane Melody!" she exclaimed with worry. Sonic's neutral expression became worried now that he understood the bad situation. "Man, this sucks..." he said with worry. Pipp came next to Phyllis as she inspected her mane. "So…" she started with a nervous chuckle as she continued. "Um, what can I do for you?" she asked Phyllis. "Surprise me," Phyllis requested, which caused Pipp to freak out even more as Phyllis continued. "You know, this place used to be a restaurant until I reviewed it," she told Pipp, recalling when it used to be a restaurant before it became a salon. "Free all-you-can-eat pizza? Puh-lease!" she added in disbelief. "Uh... yeah," Pipp said nervously, but she was surprised that the salon used to be a pizza joint. She looked at Phyllis' phone, which had the review stars option, and she felt more nervous while turning on a haircut machine. "Before that, it was Fancy Filly Fashion Boutique, Painting Palomino's Pottery Café... oh, and a salon, actually." Phyllis listed the business she reviewed in the same building they are in now, which didn’t put Pipp's mind at ease. "Hair Today? More like Out of Business Tomorrow!" she laughed as Pipp brought the haircut machine and cut off part of Phyllis's mane. Pipp saw what she had done and gasped in shock, seeing that she had made a bald spot on the back of Phyllis' hair. She backed away, whimpering nervously, and then ran out to the door, with Sunny, Sonic, and Zipp seeing all of this. Zipp was about to follow after her, but first, she grabbed Sonic's hand with her hoof. "You are coming with me!" she whispered to him. "The what now?" Sonic asked, confused, but Zipp grabbed his arm and yanked him out of the building. On the other hand, Sunny grabbed two Kiwis from the beverages Jazz was passing on the cart. "Hey!" she called out, but Sunny didn’t listen since she wanted to distract Phyllis long enough for Pipp to return. Sunny splatted the kiwis into Phyllis’ glasses, blocking her vision. "Ugh!" Phyllis cried out in surprise at the Kiwis. "Oh, good, now there's food on my face," she groans, never having done that part of a salon before. "They're fruit!" Sunny corrected her as she laughed nervously, pretending it was part of the salon. "And very good for all those wrinkles!" she added, waving her hoof in a cheer. "Huh!?" Phyllis asked in shock, and Sunny realized what she said as she chuckled nervously, trying to buy enough time for Sonic and Zipp to find Pipp before things got worse. Zipp and Sonic were looking for Pipp, trying to find where she went, and they searched the front of the salon. They turned to the left side of the salon after hearing a distressed painting, then turned to the left again and saw Pipp hiding in an alleyway next to the salon. "Pipp! There you are," Zipp said, relieved that her sister didn’t go that far. "You have to come back inside!" "I can't!" Pipp cried out as her mane was a little messy, and she had a mental breakdown from her screw-up. "You saw what happened--I took a huge chunk out of her mane!" she sighed and continued. "Who's the style icon now?" she asked sarcastically, hitting her head against the wall. Zipp and Sonic looked at her with sadness and worry, but then Sonic sighed and smiled. "You are, princess," he said, surprising Zipp. He smiled and looked back at her sister. "Always have been, always will be," he finished. Pipp turned a little to face her sister and her crush, still feeling down. "So you shaved one bald spot... Big whoop!" Zipp exclaimed. See all that confidence and swagger?" she asked. Then she, Sonic, and Pipp turned around, and Zipp pointed out the crowd of the ponies Pipp had styled their manes from her salon. A unicorn pony then squeals in delight at the mane style, while the ponies around Maretime Bay admire Pipp’s work in style and love it. "You brought that to Maretime Bay!" Zipp added. "You did that," she cheered on Pipp's styling skills. "I did...?" Pipp questioned while still having her face on the wall. Then she looked at Posey, looking in the mirror to check her spiky mane style, and admired it. Posey was busy looking at her mane, but a Pegasus mare named Maverick came flying down. "Hey, nice new 'do, Posey!" she complimented, but Posey trotted away scared. Pipp smiled at seeing that her styling skills were great for every pony. "I did!" she cheered as she got her head off the wall. "Why, of course," Sonic said, pushing Pipp a little on her shoulder. "And I gotta say, I'm one of those people who hate when their hair is touched, but thanks to your wonderful work, I think I'm going to start touching up my style now and then, so don't be surprised if you see me around sometimes" he admitted, then winked at her and left back to Mane Melody, leaving Pipp behind with sparkling eyes and blush. But Zipp suddenly cleared her throat, and Pipp quickly focused on getting into her salon and working her magic. Sunny had been busy keeping Phyllis in the salon, using a brush and a hairdryer on her mane. However, since Sunny is not as stylish as Pipp, this resulted in her mane being all poofy. "Then there was the Museum of Unnatural Hoof-story, the twenty-four-hour tramponyline park, the Golden Tree of Knowledge…" Phyllis said, listing even more of the businesses she saw and shutting down from her reviews, not knowing that Sunny messed up her mane since she still had kiwis over her eyes. Behind her, Rocky and Jazz watched Sunny's job nervously and then looked at each other in fear. Sonic, who had entered back a few seconds ago, was standing next to them, and he was just as afraid as the ponies since he wasn't sure how Pipp would fix that mess. The door suddenly opened, and Pipp came in with a determined look, ready to finish what she started. The ponies and Hitch gasped at Pipp's return and determination. Sunny gasped and smiled at Pipp’s return, and the pegasus walked to where Sunny and Phyllis were. Zipp looked at her with a proud smile. Sunny laughed, glad Pipp was back. She stepped back to let Pipp take charge. The pegasus cracked her hooves and stretched, then grabbed the haircutter and hairdryer, ready to start. One, two, three, four Bring that tail right through the door Pipp then reclined Phyllis's seat and wet her mane with soap and water, washing it down to remove the poofiness. Five, six, seven, eight You're not leaving here 'til you feel great Pipp brought more tools as she ruffled Phyllis’s mane in determination, styling the CEO’s mane with four tools simultaneously. Shine bright, sparkling glow Flick that mane with a flow like woah She bit down the mane, straightened it out with the straightening iron, and cut a piece of loose hair sticking out. Vibe... you're on it You're a brand new pony so flaunt it Hey Pipp smiled at her progress, then continued to brush, comb, blow, and straighten until she covered Phyllis' mane and got the hair dryer blowout machine on top of her. Pipp twirled Phyllis around and did some style as the ponies in the shop gasped at Pipp’s amazing work. Zipp smiled at her sister’s inspiration as she looked into the mirror, thinking she should get Pipp to do her mane. She started to like the idea once Sonic confessed that he usually doesn't like to change his hairstyle, yet he tried it out and liked it. Pipp then removed the kiwis from Phyllis' eyes, and the CEO looked at her reflection as she tried to process how she looked. "It's... it's...!" she tried to find the right words. Sunny was biting her hoof nervously, and then Jazz came to Sunny's side, filing her hoof that she had been biting earlier, as she was also nervous. "It's... exactly the same…" Phyllis pointed out as Pipp brought her mane back to how it was before it was messed up. Phyllis looked carefully at the mirror, then brought out her phone for the review stars, thinking over her mane style. At the same time, everypony and Sonic were nervous, san Pipp and Izzy because Pipp was smirking, and Izzy couldn’t see anything with her mane blocking her sight. "Just the way I like it," Phyllis announced, then pressed the five-star review, making Pipp's business good. Phyllis walked out the door, her bald spot covered with curls. She flipped her mane, but the curls behind her head fell, revealing the bald spot. The rest gasped in fright, hoping that Phyllis wouldn’t notice it. But to their relief, Phyllis walked out the door as it closed. The whole salon cheered and shouted in victory over Pipp’s success since she got all the perfect reviews she needed for her salon to keep running. Sunny, Sonic, and Zipp came to Pipp’s sides. "That was amazing, Pipp! I knew you could do it!" Sunny congratulated. "Way to go, Little Pipp!" Sonic said jokingly, smirking at her. "That was a show to remember for sure!" Pipp sighed in relief and smiled. "Thanks for covering for me, Sunny. Thanks for giving me some motivation, Sonic. And thanks for always being there for me, Zipp. You're the best sister ever--" she was saying, but then gasped as her eyes sparkled at seeing Zipp sitting in a salon chair with a smile. Pipp came straight to her sister’s side in disbelief. "Really? You never let me style your mane!" she cheered, still unbelieving that her sister was not hiding this time. "Mmh," Zipp said with a smirk, letting her sister style her mane for once. Pipp inhales in excitement. "Oh, my pony!" She called out, then brought Zipp to a mirror to see which option she would style her sister’s mane. "I always thought you'd look amazing with a pony perm, or like, okay, a manehawk or maybe in a different color!" She selects the options of mane styles for Zipp, who cringes at the sight of them, having second thoughts about this. "Okay, okay. How do you feel about bangs?" Pipp suggested to Zipp, which caused her to regret letting Pipp style her mane. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
7. Foal Me OnceIt was another sunny day in Maretime Bay. The ponies were doing business when suddenly, a pony galloped past them at high speed, surprising them. This pony turned out to be Hitch as he trotted across town, smirking while wearing sunglasses. Four ponies were chatting to each other, but when they saw Hitch trotting to them at high speed, they moved out of the way. Fifi, carrying her fruit cart, saw Hitch approaching her and gasped in fright, thinking that Hitch would crash into her. But Hitch jumped over Fifi, who was ducking for cover, and the ponies around him gasped in amazement. Fifi stopped covering her head as she saw Hitch galloping away. Hitch then skidded his hooves to a stop as he approached an earth pony mare in front of her flower stand. "What seems to be the problem, neighbor?" he asked the mare with a smile. The earth pony mare pointed to a spilled trash can next to the stand, and Hitch gasped in shock at that sight because if there's one thing Hitch hates besides ponies breaking the law, it is litter in the streets. Hitch took a picture of the spilled trash can, drew a circle around it with some chalk, used a cotton swab to get a sample of the trash, and put it in a tube for evidence. Then he took out his measuring tape to check the size as he got back up to the mare with a smile. "I'll get to the bottom of this," he assured the mare, but suddenly, a bunnycorn jumped up and down, trying to get Hitch's attention. Hitch looked down and found two other bunnycorns holding a sandwich to him. "Not now, bunnycorns!" he told the bunnycorns since he didn't have time to eat right now. "The only thing I'm hungry for... is justice!" he said in a cool tone, then galloped away from the earth pony mare and the bunnycorns. The bunnycorns sigh in disappointment that Hitch won't even take a lunch break because he is so attached to his job as sheriff of Maretime Bay that he would do nothing but get the job done. In the end, one of the bunnycorns chomped the sandwich, so at least it won't get to waste. Hitch galloped back to the station to solve the case of somepony that had made that litter from the trash can. But once he entered the station, he saw all five landline phones ringing off the hook on his desk. He came up to the desk and answered one of the phones. "Sheriff's station. You got Hitch!" he answered with a smile. "Hitch, all the fruit. It's gone!" Sunny called out on worry. "What?" Hitch asked in shock, but he didn't get an answer as another phone rang. "Hang on, Sunny," he told her as he picked up the other phone. "This is Hitch!" "They're gone… All gone!" a pony stallion answered, leaving Hitch confused. "What's gone? Are you there?" Hitch asked over the phone, but another phone rang, so he hung up the two phones and picked up the third one. "Hitch here!" "Are you listening? Hanging on the wall, the picture was right here…" Posey called out that a picture was missing, and Hitch had a feeling that it must be from the Maretime Bay museum. Hitch cringed, getting overwhelmed, and another phone started ringing. "Yikes! Be right with you!" se said to Posey, then hung up and picked up the fourth phone. "Hello?" he asked but only heard sobbing from a pony stallion. And then, the ringing intensified as the other phones started ringing simultaneously. Hitch tried to answer them by juggling the phones around all at once, but he only got himself tangled in the landline phone wires. And then the left door opened as Zipp poked her head out. "Hitch! Is this a good time?" Then, the other door opened completely as Sonic stepped in. "I was going to ask the same..." he said while looking at Zipp. But once they turned to see Hitch, they saw him tangled up in the phone wires as he tried to keep his balance. "...Maybe we did come in a bad moment," Sonic said as he smirked a little. "Yeah, because you seem to be a little... tied up," Zipp said in a pun as she tried to stifle her laughter, but Sonic did laugh up loud. They both came close to Hitch. "You really should find a new deputy," she told Hitch since Sprout was fired because of some of his actions. Hitch grunted while trying to get the phone's wires off him. "I've got this under control, guys," he grunted as he pulled the wires off him. He fell to the ground and then got up. "Anyway, I work alone," he said with a narrow, determined look as Sonic and Zipp looked at him. "There's only one perfectly groomed sheriff capable of handling it all: Me!" he said with a smirk and sunglasses on. "Crime waits for nopony!" he yelled, then ran towards the door. Zipp rolled his eyes with a smile, and Sonic facepalmed in frustration. "Guess he'll learn the hard way, then..." Sonic said, then smirked a little. Hitch opened the door, ready to roll, but in front of him were his animal critters, who chirped in cheer to Hitch. However, he didn't notice and galloped away, leaving the critters a little sad. At the Maretime Bay Museum, Hitch was investigating the case of the missing painting, which happened to be the Pony Lisa. Things have gone missing from all over town I've gotta inspect, gotta write things down With a beret hat on her head, Posey pointed out to the missing Lisa as she freaked out. Hitch looked around at the rest of the paintings, looking for clues while taking out his magnifying glass to see if the thief had left a hoofprint or a clue. A little while later, Hitch was outside writing down what he had learned in his journal about the missing painting, a picture of a fruit smoothie, sunglasses, a horseshoe, and some lines drawn to connect the dots of the missing things. Hitch is closing in with his well-groomed face Hitch turned around and looked at Sunny with a worried face. He stopped at Sunny's fruit stand as she showed him an empty fruit box, as somepony must've stolen them. Just a few more steps and we will close this case Hitch inspected the box and sniffed for a scent. He then looked closer and found something, so he grabbed it. It appeared to be a green piece of fer in the box. Time to catch this devious colt or mare. Hitch then headed to the glasses stand to find that the stallion who owned it had revealed all his glasses were gone. The stallion was breaking down, and Hitch wrote down what he was saying. A mastermind is behind this. But who, and where? Hitch wondered who had been stealing these things lately and where they were now. Back at the police station, Hitch was putting together a mystery chart of everything stolen from the ponies he had seen while connecting red strings to find out the source. "Hitch knew this was the work of a genius criminal mastermind," Hitch said in the third person. "But somehow, someway, he would connect the dots," he said as a red string came off from the top of the Pony Lisa. "Uh... strings," he corrected himself, putting the string back in place. But suddenly, he began to cough as he touched his throat. "I'd arrest somepony for a super citrus smoothie right now," he said, since his throat was dry and coughed again. Suddenly, he heard a thunk and turned his head to find a smoothie on his desk. "Woah. That's convenient!" he said, surprised and smiling. "I don't remember picking this up," he added as he took the smoothie and slurped some of it. "Strange... Delicious! But strange..." he said with sparkly eyes, looking suspiciously at the smoothie, wondering where it came from. The next morning, Hitch yawned and got up, his mane having a bedhead. "Look out, crime! Hitch is coming for ya!" he cheered, getting the blanket off him and getting out of bed. Hitch came to his closet to prepare for the day, but as he opened it, a mountain of stuff fell over him. Hitch got his head out of the pile. He looked at it and gasped in shock at what he was seeing. "Smoothie cups?" he saw the smoothies that were either spilled or emptied, and he began to worry; "Sunglasses?" he saw the pile of glasses on the ground as he freaked out. "The missing painting?!" he cried out as he saw the Pony Lisa on the ground and then gasped. "Am I the criminal mastermind?" he asked himself as he thought he was the one who stole those things. Later, Zipp came to the station along with Sonic to check on how Hitch was progressing. "Hey, Hitch! We came to--" Zipp said but then stopped because she realized that Hitch wasn't at his desk. "Uh... Where did he go?" Sonic wondered, but then he heard a harmonica playing. Sonic and Zipp turned to the cell to find Hitch looking up inside, playing the harmonica. "This is... unusual," Sonic said in confusion. "Uh... Whatcha doing in there, buddy?" Zipp said with a confused expression and smile, wondering why Hitch locked himself in the cell. "I'm all washed up, guys," Hitch cried in despair as he took out the keys and gave them to Sonic and Zipp. "Here. Take the keys! Find a new sheriff!" he cried out as Zipp picked up the keys, and she and Sonic looked at him in confusion. "Dude, what the hell is going on?" Sonic asked, not getting why Hitch locked himself just like that. "Something caused Hitch to snap," Hitch answered in the third person, then pointed to the mystery board as Sonic and Zipp walked. "He had gone down a dark road..." he added, still thinking he may be stealing things in Maretime Bay. Zipp and Sonic looked at the board, examining the things Hitch investigated. Sonic was initially confused, but Zipp found a connection between the dots. "Um, Hitch? These are all your favorite things." Sonic looked at them again and gasped. "Hey, it's true. These are everything you like, dude," Sonic also pointed out. "This smells like a set-up. And…" Zipp stopped in the midsection as she sniffed the air. "Super citrus smoothie?" she asked in confusion, as Sonic started to smell as well, wondering where it came from. They got their answer when they heard slurping and turned to see Hitch slurping the smoothie he had brought. Hitch stopped slurping when he realized what he was doing and screamed in panic while throwing the smoothie away. The smoothie was going to hit Zipp, but Sonic was trapped in time and started to look it around with suspicion. Hitch whimpered in shock, then looked at Sonic with the smoothie and then at Zipp, who looked at him bored. "Uhh, you might be onto something..." Hitch said, regaining his composure. He tried to get out of the cell but forgot it was locked, so he tried to push it open with a grunt. Hitch started panting, then remembered that he had given the keys to Sonic and Zipp, and he turned to them with a sheepish smile. "Um... Guys? A little help?" he asked them. Zipp swings the keys around on her hoof as she and Sonic smirk at Hitch. "Oh, so you do need help?" she asks teasingly. "You're right, Zipp," Hitch said with a smile. "Maybe I do need a new deputy." "So you finally recognized, huh," Sonic said with a smile. "Better later than never, as they say. Now, maybe you should go make some justice, Hitch." "Good idea," Zipp agreed, then tossed the keys to Hitch. "Now go get 'em, sheriff!" she called out as Hitch caught the keys and gave a determined smile while putting on his sunglasses, ready to solve this case. A little while later, Hitch's office was dark until said earth pony turned the lamp on. Hitch was wearing sunglasses and paced back and forth. "You had me running all over town..." Hitch said in a tough tone. But now we've finally got you," Hitch finished as he slammed his hooves on his desk. It turns out that he was talking to a bunnycorn, but not just to him, Hitch turned the lights back on, and all the other animals that Hitch wasn't paying attention to where there too. "What do you have to say for yourselves?" Hitch asked sternly, but then a bunnycorn peeped as it gave him a smoothie. "Wait. Did you steal those things for me?" he asked the critters as they giggled, answering 'yes,' they did steal those for Hitch. "Well, I'm flattered, but you can't go around taking things. You've broken a dozen laws, not to mention health code violations…" he pointed out to the critters as they looked down in guilt. "Go return everything!" he lectured to them as the critters nodded in agreement and smiled a little. Posey was looking at the art at the museum as the creatures put Pony Lisa back in her place. Posey heard something behind and glanced sideways but found nothing as the creatures hid. When he looked back from him to the front, the creatures turned to right Pony Lisa and turned away again. Posey looked back again, fully this time, and smiled sparkling when he saw Pony Lisa had returned. At Sunny's fruit stand, Sunny looked around with a down expression, still sad that her smoothie supplies were missing. Then, the critters skated through the stand in Sunny's roller skates and put the smoothie supplies back on Sunny's roller skates before Sunny noticed them. Sunny turned around and smiled as she saw the smoothie supplies and her roller skates were back, but then she noticed the raccoons, which stopped when she saw them and started to whistle while walking away. The critters then put all the glasses back on the stand while the stallion was asleep, but not before a bunnycorn looked into the mirror, admiring himself, and flew away before the earth pony stallion woke up. Back at the police station, the animals cheered Hitch as the sheriff stood smiling in the middle of the critters. "I'm sorry for ignoring you," Hitch apologized to the critters as they shared a group. "But... you did the crime, and now you gotta do the time!" he said to them as he took them all for a snapshot. The critters gasped at this while the camera clicked with their ID numbers in front of them as they had guilty looks. After locking up the critters in little cages, Hitch sighed in relief that this case was closed. However, the door opened, and Sonic poked his head. "Hey buddy, did you finish the case?" he asked with a smile and curiosity. "Yep!" Hitch assured with a smile. "And I looked the thieves already!" he pointed to the critters in the little cages. Sonic looked at them, a little confused. "Okay... so... If you finished, can we talk about it now..." Sonic looked around. He first locked up the door, then pushed down the shutters. He got close to Hitch, looking at his surroundings once again. "The thing?" he whispered to his ear. At first, Hitch was confused by Sonic's attitude, but once he mentioned the thing, he gasped and then nodded to the hedgehog. Hitch walked over the board and turned it around to reveal another mystery chard with pictures and strings, this time about the Chaos Emeralds and how they're not working properly. "Okay, so what's happened now?" Hitch asked, looking at Sonic. "I tried to activate the Emeralds with my electrical powers as I had been doing the past 3 months since I found them, but... this time, I didn't stop. Hitch, I... I made them glow until the very end..." Sonic confessed. "What?!" Hitch yelled in surprise. "And then what happened?!" "I thought they were going to throw some light ray and destroy the walls or the ceiling, but instead... they brought a paper out of nowhere and drew a map," Sonic explained, as he both remembered what happened when he activated the Emeralds without cancel his powers this time and took out the map. He opened the map on Hitch's desk, and the two male creatures examined it. It was an Equestrian map showing the three cities they knew already—Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, and Bridlewood—and the distance between them. However, there was another location that neither Sonic nor Hitch had seen or heard of before: a dark purple castle that seemed to be hidden somewhere, far away from Maretime Bay. "Opaline's Castle?" In confusion, Hitch said, "I've never heard about that place..." "Me neither," Sonic added, just as confused as Hitch. "Why would the Emeralds give me a map with a place I've never seen before?" he questioned with concern. "And not only that, but it appears that there's somepony called 'Opaline' as well," Hitch pointed out since the castle didn't have a proper name. "This is suspicious, Sonic..." "Oh, but it doesn't end there, Hitch," Sonic revealed. Hitch looked at him surprised and frowned a little as he let Sonic continue. "I tried to make them glow again, but it didn't happen... not even with my electrical powers," he explained. "Oh boy!" Hitch exclaimed. "Then that changed our theories a little. We thought the Emeralds were not working because they were not in their dimension. "He explained as he started to change some dots on the board and added a new one with the map. "But now that the Emeralds don't react to my new powers, we know that it has nothing to do with the new dimension they are on...." Sonic continued. "Then... maybe they are recharging?" Hitch suggested, but Sonic looked at him a little confused. "Think about it: they only worked when you used your powers, but once you let them glow completely and made the map, they stopped working again, right?" "Yes..." Sonic nodded and then realized where Hitch was going. "Wait a minute! You're right! Maybe they were trying to recharge, but I just speeded the process! And once they were fully recharged and made the map..." Sonic started to theorize. "They went out of energy, and now they're recharging properly!" Hitch finished with a smile. Sonic nodded in agreement, smiling as well. "Okay, now that we know why the Emeralds aren't working, maybe the next step should be finding out where Opaline's Castle is and why the Emeralds want me to go there," he stated, as Hitch nodded in agreement. They looked back at the map, but Hitch focused on one of its corners and saw something. "Wait a second... What is this?" he asked as he pointed out the corner. Sonic decided to take a look and then gasped. "It's a drawing of the 7 Chaos Emeralds!" Sonic stated. But... they're separated in three rows," he also said, seeing one row with his three Emeralds and the other two rows with two Emeralds each. "'Sonic's Emeralds,' 'Opaline's Emeralds,' and 'Remaining Emeralds, '" Hitch read. "Wait, this Opaline has two Emeralds?" he asked in confusion. "This is bad... this is very bad..." Sonic said with a worried look. "This Opaline sounds bad, and I mean a villain, Hitch. If they have two Chaos Emeralds and find a way to activate them, we'll have big trouble..." "Then let's start investigating this, Opaline," Hitch suggested with a determinate look and a smile, as Sonic put the same expression and smiled back. "Also, you should be looking for your surroundings more carefully from now on. If we can find the other Emeralds before this Opaline, or somepony else, we'll have a huge advantage," he stated. "Right!" Sonic cheered with a big smile. Give me a high hoof, sheriff!" he said, raising his hand and walking with Hitch. We'll get to the button of this, no matter how much we have to work..." he assured with confidence. THE END...? Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
8. Clip TrotPipp was in front of the Crystal Brighthouse, looking at her phone. In the background, a video of bunnies wearing glasses and hats was playing in sync with the song's rhythm. Bunny, bunny Do the bunny-unny-unny Bunny, bunny Do the bunny-unny-unny Kick up your paws and slide to the right Shake your tail, now, side to side Do a little zip and bring it up quick Hop around and let's see you twist... Pipp gasped at the video and squealed. "Ponies!" she called out to her friends, wanting to show them what she just found. Meanwhile, inside the Brighthouse, Sonic was considering applying for a job he could apply for to earn some money and compensate his friends since he was living for free. Sunny, Izzy, Hitch, and Zipp were trying to help, although Sunny was trying to change his mind more. "Sonic, it's okay," Sunny assured again, thinking Sonic was in a little. You don't have to pay us anything, really," she said as the rest nodded in agreement. "I do. Even if I'm not from this dimension, that doesn't mean I have to leave for free and have my life here granted. I need to earn my money the right way," Sonic stated, not thinking about changing his mind. "Besides, the fact that I'm from Equestria isn't an excuse for me to not have my own money." "Well, if you're interested in the job, I'm still looking for a new deputy," Hitch suggested. "You just have to do the same thing I do, except for some specific ones, of course." "I usually wouldn't mind, but I don't think you'll accept 'Gotta go fast' as a medical condition," Sonic joked around, getting laughs from the others. "But seriously talking, technically, you still would be paying me your own money, even if it's in different circumstances," he pointed out. Before the conversation could continue, Pipp opened the door with an exciting look. "Have you seen this Clip Trot? It. Is. So.Awe-some!" She sang the last word and showed her friends the video of bunny hip hop. Her friends looked surprised at the video, clearly never seen it before. Pipp looked at them and found it weird that they didn't know about the clip. "It's the Hip Hop Bunny Bop? The new dance craze? It's only got, like, a million hoof taps," she pointed out with a smirk. "A million hoof taps?" Izzy questioned with a smile, "Surely you only need four!" she called out, clearly not getting what hoof taps mean, then she started to scat and hoove tapping on the floor with a little dance.. She saw her friends looking at her weirdly since that was a little weird to see. Izzy then chuckled awkwardly, feeling a little embarrassed. "Okay, you're a tough crowd..." she said to them, saving herself from embarrassment when her friends stared at her. Pipp then came to Izzy with sparkling eyes. "We have to try it!" she said as she squealed. My pippsqueaks will be expecting it!" She placed her phone on a phone holder and tapped the record button. "Aaand five, six, seven, eight," she announced to her friends to get ready to show their skills in front of the phone. Sunny smiled at her friends, convinced to try out Pipp’s idea. "Just listen to the beat, feel the rhythm, and... most importantly, be yourself!" Sunny advised her friends as she got in front of the camera and danced while the Bunny Hip Hop song started to play. She danced a bit and then hopped away, while Izzy walked backward and laughed while dancing around with an added spin and waved her hooves; then she moved backward with a smile, waving at Zipp to come into the camera’s view. Zipp poked her head and then danced and flopped to the floor as she shook her head, made a backflip as she struck the landing, and walked backward. Sonic made Michael Jackson's moonwalk, stopped in front of the camera, break danced, and then made a backflip to get out of sight. "C'mon, sheriff!" Sonic cheered up, and Hitch came into view of the camera and danced. Hitch laughed and jumped a little, "Hitch has got it, uh-huh!" he cheered as he danced. Izzy laughs as she and the rest of her friends, san Pipp, free dance as they listen to the rhythm. Pipp, however, did not like what they were doing. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. "Cut! Stop. Stop it," she called out, but while the others stopped, Zipp continued to dance. Zipp hummed as she still danced, getting really into it. She then flew and flew around, ending her dancing with a twirl in the air and landing back into the ground as her friends watched her in awe. "Yeah!" she cheered, "Upload that!" she called out to her sister, wanting to post that video with her moves. "Way to go, Zippster!" Sonic said with a smile as he nicknamed Zipp like that, and surprisingly, she didn't get mad because she fist-bumped the hedgehog. "I can not upload THAT!" Pipp protested. "That was nothing like the bunnies! Watch. It goes like this," Pipp added. Then she got in front of the group and put on her glasses as she danced to the music. Time to get fluffy I said it's time to get fluffy Here we go now Here we go Bunny, bunny Do the bunny-unny-unny Bunny, bunny Do the bunny-unny-unny... Pipp then danced to the same moves the bunnies did in the video with effort grunts, which was a little way the least. Her friends looked at her weirdly and were a little disturbed by her trying to dance the bunny dance. But Sonic found it cute, although he wouldn't say it like that. "Oh! Uh, is that the time?" Zipp said suddenly, trying to find a way out of Pipp’s weird bunny dance. "Gotta do that thing I was telling you about. Sunny, you remember? That thing?" she winked at Sunny as she chuckled and ran off. Seeing where Zipp is going with this, Sunny decided to play along. "Uh... Uh, yeah! That... thing! Wasn't I supposed to help you?" she acted as well, then ran after Zipp. "Me too!" Hitch called out as he ran after the two mares, leaving Sonic and Izzy with Pipp. Pipp then stopped dancing as she took her glasses off. She looked at her two remaining friends, seeing that the rest were gone, as Izzy and Sonic looked at each other. "Aaand yeah, I can't think of an excuse. Gotta go!" Izzy called out as she ran out of the house, leaving Sonic behind. "Man, I never saw them running that quick before, and the fastest thing alive tells you!" Sonic chuckled a bit. Pipp looked down, disappointed, upset that her friends left her while she danced. Sonic noticed her sad look and felt bad for her, so he smiled. He was the only one there, so his duty was to cheer her up. "Hey, Pipp, look at me," he pled to her as she faced him while blushing a little. "I'm sorry the rest ran off like that. It's just that we think the bunnies are the only critters that can make that dance look good and adorable," he tried to explain. "Although I have to say, you did make it kinda cute," he whispered in her ear. This made Pipp blush and nervously laugh as she tried to speak clearly. "T-Thanks, Sonic..." she said clearly at last. "Anytime, Pipp," he said with a smile, then started to walk towards the door. "Now, I'm going to take a little walk to find a job since I'm serious when I say I'm not staying for free. Wanna come with me?" he asked her while stopping at the door, thinking that maybe a walk could make her feel better. "You can distract your mind as well," he pointed out. Pipp smiled at him and nodded after thinking about it for a while. "I would love to," she said, still blushing. Pipp and Sonic walked through Maretime Bay. Pipp tried not to think about the video while Sonic listed a few jobs he was interested in on his phone and started to look for one that would fit him. "Let's see... I could be a mailman... although no one writes letters that often anymore, so it would be a lost cause," Sonic said to himself, as he marked with an 'X' the 'Mailman' option in the list. "Maybe a Pizza delivery guy? No, my sonic speed would leave the pizzas made a mess," he was concerned, as he also marked an 'X' on the 'Pizza delivery guy' option. "Maybe I should accept Hitch's offer to be his deputy... then again, he technically will be paying me his own money, even if is for a good job. Say, Pipp, don't you need any help with Mane Melody? Besides Jazz and Rocky, I mean," Sonic asked the pegasus. "Hm?" Pipp said while looking at him in a bad mood. "Uh, no. We're good, Sonic. Don't worry," she assured, a little down. Sonic noticed that but decided to let her get lost in her thoughts. Soon, they were walking next to the Mane Melody, and Pipp gasped when she saw a familiar pony coming out. Jazz was coming out of the salon, ending her daily job for the day, then she turned and saw Sonic and Pipp there. "Hey, Jazzy-babe, loving that hooficure!" Pipp said to Jazz with a cheerful tone. "Cu-ute!" she said in admiring Jazz’s hooves. Sonic took a look and nodded in agreement with a smile, then returned his sigh to his phone. "Oh, wow, thanks!” Jazz replied with a smile. "I just--" she tried to say but was cut off by Pipp. "So, I could use your help on some like, amazing content," Pipp asked for a favor as she blinked with sparkles in her eyes and gave Jazz the phone. Sonic automatically moved to Jazz's side, still looking at his phone for a job. "And five, six, seven, eight!" Pipp cheered and began to dance as she sang the song while Jazz looked at Pipp strangely. Come on, ponies Show me what you got I said show me what you got Here we go now Here we go! As Pipp was dancing, Jazz looked at her with a cringe. Sonic looked for a second at Pipp, then returned to his phone. He immediately looked back at Pipp in disbelief, just putting an amused face on how Pipp was still trying to do that dance. Yeah! Uh-uh-uh-oh-ooh! Who needs those ponies? Not me. I'll just do it myseeelf! Pipp then panted a little while Sonic facepalmed in frustration. The point of the walk was to make her forget the thing, but it didn't work. Pipp turned to Jazz and Sonic to find out how she did it. "What do you think, guys?" she asked them to judge. Sonic looked at her with a bored expression. "Am I telling you the truth, or are we still friends?" he asked sarcastically as Jazz pushed him hard on the shoulder and then spoke herself. "Ah, I mean... It's... great," Jazz said while trying to think of the right words. "But…" she tried to explain, but she was interrupted when Posey came out of nowhere. "That's so last week," Posey said, answering for Jazz while she smirked at Pipp in amusement. Sonic rolled his eyes since he already knew Posey was like that, and Pipp looked at her in confusion. "Elaborate, Posey," Sonic asked with annoyance. "What?" Posey replied as she laughed at the pegasus and the hedgehog. "Have you two been living in a cave?" she asked rudely as Jazz flinched at Posey’s comment. After hearing the cave part, Sonic and Pipp looked at each other and started having flashbacks from last week. A week ago, the Mane 5 and Sonic decided to go on a camping trip. Hitch suggested taking a break from all of the technology and took his friends camping in the woods. But as bad luck has it, it was raining where they set up their camp. So they refuged in a cave, and they were all soaked and wet from the rain outside and stood close to the fire for warmth while both Izzy and Sonic covered themselves with a blanket, as the four girls and Sonic glared at Hitch for getting them lost in the forest while trying to get back home. "We're not lost!" Hitch said, trying to stay optimistic as he came up with the right words. "We're just... slowing down. Living life unplugged!" he stated with a smile. "You should be glad those aren't my thunders, Trailblazer!" Sonic yelled out in anger as electricity came out of his body. Pipp then tried to use her phone to see her stats and if anything new popped up but only received beeps, and she taped her phone repeatedly in frustration. "No canternet?" she groaned as this would be a long day without her phone. Pipp shook her head to get out of the flashback, now knowing why she didn’t know of the Hip Hop Bunny video earlier, while Sonic just looked with a concerned expression. "Uh... kinda?" he answered Posey's question. "So, no one does the Hip Hop Bunny Bop anymore?" Pipp questioned in shock, realizing the Hip Hop Bunny Bop was outdated. Posey chuckled at Pipp’s realization. "Nope," Posey answered. "We're waiting for the next big thing," she added with a wave of her hoof. And then Pipp smirked, coming up with an idea. "The next big thing, huh? Hmm…" she said, putting a hoof on her chin. Pipp then grabbed her phone from Jazz and pressed it, editing some videos into what she thought would be 'the next big thing.' Both Jazz and Sonic looked carefully at Pipp’s editing and smiled. "Hmm. That really is gonna be the next big thing. Explode it!" she said with a smirk as she raised her hoof to Pipp and made a hoof bump. "Aaand upload!" she said. as she uploaded the edited video to the web. Do a little dip and bring it up quick Trot to it now, let me see you twist Look at you glow, look at you shine Show me that spark, everypony, unite... The video showed Pipp's friends dancing in front of a four-way split mirror with stars in the background. Rocky, Jazz, and Posey looked at the video with smiles. "Now that is fire!" Rocky commented to the other two ponies. "Hooftap!" the three ponies said in unison as they liked the video. It's the pony hip hop! The gardener earth pony poured water on her flowers as she hoof-tapped the video. She danced to the music but didn't notice McSnips growling because she was wetting him. Do the pony-ony-ony Pony pony Do the pony-ony-ony Everypony, everywhere In Bridlewood, Alphabittle was tapping his hoof while bobbing his head and dancing to the song's beat. He twirled around with a smile, then hoof-tapped the video. Trot to the beat, you can feel it in the air Pony pony And then, in a cave or so, two magical creatures that looked like raccoons somehow had a phone with them in their magic as they bobbed their heads to the music, loving it. Do the pony-ony-ony Pony pony Do the pony-ony-ony… In Zephyr Heights, Queen Haven and her fellow ponies watched the video on the big screens as they bobbed their heads to the music. "Hooftap!" Haven cheered with sparkles and a smile as she backflipped while a random pegasus mare approached the screen. "Hooftap!" the pegasus mare cheered as she somehow hooftaped the screen. Back in Maretime Bay, the Mane 5 and Sonic looked at the video with smiles of joy. "We. Look. Amazing!" Izzy cheered out with a smile. "I've never seen so many hoof taps!" Sunny said with surprise. "I bet everypony in Equestria has seen this!" she added as the group smiled at the thought. "Hey, pippsqueaks!" a filly voice spoke out loud as the Mane 5 and Sonic turned and saw three fillies, each of a different tribe. "You be Sunny, you be Izzy, and will be Pi-i-i-i-ipp." she said as she sang Pipp’s name. Pipp smiled at her pippsqueaks as she spoke to them while the fillies giggled. "Or... How about you just be yourselves?" she said to the fillies, then gave a wink to Sunny, who smiled proudly at Pipp and winked back. The fillies smiled a bit as they began to dance in their way. "Yeah-hah! That's it! You got it!" Pipp cheered to the fillies as she laughed, and her friends smiled, except for Sonic, who was once again on his phone, looking for a job, and Izzy, who started beatboxing, scatting, and dancing. "Is anypony getting this?" Izzy asked her friends as she continued to dance. "Because I'm an icon!" she cheered as she bobbed her head up and down, twirled around, and then jumped up and down. The rest of the Mane 5 smiled at Izzy’s cheerful side and laughed a little. Then Hitch looked at Sonic and walked towards him. "So, who's the job searching going?" he asked curiously. "Well, I just have one option left," Sonic confessed as he showed his phone to Hitch, and the others came closer to look as well. The remaining option was a job that required controlling the pegasi guards' speed since now they could fly better thanks to the students who said that Zipp was tough to fly. "I thought that it was far away, but then I remembered my sonic speed, so problem solved!" he stated, returning his phone to his sight. "Wait, how did you know about the pegasi guards thing?" Zipp asked with suspicion. "Your mom told me when I reunited with her and Alphabittle last week at the Crystal Tearoom," Sonic said calmly, looking at his phone. Looking back at his friends, he found surprised expressions on Sunny, Izzy, and Hitch but shocked ones on Zipp and Pipp. "I like tea, okay? I go there sometimes when Queen Haven has some free time," Sonic said with a bored face. "And I'm just bonding with those two; they'll be nice once you know them better. Besides, I needed to look for some jobs out of town in case none of the ones here convinced me. But those things aside, I didn't do anything bad," he explained to his friends as they came up with neutral expressions again. "...So, when are you starting?" Sunny asked with a nervous smile after a few minutes of awkward silence. "I'll have to check on Queen Haven to see my schedule," Sonic replied, then put his phone on his quills. "But I'll do that later; I think I'm just gonna 'stretch my legs' and call it a day," he said with a smirk and then ran off. "Gotta go fast, guys! See ya later!" he yelled out from a distance. The Mane 5 laughed at Sonic's attitude, while Pipp looked enthralled at the figure of Sonic that gradually became more distant. Zipp noticed this and smirked as she thought about teasing her sister. "You like him, don't you?" Zipp asked with amusement. "Yes…" Pipp answered, almost sighing, until she realized what her sister meant and tried to correct herself. "I mean... what?! No! Of course not! Why would I like someone like Sonic?" Pipp asked, covering it up as she pretended to be confused and offended. "Uh… Pipp?" Hitch said. "Zipp never said who exactly…" the sheriff revealed, as he laughed slightly along with the others. This caused Pipp to realize that she had exposed herself. She blushed but smiled a little as her eyes sparkled, still entranced by the hedgehog from another dimension who had captured her. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
9. It's T.U.E.S. DayIn the Crystal Brighthouse, balloons and streams were on the floor, and Izzy chanted and scatted in excitement."It's T.U.E.S. Day! Woohoo!" she cheered and chanted with joy. "Uni-KA! Uni-KO! Uni-FA! Uni-FO! Uni-MEE! Uni… MOH!" she ended with a holler that caused the Brighthouse to shake. Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp looked at Izzy strangely while eating breakfast. "Uh... No, Izzy. It's Thursday," she pointed out, not getting what Izzy meant. Then she looked at the time and saw it was about to be nine and gasped. "Aah! And I'm late to open the smoothie court!" she cried out as Zipp and Pipp also saw the time and ran off to their daily routines. "Ugh! The pegasus marathon already started!" Zipp cried out as she put her things for the marathon in her bag. "Mane Melody can't open without the mane attraction!" Pipp boasted as she put some makeup on her face. "No, it's T.U.E.S. Day. T. U. E. S. The Unicorn Expression of Sparkle Day! A special day for every unicorn…" Izzy tried to explain what she was talking about, but the rest were too busy preparing for the day. Sunny got into her roller skates and, alongside Zipp and Pipp, ran out the door since they were late, leaving Izzy alone and sad. " ...and their friends..." she finished with a sigh. She walked over to the table and looked at her reflection in a cereal with a sad face. "I miss Bridlewood. Earth ponies and pegasi are great, but it'd be nice to make another unicorn friend..." she said with sadness. Then, something came to her mind, thinking of somepony, or better say, some hedgehog. "Maybe Sonic is free! I hope he let me explain properly..." she said, trotting upstairs to the bedroom. Meanwhile, Sonic was holding one Chaos Emerald in each hand, with his electrical powers activated, trying to make the Emeralds glow and shine again. But as it had been since the Emeralds created the map two months ago, they were not shining anymore, not even with his new powers. "Did something change?" Hitch asked on the other side of Sonic's cellphone since they were talking on a normal call 'cause Hitch needed to attend his work in a few minutes. "No..." Sonic answered with disappointment. "This is starting to worry me, Hitch. There's no sign of the Emeralds activating again. I've tried everything I know, even shouting 'Chaos Control,' but nothing happens! And I've already looked under every unknown place of Equestria, and yet haven't found the other Emeralds..." he explained with worry, as he got close to a copy of the map he had - since Hitch had the original one - and marked an 'X' on another location. Hitch did the same in the station, in the same spots on the map Sonic told him to. "And we haven't discovered anything about this Opaline nor the Castle they live on..." Hitch stated, looking worried at the board with all the information he and Sonic had gathered over the past five months. We're approaching the dead end, aren't we?" Hitch asked, concerned. "I'm afraid so..." Sonic answered back on the Brighthouse. "I think we should leave it for today, Hitch. You have to work, and I need to clear my mind..." he stated while rubbing his eyes with one hand. "Ok then. See you later, Sonic," Hitch said. "See ya..." Sonic said back and finished the call. He put his phone back on his quills, then put the Emeralds on the bag and hid it under the mattress. Once he put the mattress in place, he sighed and leaned on the bed, looking at the ceiling and wondering why the Emeralds weren't working anymore. A moment later, Izzy came into the bedroom smiling and found Sonic lying on his bed. Sonic heard the door opening and sat down, wondering why Izzy was so excited. "Morning, Izzy. What brought you up here?" Sonic asked with a smile. "Hey, Sonic! Do you, uh, wanna celebrate T.U.E.S. Day with me?" While Sonic looked at her in confusion, Izzy asked, stood up, and walked towards her. "I thought today was Thursday..." Sonic said, scratching his head, not understanding what she meant. "Not Tuesday, silly. T.U.E.S. Day," Izzy corrected. "It is short for ‘The Unicorn Expression of Sparkle Day’! It's a special day for every unicorn to celebrate friendship with their friends!" she added with a squeal, then made the motto she did earlier. "Uni-KA! Un-KO! Un-FA! Un-FO! Un-MEE! Un… MOH!!!" she said the last part with a holler that shook the room as she finished with a smile. "So that was what made the room shake before..." Sonic said while he scratched an ear. "Never heard about that, but I gotta say that a free day with your friends sounds like fun. Do the rest know about this?" he asked with curiosity. "No..." Izzy said in a sad tone. "I tried to tell them what the holiday meant, but they thought I was talking about the day of the week. And when I tried to explain it, they just ran off in a hurry since they have plans today; they didn’t even stop to listen to me when they were in a hurry!" she said with sadness and sat down. "And I know Hitch will be busy with his job as a sheriff, so he’s out of the question..." she finished. Sonic looked at her and felt bad but also a bit mad that his friends didn't even take a moment to listen to Izzy. "Man, that sucks. I get they were late, but listening for a moment wasn't going to kill them," Sonic said aloud with a little anger, then looked back at Izzy and smiled. "Lucky for you, I'm free today, and I'm not starting to work until next week," he pointed out his schedule. "Besides, you say it yourself: it's a special day for unicorns and their friends, and I'm your friend, after all," he stated with a smile. Izzy's eyes sparkled, and she started to jump in excitement. "Really?! Thank you so much, Sonic!" she called out, hugging Sonic very tight. "Anything for my friends!" he replied, trying to catch his breath. "Now, could you let me go so we can enjoy the day?" he asked, wanting to feel his breath again. "Oh, right, sorry!" she said in embarrassment as she let Sonic go, who sighed in relief and caught his breath. "Great... Let's go out and have some fun!" he yelled excitedly as he and Izzy ran off to the main door and shut it. At Mane Melody, Izzy was getting pedihoofs and giggled at her hooves' rainbow colors. Meanwhile, Rocky was giving Sonic a little massage on his back. "This is goooooood," Sonic said with satisfaction as Rocky massaged his back. While Izzy giggled at her pedihoof, Pipp watched from a distance at the two having fun and frowned, thinking this looked like a date. Later, Sonic and Izzy were in the movie theaters, with Posey behind them, watching the ponyfied version of Transformers, 'Trottformers.' Sonic and Izzy saw the leader of the Trottformers, the ponyfied Optimus Prime named 'Optimare Prime,' giving orders. "Trottformers... Roll out!" he called out to his offscreen comrades. "Wow!" Izzy cheered as she giggled at the movie. "Man, this movie is already better than the Michael Bay movies back home, and that's saying a lot!" Sonic joked as he ate some popcorn. "Autobots... Transform!" Optimare Prime announced in the movie, and Posey fell to the ground with a groan as she hit the floor with a thud. Sonic and Izzy turned to see what the sound was but found nothing and resumed watching the movie. Izzy drank some grape soda and tossed the empty can away, hitting Posey in the head. "Ugh..." Posey groans from being hit with a can. A while later, Izzy and Sonic were at a spaghetti restaurant. Izzy ate some from her muzzle, but when she got her head up, a whole tomato on the spaghetti got caught on her horn, which she didn’t notice. Sonic laughed at Izzy's horn with the tomato. "What?" Izzy asked in confusion. "Ahahah! Look at your horn, Izz!" Sonic said while laughing. Izzy looked at her horn and realized why Sonic was laughing in the first place. She then snorted and laughed with Sonic because she also found it hilarious. Hitch, who was doing his rounds around the town, noticed the unicorn and the hedgehog having so much fun and then smiled. "Hmm… I wonder what got those two happier than usual... " Hitch wondered since he knew they were both usually hyperactive and optimistic, but today they were happier. Later, Sunny was blending her fruits to make smoothies when Sonic and Izzy came to the booth. "Two strawberry sunshine, please!" Izzy requested. "Coming right up!" Sunny said as she blended the smoothies. When she turned to the front of the boot, she saw Izzy and Sonic in front of her. "Oh, hey, guys. Nice to see you!" she said with a smile, then noticed Izzy's pedihoof and that Sonic was wearing one of Izzy's friendship bracelets because Izzy gave it to the hedgehog as a thank you for passing the day with her. "Wow, seems like you guys are having fun," she commented. "You bet!" Sonic said with a smile. "A day at Mane Melody, a movie, lunch, and smoothies. We're having tons of fun today!" he assured. "Well, it's good to see you two having fun," Sunny assured with a smile. "Although you are way too happy today..." she finished while raising an eyebrow and giving them the smoothies. "Thanks, Sunny!" Izzy thanked Sonic as she and Sonic grabbed their smoothies. Sonic gave Sunny some bits to pay for the smoothies. "Happy T.U.E.S. Day!" both Izzy and Sonic said as they walked away with a smile. Sunny giggles at Izzy. "Sonic, I think Izzy got you confused. It's Thursday today, not Tue--" she was saying, but that's when she realized what Izzy really meant. "OH! T.U.E.S. Day!" she cried out as she went through the stuff she kept in her bag, looking for the journal as she completely forgot about the holiday. "Say, Sonic. Wanna race back to the Brighthouse?" Izzy asked with a smirk, her smoothie floating with magic. "Oh, it's on!" Sonic said as he smirked back. Sonic and Izzy started to run away playfully as they passed by Hitch and Zipp. "Anypony think Izzy and Sonic are even more energetic than usual today?" Hitch asked in confusion. "Yeah. I was flying, and I thought I saw them hang out all day having fun," Zipp commented as she chuckled. "I mean, I know those two are very energetic, but today is different..." she added. "Well, if you think about it, Sonic was Izzy's first friend. And... Izzy is also the first friend that Sonic made when he arrived..." Hitch realized. "Perhaps they're just bonding their relationship a little bit more," he theorized. "Yeah, yeah. How cute..." Pipp said, a little mad, as she came next to Hitch and Zipp with a frown. "They arrived at Mane Melody earlier, and they were having a good time..." she explained with a little disappointment, which caused Hitch and Zipp to look at each other, worried that Pipp may have misinterpreted things. Sunny found her book, brought it down on the counter, and opened it. She looked through it and then found what she was looking for. "See? Today isn't Tuesday," she told her friends in front of her with a smile. The three looked at her with smiles. "Yes, Sunny. We know," Pipp said with a smile. Zipp smirked. "I think she's forgetting the week, too," she said to Pipp as she turned to Sunny with her hoof raised. "How many hooves am I holding up?" she asked with a smile. "No, today isn't Tuesday. It's T.U.E.S. Day—The Unicorn Expression of Sparkle Day!" Sunny explained as her friends looked on in shock. "I can't believe I forgot! It's a special day for unicorns to celebrate friendship," she told them with a smile. That's when they realized what Izzy meant in the morning. "Oh! That’s why those two were having fun all day together. Izzy must’ve told Sonic about T.U.E.S. Day!" Hitch said. "Wait... so they were just celebrating?" Pipp asked in disbelief, now feeling guilty of misunderstanding the situation. "Guys, we have to make it up to her... to both of them," Sunny said confidently as the other nodded. Later that evening, Izzy and Sonic walked back to the Crystal Brighthouse as Izzy grunted and sat in front of the Brighthouse door. Sonic came and sat down in front of her. "I told you all that pasta was going to hurt later," Sonic said with a little smile. "Sorry, Sonic. I should not have had all that pasta..." Izzy apologized as she rubbed her belly to ease the ache a bit. "We had a fun day, Sonic," she told him. "We sure did," Sonic replied with a smile, but then he frowned when he remembered that the rest of their friends didn’t join them. "But it would've been even better with the rest," he said with a sad look. "Yeah..." Izzy said in agreement as she frowned a bit. "It just doesn't feel like T.U.E.S. Day without my frie--OUAUGH!" Izzy cried out as the door suddenly opened, and she fell on her back. Sonic saw this and immediately ran towards her. "Is everything okay, Izz?" he asked her. "I’m fine, but who opened the door?" Izzy asked as she and Sonic saw their friends circle them with smiles. "Happy T.U.E.S. Day! Uni-KA! Uni-KO! Uni-FA! Uni-FO! Uni-GO!" Sunny, Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp cheered in unison as they repeated Izzy's chant from the morning. As they now remember, Izzy smiled at her friends, but Sonic was still a bit mad. "Aw, you ponies remembered? Uh, did you just pretend to forget?" she asked them with a smile, thinking that her friends were just playing tricks on her. "Yeah, did you just casually remember the holiday now?" Sonic asked with an accusing look. Sunny and the others looked at each other with guilt on their faces as Sunny spoke out. "Well... No. We forgot," Sunny confessed to Izzy and Sonic, then got in front of them while Izzy got back up. "We are all still learning about everypony's special days, and I guess we need to try a bit harder," she finished with an embarrassed smile. "We're sorry, guys," Pipp apologized with a smile. "Sorry," Zipp added with a smile. "We'll do better, I promise," Hitch finished as the four friends smiled. "But we were thinking... Maybe there's still time to do our own T.U.E.S. Day! All together?" Sunny asked as she and her friends wanted to make up for Izzy and Sonic. "Are you kidding?! Sonic and I had a whole day of fun, and now we have to do it all again with you ponies?!" Izzy asked them in excitement as her friends nodded their heads. "I don't know..." Sonic said suddenly, his eyes closed and his arms crossed, which surprised the rest. "You guys were in a hurry this morning, and I understand it, but c'mon guys, just giving a few seconds to Izzy to explain wasn't gonna kill you," he stated with a frown but then smiled after a few seconds. "However, you want to make it up, so... What the heck? Let's do it!" he stated with a big smile. "Woo! This is the best T.U.E.S. Day ever!" Izzy cheered as the Mane 5 and Sonic smiled together and started music with flashing lights inside the Brighthouse, having a party together. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
10. Sunny-Day DinnersSunny was making breakfast for her friends and flipping the pancakes in the kitchen. "And... Perfect!" Sunny cheered as she put the last bit of pancakes on the table with a pile of pancakes, a basket of apples, some muffins, orange juice, some toast, and an omelet with tomatoes on the side. "Breakfast of champions!" Sunny cheered for her success. "Everypony needs a hearty meal before a busy day," she stated with a smile. "Ponies, family breakfast!" Sunny announced. Zipp trotted towards her. "Sorry, Sunny. Gotta rush," she apologized to the mare as she grabbed an apple, chewed it in her mouth, and zoomed away to her daily routine. Suddenly, Sonic grabbed a plate with some pancakes and muffins, eating at high speed since he was a bit late. He also grabbed some orange juice in a cup and drank very quickly. Then he put the dish and the cup in the sink and went upstairs. Then he came back with a hat with two wings, a microphone on his ear, and a little book with the same wings drawing of his hat. All of that in a matter of 10-15 seconds. "Sorry, Sunny, but I can't be late again for the speed inspection of the royal guards. Gotta go fast!" Sonic apologized, then boosted out of the Brighthouse. Sunny heard humming sounds; she turned and smiled when she saw Izzy approaching her while listening to music on some headphones. Izzy chomped on the pancakes as she took a bite. "Mmm! Good pancakes, Sunny!" she yelled out since she was listening to music. Before putting the pancake piece, she took a bite back onto the pile of pancakes as the saliva from her bite oozed down. Sunny cringed in disgust, finding it gross that Izzy would take a bite out of something and then put it back. "Do-do-do, do-do…" Izzy sang as she hummed away. Then the front doors opened, and Sunny saw Hitch running towards her with a panicked expression. "They're doing it again with the garden tools!" Hitch cried out as he pointed outside while Sunny looked and saw what was happening. Outside, the Racconicorns were growling on a pile of garbage as they levitated gardening pitchforks at a pegasus rat, who was holding a can of leftover food from the garbage. The pegasus rat was so afraid that he dropped the can in fright. Sunny then brought out some pancakes to Hitch. "You can't deal with that on an empty stomach!" she told him with a smile, but then she noticed that she had picked up the chomped pancakes and threw them away. Hitch didn’t seem to notice since he was panicking. "There's no time!" he cried, galloping away to stop those critters from hurting anyone. "Uh, er-- Good luck!" Sunny said with a smile, but a little hurt that her friends didn’t even stay for breakfast together. Then Sunny’s phone started to vibrate on the kitchen counter, showing Pipp calling on FaceTime as Sunny answered the call and picked up her phone. "No," Pipp said to somepony. She spoke to the ponies in Mane Melody while holding her phone. "Oh, excuse me," she started to laugh awkwardly. "Oh, sorry. Excuse-moi," she apologized to some pony as she looked at her phone and sighed. "Can't be-lieve I missed your pancakes this morning, Sunny!" she apologized for not being there for breakfast. "But Mane Melody is totes slammed, heh. Okay, later, bye!" she said to her as she blew a kiss. "Laters, heh…" Sunny said to Pipp before ending the call, looking sad at the picture Pipp had taken the day finishing up the Brighthouse. "Everyone is so busy; it feels like we're drifting apart," she said in a sad tone as she looked down. But then, she looked up and smiled, knowing she had a way to pass the time with her friends. Sunny turned on the camera on her phone to record a video. "Turn it arou-- Ah hah! There we go!" Sunny cheered as she turned the front camera on to face her. "Hey, ponies! I know everypony's got a lot going on, but we can't forget to make time for each other," she said to the recording with a smile. "Who's up for a hike to Prancing Point?" she asked them. "Don't forget!" she said to finish the video and then sent the message to her friends. Zipp's icon with stars for eyes was the first to respond with a hoof-up. Hitch’s icon responded next by sending a video of him dancing with joy. Pipp’s icon with a heart for eyes appeared as she sent a heart. Sonic's icon responded with a 'Nice!' text in blue, and lastly, Izzy’s icon popped up with a voicemail. "GLITTER!" Izzy’s voicemail announced cheerfully. Sunny smiled at her friends’ responses, glad that her friends were on board for the hike so they could spend time together. A little while later, Sunny was standing still in the woods, ready for the hike, but she had a down expression because her friends were not there, and the wind was blowing at her. "Ugh, they forgot!" Sunny groaned in disappointment. "Oh! Forgot what?" Izzy asked with a smile, arriving at the place with a rainbow cart full of rocks. Sunny turned to see Izzy and then smiled. "Phew!" Sunny sighed with relief. "Ha, I thought nopony was coming. Aw, you're the only one who remembered, Izzy!" "Remembered?" Izzy asked with a hoof on her chin as she looked up. Then she realized the hike from earlier, which clearly she had forgotten. "Oh! Yes, totally! Nothing slips out of this brain!" she laughed awkwardly as Sunny looked at her strangely. "Nope, di-did not forget. Nooo way," she finished whistling, hoping that she would buy it. "...And you brought a trailer full of rocks on the hike?" Sunny questioned with a raised eyebrow. Izzy started to sweat nervously, then sighed and dropped the act. "They're gemstones. And okay, I did forget!" she cried out before she smiled with sparkling eyes. "But I'm here now!" Sunny smiled at Izzy in forgiveness. "And that's all that matters!" she stated with a smile as she placed a hoof on Izzy’s shoulder. Suddenly, a blue blur passed at their side, but it returned and stopped on Sunny's other side, revealing himself to be Sonic. "Sup, girls!" Sonic waved to the mares. "Sonic! You're here!" Sunny cried out in excitement. "Of course I am! Sorry to get late, but Thunder had a little accident with the speedometer, and I struggled to fix it..." Sonic explained while stretching his arms and then putting them on his back. "But I'm here now, ready for a new adventure!" he assured with a wink. But then he realized that Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp were missing. "Say, where's the others?" he asked while looking around for the rest, but then immediately realized what might have happened. "They forgot, didn't they?" he asked, looking at Sunny with a bored expression. "Yeah..." Sunny replied in a sad tone. "Why am I not surprised?" Sonic asked himself as he rubbed his eyes with a hand. "Well, guess it is just the three of us, huh? Like in the good old times!" he said, trying to be optimistic. "Now that's the spirit, Sonic!" Sunny exclaimed. "Prancing Point, here we come!" she announced as she, Izzy, and Sonic hiked through the woods, smiling at each other. The three friends were chatting with each other as they laughed. Then they stopped when they saw a wooden arrow sign pointing down. They blinked in confusion because they didn't know if they should go to the left or to the right. Trying to decide which path to take, the three smiled at each other, and Sunny grabbed the sign and spun it around to guess which path they should take. When the arrow stopped spinning, it pointed right, which caused the three to smile and take the right side of the path, but the sign tilted back down again as the three friends kept walking. A little bit later, Izzy and Sunny were frightened by the many eyes staring at them in all directions, while Sonic didn't understand why there were so many eyes in the middle of the forest. Izzy laughed nervously as she and Sunny huddled together and hid behind Sonic, realizing they had taken the wrong way. Izzy and Sunny screamed with fright as they started running away from those creepy eyes, trying to find a way out of the forest. Sonic just looked at them with a bored expression, rolled his eyes, and chased after them. Back in Maretime Bay, Zipp was enjoying her flying in the sky but then remembered something important and gasped in realization. In the police station, Hitch was twirling with the phone with a smirk. Then he remembered something important as well and gasped. In Mane Melody, Pipp is doing Phyllis Cloverleaf's mane with the mane cutter but then gasps in realization since she forgot something, while at the same time cutting off a piece of Phyllis' mane in the process, but was too shocked to care. "D'oh! The hike!" Zipp, Pipp, and Hitch all gasped in unison as they’d forgotten about Sunny’s invite for the hike. At the Crystal Brighthouse, Zipp, Hitch, and Pipp opened the front door to see if Sunny was still around. "Sunny, w-we're here, we're so sorry!" Hitch said but stopped as he, Zipp, and Pipp looked with wide eyes that the Brighthouse was empty. "... Sunny!? SUNNY!" he cried out as he began to freak out. "Izzy and Sonic are not here either!" Pipp cried out in panic as she checked the kitchen. "Uh, well, maybe they're together?" she asked, hoping those two were with Sunny. "Let's hope so..." Zipp answered. "It's getting late, and they should've been back ages ago. Something's not right…" she thought as she rubbed her chin. Zipp and Pipp then saw that Hitch was hyperventilating with a paper bag. He was worried about Sunny and her friends, as he was wearing safety gear that he might use if Sunny or any of his friends were hurt. Pipp and Zipp looked at each other strangely, wondering how Hitch put a gear on that fast. "Don't worry, Hitch. We're, like, totally gonna find them!" Pipp tried to assure him, but Hitch continued hyperventilating in the paper bag, leaving Zipp and Pipp worried. Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp at the sunset brick were trotting and flying through the woods, trying to find their friends. "Izzy!" Zipp called out, hoping they could hear them. "SUNNY!" Hitch cried out in panic, really worried. "Sonic!" Pipp cried out next as they looked through the forest. They searched through the forest to find Sunny, Izzy, and Sonic. But unknowingly, they kept passing each other on two different paths as the latter three friends were trying to find their way out while the former three ponies were looking for their friends. They couldn’t tell that their friends were there because they were on two different paths. A little bit later, Sunny and Izzy were exhausted from trying to find their way out of the woods. They were now wearing headbands, and some dirt, twigs, and leaves were on them from all the running about. Sonic poked out his head from Izzy's car with rocks and growled. "Where even are we now?!" he asked in frustration, tired of running in circles. "And why are you wearing headbands?!" he questioned. Suddenly, Izzy heard twig cracks as she stopped, which caused her to stop her cart, which resulted in Sunny bumping into the back of it. "Oof-- Izzy!" Sunny said to the unicorn, wondering why she stopped. Izzy stammered nervously and then whispered to her friends, "Did you hear that?" she asked and then gasped. "Something is out there! I can smell it..." she whispered, narrowing her eyes through the trees and plants. "Izzy, we heard nothing," Sonic replied with annoyance. "It's just your imagination," Sunny added with an assuring smile. There's nothing out there—" she stopped in midsection as she and Sonic heard a thump. Sonic came in front of them with a frown and charged his electrical power, while Sunny came next to Izzy. "We heard that. Come on, let's... go the other way..." she suggested as they walked backward. Unknowingly to them, Zipp, Hitch, and Pipp were walking backward as in freight since they got lost in the forest as well. The two groups walked backward, not realizing they were about to bump into each other. They hit each other's flanks, butt in Sonic's case, which resulted in all of them screaming in freight and Sonic shooting out the lighting in the air, as birds started fluttering away from the loud freighting screams and trying to stay clear from Sonic's lightning. "Not the face!" Pipp cried out in fear. Later that night, after getting Sunny, Izzy, and Sonic cleaned up from the dirt and twigs they had, the Mane 5 and Sonic set up a camp on the hill for the night so they could find their way back home in the morning. "Hitch, I'm telling you. This is the fastest way home!" Zipp said to Hitch as she showed him the map. "Agree to disagree," Hitch replied at Zipp’s suggestion with his hooves crossed and eyes closed, while Zipp narrowed her eyes in annoyance at Hitch’s picky directions. "Dude, let Zipp take the leadership this time," Sonic pleaded with a smile. "Your sense of direction got us lost last time, and I honestly trust Zipp more with a map," he added, as Hitch growled in annoyance, and Zipp smirked. Pipp then nervously giggled as she looked out at the night sky. "It's kinda spooky out here, right?" she asked. Then a rat pegasus flew over her head, and Pipp screamed and ducked before starting to laugh. "I love it!" she said with sparkling eyes. Izzy, on the other hand, started to rap a song. "Levitate your hooves in the air, earth ponies don't clean their underwear." She then stopped as she looked beside her and gasped with a smile because she saw a bunnycorn with a gold bit. The others looked at Izzy strangely, finding her rapping lyrics weird. "Uhh, Izzy? I think it might be time for some new lyrics," Zipp told her as Izzy looked at them, biting the gold bit to see if it was real. Pipp, Zipp, Hitch, and Sonic laughed at Izzy’s expression while Sunny looked at them joyfully. Then, looking up at the night sky, they saw a shooting star passing by. "See? This is all I wanted. Good old-fashioned quality time,," Sunny said as she inhaled the moment. "Let's eat!" she announced as they were about to eat carrots on sticks that they had roasted from the fire. "Instead of Sunday dinners, we have Sunny-day dinners!" she said while laughing as she stuck a carrot to her stick. "Get it? Do you ge--" she asked them as she cleared her throat with a smile. "It's totally a thing, though." "That's it! I got it!" Izzy announced with a smile, then cleared her throat and started rapping again. "Raise your hooves up high and bring together all ponykind!" she sang, raising her hooves high with a smile. The rest of her friends smiled and raised their carrot sticks high. "Hey! Ho! Hey! Ho! Hey! Ho!" They all sang together and enjoyed the rest of the night. Not so far from their camp, a bluebird stood on a tree branch, looking straight at the group of friends. The thing is... that isn't a bird. It's a robot that's been working as a camera, following Sonic and the Mane 5 around for the last two months. This robot isn't controlled by anyone other than Dr. Ivo Robotnik, a.k.a. Dr. Eggman, as he watches from an unknown location for our heroes at everything they have done so far. Things like their viral video or T.U.E.S. Day with Izzy and their routines, favorite spots, things, private conversations, etc. Eggman was with his alicorn mare partner, Opaline, watching their movement as they waited for the perfect time to attack them by surprise. "This is a waste of our time, Doctor,," Opaline complained. "We should have attacked them when we returned from your dimension!" she yelled. "Patience, my dear Opaline," Eggman requested. "The best attack you can perform on your enemies is the one they never expect. Sonic has no idea that I'm in Equestria, but he will find out once we execute Phase 2 of the plan. Besides, now we know a lot about these 'Mane 5', and we can use that information against them," he explained. "Which is exactly why we should attack now!" she yelled. "The more time we waste waiting, the stronger they can become and..." "Relax, Opaline. The Emeralds Sonic has with him aren't working, so we have a huge advantage," the doctor assured. "Besides, I feel those ponies would be dealing with more stuff than they used to. And while they have their problems, we'll move Sonic away from them and destroy him. With Sonic out, his new friends would become weak, and that's where you do your performance," he explained with an evil smile. "And how do you plan to eliminate Sonic, exactly?" Opaline asked to end with Sonic since she didn't know what Eggman's weapon was. "That's the best part of all of this, my dear," he smirked sinisterly and turned to a dark alley with several of his machines. "Follow me; there's someone I want to introduce you." With doubt, Opaline decided to follow Eggman through the alley. It used to be an empty place in her Castle with no life, but once Eggman's machines arrived and worked their 'magic,' it started to be alive again. The doctor stopped in front of a capsule that had some kind of robot connected to cables on the other side. "Open capsule MS1497," the doctor ordered to his computer. The AI on his device followed its orders as it opened the capsule they had in front of them. It was revealed a blue robot with silver metallic parts, his chest had a yellow hole, he had ears, nose and spikes that replicated Sonic's, red feet also to copy his shoes and a black screen above his nose where they would usually go his eyes. "With this guy over here, we'll make the perfect distraction to keep Sonic away from his new friends," Eggman explained to his partner. "I'm afraid I still don't get it, Doctor," Opaline confessed. "How does this robot put Sonic away from the Mane 5?" she asked with confusion and a frown. "You'll see, dear Opaline: my research on this world and its festivities has found that a holiday called 'Maretime Bay Day' will take place in that location in around two weeks," he explained. "But these ponies don't know that not everypony is happy with the new structure where other races are included. If these Unity Crystals you have told me about only work through peace and friendship, they would start to glitch because of the disharmony between races, putting magic in danger." "Why in Equestria would that be a good thing for us?!" Opaline yelled at the doctor, thinking that he was going to screw things up. "Because they would learn their lesson and start to work together, Opaline," Eggman said with a smile. "And once the magic is fully restored and stable..." "The chance to take what is mine... would finally come!" Opaline exclaimed, now understanding what the doctor meant. "Now we're on the same ride. And while you take care of your enemies, I will take care of mine once and for all!" Eggman stated confidently, then looked at the robot in the open capsule. "Of course, after he takes care of Sonic for a while..." he finished. "He, huh?" Opaline smirked as she saw the robot with an evil grin. "Does he have a name?" she asked in curiosity. "Oh, of course, he has. Geez, where are my manners?" Eggman joked as he presented his machine formally. "Ms. Opaline, I present to you the eighth wonder of the world, my greatest creation, the perfect match in speed for Sonic, and the greatest weapon we have: Metal Sonic!" he introduced. As the doctor spoke his name, his eyes turned to red light, and he was ready to start his mission. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: MAKE YOUR MARK Author's Note And as the last sentence says, were moving to the special now! Since it's just one chapter of many words, I'm not putting TYT on hiatus, but we won't see more stories here until Friday September 30th. See ya on Monday with the Prologue and the Special. Byeeee! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
11. Maretime Bay Day 2.0Author's Note WARNING!!! I highly recommend you to NOT read from this chapter on without having read the first chapter of Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Make Your Mark first. If you do, go ahead, but don't blame me when you don't get half of the things that are going to happen. Once I cleared that out, let the story start! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 11. Maretime Bay Day 2.0 On the beaches of Maretime Bay, Posey and four other earth ponies were putting the finishing touches on a sand castle they had built since they were on a sand castle building contest on the beach. "Steady... Steady..." Posey advised, sweating, as the other ponies put themselves on top of each other with Posey on the top, trying to put the flag on the top of the sand castle. But when Posey was about to put the flag on the top of the castle, the water from the ocean hit the edge of the castle, which caused it to collapse as Posey and the other earth ponies lost their balance. The pony's back at the bottom cracked, and Posey was about to fall, but then she was paused because it was just a video on a pink laptop with wings. "Oh. That is golden," Pipp said with sparkling eyes. "I am a pony in the zoney," she sang as she typed in the comment and then sighed. "Amazing what a little peace and quiet can do," she said with a smile, unaware that the rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic poked their heads behind the couch she was sitting on with smiles, wondering what she was doing on her laptop. "What are you doing, Pipp?" Izzy asked cheerfully. "Ah!" Pipp screamed, so surprised by Izzy’s voice that she flipped her laptop in the air but caught it before it dropped to the ground. "Hey, everypony!" she greeted with a smile, regaining her composure. "Just cutting together my Maretime Bay Day Blog," she explained in a little singing tone. The other four ponies and Knuckles gasped in awe with sparkling eyes. "Gasp," Hitch said with a smile since he didn't gasp. Sonic and Tails, however, just stood with smiles and looked at Pipp with joy. "A Maretime Bay Day blog, huh?" Sonic said, now smirking a little. "Sounds cool!" Tails complimented. "I know. It was so special; I just wanted a way to remember it forever," Pipp replied with a smile. "Plus, it’ll be great for my ponygram. Check it out! I got bloopers," Pipp said as she opened up her laptop and showed Jazz and Fifi trying to make Cotton Candy, but then Jazz’s mane got stuck in the Cotton Candy spinner. Her mane got all puffy like a Cotton Candy, and Jazz then laughed at her style. "Behind the scenes," Pipp kept saying with a smirk, switching to a video where Hitch was doing a weird dance, singing in front of the camera, with a high-pitched voice in an embarrassing way. Hitch saw this and felt embarrassed of himself as he looked at the girls and Tails giggling at the video. But Sonic and Knuckles were dying of laughter on the floor as they let tears out. "That's just hilarious!" Sonic said between laughs. "And I thought I danced terribly!" Knuckles snorted. Hitch lifted his chin and put a hoof on his chest. "I regret nothing," he said with pride as the girls and Tails gave him a weird look, but Sonic and Knuckles laughed a bit more before finally calming down. "I even caught the moment earth ponies got their magic!" Pipp said excitedly as she showed another video with Posey in it. She stomped her hooves twice, using her earth pony magic to make a giant pink flower, and gave off a proud smile before the flower came to fly and chomped Posey, trapping her inside the flower. "Nice one, sis," Zipp congratulated her sister as Pipp shook her head with a smile. Sonic whistled as he examined the blog closer. "You never cease to amaze me, Little Pipp," he admitted with a little smile. Pipp's cheeks turned a little red as she smiled nervously. "T-Thanks, Sonic." Suddenly, Izzy zipped around the couch and sat beside Pipp, grabbing her laptop into her hooves. "Whoa. So, it’s kind of like making a daisy chain. But instead of daisies, it's weird talking picture squares," she said with a smile. Pipp started to feel nervous about Izzy having her laptop since she had never had one before. "Oh, right. But it kind of took me all day to put it together," she pointed out with a nervous smile. "So, just be…" "So many memories," Izzy said cheerfully while going through Pipp’s files to see other videos on the blog. Like the one where Sunny tried to teach ponies how to make smoothies. "And this!" Izzy said, scrolling to another video with two of Hitch’s animal crew standing in front of a picture of Izzy and Hitch with holes to make them look like them. Two Pegasi laughed at the animals. "Oooh. And this!" Izzy said as she started to pass between several videos. The others smiled as Izzy went through the blog, while Sonic felt bad about this, and Pipp looked nervous. "Seriously, Izz. You're going to press…" she was about to say, but... "Files erased," the laptop announced, shocking the Mane 5, especially Pipp, Izzy, and Team Sonic. "...the delete button," Pipp finished with a shocked expression. "Um," Izzy said with a nervous smile and sweating. "Don’t worry. I know how to fix this. More typing!" she assured nervously and typed more on the laptop. "Files gone forever," the laptop said. The rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic gasped in shock. Pipp stared at Izzy with a mean look and twitchy eye, about to explode in anger, while Izzy gasped and nervously sweated before giving Pipp a nervous smile. "Even more typing?" She suggested. "Izzy, NO!" everyone else yelled as Pipp grabbed her laptop back before Izzy messed up more than she had already done. "You did enough for a day, kiddo!" Knuckles added. Izzy then looked at Pipp with an apologetic expression. "I’m so sorry, Pipp!" she tries to apologize. "My hoof slipped. And then the button slipped. And then the picture squared slipped into the trash. And I just…" she tried to explain her mess up. Pipp was tearing up and started to shake, looking at her laptop. She closed her eyes and laptop, placing a hoof on her forehead. "It’s okay," Pipp said as she faced the rest of her friends with a forced smile. "We’ll just do it again next year!" she said as tears started coming. "No worries. Totally fine," she said with a cracked voice, and then she got up from the couch. "Um, I'm just gonna take a nap," she finished and walked upstairs into the bedroom, slamming the door while everyone else flinched from the slam. Sonic then looked at his wrist as if he had a clock, and Tails looked at him confused. "Um, what are you–?" he tried to ask, but Sonic cut him off. "3, 2, 1," Sonic counted down with his fingers and then pointed at the bedroom door. And just like he expected, Pipp started wailing and crying out loud while her friends felt bad for her. "Oh, it hurts!" she cried out. The rest looked at Izzy while she felt bad for her screw-up and began to lower herself to avoid her friend's looks. Tails then approached the laptop and looked at it, a little idea crossing his mind. He ran towards Sonic's ear and told him the idea, and Sonic's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you sure? Do you think you can do it?" "I have hacked Eggman's deleted files thousands of times now," Tails reminded his brother. "Some pictures and videos from a laptop? It's a piece of cake!" he assured with a smirk, then took Pipp's laptop and flew away. "Uh, what is he doing?" Zipp asked, confused. Sonic approached her ear and whispered what Tails told him, and Zipp's eyes widened as well. "He can do that?!" Zipp asked in disbelief. "He didn't earn the title of 'wunderkind' for nothing!" Sonic replied with a smile. "But he needs time, so we have to cheer up Pipp somehow as he does his magic work!" he stated confidently, as Zipp smiled back and nodded. "Wait, Tails has magic?!" Knuckles asked with surprise. "I'm gonna pretend you're just being sarcastic for my sanity's sake," Sonic said with a bored expression. "Everyone! We are going to cheer Little Pipp up, even if it's the last thing we'll do today!" he stated with a confident look as everyone else nodded in agreement. A while later, Pipp was sitting on her bed with the pictures she had managed to print. However, they were hardly good without the videos and the rest of the files since they were gone, which made Pipp sob. Then someone knocked on the door. "You can come in," Pipp said, sobbing while taking one of the pictures. The door opened, and Izzy entered the room, holding a homemade picture frame of Pipp that she had made with her Unicycling skills. "Hey, look. It’s me, Pipp," Izzy said, making it sound like her voice was coming through the frame. "The most iconic, pegasus in Maretime Bay," she said, walking closer to Pipp. "With a song in my heart and a sparkle in my eye," she finished, and one of the frame's eyes fell off. Pipp cringed a little disturbed but then smiled a little. The door opened again, and a giant smoothie entered the room. "And did someone order a giant strawberry ripple smoothie with pegasus wings?" Sunny asked with a smile as she and Zipp emerged from behind the smoothie, carrying a can of whipped cream. Sunny waved her hoof at Zipp, signaling her to add the wings from the whipped cream. Zipp got the signal and shook the can of whipped cream, then flew up to the top and was about to spray, but then started flying around uncontrollably as the whipped cream sprayed out, making the shape of wings on the smoothie. Zipp came down as she and Sunny smiled at the great work, but then one side of the cream wingtips dropped on Sunny's face. Pipp smiled again, finding the situation funny. "Or…" Knuckles' voice called out as Pipp turned and saw Knuckles, Hitch, and his animal crew right before her. "How about a cheer-up dance!" Hitch cheered as he, Knuckles, and the animal crew wore red coats. They tried to dance, but Hitch tripped on one of his animal friends, fell to the ground, and bumped into his crew and Knuckles, leaving them dizzy. Pipp then giggled at this as she smiled at them. "And if that doesn't work..." Sonic's voice was heard, and when she turned around to see him, her whole face became just as red as Sprout's. "Maybe a little glow-up can make you feel better," Sonic added with a smile and a deep, serious voice. He wore a black dinner suit, a white button-down shirt, and a blue tie. Miraculously, he wore pants, as he detested them, and black shoes, resembling his normal shoes, were much more elegant. "Huh..." Knuckles said with surprise. "That girl has to mean something to him if he's willing to wear pants," he pointed out. "I'm sorry, what?" Hitch asked, confused, still lying on the floor. Pipp felt her heart race like never before, and she started feeling warm, too. She secretly took out her phone and took a photo of Sonic in his suit while her eyes sparkled. She smiled in delight at the hedgehog. She then calmed down a little and looked at all of her friends. "Thanks, guys. But none of this is gonna bring back Maretime Bay Day," she said sadly as her friends looked at her feeling bad. Pipp walked out of the room while her friends looked at her with concerned looks, especially Izzy. Suddenly, Zipp and Sonic understood what she said. "Bring back Maretime Bay Day!" they both said with smiles. "That’s it!" Zipp said as she walked towards the pictures on Pipp's bed and grabbed one with all of them from Pipp. Zipp nodded, looking at the picture. "Everypony, follow me!" she announced as she trotted towards the door, with Sonic following her immediately. The rest looked at each other confused but decided to follow afterward until Sonic returned and stopped Sunny. "Sunny hit the shower first," he requested. Sunny picked a piece of the whipped cream off her and gave a chuckle, then trotted out of the room. Later that evening, Pipp was in the kitchen, assembling a castle made of bread. "Yay," Pipp said in a nonchalant tone, still feeling down because her files had been deleted. Zipp and Sonic suddenly zoomed by, smiling, and faced the young pegasus. "Pipp, come out into the garden. We got something to show you!" Zipp said as she faced her sister and her crush. "Um. I’m clearly a little busy building a sand castle," Pipp pointed out to the castle she had made. However, it crumbled and fell apart, causing Pipp to flop onto the table in depression. "Hey, Little Pipp, trust us on this one," Sonic assured with a comforting smile as Zipp got Pipp to stand on the chair and push it out the door and into the garden. "Look, unless you’ve recreated Maretime Bay Day in the garden…" Pipp was saying, but then she gasped when she looked at the garden. "Ooohhh! You’ve like totally recreated Maretime Bay Day in the garden!" she cheered, returning to her happy self as she flipped into the air and landed on all four hooves. She saw that her friends made a replica of Maretime Bay Day festivities in the garden with the stands, flowers, and a picture of Pipp in the back over a fountain. Pipp came to the cake stand and looked at the cakes in awe. Then she went to the corn on a stick stand and ate one. Finally, she saw a sand castle, where the rest of her friends had popped up from behind it. "Surprise!" the rest of the Mane 5, Tails, and Knuckles cheered to Pipp with a smile. Pipp gasped joyfully and looked at her friends with tears and a smile. "It's perfect! Oh, wow, so many feels!" she cried out as her friends came in front of her. How did you do all this?" she asked them. "Well, we had pretty great materials to guide us," Izzy answered, motioning her head to the board behind them, which held the pictures Pipp had taken and printed before the files were deleted. Zipp pulled out Pipp's phone and extended it to her. "Here, so you can refilm it," she said with a smile. "Thanks, Zipp!" Pipp thanked them and smiled back as she took her phone. She pointed the camera at her friends, who were looking at her with a smile, but then she started to have second thoughts about it. "But you know, I think I'd rather just enjoy an amazing time with my even more amazing friends," she confessed. The rest smiled at Pipp’s decision, and Sonic and Tails blinked at each other, knowing that Pipp would love her surprise. Pipp got on stage and looked forward with a determined look and a smile. "A one, two, three, hit it!" she yelled excitedly as she started to dance along with Hitch and Izzy. (Hey) Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can't you see it? Zipp, Sunny, Tails, and Knuckles moved their heads through Pipp’s song while Sonic tapped his foot in time to synchronize with the music. Woah-oh-oh, oh-oh, woah-oh-oh (Hey!) Woah-oh-oh, oh-oh, woah-oh-oh The rest decided to follow the song's example and sang along with Pipp while enjoying the replica Maretime Bay Day festivities they also made. Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can't you see it? Izzy, Sunny, and Knuckles were at the cotton candy stand. Izzy used the maker to make one big batch of cotton candy. Two of Hitch’s animal crew were dancing to the song, still in the same outfits of earlier. Sunny was placed on top of Hitch's back to put the finishing touches on the sand castle they had built earlier, as Pipp filmed the whole thing with a smile. Sonic, Tails, Pipp, and Zipp emerged from the bushes and sang as the flowers bloomed. At Mane Melody (Hey!) At Mane Melody Hitch and Knuckles were back in the red coats, dancing with Hitch's animal crew. Pipp flew around the sky before landing on the sand castle, where she and her friends finished the song. But the sand castle couldn't sustain Pipp’s weight, and it collapsed, making Pipp fall while her friends looked in shock, except for Izzy, who smiled as the picture was taken while catching Pipp before she fell to the ground. A little while later, Pipp printed the pictures she had taken of the Maretime Bay Day replica her friends made and placed them on the board. She looked at it with a smile, and then Zipp, Tails, and Sonic came close to her. "I hope you liked your surprise, Little Pipp." Sonic was the first to speak. "Like it?! I'd love it!" Pipp exclaimed as she went to hug Sonic and Zipp. "Thank you guys so much for that gift!" she thanked. "You're welcome, sis," Zipp replied with a smile. "Anytime, princess," Sonic said, smiling as well. "And there's another thing," Tails added, smiling while hiding something behind him. "More?" Pipp asked. "What could be better than my best friends recreating Maretime Bay Day in the garden for me?" she asked rhetorically since she could not think of anything better. "How about getting your files back?" Tails asked as his smile grew bigger. "Oh, that would be great, but unfortunately..." Pipp said, but then she stopped as an idea appeared. She felt some hope growing inside her. "W-Why are you asking me that?" she questioned. Instead of answering, Tails took her computer from his back and put it on her desk. He then opened it and walked apart to let Pipp look at it. Nervous, Pipp walked to her laptop and put her password in. Once the laptop unlocked, her eyes sparkled, and little tears of happiness appeared: her blog was intact, and everything Izzy deleted was back, like it never left. "H-How?!" Pipp asked in disbelief as she read the whole blog, confirming everything was back. "I have some magic tricks of my own," Tails said with a smile. "And I don't need actual magic to make it work," he added, scratching his head a little in embarrassment. "B-But I thought they were all gone!" Pipp exclaimed, still not able to believe that her blog was intact. "Yeah, Tails has a natural talent with technology; it's his thing," Sonic explained. "And since he has restored deleted files thousands of times before, he wanted to do this for you," he added with a proud smile toward his brother. Pipp immediately squished Tails into a hug as the fox struggled to breathe. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much, Tails!!!" Pipp thanked with tears of joy. "Y-You're welcome... princess," Tails replied, trying to catch some breath, as Zipp and Sonic laughed a little at the scene. THE END
12. The Game Is Ahoof"It lives. My monster lives!" a mad scientist pony cheered for his precious creation as lightning struck his lab with wires. But it was nothing but a movie that The Mane 5, sins Zipp, who wasn’t there at the time, and Team Sonic were watching at night in the Brighthouse. Sunny and Pipp were a little creeped out; Hitch was covered with a blanket in freight, Tails was hiding on his tails with fear, and Izzy was munching on some popcorn while watching the movie. Sonic was a little bored since he didn't find the movie scary, and Knuckles was asleep and snoring since boredom made him tired. Sitting next to Sonic, Pipp got a little more scared and hid her face on Sonic's shoulder, which made the hedgehog blush a lot, but he didn't complain either. He just let her hide on him and focused back on the movie to distract his mind since he didn't actually care about the movie. Izzy was about to eat some popcorn on her hoof, but then she and the others looked up and saw Zipp with a furious look as the lightning from the movie scared them. The whole group, in Sonic and Knuckles, screamed in fright as Izzy, Sunny, and Tails hopped to the back of the couch while Pipp hid on Sonic's chest, which caused his blush to increase even more. "It’s Frankenstallion’s monster!" Hitch screamed as he jumped out of the couch with the others, losing the blanket. All the noise woke Knuckles, who yawned and stretched before he could open his eyes completely. Then he looked up and saw Zipp as well. "Hey, Zipp. What’s wrong?” he asked, not even scared one bit. The others popped their heads up from behind their couch to see that it really was Zipp; Pipp poked her head and realized what she was doing, then quickly got apart from Sonic with a big blush. Zipp flew down and went in front of the TV, looking at her friends angrily. "I’m only gonna say this once. Who... Took… My… Sunglasses?!" she yelled at them as one of her eyes twitched. The others just looked at Zipp, scared, except for Sonic and Knuckles, who were confused, and Izzy, who was munching some popcorn. Zipp was so irritated that she snatched Izzy’s popcorn and threw it aside. "Everypony, follow me!" she said to the rest with anger as she pointed in the direction they needed to follow. Knuckles stretched again and got up. "I just hope this is worth waking me up," he said as he and the others followed Zipp. A few minutes later, Zipp brought her friends to a wall, where she took pictures of them with mugshots: first Hitch, then Pipp, who stroked a pose, then Sunny, who was very confused, then Sonic with a rolled-eye expression, then Knuckles with a bored expression, then Tails, who was very scared, and finally Izzy, who wrote her name on her board number and smiled with a pose for the picture. And then, in the bedroom, Zipp had tons of paper on her bed while her friends looked at her in confusion and at the mess she had made. "Love what you've done with the place, sis..." Pipp said with a hesitant tone and an awkward smile. Zipp turned and gave them an intense glare. Then she bucked the front of her bed, which turned into a secret board she used, connecting her friends' pictures and the places they visited in Maretime Bay to the sunglasses picture in the middle. The rest looked in shock, wide-eyed, that Zipp even had this. "Whoa," Sunny said as she pointed at the board with a forced smile. "That’s intense." "More like overboard if you ask me," Sonic commented blankly. Zipp walked back and forth as she looked at her friends. "Let’s start with our first pony of interest. What do you say, Hitch?" she said with a glare as she pointed at his picture. The rest looked at Hitch momentarily, then got their attention back to Zipp. "Remember this morning at the beach, Sheriff?!" she asked him angrily as she started to tell him what happened in the morning. Zipp, Hitch, Izzy, and Knuckles were walking along the beach as they enjoyed their time, with Zipp wearing her sunglasses. "Another bright and sunny day in Maretime Bay. Too bad I left my sunglasses back at the station...” Hitch said as he turned and gave out a mischievous smile at Zipp, with Izzy using a measuring tape to measure the glasses and Knuckles looking confused at Hitch. "I'll just steal yours, Zipp!" he said with an evil laugh as Zipp, Izzy, and Knuckles looked in shock. "Objection!" Hitch protested as he popped his head in front of the flashback. "That is not what I said!" he pointed out. "This guy can't hurt a fly unless you break the law, girl!" Knuckles pointed out, pupping his head as well. "Look, just rewind this thing and see what happened," he added, as the flashback rewinds to the beginning. Zipp, Izzy, Hitch, and Knuckles walked through the beach while Zipp wore her sunglasses. “Another bright sunshiny day in Maretime Bay!" Hitch said, then turned to Izzy, Knuckles, and Zipp while Izzy measured Zipp's glasses. "Sure wish I hadn’t left my sunnies back at the station," he said, a little embarrassed. "I told you to take them before we left..." Knuckles pointed out with a frown. "...7 times." The flashback ended, and Hitch and Knuckles popped their heads back up, gesturing to the true flashback. Zipp wasn’t convinced about the story, as Izzy kept measuring Zipp's head. "Back at the station. Really?" Zipp questioned, wondering if Hitch and Knuckles were telling the truth. "Hmm," Hitch nodded and then smirked. "Although, I don’t need sunglasses to…" He put on his usual sunglasses and lowered them a bit. "See the problem with your theory," se finished and winked at her. Team Sonic, Sunny, and Pipp groaned in annoyance at Hitch’s bad pun while Izzy giggled a little. "I like that. That was good," she said with a smile. "My ears should be bleeding right now," Sonic said, looking at the ceiling. Zipp raised an eyebrow at Hitch’s terrible pun. "Okay. Okay," she said, seeing that Hitch was not the thief. "What about you, Pipp?!" she said now to her sister, who looked at her phone and then at Zipp in disbelief. "I get it. We're sisters, Pipp. And you borrowed something without asking," she said, smiling, walking around before stopping beside her. "Just give 'em back, and we'll forget it ever happened," she added before walking back to the board. "Why would I take your sunglasses, Zipp?" Pipp questioned her sister. "They're so not my style," she added, flipping her mane a bit. "Remember? 'Function over fashion'?" Zipp said with a grin. Pipp gasped at the reminder that her sister had brought that memory up, and Sonic sweated a little since he was there when that happened. Zipp decided to tell her story about when she was at Mane Melody with her sister. "You were so excited to show off…" Zipp said while remembering. "...Brand-new auto-mane-tic shampoo and shine!" she announced at Mane Melody with a smile, while she put kiwis on Izzy’s eyes, who was there with Zipp and Sonic, ready to try out Pipp’s new style machine, while Zipp and Sonic just watched. "A perfect 'do in two minutes!" Pipp said, then pressed the red button on the machine. The machine started by rinsing water out of the big sprayers, but then it got out of control as the sprayers sprayed shampoo water around the salon. Pipp, Zipp, and Sonic gasped as they ducked from the incoming shampoo water, but other ponies weren't so lucky when the water hit them, as the rest screamed for cover. The sprayers are still out of control, and Pipp tried to turn it off but got sprayed on the face and pushed back with a scream. When she got up, her eyes were so soaked that they burned, and she started to tear up. "I think I got it in my eyes!" she cried out, feeling the burn as Zipp and Sonic cringed at Pipp's eyes burning. "Quick! Give me your sunglasses!" she cried out to Zipp. Zipp took off her sunglasses. "But you said they were so last season," she protested, but Pipp grabbed the glasses. "Sometimes, Zipp, you've gotta take function over fashion!" Pipp declared but then realized what she had said. "Oh! Never tell anypony I said that!" she told her sister with a threatening tone, then turned towards Sonic. "That goes to you too, young man!" she stated as Sonic gulped because of her tone. Pipp ran and then jumped, heading towards the button. The shampoo water sprayed Pipp, but thanks to the sunglasses, her eyes were shielded from being burned as Pipp wiped some from her face. Pipp pressed the button, shutting off the machine and stopping the spraying of shampoo water before it caused more disaster. Tails blinked at the story and then looked at Sonic with confusion. "What were you doing there?" he asked his brother. "I wanted to try the machine out, too," Sonic replied. "I borrowed your sunglasses one time!" Pipp told Zipp. It was an e-mer-gen-cy! But why would I steal them? I have plenty of my own," she pointed out to the supplies of sunglasses she had on her side of the room, on her bed. "Wow... that's just a lot of sunglasses," Knuckles said, surprised and confused about why Pipp had so many glasses. Then everyone looked back at Zipp, who was sweating a bit. "W-Well, uh…" she said nervously, running out of ideas as she looked around. "W-What about you, Sunny?" she pointed to said pony as Zipp got into her face. "Making smoothies all day in the sun, you must need—" she was cut off when Sunny put on a bored expression and flipped a pair of sunglasses, proving that it was not her as she slurped from a smoothie. Izzy and Zipp looked at her sweating, and Sunny stopped slurping. "Uh…" Zipp gave a nervous laugh, seeing Sunny’s point. "Right," she said, then looked at Team Sonic. "What about you g—" she tried to say but stopped after seeing the trio. They were all wearing sunglasses that matched their skin color, as Sonic and Tails stood with their arms crossed and Knuckles put his hands on his waist. "Try again, Zipp," the three of them said in unison. Zipp stared more nervous than before because she was being proved wrong way too much. She ran back to the board and looked at it. "That only leaves…" she said, looking through her photos of her friends, realizing who was left. "Izzy?" she asked and then gasped in realization. "Of course! All... that... measuring…" she stated, having the same previous flashbacks, only that she realized Izzy measured her head on them this time. "Making sure that my sunglasses would fit you! Before you stole them!" she yelled, facing Izzy and looking close to her face while the unicorn backed up, a little nervous. "Noooo…" Izzy said and then laughed nervously. "Zipp, see, I mean... The thing, actually... uh... DISTRACTION!" she cried out as she used her magic to levitate the papers on Zipp’s bed and hit Zipp with it before running out of there. Zipp yanked the paper out of her face and growled while Izzy ran out the door, heading downstairs with a yelp. Zipp flew out through one of the bedroom's windows, heading for the front before Izzy could. Downstairs, just when Izzy was about to head for the door, Zipp opened it and blocked her way while she screamed and ran the other way. She started to run around the Brighouse, with Zipp behind her the whole chase. "Izzy, stop!" Zipp called out, but then Izzy levitated the blanket from the couch. "Whoa!" Zipp called out as she hit the blanket and crashed into the ground. Izzy ran the other way while Zipp got her head out and groaned at the unicorn. The rest watched from upstairs, fearing for Izzy, but Tails could not keep watching as he growled. "That's it! I watched enough!" he exclaimed as he jumped from the second floor, which caused the ponies to gasp but Sonic and Knuckles to gulp nervously since making Tails mad was a sign of being scared. Izzy then came to her Unicycling spot with all the supplies she had made with her unicycling skills and wrapped some presents in a box with a ribbon. "End of the line, Iz!" Zipp called out with a frown from behind her as Izzy looked at her, sweating. "Nowhere left to trot! We can do this the easy way or the—" she tried to say, but she could not finish since someone got in front of her. Tails stood there, extending his arms to block Zipp's way. "Stop it!" "Tails?! What are you doing!?” Zipp questioned. "Stopping you before you do something you regret!" Tails replied with a frown. "I get that you want to find your glasses, but why blame your friends from all the... ponies?!" he questioned. "B-Because... I...! I don't know..." Zipp finally admitted as she calmed down. Tails sighed in relief and tiredness, then looked over to Izzy. "I hope you finished that thing already, Izzy, or else someone's gonna get hurt," he pointed out. Izzy nodded with a smile and then approached Zipp. "Here you go, Zipp! I hope you like it!" she said with a smile. Zipp was a little shocked as she grabbed the box. "Buh... For me?" she asked as Izzy smiled at her. Zipp opened the box and gasped in amazement at the gift. It is revealed to be a pair of techno goggles called Z-Goggles with details matching Zipp’s colors. Zipp picked them up in amazement and put them on. "Whoa...!" she said as she saw the goggles have night vision and looked at Tails and Izzy, then ultra-light vision as she could see their body heat and hearts, and then x-ray vision as she saw their skeletons. "Incredible!" she said in amazement. "I didn't take your sunglasses, Zipp. I swear," Izzy told her as Zipp took the goggles off. "I was taking your measurements to make these for you!" she smiled and then looked at Tails. "And, well, he helped with that," she added as she smiled at the fox. "Yup!" Tails admitted. "Izzy told me how much she wanted to give you something that could make your job as a detective more interesting, so I came up with the idea of the googles," he explained. "I just put the advanced stuff, but the design and the goggles in general? That was totally Izzy's creation!" he finished with a smile. "And any good detective has super fancy gadgets," Izzy added. Zipp then hugged both Izzy and Tails, thankful for the gift they made to her. "Oh! Thanks, guys!" she said, putting on the goggles as she looked around the Brighthouse. Izzy and Tails smiled at Zipp's hype for her new gadget. She looked around the living room, then moved to the kitchen and turned the X-ray on while sawing through the cabinets. Then she picked up an apple from the basket, only to see a worm inside eating the apple. "Ewww, gross," she cringed in disgust and then dropped the apple. Then Zipp, Izzy, and Tails returned to the bedroom with the others. Zipp trotted around and then jumped on her bed with a smile. "Best gift ever! Izzy, Tails, I love them!" she cheered, then slipped on the messy paper on her bed and fell into it. She tried to get up but heard a crunching sound when she placed her hoof on her pillow. Curious about the sound, she lifted the pillow and found her sunglasses broken in half straight through the middle. Zipp took off the goggles and laughed nervously. "Guess I found them..." she said in embarrassment. "Sorry," she apologized to her friends for all the commotion she had caused. The rest looked at Zipp, both shocked and confused. "I can fix those!" Izzy said cheerfully. Tails, however, facepalmed in disbelief. "Are you serious?!" "Ugh!" Pipp grunted in frustration as she started to walk away. "Amateur," Hitch said with a bored expression, walking away as well. "You've gotta be kidding me," Sunny stated with boredom and a frown. "What a waste of time," Sonic said with sarcasm, walking alongside Pipp. "This was not worth waking up!" Knuckles complained since he could be sleeping right now. Izzy followed the rest, and Tails followed his friends with a bored expression. Zipp looked at them with a sheepish smile on her bed. "Uh, b-but that was fun, right? Right?" she asked them but got no response. "Ugh," she groaned, placing a hoof over her head, realizing that she was dramatic over her sunglasses. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
13. Dumpster DivingAuthor's Note This episode happens during the Special, after Hitch ignored Posey on the station and before Zipp kept looking at the Crystals for days. That also means that Tails and Knuckles were not with the Mane 5 and Sonic yet. Once I cleared that, enjoy the episode! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 13. Dumpster Diving "And a hush descends as Neptune steps up to take his dive," Skye Silver announced, while a blue Pegasus put her goggles down with her swim cap on, then jumped on the diving board three times and flew into the air, doing a couple of front flips before whooshing into the water. "Whoo-hoo!" Zipp cheered at the TV since it was just a show she, Sunny, and Hitch were watching. Sunny looked on in awe with sparkling eyes, and Hitch found it interesting while he looked at Zipp with a smile. "That's how you make a splash in this competition! Go, Zephyr Heights!" she cheered. Meanwhile, Izzy was in her Unicycling, wearing her goggles and using a tool on an object. "Yay!" she cheered with a smile before the item she messed with broke, and parts came flying by. She took a closer look at the part she was looking for, a ring-shaped part, but the one she was holding wasn't what she was looking for, so she rolled her eyes and threw the ring away. "Ehhh…" Hitch thought, while Sunny still had sparkles in her eyes and Zipp was bopping her head. "I still think a Pegasus has an unfair advantage in the diving competition," he said with a smirk and then crossed his hooves. Izzy grabbed one of Sunny’s roller skates and hammered the wheels a bit before they fell off the shoe. Izzy inspected one of the wheels but sighed in frustration since it still wasn't what she was looking for, and tossed the wheel away. Izzy went now to one of the legs of the couch and unscrewed it with her wrench, losing up the leg and removing it as a gold metal ring came off. Izzy grabbed the ring with a smile. "Aha! Well, hello, perfect little ringy-thingy!" she said, then giggled a bit. "Next diver up!" Sunny announced with a smile, with none of them noticing that Izzy took one of the couch's legs. "Maretime Bay can still win this!" she stated confidently, but then the couch tilted and fell backward, landing with a thud as the three ponies sitting on it fell backward with it as well. "IZZY!" Sunny, Hitch, and Zipp all yelled out, now knowing that Izzy had taken one of the legs. The three looked bored, and then a pair of red shoes with a white stripe in the middle came into their vision. "Uh... What's going on here?" Sonic questioned, confused about why the couch was like that. "Take a guess..." Zipp told him with a frown. Sonic looked confused at first, but after a few seconds, the answer came to his mind, and he put on a bored expression as well. "Izzy broke the couch?" he asked rhetorically. "Izzy broke the couch," Sunny confirmed. Sonic sighed and put the couch back in place. He quickly ran away and came back with another golden ring, a wrench, and the missing leg, then fixed up the couch. "There we go!" he stated with a smile. "Thanks, Sonic!" Hitch said with a smile. "Hey, I may not be as skilled as Tails nor Izzy with fixing some stuff, but I know the basics," Sonic said with a smirk. "Now, I'm gonna talk to our unicorn friend before she does something that takes the house down..." he said with a neutral expression. "... again," he added, remembering when Sprout took the Lighthouse down before it turned into the Brighthouse. Sonic walked towards Izzy, who tried to put the ring she got from the couch on the lantern that Sunny’s father made when Sunny was a filly. But once she put it on the top, the ring fell to the middle of the lantern because it was bigger than needed. "Awww!' Izzy groaned in disappointment. "Now, this Maretime Bay Day gift for Sunny will never be ready in time," she added with sadness. "Izz?" Sonic spoke to her, and Izzy looked at him in a panic. "What are you doing?" he asked with his arms crossed. "H-Hi, Sonic!" Izzy greeted nervously, as she sweated a bit. "N-Nothing important! Just unicycling some stuff for something important," she said nervously. "Izzy, you just contradicted yourself... in the same sentence," Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. Come on, Izz. We've known each other for a few months now. You can tell me anything," he assured her with a smile. Hypocrite. You hide secrets from your friends, and you dare to say they can tell you anything? What a fucking bastard you are, Sonic. Sonic felt guilty after hearing that he still hadn't told his friends about his encounter with Metal Sonic or about the Chaos Emeralds being there but not working as they should. In the end, he ignored his thoughts and focused back on Izzy. "W-Well... If I tell you, promise you won't tell anypony, not even Sunny!" Izzy whispered. Sonic nodded with a smile, and the feeling of guilt returned, but he quickly ignored it to stay focused on Izzy. "Remember Sunny's old lantern? The one her father made for her?" she asked with a smile. "Yup. I saw it when we first met with Sunny," Sonic replied. "Well, I want to fix it to give it to Sunny as a present for Maretime Bay Day, but I can't find a piece that looks like a metal ring thingy," she said again with sadness. "I've tried everything. Even the—" She held a pink circle but didn’t get to finish because they all heard Pipp's screaming. "AAHHH! What's wrong with the shower?! Izzy!" Pipp cried out from the bathroom. "You messed with the shower?!" Sonic asked her in panic, while Izzy nodded embarrassedly. Sonic sighed and then quickly looked at Izzy with determination. "Let's get out of here before Pipp yells at you," he stated, then grabbed one of Izzy's hooves and ran out of the place with the unicorn. Pipp screamed and came out of the bathroom, all wet with a towel around her. She looked around with anger and growled, trying to see where Izzy was, but since she wasn't there anymore, she got back into the bathroom. Izzy was now wearing a helmet on her motor-scooter, while Sonic ran at her side, getting away from the Brighthouse - and Pipp - and heading to the town to find the piece Izzy was looking for. Once they arrived at Maretime Bay, Izzy took a hoop from a pegasus filly who was playing with it, while Sonic looked with a bored expression since he knew too well Izzy's antics. "Nah. Too big," Izzy pointed out. "Give me that!" Sonic said as he snatched the hoop and gave it back to the filly. "Sorry, kiddo. She's just looking for something important for a friend," he apologized with an embarrassed smile. Izzy then looked at the key change on Rufus's saddle strap. "Too small," she said, as the earth pony stallion looked at Izzy weirdly while the unicorn laughed nervously. Sonic facepalmed, not only because this was not only ridiculous but also embarrassing, since Rufus obviously thought she was talking about something else. Then, Izzy and Sonic arrived at a donut shop and looked at the pile of donuts as Izzy inspected one. "Too doughnut-y," she said, and then she chomped the donut she was holding. "Tasty as well," Sonic added, chomping a donut himself and paying for the donuts. A while later, a unicorn filly played with a triangle instrument while Izzy looked at the triangle for a second. "Not ring-y enough" she pointed out.. "That's not even a ring, Izzy," Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. And then, Izzy grunted as she tried to take the Mane Melody billboard, but it couldn’t be removed. Izzy looked down below, where Sonic and Posey looked at her with surprise and disbelief. "Too stuck-to-a-building-y," Izzy said sheepishly to them. "Pipp's already mad at you because of the shower, Izz. You shouldn't make her even madder," Sonic pointed out with a concerned look. A while later, Izzy was driving her scooter slowly again and sighed in disappointment. "Cheer up, Izz," Sonic said as he walked alongside her with a comforting smile. "I'm sure we'll find that piece you're looking for," he assured her. "But I'm afraid we won't make it in time..." Izzy said with a worried face and tone. But she gasped when she saw Posey's blue circle earrings. "But that is absolutely perfect!" Sonic saw Posey's earrings as well. "Are you sure?" he asked, not because he thought it was a bad idea but because Posey was the one wearing the earrings. Izzy didn't answer and prepared to boost behind Posey with her scooter. However, Sonic stepped in and looked at her. "Whoa, calm down, Izzy!" "But...!" she was going to strike, yet Sonic cut her off. "Let me handle this" Sonic said, running until he reached Posey. The earth pony mare frowned when Sonic stepped in front of her. "What do you want, Sonic?" she asked with annoyance. "Hello to you too, Posey," Sonic replied with a smirk. "I know you and I are not on very good terms, but I want to ask... Can I borrow one of your earrings for a second? It will be quick," he asked, now with a neutral expression. "Why do you need my earrings?" Posey questioned with a raised eyebrow. "A little gift for Sunny," Sonic said. "But I know the earring won't work. Just give it to me so Izzy sees she doesn't need it," he whispered at her. Posey just rolled her eyes, took one of her earrings off, and gave it to Sonic. "You better be quick," she warned with a glare. "Quick is my middle name!" Sonic joked, then ran back to Izzy and extended the earring to her with a smile. "I thought your middle name was 'the'," Izzy said confusedly as she took the earring and examined it, while Sonic just facepalmed. "Nah. Too plasticky," Izzy said as she gave the earring to Sonic. Sonic ran back with Posey and gave her the earring back. "Thank you very much!" he said, and once Posey took the earring, he returned with Izzy. "Okay, that didn't work either. Now what?" he asked her. Before Izzy could answer, she saw two critters rolling a circle net and gasped with a smile. "That could work! Wait up!" she said, then decided to follow the critters. "Okay, whatever she saw, I'm not letting her get in trouble!" Sonic told himself and followed her. "Not without me!" he added with a smile. Izzy came to the alleyway and found the critters dragging the net. She zipped and gasped with a smile, but it faded once she saw a deflated float instead of the net she was looking for. "Awww, no good," Izzy said with sadness, as Sonic caught up to her. "Still nothing, Izzy?" Sonic asked. "No..." Izzy answered and then groaned. "This is hopeless, Sonic. I'm never gonna—" she tried to say but then gasped in awe with sparkling eyes at a sight. Sonic looked in the same direction as Izzy and raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" he questioned, since she was looking at a dumpster while a raccoon corn jumped on a homemade diving board on the side and crashed into the dumpster. "Whoaaaa…" Izzy said in amazement, then headed to the handmade diving board. "Izz..." Sonic called out. "Please tell me you're not going to do what I think you'll do..." "Oh, I'm totally doing it, Sonic!" Izzy cheered. Sonic looked at her with concern. "You do realize what you’re doing is unsanitary, right?" he questioned Izzy. "Yeah, but this is for Sunny!" Izzy cheered again. She climbed up the diving board and jumped with a flip. "Whoo-hoo!" she cheered as she dived into the dumpster. Sonic cringed in disgust. He has done some gross things himself in the past, but it was for the sake of the world. "I admire her dedication to her Unicycling job, but this is reaching a line I never thought it was possible to reach," he told himself. Izzy: Makin' a splash A splash into trash Reaction this trash Don't have to be so slapdash Uni-cycled in a flash Could be a table or mustache Anything really for trash T-R-A-S-H Doesn't mean it's waste T-R-A-S-H With a dash of taste Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo Make it brand new-ooh, ooh-ooh Whoo! Come on in, the trash is lovely Lookin' for a ring for Sunny Call it waste, call it misplaced But always with a dash of taste You might think it's rotten But I think you have forgotten It's anything really for trash (Oh, yeah!) T-R-A-S-H Doesn't mean it's waste T-R-A-S-H With a dash of taste Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo Make it brand new-ooh, ooh-ooh Whoo! As the musical number finished, Izzy poked her head out of the dumpster looked at the ring she had on her horn, and smiled since it was exactly what she was looking for. "Aha! There you are, my circly little friend!" she said as she grabbed the ring and polished it a bit. "It took you some time, Iz," Sonic said with a little smile. "I heard some music and many weird sounds inside there. Was there some kind of party or something?" "Sorta," Izzy replied, as she left the dumpster completely. "Now let's go! I have to finish the lantern!" she shouted, then ran away. "But hit the shower first, Izzy!" Sonic pled her as he followed the unicorn. Back at the Brighthouse, Sonic watched Izzy putting the ring on Sunny’s lantern. "Ta-daaaaah! All uni-cycled up!" Izzy cheered as she raised her hooves in the air. "All this trouble for a ring," Sonic said with a smile. "And I'm the one talking," he pointed out, since he's usually looking for rings to power up his resistance, although those were other kinds of rings. "Huh... Something's still not quite right," Izzy said, putting a hoove on her chin. She gasped as she realized something. "Oh! I know!" she said cheerfully and then grabbed a box of rocks. She opened it and then smirked when she took out a crystal. Izzy put the crystal on the lantern and closed it, and then the lantern began to float. "Wow!" both Sonic and Izzy said in awe as the lantern started to float off the table. Without noticing, Izzy's Cutie Mark started to glow. "The floating is unexpected, but Sunny's gonna love it!" Izzy stated with a smile. "I'm pretty sure she will, but since when did you get magical crystals?" Sonic questioned. "You know how there's lots of crystals in Bridlewood, so I just collected them now and then!" Izzy explained. "Hm... Interesting..." Sonic said as he looked back at the lantern floating. "Izzy! What's happened to my manedryer?!" Pipp spoke, which caused Sonic and Izzy to cringe. Izzy grabbed the lantern and hid it in her drawer as Pipp came to them with her mane little frizzed out while holding her broken mane dryer. "It's missing, like, all the pieces!" she cried. "Sorry, Pipp." Izzy apologizes to the pegasus. "I can fix it! Hang on!" she says as she runs out the door. "Izzy?! Where are you going?!" Pipp cried out. "Come back! No one can see me like this!" she cried, not wanting anypony to see her with her mane messed up. "Yeah... you don't want to know where she's going, Pipp," Sonic said with a concerned look, feeling his whole body shake with goosebumps. "Geez, just imagining the place makes me shake," he said, hugging himself. Pipp felt a little panicked that Sonic was there as well, since she didn't want him especially to look at her like that, but Sonic was a little traumatized to even notice her messed up mane, so she sighed in relief. As for Izzy, she returned to the dumpster with the homemade diving board, ready to grab some parts for Pipp’s manedryer. Weeks later, after Team Sonic's Reunion and Maretime Bay Day, Sonic told the whole story to Tails and Knuckles as the trio looked at Sunny's lantern in her area of bedroom. "So, what are you trying to say, exactly?" Knuckles questioned, not getting Sonic's point. "Guys, the crystal shines, just like the Emeralds should. But since they're not working, I was thinking... maybe we should find alternative ways to go home," Sonic explained with his arms crossed. "Like these crystals?" Tails asked. "Yeah," Sonic replied. "If the Emeralds don't want to help us, then we should find other options, starting with the crystals in Bridlewood." "You know, I would agree if it weren't because we're still missing one Chaos Emerald, and we still have no idea where Eggman is hiding," Knuckles pointed out. "We can't leave without both." "I know, I know. I'm not saying we have to leave now," Sonic corrected himself. "I'm saying that we should start researching alternate routes to go back, so once we get egghead and the remaining Emeralds, we have our route to get them out before they cause more trouble to these ponies." "Sounds good to me," Tails said with a little smile. "I can research these crystals a bit before testing them to open a portal," he suggested, taking out a little notebook and starting to write. "I think I can bring some when I go back to Bridlewood when Izzy works on 'bigger stuff' in her home," Knuckles added, still unconvinced at all but on board all the same. "We sure need some way out, anyways." "Good, because I feel like Eggman has something big prepared on his hands, and we have to be careful from here," Sonic stated as the trio looked again at Sunny's Lantern. THE END...?
14. Alicorn Issues"Whoo!" Izzy cheered as her friends came to her and Sonic to celebrate T.U.E.S. Day together. "Hey! Ho!" the Mane 5 and Sonic sang when they went hiking in the woods to spend time together. "... Cause I get to work with you!" the Mane 5 and Sonic sang together as they worked together to finish up the Crystal Brighthouse. "Besties!" Pipp cheered as she and the others huddled together for a group picture. Then several images of the Mane 5 Cutie Marks shining pass by, unnoticed by them. In the bedroom of the Brighthouse, the girls and Team Sonic were sleeping peacefully. But suddenly, Sunny, who was still sleeping and had her messy mane, started to glow and levitate from the bed. Sonic, Tails, Izzy, and Zipp woke up from the glow and were shocked to see Sunny floating in the air. The magic sparkled around Sunny and activated her Alicorn form, which shocked Sunny awake and caused glitter to fly around the room. "Aaah!" Zipp yelled out in surprise as glitter hit her face and some on her bed. Izzy got the same outcome as Sonic, but Tails ducked under the blanket to dodge the glitter. As for Pipp, she got some over her mane and bed, and Knuckles was sleeping with his mouth open, so... some glitter ended on his mouth as well. Sunny looked on in shock as her alicorn magic activated, but as soon as she looked at them, her wings and horn disappeared, and she fell into her bed, now covered in glitter. Sunny groaned tiredly and rubbed her forehead. "What happened?" she asked tiredly, getting up on her bed. Tails emerged from the blankets and flied towards her. "Your magic wings and horn came out of nowhere," he explained to her, "Literally," he added. "You also exploded into a pile of…" Zipp tried to point to the glitter, but... "Glitter!" Izzy cheered, seeing so much glitter as far as her eyes could see, feeling like she was in paradise. "Glitter!" she cheered as she hugged a pile. "Glitter!" she scooped some in a jar. "Glitter!" She went to Pipp’s bed, grabbed some glitter,, and tossed some in the air. "Man, cleaning this up is going to be a mess," Sonic complained as he removed some glitter from his body. Pipp got up because of Izzy and got her head off the pile of glitter. "Don’t you guys know what time it is?" she asked tiredly but then noticed the pile of glitter on her bed. "Wait, what?" she asked herself, noticing some glitter on her head, and gasped in shock. "All this glitter is drying out my mane!" she cried in panic. Suddenly, Knuckles poked his head out of the pile of glitter on his bed and spat the glitter out of his mouth. "Why is there glitter in my mouth?!" he cried out with concern, noticing the whole room full of glitter. "Why is there glitter in the whole room in the first place?!" he yelled confusedly. "Sorry, everyone." Sunny apologized to her friends as Zipp, Pipp, Sonic, and Knuckles approached her while Pipp shook the glitter off her mane. "My Alicorn magic has a mind of its own; I can't control it," she worriedly explained. "Maybe you need a magic word?" Zipp suggested. "Something to help bring out your inner alicorn." "Ohh! How about a catchphrase?" Izzy said cheerfully, swimming in her pile of glitter. "Like, 'Wing it'! Or 'Let’s fly'!" she started to suggest, then gave an exciting expression with sparkling eyes. "Oh, oh, oh! I know! 'Alicorn it up'!" she said, standing at Sunny's side, and then walked a bit away. "Alicorn it up?" Sunny repeated with a confused look, but then her magic started to sparkle again. Her right wing grew and shone brightly as she and the rest of Team Sonic looked with surprise. "Good timing," Knuckles said with a little smile. "That's incredibly convenient," Tails said in confusion. "That's just lazy writing," Sonic said with a bored expression. But once her wings settled, they were the size of a little filly wing and flapped rapidly. Izzy got to Sunny's side and looked at her wings. "It might need some work," she snorted. "You’re not going to fly very far with those wings," she pointed, giving a raspberry while Sunny put an unamused expression. "Sshh," Zipp and Pipp shushed Izzy, not to make fun of her wings. "Not helping, Izzy," Sonic said with a little frown. Sunny, however, groaned with embarrassment at her wings. "Izzy’s right! I can’t help anypony like this!" she pointed out worriedly. "Don’t worry, Sunny. All you need is a new look," Pipp said a little excitedly as she flew around Sunny with sparkling eyes and placed her hooves around her. "A makeover fit for an alicorn," she added while Sunny looked at Pipp with doubt. "Before we do that, can we at least clean up first?" Sonic asked as he pointed at the room still full of glitter. "Since when do you, from all people, care about cleanliness?" Knuckles asked, looking at Sonic with confusion. "Ever since I lived here," Sonic confessed with a smirk. He looked at Tails. "Say, mind to help me out?" "Usually, I'm the one asking, but okay! Let's do it!" Tails cheered as they both boosted and ran through the room with boxes and jars, filling them with glitter. Sonic put the jars at Izzy's Unicycling spot, while Tails put the boxes outside to find a later use for the remaining glitter. The rest of them and Knuckles looked in awe at how clean the room was now that the glitter was cleaned up as Sonic and Tails returned and looked around with pride. "Wow, nice work, guys!" Zipp complimented with a smile. "This was peace of cake, thanks to Tails' help!" Sonic assured as he put an arm around Tails. "Once we start to work together, nothing can defeat us!" Tails cheered. "Running faster than sonic speed, get your tails on the field!" Sonic and Tails made their handshake, finishing it with a fist bump. "Now, Sunny-bunny, let's change your style or whatever Pipp said!" Sonic stated with a smile as he looked at Sunny. Later, at Mane Melody, Pipp took Sunny and the others to the salon to have Sunny’s mane styled. "Ahh!" Sunny cried out as Pipp spun her around and placed her on a seat, with Sunny looking at the mirror. Team Sonic, Izzy, and Zipp watch from the sidelines as Pipp inspects Sunny’s mane while Jazz and Rocky look from behind them. "We are going to need highlights, low lights, hoof glitter, hoof polish, a facial, and a curl," Pipp said as she inspected every part of Sunny. "You don’t mean…" Jazz said as Rocky looked at her. "Oh, I do," Pipp answered, turning to Jazz and Rocky. "The works," she declared as Jazz and Rock gasped. One, two, three, four Pipp starts to sing, holding a manecut machine, with Jazz holding a hoof polisher and Rocky holding a brush. Bring that tail right through the door Jazz polished Sunny’s right hoof with a pink sparkle. Five, six, seven, eight You're not leaving here 'til you feel great Rocky placed some facial cream on Sunny and then put some kiwis on her eyes. Pipp grabbed a brush and held a mane-cutter, and Jazz gave her a mirror while Rocky gave her the manedryer. Shine bright, sparkle and glow Flip that mane with a flow like "whoa!" Pipp then used the four tools with all four hooves and assaulted Sunny's mane with her mane styling skills. Vibe, you're on it You're a brand new pony, so flaunt it Hey! In the end, Pipp twirled Sunny around and finished her mane, giving her the style she got on the Mane Melody's opening day. Sunny looked at her mane in amazement as it sparkled a bit. "And voila," Pipp said with a cheerful smile. "I never thought I'd see the day where we pass from lazy writing to lazy drawing, but here we are!" Sonic said with a sarcastic tone, although everyone seemed to ignore it. Sunny smiled at her mane style, but once again, her magic started to act up and made her mane glow a golden color. Sunny started to float again, but this time with a smile. Team Sonic, Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp looked at Sunny with a smile, thinking that Sunny's magic must now be under control. But her mane grew a lot, and now her horn appeared too. As the light faded, the others gasped in shock to see Sunny’s new aspect. "Uh. I don’t think it worked," Sunny called out. "Man, wish I could understand magic; it would be a lot easier to help you with your problem, Sun," Tails said as he approached the alicorn. "Aww, don't worry, Tails. I'm pretty sure we'll discover how to control my powers," Sunny said, and even if Tails could not see her, he knew she was smiling. "Somehow..." Sunny added. Izzy trotted next to the two and excitedly inspected Sunny’s mane. "Whoa, Pipp," she said with awe and sparkling eyes. You’re good. Do me next!" she cheered, wanting a longer mane, too. Sonic, Knuckles, Zipp, and Pipp came to the rest as Pipp chuckled nervously. "Look on the bright side! At least the mane covers those tiny wings!" she pointed out as she moved some of Sunny’s mane to show those wings, which flapped briefly. "Not helping, kiddo," Knuckles said with a bored expression. Zipp shook her head, agreeing with Knuckles. "No. No. No. This is about more than a mane; it’s about inspiration," she said as she zipped around Sunny with a smile. "I don't like where this is going," Sonic said with a neutral face. "And nothing inspires quite like a little…" Zipp added, looking at Sunny with a grin. A little while later, the group was at the abandoned Canterlogic building. After the three tribes united, Phyllis closed the place, and now the old factory was completely abandoned. "... Danger," Zipp finished, introducing the obstacle course she had made to the others. The first part was three logs swinging back and forth, a little pole over a tub of green bubbly goop slime, and the three hoops that head straight to the finish line. "A bit of danger will trigger your alicorn abilities," Zipp assured Sunny with a smile. "Uh... this looks excessive," Tails said as he hid a little behind Sonic. "Yeah, even I know this is a lot, and I love to do reckless stuff," Sonic admitted. "I don’t know about this either, Zipp," Pipp said to her sister. "Um. What am I looking at?" Sunny asked her friends since her mane was covering her completely. Zipp moved Sunny's mane out of her eyesight, and Sunny stared in fright at the obstacle course. "Are you sure? Because this looks…" Izzy cut off Sunny. "Fun!" Izzy cheered with sparkling eyes. "Impossible," Sunny corrected with a nervous smile. "I guess we'll never know if we don't try... but I'm going to bet this won't work," Knuckles said with a neutral expression. "For once, I'm with Knuckles on this one," Sonic said, looking at Sunny with a worried look. "Pttss! She'll do great!" Zipp assured with confidence. "Here. Let’s get that mane out of your face," Pipp said, and after a few minutes, Pipp styled Sunny’s mane to look like Phyllis', and now Sunny could look perfectly with her mane tied up. "There! Much bet…" Pipp tried to finish, but then she, Sunny, and Tails - who helped to tie her mane - saw Izzy putting a stocking on a button at one side of Sunny’s mane. "It will do," Pipp said with a bored expression. "Ready…" Zipp called out as she went next to Sunny. "Set… Go!" she finished and then pushed Sunny to the obstacle. Sunny screamed, rushing through the obstacle and dodging the logs. Sonic, Tails, and Pipp cringed while Knuckles, Zipp, and Izzy smiled. Sunny kept screaming and tried to balance on the log over the green slime. But then she started to scream even more as everyone else looked frightened at the scene. Sunny hopped over the hoops covered in slime, and as she made it past them, her left wing started to glow and grow into the normal size of Alicorn wings, but the right side stayed small, meaning Sunny still couldn’t fly without both wings. Sunny screamed and fell to the ground, and the rest came to her worried. "Sunny! Are you all right?" Pipp asked as she helped Sunny to get up, but then looked up at her mane covered in slime. "Your poor mane!" she cried out, then turned and glared at her sister. "Zipp. What were you thinking!?" she yelled at her. "This is the best alicorn yet." Zipp smiled as she pointed out that Sunny was nearly complete to her alicorn form, as Sunny shook some slime from her left wing. "Ah, we need better transformation words," Izzy suggested again. "How about 'Hooftastic-maneriffic-canterlogic-docious!'" she cried out. "A new alicorn outfit would do the trick. Maybe a few accessories?" Pipp suggested it as well. Sunny watched her friends come up with ideas, but she didn't feel too well, so she walked away from the group, and no one noticed. No one, except for Tails, looked at the exact moment she came out of the factory, and then he looked at the girls with a frown and growled. At hearing the most calm and reasonable growling, Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other in fright since they knew things would heat up if Tails got mad. "Maybe if I add fire to the obstacle course..." Zipp suggested, and that was what made the fox explode. "STOP IT, FOR THE SAKE OF CHAOS!!!" Tails shouted at the mares while some smoke came out of his head, and his face was red with anger as he glared at the ponies. The three mares immediately stopped and looked at Tails, both surprised and afraid. They never thought Tails from all the creatures would shout at them like that. "They either die in the next few seconds or make them feel like talking trash," Sonic whispered to Knuckles. "Either way, they're screwed," he added. "Oh, they are," Knuckles assured with fear. "None of these things are helping!" Tails yelled again, this time a bit more calmed. "B-But we were trying to help Sunny," Pipp pointed out. "Maybe if we get her a new dress..." she tried to add, but... "HOW?!" Tails shouted again. "How are some makeup, a deadly obstacle course, and some stupid made-up words going to help her with her problem?!" he asked, waiting for any of the mares to answer. "For what you have told me, she hasn't been able to control this form for a while, and instead of trying to do something to make her feel better, you did something that makes YOU feel better!" he pointed out. "Pipp, a dress and a new style can change her outside, but did you make her feel better inside? NO! Because it's makeup! Izzy, you're funny. I'm not denying that, but not everything can be fixed with a catchphrase! And Zipp, Sonic gets his ass in danger every single week, and yet he hasn't done anything as dangerous as that obstacle course! You could have killed Sunny!" he pointed out to the three mares as he started to take deep breaths. There was silence for a moment. Sonic and Knuckles were weirdly quiet, while Zipp, Izzy, and Pipp were both ashamed of their attitude towards Sunny and scared of Tails, although it seemed like he finally calmed down. Izzy was the first one to talk to them after a while. "I-I'm sorry..." she said with a guilty tone as the rest looked at her. "I guess I just tried to make her feel better instead of helping..." she admitted shamefully. "I'm sorry too," Pipp said, not in a dramatic tone as usual, but in an actual ashamed tone. "I shouldn't have made up those styles since she isn't me. Of course, that wasn't going to help..." she pointed out as she looked at the ground. "And I shouldn't have made the obstacle course at all," Zipp admitted with guilt. "I'm sorry," she said. Tails seemed to finally be calm, as he softened his gaze and looked at the mares. "I'm sorry, too, for exploding like that. I'm usually the one who tries to calm things down," he said with embarrassment. "Well, I'm glad things cooled down a bit..." Knuckles said as he and Sonic arrived at Tail's side. "Now, the only thing we have to deal with..." Sonic started as he stared at the exit. "It's finding Sunny," he finished with a worried look and tone. A little while later, Sunny was at the beach after she had removed the slime and looked at the ocean with a sad face. Three foals were making a sandcastle next to her, a little bit far, while Hitch walked towards Sunny. One of the fillies was shoveling the sand, but then her shovel got out of her hoove and landed next to Hitch. He picked up the shovel and returned it to the filly with a smile. Hitch smiled at those foals and saw Sunny over at the corner. "Aha," Hitch said with a smile, walking towards her. Sunny got the rest of the slime of her mane. "That was a complete disaster," she said, still sad for not controlling her magic. "I figured I'd find you here," Hitch said to Sunny. "Knux told me what happened. Are you okay?" he asked her. Sunny looked down and sighed. "Everypony else seems to be growing so fast. I just feel... stuck," she said, looking at him concernedly. "You helped everypony believe in magic," Hitch said with a smile. "Now it's time to believe in your magic, Sunny. In here," he added, placing a hoof on Sunny’s chest where her heart should be. Sunny smiled at her best friend, feeling a little better. "Thanks, Hitch. If only it were that simple..." she said, but something caught her attention. The two ponies saw a big wave coming to the beach, and then Sunny gasped in shock once she saw where the wave would hit. "Oh, no! The foals!" Sunny cried out while the foals looked at the wave and were too scared to move in time. Sunny and Hitch ran to get the foals out of the way, but Hitch hit a little hole that caused him to trip and fall into the sand. He got the sand off his face but gasped as the wave approached. "Come on, Sunny! You can do this! Those foals need you!" she said, giving a determined look. She started to glow as her Cutie Mark sparkled. Her alicorn form took form, and her mane got fixed. Now Sunny got her full Alicorn form back and flew to the sky. Hitch saw Sunny with an awed expression and sparkling eyes. Sunny came right in front of the foals and faced the wave. Then, she focused her magic on her wings and blew them at the wave, which caused it to turn into a pile of glitter. The fools looked at Sunny with amazement, and once she landed, she looked at herself with joy now that she had her alicorn form under control. "I did it!" Sunny cheered as she laughed a bit. "Now, if I can just figure out how to turn off the glitter..." she added sheepishly. "I knew you could do it, Sunny!" Hitch said in a muffled sound, trapped in a pile of glitter, while Sunny looked at him with a smile. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
15. Making a Foal of MeIn Mane Melody, Pipp came out from a room with four pineapple drinks for her and her friends. She took Sonic, Tails, Sunny, Hitch, and Izzy to Mane Melody for facial treatment. Zipp and Knuckles didn’t join them because Zipp is known not to like makeovers, and Knuckles felt he was 'too cool' to have a facial treatment. Pipp hummed happily while she brought the drinks. "Now I hope everyone is feeling nice and relaxed" she said with a smile, then took one of the drinks to give to her friends, but as she turned around, she saw Hitch... now as a foal. Hitch started to talk - or something like that - while Pipp shrieked. "Aah! Hitch?!" she asked him, not believing what she was seeing. She suddenly heard num-num sounds and turned to a salon chair. When the chair turned around, Sunny was nibbling a piece of kiwi and was now a little filly. "Sunny?!" Pipp gasped and asked. She heard somepony run past her and heard a thud, and when she turned, she saw Izzy, a little filly as well, on the ground with Cloudpuff as the two played over the spilled makeover on the floor. "Izzy!" Pipp cried out again. "What is going on?!" she asked herself, placing her hooves on her head. But the thing didn't end there: now, a blue blur passed around Mane Melody, as little giggles sounded everywhere. Pipp looked around, confused, but then the giggles stopped, and Pipp looked down to find Sonic as a baby. His skin was light blue, his eyes were completely black, and he wasn't wearing gloves, but he did have brown shoes. "Sonic!!" Pipp cried out as she looked at her crush, who had become a baby. Baby Sonic looked at Pipp with sparkling eyes and immediately climbed on her back, tenderly embracing the pegasus's fur. Pipp blushed a little, but then she noticed that someone was on her dresser. She got closer and gasped with sparkling eyes: Tails also turned on a baby, sleeping tenderly with his tails around him. "Tails!" Pipp squealed, finding the scene of Baby Tails sleeping very cute. But then she saw Filly Izzy still playing with the spilled makeover, so she focused back and picked her up. Foal Hitch was sitting on a salon chair with his sunglasses on, but when he tried to get down, the chair bounced from being reclined down and sent Foal Hitch flying across the salon. Pipp shrieked at this, put Filly Izzy down, and flew off to catch Foal Hitch before he got hurt. Once she caught him, Pipp sighed in relief that Hitch was okay. But then she heard Filly Sunny cooing and turned to see her in the bin that Pipp brought over with the drinks. She saw Sunny get a pineapple drink on her head while spilling some drinks and hitting one with juice from her hooves. Pipp picked up Sunny and tried to understand why her friends were babies. "What. Is. Happening?!" she asked herself while Baby Sonic was still on her back and Baby Tails kept sleeping. A few minutes later, Pipp gathered her baby friends and placed them on a bench. Filly Sunny still had the pineapple on her head while she doodled on a book with a pen. Foal Hitch watched her draw while Baby Sonic stayed behind her, and Baby Tails was still sleeping on Filly Izzy's side. Pipp covered the windows with the curtains, closing Mane Melody early so that nopony would see her friends as babies. Pipp then took a deep breath and started to think. "No pony panic. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this," she said to herself, then looked at her baby friends as Filly Izzy and Sunny both played around Foal Hitch, who looked with a bored expression. Pipp took a breath and looked at Baby Sonic, who was hugging her back. "I just need a moment to think," she said with a blush and tried to think about what to do. But Baby Sonic opened his eyes and saw something that made him touch Pipp's fur. Pipp turned to see Baby Sonic, and he pointed to the bench where their friends should be, but once Pipp looked at it, only Baby Tails and the pineapple Filly Sunny had on her head were there, and the rest were gone. "Who’s ready for a pamper party?!" Pipp’s voice spoke up, but Pipp didn't say it; it was a recording of her voice. Pipp turned to the stage and saw Foal Hitch playing around with the stage controls while Filly Izzy was smiling back and forth on the disco ball. Filly Sunny was in a sink to wash manes, mixing many different colors of shampoo and conditioners on it, playing and giggling around the sink. "No, no!" Pipp tried to get Filly Sunny off the sink, but Filly Izzy swung by on the disco ball. "No!" Pipp cried out and tried to get Filly Izzy down. Then she got back with a towel for Sunny but saw the rainbow shampoo and conditioners had overflowed the sink and washed over to her, having the rainbow bubbles on her mane as she cooed at Pipp. "Cloudpuff, help!" she cried out, but then saw Cloudpuff put some makeup over him, and then he ran away when he saw that Hitch was chasing after him. "Please!" Pipp begged. "If Zipp and Knuckles see you like this, they’re going to be so…" she tries to get her baby friends to calm down, but... "Pipp!" Zipp’s voice called out, causing Pipp to freeze as she turned and saw Zipp and Knuckles coming in through the door. They saw Filly Izzy still swinging on the disco ball, Filly Sunny playing with the bubbles, Foal Hitch and Pup Cloudpuff chasing each other, Baby Tails sleeping on a bench, and Baby Sonic hugging Pipp's back. "What in the sake of Chaos it's going on here?!" Knuckles asked in shock, looking at their friends as babies. "Our friends are fillies!" Pipp cried out in panic; then Foal Hitch cleared his throat. Pipp looked at him while Foal Hitch gave her a look. "And Foals!" she added since Hitch was not a girl. Baby Sonic also cleared his throat, and Pipp looked at him as Sonic glared at her. "And babies!" she added once again. "Uh-huh," Zipp said as she and Knuckles approached Pipp. "But how?!" "Is this some magic thing that we have no explanation for?" Knuckles questioned as he held Foal Hitch in his arms, giggling at the echidna. Before Pipp could answer, Filly Sunny came passing by them on a chair. The three grown-ups looked in shock and worry at Filly Sunny. "Grab that filly!" Pipp called out as she and Zipp raced to catch Filly Sunny while Knuckles stood with Foal Hitch. Suddenly, the Equidna had an idea to keep Foal Hitch calm, and he smiled. "So... wanna travel around on Knuckles-express?" he asked the foal, as Foal Hitch cheered and Knuckles put him on his head. "Hang on thigh!" he warned, and then Knuckles started to run slowly around while Foal Hitch laughed and had fun. Meanwhile, Filly Izzy giggled as she drew a unicorn on the wall, using kiwis as the eyes. Suddenly, Pipp grabbed Izzy before she could make a bigger mess. Then, we had Filly Sunny sliding around the place and laughing. She kept sliding and then saw that she was about to hit the glass cabinet that contained Pipp’s salon supplies. Sunny giggled, but then she was saved by Zipp at the last second, and she placed Sunny on the floor. "Pipp! How did this happen!?" Zipp questioned. "I don’t know!" Pipp panicked, not knowing how this even happened. Then she yelled out and ran off to grab Filly Izzy, who was climbing on the glass cabinet, trying to grab a couple of face cream. Pipp grabbed Filly Izzy, but as she put her down, she started running off, and Pipp chased her. "I’m starting to lose it!" Pipp cried out, starting to lose her patience. Sunny started to run alongside Izzy as well. However, the two fillies stopped when they saw Knuckles throwing Foal Hitch slightly into the air. The two fillies laughed and started jumping at Knuckles, meaning they wanted to be trowed as well. Knuckles looked with doubt at first but then sighed in defeat and grabbed the fillies; then he began to throw them in a juggling way while the babies laughed, and Knuckles looked bored. Pipp saw this and panicked even more. "What are you doing?!" she questioned the Equidna, worried that he might accidentally let them fall. "I don't like to do this either, kiddo, but it's keeping them entertained and in one place, so you better solve this before I get tired!" Knuckles pointed out. "Alright, keep them like that," Zipp said as she put on her Z-Goggles and scanned the place to find anything that could work as a clue, but nothing was out of the ordinary besides Knuckles juggling with the fillies and the foal. "Pipp, try to stay calm and just tell us what happened," Zipp said as he took her Z-Goggles off and looked at her sister, who was still panicked about seeing her baby friends being juggled. "Every detail from the beginning," Zipp added. "Okay," Pipp said as she calmed down a bit. "So, I invited everypony to Mane Melody for an amazing spa day, except Knuckles, who rejected it," she started, then stared at Knuckles with a little anger. "I regret nothing!" Knuckles assured, as he kept juggling the fillies and foal around. "And everypony was loving it! They were so relaxed. Everything was perfect!" Pipp kept explaining as she remembered everything was going great before they became babies. Zipp then inspected the colored shampoo bubbles on the floor, sniffing and licking them. "Was it something they ate? Something they drink?" Zipp asked her sister before turning to Pipp’s messy makeover supplies on a mirror table. "Something in this weird beauty stuff?" she asked, looking at the supplies. "It is not weird!" Pipp corrected her sister, feeling insulted. "Can you girls hurry?! I'm running out of ideas to entertain them!" Knuckles begged, carrying the babies around the place on a homemade plane as Hitch simulated driving, and Sunny and Izzy giggled. Just then, the three grown adults heard Cloudpuff barking at them. "Puppy Cloudpuff!" Pipp, Zipp, and Knuckles said with sparkling eyes and smiles. But then, Zipp snapped out of her adoring expression and realized something about Pup Cloudpuff. "Wait," she called out and came close to Pup Cloudpuff. Zipp used a cotton swab to pick some glitter off of Pup Cloudpuff and inspect it. "What’s this?" she asked her sister. "That?" Pipp asked. "Oh! It’s my all-new, totally natural, fabulous fruity face mask!" she answered with a smile. "Okay... Should it be glowing? I'm pretty sure it shouldn't," Knuckles pointed out since the glitter glowed slightly. Pipp saw this and then panicked. "Uh-oh," she said, now knowing why their friends turned into babies. "Well..." she added. Then she remembered her face mask was smelling horrible, and she could not put it on her friends, so she grabbed a jar that had some of the glitter that came out of Sunny's magic and put the glitter on the face mask. "You put magic glitter in the face masks?" Zipp asked in disbelief, holding Filly Izzy and Filly Sunny holding on her hind leg, while Knuckles had Foal Hitch on his head. "I didn’t know it was magic!" Pipp defended herself. "Wasn't the glow and magic burst clear enough to you?!" Knuckles yelled with frustration. Pipp just gave a sheepish smile and chuckled nervously. "How are we gonna get them back…" Zipp tried to ask but then felt pain in her leg and saw Filly Sunny biting her leg. "Sunny! No biting!" she scolded the young filly as she tried to shake her off. "Come on, Pipp. You can fix this. This is your thing," she said to herself. She came to her makeover supplies as Zipp and Knuckles kept their baby friends busy. "Think. The face mask has ingredients to make you look younger. But maybe with a different mix of ingredients, I can make them look older!" she gasped, now that she found a way to change their friends back. "Zipp! Knuckles! I have an idea!" she called out with a smile. A little while later, after going through Pipp's plan, they gathered the ingredients they needed to transform their friends back into their grown-up selves. Zipp and Knuckles mashed, cut, and mixed some fruits and vegetables that make ponies grow up. They smashed some bowls with their hooves/hands, but then Zipp saw Pipp mixing hers with some added liquids. Pipp smiled, and her Cutie Mark started to shine, while Zipp smiled at Pipp and continued her work. A little bit later, they got the face masks ready, with the glitter added again. Zipp grabbed Filly Sunny so Pipp could apply the mask, but Sunny didn't want the mask on her since she's a filly and protested against the adults. When Pipp was about to put the mask on Sunny, she swatted the brush away and returned to the ground with Foal Hitch and Filly Izzy. Pipp tried to use the brush on Filly Izzy, but Izzy also swatted the brush away. Knuckles, Pipp, and Zipp looked at their baby friends worried, and Pipp was about to tear up because her baby friends didn't want the mask on them. Zipp was going to comfort her, but then Baby Sonic hugged Pipp's neck and patted her mane a little like he was saying everything would be okay. "Aww!" Pipp said since Sonic looked cute as a baby while he comforted her a little. "Even as a baby, he still has a kind and careful heart," Knuckles pointed out with a little smile. "Look, Pipp, I got this," Zipp said, referring to the situation with their baby friends. Once upon a time..." she called out to them, getting their baby friends' attention. Two sisters were very different. And even though they liked different things—different things—that was what made life together so fun," she said to their baby friends with a smile while they started to yawn and feel sleepy. Pipp placed a hoof over her chest and smiled at Zipp. "Oh, you used to tell me bedtime stories," she said as she nuzzled her sister, and her cutie mark glowed again. "The sisters traveled together across Equestria..." Zipp kept telling the story while Pipp finished putting on the face masks. They watched their baby friends with a smile. Knuckles brought Tails over, who was still sleeping, and Pipp also put the mask on him. Finally, Knuckles took Sonic, who also fell asleep, and Pipp put the mask on him, finishing with the masks. "You know, I was thinking..." Knuckles said as he placed Sonic on a blanket. "Sonic told me that he was 20 times more hyperactive when he was a kid and that the only things that could stop him were food and... someone he admires," he added with a smile, looking at Pipp. Pipp immediately blushed a little because she didn't expect Sonic to admire her, or at least not to the point where he could stop running around. "W- What are you implying?" Pipp questioned, still blushing. "...The signs are very clear, even for me, yet you don't get them..." Knuckles replied with a bored expression. A little while later, Hitch woke up like a fully grown stallion again as he stretched and yawned. Behind him were Sonic, Tails, Sunny, and Izzy, now fully grown up, with blankets and pillows around them while sleeping on the stage of Mane Melody. Cloudpuff was also back to his right age as well. Izzy and Sunny woke up from their nap while Hitch shook his head and touched his face with a smile. "Hey. Wow. I do feel younger," he said while Cloudpuff barked happily at them. Izzy touched her face with a smile. "Huh. That was amazing! I am going to tell all my friends about this!" she said to herself with sparkling eyes. You gotta try this new spa!" she said to Sunny, who was also touching her face. Sonic and Tails started to wake up as well. "Man... I feel at least 20 years younger!" Sonic said as he stretched a little and touched his face. "Yeah!" Tails said with a smile. "I slept like a baby!" It was clear that they had no memories of them being babies. Otherwise, they would be freaking out about everything they did around the place. "Whoa," Sunny said as she saw Zipp, Pipp, and Knuckles sleeping with a cowboy hat covering his face. They were so tired of the whole babies thing and cleaning up the place while the rest slept. You three look exhausted," Sunny commented as they woke up, seeing that their friends were back to normal. You should treat yourselves to one of these face masks," she added, holding one of the face masks. Zipp and Pipp smiled at each other, chuckling that their friends didn’t realize they were turned into babies, while Knuckles smiled a little, knowing that they would have to fill their friends in what happened later. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
16. Neighfever"Flowers!" Dahlia called out, holding a pack of flowers. "Homegrown flowers!" she announced to the ponies of Maretime Bay with her right eye twitching. "Anypony? Flowers!" she said to the ponies around her flower stand, but they got a little freaky from her and ran off. "Anypony? Homegrown flowers! Flowers! Anypony?" she asked, but everypony just kept walking. Next to her flower stand was the smoothie stand Sunny works at, while Hitch and Knuckles were borrowing smoothies, and Tails started to help Sunny deliver some smoothies. They all watched Dahlia desperately trying to get anypony to buy her flowers. "Poor Dahlia. Now that earth ponies have magic, no pony is buying her flowers anymore," Sunny said in sympathy for Dahlia as they watched her waving the flowers in her hooves. "One of a kind!" Dahlia announced while Posey walked by, and Dahlia turned to her. "Can’t be found anywhere else," she said to Posey but said Earth pony stomped her hoof and made a flower sprout from the ground. "Ooohhh!" Sunny, Hitch, Tails, and Knuckles cringed at Posey, proving her point. "Oh..." Dahlia said sadly as Posey picked the flower she had made, placed it on her mane, and then walked away. "Perfect for a special occasion," Dahlia kept saying with a sad smile, knowing that nopony would buy her flowers anymore. "It’s too hard to watch!" Hitch called out, since he could not stand seeing Dahlia sad and that nopony was buying her flowers. "I can’t take it anymore!" Knuckles added, and he walked towards Dahlia, with Hitch following him since both would buy her some flowers. "I hate to see this..." Tails said with a sad tone and his ears down. "It's sad to watch that somepony's supposed special talent is not so special anymore..." he added, feeling bad for Dahlia. "Yeah, I get what you mean," Sunny confessed. "There must be some way to help her," she added. Tails then put a hand on his chin and smiled with an idea. "I think I might know what to do..." he smirked. In the afternoon, Dahlia watered her flowers at home, which helped distract her from her lack of sales lately. "Hey, Dahlia!" Sunny’s voice spoke, and Dahlia turned and saw Sunny and Tails flying to her from the sky. Sunny was still practicing her flying and tried to land on the ground, a little shaky. Dahlia got startled and lost her balance. She tossed her watering can into the air and fell into her flower patch while Sunny and Tails landed on the ground. Dahlia coughed some of the petals she had gotten from the fall, getting some on her mane as well, but then she recomposed herself and smiled at her visitors. "Hey, Sunny. Hey, Tails," she greeted them. "Hi!" Tails said as he waved a hand at her. "Sorry, Dahlia." Sunny apologized for scaring her as she took off her alicorn form. "I’m still getting the hang of this Alicorn thing," she chuckled. "It’s okay. No harm done…" Dahlia tried to say, but she got cut off when her water can fell on her head upside down, getting water on her mane. She sighed, grabbed the water can from her head, then shook it to get water out of her mane and looked at Sunny and Tails. "Can I help you two with something?" she asked them. "It’s time you start growing your flowers with magic!" Sunny answered to Dahlia with a smile. "Magic? Oh, no. I haven’t got any of that," Dahlia said to her, thinking she hadn’t gotten any magic. "Of course you do," Sunny said. "Every Pony has some kind of magic," she assured her. "You might not know yet, but it is there somewhere, waiting to rise and surprise the world!" Tails added with a smile as he flew a little around. "That's the spirit!" Sunny said, then got next to Dahlia. "Now..." A little bit later, Sunny showed Dahlia how to use her earth pony magic. First, she showed her the moves on how to use it. Dahlia followed her movements and stomped her hoof down, which caused a small spark of her magic. The two mares and Tails watched closely as Sunny brought out her magnifying glass and saw that a tiny flower sprouted. Dahlia looked sad, but Sunny and Tails supported her since it was a good start. A moment later, Dahlia moved her legs again and did a twirl before stomping all four hooves on the ground. That sprouted an actual-sized flower, but the petals fell off the stem the second it sprouted. Sunny smiled and raised her hoof for Dahlia to give a high hoof, but Dahlia wasn’t happy since the flower petals fell off, and Tails just gave a nervous smile. Later, Dahlia stomped her hoof down and sprouted a small field of flowers. Dahlia smiled, and Sunny raised her hooves to give Dahlia a high hoove. Dahlia was about to give her the high hoove, but the flowers whittled and died. Dahlia gave a discouraging look to Sunny and Tails while they both smiled sheepishly. A little bit later, the three decided to take a break while Dahlia was discouraged about her progress. "It's no use, guys. Face it. My flower business is over," she said sadly. "Don't think like that, Dahlia," Sunny said, not wanting her to give up. "Yeah. You're making good progress so far, no matter the results!" Tails assured her. "All you have to do is believe in yourself. Feel the magic inside, and think of something that makes you happy," Sunny said with a smile. "Hmmm..." Dahlia said, starting to think of something that made her happy. "I do love a big... beautiful... flower!" she smiled, then moved her hooves, which started to glow green, and stomped her hoof down. And then, a big stem starts to grow as Dahlia backs away and comes to Sunny and Tails. They all watched in amazement a flower as big as a tower with giant red petals. "Wow!" Sunny said in amazement. "Now that is Flower Power!" Tails said with a smile. "See, Dahlia? We knew you could do it! Try again!" Sunny cheered to Dahlia with a smile as well. As they walked around Maretime Bay, Dahlia got so overjoyed by her earth pony magic that she kept making big flowers wherever she walked. At first, Tails did not consider this very important, but as more flowers grew, more pollen appeared, and when he finally noticed, he knew he had to stop Dahlia. "Um... girls?" Tails called Sunny and Dahlia, but none of them were listening. "Whoo-hoo!" Dahlia cheered. "I've got magic!" she smiled. "Girls!" Tails called again. We have to take the flowers out before they sick everyone with their pollen!" he warned, but the mares kept ignoring him. "Aw man, this is bad... This is really, really bad!" he said with worry as he flew away back to the Brighthouse. After a while, the wind began to whistle around Maretime Bay, and the giant flowers began to tilt. When the ponies noticed that, they ran away for cover while Sunny and Dahlia stared in fear. Then, a big red flower next to them tilted and broke off, falling towards them. Sunny and Dahlia screamed as the flower fell with a thud, which caused the pollen to come out of the flower. Since the flower was so big, it held a lot of pollen, and it spread out to Maretime Bay. "Ah... Ah…" Sunny and Dahlia felt like sneezing, and then... "Achoo!" Sunny and Dahlia let out a sneeze, then they turned and saw the amount of pollen that was spilled in Maretime Bay. "Uh-oh..." Sunny said, having a bad feeling about this. "What have I done?!" Dahlia asked in shock at her actions of overdoing her magic with the big flowers. Sunny: You're feelin' kinda crummy And things are gettin' tough But it's not time to give up yet Sunny and Dahlia walked through the covered pollen street of Maretime Bay as the ponies around them sneezed and looked at Dahlia. Dahlia: Haven't I done enough? I thought I had the magic But I look like a phony Have you ever felt like, yeah Felt like everypony Dahlia felt ashamed of herself for getting Maretime Bay covered in pollen as she trotted away from Sunny. Zipp was flying by, seeing Maretime Bay covered in pollen, and then sneezed, which caused her to fly backward and caused her to pass a Fifi poster sign. Then Dahlia saw two ponies at her sides as they sneezed and looked at her. Dahlia ran off as Sunny ran to catch up to her. Dahlia stopped next to Hitch and Knuckles as they began to sneeze, along with three bunnycorns and a racconicorns next to them. Dahlia ran off in guilt as Sunny tried to stop her. Sunny and Dahlia: Is lookin'? ACHOO! They're lookin' at you Dahlia: They're whispering, they're pointing their hooves Izzy was nearby, wearing her goggles to try to keep the pollen off her eyes. She failed because she was tearing up her goggles. Then, she sneezed and fell into a barrel as Dahlia continued to run off. Sunny: You tried your best, so don't worry You'll solve this problem, yeah, you'll see Dahlia ran past Mane Melody with Sunny by her tail. Inside Mane Melody, Pipp was putting a face mask on a unicorn mare, but the pollen was getting to her, and she sneezed at the face mask's content. Pipp cringed and looked around in the hope that nopony noticed, and once the coast was clear, she stirred the face mask as fast as she could and then applied it to the unicorn mare, hoping nopony would notice. Sunny and Dahlia: Because... ACHOO! There's sparkle in you Sunny: And it will shine your way right through Dahlia returned to her house and looked back to the ponies still sneezing from the pollen as Sunny gave her a sympathetic look. Dahlia: I'd rather hide so they can't see Because... ACHOO! They're lookin' at me Dahlia opened the door and closed it, feeling guilty about all this, while Sunny gave a pity expression, feeling bad for Dahlia and also guilty since she was part of all this. Back at the Brighthouse, Tails, and Sonic wore protective suits since Tails could only warn him about the imminent neighfever before it could happen. "Thanks for the warning, little bro," Sonic greeted again. "My only complaint is that this is too tight, but I'm not sneezing, at least," he added with a smile. "I just wished I could see this coming so Dahlia wouldn't have planted all those flowers," Tails said, feeling guilty. "This is my fault," he added, saddened. "This is also my fault..." Sunny added that they were sitting on the couch in the living room with Izzy, watching TV and the News on the neighfever spreading quickly across the town. "We've made everything worse!" Sunny added with frustration. "Aaaachoo!" Izzy sneezed again, but then she fell backward and landed on her back. "I dunno, I kinda like sneezing. It's like a sneaky nose surprise. Achoo! See? So sneaky," she said to the rest. "Well, usually I will say, 'let's just roll with it', but I know we can't live sneezing the rest of our lives," Sonic commented. "And in my case and Tails', we cannot be trapped in these suits forever either. We need to use the bathroom, you know..." he pointed out with a bored expression. "And we cannot leave Dahlia now!" Tails added. "Not when she needs us more than ever!" he told Sunny. Sunny gave off a determined expression. "You’re right, Tails. We've gotta fix this!" she declared as she and the fox ran out the door to fix their mistake. "Well, while they do that, I'm going to hit the shower," Sonic said as he ran upstairs to use the bathroom. Later, again, Dahlia was watering her flowers, also having a stuffy nose from the pollen all over Maretime Bay. She turned and saw Sunny and Tails coming by again, with Tails still using the protection suit. "Ugh! Not you two again!" she groaned, still upset and guilty from what she had done to the town. "Haven't you two done enough? Achoo!" she asked them and started sneezing on the flowers. "We’re so—" Sunny started but stopped when Dahlia sneezed on her flowers again. "Achoo," Dahlia sneezed. "—sorry, Dah—" Tails kept going, but he got cut off by the sneezing, again on the flowers. "Achoo!" "We were just—" Sunny said and got cut off again. "Achoo!" "—trying to—" Tails said and again got cut off. "Achoo!" "—help!" Sunny and Tails both finished. "Achoo!" Dahlia sneezed on her flowers again, but then they started to shine and glow with the colors of the rainbow. Dahlia, Sunny, and Tails saw this with awe, and Sunny found the perfect idea for all their problems. "I think there's a way to make everypony forget all about this neighfever nightmare!" Sunny said to Dahlia with a smile. Tails realized what she meant and smiled. "It would also help to return your flower business in no time!" he added. "Keep sneezing, Dahlia!" both Sunny and Tails said. Dahlia smirked, seeing what those two were planning. "Now that I can do it! Achoo!" she said to them, then continued sneezing on her flowers. After cleaning up the whole town from the pollen and with everypony feeling better now, Sunny and Tails told Dahlia what she had to do to keep her business going. Meanwhile, Pipp was livestreaming through her phone, filming Izzy wearing a necklace of flowers glowing one color at a time. "And there you have it. The perfect accessory for the ultimate cool pony style," she said to the viewers of her livestream. "Cool pony?" Izzy asked in confusion, then gasped with sparkling eyes. "Is that me?" she asked cheerfully. Pipp looked a little nervous to Izzy since it seemed she forgot about the plan to tell everypony about Dahlia's new necklaces but decided to let it slide and go along with it. "Um, yeah," she said to Izzy before facing her livestream again. "Now don't forget, Pippsqueaks. You can get your cool pony necklace at Maretime Bay's one-stop style shop – Dahlia's flower cart! Squeak ya later! Mwah!" She blew a kiss and ended the livestream. At Maretime Bay, everypony was wearing Dahlia’s flower necklaces, finding them great, stylish, and amazing as well, while ponies were lining up on Dahlia’s flower stand, who was very happy that her flowers and new flower necklaces were a hit again. Sunny, Hitch, Tails, and Knuckles looked at Dahlia, who was also wearing necklaces, with smiles. They were happy that Dahlia had gotten her flower business back. Also, Tails wasn't wearing his protection suit anymore. "Now, this is something great to watch!" Knuckles said with a smile, happy that Dahlia was having clients again. "And another problem was solved successfully!" Tails added with a big smile. "Gotta love a happy ending!" Sunny added, also smiling. Suddenly, Sonic arrived with a big smile, wearing a necklace as well. "Guys, guys, guys, guys, guys!" he said, as he stopped in front of them. "Pipp will perform a new song to honor this new style! Come on, you don't wanna miss this!" he said, happier than usual, and then ran off to Mane Melody. "You know, I never seen him so excited for a Pop Star singing before," Knuckles commented. "It's Pipp, the one singing, so I expected it," Tails said with a smirk. "Wait..." Hitch spoke as he and Sunny looked at Tails and Knuckles, a bit confused. "Why are you talking about Sonic like that?" he questioned. "Isn't it obvious? He likes..." Knuckles almost shouted, but a glare from Tails was enough to make him realize he was talking too loud, so he whispered at Sunny and Hitch. "Sonic likes Pipp," he whispered with a smirk. That made Sunny and Hitch gasp with sparkling eyes since they had known for a while now that Pipp also liked Sonic. "By your reactions, I'm guessing it's a reciprocal thing that everyone but them notices, right?" Tails asked the ponies. "Yup!" Sunny answered, still with sparkling eyes. "Should we tell them?" Hitch suggested. "Nah, let's enjoy seeing those two love birds being so ignorant about their reciprocal love for now," Knuckles said. And let them enjoy it before we leave Equestria, maybe forever, he thought. "Let's make him some company, so if he makes something stupid, we can mock him the whole month!" he added with a smile. They all walked laughing towards Mane Melody, not noticing that the flowers from their necklaces started to lose their colors and drip off the petals, probably causing Dahlia's business to get into trouble again. But that's a story we'll tell another day, or probably never. THE END...? Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
17. Queens for a DayPipp popped her head from behind a bush in Zephyr Heights, out of the Royal Castle. She yelped before she ducked down and hid beside her friends and sister since they hid behind the bush. "Oh. My. Glitter!" Pipp said excitedly as she turned to her friends. "This is going to be the best surprise ever!" she sang the last word excited. Suddenly, they heard rolling sounds, which meant that someone was coming. "Here she comes," Zipp whispered to her friends with a smile. Then, she turned to Team Sonic, next to a fireworks batch. "Guys! Light them up!" she said to them, raising their thumbs in approval. "3, 2, 1!" The Mane 5 counted down in excitement, then got out of the bush and shouted "Happy Mares Day!" in unison and with a strike of pose. To be clear, 'Mares Day' is the equivalent of 'Mother's Day' in Equestria. But then they gasped when they didn't see Queen Haven, but Fifi pulling a fruit cart and a Pegasus Stallion next to her, looking confused at the group. The fireworks were set off behind them since Team Sonic didn't know they got the wrong pony. Fifi and her partner gave an awed expression when they saw the fireworks. "Look. You’re missing the fireworks!" Fifi said to the group with a smile. Team Sonic popped their heads from behind the bush, and as Knuckles gave a bored expression and Tails facepalmed, Sonic frowned and sighed in defeat. "You've gotta be kidding me..." Pipp groaned in frustration. "We thought you were the queen." Fifi snorted a bit before replying. "Imagine that. Me. The queen," she said to her partner with a smirk. Fifi's partner playfully bowed to her. "Well, hello, Your Majesty!" se said in a playful tone and smiled as he and Fifi walked past the Mane 5 with a chuckle at their joke. "And now we’ve completely wasted the fireworks. Ugh. I knew this would happen," Zipp said with a frown. "Zipp, you don't need fireworks to show the queen how much you care about her," Sunny assured her. "Which is great, 'cause now you don't have any!" Izzy smiled but then realized it came out wrong and nervously laughed. "Yaaaay…" she said weakly with a sheepish smile. "Izz, we talked about this. Think before you speak," Tails said as he, Sonic, and Knuckles approached the Mane 5. "Sorry..." Izzy apologized as she scratched her neck a bit. Tails smiled and patted her back, assuring that everything was fine at the end. "But what about the Queen, though?" Sonic said. "She didn't stop talking about how much she was looking forward to this day when she, Alphabittle, and I reunited," he pointed out. "Maybe she's just... running late," Hitch suggested. Zipp frowned since she knew her mother way too well. "No. I know exactly where she is," she said angrily. "Oh no..." Knuckles whispered. "She's mad. Should I get worried?" he asked Sonic as he and Tails looked at the hedgehog. "Yup," Sonic said with a bored expression. "Yeah, we should," he added. Queen Haven and Zoom were in the throne room, while Haven was surrounded by paperwork she needed to do since she’d been very busy today. "What's next on the royal to-do list, Zoom?" Haven asked her Royal Guard. "Well, we are running a bit late, your Majesty..." Zoom said to her Queen while checking the to-do list pad she was holding. But for item eighty-one, you were supposed to—" she tried to explain. But then Haven gasped in shock. "Meet my daughters in the royal square!" she said in panic, forgetting completely about that. The royal gates burst with a thud, showing the Mane 6 and Team Sonic coming in, with Pipp and Zipp being very upset that their mother didn’t show up, while the rest of their friends smiled sheepishly. Haven saw her daughters' frowns and sweated a bit. "Oh, dear..." she said while her daughters and their friends approached her. "Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise," she said nervously to her daughters. "You were supposed to meet us in the square. I even made an appointment with Zoom this time!" Zipp shouted out, Zoom covered herself with the to-do list pad she held. "Being a no-show is, like, totally harsh, Mother!" Pipp pointed out, while Haven heard them with sadness. "And on Mares Day?! Rude!" she shouted out. Haven closed her eyes a bit with stress. "I know! I'm so sorry I've let you down! And on this special day!" she apologized to her daughters with a guilty tone, while Pipp and Zipp felt bad for their mother. "Believe me, there's nothing I'd like more than to take a break from being queen," she came up to her daughters and gave them a forgiving hug. But there's just too much to do..." she pointed out. Sonic then ran next to them. "On her defense, and I say this as a knight appointed by a talking sword, Royalty requires a lot of responsibility and time," he pointed out. "As a Queen, it's normal for her to get some things forgotten, no matter how important they are..." he added with a compassionate look towards Haven. Zipp thought about that for a second and then smiled with an idea. "Then why don't we give you a break?" she said to their mother as she and Pipp broke off the hug. We'll do all of your queenly duties for the rest of the day," she offered to her mom. The rest saw where Zipp was going, so they smiled and nodded in agreement. Haven gave Zipp an amusing smile. "Really? You want to be queen?" she asked since Zipp had been trying to avoid the fact that she would be the Queen of Zephyr Heights someday. "Come on, Mom. How hard can it be?" Zipp asked with a smirk. Haven put a hoof to her chin, thinking over Zipp's proposal, then smiled with sparkling eyes and zipped straight next to Zoom. "Okay then! Zoom will ensure you have everything you need!" she said quickly, then zoomed straight to the door. "Good luck!" she waved to her daughters and their friends as she closed the door. Zoom blinked a bit before saluting her Queen with a smile. "Of course, your Majesty!" she called out before scrolling through her to-do list pad. "Ordering the royal to-do list now!" she said, then sent the royal to-do list to Zipp. Zipp picked up her phone and saw many messages on it; all of them were part of the list. The messages kept going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on, and... You get the point. There's lots of stuff to do. The rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic looked at Zipp’s phone, seeing more messages popping up. Pipp smiled nervously as the messages kept going. "That's not…" she started before clearing her throat. "So bad," she finished. But then the beeping speeded up since even more list messages popped up, which surprised the group. "'Come on, Mom. How hard can it be?'" Sonic said, trying to imitate Zipp's voice. "Way to go, Princess," he added with a bored expression. "Would you look at that? It just keeps going and going and going and going and going and going…" she said to the group while circling Zipp, who was having a nervous breakdown over this much work, starting to regret this idea. "This'll be... f-fun. Right?" Pipp nervously asked her friends with a forced smile. "Yeah... You and I have very different concepts of 'fun,' Pipp," Knuckles said sarcastically as the phone finally stopped beeping. "This is going to be a looooong day..." Tails said as he and the rest looked at the list with worry. A while later, Zoom led the group to a door, still helping them follow the list in order. "Item eighty-two – the newborn foal's portrait," Zoom told them as she opened the door, revealing eight young foals pegasi on a couch bench. "Awwww!" the Mane 5 and Team Sonic cooed with sparkling eyes at the adorable foals. The pegasi foals started to giggle as they hopped up and down. The group gasped in fear, knowing very well that hyped-up foals can be tricky to calm down or even get them to hold still, so they decided to split up and catch them. "H-Hey! Get back here!" Zipp called out to one of the foals, trying to get it to stand still for the portrait. Sunny jumped, trying to catch one of the foals flying, while Pipp had the same problem with another. And then, not paying attention, the two foals got between Sunny and Pipp, flying out of their path while Sunny and Pipp crashed into each other, with Sunny lying on top of Pipp. The two had bored expressions while the foals just giggled at them. Tails was growling in frustration as he flew and tried to catch one of the foals. Knuckles screamed as one of the foals grabbed one of his ears and tugged it. "G-Get off me!" he complained since he didn't want to hurt a little foal with his big hands. Sonic was chasing around one of the Foals, but he didn't want to catch him with his speed since he thought it could hurt one of them. And Hitch was being dragged by two foals from his rear legs while he pawed at the floor. "I'll be... right... behind... you!" he grunted. The group finally got the foals under control and sat them back on the couch to take their picture. The foals giggled, and the Mane 6 stood behind them, with Hitch holding one of them with a nervous smile. The camera took the picture, showing the Mane 5 and Team Sonic having trouble with the foals again. The next picture showed Hitch wearing makeup from the foal he was holding, with a sad expression as the foal laughed at him. The last picture showed Pipp taking a selfie with her Pippsqueaks followers. A little bit later, after taking pictures with the foals, Zoom led the group to a playground where ponies took pictures of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic behind a ribbon to inaugurate the playground. "Item ninety-seven – the grand opening of the royal playground," Zoom instructed. Zipp laughed, actually feeling relief about this part of the list. "This'll be easy," she said to her friends with a smile. Zipp grabbed the giant scissors and tried to snip the ribbon, but it wasn’t cutting. Zipp kept trying, but somehow, it still didn't cut. Pipp came to her sister’s side, and now they snipped the scissors together, but they still didn’t cut the ribbon. Izzy came to them, grabbed the scissors, and started to rip the ribbon again, but it still didn't work. Sunny came to Izzy's side, and the two ponies worked together to try to cut the ribbon, but the scissors still didn't cut it. "Uh, this is hard to watch," Flare, a white pegasus with a fire-styled mane, said to herself and the pegasus beside her. Sunny and Izzy continued to try to cut the ribbon while they started to sweat. "Must... cut... ribbon!" Izzy said in frustration and determination. "Just go on without us!" Sunny cried out with tears. Team Sonic watched this in disbelief, finding it a little dumb that cutting a ribbon was hard. Tails sighed in frustration and came before the ribbon while Sunny and Izzy kept trying to cut it. "Well, this is ridiculous," he said, taking a Swiss Army Knife from one of his tails and cutting the ribbon in one shot. The crowd cheered now that the ribbon was finally cut, as Sunny and Izzy sighed in relief. "Uh, Tails... Why do you have a Swiss Knife with you?" Sonic questioned. "You always have to be prepared," Tails replied with a little smile. A picture shows Zipp giving a public speech with reporters' microphones in front of her. Zipp looks nervous about the whole thing while Pipp is photographing it behind her. Another picture showed Zipp and Pipp helping with the construction plans for the construction ponies, but mostly Zipp since Pipp was taking selfies of the whole thing. The next picture showed Hitch leading the ponies in a fashion order while keeping them in line for something. A while later, Zipp and Pipp were in Zephyr Heights Hospital to pay a visit to an injured pegasus stallion, who was all bandaged up from head to hooves as the cameras were taking pictures of the three ponies. Pipp gently placed a comforting hoof on the stallion to avoid hurting him. But Pipp dropped her phone when she tried to take a selfie, which landed on one of the stallion’s legs. The pegasus stallion patient screamed in pain while the pictures were taken, and Pipp felt guilty about it while Zipp tried to calm the patient down. Later, Zipp was digging a hole to plant a new plant on the ground. The cameras took pictures of her as Zipp smiled, but then Pipp cleared her throat. Once Zipp turned around, she saw Pipp had dirt on her head from shoveling while she held the plant. The picture showed Pipp throwing dirt on Zipp playfully, and Zipp laughed at Pipp’s payback. Later, In the throne room, Pipp and Zipp were doing the paperwork their mother had to do at a fast paste as they sweated to get the papers done. Knuckles placed the papers they’d finished on a wagon that Sunny and Hitch brought. But then, Izzy showed up with another load of papers through the door, about to hit Sunny and Hitch and take the papers out. "Whoa!" Hitch cried out as he and Sunny stopped. "Look out!" Sunny cried out. Izzy realized that she was going to crash into them. "Yikes!" she cried out. She then crashed into her friends, scattering all the papers and leaving the three ponies dazed on impact. Pipp and Zipp saw this with wide and tired eyes, and Pipp groaned in frustration. Tails and Knuckles poked their heads out of one of the piles while Sonic looked around and picked some papers. One had a seal and was signed by Pipp, another was signed by Zipp, and the last one didn't have either the seal or a sign. He looked at the pile of papers and nodded with a determined face. In less than 6 seconds, all the papers were organized again: the already signed ones were on Sunny and Hitch's wagons, while the blank ones were again at Zipp and Pipp's sides. Sonic then stopped and looked at his work with a proud smile. "Before you ask, the signed papers are on the wagons; the ones you have with you are blank," Sonic said before Zipp or Pipp could complain about doing the thing so fast. "Just because I consider myself the fastest thing alive doesn't mean I don't like things organized," he said with a smirk. Haven was alone in the dining room, feeling lonely and wondering how her daughters and their friends were doing. "I do hope everything's okay," she said to herself. The door opened, and Haven turned to see that the Mane 5 and Team Sonic had arrived, looking really tired from their duties. "We did it!" Zipp called out with an exhausting smile. "We're late for dinner, but we made it!" she added. "And how did it go?" Haven asked them with a smile. "A newborn foal gave me a shiner!" Hitch said in a panic, pointing to the shiner in his left eye. "My legs hurt from chasing foals!" Knuckles complained. "Being queen is much harder than it looks!" Sunny groaned. "I've never been this stressed in my entire life..." Tails confessed with an exhausted expression. "Look at all this dirt in my mane!" Pipp cried out, pointing to the dirt on her mane. "I have to get rid of my knight title!" Sonic cried out in panic. "I'll never use scissors again!" Izzy yelled with frustration. Haven held a hoove over her mouth, seeing them tired and overworked. "The truth is there were eight of us. We didn't even come close to finishing the royal to-do list," Zipp admitted, and then she came next to her mother. I can't believe you do that every day," she added, now better understanding the responsibility of a Queen. Pipp came up next to Haven on the other side. "Yeah, I think we were the ones being harsh earlier. Sonic was right about the big responsibility of being a Queen. You are super amazing," she added, hugging her mother. Haven smiled and placed a hoof on Pipp's shoulder. "That means a lot, Pipp. Thank you," she thanked her daughters, then clapped her hooves together. After the clap, the doors suddenly opened, and Zoom and Thunder came with a cart of food and placed it on the dinner table. The Mane 5 and Teams Sonic gasped in amazement at the feast before them. Zipp turned to her mom with a smile and sparkling eyes. "You think of everything," she said in amazement, while Haven nodded her head with a smile. "Now, everypony, dig in!" Haven announced it to the group with a smile. Now, the Mane 5, Team Sonic, and Queen Haven are digging in on their food as they chat while enjoying their well-deserved feast. Zoom smiled as she placed the failed picture with the foals on the wall. Then, she took out her pad and checked off the last thing on the to-do list, ending the royal duties for the day. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
18. On Your Cutie Marks"Clear for landing, Team Pegasi!" Sunny’s voice called out as Zipp and Pipp were leading a group of pegasi over, with Thunder carrying a basket full of balls while the others carried one ball each. They threw the balls, Rocky catching two of them, and then he threw them to Zoom. Zoom hit the balls back while Zipp came zooming by and caught two of them, juggling them. Pipp caught the two more and backflipped in the air before she flew by. Sunny came by with a speakerphone on her head. "It's just a little sports day, ponies. No need to show off," she commented since the pegasi were showing off a little too much. "All of Equestria is a stage, Sunny," Pipp said with a smile, tossing a ball on top of the other in her hooves. Hitch, light the lanterns!" she called out through her earphones as well. "Lanterns?" Sunny asked, but when she realized what Pipp meant, she turned to her left with her hooves up. "No, Hitch!" she cried out to him. "Roger that. Lanterns lit," Hitch declared, standing in front of a red button and about to hit it. "Wait, Hitch!" Sunny tried to stop him, but he had already pushed the button. The lanterns lit and floated all over Maretime Bay while Sunny looked on with a nervous expression. "Oh, no..." Sunny muttered as she sweated a little. "Did you say 'oh, go'?" Izzy’s voice asked through her earphone. "Izzy, no!" Sunny cried out to her. "Go?" Izzy asked her again. "NO!" Sunny cried out clearly to Izzy, already frustrated that the exercise was not going well. Izzy, of course, clearly thinks she meant to go and turned to her team of unicorns. "You heard her, Team Unicorn! Go, go, go!" she announced, as they used their magic to levitate streamers over their heads while some unicorns laughed and a few of them danced around, and then the streamers flew into the air. "Bogey at three o'clock!" Thunder cried out to Zoom, seeing the streamers coming at them. "Gross!" Zoom said, not understanding what Thunder meant when the streamers came at them. Then Zoom got hit, and Thunder moved out of the way. "Aah!" Pipp cried out as the streamers hit her, Zipp, and the other pegasi. Zipp got tangled in one of the streamers, and that caused them to drop the balls and hit the lanterns. Sunny saw the lanterns and balls fall from the sky. "Everypony, take cover!" she shouted to everypony around them. The balls and lanterns crashed all over Maretime Bay, and the ponies around them tried to run for cover, but some got hit by them. "Aah!" Rocky shouted as he flew around, got tangled in a streamer, and crashed into the ground. Just then, Sonic, Queen Haven, and Alphabittle came out of Mane Melody. "Are we ready to begin?" Alphabittle asked with a smile. But then Sonic felt his quills getting up as he looked up and saw what was coming at them. "Look out!" Sonic shouted as he pushed Haven and Alphabittle out of the way. "Aah!" Alphabittle and Haven shouted in surprise at Sonic's push before two balls and a lantern hit them. They ran for cover while more balls and lanterns fell from the sky. Sunny was seeing this outcome as her right eye began to twitch. Sonic, Haven, and Alphabittle came out from under the bridge once the coast was clear, while Sunny came closer to them. "I'm so sorry!" Sunny apologized to the two leaders and the visitor from another dimension for this outcome. "This was supposed to be the best day ever, and I—–!" she tried to explain, but Alphabittle cut her off. "It's okay, Sunny," Alphabittle assured her. "No harm—–" he tried to say but got cut off when Thunder came screaming from the sky and fell and landed on a pile of boxes. "Maybe a little harm done," he corrected himself. With all of Equestria competing for the first time, this is a big job," he said to her. "How are you doing?" he asked her with curiosity, wondering how she was handling being in charge. "I'm okay!" Thunder called out to them from the box. "Not you, Thunder," Alphabittle said with a bored expression. "Even for a Queen, it would be a lot to handle alone," Haven pointed out to Sunny. "I'm the Alicorn," Sunny said to them, summoning her Alicorn form to prove her point. "I've got this," she said nervously. "Being a leader means recognizing when you can't do something, Sunny. If this is a lot to take, it's okay to say it," Sonic said with a little smile while Alphabittle and Haven nodded in agreement. "It's okay, Sonic. I can do this!" Sunny said again with a nervous chuckle. "Let the Equestria Games begin!" she announced nervously to the ponies around them while the crowd cheered. As Sunny walked away, Sonic raised an eyebrow at Haven and Alphabittle. "We agree that she doesn't get this, right?" he asked them rhetorically. "Yup," Alphabittle replied with a bored expression. "Oh, absolutely," Haven said with her eyes closed. And then Tails and Knuckles arrived with them, panting for all the running they had done. "Sorry... we got... late..." Tails apologized as he tried to catch his breath. "We overslept... again..." Knuckles explained, also catching his breath a bit. "Did we... miss something?" Tails asked, finally catching his breath. "Not yet, my friends. But I feel these games are going to be rough..." Sonic said to them. Sunny was watching the first game of beach ball at the beach, with Zipp and Izzy competing against each other. Zipp kept punching the beach ball. Being a pony known for sports and flying, Zipp had the advantage in the game while Izzy and her team tried to catch the ball and hit it back. But the ball suddenly landed on Izzy’s horn, which resulted in the ball getting popped and stuck on it. Sunny whistled for a time out when she saw this and came close to Izzy to get it off, but Izzy didn’t stand still, and she used her magic to levitate the deflated ball off her, which caused her to restore the ball and make two more. Izzy threw the three balls at the pegasi, not knowing that she summoned two more of them. Zipp screamed as the ball came to her and then flew away. Pipp and Rocky screamed as well when the other two balls came towards them, so they flew around while the balls chased after them. Sunny tried to figure out how to handle the situation, but then she got hit by one of the balls and fell into the sand. Queen Haven and Alphabittle saw the whole thing, looked at one another, and shook their heads while Sonic facepalmed with frustration, Tails looked on, feeling bad for Sunny, and Knuckles slurped from a smoothie with a bored expression. "Well, she's handling this great," Knuckles said sarcastically. The next game was a running race across the forest. Hitch trotted across the muddy path, taking the lead. Pipp was behind him, trying to catch up, while Sunny was on her roller skates, monitoring the race. Pipp and Hitch were side by side while Hitch got a second wind and trotted ahead of Pipp. Pipp then realized her hooves were full of mud and stopped. "My hooficure!" she cried out when she saw her hoofs so dirty and then smirked as she thought of something. Hitch still trotted across the muddy path, but then Pipp came next to him, using her wings to win the race. Hitch saw her smirking at him as she flew past him. "Stop...! Flying's... against... rules!" se said, panting from all the running. Hitch stopped and stomped his hoof on the ground, using his earth pony magic to summon a plant vine that tangled Pipp around and trapped her on the ground while Hitch ran with a smirk. Sunny blew her whistles as they saw them cheating, but Sunny didn’t pay attention to the road and tripped over the vine Hitch made. Hitch laughed, thinking he would win, but Sunny crashed into him, and they rolled into the mud. Pipp growled, trying to bite the vine off, but then turned and saw Hitch and Sunny about to hither. The three ponies crashed and got tangled in the vines, while a unicorn skipped happily by them as she came to the finish line. Alphabittle shook his head with a hoove on his forehead, Haven shook her head as well with a bored expression, Knuckles just looked in disbelief and a glare, Tails facepalmed, and Sonic had an arm crossed and a hand covering his mouth. He then pointed with the hand covering his mouth to Sunny, Hitch, and Pipp. "This is by far the worst race I've ever seen in my life," he said with annoyance. Sunny was on a boat in the ocean sometime later, holding the starting flag for the boat race. “On your marks... get set––" Sunny announced, but before she could finish, the three teams raced past Sunny. "Go!" all the ponies on three boats shouted as they sped up. Zipp, Pipp, and Thunder grabbed their boat and used their wings to lift it into the air. Izzy and her unicorn partners used their magic to row the oars as fast as they could. Hitch, Dahlia, and Jazz used their earth pony magic to make a big piece of seaweed from the ocean, which lifted their boat up. Sunny was rowing her boats while blowing her whistle to get her friends to stop using magic, but it broke off once she whistled. Zipp looked at her side and saw Izzy and her unicorn partners next to them side by side. They gave each other challenging glares while Zipp gave Pipp and Thunder a signal. The three pegasi spread out their wings and started flying so fast that a big wind boomed, and Izzy and her partners screamed since their boat was blown back from the wind and into the air. Hitch screamed right before Izzy and her partners crashed into each other, resulting in a splash. Sunny groaned from the paddling she had done, but then she saw Hitch and Izzy, along with their team partners, falling down to her screaming. Sunny looked with wide eyes, feeling that this was going to hurt. Alphabittle, Haven, and Team Sonic watch and cringe as the ponies crash into Sunny. They came to shore in boat pieces, while the Mane 5 sins Sunny were covered in sand and seaweed from the crash. "The rules never said our boat had to be in the water!" Hitch frustratedly called out to his friends. "I should know! I read them seventeen times!" he pointed out, holding his rule book. "Maybe if the unicorns controlled their oars better…" Zipp called out while glaring at Izzy. Izzy shook her head to remove some seaweed and glared back at Zipp. "We controlled them fine, actually, until we didn't!" she argued back. And Pipp popped her head up between them, covered in so much seaweed. "I need an emergency re-styling!" she cried out and then screamed, plopping her head back on the sand ground. Sunny got up and shook the sand off herself, then looked at her friends arguing to each other about the way they did to the game. Sunny gave on a sad look, as Team Sonic arrived to her side. "Well, it seems like you don't have this at all," Sonic said with a little smirk, but that just made Sunny feel worse. "At least it can't get any worse..." Knuckles said with a chuckle before he realized what he just said. "And I just jinxed us all, didn't I?" he asked rhetorically. Tails looked at the Brighthouse in the distance, and he gasped, worried. "Oh oh..." he said, touching Sunny's shoulder to get her attention and pointing at the Brighthouse. Sunny also turned to see the Crystal Brighthouse and gasped with worry: the rainbow lightning was glitching again, meaning that magic was fading on Equestria... again. "Uh-oh!" Hitch’s voice cried out as Sunny and Team Sonic turned to the others and saw what was happening. "Our magic!" Hitch cried out as he stomped his hoof to try and use his magic, but no plant appeared at all. Zipp flapped her wings, trying to fly, but she couldn't. Izzy tried to levitate a rock next to her, but it faded out. "This was supposed to unite us…" Sunny muttered sadly and stepped back a little. Team Sonic saw this, but before any of them could comfort her, Sunny turned around and ran off to get away from the fighting. Sonic felt bad for Sunny and Tails and Knuckles, too, but Sonic's sadness immediately turned into anger as he looked at the rest of the Mane 5 with anger. At first, Knuckles gets worried about Sonic's attitude, but as he turns to the other ponies, he also feels angrier. Tails was the only one who stayed neutral, although he knew things were going down when BOTH Sonic and Knuckles got mad. While Team Sonic walked towards the rest of the Mane 5, the rest kept the conversation going. "The Pippsqueaks can't see me like this!" Pipp cried out about the seaweed all over her. "Don't worry, everypony," Izzy called out, trying to keep a positive mind. "Sunny always has a plan. Right, Sunny?" she asked the earth pony, but then they all saw Sonic and Knuckles walking towards them, very mad. "Huh?" Izzy asked, as she and the others felt a little scared by Sonic and Knuckles, while Tails was just behind, quiet and worried. "Can you please explain to me what the heck is wrong with you?" Sonic asked with a threatening voice but calmed for the moment. "You know, I like to compete a lot, but even I know when something's just for fun, and this is one of those cases!" Knuckles yelled out. "You're supposed to represent friendship and unity among tribes, but instead, you turned this into a nonsense competition!" he pointed out as he moved his hands dramatically. "Guys, we get that it’s all about having fun, but some ponies don’t follow the rules!" Hitch complained as he looked at Zipp with a frown. "Oh, yeah? Well, some ponies should not be using their magic to win a game!" Zipp yelled and glared at Izzy. "Some ponies were using their wings to win as well!" Izzy complained, glaring at Zipp and Pipp. "I was trying to keep my image; I can't look like a laughing stock!" Pipp said with a frown. But the fight just made Sonic and Knuckles growl at the same time, and then... "JUST SHUT UP!!!!!!!" Sonic and Knuckles yelled in frustration at them, with Sonic awakening his electrical powers while the ponies got knocked to the ground, and they saw in fear at the Hedgehog and the Equidna. Tails knew that he didn't want to listen to whatever was going to happen, so he covered his ears with fear. "I couldn't; I LITERALLY couldn't care less about who started this bullshit!" Sonic shouted, not holding back his anger or swearing. "You ALL fault this, FACE IT!" he yelled again. "Hitch! Don't you DARE to come up with rules stuff when you cheated on the racetrack!" Knuckles pointed out as he pointed at him. "You're supposed to be the law, man! What kind of sheriff breaks a rule and then goes shamelessly to talk about respect them?!" he yelled again, touching a weak point on Hitch's ego as he scratched his head with shame. "Zipp! You complain about unicorn magic, but YOU used yours!" Sonic yelled at her. "You used your flying skills in the volleyball game and the boat race! What the heck, girl?! This is NOT the kind of princess I pictured from you!" he pointed out, as he also touched a weak point on Zipp. "Izzy," Knuckles said a bit softly but still mad. "I know on the volleyball game it was accidental, but you shamelessly used magic on the boat race, and you perfectly know that's not playing fair," he pointed out with a frown while Izzy looked away with shame. Sonic looked at who remained, and he felt like he was about to cry. But he knew she had to hear it, even though she wouldn't like it. "Pipp," he called, mad but soft. "Your makeup doesn't matter on a game. You never cared about it before, so why now? Why on something like this?!" he pointed out with a frown. Pipp looked hurt and felt her heart broken, while Sonic also felt hurt. He needed his feet on the ground right now, and he looked at the four ponies. "Look at the Brighthouse," he said, pointing a finger at the building in the distance. The rainbow lightning was still glitching, and the four ponies gasped in shock. "No, no, no... Not again!" Zipp muttered. "Yeah, it's happening again, Detective Zipp," Sonic said in a threatening voice. "You spent an entire week trying to prevent things like this, and now you're part of the cause. How ironic," he added with anger. Tails, who has been quiet all this time, stopped covering his ears after Sonic stopped yelling. He felt a little angry as well, remembering Sunny's face when she ran away, so he got close with a frown. "You know what's the worst part? Sunny feels it's her fault that you're fighting. She feels this whole Equestria Games thing is a failure," Tails said with anger, although he didn't yell at them. "How does that suit you, guys? Being her supposed friends, and yet you just keep fighting like five-year-olds," he added, now concerned as well. Instead of staying there, Tails turned around and walked away, now feeling mad at his friends, sins Sunny. "You know, for the ponies who are supposed to be the representation of unity and friendship since they helped bring magic back, you suck. You do," Knuckles added as well and followed Tails away. Sonic looked at them; their shocked and broken expressions hurt him, but he knew they needed to stay on the ground, so he added something. "This 'Twilight Sparkle' Sunny talks often about... she would be pretty disappointed in you. You bring her legacy back, and now you're destroying it again because of bullshit. Say, even I'm disappointed... I always thought you were better than this... too bad I was wrong," he said with sadness and honesty as he turned around and walked away, leaving his friends in shock at his words. But Pipp was probably the most broken of the four. Her crush just told her the face he was disappointed at her actions, and that was what broke Pipp completely. She stayed there and tried to let her tears out in silence, but Zipp noticed and put a hoof on her; Pipp immediately stood and hugged her sister, letting the tears out. Hitch and Izzy stood in silence, but deep down, they were hurt and broken as well, even tho they didn't show it. Sunny was on the other side of the beach, looking at the ocean water while thinking about what had happened in the whole game. She closed her eyes in sadness, still thinking this was all her fault. "Being a leader's tough, isn't it?" Haven said as Sunny turned and saw Queen Haven and Alphabittle coming to her side. "Everypony thinks we have all the answers," she said to Sunny. "All these different ponies together... It's easy to get under each other's hooves," Alphabittle said to Sunny. "You and your friends must be the same," se added with a wink and a smile, while Haven nodded in agreement. "Sometimes, I guess..." Sunny admitted. We're all so different. It can be hard..." she said, recalling a time she was with the rest of the Mane 5 trying to bake a cake. Everything was going terrible, so they all worked together and baked the cake right. "But when we work together and listen to each other, all our differences become strengths," she finished. "Kind of like a team?" Haven asked with a smirk, as Alphabittle smiled as well. That gave Sunny an idea, but before she could make it, she noticed that, not too far from her, Team Sonic was sitting on the sand, looking at the distance in silence, and Sonic and Tails had their ears down. Sunny walked over to them, worried. "Guys?" she called out. "Is everything okay?" she asked. None of them turned to see her, but Knuckles spoke first. "No..." he replied with honesty. "We... argued with the rest..." Tails added. "An argument?" Sunny asked. "How bad could it have been?" she asked again with a little smile. "We destroyed their self-esteem with our words," Sonic replied with sadness. "... Oh..." Sunny said. "But... you can go and say you're sorry, right?" she suggested, smiling a bit. "I doubt they would accept it," Sonic confessed. "Man, I hate when anger gets over me," Knuckles said with frustration. "It's like I lose control over my mouth," he added. "Sunny, go keep going with the games," Tails said, finally turning to face her. "We'll catch up with you later," he added. Sunny was not really convinced about letting them there, but if she had no other choice, she just left, as Team Sonic sighed with sadness. Sunny got the pony's crowd together a little later as Hitch, Izzy, and Zipp were behind them. The Mane 5 apologized to Sunny after they screwed it in the games and after the little scold from Team Sonic as well. "Ponies! Ponies!" Sunny announced to the crowd. "These games aren't about winning! They're about celebrating our differences and working together!" she announced as she turned to her friends, who nodded in agreement. Hitch, Izzy, and Zipp ripped off their stickers while the crowd murmured in confusion. "From now on, each team will be a mix of all ponykind," Sunny declared, then Pipp flew into the air and tossed new stickers. "A representation of the unity that makes Equestria so great!" Sunny added as Izzy used her magic to levitate the stickers for every pony in the crowd. The crowd gave awed sounds as the stickers were placed on their chest. "Let the games, uh, re-begin!" Sunny stated, ready to give the games a second chance. Later, the crowd cheered as they saw the beach ball game again, but this time, each team had all ponykind tribes on the same team. Izzy levitated the beach ball before tossing it to Dahlia. She saw the ball coming and used her earth pony magic to summon a big flower that caught it and tossed it into the air. And then, Zipp came flying by and hit the ball in the air while it hit the other side of the net. "Hah!" Zipp, Izzy, and Dahlia all cheered at winning this match together. Sunny smiled at this sight, feeling happy that things started to go great now. Back at the mud track, Hitch trotted ahead and tossed a stick to Pipp in the air, who caught it with her hoof before flying off. Sunny came by with her roller skates and smiled, seeing that this was going well. Back in the ocean, the three boats were racing again but with each of all ponykind in one boat. They raced across the ocean to the finish line, where Sunny waited for them to cross the finish line. Sunny blew the whistle once they all crossed the line and smiled, now finding the Equestria Games a complete success. A little bit later, after the end of the games, Sunny was holding a card with a trophy on it, meaning she was about to announce the Equestria Games winner. "And the winner of the first All-Equestria Games is... nopony!" Sunny said to the crowd as they looked at her in confusion. "Every team won one contest, so it's a tie!" she declared with a smile. The crowd murmured in confusion before they started laughing and cheering while Sunny gave off a smile. "I suppose it makes sense," Haven spoke as she and Alphabittle came next to Sunny with smiles. "The first Equestria Games," she announced. "And all of Equestria has won," Alphabittle smiled. "Together. Well done, Sunny," he added with a smile. "Hey!" Izzy called out with a wave of hoof as the three leaders turned to her. "Can we go play now?" she asked them with sparkling eyes. Back on the beach, Tails looked over his advanced tablet to distract himself while Knuckles drew random things that popped into his head in the sand, and Sonic threw rocks into the ocean. "We were too harsh on them," Knuckles said suddenly as he stopped drawing. "I know," Tails replied, putting his tablet aside. "But at least they apologized to Sunny." "That doesn't skip the fact that we told them they were failures, guys," Sonic pointed out, still throwing rocks into the water. "We crossed a line on them. Usually, I say to myself that it's for the best, but not this time. I know I should just stay quiet. Just like Knuckles said, anger got into us... and we were not controlling our mouths anymore," he added with frustration. Then, Zipp arrived and looked at them with a smile. "Oh, here you are," she said, then turned to call for someone. "Guys, I found them!" she shouted to the rest of the Mane 5. Knuckles and Tails got up, and Sonic stopped throwing rocks. The three of them had guilty expressions after everything they said to the Mane 5 sins Sunny. Then the rest arrived, and Sunny sighed in relief. "Oh, thank hoofness," Sunny said. "I thought you guys already left," she added with a smile. "Even if we tough about it, we have nowhere to go," Tails pointed out. "Hey, um... we're... We're sorry, guys," Sonic spoke, getting straight to the point as he looked at the Mane 5, especially at Pipp. "Yeah, we crossed a line before. We were supposed to help you realize what was happening, and we did... in the worst possible way..." Knuckles added with a sad look. "You may have got out of line, but we did too, and we told things we didn't want to because of anger," Tails added, looking down with guilt. "Sorry, guys" "And what I said before about Twilight being disappointed... that's not true," Sonic corrected himself. "She would be proud of everything you accomplished so far. Yeah, she would probably be sad that the tribes are still fighting, but she won't be disappointed in you," he added with a little smile. If anything, she would be disappointed in us for being such jerks..." he finished as he looked down. "Sorry... for everything we said..." he added. Surprisingly for Team Sonic, they were gathered in a group hug with the Mane 5. "Uh... I expected at least a punch in response, not this..." Knuckles confessed as he, Sonic, and Tails felt confused. "Guys, we're not mad," Hitch assured me with a smile. "Yeah, we actually wanted to apologize as well" Zipp spoke next, smiling as well. "Thanks to your 'not so soft' words, we could overcome our differences and enjoy the games!" Izzy cheered and smiled. "You may have been harsh on them, but it helped," Sunny added with a smile. "Let's just try to control our anger next time, okay?" she said and winked. "B-But... W-We literally..." Sonic tried to say. "You were cruel, and you hurt us, blah, blah, blah, chill, Sonic! You should know better than anyone that these things can be forgiven, and we already did," Pipp said as she flew over to Sonic and hugged him by his neck. "So... we can act like we never fought in the first place... right?" Knuckles asked, juts to be sure. The Mane 5 looked at each other and smiled before nodding at Team Sonic. "Phew!" Tails said in relief. "Sorry again, guys. Next time, we'll try to be more soft and let anger aside if possible," he assured with a nervous smile. "Okay, then..." Sonic said, as they all stood in silence for a while. "The last one to get to the Brighthouse makes dinner tonight!" he shouted and then boosted straight to the Brighthouse. "Oh no, I'm not cooking again!" Tails said as he flew quickly behind Sonic. "Don't let me here alone, guys!" Knuckles said as he ran to follow his friends. The Mane 5 followed behind, running as fast as they could and laughing at the situation. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
19. Lost In TranslationHitch poked his head out from behind a tree with an explorer hat before hiding back. Then he came from under a rock and popped out from hiding behind a bush with his bag, which had a robot claw holding a map. "According to the map, the schmoogleberry bush should be right here!” Hitch called out, reading the map. Once he put it down, he saw Sunny and Knuckles with bored expressions, while Sunny had a raised eyebrow since she and Knuckles were right next to the schmoogleberry bush with a basket. "Huh? How’d you get here so fast?" Hitch asked them. "Um..." Sunny said with a cough. "We’re in our garden, Hitch," she said with a smile. "The Brighthouse, it's literally over there," Knuckles added, holding a basket with grapes and still with a bored expression, while pointing to the Crystal Brighthouse that wasn't too far away from the garden. "Huh... I definitely overpacked," Hitch said as he opened his adventurer's pack, revealing his tent, two chairs, and a fireplace that somehow lit itself up, making the garden look like a campsite. Knuckles leaned a little and whispered into Sunny's ear. "How's that this guy became the sheriff again?" he asked her sarcastically while Sunny giggled a little. "Well, let's get picking," Sunny announced as she turned to the bush. That’s Schmoogleberry Pie isn’t going to 'schmo ogle' make itself," she added with a smile and then laughed. "Sweet Chaos, my humor, it's so broken..." Knuckles said with a smirk, since he found the pun funny, even tho he knew it was terrible. Sunny was about to grab a schmoogleberry but gasped in surprise when the bush started to twitch. "Watch out, Sunny!" Hitch warned and placed a hoof in front of Sunny for her safety while the two ponies backed up. This bush could be dangerous!" he pointed out and took out a spork from his bag as a weapon. "Never trust anything that starts with schmo ogle," he added with a frown. "What are you going to do with a fork? Invite whatever is behind the bush to lunch?" Knuckles asked sarcastically, but Hitch ignored him and started to walk towards the bush. As he got closer, he moved some of the bush open to reveal a raccoonicorn, wearing a hat and a badge, and a pegasnail, also a hat, fighting over a schmoogleberry. Sunny and Knuckles gave uncertain looks. "Huh. Not what I expected," Sunny said. "I don't even know what I expected," Knuckles confessed. While the critters continued fighting, Hitch smiled at his friends. "Guys. You are about to see a master class in…uh..." he said, trying to devise a name for his ability to talk to animals. "Critter Talkery," he said with a sheepish smile. He then turned to the critters, now with a normal smile. "Guys. What seems to be the problem?" he asked the two critters. The raccoonicorn cleared his throat, although only Hitch could hear his voice. "Well, you see us, raccoonicorns have been nibbling on these here branches for generations!" se answered to Hitch. "Illegally, I might add," the pegasnail said. "We pegasnails have rights to all fruit-bearing plants in the garden. It says so here in the Great Snail Scroll," she added, lifting up the scroll, which was just a leaf with words and a signature on it. "That's just a rolled-up leaf!" the raccoonicorn pointed out with a glare. "You're just a rolled-up leaf!" the pegasnail retorted as she glared back, and Raccoonicorn threw the leaf away. The Lead Pegasnail and Lead Raccoonicorn tugged the berry they were both holding and broke it apart. The two critters glared and started to slap each other. Knuckles, Sunny, and Hitch looked at the critters with nervous expressions. "We don't even need you to translate, Hitch," Knuckles assured. "We can see what's happening," he added. "Anything we can do?" Sunny asked as she pointed to herself and Knuckles. "Nope," Hitch answered with a confident smile. "All under control, guys. I got this," he assured them. "I highly doubt it..." Knuckles said with a glare. "Well, if you need me, I'm going to be collecting some more grapes—some for the pie and some for me," he added as he walked away. "And I'm gonna go find some apples for the pie," Sunny added, taking the empty basket and walking away. The pegasnail and the raccoonicorn continued their slap fight; then Hitch approached them. "Look, there's gotta be a simple way to resolve this," Hitch told them. The Lead Raccoonicorn thought of what Hitch said and smiled. "You're right!" he said, then jumped to the ground and turned in a direction. "Raccoonicorns, assemble!" he announced while three of his raccoonicorns comrades arrived with a homemade catapult behind them. "Pegasnails, also assemble!" the Lead Pegasnail called out to her comrades, who popped up from behind the bushes and moved a catapult of their own, but at a slow pace since they were snails. "We're going to need a minute..." the Lead Pegasnail said to the others, feeling embarrassed since she forgot that the Pegasnails are slow when trailing on the ground. A few minutes later, Hitch and the Racconicorns fell asleep waiting for the Pegasnails. Once they were close enough, the raccoonicorns and pegasnails gave out challenging glares at each other. Hitch saw they were about to fight, so he got in between the two sides. "Okay! This isn't what I had in mind!" he called out to them. "No fighting, no swords, and no unbelievably adorable catapults!" he scolded. "All we need is a schedule. The raccoonicorns can pick from the bush one day and then the Pegasnails on the other. You'll take it in turns. I'll be watching to make sure you all stick to it," he declared with a smile. One of the pegasnail soldiers was on the catapult, and it accidentally tossed the pegasnail over them and crashed to the other side. Later, Hitch finished the schedule and placed the sign down, with pictures of the Raccoonicorns and Pegasnails to take turns. "Trust me. This is foolproof. Rules and regulations fix everything," Hitch assured with a smile, while the Lead Raccoonicorn and the Lead Pegasnail looked at each other, not really convinced of Hitch's idea. Hitch: Come on! Got an issue (issue)? Got a problem (problem)? Did you know I got the thing that's gonna solve 'em? You need a guide, yeah, no substitutions So listen here and I'll give you the solution No time for playin', you must be selfless (yeah!) So we can make sure that everypony benefits And if we're gonna all win, no, we can't fool around We just gotta make sure that we write it all down We gotta all get along – we got a rule 4 that That's why I'm singin' this song – we got a rule 4 that We're gonna get the job done, don't forget to have fun As a matter of fact, we got a rule 4 that 'Cause we all gotta learn – we got a rule 4 that When everypony gets a turn – we got a rule 4 that Things are much better when we all work together Got a rule 4 that, we got a rule 4 that Hey, hey! Hey, hey! Oh-oh, oh-oh! (Come on!) Oh-oh, oh-oh! Hey, hey! (We got a rule 4 that!) Hey, hey! Oh-oh, oh-oh! Oh-oh, oh-oh! Throughout the song, the raccoonicorns and pegasnails were sabotaging each other in various ways. Hitch would always catch them in the act and put up various signs prohibiting such acts, but to no avail because the raccoonicorns and pegasnails kept fighting and fighting and fighting. Hitch started to feel overwhelmed by this fight since nothing he did to prevent them from fighting was working. A few moments later, Sunny came back carrying a basket full of apples. Knuckles arrived as well, holding a basket full of grapes in one hand and eating some with the other. "Um, how's it going, Hitch?" Sunny asked as she and Knuckles came to view, only for them to widen their eyes in shock. The raccoonicorns and pegasnails were fighting each other, while Hitch started to sweat and pant after spending almost the whole day trying to calm them. "It's, um... going pretty well?" Hitch tried to say and gave a weak laugh before he started to cry, losing it completely since this was going terribly. "Ha! Take that!" a pegasnail soldier called out as he and his comrade dropped dandelion against the Lead Raccoonicorn and one of his comrades with the catapult. "Dandelion incoming!" the Lead Raccoonicorn cried out while his comrade launched the catapult at the incoming rival. The garden turned into a small war zone since projectiles came flying back-in-forth, and Hitch, Sunny, and Knuckles watched with worried looks. "What the heck is going on here?!" Knuckles asked in a panic. "Ah! What did I do wrong?!" Hitch cried out, panicked. "I thought I could use my new critter communication skills to make a difference! But I just made things worse!" he cried out in a sad tone. Sunny came to her friend, and she placed a hoof on his shoulder for comfort. "It's okay, Hitch. You gotta try a different approach," she suggested with a smile. "And the quicker, the better; all this war, it's gonna mess up the berries," Knuckles pointed out. "Like a weekly roster instead of a daily one?" Hitch asked. "No," both Sunny and Knuckles said since that idea already demonstrated no use. "Why don't you try seeing what they have in common?" Sunny suggested. "Remember, there's magic in unity," she added with a smile. "Literally," Knuckles added with a little smirk. "See what they have in common…" Hitch repeated, then looked at a raccoonicorn soldier being attacked by a pegasnail on top of him, his head covered in dandelion. "Ooh! Ow! Ow! Watch the hair! Watch the fur!" the raccoonicorn cried out. Hitch looked back at his friends and placed a hoof on his chin. "Hmmm…" he hummed to himself, thinking of what these critters could have in common. The Lead Pegasnail led her comrades for a strike while carrying dandelions. "En masse! Pegasnails en masse!" she cried out. "Raccoonicorns, attack!" the Lead Raccoonicorn cried out to his comrades as they charged at the pegasnails. But before they crashed into each other, Hitch came in the middle of them with a table where he stood and looked at the two groups of critters with a frown while the fractions stopped their strike. "Hey, I'm battling here! What is this?" the Lead Raccoonicorn asked with a little anger. "This is the talking table!" Hitch answered, having enough of this battle between the critters. "We're going to sit around it, and we're going to talk this thing out! Now!" he yelled, very mad at their attitude. The Lead Raccoonicorn and the Lead Pegasnail sat at the table with Hitch. They started speaking in their animal languages, discussing their differences about the berry bush they’ve been fighting for. They exchanged angry chatter as Sunny and Knuckles watched, both worried and confused. "You know, there's this weird aura around Hitch that I only see in him every time he talks to critters," Knuckles said suddenly. "Aura? Like his sparkle?" Sunny questioned since they usually refer to it as a sparkle, or at least Izzy does. "No, not that thing Izzy sees in everyone else," Knuckles corrected. "It's... a weird aura that shines a little whenever he talks to animals. I don't know how to explain it better, it just shows up out of nowhere when he talk to the critters. It's like... like if he had this ability in another time..." he frowned. "I don't know what else you expect me to say..." he finished as he and Sunny looked back at Hitch and the discussion between the critters. "I hear you, but we all have to work together if we want––" Hitch tried to state to the critters but was cut off. "Work together?! Ugh! Impossible!" the Lead Pegasnail protested as she flew off the table. "Hey!" the Lead Raccoonicorn yelled out with offense. Lead Pegasnail and Lead Raccoonicorn yelled at each other again in animal language while Sunny and Knuckles watched back and forth between the arguments. "Oh, come on now," Hitch said, breaking the tension again, trying to calm the critters down. "There's gotta be something you both—–" he tried to add, but again, he was cut off. "Unless it's gotta do with baking, I don't wanna hear about it!" the Lead Raccoonicorn yelled angrily. "Oh! Baking?" the Lead Pegasnail said in shock and surprise as she landed back on the table. "I also love to bake!" she said with a smile. The Lead Raccoonicorn and the Lead Pegasnail looked at each other, then smiled with tears in their eyes and hugged each other as they cried joyfully. "Hey, bring it in here!" the Lead Raccoonicorn cried out as the Lead Pegasnail laughed. Hitch smiled at the two critters before turning to Sunny and Knuckles. "You were right, Sunny!" he said to his childhood friend as he walked to her and Knuckles, who were smiling at the new outcome. "Turns out they both love making berry-based treats, and now they're best friends!" he added, happy that the two critters' fractions are now friends and share the berries and other fruits for baking. "This is certainly an unexpected change of attitude, but a very welcome one as well!" Knuckles said with a smile. "I'm proud of you, Hitch," Sunny said with a smile, placing a hoof on Hitch's shoulder. "Me too, sheriff," Knuckles said, touching Hitch's back. "You truly are a creature charmer." Hitch smiled at his friend's comments. "Thanks, guys," he thanked with a smile, then turned to the other critters. "Hey. So, uh…" he started with a nervous smile. "... now can we pick some of those berries for our pie?" he asked them since they still needed some. The critters and the Leaders looked at them at first with blank expressions, but Sunny, Hitch, and Knuckles perfectly knew what was about to happen because the critters and Leaders glared at them and started throwing multiple things at them. Sunny and Hitch screamed as they ran away, while Knuckles followed and tried to avoid the attacks from the critters. "Forget what I say! They're not charmed at you!" he shouted in panic. The three got lost in the sunset while the raccoonicorns followed them very close, and the pegasnails got behind since they were too slow. As the critters got away from the garden, Sonic and Pipp arrived a few seconds later and saw all the signs and the mess. "Uh... what happened here?" Pipp questioned with confusion. "I have no idea," Sonic replied honestly, ducking and grabbing the basket with apples that Sunny left behind. "But whatever problem got into the garden, those three were here. There's a basket with apples," he said, showing the basket to Pipp. "And one with grapes," Pipp added as she ducked and picked up the basket Knuckles also left behind. "They didn't even get the schmoogleberries," she pointed out, looking at the schmoogleberry bush. "Well, wherever they are, we'll scold them later. Let's just pick the berries before Tails and Zipp lose their minds," Sonic said as he took an empty basket and collected some schmoogleberries. "Again..." he added with a bored expression. "Ugh, don't tell me! I don't want to hear those two complaining," Pipp said as she grabbed a basket and collected some schmoogleberries. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
20. One Trick PonyPink clouds with sparkles suddenly appeared, then cleared off, and Rufus appeared as a magician, floating in front of a crowd of ponies. "Behold! The awesome power of The Great Hoofdini!" Rufus announced to the crowd that only Izzy, Knuckles, and three fillies from each tribe were looking at their phones since they found Rufus' tricks boring. "Oh, hey, Rufus!" Izzy greeted, smiling and waving her hoof. "Hi!" Knuckles greeted as well with a smile. "Oh, that he floats in the air! Yes, as he levitates objects," Rufus said as he floated around and lifted a bunch of bushes and plants in a pot. "How does he do it? It’s Mare-aculous!" "Wow!" Izzy cheered with a smile, awed at his tricks. "Nice!" Knuckles added. "He clearly uses his wires," the earth pony filly named Seashell said with a blank expression. "Ponies have, like, real magic now," the pegasus filly named Glory said blankly while she and the other fillies walked off. "Okay, that was just rude, especially for kids of that age," Knuckles commented with a frown. Rufus dropped his allusions, revealing the wires and plants tied to him. "Ugh. Who am I kidding?" he said as he lowered himself back to solid ground with a sad expression. "Since real magic came back to Equestria, nopony is interested in my tricks," he said sadly. "WHAT?!" Izzy said, zooming right in front of Rufus while Knuckles came closer as well."That can’t be true, Ruf… I mean, Hoofdini!" she said with a smile as she placed a hoof on his shoulder. Then Rufus remembered some other times he tried to impress other ponies with his magic tricks. First, he made the bunny trick in the hat in front of an earth pony stallion and a unicorn mare, but they gave unamused expressions, and the bunny flew away since it had wings. Then, he made the trick of the rose behind the ear to an earth pony mare, but the mare rolled her eyes and stomped the ground two times, making appear many bushes of roses, which left Rufus in shock while the rose on his hoof died. Finally, he made an apple levitate with invisible wires, but he turned around and saw a unicorn mare levitating a whole house with little effort. The mare noticed that and chuckled a little. "Oh! Just helping them move house," she said to Rufus. "So where do you want it?" she asked the earth pony couple moving the house. After Rufus told them about the flashbacks, Rufus, Izzy, and Knuckles walked together. "See? All washed up," Rufus said sadly as he looked at the ground with sadness. Izzy and Knuckles gave him a sympathetic look, feeling bad for him. "Man, that sucks. I've seen many magicians retiring before but never forced to retire against their will," Knuckles said. "Come on, Rufus. You’re an Earth Pony. Why don’t you use your growy-growy plant magic? It is so cool!" Izzy suggested with sparkling eyes. "Whenever I try to grow plants, it takes forever when I forget to water them, and they all die," she added, remembering that she always forgets to water her plans. "That would not happen if you write a reminder on your phone or your calendar, Izz," Knuckles said to her with a bored expression. We have talked about this... 16 times!" he pointed out. But yeah, why not use your magic, man?" he asked Rufus, getting back to the topic before they took the conversation in the wrong direction. "I don’t have any magic," Rufus revealed with a sad look. "All I have are my tricks. And now, they belong in the garbage dump," he said, then lowered his head in depression. Izzy and Knuckles looked at Rufus sympathetically, then at each other before giving Rufus a comforting smile. "Lucky for you, my specialty is giving all kinds of things a second chance," she told Rufus. "I may not be an expert on helping someone find their place, but I would do what I can to help you with your problem, pal," Knuckles said with a smile as he touched one of Rufus' shoulders. The three arrived at Izzy’s scooter while the unicorn opened her compartment. "See? Garbage…" she started, taking out a bike steering piece and twirling it around. "... Into a fabulous… uh?" she continued, then stopped to think about what to turn the steering piece into. "Bow tie!" she announced, bending the bike steering piece into a bow tie. "Ta-da!" she cheered and placed the bent metal bow tie on Rufus, but he fell into the ground because of the weight of the bow tie. "Little heavy," Rufus pointed out with a little strain. "Well, you get the point, don't you?" Knuckles asked as he ducked to face Rufus. Then Izzy suddenly got in between their faces, and their cheeks smooshed together. "Come on! We're gonna turn you into something new and awesome, too!" she cheered with a smile. A bit later, Izzy and Knuckles took Rufus with Hitch to the Police Station at Maretime Bay. "So, a wannabe sheriff, eh?" Hitch asked with a smirk. "Well, it's an amazing job but very demanding," he advised them, opening his jail cage to show Rufus around. You have to be hyper-aware of your surroundings," he added, looking around. But then Rufus closed the cage door, locked it with the key, and swallowed the whole key chain in one gulp. Hitch, Izzy, and Knuckles looked at Rufus with shock after he ate the key. "Was that... Did you just swallow the key?" Hitch asked Rufus, who gave a sheepish smile in response. "Why would you do that?!" Hitch asked in shock. "Sorry," Rufus apologized with a little smile. "I'm an escape artist. Swallowing keys is what we do," he said, explaining one of the many tricks he performs on his magic shows. Hitch was not amused by this and glared at Rufus, seeing that his being a wannabe sheriff wouldn’t cut it, while Knuckles facepalmed in frustration. Izzy looked between them and gave a sheepish smile. "Cards, anyone?" she asked them with a nervous chuckle. Rufus took out his deck of cards and threw them around the cage. Knuckles shook some of the cards and looked at Hitch. "Hitch, my man, I appreciate our friendship ever since we met two months ago, so I hope that what I'm going to do doesn't affect that," he said to the sheriff, as Hitch looked at him confused. "What do you––" Hitch was going to ask, but then Knuckles literally ripped the cage door with his hands and put it aside as he walked out of the cage. "I'll pay you later for the damage," Knuckles assured as he walked off the station, letting the three ponies with their jaws drop as they looked at each other in shock. After that little mishap, they went to Zephyr Heights, where they told Queen Haven about Rufus and wanted to do something for his talents. Izzy explained the whole thing, making both Haven and Knuckles yawn since her explanation took too long. "And Hoofdini will do the best job of guarding the crown jewels," Izzy explained. Rufus cleared his throat and came close to Queen Haven. "What crown jewels?" he asked, then worked his magic tricks to poof Haven's crown and necklace away, which caused her to yelp in shock. "Where did they go? How did he do it?" he said with a smile, still repeating his act. "Thief! Guards!" Haven yelled out as Thunder and Zoom came by since she didn't take this magic trick well. Rufus poofed next to Izzy and Knuckles. Izzy began to panic, and Knuckles facepalmed again. "Uh... Okay! Gotta go!" Izzy cried out with panic as she grabbed Rufus and zipped away. "Just for the record, the jewels are back on your cabinet," Knuckles said before turning around. "He told me if you're wondering how I know," he added, and then he boosted out of the palace to catch up with Izzy and Rufus. A little bit later, once they made it to Bridlewood, they went to the Crystal Tea Room, where Rufus tried out being a tea maker with Alphabittle. Rufus shook the tea mixer, then turned to Izzy and Knuckles, who winked at him, feeling that this would be the one job he could do perfectly. Onyx and her bongo unicorn stallion friend were in front of Alphabittle. "Gimme a tea, Alpha-B. Peppermint B, pretty P," she ordered in a cool jazz tone as her friend played the bongos. Alphabittle nodded his head and turned to Rufus so he could take the order. "Comin' up!" Rufus called out as he brought a cardboard tube and lifted it to reveal a teacup. "Ta-daaaa!" he cheered. But before Onyx could get her tea, Rufus lifted a hoof to stop her and summoned another teacup. "Oh!" he said, then he thought for a minute, summoned another teacup, and chuckled. Onyx clapped her hooves, but just before she could get her teacup, Rufus summoned more tea cups all over his side of the table. "I ain't payin' for all these teas if you please," Onyx said, a little mad, while Alphabittle glared at Rufus. "Uhhh…" Rufus groaned from summoning so many cups while Izzy lowered herself to avoid eye contact, and Knuckles banged his head on the table with frustration. He then took a bag out of his quills, looked at the inside, took out 10 bits, and extended the rest of the bag to Alphabittle. "For the teas, thank you," Knuckles told the unicorn as Alphabittle levitated the bag with his magic. Knuckles slurped some tea from one of the cups to try and relax himself a bit. After Knuckles paid Alphabittle for the teas and drank them all, the three of them returned to Maretime Bay, while Rufus felt depressed since his tricks didn’t seem to fit anywhere. "Oh, this is hopeless," Rufus groaned in sadness and frustration. "My tricks never fit in anywhere. I might as well forget 'Hoofdini' and just be plain old Rufus," he added with sadness. "Come on, man. We can't give up now. There has to be... litter!" Knuckles tried to say, but he saw some litter on the street, then quickly grabbed it and threw it in a trash can. "This disrespectful ponies throwing litter..." he muttered, then faced Rufus again. "Where I was?... Oh yeah! As I was saying, there has to be something that fits you and your tricks; we need to find it," he said to him, then looked around with one hand covering his forehead. "Yeah! We just haven't found the right thing to uni-cycle you into yet," Izzy said in agreement with Knuckles. While they walked around Maretime Bay, they walked past the three fillies from earlier. "Ugh! Buffering?! We're missing Pipp's new livestream!" Seashell complained since their phones had been loading for an eternity now, and they didn't want to miss Pipp’s livestream. "You gotta hold your phone way higher than that!" Glory said, and then she flew away to get a better signal, with her friends losing sight of her when she flew into the sky. Rufus watched Glory fly off and sighed with frustration. "No wonder my magic doesn't impress anypony. Everypony can do it!" he pointed his hoof to Glory to prove his point while Izzy and Knuckles gave him a sympathetic look. Meanwhile, Glory looked at her phone in the sky and saw that she was high enough to get a connection since her signal bar went up to all five. "Yes! Full bars! Not going to miss a whinny of Pipp's new livestream!" she cheered as Pipp’s livestream started. "Hey, Pippsqueaks!" Pipp greeted her followers. "Still haven't figured out my amazing, show-stopping entrance. Sad face!" she said, giving a sad face before returning to a happy one. "Hit me up with your suggestions in the comments!" she advised her followers. "Ooh, I've got an idea!" Glory said, but before she could comment, a construction pegasus flew by and moved him out of his way. "Hey! Watch it!" the pegasus stallion yelled, while his push caused Glory to spin around. Glory gasped when she started to spin, and that spin caused her to drop her phone. She flew down to catch it, but once she got it, she twirled around and lost control of her flight. Then, since she was falling now, she started to scream. "Whoa! That pony! She's fallin'!" Rufus said with worry, while Izzy and Knuckles also worried about that filly. Seashell and her unicorn friend came to their side, seeing Glory falling from the sky. "Somepony! Do something!" Seashell cried out in worry, while Glory continued to scream while falling from the sky. "I got her!" Knuckles said as he started to charge up his SpinDash and boosted towards the pegasi, now gliding in the air and extending his arms so he could catch the filly, but he started to descend a little and unfortunately got off track. He crashed against a wall and fell into the ground, a little dizzy. "Knux!" Izzy cried out as she checked on the echidna. "I-I'm fine, Izz..." Knuckles assured, still a little dizzy. Izzy looked back at Glory with worry. "Look out!" she cried out and tried to use her magic to catch Glory to slow down her falling, but Glory was falling so fast that her magic wasn't working at all, and it ended up dying. "No use! She’s falling too fast! And Knuckles can't glide to catch her!" Izzy cried out as Glory kept falling and screaming. Rufus looked around for something to help and saw three vines on a building. And ran towards them and picked one up. "If only these vines were longer!" he cried. But then his Cutie Mark began to glow, and so did his hooves, while the vine he touched spread to the other vines, and his magic made the vines longer on top. Rufus gasped as he realized that not only did he unlock his earth pony magic, but he could also save Glory now. "Saddle-cadabra!" he called out as he used his magic on the vines. When Glory was about to hit the ground hard, Rufus caught her riding on the vines. He used the vines to move around on the vines, then jumped and summoned a bush on the ground that helped him land safely on the ground. He placed Glory down, and she smiled at her savior. Her phone landed safely in the bush as well. "Whoo-hoo! I knew it!" Izzy cheered to Rufus at what he just did. "You had earth pony magic all along!" she said to him with sparkling eyes. Knuckles arrived as he scratched his head a little in pain. "Auch..." he complained since his head still hurt from the hit on the wall. "Great job, man. I wish I could have helped more, though. My gliding is usually better." He felt bad for not helping out more. "Aw, it's okay, Knuckles. You did your best," Izzy said to him as she hugged him, glad that he was okay after all. "And Rufus has earth pony magic now! Isn't that just great?!" she cheered with sparkling eyes. "It sure is," Knuckles said, smiling a bit. "Congratulations, man. We told you you got it on you," he added. "Guess so! Just needed a good reason for it to start workin'!" Rufus said to them with a smile, glad to finally bring out his earth pony magic. Meanwhile, Seashell and Glory hugged each other, and Seashell felt glad that her friend was okay. "Hoofdini! You saved Glory! You're not just a magician! You're a hero!" Seashell cheerfully said to Rufus, thanking him for saving Glory. Rufus started to tear up with joy as Izzy and Knuckles smiled at him, and Izzy wrapped a hoof around him. "What did we say, huh?" she asked him with a smile. "Nothin' belongs on the garbage dump. Uni-cycle!" she cheered out. Knuckles then looked at Glory's phone, seeing that Pipp’s livestream was still going. He picked it up carefully since his hands were giant, and an idea popped into his head. "Aha! And for your next trick…" Knuckles said to Rufus with a smile. Izzy looked at Knuckles confused, then at the phone, and then she understood his idea as she looked at Rufus with sparkling eyes. Later that day, Pipp was still livestreaming, now in front of the stage of Mane Melody. "Shout out to my friend Hoofdini for this new, big, show-stopping entrance! It's magiiiiic!" she said with a big smile, singing the last part to her followers and pointing to Rufus, next to the stage with vines around him. Rufus used his magic to control the vines and use the stage controls, flipping a switch as they played the instrumental of 'Believe it', as the lights shone and the ponies around and Sonic - yes, he was there cheering too - watched in awe as the vines keep the show going and pressed buttons and switch, playing the music. Rufus, Izzy, and Knuckles - now an ice bag on his head to reduce pain from his head - watched with smiles at the performance while Rufus turned to his two friends. "What do you think, guys?" he asked them. "I'll say you found the right place for your tricks, Hoofdini," Knuckles said with a smile. "And it’s Mare-aculous!" Izzy cheered with a wink. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
21. My BananasIt was a nice sunny day in Maretime Bay while ponies were talking to each other. Passing by them, Sunny was on her roller skates, giving smoothies to the ponies around. Following her by flight was Tails, who started to work with her so he could get some money to buy materials for his inventions since Sonic was busy working on Zephyr Heights as the speed moderator for the Royal Guard, and Knuckles... he hung a lot with Izzy to help her with her Unicycling stuff. Sunny came to Posey and gave her a smoothie. "Morning, Posey. One tropical treat to go," she said to her, then moved slightly and stood before Dahlia. "Dahlia. Free banana berry blast?" she smiled while Dahlia nodded. "I’ll be right with you," she said, then headed back to her smoothie stand, but she slipped on a banana peel on the floor and tripped. "Whoa!" she shouted as she tripped into the air, and all the bananas and a couple of smoothies flew out from her cart. "Myyy Baanaanaasss!" she cried out while things were moving slowly. The ponies watched as the smoothies spilled to the ground. A family of pegasi were taking a picture together outside of Mane Melody. At the same time, an earth pony mare held the camera phone, but just when the picture was taken, Sunny got into the camera's view, and the picture taken showed her in a funny way from the trip. Sunny screamed and crashed into the ground, and a pile of bananas fell on her while the ponies around gasped. Tails also saw this and gasped as well. "Sunny!" he cried out, then boosted flying to her. Sunny poked her head out of the pile, and a banana peel slipped off her helmet and into her face. Sunny picked it off and held it with an embarrassed look. "Um... Sunny?" Tails called out as he looked at what was in front of her. Sunny looked in the same direction, and her embarrassment worsened since everypony saw that. At first, everyone was in shock, but then Posey started to laugh, and then everypony in the crowd laughed as well, finding Sunny's little accident funny. "Okay, so everypony saw that..." she said with a sheepish look as the crowd continued to laugh. She saw in all directions, and then Tails helped her get up. "Let's just, uh... Let's get you out of here, Sunny," he told her as they both boosted out and towards the Brighthouse. At the Crystal Brighthouse, Hitch, Pipp, and Zipp were watching something on the TV when the door opened, and Sunny and Tails came inside. Sunny was sad, while Tails had a hand over her shoulder to comfort her. "You are not going to believe what happened to me today!" Sunny said to her friends. "Did you do an epic fail in front of tons of customers and land in a big pile of bananas?" Zipp asked with an amusing smile. Hitch and Pipp did their best not to laugh but snorted a bit anyway. "Huh?!" Sunny cried out in surprise. "How did you guys know that?" Tails asked, confused. "Sunny's gone viral," Pipp answered. "Everypony is talking about it!" she said as she picked up the remote and changed the channel on the TV. The video immediately showed Sunny tripping, screaming, flopping to the floor, and getting covered in the banana pile. Then, Skye and Dazzle of the Zephyr Heights news appeared, and Skye cringed at the video. "Ooh, now that's embarrassing!" he said with a smile as he and Dazzle laughed from the video. "Let’s play that again," he requested with a smile while the video played again. "No!" Sunny cried out with her hooves on her face. And then Izzy started to sing behind her. "My bananas! Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na! My bananas!" she sang, then got to Sunny’s face and started to vocalize. "Sunny! Sunny! Break it down! My bananas!" she sang. Then she started to beatbox, waiting for Sunny to break down, but it didn’t come as Sunny was still upset. "Not helping, Iz," Tails said with a frown. "And it isn't that funny at all," he added. "What isn't so funny?" Sonic asked as he and Knuckles arrived with the rest. Knuckles, however, looked immediately at the TV, at the video of Sunny tripping, and snorted a bit. "Falling to a banana peel! What a classic!" he said with a smile, but then he faced Sunny with a neutral expression. "But now that I have context, yeah, it isn't so funny," he added. "Eh, I've seen worse trips," Sonic added with a neutral expression. "This... is... the... worst!" Sunny cried out as she got in front of the TV and changed the channels, but they all showed the same 'epic fail' of her. "Ugh, I'm everywhere! I'm supposed to be the Alicorn defender of pony unity, and now I'm a joke!" she said with sad puppy eyes. "Chill, girl. It's just a viral video of the internet, and the internet evolves quickly. Everypony will get bored about it eventually," Sonic said with a smile as he put a hand around her. "He's right, Sunny. These things happen all the time!" Hitch smiled, then approached her and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Trust me. In a couple of hours, they'll have forgotten all about it," he assured her. Sunny smiled at her two friends. Maybe they were right, and everyone would forget about the video... Or maybe not. Sunny was covered in her blanket at night and watched from her phone, which was still playing her 'Epic Banana Fail.' A song called 'My Bananas' was even played in the background while Sunny kept looking at her video. She tapped the screen and saw two ponies wearing banana hats, a guy wearing a banana suit, and then Dazzle in the news again. "'Sunny side down,' am I right?" Dazzle asked in a terrible joke, and she laughed. Sunny tapped the screen again, now feeling even more humiliated. Now she saw Posey on the screen, participating in some contest. "My bananas!" she called out as she pressed a button, then rainbow lights appeared behind her and the audience off-screen cheered. "Yeah!" Posey cheered as well. Then the screen went back to the news, and Skye appeared. "Not a 'smoothie' operator?" he joked and laughed. The screen changed to a Unicorn Filly holding a lunchbox with a batch of bananas, then to a Pegasus mare who gasped at Sunny's video, and then back to the news, where Dazzle appeared again. "Time for a banana 'splat'!" Dazzle laughed at her joke. Then the screen showed Queen Haven laughing after seeing the video. "My bananas!" she laughed out loud. "Slip of the 'peel'?" she joked. Sunny groaned in frustration and flopped to her bed, clearly seeing that the banana thing wouldn’t stop anytime soon. The next morning, Sunny was still lying in bed, embarrassed and covered in her blanket to hide herself, as her friends were beside her bed. "Maybe I was wrong..." Sonic said with a worried tone, looking at Sunny with worry. "Sunny, what about the smoothie stand?" Pipp questioned. "There's no way I'm going back out there," Sunny answered from inside her blanket. "It's too embarrassing," she added, not wanting to leave the Brighthouse. "Come on, Sunny. I get it's embarrassing for you, but you can't let this affect you!" Tails tried to resonate with her. "Yeah, what's the worst could happen?" Knuckles asked with a smile. "I can list a few things, but for Sunny's sake, I'm not going to do it," Sonic said with a bored expression, looking at Knuckles. "Come on," Hitch said with a comforting smile, returning to the topic. "It's not the end of the world. Hey, nobody even remembers that time I tried to arrest a baby raccoonicorn," he added, now with an embarrassed smile. A baby raccoonicorn held some gems and stood on a tree branch. Then, the branch tilted slightly when the baby raccoonicorn saw Hitch on it. "It's the end of the line, raccoonicorn!" Hitch cried out. "Time to—!" he tried to walk towards the baby, but the branch snapped. Hitch and the raccoonicorn fell, but then Hitch’s straps got caught in another branch, leaving him dangling while the baby raccoonicorn landed on him with the gems in his paws. The baby raccoonicorn hopped up and down, making Hitch yelp while the ponies around him saw everything. After Hitch told them that, a construction pegasus flew by through the window. "Hey, aren't you that 'raccooni-cop'?" he asked Hitch, who flinched at that old nickname. "Get out of here!" Hitch cried out as he covered the window with the sheets. He turned to see Izzy, Pipp, Zipp, and Team Sonic stifling, laughing at him. "Okay, bad example," he said with a bored expression. Sunny groaned because of this, and she flopped back to her bed since Hitch's idea didn't help her at all. "Just get back out there and act like you don't care," Zipp suggested with a smile. "Or just wear a disguise and start a new life!" Izzy strangely suggested. "Worked for me!" she cried out, which startled Sunny while Izzy laughed and flopped back into the ground. "Uh... You did that before?" Knuckles questioned with both worry and confusion, but he got no answer. "No!" Sunny yelled, a little freaked out by Izzy, but decided to ignore her. "It's hopeless!" she cried as she covered her face. "Looks like I'll have to stay here forever!" she muffled in the blanket with a sad tone. The rest looked at Sunny with sadness, feeling bad for her. Sonic, however, had a bored expression and got close to Sunny. "Well, this is ridiculous, and I have seen enough," Sonic said to her. Then he took Sunny’s blanket off, but he yelped once he saw her mane made a disaster. "Yikes!" he said in surprise. "Uh... Sunny, does your hair always look this bad in the morning?" Pipp asked, getting close to Sunny and Sonic. "Yes," Sunny replied, still looking sad. Sonic and Pipp looked at each other and nodded. "Okay, ponies, leave this one to us," Pipp requested as she motioned them out of the room. Sonic took out his phone, looked for something quick, and showed it to Sunny. "Look at this," Sonic said as Sunny took his phone to watch a video. The video showed Sonic and Tails testing one of the many portals they tried to open. Once Tails pressed the button to activate the portal, it exploded, and even though Sonic was fine, he was now covered in smoke. But that wasn't the worst of all: near them was an Ice Cream stand, and part of the explosion caused some ice cream to fly out and fall straight into Sonic's head. "Ten billion views. And that happened last week," Sonic said with a smirk. "It's called 'Sonic the Hedgehog's most epic fail so far," he added with a smirk. "So far?" Sunny asked. "Yeah, there's a few more, like, for example..." Sonic said as he moved to another video. This one showed him running as usual, but then he tripped with a rock that he somehow didn't see, rolled down the street, and crashed against a big sign that said 'Welcome to Maretime Bay'. "I would like to say I tripped with style, but I would be lying," he added again with a smirk. "Now watch this," Pipp said as she clicked on her phone and gave it to Sunny. The first video showed Pipp, Rocky, and Jazz singing their main song on the Mane Melody stage. "Try something new, take a chance, just—" Pipp started, but then she lost her balance. "Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!" she cried out, falling off the stage into the ground. The next video showed Pipp eating spaghetti, but as she slurped some of the noodles, the whole spaghetti smacked on her face and fell to the floor, leaving Pipp with some sauce on her face and a shocked look, then she looked around and putted on her sunglasses to avoid eye-contact. The next one showed Pipp vocalizing herself, but her voice cracked slightly. "The video was called 'Princess Pipp's Top Ten Most Epic Fails,'" Pipp explained to Sunny. "It has…" she started, cleared her throat, and continued. "... thirteen billion views," she pointed out, leaning on Sunny’s bed with a smile and shaking her tail. That last action made Sonic blush a bit, so he tried to ignore the movement and looked at Sunny, who was laughing at the other video of Pipp. "We may have embarrassing moments, but you can either feel ashamed for the rest of your life or laugh with the rest," Sonic said with a smile. "You see, Sunny?" Pipp said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "You've got to own your fails. If you play this right, they could remember for months," she said, but that just made Sunny groan. "Bad choice of words, Little Pipp," Sonic whispered at Pipp. "Look, Sunny. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" Pipp said with a smile. "And when life gives you bananas…" she said, while waiting what Sunny thought of this. Sunny thought for a moment before replying. "... make a banana smoothie?" she said in confusion since a line for bananas had never been said before. Sonic and Pipp looked at each other before gasping, as they both had the same idea. "That's it!" they both yelled in unison. "Leave this to us!" Pipp said to Sunny with a smile. "You won't regret this, I promise!" Sonic added, smiling as well. In Maretime Bay, the 'My Bananas' remix played on speakers on both sides of Sunny’s smoothie stand while the ponies around were carrying banana balloons, wearing banana hats, banana suits, and everything banana-related. The Pegasi family from yesterday was taking a picture, mimicking Sunny’s face when she tripped and wearing banana hats. As the sales continued, Rufus was selling banana plushies, some with unicorn horns on them. Clearly, Pipp and Sonic's idea was to use Sunny’s epic failure to start a festival to help Sunny accept this failure. Unknowingly to them, Sunny went through the crowd in disguise, wearing a fake mustache, glasses, and a hat with an 'S' on it, heading to the smoothie stand as quickly as possible. Pipp flew around the stand while she amplified her voice through the microphone. "You know her from the videos! You know her from the memes! You know her from the funky dance remix!" she said closer to the crowd with a little dance before backing up. "And if you like 'My Bananas'..." Sonic said to the crowd, arriving with a microphone as well. "'My Bananas'!" the crowd cheered to Pipp and Sonic. "... then you'll love her Oopsy-Doopsy Banana Smoothie!" Sonic finished while striking poses after each word of the smoothie title "Everypony, put your hooves together for... Sunny!" both Pipp and Sonic pointed out to Sunny, walking through the crowd. After Pipp announced her name, she stopped and looked back, taking off her disguise, giving a nervous smile to the crowd, and walking back to the smoothie stand. But what surprised her was that, instead of laughing at her, Seashell popped up with a gasp. "Sunny! Sign my banana!" she cried out while holding a banana plushie. "I want eighteen smoothies!" Dahlia cried out to Sunny. Sunny laughed a bit inside her stand. "I guess this wasn't such a disaster after all," Sunny said with a smile. She placed a banana in the blender to make a banana smoothie. "Thanks, guys." She thanked Pipp and Sonic for helping her make this epic fail better. "Of course. Anything to help," Pipp said with a smile. "Anytime, girl," Sonic said with a wink. But then the blender started to get a little too fast, and the three friends looked at it. It blended the banana so much that it popped open and splatted the banana juice on Sunny, Pipp, and Sonic's faces while the crowd of ponies gasped and took their phones out to take pictures of this moment. Then, Sunny, Pipp, and Sonic looked at each other and started to laugh out of this, since it was better to laugh at moments like this one. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
23. Another Pony's TrashSunny opened the window where a bird was sitting, but it flew away, and Sunny sighed in relaxation. "Another beautiful day in…Agh!" Sunny tried to say but was startled when a newspaper flew straight into her face. She turned away from the window and tried to get the newspaper off while her friends - having breakfast - stifled their laughter. Once Sunny got the newspaper off, she sighed in relief but then read the article on the paper. "'Maretime Bay Trash Heap of Equestria?' Huh? 'Filling Visiting Numbers Caused Chaos?'" Sunny read in disbelief. "Pfft, can you guys believe this?" Sunny asked with a snort. "As if Maretime Bay has a trash problem," she added, then wrinkled the paper and threw it through the window. "You just contradicted yourself by throwing that litter, Sunny," Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. "Litter? Not while I'm still alive!" Knuckles said as he jumped from the window, picked up the litter, and came back to throw it into a trash can. "These disrespectful kids..." The others looked at each other, knowing Sunny didn't know what was happening. "Um. Are you kidding? It’s like all over 'Clip-Trot,'" Pipp pointed out and showed a Clip-Trot video where the bunnies were dancing on the beach, but then a wave hit them, and the bunnies were washed up from the ocean with some trash on them. "And it’s not just trash. I’ve been getting a lot of complaints on how busy Maretime Bay is now," Hitch said to Sunny, then pointed to the board of complaints behind Sunny. "They are mostly from Posey, but still." "Why do you have your Complaint Board on here again?" Tails asked, as having that on the Brighthouse instead of in the station made no sense. "I have no more space back in the station..." Hitch replied with an embarrassed smile, scratching his head a little. "Unicorns are gasping too much at the views!" Posey’s voice was heard while each note said it all. "Pegasus wings created unwanted breezes! Unicorn smell!" After the smell part of a note, Posey poked her head through the window with an irritated look. "And another thing…Agh!" She got cut when Sonic threw her a pancake in the face. "No one cares, Posey!" Sonic yelled at her and then closed the window with a slam. Once he turned back to his friends, he cleared his throat and looked at Sunny. "Keep going, let's just pretend she never showed up," he said with a little smile. "Hey!" Posey yelled from the other side of the window while Sonic just rolled his eyes. "Oh, pony boloney, these news ponies always make things worse than they are," she assured the others. "I’m sure it’s just a big fuss over nothing," she finished, then turned around and walked out to her smoothie job. Hitch raised his hoof to stop Sunny, but he lowered it since she already walked out. Sonic came next to him. "Let her go, sheriff," Sonic said, touching his shoulder. "She's going to realize how wrong she is in a few seconds," he pointed out since he knew Sunny would see how bad the situation was in Maretime Bay. On the town streets, Sunny was dragging her smoothie cart and looked at the street in total shock, with her right eye twitching at sight: Maretime Bay was completely covered in the trash; ponies around were holding phone sticks and taking selfies; pegasi were flying around holding their phones at top speed; and earth ponies were dragging rickshaws with other ponies riding on them. Sunny walked by and looked around: she saw a raccoonicorn digging in a pile of trash in a recycling bin, then she saw Rufus trying to clean up the litter on the street, but a pony tossed a crumpled-up paper on the other crumpled up papers, which caused the rest to fall on the floor and made Rufus groan in frustration at this. Sunny got a nervous smile, looking at her surroundings. "See! Everything’s… whoa!" she was startled when a couple of fillies ran past her. "Fine!" she finished, shaking her hoof to let go of a piece of trash stuck on it. Then she looked at her other hoof and saw it got some trash as well, and then ducked when a newspaper was about to hit her, then a pegasus flew by, creating a breeze, then another pegasus flew by, and the breeze hit another newspaper on Sunny's head. She got the newspaper off of her face with a bored expression. "You’ve got to be kidding me," she said in a dead tone. Suddenly, an earth pony mare came before her, holding a selfie stick and carrying a cart full of them. "Selfie sticks! Get your selfie stick!" she announced with a smile. Sunny turned away, but another mare approached her with a megaphone in her hoof. "Megaphones! Get your megaphones!" she called out through the megaphone, which caused Sunny to cringe and back away from this. Sunny came near the edge where the view of the ocean was, but then she saw a stallion going fast and dragging a rickshaw coming at her. Sunny moved out of the way while the stallion passed by her, but then ponies around her were holding selfie sticks, blocking her way, and she ran off. And then a Unicorn colt was holding a selfie stick, but didn't notice an earth Pony mare with another in the rickshaw coming up fast at him. Sunny gasped and jumped in to grab the colt before he got hit by the cart. Sunny landed on her hooves after the roll and sighed in relief. Then, she checked at the colt, who giggled happily at Sunny. A newspaper hit him in the face, and Sunny chuckled sheepishly. "Okay. We may have a problem," she said, clearly seeing that Maretime Bay was a mess. Later, Sunny returned with their friends at the Crystal Brighthouse to tell them everything she saw. "Ponies. You were right," Sunny said to her friends with a sad look. "Maretime Bay is a trash heap!" she called out. "I’ve seen actual trash heaps that are much cleaner," Zipp whispered to Pipp. "Oil Ocean, it's the synonym of clean compared to Maretime Bay," Sonic whispered to Tails. "Well, I’m not going to sit around and watch our town turn into a complete disaster!" Sunny called out, pacing back and forth with a determined look. She faced her friends with the same look. "It’s time to take out the trash," she said with a dramatic smile. "Oh. But I took out the trash this morning," Izzy complained while Hitch was reading his sheriff book, and Knuckles ate some grapes behind her. "Not literally, Izzy," Tails clarified, coming next to her with a bored expression. "Oh! Yeah, that makes a lot more sense," Izzy answered. "Well, then, let's clean up this place before it gets worse," Sonic said with a smile. Then he turned to look at Hitch and Knuckles with a smirk. "And yes, guys. You can pick up lots of litter," he added. Hitch and Knuckles got up, smiling, crying joyfully, and hugging each other. "Music to my ears!" Hitch said dramatically. "We were born for this moment!" Knuckles said dramatically as well. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were walking past the ponies in Maretime Bay, wearing sunglasses, Izzy wearing her goggles, and a pair of green hats, each symbol of a mop and a broom. Two of Hitch’s animal crew were also there, with Kenneth holding a broom and McSnips beside Pipp. The ponies around them watched them with awe as the Mane 5 and Team Sonic stopped walking, and Pipp held out her phone to face Sunny and livestream the whole thing. "Listen up, Team Clean!" Sunny called out with a determined look. "If we want to live together, we’re going to have to work together!" she stated. "Clean every corner! Sweep every sidewalk! Mop every…. Uh? Moppable area!" she called out. Then, Sunny turned to Zipp and Knuckles. "Zipp, Knuckles, track down those litters!" she said to them, while Zipp brought out her magnifying glass and Knuckles brought a litter pickaxe. "Izzy, Tails, you’re on redecoration!" she said to Izzy and Tails with a smile, while both of them saluted and smiled back. "Hitch, Sonic, sort out the rickshaw problem!" she told them, while Hitch smiled and held up to a sign for 'Stop', and Sonic held one for 'Go'. "They'll never know who stopped them!" Sonic stated with a smile. When Sunny came to her, Pipp was holding the selfie stick with her phone, trying to take a selfie. "Pipp, selfie sticks," she said, while Pipp smiled at Sunny since she knew exactly what she needed to do. Now Sunny turned to Hitch's animal crew. "Critters… Just stay adorable," she said cutely to them with a smile, and the critters saluted in response. Sunny stood side by side with her friends, now ready for action. "Okay, Maretime Bay. Time to sparkle and shine!" Sunny announced. After a while, Zipp and Knuckles picked up the litter and put it in a trash bag on their backs. "This… is… disgusting!" Zipp cried out, grabbing a litter and placing it in her trash bag. "Who lives like this?!" she questioned herself, wondering who could live in a place that looks like a trash can. "People who have no sense of sanitation," Knuckles replied, picking up litter with his pickaxe and putting it in his trash bag. "Now I get why Hitch is always so strict with the litter," he added. "Yeah, me too," Zipp confessed as she picked up another litter. "Phew! That’s better," she said with a smile, but then a shadow appeared over her and Knuckles. They both turned and lifted their sunglasses, staring in shock at a mountain of trash that piled up in the trash bin with the raccoonicorns digging through it. Zipp's sunglasses fell off, and Knuckles let go of the pickaxe, both still in shock. "You’ve got to be kidding me," she said, staring at the insane amount of trash. "Sonic was right," Knuckles said, staring with disbelief at the mountain of trash. "Oil Ocean is cleaner than this town," he added. Meanwhile, Izzy and Tails were trying to put up some decorations for Maretime Bay, while Izzy tried to lift some lights on a building and Tails some posters to replace the old ones vandalized with some drawings. "Okay... Almost there…" Izzy said to herself, keeping her balance over a stool. "Just a little bit— Aah!" she cried out as her stool lost balance, and she tilted side to side, falling and screaming while a crash was heard, but luckily, only the stool broke off since Izzy was now tangled in light wires. "A little help here?!" she called out. "Coming!" Tails said as he quickly arrived with the unicorn and started to untie her from the lights. Hitch and Sonic tried to keep order in the rickshaw problem on the street in front of Mane Melody, but nopony listened. "Hey! Slow down, pal! Hey! Order! ORDER!" Hitch called out to the ponies, but then he twirled around when a rickshaw hit him. He twirled until Sonic helped him to stop. "There you go, sheriff," Sonic said with a little smile. "Man, this is disrespectful on so many levels..." he commented, looking around with a frown. However, Pipp was livestreaming how to clean up Maretime Bay and hold the selfie stick properly. "See? It's super easy. Like this," she said to the viewers, but then two colts, a unicorn, and a pegasus, were clashing selfie sticks as if they were swords and playing around. Pipp saw this and gasped in shock. "Oh. Oh, no. Oh! Oh, be careful! Oh! Look out!" she cried out, and she chased after the two colts. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic regrouped. They felt tired and sweating from cleaning and maintaining order, especially since it wasn't working. "It's no good, Sunny. We need more help," Hitch said with a worried expression. "This is getting out of our hands," Sonic admitted, wiping sweat with a towel. "There's so much garbage. The town's about to explode!" Zipp cried out. "So much litter, I'm gonna explode..." Knuckles said with desperation. Then, the grown started to rumble, and the Mane 5 and Team Sonic saw a bunch of ponies coming at them in a stampeding fashion, with Posey leading the rest with a determined expression while the ponies surrounded the Mane 5 and Team Sonic. "Um... Posey?" Sonic asked, a little confused. "What the heck is going on here?" he added. "W-What's all this?" Sunny asked, wondering why there were so many ponies there. "We saw Pipp's video," a pegasus stallion answered, holding his phone and playing the video Pipp uploaded about Sunny telling them to work together to clean the town. "Pretty inspiring stuff," a unicorn mare said with sparkling eyes while the other ponies smiled. "We're here to help clean up!" Posey started as she stepped in front of Sunny. "If we want to live together, we're gonna have to work together—" Sunny cut her off. "Yeah, yeah, we remember the speech," Sunny said to Posey, giving her a grateful smile. "Wow. Okay, um... Izzy!" Sunny called out to her unicorn friend. "Get these ponies some 'Team Clean' caps!" she told her while Izzy saluted with a smile and placed some 'Team Clean' caps on Posey and some other ponies. "Alright, everyone! It’s time to clean up Maretime Bay like there's no tomorrow!" Sonic called out to the ponies. "There's no tomorrow?!" an earth pony mare asked in a panic, then ran off screaming. The Mane 5, Team Sonic, and the other ponies watched the mare go with a strange look while Sonic facepalmed. Zipp and Knuckles motioned the unicorns to help lift the pile of trash. They levitated trash from the ground, while the pegasi carried bags as the unicorns put the trash in them. Rufus skied down a mountain of trash, picked the litter, and put them in the bags on his side. Meanwhile, a pegasus mare sweeps the floor for the dirt that the pile of trash left behind. In another section, Izzy and Tails were putting up a can of decorative soda cans to make the street look good, but when she was about to tie it up on a streetlight, a can tilted and spilled some soda content left in it. Izzy looked down and saw a colt drinking the contents since some still had soda. Later, a traffic light was set up and turned on. The ponies stopped after seeing the traffic light, and Hitch and Sonic smiled now that the streets were in control. Then they saw Jazz and Rocky doing a victory dance while Jazz laughed, and the four ponies, two dragging the other two on the rickshaw, watched on and bobbed their heads. Pipp showed the fillies around her how to use the selfie sticks as they took pictures from their phones. In front of them were another group of ponies and a pegasnail holding selfie sticks. Pipp clapped her hooves with a smile at their great work. Sunny smiled at the ponies working together while cleaning Maretime Bay. The rest of the Mane 5 also smiled while their Cutie Marks started to shine, and Sunny levitated. Then, her alicorn magic activated, and her wings and horns appeared. Sunny smiled. "Their Cutie Marks shine sometimes..." Tails pointed out, looking not only at Sunny but also at the rest of the Mane 5. "Yeah, I guess it's some kind of pony thing or something," Sonic said, smiling at Sunny. "Should we worry about that?" Knuckles questioned. "Nah, what's the worst that can happen with glowing tattoos on their butts?" Sonic added with a relaxed smile, but he didn't believe in his own words for some reason. A little bit later, in front of the old Canterlogic building, Sunny walked in front of the stage while her friends—sins Team Sonic, who decided to be part of the crowd this time—were around her, facing the crowd of ponies. "Everypony, today is a wondrous day!" Sunny called out as she spread her wings. "Tuesday?" Rufus asked with a smile, while Knuckles patted his back with a little smile since he was standing beside Rufus, alongside Sonic and Tails. "Yes! Thank you, Rufus," Sunny said to him with a smile. "But it's also the day we proved that ponykind can live together in unity! So long as we clean up once in a while," she called out, which resulted in the crowd cheering at her. "So I hereby announce the brand-new yearly Cleanup Carnival!" she called out, unraveling a sign that showed three ponies, each from one tribe, carrying cleaning tools as the crowd cheered on. "A special day to clean Maretime Bay from head to hoof. All overseen by 'Team Clean'!" Sunny added as she and her friends lifted their hooves, and the crowd cheered to the Mane 5. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," Rufus said proudly. "I liked cleaning before it was cool," he said with pride as Knuckles patted his back again. "Make that two, pal!" Knuckles called out with a smile as he fist-bumped Rufus. THE END Author's Note Just because I feel like I have to, I'm dropping my HC for the Mane 5 ages. Sunny and Pipp are 24 years old, Hitch and Zipp are 25 and Izzy is 26. As for Team Sonic, I won't tell. Just know that, in both groups, Tails is the youngest one and Knuckles the eldest. Don't worry, I do tell Tails age on Sonic x Make Your Mark, but you'll have to wait to find out :) P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
24. Starscout CodeIt was a nice day in the Brighouse, and the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were doing a little spring cleaning. They also helped Sunny organize some things in the process. Sunny and Tails walked to the center of the living room and smiled as they watched their friends help with the cleaning. "You gotta love spring cleaning." "Absolutely!" Tails said with a smile, holding a list and a pencil. "And nothing beats cleaning in an organized way!" Then, Sunny saw Zipp holding her old roller skates from when she was a filly. "Aw. My first roller skates. Keep," she said with a smile, spinning one of the wheels that popped out and hit Sunny in the forehead before bouncing and crashing into something. "Or maybe recycle," Sunny said with a sheepish smile. Pipp picked up a big hat, which she found weird that Sunny even had. "Donate!" Sunny suggested. "Izzy! What do you wanna do with all these nosy-glowy gems?" Hitch asked as he walked in with a box with gems on his back. "Sorry, Hitch. We asked for those, actually," Sonic said with a sheepish smile. He grabbed the box and ran upstairs to put it on Tails's working desk. "Yeah, we still need to do more tests on a portal to get home..." Tails said with a nervous chuckle. "If we can make it work, that is, and if we already defeated Eggman, of course." "Okay..." Hitch said, a little doubtful. "But, where is Izzy anyway?" he asks as the rest look around for their unicorn friend while Pipp is wearing the hat to post a picture to her Pippsqueaks. "Uh, Izzy?!" Hitch called out again. Then they heard someone grunting and looked upstairs to find Izzy trying to open a closet with her teeth. "I almost got it," Izzy grunted. While the rest looked at her weirdly, Sunny looked worried since she knew what was in the closet very well. "Izzy! No!" Sunny called out, but it was too late. Izzy finally got the closet door open, but then piles of junk burst out, and it rivered downstairs with Izzy in tow, hitting the three ponies and the fox as they screamed. Izzy popped her head out of the pile and gave her usual cheery smile. "And for my next trick, let's do that again!" she cheerfully told her friends. The rest also popped out of the junk pile, and Tails felt anxious. "It was all perfectly organized..." he said with a scary and sad tone. "Now we have to start over from scratch..." he said, as he dramatically fainted on the pile. "How can you even put so much stuff in one closet?" Knuckles questioned as he shook Tails, who started to wake up. Sunny rubbed her head, then gave a sheepish smile. "I just couldn’t decide what to throw away or what to keep," she replied, a little embarrassed. "Off-topic: should that thing be glowing?" Sonic asked, suddenly arriving at Sunny's side and pointing to something glowing in the ground. Sunny walked close to it and unwrapped it, seeing what looked like an earth pony-themed blanket with a throne, crops around, an earth pony, and an echidna resembling Hitch, his critters, and Knuckles. When she unwrapped it, Sunny saw something else behind the blanket, which appeared to be a film player. She picked it up to look closer, but it fell from her hoof. When it hit the floor, it turned on and showed a film on the wall of Sunny's father, Argyle Starshine. The rest of her friends, near the wall where the film started to play, saw this in shock. "Surprise, Sunny-Bunny," Argyle said in the film, waving with a smile. Sunny gasped at the film as it showed an image she hadn't seen in a long time. "Dad?" Sunny asked with a heartfelt expression as tears formed in her eyes. "I guess you found the old family blanket. Quite something, isn’t it?" Argyle guessed, adjusting his glasses. Sunny walked closer to the film with the same expression while her friends huddled around her. "It’s actually an ancient pony artifact, passed down from ten generations," he explained the true purpose of the blanket. "Other pieces were hidden in Zephyr Heights and Bridlewood years ago," he said, while Sunny looked at her friends to check if they knew about this but got a 'no' reply. "One day, magic will return. And Sunny, I know you will be the one to do it," he said to his daughter. Sunny gave a teary smile and wiped a tear, and her friends looked at her with a smile. "It's even happier when you know that it already happened," Sonic said with a smile. "But even still, it will take the whole family to get the other pieces," Argyle said in the film. "Whole family?" Sunny asked in confusion, facing the film with teary eyes. "But it’s just me now..." she said with sadness. The rest of her friends looked at each other and then gave Sunny a sympathy look since she didn’t have any family left by blood. Zipp turned off the film player and then sniffed the ancient blanket. "This smells... like a mystery!" she announced with a smile. Sonic smiled and placed his arm around Zipp, giving the blanket a closer look. "It smells more like an adventure to me!" he announced, grabbing the blanket momentarily. "Time for another treasure hunt!" he added, ready for another adventure. "That’s right, Sonic! Come on, everypony!" Sunny called out, placing the blanket on her back and trotting off with the rest of her friends following her. Later, Queen Haven, Thunder, and Zoom walked around Zephyr Heights peacefully until they saw the Mane 5 and Team Sonic running towards her. "What a wonderful surprise," Haven said with a smile, walking close to her daughters and Team Sonic, who were the first to arrive. The rest of the Mane 5 caught up, out of breath, since they had to run the rest of the way. "Queen Haven!" Sunny called out through her panting. "We need to ask you! " She stopped and showed the blanket to Haven. "Wow! That blanket!" Haven said, recognizing it. "My throne room hasn't looked like that in centuries! Wherever did you––?" she tried to ask but got cut off when Zipp zipped in when she mentioned the throne room. "The throne room! I knew it looked familiar!" Zipp said with a smile. "Thanks, Mom!" she thanked her mother as she and the other Mane 5 zoomed past her to get the other piece. Haven looked confused as she watched the Mane 5 go. "Y-You're welcome, darling! I think," she said. "Excuse them, your majesty," Sonic said since he and the rest of Team Sonic were still there. We're on a quest again, but it doesn't need to steal or break up anything this time," he assured her with a smile. "Hopefully," he added, now unsure that nothing would break. Later, the whole group made it to the throne room, where Sunny looked at the blanket and then at Haven's throne. "Huh. I guess that's where the next piece is?" Sunny asked with a little doubt. "How do we––?" she got cut off when Izzy walked by and cleared her throat to gain their attention. "I've got this, ponies. Open sesa-pony!" Izzy called out as she used her magic to levitate Haven’s throne, but she started to strain since it was too heavy to lift. "Any... minute... now!" she strained as Haven’s throne started rumbling side to side. Zipp looked on and smirked as she looked at her sister. "Hmmm…" she muttered, using her head to tell Pipp something. Pipp saw the gesture and smiled. "Mom's not going to like this!" she said, and then the two sisters flew to the throne. And now Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp were straining while they tried to lift the throne, but it was still too heavy. "This is painful to watch," Tails said as he scratched an arm slightly. Sunny watched her friends straining and then looked at the blanket, focusing on the figure of an earth pony. "Hitch! We need earth pony magic, too!" she said to Hitch. Hitch walked in front of Sunny with a confident smile on his face. "Say no more, Sunny. Critters, roll out!" Hitch ordered as two of his crew birds posed beside him before going in front of the throne. "Now... lift!" he ordered as the two birds tried to lift the throne, but they suddenly got thrown to the ceiling, with the rest watching in surprise. "Hitch, I, um... meant our other earth pony magic," Sunny pointed out while the two birds landed on Hitch. "Yeah, that... makes more sense," Hitch said, giving Sunny a sheepish smile. "Good hustle, team," he said to his critters, thanking them for their efforts. Sunny and Hitch summoned their earth pony magic as their hooves glowed, and they stomped them down on the ground as vine roots began to lift Haven’s throne a little, but it still didn't get up. Tails then looked at the blanket again and noticed something that made him gasp. "Knuckles! We need your muscles, too!" he called out to his equine friend. "It'll be my pleasure," Knuckles said with a smile as he cracked his knuckles and got behind the throne. Once he started to grunt, the throne finally started to lift. Once it elevated completely, a new piece of the blanket was revealed. Sunny picked up the piece and unraveled it to see that it had three ponies, a hedgehog, and a fox. One pony at the bottom looked like herself in her alicorn form, with the hedgehog next to her looking like Sonic. Two pegasi over them looked like Zipp and Pipp flying alongside the fox, which looked like Tails. Also, this piece was shining. Izzy got next to Sunny, and she gasped when she saw something familiar on the blanket. "I know that place!" she cheered out, but she lost her concentration as the throne stopped levitating and crashed over Knuckles, breaking into pieces. The Mane 5 and Team Sonic looked at the destroyed throne worried, but Pipp and Zipp were the most worried ones, as Knuckles pocked his head out of the destroyed throne and looked at it in shock. "Um, we should probably…" Zipp stammered. "Yes! Let's!" Pipp agreed with her sister. "Gotta go fast!" Sonic called out as he grabbed Knuckles's arm, and they all left the castle. The palace doors opened, and Haven came in. She looked in shock at her throne, now destroyed. "My throne! Guards!" she called out, wanting the guards to fix the throne as soon as possible. After escaping Queen Haven’s wrath a while later, Izzy led her friends to another part of Bridlewood that looked like a swamp with bubbles popping and big crystals all around. "Ta-daaaaa!" Izzy cheered, but her friends Sonic and Knuckles cringed in disgust since they found the swamp disturbing. "I told you! Just like the picture! Let's see if I remember how it works..." she said as she approached the big crystal. "Uhhhh... uni-cadabra!" she called out, and once she touched the crystal, it began to glow and make chiming sounds. Then, one by one, the crystals all around the area started chiming in a pattern. The rest watched in amazement, and their disgusted thoughts of the place vanished once they saw the crystals glowing. "Whoa…" Hitch said with awe. "It's beautiful!" Sunny called out with sparkling eyes. "I'd say it again: you ponies never cease to impress me!" Sonic complimented with a smile. "Ready, ponies?" Izzy called out to her friends. "Once I hit the big gem, you have to hit all the others in order, okay?" she instructed them on what to do. Sunny came next to one gem and hit it as it chimes. "Ohhhh. Like Just Prance!" she clarified, remembering the dancing game she entered to get the Unicorn Crystal. Hitch touched another crystal, which glowed in red and made an off-key chime. "Only bigger, harder…" he pointed out. "And muddier!" Pipp cried out because she got mud on her hooves, and then Sonic returned and cleaned up one of them. "We've got this," Zipp confidently said to the group. "Let's do it!" Tails stated with a smile. "Well then... uni-kazam!" Izzy announced and pressed the big crystal, signaling her friends to start. The Mane 5 and Team Sonic got off to the wrong start, as multiple off-key chimes occurred as they hit the wrong crystals. Sunny looked around, following the pattern, until she pointed to one for Zipp to hit. Once she did, a harmonious chime came out of it, saying it was right. The group looked at each other, knowing what they needed to do. Izzy then pressed the big crystal to restart. This time, the group hit the right crystals since multiple harmonious chimes were coming out of them. Pipp and Zipp find the last crystal that needs to be pressed, so they fly off as fast as possible to press it. However, they crash into a bunch of vines that tangle them up. "Whoa, whoa!" Zipp called out from the vines. "Ew, ew, ew, ew!" Pipp was grossed out to have swamp vines wrapped around her. Sonic saw this and tried to run to hit the last crystal and help the sisters, but his feet got stuck in the mud. "Are you serious? Right now?!" he complained. Then, he remembered that the second piece of the blanket had Tails on it, so he looked at him. "Tails! Try to catch the crystal!" Sonic called out. Tails then looked at the crystal and gave a determinate look. He prepared his Tails, twirled them around, and boosted out, flying towards the crystal. Some vines appeared in front of him, but he smirked and used his tail as a pruner to cut the vines out of his way, and then he touched the crystal, sweating a little but smiling as well since he made it in time. He then looked at the sisters and boosted, flying towards them, then used his tails as a pruner again to free them from the vines and flew back with the rest as Zipp and Pipp followed him. "Go, Tails!" Hitch congratulated them as they regrouped. "Did you see that?!" Izzy asked in excitement. "You did it!" Zipp exclaimed to Tails. "Way to go, little bro!" Sonic said as he hugged Tails from behind, and the young fox giggled. "Great work, Tails!" Knuckles congratulated with a smile as well. But then, rumbling started as a chest came out of the ground and sparkled. Sunny opened the chest, and she smiled with sparkling eyes, picking up the last piece of the blanket with a picture of Maretime Bay and a unicorn that looked like Izzy. The group returned to the Crystal Brighthouse sometime later, and Izzy was putting the blanket pieces back together with her sewing skills. While the rest waited, Zipp and Sonic could hardly contain their excitement. "Is it done? Come on! Let me see!" Zipp said in excitement as she flew around Izzy. "Please, Izz! I can't take it anymore!" Sonic said with a smile, running around the unicorn. "And... presto!" Izzy called out as she spread the blanket. Now that they had the full picture, they saw a blanket with the Mane 5 and Team Sonic in the three of their tribe's hometowns, with Sunny and Sonic in the middle and Sunny in her Alicorn form. "Well, that is something," Hitch said in amazement as the blanket glowed. "It's hooftag #Vintage!" Pipp cheered as she took a selfie with the blanket on her phone. "It's... us," Sunny said with a smile as they saw the blanket. "I believe destiny wanted us to reunite, one way or another," Sonic said with a smile. "I guess ending on Equestria wasn't an accident after all; it had to happen if this thing was made before we arrived here, of course," he pointed out. "Like some kind of prophecy?" Tails asked. "Yeah," Sonic replied with a smile. "Now I feel glad to have activated that machine, except for the part where I scared these two for six months," he added, hugging both Tails and Knuckles. Then, Sunny accidentally hit the film player with one of her hind hooves, which resumed Argyle’s filming. "Now, you're probably thinking our family's a little too small to do all this," Argyle chuckled as the Mane 5 and Team Sonic watched the film, and Sunny paid close attention to her father's words. "And you'd be right. But 'family' is just a fancy word for ponies that always stick together," he said, as he picked up Filly Sunny, wrapped in the blanket as she snuggled close to her father in her sleep while Sunny watched with a heartfelt expression and tears forming in her eyes. "Your friends can be a family you choose. And Sunny, hoof to heart, I know you'll find that someday," he finished. Sunny then gave her father a teary smile and looked at the rest of her friends, who were smiling in return, knowing that Sunny had friends to be there for her. Sunny then looked at the film of her father one last time. "I already did, Dad," she said to her father as she smiled tearfully. The rest of the cast comforted Sunny while Argyle cuddled his young daughter in the film. On a distant hill, where the Brighthouse could be seen, a robotic camera zoomed in on the Mane 5 and Team Sonic hugging while it looked specifically at Sonic and Sunny, gathering some info on them. It's then revealed that Metal Sonic has somehow reactivated himself, using lots of trash and damaged pieces as body parts. He was ditched in a dumpster after Team Sonic defeated him on Zephyr Heights. "Objectives located," Metal said to himself. "Current mission: Kill Sonic the Hedgehog and Sunny Starscout. Mission status: Ongoing. Success rate: 89.4%. Pending missions: Steal the Unity Crystals and the Chaos Emeralds. Current status: damaged, must repair main functions immediately," he said to himself. He then zoomed back at the Brighthouse, but now at the Unity Crystals, and if he had a mouth, he would be giving a mischievous grin right now. "Soon enough, I'll get my revenge, Hedgehog," Metal confidently stated. "And as for you, Sunny Starscout, it would be a pleasure to meet you finally... too bad I'm going to have to kill you, tho. We won't have enough time to meet," he added, chuckling a little. "Until that moment arrives, enjoy the last few days of peace you and your friends would have..." he finished as he started to walk away from where he was standing. THE END...? Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
25. Pony PartayIn the Crystal Brighthouse, Pipp was doing a mane wig makeover, placing a couple of flowers on the wig with a smile at her accomplishment. "Hooftag #Gorgeous," Pipp said, and then an explosion was heard while glitter got on Pipp's mane and the wig. Pipp turned around and saw Izzy, covered in glitter, with a big cannon beside her. "Glitter Cannon! At the ready, captain. Oohh!" she said with a salute and a cheery smile. Pipp looked confused at Izzy and shook the glitter off of her mane. "What?! Why do we need a glitter cannon?" she asked. "For Sunny’s party," Izzy answered with a smile. It was Sunny's birthday, and her friends were planning a party for her. Zipp then zoomed in through the kitchen window and did a loop, wearing roller skates and a helmet with her signature colors. She landed on the ground in front of her sister with a smile. "The skate ramps are all secured. This party will be epic!" she stated since Sunny loved roller skating. "Skate ramps?!" Izzy and Pipp cried out in shock, as this wasn't part of the plan. And then Hitch danced his way to the group while humming a tune to himself, wearing a purple sparkle neck collar, a red sparkle party tie, and party glasses. "Hey! The dance floor’s all ready for…" he tried to say but got cut off when Izzy, Pipp, and Zipp looked at him in shock. "... Sunny’s party?!" the three mares cried in unison. "No, no, no. We agreed to throw her a 'makeover' party!" Pipp pointed out with a little frown. "Uh, no! You said an 'awesome' party!" Zipp said, glaring at her sister. "An awesome art party," Izzy pointed out, carrying a paintbrush and a wooden palette in her hooves. "But I already choreographed a ground dance number!" Hitch said with a nervous smile. "I already built a skatepark!" Zipp complained. "What in the name of Chaos is going on here?" Sonic called out while the group turned to see Team Sonic standing at the kitchen entrance. Sonic stomped on the floor and crossed his arms while Tails and Knuckles looked confused. "It's that a glitter cannon?" Knuckles asked as he pointed at the cannon beside Izzy. "Yup!" Izzy replied with a cheery smile. "We were supposed to make Sunny's Party! But we all made different things for her!" Zipp explained with worry. "So you don't remember who gave the idea of the party, and now you planned four different parties..." Tails summarized with a confused look. "And I thought we didn't know how to organize ourselves," he added, looking at Sonic and Knuckles. "What about you guys? Have you planned something for her?" Hitch asked Team Sonic. "Nah, we're terrible on that aspect," Knuckles said with a neutral expression. "Yeah, we just made a little gift for her, and we'll give it to her eventually," Tails added with a smile. "Getting back on the topic, what kind of party do you want to make for Sunny?" Sonic asked the rest of the Mane 5. "Makeover party/Art party/Awesome party/Dancing party!" the ponies all yelled in unison. "What?! No!" they all cried out again. "Yeah, that doesn't help at all..." Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. But then they all heard the Brighthouse's door open, and they knew what that meant. "Oh no! Sunny’s back!" Hitch cried out in fear. "Okay! New plan: We’ll all throw our own party for Sunny!" Pipp declared with determination. "After all, four parties are better than one, right?" she asked her friends with a smile. "Right!" The group, except for Team Sonic, agreed to Pipp's plan. "Oh, Little Pipp, you're so adorable sometimes that I could squeeze you," Sonic said with a soft smile, which caused Pipp to blush a lot, while Zipp at her side snorted a bit. "But let me be honest here: that is a terrible idea that I'm not going to support," he said, now frowning and with his arms crossed. "Yeah, this should not be done in a rush," Knuckles pointed out. "Come on, guys. This is Sunny’s birthday, which we’re talking about. What can go wrong?" Pipp asked with a confident smile. Sonic immediately looked at her, almost saying, 'Really?' with his face. Knuckles gave a bored expression, and Tails took out a little notebook and a pen. "Want me to write the 237 things that can go wrong with this plan?" Tails asked rhetorically, with a bored expression as well. "NO!" the four ponies replied to him. "This is going to bite us in the rump later," Sonic said to himself. "Fine! Do your plan and make the parties for Sunny. We still have to finish up the gift for her," he added, still unconvinced of the idea, but he knew they wouldn't listen for any reason. At the front door, Sunny came in and sighed in relief since she had a good day today, but then she screamed in surprise when she saw her friends with party decorations and birthday signs around the main room of the Brighthouse. "Surprise!" the rest of Mane 5 and Team Sonic called out to Sunny. "I hope you’re ready for the best parties ever!" Pipp said with sparkling eyes and a smile, singing the last part. "Oh!" Sunny said with a smile and sparkling eyes. "That’s so…" she got cut off when Izzy grabbed and dragged her off. "Aaahhh!" she cried out from the sudden snatch. "Do you still feel this is going to end badly?" Knuckles asked Sonic. "Yup," Sonic replied with a bored expression. Sometime later, Sunny and Izzy painted with McSnips-a-lot as their model while the crab sat on a chair with a scar around him. "Aw. Thanks, Izzy." Sunny thanks her unicorn friend. "I do love a good crafternoon!" she jokes. Izzy laughed at Sunny’s pun as well. "'Crafternoon'! Oh, Sunny!" she said while she painted McSnips on her painting board. However, her painting was childish, while Sunny’s was more detailed and professional. Sunny and Izzy cheered with their smoothies as they slurped some down. Mane 5: Party, party, party Then, Zipp suddenly appeared between the two ponies wearing a headband. "You know what this party needs?" she said to the two ponies. "The element of danger!" she declared as she grabbed Sunny and dragged her out. Outside the Brighthouse, Sunny got into her roller skating gear and raced against Zipp at a fast paste. So tonight we’re gonna party So throw your hooves up, everypony We got that glitter, gonna roll It's time to glow up the disco 'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party, oh yeah Once they finished the race, Sunny took off her helmet and smiled. "This is so cool!" she cried out with excitement. And then Pipp popped up between them, which slightly startled them. "Glamor waits for nopony! Come on, Sunny!" she cheered, holding two makeover brushes and hugging Sunny. Team Sonic watched the whole race and the scene with Pipp showing off. "Well, everything is going well so far!" Tails cheered with a smile. "Watch it fade when the smoke rolls in, little bro," Sonic warned him, which made both Tails and Knuckles look at Sonic confused. "You'll get it eventually, guys," he added. Sometime later, back inside the Brighthouse, Pipp got Sunny in a chair and put on some makeup. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Then Pipp got Sunny to try out three kinds of mane wigs to see how she looked. The fourth wig was pink and had yellow flowers on it. Sunny smiled at her new look with sparkling eyes. "I like it," she said to Pipp with a smirk. "Of course you do," Pipp replied and smirked back. Party, party, party Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Pipp reclined Sunny’s, laying her down and applying mod makeup on her forehead while Sunny sighed in relaxation. "Oh, I needed this," Sunny said relaxedly while Cloudpuff flew wearing a red bowtie and holding a drink for Sunny. "Say 'hooftag #BeautyGoals'!" Pipp said to Sunny, holding her phone. Sunny posed in the camera, but as Pipp took the picture, it showed Hitch grabbing Sunny, which startled her, and when Pipp put her phone down, Sunny was gone. "Hey!" she cried out with a frown. Hitch danced beside Sunny on the dance floor, who was a little surprised. So tonight we're gonna party Hitch lifted his hoof while Sunny smiled and clapped her hoof with Hitch’s. "Crazy noodle! Unicorn-a-conga!" he called out as Sunny joined and danced with him. After a while, they faced each other with smiles while Sunny had sparkling eyes. After the dance, they made their signature hoof-shake. "Up high, down low, hitch it to a post! Flip it sunny-side up and on a piece of toast!" they cheered, grabbing each other's hooves and holding onto one another as they twirled around. Team Sonic watched on with a smile. "Huh, you were right, Sonic. They have a shake with their names included, just like us," Tails pointed out. "Told ya," Sonic replied with a smirk. So tonight we're gonna party "Whoo-hoo!" Sunny cheered and laughed while they kept twirling. "Well, she's enjoying it," Knuckles said with a smile. "Yeah, maybe I was wrong, and everything would work out in the end," Sonic admitted, since up to this point, everything was going great. "Whoa!" Sunny cried out because she couldn't stop twirling. She then twirled to some buckets of paint and fell on the painting board, covering the paint in the process. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles cringed at this. "Or maybe not..." Sonic stated, regretting saying those words too soon. Izzy gasped cheerfully with an idea. "Paint angels! Great idea!" she cheerfully said, then dumped some yellow paint on herself and fell on the second painting board, making paint angels. Zipp grabbed Sunny and dragged her out of the Brighthouse while Sonic groaned at the scene. "This is gonna bite us in the rump at any minute now..." he said to himself. Back outside, Zipp got Sunny back into her roller skates, and Zipp was on a skateboard. They rode down the path, but Sunny started to lose her balance. Zipp: Can't stop, won't stop, the big move Strike your best pose, do the pony hip-hop "Call me 'Pony Hawk'!" Zipp said with a smile, then flipped into the air and landed on the ramp while striking her hind hooves, but Sunny was having trouble keeping her balance while Zipp landed on the ground at the end of the ramp. Mane 5: We might blow the roof off this place Sunny screamed since she knew she wasn’t as good as Zipp at skating moves, and she was going so fast that she flew over the ramp and hit her face with a wall of the Brighthouse. She slid down and landed on a pile of leaves Pipp prepared on a wagon. "That's gonna leave a mark..." Knuckles said as he cringed at the scene along with Sonic since Tails was finishing some details on Sunny's gift in the bedroom. Back to Pipp’s party section, Sunny sat on the chair again, looking worse because of Izzy's paint and her smack on the wall because of Zipp’s ramp. So tonight we're gonna party "Ugh," Sunny groaned. "Sunny, your pores seem really tense," Pipp said as she wrapped Sunny in a blanket. "Well…" was all Sunny could say, feeling slightly nervous. Pipp brought up her makeup brush, brushed it on Sunny's face, then placed two kiwis on her eyes and went off. So throw your hooves up, everypony, uh-huh We got that— "There's my dance buddy!" Hitch said, arriving suddenly and startling Sunny, grabbing her from the chair and bringing her back to the dance floor, losing the kiwis as she twirled to the other side. It's time to glow up the disco "Are you ready?" Hitch called out. "What?" Sunny asked, confused and nervous. "Catch me!" Hitch called out as he jumped to her. Sunny looked nervous, and then Izzy came next to her. "Craft time!" Izzy called out as she dragged Sunny off, leaving Hitch to land on the floor. A little later, Izzy returned Sunny to the art section and used hardened clay to make sculptures. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Sunny was having trouble with her clay going fast, but as she touched it to slow it down, the clay turned into the shape of Pipp's head. Izzy gasped in amazement. "It's a masterpiece!" she cheerfully said while Sunny looked at it in amazement. Then, Pipp popped up from behind her head, shaped like clay, and looked at Sunny with a cheery smile. "Time to tame that mane!" Pipp announced and dragged Sunny back to her section. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh Izzy decided to give Sunny's sculpture head of Pipp the final touch, adding googly eyes and a cut-out mouth. Back in Pipp’s section, Pipp put a blue wig with some pearl necklaces on Sunny. So tonight we're gonna party, oh yeah So throw those hooves up, everypony Sunny felt unsure about this, but then Pipp turned Sunny’s head in the other direction, and Cloudpuff sprayed her with mane spray. And now, for some reason, Sunny was at the highest ramp Zipp made, and she was shocked and scared because of how big the ramp was. Zipp saw Sunny up with a shocked look. "Whoa! You're starting from way up there?! You go, Sunny!" she cheered. Sunny did not like this, but her hooves slipped, and she rolled down the ramp at a super fast pace, screaming. She went so fast that she flew off in the air at the end of the ramp and right through the Brighthouse’s open window. Before she could hit the ground, however, Tails grabbed her in bridal style, then slowly descended until he landed on the ground and put Sunny safe. "Are you okay, Sunny?" Tails asked her once she was safe. "A little dizzy... and overwhelmed..." Sunny confessed as she shook her head. Then she looked around to find only Team Sonic with her, and she sighed in relief, feeling like she had finally found peace. Then they heard the door opening, and their friends came stamping in. Sunny began to freak out as she hid behind Sonic while Team Sonic stepped in front to protect her. "I am so inspired right now!" Izzy said, holding some painting supplies. "Sunny! I've been practicing the lift!" Hitch called out next. "I just beat your track time by zero-point-three seconds, Sunny!" Zipp called out. "Time to curl those eyelashes!" Pipp announced while holding an eyelash curler. "Okay! Everypony, That's it! This is too much! I can't handle it!" Sunny spoke out, finally stopping her friends from dragging her to four birthday parties. "If only someone had told you that this wouldn't work... Oh, wait! WE DID!" Knuckles yelled out at the rest of the Mane 5. "Look, I get that you wanted to make her birthday special since it's the first time she has us in her life... but you couldn't have possibly chosen a worse way to do it," Sonic pointed out with a frown. "And 49 things on my list ended up happening..." Tails said, rolling up the list of everything that could go wrong if they made four parties for Sunny. "I don't wanna say that we told you, but we told you," he added with a bored expression. "They're right, guys," Sunny said to the rest with a smile. "I've had so much fun with you all. But it's not what I want. I want all of us to have fun together," she said. "Just like it should be," Sonic added with a smile and a soft tone The rest of the Mane 5 looked at each other and then smiled. "You know, it's pretty hard to do a conga line with just two ponies," Hitch admitted with a sheepish smile. "And races are better with more competition," Zipp said with a little chuckle. "Maybe we should…" she started but kept quiet for a second. "...combine all our parties?" Izzy suggested with a smile. "To make a…" she was cut off when Pipp gasped. "... a roller-disco-beauty-glitter party?!" Pipp questioned in excitement. "I love iiiiit!" she sang with sparkling eyes. But then Sonic cleared his throat and called her attention, and she saw him pointing toward Sunny and immediately got the message. "Uh, that's if you love it, Sunny," she said to Sunny with a nervous smile. Sunny smiled back at her friends. "Yes!" she cheerfully said. Mane 5: 'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party A bit later, Sunny and Hitch worked together to lift a disco ball to the ceiling and then smiled at each other. Zipp and Sonic were too busy painting some indoor ramps, but then Izzy and Knuckles helped by using their hooves and feet to stomp the blue paint on the ramps. Zipp and Sonic smiled at their friend's idea, while Izzy and Knuckles smiled back. So tonight we're gonna party (oh yeah) So throw those hooves up, everypony (uh-huh) Pipp and Tails used makeover hair curlers to curl the streamers down for decorations while Sunny brought in another decorating item, and they smiled. Finally, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic finished with the decorations and smiled at their accomplishment with sparkling eyes. We got that glitter, gonna roll It's time to glow up the disco Then, the group got their gear on one of their perspective sections, and while Sunny was a combination of all of them, Team Sonic wore clothes in the 90s style of their world since they had no section before. 'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party, oh yeah Hitch then turned on the boombox as the Mane 5, and Team Sonic started to follow his dance moves and broke it on the dance floor in perfect sync. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Party, party, party Then, the group got into roller skates and skated around the room as they partied along. Sunny gave a happy smile and reached Zipp, twirling around when they grabbed each other's hooves before they let go. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Party, party, party, oh yeah! Then Pipp brought out her phone, and the whole group huddled together to take a selfie to remember the party. Then they saw Izzy coming in front of them with her glitter cannon. "Glitter cannon!" Izzy cheered as the glitter cannon fired glitter in the air, and it sparkled down on the group. “Now, this is what I call a party to remember!" Sonic cheered with a smile as he twirled Pipp around and then let her go. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot it!" he said, then boosted out roller skating to the bedroom. When he returned with a blue box with a red gift bow and a yellow birthday card, he whistled. Tails and Knuckles stopped dancing and rolled skated to Sonic's side. The Mane 5 noticed that, and Hitch stopped the music so everyone could focus on Team Sonic for a second. "Well, Sunny. We didn't have a party like the rest because we were doing something else... so, Happy Birthday!" Sonic said as he extended the gift to Sunny. Sunny gasped in surprise and curiosity. "For me?" she asked as Team Sonic smiled. She opened the box both excited and curious, and then her eyes sparkled at what she saw: wood-crafted figures of the Mane 5, just like the ones Sunny had of the Mane 6 from Ancient Equestria. She took out the one of Hitch first and then the one of Zipp, still with sparkling eyes. "Wow!" Hitch said, admiring the wood-crafted figure of himself. "No way!" Zipp exclaimed, looking at her figure as well. Pipp and Izzy looked inside the box and took the figures of themselves. Pipp took a selfie with her figure, and Izzy looked at it with a big smile. Sunny then gave them the Hitch and Zipp figure and took out two figures of herself: one with her earth pony form and one with her alicorn form. "We literally spent two hours discussing which form we should craft you, but in the end, we decided to make both," Knuckles explained to her. "This... this is amazing!" Sunny said, admiring her figures. "Did you guys make them?" she asked Team Sonic. "Yup," Tails answered. "Knuckles brought the materials, I crafted them, and Sonic painted them." Izzy looked again at the box and saw three more figures. She used her magic to levitate them, and they also appeared to be figures of Team Sonic. "Wow, you even included yourselves!" Izzy cheered with a smile as she grabbed Knuckles figure, while Zipp grabbed the Tails one and Pipp grabbed the Sonic one. "Yeah, well..." Sonic started, not in a very cheery tone anymore. "Ugh, let's face it already: We won't be here in Equestria forever," he said with a sad face and tone, which gained the attention of the Mane 5 again. "We are loving every day we spend with you, guys, and we want to take advantage of that because... the day we might leave can come at any second now," he added, then stopped to hold the tears back. Tails saw that and decided to keep going. "So, besides Sunny's birthday gift, we wanted to give you something to remember us as well, and since we decided to make crafted figures of you, we crafted some of us, too," he added with a sad smile. "We hope... No, we know that the day we leave, it's still far away, but we decided to give you this anyways," Knuckles added, with a little sad smile as well. "We try too hard not to think about that, but yet... it's something we cannot avoid as much as we would like to..." he finished with a cracked voice while a tear fell from his right eye. The Mane 5 listened and now felt sad as well. They knew very well that Team Sonic would leave one day, but they didn't want to happen yet. Sunny looked back at the crafted figures of Team Sonic and then at the crafted figure of herself with her earth pony form. He smiled, and then he hugged Sonic and Tails suddenly. "Even if we cannot avoid it, let's enjoy every day together as if it were the last, okay?" Sunny said to them with some tears in her eyes. Both Sonic and Tails hugged Sunny back and could not hold the tears anymore since they started to wipe out of their eyes. Eventually, all the rest joined in and had a group hug. They were all crying now, but they were happy as well since this just made them grow closer. "Okay, let's not cry at a moment like this," Sonic said between sobs as the group broke the hug and wiped the tears from their eyes. "This is a celebration after all, let's deal with emotional hurtful moments when we have to" he added with a smile. "And again... Happy Birthday, Sunny", he finished, looking at Sunny with a smile. "Thank you guys. All of you." Sunny thanked her friends for the birthday. "Best party ever!" she announced with joy. Then, the group decided to continue to party, skating and dancing around while Hitch’s animal crew danced to the music on the window, enjoying the party. But when they did the twirling, McSnips fell out the window and fell to the floor, but the two birds knew that he would be okay and continued dancing to the music. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
26. PuphuntIn the Brighthouse bedroom, Pipp's phone started to ring, showing Queen Haven calling on Facetime. Pipp answered the call and saw her mother crying a lot. "Pipp! Pipp, he’s gone!" Haven cried out to the phone as her eyes were tearing up. "Gooonnnneee!!!" she cried out again, which caused Pipp to stare at her mother and cringe slightly. "I looked everywhere! He’s missing!" she cried out, placing her hooves over her eyes. "Wait. What? Who’s gone, mother? What are you…" Pipp tried to ask but was cut off when Haven cried out again. "So fluffy! And cuddly! And now, he’s gone!" Haven cried out as she brawled a storm. Zipp then approached her sister with a smile. "What’s wrong? Did she say missing?" she asked before gasping. "Is someone missing?" she asked and scooted closer to Pipp's phone, which squished Pipp's cheek in the process. "What's happening, and why is your mom crying about someone missing?" Tails asked, arriving with the sisters since he was in the room, too, testing out a portal to get back to Mobius. "Wait! Who's missing?" he asked, then got close to the phone and squished the other Pipp's cheek. "So sweet! Yippy! I love him!" Haven cried out on the phone. "Wait," Zipp said, starting to think about what her mother had said. "'Sweet'?" she asked. "'Yippy'?" Tails asked next. "'Fluffy'?" Zipp asked again. And then realization hit the three of them like a train. "Cloudpuff?!" Pipp called out as the three friends looked at each other. "He's gone missing!" Tails cried out with worry. "We've gotta do something!" Zipp pointed out that he was worried for Cloudpuff since he was family to her and Pipp. "Leave it with me!" Pipp pointed out and tapped on her phone. "This is where the Pippsqueaks, like, totally shine!" she stated as she sent the message to her followers. Dahlia was the first pony to see the message and gasped in shock. "Cloudpuff?!" she cried out. "Cloudpuff!" Windy cried out as well. "Cloudpuff?!" Rufus called out. "Cloudpuff?!" Sonic called out as well. "Cloudpuff?!" Posey also got the message. Even a raccoonicorn and pegasnail got the message as the raccoonicorn squeaked at the message. And then, one by one, almost everypony that could be called a Pippsqueak got the message that Cloudpuff was now missing. Sometime later, a crowd of ponies was in front of the Crystal Brighthouse, with the Mane 5 facing the crowd for an announcement about Cloudpuff's disappearance. "Have you heard?" a mare in the crowd asked a pony among them. "It's just awful," a pegasus stallion said. "Excuse me!" Sunny called out to the crowd, trying to get their attention. "I heard he ran off with the raccoonicorns," an earth pony stallion said. "Hey! Everypony!" Sunny called out again, but the crowd was busy talking among themselves. "Can I have your attention?!" she called again, but they didn’t hear. Hitch saw this problem and blew his whistle so loud that the crowd of ponies got startled and stopped talking, then turned and faced the two ponies. Sunny looked at Hitch in shock while he gave an authoritative expression. After all, he was the sheriff of Maretime Bay. Sunny smiled at him after he had calmed the crowd down. "Thanks, Hitch," she thanked him before facing the crowd. Now, as we all know, Cloudpuff has gone missing, and we need to work together to find him!” she called out to them. Zipp hopped on the stage next to Sunny and Hitch and faced the crowd with determination. "Everypony needs to spread out! When somepony or some pup is missing, the first forty-eight hours are critical!" she instructed the crowd. "Dewdrop any information directly to my flyPad!" she added, holding her flyPad on her hoof. Pipp then jumped next to her sister and started to cry. "Cloudpuff is a brother to us! We have to find him!" she cried, worried for Cloudpuff. "Everypony has their assignments!" Hitch called out with determination. "Let's move out!" he ordered, pointing his hoof in a direction. Then, Izzy jumped next to Hitch and cheered to the crowd. "Thank you for all your—" she tried to say but was cut off when the wooden platform the Mane 5 were on started to creak. "Five ponies on a table is too many," Izzy pointed out with a nervous smile. The table creaked more, but when it seemed to break, it stopped moving and stood still, which confused the Mane 5. However, they heard gasps from the crowd looking down the platform. Izzy popped her head down and smiled at who she saw. "Oh, hi, Knuckles!" she greeted since Knuckles was holding the platform so it wouldn't fall apart, with Sonic and Tails at his side. "Hello, Izz," Knuckles replied. "It seems like you needed a little help up there," he joked. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can you guys get off so we can drop this thing and look for Cloudpuff already?!" Sonic asked, his arms hurting a little. "Sonic's right, we've gotta go!" Zipp pointed out with worry. "Cloudpuff is out there... somewhere!" she called out. Later, in Zephyr Heights, Pipp brought out her phone and started to livestream. Sonic was there too because he knew Pipp was too sensible now, so he thought he could comfort her if she broke into tears. Pipp sighed as she started talking to the camera. "I am live-streaming to you with devastating news. Our beloved and loyal pup…" She started to whimper as Sonic came by her side and touched her shoulder. "... Cloudpuff is missing," she stated as she held up a missing poster of Cloudpuff. Meanwhile, Zipp was wearing her Z-Goggles and used them to control a drone that she got to search every corner of Zephyr Heights. Tails were flying all around Equestria, with some goggles he made for himself and scanned every corner of the land. "My sister Zipp is searching high and low in Zephyr Heights, and Tails is looking on every corner of Equestria," Pipp narrated. "And back in Maretime Bay, Hitch, his critters, and all the Earth ponies are leaving no stone unturned in the search for this pampered pooch," Pipp narrated while Hitch and his critters were putting up missing posters of Cloudpuff on a building. In the forest, Hitch and a Pegasus mare were putting missing posters of Cloudpuff on the trees while the critters on top of a hill rolled a rock down. Hitch and the Pegasus mare saw this and ran for cover as the boulder hit a tree with a Cloudpuff Missing poster, and the tree fell to the ground. "Even as far as Bridlewood, everypony is finding creative ways to come together to find our sweet little pup," Pipp narrated. At the same time, Sunny, Izzy, and Knuckles searched Bridlewood for any signs of Cloudpuff. Knuckles was digging holes; Sunny wore her roller skate gear and placed a poster on a tree, while Izzy used her homemade detector to find any trace of Cloudpuff. Izzy’s detector went off and blinked in red, which made the two ponies see a slobber trail. Thinking it could be Cloudpuff, the two ponies follow the trail, but then Izzy stops and gasps in shock and disgust. The trail they followed was from Alphabittle, who was taking a nap while drooling, which made the drool trail. "Ewwww!" Izzy cringed in disgust. "Aah! Ugh!" Sunny cried out since she slipped on Alphabittle’s drool because of her rolling skates and bumped into Alphabittle, who woke up from his nap and looked at Sunny, who gave off a nervous look with a chuckle. "You're not Cloudpuff, are you now?" she nervously asked while Alphabittle continued to look at Sunny. Then, Knuckles popped his head out of the ground as he made another hole. "No signs of Cloudpuff down there," he announced to Sunny and Izzy, but then he looked at the scene with Sunny in front of Alphabittle. "I'm not even going to ask; I honestly don't wanna know," Knuckles said, cringing at the scene. "The only thing we know for now is that if you're out there, Cloudpuff, we will find you!" Pipp narrated with a little sad tone. Fifi knocked on the door back in the Brighthouse, and Hitch opened it, holding his sheriff book. He was watching over the Brighthouse while the others searched around Equestria for Cloudpuff. Hitch turned and saw Fifi holding a box with Zipp and Pipp's faces and the Zephyr Heights stamp. Hitch shook his head, telling Fifi that Zipp and Pipp were not there right now, and went back into the Brighthouse as he closed the door. For some reason, the box shook, and Fifi placed a return stamp on it. The box also growled. "Even if it means we must cross all of Equestria, we will never… stop... looking!" Pipp finished as she faced her phone closer and finished her livestream in Zephyr Heights. "Hey, Pipp," Sonic called out, not using the nickname he had given her since this was a critical moment for her. We'll find that pup, even if it's the last thing we'll do, I promise," he assured her with a comforting smile. Pipp smiled at him with teary eyes and kissed his cheek as thanks. "Thanks, Sonic," she said, then hugged him with a blush. Sonic blushed, too, but hugged her back and kept his smile. Zipp’s flyPad started to beep a little bit later, and she checked her messages. "Ooh," Zipp said, hoping the messages would give her a clue about where Cloudpuff was. Tails entered the place sweating a little since he had flown around all over Equestria but hadn't found Cloudpuff. "My tails hurt a lot..." he complained. Then he looked at Zipp and her phone. "Any luck, Zipp?" he asked her. "Not yet," she answered, as she looked over at the messages on her phone, which were not what she expected. "Ugh! That's a bunnycorn! What's this? A street sign? Not helpful! Fan photo of random picture of Hitch, fan photo, fan photo... A sad selfie of Pipp?! Really?!" Zipp called out while Tails came closer and looked at the photos. "Seriously? Ponies know we're in an emergency, and they use your phone number to send nonsense trash?" Tails complained about the ponies that sanded things that were not helping. "Ugh! It's hopeless!" Zipp cried out as she searched through the photos with a down expression. "We're never going to find—! Hang on," she said as she saw something in one of the photos. She tapped the photo of Zephyr Height’s mailroom and enlarged it. "What's that?" she asked both Tails and herself as they saw a piece of a purple gem next to some mail. "Wait a second!" Tails called out, recognizing the gem. "Isn't that a gem from Cloudpuff's collar?!" he pointed out with shock. "Yeah, but... In the mailroom? Hmmm…" Zipp told herself she might have a lead and sent several messages to Pipp and Haven. Haven and Pipp's phones vibrated, each receiving a message from Zipp. After seeing the messages, Pipp and Queen Haven smiled with sparkling, and Haven boosted towards the mailroom. Sonic grabbed Pipp and ran towards the same place. He was still with her when he saw the message. Zipp inspected the gem piece in the mailroom while Tails looked around for more clues. Zipp sniffed on the floor and walked around to find more clues but then got up and groaned. "Right. Doesn't make any sense," she said while looking at the gem in her hoof again. "The gems from his collar are here, but he isn't," she added worriedly. "Strangely, looking for a dog is like looking for a needle in a haystack," Tails pointed out as he got to Zipp's side. "It should be easier," he added with concern. Then the mailroom's doors opened suddenly, and Queen Haven busted in with Pipp and Sonic, which startled Zipp and Tails. "Where's my fluffy boy?!" Haven and Pipp called out for Cloudpuff but didn't see him. Zipp and Tails turned to the rest with startled expressions but then got sad since they hadn't found Cloudpuff yet. Getting the hint of silence, Haven started to cry as her eyes brawled up a storm. "Oh, why, why, why?!" she cried out. "Where are you, Cloudpuffy-poo?!" Pipp cried out as tears began forming, and Sonic patted her back with a worried face. Then, Tails noticed the table had paw tracks made from stamp ink. "Hey, look at this," he said to the others. He looked closer at the table with a device and scanned the track. Zipp was also looking at the paw tracks with her magnifying glass. "This might sound crazy, but I think Cloudpuff was here," she said to rest. "Yup!" Tails agreed as he got the scanning results. "The paw tracks on the desk match with Cloudpuff's paw tracks, so he was here," he pointed out. "Here?!" Haven called out as she came next to Zipp and Tails. "Why should he be here?! How should I know?!" she cried out in a panic. "Mom!" Zipp called out, snapping her mother out of it. "Just calm down and think. Why would Cloudpuff have been in the mailroom?" she asked slowly. "I don't know. I mean, I did send you and Pipp a care package of all your favorite things this morning," Haven explained, walking around the mailroom while her daughters, Sonic and Tails, paid attention to her. "Maybe he followed me down here, and..." she widened her eyes at the realization of where Cloudpuff was. "WHAAAAAT?! What if I mailed my baby?!" she cried out. "So he's on the mail..." Sonic said calmly at first, then widened his eyes in realization. "Hold on! HE'S IN THE MAIL?!" he cried out with worry, shaking Tails a little. In the Brighthouse, Hitch looked tired from waiting for somepony to give him a clue, then his walkie-talkie gave off static, and he answered. "Hitch! Has anything been delivered to the Brighthouse for me or Pipp?" Zipp asked to him. "Think!" she cried out, while Hitch remembered that Fifi had come earlier with a package for them, but he rejected it, and Fifi left with it. "Uhhh…" Hitch said to the walkie-talkie, starting to panic about his mistake. "Well, funny you should ask. I, uh... You know what it's like. Today has been crazy. And I, uh…" he said to Zipp, trying to find the right words to say that he had Cloudpuff in his sight without knowing it. The Royal family, Sonic and Tails, grew more worried. "Is this a bad time to make a sarcastic joke about how Hitch screwed it?" Sonic asked innocently. "Yes, it is" Tails stated, still worried about Cloudpuff but frowning at Sonic. Suddenly, the mailroom door creaked open, and the Royal family, Sonic and Tails, turned to see Fifi coming in with the package. Fifi placed the package down and wiped a brow from her forehead. "Phew! Just the ponies I was looking for!" she said with an added laugh. And then the package made a muffled growling while the others stared at the box, knowing that Cloudpuff was in there. "Oh, don't worry," Fifi said with a little chuckle. "It's been doing that all day," she said with a smile. "Wiggliest parcel I've ever tried to deliver!" Fifi stated that she had flashbacks of trying to get the package from the mailroom while it wiggled and growled. After Fifi left since her work was done, the package gave muffled groans, which made the rest look at each other. Zipp ripped the tape off to open the box and saw Cloudpuff growling through a box with some makeup on him. Sonic, Tails, Zipp, and Pipp gasped in joy, and Haven smiled while they all looked at Cloudpuff with smiles and sparkling eyes. "Hey!" both Zipp and Pipp said together in joy. Cloudpuff heard their calls, got his head out of the box, and made yip sounds at Haven. When Cloudpuff got out of the package, the royal family embraced together around their beloved dog, glad that he was okay. Pipp then saw something in the package and broke the hug along with Zipp. "Ugh! All of my Luscious Lilac bath bombs?! Cloudpuff, really?!" she complained to Cloudpuff as she held some of the broken bombs in her hooves. "Uh, neigh way!" Zipp called out as she grabbed a box kit. "Is this my hoofprints kit?!" she asked, seeing that Cloudpuff had also gotten into her detective kit. "I'm afraid so, my dear," Haven said to her daughters a little sheepish. Then she nuzzled Cloudpuff, relieved that he was okay and found. "What do you have to say for yourself, you naughty little puppy?" she said with a coed baby voice to Cloudpuff. And then Cloudpuff passed gas as he stinks in the room, which caused Haven to cringe in disgust. "Oh, dear! That is truly awful!" she said as she smelled the stank. "Cloudpuff!" she said to the dog. "Cloudpuff!” Pipp cried out as she and Zipp covered their noses to block Cloudpuff's stink. Zipp coughed from the smell before speaking. "It seems like he's paying the price already," she stated. "Ugh!" she groaned from the smell. "Ew..." Tails said as he covered his nose as well. "Well, it seems like it's time to work!" Sonic said, wearing a mask to cover his mouth and nose from the smell, while he took off his gloves and gave them to Tails. "Hold them for me until I'm done with the pup, lil' bro," he asked, then came closer to Queen Haven and grabbed the dog. "Alright, little buddy, let's clean you up before you leave a gift," he said to Cloudpuff as he got him out of the room. Then, Tails used his tails to make some wind and get the smell out of the room. "And there it goes, the smell," he said with a smile. "Oh, thank you so much, dear," Haven thanked him. "No problem, Your Majesty," Tails replied with a smile and a little bowing. "Help! It's what we do!" he added, pointing out Sonic's help with batting Cloudpuff. Sometime later, after Sonic got Cloudpuff clean, he sat on a high spot over the Royal Castle, contemplating the sight of Zephyr Heights and Equestria with a smile. "So here you are," Pipp's voice said as she flew over and sat beside him. Sonic's smile grew, and a little blush appeared. "Hey, Little Pipp," he greeted. How's your mom doing now that Cloudpuff's safe?" he asked curiously. "Ah, you know, I'm being a little too dramatic about him," Pipp replied with a chuckle. "Hey, um, thanks for helping out, Sonic. Not only for looking for him but also for actually caring for and bathing him after... well, that," she thanked with blush and also pointed out the little situation back in the mailroom. "I'm glad I could help," Sonic replied with a kind smile. "As long as somepony, pet, or animal in general gets in danger, I cannot just stand and wait for a miracle to happen. It never happened before; why would it happen now?" he pointed out. "Better take action yourself than wait for someone else to do the job," he added with a smile. "You know, I've never got to ask... who taught you so much?" Pipp asked with curiosity. "I mean, you've been through lots of crazy stuff in your life, and I can say you have faced death several times, but I don't get how you say so many wise words after everything that has happened to you," she pointed out, a little worried. "Life taught me most of the things I appreciate nowadays, but if I have to give someone credit for most of the things I know... that has to be my mentor, Longclaw," Sonic said, as he started to feel a little nostalgic. "She was my mother, raised me since I was a baby, and taught me lots of stuff that I didn't get back then, and I appreciate a lot now..." he added with a sad smile. "'Was'?" Pipp questioned. Sonic then gave a sad look as he looked down and his ears down. "You know that sometimes life is not fair, and it can take something you love with your soul at any second... it took her away years ago," he explained, now looking at the sky with sadness. "She said she was going to help some people in a town... and a few days later, that town was burned to ashes," he added. Pipp gasped and covered her mouth with a hoof, not expecting the shocking answer. "For a very short time, I thought she was alive, but I found her scarf on those ashes, completely burned..." Sonic added, now letting tears out of his eyes. "A-And the worst part is... that I never said goodbye to her..." he chuckled in pain. "I-I would give anything to see her one last time, to thank her for everything, t-to..." he was cut off when Pipp suddenly hugged him. "Don't hold back, Sonic," Pipp begged him. "Let it all out; don't hide your emotions just to comfort others, and comfort yourself first," she added softly. Sonic immediately broke his shelf after her words: that confidence and cockiness faded completely away to let out a vulnerable and scared Sonic, that started to cry and let all his pain out. He hugged Pipp back and buried his face in her soft fur. Usually, Pipp would make a whole scene for her fur getting wet, but she wouldn't stand to look at Sonic holding onto his shelf again so that she couldn't care less now. He spent most of the afternoon letting out his pain on her fur until no more tears were left, and Sonic fell asleep on her. Pipp looked at the sunset with a smile, then looked at Sonic resting on her back and kissed his cheek. "Sweet dreams, my little prince of blue quills," she said with a chuckle, then returned her sight to the sunset. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
27. All That JazzAt Mane Melody, Dahlia was looking for a hooficure on the mirror, which looked like a pink square circle with sparkling yellow. Pipp admired the hooficure as Dahlia and Pipp smiled, while Pipp had sparkling eyes. "Loving iiiiiit!" Pipp sang. "But what about this?" she asked, then used the style makeover mirror selection to poof Dahlia’s hooves into different hooficures. "Or this? Or this? Or––" she stopped with an exciting look before continuing. "Ooh! What about this?" she said excitedly and then gave Dahlia a pink hooficure with flowers. Dahlia gasped and smiled with sparkling eyes. "It's so me! I love it!” she cheered at the right choice of hooficure. "Great choice, Dahlia," Jazz said as she pointed in one direction. "Right this way," she said while Dahlia placed one of her hooves into a pillow so Jazz could make her hooficure. "I love all your designs, Jazz!" Dahlia said to Jazz, while pony gave her the requested hooficure. "Oh, they're not mine," Jazz honestly said, then she brought out her phone tablet and showed the images of the hooficure pictures to Dahlia. "I just copied them from a huge library of hooficures," she explained, scrolling through the pictures before placing her phone down. "I've never created my own designs before," she said and finished Dahlia's other hoof. "Oooh-weee!" Pipp cheered with a smile and sparkling eyes, appearing next to Jazz. "Those hooves are super-gorge! Mind if I Ponygram them, Dahlia?" she asked, bringing out her phone. Dahlia smiled and lifted her front hooves to the camera while Pipp took her picture. Later, Jazz scrolled through her hooficures pictures to see if there was anything else the ponies might like and gave other ponies the hooficures they requested while she smiled at her work. Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can ya see it? Whoa-oh-ohhhh-oh-oh Pipp took pictures of the hooficures while the customers loved them. Pipp and Jazz smiled at each other, and Pipp scrolled through her phone, humming to herself, seeing that the pictures she had taken had many positive reviews and likes. Suddenly, Mane Melody's front door opened, and Izzy came in with a smile and decided to get a hooficure for her. Knuckles was with her, too, since he would make her company for an event that night. "Hey! I need a hooftag #Hooficure!" Izzy called out with a cool face as she front-flipped to Jazz, who was done giving Rufus a hooficure, while Knuckles just walked normally to her side. "It's music night at the Crystal Tea Room tonight!" Izzy explained with a cheer. "The gal here wants a new style in her hooves for the occasion," Knuckles added with his arms crossed and a smile. "Got anything music-y?" Izzy asked with a cheerful smile. "Something music-y, huh?" Jazz said with an interesting smile as she brought out her phone. "Let's see what we got." But when she scrolled to her next picture, it showed a big red X in a black circle, which threw Jazz in the loop while Knuckles raised an eyebrow and Izzy placed a hoof on her chin. "Uhhh, not sure. Black isn't really our color," Izzy pointed out. "I doubt that's a style, Iz," Knuckles corrected her. "Uh-oh," Jazz said nervously and started to sweat since she was only getting the same image with the X in the black circle. "No! Uh, hang on! No! The designs! I think I've used them all up!" she worriedly said. "No biggie," Izzy said with a smile. "I'll have the same as ol' Rufus here. We can be hoof buddies," she said while giving Rufus a wink. "No way, Izzy," Rufus stated. "Nopony with any style would be caught wearing the same design," he added as he walked out of Mane Melody. "Rufus is right!" Jazz said with panic. "If I'm out of designs, nopony will come to Mane Melody for their hooficures!" she stated as she kept swiping her phone, getting the same result while Knuckles and Izzy came next to her. "Can't you just make new designs or something?" Knuckles asked. "Knux is right, Jazz. You gotta make some new ones!" Izzy assured with a smile. "That's just it! I don't know how!" Jazz confessed, putting down her phone with a worried look. "I've always just copied the designs! And now I've run out! What am I going to do?!" she cried out in panic. "First of all, calm down. No one's dying, and the world isn't ending," Knuckles said to Jazz as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "We won't deal with that until season 3 at least," he added. Now, let's think..." he said, touching his chin. Izzy and Knuckles thought of a way to help Jazz with this kind of problem, and then, Izzy smiled, came next to Jazz, and placed a hoof over her shoulder. "Stick with us. I know exactly what you need. Jazz Hooves, you've got a date with destiny!" she declared, getting Jazz cheek’s against hers with a side hug. "Destiny?" Jazz asked in confusion. "What are you talking about, Izz?" Knuckles asked, confused as well. Later, Izzy led Jazz and Knuckles to the Crystal Tea Room in Bridlewood and stopped at the front door. "Get ready to have your mind totally blown, Jazz!" Izzy said as she playfully imitated explosions. "You still got me lost, Izzy," Knuckles admitted. "Why are we here again?" he questioned. "You just wait and see, Knuckie," Izzy said with a cheery smile as she pushed the door open, and the trio entered. Jazz looked around while jazz music played, with ponies around the tea shop enjoying their tea. Onyx was playing her saxophone, and her friend Jasper was playing the bongos for the jazz music while Alphabittle was washing his tea cups with a calm smile. Izzy found them a table, and she down tapped her hooves with clinging sounds. She smiled at Jazz and tapped the table to get her to sit. Getting the signal, Jazz sat down while Knuckles sat on the other side. "Wow," Knuckles said in awe since this was his first time at the Crystal Tea Room. "This place looks amazing," he admitted with a smile. "It sure is!" Izzy said with a smile, then turned to Jazz. "Can you feel the artistic, creative-y vibes flowing right through you?" she asked, getting close to Jazz. Onyx and Jasper continued playing jazz in sync while Jazz listened to the music and smiled. She closed her eyes a bit and visualized the jazz notes while tapping her hoof on the table to the tune. Knuckles now realized Izzy's plan. "Oh, I get it now," he said with a smile. But then, the trio heard wild saxophone tunes that caused the jazz music to mess up, bringing Jazz out of her little world. "Oh, no! Onyx is playing the wrong song!" she said, looking at Onyx with worry. "Nah, I don't think so," Knuckles replied with a smirk. "Wait for it... Wait for it…" Izzy told Jazz with a smirk, knowing Onyx well enough to show some surprises for her music. The ponies around smiled at Onyx's new jazz tune as she continued to play her saxophone wildly. She looked at Jasper with a knowing look, and Jasper followed in Onyx's tune, banging his bongos, which made Jazz smile widely with sparkling eyes while everypony in the tea shop was tapping their hooves on the table to the tune pattern, including Alphabittle. "I just love it when they do their own thing," Alphabittle said to a unicorn with a smile. "Whoa! This is amazing!" Jazz cheered, smiling at Izzy. "It sure is!" Knuckles agreed as he tapped his hands on the table, finding the music catchy. "Now that's what you call creative inspiration!" Izzy started with a smile. "Sometimes, you just have to throw out the rules and make something new," she pointed out while Onyx and Jasper finished their show, which caused the crowd to applaud them. "See, girl? If these guys can make amazing music sound even more amazing, you can create even more amazing designs from scratch," Knuckles told Jazz with a smile. Jazz smiled at him, and she envisioned the music notes around her. The notes turned into other images: a lightning bolt, a heart, a flower, an umbrella, a bush, and a pinkish-straight heart. They all flew into Jazz, giving her some inspiration for her designs. "See? You can feel it, too!" Izzy said, winking at Jazz with a smile. "Now all you gotta do is take the feeling and put it into your art!" she encouraged Jazz. "Wow! Maybe I really could create my hooficure designs!" Jazz cheered with sparkling eyes, feeling inspired. "Yeah, you can!” Izzy cheered. "And we know just the guinea ponies to help you practice!" Izzy announced while giving Jazz a wink. "I mean, it's more for practice, but yeah, calling them guinea ponies works, too," Knuckles said with a smile. Back in Mane Melody, Izzy and Knuckles told their friends everything, and they fully agreed to help Jazz practice her new designs, except for Sonic and Tails. Since they're not there, we'll get with them later. "Let's do this!" Izzy cheered in her chair as she pointed to Hitch next to her. "Don't hold back!" Hitch called out with a smile after he turned his chair around. "Follow your heart!" Sunny said, turning her chair around and hovering over her heart. "Unleash your inner artiste!" Zipp cheered after she turned her chair. And then a raccoonicorn turned his chair, eating a piece of food, and he squeaked at Jazz, encouraging her as well. Jazz smiled at the rest of the Mane 5, took a deep breath, then gave a determined look and brought out her hooficure makeover supplies with sparkling eyes and a smile, then she applied them on the Mane 5. Try something new, take a chance, just believe it Let out your light, shining bright, can ya see it? At Mane Melody, hey! At Mane Melody! Jazz started with Hitch by applying a hooficure to his hoof that is all dark blue with light blue lightning, and Hitch gave a smile with sparkling eyes. Then, Jazz sprayed some makeup on Pipp’s hooves, making them dark purple with a crown. Pipp smiled with sparkling eyes, finding them beautiful. Next, Jazz cheerfully added three colors as they hit Zipp’s hooves, giving her a rainbow hooficure. Jazz did Izzy next, and she made her hoofs all purple with a yellow music note in it. Then Jazz did the raccoonicorn next, making a piece of a berry on his paw's nails. The Mane 5 and the raccoonicorn huddled together and looked at their hooficures. Sunny's were the darkest pink with a light pink swirl. She smiled along with her friends, finding their hooficures great. "Jazz, how did you know?" Sunny asked with a wide smile and sparkling eyes. "Triple-berry is totally my favorite!" she happily added as she looked at her hooficure. "Yay!" Jazz cheered in response. "Ka-chow!" Hitch announced as he stomped his hoof down. "Who's yo' daddy?!" he called out with a pose, with the raccoonicorn looking at him with hearts in its eyes. The Mane 5 high hoof each other while their hooficures sparkled from the light. "I feel an exclusive hoof reveal video coming on!" Pipp cheered as she brought out her phone, turned the camera on, and placed her hoof in front of the camera. At the same time, the rest of the Mane 5 and the raccoonicorn huddled together to get given the camera to show their hooficure. Pipp took the picture and posted it on the web as it went viral, along with other pictures of Jazz’s new hooficures they have taken together. Jazz hoof tapped one of the pictures and came next to Izzy and Knuckles, looking out the window. "Thanks, guys. Without your help, I would've never been brave enough to create my own designs," she said, thanking them for helping her find inspiration for new designs. "Don't give us all the credit," Knuckles told her with a smile. "We may have inspired you, but you made the designs. Don't forget it," he added. "And it looks like you're gonna need all the inspiration you can get," Izzy said with a smile. "Check it out!" she pointed out the window, and the three saw a huge line of ponies in front of Mane Melody muttering to each other. Jazz was amazed that there were so many ponies to try out her new hooficure designs. "Wow. That’s a big crowd," Knuckles said, impressed to see many ponies waiting in line. "Seem like you’ll be busy for a while, Jazzy," he told her with a smirk. Izzy, Jazz, and Knuckles walked out of Mane Melody to get a closer look at the crowd, and Jazz smiled with sparkling eyes while Izzy and Knuckles looked at her with joy. "It's the hooficure queen!" the ponies in the crowd called out to Jazz. "Hey!" Rufus appeared among the crowd, not understanding why there were so many ponies, but then smiled widely when he saw Izzy’s hooficure. "Your hooves are fierce, Izzy!" se complimented her. "Can I get one of the same designs as her, Jazz?" he asked. "Fantabuloso!" Izzy cheered. "Finally, a hoof, buddy!" she said, placing a shoulder on Rufus and giving him a side hug. "Contradicts what you said earlier, but sure, go ahead," Knuckles said with a smile. "Neighway, Rufus," Jazz began with a smile. "Every Pony gets its one-of-a-kind design," she explained. "Follow me," she said to Rufus as he, Izzy, and Knuckles followed her back into Mane Melody, only for Jazz to gasp in surprise at the number of ponies already inside. "Sweet grapes from the gods!" Knuckles said in surprise. "Seems like you'll be very busy today..." he added with a wide smile. "Well, it'll be worth the wait," Jazz quickly said as she turned to Rufus. "I promise," she promised Rufus while they all smiled at each other. While Rufus took a seat to wait and Jazz went to work, Izzy and Knuckles came out of Mane Melody again. "Well, another pony helped, another day saved," Knuckles said with a smile. "By the way, where are Sonic and Tails? I thought we told them to try this, too," he pointed out, referring to his two friends' absence. "They were there when we told them, but honestly, I don't remember hearing or seeing them agree to help," Izzy said, placing a hoof on her chin, trying to remember if Sonic and Tails also said they would help Jazz. "Well, even if they accepted, there's no point with us," Knuckles pointed out. "We always use gloves, and even if we remove them, we have to put them back, so the manicures, in our case, would get lost," he explained. "But they could say something at least..." he added, but then his phone started to ring, and he took out of his quills. "Wow, that's a very good timing!" Izzy pointed out that since the call was from Sonic, Knuckles answered the call, but Sonic shouted from the other side before he could say anything. "KNUCKLES!!!" he yelled, which startled both Izzy and Knuckles. Knuckles almost dropped his phone but caught it in time. "Geez, calm down, man!" Knuckles said. "What's gotten into you?" he asked, confused. "Where are you?!" Sonic asked with a concerned look on the call. "Near Mane Melody, why?" Knuckles replied. "I need you to come to the Brighthouse right now!" Sonic shouted again. "It's an emergency!" he stated, immediately ending the call before Knuckles could ask anything. Knuckles frowned after Sonic ended the call. "Izz, go with the others and tell them what happened," he told the unicorn, then boosted straight to the Brighthouse before Izzy could say anything. "But I... uh..." Izzy tried to say. "Okay, I'll tell them!" she shouted, hoping Knuckled heard her, and then went to look for the rest. At the Crystal Brighthouse, Knuckles slammed the door of the bedroom open and entered to find Sonic and Tails with worried looks. "I came here immediately! What happened?" Knuckles asked. Instead of answering with words, Sonic and Tails looked at each other, and Tails grabbed the chest with the Chaos Emeralds and opened it. And now Knuckles got what the emergency was: the Chaos Emeralds, after 7 months of being practically dead, were shining brightly once again. "Oh my Chaos..." Knuckles said. "B-But how?! When did this happen?" he questioned. "I was running a test on the portal like usual..." Tails started to explain. "Then one of the glowing gems that Izzy brought for us slipped from my hands and landed on the Emeralds," he added. "The crystal became dust, but the Emeralds started to shine again," Sonic finished. "And now... the glow doesn't go, not even when I pick them..." he said, grabbing one of the Emeralds that kept shining in his hand. "So... does that mean that..." Knuckles wanted to ask. "That's the thing... we don't know!" Tails said. "There's a huge chance that they still won't work," he pointed out. "Our chances to succeed and make a portal to go home are of 2.5%" he added, since he knew Knuckles would ask how bad were their chances. "And my connection with the Emeralds hasn't returned either," Sonic worriedly added. "It's like if they were back to the times when we all thought there were only six Emeralds and not seven," he said since his connection wasn't there either. "Oh..." was all Knuckles could say. "I have many questions right now... how are these crystals magical? Why did they make the Emeralds react? And why is Sonic's connection with them still dead?" Tails asked with worry and panic. "Connection..." Sonic repeated, then looked at Knuckles. "Knux, how's your connection with the Master Emerald?" he asked. Knuckles closed his eyes and focused on the Master Emerald. He visualized the giant Emerald in the same place on Angel Island, but then he felt the image fading, appearing, fading again, and it kept going on that loop. "It's getting weaker and weaker," Knuckles replied, then he opened his eyes again. "It's still there, but I feel it grows apart every day we spend here," he added with concern. "I'm starting to run out of ideas..." Tails confessed. "These crystals don't work, and the Chaos Emeralds might be shining again, but are we sure they still work?" he questioned. "We'll never know if we don't try," Sonic said with a little smile. And then, the Mane 5 came in suddenly, panting since they ran a lot to catch up with Team Sonic. "I... did it..." Izzy said with a tired smile, still trying to catch her breath. "It took me a while, but I did it!" she cheered. "Uh, what's with the hooficures?" Sonic asked, a little confused. "I'll give you context later," Pipp said, finally catching her breath. "So... why were you shouting so loud about an Emeralds thing?" she asked Sonic. Again, instead of saying something, Sonic answered, showing the Chaos Emeralds now shining as they usually did. "Wow!" the Mane 5 said in unison with sparkling eyes since they never saw anything shining like the Chaos Emeralds did. "Wait, they're shining again!" Zipp pointed out. "But... doesn't that mean that...?" Hitch tried to ask, but Sonic cut him off. "Before you put all sad and sentimental: No, we don't know if they work because a) My connection with the Emeralds is still dead, and b) They started to shine after some random crystal became dust over them, so we don't know if it's still working the same way they should" Sonic quickly said. "But as I say, we'll never know if we don't try," he repeated. He grabbed the Purple Emerald and threw it to Knuckles, who caught the Emerald and looked at it confused, then at Sonic with the same look. Sonic grabbed the blue one, then looked at Knuckles and smirked, which made the echidna realize what he wanted to try as he nodded to Sonic. "Uh, what are they doing?" Sunny questioned. "It's better if we stay back," Tails advised, as he stayed at a very significant distance while the Mane 5 stood behind him. "Ready, Knucklehead?" Sonic asked with a smile. "Let's roll!" Knuckles replied with a determinate look. Sonic and Knuckles stood before each other and placed the Chaos Emeralds on their hands together. "Chaos Control!" they both cried out, and the Chaos Emeralds started to shine even more. But they were doing it at a slow rate: first bad signal since they usually responded immediately. The second bad sign came when Sonic and Knuckles struggled to keep the Emeralds stable and functioning. Still, the third bad sign came in: Sonic's veins from the hand he held the Emerald started to turn blue, while Knuckles' veins from the hand he held the Emerald turned purple, and both struggled even more from pain. "Guys, let them go, now!" Tails shouted, but neither Sonic nor Knuckles listened to him. The Mane 5 also got worried as they looked around and tried to find anything that could help. Then, Izzy had a very bad idea, in her opinion, but it seemed like their only choice. While Sonic and Knuckles struggled, the colored veins reached their whole arms. A blast reached the Chaos Emeralds they were holding, and they fell to the ground. Sonic and Knuckles fell backward and struggled in pain while they grabbed their arms. The rest looked at Izzy, whose horn was glowing, meaning she had freed Sonic and Knuckles. "S-Sorry!" she apologized, thinking she had done something wrong. "Don't, Izz," Tails said with a soft smile. "You saved them." Knuckles could still stand up since he had a lot of strength, but the pain was still there since his veins were still purple. Sonic was almost shouting as he grabbed his arm with blue veins. "This... totally... sucks!" Knuckles cried out as he held his arm, and then Izzy, Zipp, and Hitch came to his side. Sonic still shouted from pain as Tails, Sunny, and Pipp came to his side, with Pipp holding the same arm he was. Then, the pain suddenly stopped, Knuckles stopped growling, and Sonic stopped shouting. Their arms' veins became normal again, and Sonic breathed in relief. "That was... something," Sonic whimpered, looking at the blue Emerald still shining but not as bright as when he and Knuckles activated it. Tails walked towards the Emerald and grabbed it. "Until I know for sure what's happening, neither you nor Knuckles are touching the Emeralds," he said with concern. Then, he placed the blue and purple Emeralds back into the chest and closed the chest. "For your own good, whatever happened before, we can't risk any lives." "I'm not planning on touching them soon," Sonic said, getting up and looking at his arm. "I just hope that, wherever the last Emerald is, it doesn't make a struggle to us..." he added with worry. "I want to throw those things, but we still need them..." Knuckles said with a frown. "Because I don't want to feel whatever was that again!" he added angrily while Izzy placed a hoof on his shoulder, slightly calming Knuckles. "Are you okay?" Pipp asked Sonic after a while. "I feel okay," Sonic said. "But I don't know if I really am..." he added with a worried look. THE END...? Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
28. Pippsqueaks ForeverAt Mane Melody, Pipp and Tails were working on new products for Pipp's fans. They both wore protection goggles, and Tails even had a little shield on his back, just in case. "Totally amazing new products are coming at you!" Pipp said with sparkling eyes as she shook a drooper with a blue liquid and dropped all the contents into a bowl. "Wait! You shouldn't have––!" Tails tried to warn, but once the entire content dropped on the bowl, it exploded and threw lots of blue glitter around the room and almost on Pipp and Tails' faces if it wasn't because of the shield. "...drop the entire thing..." Tails finished once the explosion passed. Pipp sighed in relief that she didn't get all that glitter on her face. "Thanks again for the help, Tails," she thanked him. "This could be a very difficult task without your help," she admitted with a smile. "I'm glad to help," Tails replied with a smile. The more I can do, the better since Sonic and Knuckles are still recovering from whatever happened a few days ago," he added. Let's try again with another substance, but this time, just put a drop," he advised. After cleaning up the room, Pipp tried again with a pink liquid, but she dropped the whole thing again, and Tails looked on with worry. This time, there wasn't an explosion—the content came out of the bowl like a rocket instead and jumped all over the room. Pipp and Tails dodged the 'rocket,' but when it crashed on Pipp's face, Tails used the shield again, and the substance dissipated. Once again, they cleaned the room, and this time, Tails decided to put the drop in the bowl. The liquid was green this time, and he put one drop in the bowl, just as planned. But not even that worked because the bowl's content floated like bubbles and then exploded in the air. This time, Tails wasn't fast enough to take out the shield, and the explosion covered their heads with green glitter or something similar to glitter. Pipp growled in frustration and shook her head to take off the glitter. "What. Is. HAPPENING?!" she cried out in panic. "This isn't working as we thought," Tails replied, taking off the 'glitter' with a towel. He then looked at Pipp's boring expression, and his eyes widened. "Oh! It was rhetorical..." he realized, chuckling nervously. After cleaning up the room again for the third time that day, Pipp went over a shelf and looked for something. "Aha!" she cheered with sparkling eyes, pulling out a bottle with a rainbow liquid. "There you are!" she added with a smile. "Um... are you sure about this, Pipp?" Tails asked. "Everything hasn't worked out pretty well so far," he pointed out with worry. "Oh, I'm sure this one will work, Tails," Pipp said confidently. She pulled some of the bottle's contents with the dropper and shook again. Carefully, she dropped the whole content on the bowl, and both she and Tails stepped back, with Tails using the shield. Since nothing exploded this time, they both got closer to the bowl and saw it glowing a rainbow color. "Wow!" they both said in awe. But then, the substance exploded on their faces and covered the room in rainbow glitter. "Ugh!" You have got to be kidding me!" Pipp cried out with frustration. "This is the fourth time we have to clean up the place," Tails said with a bored expression. "I guess we'll have to keep trying until it works," he pointed out. "But I promised the Pippsqueaks a new product! Today!" Pipp pointed out with worry. "Hey, it's not that big of a deal," Tails tried to calm her down. "I get it! Why don't you get out and try to clear your mind? A little walk always helps the ideas flow," he suggested with a smile. Pipp's eyes sparkled, and she shook the rainbow glitter out of her mane. "Great idea, Tails!" she said with a smile. However, Tails looked at her in shock because she had a rainbow beard, and Pipp didn't seem to notice it. "U-Um..." he tried to warn her, but Pipp walked towards the exit. "I'm just gonna get a smoothie, and then I'll come back and try again!" Pipp said with a nervous chuckle. "No point in freaking out!" she added, then she got out of the salon. "Pipp, wait!" Tails shouted and shook his head, too, but then he noticed he also had a rainbow beard. "Oh no!" he exclaimed with panic. "Ok, don't panic, Tails. Just find a way to take the beard off, clean the place, and then look after Pipp," he told himself. "Let's just hope nobody notices her..." he whispered to himself, although he knew she wouldn't be unnoticed. After a while, Pipp was near Sunny's smoothie stand with a worried face. "I'm freaking out!" she cried out in panic. "Sunny! Help me!" she begged to her earth pony friend. Sunny was blending some strawberries for Pipp's smoothie with a smile. "Morning, Pipp!" she greeted her pegasus friend. "I have your inspiration-packed strawberry ripple smoothie ready for you—– Agh!" she said, bringing the smoothie to Pipp, but she stopped at the end once she noticed Pipp's rainbow beard. Pipp took the smoothie with sparkling eyes and a smile. "You are a total lifesaver!" she said to Sunny. "Ahah..." Sunny replied with a nervous smile while she sweated a bit. Pipp slurped a bit from the smoothie and then looked at Sunny worriedly. "My morning has been a complete disaster!" she explained. "Ahah..." Sunny said again, still with a nervous smile. "I'm supposed to reveal my new product today!" Pipp kept explaining with worry. But everything keeps exploding!" she pointed out. "And Tails has been trying to help me, but the explosions keep happening!" she added. Sunny then turned around and started to laugh nervously, grabbing an apple to distract herself. "Sunny, you're acting weird. Is everything okay?" Pipp asked her. Sunny chuckled nervously again and turned back to Pipp. "W-Well... Now that you mention it... There is... something you need to see..." she told Pipp, then brought out a mirror so Pipp could see herself. Once Pipp looked at herself, she screamed in panic and touched her rainbow beard. "I. Have. A. BEARD!!" she cried out in panic. She tried to take it off, but it didn't work. "How did this happen?!" she yelled with worry and panic. "Why didn't Tails tell me anything?!" she asked in the air, while Sunny just looked at her nervously. "Just keep refreshing, Glory," Seashell's voice spoke. "Oh no, Pippsqueaks!" Pipp cried out in panic. "They can't see me like this!" she said before entering the smoothie stand and hiding behind the table. Glory, Seashell, and Peach Fizz arrived at Sunny's stand. Glory and Seashell held their phones, waiting for Pipp to post her new product. "Refresh! Refresh!" Glory said as she refreshed the page, but still nothing. "Three strawberry ripples please!" Seashell requested Sunny with a smile. "That's Pipp's favorite, right?" she asked. "Sure is!" Sunny replied with a smile. "Coming right up," she added, and then she got back to making the smoothies. "Ugh, still nothing!" Glory cried out. "But Pipp said it's coming out today," she pointed out. "Just keep trying; Pipp won't let us down!" Seashell pointed out. Meanwhile, inside the stand, Pipp grew nervous when she heard her Pippsqueaks say that, knowing that she didn’t have a new product to show yet. "There you go," Sunny said to the three fillies as she brought out three smoothies. "It's exactly how Pipp likes it. Enjoy!" she added. The three fillies looked at the smoothies with sparkling eyes, then slurped from them. They thanked Sunny for the smoothies and then left while Sunny waved a hoof to the fillies. At that moment, Pipp came out of her hidden spot and looked at her Pippsqueaks, leaving with a worried expression. "See Sunny?" Pipp called out. "The Pippsqueaks are waiting for my new product, and all I am going to do is let them down!" she cried with sadness. Sunny started to think for a moment. "Aha!" she said, once she had an idea to help Pipp. "Maybe if you got to know the Pippsqueaks a little better, making products they love would be easier!" she smiled. You could even create something together!" she pointed out. Pipp then smiled and looked at Sunny. "Sunny! You are a genius!" she said. "It's time to go undercover!" she announced with a grin. "Uh... I-I didn't mean..." Sunny tried to correct herself, but Pipp cut her off. "Now, all I need is a disguise..." Pipp said while rubbing her rainbow beard. Then she put on a hat and pink sunglasses, got out of the stand, and followed the fillies. And at that exact moment, Tails came out of Mane Melody, now without a beard and holding a spray with a yellow liquid and a towel. He saw Sunny's stand and boosted towards it. "Sunny!" Tails called out to her, which startled Sunny a bit. "Have you seen Pipp?!" he asked with worry. "She left a few minutes ago," Sunny replied with a little smile. "What?! No!" Tails cried out. "I need to find her!" he explained. "This is because of her beard, isn't it?" Sunny asked with a grin. "Yeah..." Tails replied and then boosted out, flying to search for Pipp. The three fillies from before played on the swings in a little park while Pipp spied them from behind a bush. Seashell pushed Peach Fizz on the swing, and Glory sprayed her hair. Once Peach Fizz stopped moving, she looked at her hair glowing and sparkling and smiled with joy. Pipp looked through her binoculars and gasped in awe at Peach Fizz's new style. "So creative!" she said, and then she wrote down what she was looking at. Later, Pipp followed the fillies again and watched them from a three-branch downwards. Seashell and Peach Fizz were dancing to a song that Glory was singing on her mic, which was connected to a speaker. But then, Glory flew a little over her friends and accidentally disconnected the mic from the speaker, which disappointed the three fillies. "Total design flaw," Pipp said and wrote in her notebook, but then she fell from the tree. A little bit later, the three fillies went to Rufus's sunglasses stand, where he also sold lip gloss. The fillies grabbed a lip gloss each and passed it over their lips, but Seashell stopped with a disappointed look. "Ugh, mine didn't work!" she complained. "Look! My lips aren't sparkly at all!" she pointed out. "Yeah, this glitter isn't sticking to mine either," Peach Fizz added. Pipp was watching them behind a cardboard copy of herself without eyes, but now it had her eyes since she was listening to her Pippsqueaks. "Glitter... lips..." Pipp repeated, and then she gasped with excitement. "Yes, that's it! Pippsqueaks, you are brilliant!" she called out and suddenly emerged from the cardboard, startling the fillies. "Pippsqueaks! I need your help!" she said to them with a smile. The fillies screamed when they saw Pipp. "Help you?! We don't even know you!" Seashell cried out and then turned to her friends. "Come on, ponies! Let's get out of here!" she said. "Wait! It's me! It's Pipp!" Pipp cried out as she took off her hat. "Um, no," Glory answered, not convinced. "That is Pipp," she pointed to the cutout behind her, which made Pipp gasp since she had forgotten about her rainbow beard. "You have a beard. Nice try," Glory said while she and her friends walked away. Pipp thought of a way to make the fillies realize she was the real Pipp. "Let out your light, shining bright, can ya see it? At Mane Melody!" she sang, while the fillies came back and looked at her with sparkling eyes, realizing that she was Pipp after all. "Wow! It is you!" Seashell said with sparkling eyes. "But... what happened to your face?" she asked, a little confused. Pipp gave the fillies a sheepish smile before answering. "That is a seriously long story," she replied, looking in all directions with embarrassment. "And more importantly, your lip glitter idea is genius!" she said with a smile. "Ah!" the fillies said together with smiles. "Would you ponies want to create it together?" Pipp asked with sparkling eyes. The fillies giggled at Pipp’s request, knowing that this was one of the best moments of their lives to help their favorite pop star. "Our answer is yes!” Seashell answered as she and her friends looked at Pipp with sparkling eyes. "Pipp!" Tails' voice called out as he landed next to the pegasus. "I finally found you!" he added with joy. "Tails!" Pipp said with a smile. "Where have you been?" she asked. "I've been looking around for you," Tails confessed. "I tried to warn you about the beard, but then I realized I had the same problem!" he said, showing the spray with the yellow liquid inside. "Really? How did you––?" Pipp tried to ask, but Tails sprayed her beard and passed the towel. When he retired it, the beard was gone, and Pipp touched her chin, confirming that she was free from her rainbow glitter beard. "Tails, you are a lifesaver!" she said with sparkling eyes and hugged the fox. "I'm glad to help!" Tails said with a smile. "Now, I heard about your fans' idea," he smirked. "How about we go back to the salon and make it come true?" he suggested to Pipp and the fillies. Sometime later, back in Mane Melody, Pipp placed her goggles over her eyes. "Ready?" she asked her fellow Pippsqueaks and Tails next to her, who were also wearing goggles. "Ready!" the fillies answered with sparkling eyes. "I was born ready!" Tails stated with a smile. The four ponies and the fox started pouring contents into a white bowl: lemons, flowers, and some honey. In a blue bowl, they smashed some vegetables together to liquefy them, and Pipp stirred them together. The bowl filled with purple glitter started to sparkle while the fillies, Pipp and Tails, looked at it in amazement with sparkling eyes. The fillies' and Pipp's Cutie Marks began to glow while the content was in the air before landing back down on the bowl, turning into a rainbow sparkle glitter that glowed. Pipp, Tails, and the Pippsqueaks gasped in fright and ducked for cover, with Pipp holding a shield to cover herself while Tails covered him and the fillies with his shield. "Hmm?" Pipp said, realizing that the glitter didn’t blow up this time. "Oh!" the fillies called out once they realized it didn’t blow. "Wow," Tails said, looking like the bowl didn't explode this time. The five of them cheered with giggles as they looked at their now successful new product. Then they high-hooved each other, with Tails using his fist since he had fingers. Later, Pipp started her livestream to show her new product to her fans and to everyone who watched the stream in general. "Hey, Pippsqueaks! My newest product is finally here!" Pipp cheered in the video. "And this one is extra special because the idea came from you, my friends!" she said while looking at Tails and the fillies, who giggled in response. "And here with a sneak peek at lip glitter is…" she said, then turned the camera to her fellow Pippsqueaks. "I'm Seashell!" Seashell called out with a yellow lip glitter on her. "And I call this color 'Maretime Bay Babe'! Mwah!" she winked before blowing a kiss to the camera. The camera turned to Glory, who had a pinkish lip glitter on her. "And I'm Glory! And my lip glitter is called 'Pega-Sassy'!" she said, winking at the camera. The camera finally turned to Peach Fizz next, with a purple lip glitter on her. "Hey, it's me, Peach Fizz! And this lip glitter is called... uh... uh…" She stopped with a nervous look and started to think about something. "'Unicorny Morning Breath'!" she announced with a nervous smile. Pipp returned the camera to her, laughing nervously at the name Peach Fizz gave to the lip gloss. "Well, you know, we're still working out all the details," she said to the viewers, holding the purple lip glitter with a wink. "But lip glitter is coming soon! Laters!" she said and then ended the livestream. "'Unicorny Morning Breath'?" she asked Peach Fizz in amusement. Peach Fizz felt embarrassed when that weird name came out of nowhere. "Uh... I'm so sorry, Pipp!" she cried as tears began forming. "I-I panicked! I've never done a livestream before!" she cried out. And then Pipp, Tails, Seashell, and Glory laughed at Peach Fizz's panic. Then, Glory and Seashell brought her in a group hug, while Pipp brought the three fillies into a big group hug, wrapping her hooves around her three Pippsqueaks with a laugh. "The time has finally come to take some action!" Eggman declared with an evil grin as he pressed a button that opened the capsules before him. Slowly, the five capsules containing the Metal Mane opened up. The five robots' eyes turned on, and they stepped out of the capsules to put on formation and Face Eggman. "My masterpieces, my Metal Mane, your mission to blame and destroy the Mane 5 will have to wait," Eggman started to explain. "Right now, your priority has to be finding the location of the remaining Chaos Emerald," he declared. "Even if the ones I possess right now aren't at their full potential, having the remaining one must be a warning for Sonic to understand that I'm not playing around this time," he stated. He then walked to his computer, made some images of Maretime Bay, Zephyr Heights, and Bridlewood appear, and turned back to the Metal Mane. "Search up and down on each one of these cities," Eggman ordered with a frown. "Brake into places, mad some ponies, look under every single place, even on the ocean if you have to! But don't you dare to return unless you have that Emerald, understood?!" he questioned with a big frown at the Metal Mane. "Yes, doctor," the five robots replied. "Very well, then. Now, fly up!" Eggman ordered as the five ponies got out of the lab by a secret passage so that Opaline wouldn't notice them. Eggman turned his gaze back to the computer and made an image of Team Sonic and the Mane 5 appear. "Sonic, little ponies, be as happy as you can. Soon enough, I will erase those smiles," Eggman declared with an evil grin. He then started to laugh maniacally, ready to finally kill Sonic. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: MAKE YOUR MARK (CHAPTER 2) Author's Note Once again, we're moving out to the Main Series! But, unlike last time, I am going to put TYT on hiatus since it's going to take two weeks or three to publish the whole series before Winter Wish Day, so we're not coming back here until Monday November 14th or something like that, because after publishing Make Your Mark, I'm publishing Issue 6 of the IDW Comics. Anyways, see ya on Wednesday with Sonic x Make Your Mark: Chapter 2! Bye! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
29. Dragon DadAuthor's Note WARNING! Important to read Sonic x Make Your Mark from episodes 2 to 9 before continue. P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 29. Dragon Dad At the Sheriff Station, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were playing with Sparky as he was swinging in a bucket with hoof cuffs on a lamp to stabilize it; Izzy pushed Sparky to swing, and the rest smiled at the cute baby dragon while Sparky cheered in joy and Zipp began to swing Sparky next, though a little too hard at the swinging when she hit the bucket. Hitch and Knuckles watched from Hitch's desk, keeping a close eye on Sparky, being overprotective of that dragon after he disappeared a few days ago. Their worry grew when they saw a tiny crack in the cuffs' chain, and they gasped in panic. "Ponies, stop! The hoof cuffs are about to…" Hitch tried to warn but got cut off when Zipp hit Sparky's bucket so hard that the hoof cuff snapped and shot Sparky into the air, with the rest looking in shock and Zipp surprised at her strength, while Hitch shrieked in panic and trotted off to catch his dragon. Sparky cheered at the excitement as his bucket fell, while Hitch cried out as he flopped to the floor and caught Sparky, but then he skied through the floor and hit a table cabinet with a fruit bowl on top, and then a pineapple landed on Hitch’s head. "Great," Hitch groaned, glad that Sparky was okay but really annoyed that he got fruit on his face again. Sparky licked some pineapple content off Hitch's head as he cheered at the taste, with Hitch sighing at this outcome. Hitch got up from the floor while Knuckles retired the pineapple from his head, while Hitch held Sparky in his hooves. "Right. That’s it. You ponies obviously need a refresher on the 'Three S'es of Successful Pony Parenting,'" Hitch said to the group as he put down Sparky. "The Three S’es?" Sunny asked as she and the others were confused. "You didn't just make that up, did you?" Sonic questioned with a raised eyebrow and his arms crossed. Hitch looked at them in disbelief, realizing that he just made up the new rules, and he tried to think about them carefully as he smiled nervously. "Pssh, no! Uh..." he then started to laugh nervously. "You know. Um… Uh… My foolproof system for perfect dragon parenting!" he quickly said, thinking about the rules while Sparky shuffled around with the bucket on his head as Knuckles chased him. "Uh… Number one: Keep them safe! Yeah," Hitch said while Knuckles launched himself in front of Sparky and placed a surge on the side of his desk before he hit it, which caused the dragon to sit on the ground from the sudden soft impact. "Number two: No snacks!" Hitch cried out, wrapping all the snacks in a cloth from the table and starting to shred them on the shredder. Izzy gasped at the shredded snacks and smiled. "Spaghetti snacks!" she said with a cheery smile while Knuckles facepalmed at Hitch, overthinking things... again. Hitch turned to his friends again for the last S rule. "And three: Never let them out of your sight! Wait, where’d he go?" he asked, looking around and not seeing Sparky anywhere. "Sparky? Sparky?!" he called out to him with worry and panic. The rest looked at him strangely as Zipp chuckled at Hitch and pointed to his head. "Up top, sheriff," she said to Hitch. Hitch looked up where Zipp was pointing and saw Sparky on top of his head. "Yah!" Sparky cheered, waving his paws. "I know!" Hitch quickly said with an embarrassing smile. "That was… a test," he said, chuckling sheepishly. "And you passed," he added with a sheepish smile. Knuckles rolled his eyes at Hitch’s attitude. "Man, you are overthinking and overprotective again," he said boredly. "I don’t overthink things, Knux. I’m just trying to keep Sparky safe," Hitch said stubbornly, but Knuckles' face said otherwise. "Oh, come on! When was the last time I overthought things?" he asked him and the others. "Those times you used to think unicorns and pegasi were bad news," Sonic said with an amusing expression. Hitch blinked at the mention of that. "Okay, good point. But aside from that?" he asked with a confident smile. "That time when you made every earth pony, Sunny included, from using their magic, it backfired," Tails reminded me with a bored expression. "You even tried to erase it from existing," he pointed out. "And the actual last time, you put us in a chase all around Maretime Bay that ended up scaring everypony," Knuckles listed with a frown. "Heck, you even threatened them on a terrible Robin cosplay!" he pointed out. "Who's Robin?" Izzy asked in whispers to Sunny at her side. "I have no idea," Sunny replied in whispers. Hitch blinked in surprise at all those points and then chuckled sheepishly. "Okay. I see your point, guys," he said with a chuckle. But this time is different! I’m just trying to look after Sparky, and these three rules will keep him safe," he assured. "Well, I hope so because last time he got lost, I got a scar on my back," Sonic said with a frown and his hands on his hip. "And even tho another scar would look badass on me..." he said with a little smile that faded away once he saw Pipp staring daggers at him. "... I'd rather not get another one if that means I have to get her rage again," he added with an anxious look. "Uh, who's 'her'?" Tails questioned. "You live better without knowing it," Sonic replied. Misty was walking by outside the station, but then she stopped and saw the window open, curious to know what was happening inside. Back in the station, Sparky giggled a bit but then stopped as he felt a burp coming up. With that burp came his magic dragon fire, which went out the window. "Whoa!" Misty cried out as she ducked from Sparky’s dragon fire. "Wait a second," she said, placing a hoof on her chin. "That looked like... dragon fire?!" she called out with wide eyes in realization, since she saw that fire when Opaline asked her to capture him. And then Misty’s medallion, which Opaline gave her to stay in contact, opened up glowing and floating, pointing to the open window of the station. At the same time, Misty peeked through it and watched Sparky on Hitch’s head. Hitch panicked because Sparky kept shooting his dragon fire. Misty saw this and brought out her notebook to write down what she saw. "If I can get some juicy intel on Sparky’s dragon fire, maybe Opaline will finally stop talking about it," she said with an annoying look, as she remembered every time Opaline mentioned that dragon fire. Opaline was shaking Misty, growing dizzy, while Eggman cringed behind. "Get me that dragon fire!" Opaline demanded Misty, while said unicorn looked scared at Opaline’s outburst. Them, Opaline was showing Misty and Eggman a diagram with a candle on her hoof as she turned with a mischievous smile. "With dragon fire, I’ll be the most powerful Fire Alicorn of all time!" she announced with an evil laugh, while Misty looked on with a nervous smile, nodding her head to Opaline and looking around, while Eggman rubbed his eyes with one hand in annoyance. And finally, Opaline was taking a nap on her throne straight up with a hoof on her cheek. "Dragon…" she said as she snored. "fire…" she snored again, then turned to the other side with her other hoof touching her cheek while Misty looked worried at Opaline since she was so obsessed with dragon fire. "Misty, I swear I'll end up killing someone if you don't bring her her damn fire..." Eggman said with an annoyed look. Misty ended her flashbacks with a strange and focused her attention back to the station to keep notes of what she saw. In the station, Hitch looked determined as he walked in front of the others, Misty peeking through the window without the others' knowledge. "The station is danger-proof from head to hoof! Hey, that rhymed," Hitch said with a small smile. "Oh!" Sunny realized as Izzy nodded. "Like putting those safety locks on cover doors," she said while pointing to the covered door with a safety lock. "Uh. Try a six-point laser-triggered alarm system!" Hitch said as he pulled a red button from his hoof and pressed it, making two laser stands appear and six lasers appear in front of the cover door. "Dude, if you made this because of what I said when we first met about having worse security than Eggman, then please grow up," Sonic said with a bored expression, while Tails at his side just looked confused. Izzy ran to the stands and touched the laser with her hoof, which caused the alarm to go off as the station glowed red. Izzy felt amazed as she stopped touching the laser, but then, of course, she placed her hoof back on the laser, touching it repeatedly as the alarm went off with each touch. Knuckles came close to Izzy with a bored expression as he shook a pair of keys in front of Izzy, which got her attention as she stopped touching the laser. Knuckles walked backward while Izzy hopped after the keys. Hitch sighs at Izzy's personality since he should've seen that coming. Behind him, Sparky was playfully chopping a carrot with a knife quickly. Hitch turned, saw this, and gasped in panic, running towards Sparky as he snatched the knife from his paws. "And there are sharp objects," he nervously said, putting the knife in his toolbox and locked it in a safe. "Always keep them locked safely away," he said, putting the safe in a bigger safe with a hoof scanner and locking it in the cage. "And under constant watch!" he cried out as he got his animal crew, with cop hats on their heads, out of a wall door; they saluted Hitch and hopped down to the floor, walking back and forth while guarding the safe. Zipp looked strangely at Hitch's overdoing things while Pipp smiled strangely. "Hmm. Nice and simple," she said to the stallion's safety lessons. And then, Hitch appeared between the two sisters, startling Zipp and Pipp at his sudden appearance. "Lastly, make sure you cushion all the hard corners and edges," he said, placing bubble wraps on every hard corner and edge in the station, including his framed on the wall, the map, and some hard-edged objects. He even wrapped Sparky in bubble wrap for safety. "See! No risk of harm whatsoever," he said to the others, starting to sweat under pressure. Sparky jumped up and down while trapped in his bubble wrap, then tripped to the floor, which caused his dragon fire to come out again. Sparky’s dragon fire hit a stabler behind Zipp, who dodged the dragon fire while the stabler turned into a gag, winded up teeth, and bit Zipp's tail as she cringed in pain. "OW!" Zipp cried out in pain. "Well, I hope you learn how to control that dragon fire soon as well," Knuckles said with a frown, carefully pulling the teeth off Zipp's tail and throwing them away. "It's getting wilder," he pointed out. Outside the station, Misty kept watching as she wrote down what she saw in her notebook with an awed expression. "Whoa! No wonder Opaline wants that dragon fire. It’s so powerful!" she said in amazement, then ducked. "Yikes!" she screamed, tossing her pen into the air and dodging another of Sparky’s dragon fire, which hit her pen and turned it into a green mini guitar, which Misty caught and stared in shock at. Later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic walked through Maretime Bay, with Hitch holding Sparky on a child's leash so he won't go far. "Now, Mane Street is the best practice for what I call 'snack resistance' training," he said to the rest while an earth pony stallion passed by, pulling a cart with cotton candy. "Sparky needs to be able to---!" he tried to say, but then cried out in surprise when Sparky rushed off after the cotton candy, dragging Hitch along while the rest watched with surprised looks. "Sometimes I don't understand how a baby dragon like him can have such strength..." Knuckles said with an anxious look. Hitch screamed as Sparky dragged him while trying to get the cotton candy, moving past ponies on the sidewalk and running past some bushes while Hitch hit them as he was being dragged. Misty was hiding in a trash can to get more intel on Sparky’s dragon fire without being noticed, but then Sparky started running towards her at high speed, with Hitch being dragged as he screamed with a bush on his head. Misty looked on in shock as Sparky hit Misty’s trash can, tossing it into the air. Misty crashed back to the floor with a thud while the trash can landed on her head. Hitch continued to scream with the bush on his head, but luckily, it didn’t last long since he came to a stop. Hitch shook the bush off his head, which messed up his mane from the rush and bush as he regained sight. But then Sparky started rushing off again past the dead bush, while Hitch screamed again, then got hit by a pole that Sparky circled as they came to a stop with Hitch sweating in the exhaust, while Sparky carried a giant cotton candy he got from the stand. Hitch chuckled nervously as he continued to where he had left off with the rest while a cake cart walked past them. "As I was saying. He needs to be able to…!" he got cut off again as he cried out since Sparky saw the cakes and ran to them, dragging Hitch along again as the others watched on. "This is going to take a while..." Sonic said with a bored expression. Sometime later, Sparky carried a cake as he giggled. Hitch flopped on the floor, looking very tired with his messy mane. Sparky placed the cake on a pile of treats and snacks he grabbed after seeing them while the others watched in amazement and shock at what had just happened. Hitch got up, looking tired as he looked at his friends. "It's a learning curve," he said tiredly, trying to cover up his embarrassment at what just happened. Izzy popped up from the pile of snacks, smiling as she ate a cupcake. "This learning curve tastes like blueberries!" she said cheerfully, eating the whole blueberry cupcake. "At this point, I can't believe you're still in one piece taking care of Sparky," Tails confessed with a neutral expression. "Thank Chaos I was there, Tails; otherwise, he would be dead by now," Knuckles whispered to him. Then Sunny, Zipp, Pipp, and Team Sonic gave panicked expressions at what they saw next. "Um, Hitch? What did you say the third 'S' was?" Sunny asked nervously. "Never let them out of your sight," Hitch said with a smile. But when he saw Sunny pointing to the leash quietly and with a nervous look, Hitch turned and panicked when he saw Sparky’s child's leash was empty. "Ah! Where’s he gone? Where’s Sparky?! We have to find him!" he cried out in panic. "Oh Gosh, here we go again..." Sonic muttered as he facepalmed in frustration. Hitch then turned to his friends. "Izzy, check the beach!" he pointed to Izzy, who saluted him in response as Hitch got between Sunny and Zipp. "Zipp, Tails, be our eyes in the sky!" he said to Zipp and Tails as they flew into the air, and Hitch turned to Sunny. "Sunny, you… uh… skate around until you find him!" he said, running out of ideas, as Sunny nodded with a determined smile. "And Sonic…” Hitch said while looking at Sonic. "I know, I know. Run around town, Gotta Go Fast, blah, blah, blah..." Sonic replied with a bored face. "Yeah!" Hitch said with a smile as he and Knuckles trotted off to look for Sparky again. But before Sonic could boost out running, he turned to see Pipp looking at him with a frown. "And...?" she questioned, still frowning and raising an eyebrow. Sonic rolled his eyes and sighed, frustrated. "And I'll be as careful as my reckless attitude and spirit allows me to be," he said with a little smile. Pipp just nodded, satisfied with the result, and then flew away, while Sonic sighed in relief and scratched his head. "I'll guess we'll act like that kiss never happened, huh?" Sonic muttered to himself with a little smile. "Oh well, better remember it then," he stated, boosting out to search for Sparky. At the beach, Izzy used her detector to find Sparky while Misty, hiding behind a rock, spied on her. Izzy’s detector blinked in red as it found Sparky's footprints. Izzy smiled excitedly as she trotted off at high speed, which made the sand blowing off the ground and onto Misty, who coughed at the sand in her mouth and on her. In the sky, Zipp was wearing her Z-Goggles, while Tails used his high-tech goggles. Both were scanning an area in Maretime Bay for Sparky in Thermal mode. Then, their sight stopped at Mane Melody, spotting Sparky cheerfully running inside the salon. That made Zipp and Tails gasp as they looked at each other, knowing they had found Sparky. Zipp quickly contacted Pipp, who is closest to Mane Melody. Inside Mane Melody, Sparky was playing around with some of Pipp’s makeover supplies, placing shampoo bottles on his head and creating blue, pink, and yellow bubbles. Then, Pipp came rushing in with a pant, startling Jazz in the process. Pipp looked around for Sparky, turned to Jazz, and shook her. None of them noticed Sparky walking behind them and out of the salon with a yellow mane wig on his head as Jazz rushed out of Pipp’s sight, a little scared at Pipp’s reaction while Pipp looked around for Sparky, and then stepped on a bottle as it squirted some yellow content. Misty was reading a magazine in Mane Melody while sitting in a chair, spying on the group's movement, but she saw the yellow content hit her on her mane, which caused her mane to get poofy in the process as Misty looked at it in shock. Sunny was skating around somewhere else in Maretime Bay while placing Missing Posters of Sparky for anypony to find him. But Sunny didn’t know that Sparky was behind her, giggling and folding up the posters into paper airplanes as he launched them away before doing it again to the others with giggles. Behind Sparky was Misty, who looked exhausted from what had been happening to her today, having three paper airplanes from Sparky on her poofy mane. Misty gasped as she saw another one coming and tried to shoo it away, but then tripped over the railing and fell off the cliff side, hanging onto a branch to keep her from falling into the ocean. Sonic ran around town to look after the baby dragon. "Come on, Sparkeroni! Where are you?!" Sonic questioned, as he kept running until he spotted something in the corner of his eye. He then ran closer to one of the cake carts from before and found Sparky eating a whole cake. "Well, look at that," Sonic said softly, lifting Sparky with his hands. "You enjoy giving your father, uncles, and aunts a big scare, don't you?" he said to Sparky, who just giggled in response. "Oh well, let's take you back with your dad before he does more crazy stuff," he stated. Once again, Sparky giggled and cheered while Sonic boosted towards the station with the baby dragon in his arms. Back at the station, the Mane 5, Tails, and Knuckles returned after having no signs of Sparky anywhere, while Hitch started to break down. "I can’t even look after one baby dragon!" Hitch cried out over the missing Sparky as he flopped to the floor. The rest gave him sympathetic looks, and he started to tear up. Something zoomed past Hitch, and then a dragon fire shot over Hitch, which startled him. He got up and saw that dragon fire hit his tail. He looked in the direction where the shot came from and found Sonic with a smirk, as he had Sparky playing over his head. "Sparky!” Hitch called out in relief as he ran towards Sonic and grabbed his baby dragon. "Oh, thank hoofness!" he breathed, nuzzling Sparky before placing him back down. "I was so worried! I thought you might have fallen into the sea or baked into a pie or eaten by bees or…!" he cried out dramatically. Izzy then came in front of Hitch with a comforting smile while holding Floppy in front of him. "Look at little Floppy, Hitch. Look at little Floppy," she said to Hitch as he looked at Floppy. Once Hitch looked at the bunny, who smiled cutely at him, he calmed down as he took a deep breath. "There we are," Izzy said with a calm smile. "Wait! Where do you find him, Sonic?" Hitch asked the hedgehog. "On the cake cart... again," Sonic replied with a smirk. "Oh, okay..." Hitch said, then sighed in relief. "I’m sorry, everypony. I just… Aah! All I want is to be a great dragon dad!" he said, his voice cracking as he held Sparky. "Oh, Hitch, Hitch, Hitch... You say that, but you don't realize you already are one," Sonic said, placing his arm around his neck. "Sonic's right, Hitch," Sunny told him. She and the others smiled at him, and Sunny walked towards him. "You are a great dragon dad," she said, placing a hoof on his shoulder before looking at Sparky. "Just look at how much you cared about Sparky," she pointed out as the rest huddled close to him. "But honestly, I think you can relax a little bit," she added. "Yeah, man, try to chill a little bit," Knuckles said with a smile. Outside the station, Misty crawled to the open window again as she groaned, exhausted at what she had gone through today, with her mane still poofy and having paper airplanes on. "Sunny and Knuckles are right," Zipp said with a smile. "Sparky might be a baby, but he’s made of pretty tough stuff," she said while giving Sparky a belly rub. This caused the baby dragon to laugh, but then he began to puff up, and Hitch knew what that meant. Once Misty tried to get a close peek at the window, she got hit by Sparky’s dragon fire, which caused her mane to turn into a flower. That did it as Misty fainted from that, having endured enough punishment for one day. In the station, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic stared in shock at Sparky's surprise dragon fire as Sparky puffed some out of his mouth. "But seriously, tho, we need to find a way to control that fire breath of his..." Sonic pointed out with widened eyes. "Thanks, everypony," Hitch said with a smile as he placed Sparky down. "And you’re right. I need to be less controlling," he said in guilt as he scratched his neck. Hey Sparky, I’m sorry I was so…" He tried to apologize but stopped once he and the rest realized that Sparky was missing again. "Sparky?" Hitch called out again as they looked around for any sign of him. "Why does this dragon keep disappearing?!" Knuckles cried out with frustration. It didn’t take long for the group to look out the window and see Sparky rolling across a giant ball of bubble wrap, which he wrapped together from Hitch’s office. "SPARKY, NO!" the Mane 5 and Team Sonic cried out in unison as Sparky continued to roll the bubble wrap ball across Maretime Bay for more fun. THE END...?
30. Nightmare Night PartyIn Mane Melody, Pipp gave a determined smirk, wearing a royalty costume, and looked at the crowd, who were also wearing costumes. "Who’s ready for a Nightmare Night fright-shion show!?" Pipp called out on the stage through her microphone. The crowd cheered in response as they were ready for the show. It was Nightmare Night in Equestria, the equivalent of Halloween for the ponies, where they could dress up and have treats or do scary tricks, so Pipp decided to build a party in Mane Melody since this is the first-ever Nightmare Night of all three tribes together after generations. "Let’s kick off with the Triplets of Terror!" Pipp announced as she pointed to her Pippsqueaks. Peach Fizz, Seashell, and Glory wore the same blue dresses as they walked on stage with blank, scary looks. "Aw, adorable, right?" Pipp asked the crowd, finding her Pippsqueaks adorable. The crowd disagreed, finding their looks scary, just as it should be. Pipp smiled as she looked back at the stage with a smirk. "Princess Zephyrina is clear for takeoff!" she announced as the light shone on Zipp. Zipp, wearing a red archer costume, smirked and flew off. She did a twirl and a loop twice as she flew around Mane Melody, then did a front flip and landed back on the stage with a proud smile as applause was heard from the crowd. Pipp looked at her paper card and smiled. "Next, it’s the random Rufunzo!" she announced, as Rufus came out of the stage next while hopping around in a silly way. Rufus' costume was just a silly clown costume, with makeup, a red nose, a rainbow clown wig, a bow tie, and clown boots. He hopped around the stage while making squeaky noises and smiling. Then he hopped into the air, posed, and landed on the stage, making squeaky noises as the crowd smiled at his performance. "Here’s Hitch as…" Pipp announced as Hitch walked into the crowd, wearing the disco costume he wore to Sunny’s party; he danced around, and the crowd cheered. "... Hitch, but with a mustache!" Pipp finished as Hitch pointed to the fake mustache on his face, which made the crowd cheer him on. "Our next costume is... Ooh! Treasure hunter Knuckles!" Pipp announced with a smile. Then, Knuckles entered the stage doing tricks with a noose as he wore his cowboy hat, brown variants of his shoes, black gloves with metallic knuckles, and a beige jacket. Knuckles then made a loop on air, putting the noose aside professionally and posing with a smile on the stage as the ponies cheered at him. Backstage, Sunny looked at her compact mirror and inspected herself in costume. Meanwhile, Sonic struggled to place the fake sharp teeth in his mouth correctly. "Hurry up, Tails! After Sunny, it is our turn, and I still need to put the spikes on the shoes!" he told Tails, who was dying the tip of Sonic's quills white. "I know, I know," Tails said, a little annoyed but with a smile. "I'm almost done, don't worry," he assured. "Trading the Shine of the Sun for the Dark of the Moon…" Pipp's voice was heard. "Looks like it is my turn..." Sunny said with a smile, closing the mirror and putting it aside. "Good luck, Sunny!" Tails told her, waving his hand. "Go get them, girl!" Sonic told as well, raising his thumbs. "Thanks, guys!" Sunny smiled. "Good luck to you as well!" she told them, heading towards the stage. "And... there!" Tails announced, as he got down Sonic and the hedgehog looked at himself in the mirror. "Now look at that. Despite the size, I look exactly like I did when I got the real transformation," Sonic said with a smile. "So, are you ready, lil' bro?" he asked Tails. "I'm ready! Ready to bring Tails Doll legend alive!" Tails stated with a smile, now putting on the full costume. "Well, then... let the Night of the Werehog begin!" Sonic stated, now with a deep voice and a smile that showed his fake sharp teeth. "... Sunny!" Pipp announced to the crowd outside the stage that blue mist had appeared, and so did a shadow figure, Sunny, as she spread her wings. Sunny walked down the stage as the ponies were frightened by Sunny's costume, while she gave a scowl expression. "Mmm," she hummed, making a mean look and spreading her wings, making the crowd gasp, revealing that Sunny was wearing a Nightmare Moon costume, armor, black wings, and a horn with a helmet to boot. "Hey, everypony!" Sunny called out suddenly with a wave and a smile. The crowd cheered at Sunny's costume and the performance she did, almost looking so real when she acted like the actual Nightmare Moon. "Now, two of our visitors from another dimension have brought old legends of their home to life!" Pipp announced on the microphone. "The adorable Tails has embraced a dark and spooky side as... Tails Doll!" she announced in a spooky tone. The lights turned on to show Tails sitting menacingly like an actual doll. He had small white tape around his hands, tails, shoes, belly, and head, a white mask covering his mouth, and a headband with a red jewel in the middle. He then started to spin his tail to fly around the stage but only moved his tail since the rest of his body stood still like a doll. The crowd looked in fright at the performance, scared that Tails could be that scary. At the end of the stage, Tails himself falls like a doll on the ground, which startled th audience a bit. And then... "BOO!" Tails shouted, standing up quick enough to show widened fake red eyes and fake claws on his hands, which scared the crowd a lot as they screamed. After successfully having scared the crowd, Tails took off his mask on his mouth and smiled at them. "Happy Nightmare Night, everyone!" he said in a cheerful tone, as the crowd cheered at him, too, liking his performance as a scary doll of himself. "Our second legend from another world, portrayed now by Sonic the Hedgehog: The Werehog!" Pipp announced with a smile on the mic. "I have no idea what that is, though," she muttered to herself, away from the microphone. Then, smoke came out of the backstage, and a pair of green eyes opened menacingly in the darkness. Then, Sonic started to walk slowly on the stage. His fur was Prussian blue, and the tip of his quills was white. He wore gloves, white fur on his wrists, and big grey hands with sharp claws. His shoes had spikes over the white stripe, and he growled as he showed his sharp teeth. As he growled, he walked on four legs like a wolf, looking with a scowl at the crowd, who again looked in fright at Sonic's costume. Just to be clear, it is just a costume, but it looks very real. Even some colts and fillies started to shake in fear at the weird costume Sonic was wearing. And once he stopped in front of the the stage, he stared at the rest for a few seconds, until.... "OWOOOOO!" Sonic howled as he showed his teeth at the crowd with a growl, and they all screamed until Sonic started to laugh it up with his usual smirk, still showing his sharp teeth. "Hope you enjoy the party, ya'll!" he said as the crowd cheered at the performance again. Sonic looked sideways at Pipp and winked at her before getting down from the stage, which caused the pegasus to blush and laugh nervously. At the back of the stage, Jazz was doing Sunny hoof... now hold on a second. Sunny's hoof? Strange, she's out there with the others... right? "And… Done!" Jazz said with a smile after finishing the hooficure on Sunny's hoof. "Thanks, Jazzle-Dazzle!" Izzy’s voice spoke as Sunny's hoof waved at her. Izzy the whole time, with a costume on that somehow involved Sunny. "Bye!" Izzy waved as she went out to the stage, and Jazz smiled. Thank God! I thought I was going crazy for a second... "Here comes Izzy!" Pipp announced while Izzy came into view to the crowd with sparkling eyes, waving her hoof at them quickly. Izzy's costume was... something. She was wearing makeup of different body parts of each of her friends: Sunny’s rainbow mane on the left, Knuckles red hair on her right, Sunny's hoof on the left, Hitch's hoof on the right, Zipp's hoof on her right hind leg, Pipp's hoof on her left hind leg, Tails' tails, Pipp's wings on her back and her hooficure on her hind legs were a resemble of Sonic's shoes. "Ah!" The camera-pony said. He found Izzy’s costume amazing, and the crowd cheered for Izzy. "Oh-ho-ho, and she's brought all her best friends!" Pipp announced, while Izzy just smiled at the crowd. "And next to the stage, we have Mane Melody's very ooooown... Jazz!" she called out with a smile. At the backstage, Jazz gasped in panic. Since she didn’t have a costume yet and was trying to see which one was right for her, she scrolled through the style mirror that showed her with a purple mask on. "Oh, no, no! Come on, Jazz! Pick one!" Jazz frankly said to herself in a panic, checking which one suited her the best while the mirror showed her wearing an eyepatch, then the next one wearing a winking helmet and wig. Suddenly, Misty sneaked into the product room, wearing a half-peacock mask and a hood as she checked to see if the coast was clear. Jazz didn't notice since she kept checking for what costume she should wear, while Misty hid behind a costume pile, checking to see if the coast was clear again, then ran out of her hiding spot. "What do I do?! What do I— Whoa!" Jazz cried out as she didn’t see Misty, who didn’t see her either. The two ponies bumped into each other, and Jazz hit a rack of costumes. Some fell on Misty as Jazz rolled away. "Jazz has come as…" Pipp announced, turning to the stage as Jazz rolled down on it, wearing different pieces of each costume. The ponies gasped at the sight, and Jazz felt dizzy from the rolling. "...whatever this is," Pipp said sheepishly, having no idea what happened. The ponies cheered at what they saw while Jazz smiled at them. "Awww!" she said as she bowed at their kindness. "Never saw something like that, but who am I to complain?" Knuckles said with a smile. Back in the product room, Misty got out of the pile of costumes as she looked at her amulet. "Okay, Opaline. We're in," Misty said to the amulet. Now that nobody was around, the amulet clicked open, and some dark magic mist emerged from it, forming into Opaline, who yawned tiredly at the long wait. "Took you long enough," Opaline said to Misty, looking around. She saw some familiar decorations and gave a bored look. "Ugh, puh-lease! Nightmare Night is so—" she got cut off when a Pegasnail flew through her spiritual face, which startled her. "Was that a... flying snail?" she asked in shock and then groaned. "Ugh! This place has gone downhill. Ugh," she groaned, then looked at Misty. "Anyway, tell me the plan again, Misty," she ordered. Misty smiled at Opaline as she pointed in the other direction. "First, I need to get—" she tried to explain but was cut off when Opaline interrupted and got in Misty’s face. "Get these ponies to use their magic so we can figure out how it works and then take it from them!" Opaline ordered, then laughed evilly. Misty gave a forceful laugh, wanting to join in with Opaline, but Opaline stopped and looked at Misty with an amused look. "You need to stop doing that. It throws me off," she stated before giving her a serious look. "Now, get. To. Work!" she demanded with an angry look, while the smoke sucked back into the amulet as it closed, with Misty giving a sad look. Misty sneaked around among the crowd in Mane Melody's main room and smirked. “Oh, everypony looks great!” Pipp announced to her microphone while flying with a smile. At a table, Team Sonic watched the whole party going with smiles. "I can't believe the costumes worked!" Tails cheered. "I was scared they would think it looked poor." "I guess this guy is easier to impress than we give them credit for," Knuckles pointed out. "I'm just glad the party's going well so far," Sonic said with a smile. "Aaand I jinx us all..." he added with a bored expression. "Now, let's get the party started! Hit it!" Pipp announced, but she didn’t hear anything as she turned to Jazz, who smirked at her and blew her hoof. Jazz then played the music, adding wolf howls as she bopped her head to it. Pipp then got between two ponies as she began to sing with a smirk. Pipp: There somethin' kinda creepy Happenin' tonight Jazz: So call your favorite ghoulies And get your costume right Rocky: They may look freaky But I promise they won't bite As Jazz sang, Rufus tried to catch an apple tied to a rope in the apple bucket but failed repeatedly as the apple kept moving. Misty was the one moving the rope with her hoof, smiling evilly with an evil chuckle. Pipp: And they say the place is haunted But the dancing's a delight Pipp sang with a smirk as the ponies around were laughing and dancing to the music. Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky: It may look scary But don't be afraid The 'Triples of Terror' were taking a drink from a Halloween fountain, their expressions from the stage still present. Misty walked to the fountain after them and turned the dial red. 'Cause nothing's what it seems At a monster partay Pipp sang as she flew up, singing to the crowd. Misty chuckled sinisterly at her actions and whistled innocently as she walked off, leaving the fountain to overflow. It may look spooky But don't have a fright 'Cause at this monster party We'll rock all night As Pipp sang, she stopped momentarily when she saw Rufus still trying to get the apple. He kept failing, and he cried a bit. Misty kept walking as she muttered to herself. "I am just being normal. Normal! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo-hoo!" she cheered as she began to dance. She could not resist dancing to the music, so she danced around and kicked her hind hooves to the party. Misty danced backward, and then her flank hit Izzy; with Zipp and Tails next to her, Misty stopped dancing and turned around to see the three friends smiling at her. "Wow! Great mask, Misty," Izzy complimented, with Zipp nodding in agreement. "Yeah! Did you make it yourself?" Tails asked curiously. "What, this old thing?" Misty asked with a smile, but before she could go any further, her amulet started to glow and dragged her away from them. "Whoa-oa-oa! I love this song!" she protested to the amulet while the ponies in the crowd saw this, confused. Izzy, Zipp, and Tails gave Misty a strange look and looked at each other. "That pony’s sparkle is all mixed up," Izzy said, looking suspiciously at Misty. "And that amulet seemed strange..." Tails said with a raised eyebrow, rubbing his chin. "Yeah," Zipp agreed with the two, giving a suspicious look as well. "Something's very suspicious about her— Whoa!" Zipp cried out as the fountain drink began to flow to them while the ponies in the party backed up from the overflow drink. It may look scary But don't be afraid 'Cause nothing's what it seems At a monster partay It may look spooky But don't have a fright— Misty kicked a pumpkin, messed up the decorations, and ripped off some stickers around Mane Melody. Rufus finally managed to grab the apple, but then Misty yanked the rope tied to it, causing Rufus to fall into the apple bucket. This wet the ponies around it, and Rufus emerged with an irritated look and his clown makeup undone. Misty pulled a plug that turned off all power in Mane Melody, and the music stopped. The ponies started murmuring to themselves, wanting to know what had happened, as Misty gave a sinister chuckle. "Everypony, stay calm!" Pipp announced through the microphone on stage to get everypony to calm down. "We can fix this!" she assured them. "Yeah, you jinxed us, Hedgehog," Knuckles said, looking around confused. "Be glad my claws aren't real, Knucklehead," Sonic told him with a frown as he showed his fake teeth, and Knuckles did get a bit scared while they both got on stage to stay away from the overflow. Behind the stage, Misty took out the amulet. "Well?" she asked Opaline about all this through the amulet. As the amulet clicked open, Opaline’s spiritual figure appeared again as she looked around at what Misty had done. "No one loves ruining a party as much as I do, Misty," Opaline said to Misty as she smiled. "But I'm here to see them use their magic, remember?" she reminded her with a frown. "Wait for it…" Misty said with a smirk. At the apple bucket, Rufus ducked his head many times to grab an apple, but when he finally caught it with his teeth, his hooves touched the bottom of the buck, accidentally activating his earth pony magic. And then, a giant plant grew out of the bucket, with Rufus at the top. Opaline gasped with a smile at this outcome while the ponies murmured to themselves. The fountain bubbles overflowed, and the Pegasi flew out of range. "Oh, no!" Zipp cried out, seeing the decorations begin to overflow. "Pipp's decorations!" she cried out. "Don't worry, Zipp!" Izzy called out with a determined smile on the stage walk, with Sunny, Hitch, and Team Sonic behind her. She used her magic to levitate the decorations off the stand but accidentally hit the Pegasi. "Ah!" Zipp cried out while dodging one of them. "Izzy, watch out!" she pointed out. A pumpkin then fell into the fountain bubbles, and Izzy covered her face when it made a splash. Knuckles then pulled out his noose, used it to grab some of the decorations, and pulled them back. "Tails, hold me up!" Sonic told the fox as he jumped to stand on his hands, and Tails grabbed him from his feet. He then carried Sonic around as the hedgehog grabbed as many decorations as possible to put them on safety. Opaline laughed at this outcome. "I've seen all I need to see. Look at this chaos," she said to Misty with a smile. "Once I have that dragon fire, none of these ponies could ever challenge me!" she confidently stated. "And Misty?" she called out, as Misty gave a smile with sparkling eyes. "Don't dawdle on your way home this time," she said with a bored expression as the amulet closed, leaving Misty sad since Opaline didn't thank her for her hard work. "Left a bit…" Zipp's voice spoke, and Misty turned to see Zipp telling Izzy where to put the decorations while Izzy strained herself as she used her magic. "All right! Now, Izzy!" Zipp told her with a smile as the unicorn placed the decorations correctly. Then, the pegasi and Tails laughed as they used their wings and tails to create dust and wind, clearing out the overflow bubbles and clearing Mane Melody, while the ponies gasped at the clean sight. "Whoa!" Misty called out in awe with sparkling eyes. Rufus finally chomped on his long-deserved apple, ate it, and climbed back down. The 'Triples of Terror' gasped in amazement at Rufus as they giggled. But then Rufus sneakily came behind them and honked his red nose horn, causing the fillies to scream in fright from the sudden noise, turning and gasping, startled when they saw Rufus behind them, then giggled at his sudden scare as Rufus took a bow. Then, Pipp walked towards Jazz, next to the music player, and she plugged it back in. "Jazz, you know what to do," Pipp said with a smirk. Jazz smirked back and pressed the play button. The music continued, and Pipp began to sing again. Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky: Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah 'Cause at this monster party We'll rock all night Bah-dah-dah-dah-dah The ponies in Mane Melody began to dance to the music again, as Hitch and Sunny danced close to each other while Tails and Zipp did the same. Misty looked around at this, and then Izzy dragged her back to the party as the two unicorns danced close to each other. The ponies around started to laugh with one another at the party. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
31. Haunted HouseIn front of Dahlia's house, Izzy, whose hood looked like Hitch’s, knocked on the door as it opened, and Dahlia herself smiled at the Mane 5 and Team Sonic. "Trick or Treat!" they all said, with Sparky being held by Pipp. The group was all wearing costumes to start their Trick or Treats in Nightmare Night. They held up their bags, and Dahlia placed some treats in them. "Thank you!" they all said to her. Later, the group was in front of Mane Melody as Jazz, who was still wearing her mixed-up costume, and Rocky, who just wore a skeleton mask. Rocky opened the door and smiled at them. "Trick or Treat!" they called again as Jazz and Rocky gave them the treats and put them in the bag. "Thank you!" they all thanked the two ponies. Later, "Trick or Treat!" the group called out in another building as the building owners gave them the treats. "Thank you!" they said once they had the treats in their bags. Later again, the group knocked on another door, and Posey opened it holding some treats. "Trick or treat!" they called out, surprising her beside the door. That scared Posey, and she screamed, tossing the treats in the air and closing the door in a startle as some dropped to the floor and one bumped into Pipp's head. "Hey!" Zipp called out in annoyance. "Not cool!" Tails cried out with a frown. "Huh?" Hitch said in confusion as he raised an eyebrow while Sparky glared at the door. "You've got to be kidding me..." Knuckles said, facepalming in annoyance. "Ugh," Sunny groaned in frustration. "Why am I not surprised?" Sonic said with a bored expression. "Rude!" Pipp called out in annoyance. "Was it something we said?" Izzy asked, confused. And then, Sparky’s stomach started to rumble, which worried Hitch since he knew what was coming. "No, no, no, not here, Sparky! Buddy, we're right here!" he cried, raising the baby dragon and knowing this was the last place Sparky’s dragon fire should be. Sparky then blew one of his fires on Posey’s flowers, turning them into spaghetti, while the others watched in horror. "Well, time to go!" Hitch said quickly; as the group sins, Izzy nodded in agreement and left. Posey opened her door and then gasped in horror. "My flowers are... spaghetti?!" she questioned while holding one of the flowers-turned-spaghetti in her hooves. "SPARKY!" she yelled out in rage. "Everypony knows that pasta gives me—" she tried to explain, but then she heard slurping and turned to see Izzy slurping on one of the spaghetti. "That little dragon sure does make a tasty noodle!" Izzy said with a smile, grabbing another one and slurping it. Posey glared at her, and Izzy saw Posey in front of her as the earth pony growled and pointed a hoof at her, really angry as her head turned red, which made Izzy nervous. "I should... go," Izzy said nervously, finishing the spaghetti and running off. "UGH!" Posey yelled out in rage. Later, the group stopped by Sunny's smoothie stand for a break from their trick-or-treat walk. Pipp placed her smoothie cup down and groaned. "Not even a strawberry ripple smoothie can cheer me up tonight. All I want is some actual Nightmare Night spoooookiness," she said excitedly while the others slurped their smoothies. "Pipp, the night is young," Sunny assured, stacking some apples in the stand. "Who knows what kind of spookiness might be just around the corner?" "Ugh, please," Pipp said. "Earth ponies wouldn't know spookiness if—" she was cut off when Izzy popped up behind her. "Boo!" Izzy cried out to Pipp as she growled at her, but Pipp shook her head at Izzy, not finding it spooky one bit as Izzy dropped the act and walked backward with a down expression. "As I was saying, earth ponies and... unicorns…" Pipp continued before looking at Izzy, who popped up again to try and scare her but failed, as Izzy sheepishly walked backward. "… have a lot to learn about creating spooktacular vibes," she said with a confident smirk. "Hmm... 'spook-tacular vibes', huh?" Sonic muttered with a grin and then dragged Tails aside to whisper something in his ear; Tails also heard Sonic's idea and smirked. "Oh, I'm totally in!" Tails stated. "Great, because we're going to give the lady here exactly what she wants," Sonic said, looking at Pipp with a grin. "I mean, first, you need an abandoned house with super creaky floorboards, and it's gotta have all the cobwebs. And it has to be, like, so dark…" she listed, as her friends got excited at Pipp’s suggestion for something spooky, except for Sonic and Tails, who sneakily got away from the others and then boosted to the Brighthouse. But as Pipp kept talking, Misty spied on them in an alley. Suddenly, her amulet clicked open, and Opaline appeared, smiling at who she saw among the group. "Ooh. Those silly ponies have the dragon with them," Opaline said as she saw Sparky in Hitch's hoof, drinking a smoothie before he belched some out with a cute smile; then Opaline turned to Misty. "Now get him for me, Misty. He has the dragon fire I need," she stated with an evil smirk. "And Misty?" called out as Misty gulped nervously. "Don't let me down. Or else!" she warned with a glare before the amulet closed as Misty turned to the group. "Ooh, and the music is key!" Pipp said excitedly, still working on her idea. "Something like…" she said in a haunted vocalization, and her friends smiled in response. Misty also smiled, having an idea of how to get Sparky, as she disappeared into the alley. Then Knuckles noticed that Sonic and Tails were very quiet this time, and when he looked around for them, he realized they were gone. "What are those two up to now?" he muttered. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Knuckles were walking down Maretime Bay when Misty popped up from an alley disguised as a ghost, and she bumped into Pipp. "Oh, excuse me! Sorry about that!" Misty said in a deep, gravelly voice as she picked up the posters she 'dropped.' "Oh, don't worry about—" Pipp was saying as she picked up a poster and then gasped in awe at what it said as she had sparkling eyes. "See ya!” Misty said to them as she zipped off from them, leaving the group confused. "A haunted house? Now, this is what I'm talking about!" Pipp said excitedly as her friends saw this with a smile, and then Knuckles rubbed his chin. "Hmm... first, Sonic and Tails disappear, and now a haunted house poster drops..." Knuckles muttered to himself with a frown. "This is incredibly convenient," he pointed out. Misty was hiding from a side of the bridge, taking off her ghost costume and giving an evil look with a smirk as she laughed evilly. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Knuckles made it to the haunted house by following the address on the poster as thunder was shown behind it. "Come on, ponies!" Pipp said excitedly with sparkling eyes as she turned to the others. "This is exactly what we need! So, so fun!" she said, while the rest looked scared, except for Izzy, who was nodding her head excitedly with sparkling eyes, while Knuckles just looked bored since he had lived scary situations before, so this wasn't anything amazing for him. Sparky giggled and responded as he ran to the haunted house with the others behind him. "Sparky, wait!" Hitch cried out worryingly as Sparky and Pipp ran to the haunted house. "Stay with Pipp! Ah!" he called out but dropped his party glasses and picked them up. "It's gonna be so dark in there!" he said, scared and sweating. "You're not afraid of the dark, are ya... sheriff?" Zipp asked teasingly to Hitch with a smirk. "Who, me?" Hitch asked with a nervous smile. "Hah! Neighway!" he said, holding on to Knuckles in fright. "Just stay right by my side, Knux! G-Gotta protect the girls!" he frankly said. "Character downgrades at its finest, ladies and gentlemen," Knuckles says to you, the readers, with a bored expression. "Man, I may be your deputy, but I'm not going to babysit you," he told Hitch with a frown as he pulled his hoof from his neck and walked slowly to the haunted house. Sunny and Zipp placed their hooves over their mouths. They laughed with a smile at Hitch, and they all raced off into the haunted house. But once they were inside the haunted house, the doors closed, and thunder appeared again, while two shadows appeared in front of the house, ready to scare the ponies. Inside the haunted house, Hitch looked around in fright in the dark. "Sparky?! It's so dark! I can't see a thing!" Hitch cried out. "Sparky? Sparky? Where are—" he got cut off once Izzy turned on her phone for some lighting, but Hitch was in front of her face. "Aah!" he cried out as he hugged Sunny from the sudden scare. "Again, this is character downgrade at its finest," Knuckles said with a bored expression. "Pipp is right!" Izzy said with a smile. "This is fun!" she added while her friend Knuckles smiled. Izzy then moved her light into the ceiling, and Pegamice hung from it like a bat before flying at the group while squeaking. They yelped in, startled by the sudden scare from the Pegamice, but Knuckles rolled his eyes. "This is gonna be a long night..." Knuckles muttered to himself with annoyance. A little bit later, the Mane 5 were walking down the hallway, while the walls of paintings of ponies had their eyes glow in green. They followed the group as Pipp and Sparky led them, not scared, as they found this fun. Hitch and Izzy stopped once they saw the paintings looking at them and screamed in fright. Then, Pipp started to laugh as she and Sparky went downstairs with Sunny and ZIpp behind her. Then, two ghosts got on both sides of the two ponies and screamed in fright while hugging each other. Knuckles, on the other hand, stood at the main entrance after the rest decided to explore the house around him since he decided to wait for Sonic and Tails. "If the news of this place spread quickly, they should be here soon," he theorized. "That is, of course, if they haven't come yet..." he said. Suddenly, a red light shone bright behind him, and he turned to face a doll of Tails floating in the air with a red crystal on his head for some reason. "Tails, you already did this at the Monster Party at Mane Melody. This is ridiculous," Knuckles said with a bored expression. "Oh, there you are, Knux!" Tail's voice spoke, as Knuckles eyes widened in horror... because the voice spoke behind him. He slowly turned his head to find Tails still wearing his costume and smiling at him. "I've been looking at you and the others," Tails told him. "What? He tried to ask what's with the—–" but then he saw the actual Tails Doll behind Knuckles and panicked. "... You... made a big... mistake... by coming here..." Tails Doll spoke with a deeper Tails voice, as his black eyes turned red, which made both Tails and Knuckles scream in pure fright as they ran away from the doll, who started to follow them. In a secure room with all the screens for the cameras and the controls, it showed the Mane 5 going around in the haunted house as they all screamed in fright, except for Pipp and Sparky. Opaline and Misty watched as Opaline contacted them through the amulet again. "Yes... That's it, little dragon," Opaline said with a smile. "Bring that dragon fire of yours this way!" she said to Sparky, but then her breath smelled over Misty. "Ugh! Is that garlic breath?!" Misty asked Opaline as she cringed from her stinky breath. "Misty! Focus!" Opaline yelled out, but once she saw her breath, she breathed her hoof and smelled her breath, then cringed in disgust. "Ugh. Oh, dear. That is potent," she admittedly said. Misty waved her face to get the scent of bad breath out of her nose, but then she accidentally flipped a switch. In the hallway, the Mane 5 ran through as two skeletons appeared, grabbing Zipp and Hitch as the two ponies screamed in fright at the sudden grab. Back in the control room, Misty sweated as she pressed a button. Back in the hallway, the rest of the Mane 5 kept running as four ghosts appeared around Sunny and Izzy, making the two ponies scream in fright as they hugged each other. In the control room, Opaline was unhappy about this outcome and faced Misty with a glare. "Get me that dragon, Misty!" Opaline demanded as she got close to Misty's face. "Or you can kiss a Cutie Mark goodbye!" she yelled as her nose touched Misty, who was scared of Opaline. Pipp was livestreaming the whole thing on her phone in a room in front of a cobweb. "Puh-lease. Look at these cobwebs. So last season," Pipp said to her followers with a smile. "Am I right, Sparky?" she asked the baby dragon, but then she saw that he wasn't there, which worried Pipp. "Oh, no. Sparky? Sparky!" she cried as she ran down another hallway to find Sparky. And then the rest of her friends ran up to the cobwebs, getting tangled while Sunny, Zipp, and Hitch groaned at being stuck in a sticky substance. "Hey, everypony! Look at me! I'm stuck!" Izzy, she called out with a smile. Suddenly, they could hear screams coming from the other side of the hallway, and then Tails and Knuckles crashed against them, freeing them from the cobwebs and startling them. Sunny groaned a bit dizzy before turning to her friends. "Is everypony okay?" she asked the rest, who groaned in response. Once everyone stood up slowly, Tails looked in all directions in pure fear while Knuckles stared at the path they passed through before crashing against the others. "Uh, what's the matter with you–– Whoa!" Zipp tried to ask something, but Tails sat on her back and hugged her neck as he shook in fear. "T-Tails! W-What comes?!" she asked in surprise and shock, as her face blushed a lot. "Let him be, Zipp," Knuckles said in a deeper voice than usual as he grabbed his cowboy hat and put it on again since it had fallen when he crashed with the others. "I was wrong about this place. It's getting on my nerves," he said with worry and fear. "Don't tell me you are scared, Knux," Hitch said mockingly while Sunny and Izzy giggled, and Zipp felt slightly uncomfortable with Tails. "I have a very good reason to," Knuckles replied with a frown. In the control room, Opaline and Misty saw Sparky enter a room as Sparky giggled. "Now, Misty, now!" Opaline called out as Misty gave a determined look and pressed the big red button, closing the door Sparky came from and trapping him in as he wandered around while Opaline sighed in excitement. "After all these moons, dragon fire will finally be mine!" she said excitedly. Misty watched with a smile, but then Opaline gave Misty a look. "What are you waiting for?! GET HIM!" she ordered. Misty turned and ran to where Sparky was, but a pile of robes grabbed her by the hoof, and she rolled across the floor. Opaline saw this and yelped as she was pulled along, and she and Misty got tangled in the process. "Ugh! I have to do everything myself!" she yelled out as she tossed Misty away, but she forgot that Misty had the amulet and was dragged along again. In the room Sparky was trapped in, Misty sneakily made her way and hid behind a crate, making sure Sparky didn’t see her since he didn’t like her. Then, Sparky's stomach started to rumble as he groaned at the feeling. Misty grew nervous at that. "That can't be good..." she said to herself. And then Sparky farted as his dragon fire came out his rear end. "Oh, no!" Misty cried out as she was covered by Sparky's dragon fire, which hit the door and burned a hole into it. Sparky started to giggle and ran off the room cheerfully while Misty's amulet pointed at Sparky, and Misty ran out of her hiding spot to catch Sparky. Misty started to pant and sweat while Sparky giggled as he ran. "Don't worry, Opaline! I'll get him!" she said to the amulet. Sparky kept giggling as he and Misty ran through a series of doors, going back-in-forth of each door, then Sparky shut a door and Misty hit it. Misty landed on all four hooves from the hit as a white rag over the door fell on top of her. She slowly got up and shook her head, but then she turned to walk off when she bumped into something. At first, she only saw a grey belly on a Prussian blue fur, but when she slowly moved her gaze upwards, she saw something that made her scream and run away. In another hallway, Pipp was running through to find Sparky as said dragon ran past her with giggles. Pipp stopped once she realized who passed her. "Sparky! Wait! Slow down!" she called out as she chased after him. In another part of the haunted house, Izzy comforted Hitch, who was so worried for Sparky, by placing a hoof on his shoulder while Knuckles was on alert as he looked at his surroundings. "We'll never find my sweet little dragon baby!" Hitch cried out dramatically as Sparky appeared and sat on his hoof. "Oh, hey, Sparky," Izzy greeted with a smile. "Wait, what?" Hitch asked as he raised his glasses for a better look and saw Sparky in his hooves. "Oh, thank hoofness! Let's get out of here!" se called out to Izzy and Knuckles. "Please! I'm seriously on my nerves here," Knuckles said in a begging tone. "Going somewhere?" Tail's voice had a deep tone, and Knuckles immediately panicked as he, Hitch, and Izzy turned around to see Tail's Doll floating behind them. "T-T-Tails?!" Hitch asked with fright as he covered Sparky's eyes so he didn't see its red eyes. "That's not Tails... That's the actual Tails Doll!" Knuckles cried out. "Leave... NOW!" Tails Doll said with anger. His closed mouth revealed sharp teeth, and his fingers came out as claws. Knuckles, Hitch, and Izzy screamed in pure fright as they all started to run away while Tails Doll followed them. In another part of the haunted house, Zipp - still with Tails hugging her - and Sunny looked around for the others when Pipp arrived. "Did you ponies see––" Pipp tried to ask, but then she saw Tails scared as he hugged Zipp's neck. "Uh... what's the matter with him?" she asked, referring to Tails. "It's hard to explain," Zipp said as she blushed again. "Anyways. Did you ponies see Sparky?!" Pipp decided to ask frankly. "Uh, no," Zipp said, a bit confused. Sunny shook her head in no, and Tails replied a low 'no.' But then, they suddenly heard a scream as Misty - still with the white rag over her - passed by the mares and the fox, who finally lifted his head to see the 'ghost' running away as she screamed. "Huh, weird," Sunny said with a confused look. "Usually, ponies are the ones that run away from them," she pointed out with a little smile. And then, a giant gray hand with white fur on the wrist grabbed Tails and dragged him to the ceiling. "Whoa!" Zipp cried out as she felt Tail's hand getting out of her neck. She and the other looked up to find Tails scared as the hand dragged him to a dark alley before them. "Tails!" Zipp and Sunny cried out in fear, but Pipp just smiled sparklingly. "Isn't this fun?!" Pipp asked with excitement, thinking this was part of the act. But then, the hand returned as the Prussian blue arm extended and almost grabbed Pipp. "Pipp, watch out!" Zipp warned her, and Pipp saw the hand just in time to dodge it before it could grab her. The hand's claws nailed into the floor, chirping as the arms retracted to the dark alley. Then, a pair of green eyes opened in the alley and stared with rage at the three mares. Slowly, the figure walked on light to reveal himself as a Werehog, an actual werehog showing his sharp teeth to the mares, who looked at him in pure fright, even Pipp, unsure if this was part of the act anymore. Before the girls could say anything, the werehog roared at them angrily, and the mares screamed in fear and started to run away. Pipp then brought out her phone and continued her livestream, smiling forcefully at her viewers. "This is spooktacular!" she called out, a bit excited but still scared. She put her phone away, and then the three mares bumped into Hitch, Izzy, and Knuckles, and they all fell to the ground. "Ugh..." Zipp groaned as she got up. "Guys! We have to get out of here!" she panicked to the others. "We know!" Hitch cried out. And then, Tails Doll appeared behind Knuckles, Izzy, and Hitch with a smile that showed his sharp teeth, while the werehog stomped his feet on the ground behind Zipp, Sunny, and Pipp as he growled. They all screamed in fear and quickly ran towards the exit of the haunted house. But before they could reach the door, the werehog extended his arms and loudly closed the door. Then he jumped over the group and landed in front of them. Tails Doll appeared at his side, roaring at the group. They just screamed, terrified for a while, and hugged each other with closed eyes. But their screams stopped when they heard someone laughing. They opened their eyes slowly and found the werehog laughing a lot while Tails Doll stopped moving. Then, the werehog turned with a poof on Sonic, wearing his werehog costume, while the doll fell to the ground and was attached to some invisible wires. Tails also appeared with a poof and started to laugh as well. "W-What?!" Knuckles said in confusion. "Sonic? Tails?" he questioned. Sonic and Tails' laughs stopped as they smirked at the group. "You should've seen your faces!" Sonic said with a playful smirk. "They can!" Tails said with a smile, showing his phone with a picture of the others screaming in fear. "Oh, I'm uploading this!" he stated, quickly publishing the picture on his social media. "I-I don't get it..." Sunny said, confused. "D-Did you just made a prank on us?" she asked. "Oh, heck if we did it!" Sonic said with a chuckle. "Little Pipp wanted a good scare, so we did that exactly," he explained with a smile. "Since we had the costumes and resources to give the werehog and Tails Doll actual life, we decided to do it," Tails added. "But we didn't know how exactly until we saw some posters of this place," Sonic continued. "And when we saw you going inside, we knew it was time for action!" Tails finished. "Wait, so you two were the ones chasing us?" Hitch asked, a bit confused still. "Yup!" Sonic replied with a smirk. "All thanks to some of Tail's gadgets!" he pointed out as Tails snapped his fingers and made the doll of himself disappear. "So, what do you think?" Tails questioned with a smile. The other looked at each other in silence before laughing at the outcome. "You guys gave us a big scare tonight!" Zipp said with a smile. "Yeah! We were terrified!" Sunny added, smiling as well. "Oh boy, I needed this. A good chase always smiles at you," Knuckles said with a wide smile. "Let's do it again!" Izzy cheered excitedly. "Let's not," Hitch said with a nervous smile. He enjoyed it a bit but would rather not go through that again. "I love it!" Pipp cheered as she side-hugged both Sonic and Tails. "You guys got the message! This was spook-tacular!" she added. "I'm glad you guys like it," Sonic said with a smile as Pipp broke the hug. "Now, Tails, should we take this to the next level?" he asked with a grin. "Oh!" Tails stated with the same grin. "Say guys, are you up to do some... tricks around town?" he asked the others. The rest looked at each other for a moment before grinning back at Sonic and Tails as they all went out of the haunted house with laughs, ready to make the same prank with the werehog and Tails Doll around town. Misty made it to the front door, still wearing her ghost costume, and looked sad at another failed attempt to catch Sparky. "Three tickets, please!" Misty heard a filly's voice as she looked down and saw Seashell and her two friends beside her smiling. "Pipp said it was spook-tacular!" Seashell said while adding a spooky voice to it, having heard of the haunted house from Pipp's livestream. Misty then widened her eyes at many ponies waiting in line miles behind the fillies, having seen Pipp's livestream and wanting to see the haunted house. Misty grew nervous and started to sweat from this outcome. "What have I done?" she asked herself with worry, feeling like she would be busy the whole night. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
32. Baby Critters Club"Are you sure you're okay to critter-sit for us, Jazz?" Sunny asked, standing with the rest of the Mane 5 in front of the Brighthouse door, wearing fancy dresses, on their way to some party and looking at Jazz with concerned looks. "We don't have to go," she said with a little smile. "Oh, you ponies, enjoy your night out," Jazz said to them with a smile. "I'm sure these little floofs won't be a problem," she said with a cute tone while smiling at the critters, as they gave cute looks at Jazz with sparkling eyes. The pink bunnycorn, however, just gave a bored expression, which made the other critters give him a look as one of them nudged his shoulder. Now getting the picture, the bunnycorn gave a cute look with sparkling eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure you can handle it," Hitch said confidently to Jazz, with a smile approaching her side. "Just don't let McSnips-a-lot get a hold of anything sharp!" he sternly said, which scared Jazz a bit from Hitch's sudden seriousness. "And don't let them get into my marshmallow spread!" Zipp sternly pointed out. "Or poop in my craft corner! Again!" Izzy said irritatedly, which was weird because she was usually cheerful. "And most importantly, do... NOT... let them into the bedroom!" Pipp finished with a scary, most serious look to Jazz, not wanting the critters to be in their bedrooms to make a mess. Jazz started to sweat and looked around with a nervous smile. "McSnips-a-what?" she asked nervously while the Mane 5 looked at her unamusedly. "Do I have to?" Knuckles' voice spoke with concern, while Tails just walked towards the Mane 5, only wearing a black smoking and a red bowtie, and Sonic - wearing a light blue shirt, white smoking, and button-up shirt, and a red tie - pushed Knuckles towards the exit. The echidna wore a white button-up shirt, brown smoking, black tie, and regular white gloves instead of his usual boxing ones. "We all accessed to do this, Knucklehead, so don't back up right now!" Sonic stated with a frown. "Sorry to get a bit late, but Knuckles didn't wanted to put on the freaking tie" Tails explained a bit concerned. "I hate it, okay?" Knuckles confessed. "This thing is crushing my neck; I feel like I could explode at any second!" he exclaimed dramatically. "Just ignore him, and we'll be fine," Sonic said with a bored expression, then walked towards Jazz. "Also, Floppy's probably the only critter around that's gonna hear you and obey," he whispered to her with a proud smile. "My baby is very well trained," he added with a wink, walking out of the Brighthouse, followed by Tails and a grumpy Knuckles. "Think that's it! Come on! We're going to be late!" Pipp called out with a smile as the rest of the Mane 5 did the same, and they all followed Team Sonic out of the Brighthouse. Pipp popped her head back inside and smiled at Jazz. "Thanks so much for doing this, Jazz! Just put the critters to bed, and you'll be fine! Byeeeee!" she said quickly, waving at Jazz before closing the door to catch up with the others. Jazz was left in the middle of the Brighthouse, unsure what to say after the Mane 5 and Team Sonic left. "Well... that should all be easy enough. Eh, critters?" she asked, turning to the critter’s section, but then her eyes widened in shock as she realized the critters were not there. "Uh, critters? Don't be scared. It's just me, Jazz," she said as she looked through the houses of the critters but then heard clicking sounds. "Huh?" she asked, looking around, not knowing the critters were moving around in the shadows. "Hey, come on, critters. It's bedtime. Where are you—?" She tried to ask but then screamed as she ducked to an incoming raccoonicorn, who was laughing while swinging on a ceiling decoration. "Huh?" Jazz asked herself. She turned and gasped as she saw the bunnycorns jumping on the couch while laughing. "Whoa! What?!" she cried, then ducked again at two birds flying at high speed while squawking. "Down from there!" she called out to the birds and saw a pegasnail clicking on the TV remote as it kept changing the channel. "Stop that!" she scolded the snail. McSnips then came crawling by with a fork and a plate of cake. Jazz gasped and trotted to catch McSnips while panting, and then McSnips clamped at the side of the wall as Jazz looked up at him. "Where'd you get a birthday cake?!" she asked in disbelief, and then the cake fell off his plate, landed on Jazz’s face, and slipped off, making the earth pony stylish to give a bored expression. Jazz then looked at the ground in shock. She saw the bunnycorns laughing while playing with what was left of the cake, which made even more mess. "No!" Jazz called out irritatedly while the critters stopped, leaving the Brighthouse like a mess. "I promised the ponies I'd put you to bed! Time to settle down!" she scolded them, but then the critters continued their havoc as they laughed while making even more messes, and Jazz sighed at this outcome. A raccoonicorn bit on a pillow and shook it around in its mouth with some stuffing coming out. McSnips threw a knife at a cake with a Pipp sculpture pose on top, and the knife slice sliced the legs. McSnips walked off, while the Pipp sculpture fell off the cake and onto the table with a splat. The birds flew around while squawking, and they flew by a shelf that nearly made one plant pot fall off, but Jazz caught it just in time. "Whoa! Hey!" she cried out as she caught a pillow tossed at her. "This is way too much energy!" she said with worry, arriving with the pegasnail that was still flipping the channels on the TV, giving a nervous smile. "Hey, who wants a nice hot cocoa?" she asked nervously. "Hmm?" she exclaimed in panic, seeing the raccoonicorns laughing and going upstairs. "No! No! Not upstairs!" Jazz cried out. She tried to chase after them but then slipped on the spilled destroyed sculpture of Pipp from the cake and fell on a piece of cake face. Jazz got up and shook the cake off her face, then gasped when she saw the rest of the critters going upstairs. They laughed, and she chased after them. "Not the bedroom!" she called out to them. Once Jazz reached the bedroom, she opened the doors and gave off an even worried look. She saw the raccoonicorns, one on top the other, wearing Zipp's Z-Goggles, then they crashed into the closet door that opened up and a bunch of stuff fell on them. Jazz looked down and gasped in shock when she saw the birds singing in one of Pipp’s music stations. Jazz gasped again as she screamed when she saw the pegasnails trailing glitter on Izzy's bed from the jar of glitter. They laughed. "No-no-no-no-no-no-no!" Jazz cried out in panic, picking up a magazine of Pipp from the floor. "Hey, critters! Who wants a sleepy bedtime story?" she called out to the critters, while two of them came up with squeaks and looked at her with sparkling eyes. "Awww…" Jazz cooed at the critters, but then a bunnycorn laughed and launched itself to the magazine, snatching it from Jazz’s hooves and ripping it to shreds while Jazz sighed and put her head down. "Come on! Ugh!" she groaned with a face hoof and grabbed her head. As she tried to think of a way to get the critters under control, she saw them laughing and playing around Sonic's side of the room. She also saw some racconicorns juggling the Chaos Emeralds at Tail's side of the room and even a pegasnail messing with Knuckle's side of the room with glitter. Jazz smirked, now with a plan in her mind. "Okay... How about a nice relaxing lullaby?" she approached Kenneth and grabbed his microphone. "Give me that!" she angrily called out, having enough of the critters' misbehavior, and got into a tug-a-war with Kenneth as she grunted in the effort, but Kenneth was surprisingly stronger since he won the tug, and he and Jazz were pushed back from each other. "Aah!" Jazz cried out as she crashed into the closet, having a pile of stuff fall over her. Then, the two bunnycorns looked at Sunny's Alicorn mirror as one of them looked at their reflection. "Ooh…" the yellow one said as it clicked a button. The mirror turned on and showed Opaline curling her mane and wearing a face mask. "What? Who is this? Is this a prank call?!" she questioned as she couldn’t see the bunnycorns at all. They gave a confused look at this and looked at each other. "When I find out who you are...!" Opaline warned, but then the bunnycorns tossed the mirror away before she could finish. McSnips started ripping pictures of the Mane 5 with his claws on Pipp's bed. Jazz popped her head out of the pile and gasped in shock at the critters, making an even bigger mess as they laughed. She saw the pegasnails making a trail of glitter on the walls and on Zipp’s poster, two bunnycorns pillow fighting each other, the birds singing on the microphone, a raccoonicorn and a pegasnail spilling the glitter on the floor around the room, and a bunnycorn pooping on Izzy’s crafting desk next to her bed. "UGH!" Jazz groaned as she flopped to the floor. "I'm not a pet sitter! I'm a stylist!" she cried out. At that moment, Floppy arrived at her side to nuzzle her for comfort, and Jazz smiled a bit. "Aww," she said to the little bunny. In case you're wondering, he was trying to get some sleep, but all the noise the other critters were causing didn't help at all. "Sonic was right; you are behaving yourself," Jazz told the bunny with a smile. She then turned and saw a raccoonicorn climbing Pipp's bed and jumping on a pile of stuff. Then he returned with a hat, two sunglasses, and a yellow scarf. The raccoonicorn laughed at this style and liked it. Jazz got back up, and she gasped, having an idea that might work. "I'm a stylist!" she said cheerfully, picking up a mask from the pile as the critters looked at her. "Okay, so I guess you critters aren't ready to sleep, huh? Well, I'll be doing some super-fun makeovers downstaaiirs!" she sang the last word as she walked downstairs with a smirk, and Floppy immediately followed her. The critters looked at each other momentarily before they laughed and followed Jazz out of the room. A bit later, Jazz placed some makeover supplies on the ground while the critters ran towards her, shrugging at each other because they didn't know what to do. Jazz, wearing sunglasses, a hat, and a scarf, held up her makeover supplies on her hooves. Mane 5: We'll party, party, party, oh yeah Sunny: Kickin' off this party, all my ponies feelin' great Pipp: Manes right, looks tight Mane 5: We might glow the roof off this place! Jazz did a little makeover on a pegasnail, making a little brush on its shell and a gem on its shell and giving her eyelashes on its eyes. The pegasnail smiled at her new look as she flew. Critters then smile with sparkling eyes, finding the look on that pegasnail great and wanting to try it out. Hitch: You know it's gonna rain G-L-I-double-T-E-R Jazz then placed some face masks on the raccoonicorns, and they cheered at her. Izzy: When we're movin' these hooves like we're ClipTrot stars! Jazz sprayed on the birds, wearing tuxedos, and Kenneth wore a matching hat. Then, she placed some face makeovers on the raccoonicorns with a smile as the raccoonicorns posed at their new hairdos, wearing neck chains on their necks as well. Jazz then smiled as she held up a rug. "You critters are killin' it!" she announced as she unrolled the rug on the floor to make a style stage path. "Mmm! Work that scuttle, critter girl!" she called out to the critters with a microphone on her hoof. A raccoonicorn walked down the path of the rug with a robe around it as it twirled and unwrapped itself to show the other raccoonicorns stacked together to make them taller as they squeaked together. "What a reveal!" Jazz said with a smile. Then, McSnips appeared, his claws blue with starfish pictures on them. He held two pink clothes in his claws as he twirled around. "McSnips-a-lot is serving claws! Work it! The glamor! The talent!" Jazz announced, but then realized something from the clothes McSnips was holding. "Are those curtains?" she asked herself as she turned and saw a window with pink shredded curtains. "Yikes!" she cried out nervously, making a list of how to fix that before the Mane 5 and Team Sonic returned. Sometime later, a pegasnail, a bunnycorn, and Floppy posed at the cameras to take their pictures, with the former having a hat on its shell, the latter wearing a cape, and Floppy using a black top hat and a monocle. "Beachwear!" Jazz announced while a raccoonicorn and two birds were wearing beach wear, and the raccoonicorn held a beach ball. "Formal glamor!" Jazz announced again as the critters formed a fashion line while they stroke poses. "High fashion!” Jazz announced again as the critters stacked their fashion style on as they smiled. Jazz then smiled at the critters around her. "Everycritter says, 'Gorgeous'!" Jazz cheered, and the critters cheered as well, with Jazz’s phone facing them. Then she took a picture of them in their fashion clothing. Later that night, Zipp opened the Brighthouse's doors with a smile. "Hey, Jazz! We're back," Zipp called out to Jazz as the Mane 5 and Team Sonic walked back inside, Sunny laughing along the way. The whole group gasped when they saw the critters sleeping in their section, completely exhausted after the fashion clothing. "Oh, you're home already?" Jazz asked with a smile as the Mane 5, and Team Sonic turned and saw her sitting on the couch while reading a book. Pipp smiled at Jazz as she walked towards her. "You would not believe the evening we've had!" she said excitedly. "It was a fun night after all," Knuckles confessed with a smile. "Says the guy who didn't want to leave at first," Sonic said mockingly, pushing Knuckles on his arm with a smirk. Hitch smiled at the sleeping critters. "Wow, you got all the critters to go to bed?" Izzy gasped in awe while Zipp looked on. "That's a first," she said, surprised, as Zipp smiled at Izzy and nodded in agreement. "That's impressive... we barely can make them listen," Tails pointed out impressed. "I just did my best!" Jazz said with a smile. "We knew you'd be able to get them under control," Sunny said to Jazz with a smile while Pipp walked upstairs. "Maybe we should do this more often," she added while placing a hoof on Jazz and winking at her. And then, Pipp screamed loud enough for everyone in the Brighthouse to hear her, as all the others gasped at her screaming and raced upstairs. Pipp screamed in shock once she saw the bedroom in a complete mess. The others came to Pipp's side and gasped at the sight of their room in a complete mess as they turned to Jazz in a shocked state. "Huh?" Izzy asked confused. "Uh... Jazz? Did the critters get out of control and make a mess here?" Sonic asked in a shocked tone. Jazz looked at the Mane 5 and Team Sonic nervously, and she gave a nervous laugh. "We... might've hit a few snags along the way?" she answered, uncertain how to put it. She did manage to clean up the Brighthouse, but the bedroom was so messed up that she didn’t have enough time to clean it up before the others arrived. "I wanna say so many things, and none are rated E for Everyone..." Knuckles said with an anxious expression. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
33. Filly FillingTeam Sonic was at the Brighthouse bedroom, with Tails using a gizmo he made up to scan Chaos Energy around. He was looking out for the Chaos Emeralds Eggman had. With some luck, he could track down their location and attack him and Opaline without them even seeing the attack coming, but so far, there was no sign of them. "Still nothing, Tails?" Sonic asked with concern. "No..." Tails replied with worry. "I can't believe Eggman found out a way to restore the Emeralds he has! Now he could power his machines with a non-dying battery and Chaos Energy!" he pointed out with worry. "It's also a good thing because we don't have to worry about restoring them anymore..." Knuckles tried to sound optimistic. "Yet again, is Eggman we're talking about, so..." he admitted with a frown. "Thanks for trying anyway, Tails," Sonic said with an honest smile. "Ever since I felt my connection with those two restored, I felt bad. Thank Chaos; nothing bad has happened so far, but still..." he worriedly added. "Yeah... Eggman is always bad news, and many things happened that same day," Tails pointed out. "Sparky went missing, the Metals were defeated once and for all, you got a big scar on your back, and your connection with the Chaos Emeralds increased..." he listed. "And he got to be all alone with Pipp," Knuckles added mockingly. Just like he expected, Sonic blushed completely, but not for the reason he thought. Even if they've been trying to act normal and chill around each other, for the last 3 weeks, Sonic and Pipp have been avoiding each other because of the kiss that happened that day. None of them were mad, but they felt completely awkward when they were too close, especially when left alone. None of the others knew about their sudden kiss, and it's been almost two months since it happened, but every time someone brings up that day, the fact that they were alone more precisely, they always avoid the subject and try to come up with anything else. Why were they hiding it? They knew the others would mock them for years if they could, so they wanted to keep it hidden as much as possible. And right now, Sonic needed to avoid the subject. "N-Now, just look at the time!" he said with a sheepish smile, looking at the watch in his hand. "T-The others need our help with the pumpkins, remember?" he said with a very nervous chuckle. "G-Gotta go fast!" he stated, boosting out of there before Tails or Knuckles could question him. "... He does know these watches can't show the hour, right?" Knuckles questioned Tails with a raised eyebrow. "I believe so," Tails stated with a suspicious look. Sunny, Sparky, and Hitch were running from something as the two ponies, except for Sparky, screamed in panic at a hilltop. "Ruuuuun! Pumpkin-lanche!" Sunny cried out as she and Hitch screamed, while Sparky cheered as they ran down the hill with several giant pumpkins rolling after them. Sunny and Hitch turned back and saw the giant pumpkins closing in on them, making them scream at the sight as they ran faster down the hill. The pumpkins finally stopped, with some splatting around the hill, while Sunny and Hitch, with Sparky on his hooves, popped their heads up from the piles, having some pumpkin guts on them as Sparky laughed a bit. A little bit later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic regrouped as Izzy and Knuckles chased Sparky around to play while Zipp, Pipp, Hitch, Sunny, Sonic, and Tails looked at the amounts of pumpkins. "Good season for pumpkins this year. If anything, a bit too good," Hitch commented with a concerned tone. Sonic, who was sitting over a pumpkin, groaned, frustrated. "For once! Can we, like, for once, not have any problem? I don't care if it's magic or Eggman-related; give me a break already!" he screamed, smashing his head against the pumpkin he was sitting on. "You didn't get your daily fill of chilidogs, did you?" Tails asked with a bored expression. "No," Sonic replied. "That's explains it all..." Tails said, facepalming with frustration. "What do you even do with this many pumpkins?" Zipp asked, getting back on topic. "Do you have any ideas?" she asked her sister next to her. "I don’t know," Pipp answered. But I can ask my followers," she said with a smile, twirling her phone before answering it. Zipp raised an eyebrow at Pipp. "Any ideas... of your own?" she asked while giving Pipp a look. Pipp stopped and frowned at her sister after hearing what she had heard. "Um, what’s that supposed to mean?" she asked with an offended look. "You’re always asking the Pippsqueaks for help," Zipp answered, then smirked. "Maybe you should try trusting yourself to come up with an idea occasionally," she added. Pipp grew nervous at this, smiling nervously at Zipp. "Um… easy!" she said with a nervous chuckle. "I can think of one right now. Right now. And it’s coming up. Idea coming up. Any minute. Here we go!" she stammered while Zipp rolled her eyes at her sister. "And, uh…." she thought momentarily but couldn’t think of anything, growing more nervous. Sonic would try to cheer her up at a moment like this, but the simple idea of getting close to her after that made him back up completely, which didn't pass unnoticed by Tails, Sunny, and Hitch. "Guys, is it just me, or Sonic has been... avoiding Pipp lately?" Sunny asked the other two. "Oh, thank Chaos!" Tails exclaimed. "I was worried that I just got crazy or something because he is avoiding her," he explained with concern. "And not only him," Hitch added. "I've seen Pipp avoiding him as well," he said with worry. Pipp, Sonic, Tails, and Sunny were baking some of the treats they used for Nightmare Night, but as soon as Sonic and Pipp bumped into each other accidentally and looked at each other, their faces turned completely red, and they just kept going as if nothing happened at all. Tails and Sunny watched that and raised an eyebrow at the scene. Then, Pipp was at Mane Melody doing Hitch's mane, while Rocky styled Sonic's hairstyle differently. But once Sonic stood up to leave, he crossed his sight with Pipp's again, and their faces became fully red... again. "Nope!" Sonic said, immediately walking away from her. "Neighway!" Pipp said, also walking away from Sonic. Hitch saw this and looked at them with concern and confusion. And then, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were all at the Brighthouse having a 'Just Prance' dance-off battle, with Sonic and Pipp winning over the rest. However, once it was their turn for the grand finale, they once again blushed, but they couldn't just ignore each other as always, so they improvised. "I-I need to see Jazz at Mane Melody!" Pipp shouted nervously. "I need to finish playing Metroid Dread!" Sonic shouted at the same time. Not waiting for a reply, they both ran out of the living room, confusing all the others. "Yeah, those two are avoiding the other," Knuckles concluded, joining the conversation soon enough. At the same time, he frowned at Sonic, who was pretending to do something on a pumpkin, and he avoided even looking at Pipp. Suddenly, Sparky sneezed and released one of his dragon fires, which hit a pumpkin and turned it into a carriage, like in a fairy tale. The others looked at it in awe while Izzy picked Sparky up in her hooves and smiled. "Oh! Great idea, Sparky!" she said to the baby dragon, which giggled in response. "Everypony loves a pumpkin carriage!" she added with a smile. "Reminds me of fairy tales from back home," Tails smirked. Hitch, however, thought otherwise. "Uh, except, as Maretime Bay Bylaw 927 clearly states, 'No vehicles can be made from vegetables'!" he said while reading through his rule book, earning weird looks from his friends, even Sparky. "What? I don’t make the laws," he defended himself. "Don't get me started on the 'No earth pony magic' rule you made on my first day as your deputy, Hitch," Knuckles warned with a bored expression while Hitch chuckled sheepishly. The others didn’t know that Pipp checked the pumpkin carriage as she flew around and went inside it. Except for Sonic, who still looked at her no matter how hard he tried not to. "Ooh! These pumpkins are super-luxe!" Pipp said, finding the inside of the pumpkin carriage amazing as she took out her phone to take selfies in the carriage. Hitch then walked up to the carriage with the others, and Sparky followed him. "Luckily, Sparky can turn that carriage back, easy as pie," he said with a proud smile towards Sparky, while said baby dragon giggled while waving his paws. "Of course!" Sunny announced, now having an idea thanks to what Hitch just said. "Let’s make these pumpkins into giant pies and have a pie-eating contest!" she announced, finding great use of these pumpkins as her friends smiled at the idea. "Sounds good to me," Sonic said with a smile. "After all, we cannot use them as Hallow—– I mean, Nightmare Night decorations," he quickly corrected himself. "Sorry, I'm still trying to get used to pony names for our festivities..." he confessed, scratching his head embarrassed. Meanwhile, Pipp kept taking selfies in the pumpkin carriage, striking poses as she clicked on her phone to take the pictures. "Ooh. Sounds like a piece of cake!" Izzy said, placing her hooves on her face with sparkling eyes. "Or a slice of pie. Either way, it sounds delicious!" she said with a smile as she, Sunny, Zipp, and Team Sonic ran off to set up the contest. Hitch picked up Sparky and aimed him at the pumpkin carriage. Sparky released his dragon fire, which began changing back to a regular pumpkin. Pipp, who was still inside the pumpkin carriage, noticed the change. "Whoa! What’s happening!?" she asked herself, startled, while the carriage started to turn back into a pumpkin. Then, Hitch ran off to catch up with the others with Sparky in his hooves. "Why is it all pumpkiny in here?" Pipp asked, trapped inside the pumpkin. The inside was now full of seeds and pumpkin guts with some on her, and she tried to push her way out but couldn't. "Hello?! Anyone?! Hello?!" Pipp asked any of her friends if they could hear her but got no response, and then she gasped with an idea. "My Pippsqueaks!" she said, taking out her phone to send a message to her Pippsqueaks to help her. But before Pipp could turn her phone on, she thought of what Zipp had just told her. "You're always asking the Pippsqueaks for help…" the thought as Zipp’s voice echoed through her mind. Pipp then scowled at that thought, looking back at her phone. "No, wait! I can do this myself," she said determinedly, putting her phone away. "Zipp is wrong. I don't always need my fans. I am perfectly capable of—Whooooaaaa!" she cried out as her pumpkin began to roll. Outside the pumpkin, Hitch was rolling it as he started to whistle, not hearing Pipp's cries inside. Later, at the Brighthouse, Izzy and Tails made a bunch of pumpkin pies; Izzy started scattering and singing, tossing a spoon in the air as it landed in a bowl, and she twirled around. Then, the front doors opened as Hitch came in, looking slightly out of breath from rolling the giant pumpkin. "That's the last one of 'em, guys," he told Izzy and Tails, sweating a bit as he placed the pumpkin. Tails then looked at the bot Izzy made, her 'Breakfast Bot,' which she kept. "Alright, Froggy McBakertons. Let's make some pies!" he announced to the bot, now named Froggy, as he started to turn on and headed to the pumpkins, specifically to the one where she was trapped. Later on, the Mane 5, sins Pipp, and Team Sonic set up the pumpkin pie contest, with Jazz and Rufus sitting on the stage, while Sunny and Izzy stood at the side as ponies around them ate pies while chatting to each other. An earth pony even got bloated by eating so many pies, and he burped with ponies looking down at him strangely. "This was a very good idea," Tails said with a smile as he ate a slice of pie. "By the way, where's Pipp?" he questioned. "I don't know," Zipp said, sitting with him on a table. "I'm starting to get worried about her," she confessed. "Hmm..." Tails muttered as he rubbed his chin. Then he looked at Sonic, who ate his pie peacefully. "Hey, Sonic, can you look for her?" he asked with an analytical look. Sonic spilled his pie away and looked at all places as he started to sweat. "I-I got to feed Floppy! BYE!" he shouted, running away from there. "Okay, that's it!" Tails said with anger. "After the festival, we're interrogating those two and making them spill what the heck is wrong with them!" he stated. "Agreed," Zipp said with a frown. "I'll get Sunny and Izzy to interrogate Pipp; you take Hitch and Knuckles to make Sonic speak as well," she instructed, with Tails nodding in agreement. "It's the final round in Maretime Bay's first annual pie-eating contest! Just two ponies remain," Sunny called out to the crowd, pointing at Rufus and Jazz, the former doing some stretches while the latter was filing her hooves, with each having smirks on their faces. "Bring on the pies!" she announced. Izzy pulled a lever as the conveyor belt brought out two giant pies. "Mm-mmm! Freshly baked! Final pies of the day!" she announced while the two pies came up before the contestants. Inside Jazz's giant pie, Pipp, who surprisingly survived Botty’s cooking while baked into a pie, heard Sunny’s announcement. "Ugh! I never thought I'd ever be in a pie-eating competition! And certainly not as the pie!" she squeals in worry, shaking her head in panic. "I gotta get out of here!" she cried, tapping her hooves at the pie crust to break out, but it wouldn’t budge as some crumbs fell off. "Oh, no! It's a thick crust!" Pipp cried out, sweating nervously. Outside the pie, Sunny got in front of the two contestants. "The first pony to finish their pie wins! Ready..." Sunny said with a smirk as Rufus got into stand-ready. "Set…" she kept going. "Looks delicious," Jazz said with an exciting smile at her pie as she placed her hooves at her cheeks with sparkling eyes. "... EAT!" Sunny announced as Rufus and Jazz started to eat their pies. Inside the pie, Pipp saw Jazz chomping through the crust and began to get even more nervous. "Jazz! No! Stop! DON'T EAT ME!" she called out through the pie as she groaned, startling Jazz as she stopped and backed away a bit. Pipp moved back and forth in the pie while the ponies around saw this and grew nervous. Then, Pipp got her eyes through the holes Jazz chomped through and got her legs out from under the pie, making the ponies around to scream and run off, while Pipp jumped off the stand and began to run away. "Uh, what is going on?" Hitch asked anypony in confusion, a little scared of their panic until he saw something. "What the heck?!" Knuckles cried out in shock at his side as they both saw the ponies running in fright while Pipp stomped around the contest, making thudding sounds. "Aah! Zombie pie! A 'zom-pie'!" Hitch cried out in shock and fright. "... 'Zom-pie'? Seriously?" Knuckles questioned with a bored expression. Posey then came out of a tent with a raised eyebrow. "Zom-pie?" she asked in confusion, having heard Hitch until she bumped into the Pie-trapped Pipp and looked in shock. Pipp turned around as she felt the bump and saw Posey. "Posey? Is that you?" she asked through the pie. Posey then screamed and pointed at Pipp. "ZOM-PIEEEEE!" she screamed out in fright, jumping on the table and running away, while Pipp crashed into the table as she gave chase. Pipp followed a couple of ponies while hitting one of the pumpkins, breaking it in the process, then hitting the balloons as they flew away. The ponies ran around the contest while Rufus was still eating his giant pie, and Izzy just looked around the place while Pipp, in the pie, continued to run around. "Run! Run for your lives, everypony!" Hitch screamed in panic, although he wasn't moving at all. Zipp flew near to Hitch and gave him a strange look. "Uh, Hitch? You're not going to get far on that, buddy," she said while pointing down at Hitch. Hitch looked down at where Zipp was pointing, seeing that he was on the conveyor belt as he kept running. "Oh, yeah! Good call!" he thanked Zipp for pointing that out, getting down and clearing his throat. "Run for your lives! Zombie pie!" he cried out as he ran off. "Hitch! You're supposed to be the sheriff!" Knuckles yelled, following him. "Instead of running away, find a way to stop it!" he pointed out. "Hitch! Knuckles! Wait up!" Pipp called out to them from in the pie, running past Zipp and following after Hitch and Knuckles. "The pie knows our names!" Hitch cried out in fright as he ran faster. "Stop acting like a baby!" Knuckles complained. "Hey... I've seen that hooficure before…" Zipp said, seeing the hooficure style of the pie, then her eyes widened in realization. "Pipp?! That you?!" she asked out to the trapped pony in shock. "Wait, Pipp?!" Sonic called out, arriving out of nowhere. "You're telling me that pie is Pipp?!" he questioned Zipp with an anxious look. "Apparently!" Zipp said with worry. Not willing to hear anything else, Sonic ran off and followed Pipp at high speed while chasing Hitch and Knuckles. Suddenly, she slipped on some pumpkin substance and started rolling on the side of the pie. "Whoa-whooaaaaa!" she cried out, starting to roll. Hitch screamed in fright as she caught up to him and Knuckles. "Knuckles!" Sonic's voice spoke from the watch. "Take Hitch out of the way! NOW!" he ordered. Knuckles turned around and saw Sonic running behind Pipp. Sonic looked determined as the echidna smirked. "You don't have to tell me twice!" he replied, grabbing Hitch ducking for cover behind a table. The ponies close to them screamed as they ran off to get out of the rolling pie's way as Pipp kept rolling. Then, the pie hit a tree, making it stop and crack as the crust broke into pieces. Zipp and Sonic came next to the pie as Pipp got out of the crumble crust, looking dizzy from the rolling and messy from the inside of the pie. The ponies around, even Hitch, looked on in shock to realize Pipp was inside that pie. "Whoa! Some entrance!" Izzy said with a cheery smile, thinking that was a great entrance. Sonic pulled her out carefully, then checked her around, making Pipp blush completely. "Are you okay?! Did you get hurt in there?! How many fingers am I lifting?!" Sonic asked her in a worried tone, not showing the slightest sign of embarrassment and lifting two fingers. Pipp couldn't say anything, so she only shook her head in 'no', while Sonic sighed in relief. "Thank Chaos, you're not hurt..." he said, smiling at her. "Wait, you've been stuck in that pie?" Zipp asked her sister as she approached Sonic and Pipp, who shook the pie contents off her. "Why didn't you ask for help?" Zipp asked her with concern. "Oh, I don't know," Pipp started as she looked at Zipp before turning her back to her. "Maybe because somepony thinks I'm always asking for help?" she sarcastically frowned while Sonic stood back to give the sisters some space. "Ooooh. Ouch," Zipp cringed while placing a hoof at her chest. "Pipp, I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I didn't think—" she tried apologizing, but Pipp cut her off. "It's okay, Zipp," Pipp said to her sister before turning to her with a forgiving smile. "See? I got out by myself after all. With no help," she stated with a smirk. Zipp chuckled at her sister with a smile. "Yeah, you did," she said, giving her sister a light punch on the shoulder for her effort. "No other pony could have ever pulled off an idea like that," she said, proudly smiling at her sister. "Yup!" Pipp cheered as she sighed. "Big ideas are my thing," she added, gesturing to herself. This caused the sisters to laugh as their Cutie Marks started to shine. Sonic couldn't help but chuckle as well at the sight. He still felt a bit uncomfortable around her, but he was totally glad she was okay, so at least he would try and talk to her as he used to before that happened, no matter how hard it could be. Meanwhile, at the stage, Rufus finished eating the last piece of his giant pie, ignoring what had happened as he focused on the contest. "And…" he then ate the last piece as he belched. "... finished," he said, rubbing his belly from the giant pie. Sunny got up a bit, looking a little dirty from the chaos Pipp had made and dizzy. "Uh, I declare Rufus the winner of Maretime Bay's first... and last... pie-eating competition!" she declared Rufus, the winner, then flopped on the floor, passing out as Pipp approached her with worry. "Huh?!" Jazz asked in shock at what Sunny said. "No fair! My pie escaped!" she cried while Pipp looked at her sheepishly before backing away, knowing she wouldn't talk about this ever again. After cleaning up the whole mess, the four mares returned to the Crystal Brighthouse. Once Pipp, Sunny, and Izzy were inside, Zipp immediately closed and locked the Brighthouse's doors. "Huh?" the other three mares exclaimed confused. Zipp made a sign with her hoof, indicating that Sunny and Izzy should stand at her side. "Alright, Pipp. It's time to talk about the elephant in the room," she instructed. "What elephant?" Izzy asked, confused, while Sunny's face hoofed and Zipp rolled her eyes. "I'm with Izzy on this one. What elephant?" Pipp questioned. "Pipp, we're not blind," Sunny said with a bored expression. "You've been avoiding Sonic for weeks now," she explained. That made Pipp panic again, as she started to sweat and blush. "Can you please tell us what's going on with you two? Because Sonic is also avoiding you," Zipp pointed out with concern. Pipp gulped, looking around to try and save herself from this, but she knew it wouldn't happen. "W-Well... t-the thing is..." she said nervously. At the exact same time, Hitch, Tails, and Knuckles were at the station asking Sonic the same questions. Sonic blushed at the question of why he was avoiding Pipp, but he also looked at his friends with a bored expression. "Pipp kissed me after she healed me the day Sparky disappeared," Sonic confessed. The other three stared at him for a few seconds, speechless. For a very short amount of seconds, that is. "SHE DID WHAT?!" the three of them shouted in disbelief. Sonic rolled his eyes at their attitude. "Go on, shout it more so everyone can hear us," he said sarcastically. Tails then punched Knuckles on his stomach when the echidna opened his mouth. "Sorry, Knux, but I know you take this stuff too literally," he told the echidna. "Dude, that happened almost 2 months ago!" Hitch pointed out. "This is very big!" he added with a little smile. "Why didn't you say anything?!" Knuckles questioned. "Because you guys were going to mock me till dead with the matter, and Pipp never mentioned it, so I assumed we were both going to act like it never happened..." Sonic explained. "You kissed him, Pipp!" Zipp cried out to her sister since Pipp had already told the whole thing. "You cannot just pretend that it never happened and hope everything will still be the same!" she pointed out. "Yeah, I realized that too late," Pipp confessed with shame. "It was easy at first; we were still the same," she explained. "But it got awkward after a while..." Sonic also explained to the guys. "We could barely see each other in our eyes, and... we decided to avoid each other..." he finished. "For a guy who loves to run towards his problems, I didn't expect you, of all people, to avoid a situation like this," Hitch said with a smirk. Sonic looked at him with a bored expression. "If Sunny did the same to you, whatever intentions she could have by doing it aside, would you still look at her as usual? Could you barely see her in her eyes or talk to her like you used to?" he questioned. Hitch blushed at the idea but scratched his head, not knowing what to reply. "That's what I thought," Sonic said. "Still, avoiding the situation is going to make it worse," Sunny pointed out. "Hoping everything will be the same after a while doesn't work, Pipp," she added with concern. "Sunny's right. If you want to solve this, talk to him," Zipp said. "Otherwise, you two will grow apart until you become strangers," she explained. Pipp looked at them with sadness and worry. She wanted to talk with Sonic, but it was hard, and she wasn't sure how to do it exactly. "Just... take your time if that's what you need, Pipp. But the sooner you clear this up with him, the better," Zipp told her with a smile, placing her hoof on her shoulder. Pipp finally smiled after a while. "Thanks, girls... I... I will think about it," she promised. "Man, I'm not a love expert, but I know that avoiding her will make everything worse," Knuckles pointed out with a frown. "And your relationship with her will decrease to the point that you don't even know each other anymore," Tails added with concern. Sonic frowned at them because he knew they were right, but he didn't want to hear it. "Try to talk with her, okay?" Hitch suggested with a smile. "Clear this up so you two can stop acting so childish," he added mockingly, smirking. Sonic looked at him with a bored expression but eventually smirked as well. "I'll think about it, guys. And thank you, I think talking about this helped me," he confessed. "Anytime, dude," Tails said with a smile. "But don't expect us not to mock you with this," Knuckles warned with a grin. "Oh, shut it, Knucklehead," Sonic said with a frown. He walked out of the station, leaving the other three laughing. However, Sonic himself smiled eventually because he knew everything would work out well in the end. THE END...? Author's Note I didn't wanted the kiss thing to just be thrown on the window. I know in real life, if something like this happened, the two parts would absolutely avoid each other as much as they can, and I wanted to portray that here. Also, I don't know if it would be on the next one or on 35 where Sonic and Pipp decide to finally talk properly about this. Guess you'll have to wait and see :) P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
35. Making a Meal of ItAt the Brighthouse, Sparky was setting up a heart-shaped Wreath based on the fall season on the door. Then Pipp suddenly opened the door quickly, and Sparky was knocked off balance and into a bush beside him. "Alright, ponies!" Pipp called out in panic as she came inside the Brighthouse. "Mom’s gonna be here for Harvest & Hugs Day any minute," she pointed out, pulling out a pink paper clipboard. "Are we all set?" she asked with a serious expression. "Izzy! Tea!" Izzy settled up her tea set on a flower stack with the teapots stacked on top and the tea cups on the bottom in a great way. "Check!" Izzy smiled as Knuckles stood at her side with his thumbs up. He was wearing black smocks and sunglasses since he would play the part of a butler. "Carrot Cake!" Pipp called out the next thing. "Check!" Sunny and Tails called out. Sunny held the carrot cake while Tails was a bit covered in frosting. The two friends smiled and wore pink and blue aprons. "Check…" Zipp said in a tired and dull tone, holding a spoon and a pink apron while Sunny smiled at her. "You look adorable on that thing," Tails muttered and winked at her, which caused Zipp to blush and chuckle nervously. "Ceremonial red carpet?!" Pipp called out again. Hitch was setting the carpet in the right place with an eye-zoom-in lens to ensure it was at the perfect spot. "Check!" he answered with a smile. "Totes emote harvest music?" Pipp asked as she brought out her phone to play harvest music. "Check!" she said to herself with a smile. "Speakers?!" she called out once again. Then, a blue blur suddenly passed, and Sonic appeared with a smirk, lying on the giant pink speakers that Pipp had asked for. "Check!" he called out with a wink. Pipp smiled and blushed, then she got in front of Sparky, who got out of the bush and cleaned some dirt off him. "And Sparky, you have the honor of blowing this when Mom arrives," she said to Sparky as she gave him a trumpet. Sparky smiled and inhaled, then blared at the trumpet, but his face got a little red as he flopped to the floor, out of breath from blowing too hard. Pipp turned to the others and started to panic even more, her mane getting slightly concerned as she gave a panicked smile. "So just make sure everything's perfect, times it by a million, and then make it even more perfect than that! Okay, great!" she said nervously as she started to sweat and break down while biting on her hooves. "Pipp, why are you so nervous?" Sunny asked in concern as she placed the carrot cake on the counter. "It's just Queen Haven. She's been here many times," Tails pointed out with a smile. "No offense for this, Zipp, but I can expect you to get nervous by just talking to her," Sonic said with a neutral expression. "However, I don't understand it from you, Little Pipp," he also told her with concern. Zipp then approached Sunny and Sonic, looking nervous and sweating. "Harvest and Hugs Day is, like, a weirdly big deal in Zephyr Heights, especially for Mom," she explained to her friends, a bit worried. Years ago, Filly Pipp was sleeping on her bed while sucking on her hoof, and then a shadowy figure came over her, which stirred her awake. "Huh? Aah!" she screamed, startled once she saw who was over her. Haven smiled at her while holding a carrot cake in her hoof. "Who wants carrot cake?!" she asked her daughter excitedly as she presented about ten big stacks of carrot cakes around Pipp’s room; Filly Pipp looked around in shock. After Zipp explained, Sunny, Tails, and Sonic stared at her anxiously. "Then I guess 'Mom gets very excited over a holiday' is a multiversal thing," Sonic said nervously. "Like Longclaw used to do on Christmas?" Tails asked nervously. "Yup," Sonic replied. Pipp then approached her three friends, giving a very panicked smile and reaching her breaking point. "So it's got to. Be. Perfect! Got it?!" she asked them with panic, startling Sunny and Tails. Sonic, however, just rolled his eyes and approached her by patting her mane a bit. "There, there, Little Pipp. Remember to try and chill out! You can be nervous, of course, but it is your Mom at the end of the day," he pointed out to her with a cheery smile. "Nothing bad is going to happen," he assured. Spoke too soon, sadly. Sparky blared the trumpet again and accidentally blew one of his dragon's fires out through the trumpet. Sparky’s dragon fire hit the red carpet, which caused it to burn up as the Mane 5 and Team Sonic watched in shock; the fire then went to the other end of the carpet and into the fall decorations that hung from the ceiling while one ended up on the floor. The group watched in shock as the fire spread to the rest of the decorations and burned them away, with a little piece falling on the stove, burning it up and breaking it. Another piece of the fire fell on the carrot cake, which burned it into dust. The Mane 5 and Team Sonic stared at the carrot cake in shock and worry. Knuckles lifted his sunglasses slowly as he looked anxiously at the burned cake. "Uh... don't worry," Izzy said with a sheepish smile to ease the tension as her friends looked at her. "At least we still got the tea…" she said as she pointed at her stacks of tea sets, which fell off and spilled a little crack since the teapots were too heavy, while the top pot tilted and spilled some tea out as Izzy looked on in shock, which the rest of her friends looking on with panic expression with wide eyes and Pipp left eye twitching. "Well, at least Queen Haven hasn't arrived yet. There's still time to—" she tried to say, but then the doorbell rang, which meant that Haven arrived, making Izzy turn to the door while the others still looked on in panic. Before Izzy spoke again, Knuckles placed his index finger over her mouth and shushed her softly. "That's enough for a day, Izz," he told her with a bored expression. "Well, we're just going to have to... PANIC!" Pipp cried out in panic as she entered the living room and started hyperventilating. Sonic grew worried for her, but he needed to keep it cool for now, so he approached her with a serious expression and made her look at him in the eyes. "Now listen here, Pipp Petals," Sonic called out seriously. "This has a solution. We can still fix this mess, but by losing your mind, we can't go anywhere," he stated, then softened his look. "Now, breathe in and out slowly," he requested. Pipp nodded with a slight blush, and she slowly breathed in and out to calm herself down, who worked after doing it for a while. "Feeling better now?" Sonic asked her with his usual smile as Pipp nodded at him. "Good, now: Zipp, you, Pipp, and I will take care of your mom," he instructed. She rolled her eyes at Sonic because of his 'protective side' over Pipp and his bossy attitude as she walked past Sonic and Pipp. "Sunny, do you think you can handle the rest with the others?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "S-Sure!" Sunny replied nervously. "L-Leave it to us!" she stated. "It's fine!" Pipp said suddenly, panicking again. "Cakes are supposed to catch fire, right?!" she asked her friends with a panicked smile before Zipp grabbed her sister and dragged her to the door. I'm pretty sure that's trending right now!" she added as she started to whimper. "Does my mane smell like a burnt carrot?" she asked her sister and Sonic, tearing up. "Pipp, it's not the end of the world," Sonic told her with a bored expression. "Is your mother not the ruler of another country that wants to conquer us or something?" he pointed out. Zipp opened the doors, and Haven appeared with her royal guards behind her. Haven smiled at her daughters. "Darlings! Happy Harvest and Hugs Day!" she cheered to her daughters happily. Zipp and Pipp looked on nervously as the two sisters closed their doors. They smiled nervously at their mother and sweated a bit while Sonic looked at her with his usual smile. "Welcome, Heen Quaven! Uh, I-I mean, Queen Ha—uh, Mom!" Pipp spattered nervously as Zipp's face hoofed at her sister’s attempt. Queen Haven looked confused, and Sonic now forced his smile with a twitchy eye. "Um, lovely weather we're having!" Pipp said nervously, now approaching her mother. "Am I being filmed? Is this going on ClipTrot?" Haven asked with suspicion while Pipp sweated even more. Zipp grew nervous, and Sonic smiled even more as his electrical powers increased. However, he managed to relax a bit and smile normally again. "Your daughters are just very excited, Haven," he told her casually. "If they're acting like this, it's probably just that," he added. Zipp just nodded eagerly at his side in agreement, sweating nervously herself. "Pssst!" Zipp heard someone, turning to see Sunny waving at her through the window, telling them they were good to come in. Zipp then came to her mother with a sheepish smile while Pipp was still panicking while biting her hoof. "Uh, right this way!" she said to her mother as they entered the Brighthouse. "Wow. What a... unique spread," Haven said nervously as she saw the Brighthouse with red paper to replace the carpet while there were drawings of pumpkins, leaves, and decorations. Izzy kept pouring the tea into a cup on the table with a nervous smile as it overflowed, dripping off on the table, while Sunny was stirring the cake mix with a paper of the carrot cake in front of the bowl with Tails next to her as they smiled nervously at Haven. Sparky held up the trumpet and inhaled to play it again, but Hitch panically snatched it from Sparky and tossed it away to ensure he didn't let out another dragon fire. Sonic facepalmed after staring in disbelief at all of this. "Next time, I'm staying inside to fix it all at Sonic Speed," he muttered, entering the place with a bored expression while following the Royal Family. Haven walked to the throne that Pipp brought down to one end of the table as Hitch came to her with a smile. "Your Royal Hoofness!" he said as he presented the throne to Haven. "Oh. Thank you," Haven thanked Hitch with a smile as she sat on the throne. "Now, we have an exquisite array of classic Harvest and Hugs Day tea blends freshly prepared by our master tea-smith Izzy!" Hitch said as he brought Izzy next to him, who was smiling nervously along with Hitch. Haven gasped happily at them. "Do you have elderberry bushel blast?! It's a Zephyr Heights classic!" she said, her hooves on her cheeks. "Well, we didn't destroy it all in a fire before you arrived!" Hitch said as he gave a nervous laugh before getting a punch on the head. "Ah!" he cried out, seeing Knuckles 'passing by' with a serious expression. He moved his head in negation while Hitch laughed nervously. Izzy gave the same laugh. "Elderberry bushel blast comin' up!" she said as she zipped to the kitchen. Izzy arrived at a pot in front of her and muttered, placing some stuff in the pot. She had to improvise without knowing what elderberry bushel blasts are made of. "Little of this... A little bit of this... Um, okay, that'll work…" she muttered nervously. Haven saw Izzy and looked confused. "Is that a new recipe?" she asked with a nervous smile. "No new recipes," Tails called out with a nervous smile as he mixed the cake. "Yeah. Just good old-fashioned, age-tested tradition!" Sunny added as she was shredding some carrots, but in her haste, she accidentally tossed what was left of the carrot as it flew into the air, which made her grow worried. While carrying the tea Izzy made, Hitch didn't see the carrot piece Sunny tossed before him, making him slip on it from one of his hooves. "Aah! Whoa!" he cried out, but as he tried to gain balance, the tea Izzy made spilled out of the pot and splattered all over the kitchen. Izzy screamed as she ducked for cover of the incoming contents; Haven ducked when someone came close to her when it hit the throne seat. Hitch kept screaming as he slipped and flopped to the table. The tea Izzy had made spilled out from it, and Haven cringed at it. "Just how you like it! Right?" he asked nervously. "I'm gonna have a heart attack if things keep going this badly," Sonic muttered as he sat on the stairs and stared at the others anxiously. "Please don't say that," Pipp begged, sitting at his side as she kept biting on her hooves. Sunny, Tails, and Zipp smiled in the kitchen as Sunny held up the carrot cake batter. "Carrot cake 2.0 ready to go into the... broken oven. Ugh!" she groaned, forgetting that Sparky’s fire broke the oven, so they can’t use that. "How are we gonna bake a cake without an oven?" "I could try and fix it with my powers, but it can take a while since I need a lot of energy to repair something with them, not build from scratch," Tails pointed out with worry. Zipp gave a nervous look as she groaned. "Hold on tight. I might have something..." she said embarrassedly to the others. A little bit later, Zipp returned with a small pink oven, and she gave Sunny and Tails an embarrassed look. "You have a Bakey-Boo Oven?!" Sunny asked in a cute tone as she smiled with sparkling eyes, remembering she also had one when she was a filly. "Aww! I didn't know this side of you, Zipp," Tails said mockingly. "I used to make Harvest and Hugs Day fairy cakes, okay?" Zipp explained quickly, embarrassed to the two. Tails smirked at Zipp while Sunny still smiled with sparkling eyes. I was a filly. I'm not proud of it," she added with a raised eyebrow as she placed her old filly oven on the counter next to them. "Awww, I think it's sweet!" Sunny said in a cute tone while Tails kept smirking, and Zipp still felt embarrassed. "All right, let's do this!" Sunny declared as she now got serious. Zipp opened her old oven, and Sunny placed it inside and closed it to set it on '5:0' while it began to bake. "Mmmm!" Haven’s voice was heard, which startled the trio as they turned and saw her behind them. "That carrot cake smells divine!" she said with a smile, while Pipp and Sonic appeared behind her with panicked expressions as Pipp bit her hooves. Sunny, Tails, and Zipp tried to block her view of the oven to prevent her from seeing the unfinished cake. "Well, Zipp taught us the family recipe, so it should be... delicious?" Sunny said nervously. She, Tails, and Zipp looked on nervously and began sweating. Pipp kept biting her hooves nervously, and then Sonic whispered something in her ear, which made her look at him and nod as they zipped off and grabbed Pipp's giant music speaker, placing it next to Sparky. Pipp then brought out her phone as she played bluegrass music, but she didn’t realize how loud it was until it played. Pipp jumped, startled, and even startled Sparky from the loud sound as he tried to cover his ears. Sonic curled into a ball to hide from the sound. Sunny, Zipp, Tails, and Haven turned and saw how Pipp landed on Sparky’s tail, which made the baby dragon scream in pain as he released one of his dragon fires in the process, while Pipp gave an apology look at Sparky. Izzy ducked from Sparky's dragon fire, but the tea she made was tossed into the air as it landed on Sunny’s face. She tried to get it off, but she tripped and opened Zipp's oven, which caused the baking carrot cake to spit out and hit Haven’s face. The Mane 5 and Team Sonic looked in shock and panic while Pipp, Sonic, Tails, and Hitch also screamed. Pipp got next to her mother and got the cake off her face, who had wide eyes at what had happened. "We're so sorry, Mom!" she cried out, letting her tears go as Haven looked at her daughter. "We had everything prepared, but then it caught fire, and the tea exploded, and the cake dissolved, and now we've ruined your favorite holiday!" she cried out quickly. Haven looked at her daughter sympathetically. "Pipp, my dear, calm down. You've not 'ruined' anything." Pipp calmed down as she turned to her mother. "Well, you're wearing the traditional carrot cake as a face mask, so we're not exactly winning," she pointed out with concern, still crying. Haven wiped the contents off her face as she looked at Pipp. "You think I like Harvest and Hugs Day just because of a cake?" she asked her daughter with a smile. Pipp thought of what her mother just asked. "Um... kinda?" "Well, it is delicious, but no," Haven said with a smile as the Mane 5 and Team Sonic gathered around and listened to Haven. "Look, when I was growing up, Harvest and Hugs Day was one of the few days a year we managed to get all the family together," she stated, as she brought up an old picture of herself when she was young, sitting on the table while her family gathered around her with their Harvest & Hugs Day feast on the table. Zipp came close to her mother and sister as she and Pipp smiled. "That's why I love it so much. Because we were always together," she added as she hugged her daughters close to her. "We could be eating mud pie and worm stew for all I care," she jokingly said with a smile. "Now, that I can do!" Izzy cheered with a smirk while picking at the weird tea she made. "Don’t you even think about it, Izzy," Knuckles warned with a bored expression. "Come on, ponies," Haven called out to the others. "Let's get whatever food we can find, throw it on the table, and make some precious memories together," she declared as the others smiled at her idea. Izzy set a bowl of pinecones on the table. Pipp passed the plates to her mother as they smiled at each other. Sunny, Tails, and Zipp baked a loaf of bread in Zipp's oven as they smiled at their accomplishment. Knuckles decided to bake a grape pie, which he learned to do with Amy a while ago. Once the table was set, the Mane 5 and team Sonic were enjoying their meal while Haven watched them with a smile. Then, Sparky came behind Haven as he giggled at her with a smile. Haven smiled back at the baby dragon next to her. "Sparky, could you do the honors and get this feast underway?" she asked the baby dragon as she gave him the trumpet. Sparky smiled as he grabbed the trumpet and took a deep breath to blow the trumpet. The others saw this and started to panic again. "No, no, no, nooooo!" they all cried out in unison and panic since this was something Sparky shouldn’t do after his last attempt with the trumpet. After Haven left, Sonic and Pipp decided to stay behind to clean up the place, while the others left them alone to see if they would finally talk about the thing. "Thank Chaos that Sparky's dragon fire didn't cause any more trouble," Sonic commented, cleaning up the fridge from the spilled tea. "Agreed," Pipp replied as she cleaned up one of the kitchen walls. She then took a deep breath before turning to Sonic. "Hey, um... thanks for helping me out earlier when I was panicking a lot," she said with a smile. Sonic turned to her and smiled back. "Anytime, Little Pipp," he said. Before they came to silence again, Sonic took a deep breath and approached Pipp, lying on the clean part of the wall she was cleaning. "So, are we going to talk about the elephant in the room already?" Sonic asked with his eyes closed and a serious tone. Pipp stopped and panicked again, although she managed to stay controlled by the moment. "W-What elephant?" she asked nervously. Sonic looked at her with a bored expression and a raised eyebrow. "That you kissed me?" he pointed out. Pipp blushed and gulped at the mention of that. "O-Oh..." she replied nervously. "W-Well... I-I don't know..." she said, unsure. "Come on, Little Pipp. We're both adults here," Sonic pointed out with a neutral expression. "We cannot just ignore this and hope everything will be fine in the end," he added. "I-I know..." Pipp confessed, now sitting on the ground with a worried expression, as Sonic sat at her side and looked at her expectantly. "Look, the way we were both acting that day almost made us kiss at first glance and then Tails interrupted us, so I just decided to kiss you anyway... Why? I... I don't know... I guess I just went with the flow at the moment and... I-I'm sorry for doing it, Sonic..." she said with a few tears in her eyes. "Pipp, I'm not mad," Sonic said with a soft smile. "It took off my guard, but I didn't dislike it. I wanted to give you some space and time after that, but eventually... I got uncomfortable myself," he explained with guilt. "Then again, ignoring this won't solve anything. I want to talk, laugh, and chill with you, the same way we always did... but I guess that kiss made things uncomfortable for both of us," he pointed out. "I admit, I also miss talking with you the same way we used to," Pipp said with a genuine smile. "Then let's just do it!" Sonic said with a smile. "We don't have to ignore that we kissed, but we don't need to act so dramatic over it either, right?" he added in a playful tone while Pipp giggled at him. "Besides..." he started again, standing up alongside Pipp and giving her his back. "I'm always up for a round two," he smirked. That comment made Pipp's face turn completely red as she frowned. "SONIC!" she scolded him, as Sonic laughed loudly and ran away to finish cleaning. Pipp rolled her eyes but smiled as well. "Please never change, Blue Star," she muttered with a blush, resuming her clean-up. THE END Author's Note Finally! The Sonic and Pipp drama is over... at least for now. Even though you're about to read it, the next chapter will have a subplot with Tails since, well, his birthday is tomorrow. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. See ya! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
36. Taking FlightZipp and Tails were flying around in the sky as they flew high with a few loops and looked at Maretime Bay below her. "Wow! Look at this view!" Zipp said with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Flying is the best!" she cheered. "Heck yeah!" Tails cheered. "Thanks for tagging along, Tails," Zipp said with a smile. "W-We haven't spent much time together lately," she added with a slight blush. "No problem!" Tails said with a smile that made Zipp's heart jump happily. "I owe it to you after I... you know, I was a jerk with you instead of just talking calmly," he said with a guilty expression. "Hey, it's okay. I deserve it for getting too overboard with my 'detective side' and all," Zipp said with a smile. "And, what better way to bond than flying?!" she said, quickly looping in the sky. Tails chuckled as he happily flew around Zipp. "Flying's the funniest way to make amends! Hands down!" And then suddenly, Izzy somehow came next to them, in the sky, as she sighed with a smile. "Isn’t it just?" she asked. "Wind in your hair, total freedom…" Zipp listened with a smile while neither she nor Tails realized that Izzy was flying next to them somehow. "There's nothing else like it!" she announced with a smile and sparkling eyes. "I could not have said it better myself," Izzy said with a smile as she winked at her friends. "Cheerio, Zipperoonie! Milesy! Whoo-hoo!" she cheered as she flew down. Zipp laughed happily. "See ya, Izz," she called out with a smile, but then she and Tails realized who they had just spoken to. "Wait. Izzy?!" they both called out in shock. "How, when, what, why?!" Tails asked out in shock. It turns out that Izzy made a glider that she levitated with her magic. But her glider snapped into pieces after a while, and the magic stopped glowing. Izzy turned and looked at her broken glider in shock. "Uh-oh..." she said, now falling from the skies... with a smile. "Wheeeeee!" she cheered as she fell beside the abandoned Canterlogic building. Zipp and Tails started to sweat in worry and anxiety, seeing that Izzy was about to hit the ground. They both flew at a fast paste to Izzy before she turned into Pony Pancake on the pavement. Izzy kept smiling as she fell, but that ended when Zipp and Tails grabbed Izzy as they carried her and took to the air. The glider came off as it fell on the pavement in front of Posey, startling her as a pony stallion next to her gave a confused look, wondering what had just happened. Izzy, Zipp, and Tails all screamed, about to hit the roof of the Canterlogic building, which had some stuff and something big under a tarp in the middle of it; the three friends hit the roof and rolled across it before hitting the thing under the tarp. Once they crashed, they groaned from the impact of the hit. Zipp got up and gave Izzy a look while sweating a bit from the sudden fright of Izzy nearly killing herself. "Izzy! What were you thinking?! You could've been hurt!" she scolded. "Worst-case scenario? You could have killed yourself!" Tails said, as he also sweated a bit. Izzy fixed her mane as she got it out of her eyesight and gave an apologetic look to her friends. "Sorry, Zipp, Tails," she said, then smiled at them. "But you two made flying look so fun; I wanted to do it, too!" she explained as she gave sparkling eyes. "Still, doing something so reckless could have cost your life, Izz. And that would be no good," Tails pointed out with a frown. "Yeah. It would be amazing if we all could fly. But we can't," Zipp pointed out. "So––" she tried to add but was cut off when Izzy got between Zipp's and Tails' cheeks with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Maybe we can?" Izzy asked with a smile. Zipp raised an eyebrow at Izzy, and Tails looked on, confused. Then, Izzy grabbed the tarp behind them and unraveled it to show the old run-down tramcar Izzy had shown the others after they'd found Sparky. "Ta-daaaaa! My ultrasonic, fantastatronic, skyblastonic flying machine!" she called out excitedly while Zipp and Tails raised their eyebrow before the tramcar door fell from Izzy’s weight; she fell to the floor while her two friends looked at her to see if she was okay, but then Izzy got her head up and pointed her hoof at them with a smile. "I'm okay!" she called out. "You want to transform a tram car into a flying machine?" Tails said, confused. "It was not the weirdest thing I'd ever heard, but still..." he added with concern. "Yup! It might need a little work, but it's got good bones!" Izzy called out as she tapped it with a smile. But then the tramcar began to creak, and the front titled to the front. The middle of it began to crack in half as the back half rolled backward, which made Tails, Zipp, and Izzy gasp. Then, Izzy used her magic to put a spare wheel at the back end of the back half to keep it from rolling off the roof as she came next to it while having some sweat from the effort she used. "So, uh, what do you say, Zipperoonie and Milesy? Fix it up together? Take it to the skies?" she asked them with a smile. Zipp gave an unsure look as she tapped on the mirror of the tramcar. "The skies?" she repeated, but after the second tap of the mirror, it nearly fell off as Zipp caught it and put it back gently. "I don't know, Izzy. This thing is in no condition to fly," she pointed out with worry. "Hmm... with some slight modifications, we could make it fly up to the skies..." Tails pointed out with an analytical look. "And who knows more about flying than you, Zipp?" Izzy pointed out with a wink. "And who knows more about vehicles and technology than you, Tails?" she added by giving a wink to Tails. "With your knowledge, guys, and my creativity, we'll have this baby uni-cycled in no time," she declared, waving her hooves when she mentioned her 'creativity.' Then, a piece of the floor behind the tramcar fell off as Izzy looked at it. "I don't see why we can't try!" Tails said with a smile. "I'm on board, captain!" he joked while making a salute. Zipp, on the other hand, sighed after thinking about what Izzy said. "It would be pretty sweet for all of us to be able to fly together," she said with a smile. "Yes?" Izzy asked with a smile as she got closer to Zipp. "Just think – day trips in Zephyr Heights…" Zipp listed with a smile. "Yes?!" Izzy asked again, very excited with wide and sparkling eyes. "...weekends in Bridlewood…" Zipp added. "YES!" Izzy cheered excitedly while waiting for Zipp's answer. Zipp turned to her with a determined expression and a smile. "Okay, Izzy! I'm in!" she declared. Izzy squealed in excitement as Zipp and Tails came up to her with smiles on their faces. "Go, Team Zipzyils!" she announced cheerfully as they tapped hooves/hands. Zipp and Tails gave her small smiles and walked off to get some tools and make plans for the tramcar. "Get it? It's Izzy, Zipp, and Tails, but all squishy up!" Izzy added with a wave of her hooves. "No nicknames!" Zipp called out to Izzy. "Aw..." Izzy groaned in disappointment. "Good names, though, Izzy!" Tails called out, making Izzy smile a bit. In the meantime, Sonic was sneaking around the streets of Maretime Bay, acting like a ninja and moving quietly and nimbly. He stopped in front of a building, looked at both sides and made a hand sign to indicate someone had to move. Sunny, who pocked her head from behind a dark alley, went back inside it and came out of it again, lifting some boxes as she sneaked in Sonic's direction. Behind her came Hitch and Knuckles, with the former carrying boxes on his back and the latter lifting wooden planks. The three of them waited for Sonic to open the building door he was in front of. Then the hedgehog pushed the door open, still in 'ninja mode,' as the two ponies and the echidna entered the place. Then, Pipp quickly arrived flying, with a box on her hooves. She nodded to Sonic before entering the building, and Sonic himself entered. Inside, he and Pipp covered the windows with curtains, and Knuckles put a 'Sorry, we are closed' sign in the front door, then sighed in relief. "We didn't forget anything, right?" Knuckles asked. "The prints!" Hitch said with panic. "Dang! I probably left them on..." he tried to add, but... "The kitchen table?" Sonic asked, pulling out the blueprints Hitch was talking about. "I took them before leaving the Brighthouse," he added with a confident smirk, rolling up the prints on a table to show some places and machines that Tails wanted to put... in his workshop. "What are we seeing exactly?" Pipp asked. "Well, as I've been telling you for a few days now, Tails' birthday is tomorrow, and I want to give him something more special than a simple gift," Sonic smiled. "And I discovered these prints of his a few days ago. So... here we are!" Sonic said, pointing at the empty building they were in right now. "So you want to turn this place into a workshop and give it to Tails as a birthday present?" Knuckles summarized. "You're certainly getting better at this 'bro' thing," he added mockingly. "Yeah, laugh it up, Knucklehead..." Sonic said with a bored expression. "Wait!" Sunny said suddenly. "I think this is a great idea, but... shouldn't we worry about Tails coming in suddenly, ruining the whole surprise?" she asked with concern, while Hitch at her side nodded in agreement. "That's why we asked Zipp to take Tails out for the day," Pipp said with a smirk. "And Izzy said something about needing their help with something, so they'll be out for a while," Knuckles added with a smile. "Okey then," Sunny said with a raised eyebrow and a smile. "If we're done already, let's get started!" Sonic declared with a smile. Sometime later, Zipp and Tails got some tools they would need for the tramcar. They turned and saw Izzy coming in with wallpaper, paint, and Sunny’s lantern on the wagon she strapped herself with. Izzy, Zipp, and Tails started having lunch as they munched on their sandwiches. Zipp put her sandwich down, took out her phone, and drew the designs for the tramcar to fly. She showed it to Tails and Izzy, with Tails smiling at the design and Izzy nodding with sparkling eyes. Then she showed her desert, which she had shaped into a vehicle with wings before it dissolved. "Huh?" Zipp asked in confusion before she groaned from that, while Tails chuckled nervously. A little bit later, Zipp tried to put a star in an area of the tramcar but couldn’t keep it in place. Izzy came to her as she held up a blowtorch and placed her blowtorch’s mask down on her face. Then, she held two blowtorches and wielded the star in place. Izzy and Zipp smiled at this as Zipp nodded in accomplish of Izzy’s work, but as she tried to walk off, her tool sash got stuck on the star Izzy wielded, which gave the unicorn an irritated look from the pegasus as Izzy smiled sheepishly at her mistake. Sometime later, Izzy levitated her glitter cannon with sparkling eyes on a wooden wing of the tramcar. "Glitter cannon! Check!" Izzy announced with a determined smile. But then, the weight of her glitter cannon made the wooden wing fall, causing it to roll across the roof as it turned to Tails, who was measuring something for the tramcar. Then, he turned and saw the glitter cannon facing him, which made him look confused. The glitter cannon then went off, and a ball of purple glitter hit his face, shocking him. Izzy got to the fox, giving him a sheepish yet apologetic look as she sweated nervously. "Y-You actually... have a little something on your…" she said, then tried to wipe the glitter off him, but after a wipe, his face was now covered in rainbow glitter as he gave an irritated look at Izzy. "Yeah..." Izzy said. Tails shook his head with a cough as he got the glitter off his face and some on his mouth, and then he looked on with a tired expression. Zipp then arrived at Izzy as she got to her face. "Izzy! We have to start working together as a team, or this thing will never fly!" she called out as she pointed to the tramcar, both halves glued back together with mac and cheese, and the two wooden wings fell off as they fell on the ground. "And please, no Glitter Canon this time, Izz," Tails begged with a bored expression. "You guys are right. Team Zipzyils?" Izzy asked them as she raised her hoof to them. "Team Zipzyils," both Tails and Zipp said in unison as they gave Izzy a hoof tap with smiles. "Now, let’s get to work!" Tails said with a determined smile as the three friends started to work together. Sometime later, the three friends got to work on making the tramcar flight worthy. Mane 5: Just a little touch-up Just a little paint And we'll be done in no time Izzy was searching through a box while tossing some things away, looking for something, when Zipp came by her side. She held a rope on her hoof with a smile, and Izzy smiled at her. On the planning table, Tails reviewed the plans the three friends thought together. Zipp was trying to get the engine block in a dryer machine with googly eyes and a heart on its door in front of the tramcar, but it was too heavy since she couldn’t get it off the ground. But then the engine block levitated as Zipp let go of it; she saw it go into the dryer and smiled when she saw Izzy using her magic to hold the block in place as she smiled back. 'Hey, this is looking great!' Izzy thought to herself with a smile as she used her blowtorches to wield the railings of the front of the tramcar in place and fixed up its controls. She smiled at Zipp and Tails. 'Cause they say many hooves And the work gets lighter Tails attached a broken bike wheel to the place where the steering wheel was on the controls as he attached it. Izzy used her magic to repaint the tramcar with a little rainbow color on the boarded wood on the windows. And working with your friends Will make the whole day brighter Zipp and Tails used gray paint to repaint the tramcar's roof, while Izzy levitated a paintbrush and painted some pinkish-reddish color. Gonna work, work, work Got so much to do Well, I don't mind the work 'Cause I get to work with you Then, Zipp was on top of the tramcar to indicate to Izzy where she should put the wings on the tramcar. She focused her magic on where to put it, but she had difficulty placing it where it was supposed to go. Zipp smiled, and then Tails flew and kicked the wing in place. Zipp and Tails landed with Izzy as they looked at their flying vehicle. They finished with smiles and sparkling eyes and gave each other hoof/hand taps at their hard work together. Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do And then, the two ponies, Cutie Marks, began to glow as Sunny’s lantern started to fly past them; they saw it in shock and amazement while the lantern floated itself to the front of the tramcar, which used its magic to transform it into a motor vehicle with pegasus wings on its side, big window in front for the driver with a door with a heart window at the back and the windows on the side. The colors are light blue, purple, pink, and white, with a symbol of the Unity Crystals on the front. "Whoa!: Zipp awed as Izzy and Tails looked at it in amazement. "Look at this thing! Incredible!" Zipp added with a smile. "I did not see that coming," Izzy said in amazement. "Sunny's lantern is full of surprises. It used the Prisbeam power to upgrade the tramcar into… This!" Tails said in awe. A little bit later, Tails, Izzy, and Zipp entered the new vehicle as Izzy pressed her hoof on a hoof scanner. "Thrusters?" Zipp asked Izzy. "Check!" Izzy answered as the wings opened up from the side. "Ignition?" Zipp asked again as Tails flipped a switch. "Check!" Tails answered with a smile as the engines started roaring and the tailpipes in the back burst rainbows. "Super-cool shades?" Zipp asked again with a smirk as she, Tails, and Izzy got their sunglasses on and put them on their eyes. "Check!" all three friends said in unison. Zipp grabbed the wheel with her hooves and clicked it forward, and the new flying motor vehicle began to move forward, with a rainbow trailing behind. "Mare Stream ready for takeoff, Zippster and Milesy!" Izzy announced to her friends. "Whoo-hoo!" Zipp cheered before realizing what Izzy had just said as she turned with a smile. "Did you say 'Mare Stream'? I love it!" she declared. "Put the full speed, Zippster!" Tails declared with confidence. "Whoo-hoo! Let's go!" Izzy cheered as the Marestream took flight, leaving a rainbow trail behind as it took to the skies. The rest of the gang was finishing up the last details for Tail's new workshop at the building. Sonic and Sunny painted the walls of the building yellow and orange, the basic colors for recognizing Tails. Pipp was placing some decorations around, like a small replica of the Tornado I in the ceiling, some clouds to decorate the place, and even the two-tail sign that Tails had originally placed on his workshop back on Mobius. Knuckles and Hitch were placing the tables and some of Tails' inventions around. They also brought Tails' tools for work. After a while, they finally finished up the basic parts of the workshop. "Well, that's settled," Knuckles said with a smile. "Now what?" he asked. "We'll surprise Tails tomorrow! He'll decide if he wants to add something else or not," Sonic said with a confident smile. Thanks again for the help, guys. Buying the building was one thing, but getting this far for us..." he tried to add, but Sunny cut him off. "Tails is also our friend, Sonic. And we're glad to help!" Sunny said with a smile. "Besides, this is something he needs right now," Pipp pointed out. "You know, he's been a little... messy in the Brighthouse lately..." she said, remembering the few times Tails caused a mess because of his job. "Yeah, I know," Sonic said with a little smile. "Let's just hope Tails likes it..." he added, a bit concerned. Sometime later, the Mare Stream flew above the clouds as Izzy looked out the window in amazement. "Zipp! Tails! We're flying!" Izzy said cheerfully as she got to the controls, but she accidentally knocked Sunny’s lantern off its spot. Without Sunny’s lantern to power Mare Stream, the motorhome vehicle lost its power, falling from the sky. "IZZY!" Tails cried out as he hung on to the vehicle. "WE'RE NOT FLYING!" Izzy cried out as she tried to place the lantern back in place but couldn’t. "Guys! Nothing is working!" Zipp cried out as she kept pressing on the controls, but nothing was happening. "Sunny's lantern is the power source! Without it, we'll be part of history!" Tails cried out with worry. "We're going to crash!" Zipp cried out. as they saw they were about to fall into the forest. Izzy started to grow nervous as she sweated. Then, she tried to use her magic to lift the Mare Stream or slow it down a bit, but it frizzed out as the Mare Stream kept falling, and Izzy panted from the effort. "We're falling too fast! My magic isn't strong enough!" she cried out. "I wish I knew Chaos Control!" Tails cried out. "The temporal moment where time stops around could be really helpful right now!" he pointed out with concern. "There must be something!" Zipp cried out to her friends. Izzy started to whimper as she looked around for something they could use. Then, she turned to the interior of the Mane Stream and saw a giant cloth attached to a rope. "I've got something, but I'm not gonna lie to you, guys–– it's risky!" she called out to them as she held the rope. "Just do it, Izzy!" Zipp and Tails called out. Izzy opened the ceiling window on Mane Stream's roof and got the cloth out while gruntingly attaching the rope to it, with the other end attached to Mane Stream. "There we go!" she called out with a smile. At the controls, Zipp and Tails were pressing buttons in desperation. "Izzy, we are still falling!" Zipp cried out to Izzy, who came back to them with a smile. "What did you do anyway?!" Tails questioned in anxiety as he and Zipp braced themselves for the impact. "Wait for it… Now!" Izzy called out as the Mane Stream got tugged into the sky since Izzy used the tarp as a parachute to slow the Mare Stream down. Tails, Izzy, and Zipp cheered with laughter as they felt relieved they were saved. The Mare Stream landed on something with a thud, and the three friends took off their sunglasses and looked at each other with smiles, relieved that they were saved. Zipp opened the door with a smile, but she looked down and groaned once she saw that the Mare Stream had landed on top of some trees. "Ugh. Izzy, Tails, how are we going to get this thing down?" she called out with concern. "No idea. I have never had this kind of struggle before with any version of the Tornado, so I don't know how to get something this big down here either..." Tails admitted. Izzy gasped before smiling. "No idea either. But if there's one thing I know for sure, Zipper-doodle, we can do anything together. Hoof bump!" she called out as she raised her hoof while Zipp and Tails smiled and raised their hooves/hands. "Team Zipzyils," Izzy cheered as the three friends bumped hooves/hands with each other. But then, the Mare Stream started rattling, which shocked the three friends. The motor vehicle then started to fall from the trees, seeing that the trees were not strong enough to support the weight. "Whoa!" all of them cried out as Izzy held onto the couch while Zipp and Tails hit the ceiling from the force of the fall; the Mare Stream parachute then got caught on some branches, preventing it from crashing into the floor. Izzy landed on the couch once the fall was over and smiled when she realized she was okay. She turned to give Zipp and Tails another hoof bump but then looked up and saw Zipp and Tails crashing into the floor with a thud since they didn’t have time to react to hang onto something or use their flying skills. Izzy came down to Zipp's and Tails' level as she gave them a smirk. "Perfect landing, captain!" Izzy said cheerfully while Zipp smiled back at the unicorn. "Zipp..." Tails called out, and then Izzy giggled when she saw that Zipp was over Tails, almost crushing him into the ground. "Please get off me..." he begged with a bored expression and puffed cheeks, while Zipp blushed slightly and chuckled before slowly standing up and giving some space to Tails. "S-Sorry for that, Tails..." Zipp apologized. "It's okay, Zipp," Tails said to her with a little smile, standing up and shaking his body. The next day, Tails was suddenly woken up by Sonic, who only told him to put a bandage on his eyes, grab his hand, and follow him. "Sonic..." Tails called out for the millionth time already. "Can you tell me where you are taking me already?" he asked in annoyance, suddenly waking up and having no idea what was happening. "Trust me, lil' bro; it's a place I know you'll like," Sonic confidently assured. Even though Tails could not see his face, he knew he was smirking, which made him feel more annoyed now. In the end, Sonic suddenly stopped, which caused Tails to stop, too, since Sonic was grabbing his arm. Sonic let go of his arm and stepped away slowly from him. "Okay, Tails. Remove your bandage in three... two... one!" he counted down. Tails sighed in relief and removed the bandage as he got used to the light of day again. Once he got his sight completely back, he gasped in shock at the sight: a yellow brick building with orange trim was in front of him, with a sign at the top of the main doors that had the logo of his new business, 'Electronic Tails.' The letters on his own name had two tails shaped at the start. "SURPRISE!" Sonic cheered to his brother, standing in front of the building. "T-This... This is..." Tails tried to say, but no words came out of his mouth. "I knew you'd like it," Sonic said with a smile, placing a hand on Tails' back. What do you say if we go inside and take a look?" he suggested. Tails was speechless, but he managed to move towards the main door. Once he opened it, he felt a wave of emotions through his body when he saw the inside of the building. His inventions, decoration, and even his two-tail logo on the wall hit like home for him. It was perfect. "Happy birthday, Tails!" the Mane 5 and Knuckles said as they came off their hideouts to congratulate the young fox. More emotions got into him because of that. "D-Did you guys do all of these?" Tails managed to ask. "Yup!" Sunny replied with a smile. "I mean, Izzy and I got you a bit busy yesterday... but yeah, this place is a gift from all of us to you, little guy," Zipp said with a smile. Tails chuckled slowly, and some tears of happiness fell down his cheeks. "D-Dang it... I got emotional too soon..." he said with a smile, getting a big hug from Sonic. "You're growing up fast, lil' bro. You're 24 now! I couldn't be more proud of you!" Sonic said, ruffling his brother with his hand. Soon enough, Knuckles and the Mane 5 joined the hug, with some, like Zipp and Sunny, nuzzling the fox to congratulate him. "T-Thank you, guys..." Tails said with a smile. "I appreciate this..." he added. During the last 2 months, Eggman hasn't talked with Opaline, mainly because he threatened her with killing her. However, this month wasn't useless for the doctor because he had some books from Opaline's library. As he was still trying to translate the glyphs from the cave Metal Sonic, Metal Pipp, and Metal Sunny found a while ago, he found two very interesting things in those books that caught his attention: the first one was a story about a place called the Starfall Islands, where ancient technology was waiting for him, or at least that's what Eggman tells himself. The second was about a Wishing Star that had the power to grant a wish to those who could look at it. As the evil genius he is, he was planning to steal the power of said star or destroy it in the attempt. "All the magical properties of this star amaze me..." Eggman told himself. "But the vital thing that I'm missing is the exact coordinates of the closest spots where the star will travel..." he said with concern. And then, a thought came to his mind, one that could succeed if he planned everything carefully. "I know just the person that can help me on this assignment... or should I say pony?" Eggman said with a grin as he pressed a button on his computer, and the image of a certain earth pony mare showed up. "It'll be a pleasure to finally meet you properly, Sunny Starscout," he stated with a confident smile. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: MAKE YOUR MARK (WINTER WISHDAY) Author's Note Ok, so. Winter Wishday comes out tomorrow. I'll start working on it this week, and I should have it ready for Saturday. Also, no. I wasn't going to end this chapter without an angst :) Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode, which is also my way to celebrate Tails' birthday since it's tomorrow. See ya on Saturday with both the Winter Wishday special and the Epilogue of Season 1! Bye, bye! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
37. Snow Pun IntendedAuthor's Note Warning! I highly recommend to read Winter Wishday first before reading from this chapter on. Not precisely for this chapter, but for the future ones. P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 37. Snow Pun Intended Snowballs were thrown around as Posey screamed and ran in panic. At the end, Posey ducked into a snowy bush while peaking out to look around, shaking in fright. All around Posey, the ponies were having fun in the snow. Since unicorns in Bridlewood realized they were unconsciously using a spell, the leftover snow was still all over Equestria, so it would take a while to melt away. Still, the ponies decided to have fun in the snow since there had never been snow in Maretime Bay. Two earth pony foals, a mare and a stallion, were playfully throwing snowballs at each other while laughing. Seashell, Glory, and Peach Fizz made a snowman, stacking the snow together to make a buddy. They made a face with pebbles, rocks, and a carrot for a nose. With Sparky on his back, Hitch jumped right in front of a snow version of Izzy, with snow versions of the other girls around them as well. "Freeze!" he called out but realized what he said as he picked up a snowball. "Uh? I mean, un-freeze!" Suddenly, the snow Izzy shook its head, revealing the true Izzy hiding under it. "Aw. How’d you know?" she asked Hitch with disappointment. Hitch smirked at her, tossing the snowball on his hoof. "There isn’t much I don’t see coming… Ah!" Hitch cried out as he saw a snowball from out of nowhere about to hit him, so he ducked, and it went overhead. The snowball headed straight to Posey, who got her head out of the bush as she looked around in fright but didn't notice the snowball about to hit her. Hitch and Izzy gave a panicked expression while Sparky looked on in shock. "No!" both Izzy and Hitch cried out in panic. Posey turned to where the two ponies were screaming while the snowball hit her in the face, which made her look irritated. The ponies around her gave out nervous and shocked expressions. Sunny looked at Posey nervously. Pipp and Zipp were in the air, holding snowballs in their hooves and looking at Posey in shock as well. Team Sonic just looked at each other before staring back at Posey with panic. Glory, Seashell, and Peach Fizz also gave shocked expressions. Seashell smacked a snowball on Peach Fizz in a panic while Glory took a picture of Posey in shock. Hitch and Izzy got in front of Posey with a guilty expression. "Sorry! I was aiming for Izzy/I was amazing for Hitch, but…" they both tried to explain, but Posey lifted her hoof to shut them. Posey looked angrily at them with the snow still on her face. "Just. Take. Me. Home. NOW!" she yelled out in rage. Zipp then came zooming to Izzy’s side while she and Hitch gave fright looks at Posey’s outburst. Even Sparky, on Hitch’s head, had a worried expression. "Home? But it’s a snow day!" Zipp pointed out with a smile. "The first ever in Maretime Bay!" Sunny added with a smile. "Perfect to share with friends and followers!" Pipp called out excitedly as she took a picture on her phone while livestreaming Posey, emojis coming out as Posey shivered in the cold. "Just because it's new does not make it good," Posey pointed out, still frowning. "Whaaaaat?" the Mane 5 all cried out in shock at what Posey said. On the other hand, Team Sonic looked at each other before shrugging and saying "Meh" in unison. "Well, if you don't like it, then that's your miss," Sonic said with a bored expression as he, Tails, and Knuckles turned around and started to leave. "Come on, boys!" he called out. "Let's see if we can get Rocky and Jazz on a snowball war or something," Knuckles suggested. "I'm calling Dahlia too. I bet she will love to be involved," Tails added, taking out his phone and texting Dahlia. The Mane 5 gasped in shock at Team Sonic's attitude since they didn't seem to care about Posey not liking snow. Sunny suddenly approached them to stop them. "Guys! Why do you act so careless?!" she asked in shock and panic. "Posey doesn't like snow, and what?" Sonic said. "If she doesn't like it, then that's her thing," he pointed out. "Yeah, we cannot just make her like snow. That's not how it works," Tails added with a neutral expression. "Also, she does have a big point that not everything new has to be good," he confessed. "Maybe I wasn't here when that happened, but when the Unity Crystals were failing, didn't you say that just because we like something doesn't mean everyone has to?" Knuckles questioned with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. Sunny had no words to counter that, so she just smiled nervously. "Well, it is a bit overwhelming to be outside with everypony out in the snow," she admittedly said. "Maybe somewhere quieter?" she suggested, now looking at Posey. "No, that won't be––" Posey tried to object, but Zipp cut her off. "Oh! Like Prancing Point!" Zipp called out with a smile. "We're painted or something," Tails said with a bored expression. "We suddenly became walls," Knuckles said with a bored expression. Then, Izzy got to Posey's side and wrapped a hoof around her, which startled Posey. "To the Marestream, ponies!" she announced as she and the others raced to the Marestream while dragging Posey along with them. "This is going to be one of those episodes where they don't learn their lesson until the end of the episode, isn't it?" Tails questioned with a bored tone. "Pretty much," Sonic replied with an eye roll. A little later, the Mane 5, Team Sonic, and Posey flew towards their Mare Stream destination. "Prancing Point, here we come!" Zipp announced with a smile as Tails got in the driver's seat with a bored expression. The Marestream flew across the sky as Sunny took a deep breath and sighed in relaxation. "Much calmer. Right, Posey?" Sunny asked Posey with a smile but saw Posey covering her face with her hooves on the ground while shaking in fright. "I'm an earth pony, not a sky pony!" Posey cried out in panic while Sunny looked with worry at her. "I'm an earth pony, not a sky pony! Are we there yet?! Are we there yet?! ARE WE THERE YET?!" she cried out in panic. "Uh, Posey?" Zipp called out with a raised eyebrow. "We're here," she said with a smile as she pointed outside. Pipp was taking a selfie in the air with Sonic, standing on the Marestream ceiling, while Izzy, Hitch, Sparky, and Knuckles were playing a snowball fight. Izzy threw hers at Hitch, and Knuckles laughed. "Phew!" Posey said, relieved that the flying part was over. Sometime later, the Mane 5, Sparky, Team Sonic, and Posey were on a spot where they would show Posey what makes snow fun. "Here is the complete list of all good snow day activities!" Hitch said with a smile as he held up his clipboard. Pipp raised her hoof excitedly as she waved it, while Posey felt very uncomfortable. "Oooh! Even snowponies?" Pipp asked Hitch with sparkling eyes. "Snowponies?" Hitch repeated, looking around nervously before giving a nervous smile. Of course! It's right here on my list!" he lied. "Well, we better get started if we want to fit everything in!" he announced with a smile. "Whoo-hoo!" Izzy cheered excitedly as she trotted around. "Yeah! Snow day!" she said with a big smile and sparkling eyes. "Yes! Snow day!" Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp all called out in unison as they laughed a little together. "Well, if we're going to be proven right, the least we can do is enjoy whatever these guys are going to do," Sonic pointed out as he shrugged, while Tails and Knuckles nodded in agreement. Posey, however, still felt very nervous and unsure about this. She wished that the Mane 5 had listened to Team Sonic and left her to go home. "First up is... what Pipp said... that I had written down," Hitch said nervously as he sweated a bit. Pipp gave a smile and sparkling eyes. "Snowponies are so much fun!" she excitedly trotted ahead. "To make them hashtag #snowmazing, all you need is…" she tried to add, but Zipp cut her off. "Loads of snow!" Zipp called out excitedly as she flew up, spun, and then dived down, impacting the snow that formed around her and her friends. A little bit later, Zipp and Tails showed Posey how to make snowponies as Zipp stacked some snowballs together. "Roll as much snow as you need, then triple it!" Zipp said as she rolled some snow together to make a big ball and held it on her hoof. "The bigger, the better!" she added with a smile while Posey looked down at her snow pile. "But don't cross the line," Tails suggested. "Zipp has a weird obsession with making things bigger," he whispered to her. Later, while Posey tried to stack her snow pile together, a shadow came over her. She looked in shock at a giant snowball on a hill that Zipp made, which made Posey sweat nervously and gulp. "This is exactly what I meant..." Tails said with an anxious look while also sweating. Then, Zipp stood on top of her snow pile with a proud smile, but as she got on it, it tilted and started rolling down the hill, with Zipp on it as she moved her hooves backward to try and keep her balance. Posey and Tails screamed as Zipp's giant snowball started chasing them. Zipp flew off the giant snowball as it crashed but got Posey and Tails on it as they poked their heads off with irritated looks. "Was it necessary to make it that big?" Tails questioned tiredly, while Zipp just smiled sheepishly and chuckled nervously. Sometime later, Pipp placed a giant scarf on the body of a snowpony. "And the bigger the snowpony, the more snow-ccessories you can add," Pipp said with a smile as she and her friends kept it steady while the snowpony looked like a giant stallion with Pipp's blanket on its back and two big rocks for the eyes. Posey came to them after getting out of the snow pile with a bored expression as she shook her head to get the snow off herself. Pipp came to her and gave Posey some rocks, and the earth pony gave her a curious look while Pipp smiled at her. Then, Posey placed the rocks on the chest part of the snowpony and gave a smile; then she looked up and saw Pipp adding some twigs and leaves on top of the snowpony for the main part and the chest as the ponies looked on in awe. Pipp took out her phone to take a selfie of the snow pony with her and her friends, but then the snow pony titled as it was losing balance. Posey screamed as the Mane 5, sins Pipp, moved out of the way, and the head of the snowpony fell on Posey while Pipp covered herself from that impact. As this happened, Sonic looked bored. "Well, this is going great," he said sarcastically. "I know! And it took me like 10 minutes to cover his body," Knuckles said with a smile as he transformed Tails into a snowman except for his head, while Tails just gave a bored expression. "I can't believe you convinced me to do this..." Tails groaned while Knuckles put a black top hat on his head. "I was not talking about––" Sonic tried to argue, but after seeing Tails transformed into a snowman, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit before laughing and falling to the ground. Tails groaned more while Knuckles placed a scar similar to Zipp's around Tails' neck. Soon enough, Hitch and Zipp also arrived, staring confused at Sonic since they didn't understand why he was laughing. "Sonic? What's the mat––" Hitch tried to ask, but then both he and Zipp saw Tails' current state, and now Hitch joined Sonic in the loud laughing, while Zipp just covered her mouth with a hoof and giggled. "This is humiliating..." Tails groaned more, not changing his bored expression at all. "Aww, but you look so cute like this!" Zipp said with a smile as she nuzzled her cheek with Tails'. "T-That doesn't help, Zipp!" Tails complained as his cheeks puffed in frustration. Later, after Tails finally got out of his snowman body, Izzy smirked at Posey since it was her turn to show Posey how fun snow could be. "Touching all that snow? Nuh-uh! Neigh way! No frosty hooves here, folks!" Izzy said to Posey, who was still under the pile of snow as she got out and gave an irritated look again. "I have a better way," Izzy said while wiggling her eyebrows with a smirk, then she pointed to her horn. "With a little bit of unicorn magic, you can make anything with snow," she said. Then, she gave an evil laugh and a creepy look. "Anything!" she repeated as she got right into Posey’s face, which scared the earth pony, and Izzy gave another evil laugh. Suddenly, someone behind her cleared their throat, and Izzy gulped as she turned around to smile sheepishly at Knuckles, who looked at her with a frown and crossed arms. "What did we talk about?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "That I shouldn't laugh like that..." Izzy replied in a sad tone. Knuckles nodded and patted her back with a smile, which made her feel better and smile. The others gathered around Izzy as the unicorn concentrated her magic. Then, some snow started to come out from the ground. The others looked up and saw Izzy’s magic forming into a big ball before it exploded. A rainbow swirled around them, and the snow pieces sparkled with a glow like a rainbow. Posey watched in awe and smiled. Zipp laughed at the amazing sight while Tails, at her side, looked at her with a smirk. Pipp watched with sparkling eyes and a wide smile, and Sonic looked at her with a wide smile. "Ahhh," Hitch also said in awe, finding it amazing. Sunny looked at him with a smile and a slight blush. "You never cease to impress me, Izz," Knuckles told her as he kept looking around. Sparky smiled at this as he tried to catch snow with his claws, but he giggled when he saw it was gone. Izzy was amazed at what she did, so she decided to focus even more now, which she used to make mini snow ponies as they danced around, all thanks to Izzy's magic, while the others continued to watch in amazement. Posey looked up as she smiled widely with sparkling eyes, but then the wind started whistling as everything began to speed up. Since Izzy was putting too much magic into the snow, she smiled with her eyes closed while concentrating, not knowing she was making it go too fast. The others got worried as everything began to speed up around them while Posey and Knuckles approached Izzy, tapping on her sides and shaking her to snap out of it. "Izzy! Stop! You're crossing the line!" Knuckles called out as he and Posey got Izzy to snap out of her concentration by shaking her, making her dizzy. Izzy got out of her dizziness and stopped moving the snow around, which caused the snow to fall on the heads of the Mane 5, Team Sonic, Sparky, and Posey. Posey raised an eyebrow and looked at Izzy while Knuckles looked on with a bored expression. "Perhaps you got way too excited..." he said, while Posey nodded her head in agreement and Izzy gave a sheepish smile. Later, Hitch and Sunny's turn arrived, and Sonic decided to join them because of what they planned to do. "No, no, no. You ponies have this all wrong," Hitch said to the others, as some, like Knuckles and Pipp, looked at him with bored expressions while Tails, Izzy, and Zipp raised their eyebrows. "They're all good ideas, but I think they just made Posey hate snow more than she already did," Sonic pointed out. "It's not about doing stuff with the snow. It's what you can do on the snow!" Sunny pointed out with a smile as she smirked at Posey. "Like…" she started, making Posey grow nervous. "Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it!" Posey cried out in panic as she began to sweat and covered her eyes with her hooves. Suddenly, Posey was wearing a helmet and standing on a snowboard, which made her look in fright. With Sparky on his back, Hitch and Sunny came by in their snowboard gear as they surfed down the snowy hill past Posey. "SNOWBOARDING!" the two ponies called out as they boarded downhill in their snowboards. "Tada rirakkusu, Posey!" Sonic smiled and told her to relax in Japanese. He arrived with the same winter gear he used on Winter Wishday. "Just take it slow, and you'll be fine," he assured. Then he wore his winter glasses and followed Hitch and Sunny down the hill. Posey rubbed her head nervously while her snowboard tilted to the edge of the hill, which made Posey even more scared. "This... is... my... NIGHTMARE!" she cried out as she began to snowboard downhill and screamed in a panic, getting between Sunny and Hitch while still screaming as the two ponies smiled at her. "Snowboarding is all about discipline. Control. Being serious," Hitch explained, trying to look cool while Posey rolled her eyes at that. "It's about balance, courage, speed!" Sonic added as he snowboarded by doing some twirls around and air tricks. Sunny did snow tricks on her board by twisting and tossing snow. "It's about grace, being free, having fun, but most of all…" she tried to add, but... The snow Sunny tossed landed on Sparky's eyes, which made him yelp and fall on Hitch's face, which covered his eyes as he and Hitch screamed. Suddenly, they crashed into Posey and Sunny, which made the four of them start rolling down the hill into a giant snowball as they crashed into the ground, looking dizzy from the rolling and the crashing. "...not crashing," both Sunny and Hitch said in unison. Sonic stopped before the three ponies and put his snow glasses on his forehead. "Say, Posey, you're not liking this, are you?" he asked in concern. "No..." Posey replied in a dead tone. Sparky popped his head off on the top as he shook the snow off him with an annoying expression. Then, he blew one of his dragon fires on a hill that melted the snow and grass off, showing nice ground on which to lay. Sparky came down and landed on Posey's helmet. He giggled with sparkling eyes and sat down on the warm ground. Sonic looked at Sparky, then Posey, and then he smirked with an idea. He whistled at Tails and Knuckles, who were making a new snowman - not using Tails this time - when they heard Sonic calling them, so they boosted towards him. "Guys, let's give Posey a little warm," Sonic said with a smirk, pointing at where Sparky was sitting. Knuckles felled a tree on one hit; then he smacked the tree even more to make firewood for a campfire. Tails went to the headless snowpony they had made before and grabbed Pipp's blanket while Sonic helped Posey stand up. "No more snow for you, Posey," Sonic told her with a smirk. "What do you mean?" Posey asked with a raised eyebrow. Sonic pointed to where Sparky was sitting, now with the firewood organized by Knuckles and Tails waiting for her with the blanket and a smile. Posey smiled at the sight; then she looked at Sonic with a thankful look as he winked an eye at her. Meanwhile, the Mane 5 gathered around as they tried to devise other ways for Posey. "We could always try sledding," Hitch suggested as he held up a sled. "Or snowballs?" Zipp suggested while holding a snowball. "Or snow cones?" Pipp suggested, popping between Hitch and Zipp as she held up a snow cone she made with a cherry on top with a smile. "They're so delish, Posey!" she called out. But the Mane 5 turned and saw Posey with Sparky on the spot Team Sonic made as Posey was wrapped on Pipp's blanket, and the sun shone down on her. Sparky used his dragon fire again to make a fire on some wood and giggled, while Posey smiled at the warmth, also shivering a bit. "Maybe some ponies just don't like the snow," Izzy said to the others in a sad tone. "We told you!" Sonic called out as he, Tails, and Knuckles walked away. Sunny thought of what Izzy was, and then an idea popped up. "That's it!" she called out with a smile. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were having fun with the snow. Posey was sitting in a beach chair, drinking a smoothie, and Sparky was also sitting in a chair. They also had a cutout of a life-size palm tree, and Posey was wrapped in a blanket. "Now, this is my kind of snow day!" Posey said with a smile. Meanwhile, Sonic helped Tails and Izzy turn Knuckles into a snowman as revenge, while Knuckles looked on with a bored expression. "This is worse karma than being the guardian of a giant green emerald," Knuckles said in annoyance. "It's my revenge, Knucklehead!" Tails cheered, putting a black top hat on Knuckles' head. As Sonic laughed at Knuckles's new aspect, since he always took every chance he could to make fun of Knuckles, Sunny approached him. "Hey, Sonic," Sunny called out. "Um... I should apologize. You, Tails, and Knuckles were right; we shouldn't have dragged Posey along if she didn't want to play in the snow. " She apologized with a little smile. Sonic smiled back at her before smirking and crossing his arms. "I suppose I could forgive you..." he said in a playful tone. "But that would be too easy and no fun, so..." he added. Sunny rolled her eyes with a smile, knowing that Sonic was messing with her. "Then what do you have in mind?" she asked. "A race!" Sonic stated with a confident smile. "You and I, snowboarding down the hill. I'll forgive you if you can defeat me," he explained. "A snowboarding race?" Sunny asked with a confident smile. "It's on!" she stated with a challenging look. So Sonic and Sunny decided to go and have that race. Of course, Sonic had already forgiven Sunny, but he only wanted to have fun with her. After all, it was a snow day, so they had to enjoy it as much as possible, right? THE END
38. Foal FoodIn the kitchen, Sunny was sweating nervously as she tried to make a cookie batter using the stand mixer. She then rolled the dough while grunting in an effort to flatten it, and then she stirred it in a bowl at a fast paste. After a while, Sunny smiled sparklingly, looking at a big dough with sprinkles. "I’ve done it!" Still, the dough deflated and puffed out some sugar and sprinkles on Sunny's face, who was shocked at this outcome and then sighed in disappointment, while Hitch and Knuckles popped up from behind her, looking at each other as Sunny looked at the dough, that suddenly let out some air. "Uh..." Knuckles said with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, buddy," Hitch said slowly, looking anxious and smiling. "How’s it going?" Just then, Izzy popped up beside Hitch and Knuckles with a cheery smile. "Oh! Are we dressing like mimes? Fun!" she cheered, while the sisters Sonic and Tails appeared next to know what was happening as well. "I am so ready," Izzy said, then started to do a mime presentation with her front hooves. She laughed slightly while the others looked at her, confused. Even Sunny raised an eyebrow at Izzy's weird question. "Uh, no," Sunny answered, wiping the dough and sprinkling it off her face. "I just wanted to make you all your favorite Winter Wishday cookies again," she explained. "But I don't remember where I put the recipes! I can’t find the right ones anywhere!" She pointed out the mess she caused by baking ingredients and stacking recipe books in the kitchen. "And you complain about me being messy whenever I work," Tails muttered to Sonic boredly. "Don't get me started, lil' bro," Sonic warned with the same bored expression. "I mean, I’ve never even heard of a Kiwi Pile of Crystal Unicorn Cookies…." Sunny pointed out, tossing the book she was reading. Izzy popped up from behind a counter with sparkling eyes and her tongue out as Sunny picked up another book. "Or Royal Banana Bite…" she added, which made Zipp and Pipp smile as Zipp licked her mouth and placed their hooves on their cheeks. "Or… or…" Sunny tried to remember the name of another cookie. "Grandma Figgy’s good old fashioned Marshmallow Citrus Crumblies?!" Hitch asked with a smile while placing his hooves on his face with sparkling eyes. "Exactly!" Sunny confirmed with a wave of her hoof. "I have no idea what half of those are, but they sound delicious," Knuckles said with a smirk and his arms crossed. "Don’t worry about it, Sun," Zipp told her with a smile, placing her hoof on her shoulder. "We haven’t eaten those cookies since we were little foals," she pointed out. "Yeah!" Izzy called out as she suddenly poked her hoof between them. This startled Sunny and Zipp as they backed up, but Izzy still did the mime thing, pretending that she was climbing a rope. "And they’re never gonna taste as good as you remember them anyway," she added with a smile. Sunny just glared in shock before giving out a challenging expression. "Oh, really…?" she asked them with a raised eyebrow. "Oh boy, this should be interesting," Sonic declared to himself. "Hey, Sunny-bunny! I have no idea what you're doing, but I'm going too!" he stated with a smirk. Sometime later, Sunny and Sonic were in the Marestream while flying through the sky, with Sonic driving it. Sunny looked at her book with a determined smile. "Time for Operation: Wishday Cookie!" Sunny announced with a smile as she looked at her book. "First, we'll get Grandma Figgy's recipe, then we’ll get Alphabittle's help in Bridlewood, and then we’ll break into the palace at Zephyr Heights to find the top secret royal recipe," she listed out, but then both Sunny and Sonic gave an odd look at the last part. "I'm sorry, what?” Sonic asked in confusion as he looked sideways at the book, wondering how that got there. "I-I didn't write this!" Sunny pointed out in shock and confusion. "Either Izzy wrote on your book, or Zipp thinks everyone's her," Sonic said in a playful and sarcastic tone, while Sunny just rolled her eyes and smiled. "Maybe," she retorted with a smirk. "Next stop, Grandma Figgy’s house!" Sonic called out with a confident smile. "Where your boyfriend's grandmother lives!" he added, now with a teasing smirk. Sunny blushed, embarrassed after Sonic said that. "Sonic!" she scolded him. "Hitch and I are just friends! We're not a couple," she pointed out, frowning and still blushing. "Yet," Sonic said with a confident smile. Sunny groaned in embarrassment. "You've been mocking us with that ever since we met. Care to explain why?" she asked, a bit annoyed. "You two are quite a show," Sonic said with a smirk. "You like each other; I can see that a mile away. I wonder what would have happened if you two kissed down the mistletoe instead of Pipp and me," he added teasingly. Now, it was Sunny's turn to smirk teasingly as she brought her phone out. "Oh, you mean this kiss~?" she asked mockingly, showing Sonic the picture that Tails had taken and that he had decided to send to the rest except for Sonic and Pipp. Sonic rolled his eyes and looked at Sunny with a smirk. "You guys aren't going to leave us alone after that happened, are you?" "Nope!" Sunny replied with a smile. "Ossharu tōri, misu toreirubureizā," Sonic said with a teasing tone, which caused Sunny to blush and hit him on his shoulder playfully. In case you wonder what he said, he called her 'Miss Trailblazer' in Japanese. A bit later, Figgy sat in her rocking chair, humming happily while knitting something. And then Sunny suddenly came in by opening the door with no previous warning. "Grandma Figgy!" she called out in panic while a thundering lightning bolt appeared behind her. This startled Figgy as she tossed her knitting in the air, and her chair tipped over, causing her to fall to the floor. Her knitting supplies were about to fall, but then Figgy stood up with a serious look and caught one of her needles, with the knitting thing on it, with one of her hinds hoofs, while also catching the other needle with her front hoof. "Wow," Sonic said, surprised. "From now on, I'm not underestimating my elders anymore!" he smiled. "Wise decision, dear," Figgy said with a smirk. Sunny then rushed in towards Figgy. "You gotta teach us how to make Hitch's favorite Wishday Cookies!" she pleaded but stopped when Figgy pointed a needle at her face with a look. "Uh… Please?" Sunny asked while sweating nervously, thinking Figgy was mad at her. Figgy adjusted her glasses a bit while still giving her a look, and suddenly, she smiled happily. "Hmm… Oh, Sunny. I'd love to teach you!" she said with a smile before getting serious again. "If you think you’re ready," she added while giving a stink eye to the pony and the hedgehog. "Uh… W-What?" Sunny asked, confused. "S-Sure thing! He he he..." Sonic said with a nervous smile. I should have stayed on the Marestream... he thought with concern. Back in the Brighthouse, Tails was sitting on the table near the kitchen, watching the trailer for a movie on his Miles Electric with headphones, while Pipp at his side looked at her social media... or at least she tried to, but something was wandering around on her mind. "Hey, uh, Tails..." Pipp called out. Despite wearing headphones, Tails had low volume, so he could hear Pipp calling him out. "Yeah?" he said, putting his headphones and Miles Electric aside. "With Sunny making this cookie for us and Sonic now deciding to go with her, I was wondering... do you guys happen to have a favorite cookie back home?" Pipp asked curiously. Tails thought about it for a bit, but he was not sure. "Well... aside from Chilidogs, I've never seen Sonic eating anything that he loves that–– Oh wait!" he said suddenly, then boosted towards his room, to be back soon enough with a grey book. He opened the book and revealed that it was actually a photo album, and Pipp just smiled brightly with sparkling eyes at the adorable pictures of Sonic as a kid. "Oh, my. Glitter!" Pipp smiled, looking at a picture of Sonic with a Santa hat and coat. Sonic looked bored at the camera. "This is so cute~!" she added with a giggle. "Yeah... Longclaw used to dress us like a guy called Santa Claus back home," Tails explained. "But Sonic has always been an 'I'm too cool for this' kind of guy, so you can imagine how much he hated it," he added with a smirk. "But I'm not showing you this so you can see how adorable we were back then," he pointed out, then moved to a certain picture and showed it to her. "This picture was taken the same year I met Sonic," he said. The picture in question was one of Longclaw patting Sonic's and Tails' heads with closed eyes and a smile while both Sonic and Tails happily chomped on a cookie that looked like a chocolate one but also had different sprinkles and a strawberry glaze. "That's Longclaw?" Pipp asked curiously. "Yeah," Tails replied with a sad smile. "She raised Sonic and taught him everything she knew. Then she accepted me like a son as well," he explained. "And she loved to cook a lot. Those cookies were the best part of our Christmas," he confessed. "They were the only thing Sonic loved more than Chilidogs... even more than running," he added. Pipp looked at the picture sadly, noticing how adorable Sonic was as a kid and how happy he looked. With a determinate expression, Pipp looked at Tails. "Do you remember the recipe?" she asked him. "Of these cookies, I mean," she added. "Yeah. I used to cook them with Longclaw sometimes, so I know the recipe," Tails said with a smile that vanished as he raised an eyebrow. "Why?" he questioned her. Pipp let out a sigh before looking up at the ceiling. "I... I want to give something to Sonic," she confessed. "Not only as a Wishentine/Christmas present but also as a personal thing..." she added with a slight blush. Tails smiled kindly at her. "That's a pretty good detail, actually," he said. "And it's the perfect excuse for you to get close to him after he gave you a smooch," he added mockingly. Pipp blushed a lot after he mentioned that. "T-Tails!" she scolded him. Tails laughed a bit before calming down. "I can give you a hand with the cookie recipe, actually, but since I feel like Sunny is going to use the kitchen once she comes back, we should do this somewhere else," he pointed out. "Wait! You're going to help me?!" Pipp asked with a smile. "Of course!" Tails said, smiling back. "I was planning to surprise him with the cookies anyway, but I think he'll love them more if they come from you directly," he added with a teasing smirk. Pipp just hugged him tightly in response. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you so much, Tails!" she said brightly. "N-No... problem", Tails barely said as Pipp hugged him. A little bit later, Sunny and Sonic each put on a green apron with stars on it, while Figgy placed some tablespoons on different sides, then a green spoon, and then held up a whisk with a determined expression. Sunny: What a day, magic everywhere Snowflakes in the air I wanna share it with you It's time to celebrate To "Jingle All the Way" Oh, there's so much we can do Figgy tossed the whisk in the air with a smile and then began to stir a batter in a bowl. "So, uh, do you have the recipe written down somewhere, or…" Sunny asked with a smile. "Oh, no, dear," Figgy answered with a smile. "It's all in here," she said while pointing a hoof to her chest, where her heart was. "Aw, that's sweet," Sunny said with a smile while bringing out her book and pen to write it down. "So, how much flour?" she asked while Sonic rolled his eyes with a smile. Pipp: Reachin' for rainbows, spreadin' good cheer "Why, just listen to your heart, and your hooves will follow," Figgy said with a smile as she walked off to get the next one. Zipp: Cherish the moment, Winter Wishday is here "Oh, boy…" Sunny said with anxiety. "This will take a while..." Sonic muttered in annoyance. Sunny, Pipp and Zipp: Family and friends and good times with you It's the best thing to do In the Bridlewood tea shop, a unicorn stallion was about to walk out the door, but then he heard something coming as Sunny and Sonic opened the doors, with Sunny having a pot on her head while Sonic had a bored expression. "Alphabittle, we need your help!" Sunny said quickly with a twitchy eye. Alphabittle looked at the two with a determined smile, putting on a chef hat. Mane 5 and Team Sonic: 'Cause all I want to do Is celebrate with you Because I love you From my heart to your hooves "Now, stir three times clockwise, throw some salt over your left shoulder, and break an egg with your right hoof," Alphabittle explained while Sunny and Sonic were stirring the batter, and Sunny grabbed some salt. "That's to chase away the cake ghosts," Alphabittle whispered to them and walked off, leaving Sunny and Sonic with strange looks. Sunny threw salt over her right shoulder, which made Alphabittle panic. "Aah! I said left shoulder! Do you want cake ghosts?!" he asked in a panicked tone as he got into their faces. Sunny and Sonic gave Alphabittle a nervous look as Sonic threw salt over his left shoulder. "Man, I didn't expect to become a chef today..." Sonic muttered with concern. Some time ago, in Figgy’s house, Figgy twirled around while Sunny and Sonic watched her, confused. Figgy hopped around and did a little dance around them. "And Hitch still believes she's a perfectionist," Sonic retorted with a smirk while Sunny giggled at his side. We're makin' memories, everypony The holidays are here It's the sweetest time of the year Figgy then put some sprinkles, a teaspoon of sugar, and one egg into the bowl, which caused Sunny to write it down quickly in her book as she sweated because of how fast Figgy was going. Figgy then held up something peeled as she kissed it on both hoofs while the ponies and hedgehog looked at the bowl. "Bake with your heart, not with your hooves!" Figgy said with a smile as she put the peeled things into the bowl. Sunny: So much fun, a holly jolly time A joyful Wishentine I wanna spend it with you Back in Bridlewood, Alphabittle made some weird moves with grunting sounds, surrounded by bowls and pots. Sunny tried to follow his moves, feeling a bit ridiculous as she grunted in an effort, while Sonic just stared at them with a 'you've gotta be kidding me' expression. But just when he was about to turn around, he slipped with a pot and landed on the floor with his face as the pot he slipped on flew in the air and landed on his head, making him growl in annoyance. Hitch: Reachin' for rainbows Alphabittle used a blue spoon to pick some kiwis and put them on his bow with a serious expression. Tails: Spreadin' good cheers Sunny and Sonic followed along, with Sunny holding a pink bowl while Sonic's was blue. They put their kiwis in their bowls, but then Alphabittle screamed as he came next to them. "Aah! You used the Jinxie spoon, Sunny!" he cried out in a panic, and Sunny looked at her spoon in shock while Sonic facepalmed. "These unicorn jinxies are giving me a headache..." Sonic muttered in annoyance. Sonic: Cherish the moment, it's the best time of year Sometime later, after Alphabittle, the Marestream flew straight to Zephyr Heights and headed to the palace. While making it to the Royal Palace, Sunny and Sonic hid behind a pillar, while Zoom and Thunder came out of a door while doing their guard duties. Knuckles: Family and friends Izzy: And all ponykind However, while Sunny had the plan to sneak in, Sonic suddenly stopped her. "What?" Sunny asked, confused. "Instead of sneaking in and doing something illegal, leave this one to me, Sunny. I have an idea," Sonic said confidently. "Are you sure?" Sunny asked, worried. "Don't worry, Sunny-bunny. I've got this!" Sonic declared, walking towards the two pegasi with a confident smirk. Once he got in front of them, the pegasi saluted at him, so he replied with a smile and another salute. "Hey guys! I know Queen Haven is busy, but my friend Sunny is over there..." Sonic started to explain, pointing at Sunny, still hiding behind the pillar, as she slowly came out and waved her hoof with a sheepish smile. "... needs a recipe to surprise Zipp and Pipp at the Brighthouse. Can I get in and request the recipe for a second?" he asked with a friendly tone. Zoom and Thunder looked at each other briefly before nodding and stepping aside to let Sonic in. "Thanks, guys!" Sonic smiled. "I'll be back in 2 minutes," he told Sunny before entering. Mane 5 and Team Sonic: Let's have a good time In Figgy’s house, Sunny was following Figgy's instructions. She gave her marshmallows kisses and placed each in her bowl while Figgy nodded in approval. 'Cause all I want to do Is celebrate with you Because I love you From my heart to your hooves Inside Zephyr Heights’ palace, Sonic walked down the corridor and whistled at the view of the place. "I swear, every time I enter this place, I'm always flabbergasted," Sonic said with a smile. "Sonic?" a female voice called out. Sonic saw Queen Haven in front of a book on a pedestal, looking a bit abandoned, to tell the truth. "Hi, Haven!" Sonic smiled. "Sorry to interrupt, but I need to request a little favor, if you don't mind," he said, now scratching his head a bit embarrassed. We're makin' memories, everypony The holidays are here It's the sweetest time of the year After two exact minutes, Sonic came out of the palace smiling and walked towards Sunny. "So, did you get it?" Sunny asked desperately. Sonic's smile grew bigger, and he took out his phone to show her a picture of the recipe from the book, which made Sunny smile with sparkling eyes. "I told you I've got this," Sonic said proudly. "Now, let's return to Maretime Bay!" he added. He and Sunny got on the Marestream as Sonic flew the vehicle towards the Crystal Brighthouse in Maretime Bay. (Hoof to hoof, hoof to hoof) The sweetest time of the year (Hoof to hoof, hoof to hoof) The sweetest time of the year At Figgy’s house, Sunny looked determined as she put her cookie batters on the baking plate at a fast paste. Figgy smiled before tossing a brush from her tail at her. But then Sunny smirked, caught the brush with her hoof, and twirled it around. Figgy gasped in shock before smiling. "Now... you're ready," she said with a smile. "Somehow, I got all messy, yet I didn't cook..." Sonic pointed out, confused and covered in flour. He stood next to Figgy, who had just tossed a broom at him with a smirk. "And this is what happens when I open my mouth..." he told himself with a bored expression and then started sweeping. (Hoof to hoof, hoof to hoof) The sweetest time of the year Sometime later, Sunny and Sonic returned to the Brighthouse after they received the recipes for their friends' favorite cookies. Sunny was trying to make the cookies in the kitchen but was having some trouble. "Spin four times? Or five times?" Sunny asked, panicked, as she added a lot of flour and stirred it fast. "Add a pinch of, uh... Wait, what was it? Something about a sunbeam?" she asked herself as she poured a bunch of other stuff into the bowl and looked at her journal with the recipes inside, but then the cookie batter exploded into her face as it was covered with flour again. Sunny coughed and sighed in disappointment. "It seems like you could use some help," Sonic said with a smile, appearing at her side with a towel he had used to clean her face of flour. "I mean, sure, but..." Sunny said, sighing again in sadness. "This isn't working out as I thought..." she added. Sonic smiled softly at her. "Hey, you traveled across the country to make your father's and your dream come true; you saved magic from disappearing and created new magic. You're even aware of a darker force coming up, and you're preparing to face it!" he pointed out at her. "Some cookies aren't that big of a deal. And besides, you're forgetting the most important step: bake with your heart, not with your hooves," he finished with a confident smirk, pointing at her chest with a finger. Sunny looked down at her chest, remembering what Grandma Figgy said. 'Bake with your heart, not with your hooves...!' Figgy’s voice echoed through her mind as she calmed down and gave a determined expression. "My heart, not my hooves," she said confidently. "Exactly," Sonic said with a smirk. "Now, let’s get baking!" he declared while Sunny nodded in agreement. Mane 5 and Team Sonic: 'Cause all I want to do Is celebrate with you Because I love you From my heart to your hooves Sunny twirled around with a smile while placing some ingredients as Figgy did. Sunny smiled at the marshmallow as she placed it in the bowl. Then, she kissed a box of flowers and poured some into the bowl. Sonic then threw salt over his left shoulder with a determined look. The cookie batter sparkled, then gave out some ghost-like smokes, which startled Sonic completely. "Perhaps the unicorns aren't that crazy with the Jinxie stuff after all..." Sonic said with an anxious look. Sometime later, after Sunny and Sonic baked the cookies, they walked to the table where their friends were. Tails and Knuckles stood alongside Sonic since the cookies were not for them. "Your extra-special Winter Wishday cookies are served!" Sunny announced as she and Sonic placed the three plates of different cookies, one of each tribe's favorites for their friends, on the table. "Meshiagare!" Sonic added with a smile, telling them, 'Bon Appetite!' in Japanese while he was covered in some flour. The rest of their friends smiled at this while Izzy gasped in awe. "Come on, guys, you didn't have to…" Hitch tried to say it with a smile, but when he picked up a cookie from the Earth Pony plate of cookies, he saw the cookie bubbling. "Oh," he said, finding his cookie weird. Pipp and Zipp picked up some cookies from the pegasus plate as they frizzed like fireworks, while the two sisters gasped in shock. Izzy saw her plate of cookies as ghost smoke came out of a cake with a little wail, which made Izzy's spine chill as she sweated nervously. "Oh! Cake ghost!" she whispered, turning her head away. "Kinda saw this reaction coming, but still... Ouch," Sonic muttered with worry as he sweated a bit. "Okay, I know they don't look exactly how you remember, but—" Sunny tried to say, but Hitch cut her off. "No! Uh, they look great!" Hitch called out with a nervous smile. "Uh-huh." The rest of the Mane 5 agreed, and they smiled nervously. "Can't wait to taste it. Uh…" Hitch said nervously as he got the cookie closer and took a bite. Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy followed along as they took a bite of their cookies. But then, the four ponies' eyes widened as they started to remember... Fillies Zipp and Pipp were together at the Zephyr Heights castle, eating cookies similar to what Sunny and Sonic made as they looked at each other before giggling together. Filly Izzy was in The Crystal Tea Room in Bridlewood, eating a cookie similar to what Sunny and Sonic made. "Ah!" Young Izzy said to a spoon with a smiling face on it and a pencil glued to its head like a unicorn with a teacup in the back to keep it balanced while trying to share her cookie with it. Foal Hitch was at his grandmother’s place, and he sighed with a smile when Figgy rubbed his head before giving him a cookie similar to what Sunny and Sonic made. "Ah!" Young Hitch said as he grabbed the cookie and took a bite out of it with a smile, while Figgy smiled at his grandson. Sunny and Sonic looked at their friends with raised eyebrows. Then, the Mane 5 sins Sunny started to eat the cookies rapidly, which startled both Sunny and Sonic. Hitch held up two cookies on his hooves and gave a tearful expression. "Just like Grandma Figgy used to make!" he said with a nostalgic tone. "Okay, the change of attitude was unexpected, but I'm not complaining," Sonic said with a smile. "I'm still surprised you managed to cook without burning the whole place down," Tails told Sonic with a smirk. "It was a one-time thing!" Sonic groaned in frustration. "I only wanted to make breakfast!" he pointed out with a frown. "And it ended on Longclaw punishing you without Chilidogs for two months," Knuckles pointed out with a smirk. "I wasn't there, but Tails told me everything," he added while Sonic groaned and rolled his eyes. Pipp then came next to Sunny with a smile. "We made a Wishday cookie for you, too!" she said, pointing behind her and seeing Izzy holding a stack of cookies resembling Sunny in her Alicorn form. "Oh!" Sunny said as she turned and gasped at the cookies. She picked one up, and despite some decorations falling, she didn't mind. Sunny tried to take a bite but cringed as she removed the cookie. Now, a piece of her tooth was broken. "I'm not sure we got the recipe quite right," Hitch said sheepishly, giving Sunny an apologetic smile. Sunny just laughed it up, with the rest joining her. Sonic, however, just went aside to clean up the flour of his body, and Tails 'surreptitiously' approached Pipp and pushed her shoulder slightly while indicating with his head that she should go with Sonic. Pipp gulped nervously but still decided to give it a shot as she walked towards Sonic, who was cleaned up with a kitchen towel. "H-Hey, Sonic..." Pipp called out nervously, also blushing. "Hey, Little Pipp," Sonic greeted back with a smile. "Are you okay? You seem a bit nervous," he pointed out, concerned. "Y-Yeah! E-Everything's fine!" Pipp said, gulping again as she brought a paper bag from her wing. "I-I just, uh... I-I wanted to give you this," she said, extending the bag to Sonic. Sonic grabbed the bag and looked inside, finding some cookies that seemed familiar, but he couldn't exactly tell why. "Wow, this looks delicious!" Sonic said with a smile. "Thanks, Little Pipp. You shouldn't have!" he added. While Pipp smiled nervously, still blushing, Sonic chomped the same cookie he had taken out to widen his eyes. Now it was clear why the cookies seemed familiar: Longclaw used to bake them, and they tasted exactly like she used to. "Pipp..." Sonic called out in shock. "H-How did you..." he wanted to ask, but the intensity of his emotions prevented him from speaking properly. "I kinda help her with the recipe, but she wanted to make them just for you!" Tails decided to step in since Pipp was too nervous to speak, but she just nodded with a sheepish smile at what Tails said. "I-I-I wanted to give you something that could remind you of your mother figure, a-a-and I thought that the cookies could be the perfect excuse," Pipp explained, sweating nervously. "B-But if you don't want them, it's okay! N-No need to––" she tried to add, however... Sonic put the cookie back in the bag, then put the bag aside and suddenly hugged Pipp. Pipp was taken aback, and her blush just increased. "Pipp... thank you," Sonic whispered to her weakly and smiled. "Y-You have no idea how much this means to me," he added. Pipp smiled softly as her blush finally disappeared. "It was my pleasure, Blue Star," she said, wrapping the hedgehog warmly. THE END Author's Note Well, I guess it is time for you guys to know how Longclaw used to look like on this story: With that said (and showed), I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! See ya! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
39. Under the MistytoeAuthor's Note Apparently, this episode happened at the same time than the Winter Wishday episode ending, so I decided to change it and adapt it so it can be more fitting with what I wrote there. P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 39. Under the Mistytoe The Marestream landed in front of the Brighthouse, and the whole gang sins Sonic got out of it to see an explosion in the air. "Do you see him?!" Pipp asked in worry and concern. The gang looked around for Sonic until Sunny saw a pink light coming from the sky. "There!" she said, pointing her hoof toward the pink light. Sonic, who transformed into a pink variation of Super Sonic using the only Chaos Emeralds they had, descended in slow paste until he finally touched the ground, where he couldn't take the Emeralds' power anymore, and he let them go. The Emeralds fell to the ground, and Sonic fell on his knees as he started coughing and breathing heavily. As the group moved towards their hedgehog friend, at the front of the Marestream, a bush stood up with hooves under it. It walked further away from the Marestream, and then a pony poked its head out of the bush, revealing itself to be Misty. "Awww. Look at their matching hats. They look so cute!" Misty said with a smile. "But why are they so worried, tho?" she wondered, raising an eyebrow. Then she saw Dr. Eggman talking to the group from his Eggmobile and flying away towards Opaline's Castle. Misty's amulet clicked open, and Opaline appeared while looking at the Mane 5 and Team Sonic gathered, watching the direction where Eggman boosted away. "Ivo?" she asked with a scoff. "What was he doing here?" she questioned with a glare. Misty shrugged while Opaline rolled her eyes. Then, she noticed the group's outfits and scoffed again. "What are those ridiculous things on their heads?" Opaline questioned while giving a distasteful look. "Oh, yeah..." Misty said with a nervous chuckle. "It must be an Earth Pony Wishday thing," she suggested. Opaline groaned after hearing that. "Silly ponies and their pointless holiday traditions. It's sad, really: All that power, no intellect," she smirked. "Yeah..." Misty said with a nervous laugh, also clearing her throat. "So sad," she added, looking sadly at the ground. At the top of the Brighthouse, the Mane 5, Sparky, and Team Sonic gathered around, looking at the sky as the Wishing Star approached them. "Okay, everypony! Get ready to make your wish!" Sunny announced while her friends grew excited. "Three, two, one!" she counted down, smiling with sparkling eyes at the night sky. Just then, the Wishing Star appeared and flew above the Brighthouse, giving a shimmering glow while the group looked and spoke in awe at the Wishing Star. Suddenly, the Brighthouse shot a rainbow while the Mane 5’s Cutie Marks glowed. Then, their magic shootout and merged with the rainbow. At the same time, the Unity Crystals started to resonate as well, merging as the Wishing Star stood in place and began to glow brightly with a rainbow circling it. The Unity Crystals suddenly projected the Mane 5 Cutie Marks in the sky and, soon enough, Team Sonic's faces. Misty and Opaline saw the whole thing, with Misty looking on in awe. "Wow! Look at that!" she said in amazement with sparkling eyes but then noticed how Opaline didn't respond. "Uh, Opaline? Are you okay?" she asked. Opaline stared in shock at the spectacle, trying to process what she had just witnessed. "Did you see that?! That magic! That power!" she cried in rage while Misty grew nervous at Opaline's sudden outburst. "It should be mine! All mine! All I need is that dragon fire, and then my powers can finally be restored to their full strength!" she called with wide eyes and an evil smile, also getting closer to Misty's face, who looked at her, scared and nervous. "And you are going to make that happen... or else," she warned, while Misty began to sweat nervously as Opaline went back into the amulet, leaving Misty a bit nervous now. Misty disguised herself in a giant present and arrived at the Brighthouse a little later. She stuck her hoof in a secret hole and rang the doorbell before putting her hoof back inside. "... take me on a sleigh, hey!" Izzy sang as she opened the door and saw the big present right before her, which caused her to smile with sparkling eyes. "Ooh! Another present!" she said cheerfully as she read the card on the present. "'Do not open until tomorrow morning.' Ooh, mysterious!" she added excitedly, then levitated Misty's disguise present with her magic but struggled since the present was heavy. "What is... in here?" she asked as she got the present inside the Brighthouse. In the Brighthouse’s main room, the rest of the group played around with the 'cloud gifts' Izzy brought out with a smile while Sparky played in one of the boxes, and Pipp smiled at him cutely. Then, Knuckles turned and noticed Izzy struggling with the box. He ran towards her and stood down from the box to lift it. "Huh," Izzy said, not noticing Knuckles helping yet. "Suddenly, it doesn't feel heavy anymore..." she said, then noticed Knuckles lifting the box as well. "Oh, thanks, Knuckle!" she said brightly. Knuckles gulped and blushed a bit before smiling back. "A-Anytime, kid," he said, but as soon as Izzy let her magic go, Knuckles felt his muscles almost cracking by the weight of the box. "Holy s––" he almost said. "E for everyone, Knux," Sonic said with a glare, suddenly zooming to his face and showing a sign with the letter 'E' on it. "Rated 'E' for everyone," he reminded again in a whisper, then boosted back with the others. Knuckles just gave a bored expression and walked forward before putting the present on the ground. "What the heck is inside this box, anyway?" he questioned. Pipp suddenly approached them and looked excitedly at the big present. "Ooh, this big one must be for me!" she said cheerfully. Inside the fake present, Misty grew nervous, afraid that Pipp would open it and not only ruin her mission of capturing Sparky but also make her explain why she was in there, probably making her expose herself and tell that she was working with Opaline and Eggman. But just as Pipp was about to touch the present, Izzy got in front of her and glared. "Hooves off this one, Pipp," she said before smiling. "It can't be opened 'til tomorrow morning. Check the label," she explained, showing the card to Pipp to prove her point. "Awwww. Sad," Pipp said with a down expression. Then Sonic came by and patted her back. "Don't worry, Little Pipp," he told her with a smile. "Let's follow up on Izzy's game and open the present tomorrow," he winked. Pipp blushed a bit but smiled back and nodded. "Sounds good," she said. Then she took out her phone and took a quick selfie with the gift, moving towards the fireplace zone to publish it on her social media. She stood down a mistletoe without noticing it. "Phew. That was close," Misty muttered inside the box, relieved she hadn’t been caught. "I see where you're going, Princess," Sonic said mockingly. "Okay! I'll please you this time only," he stated, standing up and walking towards Pipp. Misty heard his voice, and out of curiosity, he opened the hole she used to ring the bell before and looked at Sonic, lying on the wall near the fireplace with a relaxed smile. Pipp kept looking at her phone. She also noticed the mistletoe and gasped quietly, knowing what would happen. "You know, Little Pipp..." Sonic called out, but when Pipp finally noticed him, she put her phone aside and paid attention to him. "You still owe me something," he said, looking at her. "I do?" Pipp asked, confused. "What?" she questioned. Instead of replying with words, Sonic stood before her and pointed upwards with his finger. Pipp looked up and finally noticed the mistletoe as well. "Hang on, isn't that a mistle––" Pipp tried to ask... but her words were cut off when Sonic kissed her. It took Pipp completely off guard, as she didn't know how to react. Her eyes were wide open, her wings opened, and her face turned red. Sunny, Izzy, and Tails gasped in shock and excitement at Sonic's move, while Knuckles and Hitch looked on with their jaws dropped, and Zipp smirked at them. Tails snapped a picture of Sonic and Pipp's kiss down the mistletoe. "I'm mocking them with this!" he stated. Misty smiled and giggled a bit at the sight. "These two are surely taking their time to confess to each other!" she muttered. Sometime later, the Mane 5, Knuckles, Cloudpuff, and Sparky were sleeping in the living room on their sleeping bags. Then, Misty looked through the hole, and once she saw the coast clear, she squeezed through the hole with effort until she got out of the present and fell to the floor. She immediately got up and covered her mouth with her hooves to stay quiet before waking anyone up. "What am I doing? These ponies are so nice," Misty said to herself with a guilty expression, but then she shook her head and focused back on her task. "Oh, come on, Misty! You get Opaline, that dragon; you get a Cutie Mark, and Eggman congratulates you for your efforts! Stay focused!" she said to herself with a determined expression. Misty sneakily went through the room to look for Sparky while Izzy and Knuckles were snoring, as Izzy was wrapped on Knuckles' right arm and muttered something about glitter. Suddenly, she turned to Misty's side, making Misty duck slightly in panic. She thought Izzy was about to wake up but realized she was still asleep since she snored. Then, Misty sneakily went past Pipp, sleeping peacefully next to Sonic's empty sleeping bag. As she snored a bit, Misty froze in place. "Oh yes, Blue Star. Please do it," she muttered in her sleep with a chuckle, tucking herself more into her blanket. "Yuck!" Misty muttered disgustedly, passing by the sleeping pegasus and continuing her search for Sparky. She went to where Hitch was sleeping for the night in the Critter Corner since it was too late for him to return to the station. And then, Misty heard a rustling sound as she turned to Izzy's crafting table. She smiled when she saw Sparky eating a ball of yarn and burping out a dragon fire with his eyes open. Misty grew nervous, thinking Sparky was waking up, but then the baby dragon continued to eat the ball yarn. He was sleeping, walking, and eating at the same time. "Hmmm…" Misty hummed to herself, an idea forming in her head. "I know just how to get that little dragon's attention," she declared with an evil smirk, rubbing her hooves like Eggman had taught her to do so. Later on, Misty baked a fresh donut and hid behind a counter with an evil smirk. Then, Sparky sleepwalked towards the donut by following the smell, snoring and mumbling about something as he climbed up the counter and chewed on the donut face first. Misty smiled, seeing her plan working out. Then she released a rope, and a net was about to fall over Sparky. But the baby dragon finished his donut and blew his dragon fire on the net, which turned into cupcakes. Sparky laughed happily, grabbed some of the cupcakes, then exited the counter and walked off. Misty groaned in sadness, seeing that her first plan failed and got turned into cupcakes... literally. Misty tried out the classic lured prey technique a little bit later by following a food trail to get trapped in a box. Misty used mini sandwiches as a trail to lure Sparky in. Misty then hid behind the counter again, with a rope tied to the stick holding one edge of the box. She gave an evil smirk, pretty confident that this plan would work. Sparky walked by, still snoring as he ate the sandwich trail while sleepwalking, getting closer to the box trap. Misty smiled, confident that this was it—she would finally capture Sparky. But then the baby dragon grabbed the stick holding the box and chewed on the stick, splitting it in half. "What?!" Misty asked in disbelief at what happened and wondered why Sparky would eat a stick. "Ugh!" she groaned in frustration, reaching the limit of her patience. She then zipped out of the counter and tried to grab Sparky. She was tired of making silly plans and wanted to get straight to the point. Sparky started to run in his sleep while an irritated Misty chased him around, and Sparky's yarn ball, which he was chewing on earlier, rolled ahead of them. Misty ran back around and looked to see where Sparky ran off, too, with an irritated look. Suddenly, something behind Misty at Izzy’s crafting table came rushing into it, and a can of spray rolled across the floor. Misty turned and gave an evil smile, then rushed to the crafting table and looked at the shadowy figure, thinking it was Sparky. "Gotcha!" Misty called out as she came over it with a red sack, trapping what she believed was Sparky inside as she approached the door. With a smile, she brought out her own winter hat, thinking she had finally succeeded in her task. But as soon as she was about to open the door, one of them slammed on her face and got her behind it. Sonic entered the Brighthouse with a tired expression, carrying a sleepy Tail. They were outside, sending their letter to Longclaw on a floating lantern, and after a while, Tails felt sleepy, so Sonic decided to carry him back, but Tails eventually fell asleep. "I can't believe you can handle both me and Knuckles in the air, but I can barely carry you around anymore," Sonic muttered to the already asleep Tails on his back. Sonic smiled at Tails' sleeping back beside Zipp and placed the young fox over it, covering him with his blanket. Misty got out from behind the door, a bit dizzy. Then she shook her head and noticed Sonic awake. She panicked and quickly exited the Brighthouse, slamming the door a bit. No one but Sonic seemed to notice that, and the hedgehog turned towards the door, finding Sparky still sleepwalking and trying to chew the yarn ball. "Sparky, what are you doing here?" Sonic asked with a little smile, grabbing the baby dragon and putting him back with Hitch on the Critter Corner. "There you go, little guy. Sweet dreams," he wished him. After that, he walked to his sleeping bag at Pipp's side, saw the Memorial Christmas Tree for Longclaw on a corner, and smiled sadly again. "Good night to you too, Longclaw. Wherever you are," Sonic muttered. After that, he covered himself on his blanket over his sleeping bag, closed his eyes, and fell asleep almost immediately. At Opaline’s castle, she surprisingly wore a Wishday green hat and coat as she sang happily to herself. "Dragon fire, dragon fire. That's what I desire––" Opaline sang happily to herself. It seems she loves holidays. But of course, she's a big bad girl who wants to steal magic. She's an evil alicorn, blah, blah, blah. You get why she wants to hide it from Misty, right? Suddenly, the door opened, and Misty came in with a smile. "Opaline!" she called out happily, which startled Opaline from Misty’s sudden appearance. Not wanting Misty to see her hat or hear her singing, she quickly removed the green hat and coat with a nervous smile while sweating nervously. "Misty! I, uh... Well, I wasn't expecting you back so soon," she said nervously. "Clearly," Misty said with a raised eyebrow. "Were you just... singing?" she asked confused. Opaline laughed and sweated nervously. "No! What?! Of course not!" she stammered nervously while Misty placed the bag with 'Sparky' in it. "Singing? Me? You must be hearing things again," she stated before gasping when she saw the red bag. "Is that what I think it is?!" she asked hopefully with a smile. "Open it," Misty instructed with a smirk, thinking she would love what was coming. Opaline gasped with joy as she walked towards the bag with a smile. "After all these moons, finally, I have what I need to resume my rightful place as the most powerful Fire Alicorn in history!" she said evilly with an evil smile. But when she opened the bag, Cloudpuff came out, still wearing his bed mask over his eyes, barking at her. Opaline looked on in shock, her jaw hanging, as Cloudpuff kept barking and hitting Opaline's face, giving her an irritated look as she and Misty looked at Cloudpuff running around. "What is that?" Opaline asked, irritated, while Misty looked on in shock as she looked at the sack, realizing she caught the wrong creature. "Does that look like a dragon to you, Misty?" she sarcastically asked Misty with a glare while Misty sweated nervously, and the evil alicorn groaned in frustration. "Can't you do anything right?!" she asked in rage. She angrily approached Misty’s face, and the unicorn cringed fearfully. "It was dark!" Misty tried to explain while tears formed in her eyes. "I-I thought it was the dragon! I'm sorry, Opaline!" she apologized; while Opaline trembled and tried to keep her rage in check, her back turned to Misty. "Well, don't just stand there," Opaline said as she turned to Misty. "Get it OUT OF HERE!!!" she yelled in rage while pointing at Cloudpuff, who was still running around the room. Misty got scared of Opaline’s outburst and rushed to catch Cloudpuff and return him to the Brighthouse. The dog ran around barking, and Misty fell to the floor when she tried to catch him. Opaline face walked and groaned, not only from Misty’s screw-up but also annoyed about Misty’s trouble catching that dog. Then, because of all the noise, Eggman opened his lab's door and stared daggers at the mares. He wore blue pajamas with his logotype all over, a hat matching his clothes, and pink slippers. For some reason, he also had curlers on his mustache, and he wasn't wearing his gloves or glasses, which made his angry stare a lot more terrifying. "What's with all this noise? You two won't let me sleep?!" Eggman shouted in anger while both Opaline and Misty looked at him, both scared and confused, since they didn't expect to see Eggman wearing pajamas. Cloudpuff, however, kept running around and barking, finally calling Eggman's attention. "Opaline... what is the dog of the influencer pegasus doing here?" Eggman asked with a bored tone and expression. "Ask Misty," Opaline replied, glaring daggers at Misty, who gulped nervously. "Misty?" Eggman called out with a raised eyebrow. "What happened?" he added. Misty chuckled nervously as she looked around and sweated. "W-Well... t-the thing is..." she said before explaining the whole thing to Eggman. The next morning, back at the Brighthouse, Izzy opened the door. After the doorbell rang again, she saw nopony but a small present in front of her. "Ooh, another present?" Izzy asked with a smile as she went to the side of the present and read the card on it. 'Open immediately.' Don't mind if I do!" she said with a smirk. She opened the present and saw Cloudpuff barking happily while his sleeping mask came off. It seems that the only way Misty could return to Cloudpuff was the same way she got inside the Brighthouse the first time. "Cloudpuff!" Izzy asked happily after a little gasp. Cloudpuff jumped out of the box onto Izzy's hoof, licked her cheeks, and landed back on the ground. "Ooh! How'd you get in a box?" she wondered before she gasped again. "I was in a box once. It's so fun," she said to the dog with a smile. Then she and Cloudpuff went back inside the Brighthouse as the door closed. THE END
40. Secret CanterIn the Crystal Brighthouse, the Mane 5, minus Izzy, Sparky, and Team Sonic, were putting up the Winter Wishday tree in the living room. Sparky, Tails, and Zipp flew to the high corners to place decorations while Hitch was about to warp the white decorative stream around the tree. Knuckles placed the lights, and Sonic helped Pipp unpack some decorations. Suddenly, the power went out on the Brighthouse, with only the fireplace and the lights around the tree giving some light. "Huh?" Sunny and Pipp asked in confusion from the sudden blackout. "Just for the record, I didn't do anything bad this time," Sonic defended himself, looking around, confused. Then, the front door suddenly opened, and a pony with a red cloak on, with its face hidden inside the hood, came in with some fog around it. The rest of the Mane 5 gasped in fright, with Sunny and Hitch covering the back of the couch, Zipp side hugging Tails as she hid her face on his neck, Pipp doing the same with Sonic and Knuckles just standing behind the tree, confused with a raised eyebrow. Sparky also got spooked by this because it made him fart out dragon fire from his rear, which durn the decorations box. The baby dragon laughed a bit before hiding as well. Sonic ignored what Sparky did, placing an arm in front of Pipp to protect her and glaring at the mysterious pony. "Alright, shadowy pony. You better start to explain who you are and what you want!" "You'll find out soon!" the pony replied in a familiar tone, their voice sounding a bit female. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me..." Knuckles muttered, silently facepalming and shaking his head in disbelief. "Kinda saw it coming, but still..." Tails muttered with a bored expression and an eye roll. "Ponies! The time has come…" the mysterious mare called out, while Sunny, Hitch, and Sparky popped out behind the couch with scared looks. Tails landed, and Zipp hid behind him, and Pipp did the same with Sonic, still hugging him. But then, the pony took her cape off and revealed to be Izzy, who smiled cheerfully at her friends. "... To do 'Secret Canter!'" she cheered as she started to dance and sing around. "Secret Canter time. It’s Secret Canter time!" she sang with a twirl as she struck a pose with a wink and smiled at her friends, who were looking at her in confusion. Knuckles had no idea what was happening, and Sonic and Tails looked at each other anxiously. "Time to canter secretly. Sing the chorus repeatedly. Secret Canter Time," Izzy sang with a cheery smile. "Uh, Secret what-er?" Pipp asked. "Izz, honey, please stop saying nonsense without giving out some context first," Knuckles begged with a bored expression, tired tone, and a hand on his hip. "It’s an annual Bridlewood Wishiehoof tradition," Izzy smiled. "Full of secrets!" she added with a spooky tone and expression. "Izzy, stop trying to be spooky," Knuckles said again. "You're only making yourself cuter than you already are," he added while the rest nodded in agreement. After that sudden comment, especially from Knuckles, Izzy blushed and chuckled sheepishly, but she couldn't understand why. She doesn't understand why she sweats and gets nervous when Knuckles is simply being Knuckles, but she doesn't have time to find out now. Sometime later, Izzy lit up some candles and got her hood back on, giving a mischievous smirk to the others. "Come forth, ponies!" Izzy called out to her friends while they watched on, confused and shrugging at each other. "And let the sacred Wishiehoof vestal reveal if you’re Pony it to you!" she announced, holding up a holiday hat to the others, still smirking. "So, we draw names from the hat?" Sunny asked, summarizing what Izzy was trying to say, while the rest just looked on with raised eyebrows and, in Sonic's case, a bored expression. "Kinda," Izzy said with her usual tone and smile. "But with magic and mystery!" she said, shaking the hat and whispering the 'mystery' part. However, Pipp noticed what hat Izzy held and gasped in shock. "Hey, my elf hat!" she cried out, giving Izzy a look that made her cringe. "I’ve been looking for that!" she added with anger. "Silence!" Izzy shouted, quieting Pipp and holding up the hat with a smirk. "The time for secret selection is upon us," she announced. Pipp raised an eyebrow, confused, as she placed her hoof in the hat. "Hmm," she hummed as she searched the hat and took out a card. One by one, the rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic also picked out a card from the hat. "You may secretly check what pony you are picking," Izzy stated, still smirking. The others looked at Izzy for a bit, then at each other in curiosity. Then they opened their cards and looked at who they had picked as they gasped. Sunny and Tails smiled at who they picked while the others were surprised. "Now, this should be interesting!" Sonic muttered with a grin. "Now go!" Izzy cheered with a smile. "And make them a present!" she announced with a wave of her hoof. "Whoa there!" Hitch called out, raising his hoof. "Make? You mean 'buy,'" he corrected with a nervous smile. "Besides, Tails, since he built a lot of gadgets, we're not makers, Izzy. We…" he added sheepishly, but Izzy cut him off. "Secret Canter demands…" Izzy said in her acting tone before speaking normally. "... You craft the best gifts you can," she instructed while winking at her friends. "And remember ponies…" she started with a smirk. "We need to do it in secret, right?" Tails asked with a smirk as well. Izzy approached Tails with a playful smile. "Are you sure you haven’t done this before?" she asked playfully as the Mane 5 smiled and laughed together. "More or less," Sonic replied instead, looking at Tails with the same smirk as they winked at each other. Just so you know, Team Sonic made Secret Santa with the rest of their friends back in Mobius every year, so this isn't anything new for them. Later, Izzy held a cake recipe and began to stir the batter. Izzy tasted the batter and sighed with a smile, liking the taste of the cake. Sunny tried to tape something together in another room but groaned in effort. She had some tape and diamonds on her, then placed the tape down on her gift with a determined expression. In another room, Pipp unwrapped some clear candy wrappers and inspected them to see which one was useful for her, but then she sighed tiredly and flopped onto the counter dramatically. Zipp tried to open a bag in the other room but struggled and grunted in effort. Then, she ripped the bag open, and lots of red glitter got into her face. In the Police Station, Hitch was covered in blue glitter. He splattered some on a yellow box but accidentally splattered the glitter too hard, getting some on his face. Hitch tried to shake the glitter off him while Sparky played with spilled yellow paint on the floor. But then Hitch slipped on the paint and started to lose his balance. He then tripped on some paint cans before him and fell on the floor with a thud. Sparky saw Hitch fall to the floor but continued to play with the spilled paint as he giggled happily. Tails was at Electronic Tails, using Sonic's old Soap Shoes and modifying them with his tools and gadgets. He smirked and then placed safe goggles before starting his job. Sonic bought some bear traps and took out a few spikes, knowing perfectly what he would make, smirking as he saw the spikes. Knuckles placed some pink glitter over a pink book, getting some over him and working far away from Maretime Bay since he wanted his receiver to like his present. He still couldn't figure out why, but he didn't have time to find out now because he had a gift to finish up. Sometime later, in the living room of the Brighthouse, Izzy gathered all her friends again. "The time is upon us!" Izzy called out cheerfully. "Revealing your gifts!" she added, hanging upside down while looking at her friends. The rest of Mane 5, Sparky, and Team Sonic looked at the eight gifts on the table with smiles and sparkling eyes. "Whoa…" they said in awe. "Step forward for your gift, and you may keep it. But whoever it's from shall forever remain secret!" Izzy stated while whispering the last word with a smirk. "So, uh... Who begins?" Sunny questioned. "Well, my name might be in the franchise title, but I'm not the only protagonist," Sonic said with a smirk. Then, Sonic pushed Knuckles forward, who grunted a bit and looked confused at Sonic. "Come on, Knucklehead! Suit yourself!" he stated, now smiling normally. Knuckles moved forward and grabbed a small red box with a purple bow, and once he opened it, his jaw dropped, and his eyes sparkled. "A-Are these... spiked knuckles?!" he asked with a big and bright smile, putting on two black three spiked knuckles and punching them together. "Aw, heck yeah!" he cheered, quickly moving around the living room and striking random poses, enjoying his new gift. "Don't care who gave these to me; I'll be forever in debt with you!" he shouted excitedly. "Wonder who gave him those..." Sonic said sarcastically with a smirk, stepping forward and grabbing a slightly bigger box than Knuckles grabbed, a blue box with a pink bow. Like Knuckles, Sonic's jaw dropped, and his eyes widened in glee as he took out two new pairs of shoes. They were some fusion between his regular shoes. They still had the red color, the white stripe, and the golden buckle on the sides, but now they also had a black sole, a green tip, and the space of the original Soap Shoes. "I'm copying Knuckles here: I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ON WHO MADE THEM, I LOVE THEM AND I LOVE YOU SO MUCH 'TILL THE DAY I DIE!!!" Sonic screamed, immediately putting on his new footwear and running around the Crystal Brighthouse, feeling like a little kid again when he got his first pair of shoes. Tails smiled at Sonic's attitude toward his new gift while Sunny smirked. "Anything you know about the gift, Miles?" she asked in a teasing tone. Tails glared daggers at her before giving out a normal, bored expression. "No idea what you are talking about," he said innocently, moving forward and grabbing the big yellow box with a white bow. He smiled kindly as he took out a new empty toolbox, not minding it being empty since he already had enough tools. "Whoa! This is a cool and useful gift!" he said with an honest and grateful smile. "Someone broke mine, and now I have all my tools everywhere in my workshop," he complained, referring to Sonic as he tried to glare at the still-running hedgehog. "Let me enjoy my gift, Tails! Complain later!" Sonic shouted, still running, while Tails rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I wonder who gave you that!" Hitch said innocently, removing the blue glitter from his face, grabbing a blue gift, and opening it with a smile. "Ooh, a photo album! For pics of me and Sparky! And covered in red sequins—Sparky's favorite!" he said happily to the homemade photo album while Sparky giggled at the album with sparkling eyes. "Thank you, whoever this was from!" he thanked with a smile. While Zipp was smiling, Pipp smirked at her sister and didn't notice she had some red sequins on her muzzle. "Hmmmm, who could it be? Eh, Rudolph?" Pipp mocked her sister with a smirk, knowing that Zipp had made it since the red sequins on her muzzle had given it away, but Hitch didn't notice it. Zipp saw what Pipp was talking about, wiped the sequins off, and embarrassingly walked backward from her sister with a sheepish smile while Pipp silently chuckled to herself. Zipp grabbed the next gift, which had her color scheme on it. "Oh! Oooh! Perfect for my detective work! A magnifying glass…" she said excitedly but then realized that the magnifying glass was made of wrappers. "... Made from candy wrappers... That doesn't magnify anything…" she pointed out, seeing through the homemade magnifying glass, as it didn’t magnify at all. Pipp laughed nervously and started to sweat a little. "Whoever made you those must know you well," she said nervously. Since she didn't have the right glass for the magnifying glass materials, she had to deal with what she had. Then, she walked towards her gift with sparkling eyes and a smile. "I guess I can move my head closer to the clue?" Zipp mocked Pipp, using the homemade magnifying glass at the candies stuck on Pipp’s mane, while Pipp herself gave a sheepish smile. Pipp opened her gift and saw a pair of goggles, which looked like the ones she used to create new products with Tails and the Pippsqueaks. "Oooh! Perfect for creating new products at Mane Melody!" she said excitedly, putting them on to see if they fit and then removing them with a smile. "Awwww! Thanks, secret mystery pony!" she said happily while hugging the goggles. Sunny tried to get the glue, tape, and diamonds off her as she tried to shake it off. "Oh, very mysterious," she said to Pipp with a smirk. Then, she opened up her gift and saw some dessert, which appeared to be a chocolate cake with pink frostings and orange sprinkles. "Wow! It's a... uh, I want to say a cake? Or maybe a cookie?" she asked with a smile after lifting the dessert out of the box and seeing that the cake was as flat as a cookie; then Izzy suddenly tossed some baking soda over Sunny. Izzy had baking soda on her face as she unwrapped her gift. "Hey, did you know that we're out of baking soda?" she asked as her hood came off, which revealed the baking soda on her face. "Not that I have any reason to know that," she added, quickly wiping the baking soda off her face and looking at her gift with sparkling eyes. "Oooh! Oh, it's a diary!" she excitedly, picking up the pink glittery diary with a drawing rainbow and a lock. "Because I love secrets! And glitter!" she cheered as she happily tossed some loose pink glitter into the air. "And glittery secrets," Knuckles said with a smirk to Izzy, cleaning up the pink glitter of his face with a towel and throwing it backward as the towel timing landed on Sonic's face, who fell to the ground with his face, while Pipp was taking selfies with her goggles on and a smile. "I'm okay!" Sonic said, still lying on the ground and raising his thumbs. "Oh, that was fun, Izzy!" Sunny said happily. "Anypony want some cookie cake?" she asked the others with a smile while holding out the cookie cake, but then it deflated as Hitch and Sunny cringed. Zipp, Pipp, Tails, and Knuckles saw that Zipp's magnifying glass top piece came off and fell to the floor. Pipp's goggles landed back on her eyesight but broke in half as they fell to the floor. Then, Hitch's photo album's red sequins came off completely. Tails' box paint also came off, and the spikes of Knuckles' spiky knuckles also fell off. The only remaining gifts that were still intact were Sonic's new shoes and Izzy’s diary. "Uh…" the entire group exclaimed, while Sonic regrouped with the others with a confused look. But in the end, they all laughed at this outcome. "Sorry, Izzy," Pipp said with a chuckle. "I guess we're not expert crafters like you or Tails," she added, since they were not as skilled as Izzy and Tails. "Oh, pshaw. You put your hearts into crafting these gifts," she said, smiling while the others put their gifts on the table. "It's the thought that matters in Secret Canter," she smiled. "Yeah, well. I guess this wasn't a disaster after all," Sonic said with a smile. "I still need a new toolbox, tho," Tails complained. The Mane 5, Sonic, and Knuckles laughed at this, while Tails looked on with a bored expression before slowly smiling and joining the laugh. None noticed that the Mane 5's Cutie Marks were glowing, nor that Team Sonic's bodies let out electrical sparkles with their skin colors. Sparky giggled as well, but then some smoke from Sunny's deflated cookie cake came to his nose. "Ooh!" he said with sparkling eyes, looking at the cookie cake and sniffing it, but he cringed at the smell. "Ah... Ah... Ah…" Sparky sneezed on the homemade gifts as his dragon fire hit them. But after Sparky’s dragon fire settled, the gifts became better than ever: Sunny’s cookie cake was now a three-layer cake; Hitch's photo album had a true book cover with a horseshoe symbol on it; Pipp’s goggles were now stylish protective goggle; Zipp’s magnifying glass was turned into a complete detective suitcase with all the detective gears in it; Tails' toolbox was now a high tech box, still empty in tools, but now having a touch screen; and Knuckles' spiky knuckles looked almost the same, just assembled properly this time. The group sins Sonic gasped with sparkling eyes, amazed at what Sparky's dragon fire did to their gifts. "Whoa, check it out!" Pipp said excitedly as she put on her new and improved goggles. "A Wishentine miracle!" she cheered, smiling as she took selfies from her phone. "Yeah!" Zipp said with a smile. "Now, this is what I was trying to make!" she added excitedly. "Me, too!" Hitch agreed with a smile. "Sparky’s dragon fire did us a favor!" Tails said excitedly as he and the others, minus Sonic and Izzy, looked at their new and improved gifts. "Quoting Sonic here: he's just a baby now; imagine everything the little guy's gonna do when he grows up!" Knuckles added with a smile as well Sunny then turned to Izzy and Sonic, noticing their gifts hadn't changed. "Aw, guys. Your gifts are just the same," she said with a little smile. "Hm. You can't improve perfection," Izzy said with a smile as she held her diary close. Knuckles noticed that, and as he tried his new, improved, spiky knuckles, he turned to hide his sudden blush from the rest. "W-Why does she always have to be like this?" he muttered, not getting how Izzy could have that effect on him. "And I don't think these babies could be any better than they already are!" Sonic said as well, liking his new shoes the way they are. The rest laughed a bit at that. "Oh!" Izzy said cheerfully, looking at something behind herself. "Ponies! Look! Over there!" she said as she pointed to an extra eight gifts under the tree. "Oh, gosh! There seems to be an extra gift for each of us!" she said excitedly to the others. The rest, minus Izzy, each grabbed a gift and opened them, gasping at what they saw. "Hey, look!" Pipp said with a nervous smile. "We've all got…" she started. "... crafting belts," Zipp finished sheepishly, as they each had identical crafting belts. "We could all use the practice," Sunny said sheepishly. Thanks to whoever got us those," she added with a smile. "Wonder who bought us this one," Sonic said with a sarcastic tone and a smirk. "Oh, I have a slight suspicion about that one," Tails said with a smirk. "I'm gonna say it was Sparky,” Hitch said with a smile while Sparky giggled behind him, muffling his sneeze to prevent his dragon fire from coming out again. Izzy giggled, trying her best not to call out, but she couldn’t help herself as she smiled at her friends. "They're from me! I made them for you all! They're from me! Me, me, me, me!" she said excitedly while popping around her friends, who looked surprised and confused at her, except for Knuckles, who looked at her neutrally. "Me! Me! Me! They were from me! Izzy! Izzy! I-I-I-Izzy! Me, me, me!" she kept saying. "Uhhhh…" the rest said confused. "Well, that didn’t take so long," Knuckles said with a neutral expression. "Hah!" Izzy cheered as she hopped on the couch, opened up her new diary, cleared her throat, and started to write down in her diary. "Dear diary... Whew! Keeping a secret is hard work!" she said aloud as she wrote it down, but then realized her mistake, turning around and seeing her friends still looking at her. "Oh. Wait, did I say that out loud?" she asked with a sheepish smile. "Yup," Sonic said with a wide smile, while the others just laughed it up. Outside the Brighthouse, Kenneth and his bird partner were on a tree branch, holding a gift for each other. Then they chirped and hugged happily together. THE END Author's Note I wanna thank JesusG0987 for suggesting me the idea of today's chapter with Team Sonic. It really helped me out, buddy! Thanks! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
41. A Day In The LifeIn the Brighthouse bedroom, Pipp adjusted her phone so the camera could be facing her since she was starting a livestream. "Morning, Pippsqueaks!" Pipp announced with a smile while many emojis started to pop up on her dashboard. "Now, lots of you have been asking what a day in the life of Pipp Petals is really like..." she said, getting close to her camera with a determined expression. "Well, get ready! Your sneak peek starts noooooow!" she sang the last word before twirling her phone around, then twirled happily before flying off. Pipp flew around the bedroom as she sang and went towards Izzy first. Pipp: A brand new day Izzy woke up on her bed when she heard Pipp singing. She rubbed her eyes tiredly but smiled as she saw Pipp flying and singing. "Whoo-hoo!" she cheered, now wide awake, as Pipp landed on the floor. Pipp came next to her sister, who was covered in her blanket, while Zipp gave an irritated, tired expression to her sister for singing and filming so early. A brand new chance, a brand new way Pipp sang as she moved her phone around to film herself with everything around her, including Zipp, who widened her eyes at Pipp filming her and groaned, covering her whole head in her blanket. "Ooh!" Izzy cheered as she appeared behind Zipp with sparkling eyes. Pipp continued smilingly filming on her phone, and Izzy was behind her. Later, Pipp opened the Brighthouse's front doors and met with a crowd of ponies, a.k.a Pippsqueaks, all filming her with their phones or cameras as they chattered excitedly. Pipp landed on the ground and smiled at the crowd as they took pictures of her while Pipp signed their autographs. Then, she vocalized and grabbed Glory to get her in for the pictures, which made Glory smile with sparkling eyes. Then Pipp brought more people among the crowd. "Whoo!" Pipp cheered with giggles as she, Seashell, Glory, Peach Fizz, Dahlia, and Flare gathered together while an earth pony stallion took a selfie with them, giving them many emojis. Pipp flew around in the clouds a little bit later while two pegasi took pictures with their cameras. Pipp was still smiling and vocalizing while striking poses for the cameras. She then flew around the clouds while going through one, using the clouds to make music notes as she flew by. Sometime later, Pipp arrived at Mane Melody. She went in with a smile and saw Rocky in front of her. Rocky smiled at Pipp as he showed her different perfumes so she could choose the best one. Pipp smiled and looked at the heart-shaped perfume. "Um, yes!" she said as Rocky showed another one. "Oh, yes," she said again, and Rocky showed her a purple one. "No," she said, then Rocky showed a green and white line. "No," she said, pushing it away. Rocky brought out a small light-blue vial. "No!" she said again as Rocky showed her a pink container. "Yes!" Pipp said with a smile while pointing to that one, then flew around the salon with a smile. Then, Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky got on the stage and tapped their hooves together, singing and dancing in sync. Every day's so bright, every day's full of magic Pipp flew to three ponies seated in the salon chairs, one of them being Posey, and Pipp twirled them around to do their manes. Posey had a new look that she liked, while Flare got the same style as Zipp when her friends got her to say 'yes' to have fun with them. Posey and Flare smiled wide with their hooves in the air. Every day feels right, every day is a classic And just when I think it can't get any better Pipp got her hooves out as Jazz brought out Pipp’s signature hooficure on her tablet, then she did Pipp’s hooves. Pipp looked in the mirror as she lifted a hoof and gave a wink to her reflection with a smile. Then she rushed out of Mane Melody with Jazz and Rocky side by side as they sang and danced together, with Posey, Rufus, and some other ponies dancing and singing along with them. Every new day is the best day ever Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh Pipp then smiled at her followers on her phone through the livestream. "Stick around for more unfiltered access to my entire day! See you soon, Pippsqueaks! Mwah!" she said as she blew a kiss to her phone and ended her livestream for the moment. The rest of the Mane 5 were hanging out at the smoothie stand while Izzy looked at her homemade phone. "Whoo-hoo!" Izzy cheered and laughed a bit. "Check it out!" she told her friends, showing them her phone. "Uh, yeah, Izz," Zipp said as the others smiled. "We're watching it in real life. Right... there?" she trailed off as she turned to her left and raised an eyebrow. The others also turned and saw Pipp with Rocky and Jazz next to them, and Jazz and Pipp waved at them. Izzy kept smiling with sparkling eyes as she cheered. "Whoo-hoo! Pipp! I love your dance moves, Pipp! Yeah!" she cheered as she appeared around Pipp, who smiled at Izzy while Rocky and Jazz smiled. "Well, after all that, I'd say somepony needs to refuel with a strawberry ripple smoothie," Sunny said with a smile as she brought out Pipp’s favorite smoothie. "Ugh! Sunny, you are the best!" Pipp smiled as she winked at Sunny and sipped her smoothie. "Mmm!" she hummed happily. Meanwhile, Team Sonic was on a video call with an Italian plumber at a table near the smoothie stand. "Dude, I seriously can't believe you're finally getting a movie!" Sonic said with a smirk. "It was lame that they didn't give you your iconic Italian accent, but Chris is doing his best, so I let it slip... this time," he added mockingly. "I simply loved every reference on it!" Tails exclaimed excitedly. "The Tanooki suit, Peach and the Fire Flower, the Yoshis, the Karts..." he listed joyfully. "YOU MAD LADS EVEN PLACED RAINBOW ROAD!!! FREAKING RAINBOW ROAD!!!" Knuckles exclaimed as he shook Sonic's phone excitedly as if he were shaking Mario. "I think what Knux is trying to say..." Sonic said as he took his phone away from Knuckles. "We are happy for you and your achievement of getting a movie! Hopefully, you can pull a few strings to let us attend the premiere!" he said with a wink and a smirk. "Oh yeah!" Mario replied from the other side of the call with a smile. "Well then, gotta go now! Take care, see you soon, and tell Peach we say 'hi'!" Sonic told Mario with a smile, also waving his hand. "Okie-dokie!" Mario assured with his thumbs up. "Say 'hi' to Luigi for me!" Tails exclaimed. "If you see Yoshi around, tell him to bring some of those apples of his next time we see each other!" Knuckles said as well. "See ya, plumber guy!" Sonic waved once again. "Bye bye!" Mario waved back, ending the call with Team Sonic. "Man, I can't believe they are making another movie after... well... you know... after that attempt on the 90s..." he muttered with a cringed expression. "Well, at least this one looks good so far!" Tails pointed out with a smile. "Even for Illumination standards." "You saw how badass Bowser's looking?!" Knuckles asked in excitement. "I may consider myself a good guy, but damn! Bowser's killing it with that look!" he stated. "I do admit, Bowser looks good," Sonic confessed. "You know who looks ugly, though? Donkey Kong," he said with a frown. What did they do to my boy, DK?!" he exclaimed in frustration. "Yeah, he looks so off," Tails admitted. "And why does Princess Peach seem more like Anya Taylor Joy than... well, Princess Peach?" he asked, confused. "No clue. But I like her personality!" Knuckles said. "From damsel in distress to absolutely badass princess? Oh, heck yeah, sign me in!" he exclaimed with a smile. "Let's hope Peach does consider inviting us to the premiere," Sonic said with a smile. Then, the Team noticed the Mane 5 talking to each other, and while Tails and Knuckles raised their eyebrows, Sonic panicked. "Oh no..." Sonic said. "Please tell me today isn't that day..." he begged. "What day?" Knuckles asked, but Sonic didn't reply. Instead, he moved towards the Mane 5, while Tails and Knuckles looked at each other, confused, before following him. "H-Hey, guys!" Sonic greeted with a nervous smile as he sweated. "What, uh... whatcha doin'?" he asked, trying to pose calmly, but his nervous movements worsened. "Oh, hey, guys!" Pipp greeted back with a smile. "I'm recording my entire day for my Pipsqueaks!" she confessed. That just made Sonic gulp since he knew about this, while Zipp just gave her sister an amused expression. "Did you say you're giving your fans total access to your whole day?" Hitch asked in curiosity. "That sounds exhausting," he pointed out, and Zipp nodded her head in agreement. "Well, it's what I have to do if I want to get a hundred million followers," Pipp said with a wave of her hooves. "One hundred million followers?!" Hitch asked in surprise, also sweating a bit. "No offense, but there's no way that's how many people there are in Equestria," Knuckles said, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms. "Well, if we consider that Zephyr Heights is the most populated city in the country, I will say otherwise," Tails pointed out with a sheepish smile while Knuckles gave him a bored expression. "How do you even come up with this stuff?!" Hitch asked as he got close to Pipp. Some time ago, Pipp took pictures with Floppy, Sonic's bunny, as they giggled at the silly picture they took. Sonic arrived and looked at what his crush and little buddy were doing. "Wow! Let me see those," he said to Pipp with a smile, taking a closer look at Pipp’s phone to see the pictures better. "Awww! Look at you two!" he said with a smile and sparkling eyes, then picked up Floppy. "Who's the cutest bunny, huh? If you had a Ponygram, you'd have one hundred million followers! Wouldn't you? Oh, yes, you would! Everybody would want to follow you!" he said to Floppy in a baby-tone voice, nuzzling his nose. Pipp heard what he said, and an idea popped into her head. "A hundred million followers…" she repeated aloud, then gasped excitedly with sparkling eyes. "I should shout my mouth sometimes," Sonic deadpanned. "Please!" both Tails and Knuckles said with frowns while Sonic scratched his head sheepishly. "Just be careful, Pipp," Zipp told her with concern, getting close to her. "You know what happens when you do too much. You always get s—" she tried to explain but was cut off. Pipp gave a deep gasp before frowning. "Zipp! Don't you say it!" she warned with anger. "Say what? 'Sick'?" she asked in confusion before she gasped in fright. "Oh, no! Is that word jinxie?!" she asked, scared. Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky came together after hearing Izzy and made a ritual dance, also reciting some words. "We are healthy! We are fine! Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle! Shine, shine, shine!" the three ponies said together while looking nervous at the same time. The rest of the Mane 5 and team Sonic looked at them strangely, while Zipp raised an eyebrow in a non-surprise expression, and Izzy smiled sheepishly at them. "... I-I got nothing..." Sonic said with an anxious look. "I... I simply can't... There are no words to describe... that..." he pointed at Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky, not making any sarcastic joke or comment about their dance. Before anyone could reply, Rocky's phone started beeping, which caused Rocky to gasp as he brought out his phone. Then he looked at Pipp. "Pipp! It's time!" he said. "I hope she does not take the 'Get 100 million followers' thing seriously," Sonic muttered with worry, as it was his idea. "You're asking for too much, buddy," Zipp told him with a bored expression, which caused Sonic to gulp nervously. Later, Pipp smiled and looked at the camera at Mane Melody, starting a new livestream over the stage. "Hey, Pippsqueaks!" Pipp announced with a smile. "Ready for more? Here we go!" she said, tapping her phone and singing again, along with Jazz and Rocky. Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like Pipp sang on the stage with her microphone, flying around while doing a loop in the air. Somewhere in Maretime Bay, the Pippsqueaks tapped on their phones with smiles to give a heart to Pipp's livestream. Every new day is the best day ever In the Brighthouse, Pipp was eating her lunch while smiling and winking at the camera... but it was somepony watching the livestream on their phone, giving it a like. Whoa, oh-oh, oh, oh, it's like, it's like Every new day is the best day ever In the back room of Mane Melody, where Pipp makes her products, she nervously put a drop of a makeover ingredient into a bowl as it explored some yellow stuff on her face, which caused her to give a tired smile. She finally learned to use just a drop instead of the whole substance, and you can thank Tails for that. Then we have a photo sequence in which Pipp grows increasingly tired and exhausted but still does her livestream. The first photo shows her singing on her stage, sweating and looking tired; the second one shows her getting some makeover glitter on her face, looking even more tired; and the final picture shows her trying to do some mare's mane, but she is falling asleep and now has eye bags. Later, Pipp and the rest of her friends were at Dahlia's while she was showing the flowers to Pipp. "These flowers will add such a yummy sweetness to your next perfume, Pipp," Dahlia said with a smile as she picked a yellow flower up. Pipp sniffed the flower and then smiled tiredly. "Ooh, it does smell delicious––" she tried to say but cringed when she started to cough before giving off a shocked expression. The rest of her friends gasped in shock and worry, while Jazz and Rocky gasped the same way, and Sonic started to sweat nervously. "Well, shit..." Sonic said in shock as well. "Oh, no" Dahlia said in concern. "You're not getting sick––" she tried to ask, but Pipp cut her off. "Neighway!" Pipp denied as she spoke. "I never get––" she tried to say while smirking. "––Sick?!" Pipp asked in disbelief. She was now in Brighthouse's bedroom, on her bed, covered in her blanket, with used tissues and a tissue box beside her. "Ugh! I can't be sick! I don't have––" Pipp started but then gave a short cough before continuing. "–– time to just lay in bed and––" she gave another cough. "–– do nothing and––" she coughed again, giving a sad and sick expression since she couldn't continue her livestream. On the other side of the bedroom door, Sunny looked at Pipp through the door with sympathy. "Poor Pipp," Sunny said, turning to the others. "She sounds super rough." Izzy scoffed for some reason. "Have you seen her lately? She looks even worse!" she called out with a wave of her hoof. "Izzy!" the others scolded her, and Sonic frowned as his eyes turned blue for a second. "What? Honesty," Izzy said in defense. "Honesty does not mean make things worse, Izz," Knuckles pointed out with a worried frown. "Ohhhh. Whoopsies," Izzy said with a sheepish smile as she embarrassed herself. The rest continued to hear Pipp coughing from the other side. "Ugh!" Zipp groaned, placing a hoof on her head. "This always happens when she pushes herself too hard!" she called out, giving another frustrated groan, while Tails placed a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. "At least it's not your fault that she's in that state," Sonic said with a sad frown. "Ugh!" he groaned, laying on the wall and sliding until he sat on the ground. "Why do I always have to make everything worse whenever I open my mouth?" he complained with annoyance and sadness. "That's not true," Sunny said with a smile. "I said I wouldn't put you guys in danger, but Eggman created the Metal Mane," Sonic started to listen. "I said Metal wouldn't bother us, and then he and his team blamed Hitch and Izzy for things they didn't do. I said that we wouldn't need to defend ourselves from danger on Wishday, but Eggman tried to kill us with his Badniks!" he pointed out with concern. "Do you want me to keep going?!" he asked rhetorically. Sunny couldn't find the words to say anything positive after Sonic backfired with all of that. No one could, not even Izzy or Tails, who, like Sunny, always tried to find a positive side in the situation. And then, their phones chimed, which caused all of them to take them out and widen their eyes when they saw Pipp doing her livestream in her sick state. "Hey, Pippsqueaks," Pipp said with a sick smile. She sniffled as her livestream gave out some sad emojis. "I know I promised a whole day of my life, but it's…" she tried to say, but then she couldn't take it anymore as her eyes started watering and gave a sad, indistinct squeaking. The rest of her friends, including Sparky, looked sympathetically at Pipp, while Sonic felt his heart destroying into millions of pieces. In times like this, he wished Amy was here. She was great at helping someone sick since she cared for Tails and Cream when they got sick better than he could. But Amy wasn't here. And right now, Pipp didn't need anyone else but him. He got her, unintentionally, on that state in the first place, so he was going to help her to get out of it. With a determinate expression, he got up and looked at Tails. "Let's go, lil' bro. We gotta help Pipp," he stated while Tails smirked and nodded. Later, Pipp was still sick in her bed, holding her phone and looking at pictures of her in her sick state. "Ugh! No! No! Yuck! Neigh way! Ew! Ew, ew, ew!" Pipp cried out dramatically, not liking her sick selfies. Then, Sonic came into the room with a rolling carrier table with something when he saw Pipp complaining. "EW!" Pipp cried out as she tossed her phone on the floor and gave a whimper. Then, she saw Sonic coming in with the carrier while Tails sneaked in and took Pipp's phone. Then, she stepped back and pointed the camera to the 'love birds'. "Take it easy, Little Pipp," Sonic told her worriedly. "You had enough of your social media life for a day," he added, while Pipp kept whimpering but nodded to him. "I'm sorry for saying that nonsense about getting more followers," he apologized with a guilty expression. Pipp coughed before replying to her crush. "Honestly, Blue Star, it's not so much about the followers," she said, then sneezed and blew her nose with a tissue as she started to tear up. "It's just, well, I... I hate letting my fans down, you know? They mean so much to me," she said with a sad smile. However, Sonic couldn't help but snort a bit with a slight blush after hearing Pipp sneezing. "What?" she asked confused. "S-Sorry, Pipp. But your sneeze... it's just so adorable!" Sonic said with a little chuckle, causing Pipp to blush in embarrassment and let out a groan that sounded even cuter than her sneeze. Sonic chuckled again, then coughed as he tried to 'keep his cool.' "Look, I get that your fans are really important to you, but they love you!" he pointed out with a smile while Pipp looked at him curiously. "And sometimes, we have to look after ourselves first before we can take care of everybody else that needs us," he added with a smile. Pipp couldn't help but smile a bit, her blush finally disappearing. "Says the guy who can't do anything without thinking about anyone else," she said playfully. Sonic snorted at the comment. "This is about you, Little Pipp. Don't drag me to your sickness," he said playfully as well, causing Pipp to laugh a bit without coughing, and that's when he discovered he loved to hear her laughing. Then, he brought out a bowl of soup to her. "Here, have some soup. An old friend back home uses it on Tails when he gets sick, and I can promise you it can work wonders," he said with a smile and a wink while Pipp accepted the soup with a slight blush. Pipp's eyes began to tear up happily as she smiled at Sonic even more. "Awww, Sonic..." she started, but then gave a quick cough before continuing. "That is so sweet. You are a wise and handsome hedgehog," she added before quickly kissing Sonic's cheek. That caused the hedgehog to blush a lot, as he chuckled and smiled nervously, also scratching his head a bit embarrassed. And of course, on Pipp's livestream, Tails kept recording as he was smiling and laughing quietly. The chat was going wild with Pipp's move since lots of emoji hearts started to pop in on the screen. Then, Pipp slurped from the soup Sonic gave her and smiled. "Mmm! Delicious," she said; Sonic couldn't help but nuzzle at her, and Pipp nuzzled back, smiling and blushing a bit. And again, Pipp's chat on her livestream went wild with the heart emojis. "You can thank me later, lovebirds," Tails said with a smirk, still holding the phone to livestream those two. All the ponies in Maretime Bay have been watching the whole thing that Tails was live-streaming. Pipp lay in her bed, and Sonic placed the blanket over her to comfort her. Some of the ponies watching were Dahlia, Rufus, Windy, Fifi, Alphabittle, Queen Haven, Jazz, Rocky, Glory, Seashell, and Peach Fizz. Many other ponies smiled along with all the mentioned with sparkling eyes, and then they all tapped the subscribe button on their phones and liked the livestream. This made Pipp gain more followers followers at a very fast rate. "Awwww!" Posey said, somewhere in Maretime Bay, with sparkling eyes and a smile. She felt touched and found what Sonic did for Pipp beautiful. Then, she also liked and subscribed. And just like that, Pipp reached her goal of gaining 100 million followers, with confetti and an alarm popping up. In the bedroom, Tails was still holding the phone that made the fanfare noise, but Sonic tossed it from Tails and placed it in Pipp's drawer, not wanting to disturb Pipp's sleeping. "Blue star?" Pipp called out, a bit sleepy. "Tell me, Little Pipp," Sonic said with a smile. "Could you..." Pipp tried to say, but first, she yawned tiredly before continuing. "Sing to me?" she requested. Sonic was slightly surprised by the sudden petition but still smiled at her. "Sing? You know that's not one of my strengths, right?" he asked her. "That's... not true..." Pipp said, yawning a bit again. "Please?" she begged tiredly. Sonic sighed heavily but smiled at her. "Alright, Princess Petals. As you wish. Maybe not sing, but I can hum you that lullaby I taught you on Bridlewood a while ago," he told her. And just like he said, he started to hum the melody of his lullaby, also caressing Pipp's mane, while she finally fell asleep with tears of joy. Sunny, Hitch, Izzy, Zipp, and Knuckles watched them from the door, smiling at Sonic for caring for Pipp. Meanwhile, Tails recorded everything again, but with his phone, so he could upload it to his social media and mock those two until they eventually started to date formally. "Again, you can thank me later, lovebirds!" Tails muttered with a smirk. THE END Author's Note I wanna apologize to the Pitch shippers for the change I made. But for the sake of consistency with my canon, a sacrifice must be done! Also, Happy Holidays! I hope you guys enjoy with your families on this special day! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
42. Firework-ing TogetherThe Crystal Brighthouse threw glitter bombs in the air that exploded like fireworks. You're right; it is New Year's Eve in Equestria. Sunny arrived as she stood at the front door and smiled at Izzy. "Izzy, come on!" she called out. "Or you'll miss seeing the real firework display!" she pointed out, pointing her hoof outside the Brighthouse. Outside, Pipp, Glory, Seashell, and Peach Fizz entered the Marestream while Hitch and Knuckles supervised everyone in getting inside the vehicle. "Hey! These look pretty real to me!" Izzy said with a smile and sparkling eyes, but she twirled so often that she started to feel dizzy. "All that spinning made me one, Dizzy-Izzy..." she said jokingly before falling to the ground. "Ladies, if you're done doing whatever is going on there, get on board, and let's get out of here before we're late," Knuckles said, lying on the Marestream and waiting for Sunny and Izzy. After a while, Izzy stopped feeling dizzy and got inside the Marestream along Sunny. Hitch and Knuckles were the last ones to enter, with the latter closing the Marestream door while the Pippsqueaks - Glory, Seashell, and Peach Fizz - sat down on the passenger seats in the main cabin. "Next stop: Bridlewood for the Grand Unity Fireworks Display!" Zipp announced with a smile as she sat beside Tails, who would drive down the Marestream towards Bridlewood. "I love that we are all together for this!" Sunny said with excitement, then gasped with sparkling eyes. "I love fireworks!" Izzy squealed excitedly, also stomping her hooves on the ground. "And these are no ordinary fireworks!" she said with a smile. "Unicorn Fireworks are, like, totally magical!" "Half of the stuff in this land has been magical ever since the Crystals made that rainbow explosion," Sonic said with a smirk. "At this point, I'll be questioning what isn't magical." After that, Tails turned on the Marestream, and the flying vehicle's engine roared. Then, it flew through the sky and towards Bridlewood. However, Izzy was so excited about the fireworks that she kept throwing her glitter bombs outside from the window, also making explosion sounds with her mouth. "Izzy..." Knuckles scolded with a deadpan. "Sorry..." Izzy apologized with a sheepish smile. Later, the group made it to the forest in Bridlewood, with the Marestream parked away while the Mane 5, Team Sonic, Sparky, and the Pippsqueaks followed Izzy. After all, Bridlewood is her home. "Okay, the viewing spot is just ahead," Izzy instructed. "Follow me. I know this forest like the back of my hoof," she said with a smile as she looked at her hoof. "And the front of it," she added, turning to face her friends and winking at them. Sunny giggled as she and the others smiled and trotted after Izzy, running through the forest while hopping over roots. Zipp moved a branch aside, but Hitch got smacked in the face by it since he was behind Zipp. "Ow! Hey, watch it!" Hitch called out as he moved the branch aside and continued to trot ahead while looking around the forest. "All these roots everywhere! They should be tidied up before somepony––" he tried to add but got cut off when he didn’t see a root on the ground, which made him trip, and he could have fallen with Sparky if it wasn't because of Knuckles, who grabbed the sheriff from his belt with a bored expression. "Gets hurt? Where are you going to say that?" Knuckles asked as he pulled Hitch slowly away from the cliff. "You two okay?" he asked. "Mm-hmm," Sparky nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Thanks, Knux. That was a close one," Hitch said with a sheepish smile. "You know, knucklehead, I'm glad you have more respect for the forest now," Sonic said mockingly. "What do you mean?" Knuckles asked. "Don't you remember what happened the first you entered a forest with us?" Sonic asked as he dodged a tree branch. "No?" Knuckles replied, confused. "Okay, now you got me interested," Pipp said. "What happened?" she asked. "Well..." Sonic said with a bored expression. 11/10 Years ago, Knuckles was breathing heavily with an angry expression, his body covered in mud, and he had some tree branches on his hair. "I HATE TREES!!!" Knuckles shouted in rage as he launched to destroy even more trees since he had already destroyed a few around him. Not so far, Sonic, Tails, and Amy stood confused about Knuckles' attitude against the forest. "Amy..." Sonic called out. "We left you with Knuckles for 5 minutes. HOW, in the name of Chaos, did THIS happen?!" he cried out. "Honestly? I've been trying to figure that out myself..." Amy replied, just as confused as Sonic and Tails. "And to this day, we still have no idea why Knuckles lost control over the trees," Sonic finished explaining with a bored expression. "... Huh..." Knuckles said. "I kinda remember being mad for something, but not the reason, tho..." he confessed, dodging another tree branch. "You destroyed an entire forest and don't even remember why?" Sunny asked, a bit mad. "It happened about ten years ago, woman," Knuckles said with a frown. "Don't blame me for not wanting to remember some embarrassing things in my life," he pointed out. "Be glad Amy isn't here. Otherwise, she'll be mocking you up with that 'till she gets tired of it!" Sonic said with a playful smirk. "Don't mention it..." Knuckles complained. "I'm sorry, but who's Amy?" Pipp asked, suddenly feeling a bit jealous. "The best way to put it? It's an old friend who used to be obsessed with me," Sonic replied with a bored expression. Pipp stopped and stared at Sonic, confused about why he said it as if it was nothing, but she decided not to question him and kept walking. Behind them, the Pippsqueaks and Tails were following, and while Peach Fizz was giggling happily as she trotted ahead of her friends, Seashell and Glory carefully followed behind. Then, Glory tripped and flipped over the branches. "Aah!" she cried out, landing flat on the ground. She slowly stood up, but one of her hind hooves got stuck on a loose root on the ground. She grunted in the effort as she tried to free her hoof. "Oh, no! I'm stuck!" she cried as Seashell came to her side, and they both tried to free her friend. Tails noticed that, and so he decided to also help the filly get out of her stuck state. But the pull was too hard, and the three of them started rolling across the forest. They screamed in fright and hit a branch that got them up into the air. Then, they went through a broken tree and slid down. Once they made it to the other end, they landed on a pile of mud and got some on them. "Why does this stuff keep happening?" Tails asked himself, his bored expression turning into a worried one when he looked at his surroundings. "Whoa. Where are we?" Seashell asked as she stood up alongside Glory and Tails. "It must be another part of the forest," Tails answered. "But I cannot tell which one exactly..." he confessed, then gulped nervously. "Peach Fizz? Ponies? Hello?" Glory called out, as she and Seashell got scared and tears formed in their eyes. "Oh, no. I think we might be…" she said, and then the two fillies teared up as they hugged and cried out, their tears flowing like waterfalls. "Lost!" Glory and Seashell cried out while Tails approached them and comforted them to calm them down. "Hey, girls, it's okay," Tails said with a soft smile. "We might be lost, but I know we'll get out of here," he assured them. "Hopefully," he muttered to himself with worry. In the meantime, the Mane 5, Sonic, Knuckles, and Peach Fizz arrived at their destiny, with Izzy coming out of a bush as she raised her hoof with a smile. "Ta-daaaa!" Izzy cheered. Peach Fizz came out next to her and raised her hoof as well. "Yay! Ah!" she said with a smile. In front of them, everypony from Bridlewood, Zephyr Heights, and Maretime Bay was together. Even Alphabittle and Queen Haven also came as they chatted while waiting for the right time to set off the fireworks. Then Sunny, Zipp, Pipp, and Hitch came out of the bushes, looking tired from trotting through the forest, while Sonic and Knuckles came out like it was nothing, making Sunny groan tiredly. "I seriously can't remember why I hated the forest back then," Knuckles said with a confused look. "It wasn't that bad!" he added with concern while Sonic rolled his eyes in annoyance. "How's my hair?" Pipp asked the others, as her mane was a little frizzy from all the trotting through the forest. "Does it look like I've been dragged backward through a hedge?" she asked. "Just a little something right... there?" Hitch unsurely replied to Pipp while tapping something on her mane. Pipp turned her head, shocked that a bird's nest somehow got in her mane. A bird squawked and flew out of the nest while Pipp opened her mouth in shock. "Stand still, Little Pipp," Sonic said as he approached her and took the nest off her mane, being very careful since he didn't want to hurt Pipp. "There!" he said with a smile, taking the net off Pipp's mane. Pipp sighed in relief and smiled at Sonic. "Thanks, Blue Star," she said, nuzzling Sonic's shoulder while the hedgehog caressed her mane with a smile. "Look!" Sunny called out with a smile while pointing to the crowd. "Every ponykind is here!" she said with a smile. As Sonic put the nest away, Hitch and Knuckles were doing a headcount on the group... but then they got worried when they didn't count everyone. "We've done a headcount, and, uh... not everypony is here," he said to Sunny grimly while Sparky gasped in shock. "Glory and Seashell," Pipp said as she saw that Peach Fizz was there, and then she gasped in worry. "Oh, no! The Pippsqueaks!" she called out in worry. "They're missing?!" Sunny cried out in shock. "Missing?!" Alphabittle cried out in shock, hearing what Sunny called out as the crowd gasped. "Oh, no! Poor Pippsqueaks!" Rufus cried out in panic. "These woods will eat them alive!" Thunder called out, which made the crowd panic more. "Okay, everypony, just stay calm!" Sunny called out, but Sonic then placed a finger on her mouth as he noticed something. "Hang on, Sunny," Sonic said with a worried frown. "There's someone else missing here..." he said, making the crowd gasp again. "He's right..." Zipp said as well. "Wait! Where's Tails?!" she asked in panic. She has no idea of how big that mistake was. "Oh no..." Knuckles muttered with panic. "Tails?" Sonic asked, a bit panicked. "Tails?" he started to call out, but he got no answer. "Tails?!" he asked again, but this time, he started to breathe heavily as some awful flashbacks came to his mind. "TAILS!!" he shouted, desperate now. Not waiting for anyone to speak, Sonic boosted through the forest at top speed, panicking that Tails was missing. He returned, grabbed Knuckles, and started to shake him violently. "We. Have. To find him. NOW!" Sonic shouted, for the very first time in years, having a panic attack. Knuckles had no option but to slap him to make him calm down. "Control yourself, Hedgehog!" he shouted. The Mane 5 and the crowd were shocked to learn that Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog, the most relaxed guy everyone has ever met, was having a breakdown and panicking. Sonic started to breathe heavily again, and Knuckles took out a paper bag and gave it to him, while Sonic abruptly took the bag and started to breathe heavily on it. As Sonic slowly sat on the ground while trying to calm down, Knuckles gestured for Sunny to keep going. "Right!" Sunny replied with a determined expression. "We need to work together to find Glory, Seashell, and Tails," she instructed. "Izzy knows Bridlewood like the back of her hoof! Right, Izzy?" she asked with a smile. Izzy smiled and nodded. "Oh, yeah! Totally! No problem!" she assured, turning around before speaking again. "Well, there's maybe one problem. Bridlewood is gigantic! Where would we even start?!" she cried out in panic as she began to sweat nervously. This made everypony else gasp more, and it caused Sonic to panic even more as well. "This is terrible! We'll never find them!/They're doomed!" two earth ponies called out as they chatted in worry. Hitch stomped his hooves on the ground to get the ponies' attention, but not loud enough. Knuckles saw this, and while he wanted to keep Sonic company, he was still the sheriff's deputy, so he got to Hitch's side. Then he charged up his hands with his electrical powers before doing a powerful clap that made the ground rumble, startling the ponies, including Sunny and Hitch, to quiet down and look at Knuckles in shock as he gave a determined expression at them. "Ponies, focus!" Hitch called out to the crowd. "We need a plan if we're gonna find those ponies and that fox quickly!" he added. "I say we use earth pony magic and part the trees of the forest!" Rufus declared while lifting a hoof that was glowing green. "Neighway!" Thunder argued, flying in the air with Flare and Windy. "We need to fly above the forest! We'll find them quicker if we search from the air!" he pointed out. "Hah!" Alphabittle called out. "You pegasus think everything could be solved by flapping up in the sky!" he commented rudely. The ponies started to argue about their plans to find Glory, Seashell, and Tails, while Sunny got worried about this. "So we're repeating that animated special plot, but instead of jealously, we have two lost children and Tails," Knuckles said with a bored expression, but mentioning that Tails was lost again made Sonic panic even more as he curled on a ball in the floor and breath even more heavily on the paper bag. "Oh, right... I forgot you are still panicking," Knuckles said sheepishly. "But we do need to find him!" Zipp pointed out with an anxious look as she started to fly around and shouted Tails' name as well. "Okay..." Pipp said, approaching the rest. "I kind of get why Sonic's worried about Tails, but why is Zipp's acting like that?" she asked, confused. "You don't know yet?" Hitch asked with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know what?" Pipp asked. "That Zipp likes Tails and vice versa?" Sunny said as if it was obvious. Pipp gasped dramatically in shock with sparkling eyes. "My sister is in love, and none of you have told me about it?!" she said with a wide smile. "Yeah, yeah. Congratulations to her later. We still need to find two kids and Tails," Knuckles said. "Right, right..." Pipp said as she calmed down despite the exciting news of her sister being in love. "But why look for someone who's already gone?" Sonic asked with a nervous smile as he lay on the ground and looked at the sky with a twitchy eye. "Tails is smart and all, but so was Longclaw. It's probably too late already, hahaha," he added anxiously while his friends, especially Pipp, worriedly looked at him. "This is what I wanted to avoid... but it's too late now", Knuckles said, closing his hands in fists. "But why is he so worried?" Pipp asked. "I get they consider each other brothers, but still," she said with worry. "Longclaw also 'disappeared' before Sonic only found her scarf," was everything Knuckles could say, causing everyone else to gasp, even Zipp, who finally stopped panicking momentarily. "Ever since he's afraid any of us can also disappear... and never come back," he explained. "Of course, Tails should be okay. He has to be... right?" Sonic asked, chuckling in pain before turning that chuckle into a painful laugh that ended up with him tearing up... And for the very first time, his shelf was broken. No more joking or chilling out... Sonic was actually crying in public. He tried to wipe out the tears by placing his arm on his eyes, but his friends were already seeing him with sadness, and Pipp even approached him by extending her hoof. However, Sonic didn't hesitate and hid his face on Pipp's chest as he let his pain out as quietly as possible while Pipp wrapped her hoof around Sonic and nuzzled her head over his. "We have to find Tails ASAP!" Knuckles stated with a determined look, but his eyes widened as soon as he turned to see every pony else. "What in the Mystic Ruins?!" he cried out in shock. The others, Pipp and Sonic, turned as well and gasped in shock. What did they see? Well... Rufus was using his earth pony magic to move a tree aside, making Izzy and Peach Fizz gasp in surprise and away. The other earth ponies followed Rufus' example and used their magic to move many trees to clear a path. At the same time, Thunder and the other pegasi flew into the air and searched over the trees to see if they could find Glory, Seashell, and Tails. At the same dam time, Alphabittle and other unicorns used their magic to lift an entire tree, which showed a raccoonicorn, as many other trees started to lift, with the raccoonicorn yelping in fright as he was on a broken log and lifted into the air. "Aah!" Thunder and a few other pegasi yelled as they hit a few trees and fell from the sky. Posey and an Earth Pony stallion were using their magic to move the trees, but the stallion saw the trees falling from the sky, so he screamed and ran way before the tree could hit him. Posey looked at the trees falling from the sky in surprise and shock, and she trotted out screaming as well. An earth pony stallion next to Peach Fizz moved a tree but gasped when he saw the raccoonicorn heading right for him as it landed on his face and fell backward. Hitch ran among the crowd to figure out how to calm everyone out, but then he got smacked to the face again by a tree branch that was set free from an earth pony's magic. "Ow! What is it with these branches?!" he asked himself in disbelief. "They hate you, apparently," Knuckles commented with his arms crossed. Sunny watched the unfold speechless, while Zipp came next to her with a raised eyebrow. "Not quite the display of unity we hoped for, huh?" she asked while the ponies were screaming in panic. "I don't want to pull an Izzy here, but if this is your concept of unity, I don't wanna be part of it," Knuckles commented again as he carefully returned a tree to its place. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" Izzy asked, a bit mad, as she walked towards Knuckles with a frown. "Izz, honey, please don't make me answer to you," Knuckles said with a bored expression. Sunny ignored them and looked determined. "I've got an idea!" Sunny called out. Then, she focused her magic and began to glow and levitate in the air while Zipp smiled and backed up a bit to give her some space. Alphabittle, Rufus, and Thunder glared at each other, but then they saw Sunny glowing. "Huh?" Alphabittle said in confusion and surprise while Rufus and Thunder gasped. Sunny focused her magic as she summoned her Alicorn form. Her horn and wings appeared as she smiled and flew around before striking a pose as she shone bright. Everypony looked surprised as a tree landed on the ground with a thud, but the ponies ignored it as they paid close attention to Sunny. "Everypony, listen up! Right now, two little ponies and a young yellow fox are lost; all that matters is that we find them!" Sunny explained. "Sunny's right. We have to work together," Alphabittle told the crowd, while Jazz nodded in agreement and Rocky looked at the crowd. The ponies looked at each other and gave determined looks as they nodded to each other. The rest of the Mane 5 smiled, too, with Sonic seeing a bit better but still nervous about Tails, while Knuckles patted his back and smiled at him, which made Sonic smile a bit as well. Sunny began to sparkle and flew high into the air, boosting at high speed to begin her search for Seashell, Glory, and Tails. Somewhere in the forest, Seashell, Glory, and Tails were still covered in mud, with the fillies still tearing up since they were really scared, even with Tails being with them. "Don't worry, girls," Tails told them, still with an assuring smile. "We'll get out of here," he assured again, then looked at his watch and pressed a button. "Sonic, Knuckles. Can you guys hear me?" he asked, but instead of an answer, he got static since there was a terrible signal in the forest. "Dang it..." he muttered with frustration. Suddenly, Seashell tripped and grunted, falling to the floor. Glory picked up her friend, while Seashell gave a whimper. Then, Tails came up to them and kneeled at their height. "Do not part away from me, girls," Tails told them. "I know you're scared, and I honestly am as well. My Tails are so muddier that I cannot fly out of here, and my communicator has no signal, but I know we'll be fine as long as we stick together, okay?" he added with a smile, and the two fillies nodded at him with little smiles. Then, they looked up and saw a glow passing by, a.k.a. Sunny, flying overhead of them with a determined expression. Glory and Seashell smiled tearfully at the Alicorn, waving their hooves at her. "Sunny! Over here! Help us!" Glory cried out happily. "Sunny!" Tails shouted as well. "We're down here!" he added, still screaming. Sunny heard their voices, so she looked down and saw Glory, Seashell, and Tails with a smile. "Found them! They're safe!" Sunny called out happily. "Ponies, create a path between me and the clearing!" she instructed the ponies below her. The ponies gave a determined expression as they got into position, following Sunny and warming up their magic. Where the two fillies and Tails were, Thunder landed in front of them. "Ah!" they said happily. "Follow the Cutie Mark trail!" Thunder declared as he focused magic into his Cutie Mark. That glow shot up into the sky, with other ponies' Cutie Marks shooting light, making a path for Seashell, Glory, and Tails to follow. Are we ever going to explain how they learned to do that? Probably not. Seashell and Glory giggled happily as they followed the Cutie Mark trail with Thunder behind them, while Tails sighed in relief and followed the two Pippsqueaks. The three of them slide down some roots that were grown by Posey, who was smiling, while they kept following the trail as they passed by Rocky and Jazz. Sunny watched overhead as more Cutie Marks glowed into the sky. And then, a rock that was blocking the path was levitated away; then the trees were moved aside as well. Zipp and the other Pegasi flew over them to make sure the other Ponies on the other side knew where they were so they could clear the path. Finally, Alphabittle moved a bush out of their way with his magic, making space for the two fillies and Tails to keep trotting off. After all of this, Seashell and Glory ran straight to Peach Fizz and Pipp, with the latter tearing up happily that her friends were okay; the four got into a group, and the Pippsqueaks started to cry happily. "Pippsqueaks! Oh, I'm so happy you're okay!" Pipp said in relief, hugging them with little tears in her eyes while the rest of her friends smiled at this. As for Tails, Sonic immediately wrapped him in a massive bear hug, and he wasn't planning on letting him go. "Whoa, there! Someone missed me, apparently," Tails said with a chuckle, but when Sonic kneeled, still hugging him, he got worried. "S-Sonic?" he asked, a bit scared. "... D-Don't you dare... to give me a scare like that... ever again, young man" Sonic said with a broken voice, as he hugged Tails a bit tighter. "I-I thought I lost you too, Tails..." he confessed, sobbing a bit. Tails understood why Sonic was acting like this, and his ears lowered. So, he returned the hug with a little smile. Knuckles was behind them the whole time, trying not to sob at the scene, but Sonic dragged him to join the hug. Sunny smiled at this, glad the Pippsqueaks and Tails were okay. And just then, the fireworks popped up from the sky behind the Alicorn, as the ponies looked in awe at the fireworks. "What a sight!" Thunder said in amazement. Izzy got in front of the crowd with a smile. "Yeah! And the fireworks are pretty awesome, too!" she cheered, thinking Thunder was talking about the Pippsqueaks reunion and Team Sonic's hug. Sunny landed on the ground and sighed happily. "We really can do anything when we work together," she said with a smile to the crowd. Then she looked at the fireworks and gave an excited smile. "Ooh, look! They're starting!" she cried out happily with sparkling eyes, also pointing a hoof at the fireworks. The fireworks go off individually as they show each ponykind: an Earth Pony, a Pegasus, and a Unicorn. The crowd, the Mane 5, and Team Sonic looked in awe at the fireworks, with Izzy smiling with sparkling eyes, Pipp taking a picture of the fireworks with her phone and a smile, Team Sonic side hugging each other, and the Pippsqueaks looking in awe. Sunny looked at the fireworks with a bright smile and sparkling eyes, happy to finally see the fireworks. At the top of a hill, not so far from Opaline's Castle, Dr. Eggman was looking at the fireworks since they could be seen from all across Equestria. He had his arms on his back, and he was frowning at the fireworks. He was not happy that another year was ending, and his losing streak just kept growing bigger and bigger. "Another year that ends, another year begins," Eggman said with annoyance. "Will this be another year of failures? Or will I finally defeat that stupid Hedgehog? Only time will tell," he added with a frown. "However, I will not be waiting on my lab this time!" he stated with an evil grin. After that, he turned around and slowly walked back to Opaline's castle, pressing a button on his suit. "Sage," Eggman called out. "Yes, doctor?" Sage asked through the computer installed on his suit. "Save next Friday's date on my calendar: Starting next week, we'll tease that disgusting hedgehog and his friends until Season 2 drops!" Eggman instructed, with his grin growing bigger now. "As you command, doctor" Sage replied. After that, Eggman kept walking back to the castle, not laughing maniacally this time because he was waiting for the right moment to strike and be the one who laughed last. THE END...? Author's Note For the next episodes, I'm gonna explore a bit of Team Sonic's relationships between some Sonic characters, as well as keep placing a few more flashbacks like the one on this episode. Of course, it doesn't mean there's gonna be a flashback on every single episode, just in a few ones and if the episode requieres it. And yes, I enjoy making Sonic suffer because of Longclaw's death, how can you tell? Also, Happy New Year, everyone! Thanks you so much for reading up until now. I know I remark this a lot, but I seriously need to thank you all for still liking this story despite its flaws. I really hope 2023 will be even greater than this year! See you later! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
43. Bridlewood SpogAt Mane Melody, Izzy, and Knuckles were with Pipp, helping to decorate the salon because Pipp would make a massive presentation of her brand-new product. "Whaaaaaaaaat?!" Pipp cried in shock while Knuckles and Izzy were beside her. Knuckles crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Izzy gave Pipp a cheery smile and waved at her to get her attention. "What do you mean you lost the glimmerberry shampoo?!" she asked the pony on the phone in shock. The pony on the phone gave a high-pitched response because only Pipp could hear it on her phone, while Knuckles and Izzy couldn't. "Raccoonicorns?!" Pipp asked in disbelief, receiving a high-pitched response. "Attacked the trailer?!" she asked again, getting another high-pitched response. "ATE IT ALL?!?" she asked in shock and disbelief about what had happened to her product. Izzy looked out the window and saw one of the raccoonicorns that ate all the glimmer berry shampoo walking by, with their belly bloated from the amount they ate, belching out bubbles from the shampoo and covering their mouth, also sitting on the floor. Izzy gave a strange look at the raccoonicorn, and Knuckles approached soon enough as well. "There's no way these critters survived this long..." "Well, how am I supposed to do a product launch without any product?!" Pipp asked the pony on the phone in a panic, gaining another high-pitched response. "UGH!" she groaned in frustration, ending the call and pacing back and forth desperately. "Okay," she said, panting and sweating nervously. "Think, Pipp. Think," she said to herself. "Ah! I can help!" Izzy said to Pipp excitedly with sparkling eyes. Pipp didn’t hear Izzy and instead took out her phone, looking at the countdown while Izzy also took a closer look at it. Knuckles looked from behind them. "Four hours 'til we launch. No time to make my own," Pipp said with worry. "I can help!" Izzy said to Pipp again with a smile. "She's either ignoring you or not listening," Knuckles muttered. "Maybe we should do something to call her attention?" Izzy smiled with sparkling eyes as an idea popped into her mind. "Knuckle! You're handsome and a genius!" she said with a bright smile. However, both her face and Knuckles' turned red (yes, Knuckles became more red than he already is, that's possible) after they both realized what Izzy said. "Y-You think I'm... em... well... You think that about me?" Knuckles asked with a sheepish smile, scratching his head and feeling his face blushing a lot more, if that was possible. "I-I... W-Well... Y-You see... U-Um..." Izzy said nervously, sweating and blushing like a tomato. "Y-Yeah... I-I do think that..." she confessed, and for some reason he couldn't understand, Knuckles felt his smile growing and his heart jumping in joy after hearing that. "A-Anyways! W-We have to call Pipp's attention, s-so... follow me!" she said, zooming away. Before being able to say anything, Izzy used her magic and levitated Knuckles to follow her. Pipp didn’t pay them attention as she bit her hoof nervously but smiled with an idea. "Wait! We just got a shipment of new hoof cream!" she said with a cheery smile and sparkling eyes. "I'll launch that instead!" she stated with a smile, but once Pipp opened the door, she gasped. "Izzy! Knuckles!" she cried out in shock. Izzy used the hoof creams in the storage room to paint the walls. All the hoof creams were opened, and Izzy got messy because of the cream. "I mean, the mane's a little off," Izzy said with a smile while looking at the hoof cream painting of Jazz she did with the hoof cream. "Izzy... this isn't what I meant when I said we should CALL HER ATTENTION!" Knuckles scolded with a frown. Izzy flinched from Knuckles' scold and sheepishly smiled. "Okay, I might have got a little carried away. Sorry..." she apologized to both of them before facing Pipp. "But seriously, Pipp, I can help!" she assured her. Pipp sighed with a hoof on her head and walked towards Izzy and Knuckles. "Fine. Izzy, I need your help," she said to her. Izzy smiled at the answer. "Awesome!" she cheered with a raise of her hoof, while Pipp was a little nervous, and Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "Follow me! It's time for a day at the Bridlewood Spog!" she stated. "Bridlewood Spa?!" Pipp said with excitement and sparkling eyes while Izzy wiped the hoof cream off her with a towel. "I don't know if that's what she said at all..." Knuckles said with his arms crossed. "I'm tagging along just in case," he added determinedly. "You're just coming because of Izzy, aren't you?" Pipp asked with a teasing smirk, and Knuckles sudden blush and wide eyes made her chuckle playfully, then she looked back at Izzy while the unicorn twirled her towel in her hoof. "You never told me there was a Bridlewood Sp––" she tried to say but got cut off when Izzy almost smacked the towel on Pipp's face if it wasn't because of Knuckles' fist that received the smack. "Izzy, honey, watch where you twirl that towel around, please," Knuckles called out. Izzy sweated sheepishly from her mistake and smiled nervously, but she blushed after Knuckles called her 'honey.' "S-Sorry! Come on!" she called out, leading the way as the three friends exited Mane Melody. "By the way, aren't you going to hang out with Sonic and Tails?" Pipp asked. "They said something about investigating a place that could have the possible location of the last Chaos Emerald, and Sunny and Zipp tagged along with them," Knuckles explained with a bored expression. "They explicitly told me to stay here in the Bay in case Eggman attacks or something, but they're just exaggerating," he stated with a confident smirk. "Besides, wherever those two go, problems follow them close, so thanks but no thanks," he finished. Sadly, that only made Pipp feel worried about them, but she decided not to think about it, at least for now. "WHY DO WE ALWAYS GET OURSELVES IN TROUBLE?!" Sonic shouted with a frown. Tails, Zipp, and Sunny, were flying at his side at top speed as they ran away from a bunch of Buzzers and Buzz Bombers, as well as Eggman's Egg Beater, or at least a smaller version of it. The group thought the location of the final Emerald was a trap made by Eggman. He gathered them there and planned to 'destroy them all,' as the doctor himself would say, but the group managed to escape. Now, they were running for their lives. "How's that you convinced us to tag along with you?!" Zipp cried out in worry, flapping her wings as fast as she could. "We just told you about the signal!" Tails pointed out. "You didn't even allow me to explain myself and said you'd" be tagging along! And here we are now!" he explained in panic. "I just came because I was bored! Flying away to save my life wasn't on my checklist today!" Sunny confessed, also flapping her golden wings at a fast paste. "How we ended up here doesn't matter! How we are going to escape does!" Sonic said with a determined look. "First, we need to eliminate those badniks," he explained. "How are you expecting us to fight back that?!" Zipp cried out in panic. "We cannot do the same things you do, like curl into a ball and crash against those things!" she pointed out in worry and panic. "First of all, it's called a Spindash," Sonic said with a bored expression and fists on his hips. "And second, yes, you can!" he assured confidently. "We can?" both Zipp and Sunny asked, confused. "It's pretty simple!" Tails added, now with a determinate look as well. "You just got to visualize a finish line, and then, as the name already implies, you just have to... Spin!" he shouted, spin-dashing himself and launching against some Buzz Bombers that fell to the ground and were destroyed. "Tails, little bro, I couldn't have explained better myself!" Sonic said with a proud smirk before charging up his Spindash. He turned around and crashed against some of the Buzzers in the air. Sonic and Tails returned, still with plenty of badniks behind the group. "You just have to give it a shot!" Tails assured, dodging some of the shots that the badniks started to shoot at them, with Zipp, Sunny, and Sonic also dodging some of the attacks. "And the sooner you do that, the better!" Sonic said with a worried frown. Sometime later, Izzy led Pipp and Knuckles through the Bridlewood forest and towards the Bridlewood Spog. Izzy couldn't help but give an excited squeal. "Ooh! Okay. It's the best-kept secret in all of Equestria. Feel the stress float out of your mane and calm seep into your hooves," she said, suddenly stopping and causing Pipp and Knuckles to do the same. "Here it is!" Izzy said excitedly, using her magic to move some bushes aside and reveal a bubbling mud-green puddle. While Izzy smiled at the sight, Pipp cringed at this, and Knuckles seemed neutral about it. Pipp looked down and saw a bubble forming in the pond, and it popped. "Aah!" she cried out, startled, which caused her to flap her wings and jump back a bit. "This is Bridlewood Spa?" she asked Izzy. "Spa?" Izzy asked, confused. Then she smiled and laughed a bit. "No, no-no-no! Spog! S-P-O-G! Spog!" she corrected Pipp. "Spog? Izz?" Knuckles asked with a bored expression. "What is a spog?" Pipp asked, confused. "Oh, it's a special bog," Izzy said with a smile, pointing at the bog. "'Bog' because it's a bog, and 'special' because it's special," she said with a smile and sparkling eyes, placing a hoof on her cheek. Pipp still looked a little disturbed by this. "Come on, I'll give you both the tour," she said happily, skipping ahead. "Let me guess: you regret coming, don't you?" Knuckles asked Pipp with a bored expression "Yeah," Pipp said honestly, gulping and cringing at the sight of the bog. "This is a little disturbing," she added with disgust. "Well, if you compare it with the rest of Bridlewood, this has its sense of beauty," Knuckles pointed out as he walked off to catch up to Izzy. "Fair point," Pipp said, still disgusted by the bog. She jumped a bit and then ran off to catch up with Izzy. Once she caught up with them, she saw an old unicorn mare relaxing in the bog with tomatoes in her eyes. "Look, Izzy, I appreciate the help and showing this to me, but, um, bog mud isn't exactly on brand for Potions by Pipp," Pipp said as she shook off a piece of mud from her hoof and pointed to herself with a small smile. But as she looked back at where Izzy used to be, she saw her friend was gone. "Izzy? Izzy?!" she called out in panic. Suddenly, on one of the bog puddles, it started rumbling as it burst out, which caused Pipp to scream in shock and surprise. But she soon realized that it was Izzy because she babbled and shook the mud off her, also sighing in relaxation. "What are you waiting for? Put some vegetables on your face and get in here!" she said with a smile, placing two carrot pieces on her eyes and laying back in the puddle. "No need to tell me twice," Knuckles said, already in the puddle, without his gloves and shoes since he didn't want them to get muddier. "Told y–– O-Oh... m-my hoofness," Izzy muttered, accidentally letting one of the carrots from her eyes fall and blushing like a tomato again at the sight of Knuckles showing up his chest more than usual. For some reason, and without his gloves, Izzy could see Knuckles' muscles much better now that she was staring at him longer than usual. She gulped nervously, and she also suddenly felt hot. Knuckles didn't seem to notice that, tho. "Say, Pipp. Are you joining us or what?" he asked her. Pipp was still grossed out at the spog. "Ummmm... yeah, I just... I think this mud is, um…" she tried to say with a nervous expression. Izzy shook her head and finally shed her blush as she smiled at Pipp. "Y-Yeah, it's way too bubbly," she said, pointing at the puddle before turning to Pipp again. "Say no more, 'cause I got something I know you two are gonna love," she said as she got out of the mud puddle and approached Pipp, who gave Izzy a disgusted expression. Knuckles opened one eye and got out of the puddle, shacking the mud away and putting back his shoes and gloves. "Well, I wasn't expecting a mud bath today, but I don't complain," he said with a smirk. "It was refreshing," he added. The old unicorn mare in the mud puddle suddenly tossed her tomato pieces in the air before they landed in her mouth as she ate them. Sonic and Tails had to dodge many laser attacks to launch their Spindashes at the badniks finally, but somehow, there were more and more of them. "Is it just me, or are they multiplying?!" Tails questioned in panic. "I swear there's more and more every time!" Sunny cried out. "Girls! We could use your help here!" Sonic said. "For the millionth time, we cannot spin like you! We're not that flexible!" Zipp pointed out with anger. "Ugh! We don't need you to do a Spindash!" Sonic stated with anger now. "Look, just attack them with what you have!" he instructed. "With what we have?" Sunny questioned. "What do you mean?!" she asked again in panic. "Sunny, you're an Alicorn!" Tails pointed out. "You may not be able to do a lot of spells, but you're still really powerful! Put those spells and lessons to good use–– whoa!" he exclaimed as he dodged a laser from a Buzzer, who he ended up destroying with his tails. "And Zipp! Those hooves of yours are way too strong even to be normal! Use that!" Sonic told her with a smirk before slowing down and then making a Homing Attack on a Buzz Bomber, followed by a Stomp Attack on another. Zipp and Sunny looked at each other before nodding with determination, making a loop in the air, and then boosting towards the badniks and the Egg Beater. Tails used his powers to create two giant metallic gloves to destroy some Buzzers with his bare fists, while Sonic Spindashed over some more Buzz Bombers. Then, a massive golden laser passed by him and destroyed a bunch of Buzz Bombers, and he felt surprised at what he saw: Sunny was using her Alicorn magic against the badniks. She was destroying them with massive lasers from her horn, teleporting to dodge some of the surprise attacks, and even using her magic glitter to make the badniks explode. "Look at you, Sunny-bunny!" Sonic cheered with a big smile. "You should have told me you are an amazing robo-butt kicker!" he stated as he kicked a Buzzer away, which exploded once it crashed into the ground. "I could have if even I knew it!" Sunny replied with a serious expression, launching another massive golden laser toward the badniks, making them explode. In the meantime, Tails was exchanging many of his weapons in the middle of the fight: first, he was using a laser arm similar to Mega Man's; then he switched to plasma guns for both of his hands; then he made a giant hammer similar to Amy's; then he switched to giant metallic gloves to strike quite a punch to the badniks. But he was about to be shot in the back by one of them if it wasn't because of Zipp, who saved his butt at the last minute. Literally. And how? Well... Zipp was boosting through the sky, excitedly making loops and zig zags, until she kicked the badniks at fast paste with her hind legs. She was as fast as Sonic, but in the sky, she kicked the hell out of his enemies instead of spin-dashing. Tails, of course, blushed with sparkling eyes at the sight as he created another 'Mega Man' like laser arm and shot at a badnik that tried to take him by surprise. Zipp noticed that and decided to tease him a bit. "Like what you see, Mr. Prower?" she asked in a flirty tone, crossing her front hooves in the air and smirking at Tails. Tails himself gulped and quickly turned away. "Y-Yeah... Y-You're an amazing fighter, Zipp. I-I expected that from an amazing girl like you," he said nervously, with his blush increasing, and he shot at another bank who also tried to shoot him by surprise. Zipp blushed a lot now, and she kicked a Buzzer that tried to surprise her. After they shook their heads and focused on the important matter, they realized that almost every badnik was defeated. "Woo!" Sunny cheered as she landed with a smile, panting a bit. "We did it!" Zipp cheered as well. "We didn't," Sonic said with a frown, glaring at the Egg Beater. "We still have to get rid of the big guy," he stated. "But we managed to destroy the badniks already. A small replica of the Egg Beater shouldn't be a problem!" Tails said confidently. Too bad the Egg Beater raised a punch and smashed the ground, making it rumble a lot. "You had to open your mouth, don't you?!" Sonic scolded Tails, now posing to fight against the machine. Tails smiled sheepishly, posed with a plasma shotgun, and pointed to the robot while Zipp and Sunny also prepared to fight against the machine. Back in Bridlewood, Izzy led them to another part of the bog, which had a mud stream with rocks over it. Izzy cleared her throat while Pipp seemed to cringe at the sight of something. "And now we're going to step into the hooficure stream, full of hoof-nibbling bugs that nibbly-nibble-nibble on your hooves," Izzy said while Pipp looked at the stream. She saw a hoof-nibbling bug on the stream, cutely rolling around, and then a lot more appeared suddenly from the stream. Pipp whimpered at the sight, while Knuckles didn't seem to care. Izzy lifted her hoof, now covered in mud and some bugs. "It makes them soooo smooth," she said with a smile, waving her hoof at Knuckles and Pipp before jumping ahead. "Usually, I wouldn't mind, but I have no hoofs for them to clean, and I don't want to be beaten either, so I pass," Knuckles said with a bored expression, jumping and following Izzy ahead. Pipp gave a nervous laugh and smile. "Just what everypony wants..." she started, jumping on the rocks as well, grunting in effort and hopping on each one, avoiding the bugs and mud. "...to put on their hooves," she said, hopping on another rock. "Bug paste," she finished. She hopped on another one, but it turned out that she had landed on a big turtle shell since the turtle had woken up and glared at Pipp, which caused her to scream and dash off in fright. A little bit later, in a spa room in the bogs, the three of them were laying on their bellies in relaxation beds while a unicorn mare placed some mud on Izzy's back and a unicorn stallion was giving a big massage to Knuckles. Izzy sighed in relaxation at the touch of the mud on her back. "This is life, huh?" she asked Knuckles and Pipp with a relaxed smile. "It helps get the knots out of your back," she added. "Oh, for sure," Pipp’s voice called out as she was hiding underneath the bed and sweating nervously. "I feel like a brand new pony. Ugh," she acted, feeling a little nervous about this. "Oh, yes. You got the spot. Keep it up. It sure feels amazing..." Knuckles said joyfully as the stallion was 'abruptly' massaging his back. Seeing that Knuckles was a bit distracted, Izzy whispered back to Pipp. "Hey, Pipp," she called out nervously. "Hmm?" Pipp replied with no emotion. "Can I... um... Can you help me understand that weird feeling in my belly?" Izzy asked, sweating a bit. Now, Pipp felt a bit intrigued. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Well... um... lately, I've been feeling something weird inside me whenever I'm near Knuckles," Izzy explained. "It always feels weird... like something wants to get out of me," she added. Pipp leaned her head, confused at the question. Hasn't Izzy realized yet that she likes Knuckles despite being obvious to everyone but himself? "Do you feel your cheeks turning red and your body feeling hot and warm whenever Knuckles talks to you in some specific way... or at all?" Pipp asked her. "Um, yeah. Many times, actually," Izzy confessed. Pipp chuckled playfully after hearing that. "Oh, Izzy. That's exactly how I feel whenever I'm near Sonic! And you already know why," she stated with a smirk. Suddenly, Izzy's face went red again, and she felt her heart beating faster. How's it that she never realized that before? "S-So... y-you're saying I... like... Knuckles? Like, I like like him?" she asked, with her blush somehow increasing. "Yup!" Pipp replied with a smile. Izzy looked sideways at Knuckles and gulped nervously. The sight of the echidna smiling in relaxation made her heart flinch in joy, and she unconsciously smiled at the sight. She still needed some time to process this feeling, but she could say one thing: she didn't mind liking Knuckles at all. After that, Pipp and Izzy were in a steam room with towels on them as heated rocks steamed up the place. Knuckles stood outside to guard them up since he's a male, and he knows perfectly nobody will see with good eyes a man in a steam room with two girls, or mares in this case. "And this is the steam room," Izzy said with a smile. Pipp finally smiled, finally liking something about Bridlewood Spog. "Huh. This is nice," she commented. Izzy then pulled down a rope next to her, making a shower faucet appear above them as it dripped out mud. Pipp gasped at this, then screamed as she flew out of the steam. "Pipp?" Knuckles called out, confused. "What's the mat-" he was going to ask, but then more mud came flowing down from the steam room and covered him entirely. Pipp landed after the sudden mudslide and started to pant from the adrenaline, giving an irritated look. "Look, Izzy, you're not listening—–" she tried to say but then screamed as mud splattered her face. Izzy walked out of the steam room with giggles, holding a bowl of mud while having some on her face. "Mud mask?" she asked Pipp with a smile. Knuckles came out of the mud and cleaned some off him, but there was still some around his body. "Okay, enough mud for one day," he said with a bored expression. "Ah, gross!" Pipp cried in disgust as she wiped some of the mud off her. "Gross-gross-gross-gross-gross-gross-gross-gross-GROSS!" she cried out, then growled at Izzy. "I-I-I don't want to sell this slimy green mud in my store, okay?!" she called out to her. "It's more of a burnt seaweed color actually––" Izzy tried to say innocently but got cut off. "I don't care!" Pipp snapped at Izzy, reaching the limit of her patience as Izzy flinched from Pipp's outburst. "It just doesn't fit in the Potions by Pipp product line! END! OF!" she yelled at Izzy’s face, which caused the unicorn to tear up. Knuckles felt pure rage go through his body as he charged his electrical powers on his fists and clapped them strong enough to make the entire earth rumble. Once the rumble was over, both Izzy and Pipp looked at Knuckles, startled, but then Pipp flinched when Knuckles saw her with a cold stare. "I'm making myself clear once, Petals," he warned with a menacing tone. "One of these days, I swear you'll have to try things out on your own before judging them. But of course, miss 'perfection' needed to keep her damn image clean when no one around cares at all. Tch. I'm disappointed in you, Pipp. I thought you were better than this, but perhaps I was wrong," he said angrily. Pipp scoffed and groaned after hearing this. "Well, sorry for disappointing you, but I'm not willing to get all myself muddier for the sake of fashion. Now, if you excuse me, I'll return to Mane Melody," she called out. She also began to tear up and then walked away, leaving a tearing Izzy and even more disappointed Knuckles. "I wonder what Sonic saw on you," Knuckles said suddenly, low but loud enough for Pipp to hear it since the pegasus stopped suddenly. "I bet he'll be disappointed as well once he finds out what you did today," he added, turning and opening his arms to Izzy, who immediately buried her face on Knuckles' chest and sobbed a bit loudly. Pipp, on the other hand, felt panicked after hearing the last thing Knuckles said. Part of her hoped Sonic never found out about her sudden outburst and attitude, even if she knew he would find out anyway. The Egg Beater pulled a massive wrecking ball from its back, similar to the one Sonic confronted when he first met Eggman. The robot started to smash the wrecking ball into the ground, intending to smash the group. "What's the matter, Eggy? Feeling nostalgic today?" Sonic asked with a mocking tone and smirk. However, to his and Tails' surprise, Eggman said nothing. "Eggman?" Sonic called out again, this time with a confused look, and he still got no response as he dodged a laser coming from the palm of one of the robot's hands. "Focus on the fight; mock him later!" Zipp said as she dodged in the air and kicked the robots back, which turned and started to shoot at her. But as the four of them dodged the attacks, Tails started to feel that something was off. "Guys, something's not right..." Tails said with a worried frown. "Eggman never stays quiet this long... or at all! He always mocks Sonic back," he explained with concern. "And unlike his badniks, his attacks aren't that specific, precise, and predictable... most of the time, at least," Sonic added with a frown. "Can you wrap this up quickly so we can find out what's wrong?!" Sunny suggested, desperate, launching another laser attack from her horn towards the Egg Beater, which protected itself with a shield installed on its left arm. "You're right, Sunny," Sonic stated. "Let's stop playing games!" he added with a smirk. "Guys caught his attention! Leave the killer punch to me!" he instructed. The others nodded and started shooting and kicking, in Zipp's case, the Egg Beater to distract the machine from Sonic. Then, Sonic started to run in his place until his feet formed the shape of an eight. He also charged up his electrical powers, with his quills and eyes turning neon blue, and then he launched against the machine. He curled in a ball and passed through the robot's chest, which stopped moving in its place. The wrecking ball fell to the ground with a loud thud, and the machine slowly turned off until it fell completely into the ground. The group gathered around the robot, and after a few seconds of silence, Zipp finally decided to break it. "That... was... AWESOME!" Zipp shouted, twirling with excitement in the air. "I know!" Sunny said with a smile. "It was kinda scary at first, but once we started to use our powers... Eee! It was amazing!" she added. "Gotta say, I feel impressed, girls," Tails confessed with a smile. "Sonic's right: you should have told us you were amazing fighters, even if you didn't know it yourselves," he added. Sunny scratched her head with a sheepish smile, and Zipp blushed at the compliment and smiled nervously. "I agree with Tails," Sonic said with a smirk. "You two were awesome!" he added before turning to the Egg Beater and walking towards its face with a frown. "Alright, Eggman. The game's over. Let's see why you are so quiet today," he added. He used his Spindash to cut the robot's head and then rip it from the machine, launching the head away. However, Tails, Zipp, and Sunny's gasp made him think that something was wrong, and in fact, it was: when he got to their side by a jump and looked inside the robot... he saw that Eggman wasn't there. "What the—–" Sonic said with a shocked look. "It's empty," he said in disbelief. Tails approached the driver's seat and looked at all the combination buttons inside. "Auto Pilot is on," he said. "We were never fighting Eggman himself but some kind of decoy," he pointed out. "Eggman just uploaded instructions and sent the Egg Beater and some badniks to us to make a trap and kill us," he explained. "So, Eggman didn't show up? He was looking from wherever he's hiding with Opaline?!" Zipp asked, a bit mad. "I know Eggman can be a coward sometimes, but... this is nothing like him," Sonic said with a frown. "He never attacks without a proper reason. As Tails said, it seems he just wanted to get rid of us, but... why do I feel this is something else? What I'm not seeing?" he questioned, rubbing his chin with concern. "After Wishday, I had clear this guy lost common sense, but... I feel this attack has another reason, which isn't just to get rid of us..." Sunny said with worry. Unknown to them, Sonic threw away the Egg Beater's head, which was still on, and looked at them, but it suddenly turned off not long after. Hours later, at Mane Melody, ponies were gathered around as they were having a little party for Pipp to make her announcement while Jazz, Rocky, and Hitch passed some snacks for them. Hitch stopped before a pegasus stallion as he presented his snack plate. "Help yourself," he said with a smile as his eyes closed. Before the stallion could get a snack, Sparky gobbled up the entire plate very quickly and burped, which gave the stallion a bored expression and made him walk away. At the same time, Hitch looked at his plate in surprise as Sparky blew out his dragon fire, which startled Hitch and the ponies around him. Pipp was in her products room, still with some mud on her, and she sighed with worry, then looked at herself in the mirror with a nervous smile. "Presenting my brand new Potions by Pipp product... Nothing!" she sarcastically called out, her right eye twitching in panic, then sighed in despair. "Enjoy," she said, tearing up as she got some mud off her. However, she gasped in awe when she looked back at the mirror. "Neigh... way!" she said, smiling since her mane was sparkling. She quickly rubbed the rest of the mud off her and looked at her mane with sparkling eyes, waving her mane around. It was sparkling bright, so she struck a pose to her reflection. Pipp picked up more of the mud and rubbed it together in her hooves, making them sparkle. Pipp gasped with sparkling eyes at this, having the right idea for her new products. "Knockity-knock," Izzy’s voice spoke, and Pipp turned to see Izzy at the doorway of the product room, smiling at her. Pipp smiled back and got close to her. "Izzy! Oh, my glitter, this mud is incredible!" she sang the last word happily, waving a piece of mud around her hoof. "It is?" Izzy asked in surprise while sweating nervously. "I mean, uh, yeah! It is!" she said with a nervous smile. "No, it is!" Pipp excitedly assured Izzy. "It super is! It is IS!" she excitedly said with sparkling eyes, squealing and turning back to the mirror. "I should've given your spog a chance instead of worrying about what it looks like, just like Knuckles said... I'm sorry, Izz," she apologized to Izzy. "Thanks, Pipp," Izzy said with a smile. "And I'm sorry, too. I know mud isn't exactly what you had in mind for Potions by Pipp, which is why…" She pointed her hoof to the doorway, which showed three bunnycorns, one of them holding a bottle of purple something while the other two carried a crate load of them, and Knuckles followed soon enough with a bunch of crate loads as well. "Knux and I made you something I think might work better," Izzy added as she held out a bowl with the bunnycorn, purring the purple stuff. "We even colored the mud to make it less gross," she said with a small smile. Pipp looked at the bowl with sparkling eyes. "It's…" she started, tearing up now and sniffing happily. "...totes perfect!" she said with a little squeak. Then, Knuckles placed the crate loads on the ground and scratched his head, embarrassed. "Hey, um... I'm sorry for how I snapped at you, Pipp," he said with guilt, avoiding eye contact with Pipp. "I got carried away by anger and said things I didn't mean, and... I'm sorry... I should have explained myself better," he added, now looking at her in the eyes. Pipp wiped out the tears and smiled at Knuckles. "It's okay, Knux. I deserved it for being a jerk with Izzy, and... I think you were right to feel disappointed in me," she confessed, still smiling. "I also should be apologizing to you—–" she tried to add, but Knuckles cut her off. "Nah, you just made a mistake. Big deal! No one's perfect, not even me, and again, I shouldn't have spoken with anger controlling me, but... Let's put the past in the past and focus on the now!" he stated with a confident smirk. "Right!" Pipp said with a determined look, grabbing one of the new and improved mud bottles as she twirled it around in her hoof. "This launch is back on!" she declared with a determined expression and a smile. Knuckles quickly decorated the place with images of Pipp's new product, using his super speed to finish the job at a fast paste and pass unnoticed by the crowd. Then, at the stage of Mane Melody, the room darkened suddenly, getting the ponies' attention as Pipp's voice echoed throughout the room. "The age of shampoo is over!" she announced, and the lights turned on while the ponies turned to the stage and saw Pipp on her microphone with her mane sparkling. "The age of Bridle Shine has begun!" she declared as Izzy came up on stage, and Pipp placed the purple mud stuff on Izzy's mane and rubbed on it. "Exfoliating! Rejuvenating! Shine-ifying!" she declared while Izzy tossed her sparkling mane around and posed with a smile to the crowd. "Whoa!" all the ponies in the room said in awe. "'Whoa' indeed..." Knuckles said with a massive blush and sparkling eyes, and Hitch at his side chuckled at his attitude. "It's the magic of Bridlewood's finest spog bottled for your beauty!" Pipp finished with a smile and winked at the crowd. Just then, a unicorn filly appeared with a wide smile and sparkling eyes as she waved her money at Pipp, wanting to try Bridle Shine herself, and then all the other ponies in Mane Melody started to cheer and wave their money out to Pipp as well with sparkling eyes. Izzy and Pipp smiled at the crowd with sparkling eyes, and then they looked at each other and tapped each other's hooves with wide smiles. The crowd approached the two ponies in excitement while Pipp and Izzy passed out the bottles. "Two bottles over here! And for you, sir? One bottle?" Pipp said to the ponies in the line as she grabbed the money. Then she gave them the bottles, the amount, and how much they were paying for them. "Form a line for Bridle Shine! Yes, yes! Come one, come all! Get it!" she announced with a smile as she tossed one of the bottles away to somepony. Or some critter in this case, since McSnips grabbed the bottle and opened it, poured some on himself, and a sparkling yellow hair appeared on his head, so McSnips smiled at this result. "Well, another day that ends well," Hitch said with a smile. "Except for the part where we don't know where the rest are," Knuckles pointed out with a worried expression, and now Hitch felt worried about the rest as well. At Opaline's Castle, Eggman was in his lab with Opaline herself, looking at the recordings of the Egg Beater of Sonic, Tails, Sunny, and Zipp attacking the badniks and the Egg Beater itself. "Mission report: the badniks have been destroyed, the Egg Beater has been defeated. Sonic and company's data has been recorded and uploaded to your system, doctor," Sage reported. "Well done, Sage. Rest for the time being," Eggman instructed, then turned to Opaline. "Now you understand? This is why we must be careful with Sunny and her little friends, even if they seem harmless!" he pointed out with anger. Opaline sighed in defeat and nodded. "I hate to admit it, but you were right, Ivo. Sunny is a dangerous pony when she's not happy. All of that power wasted in friendship... and yet, she still manages to surprise me just as much as she disappoints me," she said with a frown. "That's why we must be careful with her," Eggman repeated. "In the meantime, I'll be making what I like to call 'Experimental Attacks' on these pests for the next few weeks," he stated with a sinister smile. "Experimental? Explain yourself better," Opaline said with a bored expression. "My next attacks will be like the one I did today: Attack them because I can, then study these ponies' moves and attacks, and then use that info against them," Eggman explained. "However, I need to make sure they won't suspect a thing about this, so next time, I'll be attacking them in person..." he stated with an evil grin. Opaline wasn't so sure about this plan, but it seemed to work so far, so at least for now, she'll let Eggman have all the fun attacking the Mane 5 and Team Sonic. THE END...? Author's Note This is, by far, the longest episode I ever wrote for Tell Your Tale. I think all of the upcoming ones will be similar, since now I'm adding Eggman's fights against Sonic and company. He's not attacking on all the episodes, of course, but he won't stay with his arms crossed all the time either. He'll eventually take a break before attacking the Mane 5 and Team Sonic more. Anyways, I'm really tired after writing this, so today I'm taking a break. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! See ya on Sunday with Issue 8 of the comics! BYE! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
44. Secret Ad-mare-erIzzy slept peacefully on her bed in the Crystal Brighthouse. She was snoring loudly and had a sleeping mask with wacky eyes over her. At her side, there was a bunnycorn clock alarm and a calendar with a heart circled on one of the dates. Suddenly, the alarm went off, spreading paper hearts and waking Izzy. Izzy gasped and placed her hooves on her cheeks with excitement. "It's Hearts and Hooves Day!" she exclaimed excitedly, and then she ran off from her bed. But then she crashed against one of her Bridlewood decorations and fell to the ground since she still had her sleeping mask on. Then she stood up with her mask off and smiled. "I am okay!" she shouted in excitement, launching a bunch of paper hearts into the air. Zipp was in the kitchen, right in front of a plant. She had a dropper in her hoof, and she was about to place just a drop on the plant, not noticing that Izzy was right behind her, snicking around until she stopped right beside her with a party horn, blowing it on Zipp's ear and startling the pegasus, who jumped after Izzy's sudden appearance. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Zipperdoodle!" Izzy said cheerfully with sparkling eyes before appearing at her side and wrapping a hoof around her neck while holding a camera with the other. "Will you be my Valentine?" she asked, taking a picture with Zipp, who seemed confused at Izzy's attitude. However, soon enough, Zipp realized what she was talking about and started to sweat nervously. "Oh, great, yeah... Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, buddy..." she told Izzy with a sheepish smile. "So, whatcha growing?" Izzy asked as she approached Zipp's plant, and then she gasped. "Is it a friendship plant?" she asked, then gasped again. "With friendship leaves?! Or flowers that open up and have tiny little boxes of chocolates in them?!" she asked excitedly. "It's a Venus fly trap," Zipp replied with a smirk before approaching Izzy slowly, who began to sweat nervously after hearing about the plant. "It eats bugs," Zipp said. Soon enough, the two mares heard a gasp, and they turned to see a butterfly crying and flying away in panic after hearing what Zipp said. The two mares blinked, confused, and Izzy put down the pot with the plant since she grabbed it for some reason. "That's not heartsy or hoovesy," she said with concern. "Eh. I'm not that into Hearts and Hooves Day," Zipp confessed with a smirk. "All the lovey-dovey decorations and hearts everywhere?" she added, trembling slightly at the idea. However, Izzy suddenly appeared dressed up, with many hearts around her and a basket full of pink letters, which widened Zipp's eyes. Izzy herself laughed sheepishly after hearing that Zipp doesn't like the holiday. "That is a really good joke, Zipp. You are so funny! Because obviously, everypony loves Hearts and Hooves Day, right?!" she asked in a crazy maniac tone, with her right eye twitching at the idea of someone not liking Hearts and Hooves Day. "I don't," Tail's voice came out suddenly. The mares turned to find Tails in the living room, with lots of metallic stuff in the ground, the toolbox Hitch gave him for Wishday, and blueprints spread all around the floor. "What was that?" Izzy asked, with her eye twitching again. "I don't like Valentine's Day, or as you guys call it here, Hearts and Hooves Day," Tails explained with a frown as he put on some big brown gloves over his regular ones. "What's the point? You either end up with your heart broken or your wallet empty and for what? Your gifts and flowers ending up in the trash after everything's over? Yeah, no thanks. I'm happy as a single man with his gadgets and inventions," he explained, putting on a welding mask and grabbing a welding machine before turning it on and using it over one of the metals on the floor. "Out of curiosity, why aren't you in your workshop?" Zipp asked. "The town is decorated with a bunch of Valentine's stuff, and I refuse to approach there if that means I have to see a bunch of people kissing each other. Yuck!" Tails replied. "Fair enough," Zipp said with a smirk. "Oh yeah? Well, you guys will see that everypony loves this day! You'll all see!" Izzy shouted to McSnips, who began to sweat nervously and moved away. "See you later, guys!" she waved them cheerfully, leaving Zipp confused. Once Izzy left, Tails raised the welding mask and looked at Zipp. "I lied. Out there, nobody's happy either, and that's what got me in a bad mood today. I don't mean anything I said before about this holiday," he said with a bored expression before putting the mask back on and resuming his job. Zipp felt surprised after hearing that, but she smiled softly at him. "Me neither," she said before resuming her job with the plant. Izzy was walking towards Maretime Bay with a smile. "Time to see how Maretime Bay celebrates the greatest holiday of the year!" Izzy said with a cheerful tone, and then she gasped in excitement. "I can picture it now!" she said with sparkling eyes, placing her hooves on her cheeks as she began to imagine how Maretime Bay could celebrate Hearts and Hooves Day. In her mind, probably everypony was spreading and showing love towards each other. It didn't matter to her if it was a friendly or romantic interaction: the idea of spreading love around is what she loved about Hearts and Hooves Day. She could picture ponies running around, caring for each other, and spreading love. "Yeah..." Izzy said with a big smile after she stopped daydreaming. "It's gonna be just like that," she tried to assure herself. However, once she looked at the town, she realized how wrong she was: there was only a big letter with hearts, and that's it. The ponies were not in a happy mood either: An earth pony mare was talking with somepony on her phone, and she didn't feel happy at all at what she was hearing; two couples were fighting in the middle of the street, a pegasus stallion flew away, and his flight cause the letter to fall over an earth pony stallion, who removed the letter with an angry expression before throwing it to the ground and jump over it with anger. Speaking of anger, Knuckles exited a store with a frown and his electrical powers up. He wasn't happy, but Izzy still smiled when she saw him. "That stupid old man will pay for my stack of grapes! I can't believe he ate them all... WHEN HE SAW MY NAME RIGHT THERE!!!" Knuckles shouted in anger. "Hey, Knuckie~!" Izzy greeted with a smile. "Fuck damn it!" Knuckles exclaimed in shock, but he relaxed a bit once he saw it was Izzy. "For Chaos' sake, Izzy... don't... don't do that." "One, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," Izzy apologized with a sheepish smile. "And two, I should scold you for swearing on a story for everypony, but since Sonic got away with it a while ago, it's fair for you to swear without interruptions," she pointed out. After she said that last thing, Knuckles's anger seemed to leave his body. He chuckled a bit and smiled. "Yeah... It's fair for me to do it for once," he said in a better mood. "Can I ask why everyone is so... grumpy on this very day?" Izzy asked, confused. "I was grumpy because an old man ate all my grapes... but I can go and buy more at any time now that I think about it, so it doesn't matter anymore," Knuckles explained his situation. "As for everyone else... I honestly don't know. They've been like this since this morning," he pointed out. "By the way, cute outfit! Suits you up, Izz!" he complimented, with a wink, before walking off towards the station. He was now in a good mood after simply talking with Izzy. Speaking of her, she began to sweat nervously and blush after Knuckles complimented her outfit. "W-Well..." Izzy said, sweating and looking around as she chuckled, but then she remembered the current mood of everypony in Maretime Bay and frowned with worry. "Minor setback... No problem!" she assured to herself. Dahlia was watering her plants at Dahlia's flower stand, but she got startled when Izzy popped up in front of her beside the stand. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Dahlia!" Izzy said, placing flowers and heart-shaped cards in her watering can, which confused Dahlia. At another stand, Posey Bloom was sniffing some flowers, but then Izzy lifted a card right in front of them, which caused them to hit Posey in the face from sniffing hard, irritating the earth pony. "Oh, happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Posey!" Izzy said cheerfully as she trotted off while Posey growled at Izzy's actions. Then, Izzy stopped in front of a tree with white flowers on it, with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Wow, this is a great tree," Izzy said happily, placing a card on one of its branches. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Mr. Tree!" she happily cheered, stomping her hooves on the floor. But then, she saw Posey angrily placing the card into a recycling bin and walking off happily with a smile. Izzy jumped in front of the bin with a frown. "Hey! That's not the spirit..." she said to Posey, who felt annoyed at Izzy before walking off entirely, leaving Izzy a little saddened. Suddenly, Fifi flew by with her fruit cart, and Izzy started to trot after her, panting and sweating as she ran as fast as she could to keep up with Fifi. "I... am... right... in... thinking Hearts and Hooves Day is everypony's absolute favorite day of the year, right?!" Izzy quickly asked Fifi with a nervous smile. Fifi felt uneasy about Izzy's question and sweated a bit. "Uhhhh, yes?" she questioned uncertainty, but then she screamed when she saw something in front of her and Izzy. So she landed on the ground and skidded her hooves to stop herself while Izzy stopped next to her. But Fifi's fruit cart opened up and tossed some fruits out. "Ow!" Hitch's voice cried out while Fifi and Izzy saw Hitch in front of them, with a pineapple that hit him in the face as it fell off, leaving Hitch covered in pineapple juice, and his right eye twitched a bit in irritation since this was like the 6th time he got fruit over his face. Knuckles was at his side, trying so hard not to laugh at him, but one glare from Hitch made him roll his eyes and walk back to the station. "I know, I know. Back to work," Knuckles complained, but as Hitch nodded and walked away, Knuckles couldn't help but laugh lowly to himself. Fifi and Izzy stared at Hitch for a second before Fifi spoke again. "Uh... no," she corrected herself with a bored expression before flying off as some dust formed from her takeoff. Izzy gasped in shock at Fifi's answer. "Is that so...?" she asked with a changeling look. Well, we'll see about that!" she stated with a determined smile. Izzy: Just show a little heart It's all about your fellow pony Izzy started to toss some cards and heart confetti in the air with a wide smile and sparkling eyes. But in the process, she got the cards on a Pegasus stallion from head to chest, on a soup from an Earth Pony mare with glasses, and a Unicorn mare's face while she sipped her smoothie, which frustrated them all. We all need a little love Don't have a heart of stone-y If you're feelin' what I'm feelin' Then get up and show me 'Cause today's not the day For bein' lonely Then, Izzy appeared in front of Posey again with a smile. She gave her some roses, which Posey accepted, and she even smiled back at Izzy. The unicorn walked backward, but when Izzy twirled around with a little laugh, tossed some heart confetti in the air, and trotted off, Posey saw that a piece of the flower bushes had been ripped off, and as she looked at the flowers that Izzy gave her. Then, at the bushes again, she realized the flowers on the bush matched the ones on her hooves. That made Posey mad, making her face turn red in rage at Izzy's actions. "Aaaahhh!!" she screamed in rage as she looked around for any signs of Izzy, who trotted happily behind her as she went out of sight of the raging earth pony. In Maretime Bay, an Earth Pony mare was sipping a smoothie while a Pegasus Stallion looked at his phone. They were minding their own business, but then Izzy appeared and jumped into the air with a front flip before landing on the bench with a smile and sparkling eyes, breaking the bench in two. Oh, oh, I'm spreadin' the love Like, oh, oh, it's all I've dreamt of Oh, no, don't hesitate The two ponies were surprised by Izzy’s appearance as she tossed some more confetti in the air and trotted off, leaving the two ponies to slide down to each other from the broken bench as the Pegasus' phone clicked a picture of the two faces together. Izzy repeated the same process on some other benches while tossing some confetti into the air two times, with one being with a young Unicorn mare and an elder Unicorn mare sliding down and a Pegasus filly and an Earth Pony colt sliding down in surprise from Izzy. At the same time, Hitch appeared in front of them and blew his whistle at Izzy for breaking the benches, while Knuckles also arrived and wrote down all the laws Izzy broke. "I may like her, but the law is the law," Knuckles said with a bored expression. Once he put his notebook aside, he noticed Hitch looking at him with wide eyes. "D-Did you just... you admitted you like Izzy?!" Hitch asked in shock. "I may not chuckle like Sonic, but you know what I do? Deny that I like someone," Knuckles replied with a slight frown. You better follow your heart, it ain't gonna wait Izzy got to a dumpster where a raccoonicorn and bunnycorn were going through the trash; when Izzy used her magic to levitate them out of the dumpster and place them on a table with a chocolate cake piece, they got irritated. The raccoonicorn tossed the cake away, hitting Izzy’s face while she was holding a camera. The cake slid off her face, and Izzy gave a bored expression. Love, I'm gonna show it Love, I'm gonna show it Two stallions were giving each other a hoof bump, but then Izzy placed an arch of hearts over them and smiled at them, tossing some confetti in the air; the stallions got startled and rushed off, leaving Izzy confused. The purple one rolled across the floor and stopped, now tied in balloons. Another stallion, a unicorn, was drinking some smoothie, but then Izzy tossed some heart confetti in front of him, which startled him as he spit the smoothie in Izzy’s face. She felt surprised by that while the unicorn glared at her. Izzy then approached a Unicorn mare, placed a card into her face, and smiled with sparkling eyes. However, the mare took the card off her face and gave an irritated look, saddened Izzy. Ain't no doubt about it Love's in the air, let's shout it Somewhere in a corner, Misty and Opaline were talking to each other. Since Eggman, for the very first time in his life, decided to leave Sonic alone with his plans, my money's on Opaline and Misty coming up with a plan together to kidnap Sparky and take his dragon fire... because they have no better ideas on how to make Opaline more powerful. Izzy walked past them in a sad mood and was too sad to notice Opaline was RIGHT THERE. She tossed a flower necklace that landed on Misty's neck, and Opaline gave a bewildered expression. Misty looked at the flower necklace around her neck and smiled widely at it, while Opaline rolled her eyes and looked at Misty, who looked back at Opaline uncertainly. Opaline raised an eyebrow at Misty, and the unicorn chuckled sheepishly. Sometime later, Izzy walked by sadly until she stopped in front of a trash can. Izzy sighed sadly after a long day of deceptions. "Nopony cares about Hearts and Hooves Day. What's the point?" she asked herself sadly, tearing up and levitating all the cards and hearts from her saddlebag to toss them in the trash. Next to Izzy, Zipp and Tails were at Dahlia’s stand, picking up some flower food for Zipp’s flytrap. "Thanks for tagging out with this, buddy," Zipp thanked the young fox with a smile. "No biggie, Zipp," Tails replied with a smile. "I kind of needed to get some air after three hours of building up that wing," he pointed out. "What are you building again?" Zipp asked with a smirk. "Oh, I'm sorry, Princess Storm, but I'm afraid it'll remain a surprise, even for you," Tails replied with a smirk and a mocking tone, but instead of bothering Zipp, her wings opened up, her face got completely red, and her heart skipped a beat at the nickname. Suddenly, they heard rummaging and turned to see a raccoonicorn grumbling as it popped out from the trash filled with hearts and cards, angrily grumbling at Izzy as she sadly walked away. Zipp and Tails walked to the trash and inspected it. "Hmmm…" Zipp said in thought. Then, they saw Izzy beside the tree she had placed the card on earlier, giving it a small smile. The card fell off the tree branch, and Izzy watched it land on the fly, which made her sigh sadly as a heart antenna on her head fell off and landed on the card, making Izzy tear up again. Zipp and Tails walked next to Izzy in concern. "Uh, you okay there, Izz?" Zipp asked. "I tried so hard to bring a little Hearts and Hooves magic to Maretime Bay, but... nopony even wants to celebrate," Izzy answered sadly, as some tears dropped from her eyes. "Oh, come on. It couldn't be that bad," Tails assured Izzy. "I would say it was worse," Knuckles said as he approached the trio and pointed in a certain direction. "This is awful!" a business unicorn stallion cried out as he tried to shake the balloon attached to his right hoof off but couldn't as he walked off with a whimper. Then, a blue raccoonicorn came in with a bag, while a green raccoonicorn popped out from the trash and tossed some cards out in the air. The blue one caught one in the bag as they made squeaking sounds. Zipp raised an eyebrow, Tails cringed, and Knuckles gave a bored expression while Izzy started to tear up again. "I don't like to say this kind of stuff out loud, but I'm thinking 'unity among ponykind' isn't still a thing at all," Knuckles commented. "Otherwise, stuff like this wouldn't happen," he pointed out. Tails smacked Knuckles' head and frowned at him while Zipp placed a hoof on Izzy with a comforting smile. "Look, Izzy. Love and friendship aren't things you can magic up with cards and heart-shaped balloons. It takes time," she said. "Zipp's right, Izz," Knuckles agreed. "And those things can't be shown just by nice words, gifts, or cards. Your actions also have to speak for you," he said with a smile. "You know, like a seed!" Tails were added while Zipp decided to show her nearly sprouted flytrap, which grew quickly as its stem was up straight. "You care for it and nurture it, and eventually…" Zipp said, but before she could finish, her flytrap sprouted and formed its mouth, starting to chomp as it closed its mouth. The four friends looked at it in amazement while Zipp smiled at her fully grown plant. "Yes! See? It grows into something amazing!" she said happily. A Pegasnail was humming happily to itself, but then the flytrap chomped it with its mouth, and the Pegasnail ruffled around in it before the flytrap spat it out, making the Pegasnail yelp a little dizzy before recomposing itself and fly away happily as it continues to hum to itself, like if nothing ever happened. "Let's just try to keep it away from Hitch's bug friends, you know," Tails muttered to Zipp. "Agreed," Zipp replied with a smirk. "Huh?" Izzy asked in confusion. "So you guys are saying friendships can grow like plants?" she smiled. "Exactly," Tails answered with a smile. "And love can blossom like a flower?" Izzy asked them again with sparkling eyes and a smile. "Right!" Zipp added as she placed her flytrap down. "And we can all have two heads like Venus flytraps?!" Izzy suddenly asked excitedly again. "Yup! Wait, what?" Knuckles asked, confused at Izzy's sudden question. Tails looked down and widened his eyes at what he saw. "Zipp... perhaps you wanna see this one..." he said, pointing at the flytrap. Zipp followed and saw that her flytrap had somehow grown an extra head, as both mouths were chomping. "Huh! What do you know?" Zipp said, surprised but with a smile as well. "The whole point is... Love isn't something you demonstrate with stuff but with actions." Knuckles finished, taking out something that made Izzy gasp in awe and excitement. "I-Is that what I think it is?!" Izzy asked in disbelief. Knuckles was holding a bracelet Izzy used to wear on her tail, but it broke even before she met Sonic, so she put it away and never bothered to repair it because she felt sad that it broke in the first place. Now... Knuckles was holding that very same bracelet on his hand, repaired as if it never broke in the first place. "You mentioned that you didn't want to repair it because the idea of it being broken made you sad. So... with some help from Tails, I'm not denying it... I managed to sew it and repair it," Knuckles explained. But I'll understand if you don't w—–" he tried to add, but Izzy wrapped him in a tight hug that cut him off. He blushed a bit at first and felt awkward by the action, but he smiled and hugged her back. Izzy smiled happily, sparkling her eyes as she broke the hug. "Knux... thank you... Y-You don't know how much this means to me..." she said happily before putting the bracelet back on her tail, and then she hugged Tails and Zipp as well. "And thanks to you two as well, Zipp and Tails. You're both real friends. The three of you," she said with a smile, now looking at Knuckles as well. "Hoof to heart for Hearts and Hooves?" she asked while raising her hoof at them with a smile. Zipp, Tails, and Knuckles smiled at Izzy as they tapped hooves/fists together. "Hoof to heart!" they all said together. Zipp then picked up her flytrap, which was still chomping its mouth as the sun was setting. "Come on. We better get this thing in some soil before it eats one of us," she joked, saying the last part in a playful, spooky tone while the four of them dodged a chomp from the flytrap bites. "You guys go ahead," Tails said with a smile. "Now that the coast is clear, I need to pick some materials," he stated before heading towards his workshop. "And I need to help Hitch with Sparky on the station," Knuckles added. "See you later!" he smirked before walking towards the station. As Tails and Knuckles walked away and Zipp began to walk towards the Crystal Brighthouse, Izzy got at her side with a smile. "Soooo, have you got your eye on anypony?" she asked sparklingly, while Zipp felt uncomfortable by Izzy's question. "Any secret crushes? I know it's Tails, by the way," she suddenly said excitedly while waving her hooves and placing them on her cheeks with sparkling eyes and a smile. Zipp blushed after hearing that, but she kept focused on the road. "Ooh, you would make such a cute couple! You two together will be cute, and we'd all love it!" she happily said. Zipp groaned, feeling she would never hear the end of this. After Pipp squealed and blew at her with thousands of questions over why she never told her anything about her crush on Tails, she was getting sick of the same questions coming out from Izzy. It wasn't like she thought about Tails all night without sleeping... right? Sonic and Pipp were walking across a forest. Since it was Hearts and Hooves Day, or as Sonic knows it, Valentine's Day, they decided to have... can we call it a date? A friendly outing? A hike? The point is that Sonic decided to take Pipp out to show her something. "I'm still surprised you asked me to hang along," Pipp confessed with a smile. "It's actually... quite adorable that you wanted this to be just for us," she blushed. Sonic blushed at the compliment and smiled nervously as he scratched his neck. "I-It's no big deal, Little Pipp," he said. Usually, I don't enjoy this holiday because of certain experiences I'd rather not talk about, but... let's say I have the feeling you're going to like what I have in store for you," he said with a smirk. "I promise you this is worth your time," he assured. "Oh, I bet it is~" Pipp replied in a flirty tone, and Sonic felt his face blushing again. After walking for a few minutes, Sonic stopped Pipp and told her to cover her eyes. Pipp raised an eyebrow, but she gladly did so and followed Sonic, who decided to take her hoof and guide her over the next few steps. "Alright, Little Pipp," Sonic said with a smirk. "You can open them now," he assured him. Pipp stopped and opened her eyes, and she couldn't help but gasp in awe with sparkling eyes at what she had in front of her: the sight of all of Equestria as the sun set on the horizon. Maretime Bay, the forest covering Bridlewood, and even Zephyr Heights. She could see the entirety of her home, and it was simply... beautiful. "S-Sonic... t-this is..." Pipp tried to say but was so amazed that she couldn't form the proper words. "One of the reasons I love to run around is that I always find amazing views like this one," Sonic said as he sat on the floor, and Pipp joined him soon enough. "Perhaps it is not the most beautiful place on the planet, but... I don't know. I guess I saw this, and it reminded me of you," he confessed with a smile, still looking at the view. Pipp felt her cheeks turning red after hearing that. "R-Really?" she asked. Sonic nodded, and then he looked back at her. "I don't enjoy this holiday back home because people believe it is all about wasting money to show love instead of showing it with their actions," he confessed. "At first, I thought bringing you here could be enough, but... Pipp, no words, actions, gifts, anything in general, could ever be enough to tell you how important you are to me," he added with a smile and a slight blush. Pipp felt her heart pumping faster, and she tried to say something, but no words could come out of her mouth. So, she decided not to use words. Instead, she leaned and kissed his cheek, which made Sonic's heart skip a beat, and he unconsciously wrapped an arm around Pipp. Pipp herself rested her head on Sonic's chest and smiled. "Sonic... I cannot describe in any known way to tell you how much you mean to me, either," she also confessed. "I... I-I guess the only possible word I could use is... I... I... I love you..." she muttered lowly. Sonic, however, heard her perfectly, and he couldn't help but smile brightly. He wrapped his other hand around the pegasus and kept her close to his chest. "I... I-I... I-I love you too, Pipp," he muttered. Pipp did hear him, and she smiled, nuzzling her head over his chest with joy. It seemed like they had no more words to share, so they just stood there, enjoying each other's company while the sun hid in the horizon to welcome the night. THE END Author's Note TELL YOUR TALE IS BACK, YA'LL!!! Originally, Eggman was going to attack Sonic and Pipp, but the boss I wanted to use for that battle fits better with the context of the next episode. I mean, Knuckles is gonna have a birthday party, and what better than a big crusher for it? Also, I'm not wasting a TYT episode on Sonic and Pipp becoming a thing. I know you guys might think they already are together, but no, they're not. They're just that oblivious within each other's feelings. P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
45. Ponykind Parade-emoniumThe Mane 5, minus Hitch, Sonic, and Tails, were at Mane Melody. The girls wore carnival costumes since today was the Ponykind Parade. After dressing up entirely, the girls posed on a stage. Pipp and Zipp were the only ones smirking and 'correctly posing,' although Sunny and Izzy also stood well. Meanwhile, Team Sonic was sitting on a couch, with Sonic's face completely red and his jaw dropped, while Tails was hiding his face on a pillow, and Knuckles put his hands together while covering his mouth and having both a blush and sparkling eyes. "Not to... uh... uni my own corn, but... these costumes are totally hooftacular!" Izzy said with sparkling eyes while getting off stage and twirling around. However, Sunny felt uncomfortable with her costume since her dress seemed too long for her hind legs. "They'll be great in the Ponykind Parade––" she tried to say, but then she almost tripped as she tried to free her right hind leg from her dress. "They are, uh... A little big–– WHOA!" she exclaimed before falling to the floor by mistake. "Yup~ " Pipp said with a smile as she flew forward and stood at Izzy's side. "So everypony can see us and know how equally #PonyPerfect we all are~!" she stated with sparkling eyes, bringing out her phone and posing for a picture with Izzy. "And... equally itchy––" Zipp said with a cringed expression, also scratching her chin desperately, but then Pipp appeared at her side with a raised eyebrow and a twitchy eye, also recording her with her phone. "––ing to dance that parade!" Zipp corrected herself with a nervous smile while sweating a lot. Pipp moved away and was about to say something, but then she noticed Team Sonic's weird attitude and how incredibly red It was. "Uh... guys? Are you okay?" she asked them, confused. Sonic was the first to snap back to reality as he shook his head and cleared his throat, although he still blushed a lot. "Y-Yeah. Sorry, girls. It just... a little bit too hot in here..." he said, trying to keep his cool... and failing terribly in the process. "I had so many dirty thoughts, and now I'm ashamed of myself..." Tails confessed as he hugged a pillow and hid his face there. "You girls look great; just ignore us," Knuckles said, relaxed before pulling out a bucket of water and pouring it over himself. "Our hormones are working as they should, I guess." Pipp raised an eyebrow at that, and while she suspected what Knuckles meant, she decided not to question them or stare at that area of Sonic's body. "If Hitch can rehearse around all his peacekeeping and sheriff thing, we all can dance," she said with a smile. "Right, Hitch…" she tried to ask, but then she gasped when she realized that Hitch wasn't there with them. "Where is Hitch?!" she asked in shock. "Helping ponies setting up for the parade in town with his critters helping," Knuckles explained, grabbing a towel and drying off his fur. "You expect way too much of him if you think he's just gonna drop his job, even to have some fun," he pointed out with a frown. "Speaking of duty, are you here to skip that, or Hitch gave you a free day for coming into existence today?" Sonic asked him with a raised eyebrow. "The latter," Knuckles replied. "I'm sorry, 'you came to existence today'?" Sunny asked, confused. "What does that mean?" "Is his fancy way to say it's his birthday?" Tails replied with a bored expression. "I'm sorry–– KNUCKLES B-DAY IS TODAY?!" Izzy shouted in shock. "Why didn't you tell me, Knuckle?!" she asked him with a huge smile and sparkling eyes. "Don't get excited, please," Knuckles requested. Today is just Thursday, February 2nd, alright? It's not the French Revolution or any big deal," he pointed out. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Pipp said as she shook both her head and her front hooves. "What do you mean is not a big deal?! Your birthday is a big deal!" she pointed out. "Yeah, not for me," Knuckles replied with a bored expression. "It's not that I don't like to celebrate it; I simply don't think making a whole drama over turning a year older and being closer to kick the bucket is necessary," he confessed. "That, and he didn't want to bother when he found out you were doing this Parade today," Sonic added mockingly. Knuckles glared at him, sighed in defeat, and looked at the girls again. "Yeah, he's right," he confessed. "Knuckles, you wouldn't bothered! We could have just moved the parade to another day!" Sunny confessed with a smile. "Still, I stand to my posture: I don't want it to be a big deal, alright?" Knuckles said. "If you want, we can do something on the Brighthouse when the Parade is over, but right now, you should be concerned about somepony missing," he pointed out with a frown. "Yeah, Hitch is surely getting his time... Better check he's not doing anything stupid!" Sonic said with a smirk before boosting away. "Ah, great... now I'll have to make sure he's the one not doing something stupid..." Tails complained as he stood up from the couch and slowly walked out of Mane Melody. Somewhere in Maretime Bay, in the middle of the street, Hitch is helping ponies set up the parade with the help of his trusted critters, while Sparky is right next to him. "McSnips-a-lot, snip that hedge a lot!" Hitch ordered McSnips with a smile while pointing at the hedge before him. Sparky babbled assertively, trying to repeat what Hitch said as McSnips snipped the hedge quickly so that he made it look like Hitch’s head. "Raccoonicorns, that street should be so clean, I could eat my dinner on it!" Hitch stated that the raccoonicorns used brooms or tails to sweep the street’s floors. Sparky gave another assertively babbling, acting like he was the sheriff. Then, some signs on both sides of the building started to lose up as one end started falling off, which made both Hitch and Sparky gasp in shock. "Keeeenneeeeeth!" both Hitch and Sparky called out to Kenneth to catch that end of the signs. He came whooshing down with a determined look and caught the line just in time. Then he tied it back on with a twirl before doing a front flip and landing on the ground while saluting Sparky and Hitch. "Close one. Attaboy, Kenny," Hitch said in relief with a salute, while Sparky looked at Kenneth in awe before saluting as well, and then Kenneth flew off. "It's going to be a good day. Sparky!" Hitch said with a smile as Sparky smiled back. What they didn’t know, however, was that Misty was spying on them on the roof of a building when his amulet suddenly opened up, and Opaline appeared. "Did you follow all my instructions, Misty?" Opaline asked Misty with a look. "Sure did!" Misty replied with a smile and sparkling eyes. "One batch of blazeberry buns fresh from the oven!" she said while pointing to the three baked blazeberry buns in an alley across the street. “Ah, the blazeberry..." Opaline said with a smile while Misty listened, also smiling. "One sniff brings out a critter's inner beast, which means chaos for them. And plenty of dragon fire for me!" she stated with an evil grin. "And a cutie mark for me!" Misty said in an attempt (a pretty good one) to make an evil tone as well. Sparky was walking around when he saw the blazeberry buns, making him smile with sparkling eyes. He ran towards the buns, which excitedly made Misty and Opaline smile. Sparky picked one up and took a sniff at it. Still, then he cringed as the smell made him sneeze out his dragon fire, hitting the buns and causing an explosion; it made Sparky fly around, leaving a trail of dust from his dragon fire as he flew across the street while the ponies and critters around the area watched him go. Hitch walked by while looking behind him with a smile. "At least the snacks are on––" he started but gasped in surprise when he saw Sparky coming at him fast, then he groaned when Sparky hit him in the chest. Luckily, Hitch caught Sparky in his hooves and picked him up, with Sparky holding a donut, which was originally the blazeberry bun he was holding. "Whoa, Sparky. Hope you're not coming down with something. We've got a parade to march in," se said to Sparky as the baby dragon rubbed his nose from the sudden sneeze. Back on the roof, Opaline growled while Misty looked at her, scared. Hitch then remembered something and panicked. "Ah! And we are so late!" he called out, remembering the parade rehearsal he had to do with the girls. He placed Sparky on his back while the baby dragon chewed on his donut happily and with a smile. "Critters, let's roll out!" he called out, but then he and Sparky turned and saw the critters glaring at Hitch and Sparky, with their eyes looking like they were on fire, as the ponies looked around nervously. Kenneth was normal, but once he sniffed the dust in the air Sparky made, his eyes went on fire, and his left eye twitched a bit. Hitch smiled and sweated nervously while Sparky felt nervous about this. "Uhhh... critters?" Hitch asked them nervously, not liking where this was going. One of the raccoonicorns sniffed the air before it started to growl, and McSnips-a-lot came in front of him, clamping his claws angrily under the same effects. Sparky started to whimper, scared at the critters for being like this. Hitch then looked at Sparky, knowing that they were in trouble. He smiled nervously and backed away a bit. "Well, Sparky, we should probably…" he didn’t get to finish as the critters hissed at them angrily, and in a second, Hitch started trotting away. "... ruuuuuun! he screamed as he and Sparky screamed in panic while the angry critters chased them. Back on the roof, Misty and Opaline saw the whole thing. Misty looked nervous, while Opaline laughed at this outcome, which made Misty look at her. "It may not be the dragon fire I asked for, but at least it's entertaining," she said with an amusing smile. However, she soon gasped when she saw Sonic and Tails arriving at the place, with all the decorations now ruined. "What the hell happened here?" Tails asked, confused and concerned. "I don't know, but either Hitch lied to Knuckles, or he'd be doing a terrible job because this place is a mess..." Sonic pointed out... but then, he sensed something in the air, some smell that felt weird and different. "What?" Tails asked once he noticed that. "Don't you sense a weird smell in the air, too?" Sonic asked him with a worried frown. Tails raised an eyebrow, sniffed the air, and also felt confused. "Hey... you're right! Something's... off..." he pointed out in concern. As the two kept smelling the air, they soon opened their eyes... now turned on fire as they slowly frowned in anger. Opaline and Misty saw this as well, and while Misty gulped in fright, Opaline grinned sinisterly. "This is going to be interesting, " she said. Back in Mane Melody, Pipp was walking back and forth nervously since Hitch wasn't here yet, and both Sonic and Tails didn't respond to Knuckles' calls. "This dance is totally ruined without Hitch!" Pipp cried out in panic. "And Sonic and Tails don't respond, either," Knuckles said with concern, pressing the call button on his watch but still getting no response. "And for the last time, Izzy: I'm not wearing that!" he scolded her while Izzy tried to approach him sneakily with Hitch's costume for the parade. "Aww..." Izzy said in disappointment. "It's not like Hitch to be late," Sunny pointed out in concern. "No... It isn't…" Zipp said while placing a hoof on her chin. Then she walked to the still slightly panicked Pipp and gave her a comforting smile, also placing a hoof on her shoulder. "Don't worry. I won't let anything ruin your parade, sis," she stated with a wink before trotting off. Pipp gasped in surprise at what Zipp had just said as she turned to her sister, who was at the door. "But... I thought you didn't care about this stuff!" she said. "If you care, I care!" Zipp said with a determined smile before finally leaving Mane Melody Pipp gave a heartfelt smile with sparkling eyes at what her sister said. Knuckles, however, felt frustrated as he tried to call Tails and Sonic again. "Hello! You're calling to Tails' number! If you get this message, I'm not currently available. Sorry!" Tail's voice replied in a recorded message. Knuckles growled before trying again, this time with Sonic. "I have no idea of how this works... Uh... I'm busy right now, alright? Have to run!" Sonic's voice replied in a recorded message. "Generic answers..." Knuckles muttered before scoffing and walking towards the exit. "Alright, guys. Let's see in what mess you two dragged yourselves into," he stated with a frown before punching his fists together and walking off Pipp's salon. A little bit later, Zipp flew to where the parade should be, with Knuckles arriving by run, only to see some dust and the decorations a mess as some were on the floor. "Huh. Where is everypony?" Zipp asked, confused. "No idea... but there are no signs of them. Nor Hitch, nor Sonic or Tails... not even Sparky is here..." Knuckles pointed out. As they both walked by, they noticed the weird atmosphere. "What is all this orange stuff?" Zipp asked again, still confused. "I have no idea, but..." Knuckles said as he smelled the air. "That smell makes me feel madder than usual, which could never be a good sign," he pointed out. Soon enough, Zipp noticed a blazeberry on the floor and grabbed it. Then, she brought out her Z-Goggles to get some information. "Blazeberry?" she asked herself in surprise, as she was familiar with this kind of berry. She took off her Z-Goggles with a worried expression. "Oh, no!" she cried out in concern. "A what now?" Knuckles questioned, confused. "Blazeberries are a kind of berries that can make critters bring out their inner beasts! And this orange dust is full of its essences!" Zipp summarized with worry. "So a berry that can make animals in general go nuts..." Knuckles guessed with a frown, and Zipp nodded in worry. "If that's the case, let's hope neither Sonic nor Tails smelled it..." he said with concern. However, it seemed that Knuckles spoke too soon because something passed by quickly and snatched the blazeberry from Zipp's hoof, startling her and Knuckles, so they were both positioned to fight if necessary. They both heard growls, and a shadow was running on four legs around ceilings, so they just waited for it to make the first move. Soon enough, something launched against Zipp with a girlish warrior cry, and Zipp was startled. Thankfully, Knuckles was fast enough to grab a metal tube and put it between Zipp and the attacker. However, both Zipp and Knuckles gasped in shock when the attacker ended up being Tails, who was biting furiously at the metal tube with his eyes closed. "Tails?!" both Zipp and Knuckles said in shock and confusion. "What are you doing, young man?" Knuckles asked, but when Tails opened his eyes, they looked like they were on fire, and again, both Zipp and Knuckles felt startled at that. "This is what I didn't want to happen!" he said with concern. Tails kept growling at Knuckles, but his growls stopped once he looked at Zipp. Even if his eyes were still on fire, he stopped biting the metal tube and approached Zipp, sniffing her all around, which made her feel a bit uncomfortable as she blushed, embarrassed. Soon enough, Tails was sitting before her, tilting his head confused before smiling and suddenly hugging her with delight while his tails moved happily like a dog. "U-Uh... w-what's happening?" Zipp asked, extremely confused, blushing a lot from Tails' move. "Hmm..." Knuckles muttered, placing a hand on his chin as he analyzed the situation. "It seems like Tails' beast side was awakened after smelling the air," he explained, trying to caress Tails' head, but the now wild fox hissed at him. "However, it seems like he loves your company, so... it's sure to say that you're some kind of half-cure for his current state," he pointed out. "But why me?! And why he has to be so effective?!" While Tails decided to sit on her back while hugging her, Zipp complained, still moving his tails happily. "Girl, you and your sister are so oblivious that I would punch you if we weren't friends..." Knuckles replied with a bored expression. Zipp wanted to question him since she frowned, but suddenly, McSnips-a-lot came rushing by them, which made both Zipp and Knuckles look at each other and nod with determination before running off to follow him. They followed McSnips to the abandoned Canterlogic building. McSnips went through a broken window while Zipp and Knuckles looked through one of its holes and gasped in shock. They saw Hitch and Sparky surrounded by wild, angry critters slowly approaching them angrily. "I just wanted to make Ponykind Parade special for our friends, but nothing has gone to plan!" Hitch said in fear to his critters, who kept hissing at him and Sparky. Hitch backed away nervously, and his hooves shook in fear. "Ah, great..." Knuckles muttered in annoyance. "Zipp, go get the girls and see if you can also find Sonic," he instructed. "I'll give the sheriff a hand," he stated determinedly. "What about Tails? I cannot enter Mane Melody without giving some context..." Zipp pointed out with an embarrassed blush. "Hey, Tails," Knuckles called out, and Tails opened his eyes, frowned, and hissed at him. "First of all, calm down, young man. I need your help, alright? Once we're done, you can go back with Zipp," he said with a frown. Tails growled lowly, but Zipp sighed and nuzzled her cheek with Tails'. "Little guy... help Knuckles out, okay? I'll be back soon, I promise," she told him with a smile. Tail's ear went down, so he nuzzled his cheek with hers again before going down in four legs and staring at Knuckles with a frown, although not as mad as before. As Zipp flew away, Tails and Knuckles came through the window and stood before Hitch. Knuckles raised his electrical powers and stood to fight while Tails hissed back at the critters, showing his sharp teeth. "Guys!" Hitch said in surprise and relief, but then he noticed Tails acting like a wild fox instead of himself. "Oh no... Don't tell me he's—–" he tried to ask in panic. "He's on our side. Now, stay behind us!" Knuckles instructed, and Hitch gulped nervously but nodded. And then Kenneth came chirping to Sparky as he tried to grab his donut. Sparky babbled in protest as he kept hold of his donut, and Kenneth lost his grip and flew back. Hitch realized something as he grabbed Sparky’s donut and showed it to the feral critters. "Oh, you want this? Sure! Go fetch!" he said, tossing the donut to the other side, which made the critters growl at it as a raccoonicorn caught it, and then all the critters ate it like manias. Tails seemed to control himself a little when he saw the donut, although he wanted to follow up deep inside. Once they were finished, they turned and growled at Hitch, Sparky, Tails, and Knuckles, who were looking nervous at them. "And now we know they're hungry. Great!" Hitch said nervously as he gulped. "If we want to live another day to tell this tale, I'm afraid we'll have to..." Knuckles began, gulping nervously. "Hurt them..." he said with worry. Tails hissed back at some raccoonicorns, using his left hand as if he were trying to catch them. Suddenly, they heard clanging sounds and tuned to see the Canterlogic’s doors opening, with the girls each holding mane dryers. "Looks like you critters need to blow off some steam!" Zipp announced with a determined smile. "Chaaaaarge!" Pipp announced as she and Zipp took to the air while Sunny and Izzy hopped down from the railings. Sparky cheered at their friends being here. "Yay!" Hitch cheered as well. "The cavalry arrived!" Knuckles announced with a smirk while Tails tilted his head, confused at what was happening. "Knuckles! Catch!" Sunny called out while holding out a spare mane dryer. She tossed it to Knuckles, who caught it with his hand. "Use the mane dryer to blow away the dust! Once it’s gone, the critters will return to normal!" she explained. "Roger that!" Knuckles replied with a determinate look, using the dryer to blow Tails' face first, who got a bit startled as he closed his eyes. Once he opened them again, they were back to normal, and he shook his head before sitting down. His eyes moved around, and he felt dizzy. "Ha, it works!" Knuckles cheered with a smile before blowing up more critters with the dryer. Zipp screamed and grunted as she blew off the flying critters and the dust in the air. Sunny screamed and grunted as she blew off the dust and ducked when a raccoonicorn tried to tackle her head but missed. She smirked but fell to the floor since she lost her balance due to her costume. "Get gone, critters!" Pipp yelled out as she landed on the ground and blew off some dust and some critters chasing after them. "And this! In the face!" she said with an angry look. Izzy grunted in effort and blew away some dust and critters, then she smiled and settled her mane dryer on full blast before pointing to the critters. "Yah!" she declared as she blew away dust, and the critters flew back from the big wind. Hitch arced back while Sparky held on to Hitch so he wouldn't blow away. Kenneth and McSnips-a-lot shook their heads as they opened their eyes, which returned to normal as the dust cleared. Kenneth chirped happily while McSnips smiled. "It's working!" Hitch cheered as he and Sparky smiled. On the ceiling, Misty's on the roof and looking through one of the holes as she watched the Mane 5 and Knuckles blowing away the dust and turning the critters to normal. And then, some of the dust came right up to Misty’s face as she began to cough. Misty stood up to fan off the dust, but then, a raccoonicorn appeared next to her, having a fire in their eyes and growling with the dust all over the roof, which caused Misty to feel nervous while Opaline watched, confused. "Opaline! What do I do?!" Misty asked in fright as she sweated. Opaline raised an eyebrow at Misty’s question. "Why are you asking me? This is your mess," she said with rolled eyes. She disappeared while the amulet closed. Misty grew nervous as she kept sweating. "Uh…" she said in a scared tone as she tapped on the amulet to bring Opaline back while the feral raccoonicorn approached her. "Opaline?" she said nervously as she backed away in fright, but then the raccoonicorn started screeching at Misty, who screamed in fright and trotted away from the raccoonicorn, who was following her as she made her way to the door. Back in the building, Zipp twirled her mane dryer and blew at the top as the Mane 5 and Knuckles looked at the critters and Tails on the ground, now back to normal, while the blazeberry dust was gone. "Phew!" Sunny said in relief, glad that’s over, and Hitch and Sparky are okay. "Ugh... what happened?" Tails asked as he stood up and cleaned some dust from his body. "I was on Mane Street... how did I end up here?" he asked, confused, as he scratched his head. "Welcome back, little buddy," Knuckles said with a smile as he patted his back. "Let's just say your inner beast came to light," he smirked. "Inner beast?" Tails questioned, confused. "Long story short: you smelled a berry that made you mad, okay?" Zipp told him with a smirk. "Huh... that'll explain why Sonic and I felt weird with the smell in the air..." Tails said as he rubbed his chin. Suddenly, Knuckles eyes widened. "HANG ON! THE HEDGEHOG SMELLED IT TOO?!" Knuckles shouted in shock. Soon enough, the wind blew by behind; the entire group turned but found nothing there. Then, the wind blew again, and again, and again, until they could hear and see something moving in the shadows. And then, something charged against them, but thankfully, Knuckles placed his hand in front of the group and stopped something that kept spinning on his hand—a blue ball charged with blue electricity. Knuckle struggled, but then he charged his fist with red electricity and punched the ball to the ground. The ball uncurled and revealed to be Sonic, who groaned in pain with his eyes closed. "Sonic?" Pipp called out, confused. Knuckles, however, frowned, and so he took out his dryer just in case. When Sonic opened his eyes and they showed to be in fire, the hedgehog stood up and hissed at his friends in anger as he stood on four legs. Then Knuckles blew the dryer on his face with a bored expression, and when he put it away, Sonic opened his eyes, once again normal, and shook his head, confused. "Uh..." Sonic exclaimed before realizing he was on four legs. He stood up normally and cleaned some dust off. "What the heck happened, exactly?" he asked, confused. "We'll explain later," Knuckles said, putting the dryer away. "It seems like we're done dealing with critters—and anthropomorphic animals—in anger," he said with a smirk. "Yeah. I'm glad that’s over," Sunny said with a smile. "At least we can get back to the parade like nothing happened," she started as they all walked out of the Canterlogic building to return to the parade. But once they got to where the parade should be, the group and the critters cringed at the sight. They saw the parade and decorations a mess and abandoned from the feral critters' attack as a tumbleweed came by. "Um, I was expecting decorations, but trash is good, too!" Izzy optimally said that she wanted to stay positive. She held up a fish can that smelled terrible and sniffed at it. "Mmm!" She said with a forced smile before she started to gag as she dropped the can. "Did we do all of this because we went mad?" Tails asked. "And I thought things were bad whenever Knuckles was mad..." Sonic said with shame. "Unlike you, I control the beast in me all the time," Knuckles said with a bored expression. Pipp began to sob at the ruined parade with teary eyes. "It's all ruined!" she sobbed as she placed her hooves on her face. Hitch and Zipp looked at each other with knowing smiles. "It wouldn't be so sure," she said with a smirk. "Critters, roll out!" Hitch announced with a smile, which caused the critters to salute him as they began to fix up the parade. The pegasnails lifted the signs back up, the raccoonicorns picked up the trash with one of them sweeping the dust into the trash bin while the other two picked it up and closed the bin, and McSnips alined the streamers on the roofs as he tied them up. Then, in just a short time, the ponies started to come out and smiled as they saw the decorations back up while the critters saluted at their work. Then, the critters helped Hitch put on his costume as he and the girls posed together in the crowd of ponies. Soon enough, carnival music started playing as the ponies started cheering to the Mane 5, while Hitch stepped in first, twirled around, and started showing off his dance moves. The rest of the Mane 5 follow along as they dance together in the center of the crowd as the ponies watch them go as they enjoy the Ponykind Parade together. Team Sonic stood aside as they watched the party go on with smiles. "By the way, Knux..." Sonic called out. "You also smelled the blazeberries in the air, but... you seemed to be under control. Why is that?" he asked curiously. "Yeah, I was wondering that myself!" Tails confessed. "I deal with anger issues every day, guys," Knuckles pointed out. "You need more than just a weird smell from a berry to make me go nuts. Besides, as I said earlier, I always have my beast under control. The only way I could let that thing get free is if my friends got hurt... or my family..." he pointed out. Sonic and Tails both smiled. Then they looked at each other, nodded, and decided to drag Knuckles into a group hug for his eternal annoyance. "Just go with the flow, Knucklehead," Sonic told him with a smirk. "And Happy Birthday, Knux," Tails added with a smile. Knuckles rolled his eyes at his friends' cheesy attitude, but he smiled warmly and wrapped his arms around them as well. THE END Author's Note You might be wondering why Eggman didn't attacked today, aren't you? Well, I have decided that I will only implement him when the episode seems like it could use them. I know I said today's episode would have a battle with him, but I want to give a sense to his battles, and him just popping out of nowhere simply didn't convinced me, so I decided to not use him today. Also, this episode was planned to celebrate Knuckles' birthday, but with everything he did on this episode, I think the message is pretty clear. Well, anyways. Next episode, whatever it is, it's going to be special. When it comes out, you'll find out why! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
46. Sparky's SickThe Crystal Brighthouse doors were suddenly opened by Hitch and Knuckles, who had panicked expressions. "Sparky is sick!" Hitch and Knuckles shouted in panic, while Sparky came out of Hitch's hair and erupted with a painful expression. Suddenly, he burped his dragon fire against Sunny, Zipp, and Tails, who ducked down to dodge the fire. "Was that a... hiccup?" Sunny asked with a raised eyebrow. "I think it was a burp?" Zipp said, confused. "Maybe even both?" Tails commented. Sparky burped again, still in pain, while Pipp zoomed close to him with sparkling eyes and a smile. "Is a hiccup burp!" she exclaimed before squealing in excitement. "So adorable!" Sparky burped again, with Hitch holding him with worry, while Izzy zoomed close with sparkling eyes and a smile, just like Pipp. "Aww! Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine, Hitch!" she assured him. "Like Elderflower says: If it's gassy, let it pass." Sparky extended his hand, almost asking for help, but then, he burped against a teapot over the table in the living room and turned it into a watermelon. "Okay... That's less adorable and a lot more annoying," Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. "He's been hiccup-burping all morning!" Hitch explained, placing Sparky on the floor and ducking at his side. "We don't know what to do, and I'm already freaking out here!" Knuckles added with panic. "Yeah, we can see that, Knux," Tails replied with a bored expression before he noticed his fluffy tails moving a bit from the corner of his eye, and he suddenly felt the impulse to grab them. "We... are not..." he tried to add. However, he soon tried to grab his tails, but they moved away. He tried again, but his tails kept moving. And so, he started to chase his tails on his place like a dog, which made everyone but Sonic look at him confused. "Eh, don't mind us," Sonic said with a bored expression before feeling the impulse to scratch the back of his ear with one hand at a fast paste. Once he was done, he looked back at the others. "Ever since we smelled those blazeberries last episode, our animal's instincts are still showing up," he explained. Once Tails finally managed to grab his Tails, he blinked and realized what he had just done. He blushed, embarrassed, and chuckled nervously as he let go of his tails and stood up normally. "Um... sorry for that..." he apologized. However, the attention returned to Sparky once he burped another of his dragon fires. "Please, guys, help these dragon daddy and uncle out!" Hitch begged, while Knuckles only imitated his actions and nodded in agreement. Sunny, Zipp, Pipp, Sonic, and Tails looked down at them with concern, but then they got startled when Izzy popped out nearby. "Oh, oh, oh! I know an ancient unicorn remedy that'll help!" she assured with sparkling eyes and a smile. "I'm sure I have a recipe somewhere..." Sunny said, rubbing her chin and thinking about where she read the recipe she was talking about. "I could try to make a special soup someone always makes for us back home when we get sick," Tails said, scratching his neck. On the other hand, Sonic took out from his quills a white phone with a black symbol that seemed like a ball and two lines crossing together. He marked a number and placed the phone on his ear before walking away. "Yo, Bowser! I know you probably didn't expect me to call at all, but I need help with some parenting stuff..." he said on the call. "Oh, and there is this special Showbiz trick..." Pipp added as well with a smile. However, Zipp smirked confidently. "Don't worry, ponies: I know exactly what to do!" she stated with a determined look. "Please don't say flying, please don't say flying, please don't say flying..." Knuckles begged in whispers. "Curse my stupid mouth..." Knuckles said with a bored expression. Outside the Brighthouse, Zipp placed Sparky in a kangaroo bag for babies and put safety goggles on him and herself. "A few high-octane stunts will shock the hiccup burp right out of ya!" Zipp assured Sparky before looking at the sky with a determinate look while Hitch shook in fear behind them. "This is a Friendly reminder that you can legally demand her if Sparky ends up worse or even hurt," Knuckles muttered to Hitch. Then, Zipp zoomed to the sky and started to fly at top speed while doing some tricks over the clouds and then boosting through a forest, while Hitch popped his head from a tree with a worried expression. Meanwhile, Sparky's mouth was moving funnily as Zipp kept flying faster and faster. "I bet you're feeling better already, huh?" she told him with a confident smirk. However, Sparky burped a massive dragon fire that turned a tree into a need of spaghetti with tomato sauce. "Whoa!" Zipp exclaimed, surprised. She tried to slow down, but instead, she lost control of her own flight. "Spaghetti straight ahead!" she shouted in panic. And then, she crashed against the spaghetti net, which sent her backward as she and Sparky shouted in fear. Holding some binoculars, Hitch noticed that and tried to move, but Zipp and Sparky crashed against him as they all fell to the floor. Now, Hitch and Zipp were all covered by tree branches, with some even sticking on their manes, while Sparky came out of the branches as well, hugging his belly and at the edge of crying. Knuckles came by and grabbed Sparky while approaching Hitch with a frown. "Want me to prepare a legal demand?" he asked him. "No... No, I won't demand anyone..." Hitch replied, and Knuckles shook his head in disapproval. None of them noticed, however, that a pair of yellow eyes with red iris were looking at them from a bush, as the eyes closed a bit in a glare. Later on, Hitch and Knuckles took Sparky with Sunny on her Smoothie Stand. She brought four books and started to read one at a paste but found nothing, so she threw it away and then began to read the next one. Suddenly, Sunny stopped and smiled once she found the recipe she was talking about. "Six bananas!" she instructed while Knuckles put six bananas over the blender. Lots of mustard!" she informed, while Hitch squeezed a mustard jar on the blender, but with a worried expression. "Chocolate sprinkles!" Sunny said again, throwing chocolate sprinkles in the air while some fell over the blender. Toothpaste!" she finished, with Knuckles letting go of the contents over the blender. Once all of this was in, Sunny closed the blender and blended the ingredients, making a very weird-looking smoothie. Then, Hitch gave the smoothie to Sparky, who tried to reach it, but he burped before trying to reach it again while Hitch gave it to him. Sparky sipped the smoothie and tasted it before looking back at Sunny, Hitch, and Knuckles. Then, he felt his belly roaring again in pain while Knuckles curled into a ball, and Hitch and Sunny hugged each other in fear. However, Sparky's belly stopped roaring after a few seconds, and Sunny and Hitch smiled brightly. "It worked!/You did it!" Sunny and Hitch said happily. "Up high! Down low! Hitch it to a post! Flip it Sunny-side––" They tried to make their iconic handshake. However, Sparky started to feel bad again and burped his dragon fire at a cart passing by the smoothie stand, so he turned the cart into a giant mushroom, leaving both the mare riding it and the stallion pulling it confused. Knuckles popped his head and looked at the mushroom with a bored expression, now standing up completely. "At least it doesn't have eyes," he pointed out. "Why would a mushroom have eyes?" Sunny questioned, confused. 'You don't wanna know," Knuckles replied, still bored. Later on, Hitch and Knuckles returned to the Brighthouse to see how Izzy could help. They placed Sparky over a chair in the living room while Izzy placed some candles and crystals around. Hitch and Knuckles looked at each other, confused, unconvinced that this could work. Meanwhile, Izzy was doing a weird dance ritual and singing with a smile. "Hold your breath and count to three! Shake your tail and bend your knees! Throw some feathers in the air! Spin around and give them a scare!" she finished, with a 'mean look,' as she roared cutely and approached Sparky. However, Sparky only tilted his head, confused at Izzy, while Knuckles blushed and tried to stay calm because of Izzy's attitude. Izzy, however, felt confused by Sparky's reaction to her attempt to scare him. "Hmm... That wasn't scary enough..." she pointed out, rubbing her chin and shaking her head before smirking evilly and looking away. "Well... I guess we'll have to try something... BAD!" she shouted, now wearing a clown's hair and nose while smiling and illuminating her face with a lantern. Sparky felt afraid of that as he trembled, but then, he burped again and turned Izzy's clown hair into a bunch of grapes, and Sparky tried to reach for some. Izzy moved away and grabbed some grapes with her hoof while Knuckles zoomed by with his mouth and tongue watering as he also grabbed some grapes and licked his lips. "Bon appétit!" he exclaimed, throwing the grapes in the air and then eating all of them in one chomp. He chewed the grapes with happiness while Izzy giggled at his attitude. Nobody noticed, however, that some critter with long white hair was watching them through the window, with their yellow eyes glaring dagger at them. Soon enough, a snap was heard, and the critter disappeared. Moving on, Hitch and Knuckles took Sparky with Pipp, sitting him on her bed. Meanwhile, Pipp placed her microphone on the stand and put it in front of Sparky. "Let's try some vocal exercises," she said with a relaxed smile. Hitch felt very nervous about this, while Knuckles crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Just do what I do, okay?" Pipp smiled and winked at Sparky before bringing out her lucky microphone. "Deep breath..." she instructed, and Sparky did so. "And... me, me, me, me, me, me!" she sang with a smile. "Me, me, me, me, me, meeee!" Sparky sang back with a smile. "Yes!" Pipp cheered to him in excitement. "Now... ma, ma, ma, ma, ma, maaaa!" she sang again on her microphone. "Ma, ma, ma, ma, ma, maaaa!" Sparky sang as well with a smile. "Good!" Pipp cheered at him before they both did a few more vocal exercises. Once they were done, Pipp squealed and nuzzled Sparky's cheek. "Aw, so cute! Oh, my glitter, we should collaborate," she said with a smile. However, as Pipp pulled the microphone aside, Sparky felt the urge to burp another dragon fire, which made Pipp duck down for cover. In the process, she threw the microphone in the air, and Sparky's dragon fire turned it into a palette that fell into Pipp's mane. "Ew!" Pipp exclaimed panickedly before moving to see herself in the mirror. Then she smiled and pulled out her phone to take some selfies. "I can work with this," she confessed confidently. Sparky came by and looked at the palette on Pipp's mane with sparkling eyes, but then Hitch pulled him away, and Sparky complained. Meanwhile, Knuckles groaned in frustration and rolled his eyes, also facepalming. Next, Tails was in the kitchen, mixing ingredients like milk, coconuts, peanuts, and chili. "Tails, what the heck are you doing?" Knuckles asked him, confused. "Remember that special soup Vanilla cooks whenever Cream, or anyone in general, gets sick?" Tails asked. "I once helped her cook it and learned the recipe and which ingredients to use," he smiled. "Are you sure this can work?" Hitch asked in worry. "We had already tried a smoothie before, but it didn't work out too well," he confessed with concern. "It always did wonders with everyone back home!" Tails replied with a smile, now putting the soup over a feeding bottle and extending it to Sparky, who grabbed it and started drinking it. One sip made his eyes sparkle as he started to sip the soup faster. "Huh... he likes it!" Hitch said with a smile. "Vanilla's recipes are amazing. Thanks to her, I can cook so well!" Knuckles replied with a smirk. "I tell you, sheriff: Sparky should be good as new in no time after this!" Tails assured with a confident smirk. However, once Sparky was done with the soup and sighed in relaxation, he soon felt his belly roaring, so he let out a massive fireball that turned the kitchen's microwave into a pile of mint cans. "Ah, dang it..." Knuckles said with a frown. "If Vanilla's soup can't help either, it is very bad..." he pointed out with concern. "Then what do we do now?!" Hitch asked in a panic. However, they were startled when they heard the sound of cans falling into the ground. They turned to see Tails chomping something with his cheeks puffing out. "Tails, for the love of Chaos!" Knuckles exclaimed in panic. "How's that there's three empty cans of mints already?!" he asked with worry and concern. "... Make it five," Tails replied as the other two cans fell to the floor after he swallowed all their mints. "Tails! Isn't that a comical amount of mints?! You're exaggerating!" Hitch said with concern. "And now make it six!" Tails replied with a frown as another empty can fell to the floor. "Tails! You're worrying us!" Knuckles pointed out with concern. Now, everyone went outside the Brighthouse with Sonic, the one Hitch and Knuckles feared the most. Sonic had the most reasonable idea: he grabbed Sparky and laid the baby dragon's head over his shoulder. He also started gently hitting his back, and Sparky burped more dragon fire. Behind Sonic, a pile of junk started to turn into food once Sparky's fire hit the things. Everyone's jaws dropped after they saw Sonic doing this, especially Hitch and Knuckles' jaws since they couldn't believe Sonic had the most effective solution. Sonic, of all people. Tails, however, just tilted his head, very confused at Sonic's smart move, while Pipp blushed and giggled as she covered her mouth with a hoof. "I just hope Bowser is right, and this helps," Sonic muttered. "Can you believe the same guy who kidnaps Peach every week is also an excellent father? It's still feels surreal to me," he confessed. After a while, Sparky seemed to have finally stopped burping, and Sonic raised him in the air with a smile. "Feeling better, little guy?" Sonic asked him with a smirk, but then, Sparky cringed a bit before burping another dragon fire above Sonic's head, which made him duck down and once Sparky's fire turned the pile of now junk food into a lot of chilidogs, Sonic sighed in defeat and gave Sparky back to Hitch. "Sorry, man. Seems like that didn't work, either..." he said with concern. While Sonic grabbed a bunch of chilidogs on a plate, Hitch placed Sparky down with worry. "Ugh... nothing is working!" Zipp pointed out with concern. Then, Sparky burped another dragon fire that transformed a tree near the Brighthouse into a giant carrot. "And they're getting worse!" Hitch exclaimed with panic. However, none noticed a figure watching over them as the creature groaned in frustration before disappearing again. Misty was walking over Maretime Bay with a smile. However, as she stopped over Sunny's smoothie stand, she cringed when she saw the giant mushroom that used to be a cart, but of course, Sparky transformed it with his dragon fire. Worse, the ponies used it before leaving it there, and now it had raccoonicorns trying to take it away. "Is that a... giant mushroom?" Misty asked, confused. Then, the ground suddenly rumbled, and Misty turned her head to see an orange juice explosion coming from the ground near the Crystal Brighthouse. "Orange Juice?!" Misty asked, concerned and confused. Soon enough, Misty's amulet opened, and Opaline came out of it confusedly. "What's going on, Misty?" she asked her. "I've just felt a powerful surge of dragon magic in Maretime Bay––" she tried to explain, but then she also noticed the giant mushroom and cringed while raising an eyebrow. "Uh..." Misty tried to say something, but then Opaline got into her face with a frown, and Misty started to sweat nervously. "What are you waiting for?!" Opaline shouted to Misty. "Fetch me that dragon!" she instructed angrily before disappearing again, leaving Misty worried and sad. Sparky was now burping completely out of control. His dragon fire was turning everything into food, even the bushes where the Mane 5 sins Izzy and Team Sonic hid to stay covered from Sparky's fire. Suddenly, Sparky's burps worsened, and he burped even more towards the group. However, Sonic and Knuckles joined their arms with the watches and turned on their electrical powers, which caused their watches to activate some shield since their electrical powers combined. Meanwhile, Tails was on the floor, checking his Miles Electric as he tried to find a solution to Sparky's hiccup burp, but so far, he got nothing. Suddenly, one of Sparky's fires crashed against a bush, turning it into a giant red jelly. It tilted and was about to crush a snail that passed by. Once the snail noticed the jelly about to fall over him, he screamed in panic, but he was soon saved by Sunny, who launched over him and protected him from the jelly while she ended up all covered. She popped her head out of the jelly and smiled when she saw that the snail was safe and sound, also licking her lips as she swallowed a bit of jelly on her mouth and smiled afterwards. Sparky, on the other hand, was tearing up and rubbing his belly in pain as Hitch and Knuckles approached him. "What's wrong with your tummy, buddy?" Hitch asked him with concern. "I wish you could tell me how to help you..." he worriedly confessed. "Blame the writers for making him talk sometimes, and some others just make him do gibberish sounds," Knuckles said with a frown. "Damn you, Jessica and Naomi!" he shouted to the sky with anger. Suddenly, Sparky grunted and tried to go somewhere while Hitch held him. Then he and Knuckles noticed the three-layer cake in front of them as Sparky tried to go to it, which made the two friends smile. "Finally! Something we understand!" Knuckles cheered with a smirk. "You are telling us, aren't you?" Hitch asked Sparky with a smile. "Oh, Sparky, good boy!" he said to Sparky as he turned and faced Sunny. "Sunny, the food is the cure!" he told her with a smile. Sunny gasped in realization after hearing that. "Of course!" she called out with a smile before turning to the rest of their friends, who were hiding for cover while Pipp appeared out of a giant strawberry cake; Zipp was on top of a giant flower, Izzy appeared from a pile of cookies which she was eating, Sonic was digging deep in a pile of chilidogs. Tails came out of a big pumpkin. "Everybody, grab a little of everything! We're going to make a gross smoothie!" she said with a determined look and smile. And so, everyone grabbed a piece of every food or treat around while a raccoonicorn was carrying a pile of pretzels. Izzy levitated one off the pile and trotted off with a smile, which made the raccoonicorn yelp and drop the pile of pretzels on top of themselves, buried in the pile. Then, the group placed the food in the blender. Sunny brought it out as she closed the lid and blended all the food. Once the smoothie was ready and done, everyone cheered that the smoothie was completed. Unknowingly to them, Misty appeared behind some bushes and got her eyes on Sparky with a frown while Hitch gave Sparky the gross smoothie. Sparky cheered with a smile, grabbed the smoothie, and gulped it down at fast paste. Misty gave a sinister chuckle, waiting for the right moment as Sparky finished the smoothie before his stomach began to rumble again. "It didn't work?!” Sunny asked in a panic. "He's gonna blow!" Zipp called out in panic. "Everyone! Take cover!" Sonic called out, immediately grabbing Pipp and launching to a bush to cover. Knuckles did the same with Izzy, and Tails and Zipp followed up as they also covered in the bush. "Hitch!" Sunny called out as she grabbed Hitch and dragged him behind the bushes with them to take cover. "Sparky," Hitch cried out as he tried to reach Sparky, struggling to break free from Sunny's grip, and they hid behind the bush. After that, Tails returned and activated another shield with his watch, just in case. Misty smirked evilly at this outcome, then jumped out with a grunt, about to grab Sparky. However, the baby dragon gave ended up farting out his dragon fire, which surprised Misty, who unfortunately got hit by it, while a stink smell came off her, and her eyes swirled from the stink, feeling dizzy from that. "Aah!" Misty cried out before falling to the floor with a thud. Sparky fell on his back and sighed in relief, feeling much better now that he farted out, while Misty got up, feeling dazed as she started to groan and aimlessly walked around, also smelling bad, and then made a dopey face before falling to a bush face first with a thud. Then, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic got out of their hiding place; seeing it all clear, they started cheering, including Sparky, who was feeling all the better as he jumped happily. "I'm so glad you're feeling better, bud," Hitch said in relief, smiling. "You had me scared for a moment there," he said as he nuzzled Sparky. "And to think that you're only a baby, yet all-powerful!" Knuckles said with a smile. And then, all the big food Sparky's dragon fire made returned to normal, while the Mane 5 and Team Sonic regrouped and laughed at this outcome, glad Sparky was feeling better. Meanwhile, Misty was still hiding from the Mane 5 and Team, still dazed and stinky from Sparky's fart. Then, her amulet opened, and Opaline appeared as she looked around. "So? Where is he? Where is my dra––?" she tried to ask, but then she was cut off when Misty's stinky smell came to her. Opaline covered her muzzle and cringed as she looked down and saw Misty on the ground. "Misty! What happened here?! What did you eat?!" she questioned her. "I... DO NOT... want to talk about it..." Misty replied with shame on herself. Misty was obligated to return to the Castle several hours later, still smelling bad. She was received by Eggman, who cringed at her smell at first. Then he pulled a press from his pocket and put it over his nose, making Misty enter the place as she looked down with shame. After that, Eggman guided Misty to his personal bathroom, which actually looked very nice compared to the rest of the Castle: the sink, bathtub, shower, and walls were all white, while the floor seemed to be a very shiny grey. The towels were black and red, all with Eggman's symbol. Then, Eggman grabbed Misty and removed her amulet before adding a lot of tomato sauce. He then used a brush and started to wash her stinky smell. Misty sighed in relaxation while Eggman took care of her. "I keep telling Opaline that she should just ditch that stupid plan of the dragon fire already," Eggman said while washing Misty's back. "That thing is powerful, yes, but is way too powerful, and it could perfectly backfire her. But noooooo! She insists that only dragon fire can make her powerful enough, like if there weren't any other magical things out there that could help," he pointed out angrily. "She's stubborn," Misty pointed out with a sad expression, even though she still felt relaxed from the bath Eggman had given her, even though it was with tomato soup. "Tell me about it..." Eggman said with annoyance. "The worst part? She sends what I cannot say if it's her daughter anymore to nonsense missions that always get her in some dangerous and nonsense trouble, we could avoid if she had the guts to do all those things for herself," he pointed out angrily. "But don't even tell him that, Misty. You could end up hurt... or worse, and I don't want to imagine what she could do to me," he told her. "It's not that I could—whoa!" Misty exclaimed as Eggman suddenly opened the shower, and all the tomato juice washed away from her body. "It's not like I could tell her, anyway. She's too intimidating for me, and I honestly doubt I could form a full sentence without being interrupted or called incompetent," she said with sadness. "Well, know this: as long as I'm around, Opaline won't put a single hoof over you," Eggman assured, using a new brush to wash her mane again as the tomato soup ran over her body and left, thanks to Eggman's cares and thanks to the water. Then, Eggman closed the shower and pulled Misty out before drying her up with a towel. Misty puffed a bit, which made her look on with a bored expression, while Eggman chuckled a bit. Once Misty fixed her mane and fur, she and Eggman left the bathroom. However, Eggman still stopped her for a moment before she left. "Since Opaline has a very critical eye over you, I wanted to give you this," Eggman said, as he took out of his pocket a small but robotic ladybug that immediately turned on and flew over until it landed near her ear, which made her smile with sparkling eyes. "This ladybug would watch over you when you are in trouble. It's also my way of looking after you and staying in contact," he explained with a little smile. "Just try to hide it from Opaline, alright? We don't want her to take it away from you," he instructed. Misty only smiled warmly at him, and without warning, she hugged Eggman tightly, startling the evil scientist as he blushed in embarrassment. "Thanks... Dad..." Misty said with tears of joy, still hugging Eggman. Eggman blushed even more since he had perfectly heard what Misty whispered. Still, he smiled and patted Misty's back with a hand, embracing the hug a bit longer for her. Several days later, Sunny and Pipp came out of the Brighthouse running while Zipp was flying in the air and Tails was standing on the ground with a board. "If you’re done livestreaming, we’ve got a game of flyball to play!" Zipp called out to Pipp with a mocking smirk. However, as Sunny and Pipp moved away, an eagle arm closed the door of the Brighthouse and started to move away. The creature walked away, not noticing that they had accidentally moved one of the vases from its original position or that one of their white hairs had gotten stuck. The creature entered the Brighthouse's bedroom and approached the elevator. However, instead of entering it like any other person, they traversed the crystal and started to float towards the ceiling, traversing it. Finally, the creature reached the top of the Brighthouse and entered the Crystal Room, as they stared at the Unity Crystals with a frown. Soon enough, they grabbed the Crystals with their other arm, which seemed to be a lion. They removed the Unicorn and Earth Pony Crystal before throwing them to the floor. They stared at the Pegasus Crystal on their lion hand, still frowning in rage. The critter was finally shown and seemed made of many animal parts. His name was Discord, and he was better known as the Lord of Chaos. Discord stared daggers at the Unity Crystal and snorted in disbelief. "You silly, little ponies... Soon, you'll thank me for getting rid of all magic in Equestria and bring up real unity among ponykind..." he stated with a smirk before snapping his fingers and disappearing. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: IDW COMICS Author's Note FINALLY! Ladies and gentleman: Behold! The Tell Your Tale episode that connects with the IDW Comics story! Since the next issue is gonna be the last one I'll be adapting, I decided that it was finally time to connect this story with the comics, and here it is! Next episode, however... Alright, you know what? I'll describe next episode with this phrase: Love will be in the air! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
48. The Hunt for Eggmund BunnySparky was running around happily in the sheriff's station with much energy. Hitch was trying to catch him, but Sparky was moving incredibly fast. He might exaggerate, but he could swear he was more energetic than Sonic. Also, the entire station was filled with paperwork everywhere, and Hitch hadn't had time to finish it. "Who wants chocolate egg? Oh!" Zipp said as she entered the station with a basket of chocolate eggs, but then she got startled when she saw Hitch chasing Sparky. Worst of all, Sparky launched himself towards Zipp and grabbed one of the chocolate eggs before eating it entirely, as his face got messy with chocolate. He rubbed his belly happily after eating the entire egg before burping a bit. Then, Hitch popped his head out of a mountain of paper with messy hair and a tired expression. "Sorry, Zipp," Hitch apologized. "He gets excited at the holidays," he pointed out as he approached Zipp and Sparky, lying on the floor. "And all the other days," he added with a bored expression. "Come on, nap time," he told Sparky with a tired smile as he grabbed the baby dragon with a hoof. However, as he placed Sparky over a desk, Sparky moved his arms in excitement, meaning he didn't want to nap. And then, Tails entered the station as well, with another basket of chocolate eggs, as he couldn't help but eat one of them too. "Hey, Zipp. I heard a noise in here. What's going––" Tails tried to ask, but then he noticed the amount of paperwork around the place and Hitch's tired expression with Sparky. "Uh... what's happening here?" Tails asked, confused. "I don't know, but there are a lot of case files pilling up here..." Zipp pointed out with a sheepish smile. And then, Kenneth and another bird came out of one of the piles of paper, with papers on their faces, as they chirped and tried to run away from the pile, but then they crashed with Zipp's front legs and fell to the floor. The papers on their faces were finally removed, so both birds ran away. "Huh..." Tails muttered as he rubbed his chin, confused. "Isn't Knuckles the one that cleans all this stuff?" he pointed out. "Yeah, he does," Hitch replied. "But he's been asking for free days way too often lately," he explained with concern. "He said something about planning something for somepony that required his full attention... So I've been on my own these days," he pointed out, placing Sparky's Blankie on his head. "I wanna get back to work, but I'm so exhausted. How am I meant to look after a baby dragon and be sheriff at the same time when my deputy's been busy with other stuff?!" he cried out with panic. And then, Sparky burped some dragon fire, which caused Blankie to switch to bananas. He let out a fart, not magical, but a fart anyways. Hitch's face hoofed at that, exhausted from dealing with Sparky alone. "Just take baby steps," Zipp suggested. "Or dragon baby steps, in this case," Tails corrected with a chuckle, and Zipp chuckled. "All you gotta do is start with something small," Zipp pointed out with a smile. "Like what?" Hitch asked. "I don't know. Find a dragon-sitter, finish 25% of your paperwork, and bathe." Tails started to listen with his fingers. Suddenly, Zipp's phone biped, so she took it out and read a message from her mother on her phone. "Chocolate emergency in Zephyr Heights?" Zipp read with a raised eyebrow. "Help, please?" she read again. "Chocolate emergency? What's this about? A lot of bunnies out of control with chocolate eggs or something?" Tails asked rhetorically with a snort. "I don't know..." Zipp said with honesty before smirking as an idea popped into her head. "But that could work. Hitch!" she called out with a determinate smile. "We need your help, buddy!" she added confidently before being tackled down by Sparky, who launched towards her face and made her fall. Tails, however, laughed nervously as he looked around. "Uh, what do you mean 'we'?" he asked with a sheepish smile. He put his hands together and looked nervously at Zipp. In the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic was lying on his bed with Floppy resting on his chest while Sonic looked at a YouTube video. "... and after all the research, after all the eBay searches, I've come down to which one would give me the most unique game collection of them all, which one is, in fact, the rarest game of all time" a guy in the video Sonic was watching said, then that guy threw something since something falling in the floor was heard. "It's Sonic 2 with a line!" the same guy shouted before a melody started to play once the video was over. Sonic burst out laughing once the video was over, as he placed his phone at his side and tried to calm down from his laughing. "Aw, man..." Sonic said with a smile. "This Scott guy has to be the most original content creator I've ever seen... after Pipp, that is..." he said with a chuckle. Suddenly, however, Knuckles entered the room and smashed the door behind him. He looked around, and once his sight stopped on Sonic, he immediately ran with him. "Hedgehog!" Knuckles said with panic. "Ah, what––" Sonic tried to ask, but Knuckles started to shake him violently. "I need help!" Knuckles shouted, desperate. "I've been planning this for weeks, running across Equestria, practicing with Rufus... I even put my deputy job aside to make this work! But now that the day finally arrived, I'm scared as f$&3!" he exclaimed. "You need help with... what, exactly?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow. Knuckles looked around the room, afraid someone might hear, then leaned closer to Sonic's ear and whispered. "I have a crush on Izzy..." Knuckles said. "And I want to ask her out, not only as in a date, but... I also wanna tell her I like her..." he confessed with a slight blush and a concerned look. Sonic's eyes went wide after hearing that. "Wait... you wanna ask her out and be her boyfriend?!" Sonic asked in shock and disbelief. "Man... I owe Tails so much money..." he muttered to himself. "Uh, what?" Knuckles asked, confused. "A little bet we did a while ago. He said you'd declare to Izzy before I would to Pipp," Sonic explained. "I said you wouldn't, but you're about to, so... yeah, I owe Tails 200 bucks now..." he added with a bored expression. "... YOU KNEW I LIKE IZZY?!" Knuckles shouted in shock. "Dude, everyone in Equestria but Izzy knows that," Sonic pointed out, still with a bored expression. "Should I feel terrified that everyone BUT Izzy knows about it? Because she's the only one I care for to know about it..." Knuckles said with concern and anxiety. "I wouldn't worry that much," Sonic said, rolling his eyes since he knows Izzy likes Knuckles back, but Knuckles himself doesn't know about it. "And why ask me and not someone like Sunny or Pipp?" he asked, confused, raising an eyebrow. "They are girls; I bet they could help you even more than I could," he pointed out. "How?" Knuckles asked. "I know they are girls too, but why couldn't you help me?" he questioned. "One, because I'm a free spirit who isn't ready for a relationship, which is why I haven't told Pipp that I like her," Sonic started to listen as he crossed his arms. "And two, because I screwed it last time I liked someone, and now that someone hates me," he pointed out. "You mean that squirrel girl that was conveniently also a princess or that human girl in Soleanna?" Knuckles questioned. "The former," Sonic replied with an eye roll. "Also, I never liked Elise," he added with annoyance. "Listen, Knucklehead: If you like Izzy, just go for it! There's no yes or no in here. And if she likes you back, which I'm pretty sure she does, it will end well for both of you! And if she isn't, then she's not the right one," he pointed out with a little smile. "That last thing concerns me the most!" Knuckles said with concern. Sonic, I like her, but if she doesn't like me back... I don't want to lose her, not even as a friend..." he confessed with concern. "This is going to be hypocritical coming from me, but isn't it better to tell her now what you feel rather than leave this dimension and never tell her at all?" Sonic questioned him with concern. "Telling her how you feel isn't kill you, Knux. You confronted dangers and death itself before. Why back up to a life-changing decision if you have done them before?" he asked with a little smile. "So what?" Knuckles asked, now crossing his arms and frowning. "I cannot just run to her and tell her 'I love you' and expect her to tell me the same, can I?" he asked with concern while Sonic groaned and rolled his eyes. "Come with me; we're asking Sunny and Pipp for some advice," Sonic replied with annoyance. "But I'm pretty sure they're gonna say pretty much the same," he pointed out as he exited the Brighthouse. Knuckles hesitated initially, but then he sighed in defeat and decided to follow Sonic. In Zephyr Heights, Sky and Dazzle were giving the news as usual. However, behind the two pegasi, there were a lot of bunnies jumping around, all of them trying to hide chocolate eggs literally anywhere. "Oh! Just hours before the start of the Royal Eggstravaganza, Eggmund Bunny has gone missing!" Dazzle exclaimed with worry. "Tradition dictates that his army of egg-hiding bunnies can't stop hiding eggs until Eggmund declares the hunt open!" Sky explained with concern. As Sky told this, a pegasus mare was trying to eat her sandwich in peace, but then, a bunny placed a bunch of eggs in her mouth instead. An old pegasus stallion tried to grab a book from a shelf in a library. However, a bunch of eggs fell straight into his face, causing him to fall. There were also many eggs hidden behind the book he grabbed. A bunny launched all the eggs into the sink in a bathroom, overflowing the water. Outside the bathroom, a pegasus stallion arrived to use it. However, once he saw the water overflowing, he regretted his decision and stepped back, immediately running away. Back with Sky and Dazzle, some bunnies placed chocolate eggs before them, startling both pegasi. "As you can see, Zephyr Heights is bursting with eggs," Dazzle said with a sheepish smile. Suddenly, both pegasi heard a noise behind them. They turned to see a mailbox full of chocolate eggs. Since the mailbox was overwhelmed with eggs, it exploded and launched Eggs in all directions. Sky and Dazzle ducked down and yelped while the eggs exploded, and one even landed right in front of the news camera. Hitch, Zipp, and Tails saw all that with anxious expressions while Tails carried Sparky in a kangaroo bag for babies. "This is starting small?!" Hitch cried out in panic. "Yeah, I wasn't talking about this, either..." Tails said with concern. "Why are you carrying Sparky again?" Zipp asked Tails with a raised eyebrow. "Last time you carried him, you made him get through dangerous loops. While he was sick," Tails pointed out with a frown. "No offense, Zipp, but I can't trust his life on you after that," he added. "... Fair enough," Zipp said with a bored expression. "Also, is this bunny guy seriously called Eggmund?" Tails questioned with a snort. "Because if that's the case, I know about a certain Eggman that won't be happy if he ever finds out," he pointed out with a chuckle. At Opaline's Castle, the villains were sitting over a dinner table. Eggman was reading the news on a digital screen with his device, Opaline was sipping some tea, and Misty was chomping a sandwich that Eggman prepared for her. Suddenly, Eggman turned his head and looked around the castle confused, something that Opaline and Misty noticed. "What's the matter, Ivo?" Opaline asked with a raised eyebrow. "There's... a disturbance..." Eggman replied. "Sage, call my lawyer. I will patent the name 'Eggman' before someone tries to steal it. Or make a cheap copy out of it!" he stated with anger and a frown. "On it, doctor" Sage replied. Opaline and Misty just looked at each other for a second with confused looks before shrugging at Eggman's attitude as Opaline sipped more tea and Misty chomped her sandwich again. Back at Zephyr Heights, Tails, Zipp, and Hitch kept looking at all the bunnies around in panic until Queen Haven approached them. "Zipp, Hitch, Tails! Thank hoofness you're here!" Haven said with concern. "This is getting out of control!" she pointed out, tossing some eggs off her crown before putting it back on. "Eggmund has never missed a Royal Eggstravaganza! Never!" she added with worry. "If I hear another stupid joke related to eggs, I'm out of here," Tails said angrily. "I already deal with Sonic making egg jokes whenever we fight Eggman; I won't stand this with anyone else. I don't care if we're on Easter Week," he added with a frown and fists on his hips since he couldn't cross his arms because of Sparky being on the kangaroo. However, Zipp pushed his shoulder harshly with a bored expression before looking back at her mother and Hitch with a smirk. "Well, with Sheriff Hitch helping me with the case and the smartest little guy around Equestria, I'm sure we'll find him soon!" Zipp assured, while Hitch rolled his eyes and Tails blushed a bit. "Oh, I hope so!" Haven said with worry. "I've never seen Cloudpuff this nervous," she added, turning to Cloudpuff, hiding behind her tail and looking nervous. Cloudpuff came out of Haven's tail, whining and whimpering, and then a bunny came in, holding out an egg for him. Cloudpuff barked in fright and curled himself into a ball, still whining, while the bunny hopped away with a glare. "... I don't wanna know what that bunny wanted to do to Cloudpuff..." Tails said with an anxious look. "Your Majesty!" Zoom called out suddenly as the four turned to her while she landed at Haven's side. "Eggmund Bunny's been spotted down at the supermarket buying carrots!" she informed. "That's... pretty normal and reasonable. He's a bunny, after all," Tails pointed out. "Hmmmm…" Zipp said with a smirk as she approached Hitch, who was still not into this yet, so Zipp also cleared her throat, still smirking playfully at the sheriff. Seeing Zipp's expression, Tails whistled his 'Believe in Myself' song's melody while he pushed Hitch slightly on his shoulder. On the other hand, Hitch felt extremely pressured by his friends. Seeing that he had no word from them, he sighed in defeat and put on another tired expression. "All right. Let's find us a bunny," Hitch said with annoyance. "My only complaint with all this situation is that I'm probably gonna hear more stupid jokes about eggs," Tails said with a bored expression as he grabbed two chocolate eggs from the floor and gave one to Sparky. As both Tails and Sparky ate their chocolate eggs, Tails noticed that Hitch was looking at him with a bored expression while Zipp covered her mouth and snorted at his attitude. "What? I won't let these sweet threats go to waste!" Tails pointed out. Sonic lead Knuckles to Mane Melody, where they meet with Pipp and Sunny since the latter was having a relaxing treatment by the former. And no, no magic glitter was involved this time, so no one's going young again. "So, what is this big thing you are talking about?" Pipp asked while Sunny was using the massage chair. "Knucklehead wants to tell Isabella how much he likes her!" Sonic said mockingly, while Knuckles groaned in annoyance and rolled his eyes, also blushing slightly in embarrassment. "WHAT?!" Pipp and Sunny shouted in shock. The former had sparkling eyes and a huge smile, while the latter was shocked. "Aww, Knux!" Pipp exclaimed as she hugged Knuckles sideways, and Knuckles' blush increased slightly. "This is so exciting! You are making an amazing and important decision here!" she excitedly said. "And I owe Tails a lot of money..." Sunny said nervously. "You too?" Sonic asked with a snort as he smirked at her. "Damn, Tails is making us run off money, and all because we made a bet," he pointed out with another snort while Sunny chuckled a bit. "Anyways. Knuckles here went to me and asked for advice. I gave it to him; he didn't like it, and here we are now," he explained with a bored expression. "Well, you came to the right salon, honey!" Pipp told Knuckles with a confident smirk. "So, what you wanna know?" she asked. "I just want to ask her out to tell her I like her," Knuckles replied, still blushing in embarrassment. "But whenever I get close to her, I immediately step at least 50 meters back!" he explained with concern. "Aww, but that's normal!" Sunny said as she approached the echidna and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Everypony feels nervous when it comes to asking their crush out on a date," she said with a smile. "And then there's you, who cannot even accept you like Hitch," Sonic said with a mocking smirk, which made Sunny flinch and blush in embarrassment. "T-That has nothing to do with this!" Sunny said with a frown, still blushing. "You didn't deny iiiiiiit!" Sonic sang with a mocking smirk again while Sunny groaned in annoyance and face hoofed. "Look, Knux. Just... be genuine. I'm sure Izzy likes you too, just like you are!" Sunny told him with a smile. "Ask her out, let things flow, treat her well, just like you always do!" she explained. "And when the moment seems proper, just tell her!" Pipp added with a smile as well. "Everything should work out fine, Knux! You two are gonna be a couple in no time!" she assured with sparkling eyes. "But what if I screw it?!" Knuckles asked in a panic. "Knux, isn't it better to go with her and go for it than live the rest of your life wondering what could have it been?" Sunny asked him, now with a concerned look. "You won't be here forever. Besides, I've seen you stressed lately. Maybe Izzy is what you need to feel better!" she said, smiling again. "I told him something similar, but he didn't listen to me..." Sonic said with annoyance, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "Knux, just stop being so dramatic over it and ask her out!" he pointed out. "And be firm! You can always be nervous, but if you show her some security over yourself, she'll be dating you soon!" Pipp assured again with a smile. "... So... All I have to do is go for it... and wait for the best... right?" Knuckles asked, once again blushing in embarrassment. "Just go out there and tell your little crush how much she means to you!" Sonic said with a smirk. "And no matter what happens at the end, just remember to have fun with her!" he winked. Knuckles smiled, then took a deep breath and looked on determinedly. "Alright... Let's settle this!" Knuckles said confidently. He started to walk out of Mane Melody while Sunny, Pipp, and Sonic cheered for him behind, giving him more courage to go on and ask Izzy out. Hopefully? Things would go well... Later, Hitch, Sparky, Zipp, and Tails moved to the Zephyr Heights supermarket security room, with an elder purple pegasus mare, a.k.a. the store owner, showing them the footage. "This is from this morning. 9:00 A.M," the Store Owner said as she showed them the footage The video showed an anthropomorphic bunny wearing a white robe and carrying a cart of carrots. It was Eggmund Bunny, who looked tired as he approached the cashier to pay for the carrots. "There he is!" Zipp called out. "Huh... That explains why you recognized Sonic as a hedgehog since the first day you met..." Tails pointed out. "You're already used to having anthropomorphic animals around..." he added with a little smile. "Yup!" Zipp said. Then she turned to the camera and saw Eggmund rolling the cart out of the supermarket while carrots fell. "Pause! Zoom in!" she said as the camera paused and zoomed in on a trail of carrots from the cart. "Look. All we have to do is follow that trail of carrots!" Hitch said with a smile. "Come on, guys!" he said to Zipp and Tails as they ran out the door. Later, Zipp, Hitch, and Tails followed the trail of carrots that Eggmund had dropped, leading them into a field. Hitch: Sometimes we get lost in the new (in the new) And we forget what we love to do (what we love to do) Hitch picked up the carrots, tossing them to Sparky, who ate each one he caught as Zipp and Tails followed behind him, wondering how big Sparky's appetite was. Zipp: You gotta reignite the spark in you (In you) Yeah, come on, pony, let me walk you through First step, you gotta find your rhythm Then, Hitch found a rabbit hole and laughed joyfully, thinking they found Eggmund's home. He jumped in while Tails and Zipp looked in surprise at Hitch. He crawled through the rabbit hole and ran past several bunnies with a dining table set. When Hitch reached the other side, he saw that he had exited the rabbit hole; he turned his head and saw Sparky, Zipp, and Tails behind him, sighing with a face hoof, realizing this wasn't Eggmund's home and that the carrot trail continued. At a river stream, the three of them hopped on some rocks to get to the other side, then they landed on a log, and Hitch leaped in surprise to try and keep his balance. Tails: Make your way back to the life you're livin' Second step, have fun with it It'll come naturally Once they were all in the log, it started moving downstream as Zipp, Tails, and Sparky laughed while Hitch looked nervous. They steer the log with their bodies to avoid getting hit by rocks, and Hitch finally started having fun as he smiled at them. They jumped over a waterfall, raised their hooves/hands, and landed on the water. Hitch, Zipp and Tails: Don't lose your groove Keep your attitude They got off the log with a laugh and touched the land before continuing to follow the carrot path. Now we're all just livin' it up We're here, we're just havin' fun Don't lose your groove It's what makes you you (It's what makes you you) Then, they bumped into a fallen tree in front of their path. Hitch smirked as he turned to Sparky and picked him up before tossing him in the air. Sparky laughed and landed on Hitch's hoof. After that, Sparky released his dragon fire, which hit the fallen tree and turned it into apples that exploded. This made Tails, Zipp, and Sparky laugh while Hitch smirked. You'll always find your way back So, pony, have fun with that Like, uh, uh-huh-huh-huh And then, as they reached a ravine, their path was destroyed. However, Hitch just kept smirking and brought out his hoof, which was glowing green. He stomped his hoof on the ground, using his earth pony magic to grow giant vines that begin to form a bridge, while Tail, Zipp, and Sparky watched on, and Hitch kept smirking as he wiped a brow and walked on the path. Zipp and Tails smiled afterward. They saw that Hitch was doing great and that their idea was working. Zipp: Find your groove, get back to it, back to it On the vine bridge, Hitch did a quick dance of confidence as he twirled around before he trotted to the other side, while Zipp trotted after he and Tails flew in the air as he had Sparky, and they laughed while they made it to the other side. Hitch, Zipp and Tails: Uh, uh-huh-huh-huh Tails: Find your groove, get back to it now A little bit later, Hitch stopped and gave a confident smile while Zipp and Tails caught up to him, and what they saw in front of them surprised them. "Huh?" Zipp asked in surprise. "Ah!" Hitch gasped with a smile. "Weird..." Tails commented. They saw a hill that looked like a home, with a carrot garden on the side and bushes shaped like rabbit ears with chocolate eggs surrounded by followers. "Hmm…" the three friends said to each other as they walked up to the front door. Once there, Hitch knocked on the door, and after a while, Eggmund opened it. He looked tired; one of his cubs was in his left ear, and many more were playing inside the house. However, the three friends couldn't help but smile at having found Eggmund Bunny. "There you are–– Whoa!" Hitch said in surprise as he, Zipp, and Tails looked at his house with wide eyes since there were a lot of baby bunnies having fun in Eggmund's house while making a mess. "Now, that is a lot of bunnies!" Hitch said in surprise. "This is... not what I expected... at all..." Tails said with concern. "Can I help you?" Eggmund asked them, getting his baby bunny off his ear. "Um, hello?" Zipp said, unsure, with a small smile. "Aren't you forgetting something? You're supposed to be opening the Eggstravaganza?" she told him/ "Nope. I can't do it. No way," Eggmund simply said tiredly. "Zephyr Heights is literally about to explode with chocolate!" Tails cried out in panic, getting close to Eggmund. "And you, sir, have a job to do," Hitch added. "Sorry, but... I'm too exhausted!" Eggmund cried out as tears came out of his eyes. "Do you know how hard it is looking after sixteen baby bunnies all on your own?!" he questioned, giving them a tired and angry look. "I kinda do," Hitch said honestly as he turned to Sparky, who climbed on Zipp's head and placed a carrot on her mane with giggles while Zipp looked at him cutely before Tails grabbed Sparky and placed him on one of his tails. Then, he started to swing Sparky from one tail to the other, as Sparky giggled while having fun, and Zipp also giggled at Tail's smart move to entertain Sparky, while Hitch smiled at his baby dragon, then he turned back to Eggmund. "Look, I know it's hard. Believe me. I've gone through ten fire extinguishers in the past week," Hitch said with a panicked look, especially considering that Knuckles hasn't helped since he's been busy dealing with how to confess to Izzy. "But you don't have to do it alone. We can help you!" Hitch assured with a smile. "I'm not much of a babysitter, but sure. I'm always willing to help!" Tails smiled, and Zipp walked next to Eggmund. "They are right. We could, um…" Zipp tried to say, but she trailed off as she felt a baby bunny hopping on her back and strained slightly from the vibration. "... look after the bunnies for you," she said uncertainly with a forced smile while the baby bunny grabbed her mane and tugged it. "Really?" Eggmund asked heartily as tears began to form in his eyes. "You'd do that?" he asked gratefully. "Of course," Hitch answered with a smile, while Eggmund eyes got hearts on them as he quivered with a smile. "Parents gotta stick together," Hitch added. "Besides, helping out is the best we know to do!" Tails added with a smile. "So what do you say?' Zipp asked as she, Hitch, and Tails got in front of him. Eggmund thought of what they would say as the three friends smiled at him sparklingly while the baby bunny he held gave cute squeaks. After seeing how generous their offer was, he smiled at them. "Oh, all right!" Eggmund said with a smile, accepting their help. You three grab the stroller! I'll get the ceremonial scissors!" he instructed as he returned home to get ready. "Yes!" Zipp, Hitch, and Tails cheered as they were high-hooved each other. Then, they looked through Eggmund's house and saw the stroller next to the door, surprised to see sixteen seats. "... It's in moments like this one where I wished Vanilla was here..." Tails muttered with concern. Knuckles was walking towards the Crystal Brighthouse, where he would probably find Izzy in her crafting spot. To say he was nervous was just the tip of the iceberg because he was terrified. Asking Izzy out sounded simpler than actually doing it, but... Sonic and Sunny's words were stuck with him. Did he want to leave Equestria when the day arrived by letting his feelings sink until they disappeared, wondering for the rest of his life what could have been a relationship with her? Or go for it and expect the best of it? "... Feelings are complicated..." Knuckles muttered to himself with concern. Eventually, he entered the Crystal Brighthouse, and just hearing a hum and a lot of stops crashing was enough for Knuckles to know that Izzy was there. His heart began to beat fast, sweat ran down his body, and he glanced at his hands... He was shaking. He never shook before, not even when he felt a small glance of fear... No, this wasn't fear. He was just nervous. He still didn't want to lose Izzy's friendship, and now he would ask her for a date. A date. Something that's always related to romantic stuff. Yet, he was here already. He made it this far, so why step back when you can go for it? Taking a deep breath to relax, Knuckles walked over and stood behind Izzy, who seemed focused on something she was unicycling. "Um, Izz?" Knuckles called out nervously as he gulped and rubbed his hands nervously. Izzy felt a bit startled when she heard that, and her magic accidentally let go of a cardboard tube that booted all over the living room, but when it was heading straight to Knuckles, the echidna just grabbed the tube in the air and looked at it with a raised eyebrow. "Uh... sorry for startling you, I mean," Knuckles apologized with a sheepish smile. "Oh, Knuckle!" Izzy said happily as she immediately zoomed to his side and hugged him. Dang it! Knuckles though with concern. This is going to complicate things... he panicked a bit. "Thanks for catching this up for me!" Izzy said cheerfully as she used her magic to levitate the cardboard tube off Knuckle's hand. "Y-You're... welcome..." Knuckles said nervously. "U-Um... Izz? I, um... Well, I was wondering if––" he tried to ask. "Mhm?" Izzy asked as she quickly returned to her unicycling project. Knuckles took another deep breath before blushing entirely in panic and... "PLEASE GO ON A DATE WITH ME!!!" Knuckles shouted in panic. He immediately covered his mouth while Izzy let everything she was levitating fall to the ground. Her face blushed entirely because she was unsure if she heard well. "U-Uh... w-what?" Izzy asked, turning around and looking at Knuckles, whose face was even redder than usual. Knuckles had no choice but to retire his hands from his mouth to look at Izzy nervously. "I-I... Izzy... w-would you like to get out... o-on a... d-d-date with..." Knuckles managed to say, but since he couldn't finish with a word, he just used a thumb and pointed at himself, looking away from her. Izzy felt her heart racing a marathon, and her eyes literally turned into two little hearts as she stared in delight at the echidna. Without hesitation, Izzy tackled Knuckles to the ground, gave him a massive hug, and kissed his cheeks multiple times, wagging her hind legs happily like a filly. "YES!" Izzy shouted in excitement. "Yes, yes, and a thousand times, yes! I'd love to have a date with you, Knuckle!" Knuckles felt his face redder, but... he was also smiling now. This went better than he expected, so he also embraced Izzy in the hug. Sometime later, back in Zephyr Heights, ponies were gathered around in front of the town center while the bunnies were still hiding more eggs. At the top of the stairs, Eggmund was in the middle with Queen Haven and Thunder by his side, and he was about to cut the red ribbon while wearing his hat and bowtie. Zipp, Hitch, and Tails smiled at Eggmund before turning to the sixteen baby bunnies, who were squeaking cutely while Sparky was wearing a pair of bunny ears and making silly faces at the baby bunnies. Thunder brought out a trumpet and blew it, resulting in a chocolate egg coming out, surprising him. "I hereby declare the Royal Eggstravaganza... open!" Eggmund announced as he cut the red ribbon. After that, all the bunnies hiding the eggs finally stopped. They either dropped them or cleared some filled with bricks into containers like trash cans or a building. They squeaked while running out of the way to get rid of them. "Thanks, ponies, " Eggmund said as he walked to the three friends and his children. "I couldn't have done this without your help. And it felt good to be Eggmund Bunny again," he added in nostalgia. "You know, two good friends once did the same thing for me," Hitch said, as he looked at Zipp and Tails with a smile while the two latter smiled back, and the three of them hooftapped together, while Zipp and Hitch Cutie Marks glowed without them knowing. "Besides, helping others is pretty much our job," Tails said with a smile. "But seriously, anytime you need help, I'm a call away," Hitch added to Eggmund with a smile. Eggmund smiled after hearing that suggestion, finding the idea very tentative, as he brought out his phone. "Weeeeell... it's funny you should say that, 'cause I'm gonna need bunny-sitters on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays," Eggmund said with a smile, while Hitch, Zipp, Tails, and even Sparky were shocked and surprised by this outcome, as the baby bunnies started to climb on the three shocked friends. "Oh! I could do it with help on my morning carrot run on Fridays. And also on Saturdays, I like to do a little rumba, so I do some dancing. So you could come over on Saturday nights, then get my rrrrumba on!" he added, making chitter sounds in happiness. Suddenly, however, Eggmund got a mail on his phone, and once he opened it, his eyes went wide in shock. "WHAT?!" Eggmund shouted in panic. "Who the heck is 'Dr. Eggman'?! And why is he demanding me for falsification and appropriation of identity?!" he questioned with worry. "This is exactly what I didn't want to happen..." Tails muttered with an eye roll and an annoyed look. Knuckles and Izzy were staring at the horizon as they watched the sunset, and Izzy rested her head on Knuckles' shoulder. Their date was pretty wild. Since they were already in the Brighthouse, they decided to start by unicycling random stuff. Then, they went to the movie theater and watched a 'horror' movie, but they both laughed the entire time because the movie was terrible at being scary. Then, they ate at a pasta restaurant, and Knuckles got the entire plate of spaghetti stuck in his face. Ultimately, they had a small pillow fight back in the Crystal Brighthouse. They just wanted to finish this by watching the sunset at the edge of a cliff near the Brighthouse. "... Knux?" Izzy called out after a while. "I... um... First of all, I wanna thank you for today. It was... magical..." She thanked him with a slight blush and a smile, and Knuckles also blushed slightly, but he returned the smile to her. "Thanks to you for accepting... I was... kind of afraid you wouldn't want to..." Knuckles confessed. "I would have to be crazy to not want to, Knuckie," Izzy said with a chuckle that made Knuckles' heart skip a beat. "... Y-You know... I, um... I've been wanting to tell you something for a while..." Knuckles said as he scratched his neck nervously. "... M-Me too..." Izzy confessed as well. "But I... I don't know if you'll like to hear it... or if it could even work, considering you'll leave one day..." she pointed out. Knuckles could be a bit lost sometimes, but that sentence? That was clear to him, and he could feel his heart beating faster. "... Izzy... I, um..." Knuckles tried to say. However, he couldn't even finish his sentence because Izzy suddenly pulled him into a kiss... on the lips. Knuckles felt his entire face heating up, and his heart was racing a marathon now. Izzy's heart was also beaten wildly, and she finally pulled away from the kiss, blushing a lot while she stared at Knuckles' eyes. "... I... I like you... ever since... ever since you became a deputy, Knux..." Izzy finally confessed. "B-But I'll understand if you don't––" she tried to add. However, now it was Knuckles who kissed her suddenly, interrupting whatever she would say. It took her off guard, but eventually, she kissed him back, even placing her hooves on his chest, while Knuckles carefully caressed Izzy's cheek as well. "... I like you ever since the Unicorn Sleepover..." Knuckles confessed as well. "And... I was afraid that you wouldn't like me..." he added. "I'm... also afraid of how things can go once Sonic, Tails, and I leave this world... But until then, I want to spend all my days in Equestria with you, Izz... as your partner... as your lover..." he added with a smile. Izzy felt her eyes becoming little hearts again, so she tackled Knuckles down on the floor again, and they kissed each other once more, with Knuckles wrapping Izzy and carefully caressing her back. Right here, right now, nothing and no one else mattered. It was just the two of them sharing their love without a care about what the world had to say about them being together as a couple. Not so far, Sonic, Sunny, and Pipp were watching everything, with Sunny and Pipp smiling as the latter was also crying in happiness for both of them. "This is so beautiful!" Pipp cried out dramatically, and Sunny at her side sighed. "I adore happy endings," Sunny said with a smile. Sonic, however, was more impressed by the fact that he now respected Knuckles a lot more. He no longer cared about the bet he lost with Tails; he admired Knuckles for being brave to take this step. Then Sonic looked at Pipp. He couldn't do it yet. Not being ready was just an excuse he used with Knuckles. He is ready, but he still wants to wait a bit longer. "... Just a bit longer, Sonic..." he told himself. "Just a bit longer..." THE END Author's Note Welp, there it is, guys! Knuckles and Izzy are dating now! The reason why I wanted them to be the first ones to become a thing is because it can be a pushover for both Sonic and Pipp to also make that big step, but that's an issue for Season 2, alright? Now, I seriously do not care what next episode is gonna be about, it's gonna play exactly as it comes out, with no Team Sonic intervention, because they're gonna have their own plot the entirety of next episode. I'm telling you this now in case you suddenly get ideas and want to tell me. Not because I don't want to hear them, but because what I have planned for next episode cannot be moved, no matter what. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode, as well as the first couple of lovebirds finally becoming a thing! See you later! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
49. Mission ImponableAbove the Crystal Brighthouse, Eggman was watching the building with a pair of binoculars. He was riding his Eggmobile, and Misty was behind him. He looked scared of being so high and wearing skydiving gear. "Hmm... the coast seems clear..." Eggman said. "Those three pests are out for a 'Movie Premiere' in the Mushroom Kingdom, so the ponies are alone. Good," he added as he put the binoculars aside. "Are you sure you still wanna do this, Misty?" he asked her with concern. "No, but you know Opaline," Misty replied with a nervous smile, sweating heavily. "She wants that information. To get it without being noticed, I must do this..." she pointed out, gulping nervously but now preparing to jump from the Eggmobile. "I mean, it isn't a requirement to––" Eggman tried to point out, but he got interrupted when he heard Misty screaming in fear. He popped his face from the edge of his Eggmobile, and his jaw dropped when he saw Misty screaming as she skydived towards the forest near the Crystal Brighthouse. Eggman facepalmed and groaned. "... jump..." he finished with annoyance. Meanwhile, as Misty was still falling, her amulet opened, and Opaline appeared. "Honestly, Mis…" she started, but as soon as she noticed Misty falling from the sky, she started screaming. "Whaaat is happening!? " she cried out in shock and surprise. Misty's eyes were covered with Opaline’s cloud dust from the amulet, and she tried to avoid it. "Opaline, can’t see!" Misty called out as she tried to pull the line to her parachute while Opaline continued screaming. "Misty, do something!" Opaline cried out in fright because even if she communicated from the amulet, she was also feeling the experience. "Just… a second!" said Misty as she struggled to find the release string. "Aha! There you are!" she cheered, pulling the string and opening her parachute, safely bringing them to the ground. However, Misty's chute got stuck to a tree, and Opaline had her eyes closed while her cloud-like arms hugged around Misty's head. "Uh, Opaline, you can let go now. We're okay!" Misty smiled assuringly at Opaline. Opaline opened one of her eyes and saw that Misty was right, but as karma struck, the parachute gave out, and the two fell to the ground. "Whoa!" both cried out; Misty landed face first, and Opaline landed on top of her with a startled yelp. Soon enough, Opaline got her bearings and looked at Misty in shock and irritation. "What was that, Misty?!" she scolded her. "Skydiving!?" she yelled in rage. "Oh, this?" Misty asked with a small smile, gesturing to her gear. "You never listen!" Opaline scolded, which made Misty flinch. "All I ask you to do is––" "Get more information about the magic crystals and how they work," Misty abruptly interrupted, looking at Opaline with annoyance. "That is still what you want," she added, now glaring a lot at Opaline, who was surprised at Misty speaking to her like that. "Isn’t it, Opaline?" Opaline raised an eyebrow and stood silently, surprised that Misty stood up and told her off like that. "Yes..." Opaline said calmly, coinciding with herself. "You have been joining Eggman way too much lately. Now hurry up!" she added, then returned to the amulet. Misty sighed in relief and gave a determined smile. "Let’s do this!" "Good luck, Misty" Eggman said through the ladybug on her ear. "Oh, and be careful with Tails' security system!" he warned as well. Misty smiled and nodded. "I will!" she assured confidently. Later, a bunnycorn popped out of the ground, but Misty was underneath, crawling through a tunnel. In a clearing underground, a family of bunnycorns enjoyed their carrot dinner, but suddenly, their home started to shake, surprising the bunnies. They look at their family portrait as it falls to the ground, revealing Misty, who keeps digging. "Oh! Hey bunnycorns." Misty greeted sheepishly. "Don’t mind me, enjoy your dinner," she added. The bunnycorns were shocked by this, and the adult male fainted while the rest screamed in panic. A little bit later, Misty got out of the tunnel, where a bunnycorn first surfaced; one of them, who was eating a berry, screamed and ran off as the one on her head screamed and ran off. Misty groaned and pushed herself out of the rabbit hole but landed with a thud. In the bedroom, Zipp heard the thud and placed tiredly her blanket over her head. Outside, Misty was feeling tired as she climbed the walls of the Brighthouse with her suction cups on her hooves. Suddenly, a small camera popped from a hidden spot and started to scan the area. Misty was startled by that and stopped moving. She closed her eyes and waited for the camera to stop on her and accept her destiny. However, the robotic ladybug beeped and activated a shield around Misty. Once the camera scanned the area where Misty was standing... it kept moving. After that, the camera returned inside the Brighthouse, ignoring Misty's presence. Misty opened her eyes and felt completely confused when she saw she had been saved and the camera had disappeared. She was also confused about why a shield was around her, but the ladybug on her ear deactivated the shield. Deciding it was better not to question it, Misty shrugged and finished climbing up the wall to reach the top. Once Misty got there, she felt dizzy and out of breath. However, it was all worth it because she saw the Unity Crystals shining bright through the crystal protecting it. Someone should have told Misty that there was an open zone at the top of the Brighthouse to reach the Crystals and that there was no need to make a perfectly circular hole in the middle of the glass with a blowtorch. But she did it anyway, then placed her suction cups on it to remove it. Misty struggled to remove it, so she grunted and took it out with both hooves. Misty managed to remove it but apparently lost her balance and walked backward. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoooaaa!" she cried out, reaching the balcony's edge, leaning on her back, and dangling the glass over the edge. "Did not think that through," she said with a little smile that disappeared when the glass fell from her hooves and fell towards the ground. Wuh-oh..." she said nervously as the glass shattered on the ground. In the bedroom, the four mares woke startled by the shattering sound. "What was that?!" Pipp questioned in shock. At the top of the Brighthouse, Misty knew she had screwed it up, so she quickly started to descend through the wall of the Brighthouse. "Did you ponies hear that?!" Sunny asked in panic inside the bedroom. "Yeah... It seemed like it came from the Crystal Room..." Zipp pointed out with a concerned frown. Suddenly, however, the ground started to rumble violently, startling the four mares. They all went outside the Brighthouse, but Zipp stopped them at the entrance when they saw something coming from the ground. Sunny immediately stepped in front and activated her Alicorn form, preparing to protect her friends from whatever was coming. However, no one expected a giant green pipe to pop from the ground and stop before them. The four mares looked at each other confused, but as soon as the pipe started making weird sounds and lights showed up from the top, Sunny opened her wings and lightened up her horn, still prepared to fight if necessary. But then, all doubts and fears dissipated when the pipe stopped making sounds, and then Knuckles came out of it, wearing a black suit with a red tie, a pair of sunglasses with the shape of the letter M, and a party whistle that he blew. The four mares looked confused, especially since they didn't expect the Knuckles of all people to come out of a giant pipe. "Knuckles?" Izzy called out, confused. "Hey, girls!" Knuckles greeted with a smile, also waving his hand a bit. After Knuckles got down the pipe, the next one to come out was Tails, who flew about in the air as he cheered before also landing in front of the pipe. Tails was also wearing a black suit with a yellow tie. He wore a green hat with the letter L on the front. Finally, Sonic also arrived, jumping out of the pipe while curled into a ball before returning to his normal state. He wore a black suit, blue tie, and fake mustache. As soon as Sonic came out, the pipe behind them got back into earth, leaving the mares even more confused. "Sup!" Sonic greeted with smirk. "Sorry if I woke you up with the pipe, but the party is over," he explained. "I haven't had that much fun since that sleepover Izzy made a while ago!" Tails added with a huge smile. "I even won this Fire Flower!" he added as he pulled out a small capsule with a Fire Flower from the Mushroom Kingdom. "Also, Luigi says he's sorry for what happened the other day when he came," Knuckles added, blowing the party whistle again. The four mares blinked a few times before looking at each other, extremely confused about what was happening. "Uh... who?" Sunny questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Remember that ghostbuster we had to call because someone did something incredibly dangerous only for views even after I told them like 5 times not to?!" Sonic asked with anger and a frown as he glared daggers at Pipp. Pipp only blinked a few times and looked away sheepishly as she hid her face with her hooves in embarrassment. "Yeah, we do..." Zipp replied, looking at Pipp with a bored expression as well. "Why?" she asked to Sonic with a raised eyebrow. "Well..." Sonic stated, looking at the ceiling and thinking about the proper words to use to say this. After Discord's redemption, Pipp started to lose followers like a maniac. She was afraid that her Pippsqueaks were bored of her, so to bring them back... she literally summoned a ghost. Team Sonic immediately stepped back and refused to participate. Sonic even told Pipp that if her followers loved her, they would stick with her no matter what. He also tried to make her understand that not everyone's gonna like what she posts, but she refused to listen and still went ahead with her dumbass idea of playing the pony world equivalent of the Ouija and summoning a ghost. This ghost, in particular, was from a girl tricked by her 'friends' to assist at a party where they never showed up. So, her soul wanted revenge, and Pipp accidentally summoned her. At first, it all seemed to be just Zipp tricking Pipp since she wanted to teach her a lesson, but in the end, there was a ghost there, and while Zipp believed it was real, Pipp was convinced that it wasn't anything. However, Zipp told Tails everything to be sure. Zipp also told Luigi to go to the Brighthouse with his Poltergust G-00 to get rid of the ghost. Luigi, being the sacred man he is, was trembling the entire time as he hugged the vacuum of his Poltergust. "Don't worry, man. I'm pretty sure Zipp's just exaggerating about something," Sonic said to the Italian plumber with a reassuring smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Uh, let me doubt it for a second," Tails said, using his Miles Electric to monitor any paranormal activity in the Brighthouse. "I do have some paranormal signals here," he revealed. That made Luigi gulp, but he was still willing to help if necessary. Suddenly, Tails' Miles electric went beyond crazy with the beeps, startling Sonic, Luigi, and the young fox. "This is about to get wild, guys..." he warned with concern. Suddenly, a ghost with the figure of a pony appeared, but it wasn't the one Pipp had summoned. Still, the three screamed in fear, so Luigi turned on his Poltergeist to capture the ghost. Let's say that after all was said and done, the Mane 5 and Knuckles arrived for dinner, but they found Sonic, Tails, and Luigi panting heavily after capturing the ghost. However, the instant Luigi saw the Mane 5 and Izzy said 'Hi!', Luigi fainted on the floor, shocked to see ponies talking, even if he had also seen weirder stuff. The four mares made a collective 'Oooooh...' after Sonic explained the entire thing. "Yeah... we should have been a bit more sensitive..." Pipp confessed. "Agreed," Zipp said with a little smirk before frowning again. "But as much as I would like to hear how you guys even left to that other world or how the party was, I'm afraid we have a bigger thing to look after now," Zipp said with concern. "What kind of 'thing' are you talking about?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow, removing the fake mustache from his face. The whole group made it up to the Crystal Room a little later. Team Sonic was still in their suits, but Tails put the hat and the Fire Flower in his room while Knuckles removed his sunglasses. They were all surprised to find that the glass in the Crystal Room had been cut open in a perfect circle. "Oh... is that kind of thing..." Sonic complained, even though he was frowning. "Somepony tried to break in here," Zipp stated, looking at the hole with a frown, as Sunny, Izzy, Pipp, and Tails gasped while Sonic and Knuckles frowned. "But who would do that? And what do they want?" she questioned with worry. "Oh, I could name a certain doctor that would try to get in here..." Sonic said angrily, as some electricity showed off and his eyes turned blue for a second. On the other hand, they turned blue. Sunny looked concerned and worried at the ground. Sunny was cooking breakfast in the morning, still worried about what they saw last night. "Maybe the glass just fell out like that!" Izzy called out while Pipp, Zipp, Sonic, and Tails gave her bored expressions. "Whaaaaat?" she asked before taking a bite out of a pancake. "It could happen," she added with a smirk. "Izz, I love you, but a perfectly cut circular hole doesn't come out of nowhere," Knuckles pointed out to his girlfriend with a neutral expression. "Still, with how much weird stuff happens daily, I wouldn't be surprised," he confessed. "Knux, I get she's your lover, but please don't encourage her..." Sonic begged with a tired tone and a bored expression. Pipp was eating a salad, while Sunny was still concerned as she placed more breakfast. "It's kind of exciting. Like a real-life 'who done it,' you know?” she said with a smile. "Yeah... not exciting if you ask me..." Sonic said, still with a bored expression. "Last time a maniac tried to steal a Crystal, we had an unnecessary 10-issue arc to catch him. It only took a video and nice words to show him he was being a dumbass," he pointed out. "Hey!" Discord complained with a frown as he suddenly appeared in a small mid-air portal. "Am I wrong, though?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow. Discord raised a finger from his lion arm and prepared to reply something, but after thinking about it, he got nothing, so he put on a bored expression and snapped his tongue. "... Fair point..." Discord recognized before getting into the portal again and disappearing. "Sonic has a point, Pipp," Zipp said with a frown while Sunny placed more breakfast. "Somepony tried to steal the crystals that gave us magic again. That's not exciting. It's dangerous," she added. "Especially considering that Opaline is looking after the Crystals," Tails added with a frown before chomping a sandwich madly, even though he wanted to smile since the sandwich was delicious. "Zipp and Tails are right," Sunny said with concern before showing a determined expression that surprised the rest. "As the Alicorn, it's my job to protect the Crystals and keep everypony in Equestria safe," she stated while the rest smiled at her. Just then, Hitch arrived with Sparky, and both had bee stings on them while a couple of bees circled. "Sorry, I'm late! Sparky turned my keys into a swarm of bees, and then I had to get some honey to... and... Well, what'd I miss?" he asked sheepishly while Sparky burped out a bee and groaned a bit. "Someone tried to steal the Crystals last night," Sonic explained vaguely, which made Hitch gasp. "And no, Discord's not the one behind it this time. Already checked that out," he added, which made Hitch sigh in relief. "And you're just in time, Hitch. It's time for me to become the Alicorn that Equestria needs!" Sunny said determinedly. "But to do it, I'm gonna need everypony's help training!" she added, winking at her friends. The rest cheered at herm, and they shared a high hoof, although Team Sonic put their fists instead. After that, Sunny summoned her Alicorn form, ready to train and become a more powerful Alicorn. Later on, Sunny and Zipp went to town and lowered down a bit, spreading their wings. Sonic was in front of them, holding two speedometers and pointing them at Sunny and Zipp. "Alright, girls. When I say 'Go!' and Izzy waves the flag, you boost flying, alright?" Sonic stated to them, as both of them nodded with determinate looks. "Very well, then. On your marks... Get set... GO!" he shouted as he boosted away backward. Soon enough, Izzy waved the flag to start with a smile while the two ponies boosted right past her as well, making her twirl around very fast, but thankfully, she was caught by Knuckles. "Already ending in my arms, honey? It's only been 3 minutes~" Knuckles told Izzy with a flirty tone. However, Izzy snorted a bit, although she still blushed. "You just love to hold me like this, don't you, sweetie?" she asked him in a flirty tone. "Maybe I do~" Knuckles replied, which increased Izzy's blush as she chuckled nervously. Meanwhile, Sunny and Zipp flew past many ponies, creating dust from the winds as they went at high speed, while ponies around, like Misty, looked at them in surprise. Sonic was measuring their speed with the speedometer, and even if he was running backward, he was still dodging everything so he wouldn't crash against something or somepony. As Sunny and Zipp were neck to neck with each other, Zipp suddenly flew ahead of the Alicorn, and Sunny tried to zoom off to reach Zipp. A little bit later, Sunny and Izzy were at the community garden. Sunny used her horn to levitate a tomato, not noticing that Misty snuck up behind them. She wanted to see their training and learn more, but then Sunny turned and looked at Izzy with shock and surprise, while Misty hid behind a pillar as she watched as well. They saw that Izzy was levitating two giant tomatoes with her magic, spinning them around her body until they stopped, while Izzy smiled at what she did. Sunny was surprised by this and lost her focus entirely, which caused her horn to stop glowing. As a result, the tomato she was levitating fell on her face with a splat. In Mane Melody, Sunny was standing on a stage, while Sunny turned off her Alicorn form. She stared at Pipp and Sonic, confused, especially since they wore sunglasses. "Okay, Sunny, say it with us..." Pipp instructed with a smile. "I am strong!" Sonic and Pipp said as they both posed. "I am strong!" Sunny repeated with a smile, following Pipp's and Sonic's movements. Behind them, Misty stood behind the stage and smirked, feeling that this could be interesting information. Somewhere else, a bunnycorn and his cubs were trying to move a dead tree out of the way. Right then, Sunny and Hitch arrived along Tails, and the two Earth Ponies looked at each other with determinate looks before nodding and lifting their hooves that glowed in green before stomping them on the ground. That activated their Earth Pony magic, which created two vines from the ground. In a clearing, Sunny was standing a few meters away from Knuckles. "Now, let's put your skills to good use, Sunny-bunny!" Knuckles stated with a mocking smirk. "Hit me with everything, Knucklehead!" Sunny mocked up with a confident smile. Knuckles snorted after hearing that before putting over a serious expression. "With pleasure," he stated, as his eyes turned red and electricity came out of his body. After that, he smashed the ground with his right arm, which was charged with electricity, before literally taking a piece of earth off the ground and launching it at Sunny. Sunny squealed in panic, but then she frowned and used her magic to shoot a laser into the piece of ground, turning it into a lot of confetti. She smiled at that, but as soon as she saw that Knuckles was taking several pieces at a time and launching them at her, she put on a serious expression and spread her wings before boosting herself towards the pieces of earth. Sunny shot several lasers at those pieces, turning them into small gems, golden rings, confetti, pink glitter, and even pillows that couldn't harm anyone. However, Knuckles did hear Sunny when she said he should launch everything he gots, so he pulled his wildest trick yet: He dug in the earth, very, very, very deep on it, and after a while, the entire ground started to rumble, which startled Sunny. However, what did surprise her was when the entire earth came out of the ground, being held by Knuckles, looking at Sunny with a frown and red eyes but still smiling. "You said 'everything,' Starscout," Knuckles reminded. Sunny gulped nervously, but then she spread her wings again and boosted towards Knuckles. Knuckles let out a warrior cry and launched the giant piece of earth in the air before jumping and digging at supersonic speed through it. Once he came out, he stood in the air for a few seconds before charging up his hands with electricity and then making a supersonic clap, which caused the piece of earth to shatter into multiple pieces. However, Sunny didn't flinch. She charged up another powerful laser bean with her horn and shot it toward all the pieces of earth that exploded in glitter. Knuckles immediately dug into the earth to avoid getting covered by it, while the glitter covered everything else. Sunny landed and smiled, also panting heavily because of the effort. Still, she sensed something strange and summoned a golden shield to protect herself before opening her eyes and noticing that Sonic just uncurled from the Spindash he launched towards her. "Good job with your training with Knuckles, Sunny-bunny," Sonic mocked up with a smirk. "But now you gotta take me and my little bro down!" he stated confidently. Sunny was still panting. She passed a hoof on her forehead to wipe some sweat away, but then she gave a determinate look and launched against Sonic. Sonic smiled, and then he charged a Spindash against Sunny again. "I am confident!" Sunny, Pipp, and Sonic said together. At the Community Garden, Izzy levitated three giant tomatoes and smiled with sparkling eyes. However, she looked at her side, surprised to see Sunny levitating three giant tomatoes with a smile. Then she looked at Izzy, who smiled back at her. However, the unicorn lost her focus, and her magic faded out, so she looked up and saw that her tomatoes were about to land on her. She braced herself, but then she saw that they stopped and moved away. Sunny seemed to have taken the tomatoes away, and she looked focused and determined as all six giant tomatoes circled her. "I am the Alicorn!" Sunny and Pipp said together, while Sunny’s Alicorn form appeared and began to glow. "I'm not a pony, so I'm not shouting that," Sonic said as he looked at you smugly and winked at you. The bunnycorns were still trying to move the dead tree, but they saw the vines coming and moved aside. The magic vines wrapped around the dead tree and lifted it tree up, revealing a rabbit hole, which made the bunnycorn family smile since they could go back home now. The vines lifted the dead tree, but Sunny focused on the magic vines that put it back into place. These vines made the tree grow leaves, flowers, and vines, bringing it back to life. Sunny, Hitch, and Tails smiled with sparkling eyes, but then Tails noticed how close Hitch was to Sunny, so he turned around and whistled innocently before 'accidentally' pushing Hitch closer to Sunny. Hitch bumped a bit with Sunny, and both earth ponies blushed a bit, but Sunny still rested her head on Hitch's shoulder, making Hitch's heart bump faster than ever, as he also laughed nervously. "Tails, you are a great wingman!" the young fox told himself, patting his back with a confident smile. "I am strong!" Sunny said determinedly. All the fruits and vegetables in the garden began to levitate and circle Sunny while she and Izzy looked at them with smiles and sparkling eyes. "Whoa!" Izzy said in awe. Sonic was trying to hit Sunny with Homing Attacks and Spindashes. However, the Alicorn kept dodging his attacks or created golden shields to protect herself from Sonic's attacks. Desperate, Sonic decided to charge his fists with electricity and tried to punch Sunny through her shield, but she only smirked and used her magic to levitate Sonic in midair, turning his powers off. Sonic looked down at Sunny before smiling sheepishly. Sunny just smirked, then used a harmless laser beam to send Sonic through the sky, several meters away. "Nante osoroshī kimochideshou!" Sonic shouted in fear, screaming, 'What a horrible feeling!' in Japanese. Seeing what just happened to Sonic, Tails jaw dropped, and as soon as Sunny looked at him sideways, Tails pulled out a white flag, immediately giving up before Sunny could do anything to him. Sunny rolled her eyes but also giggled a bit at Tails' attitude. "I am confident!" Sunny said again, with determination growing inside of her. Sunny and Zipp were flying high in the sky, with Tails holding the speedometers this time and flying backward since Sonic cannot fly. Sunny looked on with determination, focusing her magic on her wings, which glowed bright and surprised Zipp. And then, the Alicorn boosted away, knocking Zipp back. The surprised Pegasus rolled in the air before regaining her balance, and she looked in surprise at how Sunny zoomed off, leaving a trail of magic and creating a sonic boom while disappearing into the distance. "Whoooaaa!" Zipp cheered in awe with sparkling eyes. Tails was still going as fast as Sunny to calculate her speed, and he was surprised to see that she had already reached 500,000 meters. This wasn't impressive to him since he was that fast, but he was happy to see how much Sunny had improved. "Nicely done, Sunny!" Tails said with a smile, as he couldn't help but hug Sunny brotherly. That made them stop flying so fast, but Sunny smiled and returned the hug to him. "I am... the Alicorn!" Sunny called out with a determined look. Pipp wiped her tears of joy, and Sonic smiled and patted her back. Soon enough, Sunny glowed so much that she also brightened all of Mane Melody. At the front of the Brighthouse, Misty was hiding behind a bush. However, as soon as she saw Sunny approaching the Brighthouse, she hid inside her bush. Meanwhile, Sunny zoomed by and flew around the Brighthouse before landing on the top balcony. Looking down, she saw her friends and Sparky cheering for her with sparkling eyes. The Alicorn smiled at her friends, then flew up and landed on the ground with them. However, Eggman was watching her again in the skies with his binoculars with his binoculars. He frowned, as he had been watching her the entire training, and he didn't like how powerful Sunny was becoming. "Misty..." Eggman called out with a frown, communicating with the unicorn through the ladybug on her ear. "Reveal your position and say you were hiding from whatever's gonna show up, alright?" he instructed. Inside the bush, Misty gulped nervously but looked on determinedly. " O-okay, doctor..." she replied. After that, Eggman closed the capsule of his Eggmobile and backed away while Sunny was talking with her friends. "Sunny, that was incredible!" Zipp cheered with a smile and sparkling eyes while Misty's bush moved behind them. "I've never seen anypony that isn't Tails fly so fast!" she added. But as Misty was hiding, her necklace opened up, and Opaline appeared with a groan. "Tell me something about those crystals, Misty! What is taking so long?!" she complained, growing impatient. "Well…" Misty started with a nervous laugh, also clearing her throat. "Funny story. I, uh…" she tried to explain, but as she placed her hoof down, she almost hit Pegamice inside the bush with her, and they squeaked in surprise. The Mane 5 and Team Sonic heard the squeaking, and they started to look around. "What was that? Is somepony there?" Sunny questioned with a raised eyebrow. Misty gasped and panicked a lot. "We better get out of here! I'll fill you in later, Opaline!" she said quickly, pressing the amulet to close it. "What do you mean you'll tell me later, Mistyyyyy?!" Opaline questioned loudly as she faded out, while Misty flinched once Opaline disappeared. "I heard something right over…" Sunny started, still looking around. The bush where Misty hid moved and rustled a bit, which caught her attention. "...here..." she finished with a suspicious look. "Um, that hedge just moved," Hitch said with a raised eyebrow while the others approached the bush. "Ah, Hitchy-poo," Izzy waved it off with a smile. "You're seeing things, buddy. Hedges don't just––" she started, but Misty ran off with the hedge before she could finish, which surprised them. "Oh, wow, look! There it goes!" Izzy cheered in surprise as Hitch gave her a bored expression while the rest looked surprised. Sonic was about to say something, but Sunny spread her wings and boosted them at high speed before he could, leaving her friends surprised. Misty tried to escape while in the hedge, but Sunny landed before her, choking the poor unicorn. Sunny frowned and looked very intimidating, which was already surprising, but then, Sunny activated her Earth Pony magic and stomped her hooves down to bring out two giant vines that grew on her sides. After that, she focused the vines to move them towards the hedge and moved them out of the way, revealing Misty’s face. Misty yelped from this as she saw she was revealed, panicking a bit. However, as soon as she remembered what Eggman told her about acting like she was hiding from something else, she recomposed herself. "Oh! Thank hoofness is just you, Sunny! I-I thought you were that weird guy!" she said shyly. "Misty?" Sunny asked in surprise, smiling and retracting the vines back to the ground. Oh, thank goodness it's you. I thought it was somepony dangerous," she added in relief, while Misty gave a nervous smile. Look, guys! It's just Misty," she told them, still smiling. "Hi, Misty!" Izzy cheerfully greeted her, appearing next to her with a wave. This surprised Misty a bit, but she still turned to her with a sheepish smile. "Yup, just your old pal Misty," Misty said as she got out of her hedge nervously and laughed while the rest smiled at her, except for Zipp, who felt suspicious about her. "Hey, uh, Misty?" Tails called out. "If you don't mind me asking, why were you hiding?" he questioned, even though he was still smiling. "Yeah, I was wondering the same thing," Zipp confessed, although she managed to smile a bit so no one could tell she was suspicious of Misty. "Hang on... You mentioned that you were glad I wasn't a weird guy... what did you mean?" Sunny asked, a bit concerned. "U-Um... well... you see... I-I was hiding from––" Misty tried to explain herself. However, the ground started to rumble before Misty could reply, startling Team Sonic, the Mane 5, and Misty. Soon enough, something approached them as it dug into the ground. Sunny and Sonic stood in defensive positions to protect everyone else, while Hitch grabbed Sparky protectively, and Knuckles stood in front of Izzy to protect her. Then, a giant driller emerged from the ground before showing off Eggman himself, riding his Egg Driller with a smirk. "Kon'nichiwa!" Eggman greeted mischievously, opening the capsule of the Egg Driller and popping his head out of it. "... him..." Misty replied with a genuinely scared look, not because of Eggman but because of his machine. "So Egghead was messing with ya, huh?" Sonic asked with a frown, charging his electrical powers. "Explain yourself, Eggman!" he demanded. "I don't need to explain anything!" Eggman stated with a frown. "By the way, nice training, Sunny! You finally are being useful after almost a year with magic, huh?" he mocked up with a smirk. "Sonic has made a clear point, doctor," Sunny said with a frown. "Now, leave immediately, or I will make you," she warned with a frown. "You think I'm scared of a pitiful pony with fake wings and a horn and a childish and nonsense dream? Ha! Even the Werehog is more intimidating than you, and he looked ridiculous!" Eggman mocked up. "Oh, you are asking for it now, Egghead!" Sonic said with a frown. "Let me repeat what Sunny said: Leave immediately, or we will make you leave!" he warned one last time. Eggman, however, only snorted and entered the Egg Driller again, closing the capsule and turning on the driller. "The hard way it is..." Sunny stated, frowning but also smirking. Sonic adjusted his glove and then looked back at Sunny. They both nodded with determinate looks. After that, they accelerated towards the Egg Driller, and Eggman himself only smiled sinisterly. The doctor separated the drill from the rest of the kart and launched it towards the Alicorn and the Hedgehog. Sonic immediately moved aside, but Sunny smirked and turned the drill into a lot of glitter while Eggman started launching missiles at Sonic. However, he not only dodged the missiles and made them explode in the ground, but he also managed to make them crash against each other. Eggman groaned, so he pressed a button to remove two drillers from the sides of the kart and launched both at Sonic. The hedgehog noticed that and started running away, but Sunny soon joined him. "I think we should wrap this one quickly!" Sonic stated with a smirk. "Me too!" Sunny agreed, also smirking. "Wanna give Eggman a bit of his own medicine?" she asked. "Girl, you just read my mind!" Sonic said with a chuckle. So, both turned around and boosted towards the drills before jumping over them and then boosting towards Eggman again.T. The drillers spun before following them again. Meanwhile, Eggman panicked once he noticed that Sonic and SUnny were boosting towards him. "Oh boy..." he complained, his mustache flatted slightly. Sonic charged up a Spindash and crashed against the Egg Driller, causing Eggman to hang into his chair. Then, Sonic landed on earth and grabbed Sunny before launching her toward Eggman. Eggman panicked even more but couldn't escape because Sunny used earth pony magic to attach vines to the kart and avoid any attempt to escape. Then, Sunny used her magic and punched the Egg Driller with another laser beam, startling Eggman even more now. Sunny was elevated in the air for the finisher, and Sonic jumped and curled into a ball. Then, Sunny levitated Sonic and started spinning him fast around her while Sonic charged electricity. After a while, Sunny launched Sonic toward Eggman, with Sonic surrounded by both a golden aura and his electrical powers. As a result, Eggman screamed in a very girlish way, so he pressed the eject button on the Egg Driller. This caused him to be sent backward in the air with everything and his Eggmobile. "CURSE YOU, SUNNY STARSCOUT! COURSE YOU TOO, HEDGEHOG!" Eggman shouted in anger as he was ejected away. As he did that, Sonic crashed into the Egg Driller and smashed it completely. Then, the two drillers from before also arrived and crashed into the Egg Driller, making it explode entirely. The others saw everything with amazed looks, especially at the last trick pulled by both Sonic and Sunny. Misty looked in horror at how they almost crushed Eggman. Since he had left safe and sound, or at least sort of, she sighed in relief and decided to run away before anyone could notice. Soon enough, Sonic and Sunny returned with their friends, and they smiled at each other and fist/hoof bumped. "Guys! That was BEYOND amazing!" Hitch said with sparkling eyes. "I mean, I knew you were good at fighting, but this is something else!" Tails exclaimed as well with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Thanks, guys!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Now that should teach Egghead to not mess with us ever again, right Misty?" he stated with a smile. However, since nobody replied, they all realized that Misty was gone. "Uh... Misty?" Sunny called out, confused. Zipp, however, noticed something below the bush where Misty had been hiding before. When she lifted it, she found broken glass. She frowned, then looked back at the Brighthouse and saw that the hole in the Crystal Room was still there. "Something's wrong with that mare..." Zipp muttered to herself with suspicion. "Was she hiding from Eggman... or was she hiding from somepony else?" she questioned with concern. She knew perfectly that nobody would trust her if she said that she suspected something about Misty, especially Tails and Izzy, so that she won't tell anyone about her suspicions... for now... THE END...? Author's Note Welp... This chapter went through 5 different drafts in a matter of 2 days, but this is the definitive one. I am not satisfied with the final result, to tell the truth, but it doesn't matter this time. I don't have any other pre-established plots in mind, so I'm just gonna do what I've been doing so far: Adapt the episode the way I find the best. Also, if that One-Shot of IDW based on the next special (called Bridlewood Stock) comes out in June, wouldn't that mean that Chapter 4 comes out this month? I'm just gonna leave that there. If it doesn't comes out, you already know who to blame for giving you fake hopes :) P.S.1: Tails is a W wingman. P.S.2: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
50. Villains AloneAn empty couch was in the Crystal Brighthouse's living room. Emphasis on was because Sonic arrived in a few seconds and sat down with his legs crossed, with Tails and Knuckles joining him soon. They all had party hats over their head, and Knuckles even had a party whistle in his mouth. "Hello there, fellow readers!" Sonic greeted you. "Yes, to you, the ones reading this. Before you go on and read today's episode, the three of us want to say a few words!" he explained with a smile. "As you can see, we reached Episode 50!" Tails declared with a huge smile, then he pulled out a button and pressed it. Afterward, a party letter appeared above them, with the words 'Episode 50!' printed on them. Then, a few party cannons launched confetti, and Knuckles blew his whistle in time. "Can't believe there's 50 episodes of this thing already! Pretty nuts, right?" Sonic said with a smirk, looking at his friends. "Yeah! And we've been through a lot of things!" Tails agreed, also smiling. "Not only through 'Tell Your Tale,' but also 'Make Your Mark,' the IDW Comics... and, of course, the beginning with 'A New Generation'!" Knuckles pointed out as well. "And there's a lot more adventures coming right away!" Sonic assured, once again looking at you. "But first, we want to thank all of you, fellow readers, for coming through this journey with us!" he stated with a huge smile. "Your constant support with likes and comments has inspired our author, BronySonicFan, to keep going with this story," Tails added, now looking at you as well. "Even if you only read this without reacting to the story, we still wanna thank you, guys!" he assured. "And, of course, we cannot wait for you to watch our next adventures!" Knuckles assured with excitement, also looking at you. "Maybe the release dates have suffered changes in the past few weeks, but that's the author's problem to explain, not ours," he added with a bored expression. "The point is... we are so thankful to you, guys!" Sonic stated once again. "And we hope you're still up for the ride that this story represents, 'cause we're not going anywhere!" he assured. "Also, we're the only ones saying this because the Mane 5 aren't fully aware that we're fictional characters..." Tails pointed out with a sheepish smile. "And it's better that way..." Knuckles added, still bored, before placing the party whistle in his mouth again. "With all of that said..." Sonic started. "Thanks for everything, and enjoy!" all Team Sonic said with smiles as they waved their hands at you while Knuckles blew the party whistle one last time. On Maretime Bay's beach, the Mane 5, Team Sonic, and Misty were gathered on a picnic blanket as Sunny came holding a pie. "Alright, everypony and creature. Grab a slice!" Sunny announced, placing the pie down while her friends grabbed a slice. "These are the best fruit pies in all of Maretime Bay!" she cheered. Zipp was the first to take a bite from her slice, and her eyes sparkled while she swallowed her bite. After her, Tails went over and chomped his slice, with his eyes sparkling. "Mmm!" he muttered happily, his tails wagging slightly. Next, Izzy squealed in joy with sparkling eyes as some fruit content ended on her face. "Delicious!" she said cheerfully. "Forgive me for the kind of echidna I'll become after tasting such a glorious banquet..." Knuckles said dramatically with his eyes closed, also chomping his slice. "Oh yeah!" Pipp cheered with sparkling eyes as well. "Sorry, Vanilla. But I have a new favorite kind of pie!" Sonic stated with a huge grin, chomping happily his slice of pie. "Nice!" Zipp commented, too. Meanwhile, both Hitch and Sparky were eating their respective slices as well. Suddenly, as Pipp chomped her slice, she looked at her friends. Then, she snorted and giggled without control, lifting her phone and facing the camera at the others. "Look at your faces!" she laughed, gesturing to the fruity pie contents in their faces. At that, Zipp gave her sister a bored expression. "Pipp, you have pie in your ears," she pointed out. "Huh? Oh!" Pipp said with a wide smile before she looked up and saw pie crumbs in her ears, laughing as they fell out. "It’s everywhere! Ooh!" she kept laughing. Then, she looked at her phone while the rest of the Mane 5, Sparky, Misty, and Team Sonic huddled together, and they took a group picture. Soon enough, more pictures were taken, the first one showing Izzy and Knuckles cheerfully shoveling their pie slices into Hitch's mouth while Sparky fell off with a smile. The next picture showed Sunny, Tails and Pipp having a food fight, with Pipp tossing some pies. Moving on, this picture showed Zipp having two pie slices splattered on her head with Misty watching, and then, the next picture showed Hitch and Sonic throwing another one at her cheeks while Misty placed her hooves on her cheeks in shock. Finally, the last picture showed Zipp flying above Hitch and Sonic with a wide smile. She tossed one of her slices at Hitch and the next at Sonic, hitting Hitch's cheeks and Sonic's face while Sparky flew above and threw pies around. "Aah!" Misty cried out as a pie slice hit her in the face and slid off, then gave a smile and laughed. Then, Pipp came next to Misty with a laugh, and they took a picture together, smiling. "Awww, that one's cute," Pipp said joyfully as she and Misty looked at their picture on Pipp's phone. "Soooo, I was thinking..." Sunny's voice came, calling both Pipp's and Misty's attention. "For ice cream, we could––" she started. However, Misty immediately felt her necklace shaking, which worried her a bit. She grabbed it to stop the shaking and turned to see Sunny. "Uh, I-I'll be right back!" she called out nervously as she trotted off while the others looked at each other in confusion. Tails, however, raised an eyebrow since he's noticed that Misty's necklace shakes a lot lately. "Hmm... That necklace makes me think..." he said, rubbing his chin as well. Sonic arrived at his side, chomping a slice of pie with a neutral expression. "You also think she should change the batteries of that thing?" he asked. "Yup!" Tails replied with the same expression. Sonic extended his slice of pie to him, and he took it, also chomping it. Misty looked around, hiding behind a rock wall. Once she sees the clear coast, she clicks on the amulet, making Opaline appear. "Misty! What on Earth is taking so long?! Have you forgotten what I sent you for?" Opaline questioned angrily, getting close to Misty's face while the unicorn grew nervous. Opaline noticed the pie mess on Misty. "Is that pie in your mane?" she asked, confused, raising an eyebrow. "Oh!" Misty said, giving a nervous chuckle and wiping the pie contents off her. "Yeah. Long story. I'll... I-I'll get it soon. I promise!" she nervously assured. "Remember, Misty. This task is very important," Opaline said firmly, getting close to Misty with a stern expression, which scared the poor unicorn. "Do nounicornail me.” She finished. "Hey, Misty!" Sunny called out as the rest discussed with each other. "We're voting on ice cream flavors! Hurry up!" she called out to her with a smile. "Uh, coming!" Misty called out with a small smile. Then she turned again and saw Opaline laughing maniacally as she returned to the amulet. At Opaline's Castle, after Opaline ended the call, she kept giving her evil laugh until she started to cough. At that, she cleared her throat for laughing for too long while Eggman was sitting on her throne with a bored expression. Opaline recomposed herself, just standing around her Throne Room and looking around. "Hmmm... Hmmm…" Opaline hummed, then looked at her clock, which was ticking a lot. After a while, she gave an annoying look and growled. "Ugh! I can't just sit around all day waiting for that pathetic little pony. I have important business to attend to," she said with a small smile as she brushed her mane. "What kind of business, Arcana?" Eggman asked mockingly, even though he still had a bored expression. "Because the only useful thing you have done since ever is send Misty to get her hooves dirty in your place!" he pointed out with annoyance. Opaline rolled her eyes and frowned at Eggman. "What about you? You constantly go out there and always return after another failure!" she pointed out. Eggman was fighting against Team Sonic with his Egg Crusher, but of course, it all failed. "CURSE YOU, RODENTS!!!!" Eggman screamed as Knuckles sent a punch that made him fly through the air. Eggman brought the Big Arms towards the Mane 5 with an evil laugh. However, Hitch used his Earth Pony magic to attach the arms with vines, while Izzy used her unicorn magic to 'unicycle' the robot with Eggman still inside. "Hey! Who turned off the lights?! I can't see––" Eggman tried to point out, but then, Sunny, Zipp, and Pipp came flying at top speed, kicking the robot with their forelegs and sending it away. "AAAAAAAAAH!" Eggman screamed in fear. And finally, his most recent loss. Sunny levitated Sonic and started spinning him fast around her while Sonic charged electricity. After a while, Sunny launched Sonic toward Eggman, with Sonic being surrounded by both a golden aura and his electrical powers. As a result, Eggman screamed in a very girl-ish way, so he pressed the eject button on the Egg Driller, which caused him to be sent backward in the air with everything and his Eggmobile. "CURSE YOU, SUNNY STARSCOUT! COURSE YOU TOO, HEDGEHOG!" Eggman shouted in anger as he was ejected away. Opaline couldn't stop laughing after reminding him of all that stuff, while Eggman just deadpanned at her. Even his mustache flattened a bit after Opaline started to make fun of him. "It was proving your point, Opaline. Not humiliate me..." Eggman deadpanned. "Oh, but it wouldn't have been fun!" Opaline said, still laughing. At that, Eggman rolled his eyes and placed a hand over his cheek while Opaline brought a remote and pressed the middle button, making blue flames appear. Later on, Opaline was surrounded by the blue flames, wearing a crown and a black cape. "Bow before me, Earth pony!" Opaline called out with an evil smirk, revealing she was looking in the mirror. Opaline: You could call me evil, but I will go and take just what I need Don't need nopony with me As Opaline sang to herself, she winked and tossed her black cape off, now wearing a new one with purple stripes. Yes, it might be villainous But that's what makes me the perfect queen You will bow to me A little bit later, she put on a new gown with a shape-like crown made from what appeared to be pink wood while she looked at herself in the mirror. After that, she sat on her throne with a pose while Eggman seemed to be playing an instrument that created the ambiance of music to her song. So hush, filly, just Get lost in the rush Hypnotized by the words I'm saying Opaline opened her dresser, looking through her clothes and tossing some away. "Keep..." Opaline said as she brought out green shoulder straps with green spikes. "Donate..." she said, tossing a blue dress with stars. Eggman picked it up and put it over a box. "Keep. Keep..." she said again, placing down a pink dress and a sky-blue one. However, when she brought out a ruff in her dresser, she frowned angrily. "DESTROY!" Opaline yelled in rage as flames appeared around her, while Eggman came by with a welding helmet and a flamethrower, ready to burn down the ruff. Feel the heat, then the beat Mesmerized, go to sleep Like a lullaby, I'll be singing However, Opaline looked back at the ruff with a second thought. "Hmmm... But does it spark fear?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. Eggman lifted his helmet and looked at Opaline with a bored expression. "No. It doesn't..." he stated. Later on, Opaline was wearing the ruff around her neck and a fancy hat. Then, she walked down a stage, and as the lights shone bright from the floor, she raised her hoof with an evil smirk. I've got the POWER! (power) "Fierce!" Opaline started with a fierce look... "Powerful!" Opaline stated that she was wearing the green shoulder straps from before and her sunglasses, while her background showed her on a cliff with dark clouds and lightning striking. Then, Opaline was wearing another crown and cape as she walked on the stage with an evil look. "Oh, you should be scared!" she said with an evil smile. In front of Opaline, pictures of the Mane 5 were placed on furniture, with darts all over them. Sunny was in the middle, Hitch and Pipp at her sides, Zipp was at Pipp's side, and Izzy fell in front of Hitch. After that, Opaline kept singing while Eggman played the background music. And you're going to feel You're going to feel the fla-a-a-ames, fla-a-a-ames La-da-da-dee-da-da-da Oh, you'll feel As Eggman kept playing, Opaline sang with a wide smile. Later, Eggman started playing with small dolls of Team Sonic and himself as Opaline started playing the background music. Eggman: I'm an evil genius, and I will get exactly what I want The world belongs to me! As Eggman himself started to sing, he made Knuckles doll get crushed by a giant spiny ball. Then, he launched the Tails doll towards a cauldron with a green toxin that melted the toy slowly. Finally, Eggman grabbed the Sonic doll with his hand and crushed it, with his head and arms flying away. You might think I'm wicked, but Don't be mad because I have a plan It spells out victory (so, so, so) After that, Eggman tossed the doll's remains away and looked down at a digital blueprint of the robot, which had the label 'Death Egg Robot Titan' on top. The doctor grinned mischievously. Later, both Eggman and Opaline returned to the Throne Room. Opaline was wearing an aquamarine cape and golden crown with purple feathers, while Eggman was now wearing a suit that combined red and black, with black gloves that had buttons in the fingers and palms, long, fully black pants, and new goggles that were black with red lenses. Opaline and Eggman: We've got the power! (do you hear me?) The fire that runs through our veins We've got the power (power, power, power) Eggman pressed a few buttons on one of his gloves with a smirk, and soon enough, lights illuminated the Throne Room while more flames appeared around the two villains as they sang together. And you're going to feel You're going to feel the fla-a-a-ames, fla-a-a-ames La-da-da-dee-da-da-da (feel the fire!) Oh, you'll feel the fla-a-a-ames, fla-a-a-ames La-da-da-dee-da-da-da (oh, you'll feel) Once they were done singing, both Opaline and Eggman felt incredibly bored. Opaline was lying upside down on a couch, while Eggman was lying facewards on the floor. "What is taking so long, Misty?" Opaline asked, communicating with Misty through her magic. Misty was talking with Opaline at the beach, while Opaline’s mane was up straight due to her hanging upside down. "I promise, I'm working on it!" Misty said a bit quietly so that the others won't hear her. "There is zero room for error here, Misty," Opaline said firmly while Misty flinched. However, Misty saw Opaline floating up just before hearing a thud and a groan from Eggman and Opaline. It resulted in Opaline landing right above Eggman and the two villains letting out another angry groan. "Don't worry, Opaline," Misty said with a determined look as the smoke returned to the amulet as it closed. I won't let you down!" she finished. Just then, Tails came by and held out two scoops of ice cream to her. Misty gasped in surprise as she turned and saw Tails giving her an ice cream. "Here you go!" Tails said with a smile. Misty blushed at the sign but still smiled back and took the ice cream. Later, Opaline and Eggman started to play with crafted mini figures of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic. Opaline played around with Sunny's figure while Eggman had the Sonic's. "'Ooh! I'm Sunny! And I think that everypony should have magic! I have so many friends!'" Opaline said, imitating Sunny with a playful smile. "'Oh, hi, Sunny!'" Eggman said, imitating Sonic's voice as he approached Sunny's mini figure. "'I am Sonic the Hedgehog! Gotta go fast! Hey, let's spread some friendship and be annoying together!" he added mockingly. Then, they both brought figures of themselves, each with an irritated look. They glared at the Sunny and Sonic figures. "Enjoy your magic while it lasts, little pony," Opaline said in her normal tone before giving an evil smirk and tossing her figure to grab Sunny's. "Because as soon as I get one hoof on that dragon fire, I'll be the most powerful Alicorn!" she declared before glaring at the figures and stomping her hooves on the other figures. "And you and your pathetic little besties will answer to me for the rest of your lives!" she declared with an evil smile before starting to laugh like a maniac. "And you three aren't exempt from this!" Eggman said as well, now talking with his regular voice and looking madly at Tails and Knuckles' figures while using his figure to punch them. Then, he also tossed his figure and grabbed Sonic's. "Once I get my hands over the Chaos Emeralds, I will destroy you, Hedgehog. And your stupid furry friends will go down with you! I will make my Empire a reality, and you won't be here to witness it!" he declared confidently. After that, both Opaline and Eggman stared at the figures of Sunny and Sonic, respectively, before growling in anger and stomping the figures with their hoof/hand. Then, Opaline put her hooves on a table covered in silver makeover with diamonds while the alicorn watched one of Jazz's videos through her phone as she brushed her hoof quickly. "Welcome to Hooficures with Jazz," Jazz said through the video with a smile as she held out a brush and brought out some things for the video to follow the instructions. "Now, all you need to get started is a stencil and your favorite hoof polish. At home, hooficures can be super chic!" she instructed. However, Opaline suddenly noticed that one of the stencils had become stuck on her hoof and then another on her other hoof. So, she shook her hooves to try to remove them, but she ended up leaning back and falling to the floor. While Opaline did this, Eggman connected the original SEGA Genesis to the TV and placed the first Sonic game on it. However, as soon as the game started in the first act of Green Hills, he smirked and moved Sonic far enough for him to touch a badnik and die since he had no rings. He did this again with the two remaining lives until the 'Game Over' screen came. "And that's how you properly play this trash they call a game!" Eggman cheered with a huge grin. Later, Opaline was in the living room watching TV, playing 'My Bananas' as it showed the song and Sunny's ripping. Opaline watched this with a hysterical laugh, having her mane rolled up and kept in place. "I can't!" Opaline said through her laughter, really enjoying Sunny's most embarrassing moment. Eggman was in his lab, watching a video compilation in which Sonic kept falling face-first into the ground. "Ohohohohoho! This is peak comedy!" Eggman managed to say, chomping some popcorn while wearing just a blue bathrobe and no gloves. Opaline went to the kitchen part of the castle, searching for a snack in the cabinets and placing some bags and boxes on the counter. However, when she moved a soda can, she saw a blue raccoonicorn eating in the cabinet that turned and hissed at Opaline while the Alicorn Queen screamed in fright. "You foal!" Opaline called out angrily through Misty's amulet while the unicorn looked confused at the amulet. "Uh?" Misty said, confused. "How did you let a raccoonicorn in here?!" Opaline questioned madly, standing on a stool and holding up a broom as she tried to swipe the raccoonicorn while it ran around her. "A what?" Misty asked with a raised eyebrow. "Opaline, are you okay?" she asked to be sure she heard right. At the castle, the raccoonicorn dressed up in one of Opaline’s capes and crowns as it looked in the mirror and posed to itself. "Put that cape down or so help me...!" Opaline demanded in anger, lightning up her horn and making it spark with electrical magic. The raccoonicorn turned and squealed in fright when they saw what Opaline was about to do. Opaline grunted and aimed her horn at them, but when she did, her horn frizzed out, making her groan. The raccoonicorn took their chance to escape, leaving the cape and crown behind. At that, Opaline growled and glared at the raccoonicorn. "I'm warning you, rodent!" she angrily said, moving her magic to her hoof as it sparked up, but it fizzled out as soon as she aimed at them, and Opaline growled in frustration. "If I had my powers...!" she said to herself angrily as she clenched her hooves. Then, the raccoonicorn popped up from her piles of clothes with a pink wig and a crown on their head, posing happily before squeaking in fright when they saw Opaline coming towards them. "Yah!" Opaline groaned angrily as she waved her broom at the raccoonicorn and chased them around with a grunt. The raccoonicorn hid behind the barrel in Hitch's picture but then jumped and dodged Opaline's broom as she hit the chair in Sunny's picture. They fell to the floor. Then, the raccoonicorn jumped on the lamp with Zipp's picture on it, falling into the ground as well, which made Opaline growl in frustration. After that, the raccoonicorn went through the food on the counter and knocked it to the floor. "If that stains, so help me...!" Opaline yelled at it with rage. Finally, the raccoonicorn squeaked before bumping into Eggman's leg as the doctor grabbed the critter and frowned at them. "Well, well, well. Looks like another blue rodent sneaked in here!" he said madly, while the raccoonicorn moved to try and escape but miserably failed. "Oh, you'll pay for this, devious little...!" Opaline started, grabbing the raccoonicorn and glaring hatefully at them for making a huge mess in her castle. However, she didn't get to finish because right then, Misty entered the castle. "Opaline! I did it!" Misty called out with a smile, now showing up a smoothie. "Kiwi-paya blast with a purple heart! Just like you asked!" she said happily, showing the smoothie. Yup. Misty's mission wasn't anything magic related... Just a request to get a smoothie. Opaline tossed the raccoonicorn away and, for once, she turned to Misty with a smile. "Finally!" she said as she snatched the smoothie from Misty and slurped on it before sighing. "That's better..." she stated happily before looking at Misty. "Now, Misty, this... is... crucial!" she declared with a firm expression. "Uh…" Misty said uncertainly, placing a hoof on her chin nervously. "I need you to help me choose a power crown," Opaline explained, pointing to shelves of sparkling crowns in a dresser. "Also, if you got some extra time..." Eggman called out, still using only a blue bathrobe, pink slippers, and no gloves. "Should I wear green and black, or red and black for when I get to kill that Hedgehog?" he asked, showing the same red and black suit from before with green stripes. Misty was surprised by Opaline and even Eggman's requests, giving a nervous smile at them. "Uh, but, um, you told me to stake out Mane Melody this evening, and, you know, the karaoke will be starting soon, and I can't miss that!” She called out as she t ande door, apparently Misty is joining the others in karaoke Pipp is having in Mane Melody and she does not want to miss it. "The what?!" Opaline called out in surprise rage. "Misty Brightdawn! Get back here in this instant!" Eggman called out with a frown. "If we're gonna rule over everyone, at least we gotta look good!" he screamed to her. "I'll be back soooon!" Misty called out as she trotted out the door. Opaline and Eggman groaned from that, with Opaline's left eye twitching in irritation while Eggman rubbed his teeth in anger. Ultimately, the two villains went to the living room with the raccoonicorn, watching a drama TV show. Opaline was holding her smoothie, Eggman had a soda can that said 'Chaos Soda,' and the raccoonicorn was holding a bowl with popcorn. Still looking at the TV, Opaline gave a scoff. "She'll never marry that peasant!" "If anything, the peasant will marry his best friend he's been in love with since childhood..." Eggman pointed out with a bored expression while both Opaline and the raccoonicorn nodded in agreement. "How cliche..." he complained. After that, Opaline and Eggman grabbed some popcorn from the bowl while the raccoonicorn kept eating some himself. THE END Author's Note WE HIT EPISODE 50, YA'LL!!! Wow... It feels like yesterday when I was writing the first chapter out of fun... And now here we are, hitting episode 50 of this slice of life series. As Team Sonic stablished in the beginning, thanks to all of you for staying! It doesn't matter if you're just reading this for the sake of reading something different, seriously, I don't mind. Thanks anyways for being here and read this story... it means the world to me. I would like to say so much more, but I think that thanking you for reading this so far is more than enough. Also, I updated the TYT cover and descriptions to include Tails and Knuckles as well (yeah, I know, this is the 40th episode they're in, and I only updated that until now.) I honestly have no idea what else TYT has in store for us, but I only know that I'll be there to adapt and bring you the best! See ya later! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
51. Mare Family Mare ProblemsTwo figures with thief masks arrived in Zephyr Heights Castle's Throne Room. The Throne Room was full of lasers, probably to keep anyone away from stealing anything, but that wouldn't stop the two thieves from what they were gonna do. Also, they're not thieves: they're Zipp and Pipp, who were in here with a surprise for their mom since it's Mares Day—again, yay! They also had black bags on their backs. They looked at each other, nodded, and took off. Both sisters started to dodge the lasers, with Zipp dodging all of them with her athletic skills, while Pipp did it in a more fancy and elegant way. Once both sisters dodged the lasers, they split up, with Zipp going down and Pipp going up. Then, they both placed a golden hook on the wall, and Zipp placed one side of a purple rope in her hook before turning to see Pipp with a worried frown. "Quick! Before somepony sees us!" Zipp said to her sister with worry, also checking her surroundings. "Just a little... more..." Pipp muttered, a bit exhausted since she was having difficulty extending the other side of the rope. However, the side that Zipp had already placed got out of place, and when Zipp tried to grab it, she was sent a fast paste toward her sister, who screamed in fear. Pipp noticed and also screamed before being crushed by Zipp. Then, both of them fell screaming to the floor, where the sisters had brought many balloons and other decorations. When Pipp got up with dizzy eyes, her ears touched one of the lasers, so the alarm jumped, turning on the lights in the Throne Room. Then, the doors of the Throne Room burst open to show Queen Haven with her sleeping mask on her forehead, Zoom, and Thunder, the three frowning at the masked sisters. "What is the meaning of this?!" Haven asked with anger as she pointed at the masked sisters. Zipp and Pipp sweated nervously. They removed their masks to reveal their true identities, and their manes were slightly messed up. "Happy... Mares Day!" both sisters said nervously. However, an orange signboard fell over them since that's what they were trying to put when dodging the lasers. Back in Maretime Bay, Sonic happily whistled one of Pipp's songs, as he always does when she's not around. Since the two sisters wanted to spend this year's Mares Day alone with Haven, without the rest of their friends helping around this time (especially after how it ended up on them being Queens for a day), everyone else stood behind, with Knuckles and Izzy having a date on Bridlewood, Hitch being the Sheriff, Tails working on his workshop, Sunny selling smoothies, and Sonic doing Sonic. However, as he was passing right in front of Mane Melody, he couldn't help but notice that Sunny wasn't in her smoothie cart, after all, which was weird for him since she never closed on Saturdays. Unless it was for being Mares Day, he couldn't find a logical explanation for why she was absent. He was going to shrug and keep walking, but then he remembered that he had seen Sunny more down and dull during breakfast, and Izzy had even said that her sparkle wasn't shining at all. Yet, Sunny tried to assure that she was fine, and she even said she would be on her cart if anypony needed her... but the cart was closed, and it was 2 in the afternoon already. It was clear to him that Sunny lied for some reason, which couldn't be good. So, determined to find answers, he walked to the Sheriff's station. There, he found Hitch reading something on paper, with all his podcast stuff around him. Meanwhile,e same time, Sparky was very busy sleeping on Kn, hugginggged tightly Knuck tightlyles' plushie. Now, why Hitch of all ponies? Well, I don't know if you have paid attention to all these stories, but I think Hitch has some romantic feelings for Sunny, and he knows her better than anyone else in their group. But that might be just me, who knows! Anyways. As HitcAnyway, as Hitch putinto its place, inoticed Sonic's presence. "Oh, good evening, Sonic!" he greeted with a ssmiled. here?" he asked curiously. "Hi, sheriff..." Sonic said with a nervous smile. Um, I was just wondering if you have any idea why Sunny isn't in her Smoothie Cart today?" he asked, confused. However, that only made Hitch blink a few times confused. "Wait, what? Sunny's not in her stand?" he asked, startled. "Yeah! Everything is closed!" Sonic pointed out. "And weirdly enough, she was feeling down this morning. Izzy even said that her sparkle was dull and off. But then, Sunny heard what she said and assured with a very fake smile - I know one when I see it - that she was fine and that she'll be working if needed," he explained with concern. "Feeling down? Lying about her job and then not showing up? Her sparkle is dull?" Hitch listed, and then, his eyes widened. "Wait... Sonic... what day is today?" he asked, startled. "May 6th?" Sonic replied, a bit confused and somehow innocent as well. Hitch facepalmed and groaned, a bit annoyed. "No! I mean the day!" he pointed out. "... Saturday?" Sonic replied, still confused. Hitch groaned louder and grabbed Sonic from his shoulder, shaking him violently. "I MEAN IF THERE'S SOMETHING SPECIAL HAPPENING TODAY!!!" he shouted this time. "Uh... Oh! I get it now!" Sonic said, now smiling norm. "Yeah, today's Mres Day, remember? That's why Zipp's not helping you with your podcast today," he pointed out,. Hitch's eyes widened again, and he let go of Sonic, then looked at his desk with concern. "... I... I think I know why she isn't in her smoothie stand today..." he said with concern. Judging by Hitch's tone, Sonic could feel this was very serious, so he just grabbed a chair and sat down in front of him. "... I'm all ears, sheriff," he assured me with a serious expression. Later on, in Zephyr Heights, Zoom and Thunder help the sisters clean themselves after what happened. Thunder gave Zipp a glass of water while Zoom tried to help Pipp with her mane, but she only shushed her, so Zoom brought out a mirror so Pipp could fix her mane for herself. Then, Haven approached her daughters with a nervous look, which made Zoom and Thunder make reverence and leave, while Zipp and Pipp looked back at their mother with Pipp smiling at her. "I can't believe you made it!" Haven said nervously to her daughters. "I-I hadn't heard from you, I... uh... Well, sort of made... other plans, you see––" she tried to explain. "Of course we made it!" Zipp stated with a smirk, cutting her mother off. "And we have a whole day planned!" she added. "Oh, that's lovely, but––" Haven tried to explain again... "First: Spa treatments to make us look picture perfect for our glam fam photo shoots!" Pipp said happily, as smiledtook herphone out and took several pictures with Haven, who was looking around incredibly nervous. Then, Haven placed a hoof on Pipp's cheek while trying to explain again. "Sounds lovely, but I should tell you––" she tried to say, but... "Then, we're making all your favorite foods and feeling the wind in our wings as we fly off to our favorite spot for a sunset picnic!" Zipp said with a smile as she flew in the air before giving a wink to her mother. "Ta-daaaaa!" Pipp cheered with a wave of her hoof. "Oh, my darlings, that sounds wonderful!" Haven said to her daughters with a smile, giving them a nuzzle on their cheeks, before getting nervous again. "But, as I said, I'm afraid I made––" she tried to finish, but then, a doorbell rang, which startled and worried her a lot. Then, Zoom and Thunder opened the doors, revealing Alphabittle on the other side, who was wearing awith a yellow bowtie and a purple flower on it while holding a banquet of flowers on his hoof. "... other plans!" Haven finished with a small smile, while Zipp and Pipp looked shocked and surprised at Alphabittle's sudden arrival. Then, Haven walked up to Alphabittle. "Oh, Alphie, those are lovely!" she told Alphabittle about the flowers. Just hearing what their mother called him, Zipp and Pipp immediately cringed, looking completely in shock at them. "Oh, Alphie... Alphie... Alphie…" Haven's voice echoed in their minds with a distorted echo, realizing that their mother and Alphabittle were in a romantic relationship, aka dating, aka they had more frizz than the sisters in terms of dating. I know what I wrote, and I don't regret it! "I'm not interrupting, am I?" Alphabittle asked Haven with a small smile while she sniffed the flowers, and Thunder brushed up some dirt on the ground. "Oh, no, no!" Haven assured him with a smile. "My girls have just flown in and surprised me for Mares Day," she explained, while Zipp and Pipp were still shocked at the fact that their mom was dating. Then, Zipp got up in between them and forced a smile. "Yup! Big day! Lots of plans!" she said quickly before pushing her mother away from Alphabittle. "Thanks for stopping by, Alphabittle!" Pipp said quickly as well, with a forced smile, before pushing Alphabittle out the door and closing it. However, Haven opened it again and gave Alphabittle a small smile. "Perhaps you could... join us," she gested, ,and Alphabittle smiled with sparkling eyes at that suggestiand Pipp glared daggers at their mother, clearly not on board with this idea, but then Haven gave them an even deeper and more menacing glare that made them flinch. Remembers, kids: Never rise up against your parents, it's a fight you'll never win. The two sisters looked at each other nervously before giving forced smiles again. "What a wonderful idea," Pipp said nervously through gritted teeth while sweating nervously. "Yes. Please do join us," Zipp said, also nervously and also through gritted teeth. Then, Alphabittle and Haven gave each other loving looks with smiles while Zipp and Pipp watched and cringed. Pipp's mane went down, and both hers and Zipp's eyes twitched at the sight. In Maretime Bay, many ponies brought their mothers to spend Mares Day with them. It was all fun and laughter, or at least in the main area of the beach, because it was far away, in a corner almost nobody dared to visit. Sunny was sitting all alone, as she had her gaze lost in the ocean. She was feeling down, to the point even her Cutie Mark seemed dull and black. Suddenly, however, Sonic arrived, slowly walking towards her until he stopped at her side. "Hey, Sunny..." Sonic greeted with a little smile, which made Sunny's ear perk up, and she turned to see him, a bit surprised that he had found this place. "Hitch told me you'll be here. Mind having me as your company?" he asked her. Even if she wasn't in a good mood, she still gave him her most honest smile and nodded, and Sonic sat at her side, also staring at the horizon now. They stood silently for a while, but Sonic could tell that Sunny was not feeling, well, sunny at all because she was looking at the sand with sadness. So, Sonic sighed and decided to finally break the silence. "... You know? I'm not an expert at reading people, but... I know when my friends are not feeling well. And you aren't feeling well," he pointed out. "So, I'm gonna tell you this: If you're feeling bad and want to talk about it, I'll listen. And if you don't, that's okay. I won't pressure you," he assured her with a smile. Sunny's ears perked up again, and she turned to see him, smiling at him with a bit more joy. "... I guess you already know it, but... today is Mares Day..." Sunny reminded, again feeling sad and looking back at the floor, while Sonic only nodded at her statement. "... I used to celebrate it with my dad all the time since... since my mom died after I was born..." she confessed. Sonic looked at her surprised when she confessed that, and he got a bit more worried about her. "But after dad died... This day only gets even more emotional for me... No father nor mother to spend it with makes me feel... lost and alone, even if I know that I'm not..." Sunny kept explaining. "I always come here on Mares Day to distract my mind. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't... And I think today's one of the times it doesn't..." she added with sadness. "But... You looked very happy last Mares Day..." Sonic pointed out. "Well, not absolutely, but you did look more like yourself than today..." he corrected himself. Sunny chuckled a bit at that. "That's because we were helping Zipp and Pipp to surprise Queen Haven, Sonic..." she said with a sad smile. "My mind was distracted, and with us doing her Royal stuff to help her relax, I barely had time to think about my parents... Unlike this year, though..." she said, feeling down again. Sonic looked at her with concern again, and he looked back to stare at the horizon. He hated to see his friends feeling down, even if it was normal. He allowed everyone to feel what they had to when they needed to, but still, he hated to see them suffering or feeling sad. And with Sunny, a cheerful and optimistic girl, feeling so dull and sad right now, he couldn't help but feel as if something was wrong. And then, he had an idea, one that Sunny herself gave him without even noticing it: Last Mares Day, she was distracted with helping Queen Haven to relax. So, maybe distracting her would cheer her up a bit, and she could still mourn her dad's absence if she wanted, but she would also show his spirit that she's not alone. So, Sonic quickly took out his phone, texted both Tails and Hitch and after explaining everything in a big paragraph, he put his phone putnd stood up, extending his hand to her. "Well, then. How about we go and distract our minds?" Sonic suggested her. Sunny looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, confused. "Hey, your dad may not be here anymore, and you can feel sad about that..." Sonic pointed out with a compassionate look. "But you can also still enjoy this day. Either to 'distract your mind' or honor the old times... It's up to you to decide on how it is. But I'm pretty sure that he'll like to see his Sunny-Bunny all happy, cheery, and helpful as always!" he added with a smile as he rubbed her mane a bit and messed it up, which actually made Sunny giggle a bit, as she pulled him apart with a hoof. "So, what do you say, Sunny?" he asked her with a smirk. Sunny looked back at the floor, thinking deeply about it. Then, she looked back at the ocean and the horizon before looking back at Sonic and smiling at him. "Okay... Maybe I should give it a shot. But, I don't promise I won't feel down, though," Sunny told him with a little smile. "Trust me, Sunny-Bunny! You'll be good as new at the end of the day!" Sonic assured her with a smile. Back in Zephyr Heights, the sisters decided to put their plan into action, now with Alphabittle joining suddenly. They were in the spa section of the castle, with Thunder doing some throat singing while Zoom played the harp, as the Royal Family and Alphabittle were relaxing with a facemask and kiwis on their faces. Haven sighed, relaxed; Pipp hummed happily to herself as she touched her face mask. Zipp ate one of the spare kiwis with the facemask on her, and Alphabittle tried to climb onto the relaxing bed, struggling a bit but eventually got on it. But then, Alphabittle’s facemask began to bubble. Smoke started to steam up until Alphabittle screamed in pain as he started to run around, which made the Royal Family take off their kiwis and see him rinse his face off from the fountain, before he turned and still screamed, as his face was all swelled up. The Royal Family cringed in shock, and Haven and a pegasus mare tried to help him. Still, then Alphabittle accidentally used his magic, making his horn glow and levitating some makeover supplies and kiwis off the benches. The kiwis flew past Thunder and Zoom, as Zoom ducked from the incoming kiwis while Thunder caught one in his mouth, which he swallowed in one gulp. Also, Zoom's harp strings got broken from the bowl, and Thunder continued to throat sing for some reason, which made Zoom give her partner a bored look. Pipp and Zipp flinched to an incoming object, which Zipp caught, resulting in the facemask container. However, this one had a warning label with a unicorn icon on it, meaning that unicorns shouldn’t use it, while Alphabittle kept wailing as Haven and the pegasus mare tried to calm him down while holding rags for his face. Zipp gave a nervous look and tossed the facemask away, tapping her hooves together and whistling nervously. We could assume that she either was the one who brought the wrong facemask by mistake, or she just wanted to prevent Alphabittle and Haven from reading it. Moving on, Pipp flipped her hair gorgeously as the Royal Family huddled together for a family photo, with flowers behind them, as Thunder held up the light while Zoom prepared the camera. "Ahem," Zoom said to them with a raised eyebrow, as she reminded them that they had forgotten somepony. Haven gave a knowing smile, while Zipp and Pipp gave irritated looks as they; turned and looked at Alphabittle, whose face's still swelled up from the facemask, and he gave a surprised look. "Alphie!" Haven cheered with a smile and a wave while the two sisters looked surprised at their mother, also sweating a bit. Alphabittle smiled with sparkling eyes and walked to them. However, they struggle a lot on this one because Alphabittle is a little too big, so he, Zipp, and Pipp grunted while Haven just giggled at what was happening. Then, Alphabittle accidentally stomped on one of Zipp's hoofs. "Aah!" Zipp cried out in pain from the stop as tears formed a bit. And then, Alphabittle’s horn got caught on Pipp's bandana as he accidentally lifted her. "Aah! Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Pipp cried out from the tug while Alphabittle tried to get Pipp freed. At this, Zoom gave a small smile and cleared her throat. Suddenly, the entire photo background fell apart, and all four ponies screamed as the background fell on them right when Zoom took the picture. Said picture showed them on the ground, with Alphabittle having his horn pierced through the cloth, while the sisters looked irritated and Haven just smiled at all of this. After the photo incident, they went to the kitchen to make their lunch for the picnic. Pipp and Haven hummed happily, placing sandwich toppings on their sandwiches (duh), while Zipp sliced the bread. Then, Pipp stacked a sandwich on a stacking set, which had some cupcakes, cakes, and sweets with flowers on the top, she and Zipp smiled with sparkling eyes, and Haven just smiled. Suddenly, they heard a thud, and so they turned to see Alphabittle placing four cups down and pouring in some kind of tea on each one. Then, he passed each one to the Royal Family, as Haven smiled while the sisters looked a little unsure. Pipp picked up her cup, but the cup gave out ghost-like smoke and sinister whispers. When Pipp smelled it, she gulped in disgust and groaned, leaning back and falling in Zipp's hooves, also looking dizzy from the smell. Zipp also smelled the tea, still giving sinister whispers, and Zipp began to gag. On the other hoof, however, Alphabittle and Haven were sipping their tea together, which they seemed unfazed by and not disgusted in the slightest. "Mmmm!" Haven hummed happily with a smile, and Alphabittle smiled at her in return. Pipp and Zipp saw this, and Zipp's eyes twitched in disgust. Then, the two sisters groaned and fainted on the floor while Haven and Alphabittle tapped each other's cups. Meanwhile, in Maretime Bay, Sonic decided to take Sunny around town to keep her distracted. First off, he surprised her by taking her to her smoothie cart, which already had a small row of ponies, since Tails was attending the cart in her place. And yes, he was also in Electronic Tails because the one attending the cart was a clone, but don't worry, he's not gonna vanish, and he can interact with physical objects, so everything's fine. In the daylight Gonna go fast Gotta beat the red light Ain't no time lapse Sunny feel very surprised to see that a Tails' clone was taking charge of her stand, and she looked at Sonic with a confused expression, but Sonic just shrugged with a smirk at her. Once they both got their smoothies from Tails' clone, Sonic smirked and started to sip his smoothie faster, almost daring Sunny to finish it before him. With a determined smile, Sunny decided to play along, and so she also started to sip on her smoothie a lot faster, and as surprising as it might sound, she won against Sonic, who looked at her in shock once she was done with her smoothie. In the night time I'ma keep on Racing the shooting stars til the dawn Sunny smiled with pride at first, but soon enough, her expression cringed, and so she grabbed her head in pain since she suddenly had a brain freeze. Sonic laughed at her at first, but he suddenly also got a brain freeze and started to complain in pain, grabbing his head with his hands. At that, Sunny laughed at him, even though she was still in pain on her brain freeze. After their brain freeze was over, Sonic took Sunny to Mane Melody, where Jazz and Rocky attended them. Sonic got a full massage treatment, while Sunny's mane got a new treatment, now having two pigtails instead of just her regular one. We can be friends, but I won't team up If you wanna come along, then try to keep up Then, both Sonic and Sunny try out different outfits as they pose and take several pictures with their suits. At some point, they even started to match their looks so their pictures could get increasingly silly with time. Jazz and Rocky had a really hard time not bursting into laughing at their show, but eventually ended up losing their cool and fell backward, as they laughed loudly at how ridiculous Sunny and Sonic were looking... probably because they were both wearing shirts that matched perfectly. Sunny's shirt said 'If lost, return to the idiot', while Sonic said 'I'm the idiot'. I'm the fastest, I'm the fastest alive Need no practice If you insist I'm a liar However, none noticed that and looked at Jazz and Rocky confused, or in Sonic's case, with a bored expression. But then, they look at each other, and when they notice the other's shirt and then theirs, they look at each other again before bursting out laughing as well. Then, Sonic took Sunny back to the beach, but he took her to the more public zone. As they walked by, Sunny couldn't help but notice a little filly playing in the sand with her mother, as they both built a Sand Castle together before the mother picked the filly up and twirled her in the air a bit as she finished by nuzzling her cheek with hers. That brought back a bit of sadness to Sunny, who looked at the ground with low ears and sad eyes... However, she had no time to mourn again because her face suddenly got hit with sand, which made her eyes open wide. How's about you watch me now? I'll prove you wrong in a heartbeat She looked behind her, and she saw Sonic just whistling innocently as he looked around and just crossed his arms. Of course, Sunny knew it was him, so she threw a bit of sand at him as well. Sonic shook his head and looked back at her, who was smirking mischievously, also holding a ball of sand on her hoof. Sonic smirked back as he quickly made a ball of sand again and threw it to her. Never gonna tell you how Speed just runs through my bloodstream Yeah Soon enough, they both were having a sand fight with each other, as they laughed loudly and just kept throwing sand at each other. Then, that sand fight turned into a little tag game, where Sonic chased down Sunny on the beach. Of course, he wasn't going as fast as usual because he just wanted to enjoy his time with Sunny. Then, Sonic took Sunny to the snowy mountains of Equestria, where Hitch was already waiting for them with winter gear and snowboarding tables. Sunny's eyes sparkled, not only because they were going to snowboard but also because Hitch was also here, which made things a lot better for her, and Sonic could notice that, so he smiled. I can't even explain it But I know I'll never stop this feeling Then, the three of them started to snowboard downhill over the mountain, with both Sonic and Sunny doing some bold and more risky tricks while Hitch decided to go in a safer manner, but he still was happy to see that Sunny was feeling a lot better now. The speed in my soul The speed in my soul Sunny had sparkling eyes as she kept going downhill, while Sonic positioned at Hitch's side with a smile. And their smiles grew wide thanks to the fact that Sunny's Cutie mark not only got its color back, but it was also starting to shine a little, which meant that Sonic's plan of distracting her mind was working, and she was enjoying this day now. So, Sonic and Hitch looked at each other with knowing smiles and winked before going downhill to catch Sunny, who was way ahead of them at this point. After that, and as you might expect, Sonic took Sunny on a run across Equestria. Well, he was running because Sunny was flapping her wings in her Alicorn form at a very fast paste, flying just as fast as Sonic moved. And I can't even restrain it So I'm gonna keep, keep on running The speed in my soul Sonic started to make some tricks out of fun with rocks, trees, and plants as they entered a forest. At the same time, Sunny dodged tree branches, some birds, and even a few trees too, replicating Sonic's tactic of just doing it for the sake of having fun, as she giggled happily while doing so. Then, as they got out of the forest, Sunny started to fly a bit above Sonic while Sonic himself curled into a ball and jumped over her, they kept doing this while laughing, clearly just doing it for the sake of having fun and live life to the max, just like Sonic likes it. And nothing's gonna stop me I'ma keep on running, oh! Then, Sunny started to fly lower again. Still, as she did so, Sonic stared at her Cutie Mark, and he smiled brightly because it was glowing bright now, clearly showing that Sunny's sunny side was back and that she was feeling incredibly happy right now, just having fun with her friend. Sonic's smile grew wide, and so, he put on a determinate look before boosting towards Maretime Bay. Sunny noticed that and smiled with sparkling eyes as she also boosted with her wings, being right behind Sonic. Once they made it back to Maretime Bay, they stared at the sun setting on the horizon as they sat on the beach with smiles. I can't even explain it But I know I'll never stop this feeling The speed in my soul The speed in my soul Then, Sunny leaned and rested her head on Sonic's shoulder while Sonic rested his head over hers and sighed happily. After all, his plan went exactly as he had expected it to go, and now Sunny was once again in a bright and sunny mood, which just made his smile grow bigger, if that was even possible. A few hours earlier, with the Royal Family and Alphabittle... Okay, I'm running out of transition phrases here... Maybe I should sit down one of these days and see how I improve these, because I can't keep saying the same thing all the time... Anyways, the point is that after making lunch for the picnic, the Royal Family and Alphabittle flew towards their destination for the picnic. Now, how the fell was Alphabittle flying along? Well, he was being carried by Zipp and Pipp with straps and leashes, and the sisters were struggling a lot since he's very heavy, but neither Haven nor Alphabittle noticing because they were too lost in each other, and also they were laughing at something. Also, Alphabittle was using his magic to carry his tea and the stacking set with their lunch. However, Zipp wiped her forehead with her hoof, and by doing so, she accidentally let go of her leash, which made Pipp carry the extra weight and, therefore, make both her and Alphabittle fall. Pipp and Alphabittle both started to scream in fear as they fell from the sky, and both Haven and Zipp's eyes widened, so Zipp zoomed down and grabbed her leash. Both sisters started grunting and flapping their wings as fast as possible, but they managed to stop the falling before Alphabittle hit the ground, releasing the leashes once they saw he was safe. "Oof!" Alphabittle yelped as he hit the floor, while his cup container landed on his head and the stacking table of the picnic food landed on him before the food fell to the floor and some landed on him. Zipp and Pipp landed on the ground, exhausted from what just happened. Haven landed in front of them and gasped, and the two sisters gave her an assuring smile. "Oh!" Haven cried out in worry while Zipp and Pipp smiled with sparkling eyes... But then, Haven ran past them, surprising the two sisters, as they turned to her and Alphabittle. "Oh, my Alphie! Are you okay?!" she asked him, concerned, approaching Alphabittle, while he gave her an assuring smile. Pipp and Zipp just looked on with shocked expressions that suddenly changed to irritated ones because they had enough. "Ugh! Him?!" Pipp retorted in disbelief and anger as she pointed at Alphabittle. "He's the reason we crashed!" she pointed out. "And why the whole day's been a disaster!" Zipp added ,frustrated. "Girls! Manners!" Haven scolded her daughters for their outbursts, while Alphabittle felt guilty about their words. "No, no, they're right..." Alphabittle said in a guilty tone turning to the two sisters. "Sorry for messing up your day, girls," he apologized, while the two sisters felt surprised by this. "I think it's best I leave you ponies for your special family day" he finished, walking off from them while looking a little sad. Haven extended her hoof and tried to say something so he could stay, but no words came from her mouth. Then, Zipp and Pipp came behind their mother with guilty expressions. "I'm very disappointed in you both. All Alphie did was try to join in and make us all happy!" Haven said to them with concern. "But we wanted to give you the most perfect Mares Day!" Pipp said in defense, while Zipp nodded in agreement. "And he ruined everything!" Zipp added with a wave of her hoof. "And I know a lot of it was an accident, but still!" she pointed out. "All anypony needs to make a day special is to spend it with their favorite ponies," Haven explained to her daughters, while the two sisters gave surprised looks before they looked down in guilt. "It doesn't matter what we do or how right or wrong it goes," she finished with a frown before turning around and walking off, still disappointed in Pipp and Zipp. The sisters watched their mother go, feeling bad for how they treated Alphabittle and looking at each other with guilt. Near sunset-time, Alphabittle was still walking with a down and sad expression. Suddenly, Zipp and Pipp flew to him and landed on each side of him, which surprised him a lot. "Wow, walking is so slow," Zipp started with a small smile, trying to converse. "Hey, Alphabittle?" Pipp called out with a small smile while the unicorn turned to her. "We're sorry. We didn't mean what we said," she apologized to him. "We were just trying to make Mares Day perfect," Zipp reasoned with guilt before turning to Alphabittle with a smile. "But mom's day can only be perfect if you're there, too," she added, pointing a hoof at him. "We're really happy our mom has a new friend..." Pipp added before turning to him with a wide smile. "And now, we do too!" she stated, as she waved her hoof excitedly. "There's still time for that picnic if you're interested," Zipp suggested, as she lifted Alphabittle's tea canteen and gave him a small smile. Alphabittle thought about it momentarily, while Zipp and Pipp lifted their hooves to him and gave him a genuine smile and sparkling eyes. So, Alphabittle smiled back at them. "I'd be honored," He answered as he lifted his hoof and gave them a rooftop. And so, later on, they returned with Haven, who was happy that Alphabittle had returned, as he and the Royal Family were enjoying their picnic. Then, Alphabittle dipped his sandwich piece into his teacup. "Dunkies, anypony?" he asked. Zipp and Pipp cringed a bit, unsure if they want to, but they can’t judge him if they don’t try it. So, they accepted the two Dunkies Alphabittle offered them and ate their pieces before smiling with sparkling eyes, finding them amazing. The two sisters nodded at Alphabittle while he and Haven smiled at them as they all laughed together and enjoyed the rest of their picnic. "By the way, girls..." Haven called out suddenly as Zipp and Pipp grabbed another Dunkies and chomped on them. "When are you two going to stop playing around Sonic and Tails and ask them out already, huh?" she asked with a smirk, while Alphabittle smirked and chuckled. That made both Zipp and Pipp go wide-eyed, as they also blushed profusely and spitted their Dunkies, coughing in the process, before looking back at their mother with frowns. "MOM!" they both cried out with anger and embarrassment, but Haven and Alphabittle's laughs only became louder, while the sisters' blush became more redder as well. At this point, Pipp tried to distract herself with her phone, but the fact that the first thing to appear on her feed was a picture of Sonic, Sunny, and Hitch in the mountains didn't help since her blush increased even more. And Zipp wasn't any better, because she tried to hide with a wing and look anywhere else, but she suddenly got a message on her phone. When she checked it out, it was a message from Tails asking about borrowing her Z-Googles for a moment. Of course, she didn't blush more because of what the text said, but of how fortunate Tails was to send the message right when she was feeling embarrassed that her mother just asked about her crush on him... The two sisters were incredibly red now, and Haven and Alphabittle just kept laughing about their situation, making them feel even more embarrassed... Back to the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic and Sunny were laughing a lot. After everything they did today, they went back to the Brighthouse and started to tell stories of when they were kids in the living room. "You seriously think you were a bird?!" Sunny asked in between laughs. "I know, I know... I was just a kid back then!" Sonic pointed out with a smirk. "Yeah, but... You stick leaves in your body!" Sunny pointed out with a giggle. "Aren't you the same filly that pretended to be a pegasus on Nightmare Night when you were 10 years old?" Sonic pointed out with a mocking smirk. Sunny rolled her eyes at that and looked back at him with a smirk. "At least I didn't break my father's favorite vase~" she mocked back. Sonic groaned and covered his face with his hands, making Sunny chuckle again. "Thanks for taking me out of there, Sonic..." Sunny thanked him. "I had a lot of fun today! And, even if I did remember Dad... It didn't feel hurting anymore. I prefer to remember him and all the fun stuff we used to do with a smile, rather than just sit in the beach and mourn about it," she confessed. "Hey, I just like to help, Sunny!" Sonic said with a smile and a wink. "Besides, I couldn't just leave you all alone the entire day. Life is too short, and you must live every second as if it were the last! Taking you out there to have a little fun made me realize how much I love to live life to the max with my friends around. And honestly? I couldn't have it any other way..." he assured. Sunny smiled brightly at him, and so she hugged him tightly, with Sonic feeling a bit startled at first but then smiling and hugging her back. Everything went perfectly as he had planned. Heck, even better in his opinion, and he was glad to see that she was back to her old and happy self. THE END Author's Note Wooo! This episode was pretty fun to do! I did struggled at first because I didn't knew how the heck to make Team Sonic fit in here, but thanks to BenictheHedgehog's help, I managed to fit Sonic perfectly in here, without affecting Zipp and Pipp's story with haven and Alphabittle. Also, ALPHAHAVEN IS REAAAAAAAL! With this, we now have two ships made canon in my story! (reminder that Knuckles and Izzy are dating now. I know, I know, I haven't really do much with them, but don't worry! I'm not leaving their relationship aside, either.) Now, for the next couple to be canon, you'll have to wait until Sonic x Make Your Mark: Season 2! 😈 P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
52. PonytropicoIn Maretime Bay, Hitch couldn't stop blowing his whistle to everypony around town. He had an extremely tired expression, with eye bags below his eyes and everywhere else, and he was also desperately sweating. "Is the daily grind of your life getting you down?" Sky's voice asked with a relaxed tone. In Mane Melody, Pipp also seemed to have an extremely tired expression as she was doing Posey's mane with a mane iron. However, Pipp stopped for a second because she was sleepy. This made Posey scream in panic because Pipp accidentally burned a part of her mane. Of course, Posey was beyond mad, and Pipp was trying to calm her down, even though she still felt incredibly tired. "Does it seem like nothing is going right?" Sky's voice spoke again, still with a relaxed tone. In the Brighthouse, Izzy seemed to be working on something for 'Izzy Does It' on her crafting corner. She placed some blue glittering glue in a tree's trunk, but she put way too much, and now her hooves and cheeks were also stuck to the trunk. "Oh... That's not good..." Izzy muttered with concern. Knuckles, who was with her the entire time, grabbed her from her belly and started to pull her to free her from her situation. Yet, he probably pulled too hard because even if he did manage to get her free from the trunk, they both got sent backward, and they landed in a bunch of pillows in the middle of the living room. Knuckles was on the bottom, and Izzy ended up on top of him, as they both had incredibly dizzy eyes because of the crash. "... Okay... Maybe that wasn't a smart idea..." Knuckles complained with a chuckle. Izzy shook her head and giggled before placing a little kiss on his cheek. In Maretime Bay, Sunny also looked tired as she roller-skated around with her Smoothie Cart. However, she slipped so badly and tiredly that her cart and smoothies flew away, crashing against Zipp and Rufus, with the latter dressed as a clown for some reason. Zipp groaned in annoyance at the smoothies falling over her, and she flew away. Then Sunny came by, looked at Rufus with a sheepish smile, grabbed a cup that ended in his clown hair, and purred the smoothie contents into the cup. "No charge for this one!" Sunny said nervously as he gave the smoothie to Rufus, who smiled back at her. "Don't you wish you could just get away and take a break from it all?" Sky's voice spoke again, but this time, it came from Rufus's phone, which fell to the ground after the smoothies crashed with him and Zipp. We get a better view of what the phone is showing. Some bush appeared in the middle of what Sky was saying, and when they moved away, Sky was now wearing sunglasses instead of his regular ones and a beach hat on his head. "Well, you can!" Sky announced happily with a smile. "Paradise is much closer than you think! Isn't that right, Dazzle?" he asked to his co-worker. Then, Dazzle entered the scene, wearing sunglasses and a beach hat, although she also had a coconut beverage on her hoof. "It certainly is, Sky!" she assured with a smile. "Here at Ponytropico, there is something for everypony!" she said. Then, Sky and Dazzle had to duck down because an earth pony stallion on a paraglider passed right above them with a smile. The scene changes, and now, Sky and Dazzle are at the top of a hill, while in the background, we see two earth ponies with paragliders having fun in the sky. "As you can see, Ponytropico has it all!" Sky announced that an earth pony mare had passed by with a paraglider, but she had fallen into the ocean. Then, an earth pony stallion was driving a yacht while dragging an earth pony mare above water, smiling brightly. "Whether you're looking for adventure..." Sky kept narrating. "Or to find your inner creative!" Dazzle added. The scene changed again, and now it showed an earth pony mare making an abstract painting of three unicorns in the sand, levitating a bunch of rocks with smiles. "To be pampered in luxury!" Sky announced joyfully as the scene changed again. This time, Flare was applying a facial mask and kiwis over her eyes, while Jazz was lying over on her bed at her side, also with kiwis in her eyes. "Or to get some much-needed rest while you enjoy gourmet meals!" Dazzle added with a relaxed tone. Now, the scene showed Dahlia and an earth pony stallion making a toast with non-alcoholic drinks (this story is still rated # for Everyone;; alcohol is not allowed here). Behind the two earth ponies, and just like Dazzle said, there was a huge gourmet banquet with all kinds of food. Finally, Sky and Dazzle stood on a hill, not so far from Ponytropico, a massive 5-star hotel, while many ponies traveled across the sea over some boats. "So what are you waiting for?" Sky asked with a smile. "Book your vacation to Ponytropico today!" Dazzle added, also smiling. The Mane 5 were watching the announcement through Sunny's phones this time. They all had sparkling eyes as they watched the entire commercial, while Sunny only smiled at their reactions. Even so, it was clear that they all loved the idea of going to Ponytropico. "Ugh... Ponytropico..." Hitch sighed with a sad smile. "I can sure use a relaxing trip like that..." he said. As he was telling this, Sparky was running around the Brighthouse happily until he made something crash, which opened both Hitch and Sunny's eyes wide. "Sparky!" Hitch called out with panic as he ran towards his baby dragon. "And did you see those ponies on waterskis?!" Zipp asked Izzy with a smile, while Izzy smiled back and nodded. "I'd love to drive that!" she added with sparkling eyes, and Izzy also got sparkles in her eyes. "Well..." Sunny's voice spoke, calling her friends' attention. "I sure am glad you ponies think it looks fun! Because..." she smirked before squealing in excitement, and then brought out eight tickets for a ferry that led to Ponytropico. "Everypony, pack your bags! Ponytropico, here we come!" she declared with a smile. At this, the rest of the Mane 5 smiled and cheered with sparkling eyes, impatient to go and enjoy everything Ponytropico offers. Sunny closed her Smoothie Stand, even placing a picture indicating she went on vacation. Pipp turned around the 'Open' sign of Mane Melody to 'Closed,' also closing the salon's curtains. Izzy just placed her Unicycling Cart in a random place, but she also placed a chain with a padlock on the front wheel before walking away, humming to herself. Knuckles, who passed by her, noticed that she was way too happy. When he saw the Cart in the middle of nowhere, just with the chain and the padlock, he facepalmed. "I love that more, but CHAOS, DANG IT. She's just too oblivious sometimes," Knuckles said with a bored expression as he grabbed the Cart and walked towards the Crystal Brighthouse. "I'll talk with her later," he added with concern. And finally, Hitch closed the Sheriff Station, since he was sure that Knuckles was also going to Ponytropico. However, as he turned around, he felt surprised when he saw his critters, who were very sad because he was leaving. They were all crying, and the raccoonicorns and bunnycorns were all hugging his hooves. "Come on! It's only for a week!" Hitch said with a sheepish smile before starting to walk away. You critters will be fine!" he assured them. One of the racconicorns sniffed a bit more before grabbing a pegasnail, who was also crying. "We have to... Stay strong for each other..." the raccoonicorn told the pegasnail. However, he did not even believe in his own words because he started to cry dramatically, while the pegasnail that he was hugging also started to cry. Later on, the Mane 5 were getting their things ready for their trip towards the ferry that would take them to Ponytropico. Team Sonic was doing this in the bedroom as well. But then, a bip sound came from Tails' Miles Electric, and once he checked what it was, his eyes widened. "Guys! Eggman's at it again!" Tails announced with panic. At this, Sonic and Knuckles' eyes also widened. "That son of his egg mother!" the latter groaned. "Alright, Team! Forget the bags! We have an Egg that must be stopped!" Sonic declared with a smirk. With this, Team Sonic dropped everything and boosted downstairs towards the exit. However, as the Mane 5 were packing their things for Ponytropico in the living room, Team Sonic rushed past them at full speed, something the ponies noticed, so they quickly rushed towards them. Once outside, they noticed that Team Sonic was boarding the Tornado IV, but judging by their expressions, they seemed to be in a rush. "Hey guys!" Sunny called out. "Where are you going?!" she asked confused. "Sorry, Sunny. We should told you earlier..." Sonic said with a sheepish smile. "I promise we'll explain everything when we catch up with you, guys!" he assured, now confidently. "Wait... You guys are not going to Ponytropico with us?!" Pipp asked in a panic. "We are, but we must take care of something else first!" Knuckles replied while Tails turned the plane on. The plane erected itself in its place, and the wheels retracted to hide inside the flying vehicle. "So you'll catch up with us on the ferry?!" Zipp asked. "But then... Who's gonna fly the Marestream?!" she questioned in panic. "You got a license, Zipp!" Tails pointed out. "Hitch even registered it and all, remember?!" he added. "Oh... right..." Zipp said with a sheepish smile since she forgot about that. "Be careful on whatever you're gonna do!" Hitch shouted to them with a smile. "Careful? Where's the fun in that?!" Sonic snorted with a confident smirk. "Make sure to text me, honey! Love you!" Izzy shouted cheerfully to Knuckles. "I will, babe! Love you too!" Knuckles said with a smile and a wave of his hand to his girlfriend. However, as he sat normally again, he was surprised to see that Tails and Sonic were looking at him with mocking smirks. And then, he realized why, so he frowned. "Ugh! Grow up, you two!" Knuckles said with annoyance, crossing his arms, while Sonic and Tails chuckled. And then, Tails made the Tornado IV boost away. A little later, the Mane 5 were ready to head towards Ponytropico. They were all wearing vacation outfits when they got into the Marestream. The first one was Pipp, who giggled as she went in. She was followed by Hitch, who laughed with Sparky on his back. Sunny entered next with a giggle, and finally,, Izzy, who twirled around before heading inside as the door closed since Zipp was already inside. Thanks to Tails' guidance and Hitch's supervision, Zipp managed to get a driving license for the Marestream the legal way, so she was authorized and trained to drive the Marestream now. She pressed the flying button with a smile, and the Marestream started up by moving forward... But it didn't take fly, because it was really heavy. Zipp kept pressing the button, now starting to grunt, frustratedly. She looked at the lantern and the steering wheel. "Come on! Ugh!" she groaned in frustration then frowned at her sister next to her. "Pipp!" she yelled to her, who was holding out her phone. "Ugh, fine!" Pipp said, annoyed, as she tossed her overpacked luggage out of the Marestream and dusted her hooves. With that, the door of the Marestream closed, and the vehicle finally took off. On the other hand, Tails landed the Tornado IV in a random place in Bridlewood, while he, Sonic, and Knuckles decided to keep going by walking. Usually, they would run run directly towards the forest,, but they needed to be careful,aboutnd you will soon unwill soonwhy. The team finally stopped behind a bush and looked at each other before nodding in agreement. So, the three of them popped their heads from the bush and looked ahead. What were they seeing? A whole army of Egg Pawns digging and mining over the magic glowing crystals from Bridlewood inside a cave, while Eggman himself supervised the entire thing with an Egg Pawn holding a clipboard at his side. "There he is..." Sonic muttered with a frown. "Mining the crystals of Bridlewood from a cave, just like you said, Tails..." he pointed out angrily. "He's been doing it for weeks now... I thought at first that this was maybe for Opaline or even that it wasn't even related to anything bad... But then I remembered that it's Eggman we're talking about," Tails explained with concern. "Why would Eggman want to steal this many crystals?" Knuckles questioned with a raised eyebrow but also frowning. "If he wants to lecture their energy and power, one crystal should be enough for that task..." he pointed out. "When it comes to Eggman, there's nothing as 'enough' for him..." Sonic pointed out with anger. "If it were, he would have stopped trying to take over the world years ago," he added with concern. "Well, I've been making analysis of the crystal's energy for a while, but there's nothing that tells me what's Eggman's goal here..." Tails pointed out with concern. "But again, it's Eggman we're talking about. Nothing's ever good when it comes to him..." he added with a frown. "So, what do we do?" Knuckles asked. "So far, he hasn't noticed us" Sonic whispered. "Let's keep it that way for now," he stated. "Tails, you go and find a way to deactivate all the Egg Pawns in one shot," he instructed "Got it!" Tails replied with a smirk and a thumbs up before ducking down entirely and then crawling into the ground as he moved away from Sonic and Knuckles, but still being sneaky so Eggman wouldn't notice them. "Knux, you and I will attack Eggman by surprise!" Sonic muttered with a smirk. "An ambush, huh?" Knuckles snickered with a grin, smashing his fists together quietly. "I smell a funeral, instead!" he stated confidently. "Oh, and it'll be a good one!" Sonic said with confidence as well. And then, Knuckles dug into the ground and entered the hole he made while Sonic followed behind. Meanwhile, the Marestream zoomed through the sky as the ponies watched the clouds pass out the window. "I spy... Ooh!" Izzy called out as she and the others saw something. "A bunch of very dangerous-looking storm clouds!" she said... cheerfully... as usual... "Uh, Zipp? Are you sure we––?" Sunny tried to ask with concern. "Don't worry, ponies. I've got everything under control!" Zipp assured her, not noticing the lightning strikes that were flashing ahead. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Just a little rain!" she added with a slight chuckle. Thanks for the jinx, Zipp. Right after she said that, thunder started to form, while the Marestream shook around, and Zipp tried to keep it balanced. Meanwhile, behind her, the rest of the Mane 5 started to scream while being rattled around the Marestream, except Izzy and Sparky, who just laughed around. Then, the Marestream was struck by lightning, which caused Sunny's lantern to go off. As the rainbow and prism beam magic faded, the Marestream lost power and fall from the sky. With this, the Mane 5 started to scream again, except Sparky and Izzy, who kept cheering as they fell from the sky. Back with Eggman, he was still supervising the carving for the crystals in that cave on Bridlewood. "How's the production going?" Eggman asked with a serious expression. "Thanks to the new units' arrival, production grew a 30%. We should have finished looking for crystals in this cave by sundown," the Egg Pawn with the clipboard replied in a robotic voice. "Eggcellent!" Eggman stated with a huge grin. "Then that means I can finally find a connection between those crystals and the Chaos Emeralds! After all, there's a reason why they only worked after the magical properties of the crystals got into them..." he pointed out. "How long would it take to transport the crystals to my hideout?" he asked. However, he got no response at all. The robot's eyes stopped glowing suddenly, and it just froze in the last position it was when it talked to the doctor. "... Did you hear anything? I asked––" Eggman tried to repeat himself angrily, but it was then that he noticed that the robot was shut down. Then, he looked around, and his eyes widened even more because all the Egg Pawns stopped working, all with their eyes completely off, and freeze in several positions. Eggman was confused about how this happened... but then he frowned because he could now tell what was doing this. Or rather, who was doing this. "You certainly know how to pull off your tricks, Young Prower," Eggman said with a snort before slowly turning around and looking at Tails with anger. The young fox was standing in front of a small yellow device that sent a wave across the area. This wave deactivated all kinds of technology from a near radius, which meant that all the Egg Pawns wouldn't move again until Tails shut off his device. "I may not be a genius at your level, Eggman. But even I know when to pull my cards!" Tails stated with his arms crossed and a confident smirk. As Tails had Eggman's attention, Sonic and Knuckles quietly came out of a hole behind the doctor, and they both prepared to jump behind him and surprise him. "True... However, you know what they say: 'Better alone than in bad company.' And I come very well accompanied!" Eggman mocked up with a sinister grin. Right then, Sonic and Knuckles jumped towards him... just to be sent away by something else that approached and saved Eggman. "What the––" Tails exclaimed, confused. On the other hand, Sonic and Knuckles shook their heads and looked up confused, only to have their eyes widen at seeing an old and familiar figure. "Well, well, well... Look what the Egg brought..." Sonic said with a mocking smirk, although he was also frowning. "It's been a while... Mecha Sonic..." Knuckles added with anger as his electrical powers showed up and his eyes turned red. Right in front of the duo, Mecha Sonic Mark II was standing, but what we could consider as his 'eyes' were blue instead of the regular yellow. Then, Eggman's Egg Bouncer arrived. Eggman jumped inside the vehicle while the capsule closed, and the doctor stared down at Tails with a grin. "T-This doesn't make any sense!" Tails said, confused. "How are your machine and Mecha Sonic still on?!" he questioned. "There's no better combo for a fight than high tech and magic!" Eggman stated. "Thanks to my partner, Mecha Sonic, and my Egg Bouncer are immune to any signal that deactivates them!" he grinned. "It seems like this funeral's gonna be much more complicated than we thought..." Sonic muttered with a frown. Meanwhile, the Mane 5 were fine, but the Marestream got stuck in a pile of mud. Zipp was inside the vehicle, grunting and pressing a few buttons, while the others were behind the Marestream, hoping that she would make the vehicle turn on again. "Almost got it...!" Zipp grunted as she kept pressing buttons. And then, the Marestream's engine started up again, as the tailpipes sputtered out rainbow color. The others cheered at this, but then, the Marestream splattered some mud over them as they groaned in annoyance and disgust while Sparky fell from Hitch. Only Izzy didn't mind the mud since she was smiling. "It’s very facial!" Izzy said cheerfully turning to her friends with a smile. "Hey, everypony, look on the bright side. At least Pipp still got her spa day!" she joked as she snickered. "Dah-dah, dah!" She imitated a drum shot with a smile and a wave of her hooves. However, Pipp was covered in mud, giving whimpering sounds, and not happy. "Too soon, Izzy... Too soon!" she whimpered glaring daggers to Izzy for her terrible joke. "All we need to do is stay calm," Hitch advised with a smile, and Izzy nodded in agreement. "Luckily for all of you, I packed a map that will show us exactly how to get––" he said confidently, as he held up a map, but then he saw Sparky eating the map up, as the baby dragon dangled from the map with his mouth. "Aah!" Hitch called out in surprise dropping what's left of the map and Sparky. Sparky landed on the floor and ate up the rest of the map before burping it and rubbing his stomach, also spitting up a little bit of dragon fire. At this, Hitch only sighed, disappointed. Pipp, on the other hand, groaned in frustration, not liking their situation. "Not only are we going to miss the ferry to Ponytropico, but now we are lost, too!?! Ugh! Could this day get any worse?!" she questioned. And right then, as everyone could have expected, thunder struck, followed by rain, which made the Mane 5 give dull expressions from the karma. Thanks for nothing, Pipp. However, Sparky smiled when he saw the mud puddles forming. Then he jumped into one, starting to giggle and toss some mud around while having fun. The Mane 5 looked at Sparky playing in the mud, then up at the rain clouds as they took off their sunglasses to get a better look. Then, they laughed and smiled at each other, having the same idea, while Izzy hopped and splashed mud on her friends. And just like that, the Mane 5 were having a mud fight as Sunny threw some mud at Pipp's face, who gave an irritated look before smirking mischievously. Mane 5: Just a little touch-up Just a little paint And we'll be done in no time Izzy: Hey, this is looking great! Meanwhile, Zipp was chasing Hitch and Sparky with a laugh while Izzy rubbed some mud on her face with a smile. Then, Hitch splashed some mud on Sunny while the earth pony mare giggled and covered her face with a hoof, but then they, including Sparky, suddenly got covered completely in mud from above. When they looked up, they saw Zipp and Pipp holding a sheet filled with mud and smiling playfully at the two earth ponies and baby dragon while they smiled back at the sister's playful trick. Mane 5: 'Cause they say there is magic In every pony Inside the Marestream, the Mane 5 hunkered down and cleaned off the mud on them with towels wrapped around them and having some tea while Pipp was doing her mane. Then, Sunny came behind Zipp and Pipp with a smile, holding out a picnic blanket and spreading it out. And when I need a hoof I've got you there beside me Later, they spread out the food they packed as a picnic inside the Marestream. As they enjoyed their meal, Sparky suddenly got between Sunny and Hitch. They and Zipp were eating their food peacefully. Sparky grabbed Hitch's food and ate it all in one bite. Hitch turned and saw in surprise that his food was gone, while his friends also saw this in surprise. Gonna work, work, work Got so much to do Well, I don't mind the work After their meal, they decided to pass the time to play cards. Zipp looked at her sister while whistling innocently, but then Pipp turned in shock at her sister looking at her cards, while Zipp gave an innocent smile and sweated nervously. At this, Pipp gave a dull look and pushed Zipp back. Then, Hitch put down his last card and Sparky and he raised their arms or hooves in victory. The others smiled or laughed. Zipp, however, looked down at the fact that she had lost. After this, the Mane 5 huddled and sang together while Pipp fled around and sang through her microphone. 'Cause I get to work with you (I get to work with you!) Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true Then, the Mane 5's Cute Marks started to glow and sparkle, and magic started to flow into Sunny's lantern. Its rainbow and magic recharged and levitated to their spot, hooking on their place. 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do! And so, the lantern’s magic powered up the Marestream again, with Zipp getting back on the wheel as the vehicle got out of the mud, while the Mane 5 gasped in amazement and smiled in awe, some with sparkling eyes like Pipp. "Whoo-hoo!" Sunny cheered with her hoof raised. "Come on, ponies! If we hurry, we might still be able to catch the last ferry of Ponytropico!" she announced with a smile while the Mane 5 cheered. "And hopefully, Team Sonic will catch up with us!" she added. Speaking of them, however, they were pretty busy dealing with Mecha Sonic and Eggman. Sonic and Knuckles got sent backward after getting hit by Mecha Sonic, but they still managed to stand while Eggman launched many fake Eggmans to Tails to avoid him getting closer. "Mecha! Kill those two pests while I deal with the fox!" Eggman instructed with a grin. "Hah! You think you're gonna have it easy, huh?!" Tails asked with a snort before charging his electrical powers around his body to seem more intimidating. "Think again!" he challenged with a huge grin. However, this only made Eggman chuckle and grin even more. "Bring it on, Miles!" he mocked up. And with this, Team Sonic started to fight against Eggman and Mecha Sonic. On one hand, we have Tails fighting against Eggman and his Egg Bouncer as Eggman launches one of the seven orbs surrounding his Eggmobile. Said orb turned into an Eggman decoy with the same Eggmobile that also could shoot lasers towards the enemy. However, Tails had faced this machine along with Sonic before, when they were kids, so he already knew perfectly the trick to defeating it: Just dodge the lasers and punch the decoy one time to destroy it, then take his chance and hit Eggman's Eggmobile, which he could do easier nowadays thanks to the Homing Attack. So, that's exactly what Tails did: He dodged the few lasers the decoy was launching at him before using his Tails to cut in several pieces the fake Eggman before Homing Attack the real one, who got sent a bit backward and growled in anger. That's why he launched three more of the orbs, which also turned into Eggman decoys, and they all launched a bunch of lasers towards the young fox. Yet, Tails only chuckled at this before spinning his tails at fast paste and elevating in the air, as he not only dodged all the lasers thrown at him like a freaking pro, but he also used his tails to cut the decoys once again, before cloning himself two with his watch. Then, he and his two clones charged their Homing Attacks, hitting Eggman one by one in the process. Meanwhile, Sonic and Knuckles were fighting two against one with Mecha Sonic. The robot had bigger upgrades this time because it couldfast as Sonic and Knuckles, thanks to Sonic's quill power. Yet, this fact didn't seem to be a problem for Sonic and Knuckles because as Sonic distracted the robot into making it think he was going to attack it, Knuckles sneaked from behind and blasted a punch into its back. With this, Mecha Sonic curled into a ball, showing off his spiky quills, and he jumped in the air high enough before diving into the ground. even if both Sonic and Knuckles dodged, he did make the ground rumble, making them lose their balances for a second. Taking advantage of this, Mecha Sonic quickly used the powers of Sonic's quill and rushed towards Knuckles, grabbing the echidna from his neck and preparing to blast him with laser eyes, a new upgrade Eggman added to Mark II. Still, then, Sonic used the watch and created a sword, which he used quickly to make a deeper cut in Mecha Sonic's back. The robot turned his entire face around after that and prepared to shoot a laser towards Sonic. Still, then Knuckles took advantage of this and sent a punch straight to Mecha Sonic's chest, which not only made him get free of the robot's grip, but it also allowed Sonic to kick Mecha's face, as the robot's eyes went from blue to red. "I think we finally got him nuts!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Good, then let's make sure he stays that way!" Knuckles stated with a grin as both he and Sonic jumped toward Mecha Sonic. Back with Eggman and Tails, the latter already took down another of the decoys, this time using a plasma gun and another Homing Attack against Eggman's Eggmobile. "Grr! This is completely useless!" Eggman said with anger before launching the last two decoys and then boosting himself towards the young fox. However, Tails only smirked at this as he used his plasma guns to destroy the remaining decoys. Then, as Eggman charged a laser with his Eggmobile and shot him, Tails twirled in the air like a pro before shooting with his plasma gun at Eggman's laser, then charging up a Spindash and then boosting towards Eggman, not only sending him backward, but also making the Eggmobile crash against a wall. With that, Eggman fell from his Eggmobile and landed facewards to the ground, while his now damaged Eggmobile landed behind him. Finally, we have Sonic and Knuckles, who both Homing Attacked Mecha Sonic, but the robot shielded their face with their arms, which also made the two anthropomorphic creatures get on their sides. Then, Knuckles tried to punch Mecha, but the robot ducked and dodged the attack, while Sonic tried to kick them, Mecha grabbed his feet and not only moved it down, but they also ducked again and dodged a kick from Knuckles. Next, mecha tried to Kick Knuckles this time, but the echidna managed to block the kick with his arm before trying to punch the robot again. However, mecha not only grabbed Knuckles' arm, but he also punched his chest, making Knuckles groan in pain and then fall to his knees, also grabbing his chest. Tails noticed this, and since Eggman was still a bit dizzy on the ground, he decided to go over and assist his friends. He used his powers to create a bow, but instead of an arrow, he also created a spear, which he pointed right at Mecha Sonic's chest. "Sonic, Knuckles! MOVE!" Tails instructed from the air. Both Sonic and Knuckles looked up, and when they saw what Tails had planned, they smirked and nodded at him before charging up their Spindashes towards Mecha Sonic. Of course, Mecha just punched both creatures in their ball forms and sent them backward... but as the machine did that, Tails let go of the spear that traversed Mecha Sonic's chest, which not only startled the robot, but it also made its systems started to fail. So, with Mecha Sonic finally being vulnerable, Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other with smirks before activating their electrical powers and then putting their right hands together before charging up a double boost attack and launching it towards Mecha Sonic, destroying the robot entirely. Both Sonic and Knuckles landed like superheroes, while Mecha Sonic's parts landed around them, and when Knuckles looked up, he smirked and extended his hand while Mecha Sonic's head landed on it. "We crushed his spirit. Am I right? Huh, huh?" Knuckles said with a smirk as he lightly pushed Sonic's elbow. Sonic snorted at the joke, actually find it great. "Alright, I'll admit it... That's a clever one, Knux!" he said joyfully. "You guys okay?" Tails asked as he landed in front of Sonic and Knuckles. "Oh, we are. He's not!" Sonic said mockingly, pointing at Mecha Sonic's head. Knuckles chuckled and fist-bumped him, and Tails only rolled his eyes with a smirk. However, as they did this, they didn't notice that Eggman already woken up and sneaked behind Tails' device that was still shutting down the Egg Pawns. Then, Eggman smashed the machine with his feet, which made the Egg Pawns turn on again, startling Team Sonic. "Retreat!" Eggman shouted with anger. After shouting this, one of the Egg Pawns shot a smoke bomb to the ground, which made Team Sonic cover their faces and cough a lot. When the smoke dissipated, however, all the Egg Pawns, the Eggmobile, and Eggman himself were gone, although he left all the crystals behind and Mecha Sonic's destroyed body. "Oh, come on!" Knuckles groaned with frustration. "We were finally going to find out about his plan, and he escaped!" he said angrily. "Fan-freaking-tastic," Tails complained, crossing his arms madly. "It seemed like we were close to something, and now we're back to the speculation zone," he pointed out with concern, rubbing his chin. "He had expected us to arrive if he had th Egg Bouncer and Mecha Sonic Mark II ready..." Sonic pointed out with a frown before looking back at the crystals. "But the question remains... What's Eggman's goal with these crystals?" he questioned with concern. The Mane 5 made it to the docks in their vacation gear, but they looked off in the distance with shocked looks. "Oh, there it goes!" As she pointed her hoof in the distance, Izzy cheered, showing that the ferry already shipped off, too far even to fly there or call it out. "Ohhhh, there it goes..." Izzy repeated, realizing what she said. Sunny blinked a few times before giving a small smile. “Hey, there's always next year, ponies!" she said to her friends while they gave down expressions, and Pipp even started to tear up. "Anyway, we don't need Ponytropico to have fun. Right?" Sunny asked her friends with a smile. Pipp thought about it for a second before smiling and wiping her tears away. "Yeah! I can't believe I'm saying this, but who needs a luxury spa?" She asked her friends with a smile. "Or pony paragliding?" Zipp added as she took off her sunglasses with a smile. "Or a restful day at the beach?" Hitch spoke next with a smile. Then, Izzy lifted her sunglasses over her head. "Or a beautiful seashell mosaic?" she added. "All we need for an amazing holiday is... each other!" Sunny finished as they huddled together and leaned at each other's heads with smiles while their Cutie Marks started to glow again. And then, Zipp gasped with an idea before looking at her friends with a smile. "You ponies thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" she asked her friends with a smile as they smiled in return. Later, the Mane 5 returned to the Marestream and landed at the spot they crashed in with laughs. ...I don't mind the work 'Cause I get to work with you Then, they exited the Marestream, and Zipp set up some lights around the vehicle. Meanwhile, Izzy and Pipp are in the mud puddle, taking a mud bath while taping each other's glass cups, with their faces covered in mud masks. Gonna work, work, work Make our dreams come true Inside the Marestream, Sunny was blending some smoothies in her blender as Hitch came in with a basket full of berries with a smile to Sunny, and she smiled wide at the berries. Outside, Zipp is roasting a marshmallow on a fire while the Mane 5 all enjoy their vacation together. 'Cause when we work together There's nothing we, nothing we can't do! Then, Sparky burped out some dragon fire into the air after eating a bowl full of snacks, which startled the group for a moment before they burst out laughing. However, as they seemed to enjoy their picnic, they suddenly heard an engine roaring. They looked upwards and saw the Tornado IV making several spins in the air before finally landing near the Marestream as the flying vehicle shut down, and Team Sonic immediately got out of the plane, with Tails carrying Mecha Sonic's head. At this, the group immediately smiled and rushed to them. Izzy hugged Knuckles tightly, and he hugged her tightly back, twirling her in the air before kissing her lovingly. Meanwhile, Sunny dragged Tails into a hug like an older sister would, and Tails not only chuckled but also placed Mecha Sonic's head on the ground to return the hug to Sunny. Finally, Pipp also hugged Sonic Sonic tightly. Sonic was startled and confused at first, but seeing that it was just Pipp, he smiled and caressed her mane softly. "Wow, there!" Zipp exclaimed, amazed, as she looked at Mecha Sonic's head with surprise. "What is that thing?" she asked, pointing at the robot's head. "A little souvenir..." Knuckles said with a smirk. "We tracked Eggman and found him extracting crystals from Bridlewood," he explained, now frowning. The Mane 5 gasped while Tails grabbed Mecha Sonic's head. "Don't worry! We managed to stop him and the other Sonic robo-copy he invented after Metal Sonic failed,," he explained with a smile. However, and even if he didn't manage to take any crystals—–" he tried to say. "As far as we know..." Sonic said with concern. "We're still wondering why he's been mining them for weeks now..." Tails kept going with a slight frown. "Hopefully, there's some information inside this thing that can tell us what Eggman's up to. Heck, it might even say where he's hiding with Opaline!" he pointed out with a slight chuckle. "But before we go to that... Did you guys miss the ferry to that Ponytropical thing, or however it is called?" Knuckles asked, confused, finally noticing the camping and the different place they were in. "Yeah..." Sunny replied with a chuckle. "We have a lot to explain ourselves, too. But don't worry! We can tell you everything as we eat! You can even explain to everything you did, too,," she said with a smile. And with that, everyone smiled and cheered except for Sonic, deep in thought. As the rest headed to the Marestream to eat and explain what they had to do, Sonic stood behind and frowned, something that only Pipp noticed. She could feel that he was worried about something. "There's a reason why the Emeralds only worked after the magical properties of the crystals got into them..." Eggman's voice echoed in Sonic's mind. "... Maybe he's not so incompetent..." Sonic muttered with concern. "Blue Star?" As Sonic looked at her, Pipp called out, but he was still frowning. "You okay?" "... Bridlewood's magic crystals are the reason why the Chaos Emeralds work again..." Sonic pointed out as he raised an arm and made the Blue Chaos Emerald appear. "The question is... why?" At this, Pipp stared at both the Emerald and Sonic, now starting to wonder about this herself... In Eggman's lab, hidden under Opaline's Castle, Eggman was frowning at his computer. He was making an analysis to the energy lectures of Bridlewood's crystals and the Chaos Energy of the Chaos Emeralds. Still, there was no coincidence nor connection so far, which was what made him feel so frustrated. "Hmm... It doesn't matter..." Eggman stated, now starting to grin. "One way or another, I'll find the connection between the Emeralds and the crystals. And then... everything will be mine!" he added with confidence, also laughing like a maniac. THE END...? Author's Note I had a completely different idea for this episode when the first clip came out two weeks ago, but now that it's out, I had to change several things, so here we are now. It might not be my best job, but it definitely isn't the worst one, either. Now, I need you ALL to watch out for next episode, because that very same day, I'm publishing a blog post with an important announcement. Stay tuned! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
53. As The Misty Clears - Part 1Misty was having an internal crisis in the middle of a hill, behind some bushes, and not so far from the Crystal Brighthouse. On her right hoof, she carried a puppet of herself with an 'evil' face and the necklace Opaline had given her. "Get dragon fire for Opaline!" Misty said in a slightly deeper voice. "Evil laugh!" she added, as her puppet started laughing as evil as Misty could make it. Then, she brought with her left hoof another puppet of herself, one with a more friendly face and without the necklace. "No! Be loyal to your friends!" Misty said, speaking in a high-pitched tone as the left puppet. Happy laugh!" she added, starting to laugh, more nervously than happy. She was starting to doubt whether she should remain loyal to Opaline and, therefore, Eggman or her friends despite being on them for quite a while now... However, as she kept laughing nervously, a voice behind her startled her. "Hey, Misty!" Sunny greeted happily, and Misty got so nervous that she quickly shook her hooves and removed the puppets. "What you doing?" Sunny asked with a smile. As she did so, the rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic arrived, although Zipp and Knuckles seemed to have a raised eyebrow at her attitude. Misty got even more nervous when the rest arrived, so she quickly hid her puppets with some leaves on the ground. "Uh... Just, uh..." she said nervously, getting up from the floor and grabbing a bit of grass with her hoof. "Admiring this grass!" she said, still nervously, before smelling the grass she grabbed. "Mmm! Green!" she added with a sheepish smile. Of course, this made everyone but Izzy look at Misty with weird expressions, and Knuckles even glared a bit at her, feeling like something was off with her. "No inner struggle between good and evil over here!" Misty added again, still with a sheepish smile. "That was... utterly specific..." Sonic pointed out, rubbing his chin and raising an eyebrow. Then, Misty's necklace started to act up right in front of the rest, startling her and making her panic. The necklace opened to show Opaline's face coming out. "Misty, where are you––" she tried to ask, but at this, Misty quickly grabbed her and put her back in the necklace. Opaline grunted at this while Misty looked around nervously, and the others were completely confused by this... They either didn't know who came out of the necklace, or they didn't notice but instead felt confused about why her necklace was moving and making these weird sounds. Well, everyone except for Izzy. She just kept smiling. "I'm cleansing it;; it's... uh..." Misty started to say as the necklace moved around. Then she tried to call Opaline again. "Energy?" she added nervously. "Love a good energy cleanse!" Izzy said with a smile before bringing some brushes and putting on sparkling eyes. "Can I help?!" she asked excitedly. However, Misty kept struggling to hold the necklace in place. "Nope!" she replied,, smiling, still grunting to hold it. "All good!" she assured herself before grunting again. "I got it!" she stated. But the rest didn't seem to believe she got it, not even Izzy this time, who seemed to whimper and look sad and confused. As for the rest, they seemed startled at her attitude, and now Pipp was glaring at her. "There's something strange about that necklace," Zipp pointed out with a concerned expression. "You've been acting kind of weird lately," she added. A few days ago, Sparky gave Hitch and Knuckles trouble around the Station. The three of them had toilet paper around, with Sparky holding a piece in his hand and running around happily, while Hitch and Knuckles had toilet paper all over their bodies as they chased down the baby dragon. Unknown to them, however, Misty was hiding inside an old and rusty clock, walking around the station and sticking to the walls so she wouldn't raise suspicions as she smiled inside the clock and wrote down everything he saw on her notebook. Another day, Sparky was near a garbage can, sipping happily a smoothie. However, he didn't notice that Misty was sneaking behind him and over Knuckles' desk, as she was wearing a classic black thief suit with the cape, the mask, and even the little hat. She prepared herself and jumped, hoping to catch Sparky... But instead, she landed on the trash can. Misty got dizzy eyes at this while Sparky happily sipped his smoothie. However, he looked to the trash can and noticed Misty, feeling confused about how she got there in the first place. Another day, Knuckles was alone at the station with Sparky on his head. The echidna seemed to be wearing headphones and listening to music, and he cleaned around the messed up station. Misty, hiding behind Hitch's desk, decided to take advantage of Knuckles hearing music to take Sparky away from him. "Here I come, rougher than the rest of them. The best of them, tougher than leather" Knuckles started to rap, as he brushed the floor, while Sparky on his head wore sunglasses and bobbed his head as the echidna rapped. While he did so, Misty tried to approach and grab Sparky, but that made her face get hit by the brush because Knuckles was twirling it around as he cleaned. "You can call me Knuckles, unlike Sonic I don't chuckle, I'd rather flex my muscles" Knuckles kept singing as he twirled the brush again and hit Misty on her flank by mistake. This made the unicorn yelp and rub her slammed back with a painful expression before getting hit by the brush on her face again, as Knuckles spun on his place while extending the brush. "My heart is nails, it ain't hard to tell, I break 'em down whether they're solid or frail" Knuckles rapped more, as he then grabbed a vacuum cleaner and ride it like a cowboy. Sparky head laughed happily as they both moved around the station with the vacuum cleaner, while Misty panicked and threw herself through the window, landing in a bunch of bushes outside the station. "Unlike the rest, I've been independent since my first breath. First test, feel the right, then the worst's left" Knuckles finished rapping, as the station shone bright by how clean it was left. Meanwhile, Misty popped her head out of the bushes with a dizzy expression, also having some leaves on her mane. Finally, Hitch was putting all his pens in a perfect manner, walking away with a satisfied look. However, as he did that, Misty came from below his desk and moved one of the pens, hiding again with a mischievous look. Zipp recorded all of what I just told on her phone. Yes, even Knuckles danced around the station. Hitch looked at Zipp's phone with shock since he didn't expect Misty of all ponies to move the pen as she did. "That was you?!" Hitch asked Misty with shock and anger. Misty looked at him a bit scared gulping and smiling sheepishly. "Pretty funny, huh?" she said, now laughing nervously and looking around helplessly. Of course, Hitch only looked at her with a frown. "Yes. Ha, ha, ha..." he laughed falsely, also rolling his eyes. "I don't know how to feel about the fact that you recorded me," Knuckles said, frowning. "I thought you said you hated that song?" Sonic asked Knuckles, confused, even if he did want to mock him up for singing that out loud. "Oh, I do hate it. But it's also too catchy to ignore," Knuckles pointed out, still frowning. "Whatever you say, Knucklehead," Sonic mocked up, and Knuckles rolled his eyes. "You know, I would normally say she's just overreacting over stuff as always... But I gotta agree with Zipp this time," Tails commented with his arms crossed. "You are acting weird, Misty," he pointed out. "Right–– Wait! What do you mean I'm overreacting as always?!" Zipp asked Tails with a frown. "Do I tell you the truth, or are we still friends?" Tails replied boredly. "Regardless of her antics, Zipp's right," Sunny also pointed out as she started to approach Misty. "Why don't you just take it off for a little bit?" As she said this, she slowly approached her hoof to Misty's necklace, which startled the unicorn, as she stepped back with a jump. "No!" she shouted, holding her necklace with a hoof and smiling sheepishly again. "I-I can't take it off. It's... It's special to me," she said nervously. The rest just stared at her, even more confused than before after she did that, and Sunny's eyes widened at how she shouted when refusing to take off the necklace. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got errands to run!" Misty stated quickly turning around and running away without explaining further. Sunny and Tails raised their hoof/hands at her, but no word came out of their mouths as Misty ran away. On the other hand, Zipp seemed to suspect something over Misty's necklace, rubbing her chin with a hoof as she glared at Misty's figure, which became less and less visible as she trotted away. Several minutes after running away later, Misty finally stopped. She was sweating a lot and panting heavily, but she sighed, relieved after running away from the rest. "That was too close!" she said with a concerned expression. "Misty!" Eggman's voice startled her, and she jumped on her place, falling backward over a bush. Misty got herself out of said bush, with leaves once again on her mane, and she groaned frustrated before shaking her head to remove the leaves and look at the robotic ladybug on her ear with a frown. "Dad–– I mean, Ivo–– I MEAN! Doctor!" she complained. "Oh, uh... Sorry, kiddo," Eggman apologized. "I just wanted to check if you were alright. Those punny ponies and those rodents almost caught you this time..." he pointed out with a concerned tone. "Don't mention it..." Misty said with a nervous tone and look. "No, seriously. Please don't mention it anymore, especially to Opaline!" she begged. "I got your back, Misty. Opaline won't find out. But you have to be more careful from here on. We don't wanna risk your alibi as our spy, nor our intentions. Just stay hidden, alright?" Eggman instructed. "Okay..." Misty replied with a down expression. As the conversation ended, she looked up again, and she was surprised to see an orange tree with some blackberries, ironically called Shadow Berries. "Oh, Shadow Berries! They're Opaline's favorites!" Misty said with a smile. After that, she went over and tried to climb over the tree to grab one of the berries, but her necklace kept making her get stuck on one of the tree branches, which made it difficult for her to actually grab the berry. So, she returned to the ground and removed her necklace, placing it over a rock in hopes that it'll be there by the time she grabbed the berry. "Don't. Move!" Misty said to the necklace before turning around and returning to the tree. However, as she did so, Tails' hand grabbed the necklace, and he hid under a bunch of bushes afterward. "Aw, man. I hate to do this to Misty, but Zipp is right,," Tails muttered with concern. "Something's wrong with this thing, and I'm going to find out what it is." Meanwhile, Misty returned to the tree and managed to grab one of the Shadow Berries, smiling as she walked back to the rock where she left the necklace. "She's gonna love me for at least five minutes when she sees these!" Misty said happily with sparkling eyes and a chuckle. "My god, Misty..." Eggman spoke suddenly through the ladybug, but this time, he didn't startle her. "Once you get here, we're doing some family therapy on how wrong that statement is..." he stated with concern. Misty rolled her eyes and shrugged, but as soon as she looked at the rock where she had placed her necklace, she gasped in horror. "Necklace?!" she called out in panic. "Where are you?! I said don't move!" she shouted. Then, she moved some leaves on the ground, even throwing some in the air, but not looking at her necklace around, she started to tear up in panic. Back in the Crystal Brighthouse, Tails returned the necklace without being noticed by Misty. So, he went over to his area of the bedroom and started to make several analyses of the necklace. However, his computer sent an 'Error' message, confusing Tails. So, he tried to make the analysis again, but the message appeared again. Seeing that this was more complicated than just analyzing the necklace with his computer, he got his hands dirty. That's why he put some brown gloves over his regular ones, as well as some goggles, and then he grabbed the necklace with his hand. Then, he grabbed some tweezers and used them to open the 'eye' of the necklace. However, this seemed to do nothing for a moment. Emphasis on that last word because as soon as Tails turned the necklace around to see the back part, some kind of purple laser came out and hit a pencil that first turned into a darker one before just falling out as a pile of dust. At this, Tails' eyes widened, so he closed the 'eye' of the necklace and quickly went downstairs, removing his brown gloves and goggles in the process. Once down, he placed the necklace on a table in the living room, with everyone else already gathered around it. "So?" Sonic asked Tails with a raised eyebrow. "Let's just say that this thing is magical, and... It's completely out of my league..." Tails replied with concern. "Not only does my computer keep sending an 'Error' message, but the necklace itself seems to have some defensive mechanism that puts my life in danger..." he explained. "I'm telling you: Something's not right with this thing!" Zipp said with a frown as she touched the necklace with her hoof. Then, Izzy came by and put some goggles before checking the necklace closer. "On the one hoof, it has signs of something evil!" she said, grabbing the necklace and staring at it with a frown. "Say no more!" Knuckles shouted with a frown as he raised his arm and charged his fist with electricity... just to be stopped by Izzy and her magic. "Aw, come on!" he complained. "On the other hoof, it's super shiny!" Izzy added with a smile and sparkling eyes as she stared at the necklace. Of course, this also made her let go of Knuckles, who landed facewards on the ground with a grunt. After this, Izzy decided to put the necklace just to use it... But that made the necklace's eye open again, making Izzy's eyes go from natural purple to red. This made everyone feel a bit nervous, as they all started to sweat and looked at each other. "Um... Izz?" Sonic decided to call out, approaching her and bopping her cheek a few times. "You okay, buddy?" he asked with a sheepish smile. However, Izzy's forehead got a bit darker, and the unicorn mare started to laugh sinisterly, which made the rest panic, and Sonic stepped back several steps after that. Then, Izzy caught a microphone that came from... I don't know... Pony heaven? The point is that she grabbed a microphone and removed her goggles. "Hey, I'm Izzy. Here's a stupid poem!" she said suddenly with a frown, startling her friends since she never used that word before. "Perhaps Eggman's conquering the world today because... IZZY'S FREAKING SWEARING!" Sonic said with panic, shaking Tails violently. "Well, 'stupid' is not swearing, BUT STILL!" he pointed out, freaking out again. "Earth pony smell and pegasi stink!" Izzy started to recite while getting closer to Pipp's face with a frown, which made Pipp feel nervous. "They all take baths in the kitchen sink!" she kept reciting, now walking literally to the kitchen sink and jumping over it, splashing some water in the process. Then, she got off the sink and walked madly towards her crafting corner while Knuckles sat down on the floor and rubbed his head in pain. However, it didn't take long for him to notice Izzy's strange change of attitude, and he frowned with worry as he stared at his girlfriend. "What the..." he muttered concerned. "Also, crafting's totally lame!" Izzy added as she smashed a horse made with pallets with her hoof. At this, both Sunny and Knuckles gasped, but the latter did it very dramatically, almost sounding like a girlish cry and not a gasp. So, Knuckles approached Izzy, who was still smashing the pallet horse and removed the necklace from her. "Keep my girl's innocence away from your bucking magic!" he shouted launching the necklace to the other side of the Brighthouse. Once Izzy recovered her regular eye color and herself, she looked at what she did and gasped. "Sylvie Stickerton!" she cried out as she hugged the now destroyed horse, and tears came out of her eyes while Knuckles hugged her with a worried frown, and Izzy buried her face in his chest. "It's like it turns you into the opposite of who you truly are!" Sunny said with concern and a frown for a moment. "We gotta get that thing out before it ends on anyone else!" Sonic said with a frown, also pointing at the necklace. However, the necklace opened its 'eye, and started to float on its own, staring straight at the Mane 5 and Team Sonic. This made them gasp in horror and sweat nervously as the necklace moved around the floor like a snake preparing to catch their prey. At this, Knuckles stood in front of his girlfriend with a frown while Izzy hid behind her boyfriend and hugged him from the back. With the rest, Sonic, Sunny, and Zipp were standing in front of Tails, Hitch, and Pipp, respectively, all trying to stay away from the necklace. Finally, the magical object stopped moving, and it sstaring straight ats. "That thing is some kind of Anti-Sparkle!" Knuckles cried out with panic. Then, the necklace jumped and tried to land on Knuckles' neck. So, the echidna gulped but then frowned and prepared to hit the object... To feel surprised when Hitch got in the middle instead, as the necklace landed on the Sheriff's neck. "HITCH!!!" Sunny cried out with panic and worry. Then, Hitch's eyes got red, and his forehead got darker as he smiled mischievously. "Rules? Who needs them?!" he declared with glee. This made the rest gasp in fright, and Knuckles even got a twitchy eye after hearing that. "Hitch... Don't you dare to––" Knuckles tried to say, his eye still twitching. "Pipp!" Hitch called out angrily as he walked towards the younger pegasus, who gulped nervously and stepped back, also covering her face in case Hitch was going to cross a line. "Do more littering!" the sheriff instructed bringing a trash can and throwing some litter in the floor. Pipp kept sweating nervously, so she did what she was told to and started to throw litter on the floor. "Yes! More!" Hitch instructed with an evil smile as Pipp threw something smaller. "YES! MORE!" he instructed again, and Pipp desperately threw litter in the air while Hitch laughed like a maniac. As this was happening, Knuckles stared at all the litter on the floor with shock and a twitchy eye before he started to growl madly, as his eyes turned red because of his powers. And then... "You... TRAITOR!!!" Knuckles shouted with rage, red thunder coming out from his body. Then, the echidna removed the necklace from the sheriff's neck and stared at it with anger as he prepared to smash it into pieces, just for the necklace to get free from his grip and then get on his neck. At this, his powers dissipated, but his eyes were red, pretty much because of the necklace. Everyone else gasped, and Izzy even tried to approach him, but Tails stepped in and held her back, both afraid and sad that Knuckles had the necklace now... But any fear and worry went away when Knuckles fell facewards to the ground again, just that this time around it made him snore loudly and lay on the floor without moving. The rest blinked a few times, looking at each other and everything, before looking back at Knuckles, lying on the floor. "... Well... I was not expecting that kind of response..." Sonic said with a cringed expression. "I mean, if that thing is an Anti-Sparkle, and Knuckles is usually a guy that likes to work constantly, no matter what kind of work it is... Yeah, him being lazy suits this change of attitude..." Tails pointed out. However, the necklace seemed to agree that this was too lazy because it got out of Knuckles on its own before landing on Pipp's neck. This made everyone else gasp, and Sonic even got a twitchy eye, while Knuckles stood up from the ground suddenly and looked around with a panicked expression. "What the heck just happened?!" he shouted in panic, but then he noticed Pipp now had the necklace. "Oh..." he said with shock and terror. On the other hand, Pipp yelped and tried to get the amulet off her neck, but she failed miserably because her eyes turned red and gave an evil laugh. "Anyone for a song?" she asked maniacally before bringing out a four-base metal guitar and playing a loud solo with two big speakers, which made all the glass shatter. At this, everyone covered themselves from the sound, except for Sonic and Knuckles, with the latter just staring with a mix of a blank and confused expression at Pipp, while Sonic covered his mouth while his eyes sparkled and his cheeks showed a slight shade of red. "... Okay, but hear me out––" Sonic tried to say, as he pointed together his hands at the still possessed by the amulet pegasus. "No... Sonic, just no..." Knuckles immediately replied, still staring at Pipp. As for Pipp herself, she smashed the guitar into the ground, breaking it and giving another evil laugh, before taking off the amulet and twirl ittwirlingt to toss it away, turning her back to normal. "Huh?" she gasped, bringing out her compact mirror and seeing her reflection, to feel utterly shocked at seeing her messed up mane. "What just happened to me?!" she asked the rest in panic. "I discovered I like sides of you everyone else considers questionable..." Sonic replied with a sheepish smile while Knuckles looked at him with pure anger. "... I'm sorry, what?" Pipp asked, confused. "Tails..." Knuckles called out with anger. "I'll do it..." Tails replied with a bored expression before flying a bit in the air and then using his powers to create a bat. The next thing that happened? The entire Brighthouse shook for a reason, and a loud 'bonk' sound was heard. "OUCH!!!" Sonic shouted in pain inside the building. "NO HORNY!" both Tails and Knuckles said with anger. Meanwhile, not so far from the Crystal Brighthouse, Misty was looking everywhere for the necklace. Even Eggman decided to help by sending the robotic ladybug to take a quick fly around the forest near the Brighthouse, using the small robot's scanner to look for the necklace. Yet, he had no luck, so the ladybug flew back with Misty. Speaking of her, she got her head inside a log to look after it, but of course, it wasn't there, so she grunted as she pulled her face away from the log and took a deep breath to catch her air. "It can't have just disappeared!" she pointed out with concern before noticing that the robotic ladybug returned. "Did you got any luck, Dad–– I mean! Doctor!" she quickly corrected herself with a sheepish smile. "I'm afraid I didn't, Misty..." Eggman replied with concern. "You shouldn't have removed that thing!" he pointed out. "I know, I know! Please don't rub it in my face!" Misty begged with a desperate and concerned look. "Oh... Opaline's gonna be so mad!" she cried, covering her face with her hooves. "Not if we can find that damn amulet in time!" Eggman stated with a confident tone. However, before they could say anything else, they heard Izzy’s indistinct shrieking coming from the Brighthouse. So, both of them looked at the building, noticing one of the windows broken, Izzy's figure running by, some green substance splatting on the window, and a blue blur passing at super speed. With that, the ladybug stood on Misty's ear again as Misty covered her mouth with her hooves. "Oh no..." she muttered with panic. "So those fools have your necklace... I don't like where this is going..." Eggman said with concern. "Me neither!" Misty said with more panic if that was even possible. "That necklace was specifically made for me because I have no magic nor Cutie Mark! But if those ponies have magic, and Tails and his friends have pow––" she tried to add before her eyes widened. "I NEED TO GET IT BACK!" she screamed before quickly rushing towards the Brighthouse. Misty slammed the door open, and her panic escalated to levels she never thought existed. There was a weird smoke around the Brighthouse, coming out from the necklace over the living room's table, while the entire place was a mess. If this wasn't enough, Izzy was stomping on one of her crafts with an evil smile while Hitch came out of a pile of trash and threw litter all around. On a couch, Knuckles was just watching TV as he carelessly scratched his belly and ate some junk food from a bag, not even caring about all the mess around. Then, Pipp came over and laughed maniacally while Sunny rushed to one side of the living room and grabbed some pictures before throwing them into the floor. "Who..." she started, before tossing the figures of herself and Team Sonic that the latter group gave her as a birthday gift, with a Misty figure included as well now, from the shelf they were on. "Needs..." she kept saying before tossing more pictures into the ground. "Teamwork?!" she finished with anger. "It's everypony for themselves!" she stated with a frown before grabbing the picture she took with Sonic and the rest of the Mane 5 the day they finished the Brighthouse and tore it apart. Then, in a corner of the room, Tails seemed to be quite busy with something until he finished it and started to laugh like a maniac, standing up and turning around, showing off his red eyes and a sinister smile that could only compare to that old 'Tails Doll' tale from Mobius. "I finally have it... The key to rule the entire world!" Tails stated with a smile, laughing sinisterly in the process. After saying this, he put on what seemed to be some kind of backpack. Once he closed it with a brooch on his chest, he pressed the button that formed on it, which made his backpack turn into seven large and mechanical tails, which only made him look more sinister, as he started to spin his natural tails, while 5 of the mechanical ones moved and formed some kind of throne for him, with the remaining two showing a pair of lasers. "From now, you all shall adore me as... TAILS NINE!" Tails stated with another maniac laugh, as he started to fly around and shot lasers at a blue blur running fast all around the brighthouse. Then, we have Zipp standing over a chair in the living room and also wearing a tiara. "I'm the heir of the Zephyr Heights throne!" she stated with a more dominant and confident tone that would make her mom proud if she wasn't possessed. Also, Hitch kept throwing litter around. "Bow down before me!" Zipp demanded with a sinister smile. However, her smile faded when the blue blur snatched her tiara, and she touched her head before panicking at noticing the tiara wasn't there. "My... My tiara..." Zipp muttered in panic as she got down from the couch and started to look for her tiara all around the floor, even throwing more litter in the process. "Yes... YES! MORE LITTER! MORE!!!" Hitch said with glee, as he laughed maniacally, while Zipp kept throwing more litter, desperately searching for her tiara. "Where is it? Where's my tiara?!" Zipp cried out with panic, which turned into rage as she frowned in anger. However, it didn't take long for her to hear a maniac laugh, so she turned around, just to find Sonic, standing over the second floor, as he laughed maniacally while twirling around Zipp's tiara in one finger. Wanna know how maniac Sonic's laugh sounds? It's literally like hearing DC's Joker coming out and possessing Sonic. "Oh? What's the matter, pretty girl? Are you looking for this?" Sonic asked mockingly, as he moved the tiara with a hand and smiled sinisterly. "Hey! That's mine!" Zipp complained with anger. "Oh?" Sonic asked as his sinister smile grew wider. "Then go and get it, Zephyrina!" he stated with another maniac laugh before throwing the tiara in the air as it landed right in the top of a lamp, very high in the ceiling. "Hey!" Zipp said with a frown. "You shouldn't have done that, you blue rat!" she added with rage. "And what are you gonna do about it, your highness? Cry about it?!" Sonic mocked her up with a sinister smirk before bursting out laughing again. "With those chickening wings of yours, I doubt you can even reach me!" he added, pulling out his tongue and showing off an eye before running away. Zipp growled even more as she flew to the ceiling and put her crown back before looking down at the blue blur running around once again. "You'll regret messing with the future Queen of Zephyr Heights!" she stated angrily. However, she barely dodged a laser that almost hit her wing, and she looked at who launched said laser with more anger, while Tails, the one that launched the laser with his mechanical tails, looked at Zipp with a sinister grin. "Oh, don't worry, Zephyrina. I'll make sure that blue pest is gone... When I'm done with you first!" Tails said with a twitchy eye and a maniac laugh. After this, he started to launch a bunch of lasers towards Zipp while the pegasus dodged them all with a confident smirk, even laughing at Tails' failed attempts as she did so. "Is that the best you can do, you dwarf fox?" Zipp mocked up as she kept dodging the attacks. "You laugh now... But once I robotize you, the one bowing before me will be you!" Tails stated as he kept shooting lasers while laughing maniacally. Meanwhile, on the floor, Sonic went over and threw some litter in Hitch's way, making him trip and fall over his face, while Sonic laughed at him with joy. Then, the hedgehog moved over to Izzy, who was using her magic to tear apart some masks she made, before getting her face covered in glitter, which was thrown at her face by Sonic, who once again laughed and enjoyed messing with her, before going over with Sunny, as he simply put a foot right where she was about to run. In consequence, Sunny tripped and landed on a bunch of ripped pillows, while Sonic chuckled lowly. Then he simply walked by Pipp and grabbed her bandana, extending it long enough for Pipp to complain in pain. When he let go of the bandana, it slammed into Pipp's face, and she, of course, yelped in pain. This only made Sonic laugh even more maniacally, however. He grabbed his head and laughed, laughed, and laughed more. At the same time, his forehead darkened. Everything that could be seen was his sinister smile as he kept laughing and his now red eyes because of the necklace's effect. Misty was perplexed by everything around the Brighthouse, but it wasn't only how badly things were with the Mane 5 and Knuckles... What scared her the most was how Tails was acting and talking like Eggman would do, while Sonic seemed to be completely insane and cruel with his friends, and he was enjoying it. Eggman himself also felt horrified by this. He was surprised that Knuckles just turned into a lazy man, but considering how much he likes to work, it was also predictable. Yet, the fact that Tails was acting like him... He could tell why Sonic wanted to stop him so badly. Not that he would stop doing what he does, of course, but still... He has a new light now on why he does so. But Sonic himself was his biggest concern... He turned literally into a Speedster Joker that loved to mess around with anyone around him for no reason whatsoever. He liked to see them in pain... And that was no good. "Let's see: The sheriff applied to the rules is now corrupted, the art lover hates it, the sweet pop star is now rude, the useless without friendship is now useful without friendship, the one who hates being a princess wants to be queen, the guy who loves to work is now lazy, the smart and kind one is now like me... I never thought I would say that... And the blue rat went from being Spider-Man with speed to the bucking Joker with The Flash powers..." Eggman pointed out. "Oh no!" Misty cried out after Eggman said all of this before looking at the necklace on the living room's table. "What are you doing to my friends?!" she asked with concern. "Misty, listen carefully..." Eggman called out through the robotic ladybug as the machine flew from her ear and stopped right before him. However, as he was about to speak, Misty had to duck down at Sonic passing by. Still, Eggman's ladybug didn't manage to save itself, as it got hit by Sonic, and once it fell to the ground, it broke before getting smashed by Izzy, as she was stomping over more of her creations. "No!" Misty cried out when the ladybug got destroyed. Unlike the necklace, the ladybug was a gift from Eggman. It was a little companion for her that would help the doctor keep an eye on her and make sure Opaline's cruelty didn't get the best of her. But now, that gift has been destroyed, all because of Opaline and the necklace she gave her. But no more. Misty was tired of this. She reached her limit, and she wasn't allowing Opaline to hurt her, Eggman, or her friends. So, with a determinate look, Misty hopped inside the Brighthouse, dodging some cloud tentacles that came out of the smoke made by the amulet, while Izzy laughed maniacally and stomped on her craft. As Misty dodged another one of those tentacles, Hitch kept tossing litter in the air, and Knuckles kept eating snacks and watching TV. Misty was getting closer to the necklace when suddenly, a last tentacle headed towards her, with Opaline's laugh being heard in the background. Yet, this did not intimidate Misty, as she jumped over the tentacle and then drifted to the floor before stopping right in front of the necklace and grabbing it with her hoof. Then, she put the necklace back, and it finally closed entirely, with all the smoke going into the necklace. This made the Mane 5, and Team Sonic's eyes go back to normal, while they all gasped and looked on, confused at what they were are doing. Sonic even stopped running and tripped on the floor. "Whoa..." Sunny groaned as she shook her head and looked around confused, also blinking a few times. "I do not feel like myself..." she confessed, as she stared at the scissors on her hoof and the picture she was about to cut. "Aw, man..." Sonic groaned as he stood up and looked around at all the mess made. "Uh... Did we throw a party with alcohol again? That's the only explanation I find for all this..." he pointed out. Tails, on the other hand, was having a hard time staying on air because of the seven mechanical tails around him. "W-What the heck is this?!" he asked, confused, before pressing the release button on the backpack, as it fell with a loud thud on the floor, while Tails himself also landed. "Gosh..." Knuckles complained with a cringed expression and his face turned green. "I-I don't need what the hell I ate, but––" he tried to add... However, he couldn't because he immediately rushed towards the bathroom and closed the door, while throwing up sounds were heard from there. "I don't think any of us is feeling as themselves..." Sonic pointed out, as he scratched his head sheepishly and shamed himself because he started to remember what he did while the necklace controlled him, and he wasn't any proud about it. "Yeah, I don't feel like myself, either..." Misty said with a down expression, looking once again at the necklace, hating on how it made so much trouble for her friends. So, she looked back at them with a smile. "Come on. Follow me," she told them. The rest just looked at each other, confused, before looking back at Misty and following her. Right then, Knuckles came out of the bathroom after being done with his throw up before noticing the rest leaving, so he quickly moved to leave with them. Later on, the group followed Misty to a cliff that led to the ocean. "You were right, Zipp..." Misty said as she looked at the mentioned pegasus. "This necklace is bad news!" she added, taking off her amulet. After that, she decided to drop the amulet, which fell to the sandy beach on the ground and shattered into pieces, also giving an electrical magic discharge... Before shooting out a dark magic laser into the sky, everyone gasped in surprise while the laser got bigger. Eventually, it faded away, and the group looked nervously at each other after what happened. "Well..." Sonic spoke after a few minutes of silence. "That was... something..." he pointed out with a concerned look. Then, Sunny turned to Misty with a smile. "So, how do you feel?" she asked her. Misty herself took a second to look at the sun setting on the horizon before smiling brightly. "I feel... good. Lighter. Happier. More like... me!" she said with a smile, placing her hoof on her chest. "That's amazing, Misty!" Tails smiled and side-huggered her. Misty blushed slightly but also smiled back. "So, really, who gave you the necklace?" Zipp stepped in with a raised eyebrow, but she was also smiling. "Was it an heirloom? A birthday present? Did you find it in Bridlewood?" she asked her several times. "Trust me, you do not wanna know," Misty answered with a smile as she walked off, while Zipp immediately went after her. "Come on, give me something!" Zipp begged, while Tails walked beside her and rolled his eyes, shacking his head and smiling at her attitude, while everyone else followed behind. "It's not pegasus jewelry. Critter jewelry? Do critters make jewelry?" she asked many questions. "Zipp, what did we talk about bombing at somepony with questions?" Tails asked with a mocking smirk. Zipp groaned in annoyance at him but still answered. "Be polite and not intrusive..." she replied with a bored expression, while Tails nodded, satisfied with this response. Then, Hitch suddenly stopped as he held up a crumpled-up paper that he kept before giving a sinister smirk tossing the paper onto the ground and walking off. However, it didn't take him long to come back and pick up the litter before catching up with the others. Opaline and Eggman were staring at Opaline's boiler in her castle. They stared at the image of the now-destroyed amulet. Opaline was grinding her teeth madly while Eggman kept staring at the boiler with no comments. "I'm gonna have a serious conversation with that young mare when she returns..." Opaline stated with anger boiling through her skin. Meanwhile, Eggman kept staring... He was sure about one thing now that the necklace was broken: Misty seemed to have chosen her side, and unfortunately for him, they were on opposite sides now... To be continued... Author's Note Okay, this is my longest TYT episode so far... And it came out on the first try, WHOO! Now, there's a lot I would like to say about this chapter, and maybe it helps you guys to get some stuff. First of all, no, writing Knuckles as a lazy guy when he's "evil" is not bad writing. Knuckles genuinely shows he enjoys doing stuff in general as long as he's busy, and it shows if you read my previous stories. Second, Sonic being totally insane and, as Eggman stated, a Joker with The Flash powers fits more with the way I imagine an evil Sonic: He still makes fun of everyone, but he enjoys doing harm and even killing if the chance presents. Third, Tails pulling out a Nine, but acting like Eggman, is accurate even in the games' canon. After all, if Tails never met Sonic, or if he met Eggman instead, I'm pretty sure he would be the Bowser Jr. of Sonic, or even take Metal Sonic's place. Finally, you guys might be wondering why this Episode is still not teasing Season 2. In fact, if you read carefully, this episode is labelled as "Part 1". Heck, it even teases a continuation for the next episode, not for my Season 2. Well, that explanation will be better integrated on this blog post I made, but let's just say that I decided to divide the tie up with my Season 2 in two parts. This episode is part one, the next one will be part two. Now, before you ask how am I going to do next Episode when it comes out after Make Your Mark: Chapter 4... I have one answer: Fanfiction works like that. My story, my rules. I'm "the god" of this stories, so I can make the changes I see necessary. Anyway, I hope you guys liked this episode, and I'll see you next time with part 2. Also, please red the blog I posted, it has info you should definitely read. Bye! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
54. A Chaotic Birthday - Part 2In Opaline's Castle, Opaline walked back and forth in front of her throne with a frown. Meanwhile, Eggman stood at one side of the throne, his glasses' glow illuminating him, giving him a very intimidating look. Misty stood before both, trying not to shake in fear as she gulped and waited for Opaline to speak. "So, let me recap this: Those idiots got influenced by the necklace's magic, and since you didn't want anyone more evil than Ivo and I to take over Equestria, your solution was to destroy the necklace?!" Opaline asked/shouted in rage. Misty gulped again after that outburst and nodded with a sheepish smile. At this, Opaline ground her teeth and growled before sighing and frowning at Misty. "While I'm not happy with the necklace's destruction, I agree that having those ponies, and whatever those three are supposed to be, is evil. It could be problematic," she admitted. "Still, you broke the necklace, Misty. Now I have no way to communicate with you... again!" she roared. "You know, Opaline? Maybe it's for the best," Eggman spoke as he stepped in. Opaline glared at him, and Misty looked at him in fear while sweating. "Your power is weakening again, remember? The flame of that lizard's fire that Misty brought you months ago is starting to fade away from your body. Are you going to waste what's left of your power in a 2-minute call to hear that she hasn't trapped your so-desired dragon?" he questioned with a frown. Opaline blinked a few times after hearing that. "... I suppose you have a valid point..." she admitted. "But I'm still concerned that it was destroyed. Are you sure you didn't destroy it on purpose, Misty?" she asked the mare with a glare. Misty started to sweat nervously after being accused of that. It was the truth, but Opaline didn't need to know. "No! It was to prevent any evil competition, you know?" Misty replied in a nervous tone and smile, chuckling nervously. "You better be telling the truth, Misty," Opaline warned. "I'll let you take your day free today. I hope you use it to reflect on your actions," She then left the Throne Room, leaving Misty and Eggman alone. Both sighed in relief after she was gone, and Misty turned to see Eggman with a smile. "Thanks for covering my back, Dad–– Doctor!" she quickly corrected herself with a blush. "I don't wanna imagine what she would've done if she found out what happened..." she pointed out nervously. "Well, you technically didn't lie," Eggman pointed out. "Yeah, sure, you didn't mention that you helped them to get back into their senses before destroy the necklace, but other than that? You didn't lie at all!" he added with a smile. "Well, when you put it like that..." Misty said as she rubbed her chin with a hoof. "Besides, I'm also right in this: Her power is weakening, so destroying that necklace would have crossed her mind eventually," Eggman pointed out again. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta see how to mess with that Hedgehog today. You should go and––" he tried to add. "Wait... TODAY'S JUNE 23rd?!" Misty shouted in panic while placing her hooves on her head. "I gotta go! I really, really gotta go! I was supposed to buy the donuts or Tails, and Pipp will get upset!" she stated as she rushed out of the castle as fast as possible. Eggman blinked a few times down his glasses after she panicked and ran away. "Uh... I guess I'm gonna get to work, then..." he said, shrugging and walking towards his lab. But then, Misty returned and popped her head from behind the door. "Oh, and Doctor?" she called out as Eggman turned to face her. "Happy Birthday!" she said with a cheery smile before rushing to the exit again. Eggman stood completely in shock after hearing that, also blushing in embarrassment. Ever since he can remember, no one ever wished him a happy birthday, not even his own family, his birthdays always consist of another day at the job for him, and after finding out that Sonic shares the same birthday as him, his schemes consist of eradicating him, or at least defeating him, as his birthday present. But today, for the first time in years, somepony wished him a happy birthday... That... That made him smile. Genuinely smile. "Heh... Guess It will be a good day after all," Eggman said with a joyful expression as he entered his lab while whistling a happy melody. Misty and Knuckles were busy in the Crystal Brighthouse's kitchen, the Mane 5y. Izzy was placing gloves around and a big blue banner with golden stars that said "Happy Birthday, Sonic!" that she rolled up to hide from him. Sunny and Hitch placed plates and cups on the table; Pipp put a plate with cupcakes; Zipp was twirling some serpentines on the ceiling; Misty put two plates with donuts; and Knuckles put a blue cake with a Sonic figure on top. Suddenly, Tails burst into the Brighthouse, panting heavily, and then rushed to the rest in the kitchen. "He'll be here! Any second now!" he exclaimed with panic. Everypony gasped after hearing that, so they quickly gathered around the table, Tails included, as they stood as close as possible to hide the threats. Then, Sonic entered the Brighthouse, curled into a ball, before standing straight again and sliding with his feet on the ground to stop. "Hey guys! What's going on?" Sonic asked with a smile. Slowly, he walked towards his friends until he noticed the decorations around them. " Are you guys having a party or something?" he asked curiously. Then, Tails looked at the rest and counted to three with his fingers. When he reached three, they spread and revealed the treats while Knuckles raised the cake and Izzy unrolled the banner. "Surprise!" they all said together as Pipp and Zipp made two hoofheld confetti cannons explode and spread confetti around. Sonic was surprised to see this happen. He felt some deja vu for some reason, but that didn't stop him from smiling at his friends. "Aww, you guys!" he said with happiness. He approached the table to join his friends, and as he did so, Pipp approached and peeked a small kiss on his cheek, which weirdly made him chuckle but not laugh. "It's kind of impossible to surprise you!" Sunny pointed out with a little smile. "We had to be really precise on when to plan all of this out without you finding out," Zipp added with a smile. "Good thing you always go out for a run every morning," Knuckles said, patting his back with a smirk. "Otherwise, this would've been complicated to pull off." "But by your reaction, we did a good job!" Pipp said happily as she side-hugged him with a smile. "Well, you certainly got me this time!" Sonic said with a smirk. "I had no idea!" he confessed. "Yeah, right!" Tails cheered with a smile. "Happy Birthday, Sonic! Hope you like this!" he added, as he brought out a plate that had a Chili Dog on it with a red ribbon around. Emphasis on had, because as soon as Tails showed the Chili Dog, Sonic snatched it and chomped it happily, while Tails stared down at the empty plate with wide eyes. "Like it?!" Sonic asked, turning to Tails with sparkling eyes and a huge smile. "I love it!" he declared, raising his thumbs. "Well, that's great!" Sunny said with a smile, as Sonic chomped a second time the Chili Dog. "Say, are you up to a day full of fun activities for the birthday boy?" she asked with a smirk and wink. "Depends. This is not like that dumbass 'Four parties in one thing' from your birthday, right?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow while finishing the Chili Dog. "Nope! Knuckles and I made sure that said mistake won't happen again!" Tails assured as he and the echidna fist-bumped with smirks. "We organized ourselves this time so we can all do what we want to do with you in one go!" Hitch explained with a smile, showing a list on his phone. "And there won't be any interruptions in the middle!" Izzy added with a cheery smile. "We're gonna make sure that you have the best birthday ever!" she cheered happily, wrapping a hoof around his neck. "Well, if you guys coordinated yourselves as you should've, I guess I'm down for some fun!" Sonic said with a smile. "My only concern is a walking egg obsessed with killing me as a his birthday present, but we haven't heard from him in a while, so it's sure to say he's out of ideas. Let's freaking do this!" he cheered out loud. Everyone else cheered alongside, ready to give Sonic a birthday to remember. Eggman had his robotic Flicky watching over the conversation. He was sitting in front of his computer at the lab in the castle. Thanks to the Flicky, he heard everything about the birthday they had prepared for Sonic, and he couldn't grin more if he tried. "So those fools wanna give Sonic a birthday to never forget, huh?" Eggman said with a chuckle. "Well, I'm down for contributing to that statement!" he added, laughing maniacally for a bit. Then, he got up from his chair and walked towards his Eggmobile. He then jumped inside, closed the capsule, and started flying out of Opaline's Castle and towards Maretime Bay. As he did so, he also pressed another button on his Eggmobile. "Sage, while I'm out, take another lecture between the Chaos Energy of the Emeralds and the magical properties of Bridlewood crystals, okay?" "I'll work on it," Sage replied. First, and as anyone should've expected, Pipp took Sonic to Mane Melody. She sat him down on a chair in front of the magic mirror and started showing him several looks he could try out: a spiky head, which he denied; a ponytail, which he had already used before, which is why he denied it again; and a haircut that lifted his quills and also had green stripes. This made him shake his head like a maniac in denial since he almost looked like a Shadow doppelgänger with different-colored skin. Finally, however, she gave him an emo/punk vibe that made him smile with sparkling eyes. Then, with a smirk, he raised his thumbs approvingly at Pipp, and Pipp smiled back. Let's go! Now it was Izzy and Misty's turn to spend time with Sonic. Izzy brought over a giant empty wall, while Misty brought a bucket with balloons full of paint. Izzy grabbed one with her hoof and threw it against the wall, and Misty followed along. However, Sonic had a better idea of how to to paint the wall AND have some fun, so he first followed their game along... He suddenly threw one balloon at Izzy's face, covering it in red paint. Izzy's eyes widened when that happened, and she looked at Sonic, who whistled innocently as he launched another balloon against the wall. However, Izzy smirked mischievously because she wouldn't allow him to go away with that one. So, she grabbed a balloon and threw it at Sonic, who got his right arm painted with green paint. This made him chuckle, as he grabbed several balloons and started to splat them against Izzy, as the unicorn ran away from him while laughing. Izzy ran across the board so the wall could get the paint instead of her, but she still got paint over her body. As Sonic did that, Misty looked at them with a smile and a raised eyebrow until Izzy got behind her, and Sonic launched a balloon splatted on her face, covering it with yellow paint. Misty's eyes widened in shock while Sonic and Izzy snorted at her. That made Misty smirk mischievously as she grabbed a balloon and splatted it on Izzy's face, covering her in blue paint. So, the three friends started a paintball fight. They laughed and tried to cover themselves with as much paint as possible, completely forgetting about the wall. However, they didn't know that Eggman was watching them from behind some bushes, grinning as he pressed a button on his Eggmobile. Long time no see I know Whatcha got on your plate today? Do you want to run away? After that, a Moto Bug arrived and glared at his objective in the distance: Sonic. The badnik ran towards Sonic and prepared to stab him in the back now that he was not looking. Still, as soon as he moved to launch another paint balloon at Misty, the badnik tripped and slid on the floor with all the spread paint until it crashed against the wall, as more paint fell on him because of the fight between Sonic, Izzy, and Misty. We'll make it, no breakin' Awake and ready to escape No stopping 'til all the way However, once Misty looked back at the wall, she gasped with sparkling eyes and pointed her hoof at it: Thanks to the battle, a beautiful painting of Maretime Bay, with the sea and the sun rising high in the background, had been made. Sonic and Izzy also looked at the wall, and their eyes sparkled at the paint. There was no logical explanation as to how such a beautiful thing happened, but with how many weird things happen to them every day, this is just a new addition to the list. Suddenly, however, the Moto Bug from before fell to its side and got dizzy eyes, covered in pink, orange, and blue paint, while Izzy, Sonic, and Misty looked at it with confused expressions. Still, they shrugged, and Izzy used the empty bucket to smash the badnik. After that, the three turned and left, while Eggman deadpanned on his hidden place because of what happened to the badnik and then facepalmed. Next, Sonic went with Sunny and Hitch. The two earth ponies knew how much he liked to compete in all kinds of sports, soy they decided to have a Baseball play. Sonic will be the Southpaw pitcher, while Hitch would be catching the ball, and Sunny would be the batter. Meanwhile, Eggman hide behind a rock, and instead of pulling out one of his trustful badniks, he went for an easer rout and decided to use something not made by him nor from his world, but equally dangerous: A big, black cannon with a skull symbol at the bottom. It was a Bill Blaster, and Eggman placed it on the sand while pointing at Sonic since he was giving his back again. Don't count me out Chasin' disaster, I'm goin' faster Free my feet, I'll be unleashed Once Hitch blew a whistle, Sonic started to prepare to launch the ball, while Eggman behind laughed and pressed a button that activated the Bill Blaster, sending a Bullet Bill straight towards Sonic. However, this didn't make that much because Sonic jumped and curled into a ball, which made the Bullet Bill keep going straight, while Sonic landed and now launched the ball. now Of course, seeing the Bullet Bill coming to her and thinking it was the ball, Sunny hit it and sent it away, but then the real ball came, and Hitch caught it, blowing the whistle again to indicate that Sunny got a strike, which confused her. As for the Bullet Bill? Well, it spun in the air and headed towards Eggman and the Bill Blaster, which made the doctor deadpan again, as his mustache flattened in boredom, while he and the Bill Blaster got hit with the Bullet Bill and then sent away. Now, it was Zipp's turn. She perfectly knew how much Sonic liked to race, and since Tails recreated the Blue Star II Extreme Gear, they could race in the sky now. So, after a little test with Tails, Sonic and Zipp were now having a competition in the air, with Zipp flapping her wings as fast as possible, while Sonic wore new shoes and a pair of glasses on his forehead, riding the Blue Star II to race against Zipp. Meet ya there, I dare ya to come through In the air, we'll dance like we used to Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na You're givin' me a little mania While Sonic and Zipp were too focused on the race, Eggman hid in his Eggmobile behind a cloud.bbed his hands mischievously, and then hessed a button that launched a Buzz Bomber from below the vehicle. With this, the Buzz Bomber began to chase down Zipp and Sonic, but it didn't take them long to notice the badnik. However, they both looked at each other with bored expressions, rolling their eyes and then slowing down to be at the Buzz Bomber's side, which widened the bandit's eyes. Then, Sonic and Zipp smashed their bodies together against the badnik, damaging it greatly. Zipp kicked it hard enough to send it backwards as it headed towards Eggman, who once again deadpanned and accepted his destiny. The Buzz Bomber crashed with the Eggmobile and exploded, sending Eggman flying away once again. And finally, Sonic went with Tails and Knuckles. The three of them stood on a hill for a while, chatting happily as they waited. What were they waiting for? Well, since Eggman has been trying to kill Sonic the whole day, they all decided it was best to face him off in a proper battle. Soon enough, Eggman arrived with the Egg Beater, charged up and ready for a proper fight against Team Sonic. In a dash, we'll crash down the party I can taste the race in your heartbeat Na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na You're givin' me a little mania Yet this battle was shortened, because Sonic Spindashed on the ground and charged against the Egg Beater, who was trying to smash him down with its fists, Sonic jumped on the Egg beater's face, sending it a bit backwards. Next, Tails Spindashed around the robot, disarming the machine's arms and then creating a plasma gun with his powers, which he used to blast a powerful laser that sent the Egg Beater even more backward. Da-da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Mania! Da-da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Mania And finally, Knuckles cracked his fists with a smirk before charging electricity on one of them and then sent the Egg Beater, with Eggman on it, flying thousands of miles away with one punch, as the doctor screamed in fright. Da-da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Mania! Da-da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da Da-da-da With the short battle done, the three friends gathered together and smirked before fist-bumping each other in celebration of their victory over Eggman... again. The entire group gathered together at sundown, this time outside the Brighthouse. To celebrate his birthday, Sonic decided to picnic outside the Crystal Brighthouse with all the food his friends had had prepared for him. It was such a good time where they all just spent together and laughed about stuff, enjoying a good time without worries. Even Misty seemed a bit more open than usual and less nervous, even if she was still trying to be careful with her words not to screw it up and suddenly say that she works with Eggman and Opaline. Finally, they were ready to finish this off with Sonic blowing the candles off his cake. Still, while Knuckles and Hitch struggled to decide if either to use the '26' numbered candles or 26 regular ones, Sonic had an internal conflict with Eggman. Indeed, he constantly tries to kill him, and it's also true that he gets more obsessed with the idea on his birthday, but... He never stopped considering why in the first place. Was it because of his frustrations? Was it because he wanted so badly to finally defeat him and say, at least once, that he managed to beat Sonic the Hedgehog? Or was it because his birthdays have been bad even before meeting him? Maybe that would explain why he tries to kill him on this very day every year... Because he saw a target in Sonic, he could release all his stress of never having an actual happy birthday... Worse of all, as he looked in a certain direction, he gasped because he saw Eggman standing behind some bushes with a frown, but Sonic could see him... Seeing Eggman frowning wasn't anything new, but... He could see in his face that this had been anything but a happy birthday, just like he expected. "Sonic!" Tails' voice called out, and Sonic turned to see the young fox. "The candles are ready!" he said with a smile, pointing at the blue '26' candle over the cake. "Ready to blow it away and make a wish?" Sunny asked, smiling as he approached. Sonic, however, still seemed conflicted, and before replying, he glanced once again at Eggman hiding behind the bushes, seeing how the doctor sighed and refused with his head before turning around and starting to walk away. That made Sonic feel... bad for him. He barely had any sympathy for Eggman, but... looking back at all the times they fought on their birthday, he realizes that Eggman wanted to be happy on his birthday, and Sonic still defeated him. For a good reason, true, but... that just made Eggman's unhappy life even more miserable... Sonic smiled and glanced back at his friends. "Well, I was thinking that this cake needs one more thing," he replied, gaining confused looks from his friends. Izzy, you don't happen to have a '50'- shaped candle, do you?" he asked her with a smile. Eggman was walking across the forest with a frown. Once again, this was a horrible birthday... He lost against Sonic again, and worse of all, he was humiliated by him and his friends as usual... It wouldn't bother him; it was just a normal day, but no... It was his birthday, and he still didn't get his present. He approached his Eggmobile, which was a bit damaged because of the impact he got on the Egg Beater earlier, and the sight just made him sigh heavily and rub his eyes again. "What's the point anymore? I keep fighting this hedgehog on his birthday every day, and I still lose..." Eggman said with a frown and a disappointed tone. "Why do I insist on defeating an unstoppable force? Why can't I accept that I lost?!" he shouted in rage. "Because you never give up," Sonic's voice spoke, which surprised the doctor. He slowly turned around and found Sonic, holding the cake his friends made for him with the blue '26' candle already on. However, it also had an Eggman figure besides the Sonic one, which made Eggman raise an eyebrow, confused. "I dismantle your plans, destroy your robots, defeat your badniks, kick your butt, and make fun of you..." Sonic pointed out as he walked with the cake towards Eggman, who didn't flinched nor tried to step back. "And you still keep fighting because that's who you are... Ivo," Sonic finished with a smile. Okay, this was something new for Eggman... Sonic only called him by his real name whenever he was mad or upset in general... But he was calling him by his name with so much calm that whatever kind of insult he had prepared for him when he was done speaking just faded away. "Even if you are still a pain in my ass, I find pretty admirable that you look back at your failures and still manage to come back better than the last time," Sonic kept speaking. "It's pretty hard to top yourself sometimes, and you still do it... Even if it threatens millions of lives, but still... It's impressive how much you outdo yourself," he added with a smirk. Then, he carefully moved the cake to one side revealing something that made Eggman's eyes widen: a red '50' candle right beside the other one. This surprised the doctor because that's how old he's becoming today, and the cake that was supposed to be only for Sonic now had his age in there as well... That would explain why there was a figure of himself beside Sonic's. Soon enough, as the sun settled on the horizon, the Mane 5, Misty, Tails, and Knuckles arrived slowly, holding either a blue or red candle while humming a melody and surrounding both Sonic and Eggman, with Sonic smiling at his friends. At the same time, Eggman felt confused on what was happening. "I know we're not pals, Eggman... And I know that tomorrow we'll both wake up and desire to defeat each other as usual..." Sonic admitted with a sad smile, carefully placing the cake on the ground and then looking back at Eggman. "But... I say we make a truce, just this one time, and let ourselves enjoy this day. It is our birthday, after all!" he pointed out with a smirk. "So, what do you say, Ivo? Wanna have a happy birthday today?" he asked, extending his hand at him. Eggman had no words to describe how he was feeling right now... These people... These ponies... They've been frustrating his plans for months now, and right now, they were trying to make him feel special and appreciated on his birthday... He had no idea why they were doing it. Was this a trick to catch him with his guard down? Was this just a prank? But Misty was with them... He didn't realize that until now... She was smiling as she hummed along with the rest. Why would she do that if this was a prank? He looked back at Sonic with his hand extended... And even if he hated to do it, he had to recognize it: Sonic was right. This is their birthday. And, despite everything they have lived before that have settled them as enemies, Eggman wanted to have one happy birthday... Maybe it was time to take that chance now that he had it. So, he sighed, looked Sonic in the eyes, who was still smirking and smirked back, stretching his hand with the hedgehog. Once the enemies separated their hands, the humming from the test stopped, and the the cake started to float,, thanks to Izzy's magic. Sonic and Eggman looked around, then at each other,, and nodded with smiles, knowing exactly what to do now. Both of them closed their eyes, even if it couldn't be seen with Eggman because of his glasses, and then they blown the cake candles with their wishes, which made the rest around them cheer at them, even at Eggman, for his surprise. Sonic's wish was to keep having these good momentse with those who mattered to him, even if bad experiences came along the way... Eggman's wish? Despite being a villain, his wish was pretty surprising, even for himself... He just wished to have another happy birthday like this one next year... On the snowy parts of Equestria, a white portal appeared suddenly during a blizzard. Team Dark and Amy Rose appeared from this portal and landed on the snow. Shadow was the first one to stand up and look around quickly. But he saw nothing but a snowy storm around. "W-Where are we?!" Amy asked as she started shivering from the cold. "No idea," Shadow replied casually. He was also shivering but wanted to stay calm to 'not lose his cool'. "O-Omega... S-Scan the area a-and report," Rouge said, also shivering from the cold. Omega stood up and scanned the place. "Current location: unknown," he informed. "G-Great... Now what?" Amy said with frustration. "I think we're in the right place,," Shadow said suddenly,, his arms crossed and eyes closed. "H-How can you tell?!" Rouge asked in concern and anger. "Because I haven't felt the energy of the Chaos Emeralds ever since they disappeared with Sonic," Shadow explained, opening his eyes again and looking at Rouge. "But right now... I can feel it again," he added. "... T-Then... t-that means..." Amy tried to say in excitement. "We did it," Shadow said in her place. "We arrived in Equestria," he stated. Despite being freezing almost death, Amy still smiled happily, while Rouge kept trembling because of the cold. "G-Great... N-Now, can we find a place to stay and get warm? P-Please?" Rouge begged shaky, hugging herself. "As much as I would love to go after those three and Dr. Eggman, Rouge has a point," Shadow recognized. "Not even I could survive this kind of temperature," he confessed. "Y-You admitting you c-can't do something?" Amy mocked up with a smirk, even if she kept trembling from the cold. "A-Are we sure you were n-not exchanged with an S-Shadow from another universe or s-something?" she mocked more. Shadow only rolled his eyes in annoyance and turned to see the robot. "Omega. Find the warmest place possible. We don't need to die from a cold here," he instructed. Omega immediately started to scan his surroundings, searching for such a place, but because of the storm, he could barely see anything that wasn't a bunch of snow. "Current climate condition messes with my visual contac,t" Omega replied. "My services cannot help right now," he added, looking down in shame. Shadow frowned, Amy facepalmed, and Rouge groaned in annoyance after hearing that. "G-Great! N-Now, what do we do?!" Rouge asked with concern. Shadow let out a long sigh. "I guess we'll have to look for cover by ourselves..." he said with concern as he started to walk on the snow in a random direction. Amy groaned after hearing this but still decided to follow Shadow, with Omega following as well, while Rouge let out a very loud and frustrated groan before sighing in defeat and following the others as well. In Eggman's lab, Sage was running several tests on the registered lectures she had. So far, there still seemed to be no relation nor connection between the Chaos Energy of the Chaos Emeralds and the magical properties of Bridlewood's crystals, which was making Sage frustrated, even if she was just an AI program. However, as she was about to give up, one of the many tests she ran finally showed something satisfying, so she quickly opened said test and presented the data onscreen. "Coincidence: Found" Sage said out loud. The data generally said that the magical properties from the crystals and the Chaos Energy were... the same kind of energy, just with a different origin on their creation... TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: MAKE YOUR MARK - SEASON 2 Author's Note Guys, this is it... In one week exactly, Sonic x Make Your Mark: Season 2 premieres! Also, behold! The very first original episode in Sonic x Tell Your Tale I've ever made! And it came in the first try again, WHOO!!! Now, there's several things I wanna talk about today's Episode: 1- Since the actual TYT Episode released today had stuff that I cannot talk about because... Well, spoilers, I decided to make my own thing today! And I like it, to tell the truth. I think I still captured what TYT usually does, but now by having Sonic and Eggman as the protagonists. 2- You might think that because Season 2 premieres on Sonic and Eggman's actual birthday, the first episode is a birthday episode... Yeah, go buy some clown makeover, you're gonna need it. I wanted to make this episode Sonic's birthday because of the same reason that Season 2 doesn't has it: Eggman. I wanted him to have a wholesome birthday, and it honestly works better in TYT than in MYM. 3- Team Dark's arrival is half of a copy paste, I know, but I wanted to tease them in TYT for the very first time before actually using them in Season 2 next week. 4- That last thing with the Chaos Emeralds and Bridlewood's crystals having the same kind of energy with different origins... Yeah, Frontiers goes deeper on this subject, but let's just say: If you think you know everything about the Chaos Emeralds, you're really gonna use that clown makeover... And that's pretty much everything I can say! Thanks so much for reading so far, and brace yourselves, 'cause we're dropping Season 2 next week! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
55. I've Seen Fire And I've Seen Rain(Bows)Author's Note WARNING! I recommend to read Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Make Your Mark - Season 2 before keep reading. 55. I've Seen Fire And I've Seen Rain(Bows) In Opaline's Castle, Opaline was laughing maniacally. Then, she turned around to look at Sparky, who's Dragon Fire was being drained by the Dragonstone. He was also trapped in a bubble. "Finally, it's mine. All mine!" Opaline said, as she looked at Sparky in glee. Meanwhile, Sparky looked really weak from getting his Dragon Fire taken, as his scales turned gray. "Oh please..." Opaline said with an eye roll, walking up to him. "You couldn't handle so much power, anyway" she added with a smirk. "I, on the other hand, know exactly what to do" she stated, as she stomped her hoof down and lifted up her other one, which lit up a flame. "It's finally time to take my rightful place as the most powerful Fire Alicorn of all time!" she declared with an evil grin, as her hoof lit up brighter and she then tossed her fire blast into a vase, breaking it. However, the same raccoonicorn from when Opaline was waiting for Misty to bring her a smoothie came out from behind the vase Opaline blasted, as he ate a sandwich. "You again?" Opaline asked in surprise at the raccoonicorn, then glared at them. "How many times have I told you…" she started, then closed her eyes, and then, five fireballs appeared over her head. "... Get out of here!" she yelled in anger, shooting the fireballs at the raccoonicorn. The raccoonicorn got startled and leapt away from the fire blasts, as they destroyed the remains of the vase and their sandwich, while the critter ran around the room, dodging some fireballs and screeching in fright. Sparky, on the other hand, whimpered in pain, as his Dragon Fire was still being drained out of him and charging the Dragonstone, while Opaline laughed maniacally as she shot more fireballs like crazy. "Nopony can stop me now!" Opaline boasted with a sinister grin, as she laughing maniacally while fire streams shot out around her as she spread her wings. Back to reality, in Mane Melody, Pipp was imitating Opaline with a maniac laugh. This was just Pipp trying to retell the encounter the Mane 5 and Sonic had with both Opaline and Eggman. Besides herself, the Mane 5, Misty, Team Sonic, Shadow, Rouge, Jazz and a couple of raccoonicorns where in the salon as well, with Jazz feeling scared by Pipp's story while the others just look at her in silence. Oh, and now that Misty is not living with Opaline anymore, she has moved to live with the Mane 5 and Team Sonic in the Brighthouse, which the Unity Crystals expanded again to give Amy and Misty some sections on the bedroom as well after restoring everything else once Sonic used his Super form to restore them. Now, Misty's mane and tail were a mix purple and orange, a change she made to start a new chapter in her life, far away from what she used to be with Opaline. "W-W-Wait..." Zipp said confuse, as she stopped her sister's narration. "A raccoonicorn? That can't be right, Pipp" she said, then she looked at the other mares. "Do you ponies remember a raccoonicorn?" she asked them. Of course, all the mares started to think back on that day, which was just a week ago, and they all denied that they saw a raccoonicorn. Then, they all saw Sonic, who was sitting on a chair in the salon like the other Mobians, and he shrugged. "Don't look at me! I arrived 10 minutes after Opaline captured you, remember?" he pointed out. Then, Pipp lowered to her friends and groaned in annoyance to her sister. "Ugh. Zipp. You're interrupting my story!" she pointed out as she stood up. "I'm just getting to the good part" she added with a smirk. "Remind me, why is your girlfriend narrating again?" Shadow muttered to Sonic with an annoyed look. "As much as I hate to say it, you have good narration skills..." he pointed out. "Because if I don't let her, she's gonna make a whole-ass drama on how a terrible boyfriend I am..." Sonic replied with a bored expression. "... You know what? I'm not even gonna say anything about that..." Shadow replied, returning his attention to Pipp's story. "Good choice" Sonic replied. "... And then, Misty raced across all of Equestria to find her friends and give them the horrible, dreadful news!" Pipp narrated. Misty was running across Maretime Bay with a panicked look, racing towards the Crystal Brighthouse and opening the door. Of course, inside, Tails was knocked out in the couch, and Sonic and Shadow were nowhere to be seen, but Misty was concerned for other stuff. "Quick ponies! I saw somepony dragon-napping Sparky!" Misty said with concern. "What?!" Hitch cried out in panic, as he came next to Misty. "Dragon-napped?! What are you saying?! Where did they go?! This can't be happening?!" he shouted, utterly panicked at this point, then he faced Misty, who was sweating nervously at Hitch's breakdown. "DID YOU SEE WHERE THEY WENT, MISTY?!" he cried out. "Um. I did..." Misty replied, still nervous because of Hitch's breakdown. "But we have to hurry!" she pointed out. "You guys go!" Knuckles told the others with a confident look. "We'll keep an eye on Tails" he added with a nod. "And we'll look after your Crystals as well" Rouge added with a slight frown. "If Eggman or Opaline come around, we're gonna be very polite with them!" Amy added, as she brought out her Piko Piko Hammer. The Mane 5 all nodded at them, then they rushed out of the Brighthouse with determinate looks and got into the Marestream as they flew off. "But could Misty save the day, and get the ponies to Sparky before it was too late?" Pipp narrated again. Pipp finished her story with a worried expression. "I don't know about saving the day, Pipp" Misty said with a nervous smile, while the rest turned to her. "I mean, I was the reason that Sparky got dragon-napped in the first place" she pointed out with a guilty expression. "You know, helping Opaline and Eggman all that time" she finished. "It's okay, Misty" Sunny told her with a smile, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "All that matters is that you did the right thing when it counted the most! You choose friendship" she pointed out happily. "Yeah!" Zipp added with a smile, as she came next to Misty. "Betraying Opaline to help us was totally brave. And… you got yourself a real Cutie Mark to replace the one you always drew on!" she pointed out, also pointing at Misty's new Cutie Mark. "It's just what I told you: You only had to prove you were our friend!" Sonic reminded, as he approached Misty as well and wrapped his arm around her neck, also winking at her. Misty grabbed the wood in her mouth and ran full speed at the bubble, slashing it and freeing everyone, but it sent her flying backwards. Thankfully, Sonic caught her just in time and put her back in the floor. Suddenly, Misty's hooves and legs began to glow bright blue, before she was lifted up into the air, as a sphere of blue light appeared around Misty. Then, the sphere touched her right flank... where her own cutie mark finally appeared. It was a Butterfly with blue and pink spots on top and blue and pink spots on the bottom. After this, Misty brushed her mane and tail with orange and purple colors for her new appearance, as she fling her mane around with a smile. Zipp, Misty and Sonic smiled as they looked at Misty's Cutie Mark. "By the way..." Amy spoke, as she approached Misty and softly touched her mane. "Even if you looked nice with that green and blue mane, the new looks are beautiful, Misty!" she said with a smile. "Agreed!" Rouge said, as she flew upside down and looked at Misty with a smile as well. "The colors does suit your sparkle a lot better" she pointed out. Misty blushed slightly embarrassed at so many compliments since... well, she wasn't used to them just yet. "Um... W-Well... Thanks!" she said shyly. "Hey! I didn't wanted to bring this up all of a sudden, but are you guys renaming yourselves 'The Mane 5 and Misty', or are we going for the better route and straight up change the group name to 'The Mane 6'?" Tails questioned. "I guess we'll go with the easy route and say we're Mane 6 now" Zipp replied with a smirk. "After all, Misty is not living with Opaline anymore. She's one of us now!" she pointed out. "Yeah!" Izzy agreed, as the others turned to her. "And then Sonic and Sunny, they were all like… Pew! Pew!" she imitated shooting blast sounds. "Kablamo!" she yelled an explosion, as she moved around with a yell, trying to mimic the battle Sonic and Sunny had with Opaline, while the rest looked at her confused. "Is she always like this?" Shadow asked with a cringed expression. "Nope. Sometimes she's 10 times more hyperactive than this" Knuckles replied with a proud smile, while Shadow's eyes widened, as he frowned to Knuckles with concern. "You'll get used to. We all had to" he added, still smiling. "... I regret having coming to this world..." Shadow muttered in annoyance with a bored expression. "And then, they were like…" Izzy imitated shooting blast sounds again, with the rest still looking confused at her. Misty then turned to Sonic and Sunny with a smile. "You really were amazing, guys!" she said, while Zipp nodded in agreement. "Together, you two were just as strong as––" she tried to finish. But then, Pipp groaned frustrated, tired of all the interruptions. "Ponies! Can I please just tell my epic story already?!" she questioned, giving her friends an annoyed look. Sunny gave a sheepish smile, Zipp glared at her sister, Sonic rolled his eyes, Amy raised an eyebrow, Rouge putted on a bored expression, and Misty gave a sheepish smile. "Sorry, Pipp" Misty apologized with a nervous chuckle. "If I didn't loved you, I would say pretty harsh stuff right now" Sonic said with a bored expression, as he walked back to his chair and sat on it again. Pipp putted a bored expression at the rest as well, then she cleared her throat and gave a serious expression. "Full of strength, our hero…" she continued the story. "... Sonic the Hedgehog, looked up at the villainous Opaline, from her own throne!" Pipp narrated again. This time around, Opaline was facing Sonic with a frown, as the Hedgehog stood right in front of the Alicorn's throne, carrying a sword on his right hand. "Let me guess: Queen Opaline?" Sonic asked with a mocking tone. "Indeed!" Opaline replied with glee. "And you must be Sonic, the blue pest Ivo's been dealing for years now" she added with anger. "The one and only!" Sonic replied with a smirk. "And now that we had introduced each other, how about we skip the role play and get straight to the fight, huh?" he suggested confidently, now holding the sword with two hands. "You just read my mind..." Opaline replied with a sinister grin, now lightening her horn up. "Prepare to die!" she declared, as she launched a massive fire blast towards Sonic. At this, Sonic immediately moved away and ran over the wall. "Bring it on!" he declared, before jumping in the air with a spin and then swing the sword towards Opaline. Opaline managed to create a shield just in time to block Sonic's attack, and then, she sent him backwards, while the hedgehog landed on his feet, and then putted he sword on his back before charging a Spin Dash against Opaline, launching at her and hitting her face. Sonic: I don't care what you're thinking As you turn to me 'Cause what I have in my two hands Is enough to set me free (set me free) Opaline shook her head and then growled, creating with her magic some fire balls that materialized into sticks, and then she launched them against Sonic, who quickly dodged all of them, before charging his electrical powers and redirect them to the sword, then jumped in the air and made a Homing Attack against the Alicorn. Sunny: I could fight the feeling To resist it over time But when it's just too much to take You sneak up from behind However, in the air, he uncurled and aimed the sword to her horn, something she noticed, so she quickly launched a fire blast against him. Sonic noticed this with wide eyes, so he quickly cancelled his Homing Attack by making a Stomp Attack to the ground, where he landed and then looked at Opaline again with a frown. Sonic and Sunny: Is it me, you say, you're looking for Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for... (here for) Next, he putted the sword aside and then started to run across the wall in the room, then he jumped once he was above Opaline and launched the sword to her. At this, Opaline grinned and used her magic to launch the sword away, but as she did so, she didn't noticed Sonic coming to her, so she got her face punched by him, who then jumped backwards and landed in the floor again, while Opaline fell to the floor with a painful grunt. Then, Opaline shook her head and growled, then she started to fly and chase down Sonic across the Throne Room, while Sonic himself just ran away from her with a smirk, clearly enjoying this despite being aware of the dangers in the situation he's in. Sonic: Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy Sonic and Sunny: Let me show you just what I'm made of At some point, one of her fire blasts hit some stuff on the corner that has Eggman's logo, which made the boxes explode, while some stamina rings got spread across the room. Sonic noticed this, so he smirked and quickly charged his Spin Dash, then boosted across the room to collect as many rings as he could. Once he had at least 25 or 30, he stopped rolling around and then started to run backwards to mock Opaline. Sunny: Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me Sonic and Sunny: Let me show you just what I'm made of now... However, he did a bad turn, because he tripped with something in the floor, and when Opaline noticed that, she grinned and fired a blast of magic against Sonic. He flew backwards because of this, and he crashed against a wall, loosing several rings in the process. Satisfied with this result, Opaline smirked and tried to fly away, heading towards her studio... A plan that failed, because Sunny, who activated her Alicorn form, stepped in and blocked her way. "And just when hope seemed lost, Sunny Starscout entered the scene and looked down at the villainous mare!" Pipp narrated again. "So, you're the evil Alicorn we were warned about!" Sunny said firmly, glaring daggers at Opaline. "Well, not exactly..." Opaline said with a grin, then she spread her wings and flew up. "Thanks to your little dragon baby and all his Dragon Fire, I'm not just an Evil Alicorn, I'm... A FIRE ALICORN!" she declared, while her wings and horn lit up with fire magic as she laughed maniacally. But then, she got hit on her face by Sonic's Spin Dash, as the hedgehog landed at Sunny's side with a confident smile. "Wanna play co-op?" Sunny asked Sonic with a smirk. "You know it, Sunny-Bunny!" Sonic smirked back, also cracking his fingers. Opaline growled in anger at the duo, and so, she quickly fired at the Alicorn and Hedgehog with a warrior cry, while Sunny and Sonic moved away and split up. Sunny: Like a million faces I've recognized them all And one by one they've all become A number as they fall (as they fall) Sunny flew off and dodged Opaline's blast as she tried to blast her, but she kept dodging and moving around to avoid getting shot at. Then, she landed on a tree stem and brought up a shield that protected her from getting blasted, while Sonic ran behind Opaline and aimed at her with a successful Homing Attack. Sonic: In the face of reason I can't take no more One by one they've all become A black mark on the floor With Opaline shaking her head dizzy because of Sonic's attack, Sunny focused her magic on her shield and expanded it, hitting Opaline once more and disorienting her for a second. Opaline opened her eyes and frowned, but when she saw Sunny flying towards her, she screamed in rage and charged another blast towards Sunny, while the younger Alicorn protected herself with another shield. The two Alicorns started to fly around the room, with Opaline launching blast after blast to hit Sunny. Sonic and Sunny: Is it me, you say, you're looking for Let me show you who I am and what I have in store... (in store) But then, Opaline had enough at some point and shot her magic up to the ceiling, which caused a piece of it to fall off and head towards Sunny. "Sunny, move!" Sonic called out, as he boosted to her. Sunny gasped as she saw the wall piece going to her, and Sonic tried to move her aside, but instead, it fell on both Sonic and Sunny, trapping them both below the piece of ceiling. "I tried to warn you, little pests, but did you listen?" Opaline mocked, as she walked up to them with her wings and horn in fire. "Ugh. So pathetic!" she added in disgust, before grinning sinisterly. "Nopony, nor creature, could ever stop…" she tried to add. However, she was cut off when a donut suddenly hit her in the face, which made her turn to the source as more donuts started hitting her over and over agin. "Hey!" Opaline yelled in rage, before a donut landed on her mouth and she took it out. "Donuts?!" she questioned, as she then got hit by another donut on the face. Back in reality, Izzy suddenly levitated many donuts with her horn and, again, interrupted Pipp's story. "And I was all… Pew! Pew! Take that!" Izzy called out, as she tossed some donuts around, while Pipp just stood there on the stage with a twitchy eye, and Izzy kept throwing donuts. "Bam! Do-nut mess with us, Opaline!" she said with a stink eye. The others were trying to get cover from the donuts as Izzy kept launching them with a laugh. Shadow, on the other hand, just kind of accepted his fate as several donuts crashed on his face and he sighed in defeat. Next, Izzy got to Zipp's side, who got startled by the unicorn's sudden arrival. "You see what I did there? Donut? Cause I like…" she started, then jumped over and tossed donuts all over Mane Melody while making explosion sounds. "No!" Pipp complained, ducking from some donuts and turning to Izzy. "Izzy, those are supposed to be for Mane Melody customers" she pointed out, then ducked from another donut and growled irritated. "She's getting mad... Should we worry about it?" Amy asked Tails, as they both hid behind a chair in the salon. "Yes, you should..." Tails replied with an anxious expression. "And also, you absolutely did not fire donuts at Opaline, Izz!" Zipp pointed as she ducked from another donut. "Yeah, not only you, Pipp and Misty threw stuff at Opaline, but you also got trapped in a bubble" Sonic reminded as well, as he caught a donut in the air with his hand and ate it, while Shadow at his side removed the donuts from his eyes, then shrugged and ate them as well. Izzy stopped throwing donuts after the reminder. "I didn't?" she asked as she turned to the rest and realized that they were right. "Huh. Oh yeah. I maybe I didn't" she remembered with a smile, as she let the donuts fell to the floor and came next to Pipp. "You're just such a good storyteller, Pipp, that I got all caught up at the moment" she said cheerfully. "Okay, keep going. Keep going" she added, as she walked off stage. Pipp cleared her throat again with an annoyed look for being interrupted. "Sunny, Sonic and Opaline were locked in an epic battle!" she continued. Opaline lightened her horn and wings again with an evil grin, as she fired a strong beam of magic at Sunny and Sonic. They combined their shield, with Sunny using a magical one and Sonic using the one from his watch, blocking Opaline's magic to protect themselves and Izzy, Misty and Pipp as well, since they were trapped in a bubble behind. Sonic and Sunny: Is it me, you say, you're looking for Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for... (here for) "Don’t give up, guys!" Izzy called out. "We love you!" Pipp cheered. "You two are the most amazing people I know!" Misty encouraged as well. "Don't give up!" Pipp added. Opaline kept screaming in rage, blasting at Sunny and Sonic as much as she could, but Sunny was keeping her shield up, and Sonic still hit her successfully. Just then, Zipp and Hitch came into the room. "Yeah! We have your backs!" Zipp encouraged them with a smirk. "Get her!" Hitch called out as well. Sunny: Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy Sonic and Sunny: Let me show you just what I'm made of Then, both him and Zipp ran downstairs, while Hitch used the stick to pop the prison bubble their friends were in. Opaline screamed in rage as she charged another blast towards Sunny, while the younger Alicorn protected herself with another shield. The two Alicorns started to fly around the room, while the other ponies but Misty started to cheer at them, not noticing that their Cutie Marks were glowing. Meanwhile, Sonic began to jump around the room, going around Opaline without hitting her at top speed, but don't worry, this is completely planned. He knows what he's doing. Sonic: Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me Sonic and Sunny: Let me show you just what I'm made of now... Then, Misty looked at her friends, then at Sunny and Opaline still fighting, and then she remembered Sonic's words from earlier... "If you truly are our friend, which I know you are, then prove it!" Sonic's voice echoed on her mind. Misty opened her eyes and smiled determinate, as she looked back at Sunny. "You can do it, Sunny!" she started to cheer loudly as well. With this, Misty's Cutie Mark started to glow as well, which seemed to be enough to feed Sunny's magic, because trials of magic came out of the five ponies' Cutie Marks, as they reached Sunny's and gave her more power, something that made Opaline gasp in panic. Meanwhile, Sonic finally stopped moving and uncurled from his ball form, landing behind Opaline with a frown, as his electrical powers turned on. After that, he pressed a button on his watch, and then, an electrical lasso came out of it, as it automatically followed Sonic's previous path he made around Opaline... Sonic's plan was to tie her up this whole time, he just needed to be specific with his moves while Sunny kept her busy. Once the lasso stopped moving, Sonic smirked and pulled the lasso to trap Opaline on a perfect fit, all thanks to the moves the lasso made. With Opaline tied up, and with Sunny's powers charged up thanks to her friends' magic, the latter shot her magic to the Fire Alicorn, who got sent backwards. Then, Sonic pulled the lasso a bit, still with Opaline trapped on it, and he started to twirl it around the room at fast paste. Try to reach inside of me (Let me show you what I'm made of) Try to drain my energy (Let me show you what I'm made of) Let me show you just what I'm made of Opaline groaned and panicked as she was being twirled around, until Sonic finally let her go towards her Throne, which she destroyed with her own body, as she fell to the ground with a loud grunt of pain, while the Mane 5 and Misty cringed, as Sonic let go her body from the lasso, and Sunny even created a golden bubble around her. Opaline shook her head inside the bubble as she got up, then noticed that she was trapped, so she growled in anger and then shot a fire beam to the bubble, but it didn't exploded. "You can't keep me here forever!" she shouted in rage. "Mwahahaha!" Pipp made an evil laugh with an evil smile once she finished her story. "Okay, okay, Pipp" Hitch called out with a nervous smile. He was at the corner of Mane Melody in front, where Sparky was covering with his blanket as he trembled in fright. "Maybe that's enough of the scary stories for today?" he suggested. Even if Sparky recovered the Dragon Fire that Opaline stoled from him, he was still traumatized by the experience of being dragon-napped by Opaline, and Pipp's story didn't helped at all. Pipp felt guilty and ashamed after seeing how much Sparky was trembling, so she walked up to him. "Aw. I'm sorry, Sparky. I didn't mean to scare you" she apologized. "Well, at last the worse part is over... Right?" Amy asked, although she didn't sound so sure herself. "... Yeah... Not exactly..." Sonic replied with a bored expression. Once the Mane 5, Misty and Sonic were done saving Sparky and defeating Opaline, they walked towards the exit. However, right before they could do so, a really long robotic arm with three giant spikes came out of the door that leads to Eggman's lab in the castle and stopped them. Then, the door was completely traversed by the original Death Egg Robot, as it stared down at the Mane 5, Misty and Sonic, while its blue eyes changed to red. "Leaving the party so soon?" Eggman asked on a very sadistic tone, followed by a maniac laugh. "But if we are just getting started!" he stated, now launching the left arm against the group. The ponies and Sonic quickly split up, while the Death Egg Robot's head started to spin in 360 degrees to scan the entire room, and therefore, his enemies. First, he attacked Hitch by shooting some purple splats that got the Sheriff stuck to the ground. Next, he launched a pair of nets to Zipp and Pipp that not only trapped them together and around their wings, but the second one also trapped them a second time as they fell to the floor. Then, he launched a jar with glitter that exploded and covered Izzy on glitter, which left her completely freeze'd up on place, with her face being the only spot not covered on glitter. Then, Eggman extended the right arm of the Death Egg Robot to Sunny, who dodged and launched a magic beam to the machine, but Eggman moved away and tried to punch her. Next, Sonic charged up his Spin Dash and launched against the machine. Meanwhile, Misty sneaked and approached Hitch, trying to free him with her magic, but whatever the splats were made off seemed to be immune to magic, because it wasn't even being surrounded by Misty's. "I cannot move it!" Misty whispered with concern. Eggman was starting to get tired of Sunny and Sonic of them, since they were flying and running around him as mosquitos. So, he quickly made a jump in the air with the Death Egg Robot, and then he stomped in the ground with a very loud thud. This made Sonic loose his balance as he ran over a wall, and as he started to fall towards the ground, Eggman quickly moved the left arm of the Robot and hit Sonic, sending him towards a wall, as the hedgehog crashed on his back on the wall really hard, loosing all his rings this time around. Then, he fell to the floor weakened, even if he was trying to get up. "Sonic!" Sunny exclaimed in panic when she noticed that, and she quickly flew towards Eggman with a frown. However, the Death Egg Robot turned to her, and just when she was about to blast another laser from her horn, Eggman moved the left arm of the machine and grabbed Sunny's body, then smashed it to the ground and kept her steady right there. "Sunny!" Izzy and Hitch screamed in panic. "Did you really thought that you were going to get away that easily? That you would just get in here and save Sparky? That's hilarious!" Eggman mocked up. As this happened, Hitch turned to Misty with a determinate look. "Misty, take Sparky and get back to the Brighthouse. We need backup!" he pointed out to her. Misty was conflicted after hearing this, but... Hitch had a point. "I'll bring the help!" Misty said, as she grabbed Sparky from Hitch's back and sat him on hers, then quickly sneaked away as she headed towards the exit. Now, even if she did left, Eggman still noticed her escape over his shoulder, even seeing Sparky on her back, as well as her new Cutie Mark on her flank. He sighed sighed in concern and disappointment inside the Death Egg Robot, but still frowned and looked back at his captured pray with a smirk. After that, he spread a green gas that made everyone but Opaline and himself unconscious. The Mane 5 were trapped each on a capsule on Eggman's lab. Sonic was in a capsule similar to the one Shadow was sent to Earth from the ARK, unconscious and tied from wrists and ankles with metallic claws. A Warp Ring was open, right in front of the Unity Crystals, that were grabbed by Eggman and removed from their place, which made the rainbow light glitch behind the doctor. "At long last... We have the Unity Crystals!" Eggman said with a sinister grin, as she approached to Sunny's capsule, while Eggman came back to the lab, as the Warp Ring closed behind him. "Now, all the magic will be mine again, and you and your pathetic besties will answer to me for the rest of your lives!" she assured with a maniac laugh. Sunny frowned in anger at Opaline, but then, Opaline herself got hit by an electroshock from her back, that made her scream in agony, before falling into the ground in pain. "Wow..." Eggman said with an amused expression, as he tossed the stunner he used away. "I'm impressed that you actually fell for the trick, Opaline!" he mocked up with a grin. And then, Eggman grabbed the Unity Crystals with a hand and pointed them at the 6 ponies in the room, and the Crystals started to absorb all the magic away from them. Zipp and Pipp flapped their wings, but they couldn't fly anymore; Izzy's horn lightened alone and then stopped; Hitch's hooves glowed for a second before stopping as well; Sunny's Alicorn form glitched for a second before disappearing, while her rainbow strike dissolved as well, and Opaline's wings disappeared when her magic was absorbed. The ponies Cutie Marks disappeared along their magic, and then, Eggman grabbed the Unity Crystals, now fully charged with magic, as the doctor grinned and let out a maniac laugh, while a purple blast traversed the ceiling of the lab. "MAGIC. IS. POWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!" Eggman screamed in joy. And then, just in a flash, both Eggman, the Chaos Emeralds he had capsuled, and the purple blast disappeared. The flash appeared once again, and now, a giant robot with Eggman's face appeared above Maretime Bay. This robot had fingers instead of spikes, it was red with light blue and black colors, its eyes and chest were purple because of the power of the Unity Crystals, and it could follow any movement Eggman did inside of the head. This was the Death Egg Titan, and it was ready to conquer Equestria, starting by smashing down the Crystal Brighthouse with just one punch, and then launching a bunch of silver-colored badniks with unicorn magic and purple stripes towards the town. Ponies in Maretime Bay screamed in panic, with Posey even letting out the loudest and girlish scream ever, as everypony started to run away and head towards Canterlove Studios. However, as they all did so, four blurs passed by and headed towards the army of badniks. The blurs soon ere identified as Team Sonic, with Amy even carrying her Piko Piko Hammer as she ran along the other three. Then, Sonic curled up into a ball and launched himself at Knuckles, who grabbed him with his hand and threw him at a Buzzer, destroying it in the process. Following, Sonic straightened up in the air and was caught by Tails, who started spinning with the hedgehog holding hands, destroying several badniks on the spot: Sonic with his feet and Tails with his tails. Now, Knuckles took a Buzz Bomber and used it to destroy a Buzzer, destroying both badniks in the process. He then jumped into the air and spun with his fists outstretched, destroying various debris thrown at him by Moto Bugs, as well as some more Buzzers. Amy then used her hammer as momentum to jump into the air and spin with the hammer, destroying Buzzers and Buzz Bombers alike, then slamming the hammer into the ground, destroying several Crabmeats, before holding hands with Sonic and spin both in the air, while Sonic used his electrically charged fist, and Amy used her hammer. Then, Knuckles extended his fist at him and destroyed a Moto Bug that was launched at his face, while Sonic did a series of Homing Attacks against Buzz Bombers and magically levitated debris. Soon enough, the group split up at an intersection: Sonic went in the middle, Tails went to the right, and Knuckles and Amy went to the left. Now, the blue hedgehog stopped just below Eggman's robot with a frown. "All right, Egghead!" Sonic sneered, though he still was frowning. "You want me? Come and get me!" he challenged, still with a mocking tone. "You don't tell me about coming and getting!" Eggman declared rhetorically, as the robot pointed at itself. "I am on the cutting edge of coming and getting!" he added furiously. Inside the robot, Eggman began to imitate walking movements, while the machine did move on the outside. In turn, the doctor repeatedly said "Coming, getting!". Sonic, for his part, ran off into a forest near the town, with the robot and Eggman following close behind, unaware that Tails, Knuckles, and Amy were climbing in the back of the robot. Several minutes later, Sonic was limping toward the Light Blue Chaos Emerald weakly. Once he finally arrived to it, he grabbed it on his hands and smiled weakly, but then he looked up at the Death Egg Titan with a frown, and when Eggman launched the laser with the robots' eyes, Sonic simply closed his eyes and accepted his fate, since he was too tired to fight back. Yet, the hit never came, something that freaked him out, so he opened his eyes and felt amazed when he saw that Sunny and Pipp were both in front of him, with the shield of Tails' watch activated, as Sunny hold the watch with her hoof, while both she and Pipp protected Sonic from the laser. Yet, that didn't did anything, because Eggman approached as he still launched the laser, then stopped launching the laser and raised a foot, ready to stomp and kill down the three of them. "Oh crap..." Pipp said with wide eyes. Suddenly, the 7 Chaos Emerald surrounded Sonic's body and entered on him, making a slight white light to appear on his chest. And then, Eggman smashed the trio with the Death Egg Titan's foot. "NOOOOO!" Zipp screamed with pain and horror, while the rest gasped in shock. "I got him!" Eggman cheered with a maniac laugh. "I FINALLY got him!" he kept cheering, feeling happy that he finally finished Sonic's life, and Sunny and Pipp's as well in the process. However, his time of celebration was shortened when the Death Egg Titan suddenly shake, which startled him and confused everyone else outside of the robot. Then, a golden light appeared below the foot, and Sunny and Pipp raised their heads confuse, realizing that they were fine, but a golden light was blurring them. However, as soon as the light's intensity minimized, they felt surprised, because they saw Sonic surrounded by a golden light, with his blue fur going golden as well, and his quills lifting up too. Next, Sonic blasted through the foot to keep them safe. In the process, the foot stepped backwards and let Sunny and Pipp free. Sonic stopped right in front of the Death Egg Titan's head, showing his full might as Super Sonic to Eggman, who got startled at seeing his transformation. However, Eggman soon enough growled in anger and charged the right fist of the robot, with some rockets showing up even, as he boosted it towards Sonic. And yet, this didn't did anything, because Sonic blasted through the arm and destroyed it entirely in the process. That startled Eggman again, who still growled in anger, and so, he charged the left arm this time, but Sonic once again blasted through the arm and destroyed it completely. That seemed to worry Eggman, because he gulped nervously. "Oh dear..." he muttered in panic. Tired of these games, Sonic began to go through the entire robot using his super speed to tear it to pieces. He tore through the entire structure, at full speed, delivering the final blow by finally passing through the robot's chest. Finally, with the robot already in pieces, Sonic slowly approached his face, where Eggman was looking terrified at the golden hedgehog. And then, with a little touch of his foot, Sonic made the robot fell backwards, as severals parts of the robot exploded, until it landed in the floor and caused a massive rumble, that also made everyone else cover their faces from the amount of dust it released. Then, the Death Egg Titan shut down completely, with the face of the robot shutting down entirely. Back in reality, Sonic finished reminding everything else after saving Sparky. "Huh... He does have good narration skills..." Rouge realized with an amused expression. "I know... I was shocked as well when I found out" Shadow told her with a slight smirk. "I just realized we went through a lot of crap in the short span of six hours..." Tails said with a bored expression. "We're gonna need a long vacation..." he added. "Yeah, that's pretty much about it!" Sonic said with a smile. "Of course, we have the whole thing about the Chaos Emeralds being around the globe and we have no idea where they are..." he realized with a twitchy eye. "But! I'm pretty sure we'll find them again" he assured confidently. "Hopefully, we won't last a whole-ass year this time around" Knuckles pointed out with a bored expression. After hearing the next events of the story, which were pretty epic compared to Opaline's fight, Sparky smiled a bit more relaxed now, gibbering happily and removing the blanket from himself. "Aw. Don't you worry, Sparkeroni!" Izzy said in a cute tone to Sparky. "Sunny and Sonic took care of that evil pony Opaline, and that maniac Dr. Eggman. They won't be bothering us anymore" she assured him, turning to Sunny and Sonic with a smile. "Right, guys?" she asked them. Sunny's eyes widened in panic, while Sonic looked at her with a bored expression. "The former still has that weird rock with Sparky's fire that Misty mentioned––" Sonic started to remind. "Dragonstone!" Misty quickly corrected with a sheepish smile. "And the latter has been coming back whenever we kick his ass... What makes you think he's gonna stop this time?" Sonic finished, still with a bored expression. "Well, I want to believe we won't hear from them in a good while, right?" Sunny said with a little smile. "If we're lucky enough, we'll be the next 4 or 5 Episodes free of Eggman or Opaline related stuff" Shadow pointed out with a little smirk. "If we're lucky enough..." Rouge reminded with a concerned frown. "Let's face a day at a time, alright?" Sonic said with a smirk. "I agree with Sonic!" Sunny said with a determinate look. "If Eggman or Opaline show up here again, we'll be ready to smash them down!" she stated confidently. The rest cheered in agreement at the statement, with Shadow and Rouge only nodding in agreement, while Misty smiled and nodded as well... But then, she looked out of the window with a worried expression, because she knew perfectly that both Eggman and Opaline will be back at some point... In Opaline's Castle, Opaline herself was at her study room, lightening her hoof in flame. Despite Eggman and Misty's betrayal, she wasn't any demolished nor sad. After all, they were nothing but pieces on her game, like a chess board where she moved the pieces strategically, and then removed the ones she didn't needed anymore. Now that she was totally on her own, she was happy, because things were now going to play the way she wanted, and nopony, nor Mobian, was going to interfere on her plans this time around. "Hmm…" Opaline muttered with a smile. "If one dragon is awake, then the rest must be stirring..." she said to herself, as she made a dragon-shape out of her magical flame. The best theory here? Sparky is just one of many dragons out there, probably meaning that she was going to look after them and steal their magic as well. After all, even if she lost the fire that she stoled from Sparky when Sonic restored the Unity Crystals, she still had a lot of it on the Dragonstone, so she could still use as much Dragon Fire as she wanted. "With more Dragon Fire, I'll be able to steal all of the magic, including the Alicorn's!" Opaline declared with a smirk, as she looked at the dragon-shaped flame. "Wake up, my dragon darlings. Opaline's coming!" she stated to herself in glee, while the dragon-shape flame unleashed a pink flame. Eggman's 'Next Level' plan failed, which meant that she still had a chance to take all the magic in Equestria for herself and take over both this land and Mobius. After all, she would gain enough power to open a rift that would allow her to travel to any other world, Eggman's included... Eggman hid on his lab, tapping on his computer's keyboard like rapidly. He spent the past week investigating everything he could about the Starfall Islands, its rich technology, and how to use it on his favor. With so many information gathered from internet and books he stoled from Opaline's library, he could finally found something useful: Apparently, the long lost civilization that arrived to the islands, which Eggman discovered is named 'The Ancients', used a strange digital world called 'Cyber Space', where they saved all their hopes, dreams, and memories. If that civilization's memories was inside Cyber Space, that meant that the secrets behind the Ancients' technology were stored in there as well. "Simulations completed" Sage's voice spoke through Eggman's computer. "My calculations define that the Ancients' tech is highly secured in Cyber Space's memory drive. However, there's a way to brake it down, but it requires thousands of simulations and tests..." she pointed out. "Mmm..." Eggman muttered with a frown and arms crossed. "I don't like the idea of running more simulations... Last time I did, I still lost after 8 months of work!" he pointed out with anger, before taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "But I rather run more of them if it makes my chances of success bigger... Go ahead, Sage" he instructed. "Right away, doctor" Sage replied, as she began to work. As Sage did so, Eggman opened another window on his computer and loaded several images of the Starfall Islands, grinning sinisterly at them. "Soon, the Ancients' secrets will be mine!" Eggman declared with sinister grin, before letting out a maniac laugh. THE END...?
56. Sunny And The Black BlurSunny was surprised to see that the new Mobians adapted so well and so fast to Equestria. Amy and Rouge quickly managed to fit in, specially Amy, who quickly got a job with Pipp in Mane Melody. As for Rouge, Pipp gave her a shift in there as well, and Rouge is even staying with Jazz on her home for the time being. Of course, Rouge was still worried for what happened to Omega in the mountains, but she wanted to get to know this world better so she could introduce it to Omega once she decided to go after him. However, even if Amy and Rouge managed to fit in Maretime Bay so well and so quick, Sunny was concerned because... One of the new visitors wasn't that much comfortable around, and she still couldn't understand why. Not only Shadow barely showed up to the Brighthouse, unlike Amy and Rouge, but when he did so, he never said a word. He was cold, silent, always frowning... And the thing that might be the worse for her, he seems to be avoiding her, because anytime she approaches him, he either teleports away with no shame, or he simply makes an excuse to leave. Did she did something wrong and she doesn't remembers it, or Shadow is just like this because that's how he is? Sonic did mentioned that Shadow was his opposite on everything, and now she understands what he meant... But that wasn't going to stop her! Shadow might be a bit grumpy, and he might be avoiding her, but she was going to find out why and fix it! Hopefully, it wasn't anything that bad, and Shadow just wanted to be alone... But to be absolutely sure, she had to talk with the only two people that seemed to know him very well... "I never thought I would see a day were you would ask about Shadow of all people, Sunny-Bunny... But here we are!" Sonic said with an amused smile, as he, Rouge and Sunny sat on the Crystal Brighthouse's dinner table. "I guess you wonder why he's alone all the time, or why he seems to avoid you, right?" Rouge asked Sunny with a concerned expression. "Yes! That's exactly why I called you two!" Sunny exclaimed with panic. "I don't know if I did something wrong, if I said something wrong, if he hates me for no reason, or if I'm just overthinking this a lot!" she groaned, before covering her face with her hooves out of frustration. "Usually, my answer to this would be 'Shadow's just being Shadow', but... I do gotta admit that he's been particularly evasive with you..." Sonic confessed. "Now, why? You lost me there..." he added with a sheepish smile. "Hmm... Maybe I have an idea..." Rouge said. "Really?!" Sunny said with sparkling eyes and a hopeful smile. "Don't get too excited, kid. This story is not a reason to smile" Rouge warned with a frown. "You said that Dr. Eggman mentioned his cousin, Maria, when he had you and blue hostage, right?" she asked. "Uh... Yeah... He said that she was... killed in front of him..." Sunny replied with concern, while her ears dropped. "Well... I, uh... Look, if I tell you this, you have to swear you won't say I told you!" Rouge warned with a frown, pointing a finger at the earth pony mare. Sunny blinked a few times and looked at Sonic, who shrugged at her, so she looked back at Rouge. "Um... sure?" she replied sheepishly. "SWEAR IT!" Rouge said, now grabbing Sunny from her saddlebag and glaring daggers at her. This made Sunny yelp and squeak in panic, as she nodded quickly with fear. "I-I swear it! I won't tell anyone!" she replied nervously. With this, Rouge let her go from her saddle bag, before looking at Sonic at her side, and Sonic looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I love to mess with Shadow, but I'm a man of word, Rouge. Whatever is told here, would stay and die here" he assured. Rouge nodded, satisfied with this answer, before looking back at Sunny. "Look, Sunny... Shadow is avoiding you, but not for the reasons you might believe" she confessed with concern. Sunny, who was still kind of shocked after Rouge made her swear to not tell a soul anything, gasped slightly after hearing that Shadow is avoiding her. "Shadow is reserved in everything, so if he ever starts to show emotions beyond indifference, panic!" Rouge started to explain. "I second that..." Sonic commented. "He also barely talks, and if he does, he only says what he thinks it's necessary" Rouge added. "Unless you mock him up. He'll mock you back, but either to mock as well or to straight up insult you..." Sonic pointed out. "He also... Well... Because of Maria, he's been feeling a bit weird about you..." Rouge confessed. "The few times we've talked these days, he has told me that... That you remind him of her" she added. "What?" Sunny said, both confused and startled. "I... I remind him of Maria?" she questioned. Rouge nodded. "Don't ask me how, because Shadow barely talks about her. I would even say that he never talks about her, not since..." she tried to add, but regret it. "The incident with the Black Arms... right?" Sonic asked, now looking down at the floor with concern, and Rouge nodded, so he sighed. "Look, Sunny... If Shadow really sees similarities between you and Maria, you better watch what you will say, and how you approach him... When it comes to talk, it's complicated with Shadow..." he explained with concern. "And whatever you do, don't mention we talked!" Rouge remarked once again with a frown. "Shadow won't take lightly that we talked about Maria with someone..." she pointed out. "Specially from me..." Sonic added with a bored expression. After hearing this, Sunny looked down at the table and thought on everything Rouge and Sonic told her about Shadow, and she knew exactly what she had to do... Shadow stared at the horizon with a frown. He was standing at the top of a hill with his arms crossed, as many thoughts ran through his mind... He's been in Modern Equestria for almost two weeks by this point, and he couldn't get used to the friendly atmosphere. It's not like he hasn't been in a similar position before, anyways. He was dragged into Sonic's 20 year birthday party after the Time Eater thing, after all, and he seems himself involved in Sonic's and Eggman's mess from time to time... Now, it is one thing to be dragged into this kind of stuff sometimes, but every single day?! Yeah, he was not used to this much colors and happiness, nor this much positivism, on a daily basis... What was even the point to get used to it, anyways? This wasn't his home, and there was a lot of stuff to worry about: Find the Chaos Emeralds, bring back Omega, find Eggman and capture him... His concerns were justified, and everyone else understood him perfectly... But for some reason, he seemed to be the only one who wanted to embrace those concerns, while the rest wanted to chill and take a break after all the chaos that happened with Eggman and Opaline... It was understandable, actually, because a very, very, very small part of him wanted to rest for a minute as well, but he also didn't wanted to leave Eggman and the Chaos Emeralds out there. And, for some reason, just like Sonic, he didn't wanted the Equestrians to suffer, either. Eggman was not their problem, and it should've never had been. Is weird he feels empathy for these colorful ponies, but maybe it was because–– "Shadow?" Sunny's voice spoke suddenly. Shadow was dragged out of his thoughts and his eyes widened, so he slowly turned around and saw that Sunny was standing a few meters away from him... She is the reason he wants to leave as soon as possible. For some strange reason, she reminds him of Maria, and not only because Sunny acts like her in some aspects... But also because her voice is the same as hers. And that's why he tries to avoid her as much as he can. He has nothing against Sunny, he simply does not wants to be around her because he does not want to feel attached to her. He does not wants to bond with her because, if he looses her too, no promise is going to hold him back from killing everyone this time around. He's... He's scared of what could happen if he bonds with Sunny, and he feels he has to be away from her. "... Didn't expected anyone else to come here..." Shadow finally replied after he had that internal monologue with himself. "Nopony ever comes here, which actually makes it perfect to stay away from everypony else" Sunny pointed out. "I'm glad I did found you here, though. I was looking for you everywhere!" she confessed. Yeah, that's another sign: Her cheerful tone and attitude towards everypony reminds him of how Maria used to be with him and everyone in her family, even the younger Eggman (whom which he has barely any memories of, to tell the truth). "... You were... Looking for me?" Shadow asked confused, but before he could turn around, Sunny quickly position at his side and sat down, also looking at the horizon now. "Why?" he added. "Because I wanted to talk with you..." Sunny said with a fake smile... Why could he tell her smile was fake in the first place? What the heck is this mare doing to him?! "... That's... odd, to say the least... Barely anyone I've met here has dared to take a word on me" Shadow said, returning his sight to the horizon. "That's because barely anyone wants to know more about you. But I do." Sunny replied, now actually smiling instead of forcing a fake one. No, seriously, what is she doing to him?! His heart skipped a beat happily, and his tail actually wagged a bit... What is going on?! "... You want to know me? That's even odder..." Shadow replied. "Well, that mysterious and distant attitude of yours just called my attention!" Sunny replied with a sweet smile. "Many might want to turn around and run from you. But not me. I don't judge by appearances, and honestly? I would like to meet the real you, not the Shadow that everyone talks about. Don't ask me who that'll be, though..." she added with a sheepish smile. And then, the unthinkable happened... Shadow couldn't help but smile at her words... For the very first time in years, Shadow felt... happy... Hearing that Sunny was approaching him because she wished to know him better was... It was hard to describe, but it brought immense happiness to that whom calls himself 'The Ultimate Life-Form'. "... Heh... As odd as all your words are... I gotta say... I'm quite interested on on hearing what you wanna know?" Shadow replied with a little smile. Sunny couldn't help but smile back. Even if Rouge said that Shadow showing any other emotion beyond indifference was a motive to panic, something about him smiling made her happier. "Well... I may be going straight to the point with this one, but... I guess instead of asking something personal, I will go with: Are you... avoiding me?" Sunny dared to ask. For some reason, Shadow's heart stopped for a second after hearing that. Yeah, maybe teleporting away from her or excusing himself whenever she approached to him was not the best way to express his desire to not be close to her because of his fear of actually bond with her... "... I... Yes..." Shadow decided to be frank about it. Lying was not one of his strengths, anyways. "I... I've been avoiding you these past days..." he added. "Huh... I guess I'd rather you being honest with me than lying..." Sunny said with a nervous chuckle. "Well... Can I ask, then, why are you avoiding me?" she added, now looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Shadow let out a long sigh, before looking back at her. "It's not personal, if you wonder or fear that. Nothing you did or say is the reason why I'm dodging talking with you" he replied. "Oh, thank hoofness!" Sunny said with a smile and a relieved sigh, which actually made Shadow chuckle a bit. "But then, why are you avoiding me?" she asked again. "Well... I've heard from Sonic that you dream of a unified world..." Shadow started to explain. "He says that you want to see the three tribes of ponies living in harmony and peace... Yet, you saw with your own eyes that not everyone is going to follow that lead with Opaline, and Dr. Eggman even beat the crap out of you..." he reminded. "So, why do I feel like you are still going to fight for the world you dream of despite everything?" he asked. "Because I will!" Sunny replied with a cheerful tone and a determinate look, as she made her Alicorn powers come to life. "Eggman said that I have incredible power, enough to do things like stop hunger or corruption. And, even if all of those things are serious and should be stopped... I want to use my power for so much more... To protect everypony! Because if I can't do that... what kind of Alicorn would I be?" she added. Shadow listened closely to her, and with every passing thing she said, she reminded him more and more of Maria. "I know that not everypony will be on board with this idea, and I know that more evil forces beyond Opaline could pop one day out of nowhere... But it won't stop me from doing my job!" Sunny stated once again. "As an Alicorn, I have the power to protect everypony in Equestria, and it's a huge responsibility... But if I've learned something from Sonic, is that I don't have to do it alone!" she added with a determinate look. "Shadow, I don't know nor understand why you are the way you are. Maybe I never will... But I will love if I could call you my friend as well, and I will love if you helped us, too! Not because you need to defeat Eggman, but because you care, too... But... If you don't want to, I won't force you to do so" she declared with a smile. After hearing all of this, there was no doubt now: Shadow was convinced that Sunny was Maria's counterpart in Equestria... And he was... not concerned with the idea... At first, he was convinced that staying around Sunny was just going to hurt him, that it wasn't a good idea to even try to bond with anyone in this world, because he was seriously afraid of loosing that anyone, and then go ahead and kill somebody... But now, after hearing everything Sunny just told him... He was genuinely considering the idea of following up. So, he let out a long sigh and looked at Sunny once again. "Look, Sunny. I'll be totally frank with you: I've been avoiding you because you are too similar to Maria..." Shadow finally confessed. "The way you act, the way you talk, even the way you dream... I see so much of Maria on you that... That I'm afraid... Afraid of bonding a lot with you, and then... and then loose you... The exact same way I did with her..." he added. Sunny gasped, and her ears went flat after hearing that. "S-Shadow... I-I'm so––" she tried to say, but Shadow raised a hand, so she cut off whatever she was going to say. "I've been trying to move on from her pass away ever since... After destroying the Black Arms, I told myself I would let die whoever 'Shadow the Hedgehog' used to be in the ARK, and embrace a new leaf... But it's been really hard to ignore everything that I was before Dr. Eggman woke me up..." Shadow kept going with a frown as he looked down to the floor, and then, he looked at Sunny. "You remind me of the only person I've dared to call my friend. Rouge and Omega are comrades I really care about, but... I don't see them as friends... And now... You ask me to help stop that Alicorn Opaline and help you with your dream of a unified world..." he added, but his frown started to fade away. Sunny looked at him a bit nervous now. Did she said something wrong? Did she made him mad? Judging by his frown fading away, she probably didn't, but it was still concerning. "... Maria made me promise to protect all the living creatures on the planet, no matter if some of them were rotten to the core..." Shadow confessed. "And your dream of a unified world is too similar... I'm seriously thinking you are Maria in this Equestria land" he added with a smirk. That actually made Sunny chuckle a little, and Shadow chuckled slightly as well. "Okay... For a guy that barely jokes around, that was actually funny!" Sunny said with a smile. "Oh, I do know when to joke. I just don't do it to play cool like Sonic 'Gotta go Fast' the Hedgehog" Shadow replied with a slight smile, before sighing and face Sunny entirely, extending hid hand. "... Sunny... Give me your hoof" he requested. This made Sunny look at Shadow a bit startled, but she nodded and placed her hoof on his hand, while he carefully hold it. "I promise you... That I will help to stop Opaline, that I will make my part to help out this universe... And that I won't rest until your dream of a unified world is accomplished" Shadow said with a serious expression, but also smiling at the mare, who looked at him with genuine surprise and shock. "And maybe, just maybe... If you don't really mind, I would like to know you better as well and... Actually be your friend, Sunny" he finished, although it seemed like he struggled saying that last part. However, all he just said left Sunny speechless. Maybe he has known Shadow for just a couple of days, but he's clearly demonstrating that despite having a cold and distant attitude compared to the other Mobians... He did had a heart, and right now? He was doing something that would leave the rest flabbergasted. Still, Sunny smiled widely and then wrapped her hooves around Shadow, pulling him into a big hug, which did startled Shadow and made him feel kind of awkward. "Sorry for this if you're not used to hugs, but... Gosh! I'm just so happy to hear you saying that!" Sunny exclaimed happily, as she broke the hug and looked up to him. "I promise you, you won't regret this! We don't have to be friends the same way you were with Maria, we just gotta be ourselves around each other!" she added with a cheery smile. Again, Shadow's heart skipped a beat after seeing her smiling. However, this time around, he allowed himself to smile back at her. He was still hesitant at the idea of bonding too much with Sunny, since he seriously didn't wanted to loose her like he lost Maria... But maybe, Sunny herself was the key to get over that trauma. Her cheerfulness was just contagious, after all, even for him! So... Just this time, he was going to let his guard down, and embrace a new chance on friendship with this optimistic earth pony mare. THE END Author's Note Well, once again, I wanna thank BenictheHedgehog not only for suggesting me to do this episode, but also to help me out with pretty much everything that happened here! I actually never realized how much Sunny and Maria have in common until Ben pointed it out to me, so making Shadow bond with Sunny... It was logical, it had to happen, and here it is! In the next episode, however, we're gonna see Tails fixing his biggest mistake in the entire saga: Underestimating Zipp's suspicions over Misty. Also, this is not only the very first TYT Episode in months of less than 4000 words, but is also the first time since November that I release two episodes together... huh... Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode, and I'll see you all next week with either an altered Canon Episode, or another original one featuring the idea I just said... Bye!
57. Omega's Day OffIn the mountains, a Warp Ring opened up. Then, from said Warp Ring, Tails came out by flight, holding his Miles Electric and scanning the ground to find anything metallic that could be buried in the snow. Soon enough, Tails' device made a beep sound that called his attention, so he stopped moving and landed on the snow with special boots he made to not get buried in the snow, while he read what his Miles Electric found. The screen said 'Metallic objects found', and with this, he looked back at the Warp Ring, that was still open, and whistled. With this, Knuckles arrived with special boots as well, and Tails simply pointed a finger to the ground, which made Knuckles nod with a smirk, and so, he dig into the snow, while Tails putted his Miles Electric away and brought out a big box, which he extended while stepping a bit back from the hole Knuckles made. Then, several metallic parts came out from the snow, followed by a pair of shoulder pads (one had the Omega [Ω] logo), two long arms, and finally, Omega's head, which was still shut down because of being blowed up by Eggman weeks ago. With all the parts of the robot's body in the box, Tails and Knuckles went back to the Warp Ring, which closed behind them. Now that they made it back to the Brighthouse, Tails placed the box over the living room's table. As he did that, he boosted towards the living room, while Rouge came by and grabbed Omega's head, looking at it with a concerned expression. Shadow approached her and looked at Omega's head with a worried frown, while also placing a hand on Rouge's shoulder. "Tails is a genius boy, Rouge. He's gonna fix him. I'm sure of it" he assured her. "For once, I can agree on something with you, faker!" Sonic mocked up, as he approached Shadow and lay on his shoulder, while Shadow groaned in annoyance. "If anyone can leave Omega as good as new, that's Tails!" Sonic stated with a wink. "And he has a record of restoring a lot of stuff" Knuckles added with a smirk. "Um, what are you guys doing?" Zipp's voice asked, as she and Izzy approached Team Dark, Sonic and Knuckles, with Zipp raising an eyebrow confused, and Izzy smiling cheerfully as usual. "Tails is going to fix up Omega now that we found all his parts" Knuckles explained with a smile. "Who's Omega?" Izzy asked, even though she was still smiling. Rouge turned Omega's head so his dead eyes could look at Zipp and Izzy. "A robot?" both mares asked, Zipp did it confused and Izzy did it cheerfully with sparkling eyes. "A special one!" Tails spoke, as he came back from the bedroom with the tool box Hitch gave him on Wishday and his laptop, which he placed over the same table than the box with Omega's body. "This guy is a robot made by Eggman that hates Eggman as much as we do" he explained. "I would say he hates him more, actually..." Sonic said with a smirk. "A robot created by Eggman that hates Eggman?" Zipp asked, also rubbing her chin with a hoof. "That's interesting..." she confessed. "And so cool, too!" Izzy said with a wide smile. "Yeah, well, Omega is pretty cool" Tails confessed with a smile. After this, he grabbed Omega's head from Rouge's hands and put him down on the table, then he connected him to his computer and clicked some more on it, before pressing the enter button, which made Omega's head slowly turn on, with the eyes turning orange for a second. "Systems activated. Initiating user registration" a female voice spoke. With this, Sonic and Knuckles stepped aside, while Omega's scanner scanned Shadow and Rouge. "Users detected: Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat" the female voice spoke once again. "Registration complete" she added. After that, Omega's eyes changed from orange to their typical red, while all his systems started to show up on his inner screen. Then, Omega looked up at Shadow and Rouge, before scanning his surroundings, or at least as much as he could, since he couldn't move his head because of the lack of a body. "... What the hell is happening...?" Omega said confused. Rouge sighed in relief after hearing his normal voice again, and Shadow nodded with a smirk. "Where is my body? What is going on?" Omega asked, then he looked up at Shadow and Rouge. "Why are you taller than usual? I demand an explanation" he requested calmly. "There's better ways to phrase this, but long-story short: Eggman blew missiles against Rouge, you pushed her aside and got hit instead... I guess you can tell the rest on your own" Shadow replied with his arms crossed. "Now, Tails is gonna rebuild your body" Rouge added with a smirk. "So don't worry, you won't be just a head for too long" she assured. "Yup!" Sonic agreed. "Tails is gonna have you good as new in no time!" he stated. However, Tails chuckled awkwardly and looked at the rest while sweating nervously. "Um, I do can fix him, but not 'in no time'..." he said sheepishly. "Huh?" Sonic said, blinking confused. "There's a lot of encrypted data in Omega's base, probably Eggman's doing" Tails started to explain. "I need to unlock all his functions again first and download the blueprints of his body. Only when that's done, I can repair him, but... It's gonna take some time..." he pointed out with concern, scratching his neck. "How long?" Rouge asked. "Well, I can unlock all the encrypted data in 20 minutes, maybe less, but building up his body? That's gonna take me all day, at least" Tails replied. "All day?" Shadow questioned. "Can't you accelerate the process somehow?" he asked. "I can't risk fry his systems by mistake if something goes wrong!" Tails pointed out. "If I'm gonna repair him, I'm gonna make sure is the right way! Besides, this is the first time Omega's been destroyed..." he added. "Hopefully it'll be the last..." Rouge muttered, while Shadow nodded in agreement. "And I have no idea how his physicality works, which is why I need to study the blueprints once I have them" Tails finished explaining. "So the whole day it is..." Shadow said with his arms crossed and an eye roll. "I cannot stay as a head the whole day" Omega said a little angry. "I need to move around" he added. "Did that blow up made your systems deaf or something?" Rouge asked with a frown. "Tails needs the whole day to fix your body! Like it or not, we can't accelerate the process" she added. "Maybe I could help?" Zipp asked with a smile, as she flew ahead and landed at Tails' side. "You know how we worked together to build up the Marestream, right? With a pair of extra hooves, we could have this guy's body done in no time!" she pointed out happily with sparkling eyes. "Sure thing!" Tails said with a wink, a smile and his thumbs up. "All the help I can get is welcome!" he stated. "That still doesn't change the fact I have no body" Omega replied with annoyance. "Well, see it as a day off to being a walking weapon!" Sonic pointed out with a smile. "You can be with your Team so they can catch you up with everything that happened after you exploded, and explore Maretime Bay as well!" he added. "I agree with Big Blue over here!" Rouge confessed with a smirk. "And, it could help you to spare your time instead of just waiting here for your body to be ready!" she added. "Sounds tempting, but I still would like a body, even if it's temporal" Omega replied with a bit of anger. Shadow and Rouge groaned and rolled their eyes in annoyance, with Rouge even facepalming. "Alright... Let's get you a body so you can stop complaining..." he said with a frown. "Ooh, I can help with that!" Izzy declared with sparkling eyes. "Follow me!" she declared, as she grabbed both Shadow and Rouge with a confident smirk and then dragged them away, with Shadow and Rouge yelping, while Sonic stared at them amused and Knuckles followed them along. Izzy and Knuckles went over to Izzy's crafting spot. As they seemed to be creating something, while also having a reference picture of Omega over the table, Shadow and Rouge waited for whatever Izzy and Knuckles were doing, while Rouge held Omega's head on her arms. Finally, after several minutes, they finished whatever they were doing and looked back at Team Dark with smirks. "Lady, gentleman and robot! I have come with the solution to all your problems!" Izzy declared confidently. "Maybe not all of them..." Shadow muttered with a bored expression. "Behold... The 'Omega's Day Off Replacement Body'!" Izzy said, now showing off a body Knuckles and her build for Omega so he could use in the meantime while Tails and Zipp fix his real one. "But you can also call it the O.D.O.R. Body!" she added cheerfully. This new body had a big similarity to Omega's normal body, but this one was white were there was yellow, and turquoise where there used to be red. On the arms, there were white lines, the shoulder pads where bigger and round, and it had the '23' number drawn on the chest. "Huh... This kind of body reminds me of an American Football player" Shadow said with a raised eyebrow. "That's because we used an old Football suit I had to make this new body" Knuckles explained with a smile. "Is just as resistant, big and functional as the original one! But of course, it's a temporal body Omega can use until Tails and Zipp are done with the normal one" he added. "I have many complaints with the design, but it works" Omega stated. "At least you're being thankful of having a body..." Rouge deadpanned. Suddenly, Omega's head was surrounded by Izzy's magic and levitated away from Rouge's hands, as the head landed on top of the body and was spun around, until it stopped and fit perfectly. With that, Omega's eyes went from red to green, fitting better with his new body, and he started to try it out: First, he walked a bit ahead, then extended his arms and spun them entirely, before doing the same just with his hands and finally move his fingers. "So? How's your body doing, Omega?" Shadow asked. "As I stated before, I have complaints over it. But it does the job" Omega replied. "Now you're ready to go!" Izzy stated, as omega slowly made a thumbs up and head towards the exit, while Rouge followed along. Shadow was going to do the same, but Knuckles stopped him. "Before I forget! Try to not overcharge him. I know Omega is used to make multiple tasks, but this body isn't that capable, so an overcharge––" he tried to explain. "Would lead to disaster, right?" Shadow asked with a bored expression. "Yup!" Izzy replied instead, jumping over with a cheerful smile. "I'll keep it noted" Shadow said with a nod, as he boosted out of the Brighthouse. Team Dark reached the main town. The first thing Rouge did was to guide Omega to Mane Melody, where she properly introduced the robot to Pipp and Jazz in the salon. Of course, the two ponies first impression on seeing such a huge robot was to feel a bit concerned... However, as soon as Omega turned to face the magic mirror, he saw that he had a completely new look: His shoulder pads where blue with pink stripes, his arms were fully colored on red and had some pink stripes as well, while his chest turned fully black and had the letters 'S' and 'R' over the place where the 23 used to be. Omega's database could not process the information properly, or at least, it didn't found any logical conclusion, but he was really intrigued on this new aspect the magic mirror was giving him. Pipp and Jazz also noticed that, and when they saw Omega's look in the mirror, they smiled with sparkling eyes. So, without asking the robot for permission, they managed to drag him to the biggest chair they had and sat him down. Then, they started to make all this changes they saw on the mirror, while Omega simply stood still, not feeling bothered by the sudden change. After a few minutes, Pipp and Jazz were done, and they dragged Omega to a normal mirror so he could see the new look he had... It was weird, but Omega seemed to actually like how he looked like. So, he looked back at Pipp and Jazz and raised his thumbs up, approving this new look he just got from them. With this, Pipp and Jazz prepared to take a selfie with Omega, with Rouge getting in the middle just to not be left out, while Shadow had to resist the urge to laugh at Omega's look, since he thought the robot looked ridiculous. Next, Shadow and Rouge dragged Omega across Maretime Bay to show him a bit around. As they did so, ponies seemed to either feel amazed, confused, or scared at the sight of Omega. Of course, the ones being scared of him were justified since Eggman's Death Egg Titan attack was still pretty recent. However, he also seemed to have a less violent attitude because of the absence of weapons on this body, so even if it took him a while, he still took the time to slowly turn to the ponies and wave his hand at them. Some still freaked out, but some were friendly and waved their hands back at him with smiles. The Pippsqueaks, Glory, Seashell and Peach Fizz, also seemed a bit scared at Omega at first, but the fact that he ducked down and putted his hand in the ground as a way to ask if they wanted to climb on top of him, that made them smile. So, without hesitation, the three fillies got over Omega, while the robot started to playfully carry them in the air, the same way parents would do with their child. If anything, Omega was showing himself to be more friendly around these ponies, probably because he's already in context and knows what Eggman did with his Death Egg Titan, so he wanted to calm them down by showing himself in a more friendly manner, specially with the colts and fillies. One thing was for sure, thought: Omega had more reasons to hate Eggman now, and that was messing with these ponies. Now, Hitch was patrolling Maretime Bay's streets while whistling happily to himself. Soon enough, however, he crossed paths with Omega, and he got not only startled by the fact that he was a tall robot, but he also frowned in anger, because the last robot that was here, destroyed the entire town. But to his surprise, Omega slowly moved his hand and made a salute to him, since his scanners detected Hitch's Sheriff Badge on his chest, so he decided to be polite and show the proper respect to the authority in front of him. Hitch's eyes widened a bit confused after Omega did this, so he looked at Shadow and Rouge behind the robot, with Shadow having his arms crossed and also looking confused at Omega. Both him and Rouge shrugged at Hitch, since they didn't knew what to do or say to this sign from Omega. So, Hitch shrugged as well with a smile, before putting on a serious look and return the salute to Omega. Finally, Team Dark went over to Sunny's smoothie stand, where Misty was helping Sunny send smoothies. Of course, Omega couldn't drink anything because, you know, he's a robot, but Rouge insisted to present him to Sunny and Misty, since they were the only ones left from the 'regular group' he hasn't met yet. "Hey, Sunny!" Rouge's voice called out. "A Fruity-colada and a Magic Mango and Coconut, please!" she requested. Sunny smiled and turned around, since she was blending a smoothie. "Coming right away, Rou––" she tried to say, but when she turned around, her eyes widened in panic, because she did found Shadow and Rouge... but she also found Omega behind them, and like everyone else did at first she panicked. Her mind flashed back to images of the Death Egg Titan raising from water, destroying the Brighthouse and then causing a massive chaos around Maretime Bay, as well as remembering how she almost got crushed along Sonic and Pipp. "Uh, Sunny?" Misty's voice spoke, and that seemed to bring Sunny back from het PTSD. "Are you okay?" Misty asked with worry. "You seemed kind of... alarmed" Shadow pointed out with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. "H-Huh? O-Oh!" Sunny said a bit alarmed, before chuckling sheepishly and gulp. "I-I'm okay! I-I just, uh... W-Who's this guy?" she asked, pointing nervously at Omega. "I'm E-123 Omega, the most powerful of the Dr. Eggman's E-100 Series line of robots" Omega replied. "Do not fear, however. I hate my creator as anyone else around these corners" he stated. "Wait, Eggman created you?" Misty asked confused, while Sunny at her side seemed really paranoid. "And you hate him, too? Why?" she questioned. "Eggman deactivated and sealed him in an abandoned base to guard me" Shadow replied instead. "He feels his powers were being wasted this way, which is why he wants revenge with Eggman" he added. "Now he looks to defeat him like the rest of us" Rouge added with a smirk. "As he said, you don't have to worry. The only objective he cares for is Dr. Eggman" she assured. Sunny, however, wasn't so sure about this, and she still looked paranoid at Omega. She couldn't allow herself to lower her guard ever again, not after everything that Eggman did to her, to her friends, and to her home. Shadow seemed to notice this, so he sighed and approached her by teleporting inside of the stand, which only startled Misty, because Sunny's sight was still on Omega. "Sunny, look at me" Shadow requested, and even if it seemed difficult, Sunny managed to look over at Shadow and ignore Omega for a second. "I get that you're concerned. Whatever Eggman did to you inside of his lab, I get that it has marked you. But I also know that you're understanding, so I hope you do understand that Omega isn't an enemy. We've been fighting alongside him for years, and I can assure you that if anyone ever deserved to beat the crap out of Eggman, if not Sonic nor I, that's him. In fact, he'll offer himself without thinking it twice" he added with a slight smirk. That got a chuckle out of Sunny, and she smiled a bit at Shadow. "My point is that Omega's someone you can trust, or at least, someone you don't need to have your guard up with" Shadow stated. "But you can stay a few steps back if you still feel uncomfortable around him" he added. "Well, that... That actually sounds really, really nice..." Sunny said with a smile. "I mean, a robot made by Eggman that hates Eggman? You don't see that everyday! Still, I'm gonna keep my distance. I just... Don't want another PTSD of the incident with that giant robot..." she added a bit concerned. "Wait... What do you mean you're getting PTSD?!" Shadow asked, a bit more panicked than he would liked to sound. However, before Sunny could reply something to calm him down, they both heard how many ponies were suddenly surrounding Omega and asking a lot of requests. Shadow's eyes widened at this, and he quickly teleported out of the stand, approaching to Omega and trying to drag him away. But this plan didn't worked, because more ponies arrived from the direction he tried to push him, so he tried to push him to another direction, but more ponies came as well. This started to get worse, and soon, Team Dark was completely surrounded by a crowd of ponies, all of them asking questions to Omega. Of course, Omega was doing all he could to analyze all the questions he was being made and answer all of them, but his systems were starting to fail and overcharge. This wouldn't happen on his normal body, but... Yeah, you already know... "This is bad..." Shadow muttered with a concerned frown. "What is bad? That Omega's getting all this attention?" Rouge asked confused. "Yes!" Shadow replied with anger, much to Rouge's surprise. "Knuckles warned me about not overcharge him, or else––" he tried to explain. Yet, saying it wasn't necessary, because they both heard Omega's system failing already, as the robot's eyes twitched, and his green eyes switched between the same green, yellow, orange and red, while the head spun in 360 degrees, and some sparkles came out of what should be considered his neck. "Error 500. Data not processed. System overcharged" Omega spoke, but his voice sounded distorted and mixed with the female voice from earlier. After saying this, the head stopped spinning and showed fully red eyes, while his rockets turned on and he was suddenly sent to the sky, leaving behind a huge smoke of dust that made everyone around the robot cover themselves. Once the dust was gone, everyone heard some ponies screaming, and so, they all moved aside before getting hit by Omega, who was now flying out of control across the town. Hitch, who was still patrolling around, noticed Omega and ducked, before looking at him, frown and blow a whistle with anger. Meanwhile, Shadow and Rouge, who stood in front of Sunny's Smoothie Stand, looked over at the same direction, with Shadow frowning and Rouge covering her mouth in concern. "Or else that will happen..." Shadow finished with a growl. Meanwhile, in the Brighthouse, Tails and Zipp were now building up Omega's body. After unlocking the encrypted codes, Tails downloaded Omega's blueprints and studied it along Zipp. After an hour or two, they both got full understanding on how to build Omega's body again, so they go down to work. The chest and arms were already assembled at this point, which left Omega's legs to be placed together. But as Zipp seemed to be reading over the blueprints again with a focused look, Tails could barely concentrate on placing the legs together, because he started to think about something that's been bothering him ever since Misty revealed to be a traitor. Of course, Misty was at their side now, but... That didn't change the fact that he trusted so blindly on her for so long... "... Zipp?" Tails called out, as he pulled himself away from Omega's body and approached Zipp, who was sitting down on a spinning chair. "Yeah?" Zipp asked, still focusing on the blueprints. "We need to talk..." Tails stated with concern. "Well, technically we're already doing it..." Zipp pointed out with a slight smirk, before looking back at the blueprints. Tails chuckled a bit, but then let out a sigh and turned Zipp around, startling the mare a little bit. "Zipp... I'm really, really sorry..." he apologized. Zipp's eyes widened, and she raised an eyebrow confused. "Sorry? For what?" she asked. "Don't act like if you didn't know!" Tails said with concern. "You were right about Misty all along, and I still shut you up because I was too blind to see the truth in front of me!" he explained, looking down in shame and rubbing his arm. "Misty lied to us all this time. She worked with Opaline, with Eggman, she used us and tricked us for so long! And I... I... I defended her and threat you like if you were the enemy... But you were right all along, and I'm sorry for not see it before..." he added with sadness. Zipp was taken aback by this, and honestly? She had no idea what to say... On one hand, yes, of course one of the first things she thought after Misty confessed to be working with the enemy was that he had to apologize to her after defending Misty for so long when, in the end, Tails was wrong. On the other hand, however... Could she really be mad? Yes, she was right about Misty, but... That doesn't change the fact that she jumped to a conclusion way too fast sometimes. What if she was wrong? Maybe they wouldn't had this conversation, but they were. "I also want to apologize for being so rude over your investigations, stopping you from trying to help Pipp when Eggman's robot almost killed her, not being so supportive with you after all the crap Eggman told you..." Tails listed down. "In a little bit of a slump, I'm sorry for being such a bad friend all this time. You wanted to protect us from something bad, you warned us several times about being in danger, you suspect Misty for good reasons! And I still got on her side just because she tricked me like everyone else, and I'm really sorry for that..." he apologized once again. Zipp's heart skipped a beat, her cheeks immediately blushed, and her eyes sparkled and watered, while she looked at Tails with a loving gaze that she never had for anyone before. All Tails did was apologizing for being rude and sometimes too mean with her, something he has done before... So why was this different? Why was this one specifically so marvelous to her that she was at the edge of crying? She didn't knew, but it didn't mattered the answer... She liked it, she liked him. So, with no hesitation, Zipp giggled a bit and then pulled Tails into a warm and tight hug, which surprised Tails a lot more than he expected. "Uh.. Z-Zipp?" Tails called out confused, also blushing a bit embarrassed. "Tails... I have no words to describe how much this apology means to me" Zipp said with a smile, as she let out some tears of joy. "But you think you're a bad friend? You couldn't be farther from the truth!" she added, now braking the hug and quickly whipping out her tears. "Huh?" Tails said confused. "B-But I yelled at you for trying to protect us! I defended Misty so much, and I was the clown at the end of the day!" he pointed out with wide eyes. "You were defending a friend, man..." Zipp assured with a smile. "And, you said it yourself: Misty tricked everyone. We all thought that she was on our side, but she was with Opaline and Eggman. Even so... We both did what we both thought was the right thing. You were protecting Misty because your heart told you she was good, and I was blaming her because my heart told me she wasn't somepony we could trust" she pointed out. "In a way, we were both right, because even if Misty was working with our enemies, she betrayed them, proving that she was always our friend, even if she did something really, really wrong by lying to us..." she added with a smirk. "That doesn't changes the fact that I threat you badly! I-I even dismissed some of your investigations because of––" Tails tried to point out, but Zipp placed a hoof on his mouth and chuckled at his attitude. "Dude, relax!" Zipp told him with a smile. "Yeah, you might had crossed the line a few times when you were defending Misty, like in the Ball..." she pointed out, waving her hoof in the air a bit. "And I'm happily gonna rub that I was right in your face for the rest of your life!" she assured with a mocking smirk. "Yeah, I deserve that one, honestly..." Tails chuckled sheepishly. "But that doesn't change the fact that, even if I was right, I also did things wrong" Zipp kept talking. "We both were right and wrong in some things, but honestly? I'm happy that you apologized to me. It... kind of gets over a little problem I had with you" she added with a smirk. "Well, I was a clown for shut you down when you were right all along..." Tails pointed out with an ashamed smile, also scratching his neck nervously. "So... Are we good now?" he asked a bit confused. Zipp smiled, then looked around to make sure no one was around, and then kissed Tails' cheek softly, which made Tails blush madly, while some smoke came out of his ears. Zipp giggled after seeing his reaction and smirked. "Now we are~" she replied, before turning again and focus back on Omega's blueprints, but now with a huge smile and a slight blush. Tails on the other hand, smiled awkwardly and started to laugh like an idiot, while he stared at Zipp's back like an idiot and rubbed the cheek she kissed, with some little hearts coming out of his head. Zipp noticed this as she looked over her shoulder and grinned, before looking back at the blueprints. "Are you gonna stare at my back all day, or are you gonna finish that robot, little Romeo?" she asked with a flirty and mocking tone. This made Tails shook his head and snap back to reality, as he chuckled sheepishly and started to walk backwards. "R-Right! I-I gotta finish Omega's body, then calibrate it, then test it out, and all that stuff, heheheh..." he said nervously. And just then, he tripped with a piece of Omega's body and fell backwards, groaning in annoyance and pain, while Zipp giggled at him and shook her head on disbelief. Back in Maretime Bay, Omega kept flying around out of control. The robot was occasionally crashing with the road, walls from several houses and shops around the town, and even letting out some sparks, while his arms occasionally spun and made contact with the ground. Just then, a black blur and a white one passed by, chasing down the robot out of control. Said blurs were Shadow and Rouge respectively, who were boosting across Maretime Bay to try and caught Omega before he hurt somepony. "You should had told me that we couldn't overcharge his system with this body!" Rouge said a bit mad. "Are you going to blame me now?!" Shadow said with a frown. "You're the one that left with Omega when Knuckles said we couldn't let this happen!" he pointed out. "Oh, now you're the one blaming me!" Rouge shouted, not truly mad. "Look, let's blame each other later if you want. Right now? We gotta stop Omega before something bad happens!" Shadow said. "Fine!" Rouge agreed, even though she was still mad. As Omega passed by Mane Melody, crashing with the street by mistake, Sonic opened the salon's door and looked confused at the flying robot. Then, Shadow and Rouge passed by, and that confused him even more, so he ran on his place, with his feet forming the shape of an 8, and then boosted towards them. 2 seconds later, Sonic was running along the two member of Team Dark. "Um, Shadow? How about a little context?" he requested. "Knuckles and his girlfriend build a new body for Omega while Tails fixed the normal one!" Shadow explained without looking at him. "But his system overcharged, and now he's out of control!" Rouge added with a frown. "Okay, yeah... That's enough context for me!" Sonic stated, before curling into a ball and accelerate towards Omega. Soon enough, Sonic was running side to side with Omega, but before he could do anything, he had to jump since the arms of the robot started to spin like crazy again. After dodging the arms for about a minute, Sonic frowned, jumped and did his Homing Attack, landing on Omega's back and holding to him. "Alright, Meg! Time to shut down your syst––" Sonic tried to say with a smirk, charging up his electrical powers on a hand, but then, the robot started to shake violently in the air, which made his powers fade away. "WHOA!!!" he cried out in panic. As this was happening, Shadow and Rouge just stood there, looking at the sky with bored expressions. "I appreciate that he wants to help, but we can agree that riding Omega just makes it worse, right?" Rouge said with a tired tone. "Is Sonic we're talking about. He acts without thinking most of the time" Shadow pointed out. "Mind to give me a boost?" he asked with a smirk. Rouge smirked back, before grabbing Shadow from his hand, then spin him in the air, and then launch him towards the air. There, Shadow used the rockets on his shoes to get an extra impulse, before landing over Omega when he was passing by. Over the robot, Sonic was screaming in panic because of the wild moves of Omega, while Shadow looked at him with a bored expression, something that the Blue Blur noticed soon enough. "Oh, hey, Shadow!" he greeted with a smile, almost acting like if he wasn't screaming a few seconds ago. "What the heck was your plan here, anyways?!" Shadow asked with a frown. "Using my powers to deactivate his body–– Whoa!" Sonic replied, as Omega dived to the floor and started to fly across Maretime Bay's streets again. "But apparently, he shakes to much for me to even use them!" he pointed out with a frown, while holding tight to the robot. "Then let me help with that!" Shadow stated, placing his palms over Omega's back. "Chaos Control!" he shouted, as he focused some energy from his body and sent it to Omega's body. This made the robot stop flying and freeze in the air, while Shadow grunted in effort as he kept the Chaos Control effect working. "Huh... That's actually useful!" Sonic said with a smirk, as his eyes and quills turned on in neon blue lights. After that, he jumped in the air, charged up his Spin Dash with electricity and then hit Omega's back one, then two, then three times, and finished the combo with a Stomp Attack, which made the robot explode and separate all the pieces of his body, as Sonic and Shadow slid in the road, while Omega's head flew in the air. Rouge managed to fly to the air and catch Omega's head just in time, as she slowly landed in the floor. Omega's eyes were showing red 'X' marks, until they slowly glitched and showed Omega's regular red eyes, while the robot looked around, before looking at Rouge confused. "... What the hell happened?" Omega asked confused. "Long-story short? Your new body wasn't stable enough to process too much data" Rouge replied with a little smirk. "The important thing here is that you're fine, and that no one's hurt" Shadow pointed out, while he cleaned some dust from his body. "Yeah... I'm not so sure about that last one, Shads..." Sonic said with a cringed expression, as he pointed at the town. Streets were a mess, light posts were all destroyed, Hitch and Knuckles were taking pictures of all the private property that Omega destroyed, and Izzy was all searching over her Unicycling Cart like a maniac for materials to fix everything. Rouge's eyes widened, Shadow sighed frustrated, and Omega blinked a few times. "... My bad..." the robot said with somewhat an ashamed tone. That made Shadow facepalm and Rouge roll her eyes, while Sonic snorted playfully at Team Dark's situation, since he never expected them of all people to be this problematic with non-Eggman related stuff. Tails and Zipp assembled Omega's legs as the final touch. With this, Omega was ready to be reintroduced to his original body. So, Rouge gave Omega's head to Tails, since she, Shadow, the rest of Team Sonic and the rest of the Mane 6 were at the Brighthouse to witness Omega's fully recovered body. Tails flew over to the empty space on top of Omega's body and placed the head, before spinning it several times until it fit perfectly on the metallic body. With this, Omega's eyes glitched a bit between yellow, orange and red, until they were red again. Then, Omega slowly started to move his arms, testing out if his hands and fingers could move, as well as replacing his fingers with his gunshots, but of course, not using them. Then, Tails and Zipp removed the ties on his chest they had to keep the body balanced, and Omega tested out walking a bit ahead, as well as scanning everything in the Brighthouse to see if even that worked well. Seeing that everything was fine so far, he looked back at the rest of the group. "So? How you feeling?" Tails asked with a smile. "All systems are functional. No missing pieces detected" Omega informed, before testing out the rockets on his feet, which worked fine, so he landed in the floor again. "Flying systems work perfectly. Conclusion: I'm ready to haunt down Dr. Eggman" he informed. "Yes!/Yeah!" Tails and Zipp cheered, fist/hoof bumping each other happily, while Rouge and Shadow approached Omega, and everyone else just cheered for Omega's comeback. "Welcome back, Omega" Shadow said with a slight smirk and his arms crossed. "We thought you'll never came back!" Rouge added with a playful smirk. "Eggman needs more than a missile to destroy the world's most powerful robot!" Omega informed confidently, also closing his hand on a fist. Rouge chuckled and Shadow rolled his eyes after Omega said this, while the robot looked over at Tails and Zipp and walked towards them. "Young Prower, Princess Storm" Omega called out. "You have my eternal gratitude for restoring me to my old glory" he stated. "Eh, it was no biggie!" Tails said with a smirk and a wink. "Right! We're happy to help!" Zipp added with a smile. "But please, never call me 'Princess' ever again... Just call me Zipp!" she requested. "... Understood, Princess Zipp" Omega replied with a salute. That made Zipp groan and facehoof, while Tails chuckled at her side. THE END Author's Note I know that yesterday's Episode wasn't related to Bridlewoodstock, but I still wanted to delay it and use it later on because, well, this premise was supposed to be a sub-plot, yet I liked it too much to leave is as just that, so is now a full on Original Chapter focused on Team Dark. Also, having Tails and Zipp apologizing after all the shit Zipp went through with Tails defending Misty was going to happen at some point, so here it is! Next episode is already known to be focused on Misty and her new Cutie Mark, so expect a lot of feedback from Izzy and Tails towards the unicorn mare.
58. Sparkle SchoolIn Maretime Bay, Sparky was running top speed for some reason. First, he passed besides a pair of stallions, which looked at him confused. Then, he traversed a bunch of bushes and could had bumped into a pegasus stallion, if he didn't noticed Sparky at the last second and flied aside. Meanwhile, in Mane Street, there seemed to be some kind of running competition between the ponies, and Windy was the one that got closer to the finish line, while the crowd around cheered to her, Misty included, since she was there as well. "I've done it! I've done––" Windy was cheering, but then, Sparky launched a small blast of his Dragon Fire to the finish line, making it disappear entirely, which shocked the crowd and angered Windy. "Hey!" she said madly. On the other side of town, Hitch was running by some ponies. "Sorry!" he apologized, before jumping over the Pippsqueaks, which were all eating Ice Creams. "Excuse me!" he apologized again. However, he stopped looking were he was going, because he crashed with a cake that an earth pony mare was selling to a unicorn mare, and the cake splatted on his face. Then, as Hitch kept running, he was passing right in front of an earth pony family that was taking a picture in front of the sea, but he jumped in front of them and smile sheepishly at the camera, still with the cake on his head. "Cheese!" he said, just when the picture was taken. "Gotta go!" he said, as he kept running, leaving the earth pony family confused. Just then, both Hitch and Sparky saw at each other, and they both smiled happily. "Sparky!" Hitch exclaimed with joy, while Sparky babbled like the happy baby dragon he is. And finally, Sunny was at her smoothie stand, making a smoothie on her blender, but her expression showed that she had a rough night. Still, she was willing to keep working and give ponies their orders, no matter how many times Eggman and his Death Egg Titan tortured her in her nightmares. However, Sparky jumped over a bowl of fruits she had over the stand's counter and felt startled, while Sparky grabbed an orange and jumped in the air, before happily land on Hitch's hooves, as father and son smiled at each other. Then, Sparky launched the orange to the air, followed by him launching a spark of his dragon fire. Once the fire hit the orange up in the sky, it transformed it into a bunch of french fries that fell to the ground. "Aw, Sparky!" Hitch said with a touched smile, as he looked at his baby dragon. "You know fries are my favorite!" he pointed out happily, as he caught one with his mouth and chomped it happily. "You're the best little buddy ever!" he stated, as he hugged the baby dragon, while his Cutie Mark started to shine brightly, and Sparky giggled at Hitch's hug. Not so far from them, Misty and Tails watched the whole thing with smiles. "Wow! Hitch's Cutie Mark is so, so sparkly!" Misty said with a smile, while she placed her hooves on her cheeks and her eyes literally turned into hearts. "Yup!" Tails said with a smile as well. "Everypony's flank shines whenever unity among them is strong! Although, Pipp's Cutie Mark shone bright when she confessed to Sonic, and he's not a pony... Maybe the fact that our powers are half-magic has something to do with it, I don't know" he pointed out. However, Misty looked over at her own Cutie Mark and felt sad. "Mine has never sparkled like that..." she said with disappointment. "Really?" Tails asked confused. "Are you absolutely sure, Mist?" he added. Misty rubbed her chin and thought about it for a second... A few days ago, Sonic, Zipp and Misty were racing across the sky. Sonic once again was using the Blue Star II to keep up with Zipp, while Misty was being held on an Extreme Gear herself that Tails made for her. It was pink and blue with her Cutie Mark below the board, and all she had to do was to move her hooves to guide the vehicle properly, which se was doing well so far. However, as she enjoyed her time along Sonic and Zipp, she noticed that her Cutie Mark was starting to shine, and her eyes sparkled for a second... But the moment she turned to see her Cutie Mark, it stopped shining, and she lost her balance, almost falling from the sky if Sonic didn't caught her in time. Another day, she decided to help out in Mane Melody. Misty sweated a bit nervously as she levitated some boxes and the stuff inside to put them on their place in an open shelf, while Pipp instructed her where to put them with a smile. However, Misty looked at her Cutie Mark for a second again, thinking it was going to shine, but by doing so, she accidentally moved the box she was levitating, and it ended up landing on Jazz's head, as the products inside fell to the ground, although none of them broke, while Amy and Rouge came by to pick up the products and get the box off Jazz's head. And finally, another day, Misty helped Hitch, Sunny and Knuckles. They had to deal with some critters that stoled some cupcakes both Sunny and Knuckles baked as a dessert for dinner that night, and Misty grabbed the last one from a bunnycorn, while the critter looked down in shame for stealing the cupcake in the first place. With this, Misty's Cutie Mark was starting to shine again, and both Sunny and Misty smiled at it... But then, a raccoonicorn and Sparky grabbed two of the cupcakes and ran away with them. "Sparky!" Hitch called out in panic. "Come back here, you young dragon!" Knuckles scolded as well. This called Sunny and Misty's attention, which also made Misty's Cutie Mark stop shining, as the three ponies and echidna ran off to chase down Sparky and the raccoonicorn. Misty looked down in sadness after explaining everything to Tails. "Hey, come on. Cheer up a bit, Mist!" Tails told her with a smile, as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "These things take time. You can't expect everything to go smoothly at the first try!" he pointed out. "Is still a bit disappointing..." Misty pointed out with concern. But before Tails could say anything to cheer her up, Izzy zoomed by suddenly and side-hugged the unicorn mare, startling her a bit. "Hey, Misty-twisty!" Izzy greeted her with a cheerful smile, before looking over at Hitch and Sparky with sparkling eyes, also placing her hooves on her cheeks. "Aww! Hitch and Sparky are totally the cutest, aren't they?" she asked, while Hitch and Sparky were feeding fries to each other happily. "Is good to see that Hitch lets Sparky be more Sparky!" Tails said with a smile. "Totally gets them off the schedule" he pointed out. "Yeah..." Misty agreed. "And look at that Cutie Mark! It's so bright..." she pointed out, before looking at her Cutie Mark with concern again. "I don't think mine works right... It's never shine like that..." she said with disappointment. "Whaaaaat?!" Izzy asked confused, as she looked around and tried to think on any time Misty's Cutie Mark did shine, but she got nothing. "Sure it has, Misty!" she said anyways, in an attempt to cheer Misty up. "Didn't it shine like that when Sunny was using her magic against Opaline?" Tails questioned confused. "No..." Misty denied, shaking her head. "But it's okay!" she assured with a smile. "It probably just... doesn't work like everypony else's because I got it so late..." she pointed out, looking down in sadness and concern. "Aww!" Izzy said sadly, before smiling and drag Misty away by grabbing her from her hoof, which startled the unicorn mare a bit, while Tails flew and followed them from the air. "It's never too late to get your Cutie Mark magic coming, Misty!" Izzy assured her with a smile. "Yup! I agree with that!" Tails said, as he landed and dragged Misty away, making her twirl around a bit and face him, which made Misty blush a lot. "We just have to figure out what really get it going!" he stated with a wink, and Misty's blush increased, while she also felt butterflies on her stomach. However, she had no time to process that, because Izzy spoke next. "Listen closely to me! Finding your sparkle is just like poetry!" she explained with a smile, before hoping away. "I was going to say something else..." Tails said, as he rubbed his chin. "Your Cutie Mark almost did shine when you were helping your friends out... Maybe that's they key to make it sparkle!" he pointed out with a smile. "Yeah, that sounds a lot more appealing that the poetry thing..." Misty said with a sheepish smile, before turning to the other unicorn mare. "Izzy, I'm not sure I understand––" she tried to argue. "My thoughts exactly!" Izzy interrupted her, getting to her side again. "Come on, Misty! You're one of us now, and best friends always help you sort stuff out!" she declared happily, as she made Misty twirl around a bit. "They do?" Misty asked confused. "Of course!" Tails spoke this time, side hugging her and nuzzling his cheek with hers, which made her get all red and flustered. "Friendship's about helping each other if we can! And we definitely can help you, Mist!" he added with another wink. Misty chuckled with a massive blush, and then, she was twirled around by Izzy, until she landed on Izzy's Unicycle Cart, while Izzy levitated a helmet with Misty's Cutie Mark over the named mare's head, with Izzy wearing her helmet as well. "All you need is a little bit of sparkle school!" Izzy stated happily, before hopping on her cart next to Misty. "Wanna come with us, Tails?" she asked him with a smile. "Smash the gas, Izz, 'cause we're moving at top speed!" Tails replied, flying with a loop in the air before stopping behind behind the cart and use his powers to get a helmet on his head and some rockets on his shoes. "Let's do this!" Izzy stated, as Tails turned on the rockets and made his tails spin, while Izzy smashed the gas pedal and drove her cart away. At the Brighthouse, Izzy took Misty to her workspace as the first thing to help Misty find her sparkle. Misty: Take a look a little closer now (closer now) Things turned out a little different than how I thought I thought they would Both Izzy and Tails putted their welding helmets on, with Misty doing the same. Then, she used her welding tool on a piece of metal, while her Cutie Mark started to flick a bit. This caught Misty's attention, and she lifted her helmet up, but this made her hold her welding tool a bit too strong, and so, she started shaking around while yelping. Once she turned off her welding tool, she fell face first, with Tails immediately moving over to help her stand up, while Izzy's workspace was all torched up, and Misty hardly stood up with Tails' help, because she was feeling dizzy. Next, the trio went to the Sheriff Station. This time, they were with Hitch, Knuckles and Sparky, with the sheriff doing some paperwork and Izzy and Knuckles being all lovey-dovey with each other, while Tails and Misty smiled at Sparky, and the baby dragon giggled at them excitedly. Izzy: If you have hope, then let me hear it (hear it) If you have sparkle, we can cheer it (cheer it) Misty turned away and closed her eyes, while Tails gestured Sparky to hide, so the baby dragon ran off. After searching for a while, Misty opened the closet with a smile. "Boo!" she exclaimed cheerfully, since she found Sparky, while the baby dragon giggled happilly. Tails: It ain't over when you have each other After searching for Sparky again, Misty checked the drawers. "Gotcha!" she cheered, while Sparky popped up and her Cutie Mark flickered again. She turned and looked at it, but it stopped flickering, and it saddened her. Tails noticed this and placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling warmly at her, and even if Misty got a slight blush again, as well as more butterflies on her stomach, she still smiled back at him. Now, Misty and Zipp were rolling skating around Maretime Bay, with Tails following them. "Whoo-hoo!" Misty cheered, as the two mares kept rolling skating happily. Izzy and Tails: If you're down, down, down Just look up, up, up You know that I got you Even when it's tough Zipp got in front of Misty and jumped with a twirl, while Misty jumped as well. "Yeah!" she cheered and laughed, looking at her Cutie Mark again that was flickering a little stronger, but since she got distracted, she hit face first in a cart full of apples and slumped. The apple cart was Fifi's, and the pegasus looked shocked by this, while Izzy, Tails and ZIpp went to Misty with concern because of her crash. If you're down, down, down Get back up, up, up Now, In Mane Melody, Misty was in the storage back room with Pipp, Amy and Rouge, since the girls were mixing some makeup and glitter ingredients. Again, no magic ingredients involved. Never on your own 'Cause you've got us Misty putted the final drop into the batch, which turned orange, and Pipp spread her wings with a smile, while Misty smiled at their work as well, while her Cutie Mark started to sparkle, drawing her attention again with a smile. But in her distraction, Misty accidentally putted another drop into the bowl, making Pipp and Amy gasp, while Rouge raised an eyebrow confused and Misty turned to see that the bowl started to glow. And then, the bowl exploded, covering the two ponies and two Mobians in orange glitter, with their manes and hairs blowing back from the reaction, while all the girls just stood there with wide eyes. When everything fails, there's just one thing to do: Give up. Nah, just kidding. Now that everything else didn't worked, Tails decided to take Misty to Sunny's smoothie stand to see if that would finally help her out. However, Misty was feeling overwhelmed instead, because there were a ton of ponies around the stand that wanted their orders to be attended. "Uh, okay! That's one Strawberry Dream. No-no-no, I mean, uh, a Dreamy Ripple?" Misty corrected herself, trying to get the orders right, while Sunny walked around, although because of her lack of sleep, she barely payed attention at the orders. "Oh! Order up! Here you go!" Misty said, but when she was about to give the smoothies to a stallion, she accidentally splat them on his face and some on her mane. "Ah! Sorry!" she said sheepishly, while the stallion looked irritated at her. Shortly after, another batch of smoothies were made, but Misty tripped again, and two more smoothies flew off. Soon, several amore ponies kept getting splashed with smoothies, each time Misty tried to pass them down. And at the end? Multiple smoothie flavors covered the entire pony crowd, including Misty, who was covered in multiple flavors, while Sunny was busy making more smoothies to even notice, although her tiredness could also be playing an important factor here. "What is wrong with me?!" Misty questioned herself with concern. "What was I thinking?! I can't do this!" she cried out, now tearing up. Outside the stand, Izzy and Tails were about to enter to see how Misty was doing, but then, the door opened itself, and Misty trotted off in despair, which surprised them both, while Sunny finished the smoothies. With a yawn, Sunny putted the straws in Smoothie cups. "I've got two Dreamy Greenies all ready, Misty" she said tiredly, but with a smile, one that faded away when she turned around and saw many cubs on the ground, while Misty wasn't there anymore. "Misty?" she called out confused, and her eyes widened. That's when she looked out of the stand and noticed Misty running away in despair, also covered with smoothies. "Misty! Come back! It's okay!" Sunny called out with concern. "Misty..." Tails muttered with concern, before rubbing his chin and think about something. "Her Cutie Mark was so close to sparkle whenever she was helping her friends... But we never considered helping her!" he realized. "What?" Izzy asked confused at his side. "I know how to help her! And I'm gonna need Omega for it" Tails stated, but instead of explaining himself, he boosted away at top speed. Sunny was about to follow him, but when he mentioned Omega, her mind flashed back to the day Eggman almost conquered Equestria with the Death Egg Titan, and she grabbed her head in pain, something Izzy noticed as she went and placed a hoof on her back and the other one on her cheek. "Sunny?!" Izzy called out, confused and worried for her. "... I... I'm fine, Izz..." Sunny lied with a nervous smile. "I guess I'm just a bit lost lately..." she pointed out. In the Brighthouse, Sonic and Shadow were a bit busy. After what happened in Mane Melody, Pipp and Amy requested help from the two male hedgehogs to clean them off the orange glitter, while Rouge decided to take a bath, refusing to let either Sonic or Shadow to put a hand on her. However, as Shadow putted on a bored expression while drying off some glitter from Amy's left arm, Sonic was casually drying off Pipp's mane with a smile, and Pipp even purred like a kitten. I mean, they have bathed together and dried each other's body after showering and... doing other stuff not rated E for Everyone. Suddenly, though, Sonic's watch made a beep sound, so Sonic pressed the button to attend the call. "Yo!" he greeted with a smile. "Sonic! Have you any idea where's Omega?!" Tails' voice spoke desperately. "Uh..." Sonic muttered, before looking around the Brighthouse, until he spotted Omega, turned off and recharging on the station that Tails built for him near Izzy's crafting corner. "He's here at the Brighthouse on his Recharge Station. Why?" he asked curiously. "No time to explain! Just sent him to my coordinates!" Tails replied and immediately ended the call. Sonic just stared at his watch confused, but decided to shrug it off, and so, he walked towards Omega's station. Misty was still running in tears, as a pegamouse flew by after hanging on a tree branch like a bat. "Ugh. Even with everypony trying to help me, my cutie mark still doesn't work!" Misty said in despair, before shaking off the smoothie contents off her and wipe her tears. "Who was I kidding? I'll never fit in with these ponies..." she said disappointed. And then, multiple eyes from within the trees started appearing around Misty, hissing madly at the unicorn mare, while Misty looked scared at the eyes. "And now you're in some super spooky woods, all alone!" Misty continued, looking around in fear at the eyes watching over her. "Good one, Misty. Can't you do anything right?" she questioned herself with a frown. My gosh, Misty. Can you ever do anything right?! Opaline's voice echoed on her mind, and her eyes widened after she realized what she just said, before sighing in defeat and just lay on a tree. It didn't mattered how many times her friends told her she was forgiven for working with Opaline and Eggman, she hasn't forgiven herself. Specially because she remembers how hurt and broken Tails seemed after she came out clean to him... She still can't believe he forgive her as well, because she believes she doesn't deserve him... "No... Is not only him..." Misty muttered to herself, while tears started to show up again. "I don't deserve any of them..." she added in sadness, as she sobbed a bit. "And who says so?" Tails' voice spoke softly, which made Misty open her eyes widely. She looked at her side and noticed that not only Tails, but also Omega were there, looking down at her, with Tails smiling sheepishly. "Tails? Omega?" Misty said surprised, wiping away her tears. "W-What are you doing here?" she asked confused. "I was worried about you" Tails said. "I mean, it's kind of my fault that you were so overwhelmed helping our friends out, as well as Izzy's, but I still want to understand why you ran away, Mist" he pointed out with concern. "... W-Why would you want to check on me, though?" Misty asked with a frown, although she was tearing up again. "What kind of question is that?" Tails asked with a confused frown, before softening his look and sit at her side. "Misty, you are my friend! You should worry the day I don't want to check how you doing" he pointed out with a warm smile. "But why are you so... So nice to me?!" Misty snapped, although Tails didn't flinched. "I worked with Opaline and Eggman ever since I met you! Y-You spent months protecting me from Zipp's suspicions, but she was right in the end!" she pointed out with anger, although it was hate for herself. "I-I shouldn't have ever come with you, guys! I don't fit in here!" she cried out loudly. "Misty..." Tails muttered with concern. "It doesn't matter how many times ponies say they forgive me... I haven't forgive myself!" Misty shouted, while tears rolled down her cheeks. "And how could I? I hurt you, I hurt our friends, Sparky almost died because of me! I don't even understand why Sonic was so mad with the other ponies when they were absolutely right to be mad with me! He should've been on their side, b-but he still protected me... And I don't deserve it..." she said, but now her voice was lowering to a whisper. "Y-You should all had leave me with Opaline... I wouldn't be happy, but at least I wouldn't be bothering anypony here in Maretime Bay..." she finished. After saying all of this, Misty was expecting Tails to speak and say either that she was wrong or right, but instead, Tails wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight, but really warm hug. Her eyes widened again, and her face blushed a bit as well. She couldn't understand why she always felt like this with Tails of everypony, but she never disliked the feeling either. However, she was also confused on why Tails was still here with her, nor why he hasn't snapped at her the way Knuckles did when she confessed to be a traitor. Soon enough, Omega managed to kneel down and somehow wrap both Misty and Tails in a hug as well. He was a robot, and he had little knowledge on how feelings work, but he knew that in times of sorrow, the best way to comfort someone was with a hug, and since Tails was doing that to Misty, he wanted to join in as well. Misty was startled by this, but her tears and the mixed feelings of sadness and anger didn't allowed her to think straight, so she buried her face on Tails' chest and cried, while also wrapping her hooves around him, letting the fox and robot comfort her. They stood in that position for a long while. Around 10 minutes, to be exactly. With the hug over, Misty sobbed some more before she finally wiped some last tears, and then, she looked over at Tails with a smile. "... Thanks, Tails..." Misty said happily, then she lean to him and kissed tenderly his cheek, although Tails didn't seemed to mind, and he even chuckled a bit. Then, Misty looked up at Omega and smiled at him too. "And thanks to you too, Omega!" she said happily again, also managing to kiss the robot's face. Omega just blinked confused and tilted his head at that gesture, but he still considered this a win since Misty wasn't crying anymore, which made him believe that the hug worked, so he felt victorious already. "Misty... Let me tell you something..." Tails called out, and Misty turned to him. "When you first told us about you being a traitor, I... I did felt bad... Seriously, you have no idea. Many things ran through my mind, and I felt like a complete idiot for all those times I treated Zipp so badly to protect you..." he confessed, looking at the ground with a frown for a moment, before looking back at Misty with another smile. "But when you told us that you got your Cutie Mark after freeing our friends... Part of my anger towards you left" he explained. "Part of it?" Misty asked with a raised eyebrow. "While it's true that you betrayed Opaline and Eggman, I was still mad with you..." Tails confessed again. "I mean, I found a pony in this world who I can relate a lot with because I went through similar things, but then she turned out to be working with our nemesis... How did you expected me to react or feel?" he questioned. "Oh, trust me... Even if you didn't said anything, Knuckles was clear with his words..." Misty said, looking down in sadness. "Also, your face told me you were not happy with the news" she pointed out. "Well, I wasn't..." Tails rolled his eyes. "But... I don't feel like that anymore, Mist. I know that you're one of us now, that you have abandoned Opaline and Eggman for good. And I meant it! you have proved yourself to have genuinely turned your life around!" he pointed out with a smile. Misty felt her face turning red again, and again, there were butterflies on her stomach. "In my eyes, you have redeemed entirely, Misty. And you do belong here" Tails kept talking. "However... I'm still concerned about you not forgiving yourself..." he confessed with worry. "Well, how could I?" Misty said with disappointment, looking away from Tails. "I lived with Opaline for so long, and Eggman always acted like a father with me... Even though he probably hates me as much as he hates you all, I still can't forget what I did to all of you..." she pointed out with concern. Tails looked at her with worry, but then, Omega slowly and carefully placed a hand over her head, calling the unicorn mare's attention. "... I was created by Dr. Eggman, long time ago" Omega spoke. "I'm the best of his E-100 series of robots... A walking weapon that hates his creator for sealing him away with Shadow... If you stop to consider it, I'm a badnik that redeemed himself" he explained. "Well, yeah. I mean, his robots usually want to destroy it all..." Misty pointed out with a giggle. "I can relate to your feeling of not belonging here" Omega confessed. "For the longest time, I also felt out of place, considering I'm one of the few badniks that went against their creator, yet a Badnik at the end of the day... But I found my place in Team Dark" he pointed out. "Really?" Misty asked curiously. "Even if I don't consider Shadow and Rouge my friends... I know for a fact that I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for them" Omega confessed. "They showed me that my past, that what I am, do not define who I am. After all, Shadow also went through something similar after loosing his memories..." he pointed out. "And I once felt out of place too..." Tails reminded, as Misty turned to see him again. "When I moved to live with Sonic, I felt so clumsy and out of place on his house..." he confessed. "I remember that everytime I tried to follow the long list of chores Longclaw and him knew from memory, I either messed up or made disasters that went beyond repair at first sight. I considered to give up so many times..." he explained, while looking up the sky as he remembered all he just told. "And what did you did?" Misty asked. "I talked my worries out with them" Tails replied with a smile, before looking back at Misty. "They listened to my concerns and assured me that there was no problem with me adapting to their schedule, that I just needed time" he explained. "And after living with them for months, I finally got the hang of their routine!" he finished cheerfully. "I suggest you try it out, little unicorn" Omega said, as he raised his thumbs up. Misty looked at Omega, then at Tails, who nodded in agreement with Omega's words, and so, Misty let out a sigh. "... Sometimes I feel like I just don't belong here..." Misty admitted, looking sad to the floor. "I know for a fact that not having forgive myself for being working with Opaline and Eggman has a big meaning behind, but... Sometimes I feel like you guys don't want me around... Even though I know it isn't true..." she explained with concern. "... You know..." Tails called out. "When magic first returned and Sunny became the Alicorn, she felt a little lost as well. And because she was the only Alicorn, she thought nopony would understand her..." he explained. "That sounds really hard..." Misty said with concern, not noticing that she started to glow. "She must've felt so alone..." she added, while her glow became brighter. "Well, she did for sure at first..." Tails said with concern, before smiling. "Then she realized that she was alone only if she kept her worries to herself. But, if she shared her worries with ponies who cared, then she'll never be alone! And that's exactly what I just told you, about me moving with Sonic and Longclaw. I felt alone until I shared my worries with them!" he pointed out with a huge smile. "Kind of like all you guys were there for me today?" Misty asked, remembering all the things she did today to try and make her Cutie Mark sparkle. "Everypony tried so hard to get my cutie mark to sparkle!" she said with a smile and sparkling eyes, standing up and glowing brighter. "Exactly! Because that's what friends do!" Tails said, as he stood up, while the white fur of his tails started to release some electrical sparkles. "And you know what? Even if you never got a Cutie Mark when you helped our friends to escape from Opaline's bubble, knowing that you betrayed them would've been enough for me to still call you my friend. And I know for a fact that everyone else would agreed! Because you belong with us, Misty" he declared with a smile, also nuzzling his cheek with hers. Misty felt her heart melting, and the butterflies she felt in her stomach seemed to fly even crazier than before, but she still smiled warmly at Tails' words and chuckled. "Aww... You mean that?" Misty asked him, as she started to tear up again, but out of happiness this time. "Hoof to heart?" she added, placing a hoof on her chest. Tails smiled and placed his forehead in front of hers with chuckle. "Hoof to heart" he assured her. Misty blushed for what felt like the millionth time that day, but she still smiled back at Tails, and they both closed their eyes, while Omega kneeled and wrapped his arms around the two of them, and they didn't seemed to mind. Just then, Misty's Cutie Mark started to glow so brightly, that it ended up bringing a magical image of itself, something that Tails didn't lasted so much to notice. "Mist... Look!" Tails called out with a smile, pointing at her Cutie Mark. Misty turned to see it, noticing that it was sparkling and created a magical image of a butterfly. The image flew up above the trio, and Tails' powers reacted even more, as some sparks came out of his tails and re-created the box of tools with yellow lightning Cutie Mark he obtained when he turned into a pony for the Manesquerade Ball that one time. The box of tools flee in the air, alongside Misty's Cutie Mark, as it circled around the butterfly, which gave off magical sparkles. Tails and Misty watched with amazed looks and sparkling eyes, while Omega's eyes shone brightly at the sight, probably the way his eyes sparkle when he finds himself amazed. Soon, the two images shone brightly one last time, before Misty's Cutie Mark returned to Misty, while the box of tools with yellow lightning dissipated in electricity after it made contact with Tails' tails. "Well, I didn't knew my powers could do that, but see?!" Tails told Misty happily, now side hugging her, while Misty giggled happily. "I knew your Cutie Mark would shine like that!" he stated. Soon, the rest of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic joined in the cheers, while Shadow and Rouge came by to see what Omega was doing here, although they couldn't help but smile slightly at Misty's accomplishment, since they knew she's been working hard on making her Cutie Mark glow. "Wow!" Zipp said amazed, as she walked up to Misty. "How'd you do it? It was the parkour, wasn't it?" she asked with a smirk. "Well…" Misty said with a sheepish smile, placing a hoof on her chin. However, before she could explain herself, Izzy placed a pink glitter graduation hat on Misty's head, with the unicorn mare looking at Izzy surprised. "Izzy! What's all this for?" Misty asked with a smile, despite still being confused. "It's your sparkle school graduation celebration, silly!" Izzy explained cheerfully, as she twirled around and lightened up her horn. "Pew-pew!" she cheered, and then, fireworks were made from her magic as they exploded in the sky. Soon, she got between Sunny and Misty, as they and the rest of them smiled at each other, with Izzy and Misty even hoof-bumping each other. However, as the firework show continued, Tails heard a beep sound coming from his Miles Electric, which was hidden on his Tails. So, he quickly glanced at the rest and made sure they were busy, before sneaking away behind some bushes. Once he made sure to be completely alone, he took out his Miles Electric and checked out what was going on. He sent out a drone months ago to track down the Chaos Emeralds after they spread once Super Sonic restored everything the Death Egg Titan destroyed, and apparently, said drone finally got the signal of three Emeralds... But something was off with the three signs. Usually, the Chaos Emeralds spread far away from each other... But the three signs all came from the exact same place, something that never happened before. "Three Emeralds are reuniting in the same place?" Tails questioned. "That's very odd..." he pointed out. Then, he zoomed out the whole map, noticing that the drone tracked down the three Chaos Emeralds towards a set of five islands, located far away from Equestria. "Five Islands, and the Emeralds are getting dragged there..." Tails muttered. "Could these be... The Starfall Islands Longclaw was talking about?!" he questioned in surprise, before he quickly flew off towards the Crystal Brighthouse, because he needed to investigate this further. THE END...? Author's Note So... We're not so far from the next Hiatus, to tell the truth, so I think it's time to tease more for Frontiers. This episode in particular is one of my favorites, but because of the 5 minutes format, I felt that it was missing more feedback from Misty's part, so I decided to add more feedback by having her question why both Sonic and Tails didn't snapped at her the way the other ponies and Knuckles did when she came clean on being a traitor. Also, Omega being thrown in here to show her that she shouldn't let her past define her. So what if Omega is a badnik? He has already showed that he's not sided with Eggman, and Misty can do the same: Leave her past with Opaline and Eggman behind to fully embrace friendship. And finally: Sunny and her PTSD. She was replaced with Tails in my canon for a very important reason, but we won't see that until the next episode! Oh, speaking of that... You might want to stay alert on my updates with this story, 'cause next episode is coming earlier than usual! But I won't explain further. See you all later!
59. Nightmares From The PastIt all starts in a dark place, where nothing but darkness itself can be seen. "Hello?" Sunny's voice called out nervously, as the earth pony mare tried to look around for something, anything. Suddenly, however, a light turned on over her, and she had to cover her face with her own hooves. But once she got used to the light, her eyes widened, and her heart started to race in panic, while her breath increased as well: She was back in Eggman's lab, in the middle of the same place he beat her up. "N-No... No, no, no, no, no, no..." Sunny muttered in panic, as she stepped back several times, just to suddenly stop as she bumped up with something. But it wasn't something, it was someone... It was Eggman. Sunny gasped, and by instinct, she made her Alicorn Powers come up, as she blasted a laser beam to the doctor. However, this didn't did anything, because not only Eggman wasn't there when she launched the laser beam anymore... He also managed to move fast enough to be behind Sunny again. Sunny bumped with him again in panic, but this time, she had no time to react, because Eggman grabbed her and launched her against a panel control. In the process, her Alicorn form faded away... It was happening again... Soon enough, Eggman approached her with a growl and tried to smash her, but Sunny moved just in time when Eggman smashed down the panel control with his fists. Followed by this, Sunny tried to quickly summon her Alicorn form again, but she couldn't even flap her wings once it did so, because Eggman approached her and grabbed her from her tail, quickly smashing her against the floor. Then, he stomped on Sunny's tail and made her groan in pain, since she tried to get away from him. After that, he stomped on Sunny's back and pressed over her bones, while Sunny screamed in pure agony and pain. "N-No... N-Not this again!" Sunny cried out in pain, while some tears came out of her eyes. But this was far from being over, because Eggman then grabbed her tail and started to smash Sunny in the floor from one side to the other. Sunny cried out in pain, and she felt more tears coming out as Eggman did this to her again... But then, Eggman finished by sending her towards a door that she traversed. She rolled in the ground and grunted in pain, but once she shook her head and looked ahead, she gasped, and her eyes widened again: She was now in Maretime Bay, with Eggman's Death Egg Titan coming out of water and looking down at her. Sunny looked back and saw that Mane Melody's doors were open, but they closed alone, and so, she returned her sight to the Death Egg Titan, now frowning in rage. However, the Death Egg Titan slowly turned to see the Crystal Brighthouse, which didn't had the rainbow light anymore, before the machine closed its right hand into a fist, and then, it smashed the Brighthouse in on single punch, destroying the entire building in the process. "No!" Sunny screamed with panic, before looking over at the Death Egg Titan with a bigger frown. And so, she summoned her Alicorn form again and flew towards the robot. She charged up a laser beam on her horn and launched it against the Death Egg Titan's face, but the machine didn't even flinched. In fact, the machine charged up its laser eyes and launched them against Sunny. The mare gasped and managed to quickly create a shield around herself, but the impact with the laser sent her backwards, as the laser not only pushed her, but it also destroyed all in it's way, including several buildings in Maretime Bay, like Mane Melody and the Museum. Sunny found herself coughing and laying on the floor weakly, while her magic vanished, as well as her Alicorn form, but she still managed to painfully stand up and look over at the Death Egg Titan with a frown. However, the Titan was not facing her anymore. Instead, it was using its laser eyes to destroy the rest of the town. ".. I-I... N-Need to... G-Get closer..." Sunny muttered to herself, as she started to walk painfully, because she wasn't strong enough to summon her wings and horn right now. But then, while the machine kept destroying everything, Sunny managed to see something in the distance... or rather, somepony, running up to her as fast as they could. Sunny narrowed her eyes to look better... and then her eyes widened in shock, as her lips started to tremble, while her heart ran like a marathon, and tears formed in her eyes. "... D-Dad?" Sunny muttered with disbelief. Precisely, Argyle Starshine, Sunny's dad, was running towards her daughter with both a panicked and concerned expression for his daughters well-being. "Sunny!" Argyle's voice spoke with both relief and worry, as he trotted faster. Sunny couldn't believe what she was seeing... Her dad died years ago... But here he was, running towards her. She had no time to process how this was possible, she simply needed to get to him. So, she managed to move a bit faster than usual and run towards her father. Argyle and Sunny were so close to each other... But before they could even say something, the Death Egg Titan's right foot stomped over Argyle and killed him again, much to Sunny's horror, while she looked up at the robot, whom launched its laser eyes against her... "NO!!!" Sunny screamed in panic, as she sat down on her bed and breathed heavily. Everything we just saw was a nightmare. One that felt very real, of course, but a nightmare at the end of the day... One that Sunny's been having for weeks now, ever since the defeat of the Death Egg Titan, actually. However, her scream made everyone else in the room wake up as well... Okay, everyone but Knuckles. He just kept sleeping while snoring loudly with his mouth open. Sunny kept breathing heavily, while Sonic, Tails, Izzy and Zipp immediately rushed to her side and tried to calm her down. Tails placed a hand on her back, the other one on her hoof and told her to breath deeply; Sonic placed his hand over her hoof as well and told her the same; while Izzy and Zipp limited themselves to hug Sunny. As for Pipp, Misty and Amy? They just approached and watched the scene with concern, while Knuckles kept sleeping. After several minutes, Sunny was breathing normally again, and she felt her heart bumping regularly as well, while she took one last deep breath and sighed in relief. "... Thanks, guys..." Sunny said with a smile, despite having her eyes closed. "No problem, but... What happened?" Tails asked with concern, still not letting go of Sunny's hoof. Sunny's smile faded away, and she looked down with concern, while some tears dared to show off on her eyes. "Let me guess... Another nightmare with Eggman's Titan?" Sonic said with a frown, but his voice showed concern for Sunny. Sunny slowly looked over to Sonic and nodded. "It... I-It was that thing killing my father... again..." she muttered, while some tears fell from her eyes and she tried to wipe them away. "Dang it!" Zipp muttered with anger, while she also rubbed her face with a hoof. "Sunny, this is the second time this week, and like the seventh one ever since Sonic launched that thing to the Sun and Moon knows where!" she pointed out with concern. "I-I know..." Sunny replied with concern, while she caressed her mane with her free hoof. "Okay, I know we all made a bow to never mention this again, but I think is time we have the turkey talk!" Sonic stated with a frown. "What did Eggman did to all of you while I was unconscious?" he asked. Sunny's and Zipp's eyes widened in panic after he asked that, while Izzy tilted her head confused at the question. Let's just say that Izzy's mind blocked out the memories of what Eggman did to Sunny and everything he said the day he ponynapped them, since it was just to traumatic for her to process it. "Um... D-Do we really have to talk about it?" Sunny asked with concern, also looking away from him. "I-I don't think it's gonna change anything––" she tried to protest. "Sunny..." Tails called out this time around. "I know that Eggman did something so bad that you want to forget it... But I think Sonic wants you to say it because that is what keeps giving you nightmares... And I honestly agree with him" he said with concern. "I'm usually not that much into making anyone talk about their traumas, but I agree with Sonic and Tails" Amy spoke, as she approached along Pipp and Misty. "The sooner you talk this out of your system, the sooner these nightmares will fade away" she pointed out. "And you'll sleep good again!" Misty added with a small smile. "Sunny... I also think they're right..." Pipp spoke. "In all honesty, we all had nightmares from that day at some point, but you're the one who's having the worse of them!" she pointed out with concern. "I... Don't really know what you all are talking about, but I think they're right. You should tell us what's wrong" Izzy agreed with a smile. Sunny opened her mouth to say something, but as soon as she did so, she immediately regret it and closed her mouth, also looking down in shame. This made everyone else sigh, and Sonic even rubbed his eyes with slight annoyance. Tails let out a sigh, but he still looked at Sunny with a smile. "Well, then... How about you go and see a therapist?" he suggested. "Unlike us, they're more experienced at dealing with traumatic events, you know?" he pointed out. "Actually... That's a really good idea" Sonic agreed with a smile. "If you can't take it out with us, at least try and see an expert in the matter!" he stated. "Yeah!" Zipp agreed as well. "If we gotta be honest, Pipp and I went with one for a whole week, and it helped us stop having nightmares about that day!" she confessed with a sheepish smile. "Wait... You took therapy and never told me?!" Sonic asked Pipp, as he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked at her with panic. "You were going to freak out if I ever told you!" Pipp pointed out with an eye roll. "Well, what else would I've had done?! I love you, for Chaos sake! Of course I would've worried!" Sonic pointed out with a frown. "Wait... Is that why you asked me to sleep close to you a whole week?" Tails asked Zipp, while raising an eyebrow at her and deadpanned as well. Zipp blushed and chuckled sheepishly, looking away and scratching her neck embarrassed. "You two sleep together?" Misty asked confused, but also frowning at Tails. "Technically, she slept wrapped to my tails..." Tails corrected himself, still deadpanning. "Getting back on track!" Amy called out. "I agree that you should see a therapist, then. I'm sure they could help you!" she assured with a smile. "I... Don't think so..." Sunny said. "Besides, I already made plans for this week, and I have to run my stand in the morning... Maybe if I find some free time in my schedule, I would see a therapist, but right now? I just wanna go back to sleep..." she confessed, also letting out a yawn. "Oh, no!" Sonic said. "You are not avoiding another problem like this! Last time you did so, magic almost caused the end of the world, and we created new magic because racism isn't an option in this generation, apparently" he added with a bored expression. "But this time around is worse, because it affects you and your life!" Tails pointed out. "Come on, Sunny! Don't this to yourself and just see a therapist!" he begged with the sad puppy eyes that only he can made. However, that trick wasn't going to work, because Sunny still shook her head in denial. "Guys, I'm gonna be fine! I just need to distract my mind with happy thoughts at night, and my sleep will be okay!" she assured. "I promise that this isn't a big deal" she stated. "Ā, anata wa raba yori mo gankodesu!" Sonic said with a frown, and then he started to swear a lot of not rated E words in Japanese, as he walked over to his bed again. "What did he said?" Zipp asked confused. "The first sentence was 'You are more stubborn than a mule'! Which I agree with!" Amy replied, also looking at Sunny slightly annoyed. "As for everything else? You don't wanna know..." she said, as she yawned and also head back to her bed. Soon, Pipp, Zipp and Izzy did the same, with just Misty and Tails staying with Sunny. "Sunny, if you keep hiding what Eggman did to you that day, when the truth is out, everything's gonna be really bad" Misty told her with concern. "Trust me, I know why I say this..." she assured with an ashamed expression. "The sooner you tell everyone what's waking you up, the better" she finished, before turning around and walking up to her bed as well. "She's right, Sunny" Tails agreed. "Avoiding this won't do any better to you. But... If you really want to act like nothing's wrong, then we won't stop you" he added, before hoping off her bed and flying towards his, while Sunny stood behind and looked down at the floor in concern. She could understand her friends worry for her, but she seriously didn't wanted to talk about what happened that day, specially since she knew that Sonic and Tails wouldn't take it so well. So, she decided to stick to her word and lay on her bed, resting her head against her pillow and slowly drifting back to sleep, hoping she wouldn't have that nightmare again... Yeah, let's emphasize on hoping, because she slept terribly. That very same day, in the morning, and because of the lack of sleep, Sunny struggled to make breakfast this time around. She poured the content for the pancakes and, since she was too tired to even look at what she was doing, she also broke some eggs over the pan... where the pancakes' content was already poured. In the process, she mixed pancakes and eggs, something that she didn't realized until Zipp pointed it out when the rest of the breakfast was served. Of course, nobody seemed to complain with the mix, but Sunny still yawned and gave a sheepish smile at the rest, something that made Sonic and Tails frown at her. The next day, Sunny went to her smoothie stand. Once again, she had a terrible night because of nightmares with Eggman and the Death Egg Titan, which was now affecting her work as well. Still sleepy and yawning, she took the orders from Posey, Dahlia and Mayflower, who were asking for their usual, something Sunny heard clearly... However, as she started to look after the ingredients, she yawned with her eyes closed again, and instead of grabbing a pear for Dahlia's smoothie, she grabbed a pearnana, which she already putted in the blender. This got worse with Posey's, because Sunny replaced the usual ingredients she used on her smoothie with some that Posey not only disliked, but Sunny also placed one that Posey was allergic to. With Mayflower's smoothie, weird enough, she was paying attention and got it right... But when she delivered the smoothies, however, both Dahlia and Posey spitted their smoothies away, much to Sunny's and Mayflower's surprise, followed by Posey's face swelling and turning red from her allergy. Of course Posey screamed in panic and ran away, with Dahlia immediately following, while Sunny got red herself from embarrassment, as she slowly ducked behind her stand while covering her face with her hooves. The next few days, things just got worse. First it was messing up breakfast, then it was delivering the wrong orders at work, and now? Now she was getting late to all the meetings with her friends that they planned months ago, even before Team Dark, Amy and Misty were part of the crew. First, she got late to a monthly reunion she always had with Sonic, Queen Haven and Alphabittle about important stuff regarding ponykind, something that never happened before. A few days later, not so far from Hitch's birthday, she got late to the secret planning. She, along with Zipp, Pipp, Izzy, Misty and Team Sonic, agreed to make secret meetings behind Hitch's back, while Team Dark would make their best effort to keep him busy and away from them. These meetings were to plan out a surprise birthday party for Hitch, but everytime these meetings happened, she always got late. In fact, they were at least three or four times close to be discovered by Hitch, if it wasn't because Knuckles always managed to trick him by saying that a critter stoled something, which immediately made Hitch ran away. Still, it didn't changed the fact that Sunny wasn't helping around that much, but instead was complicating things and, sometimes, even making them worse, which only concerned Sonic and Tails even more, because she has never been a problem in this kind of stuff, specially when it comes to Hitch. After that, there was a small reunion in the Brighthouse. Well. it was more a party thrown out of nowhere for absolutely no reason, but a party regardless... One that Sunny did't even showed up, because she was busy with her work, which was now starting to fail because of herself failing at make the proper orders as ponies asked them. This last thing was noticed by Hitch, who finished his rounds and was heading to the party, but when he saw Sunny having trouble in her stand, as well as her tired expression, he frowned in worry, and Sparky on his back babbled concerned too. And finally, the worse thing of all happened... This occurred exactly one week after Sunny's friends advised her to go get therapy. Sunny was walking towards her smoothie stand with a tired expression, as she let out a yawn. Her aspect was horrible: There were massive eye bags that anyone could notice even from afar; her mane was messed to the point that she barely bothered to brush it so it could look as good as usual; and she wasn't even wearing her saddlebag today, which she never left behind. But as if looking bad wasn't enough, she tripped with a rock and fell to the floor with a thud and a grunt. She shook her head and blinked a few times, but as soon as she got up and rubbed her eyes, she looked ahead again, just for her eyes to open in panic, because right in front of her was Eggman, not wearing glasses and glaring daggers at her. That made her scream and trip again, as she fell backwards and landed on her back this time around. She sat down on the road and rubbed her head with a hoof, also shaking it, but once she looked ahead again, Eggman was gone... Was he even there to begin with? Who knew, but one thing was for sure: Sunny was seeing things now. She got up and scratched her head confused, but as she looked around to make sure nopony saw her, she yelped and fell backwards again, because she was convinced that she saw the Death Egg Titan raising from the water. Yet, when she opened her eyes and shook her head, the Titan wasn't there. The mare sighed in relief and got up, once again looking around to make sure nopony saw her. Yawning tired, she walked towards her stand, not knowing that Hitch and Sparky saw all of this again, which only worried the Sheriff even more, while the baby dragon made sad puppy noises, clearly concerned about her as well. However, they were not the only ones who witnessed Sunny's strange attitude, because Shadow was watching her as well. In fact, he's been noticing her strange attitude ever since the incident with Posey at the beginning of that week, and he couldn't feel more concerned for her. In just a short amount of time, Shadow managed to get over his stupid rule of 'not getting attached to Sunny' and gave her the chance he promised he would give her... It has evolved to this point, where he needs to find out why she's acting this way lately. Later that same day, Hitch and Sparky went to Electronic Tails. Despite her horrible aspect and bad reputation, Sunny still managed to sell good smoothies and keep her business running, despite it being really obvious at this point that she wasn't okay. So, Hitch decided to directly ask Sonic and Tails about her, because he's also been noticing that they frown at her whenever she gets late to any event, which made him suspect that they knew what was going on with her, which was also the reason why they've been frowning at her lately. Sonic and Tails were on Electronic Tails' ceiling, with Tails fixing up the Tornado IV after the Death Egg Titan damaged it on its robot form, while Sonic help Tails out by passing him tools and any part he could need for the plane. "Hey, guys!" Hitch called out, as he approached the brothers. Sonic looked over at him and smirked. "Well, well, well! The Knight in yellow armor has arrived!" he mocked up. "Hi, Hitch" Tails replied instead, but he didn't sound any happy at all, while he was fixing the plane's motor. Hitch seemed to notice that, because he smiled a bit sheepishly. "Um... If you two are not that busy, can I ask you something?" he requested. "It's about... Sunny..." he added, now frowning with concern. That made Sonic look over at him with wide eyes, while Tails got out of the plane's motor and looked over at Hitch with a frown, even though he was all covered in black tint. "Look, I know you guys have noticed it, too" Hitch spoke with concern. "Sunny's acting really weird lately: She gets late everywhere, she's delivering wrong orders to her clients, and she even mixed up breakfast! Knuckles told me" he pointed out. "And don't even make me talk about her aspect. She's always so beautiful, cheerful, optimistic, so... so Sunny! Now, she doesn't even brush her mane!" he added with concern, also pointing at Sunny at the distance. She was at her stand, giving the Pippsqueaks their smoothies, as the three fillies smiled at the flavors, payed Sunny and walked away with their smoothies, while Sunny putted the money away and yawned tiredly. This immediately made Sonic and Tails cringe, while they both looked at each other in concern, before looking back at Hitch. "And, today Knuckles asked for a free day so he could take Izzy out to Bridlewood and distract her a bit from what's happening with Sunny!" Hitch continued. "Yes, he said it explicitly like that..." he added with a bored expression. "D'oh! Knuckles..." Sonic and Tails both muttered, with Sonic facepalming and Tails rubbing his eyes with a hand. "I know really well that you two have at least an idea of what's going on with her, and I want an answer!" Hitch stated with a frown, before sighing and giving a pleading look to Sonic and Tails. "Please, guys... I... I need to know what's going on with her..." he begged. At this, the two Mobians looked at each other before nodding and look back at Hitch. "Ever since we defeated the Death Egg Titan, Sunny's been having nightmares with that day... About what Eggman did to her in his lab, and about that thing smashing her father as he tries to help her..." Sonic started to explain. "At first, it wasn't a big deal. It only happened one or two times a week, and we thought it wasn't such a problem..." Tails confessed. "But since the seventh time, we suggested her to take therapy to deal with the trauma... She refuses to do so..." he added with a slight frown, also rubbing his arm. "Worse of all, not only the nightmares have come all the week now, but it also changes who Eggman kills" Sonic added with concern. "First it was her father. But then, as days went by, it changed. First it was Izzy, then Tails, then me, then you, then Zipp... And she even got to witness her mom dying!" he added with panic. "... Her Mom?" Hitch asked. "But she only have sawn her on an old picture where she's marrying Argyle..." he pointed out with an anxious look. "Ugh, why didn't I asked sooner? And why none of you told me?!" he asked them panicked. "Sunny insisted to not tell you when we finally come to suggest that..." Tails spoke. "And, as you can see, this is the result of her being so stubborn..." he added, once again frowning. "So, Sunny's been having nightmares because of what happened with Eggman and his robot?" Hitch asked, looking down at the floor in concern, while Sonic and Tails nodded. This made Hitch sigh and look at them with a determinate look. "I have a feeling she's gonna hate me because of our bow... But you guys deserve to know the truth!" he stated. "Wait... Are you going to––" Sonic tried to ask, as his eyes and Tails' widened. "Yes. I'm gonna tell you what happened... exactly like it happened" Hitch replied. And so he did. He told them everything: From Eggman using Chaos Control on Sunny, to him beating the crap out of her, to him manipulating Zipp, Pipp and Izzy mentally, and even destroying all hopes from Sunny by telling her that her dream of unity will remain as that once she was gone. Of course, if Sonic and Tails thought that they couldn't hate Eggman more, they were very wrong, because it was one thing to destroy the Brighthouse, but literally destroy Sunny? That was going to far... And they were not the only ones who felt in that way. Shadow has been hiding behind the Tornado IV this whole time, and after hearing from Hitch everything that Eggman did to Sunny, he couldn't be angrier. If he knew where Eggman was hiding, he would go there right now and finish him off with his bare fists, not minding what anyone would tell him if he did so, because in his eyes, that's what Eggman deserves for everything he did not only to Sunny, but also to everyone else he has affected through the years. Yet, he had to deep breath and calm his anger down. He could deal with his anger later. First things first: He had to find Sunny and talk to her about this. So, nodding to himself, he glanced at Sonic, Tails, Hitch and Sparky one last time, before teleporting away. The next day, Sunny was walking alone in the beach. Everyone in the Brighthouse told her to take the day off while they filled her duties in her place. Sunny accepted without hesitation, not only because she didn't wanted to argue with her friends, but also because she hated how her lack of sleep because of her nightmares was affecting them now too. She decided to walk around the beach. Despite her eye bags still being noticeable, at least Pipp and Izzy offered to brush her mane, so that was something good, at least. Still, it didn't changed the fact that she was feeling awful for all these nightmares. Anyone would think that seeing your dad dying over and over again was bad enough, but seeing him and your friends dying non-stop, aside from getting the crap beat out of you? It was worse than a nightmare... Sunny looked over to the sea and sighed with concern. "... I wish you were here, dad..." she muttered, before looking down with low ears, while sniffing a bit. Soon enough, however, footsteps where heard, but she didn't wanted to see whoever was getting at her side right now. At least, not a first, because when he spoke, it was a whole new story... "I get the feeling this is the part where I brake into a song out of nowhere just to cheer you up..." Shadow's voice spoke, as he slowly got at Sunny's side with his arms crossed, while Sunny herself opened her eyes widely and looked at her side, surprised to find Shadow here. "But I don't think my voice is that good at singing, nor that any song I could ever come up with would make you feel better" he added, although he seemed to have a playful smirk instead of the usual seriousness. "... Shadow?" Sunny called out confused, wiping her tears the best she could, but more kept coming out no matter how much she rubbed her eyes with her hooves. "W-What are you doing here?" she asked weakly. "A little birdy told me what Eggman did to you weeks ago, and how it has affected your mental health" Shadow replied. "I can always go after that piece of garbage and beat the crap out of him if you just say it" he added with a playful smirk. That actually made Sunny chuckle a bit, as she sobbed again. "O-Okay... I'll admit that was funny..." she said with a sad smile. "But if you're talking seriously, no thanks. As much as he would deserve it, I don't really wanna trigger him even more..." she added, looking down at the floor with sadness. Shadow sighed and frowned in concern. "Yeah... I thought you were going to say that..." he replied. "I really haven't heard that much of your nightmares, so if you don't mind me asking..." he said, as he finally sat down at her side. "What's the matter?" he asked. Sunny sorbed from the nose a bit and then sighed. "All my nightmares start the very same way: I appear back at Eggman's lab, then he appears out of nowhere and... B-Beats me again... Then he launches me to a door that makes me exit Mane Melody, and I appear in the middle of Maretime Bay, just when his giant robot is attacking. Then, he destroys the Brighthouse, I try to fight against him, I loose, and then... The worse part comes... E-Either dad o-or any of you guys appear to try and help me, b-but Eggman stomps over them and... a-and..." she tried to add, but she couldn't. Instead, she immediately broke into tears, covering her face with her hooves, since remembering seeing her dad and friends getting killed over and over again in the span of one week was... She couldn't take it anymore. And Shadow? Shadow was frowning in rage. Eggman crossed a line he never though he would cross, which was his big mistake. Whenever he underestimates how far is Eggman willing to go to accomplish his dream, he gets surprised with the results the doctor gives. And, of course, he wanted so badly to go and look after him just so he could get a taste of his own medicine... But he not only wasn't going to because Sunny told him so, but also because he had no idea where Eggman even was hiding... Sighing frustrated with this fact, he looked at Sunny at his side... And did something no one would ever thought he would do... He hugged her. Not because she asked her to, not because anyone else dare him to, not because the world could be at stake... He did out of kindness, because he wanted to do it. Of course, Sunny wasn't surprised with this gesture. In fact, she needed it, because she immediately buried her face on Shadow's chest, also wrapping her hooves around him, while Shadow limited himself to let her cry and hug her tightly, even rubbing her back from time to time. After several minutes of crying her sadness out, Sunny finally calmed down and pulled away from Shadow, finally wiping away the few tears left and looking up at him with a smile. "... T-Thanks, Shadow..." Sunny said with a sad smile. "I... I really needed that..." she added, rubbing her right hoof a bit embarrassed. Shadow smiled back and nodded at her. "I'm not good with words nor actions when it comes to be affective, but... I guess one can always make an exception" he said with a playful tone. "Jokes aside. I do believe you should ask for profesional help if the nightmares aren't over at this point" he suggested. Sunny sighed after hearing this. "I've been hearing that the whole week! But I don't want to see a therapist!" Sunny confessed. "There's no guarantee that I will stop having that nightmare, nor that I will sleep any better!" she pointed out, placing her hooves on her head. "Maybe not, but a therapist could help you to deal with the trauma of what Eggman did to you" Shadow pointed out. "And if they can't?!" Sunny asked desperately. "Sunny, keeping this to yourself is gonna blow on your face at one point" Shadow stated with a frown. "Your life is being consumed by the lack of sleep, and if you don't make sure you deal with that trauma, it isn't going to get any better. I know that, because I once couldn't let go of my past" he added with concern. This made Sunny's eyes open wide, and she tilted her head curiously. "What do you mean?" she asked. "... I was created out of the blood of a sinister creature named Black Doom..." Shadow started to explain. "He was... technically my biological father. He tried to make me join his side and destroy humanity... But I refused to. Maria would had hated me if I ever did so. In the end, when I discovered who he really was, well... I felt stupid, dumb, used... He only cared about my power and what it could do. So, once I decided to forge my own path without depending on my past anymore, I destroyed Black Doom myself..." he added. "Many think I was like nothing after that, but... That's not true. I literally killed my 'father'... You really expected me to walk out of that without sequels?" he asked with a bored look. Sunny was surprised to hear all of this, specially the part where Shadow confesses that he directly killed his own 'father' out of rage. "So... You took therapy?" Sunny asked. "Kinda" Shadow replied. "While I did saw a therapist for a week or two, I still started to get nightmares where I accepted to side with Black Doom and eradicate the planet. It... It took me a long time to finally sleep again, and even eat the same way I used to" he explained. "But you did went back to your normal self... Didn't you?" Sunny asked him with a smile. "Yeah... Now, I'll be lying if I said that I never got that nightmare again, but it just pops out of nowhere sometimes" Shadow added. "The relief of waking up and see that none of that happened makes me relax again and fall sleep to never have the same nightmare for a very long time. Sometimes I had lasted years not having the same nightmare again" he explained. "... All because you asked for help?!" Sunny asked in shock. "I may be proud and arrogant, but I know when to ask for help if I need it... Even if my only available option is Sonic..." Shadow replied with a slight smirk. Sunny giggled at this, even covering her mouth with a hoof, and Shadow couldn't help but smile like an idiot at the sound of her voice. After that, the ultimate life-form got up and looked down at Sunny. "So? What are you gonna do now?" he asked her. Sunny looked down to the ground and thought about it... On one hand, there was still no guarantee that therapy was going to help her with her problem... But on the other hand, if she kept going with this, her friends would feel even more hurt to see her like this, and she couldn't allow this anymore. So, with a sigh and a nod, Sunny stood up for herself and looked up at Shadow with a smile. "I know what I have to do now" she stated. Shadow nodded at her with a smile, and Sunny turned to leave, but before doing so, she smiled, returned with Shadow and hugged him tightly once again, which startled Shadow a bit since he didn't expected it. "Thank you, Shadow. You really are a good friend, like it or not" Sunny told him with a smile and a wink, before turning around and running away. However, as she did so, Shadow found himself amused, because after she called him a good friend, he... He couldn't help but smile brightly, while his heart started to bump like if he ran a marathon. It was weird for him to smile out of nowhere, but this... It actually felt nice to him... Maybe getting attached to Sunny wasn't so bad after all. The next day, Sunny, Hitch and Sparky were in the waiting room of the therapist's office. Sunny was still hesitant with the idea of talking with a therapist, but once Hitch and everyone else offered to go with her to the sessions, alternating between each other, she accepted immediately. After all, she doubted that she could visit a therapist on her own without panicking. This last thing was something that Hitch noticed, because Sunny was rubbing her own hoof with an anxious expression. "Sun?" he called out. "You okay?" he asked. "Not at all..." Sunny replied. "I... I still think this is a really bad idea..." she confessed. "Hey, look at me..." Hitch said, as he placed a hoof on her chin and made her look at him in the eyes. "It's gonna be okay. I'll be with you the whole time, and whenever you feel unsure to say something, know that I won't go anywhere" he assured her with a smile and a slight blush. Sunny blushed a bit as well, but she still smiled back at him, giving him a small peek on his cheek as a way to thank him, which made Hitch's blush increase, as he also chuckled sheepishly. Sparky also wanted to assure Sunny as well, so he jumped from Hitch's back to land on Sunny's, then he went to nuzzle and hug her neck, which made Sunny's heart melt by the gesture, as she smiled warmly at the baby dragon and nuzzled him back. Then, the therapist's office door opened. "Sunny Starscout?" a stallion's voice called out. This was a pegasus stallion that had gray fur, pink hair and beard, light blue eyes, and a winged badge as his cutie mark. When she heard her name, Sunny gulped nervously and hopped off her seat, with Hitch following close and taking Sparky again, sitting him down on his back. "H-Here!" Sunny called out nervously. "Oh, excellent!" the stallion said with smile, as he extended his hoof to her, while Sunny extended it back. "Nice to meet you, Sunny. I'm Dr. Andrew Windwards, but everypony calls me Dr. Andy" he presented himself. "Um... Nice to meet you, too..." Sunny replied with an awkward chuckle. "Um... I never did this before, but I kind of understand that we must to the session alone, right?" she asked nervously. "What? Oh, no, no, no! That won't be necessary!" Andy replied with a smile. "Other therapists are way too strict for my liking in that aspect, but if my patients need somepony to come with them, they are welcome!" he stated with a wink. This made Sunny sigh in relief, and Hitch at her side bumped her playfully. "That's good to hear. So, Hitch and Sparky can come in with me? I would feel better if they were in the session with me" she confessed. "Be my guests!" Andy replied, as he stepped aside and allowed Sunny and Hitch to get inside of his office. With a last glance to Hitch, who nodded at her with a smile, Sunny smiled as well, and so, they both got inside of Andy's office, while the therapist closed the door behind him. "Well, then. Tell me what's been bothering your mind, Sunny" Andy requested, as he sat over a big chair, while Sunny, Hitch and Sparky sat on a couch. Sunny hesitated at first, but when she felt Hitch's hoof over her own, she smiled sweetly at her best friend, her love, the most important pony in her life, before taking a deep breath and look at Andy, as she started to tell the whole story. THE END Author's Note Happy first anniversary to me on FIMFiction! When BenictheHedgehog suggested me this idea (thanks for that by the way), I saw the perfect chance to delay Canon Episode 59 for later on and do something else. And here it is! If I'm being honest, the idea of some of the girls from the group taking therapy after what happened in "Dancing With Destiny" was going to be nothing but a silly joke in Episode 60... Yet Ben came by and told me how to make that silly joke into, well, this Episode. I also got some inspiration from Flamewarrior02 and his story (Path to Peace) for the final part where Hitch goes with Sunny to her therapy sessions. That story is also kind of the reason why I wanted to joke with the therapy thing in the first place, so thanks to you for the help as well, Flamewarrior02! (I have no nickname for you, sorry! ) Now, how are the events of this Episode getting acknowledge? At the beginning of the Next Episode, as well as on Season 3. Which reminds me, next episode is the last one before going to Frontiers! I know, I know. Only 6 Episodes between Season 2 and Frontiers, but that's how things work here! Let's see what awaits us for the next episode! See ya!
60. Moon Festival"So? How's the nightmares been doing, Sunny?" Dr. Andy asked her. "Honestly? They've barely popped up ever since I've been coming here three times every week..." Sunny replied. She's been coming to see her therapist for the past month. Like she said, and just like her friends expected as well, her nightmares were finally stopping. She still had them, but it was once or twice in a week. Yet, and like Shadow told her, she felt relieved waking up and seeing it was all in her mind, so she always went back to sleep peacefully. Right now, she was on her second visit this week, laying over a couch and answering Andy's questions. "I see..." Andy replied, taking some notes down on his notebook. "And how has your routine turned out to be now that the nightmares are almost over?" "Well, I can pay attention to my clients and attend my orders as usual again" Sunny replied. "I've been able to cook breakfast, haven't gotten late to any other meeting I had with my friends... And I even managed to reunite with Queen Haven and Alphabittle as I used to." "Okay..." Andy replied, writing down even more stuff. "Now, tell me about Eggman, Sunny. How do you feel now that you think about him?" Sunny felt a bit anxious with this question, but still took a deep breath before replying. "I... A part of me still fears him because of what he did to me on his lab... But I know for a fact that I can fight it back. That I can fight him back. I've actually managed to do that in some of my nightmares. Sometimes I won, sometimes I didn't, but I didn't let the times I lost get the best of me." "And how do you feel about him right now?" Andy asked one more time. "I swear if I found him just buying his chores, I'll beat the crap out of him. Not only for what he did to me, but also for almost destroying my home, for destroying my house, and for playing psychologically with my friends!" Sunny replied with a frown, and her Alicorn form activated in the process. However, it didn't took long for Sunny to noticed what she said, so she quickly shook her head from those thoughts, and her Alicorn form even disappeared. "Sorry! Didn't wanted to say it like that..." Sunny apologized with a sheepish smile. "What I mean is... I'm angry at him, and I know for a fact he must know that... But I'm willing to fight back if necessary. Eggman is menacing, no doubt, but he made the biggest mistake ever: He messed with my home, and with the ponies I have to protect!" "Very well" Andy said, finishing up his notes and then looking over at Sunny with a smile. "I've gotta hand it to you, Sunny: Your recovery has not only been going incredibly well, but I also believe you're almost done with it!" Sunny gasped with a smile after hearing this. "Really?!" she asked excited. "Indeed!" Andy replied with joy. "I believe or next session this Friday will be the last one. After that, I'll discharge you and you won't have to come see me anymore. Hopefully, there will be no more traumatic moments for you!" Sunny chuckled after hearing this. "I really hope so. Thanks again, Dr. Andy!" she said with a smile, also waving her hoof. "I'm just doing my job!" Andy replied with a smile. As soon as Sunny stepped out of her therapist's office, she met outside with Shadow, who was laying over a wall on the waiting room, but his ear twitched when he heard Sunny approaching, so he opened his eyes and looked over at her with a smirk. "So? How did it went?" Shadow asked. Of course, Sunny hugged him as a greeting before replying something, which made Shadow feel a bit uncomfortable, since he wasn't still used to be hugged, but he let her be. "Oh, it went just great!" Sunny replied with a smile and sparkling eyes. "My therapist said that my next session will be the last! Which means that my recovery is almost complete!" she added in excitement, squeezing Shadow's cheeks with her hooves. "Uh... Great..." Shadow replied, once again feeling a bit uncomfortable. Sunny seemed to notice this, and her eyes widened a bit in panic. "Oops! Sorry, Shadow!" she apologized sheepishly, letting go of his cheeks. "I forget you're still not used to get affective in public..." "Eh, it's fine..." Shadow replied with a little smile, before getting serious again. "I just wanted to check on you before my Team and I left." "Huh?" Sunny exclaimed surprised with wide eyes. "You guys are leaving? Why?!" "It'll be just for a couple of months" Shadow replied. "We need to find Dr. Eggman and capture him. To do that, we must find the location of his current lab, no matter where it is!" he pointed out with a frown. "Besides, I wanna have a word with him for what he did to you..." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hang on a second!" Sunny said. "I get that finding him is important in order to stop his wacky idea of taking over Equestria, but don't you think you're thinking this way too ahead? At least stay with us for the Moon Festival!" "Omega tried to convince me on the same thing, but I'll stand my position..." Shadow said with a serious expression. "We can't risk ourselves to let Eggman do something as dangerous as stealing magic and creating another Death Egg Titan, or something even worse. I promised to help you fulfill your dream of a unified world, and to do that, we must stop both Opaline and Eggman." Sunny still wanted to talk him out of the idea, but she had to admit he had a really good point. "I assure you that, if we don't find him, we'll immediately return to Maretime Bay" Shadow stated. "Eggman can't hide forever, anyways." Sunny let out a sigh after hearing this, but still smiled up at Shadow. "I wish you good luck, then. And if you really wanna beat Eggman, kick him hard enough for me!" she said with a wink. "Oh, trust me. I'm gonna enjoy it when I do so!" Shadow stated with a confident smirk. And so, he prepared to boost away, but even if a part of him didn't wanted to do it, he still stopped himself and turned to hug Sunny, which surprised the mare, but she still smiled and hugged him back, before Shadow broke the hug and then boost away. The next day, at night, the Mane 6 and Team Sonic went to Zephyr Heights. There, the ponies are celebrating the Moon Festival Sunny mentioned earlier, with lanterns decorations hanging and some stands with supplies or food around. Everything was quiet and peaceful so far... At least until a giant decorative moon fell above them and started rolling across the festival, making ponies scream in panic. To this, both Zoom and Thunder started flying after it anxiously. "Run for your lives!" Zoom shouted to the crowd, as the ponies moved out of the way, while Thunder and her chased after the decorative moon to try and stop it. Queen Haven, the Mane 6 and Team Sonic looked shocked and surprised at what they just saw. "We literally just got here... How the heck did things are going wrong already?!" Sonic asked with wide and panicked eyes. "Plot convenience?" Knuckles replied with a bored expression. "And so…" Queen Haven started with a sheepish smile, trying to change the subject and keep the tour for the Mane 6 and Team Sonic going. "Every ten years, when the moon reaches its closest point in Equestria," she said, now gesturing to the moon, which is blocked by some the clouds, while a pegasus flew by at unusual high speed, screaming in fright and trying to gain control back on her magic. "We throw a great big party to celebrate." Then, the big decorative moon came rolling by again, with Zoom and Thunder screaming and still chasing after it, while the whole scene got the group's attention again. "Okay, Sonic has a point: How's this happening when we're just a minute and a half into the episode?" Tails questioned. "Actually two minutes..." Amy deadpanned. Queen Haven felt a bit embarrassed, before recomposing herself and look at Zipp and Pipp with a smile, also placing a hoof on her chest. "Oh, my daughters have always loved the Moon Festival!" Pipp and Zipp looked at each other, both raising an eyebrow, and also remembering when they were fillies and the time for the festival came around. Many years ago, when Zipp and Pipp were fillies, Pipp was dangled and Zipp was holding her, while being tied to a moon floating lantern. Pipp was crying and waving her hooves in fear with tears flowing out, while Zipp giggled excited, because it felt like if they were flying, although Pipp wasn't feeling the excitement like her sister. The two filly sisters were flying high in the sky outside the Zephyr Heights palace, while the moon glowed brightly, but Pipp kept crying in fear. After remembering this, Pipp looked at her sister with a dull expression at the memory that she would like to forget. "Correction, Zipp always loves the Moon Festival" Pipp corrected sarcastically and waving her hoof, while Zipp looked at her sister. "Me, haha, not so much." Zipp smirked after hearing this, while Sonic was taking deep breaths and massing his own head. "What's gotten into you now?" Amy questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I'm just trying to calm down the jokester in me so I don't burst out laughing..." Sonic replied, still taking deep breaths, while Amy deadpanned, Tails facepalmed and Knuckles rolled his eyes. "And now, as it's the first Moon Festival since magic returned, we're putting on an extra special aerobatics finale featuring Zephyr Heights' finest flyers!" Haven said with a wave of her hooves, while the Mane 5 had sparkling eyes in excitement. But then, an Aerobat Pony flew right past them while screaming, which started the group as they saw the pony screaming, and for some reason, their wings gave off an electrical charge. The pony kept flying around uncontrollably, before crashing into one of the big decorative moon's holes. "Uh-huh... 'Finest'..." Knuckles said sarcastically. "Are we sure Zipp's flying school you talked about really payed off results?" "I honestly don't know anymore..." Sonic said with a raised eyebrow. Queen Haven smiled sheepishly after this and looked nervously at the Mane 6 and Team Sonic. "Some of them are still getting to grips with the routine" she admitted. "Takes a long time to master your magic" she added and walked off, while the others followed around. "Magic's been back for a year and a half, and there's still ponies with problematic magic?" Tails questioned. "This smells fishy... Too fishy..." "Agreed. Maybe something's wrong with magic again..." Zipp pointed out. However, as Zipp started to look around, Tails' watch made a beep sound, so the young fox quickly checked it, trying to keep it as a secret from Zipp, and then an holographic screen showed him the signs of the Yellow, Blue, Red and Purple Chaos Emeralds in movement. Of course, this concerned him, but before he could investigate on the subject further, both Zipp and Him saw Berries landing in front of a stand, but his wings gave off an electric charge and blew the stand away with a huge gust of wind, while the mare attending held on and seemed shocked at what just happened. "Whoa!" Zipp said in surprise. Tails decided to let the thing of the Emeralds aside for now and looked at the two ponies with a raised eyebrow. "Okay..." he muttered confused. Then, they turned and saw three unicorns levitating three moon decorative moon, when suddenly two of them started floating in their magic as well with surprised smiles, while their third friend looked at them shocked. And finally, as Dahlia walked by, she didn't noticed that her hooves were glowing in green. And, as she stomped her hooves on the ground, Luminous Dazzle was caught in a giant flower stem, since she was walking behind Dahlia, and the giant plant started to grow. "Unicorns levitating themselves... Izzy did it once, nothing new here" Tails pointed out with a bored expression, before turning at Dahlia with a raised eyebrow. "But Floral Magic out of control? That's not normal." "Yeah... Something seems strange…" Zipp said with suspicion. "If you're planning on investigating, remember what we talked about..." Tails said with a mocking tone and smile.' Zipp groaned and rolled her eyes after hearing that. "I know, I know. Ask gently, not jump over ponies and assume things just because my instincts told me to..." she deadpanned, before smirking mockingly. "Although they were right about Misty!" Tails topped walking and his eyes widened, before he groaned loudly and facepalmed. "Me and my stupid mouth..." he complained silently. Zipp passed by and chuckled, also hitting her tail on Tails' face, while the young fox blushed a lot and gulped, before quickly catching up with Zipp. Queen Haven lead the Mane 6 and Team Sonic to a room. There, Rufus was working as the bodyguard of the place, and he moved the red waiting line out of the way. "Welcome to the Royal Box!" Haven announced, as the doors opened. At the other side of the doors, there was a room with a balcony that had an amazing view of the night sky, with tables sets and a food buffet for the Mane 6 and Team Sonic, as well as moon decorations all around. "Wow!" Izzy cheered amazed, as she and everyone else had sparkling eyes. "So cool!" Hitch commented with a wide smile, as they entered the room. "Ah, the wonders of befriending royalty!" Knuckles cheered excited. Sunny gasped as she saw the set up with sparkling eyes. "Wow! Oh, my hoofness! Incredible!" she said happily, while Sparky started chomping on the food already with sparkling eyes. "Uh, quick question" Izzy spoke, and rest turned to her, just to see that she had the red waiting line on her with a fashionable expression. "Does this clash with my mane? Ooh!" she said, holding the red waiting line, but then she looked at Rufus, who deadpanned at her before snatching the line back from her. "I was gonna tell you it's not clothing, dear..." Knuckles muttered at her, before walking her towards the table with a flirting smirk. "But regarding your question: You definitely slayed that thing!" Izzy blushed entirely after hearing that with that tone, and she chuckled sheepishly while looking away. Meanwhile, Zipp walked up to Sunny, who was distracted along Tails by the table. "Sunny, I think something's glitching out with magic again!" Zipp said concerned. "Oh, yeah, it's great having magic again..." Sunny said with a smile, not hearing what Zipp just said and getting distracted by the setup, before seeing something that made her gasp and give an excited look with sparkling eyes. "Ooh, they have confetti cannons!" After saying this, Zipp looked ahead, just when then the confettis came out of the cannons, while the crowd started cheering with sparkling eyes as well, although Zipp wasn't as excited. "Whoa!" Sunny said amazed. "Uh…" Zipp tried to say, but was cut off when the lights of the Royal Box turned off and Skye spoke through his microphone. Tails noticed Zipp's concern, and so, he deadpanned at Sunny, before whispering to Sonic. "Hey, Sonic. Didn't Sunny went through a whole-ass special ignoring Zipp's warnings, which caused magic to almost kill us all in the first place?" "Uh, yeah?" Sonic replied with a raised eyebrow. "But why are you asking about something so oddly specific, though?" "Because it's happening again..." Tails deadpanned. "What?!" Sonic said loudly. "Magic glitching or Sunny ignoring Zipp's warnings?!" "Both" Tails kept deadpanning. "Awarena kuso yarō-me!" Sonic exclaimed, but since what he said isn't rated E for Everyone, I'll let you guys investigate on your own this time. "Distinguished ponies!" Sky said with a smile. "Please stomp your hooves for... the Zephyr Heights Aerobats!" he announced with a laugh, while three pegasi came flying from behind the stage and started to do some stunts. One of them did a twirl as the three of them flew around the crowd, then they spread out, and the crowd made awestruck noises. The Mane 6 and Team Sonic watched the performance, even Zipp, who was smiling at the aerobats. "So amazed and so jealous at the same time." Then, the Aerobats swirled together in sync and flew up to pose in the air, but as the clouds showed the moon, their wings gave an electrical charge again, which made their eyes open wide at the feeling, before starting to fly around at really uncontrollable speed while screaming. Sonic's eyes widened after seeing that ponies were having electrical charges around their bodies. "HOLY CHILIDOGS!" he exclaimed out loudly. Haven saw this as well with a small smile. "Oh. I don't remember these moves in rehearsals" she pointed out, while Sunny gave an amazed expression with sparkling eyes. However, neither Zipp, Sonic nor Tails were amazed by this. "Those aren't moves..." Zipp said with concern, while the Aerobats kept flying around like crazy while screaming. "It's like... like magic is being supercharged or something!" "Those pegasi had electricity on their wings..." Sonic said anxiously with a twitchy eye, before grabbing Tails and shake him violently. "Why do they have electricity in their wings?!" "Why should I knoOoOoOw?!" Tails replied with a dizzy expression. Then, the trio heard Izzy's munching sounds, so they turned and noticed that Knuckles, Rufus and her were being levitated in Izzy's magic and eating some snacks, while none of them seemed to care at the fact that they were floating. "Well, that's just Izzy being IZZYYYYYY!!!" Sonic suddenly screamed, because when he tried to point out that Izzy was just being herself, his shoes suddenly started to glow with blue electricity and dragged him out of the room. "What the heck?!" Tails exclaimed, but then, his own powers turned on, and his tails started to spin in his own, which made him deadpan. "Aw crap..." After this, Tails was sent out of the room as well at top speed, while Knuckles felt his power turning on as well, but because he was surrounded on Izzy's magic, the only thing that happened was him braking a tea cup he was holding. Still, he slurped the content in the air because it was being levitated, and simply shrugged off the fact that his powers activated alone. At this, Zipp gave a panicked expression, before it turned serious. "I've got to get to the bottom of this before somepony gets really hurt!" she declared. Later, Zipp trotted around the festival to start her investigation. Besides the fact that Sonic was now walking by using his arms, while his feet just moved on their own in the air, and the fact that Tails tied his tails up, nothing seemed that out of place so far. So, Zipp stopped moving and turned to Berries, who was walking by. "You!" she called out, and Berries stopped to look at her surprised. "What did you eat today? Breakfast, lunch, and dinner!" Berries felt uncomfortable for a moment before replying. "Um... pancakes, pancakes…" he listed out, before gasping with a smile. "And pancakes!" After that, he giggled and then walked off, Zipp looked at Berries with wide eyes, while both Sonic and Tails came by and looked at him with shock as well. "Pancakes all day..." Zipp said surprised, placing a hoof on her chin. “Didn't even know you could do that. Huh." "Knuckles has grapes for all his meals, even for the ones that don't require grapes" Sonic pointed out with a deadpan. "And I'm pretty sure Izzy uses glitter in some of her food..." Tails pointed out. "No, I unfortunately didn't made that up..." "Okay..." Zipp cringed, looking around as well, before shaking her head and get back on track. "Anyway, pancakes wouldn't have caused magic to supercharge." "And I doubt every single pony in Equestria ate pancakes for breakfast today" Sonic pointed out. "I mean, we didn't eat pancakes for breakfast, for example." However, Zipp chuckled at him because of he was standing on his hands. "I'm sorry, Sonic, but In can barely take you serious when your head is upside down!" she mocked up and snorted. Sonic deadpanned and rolled his eyes, before quickly standing up normally again and then check that his shoes were not getting out of control, and they thankfully didn't. "Phew!" Sonic sighed in relief and smiled. "Seems like the effect is over!" "I'm still keeping my Tails tied" Tail said with a frown. "You can never be too sure." And then, Zipp saw Onyx walking by and had an idea. "You! Levitate this hat!" he quickly said, as she snatched a hat Posey was wearing, who gave an irritated look to Zipp, before tossing the hat to Onyx. Onyx simply grabbed Posey's hat in her magic, but then it flicked out with an electrical charge as well, which surprised Onyx, while Posey's hat was tossed into the distance. Onyx stood in silence for a second before speaking. "I'm, like, way better with crystals" she simply said and walked off. "She didn't noticed her horn glowing with electricity, did she?" Sonic deadpanned. "I don't think so." Tails deadpanned as well, and then, his watch beeped again, so he turned to see that the sign of the Chaos Emeralds was approaching to Zephyr Heights, which made his eyes open wide and he gasped. Zipp also gasped with wide eyes, but she did so because of what Onyx said about crystals. "Of course! The Unity Crystals!" she called out, now spreading her wings, that gave an electrical charge. "Uh, Zipp?" Sonic called out. "Maybe you wanna think twice before––" he tried to warn, but it was too late, because Zipp took off at a very high speed that not even she could do, even making the ground shake a bit. "... taking flight..." Sonic deadpanned, before catching Posey's hat with a hand, then quickly clean it and fix it. After that, he placed the hat back on Posey's head, while Posey looked at Sonic with a bored expression. "Sorry, Posey. Won't happen again. Gotta go now!" Sonic quickly apologized with a smile. Then, he walked far enough from her and grabbed Tails from his hand, before boosting ahead at top speed. Meanwhile, in the air, Zipp was flying so fast that she couldn't even slow down, as the wind was pushing back hard on her while her wings gave an electrical charge. She eventually reached the tallest tower of the castle, holding into the pole and twirling around on it before stopping. At the same time, Sonic started to run normally over the tower's wall, while Tails screamed in panic, but when the moon was visible again, his shoes glowed in blue electricity and sent him so fast that he literally ended up accelerating to the sky. "Holy Chaos!" Sonic exclaimed, but when he spotted Zipp on the pole of the tower, he smirked, and then looked at Tails. "Wanna make a Double Boost, little bro?!" Tails looked at him confused, but then he looked at Zipp on the pole and his eyes widened, before he looked back at Sonic with the same smirk and nodded in agreement. After this, they both clapped their hands together and then twirled around each other as balls, before they fused as one single and giant electrical ball of blue and yellow, and then, they both boosted towards the pole in a combined Homing Attack, landing over the ceiling. However, Sonic's shoes kept glowing in blue electricity, and soon, Tails' tails did so in yellow electricity, although they were still tied up together. "Why are our powers getting out of control for no reason?" Sonic questioned confused, as he choose to hold into the pole just in case his feet acted on their own again. "No clue, but we gotta figure it out and fast!" Tails declared. "Right! Something must be going wrong with the Crystals!" Zipp agreed, before putting on her Z-Googles and aim at the Crystal Brighthouse's direction. "Hopefully they aren't glitching, or else this'll be Maretime Bay Day all over again..." Sonic said with a concerned frown. Meanwhile, Zipp looked into her Z-Googles and zoomed into the top of the Brighthouse, seeing the Unity Crystals still in stable condition, before McSnips-a-lot showed up with a menacing look in her way. "Ah!" Zipp got startled by him. "What? What's the matter? Are the Crystals glitching again?!" Tails asked with panic. "No, they are fine..." Zipp answered, before putting her Z-Googles away and groan. "I don't get it! If it's not the Unity Crystals that's causing this, then what is?!" "I don't know, but my feet wanna take me on another unexpected and undesired trip!" Sonic said with concern, because the moon behind was showing again, and his feet moved on their own. And then, the trio watched down a group of ponies walking by a bridge, with the moon's reflection on the lake below them. Suddenly, the pegasus mare that was walking in front of them had her wings giving an electrical charge, before flying away at high speed, leaving the two ponies behind worried, so they trotted after her. However, even if that surprised Zipp, Sonic and Tails, they instead stared at the moon's reflection, because the mare was just fine until she walked by it. "It couldn't be…" Zipp said concerned, placing a hoof over her chin. "Oh, but I think it is..." Tails pointed out, also concerned. Back at the performance, the Aerobats were still flying like crazy and screaming in fear. However, the crowd was cheering, because they still believed that everything's part of the show, and even the Mane 6, Knuckles and Amy believed so, but Sunny was starting to get concerned for the Aerobats. But before getting more concerned, Sonic, Tails and Zipp arrived at her side. "Sunny! Team huddle! Now!" Zipp said seriously. "This is serious and we need to talk about it!" Tails stated with concern. "Magic's glitching again, and you learned the lesson of not ignoring warnings twice, so let's apply it!" Sonic warned with a frown. Later on, the Mane 6 and Team Sonic went back to the festival. Sonic, Tails and Zipp were quickly explaining everything they've seen and experienced so far. "We figured it out" Zipp spoke first. "It's the giant moon that's supercharging magic. Look!" she pointed to the moon. They turned and saw a pegasus stallion flying normally, but once he flew by one of the pillars, his wings suddenly gave off the electric charge and was pushed forward a bit to another pillar, which caused him to stop and look back in shock, before moving past another pillar again and get pushed forward, then again to the next whenever the moonlight shined on him. "Whoa!" Sunny said surprised, while the others looked shocked. "You may be onto something there, guys" she admitted, before turning to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles with a raised eyebrow. "Wait a second... Why are you three affected by this?" "Our powers are half-Chaos Energy and half-magic, which means that they get affected by the moon as well" Sonic explained, as he sat over while having his feet in the air, because they still moved on their own. "Is like if my feet had a mind of their own now!" "Wait... is that why you guys putted this on my hands?" Knuckles asked, as he pointed at the metallic giant yellow handcuffs that covered his entire hands. "Your strength is overboard, Knux!" Tails pointed out. "We don't want you braking stuff around, and that thing will resist the energy overboard until we can find a solution." "Right! We've gotta do something!" Zipp called out seriously. "What can we do?" Hitch asked concerned. "It's not like we can just shrink the moon." "Maybe not, but we can definitely destroy it!" Sonic said casually, but the bored looks of Tails, Knuckles and Amy, as well as the panicked ones of everyone else, clearly told him they didn't approved that idea. "I was kidding! It was a joke!" "Jokes are supposed to be funny, Hedgehog..." Knuckles deadpanned. "And even if we could, we're definitely not destroying the moon!" Amy scolded with a frown, and Sonic chuckled sheepishly once she glared daggers at him, because he felt like if she was staring at his soul. "Hmm..." Zipp muttered and tried to think on something, before looking around and see one of the ponies holding a moon lantern that blocked the others, and that finally gave Zipp an idea. "No... but we can block it!" she called out with a smile, before turning to her friends. "Everyone, grab as many lanterns as you can and follow me!" After saying this, her friends gave her determinate looks and nodded. Meanwhile, the Aerobats kept screaming and flying out of control on the performance stage Queen Haven was still in the Royal Box and saw the whole thing concerned, as one of the Aerobats passed flying right in front of her while screaming in fright. Then, Zipp came rushing to the stage while panting, before tapping on the microphone to see it was on for a second. "Uh, and now for the finale of the finale..." she announced, as she turned to her friends, who were holding a huge tarp, so she smiled. "Everypony, release your lanterns!" With this, Sunny removed the tarp, while many moon lanterns started flying away, and the crowd started cheering, as well as the rest of the Mane 6 and Teams cheered at what they did. Zipp also smiled once the lanterns were released. "Wow!" she said amazed with sparkling eyes, but then she gasped when she saw the lanterns were separating and moving around from the moon. "Oh, no! The lanterns are going all different directions! They'll never block the moonlight this way!" she called out in panic, and the others panicked as well. "Tails? Can't you fly up and gather the lanterns together?" Misty asked him with concern. "Nope!" Tails replied with concern, showing that his tied up tails were releasing yellow electricity, meaning he couldn't fly up. "Ah crap..." Knuckles muttered with concern after Tails pointed this out. With this, Sunny decided to get serious and brought out her Alicorn form, flying straight into the air in front of the moon while facing the lanterns. "I got this, ponies!" she declared with a determined smile. "Aw great! They gave her plot armor but I have to keep myself from running?! Come on!" Sonic complained. Then, Sunny flew around the lanterns with no trouble or overcharge by the moon, and she placed the lanterns together, then she used her horn to form a magical bubble around them to keep them together. The rest of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic sins Sonic himself cheered to Sunny's success, while Queen Haven and the crowd looked awed at what Sunny was doing, and Sonic just deadpanned. "Wait, how is Sunny not affected by the moon?" Zipp asked confused. "Her horn and wings are etherial. Not solid magic has no reason to be affected by the moon!" Tails explained with a smile. "That's just plot convenience..." Sonic said, still deadpanning. "Are you grumpy because the moon affects you but not her?" Amy asked with a mocking smirk. Sonic took a deep breath, and the grabbed Amy from her shoulders and shook her violently. "SHE TOOK AWAY MY PLOT ARMOR, WOMAN!" he complained out loud in anger. Meanwhile, Sunny used her magic to move the bubbled lanterns in front of the moon with a determinate look, and once they lanterns were in place, the moonlight glowed through the lanterns, giving a multi-color shine with sparkles around them, making the crowd, the rest of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic look amazed by this and with sparkling eyes. On the other hand, the Aerobat mare screamed, but then her wings stopped giving the electrical charge, and nos she is flying normally again, as well as her two partners, while they looked around surprised and confused on what just happened. Sonic, Tails and Knuckles' powers also stopped getting out of control, and Sonic once again could walk normally because of his feet not glowing anymore, while Tails could fly normally again now that his tails weren't out of control, so he untied them, and Knuckles could finally stop feeling his own hands glowing, so Tails removed the handcuffs, and Knuckles smashed his fists happily. Zipp saw all of this with a smile, so she turned to the Aerobats again and spoke through the microphone again while waving her hoof. "Over to you, Aerobats!" The Aerobats gave determined looks, then they flew up in circle formation and spread their wings in a pose, while the crowd started cheering to them. Queen Haven watched this as well with sparkling eyes. "Now that's what I call a finale!" The Mane 6 and Team Sonic were cheering on the stage, and Sunny landed between her friends, while the crowd cheered to them, as they waved and cheered back to the crowd. Zoom and Thunder watched behind them, standing next to the big decorative moon, and Zoom gave tears of joy. "It's just so inspiring and––" Zoom tried to say, but she was cut off when she leaned on the moon, and then it started rolling away again, which shocked Thunder and her, the latter groaning. "Ugh. Not again..." she facehoofed. With Posey on a stand, she was checking out one of the festival's souvenirs, while the pony stallion saw the big moon rolling towards them, so he screamed and trotted off, leaving Posey at the stand before she turned and looked with wide eyes that the moon was rolling towards her. However, since Posey was used to this crap, she simply sighed in defeat and accepted her fate. On the other hand, as the Mane 6 and Team Sonic cringed when the moon rolled over Posey, Tails' watch beeped again, so he quickly boosted away and hid behind the stage, before checking over his watch again. The data showed that the Chaos Emeralds were flying... right above him in this instant. "Huh?!" Tails exclaimed with wide and surprised eyes, so he looked up and, in fact, saw the Yellow, Blue, Red and Purple Chaos Emeralds flying over and heading into a certain direction. Tails narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but feel concerned about this, so he decided that he'll keep watching over the Chaos Emeralds signs until he could develop a proper conclusion about their attitude. After a whole week of researching, Tails finally had a conclusion. He was looking at his computer on his side of the room in the Crystal Brighthouse, and he had the 7 Chaos Emeralds tracked. All of them were now at the Starfall Islands, the place Longclaw mentioned on her message for Sonic and Sunny when the Emerald and Unity Crystal combined. Tails knew for a fact that there was a reason behind why the Chaos Emeralds were gathering there lately, and he needed to share it with his friends. So, he looked at his watch and pressed a button. "Sonic, Knuckles. Please bring Amy and the Mane 6 to the Brighthouse!" he instructed, before looking back at the computer with a frown. "There's something you guys have to see..." Meanwhile, in the computer, the images of the Chaos Emeralds were glowing and beeping, like indicating that something was happening in the Starfall Islands, something sinister... Meanwhile, at Kronos Island, the first one of the Starfall Islands, Dr. Eggman landed one of his many assets on the island, while the rest spreed to the other islands as well. Inside the asset on Kronos Island, Eggman was sitting on his Eggmobile, looking at multiple archives of the Starfall Islands he managed to gather. Despite being busy with his past plan, he had lots of free time, and after checking Opaline's library for at least 4 or 5 times, he managed to fin some books of his interest. They all talked about the Starfall Islands, and Eggman was very interested on their ancient technology. So, he gathered all the info he could and downloaded it on his computer. "Status report!" Eggman instructed to Sage. "Assets have been deployed to all islands. Supply caches have been distributed" Sage replied. "Excellent!" Eggman cheered with an evil grin. "Now I can begin surveying the islands. Soon, the long-lost technology of the Ancients will belong to me!" he stated with confidence. And then, on his screen suddenly appeared a recording, taken by Sage, of Sonic, Tails, Sunny and Zipp defeating the giant Crabmeat at the island's coast. "Doctor, apparently Sonic and his friends defeated Unit D3-CO4" Sage informed to him. "What?!" Eggman cried out with worry. "And you're telling me now?!" he asked with anger. "Analysis of data transfer shows significant delay between unit destruction and contact" Sage said through the computer. At this, Eggman growled with annoyance, before sighing heavily. "Gosh... I really miss Misty sometimes... She's a lot better than any of my previous AI's to Metal Izzy and Metal Hitch. I take the time to program life-like personalities into minions, and all it does is frustrate me" he confessed with anger. "Once–– just once!–– I'd like one of my creations to fill me with pride instead of regret!" he complained. "The relics hidden on the Starfall Islands are staggeringly advanced. Maybe once I take them for my own, I can finally craft the ultimate creation..." he suggested to himself. He pressed some buttons on his computer, and not only the images dissipated, but also his Eggmobile roared as it started to float and prepare to explore Kronos Island. "First things first! The rodents is undoubtedly on his way here. I'll have to accelerate my plans" Eggman stated, then he started to download Sage AI on a HDD. "Warning. A.I. integration untested. System stress test untested. Accelerated timetable is not advised" Sage warned. "Ah, but I developed you to protect me, and my coding is impeccable!" Eggman assured with confidence. "There's no time to waste with Sonic on the way. Hurry up and download yourself for deployment!" he ordered with annoyance. "Download complete" Sage announced. "Very good!" Eggman said with an evil grin, grabbing the disk where Sage downloaded itself. As Eggman exited the asset, his Eggmobile was received by rain, but he didn't cared at all. In fact, his machines were all water proof, so he wasn't worried a single bit. After moving around Kronos Island for a while, Eggman spotted one of the ancient technology ruins. He got down of his Eggmobile with the disc that had Sage, and grinned sinisterly. "My latest, greatest artificial intelligence will make short work of the Ancient's cyber security! And then all of their fantastic achievements will be mine to control!" Eggman stated with confidence. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC FRONTIERS X MY LITTLE PONY Author's Note WILL THE WHOLE WORLD KNOW YOUR NAME WHEN WE DANCE WITH DESTINY I'VE BEEN THERE, AND I'VE SEEN IT I'M NEVER GONNA STOP BELIEVING YOU'LL FIND YOUR FLAME Sorry, sorry, I got too excited, but can you blame me?! WE'RE MOVING TO SONIC FRONTIERS X MY LITTLE PONY NEXT WEEK!!! However, before that, I've gotta explain a few things regarding both Frontiers and Equestria Girls G5: 1- Both stories were written way back int December of 2022. Back then, I had a very vague concept of what Season 2 and Season 3 will end up being. With Season 2 out, only one change was made to Frontiers, but the final update of the game might make change other stuff as well. As for EG G5, the few things I changed were to establish which direction the plot was taking. 2- Since these two stories were made before Seasons 2 & 3, this means that Team Dark, Amy and Misty have no relevance in Frontiers nor EG G5. Well, Misty does appear in the latter, but only as a pony that shares something about Eggman's plans by the end of the story. Out of that? She's little to no relevant. Please don't hate me for excluding them in these stories, but like I said, they were written way back in December 2022. They do get mentions on why they aren't there, don't worry. 3- Since Frontiers, Season 3 and Equestria Girl G5 all release in a row, that means that TYT is going to be on its longest hiatus so far: We won't have any new Episodes until December 22nd. Yup, a 3 month hiatus because of the three stories releasing a week apart from each other (in the sense that when one of the stories finishes, you guys will only have to wait a week for the next one). 4- Finally, and I might be getting too ahead of myself here, but the title for the ninth entry in the saga is revealed in EG G5's Epilogue, so you guys might want to look out for it. I wanna apologize for rushing Sunny's recovery at the beginning of this episode, but I had to made her recover before Frontiers, specially since it justifies her attitude towards Eggman both in that story and in Season 3. Also, yes: I updated the cover, the short and long descriptions of this story again. I wanted to add Team Dark as well, but they aren't featured in the cover of these kind of stories usually, so I ended up scrapping the idea... Besides, the cover already looks full like it is now. We don't need to full it more. Now I'll leave to finish some details for Frontiers. See ya next week when it releases!
62. Bridlewoodstock 2.0Bridlewoodstock arrived... Again! Since Unicorns loved the holiday so much, they decided to celebrate it everytime the moon reached it's full phase, which is also when the Lumi-Bloom happens again, so it's perfect! Right now, in Pipp's stand, Pipp herself was twirling her mane dryer around, before flying up and wink. Pipp: I'm feelin' Fresh Like my mane is on fleek Happiness is all I need Spreadin' love from you to me Uh, Uh As Pipp started to sing, she mane dried Fifi's mane and gave her a big poofy style in a ponytail with sparkles, which made Fifi smile widely with sparkling eyes, as she touched her mane. Next, Posey got her mane covered in a mane style machine that gave a rainbow glow, before it stopped and released, which gave her mane some green highlights, and Posey smiled with sparkling eyes as well. Now, Pipp used her mane spray on Thunder, as the pegasus guard closed his eyes with a smile while Pipp sprayed him. Somethin' about the way I'm feelin' (feelin') Like everypony got a glow (Glow) Shinin' brightly with a power (Power) To spread the colors of the rainbow (Rainbow) Then, Pipp placed some style glasses on Alphabittle, who had some highlights and flowers on him, while Pipp and him took a selfie together and smiled at the camera. The next picture showed Onyx and Bongo Beats taking a selfie together, while their manes had some accessories and highlights on them. Now, the next picture showed the Mane 6's hooves together with some accessories, while Hitch hoof's had a hooficure on it and sparkles around it. Then, Pipp winked and twirled Fifi's chair around, twirling the delivery pegasus in the process as her towel came off from the twirl. Later on, Fifi, Posey and Thunder all posed at their makeover: Fifi had flowers in her mane with some purple highlights and purple eyeshadows; Posey had flowers and green highlights on her mane, a pink eyeshadow and a new hooficure with an accessory on the right side of her hind leg; and Thunder had a punk style mane with blue, green and reddish streaks, while also having some accessories on him. "Ooh! Yeah!" Pipp cheered, pointing to the three ponies with a smirk. "Check it out. That is how it's done! Love it!" She sang the last word, then came up to Fifi, who was wearing heart-shaped glasses with a smirk. "It's giving style…" Pipp started, now flying up to Posey and smiling a little, also lifting her hoof up that gave a sparkly glow. "It's giving sparkle…" She continued, now going with Thunder. "It's giving glam!" She finished, while Thunder smiled and spread his wings in a pose. The crowd of ponies in front of her watched and clapped their hooves together with sparkling eyes. "I can't wait for my turn!" Windy said in excitement. "Great!" Pipp said with a smile, while the rest of the Mane 6 were behind her, and she brought out her mane spray and twirled it around. "Who's next to get festival-fabulous?" She asked to the crowd, but as she pressed on the mane spray, it only gave out a tiny spray, which made her eyes widen, and she gasped in shock. "Oh no! Am I out of manespray!?" "Uh, Pipp?" Zipp called out to her sister, while Amy and her were next to a pile of boxes. "It's not just manespray..." "We're out of everything!" Amy exclaimed in panic, as she showed the empty boxes, while a raccoonicorn held out a mane spray bottle. "And the line of ponies isn't going to get smaller anytime soon..." Rouge said a bit concerned, since she was checking out all the ponies outside of Pipp's stand, waiting for their turn to get some makeover as well. "What?!" Pipp said with a panicked look. "What happened to all the beauty supplies I ordered from Mane Melody?!" In a random place of Bridlewood, the Mobian males stared at a swamp. This swamp in particular had nothing so special... Except for the fact that it had a Pegasus Cart stuck on it with all the supplies Pipp's looking for in the Bridlewoodstock festival. Sonic, Shadow and Knuckles stared at it with bored expressions, and Tails looked at it with a raised eyebrow, while Omega had no clue on what was exactly wrong. "Okay... How the hell did we ended up like this again?" Sonic asked. "You and I were dragging the cart, Hedgehog," Shadow replied with his arms crossed. "Then Knuckles sneezed, hit Tails, who hit the cart, which hit us, which made us trip and sent the cart flying..." "Huh... So I pushed the cart on you two..." Tails realized. "Does that makes me strong, or an idiot?" "For your own sake, Tails, I'm not answering that," Knuckles deadpanned. Pipp, Amy and Rouge got nervous after remembering that the guys went to grab the supplies. To this, Sunny chuckled nervously and sweated a bit. "Uh… Nopony panic" She told the three girls, who looked at her nervously, but Sunny gave them a calming smile. "I'm sure they're just running late!" And yet, the trio didn't felt assured as she ran up to the tarp. "But all these ponies have come for… our… makeovers!" Pipp pointed out, as she began to hyperventilate. "We can't keep them waiting!" "R-Right..." Amy said nervously, as she shook her head. "I-I think we should keep the other ponies busy until the supplies arrive!" "Agreed!" Pipp said with a nod. "In the meantime, I have to find that shipment or my reputation will be ruined!" She stated, now walking up to the tarp, before giving a fierce expression. "No! I'll handle it" She then turned to her friends. "Can you ponies keep things running while I fix this?" "Of course!" Sunny said with a smile. "And, uh, how exactly?" "Oh just the basics..." Pipp shrugged with a small smile, now giving to her friends the things they needed to use. "You need french braiding, fresh branding, pierce branding and floral branding," She stated, as she gave Izzy some brushes and a mirror, gave Zipp a box full of accessories, gave Misty some brushes, gave Sunny some flowers, and then went up to Hitch with a frown. "And make sure to post everything on Clip Trot and Ponygram!" She added, making Hitch feel nervous, while Pipp flew off the tart. "Okay, bye!" The rest of the Mane 6 just stood there with blank stares because they understood nothing of what she just said, while Amy and Rouge were not so sure about this. "Uhhh, did you ponies get any of that?" Izzy asked her friends confused. The others shook their heads. "No/Neigh way/Not a word/Na-ah," Zipp, Sunny, Hitch and Misty said together, not getting what Pipp told them either. "Couldn't she had write it down, at least? It would've been nice..." Misty pointed out with concern. Then, Sunny came up to the tarp and opened it slightly, seeing that Windy was looking at her phone with an excited smile, while other ponies were waiting in line. "But, I guess we'll just have to improvise!" Sunny stated to her friends. "I don't like were this is going..." Rouge muttered with a deadpan, while Amy at her side gulped nervously Later on, the rest of the Mane 6 started their jobs. Yet for some reason they choose Zipp to be the one in charge of social media... Yeah, this isn't ending well. She looked at her phone-tablet and prepared to make a ponygram livestream. "Ponygram. Okay. How hard can this be?" Zipp asked herself with a smile as she started the live, turning the camera around and making it face her, while some emojis started appearing. "Oops. Is it on? Am I live?" She asked herself as she tapped the screen, just to realize that it was on. "Uhhhh, h-hey! Uh, this is Zipp, coming at you live from the Mane Melody Festival Fabulous Tent at Bridlewoodstock!" She then turned the camera to Hitch. "And as you can see, everything is going great!" However, things were not going great, because Hitch looked nervous and smiled that way, as he brushed on an elderly unicorn mare mane, when some kind of braid came off, and that made Hitch panic. "I have no idea what I'm doing!" He cried out in panic, which startled the elder mare. At that, Zipp turned the camera away from Hitch and sweated with a nervous smile, before turning the camera to Sunny, who was doing Dahlia's mane, who had pink highlights and eyeshadows, while her mane was tied up with flowers and a wing accessory on it. However, Sunny was having trouble tying it up, to the point she made it too tight, and that made Dahlia's mane to fall again and cover her head. "Hey!" Dahlia called out from under her mane, while Sunny felt nervous and guilty. Amy facepalmed and Rouge rubbed her eyes to not explode in anger against the two earth ponies/lovebirds. Then, Izzy then came up from behind Sunny, who looked confused at her unicorn friend. "Mud masks are just mud, right?" She asked them cheerfully, as she held out a bowl full of mud that had some sticks on it, and Sunny gave her an unamused expression before facing the camera. "Hello!" Izzy cheered, as she waved her hoof to the camera. Zipp turned the camera back to her with a nervous expression. "Uh, so, uh, yeah, make sure you stop by! Uh, okay, goodbye!" She then tapped on her phone to stop the streaming, but accidentally turned on the picture filters, the first one showing her as a clown. "How do I turn it off?" She tapped again, making it look like she's a bull. "H-How do I turn it off?!" She then tapped again to turn off the stream, but had trouble and got closer to the camera in panic. "That's it! Give me the camera, Zipp!" Amy's voice called out, as she pushed Zipp away and snatched her phone from her hooves, while she fell to the ground with a yelp, as Amy turned off the livestream. Somewhere in the forest, Pipp saw the whole thing and gasped, before tossing her phone away. "What! Are! They! Doing?!" Pipp asked herself in panic, before she turned and saw something that made her gasp more. "No, my supplies!" She saw that Sonic and Shadow were tied to the cart with Pipp's supplies, as they both ran on their places to try and take the cart out of the mud, with Tails, Knuckles and Omega pushing it from behind, but they weren't moving the cart a single inch. To this, Pipp rushed to them and frowned. "What in the name of styling happened here?!" The five of them stopped what they were doing and looked at Pipp with wide eyes, while Sonic even panicked and gulped with a sheepish smile. "Um... Hi, uh, Little Pipp!" Sonic greeted her nervously with a eave of his hand. "Don't you 'Little Pipp' me, Sonic!" Pipp said with a frown, as she dragged Sonic from his jacket. "Care to explain what is the meaning of this?!" She asked enraged, pointing at the cart stuck in the mud. Sonic chuckled sheepishly. "Well, long-story short: One of us sneezed, then pushed the other, then pushed the cart, which made two of us trip, and then the cart was sent flying and got stuck on the mud..." He explained nervously. "Are we, uh, getting grounded for this?" He added with a slight blush, and Shadow at his side rolled his eyes. "You are if you don't help me to get this cart out of here!" Pipp stated, as she went to the back of the cart and tried to push it free, grunting in the process and hitting it with her back, before she started sobbing a bit, and then she got a determined expression. "This is a style emergency!" She stated, as she went up and flew around, before flying fast like a blur with a roar. Pipp whooshed past two raccoonicorns, who were having some tea and crumpets, just when Pipp hit her supply cart with a slam, which startled the two raccoonicorns as they gave bored expressions. Pipp, on the other hand, hit the cart face first and then slid off it. Pipp fell into the mud puddle, then she got up, now covered in mud while spitting some out, before starting to sob again. Sonic immediately went to help her get out of the mud and tried to clean off as much mud as possible, also drying some of her tears with his thumbs. "Pipp, we'll get that thing out of there, even if it takes us the whole day!" Sonic assured her with that smile that always melted her heart and cheered her up, which caused in her the desired effect for the Blue Blur. Meanwhile, Shadow lay on the cart with a bored expression. "I'll never understand her bipolarity..." "She's a girl, dumbass," Knuckles pointed out. "All of them are like that. Sometimes, Izzy also goes from one emotion to another one with no logical reason behind..." "Zipp too. And trust me, you don't want to see her with a bipolarity attack..." Tails deadpanned with his arms crossed. Just then, Omega came by and looked at the three other Mobians. "I'll never understand woman..." "Dude, we're all on that page here..." Knuckles deadpanned, while Tails and Shadow nodded in agreement. Back at Mane Melody, Izzy was going through some stuff in a couple of bowls. Then, Izzy then gasped with sparkling eyes at the stuff. "There's so much cool stuff here! Anything can be a hair accessory!" She said cheerfully, as she held out a spoon and placed it on Thunder's mane. "Like this! Or this!" She then placed a kabob stick on Posey's mane. "Um.../Wait…" Both Thunder and Posey said in unison, trying to say something to Izzy, but then their eyes widened when they saw Izzy rolling in a wagon full of dead branches, twigs, and some crystals. "I found this in a swamp!" Izzy cheered, twirling around and holding up a pile, also smiling with sparkling eyes. Both Posey and Thunder cringed at this, since they had a bad feeling of what Izzy was planning. Meanwhile, Pipp watched how things were going through the livestream. First, she saw Hitch holding up a face mask jar and a brush, while he saw a group of ponies, including the Pippsqueaks, in front of him, as the Pippsqueaks giggled a bit. "Okay. Mud masks. It's just like painting a wall... right?" Hitch asked nervously, as he held up the brush that had some mud mask on it. Soon, we see through the livestream that Hitch was applying mud masks on the ponies, but he was brushing them too hard, which obviously made the ponies grunt a bit in pain. The Pippsqueaks were groaning too from the messy mud mask Hitch gave them, and Seashell even started to tear up. "Ew!/Hey!/You got mud in my mane!" They called out. Hitch smiled sheepishly at this and waved at the camera with the brush. "What is he doing?!" Pipp's voice asked in panic. "Screwing things up. Nothing new," Knuckles voice said in a bored tone. The next scene showed Izzy putting some mud, rocks and twigs on Onyx, while Sunny and Misty watched nervously, also sweating a bit. "It's swamp chic!" Izzy cheerfully said with a wink, while Sunny and Misty smiled nervously and Onyx gave Izzy a look. "That's not even a style, Izzy!" Rouge's voice said from behind in anger, followed by a groan from her. To this, Zipp looked nervously at the camera, because things were clearly going very wrong so far. After watching all of this, Pipp felt completely in shock, and the boys around her as well. They were all still covered in mud, and they couldn't still get the cart off the swamp so far... Although they were never gonna if they kept watching the whole livestream, anyways. "This is a nightmare! We've got to get back in there!" Pipp said, as she started to push the cart again. Soon, Knuckles and Tails joined her, while Sonic and Shadow went to the front part and tried to pull it out of there, and Omega joined the two hedgehogs on this side as well. At first, it seemed that the cart was actually moving and was finally going to get out of there, but then, Sonic and Shadow ended up boosting away without the cart, and Omega flew away as well, while Knuckles, Tails and Pipp got pushed back, falling on the swamp and getting more mud over them. The trio got out and cough mud, while Pipp gave a bored expression. "COME ON!" "This is starting to get annoying and stupid..." Tails said with a frown. After that, he took a deep breath and then dived on the swamp, as he started to push the cart from below. Seeing what he wanted to do, Knuckles and Pipp smiled and quickly got behind the cart to push it again, while Sonic, Shadow and Omega came back, all of them having leaves attached to their bodies. Yet, once they saw that the rest were still trying, they quickly went and started to pull the cart again, while this time around, it did started to move. And, after some effort, the cart finally got out of the swamp, all thanks to the fact that Tails pushed it from below. "Yes!/Yeah!" Knuckles and Pipp cheered, while Tails took a deep breath to catch some air back after pushing the cart. "Nicely done, little bro!" Sonic cheered to him as well, and Tails smiled, while they both fist bumped. "I suggest we move forward before this festival leads to disaster," Omega informed. "Right! We gotta get back to Bridlewoodstock!" Pipp stated. "Then get on board, and let this faker and I drag you back to the festival!" Sonic stated, as both him and Shadow were tied to the cart. Soon, Tails, Knuckles and Pipp got over the cart and hanged to it, while Omega grabbed it from behind, and as Sonic started to run over his place, making an 8 shape with his feet, Shadow charged up his air shoes. And then, they both boosted away with the cart, heading towards Bridlewoodstock. Back at the tent, Zipp, Sunny, Misty and Hitch were... doing their best, I guess. Then, Sunny chuckled nervously. "Ponies, I have no idea what I'm doing!" "And here I thought that styling wasn't that difficult..." Misty chuckled sheepishly. "Pipp makes this looks so easy!" "You're telling me!" Zipp agree, holding up a plant vine and a crystal. "I don't know how to do any of this stuff!" "Okay, time for an intervention!" Amy said, as Rouge nodded and followed along, with the two Mobian girls approaching the ponies. "Guys, you are thinking this way too much." "Huh?" The ponies said confused. "You don't need to think through this so much!" Rouge said, while rolling her eyes. "Instead of worrying so much on what Pipp's gonna think, worry on how they wanna look!" However, the ponies but Izzy blinked a few times, clearly not getting what they meant. "Seriously?!" Amy said with anger. "What is so hard to understand?! Just don't worry about it and enjoy what you do!" Just then, Izzy got between her friends and giggled. "What Amy and Rouge are saying is that you don't need to worry so much!" She said to her friends, as she brought out a pack of flowers. "Just. Have. Fun!" She added, singing the last word and tossing some flowers around. "Uh, what do you mean, Iz?" Misty asked confused. "I'll show you!" Izzy stated cheerfully, as she grabbed some makeup tools and got to a pony with a brush and manedryer on her hooves. Then, she quickly made makeover, giving the mare a style that had some leaves and vines, also making the mane more poofy. The others watched her confused, while Izzy walked past them with some flowers and vines on her. Next, she did the pony's hooves with blue hooficure, which made others' eyes widen. Finally, Izzy dusted the mare's hooves with a smile and then showed the pony. The pony mare looked at her new style, wearing a green cape with red flowers, some leaves on her neck and blue bubble hooficures. She smiled with sparkling eyes at her new look. "Yes! Exactly!" Amy said, as she quickly grabbed her phone and livestreamed the whole thing. "She got it fast!" "Have I ever told you you're my favorite pony, Izzy?" Rouge asked her playfully, before zooming to Zipp and push her towards a certain direction. "Now you go!" Pipp: I'm feelin' Fresh Like my mane is on fleek Happiness is all I need Spreadin' love from you to me I'm feelin' Fresh Seeing what Amy, Rouge and Izzy meant, Zipp decided to try it out herself. She came up behind Posey, holding up a flower and thinking what to do with it, while Posey gulped nervously. Then, Zipp smiled and color painted Posey's fur, putting some flowers on her. "Wow! This is so cool!" Posey said with a wide smile as she looked at herself, while Zipp smiled from the compliment and Amy came by to livestream the moment. ...Celebration never ends Oh, 'cause we always a ten Ooh-hoo-hoo-hooooo-hooooo Then, Izzy did another pony's look for the festival, while said pony mare smiled with sparkling eyes. Next, Misty did Windy's makeover, while the pegasus mare looked at herself in the mirror. She had blue and green highlights on her mane and tail, a blue cape with plant vines on it, and a homemade crown made of crystals, which made Misty smile at her work, while Rouge arrived and livestreamed that after doing the same with Izzy. Now, Hitch held up a face brush in front of Thunder, who got his eyes closed while Hitch felt really nervous and used the puff on Thunder, which made Hitch panic a little, until Sunny came up to him. "We've got this!" Sunny encouraged Hitch with a smile, as she brought out her face brush and puffed it in green makeup. I'm my best self, everypony can tell Ooh-hoo-hoo-hooooo-hooooo I'm my best self, everypony can tell Izzy and Misty placed a flower crown on a pony each, as the ponies smiled with sparkling eyes, with the two unicorn mares smiling back. Zipp painted more flowers on the ponies, while a pony mare smiled at her look and made a pose. And finally, Sunny and Hitch finished Thunder's look, now having multicolor face makeup, and he looked at his new appearance. "Whoa! Festival style is wild!" Thunder said with a smile and sparkling eyes, also laughing a bit, while Amy was livestreaming this with a smile. "See? It wasn't so difficult now, was it?" Rouge asked the ponies playfully, also laying on Hitch's shoulder with a smirk. The rest of the Mane 6 nodded, then looked at each other with smiles, but just when they were going to hooftap each other, they heard Pipp yelping. The young pegasus came rushing in through the tent, while the Mobian males dragged the cart inside with grunts, and both Sonic and Shadow were sweating and panting exhausted. "I'm back! Everyone, stop panicking!" Pipp called out, but then she realized that nopony was panicking. "Huh?" She said confused and surprised, because she saw the ponies liking her friends' work, including Jazz as she walked by. "Check out how different I look!" Windy said to Posey in excitement, while Posey had a new mane look with two buns tied with three branches that had leaves. "I love these eco-friendly accessories!" Posey added with a smile, as she and Windy took a picture together with their new looks. Tails and Knuckles, who were over Omega's shoulders, got down and looked with wide eyes at the ponies around. "Whoa..." Tails said amazed. "I wasn't expecting this considering what we saw earlier on the livestream..." "Ditto..." Knuckles agreed with a nod. Omega looked around and scanned all the ponies around for a while. "I find 0 customers unpleased. I label this situation as not what my parameters expected." Pipp could only silently agreed with what Omega said, because she wasn't expecting so many happy customers, either. "Oh, thank hoofness!" Hitch said in relief with sparkling eyes, as he and the rest of Pipp's friends approached her. "This makeup stuff is way harder than it looks!" Zipp added a bit concerned. "But it was fun!" Sunny pointed out with a smile. "Even though it took us a while to get the hang of it, heheh..." Misty chuckled sheepishly. "And we might or not might had pushed them in the right direction!" Amy added with a smirk, as she and Rouge fist bumped each other. "You like what we did? Hmm?" Izzy asked, as she, Sunny and Misty looked at Pipp with smiles and sparkling eyes. "Ponies, I…" Pipp started, before giving a smile with sparkling eyes as well. "I love it!" She cheered, before she looked at the ponies her friends did their makeup on and gave a gasp. "Oh, so unique! So creative! I mean, maybe not quite as polished as I'd do it, but…" She said, after looking at the two ponies, Posey and Windy, also inspecting the looks before returning to her friends with a smile. "But maybe that's what festival fashion is about. Trying something new!" She added, giving sparkling eyes again. "I'm inspired! What do you say, ponies? Let's get styliiiiing!" She sang, while holding some hoof polish and a curling iron with sparkling eyes and a smile. The rest of the Mane 6 smiled in response, but as the ponies went to keep styling, Amy and Rouge came to notice that Sonic and Shadow were panting exhausted and sitting down on a pair of chairs. "Uh... What the hell happened to you two?" Rouge asked with a raised eyebrow. "We ran 9.4 kilometers in unison while dragging a cart full of makeup, a pegasus, a fox, an echidna, and a 1230 kg robot..." Sonic replied with an anxious look. Amy and Rouge's eyes widened after Sonic said that. "... I... Wasn't expecting that kind of answer..." Amy confessed. "I don't want to see that cart in my life ever again––" Shadow tried to say, but as he looked at his side, his eyes widened when he saw the cart with Pipp's supplies. "OH, COME ON!" Ooh-hoo-hoo-hooooo-hooooo I'm my best self, everypony can tell Ooh-hoo-hoo-hooooo-hooooo Pipp made a homemade flower crown with crystals and held it with a wide smile and sparkling eyes, as she turned and looked at Izzy, who was holding the same thing, and the two smiled at each other. Then, Zipp placed a flower on Fifi's mane, as the delivery pegasus smiled with sparkling eyes, while Zipp and Pipp watched with a smile. Next, Pipp did Flare's face, as the pegasus mare held up a mirror and looked at her makeup face, while Pipp turned to Hitch with a smirk, since Hitch was writing it down on his journal, and the two ponies smiled at each other. Now, Pipp and Misty did a couple of ponies' hooves together, as they finished and the two ponies smiled at their hooficures, with Pipp and Misty smiling at each other as well. Then, Sunny held up a brush and manespray, as Pipp did the same and the two smiled at each other. The Mane 6's Cutie Marks began to glow together, and they took a picture along Rouge and Amy after having everypony done and ready for the second Bridlewoodstock Music Festival in Equestria. THE END Author's Note Honestly, that joke with Rufus not recognizing Pipp just because she was covered in mud was stupid. I got rid of that, thankfully. I kind of didn't had a full picture with this episode as a whole, to be honest, because I didn't planned to use it at all at first. And yet, here it is... I'm satisfied with the final result, even though I know it could've been handled better. Also, I didn't said this in the previous chapter, but don't expect the remaining episodes to tease MYM Season 4, because I want to keep that season as a massive surprise, even if it involves the multiverse. Anyways. I'm honestly not excited to make the next TYT Bridlewoodstock themed episode, because I hate it to be frank, but I'm still gonna do it because I know myself: I won't have peace ever again if I don't adapt it. By the way, happy holidays, everyone! I hope you all have a good time and enjoy Christmas with your beloved ones. Thanks for an amazing year on the platform! That's all for today. See you next time!
63. Diva and ConquerYeah, Bridlewoodstock 2.0 is still up. On a stage, Rufus was showing off his magic tricks, having Bongo Beats inside, as they were in front of a crowd of ponies. Just then, Pipp flew up to the front of the stage with a smile. "That's our open mic staaaage!" She sang to Electric Blue, giving them a tour around Bridlewoodstock, with the rest of the Mane 6 following behind them. Now, Pipp gestured to the food truck stands behind her, as we see Team Sonic moving around with food. Sonic had a Chilidog, what a shock; Amy was eating Strawberry Shortcake; Knuckles was holding at least 7 bags full of grapes; and Tails was eating Mint Flavored Ice Cream. Team Dark was also around, with Shadow strangely brushing Seashell's mane; Rouge fixing some makeover on Peach Fizz, since it got ruined when the three fillies were playing around; and Omega was slowly moving his left arm in circles, while Glory hang to it and giggled, feeling like in some kind of Amusement Park attraction since Omega wanted to entertain her. "Here's the food truck village where you can get everything to eat!" Pipp said with a smile. Electric Blue smiled, as the group and the Mane 6 kept walking, but Izzy was still standing with a thoughtful look. "Everything?" Izzy repeated, before smiling cheerfully with sparkling eyes. "I love everything!" "And ta-da!" Pipp cheered, while gesturing to three big tents. "Your very own super-glam V.I.P. tents!" "Thanks, Pipp," Fretlock said, while Jam Donut and Arpreggia smiled. "We just need our gear and outfits and we're ready to rock!" Just then, Hitch was coming in with Sparky on his back, both grunting a bit and pushing a pile of luggages with tired looks. "Did you… really need…" He started, before a luggage fell on his head. "...all of this stuff?" Electric Blue frowned after Hitch said this, but as Fretlock raised a hoof to reply... "Um, Electric Blue are stars," Pipp pointed out in defense and with a frown as well. "If they say they need something, they need––" She was suddenly cut off when the ground started to shake. "Whoa. Whoa!" Hitch said, as he tried to balance himself with the shaking, but then suddenly, the ground beneath him and Sparky cracked, as they fell over with the luggages. "Whoa!" The V.I.P tents also fell down as well in the process. "My microphone!" Arpeggia called out in shock. "Our gear!" Fretlock called out next. "Not my lucky underpants!" Jam Donut cried out while raising his hoof. "Hitch!" Sunny and Misty called out in panic. "The super-glam V.I.P tents!" Pipp cried out, as she placed her hooves on her cheeks, while her friends gave her unamused expressions. Soon, the ground started shaking again. "Whoa!" Hitch called out through the hole, as mud then sprouted out of it, with Hitch and Sparky along with it. "Whoooaaaa!" he cried out again. Electric Blue and the rest of the Mane 6 watched with wide eyes, before they were covered in mud. And, just as Hitch screamed in fright, he was caught in the air by Tails, with Sparky landing on the fox's head. Soon, Tails slowly descended and placed Hitch on the ground, while he also placed Sparky on his back, and the mud sprout decreased, giving a squirt. Tails cleaned up his gloves and began to walk away, just to get stopped by Electric Blue, who were frowning at him. "You saved that guy and the dragon, but not our stuff?!" Fretlock asked Tails with anger. To this, Tails deadpanned and rolled his eyes in annoyance. "I miss the part where that's my problem," He retorted, before walking away. "Also, your music is mid!" He added, while Electric Blue stared at him with shocked looks and disbelief. Yeah, Tails has a huge grudge against them after Fretlock referred to him as 'The fella that's always following Pipp's boyfriend', so he acts very savage with them, feeling absolutely no shame as well. "Uh... What was that?" Misty asked confused, referring to the earthquake, the hole in the ground and the mud sprouting out of the floor. "Aw!" Izzy said in a cute tone, as she placed her hoof on her cheek with a smile. "The last sinkhole of the year! So cute!" She said happily, now placing both hooves on her cheeks, while her friends looked at her with bored expressions. Later, the Mane 6 and Electric Blue stopped next to the Marestream. "So, since your V.I.P. tents are…" Pipp began with a sheepish smile, before clearing her throat, while Electric Blue gave her dull expressions. "Unavailable. Here is your extra super-glam V.V.I.P. home of the festival, the Marestream!" Then, Izzy got next to Electric Blue with a button on her hoof, as she pressed said button. "With one teensy press, it becomes the most ultimate glamping van ever!" She cheered quietly, while the Marestream opened up its awning and the carpet, tables and picnic stuff came out, and now they were all set, with the Mane 6 smiling at it. Electric Blue just looked at the Marestream for a second, before a pony mare spoke through the speaker. "Electric Blue, to the main stage please?" The mare announced. "Well, it's not gonna be the same since everything we need is in a sinkhole now..." Fretlock said sarcastically, as he gave a disappointed expression. "But, hey, come on. Let's get this over with." "Wait, wait, wait!" Sunny quickly said to Electric Blue. "What if we can find what you need so that you can still have a great show?" "I guess there's a few things that would help," Fretlock said, going give Sunny's idea a shot. "Hello? Electric Blue to the stage. Huh? Is this thing even working?" The announcer called out again. "What about the crowd?" Arpeggia asked after an eye roll. "Don't worry!" Hitch called out, as he skid backwards in front of his friends with confident smiles. "We've got this!" He declared, as he and Sparky put on glasses while Sparky laughed a bit. Knuckles was laying on a food truck while using a toothpick. Soon enough, Hitch arrived to his side. "Hey, Knux! I need your help!" "With what–– Yipes!" Knuckles exclaimed, since Hitch didn't explained himself and simply dragged him away. On the main stage, the crowd was waiting for Electric Blue to appear. I mean, anyone could expect this, since there was techno music playing in the background... But instead, Hitch, Knuckles and Sparky were the ones to appear. "Hellooooo, Bridlewoodstock!" Hitch called out, while the three of them were smiling sheepishly. The crowd of ponies stared at them for a moment, before they all frowned and brought out tomatoes. Back with the rest of the Mane 6 and Electric Blue, Fretlock brought out a big list. "We can't perform in muddy outfits," Fretlock pointed out with a bored expression. "New outfits? On it!" both Sunny and Zipp said with determined smiles. "And our manes stink!" Arpeggia added, as she sniffed her muddy mane and cringed in disgust. "Ugh. Literally." "Leave that to me!" Pipp declared, as she twirled her mane dryer around with a confident smile. "Oh, oh! And an 'everything' bagel would be nice!" Jam Donut said with a smile while his bandmates looked at him confused. "You know, for energy!" "Everything on one bagel?!" Izzy repeated in shock with wide eyes, before getting next to Jam Donut and chuckling. "You've come to the right pony!" "Oh, oh! Can I help you, Izzy?!" Misty asked with a smile and sparkling eyes. Izzy gasped, before putting her hoof around Misty's neck. "Misty, I was gonna ask for your help, anyways!" "Okay, ponies," Sunny called out with a smile, while Izzy and Misty came next to her. "Let's get this show back on the road! I mean, t-the stage!" She quickly corrected, extending her hoof in the air. The rest of the girls placed their hooves together and hooftapped each other, then raised their hooves in the air, and then trotted off to get the stuff for Electric Blue. Pipp: Fresh Like my mane is on fleek Happiness is all I need Spreadin' love from you to me I'm feelin' Fresh Magic all around my friends Izzy and Misty went to the food stands, first stopping at a bagel stand. Izzy pointed to everything on the menu, while the pony mare vender smiled and she gave Izzy an 'everything' bagel, just like Jam Donut asked. Izzy levitated the bagel with her magic and smiled with sparkling eyes, while Misty looked confused at the giant bagel. However, as the two mare walked off, Izzy stopped and thought of something, turning to the other food stands with sparkling eyes and waved at them, which made Misty cringe, because she knew what was her plan, and she didn't liked it. At the main stage, things were... interesting. Knuckles was on a unicycle, holding Hitch over his shoulders, while Hitch had Sparky on his head. Knuckles was trying to keep balance on the cycle, while Sparky was juggling some balls to try and impress the crowd, until he dropped one. Posey was among the crowd, and she smirked mischievously, while she and the crowd held up their tomatoes again. Celebration never ends Oh, 'cause we always a ten Ooh-hoo-hoo-hooooo-hooooo I'm my best self, everypony can tell Knuckles, Hitch and Sparky saw this and gave nervous smiles, but then, Knuckles accidentally lead the unicycle backwards, which made it trip over the ball Sparky dropped, and Sparky fell off of Hitch, landing on the ground with a split, which caused him to release his dragon fire in the process. Meanwhile, both Knuckles and Hitch yelled in surprise, with Knuckles loosing his balance, while the two balls Sparky tossed in the air were hit by his dragon fire and got turned into fireworks. As Knuckles tripped from the unicycle, he managed to land in the floor while doing a pose, with Hitch accidentally landing on his hand while also doing a pose, as the fireworks went off behind him. "Awwww!" The crowd said, as they started cheering with smiles, except for Posey, who looked at the crowd in shock before whimpering in anger, because she really wanted to launch that tomato to Hitch and Knuckles. I'm my best self, everypony can tell When did this mirror get so gorgeous? Who's that? Is that me? In the air, Zipp was flying over the festival to look for any clothing she could bought for Electric Blue, when she saw Rufus and Bongo Beats at their stage, with Rufus still doing his magic trick, while Zipp smiled and flew down towards them. Just then, Rufus pulled the middle part of Bongo's box out, while Bongo Beats looked surprised. However, Zipp flew past them and made the two twirl around a bit, leaving them dizzy. Rufus realized that his cape was gone and turned where Zipp flew off, but then Zipp flew by again, taking the background of the stage, which made Rufus and Bongo Beats spin around again as they fell to the floor. Rufus was looking Dizzy, while Bongo saw that his three boxes stacks now toppled to the ground, and his tail part revealed an earth pony stallion in a box, who gave a sheepish smile and waved at the crowd. Back in the Marestream, Pipp was working on Electric Blue's looks. "How's this?" Pipp twirled Arpeggia first. "What about this?" She twirled Fretlock next. "Uh, maybe one of these?" Now she twirled Jam Donut, trying different styles to see if it fit them. However, none of them were really liking anything that Pipp was doing to their manes, which made the pegasus mare scream in panic Around the carnival games set for the Festival, Team Sonic was moving across them. Knuckles choose to leave Hitch and Sparky on their own and go back with his team because he didn't wanted to get smashed with tomatoes. The team approached to one of your typical 'Basketball Dunk' stand, one where Sonic and Tails decided to play against each other. In the end, Sonic made 287 points, while Tails wasn't so far with 263 points. However, as they were about to move away, Knuckles saw a 'Strength Test' stand and immediately went to it, grabbing the hammer from the stand and managing to hit the highest score in one single swing and with no effort. Of course, he smirked confidently, but Amy at his side rolled her eyes, before grabbing the hammer and doing the same. Yeah, she applied way too much force, because she broke the whole game, even making it release some sparkles. Team Sonic cringed at this, as Knuckles and Amy stepped back while the whole team widened their eyes, before they all looked at each other. Then, Sonic gestured to his back, with the rest nodding in agreement, and they all walked away while whistling innocently. With Izzy and Misty on the food stands, things were going... complicated... See, Izzy was giggling and levitating some popcorn over the 'everything' bagel, which was leaving all the food stands without food because of her. Just then, one pony arrived to the popcorn stand and was about to request some. "It's all gone, folks!" Luminous Dazzle, the pony attending the stand, announced to the pony, who frowned at Izzy and Misty as they walked away. "We're so sorry, everypony!" Misty apologized with a sheepish smile, as she pushed Izzy away of the food trucks. I feel meeeee! Sunny was with Dahlia, giving her puppy eyes and tapping her hooves together. Dahlia, for some reason, was not really on board with whatever Sunny suggested her, but in the end, she sighed, before lifting up her hoof and activate her earth pony magic, as she stomped her glowing hoof to the ground. I'm feelin' Fresh Like my mane is on fleek Happiness is all I need A plant sprouted, and it wrapped itself around Sunny, with vines and flowers sprouting over her. Once they stopped growing, Sunny was covered in flowers and leaves while keeping her balance, which made Dahlia thought she got a little overboard. However, Sunny smiled at Dahlia, probably assuring her that she didn't needed help. Spreadin' love from you to me I'm feelin' Fresh On the main stage, Hitch and Sparky were dancing, while the crowd lifted their hooves up and down in a pattern, trying to see if Hitch made any mistake so they could throw tomatoes at him. Yes, Posey was eager for him to fail, what a surprise. Magic all around my friends Celebration never ends Oh, 'cause we always a ten With Izzy and Misty, Fifi placed a cherry on top of Izzy's 'Everything' bagel. At this point, every food from the stands were stack together into one giant mega bagel, which made everypony around look in shock, even Misty herself. However, Izzy smiled cheerfully and hopped away with the 'everything' bagel, with the other stands closing since they are out of food. "Um, Izzy? I don't think this is a good idea, anymore!" Misty said with worry, as she rushed behind her. At the carnival games, Omega apparently was hanging out with the Pippsqueaks. Shadow and Rouge were just following behind because they didn't wanted another incident similar to what happened in Maretime Bay when Tails and Zipp were repairing his body and he had to use another one. Soon, the fillies stopped at one of the typical carnival games and saw a set of three plushies. The three plushies were resembling Omega, and the Pippsqueaks wanted them, because they were looking at them with sparkling eyes. However, Omega had knowledge on how carnival games were usually a scam. So, he approached to Shadow and Rouge with an idea on how to win the game: They payed for three tries on the game, but they grabbed the balls and charged them on Omega's left cannon. After that, Omega aimed at three blanks at the same time and shoot, hitting all of them at one shot. The pony in charge of the game dropped his jaw and was about to object, but two things stopped him: The first one, the happy squeals of the Pippsqueaks that stunned him. The second one: Team Dark glaring daggers at him. "You will give them their prices, or I will make you," Shadow declared with his arms crossed and a frown. "We will make you!" Rouge added with her hands on her hips and a frown as well. "I will not make the tiny ponies cry," Omega declared behind the Pippsqueaks. Gulping nervously, the pony in charge of the game smiled sheepishly and gave each of the fillies one of the three Omega plushies from the prices, as they three fillies hugged their plushies happily. Of course, Rouge giggled at their reaction and Shadow rolled his eyes in annoyance... But Omega? His eyes kind of shone bright after seeing this. It was probably the way his eyes sparkled, and he would smile with no doubt down at the three fillies. Later, the girls from the Mane 6, sins Izzy and Misty, regrouped back near the Marestream. "And voila!" Pipp said, as she gestured to Electric Blue, who now had new looks and new styles as they posed. "You look perfect!" Sunny commented cheerfully. "Now we're ready to rock!" Fretlock said with a smile, while his two bandmates smiled as well. "Ponies!" Izzy called out, while the group turned and looked at her, as she waved her hoof at them cheerfully. "Wait up!" She yelled out, before using her horn to levitate something, which made her start straining from the weight. "You... forgot... your... snack!" She wheezed, as she levitated the 'everything' bagel, which moved some trees out of the way, showing that it was as big as a mountain, while the girls and Electric Blue looked shocked by this. "One bagel with everything!" Izzy said cheerfully, followed by a maniacal laughter and a tired groan. Soon, Misty arrived as well, panting exhausted after chasing Izzy down with the bagel, just for her eyes to widen when she sees that the bagel was bigger than she thought it'll be. "...Oh boy..." She gulped. "Um, on second thought, I don't like to eat right before a performance," Jam Donut said nervously, since he didn't mean that the 'everything' bagel had to have everything on it. But then, the bagel mountain started to rumble, and Izzy's magic started to frizz out, which made everyone else look at it nervously. "Is that gonna...?" Sunny started nervously. "It's gonna blow!" Pipp cried out. After Pipp shouted this, everypony but Izzy screamed in fear and and tried to run for cover, while Izzy just stood there, looking nervously at the bagel. And finally, the 'everything' bagel exploded, covering the girls and Electric Blue in food leftovers. "We can't go on like this!" Fretlock said with a frown, taking a piece of food off his mane. "The show's canceled!" He declared, as he and his bandmates walked off in regret. "Sorry, Pipp." "No! We can fix this!" Sunny said desperately. "We'll remake the costumes a-and the hair! The full V.I.P. treatment! Right, Pipp?" However, Pipp frowned and looked around the festival. She saw Glory flying by with a balloon, with her friend Seashell chasing her with giggles, while Peach Fizz and Omega followed them close behind, with Omega carrying the unicorn filly over his left shoulder. Meanwhile, the crowd was laughing at Hitch's current performance... Yes, even Posey was laughing now. And on other zone, Knuckles was drinking down 1 gallon of grape juice, while the rest of Team Sonic was cheering to him as they all said "Deep, deep, deep, deep!" to him. "No, Sunny," Pipp said, before walking up ahead and then turn to her friends. "Music isn't about the costumes, glamour, or being a V.I.P. It's about sharing your sparkle with the world!" She explained with a smile, not knowing that Electric Blue was listening as well. "That's what Bridlewoodstock is about, too. We may look and smell terrible, but Hitch is on that stage right now, and he's... well, he's actually doing pretty well..." They all turned to Hitch, who was still on the main stage, now telling jokes to the crowd. "So, uh, what do you call a pony at the top of Prancing Point? Lost!" He joked with a laugh, while Sparky did a rim shot with a set of drums with a bored expression, while the crowd started laughing at Hitch's jokes. "I'm going to go out there and give these ponies the show they deserve!" Pipp declared with a determined smile. "Me, too!" Sunny said with a smile and her hoof raised. "Count me in!" Misty agreed with a smile as well. "Sounds fun!" Izzy cheered. "I'm in!" Zipp called out next with her hoof clenched. "Pipp's right," Fretlock said with a down expression. "We got so carried away trying to make everything perfect. But if we're together, it will be perfect!" He stated with a smile, while his bandmates smiled as well and nodded in agreement. "Even if it's a little messy, too," He added, shaking some food rests off himself with a cringed expression, before chuckling and coming up to Pipp. "Thanks, Pipp. Come on, Electric Blue! Let's rock!" At the stage, Hitch was still doing his comedy talk. "So I said, 'Un-ni-corn? I need corn too, pal!' Yeah!" Hitch joked with a laugh, before Knuckles came by and lifted him off stage, while the curtains behind opened. With this, Electric Blue appeared from under the stage with their instruments, and even if they were still a mess, they were determined to play. "What's up, Bridlewoodstock?!" Fretlock announced to the crowd. Electric Blue started to play, with fireworks going off behind them, while the crowd started cheering loudly to them, ignoring the fact that they were all messed up. The Mane 6 watched them play, moving their heads and hooves to the music with smiles. However, as everyone at the Bridlewoodstock festival enjoyed themselves, none of them knew that they were being watched from the distance by a robotic camera, which zoomed to see Team Sonic, as Amy patted Knuckles on the back because he was throwing up on a trash can, while Sonic and Tails cringed. The camera scanned the four faces, and marked them all as objectives to eliminate. Soon, it is revealed that the camera belonged to Metal Sonic, who was watching over the Mane 6, Team Sonic and Team Dark, since he had instructions from Doctor Eggman: To destroy Sonic, Sunny and their friends. THE END...? Author's Note Yeah, I still don't like this chapter with my adds and changes. Look, I think Electric Blue as a whole is lame. They look lame, they talk lame, they act lame... And yes, I'm with Tails: Their music is mid. I don't like these characters, I'm really sorry. But! At least we saw more of Omega being a softy with the Pippsqueaks, and we got that little teaser in the end as well... I want to let you all know that Metal Sonic will be dealt with here in TYT, and we won't see him on MYM Season 4 nor the last story of the saga. Enjoy him while he lasts. Anyways. That's all I gotta say for now. See you later!
64. Hot Day, Huh?Summer's here again, since it's making a pretty damn hot day in Maretime Bay. Soon enough, we see Zipp surfing in the ocean on her board, as she passes through a big wave. "Alright!" Zipp said excitedly, as she surfed through the wave and was launched to the air. "Now that's what I call riding the needle!" She cheered, before diving down into the ocean. "Whoo-hoo!" She exclaimed, before floating back up, looking soak and hanging on to her board to stay afloat while laughing. "Yeah!" She cheered, before looking around. "Ponies, did you see those epic waves?!" She asked to the air, because she's talking to no one. "Huh?" The beach was totally empty, and empty means empty, not a single pony was on the beach at all, not even her friends. Heck, not even Tails, her boyfriend, was there. "Huh. That's strange," Zipp said surprised, as she got out of the water and dried herself off, walking up to the beach and looking around confused. Zipp walked up next to a crab, who was wearing sunglasses for some reason, then it got up and pinched its claw in front of her, which made her stop for a bit, before the crab crawled away. Zipp ignored the crab and kept looking around confused. "Hmm..." She hummed, before bringing out her phone. "1400 hours on a super hot day and the beaches completely deserted?" She told herself confused, as her voice echoed throughout the beach. "Where is everypony?" She asked again, now moving to call her friends. The five phones of the Mane 6 started to ring, but none of them were being answered. Then, she tried to contact Team Sonic, but none of them answered either. Finally, she tried to call Team Dark, but they didn't answered, just like the rest. Zipp sighed and groaned annoyed, not understanding why no one was at the beach on such a hot day. Zipp decided to go to the Crystal Brighthouse first, considering that she lived there with here friends. A part of her was ready to be disappointed at finding nopony there, but her eyes widened when she saw that Team Sonic was preparing themselves for a beach day, with Sonic, Tails and Knuckles wearing yellow, red and green swimsuits respectively, no gloves and sandals; while Amy had a red swimsuit, no gloves and sandals as well. "You sure you got everything we need, Tails?" Sonic asked him with a smile. "Yup!" Tails replied with a smile as well. "Everything required for a day in the beach is up and ready to go!" He stated with a wink, but then he looked over at the entrance, and his eyes sparkled a the sight of his girlfriend. "Hey, Zippy!" He greeted her, before boosting to her and drag her into a hug. Zipp chuckled and hugged him back, before kissing his cheek for a second, which made Tails chuckle as well. "Hey, babe~" Zipp said with a smile, before looking back at the rest of Team Sonic. "What are you guys doing here? Is really hot, and perfect––" "For a beach day?" Knuckles finished for her with a smirk. "We know. That's literally the place we're heading just about now!" He brought out some sunglasses and put them on. "Yes!" Zipp cheered loudly. "I've been in the beach the whole morning! I thought more ponies would show up, but the beaches are empty!" "What? The beaches are empty?!" Amy said confused, before bringing out her phone. "But we're 1415 hours on a super hot day!" "I know!" Zipp groaned. "But the beaches are empty! I tried to contact you all guys, but nopony answered me!" "We were busy preparing everything, and we muted our phones," Knuckles explained. "Yeah, I think Team Dark is heading there as well. They never answer even if we have a live or death emergency, though..." Sonic explained as well with a bored expression. "Hot day and empty beaches? Sounds like a really bad combination to me..." Tails muttered while rubbing his chin, before smirking and activate his electrical powers. "Or should I say..." He started, as his powers restored his blue shoes, gloves and googles. "Like a mystery!" Zipp chuckled and nuzzled herself on Tails' shoulder. "You just read my mind, honey~" She teased him with a smirk. "But even if I would love you to come with me, I'll say you go with the rest and enjoy sometime on the beach as well!" She added, as she pushed him back with Sonic. "Uh, are you sure?" Tails asked a bit concerned. "Hey, you've been working so hard the whole week on your workshop!" Zipp pointed out. "You deserve a brake! Besides, I can handle an investigation on my own!" "...Um... Well... If you say so..." Tails said with a shy smile, using his powers again to put over his beach outfit again. "And while you are busy with that, we'll be busy at the beach vibing!" Sonic said, before putting over some sunglasses as well with a confident smirk, and his teeth even shone for a second. Zipp went over to Maretime Bay to investigate. Once in the town, she saw many ponies looking hot under the heated sun. Some ponies were fanning themselves, eating ice cream, sipping smoothies and even hiding under the shade to stay cold. Even two raccoonicorns were sweating, as one of them was fanning themself. The Pippsqueaks were eating some ice cream and sweating because of the heat, when Zipp approached them with a smile. "Hey, Pippsqueaks! You know, those ice creams would totally taste better at the beach!" Zipp suggested eagerly. "No way, Zipp!" Seashell declined as she shook her head. "It's way too hot for the beach!" "Yeah, that hot sand would burn my little hooves," Peach Fizz added with worry, also shaking her hoof. "Whaaaaat?" Zipp asked confused. "It's not that hot..." However, the moment she said that, the Pippsqueaks' ice creams melted, some splatting on the floor. "Huh?" They all said at the same time, before starting to cry at their melted ice creams. Zipp sweated nervously with a sheepish smile at what just happened, and she stuttered as she tried to find the right words to help the Pippsqueaks to stop crying. Misty was walking by, sweating a bit from the heat, when she saw what Zipp was going through, and she felt bad for her. "Poor Zipp. Nopony is really listening to her." On another place, Posey was fanning herself. Her face was red because of the heat, and she was sweating a lot, groaning because of the heat. Just then, Zipp came next to her with a small smile. "There's a nice cool breeze down at the beach!" "The beach?!" Posey questioned with a raised eyebrow. "What are you, nuts?! In this heat?!" "I was just there, Posey," Zipp reasoned again, while Misty came behind her again and watched. "Team Sonic, and even Team Dark are down there right now! And as long as you have some sunscreen and maybe an umbrella, it's really not…" She listed out, but Posey got so annoyed and walked off. "Okay, so I'll take that as a maybe?" "Neigh way!" Posey yelled out, which made Zipp flinch a bit. Zipp just sighed and walked away. "Ugh…" She groaned, before bumping into Windy. "Oh, sorry, Windy" She apologized sheepishly, before her eyes went wide. She saw a huge line with ponies, all holding fruit cards for Sunny's smoothie stand, and Hitch and Sparky grabbed the cards, since they were helping Sunny today. "Okay, Sunny!" Hitch called out with a nervous smile. "We've got two super citrus…" "Yup!" Sunny replied at fast paste, while she placed two smoothie covers on the smoothie cups. "...Three triple berries…" Hitch continued. "Got it!" Sunny said, as she placed some fruits into a blender, while Hitch gave her a broccoli card. "...One dreamy creamy, and one grilled cheese with extra-cheesy french fries?" Hitch read with a confused look. "Huh?" Sunny raised an eyebrow confused. "Wait a second..." Hitch said, before he turned to Sparky with a smirk, since the baby dragon started to giggle and gave a playful wink. "Nice try, Sparky! Silly little dragon," He said in amusement, as he rubbed Sparky's head, while the baby dragon kept giggling. Zipp started to walk through the line and got in front of the two earth ponies, while the ponies in line grumbled and complained about her cutting in line. "Calm down, everypony," Zipp called out calmly to them. "I just need to talk to…" She was cut off when Hitch placed three smoothie cups down, and Zipp turned to them with a smile. "Sunny, Hitch! How about closing up shop and heading out for a beach day? The waves are seriously amazing!" She called out excitedly, as she raised her hooves with sparkling eyes. "No can do, Zipp!" Sunny said, shaking her head. "Huh?" Zipp said confused, as she putted her hooves down. "We gotta keep everypony hydrated in this heat!" Sunny pointed out, while Hitch nodded in agreement, and Sunny held out a smoothie cup just when Dahlia came to the stand. "Oh, here you go, Dahlia. Stay cool!" Dahlia looked so heated from the hot day, but once she saw the smoothie, she smiled with sparkling eyes and grabbed the smoothie. "Ah!" She said excitedly, slurping her smoothie at fast paste and gulped it down, sighing in relief at the cool beverage before slurping it again. Zipp stared at Dahlia strangely for a moment before talking. "But down by the water, it's much cooler!" "No time to chat, Zipp," Hitch said with wide eyes, as he looked at the fruit cards for a while before looking back at his crush. "Sunny, we need a triple berry smoothie, stat! Windy looks like she's gonna––" Windy wasn't looking too good in the heat. In fact, she was looking straight at the sun, as her tongue was sticking out, while the heat was really getting the best of her. "Oh, dear...!" She muttered, while eyes spun a bit, before she fell to the floor. "...Faint!" Hitch finished in panic, as he rushed to Windy and held her by the head, while the ponies around them gasped in worry for the pegasus. "Oh, no! Sunny, pony down! I repeat, we've got a pony down!" "I'm on it, Hitch!" Sunny said with a salute, but before she went back to work, she looked again at Zipp. "Sorry, Zipp. It's just not a great day to go to the beach..." Sunny went back to work after saying this. "But! But... Even Tails and Shadow are down there..." Zipp said with concern, sighing sadly in defeat, while Misty saw her from behind with worry. At Mane Melody, there was a line of ponies waiting to enter the salon. "Izzy!" Pipp called out, since she and Izzy were fighting over the fans. "We need the fans inside to keep everypony in Mane Melody cool!" She pointed out, while Jazz is doing Fifi's hooves, Rocky was fanning himself, and them, along other ponies, were watching the two ponies fight over one of the fans. "But, Pipp, what about the ponies outside?!" Izzy questioned, while pointing to the window, where the ponies outside were fanning themselves from the heat outside. "They need to stay cool, too!" Izzy and Pipp kept tug-a-waring a fan, even glaring to each other, but then, Pipp accidentally pressed the power button and turned the fan on, which made both ponies gasp, and the fan blew Izzy away, while the unicorn mare hang onto the fan. She started to scream, moving around Mane Melody, then crashing into some bottles with purple glitter. "Ah! No, no, no!" Pipp cried out, while Izzy kept flying around, covered in purple glitter, but then, she flew over some other ponies and got glitter on them as well. Then, Pipp flew in front of the stage with some bottles stacked behind her. "Not the stage, not the stage!" She begged, but then, Izzy flew over and splashed her with purple glitter as well. Outside, Zipp was about to enter the salon, but once she opened the door, purple glitter burst out of it and covered Zipp, which made her cough and then look at her sister, who was covered in purple glitter, and the entire place was a mess. "Pipp! Why are all you ponies inside? Everypony should be at the beach!" Zipp pointed out, starting to loose her patience. "The beach?" Pipp questioned with a raised eyebrow as she flew to her sister. "Neigh way, sis. Today is definitely an inside kind of day." However, Izzy sneakily levitated two fans while Pipp was talking to Zipp. "So I'm just... I'm gonna borrow these..." She said quietly in a hushed tone. And then, Pipp saw Izzy and glared at her in anger, which made Zipp flinch in surprise. "Izzy, get back here with those!" She called out, as she chased after Izzy out the door outside. "I'm telling you! It is much, much cooler down by the water! The Mobians are down there already!" Zipp tried to reason, walking to the front door and seeing Izzy and Pipp fighting over the fan. Then, Izzy used her magic to levitate the fan and run away. "Izzy, come back here!" Pipp yelled out, chasing after Izzy. Zipp frowned and sighed frustrated. "Ugh! That's it!" She yelled out, as she turned to the ponies around her, who flinched at her outburst. "Obviously you ponies are not gonna listen to me! Well, if anypony needs me, which they clearly won't, I will be nice and cool down at the beach! See ya!" "Izzy, come back here!" Pipp called out, because she didn't hear anything her sister said at all, since she kept chasing Izzy to get the fan back. Misty was inside of Mane Melody, covered in glitter, and she did heard Zipp's outburst. "I've never seen Zipp so upset before... Except for when she discovered that I worked for Opaline and Eggman, but still..." Back at the beach, the Mobians were enjoying their time. As Rouge stood over a blanket to take some sun with sunglasses, Shadow was sitting on a chair with sunglasses and crossing his legs, and Omega was near by on resting mode; Team Sonic was having a volleyball competition, with Sonic and Knuckles teaming against Amy and Tails. However, as they were enjoying their day, Zipp came back with a frown, humming madly to herself, already having cleaned the purple glitter off her face. Tails noticed that she seemed upset about something, so he quickly called for a brake and went to Zipp. "Zippy?" He called her out. "You're back sooner than I expected. How did it went?" "...Nopony listened to me..." Zipp replied with anger, before flying off and grab her surf table. "What?!" Tails exclaimed with wide eyes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sonic interfered, as he zoomed by Zipp and started to walk backwards, since she was still walking ahead. "No one heard you? Not even Pipp?!" "Nor Izzy?!" Knuckles came by as well with wide eyes. "No!" Zipp said with anger. "Everypony is either ignoring me, or they think that being here at the beach isn't good enough! But that's their loss," She finished, before going back into the water with her surfing table. At this, Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other with concern, then up to the town. They wondered why Pipp and Izzy ignored Zipp, but considering how stubborn they could both be sometimes, it was better to let them be... for now. Later on, Zipp was surfing again over the waves. Or at least trying, because she could barely concentrate on the wave she was over now, since she feels bad that nopony would enjoy the beach along with her. The Mobians were here, and that should kind of relief her, but doesn't changes the fact that there's no pony here. Her lack of focus accidentally made her flip while surfing under a wave tunnel, and so, she lost her balance, also falling into the water with a splash. Soon, she she floated back up on her board and groaned annoyed, but then, she turned and saw somepony setting up beach stuff, making her gasp and smile with sparkling eyes. "Hey! Somepony came!" She said with joy, as she swam out of the water and trotted to the pony with a pant, but then she stopped when she saw who came. "Misty?" "Hey, Zipp!" Misty said with a smile, also waving her hoof, while Zipp walked up to her. "You were definitely right about one thing: It is much cooler at the beach than on Mane Street!" "Wow! I didn't think anypony even heard a word I said back there!" Zipp said with amusement. "Yeah, well, sometimes ponies get so caught up in their own ideas, they forget to listen," Misty admitted with a sheepish smile. Just then, Tails zoomed in. "Mist!" He said with a smile and sparkling eyes, as he went and hugged Misty tightly, and Misty chuckled at his Izzy-like attitude. "Now this is starting to look like an actual beach day!" "I couldn't miss it!" Misty replied cheerfully with a smile. "And also, I've never had a beach day before..." She confessed, standing up from her place. Both Zipp and Tails were surprised after hearing this. "Never had a beach day?" Zipp asked with an amusing smile. "Ever?!" Tails added, also with an amusing smile. "Mm-mm!" Misty denied with a smile. I mean, what else you expected? She lived with Opaline her whole life, it's normal she was never allowed to have fun and live a little. With this, Zipp and Tails looked at each other for a second, before smiling and getting to both of Misty's sides. "Well, then why didn't you told us, Mist?! We'll make sure your first day at the beach is unforgettable!" Tails declared confidently. "Uh, then what are we waiting for? Beach day number one comin' up!" Zipp declared as well with a smile, while Misty smiled back at them. Mane 6 and Team Sonic: ...'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party, oh yeah Later, Zipp and the Mobians started to show Misty about beach day. Misty brought out her phone and took a selfie with Zipp, who was holding a sunblock, while Zipp felt uneasy about being on the phone but smiled as she let Misty have her fun. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Then, Misty, Zipp and Tails made a sandcastle, but then a crap popped out of it, which startled the two ponies and the young fox, while Amy took picture of them. Soon, we see Amy posting pictures on Misty's Ponygram account. Of course, Misty herself requested to do so, while the unicorn mare herself tagged the Mobians that had Ponygram and Zipp. One of the pictures that Amy posted was the one she just took of the crab getting out and startling Misty, Zipp and Tails. Another picture had the crab being close to the camera, while their head was covered in a seaweed-like a hair, with Knuckles holding an actual seaweed behind with a smirk. The next and last picture posted so far showed Misty and Sonic having some coconut drinks, with a crab being on top of Sonic's head while wearing glasses and holding a tiny umbrella. Two of the ponies watching the pictures smiled with sparkling eyes... Seriously, all the background characters in this generation lack braincells until a main character does something... Party, party, party Back on the beach, Misty was laying on a towel with a blanket covering her as she sipped on her coconut, but then, a shadow drawn over her, so she looked up and saw Zipp holding two surfboards with an eager smile. Uh-huh, oh, yeah, uh-huh We're gonna party, party, party Party, party, party, oh yeah! Misty got on one of the boards, and now Zipp and her dived down together into the ocean, while the boards floated them back to the surface. Then, we see that Zipp's teaching Misty on how to surf, which she was having trouble at first as she tried to keep her balance, but then a big wave formed over them and splashed them down. Now we have more pictures taken by Amy: One showed Misty tripping over her board, and the next one showed her falling into the water next to Zipp. However, the last one showed Misty surfing perfectly along Zipp, while another picture is added with Tails and Knuckles surfing along, until Knuckles tripped and fell to the sand on the next few pictures. The last one showed Knuckles tuck on the sand, while everyone around was wheezing at the side, and Amy even got in the middle of the picture to show how much she was laughing as well. None of them knew, however, that the ponies looking at the pictures, including the rest of the Mane 6, were watching the set of pictures and smiling with Sparkling eyes, since they could clearly see how much fun Zipp, Misty and the Mobians were having down at the beach. Later on, Misty and Zipp decided to surf a bit more. Team Sonic, on the other hand, decided to resume their volleyball game, while Zipp and Misty resurfaced from the water. However, they soon noticed that some ponies arrived to the beach and were setting up their beach gear, taking pictures, playing ball or relaxing. Hitch was chasing Sparky, wearing a hat with and a flower necklace, while Sparky ran away from him with giggles, as Sunny put on some sunglasses from her basket with a smirk. Pipp and Jazz were building a big sandcastle together with Izzy and Rocky on the beach, Rocky being a mermaid-pony with a sand-tail on him, while Pipp took a picture of the sandcastle and Izzy looked through a basket. Sunny was laying with a crab on the sand, both wearing sunglasses, while Sunny was sipping on as smoothie, when a shadow got over her, so she took off her sunglasses to see Misty and Zipp in front of her. "Well, well, well!" Zipp said with a smile. "Would you look who decided to join us at the beach, Misty?" "Zipp! It's perfect down here!" Sunny said with a smile as she stood up. "Cool breeze, warm sunshine…" She continued, as she sipped on her smoothie again and sighed happily. "Somepony really should've suggested this ages ago," Pipp said with a smile, as she put the finishing touches on the sand castle. "I know, right?" Izzy agreed while wearing sunglasses, but also levitating the fan she and Pipp were fighting in Mane Melody to cool off as she walked away. "What a great idea!" "Izzy!" Pipp called out, as she flew to Izzy to get her fan back after seeing it. Zipp then started to hold her breath and started turning red in rage, while tea kettle whistling sounds could be heard since she was suggesting the idea all day to her friends, but she was ignored, feeling like exploding any second of their oblivion. "Zipp!" Tails came by, as he held her hoof and placed a hand on her back, also smiling at her. "Let's take a little breathing, okay honey?" Misty agreed and placed a hoof on Zipp's shoulder with a calming smile. "Deep breaths, Zipp. Deep breaths." Zipp calmed down and looked at Zipp and Misty with a smile. "Great idea." However, as the three of them ran towards the beach to have more fun on it, Sonic and Knuckles zoomed to Izzy and Pipp and separated them calmly. "Pipp, Pipp, Pipp, my sweet, angelic and beautiful Pipp..." Sonic started with a calmed smile. "You know that I love you more than anything in this dimension, right?" He asked her with a lovey-dovey smile. "Duh!" Pipp said with a smile and a little eye roll. "I don't think we could possibly love each other more than we already do!" "Yeah, well... I wanna apologize beforehand for the scene we're gonna make, you know?" Sonic told her with a cringed expression. "Apologize? Scene? What are you talking about, Blue Star?" Pipp asked confused. With that, Sonic's left eye twitched and he lost his cool. So, he took a deep breath and snapped. "Because you and I are gonna have a serious conversation about being so stubborn, young lady!" He shouted in anger, before he dragged her away... by dragging her from her right ear. Of course, Pipp was groaning constantly in pain and begging Sonic to stop or be more gentle, but he was beyond furious with her attitude, and he didn't gave a damn about everypony's stares across the beach. Yet, that was not the only concern going on, because Knuckles was carrying Izzy over his shoulder like a bag, also with a frown. "Knuckles! Please put me down! I don't wanna be scolded!" Izzy cried out like a filly. "Complain all that you want, Isabella! You ARE hearing me, and that's final!" Knuckles replied with anger. As both couples left the beach, with Pipp and Izzy crying over their boyfriends' attitudes, everypony else at the beach stared at them with pure shock and confusion. Sunny was among the confused ponies, and soon, Shadow arrived at her side while drinking over a coconut. The Ultimate Life-Form had red sandals, was still wearing his gloves with his inhibitor rings, red sunglasses, and also a red beach shirt with sunflowers around it. "Uh... How bad is that Sonic and Knuckles are both mad?" Sunny decided to ask, a bit concerned. As Shadow slurped some more from his coco, he then sighed relaxed. "I'll say they'll think it twice before making them mad again... Which could also be labelled as 'they're gonna have a hell of a time', and not in the good sense..." He explained with a bored expression. "Oh boy..." Sunny muttered with concern. None of the ponies nor Mobians in the beach knew, however, that they were being watched from a distance by a robotic figure: Metal Sonic. The robot watch them all with pure hate and anger, before nodding at himself and then fly away at top speed. THE END...? Author's Note Are Sonic and Knuckles overreacting in this episode? NOPE! Izzy and Pipp deserve that scolding, and you guys know it! I don't care if people thinks Sonic and Knuckles shouldn't be doing this on public, that's what they deserve and I won't hear anyone telling me otherwise! Okay, maybe I'm getting too ahead of myself here... The point is that Zipp didn't deserved to hear that last line, and even though I did wanted to put an apology, I think Pipp and Izzy getting scolded is a satisfying result as a whole. Well, all the characters in this episode but Zipp and Misty (and the Mobians in this version, as you already saw) are stupid in general, let's not lie to ourselves here... Anyways. Next episode, Metal Sonic makes a move! See ya! P.S: As stated before in this blog post, the episode has been released earlier. Expect something similar for the next episode.
65. Who Framed Sonic The Hedgehog?It was nighttime in Maretime Bay, when suddenly a figure boosted through the sky. This same figure moved way too fast for the eye to even notice it. In fact, this figure moved across Maretime Bay and caused a lot of chaos: It entered Mane Melody and left the place like a disaster by using Pipp's merch to paint in the walls and windows of the salon. Then, the figure boosted to Posey's garden and destroyed it. Now, they moved behind the Sheriff Station and painted a graffiti in the walls that had Hitch's face with devil horns and sharp teeth, as well as Sparky at the side with his tongue out and eyes turned into an X. Now, the figure went and placed old anti-unicorn and pegasi posters across all the building in Maretime Bay. And finally, they went to Electronic Tails' ceiling and painted over the Tornado IV, also leaving a mark of claws over it. Satisfied with the result, the figure boosted away, not noticing that they dropped a small torn that had Eggman's logo on it. The next morning, the Mane 6 sins Hitch and Team Sonic were having breakfast. However, as they enjoyed themselves, the doors bursted open, and Hitch entered with a panicked expression. "GUYS! IS A DISASTER! AN UTTER, UTTER DISASTER!" He exclaimed, as he grabbed Knuckles and shook him violently. "Whoa, there, Sheriff!" Sonic said, as he pushed Hitch away from Knuckles. "What's the matter? Why are you so urged?" "Yeah, I've never seen you this panicked before," Sunny pointed out. "Because I just saw something that makes me wanna scream so loudly!" Hitch said with wide and panicked eyes. "Come see it for yourselves!" After saying that, he simply ran away from the Brighthouse, leaving everyone else confused. "Eh, better get this over with before our breakfast gets cold," Knuckles said with a bored expression, as he boosted towards Maretime Bay. "Ugh! This better be worth our time..." Pipp deadpanned, as she and everyone else left the Brighthouse to head towards Maretime Bay and see what is Hitch panicking about. Yeah, well, it was worth their time. The whole group was completely shocked at the sight, since they all had their jaws dropped and their eyes where wide, because they saw that Maretime Bay was made a disaster: Beauty products spread around, chomped flowers everywhere, graffiti in thousands of walls... This was like what Sneaksy did one time, but instead of being a good-intended cause, it was clear that was meant to make mad everyone in Maretime Bay... and it did. All the ponies across town where grossed out at the state their beautiful town was right now, and even Izzy saw all of this as a direct attack to everything she loved, because this was not art: It was vandalism, which meant that someone wants to see Maretime Bay in this state. "What in the name of Chaos happened here?!" Sonic asked confused. "I-I don't know!" Hitch exclaimed with panic. "I just woke up to make my usual rounds, and then I found the town like this!" "This is... This is horrible..." Sunny said with concern, looking at her home all messed up. Soon, Omega passed by with a vacuum cleaner attached to his back, as he cleaned up the ground and approached the group, cleaning the zone of the ground that they were standing over. "This had to happen last night, no doubt... But who could have done it?" Zipp questioned with concern, also rubbing her chin. "It couldn't had been Sneaksy," Pipp pointed out out. "At least what she did added some beauty to the bay, even though it made Mom take away your wall..." She added with a sheepish smile while looking at Hitch. "I'm aware Sneaksy didn't do any of this!" Hitch confessed. "Like you said, she did what she did out of love for art! It was still illegal, and I'm still mad for my wall, but I know for sure that we're in front of someone else... Someone who doesn't appreciates art." "So this is a new mystery, huh?" Tails muttered with a smirk, as he looked at Zipp on his side. After hearing this, Zipp's eyes widened, before she smirked and putted her Z-Googles on. "Oh, yeah! Detective time!" She cheered, making a loop in the air and then flying away, while Tails decided to follow her around. "While the lovebirds are investigating, I say we should all give a hand on cleaning this place..." Sonic, said, taking out a green hat with a mop and broom symbol and putting it over, before boosting away, grab a brush, and start to clean up the ground. "I agree! I mean, it's gonna take a while, and we are not compromising the crime scene that much, are we?" Sunny pointed out with a smile. The rest of the group nodded with smiles in agreement, except for Knuckles. "But... But our breakfast!" Knuckles said with wide eyes, but he got shut up when Amy placed a hat like Sonic's over his head. "We have things to do, Knucklehead..." Amy said with a bored expression, while Knuckles deadpanned at her. In the skies, Zipp and Tails were flying side to side with their advanced googles. They both scanned the whole bay to get a better picture on how bad the situation was, and it was definitely a really worrying one, because everything in the town was messed up by the mysterious bandit. "Geez... Whoever did all of this has something against Maretime Bay..." Zipp said with concern, removing her Z-Googles. "You're telling me..." Tails said with concern, as he rubbed his chin. "Something smells fishy, though... I mean, considering how big this disaster is, wouldn't our mysterious bandit have lasted the whole night and part of our day doing what they did?" Zipp though on his words for a moment, and she had to admit that he had a good point. "You might be into something, babe... Let's go slowly, though. First, we gotta check for clues down there!" Tails nodded after hearing this, and so, they both boosted towards the ground again. There, they started to look after all kinds of clues: They checked the trials of beauty products used on the ground, at least after hearing Pipp screaming in panic because of all her products gone. Then, they checked all the graffitis, and for some reason, they could already tell that something was off with them, because every graffiti had a Mane 6 or a member from Team Sonic and/or Team Dark... except for Sonic. "Okay... That's weird..." Tails muttered, and Zipp nodded in agreement. After that, they went over to Electronic Tails' ceiling, where Tails had to resist the urge of screaming in panic and horror at the sight of the Tornado IV all messed up. However, as Tails tried not to scream, Zipp noticed that the plane had a big claws mark, which already made clear that whoever did all of this had claws, so that left everypony out... But that's the thing. Every pony isn't a suspect anymore. "This might be a crucial clue, Tails..." Zipp said, and even though looking at his plane with a claw mark was still making him paranoid, he had to admit that it could be an important clue, so he took a picture of the claws mark. Suddenly, though, their phones buzzed off, so they looked at each other confused, before taking out their phones and see a message from Hitch in the group chat, asking everyone to go to the Sheriff Station as soon as possible. "Ugh... This better be good, Hitch..." Zipp muttered with a slight frown. "Hey, maybe he found a clue!" Tails cheered her up, and Zipp smirked at him. So, the two of them decided to leave and go to the Sheriff Station, not noticing that they left the torn with Eggman's logo behind. Once everyone arrived to the Sheriff Station, the all gathered around Knuckles. "I was checking the security cameras across the town to see if they caught anything regardless or mysterious bandit..." Knuckles explained. "This is what I found..." Soon, the echidna played the recordings from last night, and each camera seemed to be fine at first... But then, one second passes on each camera and everything's made a mess, like if it just popped up out of nowhere. "What?!" Zipp said with wide eyes. "One second is all fine, and then it's messed up?" Pipp questioned. "That doesn't makes any sense..." "Oh, but that's not all what I found..." Knuckles replied with a frown. Then, he replayed the video, but this time in the maximum slow motion capacity the security cameras allowed... And the content shocked everyone: Instead of just seconds passing between the normal picture and the disaster, now there was a blue blur passing in front of the normal video, moving to the disaster that it made. Of course, everyone gasped in horror after seeing this, except for Sonic, who had wide and open eyes after seeing that video, while everyone suddenly turned to him, with Knuckles frowning and raising an eyebrow. "Anything you wanna share with the class, Hedgehog?" The echidna asked in anger. "Hey, come on now! Don't look at me! I didn't did anything!" Sonic said with raised hands. "I spent the whole night sleeping in my bed!" "Uh... Don't you constantly say that, uh, that you're the fastest thing alive?" Sunny pointed out with a sheepish smile, also sweating nervously. "Yes, and yet I never had a reason to show it off unless it's necessary?" Sonic replied with a bored expression. "Besides, I'm constantly saying that I love this place! Why would I suddenly change my mind and make all of this?!" "Didn't you said something about having dark thoughts sometimes?" Misty pointed out with concern. "Is one thing to think, I would never do it!" Sonic defended himself. "Look, Sonic... Just tell us you alibi. Maybe this is just a big misunderstood," Hitch pointed out with a smile. "Like I said, I slept the whole night in my bed on the Crystal Brighthouse!" Sonic said. "Well, I did went to the bathroom at some point, though..." However, after he said that, everyone else looked at him with concern, and Pipp even covered her mouth with her hooves, as she started to tear up. "What?" Sonic asked confused, but then his eyes widened when he realized what he said, and so, he deadpanned. "Ah crap..." Still in the exact same position, Sonic's background changed to the cell in the Station. Then, Hitch closed the cell with the bars and looked concerned at Sonic. "Sorry, Sonic, but I'm afraid I have to arrest you until we have solid proves that you're innocent." Sonic let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes with a hand. "Eh, it's fine, Sheriff... I guess this is what happens when you spent all the time saying 'Gotta Go Fast!' and then expect to just move on that easily..." "B-But this must be a mistake!" Amy said. "Sonic would seriously never do any of this!" "Well, even if it is a mistake, until proven otherwise, I must follow the protocols," Hitch explained with concern. "Sonic is a prime suspect, so he has to stay on the cell until someone can prove his innocence." "But Hitch... Can't you make an exception?" Sunny asked with a sad expression, low ears and puppy eyes. "Don't even try it, Sunny," Hitch said with a bored expression, moving Sunny's face away. "The law is the law, and no one is above the law. Not even my friends." "You guys are worrying too much for me," Sonic said with a smirk. "I'll be fine! Besides, this isn't the first time I'm framed for something I didn't made, remember? If you don't trust my word, ask Shadow!" "Shadow?" Zipp questioned. "What would Shadow had to do with any of this?" However, Tails' eyes widened after he realized what Sonic meant. "Shadow framed Sonic and he was blamed..." "What?!" Sunny screamed with a slight frown. "What are you baffling about?!" "When we first met Shadow, the government confused him with Sonic!" Tails explained with a frown. "Shadow always got away while Sonic was encaged in a cell!" "I don't think Shadow has anything to do, though..." Sonic said. "Oh, thank hoofness..." Sunny said with a relieved sigh. "Why not?" Pipp asked. "Shadow is the Black Blur, guys. I'm the Blue Blur!" Sonic pointed out. "Whoever's trying to frame me, they know this, because what we see in that video is––" "A Blue Blur!" Zipp said with wide eyes, and then gasped. "So our culprit has claws, and can move as fast as Sonic, leaving behind a blue trial as well..." she listed out. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Knuckles interrupted. "How do you know that the culprit has claws?" "While searching for clues, we found this on the Tornado IV," Tails replied, showing Knuckles the picture of the claws mark. "The rest of the plane had graffitis over it, meaning that whoever's behind this also vandalized the plane..." Zipp pointed out with concern. "Hmm... Sonic doesn't has claws..." Knuckles pointed out. "It might be a clue that proves your innocence, Hedgehog." "But I know for a fact that it isn't enough to prove it," Sonic deadpanned. "Well... It isn't enough to prove Sonic's innocence..." Zipp confessed. "But it is enough to narrow down the culprit!" "Are you thinking it is who I think it is?" Tails said with a mocking smirk. "Oh, you know it!" Zipp said with a mocking smirk, nuzzling her face on his neck. "But to prove our theory, we're gonna need everypony's help!" She declared, and their friends cheered in agreement. "Uh, except you, Sonic. You have to stay in the cell for now..." "Eh, it's fine," Sonic assured with a smile. "I'm not gonna be relevant until the next 2 episodes, anyways." "Alright, everypony!" Zipp declared confidently. "Here's the plan: First, we need someone to watch over Sonic the whole night." "I can do it!" Knuckles stated with a smirk. "I've guarded over the Master Emerald for years! I'm made for this stuff!" He assured, punching his fists together. "While you watch over Sonic, our culprit might come back and make chaos across Maretime Bay again..." Tails pointed out. "We'll let them do it again!" "What?!" Sunny exclaimed in panic. "Tails, are you nuts?! We can't let them mess up our home again!" "Trust me! We need this to happen again!" Tails stated. "Because if we're not calculating bad, then our mysterious bandit might go to wither Zephyr Heights and Bridlewood to cause some chaos as well!" "If he does so, with Sonic being in the cell the whole night, and with Knuckles guarding over him..." Zipp continued. "Sonic would had a trusty alibi! And he'll be proven innocent!" Pipp said happily with sparkling eyes. "Well, that plan sounds great and all, but aren't you guys forgetting that we still need to capture the culprit?" Sonic pointed out from the cell with a bored expression. "One step at a time, Sonic!" Tails said with a confident smirk. "First, let's see if our culprit does show up and makes a disaster to frame Sonic even more!" "Okay, but can we at least go and clean the Bay now?" Rouge voice's asked suddenly, and so, everyone turned to see Team Dark on the entrance, standing there with cleaning materials, clothes and hats. "I don't know what Sonic did this time that made him end on that cell, but it wasn't me," Shadow said with a deadpan. "Yeah, we already figured that out" Knuckles replied with a bored expression. At night, after everypony spent the whole day cleaning Maretime Bay, they all went to bed. Inside the Sheriff Station, Knuckles was watching over Sonic's cage with his eyes wide open. Since he was used to spent nights awake by guarding the Master Emerald, he was perfect for the job of watching over Sonic's cage as he slept peacefully on it, probably because he's at peace since he's innocent. Suddenly, weird sounds were heard from outside, and even though Knuckles wanted to go and check, he had to stick to the plan and watch after Sonic so the alibi could be valid. The next day, everypony woke up and witnessed Maretime Bay made a mess again. This time around, it was broadcasted in the news, and everyone in the Crystal Brighthouse sins Sonic and Knuckles were watching Skye and Dazzle spreading the news across Equestria. "This just in!" Dazzle said with a worried look. "This morning, Maretime Bay has started the day with a chaotic and massive chaos of vandalism across the town!" "But not only that: Zephyr Heights has suffered the same treatment!" Skye added with a slight frown. "There's drawings making fun of Princesses Zipp and Pipp all around the city, as well as drawings from Queen Haven!" Everyone watching this in the Brighthouse had panicked looks at the news. "This is getting bad!" Sunny said with concern. "Whoever's framing Sonic is going too far! They must really hate him!" "But why my Blue Star of all the ponies?!" Pipp said with sadness, as she started to tear up. "We have an official declare from Queen haven regarding our mysterious culprit!" Dazzle stated. Soon, the image on the TV switched to show Queen Haven over a stand with many microphones, as she was frowning in anger at the cameras recording the whole thing. "We still have to find whoever is behind this atrocious attacks against our city, against myself, and against my precious daughters!" Haven stated with a frown. "But once we do so, they'll be brought to justice and will face with my worse. Punishment. EVER!" That statement made both Amy and Pipp faint, with Rouge catching Amy and Izzy catching Pipp, while they made some wind to the poor girls to make them feel as better as they could. "This is worse than bad at this point..." Tails muttered with concern and an anxious look. Suddenly, Knuckles boosted inside the Brighthouse, holding Sonic with a pair of handcuffs. "GUYS, I HAVE GREAT NEWS!" Knuckles exclaimed with a creepy smile and wide eyes, while his quills were a mess. "He didn't slept all night, hence why he looks... like this..." Sonic explained with a bored expression. "And thanks to MY lack of sleep, I can proudly say it!" Knuckles said with a twitchy eye, before literally ripping apart the handcuffs from Sonic, leaving him free. "He slept the entire night while the culprit made a mess in Maretime Bay! HE'S INNOCENT!" After that, he collapsed in the floor and fell asleep, even snoring loudly, while everyone else but Izzy deadpanned at him. "Aww, he had a rough night!" Izzy said with sparkling eyes and a cute smile, levitating the echidna and kissing him on his cheek for good night, before resting him over a couch in the living room, even placing a blanket over him. "Yeah..." Sonic said, before literally taking out some handcuffs from his quills and put them over his hands again. "Even if I have an alibi now, I'm aware you guys still need to investigate more. You can always check the camera of the Station, anyways." "We would like to, but we don't have time!" Zipp stated. "We have to get to Zephyr Heights and check for the clues we know we're gonna find before Mom even suspects that Sonic might have something to do with this!" "Right! We need that evidence!" Tails agreed, before taking out a Warp Ring and launch it. The Warp Ring extended and opened a portal to Zephyr Heights, with the couple traversing it and quickly flying all across the city, taking pictures like maniacs in order to get the evidence they need. "Wow... And I thought I was fast when desperate..." Sonic said with a raised eyebrow at the scene. "I'll argue you can be worse sometimes..." Shadow mocked up, and Sonic rolled his eyes annoyed. Just then, Zipp and Tails came back after boosting like maniacs across Zephyr Heights, and so, they were panting exhausted because of that, but they were also smiling, probably meaning that they found what they were looking for. "So? How did it go?" Pipp decided to ask. "We... found... what we needed..." Zipp replied, also wiping some sweat from her face. "And it seems... that our guess on the real culprit... is right!" Tails added, also wiping some sweat. "Well, you two better get started on talking, because I still don't get who the heck is blaming me!" Sonic complained. "Actually, the answer is so painfully obvious that we almost feel dumb for not seeing it before!" Zipp said. After that, she quickly brought her board where she places all her theories down whenever she's working on a mystery, and after placing everything in order, connecting the dots, and explain the whole investigation to the rest, both Zipp and tails finished by placing the picture of the culprit in the middle of the board, making the rest but Team Dark gasp, while Shadow, Rouge and Omega's eyes widened in shock. As if that wasn't enough, Tails showed another piece of evidence he found while cleaning his Tornado IV: A small torn with Eggman's logo on it. "Now you see why we say is so obvious that we feel dumb for not seeing it before?" Tails questioned. "Gosh, you've got to be kidding..." Shadow said with a frown. "Aw, come on!" Amy groaned. "Seriously?" Sunny deadpanned. "Yeah, it is painfully obvious..." Misty deadpanned as well. "That son of his Egg father!" Sonic exclaimed in rage, as his electrical powers showed up. "Okay, it is clear that Sonic is innocent!" Hitch said, as he went over and free'd Sonic from the handcuffs, since it was Hitch himself who gave them to Sonic long ago. "But how are going to capture the real culprit?" "By making a trap!" Zipp and Tails stated in unison. "But first, we're gonna need everypony's help cleaning Maretime Bay!" "So the culprit can show up and make a mess––" Sunny was about to question, but then her eyes widened when she understood the idea. "Oh! That's a genius idea, guys!" "Um, I'm kinda lost..." Hitch said. "Why do we need the bay clean again?" "Because Maretime Bay is the trap!" Sunny replied with a determinate look. The rest of the day, everyone spent cleaning up Maretime Bay and Zephyr Heights. Zipp decided to explain the whole situation to her Mom before things could get out of hand: Sonic's arrest, Zipp and Tails looking for clues, the coupled finding out the real culprit, and the plan to capture him. Of course, Haven not only understood the whole situation, but she also decided to bring some backup by having some royal guards travel back with them and help out in the plan on everything they could. While Zipp seemed hesitant at first, Tails encouraged her to accept the offer, so she did. And now that nighttime came back to Maretime Bay, it was time to put the plan in action and wait for the culprit to appear. However, the wait was long, because the culprit didn't appeared until it was almost midnight, but the ones pulling the plan were all thankfully awake. So, once the culprit boosted at top speed and headed towards Mane Melody to do the same they always do to mess up the town, a light illuminated right in front of the entrance, showing that Pipp, Amy and Rouge were waiting there with smirks. Noticing this, the figure stopped moving and flew to another direction, the Sheriff Station. But of course, once the figure was close, another light illuminated, this time showing Izzy, Hitch, Sparky and Knuckles, all frowning at the figure, while Knuckles had his powers turned on. Soon, the figure took another turn and tried to run to Electronic Tails, but a light illuminated the workshop again and showed up Tails, Sunny, Misty and Zipp, standing in front of the workshop. Noticing this, the figure took another turn and head towards Canterlove Studios, now trying to fully escape since their plan was ruined, but another light illuminated and showed Shadow and Omega, both waiting for the figure to approach if they even dared. The figure attempted to escape once more, but this time, a light illuminated over them and finally revealed their true identity. Just like Zipp and Tails said, it was painfully obvious: The culprit could fly, move as fast as Sonic, also be a blue blur, they had claws, and they even dropped a small torn with Eggman's logo after damaging the Tornado IV and then boost away from the crime scene. The culprit was none other than Metal Sonic, and the lights illuminating over him as he attempted to escape belonged to the pegasi guards that Queen Haven sent to help her daughter capture Metal Sonic. Of course, Metal Sonic growled in anger and tried to move away once again, but just when he was about to move, he literally moved aside in one last desperate second, because Sonic came from behind and tried to aim a punch, which made Metal Sonic frown in anger and slid in the ground, now facing Sonic with rage. "So, you've been making chaos across the bay and trying to blame me, huh?" Sonic said with a smirk, also crossing his arms. "I'm honestly not surprised. We help you fix the mess your daddy did with the Metal Virus, and then you decide to mess up my life... You're so predictable..." To this, Metal Sonic clenched his fists, and his left eye showed some sparkles, probably meaning it was twitching. "It doesn't matter now, though. Everyone knows that you're the culprit, and my name is clean!" Sonic said with confident smirk, before starting to tap a foot on the finger while rubbing his nose. "So now we can get down to the real fight! The last Sonic standing will be the winner!" Metal Sonic felt something strange after hearing this, but it was probably happiness. So, he decided to imitate Sonic's moves by also tapping a foot on the ground and rub his nose. He also made a strange noise, but Sonic did understood him. "What? This world isn't big enough for both of us and one of us has to go?" Sonic translated with a frown and his arms crossed, while Metal Sonic also crossed his arms and nodded at Sonic's question. "Well, I agree!" After saying this, Sonic ran on his place and made the shape of an 8 with his feet, while Metal Sonic charged up his rockets, and so, they both boosted against each other. Sonic ended up jumping over Metal, and as time went in slow motion, Metal Sonic slowly looked upwards confused, while Sonic had his arms behind his back and made the peace sign with a mocking smirk. Then, once time went normal again, Sonic landed in the ground and boosted towards Canterlove's factory ceiling. There, Metal Sonic arrived and aimed a punch at Sonic, but the hedgehog smirked confidently and moved aside, which made metal Sonic to slam his fist against a metallic tube. With that, Sonic showed off an eye and pulled out his tongue mockingly, before running away towards a grass field, while Metal Sonic boosted behind to chase him down. They constantly collided against each other in several occasions, until they both got tired of games and went on their separate ways at some point. Then, they both started to run at top speed towards each other, something that everyone else noticed, so they panicked. "EVERYPONY, COVER YOURSELVES!" Hitch shouted, while all the ones watching hid inside buildings and behind bushes, while metal Sonic and Sonic finally collided against each other's heads. This sent a massive and electrical wave all across Maretime Bay, which made all the lights flicker a bit, while the ones covering down protected each other as much as they could, with Hitch protecting Sparky and Sunny; Knuckles covering Izzy and Amy; Tails looking after Zipp and Pipp; and Omega protecting Misty, Shadow and Rouge. Meanwhile, Sonic and Metal Sonic were fighting to push the other one just with their heads, as Sonic kept moving his feet like and 8 at top speed, while Metal Sonic used his rockets. "Heh... You might now everything I'm going to do..." Sonic started to mock up with a smirk, before frowning in rage. "But that's not going to help you since I know everything you're going to do! STRANGE, isn't it?!" 'Growling' in anger, Metal Sonic charged up a Spindash, and so, Sonic decided to do the same, before they both started to jump across all Maretime bay like if they were pinballs, while they did managed to encounter each other in some occasions, but that only made them to keep jumping across the town, at least until Metal Sonic uncurled and then extended his hands. With this, he managed to stop Sonic, as he kept Spindashing against the robot, but Metal refused to loose, so he punched Sonic out of his Spindash and them kick him on his chest, making him roll int he ground and grunt in pain. "Sonic!" Pipp exclaimed in panic after she noticed this. Of course, she tried to go and help him, but Amy stopped her from doing so and shook her head with denial, looking back at the fight with a confident smirk, while Pipp looked in concern. Meanwhile, Sonic stood up and chuckled a bit, while Metal Sonic boosted towards him with a raised punch, but this made Sonic smirk. And so, the Blue Blur not only moved aside, but also jumped in the air and made a Wild Rush, kicking Metal Sonic right on his back and burring him in the ground. Of course, this was painful enough for the robot... But Sonic wasn't done yet. Soon, Sonic curled into a ball and jumped in the air, making a Homing Shot and launching all the spheres to Metal Sonic, who's face got buried into the ground again. Next, Sonic made a cross Slash and completely damaged Metal Sonic, but the robot still managed to stand up and look over at Sonic with hate and anger, although his body was sparkling, and his eyes were flickering, still not deciding on either shut down already, or if keep fighting until the end. "...You know, Metal?" Sonic called out with a sympathetic expression. "I know for a fact that you're one of Eggman's best creations... I just wished we didn't shared the same name, because doing this would be a lot easier..." After saying this, Sonic got down to his hands and knees, getting ready to run straight at his target. After a few seconds, Sonic sighed sadly, before his eyes turned blue and his body let go electricity. And then, he launched himself against the robot, making a direct hit. He kept doing this process over and over, and getting faster and faster from every single hit until Sonic stopped and skid across the ground on his starting position, leaving the machine at an even worse state than it initially was. And yet, Metal Sonic was stubborn and refused to be defeated. Sonic sighed again after seeing this, and so, he pressed a button on his watch and used his electrical powers to create a sword, then boosted to Metal Sonic and traversed the robot with it. Of course, Metal Sonic's eyes widened anxiously, and he could feel all his systems slowly turning off, while Sonic retired the sword from his chest, as Metal stepped back and blinked a few times, before his eyes flickered even more than before, and he even grabbed his chest in pain. However, as he tried to stay up and looked upwards, Sonic placed his fingers over Metal's head like a gun, which made the robot feel more anxious. "...Well... Can't say I'm surprised with the result..." Sonic said, before smirking mockingly. "Once again, I've proven to be the superior Sonic!" He stated, before 'pulling the trigger' and let out a spark of electricity. This spark touched Metal Sonic, and once it did so, the robot fell on his back and looked at the night sky with wide eyes, before it slowly turned off, meaning that he lost the fight... as always. Sonic looked down at Metal Sonic with shame, while everyone else approached and circled the robot's corpse. "So... what do we do with it, now?" Zipp asked. "Keeping it is not an option," Tails stated. "Even if I could re-use some parts, you never know with Eggman. Between throw him to the ocean or burn the body." "What?!" Izzy exclaimed with wide eyes. "Are you completely nuts?! I cannot even describe how many things I can Unicycle with––" "NO!" Knuckles stepped in and interrupted her. "Sorry sweetie, but I'm with Tails on this one. Metal Sonic is too dangerous, and we are NOT keeping him around. Not even as a Unicycle spare parts bot!" "Aww, come on! Just a tiny piece?" Izzy requested with sad puppy eyes. "No, Izzy. This one isn't negotiable," Sonic said with a bored expression, before grabbing Metal Sonic's body and then launch him to the ocean. There, Metal's body crashed against a rock, and then it fell and drowned in the ocean, a small spectacle that Sonic watched with a sad expression, because he believed that Metal could be so much more, but the robot choose his path. "...So long, Metal..." Sonic said, even making a small salute. So, with a sigh, Sonic turned around and went back with his friends... On the hidden lab, Eggman and Sage saw the whole thing, even Metal's body being drowned. Of course, Sage hated to see her 'brother' being treated the way he was during this whole fight, while Eggman frowned and felt disappointed at another failure from Metal Sonic. "...Father?" Sage called out concerned. "Yes?" Eggman replied. "...Is... Is it really necessary to sent the badniks to sacrifice like brother did all the time?" Sage asked with concern. Of course, this kind of question took Eggman out of guard. He was still new at parenting, and even if Misty was kind of daughter for him, he never really thought about fully being a dad until now. So, Eggman sighed and looked at Sage. "...If we want the Eggman Empire to become an actual thing... I'm afraid we must make that sacrifice, my daughter... Do you understand?" Sage didn't liked to hear this, but... she really wanted to help her father to make his dream a reality. So, this time she only limited herself to nod, even though she had very conflicted feelings about what happened to Metal Sonic... THE END...? Author's Note When I said "enjoy him while he lasts", I'd never said he'll last long. To be honest, after the Metal Virus thing, I had no idea on what to do with Metal Sonic anymore, so this episode is unfortunately just an excuse to kick him out and move on. Yes, I say "unfortunately" because I know Metal Sonic is a favorite, and I know he has big potential... A potential I cannot explode, so I hope you guys understand that this is not mean-intended. Also, yes, I placed a reference to the Sonic OVA because I really like that thing, and a story that has Metal Sonic but no Ova references does not work for me. Anyways. I still hope that you guys liked this episode regardless, and I'm really sorry if I disappointed you with how Metal Sonic was treated, but I seriously have no idea on how to use him anymore... And once again, as I stated on this blog post, the episode has been released later than usual. Thankfuly, we're back to the usual schedule on January 2nd! With this chapter done, I must go and wish you all a Happy New Year. See ya on 2024!
66. Scents of AdventureIn Mane Melody, a crowd of ponies surround the salon's stage. The Mane 6 were on stage, besides a product covered by a small tarp, and the Mobians were just a part of the crowd today, although Omega had to move to the left in order to not block everypony's sight. "Welcome, everypony, to the launch of my all-new, all-natural scent!" Pipp announced, as she removed the tarp to reveal five new scent products, which the crowd looked in awe. "It's delicate!" She smirked, spraying out a green essence from the product. But then, the ground started to rumble all of a sudden, and everyone looked around confused, while Pipp was feeling nervous, but still decided to keep going. "Uhhh... it's elegant!" Pipp said nervously, spraying the scent again, but this time, the ground rumbled stronger, and the balloons decorating around flew away, as well as the background wall, while the ponies looked around nervously. "The hell is going on?!" Sonic said confused, as he looked at Tails. "Don't look at me! I'm as confused as you are!" Tails complained, trying not to loose his balance. "It's... magnifique!" Pipp said nervously, spraying more scent. However, the rumbling stopped at last, then everyone turned and saw a bunch of critters at the salon's front door, leaving them confused. "Huh?" Pipp exclaimed confused. "Crap, I left the door open..." Knuckles deadpanned, and the Mobians around deadpanned at him as well, while Amy facepalmed and shook her head in disbelief. The critters sniffed the scent that Pipp sprayed, and then they started chittering excitedly before rushing to the stage. The crowd moved out of the way, while the critters rushed to the Mane 6, with raccoonicorn pouncing on Pipp and her products as they fell to the floor. The bottles fell, and some of them were sprayed by the critters, who sniffed the scent happily, and a raccoonicorn rolled around the floor of a cracked bottle. The crowd sniffed the scent in the air, but then they cringed in disgust, and Posey gave Pipp a look. "Really?! This perfume launch stinks!" She called out, before the whole crowd quickly exited the salon to get away from the smell and the critters. Pipp crunched down while covering her head from the critters, before they were suddenly levitated off the ground by Izzy and Misty, both using their magic and levitating the critters out the door that they quickly closed. "Hitch, can you please keep your damn critters under control?" Amy asked him with a bored expression. "I know I wasn't there when it happened, but I know that this isn't the first time they do something like this!" "I've tried to resonate with them!" Hitch confessed with concern. "But they won't listen that easily..." Then, Sunny picked up one of the remaining bottles. "That's weird... Well, this perfume was a hit, all right!" She then sniffed the bottle but cringed a bit before smiling sheepishly. "With every critter. Wonder why..." "Come on, now... It can't be that bad!" Sonic said, as he grabbed the bottle from Sunny's hoof and then sniffed it. One frame later, he was on the 'Family Guy' death pose, with Knuckles pushing a stick on him with a bored expression. "He dead..." Knuckles said with no emotion. "And here I thought that Pipp was the only dramatic one..." Tails muttered, while Amy facepalmed again, this time with both hands. Soon, Shadow grabbed the bottle and sniffed too, but he had to resist the urge to poke as his eyes suddenly widened, and he even placed a fist on his mouth. "Damn... This thing literally smells like garbage..." "What?!" Pipp asked confused, shocked and offended. She soon snatched the bottle from Shadow's hand and sniffed it a swell, but that that made her want to poke too, and that was precisely the problem that made her panic. "But how did this happened?! I didn't put anything that smells so bad while making it!" Pipp pointed out with concern. Sonic coughed and started to stand up again, as he sighed in relief once he got the smell out of his system. "I don't know what happened, Little Pipp... But that thing... STINKS!" He groaned, even pulling out his tongue for a moment. Yeah, that made Knuckles hit him on the head, and Sonic groaned, while Knuckles frowned at him and shook his head disappointed. "Well, something had to happen to the mix when making it..." Rouge pointed out with a slight frown. "What happened, though?" Suddenly, Izzy laughed nervously, and the rest turned to her. "Oh, well! I guess it's always just gonna be a mystery!" She said nervously while sweating a bit. Knuckles deadpanned and took a deep breath, then placed his palms together and walked up to Izzy. "Izzy, Izzy, Izzy... My beautiful, wonderful, divine, Isabella Moonbow..." Knuckles said with a smile as he petted his girlfriend's mane with a hand and a smile... That suddenly turned into a bored expression. "What did you do this time?" Izzy chuckled sheepishly and began to sweat even more. Earlier, Izzy was on Pipp's supply closet. The problem is that she was listening to some music in her headphones and danced around, but at some point, she twirled around and kick a trash can, which flew off and conveniently landed on the substance that Pipp made as a perfume. The color from the substance changed from pink to green in a matter of seconds, and as Izzy approached and looked down at what she did, she cringed disgusted, before smiling nervously. "Well…" Izzy said with a nervous chuckle, covering her mouth with a hoof. Izzy laughed nervously after telling what happened. Her friends looked at her in shock, while Zipp and Knuckles glared at them with anger, and Sonic deadpanned. "You did what?!" Misty asked in shock. "Isabella!" Knuckles scolded with a frown. "You cannot keep doing this, young lady!" "Two seasons, a trip to Alaska, a journey to a human world, and 23 chapters... Yet you didn't learned anything, did you?!" Sonic asked Izzy with anger as well, also with a twitchy eye. "Nooooo!" Pipp cried out dramatically, and she was about to faint until Sonic caught her on his arms. "See what you've done now?!" Sonic said with anger. "Great. Now there's two of them..." Shadow deadpanned and rolled his eyes annoyed with his arms crossed. "I'm so sorry, Pipp!" Izzy said with guilt, also looking around nervously. "B-B-But don't worry! We can fix this!" She stated with a wide smile, getting close to Pipp's face. Pipp, however, felt incredibly nervous when Izzy suggested to help, because she knows it can either end surprisingly well, or expectably wrong. Sonic rolled his eyes and sighed, before turning to Knuckles with a bored expression. "I know, I know..." Knuckles rolled his eyes once he noticed Sonic's look. "We'll go, too... Is not like we have something better to do, anyways..." "Even if we had, we're still going!" Sonic said with a deadpan, as he began to walk to the exit, still with Pipp on his arms. Later, the two couples arrived to Bridlewood. Of course, Izzy brought the others here to look after a flower that could replace the smell she messed with, and while Knuckles and Pipp kind of trust her because she showed that the Bridlewood Spog was effective, Sonic was regretting having tagging along. It was his idea, anyways, so if he expected to escape this one, he literally cursed himself without knowing it. "Bridlewood is full of amazing, sweet-smelling blooms!" Izzy said, as she held up a red flower in front of her friends and boyfriend, as they sniffed it, before the flower burst out some air, which made them cringe back, before continue to follow Izzy. "We'll find you one just right for your next perfume, Pipp!" Pipp highly doubt that. "Yeah, as if we're just going to stumble across a flower never before discovered by––" She was cut off when she tripped, falling on a bush with a thud. Sonic and Knuckles popped their heads from the bush, the former looking down in panic. "Pipp?!" Pipp got her head out of the bush and coughed up some leaves with a deadpan, before she saw something that made her smile with sparkling eyes. "Oh, my glitter!" She cheered, and soon, Sonic, Knuckles and Izzy popped their heads as well. They were seeing a massive hill filled with blue colored flowers, as the area sparkled and shimmered around. "Huh... And here I thought that this place couldn't surprise me more..." Sonic muttered, although with an amused smile, as he walked around the place without ripping off any flower. "I'm with Sonic on this one..." Knuckles confessed, not ripping any flower off either. "What are these, Iz?" "I don't know!" Izzy confessed with a smile. "I've never seen flowers like these before. So awesome!" Pipp went close to a flower and sniffed it. "Oh! Smells of strawberry ripple smoothie! And a million hooftaps!" She called out with a wide smile and heart-shaped eyes. Sonic sniffed one as well and raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure, Pipp? It smells to me like Chili Dogs... and your perfume..." Knuckles did the same, and he also raised an eyebrow. "Well, I smell grapes and that plum scent that comes from Izzy..." Izzy got her head in a huge pile of flowers and sniffed them as well. "I'm getting glitter and Unicorny Flakes!" She said with a smile and heart-shaped eyes, before she had a thought. "Wait a sec! These flowers must smell like your favorite things!" "That'll explain why we all smell something different!" Sonic said with a smirk. "I wonder how they know specifically what's your favorite smell, though..." Knuckles came and placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder. "Some answers are best not to seek, Hedgehog..." Pipp, on the other hand, gasped excited with Sparkling eyes. "Izzy, this is perfect!" She said excited, then suddenly zoomed towards the rest with a shovel. "Grab as many as you can, guys! We're gonna––" She tried to say, but then her eyes widened and she shook her head. "No! No, no, no, no. I won't do this again..." "...Uh... What?" Sonic asked confused with a raised eyebrow. "Last time I tried to do something that disrespect Bridlewood, we almost loose our voices to the Troggles!" Pipp pointed out with concern. "And, I know I've gotta have respect for the forest! So, as much as I would like to take many of these flowers, I've learned from my mistakes. Maybe just one will suffice." After saying this, Pipp tossed the shovel away and then carefully picked up one of the flowers. She was not convinced it'll be enough, but so long as she was respectful with the forest, she didn't minded. She walked away, and while Izzy followed her along with a proud and touched smile for her words, Sonic and Knuckles stared at her with disbelief. Heck, Knuckles even had his jaw dropped, but Sonic was smiling with pride for his girlfriend, since she has demonstrated she learned her lesson. "Before you ask: No. I didn't told her anything. That was all her!" Sonic said, as he walked away to follow Pipp and Izzy out of the forest. "...Okay... I was not expecting that..." Knuckles said, before getting out of the field as well. Back in Mane Melody, it was time to try again. Pipp was ready to retry her announcement, now holding up a silver bottle that was made with the flower. "I announce my new new scent with hints of... whatever you like best!" Pipp announced with a smile, as she sprayed the perfume on Hitch's face. Hitch sniffed the scent and then smiled. "Smells of law! And order!" Jazz was sprayed next as she smiled. "Mmm! Smells like a freshly polished hooficure! Sign me up!" She said with sparkling eyes. "Sign me up first!" The Pippsqueaks - Seashell, Glory and Peach Fizz - said excitedly to Pipp, as they waved their arms with sparkling eyes. Pipp smiled and tried to spray the perfume again, but it only gave out small scents, which made her get anxious. "Oh, no! It's all gone! Uggghhh! You don't get much from just one flower!" Of course, being the terrible fans they are, the crowd frowned and glared at her with anger. Heck, Posey even brought a tomato as the entire crowd approached her, while Pipp got nervous, and Sonic immediately jumped in front of her in a protective manner, just in case. "But... I... I can get more!" Pipp assured nervously. "Everypony, you just wait here! Wait here!" After saying the last thing, Pipp rushed out of Mane Melody, while Sonic followed behind, but not without stopping on the entrance and turn back to the crowd with a glare. "Kimitachi ni chūmoku shi teru nda yo, kono yarō!" Sonic said, telling the crowd 'I've got my eye on you, bastards!', but in Japanese. Back where they found the flowers, Pipp looked at them anxiously. Sonic soon zoomed as well and looked at her with concern. "Pipp... You're not thinking on taking more flowers, do you?" He asked her with a slight glare. "Come on, Blue Star! Just one extra can't hurt," Pipp replied with a sheepish smile and a twitchy eye, before turning her gaze back to the field. "Or two. Three will be fine..." As Pipp picked the third flower, Sonic frowned for real this time. "Alright, Pipp. That is enough!" After that, he started to walk away, but then, Pipp started to pick up more and more flowers, as she filled three baskets and giggled a bit maniacally, before looking at the last flower. "Okay, and just one more!" Sonic rolled his eyes on annoyance, but as he did so, he turned around, just for his eyes to widen in panic when he noticed that there wasn't a field of flowers anymore. "PIPP!!!" Sonic shouted in panic and placed his hands on his head, which made Pipp flinch, so she turned and saw Sonic with an anxious expression, while also looking at the field. "What... What did... WHAT DID YOU DO?! The field is gone! You picked all the flowers!" Pipp didn't really had processed the weight of her actions, not until now that is, because once Sonic pointed out what she was doing, her eyes widened in panic, and she screamed. "Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no! What have I done?!" Pipp asked in panic, as she began to hyperventilate, even stepping back away from the baskets with flowers. Sonic immediately went with her and quietly asked her to take deep breaths so she could calm down, while Pipp started to do that in order to not loose herself. However, they both widened their eyes when they suddenly heard something, so they looked back to where the last of the flowers was located... Just to realize that they both stepped over it and killed it. "Oh boy/Uh-oh..." Sonic and Pipp cried out in shock. Suddenly, the field's life began to die out around them, which made them panic even more. Pipp looked around in panic, then look one of the flowers from her baskets. "I-I'm sure it'll grow back!" She said, as she replanted the flower, but the moment she did, the flower immediately died, making the couple gasp in shock. "This is going from bad to worse!" Sonic cried out in panic. "Neither Izzy or Knuckles can ever know!" Pipp said with panic as well. "Ooh, hi, friends!" Izzy's voice called out, which surprised the couple, so they slowly turned and saw Izzy and Knuckles behind them with watering cans, which made them grow nervous and get even more panic then before. "Just have to water that glade of amazing flowers we found, but––" Izzy tried to say, but then she came to notice the lifeless ground. "Hold on a second..." As both Izzy and Knuckles looked around, Knuckles dropped his watering can and his jaw dropped as well once he also noticed the area, while Sonic and Pipp smiled sheepishly and tried to hid the baskets with flowers behind them. "This can't be it! Not this dry, wilted, shriveled-up, old place that could never sustain life!" Izzy said with panic, as she approached to Sonic and Pipp along Knuckles. As they did so, some trees suddenly came crashing down, and the two couples noticed this. Pipp felt worse now that she knows what she's done, and she began to cry. "Oh, Izzy! This is the spot! And it's all my fault! I picked all the flowers!" Both Izzy and Knuckles looked at the baskets with flowers and gasped in shock and horror. "What the heck?!" Knuckles screamed in panic. "I tried to stop her, and even if I did, we still killed the last flower by mistake!" Sonic said with concern, grabbing two of his quills and extending them to cover his face in shame. "Okay, you screw it but realized in time that, yet you two still screw it up even more... Am i getting this right?!" Knuckles asked, and both Sonic and Pipp nodded in panic. "Good. So explain me, then: Why is the forest rumbling?!" "Because the delicate Bridlewood ecosystem has been unbalanced!" Izzy answered horrified and panicked, as she shook her boyfriend. "And why didn't you told us that?!" Sonic asked with panic and a bit of anger. "Izzy, you gotta tell us all the details when something can AND is going to go wrong, not just say what you believe is the only important stuff!" And then, the ground began to shake even more, to the point cracks started to form, making the two couples back away as more trees came falling down. "Okay, the lesson we learned today is: Mess with nature, and nature will mess with you! Got it!" Sonic said with panic. "Can we please have some main character luck and save our butts now?!" "Now's not the time to break the fourth wall, Hedgehog!" Knuckles complained, as he placed a hand in front of Izzy to protect her. Pipp started to whimper in fear, before looking back at her baskets. "We need to get these flowers back in the ground!" "No time! There's too many of them!" Izzy pointed out anxiously. "The forest will be already down by the time we're done!" Sonic pointed out with concern, also placing an arm in front of Pipp to protect her. "Sonic's right! We'd need a small army to help us!" Knuckles added with a frown. However, that made Pipp's eyes widen, and then she smirked with an idea. "A small army, huh?" She asked them, as she brought out her stinky perfume. "Pipp, that thing was literally a big oof, and it even dragged a bunch of––" Sonic tried to say in anger, but then his eyes widened when he realized what he was going to say. "Oh... I get it... Well, spray that out, honey!" "Aye, aye, captain!" Pipp replied with a giggle, and then she sprayed the stinky perfume in the air. Not so long after, the critters came rushing to the source of the stinky scent. As they did so, some of them were dragging Sunny and Hitch along. Out of all the earth ponies in Maretime Bay, they dragged them specifically... I'm just leaving that in the air. "Uh... wait, what? Umm…" Sunny said surprised and confused, also holding a smoothie and trying to make the critters to put her and Hitch down. "I was literally about to put my hooves up when these little guys came and dragged me away!" Hitch complained, while the two couples came to them as the critters put them down. "Sunny! Hitch! No time to explain!" Sonic said with an anxious expression, as he zoomed into the two ponies' faces. "Bridlewood is about to collapse and cause the end of the world for some reason if you two don't fix it!" "Sonic's right! We need you to do your... Earth pony stuff!" Pipp quickly explained, pointing to the flowers they and the critters replanted, all dead on contact with the ground. "And quickly!" Sunny and Hitch looked at each other, now understanding the situation. They nodded and made their hooves glow in green, before stomping them down hard, while their Earth Pony magic spread across the field. Yet this wasn't enough, so they stomped again, and their magic glowed stronger, making the flowers come back to life and sprout. At the same time, some vines sealed the cracks and lifted the trees up back into their foundations, which made the group look around with smiles of joy and relief, since the field is back to normal and Bridlewood is now stable. "Woo! The day's saved again!" Sonic cheered with a smirk and his arms raised in the air. But it was not over yet, since the center of the field suddenly began to glow, so they all stood back as vine roots grew, and purple petals sprouted from the ground, spreading across the field, making the group look in awe. "Sweet grapes of havens!" Knuckles said amazed. "And once again, Equestria proves me to be an amazing place!" Sonic cheered loudly with a smile. Izzy sighed in relief. "Natural order is restored!" She said with sparkling eyes, before noticing Pipp seeing the tree with sparkling eyes as well, but not noticing that some petals were filling the basket, which made Izzy smile. "Awww! I guess this is the forest saying 'thank you'!" Pipp now noticed the basket filled with petals, so she looked at the tree with tears of joy. "Thank you, forest! I promise to only ever take what I need... And to look after and protect you..." Izzy giggled and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Now you're gettin' it, Pipperoni!" She said, as the two ponies hoofbumped. "And I'm proud too, Little Pipp!" Sonic said with a smile and wink down to his girlfriend. Back in Mane Melody, Pipp looked at the crowd again while holding up a new perfume bottle. "My brand new, totally organic, all-natural perfume!" Pipp announced. "I call it 'Harmony'! Because I want all my products to work with nature, not against it. And I pledge to plant a tree for every bottle sold!" She said, as she gestured to pots of sprouted trees next to her, with her friends and boyfriend next to them. "Har-mo-ny!" The Pippsqueaks sang, then the three fillies brought out some money, and so did the crowd as they cheered Pipp on. "Phew! Now that's more like it!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Whoa. One tree for every bottle sold?" Sunny asked Pipp in surprise as she turned to her. "You're gonna need a small army to do all that planting." "Luckily, I got just the thing!" Pipp said with a smirk, as she held up her first stinky perfume and sprayed it. However, that made the ground rumble, and everyone already knew what that meant: A bunch of critters entered the salon and towered over Pipp, who looked at the critters with wide eyes. "Ah crap..." Sonic deadpanned. "INCOMING!" Pipp yelled out in panic and covered, already knowing what was coming next. THE END Author's Note Well, this certainly was an interesting episode. I didn't liked how Pipp had to learn not to mess with Bridlewood when Bridlewoodstock literally treated that already... So, I changed it this time by making Pipp herself realize this on her own, yet letting her obsessive side that needs constant approval to still screw things up, but also almost realize it in time before, well, still fuck it up along Sonic. In my opinion, it works better this way, and comes to show that Pipp did learned from Bridlewoodstock and is willing to respect nature, even if she'll fail in the end all the same. And that's pretty much everything I can say about this chapter. The next one has the Mane 6 showing a bit of their gamer sides. You'll see what I mean eventually. Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year people! Bye!
67. The Sonic WalkthroughA camera was turning on and showed some static. Soon enough, though, the static stopped, and it showed Sonic, who was adjusting his camera so it could face him. "I think I finally got–– Oh, there we go!" Sonic said with a smile, so he sat on his desk and twirled around on his chair. "Hello, hello, and welcome, everypony! I'm yours truly Sonic the Hedgehog, the one and only! Streaming straight up from the Crystal Brighthouse!" He showed the background for a moment, revealing that he was in his section of the Brighthouse's bedroom, while many heart and pony laughing emojis were showing on the screen. "Now, I've been reading all your comments from my previous streams, and came to realize that many of you are very activate regarding my posts about the games based on my adventures!" Sonic said. Soon, his camera became smaller on a corner, while a bigger screen showed Sonic's Ponygram and many pictures he has posted on it. Most of these pictures were from Pipp and him together, but there was a bast catalogue of pictures where he was with the rest of his friends as well. But there was also a massive section of pictures were he was playing the games from his world along Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and even Shadow. For example, there's a picture of Shadow trying to not loose his cool after Sonic defeated him in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, playing as Shadow. "I've also noticed that you all are pointing out something I honestly didn't realized at first, and is that I've never had put any of my fellow ponies to play!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Well, today I'm changing that! We're gonna see the Mane 6 playing through 6 of my games! This. Is. THE SONIC WALKTHROUGH!!!" After saying this, many party cannons exploded and some balloons floated in the air, while the chat exploded with more heart emojis, ponies laughing, and even ponies with heart eyes. "Now, why only 6 games? Well, considering there's 32 mainline games, which increases to 100 if we count the spin-offs, I had to be really selective on which games suit my friends best," Sonic explained with his iconic smirk and a wink. "Now, I'll shut up already so we can move to the gameplay!" After saying that, he boosted away to look for his first friend to try out the first game. ZIPP STORM PLAYS: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 Soon, Sonic came by to be in front of the camera again, while Zipp arrived with an annoyed look. "Alright, guys! I'm back in action, and this time? Zipp's with me!" Sonic said with a smile, as he pointed at Zipp. "Uh... Hey..." Zipp waved her hoof with a sheepish smile at the camera, since she still hated to be in the spotlight. "And as I stated on the tittle card, she's gonna be trying out Sonic 2!" Sonic stated with a wink. "So, anything you've gotta say before we get started, Zippster?" "Ugh... Let's get this over with..." Zipp replied, as she placed her headphones and grabbed the Sega Genesis controller, while Sonic shrugged and placed his headphones as well. After that, the camera pointing at Sonic and Zipp became small on a corner again, while the bigger screen showed the 'Sonic the Hedgehogs 2' title screen. "So, uh... Do I have to select the character, or...?" Zipp asked. "Nah, the character has been selected already. You just have to press start!" "If you say so..." So, Zipp decided to press start like Sonic said and start to play. Soon, the music from Emerald Hill Zone started playing, and Classic Tails appeared in the middle of the stage, which Zipp took as the sign to start playing. "Alright, lets see..." Zipp said, as she first decided to test out how the controllers worked, so she pressed A, B and C, all making Tails jump in the screen. "Jumping is with these buttons..." She muttered before pulling the stick on certain directions, until she accidentally also pressed A while holding the stick down, which made Tails start to roll on his place in the screen. "Whoa! W-What am doing?!" "Chill out, sis-in-law. That's just the Spin Dash!" Sonic pointed out with a smirk. "Oh, right... Wait, can I fly in this––" Zipp was going to ask, but when she jumped and pressed the same button again, Tails started to fly a bit in the air. "Oh, now we're talking!" After that, Zipp finally started to move across Emerald Hill Zone, collecting rings and either jumping over badniks or Spindashing against them, as she also reached the star panels. "Wow... You're a natural at this, Zippster!" Sonic mocked up with a smirk. "Are you sure you never played this before?" "I'm pretty sure, bro-in-law! I guess I'm just really good at––" Zipp tried to mock back, but when she reached a star panel, some sparkles appeared over it, and when she jumped and touched the sparkles, the entire scenario changed. "... W-What's happening?" Soon, the screen showed Tails running through a large corridor, while his name appeared on top of the screen, as well as a ring counter, while some music started to play in the background. This confused Zipp, as she looked at Sonic at his side. "Um, Sonic? How about a little context?" "This is the special stage!" Sonic replied with a smile. "You enter them anytime you touch the sparkles over the Star Panels, but you can only access to them if you cross the Star Panels with 50 rings or more." "And what are these 'special stages' for, exactly?" "To collect the Chaos Emeralds! Once you get the 7, yo can turn Tails into Super Tails and be invincible! After you collect 50 rings, and if you loose all of them, you'll be back to be regular Tails..." Sonic explained the last part with a bored expression. "Oh, interesting!" Zipp said with a smirk. "But how do I clear these stages?" As she asked this, in the screen appeared a giant text that said 'Get 30 rings!' "Just collect as many rings as the screen asks you to!" Sonic explained. "Of course, you gotta dodge some obstacles and make sure you don't miss any rings––" "Done!" Sonic's eyes widened after hearing this, and so, he looked at the screen to see a thumbs up and the text 'Cool!', while the ring counter said that Zipp collected 53 rings. "...You collected those while I was talking?" Sonic asked in shock. "And now I'm going for the 70!" Zipp stated confidently. And so she did: She collected 106 rings and even dodged some bombs that came out of nowhere. Her final challenge arrived when she needed to get 130 rings, and she collected 156, while also dodging some other bombs. Finally, Tails reached the end of the corridor and obtained the Light Blue Chaos Emerald. Once he did so, another melody played in the background, while a text said 'Tails got a Chaos Emerald'. "Yeah! How about that, partner?" Zipp cheered with a confident smile. "You still need to clear the rest of the stage" Sonic mocked up with a smirk. "That thing? Piece of cake!" When Zipp said it was a piece of cake, she mean it. Zipp cleared the whole first act of Emerald Hill Zone with no problems, and she even collected other 5 Chaos Emeralds on the special stages. It all came down to the final boss in the second act: Eggman and the Egg Driller. "You think you can handle him, Zippster?" Sonic asked her with a mocking smirk. "Stand back and learn, hedgehog!" Zipp mocked back. Then, Zipp simply started to jump over the Egg Driller everytime he appeared on screen. She still got hit and lost all her rings, but at the same time, she managed to defeat Eggman and free all the animals from the giant capsule at the end of the level. "...Okay, yeah, you're really good at this, I'll admit it," Sonic said with an eye roll, but still with a smile. "Never doubt by gaming skills, man!" Zipp mocked up with a confident smirk. "Well, as much as I would like to see you getting to the end, we gotta keep moving with the rest of our friends," Sonic pointed out. "Thanks for coming, sis-in-law! Now, let's get to the next contestant!" After saying this, Sonic moved his hand to make a transition scene. IZZY MOONBOW PLAYS: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 & KNUCKLES Sonic appeared in front of the camera again, spinning over his chair. "Kon'nichiwa, mata okaerinasai!" Sonic greeted again, saying 'Hello, hello, and welcome back!' in Japanese. "So, we just saw that Zipp is actually really good at my games, but let's see if our next participant has the same luck! Everypony, please welcome Izzy Moonbow!" Soon, Izzy arrived by spinning on her chair while moving wildly around the bedroom, until she was heading towards Sonic and his setup. Panicking, Sonic activated his shield and protected himself and his setup from the unicorn, who ended up crashing against the shield and then falling backwards. Still, when Sonic deactivated the shield to check on her, Izzy stood up with dizzy eyes, before looking at the camera. "Hi!" Izzy greeted with a cheerful smile and sparkling eyes, also waving her hoof. "Welcome to The Sonic Walkthrough, Ms. Moonbow!" Sonic greeted her. "As I told you, you're gonna be playing Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles!" Izzy gasped dramatically after hearing this. "Can I play as Knuckie?!" "That's the plan!" Sonic replied, placing the headphones over Izzy. After that, he quickly started the game, selected Knuckles on an empty file, and then gave Izzy the controller. "Enjoy yourself, Iz!" Sonic said with a smile, while Izzy squealed excited. So, after a little cinematic in the game were a bomb appeared in front of Knuckles, exploded and startled him, followed by some animals running away, and then a robot appearing, which made Knuckles made, the game finally started on the first act of Angel Island. Of course, Sonic tried to relax himself, believing that Izzy was going to struggle with the game... She didn't. In fact, Izzy passed through the entire first level of Angel Island like a pro, which made Sonic's jaw drop, while the chat watching the stream went wild in disbelief, since nopony or creature expected Izzy to be this good at the game. In fact, she was so good that Sonic never had to open his mouth to instruct her on anything. Izzy was a natural at this, even more than Zipp, because the unicorn mare didn't even practiced to adapt to the controls. When she got to Angel Island's Act 2, she didn't needed help on anything again, leaving Sonic flabbergasted. She collected rings, elemental shields, and even attacked badniks like if it was a natural thing. She didn't collected any Chaos Emerald, though, but by how far she has gotten, it was clear she didn't needed them. Finally, Izzy reached the final boss on the second act, where she had a fire shield and din't even had to dodge the fire blasts thrown at her by the enemy, which was controlled by the same robot from the earlier cinematic and not by Eggman, as it was usual in these games. And finally, Izzy made a last hit to the robot in the game, defeating him and then freeing all the animals from the floating capsule that was descending, clearing the whole Angel Island zone with no problem. At this, Sonic had his jaw dropped and wide eyes, while Izzy just smiled and hummed happily to herself after completing the two levels, until she noticed Sonic's expression. "H-How..." Sonic called out. "HOW DID YOU CLEARED THE ENTIRE ZONE WITH NO EMERALDS AND AT THE VERY FIRST TRY?!" "Oh, well, I was just imagining myself doing all that cool stuff, which kind of helped me to get through the whole stage with no problem!" Izzy explained with her usual cheerful smile, while Sonic slowly looked at the camera of the livestream. The chat was still going wild, and some even were dropping some comments. RoseGirl What the hell?! MaximumPrower And here I thought that Cream beating Shadow was impressive... PerfectJewel Lol! UltimateLifeForm @MaximumPrower I'm gonna put some dirt in your eye StrongerThanSonic Haha, that's my girl! Sonic cringed a bit after reading that, before looking back at the camera with a deadpan and sigh. "Thanks for your time, Iz... Next participant..." HITCH TRAILBLAZER PLAYS: SONIC 3D BLAST "Okay! Now we're moving to Sonic 3D Blast! And this time, Hitch's gonna try it out!" Sonic announced with a smile, while both males had their headphones on already. "Thanks for inviting me, Sonic!" Hitch said with a smile, before deadpanning. "I do hate that we must do this as fast as we can, though, because I know that Knuckles is watching the stream instead of doing my rounds as I told him..." StrongerThanSonic ¡Me declaro culpable! Hitch rolled his eyes, before pressing start and accidentally skip all the cutscenes by mistake. "Oops!" "Eh, it's fine, Hitch. All you got to know is that there's critters encaged in badniks and you have to defeat all the robots to free'd them!" he pointed out with a smile. "Oh! Well, that actually makes things easier!" "Kinda..." Sonic muttered with a smirk. Soon, the game started on the first act of Green Grove Zone, but as Hitch began to move, he could barely keep Sonic moving on a straight line, because Sonic in the screen kept moving from one side to the other. "Uh... Sonic?" Hitch called out. "Am I going crazy, or is this controller so... stiff?!" "No, the controller is stiff," Sonic replied with a bored expression. "And don't bother to try on changing the controls, it'll make things worse." Still, Hitch was trying to make some progress in the game by jumping and collecting rings, but because of the weird 3D ambience in the game, it was hard to tell where the heck he was standing half of the time. StrongerThanSonic Dude, I haven't laughed this hard watching a gameplay in years! MaximumPrower Good Sheriff, terrible gamer JesusG0987 Yikes Flamewarrior02 LOL fail Eventually, Hitch managed to rescue all the animals after a stressful gameplay. "I DID IT! I'M DONE WITH THIS!" He cheered loudly with a twitchy eye, before running away while laughing like a maniac. Sonic scratched his head confused after that, so he looked back at the screen and shrugged. "Well, I guess this was not that good of a choice after all." StormySkies You guess? SunnyDelight Oh, trust me. He's just... not that good at video games MaximumPrower Yeah, we noticed BenictheHedgehog Shouldn't we move on? "Oh, right! Thanks for the reminder, Ben!" Sonic said with a smile and a wink. "Onto the next one!" SUNNY STARSCOUT PLAYS: SONIC HEROES "And now we go to the one game I know was made for you, Sunny-Bunny!" Sonic stated with a smirk. Sunny at his side, wearing headphones already, giggled after hearing this. "Oh, I'm pretty sure that any game you put me to play was going to be fine, Sonic!" "Oh, but this one is special: Its main gimmick is the power of teamwork!" Sonic explained with a smile. After hearing this, Sunny's eyes widened, before she gasped and her eyes sparkled, as she also placed her hooves on her cheeks. "TEAMWORK?! Why didn't you said that before?!" "I knew you'll like it!" Sonic said with a wink and this thumbs up, before moving over to the game and put everything but the characters. "I'll usually had this ready, but I'll let you choose who you wanna play with. I do warn you, though: The game either gets easier or harder depending on who you choose." "Oh!" Sunny said a bit confused. "Well, I guess I'll just pick you guys 'cause I honestly just want to get this started!" "Be my guest!" Sonic said with a smile. And so, after a cinematic of Eggman threatening Team Sonic, the game started on Seaside Hill, where Team Sonic ran across a beach before the level finally started with Sonic leading Tails and Knuckles. With this, Sunny began by boosting ahead with Sonic, but then accidentally switching to Knuckles, which made her eyes widen. "Uh... Did I did something wrong?" She asked a bit concerned. "Nah, you're fine, Sunny," Sonic assured with a smile. "That's just how the game works! You've gotta switch between me, Tails and Knuckles to clear the stage. Sometimes you gotta accelerate with me, sometimes you've gotta fly with Tails, and sometimes you've gotta fight with Knuckles!" "Oh! So that's why this game is about teamwork! I just gotta find a balance between the three of you!" "That's the spirit!" And so, Sunny spent her whole gameplay enjoying it. She smashed down the robots with either Knuckles or using Sonic's Homing Attack, while in the zones that required it, she used Tails to fly Sonic and Knuckles up to keep moving on. Collecting rings and even getting shields at time was never more fun, and Sunny was really enjoying the game so far, despite it still being just the first stage. At the end, Sunny defeated a final batch of robots by using all the characters whenever she could. Then, she pressed the Z button on her controller and made the move called 'Team Blast', which was Knuckles grabbing Tails and spinning around, while Tails grabbed Sonic and then let him go, as Sonic booted across the stage like a pinball. This move defeated all the enemies, and so, Sunny reached the giant golden ring to clear the stage. The same one finished with Sonic and Knuckles grabbing each other's right hands with smirks, while Tails used their united hands to jump over them and get in the air, as the three member of Team Sonic posed to the camera in victory. "Yes!" Sunny cheered, while Sonic cheered as well and hugged her sideways. "Hah! I knew you'll make it, Sunny-Bunny!" Sonic said happily. "You know, Sonic? You were right! This game is really fun and made for me!" Sunny kept cheering. "I can't wait to get through the rest of it!" "Time to meet your creator!" Eggman's voice spoke in the game. "UGH!!!" Sunny screamed in rage, since this was her 27th attempt on the final boss of Team Sonic's story. "I swear if he doesn't shuts the buck up, I WILL burn this thing down!" As Sunny struggled to make a single hit at the Egg Emperor in the game, Sonic stepped back nervously, then boosted to grab the camera of the stream and moved away, but Sunny could still be seen in the background. "Well, she lost her patience a lot later than I thought she would..." Sonic confessed with a bored expression. "I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS, EGGMAN, EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I'LL DO IN MY LIFE!!!" Sunny screamed enraged behind. "...Eggman, if you're watching this, I advice you to embrace yourself, because she's saying it both to you in the game and in real life..." Sonic pointed out with a deadpan. BrightdawnButterfly Uh... Shouldn't we do something to calm her down? BaySheriff Nah, I'll say we let her be. Is kinda attractive, anyways... StormySkies No bucking way you just wrote that! MaximumPrower LOOOOOL UltimateLifeForm @BaySheriff You are so done, Sheriff PerfectJewel HAHAHAHAHA! StrongerThanSonic OMG, he actually wrote that?! JesusG0987 I didn't know Sheriff Hitch was that risky BenictheHedgehog Is this real? We didn't just saw things, did we? Flamewarrior02 Hitch and Sunny, sitting on a tree. K, I, S, S, I, N, G! Sonic himself was trying not to burst laughing after hearing that, but then, Sunny on his back groaned in rage again. StrongerThanSonic Anything you've gotta say about that, @BaySheriff? StormySkies HAHAHAHAHA! MaximumPrower I love it here! BaySheriff I'll use my rights to remain silent UltimateLifeForm Like if that's gonna make you look less stupid after what you said PerfectJewel OMG I'M STROKING, HELP–– RoseGirl I haven't laughed this hard in YEARS! MoonBro Hitchy! Wanna share something with the class? HMM?! Kreotre We got you, Sheriff! RealAllBridge LOL "Okay, as much as I'm loving to read all of this, we gotta keep moving!" Sonic stated with a smirk, covering the camera's lens for a second, but then, Sunny groaning loudly could be heard. "NO, SUNNY! DON'T BRAKE THE––" And then, an image that said 'We're having technical problems. We'll be back!' was shown. PIPP PETALS PLAYS: SONIC COLORS After taking Sunny out, Sonic came once again in front of the camera. "Okay... We just have two players left" Sonic said with a smile. "Our next participant doesn't really needs a presentation... BUT!" After saying this, he clapped his hands and the lights turned off, while Sonic turned the camera around and pointed it to a little stage that pointed to Pipp's side of the bedroom. "Ladies, gentleman, ponies who still doubt their likes and non-binary creatures!" Sonic greeted through a microphone. "Let's give a warm welcome to the one and only pop-star princess, the most gorgeous pony that's ever lived, and my beautiful girlfriend... Marefriend... Is it fillyfriend? Eh, she's my soulmate, okay?. The one and only: Princess Pipp Petals!" With this, fake claps were heard and a light illuminated over the stage, now showing Pipp herself, who was smiling confidently, as she walked downstairs on an elegant and formal manner, while Sonic decided to follow her game by making a reverence, although his tail was waggling against his will. Soon, Sonic went and turned the camera back, while Pipp sat at her side, and as Sonic was fixing some stuff on his desk, she surprised him with a kiss on his lips, which made him blush madly. This little action also made the whole chat go nuts and comment like if their lives depended on it, although Sonic only chuckled sheepishly at his girlfriend's action, before shaking his head and focus back. "Shūchū, harinezumi, shūchū!" Sonic told himself with a serious expression, saying 'Focus, hedgehog, focus!' in Japanese. "Soko ni iru anata no chīsana aibō to issho ni kangaete kudasai, burūsutā~?" Pipp mocked up with a smirk and a blush, also waving her tail a bit, while Sonic's face went incredibly red after that. As for what Pipp told him, she said 'Thinking with your little buddy down there, Blue Star~?', but in Japanese. Sonic shook his head and decided to focus again. "Um... Y-Yeah! Uh, our next participant is Pipp Petals! S-She'll be playing Sonic Colors... If she stops teasing me..." He added with a slight annoyed tone, but Pipp only giggled innocently, and of course, that made him blush again while his heart skipped a beat. Still, he managed to keep his cool, and so, he started the game, putting it over Tropical Resort: Act 1. "There. The rest's up to you, Little Pipp!" Sonic told her with a smile, giving her the Wii controller. Yes, this is the original Wii version, not whatever 'Sonic Colors: Ultimate' attempts to be. Soon, Pipp decided to focus on the game, and as soon as Sonic appeared on screen while stretching a bit, Pipp moved the character a bit ahead, collecting some rings in the process. Then, when she grabbed a capsule with wisps, she noticed that a small bar in the bottom left corner was a bit full, so she pressed A, and the Sonic in the game boosted at top speed. Then, she reached a point where there were several balloons, so she pressed A two times, which made Sonic jump and the made a Homing Attack. Getting the hang of the game now, Pipp was definitely determinate to finish this stage at last. So, she accelerated and destroyed some more enemies with the Homing Attack, before boosting and collect a bunch of rings, followed by another section with enemies that she destroyed with the Homing Attack, and then a rail section where she boosted thanks to the bar in the corner being half-full. Without much problems, she simply kept boosting against some more enemies and balloons, and she could pass with no problems the 2D sections of the level, until she finished the level by freeing some wisps from a giant capsule. The end level was different this time, and as the final results showed up, indicating that she got a B as her highest score, but she could still control Sonic for some reason, and she jumped over the scores, somehow making it a bit bigger and even getting some rings, but the final score she got was still a B. "Huh... That was actually really fun!" Pipp said with a smile. "Yeah, well, Colors is really criticized because of reasons that aren't worth my time mentioning..." Sonic confessed with a somehow sad expression. "But I really enjoy this one... Specially because it has the lullaby I was taught as its main theme... I just wished people would had appreciated this more..." Pipp noticed his change of mood, but she still smiled and decided to gently kiss his cheek. "I don't know what has been said about this game, and a part of me honestly doesn't care..." Pipp said with a warm smile. "I personally enjoy it, and even if this is just the first stage? I'm pretty sure the rest of the game is as entertaining." After hearing this, Sonic looked over at Pipp and smiled, before kissing her tenderly on her lips. "...Thanks, Pipp... I really needed to hear that..." Pipp giggled after hearing this. "Anything for you, Blue Star~" MISTY BRIGHTDAWN PLAYS: SONIC GENERATIONS "And finally, our last competitor today!" Sonic declared with a smile. "Um... Sonic?" Misty's voice called out, but she couldn't be seen on-screen, because she was hiding below the desk. "A-Are you sure I can do this? I'm still afraid to be on-screen..." "Come on now, Mist. Trust me!" Sonic assured her with a smile, as she grabbed her from her hidden spot and sat her on the chair at his side, while Misty felt a bit dizzy. "Once you start playing, you won't even remember that you're being recorded in the first place!" Misty shook her head a bit dizzy, but once she was back to normal, her eyes moved the camera, and so, she freeze'd on her place with wide eyes. Meanwhile, Sonic prepared the game and selected Modern Chemical Plant, but once he looked over at Misty, he smiled sheepishly. Still, he gave her the controller and moved her face towards the screen with the game, which free'd her from her shocked state. "Just focus on the game, Mist!" After hearing this, Misty took a deep breath, and looked determinately at he screen. Soon, she started to boost across the level, collecting rings, and even moving over rails and Homing Attacking enemies, since she learned a lot from both Sunny and Pipp's gameplays. "Whoa!" Sonic said with a smile. "I'm impressed, Mist! You're talented! You definitely forgot about the stream fast!" However, after he said that, Misty's eyes widened, and she panicked again, so she hid below the desk again. "Oops... I shouldn't had said that..." Sonic muttered with concern, before pausing the game. "Well, uh... Since the game ended up earlier than I expected, I guess we reached the end of 'The Sonic Walkthrough'. Thanks to everyone who joined us today! And if you have any more suggestions, please go follow me on my Ponygram account! That's all for today, guys! Gotta Go Fast!" After saying this, Sonic boosted away, while the stream finally reached its end. THE END Author's Note Thanks to Flamewarrior02 for the suggestion of this chapter, who also got a small cameo along some other users! I honestly never thought about the Mane 6 playing some of Sonic's Games, but I guess it was a matter of time until it happened, and this episode is all about that! I also tried a lot with the "Stream Format" since it only made sense for Sonic to want to either show off how good his friends are at his games to everyone, or even make fun of them. Either way, I think this format works for this episode, but I don't think I'll use it ever again. And yes, I know that you cannot fly as Tails if you play as him in the original game, but: My story, my rules. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed. See ya!
68. Attack of the BunnisusIn Bridlewood, Sunny and Windy were at the Crystal Tea Room. There, the two mares were making a clay vase. Suddenly, some of Sunny's clay splattered out while making her vase, and she got some on Alphabittle, who smiled sheepishly. Pipp, Jazz, and Rocky (Every new day is the best day ever) Pipp: A brand new day Before Alphabittle could say anything, Sunny showed her complete vase, and Windy finished hers as well, which made Alphabittle smile at their work, making them earn a a clay sculpture badge on their sashes, so the two ponies hooftapped together. A brand new chance, a brand new way To be my very best pony In the Brighthouse, Sunny was sewing a picture of Windy Windy also sewed a picture of Sunny, and that made them earn their sewing badge. And live my best life, 'cause there's only one now Yeah, only one now At a field, Sunny brought out her Alicorn form with a determined smile. Then, she used her Earth Pony magic on the field to make many carrots sprout, while Windy fled over the field with a watering can and watered the carrots. But then, the ground started to rumble, because the critters rushed out of the bushes and started to eat the carrot ropes, which made Sunny and Window watch them amused. After a while, the critters lay on the ground, one bunnycorn burped, and the mares hoof tapped together, earning their critters badges. A little bit later, Sunny and Windy were looking at their badge stashes. "Oh, look at all our badges, Sunny!" Windy smiled with sparkling eyes, and Sunny had the same expression, then Windy came next to her and placed a hoof over Sunny's back. "I knew you'd love being a part of the Trail Trotters just as much as I do!" "Check it out, Windy! There's still room for more!" Sunny exclaimed with a smile and sparkling eyes, also pointing to the empty spot on the sash, then she gasped at an idea. "Wait. Are there any badges that you can earn with your friends?" "Let me just have a look in the Trail Trotters guide…" Windy replied, looking through the guide book before smiling widely. "Oh, yes! The Wilderness Survival Badge has to be earned as a whole group." Sunny smiled widely as well and tapped her hooves together. "Oh, I think I might know a few ponies who would totally love that!" A little bit later, Sunny got her friends together to join in on the fun. Well, the rest of the Mane 6 agreed. Team Dark was not even around, but Sunny already suspected their answer, and Team Sonic choose to stay in town to look after it in case unexpected visitors arrived. Yes, they obviously mean Eggman or Opaline, who else might it be? Scourge? He's not even canon. The Mane 6 all grabbed their camping supplies, but as soon as they entered the forest, it was now pouring down rain, with thunder striking, while the Mane 6 deadpanned, Windy smiled, and then a critter moved pass them very fast, startling the Mane 6. "Oh, the outdoors. Doesn't it just make you feel so peaceful and calm?" Windy asked the Mane 6 with a smile. Pipp looked around nervously and smiled in that way while tittering. "Oh, yes. We are totally–– Ah!" She cried out when a vine grabbed onto her right hind leg. "––at one… Ugh!" She cried out as she got her hoof free from the vine, before falling on her stomach in a pile of mud. "...With nature." She tried to stand up, but fell again, this time face first into the mud. "Left here, ponies!" Hitch announced with a smile, with Pipp stood up with an irritated look, shaking the mud off herself, while Misty held onto Izzy nervously, Zipp gave a bored look, and both Sunny and Windy just looked at him. "Getting that Wilderness Survival Badge is gonna be a piece of… Huh?" Hitch suddenly trailed off because he saw a big mud puddle that is bubbling on the ground, which the rest noticed. "Hmm... This wasn't on my map." Hitch said confused, analyzing the 'map' on his hooves. Just then, Zipp came next to him and analyzed the map as well, before giving Hitch a dull look. "Um, that's because that map isn't a map. It's one of Sparky's drawings!" She pointed out, grabbing the map to reveal it was just a drawing Sparky made earlier. Hitch facehoofed himself in disbelief, and if Knuckles was here, he'll definitely smack him on his head. "Then what happened to the map?!" But before they could question further, they heard someone burping, so they turned and saw Sparky sitting in the ground, rubbing his belly and giggling with a satisfied smile. "Sparky!" The Mane 6 scolded him. "Ugh!" Pipp groaned frustrated. "So now we're lost, too?!" She questioned, then she started to cry, tears flowing out of her eyes. "No, no, no, no!" Suddenly, Izzy giggled and moved her mane out of her eyesight. "And we might want to find a new path. That bog is way too stinky." She explained, gesturing to the big puddle, while a pegasnail came trailing by, and Izzy grabbed it when it started sinking and pulled it out. "We put one hoof in there, and we're gonna be mud ponies forever!" She cheered with a silly look, then she smiled. "Could be kind of fun." Pipp chuckled sarcastically before deadpanning. "Yeah, that's a hard no for me, Iz. Any other ideas?" Sunny started to look around, before noticing something that made her smile. "Nopony panic. I know that rock." She said, gesturing to the rocky hill where she got lost with her friends a long time ago. "Follow me!" Later, the rain finally stopped, the skies cleared up, and the sun was shining down again. Meanwhile, the Mane 6 and Windy were setting up a camp, with Sunny placing a blanket with food on the ground; Pipp humming happily to herself next to a speaker with a microphone; Zipp putting up the tent, and Izzy gathering wood to make a fire. "Oh, yeah!" Izzy cheered with a smirk. "What's a campfire without…" Pipp started, then she grabbed the microphone and cleared her throat, before flying up to her sister. "...campfire songs from ME-ME-ME-MEEEEE?" She sang through the microphone, amplifying her voice and making Zipp cover her ears from the loud sound. On the other hoof, Misty was moving a stick strapped to her side and humming happily while dragging the stick to the ground to form a perimeter, but then she bumped into Sunny with a grunt. "Camp perimeter secured, Sunny," Misty said with a smile, then she dropped the stick, while Sunny smiled back. "Leave it to me to keep watch." "And I'll light the campfire," Hitch said with a smile, rubbing a stick over some logs, while Sparky watched him. "Stand back, Sparky." Yet Sparky started to feel his stomach rumbling, so he stood up and turned around, but before he could ran away, he farted out a dragon fire that hit the logs, lighting up in flames. Sparky felt ashamed for what he just did, while Hitch stared at the fire a bit disgusted. Sunny, however, giggled after seeing this. "All that's left to do is… dinner!" She stated, then she stomped her hoof down, using her Earth Pony magic that spread across the ground to the seeds Izzy was planting and watering. Soon, Sunny's magic reached the seeds and made carrots grow from the ground, then Sunny picked a carrot up. "We are well on our way to earning that badge!" Windy said with a smile. Just then, a bunnisus came from behind a bush with squeaks and heart-shaped eyes, because it saw the carrots crops and hopped towards them, just to be stopped by Misty. "Shoo! Shoo!" Misty said to the bunnisus with a frown, but then she realized that she was being too harsh, so she kneeled down and smiled sheepishly at the critter. "Uh, if-if-if you wouldn't mind, please." The bunnisus squeaked with a frown, but it still choose to hop away, although not without glaring at Misty, making the poor mare flinch and sweat nervously by it. Despite having shown bravery in other kind of circumstances, she was still very shy in front of some circumstances. The bunnisus hopped through a bush with an angry look, but then it saw a stack of glowing pink crystals. It got curious and touched one, which made it glow in sparkling pink and start to grow in size. Back at the campsite, Pipp was vocalizing through her microphone. Zipp watched her sister with a smile, while Izzy came back with more wood for the fire, but suddenly, the ground started to rumble, and loud thudding sounds could be heard, with caught the Mane 6 but Misty's attention, as well as Windy's, as they looked around confused. And right Before any of them could question anything, they saw Misty running towards them, while dust was following behind her, as she gave a panicked expression. "RUUUUUN!" Yet all the group did was stood there in shock, seeing the bunnisus in front them, but in gumbo size. "Everypony, look out!" Sunny warned and ran way with Windy. As the two mares moved out of the way, the bunnisus hopped over them and kicked the wagon full of carrots in the air, then it caught it in the mouth and ate it, before burping out the wagon pieces. Pipp, Zipp and Misty screamed when they saw the giant bunnisus jumping towards them, as it knocked them away while destroying their camping stuff. Also, the wind from the gigantic critter's jump blew towards Hitch, blowing away the fire and his tent. "Come on!" Hitch groaned, and Sparky whimpered in fear. The bunnisus roared loudly, and then it began to hop away, towards Maretime bay. "Oh, no! The bunnisus is destroying everything!" Sunny pointed out at the destruction the giant bunnisus is making. "Including any hope of earning that Wilderness Survival Badge." Zipp whispered to the rest of the Mane 6. "All that matters now is stopping that bunnisus before anypony gets hurt!" Sunny said with a determined look, then she looked around and noticed one of the remaining carrot carts. She saw a carrot on the floor, and now she finally had an idea, so she smiled and used her Earth Pony magic to make the carrot grow bigger. "Everypony with me?" Sonic was sleeping peacefully at the Crystal Room in the Brighthouse. He was no heavy sleeper, so the minimum sound was going to end up waking him up... Which is exactly what happened once the entire ground rumbled and lift him in the air. "Huh?!" Sonic exclaimed in panic, sitting down and looking around confused, just for the ground to shake again and lift him a second time. "What in the name of Chaos?!" Sonic looked at the Unity Crystals with a raised eyebrow, but when the ground rumbled again and he noticed that the Crystals remained intact, he knew that the Crystals were fine. Yet another rumble made him stand up and ran to stand at the very top of the building. Once he saw what was going on, his eyes widened at the sight of the bunnisus, which literally destroyed the Community Garden outside the Brighthouse. "Oh-oh..." Sonic said with wide and panicked eyes. "Sunny's not gonna like this." After saying that, he noticed that the bunnisus was heading towards Posey's, and he panicked even more, because he knows that Posey has gone through enough crap because of them, so he attempted to boost towards her... Just to make a bad move and trip. He fell in a bush with spikes, and of course he screamed loudly in pain because of that. After that, the bunnisus hopped pass Posey's house. It landed on one of her flower patches, making her open her door to see what was all that noise about. "Huh?" Posey exclaimed, then she turned to see her ruined flower patch, so she screamed very loudly in shock. Shadow was staring at the ocean from a hill, probably reflecting about his life for the millionth time. Yet his thoughts were interrupted when the ground rumbled, so he posed defensively and looked around. "What the hell?" Shadow muttered confused. It seems this bunnisus hopes too damn hard. I say this, because both ponies from Bridlewood and Maretime Bay could hear the thudding sounds, since in Alphabittle's Tea Shop, said unicorn was giving a Unicorn mare a tea, just when the ground rumbled. In Mane Melody, Jazz and Amy were applying makeup over an Earth Pony mare. But when the ground rumbled loudly, Jazz ruined the lipstick, and Amy ruined the eye shadows. Worse of all, Rouge was near a mirror, applying some makeup over herself, but the rumble ruined it too. Yeah, she didn't took it too well, I'll tell you that. Her scream was... Quite loud and horrible to hear. Tails was at his workshop, fixing Fifi's delivery cart since the wheels popped off. However, just as he was about to put the final wheel, the ground rumbled loudly, and the cart was now trembling as well because of that, which made Tails accidentally drop the wheel, just for the ground to rumble again and made the cart fall over his back. Of course, this made Tails feel incredibly painful, but he managed to resist a scream of agony and pain. Omega was literally glaring daggers at a colt. He was at the beach with the Pippsqueaks Glory, Seashell and Peach Fizz, because he promised to their parents that he'll look after them the same way he's been doing for the past several months. Right now, however, he was being more menacing than ever. One of the colts in the beach 'accidentally' hit Seashell with a ball, and instead of apologizing, he made fun of her, then ran away and minded his own business. Of course, Glory and Peach Fizz saw this happening, but so did Omega, who's red eyes shrink a bit, then he grabbed Glory and placed her carefully on his shoulder, while he followed the colt along the other two fillies, and once they spotted him, they cornered him. The colt stared up at Omega in pure fear, but the robot did not care. "Apologize to the tiny Earth horse girl right now, or we will make you," He demanded in anger. Yet before the colt could do so, or even say or do anything at all, the ground rumbled violently, which made Omega grab the three fillies on his arms to protect them. He looked around confused, then the ground rumbled again, which confused him even more, and even though he was still mad with the colt for what he did to Seashell, he still felt bad for him when he saw him loosing his balance, so he grabbed him as well. After that, he turned on his rockets to stay in air in case he had to boost away for shelter. Back in town, Knuckles was doing his rounds around and watching over town. However, as soon as the ground rumbled, he almost lost his balance, but still managed to keep it at stake, and then as he looked around, he noticed the bunnisus in the distance. "What in the name of the Master Emerald is going on here?!" Knuckles asked confused and in shock. The bunnisus glared daggers down at Knuckles, but just when Knuckles was ready to fight... "Over here, Mr. Hippity-Hoppity!" Misty called out, cutting Knuckles off and standing in front of Canterlove Studios, also levitating the big carrot Sunny made earlier. "Come and get it!" The giant bunnisus saw the carrot, so it hopped towards Misty, which made the unicorn loose her courage. "Whoa. Whoa!" Misty cried out while sweating nervously, then she started running away, while the giant bunnisus followed behind her. Misty ran into the woods, then she turned back and saw the bunnisus getting closer to her and the carrot. "Whoa!" Misty said, then she tossed the giant carrot away with a grunt, making the bunnisus hop next to her. The bunnisus glared in anger, but then he saw Hitch running with a wagon that held the big carrot, so it hopped after him, while Hitch ran as fast as he could, then stop himself and made the the big carrot fly off, just to be caught by Windy caught in the air, then she flew off. "Over here!" Pipp called out, appearing suddenly from some trees, so Windy tossed the carrot to Pipp, who caught it and then flew away, while the bunnisus hopped after her. Soon, Pipp stopped and tossed the carrot to Zipp, who flew below some tree vines and dodged a few trees. Soon, the giant bunnisus hopped, so she flew up and twirled around to toss the carrot to Sunny. The carrot landed on Sunny's wagon, then she started running away with a determined smile, but then she saw a cliff ahead, so she gave a determined look and jumped over the edge, bringing out her Alicorn magic and flying up, which made her wagon get lose and fell off her straps. The carrot was now falling, and even though Sunny could have levitated it, Shadow came at tops speed and jumped, then kicked the carrot back to Sunny, who smiled and caught it with her hooves. After that, the now Alicorn mare flew off, but when she turned, she saw the giant bunnisus over her with it's wings spread and a smirk, making her gasp, so she flew faster into the forest, dodging around trees with no problem and heading towards a familiar spot. The giant bunnisus hopped into the mud puddle bog Izzy mentioned earlier. When the critter noticed this, it tried to fly out of the mud, but it was stuck, and it made it feel sad and defeated. "Phew!" Sunny said in relief, but then she giggled sheepishly, while her friends behind looked at the critter confused. "Uh, careful, little–– uh, big critter." Then, the bunnisus started to cry because of being stuck, while Shadow suddenly appeared at Sunny's side. "The hell happened to them to get that big?" He asked confused. "I don't think it matters anymore. What's important is that we prevented a major disaster." Sunny said with a smile. "You start to sound like Sonic. I should worry, a lot," Shadow deadpanned. Sunny rolled her eyes and giggled, then looked at the bunnisus with a smile "We'll get you free just as soon as you're back to normal." Just then, Izzy grabbed some crystals and stood up. "These ought to do it," She smiled, then levitated the crystals around the giant bunnisus. The crystals shimmered brightly and used their magical properties to shrank the bunnisus back into its normal size, while Izzy caught it with her magic, making it squeak a bit in a very cute way. Then, Izzy brought it to her hooves and hugged it with a cheery smile. "Awww! What a little cutie!" Izzy said with sparkling eyes, nuzzling her cheek with the bunnisus'. This made the rest of Mane 6 and Windy cheer to their success, while Shadow just shrugged and teleported away, since he felt this was none of his business. "Now look out for those giga gems, you hear?" Izzy said to the bunnisus, as she put it down, while the critter hopped towards the giant carrot and began to chomp it quickly. Then, Misty came up to Sunny with concern. "Sorry things didn't work out how you'd hoped, Sunny." "Aw, thanks, Misty," Sunny told her with a smile. "But we can always try to earn the Wilderness Survival Badge some other time. Right, Windy?" Windy, however, smiled and cleared her throat. "Actually, the Wilderness Survival Badge isn't just about putting up tents or lighting a campfire. It's about working together," She explained, holding up the badge, while the others listened with smiles, and Sunny smiled with sparkling eyes, with Windy coming up to Sunny. "Which... is exactly what we just did!" "Aw, yeah!" Sunny cheered joyfully. After that, the Mane 6 and Windy put their earned survival badges on their respective sashes, and then they all started to cheer at their success, hooftapping each other as a team, while the Cutie Marks of the seven ponies started to glow and sparkle up. Meanwhile, in the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic was trying so hard not to scream. After falling on that bush with spikes, Amy had to come from Mane Melody and attend him with a bored expression, removing the spikes from his body that got attached to it. "I'm the Fastest–– OW!" Sonic groaned when Amy removed another spike from hi back. "––Thing Alive. I have survived literal–– DANG IT!" He groaned again when Amy removed a spike off his shoulder. "––Explosions! I have conquered gods and machines–– Hahaoya!" He groaned when Amy took off a spike from his arm, also saying 'Mommy!' in Japanese. "But then I fell on a bush with spikes, and now everything hurts. Why?! I'm a hedgehog! I have quills, for Chaos–– SAKE! GAH!" Amy rolled her eyes after removing another spike off his back. "Should I remind you that you are no god, and that you're just as mortal as any of us?" She asked sarcastically. "Well, it'll be great if I wasn't!" Sonic groaned a bit mad, then groaned again and loudly when Amy removed a spike from his arm again. Meanwhile, Tails was not so far, laying on his back over a giant piece of ice after his incident earlier. "I won't be able to sit for a freaking week, guys..." Tails groaned painfully, also pulling his tongue out to add more drama. Amy rolled her eyes again in annoyance and shook her head in disappointment. "I'm surrounded by toddlers..." THE END Author's Note That... actually went better than I expected. Since I had no idea on what to do with the Mobians in this episode, I choose to leave them as background characters having several situations that affects them all because of the bunnisus earthquakes. Also, I think that I have written Amy more like a Mom to Team Sonic than anything else, but I think it fits her character. She keeps the guys on line, after all. Anyways. Next episode: Sonic Superstars stuff. That's all I'm gonna say. Bye!
69. Chaos PocksIn the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic hold the Blue Chaos Emerald with a smirk. "Chaos... Control!" Sonic shouted, as the Emerald began to glow bright on its color, soon followed by Sonic's body glowing in the same color scheme as well. After that, Sonic's body literally started to multiply, until the room was filled with thousands of Sonics. Fun fact: This was not Sonic using his super speed to multiply himself, but instead, it was the Chaos Emerald's power literally multiplying Sonic's physical form. Once all the Sonics were here, they all looked over at Zipp, who was taking notes about the Chaos Emeralds' abilities, but she also had her jaw dropped once Sonic multiplied himself without using his speed. "Hello, Zippster!" All the Sonics said with smirks. "Sweet ponyfeathers!" Zipp said amazed and with wide eyes. "You... are... and even... You are literally everywhere!" "Yeah, all thanks to the power of this Emerald here!" The Original Sonic that used the Chaos Emerald said with a smirk, also pointing at said Emerald on his hand. "But that's not the only power that I can use!" One of the other Sonic's said, laying on Zipp's shoulder. "Just you wait until you see me using the the rest of them!" Another Sonic said with a smile. "Then you better get to show me, sir! Or... Sirs? I honestly don't know, this is confusing," Zipp said with a sheepish smile. In the daylight Gonna go fast Gotta beat the red light Ain't no time lapse Later on, Sonic and Zipp were outside near the beach. Sonic was holding the Light Blue Emerald on his hand, and he smirked confidently before using the Emerald's power to turn his body into literal water that melted and went to the sea, which both surprised and concerned Zipp, because she knows he can't swim. In the night time I'ma keep on Racing the shooting stars til the dawn However, her worry didn't lasted long when Sonic came back to the surface with a smirk, just that now, his whole body was made of water, and that made Zipp's jaw drop again. Still, she ended up smiling, taking a picture of Sonic, and then writing down her observations on her phone. We can be friends, but I won't team up If you wanna come along, then try to keep up Now, they went to Bridlewood to test out the Green Chaos Emerald's power. Sonic grabbed said Emerald and made it glow, then once his body was glowing on the same green color, he smashed the ground and made a giant vine grow from it, since this Emerald's power worked similarly to the Earth Pony's magic, but with Chaos Energy. Zipp was surprised by this once again, but she still smiled, took a picture, and wrote her observations down. I'm the fastest, I'm the fastest alive Need no practice If you insist I'm a liar Soon, they moved towards Zephyr Heights with the Yellow Chaos Emerald. While all the Chaos Emeralds can use the 'Chaos Control' ability to stop time entirely, only the Yellow One can slow it down, and Sonic was ready to do a demonstration of such quality. So, Sonic grabbed Zipp's hoof, then used the Emerald's power and made time slow down around them. Zipp looked around amazed, and she realized that everypony else around was till moving, but at a very slow pace. She wondered if this is how Sonic feels the whole time. Still, she decided to question him that later, because she wrote down her observations on her phone again. I can't even explain it But I know I'll never stop this feeling Now, they came to Canterlot City with the Red Chaos Emerald. There, they explained to Discord what they were doing, and Discord even decided to help by snapping his fingers and make a bunch of objects, or 'obstacles', to appear around the abandoned city. This is because the Red Emerald's power is to transform the user into a living bullet that boots around at the speed of sound, and Sonic activated the power of the Emeralds to turn himself into a bullet, so he charged his Spin Dash and then started to boot around. The speed in my soul The speed in my soul He always hit all the obstacles that Discord placed, and he destroyed them all in a matter of seconds, something Zipp recorded with a smile, then she wrote down her observations again on her phone. And I can't even restrain it So I'm gonna keep, keep on running The speed in my soul And now, they went back to Maretime Bay to try out the Purple Emerald's power. There, Sonic grabbed Zipp's hoof again before using the Emerald's power again, which made the entire environment around them to change, but this time around, they were looking at a bunch of purple invisible platforms floating around Maretime Bay. These platforms could only be visible and touchable thanks to the Emerald's power, which meant that only Sonic and Zipp could not only see them, but also touch them as well. So, Sonic started to jump all over the platforms to have fun, and Zipp decided to join him over, feeling surprised that the platforms where this solid despite being invisible for everyone else, but she still smiled and started to make tricks over platforms along Sonic. And nothing's gonna stop me I'ma keep on running, oh! The two of them laughed as the kept jumping over platforms, not noticing that Knuckles and Hitch were looking at them from the ground, since they were patrolling around the town. But as soon as they noticed that Sonic and Zipp were making tricks and 'platforming' in the sky, floating around, Hitch's jaw dropped confused, while Knuckles groaned and facepalmed, because this wasn't the first time that Sonic was doing something like this. "Not this crap again..." Knuckles muttered to himself in annoyance. Later on, Sonic and Zipp returned to the Crystal Brighthouse. Zipp was now at her laptop, uploading all the info she wrote down of the Chaos Emeralds on her phone and now putting it on her computer with a huge smile, while Sonic stood at her side with a smirk. "I can't believe that the Emeralds could do all of that this whole time!" Zipp said with a smile, then her eyes opened wide, and she looked at Sonic with sparkling eyes. "Wait! Does this mean that Super Sonic has been using the power of all the Emeralds combined and is not just an exclusive thing of the Super form?!" "Yup!" Sonic replied with a smirk. "Well, I mostly only use the Bullet Power, Avatar Power, Time Stop Power, and Extra Power. The other three? I barely have used them as Super Sonic." "Extra Power?" Zipp asked confused. "I don't think I have that one down..." "Oh, that's because I haven't showed you the Silver Emerald's power," Sonic explained with a smile, then he made the Silver Chaos Emerald appear on his hand. "Want me to show you what it does?" "Of course!" Zipp said with sparkling eyes, also taking out her phone to record. "Hey guys!" Sunny's voice suddenly spoke, as the two of them turned to see her entering the room with a smile. "Whatcha doing?" "Hey, Sunny-bunny!" Sonic said with a smile. "Not too much, just showing Zipp the special powers of the Chaos Emeralds." "Special powers?" Sunny asked confused. "What is that?" After Sunny asked this, Zipp zoomed into her face while holding her laptop on her hooves. "Each Chaos Emerald has a special ability. Sonic's been showing them to me the whole morning!" She explained, as she showed Sunny the videos of what the first six Chaos Emeralds could do. Sunny's eyes sparkled after seeing this. "Whoa!" She exclaimed happily. "I didn't knew the Emeralds could do all of that!" "We rarely use those abilities 'cause they're not necessary, but Zipp had a good point when she asked me if I could show her what the Emeralds are capable of," Sonic explained. "Which is?" Sunny asked with a smirk, since she noticed that Zipp wanted so badly to share what she had to say. "Well, we know a bit about the Unity Crystals and what they can do," Zipp began to explain. "However, we barely know about the Emeralds' power. Sure, we know stuff like that they're from Equestria and come from space, but what do we know about their power for sure?" "I mean, we have seen Sonic use them to stop time, and I'm pretty sure he told us the Ancients used them to create the Titans from the Starfall Islands," Sunny pointed out. "But we didn't know they each have different abilities, so I totally see your point, Zipp." "And now, Sonic's gonna show me what the last Emerald's power is!" Zipp said with a smile, once again pointing her phone at him to record the demonstration. "Ooh, I wanna see this, too!" Sunny said with her hooves together and sparkling eyes. "Okay, ladies. I'll show you the power of the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic stated. "Now, this one in particular has the Extra Power. It's called like that because it gives you and extra ability in combat you can't usually do as yourself. In my case?" After saying all of this, he pointed the Emerald high and made it shine brightly. Then, the said 'Chaos Control' and activated the Emerald's power, making his entire body shine brightly in a silver light. Once the Emerald Power was activated, Sonic twirled around on his place. You may think this does nothing, but in reality, it transformed him into a literal living driller, although the driller part was upwards, hence why Sonic was twirling with his hands pointing to the ceiling. Of course, this made Sunny and Zipp gasp amazed with sparkling eyes, and Zipp even took a good video of Sonic's demonstration about the Emerald's power. Then, the hedgehog stopped twirling and smirked at his friends after finishing showing the Extra Power. "So? Whatcha think?" Sonic asked confidently. "Amazing!" Zipp said, still with sparkling eyes. "I knew that the Emeralds were powerful, but this goes beyond my expectations! I must write this down and investigate further. I may not discover how they do what they do, but I know I'll get something!" After saying this, Zipp went over to her laptop so she could write down what she just saw, while Sunny approached Sonic and stared at the Emerald on his hand with sparkling eyes. "Say, Sonic..." Sunny called out, and Sonic turned to see her. "You won't happen to know if somepony can use the Chaos Emeralds, do you? I mean, we know you can use them and all, but what about a pony?" Sonic blinked a few times, then crossed his arms and looked down in thought. "You know? I actually never wondered that before... I honestly don't know what could happen." "I see..." Sunny said, then looked at the Emerald on his hand. "So, what would happen if I––" Sonic noticed that Sunny was trying to grab the Emerald with her hoof, so he quickly moved it away from her. "Whoa! Hold on, Sunny!" Sonic said with concern, then he frowned slightly. "A Chaos Emerald can't be used just like that." "Why not? I have seen you using them several times! Even transforming into your Super self," Sunny pointed out with a smile. "That's because I have been exposed to Chaos Energy for years," Sonic pointed out. "I also have a special connection with the Emeralds, but said connection was forged after I trained myself to resist their power." "Resist their power?" Zipp asked this time, joining in the conversation and taking out her phone to record Sonic's dialogue. "Can you explain what do you mean?" "The Chaos Emeralds are gems of miracles, jewels capable of amazing things," Sonic started to explain. "On the right hands, they can be used to create incredible stuff, but in the wrong ones, they can be used to cause a destruction like nothing you've ever seen. And, not everyone can use a Chaos Emerald. You have to train yourself in every aspect to resist their energy: Your body, your mind, your soul. They all have to be in sync when using a Chaos Emerald. If not, all three of them could get affected in ways I don't even want to think about." "Whoa..." Both Sunny and Zipp said in surprise with wide eyes. "It's a miracle that Tails is not dead after using the seven Emeralds to cure the Metal Virus," Sonic said with a concerned frown. "He never used that much power before. I still wonder why he survived, but I'm very glad he did." "Wait... Tails could've died?!" Zipp asked in panic with wide eyes again. "Hence why only Shadow and I use the Emeralds," Sonic pointed out. "And it'll be amazing if it remains like that. I'm serious, Sunny: Don't use the Emeralds. Either Shadow or I can train you to resist their power, just like I'm doing with Tails, but until then, I don't want you or anyone else to even think about using a Chaos Emerald. Understood?" "Oh, I'm siding with you, bro-in-law," Zipp said, then she turned to see Sunny. "We are not using the Chaos Emeralds. If Tails survived even though he should've died, I don't want to even know what could happen to the rest of us." "But I––" Sunny tried to argue. "Sunny. This is out of question," Sonic scolded her. "I know why I'm telling you not to use the Emeralds' Power. Besides, there's a reason why I tell you not to use them without being prepared. Tails is alive by a miracle, but we don't know if you'll have the same luck, and I won't risk your life to find out the answer. Please, just don't touch the Emeralds." Sunny didn't liked that she was treated like a child by her friends sometimes, but she also understood that Sonic's concern comes from the idea of her dying because of the Chaos Emeralds, and she honestly didn't liked the idea of dying either when she still had so much to see and say. So, Sunny sighed frustrated and nodded. "Okay... I won't use the Chaos Emeralds." Sonic's frown disappeared, and his smile returned. "That's all I need to hear," He stated, then he approached to the Capsule where they've been protecting the Chaos Emeralds for the past month after what happened in the parallel human world and placed the Silver Emerald back on place. "I'm almost late for dinner with Pipp. We're going out before our order gets cancelled... Again. See ya!" After saying that, Sonic boosted out of the Brighthouse. "And I have to reunite with Tails. He said something about discovering something cool from Cyberspace," Zipp said with a smile as well, so she headed to the exit, but before leaving, she turned to see Sunny. "Don't you dare to use the Emeralds, Sunny! We know you, and if you are planning on using them, forget about that idea!" With that being said, Zipp left the place and closed the door of the bedroom behind, while Sunny turned her attention back to the capsule where the Emeralds were being protected. "Is it really that bad for a pony to use a Chaos Emerald?" Sunny questioned, and then decided to do precisely what she was told not to: She removed the crystal protecting the capsule and grabbed the Silver Chaos Emerald with her hoof. "Maybe Sonic's just exaggerating. How bad can it be? Now, what's the word he uses? Chaos Control?" Just when Sunny said that, the silver Chaos Emerald started to glow, and it made her body shine brightly in a silver color as well. However, this made her panic a lot since she wasn't sure if she'll be okay considering what Sonic said about training mind, body and soul. So, in a desperate and panicked move, Sunny placed the Chaos Emerald back into the capsule and closed it quickly, then sighed in relief when both her and the Emerald stopped glowing. "Phew! That was close," Sunny smiled, then checked around her body to verify she was fine, and everything seemed to be in order. "Well, nothing seems to be wrong. But I think I'm actually going to hear Sonic and Zipp's words. I mean, I technically didn't used the Emerald, so I should be fine, right?" Sunny chuckled awkwardly to herself, then she sighed and turned around to leave... Not noticing that her Cutie Mark was now glowing in a silver color, the same tone of silver than the Chaos Emerald of said color. At the same time, said Emerald was glowing brightly. After dinner that night, everypony went to sleep. All of them were all cozy and nice on their beds, enjoying the sensation of comfort their beds where giving them after a long day on their respective jobs around Maretime Bay. However, they were all so asleep that none of them noticed that Sunny's body was glowing on a silver tone again, not even Sunny herself, and the Silver Chaos Emerald from the capsule was glowing brightly once again, as well as Sunny's Cutie Mark, which glow in the same color scheme. This glow started to make physical changes on Sunny's body, and then, bot the Emerald and the Earth Pony mare stopped glowing, but the Emerald's job over Sunny's body was done... The next morning, Sunny was the first one of the group to wake up as usual. She head downstairs to prepare breakfast like every morning, but just as she was about to exit the door of the bedroom, she noticed that the doorframe seemed to be smaller than usual for her. She had no idea why this is, but choose to shrug it off for now. She ducked down and passed through the doorframe, then entered the kitchen and started to think what to do for breakfast today. Some bacon and eggs with salad should do it, or so she thought. Once she decided what to make for breakfast, she prepared to get everything ready for cooking, but she also came to notice that the kitchen was smaller, and that she could reach higher and farther places than normal, something that she couldn't do before. This was confusing her more and more, nut when she took a small glance at her hoof, she saw claws instead, and that made her eyes open wide, followed by a very loud and startled scream. This made everyone else in the Crystal Brighthouse wake up startled as well by the scream, and Knuckles even fell from his bed. Everyone looked around for the source of the scream, but when they noticed that Sunny's bed was empty, the first ones to rush downstairs were Sonic and Tails. Once there, they looked around for Sunny, only to gasp in shock when they finally noticed her in the kitchen, but completely transformed into something else. "What the–– Sunny?!" Tails was the first one of the brothers to speak. "Uh... I think so?" Sunny replied with a sheepish smile. If you wonder why they screamed, well: Not only Sunny had claws on her front hooves now, but her figure was taller, probably as taller as Princess Cadance was back in the day, and her tail looked more like a lion's tale than a pony's, which made things even stranger. "This... This makes absolutely no sense..." Sonic said confused. "What happened to you?" "I have no idea!" Sunny replied with honesty. "I felt normal by waking up, but then everything started to seem smaller for me, and when I realized, I already looked like this!" Tails was going to question her further, but before doing so, the rest came rushing downstairs. "We heard the scream as well! What's going–– Whoa!" Zipp cut herself off when she and everyone else noticed Sunny's current state, as she smiled sheepishly at them and waved her hoof with claws. The rest was shocked to see Sunny like this... except for Izzy. "Hi, Sunny!" She said cheerfully as usual. Pipp, on the other hand, directly fainted in the ground for the shock, while the rest was concerned for Sunny. "Sunny?! What's going on?!" Zipp asked confused and concerned. "How did you got like this?" "I have no idea!" Sunny said frustrated, covering her face with her hooves, while Pipp started to wake up and felt dizzy, but then felt concerned when she saw Sunny in her current state. "Did you wake up like this today?" Amy questioned. "Because if I recall correctly, you were just fine last night." "Well, I think so?" Sunny replied. "Ugh! I just don't know, guys! Everything's so confusing right now!" "What's so confusing?" Hitch's voice asked suddenly, and everyone's eyes widened, so they all turned and saw Hitch, Shadow and Rouge entering the Brighthouse, but as soon as they lay their eyes on Sunny's current aspect, their eyes widened as well. "Sweet hoofness! Sunny?!" "What the actual $&@#?!" Shadow screamed out loud, but the last word was censored with a bip and the word 'SEGA' covering his mouth. "Uh, did we missed something important here?" Rouge said. "What part of I don't know everyone can't understand?!" Sunny shouted out loud in rage, as her body glimmered in a silver color, while her voice echoed across the entire Brighthouse, which actually took everyone off guard. "...Huh... That's a pretty dope voice." Sonic said with amusement. "This is getting weirder and weirder with every second." Knuckles muttered with concern. "Sorry, guys..." Sunny apologized for shouting. "Is just that I don't know what's happening..." She pointed out, but then her whole body was covered by silver spots that disappeared as soon as they came, yet it was still weird. "And it's just getting worse!" This was concerning everyone, specially Hitch, Sonic, Tails and Shadow, who wanted so badly to know what's happening to Sunny and how they could help her to get back to normal. But then, something made 'clic' on Tails' brain, because he remembered something. "Hold on. Physical change, a strange glow, and spots covering the body... I have read about this before." "You have?" Sonic asked him with a raised eyebrow. "Hold on a second!" Tails said, then he boosted towards the upper floor and came back with a brown book, which had a drawing of seven emeralds in the cover. "Let's see... Power boost, Chaos Control, Emerald Power–– Oh, here it is: Chaos Pocks." After Tails said this, everyone else in the room blinked and stared confused at the young fox. "Um, babe? How about you explain yourself?" Zipp said. "I was getting into that," Tails deadpanned a bit. "Chaos Pocks is an infection that can only be obtained after someone with no previous preparation has attempted to use Chaos Control. The side effects of this infection are physical changes, constant popping of spots across the body, intense glowing for no reason, constant changes in attitude, and if not treated in time, Negative Chaos Energy could take control over the infected and turn them into an outrageous monster." After Tails explained what the Chaos Pocks is, everyone stared at him with wide eyes, and Sunny even gulped nervously at that last thing, specially because she didn't wanted to become a monster that would loose control over herself and destroy everything on her way. "Wait a second... 'An infection that can only be obtained after someone with no previous preparation has attempted to use Chaos Control'?" Sonic questioned, then his eyes widened, followed by a frown and a growl, as he turned to Sunny behind him, who flinched and gulped nervously at his angered look. "Sunny... Did you used Chaos Control when I specifically told you not to?!" Sunny smiled sheepishly and scratched her arms ashamed. "Well... I was a bit curious on how the Emeralds' power worked, so... Maybe I did used the Silver Chaos Emerald? Just a tiny little bit?" "Sunny!" Sonic scolded her with a frown. "This is the exact reason why I told you not to use a Chaos Emerald! I know it can have consequences on anyone that's not trained to use them!" "I'm sorry!" Sunny apologized. "I just thought that it'll be harmless!" She said, but then her eyes glowed in silver color, then she shook her head and looked down at Sonic with anger. "If anything, this is your fault for not making sure I left the room!" "Oh, we're going down that route?!" Sonic said with anger. "I worry about you! I have more experience with the Emeralds, which is precisely why nothing I said about them was a joke, woman!" "Well, you should have warned me even harder than that!" Sunny said with anger, getting her face closer to Sonic's. "What is that supposed to mean?!" Sonic said in rage, also getting closer to her face and growling. "Stop fighting!" Tails said, as he got in the middle of them and pushed them away from each other. "This isn't going to solve Sunny's problem! We need you both to calm down so I can look after a cure to bring Sunny back!" Sunny and Sonic were still a bit mad, but Sonic ended up sighing and shaking his head. "You're right... Sorry. I shouldn't let my anger get the best of me." Sunny, on the other hand, was still mad, so she huffed and looked away, also crossing her hooves. "The infection is already making effect..." Hitch noticed with concern, because Sunny's attitude clearly changed all of a sudden, so he looked over at the young fox. "Tails, how do we help her?" "Hmm..." Tails muttered, as he read though the book he brought earlier, while Sunny started to loose her patience over Tails taking so long. "Apparently, to revert the Chaos Pocks, we have to bring the infected one in a calmed and serene state, then make them use the Chaos Emerald they attempted to use and let them be the one that reverts the effect." "So we only have to keep Sunny calm and with her mind clear to bring her back to normal?" Pipp asked, then she smiled. "That actually sounds pretty easy." "Well, yeah, it sounds easy, but we have to do it quick!" Tails said with concern. "If we don't revert the Chaos Pocks back, the Negative Chaos Energy on her body is going to intensify, and then––" But before Tails could finish explaining, the room was suddenly covered in a silver light coming form Sunny's body, as said light was shining so brightly that it illuminated the place and blurred everyone's sights. Then, Sunny's body started to mutate even more: Her entire body was growing, to the point she was almost as big as the Crystal Brighthouse, spike scales began to grow from her mane, her voice was getting louder and deeper, which was noticeable because she was grunting to her transformation. And finally, her usually green eyes were switched by red and bloody ones that clearly showed how enraged she was, so she quickly went ahead and roared in anger, before traversing the Brighthouse. She destroyed the front part of the building, if it wasn't noticeable, and she roared in rage once again, then she saw ahead Maretime Bay and frowned. The Negative Chaos Energy was corrupting her beyond imagination, and now, she has turned into a beast like Chaos, God of Destruction. Sunny headed towards the town to cause chaos around, while her friends stopped covering themselves because of her outburst and looked at her running away with concern. "...and then that will happen..." Tails finished with concern. "SUNNY!" Hitch called out from the Brighthouse with concern, then he rushed towards town so he could help her, even adjusting Sparky on his back so he wouldn't fall from it. "I'm going with him!" Shadow stated, boosting away without waiting for anyone to say anything. "We're all going!" Zipp stated. "She's our friend and needs our help!" "Right!" The rest but Knuckles agreed with nods. "I'll go ahead and get as many citizens as I can out of the way!" Knuckles declared. "You guys go and bring our friend back to normal!" In Maretime Bay, everything seemed to be very peaceful so far. Omega decided to patrol the streets on his own to cover for both Hitch and Knuckles since they went to the Brighthouse along Shadow and Rouge for breakfast, but when the ground suddenly rumbled, the robot got startled and started to look around with concern. This was the second time this week that the ground rumbled like this, and he didn't liked it. The robot prepared his guns to shot just in case, but when the rumbling felt closer than ever, he turned around, and he saw with anger at Sunny, or rather, at Chaos Sunny, since her form resembled Perfect Chaos. Of course, Omega's first instinct was to attack straight at the monster that his sensors were detecting, but as soon as he scanned her Cutie Mark on her right flank, he could not shoot at her, because he recognized that as Sunny's Cutie Mark, and he had her registered as a friend on his database. Yet he soon realizes that ponies around were panicking because of the sudden 'monster' that came out of nowhere, so even though he could not attack Sunny, he could put everyone else to safety. So, Omega quickly created an improvised path for the ponies to follow. Everything pointed at Canterlove Studios, since it was the safest place in town, so everypony quickly started to run towards there, and Knuckles soon arrived to help Omega put everypony to safety. "Come on, everypony!" Knuckles called out with a determined expression. But then, he noticed that Hitch's animal crew was trapped inside of a box, so he boosted towards the box, opened it, and let the critters be free and get shelter on the studio as well. "No pony or critter is left behind as long as I'm around!" Knuckles declared with a smirk. Meanwhile, as Knuckles and Omega put everyone to safety, the rest of the gang was busy trying to figure out how the hell where they going to calm Sunny down, because she was being very destructive over all the buildings around, even stomping some of them with no mercy. "Serious question: How are we gonna make Sunny calm down if we can barely reach her?! She's a freaking giant!" Pipp pointed out with concern. "Giant or not, that's still Sunny." Shadow said with a frown. "There must be a way to bring her back to her senses..." "Hmm... How about we plan something out the same way you guys dealt with that bunny with wings?" Amy suggested, looking at the ponies in the group. "You mean make a trap to keep her on place?" Zipp asked. "Well, that could work, but what do we do after she's captured?" Once Zipp questioned this, Sonic and Shadow looked at each other, and despite their differences in the past, they knew exactly what to do, so they nodded to each other and looked back at the rest. "We know what to do," Shadow stated. "It's gonna be thought, but we need you guys to follow our lead," Sonic added. "We might know how to stop Sunny before this gets completely out of hand. It might seem like it is, but we still can save her." After the two hedgehogs said this, the rest nodded with determinate looks, willing to follow their lead. Chaos Sunny spent at least 10 minutes making a big disaster on Maretime Bay. This was similar to what the Death Egg Titan did months ago, but with a much smaller creature that was out of control because of corruption. The Negative Chaos Energy in Sunny's body just amplified her most destructive side, and now her home was paying the consequences. Suddenly, however, Chaos Sunny heard a whistle, so she turned around and saw Sonic standing over a ceiling. "Hey there, Sunny-bunny!" Sonic called out to her with a mocking smirk, which made Chaos Sunny feel angry. "How about we get you out of here to be a big, scary and outraged creature somewhere else, huh?!" After saying that, Sonic chuckled and boosted away at top speed, which enraged Chaos Sunny a lot, so she chased after Sonic in a desperate attempt to catch him. Chaos Sunny started to launch several attacks, like making her claws separate from her body and grow back, launching them at Sonic like projectiles, or even trying to vaporize him with lasers that she could make now that she looked like Perfect Chaos. Yet Sonic dodged these attacks easily, and then boosted ahead at top speed since she got her pretty far from Maretime Bay already, which made Chaos Sunny growl in anger. Yet before she could do anything to show this, Shadow suddenly teleported in front of her and looked at her with remorse and shame. "I'm sorry, Sunny. But this is the only way!" After saying that, Shadow kicked Chaos Sunny's face hard enough to make her groan loudly in pain, which was going according to the plan. Then, Hitch used his Earth Pony magic to make some vines grow and tie Sunny from her hind legs, while Amy used the Vine Power of the Green Chaos Emerald to tie her front hooves as well. Next to this; Tails, Rouge, Zipp and Pipp started to twirl around her head so they could make her dizzy and avoid her to try and escape from her current ties. This made Sunny wobble a bit, until she eventually fell to the ground and made it rumble entirely, as Sunny and Amy stopped using the vines and let her go. Meanwhile, Izzy and Misty approached her and they lightened their horns, aiming to her head and casting a small but effective spell on her mind to get her back into her senses. At least that's what Tails said when he teach them the spell, hopefully it does work. Well, it did worked, because Sunny started to open her eyes, but when she did so, she was once again the same Sunny. "Ugh... Huh?" Sunny said confused, her eyes were green again, and her voice was normal as well, but her gigantic form remained the same. "What... Guys? What... What's going on? Why are you all so... small, compared to me?" "We'll explain you later, Sunny," Hitch said, as he placed a hoof on her nose with a smile. "Right now, we only need you to go back to be yourself. The same Sunny we all love and care for." "The Sheriff's right," Sonic said, as he approached and made the Silver Chaos Emerald appear on his hand, then he placed it over Sunny's nose and let go, while the Emerald floated and stood in contact with Sunny. "Now, we just need you to say the exact same thing you said when you used the Emerald. "When I used the––" Sunny tried to say confused, but then her eyes opened wide when she remembered how she used the Emerald, how she turned into this... and how she went into a rampage because of the Negative Chaos Energy. Sunny felt really bad for her actions, but before apologizing, she had to go back to normal first. So, Sunny closed her eyes and let a lonely tear run down her cheek. "...Chaos... Control..." She said, and both her body and the Silver Emerald glow brightly, making her mutation revert and slowly return her back to normal, until both she and the Emerald stopped glowing. The Chaos Emerald remained floating in the air after Sunny was back to normal, so Sonic extended his hand to take the Emerald back on his hand. Then, he and the rest of his friends looked at Sunny, who was a regular pony once again, the only real difference being her mane not being tied in any form. Once everything seemed to be fine, Sunny sat down on her place, and now that she remembered everything she just did, she couldn't help but start to sob in pain, until it intensified and became actual crying. This made her friends feel bad for her, so with the exception of Shadow and Rouge, everyone else approached and surrounded her on a group hug for comfort, which made Sunny just tear up more and burry her face on Hitch's chest, while also rubbing Sonic and Tails' arms to feel their comfort. Shadow wanted to comfort her as well, on his very unique way, but he was willing to wait until the rest where done with their hug... Which he knew wasn't going to be anytime soon. A while later, everyone went back to the now destroyed Brighthouse. They all stared at the building's front part being destroyed. While it wasn't as bad as with the Death Egg Titan months ago, it still was very sad to see this place destroyed. It was going to take a good while before restoring the Brighthouse back to its glory, but the will pull it out. But even so, Sunny was very sad and ashamed of letting herself getting corrupted. She, the Alicorn that's supposed to look after Equestria. How could she accomplish such a task if she let the Negative Chaos Energy drive her insane moments ago? "I'm very sorry for all the trouble I caused..." Sunny apologized, then she looked over at Sonic. "You were right, Sonic. I was not ready on any of those ways to use the Emeralds' power, and I still tried to. If only I listened to you..." "Sunny, we cannot think on what could it been anymore," Sonic told her with a smile. "I forgive you. And nobody was hurt, right? That's a win already. Sure, we have a lot to rebuild in both Maretime Bay and the Brighthouse, but with magic and the power of what I like to call 'teamwork', I'm sure we'll pull this off in no time." "And, if you still insist on learning about Chaos Control, perhaps we can teach the proper way next time," Shadow suggested, placing a hand over Sunny's shoulder. "Just listen to us the next time we warn you about the Chaos Emeralds. Like Sonic said, those warnings are not for nothing." Sunny smiled slightly and nodded. "Maybe when I feel ready to learn, I'll do it," She stated, then she looked back at Maretime Bay. "For now? I have to make it up to the town for my disaster, and to you guys for destroying my home. Our home. Is the least I can do before I actually learn to control the Chaos Emeralds." "You don't owe us a thing, Sunny," Zipp said with a smile. "You only where curious to see what could happen." "It could have been any of us, you know?" Pipp pointed out. "I had felt curious myself, and I'll be lying if I say I didn't wanted to try it out..." "Pipp..." Sonic deadpanned at her, while Pipp smiled sheepishly. "But we are not mad, Sunny!" Izzy said, side-hugging her with a cheery smile. "We're just glad to have you back as the same Sunny we love!" "And we'll help you to rebuild everything," Hitch assured with a smile, while Sparky on his back babbled in agreement. "After all, that's what friends are for, right?" Misty added with a smile. Sunny felt really touched after hearing her best friends saying all of that, so she smiled and sniffed, then wiped out her tears and nodded in agreement. "I'm so lucky to have you all as my best friends." She declared joyfully, some tears of happiness still showing. However, Sunny didn't noticed that her Cutie Mark was glowing with the seven colors of the seven Chaos Emeralds for a moment. Sonic did noticed it, though and he wonders why that is. But seeing that Sunny was fine, and that she didn't realized about the glow, he simply sighed and smile. He will investigate further on this matter in other occasion, but for now? It'll be his little secret. THE END Author's Note So... Ever seen that "Manga/Anime/Netflix Adaptation" Meme? This episode in particular falls in that category, and BenictheHedgehog can confirm this because he suggested today's chapter. Originally, it was intended as a two-parter, but what he suggested me to do was so damn difficult to fit in the TYT kind of style that I had to scrap at least 65% of what he suggested me and use only 35%. This is the final result, and while he still told me that he liked the episode as it is, I still find it funny to compare this chapter to what he originally suggested. There was a lot more going on, but again, I decided to cut it off because I don't want a two parter to steal a spot for a future original chapter. Is a matter about giving other ideas a chance, you know? Anyways. This chapter's done. Next one is an original one as well, and fair warning: We're heading back into Cyberspace! Because suffering in the Starfall Islands wasn't enough, apparently. See ya!
70. Return to CyberspaceKnuckles grunted in effort as he pushed something ahead with his legs. It turned out to be the Cyberspace portal that Knuckles accidentally activated, which also sent him, Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, Sparky and Hitch's animal crew to the Starfall Islands by mistake. Once the portal was back in place, Tails flew up and used his electrical powers to repair the portal and keep it steady, since he needed the portal to work completely and not just be entirely destroyed. After all, the portal had to be in good conditions to grant access into Cyberspace. Once Tails finished fixing the portal, he flew down and smiled at his work, just when Sonic and Sunny entered the cave and stared at the portal with uncertain expressions. "Um, Tails?" Sonic called out. "Remind me why you want to activate this thing? 'Cause last time I checked, it sent us all into an adventure across 5 islands where I had to destroy Evangelion-kind of robots, free you all from being digital ghosts, and got possessed by a weirdo that was trapped in there before we arrived." "Is this still to build a trap for Opaline?" Sunny questioned. "Because we could not pull that off since, well, you know. Metal Zombies Apocalypse and all that stuff." "I know you two doubt that this can work, but trust me! Cyberspace might be the key to defeat Opaline," Tails stated confidently, then he looked at Sonic with a smirk. "Also, did I mentioned that we can turn the Cyber Corruption into a really cool power?" "Yes, you have," Sonic deadpanned. "And I'll stand my position: I don't want to get that thing on me again. Not after the last time I had it." "While I understand your concern, trust me when I say that this is going to work for sure!" Tails declared with a smile. "Now, I only need to activate the portal, and we should be online!" As Tails moved towards a computer that was connected to the Cyberspace portal, Sonic kept staring at the monument with a frown and his arms crossed, because he clearly didn't remembered the Cyber Corruption with glee, and Sunny came to notice this, so she smiled and pushed him slightly on the shoulder. "Cheer up, Sonic. Trust Tails in this, okay? He's been working hard for weeks to make sure that the portal actually works, and you know that," Sunny pointed out. "I trust Tails, Sunny," Sonic remarked, sounding almost offended that Sunny even thought he didn't. "But I don't trust Cyberspace. Is a tricky place for the mind, and if not approached carefully, it could blown on my face. On our faces. I cannot risk that. I cannot risk you or anyone else. Not after The End showed his true colors." "Well, The End won't be a problem for a while," Sunny pointed out. "And if I'm being honest, I don't trust Cyberspace, either. I just trust Tails, and I'm confident that he's gonna make things for out. He's not Eggman, remember? He knows what he's doing." Sonic let out a sigh and nodded. "For everyone's sake, Sunny, I hope that you're right." "Okay, guys!" Tails called out, and his siblings turned to see him preparing the computer so he could turn on Cyberspace. "I think everything's ready. Stand back from the yellow line, though. I don't want anyone to be close and get swallowed into Cyberspace again." Both Sunny and Sonic looked down and noticed the yellow line Tails was talking about, so they obeyed and stepped back from it, while Tails nodded with a smile and pressed a button on his computer. After he pressed said button, the Cyberspace portal started to react. At first, it seemed like it was reactivating successfully, because the top of the structure was glowing like it should... But after a few seconds of waiting, the entire structure shut down, and it didn't turned on at all. "Huh?" Tails said confused, then he read his computer and realized that a message was warning about a failure, which made him roll his eyes. "I know there's been a failure, but why?" "Maybe the portal is not working anymore," Sonic suggested. "I mean, before you repaired it, it was slashed in a half. Perhaps it finally kick the bucket?" "That's... plausible, but we don't know for sure if that's what's going on," Tails pointed out. "I'm gonna take a closer look on that thing." "I'll go with you. I cannot risk you getting trapped in Cyberspace," Sonic stated, as he walked along Tails towards the portal. "Wait, guys!" Sunny called out, as she rushed towards them as well. The three of them were now climbing over the platform that grants access to Cyberspace, and while Tails analyzed the portal while rubbing his chin, Sonic still looked at it with a frown, and Sunny just tilted her head. "It seems that the gear is not fully on place for the portal to work," Tails pointed out. "Knuckles probably placed it with no effort, but is not entirely pushed." "Then how did the portal teleported him and the rest of our friends to the Starfall Islands?" Sunny asked confused. "It was probably The End's doing. He wanted so badly to get out of his prison, so he dragged more people I care for in order to make the Cyber Corruption work better," Sonic suggested with anger. "And here I thought he'll stop being a pain in the ass, even after not stalking me anymore." "We can figure out that stuff later," Tails said. "I'm just gonna put this gear in place." "What?!" Sonic said, now with wide and panicked eyes. "Tails, wait! Don't––" But it was too late to be stopped: Tails pushed the gear forwards in the Cyberspace portal, which immediately made the structure glow in red. This made the young fox smile, but it also made his body start to glow in red, while som red particles were coming from him. "Ah crap..." Tails deadpanned, accepting his fate. Sonic, on the other hand, grabbed his hand and tried to pull him away, while Sunny came and tried to pull Sonic away, but this only made them be surrounded by a red light and releases some red particles as well. The next thing the siblings know? They're dragged back into Cyberspace, as the portal stopped glowing. In the middle of Kronos Island, a red glow suddenly appeared. Then, said glow transformed into Sonic, Tails and Sunny, all reappearing in Kronos Island suddenly. The siblings were covering their faces in fear, but once they realized that they were fine, they looked around confused, just for their eyes to open wide when they realized they were back in the first Starfall Island. "Oh no..." Sunny muttered in panic, as she stepped back nervously. "Oh no, no, no, no... Not this place again!" "Seven months without visiting this place, and now we're back..." Sonic deadpanned. "Maybe I shouldn't have pushed the gear into the portal like I thought..." Tails said with a sheepish smile. "You think?!" Both Sonic and Sunny scolded him. "On the bright side, this is good news!" Tails tried to be positive. "This means that Cyberspace is back online, and that we can use it to trick Opaline!" "But is also bad news, because we have to find our way out!" Sonic pointed out. "And considering this place looks exactly like Kronos Island, I doubt we'll get out the same way I did in the actual islands." "Actual islands?" Sunny asked confused. "Wait, are you guys implying that we are not in the actual islands, but in Cyberspace instead?!" "I'm not implying it, Sunny. That's precisely what's happening. Look at the sky!" Sonic said, pointing at the sky. Sunny looked up, and confirmed Sonic's theory, because she noticed that the sky seemed glitchy and digital. "Well, like I said, Cyberspace is back online!" Tails reminded with a smile. "But, like Sonic said, we have to find our way out of here. The question is, if this is not like when Sonic visited earlier, then how do we find the exit?" Just as Tails asked this, a sudden digital screen appeared in front of the siblings, startling them, and then a text appeared that was giving them precisely what Tails was asking for. "Okay... A screen with what seems to be the way out of here," Sonic said with a raised eyebrow. "How convenient," Sunny raised an eyebrow as well. "Let's see... 'To escape Cyberspace and return to your reality, you must succeed in the 10 challenges ahead. Complete them all, and the door to your freedom will be revealed'," Tails read. "Challenges?" "Door to freedom?" Sunny questioned confused. "Bullshit," Sonic deadpanned and rolled his eyes. "Well, we have to complete the challenges that Cyberspace throws our way. Guess we have no choice." "Do we really don't have one?" Sunny asked concerned. The screen suddenly disappeared after Sunny asked that, and instead, a group of 6 Soldiers appeared. "...Forget it. I have my answer," Sunny deadpanned. "Eh, is just a bunch of Soldiers. These are a piece of cake!" Sonic declared with a smirk, then he launched himself against one with a Homing Attack and destroyed it immediately, followed by him jumping in the air and making a Stomp Attack over the next. He smiled, then looked back at his siblings. "See? Is that easy!" "If you say so!" Tails said, then he smiled to himself and charged up a Spin Dash, launching it against one of the soldiers, then jumped in the air and made his own version of the Stomp Attack, which he named Spike Stomp: He used his powers to create a yellow driller, and then smashed down the Soldier with the driller. Sunny smiled and giggled after seeing this, then she looked ahead at the two remaining Soldiers with a determinate look. She made her Alicorn form appear and turned into one, then charged her horn and shoot a laser towards one of them, followed by her spinning in the air and then finishing off the remaining one with a stomp. Once all the Soldiers were defeated, a bip sounded and echoes across Cyberspace, which called the siblings' attention, as they looked around confused. "What was that?" Sunny asked first. "I think that means that the first stage was clear," Sonic pointed out. "Okay, but... what do we do know?" Tails questioned. And just after Tails said this, they suddenly disappeared in a red flash without previous warning. Another red flash made them appear in other zone of Kronos Island. This time, they were on the abandoned temple from the very beginning of the island, the one where Sonic first encountered a Ninja that took him completely off guard and made him loose rings. This time, however, and having confronting the upgraded versions even, Sonic smirked at the sight. "That Ninja is our second challenge, but he's no match for the three of us!" Sonic declared with a confident smirk. "I'll go down, you guys go up!" Tails and Sunny nodded with confident looks, then they waited for Sonic to make the first move. Sonic smirked, charged up his Spin Dash and then launched himself against the Ninja, hitting him several times, then jumped in the air and kicked the enemy backwards. The Ninja rolled in the ground, but just when it was coming to a stop, Tails flew by at top speed and used his Tails to spin and hit the enemy a few times, then kicked him towards the air, where Sunny arrived and launched another blast from her horn that completely destroyed the Ninja. With that, the bip sound that announced their win was heard, and the three of them huddled together for a Power Bump, then were surrounded by the red light and transported to the next challenge. The trio appeared on the next zone near the temple of the island. When Sonic realized this, he deadpanned. "Wouldn't it had been easier if we just walked on our own?" "Uh... What are those things?" Sunny asked. She was pointing at a pair of strange robot that looked so much like a cluster of white spheres, each with a glowing red eye, surrounding a central black sphere with a red aura that the white spheres protect. When Sonic noticed them, he smirked, and stepped back from them. "Why don't you guys figure this one out?" Sonic suggested. "Is not hard to guess how to defeat those Bubbles." "Bubbles? Are they actually called like that?" Tails asked with a chuckle. "I didn't made the names," Sonic raised his hands in defense with a smile, then stood quiet. Both Sunny and Tails knew that Sonic wouldn't say a thing from here on, so they choose to follow his game and looked at the Bubbles, then looked at each other with grins. "One for each one?" Sunny asked. "You get the one back there, leave this other one to me!" Tails replied. After saying this, they spread: First, Tails looked over at one of the Bubbles and smirked, then used his powers to make a replica of the Tornado III on its Cyclone mode, and then charged the Cyclone's cannon to shot at the Bubble, destroying all the white spheres in the process. Once no white spheres were left, the central black sphere didn't even bothered on fighting back, because it self-destructed and made a small explosion happen. Seeing what Tails, did, Sunny smirked, so she then lightened her horn and charged another blast, then shoot it at the remaining Bubble, also destroying all the white spheres and making the black remaining one self-destruct, which made her giggle and cheer at her accomplishment. "Told you guys it wasn't hard to guess!" Sonic told Sunny and Tails with a mocking tone. "By the way, Tails. The Cyclone? Really?" "It was a good callback, and you have to admit that!" Tails said with a mocking smirk as well, while Sunny just giggled and hoofbumped with Tails' fist. Then, the siblings suddenly disappeared again, because they managed to complete the challenge once again. In the next zone they appeared, they found two new enemies, at least new for Sunny and Tails. These enemies were called Shell, red bipedal robots that possess black legs, masquerading themselves with a sharp, metallic and flexible blue shield each that covers its otherwise thin interior. Sonic recognized them immediately, and then smirked. "Say, guys! Why don't you leave these ones to me?" He asked. "Think you can handle them both on your own?" Sunny asked with a mocking tone. "Plu-ease, Sunny! The question offends me!" Sonic stated, then he adjusted his gloves and boosted on his own against the Shells. He used his Cyloop around the first one of them, making the robot's blue shield to fly in the air for quite a while. Once this happened, Sonic took this moment to make a Homing Attack against the enemy and then punch the crap out of it, until he managed to destroy it, and when the shield fell back, it also destroyed itself. Then, Sonic used the Cyloop again with the other enemy, and when its shield flew away, he instead used the Sonic Boom attack to destroy it even faster, making it explode along the shield once this last one fell. Sonic landed on the ground and smirked, then turned to his siblings. "And that's how you survive on 5 deadly islands!" Both Sunny and Tails rolled their eyes with amusing smiles at Sonic's attitude, while Sonic chuckled and crossed his arms confidently. Then, and just like it's been happening for the past 3 challenges, their bodies glow in red, then they disappeared and head towards the next challenge. The fifth challenge seemed to be the easiest one so far, and Sonic knew it. The enemies to defeat where 3 Bangers, robotic constructs sporting a crimson polyhedronal "core", each with a crimson wheel-like ring surrounding it, and two sharp rhombus-like black structures floating near their sides. "So how are these ones called, Mr. 'Expert on the Starfall Islands'?" Tails asked Sonic with a mocking tone. Sonic rolled his eyes and smirked. "These ones are Bangers. They're pretty easy to defeat, actually. You just have to hit them, then step back and parry when their about to attack, because the self-destruct after one single shot, so we have to parry them if we don't want to explode along." "Understood!" Sunny said with a smirk. And so, they each proceed to hit a Banger. Then, the enemies prepared to attack them, but just like Sonic told them, they parried them away and made them explode, meaning the passed the challenge again. With that, they glowed in red and moved into the next stage. In the next stage, they encountered a particular enemy. This one was named Squid. And is not so hard to guess what resembles this thing, right? Yup, a robotic squid, although it looks more like a crayfish, but it does have several flexible spines or tendrils resembling the arms of its namesake, so is not a mistake at all. "Crap..." Sonic deadpanned, then rubbed his face stressed. "I hate this guy! Everytime I was just relaxing and appreciating the sight, BOOM! This son of his Ancient mother came out of nowhere and just stared at me before flying away!" Tails and Sunny stared at him confused after he said that, since is not the kind of answer they were expecting. "And... Is he dangerous or...?" Sunny questioned. "Nah. He's still annoying, though," Sonic said, then he proceed to follow the Squid. "Should we, uh, follow him or something?" Tails asked. "I think he can handle it on his own," Sunny said with a smile. "Let's do the next one on our own instead." Tails nodded in agreement, then they both turned their attention to see how Sonic was doing, but when they turned, their eyes widened, because Sonic already got rid of the Squid, since they saw the robot exploding. At the same time, Sonic came back with a smirk. "Told ya he wasn't so dangerous!" Tails was about to say something, but the siblings were teleported away before he could say anything at all. In the next level, there was a platforming section. There were actual platforms, springs, boos rings, and even a few Cyclones around. By the way, Cyclones are thin gray robots that surround themselves with a black and red rib cage-shaped barrier each. They also have triangular red eyes and have spikes protruding out from their barriers. "Oh, so this is the kind of stuff you were platforming over that we couldn't see and you could?" Tails asked with a mocking tone, and Sonic rolled his eyes annoyed. "How many times are you guys going to mock me up and say that I was floating instead of actually traveling over rails and platforms?! You could've said something!" Sonic said with his arms crossed and a frown. "We could, but it was so funny looking at you enjoying yourself while there was nothing there!" Sunny said with a giggle. Sonic just rolled his eyes annoyed and let Sonic and Tails handle this on their own, since he took charge of Squid on his own, so his brother and sister had to finish this one in exchange. Tails could not make the Homing Attack like Sonic, since he hasn't learned to, so instead he shrug it off and started to launch a bunch of wrenches towards the Cyclones, and he destroyed two of them that were blocking the way, allowing him and Sunny to climb over the platforms and use a spring to reach the higher ones. Once there, they saw two more Cyclones, and Tails tried to hit them with his wrenches as well, but he did nothing to them because the enemies were protecting themselves with electrical shields. Sunny noticed this, so she used her magic to blast through the shields and destroy the Cyclones, which allowed Tails to jump over the spring and through the boost ring. He saw in the distance the last Cyclone, so he visualized a mental objective, then brought out a wrench and charged it with electricity before launching it. This actually made the wrench divide in several more wrenches that hit the Cyclone and broke its shield, also destroying him in the process. Once this was done, Tails and Sunny hoof/fist-bumped, then they went back with Sonic with smiles. "So? Whatcha think?" Tails said with a smirk. "Pretty good," Sonic smirked back with his arms crossed. "One question, though... Why the wrenches?" "What? Can't handle my style, Hedgehog?" Tails asked mockingly, and Sonic rolled his eyes with an amusing smile, while Sunny giggled at their attitude. After this, they glow again and disappeared into the next challenge. Only three more to leave Cyberspace... In the next stage, they found themselves before a Tower enemy. Do I really have to explain this one? Is a tower with several levels that you have to destroy, what else can I say? "Okay. This one's easy. We just have to hit the first six levels of Tower, then hit with everything we got straight to the head when is what remains!" Sonic explained. "Lead the way, Sonic!" Sunny said, as she spread her wings ready to fight, while Tails prepared a driller to fight as well. Sonic smirked, then jumped in the air and aimed at the lowest level of Tower, then made a Homing Shot and launched all the spheres. After this, he made a Wild Rush in the air and hit the next floor, then made backflip and allowed Tails to follow, so the young fox made another Charged Wrench Attack against the enemy. This is how Tails called the electrified wrench that multiplies itself, by the way, and the attack actually worked, because it destroyed two more levels of Tower. That only left Sunny, who lightened her horn and surrounded the two remaining levels, then concentrated her magic fully on them and started to crunch them together, until they were completely smashed like trash and destroyed, leaving only the head to be destroyed. With only the head remaining, the three of them huddled together with confident smirks, then Sonic and Tails charged up their Spin Dashes, while Sunny levitated them and launched them against Tower's head. With this, the enemy exploded destroyed, and Sonic and Tails jumped back with Sunny, once again all smiling at each other and fist-bumping. Then, as it's tradition so far, their bodies glow in a red light, and so, they were teleported away towards the ninth challenge of Cyberspace. The next challenge was an Azura. Remember him? Big monster with two tiny kegs and three massive arms that need to be destroyed? I really hope that lazy description rings a bell, and if not, go Google it. Then, as soon as the siblings appeared, they all stared at Aura in the distance.' "Oh, I think Hitch and I saw you taking down one of these!" Sunny told Sonic with a smile. "We have to hit all the arms 'till he's down, right?" "You got it right, Sunny-bunny!" Sonic said with a smile. "Let's do it to it!" "Right behind, big siblings!" Tails declared with a smirk, then the three of them boosted towards the Azura. The enemy detected their presence, so it stomped one of its arms in the ground, but Sonic smirked at this, because that's what he needed, anyways. He Spin Dashed across the Azura's arm, and once he reached the top, he used Loop Kick and then Cross Slash, then destroyed the arm with a Cyclone Quick. With one arm down, Tails flew as fast as he could to the next arm, then used his Tails as a saw and hit the arm several times, before finishing it off with the Spike Stomp, destroying the second arm in the process. Finally, Sunny went ahead and surrounded herself in a golden shield, then spin in the air and hit the arm, basically making her own variation of the Spin Dash. And next, to finish the enemy off for good, she casted a new spell she was working on: She made golden copies of herself, and then launched them all against Azura. This destroyed the arm and finished off the enemy entirely as it exploded, while the sibling cheered loudly before being teleported away for their last trial... One they're probably not gonna like. The siblings appeared near the final stage. Once everything was clear, they all looked around, just for their eyes to open wide when they noticed that the final challenge was to defeat Giganto, Kronos Island's Titan. Of course, this shouldn't be a bad thing... But they have not a single Emerald with them. "...How are we going to defeat that thing if we don't have Chaos Emeralds?!" Sonic said loudly with anger. "Ugh, I knew we couldn't trust Cyberspace! There's always a trick it pulls on us!" But as Sonic complained, Tails started to check on his pockets, and his eyes widened, then he pulled his hands out... and he had the Yellow, Green and Silver Chaos Emeralds on his hands. "Um... guys?" Tails called out, and when Sunny and Sonic turned to him, they gasped as well. "How the hell?!" Sunny asked in shock. Sonic decided to see his pockets as well, and his eyes went wide, then he pulled out the Blue, Light Blue and Red Chaos Emeralds. "...I guess this means that we have to reach Giganto's head to grab the last Emerald. After that, we destroy Giganto, and then it's go time!" "Are you sure we can defeat it, Sonic?" Tails asked concerned. "I don't know if I wanna go Super again. Not after I barely resisted their power when curing the Metal Virus..." "Hey, you won't be holding all its energy, remember? I'll be containing it, too!" Sonic reminded him with a smile, also placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know if the three of us work together, we can defeat that Titan!" Tails smiled slightly after hearing this, then took a deep breath and nodded in agreement. "I'll keep myself at stake with Alicorn magic. I'm still not training to hold Chaos Energy, so I'll use what I have to fight against that thing," Sunny declared with a smile. "Then wait for us while we take that Emerald!" Sonic stated, and Sunny nodded in agreement. After that, Tails carried Sonic through the air and towards Giganto's head. Once they reached it, they landed on it, then saw the Purple Chaos Emerald. Sonic extended his hand, then the Emerald floated and landed on it. Soon, he turned to Tails with a smile, and the grabbed their hands together over the Chaos Emerald. Soon, the other six surrounded them, and the brothers were elevated in the sky. After this, the 7 Chaos Emeralds entered on their bodies and turned them into Super Sonic and Super Tails. I'm hanging on to the other side I won't give up 'til the end of me Sonic and Tails slowly descend from the sky with theirs arms crossed, until they were at the same height than Giganto's head. Soon, Sunny arrived as an Alicorn her entire body glimmering in a golden light, and the three of them were ready to take this Titan down. (Go!) First, Sonic boosted towards the Titan at sonic speed, while the Titan raised his fist and prepared to strike back at Sonic. However, Sonic himself just kept smirking and raised his fist as well, and then the two of them launched their fists at each other, crashing and fighting to win dominance over the other one. Unfortunately, Giganto managed to gain more strength and punched Sonic away, but he didn't felt anything now that he had Chaos Energy on his body. Still, he wasn't happy with this outcome, so he decided to start and play serious, boosting towards Giganto again and directly punching his face this time. (Yeah!) Welcome to the mind of a different kind Where we've been growing slowly Think I'm on eleven, but I'm on a nine Guess you don't really know me After punching Giganto for a while, he used his Sonic Boom move on his head, then he used the Wild Rush and the Stomp Attack on his shoulders. all of that charged up the Phantom Rush, and he flew back to Giganto's face, punching him multiple times now that he could multiply himself with the Super form. Running from the past is a losing game It never brings you glory Been down this road before Already know this story Face your fear Suddenly, Giganto prepared to attack Sonic back, but Tails interfered and parried the's Titan attack, sending him a bit backwards. Then, Tails charged up his Spin Dash and hit his face, then he moved to the air, where he created multiple copies of himself and hit Giganto's head. Face your fear Tails smirked, but his smile faded when Giganto recovered real quick and punched him, sending him way back on the field. The young fox shook his head, and looked at Giganto with a frown before boosting towards him once again. It's time to face your fear 'Cause when your time has come and gone I'll be the one to carry on (carry on) Tails parried another of Giganto's attack that the Titan charged up before he could boost, then Spindashed against his head again and multiplied on the sky to attack him. After that, Tails dodged the recovery attack, while Sunny joined the fight by blasting a laser blast on the Titan's shoulders, then she surrounded herself on a golden shield and punched him on his face. After this, she made a Stomp Attack, and then used her magic to multiply herself again and hit Giganto all over his body. And you can throw me to the wolves (throw me to the wolves) 'Cause I am undefeatable Then, Giganto tried to use the same punch it used to attack Sonic before, but Sunny parried the attach with no effort and punched Giganto's face, sending the Titan a bit backwards, thing that she decided to use as an advantage to multiply herself again and start to beat the crap out of that Titan. I'm hanging on to the other side I won't give up 'til the end of me I'm what you get when the stars collide Now face it, you're just an enemy Giganto used his spin attack again, but Sunny wasn't able to dodge it this time, as she flew backwards and almost crashed against a mountain, but she saw the mountain and smirked, looping in the air and landing on the mountain, then using it as a spring to boost back to Giganto and punch his face. (woah, woah) You're crossing the line (woah, woah) Then, Sonic came and used his Sonic Boom and the Stomp Attack on him, making more damage to the Titan. Now we've run out of time (woah, woah) I'll take what is mine Giganto was taken aback by that last move of Sonic, so the Titan decided to make things difficult for the siblings: He ducked for a second, just for spikes to come out of his body. These spikes were read, and charged with Cyber Energy. They suddenly started to launch lasers out of the top, and Giganto couldn't help but roar again, this time looking at Sonic, Tails and Sunny, who descended a bit and looked at him with a frown. "No more games, guys," Sonic told to his siblings. "It's time to defeat this monster, once and for all!" Sunny and Tails nodded in agreement, then they all boosted towards the Titan. And when the story ends It becomes a part of me I've given what it takes I'll find another way Sonic punched Giganto's face two times, but the titan suddenly pushed him back and opened his mouths, charging up a laser against Sonic. The hedgehog was completely took off guard by this, but still he placed his hands in front of him and tried to move the attack away. I used to never know But now it's crystal clear This feeling's just a ghost Struggling and grunting, Sonic was able to move the attack towards the sky, and then he boosted towards Giganto's face again, punching him there several times, using the Sonic Boom again and the Stomp Attack as well. It's time to face your fear 'Cause when your time has come and gone I'll be the one to carry on (carry on) After that, Sonic punched Giganto on his face again, but then the Titan prepared his spin attack and used it, although Sonic did managed to doge it this time, using both his Homing Attack and Spindash to hit his face, then moving to the air and creating multiple copies of himself to hit Giganto's head. And you can throw me to the wolves (throw me to the wolves) 'Cause I am undefeatable Giganto decided to charge up another laser from his mouths, but this time, Tails and Sunny joined Sonic by placing their hands and hooves together with his, as they all tried to push the attack away. I'm hanging on to the other side I won't give up 'til the end of me This time, and thanks to Sunny and Tails' help, Soni didn't struggled that much, and they launched the laser attack to the sky again, together, as a team, as a family. I'm what you get when the stars collide Now face it, you're just an enemy This time, Sunny went ahead and started to punch and kick harder the Titan, not only his face, but also his shoulders, arms and stomach, getting ready for the final act. However, Giganto suddenly clapped his hands together, trying to crush Sunny, but then Tails came by and dodged the attack for her. Unfortunately, Giganto make another move: He bit Tails and tried to crush him with its teeth, but Tails managed to use his strength to push the teeth up, and then kick Giganto's head. The titan was bleeding a purple substance, and his body was glitching the same way Sage's body used to. Sonic knew that a few punches more were everything it would take to defeat the Titan, so he once again used his Homing Attack and Spindash on the Titan's face, then multiplied himself and stomped him. I'm hanging on to the other side (to the other side) I won't give up 'til the end of me (end of me) I'm what you get when the stars collide (stars collide) Now face it, you're just an enemy Once again, Giganto tried to bit Tails, but this time Sunny came and helped him repeat the same process from before, then they kicked Giganto's face together, before Sonic land a punch that finally weakened the Titan entirely. Welcome to the mind of a different kind We've been growing slowly Think I'm on eleven, but I'm on a nine Guess you don't really know me With Giganto being weakened, the siblings huddled together, then they started to spin and charge a Triple Boost attack, before boosting towards Giganto and go through its chest at Super Sonic speed. Running from the past is a losing game It never brings you glory Been down this road before Already know this story Giganto opened its mouth in pain, but then his whole body exploded and turned into a red and digital ball that became smaller and smaller, until it exploded and destroyed the Titan entirely. And with this, the Cyberspace challenge was completed, so the siblings glow in red and got expelled from the virtual reality. The Cyberspace portal teleported them back to reality. They were sent back in the same platform from earlier, and they looked around curiously. They also looked at their hands, hooves, bodies, verifying that everything was in order. Since nothing was out of normal, they smiled at each other and then sighed in relief. "Well... That definitely was something!" Sunny said with a smile and a giggle. "Definitely!" Tails smiled. "I think I'm gonna leave this whole deal of Cyberspace for another moment. As much as I like the idea of tricking Opaline, I don't want to go through things like that so constantly." "As long as you don't get yourself in so much trouble, you're free to do what you want, buddy," Sonic said with a smile, also playfully pushing him on his shoulder. "Say, now that we're free, why don't we all go and have some lunch? All that Cyberspace stuff has me starving!" "I actually could dig into something to eat!" Sunny smiled. "I really need to eat something." Tails chuckled and followed them towards the exit of the cave, but not before shutting down his computer and use his powers to make it disappear. In this way, he makes sure that no unexpected guests come here and try to access into Cyberspace again. "Wait for me, guys!" Tails called out with a smile, as he followed his siblings outside. THE END Author's Note I made a very strange mix with this episode. Kronos Island Boss Rush, some of Tails' abilities from "The Final Horizon", Super Tails as a playable character (even though this doesn't happens in the game, which is lame), and Sunny smashing down Giganto along Sonic, which is actually a scrapped idea from the Frontiers story. It was scrapped because I didn't wanted to traumatize Sunny with The End the same way I traumatized Sonic. She has gone through enough crap and trauma with Eggman and the Death Egg Titan. Besides, I wanted to explore Cyberspace again, and this chapter was the perfect chance to do so. Also, happy birthday to BenictheHedgehog, whom I dedicate this episode as his birthday gift! Anyways. Thank you all for reading. See ya!
71. Nightmare MarketThe Breezie Night Market was open in Bridlewood during night time... Obviously. There, the Mane 6, Team Sonic, Team Dark and Alphabittle were watching a stallion put something in a cauldron, making a green mist burst out of it, surprising everyone but Team Dark. "Cauldrons! Get your cauldrons!" The pony trader exclaimed, twirling around in excitement. Just then, Izzy went to a stand and twirled a globe around with sparkling eyes, and Zipp saw a unicorn levitating three balls over a unicycle. The group kept walking around the Night Market, but then Alphabittle, Misty and Izzy saw a pegasus mare walking by with stacks of ice, making the two latter smile with sparkling eyes. Hitch and Sparky were now looking at a mirror that made their heads huge. "Does my head look big in this?" Hitch asked with an amusing smile, while Sunny at his side laughed with tears of laughter coming out. Sonic approached a stand of Hot dogs, which had tons of topics for the dog, specially spicy ones. "Oooh, now this totally shouts my name!" He stated as he rubbed his hands, then grabbed a hot dog and stated to put all the spicy and hot stuff over it with a grin. "You are a maniac, you know that?" Tails told him with a grin. "I'm a maniac, indeed, buddy. A maniac for spicy stuff!" Sonic replied with a smirk, making Tails roll his eyes. Meanwhile, Pipp stood in front of the pony juggler with her phone on her selfie stick, since she was livestreaming. "Oh, I loooove the Night Market! Look at all this great content!" On the other hand, Alphabittle and Misty were walking together. "So excited to finally get some quality time together, Misty," He said to her daughter with a smile, while she returned the gesture. "Now we can make up for all those foalhood memories we missed, huh?" After saying that, he extended a cotton candy to her, and Misty accepted it with a smile, but then Alphabittle gave her a lollipop, then a unicorn plushie that he rubbed in Misty's mane, making her blush embarrassed. "Daaaad!" She said embarrassedly, since her father is treating her like a filly again, and yet, Alphabittle gave Misty a warm smile with sparkling eyes, feeling joyful to spend more time with his daughter. Meanwhile, the rest of the group went up to a glitter stand, where Zipp picked up a hat. "Whoa!" She exclaimed, putting on the hat. "Whoa!" The rest of the Mane 6 all said, as they looked at the different colored glitters. "Who needs so much glitter, anyways?" Amy asked confused with a deadpan. "A pony that has stacks of glitter," Knuckles shrugged. "A.k.a., Izzy," Sonic added with his arms crossed and a smirk. However, as the rest of the ponies kept looking at their own stuff, Pipp eyed a familiar pink glitter, which she recognized immediately because she gasped in shock. Yet before she could say anything and warn about what it can do, Izzy appeared between her and Sunny and picked up the bowl with pink glitter. "Ooh! Glitter!" Izzy gasped with sparkling eyes, making Pipp gasp again. But she wasn't the only one, because when Knuckles noticed which bowl of glitter his girlfriend picked up he gasped with wide eyes, then rushed and threw the bowl off her hooves. "¡Sáquese, Satanás!" Knuckles exclaimed with a frown, making the ponies flinch, before he looked at the glitter and pointed at it with anger. "¡Esa cosa es del Diablo!" Noticing this, Sonic facepalmed, then walked up to him and carefully pulled him away. "Knuckles, yo no hablar el españolo. Can you explain yourself without recurring to anger?" "First of all, is 'Yo no hablo español'," Knuckles corrected him with a bored expression, making Sonic roll his eyes annoyed. "And second, that glitter is a danger to society!" "I've seen this stuff before!" Pipp said nervously, as she picked up the bowl again. "You've got to be super careful, or it'll totally turn you––" Yet as she tried to explain herself, Zipp tried on a hat with feathers that tickled Hitch's nose. This made him move his head back since he felt like sniffing, making the five mares around him panic. In the end, Hitch sneezed, hardly enough to make the pink glitter cover the six of them. "Whoa, whoa, whoa whoa! Let's rewind a bit back..." Amy said with a very confused look. "You're telling me that Sunny, Izzy, Hitch, Sonic and Tails turned into babies because of that glitter?!" "That sounds like a pain in the ass," Shadow deadpanned with his arms crossed. "Eh, Sonic and Tails were not a big deal. The former was with Pipp the whole time, and the latter slept like a rock. The other three? I still have nightmares of that day because of them..." Knuckles said anxiously. "Then let's make sure that those six stay away from–– HOLY CRAP!" Sonic exclaimed with wide eyes, as he turned to see the Mane 6 in shock, and when the rest did the same, their jaws dropped, and Knuckles felt anxious again. Just then, Alphabittle came beside the Mobians with a tray of ice cream. "Hey, ponies! Who's ready for some ice cream––?" He tried to ask, but then he screamed in shock at the same thing that the Mobians were looking at. It turns out that the Mane 6 became foals again, while Sparky was on Foal Hitch's head, unaffected by the glitter since he was already a baby, but he looked in shock at his father figure and his friends turned into foals. The babies, however, all giggled playfully in the mess of glitter left behind by Hitch's sneeze. "...Kuso yarō," Sonic said with a twitchy eye, but I won't translate that this time around. Knuckles then placed his hands over Sonic and Tails' shoulders, still with an anxious look. "Welcome to hell." "Aww! They look so cute!" Amy said with her hands together and sparkling eyes. "Don't let their looks fool you! They are little devils disguised as angels!" Knuckles said with a frown. "Really? Because they just look like kids to me," Tails pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "I don't know... For once, I actually think we should listen to the Knucklehead," Rouge said, rubbing her chin with a raised eyebrow. "Kids tend to be masters of delusion." "Agreed," Shadow nodded. "Besides, he already dealt with only three of them. Now imagine how bad it'll be with them being six." Then, Alphabittle heard giggling, so he looked down and saw a Filly Misty holding his hoof with a cute giggle. "M-Misty? Is that you?!" He asked surprised, while Filly Misty looked up at her father with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Aw, Misty! You are cute as a filly," Tails said with a smile and sparkling eyes as well, picking up the now filly, who giggled at being picked up. "Sorry to brake it to you, Tails, but we should focus on bring them back to normal," Sonic pointed out. "Agreed," Alphabittle and the other Mobians but Tails said in agreement. "Okay! Okay, okay! Nopony move!" Alphabittle ordered, lookin at the foals. "You all stay right there, and don't you dare to––!" Knuckles tried to warn, but as the Foal 6 looked at them, they zipped off and scattered around the market while giggling. "Crap..." "No!" Alphabittle screamed in panic with his hooves on his head. "Ponies?!" He called out, then Filly Misty got behind her father and trotted off. "Misty!" He called out again, then he ran after her, but Misty was already out of sight. "I-I can't–– I won't lose you again!" With that being said, Alphabittle ran after his daughter, while the Mobians but Omega groaned annoyed. "Great, is like if my second biggest nightmare became real..." Knuckles deadpanned, but still ran in a random direction to look after the foals. "We should catch them all before this gets out of hand," Tails declared, also running into a random direction. Shadow, Rouge and Amy followed his example, while Sonic stood behind and groaned again. "This is definitely not gonna work," He stated, then turned to Omega. "Meg? You have better luck with kids if your experience with the Pippsqueaks is anything to go by. Think you can come up with something to keep those 6 in place once we catch 'em all?" Omega rubbed his chin for a moment, then an idea crossed his mind, so he nodded and raised his thumbs up. "Great. You work on that, and let the capture for us!" Sonic stated, as he ran in a random direction as well, while Omega made a salute and then boosted by flight in another direction. Somewhere else in the market, Knuckles was chasing after Filly Izzy. The filly giggled excitedly, while Knuckles jumped towards her, but missed and fell face first to the floor, while Filly Izzy ran off. "Crap!" Knuckles exclaimed. "This is gonna be harder than I thought..." In another zone of the market, Tails was trying to catch Filly Zipp. The filly jumped through a fabric stand, and Tails jumped to catch her, but missed since she took off with giggles, while he hit the fabric counter, which startled Windy and a Breezie passing near by. At a fruit stand, Filly Sunny giggled and jumped into a purple apple crate. She chomped said apple, but then her hooves started sparkling, and she took off into the air, leaving behind a trail of purple mist, which startled the unicorn mare watching. Filly Sunny flew in the air, then twirled around and took off high, making a firework display go off that gently sent her back to the fruit stand and fell back into the purple apple crates. Filly Sunny poked out with exciting giggles and sparkling eyes, then she picked up another apple to repeat what just happened. "Oh no, you don't!" Shadow said, as he rushed with her and snatched the apple from her hooves. "Awww..." Filly Sunny said disappointed, as she blew a raspberry at her for ruining her fun. "Don't look at me like that," Shadow deadpanned, then he grabbed the filly on his hands, but Sunny only huffed offended and looked away. "Ugh, I'm not made to be a babysitter..." "Whoo! Ooh-ooh-ooh!" Filly Zipp cheered, as she suddenly used Shadow's head to gain some impulse to and hop on the top of the stands. Tails chased her as he noticed this. "Zipp! Get down from there! You're gonna get hurt!" He begged concerned. "Ooh!" Filly Zipp kept hopping on the top of the stands, then she did a flip and fell through one. "Aah! Ugh!" She exclaimed as she fell into a cotton candy stand, which startled the unicorn stallion. She popped up unharmed while giggling, before noticing the cotton candy on her head. "Ooooh!" She rubbed the cotton candy with sparkling eyes. Soon enough, though, Tails came by and grabbed her with his hands. "This is so awkward, but you are a cute filly, Zipp," He said with a nervous smile. His compliment made Filly Zipp's cheeks pout, as she crossed her hooves. "Huh, you don't like to be called cute even as a filly, huh? I'll use that against you once you're back to normal." On the other hand, Filly Pipp was climbing next to a cauldron. She looked at it with sparkling eyes, while the unicorn stallion was distracted by his phone. "Oh, no, no, no, no!" Sonic exclaimed in panic, quickly rushing to Filly Pipp and grabbing her with his hands to keep her away from the cauldron. However, the moment Filly Pipp lay eyes on Sonic, she started to look at him with a strange pink aura surrounding the ambience with hearts floating around, and as Sonic turned to her with a raised eyebrow, Filly Pipp's eyes sparkled, and she gasped with a huge smile over her newfound crush. She then got free of Sonic's grip and hugged his chest tightly with a cute smile, while Sonic looked down at her with wide eyes and an awkward expression, since he has literally made Filly Pipp fall for him. "Well, this is awkward... It's gonna be hard to tell you about this once you're back to normal, Little Pipp," Sonic said with a chuckle, then he picked her up and put her on his head, making her giggle a bit and get comfortable over him. "Aww, I can't be mad at you when you're so cute. Huh, it's ironic, don't you think? First you took care of me when I turned a baby, now the roles changed." Pipp just giggled again and nuzzled over Sonic's head happily, while Sonic smiled and walked away. "Wheeee!" Filly Izzy cheered, jumping into the glitter stand. First, she dig into pink glitter, which made her mane have multicolors of orange, yellow, and light green. Then, she jumped into orange glitter, which made her horn turn into a carrot. Finally, she went into the purple glitter, which gave her a glitter beard, which made her giggle with sparkling eyes, before she trotted off. "Isabella! Come back here right in this instant!" Knuckles shouted desperate, since he's tire of chasing her around the market like a maniac. Then, as Shadow tried so hard not to shout at Sunny, because she was on his back and pulling his quills a bit, the Ultimate Life Form noticed Sparky trying to get Foal Hitch away from a purple glowing crystal. Amy, who's been trying to catch Hitch, was panting heavily after chasing him around the market. "Isn't that the weird crystal that turned a bunny into a giant 3 episodes ago?" Shadow asked, pointing at the crystal that Foal Hitch tried to touch, weirdly enough, with his tongue. "The what now?!" Amy shouted, and when she noticed what Shadow meant, she panicked and started to sweat nervously. "Don't do it. Don't do it!" Yet Foal Hitch was approaching his tongue to the crystal even more, making Amy's panic increase a 1000%. "D-Don't, don't, don't, don't!" Amy cried out, but it was too late, because Foal Hitch's tongue touched the gem and shrunk. This surprised Sparky, as he fell to the floor when he lost grip of Hitch's tail, while Amy groaned tiredly. Then, Amy rushed into the stand and looked around in panic. "Oh, no! Where'd he go?!" She cried out concerned. Suddenly Sparky gurgled, as he pointed to the floor in front of him, because he was seeing the tiny small Foal Hitch, which Amy noticed as well. Yet when Hitch touched the same glowing gem with his tongue again, he grow twice his regular foal size, even making Sparky sit on his back again. "And there he is," Amy said nervously. "A big boy already, I see..." Big Foal Hitch gave a low-pitch giggle, then he jumped around, causing the market to shake a lot, and then he trotted off with Sparky still on his back, while the ponies around ran for cover. "I don't get paid enough for this crap..." Amy said anxiously, while Knuckles came to her side with Filly Izzy on his arms, as the filly happily chomped a cookie the echidna gave her. "Were things this difficult for you, Zipp and Pipp?" "Nope. They were a lot easier, actually," Knuckles replied with a bored expression. And then, Filly Misty was floating thanks to a green glowing hat she was wearing. "Whoo! Whee! Whoo!" She cheered, making some spins before falling without the hat. Alphabittle noticed this and panicked a lot "Misty! Noooooo!" He cried out, then his fatherly instincts kicked in, so he jumped ahead and caught Filly Misty before she hit the floor, then hold her closely. "I'll always be here for you, Misty! Hoof to heart!" "Ah," Filly Misty said with a smile and sparkling eyes. "I really hate to brake this to you, Alpha B, but we have problems to take care of..." Sonic pointed out, still having Filly Pipp nuzzling happily over his head. It turns out Amy's still chasing Foal Hitch around, while Filly Izzy discovered she can use magic and is now levitating Knuckles around wildly, Filly Sunny is chomping over Shadow's quills and Rouge is trying to take her off without hurting her or making Shadow cry out loudly, although he really wants to... And finally, Tails is chasing down Filly Zipp again, because she managed to escape from him. "Ugh, I'm too old for this..." Alphabittle said with a tired expression. "You should be thankful only them turned into babies," Sonic pointed out with a deadpan. "If I turned into one as well, I'll be the most hyperactive and impossible to catch baby you're ever going to see." Alphabittle gulped after hearing that, because just the day on it's own was already giving him a headache. In Eggman's lab, Eggman was trying o plan down his next move against his enemies. Now that he had Sage back, he thought that coming up with something to take them down would be easy... But he forgot that his AI turned daughter still has a kid's mind. Sage herself was sneaking near Eggman, something he hadn't noticed yet. She had on her hands a really old camera that she found on the basement. Soon, she managed to appear right besides Eggman, then lifted the camera and made a funny face, just when Eggman finally noticed her. "Huh?" Eggman said confused, but then the camera flashed and blurred his sight. "Ugh! Sage!" Sage just giggled playfully and flew away, while Eggman got up his seat and started to chase her around. Later on, everyone but Sonic and Alphabittle were still struggling to catch the fillies. "Well, this is starting to get ridiculous," Sonic deadpanned with his arms crossed. Meanwhile, Tails finally managed to get Filly Zipp, and he quickly flew up with a bored expression, looking down at the filly on his hands. "You, young lady, are harder to catch than as an adult," He said, then his eyes widened in panic. "No, wait, that sounds way too creepy..." Suddenly, and just when Shadow managed to keep Filly Sunny in line, Knuckles got off Filly Izzy's magic, and Amy managed to get Foal Hitch back to his regular foal size, a train whistle was heard. Everyone looked around confused, while they fillies and foal looked around interested, until they noticed a small red and black train coming by. Said train had three double seats for kids, and Omega was sitting on the 'driver's cabin' with a machinist hat, while he actually drove the train, which actually was a toy made for foals. "All aboard on the Omega Express," Omega stated, making the train whistle again. "Omega, what the f––" Shadow was about to ask with a very confused expression, but then Filly Sunny suddenly got so excited that she got off his hands and rushed to the train, then got over the seat right behind Omega. "Well, that's something..." Amy said confused, but then Foal Hitch also got off her grip and ran excited to the train, right besides Filly Sunny. And then, one by one, the other four fillies also got into the train with excitement, with Fillies Zipp and Pipp sitting behind Sunny and Hitch, while Fillies Izzy and Misty sat behind the royal sisters. This just left everyone else speechless, but Sonic just smirked and crossed his arms. "Glad to see you work quickly, Meg!" "I'll keep them busy, you work on bringing them back to normal," Omega instructed, then blew the train's whistle again and started to move around, while the six fillies all cheered happily. "...Well, that was... something, I guess..." Rouge said with a confused expression. "Agreed," Alphabittle nodded, then he shook his head and focused on what Omega said. "Think, Alphabittle, think. There's got to be some way to get those ponies back to normal." "We'll have to ask the only one here who already had experience in the matter," Sonic pointed out. With that being said, everyone turned to see Knuckles, who looked back at the rest confused. "What? Do I have something in my face, or...?" "Knux, you're the only one along Zipp and Pipp that already knows how to turn back de-aged people - or ponies - back to normal," Tails pointed out. "What did you, Zipp and Pipp did to turn us back into adults?" "Hmm..." Knuckles said, rubbing his chin a bit. "Well, that time you and Sonic de-aged with Sunny, Hitch and Izzy was because you put on the face-mask that was mixed with the pink glitter. To revert the effect, Pipp made another mask that reverted the pink glitter's effects." "Okay... So we just need to find a way to revert what the glitter did..." Tails said, rubbing his chin. "However, I believe that putting the mask over babies was hard enough as it sounds, which means we need something else that they'll use or consume without protesting." "And how the hell are we gonna find something that specific in this place?" Shadow deadpanned with his arms crossed. Just then, as Alphabittle looked around, he noticed Onyx at a tea stand. "Come get your herbal teas. Calming teas. Relaxing teas..." Onyx said to the customers. "That's it!" Alphabittle called out, then he rushed to Onyx's stand. "Excuse me! This is a tea-mergency!" Alphabittle exclaimed, then he pushed Onyx away. His sudden change of attitude confused the rest, but they still followed him. Then, Alphabittle started putting in some adult ingredients in the teapot as fast as he could. When a kettle whistled, Alphabittle poured the hot water of the kettle in another one, then started stirring. "Ooh!" Filly Zipp was about to fly after a Breezie she saw, before Tails grabbed her hind legs and put her back with the others in the train. "Nice try, young filly!" Tails scolded her with a frown, while Filly Zipp blew a raspberry to him. "Ha ha ha, so mature..." Tails rolled his eyes. "Omega, bring those kids over here!" Alphabittle instructed. Omega simply nodded and drove the train towards the stand. Once there, he placed the fillies and the foal in front of a table, where Alphabittle passed six teacups with the tea he just made. "Let's get you back to normal." Alphabittle said with a smile. Foal Hitch picked up his cup and smelled it, but then he cringed at the smell. "Bleh!" He groaned and pushed the cup away. The rest of them smelled it and cringed in disgust as well, so they turned away from their cups, which made Alphabittle and the Mobians but Omega groan. "Great, now they don't want to be adults anymore..." Sonic deadpanned. "As a kid, you don't have to pay taxes. I don't blame them," Knuckles pointed out with a shrug. "Uhhh…" Alphabittle thought for a moment, then he searched through the supplies and found six drinking straws. "This should do it." With this, he showed the straws to the Young 6, which turned and saw said straws, which made them start to giggle in excitement. With this, Alphabittle started placing each straw in their cups, which they started sipping, which also made them glow, meaning the effects of the tea were working. "Oh, thank Chaos!" Knuckles said, removing some sweat of his forehead. "I thought we'll never bring them back to normal..." But just when Filly Misty was the last one Alphabittle was about to put her straw in her cup, he stopped and looked at his filly daughter with sadness. "Goo-goo, ga-ga! Goo-goo, ga-ga!" Filly Misty said with a cute face and smile with sparkling eyes, while Alphabittle looked at her still sad with sparkling eyes. This also reactivated something on his memory, something he thought he'll never ever get back... Many years ago, before Misty disappeared, she was on the swing with her father. Filly Misty giggled at each push Alphabittle gave her, before she flew back from the swing and Alphabittle caught her, as she kept giggling with a smile, while Alphabittle smiled back at her. Back then, he would've done anything for his daughter, and now days? He'll still do it. Alphabittle gave a fond smile at his daughter after remembering that. "My little filly. You're just like I remember you..." He said with tears of joy in his eyes, then he placed Misty's straw in her cup. Then, Filly Misty started drinking her tea and glowing, still giving a cute smile. Later on, the group but Alphabittle was flying back to Maretime Bay. "So we turned into babies again?" Sunny asked with a sheepish smile. "I hope we were not that much of a problem to you, guys." "You pulled my quills, Sunny..." Shadow deadpanned with a bit of anger, which made Sunny chuckled sheepishly. "I'm just glad you guys are back to normal," Sonic said with shrug. "Also, is good you six were the only ones that turned into kids. Just imagine how much chaos would be around if everyone else turned as well." "Better not think on what could it be, 'cause I seriously don't want to..." Knuckles said with a twitchy eye. "I still don't understand one thing, though..." Tails pointed out while rubbing his chin. "How did Sunny's pink magic glitter reached the market? Was it there before, or someone else trade it?" "I can't believe I'm gonna say this of all ponies, but maybe that's a mystery that should remain unsolved," Zipp pointed out with a bored expression while driving the Marestream. "Agreed," Everyone else replied. THE END Author's Note Well, this episode wasn't so hard to write. Honestly, besides the fact that I removed Opaline's parts because Chapter 6 won't be adapted in my story, there's nothing else I can really say as 'fun facts' of this chapter. So, I'll only thank you for reading, and I'll see you soon. Bye!
72. The Family SocialA ZH News Broadcast started, and we see Sky and Dazzle along Queen Haven and Alphabittle. "And now, a special announcement from your Majesty, Queen Haven from Zephyr Heights, and Alphabittle from the Bridlewood forest!" Sky announced with a smile. "Thanks, Sky," Haven said with a smile, then she turned to the camera. "Alphabittle and I are so very glad to announce a brand new event for all ponykind: The Family Social!" "This bran new event will be held in Zephyr Heights, Bridlewood, and Maretime Bay, and event where everypony gets together with their families to have fun and compete in fun events," Alphabittle explained with a smile. "All the families - or teams - that participate and win in an event will get a blue ribbon like this one," Haven added, holding up a blue ribbon with a golden medal that had the Unity Crystals printed on it. "However, the winner of our very first Relay Race that takes the entire team across Equestria will win a big, golden trophy!" As Haven said this, Alphabittle smiled and levitated said trophy in front of the camera. Said trophy was made of gold, and it had a symbol that represented the three pony tribes in the middle. "Wowie Zowie!" Dazzle exclaimed with sparkling eyes. "Now that's what I call being shiny!" "The race will start off in Maretime Bay, then leaving the city to enter Bridlewood and dodge obstacles, just to finally head towards the finish line, here at Zephyr Heights!" Alphabittle explained, still smiling. "However, there's a set of strict rules to be followed," Haven stated. "The first rule: You have to compete with two more member of your family. If you cannot, well, you can still bring over your closest friends! At the end of the day, they're family as well." "Rule number 2: No competitor is allowed to take advantaged of their magic," Alphabittle kept going. "For example: If a Pegasus on a family team tries to fly during the relay, they have to go at normal speed with the other ponies that can't." "This comes to justify Rule number 3: No pony is left behind during the team events, and everything has to be done as a team," Haven declared. "And finally, Rule number 4: Remember to haven fun with the ones you love!" Alphabittle finished with a bright smile. In the Crystal Brighthouse, the Mane 6 but Hitch and Pipp were watching the broadcast. "We cannot wait to see so many families attending and working together on this new event!" Haven said in the TV. "And we can't wait to cover it as usual!" Sky said with a smile. As this happened, Sunny was on her place, trying so hard not to squeal in happiness, while Izzy, Misty and Zipp only watched at the TV with smiles. When the broadcast finally got ever, Sunny could not take it in anymore and squealed loudly in excitement, startling her friends a bit. "Uh... You good, Sunny?" Zipp asked confused. "That was a... really loud squeal..." Misty said with a little dizzy expression. "Yeah! Not even I can be that loud, not even when I'm not trying," Izzy said, although with a cheery smile. "Is it weird that I actually agree with you, Iz? Because I barely remember the last time that happened." "I can't believe it, they really did it!" Sunny said suddenly out loud, as she started to happily jump on her place like a filly. "Okay, seriously, what's got you so excited, Sunny?" Misty asked, now as confused as Zipp. "Queen Haven and Alphabittle actually listened to my idea!" Sunny explained with a smile. "A full on day that you can spend with your friends or your family?! That's exactly what I wanted to do!" "Oh, so this 'Family Social' thingy was your idea?" Izzy asked with an amused smile. "Indeed! And now that is happening..." Sunny started, then squealed loudly and placed her hooves on her cheeks, while also having sparkling eyes. "I can't wait for this day to come!" "Honestly, I'm not surprised this whole thing is your idea," Zipp confessed with a smirk. "However, I do gotta thank you! Because Pipp and I are planning to get in with Mom and spent some quality time! Well, that, and we also plan to win the Relay Race!" "And how did you came up with the idea, Sunny?" Misty asked, as she approached her. "I just thought it'll be a great way of showing off how family bonds help to make the ponies we are today!" Sunny replied with a smile. "After all, we should feel proud of who we are because of them." "And who are you taking with in that case, Sunny?" Zipp asked curiously. Sunny stopped to think about for a second, rubbing her chin with a hoof. "Well, I was thinking about going with Hitch and Sparky. Unless you girls are free to race?" She turned to Izzy and Misty with a smirk. "Oh, uh..." Misty said, chuckling a bit nervous. "That would be great, Sunny, but Dad told me in advance about the Social, and I already promised him to participate along him and Izzy." Hearing that made Izzy gasp with sparkling eyes, as she rushed and hugged Misty tightly. "Alphabittle wants me to be with you two on the Social?!" "W-Well, he said something about you being his unofficial second daughter since you were always around him," Misty replied. "I guess that makes you an honorary member, and also kind of my unofficial sister?" This only made Izzy squeal loudly in excitement. "Oh, Misty! I'm so honored to hear this! Ah, now I have an unofficial father, and an unofficial sister! This is the greatest news ever!" Misty chuckled at Izzy's attitude and hugged her back eventually, also jumping along her for fun. Sunny, however, felt a bit bad because this means she cannot form a team with them, nor with Zipp and Pipp. Zipp notices this, so she approaches her and places a hoof on her shoulder with a smile. "Hey, Sunny. You still have Hitch and Sparky to ask, remember?" This brightness Sunny's mood immediately, as she smiles widely with sparkling eyes and a slight blush. "You're right! I still can ask him out!" She realized, then she went over and put her roller skates and helmet on, then head off to the town. "Thanks for the reminder, Zipp!" With all said and done, Sunny excitedly left the Brighthouse behind, roller skating towards the town. In Maretime Bay, Sunny skated around while humming to herself towards the Sheriff Station. However, she decided to make a quick stop at Mane Melody, where she found Amy, Rouge, Jazz and Rocky attending the place. Pipp was in the backstage, but Sunny already knew she was going to participate in the Social with her sister and her Mom, which is why she will ask Amy and Rouge about the Social and try luck. "Yeah, not happening," Rouge said with a bored expression and her arms crossed after Sunny explained herself, but her response made Amy push her with an elbow and frown while shaking her head. "What Rouge is trying to say is that we appreciate the offer, Sunny," Amy told the Earth Pony mare with a sheepish smile. "Unfortunately, we can't go with you." "Huh? And why not?" Sunny asked, disappointed for the answer, but also curious for the reason. "Pipp's gonna attend to the Social, as you already knew, and Jazz and Rocky will go as well with Rufus," Amy explained. "Which leaves Amy and I left to look after the place," Rouge added, while also checking her nails. "We would go on other circumstances, but the salon gets full 'cause many ponies gather to watch these kind of stuff from here." "Oh... I see..." Sunny said, once again disappointed, but then she gasped, and her smile immediately came back. "And what about––" "Omega is staying to watch the Crystals and the Emeralds, which means that he can't go," Amy pointed out, then she deadpanned with her arms crossed. "Specially considering what happened last time Eggman took the Unity Crystals and tried to take the Chaos Emeralds." "And Shadow is not even around," Rouge added. "He's back into panic mode while searching for Eggman's current installment so he can take him off guard. You know, Shadow stuff." "...I see..." Was all that Sunny replied, before quickly turn around and roll her way out of the salon. Amy noticed her change of attitude and felt bad for her, while Rouge just shrugged it and went back to work. Amy didn't liked her attitude, but eventually decided to follow her example and resumed her job as well. Sunny was heading towards the Sheriff Station once again. She hoped that Hitch and Sparky were going to be available and would actually accept be part of the Social with her. If not, then it was a lost cause, because asking Sonic, Tails and Knuckles would be stupid. They're already a team of three, and she was convinced that they were appointed to the Social for themselves. Reaching the Station, she entered the building, but found herself surprised to see that only Knuckles was inside, putting some papers away on the cabinets behind Hitch's desk. However, that wasn't the weirdest thing: The fact that Knuckles had the cowboy hat he only uses when he's in charge was it, and shed had a bad feeling about it. Is it because of Knuckles being temporally Sheriff? Nope, because he has proven to be worthy of such a tittle just as much as Hitch, unlike certain red pony... "Uh, Knux?" Sunny called out, as she rolled inside the station. "Yo," Knuckled replied, closing another cabinet and turning to Sunny. "Ignore the hat, if you want. Is just my sign of 'temporal sheriff position' for everypony to understand." "Yeah, I know that," Sunny said with and awkward chuckle. "Um, Knux, where are Hitch and Sparky? I thought they'll be here today." "Oh, they left to Zephyr Heights this morning with Hitch's Grandma," Knuckles replied. "They're heading off for the weekend to that... Social Familiar, or however is called. They're all participating as a single team, which means I'm the Sheriff this weekend." This news absolutely destroyed Sunny. So all of her friends were attending with their families, but she had no one to go with. She had no biological family left, as far as she knows, and now she was alone. Her friends were her family, true, but Zipp and Pipp had their Mom, Misty and Izzy had Alphabittle (he technically raised Izzy, even though she had family alive as a filly), and Hitch had Sparky and his Grandma Figgy. She, however, didn't even had her dad anymore, and even if he was her, who else would go with them? Knuckles noticed that Sunny was suddenly looking gloomy and raised an eyebrow confused. "Sunny? You good?" "...Fantastic!" Sunny replied with a very forced smile, as she sobbed a bit and tears started to flow from her eyes. "All of my friends are going to the Social, while I stay behind because I don't have any family left. I've never been better!" After bursting out like that, Sunny turned around and rolled skated as fast as she could back to the Brighthouse, while Knuckles just looked at her confused, not getting why she got mad all of a sudden. "Hmm... She was crying, and she sounded very sarcastic and heart-broken in her last sentence..." Knuckled noted, then he looked over at his watch. "This might be a good time to call Sonic and Tails." Sonic was just resting over the sand in the beach with a smile. Suddenly, however, his little moment of relaxation got interrupted when his watch beeped, so he answered it. "Yellow?" Sonic asked mockingly. "No, it's Knuckles," The Echidna replied from the other side, but after a few seconds, he spoke again. "Oh, you were just joking... Got it." Sonic rolled his eyes after hearing that. "Hey, Knuckles," Tails' voice joined the conversation as well. In Electronic Tails, the young fox was replacing the Tornado IV's engine with a more powerful one. "What's the motive of you calling us?" Tails asked Knuckles, finally placing the last torn of the engine in place. "Well, Sunny came here looking for Hitch, I told her he's out of town because of that thingy Queen Haven and Alphabittle promoted on TV, then got mad at me for reasons I still don't get, and then left crying to the Brighthouse," Knuckles said. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sonic called out from his side. "Sunny got mad at you?! The very same Sunny that always tries to look for a solution to even the smallest and dumbest of problems?!" "Yup. That Sunny," Knuckles replied. "I think you confused her with somepony else, Knux..." Tails said. "She'll never get mad at anyone–– Wait! You said she left crying?!" "Mm-hmm. That's why I called, actually," Knuckles confessed. "I'm pretty sure that crying is a bad sign, specially if it comes from Sunny. You two think you can check on her and see what's going on?" "I think you just called the right guys, Knucklehead," Sonic replied, immediately cutting the call. "Agreed. Thanks for telling us this, Knux," Tails said, then he also cut the call. After that, Tails rushed to close the workshop, placing a sign that said 'Close for Family Matters', and then he saw a blue blur in the distance entering to the Brighthouse. Tails knew that was Sonic, so he flew up in the air and then boosted towards the Crystal Brighthouse as well to check on Sunny along Sonic. Sonic and Tails bursted into the Crystal Brighthouse, looking around for Sunny with concern. But then, they both heard sobs and whimpers coming from upstairs, and they both already knew who was crying. Looking at each other concerned, they nodded, then rushed upstairs and entered the bedroom. There, they found Sunny crying over a pillow in her bed, while hugging both the Lantern of Hope (her lantern) and the framed picture she had of herself with her dad when she was a filly. Those two were her most valuable objects left from the destroyed lighthouse, and Sonic and Tails knew she's very bad if she's hugging them both. "Sunny?" Tails called out first, as the two brothers approached the Earth Pony mare. "Sunny, we're here." "Knuckles told us you suddenly got upset over him," Sonic pointed out with concern. "That's completely out of character for you... What happened?" Sunny sobbed a bit more on her pillow, and she just lifted her face to see them with a heartbroken expression, which only broke Sonic and Tails' hearts in return. "G-Go away!" Sunny begged, burring her face on the pillow again. "I-I want to be alone!" "Sunny, we don't like to see you like this," Tails pointed out with concern. "We just want to know what's wrong." "Come on now, Sunny-bunny," Sonic added with a little smile. "We're your friends. Heck, even more: We're your brothers from another mother... and dimension. You can count with us!" Hearing that actually made her perk her ears up and look up from her pillow. She suddenly sat at the edge of her bed, still hugging the pillow despite not crying on it anymore, and when she saw that Sonic and Tails were both smiling at her, she couldn't help but smile back, then took a deep breath before explaining herself. "Well... I was very, very excited for the Family Social, because is an event were you can participate with your friends or biological family," Sunny started to explain. "I wanted this to show that we should feel proud of who we are thanks to our family, but... I cannot feel proud of who I am when I have no one to participate with. Everypony is already busy with either their jobs or being part of the Social with their own families, and... I feel like I'm staying behind, alone. Dad's not here anymore, so..." Seeing her worry, Sonic and Tails felt bad for head, with their ears lowering a bit. However, they soon perk up again when they both had the same idea, so they looked at each other, smiled and nodded. Next, Sonic went ahead and sat at Sunny's side. "Well, if being left out is what's bugging you, why didn't you said so? We can go with you and be a chaotic trio of siblings having fun!" This made Sunny's eyes open wide, and she looked at Sonic confused and shocked. "I'm sorry, what?!" "What you heard!" Tails added, as he sat at Sunny's other side. "We have spent a lot of time together, Sunny. Almost two years! We're a little broken family that fixed itself when we got together. I mean, my parents didn't even acted like ones with me, and it wasn't until I met Sonic that I knew what is it to actually have a family." "And even if I had Tails, a part of me always wondered what it'll feel like to have a sister," Sonic added with a smirk. "I found that in you, Sunny. And now, you are the little sister I never knew I always wanted." With every word spoken by both Sonic and Tails, her eyes watered, and she sniffed with a little smile. "You guys mean it? I... Am I actually your family?" "Well, of course you are!" Sonic assured, as both he and Tails side-hugged the Earth Pony mare with smiles. "So what if we're not the same species? Neither are Sonic and I, but we know we are brothers!" Tails pointed out with a smile. "And just like we've been there for each other in good and bad situations, we'll both be there for you as well." "You're our sister, after all. And as your brothers, is our job to look after you," Sonic added with a smile as well. If Sunny could cry a river, she definitely would do it right now. She wrapped her hooves around them both and pulled them closely for a bigger hug. She ended up smiling with joy, while her Cutie Mark started to glow, and Sonic and Tails' electrical powers came afloat, but none of them noticed this. "So... You guys are actually going to the Social with me?" Sunny asked once again, just to make absolutely sure. "We already promised to go, so now we're going, sis!" Sonic stated with a smirk. "Besides, it'll be pretty low of us to tell you all of this and not mean it. Who do we look like, Eggman?" Tails added jokingly, causing the three of them to laugh. The weekend of the Family Social arrived. This meant that it was time for the trio of sibling to participate in all of the activities. Sonic, Tails and Sunny were all going as 'The Chaotic Siblings' as their team name, since they needed one to participate. So far, the siblings were having a blast in all the competitions: For the baking contest, they could've won at least second place if the first recipe didn't exploded in their faces. They laughed about it, but they also knew they lost and only got third place, although they didn't minded since they enjoyed their time. Next, they had an eating competition where they were far to win, but Sonic did laughed a bit at how Sunny and Tails' faces got covered with food rests, which made them cover his face back, and they laughed about it. Finally, they had a charades competition, where every team was free of doing whatever imitation they wanted in such a short notice. They won second place on this occasion, but they had to resist the urge of laughing at Sonic's funny faces whenever he was trying to imitate anything. By the time of the Relay Race, however, it was time to put the game serious. Sunny will start the race in Maretime Bay since it's her home, then Tails will continue the race in Bridlewood, and Sonic will be the one finishing the race by going to the finish line in Zephyr Heights. Sonic had to put over his shoes a blocker that Tails invented. This blocker neutralizes Sonic's speed, so he can run to the same speed than an average pony and make things fair and square. However, that didn't meant he wasn't going to make an extra effort in order to win. In Maretime Bay, everyone put over their positions, ready to start the race. In the line, we have Hitch, Pipp, Sunny, Misty, Rufus, and Posey, while Knuckles is in a corner with a whistle on his hand, also waiting for the sign of Sky and Dazzle to start the race. Once they announced the race could start, Knuckles looked over at the competitors and walked in front of them. Hey let's go! "On your marks, get set..." Knuckles started, and then, he blew the whistle. Hey let's go! Let's take a journey all the way through time Step forward then rewind With this, the race started, as the six ponies rushed off and ran ahead as fast as they could. But, and to no one's surprise, Sunny and Hitch were the ones in the lead. Despite there being other Earth Ponies racing, these two know Maretime Bay better than their own names, which gives them a huge advantage over the rest. No matter where we go its you and me We can rewrite history After running for a while, they left the town and headed towards Bridlewood. There, they found Figgy, Haven, Tails, Izzy, Jazz, and Onyx waiting for their partners to arrive from Maretime Bay. Once Sunny and Hitch arrived, though, they gave Tails and Figgy the stick of the team, so they immediately headed off towards the inside of the forest. Of course, Tails was playing fair as the rules dictated, so even though he could speed ahead and give the stick to Sonic already, he couldn't leave Figgy behind. (Oooh) That's right everyone I'm here Now I wanna hear you screaming loud and clear Coming at you with a proclamation That'll be passed down through the generations It didn't took long for the other four competitors to catch up, and now, the six teams were all heading towards the next teammate now that they have passed the obstacles. It's all bout how you live and learn Hit the road and watch that rubber burn Don't you know that time's an illusion When your running on dreams of absolution In the next line, which's road lead towards Zephyr Heights, therefore the finish line, therefore the trophy, we have Sparky, Zipp, Sonic, Alphabittle, Rocky and Windy waiting for their teammates to arrive. And when they did, the six teams were now rushing towards Zephyr Heights as fast as they could. You know that we've got nothing left to loose So take the leap and grab the prize Now's the chance we've waited our whole lives for Sonic and Zipp were the ones in the lead, however. Even with his speed kept on line to make a fair game, Sonic was still fast enough to keep up the pace he likes. But having to beat Zipp? That was a challenge he welcomed. We're not slowing down anymore As long as your hand's in mind Eventually, they both reached Zephyr Heights and got closer to the finish line. They were constantly accelerating and passing the other one, sometimes Sonic was in the lead and sometimes Zipp was it. This was a very tight race, and just when they both crossed the finish line, a picture was taken. We'll concur any road block The fast lane we'll rock That's right 'Cause I've got my friends right by my side With the race done, both Sonic and Zipp panted heavily after crossing the finish line. Sonic was not used to 'surpass limits' since he didn't had one in other circumstances, but again, he welcomed the challenge. Soon enough, though, the results of who won the race came in, and the picture showed that, despite both being so close to each other, Sonic crossed the line first by a shoe inch, which meant the the Chaotic Siblings were the winners. Sonic just smiled at this, and even though Zipp lost, she still smiled and congratulated him. Later on that day, the Chaotic Sibling enjoyed a meal with their trophy. Sunny was glad that Sonic and Tails came in the end to the Social with her, and she couldn't be any happier for it... But something was still concerning her. "Guys..." Sunny called out, and both Sonic and Tails turned to her. "I, um... Well, first of all, thanks for coming with me. I couldn't have asked for a better team to participate in the social." "Hey, that's what your brothers are here for!" Sonic assured her with a smile. "Yeah! Whenever you need us, we'll be there!" Tails added, also with a smile. "About that, um, the thing of you two being my brothers... If the time of you leaving back to Mobius comes, will you two still be my family? Even if we're not physically together anymore?" Sunny asked with concern. Seeing where she was going, Sonic and Tails looked at each other for a moment, but then they both smiled. "Sunny, Sunny-bunny, little sis. Even if we were miles away from each other, different dimension or not, we'll always be here with you," Sonic said with a smile, wrapping an arm around her and pointing at her heart. "Well, that, and I could also put some projects aside and find a way for us to stay in touch, even if we're various dimensional levels away from each other," Tails added with a smile as well. Sunny smiled with joy after hearing this, then hugged them again, while they both smiled and hugged her back. THE END Author's Note Ah, BenictheHedgehog, you have a good row of chapters, my friend. Thanks to you for suggesting me this, It was honestly so wholesome that I couldn't ignore it. I mean, technically "Return to Cyberspace" already acknowledges them as siblings, but having them all officially saying it out loud works too, though. Anyways. Thank you all once again for reading. See ya!
73. Very Bad Hair DayIt was another morning in the Crystal Brighthouse. Just then, Sunny came into the bedroom rolling a tray cart with a yellow covered plate. "Yoo-hoo! Pipp!" She waved her hoof with a smile, then approached the bed with the uncovered plate that had a tower of pancakes. "When you taste these pancakes, you are gonna hit the…" Yet she trailed off and yelped when Pipp stood up with a yawn, even launching the pancakes to hit the ceiling. It turns out that the young princess' mane was wild and messed up, it even looked bigger than it actually is, but Pipp hasn't noticed yet, and she just smiled tiredly at her friend. "Through… roof..." Sunny finished with an awkward smile, before the pancakes fell on her head. Meanwhile, Pipp made it to her mirror and started brushing her wild mane. "I'll be right with you, Sunny-bun––" She trailed off when she saw her reflection and finally noticed her wild mane with wide eyes. "O…M…P! Am I having a…" She trailed off again with teary eyes. "Bad hair day?!" She then went with Sunny and shook her slightly in panic. "Tell me I'm not having a bad hair day, Sunny!!" Sunny stepped back with a nervous smile while sweating. "Uh, well, I-I-I mean it's a little weird, for sure. But! No, no, no. But, I-I'm sure we can brush it out, right?" She then quickly moved the brush around Pipp's mane back to its original style, which made the Pegasus smile. "See?" Yet the happiness didn't last long, because Pipp's mane suddenly popped back into its wild unkept place, which knocked the Earth Pony to the ground while, Pipp's eyes opened wide in panic. "Ugh!" Pipp cried out, now hyperventilating. "How... am I... meant to work... when I look... like this?!" She questioned while tugging her mane. Sunny looked at her concerned, then began to look around the Brighthouse for something that could help, before her eyes stopped to see the lamp on Pipp's side of the bedroom. Of course, Sunny knew Pipp wouldn't like what she has in mind, but it's also better than nothing. So, sweating nervously and pointing at the lamp, Sunny looked back at Pipp. "Oh... Well..." Pipp looked at Sunny confused at first, but then looked at where she's pointing, and then she gasped in panic. She knows what she means, and just like expected, she doesn't likes it. In the Brighthouse's bathroom, Sonic just got out of the shower. As the Blue Blur hummed a tune to himself, he dried of his fur and then launched the towel away. Soon, he approached the mirror of the bathroom and noticed his quills were a mess. So, to fix it, he open a cabinet, and now he had to make a choice. One one hand, he had Pipp's new mane Softener, which she launched just yesterday. On the other hand, however, he had his usual Hair Gel. His quills are his hair, after all, hence why he uses a gel. He picked up Pipp's softener, opened the bottle and smelled it. The softener had a good sense, but is not what he likes to use, so he choose to put it aside and bring out his usual Hair Gel, then applied some on his hands, and then started to fix his quills so they could say in place like usual. "Sorry, Little Pipp, but I don't trust untested products until I see their result," Sonic muttered, then left the bathroom and prepared to head towards the kitchen and get some breakfast. However, as he was going to do so, he saw that Pipp was getting downstairs with her mane covered by her own lamp's upper part, and he raised an eyebrow confused. If this was another viral thing to do, then he truly has seen everything by this point of his life. "Uh, Pipp?" Sonic called out, and Pipp's eyes widened in panic when she heard his boyfriend. "What are you––" "I'm having a bad hair day, okay?!" Pipp said in panic. "Sunny suggested to cover it up with the lamp, but I honestly don't know how that's gonna help. What if somepony sees me? They're gonna... take pictures and... I'll go viral for... looking terrible!!!" "Pipp!" Sonic called out, placing his hands on his marefriend's shoulders. "Pipp, my love, my angel, calm down!" Sonic told her with a smile. "We're gonna think this through, okay? But first, let's breath in and out to stay calm." Pipp was still hyperventilating a bit, but she choose to hear her boyfriend's words, so she started to do that: She breath in and out to calm her nerves, until she could finally think clearly again. "Feeling better?" Sonic asked with a smile. "A bit..." Pipp replied. "Is just, my mane looks like a disaster, and I don't want to be reminded of it for the next 3 or 4 weeks!" "And if I go with you?" Sonic suggested. "To make sure you feel less stressed or scared." "...You know what? That actually could help. Thanks, Blue Star!" Pipp said happily, hugging tightly her boyfriend. Sonic snickered, then kissed down her nose. "Anything for my princess~" He stated in a flirty tone. Sonic did exactly what he said he would: He accompanied Pipp to Mane Melody. However, Pipp whimpered in fear all the way from the Brighthouse to the town. She placed a piece of her mane back into the lamp cover on her head, since it was coming out, and then looked around completely terrified, something that Sonic noticed, making him feel concerned for his marefriend. "This is so embarrassing!" Pipp cried out. "It's not a big deal, Pippsy," Sonic tried to assure her with a smile. "I haven't seen how your hair currently is, but it can't be as bad as you make it look, can it?" "I'd rather not answer that question..." Pipp replied nervously, right before hiding behind a pillar when she saw Dreamy and a foal coming their way. Once they moved away, Pipp came out of her hiding spot. "Pipp, you're overreacting. Remember what I said time ago? If your fans really love you, they will accept you, no matter how you look!" Sonic reminded her with a smile, but as they moved ahead, they bumped into Dahlia, who had a bag over her head, before she gave a panicked look like Pipp. "Um, Dahlia?" Dahlia laughed nervously. "Hey, Pipp, Sonic. Lovely weather we're having," She said, rubbing her head. Pipp responded with the same expression. "Heeeey, Dahlia––" She cut off with a scream when Dahlia's mane started hissing and hair came out from the bag, right before Dahlia grabbed it, while Pipp gasped in shock. "You too?!" She asked while grabbing Dahlia. "Uh, is it that bad with you, Pipp?" Sonic asked confused. He's not freaked out at living manes because... Well, when an ancient entity possess your body and uses it against your own friends, nothing surprises you anymore. Just then, however, Pipp turned and saw something that surprised her. "What... Wait, what?!" She exclaimed, as she saw many ponies in front of Mane Melody wearing pots, big hats, bags, or buckets on their heads to also hide their manes. "So many ponies having a bad hair day?" Sonic questioned, then he rubbed his chin in thought. "This is way too strange to be just a coincidence..." "I agree!" Pipp said, then she rushes to face everypony else. "What is happening?!" She questioned, before the wind blew by and blew her lamp cap away. She yelped and managed to grab the lamp cap before it flew away. "Phew!" "Oh, yeah... It is that bad after all..." Sonic said with a cringe expression towards his marefriend. "Huh?" Pipp said confused, but then she noticed that the crowd was looking at her and gasped, meaning they were now seeing Pipp's mane current state, so she simply put the lamp cap again and approached the crowd. "Pipp! There you are!" Posey said, as she pushed through the crowd while showing a bottle spray from Mane Melody. "We all used your new Mane Softener, and this is what happened!" She explained, taking off the pot covering her mane, which began to hiss and snarl for some reason while holding a cane. "...No... Yeah, no, this is nothing weird, actually..." Sonic shrugged and deadpanned. "This is just another Tuesday for me." "That's nothing!" Fifi exclaimed, then everyone turned to her as she took off her cap. "Mine's learned to juggle!" She declared, while her mane was juggling bananas on her head. "Mine won't stop eating things!" Rocky exclaimed, as his mane was holding a raccoonicorn and began to chomp at it. "Stop it! Stop it! STOP IT!" "I know it's bad and all, but it's also kinda cool," Sonic said with a little smile. Pipp, however, smiled nervously at the crowd. "Well, lucky for you ponies, I have the solution right behind this very lockable door!" She said nervously as she opened the door and dragged Sonic in, while he looked at her confused. "Okay, bye!" She said quickly before slamming the door and lock it. The crowd looked concerned, then they walked up to the door to try and get it open so that Pipp could help them. Inside the salon, Pipp sighs in relief, while Sonic looks at her with an arched brow. "Now what freaky experiment did you make this time that made manes come to life, Pipp?" Sonic questioned his marefriend with suspicion. "I don't make freaky experiments!" Pipp countered with a frown. "And I didn't used any weird product to make my softener, honest! I really don't know what went wrong!" "Well, this definitely didn't went wrong on it's own–– Oh, hi, Windy!" Sonic suddenly trailed off with a smile. "Hi Sonic, hi Pipp!" Windy replied with a smile, but since Pipp didn't know she's here, she was startled and screamed, before turning to see Windy smiling to her, also wearing her badge sash and having her mane normal. "Oh, what are you doing here?" Pipp asked confused. "Just the pony I was looking for!" Windy replied her happily. "I'm right on time, for my 9 A.M. hooficure!" She explained, then she saw a bottle similar to the one Posey showed. "Oh! Is this a new Mane Softener?" She asked, picking up the bottle. "Windy, hold on!" Sonic said in panic once he noticed the design of the bottle. "Uh, no-no-no, I wouldn't if I––!" Pipp as well panicked. Then, a drip came out of the bottle and hit a flower, making the plant's petals grow a bit and hiss, making stare in shock Windy at what happened, while Pipp's lamp cap came off to reveal her wild mane. "I think Sunny's plan had a failure..." Sonic deadpanned after Pipp's lost her cap again. Pipp, on the other hand, groaned. "All right, you caught me! My new Mane Softener is turning everypony's hair into monsters!" She whimpered, tugging her mane as it hissed and moved on its own. "Yeah, I'm actually glad I choose not to use it this morning..." Sonic said with a shrug. "No offense, Pipp." "Honestly? I can't blame you now that I see what happened with the softener..." Pipp said anxiously. Suddenly, they heard something pounding, so they turned and looked out of the window, noticing two mane pieces. Soon, they revealed to be Flare's and Rufus' manes, as they pulled said ponies to the windows with their faces to the glass, startling the two mares and concerning Sonic. "This is starting to get out of control, and I don't like it..." Sonic muttered with a frown. Windy, however, looked at the manes, then thought about something while rubbing her chin with her hoof. "Hmm. I'm sure I've seen this before..." "Oh, what am I gonna do, guys? This is a disaster!" Pipp cried out dramatically with concern. "I honestly don't know," Sonic replied with honesty. "I'm not used to deal with hair suddenly getting alive. Windy? Any ideas?" "Well, in Trail Trotters, we learn to stay calm and assess the situation, so, in this very particular case…" She started, just before they heard more pounding and saw Flare's and Rufus' manes burst through the window and braking it, while the manes dragged the two ponies inside, and more came from under the door. "...I believe we should RUUUUN!" "I second that!" Sonic exclaimed, as the monster manes from Rufus and Flare came after them with hissing sounds, while the three of them screamed and ran out the backdoor. After getting to safety, Sonic quickly shut the door before the monster manes came at them. "Phew!" The three sigh in relief. "Well, I guess we're gonna need to find other way to get ourselves out of here..." Sonic suggested, right before the three of them noticed a couple of costumes of the same Mane Softener bottles in the corner of the backdoor. "...That's convenient..." He deadpanned. In the end, Sonic had to use another costume that wasn't a Mane Softener bottle. While Windy and Pipp put on the bottles' costumes, Sonic had to use an Eggman costume from a product line Pipp scrapped before even launching. It's redundant to say he hates this so much. "If any of you ever tell anyone about this, I swear I won't answer for my actions..." Sonic growled in anger. The three of them walked out of the alleyway, but Pipp's mane hissed before Pipp herself got it back into the costume. Then, they saw many ponies' manes hissing and snarling, also hitting each other or moving around, while ones like Rocky's ate a mailbox. They quickly walked past the crowd, right before the manes roared when they noticed the three of them, which made them scream and run away. Inside the Sheriff Station, Sparky was peacefully sleeping on his bed. Hitch wore a towel on his mane and around his body, since he got out of shower, and he also managed to get Sparky to sleep. Well, with a bit of help from Tails, who came by to move Sparky around his tails until he got tired and finally drifted to sleep, for the two adults' relief. "Phew. Finally," Hitch said with a content smile. "Thank Chaos Pipp made that softener, it's really helping my tails feel more alive than usual!" Tails said with a smile, applying the softener over his tails. But then, the door of the station opened up and then slammed, which startled not only Hitch and Tails, but Sparky as well, who breathed out Dragonfire onto Hitch's face, while Sparky burped. "Hey!" Hitch exclaimed with a frown, turning around and wiping off the soot on his face. "It took me 30 minutes to put Sparky to sleep!" Tails complained with a frown as well. Yet when they turned around, they saw Pipp's panicked expression and Monster Mane that started hissing. "Aah!" Hitch and Tails exclaimed in fright, the latter pulling out a gun and pointing it at Pipp. "It's okay! It's me! It's Pipp!" She quickly said to avoid getting shot, while Hitch and Tails still looked scared at her. "What happened to you?!" Hitch asked Pipp with an anxious look. "And why did you went from generic princess to freaking Medusa?!" Tails asked in panic. "Another product went wrong, and now her mane looks like this..." Sonic interfered, while both him and Windy stood at Pipp's sides. "Huh?/The what now?" Hitch and Tails said confused. "Okay, long story short: New Mane Softener turns hair into monsters, monsters chasing us, need a hideout––" Pipp tried to explain. However, both Hitch and Tails looked at her with panic and shock. "Wait, Mane Softener?!" Hitch asked first. "Y-You mean... t-t-t-this mane softener?" Tails asked nervously, shaking a lot while lifting up the softener on his hand. Both Sonic and Pipp looked completely shocked and panicked at their friends. "Oh boy..." Pipp said with a nervous smile. "We're all gonna die, aren't we?" Sonic asked with a twitchy eye. And then, Hitch's towel on his head shook as his mane burst out while hissing. "What's happening to me?!" He cried out. But as if this wasn't enough, Tails' tails started to shake, until they grow as well and hissed. "Ah! I don't like this! I really, really, really don't like this!" He cried out panicked as well. "Now I'm really glad I didn't applied that thing on me..." Sonic said with an anxious look and an awkward smile. "Just imagine all my quills going feral because of that thing..." "I really don't want to, thanks," Windy said with a nervous smile. Then, Sparky suddenly appeared in Pipp's wild mane, as he laughed and started to move around. "Not now, Sparky! We're trying to panic here!" Pipp cried out, while Sparky grabbed some hair and tied it together to make a mustache over his face. But Windy saw this, she thought for a moment, and then gasped. "That's it! Oh, I'm a genius!" She exclaimed happily, then she brought out her Trotters book and flipped through the pages. "I know where I've seen this hair before! Here! Look! In the Trail Trotters Guide to the Dragon Lands!" As she exclaimed this, Pipp was trying to get Sparky off her mane, while Sonic tried to keep Tails' tails and Hitch's mane in one single place so they could all think on a solution together, but everytime it seemed her finally got it, the wild mane and tails escaped again, making him groan annoyed. Yet when Windy spoke, both Sonic and Pipp stopped what they were doing. "Dragons?" "Let me check that thing!" Sonic said, as he grabbed Windy's book and read what it said. "Mm-hmm... Uh-huh... I see... So this thing basically says that a dragon's hair can make any other creature's hair become alive if swallowed by food or applied by any kind of product... That's just lazy writing." "And also incredibly convenient..." Tails deadpanned, while his tails swallowed Knuckles' desk. "Wait..." Pipp called out with wide eyes and a shocked expression. "A-Are you saying that Sparky..." Yesterday at Mane Melody, Sparky grew a mustache through his nose. The baby dragon plucked one of side of his mustache out and and toss it into the pot filled with Pipp's Mane Softener formula, while he walked of with a shrug and a smile. Of course, he failed to notice that the bowl with Pipp's softener gave off a black and hissing purple smog. "...grew a dragon hair, plucked it out, dropped it in my product..." Pipp continued, while her tone got higher in shock. Back in reality, Pipp was still panicking a lot. "...and accidentally created some sort of mutant pony/dragon magic hair monster potion?!" Pipp finished in shock, as she clutched her head, while Sparky's still on her head with giggles. "Yes!" Windy replied with a nervous smile. "Oh, my hoofness, that's exactly what I'm saying, just with less words!" "Again, that's just lazy writing..." Sonic deadpanned this time around. "I don't want to alarm anyone, but... help me!" Hitch cried out in panic, while his mane lifted him up from the floor and roared in rage. And then, Tails' tails started to shake violently around while swallowing everything, as Tails himself cried out in panic. "Don't just stand there and help!" He begged. Windy, Pipp, and Sonic walked back, while Pipp was holding Sparky. "Oh! Stay back, you unruly mane monsters!" Windy yelled, just before the three of them dodged an attempt of Hitch's mane to hit them. Tails' tails eventually joined, although they were focusing in attacking Sonic only, almost ignoring Pipp and Windy. However, as Pipp dodged several attacks from Hitch's mane, and barely a few from Tails' tails, one piece of Hitch's mane reached Sparky's nose and made him snort a bit. And then, Sparky sneezed, which brought out his dragonfire, which hit Hitch in the process. However, and surprisingly, Hitch's mane returned to normal as he fell to the floor with a thud. "Huh?!" Sonic said confused, before he grabbed Sparky from Pipp's hooves and dodged some more attacks from Tails' tails, then pulled out a quill and tickled Sparky's nose, making him sneeze again and release his dragonfire over Tails. In the process, Tails' tails also went back to normal, and he also fell to the ground with a thud. "Ow!" He exclaimed in pain. "That's it!" Pipp exclaimed happily with sparkling eyes. "Dragonfire can fix this!" She stated, then placed Sparky down and brought out an empty spray. "Okay, here we go, Sparky! Give me some of that dragonfire!" She opened the bottle and placed it in front of Sparky, while the bay dragon responded by breathing his dragonfire into the bottle, which caused it to be filled before Pipp closed it up and sprayed herself with some dragonfire, making her monster mane return back to normal. Pipp smirked and chuckled. "Look out, bad hair day! I'm coming for you!" Sonic, on the other hand, just cleaned himself out and helped Tails stand up again. "We should rename this show from 'Tell Your Tale' to 'Convenient Tales'," He deadpanned. "You should really stop complaining about this stuff, man..." Tails deadpanned as well. Back outside, the ponies' Monster Manes were still going crazy. Just then, though, Windy stood in front of them, laughing and waving her hoof to the manes. Posey's and Fifi's manes hissed and charged right at Windy, which made the pegasus scared. But then, Pipp appeared in front of her while holding a bottle and spraying its dragonfire over Posey and Fifi's mane, which turned them back to normal, making the umbrella and cane their manes were previously grabbing to fall on their heads, but they smiled because of them being back to normal. On the other hand, Rocky's mane was trying to eat Fifi's fruit cart, but then Sonic walked backwards and sprayed over his mane, making it go back to normal as well as Rocky smiled. It also released the raccoonicorn his mane ate earlier, and now the critter was traumatized for life. And like that, one by one, Pipp and Sonic sprayed more dragon fire at the Monster Manes, as they dodged the manes attempts to hit them, right before spraying dragonfire over Rufus, Flare, and Dapple in that order, making their manes go back to normal, while their bags or hats fell on their heads. Then, Windy is pulling on Glory to try and get her, Seashell and Peach Fizz free, because Glory's mane is tied to a lamppost, Peach Fizz is tangled in the middle, and Seashell is tied to the lamppost through her own mane. Fortunately for the three fillies and the adult pegasus, Pipp and Sonic arrived, spraying dragonfire at the Pippsqueaks, which freed them and returned their manes back to normal. Smiling, they waved at the two ponies and hedgehog with grateful smiles, while they returned the gesture and moved on. A few sprays later, everypony's manes were back to normal. With the job done, Pipp and Windy's Cutie Marks glowed, while Sonic's quills lightened in a bit of lightning without him realizing. Sonic and Pipp stopped in front of Mane Melody, twirled their bottles, and then put them back on place. "Ah, if only we had some champagne, we could make this a bit more romantic, don't you think?" Sonic asked jokingly, wrapping an arm around his marefriend's neck. "Ooh, I love the sound of that~" Pipp said in a flirty tone with a smirk. And then, Windy came up to the couple, wiping some sweat off her forehead. "Phew! Well, paint me impressed, Pipp Petals! That was a very creative solution! One that any Trail Trotter would certainly get a badge for," She started to search through her saddle bag. "Uhhh, do we have a Dragonfire Hair Mo––? Aha!" She exclaimed with sparkling eyes, bringing out a purple badge with a lightbulb on it. "The Big Ideas Badge!" Pipp smiled at the badge with sparkling eyes, grabbing the badge. "Awww! Well, I couldn't have done it without your help, Windy! Nor yours, Blue Star!" She stated with a smile, then put her badge away and entered Mane Melody. "Now, how about that hooficure?" She suggested, but then, a shadow loomed over them. The three of them stopped and saw the flower that Windy spilled the mane softener on earlier, which somehow grew huge and had a giant mouth, while its petals were a huge monster mane. The monster plant roared in rage at the three of them, while the wind blows right at them. But if that didn't seemed enough, another figure appeared from behind. Soon, said figure revealed herself to be Amy, with her hair made a monster as well because of the Mane Softener. "Pipp!" Amy cried out in panic. "You have to help me! I used your new product, and look at what happened!" "...All my worse nightmares have prepared me for this very moment..." Sonic glared at Amy's monster hair, then smirked at his marefriend. "You ready for a round 2, babe?" "Absolutely!" Pipp declared with a smirk, as they both brought out their sprays again. "Juuuuust a sec, Windy," Pipp stated, then both Sonic and her sprayed their sprays over the plant and Amy to return them back to normal. THE END Author's Note What the actual heck was this episode? Don't know, don't care, because it was fun to write. There's nothing much I can say for this episode, honestly, other that I'm glad this episode didn't took place during or after Chapter 6, because again: I'm not adapting said chapter, I simply won't. Anyways, thanks for reading, and we'll see each other later. Bye!
74. Sparky In SpaceIn the Crystal Brighthouse, Hitch and Knuckles were leaving Sparky with Sonic and Sunny. "Are you guys sure you can take care of Sparky?" Hitch asked Sunny and Sonic with concern. "Specially you, Hedgehog?" Knuckles added with a glare, as he looked at Sonic, and Sonic only. Sonic and Sunny agreed to take care of Sparky, because Hitch and Knuckles will take care of a big case about a bank robber along Zipp and Tails. They'll usually ask Izzy, but she's in Bridlewood with Misty, visiting Alphabittle; Pipp is busy along Amy and Rouge in Mane Melody, and Shadow and Omega are unavailable. "Pff! Relax, guys!" Sonic said with a smirk. "We have taken care of world-ending threats. Taking care of a really hyperactive kid? Piece of cake!" "Sonic's right. We can definitely take care of Sparky!" Sunny assured with a smile. "Besides, he already loves us as playmates!" She nuzzled with the baby dragon since she had him on her hooves, while Sparky giggled and nuzzled back. "Well, he can be a bit hoof-ful to deal with sometimes," Hitch pointed out with a sheepish smile. "We can still take him with us––" "And let him wonder around while possibly messing up your little investigation day? Sir, no sir!" Sonic denied with his head. "I agree. You two focus on finding that bank thief! We'll take charge of Sparky," Sunny assured with a nod and a smile. "Keep in mind that Sparky can be a bit of trouble. Even when he's sleeping," Knuckles stated with his arms crossed and concerned. "Besides, none of you have ever dragonsit him before." "Is all about trial and error. As long as we keep an eye on him and he's safe, everything should be just fine!" Sonic assured once again. "Now go with Zipp and Tails to the crime scene before they get grumpy and mad with you." "...I guess we can leave you two in peace, then... But I'll keep my eye on you, Sonic!" Knuckles warned once more, making Sonic roll his eyes, then the echidna left. "Just to be sure, here's a list of things that––" Hitch tried to say, but Sunny snatched the list from his hooves and threw it away with a smile. "Hitch, Hitchy, you handsome and irresistible stallion. Just relax!" Sunny told him with a smile, pretty much noticing Hitch's blush after all the things she told him, which made her giggle. "We'll take good care of this baby dragon," She nuzzled with Sparky once more, making the baby dragon babble happily and nuzzle back again. "You just go out there and solve that mystery. Sparky is in good hands and hooves!" Hitch blushed slightly after seeing Sunny being so motherly with Sparky, but he still smiled and nodded. "Alright... I'll leave him to you, guys," He stated, then he approached and nuzzled a bit with the baby dragon. "Goodbye, Sparkeroni. Be a good boy and don't make trouble to Sunny and Sonic, okay?" Sparky happily hugged Hitch back. While Sonic went inside of the Brighthouse. But as Hitch was ready to leave, Sunny pulled him from his belt with a hoof and gently kissed his cheek, which made Sparky's eyes sparkle. "Consider that a good luck charm, Hitchy~" Sunny said in a flirty tone, then passed her tails over his face as she turned back into the Brighthouse and closed the door, while Hitch was still stunned for her action. Knuckles, having noticed what happened, rolled his eyes and grabbed Hitch from his belt, dragging him away. Meanwhile, inside of the Brighthouse, Sunny hummed happily to herself while twirling Sparky up and down like a mother would with her son. Despite the few times that she has interacted with him, she actually adored Sparky just as much as Hitch did, and Sparky didn't seemed to mind, either. However, she had to stop herself when she noticed Sonic smiled mockingly at her. "What? What's so funny?" Sunny asked confused. "Don't think I didn't saw you kissing Hitch's cheek, sis," Sonic said with a grin. Sunny blushed a lot after hearing that, but then she huffed and rolled her eyes. "So? Is not a big deal." "Uh-huh," Sonic replied, still with his mocking smirk. Sunny rolled her eyes again and walked away with Sparky, while Sonic grinned and took out his phone. He took a picture of the moment Sunny kissed Hitch's cheek and sent it to Tails. "Lmao! Those two are hitting Endgame already! 🤣🤣🤣" Tails replied, which made Sonic chuckle. He then put his phone aside and followed Sunny, since taking care of Sparky today was also his responsibility. Mane 6 'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party, oh yeah Sparky was happily running around the living room, with Sunny chasing him around. Zipp: Can't stop, won't stop, big mood, big stomp Strike your best pose to the pony hip-hop Sparky suddenly hid behind the kitchen's counter, and Sunny decided to follow along his game by pretending she had no idea where he go. This made Sparky giggle a bit while covering his mouth with his hands, but then, Sunny surprised him by picking him up by surprise, and Sparky only babbled happily. Ah, oh, let's go, sick beat, sick flow Hitch: We're gonna sparkle, we're gonna glow 'cause Later on, Sonic pilled up a bunch of pillows to form a tower. Mane 6: We're all lookin' fancy, yeah We're all feelin' fine However, as this happened, Sparky smirked and giggled, then he jumped over and made the entire tower of pillows fall over Sonic, almost burring him on it. Both Sparky and Sunny laughed, but then Sonic quickly got out of the pile that fell over him, shook his head, and then grinned sinisterly, before tossing a pair of pillows on their faces. They fell backwards with a yell, but then the grinned as well, and so, a pillow fight started. Pipp Petals: If you're havin' a good time Just let those cutie marks shine! Now we have a short sequence of pictures following up. First, we see a picture of Sunny and Sparky teaming up against Sonic with a pair of pillows and smiles, while Sonic is smiling as well and covering himself to avoid getting hit with the pillows. Then, the next picture shows Sonic matching some payback to the baby dragon and the Earth Pony mare by throwing pillows back at them, as Sunny has Sparky on her hooves and is closing and eye while raising a hoof to protect herself, while Sparky just smiled widely and had fun. Mane 6: So tonight we're gonna party (oh yeah) The next picture showed them all thrown in the ground, laughing their lungs out after finishing with their pillow fight, with Sonic being in the right, Sunny on the left, and Sparky in the middle. So throw those hooves up, everypony (uh-huh) Later on, Sonic was throwing Sparky in the air, making the baby dragon babble happily. We got that glitter, gonna roll It's time to glow up the disco Sunny, however, was bitting her hooves nervously, afraid that something could happen to him, but then Sonic suddenly grabbed her and threw her in the air as well, and she yelped in panic at first, but eventually laughed along Sparky, specially because seeing him so happy make her happy as well. Soon, Sonic was jumping with them as well with his arms crossed on his back and his legs crossed as well. The three of them were jumping because Sonic used his super speed to bring over a trampoline. 'Cause when this place is poppin' We'll party, party, party, oh yeah They eventually jumped and then landed in the bunch of pillows they used fro their pillow fight from before, as the three of them laughed loudly. Sparky was definitely in very good hooves and hand, just like Sonic and Sunny assured his father and uncle. They were good with kids, after all. Later, around 2 P.M., Sonic and Sunny took Sparky to Zephyr Heights in the Marestream. There, they had a nice little picnic on the ZH's Together Tree, until Sparky fell asleep at Sonic's side, while he lay on a tree with his arms crossed on his back and a smile, and Sunny was reading a book. "I don't know what was Hitch baffling about, 'cause taking care of Mr. Sparkeroni here was easy!" Sonic said with a confident smirk. "I know, right?" Sunny replied with a smile. "Sparky was so good behaved! Maybe Hitch is just way too overprotective over him, which leads him to be so, well, hoof-ful sometimes." "Or Sparky just likes to behave like that with Hitch for fun," Sonic suggested with a smile, then he looked over at the baby dragon that slept peacefully at his side. "I wonder what is he dreaming about." Sparky, on the other hand, simply rested on Sonic's shoulder while dreaming... On his dream, Sparky was flying at top speed across space on a spaceship. Said spaceship has the shape of his head, and it was flying away at top speed from a ship that not only had Opaline's head shape, but it also was being piloted by Opaline herself, who was chasing sparky across space with a sinister grin, and then, she laughed sinisterly. "You can't get away from me! I'll get ya and your dragon fire!" Opaline declared from inside her ship with a grin. Sparky just frowned and flew away as fast as he could. However, some lasers that Opaline was shooting from her ship hit his, and Sparky looked back with a frown, while Opaline grinned sinisterly. Sparky frowned again, then he flew away on his ship and dodged all those lasers, before making a turn and then head towards Opaline at full speed with a warrior cry, also starting to shoot a bunch of lasers of his own towards the evil Fire Alicorn. In reality, Sparky was mumbling and moving a bit because of his dream. He started to move and mumble so much that he ended up throwing the crab plushie he was grabbing to sleep, and his groans called Sonic and Sunny's attention. "Uh, Sparky?" Sonic called out with a raised eyebrow. "What's gotten into him?" "I... I don't know," Sunny replied honestly with concern, closing her book and picking up the sleeping baby dragon on her hooves. "Is he having a bad dream?" "If that's a bad dream, why is he moving so much?" Sonic asked confused. Back in Sparky's dream, he was still fighting against Opaline. Both him and the Fire Alicorn were shooting lasers at each other. But not only that: They also started to move their spaceships closer to collide constantly and try to push the other. Eventually, though, Opaline won the upper hand and shoot Sparky's spaceship on a weak spot, which made her laugh. "Now, to get your Dragonfire!" Opaline said with a sinister smile. Sparky growled in anger after hearing that, and he tried to make his ship get back on track. In reality, Sparky suddenly got off Sunny's hooves and started to sleepwalking. "Eep!" Sunny exclaimed, then she tried to chase Sparky down, but Sonic stopped her with a smile. "No need to do that, Sunny. Sparky's just having a dream," Sonic pointed out. "What's the worse that could–– CRAP!" Sonic immediately cut himself off and went ahead to put a hand in front of Sparky, because he almost fell to a pool that was recently installed in front of the Together Tree. Once Sparky turned around and walked away, both Sonic and Sunny sighed in relief, but then, Sparky suddenly tripped, which made them panic again since they thought that he'll burst out crying... But he simply snored loudly, which made both Sonic and Sunny get some sweat in their faces for some reason. "Where you saying?" Sunny asked with a frown and a glare. "Yeah, yeah. I know. It was stupid. But hey! At least he's safe n––" Sonic tried to point out with a smile, just to look down and notice that Sparky was missing, which made his eyes widen in panic. "Where the heck did he go?!" "Oh, no, no, no, no!" Sunny said panicked with wide eyes. "Where is he?! Where's my baby?!" "Hitch and Knuckles are gonna kill us if we don't go back with that guy alive, or at all!" Sonic pointed out in panic. After that, the siblings spread and started to look around for the baby dragon in panic and concern. Back in the dream, Sparky was feeling sad inside of his ship. The blast Opaline shoot to his flying vehicle destroyed it, and now Sparky was worried, because he had no guarantee that he could be victorious over Opaline, specially because she's more powerful than him. However, when he saw a framed picture of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic, he was immediately reminded why he was fighting her alone. She has kidnapped him, and his family has fought to bring him back from her hooves. Now, he had to return the favor by fighting on his own. So, he boosted towards Opaline once again with a determinate look and a warrior cry... In reality, however, he was walking asleep and climbing over a tree branch from the Together Tree. The baby dragon was barely hanging from the three branch, but he still managed to climb over it, and then, he started to walk on his sleep towards the edge of the very same tree branch. Sonic, who was passing by, noticed Sparky and what was he going to do, so he immediately panicked. "Sparky! Don't!" Sonic shouted, then he rushed towards the tree branch. Sunny heard Sonic's cry, and then she also panicked with a gasp when she saw that Sparky was about to jump. Sonic reached the branch just in time, but as he smiled and prepared to grab Sparky, the baby dragon jumped from the tree branch and flew away thanks to his wings while still sleeping. This surprised both Sonic and Sunny, and while they were glad that he ended up fine, Sonic still fell from the branch and right on the pool. Thankfully, he fell over a float that was there, so he didn't sink. Yet he still lifted his face off the pool with a bored expression, while Sunny had to resist the urge of not laughing off at him. She still used her magic to levitate him out of the water and get him back on land, but Sonic still remained frowning, before they remembered Sparky and looked over at him. He was moving his fists on place, like if he was fighting against someone, and that confused Sunny and Sonic, as they looked at each other with raised eyebrows for a moment, then back at Sparky. In the dream, Sparky and Opaline shoot lasers at each other like maniacs. Opaline laughed sinisterly and planned on capturing Sparky again to stela his Dragonfire, just like she stated, but Sparky was going to be brave and fight against Opaline. And why in space of all places? Because fights in space are cool. So, the baby dragon and Fire Alicorn once again launched at each other. In reality, though, Sparky was running around quickly, so Sunny started to chase him around. Sonic limited himself to watch because he was drying his fur from after falling into the pool, but unlike Sunny did earlier, he couldn't help it and bursted out laughing at how she chased around the baby dragon. "Seriously, Sunny. You truly look like Sparky's mother with how much you're chasing him around!" Sonic mocked her up. "Well, you're technically his Uncle in that case, so get your ass up from there and help me!" Sunny scolded him with a frown, then she resumed her chase of Sparky. Sonic rolled his eyes annoyed and decided to go on and help her catch Sparky, not noticing that Eggman somehow was sneaking behind them while climbing from a cliff. He was exhausted from climbing all of that, but then he grinned when he realized he reached the top. He was investigating the Together Trees, and since the ones in Zephyr Heights and Maretime Bay are the most exposed ones, they were the perfect targets for him. But he couldn't help it and noticed that Sonic and Sunny were chasing Sparky around, as he now started to fly away from them, while they both were talking on a very desperate attempt to get him down again. This confused Eggman, but he also grinned, because it meant it was his perfect chance to approach the tree. Taking advantage that Sonic and Sunny were busy catching their breath from chasing Sparky, he quickly sneaked towards the Together Tree and started to scan it with a small device on his hand. Sparky, however, fell to the ground suddenly, still sleeping, but also calling Sonic and Sunny's attention. In the dream, Sparky was blown out of his ship by Opaline. The Fire Alicorn laughed maniacally after defeating the baby dragon, but unlike she previously said, she didn't captured him and simply flew away, leaving Sparky behind to die in space. Sparky himself was starting to get freeze'd because of the lack of oxygen in space, and he closed his eyes, waiting for his death. However, he suddenly was surrounded by a golden light, a light that also gave him oxygen, and Sparky looked around confused, until he saw who arrived. At his right was Team Sonic, all of them turned into their Super forms, with Sonic having golden fur, Tails having white fur, Knuckles pink fur, and Amy a mix of white and gold fur. Then, at Sparky's left, were the Mane 6, with Sunny having her Alicorn form up and surrounding the other ponies in a golden aura. Sparky smiled after seeing all his family coming to help him, then he looked ahead at Opaline's ship with a determinate look, then they all were heading towards it at top speed. Opaline was really chill for a moment, still thinking that she has won over the baby dragon, but when she noticed a golden light approaching, she turned around, and then absolutely panicked at the sight of Team Super Sonic, the Mane 6 and Sparky approaching her at top speed with warrior cries. In reality, Sparky was running on his sleep with a fist extended towards Sonic and Sunny. When they noticed that, they simply deadpanned, and Sonic even raised a foot to let him pass down here and keep going forward, even though a punch of Sparky would pretty much feel like getting tickled to him. But they still failed to notice Eggman, who got all the info he needed regarding the Together Tree, and he was returning right were he came from. However, he did saw Sparky coming at him, and while he also thought that he wouldn't feel pain from a punch from the baby dragon, he was completely wrong. Sparky punched him in the face very hard, and in his dream, said punch was aimed to Opaline, but in reality, Eggman was suddenly sent backwards, while Sonic rushed to grab Sparky on his arms. Both Sunny and Sonic approached the cliff Eggman was hanging over a few seconds ago, and they witnessed how he fell several meters to the ground, to the point he got lost below the clouds and even left a whole in one of them, making both Sonic and Sunny blink a few times confused. Eventually, though, Sonic smiled, then placed Sparky over his shoulder and nodded satisfied, while Sunny at his side deadpanned at him, and Sonic sweat a bit nervous, because he could feel her glare over him. Later on, they choose to go back to the Crystal Brighthouse on the Marestream. The vehicle landed right besides the building, with the sun setting in the horizon, while Sonic and Sunny exited the vehicle, with Sparky now normally sleeping over Sunny's back. Well, that is after managing to take him off Sonic's face, because he grabbed the blu blur's nose and tried to pull it off for some reason. Still, they entered the Brighthouse and lay on the couch, with Sunny carefully and gently holding Sparky on her hooves. Even though capturing him while he slept was exhausting, she still smiled down at him. "...You know? This is going to sound weird, but... I actually like the idea of being Sparky's second Uncle," Sonic spoked after a while. "I guess that makes Pipp his aunt as well." "That also means that Tails and Zipp are his uncle and aunt as well," Sunny pointed out with a chuckle. "And honestly? I don't mind being Sparky's Mom, either," She yawned a bit. "It actually sounds... amazing..." That's all she managed to say before falling asleep as well, and Sonic smiled at that. He went over and placed a blanket around his sister figure and the baby dragon. He patted Sparky's head for a moment with a smile, but just when he was going to leave, something unexpected happened... Sparky was too comfortable over Sunny's chest, to the point that he spoke. "Mmm... Mama..." Is what the baby dragon muttered. Both Sonic and Sunny's eyes shot widely open, because even if she felt tired, Sunny was still able to hear when Sparky called him 'Mama', and she looked down at him in shock. "...S-Sonic?! P-Please tell me that you––" Sunny tried to ask. "Yes, Sunny. I heard it," Sonic replied in shock and with wide eyes. "He, uh, he called you his 'mama'," He chuckled a bit. Sunny also chuckled a bit, but then she straight up laughed with some tears of joy. Why did it made her so incredibly happy when she wasn't even Hitch's girlfriend? And why didn't he called any other one of the girls that way? She would understand with Izzy simply because she dragons sit him more, but why her? It didn't really mattered, though, because she nuzzled with the sleeping baby dragon with a huge smile, and Sonic himself couldn't help but smile a bit as well, approaching them. "So, how will you explain Hitch that you have become Sparky's mom?" Sonic asked her with a teasing smirk. "Oh, I think he's gonna be more red than Knuckles," Sunny replied. That just made them both burst laughing, while Sparky nuzzled even closer to his new Mom. But then suddenly, knocks were heard out of the Brighthouse, so Sonic went ahead and opened the door, just to be pushed aside by Hitch and Knuckles, both entering to the place with panicked looks. "Sparky? Sparky! Where are––" Hitch was calling out, but as soon as he saw that Sunny - once again - fell asleep on the couch with Sparky on her hooves, he sighed relieved and smiled. Knuckles noticed this as well, and he whistled amused. "And here I thought that you'll be in trouble." "See, Knucklehead? You've gotta believe in me a bit more! You un-trust everyone way too much," Sonic said with a mocking tone and smirk, also laying on his shoulder. "Over my corpse," Knuckles groaned, and Sonic deadpanned while rolling his eyes. "I can't believe that Sparky and Sunny fell asleep together..." Hitch said with a slight blush, but also with a smile. "You really managed to tire him huh?" "Yup! And it was a bit troublesome, not gonna lie, but we pulled well in the end," Sonic grinned. "Anyways. How about your robber? Did you got him?" "Yup," Knuckles nodded. "It was Sprout." "Oh, I s––" Sonic tried to reply, but as soon as he processed who Knuckles mentioned, his eyes widened. "...I'm sorry, did you just said Sprout?" "Mm-hmm," Knuckles nodded once again. "...Sprout Cloverleaf..." Sonic deadpanned, and Knuckles nodded once more. "The same Sprout Cloverleaf that went insane and became emperor? The same Sprout cloverleaf that teared down Sunny's lighthouse? The same Sprout cloverleaf that hates you because you're a better deputy than he ever was?" "Yes, yes, and yes," Hitch replied instead with a smile. "He was a terrible robber, by the way. He literally left behind clues everywhere!" "Is kinda weird, though," Knuckles said. "I feel like he copied that trick from himself, but from another universe..." "...Knux, the multiverse crap is not a problem to worry about until 6 episodes and epilogue from today..." Sonic pointed out to him with a deadpan. "I know, I know, but it's a plausible theory!" Knuckles pointed out. "Let me doubt it," Hitch deadpanned as well and rolled his eyes. "Anyways. Is there anything aside from Sparky that we missed out, Sonic?" "Oh, not so much. Just, you know, Sparky calling Sunny his 'Mama'. Nothing from the other world," Sonic replied with a shrug and a very casual tone. "...Sparky did what?!" Hitch and Knuckles asked at the same time. However, the former did it with a huge blush that left his face just as red as Knuckles', while the latter just bursted out laughing, and soon, Sonic joined in the laughing. But despite the embarrassment, Hitch looked back at Sunny and Sparky cuddling together, and he actually smiled. He was not a couple with Sunny... Not yet, but he definitely didn't minded having Sunny as Sparky's mother. Why would he, anyways? He has no eyes for any other mare that isn't Sunny. THE END Author's Note So I was watching the Chao In Space short, and this episode came to life. In all honesty, this episode seemed as the perfect excuse to show that Sonic has a weak spot with kids, and also to show a bit of Sunny interacting with Sparky. She's the one that interacts the less with Sparky, but the few times she does, she acts like a caring mother with her child. And what about next episode? It ends with some... interesting results, that's all I'm saying. Anyways, thank you guys for reading! See ya!
75. Double Date NightIn Mane Melody, Sonic was deadpanning while Amy fixed a tuxedo suit on him. Meanwhile, on a corner of the room, Rouge was grooming Tails' tails with a brush, at the same time that Sunny was fixing his hair. If you wonder why they're being prepared for: They're gonna have a double date with their girlfriends, which Tails doesn't really minds, but Sonic hates the dressing up part. "Ugh... Do we really need to dress up this fancy? We're going to the see a movie, not to witness the Great Gatsby!" Sonic groaned annoyed, trying so hard not to move. "You're also having dinner on the fanciest restaurant in ZH, so of course you've gotta look fancy!" Amy pointed out, as she started to finish by tying up his blue tie. "This still feels like way too much for a dinner and a movie hang out..." Sonic deadpanned. "It's a double date, man," Tails reminded with a smile, right when Sunny finished to fix his hair and started to tie his yellow tie as well. "Besides, Pipp herself asked for us to dress like this, remember? And you didn't complained!" "Because Pipp used her sad puppy eyes before I could protest!" Sonic said with a frown. "How can I say no to her if she cheats with those eyes?!" "Don't be such a baby, Sonic!" Amy scolded with a glare. "Pipp wants this night for both of you to be magical, and for her sister and Tails as well. Also, both she and her sister want to make up to you two for leaving you hanging and cancelling so many dates these past days. Give them the joy of making up their mistake by dressing fancy!" "I gave Pipp that joy a lot of times! Can't we go informal as usual? This suit is killing me!" Sonic complained, scratching his neck a bit while feeling uncomfortable. "While it's true that these suits can be a bit too much, I think Amy's right," Tails said with a smile. "And again, big fancy restaurant requires big fancy clothes. And unless you're willing to wait for 2 or 3 hours until Zipp and Pipp are ready after the movie, we were dressing up like this, anyways." "If that was your attempt to make me feel better, then try harder. I just feel worse now..." Sonic deadpanned again. "Aw, come on, Sonic!" Sunny said with a little smile. "I'm pretty sure everything will go fine down the line!" "The movie, I'm sure it will," Sonic shrugged with his arms crossed, then frowned. "The dinner? Pipp sometimes gets so excited in the fancy places, and that can be a problem..." "...And Zipp gets too demanding when it comes to food, no matter the kind of we order..." Tails said, and now he started to feel as anxious as Sonic. "Okay, maybe you're right, Sonic. This starts to sound like a terrible idea..." "Or, you two are panicking way too much," Rouge deadpanned. "Girls tend to be like that. And confronting them is not the way to go, or else a big misunderstanding might happen." "Oh, but we have good reasons to panic, Rouge," Sonic said with a slight frown. "And we're definitely gonna be a bit embarrassed because of their... particularities," Tails admitted nervously. "So you two are going to––" Amy was about to ask. "Cancel the date? No, but we definitely need to be careful tonight," Sonic said with an eye roll. "Pipp's shenanigans will get in the way, I'll tell you that..." "And Zipp's gonna be intense by trying to make everything perfect when she clearly can't..." Tails said with an anxious look. "Huh... Pipp does the same sometimes," Sonic confessed, making Tails' eyes widen in panic. "No matter what happens tonight, it seems like it'll be an interesting one..." He pointed out. "Is that a good thing, or a bad one?" Sunny questioned. "...50/50, I guess," Sonic replied. Later on, as the night was beginning, Sonic and Tails went to the front of the Brighthouse. There, Knuckles and Hitch were waiting and guarding the doors, as if two bodyguards were protecting the one person they're getting paid to protect. Of course, they didn't had the fancy suits, and were just chilling while making sure no one entered the Brighthouse, but they have the same job as a bodyguard, anyways. "Well, you got here a lot later than I thought," Knuckles mocked up with a smirk. "Did Amy and Rouge took their time to dress you guys up?" "Yeah..." Both Sonic and Tails replied, the former with a deadpan, and the latter with a sheepish smile. "How long have you two been here guarding the entrance?" Tails asked. "Around an hour, maybe two. The sun was starting to set when we got out here," Hitch explained. "That was an hour and a half ago..." Sonic raised an eyebrow, then his eyes widened. "Wait! You guys thought we'll get here first or something?" "Well, we definitely knew you two would be ready before the sisters," Knuckles confessed. "We're just surprised you weren't here by the time we came down to watch the entrance." "In other words: Yeah, we expected you guys to show up before us," Hitch added with a chuckle while scratching his neck. "And how long is it gonna take them to be ready?" Tails asked, concerned to find out the answer. Yet before he could get an answer at all, a knock was heard from the other side of the Brighthouse's doors, and both Sheriff and Deputy knew what to do, so they stood back and opened the doors. When they did so, Sonic and Tails' faces flushed in bright red, and their eyes widened while their jaws dropped: The sisters were wearing matching dresses, with Pipp's being golden with a golden band tying her mane in a ponytail, while Zipp's dress was almost identical to Pipp's, just in silver colors. Her man wasn't tied like Pipp's because it isn't long enough to be, but Tails still found her as the most beautiful girl that's ever existed, and so did Sonic with Pipp. "...Something awakened in me, and it's definitely not feelings..." Sonic said with a huge blush, while Tails' tails propelled themselves and made him almost fly away if Sonic didn't caught his leg in time to bring him back down. "What's the matter, you two?" Pipp asked with a teasing smirk. "Seems like you saw a ghost or something~" "Want us to get some fangs or ice to cool you down~?" Zipp added with another teasing smirk. Sonic had to pull part of his suit's neck aside to ease the tension a bit, while Tails was about to have a nose blood. Noticing their couples attitudes, the sisters only snorted, then approached them and kissed their lips, before pulling them into a hug, one that finally calmed them down. "I know what you're thinking, Sonic. Keep yourself controlled, and you may get what you want by the end of the night~" Pipp teased with a giggle. Sonic only snorted slightly. "Maybe I am thinking in that, but lewd thoughts aside?" He broke the hug and looked at Pipp with a genuine loving smile. "You look gorgeous, Little Pipp." Pipp blushed slightly, but she still smiled back and pulled him in for another short, but gentle kiss. On the other hand, Zipp was not braking her hug with Tails yet. "No matter what happens tonight, man... Tonight we're not sleeping~" She teased with a grin. Tails' face flushed red, and he gulped nervously, but also a bit excited after getting what his marefriend may be insinuating, so he broke the hug. "If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, I hope you're not as noisy as you say you'll be when we have talked about that before." "I don't promise anything~" Zipp teased giddy, and that made Tails blush like mad again. "If you four are done insinuating that you're all gonna get laid, get the hell out of here and go get laid anywhere else," Knuckles requested with a deadpan. "Aren't you the one driving us towards Zephyr Heights for the date, Knucklehead?" Sonic deadpanned. "Nope!" Knuckles replied, then boosted inside the Brighthouse for a moment and came back within 3 seconds with a red tie and some flowers, but nothing else. "I have a date of my own with Izzy. See ya!" With that being said, Knuckles boosted away, leaving the two couples behind with bored expressions. "...Honestly, I feel safer knowing I'll be driving to ZH. I can't trust Knuckles with a vehicle," Tails confessed, getting agreement comments from his brother, his marefriend, and his sister-in-law. ONE TRIP TO ZEPHYR HEIGHTS, AND A TWO HOUR MOVIE LATER... After the movie was over, the two couples exited the Movie Theater while bursting out laughing. If you guys winder what movie they saw, well, they saw a movie name "Stream 3". Is not a movie about streaming, if that's what you think, but the pony version of "Scream 3"... Yeah, they find it hilarious, not scary. "Can you guys believe that movie was trying to be scary?" Sonic asked with a snort. "Honestly, I felt like I was watching a Looney Tunes cartoon instead of a gory movie." "And the killer in the end was, like so obvious to guess!" Zipp added with a smirk. "Is like if they didn't even tried with this one!" "I'm not the one that actually likes to watch gory movies, but my gosh, those were the lamest deaths I've ever seen in any movie!" Tails said, sounding more disappointed than anything. "Agreed!" Pipp said. "I'm not really into the gory stuff, either, but I love the Stream movies! I'm really disappointed we got those cartoonish-ass deaths instead of, you know, 'Stream' deaths!" "You do have to admit that, even if the killer was pretty obvious, the way they revealed him was creative for a change," Sonic pointed out. "Oh, absolutely. Best killer reveal in the franchise, despite also having the worse plot and deaths," Tails agreed. "If you think about it, is the story really that important?" Zipp questioned. "I know the first two movies had a consistent story, but lately, the horror movies just focus on being generic slashers and leave the story aside, which leads to plot holes, and theories, and waste of time and money..." "Except for the fact that we actually liked the movie, even if it was kinda dumb," Pipp pointed out with a smile. "Yeah... Anyways!" Sonic said, stretching out a bit. "Next on our list is the dinner, right? I'm starving!" "Yup!" Pipp replied, still with a smile. "And our reservation is just in time, because we're about 3 minutes away from the restaurant!" However, as Pipp was talking, Zipp looked in certain direction, and then her eyes widened in panic. "...Uh... Sis?" She called out, then lifted her hoof and pointed at a certain building. "Is... that the place we're supposed to stay over?" Pipp, Sonic and Tails looked in the same direction than Zipp, and the former's eyes widened in panic as she let out a girly and startled scream when she saw that the restaurant they reserved over was, well, getting close down with a pair of tapes with yellow and black stripes by Thunder. The sisters immediately rushed towards the pegasus guard, while Sonic and Tails looked at each other confused, then went ahead to follow their girlfriends and see what's going on. "What do you mean the shut the place down?!" Pipp asked Thunder in panic. "Sorry, Princesses, but your Mom came here earlier today to make the sanitary revision before your date, and... She found some plagues in the Kitchen," Thunder explained with a sheepish smile. "She wanted to tell you sooner and change the reservation herself, but..." "Royal duties?" Zipp asked with a deadpan. "Yeah... Again, sorry Princesses," Thunder apologized once again, before leaving the scene by flight. Sonic and Tails heard everything, and while Sonic tried to come off with a joke to ease the tension in the air, he got nothin in the end, so he closed his mouth and played nervously with his fingers, while Tails approached the sisters, both looking down with concern, but Pipp was at the edge of tears. "Um... How bad is this looking for you two?" Tails choose to ask. It may be a dangerous place to go in, but he knows it's better if they get it out of their system now. "...Well, the dresses now look kinda ridiculous..." Zipp said mockingly with a little smirk, which made Tails smile and nuzzled with her a bit, while Sonic snorted, then approached Pipp. "Pipp? You, uh... You good?" Sonic asked her with a but of concern. "...I don't know... I just, well, you guys pointed out how we've been keeping you aside lately for our own business..." Pipp started to explain. "Yeah... All those cancelled dates, the few times we left you hanging, and that one time we sent Knuckles or Sunny to cancel the date for us..." Zipp said with a sheepish smile, then her eyes widened, and then she blushed in shame. "Okay, yeah, I'm gonna shut up now." "The point is that... We wanted this dinner to be our apology to you guys!" Pipp said sadly with low ears. "But with the place shot down, I guess Zipp's right. The dresses look ridiculous now..." Yet after Pipp explained herself, Sonic and Tails looked at each other, then they both started to laugh a bit, which confused the sisters, almost leading to offending them. "Girls, If you wanted to make up for that, then why didn't you said so?" Sonic asked with a smirk, as he started to untie his tie. "There's no need for a fancy dinner for all of us to have fun!" "Nor to make up for the cancelled dates!" Tails added, as he also untied his tie and removed his entire tuxedo suit piece by piece. "I mean, with the movie alone you two already gave us that time!" "R-Really?!" Pipp asked in shock with wide eyes. "B-But I thought that you guys were mad with us!" "Me too! We've been really, uh... Not so good girlfriends by cancelling our dates," Zipp added, confused and concerned. "Pff! That's nonsense!" Sonic said with a smile, finally removing his entire suit and kicking it aside with his foot. "We all get busy with our own lives sometimes, but we were not mad at you to begin with!" "That's true!" Tails agreed, also kicking aside his suit after removing it entirely. "Sure, we did had a bit of fear because of your shenanigans during dinner, but that's on us! And, we don't need a fancy place to spare our time as couples!" "But then what else can we do?" Zipp asked confused. "We get out of here, and go live a little!" Sonic replied with a smile. "What do you mean with that?" Pipp asked next, also confused. Sonic: Hey, girl, I'm waiting on ya, I'm waiting on ya Come on, and let me sneak you out As Sonic suddenly started to sing, he pulled Pipp away by grabbing her hooves and running backwards, while Pipp followed and flapped her wings to fly and keep up the pace with him. In the process, she untied her pony tails to let the wind hit her mane, and she ended up smiling widely. Tails: And have a celebration, a celebration The music up, the window's down With Tails joining into the song, he grabbed Zipp and made her twirl a bit on her dress, which actually made Zipp giggle a bit, before they both took off and followed Sonic and Pipp. Sonic: Yeah, we'll be doing what we do Just pretending that we're cool and we know it too It's been raining the past few days, which has made some muddy swamps in the streets. Sonic noticed this, and he grinned while singing, then he decided to be a bit goofy and throw some of the mud to Pipp, mudding her up and her dress. Of course, Pipp wanted to panic, but then Zipp launched to her. This made the two sisters fall to the muddy swamp, and while Zipp laughed at Pipp, the younger pegasus made payback by launching a small ball of mud to her, which took Zipp off guard. Tails: Yeah, we'll keep doing what we do Just pretending that we're cool, so tonight... And then, Tails joined in by launching several muddy balls with his tails that Sonic was creating at top speed and then launching at them using Tails' tails. Of course, this made the sisters squeal, but the eventually managed to make their payback to the boys by launching them mud balls when they got distracted. Sonic & Tails: Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy 'til we see the sun I know we only met, but let's pretend it's love And never, never, never stop for anyone Tonight, let's get some And live while we're young The mud brawl continued between the two couples, with them switching teams anytime it was convenient for them. It was either siblings vs siblings, couples vs couples, or siblings-in-law vs siblings-in-law. Either way, it didn't took away the fact that they were having a blast, and it got to a point were the sisters decided to removes their dresses and make up, then throw it away. It didn't mattered anymore to act so fancy when they were having fun by not being it. (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) Wanna live while we're young (Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh) Tonight, let's get some And live while we're young Once they stopped playing with the mud after about 30 minutes, rain started to fall, but none of them seemed to mind. They all simply looked up, then noticed their bodies getting wet as the mud removed. Sonic: And, girl, you and I We're 'bout to make some memories tonight As Sonic began to sing again, he hold Pipp's chin with a smirk and a loving gaze towards her. Pipp blushed slightly, but she also smiled, and Sonic invited her to make a little dance down the rain, even twirling her around for a more dramatic effect, and she giggled happily. Tails also invited Zipp to make the same dance with the same twirls, while Zipp smirked and enjoyed herself, because if she was with the guy she loved, she didn't mind making what she considers to be a generic dance. Tails: I wanna live while we're young Pipp & Zipp: We want to live while we're young Sonic, Tails, Pipp and Zipp: Let's go crazy, crazy, crazy 'til we see the sun I know we only met, but let's pretend it's love And never, never, never stop for anyone Tonight, let's get some And live while we're young The two couples began to play even more with the mud while the rain kept falling, and at this point they had no idea of what they were doing, but did it really mattered? They were young adults in love, doing random stuff in the mud out of fun. After all, and as the song says, they were living while being young. Come on, young (Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live) Wanna live while we're young (Wanna live, wanna live, wanna live while we're young) Tonight, let's get some And live while we're young In the end, the four of them threw to the muddy ground and began to laugh uncontrollably because of their time down the rain and in the mud. In the end, they all definitely enjoyed their time together. Later on, the two couples went to the Zephyr Heights Castle. They'll be staying here for this night before returning to Maretime Bay in the morning, and after each one of them took a shower to remove all the mud from their bodies, they were now eating something made by Haven herself on the big room they were all going to sleep, also laughing while chit-chatting with each other. "Oh, I've gotta say, even if we didn't had that dinner in the end, I had so much fun tonight!" Pipp said happily. "Yeah! Those mud battles were awesome!" Zipp agreed, while having her mane covered in a white towel. "Still, sorry for making you guys dress up so fancy. We really thought that would make up for all our cancelled dates." Tails just smiled and dragged Zipp into a side hug while nuzzling with her. "It's okay, Zippy! We just wanted to have fun with you, girls, and we did in the end!" "I'm just a tiny bit frustrated a didn't get to try that flan you were hyping me about, Pipp..." Sonic confessed, making Pipp smiled sheepishly. "But I can let it pass. The world won't end just because I didn't got my dessert." "I still owe you that dessert, babe," Pipp admitted with a little smile. "In fact, we still owe you two a lot of dates, and even if a dinner can't make it up for that, I have something else in mind~" With that being said, Pipp got off from Sonic's lap - since she was sitting there - and approached her own sister, whispered something to her ear, then giggled when Zipp blushed at the idea. However, Zipp eventually smirked back and nodded, then the two sisters started to walk towards the beds they would share with their respective couple, while flapping their wings together and wagging their tails. Fun fact that matters: The beds have curtains so they can close them and have more privacy. Sonic was more red than a tomato after seeing what the sisters just did as they climbed on their beds and looked at the brothers over their shoulders with seductive looks, while Tails was confused. "Uh... What's going on?" Tails asked with a raised brow. "Dude..." Sonic started with a gulp, also sweating nervously. "That's a mating dance..." After Sonic said this, Tails' eyes widened, then his face flushed in bright red, and he also gulped nervously. Whatever happened that night is not something I will show nor describe because I've got to keep that E for Everyone... But you don't have to be a genius to guess what happened. THE END...? Author's Note Remember Episode 49 of this series? An Episode I wasn't happy with the result? It happened again. However, this chapter didn't went through 5 drafts like with Episode 49... It went through 15. Fucking. Drafts. I am so done with this chapter that, if you don't like it, I honestly don't blame you. I just... I got really stuck with it, you know? Now, don't think I was going to publish this unfinished, I still tried to pull my best, but I just don't like the final result. Is really hard for me to enjoy it when I myself consider it very lame, but I have it done, and I'm here giving it to you all. I really, really, really want to say how sorry I am for not giving out a better result, because you guys deserve a great episode, something I unfortunately couldn't deliver today. Oh well, it's fine. Sometimes you make great episodes, sometimes you make lame ones. I do promise, though, that next episode will be better worked over. With nothing else to say, I thank you all for reading this all the same. See ya!
76. Letting GoSonic and Sunny were rushing at top speed towards Zephyr Heights. There were multiple reports from the pegasi city about multiple badniks and Eggman himself making chaos everywhere, all in order to catch Sonic and Sunny's attention. "Eggman disappears with no sign for a full month, and then he suddenly attacks Zephyr Heights?!" Sonic asked with a frown as he ran at top speed, while Sunny had her Alicorn form activated and kept up by flight at his side. "It's Eggman we're talking about, Sonic," Amy pointed out through Sonic's watch. In the air, the Tornado IV and the Marestream flew towards Zephyr Heights as well. The rest of the Mane 6 were flying in the Marestream, while the Mobians but Rouge and Omega travelled over the Tornado IV towards the pegasi city, and Rouge and Omega followed the two flying vehicles by flight. Why did Sonic and Sunny went ahead? To evaluate damage, and also to face Eggman already. "His last plan involved the Chaos Emeralds. He tried to steal them, and instead sent them to a parallel world where we're all humans instead of ourselves," Knuckles pointed out. "What's his plan this time if it requires destroying Zephyr Heights?" "Getting our attention, that's for sure!" Tails declared. "Dr. Eggman is too smart to not realize we'll obviously go towards him. Perhaps that's what he wants, or perhaps he has no plan at all... We can't really know until we're there." "The more time we spent talking, the more time Eggman destroys our home!" Pipp pointed out in panic and concern. "Pipp's right! We can't just stand here and wait for a miracle to stop Eggman, we have to act now, and on our own!" Zipp agreed with a frown. "Approaching to Eggman without a plan is the dumbest move to make!" Shadow pointed out, standing over the Tornado IV's wing. "We need to have a plan, or at least, some guidance on what to do!" "Well, here's a plan: Half of us supervise the damage and look out for any harmed citizens. The other half looks after Eggman and takes him down before this actually turns into a problem we cannot control. Does that sound good?!" Sonic asked through his watch. Both the rest of the Mane 6 and the Mobians muttered their agreements, while both the Marestream and the Tornado IV boosted faster towards the pegasi city. Meanwhile, Sonic and Sunny arrived to Zephyr Heights already. The sight before them was atrocious: Several badniks all around the place, ponies running away in panic, shops and homes destroyed. Heck, there even was fire around the city. Eggman could not be seen anywhere close, but his machines causing this much damage was already a sign that he was in the area. "I can't believe Eggman has made this much damage already..." Sunny said with concern and low ears. "Well, I can," Sonic said with a frown. "Eggman never feels it's enough with one time, so he tries again, and again, and again, until it works for him." "Even at the coast of innocents lives?!" Sunny asked with worry and an anxious expression. "To Eggman? There's not such a thing as 'innocent lives'," Sonic replied with concern, then he looked over at his watch. "Guys, the coast is full of badniks, but there's not sign of Eggman yet." "Roger that. We're looking for a safe place to land. We'll go with you in a minute!" Tails replied. "Be careful out there, guys! Eggman could be anywhere!" Hitch plead with a worried tone. "Roger that, Sheriff. Tails," Sonic replied, then ended the call. "Come on, Sunny. Let's get the coast free of badniks!" "Right behind ya, brother!" Sunny said with a smirk. With that, Sonic and Sunny launched themselves to destroy the badniks in their way. It wasn't any difficult to destroy them since, well, they're badniks, not Eggman's current machine to defeat. Sonic Spin Dashed, used Homing Shots and even Wild Rushed towards the enemies, while Sunny blasted them away with her magic, and even managed to make some 'Loop Kicks' on her own, although they were more 'Loop Punches' since she used her front hooves to make the attacks. However, Sunny came to a stop after a while and realized that something was... odd about all this invasion. If Zephyr Heights was under attack, why weren't Haven's Royal Guards around? "Um, Sonic? Something's not right here..." Sunny tried to point out, but the moment she called out Sonic, he didn't replied, which concerned her. "Sonic?" She turned back where he used to be, just for her eyes to widen when she realized he wasn't there anymore. "S-Sonic?!" Sunny called out again in panic. "Sonic, if this is some kind of joke, is not funny!" But the joke's on her, because the ground suddenly cracked, and she was falling through a hole while screaming. She desperately tried to flap her wings to fly up, but her Alicorn form suddenly disappeared, and as much as she tried to make it return, it simply didn't responded. She then groaned in pain when she hit the ground with her body, then shook her head and slowly stood up, just to find herself looking in a mirror, while everything else around was just a dark background. "A... mirror?" Sunny said confused, then she slowly approached her reflection and place a hoof over the crystal, but since she touched it and didn't traversed it like she thought she would, she simply stood back. "Is not the magic portal mirror to that human dimension Sonic went to recover the Chaos Emeralds. Is just... a mirror..." Well, that's what she thought at first, because her reflection suddenly smirked and stepped out of the mirror. "What the hay?!" Sunny exclaimed out loud in panic, stepping even more back after seeing this. "What's the matter, Sunny? Can't handle seeing yourself?" Sunny's reflection said with a grin, which only made Sunny feel awkward. "...What's going on?" Sunny asked, now feeling very confused. "I'll tell you what's going on, Sunny..." Sunny's reflection replied, but now with a frown and anger. "You're still fighting that nonsensical mission your Dad started many moons ago, and for what? Lead ponykind to the same non-ending cycle where just one wrong move is enough to put the three races against each other, meaning this entire fight for 'friendship' is useless? Do you seriously want to be the butt of the joke of your own hometown for the rest of your life?" "...Uh-huh... I'm sorry, is this another one of Eggman's tricks to destroy my moral?" Sunny asked with a deadpan and a raised eyebrow. "If so, tell him the first time worked flawlessly, but it's gonna take him more if he wants to catch me with my guard down ever again." With that said, Sunny turned around and walked away... But then her reflection started to laugh sinisterly. "Oh, is that so?" Sunny's reflection said, and Sunny turned around to see that her reflection's eyes changed into yellow, before her entire body was covered by a dark cloud. "Then why do you still have this same nightmare?" "Uh, this is... not the nightmare..." Sunny pointed out. "We're not in––" Yet before she could finish talking, her eyes widened when she realized that she was back into Eggman's lab... But she was not being the one beaten up. Instead, she saw the entire play of Eggman beating the crap out of her in front of her friends though some kind of third person point of view. "W-What is this..." Sunny said concerned. "This is what you fear the most, Sunny. What you can't still get over with," Her reflection, which strangely disappeared, replied, as her voice echoed. "Your body might sleep and feel at ease... But your mind? That one hasn't forgotten about this. And don't even get me started with the Metal Virus thing and how almost all your friends turned into Zombots." Now, she was looking at Zombot Hitch, Zombot Sparky, Zombot Shadow, Zombot Rouge, Zombot Amy, Zombot Izzy, Zombot Knuckles, Zombot Sonic, Zombot Pipp, and other Zombots actually approaching her. "Your fears are still consuming you," Her voice echoed around. "T-That's not true!" Sunny said in panic, but then Zombot Hitch grabbed her flank and hugged it, while other Zombots also grabbed her, making her squeal in fear. "You fear loosing your friends with something like the virus again... You fear beating defeated and not strong enough to protect those you care for..." Her voice still echoed. "You want this fears to go away? Destroy the source of your defeat..." "N-No!" Sunny cried out scared, while the Zombots consumed her and the Metal Virus extended through her body. "Destroy the source of the Metal Virus!" Her voice echoes, this time more feral. "L-Let me go!" She tried to demand to the Zombots consuming her. "Destroy the very problem that hasn't left your world alone ever since it arrived!" Her voice echoed, and now it was distorting with a male and deep voice. "S-Stop it!" Sunny shouted in anger and pain, tears rolling down her cheeks. "DESTROY. DOCTOR. EGGMAN!!!" Her voice shouted loud and clear in anger. As her voice shouted this, the Metal Virus stopped spreading across her body, making her form change to have orange metallic skin, yellow eyes with red sclera, spikes near her hooves, sharped teeth, and a loud roar that made her feel like a beast instead of herself... Sunny managed to take a deep breath and wake up in time, breathing heavily. She was still laying on her bed as she woke up, thankfully, then she decided to sit on her bed and look around. Everyone else was sleeping, and that made her feel calmed and relieved. She lay on her bed again and stared at the ceiling with concern. This was, like, the third or fourth time that she has dreamed about Eggman attacking someplace in Equestria, just for herself to literally talk to her and try to demoralize her again. She thought it'll be nothing, but maybe she's wrong. "...I'll go see Dr. Andy in the morning. I hope he can help me..." Sunny said with a sigh, then drifted back to sleep. In the morning, and just like she said she would, she went to visit Dr. Andy with Hitch and Sparky. Sunny decided to enter alone, though, and while Hitch protested at first, he eventually agreed to let her go alone. The therapist decided to listen carefully to Sunny and her recent dreams about her own reflection trying to convince her that 'destroying' Eggman is the only way she can stop feeling so concerned. Andy himself turned into a Zombot, and he remembers nothing about it (thankfully), but hearing from Sunny how terrible it was for her to see her beloved friends turn into Zombots definitely made him feel lucky for not remember anything, but he also could see where Sunny's concern was coming from. "...And then, the dream ended with me turning into a Zombot, while my own voice said that I had to destroy Eggman to stop feeling so afraid," Sunny finished explaining with a sigh. "Is the third –or fourth time– that I dream with that same dream, and... I'm worried it could lead me to do something I don't want to!" "Mmm-hmm..." Andy muttered as he wrote down on his notes. "And what do you want to do, Sunny? Last time you were here, you said you wouldn't doubt in beating the crap out of him. Judging by how you speak, you have encountered him after that session, but you didn't did what you said you would, did you?" "I... No," Sunny replied. After all, last time she saw him, she and her friends had to join forces with him in order to stop The End of destroying Equis. "Let's just say that the last time I saw him, we had to join forces in order to keep the planet safe. Is a long story, and I'd rather spare the trauma to you, doc. I just... I'm not sure what do I want to do anymore." "The reason why Sonic and Eggman are enemies is because they're too similar," Sunny kept explaining. "None of them give up, they don't take a no as an answer, and even if they make the same moves while fighting, they somehow always manage to be unpredictable. How can I stop an unstoppable force?!" "I think I know what's gotten into you, Sunny," Andy said, putting his notes down. "You still have a grudge against him for his actions. Not only to you, but also to your friends. A fear of lost has grown into you because of that, the fear of loosing those you care for the most, but above all... A fear of loosing yourself, of become something you don't want to be." Sunny gasped a bit after hearing this, perhaps because it actually sounds like what's gotten into her. "In order to let go of that grudge, you may have to find the source of that fear after all," Andy pointed out, but noticing Sunny's pale look and widened eyes, he realized he said that in the wrong way. "Let me rephrase that: You have to find Eggman and face your fear. Not 'destroy him' like your inner voice tells you. Just show him that you don't fear him anymore." "Oh. Yeah, that actually sounds better than what I thought you were suggesting..." Sunny said relieved and sighed. "So I have to confront Eggman and show him what I'm made of... Sounds simple enough." "Right, it sounds simple. But is it really?" Andy questioned. "That's something you'll have to discover on your own, Sunny." "Well, at least now I know what to do," Sunny said with a smile. "Thanks again, Doc. I'm really glad I came to see you." Sunny and Hitch exited the place and head towards the Brighthouse again. Yet, as they walked ahead, Hitch couldn't help but notice that Sunny was thinking deeply about something. He wondered if he should help, but then realized that questioning it was stupid. So, Hitch cleared his throat, and that called Sunny's attention, since her ears perked up and she turned to him. "You've been really quiet ever since we left the clinic, Sunny," Hitch pointed out with concern. "Are you okay?" "Um, I guess?" Sunny replied uncertainly. "In all honesty, I'm kind of concerned for what I must do..." "You mean, the whole thing of facing Eggman like Dr. Andy said?" Hitch asked. "I personally think that's not the smartest idea, but I also know that you can take care of yourself. You are an Alicorn, after all. Is just... I don't want you to feel scared in front of that guy, you know? It was bad enough that I couldn't do anything for you being right there..." Hitch looked down to the floor in concern and sadness, something Sparky noticed, because he walked over his father's back and hugged his neck. Sunny noticed his attitude as well, and she went over to nuzzle with him, an action they always did between each other when one was feeling down. "Hitch, I know that what Eggman did to me affected you just as much as it affected me and the rest of our friends..." Sunny began to explain. "But you said it yourself! I'm an Alicorn, and I know for sure that I can face Eggman on my own." "I know, that Sunny," Hitch said, still feeling concerned. "Is just... I was there when Eggman put his hands on you. Trapped, but there anyways. The idea of something similar happening when I'm not there to help you... It terrifies me. I lost my parents already way before meeting them... I don't know what I'll do if I loose you, too." Sunny blushed a lot after hearing this, but she also smiled warmly. "Aw, Hitchy..." She said happily, giving the stallion a side hug with joy. "I'm gonna be okay. And you know why? Because I have a lot in Equestria to fight for, in order to defeat that old man. I know where to attack, and how to make it clear that I'm not the same Sunny he defeated that one time." "So you'll go on your own against him?" Hitch asked, still feeling concerned. "I must if I want to let my fear go," Sunny declared. "Besides, if I'm the one that confronts him already, Sonic, Tails and Shadow will finally stop saying they're the ones that will beat the crap out of him." "You know I would go with them too, right?" Hitch asked with a smirk. Sunny giggled, making the Sheriff's heart melt with joy. "I know, Hitchy~" She said, kissing his cheek softly, making him go entirely red. "I just think it's time I'm the one that fights my own battles. I can't have you or the other boys always fighting for me. Is time I'm the one that stands up for myself." "Well... I have the feeling there's no way to talk you out if this, so I wish you good luck, Sunny," Hitch stated with a smile. "Be careful, and... please come back to us... To me..." Sunny did heard that last sentence that Hitch thought he only whispered to himself, so she smiled and kissed his cheek once again, making the Sheriff blush a lot again. Then, Sparky babbled as he extended his little arms to Sunny, and she knew what he wanted to do. "Aww, don't worry, my beautiful baby!" She cooed, picking him up with her hooves and nuzzling with him, while Sparky babbled again and nuzzled back with her. "Mama will be back with you, okay? Just stay with your papa and be a good boy." Hitch felt his heart melting again at how motherly Sunny acted with Sparky. Not that he minded, nor that he had a choice. After all, Sparky calls Sunny his 'Mama', and Sunny really liked to be Sparky's Mom, so who is he to deny that joy to her childhood friend and not-so-secret crush, as well as to his adopted baby dragon? "Okay. Good luck out there, Sunny. Whatever you plan to call his attention, I really hope it works and won't end bad," Hitch stated. "Thanks, Hitch," Sunny said with a smile, then she activated her Alicorn form. "I'll be out for two, maybe three hours. If I'm not back by launch time, gather everypony else and go look after me." With that being said, Sunny spread her wings and took off, then flew at fast paste towards a certain direction, far away of Maretime Bay. Hitch only stared in said direction and sighed concerned. "I hope you truly know what you're doing, Sunny," Hitch muttered to himself. Eggman was holding a book on his hands, one of the many he could steal from Opaline. He was reading about a powerful artifact that could literally tear apart the wall that separates this reality from any other one, a power that can afford him the ability to travel across universes. However, just when he was about to get into some interesting details about said artifact, his computer sent an alert that call his attention. He put the book aside, using a separator on the last page he read before closing it, then approached to his computer and checked what was the alert about. It turned out to be an alert from the very same basement he was turned into a Zombot, and the image showed Sunny shutting down all the cameras except one, where she instead stick a note. "To Eggman. Meet me in the daisy field where we beat your Egg Beater decoy. Signed: Sunny." Eggman raised an eyebrow confused. Why was Sunny, out of all his enemies, the one that wanted to meet him? This was strange, sure, but he'll be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued to see where this was leading. So, without hesitation, he left Sage in charge and left... But he took one of his machines with him, just in case. Sunny was sitting down on a daisy field with her eyes closed. This field was special, at least to her. Is where she and her friends travelled through while heading towards Bridlewood to get the Unicorn Crystal in order to restore magic back to Equestria. Is also the place where Sonic first woke up when he arrived... Well, he actually woke up in the tree, but it's a part of the field, so it definitely counts. The field might be just another one of the many fields that are in Equestria, but to Sunny? Is a crucial part of her story with her friends. It was peaceful at first, but said peace faded away once she heard an engine roaring and the wind blowing her mane, which crazy moved around because of it. She opened her eyes and looked on front of her with a frown: There was a big red robot with silver legs in front of her. Said robot had, as usual, Eggman's face on it, it was being piloted by Eggman himself, but it also had a couple of removable spike-like hands that he could shoot at his objectives. "Well, well, well... But if it isn't Sunny Starscout!" Eggman said from inside the Egg Pulveriser, the machine's name, with a mocking tone. "I'm honestly surprised – and kind of honored – that you decided to meet me instead of waiting for my next move. What do I own the pleasure?" No response. Sunny said nothing to him, which confused him. She simply stared daggers at him, but remained quiet. This was new for Eggman, but instead of complaining, he instead choose to try something else. "What's the matter? Did the cat eat your tongue?" Eggman mocked up. "Or are you terrified of looking at me after my little number over you? I mean, I did swap the floor with your body, and your friends were witnesses! Can't believe you're still standing here, fighting for that hopeless dream of your father. Is sad watching suck potential being wasted." No response again. In fact, Sunny didn't even flinched when he mentioned what he did to her, nor that her father's dream was hopeless. She simply kept staring at him, and now, Eggman started to worry. He wasn't used to this much quiet when he mocked up his enemies. What was Sunny's goal? "Come on, now, Starscout. Don't leave me hanging over here," Eggman begged. "Or what? Are you expecting me to apologize? Well, get yourself comfy, because you're gonna wait that apology for the rest of your life. After all, I'm not wrong! Your dream and your father's of a unified world is gonna die along with the dreamer!" "...Maybe you're right," Sunny finally spoke, and of course that she took Eggman off guard. Of all the things he expected her to say first, her agreeing with him was not even close to what he expected. "One day, I'll die, and so will my friends," Sunny said, but her serious expression remained intact. "When that happens, it might take years, months, weeks, or even just days for somepony to make everypony else split each into their own group again... But that's not a problem that I have to fix." "...What?" Eggman said, now completely confused. "The future is mysterious for us all," Sunny pointed out. "No one knows what's gonna happen. But honestly? If ponykind splits up again, that won't be a problem I'll take care of because I won't allow it to happen as along as I live. My dad believed in the current Equestria we live now, and I won't let you, nor Opaline, nor anyone to destroy that dream. You're welcome to try, Eggman, but know this: As long as me and my friends live, as long as we're still around, we'll stop you, Opaline, and anyone that stand in our way to make a better world." Eggman growled in anger after hearing all of this. "And then what?! You'll fight for this purposeless dream and then die to avoid watch how all your life's work be worth nothing in the end?!" "Sounds like someone wants to reflect their own failures on someone else," Sunny quipped with a smirk. Eggman's eyes widened after hearing Sunny's counter, since he didn't expected it. "...What?" "You told me that you tried to make a name by the legal way, and it didn't worked, so you turned into this," Sunny reminded, but she kept smirking. "Only those with a weak will surrender to evil thoughts the way you did, Ivo." "W-What are you––" Eggman tried to say, but barely any word could come out of his mouth. "You destroy cities, terrorize people, attempt to build an empire where you are on top... And yet you fail all the same, each time more miserably than the previous one," Sunny kept talking. "You try so hard to prove that anything you've ever done in your sad, pathetic and miserable life is worth it, but no one really cares. You seek so desperately for something you'll never get: Approval, from those who once doubted you." "S-Stop it... Shut it! Don't make me––" Eggman said, now feeling rage boiling his blood. "But in the end, you loose. Time and time again, you keep loosing the battle, and no matter how hard you keep trying, it never is enough, is it?" Sunny asked. "In the end, you always realize the truth: You can play and act like an 'evil genius' all that you want, but we both know that you'll never be anything more than a sad old man that dreams bigger, but reaches lower..." "Shut up already!" Eggman said with anger, now trembling in rage and covering his face with his hands, as he tried to do something, anything to stop hearing her... But he couldn't. "That no one truly cares for him..." Sunny kept talking. "That he has no real friends because he's too busy thinking about himself and an empire that will never rise..." "Starscout, I swear to Chaos that if you don't shut up, I'll––" Eggman tried to threat her. Big mistake. "You'll what? Sent your machines against me? Press a button on your low-budget Hulk costume to kill me?" Sunny quipped mockingly. "I'm not afraid of you, Eggman. Not anymore. And honestly? I doubt I'll ever feel afraid of someone that's not the big man on campus he claims he is!" That was the last straw in Eggman's patience, so he launched himself on the Egg Pulveriser against her, while Sunny made her Alicorn form appear and she boosted to the air, dodging the machine. After that, she took a dive towards the upper zone of the machine and hit it. Eggman groaned, then he made the machine from the torso to the top turn around and shoot one of the spiked hands against Sunny, but she instead made a loop in the air and kicked the hand with her tail. This sent the hand back to Eggman himself, hitting the machine again. The doctor pulled his own mustache in rage, so he then shoot both spiked hands against her. He believed she couldn't dodge them both. Yet he made a big mistake: He underestimated Sunny, because the Alicorn mare repeated the same trick from before and returned one of the spiked hands against him. The other one, however, she allowed it to follow her, because she started to fly around at top speed, while the remaining hand chased her. Eggman managed to dodge the first hand, even putting it back on place on his machine... However, his mistake was to turn around and give his back to the enemy, therefore lowering his guard. With this, Sunny smirked and dive bak to him, with the other hand still following her. When Eggman turned around again, he was hit by a laser blast that Sunny launched from her horn. Not being enough, she quickly flew up, while the other hand hit the machine and made it start to fail. "No, no, no, no!" Eggman cried out in anger, then he pressed a button that destroyed the legs, while the chest, head and arms remained floating in the air. "Now let's see how good you do after this, Starscout!" He laughed like a maniac, while a couple of arm that twirl over and above the remaining chest of the Egg Pulveriser attached to said machine. These arms have spikes everywhere, and now the machine could fly like Sunny to chase her around, but this fact didn't seemed to bother her. "You really are a pain in the flank, Eggman..." Sunny deadpanned, then she headed towards the machine. Eggman boosted towards her as well, but Sunny simply teleported away, confusing the doctor. Then, she reappeared right below the machine and kicked it, making it crazily twirl around in the air. Finally, Sunny finished off the machine, and therefore defeated Eggman, by flying higher than the machine, and then kick it towards the ground, destroying the machine and kicking Eggman out of it over his Eggmobile, which rolled in the ground for a bit before it came to a stop. Eggman got out of the Eggmobile with a dizzy expression, his head spinning, while his face was a bit burned. However, when he noticed Sunny landing in front of him, and he panicked. "O-Okay, okay! I get it now! I'm the loser here! No need to get more violent!" Eggman cried out in panic. "You think I can get as low as you, Eggman?" Sunny deadpanned. "Sure, I can make you regret all your choices in life, but actually put a hoof over you? Perhaps you haven't studied me that well." She smirked. "S-So that's it? You destroy my machine as it usually happens, a-a-and then you leave?!" Eggman asked with disbelief. "Yup. That's it. I have no desire to harm you anymore than I already have, Eggman, because I'm not like you, and I'm really glad and happy to say that I'll never will," Sunny declared. "Is really low to hit someone who's on disadvantage, but is even lower if that someone repeats the exact same treatment to their bully, even if it's deserved." With that said, Eggman sighed relieved, and Sunny turned around and spread her wings to leave, but first... "Let me tell you something, Eggman... Next time you show up in my home? Don't expect me to go easy on you," Sunny warned, then she looked over her shoulder at him with anger. "I'm not as sunny as usual when I'm mad, and you don't want to meet me mad. Understood?" Eggman gulped in fear, and he nodded at the Earth Pony mare. Sunny nodded back, then she took flight and boosted towards the Crystal Brighthouse, leaving behind a stunned doctor Eggman that could barely understand how he didn't died today, but was glad about the fact anyways. He looked at his now destroyed Egg Pulveriser, then at the direction Sunny flew away, and he snorted with a grin. He lost and felt terrified, true, but it was still a very good fight. "I can't wait for our next encounter, Sunny Starscout!" Eggman grinned and laughed maniacally. THE END...? Author's Note Sunny was eventually getting her payback, and here it is! I'm honestly really satisfied with this episode's result. It may not be my best work, I recognize that, but I wanted to show off more of Sunny, and having her fight alone against Eggman as a way to finally let go her fear of him seemed the right call. I told you guys that this episode would be more worked on, and I think it was worth it! Thanks for reading this chapter, guys. Bye!
78. The Rise and Fall - Part 1On a camera, Opaline started her own livestream to make an announcement. Hopefully this has nothing to do with Shadow messing with somebody's wife, right? ...Right? Well, that lame joke aside, Opaline looked at the camera with a sinister smile while wearing a dark crown, a long purple cape that's gonna get her killed 'cause capes are more dangerous than they seem, and a golden necklace that has the Mane 6's Cutie Marks but Sunny's.... Wait what?! Uh... Did we just woke up in the wrong timeline or something? A-Anyways. Opaline started to laugh maniacally, just for her to cough and then step back while rubbing her throat with a hoof. "Start again," Opaline said, which made the camera turn on. In a new video, Opaline looked at the camera again and still with a sinister smile. "It's me, Opal––" She was cut off when she fling her cape, but it flew around and smack her on the face, "Oof!" In the next video, Opaline lifted her hoof up while blue flames came out of it, as she kept smiling sinisterly. "Bow to me, Equestria! Nopony can stop me!" Opaline announced, while flames burst from behind her as she began to laugh like a maniac. However, when she turned around, she panicked, because her cape was on fire from the one that burst behind her. She scream in panic and then ran around, while the raccoonicorn that's holding her phone to record watched her go, as she tried to extinct the fire on her cape. The next video is just Opaline burping and covering her mouth with embarrassment. Next video again, Opaline walked up to the camera with a smirk. "The time has come for you poonies to bow to––" Opaline tried to say, radiating a sinister look while getting close to the camera, but then the raccoonicorn gave off giggles, confusing her and making her frown. "What's so funny?!" The raccoonicorn got nervous, so it quickly turned around Opaline's phone and showed her the recording. "––you poonies to bow to––" Now understanding why the raccoonicorn laughed, she started to laugh as well. "It's quite funny! 'Poonies'!" She said with tears of joy and kept laughing... Should I feel worried she's having fun? I probably should... At Zephyr Heights, Queen Haven was walking around the throne room. Suddenly, though, her phone chimed, so she took it out to notice a new notification. "Oh! A message!" She said, then opened it to see what it is. "Do I know you?" Posey questioned with a brow as she got the same message on her phone. "Who's this?" Thunder asked confused, looking at his phone. "New message?" Zoom asked, looking at her phone as well. One by one, basically every pony in Equestria looked at their phones to see a message on it. Even some critters got the message on their phones. In the Crystal Brighthouse, Sunny also got the message, but she was deeply concerned. "Oh, no. This can't be good," Sunny said with worry. "Hello, ponies," Opaline said as she turned and fling her mane while waving her hoof. At the Sheriff Station, Hitch saw the message as well with panic. "Don't look! It's the evil Alicorn again!" He cried out as he covered his eyes, while Amy and Rouge stared at him with disbelief, since they were in the station, watching the video as well. "My gosh, Hitch..." Amy facepalmed with a growl. "Man, your'e such a pus%& sometimes," Rouge deadpanned, although the second to last word was censored with a bip and the word 'SEGA' covering her mouth. In Zephyr Heights, Pipp and Zipp saw the messages on their phones as well. Pipp's reaction to it? She started to screamed in panic and fly around the room while Zipp watched her. "Pipp, stop screaming!" Zipp said with a frown, then she put her phone into her ear. "I can't hear what she's saying!" In Bridlewood, Izzy looked at her phone with a determined look. "Oh, yeah?! Bring it, Opaline! You'll pay for taking Knuckie away!" Izzy challenged, putting her phone into her own face. Opaline looked at the camera and shook her head with fake disappointment. "Tsk-tsk-tsk. It's a shame that we're getting to know each other so late. But, you know, I have been ever so busy," Opaline said with a smirk. "There are an awful lot of you…" "...pathetic little ponies in Equestria," Opaline narrated. As she did so, we see Zephyr Heights and its Together Tree, where a portal opened up, showing Opaline coming through with a smirk, two tall adult dragons, and Tails and Knuckles. Both the dragons and he mobians where under Opaline's control thanks to a spell, and the Pegasi felt shocked and frighten by this. "And even with the help of my new dragon and mobian friends, taking all of your Cutie Marks – well, it's been a full-time job," Opaline said, while magical tentacles launched towards the ponies. One of said tentacles reached Thunder and removed his Cutie Mark, while Zoom watched with wide eyes and then ran away from one of the tentacles, leaving Thunder screaming for loosing his Cutie Mark. In Bridlewood, Opaline and her mind-controlled minions came to as well. The the magical tentacles that came out of the Wishing Tree started to grab the Unicorns Cutie Marks, and as Alphabittle ran to try and reach for one of them, another tentacle grabbed his Cutie Mark and took it away. When Alphabittle realized what just happened, it was already too late. “Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Give that back!" Alphabittle ordered with a glare. In Maretime Bay, Dahlia and Windy were running for their lives... And their Cutie Marks as well. "Quick, Windy! Run!" Dahlia called out in panic. "Oh, this is just terrifying!" Windy exclaimed. The two ponies turned a corner, but then they stopped with panic, because right in front of them, Opaline stood with a sinister smile, then she lightened her horn and took Dahlia and Windy's Cutie Marks. "No!" The two ponies cried out in concern and sorrow. "I liked that cutie mark. Sad," Windy said and started to tear up. Back in the present, Opaline kept broadcasting and terrifying the ponies across Equestria. "Not only is all this Cutie Mark magic making me the most powerful Fire Alicorn of all time!" Opaline declared with a sinister look as fire came from behind her, before she pointed to her side. "They are really sprucing up the place." The raccoonicorn turned the camera to where Opaline's pointing, and showed the Cutie Marks from the ponies of all Equestria Opaline stole from on the leaves and stems of the Together Tree in her castle. She's using them as prizes and as decorations for her place to look as nice as it can. "We're doomed!" Dazzle cried out when she looked at her phone. "Somepony stop her!" Onyx exclaimed while pointing at her phone with concern. "She's awful!" Rufus said in fright. Skye was crying at his phone after seeing the announcement from Opaline. Sonic was back at the Starfall Islands with Eggman, Sage and Shadow. They all where hearing and watching Opaline's livestream, standing in front of a Cyberspace portal and frowning at the realization that, ever since they left, Opaline has become stronger after stealing pretty much all the Cutie Marks in Equestria, now she's only missing Sunny's. "Perhaps we shouldn't had left in the first place..." Shadow said with a frown and concern. "No, it was the right call," Sage stated. "Now that Sonic controls his Cyber Corruption, we have a chance of 90% to defeat Opaline and return all the magic she has stolen before she explodes all her potential." "If she even realizes it's there..." Eggman pointed out with a frown. "Sonic, you must hurry up to her Castle and give her a fight that'll make her regret everything, even taking Misty away from her actual family!" "That's been the plan since the beginning, Egghead!" Sonic said with a smirk, then he looked at Sage with a slight frown. "You sure I can use Cyber Corruption against Opaline? 'Cause I'm going Super, not as my regular self." "The plan will work, honest!" Sage nodded with a confident look. "Now hurry! I feel your friend Sunny is about to face her!" "Right!" Sonic nodded. "Shadow, Eggman: The Chaos Emeralds! You got them?" After asking this, Shadow brought out the Green, Yellow, Grey and Light Blue Emeralds, while Eggman did the same with the Red, Blue and Purple ones. "You took your damn time with those trials, Hedgehog," Eggman mocked up with a smirk. "Makes you wonder if you truly are the Fastest thing alive or not!" He laughed Sonic rolled his eyes and grabbed the Yellow Emerald from Shadow's hand, then lift it in the air and let it surround him. Next to this, the other six Emeralds flew from Eggman and Shadow's hands, also surrounding Sonic and then lifting him up in the air, where they entered into him and turned him into Super Sonic. With this ready, Sonic grinned, then charged up Chaos Energy and boosted at the speed of light towards Opaline's Castle in Equestria, ready to take her down for good. Back with the livestream, Opaline continued to speak through the camera. "Now I must admit, there were a few of you that did put up teensy-weensy adorable little fights!" Opaline said with a small kitty smile, pretty much just making fun of those that put resistance on her. In Maretime Bay, Hitch saw Opaline approaching him. "No!" Hitch exclaimed with a frown, stomping his hoof down, using his Earth Pony magic to summon some vines around Opaline, "Stop right there!" He ordered, while the vines grabbed Opaline and lifted the Fire Alicorn up. However, this didn't stopped Opaline, because she focused her magic on the vines to burn them down, and then she spread her wings with a roar, freeing herself from the vines before zapping Hitch's legs and tie them together, making him fall into the floor, while Hitch struggled to break free. "Aah! Thief!" Hitch cried out, while Opaline walked up to him with a small smile and lit up her horn, stealing Hitch's Cutie Mark and making it fly out of his flank. "Ah! No!" But just as Opaline was about to leave with her newly acquired Cutie Mark, something came from her left side and kicked her, and that same something made her lost Hitch's Cutie Mark. The Cutie Mark rolled in the ground, until it was stopped by a red boot. Then, it was picked up by Amy, who held Hitch's Cutie Mark on her hand with a smirk, while Rouge landed at her side with a frown, since she's the one that kicked Opaline away with her feet. Speaking of her, Opaline stood up with a growl and glared daggers at Amy and Rouge. "Give me back that Cutie Mark!" "Why don't you come and get it, huh?" Amy challenged while rolling the Cutie Mark on her finger, also carrying her Piko Piko Hammer on her shoulder. "Or are you too afraid of loosing~?" She mocked up with a chuckle. Opaline screamed in rage and launched against Amy and Rouge, both of them splitting up as they charged back at the Fire Alicorn. Amy slid under Opaline, while she looked confused at the pink hedgehog. However, she had no time to think, because Amy hit her face with her hammer. Opaline groaned in pain, but then said pain incremented when Rouge came from up her and kicked her on her back and towards the ground, where she crashed and groaned in pain again. Amy approached her and lifted up her hammer, but just when she was ready to slam it down on her, her hammer suddenly wasn't moving, and even if Amy tried to move it, it remained on it's place. However, it wasn't until she tried to pull it away when she realized that Knuckles, being mind-controlled by Opaline, was grabbing her hammer and keeping it steady, which made her eyes widen, and she smiled sheepishly. Knuckles, however, simple moved his hand backwards and threw Amy away. Still holding the hammer, Knuckles could sense that Rouge was heading towards him from behind, so he simply moved aside to let her go straight, then aimed the hammer at her, and then threw it. Rouge couldn't see it coming, and so, the hammer hit her and made her fall in the ground, rolling painfully and groaning, while Amy did the same and landed near Hitch on her back, making him gasp concerned for her. Then, a red blur passed by, then moved away back to Opaline. This red blur was none other than Knuckles, who took Hitch's Cutie Mark away from Amy and gave it to Opaline, as the Fire Alicorn grinned and took the Cutie Mark back, placing it on her golden necklace. In the Crystal Brighthouse, the Unity Crystals vibrated because of a new failure. At the same time, the yellow stripe of the rainbow faded away after Hitch's Cutie Mark was removed. Opaline, the two mind controlled dragons and Tails then made it to Zephyr Heights at the old station. There, Pipp flew around the three of them while vocalizing in fear of them. To this, however, Opaline just gave a bored expression, and Tails even began to charge a gun-net just in case this was a trap, although both him, the dragons and Opaline were getting irritated by Pipp nervous flight and vocalizing. "Hey!" Zipp's voice called out, Making Opaline turn just to see Zipp fly in and wrap a tarp around Opaline, Tails and the two dragons, as she and Pipp grab each a side of the a rope and tried to trap them. Yet this did nothing, because Opaline burned through the tarp, while Tails launched himself at top speed against the two sisters, making them gasp and fly away in panic and concern. Tails managed to fly in front of them and block their way, smirking sinisterly and moving his index finger to them in a mocking way. Despite being a mind-controlled minion right now, a part of him still wants to resemble his big brother, even though he makes Sonic's taunts to mes with his own girlfriend and sister-in-law. Zipp and Pipp got worried, but they still tried to run away by turning around. Unfortunately, Tails used his powers to create a gun, and with said gun, he shoot a net to them, tying the sisters together. "Aah!" Zipp yelped as soon as she and Pipp fell to the floor. "Aah! Hey!" Pipp cried out, but thanks to Tails' move, Opaline stole hers and Zipp's Cutie Marks, extracting them away from their flanks. "That's mine!" "Give that back!" Zipp called with a glare at Opaline. "I'll take these!" Opaline said with a smirk, as she levitated the sister's Cutie Marks to her necklace and place them in the middle, right above Hitch's. Back at the Brighthouse, the Unity Crystals shook again, this time with the white and pink stripes fading. In Bridlewood, Izzy levitated some tomatoes at Opaline. "Take that! And that!" Izzy exclaimed, as she threw the tomatoes at Opaline, getting hit with a couple. "And this!" She threw more tomatoes at her. Opaline managed to use her magic to block the tomatoes, but she eventually ran out of patience, so she roared in rage and extracted Izzy's Cutie Mark. However, and unlike many would expect, the Unicorn didn't seemed worried in the slightest. Instead, she continued smirking. "Ooh, you want that, do ya?" Izzy taunted, while Opaline got Izzy's Mark to her hoof, but then was shocked when she saw that it was a fake. "Hah! Well, that's not even the real one!" Izzy then jumped into her scooter and put on her helmet. "Not today, Opaline! Not today!" She drove off, leaving Opaline sneering in anger. Yet as Izzy tried to run away, something came from below the ground and hit the scooter, sending her flying away from her cart, and then getting tied by Opaline. The one that hit her cart was Knuckles, still mind-controlled by Opaline, and upon seeing that the one that caused her doom was the very same echidna she loved with her soul, Izzy began to tear up. And then, Opaline used her magic to steal Izzy's Cutie Mark away from her flank. "Oh. I guess maybe today..." Izzy said sadly, watching her Cutie Mark flying to Opaline with teary eyes. In the Brighthouse, the Unity Crystals shook again, and the rainbow lost the purple strike. In Zephyr Heights, Misty faced Opaline at the Together Tree, with the two ponies glaring at each other. "I earned that Cutie Mark through true friendship, Opaline!" Misty said with anger, a feeling that Opaline returned with a glare towards her once adopted daughter. "You can't take it from me!" Yet this seemed to be nothing but a foolish attempt, because Tails once again used his net-gun and shoot at Misty, tying her hooves together and making her loose her balance. Misty fell with a thud in the ground, then Tails created a Zero gravity device, pointed it at Misty and 'levitated' her towards himself and Opaline. Misty felt devastated and shocked at the fact that Tails was completely under Opaline's spell, while Tails himself didn't seemed to mind hurting her. At all. Opaline, on the other hand, laughed with glee at the scene. "Oh, Misty. Really?" She asked in amusement, before she take Misty's Cutie Mark from her flank. "Aren't you a little old to believe in fairy tales?" After mocking the unicorn with a sinister smile, Opaline put Misty's Cutie Mark in her amulet, creating a new spot right below Hitch's Cutie Mark. Back in the present, Opaline showed off the 5 Cutie Marks on her amulet with pride. "And now only one little Alicorn and that stinky blue rat stand between me and total domination!" Opaline finished with a crazed sinister look, spreading her wings and making them glow for the camera. "Looking for me, Opaline?" Sunny’s voice spoke, which surprised Opaline as she turned and saw her on her Alicorn form. This also made the raccoonicorn to cheer for Sunny, dropping the phone in the process as it landed on the rock, somehow still livestreaming the whole thing. "Ah, Sunny. There you are," Opaline said with a smirk. "Where's that blue rodent you care for so much as your brother? I've been dying for a rematch! Or are you here to save the little fox man and that red dumbass? Can't believe Tails once managed to defeat me, and now look at him! He has turned into a wonderful, little minion that obeys my every command!" In Maretime Bay, Amy and Hitch frowned after Opaline called Knuckles a dumbass. "That stupid witch!" Amy cursed her with anger. She was also mad for Tails falling into Opaline's claws, since - as the Alicorn herself said - he was the one that previously defeated Opaline from succeeding with the Metal Virus. "Sunny, hit her hard!" Hitch said madly, and even if Sunny couldn't hear him, he has a feeling that she will kick Opaline's flank hard enough anyways. In Bridlewood, Izzy stared in anger at Opaline for what she said to Knuckles. "You'll pay for taking him away, you moron!" Izzy said in anger, although some tears dared to come out of her eyes. Finally, In Zephyr Heights, Zipp was resisting the urge of crying as much as she could. Watching her boyfriend falling into that damn Alicorn's hooves was horrible as it already sounds, but the fact that Opaline seems to enjoy what she's doing to him is what hurts her, and Pipp could see this, so she hugged her sister for comfort. After all, Sonic has fallen into a villain's control before as well, so she understands. Misty, however, seemed really hateful towards Opaline, and she was hoping that Sonic would arrive soon and put Opaline in her place. She never wanted Opaline more gone as much as she wants it now. Back in the castle, Sunny glared in anger at Opaline and her mockery towards Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. "I'm here to take you down, Opaline! Even if I fail in the attempt!" Sunny declared with a determinate look. Despite surprised, Opaline grinned and lightened her horn. "This is going to be fun!" She then laughed, and next, she blasted her horn at Sunny, who yelped before quickly create a magic shield to protect herself, even though she was pushed back. Still, she yelped again as she dodged another blast from Opaline, and then the two Alicorns began to fly around, as if they were playing the 'Cat & Mouse' game. Sunny kept either dodging all the blasts from Opaline or protecting herself from them with shields. However, since Opaline was getting too close, she choose to fly away to keep her distance. "Oh, please! You still think you can defeat me? Hah!" Opaline mocked up, then fired a beam at her, but Sunny quickly blocked it with her shield. "Even when I have all the Cutie Mark magic?" She then fired another beam at her, which Sunny once again blocked before flying away. "You know, for an Alicorn, you really aren't very clever!" She mocked, then blasted at her again. Sunny blocked her attack once more, then frowned at the Fire Alicorn. "All I know is that I have to try!" She then began to fly around her, although she was also panting exhausted. "You may be able to take my Cutie Mark, Opaline," She started, then Opaline fired again, making Sunny strain and barely create a new shield. "But you can never take what makes me... ME!" "Is that right?" Opaline questioned with a smirk, while Sunny charged at her with a yell, but then Opaline moved aside and surprise attacked her, tying her hooves together. "Watch me!" Opaline laughed like a maniac, then lightened her horn up. "No!" Sunny exclaimed, but it was too late: Opaline removed her Cutie Mark and took it away. At the Brighthouse, the Crystals shook greatly once more... But they weren't recovering this time. Then, the rainbow light faded away, and then the Crystals fell to the floor, marking Opaline's victory... Unless! Back at the Castle, Sunny fell on the ground with a thud, loosing her Alicorn form, while Opaline kept grinning. The rest of the Mane 6, Amy and Rouge all reacted in panic at Sunny's defeat. To make it even worse, everypony in Equestria saw this as well: From Maretime Bay, to Bridlewood, to Zephyr Heights... Everyone knew that Opaline has defeated the only Alicorn they had at their side, and they also knew that all magic in Equestria was now lost into Opaline's hooves... UNLESS!!! Back in the castle, Opaline kept grinning, and she was already floating Sunny's Cutie Mark to her amulet... However, just when it was about to attach, a yellow blur passed by and snatched the Cutie Mark away. This made Opaline blink a few times, before shaking her head and realize what happened. "What the... The Cutie Mark... W-Where the hell did it go?!" Opaline asked, confused and starting to enrage again. "Looking for something, Queen of Targaryen?" A male, cocky voice spoke, and Opaline's eyes widened, but then she growled in anger, then she turned and saw Sonic on his super form, floating a few meters away from her with a cocky smirk and his arms crossed. Sunny gasped with a smile after seeing that Sonic has finally arrived. "Sonic!" She cheered. "You!" Opaline growled to the Golden Hedgehog. "Who else? The man behind the slaughter? Rack your brain, witch! You can't seriously forget the guy that kicked your flank in this same castle not so long ago!" Sonic mocked up, still with his cocky grin. "I'm gonna erase that grin of yours!" Opaline threatened, but Sonic didn't felt anything by hearing her. "Now give me back the Cutie Mark I just stole!" Yet Sonic pointed his index finger at her and moved it side to side. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. That's not how things work when I'm around, Opaline," He declared confidently. "You already had your fun stealing Cutie Marks... Now we play my way!" With that being said, Sonic opened his other hand and showed Sunny's Cutie Mark, but then he snapped his fingers with said hand and the Cutie Mark disappeared. However, it didn't took long for Sunny herself to look at her flank, and then gasp with a smile and sparkling eyes when she saw her Cutie Mark back on place. This also restored her Alicorn Form, and so, she took flight and stood right besides Sonic, both of them facing Opaline with grins, and Sonic even crossed his arms again to stand his territory. "What?! No! How did you do it?!" Opaline asked Sonic in shock and anger. "Oh, that's pretty simple: Your magic is not that impressive nor powerful," Sonic mocked up with a grin. "After all, your fire is extending over a giant birthday cake!" "Now we only have to blow the candles!" Sunny mocked up next. Opaline growled in anger after hearing all of this. "Minions! Destroy them!" She ordered. With that being said, the two dragons, Tails and Knuckles charged against them, but since they were attacking from their backs, Sonic only had to look over his shoulder and shrunk his left eye to let go a Chaos Energy wave that reached the dragons and Mobians minds, freeing them from Opaline's control. The dragons fell to the ground with loud thuds and dizzy expressions, while Tails and Knuckles fell face-first on the floor, before they both groaned and eventually stood up confused. "Uh... Where the heck are we? And how did we got here?" Tails asked confused. "I had the weirdest dream..." Knuckles said while rubbing his head, but then looked around with wide eyes. "Ah, crap, it wasn't a dream!" Sunny was surprised after seeing this, then she looked at Sonic. "How did you do that?!" "You really thought I'll come to save your flank without preparing myself?" Sonic asked her with a mocking smirk. "I'm a box full of surprises!" He winked at her. Seeing that her mind-controlled minions were free, and that Sonic was quite powerful as Super Sonic, Opaline shouted loudly in rage. "That's it! You're going down, bastard! I desperately need to wipe that smirk of yours away, then I'll steal her Cutie Mark again, and then I'll––" "Oh, shut up already and fight, you damn witch!" Knuckles interrupted her. "We don't care about your motives, we just want to see Dragon Ball-styled battles!" "For once, I agree with Knuckles," Tails deadpanned, before frowning. "Now wipe her ass!" "Well, you heard the public!" Sonic said with a grin, before suddenly frowning, teleport in front of Opaline, and then one-punch her towards the air, making her traverse the ceiling. "Let's finish this off in MY territory!" With that being said, Sonic boosted to the sky through the already made hole in the ceiling, while Sunny followed him as fast as she could, leaving two confused dragons behind, as well as a astonished Tails and a deadpanning Knuckles, who rubbed his nose a bit for some reason. "...You got the camera?" Knuckles suddenly asked Tails. "Right here!" Tails grinned, lifting up Opaline's phone, then using his powers to attach a drone to it. After that, Tails let the drone go, as it took flight and followed Sonic, Sunny and Opaline towards the sky, as it prepared to record the final battle between the villain and the two heroes. Opaline was screaming as she was flying out of control into the skies. However, it didn't took her long to regain her composure, flap her wings and shake her head, but she also rubbed her chin since that's where Sonic hit her. Speaking of him, both the golden blur and Sunny arrived, and the three unaware of this, the drone with Opaline's phone still recording the battle also arrived. Yeah! Opaline growled in anger as she stared at Sonic and Sunny. "You two have caused me enough trouble! If this fight is the only way I'll get that Cutie Mark, then so. Be. IT!" "Bring it on, Arcana!" Sonic challenged with a smirk, while Sunny grinned as well. Don't look down! Don't look down! Opaline groaned annoyed and launched herself against Sonic and Sunny. Sonic didn't thought twice and launched himself as well. Opaline fired a blast to him, but Sonic passed thought it and then punched Opaline. I've been here waiting for the longest time I can't believe it's real She was sent backwards and groaning in pain, a pain that increased when Sunny came from below and kicked her face with an air backflip. Opaline growled and started to blast against Sunny again, but the younger Alicorn has learned from her previous battle that dodging and clocking Opaline's attacks is not enough. So, with s grin, Sunny simply blocked the first two blasts, then dodged the third one, and then charged her own blast that Opaline didn't dodged, because she never expected Sunny to fight back. You lose the battles that you never fight Can't hide from what you feel Still, Opaline grit her teeth and blasted against her once more, but this time, Sonic came in the middle and shielded his sister with his own body. Once Opaline gave up with that attack, however, her eyes widened when Sonic and Sunny were not at sight, but then she yelped when somepony grabbed her from her tail. Sonic did so, then he began to twirl her around with a grin, and after 8 spins, he let her go, making her crash on a mountain with a loud thud that made the ground rumble, because the mountain cracked. (Come on!) No more compromise, this is do or die And now you've crossed the line You'll wake the beast inside However, the reason why the mountain cracked is not only because of Sonic throwing Opaline away, but also because Opaline herself was levitating the upper part of the mountain and ripping it apart. Then, we see her enraged, and with a warrior cry, she split the mountain in pieces and launched it against Sonic and Sunny. Both Sonic and Sunny gasped, but then Sunny reminded that she has trained with Knuckles before with similar objects, so she smirked and launched herself against the attack, surprising Sonic a lot. No more compromise, this is do or die I'll warn you one last time You'll wake the beast inside! Sunny used her horn to blast the pieces of the mountain in her way and turned them into small gems, golden rings, confetti, pink glitter and even pillows, all things that couldn't harm anyone. Sonic was impressed that she used her magic in the opposite way Opaline does, but he still smiled. And, not wanting to stay behind, Sonic boosted ahead and began to use the Cyloop into the mountain rubble, making it explode in the air while allowing clearing more path for him and Sunny. However, this seemed to enrage Opaline even further, so she levitated some rubble surrounding her and then burned it in fire, followed by shaping the rubble into literal daggers that she threw in a row against the heroes. Sonic and Sunny, however, grinned even more, and they boosted ahead towards the daggers. Sonic's body was fully protected thanks to Chaos Energy, which is why the daggers had no effect on him and melted when touching him. Meanwhile, Sunny used her magic to turn the daggers into harmless objects. Opaline shouted in rage, then flew straight to Sonic and almost punched him, but Sonic got away in the last minute. Too bad Sunny didn't had the same luck, because Opaline blasted a fire blast at her, one Sunny could barely dodge by covering herself in a magic shield of her own. You'll wake the beast inside! Sonic frowned upon this, so he quickly teleported behind Opaline and punched her back, sending her downwards. However, Opaline stomped in the ground and boosted back to the sky. This shocked Sonic, but he frowned and moved aside, letting her keep going straight up. Then, Sonic flew at her and grabbed her from her tails, pulling her down and then using his Phantom Rush to hit her multiple times at Super Sonic speed, not even letting her defend herself nor fight back at all. However, Opaline didn't had time for games, so she blasted him away once more. However, she never saw Sunny coming, who suddenly grabbed her from her neck and tried to tight her grip on her. You'll wake the beast inside! Surprised by this, Opaline began to swing around like a maniac mid-air, until she finally managed to get Sunny off. She also blasted a bunch of fire daggers against both Sonic and Sunny. However, the siblings noticed this, so they both used their powers to create a shield around them. This not only protected them from the daggers that Opaline was throwing at them, but it was also a great defense against her next two fire blasts, the second one making it as she flew closer to them. Don't look down! Don't look down! Seeing her so close made them split up, but it also made Sonic run out of patience. So, he decided to level up his game: His right hand was suddenly covered by Cyber Energy, but he was under control. He made the energy surround his entire body, and then, he released a massive expansion wave of Cyber Energy. When the wave dissipated, he had a new form: His quills and arms got similar marks to Shadow's, but they were glitching, and so were his shoes and gloves; he was now surround by a red aura, and his eyes were cyan blue. As simple as it looked, it is more powerful and chaotic than regular Super Sonic: It was Super Sonic 2. With his transformation completed, Sonic looked at Opaline with a serious and cold expression. His grin and cockiness were gone, but his mission remained the same: Stop Opaline for good and restore all the magic of Equestria. He looked at the Fire Alicorn, then pointed at her, then raised two while provoking her to come at him. So break through it all and don't look down You won't fade out, 'cause the fire in you never dies This enraged Opaline a lot, and without hesitation, she headed towards Sonic while blasting her magic again. However, Sonic simply moved his hand to the side, sending the attack in said direction like nothing. It comes around to light the flame They'll know your name, burned into their memory Opaline did got surprised after seeing this, but she refused to fall just yet, so she launched herself against Sonic with a warrior cry. However, Sunny first appeared in front of her and launched a beam of light, one Opaline could not dodge as she was hit, hurt and blurred by the attack, all in a matter of seconds. (So break through it all) Don't stop, we're on a mission Overdriving over all the competition Counting up the damage when it's done After that, Sonic crossed his arms and waited for Opaline to be closer. When she did, Sonic's eye looked at her, and in just an instant, he moved so fast that he not only hit her several times, but he also sent her across the sky, then she crashed against the ground painfully. Opaline lay painfully over the ground, while Sonic kept his arms crossed and gave her his back, but then he looked at her over his shoulder with a very cold expression. (So break through it all) We can't pretend to listen Sorry if it puts you in an imposition We won't stop until the battle’s won Opaline tried to stand up and fight back, but before she could even do so, Sunny suddenly appeared and blasted her back into he air with her own magic beam. This made Opaline grunt in pain again, but then, Sonic used the Quick Cyloop around her, making several golden chains hold her still on her place. Then, Sonic started to use several attack for a combo: Cross Slash, Cyclone Kick, Spin Slash, Homing Shoot, Loop Kick, and finally a Stomp Attack, making a lot of damage to the Fire Alicorn, who roared loudly in rage. What goes around comes back around again But Sonic was not done, because he then snapped his fingers, and then a massive laser came from the sky that hit Opaline and sent her downwards. There, Sunny charged against Opaline again by charging up another laser beam of her magic, then shoot it without hesitation. Opaline screamed loudly in rage and panic. But then, Sunny teleported in front of her, and then shoot a beam that divided and then hit her several times in different zones. And if we don't come down, we'll be lost in the wind Opaline once again screamed, this time in pain, then she was sent towards Sonic, who used his phantom Rush to create copies of himself and hit her even more. Then, with a snap, all his copies were gone, then Sonic himself charged Chaos Energy on his right fist and hit Opaline down, sending her back to her castle. The Fire Alicorn traverse the ceiling again, laying painfully on the ground after Sonic's punch. She barely noticed that the dragons, Tails and Knuckles were not here anymore. Not that she cared, anyways. (What goes around comes back around again) I know that we will find our way We'll do whatever it will take Soon enough, Sonic and Sunny both landed in her castle, stomping loudly their feet/hooves in the ground and making a green trial of magic come out of them. This is because Sunny's using her Earth Pony magic and Sonic his Ivy Power to make some vines grow behind Opaline and then suddenly grab her. "Agh!" Opaline cried out in panic, but then said panic incremented when another vine growed and grabbed her Cutie Mark away from her flank. "NO! My My mark! My power!" She extended her hoof in a desperate attempt to reach her Cutie Mark and get it back, but it has already been taken away and dragged by a vine, deep inside of the Together Tree of her castle. (And if we don't come down, we'll be lost in the wind) And if we never reach the crown We'll take the whole thing down "Your reign of terror ends here, Arcana!" Sonic said with anger, then he snapped his finger while at the exact same time Sunny shoot with her magic at the leaves that had all those Cutie Marks. Doing this free'd the Cutie Marks, as they all began to fly back to their respective owners. Meanwhile, Sonic snapped his fingers one last time, melting Opaline's amulet and freeing the rest of the Mane 6's Cutie Marks so they could also go back to their respective owners. Meanwhile, the roots that got Opaline began to drag her inside her tree, making her scream, but right before getting completely dragged, she hold into the tree and glared daggers at Sonic and Sunny. "This... isn't... over!" Opaline declared in rage. "I will come back! I always come back!" "You're not William Afton, witch," Sonic said calmly, although conserving his frown. "That phrase doesn't work for you." Don't look down! Don't look down! With that being said, they stomped their feet/hooves in the ground again, making the roots drag Opaline deep into the tree and bury her entirely, then the tree itself closed, which made Sonic and Sunny boost around the castle and tear it entirely down, then leave at top speed from there, as the castle collapsed behind them. Meanwhile, all around Equestria, each of the Together Trees released the Cutie Marks. Each one flew back to their respective owners, making the ponies smile in joy and glee that Opaline's defeated. At the same time, each of the rest of the Mane 6's Cutie Marks flew back to their owners, each of them smiling in joy, since they have their Cutie Marks back. They're also happy to know that Opaline was defeated. Sonic and Sunny were flying over the Brighthouse with smiles. Sonic's new form disappeared and returned him to the previous Super state, as he and Sunny appreciated the Equestria they just saved... At least for a few seconds, before the environment suddenly began to turn purple, which confused them both. "You didn't thought this is over, did you?" A sinister voice mixing male and female tones spoke, sending a shiver down Sonic's spine. "Ah, crap..." Sonic muttered, as both him and Sunny turned to see a giant purple moon descending from the sky, while a maniac laugh echoed across all Equestria, indicating this wasn't over... And then, the entire vision finishes to show a crystal ball over a table. We also see Sonic and Sunny in one side of said table, while Knuckles is at the other side, wearing a black cape that's covering his look for some reason. And then, Sonic looks at Knuckles with a confused look. "Knux... What the hell was that?!" To be continued... Author's Note Yeah, I know, none of you have an idea of what the hell just happened. That's because this is a two parter, and my intention was always to leave you all completely confused in the first part. Why? Well, I know some of you are not happy with my decision of not adapting Chapter 6 (some have been really annoying about this, even). That being said, I do wanted to write down "The Rise and Fall", but considering that's very Chapter 6-sy, I knew I had to find a way into explaining why and how is it canon to my story... So here we are! Now, what's the purpose of this two-parter? To show you a "What if" scenario of what would've I done if I did made Chapter 6. How? Well, Knuckles' gonna explain that next chapter better, but let's just say I'm using fragments of what I did for Project Endgame in here. In fact, some stuff I just shown could've be considered spoilers, but since you don't know what happens and what don't, I'll just leave it as a "possible future that won't happen if you have read this story so far". So yeah, these two episodes are gonna show what I could've done with Chapter 6 if I adapted it. I hope it is enough to feed your hunger of Chapter 6 from my part! Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in the second part. Bye!
79. The Crystal Ball - Part 220 Minutes earlier... In Maretime Bay, Sonic was loudly slurping a smoothie while laying on Sunny's smoothie cart. As Sunny herself kept doing her job and gave smoothies to the ponies of Maretime Bay, she also breaths fresh air and sighs happily, a mood she's been radiating more frequently ever since she beat the crap out of Eggman. Sonic noticed this, and even if he did scolded her for summoning Eggman without telling anypony but Hitch, he still felt kind of proud that she finally let go that ghost of her past. He does fear for her safety still, and he hopes Eggman won't ever pull a trick as cruel on her, or else he'll do some stuff he won't be very proud of... "You know? I haven't seen you this happy in a long time, sis," Sonic told Sunny with a genuine and kind smile. "After all the crap Eggman put you through months ago, it's good to finally see you smiling genuinely." "Well, I did managed to strike quite a punch at him!" Sunny pointed out with a smile. "I feel so relieved to finally have broken that chain that didn't allowed me to sleep at night. I can finally go through my routine and feel relaxed!" "If you ignore the fact that we still have to find Eggman and capture him for good, that is," Sonic reminded with a mocking tone. Not to mention we also still got a certain Alicorn to defeat." "Let's face a day at a time, okay?" Sunny suggested. "Sure, stopping Eggman and Opaline is important, and if we don't, we could all probably die, but I think we're already used to it at this point." "It took you a year and a half to get used to the constant chance of getting killed," Sonic told her as if it was something she should be proud of. "It took Tails, Knuckles, Amy and I like 3 or 4 years to get used to Eggman. I actually envy you!" "Should I feel flattered or concerned considering the kind of thing you envy me for?" Sunny asked with a chuckle, which made Sonic chuckle as well. However, just as they finished this short conversation, the Pippsqueaks passed in front of them in a rush, moving at top speed towards a certain direction. You may think this is normal, but the fact that several other ponies, some much older than the three fillies, also passed by and rushed into the same direction. The Pippsqueaks alone called Sonic and Sunny's attention already, but what seemed to be the whole town? Something big's going on. "We can agree that a bunch of ponies running to a certain place is strange, right?" Sonic asked Sunny. "Not really, but I do wonder what's getting them this excited," Sunny replied, then pull out a sign that said 'Be back after lunch!' and put it on the stand's counter, then exited the truck. "Let's go check it out ourselves! Maybe it's something worth our time!" "I really hope so," Sonic replied, finishing what's left of his smoothie, then throwing the cup into a trash can, and then rushing along Sunny to where everypony else head to. Once they reach the same place, they noticed a bunch of ponies seeing curiously at a big and brown tent that had a big sign at the top of the entrance, this one reading 'Crystal Ball Fortune Teller'. Realizing this, Sunny raised an eyebrow intrigued, while Sonic deadpanned. "A fortune teller... Really? Isn't Amy precisely that but with cards? What's a ball made of glass gonna tell? Get a free pie out of nowhere right after someone comes out of that tent?" And right after he said that, Izzy jumped out of the tent with a smile. "The crystal ball told me that there is a super yummy pie in my future!" This was already surprising for Sonic, but before he could say something else, Hitch came out of nowhere with a smile, holding a pie and extending it to Izzy. "Here you go. Iz. I know how much you love pie." "Whoa!" Izzy cheered with sparkling eyes. "Did you ponies see that?! Mind totally blown! Whaaaa!" Right after this, Izzy took the pie and started to eat it, while Sunny was jaw dropped and Sonic had wide eyes, one even twitching. He then took out some reading glasses and a book. Said book said 'The Crystal Ball - Part 2: Script' on the front, and Sonic started to read it anxiously. "I need to check who's the writer of this episode, because they cannot keep getting away with this!" Sonic said in anger. "That was... Well, something..." Sunny said confused and still shocked. Just then, Pipp came out of nowhere and looked at the tent with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Okay, I gotta try this!" Just as she said this and entered the tent, Zipp, Hitch, Tails and Amy followed along, although Amy seemed kind of mad for some reason. Sonic and Sunny, however, didn't seemed to trust this tent that much. And then after a moment, Hitch came out of the tent with a panicked look. "The crystal ball said I was gonna lose Sparky!" He cried out, looking around for his baby dragon while Sunny looked at him in panic. "Sparky?! Sparky?! SPARKYYYYY!" "Where is he?!" Sunny exclaimed in worry. Then, Zipp came out with a smirk. "Calm down, you two. The crystal ball told me that I would find Sparky," She said, and then, Shadow suddenly arrived with a bored expression, while he opened a path on his left arm, allowing Spike to crawl through it and then climb to his head, much to Hitch and Zipp's surprise. "Huh. Would you look at that?" Sparky seemed to happy around Shadow, and when he almost fell by doing a front flip from Shadow's head, Shadow himself just caught him by extending his arms, while Sparky babbled happily after getting caught. Then, Shadow looked at Hitch with a bored expression. "Your son has been following me the whole day," Shadow said, no specific tone on his voice, he simply told Hitch the truth. "Heheh... Sorry for that..." Hitch apologized sheepishly, quickly getting Sparky on his hooves while Shadow teleported away. Next, Pipp came out of the tent with a frown. "Ugh! Get real! That ball thingy told me I wouldn't be able to stop squawking like a bird. What? As if," She scoffed, just before she made a squawking sound, which made her cover her moth in shock. "Oh, no! Oh, no-no-no-no!" She then squawked again. "No-no-no-no-no!" She then ran off, making the others look at her confused before Pipp squawked again. "Okay... four predictions in a row..." Sonic said with wide eyes and concern. "I'm actually scared." Now, Tails came out of the tent while scratching his neck confused. "Huh. The crystal ball says I'm gonna fly away anytime a sneeze for no reason the rest of the day. I probably should be concerned, but come on. How bad can it really––" He tried to say, but then he sneezed and flew away, landing on his stomach over a lamppost, groaning in pain. "Never mind..." He then slid and landed on the ground painfully, while Zipp looked concerned and rushed to him. "That's... five in a row..." Sunny pointed out. "This starts to get creepy." And finally, Amy came out of the tent with an anxious look. "So the crystal ball said that my hammer's gonna be thrown at me... I feel in danger now." "Okay, that's quite an impossible one," Sonic said with a confident smirk, also crossing his arms. "Amy's hammer is as heavy as a car, there's no way someone can throw it at––" Yet just before Sonic finished talking, Amy's hammer fell right on her head and made her hold it in pain while groaning, then he and Sunny looked up at Rouge, who was covering her mouth with wide eyes. "Oh gosh, Amy! I-I'm sorry! I-I just wanted to bring you back your hammer!" Rouge said concerned. Amy just groaned, picked up her hammer and walked away, leaving Sonic and Sunny with their jaws dropped. If the bar was set to just two or three, both of them would've label wall that happened as simple coincidences. However, six guesses ina. row was alarming, and they had a terrible feeling about this. "Okay. Six in a row. Whoever's inside there, knows what they're doing," Sonic said with concern. "There has to be some sort of trick behind all of this..." Sunny stated. "Whoever's guessing this cannot get everything right, can they?" "Just one way to find out..." Sonic declared, as he stepped inside the tent, and Sunny followed him. Inside the tent, Sonic and Sunny found themselves confused, yet also surprised. Everywhere they looked, there were several cut cardboard signs, some having the word 'fortune', some having the word 'luck', and the majority of them had the word 'future' in them. "Huh... Okay... Whoever hosts this place knows their brand pretty well," Sonic commented with an amusing smirk. "Maybe too much..." Sunny said unease, since there was also a bunch of creepy triangles with an eye around. "I wouldn't pay any mind to those things," Sonic advised her. "Is just a shape with a human eye, what's the worse it can do?" But then they heard a hum coming from inside the tent, and then, they saw a table with a mantle, as well as the crystal ball their friends have been talking about. At the other side, a creature covered by a cape with a cover sat and hummed, awaiting for both Sonic and Sunny to approach. "Seems like we found our fortune teller..." Sonic deadpanned and approached them, with Sunny hesitantly following behind. They sat down at the other side of the table, but as they noticed the little light in the room, they noticed the red skin of the covered creature, as well as his white and big boxing gloves with spikes in the knuckles. This sell away who was at the other side, shocking the two siblings. "KNUCKLES?!" Both of them shouted. "Heya!" Knuckles said happily while waving his hand, before clearing his throat and adopt his fortune teller posture. "Come, my child, and let me show you the wonders of the future––" "Cut the act, Knucklehead!" Sonic interrupted. "The hell are you doing?!" "And where did you get that crystal ball?!" Sunny asked confused. "A-And how are you guessing the future precisely as it happens?!" "Well, it all started when I found this crystal ball in the basement," Knuckles began to narrate. "When I touched it, the ball said my future had a stack of grapes waiting for me. I didn't pay too much mind at first, but as soon as I put the crystal ball back on it's place and went to the kitchen, guess what I found?!" Sonic and Sunny looked at each other, then back at Knuckles. "A stack of grapes?" "A stack of grapes!" Knuckles said happily with sparkling eyes, before clearing his throat and calm himself down. "Now, it said that the stack of grapes would be found on the fridge, yet I found it on a box over the kitchen's table. That help me discover how the predictions of the ball work." "Wait, what?" Sonic said confused. "Turns out the crystal ball shows you fragments of the future, just not precisely what will happen or how," Knuckles started to explain. "For example, Izzy saw a pie on her future, right? Yet the ball shown her that she'll find the pie, but instead, I heard from here that Hitch give it to her. See what I mean?" "So you found this random crystal ball that shows some kind of possible future combining fake elements and actual ones that will happen, right?" Sunny asked, as Knuckles nodded. "So what are you doing here exactly with it?" "Well, Maretime Bay's school needs some money to repair a classroom that flood last week, and also some new instruments, so I said 'Screw it, let's make money by showing ponies their future'!" Knuckles replied with a smile. "...Wait, you're playing like a Fortune Teller for charity?" Sonic asked. "That... That's actually pretty sweet. But was the Illuminati logo necessary, though? I find it kinda strange to be here." "Illumi–– what now?" Knuckles asked confused. "I don't know what are you talking about, Hedgehog, 'cause I saw those statues and they remind me of Bill Cypher, so I used them because of that." "...Honestly, I'm impressed you don't know what are the Illuminati..." Sonic confessed. "Let's keep it that way." "Right..." Sunny rolled her eyes, then focused on Knuckles. "Well, now that we're here, we might as well get a glance to our future as well!" She smiled. "Great!" Knuckles said, then extended his open palm. "But if you want me to make the ball show your future, you gotta pay for the school. It's 10 bucks per person." "I'll usually complain you're charging up your own friends, but since this is charity we're talking about, makes sense you make no exceptions," Sonic said with a smirk, then payed his 10 bucks, while Sunny did the same. "Well, then. Let the vision begin!" Knuckles stated. "Oh, but before that, quick warning: The vision you'll see can either last a few seconds or a few minutes. However, here in the real world, it's just around 4 or 5 seconds, so you won't be delaying the line outside the tent." "That's pretty clever, actually," Sunny said with a smile. "I wonder why you found that crystal ball in the basement, though. I mean, Dad didn't had it... Or at least I don't remember have seen it before..." "We can find that out later, Sunny," Sonic suggested. "Now hit us with our future, Knucklehead!" "Just remember: You asked for it!" Knuckles warned them. After saying this, Knuckles put his hands on the crystal ball and activated it, then let Sunny and Sunny have their vision, as their eyes turned blue for a moment while they stared for five seconds at the crystal ball. However, when their eyes went back to normal, they looked over at Knuckles extremely confused. "Knux... What the hell was that?!" Sonic asked in panic with wide eyes. "I dunno, I didn't saw what you," Knuckles shrugged. "T-That thing... I-It showed us a really creepy scenario!" Sunny said. "Sonic and Eggman were working together, Opaline was stealing Cutie Marks, Sonic had a strange yet cool power up, w-we literally beat the crap out of Opaline!" "Not to mention, THE END!" Sonic shouted. "What was The End doing there, and why did the vision finished right before showing us what The End planned to do?!" "Calm down, you two!" Knuckles spoke. "As I said, the vision don't shows you exactly what will happen, it just mixes actual future events with fake ones and mixes them into a possible scenario, just not the one that will happen." "So what we just saw might happen but in a different way?!" Sunny asked in panic. "Pretty much," Knuckles nodded. "Why, thank you, Knucklehead! Now I feel so much better!" Sonic spoke with sarcasm and rolled his eyes. "We didn't even got the full picture! I need to see that until the very end!" He stated, then put other 10 bucks in the table. "Me too! It cannot end with The End coming out of nowhere, right?!" Sunny said concerned, also placing other 10 bucks. "Eh, do as you want, you two. You're helping the cause, so I guess another peek won't hurt," Knuckles said, snapping his fingers and allowing the siblings to continue their vision. The sky changed from its usual blue and switched to a deadly purple color. Then, in the middle of all Equestria, the ground started to glow in a crimson red color, while seven gigantic arms with just three fingers emerged and stomped the ground, making it rumble violently. Soon, the source of the arms began to rise from the mysterious portal in the ground. This creature seemed to be a giant and corrupted version of an Ancient: It was a black creature with red veins all over their body, 8 fin-like protrusions on the back of their head, a tall bulge on top, and 8 red eyes. They also had a red aura surrounding them, as well as a strange red symbol floating behind them, which works as the wings of this creature. Finally, they had one single leg that looked like a sharp sword. This creature was none other than the killer of the Ancients' planet: The End, on its final and true form. The End roared loudly in rage and then went down to the ground, placing its main arms in front while the other five moved wildly behind. It then looked forward to stare at Sonic with anger, while Sonic himself stared back feeling the same. He then closed his eyes, charged up Cyber Energy on his right hand, then snapped his fingers. With this, his body released a wave of Cyber Energy, while he transformed into Super Sonic 2 again and glared daggers at The End. He was beyond ready to take this entity down once and for all. The End cyber corrupted the Together Trees and feed on the ponies magic, leaving them weak and useless. So now, Sonic's gonna make sure he's gone for good. Thankfully, he has learned that The End's real form is mortal, so destroying him this time will actually kill the entity for good. Feeling confident, Sonic pointed a finger at The End, then raised two while provoking it to come at him. He wanted it to be the first one attacking, make it loose its cool and aim at him, something that worked. The End roared in anger, and so, it launched several spheres of Cyber energy against Sonic in an attempt to damage him, but each time any of those attacks was gonna hit Sonic, he always raised his left hand and moved the attack away like nothing, like if it wasn't even a problem. The attack ended up destroying a big portion of the ground instead, but The End didn't seemed impressed with the attacks... Except that the last one Sonic dodged went at it instead of the ground. The attack stunned The End, long enough for Sonic to start punching him with a combo of several attacks: Spin Slash, then Phantom Rush, then Loop Kick, then some regular punches by multiplying himself, then another Spin Slash, then more punches at Super Sonic speed, and finally Quick Cyloop. This caused a golden gust of wind to lift up The End in the air, and even though it tried to attack Sonic again, he parried the attack, then began to punch The End again with Phantom Rush and another Loop Kick. And finally, Sonic punched The End a bit more before snapping his fingers, which made a massive golden laser came from the sky and hit The End, stunning the former Ancient for a second, before Sonic took advantage of his two most powerful moves: Phantom Rush and Stomp Attack. With this, The End was now weakened and roared in pain, but Sonic knew that wouldn't be enough. So, he focused some Cyber Energy and snapped his fingers, which made an exact replica of Supreme appear. After this, Eggman floated on his Eggmobile towards the top of the Titan, where a free spot was available for him to attach his vehicle. He did so, and soon, Supreme turned on with blue lights, indicating the Titan was in Eggman's control. He then looked ahead at Sonic and nodded with a smirk, while Sonic nodded back. Follow me I'm standing on the border of everything Listen close Yet The End recovered faster than anyone would've liked, then it roared in anger and shoot a bunch of daggers made of Cyber Energy against the three Equestrian cities, as well as against Eggman and Supreme. Can you hear the spirits sing Lost messages of long ago? (Long ago?) Seeing this, Sage gasped and quickly moved ahead to create a massive shield that protected both the Titan and her father. However, the daggers in the other three cities were still moving at top speed, and Sage gasped again, because she knew that she didn't had enough power to protect the three pony towns. (GO!) However, this was a problem that she didn't had to solve, because suddenly, an orange shield was activated over maretime Bay, then a red one in Bridlewood, and finally a yellow one in Zephyr Heights. These shields were activated by Shadow, Knuckles and Tails respectively. Shadow had to remove his inhibitor rings so he could use Chaos Control to make the shield in Maretime Bay, while both Knuckles and Tails had to exceed their limits with their powers to explode the magical side and create their shields. (YEAH!) Seeing that the cities and themselves were safe, Sage smiled, then looked ahead at Sonic and nodded, while Sonic nodded back and the looked at The End, who roared in rage at the fact it couldn't kill anyone. Leave the life you knew before See a new world worth fighting for Sonic boosted ahead towards The End, but before he could pull the trick he wanted to, the creature roared again and covered its head with its main arms, while it moved wildly the other five in the air. Noticing this, Sonic moved ahead and approached the other arms, then parried and sent The End a bit backwards. Find the truth of who I'm meant to become Another path I must now walk on Followed by this, Sonic began to hit The End until his Phantom Rush was charged, then made a Stomp Attack, and then finished off this short combo with a Wild Rush. I'm here Reaching far across these new frontiers With my life I fight this fear Sonic repeated the same combo up to the Stomp Attack, because when he was ready to punch The End's face again, the creature began to launch Cyber Energy spheres at him again. Noticing this, Sonic stopped and began to dodge them all, and once all of them were gone, The End roared in rage again. In my hands I hold the ones I love Walk forward through the cold dawn Always to new horizons After that, Sonic crossed his arms and waited for The End to attack, something it did as it approached him like a spider ready to bite on it's prey and eat it with no mercy. However, The End's plan failed, because as it was face to face with Sonic, the latter's eye looked at it, and in just an instant, he moved so fast that he not only hit The End several times, but he also made it roll painfully in the ground, until it was laying on its back and loudly groaning in pain. Meanwhile, Sonic gave his back to The End and kept his arms crossed, but then he looked at The End over his shoulder with a very cold expression that only radiated his hate for the former Ancient. Getting up and more enraged than before, The End ducked down and allowed its other five arms to charge up the biggest Cyber Energy sphere yet, one that it shot directly at Sonic with no shame nor remorse. Seeing this, Sonic placed his hands in front and attempted to stop the attack, but he couldn't do so. This also caused him to go back into normal Super Sonic, as his eyes went red again, his shoes and gloves were not glitching anymore, the red of his arms and quills disappeared, and got a golden aura instead of red again. Come with me We'll travel through the trials and tragedy Blessed and bleak He thought he could stop the attack... But that was not the case, because the attack was so strong that it even sent him back to his regular self, with the Chaos Emeralds getting out of his body, and when Sonic noticed this, he panicked, and then the attack pushed him backwards, making him loose a lot of rings in the process. Can you hear the spirits shout The secrets in their melodies? (Their melodies?) Eventually, the sphere exploded right in Sonic's face, making an explosion that could make anyone think Sonic was gone, and that The End has gotten exactly what it wanted. But that wasn't the case, because when the smoke of the explosion faded away, Sonic was completely fine, the Emeralds still surrounding him and everything. He smirked, then snapped his fingers and turned back into Super Sonic, before closing his eyes and start to charge the Cyber Energy of his body again. Dream Explore the mysteries Breathe A new life is revealed to me It took him a while, but he eventually his gloves and shoes glitched again, his arms and quills got red lines, his golden aura turned red , and his eyes switched to cyan blue, meaning he once again turn into Super Sonic 2. Once again we'll start our story anew Don't be afraid I will be with you Then, he took a deep breath, before pointing ahead at The End, open his eyes again, and then dare it to come at him. He was so glad that this new form was working, that Master King's trial has awakened a power he never knew he needed, and now, he was ready to go all out on The End if necessary. I'm here Reaching far across these new frontiers With my life I fight this fear The End lost its patience and charged up a laser against Sonic, but the Golden Blur didn't dodged it this time: He parried it, and then teleported to the place where the attack would fall and parried it again. This sent the attack towards The End and stunned it in place, then Sonic went towards The End's chest and punched it towards the air. Once there, Sonic moved his hands and feet like if he was punching the air, and then sent those attacks against The End, hitting it and moving it even more upwards. In my hands I hold the ones I love Walk forward through the cold dawn Always to new horizons Then, as The End was falling towards him, Sonic closed his eyes and extended his left hand, then closed it into a fist, flew upwards, and sent The End towards space in the process, stunning it again. Noticing this, Eggman gasped, and then frowned with a determinate look. "Sonic, it's now or never!" He stated, pulling out Supreme's sniper and holding it for use. Hearing this, Sonic turned to his nemesis and nodded, then he flew ahead and entered Supreme's sniper, the Titan still being controlled by Eggman. Once Sonic reached the very deep end of the sniper, he came to a stop and let out a sigh, remembering Master King's words... "That power is a fragile thing and it was not meant to you. It has been synchronized to your form as best it can, but if used recklessly, the power will leave you entirely." Sonic sighed again, then turned around to face the sniper's exit. "Sorry, Master King. Looks like I'm going all-out after all!" After saying this, Sonic closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, and then he let the Cyber Energy remaining on his body take control over his entire body as Super Sonic 2. Now, not only his gloves, shoes and red body lines were glitching, but his whole body in general started to glitch out as well. He was still grunting in pain, but then he opened his eyes and nodded to himself, then let out a combination of a warrior and painful cry, as the Cyber Energy kept extending though his body. Sonic was now glitching completely in blue, then he extended his right hand, his left leg, and then his head started to move like crazy while glitching, as his eyes turned into blue spirals and he cried out in pain. Eggman took Sonic's screams of agony as his sign to shoot, so he started to elevate the sniper and pointed it as much as he could to The End. However, to make absolutely sure that he'll hit it, he used his super hight tech advanced glasses to calculate the exact point he'll shot at. (Whoa) It took him a moment to calibrate the exact point where he'll shot, but he eventually managed to do it. (Ohhh, Who-o-ohhh) (Who-o-ohhh) (Who-ohhh) Once he did, Eggman didn't had to think twice and shoot the sniper, releasing Sonic from it... But now with his new aspect, he wasn't Super Sonic 2 anymore. He was Cyber Super Sonic. Standing here (Standing here) The way ahead's becoming clear All across these new frontiers Sonic zig-zagged in the air and growled in anger as he headed towards The End, while the former Ancient's eyes widened in terror, since it knew that it was finished. Its entire plant, all the chaos it caused across Equestria, all the magic it stole from the ponies... In the end it was all for nothing, because it lost. Meanwhile, Sonic let out a warrior cry with his eyes closed and his hands extended, then he closed his hands in fists and traversed The End in space, making the entity scream in pain and charge up to explode. In my hands I hold the ones I love Walk forward through the cold dawn Always to new horizons After traversing The End and release all the Cyber Energy of his body, Sonic fell unconscious as regular Super Sonic. His body was dirty and beaten up, meaning that going all-out on The End made him use more energy than he should've... But even if Sonic fell unconscious, he was smiling, because he managed to give The End the definitive blow that actually killed it forever, even though he had knowledge on this last fact. As for The End? Well, it exploded and died, finally putting an end to all the atrocities it made to Equestria, to the Ancients, and to Sonic's and Longclaw's ancestors forever. Their souls could finally rest in peace. Once the second vision ended, Sonic and Sunny blinked and shook their heads. As they did so, Knuckles raised an eyebrow. "So? How did it went?" "...I... I don't really know what the heck I just saw..." Sonic replied. "But if that's my future, well, might as well start writing down my testament." "...I don't know what I saw, either..." Sunny said, as she and Sonic stood up and head to the exit. "Uh, thanks for showing us that, Knuckles... I guess... Um, good luck with the charity!" "Good luck in therapy! I feel you're gonna need it after whatever you just saw," Knuckles replied with a smile. "For once, you might actually be right, Knucklehead..." Sonic said anxiously, exiting the tent along Sunny. "Hmm... Should've I tell them that whatever the crystal ball shows them will be forgotten in 24 hours just to leave the timeline intact since knowing the future could kill us all?" Knuckles wondered, then shrugged. "Eh, they won't remember tomorrow anyways." Once outside of the tent, Sonic and Sunny were received by Tails. "Oh, there you are!" Tails said with a smile, then flew ahead and put his arms around his siblings' necks. "So? How did it went? What did the crystal ball told you, guys?" As he asked this, Pipp suddenly came to them. "I hope for your sake it had––" She suddenly squawked again. "––nothing to do with birds!" She then gave another squawk and began to sob. "Why?!" Sonic and Sunny looked at each other over Tails' head, and even if they shared no words, just by looking at each other they silently agreed into keep what they saw in the crystal ball to themselves and not tell anyone. After all, how do you tell your friends you saw some of them mind controlled and some without Cutie Marks? "In a little bit of a slump: Some wild months are awaiting us..." Sonic replied with a little smile. "Yeah, that's the best way to describe it," Sunny agreed, then both of them walked away, leaving Tails and Pipp confused. "Uh, you guys realize how little that sentence narrows your vision down, right?" Tails called out, following them. "Yeah! I need to know if you guys have a bird fortune or something!" Pipp said, just before squawking again. "AW, COME ON!" On his lab, Eggman was walking back and forth as he held a book. Not so far, Sage had her eyes closed, touching one side of Eggman's computer that glitched to her touch. Eggman has been searching the past few months for a power source that can literally tear apart the wall that separates this reality from any other one, a power that can afford him the ability to travel across universes. With the Chaos Emeralds on Team Sonic's power, Eggman had no choice but look after a different power source if he wanted to gain access to other realities. Thankfully, he created a new body for Sage, and now she's twice as useful and helpful as she was when Cyberspace transformed her program into a living being. "I'm so glad to have you here, Sage," Eggman confessed with a smile, but still looking at the book he was holding. "To tell the truth, getting a new body for you was pretty difficult, but... it was worth it. You are my greatest creation, and I couldn't stand the idea of loosing you, so... having you here, by my side... feels surreal to me." Sage opened her eyes and looked at Eggman for a second, before smiling warmly at him. "I'm glad to hear that, father," She said. "I just wish I could have been here before, physically, to help you out better." "No need to apologize, dear," Eggman assured. "If anything, my recent failures have opened my mind a bit: If I wanna defeat that hedgehog, first I'll have to conquer any world to prove him how superior I really am." "Father... I know you answered this on Cyberspace, but... Why do you keep respecting Sonic the same way you hate him?" Sage asked confused, as she retired her hand from the computer, that shut down after she did that. "I get you are enemies and it's a common thing, but... why not just finish him off directly?" Eggman put the book aside and rubbed his chin with a raised eyebrow. "Hmm... perhaps I could explain to you why this is so important. Alright, kid. Listen closely: Sonic is a formidable foe. He's a pest that loves to make stupid and unfunny jokes, true: But he's a great fighter. He doesn't use his speed to run away, no: He turns it into a weapon! He's smart, he has courage, and he's willing to stop me even if could cost his own life!" "Just like how he handled the Cyber Corruption... even if it was killing him..." Sage remarked. "Perfect example, Sage!" Eggman said with pride. "He's that formidable! If only he didn't messed up with my plans, perhaps we could actually hang around the same way he hangs with Shadow. But since we are enemies, I need to prove myself to be just as formidable! The Death Egg Titan was, probably, the nearest I've ever been to fulfill my dream, but he still ruined everything." "So... you wanna be at his level?" Sage asked. "That's one way to see it," Eggman replied. "I don't want him death, even though I've been close to murder him a few times. I want to prove him that I'm superior, that I'm better than him! Conquering everything he knows and loves and crush it before his eyes! And after all of that... I don't know. Maybe I will kill him, or just turn him into a robot, only time will tell!" Sage placed a hand on her chin, thinking about everything she heard, and comparing the new data with all the one she just downloaded from Eggman's computer. After processing all the data for a couple of seconds, she opened her eyes with a determinate look and a smile towards Eggman. "I think I have something that might help you with you wish, father." Eggman raised an eyebrow again at her. "Proceed." Sage made her hand glow, and one of the many books spread on the ground floated, opened in a page, and then it moved towards Eggman, who grabbed the book and took a closer look at the object he was looking at: Some kind of weird looking prism of four different colors, these ones being red, green, yellow and blue. "This is the Paradox Prism," Sage began to explain. "According to all the data I gathered, it's a legendary prism with the ability to tear apart the invisible wall that separates this reality from any other one." Eggman's eyes widened and he looked between the image of the prism and Sage. "I'm sorry, what?!" He shouted in surprise, but also in disbelief. "The Prism has powerful abilities that go beyond imagination," Sage began to explain. "It is powerful enough to destroy every wall between this world and any other one. If you had this in your power, you could travel to any world you wanted with no problem! You could conquer many worlds were Sonic does not exist, or even join forces with your counterparts across the entire multiverse!" Eggman saw the image in awe, and an evil grin was drawn over his face. "Dear, could you please do that thing of yours?" Sage grinned back, and with just moving one hand, she made an hologram of the Paradox Prism be projected, which made Eggman's grin grow bigger, if that's even possible. "With this Prism... I could not only conquer my world and Equestria... every single reality in existence could be at the palm of my hand..." Eggman said with joy, then he turned to see Sage and he caressed softly her head. "Good job, my girl. Now, prepare searching units! We must find this Prism and explode all it's capabilities!" "Yes, father!" Sage replied. THE END...? Author's Note So? Did you guys liked this concept? Keep in mind that, as Knuckles said, these visions only shown some stuff that will happen, just not how. After all, I'm not making Chapter 6 (yes, I have to repeat it so it stays clear). I cannot really say much about this second part 'cause pretty much all I wanted to share previously was already done in the first part. However, I do wanna share The End's true form so you all can appreciate it since, again, I don't like putting images in the middle of my stories: Pretty sick, right? I know it is. Well, thanks for reading this chapter, and I'll see you all on Tuesday for the series finales. Bye!
80. Friends ForeverIn the Crystal Brighthouse, Sonic was at his side of the bedroom. He was holding the Blue Chaos Emerald in his right hand, and he stared at it for a few seconds. Then, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on triggering his electrical powers to affect the Emerald. His powers seemed to be doing something at first, because the Emerald was genuinely glowing, but it eventually began to fade away, even though Sonic's powers were still afloat. He tried his best to keep the Emerald glowing, but when it stopped doing so, he groaned frustrated and frowned, as his powers deactivated. He's been trying to trigger the message that Longclaw left for him, the one where she reveals his ancestors come from Equestria. However, no matter how hard he uses his powers, the message simply won't show up. "Was the message a one time thing only?" Sonic questioned concerned to himself. "Why would Longclaw leave a message for me, and then never let me hear it whenever I want ever again? That makes no sense..." Saying that Sonic missed Longclaw was just a soft way to put it. She was the whole world to him, the one that loved him and raised him like a son despite being a different species. She taught him to walk, to control his powers, to talk, to read, to write... She meant everything to him, and one day, she was gone forever. That message she recorded in the Chaos Emerald seems to be all he has left to physically interact with her in some way... But as much as he has tried to trigger the message, it simply won't work. This had him depressed. That's his only way to at least see her from time to time, and it turns out he can't trigger it anymore? Why would Longclaw do this? Why would she make a message and record it, just for him to be unable to see it and hear her voice, see her face ever again? What was the point? "Why did you do this to me, Mom?" Sonic mumbled to himself with disappointment, but also with anger. "Sonic?" Sunny's voice suddenly called out, and it pull the hedgehog away from his thoughts. Sunny went into the bedroom looking after Sonic. The entire group was preparing to eat their dinner, cooked by Knuckles, but since Sonic was taking too long, she came to see what's taking him so long. Yet she could already tell she came in a bad moment, judging by Sonic's slight frown, as well as the fact that he's holding the Blue Chaos Emerald AND the fact that she and everyone else already know he's been trying to trigger Longclaw's message again for the past few days. "...This is a bad moment, isn't it?" Sunny asked with a cringed expression. "...Maybe..." Sonic replied, then looked away. "I suppose you and everyone else are already waiting for me, right?" "I–– Yeah," Sunny went straight to the point. She has learned to be direct and not mess around when Sonic's mad. "I wanted to check on you, but again; it seems I came in a bad moment." "Eh, it's fine. I'm starting to think triggering that message is a lost cause, anyways," Sonic shrugged. "I'll be down in a minute, or maybe two. I... I wanna calm myself down before I get really mad and say something I don't want to..." Sunny understood that, but instead of leaving, she decided to stay, sitting down next to Sonic since he's on the edge of his bed, and she wanted to cheer him up a bit, even if it won't work. "...You miss her that much, don't you?" Sunny asked, trying to approach the matter as careful as possible. "Everyday, at all times," Sonic replied with a sad smile. "It almost feels like I can't let go just yet. No matter how many times I tell myself is for the best, I... I simply can't do it..." "...I understand," Sunny said, sighing sadly as she spotted from the corner of her eye the framed picture of her as a filly, riding over her dad's back that was resting over the nightstand besides her bed. "My dad died after I turned 19. Ever since, I have tried to stay as positive as when he was around, but... It not always works. Sometimes, I just want to curl into a ball, cover myself with my sheets and––" "Cry until no tears can be dropped anymore..." Sonic finished for her, and she looked over at him surprised, a surprise that faded away when she remembered they have gone through the same kind of lost. "After Longclaw died, I used to cry under the borrowed sheets Tails gave me whenever I stay on his workshop. It was the only way I could release my sorrow so I wouldn't be harsh on people... Not again, anyways." "You started doing that before or after you, uh, tried to finish Eggman?" Sunny asked. "After," Sonic replied. "It also happened after I hurt someone else, someone I used to care for, but now days I know she hates me..." "Who?" Sunny asked again. "...She's a princess, too. I... snapped at her after Longclaw died," Sonic replied. "Well, I snapped at almost anyone. The 6 months following Longclaw's death were just me being a grumpy hedgehog that threat you like trash simply because I had no better ways to release my anger. Knuckles and Amy offered me to train so I could release my anger in a fight, and while I eventually accepted the offer, it took me a therapist and Tails slapping me to realize what I was doing." "And what happened with that girl you also threat badly?" Sunny asked one more time. "She hates me," Sonic replied with a chuckle. "I... I tried to make things up, but she doesn't want to. I don't really blame her, though, since I said really rude things that a simple 'sorry' can't fix. Maybe she'll never forgive me." "Never say never, Sonic," Sunny told him with a smile. "Maybe not in the near future, but I'm sure she'll accept your apology someday. No one can stay mad forever!" "With her attitude? I wouldn't be so sure," Sonic replied with a shrug. "It's fine, though. You can't get along with everyone, but you don't really have to." "I'll usually disagree, but Opaline is a pony that hates everypony because they're not Alicorns, so..." Sunny said while making circles with her hoof, also smiling sheepishly. "No exactly my point, but eh, I guess it works, too," Sonic smirked. "At least I'm trying to help!" Sunny pointed out with a smile. "For example, do you feel mad still?" "No... I'm still frustrated I can't trigger the message, though," Sonic replied sadly. "Like, your dad left you a message you can watch at anytime with your projector. Why did Longclaw made a message for me too, but I can't watch it as well? Sorry if it comes out as me complaining or being rude, but... I just wanna see her and hear her voice again..." "I know you're just sad that you can't trigger the message, Sonic," Sunny assured him with a smile, even placing a hoof on his shoulder. "Really! I know you'll like to see her again, even if it's only through a message." "Still, I shouldn't be complaining about this with you," Sonic pointed out. "You're here to cheer me up and make sure I'm fine, while all I do is complain about this message because... Even if I don't show it, I'm jealous of you, Sunny. You can watch your dad's message anytime, and I can't even watch my mother's..." Sunny was surprised to hear that Sonic was jealous of her. She has heard that from many ponies, actually, but that is because they're jealous she got Alicorn powers. That's probably why they only liked her as an Alicorn that one time, because they wanted to feel they were special since they thought she was special. Sure, she is special, but because she's who she is, not because of a horn an a pair of wings that technically do not exist, they're just projections that come and fade away when she wants them to. Yet the reason Sonic's jealous of her... Is because she can watch a death familiar she was so close with through a recorded message that he left for her, while he cannot even trigger it anymore. This is... New for her, but she also feels bad for something that not even her can control... Or can she? An idea suddenly popped into her mind, and she smiled widely, then looked over at Sonic. "You're trying to trigger the message from the Emerald itself, right?" "Yeah," Sonic replied, then raised a brow. "Why do you ask?" "I'm thinking... If the Emerald are part magic, can't I try to use my own to trigger the message?" Sunny suggested with a smile, but Sonic didn't shared the joy she's having. "What?! Are you nuts?!" Sonic exclaimed with panic. "I mean, I appreciate the offer of help, I really do! But, you think you can handle their power? I know Shadow and I've been training you, but there's no guarantee that you won't have another 'Chaos Pocks' situation! I... I don't want that to happen to you, ever again." "I know you're worried for me, Sonic, and I really appreciate it!" Sunny said with a smile, also giving Sonic a big and tight hug. "However, I'm a grown mare. I can take care of myself, thank you. And, I'm pretty sure that I can handle the power of the Emeralds!" "But what if you can't?!" Sonic asked with panic. "Well, it's worth the shot," Sunny replied. "We'll never know until we try." Sonic really disliked this idea, but he knows Sunny: When she gets an idea about something, anything, she won't stop until said idea is put into test. He probably hates that of her because, well, he's the exact same. Groaning, Sonic rubbed his face with a hand, then deadpanned at his sister figure. "Fine! But Imma help you out with my own power, because I seriously don't want you going Godzilla fused with Chaos again!" "Be my guest!" Sunny pulled her tongue out playfully, making Sonic roll his eyes in annoyance. Still, he let her made her Alicorn form appear and then surround the Blue Chaos Emerald in her magic. Followed by this, Sunny made a small trial of magic come out of her horn and touch the Chaos Emerald, while Sonic did the same by extending his hand and releasing part of his electrical powers over it. Yet this didn't seemed to be doing what they wanted it to do. Instead, the Chaos Emerald's energy started to fight back by using Sonic and Sunny's bridges of power to pass its own to them. This made them panic, and they tried to cancel what they were doing, but the Emerald reacted even faster than them and interacted with their minds, making their eyes go fully white and remain freeze in the exact same position. Whatever Sonic was going to say, since he opened his mouth, died out when the Emerald took over him. Sonic and Sunny blinked and shook their heads, feeling dizzy about what just happened. However, once they came back to their senses, they both gasped as they realized that they were no long in the Crystal Brighthouse, but instead in a strange and dark place where they seemed to be standing over invisible water. Sunny had no idea on what's happening, but Sonic did: This is the very same place he was transported months back, when Eggman almost crushed them along Pipp, when the Chaos Emeralds entered his body and brought him to this place so he could met his parents and talk to Longclaw again before defeating the Death Egg Titan... His eyes widened at this reminder: He managed to talk again with Longclaw once he reached this mysterious place, and if he was back here, then it means... "Uh... What's going on?" Sunny asked confused. "Where in the Tartarus are we supposed to be?" "...The place? I don't know how's it called, but... I've been here before..." Sonic replied. This made Sunny's eyes shot open. "You have?!" "Yeah," Sonic replied with a nod and a smile. "Remember what happened when the Chaos Emeralds entered my body right before Eggman's Death Egg Titan crushed us with Pipp? About how I talked with Longclaw and met my parents?" "Yeah... What about it?" Sunny questioned confused. "This is the place, Sunny," Sonic replied. "Oh..." Sunny said at first, then her eyes began to open up little by little. "Oh... Oh! Oh my pony! A-Are you saying what I think you're saying?!" Sonic was about to reply, but then they both saw a pair of lights showing up in front of them, so they covered their eyes with their hands and hooves. When the lights dissipated, though, they both gasped loudly with wide eyes: Longclaw and Argyle appeared right there in front of them, almost flesh and blood. "Mom!/Dad?!" Sonic and Sunny said together with disbelief, but the former more so with joy as well. With no hesitation, Sonic boosted and hugged Longclaw tightly once again, while Longclaw herself giggled and hugged the Blue hedgehog back as well. He missed to do this so much, like he cannot even describe. Sunny, however, was hesitant on approaching Argyle. Sure, it looked like her dad, but was it really him? It could be an illusion, or a trap. Argyle himself noticed the doubt in Sunny's eyes, but he also saw that she wanted to cry so badly, so he smiled tenderly and slowly began to approach her. Sunny, by instinct, took a step back, yet she didn't kept going as she saw her father approaching her, little by little, with the very same smile he never tried to hide because, well, he never stopped smiling to her. Her heart was racing like a marathon right now. She had her dad in front of her, yet she had no way to assure it was him. Still, he approached her with the same smile he died with. He kept walking and she kept staring, her lips trembling and her ears lowering back. She was also breathing a bit heavily. And when Argyle finally got in front of her, he simply sat down and grabbed Sunny's cheeks with his hooves. The touch of her father's firm hooves on her cheeks made her gasp, and tears immediately rolled down. "...D-Dad?" Sunny called out with disbelief, also sobbing as she moved a hoof to her dad's chest. "Hello, Sunny-bunny," Argyle greeted her, still with the same smile. "I'm happy to see you again!" That's it. Sunny couldn't take it anymore. She simply burst into tears and wrapped her hooves around her dad, hugging him tightly and feeling his fur once again after so long. She didn't cared if this is a trick or not anymore; the simple fact she was hugging her dad again years after he died was beautiful and amazing on its own. Her tears fell like a storm down her cheeks, but a smile also was formed by her lips. And how couldn't it? She had her dad with her again! Or so she thinks. Maybe she should ask him, but for now, she'll just enjoy herself. "D-Dad... I-I can't believe it..." Sunny said, braking the hug and looking at her dad with teary eyes. "I-Is this really you? A-Am I not dreaming? A-Are we not dreaming?!" She asked Sonic. "No, sis... This is real, more real than you think," Sonic replied with a smile. "He's real, she's real..." He pointed at Argyle and then at Longclaw. "This is really happening!" "You must be Sonic, right?" Argyle asked the blue hedgehog. "The one and only!" Sonic replied with a smirk, extending his hand to the stallion, as he smiled and stretched his hoof with Sonic's hand. "It's nice to finally meet the real savior of magic in Equestria." "Please, I just did what I could to lead Sunny into bringing ponykind, but the credit goes to you two and your friends," Argyle stated with a smile. "Are you kidding me?! I just did what you always said was the right thing!" Sunny told her father with a smile. "I spread the magic of friendship as much as I could across Equestria, and while some ponies are still hesitant to it even now days, I couldn't have even done it if you never taught me all I know!" "What she said," Sonic smirked and placed a fist on his hip. "Besides, I wanted to thank you, anyways. If not for you and your knowledge, Sunny wouldn't even had liked other races to begin with. Because, what's the chance the very same pony that wanted peace and harmony back being the very same pony that turns into a FREAKING ALICORN?! It can't be that high." "Sonic!" Longclaw scolded him. "I'm sorry, is speaking facts being a crime? Because if so, well, I declare myself guilty!" Sonic replied smugly. Sunny rolled her eyes, then smiled at Longclaw. "And you must be Sonic's mom! Or mother figure. Eh, same thing," She then squealed. "Oh, I'm so happy to finally meet you! Sonic has talked a lot of you and how many he has learned from you!" "I bet he did," Longclaw smiled, then smirked as she looked at Sonic at the corner of her eye. "Have you ever told her about how you used to stick feather around you and pretend to be a bird when you were little?" That made Sonic's eyes widen and his face blush in bright red. "MOM!" He exclaimed in anger, yet Longclaw turn her head 180 degrees away in a mocking way, frustrating Sonic a lot. "Oh, he has told me that, among other embarrassing stuff," Sunny replied playfully. "Yeah, yeah, we're not gonna talk about this..." Sonic deadpanned. "However, I must ask... Why?" He turned to Longclaw. "Last time I was here, the Emerald wanted to boost my spirit and hopes by making me talk to you again, as well as meet my parents. Why am I here again? And why are Sunny and Argyle here as well?" Hearing this made the two adults look at each other for a moment, then nod, and then look back at their kids. "...You two have grown into amazing people," Longclaw began. "Sure, you had struggles to overcome in the way, but don't we have all?" "You both were talking about how much you missed us," Argyle continued. "And the Chaos Emeralds work in mysterious ways, remember? Maybe they wanted to grant your wish of talking with us one last time." "A last time?" Sonic and Sunny both asked concerned. "Wait... Y-You're saying that we... That we won't talk to you ever again after today?" Sonic asked, his ears lowering as he looked at Longclaw.' "B-But there's so much we need to talk about!" Sunny said to Argyle with panicked and wide eyes. "I-I haven't been able to control my Alicorn form to a 100% yet, a-and even if I'm training daily with Sonic, I-I still don't know how to make so many things, o-or how to accept the fact that you're gone, o-or..." "Sunny, my girl, my beautiful Sunny-bunny..." Argyle call her out with a smile. "It's okay, really! You two have learned how to move on your own... You just need to let go one more time." "Yet we know it's easier say it than do it," Longclaw recognized. "I could never move on from your parents death, Sonic. Lying to you about them became painful, like if I was betraying myself and betraying them... But I knew I had to do it in order to raise you to be the man you are today." "I went through the same with your mother, Sunny," Argyle confessed to Sunny, who's expression said she wanted to cry again. "Even if I can see her everyday now... I still can't stop and think what could go different to avoid her death... But what can you really do to avoid dead by giving birth? Not much, that's all I say." Yet none of the words they were sharing seemed to be any comforting for either Sonic or Sunny. If anything, they looked more depressed than before entering this strange realm to talk with them. Noticing this, the parents knew they needed a different approach, so the stallion went straight to the point. Argyle grabbed Sunny's chin and lifted it. "Sunny, my daughter. I know you feel alone most of the time, that ever since my death, you haven't been able to move on and continue with your life, that you struggle to find yourself when you feel so lost... But you are not alone. You've never been, not even when nopony in Maretime Bay believed us." "...I'm not?" Sunny asked confused. "Hitch was always at your side," Argyle reminded. "He never believed in you until a Unicorn show up along Sonic, true, but he eventually did and apologized to you. And now, thanks to your efforts, you've got lots of new friends at your side. Izzy, Zipp, Pipp, Misty... All from different races, all your friends you can always relay on, as your family. Remember what I told you, in my message with the blanket?" "You... you said that family is a fancy word for ponies that always stick together..." Sunny replied, then her eyes widened. "...And my friends are always with me, no matter what... Because they're my family... Why do I keep forgetting that? I have them at my side, forever and ever." "You've got them, the same way they've got you," Argyle stated, still smiling. "And if that's not enough, you also got a brother! Well, two, actually, yet they care so much for you I'm honestly happy to know that you're in both really good hooves and hands!" "Yeah... I... I'm really lucky to have them in my life," Sunny accepted with a smile, not only referring to her friends, but also mainly talking about Sonic and Tails, as she looked over at Sonic happily. Sonic smiled back, but then he felt sad again when he remembered this is the last time he's talking with Longclaw forever. It was just really heart-braking for him. "And us being death in live doesn't really mean we're dead," Longclaw called out, making Sonic and Sunny turn around to face her. "We may. Not be with you anymore in the living world... But we'll always be with you." "Right here," Longclaw and Argyle said in unison, pointing at Sonic and Sunny's chests respectively with smiles. Sonic and Sunny knew what their parents meant, so they smiled sadly and decided to hug them tightly one last time before getting sent back to Equestria. They know perfectly that they have each other, but it doesn't makes saying goodbye to those that forged them into the people they are today any easier. Still, they know they have to be strong in order to make them proud, to show that all they always fought for was worth it, that they're worthy successors to keep the peace in Equestria going. And with that last hug, they were covered in a flashlight, leaving this reality forever, and therefore, unable to speak with Longclaw or Argyle ever again. However, the two adults know their kids are in good hands and hooves, and they are positive they'll overcome all the challenges t come like they've been doing so far. Sonic and Sunny's eyes stopped glowing in white and made them feel dizzy. In the process, their power deactivated, Sunny's Alicorn form disappeared, and the Blue Chaos Emerald stopped floating, landing back in the ground after bringing Sonic and Sunny back. The two of them looked around confused, as if they have forgot for a second what they were doing here in the first place. However, when they finally remembered they just talked with their parents for the last time in their lives, depression attacked and made their ears go flat against their heads. Even with their advice, letting them go was hard. The second, third, fourth... It didn't mattered which number of time they were saying goodbye to them, it was always so hard and painful to do so. "...I... I think we should go with the others," Sonic spoke after a while. "They're waiting for us, you know?" "...Yeah," Sunny nodded. "Let's go." With that being said, Sonic made the Blue Chaos Emerald go back to the crystal protecting the Emeralds, then both of them went downstairs to reunite with their friends. After all, they've been up here for about 15 minutes ever since Sunny arrived, and their friends were probably feeling worried for them. Once they went down, they found the others sitting in the living room, talking to each other. Since they were all waiting for Sonic and Sunny to come down, they all agreed to not eat their dinner until they finally show up down here. Even Team Dark was waiting, although Shadow was a bit annoyed. However, the group didn't took long to notice that Sonic and Sunny arrived, but they all could sense the gloom and the sadness surrounding them. Izzy could even see that their sparkles were dull and dark, a big contrast to how usually sparkly and shiny they are most of the time. "Uh, guys? You two okay?" Tails was the first one to call them out. It seems that the two of them were in their own little worlds, because they snapped back to reality after the young fox called out to them. "...Kinda..." Sonic replied with honesty. He was good at lying, but he also knows how to act in order to fool the rest, and not being his cocky, happy self wouldn't help into the lie. "We just, uh, had a little moment upstairs," Sunny said with a sad smile. "Nothing to really worry about." "...Yeah, I'm not buying it," Zipp deadpanned. "Me neither, you two are upset or sad over something," Amy agreed with Zipp. "The thing is, what are you two upset or sad about?" Hitch questioned. Sonic and Sunny looked at each other for a moment, still with their sad expressions. While it's true that they've been all into crazier adventures and have accomplished all kind of stuff, there was a limit for how credible some things are, even for their world. That's just how nature works, you know? So how are they going to explain they talked to their death parents? Well... Just doing it, I guess. "...We... had some kind of spiritual talk with Longclaw and Argyle," Sonic replied first. "For the last time. Which only makes us sad and concerned because, well, saying goodbye again after so many years is not any easier than the first time." "And it... It hurts," Sunny added, almost at the edge of tears. "It hurst to know that we lost them, that we'll never feel their warm ever again. Even with all the things we have lived and all the adventures we've been through, the pain of loosing the most important figures in our lives remains there. It may not come to surface all the time, but it exists, and... It burns our souls." After hearing this, and the way Sunny said it, the others got worried for their friends. Even Team Dark seemed concerned for them, but Shadow was mainly worried for Sunny and her way to say what she said. So, decided to help them out, the rest huddled around and started to talk between them for a second. This left Sonic and Sunny confused, and it also confused Team Dark since they were not part of the huddle, but they decided to let the group be and tell what they have to when they're done. Eventually, they separated and all nodded with smiles, then looked back at Sonic and Sunny. "Guys, come over here," Pipp called them out first, and while Sonic and Sunny were still confused, they obeyed and approached the rest, sitting down on a couch with the others surrounding them. "Look, it's completely fine that you two miss those that helped to forge the people you've become today," Tails started ti explain with a smile. "And it's also totally fine that you have to let out the pain in ways some might not understand," Izzy continued with her usual cheery smile. "However, it's fine you do that so long as you always remember that you're not alone," Amy added. "You guys have us, your friends, your family, right here with you!" Misty said with a smile. "And you can all relay on us anytime!" Knuckles added with a smirk. "You don't have to pretend your happy when you're not," Hitch pointed out with a smile, while Sparky on his back nodded in agreement. "But if you guys need a shoulder to cry whenever you are not feeling in the mood, well, feel free to always come to any of us!" Zipp finished with a smirk. Just by hearing the incoming music, Team Dark knew what was coming, although only Shadow seemed really annoyed by this fact, because Rouge chuckled at his attitude, and Omega tilted his head confused. Izzy, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, Misty, Tails, Knuckles & Amy: We are, we are Not your ordinary fami-mily But we can all agreed that We are, we are Close as close can be So it don't matter what it looks like We look perfect to me We got every kind of lover We're so lucky indeed They can keep on talking It don't matter to me 'Cause we are, we are family Izzy, Zipp, Pipp & Amy: We are, are, are, are Hitch, Tails & Knuckles We are! Izzy, Zipp, Pipp & Amy: We are, are, are, are Hitch, Tails & Knuckles We are! Izzy, Zipp, Pipp & Amy: We are, are, are, are Hitch, Tails & Knuckles We are! Zipp: We are, we are family Pipp: So what? We don't look, we don't act We don't walk, we don't talk Like you do Izzy: So what? If we hang, just a hang Ain't no shame We gon' do what we want to Hitch: 'Cause we come from everywhere Misty: Searching for ones to care Amy: Somehow we found it here Tails: We found us a home Izzy, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, Misty, Tails, Knuckles & Amy: We are, we are Not your ordinary family But we can all agreed that We are, we are Close as close can be So it don't matter what it looks like We look perfect to me We got every kind of lover We're so lucky indeed They can keep on talking It don't matter to me 'Cause we are, we are family As the song went on, Sonic and Sunny started to slowly smile, also remembering some of the best moments they all shared together, like their first Nightmare Night with magic; Zipp's Flight School; their first T.U.E.S. Day together; their first Equestria Games; their adventure to put together Sunny's family blanket... More and more events they all've been through together played in their minds as their friends kept singing, and little by little, that sadness they felt at first was fading away and shifting into happiness. Amy: Okay, so the links in our chains Make us strange But really, they make us stronger Zipp: And I wouldn't replace not a thing Mother or father 'Cause we Knuckles: 'Cause we come from everywhere Izzy: Searching for ones to care Tails: Somehow, we found it here Misty: We found us a home Izzy, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, Misty, Tails, Knuckles & Amy: We are, we are Not your ordinary fami-mily But we can all agreed that We are, we are Close as close can be So it don't matter what it looks like We look perfect to me We got every kind of lover We're so lucky indeed They can keep on talking It don't matter to me 'Cause we are, we are Family (family) (We are) Pipp: We are, we are family Now that the song was done, Sonic was smiling brightly, and Sunny teared up, even cleaning away a tear. "You guys..." Sunny smiled. "Oh, how am I supposed to feel sad when you do stuff like this?! I feel so happy and joyful right now! I really needed to hear something like that..." "Yeah... I mean, I know braking into a song is the norm around, but I still find a bit strange that's what put me in the mood," Sonic said jokingly with a smirk. "Still, Sunny has a point: We really needed to hear all of that. Thanks, guys. For being there for us 'till the end." Followed by this was, as you might be expecting, a group hug of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic. Sure, Team Dark was not a part of the hug, but they were still there, smiling and also glad to see that Sonic and Sunny seemed to feel better after feeling so sad about what happened to their parents. However, Shadow still frowned slightly and looked down in concern, because all this wholesomeness wasn't a factor that could stop him from having a bad feeling that something big and bad would happen... Sage and Eggman were at the top of a mountain, looking through a whole in it. "The crack has been completely opened by an absurd amount of power discharge!" Sage analyzed in awe. "This actually saved a lot of time. Even if Sonic and company arrive here, I calculate we can take the Prism off the ground by sundown if we start right away." "Excellent!" Eggman cheered with a grin. "Sage, take the drillers and Big Arms inside. We must find and take the Paradox Prism off the floor before sundown!" "Yes, father," Sage nodded, before snapping her fingers. This made the drillers to get inside the cave, as well as the Big Arms. Eggman got on his Eggmobile again, and entered the cave as well, being followed by Sage. Once inside, they saw nothing but darkness, so Eggman had to turn on the lights of his Eggmobile, while Sage made her own body glow as well to illuminate the cave. "Gosh, it's pretty dark in here... I can't see anything!" Eggman groaned as they kept descending. However, something called Sage's attention, and she stopped. "Wait..." She said, and Eggman also stopped moving. He looked confused at her before looking on the same direction, noticing that there was a small crack with a light that changed between red, green, blue and yellow... the same colors that form the Paradox Prism. "Sage, take that wall down!" Eggman instructed. Sage nodded, and by moving her hand, the driller robots began to create the crack on the wall bigger, and then one of the Big Arms approached and destroyed it with a single hit. After the wall was down, Eggman grinned sinisterly while Sage gasped in amazement: the Paradox Prism not only looked just like the picture of that book, but it was also brighter and bigger. It was stuck to the ground, but knowing Eggman, he'll find a way to get the Prism out of there. "Sage... We hit the jackpot!" Eggman cheered with a maniac laugh that echoed around loudly. To be continued... Author's Note Wow... 80 Episodes of Tell Your Tale now done... What a journey! With this, we have officially come to the end of "Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale"! Honestly? I'm really happy with how this slice-of-life series went! Regarding the Season 1 episodes I used, that is. From the 70 canonical episodes, I only used 66, while making 14 original chapters. That's actually a really good mix! I was planning on making more, but I don't want to extend myself too much, and since I'm not making Chapter 6, there's no need to adapt those other 4 episodes. I really don't know why, but I'm not as sad as I thought I'll be when saying goodbye to this series. Maybe is because after 80 episodes, you actually start to wish we reach the end... That's pretty much what I did, but it's still a boomer this is the last Slice of Life thing I'll be writing for the saga before going into Season 4 and Project Endgame. Thanks for reading this humble series! Now let's move to the Epilogue!
EpilogueMeanwhile, in another universe... Somehow, Sonic broke the sky for a tiny, little moment before it went back to normal. As for Sonic himself, he fell into some kind of metallic ground, where he rolled for a while and grunted in pain before he finally stopped moving. He laid on the floor with his eyes closed. His gloves got dirty after the fall, and the sole of his shoes were glowing in a neon white light, as well as releasing a few electrical sparks. It didn't took him long to finally open his eyes, just to be welcomed by a dark and blue sky, as well as lot of industrial buildings surrounding him. "Ugh..." Sonic groaned in pain. "W-What?" He said, as he slowly sat down and looked around confused. Everywhere he looked, there where either big metallic structures that he wasn't so sure if he could call buildings, or actual industrial buildings, releasing smoke to the sky. There were also a lot of robots around, all looking like anthropomorphic animals, walking slowly and looking... lifeless, even for robots. "What the heck is this place?" Sonic questioned confused, before standing up and look around in search of something that could look familiar. "Tails? Pipp? Knux! Geez, I'll even take Shadow if that means I can see a familiar face around here," He said with concern, as he started to walk on this new place. The more he walked around this new place, the more he hated what he watched: More robots that looked like animals, more industrial buildings, and even a giant base that had the shape of an egg in the distance. "Seriously: What IS this place?!" Sonic complained with a frown. "It's giving big Eggman vibes... and I don't like that." And then, one glance to his hand made him squeal in panic, since they were more... flat, and his body even looked more cartoonish than usual. Yes, he has a very wacky design, which added sense to why he was often confused as a porcupine, but he's never been this wacky and cartoonish before, specially since his quills were only three in row. Suddenly, a light appeared on his back, and when he noticed that because of his shadow, he turned to see some kind of green-floating vehicle moving towards him at top speed. He frowned again and jumped just in time before being hit by the vehicle, but then he noticed a bunch of other ones coming as well, so he dodged all of them by run. Yeah, it wasn't a good idea. Apparently, the new light on his shoes affected his super speed, because he couldn't control it anymore. "What the––" Sonic exclaimed, before being carried around by his feet instead of being the one in control. "Hey! What comes?! Ow!" He said in pain, as he crashed against several walls, before crashing entirely against a last one that finally made him stop. He groaned in pain again, before slowly standing up and stretch his body to make sure he didn't broke anything. "Geez... that was weird..." Sonic said with concern, before looking down to his shoes and finally notice that weird glow with sparkles around. "Huh? My shoes? Why are they glowing?" After a few seconds, however, they stopped glowing, and the sole was just as dirty as his gloves, another thing that he was realizing just now. "I'm gonna have a talk with Tails about his polymer once I got back, because these are looking terrible today..." Sonic muttered in annoyance. "That is, if I even discover where am I in the first place, how do I got here, how to go back home and maybe eat some Chilidogs, because I skipped lunch today." Since he was on a strange alley, where he accidentally got himself into because of his shoes, he decided to run over one of the walls and climb to the very top until he could get a better sight or where he was. He noticed his shoes were glowing again, and he even had a struggle to keep them under control, but he still managed to do so. And once he reached the top, he stopped, thankfully not being dragged to another unknown place by his feet this time, but he gasped in shock and fear at the sight: A big industrial city, full of not only robots looking like animals, but also regular robots that looked like humans... except for the head. The central building, the one with a shape of an egg, was bigger than he thought, and it was very intimidating. "Sweet Chaos... this place is like my worse nightmare turned into a reality," Sonic said with concern, and then he saw a letter with neon lights, that seemed like a 'Welcome' sign, but he didn't felt welcomed at all. "Huh... 'Welcome to Robotropolis'... Never heard of this place before," He said with a frown, before looking back at the egg-shaped building. "I'm clearly not in Equestria, but... this isn't Mobius, either... Right?" Just when he thought this place was only full of metal and machines, he saw that, in the distance, there was some kind of cliff, and on top of that cliff, there were trees. "So this isn't just a junkyard of robots after all, huh?" Sonic stated with a smirk. "Seems like I have my next destination defined!" However, just when he thought this place was only full of metal and machines, he saw that, in the distance, there was some kind of cliff, and on top of that cliff, there were trees. "So this isn't just a junkyard of robots after all, huh?" Sonic stated with a smirk. "Seems like I have my next destination defined!" However, just when he launched himself to the ground and landed on his feet, a bunch of lights illuminated over him, blinding him for a while before he placed a hand over his forehead to see a bunch of robots, as well as some of those weird flying vehicles, pointing their lights and guns at him. "I don't know what brings you here today, Hedgehog," A male voice said, a voice that sounded familiar but different at the same time to Sonic. "But if you were asking for a quick death, then this is your lucky day!" "The what now?" Sonic said confused. "What's the matter, Sonic? You're usually more talky and annoying," The mysterious man pointed out. "Um, excuse me, mysterious man from the speakers I cannot see..." Sonic called out with a sheepish smile. "I'm afraid I'm not aware of what are you talking about. Who are you? How do you know me? What did I ever did to you? And what the heck is going on?!" "This kind of foolish game is new to me, I must say," The voice said. "But it doesn't matter to me! I have you just where I want you! Now, KILL HIM!" "In name of Doctor Robotnik, you must surrender to be roboticized," One of the robots instructed, now charging up one of its guns against Sonic. "Excuse me, Robotnik? EGGMAN DID ALL OF THIS?!" Sonic shouted in shock. Before getting any form of response, his shoes began to glow again, dragging him away from the machines and robots, who began to shot as Sonic screamed because of the sudden moves of his feet. As his feet dragged him away, the robots got over the flying vehicles and chased him around the city, with Sonic struggling as he tried to take control over his own feet once again. However, it seemed like his feet worked alone, because they were moving him in a way he could always dodge the attacks... but that's not what Sonic wanted. "What the heck is happening today?!" Sonic groaned. "Look, I have no idea of what's controlling my feet, but I don't want to run away! If anything, I should be kicking all these robots asses if Eggman's really behind this! So please let me go!" It seemed to work, because his shoes stopped glowing and he finally felt like he was controlling his feet again. "Neat!" Sonic cheered, before curling into a ball and charging up his Spin Dash against the robots and flying vehicles. As the machines feel to the ground, more started to arrive towards him, but that just made Sonic smirk confidently. He charged his Spin Dash again and used it against some enemies, then he stopped right in front of one of them and used a Homing Shot, followed by a Stomp Attack that turned the robot into pieces. Then, he used Wild Rush in several enemies that exploded, before using Loop Kick on another one at the end. Then, he used a Homing Attack against one robot before grabbing it and spin it to use it as some kind of hammer that smashed all the other robots, before throwing the one he grabbed and launch it towards a wall, where the robot destroyed itself. Finally, and seeing that this wouldn't stop anytime soon, Sonic charged up his electrical powers and charged up his Spindash, before booting over thousands of robots at super sonic speed, destroying all of them in the process. Sonic finally stopped and stood over a pile of all the robots he destroyed with a smirk. "Now that's what I call another job well done in my life!" He said with a confident smirk, but then frowned once he remembered what that robot said about surrounding in Robotnik's name... In a room, right in the top of the egg-shaped building, a figure was looking at several monitors showing Sonic's image. "Eggman! I don't know where are you hiding, you coward, but once I find you, I'll kick your butt harder than ever if you really are behind this nightmare-ish city!" Sonic stated, before it moved away from the camera's vision rang. "Hmm... this is really interesting. Don't you think, Snively?" the man that threat Sonic asked to a skinny man with green clothes at his side. "It is indeed, sir," Snively replied. The man stood up and revealed himself to be some kind of half man and half robot, since it had black sclera with red iris, and his arms and legs were replaced with robotic prosthesis. He wore a black and yellow cape, a red suit with a black circle in the middle with yellow stripes around and black pants. His name was Julien, but everyone referred to him as Robotnik. "I highly doubt this is the same Sonic that messes up with us," Robotnik said with a sinister grin. "He's faster, stronger, powerful! Didn't you saw all what he can do? It was simply amazing! Whoever this guy is, he also answers to the name 'Sonic', but he is different. More... special... We must take this power for us! He must. Be. ROBOTIZED!" He shouted, followed up by a maniac laugh. "Snively! Sent all the units to look after that mysterious hedgehog!" "Y-Yes sir! R-Right away!" Snively replied nervously, moving towards a panel control and pressing several buttons to move all units to look after Sonic. Sonic already lost track of time, but he could feel like it's been a whole day. He didn't eat, he didn't slept, and he didn't found a way to leave Robotropolis yet. He still found more robots that he beat up easily, and there was no sign of Eggman either. Everything looked the exact same to him, and despite how tired he felt right now, he wasn't going to sleep until he left this place. Sonic stopped suddenly and stared to a mark on a building that felt very familiar to him at this point. "Hang on, didn't I passed this alley, like, 3 times already?" He questioned, now looking everything around him, and then groaning once he realized he, indeed, passed over here already. "How am I supposed to find something coherent here?! Everything looks EXACTLY the same! I'm not going home anytime soon WHEN I KEEP WALKING IN CIRCLES!" After a long and awkward moment of silence, Sonic sighed in defeat and decided to lay on the ground, looking at the blue and dull sky that already made him sick since it wasn't any beautiful to see... nor smell. "Maybe I should just give up... Wherever I am, it seems like Eggman already has the high ground..." Sonic complained. Suddenly, he heard a bunch of sirens, and he lifted his head a bit before raising and eyebrow. Soon enough, he stood up and boosted to the direction where the sirens sounded a lot louder, and within seconds, he reached a place where he saw a bunch of red flying police-like humanoid robots, riding floating bikes that were chasing after something he could not see, and right now? He didn't cared either. He also spotted one of those green-floating vehicles guiding some kind of large blue-floating convoy to someplace. However, before he could make a sarcastic comment about anything, he saw a manhole cover opening, and out of it came out a bunny girl with robotic prosthetics, a coyote with a weird uniform... and a familiar face he never expected to see ever again. "...S-Sally?" Sonic muttered in shock. In fact, it was Sally Acorn, an old... acquaintance of his. The truth is, Sally and Sonic do not have the best of relationships. Let's just say that Sonic screw it at some point in his life, and now Sally hated him. So, seeing her down there, along two guys he never saw before, made him feel... strange? Weird? Maybe even happy? That last thing was probably only because of his current situation, since Sally is the first familiar face he has seen ever since he arrived here. "...Should I go down there?" Sonic wondered. "I mean, I now we're not in the best of terms, but... maybe she can help me find a way to return to Equestria." However, the convoy passed right above Sally and company, and once it was gone... they were gone too. "Huh?" Sonic said confused. "Okay... that's... really odd, but... Hang on a second!" He exclaimed, as he noticed that the convoy was moving towards some kind of big door at the limits of the city. "This thing is exiting this nightmare-ish city! Maybe that's what Sally and those guys are trying to do... Better follow up from here and make sure that I'm right!" He stated, moving above the buildings to follow the convoy, and also to avoid more unexpected encounters with robots. He was really starting to get tired of them. TO BE CONTINUED IN SONIC THE HEDGEHOG X MY LITTLE PONY: MAKE YOUR MARK - SEASON 4 Author's Note This is it, ladies and gentleman. After a year and 4 months, Tell Your Tale has reached its climax... BUT, as you already know, this is not the end for our heroes' journey, because everything continues in Sonic x Make Your Mark: Season 4, the final season of Make Your Mark and the penultimate story in the whole saga! I seriously can't thank you guys enough for being here with me from the very beginning. Well, I also wanna thank those who arrived along the way. Is thanks to all the readers that my "Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony G5" saga has come so far. Now that Tell Your Tale is done, let's not wait anymore and move ahead to Season 4! I'LL SEE YOU ALL IN THERE! BYEEEEEEEEEE!!!
PrologueThe magical land of Equestria! A place where friendship and harmony have lasted for centuries, or at least until one day, Earth ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns stopped talking to each other. But thanks to the valiant efforts of 5 ponies and a blue hedgehog from another dimension, the magic is back, and all the ponies are getting along again. In Maretime Bay were those five ponies: Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Hitch Trailblazer, Zipp Storm, and Pipp Petals. They were fine-tuning the last details of the structure of their new home: the Crystal Brighthouse. "Phew!" Zipp exclaimed. "I can't believe it's almost done!" "I know!" Izzy exclaimed happily. "I can't wait anymore!" "I find it hard to believe that it only took us a month to finish it," Hitch said. "We should have taken several months at least!" "Thank magic for making the job easier, Hitch!" Sunny said, giving the sheriff a little shove on his shoulder. "Soon, we can start decorating the interior and start our lives together!" "Sorry we had to build on the foundation of your old house, Sunny…" Pipp commiserated. "I know you had a lot of memories at the lighthouse before… well, you know…" "Aww, don't worry, Pipp," Sunny assured. "Besides, I'd rather build a new house if it means I can live with my best friends!" The five ponies reunited in a group hug after that. "Well, let's move on. The faster we get this done, the faster we can pack up and start decorating!" Zipp exclaimed as she flew away. "Speaking of going fast... has anyone seen Sonic?" Hitch asked out of curiosity. "He must be running around to 'stretch his legs,' as he calls it," answered Pipp as she picked up a golden material that functioned as a balcony. When she turned around, she was met with confused looks from her friends and a warning look from Zipp. "He usually runs in the mornings. He told us when we thought he left without saying goodbye!" the pegasus exclaimed, but seeing that her friends didn't seem to understand anything, her expression turned bored. "You don't remember, do you?" Hitch whistled innocently, Sunny rubbed her neck, Zipp smiled nervously, and Izzy was more direct and said, "Nope!" with a smile. Pipp rolled her eyes and bowled to the top of the Brighthouse. "You just have to wait; he'll be here any minute..." Whoo! Oh yeah! Meanwhile, in the field where he first appeared, Sonic was running at full speed with a smile. Rollin' around at the speed of sound Got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow! He jumped over a small cliff, and the moment his feet hit the ground, he shot off into the mountains where Zephyr Heights was located. Can't stick around, got to keep movin' on Guess what lies ahead, only one way to find out! He ran over the buildings and screens of the city at full speed without going unnoticed, although that wasn't his plan. Several pegasi were surprised at the blue blur that passed through his city until it stopped at the castle's highest point to contemplate everything around it. I don't care what lies ahead No time for guessin', follow my plan instead After appreciating how big the land of Equestria was for a while, he grinned and jumped from his spot. Just as he reached the mountains, he touched the rocky surface with his feet and once again shot off towards Maretime Bay. Find that next stage, no matter what that may be Take my lead, I'll set you free He ran around Bridlewood Forest, curling into a ball as if to charge his SpinDash as he sped through a field of flowers at top speed. Follow me, set me free Trust me and we will escape from the city I'll make it through; prove it to you Follow me! Follow me! Finally, he reached his destination: the Crystal Brighthouse, where his new friends were already finishing building the new lighthouse. I'll make it through Oh yeah! He braked before he could hit anything, and once he stopped, he began to walk slowly toward the construction site. "Sup, everypony!" greeted the hedgehog. "Sorry for getting late. I had to stretch my legs a little. Also, I like to appreciate how beautiful Equestria is." "Don't worry, Sonic," Sunny assured with a smile. "We're already finishing up anyway." Sonic decided to take a closer look at the Brighthouse: at first glance, it was quite obvious that it was bigger than the previous lighthouse; it was painted pastel blue with a turquoise ceiling and white trim; around it, there were pink trees that gave it a more lively touch; the front door was pink and framed by an arch of stained glass. There was even a replica of the Unity Crystals - as they decided to call the three united crystals - at the top of the building. Sonic whistled in awe of how nice the new lighthouse at Maretime Bay looked. "A month of work for a spectacular result. I love the taste that you ponies have with decoration; it is a great contrast to how simple the buildings are at home," added the hedgehog. "It sounds like there are things that are very different about your home, Sonic," said Hitch, approaching him. "In some aspects. There are others that I do feel familiar with," Sonic confessed. "Anyway, let's finish this once and for all; it won't decorate itself!" The six friends spent the rest of the day finishing fine-tuning some details in their new home. Several hours later, they were walking around town to hang out and rest after spending all day finishing up the Brighthouse. "Isn't it great to see the three tribes together again?" Zipp said after a while. "Great? Great?! My dad and I have dreamed of seeing this since I was little!" Sunny exclaimed, jumping up and down with joy. "The truth is that I'm glad I was involved in all that journey to find the crystals and unite all the ponies. I had to see to believe," Hitch confessed. "Admittedly, it was fortunate that the sheriff followed us to Zephyr Heights despite all the chaos Izzy and I inadvertently caused here in Maretime Bay," Sonic commented. "All the fun would have been lost! By the way, did you finally remove all those traps that are now useless?" Hitch snorted. "Don't worry. Sprout and some trusted ponies deactivated those traps after we made friends with the three tribes," he stated. "Although it was a headache to hear Sprout rub it in my face how easy they were to remove..." "Are you still upset that I said your traps were worse than Eggman's?" Sonic asked with a little smirk. "You had to mention it…" Hitch grumbled. Soon, the group was passing by other ponies, who greeted our heroes, as it was thanks to them that all the ponies were reunited. The Mane 5, as the ponies were called, waved back, and Sonic also waved to those looking at him in surprise. Their entire adventure went viral, and there wasn't a single pony or creature in Equestria that didn't know about the exploits of the Mane 5 and Sonic. Those who greeted the most were Sunny and Sonic: Sunny for being the alicorn who took the first step toward change, and Sonic for being from another world and crucial in uniting the ponies. But Sunny felt so embarrassed, and she hid behind Sonic's spikes, careful not to get too close so she wouldn't accidentally prick herself. "Uh... everything okay back there?" Sonic asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "Don't worry, Sunny. It's over," Hitch assured. Sunny peeked out, sighed in relief, and felt a little embarrassed. "Sorry about that. I'm still not used to being famous," she confessed. "Why not Sunny? You and Sonic have become celebrities all over Equestria! Even my Pippsqueaks explode excitedly when I post videos or photos with you two," Pipp said. Although only Sonic is there, she thinks he doesn't have to know. She took out her phone, took a selfie with both, and uploaded the photo to social networks. Within seconds, the photo had hundreds of likes and positive comments. "See? Even my Pippsqueaks love you!" "Well, I don't care. I save people from a robot with Eggman's mustache at least 2 times a week, so I've had to learn to live with this," Sonic confessed with disinterest. "But not everyone's ready to be famous, Pipp. A little time for yourself and your private life isn't going to kill anyone... except maybe extreme fans." "Well, when you put it that way... it's understandable. But that doesn't stop me from being so happy to have my Pippsqueaks back!" Pipp exclaimed as she flapped her wings happily. Zipp rolled her eyes with a smile at his little sister's antics. "As long as you're happy and don't lie to them, I'm fine with that," she said, and her sister smiled at her. "Put me on that train too, seriously. No more lies, Pipp," Sonic said. "I'm just happy to be with you!" Izzy exclaimed, jumping up and down with joy. "I'm glad we don't have to be apart!" "I'm glad I helped solve all this," Sonic said with a smile. "However, if these ponies were more open-minded, we would have been spared the battle with a robot with Sprout's face and immense damage to private property," he whispered the last to Izzy, who was walking beside him, while the unicorn nodded energetically. "Well, I'm sorry to cut the fun short, but Pipp and I have to leave. We're returning to Zephyr Heights to pack our stuff and start decorating the Brighthouse tomorrow," Zipp explained. "Don't worry, we'll wait for you here tomorrow," Sunny assured. The sisters said goodbye to their friends and flew to Zephyr's Heights. "I should go to Bridlewood to pack too. See you tomorrow!" Izzy said goodbye to his friends. "I must attend to my duty as sheriff; I'll see you later!" Hitch said, waving goodbye to Sonic and Sunny, walking back to the station from him. "I have to put Dad's things in the basement; that will give us more space," Sunny said. "What will you do in the meantime, Sonic?" "I think I'll buy some things to decorate my room," Sonic replied thoughtfully. "And I'll also buy a new phone because mine... well..." Sonic pulled his phone out of his quills, which had a cracked screen and was slightly bent. It also gave off a few sparks, rendering it completely useless. Sunny looked at the phone, somewhat embarrassed, and Sonic looked confused. "This thing has survived hundreds of punches and attacks from Eggman, but this guy Sprout comes to hit me once, and it leaves my cell phone in a mess..." said the hedgehog with some frustration. "Anyway, I think I'll run a little more, too. The faster, the better; it's how I like it." "Well, have fun!" Sunny said, waving goodbye to Sonic. "And try not to get in trouble!" "When have I ever gotten into trouble?" Sonic asked into the air with a confused expression. "Don't make me answer you!" Sunny yelled from afar. Sonic just put on a bored expression, rolled his eyes, and quickly started moving around various Maretime Bay shops, using Pipp generously to give him money. I'll make it up to her one day, Sonic thought, because he didn't see it as fair to receive something without giving something else in return. After having bought several posters that he liked, a laptop, some new headphones, a new blue cell phone, a figure of himself - that not even Sonic understands how they made it so fast - and a bedding set that fit With his likes, Sonic ran back to the Brighthouse, and went up to the place of the rooms. There were five beds in the place, of which only one was decorated, Sunny's, while the remaining 4 had notes with the name of who that bed belonged. "AHA!" Sonic exclaimed when he saw the bed with his name on it, and in a heartbeat, his entire 'section' was already decorated with everything he just bought, except for his phone, which he kept in the quills with him. "Perfect! And now that I've finished decorating my room - and saved that part for tomorrow - let's go for a walk!" he told himself. Afterward, he shot out of the Crystal Brighthouse and decided to go, this time through a strange forest that he had never been to before, which made him go and explore even more. The forest was large, and the trees mostly covered the sky, making it hard to tell if it was day or night in case he accidentally got stuck there. But when he reached a darker area deep in the forest, something caught Sonic's attention. There was a point with three glows, red, blue, and green, respectively. Sonic felt his heart stop momentarily because he could not recognize that glow anywhere. No... it can't be... it's not possible... He quickly approached the place. The glitters came out from under a rock, and he lifted the stone with some effort and moved it away. As soon as he saw what was below, he gasped in disbelief. "Holy chilidogs…" Sonic blurted out, seeing what had left him stranded in Equestria: 3 of the Chaos Emeralds right before him. Author's Note Welcome, every reader, to the beginning of my TYT adaptation with Sonic included as well. As you can see, I'm including a side plot for Sonic! There will be some episodes where we have the main problem of the episode, and the Sonic plot with the Chaos Emeralds. I'm not gonna be focusing all the time on Sonic and his problems, since it can get a little annoying with time. I hope you enjoy reading this new adaptation of TYT! P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing the prologue!
6. The Unboxing of IzzyIn the middle of the afternoon, in Maretime Bay, Hitch trotted in front of his friends as he gave them the news. "Get ready for the ultimate Maretime Bay tour!" Hitch announced that he and Sunny should show their friends the rest of their hometown and special places to visit. "Yay!" Izzy cheered out in excitement. "I can't wait!" Zipp announced with a smile. "I love tours!" Pipp added with a cheerful smile. "Sounds fun!" Sonic replied with his arms crossed and a little smirk. Izzy got all excited as she pointed around at random things near them. "Ooh, I'm gonna see this!" she pointed to the flower stands, "I'm gonna see that," pointed to a doughnut sign, "And I'm gonna see--ahh!" she was about to point to the glasses. Still, when she stepped over a familiar 'X,' a familiar trap surrounded Izzy, trapping her in one of the leftover unicorn traps with her horn sticking out of the hole. The earth pony beside the glasses stand ran off in fright as Izzy was trapped in the unicorn trap. "...Total darkness?" Izzy said in her usual cheerful tone. "Izzy!" Pipp, Zipp, and Sunny cried in concern as they headed toward the trap to get her out. On the other hand, Sonic looked at the scene in disbelief, facepalmed, and groaned because he thought Hitch had said all the traps had been removed. "Here we go again, great," Sonic said with annoyance and sarcasm. Hitch looked at the trap in confusion with a raised eyebrow. "I thought all the unicorn traps were disabled!" he called out, then brought out his sheriff book. "Note to self: Check traps for--" he wrote down, but then was interrupted by his friends trying to get Izzy out of the trap as they struggled. "Hitch, a little help here?" Sunny asks her friend to help Izzy out of the box. Hitch smiled to himself as he walked toward them, humming to himself. He walked before the release button, waved his mane with his hoof, and then pressed the button. But the trap didn't release for some reason, and Hitch and the others were surprised it didn't work. Hitch pressed the button repeatedly to get the trap open, but nothing happened, and he began to sweat. "Ugh, the release button isn't working!" Hitch cried out as he kept trying, as Sunny gasped in shock. "What?" Sonic exclaimed, quickly moving Hitch aside. "But it worked the first time! Let me try..." he said, while he cracked his hands, ready to press that button as if his life depended on it. "Sonic's the name. Speed's my game!" he yelled with a confident smile, quickly pushing the button with his hand. However, after at least 30 seconds of trying, he started to lose his patience and slowly groaned until he gave up and pushed the button hard with his forehead. The others looked at him with grief since the hit was too loud, and Pipp covered her mouth with worry. "Okay, that didn't work either," he said with frustration. "Also: ouch..." he fell to the ground in pain. "That hurt a lot..." "Then how are we going to get her out?!" Sunny cried out as Pipp helped Sonic sit down because he was still hurt. "I'm fine," Izzy said to them in a cheered tone from inside the box. "This'll be fun!" she assured and then gasped. "I've never been a box before!" she added with sparkly eyes and a cheerful smile. "But I planned a tour with stops I knew each of you would love!" Hitch pointed out with sadness that he was excited to make the tour. "Izzy can't do a tour in a box!" he said. "Ooh, you just gave me an idea!" Izzy suddenly said, then she focused her magic on the box, and the box started to levitate off the ground slowly. The others looked in awe at Izzy's plan as the box levitated because she could now move around even if she were still inside the box. Izzy then gasped as she felt the trap moving. "Is it levitating? Did I do it? Am I a levitating box?" she asked to her friends. "Yep, it's working," Sonic replied, standing with an ice bag over his forehead. "This is ridiculous. You can't even see!" Hitch called out, finding Izzy's plan silly since she can't see outside the box. "But I can use my imagination!" Izzy cheered as she moved the box from side to side. Hitch narrowed his eyes, thinking that this wouldn't work out. "Tour's canceled!" he yelled out with anger. Pipp, Zipp, and Sunny gasped at what Hitch said. Sonic looked at him in disbelief and said, "The what now?" as the sheriff walked away. The rest looked at each other, trying to think of a way to change his mind. "Wait, Hitch, look!" Sunny called out. Hitch turned around and saw that the girls had tied Izzy's box with a rope to carry her around without losing her. Hitch was still unsure about this, and Sonic - still with the ice bag on his forehead - doubted, but then he smiled. "You know, this can actually work out," he said, giving this idea a chance. Hitch exhales at the girls' persistence to go on the tour while also seeing that Sonic is willing to give the plan a chance. "Okay, fine. Right this way!" he cheers out with a smile. "Our tour begins with the Maretime Bay town square!" He leads the way as the group smiles at each other, happy that Hitch is willing to keep the tour going. The Mane 5 and Sonic, with Izzy in tow, looked awed at Maretime Bay town square, loving the scene as they passed by some ponies and looked at the buildings. As Hitch showed them the movie theater, Sonic noticed that the movie announced at the top was a pony version of Transformers, with a ponyfied Optimus Prime. The group walked past it, but Izzy's box hit the frame of pony Optimus on the sign, leaving a hole in it as it floated away, then hit a sign on the wall, dented a lamppost, and crushed a bench where an earth pony was sitting. Izzy wailed as she impacted, then hit a window sill of flowers where an earth pony mare was watering, and the flowers on the window fell to the ground while the mare stared in shock. Hitch turned his head and showed his friends the now abandoned Canterlogic Building. He then looked shocked as he and his friends saw the destruction that Izzy's box made while being pulled, and the ponies behind them screamed in fright. Hitch cringed at the sight and gulped his throat, thinking that this might have to fill in some paperwork. Later, at the Maretime Bay Museum, Houvre, Jazz, and Posey, with another earth pony, painted their version of the Pony Lisa based on their manes and coats. Hitch pointed at them, then turned to look at his friends, but then he questioned what they were doing. Pipp was painting Izzy's box with her face on it, with hearts in her eyes, a heart next to her head, and a rainbow on the other side, as Pipp giggled at the painting. Izzy gasps as she can tell what Pipp is doing. "Uh-huh!" Izzy said great work, even though she couldn't see it. Hitch grumbled, stating that his friends were not following the tour as he walked away. "Woohoo! Woo!" an earth pony stallion shouted as he swung from swing to swing. Hitch brought his friends to a place where Maretime Bay had a forest with bridges and swings on trees for ponies to enjoy. Hitch laughed and pointed to the bridges but stopped as he looked at his friends again. Hitch saw Zipp and Sonic swinging on two ropes of Izzy's box as they laughed. "Woohoo!" they cheered as they swung back and forth. Sunny laughed as Pipp jumped up and down with a cheer, but then she gasped when she noticed Hitch looking at them. He grumbled and walked away. A little while later, Hitch showed them the coast with a bored expression. "Last stop: the beach," he said in a motto tone as he showed them the ocean view. "Wow," Pipp, Zipp, and Sunny said as they looked towards the ocean. Sonic whistled and looked at the beach with a little smile. "Man, I hate water, but I'm not denying that this is an amazing look," he admitted. Hitch then turned to Izzy with a sad look. "I thought you'd love this, Izzy," he told the trapped unicorn. "I do love it, Hitch!" Izzy called out. "My favorite place in all of Maretime Bay!... We're looking at a parking meter, right? Oh, I love those things!" she called out, but it didn't make Hitch feel better. Hitch narrows his eyes, having enough of Izzy being trapped in that box. "That is it! We have to get Izzy out of there now! Ahh!" he cried out as he tackled Izzy's box to the ground. Hitch tried to use a stick to snap the box open, but the stick broke, then he moved the box, then jumped up and down on the top of it, and then uses his teeth to try and bite it open. "Will nothing open this adorable cube prison!?" he cried in frustration. "Well, that was sad to watch..." Sonic said with a bored expression, and Sunny hit him on his arm with a frown, so he decided to shut it for now. "Don't you ever give up, Hitch. We just gotta think!" Izzy said with optimism, keeping Hitch positive of the circumstances. "Me and you, pony and box!" she cheerfully added as Hitch nodded confidently. Hitch and Izzy started to hum, thinking of a way to get Izzy out of the box. The others looked at the two ponies in curiosity. They were both moving back and forth. Hitch stopped momentarily, and Izzy bumped into him, then giggled a little. Hitch looked at her with annoyance before resuming their thinking as they continued moving back and forth. Hitch stopped as he turned the other way, but Izzy kept moving as Sunny saw that Izzy was getting too close to the edge. Pipp, Zipp, Sunny, and Sonic gasped as they saw that Izzy was about to go over the edge. "Izzy!" the mares all cried out as she was on the other side of the edge, and Sonic ran towards her and tried to stop the box. "Izzy, stop!" he said while trying to slow the box down with his feet, but it was too late since Sonic stopped feeling the ground and looked down to find they would fall. "Oh damn..." he simply said, and they fell below. Hitch turned and saw this when he heard the girls. "IZZY! SONIC!" he cried out, and the rest of the Mane 5 ran to the edge when they saw Izzy and Sonic rolling downhill. Izzy was cheering excitedly, but Sonic groaned in pain as he fell. "Ahh, this is amazing! Woo-oo-oo-oo!" Izzy cheered as she rolled up to a ramp on the hill and flipped into the air. "This is a nightmare!" Sonic yelled, still in pain with every hit, as he flipped. The box landed on a sea stack, and Sonic impacted with the box. "Auch..." he groaned as the sea stack broke apart from the impact, but surprisingly, the box remained intact as it fell into the water, with Sonic falling as well. The others saw this and were worried and shocked. They worried for Izzy and Sonic but were also shocked at how strong that trap was since it didn't break on impact with the sea stack. "You have got to be kidding me..." Hitch said in disbelief, hoping that Izzy was okay but also wondering what Phyllis used to make these traps that strong. The trap resurfaced, relieving the group as Izzy laughed inside the box, finding it quite fun. On the other hand, Sonic was sitting over the top of the box with an orange fish on his face. He took the fish out and threw it back to the sea, grinning out loud. "I hate water..." Hitch fell to his flank as he felt down about what had happened that day. "My perfect tour... ruined!" he cried out. He flopped his head to the ground in despair, and the girls watched him. Izzy levitated herself back to the group with Sonic still sitting on top. "Hey there, Hitchy-poo. What's wrong, buddy?" she asked in a concerned voice. Hitch then answered her as he looked down to the ground. "This tour was supposed to show you that Maretime Bay is an amazing place to live!" he pointed out, wanting to show his friends that Maretime Bay is amazing. "Well, mission complete, sheriff," Sonic spoke as he wrung the water from his gloves and put them back. "Huh?" Hitch called out in curiosity, trying to get what he meant by that. "We just had a blast. And it's all thanks to you!" Izzy pointed out as the other girls smiled at Hitch. "Yeah, I've always wanted to see the Houvre. It's like a totally famous museum!" Pipp spoke from the museum earlier, stating that she always wanted to see it and got her wish thanks to Hitch. "And how cool was that ropes course?" Zipp pointed out the rope course they had seen earlier and found the obstacle amazing. "I'm definitely going to check that out!" she added, wanting to return there sometimes. "Count me on that boat too, Zipp!" Sonic yelled joyfully, getting water out of his shoes as he let the water drop on the edge. "So...You all like Maretime Bay?" Hitch asked with a smile. "We love it!" Pipp called out with a cheer. "I feel more at home now," Zipp replied. "Best tour I've ever been on. Seriously." Izzy said, even though she didn't look anything at all. "It was an amazing ride," Sonic added with a smile. "Except for the part where I fell into water..." Sunny came to Hitch smiling. "See, Hitch? When something doesn't go to plan, you just have to…" she stopped in midsection as she gave Hitch a smirk. "Wait for it... Think outside the box!" she punned out as she laughed at that joke. Sonic smirked a little and rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Okay, that was a good one, I admitted," he confessed with a smile. "That is so funny 'cause I'm inside a box!" Izzy stated, seeing Sunny's pun as Zipp and Pipp smiled at the pun. Hitch laughed at that joke, but then he gasped as he remembered something. "Outside the box!" he called out. The sheriff searched Izzy's box, trying to find something with a little grunt; he checked the bottom and found that it had an emergency release switch. "Ah-hah!" he cheered out as he flipped the switch. Then the Unicorn trap unfolds itself, releasing Izzy from the trap as her friends look at her with smiles. Izzy checked her surroundings as she trotted around her friends. "I'm a unicorn again!" she cheered as she bent down to the 'X' spot of the box. "We made some good memories though, didn't we, box? Now I can take the real tour!" she announced with a smile, as her friends smiled as well. A little while later, the group retook the Maretime Bay tour to show Izzy what they had seen. "Right this way, and you'll see... Ah!" Hitch tried to show them something but was cut off when he stepped on another unicorn trap, this time being him the one trapped, as the others looked at him with a look and Sunny's face walked herself. "...Uugh!" Hitch groans as karma strikes him. Sonic, whoever, didn't take it too well and groaned. "OH, FOR CHAOS SAKE!" he yelled, as his electric power unleashed around his body. He pressed the red button, but since it didn't work like the last trap, he moved the box to one side, making Hitch groan in pain inside the box, and pressed the emergency switch button. Once Hitch was free, although lying on the floor, Sonic took the trap and strongly threw it into the ocean. "I hate those stupid boxes!" he yelled, but once he turned around, he found the shocked faces of his friends. He then realized how he was looking, closed his eyes, and the electricity faded away. "Hehe... I guess I crossed the line there, didn't I?" he said with a nervous smile, blushing a little. THE END Author's Note Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
22. Zipp's Yes DayIn the Maretime Bay smoothie stand, Hitch, Izzy, Pipp, Sonic, and Knuckles were gulping down their smoothies as fast as possible. "Go! Go! Go! Go!" Sunny and Tails cheered out in encouragement. Sunny held a timer stopwatch, and Tails had a little notebook with the scores. "Aaannnddd…" Sunny said, keeping her eyes on the watch with excitement. At that moment, Pipp finished her smoothie fast and slammed the glass on the counter. "Totally done!" she called out with a little hiccup. "Again!" she added with a smile. Sunny stopped the watch and checked the time record. "7.1 seconds. It’s a new Gulpathon record, Pipp!" she announced with a smile. "And with that..." Tails said as he twirled a pencil with a hand and wrote a point for Pipp. "... Pipp and Sonic are now on a tie 4 vs 4!" he finished, as the scores showed Pipp and Sonic on a tie, while Knuckles had 2 points, Hitch 1 and Izzy got none. Pipp smiled at her record as she turned to the others. Sonic finished his smoothie next, took a breath, and looked over at Pipp. "Well, look at that. Someone's been practicing," he said with a smile. "Learned from the best," Pipp replied as she winked at him, which caused Sonic to blush a little. The next to finish was Knuckles, who slammed his glass on the counter with frustration. "Damn! I thought I finally got it!" he cried out. Hitch finished his smoothie next and breathed after slurping the cold smoothie, while Izzy hadn't finished her smoothie yet. Izzy looked at what was left of her smoothie, not wanting to feel left out, so she smirked and looked around to verify her friends were paying attention, then tossed the smoothie content out of the cup. "Done!" she called out with a smile. "Hey!" Posey’s voice was heard behind them. "Hooo! I drank that whole smoothie so fast!" Izzy lied with a smile and sparkling eyes. It was the fastest I’ve ever done. Wow," she finished. Then Posey cleared her throat and tapped Izzy on her shoulder, making the unicorn turn. Then, Posey saw Posey next to her, with an angry look and some smoothie that Izzy had accidentally tossed at her. "Oh. Hi, Posey," Izzy greeted with a smile. "Loving the new do. Purple highlights? Funky!" she cheered to Posey, thinking the smoothie was a new dew. Posey got even madder since her head became red with gritted teeth. "Unbelievable!" she snapped and walked away in anger. The four ponies and Team Sonic watched her go, a little shocked by her outburst. "And here I thought that she would be a lot nicer after Bay Day..." Sonic commented with concern. "Guess I should have expected that it wasn't going to happen," he added with a bored expression. And then, Tails looked at Pipp and counted down with his fingers. "3, 2, 1..." he said. After counting down, Pipp gasped when she started to feel something painful. "Uh-oh! I knew it!" she said while holding her head as it started to turn light blue. "Here it comes!" she said while clutching her head. "No! Agh, no! No, no, no, no, no!" Sonic cried out as he held his head, which turned light blue as well. His quills turned on with some electricity because of the pain. "You've gotta be kidding me!" Knuckles yelled as well, holding his nos light blue head. "Ah! Can’t stop it now!" Hitch said, clutching his head as it turned blue as well. "Brain freeze!" Pipp, Sonic, Knuckles, and Hitch cried out since drinking their smoothies at a fast rate frizzed their brains. "Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!" Pipp cried out while Hitch moaned in pain from his brain freeze. "Agh, why does this always happen with cold drinks?!" Sonic complained as he groaned in pain. Izzy was the only one who didn’t have a brain freeze since she didn’t drink all her smoothies that fast, but she didn't want to be left out, so she played along. "Oh, no! I've also got the... the freeze!" she cried out fakely, pretending to have a brain freeze. "Oh! Ooh, it burns! I mean, uh, so cold!" she said. Zipp was flying by in the sky, and then she saw her friends sin Sunny and Tails groaning in pain from the brain freeze they were having. "Oh, no!" Zipp yelled with worry, then flew down in front of the stand, where Sunny was cleaning a smoothie cup, and Tails was preparing some more smoothies for another round. "What happened? Are they okay?" she asked with worry. "Oh, it's just a bit of a brain freeze. It'll be over any second," Sunny smiled. "We’re playing a contest on who gulps down their smoothie first as fast as they can, and now Pipp and Sonic are fighting for the first place!" Tails explained to Zipp. "And Gulpathon, round twelve is up next, and there's a smoothie with your name on it, Zipp," Sunny added, holding a green smoothie for Zipp and winking at her. "What do you say?" she asked. "Yeah... tempting, but no, thanks," Zipp politely answered as she pushed the smoothie back a bit. "I'm good. I'm working on some Pegadives. Check this one out," she said and then flew to the air and did a dive bomb towards her friends. The others screamed and moved out of the way, with Sonic grabbing Pipp and Knuckles grabbing Izzy, but Sunny dropped the smoothies she was carrying, and they flew into the air. They were about to hit Posey, who was smelling a flower, but then she felt like she was moved. When she turned around, she widened her eyes since she saw Sonic covered in all the smoothies that were about to hit her. He walked to a balcony and jumped to stay on the side where he could fall into the water. "You're welcome, by the way," Sonic said in a dead tone, splashing into the water. At the Crystal Brighthouse, Izzy, Sunny, Knuckles, and Pipp were baking something while Pipp sang the Pony Hop song with a spoon as a microphone and moved around in the kitchen. Pony-pony, do the pony-ony-ony Pony-pony, do the pony-ony-ony Zipp came walking by and saw her friends in the kitchen and Pipp singing. Pipp noticed Zipp and moved closer to her, swinging her mane around. Pick up your hooves and slide to the right Shake your mane now side-to-side Then Pipp held up the spoon closer to Zipp, wanting her to try it. "Come on, Zippy! You love this song!" she cheered to her sister. "No, thanks. I'm good," Zipp answered, then she flew out of the Brighthouse. Pipp scoffed at this outcome. Izzy held a cookie in her mouth, and Sunny and Knuckles looked on with worry. "Well, that sure was something," Knuckles commented. Zipp headed to the beach a little later and landed on the sand. She looked around for her friends, but nopony was there. "That's weird. They said they'd be here," Zipp said to herself, wondering where her friends were. And then, from out of the sand, Sunny, Hitch, Pipp, and Team Sonic busted out from under the sand, startling Zipp with their sudden appearance. "Surprise!" the group called to the pegasus. "Hey!" Zipp called out in surprise. "What are you guys—?" she couldn't finish and screamed again when Izzy popped up behind her. "Surpri—!" Izzy tried to cheer but got sand in her mouth and began to cough. Zipp gave a bored expression, and the others just watched with a smile. "Okay, Zipp, it's... your turn," Izzy managed to say through her coughs. And then, Zipp responded by flying back into the sky, making a pile of sand that the others got into. Izzy spitted the rest of the sand out and looked up. "Don't you wanna be a seapony?" she asked Zipp. "No, thanks, I'm good," Zipp answered with a forgiving smile before burying them into the sand and flying off. Then, Sonic's eyes started to twitch. "No, thanks, I'm good. No, thanks, I'm good. No thanks, I'm. So. DAMN. GOOD!!!" he yelled out in anger since Zipp kept rejecting hanging out with them. Pipp shaved her head off the sand, spat some out of her mouth, and gave an annoying look. "Ugh! That's it! We have to do something! All she ever says is 'no'!" she pointed out to the rest. "I get that she has a rebellious spirit, but this is going far!" Tails complained with a little frown. "Sonic got a similar spirit, but here he is with us!" he pointed out. "Because I enjoy it even more than running," Sonic confessed with a smile. "But we gotta make her join us a little. It's starting to annoy me that she says 'no' like it was the only word in her vocabulary," he added with a frown. "But what should we do?" Knuckles questioned as he got himself out of the sand and the rest. "It's not like we can make an invitation that says, 'Want to play with us?' and put yes as the only possible answer," he pointed out. "Hmmm…" Pipp thought about what Knuckles had just said, and an idea popped into her head. "Aha!" she called out, planning to get Zipp to join them. At Mane Melody, the Mane 5 sins Zipp and Team Sonic listened to Pipp’s plan to get her sister to join while they all looked at her phone. "This is exactly what she needs…" Pipp said, then the door opened, and Zipp walked in, causing Pipp to say something that would make their plan work. "... but Zipp'd neeeeever do anything like this!" she called out, playing an act to trick Zipp. "I'd never do what?" Zipp asked with confusion. Pipp chuckled as the rest of their friends turned to Zipp. "Oh, hey, Zipp," Pipp greeted her and walked towards her sister. "Didn't see ya there. We were just watching a bunch of 'Yes Day' clips. Have you heard of 'em?" she asked. "You'd hate it," Sunny added, playing along. "You have to say 'yes' to anything," she said, which caused Hitch, Pipp, and Team Sonic to laugh as Zipp looked around in confusion. "Can you imagine?" she asked them. "Anything you want for a whole day?" Pipp added. "It would be a pain," Tails said with a smile. "You totally won't last even a second!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Big L for you, princess," Knuckles mocked with a smile. "Hey, I bet Zipp could—" Izzy tried to say. Still, she got cut off when her friends looked at her with Sunny shaking her head, Hitch waving his hoof over his neck, Pipp silencing her with a frown, Tails looking at her worried, and Sonic almost going through her soul with a glare and Knuckles holding a sign saying 'I will show them your search history'. Izzy gasped, realizing she almost screwed it, so she decided to play along. "... never do it! No way, missy! No 'Yes Days' in your future! Only 'No Days' for you for the rest of your neigh-saying life!" she cried out dramatically. Sunny, Tails, Hitch, and Pipp looked at Izzy, confused, while Sonic and Knuckles looked at her with bored expressions. On the other hand, Zipp walked closer to Izzy, giving her a tense look, and Izzy began to sweat and gulp. But then they felt relieved when Zipp answered. "I could do a 'Yes Day.' Easy," Zipp said with a confident smile. This just made the rest of the crowd laugh since their plan was working, and now they had to keep going with the act. "Good one, Zipp!" Tails mocked her as if she had just said an amazing joke. "No way!" Hitch called out. "You wish!" Sonic said with a chuckle. "Not in a million moons!" Izzy finished, keeping the pressure on. "I totally could say 'yes' for a whole day! I'll prove it!: Zipp protested to her friends. Pipp's eyes sparkled with a wide smile, and she came closer to her sister. "Re-he-heally? Zipp Storm, are you saying 'yes' to a 'Yes Day'?" she challenged her sister, placing a hoof around Zipp's neck. Zipp darted her eyes around uncertain before answering. "...Yes?" Later, Pipp started doing Zipp's mane in her salon, using her special stylish tools to do Zipp’s mane. After finishing her work, Pipp put a mirror in front of Zipp once she gave her a new look: rainbow spiky-style mane with a light bolt makeover on her face. Zipp looked surprised before smiling at her sister, loving the new look, while Pipp smiled back, and the two sisters tapped their hooves together. But while Zipp was admiring her new look, Izzy grabbed Zipp, catching said pegasus by surprise as they made it out of the salon. A little later, Izzy and Zipp were wearing helmets on Izzy's motorcycle. Izzy drove at a high speed, and Zipp screamed at the speed Izzy was going. Once Izzy stopped, Zipp jumped off the motorcycle, looking dizzy from the trip and taking off her helmet with a groan. "Whoo!" Izzy cheered, which caused Zipp to turn and see Izzy on a homemade high-diving board next to a pool filled with glitter. Izzy jumped on the board and flipped in the air. "Glitterball!" she cheered before she dived into the glitter pool, splashing glitter out in the process. Zipp looked on and smiled in awe as she approached the high dive board. She looked down at the pool, seeing Izzy swimming around in the glittering pool. "What do you say, Zipperoonie? The glitter's warm," Izzy told Zipp, encouraging her to join the glitter pile. Zipp looked at Izzy for a moment before smiling. Wanting to make things more exciting, Zipp flew into the air. With a flip, she let gravity take over as she dived into the glitter pool. "Yeaaaah!" she cheered as she splashed into the pool. Then, Sonic and Zipp race against each other, with Sonic running on the ground and Zipp flying in the air. "What's the matter, princess?" Sonic mocked up with a smirk as he was slightly ahead of Zipp. "Are you gonna let an old man kick your pegasi flank?" he kept mocking her, which caused Zipp to snort at him with a smirk. "I bet I'm older than you, hedgehog!" Zipp mocked back as she managed to pass him a little bit. "I'm 35, you know," Sonic revealed with a smirk as he boosted a little to pass Zipp. "WHAT!!" Zipp asked in shock and stopped, not expecting Sonic to be that old. Then she saw why he did this and smirked. Sonic was close to the finish line and smiled confidently since he thought he would win, but then Zipp passed him and crossed the finish line. "Yeah!" Zipp cheered while Sonic arrived and stopped with a smile, and the rest of their friends cheered at Zipp's victory. "Nice race. I like a good challenge, and you certainly are one, Zipp!" Sonic congratulated Zipp as they shook his hand and her hoof. "Thanks!" Zipp said with a smile. "By the way, is that your age, or did you just say that to win?" she questioned. "That, I am not going to tell you... yet," Sonic replied with a smirk and a wink. Later, again, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were back at the smoothie stand, with Tails joining the contest as well. "Okay, ponies. Time for the Giga Gulp!" Sunny announced while holding two big giga cups filled with smoothies, giving seven of them to her friends. Zipp caught her giga smoothie and smiled at Sunny. Sunny nodded her head, and the others smiled at her. "Aw, yeah!" Zipp said, which caused the rest to cheer. Then, they again started to gulp from the smoothies, and this time, Zipp was the first to finish her smoothie—with no brain freeze. "Yeah!" she cheered since she had won the first round. "Uh-huh!" Zipp cheered as she did another thing. "Uh-huh!" she cheered again. "Aw, yeah!" Zipp called out, having the time of her life with sparkling eyes. And then, at sunset, Zipp was forcing a smile a bit since Izzy and Tails were turning her into a seapony, while Sonic and Knuckles tried to keep themselves from laughing at how funny Zipp looked in her seapony form. Pipp then brought her phone out in front of her friends with a smile while the others saw this and huddled together. "Say 'Yes Day'!" Pipp announced as they took their group picture together. "And... post!" Pipp said to herself as she posted the picture and turned to her sister. "Okay, Zipp. Just one last thing," she said to her sister as she dragged in her big bass speaker. Come on, ponies Show me what you got I said show me what you got Here we go now, here we go The sound from the speaker was so loud it dissolved Zipp's sand sea tail. Zipp looked up at her sister, holding a smiling microphone, but then Pipp saw the sun setting. "There's no more time! Ugh, ponyfeathers! But you did it, Zipp! How do you feel?" she asked with a smile, wondering how Zipp felt after this whole thing. "Honestly, I thought it was going to be the worst day ever," Zipp confessed and smiled. "But actually, I've... well... I've had so much fun! I should say 'yes' more often!" she admitted and realized how fun hanging out with her friends was. The rest of the Mane 5 and Team Sonic cheered at Zipp with smiles, glad that Zipp would finally join them more often. "Hand it over, sis," Zipp said, sticking out her hoof, while Pipp smiled with sparkling eyes and gave her microphone to her sister. "I really do love this song!" Zipp said with a smile and sparkling eyes as she bobbed her head to the music before singing through the microphone. It's the pony hip hop! Do the pony-ony-ony! As Zipp sang, the rest were dancing to the music, once again glad that Zipp was giving them a shot to do some fun stuff with them. THE END Author's Note Just to be clear: No, Sonic isn't 35 in this fanfic. None of Team Sonic members have their canonical ages in this story, the only thing I'm respecting is that Knuckles is a year older than Sonic, but Sonic is 3 years older than Tails as well. As for their actual ages, you'll find out eventually :) P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
34. Sneaksy Strikes Again"And now, for the street art!" Posey announced to Sunny, Izzy, and Knuckles with a smile. They were all in the museum, with Posey showing one of the street art pieces, an earth pony mare holding a flower. Izzy gasped with sparkling eyes, while Sunny and Knuckles just smiled as Izzy approached the art. "It’s so beautiful!" Then Posey showed them another piece of street art: a multi-colored stallion. "Neighway!" Izzy cheered in excitement. And then, they saw a rainbow with a can of beans taped to it, and Izzy started to cry joyfully at the art. Sunny and Posey gave her a strange look, and Knuckles stared at the paint, confused. The next art was a pair of multi-colored hooves painted on a 3-D sculpture, and Izzy zipped right in front of it. "Hoof-five! Don’t mind if I do…" she said, about to touch the art until Posey got in front of her. "Hoof off Izzy! No touching the art!" Posey strictly said, which startled Izzy from her outburst. "Those are the rules," she firmly pointed out. "I would say you're just pulling off a Hitch, Posey... but I'm the deputy, and I have to follow up rules, so... yeah..." Knuckles said, scratching his head a bit embarrassed. Izzy sighed in disappointment, but then Sunny smiled and lifted her hoof to Izzy, who gasped at her and smiled. They gave each other a high hoof as Sunny laughed a bit. Now, Posey showed them many other street art on the walls. "Many street artists keep their identities secret," she explained. They believe that art can be anywhere in anything and should be experienced by everypony!" she announced with a smile. "Wow. Art can be anywhere. That’s a cool idea!" Sunny said with a smile, but then she and Knuckles looked at Izzy, who was giving a blank look while staring at the art. "Uh. Everything okay there, Izzy?" Sunny asked. "Hello? Earth to Izzy?" Knuckles called out as well. "Art can be anywhere..." Izzy repeated what Sunny and Posey said as her eyes widened and her pupils shrunk a bit, having an idea pop into her head as she zoomed away from the others. "Woohoo!" For some reason, Izzy cheered as she ran across the room, across the ceiling, which greatly confused the others. "I can be anywhere!" Izzy cheered as she popped up from the right side and then the left with a cheerful expression. "For anypony!" she added as she got between Sunny and Posey, wrapping them with her hooves and sparkling eyes. "Did you hear that? The world will never be the same!" she said, as letting the ponies go. "Well, not exactly 'anywhere.' If you want to make art in public places, you must get permission first…" Posey explained but then stopped and gasped with wide eyes. "What?" Knuckles asked, confused. Then his eyes widened as he saw the open window, and one of its sides fell into the ground, and Knuckles facepalmed. "You have got to be kidding me..." "Art! It can be anywhere!" Izzy’s voice called out through the window. Outside, Izzy waved her hooves in the air with sparkling eyes. "Did everypony hear that?!" Izzy excitedly called out to the ponies around her. She grabbed a stallion beside her and shook him, which startled the stallion. "Everything is art!" she cheered out. While looking out the museum window, Posey looked unamused. Knuckles rolled his eyes, and Sunny gave a sheepish smile. "Uh. Artists. Am I right?" Sunny said sheepishly. "Sometimes I wonder how someone so cute and pretty can be so dumb occasionally..." Knuckles muttered to himself. "I have no intention of offending you, of course." At night, the rest were asleep in their beds while Izzy was still smiling with sparkling eyes on her bed. Izzy giggled and looked around, hoping that everyone else was asleep. Once she knew they were, she got out of bed and quietly made it to the door, quietly opening it. Then she gently closed it and brought out a black hoodie with rainbow lines and stars, putting it on with a smirk. "I'm going to have to be extra sneaky if I want to get this right," Izzy said with a smirk before gasping at what she had just said. "Oh, Sneaksy! That’s good!" she said, having come up with the right name to keep her identity a secret. Sometime later, Izzy was on the roof of a house somewhere in Maretime Bay at night. Izzy: Look out, it's Sneaksy Style is on fleek-sy Take something dull And go all night to freak-sy Izzy started using her art supplies to make three art life-like designs of three ponies and mares of all three tribes as she hoofed one of her unicorn ones. "Oh yeah!" Izzy cheered. Gonna take something average And make it shine Gotta add that beauty To the Maretime Somewhere else, Izzy was creating snowflakes with red paint drops on them as she used her magic to levitate them onto some stands. Make their dreams a reality Gonna turn this place into a gallery Just let it all out for all to see 'Cause we know art's for everypony Izzy twirled next to a lamppost as she used her magic to bend it into a heart shape. She cheered. "I love it!" she said with a little laugh at her work. Then, Izzy levitated a couple of paintbrushes and sprayed paint with sparkling eyes as she cheered in excitement. She painted on a wall while she used the spray bottles next. It goes round and round, yeah We know that art makes the world Go round and round (makes the world go round) 'Cause art is for everypony Izzy twirled around as she levitated a bunch of flowers in the air, levitating her brushes and spray paint, then running with a smile and laugh as she twirled around with a cheery smile and sparkling eyes at her work. She used the spray bottle to leave her alter-ego, 'Sneaksy,' on a heart in the center with wings, a purple circle in the back with yellow lines from top to bottom as she looked on with sparkling eyes. Next to her logo was a giant street art with a crown on top, a rainbow, a yellow painting in the center, and a heart with wings on the side as Izzy waved her hoof at the sight of her work. The next morning, the others were up as Sunny looked around for something. "Has anypony seen my keys?" Sunny asked her friends. "Knuckles! Did you take my mints again?!" Tails called out from the bedroom. "For the last time, Miles, I did not take your stupid mints!" Knuckles replied in anger. "Don't you dare to call me by my name again, Knucklehead!" Tails warned from the bedroom while Knuckles just rolled his eyes. On the other hand, Hitch was chasing Sparky while holding a batch of pancakes in his hooves. "Sparky, you gotta eat some breakfast," he said to the baby dragon, who kept playing while running around. "Phone! Phone!" Pipp cried out upstairs in a panic state as she started to sweat. "Where is my phone?!" she cried out again. "Uh, Pipp..." Zipp called out to her sister with a raised eyebrow. "Check your hoof," she said while pointing at her hoof. Pipp looked at her hoof and saw that she had her phone the whole time. "Oh, phew!" she sighed in relief. Sonic, however, got downstairs quietly as he hummed to himself a familiar melody in a cheery mood. Sparky kept giggling as Hitch tried to feed Sparky on the couch, but then the baby dragon dropped the TV remote he was holding, and it clicked on a button that turned the TV on the news channel. "Breaking news!" Skye Silver announced with a smile. "Ponies are flocking to Maretime Bay to get a glimpse of the art created by a new street artist going by the name 'Sneaksy'," he announced as he showed ponies all over Maretime Bay, admiring the artwork Sneaksy did as he brought out its logo with a wink. Sunny smiled with sparkling eyes at the news. "How exciting! Maretime Bay has its street artist!" she said excitedly as Zipp and Pipp came next to her; Pipp gasped in amazement with sparkling eyes. "Gotta love a secret identity," Zipp said with a smile. Hitch had second thoughts as he held up a pen while pacing back and forth in front of the TV. "Sure, but even street artists have to follow the rules. Look at all those code violations!" he pointed out the art on the screen as he wrote in his book. "Code forty-seven-eighty-one... Looks like that's a four-twenty-three," he said with concern. Sunny just gave Hitch an amusing smile, Zipp covered her mouth with her hoof to stifle her laughter, Pipp just gave Hitch a bored expression, Knuckles came by and raised an eyebrow, and Sonic approached with a neutral look. "Is this guy aware that there's more in life than rules?" Sonic asked casually. Knuckles snorted at that. "Yeah, sure. The same way Tails knows that he needs to stop staying awake half of the night when he's doing new gadgets," he replied sarcastically. "So it's a pretty massive no," Sonic simply stated. "Exactly," Knuckles said with a frown now. "I could punch him right now, but I don't want to end up on the cell for six hours... not again," he stated. "Not again?" Sunny questioned as she and the rest looked at him, confused. "Don't ask," Knuckles begged. Then, Izzy came to them, yawning a bit tiredly. "Morning, ponies. Oh, whatcha watchin'?" she asked them after seeing the TV on. "It's being reported that her Majesty, the Queen, is relocating the most recent Sneaksy mural to Zephyr Heights," Skye Silver said to the news as it showed Queen Haven in front of the heart rainbow crown art on Hitch's station wall as she took a selfie with it, then stepped aside for Thunder, holding a power saw, to cut the wall. Hitch was slurping on a smoothie before he spit from hearing what the news had just said. "She what?!" he cried out in shock while placing his hooves on his head, knowing what that painting was attached to. "Oh boy..." Knuckles said with worry. "Sayōnara, heiwana ashita…" Sonic said with a bored expression. A little later, Thunder and Zoom used their power saws to remove the wall with the art. "STOP!" Hitch called out to the two Pegasi Guards with a look. "First Sneaksy painted on my wall without asking, and now you're stealing it?!" he yelled as he stomped his hoof in rage. Zoom and Thunder said nothing while the station's wall fell backward and crashed on the floor, where Hitch's cage is, and the three raccoonicorns in it started laughing and ran out of the giant hole in freedom. Hitch pointed at the escaped critters. He groaned with a shocked look as Zoom flew in front of him. "It's not stealing. We have a royal decree," Zoom corrected Hitch as she brought out the degree and unrolled it. Hitch looked at her while Sparky belched out one of his dragon fires, which hit the degree and turned it into a cake. Zoom just shrugged and flew back to Thunder as Hitch pointed at the giant hole in the wall. "And did your royal decree say who would fix my wall? Huh? No?" Hitch asked the two pegasi rhetorically while Zoom and Thunder walked off with the street art wall strap on a wagon. "Hey, come back here!" Hitch called out to them in anger. "You can't blame the queen for appreciating great art," Izzy pointed out, arriving next to Hitch. "Yeah, it is possible to make and love art and not break the law!" Hitch argued as Izzy grew nervous and sweated at Hitch's words. On the other hand, Hitch didn’t notice it and put on his sunglasses. "Come on, Sparky. We've got criminals to deal with," he said to Sparky, who was eating the cake he'd poofed up. Sometime later, back at the Brighthouse, Izzy talked with the friend she trusted the most about her work, Sneaksy... "You know? I'm not even surprised that you are Sneaksy, Izz," Knuckles confessed. "But you know, Hitch. He can't—he really can't—enjoy things without thinking about his stupid laws," he pointed out to her. "I know..." Izzy said with shame. "But I wasn't trying to break the law! I just wanted to make art everywhere for everypony, like a real street artist," she said to the echidna. "Well, I hope you learned your lesson, Izzy," Knuckles told her with a smile. "Next time, you–– I mean, 'Sneaksy' just need to get permission first," he added with a wink. Izzy gasped and blushed a bit but smiled as well. "Totally! Then until somepony needs my art, Sneaksy is gonna lay low," she stated. "Thanks, Knuckle!" she said as she hugged the echidna, who also blushed but returned the hug anyway. "Anytime, kid," Knuckles replied. Sometime later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were fixing up Hitch's wall. They had already stacked the brinks, so they were painting it in to finish it up. "Honestly, I'm kinda sad that Sneaksy's gone into hiding," Pipp spoke, a bit concerned. "I say hasta la vista, lawbreaker! Troublemaker!" Hitch called out, feeling glad Sneaksy was out of the radar for now. "Awww…" Izzy said quietly to herself, feeling sad that Hitch would say that. "Hitch! Harsh!" Sunny scolded Hitch for his words. "Sneaksy was just trying to fill Maretime Bay with beautiful art," she pointed out, but Hitch sighed and rolled his eyes at this. And then, Knuckles gave him a good smack to the head. "Ow! Hey," Hitch called out while rubbing his head. "I've been holding back the entire morning," Knuckles said proudly. "And you've been deserving it, too," he added. "Can't say you didn't ask for it, sheriff," Tails said mockingly. "I'm pretty sure you'd be as mad as me if you got the wall of your building sawed or something," Hitch retorted. "Mad? No doubt," Sonic confessed. "But to disparage an artist's work as trash? Not even someone with little understanding of art would do something so cruel," he frowned. "Well, I would love for Sneaksy to create an original mural for Mane Melody," Pipp said with a smile, then she gasped with sparkling eyes. "Talk about the most epic selfie wall ever!" she sang the last part as she got to Hitch’s side, who sighed, seeing that he couldn't win this one. "Do you hear me, Sneaksy? Pleeeease make me a wall!" she called out. Izzy gasped with a smile and sparkling eyes, having an idea for Pipp's request, while Knuckles saw this and gave a small smile. "Let's just hope Sneaksy knows to be invisible or something," Sonic said with concern. "I know by experience it's not pretty to meet Pipp mad," he pointed out. "Make that two, partner," Zipp said with a wide smile. "Hey!" Pipp complained with a frown. "Don't make me remind you about my recently acquired scar," Sonic told her with a bored expression. "Or the time I borrowed your phone when mine died out," Zipp added with a bored look. Pipp wanted to complain again, but after thinking about it for a few seconds, she realized they were right. "Fair points..." she said with a sheepish smile. Meanwhile, Sunny and Tails muttered to themselves, a bit apart from the rest so that they couldn't hear them. "It's good to see that Sonic and Pipp seem more comfortable talking to each other now," Sunny said with a smile. "I know," Tails said. "Let's just hope those two talk things out soon, because ignoring it isn't going to solve anything" he added a bit concerned. Later at night, the whole group was sleeping peacefully when Pipp's phone suddenly buzzed. Pipp heard her phone and tried to grab it while groaning tirelessly since she got her bed mask on. Pipp grabbed her phone but was too far from the edge of her bed. "Whoa! Whoa!" she cried out, falling to the floor. She got up and looked at her phone. "Huh?" she asked herself in confusion before she gasped in shock. "What?!" she said, looking at one of the security cameras she connected to in Mane Melody. She saw somepony, aka Izzy, aka Sneaksy, inside the salon, and the camera followed her movement. "Aah! Thief! That must be why we are always out of manespray!" Pipp called out as she got up and gasped, which caused Zipp to wake up from Pipp's tone as she looked tired at her sister. "Oh, you won't get away with this! Not on my watch!" she said, running out of the bedroom to catch said 'thief.' What she didn’t know was that on Izzy’s bed was her unicycled Izzy copy, which she put in to trick her friends into thinking she was sleeping. At Mane Melody, Pipp opened the doors and gave a victorious smile once she got there. "Aha! Gotcha!" Pipp called out with a smirk while pointing, but she only saw a spray paint bottle twirling around on the floor while Sneaksy hid behind the stage. Pipp growled at this but then gasped in amazement at what she saw next to her. "Oh, my glitter! It's better than I could've imagined!" she cheered sparklingly. She saw a sparkling mural of Mane Melody's logo on the wall, with some paint still fresh. "My very own Sneaksy mural!" Pipp said happily as she brought out her phone to take selfies. She giggled at this outcome while Izzy looked from behind the stage. But then, some glitter spilled on one of Pipp's wings, and it got her attention. "Huh?" Pipp asked herself as she wiped the glitter off her wing and looked at it on her hoof. "That is a lot of glitter," she said, then gasped in shock. "There's only one pony I know who loves glitter that much..." she said with a smirk before she gave a deep gasp in shock. "Wait! Could Izzy be Sneaksy?!" she asked in shock, placing her hoof on her chin while thinking. Izzy began to whimper, thinking Pipp might blow her cover as she ducked for cover and went out of sight. "Hmmm…" Pipp thought hard for a moment. "Nah!" she said with a smile before she started laughing. "Neighway!" she added, laughing while taking even more selfies. Outside of Mane Melody, Izzy made it out and watched Pipp, feeling relief that her secret was still safe. THE END Author's Note Yeah. The Sonic-Pipp drama didn't fit on this episode, so I'm delaying it for now. I hope the next episode can finally solve that, because I don't want to delay it forever, specially with Winter Wishday around the corner... Also, yeah, I remembered Sonic can speak Japanese, so I just added that phrase to remember that. Expect to see more 'Sonic talking in Japanese' moments in the future from now on :) P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
47. Sunny's Smoothie MovesIt's been a week since the Mane 5 and Team Sonic recovered the Pegasus Crystal from Discord. Now that magic was restored for the third time, things could finally return to normal, at least for a while. But when I said 'going back to normal,' I didn't mean for Sunny to run down an alley surrounded by ponies dressed up as fruits. No, seriously, that's literally what's happening right now because Sunny is sweating a lot, and she's cornered in a dark alley by ponies dressed up as fruits. "Sunny, stop right there!" one of the ponies said, and Sunny turned around and looked at the ponies with fear. "There's no escape!" an earth pony stallion dressed up as a banana said with a frown. "No getting away now!" An earth pony mare, who's dressed up as an orange, stated with a frown. Suddenly, another stallion appeared, also wearing a strawberry costume. "Not without putting us into your…" he started with a frown before he and the other two ponies gave her cheerful smiles. "All new smoothies!" he finished, as the three ponies smiled with sparkling eyes and held out a smoothie. After that, Sunny turned around, and the background changed to show fruits behind her. "Sorry! Our brand-new smoothies only contain all-new fruits! Grown in the community garden!" she said with a smile, while the background switched to the community garden, with so many fruits that the earth pony has grown with their magic. "Like kiwi-paya, pear-nana, and razzleberries!" she listed, showing each type of fruit with a smile and sparkling eyes. Then, the scene changed to the three ponies, still in their costumes, sipping smoothies with smiles. Finally, the scene switched to Sunny at the smoothie stand. Sunny was holding up a tray of smoothies while sweating exhaustedly. "Try 'em all today!" she called out with a smile. "You'd be bananas not to!" The stallion, dressed as a banana, cheered beside her, holding his smoothie cup. "And cut!" Tails' voice called out as he tapped his phone, revealing that he was livestreaming the whole thing to show Sunny's new smoothies to the ponies quickly. "Perfect! We got it this time for sure!" Tails said with a smile. "And the giant fruit?" Sunny asked hopefully. "All added with the filters!" Tails replied with a cheery smile as he appended his phone to show the filters of the giant fruit costumes the three ponies wore. Upon hearing that, Sunny squealed in excitement. "Amazing! Thank you so much for your help, Tails!" she thanked him. She hugged him, and Tails chuckled and smiled back at Sunny. Then, she gasped in excitement. "I can't wait for ponies to try these new flavors! They're gonna love 'em!" she cheered with a smile. "Maybe not immediately... but I'm pretty sure they'll be more open with time..." Tails tried to assure with a nervous smile. Just then, Posey came to the stand and held out a pear-nana with a bored expression and a small smile. "New flavors?" she asked with a snort. "I think not. Tropical treat for me, as always," she said to Sunny with a smirk, who appeared inside the stand with a sheepish smile. "Are you sure we can't interest you in––?" Sunny tried to ask, grabbing the pear-nana and trying to convince Posey. "Tropical treat, please, Sunny," Posey repeated firmly with a frown. "And banana smoothie here. Thanks," Thunder said with a small smile as he approached the stand. Tails also entered the stand and looked at the clients with a bored expression. "Told ya," he remarked. Sunny sighed in disappointment. "The same old smoothie flavor is coming right up," she said with sadness, walking to her blender to make the smoothies. "Aw, come on, Sunny. Don’t be sad..." Tails told her with worry as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "They just heard about new flavors, yet they still want the same thing. Just let them get tired of those flavors to give a chance to the new ones finally, okay?" he assured her with a little smile. "Sometimes, trying something new is just hard, and it can also be scary for some people... and ponies..." he pointed out. Suddenly, Sunny gasped after he said that and smiled. "You're right, Tails. So, we need to make trying the new flavors easy," she stated with a determined look. "... Sunny..." Tails said with a raised eyebrow. "You are not trying to force ponies into buying your smoothies now, are you?" he asked, crossing his arms. "Because last time you tried to force something, the entire town ended up covered by giant flowers," he pointed out with a bored expression. Sunny chuckled nervously at that reminder. "I'm just gonna make ponies' choices easier! They're free to choose their usuals, but what I have in mind might inspire them to try something else! Promise!" she assured with a smile. "... Are you absolutely sure?" Tails asked with concern. "I don't want you to feel disappointed, you know? Not after what happened to you when everypony just listened because you are an Alicorn... Nor when ponies made fun of you on your trip... Nor when you made a lot of effort to bake those cookies for our friends..." he confessed, scratching his arm nervously. "I know I probably didn't help that much in all these, but... I do understand how badly you must felt when the world either laughed at you or followed you just because of what you are and not by who you are... I understand that a lot..." he added with worry. "... You do?" Sunny asked with concern. "I wasn't popular the way I wish I could have been back home..." Tails started to explain. "People made fun of me because of my extra tail. They all thought I was a weirdo... They hated me because I was different. After meeting Sonic, my confidence did grow a bit, but I managed to do some things on my own with no help from anyone. I never stopped hearing people making fun of me. It wasn't about my tails anymore, though, but... It still hurt me. Nobody liked me just for who I am, or for what I believe..." he confessed, as he started to tear up a bit sad now. "I-It doesn't bother me that much anymore, b-but... It hurts to think that some people don't appreciate me for being... me..." he finished with sadness. Sunny gasped after Tails said all of this. Her ears fell in sadness, and her heart broke into pieces. Immediately, she pulled him into a comforting hug, which startled him a bit. "Tails... You are not a weirdo..." Sunny said with a little smile. "You are one of the most brilliant, wonderful,, and heroic creatures I've ever met. What you do, why you do it, and for who you do it speaks miles more about you than you or anyone could ever imagine..." she stated with a confident tone. "Ever since you arrived in Equestria, you've been to me like the little brother I always wanted! No wonder why Sonic trusts you so much. You are a wonderful friend and brother, Tails..." she finished. Tails felt more tears fall since all those words touched him. He hugged her tightly, allowing himself to smile a bit. "T-Thanks, Sunny..." Tails said, breaking the hug and drying his tears. "I... I really needed that," he assured. "I wanted to tell you this because I don't want you to feel disappointed again if this doesn't end up like you expect it," he confessed. "Don't worry, Tails," Sunny said with a smile. "With what I have in mind, I'm sure this is gonna work!" she assured confidently. Later on, Sunny and Tails gathered the rest of the Mane 5, Sparky, Sonic, Knuckles, and even Misty, who came along to take a break from Opaline's silly plans to steal Sparky's dragon fire. And yes, Eggman allowed her to leave and have fun, even though he knew she'd be hanging out with his mortal enemies. "Listen up! It's time to try something new!" Sunny announced to her friends with a smile. "But before we move to that, Where's Discord?" Tails asked with a raised eyebrow. "He said something about not coming because he's having some time to meditate about why he stoled the Pegasus Crystal and why he caused us so much trouble for 10 issues that could have been perfectly 5," Sonic replied with a bored expression. "In other words, He's giving himself therapy for making us look after him for around 3 months," Knuckles stated with his arms crossed. "So he's not showing up, then?" Sunny asked. "Nope," Sonic replied. "Nuh-uh," Knuckles added, as he negated with his head. "Guess I'll explain him another day," Sunny said with a bored expression. "Anyway, there are over three million new flavor combos for my smoothie stand!" she announced cheerfully, her eyes sparkling. She also placed her hooves on her cheeks with a smile. "Blah!" Izzy called out, which startled everyone else. "Three million?! How do you remember anything after two million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine?" she asked in confusion. "I swear, Izzy, that you and this Knucklehead are the only beings in the entire multiverse that can count to that number without sweating..." Sonic said with a bored expression, also pointing at Knuckles at his side. "... I'll usually complain, but you're right. I do can," Knuckles stated with a mocking smirk. Sunny giggled at that before looking back at Izzy. "It's easy to count that many with the help of…" she started, giving Izzy a smirk and pointing at her smoothie stand. Just then, Bot-y McBakertons came wheeling by as he stopped and showed that he had been upgraded. Now he had a screen that showed different fruits, some tubes with a filter, a blue bowtie, and a hole at the end of the tube and holder for a cub to be. Then, Tails tapped his finger on the screen, pressing the razzleberry icon, which caused McBakertons to beep and play an eight-bit music that reminded a lot of that kind of games. Then, it dropped a cup, poured some smoothie of the razzleberry content, closed it up, and placed the straw on it. "Wow!" Sunny and the others said in amazement, looking at the smoothie with smiles and sparkling eyes. "Bot-y McBakertons!" Izzy cheered for her chief bot and saw the upgrades Sunny and Tails gave him. "I love the bowtie. It's very robot-chic," she said with a smile. "We gave a few updates to old McBakertons here," Tails said with a smile. "Hope it doesn't bother you, Izz!" he added, now with a sheepish smile. "Bother me? I love it!" Izzy stated with a cheery smile. "I AM... BEEP-BOP-BOOP! ...PROGRAMMED TO SERVE... BEEP! ...SMOOTHIES," McBakertons said in his robot voice. Sunny and Tails smiled at this outcome, turning back to the others. "Go ahead! Choose your smoothie. Let's find that perfect combo!" Sunny said to the others, who were looking on with sparkling eyes, while Sunny picked up a razzleberry. And so, Izzy came first as she looked at McBakertons' screen with a small smile. "Hmmm, let's see now. So I always get dreamy creamy. But today, I think I'll have... ooh, ummm…" she thought for a second, while Sunny and Tails came next to her with smiles, as Izzy swiped on the screen to pick her options. "Ah! Oh, yes! I found it! Dreamy creamy!" she cheered. Sunny and Tails were surprised that Izzy chose her usual choice, especially Sunny. "Oh, but Izzy, why not try––" Sunny tried to say but was cut off. "Super citrus for me!" Hitch called out with a smile while Sparky licked his lips and babbled happily, nodding in agreement with Hitch's choice. "Hitch!" Sunny calls out, sweating nervously, while Hitch realizes what he just said, sweating a bit as well. "And I'll have my usual: Peanut butter and banana!" Zipp stated with a smile, while Misty came next to her as she waved her hoof to Sunny with a smile. "Merry berry, please!" Misty cheered. "Um, guys? You're missing the point––" Tails tried to reason with them but was cut off by Pipp, who flew next to Sunny. "And put me down for one––" Pipp started. "Let me guess. Strawberry ripple?" Sunny asked with a bored expression. "Sunny, you know me so well," Pipp said, as she landed with a smile at Sunny. "Sorry, Sunny, but we know what we like," Hitch said to Sunny with a sheepish smile, while Misty and Zipp nodded in agreement. "It's risky to try anything else," he added. Sunny looked down in sadness while Tails at her side placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "You guys missed the whole point," Knuckles said with a bored expression as he approached McBakertons and tapped at the icons of the pear-nana and the kiwi-paya. Once the smoothie was done, the echidna grabbed the cup and walked away while Sonic zoomed by, pressed the razzleberry icon, and grabbed his smoothie after it was done, not saying a single word as he tossed two bits to Sunny with his right thumb. In comparison, the earth pony grabbed the two bits, and then looked confuses at Sonic and Knuckles. "This tastes good!" Knuckles said with a smile. "Also, we did pay attention in class," he added mockingly. "Besides, helping is what we do!" Sonic added with a wink and smirk towards Sunny while he toasted his cup with Knuckles'. Sunny and Tails smiled at this outcome, but then, Zipp zoomed past them and went to McBakertons with a smile. "PB and B!" Zipp cheered as she tapped on the screen. "Ripple!" Pipp cheered as she appeared beside her sister with a smile and sparkling eyes. "Dreamy creamy!" Izzy cheered next with sparkling eyes as well. And then everyone, except Sunny and Team Sonic, started to tap their suggestions over McBakertons', which caused Bot-y McBakertons to twitch and his head to spin as he started to smoke. "Whoa! Everypony, slow down! Bot-y can't handle so many orders at once!" Sunny called out, sweating nervously. "You guys should stop right now!" Tails called out in panic. "If you keep going, he's going to––" he tried to warn. Unfortunately, McBakertons was already losing control. "FLAVOR ERROR! FLAVOR ERROR! FLAVOR ERROR!" he called out, while his head kept spinning and sparks and screws were flying out of him. The rest of the Mane 5, Sparky, and Misty, stopped tapping his screen as they realized their mistake, sweating with nervous expressions while McBakertons brought out one of his tubes and aimed it at them. "Aah! Look out! Smoothie incoming!" Zipp called out in panic. After that, they all ducked for cover as McBakertons started to spin around and shoot out different smoothie flavors all over the town while the ponies around them ran for cover as well. "SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION! SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION! SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION!" McBakertons called out as the Mane 5, Sparky, Misty, and Team Sonic watched him go with wide eyes as the robot wheeled into town. Soon enough, however, Sunny gave a determined look and decided to chase him, with her friends following up, although Sonic and Knuckles finished their smoothies before tossing them into a trash can. Misty stopped suddenly before following the rest, as she felt the ladybug Eggman gave her, moving from its hidden spot on her collar and approaching her ear. "Misty, darling, be careful with that thing. If washing out a bad smell is bad, don't get me started on washing off fruit from the body!" Eggman instructed her through the ladybug. With a nod and a determined look, Misty rushed up to catch up with the others. In another street of Maretime Bay, Bot-y McBakertons continued to shoot smoothie flavors all over the town while it also hit some ponies. "SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION! SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION! SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION!" McBakertons called out, moving to an alleyway and wheeling down while the others followed them, dodging some smoothies that came their way. Hitch followed next with Sparky on his back, but he slid across the floor on a smoothie path on the ground, which caused Hitch to scream while Sparky giggled in excitement as they slid away from the group. Knuckles noticed that, so he stopped moving before opening up a portal by pulling out a warp ring from his quills and throwing it to a wall. Then, the portal opened right in front of Hitch, and Knuckles placed his hand in front of the stallion so he could stop sliding, but in the process, he seemed to hit his head with Knuckles' arms way too hard, because he fell knocked out into the floor, which made Knuckles cringe since he hit him too hard by mistake. The rest, however, saw the mess McBakertons caused, with a pony covered in smoothies, while Dahlia tried to shake one-off, and a bunnycorn was covered in a green smoothie and shaking in fear. Then, McBakertons came rushing while chasing two mares, an earth pony and Flare, as they tried to escape the robot. "It's loaded with three million fruit combos!" Sunny called out nervously, while the rest looked at her with worry before Sunny gasped in realization. "Oh, no, the whole town is gonna be covered in sa moothie!" she called out in panic. "I thought you were just exasperating about the three million fruit combo!" Tails said in panic. "Why did you have to put that many in McBakertons?!" he asked her in shock. "I thought it was a good idea at the time, okay?!" Sunny replied in panic. "I just wanted to let the ponies try something new and give it a chance!" she cried out worriedly. "Yeah, but not like this!" Tails pointed out with anxiety. "You two, stop fighting!" Sonic said as he got in between Sunny and Tails. "We got more important stuff to worry about!" he pointed out with a frown. "Like the fact that Queen Haven's gonna get her hair messed up?" Knuckles asked with a panicked expression as he held Hitch on an arm and Sparky on a shoulder while the sheriff was feeling dizzy because of his early hit with Knuckles' arm. "I'm sorry, who's gonna what now?!" Pipp asked in a panic. And right then, from Mane Melody, the door opened as Thunder and Queen Haven walked out of the salon, with Haven having a new mane style. "Your style's a masterpiece, Majesty. Not a single hair out of place!" Thunder complimented her with a smile. "And after five hours in Mane Melody, I'd like to keep it that way," Haven said, not noticing that McBakertons was coming on her way while spinning and shooting smoothie out. The group gasped in shock after they realized that. "Mom! Nooooo!" Zipp called out in panic. "Her hair will be ruined!" Pipp cried out dramatically. With that in mind, Zipp gave a determined look and boosted towards McBakertons as she sped up while Thunder and Haven were distracted. Then, McBakertons shot out a smoothie, but before it could hit any of them, Zipp came in front of them, and caught it in her mouth, eating the smoothie in the air. The rest saw this with smiles, except for Misty, who looked at her in surprise. "Huh... That’s it!" Tails called out with a smile. "Hope you're thirsty, guys, 'cause we got fresh smoothies coming up!" he stated to the others confidently. Meanwhile, the McBakertons kept shooting smoothies, spinning out of control. Once they noticed this, Thunder and Haven startedled. Thunder stood in front of Haven to protect her and her mane, but then Sunny and Tails came in and caught each smoothie in their mouths. Next, Hitch, Knuckles, and Izzy did the same as they caught two more, while Thunder and Haven smiled at their timing. Finally, Sonic and Pipp caught a smoothie in their mouth, landing on the floor while Pipp tasted the flavor. "Mmmm! Hey! Straw-nana?" she guessed from the taste, gasping with sparkling eyes and a smile. "Not bad!" she said. Sonic licked his fingers, finishing up with his thumb. "You know? You are right! This mix tastes great!" he stated with a smirk. However, McBakertons kept spinning and moving across the town while ponies were screaming and running out of the way. "Quick! It's the only way to stop the town getting 'smoothie'd'!" Hitch called out with a determinate look while he and the rest rushed after McBakertons. The Pippsqueaks were looking at their phones with smiles until McBakertons came over them, startling the Pippsqueaks and making their eyes grow wide in surprise. "SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION! SMOOTHIE––!" McBakertons called out as he spun and shot a ton of smoothies out towards the Pippsqueaks while they huddled together and closed their eyes, prepared to get hit by smoothies. However, both Sonic and Pipp appeared in front of them and caught each one a smoothie in her mouth. At Posey's place, she was placing her white sheets on a hanger line with a smile. "—IE MALFUNCTION!" McBakertons' voice spoke, which made Posey turn and see him spinning and shooting smoothies toward her sheets, which made Posey scream as she tried to cover her white sheets. But just then, Sunny and Tails came in and caught each smoothie in their mouths while Posey watched them in surprise before McBakertons moved away as Sunny and Tails smiled at Posey. "Take this as a favor for all those times our mess affected you, too, Posey!" Tails said with a smirk and a wink. Posey smiled and nodded at him, accepting his apology. Somewhere in Maretime Bay, Rufus was about to show off his magic trick to the crowd of ponies, but then, McBakertons came right behind them. "SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION!" McBakertons called out as the crowd screamed and moved out of the way. Then, Izzy appeared from Rufus' magic hat, surprising the stallion, while Izzy caught smoothies in her mouth, and then Misty jumped up in front of them and caught smoothies in her mouth as well on both sides. "You're welcome!" Izzy said to Rufus with a wink. "Haha! That's my girl!" Eggman cheered on Misty's ear through the ladybug, which made Misty smile proudly on herself. In an alley, Sparky, a raccoonicorn, and bunnycorn were running away from McBakertons. However, they unfortunately hit a dead end, huddling in fear as McBakertons was coming close and two smoothies were about to hit them, but then, Hitch and Knuckles got in front of them as they caught each a smoothie in their mouths. "SMOOTHIE MALFUNCTION!" McBakertons called out as he kept shooting smoothies and started spinning. Hitch and Knuckles acted quickly, reaching each smoothie in their mouths at a fast pace until McBakertons stopped spinning and wound down, falling to the floor and finally shutting down. The rest of the Mane 5, Sonic, and Tails made it with Hitch and Knuckles. They saw the entire thing and were amazed by the sheriff and deputy of Maretime Bay. "Whoa! Guys! That was seriously heroic!" Sunny said with a slight blush and a huge smile. "Nice reflexes, Knucklehead!" Sonic complimented with a smirk. "Didn't know you had that on you!" he confessed while Tails at his side nodded in agreement. However, Hitch and Knuckles looked at their friends, their mouths filled with all the smoothies they had caught, their faces a little messy, and their cheeks puffed up, before they gulped them down in one go and gave their friends a tired smile. "Just... doing our share of duty," Hitch said tiredly, as he groaned at the amount of smoothies he caught and swallowed. "Is... part of the job... Jesus... I'm gonna get sick at this rate..." Knuckles said with a painful expression. Just then, Sparky climbed on Hitch's back and hugged him, while the two critters hugged Knuckles by his legs, thanking them for saving them, while the sheriff and deputy smiled at them. "Sorry about Bot-y McBakertons, Izzy..." Tails apologized, scratching his neck in shame. "Ah, don’t worry, it was our fault for overloading him. Besides, I could fix Bot-y right ahead! He should be good as new in no time!" Izzy assured with her usual cheery smile. Suddenly, Sparky started to lick some smoothie from Hitch’s cheeks, and he seemed to love it because his eyes sparkled, and he moved his arms towards Hitch's face, trying to reach for more of that smoothie. "Hey, if Sparky likes it…" Hitch started picking some off his cheeks and licking it before gasping with sparkling eyes and a smile. "All the smoothies have run into each other! This might be the most delicious one yet!" he stated confidently. Knuckles raised an eyebrow, and so, he picked some from his eat and tasted it, as his eyes sparkled as well while a light illuminated over him. "Is this how the glorious banquets of the gods taste?!" he asked dramatically. "Oh, come on, it can't be that––" Sonic said, as he grabbed some from the floor and licked it before his eyes sparkled. "Holy cow, this is amazing..." he ended up replying. Sunny picked some up from Hitch's cheek and licked it, smiling afterward. "It's a smoothie... made out of smoothies! Oh, the perfect combo!" she cheered with a smile and sparkling eyes before smirking at Hitch. "What can we call it?" she asked him. "I guess... It is made up of all the best bits of everything. Why not call it the 'Alicorn Special'?" Hitch suggested with a smile. Sunny then smiled with sparkles in her eyes at Hitch's name idea, finding it perfect. As both earth ponies smiled at each other, Tails got right in between them from the ground and smirked at them. "So... is this the part where you two love birds kiss each other and go get a room now?" he asked with a teasing tone and a mocking smirk. Sunny and Hitch immediately blushed at that statement and looked down at Tails with a frown. "Shut up, Tails!" they scolded him, as Tails got away with a mocking chuckle while everyone else busted out laughing at his joke. Later on, ponies were lined up at the smoothie stand while Sunny and Tails were passing smoothies as the ponies chattered while they waited in line. Around them, other ponies already had their smoothies and were slurping them while Sunny waved her hooves at them with a smile, although she didn't notice her Cutie Mark glowing. Soon enough, Pipp joined them at the stand. "Whoa, Sunny! The Alicorn Special is, like, totally a hit!" she cheered with a smile. "I've never seen this many ponies lining up before!" Tails pointed out with a smile. "This is a 'must try' once everypony gets tired of it!" he confidently assured. "Yeah! Only the problem is... now nopony wants to try anything else!" Sunny pointed out with a small smile. "Oh well... As I said, they'll eventually get tired of it... Maybe..." Tails said with an anxious look now. After that, the three friends burst out laughing at the comment. THE END Author's Note No Love-bird declaration today. Checking out the TYT schedule, what I originally had planned for this episode, I decided to move it for the next one, and what I was going to do with next episode will be delayed to Episode 49. Sorry to disappoint you, guys, but I hope you understand this change is for the better. P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!
61. When Light and Darkness CollideAuthor's Note WARNING! I highly advice to read Sonic Frontiers x My Little Pony, Sonic x Make Your Mark: Season 3 and Sonic x Equestria Girls G5 before keep reading This is definitely the biggest amount of stories dropped in-between TYT Episodes, and even if this episode is a recap of all the stories I just linked, it's still better to go and read them all because 1- You get better context, and 2- I get support to keep going. With that warning out, enjoy the episode! 61. When Light and Darkness Collide The first Cyberspace portal in Kronos Island started to shine bright. Soon, Sonic was sent by launch out of the portal, and he rolled a bit in the grass before stopping, with his face now smashed into the floor. "Ugh..." Sonic groaned, before slowly standing up while shaking his head. Then, he started to look around confused. "Uh... Tails? Sunny?! Zipp!" "Mortal," A robotic voice spoke suddenly. "Yow!" Sonic exclaimed, turning around to find... nothing. However, he heard a voice coming from the sky, so he looked up to face the sky. "Hello?" "You have done the impossible," The voice replied. "You have escaped Cyber Space through your own power. You... are the key." "'Key', huh? Sure beats being called a rodent," Sonic said with a bored expression. "Are you saying I can rescue my friends?" He questioned with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. "Find the Chaos Emeralds," The voice replied. "Destroy the titans," they instructed, while Sonic moved his index finger desperately. "Tear down the walls between dimensions." "Yeah––okay––sure..." Sonic replied with a bored expression. "How about a little context?" He requested, but surprisingly, the voice didn't said anything. "Hello?" With no response coming, Sonic deadpanned and shook his head in both annoyance and frustration, not noticing that a mysterious human-like figure was watching him on the skies. "Oh well," Sonic said as he shrugged, then he tapped the tip of his right shoe on the ground, preparing for running a bit. "Some direction is better than none. Here we go!" "Wait just a second!" Shadow's voice suddenly interrupted... Back in reality, in the Brighthouse's living room, Sonic blinked a few times confused. But then, he deadpanned when he realized that Shadow cut him off, so he looked at him with an annoyed expression. Sonic was apparently re-telling all the events of the Starfall Islands, since Misty, Amy and Team Dark didn't had the chance to hear the whole story because once everyone arrived from there, they stood just three or four days and then left on their separate ways for 6 months, but now it was time for them to know... That is, of course, if anyone lets Sonic tell the story and doesn't interrupts him. "Yes, Shadow?" Sonic asked with a bored expression, also raising an eyebrow. "You heard a strange and creepy voice coming out of nowhere and didn't questioned it?" Shadow deadpanned. "Didn't Black Doom showed up in front of you, told you some gibberish, then left, and you decided to collect the Chaos Emeralds because of that?" Sonic countered, still with a bored expression. Shadow raised a finger to reply, but seeing where Sonic was going with the question, he regret it and shut up. "That's what I thought. Now stay quiet and let me narrate in peace," Sonic said with a frown, while Shadow rolled his eyed annoyed. "As I was saying, I ran across Kronos Island..." "Just then, I found Sunny encaged!" Sonic narrated. Sonic approached the capsule were Sunny was trapped, which broke after a few seconds, while the energy of it entered on Sonic's left arm, which he was using to cover himself from the capsule's sudden explosion. Sunny looked around confused, then slowly landed on the grass. However, something was wrong with her: She was on a digitalized state, meaning that she was here, but not at the same time. Sunny looked around a bit confused. She could recognize that this was Kronos Island, since she read about the place before, and also saw some pictures; but she didn't get how she ended up here in the first place. Sonic lifted up his sight and looked at Sunny, both happy but also half concerned. He technically saved her from the capsule, but her current state was a clear sign that she still needed help. "Hey there, Sunny-bunny!" Sonic greeted with a mocking tone, with his left hand still absorbing the energy of Sunny's capsule, having a glitchy aspect and a red with black color. "Sonic!" Sunny said with a small smile, that vanished when she saw Sonic's arm. "Are you alright?!" "Me?" Sonic said with a raised eyebrow and a teasing smile. "You're the one who's only half here!" Sunny looked at herself, wondering why she was on such a weird state, but still worried about Sonic. "I feel fine. But that energy that was holding me prisoner went into you!" "Eh, I've been infused with weird zappy stuff before," Sonic pointed out calmly. "Besides, I feel like it gave me some kind of boost!" "Still... I doubt that you should be absorbing that energy," Sunny pointed out, still worried. "It's okay, Sunny. As long as I can get you out of this state, I don't mind," Sonic assured with a smile. "Well... in that case, we need to get moving," Sunny stated, now a bit more relaxed. "If I was trapped, I'm pretty sure Tails and Zipp are too!" "Good call," Sonic told her. "This place has the Chaos Emeralds capsuled, so if you could give me a hand to find them, it would be great! As for Tails and Zipp, I'll scout around to look after them and find you later. Deal?" He added, boosting away from her. "Deal!" Sunny shouted. "Be careful!" Sonic came out of nowhere from behind her and stopped in front of her, turning around with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Careful? Where's the fun in that?" Montage time! Now we see Sonic freeing Hitch, Sparky and the critters from their Cyber Cage, while Sunny wrapped Hitch into a hug, while the cage's Cyber Energy entered into Sonic's body and affected him. Next, we see Sonic running across different Cyberspace stages, successfully getting out of every stage with the keys to unlock the Chaos Emeralds and collect them. I don't care what you're thinking As you turn to me 'Cause what I have in my two hands Is enough to set me free (set me free) Now, we see Sonic grabbing the Red Chaos Emerald after getting out of one of the stages. But as he ran away towards the next Chaos Emerald, a Titan appeared in front of him and blocked the way. Even weirder, a human-like girl was floating next to the titanic creature. Still, Sonic shrugged it off and tried to keep going. The Titan looked directly at Sonic, and raised a leg to stomp once again. Sonic smirked, confident that he'll dodge the attack again, but then, the Titan stomped in the ground, which make it broke and flew in the air. Sonic tried to stop, but then he went flying as well, as he screamed in the air. He managed to gain composure, and used his Homing Attack against some rocks to get close to the Titan's head. Then, he started to use his Homing Attack several times on the Titan. However, he stopped for a second when he noticed that the Titan was moving his right hand... but got no time to react when it grabbed him. Sonic grunted in pain, trying to get free of the Titan's grip, but the creature then threw Sonic strong enough towards some pillars, until Sonic crashed on his back against a wall. "Ouch..." Sonic muttered, before rolling down on the mountain, until he landed on a metallic platform and fell unconscious. I could fight the feeling To resist it over time But when it's just too much to take You sneak up from behind Once Sonic woke up, he decided to take this task seriously. So, he ran over a canyon, before jumping ahead and then run towards the Titan, named Giganto. Sonic then used the blue rings around his body to be boosted in the air, and once he reached the head, he grabbed the last Chaos Emerald he was missing, before transforming into Super Sonic and boost in the air, now facing Giganto with a confident smirk. Is it me, you say, you're looking for Soon, Sonic started to fly around Giganto like a mosquito, while the Titan roared in rage and tried to hit him with its arms, even making appear some spikes that throw lasers on his back at some point. And yet, Sonic was doing nothing but fooling the Titan, because he then started to fly towards him at top speed, while the Titan raised his fist and prepared to strike back at Sonic. However, Sonic smirked and raised his fist as well, and then the two of them launched their fists at each other, crashing and fighting to win dominance over the other one. Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for... (here for) Then, Sonic moved away and charged on his place, before boost through Giganto's chest, making the Titan open his mouth and roar in pain, before turning into a red and digital ball that became smaller and smaller, until it exploded and destroyed the Titan entirely. Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy In the next island, Ares Island, Sonic found and rescued Knuckles and Izzy from Cyberspace. He also discovered some stuff about his ancestors, obtained the Chaos Emeralds after loosing them again, and even had a small encounter with the Island's Titan that ended up better than with Giganto. And he also got some temporal memory loss after getting into Cyberspace, but again, it was temporal, nothing to call home about. Speaking of the Island's Titan, Wyvern, Sonic was right now being boosted to the air, ready to collect the last Emerald that was on the Titan's head. So, Wyvern launched a bunch of missiles against Sonic, but the Hedgehog used the missiles to his advantage and jumped over them, before using a Homing Attack to get over Wyvern's head and then collect the Chaos Emerald, once again turning into Super Sonic. Let me show you just what I'm made of Once as Super Sonic, the Golden Blur chased Wyvern all across Ares Island, while the Titan tried to get away from him. However, at some point, Sonic not only caught him, but he also grabbed him from his tail, and then started to twirl him around, until he launched the Titan against one of the mountains of the island. At this, the Titan roared in rage, before shooting a bunch of missiles against Sonic, who managed to dodge all the Attacks and even grab one of them, as he made a sick transition on camera. Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me This transition transported Super Sonic to Chaos Island now. So, the missile was launched instead against Knight, the Titan of this place, who used its shield to protect itself. In Chaos Island, Sonic free'd Tails, Zipp and Pipp from Cyberspace, his memory loss got worse, his body started to hurt because of all the Cyber Energy it absorbed from the Cyber Cages his friends were trapped in, he found out more about his ancestors, and he collected the Chaos Emeralds after loosing them... again... Oh yeah, he also met Sage, Eggman's AI program that Cyberspace transformed into the girl that made Giganto attack him back in Kronos Island. It seems that Sage wanted to desperately protect Eggman from a mysterious entity that destroyed the Ancients, a civilization that inhabited the Islands alongside Sonic's ancestors long time ago. Back into the battle, Sonic dodged all the missiles that Knight was launching at him, before making a sick loop in the air and then hit Knight right in the face. To this, Knight raised the sword and prepared to split Sonic in two, but Sonic grabbed the sword in time and smirked. However, Knight wasn't done there, and it jumped in the air, then landed and spin the sword around, before crashing it against a wall. Sonic was struggling a bit to hold the sword, but he managed to push it and then he kicked it, making Knight spin around and stand in a defensive pose, willing to keep fighting. Let me show you just what I'm made of now... Sonic got tired of games, and he charged up Chaos Energy around his body before boosting towards Knight. Knight raised the sword and prepared to attack again, but Sonic flew around the sword and the Titan's arm, then he punched Knight in the face hard enough, to the point Knight raised its hand and let go the sword by mistake. The sword landed in the volcano, and Sonic used the Cyloop around it. Then, the sword started to separate from the ground and it elevated on the air, but here's the thing: Knight didn't took the sword, Sonic did. After that, he raised the sword and split Knight in half with a warrior cry. The Titan split, and one of the half's began to descend slowly, making the entire Titan's body explode. Knight turned into another one of those giant spheres that reduced little to little, until it exploded completely, leaving no trail of what the Titan once was. You can take another life long try You can take another try... In Rhea Island, things escalated a little too quickly. There, Sonic saw visions from the Ancients and his ancestors. However, this is also the place where he deactivated some towers that free'd his friends, while the Cyber Energy in his body finally reached its limit and corrupted him, trapping his mind in Cyberspace, but leaving his body in the real world. This also made the voice that was guiding him all along reveal who they truly was: The entity that wiped out the Ancients planet and made them travel to Equis, called The End. This same entity took control over Sonic's body and transformed into Cyber Sonic, who had a merciless fight with the Mane 5, Tails and Knuckles. In the end, when Cyber Sonic was too weak to keep fighting and wobbling in pain, Tails and Knuckles came by and used their watches to create a lasso with their electrical powers to keep Cyber Sonic still by tying his arms, and Hitch helped as well using his earth pony magic to create some vines that grabbed his feet. "Everyone: NOW!" both Tails and Knuckles shouted. In a flash, the Mane 5 appeared around Cyber Sonic, and they made their Cutie Marks shine. Then, their Cutie Marks blasted five colorful lasers towards him, and he started to groan in pain and struggled to get free, but it was useless at the end. Finally, the lasers sent Cyber Sonic towards the floor, and even thought he tried to stand up and fight back, a white glove trapped in Cyber Space grabbed his hand. He got startled and turned to literally face himself. Or, well, to face Sonic, trapped on Cyber Space like the rest were on the other Starfall Islands. Then, Cyber Sonic's body began to squirm in pain, and a bright red light was launched towards the sky. Sonic smirked again, and then he entered to his own body. The wall between Cyber Space and the real world got closed by the red light that came out of Cyber Sonic, and he stopped being controlled by the enemy. His body stopped shining, his quills got back to normal and he shook his head as his entire body was restored completely. No amnesia, no Cyber Energy, no headache, no pain. Sonic was finally back. Now that Sonic was back, Eggman and Sage decided to join forces with him to stop The End. After this, the whole group went to Ouranos Island, where one last Titan awaited: Supreme. Thanks to Sage accessing Cyberspace instead of Sonic, collecting the Chaos Emeralds was 10 times faster. Now, with all the Emeralds gathered, and Eggman appearing at the last minute to give Sonic the final Emerald, the Blue Blur turned into Super Sonic again and went to fight against Supreme, since this last Titan was being controlled by The End. Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy At some point during the fight, Supreme punched Sonic away, but really, really far away, since Sonic was now flying over the ocean, far from Ouranos Island. He recovered quickly and boosted back to the island, but then Supreme took out its sniper and pointed at Sonic, the shoot a massive and potent golden laser to him, that flew across the sky at super sonic speed. However, Sonic dodged the attack like if it was nothing, and then boosted towards Supreme, punching the Titan on its face again. Then, Sonic used Cyclone Kick on the Titan's face, followed by Homing Shot. That seemed to leave Supreme stunned, since it started to wobble on its place, and so, Sonic decided to use this as and advantage to punch the Titan one last time on its face. Let me show you just what I'm made of However, this made The End abandon Supreme's body and go towards space to regain her final form. Decided to not let The End get away with this, as well as to protect her father from the entity, Sage decided to take control over Supreme, and so, both Super Sonic and her boosted towards the space, ready for the final showdown against The End. Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me In space, The End at first took the form of a Moon... However, after Supreme (controlled by Sage) shoot light and dark matter lasers against the enemy for a while, The End's form changed to something far worse than a purple moon: He transformed into a creature with the long body of a purple snake, but his head was resembling a dragon with purple eyes and teeth, with three glowing pink scales on his forehead and three more on his parietal bone. Also, twelve long pink tails came out if his head, working as some kind of hair. The End turned into a monster, ready to destroy Equis once and for all. So, Sonic and Sage went down to business and started to fight The End's new form with everything they had. At some point during the battle, Supreme grabbed The End from his abdomen and head, while The End fought to get free from Supreme's grip. Sonic then charged up his Spindash and began to attack The End several times at super sonic speed. But eventually, The End got tired of games, and it slapped Sonic away with his tail, leaving the hedgehog unconscious for a couple of minutes. In that little time, The End got free from Supreme's grip, and he even bitted the left arm of the Titan, ripping it off entirely and causing a lot of damage to it. The End also launched another massive laser towards Supreme, damaging more the Titan, sending it backwards and shooting it down for a few minutes. Let me show you just what I'm made of now... Then, The End launch a massive laser towards Sonic, who placed his arms together to try and protect himself. But the attack was so powerful that Sonic was struggling, and despite having the power of the Chaos Emeralds all over his body, he could feel how his skin began to burn because of the laser. Still, Supreme's remaining hand came by and helped out by protecting Sonic, returning the laser to The End. "Now or never!" Sonic stated with a determinate look. Then, Supreme grabbed Sonic with the remaining hand, and then, the Titan launched him at super sonic speed against The End's open mouth. Sonic literally passed from The End's face to destroy his tail as he came out of that zone... but when Sonic turned around, he felt terrified when he saw that The End was about to explode, probably planning to launch itself against Equis and destroy along with this form. When Sage saw this, she shouted "NO!", and then launched herself and Supreme against The End. Soon enough, Supreme crashed against The End, and once the creature exploded, he and Sage were completely gone. Try to reach inside of me (Let me show you what I'm made of) Try to drain my energy (Let me show you what I'm made of) Let me show you just what I'm made of Back in reality, Sonic was panting heavily and sweating exhausted. He spent the whole narration singing his lungs out, while also explaining everything that happened in the Starfall Islands the best and most understanding way possible. Of course, after his whole explanation was done, only Misty, Amy and Team Dark had wide eyes and jaws dropped, while everyone else didn't interrupted him, because they knew precisely what happened since, well, they were all there. "So... What you guys think?" Sonic asked after he finished explaining. "...The Chao... Those little and adorable creatures nobody gave a damn about where they come from... THEY ARE EVOLVED ANCIENTS?!" Amy shouted, as she went to grab Sonic and shook him violently. "Chaos is the closest to an Ancient we've ever seen..." Shadow said with an anxious look, looking at his hands with wide and panicked eyes. "All my life is a lie again..." He said, having huge PTSD of when Black Doom told him he was technically his son. "The thing that was tormenting you for months was the same thing that possessed you and tried to destroy the planet?!" Rouge exclaimed. "Error 706: Data not processed. Initiating reboot process..." Omega said, but in the last sentenced, his voice turned off along him, as he started to reboot himself. "...I don't even understood half of what you just said because of the song..." Misty confessed, and Tails at her side looked at her a bit confused. "Yeah, you guys are reacting the way I expected to," Sonic said with a smirk. "Well, I gotta hand it to you, Blue Star: You definitely know hot to make a good narration!" Pipp congratulated him with a smile. "Yeah! You start to speak and everyone pays attention to you without interrupting. Is impressive!" Knuckles admitted with a smirk. "I do wonder, though... Is there something you don't like to narrate?" Zipp asked. "What do you mean with that?" Sunny asked confused. "I know where Zipp's going with this!" Sonic said with a confident smirk. "I like to talk about what happened in the Starfall Islands because it's a good experience! Even if I was tormented by The End as a consequence, and even though it still happens sometimes..." A few nights ago, The End/Cyber Sonic appeared on the bedroom to mock Sonic up. "I am inevitable... I cannot be denied..." The End/Cyber Sonic said with rage. "You are not brave, you are not victorious... No matter what form I take... The End comes for you all." However, all Sonic did was yawn with a bored expression. "Dude, is 4 a.m. in the morning. Your appearances were scary for 6 months, but I can't take you serious anymore... So, if you're done with your edgy monologue, just go away and let me sleep..." He begged, now laying on his bed and immediately falling asleep. Of course, The End/Cyber Sonic deadpanned, and so, he simply disappeared. Back in reality, Sonic was deadpanning. "Yeah, he was way scarier when he was a giant snake..." Sonic pointed out. "Still, I narrate those events with passion because I like to! Now... Who wants to hear me narrate about the deadly virus Tails saved us from?!" "You mean the Metal Virus?" Tails asked confused. "Yeah, that thing..." Sonic replied with a smirk. In Maretime Bay, there were a bunch of Zombots across the town. The young fox kicked the door of the workshop, just to witness how Opaline was blasting a powerful fire blast against Sunny and growling in rage, while Sunny tried to protect herself with her own magic, but the trick wasn't working... "Hey!" Tails voice called out, and Opaline's ear twitched, before she stopped hitting Sunny and slowly turned around with a frown. "Leave her alone!" He stepped closer and glared daggers at Opaline, who growled in rage and lightened her horn again, but this time, she aimed it at Tails. "You just don't know when to quit!" "Yup! I'm stubborn like a mule!" Tails replied with a smirk, also wiping some blood coming out from his mouth. Opaline growled more, and without further ado, she charged up her most powerful and devastating blast. Then, she let out a loud warrior cry and shot her blast against Tails, who didn't even flinched nor attempted to move away, even placing the jar with th cure in front of him with a frown. "TAILS, NO!!!" Sunny shouted, and right at that moment, Zombot Hitch touched her back, which made the virus start to spread across her body. As for Tails, he could feel time stopping around him for a second. He was staring at the blast, that was inches away from him and the cure for the virus. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, focusing on the energy of his body. He knew for a fact that his electrical powers had some Chaos Energy, so maybe he could focus on that and contact the Chaos Emerald to use their power. After all, they could make the job of defeating Opaline and spread the virus' cure a lot easier. So, he focused, and focused, and focused, until time stopped moving for a moment, and the Chaos Emeralds surrounded him. They twirled around him for a few seconds, before entering his body and illuminate it entirely. Soon, a light shone bright, and when time started to run normally again, Opaline's blast hit Tails and the jar with the cure. "NO!" Sunny screamed, while her body was getting covered with the Metal Virus. As for Opaline, she laughed like a maniac at her accomplishment... One that failed, actually. We won't back down, we won't (Yeah, yo) Soon, the dust from Opaline's blast hitting Tails dissipated, and it showed that the young fox actually survived the hit, and was now glowing in a bright white color that covered his fur. His eyes turned red as well, and all the cuts he got, as well as the bleeding mouth and the purple eye, healed thanks to the power of the Chaos Emeralds. Yes, he went Super Tails, why aren't you clapping? Tails opened his eyes and smirked, before making the jar with the cure float on his own, and then, he boosted towards Opaline, making her traverse a bunch of walls with one single punch, while the Fire Alicorn grunted in pain because of that single hit. Will the whole world know your name When we dance with destiny? With Opaline down for the moment, Tails smirked and used the Chaos Emeralds' power to make the cure float out of the jar, and soon he pointed it to the sky, as he started to accumulate energy with his body. I've been there, and I've seen it I'm never gonna stop believing You'll find your flame Soon, Opaline shook her head and noticed what Tails was doing. "NO!" She shouted in rage and tried to fly towards him, but she got a blast that made her crash on her back against the wall and then fall to the ground. "Not so fast!" Misty said with a frown, as her horn was lightened up and sparkling, while Sunny joined her, despite the virus still being infecting her. (So take this as a lesson Cause it's all that we know) Opaline growled in anger and tried to stood up, but then, both Sunny and Misty shoot a powerful and combined blast against the Fire Alicorn, which made her yell in pain. Will the whole world know your name When we dance with destiny? (We won't back down) Meanwhile, Tails was growling in pain as he extended the cure for the virus and made it so big that it was almost covering half of Equestria, but he started to feel the power of the Emeralds flickering, probably because he never used their power at all in the past. I've been there, and I've seen it (We won't) I'm never gonna stop believing (Back down) You'll find your flame (We won't) "You just got to find the courage to put your fears and doubts aside!" Sonic's voice echoed on his mind, and his eyes widened, before he nodded to himself with a determinate look. He wasn't going to let fear take over himself when his friends needed him. He allowed it to happen when Infinite attacked, but he wouldn't fear today... Not anymore. So, with a warrior cry, Tails focused all his energy and finally finished extending the cure, before releasing it over all the Zombots, and Sunny included. Now here we go, it's the end of the show Hear them, they're calling your name Soon, the cure started to make its work, and it slowly began to cure all the infected ones, who at first shone bright once the cure made contact with them. Once the light was gone, all the infected ones where back to normal, and they started to look around confused. With that done, Tails looked at Opaline, still being attacked by Misty and Sunny, the latter being cured as well from the virus. With a determinate look, Tails boosted towards Opaline and punched her on the face, which made the Alicorn groan in pain, but before she could attack back, Tails grabbed her from her tail and twirled her around for a while, which made her have a huge Dejà vu, before Tails launched her far away, while Opaline screamed loudly in rage and fear. "I'LL GET MY REVENGE, STUPID FOX!" Opaline shouted maniacally, getting lost in the distance. Cause in the end It's you and your friends You'll find your flame (Oh, we can save the day) With Opaline gone, Tails started to pant heavily exhausted, but he still smiled satisfied. He did it... He spread the cure... He defeated Opaline... He won... Back in reality, Sonic wrapped his arm around Tails' neck. "You truly saved our butts there, little man!" Sonic told him with a smirk, also messing a bit with his hair. Tails laughed and got off Sonic's grip, then adjusted his googled and fixed his hair. "It wasn't such a big deal. Sure, I spread the cure, but Zipp and Misty finished it, remember?" "Oh, don't be so humble on yourself, Tails!" Knuckles said, softly patting his back with a hand. "You saved our butts big time, and that's something you don't have to be embarrassed of!" "Right!" Zipp agreed, wrapping Tails with a wing and nuzzling with him, making the young fox blush. "You are the hero of this story, like it or not!" "But you should definitely be proud of it!" Misty added with a smile. "And regarding of your question, Zippster..." Sonic called out, now laying on Zipp's shoulder with a bored expression. "I do narrate some stuff with no emotion whatsoever." "Stuff like?" Zipp asked while raising an eyebrow confused. "My weird trip to that alternate human Equestria world from last week," Sonic replied, still with a bored expression. "Is just the typical 'alien and human roadtrip' adventure with the Chaos Emeralds being the important alien item to recover! Although, I do feel like it was also just a lazy rip-off of some movie, but I can't get behind which one quite yet..." "I think we have more important stuff to worry about that copying movies and brake the fourth wall, Hedgehog..." Shadow pointed out with a frown. "Like what, Mr. Ultimate Life Form?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow and a mocking smirk. "Like Opaline and her plot with Dragon Fire?" Rouge replied instead of her teammate with a bored expression. "Or like doctor Eggman and his 'next sinister plot that will be unbeatable', like he said..." Omega added, narrowing his eyes like if he were also making a bored expression. Sonic rolled his eyes and shrugged their worries off. "Eh, if you guys are still worried for Opaline..." Meanwhile, in Opaline's Castle, the Dragonstone was just 25% full of power. To this, Opaline's eyes widened, and then she groaned in annoyance. "Ugh! I already used most of its power for the barrier around the castle! I can't go and capture that foolish Sparky again! Nor look for other dragons, either! I would have to leave the castle unprotected, which would make me come back and get ambushed, and––" Then, she let out a massive groan of rage and blasted another wall of her castle with her magic, but then, her eyes widened after she realized her mistake, and she started to tear up, before bursting out crying and cover her face with her hooves. "I have lost everything!" Opaline cried dramatically, while her makeup got ruined because of her tears. "Her Dragonstone probably has little to no magic left," Sonic shrugged off, but now smiling. "As for Eggman, this isn't the first time he say he has a bigger plot. He fails anyways!" "Even though he's been close to win many times..." Tails muttered while deadpanning. "Chill out, Tails!" Sonic said with a smile. "All the damage he has done to us has gone into therapy sessions like the wind!" He reminded confidently, also wrapping an arm around his neck, but Tails rolled his eyes in annoyance and shook his head. On his lab, Eggman was tapping over his computer at fast paste. After his failures with the Ancient's technology, the Metal Virus, and stealing the Chaos Emeralds from the Brighthouse, the doctor decided that it was time for a change of strategy in his game. He managed to reopen Sage and download her code. Once that was done, he moved forward to a capsule and placed the key with Sage's code on it. After a few minutes, the capsule opened to reveal some kind of life form... a pale child with white hear and black clothes. Once Sage's code was uploaded to said body, the capsule removed the green liquid inside and opened, with the child almost falling to the ground... if it wasn't because of Eggman, who managed to catch her just in time. Slowly, the girl opened her blue eyes and stared at the ground for a second, before gasping as she realized that she was looking at all. She slowly looked at her hand, not glitching like it used to in the Starfall Islands, and then she looked up to face up Eggman... her dad. "F-Father?" Sage called out in surprise. "Is good to see you again... dear daughter," Eggman replied with a warm smile. "We have a lot to talk about..." THE END...?
77. Friday Night Food FightIn Bridlewood, Misty is running as fast as she can while dodging an incoming cake. Said cake was being tossed around for some reason, and she quickly dodged more of them, making as many flips as she could while trying to avoid the incoming food, which some is either old or rotten. Just then, three unicorns came up from behind a bush with mischievous smiles, making Misty gasp and stop. "Give it up, Misty! There's no escape!" The unicorn stallion in the middle stated, levitating four more pieces of food, while his two friends beside him held up their own. Misty grew nervous and backed away a bit, just before turning around and gasp when she saw Onyx and Dapple appearing behind her with smirks, also levitating more food and tossing it at her. This made her quickly dodge the food, being close to get hit by it at several times. But even with all her reflexes, she gasped when she noticed many ponies surrounding her, preparing to toss their food at her with sinister smiles. But before this happened, Izzy front-flipped over to her. "Misty! Get down!" She called out, tackling Misty to the ground before the unicorns tossed their food to hit each other instead of Misty. After this, Izzy grabbed some food and started to throw it around with a wicked smile, hitting unicorns with the food. A unicorn mare even grabbed Dapple to block an incoming pie, and she smiled when the pie didn't hit her, but then she was hit with another pie in her face all the same. Meanwhile, Misty kept trotting away, while Izzy trotted beside her. "Yay!" She cheered, startling Misty bit. "Don't you just love Friday Night Food Fights?!" She asked, but then, she saw some foals like Peach Fizz and more unicorns appearing with more food to throw. "Whoa! Look out!" Izzy grabbed Misty, then they danced the tango while dodging as much food as they could. "All the weeks' food that's old and rotten…" She ducked an incoming donut, "Gets saved up…" She ducked again, "And put to good use…" She then lean Misty back from incoming food again. "In the best, unicorn tradition!" She twirled Misty around, which caused her to spin and land in a bush, while Izzy jumped in after her. Behind the bush, Misty was panting from the rush. "I'm not sure about this, Izzy. Isn't there someplace I can just watch?" Yet as Izzy looked over to see if the coast was clear, here eyes widened when she saw the unicorns advancing towards them with mischief smirks and rotten foods ready to throw. "The Tea House! Home-sies is safe-sies!" Izzy quickly answered, so Misty trotted off. "Quick, Misty! Make a break for it! I'll cover you." She exclaimed with a determined expression, then she started to laugh maniacally while looking at the other unicorns. "Oh, yeah? Take that!" Then, She tossed some food at the unicorns to the face, while a rotten pizza hit a stallion in the mouth. "And that! And––" Izzy tried to keep going, but she was cut off when Onyx, Dapple, and a unicorn mare came out of hiding with smirks, levitating some pies that they tossed at Izzy, who go buried in a pile she had to climb out of. "Or maybe I'll get covered... in pies!" She quipped cheerfully, then laughed at her joke. "Pies! Get it?" Yeah, a pie hit her in the face right after she asked that, and then more pies began to hit her. Back in Maretime Bay, Sunny had her Alicorn form activated, and she took a deep breath. In the other side of where she was standing, Sonic and Shadow were waiting for her to give them a sign, being surrounded by the Chaos Emeralds. They were still training Sunny to make her resists Chaos Energy, just like Sonic promised they'll do back when she got her Chaos Pocks. "Are we totally sure both of us going Super and fighting her is the best way to make her resist Chaos Energy?" Shadow questioned with his arms crossed to Sonic. "Our options are that, or expose Sunny to the Emeralds again and risk her by making her transform into that strange lizard/dragon or whatever it was that triggered her Chaos Pocks." Sonic replied with a deadpan. "Then going Super it is." Shadow nodded, even though he still had second thoughts with this idea. "Ready whenever you are, Sunny!" Sonic shouted to his sister with a smile. Sunny stretched herself a bit and then shook her body a bit, before taking a deep breath and spread her wings, then look ahead to Sonic and Shadow with a determinate expression. "Do it!" Sunny instructed. With the sign up, Sonic and Shadow immediately focused, and the Chaos Emeralds floated from the ground, surrounding them and transforming them both into Super Sonic and Super Shadow, then they boosted towards the air, and so did Sunny, since this is where the training begins. Now that she was in the air, both Sonic and Shadow charged against her, so she simply flew around them to dodge whatever they were gonna do, but even if she did, Shadow still teleported in front of her. Startled and gasping, Sunny created a shield in front of her that protected her from Shadow's punch, but she barely could see Sonic coming from below her and punching her to the sky. Of course, Sunny yelped startled, but she still recovered as quick as possible and tried to attack back to the two Super Hedgehogs. She launched a blast against Sonic, but he dodged the attack like nothing and then launched himself as a bullet towards Sunny, then charged the Sonic Boom and launched several crosses to her. Sunny dodged the crosses, then managed to hit Sonic in the face, and judging by his grunt, she supposed it hurt. Her instinct to apologize came afloat, but knowing that he'll be fine and that this is just part of the training made her regret the idea. However, she barely dodged one Shadow's Chaos Spares. She turned to him with a frown and launched against him. She was going to punch him in the face, but Shadow stopped her hoof effortlessly, although Sunny smirked and made a flip, kicking his face with her hind legs. Startled, Shadow grabbed his jaw and rubbed it, just to be blasted away by Sunny. She smirked, but then barely created a bubble shield around her to protect herself from Sonic's Homing Shot. She then managed to teleport behind him, only for Sonic to turn around and protect himself from a punch with his arms. With that, Sonic then grabbed Sunny and twirled her around, making her yelp startled, then launched her away. Sunny got dizzy as she was thrown away, twirling around constantly while yelping. And then, Shadow appeared and hit her towards the ground, making her groan in pain. Sunny landed in the ground on her back, deactivating her Alicorn form, while Sonic and Shadow's eyes widened, and they even panicked to the point they both rushed down to check on her. When they both reached land, they released the Chaos Emeralds. The jewels landed in the grass, while the two hedgehogs approached Sunny, who slowly got up with a dizzy expression and a sheepish chuckle. "...I think I went overboard..." Shadow said concerned, then he looked away and grind his teeth. "Sorry." "I still could heard your apologize, Shadow." Sonic deadpanned, and Shadow glared daggers at him. "I-I'm fine! Really!" Sunny assured, shaking her head and fixing her mane a bit since it got messy. "I just need more practice to avoid you both going all fast on me." "Uh, maybe Shadow was right earlier, Sunny-bunny." Sonic hesitantly admitted. "Maybe you should consider other route. Why's us beating the crap out of you while being Super the only way you can learn to resist Chaos Energy, again?" "Because if I want to use their power one day, I must be ready to resist powerful punches like the ones from Super forms like yours!" Sunny pointed out. "I'm an Alicorn and powerful, true, but if I can't resist a punch from a powerful source like the Chaos Emeralds, then what kind of Alicorn am I?" "While you have a point, telling us not to hold back is not really safe for you. Are you sure you want us to go all out on you?" Shadow asked concerned. "Absolutely!" Sunny nodded with a smirk, making her Alicorn form appear again. "Now come on! Hit me with all you've got!" With that, she boosted back into the air, leaving behind two concerned hedgehogs. They looked at each other concerned, but they still went Super again and follow her along. In Bridlewood, Misty kept running and dodging food through the path to her dad's working place. Just then, she saw Crystal Tea Room ahead, which caused her to gasp joyfully in relief with sparkling eyes. She simply kept dodging more and mored food, until she finally made it to the tea room, where Alphabittle's cleaning a teacup. Yet when Misty gets in and he notices, her daughter quickly shuts the door. Misty choose to peak outside again, just so see more food getting thrown in the air, so she quickly closed the door again and then turned to her father. "Dad! Quick! It's not safe! We got to get out of here! This food fight has gotta stop!" Yet this last comment seemed to surprise Alphabittle. "You mean to tell me you don't like Friday Night Food Fights?" He asked, then smiled. "Hah! Oh, you sure changed your tune." He then walked to her. "Very well, then. If that's what you want, I will put an end to all this food-flinging nonsense." Yet as Alphabittle walked out of the Tea Room, Misty then got really worried. "No, Dad, wait! Don't go out there!" Outside, Alphabittle waved a white flag while frowning. "Listen up, ponies! From this day forth, I declare a ceasefire!" He called out, which surprised the unicorns. "Lay down your old lasagna, your rotten bananas––" He ordered, but the unicorns only smirked at each other, then one launched a rotten tomato to Alphabittle's eye, making his other eye widen. He clenched his hoof in anger, but then another tomato hit his other eye, then a rotten banana landed on his mouth, and then more rotten food was launched and piled over him, making Misty gasp. More and more food was getting launched over Alphabittle, until the poor older unicorn was entirely covered in a pile of rotten food. He did managed to get a free hoof from the pile he was under, but it was still shocking for Misty to see, since she gasped in horror at the sight. "Nooooo!" Misty cried out dramatically, then she ran to her father and started digging him out of the pile. "No! He was only trying to end this battle!” She cried out, getting her father's head out, who looked dazed. "This can't be happening! Why?! Oh, why, oh, why, oh, why?!" In Mane Melody, Zipp and Pipp were having their brunch together. However, Pipp suddenly stopped once she was going to chomp her food again, and started to look around with a glare and a raised eyebrow, something Zipp noticed. "You okay sis?" Zipp asked confused. "...Don't ask me why I do this, but I feel like somepony's being more dramatic than me..." Pipp replied. "...Well, Twilight have mercy on us of that's the case..." Zipp said with a snort and a mocking smirk. Pipp's eyes widened, and even if she snorted too, she still looked at Zipp with a glare. "Hey!" Zipp only chuckled at her own joke, while Pipp rolled her eyes annoyed. Back in Bridlewood, Alphabittle shook his head and looked confused. "Hang on." Alphabittle said, standing up and turning to his daughter. "Are you telling me you... you don't remember?" A few years ago, Alphabittle was feeding his young daughter some food, holding a spoon for her. "The Pegasus soars through the air! It's coming into land! Ooh!" Alphabittle said with a smile, moving the spoon around like a pegasus and bringing it close to Filly Misty, who got her mouth open, yet Alphabittle boop Misty on the nose, getting some food on it. Filly Misty looked at her nose for a bit before smiling widely. "Yaaay!" She cheered while waving her hooves, which Alphabittle responded with a smile as he moved the spoon around his daughter. Yet this only made Misty smirk, so she stood up on her place and focused on the spoon, before she tried to catch it, but it flicked out of her father's hoof. The spoon flew around until it hit a unicorn mare on the head. The mare's friend started to laugh at her, irritating the mare a lot. However, said mare was eating a salad, so to get revenge, she threw her salad piece at him, but he ducked before getting hit, which made an old unicorn stallion get the hit instead. Izzy: It's the place where love and friendship starts It's for me, yeah, it's for you, yeah, it's for everycritter The stallion glared at the mare that launch the salad piece, while the mare flinched frightened, and so did her stallion friend that got up again after ducking down. The elderly stallion's eye twitched, but then he smirked and lifted a piece of food, which he hit the other stallion with it. Don't be aloof, pick up your hoof and play your part Just show a little heart The mare and stallion smirked, then they picked up more food and threw some at the elder, starting this way a food fight where everypony else in the Tea Room ended up joining. Alphabittle saw this surprised, but then he heard his daughter's giggle, so he turned to her with a smile, while Filly Misty giggled and waved her hooves in excitement. In the end, she's the one that started this whole food fight in the first place. By accident, true, but she did it, anyways. If you're feelin' what I'm feelin', then get up and show me 'Cause today's not the day for bein' lonely But then, Alphabittle was hit in the face with some food, and so was Filly Misty, while a watermelon hit a bow with fruits. Yet this only made Filly Misty giggle again, making Alphabittle giggle as well. Then, he joined the food fight by grabbing the watermelon and throwing it at somepony in the Tea Room. With that explanation done, Misty was left shocked with a twitchy eye at the revelation. "Hang on. Are you telling me I started this tradition back when I was a filly?!" Misty asked her father in surprise. "Yes, that's–– Oof!" Alphabittle was cut off when more rotten food was thrown at him and made him fall to the floor. Misty gasped and felt terrified at the sight, before looking ahead with anger and determination combined. "That's it! If I started this, I can finish it, too!" She snapped, ready to get revenge from her father's defeat. Back in Maretime Bay, the sky was a festival of flashlights. Yet this wasn't because of fireworks or something like that, but because Sunny was still training along Super Sonic and Super Shadow. This time, her strategy was simply fly away from them until she could catch the Super Hedgehogs off-guard, but she hasn't had any luck so far. The most damage she could do to any of them was blast them towards the ground a couple of times, but considering there's two of them, she could only blast one and then dodge the other's attack. Repeating this process several times wasn't leading anywhere, so she had to play a new strategy: This time, she multiplied herself and split up in two different directions. Of course, this finally took the Super Hedgehogs off-guard, but they still split up as well, each one chasing one Sunny. Of course, they were faster than the two Sunnys together, so they could catch them at any second... But they never expected the two Sunnys to go against each other. Then, when the Sunnys crashed, they went back to be one, then Sunny teleported away. This made Sonic and Shadow crash against each other instead, which made them loose their Super forms and fall into the ground with groans of pain, while the Chaos Emerald fell around them both. Sunny landed in the ground and smirked down at the two hedgehogs. "Hah! You guys still think this is a bad idea?" She only got painful groans from Sonic and Shadow as an answer, while both Hedgehogs started to slowly and painfully stand up after literally crashing in their backs because of loosing their Super forms. "I think that we underestimated your strength, Sunny..." Shadow said with a chuckle, just to groan loudly in pain again. "But I also think we need to go to a hospital..." "Come one, it wasn't that bad––" Sunny rolled her eyes and tried to shrug it off. However, Sonic groaned in pain again after he tried to put his right foot on the ground. "...No, seriously. We need to go and see a doctor, like right now..." "...Oh geez..." Sunny said with wide eyes and a sheepish smile, also blushing embarrassed. In Bridlewood, sh*t was gonna get real. Misty stomped her hoof on a pie, then drew some marks on her cheeks, and finally tied a headband in her head. After that, she roared in anger and charged towards the unicorns, ready to avenge her father. After all, and as she stated earlier: She started this, so now she's finishing it. Izzy: It's the place where love and friendship starts It's for me, yeah, it's for you, yeah, it's for everycritter The ponies looked surprised at Misty, but then they all smirked, while Misty rolled behind a pile of food. Am I the only one questioning why are these piles still intact? Eh, cartoon logic, I guess. Don't be aloof, pick up your hoof and play your part Just show a little heart Then, Misty stood up and tossed some pies to a pair of unicorn mares, surprising them before getting hit. Then, two other unicorns came behind them, ready to throw their food at her, but Misty turned her head and saw them with a smirk, so she ducked down to avoid the pies. After that, Misty threw two pies at the surprised unicorns like shuriken, hitting them both in the head. With that, she trotted off, while Izzy saw Misty with pride and a tearful smile, also eating some of the rotten ponycorn. She's gonna be fine, though. Why? Because Izzy is built different, that's why! If you're feelin' what I'm feelin', then get up and show me 'Cause today's not the day for bein' lonely Oh, oh, I'm spreadin' the love... Then, the unicorns levitated more food and tossed it at Misty, who quickly hid behind a pile of food. Yet she also noticed some rotten eggs, so she smirked, grabbed some and tossed them in the air, then levitated them with her magic, and then started to hit the unicorns with them, most hitting Dapple's mane. "Eww! Rotten eggs?” Dapple exclaimed in shock. "My mane's gonna smell for weeks!" "Revenge is sweet!" Misty quipped with a smirk, as she levitated some gelatins with whipped cream and sprinkles on them before twirling around and threw the gelatins at the unicorns, hitting pretty much every single one of them. ...You better follow your heart, it ain't gonna wait Love, I'm gonna shout it Love, I'm gonna shout it Then, Misty grabbed some grapes and put them in her mouth, standing up and spitting them out like a cannon, hitting the unicorns as they all ran for cover, but got hit all the same. "Nopony messes with my dad!" Misty called seriously, while Alphabittle was behind her wiping some rotten food off him. Ain't no doubt about it Love's in the air, let's shout it Whoo! Then, Misty stomped on some ketchup bottles, which hit a couple of unicorns. Next, she threw a pizza like a frisbee, making it land on a foal's open mouth, before Misty smirked and levitated a bowl full of honey, which she used to cover a unicorn mare in it. Don't try to hide now, no, don't run from fate Love's in the air and, ooh, it's smelling great Don't be afraid, it's not too late for a new start Just show a little heart Then, Misty tossed some jawbreakers at Onyx and Dapple, making them trip and crash from losing their balance. Next, she brought out two loaves of bread and frowned, before whacking some ponies with them. And finally, suddenly and literally out of nowhere, she brought out a cannon she strapped herself with, pulling the string to activate the cannon and shot some pretzels at a unicorn mare, which she tried to dodge. Finally, Misty levitated some spaghetti and tied a couple of unicorns together with it. "Hasta la vista, pony!" Misty quipped with a smirk. She choose to stay still for a moment to see so many unicorns around her that were down, but then she noticed a few more unicorns coming from behind her thanks to their shadows being really visible. "How'd you like an extra big helping of... this?!" The unicorn stallion stated, as he and three unicorns levitated a ton of rotten food and threw it at her. Misty gasped at the incoming rotten food, so she closed her eyes and focused her magic on her horn. If you're feelin' what I'm feelin', then get up and show me 'Cause today's not the day for bein' lonely The rotten food stopped mid-air, and while Misty strained a bit, the unicorns' jaws dropped in shock at the scene. Then, Misty gave a determined look and reeled back, stomping her hoof while roaring and tossing the food back at the unicorns, all getting hit and thrown to the ground, some even feeling a bit dizzy. After the whole food slaughtering was down, Izzy walked up to Misty. "Misty, you were amazing! Food fight champion!" She cheered. "But what about all this food?" Misty asked concerned, gesturing to the piles of rotten food, while the unicorns got out of them. "What, that? Aww, the forest will have that for lunch." Izzy assured with a smile, now gesturing to a rotten apple. "See? All that musty old food was only ever good for one thing – mulch." She said, right when the rotten apple was absorbed into the ground, and some newly sprouted plants grew there. "It helps grow Bridlewood, enrich the soil, and keep the forest alive." Misty smiled with sparkling eyes, but then she heard her father. "A prize for the food fight victor!" Alphabittle said, while Misty turned to him with a smile, as she saw him levitate a two-stack rainbow cake with strawberries and butterflies on it. "Thanks for avenging me." Misty kept smiling with sparkling eyes, just as Izzy wrapped her hoof around her. "Friday Night Food Fight battle champ! That's sure a side of you I've never seen!" She said cheerfully, while Alphabittle came up to them and placed the cake down. Misty smiled at Izzy, then she turned to the cake and gasped happily with sparkling eyes. But as she walked to it, she slipped on a banana peel, which caused her to trip. "Aah!" Misty cried out, falling into the cake, completely covered in frosting and cream, while Izzy and Alphabittle walked to her. "Thaaaaat's more like it!" Izzy said with a small smile, then she started to laugh, and soon, Alphabittle and Misty began to laugh along. Back in Maretime Bay, Sonic was now resting a foot over a pillow with a frown and his arms crossed. It turns out that Sunny's hit caused Sonic to sprain his foot, and now he has to rest for at least a month. It means he won't run for a whole month, which means he's now upset with Sunny for spraining her foot. Worse is the fact that Shadow recovered as if nothing had happened, because he is not injured. "Are you still mad with me, Sonic?" Sunny asked with a sheepish smile. "Yes." Sonic replied coldly. "But I said I was sorry! Like, a millionth times already!" Sunny pointed out with concern. "Like if being sorry is going to un-sprain my foot." Sonic rolled his eyes. "Look, I know I got carried away with the training, but I'm really sorry!" Sunny apologized again. "It was not my intention to sprain your foot, I-I only wanted to prove I've got stronger!" "Yeah, and how did that turned out? Shadow may be unharmed, but thanks to your excitement, I'll be the next month in bed without running!" Sonic complained. "If Eggman or Opaline attacks, I won't be able to do anything!" "I... I'm sorry..." Sunny apologized again. "You're right, I should've thought in that before making the attack. Guess my excitement is a bit overboard sometimes, huh? Perhaps that's why sometimes I can barely see the entire picture around me. Maretime Bay Day, Winter Wishday, Misty's betrayal, Discord's reasons to destroy magic! And now this... I'm really sorry, Sonic." "...You apologize too much, you know that?" Sonic said with a little smirk, and Sunny actually smiled a bit as well. "...I'm not that mad with you, Sunny. Sure, I may not be able to run for the next month, but... Accidents happen. Also, don't be so harsh on yourself. Not everyone can see the picture around them, not even me." "Still, I should've thought of what would happen to you and Shadow! And I didn't..." Sunny pointed out concerned. Sonic sighed, but then he wrapped an arm around his sister. "Cheer up, sis! As you said, it wasn't your intention. And, thinking about it, a month can pass flying by! So don't be so pushy with yourself! Nothing wrong happened here, okay?" "You changed your mind really quick, you know that?" Sunny teased with a smirk. "I don't like to see my sister so sad." Sonic replied with a smile. "And if that's a crime, then I declare myself guilty!" Sunny laughed and hugged Sonic, while Sonic just smiled and laughed along her. Sure, he's gonna be a month without running, but having a sad Sunny around? Not under his watch! Eggman was at his hidden lab, reading through some old books he hasn't checked in a while. He's still investigating about that powerful artifact that could literally tear apart the wall that separates this reality from any other one, a power that can afford him the ability to travel across universes. His ambition was beginning to grow again, and even if he knows so little about this artifact, he loves what he's seen so far. "Fascinating... With this power, I could rule over not only one reality and two dimensions... but every universe with every dimension that comes with them!" Eggman exclaimed out loud with excitement and a sinister grin. "Oh, this is gonna be good!" As usual, the doctor laughed like a maniac, and he couldn't wait to learn more about this mysterious artifact. THE END...? Author's Note Eh, this chapter was a little bit "eh" to work with, if I'm being honest. I had no f*cking clue on what to do with the Sonic cast, then I remembered that in "Chaos Pocks", Sonic mentioned he and Shadow would train Sunny so she can handle the Chaos Emeralds' power. In the end, that's how we got here, and what I wrote is what you got. I really have nothing else to say this time around, so let's keep it short lived. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you all later! Bye!
