Author's Note

WARNING

I highly recommend to read Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Make Your Mark before reading this whole story.

And I'm talking about the whole story, because there will be some slight details from there.

P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter!

Issue #1

Years ago, before the magic was restored and the three pony tribes still lived separated, a young Sunny was at the top of the lighthouse, looking for something on her telescope when her father entered the room.

"Anything to report, explorer?" Argyle asked her daughter with a smile.

"I thought I saw the Royal Castle, but it was just a stack of oranges at the market," Sunny answered, looking through a telescope and writing something on paper.

Argyle came closer to his daughter. "Canterlot might be a bit too far for us to see from here," he explained to her, "But you’ll find it one day," he assured her with a smile.

Sunny gasped and looked at her father with a smile. "You think so?" she asked with hope.

"Twilight Sparkle built The Gates of Ancients to welcome those who believed and trusted in the Magic of Friendship to Canterlot," Argyle explained as he held Sunny close to him, and they both looked at Maretime Bay. "You lead with love, Sunny. And so long as you make sure no earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn ever feels lesser than because of who they are, Canterlot will always be your home," he explained as he hugged Sunny, and the filly giggled.

Today, two months after Winter Wishday, Sunny was at the Crystal Brighthouse, smiling at the picture she had taken with her dad in the bedroom.

"Nothing new to report, Dad," Sunny said to the picture as if she was talking to her father. "But not every week can be as beautiful as reuniting the Unity Crystals and restoring magic to all ponykind," she added, remembering her adventure across Equestria to find the Crystals. "And not every week you meet some new friends from another dimension," she said as well, thinking about the arrival of Team Sonic to Equestria. "Do you think Twilight would be proud of me?" she asked.

And then, out of nowhere, Pipp came zooming by and placed a hoof over Sunny, bringing her into a side hug as she took her phone out for a livestream. "Of course she would be!" she answered with a smile. "And the Pippsqueaks even agree. Say hi!" she added, smiling at the phone, and Sunny smiled.

They both ran out of the Brighthouse, where they found Zipp flying and Tails standing on the ground with a board. "If you’re done livestreaming, we’ve got a game of flyball to play!" Zipp called out as Tails drew the game's rules and even a little example on the board while Sunny activated her alicorn form.

"The rules are simple: get the ball in the net five times, and you win. But there’s also tons of strategy to this game," Tails explained, pointing the marker to the drawing on the board.

Suddenly, Izzy came from behind the board and smiled at her friends. "Ooh, are we playing a game? Is this a pie-eating contest? A cake-eating contest? A cookie-eating contest?" she asked excitedly.

"U-Um... well..." Tails tried to explain, but Izzy covered his mouth with a hoof and looked determined.

"No need to twist my hoof; I’m in! Point me on the field," Izzy stated, convinced to join the game.

Tails gulped nervously, and Sunny looked at her with an awkward smile. "Geez... how do I put this?" Tails said, thinking of the right words. Izzy... um... this is a game you cannot participate in..." he started.

"Because it’s up near that cloud over there…" Pipp continued while Sunny pointed at the cloud where the game would happen.

Izzy looked a little down at what they said to her, knowing she couldn’t play if she couldn't fly. Even so, she forced a smile for them. "Oh! Well, I always say it’s as much fun cheering on your friends as playing with them…" She lied to them, something they all noticed, but only one decided to cheer her.

"Hey, we still have that little 'trip' to search for Unicycling stuff I promised to go with you, remember?" Tails pointed out with a little smile. "I'll go with you once we're done playing flyball, I promise!" he assured her.

Izzy smiled slightly, but she was still sad since she could not fly and play with her friends.

"See you later, Izzy!" Sunny waved at the unicorn as she flew alongside Zipp, Pipp, and Tails. Izzy waved back, secretly drawing a sad face on the back of the board with a pen.

"Over here!" Knuckles' voice said suddenly as Izzy turned to see Hitch and Knuckles leading a family of earth ponies into the forest.

Izzy got curious and wanted to see what they were looking for. In the forest, she caught up with Hitch, Knuckles, and the Earth pony family. "These critters say we’re getting closer," Hitch said, translating everything the animals told him.

"I can feel it," the earth pony stallion said to his wife and son with a smile while their hoofs shone.

Knuckles was looking at the ground for any clue when Izzy came down to his level, and Hitch looked at her confused, but Knuckles didn't seem to care. "What are we looking for?" Izzy asked Knuckles, wondering what they were looking for in the woods.

"A family of butterflies. But they scare so easily, so we’ve got to keep very quiet," Hitch whispered to Izzy.

"Which means no speaking!" Knuckles whispered at her as he resumed his search on the ground.

"Veeerrry quiet," Izzy said in a whispered tone. But it didn't last long as she turned to the Earth Pony family. "HE SAID NO SPEAKING. YOU HEAR THAT, EVERYPONY?!" she yelled to them, which startled both Hitch and Knuckles as they gulped nervously.

And thanks to Izzy's yell, the butterflies they were looking for started flying away, as the critters, earth ponies family, Izzy, Hitch, and Knuckles saw them flying away. The parents glared at Izzy for ruin the moment; their son was at the edge of tears, the critters flopped into the ground, Hitch teared up after seeing the butterflies fly away, and Knuckles was lying on the ground with his face smashing the floor with frustration.

Izzy looked at them with sheepish embarrassment as she placed a hoof over her mouth. "Guess even the butterflies heard that," she said, which caused Knuckles to growl on the ground.

A little while later, Izzy walked on Maretime Bay with a long face. She felt like her friends were letting her out to have fun. She was glad that at least Tails was up to spend time with her, but the feeling of being left out was still there.

She arrived at a smoothie stand. Close to the stand, a unicorn was levitating a statue of the three pony tribes together, and a pegasus and an earth pony showed her where to put it. "A rainbow swirl. And make it a double," Izzy requested with a down expression as the earth pony stallion poured the smoothie into the cup.

She looked up and saw Sunny, Zipp, Tails, and Pipp in the sky, with Pipp livestreaming the whole game while Sunny and Tails tried to beat Zipp.

"She swerves, and she scores!" Zipp cheered as she shot the ball into the net, getting a score since Sunny and Tails failed to block her.

Izzy looked on, still sad, and paid for the smoothie while slurping it. Suddenly, a blue blur passed by her side. The blur came back but stopped in front of her.

"Hey there, Izz!" Sonic greeted her unicorn friend, but then he noticed her long face and got worried, as Izzy was usually happy. "Are you okay? You seem a little down today," he pointed out worriedly.

"Oh, I'm fine!" Izzy tried to lie, and she put on a forced smile. "I'm just... waiting for the game to finish!" she said again, not lying at all since she was waiting for Tails to finish the game.

Sonic looked up and saw the game between his three flying friends, and then realization hit him like a train as he looked back at Izzy with a soft smile. "You feel like you're left out, don't you?" Sonic asked her, as Izzy caught a little bit of it since she slurped from her smoothie.

"N-No! Of course not! I-I'm just, uh..." Izzy replied and tried to come up with something quick, but Sonic chuckled and touched her shoulder.

"Izzy, sometimes it's okay. You don't feel happy. Don't make the same mistakes I've made, and be honest," Sonic advised her with a smile. Hiding it only will make you feel worse. Besides, I'm your friend; you can tell me anything," he assured her.

Izzy hesitated a little at first, but then she looked at him with tears. "W-Well... t-the truth is..." she tried to confess, but something happened behind them with the ponies setting up the statue.

"Hold it steady..." the earth pony said to the unicorn.

However, the unicorn's magic started failing since he had difficulty holding the statue. "It’s my magic. It’s--" she strained before her magic faded away and caused the statue to fall, as the unicorn screamed in horror, thinking it was her end.

But then she blinked, and the next thing she knew, she was safe and apart from the statue, with Sonic standing next to her. Izzy came to the rescue and used her magic to levitate the statue. Sonic and the Earth pony sighed in relief as the Earth pony came to comfort the unicorn, who was traumatized by the experience.

"HELP!" Pipp’s voice screamed as Sonic and Izzy turned and looked at the sky, seeing Pipp falling. "Somepony, help me!" Pipp cried out as Sunny, Tails, and Zipp saw Pipp falling and freaked out, especially Zipp.

"I’m coming!" Zipp cried out to her sister as she, Sunny, and Tails flew down to see if one of them could catch Pipp before she could hit the ground. However, Zipp’s wings suddenly stopped working. "What the--" Zipp said to herself, seeing she couldn't fly either.

Tails saw this and quickly flew to grab her in bridal style. "Gotcha!" he assured to the pegasus.

Unfortunately, Zipp was not calm as she looked down. "But… Pipp!" she cried out while Pipp curled herself in fright with tears in her eyes.

Sunny tried to use her alicorn magic, but her horn wasn't working either, and her wings started to glitch a little, although she could still fly in the air. Izzy tried to use her magic as well, but it failed.

The one who decided to take action now was Sonic, who ran towards a building, and once off the ceiling, he charged his SpinDash and boosted towards Pipp. Once he was about to hit her, he returned to his normal form and grabbed the pegasus in bridal style as he landed on the ground and looked at Pipp. He sighed with relief since she seemed okay. Mane was messy.

"Well, it seems like you're always falling for me, Princess Petals," Sonic joked, using a flirting tone with her and looking at her seductively. This caused a big blush on Pipp, as her heart started to bump quickly. Sonic decided to cut the act and look at her with his usual face. "Jokes aside, are you okay?" asked, now worried for her.

Pipp blinked and tried to focus back. "Y-Yeah! I-Im fine... t-thanks to you..." she assured, still blushing a bit now smiling, which caused Sonic to blush a little too.

He put her on the ground as Tails landed and put Zipp down while the pegasus ran toward her sister. Sunny landed, too, and Izzy got close to them while Hitch and Knuckles arrived, followed by Cloudpuff.

"Aw man, don't tell me we missed all the action!" Knuckles complained.

"What’s that, Cloudpuff? You want me to know Pipp’s no longer falling through the air and in imminent danger?" he translated rhetorically as he rolled his eyes since he could see that.

"It was so freaky. My wings were fine one second, and my magic started glitching out the next!" Pipp pointed out worriedly while she fixed her mane a little.

"The same thing happened to me," Zipp added.

"And me," Izzy said as well.

Hitch looked around and saw other ponies were also having glitches: the pegasi were having trouble flying, the unicorn's magic was glitching out, and the earth ponies could not use their earth pony magic. "And everypony else in Maretime Bay," he pointed out with a hoof on his chin.

"Except you, Sunny. Your wings worked the whole time," Zipp pointed out since Sunny's wings and horn didn't disappear.

"I could still feel my magic glitching. But it seems better now," Sunny confessed since her horn wasn't working.

"More magic trouble? Geez... It would be nice if our only problem were Eggman and Opaline, but it seems like magic wants to tease us even more," Sonic complained, crossing his arms and stomping his foot on the ground.

"Oh, look, my magic is coming back, too!" Izzy cheered as she saw her horn glowing again. "Looks like this topsy-turvy magical crisis has been averted!" she added, thinking the problems were over.

Hitch, however, wasn’t convinced that it was over that easy. "Just because our magic’s back doesn’t mean it's back back. If it fizzled away once, the same thing could happen again," he pointed out.

"Gotta agree with the sheriff on this one," Knuckles added with his arms crossed. "As much as I hate to admit it, peace and harmony can't be preserved forever," he frowned.

"Ever since Maretime Bay Day, everypony has been kind to each other, so these glitches should not be happening," Tails protested while he tried to think about what was happening.

"None of this makes any sense..." Zipp said as she looked at her friends. "So long there’s been unity between our species, the crystals are supposed to keep our magic stable," she pointed out. "Like Tails said, pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies have never been tighter. If anything, our magic should be stronger!" she finished.

"You’re right," Sunny said to Zipp. "So if our magic is going haywire, it can’t be about friendships--" she started to say, but then stopped midsection as she realized with a worried expression what might be wrong. "Oh, no..." she said in a worried tone.

Izzy popped her head next to Sunny with a worried look as well. "Do we think that’s a good 'Oh no' or…?" she asked, hoping the problem wasn't that bad.

"Wait a minute... Friendship is supposed to stabilize the Crystals..." Tails started to realize this as well. "But if the problem isn't the Crystals... For Chaos sake!" he yelled, realizing what was worrying Sunny, while they both started running towards the Brighthouse.

"And we’re running," Hitch stated as he and the others ran to catch up with Sunny and Tails.

Zipp had to drag Pipp at the start of their running. "Get your hooves moving, Pipp!" she told her sister.

"Haven’t I been through enough trauma for one day?" Pipp complained.

Sonic decided to play the gentleman and again carried her on bridal style. "Seriously, Pipp! Something's wrong with the magic, and we're gonna need your help too!" he said, focusing on the path and not noticing the big blush on Pipp's cheeks.

The Mane 5 and Team Sonic burst the door at the Brighthouse. Sunny immediately ran towards the elevator to reach the top, being followed by Zipp, then Hitch, Izzy, Tails, and then Sonic carrying Pipp, with Knuckles being the last one as They all got into the elevator, where Sonic put Pipp down.

Once they reached the top, Sunny suddenly stopped and placed her hoof to the side, causing Zipp to crash against it. The others followed.

The whole group gasped in shock when they saw the floor: the Unity Crystals were still there, but just two of them.

"Somepony’s taken one of the Unity Crystals!" Sunny cried out in shock as she grabbed the remaining Crystals and watched them grimly.

"Oh no!" Izzy cried out in worry.

"This is the worst kind of Deja Vu I've ever had..." Sonic complained as he looked with a frown, saying they would have to run around to find a Unity Crystal again.

Hitch decided to calm things down while Cloudpuff sat on his back. "Let’s not get our manes tied up in a bunch. The Crystal could be anywhere," he tried to assure her as he placed a hoof on Sunny’s back to comfort her.

"Magical Crystals that are the power source of every creature in Equestria? Falling just like that?" Tails pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "I don't think so, Hitch. If you ask me, this seems like a crime scene," he added.

"Tails is right; I don't think the Crystals would be separated. This looks intentional," Sunny said, agreeing with Tails and finding some pattern.

"Well, the Crystals were separated before any of us were even born, so I guess they can still get separated," Knuckles said with a frown. "But why steal something that can give you amazing abilities like flying, leviatating things, talking to animals or making plants grow out of nowhere? That doesn't make sense to me," he added.

"Knuckles has a point. These Crystals are a symbol of Ponykind’s ability to live in harmony. If somepony separated them, it’s because they want magic to fizzle out until it’s gone--for life to go back to the way it was before," Sunny stated with a frown while Izzy inspected the unicorn Crystal. "But we are not going to let that happen," she stated with determination placing the earth pony crystal down. "We were able to unite the crystals once before; we can do it again. Let’s find the crystal thief and get that crystal back!" she announced to her friends, as they all gave determined looks to her.

"Yeah!" Zipp cheered as she brought Pipp to a side hug.

Cloudpuff barked and jumped up and down on Hitch’s back, agreeing to help as well.

"Mission initiated," Izzy stated with a smile while holding a magnifying glass over her eye.

"Ready for action, captain!" Sonic also announced while Team Sonic stood in military pose before Sunny.

Pipp brought out her phone and started to livestream with a sad look. "Pippsqueaks, I know you’re all scared right now… and you should be," she said, as Zipp looked at her sister with a frown. "Your magic might be back, but it might disappear again, and then come back, and then disappear again, until it disappears completely… Because somepony stole a Unity Crystal. It’s really bad!" she added, but Zipp had enough of her sister panicking her followers and grabbed Pipp’s phone from her hoof. "Hey! They deserve the truth!" she pointed out and complained.

"And a bit of hope," Zipp countered. "All you’re doing is throwing them into panic mode," she pointed out.

Pipp huffed and placed a hoof on her chest. "My Pippsqueaks meditate when they’re overwhelmed. They don’t panic," she assured.

And, of course, she was wrong.

Outside, on Maretime Bay, the ponies that heard Pipp’s bad news from her livestream started to panic at the idea of magic vanishing forever.

"If magic’s going to disappear, I’ll fly as much as I can now!" a pegasus stallion panicked as he tried to fly away, but an earth pony mare grabbed one of his hind legs and stopped him.

"What if it fizzles out while you’re in the air? What then?!" the mare asked, trying to prevent him from flying.

A unicorn stallion looked at his phone with teary eyes while brushing his mane. "I can’t go back to manually brushing my mane like some pedestrian pony!" he cried out since he adored his magic.

The other ponies looked in despair at the news while a unicorn cried on the floor.

One of Sonic's ears twitched, hearing all the chaos Pipp caused with her livestream. "Yeah... I'm gonna doubt you there, Little Pipp," he replied with a neutral expression.

"Nopony should be scared because we are going to solve this by beginning our search right here, where the break-in happened," Sunny assured, since the break-in happened in the Brighthouse.

"And that’s the thing about break-ins..." Zipp said suddenly, while the others looked at her wearing the detective hat Tails gave her for Wishentine a few months ago while playfully inspecting a cactus. "... No matter how hard a thief tries, they’ll never be able to leave the scene exactly as they found it. Something’s always just a little bit off. A little bit broken… in," she added with a tone that made her like a true detective.

"Ooh, I would like fifty of those hats, please! Where’s it from?" Izzy asked Zipp with a big smile.

Hitch, Sonic, and Pipp looked at Zipp with boring expressions, clearly seeing her showing off a bit. "Probably from all her clutter," Pipp answered Izzy, guessing that Zipp had taken the hat from her room.

Zipp lifted her hat to look at her friends. "Detective Zipp always comes prepared," she assured them with a smile.

"Detective Zipp?" Sunny asked, looking at Zipp with a smug look.

"That’s right. Because I zipped my way through a good mystery until I track down the perpetrator and bring them to justice," Zipp answered with a smirk.

"We’re going to get those Crystals back in no time!" Izzy cheered as she bounced up and down.

"I wouldn’t be so sure about that, kid," Knuckles protested since he suspected Zipp was just showing up.

"Yeah, how many successful cases have you solved, Detective Zipp?" Pipp asked in a mocking tone.

"Well... This would technically be my first case," Zipp admitted as she tossed the hat away. "Which, if you think about it, means I’ve never had any unsuccessful cases either," she added, which caused Hitch and Pipp to take huffs and roll their eyes while Sonic and Knuckles facepalmed themselves.

"Hang on..." Knuckles said. "What about Sunny's lantern that disappeared a while ago?" he whispered to Sonic. "Izzy accidentally left the lantern in the garden the night before, and then Pipp found it the next day," Sonic whispered. "But instead of giving it back to Sunny, she set up a fake mystery for Zipp, so no. So far, Zipp hasn't solved an actual mystery," he pointed out with a bored expression.

Zipp then turned to see her friends. "So, if you’re ready, let’s get solving!" she stated, taking out her phone and the rest huddled close. "To catch our thief and find our missing Crystal, it’s important to watch for the specifics. The minutia. The details," she pointed out as she scrolled through her gallery until she found one of the many videos Pipp posted on the morning. "Pipp filmed this before we left this morning. And as you can see from the rainbow light behind her, the Crystal hadn’t been stolen yet," she added since the rainbow light of the Brighthouse was still shining. "Look closely. What else do you see?" she asked the rest as they all returned to the Brighthouse's first floor.

"Besides the gorgeous way the light’s brushing my cheeks?" Pipp questioned with a smile.

Oh, you have no idea, Pipp Sonic thought as he blushed a little, but it faded once he focused on the task.

"Yeah. Besides that," Zipp replied while she rolled her eyes at her sister's attitude. She placed her phone next to the shelf where Pipp filmed in the morning and found something strange about both sides. "The vase has been moved," she pointed out, then she inspected the vase and found a strand of a long white fur. Zipp turned to her sister with a smug look on her face. "Consider the case zipped," she joked as Pipp blew a raspberry at her.

"It doesn’t look like it belongs to anypony I know," Sunny pointed out, looking at the fur string with Izzy and Tails.

"I mean, it could be mine, but I win nothing by stealing a Crystal that brings nothing to me, and that fur is way too large to be mine," Tails added with a neutral expression.

"It’s long and stretchy like the fur of a platipony or a unicooger! Or maybe even a pugasus!" Zipp pointed out that no animal in Equestria could have fur as long as that one. "If we follow the scent, we’ll find them," she added confidently.

"You’re up to the task, Cloudpuff?" Hitch asked the dog underneath him with a smile. However, Cloudpuff barked with worry, and Hitch looked at him, bored. "No, it’s the crystal that was stolen. If I’d been stolen, I wouldn’t be here right now," he translated with a dead tone.

Zipp brought the fur closer to Cloudpuff as he started to sniff it. "Go on. Get a good ol’ sniff of this," she instructed. Cloudpuff suddenly twitched as he got a scent and ran/flew out the door, barking. "We’ve got a hint! Let’s roll!" Zipp stated with a smile.

"But I haven’t packed my bags! If I go a morning without my meditation pillow, aromatherapy candles, toner, and moisturizer, I will be a nervous wreck with blemishes. That’s a bad combination!" Pipp complained.

However, the group was already following Cloudpuff, with Sonic carrying Pipp since it seemed like she wouldn't move alone. "No time for that, Pipp! The thief can get away if we don't take action!" Sonic said to her as he ran to follow Cloudpuff.

"And Cloudpuff could lose the scents if we don’t leave now!" Zipp pointed out. "C’mon, sis. It’ll be fun!" she assured, as the whole group started to run to catch up with Cloudpuff.

Several hours later, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic walked through the forest following Cloudpuff. The group was feeling very tired from all the walking and running, except for Izzy, who was singing to herself, and Sonic, who used to run farther distances all the time.

"You’ll let me know when we hit the fun part, right?" Pipp rhetorically asked the group since she didn't find the trip fun.

"Man, my tails hurt," Tails complained as he rubbed his tails after flying around for hours. "I haven't felt this tired ever since we stopped Eggman on Angel Island years ago..." he pointed out.

"I don't feel my legs," Knuckles complained as well, as he fainted on the ground tired.

Zipp was just as tired as the rest, but she kept looking anyway. "The good news is that whoever stole the crystal must be getting just as tired," she pointed out since they'd been following Cloudpuff for hours.

"Here’s the deal, Pippsqueaks. We’ve been tracking our thief for a millennium--" Pipp said while she started to livestream again.

Sonic rolled his eyes at Pipp's attitude. He liked her, he won't deny, but sometimes she was so dramatic that he could not tolerate it. "Pipp, honey, it's been three hours," he pointed out irritatedly.

"Because Zipp is a horrible detective, Hitch keeps attracting all these creepy animals, Izzy keeps singing, and Cloudpuff keeps going in circles!" Pipp complained with an anxious look. "So if you’re hearing this, for the love of all ponykind, send help!" she begged desperately. But soon enough, her phone battery died, and she started to cry and stomp the ground with a hoof. "No, my phone died! And I don’t have a charger because somepony didn’t give me enough time to pack anything!" she yelled.

"We were going to lose the trail and magic altogether!" Zipp yelled at her sister with a frown. "I think that’s more important than a phone charger--" she tried to say, but Pipp cut her off.

"Now I can’t even call for help if we need it!" Pipp pointed out.

"Ok, that's enough, girls!" Sonic said as he stepped in the middle. "I get you two to have a lot of crashes like any sibling, but right now, we need to focus our energies on finding the thief, okay okay pled with a soft voice but also with a little frown.

"I know you’re all scared. I am, too. We can’t let fear tear us apart. The only way through this is by sticking together," Sunny added looking comfortingly at the sisters.

"Yeah, fine/Whatever," the two sisters huffed turning on each other's backs and crossing their hooves.

As Zipp walked away, Sonic pulled a portable charger from his quills and extended it to Pipp. "Just don't tell your sister I gave you this," he whispered, winking at her. Pipp blushed a little, but she also smiled. She quickly connected the charger and the phone and then put it back on her wing before Zipp could notice it.

Then, Pipp, Sunny, and Tails looked at Cloudpuff with a bored expression. "You’re right about one thing, Pipp… Emphasis on one thing," Sunny spoke. "Following Cloudpuff isn’t getting us anywhere," she agreed with Pipp. "We’ll get a better lay of the land above the trees. Zipp, Pipp, Tails, can you fly?" she asked her flying friends.

Zipp checked her wings and started to flap them, seeing that she could fly now. “Wings seem to be working right now," she replied as Sunny summoned her alicorn form.

"And if they stop working in the air?" Pipp asked, worried that their magic might glitch out again.

"We’ll make sure we’re low enough that the trees can catch our fall," Sunny assured.

"And if that doesn't work, knucklehead and I will catch you," Sonic stated with a smile as Knuckles stood up from the ground and put his thumbs up with a bored expression.

"I need to stick to the ground for now," Tails said with a tired expression. "My tails hurt, and I'd rather not force them to fly if they're not okayokaye pointed out.

"I can ask some of the critters around here if they’ve seen anything," Hitch said, walking away to talk with them.

"I'm gonna run around to find anything suspicious," Sonic said while stretched a little. "Maybe they left out something," he suggested as he boosted running through the forest.

However, Izzy wasn't sure if splitting up was good for them. "I don’t think it’s a good idea to split up," she said with worry,

"We don’t have a choice," Sunny replied. "Every minute that the Crystal is separated from the others, our magic glitches out more and more. We need to use every advantage we have. That means using our magic." she pointed out.

"I still think…" Izzy tried to say, but she was cut off when the rest of her friends had already spread out. The only ones remaining were Tails and Knuckles. "... Well, that’s okay. Look for a place to use my magic down here. Leave it to me!" she yelled, waving at them.

"Hey, Izzy, it's okay. We can search around with you!" Tails assured her with a smile. "I need to rest my tails for now, and I'm not letting you search alone. What kind of friend would I be then?" he pointed out, still smiling. And Izzy finally smiled joyfully, happy that Tails wanted to stay at her side for the search. "Hey Knux, mind to join us?" Tails asked as he looked at the Equidna, who had a bored expression.

"Meh, why not? It's not like I can do much around here, anyway," Knuckles replied as he walked towards Tails and Izzy. "So, where do we start?" he asked.

A few hours later, Izzy, Tails, and Knuckles spend time searching when they find a cave blocked by a pile of rocks. Izzy also mumbled half the time while she, Tails, and Knuckles moved the rocks.

"It’s a good thing they left us down here… totally good!" Izzy mumbled, still mad at her friends. "I mean, who else would’ve noticed this not-suspicious cave in a non-suspicious part of this non-suspicious woods?" she complained sarcastically while Tails looked at her with worry. "And who else would’ve…Moved. All. THESE. RRROOOCCKKS?!" she cried in frustration while straining from moving all the rocks.

Both Tails and Knuckles looked at each other with worried expressions. "Are you mad because we didn't let you join the game before?" Tails questioned.

"Or you're upset about what happened with the butterflies?" Knuckles asked as well.

Izzy took a deep breath before answering. "It’s not the game I’m sad about, nor the thing with the butterflies. It’s the way I was left out. Tails, you and the others can fly to play in the sky, and Knuckles, when I tried to join you and Hitch on your critter hunt, I only ruined it. And now, the others won’t even listen to my plan to find the thief and get the Crystal..." she explained with a sad look. "I get that we have to get that Crystal back before magic disappears forever, but can our friends stop for a second and think before leaping?" she added, sniffing a little.

Tails looked at her with compassion since he knew pretty well what it was like to be left out, and Knuckles felt ashamed for not realizing it sooner. "Geez, kid... I... I had no idea," Knuckles confessed with shame. "Sorry if we made you feel bad; I'm just used to letting anger get over me before I can think clearly," he apologized.

"And I'm sorry you could not join us at the game, Izzy," Tails also apologized. "We felt bad for you not joining, and I even considered quitting playing to spend some time with you, but of course, they didn't allow me." he rolled his eyes, remembering Zipp's protests for him considering not participating anymore. "Now, with them not hearing you, that was weird, now that I think about it..." he confessed, as he put a hand on his chin.

"I get it with Sonic. He acts without thinking twice, and we can't change that as much as we want to," Knuckles pointed out with a bored expression. "But with your friends... that was not normal..." he pointed out again.

"Give them some time, Izz," Tails smiled again. "Once we get that Crystal back, you can tell them how you feel so things like these never happen again, okay?" he suggested.

"And let me promise that if they still act like this, then we will get along with you more often," Knuckles added as well, smiling at the unicorn.

Izzy slowly smiled and grabbed Tails and Knuckles into a group hug. "Thank you, guys. I appreciate that you're here with me," she thanked them.

"Anytime, Izzy," Tails replied.

"I think we don't have to move any more rocks; it seems like we can enter the cave now," Knuckles pointed out, looking at a hole in the pile of rocks.

The trio climbed the rocks as they poked their heads through the hole. "Helloooo, Crystal Thief! We come in peace and with a song if you want to hear it!" Izzy called out nervously.

"Um... Izzy, we're supposed to catch him without him knowing, you know..." Tails pointed out.

"Oh, right, sorry," Izzy apologized with a little smile. Suddenly, Izzy felt little rocks falling on her head, and when she looked up, a big one was about to crush her... if it wasn't because of Knuckles, who sent the rock at the inside of the cave in one punch. "Phew! That was a close one. Thank you, Knuckles!" she thanked the Equidna.

"No problem!" Knuckles replied with a smirk.

The rock rolled down the pile of rocks until it hit the wall, which, for some reason, made a clanging sound. "Huh?" Tails said with confusion as he passed through the hole and landed on the ground inside the cave. "As far as I know, rocks don't make a clanging sound," he pointed out as Knuckles and Izzy also entered the cave.

"Crystal Thief, if that’s you, I’m sorry for hitting you with a rock," Izzy apologized, thinking she might hit the thief.

"I don't think that was the thief, kiddo," Knuckles pointed out as he examined some vines covering something. "There has to be something behind these vines," he suggested.

The trio moved the vines aside, and instead of a wall of rocks, they found a rusty, old door.

"Well, that explains the clang; it's a door!" Tails exclaimed in awe.

"A very old one if you ask me," Knuckles pointed out.

"Whoa…" Izzy said in amazement. "Is this a creepy gate for a creepy crystal thief? Bet I can say that five times fast," she said to his friends as she tried to open the door. "A creepy gate for a creepy crystal thief, a creepy gate for a creepy crystal thief, a creepy gate…" she started to say but stopped in midsentence and gasped in awe at what she was looking at.

"Izzy?" Tails called out. "Is there something wrong?" he asked her.

"Yeah, you stopped talking suddenly," Knuckles added with a worried face.

Izzy didn't answer directly and instead opened the door enough so Tails and Knuckles could see, and they gasped as well.

Sunny told them stories about ancient Equestria since they arrived late with the group and didn't know about those times. She told them about a city that had not been seen in years, where anypony was welcome as long as they believed in the magic of friendship. And now, the trio was looking at that city in a devastated state and lying in ruins.

"CANTERLOT?!" Izzy cried out in shock.

Tails and Knuckles were amazed at the view, and none knew exactly what to say at least until Tails decided to break the silence.

"Guys... We have to tell the rest..." Tails said, still staring in shock at the now abandoned city.

To be continued...