The Mane 5, Sparky, Tails, and Knuckles were entering Canterlogic's abandoned factory.

Since magic was brought back a year ago, Phyllis shut down the building, even though it was still under maintenance. This is why some workers are still around—or at least used to be—because the building is abandoned now.

As they walked inside the abandoned building, everyone but Pipp and Knuckles seemed freaked out about the place since it gave a spooky vibe.

"Hey, Pipp?" Sunny called out nervously. "Remind me why we are here again?" she asked, looking around with a scared expression.

"Yeah, not that it isn't cool to be in a freaky empty building, but... It is kinda freaky. And empty!" Izzy added, also with a nervous expression.

However, the word 'empty' echoed across the building, startling Izzy. She gasped and walked several steps back, scared.

"See? I didn't even mean to do that!" Izzy muttered nervously, while the rest seemed as nervous as her.

Except for Pipp and Knuckles, the former was excited to be here, and the latter had a neutral expression. It was clear that he didn't mind this place or enjoyed it, but unlike the rest, he didn't find it spooky.

"But that's why I love it!" Pipp said excitedly as she opened her wings. "It's thrilling! Can't you feel the spooky energy in here?" she asked with a huge smile.

"No! Not at all!" Hitch replied immediately with a nervous expression.

However, as soon as something with static got hit, Hitch, every mare but Zipp in the room, and Tails screamed in fear, with Tails and Sunny hugging each other immediately as a result of their panic.

Zipp, however, just smirked at the rest's attitude, especially Hitch's. At the same time, Knuckles looked at his left foot and frowned: He accidentally stepped over an old radio in the ground, so he grabbed it and growled at it before looking back at Hitch, who smiled sheepishly. Then, Knuckles threw the radio away.

"This is ridiculous..." Hitch muttered with a nervous tone again as he grabbed Sparky, who was sitting on his back. "I've been inside Canterlogic millions of times! There's nothing to be afraid of!" he assured.

Sunny, however, chuckled with a smile at him. "I think Pipp disagrees," she pointed out, looking at her side.

Pipp was checking some boxes around the building until she came up to one of those old 'Pegasi are bad' propaganda posters. Even though Pipp felt scared, she still let out an adorable giggle before flying into the air.

"Well, Pipp has always loved spooky things," Zipp said with a smile. "She once convinced our mom that royal ghosts haunt an entire castle wing. Mom still trots the long way around it," she explained, which made Sunny chuckle.

"She breaks the 'fancy princess that hates scary stuff' stereotype..." Tails commented with a chuckle, even though he was still too attached to Sunny since he hated to be here.

"Imagine what kind of terrors lurk in all these mysterious corners..." Pipp said with a smile from behind a scaffold while lying upside down. She slowly moved her head upwards and looked around.

"Well, at least someone here is having fun..." Knuckles said with a bored expression.

"How are you not scared by all of this, Knuckles?" Izzy asked nervously as she approached her boyfriend and side-hugged him for protection.

Even though he raised an eyebrow, Knuckles still wrapped an arm around Izzy and kept her close to him. "Well, I just find this place... What's the least offensive thing I can say about it?" he thought before looking around and sighed heavily. "This place is boring as fuck..." he ended up saying, causing Pipp to land behind him suddenly with a long and dramatic gasp. "And I'm not apologizing for believing that!" he stated after hearing the young pegasus' gasp.

At this, Pipp growled madly before huffing, offended, and then flying away.

"I can't believe we haven't thought about this old factory since Sprout and his family closed it down..." Sunny pointed out with an amused expression.

"As we should..." Knuckles muttered with a groan and an eye roll before being pushed on his shoulder by Hitch, who glared at him after saying that. "Am I wrong, tho?" he asked with a bored expression.

Meanwhile, Izzy separated from Knuckles and went over to a box. She pulled out an old cassette and gasped with a smile. "There's so much space in this place!" she said happily before repeating the word "place" three times, each time in a lower tone. That time, it was me!" she said proudly.

"It's like we all just forgot it existed..." Hitch pointed out, still hugging Sparky.

"Even though it is pretty big and noticeable..." Tails pointed out with a sheepish smile.

"What if we forgot about it because the ghosts wanted us to!" Pipp said with a smile as she flew around Hitch and mocked him with a spooky 'ooo' before stopping in the air. "I have shivers!" she added, then flew away excitedly.

"here we go again..." Zipp said with an eye roll and a smirk, while Tails got closer to Sunny and let out a scared whimper.

"Oh... Don't worry, Tails," Sunny said with a smile, nuzzling her cheek with his. "This place is not haunted. Pipp's just excited to be here, that's all!" she assured him with a sweet smile.

"That doesn't make it less spooky, though..." Tails pointed out with a gulp.

"Well, I agree with Sunny!" Hitch said nervously as he started to walk away. "This is just an old building made of bricks and concrete. Besides, even if it weren't, I'm not afraid of no ghosts!" he stated with a stomp of his right hind leg.

However, right then, a pega-mouse ran by some boxes behind the sheriff and made some noise, startling him. Then, the pega-mouse ran again and made a louder noise, terrified Hitch, and he hugged Sparky tightly.

"What was that?!" Hitch screamed in panic, while Sparky seemed too uncomfortable with being hugged so tightly.

"Not afraid, huh?" Pipp asked with a mocking smirk after chuckling. She approached him with Izzy, and Hitch looked around in terror.

Meanwhile, Zipp, Sunny, and Tails laughed at him while Knuckles groaned and facepalmed. "I swear to Chaos, if he has no sword that seals the darkness or something like that, he better not be our last line of defense if Eggman ever pulls out his plan..." he muttered with annoyance.

In the snowy mountains of Equestria, Team Dark and Amy began their quest toward the Light Blue Chaos Emerald.

Omega scanned around his place while Rouge sat over one of his shoulders.

"We have cleared the area. We might proceed with our quest," Omega informed them as he started to walk while Amy and Shadow followed behind the robot.

However, Amy seemed concerned. Although she walked quickly over the snow, her expression clearly showed her true emotions.

Shadow noticed that, but so far, he said nothing because he wasn't the best at communicating or comforting someone... And still, a part of him seemed to be bothering and pushing him to the edge so he could talk with her already.

So, the Ultimate Life Form decided to leave aside his 'cold' attitude and, for once, try to be as polite as he could.

"... Is there... something bothering you?" Shadow asked, but it almost sounded like a whisper.

However, Amy still managed to hear it, and she slowly looked at him, a bit confused. "Uh, what?" she asked back.

Shadow did his best not to roll his eyes or groan, annoyed. He needed to remember that he could talk too low sometimes, which would explain why Amy asked what he said.

"I... asked if something is bugging you," Shadow replied, now louder so Amy could hear.

"Oh, um... yeah... There is something bothering me..." Amy replied, looking at the ground once again with concern.

Now what? Shadow didn't expect to get this far.

It was easy for him to communicate with Rouge and Omega since they all understood each other well. However, Shadow was still getting time to talk properly with the rest, especially since he's usually too harsh with them.

"... May I ask what is bugging you?" Shadow asked again loud enough for her to hear, hoping she didn't think he was shouting.

"Well... today, 10 years ago... Sonic lost... her..." Amy replied with a saddened expression.

At first, Shadow again had to resist the urge to roll his eyes when Amy mentioned Sonic. It was normal and true, but that didn't make it less annoying.

However, Shadow knew perfectly who was her, and now he understood why Amy seemed concerned about it far better.

"So... You worried about how's he doing today?" Shadow asked.

"It's more complicated..." Amy replied. "You know how he almost turned into a sociopath that crosses the line without holding back his punches, right?" she asked him, and Shadow nodded. "He says he isolates himself on this day never to do something like that again, but... I don't know if it's healthy... it took him so long to be himself again..." she pointed out with concern.

Shadow glanced at her, and he did feel bad for her.

Since he has known her, or at least since he remembers her, Amy has been completely and utterly in love with Sonic. Of course, this was a secret to nobody, not even Sonic himself, but even so, Amy still seemed hesitant about talking about him so freely, especially since she stopped being so pushy with him.

"Sonic might be a reckless moron that's too soft for my liking..." Shadow said, and Amy looked at him, confused. "However, I'm pretty sure that he'll be fine. Tails and Knuckles are with him by this point, hopefully, so he won't be mourning his loss the same way he usually does. After all, those two won't allow him to be alone even if he told them the worse kind of bullshit they'll ever hear," he pointed out, slightly smirking at the pink hedgehog.

Amy felt slightly surprised that Shadow was trying to cheer her up, especially considering her concern was related to Sonic.

Yet, she still smiled at him. "I guess you are right. Tails and Knuckles will follow wherever he goes, even if he doesn't like it." Amy recognized with a smile before shaking her head and clapping her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Shadow! I know you don't like to hear me talking about Sonic, but I seriously needed to get that off my chest," she apologized with a sheepish smile.

Even though Shadow found it annoying that she always worried about Sonic, he still smiled. "It's fine. If it makes you feel better, I don't mind," he replied.

In Canterlogic's factory, Hitch looked around in fear while still hugging Sparky tightly.

The poor baby dragon was whimpering in pain at this, but no one else seemed to notice because they were looking around for boxes, scaffolds, and other stuff. In other words, they were too busy to notice the poor dragon suffering.

"How are you all so calm?!" Hitch screamed in panic.

"Oh, I'm not!" Izzy said at his side, clearly forcing a smile while her right eye twitched. She tried so hard not to scream. "This is just my nervous smile!" she added with a creepy look. It looks a lot like my happy smile. And also my unhappy smile..." she finished before walking away and chuckling awkwardly.

"Well, after 10 minutes of looking around, even though it still looks creepy... Yeah, I'm with Knuckles now," Tails said with a bored expression. "This place is lame and boring..." he added.

"Oh, come on! That's not true!" Pipp said, now zooming at his side, although Tails didn't seem too bothered nor startled, probably because he's used to Sonic doing the same thing all the time. "This place has some interesting and spoooooky stuff!" she pointed out.

"It's still mid as fuck..." Knuckles said while scratching his belly, making Pipp groan in annoyance.

"So..." Zipp called out, trying to change the subject. "Now that Canterlogic is gone, what's gonna happen to this building?" she asked curiously.

"Wouldn't it be super if it became something so fun-tastic that everypony wanted to hang out here?" Izzy asked with a joyful smile while extending her hoof in the air.

"Izzy's right!" Sunny said with a smile.

"I am!" Izzy said proudly with a smile before opening her eyes wide. "Wait, I am?" she asked confused.

"You're surprised? 70% of the time, your ideas are pretty good on paper, just not in execution..." Knuckles said with a sheepish smile.

"I have no idea what that means, but thanks!" Izzy said with a smile before her eyes went wide again. "Wait, why only 70% of the time?" she asked with a raised brow.

"... I think I made a mistake of some kind, so I refuse to answer that..." Knuckles replied with a frown.

Then, Sunny cleared her throat, and Knuckles and Izzy looked back at her. "As I was saying... Izzy is right. We should turn this old factory into something new for the whole community!" she stated excitedly.

"This can be the biggest unicycling project I've ever done!" Izzy said with a huge smile, just as excited as Sunny, or even more! "And you ponies can help!" she added, trembling a bit as she whimpered with excitement.

"Yeah, it does have potential," Zipp said with a smile.

"Um, are you sure, Izz?" Tails asked with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, it's one thing to unicycle a vehicle, but a whole building?!" he shouted, as echo sounded all across the abandoned factory. "That's gonna take many months of work..." he pointed out.

"Well, that's exactly why we're gonna do it together!" Sunny stated, wrapping a hoof around Tails' neck while the young fox chuckled.

"Maybe we can turn this place into an indoor skatepark!" Zipp said excitedly as she flew in the air and pointed at the whole building with her hooves.

"Woah!" Izzy exclaimed dramatically.

"Or a theater-slash-concert hall!" Pipp added, also flying around the ceiling with excitement.

"Now we're talking!" Izzy told Pipp with a smile. "Or singing!" she sang.

"Or a community center for official town hall meetings!" Hitch added with a smile.

"Oh... Or that!" Izzy replied, cringing at first but then smiling.

"How about we left the sheriff stuff for the sheriff places like the station, Sheriff?" Knuckles retorted with a bored expression before moving forward with a smirk. "Instead, we could turn this place into some Punch-Out sorta place! With all kinds of punching bags, heavy stuff to be lifted, a TV with motivational stuff, and a boxing ring!" he stated with sparkling eyes, with a red background behind him.

However, Tails suddenly pushed the red background away with no effort and a bored expression, showing the real scenario of Canterlogic again as he approached the echidna. "Sorry to cut it for ya, Knux, but you're describing a gym, and there's already one, not so far from my workshop..." he pointed out.

"Wait... There is?!" Knuckles asked in shock.

"Yeah. It's been there since day one we arrived here, Knucklehead," Tails replied with a bored expression, trying to lay against a box, but since it was open, he almost fell on it, so he quickly twirled his tails around to stay on the air and then landed again, before looking around and clear his throat. "I was thinking more of some museum. I know there's already one in Maretime Bay, but now that magic is back, isn't their story a bit outdated?" he asked with a sheepish smile.

"How outdated?" Pipp asked.

"About a thousand years, considering pretty much everything every tribe believed about each other was nothing but a bunch of lies..." Tails replied. "Which means that it's time for some better education about the actual story of Equestria!" he stated with a huge smile.

"These are all great ideas, and I love them," Sunny stated with a smile before zooming to Tails' side and leaning closer to him. "Specially yours! We should do something with that idea in the future!" she muttered to him, smiling happily. Then, Sunny went back to where she was. "But how about we ask the town's ponies, too?" she suggested. "That way, our new space will be exactly what everypony wants," she stated once again.

"Brill idea, Sunny!" Pipp said with a smile. "And while you three do that, Hitch, Zipp, Sonic, Knuckles, and I will clear the building of all its ghosties and spirits, etcetera. Cleanse the energies, you know?" she added with excitement.

"Perfect!" Sunny said with a smile.

"Almost..." Knuckles said with a cringed expression as he looked away from the earth pony mare.

"What do you mean, Knuckles?" Izzy asked, confused.

"Um, I think he's talking about the part where Sonic's involved," Tails replied with a concerned and saddened expression. "He's not going to be around us the whole day, I think," he added, looking away as well.

"Wait, what?! But why?!" Pipp asked in a panic.

Tails sighed heavily before looking back at the rest. "It's better if you guys ask Sonic himself. It's unfair that Knuckles and I must answer for him whenever he excuses himself... What I will tell you is that today, 10 years ago, something really bad and traumatic happened to him. It took him long to be himself again, even if he's fine nowadays. He always distances himself on this day, every year..." he explained.

"As Tails said, you guys should ask him if you want the full context," Knuckles added with a worried frown. "But for now? Please leave him alone. He... He tends to get grumpier than me when he's mad, and he says things that he regrets later..." he also explained, but it sounded more like a warning.

"So... We should just do all of this without him?" Zipp asked, confused.

"I'm afraid that's our only choice right now..." Tails replied with lower ears and a sad expression. "Just trust us this time around, okay? We know him longer than the rest of you, and we know why we're telling this..." he pointed out.

"I get that he wants space, but... Alone the whole day?" Sunny questioned with a slight frown. "That's crossing a line, if you ask me..." she also pointed out.

"I agree on that aspect," Knuckles said while crossing his arms. "Yet, I quote Tails' recent words here, 'We've known him longer than you.' These aren't warnings made for some bad luck, old legends, or even a chance to get ourselves killed... Is a real-life tale, and we have seen personally the consequences of not leaving him alone..." he warned again.

"Okay, so we just leave Sonic alone, and we hope for him to tell us later today what's gotten into him, or maybe tomorrow when he's in a good mood..." Hitch said with a raised eyebrow. "Did I miss anything?" he asked.

"Nope. That's pretty much the entire situation we're dealing with!" Knuckles replied with a neutral expression.

"Well, if we have that settled down, I think we have work to do!" Sunny said with a smile, even though she was still concerned about Sonic.

The rest nodded in agreement as Sunny, Tails, and Izzy walked towards the factory exit.

"Let's ask Toots! Oh, and Dahlia! Oh, oh, and Windy!" Izzy said happily.

"Izz, we're gonna ask everyone but Sonic?" Tails replied with a chuckle.

"Uh... I don't know if I can help you right now..." Hitch said nervously. "Sparky is fussy," he added with a sheepish smile.

However, Sparky seemed pretty happy now that Hitch had let him go. He didn't even look scared, something the remaining residents could tell.

"Mm-hmm..." Pipp retorted with a mocking smirk while Knuckles facepalmed again.

"He's your boss, don't get mad. He's your boss, don't get mad. He's your boss, don't get mad. He's your boss, don't get mad..." Knuckles repeated to himself as he also rubbed his head.

"And I've got a lot of official Sheriff business to return to... Paperwork, you know!" Hitch added, but he was trying to avoid helping Pipp. Not because he didn't want to but because he hated the spooky aspect of the abandoned place. "But, maybe Zipp––" he tried to say.

Yet, his luck went away as the pegasus spoke. "Sorry! But I'm so close to cracking Twilight Sparkle's message. I've gotta focus my attention on that. Have fun!" Zipp stated with a smirk before flying off the ground and around Hitch with a mocking smirk. "Don't let the ghosties get you!" she added mockingly, and then, she boosted away from the factory at top speed.

"If he gets scared as fuck, I'll send you a video about it!" Knuckles shouted with a mocking smirk.

"Thanks!" Zipp replied as Knuckles chuckled.

Hitch seemed to feel very insecure right now, and Sparky whimpered and was also scared.

"You know, if I had to guess, I'd say that spooky, scary ghosts haunting it up in here is totally against regulation!" Pipp said with a singing voice before looking at Knuckles with a smirk, who smirked back. "Right, Deputy Knuckles?" she asked.

"Pretty much!" Knuckles said as he looked at Hitch with a mocking smirk and crossed arms. "So, is the Sheriff of Maretime Bay going to allow some asshole ghosts to haunt this factory and then leave to haunt everyone in town?" he asked, knowing pretty well that Hitch was going to fall into the trick.

And just like he predicted, it worked because Hitch frowned at both.

"You guys make a good point, " Hitch said, looking at them with a determinate expression. "As Sheriff, I can't allow that!" he assured them before walking away while Sparky climbed on his back and sat there.

Knuckles and Pipp seemed satisfied as he did that, still smirking at what they just did.

"Easy as fuck!" Knuckles said with happiness, opening his hand in front of Pipp.

"You say it!" Pipp replied happily, clapping her hoof on Knuckles' hand before both followed the sheriff.

However, none of the three noticed that some figure was watching them, but Sparky did, and said figure decided to hide after being spotted by the baby dragon.

Zipp flew to the Crystal Brighthouse with her phone on her hoof.

She looked around for a second before pressing the play button on her phone. "Okay, Twilight. Let's hear it again," Zipp stated.

By doing so, she rewatched the message recorded by Twilight on the Unity Crystals. "But the spell is broken! You are exposed to the world once again. You must watch out for Op–– Before she op––" the message played once more.

However, as it did so, Zipp didn't notice that Misty was hearing her from behind a tree, as she gasped at Twilight's voice.

"Is that her?! Twilight Sparkle? From Opaline's stories?" Misty questioned, confused.

Then, she brought out her phone and pointed it at Zipp to record the message. Zipp gave her back but still didn't notice Misty.

"But the spell is broken! You are exposed to the world once again. You must watch out for Op–– Before she op––" Twilight's message played again.

"Before what?! What were you trying to warn us about?!" Zipp asked in rage and confusion. "Ugh! I still can't believe that's all I could record... " she added with disappointment before heading inside the Brighthouse.

As the pegasus did so, Misty stopped recording and hid behind the tree again. "Opaline has to know about this!" she stated before running towards the castle.

In Opaline's Castle, Opaline watched the video Misty recorded with a frown.

"You must watch out for Op–– Before she op––" Twilight's message played once more.

"So, that nasty little Twilight Sparkle enchanted those Crystals with a secret message, did she?" Opaline said angrily as she stomped her left hind hoof loudly on the ground, making Misty flinch behind her. "What else did she reveal?!" she asked, throwing the phone back to Misty.

Misty struggled and tried to catch her phone, but even if it did fall to the floor, it didn't seem to have broken, so she sighed, relieved. "Uh, I don't know. Zipp said that's all she recorded, though. So, maybe there was more?" she suggested with a sheepish smile.

"Of course, there was more!" Opaline stated angrily, turning around and stomping her hooves on the floor, suddenly making a purple flame appear. "Time is running out before that Zipp pony pieces things together!" she pointed out while the flame disappeared and made her groan in annoyance.

"That is if she hasn't pieced it out yet..." Another voice spoke, and Doctor Eggman entered the Throne Room with a frown. "Zephyrina Storm is a problem we should get rid of. However, you told me that it didn't work last time, so that idea is out of the question..." he pointed out with concern.

"Which is exactly why I need the rest of that dragon fire!" Opaline stated with anger.

"What if we didn't steal Sparky?" Misty suggested with a sheepish smile.

At that, Opaline and Eggman's eyes widened, with the former feeling anger running through her veins, while Eggman looked at Misty with a panicked expression, almost shouting, 'You just killed yourself, you fool!' with his face.

"What did you just say?" Opaline asked as she glared daggers at her.

"I-I just mean... I-It's just that... Well, what if..." Misty tried to say nervously.

"Spit it out already..." Eggman said, now bored, while Opaline looked at the unicorn with a frown.

"Ah! Twilight said that she put all of her magic into the Crystals!" Misty pointed out. "What if we just steal those instead?" she suggested with a little smile. "Yeah! Crystals don't run away or burp fire," she muttered in the last line with a smirk.

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Opaline said sarcastically with a mocking tone.

"Really?" Misty asked with an innocent smile.

"No. Not really," Opaline replied, once again in an angry tone. "We can't just steal the Crystals! Now that I know what they truly are: conduits!" she pointed out, reflecting on her boiler in the middle of the room.

"Huh?" Misty said, confused.

"Long ago, Twilight Sparkle channeled all the magic in Equestria into those Crystals and enchanted them," Opaline explained. "Stealing them now, before I'm strong enough, could destroy the Prisbeam, the very source of magic I want to possess!" she added angrily.

"You're kind of missing some crucial points here, Opaline," Eggman pointed out. "Not only getting the Crystals this early can tear them apart but also magic overflow. After all, earth pony magic wasn't a thing until 6 months ago. It is safe to say that containing that much power would tear the crystals apart. After all, they were not made to hold that much power..." he explained.

"Which is why we cannot risk Prisbeam breaking!" Opaline stated before looking back at Misty with a frown. "You were willing to risk that?" she asked angrily.

"No! Of course not!" Misty replied with a nervous chuckle. "It was a terrible idea! But um, uh... What's a 'conduit'?" she asked with a sheepish smile.

"An element!" Opaline replied, but Misty just blinked twice, feeling confused.

"A crystal that's protected by a very complex spell containing..." Eggman tried to say instead, but before he could keep going, he shivered in disgust and even struggled to say the word. "Un... Uni... Unity Magic..." he finished before growling and then shivering again in complete disgust, rubbing his neck with a hand. "Gosh, I'm gonna need to put some soap over my throat after that one..." he said disgustingly.

"The only thing that can drain the Crystals permanently is an equal magical power..." Opaline explained.

"Like an Alicorn's?" Misty asked.

"A Fire Alicorn!" Opaline replied, opening her wings as they and her horn released fire while Opaline smiled.

"But what if a non-magical thing or creature tried to steal the Crystals?" Eggman asked curiously.

"... What?" Opaline asked, confused.

"You said that the Prisbeam might shatter if you steal their magic now, but what if someone with no magic tried to steal them? What would happen?" Eggman questioned.

"... I honestly don't know..." Opaline replied, looking at the floor with a conflicted look. "If I had to guess, whoever grabs the Crystals will prevent them from tearing apart and might be able to use them as a magic container. Although, I'm pretty sure a spell is required for that..." she explained.

"... I see..." Eggman replied, but deep down, this revelation seemed to be what he needed because he wanted to grin and laugh out loud. Thanks for the info, you foolish mare! he thought with glee.

"Now, for my magic to get strong enough so we can actually steal the Crystals, there's only one thing I need," Opaline declared once more, looking at Misty with a frown.

Of course, Misty gulped at this. "A baby dragon?" she asked, but it almost sounded like a whisper, even though Opaline and Eggman did hear her.

"Don't fail me again," Opaline replied, closing her wings and leaving the room.

As she did so, Misty looked on with a conflicted expression...

On one hoof, she knew nothing but Opaline her entire life. She found her as a filly when she got lost and gave her food, a bed, a home... And now, with Eggman thrown into the mix, it was even more of a home since Eggman did care for her, even if he tried to hide it with the excuse of 'needing her on his side to have a spy out there.'

However, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic were on the other hoof. They did nothing but treat her like a friend, and even if Zipp and Knuckles seem to look at her with suspicion, they still consider her a friend. There was also the fact that she's having conflicted feelings about Tails ever since he talked with her in the Community Garden back when they had the unicorn sleepover...

It was a hard decision: She was in a thin line between good and evil and didn't want to disappoint either... But she knew that she'd eventually have to make a choice. If she stays, her new friends will turn their back on her and hate her, which is true, but she'll still have Eggman. But if she stood with her friends, then Eggman would feel betrayed...

As Misty experienced this internal conflict, Eggman looked at her with concern. He saw she had decided to join the bad guys or stick with her new friends.

Perhaps sending her to so many missions with them was a bad idea...

Worse of all? She destroyed the necklace Opaline gave her not so long ago, and Opaline just screamed at her that she should've been more careful. She was punished by staying in the castle for a whole week, but nothing else... And still, Eggman could tell Misty was starting to doubt who to be loyal to...

So, right there, he turned around and gave his back to Misty, but not without saying something. "Misty... I have no idea what's going on in your mind right now..." he started, calling the unicorn's attention. "But I want you to know this: It doesn't matter if we end on opposite sides of this game. I won't hurt you, no matter what. And that's a promise..." he stated before walking away and entering his lab.

Misty stared in shock at what he just said, and with those words, her already conflicted thoughts just got even more conflicted...

Stay with the one bad guy who cares about her and loves her like a daughter, or go with the friends who appreciate her in general? This was a hard decision to make...

Back in Maretime Bay, Sunny, Izzy, and Tails asked ponies around town about what they would like for the new Canterlogic.

They were talking now with Toots, Dahlia, and Windy, just like Izzy had suggested back in the fabric.

"Oh, I know I've got that somewhere!" Izzy said as she researched inside her Unicycling Cart for something while Tails was sitting in the driver's place and Sunny was taking notes of what everypony wanted on her phone. "Did I put it under the macaroni? Ah-ha!" she cheered, taking out a cactus from the cart.

"I've come to a point where I'm just gonna accept Izzy does Izzy because Izzy..." Tails said with a bored expression, while Sunny chuckled at his statement.

"There should be balloons. I love balloons!" Toots said with a smile, while Sunny nodded and wrote it down on her phone.

"Okay!" Izzy declared confidently, then fully inflated about seven to eight balloons and, using her magic, levitated them to show Toots.

"See what I mean?!" Tails pointed at the inflated balloons.

"Oh! And a glitter banner! We've got to have a glitter banner!" Dahlia declared with a smile.

"Yeah, that too!" Windy agreed with the earth pony mare.

"Okay!" Izzy replied with a smile while levitating some salt shaker tubes that had glitter instead of salt. Sunny wrote down what Dahlia suggested on her phone as she did so.

"And an art gallery with a painting of every pony in Maretime Bay!" Toots suggested once again with a smile.

"Okay..." Izzy said doubtfully as she and Sunny looked at each other, while Tails looked at Toots confused.

Still, Sunny shrugged and wrote down what Toots said while Izzy went to her cart and levitated several paint bottles. Then, Toots, Dahlia, and Windy separated each in their directions while Tails sighed in relief and smashed his head on the cart's horn.

"Lots of color, no color, extra space for dancing, and a cool pony statue in every corner..." Sunny started reading the list while Izzy sighed sadly and levitated everything her best friend listed. "Rainbow ribbons, no ribbons, and only blue ribbons," she listed while Izzy struggled to levitate so much stuff; her face was getting messy with all that stuff.

Seeing this, Tails immediately took flight and grabbed several things with his hands, multiplying himself with the watch so his clones could help.

"Balloons, a glitter banner, and a painting of every pony in Maretime Bay. And that's just the decor category!" Sunny pointed out as she finished reading the decor category on the list. "Do we have all that? We do, right?" she asked Izzy, who was struggling less to levitate stuff now that Tails and his clones were helping but still struggling a bit.

"I think so..." Izzy replied unsurely.

"Wow!" Sunny said, now smiling and chuckling a bit. "The town's ponies sure want a lot of different things," she pointed out, removing one sticker from Izzy's hooves.

"Yeah, and they don't always go together..." Izzy pointed out as she stood up from her place and shook her head while her magic deactivated, making all the stuff she levitated fall.

"Maybe there's just too many ideas to––" Tails tried to add, as he and his clones also let go of everything they were lifting while the clones vanished, and Tails landed with a tired expression.

"Make it work?" Sunny finished for the young fox with a concerned expression.

"Yeah..." Tails replied tiredly, falling facewards into the floor.

"But we've got to take everypony's idea into consideration!" Sunny pointed out. "After all, we're all part of the community! Everypony should all have an equal say and be able to enjoy the new space. Right?" she asked, turning to see Izzy, who smiled sheepishly. "Right?!" she asked once again with panic.

Izzy just chuckled awkwardly while nodding. "Right!" she replied, but she wasn't sure about the answer.

Meanwhile, Tails got up and sat on the driver's seat of the cart again, this time with a bored expression. "If someone wasn't mourning, they could use their speed to get this over with..." he muttered with annoyance.

"What was that?" Sunny asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing!" Tails replied with an innocent smile.

Inside the Canterlogic Factory, Hitch, Pipp, Knuckles, and Sparky walked around.

The electricity around the building was crackling since the place had been abandoned for a whole year, which left the building in a terrible state.

Neither Pipp nor Knuckles minded, but Hitch and Sparky were terrified to be here.

Then, Pipp saw something that made her fly and smile, flying close to a scaffold. "Remember when you thought these would protect you from scary brain-melting Unicorn Mind Rays?" she asked mockingly as she grabbed one of those helmets and landed in front of Hitch and Knuckles.

But that statement made Knuckles laugh. He found it hilarious that Hitch used to believe such a thing could protect his brain.

"Man, a part of me regrets not falling along Sonic the first time... That's just hilarious!" Knuckles said with a smirk.

Pipp chuckled at that. "I know! Spooky... Boo!" she jumped suddenly at Hitch.

However, the sheriff didn't flinch and just smirked at her. "Please, Pipp. An adorable 'boo' is not going to make me––" he tried to say confidently.

"Boo," Knuckles spoke in a low tone at his side all of a sudden, and that did scare Hitch because he jumped and moved to the side.

For Hitch's eternal annoyance, this made Knuckles and Pipp chuckle, while Sparky got out of the bags Hitch carried on his back and hugged the sheriff tightly.

"Great! Just what we need... More scary thoughts..." Hitch complained while hugging Sparky back and sitting down.

However, the four of them heard some clattering deep in the fabric. Pipp turned around with a scared expression, Hitch and Sparky leaned to see behind her, and Knuckles frowned slightly at the direction of the sound.

Then, they saw something moving among some cans, which made Hitch hug Sparky even more tightly. Pipp noticed this, and she cringed.

"Maybe you could loosen your grip on the baby dragon?" Pipp suggested to him.

At this, both Hitch and Knuckles noticed that Sparky was running out of air, so Hitch let go of some grip, which made Sparky catch his breath and sigh relieved.

Then, Knuckles frowned and hit Hitch on his head while the sheriff complained. "Auch!" he groaned.

The next thing that happened was that Knuckles used his super speed to remove the bags from Hitch and take Sparky away. He then modified the bags so that there was just one and put it over, placing Sparky in front of him.

"I'm taking him from here..." Knuckles said with a bored expression.

At this, Hitch smiled sheepishly and rubbed his head. "I'm sorry, it's just... I don't want anypony taking Sparky!" he pointed out with concern. "The last time he went missing, it was even scarier than this creepy building..." he stated.

Then, Sparky burped a small flame from an afire dragon, which floated in the air and exploded but didn't hurt anyone.

"Let's keep moving. The sooner we're done with this shit, the sooner we can let Izzy and Tails work their magic. Both figuratively and literally," Knuckles stated as he resumed his walk.

But as he, Pipp, and Hitch kept going, they didn't notice that somepony was watching them from behind a scaffold.

Outside the factory, Sunny, Izzy, and Tails returned on the cart to the build cart.

"Alright, are you ready for the biggest unicycling project ever?" Sunny asked both Izzy and Tails with a huge smile.

"I sure am! I think! I hope so!" Izzy replied, at first hesitant, before smiling confidently. "o, I am! I've decided," she said

"That is if we can go beyond four ideas," Tails pointed out with concern. There's tons of stuff to consider, and we just arrived at the factory. " He added, gulping nervously at the thought of managing so many ideas.

"Sure, there are a ton of ideas, and sure, not all of them go together, and sure, this is a lot., " Sunny said with a panicked expression.

"Of all things you could've said, that truly doesn't help the atmosphere, Sunny..." Tails pointed out with a cringed expression while Izzy nodded in agreement with the same expression.

"But I know we can do it!" Sunny assured, once again smiling normally.

"I think I agree!" Izzy replied nervously

"You're gonna need more than just a speech to convince me this time, Sunny..." Tails stated with a bored expression.

Sunny looked at him, confused at first, but then she sighed. ". I'll give you two full buckets of MMint-Flavored IceCream., she said, smirking.

At this, Tails slowly brought a construction helmet and put it over his head. "You got me a mint!" he also said with a smirk

So, Tails and Izzy exited the cart and prepared to enter the factory. But then, a voice called them out.

"Hey!" Posey's voice was heard, and the three turned around to see Posey approaching them. "I heard you're redesigning the old factory. Can I add my two bits real quick?" she asked smugly.

"Sure. What's one more idea?" Sunny said with a smile, but Izzy didn't seem too excited.

"I refuse to answer that..." Tails muttered with annoyance, but Izzy heard, and she got even more nervous now.

"Perfect!" Posey said with a smile. "So, I was thinking flowers––" she tried to say.

However, right then, Rocky came flying by and landed beside Posey. "Oh, I have an amazing idea, too!" he stated with a smile, and Posey turned to him, actually just confused and not annoyed.

"She's taking those anger-control classes with Knuckles, that's impressive..." Tails muttered with amusement.

However, as he was surprised to see Posey not getting mad at Rocky for being interrupted, Izzy at his side seemed quite nervous because more and more ponies arrived at the factory entrance, surrounding the trio and making them panic.

"A dance studio!" Glory suddenly suggested behind Izzy, startling the unicorn.

"Laser tag arena?!" Peach Fizz suggested as well.

"A science lab could be cool!" Seashell suggested too.

And so, more and more suggestions came by as the three of them walked backward and gulped nervously.

Eggman was in his lab at the castle, trying to find Sonic.

He knew perfectly what day was today, and that only made him want to check on Sonic. Now, why was he worried? Well, he had a really bad experience with Sonic back when he lost someone important to him, and he didn't want to live it ever again.

Suddenly, Opaline entered the lab and stared, confused, at Eggman. "Ivo!" she called out.

Eggman got startled and jumped on his seat before turning around and facing Opaline. "For fucks sake, Arcana!" he complained with a frown. "Has anyone ever taught you about knocking?!" he asked angrily.

"Has anyone ever told you about listening?!" Opaline said back with a frown. "I've been calling you for 10 minutes! What's gotten you so busy now?" she asked with concern.

"I'm trying to look after that Hedgehog," Eggman replied. "Today's the day he tries to stay away from anyone after... something happened," he explained. I must ensure he doesn't lose his senses... Not again..." he muttered the last part with a frown.

"I'm sorry, did you just say 'again'?" Opaline asked with a raised eyebrow. "What happened?" she questioned.

Eggman sighed long before turning around and removing his glasses, showing full concern and... fear in his eyes.

"... I never had experimented a loss that drives me crazy, to tell the truth..." Eggman confessed. "But I learned the hard way what it can do to a man when that someone means everything to them..." he said. "It was a bit less than 10 years ago when it happened... I was doing the usual: Creating machines, planning schemes, hating Sonic... when I suddenly heard the alarms on my base turning on, all simultaneously..." he narrated.

For some reason, Eggman's narration seemed to interest Opaline, like a 5-year-old filly hearing a story.

"I checked on my security cameras and felt completely and utterly terrified when I saw all my best badniks made a junked mess..." Eggman kept telling. "Of course, my instinct was to climb inside my Death Egg Robot and wait for whoever was doing this to approach... And he did. It was Sonic, as I was expecting, and I did why I always do: I mocked him up..." he said with a little smile.

However, that smile faded, and Eggman's appearance seemed duller and darker, sending a shiver down Opaline's spine.

"But he didn't answer. He didn't laugh, he didn't snort, he didn't even joke... He said nothing..." Eggman kept narrating. "He just... stared at me with pure hate. His eyes were like fireballs, waiting to explode over something... or rather, someone. I made the first move. I tried to hit him with everything I had, but... Sonic didn't even flinch. To say I got scared... Heh, it isn't very comfortable, but it's the truth... I was terrified..." he confessed. "I've been fighting Sonic since he was 5, but that day... That day I learned that I rather have him mock me up and get on my nerves, rather than fight without saying a thing... Because there's nothing I fear more than a Sonic that stops talking..." he said.

"But why?" Opaline asked, confused. "Why were you so scared of Sonic that day?" she added.

"Opaline, he didn't even hold back," Eggman replied with an anxious look. "You've seen how insanely fast he is... Now, imagine pissing off a living being that can kill everyone in the blink of an eye. He destroyed my badniks and made sure my Death Egg Robot couldn't defend me back, nor even stand up..." he explained. "And then..." he tried to add, but he instinctively led his hand towards his neck.

This action initially seemed to confuse Opaline, but she opened her eyes wide. "Did he try to—–" she wanted to ask, but Eggman nodded at the statement. My gosh, Ivo... What made him even want to do that?!" she asked, concerned.

"As I said, I learned that day what a loss can do to a man... And not even a man with a will as strong as Sonic's could avoid falling to his most dark thoughts..." Eggman replied. "Sonic tried to kill me that day but snapped just in time and realized what he was doing before running away. Of course, after that, things took quite a while before we returned to being the same enemies we've always been. But I learned to respect him... So, every July 2nd, I always keep my distance from him... I never thought I would say this, but it is for the best that he never falls to the dark side," he pointed out with concern. "We are threats, Opaline... But nothing is more dangerous... Then a good man losing someone he cares for..." he warned with a frown of concern.

Opaline, at this, had no idea what to reply.

Deep down, she was convinced Eggman was just being dramatic. But perhaps it would be better if she didn't question it and played his game.

After all, he's been fighting Sonic for years, just like he said, and that's enough confirmation that he has a good reason to fear Sonic if he ever goes insane...

In the Canterlogic Factory, Knuckles, Hitch, Pipp, and Sparky kept looking around, with Hitch still scared.

"I'm loving this!" Pipp sang happily, grabbing an old and dusty disc from a box before twirling around and then placing the disc back on the box. "It's just like in The Spooky Stable Series when Esmeralda Ghoulington searches for the old Whinny Mansion looking for her great Grandpony's spirit!" she explained excitedly as she looked over a box and removed the dust on it before landing in front of Hitch and Knuckles again, with the former shaking in fear. "It is bone-chilling!" she added with a smirk.

"I must've missed that one..." Hitch replied nervously.

"Neighway! You have to read it!" Pipp said with a smile.

"Wait... The tome you're talking about..." Knuckles said suddenly as he started to think about something. "Isn't that the time when Esmeralda thinks she found her great Grandpony's ghost and then BAM!" he shouted the last thing while smashing his fists together, which startled Hitch and made him jump backward, shaking in fear. "It's her great great Grandpony's ghost?" he asked Pipp.

However, this seemed to awaken something in Pipp because she was staring at Knuckles with utter shock. "You... You read The Spooky Stable Series?!" she asked with disbelief.

"Well, I think the 'Spooky' bit is missing in the first four tomes, but other than that... It's quite a really interesting story! I got shivers with the ninth tome," Knuckles smiled.

Pipp squealed like a filly after hearing that. "I know! Oh, I would never have guessed you liked the spooky stories!" she said with a big smile.

"It's one of the few genders I can enjoy," Knuckles confessed. "So, which is your favorite tome so far?" he asked.

"Oh, definitely tome 16. That twist about Esmeralda's cousin is a ghost of her forgotten life? To this day, I still cannot believe it happened!" Pipp replied.

"Yeah, that was a huge twist... But I still have goosebumps whenever I read tome 12. The plot line of Esmeralda's great Grandpony being immortal and having faked her death? I would kill to live that hype again..." Knuckles said with a huge grin.

Pipp squealed again, and as she and Knuckles kept telling stories, Hitch seemed confused because he couldn't understand at which moment he went to a second plane.

What he did got, however, was a glance at Sparky, who jumped from Knuckles' kangaroo for babies and climbed over some boxes, which made him panic and run towards the baby dragon.

"That's okay, Sparky! I'll keep you safe!" Hitch declared, grabbing Sparky and hugging him tightly, which made the baby dragon complain, while his dad put him on his back again, resuming the walk around the factory.

Knuckles and Pipp followed him, still talking about The Spooky Stable Series, not noticing a figure approaching them from behind.

Outside the factory, Izzy levitated many things with her horn while the ponies surrounded Sunny and Tails.

"Sure, uh..." Sunny spoke nervously, Izzy chuckled awkwardly, and Tails smiled sheepishly. "Of course! No worries..." she tried to assure, but everypony kept talking, and talking, and talking, until the earth pony mare reached her limit. "Okay! Got it, thank you!" she said quickly, closing her eyes.

By doing so, the chanter stopped, and when she opened her eyes again, all the ponies were gone, which made her sigh in relief and wipe some sweat from her forehead while Izzy fell to the ground with a groan, and Tails curled into a ball while embracing himself on the floor, still with a sheepish smile.

"I better hurry up and get to unicycling!" Izzy declared.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Sunny said with an awkward smile.

However, as Izzy and Tails got up, the latter now looked on with a concerned look and lower ears, and they flinched when they heard Mayflower clearing her throat. Turning to the factory entrance, they saw Mayflower and an old unicorn stallion standing in their way.

Izzy didn't seem bothered this time, but Tails smiled sheepishly again with a twitchy eye. Sunny seemed anxious but remained calm. "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up!" she instructed with a smile.

"Thanks, Sunny..." Tails replied with a forced smile while his eyes still twitched.

Meanwhile, Hitch, Pipp, and Knuckles kept walking around inside the factory.

"Did it get darker in here? I feel like it got darker in here..." Hitch said nervously, placing Sparky on top of a box. "Where's a unicorn with a glowing horn when you need one?" he asked rhetorically with a sheepish smile.

"Maybe we need to try talking to them!" Pipp suggested with a smile.

"Uh, I'm not sure that's––" Hitch tried to say.

However, Knuckles believed that he could mock Hitch more, so he stepped forward and followed Pipp's game. "Come on out, you spooky spirits!" he shouted with a smile, and Hitch flinched while looking around in fear. "We're only here to help!" he stated, and Pipp smiled with sparkling eyes when he followed her game.

"If you are here, give us a sign!" Pipp added, dramatically shacking her hooves in the air.

However, they didn't expect to hear something loudly falling, and then, somepony screamed in fright and jumped over some boxes.

Hitch immediately screamed in fright, too, as whoever came out of the boxes jumped towards him, while Knuckles got in front of Pipp with a frown and activated his electrical powers.

However, when all that adrenaline was over, Knuckles' powers dissipated, but his frown remained. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." he muttered annoyedly.

Then, Hitch opened his eyes to see that the pony who jumped from the boxes was Sprout, and he landed on his hooves.

"Sprout?!" Hitch asked in disbelief.

"Sprout?!" Pipp asked, shocked as well.

"... Pony Trump..." Knuckles said with a frown.

As for Sparky, he burst laughing at Sprout's sudden appearance.

"What was that?!" Sprout asked in fear.

The noise was made by Izzy, who tripped with some drums that fell over her, and Tails looked on with a smile.

"Oopsies!" Izzy said with a chuckle, using her magic to levitate the cymbals while Tails helped by removing the drums over her. She also wore her crafting glasses on. "Gotta remember to turn this thing on before I trot in the dark, duh!" she pointed out, but still smiled after all and lightened her horn.

"That positive attitude of yours only compares to Sonic's and Sunny's, and you know how positive those two get sometimes!" Tails pointed out with a chuckle while Izzy chuckled as well.

Back with the other visitors inside the fabric, Pipp looked around before answering Sprout's question. "Ghosts?" she said.

Hitch and Sprout looked at each other momentarily before Hitch put on a bored expression and let go of the earth pony stallion. "Sprout, what are you doing here?" he asked with annoyance.

"I saw you guys go into the factory, and I figured, since it was my family business, I should make sure that you don't mess anything up," Sprout replied with a frown.

Pipp, Hitch, and Knuckles rolled their eyes with annoyance as he did so.

"That we don't mess anything up?" Hitch asked with disbelief.

"Yeah! You're the one who crashed a giant robot pony into Sunny's lighthouse!" Pipp pointed out with a frown while Hitch nodded in agreement.

"And it had your exact shape, which leaves you even less in a position to object about not causing trouble," Knuckles added with a bored expression.

At all of this, Sprout chuckled awkwardly. "I thought we all agreed to move past that?" he asked with a sheepish smile.

"You destroyed private property with a giant robot that had your fucking face!" Knuckles pointed out madly. "No one's gonna rest from that 'till the day you kick the bucket, man," he added while crossing his arms.

"Mm-hmm," Pipp said in agreement with Knuckles' words, and Hitch rolled his eyes at Sprout's attitude.

"Plus, I don't think we could mess this place up more than it already is!" Hitch pointed out while Sparky got down from his box and approached Hitch as the Sheriff grabbed his baby dragon on his hoof.

"Yeah, what happened in here?" Sprout questioned, confused, looking around at all the mess across the factory.

"It's... haunted!" Pipp said, while she started to laugh like a maniac, as a weird light turned on below her.

As she did this, Hitch and Sprout looked at each other with concern while Knuckles got in the middle of the two stallions and lowered himself to mutter to them.

"I've been wondering why Sonic liked her in the first place, but after today, I'm convinced he likes her because she's as crazy as him..." Knuckles muttered to the two stallions.

"Yeah..." Hitch said in agreement.

"Agreed..." Sprout muttered as well with a cringed expression.

Then, Pipp stopped laughing like a maniac. "But don't worry, Sunny, Izzy, and Tails have big plans to make this place a-ma-zing!" she stated with her regular smile. "We just have to un-spook it first. Aw, unless it was just you. Aw..." she exclaimed to sprout with disappointment.

"Reality is often disappointing," Knuckles said with a compassionate look before switching to a cheery smile. "Oh well! It is what it is! I'm going to search for a button that turns the lights on already," he said with a smile, whistling happily and walking away.

As for Hitch, he sighed in relief. "Oka,y I'll admit it. For a second there, I thought this place was haunted, but it was just you for this whole time!" he screamed the last word suddenly.

As he did so, Sprout joined him in the scream, and Pipp turned around to see a monster approaching them. This made her scream in fear and cover her face.

Knuckles, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes instead of standing to fight. Suddenly, the lights came back, revealing that the monster was not even that; it was just a bunch of pega-mice holding out stuff around boxes pilled in some scaffolds.

Tails looked up to the ceiling amusedly while his finger was over a button on a panel control.

"Great! The lights work again!" Tails cheered with a smile, cleaning his hands and putting on his construction helmet again before flying back with Izzy.

Back with Sprout, Hitch, Pipp, and Knuckles, they stared confused at the pegamice.

"Huh..." Hitch muttered before walking ahead to talk with the critters.

However, as he was about to do so, the pega-mice threw everything and ran away, leaving everyone confused.

"My factory's been infested with rats?" Sprout asked, confused.

"Pega-mice, but yeah... This is just a rat infestation..." Knuckles pointed out with a bored expression.

"Aww, why couldn't it have been ghosties?" Pipp asked with disappointment.

"Seriously, girl, why do you want to see ghosts so badly?" Knuckles asked, now actually worrying about Pipp.

After all, he has a certain experience with a ghost that he most likely would love to forget about...

In the Crystal Brighthouse, Zipp was still investigating Twilight's full message.

She was in her bedroom, looking at her investigation board as she tried to piece everything together regarding the message.

"I remember Twilight saying that she put all the magic in the Crystals and the blank..." Zipp reminded herself, walking over to Grandma Figgy's book over a chair near her desk. "So there's something else with her magic in it! Right?" she pointed out with wide eyes, but then she groaned since she was guessing there.

Then, she grabbed Grandma Figgy's book and opened it as she looked through the pages for some useful information for her investigation.

However, Zipp found nothing so far, so she brought her phone and recorded a new entry. "Case Update: Been studying Crystals for days... But I'm still confused," she recorded, looking back at the book with concern. "And I can't crack this protection spell thing, either," she added, closing the book and opening her laptop to tap some information. "If I could, maybe I could protect the Crystals and us from this evil force... aka Opaline and Doctor Eggman," she tapped down.

After that, she cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

"Think, Zipp! Think," Zipp told herself, closing her laptop and frowning. "Okay. What I do know is that unicorns now can cast spells. So I..." she stopped, thinking carefully about what to do next, before gasping and jumping slightly in happiness while grabbing her phone again. "Must find a a unicorn who'd be willing to do some scientific experiments on spell casting!" she stated happily, before putting a thoughtful look again. "I'm getting closer! I can feel it! And once I crack the case, nopony will be able to steal anything from us again!" she declared confidently.

Her Cutie Mark started to shine bright as she did so, while Zipp walked out of the bedroom.

In Opaline's Castle, Misty was in her room, as she made a unicorn doll with a tennis ball, two nuts, a crystal, some cotton, and a button.

Misty stared at her creation, confused, even scratching her head awkwardly. "I feel pretty silly talking to a unicorn made of junk, but I just have to have somepony to talk to about Opaline..." she pointed out. "I could always tell Eggman, but... I don't know if I can trust him anymore, especially after how badly he's been wanting to get rid of Sonic and his friends!" she said with concern.

Of course, the doll didn't reply... It's a doll... It has no life...

"You see, Opaline wants me to steal Sparky. And I really, really don't want to..." Misty started to tell the doll. "I tried that already, and it did not go well..." she explained with concern.

Again, the doll said nothing back. What? You expected the doll to talk because of 'reasons'?

"What do you think I should do?" Misty asked the doll directly with a conflicted expression.

Once more, the doll said nothing, which made Misty sigh and shake her head in disappointment. Her internal conflict over whether to remain loyal to Opaline and Eggman or her friends was getting increasingly complicated.

But the worst part of this? Eggman heard everything Misty told the doll, and his fears of losing Misty to the light were growing stronger now...

Once again, he was convinced that sending Misty to so many missions with the Mane 5 and Team Sonic was a terrible idea...

In Canterlogic, Sunny, Izzy, and Tails were already working on everypony's suggestions.

Sunny was checking the list while Izzy and Tails struggled to put everything everypony said in order. Even if Tails brought his clones again, they still couldn't help at all, and this situation made Sunny gasp.

Suddenly, however, the earth pony mare had to duck to dodge something Izzy was levitating since it almost hit her in the head.

Then, Izzy turned around and panted heavily before smiling sheepishly. "Uh... Tah dah..." she said, presenting all the things on the list.

And by all, I mean all... This surprised Sunny since she was speechless about the amount of stuff inside the factory.

Heck, there even was a calendar with Hitch's face on it... Whoever brought that didn't want to check the date while being in the factory.

Sunny chuckled sheepishly at this, while Tails clones disappeared, and Tails fell to the floor with a tired and angry expression. "This could be easier if someone showed up and helped!" he pointed out with concern. "Ugh! Why did Pipp have to choose today of all days to renew this place?!" he complained.

"Are you talking about Sonic?" Sunny asked, confused.

"No, I'm talking about this nice gal I met the other day; she had a bacon-head mane–– YES, I'M TALKING ABOUT SONIC!" Tails replied in anger before burring his face in the floor and groaning while waving his hand and feet like a 5-year-old that was mad over something.

Of course, this was adorable to see, but both Sunny and Izzy were concerned about his attitude, especially since he's been grumpy the whole day.

And Sunny felt that this attitude was because of Sonic's absence, which's been pretty noticeable the whole day.

Meanwhile, Pipp, Hitch, Sprout, and Knuckles chased the pega mice around the factory.

They were trying to get rid of them, but so far, they had no luck because the mice were incredibly fast, to the point that not even Knuckles and his speed could catch them.

"Remember when all the animals were in the Brighthouse?" Pipp asked with concern while ducking and avoiding a mouse that wanted to climb on her.

"Yeah!" Hitch replied as he jumped and tried to grab one of the mouses, but it flew away from him.

"And we couldn't get them to leave?" Pipp reminded again while trapping a mouse in an oven.

"Yeah?" Hitch replied as he tried to grab a mouse that flew away, so he went after them.

With Pipp, however, it was getting worse because she had two mice on her hooves, and she felt disgusted, so she tried to make them fly away while kicking the oven and freeing the mouse she had trapped earlier.

"Are you talking about that day when Sonic and I built the Critter Corner, and now you and Izzy constantly remind us because we didn't help you with the critters?!" Knuckles asked while trying to grab some mouses but failing miserably.

"Yeah!" Pipp replied in anger.

"What about it? Do you know how to get them out of here?!" Hitch asked in a panic, as both he and Knuckles jumped in the air to try and grab some mice, but they crashed and landed one over the other while Pipp looked at them with a sheepish smile.

"Oh, I don't have a solution," Pipp said nervously, while Knuckles and Hitch frowned and rolled their eyes at her. "But this is exactly like that!" she pointed out with concern.

"Great, I'm more glad I helped Sonic instead now..." Knuckles said with a bored expression before his eyes opened wide. "Don't ever tell him I said that!" he angrily warned.

Then, two mouses ran over Hitch's mane and jumped from it before landing on the floor, while Hitch got up from Knuckles and looked at the pega-mice with a frown.

"Okay, that's enough! No more, Mr. Nice Sheriff," Hitch stated, approaching two mice that got over a box. "Listen up, little buddies! You're going to have to leave and go back tome to Zephyr Heights. Please?" he begged to them.

The mice looked at each other as they squeaked while talking, leaving everyone else but Hitch confused since he's the only one who can understand any animal.

"I know, I know!" Hitch said, approaching them even more and sitting on the floor. "It's just that we're trying to turn this into a cool new space for the community, and it's hard to do that with all of you hanging out here," he pointed out.

"Yeah, and you've ratted the place up too!" Sprout interrupted suddenly while approaching the mice with a frown.

Knuckles facepalmed and groaned loudly at this since it was clear that Sprout just screwed everything up.

"How about you scram?" Sprout finished with rage at the mice.

At this, the two moused squeaked and looked offended at the earth pony stallion.

"Was that a yes?" Sprout asked with a smug look.

"It was not..." Hitch replied with a bored expression.

At this, Sprout and Pipp groaned, the former in annoyance and the latter in disappointment.

Then, the mice started to squeak again while Hitch listened carefully. "He says that they were bored in Zephyr Heights. But this place has lots of cool things they can play with," he translated. He. He then got closer to the mice as one flew and twirled in the air. "They... They need entertainment!" he pointed out.

"... So they came from Zephyr Heights to Maretime Bay... because they're bored..." Knuckles said with a bored expression. "... I guess I understand why Eggman calls Sonic 'rodent' since he's as crazy as these mice to do such a thing..." he pointed out with concern.

"That's it!" Sprout said with anger, stomping his hooves on the ground. "This is my building, and you are all getting evicted!" he said before chasing them down to scare them.

After he came back, he smiled proudly, but then, he noticed that the mice were behind him, so he grabbed them all and tried to pull them away, but the mouses flew away.

Yet, as Sprout went back with Pipp, Hitch, and Knuckles, the mice came by and tried to hit Sprout on the head, something the earth pony stallion noticed, so he ducked to avoid getting hit, just for a mouse to pull out his mouth to him in a mocking way, which made Knuckles and Pipp chuckle, while Hitch just smiled.

And, of course, Sprout groaned in annoyance.

Meanwhile, Izzy was using all the salt shakers with glitter over the banner since Dahlia suggested it.

She hummed happily to herself as she did so while Tails used his tails as a fan to make sure the glitter would fall on the banner.

However, as they worked on the banner, Sunny walked back and forth behind them with a concerned expression.

"Too much glitter?" Izzy asked Tails, but he couldn't even reply. "Psh, who am I kidding? There can never be enough glitter!" Izzy replied immediately while still shaking the salt shakers with glitter.

"You sure? I think you're missing a spot or two!" Tails replied with a mocking tone.

"I don't know what to do, guys... Sunny said with concern. "I've made so many promises to the community, but I can't keep them all!" she pointed out, sitting on the floor with concern.

At this point, Izzy stopped shaking the glitter. She looked at Tails, who looked back at her before they both nodded and approached Sunny.

"Whenever I used to feel super duper overwhelmed, I used to go talk to the older pony in Bridlewood, Elder Flower," Izzy explained, making her horn glow bright. "And now I will share with you her wise, sagebrush advice," she stated, removing her glasses and placing a flower crown over her head.

Then, her eyes got a bit... separated, and she started to talk like a 70-year-old mare.

"You can't please everypony, Izzy," the unicorn mare spoke, as she started to walk around Sunny, while Tails looked at her with a confused expression, not getting what was happening. "Sometimes being a leader means making the tough decisions, Izzy. You, Izzy, must take everypony's opinion under your hoof and then make the final call, Izzy..." she finished with a twitchy eye.

Again, tails stared at her with a confused expression, clearly not understanding what happened.

"Just change the Izzy part to a Sunny part!" Izzy spoke again, acting like herself while levitating the flower crown off her head and putting her glasses back.

"I figured!" Sunny replied with a smile.

"That was... something..." Tails said with an awkward smile before approaching Sunny and placing a hand on her shoulder. "But I get where Izzy's getting to. You got into this situation because you care so much. That means you're gonna make the best decision you can, even if it means you must make some sacrifices... But they're part of life. Without sacrifices, maybe we could never get as far as we get!" he said with a smile.

"You guys think so?" Sunny asked both Izzy and Tails.

"Hoof to heart!" both Izzy and Tails replied with smiles.

"You guys are right. And I think I know just how to make this the perfect space for everypony!" she said with a smile.

On the other hand, we have Hitch, Pipp, Sprout, and Knuckles hiding behind some boxes as they stare down at the mice that still don't want to leave, even seeing some playing with Sparky.

"We need to change our strategy..." Pipp pointed out while panting.

"What do you have in mind?" Hitch asked.

"Please don't be a song, please don't be a song, please don't be a song..." Knuckles begged in whispers.

"Oh, I know!" Pipp said as she got over the box she was hiding and started to sing 'All You Need is Your Beat'.

As she did so... the mouses didn't care and kept focusing on their stuff.

Meanwhile, Knuckles had a bored expression and a frown as he lay on the box he was hiding and called Sonic with his watch. "Hedgehog, we seriously need to talk about your tastes..." he said with annoyance.

"I have no idea of how this works... Uh... I'm busy right now, alright? Gotta run!" Sonic's voice replied in a recorded message.

"A generic answer?" Knuckles said, confused, before his eyes widened. "Oh, right... he's still mourning her death; he's not gonna reply..." he remembered looking back at the mice with a bored expression.

It was there when Pipp noticed that the mice didn't care about her song, and she got offended. "Okay, what gives?! Everypony loves that song!" she said angrily, landing near the mice while the rest followed behind.

Then, two mice approached Hitch and squeaked at him while Hitch listened closely. "He says they've heard that song a bajillion times before," he translated.

"What?!" Pipp said with concern.

"Well, they come from the city where you are not only a princess, heiress or not, but also a pop star everyone loves..." Knuckles pointed out with a bored expression. "I'll be tired after hearing the same song over and over and over again..." he pointed out.

"Hey!" Pipp said with an offended look.

However, the mice squeaked at Hitch, and he chuckled nervously. "You're gonna hate this one, Pipp, but... they say that Knuckles is right..." he said nervously.

"Ugh!" Pipp groaned again, clearly annoyed and offended at that statement.

Back in the Brighthouse, Zipp was at the Crystal Room, looking after the Unity Crystals with a frown.

"If the Crystals hold that much magic, then the pony that wants them must be able to handle a lot of magic themselves..." Zipp muttered as she approached the Crystals even more. "That must be. This pony is powerful... With unique powers..." she added.

And then, she gasped suddenly, as she realized something...

The Unity Crystals had lots of magic, and if somepony wanted that power, it could only mean that said pony could only be someone that could handle all the types of magic together... somepony like Sunny... an Alicorn like her.

"Like Sunny! Like an Alicorn!" Zipp realized, opening her wings. Then, she brought out her phone and started to record other messages. "Alicorns must be the key!" she stated happily.

Of course, she knew that Opaline could be pretty much the evil pony Twilight wanted to warn about, but it wasn't until now that she questioned what kind of pony was Opaline.

And if she was an Alicorn, then maybe she was closer to finding the truth...

Back at the factory, Sunny checked her phone to see what to remove.

Meanwhile, Izzy and Tails were removing some things she already told them to quit, even though they still needed to remove a lot.

"Huh... Let's remove that," Sunny said, pointing at a golden statue of an earth pony.

"On it!" Izzy said with a smile, as she immediately levitated the statue and moved it away.

"Hmm..." Sunny muttered as she walked around to see what else she had to take away before stopping in front of a bush with Pipp's head shape. "And definitely that," she stated with a cringed expression.

Tails chuckled at hearing this while he pushed the bush away with his hands.

As he did so, Sunny approached a giant framed picture of Sprout and his mother, Phyllis, in what seemed to be an office inside the factory. "And that!" she said with a smile.

"You got it!" Izzy said happily, levitating the frame away.

"Yeah, this has to be creapiest picture I've ever seen..." Tails said with an awkward smile.

At this, Sunny smiled and looked around, now feeling more comfortable with the way the place was starting to look.

Then, Tails pressed a button on his watch and waited for something. "I have no idea of how this works... Uh... I'm busy right now, alright? Gotta run!" Sonic's voice spoke.

"Generic answer again..." Tails said with sadness as his ears lowered. "I hope he's not so far..." he muttered with concern.

"Are you okay?" Izzy called out to him as Tails looked at her. "Your sparkle seems dull and grey right now..." she said with concern.

"... I'm just worried about Sonic... I haven't heard from him the whole day!" Tails replied. "I know I said we should leave him alone for the day, and I stand to my position! But... I'm still concerned for him..." he confessed with sadness.

Sunny approached too, and she and Izzy shared concerned expressions before looking back at the fox. "Tails... I know you still want to respect Sonic's wish to be alone, but... I need to know what this traumatic event is about," she stated with a determined look. "So, please, if you have any idea of where he is..." she requested with a warm smile.

Tails looked at her for a moment, then at the ground, and then he sighed, looking back at Sunny and smiling back. "... I might have a hunch on where he is..." he replied.

Back with Hitch, Pipp, Sprout, and Knuckles, they were still struggling with catching the mice.

"So, hear me out..." Sprout decided to speak after failing to grab another mouse. "What if we just let the rats stay? Huh?" he asked looking at the others with a smirk.

"What? No way!" Pipp replied immediately with annoyance.

"That's against the code!" Hitch said with a frown.

"It's the biggest piece of dog shit I've ever heard..." Knuckles muttered with a bored expression.

"Okay, then idea number two... I leave! Good luck!" Sprout smiled as he walked away.

"OH, YOU'VE GOTTA ME SHITTING ME!" Knuckles groaned, completely mad.

Meanwhile, Hitch and Pipp groaned, annoyed, but their actions sounded as if they were harmonizing, and the mice harmonized as well.

At this, the two ponies looked at each other with smiles before harmonizing for real this time, and the mouses harmonized along.

"Are you thinking what I am?" Hitch asked Pipp with a smile.

"Oh, I sure hope so!" Pipp replied with a smile.

"Oh, no... No, no," No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Knuckles said with a frown. "Please don't tell me you're going... " He tried to beg, but...

Pipp:
Making a Plan

Hitch:
Lending a hand

Pipp:
Helping a friend is...

Hitch and Pipp:
Nice!

As they started to sing, Knuckles looked in disbelief, before looking at you, the readers. "I don't get paid enough for this shit..." he groaned with annoyance.

Hitch:
Work together

Pipp:
Two manes are better

Hitch and Pipp:
Finding new ways, to fly!

Knuckles just groaned and lay on a wall, crossing his arms and hoping this would end soon.

Pipp:
With a little bit of confidence

Hitch:
And a little bit of kindness!

Hitch and Pipp:
We can make it fun to do!

As they sang, they threw Sparky in the air, then landed on Knuckles's head and twirled around.

"...Okay, you kinda make it look adorable..." Knuckles confessed with a smile.

Work together
Make it better
Work smarter
With each other

However, Knuckles' jaw dropped when he saw that the song was working because the mice were following Hitch and Pipp out of the building.

"...Seriously?! The pep talk doesn't work, but the song does?!" Knuckles complained with anger. "I'm seriously starting to consider returning to my island..." he muttered with annoyance before following Hitch and Pipp with a bored expression.

Work together
Make it better
We are stronger
With each other

As they sang and left the factory, with the mice and an annoyed Knuckles following behind, Hitch and Pipp's Cutie marks started to glow bright.

Work, work. Let's unite
Every pony shining bright
Work, work, work it out
Every pony shout it loud

After the song was over, the mouses finally left Maretime Bay, with just two of them staying back to talk with Hitch.

"We did it!" Hitch and Pipp cheered with smiles.

Then, the two mice squeaked happily at Hitch.

"He says, 'Thank you for that exciting new song. It invigorated them. And now, they're excited to find fun things to do at home in Zephyr Heights'!" Hitch translated with a smile before the mice squeaked again. "She said, 'They're sorry if they insulted your song. They love it. They just needed something new'" he translated once again.

"Aw, I knew they loved it. Everypony does!" Pipp said with a smile.

"I'm still annoyed that a song got them out of there... But it's better than never getting them out, I guess..." Knuckles said, still with an annoyed look.

The sun was setting on the horizon, and nopony could be seen around the beach.

This could be a beautiful sight in any other circumstances... but for Sonic? It was just the end of the most painful day in his whole life...

He contemplated the empty beach and sighed deeply as he sat on the sand while hugging his legs. He always wanted to be alone on this day because it was when his mind tortured him the most...

He could fight against Eggman, smash his robots, or distract his mind by helping his friends with whatever they needed... But Sonic's case was different.

He mourned on his way, and even if nobody seemed to enjoy it, he preferred to keep doing it this way. He doesn't want to say or do something he'll regret later... Not after what he almost did to Eggman...

He had Longclaw's scarf around his neck, and he used it to feel her closer, especially today.

Soon enough, however, as he was still watching the beach, he heard someone approaching. He didn't want to see who it was or guess who it was, either.

Then, Sunny joined him as she sat at his side looking in the distance as well. She didn't know what to do here now that she finally found him. She only wanted to check on him, but... seeing how lonely he was, she had the impulse to come along... And now, here she is...

"... Hey, Sunny..." Sonic greeted first, much to his and Sunny's surprise.

However, his voice sounded different. Instead of the usual cockiness, Sonic spoke as if he had no value for life anymore... Which wouldn't be so far from the truth...

"... Hey, Sonic..." Sunny greeted back, smiling at him for a moment, before putting a concerned expression. "So... How you doing?" she asked.

At this, Sonic chuckled and sighed again. "I've felt better..." he confessed.

"Yeah... Tails and Knuckles said you wanted to be alone, but you know me!" Sunny said with an awkward chuckle.

"Yeah... I was wondering if you were bribed not to come or something..." Sonic replied with a sad smile.

"... Look... I have no idea why you've been here the entire day..." Sunny started. "But I do know that this isn't like you! You never stop running for a whole day because you're feeling down! I know that something really bad happened today, just years ago. But, please... If you trust me enough, can I know what is bugging you?" she asked.

Sonic's weak smile disappeared, and he looked back at the sand with sadness. "Sunny, I do trust you. That does not mean I've gotta tell you everything I do... Nor everything I did..." he pointed out.

At this, Sunny felt surprised before frowning. "Of course it does! I know there might be things you will never share because you're afraid... But you can always count on me and everyone else to listen, even if we don't understand!" she pointed out.

This made Sonic chuckle, but his voice sounded broken. "Not when you almost did something you always swore you'd never do..." he replied.

"What?" Sunny asked, now even more confused.

So, Sonic sighed, and finally decided to let it out. "... 10 years ago, Longclaw went to a village recently attacked by Eggman to provide resources and lend a hand to anyone in danger..." he started to narrate, now smiling a bit. "She was always willing to help everyone if she could, just like I do... Guess she really was my Mom, even if she didn't bring me into existence..." he said with a chuckle.

Sunny smiled while imagining how Longclaw used to be. If she was just as helpful as Sonic is today, then she did a good job raising him, or that's what Sunny thinks right now.

"But nobody in the said village was aware that one of the badniks wasn't destroyed at all..." Sonic started to narrate, now with complete sadness, while his eyes seemed watering. "The... The badnik was in self-destruction mode, and... By the time one of the residents realized that it was too late... The badnik exploded and caused a massive fire in the main building..." he narrated, his body starting to tremble, and tears ran down his cheeks. "T-The fire was extending too fast to be stopped, a-and..." he tried to say.

However, by this point, he could barely even say another word, and Sunny noticed that, so she embraced Sonic in a tight hug.

Sonic didn't even hesitate and buried his face in Sunny's chest as he sobbed uncontrollably while letting out all his frustration and suffering. All Sunny did in return was caress his back as he kept crying, breaking once again that shell that made him feel like an unstoppable force.

It was clear he felt like anything but unstoppable... He felt weak, scared, and sad, emotions he barely showed to anyone because of fear of what they might think about him.

Only Tails and Pipp have seen him like this, and that time Tails went missing with two Pippsqueaks, he almost lost that shell too in front of everypony, but this was the first time in months he felt this weak...

Yet, he eventually seemed to calm down and sat over the sand again, but Sunny still had her hooves wrapped around him just in case.

"... And then?" Sunny decided to ask.

She hated to see a friend like this, especially a positive force like Sonic, but she also knew that he needed to let it all out.

"... And then... The fire grew until it took the entire town down. It didn't stop until it started to rain the next morning..." Sonic kept going. "By the time Tails and I got the call, we rushed to the place, but it was too late..." he said, tears falling from his eyes. "I... I hoped to see her between the survivors... To see that she was fine... B-But... I-I found her scarf burned between the ashes..." he added, now pointing at the scarf on his neck that was already wet because of his tears. "... I guess you can tell the rest..." he finished, sobbing a bit as he tried to wipe his tears away.

Sunny had no idea how to reply to that, but... what was she supposed to say? Sonic just told her how his mother figure died: Burned down in a town she only wanted to help.

That was a horrible way to die... At least she could have peace knowing that her father died while sleeping... But Sonic? He's been dealing 10 years with his mother's death, and her death was horrible! Her entire body and skin were burned down, and... And Sonic couldn't even say goodbye to her...

"Is this why you always want to be alone on this very day, every year?" Sunny asked, even though the answer was pretty obvious.

"... Yes..." Sonic replied, finally looking back at her in the eyes.

Sunny felt her heart tearing apart: Sonic's expression was painful... Even if it's been 10 years, it's pretty clear that he cannot let her go at 100% percent... Even if he has moved on, he still misses her a lot... And she could understand that pain because that's exactly how she feels about her dad, too.

So, she embraced him again, and Sonic reciprocated, even if he didn't have more tears to cry.

They stood like that for several minutes, with Sonic just needing the embrace, so much more than he would like to admit, before breaking the hug and looking at Sunny.

"I, um... I... Also wanted to be alone because... I don't want to hurt anyone... Not again..." Sonic said with concern.

"Again? What do you mean?" Sunny asked.

"... After she died... I... I needed to blame someone..." Sonic started to tell. "I knew that she just died because of a fire, but... My mind convinced me that Eggman was the one to blame, as usual, so I went to his lab and smashed his machines before I... Before I..." he tried to say, but just the mare thought about it made him feel even worse. "... I tried to stifle him..." he confessed with shame and sadness.

At this, Sunny stared with wide eyes at Sonic while his sight was lost in the horizon.

Did she ever expect him to confess he tried to kill Eggman after his mother figure died? Not...

"... Wow... You seriously need to seek therapy..." Sunny told him with concern.

At this, Sonic chuckled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've heard that one before as well... And honestly? I did... It thankfully did help me to... Not get it over, that's for sure, but... I did learn to deal with the pain..." he stated with a little smile. "But I guess I still have a long way to go..." he pointed out with concern.

"Well... I am glad that you're doing fine, Sonic... But I also think you shouldn't be going through this alone... Not anymore..." Sunny said as she placed a hoof over his shoulder. "Look, I'll be going back to Canterlogic. Me and everypony else been working on something great, and I would love to see you participating in it!" she told him with a smile. "But... only if you want. And, of course, you could also explain yourself to everyone. They are our friends, and they'll understand the situation, you know?" she said with a smile.

At this, Sonic weakly smiled back at her. "Thanks, Sunny... For listening... I never knew how much I needed to talk about her..." he replied with a smile. "As for your offer... I'll think about it..." he added.

Sunny nodded and smiled back before walking again towards Canterlogic while Sonic returned his gaze to the horizon.

Perhaps Sunny was right... He didn't have to mourn this alone, so... Maybe it was time the rest of the Mane 5 knew as well.

At night, Hitch, Zipp, Pipp, Knuckles, and Sprout were waiting outside of Canterlogic.

Meanwhile, Tails, Sunny,, and Izzy were inside, looking around and sighing in relief—not only because they had finished but also because everything seemed perfect.

So, with no more hesitation and with a hoof bump from the trio, they opened the doors and let the rest go inside the factory.

The factory from the inside seemed better than ever: Cameras, stages, lights, and a whole wall painted with Unity Crystals. It even had a living room with a few couches and a stork plushie.

The other seemed amazed by how the place looked, even Sprout, who seemed to have doubts at first.

"Welcome..." Sunny started before floating in the air and turning into an Alicorn. "To Canterlove Studios!" she presented with a smile, landing once again on the floor.

"A place where everypony can come hang out and create cool stuff! Yay!" Izzy said with a smile while throwing some glitter in the air.

"Ooh, we could put on a play!" Pipp said with a smile.

"You could!" Tails said with a smile.

"Or shoot a music video!" Pipp added again, now flying and clapping her hooves happily.

"Why not!" Sunny said with a smile as well.

"Or have a really big community meeting to discuss new rules and guidelines!" Hitch said, strangely, super excited, and with a huge smile.

"Aaaaaand you ruined it..." Knuckles said with a bored expression.

"The sky's the limit!" However, Sunny replied with a smile as she, Tails, and Izzy approached their friends.

"I gotta admit, I like what you did with the plac,e" Sprout confessed with a smile. "It's pretty impressive. And technically... It is still mine! Booyah!" he cheered.

After that, he walked in circles around Sunny, Izzy, and Tails, with the latter getting squeezed by both Sunny and Izzy, since Sprout started to laugh like a maniac, before walking away from the building.

"... Okay, what Eggman got into him?" Tails asked, confused, with a raised eyebrow.

"Is he right? Is the place still his?" Izzy asked, confused.

"No way!" Sunny replied with a smile. "It belongs to all of us now!" she stated pointing at the rest before them.

Zipp was checking over a camera, Knuckles and Sparky approached one of the stages, and both Hitch and Pipp started to sing the same song they used to get the mice out of the building earlier.

"We did make this place shine, didn't we?" Tails asked with a huge smile.

"We sure did!" Izzy said with a smirk. "Booyah!" she cheered, throwing glitter in the air once again.

But as they all seemed to be happy about Canterlove Studios' being complete, the doors opened and a certain blue hedgehog entered the place, still wearing Longclaw's scarf around.

He actually whistled as he looked around, and he felt bad that he didn't help around, but he still smiled at the sight.

Then, he saw his friends and smiled even more before sighing and choosing to approach them.

"Gotta say..." Sonic finally spoke, gaining everyone's attention, especially Sunny's, Tails', and Pipp's, with the three of them gasping and smiling brightly at him. "This place looks cooler than when Phyllis was around!" he smirked.

"Sonic!" Tails cheered, immediately boosting and wrapping his arms around his brother, while Sonic chuckled and hugged him back. "I thought we wouldn't see you until the morning!" he said happily.

"Oh, I just wanted to check how my friends were doing, but I know when I'm not wanted around! So, we can leave the talk for tomorrow and––" Sonic said mockingly, turning around and heading to the exit,

"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" Pipp said, immediately flying in front of him and stopping him. "We're glad to see you, Blue Star! It's just... we thought you wanted space..." she pointed out with concern.

"Tails and Knuckles said you didn't want to be bothered today and that you'll explain later..." Zipp added as she and everyone else approached. "So... Are you here to see the place, or...?" she asked.

"Well, kinda..." Sonic replied, unsure as he looked at the ground. Then he looked at Sunny, who smiled and nodded at him, so Sonic smiled and nodded back. "I'm also here to give you that context you guys need,," he stated. "I'm here to talk about the day Longclaw died," he confessed with a determinate expression and a smile.

In Opaline's Castle, Misty was still in her room, still talking with the doll she created.

"And that is why Opaline can't stand strawberry smoothies, even though they're the most delicious smoothies in the world!" Misty said with concern before sighing in defeat and then lying on the ground.

After that, she got up and approached the doll.

"So, Madame Taffytail? What do you say now?" Misty asked Taffytail, the way she decided to name the doll.

"I say you better try again" Taffytail replied... Well, not really. It was still Misty but with a more fake-pitched voice. "Go get that dragon and finally make Opaline proud of you!" Taffytail added.

"Really?" Misty asked.

"You need that Cutie Mark!" Taffytail pointed out.

"Even if it means upsetting Sunny and the others?" Misty asked, but this time around, there was no response, although one of the doll's eyes almost fell from its place. "You're right; they already have each other. And their Cutie Marks..." she said with sadness before turning to see the window in her room. "I'm going to get me that dragon. No games this time," she stated.

Then, Misty moved aside one of her pillows to reveal a drawing of Sparky made by herself... She was going serious this time, and she would get that dragon, one way or another.

Author's Note

Ya'll gonna hate me for this one, but I decided to come out clean and reveal which Episode from Chapter 4, besides Bridlewoodstock, I decided to delay towards Season 3...

It's the next one, the one that has Alphahaven all over the place.

Now, before ya'll rise your torches at me, I have a very good reason: It doesn't fits the narrative I want to give to my story.

Is pretty much a filler episode, and even if it does gives some development for Misty's arc, it still doesn't fits with what I want to tell.

So, as stated, I'm moving that episode for Season 3, alongside Bridlewoodstock, with the rest of the Season being filled with Chapter 5.

Now, I hope you guys enjoyed this episode, specially because it was about time that Sonic shared how Longclaw died.

I really hope I got Team Dark and Amy's characters well. After almost a full year of just writing Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Eggman, I'm worried I'm not making true justice to these characters, so once again, I hope I got them right.

Also, this is the hardest episode I've ever worked with... I wanted Sonic to not be relevant until the end, BUT HOLY SHIT, this was harder than I wished. Not having Sonic there was definitely a burn, and I'm so glad I'm never making this kind of thing ever again...

Anyways. Next episode is gonna be an original one, and whoever suggested it to me, brace yourself! This one is dedicated to you and your amazing idea!

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