Sparky 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!