Author'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