"I'm not sure what happened, but I know what I saw: a love that transcended time" Sunny said. "I believe in that power" she replied.

"I always though that all those things were just fairy tales, but... after what I saw today, I believe is real" Hitch confessed.

"When this is over..." Sunny started to speak again. "I want to share that love with the world" she confessed with a weak smile, before looking at Hitch a bit sad. "Even though... it may take us apart" she added.

Hitch couldn't do anything but smile weakly, while his animal crew and Sparky decided to approach Sunny and hug her.

Sonic saw the scene and smiled, then kneeled so he could face both Sunny and Hitch properly. "I know you'll do great, Sunny" he told her with a confident smile. "We want to hear all about it when you come back. Right, sheriff?" he told Hitch with a smirk and a wink.

Getting the message, Hitch smiled back and looked at Sunny. "Right" he told her.

"... Ages ago, my people were wiped out by a cataclysm" Knuckles started to tell, while Sonic payed close attention, while Izzy decided to join by sitting at Knuckles' other side. "I know the Koco faced something similar. Yet, they still had each other, one way or another. But still, it reminds me I'm the last echidna... That I'm alone..." he said with sadness.

"Knuckie..." Izzy muttered with worry.

"You may be the last echidna, but you're not alone" Sonic said with a smile as well. "You've got us, knucklehead!" he added, pointing at himself, but also talking about the rest of their friends.

"You see? Sonic gets it!" Izzy said cheerfully.

"I'll admit, Sonic, I do envy your lifestyle" Knuckles confessed with an honest smile. "Freedom to go where you want, when you want. You respond to no one, and you always do what you like without a care about second opinions" he pointed out.

Sonic smirked proudly before extending his arms in the air. "So do it!" he told him. "Get out there, and live a little. I'm pretty sure Hitch won't mind if you choose to take a little vacation to go and feel alive" he assured to him.

"Oh, that actually sounds like fun!" Izzy said cheerfully. "Just think about, Knux: you and me, traveling around and having all kind of crazy adventures? It would be the best of the best!" she said excited. "We could have a blast by living and learning all over Equestria!" she declared with a smile.

"Hmm... Maybe we could..." Knuckles said, closing his eyes...

"When this is all over... I think I need to go it alone for a while. I can't grow into my full potential if I always fall back on you!" he pointed out.

Sonic felt surprised by the sudden news, since he didn't expected Tails to grew that fast, but he still smiled proudly anyway.

"I-If that's okay!" Tails said nervously.

Sonic chuckled and walked over near him as he closed his eyes. "You're free to go your own way" he said with a relaxed tone and his arms crossed, before separating them and look at Tails with a sad look. "It's going to take some getting used to, but... here's to you reaching new heights--partner" he finished, now smiling brightly and extending his hand.

Tails looked at his hand confused at first, but then he smiled and extended his hand as well. However, because of the Cyber Space effect on Tails, their hand passed through each others.

They stared at their hands, then they looked at each other for a few seconds... before pulling their hands away and burst out laughing at the sudden move.

"Sunny's gonna be traveling around Equestria, Knuckles and Izzy are going on their own adventure, Tails wants to fly alone for a while, Zipp wants to go with him... and I'm still here..." Pipp said with concern.

"Little Pipp, we might be separating for a while from our friends... but it won't be forever" Sonic reminded her. "We'll met with them again one day. And, if being left behind is what's bothering you... then why don't we go on our own as well?" he suggested to her.

Pipp looked at him with a little sparkle on her eyes. "R-Really?" she asked with a little smile.

"Have I ever failed you, my pegasus angel?" Sonic asked rhetorically with a flirty tone.

Pipp giggled and blushed a bit at the nickname, also placing a hoof on her mouth. "Sounds good. But where do we go?" she asked.

"Wherever we want!" Sonic replied with a smile. "It can be to the mountains to appreciate the amazing view of Equestria, or the snowiest place ever to play with the snow... You just tell me where, and I'll take you there for granted!" he stated with confidence.

"You really are a Blue Prince, Sir Hedgehog" Pipp said on a flirty tone.

"I think the proper title is 'Knight of the Wind', Princess Petals" Sonic replied on a flirty tone as well.

For some reason, that made Pipp burst out laughing, and Sonic joined in as well.

Sonic was staring at the distance, as he sat in the top of a hill in a random place.

He could see the buildings of Zephyr Heights from where he was sitting, but he was actually staring at the sun hiding in the horizon, thinking about all the things his friends could be doing after they all went on their separate ways 6 months ago.

He kept contact with Tails, and he was glad to hear that both him and Zipp were making a big progress. Apparently, Zipp found a weird energy on a hidden cave near Bridlewood, and while they were investigating, Eggman attacked, but tails managed to take him down without any problems. They also discovered that the energy was from the Yellow Chaos Emerald, since it was hidden there.

Tails also specified that Eggman wasn't there at all, that it was just a decoy, which didn't surprised Sonic at all, specially since he attacked him and Pipp as well a few times these past few months, and it was always a decoy.

He was also in contact with Knuckles and Izzy. The echidna decided to go the treasure hunter route again, and Izzy tagged along him. So far, they only found two Chaos Emeralds (the Red one and Purple one), more crystals that looked like the ones from Bridlewood, and a strange silver/metallic liquid on a cave that they both decided to ignore.

As for Sunny, he heard that she's been solving some problems regarding friendship around the three towns of Equestria, which meant that her mission of expanding love and friendship was going well so far.

Hitch was still in Maretime Bay being the Sheriff and taking care of Sparky, even though he's been worried about both Knuckles and Sunny, but he's keeping his cool as much as he can.

Amy was running Mane Melody in Pipp's absence, and since she's been publishing pictures along Jazz and Rocky on Mane Melody's ponygram page, everything seemed to work well so far, so Pipp was calmed in the aspect of how things were going in Mane Melody.

Team Dark was trying to track down Eggman's new hidden lab to stop him for good already. They've been in that mission ever since Sonic and company came back from the Starfall Islands, but the Team hasn't shared anything new for the past month. Hopefully they were fine...

Misty still seemed to be trying to find a way to tear down Opaline's new barrier so they can access her castle again and defeat her for good, but so far, the unicorn had no luck.

The Unity Crystals have been under Hitch's, Misty's and Amy's watch with everyone else's absence, and since there was no magical glitches, nor any other sign of the Crystals being stolen, it was sure to say that Eggman and Opaline haven't approached the Crystals.

And even if they have, Amy's hammer, Sparky's magic dragon fire, Hitch's earth pony magic and Misty's magic were enough to keep them away, so everything was good so far.

As for Sonic and Pipp, he decided to take his girlfriend wherever she wanted, just like he promised.

They explored the mountains, met with a group of ponies in the dessert, found the Blue Chaos Emerald on a beautiful hidden lake near an abandoned place called Baltimare, and had a couple of dates in Zephyr Heights, because Pipp wanted to visit her Mom.

Now, they were putting on the camp outside of Canterlot, because they came to visit Discord, but now they were ready to make their trip back to Maretime Bay...

Well, Pipp was ready, because she just finished building up the fire for the camp, while Sonic stared at the horizon, thinking about how everyone else would be doing.

He was staring alone at the view for a while, until Pipp noticed his lost sight in the sunset, so she decided to approach him

"... It's something bugging you?" Pipp asked, as she sat at his side and rested her head on his shoulder.

Sonic kissed her forehead, placed an arm around her and nodded at her question, before looking back at the horizon. "It's been 6 months since we last saw our friends..." he pointed out to her a bit concerned. "I guess I'm just a bit nervous, just as much as excited, to see them again..." he confessed. "Are you sure that everyone is coming back to the Brighthouse?" he asked her.

"Yup!" Pipp replied with a cocky smirk.

"And are you absolutely sure that our friends are going?" Sonic asked, now a bit anxiously.

"Yeah, they all are––" Pipp tried to reply with a smile.

"Everyone?!" Sonic asked again, now more desperate.

"... Well, Team Dark and Sunny haven't replied, but they did got the message!" Pipp assured with a smile. "It shouldn't take long for them to reply" she added, but Sonic's anxious expression didn't changed. "Blue Star, what's the matter?" she asked, now concerned for her boyfriend.

Sonic only sighed and looked at her. "I guess... I guess I'm just afraid of how different things are gonna be now that we've been apart for a while..." he confessed with concern. "Also, after what happened in the Starfall Islands... I haven't been the same guy..." he pointed out.

"Is this because of Eggman and... Sage?" Pipp dared to ask.

That seemed to hit a soft spot, because even if it's been six months, Sonic still blames himself for what happened to Sage, so he simply nodded at her question.

Pipp sighed and kissed his cheek with a little smile. "Blue Star, I promised you that everything will be fine, and I'm planning to keep that promise!" she stated with a determinate look. "For a first: how about I cook dinner tonight so you can rest your worries, huh?" she asked in a flirty tone.

This actually made Sonic smile, as he looked at Pipp with a seductive look, approaching to her face and looking at her eyes with adoration. "Now you got my attention, Princess~ What are you cooking, if I may ask?" he questioned.

Pipp's face went really red at that, but she still grinned and looked back at him with the same adoring look. "Oh, I'm very sorry, sir. But if you want to know, you'll have to wait until it's ready~" she replied, nuzzling her nose with his.

Sonic snorted and kissed her lips, before looking back at her. "Soredewa o mata se shinaide ne~" he told her with a smirk, telling her 'Then don't keep me waiting, my love~' in Japanese.

"Yaranai yo maiburūsutā~" Pipp replied with a loving gaze, 'I won't, my Blue Star~' in Japanese as well.

Yeah, Sonic taught her a bit of the language while they were traveling, so now she could understand some things he said better.

Pipp stood up and returned to the camp, and Sonic decided to do the same, standing up and cleaning a bit of dirt from his body.

However, one last look at the horizon made him notice something standing at the top of one of the buildings that could be seen from Zephyr Heights.

Sonic narrowed his eyes and stared confused at the thing, but then panicked when he saw the same figure that's been haunting him for the past 6 months.

He saw Cyber Sonic, with his entire body corrupted and his fully white eyes staring straight at him.

"Sonic!" Pipp called out from the fire, and that took Sonic out of his shock, as he looked back at her. "If you don't come, I might eat it all~" she sang in a mocking tone.

"Uh... coming!" Sonic replied with a nervous smile.

He looked back at the building in Zephyr Heights, but when he did, the figure was gone.

Sonic sighed relieved, but still looked at the ground with concern, before gazing to the sunset a last time and then going back with his girlfriend.

The truth is that he's been haunted by Cyber Sonic's figure ever since they returned from the Starfall Islands, because he's afraid of loosing control over his actions and hurt those he cares for again.

And yet, he choose not to tell anyone, not even Pipp, because he wanted to believe that it was just a small trauma he could deal with on his own, and that Cyber Sonic's image would eventually leave.

Hopefully, it would leave his mind very soon, because it hasn't happened so far...

Eggman didn't mourned Sage's lost that much.

Since he managed to restore her AI after a week, just with the forgotten memory that she sacrificed herself to defeat The End, he decided to spend his time in other stuff.

That stuff included trying to ambush Team Sonic a few times, and even take the Unity Crystals again, but Amy, Hitch and Misty frustrated that plan, and all his decoys were destroyed easily by Sonic, Knuckles and even Tails, for Eggman's surprise.

Seeing that his new efforts to have fun over Team Sonic were not going anywhere, he decided it was time to implement Plan C: Investigate the mysterious silver/metallic liquid he researched about, back when his first plan that almost succeeded was still in the process.

He read that it was some kind of living substance that could corrupt and control whoever it got over, so he wanted to investigate it.

Now, both Eggman and Sage were investigating on Eggman's computer about a sample of the liquid he found hidden in a cave after he tried to ambush Knuckles and Izzy, but failed.

However, he did found a lake that had a substance with the exact same description he researched about, so he took a sample and went back to his lab to investigate it... And yet, he hasn't found anything alive inside of the sample.

"I guess we'll have to keep looking..." Eggman muttered with a frown. "We cannot allow ourselves to fail this time, Sage... We won't fail!" he assured with a determinate look.

"Yes, father" Sage replied from inside his computer. "I will expand our investigation" she added.

"Thank you, dear" Eggman replied.

He had the liquid's sample encaged in a bottle, right on his desk... but he didn't noticed that it moved just a little, tiny bit...

A dark corridor extended to a really large distance.

Suddenly, from the metallic ceiling, a ventilation door fell to the ground, followed by Rouge coming out of it and landing in the floor. She was using the same clothes she used back when she first met Omega and free'd Shadow from Eggman's stasis capsule.

After that, she looked at her surroundings, and once she checked nobody was around, she brought out a small device that looked like a tube, before opening it up. The tube released a grey gas, and then, Rouge threw the gas so it could roll across the floor. As it did so, the gas revealed many red lasers across the corridor, which made the bat smirk, weirdly enough.

Then, she wrapped herself on her own wings and began to dodge all the lasers professionally, even sliding below some of them, until she managed to get to the other side without having touched a single laser.

Next, she took out a device that she placed over a panel control, and after that, she stepped back and flew to the ceiling, staying there before the device extended a black stick with a spike, which it used to cut a perfect circle on the whole wall around the panel control.

And then, when the circle was completed, the hole was open with a massive punch, and the piece of round metal ended on the other side of the room, while Rouge landed on the floor and looked at the hole with a smirk.

Right through the hole, Omega and Shadow entered, as the former started to scan the entire basement they were in, while Shadow looked at Rouge with a bored expression.

"What took you so long?" Shadow asked with a glare.

"Honey, being sneaky is my thing" Rouge replied with a mocking tone. "Just because I didn't do it as fast as you'll like does not mean my results are less effective~" she added with a wink.

"Dr. Eggman could be planning to escape from us this very second!" Shadow pointed out with anger. "If he hasn't escaped, that is..." he added with another glare.

Rouge rolled her eyes at Shadow's attitude, but before she could reply anything, Omega let out a 'beep' sound, indicating that his scanning was complete. "Eggman's basement scanned. The main lab is located at the end of this corridor" he informed, pointing at the left direction of the hole in the wall.

"Say no more!" Shadow replied, as he immediately boosted towards the lab.

Rouge rolled her eyes and groaned in annoyance, before following him by flight, while Omega did the same and rushed as fast as he could, until he decided to use his rockets to lift up from the ground.

Then, Shadow curled into a ball and Spin Dashed through the lab's door, taring it down and then looking around with a frown, which actually disappeared slowly as he saw that the lab was not only empty, but also rusty, dusty and messy, which was weird since Eggman was everything but messy with his labs.

Rouge and Omega arrived, and the former freaked out at the empty lab as well, while the latter scanned the room in search for any sign of Dr. Eggman.

"Scanning completed. No signs of Dr. Eggman detected" Omega reported, although his tone sounded bot disappointed and frustrated, as he shamelessly showed a hand and closed it on an angered fist.

"Eggman's not here either..." Shadow muttered, frowning in rage once again.

"This is the fifth installment we've found and infiltrate..." Rouge pointed out, then she approached to the big computer in the middle of the room and tapped on it, but the computer was totally empty. "And just like the previous ones, it's totally empty. There's... nothing here... No data, no pictures, not even a browser..." she explained with concern.

"Eggman must be trying to distract us" Rouge suggested. "I mean, five empty basements with no defense mechanisms, no data on his computer, and all dusty and messy? Are we sure this were created by the same Eggman we know?" she questioned.

"Dr. Eggman is a genius. He knows we're after him. Therefore, he has reasons to pull us off the path" Omega pointed out.

"And if he wants to avoid Opaline now that he betrayed her, it's only normal to think he wants to distract her as well" Shadow pointed out, as well. "Making empty bases to trick her and us is spot on for the doctor, but it does not changes the fact that we must find him" he stated with a frown.

"Well, considering that he pretty much disappeared after his plan backfired in the Starfall Islands 6 months ago, it's also safe to say he's planning to get revenge on Sonic somehow" Rouge added with a frown as well.

Yeah, Team Sonic and the Mane 5 made a deal to not talk about Sage, so Misty, Amy and Team Dark don't even know she exists... And they want to keep it like that.

Suddenly, Omega made another beep sound, calling Shadow's and Rouge's attention. "Incoming recorded video from: Pipp Petals" the robot informed, before projecting with his eyes an image of a video sent by Pipp, as he stated.

"Hey everypony!" Pipp spoke happily as she held her phone. "As you all know by now, we have spent the last 6 months away from each other... But I think it is finally time we all reunite again!" she explained.

"That's why, we want to invite you all to a little welcome party in the Brighthouse exclusively for us!" Sonic spoke as well with a smirk, getting into the video as he hugged Pipp from her back, while Pipp giggled a bit. "We're making this on Friday, ya'll. Don't be late!" he added with a wink, as the video finished playing.

"It was fun to tease him off camera about having a girlfriend... now the fun is over..." Shadow said with a bored expression.

"I think we should go back and chill with them for a while" Rouge suggested. "As important as it is to find Dr. Eggman, perhaps we could take a brake from it for a couple of weeks? Maybe a month, even?" she added with a little smile.

Shadow inhaled and exhaled, before smirking at Rouge. "You know? I actually do not mind taking a break for once..." he confessed. "Besides, I'll be lying if I said I don't want to check on Sunny after 6 months without seeing her" he added.

Rouge looked at Shadow with wide eyes, and even if Omega could not show emotions with his face, he still looked at Shadow confused.

"... That wasn't expected... Not even for me..." Omega said.

"I second that..." Rouge admitted.

With this, Rouge and Omega turned and head towards the exit, a.k.a. the hole that they made in the wall, but Shadow stood behind and looked at a camera over the ceiling that neither Omega nor Rouge seemed to notice before.

"Doctor..." Shadow spoke with a frown. "I do not care where you are hiding. We will find you, and whatever you might have in store, we will stop you. As we always do!" he stated, before launching a Chaos Spare to the camera and then boost away from the lab as well...

Eggman stared at his computer with a frown.

After all the stuff he has done to the Mane 5 and Team Sonic for the past months, he never expected to see that Team Dark would be the one chasing him instead of the blue blur.

Still, seeing Shadow threat him and warn him about finding his actual new hidden lab... He did felt chills on his spine.

But that wasn't going to stop him. He's been threatened to be stoped before, and he never did, so why start now, when his newest and diabolical plan was already in the works, anyways?

"Father" Sage's voice spoke. "Should I initiate protocols to recon and destroy for this 'Team Dark'?" she asked.

"No need to do that, dear" Eggman replied. "Is not the first time Shadow has threatened me, and it won't be the last. Of course, it does not mean I'm gonna stop!" he pointed out with a grin. "Creating fake basements to get those fools of the track has worked so far, both for Opaline and Team Dark. Hopefully, it'll stay that way..." he said with a frown.

"I can always create more basements for you, father" Sage suggested.

"That'll be wonderful, but we cannot waste more resources" Eggman pointed out. "Now that I have no Chaos Emeralds with me, I gotta be careful with where I sent my creations from now on" he explained. "If Team Dark is really taking a break for the next month, then we better get to work!" he stated.

"Yes, father" Sage replied, as she changed the image in the computer from Shadow's video to a bunch of images that showed the silver/metallic liquid sample moving around its bottle. "I've already studied this sample and ran around 3 million simulations, but... I still cannot tell why it's alive..." Sage explained with concern.

"And it has gotten bigger, too..." Eggman pointed out with a frown. "It used to be just 1/4 the size of the bottle... now it's 3/4 size of it, and it scares me... Just as much as it fascinates me!" he stated with a grin.

"It expands at fast paste, that's for sure..." Sage pointed out. "But its properties are a mystery, even for myself, and it grows with each passing minute... You are right, father. This is fascinating" she confessed.

"And it's exactly that the reason why we must investigate further on this specimen!" Eggman stated, still grinning sinisterly. "Dear, put the sample data on my database. We must find out more about this metallic goo... or whatever it is. Guess we'll have to give it a name..." he pointed out.

"Right away, father!" Sage replied cheerfully.

As the currently AI started to work, Eggman looked back at the 3/4 full bottle and the substance inside, still grinning. "I cannot wait to explode your hidden power!" he stated, as he laughed like a maniac.

Sonic, Pipp, Hitch, Amy and Misty were preparing everything for the 'Welcome Party' in the Brighthouse.

Hitch, Pipp and Amy were placing down some snacks in the kitchen's table, while Sonic and Misty were placing all the decorations across the living room.

"I can't believe we're finally seeing everyone again after 6 months!" Pipp said excited, before squealing like a filly.

"Well, considering all the crazy stuff we lived on those Islands months ago, I'm really glad we all got some time for ourselves!" Hitch said with a smile.

"I still cannot believe that your ancestors are really from this world, Sonic..." Amy told the blue hedgehog with a smile. "I thought that Longclaw was saying gibberish in her message!" she confessed.

"Honestly? I still find it surreal myself" Sonic replied with a smirk.

"There's also that weird thing that looked like a red moon..." Misty pointed out. "What was that?" she asked confused.

"Satan himself..." Sonic replied with a bored expression. "Jokes aside, it was a weirdo that got control over my body, and then turned into the most hated animal by any normal female: A giant snake!" he added with a frown.

After saying this, Misty, Pipp and Amy all collectively felt a chill running down their spines at the mention of the giant snake.

"I will normally say snakes are cool, but considering that one almost destroyed our entire planet... Yeah... That's everything but cool..." Hitch said with a sheepish smile.

Suddenly, the doorbell ringed, and before anyone could attend the door, it was suddenly opened, and then, both Izzy and Knuckles boosted inside, each carrying around 3 or 4 bags full of stuff they both collected on their treasure hunt. Also, Knuckles was wearing his treasure hunter outfit.

"Hallo, hallo und guten Tag!" Knuckles greeted with a huge smile, as he placed two of the bags in the floor and even made a bow while taking off his hat.

"Hello!" Izzy greeted cheerfully.

"Izzy!" Pipp and Misty said happily, as they immediately rushed towards the unicorn mare and wrapped her in a big hug, with Izzy giggling and hugging them back.

"Knux!" Amy said, as she also wrapped Knuckles in a big bear hug, and Knuckles chuckled a bit before hugging her back as well.

"Yo, Knux! Long time no see!" Sonic cheered with a smile, as he and Knuckles fist bumped each other.

"Honestly? I kind of thought you two were gonna be last!" Hitch said with a smirk, as he extended his hoof and hoofbumped with Knuckles as well. "But I'm also glad that you proved me wrong!" he added.

"We also though we would be the last to arrive" Izzy said, as Pipp and Misty finally let her go. "We kind of let ourselves get too invested in the treasure hunting on our way here..." she added with a sheepish smile, also scratching her neck.

"But I'll say it was worth it! We got you souvenirs and everything!" Knuckles stated with a smirk, as he opened one of the bags. "Let's see... the Chaos Emeralds..." he started, as he threw both the Red and Purple Emeralds to Sonic, who caught them with his hands and smiled at them. "I found this neat pink crystal in the deeps of a cave with a weird silver lake..." he continued, now giving said crystal to Amy, who smiled brightly at the sight. "I got this aquamarine crystal in an abandoned farm, not so far from Fluttershy's old cottage..." he added, extending the crystal to Hitch, who grabbed it with a smile.

Next, Izzy used her magic to levitate the remaining bag off her back and started to look through it as well. "I think I had something for... AHA!" she exclaimed taking out a green emerald collar and giving it to Pipp, who gasped dramatically at the sight, as she took the collar on her hooves with a huge smile. "It reminded me of you when I saw it!" she said with a smile.

"Izzy, this is really gorgeous!" Pipp sang with a smile, as she hugged Izzy again. "Thank you so much for this!" she added.

"I knew you would like it!" Izzy said with a cheery smile, before digging into the bag again and then brought out a small topaz and show it to Misty. "And for you, I found this! I thought it would look nice on your bracelet!" she explained.

Misty gasped as well and grabbed the topaz with a smile, before place it over her bracelet on her left hoof. "Izzy, this is so beautiful! Thank you!' she said with a smile.

"Anything for my fellow unicorns!" Izzy replied happily, as the two mares shared another hug.

"I also found this sapphire..." Knuckles said, as he brought it out and threw it to Sonic, who once again caught the gem with a smirk. "It kind of reminds to you, so I thought... 'Eh, why not'?" he explained with a smirk.

"The Chaos Emeralds would've been enough for me, but this is pretty neat, too!" Sonic said with a smile. "Anything else you found, besides that weird metallic looking-like lake?" he asked Knuckles and Izzy.

"Nah. We had to deal with an Eggman badnik, but we crushed it like a fragile glass!" Knuckles replied with a smirk.

"You too?" Pipp asked with a bored expression. "Does that guy knows what 'vacations' stand for? He should try it sometime..." she pointed out.

"Yeah... Although, it wasn't Eggman actually. It was a weird toy with springs around..." Izzy pointed out confused.

"So a decoy as well..." Sonic said with a bored expression. "If I had a nickel for everytime Eggman has tried to kill any of us, I'll be rich at this point!" he pointed out with a frown.

And then, the doors opened again, this time to reveal Sunny, Tails and Zipp, also entering to the Brighthouse as they seemed to be talking between themselves happily.

However, any chance they had to say hi to everyone else went through the window when the three of them were either tackled to the floor or embraced in a big hug: Izzy tackled Sunny down as she also hugged her tightly, while Pipp went to wrap her hooves tightly around her sister with a smile.

As for Tails? Sonic grabbed him from his waist and started to twirl him around happily, as Tails giggled while being lifted in the air, before Sonic finally finished the hug with him properly holding Tails, even if the young fox could still not touch the ground, but he still hugged Sonic back.

"Oh, it's nice to see you again, little bro!" Sonic said with a huge grin, but once he put him down on the ground, he found himself amused when he noticed that Tails was... taller... Well, he was 4 feet tall before, now he's like 4.6 feet tall, but still... he has grown up.

He also seemed to be wearing some googles over his head, and his shoes were a blue variant instead of red as well!

"Whoa... When you said that I wouldn't recognize you, you weren't kidding!" Sonic said with an amused smile.

"Pretty cool, right?" Tails talked... but there was something different with him...

It was so amazing, so mind-blowing that it made Sonic stare at Tails with wide eyes. And what is it? Well... Tails sounds older now.

"... Y-Your voice... You sound... older..." Sonic pointed out, completely flabbergasted by this fact.

"Huh? Oh, yeah... Well, the thing is that my voice have might get a tiny, little bit low pitched... But it's still me!" Tails explained with a smile. "Whatcha think?" he asked with a smirk.

However, Sonic started to move at really fast past on his place, as his smile slowly grew, until it was a big enough, and then, Sonic curled into a ball and boosted back inside the Brighthouse, as he booted all over the place and booted through the living room like a pinball ball.

Then, he went back to the outside and wrapped his arms around Tails, hugging him tightly once again. "YOU ARE GROWING UP, AND I COULDN'T BE ANY MORE PROUD OF YOU, MAN!" Sonic shouted, as he violently shook Tails, while the fox weirdly enough chuckled a bit as he was shaken. "I know any other guy would freak out, or even cry, or be mad because you're getting older, but... MY GOSH, YOU ARE BECAME A MAN, BRO!" Sonic cheered, as he hugged him once again.

"You're taking this better than I expected!" Tails said with a smile.

"Why would I be mad? Because you sound older?! Man, I'm proud of you!" Sonic said cheerfully, now rubbing Tails head with a fist, while Tails chuckled again and fought to take him off him.

Meanwhile, Sunny was busy as Izzy and Hitch wrapped her in a tight hug, while Zipp was the same with her little sister.

"Aw! It's so good to see you all again after so long!" Sunny said with a warm smile, before being wrapped on one side by Sparky as well, who jumped from Hitch's back to her side.

"How did your mission went across Equestria?" Izzy asked her with a cheery smile.

"Oh, it was pretty good, actually!" Sunny replied with a smile. "Everypony around Bridlewood and Zephyr Heights were really welcoming at everything I told them about my dream of a world of love and harmony" she explained. "I don't know if telling them about what I saw with those Koco in the Starfall Islands had something to do, but... They actually seemed really happy and supportive with everything I said!" she pointed out.

"That's great to hear, Sunny!" Amy said with a smile, and Sunny smiled back at her.

"I also heard rumors about a certain Alicorn solving some friendship problems around Equestria!" Hitch said with a mocking smirk, as he slightly pushed Sunny on her shoulder, while Sunny giggled at the gesture. "Does that ring a bell to you?" Hitch added with a wink.

Sunny blushed a bit, but she still rolled her eyes and smirked mockingly back at the stallion. "Oh, I don't know. Are you talking about Opaline, hmm?" she mocked back.

That actually made the small group burst out laughing at how ridiculous it sounded the idea of Opaline helping out instead of being a threat.

"Seems like you had fun on your journey across Equestria!" Hitch said with a smile. "Things in Maretime Bay were really boring..." he confessed.

"Yup! It's weird you guys had been attacked by Eggman. The Brighthouse has been silent and peaceful ever since Eggman was defeated on his Death Egg Titan" Amy pointed out. "Not even Opaline has approached here, either!" she added.

"So Eggman attacked us, and Opaline stood on the sidelines... Weird..." Sunny muttered with concern.

On the other hand, as Sonic and Tails came in, the young fox was dragged into a side hug by Knuckles, as he also rubbed his head a bit, and Tails chuckled once again, trying to get the echidna off.

"How you doing, little man?" Knuckles asked him with a smirk. "I've heard that your voice has grown a bit!" he added.

"It has, actually. I'm not so 'little' anymore, am I?" Tails asked with a mocking smirk.

However, Knuckles' eyes widened, and he stared completely shocked at Tails. "... Huh... You were not joking about the voice change..." he realized.

"Of course it wouldn't be a joke! Or what, do you thought I was going to sound girl-ish forever?" Tails mocked up.

"Actually, yes. I did" Knuckles replied with absolutely no sign of shame.

To this, Tails stared at Knuckles with a bored expression. "For both of our sakes, I'm gonna pretend you're just kidding..." he replied.

Then, Tails was tapped in the shoulder by somepony, so he turned to see who it was, but he felt confused when he saw nopony there. Then, he was tapped on his other shoulder and looked again, but again, nopony was there, and that confused him even more.

But then, when he turned around, he was suddenly wrapped in a hug by Misty, and even if he felt kind of startled at her being more playful, he still smiled and hugged her back.

"Aw, Mist!" Tails said with a smile. "I'm glad to see you again, too!" he added cheerfully.

"Oh, it feels like an eternity since the last time we talked..." Misty said with a little smile. "By the way, you sound different..." she pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah! Now I'm a bit taller, a year older, I have a new look, and my voice is slightly low pitched!" Tails said with a proud smile. "But I'm the same old Tails, anyways!" he pointed out with a smile.

"It's noticeable!" Misty replied with a little grin, slightly pushing Tails on a shoulder. "So, anything interesting while you were out with Zipp?" she asked with a smile.

"Well, aside from finding the Yellow Chaos Emerald..." Tails started, as he tossed said Emerald to Sonic, who once again caught it with a hand. "We found this really weird ship that seemed to belong to some pirates before..." he added with a weirded expression.

"Pirates? Wait, you found a pirate ship?!" Misty asked in awe.

"Kinda? I mean, I can't tell if it was a ship, or a giant hot air balloon... I think it was a mix of both..." Tails said with a bored expression. "Oh, we also found this really neat town not so far from what I think it used to be Ponyville, but we didn't saw that much ponies there..." he pointed out. "Gosh, there's so much I wanna tell, and I don't know where should I keep going!" he exclaimed excited.

"Well, I can't wait to hear everything!" Misty exclaimed excited as well for a minute, before looking down to the floor with sadness. "Too bad I haven't discovered anything on how to get through Opaline's shield around her castle..." she said with disappointment.

"Hey, it's okay, Mist!" Tails told her with a smile. "We'll find a way to get through it!" he assured her with a confident smile.

As Sonic lay on a wall and chuckled at Tails and Misty talking, Sunny suddenly dragged him into a hug as well.

"Whoa, there!" Sonic said with a chuckle, as Sunny broke the hug and smiled at her. "I didn't knew you missed me that much, Sunny-Bunny!" he said with a mocking tone and a wink.

"Aw, please. I've missed all my friends!" Sunny pointed out with a smile. "In all seriousness, though. It is good to see you again, Sonic. I wanted to give you this!" she added, as she brought out the Light Blue Chaos Emerald from her saddlebag and gave it to him.

"Whoa, cool!" Sonic said with a smirk, as he grabbed the Emerald. "We have five with this one, considering Little Pipp and I found the Blue one on a place named Baltimare..." he pointed out with a smile.

On the other hand, we had the royal sisters, hugging each other tightly as well.

"Oh, Zipp! I seriously cannot start to describe how much I've missed you!" Pipp exclaimed with a smile.

"I've missed you too, sis!" Zipp confessed, as she hugged Pipp once again. "I got a lot to tell on everything Tails and I discovered! But most importantly, I think you're gonna like about this really cool place with abandoned clothes" she added with a smirk, wrapping a hoof around Pipp's neck.

"Why do you say that?" Pipp asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

"An abandoned boutique that gives you a spooky feeling with lots of fancy, although also really dusty, clothes all over the place?" Zipp described smoothly.

"Oh, now you have my attention!" Pipp replied with a smirk.

"Ladies!" Sonic said suddenly, as he appeared at Pipp's other side with a smile. "Zippster, do you mind if I steal your sister just a sec?" he asked the older pegasus with a wink.

"All yours, champ! I gotta have a talk with Sunny, anyways" Zipp said as she flew away and towards Sunny.

"What's the matter, Blue Star?" Pipp asked her boyfriend with a smile.

"Sorry to bug you, Little Pipp, but do you know anything about Team Dark?" Sonic asked concerned. "I haven't heard any kind of answer from them..." he pointed out with a slight frown.

Pipp took out her phone and checked the group chat were all the Mane 6, Team Sonic and Team Dark shared, but there was now message from either Shadow, Rouge nor Omega. "No... there's nothing so far..." she replied with concern.

"That's odd... I haven't heard anything from them since last month..." Sonic pointed out with a frown. "Never thought I'll say this about Shadow, of all people, but... I hope those three are okay..." he confessed.

"You? Concerned about me?" Shadow's voice spoke, and Sonic deadpanned as he slowly turned around and looked at Shadow with a bored expression. "Seeing is believing, living is seeing!" he added with a mocking tone and smirk.

Team Dark was approaching to the Brighthouse as well, and once Sunny noticed this, she gasped happily and immediately went to wrap Shadow into a hug.

Of course, Shadow was still not used to Sunny being this affective with him, but he still allowed her to hug him, even though he didn't hugged back this time around, although it was just to protect his ego in front of Sonic, who was smirking mockingly at him, not because he didn't wanted to hug Sunny back.

"I haven't heard anything from you in the past month! I thought something happened!" Sunny said with concern, as she finally broke the hug.

Shadow did felt a bit guilty after Sunny explained this, and he even looked away from her, but his frown remained. "There was a situation as we looked for Eggman's new lab..." he replied.

"What kind of situation?" Knuckles asked with a frown, as he and everyone else approached Team Dark.

"We broke into five different basements" Rouge replied with her arms crossed.

"What?!" Zipp exclaimed with wide eyes, while everypony gasped in panic, and Team Sonic just frowned. "What do you mean you broke into five basements?!" Zipp added confused.

"Is what you hear" Shadow replied. "Eggman built different labs across Equestria, but every single one we broke was empty and dusty..." he pointed out.

"I can get behind the empty part, but dusty? Eggman might be a lot of things, but messy is not one of them..." Tails pointed out, crossing his arms and frowning.

However, after Tails opened his mouth, Shadow and Rouge stared at him with wide eyes.

"... His voice is different..." Rouge pointed out, a bit freaked out by this.

"Puberty reach him late. Ignore that fact and get to the point!" Amy said with annoyance.

However, it didn't took Tails late to understand what Amy said at first, so he looked at her with a frown. "Hey!" he complained.

"The point is that Eggman is still out of our radar, and we still can't find where he's hiding" Rouge replied, before she looked over at Misty. "Have you found a way to get through Opaline's barrier?" she asked her.

"No..." Misty replied with shame, as she looked down in disappointment. "All I can say is that the barrier is way too powerful. I don't think we can get through it, not even with all our Cutie Mark magic combined..." she added with concern, looking over at the rest of the Mane 6.

"So, in terms of defeating evil, we're not going anywhere yet, are we?" Knuckles asked with a bored expression.

"Pretty much..." Izzy replied with the same bored expression.

"Well, at least we did found the Green and Silver Chaos Emeralds in two of the basements we broke in" Shadow said, as he brought the mentioned Emeralds out and tossed them to Sonic.

The blue hedgehog caught them and looked down at them with a smile. "Would you believe me if I told you that we have all the Chaos Emeralds now with these two?!" he asked Shadow with a smirk.

"Do I have other choice?" Shadow asked with a bored expression.

"Nope" Sonic replied proudly.

"Then no" Shadow replied, as he headed towards inside the Brighthouse, with Rouge, Sunny and Omega following behind.

"Dude, you are seriously the edgiest man alive..." Sonic said with a bored expression, as he walked inside as well, while Pipp chuckled at his joke.

"Ooh, I just remembered! I hope you all are free tomorrow, because I wanna show you something amazing!" Izzy exclaimed happily.

"Is it related to gems?" Rouge asked.

"Nope, but it's just as beautiful!" Izzy replied cheerfully.

"Huh... It sounds interesting, actually. I'll... consider it" Rouge said with a smirk.

"What are you gonna show us exactly, Izz?" Knuckles asked his girlfriend with a smile.

"Oh, it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, silly!" Izzy replied with a cheerful smile.

The next night, at a full moon, the Mane 6, Team Sonic and Team Dark are following Izzy through the Bridlewood forest, as some critters are wandering around.

"This is kinda spooky, isn't it?" Pipp asked her friends with an exciting smile.

Suddenly, an owl hooted and fluttered their wings loudly, which startled Hitch as he gasped in fright, while Pipp gave him a playful smirk.

"No. Not at all" Hitch said nervously, while Sparky is on his back was sleeping like the baby dragon he is, also sucking his thumb.

"Izzy, what are we doing in the middle of the Bridlewood forest… at night?" Sunny asked nervously.

Sonic, on his own, stretched out his arms and yawned a bit. "Yeah... What's the reason to private me from my beauty sleep?" he complained as well.

"Better stop sleeping, then. It's not working" Shadow said with a bored expression, even though his intention was to mock Sonic over.

And it worked, because Sonic turned to him and looked at him with a glare.

"It's a surprise!" Izzy answered cheerfully, as she turned to them. "If I told you, you wouldn't be surprised!" she pointed out.

"She does have a point there" Zipp admitted.

"Yeah, can't argue with that logic!" Misty agreed with a smile.

"It doesn't change the fact that is 2 a.m. in the morning..." Tails deadpanned.

"2:37 a.m. to be precise" Omega informed.

"You guys told him that he doesn't has to be this specific, right?" Knuckles asked Rouge with a bored expression.

"Oh, we did. The thing is that he listens" Rouge replied with the same bored expression.

"You're all gonna love it. Hoof to heart" Izzy said with a smile.

"I still don't get what that means..." Amy said with a raised eyebrow.

"Sunny's father used to tell her that all the time when she was little. Call it a 'family tradition' from hers that we're all following up" Sonic replied with a smile.

"Come on! It's just up here!" Izzy announced, as she took the lead again with hops.

"Oh yeah!" Pipp cheered, as she followed Izzy while Sunny and Zipp followed with a little laugh, and everyone else simply walked normally.

"Uh…" Hitch said nervously as he looked around, before he trotted after the rest as well.

The group kept following Izzy as they trotted through the forest, but then, Izzy gasped with a smile as she saw something that made her stop, which made her pony friends bump into her and into each other with a yelp, while Pipp fell to the floor

"Oof, ow" Hitch said from the bump, which made Sparky wake up, as the baby dragon yawned and rubbed his eyes.

As Sonic came by and helped Pipp to stand up, the rest looked over at Izzy with raised eyebrows, and Misty shook her head after the bump. "Izzy! Why did you stopped?" she asked confused.

"Because we're here! Ta-da!" Izzy announced cheerfully as she raised her hoof in front of her.

What was she pointing at? Just a clearing in the woods with crystals and un-sprouted flowers around.

Everyone else stood quiet for a moment until Zipp broke the silence. "Uh… Izzy? Is something supposed to happen?" she asked confused.

"Yeah, 'cause everything I see is a bunch of flowers that haven't sprouted yet..." Sonic pointed out with a bored expression.

Izzy just smiled and raised her hoof over her mouth. "Hush" she said. before walking up to an un-sprouted plant and lean closer to it. And just like that, the plant sprouted into a big flower that glowed bright.

One by one, all the flowers across the clearing sprouted and started to glowing as well, and even the crystals started to shine bright. Then, some glowing tiny flies came out of the plants and started to fly around, which made the rest of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic feel amazed at the sight.

"Wow!" Sunny said in awe.

"Holy Chili Dogs!" Sonic exclaimed with a smirk.

"Gorgeous!" Pipp cheered with a wide smile.

"No way..." Tails said with wide eyes.

"Awesome!" Zipp called out with a smile.

"Sweet grapes!" Knuckles said with wide eyes and a smile.

"Beautiful!" Misty said with a smile.

"I second that!" Amy agreed with Misty, as she looked around in awe.

"What?" Hitch asked in surprise and awe at the sight.

Suddenly, a glowing fly passed by Sparky, who gurgled at them and tried to reach it with a smile, until the fly flew away.

"Wow. I've never seen anything like this in my life!" Sunny cheered, while looking closely at the flowers with a smile. "This is amazing, Izzy!" she added, as she touched the flower, which glowed brighter by her touch.

"And here I thought this place couldn't impress me!" Rouge admitted, as she also approached a flower and touched it.

On the other hand, Omega was now covered on both his shoulders by many of the glowing flies, but he didn't seemed to mind, he just stared at the flies a bit confused.

Shadow also approached the same flower that Sunny touched and, weirdly enough, he smiled a bit at the sight.

"What is it?" Sunny asked in awe.

"It's called the 'Lumi-Bloom'!" Izzy replied with a smile, as she got next to Sunny and Shadow while waving her hoof. "Every moon season, for one week only, all of the plants and stuff in this part of Bridlewood go all wild and glowy!" she explained, while gesturing to the area.

"Yup! I second Rouge with what she said earlier!" Sonic said with a smile.

Then, a glowing fly flew to a flower, and Zipp came in front of the flower as she held up her magnifying glass to examine the flower and fly. "So it's not just some sort of Unicorn spell? Just a natural phenomenon?" she asked Izzy.

"Yup!" Izzy answered.

"Good. I'm not in the mood for another odyssey to find out about magical stuff with no real science behind..." Tails deadpanned again with his arms crossed.

"You're just not in the mood because it's too early to be awake" Knuckles pointed out with a bored expression.

"Do you like it?" Izzy asked her friends with a smile.

"Like it?! Do I like it?" Pipp asked excitedly, before turning to her friends. "I love it!" she cheered, as she twirled in the air before landing. "It makes me wanna sing!" she added, as she began to vocalize.

This made some glowing flies fly towards her from her singing, while Pipp flew into the air as the flies circled around her head.

The Mane 6 and Team Sonic watched Pipp with awed smiles, while Izzy got her jaw dropped from that, finding Pipp's scene amazing, and Sonic even had a slight blush as he smiled like an idiot, which made Shadow roll his eyes once he noticed.

Pipp realized the flies were circling around her and smiled. "Oh my glow. Did you guys just see that?" she asked her friends with a smile, as she landed back on the ground.

"Yup. And it was amazing!" Amy replied with a cheery smile.

"Yeah, huh, that was actually really cool" Zipp admitted with a smile.

"I have to do it again!" Pipp stated with excitement, as she flew next to Sonic. "Quick, get it on camera this time!" she added, as she gave her phone to her boyfriend.

Sonic nodded and held up Pipp's phone, starting to record Pipp as the pegasus landed on the ground.

"Ha, wait!" Pipp suddenly called out as she turned to the others, while Sonic lowered the phone and everyone looked at Pipp confused.

"What's wrong?" Hitch asked.

Pipp flew back with Sonic and took her phone back with a smile. "I just had an even better idea!" she said, as she flew off to the spot she took off again and landed. "We can share this beautiful sight with everypony if we bring them all here…" she explained, while she recorded the sight with her phone.

"Whoa" Misty said surprised. "How are we gonna do that?" she asked.

"By hosting the biggest and brightest musical festival that Equestria has ever seen… or heard" Pipp replied with a smile, as she hopped and twirled around excitedly.

"A festival? Not what I had in mind, but I'm honestly not complaining, either..." Rouge confessed with a smirk.

"That sounds so magical! I love it!" Sunny cheered in excitement.

"I'm not too found on festivals, but... Might as well give it a chance this time around..." Shadow said with a slight smile.

"But Izzy said the bloom only lasts a week!" Pipp recalled with worry. "Which means… we're already running out of time!" she panicked, as she flew in front of her friends. "We have to get started right now!" she stated, as she flew ahead of them, while the others followed Pipp.

However, only Izzy and Sonic stayed behind, with Izzy stopping as they heard a maniacal laughter.

"Huh?" Izzy asked confused, as she looked behind her, while the maniacal laughter continued in the distance as it echoed through the forest.

From behind some bushes and trees, the mysterious voice creature is looking at the unicorn mare.

"Yes. Sing for us, ponies" the mysterious voice said to her, followed by another maniacal laugh that echoed through the woods.

Izzy looked around one last time before trotting away in fear, while Sonic had his sight lost in certain direction, as he gasped in panic with wide eyes.

And why was this? Well... Cyber Sonic, once again, was there, looking at him through his soul, in the middle of the forest, which only gave Sonic terrible flashbacks on when The End took control over hid body.

He shook his head and closed his eyes, also looking away, and once he opened them, the figure was gone.

Sonic sighed in relief, but he couldn't help but feel worried about the living nightmare that is Cyber Sonic, since he couldn't forget him yet...

With a sigh, Sonic boosted away, hoping that he wouldn't see Cyber Sonic ever again, or not that often at least...

That same morning, in the Crystal Brighthouse, Pipp was at her desk.

She was wearing red glasses and preparing for the festival, as she hummed happily to herself, while her bed section of the room is covered in piles of papers and books from some ideas she scrapped for the festival.

Then, Pipp stopped for a second to think about something, before getting another idea and write it down on her notes.

Izzy woke up from her bed with a yawn, stretching a bit and rubbing her eyes, until she saw Pipp working and humming happily to herself.

Knuckles woke up as well, since he had the off today, so he stayed on the Brighthouse and stretched a bit with a loud groan, rubbing his belly a bit before waking up and put his gloves and shoes on.

Then, both Izzy and Knuckles approached Pipp to her desk. "Whatcha doing?" Izzy asked Pipp with a smile.

"Making my dreams come true!" Pipp cheered, as she waved her hooves up and some flowers around her flew up, while she took off her glasses. "Because if you can dream it, you can do it, Izzy!" she added with a smile.

Izzy gasped with a wide smile and came next to Pipp. "I just dreamed that I crafted an entire sailboat out of tortilla chips!" she said cheerfully, and even if Pipp cringed a bit, she still smiled at her.

"Looking back at your record of stuff you have build, I'd say it's totally possible" Knuckles said with a smile, as Izzy blushed a bit but smiled, and so, the two of them shared a quick kiss before looking back at Pipp.

"See? I love that for you, Izzy!" Pipp said with a smile, as she pushed Izzy back a bit. "And I love this for me!" she added, as she held out her notebook to them before hugging it. "But if I want to make the Bridlewoodstock Music Festival happen, I can't waste a single minute" she stated, as she flew off from her desk, while Izzy and Knuckles followed her. "Everypony has to see the Lumi-Bloom before it's over!" she added.

"No offense, but even if this only lasts a week, Izzy mentioned it come out every full moon... If you don't have time to plan this now, why not wait 'till the next full moon? That is in, like, a month or even less" Knuckles pointed out.

"The sooner everypony finds out about this, the better!" pipp replied with a smile.

"It is pretty special, huh?" Izzy asked with a smile.

"Which is why I'm going to need help today!" Pipp said, as she flew around them before flying towards the board she made about her festival idea. "We'll have to bring in everything and fast" she stated.

"Uh…" Izzy started uncertainty after what she heard last night.

But before either of them could speak, Pipp continued. "Tents, stages, sound equipment, decorations and of course… musicians!" she listed quickly, singing the 'musicians' part and then cheering with a laugh. "Wait. Why does your face look like that, Izzy?" she asked her confused.

When Pipp pointed this out, Knuckles looked at her girlfriend as well, and he also noticed it. "Izz? You good, honey?" he asked her with concern, since one of her eyes was twitching.

"Well… Uh, I don't want to burst your excitement bubbles, Pipp, but… there is a little teensy weensy problem with that particular spot..." Izzy explained nervously. "Um. Maybe we should have the festival somewhere else!" she suggested with a nervous smile.

"A problem?" Pipp asked, as she landed in the ground, next to Knuckles.

"Sweetie, what the heck are you talking about?" Knuckles asked confused.

"Umm… it's just that we…" Izzy started uneasy, not knowing how to explain it to them, especially to Pipp. "We Unicorns think it's kinda Jinxie to sing or make any loud noises during the Lumi-Bloom because of the... the Troggles..." she explained nervously.

"Troggles?" Knuckles asked with a raised eyebrow. "I think I've read about something like that back in my island... If I recall correctly, they're a race of humanoid creatures with pig-like characteristics... I thought those were just silly old legends from my people..." he confessed with a concerned frown.

"Is that it?" Pipp asked, laughing with disbelief like it was a joke. "An old 'Jinxie' rumor? Psst! Ha!" she exclaimed.

"No, it's not a rumor! There's even a poem!" Izzy insisted. "It goes like this..." she stated, clearing her throat. "Eyes of the Monster, form of the pig. Sing, laugh or yell, step hoof on a twig!" she recited, followed by monster pig noises made by her before Pipp cut her off.

"Izz! Izz! Izz! Izz! It's going to be fine!" Pipp reassured, almost like she ignored the whole warning. "Once the unicorns hear the amazing music with the glowy sights, they won't even remember that silly poem!" she stated, flying up behind the chart board she made.

"Right..." Knuckles said with a frown. "So, you're gonna ignore a whole ass warning from your friend just because you find hard to believe in what she says?" he asked Pipp with his arms crossed.

"Oh, come on, Knux" Pipp said with an eye roll and a smirk, as she landed in front of Knuckles and Izzy. "You can't seriously believe in a silly story of humanoids with pig faces, do you?" she asked in disbelief.

"Just as much as I didn't believed in five islands full of way too advanced tech" Knuckles replied madly, and Pipp's smug expression fade away, since she immediately got what he meant. "Legends have some truth behind, and if Izzy believes that there's something to worry about with this 'Troggles', then I choose to believe her" he stated confidently, and Izzy smiled lovely at him, feeling touched by his words.

Pipp, however, looked down nervously before frowning. "No offense to Izzy nor the unicorns, but many of the things they believe that are 'Jinxies' end up being silly things that are not even real" she pointed out. "Why would this be different?" she asked with a frown.

"Have you forgot what happened in the Starfall Islands?!" Knuckles asked with anger. "We all thought that the idea of a bunch of islands with advanced tech and a lost civilization was stupid, and yet we almost got trapped forever in Cyber Space!" he pointed out. "Worse of all, Sonic hasn't been the same, and you know it, Pipp" he added.

"What do you mean? He's been fine all the time he's been with me!" Pipp lied, because she knew Knuckles was right, but she didn't wanted to think about it.

"Oh really?" Knuckles asked sarcastically with a fake smile. "Because suddenly turning to a random direction and freak out when he sees something does not seem like 'nothing' to me!" he pointed out. "Sonic isn't fine, Pipp. But hey! Let's ignore how your boyfriend is feeling, as well as your friend's warning, and instead prepare a silly show they're warning you shouldn't be made because YOLO!" he added, once again in anger.

"Think whatever you want to think, Knuckles. I'm making this festival, and that's final!" Pipp stated with a frown.

"Ugh! No wonder Sonic is in love with you. You're just as stubborn as him!" Knuckles declared, as he walked out of the room, even slamming the door behind him.

Izzy gave a nervous chuckle, looking at Pipp a bit ashamed. "Forgive Knuckles, Pipp. Personally, I guess you could be right. I've never actually seen a Troggle" she confessed.

"See?" Pipp beamed, then she flew in front of Izzy and held out a small flower petal in her hoof.

"Okay, let's do it!" Izzy smiled, taking the petal in her magic. "Bridlewoodstock, here we come!" she stated.

Both Pipp and Izzy turned their attention back to the board and got to work, but very, very, very deep inside, Pipp was concerned for everything Knuckles said, about the troggles, and about Sonic's attitude.

Still, she wasn't going to let those things get in her way, and she was still gonna make this festival happen.

Later on, Sunny, Zipp, Tails and Misty were in the kitchen having breakfast.

Sunny placed some pancakes down, while Zipp sipped her drink and Tails and Misty chatted between them.

Then, Sunny turned and saw Izzy and Pipp coming into the kitchen, while Pipp was looking at her phone. "Good morning! Breakfast?" Sunny asked her friends.

Izzy gasped happily after hearing the question. "Yes, please" she answered, as she levitated a piece of pancake from Sunny's stack and held it in her hoof.

"Thanks, Sunny, but I've gotta fly. Too much to do!" Pipp said as she flew away. "Emergency music festival planning meeting at Mane Melody later! Be there!" she quickly added before leaving the Brighthouse.

"At least take a smoothie to-go!" Sunny called out while holding out a smoothie, but Pipp was already gone. "Wow. Who doesn't have time for a smoothie?" she asked playfully, while Izzy took a bite out of her pancake.

Just as she said this, Sonic and Amy arrived, sitting down on the table as well. "So, Pipp hasn't been paying attention to me, apparently, because she just rushed out of the Brighthouse like if someone was chasing her!" he pointed out. "She didn't stopped to say hi to me!" he added confused.

"Yeah, she seemed in a rush. Anyone knows what's gotten into her? Like, who ever ignores a 'good morning' from their couple?" Amy asked confused.

"A pony on a mission, that's who" Zipp replied, while the others looked at her, as she sipped her smoothie and then sighed. "Here we go. Everyone, brace yourselves for a wild week" she told them with a smirk, also tilting her head.

"Why you say that?" Misty asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Pegasi love music festivals" Zipp started explaining. "They're kind of a big deal in Zephyr Heights. Pipp has always wanted to plan one of her own" she pointed out, while Sunny and Izzy looked at each other, while Amy looked at Sonic for context, but he shrugged and denied with his head, so she looked over at Tails and Misty, but they shook their heads in denial as well. "So she must be feeling the pressure to make it perfect" Zipp finished.

"What do you mean?" Sunny asked.

"She did stay up all night working!" Izzy pointed out to them.

"Yeah, and she was way too excited to be stopped..." Sonic pointed out as well. "Which is gonna lead her to get sick again if she keeps overworking herself like this... Again..." he deadpanned.

"Then we have to help her out" Sunny suggested, while Zipp nodded her head in agreement.

"Well, Pipp is definitely the kind of girl that gets something in her head and nobody can get her out of it, so I say we should help out as well" Tails said with smile.

"I could barely do anything before... You know... My whole deal with Opaline and Eggman..." Misty said with a nervous chuckle. "But I'll be happy to help if I can, too!" she added with a smile.

"I'll try to get Rouge and Omega in as well!" Amy said with a smile. "Shadow's probably gonna deny it, but I'm still telling him anyways..." she added with a bored expression.

"Oh, don't worry, Amy. I can help you out with convincing Shadow!" Sunny stated with a confident smirk.

"Then eat like if this was your last meal ever, everyone! We have a festival to plan out!" Sonic stated with a smirk, as everyone cheered in agreement.

Izzy, however, felt unsure, but still nodded her head slowly. "Uh-huh..." she said, as she took another bite of her pancake with an anxious look.

At Mane Melody, the meeting was getting started.

Pipp was using the same board from before to explain front of the rest of the Mane 6, Team Sonic sins Knuckles, Jazz and Rocky, and even Team Dark.

Yes, Sunny convinced Shadow to participate, even if he acted a bit annoyed about it.

"I want to lean into the theme of the Lumi-Bloom and go full Flower Fest." Pipp started to explain, before stepped in front of the magic mirror, which reflected her with a yellow flower crown on her head. "Flower Crowns! Snack tents featuring edible flowers!" she stated.

However, Jazz looked at her a bit concerned. "Where does the music part come in?" she asked.

"I am glad you asked Jazz." Pipp said with a smile, as she walked in front of her board and flipped it, showing a drawing of the stage she wanted to build. "The Mane Stage!" she revealed.

Rocky, Jazz and Hitch gasped after seeing this. "What bands are gonna play?!" Rocky asked with a smile.

"That's where you ponies come in!" Pipp answered, which confused everyone else.

"How? We're not a band" Zipp pointed out.

"Yet!" Izzy inquired with a smirk.

"Oh, no! This isn't what I signed for!" Shadow said with a frown.

"I mean, technically we are a band since we know how to play instruments..." Amy pointed out, gesturing at herself, Sonic and Tails. "But Knuckles is being an idiot, so I don't know if we can get him in to participate..." she added with a frown.

"No, no, no, no, no. I need you ponies to help me secure some amazing bands while I work on... everything else!" Pipp clarified, gesturing to the board behind her. "I think we can get Electric Blue."

"The super epic Pegasus rock band?" Hitch asked with a huge smile.

"Wow Hitch, I didn't know you were such a musical expert!" Pipp commented with a mocking smirk.

"I know things!" Hitch replied with pride, and Sunny chuckled.

"And I am dying to have the incredible pop artist, Ruby Jubilee perform" Pipp added, while Jazz brought out a picture of the pony.

Ruby Jubilee was a hot pink pegasus pony with a mane design similar to Misty's but having purple with hot pink shading on the edges and, from what Sonic could get from the photo, her wing feathers were deep purple and white.

"I love her!" Jazz stated.

"Me too! Everypony does. Her vocals are unreal!" Pipp added with a squeal, while Rocky looked at the picture with a gaping smile. "Which is why she's going to be hard to lock down on such short notice..." she pointed out with concern.

"But we have to try, right?" Izzy asked with a cheerful grin.

"Right. But we still need an incredible Earth Pony or Unicorn band to round off the lineup." Pipp pointed out, before turning to Jazz and Rocky. "Any ideas?" she asked them, as they thought on something.

But then, Sunny spoke suddenly with excitement. "I know! I know! we could get... The Dreamlands!" she stated.

"No way!" Jazz breathed.

"The who now?" Tails asked confused.

"They're this really famous Earth Pony trio that I loved when I was younger. They practically invented the genre of 'girl group' music" Sunny quipped.

"In Equestria, that is..." Sonic muttered, while Amy pushed him slightly on the shoulder with a frown.

"But they haven't performed in moons" Jazz pointed out. "How can we find them?" she questioned.

"I have a connection. I know ponies." Hitch replied happily. "Actually, my Grandma Figgy does. She used to bake for the lead singer, Minty!" he added with a smile.

"That's convenient, but is the good kind of convenient!" Tails said with a little smile and his arms crossed.

Pipp squealed and twirled in the air happily, before landing again. "This is all coming together like perfection! Rocky and Jazz, you're on style duty! Zipp, Tails and Misty, you get Electric Blue!"

"You got it!" Zipp nodded.

"Leave it to us!" Tails stated with a thumbs up and a wink, and Misty nodded in agreement.

"Sunny, Hitch and Shadow, find those Dreamlands!" Pipp added, looking at Sunny and Hitch before turning to the Mobian girls. "Amy, Rouge and Omega, try to get Knuckles into participating! I would love to have a band of Mobians as well. And Izzy, Sonic and I will convince Ruby Jubilee to dazzle us!" she finished.

"Yeah!" Izzy said with a smile

"Let's do it!" Sonic stated with a smirk.

"Okay!" Sunny agreed as well.

"We've got this!" Amy stated too.

"On it!" Hitch said with a smile.

"Yeah!" Jazz and Rocky exclaimed.

"Do whatever you have to do, just get those bands to come to Bridlewoodstock!" Pipp instructed with a smirk, as everyone left.

"And make sure to smack Knuckles for me if he gets too stupid, Ames!" Sonic said as well.

"Sonic!" Izzy scolded with a frown.

"What? After what he did this morning, you gotta admit he was an idiot!" Sonic pointed out with a frown as well.

"I'm sure Amy and Rouge can get him to understand. And if that doesn't work, well... There's a reason why I sent Omega as well!" Pipp said with a mischievous smirk.

"And that's why I love you, babe!" Sonic said with a proud smile.

Izzy, however, still felt concerned about Knuckles' attitude towards Pipp, and she recognized that Sunny was right about him deserving at least a smack, but she still didn't wanted to think about it, so she decided to focus on her task along Pipp and Sonic, and hope that Amy and Rouge would put some sense into him.

Sometime later, in Zephyr Heights, Zipp, Tails and Misty were hiding behind a trash can.

Zipp was wearing her Z-Googles, while Tails putted on the ones he already had on his forehead, and Misty simply brought out a pair of binoculars, as they saw a group of ponies, who were facing a store with their phones out.

A pony sipping through a cup was walking by, but then, they tossed the cup and hit Zipp's head.

"Oh…" Zipp groaned, as she picked up the cup and tossed it into the trash can.

"I'm gonna pull a Hitch one of these days and scold anypony that does that again..." Tails muttered with a bored expression.

"Guys, look!" Misty called out, as she pointed at the store.

From it, Electric Blue came out with smiles. The leader was a pegasus stallion with electric sunglasses, blue fur, deep bluish purple wings, light blue and electric blue feathers underneath. His name is Fretlock.

The drummer of the band was a plum purple stallion with light blue and dark blue shading on his legs and sparkly aquamarine eye shade. His mane was a slick mix of blue and purple. On his chest was a vivid pale blue lighting bolt mark. His name is Jam Donut.

Finally, the third member was a mare with more of a neon blue with a purple mane and tail that slicked back. Both members' wings feathers were the same colors as the leaders. Her name is Arpgreggia.

"Is that them?" Misty asked Zipp, as she looked down at her, since Misty was looking through her binoculars over Zipp's back.

"Yup!" Zipp answered, as she lowered her Z-Goggles and stood up. "Alright, how hard can this be?" she asked with a smirk, as she walked up to them.

"Great, she just jinxed us..." Tails said with a bored expression, and Misty giggled a bit at his comment.

Then, Tails and Misty followed Zipp from behind, while the pegasus princess walked to the leader of Electric Blue, standing in front of the stallion while the ponies around them kept taking pictures.

"Hey! Electric Blue?" Zipp asked with a small smile.

"Huh?" Fretlock asked confused.

"Zipp" she greeted herself.

"Uh... Who?" Fretlock asked again, still confused.

"Seriously?" Misty said confused, as she looked at Zipp and her Z-Googles. "Those things don't really make a difference, right?" she muttered to Tails.

"No, this guy probably barely checks out TV or something..." Tails replied with a bored expression.

"Uh…" Zipp said uncertainly, so she took off her Z-Googles and put on her sunglasses quickly. "Princess Zipp?" she asked again with a small smile.

"Oh, hey, Princess" Fretlock greeted, now recognizing her. "How's your sister?" he asked, while pictures were still being taken.

"She's great!" Zipp answered. “Actually, that's why we wanted to talk to you" she added.

"We?" Fretlock asked confused again.

"Yeah, we!" Tails remarked, as he stepped in while dragging Misty, with the unicorn mare smiling sheepishly and waving her hoof slowly.

"Say... Aren't you the fella that's always following Pipp's boyfriend?" Fretlock asked, while he looked at Tails closely.

Tails deadpanned and rolled his eyes after he said that. "Yeah, and it's Tails. Well, Miles Prower, actually, but everyone calls me Tails. Let's keep it that way" he requested.

"I, uh... I'm just a friend coming along!" Misty said with a nervous chuckle.

"I'll explain you later" Zipp said quickly, while ponies around them took notice of Zipp and Tails, so they took more pictures of them. "But it's top-secret. Can we... Can…" she tried to say, as she tried to cover herself with her hoof, while more ponies were taking more pictures of her, which made her uncomfortable. "Can we get out of here?" she requested.

"Yeah, this is a little too crowded..." Tails cringed in agreement.

"Too much for my linking, even..." Misty agreed as well, as she tried to hid behind Tails.

"Yeah. I'm down with that" Fretlock said in agreement, before he turned to his band. "Hey, guys, let's go!" he called out as the four pegasi spread their wings and took off, while Tails grabbed Misty in bridal style and flew away as well.

Their fans chased after them, either flying or trotting off to them. However, they were blind enough to pass by Electric Blue, who were posing as statue ponies on a fountain.

"Phew..." Fretlock said in relief, while he and his two band mates stopped the poses and sighed in relief as well.

Suddenly, they heard a whistle and a call out. "Hey! Up here!" Zipp's voice called out, as the band looked up and saw Zipp, Tails and Misty on top of a tall tower of the castle. tails was the one who whistled, apparently.

Electric Blue flew up and landed on a balcony of the castle, while the lead of the band walked up to Zipp, Tails and Misty.

Zipp decided to speak first as she took off her sunglasses. "Pipp sent us to find you guys because she wants to invite you…" she tried to say, but as Tails pushed her slightly on her shoulder, she stopped and then chuckled nervously. "… we want to invite you to play at Bridlewoodstock!" she announced, as she spread her wings.

"Uh, what's that?" Fretlock asked curiously.

"It's a festival that Pipp came up with herself!" Tails simply explained.

"And it's the very first music festival in Bridlewood, and it's gonna be so… uh… so… rockin'? Yeah!" Zipp said uncertainly, which made Tails force a smile and twitch an eye.

"And we figured we could invite you three to play on it!" Misty added with a small smile.

"Hmm…" Fretlock hummed, as he turned to his two bandmates and they huddled together, whispering to each other while discussing it.

Zipp waited a bit desperately for the answer, while Tails and Misty looked at each other a bit confused.

"Hmm…" Zipp hummed a bit desperate. "So, uh…" she tried to ask as she chuckled nervously. "What do you think?" she asked them.

Fretlock walked up to her with doubt. "We're not sure..." he said.

"Maybe I didn't explain right!" Zipp said to him nervously. "So there's a thing called the Lumi-Bloom, right? And all the plants and flowers and crystals glow!" she added, as she flew around. "And it looks awesome! Imagine those visuals with one of your sets. I mean, really cool and uh…" she tried to explain further, but she was feeling really nervous right now.

Tails chuckled awkwardly and spun his tails to fly at Zipp's height. "Zipp! What are you doing?!" he asked her with a forced smile and a glare.

Finally, since neither Tails nor Zipp seemed to get to a conclusion, Misty quickly said the first thing she could think of. "You'll be the headliners!" she called out to them with a nervous smile and a twitchy eye.

Tails and ZIpp looked at Misty surprised, then at each other confused, and then they looked back at Electric Blue with smiles, landing at Misty's sides and nodding in agreement.

"Well, why didn't you guys lead with that?" Fretlock asked with a smile, while bandmates walked next to him. "Of course we'll play" he answered, while his bandmates smiled in agreement.

"Great!" Zipp said with a smile. "Phew..." she sighed with relief.

"Good save, Mist!" Tails told her with a smile.

"Pipp said we had to do anything we could to get them in, so I just did that!" Misty replied with a little smirk.

Tails just nodded at that, but then he looked down at the ground and sighed a bit disappointed, since he didn't expected to be referred as 'the guy that's always following Sonic' by anyone.

Meanwhile, in Zephyr Heights, Sonic, Izzy and Pipp were in the throne room waiting for news from Ruby Jubilee.

Pipp was buzzing with excitement, as she was pacing back and forth, before going in front of Izzy and Sonic, fluttering her wings in excitement.

"I can't believe we're about to meet Ruby Jubilee! This is our big chance to work with the newest, most talented, chart-topper!" Pipp exclaimed excited, and then took a large gasp. "Do I look okay?!" she asked in panic.

"Pipp, honey, chill! Relax! ¡Todo está bien! Shinpai suru hitsuyō wa arimasen!" Sonic stated, saying 'No need to worry! in Japanese, as he grabbed Pipp's hooves and rubbed them with his hands, while Izzy gasped.

"Your sparkle is shining bright!" Izzy said cheerfully.

Pipp squealed excited once again, before Zoom came in and handed Pipp a letter with Ruby's Cutie Mark on it. It was a heart ruby with a microphone over it.

"It's got her cutie mark on it!" Pipp squealed, then she opened the letter and read it. "Your Majesty Princess Petals..." she started, before turning to Izzy and Sonic for a moment. "That's me!" she said happily, and then continued. "... Miss Ruby Jubilee sends her deepest regrets. She cannot join you today due to a case of... creative block!" she finished reading.

Pipp and Izzy gasped dramatically, while Sonic raised an eyebrow. "We're 15 minutes into the first episode, and we're already recycling a plot from Season 1? Huh..." he muttered.

"Maybe we can help her!" Izzy suggested.

"My thoughts exactly!" Pipp agreed instantly, and the trio immediately went off to Ruby's suite.

In the suite, the three of them were waiting for Ruby while sitting on chairs.

Meanwhile, Izzy was applying some makeup from Ruby's supplies on herself, something that Sonic noticed, so he deadpanned. "Izz? I'm pretty sure you need permission to use stuff that isn't yours..." he pointed out.

Suddenly, the suite's door opened, and Ruby Jubilee herself entered the place. "Princess Pipp?!" she called out surprised.

"Sorry to surprise you like this, but my friend Izzy, my boyfriend Sonic and I got your note and we had to help" Pipp explained, as she and Izzy leaped from theirs sits and went over to Ruby, while Sonic stood behind.

"We've had creative block, too" Izzy stated. "We get it" she whispered with a wink.

"Oh Princess, it's just... Ugh, awful!" Ruby grunted in frustration and disappointment, as she sat in the floor.

"Well, then! Better tell us what's going on!" Sonic stated, as he slid and stroke a pose in the floor. "You can trust and talk about it! We son't say a word out of here!" he assured her with a smile and a wink.

"After the success of my debut single, I've just been putting so much pressure on myself to top it with a new hit!" Ruby explained her problem before she sighed. "How do you top a chart-topper?" she asked with concern.

"Ruby, you have no idea how much I understand what you're going through" Pipp said with a smile.

"Yeah, creative blocks can be a pain in the ass. I know 'cause I've been there as well" Sonic said with a playful smirk.

"Me too! But Luckily, we have some tricks up our hooves to help!" Izzy added.

"You do?" Ruby asked.

"Yes!" Pipp replied confidently.

"Let's start with the basics: You gotta find inspiration!" Sonic stated. "Find something unique, special, awesome, gorgeous, something so mind-blowing that it's impossible to ignore all the inspiring ideas popping in your mind!" he explained confidently.

"Exactly!" Pipp agreed with a smile. "Now, try not to be inspired when you watch this!" she stated, as she whipped out her phone and showed Ruby the Lumi-Bloom video on her phone.

Ruby gasped at the beautiful natural event in Bridlewood. "My Stars! That is the most magical sight I've ever seen! It makes me think of..." she started, before gasping with a smile, as she flew to her desk and opened a notepad. "Quick! I need to write this idea down before I forget!" she stated, as she wrote down her idea on her notepad, while Izzy, Pipp and Sonic watched her with smiles.

"You've already inspired!" Izzy beamed.

"And it's even better in real life!" Pipp added, before she flew over to Ruby's right, who was still writing her idea. "You have to see it. At the Bridlewoodstock festival! Onstage!" she stated once again.

"Will you perform for us?" Izzy asked, as she came to Ruby's left.

"I-I don't know..." Ruby replied with doubt.

"I've heard wild rubies are in season back on Bridlewood!" Sonic pointed out, as he looked at Ruby upside down, since his feet were hanging from the mirror on the desk. "And, a Ruby performing over rubies sounds logical to me! Also, you love rubies, right?" he asked with a smirk.

"I really do..." Ruby sighed happily at the thought of rubies - a part of her name.

"And....you'll be the headliner!" Pipp pointed out with a smile.

"Wow. Okay! Now I'm really inspired!" Ruby grinned, before the pop star flew up and landed on the ground happily, spreading her wings. "I'll do it!" she said, and then happily trotted off with her wings spread to get ready.

Pipp chuckled, and Izzy giggled, while the two mares hooftapped each other with smiles.

"Well, we have our headliner! Now we only wait for everyone else to get down the rest!" Sonic said with a smile.

In Maretime Bay, Sunny, Hitch, Sparky and Shadow were waiting along Figgy.

Sunny, Hitch, Figgy and Sparky were sitting on a table, while Shadow lay on a wall near by, and Sunny looked closely at a cover of the Dreamlands on her hooves.

"You sure we'll find her here, Figgy?" Sunny asked after looking at the cover.

"Oh yes" Figgy answered with a smile. "This is where Minty comes to do her weekly shop!" she gestured to the block they were in. "I run into her all the time" she added.

"You're so cool, Granny!" Hitch said happily to his grandmother, and Figgy laughed a bit, placing a hoof on her grandson's cheeks, while Sparky sipped some smoothie.

"So are you, Hitchie" Figgy replied with a smile.

Shadow had to resist the urge to cringe or straight up pull out his tongue and say 'Yuck!', all because he wanted to be as polite as possible.

And then, he felt his right ear twitching, so he turned to the right and saw a green coated with silver mane and tale earth pony wearing, who was also wearing a purple headband and blue highlights on her eyelids.

"I think our guest is here" Shadow commented loudly so the ponies and baby dragon in the table could hear him.

Sunny was the first to see in the same direction than him, and when she sa that Mare, she gasped with a smile. "Look, over there!" she pointed her hoof in a direction, before placing it on her chest.

Figgy gasped once she noticed her as well. "That's her all right" she confirmed, while she turned to Sunny, Hitch and Sparky. "Well, don't dawdle now. Scoot!" she encouraged playfully, as the two ponies stood up and walked up to Minty.

Shadow let out a sigh and decided to walk over to them as well. "Let's get this over with..." he said with a bored expression.

As the two ponies, baby dragon and hedgehog approached Minty, Sunny cleared her throat. "Um, excuse me. Are you Minty?" she asked politely, while Minty stopped and looked at the four of them with a surprised look.

"Yes. Why?" Minty asked a bit confused.

"I'm Sunny, this is Hitch, and the grumpy hedgehog over there is Shadow" Sunny started, as Hitch smiled wide, while Shadow only nodded at Minty. "Hitch and I are big fans of yours and we wanted to know if maybe you would consider getting the group back together to play at our music festival this weekend?" she asked quickly, as she hold the Dreamlands cover on her hoof, while Hitch and her smiled nervously, Shadow looked at them with a raised eyebrow and Minty felt surprised by everything Sunny said. "After all, coincidentally, it's the anniversary of your very first hit single!" she added.

"Yeah!" both Hitch and Sparky agreed at the same time.

"Anniversaries should be celebrated, don't you think?! Heh..." Sunny said nervously, while Minty looked at her with wide and surprised eyes. "Sorry. Sometimes when I get nervous, I talk really fast..." she apologized sheepishly.

"It's true. She does" Hitch confirmed with a knowing smile.

"I third that" Shadow said with a tiny, little smile.

"So what do you think, Minty?" Sunny asked with a little smile, while Minty grabbed the music cover.

Minty looked at the cover with an uncertain look. "I don't know..." she said as she shook her head. "The Dreamlands broke up moons and moons ago. Even if I could convince Snuzzle and Blue Belle, we're so out of practice..." she pointed out.

"Oh, I know the perfect place you can practice!" Sunny called out. "It's called Mane Melody, and it's got a stage and everything!" she added.

Still, Misty doubted about this and sighed. "It's not just that..." she said, as she gave the music cover back to Sunny.

Sunny and Hitch look at each other in concern, and Shadow raised an eyebrow at Minty. "Then what is it?" he asked.

"Does anypony even care about our little girl group anymore?" Minty questioned.

"Of course they do!" Sunny answered, as she put the music cover on her saddlebag. "You're the originals! You're what started it all!" she added.

Then, Figgy came up to them, holding a basket and placing it down.

Minty saw Figgy and smiled at the elder mare. "Figgy!" she said happily.

"I hope my grandson and his friends aren't bothering you too much" Figgy said with a smile, while Sunny and Hitch smiled sheepishly, and Shadow let out a small chuckle. "But I told them I'd help convince you to give it a try. It'd be so wonderful to see you girls singing together again" Figgy said to Minty.

Minty smiled at Figgy, while the elder mare opened up the basket slightly. "Is there a key lime pie in the deal?" she asked with a smirk.

"Already baked it!" Figgy answered, as she took out said pie from the basket, while the four ponies laughed, and Shadow rolled his eyes with a playful smirk.

After the laugh, Minty nodded her head to them. "Okay then… I guess we'll do it. As long as we're not pushed aside at some little stage for 'old timers' while the flashy new acts play the mane stage" she pointed out while waving her hoof around. "We have to make a splash if we're making a comeback!" she added.

Shadow thought about that for a second and, for once, he decided ton smile. "Say, wanna make the deal better?" he called out, surprising Hitch and Sunny since he was smiling. "Let's make the Dreamlands the headliners!" he stated.

Sunny gasped after he said this, and she nodded quickly in agreement. "Yes! I love that! The Dreamlands will be the headliners!" she declared as well.

"Let's do it!" Minty said to them with a smile.

Sunny and Hitch cheered, while Sparky gurgled and Figgy just smiled.

"Yes!/Yeah!" Both Sunny and Hitch cheered.

"Welcome aboard, Minty!" Shadow said with a smirk.

Knuckles was on the Sheriff Station, placing down some papers in the cabinets.

Despite this being his free day, he still went to distract his mind from his previous outburst with Pipp. He was still mad, sure, but he also recognized that he wasn't as polite as he should be. Still, he refused to help Pipp just for the sake to ignore Izzy's warnings.

And yet, Amy, Rouge and Omega were right there, in the middle of the station, trying to convince him on joining the little celebration as well.

"Let me get this straight..." Knuckles started to talk with a frown "You not only support Pipp's nonsensical festival that's gonna backfire her anyways if Izzy's right about the Troggles, but you also want me to be with you..." he pointed at Amy. "Sonic and Tails as a band and be part of the concert?!" he asked in anger.

"And also stop acting like an idiot in the way, if you don't mind that..." Amy replied with a frown and her arms crossed.

"I have good reason to be mad, or as you call it, 'to act like an idiot'. What Pipp is doing is not only reckless, is also stupid and a waste of time!" Knuckles said, as he closed the cabinet he opened to place the papers in.

"Look, I get that you're mad because she made fun out of your girl's shenanigans..." Rouge said with a frown as well. "But I also know that you're not the kind of guy that turns on whoever needs a hand, regardless of what you think about them!" she pointed out.

"I'm not mad because she made fun of Izzy's word on the Troggles. I still find it hard to believe, if I'm being honest..." Knuckles confessed.

"Then why are you being such an idiot right now?!" Rouge shouted in rage.

"Because the last time I ignored a warning, I dragged three of the closest people I care for with myself, to and island were we almost stood trapped as digital ghosts forever!" Knuckles snapped back with anger, as he accidentally smashed the desk with a hand and his electrical powers came alive. "Sonic almost freaking died, Amy! Controlled by a guy that, either if we like it or not, will return one day to finish the job!" he added with a glare.

Amy and Rouge's ayes widened, but they didn't stepped back from him, although they were surprised to see Knuckles this angry and... vulnerable...

"I just... Pipp is my friend too... And if those Troggles are real and show up during the festival, I..." Knuckles tried to say, as his powers went away, but now he looked down at the floor in sadness, and he even sighed. "I just don't want to loose anyone... Not after we almost did that with Sonic 6 months ago..." he said with concern. "But I know Pipp enough to understand that no matter what I do or say, she won't listen..." he pointed out with a worried frown, as he kneeled and sighed defeated.

After Knuckles finished explaining himself, Amy and Rouge looked at each other with concern, specially because they never expected to see Knuckles so... afraid of something.

"... Knux... I... I didn't knew you were struggling this much after what happened in those islands..." Amy said with concern. "I honestly thought that it was just another adventure for all of you!" she confessed.

"Well... Red here isn't the only one feeling bad, you know?" Rouge pointed out with worry. "Blue seems to be seeing things lately, if what Pipp told is true, and Yellow seems a bit conflicted as well despite the noticeable changes" she explained.

"I think Sonic is afraid of falling for any form of mind control after The End took his body over..." Knuckles pointed out. "As for Tails... I can't tell... I've been too busy trying to not participate on Pipp's festival that I haven't payed attention to anything else..." he confessed.

"Listen, Knux... I understand that you don't wanna loose anyone... But ignoring Pipp isn't going to make her Music Festival turn into dust and not happen. It just doesn't work like that, and you know it!" Amy pointed out.

"Also, if those Troggles are real and you're not there to help, I don't think your current situation is gonna be any better..." Rouge pointed out as well.

Knuckles' eyes widened after hearing this, and he stared at Amy and Rouge with disbelief.

Just then, Omega decided to approach Knuckles and looked down at him, while the echidna stared at the robot with a raised eyebrow.

"I suggest to attend to the festival and make the most out of it. If these Troggle creatures my database can't found are real, you might get a chance to rub it on Princess Petals' face for the rest of our stay in Equestria" Omega suggested.

Now that, that made Knuckles looked surprised at the robot... And yet, it also made him smirk mischievously.

"Omega!" Rouge scolded with a frown. "That's not helping!" she pointed out with a frown.

"We want him to join for a good cause, not to cause more unnecessary fight between Pipp and Him!" Amy added with a frown as well.

"Hold up, let him cook!" Knuckles said, as he raised an arm and stood up, while he smirked at the trio. "Omega has a point. I may still believe that this is all stupid, and that we shouldn't ignore Izzy's warning. But, I can still enjoy myself with this crap and show off my drummer skills on-stage!" he stated.

Amy and Rouge blinked a pair of times, before looking at each other, and then back at Knuckles.

"Wait... So this means that you're gonna help us?" Rouge asked a bit confused.

"Oh, hell yeah I am!" Knuckles replied with a smirk. "In fact, I'm gonna enjoy myself... quite a lot!" he added, with another mischievous smirk.

"Well, that's great!" Amy said with a smile. "I really hope you're doing this out of your heart, though!" she warned.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anything for a friend..." Knuckles replied with a smirk, as he walked out of the station, while Omega decided to follow behind.

Amy and Rouge looked at each other again after they left. "At least he accepted" Rouge pointed out.

"Yeah, well... Let's just hope everything goes as smoothly from here on..." Amy said with concern.

At the Brighthouse, Pipp was writing stuff down on the living room, when the door opened suddenly.

"Hey!" Zipp called out.

Pipp, who was wearing glasses, got a bit startled, and she turned to the entrance. "Huh?" she exclaimed.

"Tails, Misty and I talked to Electric Blue! They're gonna do it!" Zipp said with a smile.

"We convinced Minty to get the Dreamlands to play!" Sunny added with a grin.

"And we got Ruby Jubilee!" Izzy mentioned, as she happily trotted through the door towards Pipp. "Which you and Sonic knew already" she added with a smile.

"And Knuckles is down to be part of it as well!" Amy informed, while Knuckles entered the place and walked with a confident smirk towards the group.

"Wait, what?" Sonic said in disbelief. "You are seriously gonna do it?!" he asked him surprised.

"Yup!" Knuckles replied with a smirk. "I get to show off my drumming skills and look fabulous in the process" he said, before turning to Pipp and approach her with a mischievous look. "Best of all, if you're wrong, I can rub it in your face... forever!" he muttered the last part sinisterly, and Pipp cringed at his attitude.

Still, Knuckles moved away, and Pipp sighed on relief before smiling. "Great work, everyone! I knew I could count on you" she stated, as they all sat down, with Zipp hovering in the air, and Pipp turned to them. "Now we just have to set up an entire festival! Easy peasy!" she let out a slight nervous laugh.

"Good. This should be a piece of cake! Right, Tails?" Sonic called out... but Tails didn't answered, which freaked Sonic out. "Uh... Tails?" he called out again, but now looking around.

"Uh, Sonic?" Misty called out, and Sonic turned to the mare. "I saw him heading upstairs... He wasn't looking good all the way here..." she confessed with concern.

"Yeah... He didn't looked that happy after we talked with Electric Blue..." Zipp pointed out as well.

Sonic frowned at this, and then he looked up to the bedroom's door with concern. Why did Tails went to the room and told nobody? Something was wrong, and he could feel it...

"Maybe I could check on him and see what's––" Sunny tried to say.

However, Sonic already boosted towards the bedroom before she could finish her sentence. Still, she frowned and made her etherial wings and horn appear, as she flew towards the bedroom as well.

In the bedroom, Tails was feeling down.

He was playing at 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2' on the original SEGA Genesis as himself on a TV on his are of the bedroom, racing as fast as he could through the second act of Emerald Hill Zone, but his expression was a tired and hurt one.

And then, he not only crashed with a badnik and lost all his rings, but he also couldn't catch them in time and even got hit by another badnik that killed him. Of course that this was disappointing, but as the screen showed the 'game over' screen, it instead showed a message that said 'You're too slow', which only frustrated Tails even more.

So, he picked up the TV remote and switched from the HDMI to the regular TV, as it showed a video of Sky Dazzle informing about important stuff.

Just then, Sonic arrived and looked at Tails with a worried smile. "Hey there, big 'little' bro!" he greeted cheerfully, as he then sat at Tails' side and looked at him with concern. "Misty told me that you ran in here after arriving. What's the matter, dude?" he asked with worry.

Tails let out a sigh and shook his head. "I'm just... Concerned on how everyone looks at me..." he replied.

"Concerned?" Sunny asked, as she approached as well, this time as a regular earth pony, as she sat at Tails' other side and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "What are you concerned about?" she asked him with worry.

Tails sighed again before replying. "Everyone around me looks at me and says 'Hey, that's Sonic's pal' or 'Hey, aren't you Sonic's sidekick?' or even 'Don't you follow Pipp's boyfriend around?' and..." he stopped and sighed again, as he looked at the ground with sadness. "I'm just tired to feel like a burden... This past months I grew physically, sure, but has anything changed at all?" he pointed out with concern. "Everyone looks up to me like if I was a kid, but.. I'm tired of that too!" he exclaimed with a frown, as he stood up and looked at Sonic and Sunny "Can't everyone understand that I ain't a kid anymore?!" he asked with anger.

"Tails, you should know already that you are not my sidekick. You never had, and you never will" Sonic started with a frown, before smiling. "You're a smart fella that can fly with his butt, and you have shown before that you can do fine by yourself!" he pointed out. "Sure, you had moments of weakness, like when Infinite attacked me, but you should already know that it didn't made you a fool or useless" he added.

"People on internet disagrees" Tails replied coldly.

"And?" Sunny asked with a mocking smile. "A bunch of random strangers can't be right about what they think about you! They don't know the real Tails, but we do!" she added confidently.

"It doesn't change the fact that everyone still look at me as Sonic's sidekick..." Tails replied with a frown.

"Hey, dude, look at me!" Sonic called out, as he walked up to Tails and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You are on your right to doubt and feel like you need to be better. We all have been there at some point in life" he pointed out. "But you also have to know when to be afraid, and when not" he stated.

"Sonic is right!" Sunny agreed, as she approached Tails and placed a hoof on his shoulder again. "You are more than just a sidekick. We've seen it, like when you fought Dr. Eggman inside his Death Egg Titan as a distraction!" she pointed out with a smile. "Or when you managed to give Sonic all the information from Cyber Space he couldn't process because of his memory loss and corruption!" she added.

Mentioning the corruption made Sonic had a slight flashback of Cyber Sonic again, abut he quickly shook his head and focused back on what mattered right now.

"You just got to find the courage to put your fears and doubts aside!" Sonic added with a smile. "But the moment to show the world who you are won't arrive that easily" he pointed out.

"Why not?" Tails asked confused.

"Because you won't choose that moment, Tails" Sunny pointed out with a smile as well. "That moment will choose you" she added.

"Really? How did the moment choose you, guys?" Tails asked curiously.

"Oh, it happened long time ago already!" Sonic said with a confident smirk. "I wanted to be able to go beyond Green Hills one day, and thanks to Dr. 'I killed your parents' Eggman, I did it!" Sonic replied with a smile.

"And I always wanted to bring ponykind together, and I thought that getting the Crystals together was going to to that..." Sunny spoke next. "But it wasn't until my lighthouse fell down that I understood we had to unite, not the Crystals. My moment came when everypony decided to unite and let the fear away!" she added with a smile.

"And your moment to show everyone in Equestria that you are your own hero without me will come as well!" Sonic assured him. "You just gotta wait for it!" he stated confidently.

After hearing all of this, Tails couldn't help but smile at Sonic and Sunny, and so, he dragged both of them into a tight hug, which startled them both, but they still hugged him back.

"Thanks, guys!" Tails said happily. "I mean it..." he added.

"Anytime, man" Sonic said with a smile.

"Now cheer up, young man!" Sunny said with a determinate look. "We have a festival to set up!" she declared.

Sometime later, the Mane 6, Team Sonic and Team dark walked through the Bridlewood forest.

The entire group carried all the necessary supplies on a rolling cart Sunny got and on Izzy's Unicycling Cart, while Tails, Omega and Knuckles carried some stuff with their own hands.

Sparky was playing around with a rock, until he sees a bunnycorn hopping by, so the baby dragon gurgled and chased after the bunnycorn as it squeaked, while Hitch followed after them with a chuckle.

"Everypony get ready!" Pipp called out to the unicorns in Bridlewood, as they all turned to their direction. "The music is coming-to-town! The music festival that is" she commented, as she trotted ahead. "It's called 'Bridlewoodstock'!" she called out in front of two unicorn stallions. "You're gonna love it!" she finished.

Yeah, no, they aren't.

Just then, a trembling voice was heard, so they turned and saw three unicorns coming towards them with a scared look.

"Loud music?! During the Lumi-Bloom?" the blue unicorn mare asked frightfully.

"Of course!" Pipp confirmed, not noticing the tremble in her voice. "Isn't it the most beautiful thing you've ever witnessed?" she asked them with a smile. "Now it will have a soundtrack!" she added.

"This is a very bad idea!" the pink unicorn stallion cried out as he shook his head.

And then, the yellow unicorn stallion screamed in fright. "Count me out!" he cried out, as he and the other two unicorns ran away in fear.

Pipp and the others were surprised by this, so they decided to keep walking, while more unicorns began to hide.

"Um… Is it just me or do these unicorns seem kind of…" Sunny started.

"Not into the idea?" Zipp guessed.

"Spooked out?" Amy added.

"Scared as if they saw a ghost?" Shadow added with a raised brow.

"Yeah..." Sunny nodded.

"They are definitely freaked out about something" Zipp said, while the group saw a couple of unicorns, a foal and an elderly mare, trotting off in fright.

"It feels like we were warned about it or something..." Knuckles added with a frown, as she looked directly at Pipp.

Pipp herself felt nervous about the fact that the unicorns were against the idea of the festival, but she still gave a smile. It was sheepish, but a smile all the same.

"So… Are there any amazing local Bridlewood musicians who would love to perform at the show?" Pipp asked, but the Unicorns around Bridlewood either hid or screamed and went into hiding, until she saw Onyx and Dapple nearby. "Oh! Onyx! Dapple!" Pipp called out, as she got close to them. "You two would be perfect additions to the lineup, heh. What do you say?" she asked the two ponies.

Dapple looked at Onyx, waiting for her to answer, while Onyx gave a neutral expression to Pipp. "No" she answered slowly.

"Oh, well that's okay, heh..." Pipp said with a small smile. "You still have time to mull it over" she suggested.

"Uh, we don't need time" Dapple interrupted.

Pipp gasped happily after hearing that. "You don't?" she asked hopefully.

"Because we Unicorns know better" Dapple answered, while gesturing to the other unicorns hiding behind their tree homes. "You should never sing during a Lumi-Bloom because of the…" he said firmly, before getting scared. "…Troggles!" he finished.

The unicorns gasped before they hid again, while Dapple played with his bongos and made soft percussive music.

"Ah crap, here we go again..." Sonic deadpanned.

"Eyes of the monster, form of the pig. Sing, laugh or yell, step hoof on a twig" Onyx recited, as she stepped a hoof on a twig to prove her point. "Troggles appear, steal what's to be. No cure to be found, past the red ruby" she said, then held up a red ruby before wiping her other hoof around it and vanish it, finishing her poem, while Dapple stopped playing.

The Mane 6 looked at the two ponies in surprise by the poem, while Team Sonic deadpanned and Team Dark had no idea of what they just heard.

"What the––" Shadow tried to say, before remembering he couldn't swear in this story, so he brought out a computer and looked 'soft curse words' on Google, before closing the computer and put it aside. "... frick was that?" he finished confused.

"Okay, I… I give up" Pipp said, as she shook her head. "What are these Troggle thingies?" she asked confused.

"A race of humanoid creatures with pig-like characteristics–– Have you even payed attention to me the whole day?!" Knuckles asked her in rage. "Probably not considering we're here..." he added with a frown.

"Legend says… that the Troggles are mystical spirit monsters!" Dapple explained with a serious tone.

"Th-th-they only come out during the bloom!" the blue unicorn mare from earlier cried out frightfully.

"And they steal things from you if you make any noise!" the pink unicorn stallion from earlier added.

"But they can only work their spirit magic at night…" Dabble explained as he got close to Sunset and Pipp, who got startled looks. "... so beware of singing! Or you'll be cursed!" he finished, as he turned back to the other two Unicorns. "Bing bong! Bing bong!" he cried out, while making that stupid dance again.

The other two unicorns followed and made the same dance as well. "Bing bong! Bing bong! Bing bong! Bing bong!" all three unicorns called out.

The Mane 6, Team Sonic and Team Dark stared at the unicorns with cringed expressions.

"... I have no idea what my eyeballs just witnessed..." Omega informed.

"Yeah... I'm with the robot on this one... What the hell was that?!" Misty asked, completely confused at what she just saw.

"Unicorns tent to do that whenever they feel something is 'bad luck'..." Sonic replied with a bored expression.

"Guess one of the ups of not being from Bridlewood is that you're never gonna do that" Tails told her with a slight chuckle.

"That does not makes this less weird..." Misty pointed out with a weirded out expression.

"I'm with the kid on this one... That was beyond weird..." Rouge agreed with Misty.

"Oh. Is that all?" Pipp asked the unicorns, not bothered by everything they told her, while her friends chuckled nervously.

"She's gonna ignore the signs again..." Knuckles deadpanned.

"Reminder: You can rub she was wrong on her face if the Troggles are real" Omega told Knuckles.

This actually made Knuckles smile a bit and nod, as he and the rest resumed their walk towards the place of the Lumi-Bloom.

Soon, Pipp was present at CBZ Studios to announce Bridlewoodstock to everypony in Equestria.

"Come to the Bridlewoodstock Music Festival and I, Princess Pipp, guarantee you the greatest sights your eyes have ever seen and sounds your ears will ever hear!" Pipp laughed before she continued. "Yes, that is correct. It's called the 'Lumi-Bloom'. And we'll have the hottest musical acts in the industry; the Dreamlands, Electric Blue, Team Sonic and... Ruby Jubilee! That's Bridlewoodstock Music Festival, okay! In Bridlewood! Be there or um..." she tried to add, but then, she flew behind Skye Silver and Dazzle Feather. "You know what? Just be there everypony!" she requested with a smile.

In Bridlewood, in the Lumi-Bloom field, ponies were busy setting up for the festival, building tents, the stage, etc.

"Looking great everypony! Take five!" Pipp beamed as she walked by.

Then, Pipp walked up the Marestream that was parked nearby, as Izzy popped her head from the door.

"Hello!" Izzy called out, and then began to hum happily, while the Marestream table popped up and Izzy brought out some cloth, pillows, a book, a plant and Sunny's lantern, lowing the wings to get the tarp open and bringing out some speakers as Izzy hopped out of the Marestream happily and sat next to a fireplace.

Pipp smiled, and she flew towards Izzy, sitting next to her while Izzy brought out some marshmallows and placed one on a stick, roasting it over the fire.

Then, Pipp sighed relaxed. "Home sweet Marestream!" she said with a smile before turning to Izzy. "Thanks for setting it up! Isn't luxury glamping the best?" she asked with her wings spread.

Izzy levitated the marshmallow off the stick and ate it happily. "I love to glamp!" she cheered, as she placed another marshmallow on the stick before getting nervous. "It helps me forget about all my worries" she said nervously.

"Aw. What do you have to worry about?" Pipp asked concerned.

"Uh…" Izzy trailed off to come up with an excuse, so she held up the stick. "Want a toasted marshmallow?" she asked innocently.

Izzy gave Pipp the marshmallow, who accepted it and ate the whole thing, before sighing. "You're right. My worries have melted away!” She said with a smile.

"Yes! Yeah!" Izzy said, as she laughed nervously. "Me too, me too!" she added, sticking another marshmallow into her stick and roasting it over the fire.

Suddenly, behind the bushes behind the Marestream, some creature was watching them, as the rest of the Mane 6 came out of the Marestream,

"Hey, Pipp!" Sunny called out.

The creature started to breath a bit raspy, rustling in the bushes.

"Huh? Uh" Zipp muttered, since she heard the noise.

"What was that?" Misty questioned, since she heard that as well.

"Oh no..." Pipp's voice, so the rest turned to her, and Pipp began to worry. "What's wrong? Did one of the bands back out?! Did Knuckles made something stupid again?!" she cried out in panic, as she hopped in front of her friends.

"No, nothing like that!" Zipp answered as she landed in the ground. "It's just…" she tried to add, but didn't knew how.

"Um, Pipp?" Misty called out this time. "Are you absolutely sure we should be having the festival here?" she asked, while she and the others smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, why wouldn't we?" Pipp asked them with a smile. "It's literally gorgeous" she pointed out.

"Um, but you heard what Onyx said earlier about the legend, right?" Hitch asked next nervously.

Izzy gasped at this and stopped using her magic, dropping her stick in the process. "With the Troggles? Um…" she started nervously, before going next to Pipp with a nervous look. "Why? Have you seen anything… Troggle-y?" she asked.

"Um... No... Even with that weird description Knuckles gave, I still don't get what they look like..." Misty pointed out, and the rest nodded in agreement.

"Trust me, there's nothing to worry about!" Pipp assured, not worried one bit as she flew up and gestured to the festival as she twirled around. "Besides, look at this place already. Everything is coming together like the harmonies on my last single!" she said, singing the 'harmonies' word.

And then, Knuckles passed by laughing loudly, while he and Shadow were carrying a bunch of wooden planks. "I'm so gonna enjoy when you get proved wrong, Petals!" he stated, laughing about it again.

Pipp rolled her eyes in annoyance, before she suddenly gasped. "Izzy! Is that what I think it is?" she asked, as she came to Izzy excitedly.

"If you think it's my flower crown booth, then yes!" Izzy sang happily, as she smiled at Pipp. "Want a sneaky peak?" she asked with sparkling eyes.

"Yeah, I do!” Pipp said excitedly, as she turned to the others. "And I want all of you to stay here in our amazing Marestream and relax! Toast some marshmallows!" she said, then she flew off while Izzy followed her.

Sparky waddled around, as the rest of Mane 6 and looked in concern.

"Should we do something to stop all this?" Zipp asked the others confused.

"I don't know... All of this looks way too advanced to be stopped now..." Misty pointed out, as she gestured at all the boots being builded up.

Then, Sparky picked up a marshmallow, but then he sneezed out one of his dragon fires and turned the marshmallow into a butterfly, as it flew away while Sparky gurgled with a smile.

"Misty has a point..." Hitch pointed out with a concerned look. "And, things do look fine so far..." he added.

"And we worked so hard to get the bands to agree to play" Sunny added with a smile. "Which reminds me, I have to go!" she called out, as she raced back into the Marestream, going through some stuff and the came back, wearing her roller skates and her helmet. "Minty invited me to watch the Dreamlands dress rehearsal back home and I'm pretty excited about it!" she said eagerly. "See you ponies later!" she called out, as she rolled out of sight.

"I don't really want to ruin Pipp's festival…" Zipp said to Hitch and Misty, while they turned to her. "... but are you guys still feeling uneasy about those strange unicorn warnings, too?" she asked.

"Actually, yes" Hitch said in agreement. "In fact, I started to worry ever since the day we planned this!" he confessed.

"Since that day?" Misty asked confused. "Why?" she added.

"Before I went to Mane Melody for Pipp's emergency reunion, Knuckles came to the office on his day off..." Hitch started to explain. "That was weird already, but... He was mad as well. Madder than usual, I'll say!" he added with concern.

"Knuckles went to the station on his free day and mad?" Zipp questioned with a frown.

"Two bad things in a row aren't usually good news, right?" Misty asked nervously and gulped.

"I don't recall too well everything he said, but he did mentioned something about Pipp being reckless and stupid for ignoring Izzy's warnings about something" Hitch kept narrating. "He also begged me to stay in the office and fill the paper work since he 'refused to participate on something that's gonna explode in our faces'..." he finished with concern. "I think Knuckles believes that the Troggles are real, and Izzy tried to warn Pipp about it, but like you've seen so far, she ignored all warnings..." he pointed out with worry.

"Wow... Whatever Amy, Rouge and that robot told Knuckles must've been very convincing if he's here now..." Misty pointed out, as she saw Knuckles passing by while carrying a giant rock with no effort at all.

"Pipp ignores all the unicorns warnings about the Troggles, Izzy's included; Knuckles is mad with her because she refuses to listen; we heard voices coming from some bushes; and we all feel uneasy about this place..." Zipp listed down, before smirking confidently. "You guys know what I think this calls for?" she asked them in a knowing tone.

"An investigation?" Hitch guessed nervously.

"Boom. You got it" Zipp confirmed, as she lowered her Z-Googles.

"Of curse..." Misty said with a bored expression, before sighing. "Well, if we're gonna find out about the veracity behind the Troggles, better get started, right?" she asked Zipp with a smile.

"That's the spirit, Misty!" Zipp declared with a smile. "Come on!" she stated confidently.

At Mane Melody, microphone feedback was heard along with a pony's frustrated grunt.

That pony was Snuzzle, a silver earth pony mare with short, curly, ruby red mane and tail with blue and pink make up over her eyes. She wore a small blue necklace and a pink and blue hair comb in her mane.

"This isn't working, Minty!" Snuzzle said with concern.

"Snuzzle is right" Blue Belle agreed. She was a blue earth pony mare with violet purple mane, with a purple bow in the back and mane, with a light blue bandana on her head and wearing pink and hot pink bracelets on her forelegs. "Ugh, why did we agree to do this, anyway? We're washed up!" she added with a frown.

"No we're not!" Minty dismissed.

"They're going to laugh at us..." Snuzzle frowned with concern.

"We just need to run it a few more times!" Minty encouraged, before she grabbed her microphone. "Come on, let's just try it again from the top" she stated, while Snuzzle and Blue Belle got ready, even thought the latter rolled her eyes. "And a one, two... a one, two, three!" Minty counted down

That's when Sunny came in just when the music started. "Ha! Sorry I'm late! I came straight from Bridlewood!" she said to Jazz and Rocky.

"Sunny! So glad you're here" Jazz grinned.

"This is not going well..." Rocky stated, before Sunny saw Blue Belle nudged Snuzzle a bit too hard.

"Hey watch where you're going!" Snuzzle frowned.

"You're in my way!" Blue Belle insisted.

"Stop it, you two!" Minty soothed.

"Has it been like this the whole time?" Sunny asked Rocky and Jazz.

"As soon as they walked in the door..." Rocky answered.

"They can't agree on anything!" Jazz informed.

"And they haven't even made it through their whole song once..." Rocky added.

Sunny frowned worriedly at this. She knew broken up bands do have a hard time getting back in sync with everything, but this was a bit beyond of what she imagined.

"Maybe I can fix this" Sunny stated.

The music stopped before Sunny approached the three mares, with Blue Belle frowning. "That's it! I'm done!" she declared, as she walked off stage.

"Fine!" Snuzzle gripped, while Blue Belle leaped into a chair and Sunny approached with her skates and helmet off.

"Ah... Minty! Looking fresh!" Sunny greeted, pretending she didn't saw what just happened. "How is everything going?" she asked.

"Oh Sunny. Don't act like you didn't just see that. It's a disaster!" Misty griped. "The dance moves are off, our looks are dated and..." she tried to keep going.

"We can't agree on what song to perform" Snuzzle added with concern.

"Blue Belle thinks we should try and update our sound to appeal to a younger audience, but that's not so easy" Minty frowned, seeing so many problems with the band trying to make a comeback. "I think this might be a no-go for The Dreamlands. Sorry Sunny..." she apologized.

Sunny looked down in disappointment, but then she looked back at Minty. "Hey, wait! Don't give up! And don't try to change yourselves" she said, while Blue Belle turned in her chair to look at her. "Your classic sounds are what everypony loves about you! You just have to do what you do best and you're gonna rock that stage!" she declared, as her Cutie Mark started to sparkle and glow.

The Dreamlands' Cutie Marks were glowing as well after this, and they gasped when they looked at them. So, Minty, Blue Belle and Snuzzle looked at Sunny and nodded. "Yeah!" they all declared with smiles.

Back in Bridlewood, Zipp, Hitch and Misty walked through the town to find more information on the Troggles.

They came across one grayish brown unicorn that was polishing a crystal, so they approached him. "What can you tell us about Troggles?" Hitch asked him with a smirk, while Zipp held her phone out to record their findings.

"Troggles? Where?" the unicorn yelped, before running away while screaming, earning deadpanned looks from Zipp and Hitch, while Sparky and Misty looked rather confused about the matter.

Next, they came across three fillies in the playground, playing a board game, so they approached them as well.

"Hey! Uh, do you ponies know that Jinxie poem? About the Tro––" Zipp tried to ask, but one filly suddenly closed her mouth with her hoof.

"Shh! Yeah, but I don't wanna say it!" The filly said in fear, before the three ran away frightened.

"What?!" Hitch asked confused.

Them, they asked a green unicorn with a sleek mulberry purple mane and tail wearing mulberry glasses about the Troggles.

"Yeah, I mean... like what is a Troggle anyway, you know?" he asked with a watering can for his flowers in his magical aura.

His response just earned groans and eye rolls from the group, with Misty even facehoofing herself.

"Like when you think about it, what is anything?" the unicorn added

"And... we're moving on. Thanks anyway..." Misty frowned, while the trio moved on.

"Uh, well I think I've come to a conclusion..." Zipp griped.

"Well?" Hitch asked.

"The results are inconclusive..." Zipp frowned, as she grunted and walked in front of Hitch and Misty before moving to their left side. "I can't tell if these monster spirit things are real or just another piece of spooky Unicorn lore!" she added, while two unicorns behind them suddenly stepped to the side, wanting to avoid the group and the Troggles topic.

"On the bright side, I'm kind of glad I never grew in Bridlewood..." Misty said with a bored expression. "I mean, why be scared of something I never seen before? I don't get what they're so paranoid about..." she added with concern.

"Me neither. But I think we need to talk to Pipp again. Before it's too late" Hitch suggested, while Zipp and Misty nodded in agreement.

After returning to the construction of the festival, they saw Pipp working on the giant butterflies stack.

She was now covered in some makeup, with a flower crown on her head, her wings ware rainbow colored, she had a flower necklace on, her mane and tail had blue and pink stripes on them, and her legs and eyelids were in yellow highlights.

Pipp turned and saw Hitch, Zipp and Misty walking towards her. "Hey, ponies!" she called out to them with a smile.

"We wanna talk to you about something" Zipp started.

However, Pipp raised her hoof at them. "Wait, wait! Have you seen the mane stage yet?" she asked excitedly, as she hopped around. "Come look first!" she told them, turning around and flying off.

The three ponies just followed her, while Pipp showed them the unfinished mane stage for Bridlewoodstock. It was purple and light pink flower based stage, with three tower stands where the tall one was in the middle.

The four ponies made it to the front of it with boxes of gems around it, and Pipp landed on the stage with a smile.

"Wow, Pipp. That looks really cool!" Hitch said with a smile, while Sparky climbed down his back.

"Don't you love the rubies?" Pipp asked, as she gestured to the rubies and crystals on the floor.

Sparky gurgled happily, as he picked up one of the rubies and licked his lips. He's a dragon, of course he likes gems... Why did it took him 3 seasons to finally show interest on them?!

"I had them locally harvested from Bridlewood in honor of Ruby Jubilee's big performance!" Pipp explained, chuckling excitedly as she turned to the stage. "I'm just so thrilled with how everything is coming together with no snags at all!" she excitedly said.

This made Zipp, Hitch and Misty looked at each other with cringed expressions.

"Well, about that…" Zipp said, as she scratched her cheek a bit. "There's kind of a snag that we wanted to discuss" she said.

But before Zipp or the others could explain further, an earth pony stallion came up to Pipp. "Uh, Princess Pipp! We need you at artist tent setup!” he informed her, followed by a crashing sound coming from said tent. "Please!" he begged.

"Be right there!" Pipp called out, as she turned to the others. "Thanks for stopping by!" she said to her friends with a smile, before flapping her wings and flying off.

"Am I the only one who is worried about all this Troggle stuff?" Zipp asked her friends with concern, before she turned to the stage. "Look! There are even unicorns on board with the festival now" she pointed to the unicorns setting up the stage.

And then, a unicorn mare rolled the crates of crystals and rubies with some wood on it, but it tripped a bit, which made some wood and a ruby fell off, while the mare and unicorn stallion gasped in fright and looked around nervously.

"Eh... I'll say they're half in board, actually..." Misty said with a raised eyebrow.

"Then maybe you are just trying to dig up trouble where there isn't any, Zipp" Hitch said with a smile, as he placed a hoof around Zipp.

Zipp smiled back after hearing this. "You're right. Maybe sometimes…" she sighed before continue. "... there just isn't any mystery to solve" she admitted.

"And that's okay" Hitch stated.

"I don't know..." Misty said with concern. "I know that all the other unicorns tend to believe in all that weird Jinxie stuff, but they insist a lot about these troggles..." she pointed out. "Maybe this time it isn't just unicorn talkery?" she added with concern.

"If it isn't––" Knuckles spoke suddenly, as he popped in between Hitch and Misty and wrapped his arms around them. "Then I'm gonna make sure your sister remembers it for the rest of her life!" he told Zipp with a smirk.

"Why are you you dedicate to torment Pipp if she's wrong about the Troggles?" Zipp asked, more confused than mad for some reason.

"Because if your sister isn't going to listen warnings about not doing something the easy way, she'll have to learn it the hard way" Knuckles replied with a frown. "Also, she kind of hates me because we clash on idea constantly, so being able to rub in her face that she was wrong is gonna be a sweet revenge to me!" he stated confidently.

"Knuckles!" Sonic's voice called out, and the echidna turned to see Sonic in front of the Tornado IV, which Tails turned into a tent so Team Sonic could get ready for the concert. "Amy's gonna help us with the makeup! Get over here!" Sonic continued.

"Well, that's my sign!" Knuckles said, as he let go of Hitch and Misty and walked towards the tent. "Enjoy around, guys! And if you see a Troggle, tell me so I can rub it in Pipp's face!" he added with a loud laugh.

After this, the three ponies blinked a few times confused. "Okay, I'll take it back... Perhaps it is just unicorn talkery..." Misty deadpanned.

"You know what? I'm gonna try and have fun tomorrow" Zipp said with a smile. "Lean into the whole music festival experience. For my sister" she added with a smirk.

"Me too" Hitch replied with a smile.

"Yeah. This whole Troggle thing starts to sound ridiculous!" Misty said with a chuckle.

Then, the three ponies turned and saw Sparky gurgling, as he picked up a ruby and jumped up, but he accidentally breathed his dragon fire on it, and the ruby turned into a beach ball. Sparky gasped and gurgled in frustration, while he looked down in sadness.

The next day, as the sun was setting, ponies were walking into the Bridlewoodstock Music Festival.

From the main entrance to the tents, everything was done, and Pipp was at the entrance, showing the ponies in while they cheered at the festival.

"Welcome to Bridlewoodstock, everypony!" Pipp announced to the crowd with a smile.

As Pipp did this, Hitch, Zipp and Misty were watching the ponies enter the festival with worried expressions.

"This is all gonna be okay, right? Even after all the stuff those unicorns said?" Hitch asked his friends with worry.

"I really hope so..." Zipp said in the same tone.

"Hopefully, everything's gonna be okay..." Misty said nervously

The three ponies decided to enter the festival already and enjoy themselves, or as much as they could, anyway.

Rocky and Jazz were walking by while wearing glowing glasses, and Jazz was wearing a glowing headset on her head. The two ponies were chatting and laughing together.

The rides of the festival were working just fine. For example: The merry go round with pegasi seats on it circled around.

Near a place were they served french fries, Alphabittle was pouring some tea, levitating the pot and pouring the tea in a cup that he gave to a pegasus.

However, as the pegasus walked away, Alphabittle noticed in the distance that Misty was walking along Hitch and Zipp, and just like in the Manesquerade Ball, he narrowed his eyes to try and look at her closely, just for a couple of earth ponies to arrive asking for tea.

This made him lost sight of Misty, but he decided to shrug it for now and focus on pour more tea, even though he wanted to see Misty closely, since he still couldn't recognize her from anywhere, not even Bridlewood itself.

On another zone of the festival, two earth pony fillies were watching a unicorn mare levitating a flower crown, as she put it on the orange earth pony filly’s head, who then twirled around in joy.

"Pipp really pulled things together fast, huh?" Hitch commented, as they looked around how the ponies were enjoying the festival.

Zipp chuckled with a smile. "That's my little sister for ya" she said with a small smile. "When she wants something, she will make it happen!" she added.

"Well, I'm impressed" Hitch commented. "This place looks awesome!" he commented, gesturing to the festival the ponies are enjoying.

"Very floral!" Misty added with a smile.

"Yeah, it does" Zipp agreed, as she turned to Hitch. "Alright, I'll admit it. I am a little excited" she said with a smile. "And I can't wait to see Electric Blue headline the show!" she added, then walked off.

"Me too! This should be exciting!" Misty agreed, as she followed Zipp.

"Huh. I thought The Dreamlands were headlining the show?" Hitch said confused, as he followed Zipp.

"Guys, look! Izzy's booth is over there!" Misty called out, as she pointed at the tent Izzy is in, so they walked up to it.

Izzy now had rainbow stripes in her mane, wearing flower glasses and a flower crown, also wearing some necklaces, while her horn had a glowing string on it. She was placing flower crowns over some crystals and humming happily, while her three friends came by.

"Hey, Iz. What's all this?" Zipp asked with a smile.

Izzy gasped in surprise before, she turned to her friends with a smile. "The Flower-fication Station! Station! Station!" she announced, while making an echo sound with a whisper. "It's so much fun, it's almost making me forget about how super Jinxie this all this" she said, taking off her glasses and giving an anxious look, before smiling cheerfully. "Take a seat!" she said to them.

"Okay!" Hitch said with a smile, while Zipp and Misty looked at her with wide eyes.

"Wait, what did you just say, Izzy?" Zipp asked.

"That was kinda creepy..." Misty pointed out with concern.

But Izzy either didn't hear the question, or she did, but decided to ignore it, since she was humming happily to herself as Hitch took a seat. Seeing that Izzy wasn't going to reply, Zipp groaned and took a seat on a pillow as well, followed by Misty, who did it hesitantly.

Izzy kept humming, as she turned to her friends for a second, before turning back around and make four flower crowns, tossing them onto their heads with a smile, but one of them did not land properly on Zipp's head, so she held her flower crown with a bored expression.

"How did you just––" Zipp tried to ask, but she was cut off when Izzy went behind them with wide eyes.

"Wait! There's more!" Izzy said with a smile, as she whistled and laughed, getting out of sight.

Then, Jazz and Rocky appeared in front of them, with Jazz holding her makeup kit, while the two ponies smirked to the three ponies and baby dragon.

After that, they started putting some makeup on their faces, polishing their hooves, and claws in Sparky's case, with glitter, putted some glitter dust on their faces, which made them cough, then they did a little face paint on their faces, a little face brush on them, sprayed their manes and tails with some sparkling glitter colors, and then added some few accessories on them.

A few minutes later, they opened their eyes and saw their look and wear for the festival.

"Yeah!" Hitch cheered with a smile at his new look, while Sparky gurgled excited.

Hitch had his hooves painted in purple with light blue waves, neon bracelets on his left foreleg and a green bracelet with purple triangles on his left hind leg, a golden collar with flowers around his neck and with a golden horseshoe, glasses with pink glasses, some flowers and neon tubes on his mane, and his right foreleg was painted with purple glitter.

Sparky had his left eye painted with pink makeup, big purple headphones over his head, a purple band on his forehead with some flowers, his claws on both legs and arms were fully painted on pink, and he had some neon bracelets on his left wrist and on his horns.

"Awesome!" Misty cheered, loving the new look.

She had a flower crown, some purple makeup on her right eye, a neon necklace with a butterfly, some neon rings on her hooves, neon tubes on her mane, and butterfly glasses with purple glass.

As for Zipp, she had a large green necklace with neon lights and a neon lightning, a flower on the necklace, a spike bracelet on her right foreleg and a pink one on the left one, her mane had a yellow stripe now, she had some flowers behind her left ear as well as some neon tubes, a golden earring on her left ear, and neon glasses.

"Wow!" Izzy cheered with a smile, while Jazz and Rocky appeared on both sides of her. "Now you're really festival ready!" she stated.

Jazz then held up a mirror to Zipp, as she looked at her reflection, which made Zipp laugh at her look.

"Yeah we are!" Hitch said excitedly, as Sparky got on his back and gurgled excitedly, while Hitch walked off.

"Thanks, Izzy!" Zipp thanked with a smile, as she followed Hitch and trotted away.

"You're welcome!" Izzy cheered as she waved her hooves. "Have fun and don't let the Troggles bite!" she called out with a nervous laugh, but Zipp and Hitch stopped and stared on in shock.

"What was that?" Zipp asked, as she and Hitch turned around, while Misty looked at her with concern.

"Umm… just some silly old Jinxie saying!" Izzy said with a nervous smile, as she tapped her hooves nervously. "Nothing to worry about! Probably..." she muttered nervously.

"Okay..." Misty said nervously. "Anyways. Troggles aside, is it fine if I hang with you and help with the tent?" she asked her with a smile.

"Of course you can, Misty!" Izzy said with a smile. "Get in here and I'll guide you on what to do!" she stated.

Misty squealed excited, as she got in the tent and approached Jazz and Rocky, while Izzy turned to see Zipp and Hitch with a smile.

"Okay, catch ya later!" Izzy said, raising her hoof.

With this, Hitch looked at Zipp with a smile. "Who's hungry? I'm starving" he said, as he walked off like nothing happened.

"Huh?" Zipp said confused.

And once again, the spooky voice from before stared at Zipp, still watching her from behind some bushes. "Hungry..." they said in a spooky voice, while Zipp looked around for a bit before following Hitch. "Hungry!" they said again.

Zipp stopped once she heard the maniacal laughter in the distance. "Hmm-hmm…" she hummed, as she looked around with concern. "Did you just hear that?" she asked Hitch.

"Come on, let's get some snacks. Woo!" Hitch cheered, not hearing Zipp's question as he kept walking, and Zipp decided to follow anyways.

At a snack stand, a pony was selling french fries stand, while Hitch and Zipp were in line for it.

Of course, Zipp being the action pony she was, easily got bored. "Ugh, this is taking forever! What are we in line for, again?" she asked Hitch.

"Fries! With dipping sauces!" Hitch replied, and Sparky cooed and gently licked his lips.

"Oh yeah. Huh. That does sound pretty delicious" Zipp agreed, while Hitch spotted one pony dipping fries into a small cup of ketchup.

"Mmm. Dipping Sauces" Hitch said with a huge smile.

The two ponies waited about an hour for their turn.

Of course, Zipp groaned all the way towards the stand's counter, since this was taking a lot for her, and Sparky even fell asleep on Hitch's back for all that waiting.

"Yay! Zipp! We're almost there!" Hitch cheered with a smile

However, Pipp suddenly appeared, spooking the two ponies. "There you two are!" she said, and her startle woke Sparky up. "Ugh, thank hoofness! I've been looking everywhere! You look amazing, by the way" she commented happily, before she literally pushed the two ponies off line, showing her surprising strength.

"What the hay, Pipp?!" Zipp snapped with a frown.

"I'm sorry, but this is a festival emergency!" Pipp exclaimed. "Come with me!" she declared, as she flew away.

Zipp followed immediately, while Hitch lingered for a bit, watching a unicorn come by with fries and dipping sauce.

"But... But... dipping sauces!" Hitch whined before Pipp grabbed him and dragged him over near the Marestream.

The three ponies made it to the Marestream, as Pipp landed in front of them with a worried look.

"I don't want to alarm you, but this is bad..." Pipp said as she began to panic. "Like epically bad" she added with a panicked look.

"Does this have to do with the Unicorn legend?" Zipp asked with a frown. "We've been worried about that, too" she added.

"Mmm-hmm" Hitch nodded in agreement.

"And so has Izzy, even if she won't admit it" Zipp added with concern.

"As well as Knuckles, who's really open up about it, actually..." Hitch pointed out with a bored expression.

"Huh?" Pipp asked in confused, not getting what are they talking about.

"We didn't want to upset you" Hitch said a bit concerned. "But, you can be sure that Zipp and I will do whatever we can to minimize damage and help shut things down before it's too late" he assured, while Zipp nodded in agreement with a smile.

"What? Why would you do that?!" Pipp called out in panic.

"Because of the Troggles?" Zipp asked confused.

Pipp tilted her head a bit before speaking. "Okay, I have no idea what you two are talking about, but we actually do have a serious problem on our hooves here" she said desperately.

"More serious than ancient ghost monsters?" Zipp questioned with a bored expression.

"I don't think so!" Knuckles voice was heard from somewhere, and Zipp and Hitch looked at each other confused.

"Yes!" Pipp replied instead. "So two of our major musical acts, Electric Blue and Ruby Jubilee, are here!" she pointed out in panic.

"That's a good thing though… right?" Hitch asked confused.

"Uh, it would be, if they didn't both think they're the headliner!" Pipp stated in panic. "I just don't understand how this mixup happened" she said with worry.

Just then, Shadow was walking by, loudly sipping a smoothie. He was wearing some neon lights on his wrists, his chest was painted with orange and pink colors, and the red lines on his quills were painted all in yellow, while he wore neon glasses.

But then, he heard the conversation going on, so he approached. "What mixup happened?" Shadow asked confused.

"Electric Blue and Ruby Jubilee both thing they're the headliners of the show!" Pipp replied in panic.

At this, Shadow looked away from her and spilled his smoothie with wide eyes, before looking back at her with genuine panic, and Pipp looked at him with wide eyes as well.

"... I think my smoothie had something..." Shadow replied, before boosting away in panic.

As he did that, Zipp and Hitch looked at the ultimate life form confused, but as soon as Zipp processed Pipp's problem again, her eyes widened as well. "Oh..." she said with panic. "Tails, Misty and I may have had something to do with that, sis..." she said slowly with a nervous tone. "Whoopsies?"

"Zephyrina!" Pipp snapped with a frown, before gasping loudly for air and then: "MILES! MISTY!" she yelled out loudly in rage.

This actually made both Tails and Misty flinch on their respective places, with Misty slowly turning to see Pipp near the Marestream and gulp, while Tails popped his head from inside the tent he was with Team Sonic, before gulping as well and fly towards the Marestream.

Tails was wearing a black jacket that had graffiti over it of white and blue flower drawings and a 'T' painted in yellow on the back, as well as a neon collar with a two tail ornament, neon bracelets on his wrists, and his hair was painted with pink, white and light blue stripes that reminded of a certain princess. Also, his cheeks were painted on the colors blue, red and pink respectively.

As Tails and Misty approached to Pipp with sheepish smiles, they both gulped nervously again.

"What did you three do?!" Pipp questioned, as she leaned forward to them, while Zipp, Misty and Tails flinched.

"Uh, what's going on?" Tails asked confused.

"Electric Blue and Ruby Jubilee both think that they're the headliners of the concert" Hitch replied.

When he said this, Tails and Misty's eyes widened, and they finally understood what was wrong. "Ooooh...." both of them said.

"Hey, we were just trying to help you out!" Zipp said in defense.

"We told them about the festival and how much you wanted them to perform!" Tails explained.

"But they were on the fence about performing, so I uh…" Misty continued, as she gave a nervous look. "... sweetened the deal by promising some stuff?" she added nervously.

"Like I said, this is epically bad" Pipp cried out, looking really nervous and worried. "What are we gonna do?!" she asked them on the verge of tears.

"We'll just have to tell them the truth about what happened" Hitch suggested, and the rest but Pipp agreed with smiles. "I'm sure they'll understand."

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Pipp said with a frown. "You don't tell a musician that they've been demoted from headliner! You just don't" she pointed out, then started flying around in panic while looking at her friends. "Maybe they can double-headline! Is that a thing? That's not a thing, is it?! But it could be! If we make it one! Yeah! Yeah! That could work" she said frantically, while the rest watched her flying around with concern. "And then, and then we'll still have plenty of other bands to go on first and open for them. Like The Dreamlands!" she said with a smile, as she landed in front of the others. "Are they here yet? Where's Sunny?" she asked them with panic.

"Right here!" Sunny's voice called out, as the rest turned and saw Sunny and The Dreamlands approaching.

Sunny had her legs painted with light blue colors, while she wore neon bracelets on her right foreleg, other two bracelets on her neck, round glasses, a flower crown and some neon tubes behind her right ear.

"And your headliners have arrived! Here they are!" Sunny continued, as she gestured to The Dreamlands.

"Hey, everypony!" Minty greeted with a smile.

"We are really excited to be headlining a show after all this time!" Blue Belle said excited.

"Thank you so much for this! We feel so special!” Snuzzle said next.

This made everyone else but Sunny cringe as they looked at each other with concern, before looking over at Pipp, who's right eye was twitching, and she looked like she was about to explode in panic, chuckling and smiling nervously.

A little bit later, laughter was heard in The Dreamlands tent.

"On behalf of the royal family of Zephyr Heights, and the um, uh..." Pipp said, before tapping her hooves together nervously. "... friendship fellowship of the Unity Crystals, we are so honored that you have graced us with your talents this fine evening at this celebration of music" she stated, while Hitch looked away while and Zipp deadpanned at her sister, with Sunny and Izzy simply smiling and Misty smiling sheepishly.

"So are we!" Minty replied, even though both her and Blue Belle looked at Pipp a bit confused.

"We weren't even sure we could perform together anymore, let alone headline a festival!" Snuzzle added with a smile.

"Yes, yes..." Pipp said, as she tapped her hooves nervously. "Well, please get comfortable as you warm your vocal chords and prepare for your grand performance! And do let us know if you require anything else, heh... We shall check in on you later, hmm?" she added, trying to keep her cool and composure before she and the group left.

"Why was she talking like that?" Minty asked confused.

"Uh, Royals are fancy?" Blue Belle replied and shrugged.

Once the Mane 6 were out of the tent, Pipp started to groan, while the rest just looked at her.

"Before you say anything, I know that I was just acting totally weird in there!" Pipp said nervously.

"As long as you know" Zipp said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"I just panicked!" Pipp cried out, as she lifted her head up to look at Zipp. "But it's okay. We will come up with a plan and fast. But for now, all we have to do is keep the bands separated until the show, heh" she said frantically. "We have time to figure it out!" she finished, still feeling nervous.

"Actually you don't" Shadow spoke, as he approached to the Mane 6 along Rouge and Omega, while he pointed to the sun setting in the sky.

Rouge was wearing neon bracelets on her left hand, a golden necklace similar to Hitch's but with a golden heart, pink shadows instead of the regular blue, a variant of her usual dress but with red and green neon graffiti flowers over it, and some neon tubes behind her left ear, as well as a golden earring on her right one.

As for Omega, the robot had his chest painted with pink, purple and green graffiti, while his right shoulder had a flower drawing, his yellow wrists were painted with neon green graffiti, his eyes were covered with flower glasses, and he also had a flower crown over his head.

"It is almost dusk" Sunny pointed out, as they all saw the sun setting and hear owls hooting.

"If you want the full effect of the Lumi-Bloom, Pipp, we gotta get started!" Izzy stated with a smile.

"And the sooner we start the show, the less chance of any uh… unwanted visitors showing up!" Misty added nervously, as both Izzy and her tapped their hooves nervously.

Yeah, Izzy told too many stories about the Troggles to Misty, and now the poor mare is convinced they're real as well.

"Okay. I'm not going to let anything ruin this" Pipp said with a determinate look. "Not 'Troggies', diva musicians, or… the sun setting!" she stated, as she pointed a hoof to the sky with a frown.

"You're sounding pretty weird again, sis" Zipp teased with a smirk.

"I know!" Pipp called out as she turned to her sister with her wings spread, which made Zipp flinch from that. "What's even weirder is triple headliners..." she pointed out with concern.

"Oh, you didn't heard the news?" Rouge asked with a frown, and Omega weirdly extended an arm, while Shadow panicked and tried to run away, but he crashed with Omega's arm and fell to the ground with a loud groan. "This idiot told The Dreamlands they would be the headliners."

Pipp's eyes twitched in rage, while Sunny covered her hooves after Shadow crashed with Omega, and she immediately rushed to help the hedgehog to get up.

Still, Pipp sighed and putted on a determinate look again. "We gotta fix this and convince one of the groups to open!"

First of all, Zipp, Tails Sunny and Pipp went to talk with Electric Blue about opening the show.

"So in conclusion, when you really think about it, opening the show is actually way better than going last because you'll be the first band in history to rock out to the visuals of the bloom!" Zipp declared at fast paste, breathing heavily once she finished.

"Feeling better?" Tails teased with a smirk.

Fetlock looked at Jam Donut and Arpgreggia for a moment, before Jam smiled at him, while Arpgreggia twisted her drum stick on her hooves and nodded.

"Alright, you got it" Fretlock replied with a smirk.

"Hey, that was a great speech!" Sunny praised, while Zipp sighed in relief.

At Izzy's tent, The Dreamlands were getting ready for the show.

Izzy, along with Misty, Jazz and Rocky, were giving the Dreamlands some makeover, while Hitch was looking at them.

"So you know what I was thinking?" Hitch spoke up, while the Dreamlands and the others listened. "Who wants to go last when everypony is too tired to sing and dance along? Really, being first up is the perfect place to be is what I always say!" he stated with a nervous chuckle.

"Hmm… You know..." Minty started, while Hitch kept chuckling nervously, at least until Minty smiled. "You have a really good point, Hitch."

"I think so too" Snuzzle agreed.

"Let's do it! Let's go on first!" Blue Belle declared with a smile.

Izzy and Misty smiled at this outcome, while Hitch sighed in relief.

Finally, Pipp entered Ruby's tent, as she saw her approach and turned in her chair a bit.

"Princess Pipp! I wanted to talk to you––" Ruby tried to say, but Pipp cut her off.

"Okay Ruby, it's all set. You are the star of the whole night!" Pipp announced. "Our magnificent headliner on our stunning 'Ruby Stage'!"

"Actually..." Ruby said, playing nervously with a part of her mane. "I was kinda hoping you wouldn't mind if I go on first instead?" she requested.

Pipp blinked after hearing this. "What?" she questioned confused and with panic.

"I love to sing during sunset" Ruby explained. "And it matches the exact vibe of the song you, your boyfriend and Izzy inspired me to write!" she grinned, before turning back in her chair.

"Oh, so you wanna go first now?" Pipp squeaked, beginning to panic again, as he right eye twitched a bit.

In Team Sonic's tent, Amy already dressed Sonic and herself up.

Amy was wearing now the same red dress, but it was covered on yellow, blue and pink graffiti of flower drawings, as well as a green letter 'A' on her back, as she had flower bracelets, a neon collar with a small hammer, a flower crown, and neon tubes behind both of her ears. She also had her quills painted in blue, yellow and red respectively.

Sonic wore a black jacket, similar to Tails', but with yellow and pink flowers painted with graffiti, as well as a big S painted on the back and some lightnings made with his powers, while he had Pipp's Cutie Mark painted on his left eye, his gloves were one red and one yellow, both fingerless, and his shoes were one green and one purple. Also, his belly had painted the letters 'TS' with white graffiti. He also had yellow, red and pink painted quills, in that order.

Finally, Amy was finishing dressing up Knuckles. The echidna has Izzy's Cutie Mark painted on his left eye, and his gloves were regular ones and fingerless as well, with one being purple and the other one being yellow. He had a black jacket as well with purple and light blue flower drawings made with graffiti, as well as having a 'K' painted in red on the back, while his chest also had 'TS' painted with white graffiti.

Amy was finishing with his quills, which she painted in blue, yellow and pink respectively. Yes, the four members died their hairs (or cheeks in Tails' case) to represent each other's presence in the band.

As Amy finished to dress Knuckles, the Mane 6 gathered inside, with Pipp panicking a lot.

"So now we have three openers and nopony who wants to be a headliner?!" Pipp exclaimed in panic.

"Yup. That's the situation. Mm-hmm" Hitch nodded.

"This just keeps on getting worse!" Pipp groaned.

"Not to point out the obvious or anything, but uh..." Zipp decided to spoke, as she cleared her throat. "Aren't you a major pop star? A frequent headliner? A singer who loves attent––" she pointed out, but got cut off.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it, Zippster" Sonic said with a smirk, as he got at his girlfriend's side and smiled down at her. "She does have a point, though. You are a pretty popular singer" he pointed out as well.

"Oh. Right. Yes. I am!" Pipp said quickly, getting where Sonic and Zipp were going with their words. "I suppose I can perform, if everypony insists" she added with a smirk.

The rest of the Mane 6 agreed on the idea, as everyone cheered at her.

"Okay then, I'll do it" Pipp stated with a smile.

"Woo-hoo! The show is saved!" Izzy cheered with a smile, before looking around with suspicion. "Maybe" she added with a frown, that soon transformed into a worried expression.

"Hmm..." Knuckles muttered with a frown, as he looked around in suspicion as well, while Amy finished dying his quills.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked him confused.

"... My toes are tingling..." Knuckles replied, still looking around. "I have a bad feeling with these concert thing... But I'm still willing to go to the end, Troggles or not" he stated.

"Alright" Pipp said, as she and the Mane 6 left the tent. "Let's get this show started right now" she declared to her friends, while they nodded in agreement.

"So, just to be clear... If Ruby's gonna be the opener, and you're gonna be the headliner... Where are we gonna enter?" Sonic asked his girlfriend from the tent, feeling a bit confused.

"Oh, you'll go before Ruby. Instead of being the openers, you'll be more like... The special guests!" Pip replied with a smile.

"Then we better get ourselves finished!" Sonic said with a smirk, as he got back inside the tent.

"Hey, Pipp?" Izzy called out.

"What's wrong now?" Pipp asked nervously.

"My tummy feels like it's full of butterflies! And it definitely has nothing to do with Knuckles!" Izzy said nervously. "I'm still kinda nervous that the Troggles might show up..." she added.

"No, no. That's just pre-show jitters!" Pipp assured.

"It is?" Izzy asked hopefully.

"Don't worry, everypony gets them" Pipp assured with a smile. "Even me! Just go trot it off!" she suggested.

"Okay" Izzy said with a smile, as she walked off while humming to herself.

"Phew" Pipp sighed in relief.

But then guess what? Knuckles and the unicorns were right: The Troggles are real, because two of them appeared behind Pipp and laughed maniacally at her.

Pipp turned her head when she heard the laugh, but the Troggles disappeared before she saw them, so she saw nothing. "Huh..." she said, before walking off.

Nighttime finally reached Equestria.

With this, the Lumi-Bloom began to glow and shine, as ponies around it started walking towards the stage, seeing the Lumi-Bloom on their ways and feeling amazed at the sight. The plants around kept glowing brightly, while ponies came up the stage and cheered in excitement.

Pipp came up to the stage and gasped in joy, while the rest of the Mane 6, Shadow and Rouge walked up to the front of the stage, with Shadow standing at Sunny's side to feel a bit more comfortable, and Rouge standing at his side.

Omega had to stay in the back because he could simply make zoom with his eyes to the stage, and he didn't wanted to obscure the vision for everypony else because of how tall he is.

So, Pipp brought out her microphone and spread her wings. "Welcome, everypony, to Bridlewoodstock!" she announced, while the lights of the stage turned on and the crowd but Team Dark started cheering, with the rest of the Mane 6 cheering loudly. of course, no one noticed a Troggle spying behind them. "Before we get started with our first artist, please let's welcome our special guests! They might be more the kind of 'saving the world' type of people, but they do Know hot to put a show! Everypony, please welcome to the stage to the brave heroes that fought Dr. Eggman on Maretime Bay: Team Sonic!" she announced.

With this, the crowd cheered loudly once again, and Pipp moved aside, while the reflectors turned on behind to show Knuckles on the drums, Tails with the bass, Amy with a keytar, and Sonic jumping on-stage with his guitar and standing in front of a microphone.

"What up, what up everyone and Shadow?!" Sonic greeted with a playful smirk, and even thought Shadow crossed his arms and groaned loudly with and eye roll, he still smirked playfully as well. "We're all really glad to be here with you tonight! Now, I hope you're ready, 'cause we're just the beginning of one amazing night!" he stated, and the crowd cheered loudly again.

But before he could keep going, he witnessed Cyber Sonic's figure among the crowd, as he made a gesture with his hand and passed a thumb over his own throat, basically telling Sonic that he was going to kill him.

This did made Sonic panic, but he breathed deeply and closed his eyes to calm himself down. Once he opened them, Cyber Sonic was gone, and he smiled once again. "The song we're gonna perform is quite emotional, actually... I heard it all the time when I was little, and I think sharing it with you all is gonna make it even more memorable!" he stated confidently.

After saying this, he looked over at Amy and nodded, while the pink hedgehog smiled and nodded back, as she started to play her keytar.

At first it was a soft melody, but once Sonic, Tails and Knuckles started to play along, Pipp gasped, because she knew which song Team Sonic was going to perform... The lullaby that his biological mother sang to him when he was a baby, a few days before Eggman... well... You guys already know.

The crowd, specially the Mane 6 and Team Dark, felt surprised at Sonic singing his heart out, specially considering this song was a lullaby made by Bernie before she died.

As Team Sonic sang their hearts out, the crowd was cheering loudly at them. Omega, despite not saying a word, took out a small blue pennant with Sonic's face on it and wave it, pretty much as a sign of support towards Team Sonic's performance.

At some point, rouge decided to stop 'playing thought' and started to cheer loudly at them as well, while Shadow felt a bit surprised by this. Still, he looked at Team Sonic and smiled, moving his head the music's rhythm and even tapping his foot now and then.

Since the rest of the song was going to be almost the same, everyone in the crowd started to sing along the lyrics of the song, which surprised mainly Sonic, but he also smiled brightly at this outcome.

With this line, Sonic grabbed the microphone and looked down at the crowd with a smirk. "You know it!" he cheered, now removing the microphone from its stand and pointing it to the audience.

"Sing it!" Sonic instructed, once again pointed the mic at the crowd.

"I like where this is going!" Sonic said cheerfully, before placing the mic on the stand again and continue singing, as well as continue playing his guitar.

Then, Sonic started to make the guitar solo of the song, clearly focusing on make it sound impressive, and it worked, because the crowd cheered loudly at him, while the Mane 6 called out to him with smiles, Pipp's gaze was completely lost on Sonic, and Shadow had no idea on how Sonic could be doing such movements with the guitar.

Sonic finished singing the song, with Amy finishing off the melody with her keytar, while the crowd cheered loudly at them, including her friends.

"You go, guys!" Sunny cheered.

"That was awesome!" Zipp cheered as well.

"It was beautiful!" Hitch said with a smile.

"Amazing!" Misty said, smiling as well.

"Your sparkles are as bright as the stars!" Izzy cheered loudly.

The entire Team Sonic stood in front of the crowd and hold hands together, followed by a reverence from all of them.

Just then, Pipp came back to the stage with her microphone. "Wow, Blue Star! I knew you guys could sing, but... That was incredible!" she said with a wide smile.

"Oh, it was nothing. Just a little song we wanted to share with everypony, that's all!" Sonic said with a smile, as he looked at the crowd and winked.

"Well you did great, guys. Thank you so much for coming!" Pipp said, while Team Sonic nodded and waved their hands at the crowd, before they left the stage and joined the Mane 6, Shadow and Rouge in the crowd. "Team Sonic did an amazing note, ponies! And now, for real this time, please give a glowy, warm welcome to our first artist! The one… the only… Ruby Jubilee!" Pipp announced, before she flew off.

The crowd cheered loudly again, while Ruby appeared from behind the stage with a pose, before she spread her wings and walked slowly, as she opened her eyes and smiled at the crowd, bringing out her own microphone.

"Are you ready to get this pony party started?!" Ruby asked excited, while the crowd cheered. "Don't be afraid to sing along!" she added, as she then did a dance while music started to play.

Ruby made a twirl and flew into the air, while the crowd either cheered or sang along, and Pipp landed beside her sister and her friends with a smile.

Then, Ruby flew into the air and twirled around, giving a wink to the crowd and then flying around them.

Ruby started to fly and dance around as she kept singing, but nopony realized that the Troggles were appearing from the woods, waiting for the exact moment to attack, while everypony singed or danced along Ruby's song.

The ponies, the Mane 6, Team Sonic and even Team Dark bobbed their heads or bodies to the music.

Then, two pegasi hold out their phones and tried to record Ruby's performance as she sang and danced, but then an error showed that there's no signal as their phones buzzed.

"Oh, don't bother!" Pipp said with a smile, as she approached the stallions. "The service out here is nonexistent. In Bridlewood, it's more about forest streams than streaming, you know?" she joked. "Be in the now, ponies! Forget those phonies!" she declared, while the two pegasi smiled in agreement, and Pipp went back to her friends.

As Ruby kept singing, Glory, Seashell and Peach Fizz were moving to the music, while Ruby spread her wings, and Peach Fizz climbed on top of her two friends as she cheered for Ruby. Not that her friends minded, anyways.

Ruby kept singing, while ponies waved their hooves to her and cheered, as Ruby gave them a wink and then started dancing again, twirling around.

Pipp kept moving to the music, but neither she nor anypony else noticed that more Troggles appeared from the bushes.

Sparky was dancing along, until he felt that something was wrong, so he looked around and noticed the Troggles moving around, but nobody was noticing because of the music.

At this, Sparky tried to get Hitch's attention, tapping him on the head as hard as he could, but Hitch didn't felt nor noticed, while the Troggles drew closer to Ruby.

"Icon––" Ruby tried to sing, but suddenly, her voice began cutting out, which made the ponies gasp.

"What's happening?" Sunny asked concerned.

"Technical Difficulties?" Hitch asked.

"Oh no, her mic cut out!" Pipp breathed in shock.

However, Knuckles narrowed his eyes and saw Ruby's throat glowing in a yellow sphere.

"Wait a minute..." Knuckles muttered.

Zipp looked the same thing as him and gasped. "Oh no..." she said with concern and panic.

Ruby gasped as she tried to speak, just for a Troggle to appear behind her. When Ruby noticed this, she turned around and stared both confused and freaked out by the Troggle's presence.

But of course, it turned all in fear when the yellow sphere on Ruby's throat came out of her mouth and stoled her voice.

One of the unicorns watching dropped a fry from his mouth and widened her eyes. "TROGGLES!" the unicorn yelled in fear.

Suddenly, more Troggles came out from the bushes and began attacking the ponies, who screamed in fright and ran away, but some of them fell victims and had their voices taken.

One unicorn was cornered near a tree. "No way dude! Don't take my voi––" he tried to say, but the Troggle took his voice and made him a mute.

As this happened, the Mane 5, Team Sonic and Team Dark watched over many ponies loosing their voices because of the Troggles, and Knuckles was beyond furious, because even if he ended up being proved right, it also made him mad since it meant that Pipp should have listened to Izzy, to the unicorns, and to him as well.

"But... but... The show!" Pipp gawked in panic.

"THE SHOW?!" Knuckles yelled in rage, as he boosted in front of Pipp and looked at her beyond furious, with his eyes glowing red and his body letting go of red electrical sparkles. "You ignored the warnings of the unicorns, ignored my warnings about this being a terrible idea, laughed at Izzy for trying to tell you about the Troggles, and all you care about IS YOUR STUPID SHOW?!" he shouted with anger.

Pipp flinched with wide eyes after Knuckles snapped at her, and she even stepped back a bit.

Of course, Sonic immediately went in-between them to try and calm Knuckles down. "Hey, Knux! Chill for a second, dude. I get that you're mad, but we have more important stuff to––" he tried to add.

However, all Knuckles did was push him aside hard enough for him to fell to the ground on his back, while he approached Pipp, while the pegasus stepped back, until her back hit the stage, so she looked in fright at the echidna.

"My only comfort in all of this is that I can rub this in your face for the rest of your life" Knuckles stated, but his frown never changed. "But get this, Pipp: Everypony loosing their voice today is on you, and only on you. You don't ignore warnings about ancient creatures, you don't laugh at what others believe, and you don't do whatever the hell you want without consequences. You simply don't!" he added, before turning around and walk away.

Pipp looked down in shame after Knuckles was done with her, and she couldn't help but whimper a bit while her ears lowered.

Zipp and Hitch, on the other hand, looked at each other and nodded, before stepping in front of their friends. "Come on, guys. We've gotta stop this!" Zipp urged.

"Yes! But first, we need a plan!" Sunny stated.

Izzy thought of something and re-told the poem about the Troggles. "Eyes of the monster, form of the pig! Sing, laugh or yell, step hoof on a twig!" she recited, while her friends stared at her confused. "Troggles appear, steal what's to be! No cure to be found, past the red ruby!" she said, while doing a silly dance.

Zipp held up her hoof to Izzy and stopped her. "Izzy, we don't have time for poems right now!" she snapped.

"Zipp, she literally just said how to defeat those things..." Tails pointed out with a bored expression.

"Yeah. She said that rubies can defeat the Troggles." Misty agreed, also with a bored expression.

Pipp and Sunny looked at the young unicorn in shock. "Huh... I guess I did!" Izzy beamed with a smile.

Then, they all turned and saw Ruby trying to scare the Troggles away as she waved her hooves. In the process, she dropped her microphone, which let go a ruby onto the floor.

A Troggle picked it up and absorbed it with a smile, which made him vanish.

"What?" Zipp said in amazed, while she had an idea. "Everypony, grab those rubies!" she ordered, pointing to the rubies on the stage.

The rest of Mane 6, Team Sonic and Team Dark went and grabbed the rubies, but they were glued tightly onto the stage.

"They're really stuck on there!" Hitch grunted.

"That's because we used extra strength super-duper-Ruby glue!" Izzy explained, trying to pull one off with her magic.

"Why did we do that?" Pipp grunted in despair.

"I've been wondering the same the whole special!" Knuckles groaned, as he tried to pull off one of the rubies with his strength, failing miserably.

Sonic tried to use his Spin Dash over the rubies, but it didn't worked. Then, he used Wild Rush to try and quit them, but that didn't worked either. Finally, he went with a Homing Shot, but none of the spheres he launched moved any Ruby away.

"Yeah, I'm with Pipp on this one... Why did you do that?!" Sonic complained with a frown.

Sparky babbled at one and let out a puff of smoke, but it turned a ruby into a balloon, and that made the baby dragon look at the floor in disappointment.

Then, Sunny looked around at the chaos the Troggles were causing, and knew that she had to do something before the Troggles took every voice away, including their own.

"Come on. My friends need my help..." Sunny concentrated and brought out her Alicorn form. It was difficult at first, but she managed to do it, even though her whole outfit disappeared because the budget is limited. "Yeah!" she cheered, as she flew up into the air. "Everypony away from the stage!" she called out, and her friends backed away with cheers.

With her friends out of the way, Sunny used her Alicorn power to strike the rubies, forcing them to fall off and around the area.

"Everybody, grab a ruby!" Zipp called out, and everyone grabbed a ruby each, as they held them up and made them glow, which called the Troggles' attention.

They floated over and absorbed the rubies, vanishing and returning the voices to the ponies.

"Hello?" an earth pony mare asked, as she then gasped in joy. "Hello! Uh, my voice is back!" she said happily.

Two pegasi saw this, then they looked at each other and nodded, before throwing rubies at the Troggles, who grabbed the rubies and vanished, returning their voices to two fillies who gasped, and then said fillies threw rubies as well to help the other ponies.

Soon enough, everypony was throwing rubies at the Troggles, as they all grabbed went for them and vanished. Ruby held up one ruby a bit scared, and the one that took her voice grabbed the ruby and vanished as well.

"Iconic! Woah oh!" Ruby sang with a laugh, happy that her voice was back.

"It worked!" Hitch beamed, while Sunny landed on the floor and her Alicorn form vanished.

"Nice job, Sunny!" Tails said with a smile, as he side hugged the mare, while Izzy came by and joined the hug.

"That was the dumbest way to defeat a ghost I've ever witnessed..." Shadow deadpanned.

"Dumber than a plumber swallowing them with a vacuum?" Rouge teased with a smirk.

Shadow looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "... It's a 50/50..." he said.

Pipp sighed in relief after seeing that the Troggles were gone. "Ah, thank hoofness!" she said relieved, before flying to the stage and pick up Ruby's microphone, that gave some feedback. "Uh, is this thing on?" she asked, chuckling nervously. "Wow… So I just wanna say… that I'm sorry. To everypony" she said with a guilty expression. "But especially to the residents of Bridlewood... and to you, Knuckles..." she added, while the unicorns began to come out of hiding from the bushes, while Alphabittle and a unicorn mare walked closely, and Knuckles' eyes widened after hearing her. "This forest is your home and you know it best. You tried to warn me, but I didn't wanna listen to you... Or to my friends" she added, and even though she was looking at Zipp, Hitch and Misty, her gaze stopped on Knuckles. "Who only wanted to help make my dream of this festival come true... But Knuckles is right. I was warned about this, and I refused to listen..." she added with shame on herself.

Knuckles stared at Pipp with wide eyes. Was this real? Was he dreaming? Was Pipp actually apologizing to him and not trying to make it all look like a misunderstanding? He knew that they constantly clash on ideas, but Pipp accepting she was wrong and apologizing to him in public... It made him a bit happy for some reason, because he was smiling.

"I guess I just got so focused on planning the perfect Bridlewoodstock festival, that I forgot to consider Bridlewood. And all of the history that comes along with it..." Pipp said, while she turned to Izzy with a smile. "Even the Jinxie stuff" she added, and Izzy smiled back at Pipp, while the pegasus continued with a broken tone. "But I know better now. And I wanna thank you all for coming to the first and last Bridlewoodstock. The festival is over!" she cried out as she tossed the microphone away as she began to walk out stage with her head down.

"Are you kidding me now?!" Knuckles spoke suddenly, not only surprising Pipp as she stopped and looked at him confused, but also startling everyone among the crowd, even his friends.

Then, Knuckles jumped from his seat and into the stage, approaching Pipp and kneeling in front of her with a frown.

"You pulled out everything you got, you putted your heart and soul on this festival, you persisted to the very end to make this festival happening, and you're gonna give up because of ghosts and me being an idiot?" Knuckles asked with disbelief.

"What?!" Pipp asked confused. "B-But I thought that you––" she tried to say.

"I wasn't mad because you wanted to make the festival. I was mad because you ignored warnings!" Knuckles pointed out. "You laughed at Izzy for the Troggle thing, and you treated the unicorns warnings like gibberish! Worse of all, I told you that every legend hides truth behind, and you still ignored me" he added with a frown, but then he smiled. "You recognized that, and you apologized. That's all I needed to hear" he stated.

"Huh?" Pipp said confused.

"Look around you, Princess!" Knuckles said with a smile, gesturing at the festival. "The festival is up, the Troggles are gone, and the unicorns here are ready to party! Am I right?!" he asked, now looking at the unicorns in the crowd.

All the unicorns among the crowd cheered loudly at his words, which made Pipp smile warmly.

"Yeah!" a unicorn stallion with glasses called out. "Don't stop it now!" he stated.

"This is the most fun we've ever had during the Lumi-Bloom!" another unicorn stallion agreed.

"Now that the Troggles are gone, we're not scared anymore!" a unicorn stallion with a deep voice added.

"And I thought Knuckles' voice was deep..." Misty said with an amused expression.

"We want more music!" a young unicorn stallion called out as well.

"Yeah! Let's go!" a mare in the crowd cheered in agreement.

"We want more! We want more!" a unicorn mare called out, while the other ponies began chanting along.

Pipp was surprised by this, but she still smiled with joy.

"You see? This is beyond over!" Knuckles declared, as she started to walk backwards. "I'm still gonna rub that I was right for eternity, though. But in the meantime? You have a show to host!" he stated, before getting down of the stage and going back with the rest among the crowd.

Pipp smiled at him, then she turned to Ruby, who was surprised by everything that just happened as well. "What do you think, Ruby?" she asked her with a smirk.

Ruby laughed at this. "I think the fans have spoken!" she said in agreement.

"Then the show must go on!" Pipp declared with a smirk, as she came next to Ruby, then she picked up her microphone again. "What are we waiting for? Start the music!" she announced.

The crowd cheered loudly after she said this, and the music started to play once again.

"We have more incredible acts coming up!" Pipp announced with a smile.

"Please welcome... Electric Blue!" Ruby Jubilee added, while Fretlock and his bandmates were shown in the spotlight, as the crowd screamed wildly.

"How's everypony doin' tonight?!" Fretlock announced. "I'm Fretlock. There's Jam Donut on the bass, and there's Arpeggia on drums! And we are Electric Blue! Woo!" he called out, while the crowd cheered excitedly.

"And here to join us are our very special guests..." Pipp continued with a smile.

"The original girl group..." Ruby spoke next.

"The ones who started it all" Pipp continued.

"The Dreamlands!" both Pipp and Ruby announced in unison.

Minty, Blue Belle and Snuzzle were in the spotlight together posing, while the crowd cheered loudly, with Sunny and Hitch being the most boisterous as they hugged each other and cheered.

"The Dreamlands!" Sunny cheered, while she and Hitch screamed as the true fans they are.

Pipp and Ruby started to twirl in the air, while Ruby laughed happily and raised her hooves along Pipp.

As Pipp and the Dreamlands sang, Omega noticed that the Pippsqueaks, Seashell, Glory and Peach Fizz, were having trouble watching the show. So, he ducked down so the fillies could climb over his shoulder and head. Once the fillies did so, Omega raised again, and the Pippsqueaks could see the stage perfectly, as they cheered at Pipp and Ruby with their hooves raised, while the two pegasi on stage danced together.

Pipp and Ruby started to move in sync again, as they took to the sky while doing some moves and twirls in the air, before landing back down to dance and touch each other's hooves. Meanwhile, the rest of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic kept dancing and cheering at their friend's performance, while Electric Blue played their instruments and Ruby laughed a bit before doing a pose.

Pipp moved back from the Dreamlands and twirled in the air, before landing next to Ruby again, as the two ponies touched hooves again. And then, a firework was launched to the sky, which impressed the entire crowd. Soon enough, more fireworks started to explode, which made everyone cheer loudly.

Pipp finished the last note, while she and Ruby moved in circles in the air and touched each other's hooves, and the crowd cheered loudly, as fireworks went off once the music ended.

Truly, Bridlewoodstock was a musical experience nobody was ever going to forget.

At Opaline's Dark Castle, Opaline herself was looking at her reflection in her mirror.

Her hoof was lightened up with flames, and she was grinning sinisterly at herself. "Mmm-hmm. Power looks so good in you, Opaline!" she said to herself, followed by an evil laugh. "Those ponies and Mobians don't stand a chance!" she added, while she looked at her reflection again with a bigger grin. "Now, I must find my way to not only get more Dragon Fire... But also finish the job that I started. I gave those fools enough time to rest after what Ivo did months ago. Besides, getting all the Dragon Fire from their Baby will be the perfect lesson... TO NOT MESS WITH OPALINE!!!" she declared.

After this, she started to laugh maniacally, because now that her magic's back to full strength, she won't stop until she drains every drop of Dragon Fire from every single dragon in the world, Sparky included...

Eggman and Sage spent the whole week studying the silver-metallic liquid sample.

While our heroes were busy preparing the festival, Eggman decided to leave them alone for the time being and be absolutely sure that his next plan is gonna work, which is why he's planning to stay hidden on his new lab and simply study and experiment the liquid sample he found.

Speaking of the sample, it has grown even more in the past week. It went from being half on the bottle it was before, to be big enough to cover half of a container in the lab. If it kept growing, Eggman was already considering the idea of preparing a bigger container for it, if he had any, that is.

"Sage! Status report!" Eggman requested with a frown.

"The sample has grown at least 20 times it's original size in the span of one week..." Sage started to inform. "The analysis we have made to it show that the liquid is alive and contains mysterious magical properties, as well as an alarming, although fascinating, speed of reproduction" she added.

"Such a fascinating substance, yet we still know so little about it..." Eggman pointed out, even though he was grinning from ear to ear. "Have you found anything else?" he asked Sage.

"Just that it might be capable to infect someone, but i's just a theory" Sage replied. "We require an alive subject to test the theory" she pointed out.

"I see..." Eggman said, before grinning once again. "Well, I have no problem with that. After all, the idea is to make a massive army of powerful ponies, and maybe some Mobians, out of this liquid. With such an army, not even Opaline's Magic could be a match to me!" he stated confidently.

"Father, I know you hate when I do this, but should I suggest a little warning before you proceed with your plan?" Sage asked with a shy tone.

Eggman deadpanned, and even his mustache flattened a bit, so he turned away from the container with the sample and faced his computer. "... Go on..." he said with a bored tone.

"The sample is somewhat fragile and weak to proceed with a proper test. We can still use it if you desire it, but..." Sage tried to explain.

"Let me guess: The subject is going to die..." Eggman said, but now frowning with concern.

"... Yes... That is correct..." Sage replied. "... Should... Should we proceed with the experiment?" she asked.

"... If they die... They die..." Eggman said, before turning once again to face the liquid inside the container. "Let's find us some subjects, alright?" he stated with a grin.

"Understood" Sage replied.

"Look through all the animal kingdom for a proper subject to our next massive project, dear!" Eggman instructed with glee. "Code name: Metal Virus!" he added, as he let out a maniac laugh, while his glasses fell a bit and showed his dark eyes with red pupils.

The liquid inside the container seemed to react at the way Eggman named it, probably indicating that it liked it...

In Maretime Bay, Sunny, Zipp, Pipp, Sonic and Shadow were at the smoothie stand.

Sunny was making smoothies for the rest, Sonic and Shadow were staring confused at Pipp, the mentioned pegasus was pacing back and forth with loud groans, and Zipp was sitting on the ground while looking at her phone.

Pipp decided to take out her phone to see if she got any message, but there was none so far, so she putted it away and groaned with worry.

"Is she always like this?" Shadow asked to Sonic with a raised eyebrow.

"Eh, only when she's stressed" Sonic replied with the same expression.

"Okay!" Sunny called out, as she borrowed the respective smoothies to her friends. "A Protein Power Punch for Zipp, a Fruity-colada for Pipp. Banana Delight for Sonic, Magic Mango and Coconut for Shadow..." she stated, as she placed these four smoothies in her stand's counter, but only Sonic, Shadow and Zipp grabbed theirs, because Pipp was still panicking over her phone. "And for her 'Royal Flyness', the usual: a Green Monster with extra greens. Hold the monster!" she added with a chuckle, while Zipp, Sonic and Shadow started sipping their smoothies.

"Where's your mom, anyway?" Sonic asked, as he sipped a bit more from his smoothie.

"I thought you said she was the punctual kind of... eh... pony..." Shadow pointed out, still struggling to not say 'person' since there's no humans in this world.

Before any of the sisters could answer, Pipp's phone chimed, which made Pipp smile and held out her phone. "Oh, she sent a text!" she cheered, now looking at her phone. "She says… Huh. Dog emoji?" she asked confused, since she got an emoji of Cloudpuff's face winking.

"... And I thought my messages were too cryptical..." Shadow deadpanned.

"What does that mean?" Sunny asked confused.

"Mom's terrible at texting" Zipp explained with a smile. "Last week, she sent me a text that just said, 'Don't'" she added.

"At least you send what you think with emojis, even though you can text" Sonic told Shadow with a bored expression.

"Oh, I know. I just choose not to" Shadow teased with a smirk, sipping from his smoothie, while Sonic rolled his eyes.

"But Mom never misses mother-daughter brunch!" Pipp pointed out with concern, now looking at her phone. "And now, she's sending us cryptic messages?!" she questioned, showing her phone to Sunny and Zipp, while the latter kept sipping on her smoothie. "It can only mean one thing… She's been ponynapped!" she called out with panic.

With that, Sunny, Zipp and Sonic bursted out laughing, while Shadow smiled and chuckled a bit at such a thing.

"Ponynapped? Little Pipp, you gotta chill!" Sonic said with a smile, as he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's neck. "Your Mom is a busy mare, you know? Maybe she's a bit late because of her business!" he pointed out with a smile.

Pipp chuckled nervously after realizing what she said, and nodded to her boyfriend's words. "You're right, Blue Star. That sounded less silly in my head..." she admitted.

"Ponynapped?!" Hitch's voice called out suddenly.

"Huh?" Pipp asked surprised, as she and the others turned and saw Hitch and Sparky coming up.

Hitch was wearing some hoove straps ,while balancing himself on his hind legs and also balancing a crystal on his muzzle.

"Never fear, Hitch is here!" Hitch announced, keeping his balance by hopping, while Sparky came behind him, wearing a headband.

"Slow your roll! Or uh… slow your hop, buddy" Zipp said confused. "It's no big deal. Mom just didn't show up for our monthly brunch" she assured with a smile, taking another sip of her smoothie.

"But she did send us this dog emoji!" Pipp called out, while she showed her phone with the Cloudpuff emoji to Hitch.

However, Hitch didn't saw it, because he was focusing on balancing his crystal. "Sorry! Can't see… while… bouncing!" he managed to say.

Sonic groaned annoyed and rolled his eyes, while Sunny came out of her smoothie stand. "Hitch, get to the point and give us the context, 'cause bouncing around isn't telling us anything of what is this..." Sonic requested with a bored expression, gesturing at his bouncing.

"Is this some kind of pony training I'm not aware of?" Shadow asked with a raised brow.

"Not really!" Hitch answered, panting a bit as he kept hopping and balancing his crystal, before catching it with his hoof. "I'm training for Forest Critter Field Day!" he explained with a smile.

"What's that?" Sunny asked confused.

And then, a whistle blew loudly, so everyone looked up and saw Izzy on top of the smoothie stand, wearing sunglasses and blowing a whistle.

"That's a hop-stoppage penalty! You're out!" Izzy called out with a smile, while she waved her hoof.

"What?!" Hitch asked surprised. "That's not in the rules!" he pointed out.

"Actually, it is" Knuckles spoke, as he suddenly boosted at Hitch's side, while wearing sunglasses too, a yellow hat, and holding out a big purple book, which he opened it in front of Hitch. "Here, in the Forest Critter Field Day manual. Page 403" he showed, and Hitch looked down with concern after verifying that it was actually a penalty.

"So 'Forest Critter Field Day', huh? That's so far the shortest name to an event I've heard in this world..." Sonic said with an amused expression.

"I'm sorry, 'shortest'?" Shadow asked, and Sonic nodded. "What the hell is wrong with you ponies naming everything so long?" he questioned Sunny with a confused look.

"What's Forest Critter Field Day?" Sunny asked again.

Izzy gasped in shock, so she turned to her friends with a smile. "It's only the greatest ancient Unicorn tradition there is!" she explained. "Every fourth purple moon, all the ponies in Bridlewood gather for a day of thrilling events and games!" she announced, while she raised her hooves in the air, before getting closer to Sunny, Hitch and Zipp. "Games… games… games!" she repeated cheerfully.

"What game is this? 'Bounce around'?" Zipp asked confused, while Hitch balanced his crystal and hopped again on his hind legs.

"Nope, that's later!" Knuckles replied instead, which surprised Zipp that she actually named an actual game. "The Sheriff here is training for the Bunny Hop Relay" he explained.

"You bunny hop through an obstacle course while balancing a crystal, then pass the crystal to your critter, who has to hop over hurdles to the finish line!" Hitch explained, as he tossed his crystal around to demonstrate. "I'm teaming up with Sparky!" he added, as he looked down at the baby dragon, who growled excitedly while raising his claws up. "Sparky, catch!" Hitch called out, as he tossed the crystal in the air to Sparky.

However, the crystal landed on Sparky's mouth, and Sparky spit it out, also blowing his dragon fire on it, which turned the crystal into a banana peel that landed on Izzy's horn.

"Gross..." Shadow muttered with a bored expression.

"Mmm. That's a crystal droppage penalty!" Izzy called out. "You're out!" she added, before blew her whistle again.

"Wait, who's out? Me or Sparky?" Hitch asked confused.

"Both of you!" Knuckles intervened. "You dropped your crystal, and Sparky is not a critter... He's a baby!" he pointed out, while Sparky himself was eating on his headband.

"But, but…" Hitch tried to say, since he couldn't believe he was disqualified for two reasons.

"Look!" Izzy said, as she brought out the rule book again. "'Every pony contestant must compete with a critter! No baby dragons'" she read with a smile.

"There's no way it says that" Hitch said with a frown, but then Izzy showed him the page, and his eyes widened. "Oh. Wow, it does say that..." He said surprised.

"Let me check!" Sonic said, as he snatched the rule book from Izzy's hooves and read the same rule. "Huh. Well, that's weird... Didn't Sunny said that dragons haven't been seen in generations? Why is there a rule about 'no dragons allowed'?" he questioned confused.

"Just because they weren't there does not mean they never believed in them" Knuckles said with his arms crossed and a bored expression, while Izzy nodded in agreement with a smile. "Beside, this rules were probably made before dragons went away from Equestria, if everything Sunny's dad researched is feasible" he pointed out.

"Well, now I need a new partner!" Hitch said in disappointment. "What kind of critter should I compete with?" he asked.

Then, Sunny looked up, and her eyes widened. "Oh! A dog!" she called, as she pointed her hoof in the air, which Zipp and Shadow followed.

"I know! But why did she text a dog?" Pipp asked confused, since she was still only paying attention to her phone.

"I think she means the flying dog that's heading to us" Shadow pointed out.

"Hmm…" Zipp hummed. as she rubbed her chin while looking up.

"Ah-ha!" Hitch called out after seeing it as well.

In the sky, Cloudpuff was flying towards them, while holding a note in his paws and barking.

"Oh!" Pipp exclaimed, realizing what they meant.

"Mom sent Cloudpuff? With a note?!" Zipp asked confused. "Mom. Just learn how to text! Ugh!" she groaned, then tried to grab the note from him, but Cloudpuff flew back and barked at her, before flying away.

"Cloudy, wait!" Pipp called out, as she flew after him.

"Look at that dog go! He's so fast!" Hitch said with a smile, and then he gasped in realization. "Which is perfect!" he stated with a smirk.

But then, Hitch turned around and gasped in surprise, since the rest trotted/ran/skated off after Pipp and Cloudpuff ahead of him, leaving him and Sparky behind. So, Hitch groaned and picked up Sparky, then putted him on his back and trotted after his friends.

In the Brighthouse, Tails was creating a fourth watch similar to his, but this time in pink.

But then, the royal sisters and the rest bursted through the doors, with everyone but Sonic and Shadow panting exhausted after chasing down Cloudpuff, which startled him a lot.

"Cloudpuff?" Zipp called out.

Soon enough, they saw Cloudpuff, and Zipp tried to catch him, but Cloudpuff dodged her, so Pipp tried to do the same but missed as well, and Cloudpuff hovered in the air with the note and barked twice.

"He says 'Dearest Princess, I bring a message from your dear mother, her Royal Majesty, Queen Haven of Zephyr Heights'..." Hitch began talking in a royal tone and bowing slightly, which made Sparky fell from his back.

"Get to it, Puff" Pipp quipped with a bored expression, while Zipp frowned and raised an eyebrow.

Cloudpuff barked twice again. "Cloudpuff says that before he delivers his message, he first requires a meal of the finest––" Hitch tried to say, once again in a royal tone.

"Oh, for hoofness sakes!" Zipp groaned, before she went and grabbed a treat that she held in front of Cloudpuff, who barked and grabbed it, while dropping the note that Zipp caught and unrolled. "My darlings, it is with deepest regret that I must postpone today's mother-daughter brunch. Some very important state business has come up and couldn't wait" Zipp read, while Pipp hovered to her side and gasped. "Let's reschedule for a time that is more inconvenient for you both, With love. Mother" Zipp finished to read, rolling the letter again.

"Inconvenient?" Sonic questioned confused.

"Did she mean to say 'more convenient'?" Sunny pointed out.

The two royal sisters sighed. "No.." they both said.

"Mom takes royal meetings all the time, but our special brunch is special! And she loves brunch!" Pipp explained, as she and Zipp landed back on the ground and Pipp gasped again. "I think maybe she has been ponynapped" she whispered to Zipp.

"Honey, you're overreacting again..." Sonic deadpanned.

"Come on" Zipp agreed.

"Look at the bottom!" Pipp gestured back to the note, that had a red heart at the bottom. "A cute little heart? When has she ever drawn a cute little heart on a note before?" she pointed out with concern.

"Hmm, you know what? That is suspicious..." Zipp replied, before taking out her phone and taking a picture of it and make zoom on the heart drawing. "What do you make of all of this, Sheriff?" she asked him.

However, Hitch was examining Cloudpuff to see if he was the perfect replacement for Sparky. "Make of what?" he asked.

"What else?!" Pipp snapped, before she paced a bit. "Cryptic Messages and cute little hearts! Something sinister is ahoof" she declared with a frown.

"I'm never gonna get used to all this pony talkery..." Shadow deadpanned, and Sunny at his side giggled a bit.

"Um... guys?" Tails called out, as he stood right at Sunny's side. "How about a little context, please?" he requested.

"Queen Haven is just late for brunch with Zipp and Pipp" Sunny explained him with a smile.

"And guess who's overreacting?" Shadow said with an eye roll and his arms crossed.

"Maybe Mom's being held hostage somewhere, all alone... with no brunch to eat!" Pipp exclaimed in panic.

"Aaaaand we lost her..." Knuckles deadpanned.

"We lost who?" Amy questioned, as she, Misty, Rouge and Omega arrived from the bedroom.

"The sisters' Mom is late for their monthly brunch. Pipp thinks her Mom's kidnapped just because of that" Shadow replied with a bored expression.

"Pipp, you are overthinking this more than usual." Sonic reasoned with a bored expression. "If she was ponynapped, everypony in Zephyr Heights would be in chaos because of it ,and Thunder and Zoom would be here at this moment to tell you themselves. Do you see them anywhere?" he questioned with a raised brow and a bored expression.

"Yup, Sonic's right. I think somepony's being overdramatic" Zipp added, putting a hoof on Pipp's back. "But, something is definitely up with her. Hmm..." she muttered with concern.

"Wow, they're concerned because their Mom has a life..." Knuckles deadpanned, and Amy hit him on the shoulder with a frown. "Like if I was wrong!" he added with a frown as well, and Amy rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Zipp turned and went over to Hitch, whom was still looking over Cloudpuff, whom at the moment was having his tongue held out by Hitch. "Could you help us figure it out?" Zipp asked him with a smile, while Cloudpuff licked Hitch happily.

"I will help you" Hitch replied. "And I know just where we should look for her first!" he stated confidently.

"Well, as much as I would like to join you, I have my own business to deal with" Tails said, as he moved aside and walked towards his desk.

"Wait, so you're not going to watch the Forest Critter Field Day?" Knuckles asked.

"I have no idea what that is, but no. I'm finding out about where Eggman could be hiding and how to not only infiltrate his base, but also infiltrate Opaline's Castle" Tails explained.

This made Misty gasp, so she turned to him. "Wait, you're investigating about Opaline and her lair?!" she asked in panic.

"We gotta find a way to defeat her for good, and so, we have to traverse that stupid barrier already!" Tails declared, before he remembered something, so he quickly boosted to Amy. "Before I forget!" he said.

Then, he brought out the pink watch he was making earlier and putted it on Amy's right wrist, then he sync it with his own.

"Huh... What is this?" Amy asked, not bothered by the fact that Tails putted the watch on her.

"A special watch Sonic, Knuckles and I have as well!" Tails replied with a smile. "Now that you're back with the Team, I found logical to give you one as well!" he pointed out with a smile.

"Oh, well... Thanks!" Amy replied with a smile.

"So I guess you'll catch up with us later?" Sonic asked, while the Mane 6 but Misty, Knuckles and Shadow left the Brighthouse.

"Yup!" Tails replied with a smile, while Amy and Sonic nodded at him and then walked out. "Have fun!" he said with a wave of a hand.

"Um, Tails?" Misty called out, and the young fox turned to see her. "Do you mind if I stay with you and help you out to figure out how to find Eggman and infiltrate Opaline's lair?" she asked with a sheepish smile.

"Of course! Any help is welcome!" Tails replied with a smile and a wink, while Misty blushed slightly and chuckled nervously.

"Mind if we help as well?" Rouge asked with a smirk, gesturing at herself and Omega, while she sat on the robot's shoulder with her legs crossed.

"Anything that requires locate and defeat Dr. Eggman is top priority in my database" Omega stated, as he slowly and robotically closed his hand on a fist.

"And I can infiltrate anything without being noticed" Rouge added confidently.

"Well, you know what they say: The more, the merrier!" Tails stated with a smirk.

The rest of the group made it to Bridlewood, were ponies were preparing for the games.

"Oh yeah!" Hitch said with a smile.

"Hitch!" Pipp called out, as she flew to him. "The Queen of Zephyr Heights is not being held captive at the Bridlewood Forest Critter Field!" she pointed out with anger.

"But you never know!" Hitch replied with a smile. "It's as good a place to start our search as any" he added. "Come on, Puffy, let's go register!" he stated, as he and Cloudpuff walked up to register in the games.

Pipp gave Hitch a dull look, while the rest but Shadow just smiled.

"Let him be, Princess" Knuckles told Pipp with a smirk.

Hitch walked up to the register stand and he signed in.

"Now don’t lose this" the unicorn stallion making the registration told Hitch, while placing on his right side a sign that had the number 5 on it.

"Yeah!' Hitch cheered, while he came up to the unicorn, who was trying to put a helmet on Cloudpuff, but the dog flew away with a bark. "Hey, uh… You haven't seen any Pegasus queens around here, have you?" Hitch asked in a slight whispering tone.

At this, the unicorn didn't respond and just walked off, making Hitch shrug in response.

The rest of the group were at a bench, with the two sisters sitting on, while Sunny and Izzy were chatting to each other, Sonic and Knuckles were making a bet, and Shadow and Amy just talked.

"Well, guess you two were right!" Hitch called out to the sisters, while everyone turned to him. "She's not here. But I'm sure your mom is just fine. She's probably somewhere enjoying brunch right now" he assured them.

Pipp groaned at Hitch and flew in front of him. "Without me? Ugh! She could never!" she retorted as she crossed her hooves.

"Pipp, sweetheart, I love you, but the world doesn't revolve around you" Sonic said, as he boosted in front of her with a frown, also tapping his foot. "Your Mom is fine, and you know why? Because nopony but you is panicking about her! Do you really think the forest will be this cheerful and lacking pegasi if she was lost or ponynapped?" he questioned.

Pipp blinked a few times after her boyfriend scolded her. "I... I guess not..." she recognized.

"Also, I see that Knuckles had a point back in the Brighthouse. Your Mom also has a life without you, why make a drama for something that doesn't requires it?" Amy questioned as well.

"They're right, Pipp" Hitch said in agreement. "But hey, now that we're here, now you can cheer me and Cloudpuff on in the first event!" he cheered, which made Pipp look down with sadness.

"Come on Pipp, let's go watch some weird sports" Zipp said, as she dragged Pipp away and then led her back to the bench, as they, with Sparky being the middle of them, while Sonic rushed and sat at Pipp's side.

And yet, Pipp groaned in anger and frowned, while cutely tapping her hooves to the bench and breathing heavily, which made Sonic gasp and cover his mouth, since he found that too adorable.

"Or you could help me give out the trophies?" Izzy suggested cheerfully, as she hopped in front of them.

"I'll help, Izzy!" Sunny called out with a smile. "All these new unicorn traditions are so fascinating" she stated, as she looked around at the game's setup. "I'd love to get an inside look" she added.

"Ooh!" Izzy squealed, as she hopped down. "Wait until you ponies see it. The Field Day games are so elegant!" she said in a fancy tone. "Beautiful! Majestic!" she added as she walked off.

And then, a ball came bouncing and passed them, while a unicorn chasing it left a trail of dust in front of them.

Pipp coughed from the dust, while some leaves ended on her mane. "Majestic..." she said in a bull tone.

"Well, hopefully we won't have any kind of inconvenience this time around..." Sonic muttered.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Maretime Bay Day? A storm screwed things up. Winter Wishday? Eggman tried to destroy a Wishing Star after not being able to steal it. Bridlewoodstock? Ghosts with pig faces stoled voices..." Sonic replied with a bored expression. "It'll be nice for an event to go as right as possible without any inconvenience coming out of nowhere" he pointed out.

"Is just a bunch of silly - and questionable - games" Shadow pointed out. "What's the worse that can happen?" he asked with a deadpanned look.

In the Brighthouse, Tails brought out everything he had to start the research.

He moved a big yellow screen he has on his room to the living room, making it float in the air and work as a half-TV, half-computer and half-board so he could also write down some stuff.

As Tails prepared himself, Omega lowered himself down, Rouge sat over the robot's shoulder with her legs crossed, and Misty sat on one of the couched, looking at Tails with curiosity on what was he doing.

Finally, Tails turned on the screen, showing up the full map of Equestria, which included Opaline's Castle exact location, Canterlot's abandoned city and Fluttershy's Cottage. The map also had red 'X' marks in numerous areas, which where all the spots that Team Dark already visited and destroyed the empty Eggman basements.

"Since we already know that Eggman has a secret base hidden in somewhere, yet we don't know where yet, I'll say we should leave him for later on and focus on something we do know" Tails started to explain.

"Which is?" Rouge asked with a raised eyebrow.

Then, Tails made zoom on the image to focus on Opaline's Castle. "The barrier surrounding the Dark Castle!" he stated. "We gotta find a way to sneak inside and take a glance on what is Opaline going to do now!" he stated.

"Um... I think the Dragonstone still had some Dragon Fire that the Unity Crystals didn't contained when Eggman got his hands over them..." Misty commented. "And knowing Opaline, I think she'll look for more..." she pointed out with concern.

"Then that's a bigger reason to find a way to traverse that barrier!" Tails pointed out with a smile.

"I hate to brake your bubble, Yellow, but if this 'Opaline' character is an Alicorn with fire powers, how are you expecting us to traverse a barrier that could be made of fire?" Rouge questioned.

"Not to mention, find a weakness on her powers is required for victory" Omega added.

"The barrier is not made of fire" Misty explained. "All the times I approached it and used my magic to try and make it brake a bit, it never hurt nor burdened me" she pointed out. "But it doesn't changes the fact that regular unicorn magic does nothing to traverse that thing..." she added with dissapointment.

Yet, both Tails' and Rouge's eyes widened, as they looked at each other for a second, before they both close to Misty.

"Mist, repeat that!" Tails requested.

"Uh, um..." Misty said with a slight blush, since Tails was too close to her face. "T-The barrier is not made of fire?" she replied with a nervous smile.

"No, no! The last thing you said about your magic not working on the barrier!" Rouge pointed out, and Tails nodded in agreement.

Misty let out a small "Ooh!" and chuckled awkwardly. "Um, regular unicorn magic does nothing to traverse that thing?" she said this time around.

"Unicorn magic doesn't affects the barrier... Because it was made with Alicorn magic!" Tails realized. "Gosh, I sometimes feel too stupid to realize the simplest things!" he pointed out, before moving back to the screen.

"So, if someone like Sunny could use her magic on the barrier, could it open up?" Rouge theorized.

"It's the main idea!" Tails replied with a smirk, as he placed a picture of Sunny on her Alicorn form over Opaline's Castle in the map, while he also wrote down 'Alicorn magic' below Sunny's picture. "Now, we have to find a way to test our theory without Opaline either realizing what we want to do, or at least, distract with something else" he pointed out with concern.

"How about I do it?" Misty suggested. "Opaline would sure believe I want to go back with her!" she pointed out with a smile.

"Absolutely NOT!" Tails said with a frown. "You already had enough crap with her, and I'm not risking your safety because you wanna help!" he stated.

"But I know I can persuade her!" Misty replied.

"Mist, I'm not gonna risk you against Opaline!" Tails stated once again. "She not only manipulated you and lied you your whole life, but she also tried to paint herself as the heroine of a story where she is the bad guy!" he pointed out.

"Tails, I know you're worried for me, but I'm no damsel in distress!" Misty countered, now frowning as well. "I can distract Opaline long enough for you to get whatever you need to test!" she added.

"I don't want you to be manipulated by Opaline again, Misty!" Tails countered as well.

"Are you saying I'm gullible?!" Misty asked with anger, while some sparks came out of her horn.

"I'M SAYING I DON'T WANT TO LOOSE YOU!" Tails snapped, while his eyes turned yellow and his breath accelerated.

Misty's frown dissipated, and instead, she stared at Tails with wide and surprised eyes after he yelled that. "... You... don't want to loose me?" she asked confused.

Tails calmed himself down and let out a sigh, before looking at Misty again, but this time a bit guilty. "Misty... I trust you a lot more than you or anyone can imagine..." he started to explain himself. "But I don't trust Opaline. If experience taught me something over the years, is that you can never expect a dishonest person to be honest. Opaline is rotten to the core, and I... I don't want you to fall for her tricks, either if it's by manipulation or by mental control... I don't want to loose another friend the way I almost lost Sonic months ago..." he finished, while his ears lowered.

Misty's ears lowered as well after hearing all of this, and now, she felt a bit guilty after snapping at Tails liked that. He was just trying to protect her, and she still got mad with him.

"I... Tails, I'm sorry... I didn't knew you just wanted to––" Misty tried to apologize, but Tails raised a hand and stopped her.

"Don't. You're trying to help, and all I'm doing is feel paranoid about it..." Tails said with a groan. "But I'm serious when I say I don't want you to distract Opaline. We'll find another way!" he stated.

Misty chuckled slightly and looked at Tails with a smile. "Right!" she nodded.

"Well, if you two are done with your little apology show, I suggest we go over our next Issue: Dr. Eggman" Rouge suggested with a frown.

"Agreed. His defeat must be accomplished!" Omega agreed.

"Good, because I still need to hit him for making Sunny pay a month of therapy!" Tails said with a frown, looking back at the board, this time resuming the map to the normal one. "Eggman knows when to not make Sonic mad, but I doubt he'll like to see what happens when I am mad..." he stated with anger.

Months ago, when Tails' voice was high pitched, Rouge would had chuckle at the idea of Tails being so mad with Eggman, but now that his voice has matured... She actually felt a bit concerned for him.

Misty, on the other hand, gulped nervously, since she has seen enough to know that making Tails mad was never a good sign...

Back at the Bridlewood Field Critter Games, Sunny, Izzy and Knuckles were watching Hitch.

He was practicing with an elderly unicorn stallion, who wa asleep, while a camera stallion was aiming a camera at them.

"So, the point of the game is you push somepony over?" Sunny asked confused.

"Right!" Izzy replied with a smile.

"Or instead they push you over!" Knuckles added after looking at the book.

"You just push?" Hitch asked confused. "Is there a starting bell? Or a score? Do we flip a bit to see who goes first?!" he asked frankly. "Or do I just…" he then slightly pushed the elderly unicorn stallion, as he fell to the floor, which made him wake up.

"Right! Winner!" Izzy cheered, as she held out a trophy and gave it to the elderly unicorn stallion, who chuckled as he grabbed the trophy.

"Wait! Him?!" Hitch asked in shock. "That makes no sense!" he argued.

Then, the bunnycorn that was paired with the unicorn stallion pushed Cloudpuff down, and the dog laid on his side.

"Another winner!" Knuckles cheered this time, giving a small trophy to the bunnycorn, who squeaked happily, while Cloudpuff barked at them.

"What?!" Hitch asked again as he rubbed his head in confusion.

Shadow was at Sunny's side, reading the rule book and raising an eyebrow. "This are the most confusing rules I've ever read in my life..." he said with a deadpan.

Meanwhile, Zipp, Pipp, Sonic and Amy were walking through Bridlewood together.

"Ugh, it's hard to focus on these games when all I can think about is Mom" Pipp frowned with concern.

"I'm sure she's fine" Zipp assured.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure!" Pipp whined.

"Your mother is the Queen! She apologized because of important business, she literally sent you a letter about it!" Sonic pointed out with a bored expression.

"And she's busy as well. I don't get why you are being so dramatic over this" Amy added with a bored expression as well.

"That does not makes me any less worried!" Pipp exclaimed with a groan. "You're a detective, Zipp. Can't you do an investigation or something?" she told her elder sister, while making sad puppy dog eyes, which made Zipp sigh before taking out her phone.

"New Entry: the case of the missing mother" Zipp said with a small smile.

"Yes!" Pipp sang with her wings spread. "We should question that grumpy old Alphabittle at the Tea Room. He knows all the Bridlewood gossip" she suggested.

"I know you girls are still not over the fact that Alphabittle is dating your Mom, but that's no excuse to call him 'old' nor 'grumpy', you know?" Amy scolded with a frown.

Suddenly, the four of them heard a maniacal laughter coming from the Team Room. "That laugh! That's Mom's laugh!" Pipp said with a gasp.

"Uh, no it's not. Flypad, play Queen Haven laughing" Zipp told her phone, which played back a nicer sounding laugh. "That's Mom's laugh" she pointed out

"Actually, Pipp's right. That's just the phony laugh she does in public" Sonic dismissed, before the maniacal laugh was heard again. "That's your mom's real laugh!" he pointed out.

The two sisters immediately trotted to the tea shop, while Sonic and Amy stood behind, so they looked at each other and shrugged, before following Zipp and Pipp.

The sisters bursted through the door, and they saw their mother with Alphabittle, not noticing that Queen Haven and Alphabittle were looking at each other lovingly, with their two hooves touching each other while they smiled with loving gazes.

"Ah-ha!" Pipp called out, while pointing a hoof at them.

"Okay! We are clearly interrupting something!" Amy said with a sheepish smile, as she and Sonic walked backwards, with Sonic imitating MJ's moon dance.

"Yup! Time to get out of here! Sayōnara! Yoru o o tanoshimi kudasai!" Sonic said, while saying 'Goodbye! Enjoy your evening!' in Japanese, leaving the Tea Room along Amy.

"Mom?!" Zipp asked surprised, which startled Haven as she gasped in surprise, not expecting her daughters at all. "What are you doing here?" Zipp questioned.

Haven looked nervous on how to explain this to her daughters, while Alphabittle just gave a small smile at the two sisters, whom looked back and forth to the adult ponies.

"Blink twice if you're being held hostage!" Pipp whispered a bit to their mother.

Haven was just surprised that her young daughter would think that, before looking nervous again and give a nervous smile. "Girls! This is Alphabittle! And uh, this is his Tea Room! Alphabittle, these are my daughters, the princesses Pipp and Zipp" she introduced quickly, even though they had already met before.

"We know him!" Zipp pointed out. "But why are you guys hanging out together?!" she questioned.

"And why didn't you show up for brunch?!" Pipp questioned as well.

"If you two are hungry, we got a great brunch here, right, Haven?" Alphabittle asked Haven with a smile.

"Mm-hmm" Haven agreed with a smile, while the two adult ponies looked at each other lovingly.

Yeah, Zipp and Pipp forgot that Haven and Alphabittle have been dating for a couple of months already. They haven't made their Big Relationship Announcement like Pipp has done, true, but like Pipp herself said, it had to be made, no matter how recent or old the relationship is. So be patient, these two can still do theirs.

Pipp gasped in shock after she remembered this. "Hitch was right! You brunched without us!" she said with shock, as she landed on the ground next to her sister.

"Didn't you get my message?" Haven asked her daughters with a smile, while the two sisters each took a seat. "Didn't Cloudpuff look so sweet with his little scroll?" she added with a cute face. "Sure it was a little cryptic, but you girls do love decoding things!" she pointed out.

Then, Alphabittle came up while levitating a tea kettle with a smile. "Would you two like some tea?" he asked politely.

Zipp was about to snap at Alphabittle, but just then, Sonic interfered by coming back into the Tea Room and sitting behind his sister-in-law. "Make it four, Alpha B!" he interrupted with a smirk, making sure that Zipp wouldn't be rude with Alphabittle, while Amy came in with a sheepish smile and sat behind Sonic.

Alphabittle smiled and nodded, as he turned around and went to grab four cups to pour tea on them.

"Mom, why did you bailed us on a brunch date?" Zipp asked to Haven with a frown, while Sonic and Amy deadpanned behind her.

Haven sighed and gave a small smile to her daughters. "Darlings, I told you that something important came up" she reminded them.

At this, Pipp held out her phone to show Haven a video that's livestreaming Hitch's push game from earlier. "This is important?!" Pipp questioned, pointing a hoof at her phone.

"Winner!" Knuckles cheered through the video, as he gave the trophy to the bunnycorn that pushed Cloudpuff.

Haven scoffed and lowered Pipp's phone. "Ugh, this Field Day is a special occasion for the Unicorns, and now that Pegasus and Unicorns are…" she trailed off after looking at Alphabittle, who was smiling at her, and Haven blushed a bit with a small smile before recomposing herself, tapping her hooves nervously. "… reuniting, well, it's, it's important that we have, um… ambassadors to… when they…" she trailed off again, now waving her hoof at them while following Alphabittle with her eyes, since she can't take her eyes off him.

"Yeah, we were definitely interrupting..." Sonic said, then Alphabittle used his magic to place the four cups with tea in front of Sonic, Amy, Zipp and Pipp, with Sonic and Amy taking the whole tea in one sip, despite it being completely hot.

"What are you saying?" Pipp asked their mother confused, while Zipp seemed to be as confused as her sister, and Sonic and Amy behind had to rush out for water because of sipping the hot tea so fast and in just one go.

Meanwhile, Haven turned to her daughters and got up, so the two sisters followed a bit and got in front of their mom, while Haven took a deep breath. "I am here in an official capacity!" she snapped, which made Zipp and Pipp flinch as they looked at each other, before turning their gaze back to their mother. "Now, if you don't mind, Alphie and I were discussing official… negotiations?" she suggested, as she sat back to her seat while looking at Alphabittle with a loving gaze.

Zipp and Pipp cringed at their mother, and they backed away a bit with a nervous smile. "Uh…" Pipp said uncertainly.

"Yeah..." Zipp said next. "We're gonna… go outside now..." she said, as she trotted to the door.

"Hm" Pipp said with a frown, before Zipp grabbed her sister and dragged her to the exit.

Once outside, the two sisters groaned in disgust and felt disturbed, with Pipp gagging in disgust and Zipp looking out a bit traumatized, still not fully accepting that Alphabittle was dating their mom.

"Is it wrong that I can't stand her calling him 'Alphie'?" Pipp asked her sister, while Zipp nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, they heard something weird, and they turned to see Amy desperately drinking down a full water bottle, while Sonic brought a whole gallon of water and drank it as well.

"Uh... what's the matter with you two?" Zipp asked confused.

Amy stopped drinking from her bottle and gasped with wide eyes, before wiping out some water from her chin and look over at the sisters. "We drank... a way to hot tea..." she replied.

Then, Sonic let go of the gallon, which spilled some water over him, as he spitted some that was still on his mouth, and then he also gasped with wide eyes. "Mental note: Never drink hot tea ever again!" he stated with panic.

However, as he stood up and tried to dry himself, that panic intensified when he saw Cyber Sonic from behind some bushes, and he fell to the ground with a yelp.

"Ow..." Sonic complained.

Back in the Brighthouse, Tails made some adjustments to the map on the screen.

He removed Opaline's castle and every single place that Team Dark visited on the past 6 months to have a clear idea on where to go and look after Eggman and his new basement or lab.

"Okay... Since pretty much all the areas near by Zephyr Heights, Fluttershy's Cottage and Canterlot have empty basements, and we know for sure that Eggman wants to stay as far from Opaline as he can..." Tails started. "That narrows it down to just two locations... Maretime Bay and Bridlewood!" he pointed out.

"Dr. Eggman is clearly hiding in one of these two zones... But where?" Rouge asked.

Omega then started to process all the data that Tails' screen presented, as he came to a conclusion himself. "... I suggest we start to think like the enemy to find the enemy" he suggested.

The other three turned to him confused.

"Uh, what?" Misty asked confused.

"Instead of narrowing down all the places we've not checked before, we should instead think like the mind that refuses to be found" Omega stated. "In other words: Which would be the last place an evil genius like Eggman would expect us to look for him?" he questioned.

After Omega said this, Tails' eyes widened. "... Eggman would never hid in a place lacking tech..." he realized.

Rouge's eyes widened as well. "Of course! Eggman is a genius that needs to recharge resources in order to power his machines. That's why we thought he was hiding in Zephyr Heights!" she pointed out.

"But if he wants to be as far from Opaline as possible, he would choose a place that's far from her Castle" Misty added as well.

"That narrows it down to just one location" Omega added, as he slowly walked to the board and pointed at one of the two remaining towns in the map: Bridlewood.

Tails made Maretime Bay disappear, and the four of them stared at the Bridlewood forest.

"Bridlewood is not only the farthest from Opaline's Castle. It lacks technology, despite counting with TV's and phones. And, it's the last kind of place Eggman would dare to hide!" Tails stated with a smirk.

"So, that narrows it... Eggman must be hiding in Bridlewood!" Rouge stated with a frown.

"Then we should go and look around! Knowing him, he could be hearing us..." Misty pointed out with concern, while looking around her with suspicion. "And even if Amy destroyed that robot-bird he had, he could still make another one and still spy on us!" she added.

"There's still one problem besides the chance of Eggman knowing our plan..." Omega spoke, as he slowly and carefully moved the floating screen aside and grabbed the TV remote, before pointing it at the TV.

As he did so, Sky Silver and Dazzle appeared, narrating all the events of the Forest Critter Field Day going on, with Hitch looking at the camera with an extremely confused expression.

"The Field Day is still in process" Omega explained, then he looked back at the rest. "We cannot approach the unicorn forest without looking suspicious, nor without the rest of the crew noticing we're not there for the event" he pointed out.

"Ugh... I hate to admit it, but he's right..." Rouge said with a frown. "If we're gonna look through Bridlewood for any possible basement, hopefully the right one this time, we'll need a good excuse" she pointed out.

"Oh, we need an excuse? I have the perfect one!" Misty declared with a smile.

"Really?" Tails asked curiously, and Misty nodded eagerly. "What is it?" he questioned.

"The Forest Critter Field Day is a unicorn tradition, right? And we promised to go there once we were done here!" Misty started to explain. "So, all we have to do..." she continued, but now gesturing with a hoof to the rest so they can continue.

It took them a while, but they immediately got it. "Is say we are done here, then watch the rest of the Day, and then stay after everything's done!" Tails realized first with a smile.

"Then we could go through Bridlewood and look after the basement!" Rouge continued as well.

"Our perfect excuse in case of questions would be using Misty's lack of knowledge in Bridlewood's culture as a facade to our true purpose" Omega added.

"The what are we waiting for?" Tails said with a smile, shutting down the TV and his screen. "Let's get to Bridlewood ASAP!" he declared.

With this, the four of them bursted out of the door, heading towards Bridlewood to put their plan in action.

Back at Bridlewood, a white bird with blue wings, similar to Kenneth, was flying by peacefully.

Soon enough, the bird stopped flying right over a tree branch, and it didn't took so long for another bird to come by and stand on the same branch...

However, this bird wasn't acting like one, and the first bird that arrived noticed it. The new bird was more... metallic looking like, and their eyes were fully red, which only startled the first bird even more.

Then, the second bird slowly turned their head to the first one, startling them a lot, and then, the second bird opened it's beak and released a green gas that the other bird inhaled.

After doing so, the bird started to caught a lot, before they felt really dizzy, and then, the bird fell unconscious over the branch, while the other bird, who was actually another robot made by Eggman, flew in the air and grabbed the unconscious bird with their legs, before flying away.

Meanwhile, near the Tea Room, Zipp and Pipp were peeking behind a tree.

Soon enough, they came over and pocked their heads to look at Alphabittle and their mother getting out of the building.

"This is even worse than I feared" Pipp said with concern.

Soon, enough, they heard Alphabittle laughing and snorted a little, something that Haven didn't minded, before they both looked at her phone. "Aww, look at that cute little face" Alphabittle said.

"Now she's showing him embarrassing photos of me as a filly!" Pipp said with concern, before frowning along Zipp.

Then, the two sisters sneaked away and popped their heads from behind a bush, discovering that Haven was actually showing Alphabittle photos of Cloudpuff.

"And here he is as a little pirate" Haven said with a smile, then she swapped to the next picture. "Oh and here, he's a ballerina!" she reminisced, before showing a video of Cloudpuff on his birthday as he ate a puppy treat cupcake. "Watch this, he eats his whole puppy cupcake in one bite!" she cooed.

"Now that's a hungry Pup!" Alphabittle grinned with a chuckle, while Haven sighed.

"Thank hoofness I have Cloudy..." Haven said with sadness, while her ears lowered and she putted her phone away. "With the girls away now, I feel so... alone sometimes..." she frowned, making a little circle on the grass with her hoof.

With Zipp and Pipp living in Maretime Bay, Haven has the palace all to herself, which wasn't as exciting compared to her daughters being with her.

Seeing this, Alphabittle placed a hoof under her chin, which made her turn to him. "Hey. You're not alone" he replied, as he got close to her and smiled, which she returned it.

That made Zipp and Pipp gag before they turned around, almost like they were about to vomit at the romance.

Sonic and Amy, who just followed them to make sure they wouldn't mess with Haven and Alphabittle, also popped their heads from behind the bush, and unlike the sisters, they smiled and found the exchange adorable.

"Aw!" Amy exclaimed, as she was being carried by Sonic, who simply smiled at the two adult ponies being so lovey-dobey with each other.

"If this isn't adorable, I definitely need glasses!" Sonic said cheerfully.

Suddenly, Hitch came trotting towards the sisters with Sparky on his back with Cloudpuff behind them as he skidded to a stop as he faced the two sisters.

"Hey! Can you two Sparky-sit for a sec?" Hitch asked them with a smile. "We've got to get across this balance beam before those birds drop stewed cabbage balls on us!" he quickly explained, as he pointed his hoof behind him.

Kenneth and a flock of birds were flying towards him, holding said stew cabbage balls. He didn't need an answer as he gave Sparky to Zipp, who giggled in response.

"Thanks! I think I've finally figured out the rules! Ha-ha!" Hitch yelled out as he trotted off with a laugh, but then he tripped and fell to the floor, so Kenneth and the birds dropped the cabbages on him. "Ow. Ow..." he complained, while the cabbages fell on him.

Just then, Izzy came by with Sunny and Shadow, as she blew her whistle while holding another trophy. "Winner!" she called out, as she gave the trophy to Sunny.

"Uh..." Sunny said in surprise, as she held the trophy.

Hitch sighed after seeing this. "Spoke too soon" he said, as he flopped to the floor.

Shadow deadpanned after seeing this. "This is the dumbest thing I've ever witnessed..." he said with annoyance.

A little bit later, Hitch was hopping on some hoops while balancing his crystal on his muzzle, before tossing it to Cloudpuff.

Cloudpuff than hopped through three wooden hoops and made it to the finish line, as he dropped the crystal.

"Yeah!" Hitch cheered.

Then, Knuckles blew a whistle and landed on a bench with other ponies. "Winner!" he stated, as he gave the green unicorn a trophy, while the other ponies cheered.

"Huh?" Hitch asked completely confused.

In the next game, Hitch and a few other ponies were hopping in sacks.

Their critter companions were in sacks of their own, as they either hopped or flew around. Suddenly, Cloudpuff's sack covered his eyes, and he started to bark, before hitting a tree face first, which make him bark a bit furiously.

Just then, Sunny and Shadow came by, while Sunny held a trophy. "Uh… winner?" she guessed, as she placed down the trophy at the tree's side.

Soon enough, Izzy slid down the tree with a smile. "Mm-hmm" she nodded.

Hitch sighed at this, and Shadow facepalmed himself in annoyance. "This is getting ridiculous..." he groaned.

In the next game, a group of unicorns were digging on the ground.

Soon enough, Hitch lifted up a soft football and threw it to Cloudpuff, who caught the ball with a bark, but then, the unicorn group used their magic to levitate it off from his grip, while they did a magical tug-a-war, before the ball ripped apart with confetti coming out.

With this, Knuckles blew the whistle again and placed the trophy in the center of the ripped up ball. "Winner!" he called out, while the ponies started to cheer again.

Hitch sighed frustrated because of this, since the rules were getting more and more ridiculous.

A light turned on suddenly over the bird from earlier.

This bird woke up while feeling dizzy and shook their head. Then, the bird looked confused around them, not understanding how they got there in the first place.

But then, they heard some steps, and when they turned around, they chirped in panic, because they saw Dr. Eggman at the other side of what seemed to be the capsule they were trapped in.

"Morning, little fella!" Eggman said with a grin. "I hope you had a good rest, because things are gonna get wild from here on!" he stated confidently.

Eggman started to walk around the capsule, while the bird inside shook in fear.

"Aww, are you scared in there, little fella? Do not worry! This is gonna be a quick, little test!" Eggman declared, while his grind grew and looked more sinister now.

Soon enough, Sage opened the upper zone of the capsule where the bird was held hostage, and she let go a tiny, little drop of the Metal Virus that Eggman was testing out, and unfortunately, this innocent bird was the first test subject.

The drop of the Metal Virus fell over the bird's head, which confused the critter more than it scared them...

And yet, the real scare started when the drop suddenly started to grow and extend at a very fast paste around the bird's body, which startled the bird a lot as they tried to fly away, and even rubbed their own body with their wings to take the metallic liquid off them.

However, once the entire liquid covered the bird completely, in the air, the bird stopped moving and fell facewards to the bottom of the capsule, staying there for around 10 seconds without moving, until they finally stood up and looked over at Eggman with a weird expression...

It seemed to be kind of a half-frown and half-lost gaze, because even if it seemed that the bird was looking at Eggman, it also seemed like they were staring at nothing specially. Their mouth was also hanging open and showing sharp teeth, and their eyes turned fully red.

"How are the vital signs so far, Sage?" Eggman asked curiously.

"The vital signs are stable for the time being, but I do warn: The chance to loose the subject with such a weak sample of the Metal Virus is still very high, father" Sage instructed.

Eggman just nodded and cleared his throat, while the small robot bird from before entered to the capsule and looked at the
real bird infected with the virus.

The bird slowly looked at their robotic counterpart, but as soon, as they started to move, the bird's body began to move and revolve, while the poor critter gagged a bit as well and grabbed their neck with their wings.

This seemed to make Eggman look down in disappointment, like if he already knew what was going to happen. So, he turned around from the capsule and walked to his computer, then pressed a button on the keyboard, and the windows from the capsule closed, followed by the last chirp of the infected bird.

After this, Eggman opened the capsule again, and the robotic bird came out of it alone, covered in remains of the Metal Virus, but not infected because of its lack of organic life.

"That's the seventh subject we loose, father..." Sage instructed with concern.

Eggman groaned, removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes with his hand. As Sage stated, this was their seventh try to perfect the Metal Virus, but so far, all the subjects had died.

"I don't understand... The first couple of seconds, the virus manages to infect them... But then they all freaking die!" Eggman complained with a frown. "What are we doing wrong?!" he asked confused, now grabbing his head with his hands.

Sage immediately started to analyze the previous tests they did with the previous animals, while the inside of the capsule cleaned itself and opened the windows again, showing that it was completely cleaned up from the rests of the subject that exploded.

"Father!" Sage called out suddenly, and Eggman turned to face his computer, putting his glasses back as well. "I think I have found what's wrong with the virus!" she revealed.

"So?" Eggman asked. "What are we doing wrong?" he requested an explanation, crossing his arms and frowning.

"I made a microscopic approach to the Metal Virus. Despite it being liquid and metallic-looking like, there are nano-bots in the sample that resemble bacteriophages" Sage explained. "These nano-bots main function is to destroy life, so whenever they touch a living being..." she tried to add, but Eggman already knew where she was going.

"They kill them as soon as the whole body is covered..." Eggman frowned. "So we didn't did anything wrong... The nature of the virus' sample simply did what it was supposed to do..." he realized, now rubbing his chin.

"I'm afraid that's the case..." Sage replied. "If I had a physical form, as well as the abilities I acquired thanks to Cyber Space, I could immediately put a stop to these bacteriophages so they wouldn't kill any living being, but..." she added with a concerned tone.

"Sorry to brake your bubble, dear, but I'm still looking for a way to bring you a physical form again" Eggman informed. "For the time being, we'll have to find a scientific, quick and non-lethal way to make this virus work... and make those bacteriophages stop working..." he stated with a frown.

Back in Bridlewood, the group was confused on what the heck was happening.

Apparently, the ponies seemed to be tossing a ball back and forth to each other, as well as going through an obstacle course.

Just then, Tails, Rouge, Omega and Misty arrived with everyone else. "Sorry for the delay!" Tails apologized with a sheepish smile. "Investigating all that stuff took us more than we wished..." he explained.

"Did we miss anything important?" Misty asked a bit worried.

"Nope!" Sonic replied. "Just a bunch of silly games with no sense at all" he added, while he brought out a Chili Dog from Chaos knows where and ate it.

As he did so, Tails and Misty sat near Zipp, while Rouge went to sit with Amy, and Omega decided to stand in the side so he wouldn't obstruct anyone's view.

"What in the hay is happening out there?" Zipp asked confused, while one pony tripped and his pig critter partner bumped into him.

"I've been wondering that since this crap started..." Shadow deadpanned with a sigh.

"Uh, I don't know. This is literally what every sport looks like to me" Pipp answered.

"I'm usually all in for a sports day, but everything going on so far makes little to absolutely no sense..." Amy pointed out.

Just then, some mic feedback was heard, and Onyx was on stage near a small podium. "This poem means a lot to me. It's called 'Visiting dignitary Queen Haven of Zephyr Heights is about to make public remarks on the Grand Marshal's Stage'" she stated, then she cleared her throat, while soft percussion was heard. "Pain. Metamorphosis" she started, while Zipp and Pipp tilted their heads to the side confused. "Long Division" Onyx continued.

Then, another unicorn stallion came over to Onyx and cut her off. "Alright. Sorry everypony" he gently ushered Onyx off of the stage. "Uh... Queen Haven on the Mane Stage, um... right now" he announced a bit nervous.

With this, Queen Haven took to the Mane Stage at the podium, while the ponies started to cheer.

"Um…/Huh?" Pipp and Zipp asked confused.

Sparky just sat there, feeling a bit bored with this, but then, he saw the same tree from Winter Wishday and smiled, as he quickly got downstairs and headed towards the tree, something that only Tails and Misty seemed to notice, because the rest had their attention on the podium.

So, Tails and Misty looked at each other, nodded, and immediately followed Sparky along.

Meanwhile, Haven made it to the Mane Stage. "Thank you! I'm very honored to be here on this very special day. Here we all are, Unicorns, Earth Ponies and Pegasi united and rebuilding the strong bond that once…" she trailed off when she saw her daughters and their friends sitting at the bench looking at her, with her daughter frowning at her. "... we didn't, uh…" she stuttered. "We didn't realize how much we needed each other" she said in sympathy, while Zipp and Pipp looked at each other for a moment before looking back at their mother. "How wonderful it can be when we're… all together" she said, then Alphabittle approached her with a small smile, and she smiled back at him before continue her speech. "Which is to say, I'm very excited to join in the judging of the day's final event, the 'Forest Critter Grand Prix'!" she announced, spreading her wings.

The crowd than cheered from Queen Haven's speech, but they didn't noticed that Sparky was running around behind them, as he made it to the tree and babbled amazed.

Soon enough, he touched the tree, which made his claws glow, and he smiled in awe.

But then, Tails and Misty arrived with the baby dragon. "Hey, Spark!" Tails said with a little smile, before noticing that his claws were glowing a bit because of the tree. "Huh... That's new..." he said a bit confused.

Misty then looked at the tree and saw that Sparky wanted to climb it, which was a bit dangerous considering he was a baby.

"You want to climb this up, don't you?" Misty asked Sparky with a smile, and Sparky giggled and let go of the tree to hug her muzzle, which made Misty giggle as well. "I'll take that as a yes!" she said with a smile. "Tails, you think you can take us up there? If we stay with Sparky up, we can prevent him from getting hurt" she pointed out.

"Sure thing!" Tails said with a wink, followed by him placing Sparky on his head and the grabbing Misty in bridal style, before spinning his tails and flew towards the top of the tree.

After around 15 tests later, Eggman smashed his keyboard in rage.

All the tests they did to try and cancel the bacteriophages effect of the virus were going terribly wrong, and now, they lost 15 more subjects because of it.

Eggman wasn't happy nor proud, because 1- He was using critters again, something he dared to never do again, but he had to if he wanted this plan to succeed. And 2 - He was killing the critters by mistake, when his intention was to infect them.

He was so frustrated that this was not going well... But he wasn't going to give up.

One of the main reasons Sonic's his nemesis is because they share one thing in common: It doesn't matter if they win or fail against the other, they will always come back for more. They're that stubborn, at the end of the day.

"Um... Father?" Sage called out suddenly.

Eggman shook his head after Sage's voice dragged him out of his own thoughts. "Yes?" he said.

"Um... I, uh... I have miscalculated something..." Sage confessed. "Well, it wasn't miscalculation, actually. I... It seems that I didn't realized something earlier..." she added.

"Huh?" Eggman said confused.

"The virus can affect living beings, correct?" Sage started to explain on a nervous tone. "W-Well, um... T-That includes animals and... plants..." she revealed.

After she said this, Eggman's eyes widened, and he immediately frowned with anger. "... You misread THAT?!" he yelled in rage. "You calculated all the freaking possibilities, found out about every single factor that could go wrong, and you still misread a vital piece of information that could have spared us from killing 22 critters?!" he added.

Sage didn't replied anything this time, and that was good, because it allowed Eggman to take a deep breath and calm himself down.

"Sorry, dear..." Eggman apologized.

"... No... I am sorry for this failure..." Sage said with an ashamed tone.

"It's okay... We all make mistakes. The important thing is that we learn from them, which is why I cannot let myself get carried away by anger and do something stupid" he pointed out.

"You mean, like attacking Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends?" Sage asked.

"Precisely" Eggman replied. "There's no point on planning on how to defeat them when the completion of the Metal Virus is the key to everything: Everypony in Equestria will be infected and controlled, obeying my every order! But that's why we need the virus to infect and not kill first" he explained.

"I'll try a new combination to remove the bacteriophages from the virus, then. Perhaps I'll find another critter that––" Sage tried to say.

"Slow down your horses, dear" Eggman instructed. "We are not using animals anymore. Now that we know animals and plants per equal can get infected, I say we should test the virus over plants first" he stated.

"So I should bring a plant instead?" Sage asked.

"Indeed!" Eggman replied with a grin. "We'll test out the virus on plants until we get a satisfying result!" he stated.

"I'll get to work, then" Sage replied.

Back at the Critter Field Day Prix, light drumming started to sound.

Hitch, with Cloudpuff on his back, got ready for the final event of the games, alongside three other ponies, including Windy and Elder Flower.

"On your marks... Get set..." Onyx began, while the ponies got ready in the start line, and then, Onyx blew a confetti horn, which was the sign for the racers to run.

Well, Elder Flower and her pig companion had to walk because of the mare being too old to run.

"And they're off!" Sky Silver said with a smile

"Oh! Wait until you see this one!" Izzy squealed with a smile. "You're not gonna believe how wild it is! The Grand Prix is the biggest event of the whole day! I'm so excited!" she cheered, but then, some ponies precariously came in front with signs and began cheering and shouting. "Wait! Ugh!" Izzy complained, as she tried to call the ponies attention. "Stop the games! We can't see!" she whined.

"Hold your hooves, Izz!" Zipp told her with a smile. "Pipp and I can fix this. Come on, sis!" she stated, as both Zipp and Pipp flew in the air. "Okay! They're pulling a boulder up a hill with like... some sort of giant rubber band?" Zipp quipped.

"You've gotta be kidding..." Shadow facepalmed again.

"Is this what you've been dealing with the whole day?" Rouge asked him confused.

"No... It's even worse..." Shadow deadpanned.

"Oh-oh! That's the rock trot!" Izzy called up.

"Whose in the lead?!" Knuckles asked.

"Hitch is!" Pipp grinned.

"Yes!" Izzy grinned as well.

"LET'S BUCKING GOOOOO!" Knuckles cheered loudly.

On the other hand, Tails carefully landed on a tree branch in the Unicorn Wishday Tree, carefully placing Misty down, while Sparky went to walk the branch on his own with smiles.

"Wowie!" Misty exclaimed with a smile. "This is a really nice view of the Race!" she pointed out with excitement.

"And we can have an eye over Sparky as the race goes on!" Tails pointed out as well, while Sparky seemed really happy with the tree.

Back in the bench, Zipp and Pipp were looking at the race with binoculars, and Omega decided to join as well by standing behind the bench because of how tall he is, using his sensors to narrate a bit about the race as well.

However, Pipp then turned to the Mane Stage. "Hmm..." she said to herself, while she saw her mother and Alphabittle with binoculars as well to see the race, but then they turned to each other as their binoculars bumped a bit, before they smiled and waved at each other. "Huh?" Pipp asked confused, before she groaned in disgust and lowered the binoculars.

"Now he and Cloudpuff are… are they on waterskis?!" Zipp asked surprised, since she was still focusing on the race.

"Affirmative" Omega confirmed. "Looks like they're being pulled by a gaggle of geese" he added. "Context required to understand the current situation" he requested.

"Oh, oh! The water fowl slalom!" Izzy explained. "The goose is loose!" she announced in excitement.

"Oh, did they jump through all six flaming hoops yet?!" Knuckles asked next, as he turned to Pipp. "Pipp? Princess! What's happening now!?" he asked.

However, Pipp was still aiming her binoculars at Haven and Alphabittle, with the older unicorn feeding her mother some cheese they got from the snacks, and Haven smiled sweetly at him.

"No!" Pipp cried out, lowering her binoculars. "He's feeding her cheeses, from a fancy platter!" she cried out.

"The what now?" Sonic asked confused.

"Who, Hitch?" Izzy asked confused. "Hm? They aren't supposed to eat the cheese until the Gouda Relay…" she stated.

"Uh-huh?" Sunny said, completely lost at this point.

"Would that count as cheating or..." Knuckles questioned, as he brought out the rule book and read it confused.

"Hmm..." Amy muttered, as she noticed that Pipp wasn't looking at the race, but instead at Alphabittle and Haven back in the Mane Stage. "Uh, Sonic? Your girl is still stalking her mom..." she pointed out.

"Huh?!" Sonic exclaimed with wide eyes, before pulling out his own binoculars and look at the Mane Stage, where Alphabittle and Haven were feeding cheese to each other with smiles. "Okay, Knuckles is on a two-episode streak of being right, and that scares me..." he said with a frown.

"Hey!" Knuckles complained.

"Pipp, maybe your mom hasn't made that big-ass revelation like you and I, but it's pretty obvious what's happening, no matter how much you want it to be fake: Haven and Alphabittle are in love" Sonic deadpanned.

"What?!" Pipp yelled in shock, before gagging and groaning while covering her eyes. "Oh, oh, it’s just so gross!" she cried out.

"Isn't it a bit hypocrite of you to be grossed out about your Mom having a relationship when you are in one?" Amy pointed out with a bored expression.

"Not only that: It's selfish, and it kind of offends me 'cause she's grossed out on love..." Sonic added with a bored expression as well. "You have a boyfriend, woman!" he pointed out with a frown.

Meanwhile, Tails and Misty sat happily over the tree branch as they watched the race, with Misty holding Sparky on her hooves with a smile, while the baby dragon was happy to see his dad racing over.

Suddenly, he let go on if his dragon fires, which hit a leave on the branch and turned it into a cookie, that was heading towards the ground, but then, a magic aura surrounded the cookie, and it floated towards Sparky, who grabbed the cookie and babbled happily.

It seems that Misty noticed when the cookie fell, so she used her magic to levitate it and give to Sparky, while the mare smiled down at the happy baby dragon.

Back with Hitch, he kept trotting through the field with Cloudpuff beside him, as the Sheriff grunted in effort while he made it to an infinity track obstacle course, as he hopped through hoops and got his eyes on the finish line.

"Come on, Cloudpuff! We've almost got this!" Hitch said to the pegasus dog with a smile, trotting ahead.

As Hitch kept racing through the circuit, Sparky started to clap and babble happily at him, pretty much cheering for him to win the Grand Prix.

Meanwhile, in the track, Windy jumped over a ramp, which caused her critter to be tossed into the air, while Hitch and Cloudpuff raced to the finish line, making it past Elder Flower and her pig, as they jumped through the hoops.

"Come on, we got this!" Hitch encouraged, as he and Cloudpuff finally crossed the finish line, with the streamline breaking. "Woo-hoo! Yeah!" he cheered.

The crowd then cheered to Hitch. "Awesome!" a unicorn mare among the crowd cheered.

"Woo-hoo!" Sunny cheered to Hitch.

"About time!" Shadow said with relieve.

However, Knuckles seemed to cringe for some reason, as he took off his hat and covered his face with it.

"Red?" Rouge called out confused. "Why are you hiding like that?" she asked.

"You're about to find out for yourself..." Knuckles replied with shame.

"Woo!" Hitch cheered at his achievement, before he and Cloudpuff were levitated by other unicorns at the finish line. "Oh yeah! Woo-hoo!" Hitch kept cheering, doing a victory dance in the air.

"Winner!" Izzy announced, while levitating a big trophy.

"Yes!" Hitch cheered, but just when he was about to grab it, it moved away from him. "What?!" he asked in shock.

Elder Flower and her critter made it to the finish line second, and Izzy gave her the trophy. "Yay!" she cheered.

"Huh?" Hitch said confused, while the ponies stopped using their magic on him. "Ah! Oh!" he yelled out, as he fell to the floor, while Cloudpuff fell next.

"Oh, happy day!" Elder Flower cheered.

"But I…" Hitch started, not expecting this outcome. "But we… We finished first!" he told Izzy.

"And Elder Flower finished second last year, so we promised her that no matter what, she could be the winner this year" Izzy explained with her usual smile, as she brought out the rule book again. "It's right here in the rules. Page 372" she explained.

Hitch saw the page with irritation. "This is ridiculous! Let me see that!" he yelled, as he took a closer look at the book, but once he verified that Izzy wasn't lying, he sighed frustrated, while the bunnycorn critter from the ramp landed on the trophy.

At the Mane Stage, Alphabittle approached to the mic. "Thank you all for––" he started. but was cut off when Hitch spoke.

"Hey, can we get an official Grand Marshal ruling on this?" Hitch asked the two elder ponies, tired of all the crap he went through the game.

Alphabittle and Queen Haven looked at him for a moment before they started whispering to each other, then they looked at Hitch and Cloudpuff, and then they smiled to each other.

"The Queen and I have discussed it and there has indeed been a grave oversight" Alphabittle announced, which made Hitch gasp with a smile. "The Bridlewood Forest Critter Field Day awards the team of Hitch and Cloudpuff…" he started.

"Uh-huh…" Hitch said with an eager nod.

"... the very prestigious cutest puppy award!" Alphabittle finished, while the crowd started cheering.

"The what?!" Hitch asked in shock, while Cloudpuff smiled. "That's not even a real category! He's the only puppy here!" he pointed out.

Then, Knuckles appeared with a small meddle. "Winner!" he said, as he placed a medal on Cloudpuff's helmet, while Cloudpuff twirled around with a smile, and Knuckles held out the book. "It says it right here, dude. Cutest puppy" he said, now turning the book to said page.

Hitch sighed frustrated, but then, both him, Izzy and Knuckles stepped back when a spear traversed the rule book and pined it to the floor.

The spear vanished away, but the book already had a massive hole on it, while Shadow glared daggers at the book and huffed, since he made a Chaos Spear to destroy the book.

"I officially hate sports" Shadow stated.

"Okay, Black blur. Let's just go away to a place where you can release your anger better, alright?" Rouge said, as she dragged Shadow away before he did anything else more dangerous, while Omega followed them.

"Wow, this games are pretty bad if it got on Shadow's nerves..." Sonic pointed out with an amused expression, while he lay on Amy's shoulder, who nodded in agreement.

"Hitch!" Zipp called out with worry, as she and Pipp arrived, looking at the Sheriff with panicked expressions. "We lost track of Sparky!" Zipp added with panic and concern.

"What?!" Hitch yelled back in panic as well.

However, before any of the three ponies could panic even more, they all heard a whistle, and soon enough, Tails and Misty were approaching them, with Tails walking backwards while he spun his tails slowly, which was launching Sparky in the air, as the baby dragon giggled happily, and Misty giggled a bit at the sight.

"Sorry for the scare!" Tails apologized, as he launched Sparky one last time and Misty caught him with her magic, as she cooed the baby dragon, who giggled at her. "Sparky went over the tree we saw on Wishday, and we had to follow him before he tried to climb on his own" he explained.

"Yeah! We didn't wanted anything bad to happen to him if he fell from the tree" Misty added with a smile, as she levitated Sparky back with Hitch, who grabbed him with his hooves.

"Oh, thank hoofness!" Hitch said with a smile, as he nuzzled his muzzled with Sparky's nose.

"We are so sorry we lost track of Sparky!" Zipp apologized to Hitch after Tails and Misty explained themselves.

"Seriously" Pipp agreed. "We let our own stuff get in the way and feel so bad!" she apologized.

"It's not your fault" Hitch assured with a smile. "I'm the one who let his own stuff get in the way of things. Sparky's my responsibility. I just got so wrapped up with these games and trying to figure out the rules. But the rules made no sense!" he snapped, before calming down. "That… Did that make any sense?" he asked.

"Eh... 50/50?" Knuckles pointed out.

"I'll say more like 25/100" Sonic said with a bored expression and his arms crossed.

"Guess we should apologize too, Hitch..." Izzy said, as she gestured to herself and Knuckles. "We should've told you about the rules before hoof instead of just saying them after each game!" she pointed out with concern.

"You would've won at least a game that way..." Knuckles added with a sheepish smile.

"It's okay, guys" Hitch assured with a smile. "I should've looked through the whole book before the game. Usually I'm more careful with this kind of stuff..." he added with concern.

"So… you"re not mad?" Pipp asked.

"Only at myself" Hitch answered.

Then, Izzy wrapped a hoof around Hitch with her cheerful smile. "Come on, champ! All the winners have to go answer questions for the Bridlewood Pony Press Association" she explained, as she dragged Hitch and Sparky away, while Cloudpuff followed along.

"And I get to make fun of it!" Knuckles said with a smirk, as he followed along.

Tails, Amy, Sunny and Misty followed the three of them immediately, and Pipp, Zipp and Sonic were going to do it as well.

But before they could catch up with their friends, Haven came up to her daughters with a proud smile. "That was very noble of you, girls" she told them proudly. "It's not always easy to apologize" she added.

"Yeah, well…" Zipp started. "Hitch is our friend, you know?" she stated, as she and Pipp smiled.

"I do know" Queen Haven said with a smirk, as she pointed her wing to Alphabittle behind her, who was smiling back at her.

However, Haven was only looking at Zipp, insinuating something going on between her and the Sheriff, which made Zipp cringe and even gag in complete and utter disgust.

"Oh yuck!" Zipp cringed in disgust, as she spread her wings. "Hitch is my friend! I play board games and mess up with him for fun!" she pointed out.

"Plus, she's had her eyes on my little bro ever since Wishentine. And even if she didn't, Hitch only has eyes for Sunny-Bunny!" Sonic interfered for a second with a chuckle, before simply moving away.

This made Zipp blush entirely in embarrassment at the confirmation, while Pipp at her side chuckled slightly at the situation, and Haven laughed about it as well.

"The point is... We are friends with Hitch in a normal way!" Pipp got back on track. "Not like… like whatever this is..." she explained, gesturing at Haven and Alphabittle.

Before Pipp could explain further, Haven frowned at them and yelled with her wings spread. "Pipp Petals! Zephyrina Storm! You will listen to me right now!" she lectured, stomping her hoof on the ground, while Alphabittle and Sonic, who were behind the Queen, cringed and looked at each other, before looking away awkwardly.

"Uh-oh" Pipp said in panic, while Zipp gasped with concern.

"Sorry" Haven apologized from her outburst and calmed down. "Ahem… It's just that… you two are growing up. You've flown the nest and started living your lives! But I still have a life too" she pointed out, while the two sisters looked down a bit guilty. "I love your new friends and I love the ponies you're all growing into" she said with a smile, while Zipp and Pipp smiled back at her, before Haven turned to Alphabittle with a smirk. "And I also love––" she tried to add.

"Okay! Okay! We get it" Pipp quickly said, as she closed her eyes, while Zipp covered her wings, clearly not wanting to hear what they know she's gonna say next.

"For the love of–– You are in a relationship too, Pipp!" Sonic complained from behind, before sighing and groan.

"We're sorry, Mom" Zipp apologized as she lowered her wings. "We do want you to be happy" she admitted.

"Yeah" Pipp agreed. "You deserve to have brunch, even when we’re not there" she added, as she began to tear up for saying those words and waved a hoof to her face.

"Oh. Thank hoofness for that!" Haven said with a smile. "I love you, girls" she added happily.

"We love you too" both Pipp and Zipp said at the same time.

Then, Haven flew up and spread her hooves with a wide smile. "Then hug mother!" she said to her daughters, as the royal family shared a hug with smiles.

After the hug, Alphabittle came to them, while he and Haven walked off together, and the two sisters smiled before moving over to catch up with their friends.

Sonic rolled his eyes after Pipp moved over without apologizing for what he believes was an attack to his feelings, but before he could follow them as well, his eyes stopped in a certain are of the forest.

Where some unicorns seemed to be chatting happily between them, Cyber Sonic stood behind them, staring straight at Sonic with a combination of a frown and a glare, which made Sonic flinch and widened eyes.

"Hey, Sonic!" Tails' voice called out, and Sonic shook his head to look over at the young fox, sitting near a bench where the rest were sitting as well, waiting for the Bridlewood Pony Press Association to start their questions. "You're gonna miss Hitch's interview if you don't come here!" he pointed out with a mocking smirk.

Sonic, however, chuckled sheepishly, and he glanced one last time to the unicorn group, just for Cyber Sonic's image to be gone. So, with a sigh, Sonic boosted towards the rest.

Why was this still happening? He didn't knew, and honestly? He wasn't sure if he wanted to know...

Once the games were over, Tails, Misty, Rouge and Omega putted their plan in action.

As expected, they were asked on why they wanted to stay a bit longer, and as Omega said earlier, Misty excised herself on wanting to learn more in unicorn culture.

Everyone believed this, although Shadow did raised an eyebrow at Rouge and Omega for wanting to tag along Tails and Misty, but he still shrugged it off and went back to Maretime Bay with everypony else.

So, with their plan working on so far, they decided to get deeper into the forest and start to investigate things out.

Tails brought out his Miles electric and turned on a 'Metal Detector' function, while Omegas used his scanner and Misty used an old unicorn spell she found on a book in the Brighthouse to look after metallic objects.

The three of them got deep inside Bridlewood's forest to look after a possible Eggman basement for at least three or four hours, but once the sun started to set in the horizon, they started to loose up all hope.

"Um, Yellow?" Rouge called out. "I hate to brake the morale here, but we've been looking for hours, and we still haven't found anything!" she pointed out with a frown.'

"I hate to admit it, but she's right, Tails!" Misty pointed out, sitting down on the floor and undoing her magic, as she also rubbed her horn a bit in pain, because she's tired after using her magic for hours.

"My sensors can't detect any basement, computer, machine, lab, nothing Eggman-related" Omega informed as well. "We're reaching a dead end" he pointed out.

Tails groaned and rubbed his eyes, and he was about to admit that the others were right, and that there was nothing related to Eggman here... but then, his Miles Electric made a beep sound, the first one ever since they started to search.

Tails looked at the screen with wide eyes, since it finally detected something metallic underground.

"... I think we found what we're looking for..." Tails said, as he putted his Miles Electric aside and kneeled, tapping the floor a few times with a hand.

And bingo! The floor made clanking sounds, which was the recognizable sound of metal. So, Tails stepped a few steps back with a smile and looked over at Omega.

"Hey, dude! Think you can help me with this?" Tails asked the robot with a smile.

Omega replied by approaching the same place that Tails tapped, raising an arm and then punching the ground, making a dent on the floor, confirming that this was a metallic structure, and not natural ground like the rest of the forest.

So, Omega used both of his fists this time, making a bigger dent. And finally, he raised the gunshots of his arm and shoot multiple times to the dent, until it broke and fell with a loud clank in the ground, which allowed them to go inside.

Once they entered this place, Misty lightened up the place with her horn, and Omega used the lights from his eyes, while Tails created a plasma gun with his powers that also had a small lantern and illuminated the path.

Just as they were expecting: It was a lab, but unfortunately, it was an empty one.

Tails went over the computer in the middle of the room, and with just clicking one button, the entire place's lights turned on. Of course, this also granted him access to Eggman's computer, which he quickly checked for any useful information... But it was empty, just like in every other basement Team Dark visited before.

"Dang it!" Rouge declared, also stomping a foot on the ground. "For once, I thought we finally found the right place!" she added with anger.

"Huh... does all the other labs, basements or however you call them looked like this, too?" Misty asked, both concerned and scared for how big the place was.

"Affirmative" Omega replied. "Yet Eggman is still not around here" he pointed out with anger, while robotically closing his hand on a fist.

"I guess we must keep looking... Unless..." Tails said, as he turned to the computer, then brought out a USB drive and connected it to the computer, then made sure that all the encrypted data was uploaded to the drive.

"What are you doing?" Rouge asked.

"Eggman might be an evil genius that knows how to trick us..." Tails replied, before finishing uploading all the encrypted archives on his USB drive. "But I know how to access his encrypted data without him ever knowing!" he stated confidently.

"You think we can get a glance on where he is?" Rouge asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm sure we will!" Tails stated.

"I'll say we should take this chance" Omega stated, decided to trust Tails on this plan if it meant they could find Eggman.

And so, Tails, Rouge and Omega left the place by flight, while Misty stood behind and looked around her.

She wasn't looking for anything special, but she did wanted to share something...

"Eggman... I know you can hear me. Don't know how, but I know you can..." Misty spoke to the air. "Wherever you are hiding, whatever you are planning, it doesn't matter... I'm stopping you with my friends... and that's a promise!" she assured with a frown.

Eggman watched the message from his lab and frowned.

Of course, now Misty was against him. Maybe not in all the sense of the word, but they clearly were not in the same team anymore, which only made things more complicated and worse for him, because he didn't minded fighting everyone else, but her? That was going to be a problem...

"I may not have a full understanding on feelings, but I suppose what's happening right now should be classified as a Dejà vu, right?" Sage asked.

"Yes..." Eggman replied with anger. "Shadow did the same a few weeks ago, and now Misty..." he pointed out.

"The offer to initiate protocols to recon and destroy is still up" Sage suggested.

Eggman rubbed his chin and considered for a second the idea, but he shook his head still. "No, no... But I think reconning every step from those fools wouldn't be bad..." he admitted with a smirk.

"Initiating reconning protocols" Sage instructed.

With this, a capsule came out of the ground, and it revealed a certain someone we haven't seen in a while: Metal Sonic, shut down and connected to a bunch of cables, being tied in arms and legs.

However, that didn't seemed to be a problem, because his red eyes turned on, and he looked straight at Eggman... Nodding with confidence, and ready to start his mission.

The Marestream flew across the sky at top speed, being piloted by Zipp.

Inside said vehicle, the entire thing suddenly rumbled, which made Misty loose her balance a bit, something Sunny at her side noticed.

"Are you okay, Misty?" Sunny asked her.

"Oh yeah! I'm just––" Misty tried to reply, but the vehicle rumbled again, and Misty had to fight to not fall. "... still finding my balance!"

"The Marestream can take some getting used to!" Sunny pointed out with a smile. "At least we're taking you on a secret surprise adventure! Are you excited?"

Misty flinched a bit after being asked this, and when she looked at her friends' smiles, she got even more nervous. Worse of all, she has no idea on why she was suddenly dragged to the Marestream, but a part of her felt it wasn't good news.

"Oh yeah! Definitely!" Misty lied all the same, since the last thing she wanted was to disappoint her friends. "Uh, so, um... What is it?"

"We are going... to Zephyr Heights for the annual Equestria Cutie Blossom Bash!" Sunny replied with a smile.

The rest of the ponies but Misty cheered after hearing this, and Pipp even said "You'll love it!", while Team Sonic stared at them confused.

"Cutie Blossom Bash?" Misty asked confused.

"What in the name of Chaos is that?" Knuckles asked extremely confused.

"It's only the cutest springtime celebration of all that is fresh and new." Pipp said with a smile. "I'm talking flowers, blossoms, bunnies, fashion." As she said this, she posed all around the Marestream's pilot cabin. "The looks you will see, Misty. The looks!"

"But more importantly, it's an official ceremony and celebration for all of the ponies that have gotten their new Cutie Marks that year." Hitch stated. "A day of honor."

"Yeah. And and it's kinda cool how we're finally combining the tradition we've all grown up with." Zipp added with a smile.

"You guys truly like to make anything a big party, huh?" Sonic said with a smile. "Guess is good Team Dark stayed in the Brighthouse to watch over the Unity Crystals. Except for Omega, they would hated this, anyway."

"Are you sure leaving them of all people to watch over the Unity Crystals was a good idea?" Amy questioned Sonic with half a glare and a raised eyebrow.

In the Crystal Brighthouse, Omega was at the top of the building.

He was right outside of the Crystal Room, walking back and forth to guard over the Unity Crystals from the top, also marching like a soldier ready to scold over his apprentices.

Meanwhile, Rouge and Shadow were making bets inside of the Room itself, right below the Unity Crystals and over the elevator, being careful to not activate anything that turns the elevator on.

"Alright... I bet that your deck of cards has a red ruby... 5!" Shadow said, since it was now his turn.

"Oooh, pretty close! But not at a 100% percent." Rouge said with a confident smirk. "Pay the bill!"

Shadow frowned, but still payed her the 10 bucks they bet.

"Now... I bet that you've got a leaf 7 on your deck of cards!" Rouge said.

Shadow's eyes widened, then he growled and immediately extended her 10 bucks. "Lucky guess."

"Uh-huh, sure, keep telling that to yourself, hun~" Rouge replied with a mocking smirk, which made Shadow cross his arms and groan, as he also looked away.

Back in the Marestream, Sonic smirked and snorted at Amy's question.

"Don't worry, Ames." Sonic assured her by pushing her in the shoulder slightly. "We left those Crystals in very good hands!" He stated with a wink.

Izzy squealed a little with glee. "I love the Blossom Bash! It's so springy!" She said happily, before taking out a small ring made with flowers from her mane. "See? I've already crafted seven flower corsages . I only need to make a few hundred more."

"A few hundred?!" Misty exclaimed in shock with wide eyes.

"Yeah! For all the ponies who are going to cheer you on!" Pipp grinned, as the others nodded and cheered on, but Team Sonic was not on board with this idea, and Misty wasn't either.

"Oh wow... Okay. It'll be okay." Misty whispered to herself anxiously. "I can just avoid all those other ponies, right?" She inhaled a bit sharply, "I'll just keep my head down and blend in. It will be smooth sailing. Yup."

"Tails, your other girlfriend is panicking." Sonic told him with a deadpan.

Tails deadpanned back and rolled his eyes. "You've been calling her like that these past few days, and I don't know how I haven't punched you for that yet."

"Come on, little buddy. I'm just messing with you!" Sonic said with a smirk. "Although, Misty does look at you the same way Zipp does, so I'm partially right."

Tails rolled his eyes again and groaned, then walked up to Misty with a smile, while Knuckles and Amy dragged Sonic to the passengers cabin to talk with him on private.

"What do you mean Misty looks at Tails the same way Zipp does, Hedgehog?!" Knuckles asked with a slight frown.

"Well, exactly that!" Sonic replied with a little smile. "Misty has a crush on Tails. And honestly? I kind of expected it with how he is with her."

"Well, I can get behind that logic, but... it doesn't changes the fact that Tails already has a crush on someone else!" Amy pointed out with concern.

"Which is why we must shut this between us!" Sonic said with a frown. "Tails is a genius, but if he hasn't realized that both Misty and Zipp have feelings for him, then maybe we should revoke that title from him."

"Ugh..." Knuckles rolled his eyes. "My lips are sealed regarding this subject... But this better not be a problem for our friends!"

"Hey, tell that to the mares looking for Tails' attention, not to me." Sonic deadpanned.

"He got you there!" Amy told Knuckles with a mocking smirk, while the echidna rolled his eyes annoyed.

On the other hand, Tails approached Misty and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Mist. How you doin'?"

"I've been better..." Misty replied with a nervous smile. "Is just... I don't like the idea of big crowds looking at me, you know? Is one thing to get a brand new Cutie Mark and a change of mane color, with my friends only. But show them off to so many ponies?! I-I don't think that's a good idea..."

"Well, if you don't want to be in here, why did you came along?" Tails questioned concerned.

"Because everypony seems to excited to be here!" Misty replied. "They're excited that I'm here. And I don't want to ruin them that."

"You don't have to be here if you don't want to." Knuckles said, as he arrived along Sonic and Amy and joined the conversation. "The only one getting hurt if you keep going is you. Is not the end of the world for saying 'no'."

"Knuckles is right. If you don't want to do this, just tell them! I'm sure they'll understand." Amy agreed with a smile.

"But what if they don't?!" Misty said with concern.

"Mist, the sooner you tell them you want out, the better. Or else, you'll deal with 5 years olds torturing you for being the only adult mare that got her Cutie Mark later than them." Sonic deadpanned. "Why do you think I never took those classes at the Community Pool even though Sunny inscribed me? Because they wanted to put me in the beginners class! I can't be seen swimming around a bunch of 5 year olds! Kids can be cruel when they smell weakness..."

"That's why in the first day, you gotta be the biggest one in the yard!" Knuckles stated with a smirk, also punching his fists together.

"Knuckles, that's prison..." Amy deadpanned at him.

"Only if you let it be." Knuckles replied confidently, making Amy groan and facepalm.

"Guys..." Tails glared at them, because Misty only had an anxious look, and one of her eyes was twitching. "You're not helping!"

"Well, I'm just telling you the truth." Sonic raised his hands defensively, then he turned to Misty with a smile. "I'm serious, Mist. You don't have to do this to satisfy anyone. We're not Opaline nor Eggman! We won't be mad if you say you want out."

Misty smiled after hearing that, feeling a lot better thanks to Sonic's words. However, before thanking him or open her mouth at all to say something, they all heard thunder striking, then they looked ahead and noticed that they were heading towards thunderstorm clouds.

"Quick turn!" Hitch yelped as he looked at Zipp.

"I got this!" Zipp said, as she flew under the thunderstorm cloud, then came out from the other side, with everyone sighing in relief.

"Oh no, I just jinxed the whole 'smooth sailing' thing, didn't I?" Misty fretted with a gulp.

"Nah. Zipp is just avoiding her mess up from Ponytropico..." Tails said with a mocking smirk.

"I heard that, Miles!" Zipp groaned with an eye roll and an embarrassed blush.

Everyone laughed loudly after that, but even thought Misty did laughed, she still looked down again with concern.

Later on, the Marestream was still flying, as Pipp began to sand and play music.

"So put your hooves up high. 'Cause we’re feeling alright. Everything is awesome in the Maretime Bay." Pipp sang.

While Zipp was looking ahead to drive and bobbing her head to the music, Hitch looked out of the window with concern, and Sonic was not even aware that Pipp was singing while staring at the Blue Chaos Emerald... Everyone else was dancing at Pipp's song.

"So put your hooves up. Put your hooves up. Everything is gonna be okay." Pipp finished.

Meanwhile, Hitch couldn't help but sigh as he looked out of the window, until Izzy approached him. "Thinkin' about Sparky again?" Izzy guessed with a small smile, while Hitch turned to her.

"Yeah..." Hitch confirmed. "Ever since his run-in with Opaline, he’s been so tired. Sure, he got energies back during the fight with the Death Egg Titan, but he's been more tired lately. I didn't wanna drag him all the way to Zephyr Heights, but I miss him."

"Is still for the best that he's not here, Sheriff." Knuckles spoke as he approached Hitch and placed a hoof around his neck. "Being here would probably make him feel very sick, considering he's not used to fly at all yet."

"And, at least he's resting with Grandma Figgy!" Izzy said cheerfully with a smile.

At Grandma Figgy's place, house, everything seemed to be peace and quiet.

Inside, Figgy was sitting on her chair with Sparky resting on her lap, as the baby dragon was wrapped on his blanket and had his pacifier on his mouth, while Figgy held her adoptive grandson with a warm smile, letting Sparky sleep peacefully.

"And honestly? I couldn't think of somepony better to look after him." Knuckles said with a smile.

Hitch smiled as well after thinking on what his friends told him. "You're right, guys. Grandma is the best at making anypony feel better."

"See? Sparky is in great hooves!" Izzy said happily. "You just gotta get your mind off things."

"I know how we can do that!" Sunny said with an excited smile. "Let's go around and share our Cutie Marks stories with Misty! I'll go first."

"Now that I think about it... You never told us that before, so it'll be cool to hear how it happened!" Tails said with a smile.

Sonic, who was still looking at the Chaos Emerald, heard the whole thing, so he smiled and looked up to hear the stories as well, as he also stood up since he was sitting in the ground with his legs crossed.

Years ago, before magic returned, a Filly Sunny was setting up a lemonade stand.

"Back when I was a little filly, I didn't have many friends. But, my dad always said… Sunny narrated.

Meanwhile, in the flashback, we see Argyle Starshine, her father, standing next to her and drinking a cup lemonade, while he also smiled at his daughter.

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade and sell it to raise money for the library." Argyle said to his daughter, while ponies around were coming up to Filly Sunny's stand.

"So I did! My lemonade was a hit!" Sunny continued, while ponies were buying her lemonade, with the cups getting sold very quick. Argyle smiled at his daughter with pride after seeing this. "I sold almost every cup right away. But two ponies wanted the last one."

Filly Sunny felt concerned, scared and sad when the two ponies began to argue, since she had no idea on what to do, while her father saw his daughter's expression with concern.

"They started arguing, but then I stepped in to help." Sunny continued, while her younger self grabbed another cup and poured half of the lemonade from one cup into the other, offering both to the two ponies with a smile. "They realized they were fighting for no reason!"

The two ponies walked off, as Argyle watched the two ponies go and then looked at his daughter proudly, while Filly Sunny looked at her flank with a smile.

"That's when my Cutie Mark appeared! My dad told me it's because I helped those ponies put aside their differences." Sunny explained, while Filly Sunny looked at her father, who smiled proudly at her, before they embraced each other in a hug. "He was so proud."

A scene later, Filly Sunny was walking over a stage.

She had a flag of her Cutie Mark strapped on her, smiling proudly, while Argyle looked at his daughter with a proud and heartfelt smile.

"That spring, I got to trot the stage in our Cutie Blossom Bash." Sunny said with a giggle at the memory. "Ah, it's one of my favorite memories."

Sunny smiled fondly at the memory, while Misty and Tails smiled at her.

"Changing the world since fillyhood, huh! Now that's my Sunny-bunny girl!" Sonic congratulated her with a smirk, placing and arm around her neck and rubbing her mane.

Sunny giggled at the gesture and then pushed him away slightly with a smile.

"Mmm, now I want lemonade." Hitch said with a huge and dorky smile.

"Me next!" Zipp called out, as she raised her hoof excitedly. "My story––"

"Well, technically our story." Pipp corrected her sister.

Zipp rolled her eyes annoyed. "... Starts back home in Z.H."

Back when Zipp was a filly, she was doing some calculations.

Having puppy Cloudpuff next to her, she looked at the statue of the Pegasi wing formations.

"Before we had magic, I was always crunching numbers trying to figure out exactly how Pegasi could fly again. But one day, I had this epic breakthrough moment!" Zipp started, while her younger self thought on something, before she smiled widely and started climbing onto the statues. "I could tell that I was so close to flying. It felt amazing. And sure, it was scare, but no other Pegasus had tried it before me."

Filly Zipp made it to the top of the statue, taking a deep breath before doing some stunts, hopping around the pillars, then jumped and flipping in the air, landing on the head of the statue again while gliding and doing a loop. The the crowd of Pegasi that watched her started to cheer and exclaiming in awe, while Filly Zipp landed on her hooves and the crowd kept cheering at her. Then, she looked at her flank and saw her Cutie Mark appearing.

"It was awesome! That's the day I got this lil' wonder-bolt!" Zipp finished as she looked at her Cutie Mark pridefully.

"You were making loops at 5?!" Sonic asked with an excited smile, before boosting at her side and lay on her shoulder with a smirk. "Are you sure we're not siblings from different mothers?"

Zipp chuckled at that comment, while Pipp cleared her throat to gain attention. "And don't leave out what happened next."

Same flashback, same context... Different point of view.

After Filly Zipp was doing her stunt, Filly Pipp saw her sister doing the tricks with awe. "Watching my sister soar, I'd never seen anything like it!" Pipp narrated, while her younger self looked at her sister with an amazed smile once she landed. "She was so courageous! And that gave me the confidence to perform, for the first time, ever."

Filly Pipp stomped her hoof and started to sing.

"Make your mark. It's your spark. Your Cutie Maaark. Oooh yeeaaahh!" Filly Pipp sang with her wings spread.

Filly Zipp then saw her sister as she looked in surprise. "Pipp?" She asked her sister in surprise.

"Pipp!" A Mare announced.

"Hurray!" The whole crowd except for Filly Zipp cheered, because the latter smiled at her sister.

"Hey, that's cute! I'm using it." Filly Pipp smile, before she looked at her flank and noticed how she got her Cutie Mark, which appeared as well.

In spring of that year, and just like with Sunny, it was time for the Cutie Blossom Bash.

The royal sisters walked on a stage with flags of their respective Cutie Marks strapped on them, while Queen Haven watched her daughters from above.

"Oh yay!" Haven cheered with tears of joy, then she grabbed suddenly Puppy Cloudpuff and blew her nose on him with joy, while the two sisters chuckled at each other.

Zipp gave an amusing smile at her sister. "Kinda stole the spotlight there, sis."

"It's not my fault!" Pipp called out with a smile. "You were the one who was so inspired!"

In this occasion, however, Sonic said nothing, he simply turned around and frowned. "Stole the spotlight, 'cause attention and approval is all she cares for."

He walked away from her, but even if none of the royal sisters heard Sonic, nor noticed his change in attitude, Tails, Sunny and Amy definitely did.

"... Did he just... Is he... mad with Pipp?" Sunny muttered with shock.

"Yeah..." Tails muttered. "He's been like that for the past week, now that I think about it..."

"Right?" Amy said with concern. "Sonic is usually attached to Pipp to the point it's kind of annoying, but today he's staying as far as he can from her! He didn't even sang along when she started to, and he loves to do that!"

"I'll ask what's the matter with him later." Sunny said, as the other two nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, and completely oblivious at the fact that this conversation even happened, Zipp looked at Hitch with an amusing smile. "You look like you’re about to burst, buddy." She noted, while Hitch gave a wide smile and tried to contain his excitement. "Wanna tell yours?"

Hitch then gasped excitedly. "Do I!"

"Oh boy, here we go..." Knuckles said with a smirk, also crossing his arms.

As a foal, Hitch was at the beach with Foal Sprout and a colt, playing beach ball with each other.

"I was playing hoofball on the beach with some colts when this filly asked to join us." Hitch narrated, as a filly came up to them, asking if she would join them to play, but Foal Sprout threw the ball to Foal Hitch, as the two colts shook their heads. "But they wouldn’t let her play! They just kept shouting…"

"No fillies allowed!" Foal Sprout shouted, with Hitch feeling a bit intimidated with what Sprout said, while the two colts walked up to Foal Hitch, leaving the filly tearing up and then running off crying.

Foal Hitch gave the filly a sympathetic look, before nodding determined. "So I did what any decent pony would do. I ditched the meanies and played with her!" Hitch explained, while his younger self abandoned Foal Sprout and the colt to start and play with the filly instead. "And then… I got my Mark!"

Foal Hitch then felt strange, so he looked at his flank and smiled when his Cutie Mark appeared.

That year, the Cutie Blossom Bash came again... You know the deal.

Foal Hitch walked on stage with a flag of his Cutie Mark strapped in, as posed and winked to the crowd. "Because the only peace of mind is to be kind."

Foal Sprout and their colt friend watched on, and Foal Sprout looked away jealously, while the colt at his side looked down in sadness.

"You stood up for those who needed it. For that, I salute you, Hitch!" Sonic said with a smirk.

He also made an actual salute and winked, while Hitch smirked and saluted back.

"Sprout was an asshole since a kid..." Knuckles muttered to himself with a bored expression. "I'm not surprised at all."

"My turn! Oh!" Izzy hopped excitedly. "So, it all begins back in Bridlewood, during the days of Yore, on the eves of the Translucent Moonstone Moon…" She echoed herself with the last word.

"Doodle-oodle-loodle-oodle-loo… Flashback!"

Thanks, Izz! You spared the explanation to me.

Filly Izzy was walking around Bridlewood, until she she saw a bunch of junk pile up. "There was this really sad-looking junk pile in the middle of our forest that just kept growing and growing. But I didn’t see it as 'junk'. I saw the stuff that just needed some love!"

The younger Izzy looked at the stuff in her hooves with a smile, and now she had an idea, one that she pulled in s really short noticed, because a little bit later, she putted all together in a teapot statue.

"I remade everything into a big teapot statue!" Izzy explained literally what I just said, while the teapot statue started flowing, and the ponies walking around stopped to see the statue with interest. "Then, everypony saw that maybe they'd judge the junk a little too harshly."

"Hey, thanks!" Filly Izzy said to the unicorns as she giggled cheerfully. "I'm just a Unicorn that loves recycling! Uni… cycling. Unicycling!"

"And then, bam!" Izzy cheered, as Filly Izzy looked at her flank and saw her Cutie Mark appearing. "I got my mark!"

Filly Izzy was now on stage with a flag strap on her back as she giggled. "Yay!"

"Ah, nothing like some good ol' childhood stories!" Sonic said with a smile.

"Well, thank Chaos I don't have to deal with having a Cutie Mark..." Tails said with a smile. "I like having my 5-minute fame like the next guy, but a day where everyone is focused on you? No thanks."

"Wow, great stories!" Misty said with a nervous smile, specially with that Tails just commented. "But, um, they all ended with a big event where you had to stand in front of a lot of ponies?"

"Yep!" Sunny replied with a smile. "Now it's your turn to do the same. And it's going got be the biggest, most-grand one yet!" She cheered and grabbed Misty, while the Unicorn gave a small smile before Sunny gasped. "Look!"

The ponies got out of the clouds, with Zephyr Heights coming into view, as they flew over the city and saw a bunch of ponies setting up the walkway outside the balance, which made Misty feel nervous.

"There's so many ponies here!" Misty muttered to herself. "Be brave, Misty." She declared to herself, then looked at her friends. "I don't want to ruin anything for them! I can do this."

"You can still quit, Mist. Remember: No one is gonna judge you if you want out." Sonic reminded her, placing a hand on her shoulder with a smile.

"Aren't you so thrilled?" Pipp exclaimed happily.

"Um, it's all so new!" Misty said nervously, chuckling in the same manner and looking down.

Sonic noticed this, and when Pipp turned around, Sonic looked at her with a frown and growled in anger, his electrical powers showing up entirely.

Tails and Amy noticed this, and they frowned slightly as well.

Once the Marestream landed on a balcony on top of the palace, the Mane 6 and Team Sonic exited the vehicle, while Queen Haven flew from the door with Cloudpuff, Zoom and Thunder behind her.

"My angels! You've arrived!" Haven cheered in joy, as she flew to her daughters and gave them a hug. "I was so worried, I nearly had to send Cloudpuff to track you down again!" She exclaimed, Cloudpuff flying behind her. "I'm thrilled to have you here, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm a teensy bit stressed."

Thunder roared in the sky, which made the Mane 6 and Team Sonic look up a bit concerned, and Tails even had the instinct to hid behind Sonic, since he was still scared of thunders, even as a young adult.

"A problem with the crystals again?!" Zipp asked in panic.

"Oh starts, no." Haven assured. "It's just spring showers. But if it rains, then everything will be ruined!"

At this, Hitch smiled with confidence. "I can most certainly help with that."

"Me too. We're problem solving pros!" Zipp added with pride.

"Me three!" Knuckles declared with a smirk, pulling Hitch and Zipp closer by placing his arms around their necks. "'Solving Problems' would be our second names if 'Trailblazer', 'the' and 'Storm' didn't stoled the spots already!"

Haven smiled after hearing this. "Really? You'd do that for me?"

"Of course." Hitch confirmed. "We promise to make sure this event runs seamlessly and that everything is as right as rain." He declared, as he hoofbumped with Zipp and Knuckles, before he realized what he said. "Uh… or not rain, in this case."

Knuckles facepalmed and groaned, while Zipp smiled sheepishly at Hitch's words.

"Ah, thank hoofness!" Haven said, then she gestured the to the palace. "Follow me."

Everyone proceed to enter the palace and follow Queen Haven... Everyone except Sonic, who stopped for a second as he heard a maniac laugh, one that has been haunting him for months.

He looked around in panic, and he saw nothing at first... But then, as he stared into a wall, he saw him with wide and panicked eyes... He saw Cyber Sonic, staring at him. The figure was laughing, then he pointed at Sonic with a finger, before passing a thumb over his neck.

This sign was saying he was willing to kill him, and that made Sonic feel even more panicked, so he rushed inside the castle to follow his friends and ignore what he saw, or at least try to.

Meanwhile, a figure was watching him from the sky... Metal Sonic, who had a mission from Doctor Eggman, one that actually didn't involved Sonic at all. With a frustrated sigh because of this last thing, Metal Sonic turned around and boosted away, heading Towards Maretime Bay.

Inside the castle, everyone walked down the corridors as they followed Queen Haven.

However, Sonic seemed to be too busy on his own thoughts with a concerned frown, something Tails and Amy noticed, as they approached him for a moment.

"Sonic?" Tails called out first, and Sonic looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

Sonic sighed and denied with his head, much to Tails and Amy's surprise. "I haven't been myself this past week... And I know you guys have noticed."

Seeing the sudden turn of events that the conversation took, literally right at the beginning, Tails and Amy looked at each other and shrugged, since none of them were expecting this answer, and now they had no idea on how to keep the chat going with him.

But Amy still decided to take the shot, anyways. "Well, yeah. It's been hard to ignore that you act like you at times, but then you suddenly become another person... Specially because you seem to be mad with Pipp."

That actually made Sonic stop walking, and as everyone else kept going, Sonic, Tails and Amy stood behind, because what Sonic wanted to say next, he wanted to tell it only to them.

Sonic sighed at first, before looking at his friends over his shoulder with concern. "... We're not in the best of terms right now... And she doesn't even noticed yet."

Of course, hearing this made Amy gasp, while Tails tilted his head a bit confused, like if Sonic literally spoke in other language, even though he understood every word of what he just said.

"Im sorry, did I heard that right?" Tails asked. "You... You and Pipp had a fight?!"

"I wouldn't call it a fight." Sonic rolled his eyes. "We're simply not in good terms. At least I ain't, but has she noticed?" He snorted and then scoffed. "Her phone is more of a boyfriend to her than I'll ever be, that's for sure."

This last line made them both stop walking when he started to, then Tails and Amy looked at each other with cringed expressions, because they knew why he said that: Pipp's been publishing more and more pictures with Sonic lately, and while that normally would be good, it isn't this time if Sonic's not happy to be around Pipp.

"I mean, that'll explain why he doesn't looks happy on many of the pictures..." Tails said, as he took out his phone and checked some of the photos that Pipp uploaded.

In the first few, he seemed genuinely happy, and even making funny faces to mock Pipp up... But as Tails kept scrolling, the pictures showed his smiles turning a bit sheepish, then uncomfortable, then forced...

And finally, no smile. Not even looking at the camera... Only a frown and an eye roll.

"Sonic must feel that he's being used as a like generator..." Amy said with concern, before frowning in anger. "Look at the views and likes of this posts! They're above the average Pipp gets with anything else! She's using him like an object and not even considering how he feels!"

"Now, now, Ames!" Tails stopped her. "We cannot say that this is the case! Maybe Pipp just published those to show off how much he loves Sonic, but Sonic noticed the pictures and how much Pipp was focusing on taking them instead of spending time with him... There's actually a lot of possibilities on what's going on here, but we need to know for sure! Ugh, but I can't help my two best friends at the same time! Misty also needs some cheering..."

"Then how about you let Sunny and me take care of Sonic?" Amy suggested with a smile. "You go and cheer Misty up!"

That actually made Tails smile, and he nodded in agreement, then they resumed their walk to catch up with the rest.

Speaking of them, Queen Haven was giving them a tour around.

"Here you'll find our giant springtime floral arrangements, as well as our baby duck nursery. Oh, and our Zephyr 'Bites' appetizers!" Haven listed, as she picked up a cookie from a table a stallion was strolling. "Clever, huh? I didn't come up with that one. Cloudpuff did!" She said, as she tossed the cookie to Cloudpuff. "What do you think, girls? I am devoted to making this the best Cutie Blossom Bash ever, especially for your darling new friend, Misty."

Misty smiled a bit after hearing that.

"Guards! Prepare for Misty's Cutie Mark debut." Haven announced, as Zoom and Thunder flew down, while she trotted ahead. "This is going to be one fun-packed, pony-filled social event!"

The Mane 6 cheered and went ahead, while Team Sonic, Izzy and Misty stood behind them.

"You’re gonna be so great! This is fun!" Izzy cheered as she hopped off to the others.

"Yay?" Misty said uncertainly, feeling really nervous about all of this.

"Hey, we can still tell them that you want out, you know?" Tails reminded her with a smile. "Remember what we told you: Don't do something you don't want to please others, and don't hold back on doing something you do for the same reason."

"Come on, Misty! Woo!" Sunny cheered, as she came up to Misty and grabbed her hoof to pull her away, which made the Unicorn mare scream startled.

"Or let everyone else screw it before she even has the chance to express herself..." Knuckles deadpanned, and the rest deadpanned at this as well.

The whole group was now waiting on a make up room.

There, Pipp and Izzy were applying some make up on Misty's faces, but Pipp could barely concentrate since she noticed that Sonic was too far away from her... Just like he has been the entire week.

She has noticed how much he has distanced, and how coldly he looks at her lately. It hurt that the one creature she loved the most now seemed to be drifting apart from her, and the worse of all is that she doesn't even understands why, because he doesn't even talk to her.

She was hoping that, whatever got into him, it'll go away soon, and he'll be clear with her for good.

Pipp decided to go back to the work after deciding to let Sonic be, while Amy and Sunny approached Sonic with the idea of talking about the same subject about his anger towards Pipp.

"Sonic." Sunny called out, and Sonic looked at her since he's laying on a wall with his arms crossed and a frown. "I think we need to talk about the elephant in the room."

"You mean why I'm mad with Pipp?" Sonic asked, still frowning, but his tone was more an annoyed one.

"Precisely!" Amy said. "What has she done to you so you refuse to look at her? Or even talk to her?!"

"I don't know. Maybe the fact that I'm an excellent like generator for her." Sonic replied rhetorically. "Because, if I make the more likes on her feed, why bother on uploading anything else?"

"What?" Sunny asked with wide eyes. "Come on, Sonic. That's not true. You're not the only thing that makes Pipp win lots of likes and attention––"

"You think so?" Sonic asked, and his look clearly said he was challenging Sunny, who frowned at him. "Then show me one picture Pipp has published with as much likes as any of the ones that have my face on it. Just one, and I'll drop this act."

Sunny accepted the challenge, because she didn't hesitated on taking out her phone and checking out Pipp's ponygram page, in search of the latest picture that Pipp has uploaded without Sonic.

However, and despite the fact that she did found variety in her pictures at first, the more she scrolled, the more she found only pictures that had Sonic in it... And worse of all? That all those pictures had an amount of likes that no other picture managed to reach.

Sunny felt concerned, and she realized that Sonic was right, something he noticed by her expression.

"That's what I thought." Sonic said with a snort. "I don't wanna talk to someone who only sees me as her like generator. Specially because she doesn't care enough to even notice I don't wanna talk to her."

Amy wanted to say something to correct him, to say that this was childish... But a part of her knew that, being as stubborn as he is, he wouldn't listen, no matter what she told him.

She sighed, then looked at Sunny who seemed as concerned as her. They had no idea on what to do or where to go from here on.

Meanwhile, Tails approached Misty, who seemed to feel down. "Hey. Is something bothering you?" he asked her with concern, which made Misty gasp and turn at him.

"Oh… uh… I'm just worried about what's going on back home." Misty replied, before she quickly stopped herself. "I mean, back at Opaline's!"

"Oh, we understand." Sunny said softly, while Izzy and Pipp came to them with smiles.

"Luckily, we have more Cutie Blossom activities that focus entirely on you!" Pipp announced, as she flew close to Misty. "That should get your mind off it! Help me with the baskets?" She asked her friends, as they walked off.

Tails, however, looked at her with a slight frown, while Cloudpuff flew to Misty and barked at her.

"You cannot lie to me, Mist." Tails said a bit mad. "I know you don't want to be here, but I also know that you're not only concerned for Opaline."

Misty smiled and chuckled after hearing this. "Nothing gets by you, does it, Tails?"

"I'm your best friend for a reason!" Tails said mockingly, before bringing out another chair and sit in front of Misty. "Come on, Mist. You can tell me anything. And I promise you that I won't be mad."

Misty took a deep breath and then sighed. "Okay, so I was lying a little about what's bothering me! But it's sort of true. Opaline knows I'm gone, she knows that I betrayed her, and she's probably already plotting her evil revenge against me!"

"Even if that's the case, her power has weakened a lot at this point." Tails pointed out. "Sure, she's powerful, an Alicorn, can make fire, yada, yada, yada... I've seen a literal God made of water destroying an entire city, and now it's sealed on the Master Emerald in Angel Island! Opaline will end up like him for sure!"

"Well, I guess that's a good thing, right?" Misty said with concern, also scratching her left hoof.

"But that's not everything that concerns you, is it?" Tails asked with worry.

"... I'm more concerned about... Eggman, too..." Misty said, before letting out a snort. "You know? Is funny. I called Eggman 'Dad' sometimes because he cared more about me than Opaline ever did... He was truly sweet, and unlike Opaline, he listened to what I had to say without labeling it as nonsense! He truly made me feel appreciated, even as much as you guys do... Until he broke the promise he made..."

Tails was smiling at first as he heard Misty, and even felt surprised to hear that Eggman showed a bit of his soft side, but when Misty's smile disappeared as she mentioned a broken promise, so did Tails' smile.

"He promised me that... That even if we were in different sides, he'll never hurt me..." Misty said, trying to hold back her tears. "But it was a lie... Because he did hurt me... When he attacked us with that giant robot with his face... The one that almost conquered Equestria."

"Oh, Misty..." Tails said with concern and sorrow for his friend.

"I... I don't know how I feel about him anymore..." Misty confessed. "A part of me desires to capture him and stop him for good, make him pay for all his crimes! But... There's a side of me that wants to have him back as a friend, as someone I could trust, and not... And enemy that I want to see encaged for all his crimes."

Tails had no idea what to tell Misty after hearing all of this. Sure, it is one thing that she is concerned for Opaline and her revenge, but caring for Eggman as a friend, or even as a father figure, like how he was such a thing for Sage... This was a lot to process.

Perhaps Eggman created Sage because of Misty, because he missed to have a daughter figure... Now he lost both: One was against him, and the other one is dead... or so he thinks, anyway.

"... I cannot tell you anything comforting regarding Eggman, Mist." Tails said honestly, before smiling and placing his hands on her shoulders. "But... I do know that if Eggman was open to you, to the point he saw a daughter in you... Then maybe, and just maybe, he regrets what he did to you. If that's the case... Then he may tell you that next time we encounter him."

This actually made Misty smile, and she nodded at Tails, since she was willing to take his words by heart.

Dr. Eggman was at his hidden lab under Bridlewood.

So far, he kept experimenting the Metal Virus over plants instead of animals, analyzing all the side effects and upgrading it every single time he found what went wrong in the last test to try again.

He didn't particularly enjoyed killing plants, specially from a place like Bridlewood, which had tons of rare species that the Unicorns surely were trying to preserve... But if he wanted the Metal Virus to be perfect and flawless, then he must keep going.

At least he's not killing animals anymore, which doesn't makes him a better person, but it is what it is.

However, as Sage ran a simulation over a plant that was getting slowly infected with the Metal Virus, Eggman couldn't help but frown concerned, as he thought on Metal Sonic's mission.

"Sage?" Eggman called out.

"Yes, father?" Sage replied.

"... How's Metal Sonic doing?" Eggman asked. "With his mission, I mean."

Sage made an image appear on Eggman's computer, as the doctor himself turned around to see what is it.

It showed Metal Sonic's front camera, as the machine was now approaching to the Crystal Brighthouse, but it stopped moving once the camera zoomed and noticed Omega outside of the Crystal Room.

Eggman frowned slightly, but then returned his sight to the Metal Virus infecting the plant.

Sage, despite not having physical eyes, still noticed this. "Father? Y-You won't tell him to retreat or something?"

"Metal Sonic can handle this himself." Eggman replied. "He has strict instructions to not attack anyone. He just has to deliver the package and come back here as soon as he's done."

"I... I do not understand why you want to deliver a 'gift' to that Unicorn." Sage said with honesty. "Didn't she betrayed you?"

"... Is complicated... In a way, we betrayed each other." Eggman replied with concern. "I told her that I wouldn't hurt her, even if we were on different sides... But getting rid of Sunny Starscout and her friends didn't made me realized I was... Attacking her, too. I betrayed her, and I cannot forgive myself for that..."

Sage didn't replied anything this time, and Eggman thanked her in silence. He wasn't in the mood to talk, anyways.

Suddenly, a beep sound called his attention, and he saw that the plant infected with the virus was slowly dying, which made him deadpan and facepalm annoyed.

"Great... Time to upgrade this thing again." Eggman declared, as he pressed a button that incinerated the dead plant.

Speaking of Metal Sonic, he landed far from the Brighthouse.

He didn't wanted to be spotted by Omega in the top of the Brighthouse, so he quickly sneaked in and flew upwards, surrounding the building and looking for a specific entrance, until he found the window with a Butterfly.

He opened said window slowly and checked the inside. Once he made sure that Team Dark wasn't around, he entered the place and carefully landed on the bed. This seemed to be Misty's side of the Brighthouse, because it was decorated with the same blue tone than Misty's fur.

There was a small nightstand besides the bed with purple blankets, and the pillows over the bed had butterfly drawings, all choose by Misty, who wanted to feel comfortable on her new home, and thanks to her friends, she did it.

Metal Sonic found all of this ridiculous, and he could just destroy everything if he wanted... But he was here for a mission from Eggman. A very stupid one, if you ask him, but a mission all the same. So, he took out the small blue box with a red ribbon around and placed it on the desk.

With that done, Metal turned back to the window and boosted out of the Brighthouse, heading back towards Eggman's new hidden lab to report that his mission was successful.

At least he has the glee to say that, even if he still believed this was a waste of time, more than a mission.

Back at the castle, Queen Haven was showing a video of Zipp and Pipp when they were fillies.

"Mom, Mom! Look at me!" Filly Zipp called out, as she ran up a tree and did a flip, while Filly Pipp was looking at a tree sapling.

"If I sing to the tree, Mom, will it grow faster?" Filly Pipp asked her mother.

Just then, Haven appeared to the camera as she smiled at her daughters. "Oh, there's an idea! Let's try, shall we?" She suggested, as the family huddled together, with Filly Zipp landing on her mother's back, while Filly Pipp was under her chin.

The four ponies and Team Sonic watched the video, all cooing at the moment. And even if Sonic was still mad with Pipp, he couldn't deny she still looked adorable as a filly.

"I remember your Cutie Blossom Bash like it was yesterday." Haven said to Pipp with a small smile.

"I just wanna pick them up and squeeze them! Ah." Izzy cheered, as she hugged Misty and squeezed her tightly, while Misty smiled at her.

"We were so cute." Pipp said with a smile.

"You still are." Haven answered as she, Pipp, Sunny and Team Sonic but Tails walked off.

Meanwhile, Misty was in deep thought again. "What's up, Misty?" Tails asked her concerned.

"Um… It's just that… most ponies get their Cutie Marks when they're young." Misty started as they walked on. "Because that's when the magic of their personality…"

"And their Luminessence!" Izzy sang cheerfully.

"... Starts to shine." Misty finished and continued. "But, because of Opaline, I never got to shine until now." She stated, as Izzy, Tails and her caught up to the others to the door that leads to the throne room. "That means not only will I be in front of everypony, but…"

Once the doors opened, she saw something that made her feel absolutely panic.

In the throne room: Seashell, Peach Fizz and Glory were chattering with each other, and with other foals around them.

"I'm gonna be the oldest pony here." Misty finished with worried and awkward look.

"Remember to be the biggest one in the yard!" Knuckles reminded her in a whisper.

"Knuckles, for the last time, that's prison, not a gathering between kids..." Tails facepalmed and groaned.

On the other hand, Sonic walked towards a balcony to breath some fresh air.

He didn't wanted to talk with anyone right now. He just wanted peace and quiet to put his thoughts together, specially because he didn't wanted to be near Pipp the entire time.

He's been avoiding her the whole week ever since he realized how many likes she gets with all the pictures involving him. Hence why he has made a grumpy expression, to hopefully get that number lower... But he knows he's just fooling himself, because the likes are just as much as usual.

"... Blue Star..." Pipp's voice called out, and that made his eyes shot open.

No... No, no, no, no... Please no... Sonic begged internally.

Yet when he looked over his shoulder, he frowned, because Pipp was there, behind him.

He simply turned around again and decided to ignore her. Again, he isn't in the mood to talk with anyone, specially if it with her.

"Sonic..." Pipp called out again, but now she was really concerned when he didn't replied for a second time, and now it was her turn to frown. "Sonic, I know you're listening."

"I am. Do I wanna reply? Ha! Not even to joke." Sonic replied coldly, and with a tone that already told Pipp he was mad, and she could sense that he was mad with her.

"... Okay, at least I can tell that something is bothering you." Pipp said, still frowning. "What's the matter?"

However, Sonic snorted and the started to laugh, even covering his face with his hands as he lay on the balcony. Then, he turned to see Pipp, and she felt a horrible sensation when he glared down at her with rage, a type of rage she hasn't seen on him before.

"I'll tell you what's the problem: Your phone seems to have a better romantic relationship with you than I'll ever have!" Sonic said with anger. "You love showing everything to your fans, and while I'll normally understand and even find it adorable, it becomes annoying anytime I wanna get intimate with you and you just cut the tension off to take a goddam picture for your goddam ponygram!"

"So you're mad because I'm showing off how much I love you and how much you meant to me to my Pippsqueaks?" Pipp asked with a frown.

"Yes! Because I feel that you care more about a bunch of strangers that will ditch you at the first mistake you make, rather than be with someone who genuinely cares for you and would never do that to you!" Sonic replied with anger as well.

"That's not true! And you know that, Sonic!" Pipp replied offended, also opening her wings in anger.

"Then explain me why anytime you upload a picture to your profile, is always one with my face, which conveniently always gives you the most likes out of all your other pictures!" Sonic said with a frown.

"T-That's just a coincidence!" Pipp replied, still offended, but also stuttering a bit since she'll be lying if she said that she's not doing it for the likes, even thought it isn't her main reason. "Sonic, I don't think you're thinking straight––"

"No, Pipp. I'm thinking very straight right now. I love that you enjoy doing this kind of stuff, but if that means that I'm just a like generator for you, of course I'm gonna get mad!"

"For the last time, Hedgehog: You're my boyfriend! I'm not using you as a like generator! I genuinely love you!" Pipp said with anger.

"Right! You love me so much that you post my image on your profile to get some attention, because apparently mine isn't enough for you!" Sonic said with a frown.

"UGH! I won't let you mess with my Pippsqueaks, Sonic!" Pipp said enraged at this point. "Yes, I publish those pictures often and more than any other one because I love you, dang it! But this is also what I love, what I live for! It makes me happy, and I won't stop doing it just to please a stupid porcupine like you!"

Sonic frowned and growled a bit in anger after hearing that, so he simply left and choose to keep his mouth shut.

"So that's it?!" Pipp asked with anger and disbelief once he began to walk away. "You just said all of that out of nowhere, to be mad with me for a childish thing, and then walk away?!"

"I'm leaving before I say something I'll regret my entire life!" Sonic replied, because even if he was mad, the last thing he wanted was to hurt Pipp with his words.

Pipp growled and then shouted. "Go to hell, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Kuso mitaina hatsudenki to shite tsukawa rete mo kamawanai yatsu ni meiwaku kakero yo, Pippu!" Sonic shouted back, and Pipp understood every word, because he said 'Go bother someone else who doesn't mind being used as a damn like generator, Pipp!' in Japanese.

The pegasus mare growled in anger and shouted her frustration out. She was in the balcony already, so better take the chance now that she has it, right?

Back inside the castle: Sheriff, Deputy and Detective were talking.

"Alrighty, Zipp. Perimeter checked. The throne room looks alright and safe from rain!" Hitch declared as he looked around.

Knuckles facepalmed and groaned, while Zipp flew down and landed next to them. "That's great, Sheriff, but what about…"

"The fact that the Blossom Bashers will have to trot outside to get from the palace to the stage and getting wet because of the rain?" Knuckles pointed out with a bored expression.

"Yeah, what he said." Zipp agreed with a smile.

"We need rain boots! And umbrellas! And fast!" Hitch called out, while Zipp and Knuckles nodded in agreement, then they all ran out of the room.

Meanwhile, right behind them, Misty was moving backwards nervously, just before Seashell, Glory and Peach Fizz came to her.

"Misty!" Seashell called out, which surprised Misty as she turned to see them. "We didn't even know it was possible a pony your age could get a Cutie Mark for the first time." She said surprised, while Misty felt awkward as she rubbed her hoof. "It's so cool!"

Misty gasped in surprise, since she wasn't expecting them to say that, specially because she still remembers Sonic's words about kids being cruel when they sense weakness. Guess he was wrong.

"Would you like to join us?" Seashell asked. "Glory and Peach Fizz are here to celebrate my new Cutie Mark with me. Look!"

She hopped happily, and then she showed her green conch shell and two pink stars that she got as a Cutie Mark.

"It's awesome, Seashell!" Misty told her with a smile, just when Zoom came up behind them.

"It is time!" Zoom announced.

"Time? For what?" Misty asked nervously.

"Don't worry!" Seashell assured. "You can stick with me!"

All the foals that recently got their Cutie Marks, and Misty, formed a line. Of course, Misty feels awkward because she's taller and older than all these foals.

"Welcome to the Cutie Blossom Bash Eve Dinner Soiree!" Thunder announced, pointing to the dinner table, while the foals and Misty took a seat.

Queen Haven walked to her seat as well, turning to Misty with a smile. "You got this!" She whispered and winked, which made Misty smile, while Haven took her seat. "I am so honored to have you all here in Zephyr Heights for our first Cutie Blossom Bash Together!" She announced. "From Pegasi to Unicorns to Earth Ponies, every one of you has reached an important milestone in your journey to become your best, most authentic selves." She added as Misty was still in deep thought. "It's time to go out and make your mark on Equestria! But first, please enjoy this incredibly fancy springtime feast!"

With that being said, the foals grabbed the forks to eat. Misty, however, had a little trouble picking hers, since there was two, and when she grabbed one of them, Seashell noticed it.

"Psst. That's the wrong fork." Seashell whispered and pointed to her fork, the one Misty didn't grabbed.

"Oops." Misty said sheepishly, so she put down the fork and grabbed the right one, then tried to pick her carrot, but it was giving her trouble, so she pushed down hard, making the carrot fly off. "Oh no!"

The carrot flew and landed on a unicorn foal's horn, making the other kids laugh, while the foal himself didn't seemed to mind, and even smiled. Then, Thunder came in and pull the carrot off, before he fell to the floor.

"I am so sorry!" Misty said ashamed.

"It's okay, darling, it happens." Haven assured with a small smile, then she turned to the foals. "Now as per tradition, it's time to introduce yourselves to one another and tell us about your Cutie Mark." She announced. "Misty, why don't you start?"

That caught Misty off guard, and she even tossed her utensil startled. "What, oh, um… me?!" She asked nervously. "Uh, yeah. I'll go first." She said as she stood up. "So, um… My name is Misty. Misty Brightdawn, and uh, my Cutie Mark is a butterfly." She showed her Cutie Mark with a sheepish smile.

The foals looked amazed at her Cutie Mark, but also expecting her to tell more.

"Uh… That's it." Misty said nervously with a sheepish smile.

"My dear, you also have to tell everypony why you think it's a butterfly." Haven explained with a smile.

"Oh!" Misty said nervously as she sat down. "And um… uh… because… Um…" She stammered, because how could she reveal that she got it by freeing her friends from Opaline? She'll probably end up locked on a cell. "Uh… heh, because…" She then swiped a fork and made it fell to the floor. "Oh, ah, I dropped my fork."

After saying that nervously, she dropped to the floor and hid under the table.

"This is so awkward!" Misty whispered to herself. "I have no public speaking skills. My only friend before this was a pile of junk named Madame Taffytail! Opaline was right. Maybe I'm not cut out for this world."

"My name is Seashell and my Cutie Mark is… a shell!" Seashell spoke, and Misty was hearing her. "Because I'm a pony who's as unique as every shell on the beach is!"

"Wonderful, that was lovely, dear!" Haven said, while the foals cheered to Seashell.

"Yay, Seashell!" A foal cheered, while Misty sighed on the ground with disappointment.

On the other hand, Sonic was training up with Amy on a room that Queen Haven let them borrow.

Of course, this training was a 1v1, and they were both trying to be as careful as possible to not brake anything in this room... However, Sonic could barely focus on the battle, because his fight with Pipp was still haunting his thoughts, and he could barely think straight.

Is exactly because of this that Amy hit him with her hammer and sent him backwards, towards a column, where he crashed on his back, and then fell on his knees with pain.

Normally, Amy would apologize, but this is the sixth time today she has launched Sonic against a wall or column during their training, and she knows something's really wrong with him if he can barely concentrate on attacking her, or even defeat her at all.

So, Amy approached Sonic and looked down at him with a slight frown, also laying on her Piko Piko Hammer. "You are not being yourself today, Sonic."

Sonic chuckled in pain and decided to sit down in the floor instead of standing up. "You've noticed?"

"More than that." Amy replied, as she placed her hammer to lay it on the column behind them, while she sat down next to the Blue Blur. "I heard you had a fight with Pipp. In fact, everyone knows. Pipp cursed your name a lot during lunch break."

Sonic frowned slightly after hearing that, but then sighed. "Yeah, well... It was inevitable with how I've been feeling lately."

"Pipp said a lot about you not understanding that the 'like thing' was just something that happened. That there's another reason why she collected all those pictures on her phone, but she never told which one."

"... I honestly don't know what to believe anymore..." Sonic said with concern. "I still feel mad because she always has to bring her Pippsqueaks whenever we're on our own, and... I just don't want to feel that I'm there to be another big event for a livestream she makes, you know? I'm her boyfriend, but sometimes... I feel like she loves her phone more than she'll ever love me..."

After saying this, Amy smacked him in the head really hard, making Sonic groan and rub his head in pain.

"Amy! What the hell?!"

"I'll tell you what's the hell: The one I will unleash if you don't stop saying the biggest amount of nonsense you'd ever speak in your life!" Amy replied with anger. "What in your sane mind makes you think that Pipp loves her phone more than she loves you?!"

"Amy, she barely leaves it aside whenever we are together." Sonic pointed out with a frown. "Whenever I wanna have a normal conversation with her, she always has to bring out her phone and her fans and... I know is what she does, that she likes it, and I'm happy for her... But I don't wanna feel like an accessory instead of her partner."

"And why haven't you told her that?" Amy asked him with a bored expression.

"How could I face her after I told her to leave me alone?" Sonic asked with concern.

"Because staying here and hope to forget what happened won't work, Sonic." Amy pointed out, then she stood up and grabbed her Hammer to walk off, but not without saying one last thing, even though she didn't turned around. "Is one thing to try and forget a kiss, but you cannot avoid something like this. Even if the problem is small, it can get bigger if you don't do anything to solve it."

With that, Amy lefty the room, and Sonic was now on deep thought, because her words truly reached him.

The fact that Cyber Sonic appeared right in front of him and stared down at him with anger wasn't helping that much, but Sonic simply sighed, stood up and walked though the illusion, as it banished.

"I'm not in the mood to panic over you today." Sonic muttered, walking off the room. "Not right now."

The next day, Glory and Peach Fizz were throwing some blossoms outside.

Meanwhile, Misty was taking a nap on the guest room, until an airhorn played, which startled her away.

Misty screamed startled and jumped, ducking behind her bed. "What? What is it?! Are we under attack!?"

"No, Misty! It's your big day!" Sunny called out excitedly, as she arrived with her along Tails. "The Cutie Blossom Bash! Yippee! Time to get ready. Aren't you buzzing?!"

After asking that, Sunny trotted off with a squeal, leaving Tails behind, as he looked at Misty with concern.

"Buzzing… with nerves!" Misty said nervously.

"This could've been avoided long ago if you told them already that you don't want to do this, Mist..." Tails reminded her with concern, as he sat at her side and let out a sigh. "You cannot keep this for you. Nobody looses anything if you told them that you're against the idea!"

"But I don't want to disappoint them, either!" Misty said with worry. "They seem so excited, and... I don't know if I can take that excitement away."

"Not telling them the truth just makes things worse. And after everything that has happened in the past few months, keeping yourself a secret that actually affects you more than them is bad."

"But I... I don't wanna ruin our friendship..." Misty said. "I know is silly to think something like this can do that, but it still concerns me..."

"Oh..." Tails said, now being in deep thought. "Is that why you never told me that you like me?"

That made Misty's eyes shot open widely, and her face got as red as a tomato, while she slowly turned to see Tails, who was smiling at her the same way he always does.

"... Y-You... You knew?!" Misty asked in shock.

"I suspected it for a while." Tails replied. "Ever since you gave me that kiss when your Cutie Mark wasn't shining as much as the others, to be precisely.

"S-Six months?!" Misty asked, completely surprised and embarrassed by this. "B-But why didn't you ever told me anything?!"

"Because you're my best friend, Misty!" Tails replied. "I wasn't going to tell you that. I wanted to wait until you were ready to tell me, but... I guess I just screw that, huh?"

"K-Kinda..." Misty said nervously.

She started to play with her mane, and all she wanted to do right now was to disappear and not have to face Tails anymore, not now that he knows she likes him.

"S-So... W-What do you... t-think?" Misty asked concerned, looking away from Tails.

"Well... You're a great mare, Misty." Tails said, and that made her eyes open wide and sparkle, as she slowly turned to see him. "You have come a long way in just a few months... And that's why you deserve someone that feels the same than you."

Misty's expression quickly shifted, and she already knew what Tails implied with his words, so she felt very disappointed.

"... I see..." Misty said.

"Don't take it the wrong way, Mist. We're still friends! That won't ever change." Tails assured her with a smile. "I just... My heart belongs to somepony else. And I cannot be with you to hurt any of us. Nor you, nor me, nor the one that owns my heart. But I know that, one day, you'll find that special pony that'll love you and threat you like you deserve. And they better, because if they don't, I'll follow them to the end of the world and make their life a living nightmare!"

After hearing Tails swearing to kick whoever's ass in order to protect her, and even if she was still hurt by being rejected, Misty couldn't help but burst out laughing at his words, and Tails laughed along.

However, she soon pulled him into a tight hug, and while startled at first, Tails still smiled and hugged her back, since he had a feeling that she needed this right now. After all, he rejected her gently, so she might need a few seconds, or even minutes, to process it.

"... Do you promise?" Misty asked Tails, tightening her grip a bit. "You promise that nothing is gonna change between us, even thought I have feelings for you?"

Tails chuckled and rubbed her back softly. "We're still friends, Mist. And nothing is gonna brake our bond, not even the biggest menace ever to live."

Misty smiled after hearing this and tightened the hug a bit more, while Tails decided to let her be.

"... Aren't you gonna ask me who my heart actually belongs to, or––"

"I know is Zipp, Tails."

"... Dang it..."

Misty chuckled after hearing him saying that, while Tails rolled his eyes annoyed, but still smiled at her.

Pipp was at her old room in the castle, laying on her bed and hugging a pillow.

She hasn't talked with anyone since dinner last night, and now she's very concerned. She never had a big fight with Sonic like the one from yesterday in the balcony, and she didn't liked that their first fight as a couple involved her fans and her life as a popular pony.

She knew that couples fight often, and that communication was the key to avoid a split up... But she didn't knew how to approach Sonic about this, or even if approach him at all.

A knock on her door suddenly pulled her out of her thoughts, and she simply let out a startled squeal.

"W-Who is it?" Pipp asked.

"... Is me, Pipp... The idiot that screamed at you yesterday..." Sonic's voice replied from the other side of the door.

Usually, she'll be happy to hear him, but she was still kinda mad at him fro everything he told her the previous day, so she returned her sight to her pillow... But the girl in love inside of her was somehow stronger than her normal self, so she ended up sighing and walking up to the door, removing the lock and then walking back to her bed.

"Come in." Pipp said, burying her face on her pillow again.

Sonic opened the door, and even if he was still a bit mad for the reasons he shared earlier, the sight of his girlfriend burying her face on her pillow and feeling down did shattered his heart.

He sighed, then closed the door behind, and then slowly approached her, not saying anything so far. But then, Pipp suddenly squealed startled when she was picked up like a pet, and then hugged from the back by Sonic like if she was a giant plushie... Well, she's technically that to him.

"... Pipp... I... I think we need to talk..." Sonic spoke.

Pipp was a bit flustered to be hold like this, but she still frowned slightly. "W-Why should we talk? You told me not to bother you..."

"Well, I'm technically the one bothering you..." Sonic pointed out with a chuckle, before getting serious again. "You wanna know why I'm actually mad, Pipp?"

"I thought you told me that already..." Pipp pointed out as well.

"Not the full story." Sonic replied. "I... On our last date, you were barely paying me any attention. You were so focused on your phone and on your fans... Like always."

Pipp's eyes opened wide after hearing that. "L-Like always?"

"Whenever we go on picnics, to a restaurant, to the beach, anywhere, you and your damn phone are on the way. Always taking pictures, uploading them to your Ponygram." Sonic explained. "It didn't bothered at first, but I noticed how many likes you get from those pictures this past week... I started to feel that you were only using our relationship as an excuse to get more likes... I started to feel that I was an accessory for you, and not your lover..."

Now that Sonic explained himself, Pipp actually began to tear up, and she even grabbed Sonic's arms with her hooves, squeezing them tightly and whimpering.

Once Sonic heard that, he turned her around, and he felt even worse when he saw her crying.

"P-Pipp?!" Sonic asked confused. "Crap! Sorry, I'm so sorry! I should had worded that better! Me and my stupid mouth––"

However, Sonic was shut down when Pipp locked her lips with hers, startling him a lot, since he wasn't expecting this reaction from her after what he said, specially considering she's still crying.

"P-Pipp?" Sonic called out confused once she broke the kiss.

"S-Sonic... Why didn't you told me that instead of being so mean to me?!" Pipp asked, as he tapped her hooves on Sonic's chest in an attempt of hit him, but he only felt she was tickling him.

"... Because like you said, I wasn't thinking straight..." Sonic replied with an ashamed smile. "I guess I still have a lot to learn as your boyfriend, because thinking about it... I was just childish and immature, thinking you only see me as an item for your own gain... And I'm sorry for shouting at you yesterday."

Pipp smiled, then wiped some of her tears away, and then hugged Sonic, burying her face on his chest, while Sonic returned the hug and rubbed her back with a smile.

"While I'm glad you apologize for yesterday... I still must apologize, too." Pipp stated, then looked up at him and caressed his cheek with a hoof. "Sonic, the reason why I was taking so many pictures is not even related to my Ponygram!"

Sonic's eyes shot open after hearing this. "I'm sorry, what?!"

"Sure, I uploaded some pictures, but it was to show you off as my boyfriend!" Pipp pointed out with a smile. "I mean, I'll be crazy not to lay my eye on you~" She bite her lowed lip as she looked at him up and down, while Sonic smirked smugly at her. "But the rest of the pictures I took? They're for a surprise I have for you, for our first anniversary!"

"Huh?!"

"That's why it angered me what you said yesterday, but... it also made me sad..."

Sonic facepalmed and groaned, then lay on the bed. Right now, he wished that earth would just swallow him and make him disappear, because he was too ashamed to find out that his girlfriend took those pictures for something special and meaningful.

"How could I had labeled all of that as you using me?! Gosh, I'm so stupid!" Sonic scolded himself.

"Well, is kinda my fault not to tell you why the pictures were for." Pipp pointed out, as she got on top of him. "I guess I also have to learn a lot about being a girlfriend as well."

Sonic chuckled and wrapped his arms around his girlfriend, pulling her down for another kiss, one they were both ready for, as Pipp kissed him back and massaged his chest with her hooves.

"We both have to learn more, Little Pipp~" Sonic said in a flirty tone, but Pipp bite her lower lip when he used that tone. "I'm just glad we talked this out before things got worse... Because we're good now, right?"

"Mmm, I don't know..." Pipp replied mockingly, as she made circles on Sonic's chest. "I think you have to be more convincing than this, Mr. Hedgehog~"

At first, Sonic raised an eyebrow confused, but then Pipp got off him and went towards the door, as she looked it and shook her tail, something Sonic noticed, and he blushed at the sight of her rear, but then he smirked and bite his lip as well.

"Well, well, well, Princess Petals. Looks like you're more naughty than anyone could ever imagine~" Sonic told her with a mocking tone.

Pipp simply giggled and removed her bandana, then launched herself against Sonic, tackling him in the bed.

Outside the castle, the foals were enjoying their day before the Blossom Bash.

They trotted around, petted bunnies, and crafted stands, while Izzy got her Izzy's Does It Cart with her, holding up a bracelet.

"Flower corsages! Get your flower corsages!" Izzy called out. "Hoofmade by me, Izzy, of course! Smells great!" She then sniffed the corsage in her hoof. "Like flowers!"

Dazzle came walking by and accepted the corsage from Izzy, then she trotted off, just before thunder crackled, as the sky was more gray then yesterday.

And then Hitch, Knuckles and Zipp came out, all wearing weather boots and a couple of umbrella hats.

"Don't worry, everypony!" Hitch called out.

"There's no way we're letting it rain on this parade." Zipp finished.

"Wait, there’s a parade?!" Izzy asked excitedly, as she came skidding next to them. "Why didn't anypony tell me? Um… I may be able to fashion a float quickly, but I will need a tube of glue, 5014 gummy bunnies and a––"

Hitch, Knuckles and Zipp looked at her confused, then the two ponies shook their heads and Knuckles walked up to her.

"Izz, it's just an expression." Knuckles explained with a smile. "What we mean is we've got this festival of fun under cover!" He then gestured to the tarps all over the festival.

"We also have critter deputies on duty to make sure nopony slips." Hitch added, as he gestured to his critter crew, who gave a salute, then they all posed out with walkie talkies. "And trottie-talkies! Because… Well, trottie-talkies are cool."

"We've taken every precautionary measure. So now, we wait." Zipp said with a smirk.

Knuckles looked at the sky with a frown, specially because last time it rained, he ended up dragging his friends to the Starfall Islands as soon as it stopped. "It'll be here any minute."

"Kenneth. You take charge!" Hitch said to his bird friend. "When it rains, you know what to do!"

Kenneth chirped in understanding, as he and the other critters gave a salute, while the three in charge of drifting the rain away saluted back before splitting up.

In Misty's room, she was putting the final touches of makeup on her.

The young fox was helping her out, and he placed a flower on her ear as the definitive touch of her look.

Tails kissed his fingers and felt happy with the result. "Divine, Mist. That's the best word to describe it: You look divine!"

"Well, at least I look pretty." Misty said with a smile, before getting nervous again. "Pretty terrified."

"Aw, come on, Mist!" Tails said with a smile. "You look great!"

Just then: Izzy, Sunny, Pipp and Amy came in, and they gasped at Misty's look, while the Unicorn was surprised by their arrival, but she still smiled.

"Wow! Misty!" Izzy gasped.

"Oh my hoofness!" Pipp exclaimed. "Misty! You are the picture of spring! A vision in florals, an ode to the beauty of the butterfly!"

Izzy then gasped with a smile. "You're gonna stick out." She said with a smirk, which made Misty stiff. "In a good way."

"Watch out, everypony!" Tails said with a smirk. "Because a beautiful butterfly is ready to bloom!"

"Here it goes." Sunny squealed, as she turned Misty's chair around and walked off.

The rest followed up and exited the room as well, but Misty still felt nervous, and Tails looked at her with concern.

Once outside, the crowd of ponies were out the front gates.

Soon, the foals started to trot excited with a flag of their Cutie Marks strapped on them, while Misty looked at her friends behind her... But then, she stopped and started to panic.

Misty saw all the ponies outside, and she was finally feeling very overwhelmed... Until she finally gave up.

"I can't do this. It's all too much." Misty said, then used her magic to close the doors, which surprised her friends, except for Team Sonic.

"What?" Sunny asked in surprise.

"No!" Izzy said, while the others ponies gasped confused.

"Wait!" Misty said, as she turned to her friends. "I need to confess something."

"I knew it!" Zipp said with a smirk.

"It's not about Opaline, Zipp." Misty cleared, and that surprised Zipp, since she believed that it was about her. "This is about… me."

"Took you long enough." Knuckles deadpanned.

"The whole Episode, to be precise, but yeah." Sonic deadpanned as well.

"The truth is I.. can't go out there!" Misty confessed.

"What, is it the outfit? We can change it!" Pipp exclaimed in worry.

"Seriously, Pipp?!" Amy asked the pegasus with disbelief.

"She's always like that, Ames." Tails pointed out with a deadpan and his arms crossed.

"No, no! It's perfect. It's all perfect." Misty said, twirling around a bit, while the rest looked at her with concern. "But ever since I got here, I haven't felt… comfortable. All these ponies and all this fuss over me."

"Wait, you don’t like that?" Pipp asked confused.

"No." Misty answered. "All this Cutie Blossom Bash stuff has made me feel so not me. I may be smiling, but this is what I really feel like." She showed a very unhappy expression.

"Oh wow, yeah. That, that looks unhappy." Izzy said sheepishly.

"I don't wanna trot across that stage with all those eyes one me." Misty continued. "I don't want the spotlight! I just wanna be Misty. But if I don't pretend, then everypony will know the truth about me. That I'm… shy."

"Tails. Remind me what's the problem with telling this from the beginning." Sonic said with his arms crossed.

"What problem?" Tails asked with a bored expression.

"Exactly." The rest of Team Sonic all said in unison.

The rest of the Mane 6, however, gave Misty sympathy looks. "Oh, Misty. We just wanted to celebrate your new Cutie Mark!" Sunny said with a small smile.

"I know I should be proud of it and I am, but I don't wanna do this." Misty said, then she walked up to them. "I've been so scared to tell you because you were all so excited. And Team Sonic told me to be honest from the beginning, but I didn't wanted to ruin this for you! And now look where that led us. I'm sorry. I should've been honest. I've ruined everything!"

"Misty… You haven't ruined anything at all." Sunny told her, as he walked towards her. "We are the ones who should be sorry. We got so caught up in trying to make this moment special for you, we forgot to ask along the way if this is what you even wanted."

"That's what real friends do." Sonic said, then he turned to the rest with a smile. "Guys, you get way too excited sometimes, and while I'm all in for enthusiasm, let's try to be a bit more aware of our surroundings and each other's feelings before jumping to conclusions. And that goes to me as well."

Pipp smiled tenderly after he also pointed his own words out towards himself.

Meanwhile, Misty was happy to see her friend understood her. "Thank you for understanding. I'm still learning about friendship."

"And so are we." Izzy added.

"Every day." Pipp spoke next.

"Isn't that the entire point of 'the Magic of Friendship'?" Tails pointed out with a smile. "Sure, you learned stuff along your life, but you still learn everyday! That's whats makes friendship so cool, remember?"

Misty smiled back at Tails and nodded, since she does remember the conversation she had with both Zipp and Tails in the library during the Manesquerade Ball.

Suddenly, Zipp turned to Pipp, Sunny, Sonic and Tails, whispering something into their ears, while the rest looked at them curiously and confused.

"What are you guys whispering now? I'm done with secrets!" Knuckles said with a frown.

"What are you talking about? We didn't hide anything from you." Amy pointed out confused.

"You don't, but that Hedgehog is hiding something." Knuckles pointed out. "Or haven't you noticed how he always looks around startled and afraid, like if he saw a ghost?"

Amy realized what Knuckles was talking about, and she looked back at Sonic with concern, as he approached along the royal sisters, Sunny and Tails to them.

"Maybe we can celebrate in another way?" Sunny suggested, and Misty smiled at her response.

Outside, the Cutie Blossom Bash for the foals continued.

The foals themselves were on stage, showing off their Cutie Marks and their flags, with the crowd applauding to them.

"And next we have… Seashell!" Dazzle announced, as she gestured to Seashell, who moved around and made the crowd cheer, including did the Mane 6 and Team Sonic.

"Good thing Omega isn't here, or he'll be a crying mess." Sonic said with a smile. "He's got weirdly attached to the Pippsqueaks lately."

That made Pipp's eyes shot open, as she looked at her boyfriend confused. "Omega can cry?"

The Cutie Blossom Bash was being recorded and broadcasted in TV.

In the Brighthouse, Shadow was patrolling the Crystal Room since it was his turn, while Omega was in the living room, seeing Seashell getting her time to shine, as he cleaned his oil tears with a handkerchief.

"Are you crying?" Rouge asked Omega with an amused and mocking smirk.

"N-No. I'm presenting problems through my ocular radar." Omega replied, then sorbed a bit on the handkerchief. "They grow so fast!"

Rouge chuckled at his attitude, patting his arm a bit for comfort.

"Wow..." Pipp replied after Sonic explained how Omega can cry.

"I know. Crazy stuff." Sonic said with a smirk, placing an arm around his girlfriend, and Pipp smirked at his flirty attitude.

"Thank you, guys." Misty said gratefully, as she turned to her friends. "For the first time in a long time, I feel… happy. Probably about as happy as Seashell feels right now."

Seashell giggled as she moved excitedly. "This is the best moment of my life!"

"Yeah, it is good Omega is not here, or he'll be crying oil nonstop." Knuckles deadpanned.

Just then, Zipp flew down to her friends. "Okay. Talked to Mom. She's totally cool with it."

The rest cheered, and Sonic and Knuckles even fist bumped, while Misty looked at her friends confused.

"Cool with… what?" Misty asked them.

"A special surprise." Pipp answered, standing right next to her. "That we promise doesn't involve any other ponies, preparations or primping. Just us!"

"It is time you make your mark, Mist!" Tails said, standing right next to Misty with a smile, and she smiled back.

Later, the Mane 6 and Team Sonic then went into the Royal Garden.

As they looked around and walked ahead, Misty gasped surprised, since she recognizes it.

"Hey! This is the place from the video! It's beautiful." Misty said as she looked around the garden, before noticing a whole dug right in front of them, so she turned to the rest. "But why are we here?"

"We wanted to do something cool to mark your big day, in a small way." Zipp explained with a smile.

"And like we promised, just you and your friends! No one else will be here." Tails added with a wink.

Then, Pipp flew in front of her, holding a tree sapling. "This is one of the saplings I've been singing to, I mean, nurturing for a while." She quickly corrected herself sheepishly, with her friends giving her playful smirks. "And now it's yours." She put the sapling down. "It represents you growing into the pony you were meant to be."

"Now your sparkle can take roots! Woo!" Izzy cheered, while the royal sisters flew around.

"Like mine!" Pipp sang while gesturing to a tree.

"And mine." Zipp added while gesturing to her tree.

"This is where you finally start to write your story!" Sonic pointed out with a smile. "No chains, no one to hold you back... Just you growing for yourself, by yourself."

"So… what do you say?" Sunny asked.

"I love it!" Misty exclaimed in joy, as she levitated her sapling and put it on the ground. "It'll be a long time my tree catches up to yours!" She added as she secured it with some dirt before grabbing her flag and planting it next to the sapling.

"Maybe it doesn't have to…" Sunny stated with a smirk.

As Sunny and Tails sang, they moved next to Misty, with the Unicorn smiling, just before Zipp and Pipp flew close to her and lifted Misty into the air.

The royal sisters put Misty down, while Sunny used her Earth Pony magic on the sapling, just before Izzy stepped in and started to dance around.

Izzy, Sunny, Tails and Sonic circled the sapling, while Hitch and Knuckles came next to Misty.

Misty closed her eyes and thought back how Opaline treated her and how she scared her, before she had memories of good times she had with Eggman as a father figure, then with her friends before redeeming by freeing them, getting her Cutie Mark, and vowing to stop Opaline and Eggman.

The Mane 6 Cutie Marks and Team Sonic but Amy's powers started to glow, as Pipp flew up in the air and dance, while their magic from their marks and powers began to fuse with the sapling, which started to grow faster.

Misty smiled as she hopped around and finished the song, while the tree fully sprouted, and butterflies fluttered around.

Just then, Misty turned and looked at her very own tree. "Whoa. Look at that!"

The rest of the Mane 6 and Team Sonic saw the butterflies moving around, and while the ponies laughed around, Sonic let one butterfly stop over his finger, as he smiled at it.

Then, Misty saw her horn glow, so she looked at her flank and noticed her Cutie Mark glowing, which made her smile.

"That's it! That's why my Cutie Mark is a butterfly!" Misty realized. "It's because I have the power to change, to transform my own destiny. That's me."

"Well, I never believed in destiny until my mother figure popped up from a Chaos Emerald as an hologram and told me my whole life was a lie." Sonic deadpanned. "But I've been proven wrong, and honestly? I'm kinda jealous. I mean, my whole idea is to just run around as free as the wind, to be just another guy that so happens to be there whenever there's trouble! But knowing almost everything I've done was already written, it makes me feel jealous of you, Mist. You can change your destiny and forge a new one. And that's something I both admire, and I'm so jealous of as well."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Amy agreed. "Who wouldn't want to change their destiny for real? I've tried to do that long time ago, but it didn't went well..." She looked over at Sonic with shame, but Sonic smiled at her, and she smiled back. "When I realized that, everything went better than I could ever expect." She then looked at Misty. "And I don't need fortune cards to tell that your destiny will be amazing."

Misty smiled after hearing this, then she took a deep breath and looked at the rest with a determinate look. "Well, I don't know what destiny may have in store for me, but there's one thing I have clear: We need to find Eggman and stop him, as well as Opaline! She might been defeated once, but there's other thing she shares with Eggman besides ambition: She'll always come back, no matter how many times we stop her."

"Oh, and we will!" Knuckles said with a smirk, punching his fists together. "He still owes me one for mentally torturing my friends in a lab!"

"After what he did to Sunny? I'm not planning on being merciful." Tails said with a frown, as he made a sniper appear.

Sonic's eyes widened, and he tossed the weapon from Tails' hands. "Okay! I wanna kick Eggman's butt as much as everyone here for what he did with the Death Egg Titan, but let's not cross lines."

"I don't know, Sonic..." Sunny said with a smirk, making her Alicorn form show up. "I'm up to being a little more violent to crack and Egg open!"

"You're hanging out with Shadow too much, young lady." Sonic said with a frown and his arms crossed.

Suddenly, it began to rain, and everyone looked up confused... Except for Pipp and Amy, who squealed in fear.

"Ah! My mane!" Pipp cried out, as she rushed back inside the palace.

"Not my hair, not my hair!" Amy cried out as well, which made everyone else laugh.

However, once they were all inside, Misty stopped Sonic for a moment. "Sonic?"

"Yo!" Sonic replied with a smile.

"Sorry to stopping you, is just that I never had the chance to ask this before..." Misty said sheepishly with a chuckle. "Um, when the others revealed that I was working with Opaline and Eggman, you stood for me. You said that I was still your friend, and even blamed the others for things that weren't as bad as working with two power-hungry tyrants! Why? Why did you defended me the same way Tails defended me from Zipp all the time, even if she was right about me?"

"I told you that already, Mist, that same day!" Sonic reminded her with a smile. "You are my friend no matter what. And I knew that you were going to make the right thing in the end, even if everyone else doubted you. I know that I blamed them for things that aren't as bad, but my point was to prove that we all make mistakes in life. We can either hold into them forever, or learn and keep going. You learned the latter, and look how far you've gotten ever since! And I cannot wait to see what await us all in this journey to stop Eggman and Opaline!"

Misty smiled and felt touched by Sonic's words, then she nodded with a determinate look, and they both rushed to catch up with the rest.

Hours later, the whole group went back to the Crystal Brighthouse.

Once everyone entered, they saw that Omega was on his resting pod near Izzy's crafting corner, while Shadow was attempting to read the instructions in how to roasted vegetables, and Rouge was nowhere to be seen.

"Yo, Shadow!" Sonic greeted with a smirk.

That took Shadow out of the cooking book, as he turned to see the rest on the entrance. "You came earlier than I thought."

"We finished the event earlier!" Sunny said with a smirk, before snorting once she approached Shadow and noticed that he was wearing a pink apron with a heart. "What are you wearing?"

"I lost a bet against Rouge." Shadow replied with no shame. "My pride may be big, but I know when to loose. Also, I was trying to cook... Let's just say is not one of my stronger points."

"I'm just impressed the kitchen is still in one piece." Knuckles said as he looked around, and Shadow deadpanned at him.

Just then, a flash snapped as a picture was taken, and everyone turned to see Sonic, pointing his phone at Shadow, because he just took a picture of him with the pink apron.

"Let's see how proud you truly are when I publish this!" Sonic said with a sinister grin, before boosting away.

Shadow frowned, then removed his apron carefully and gave it to Sunny. "If you'll excuse me; I'll go make that Hedgehog's life a living nightmare."

After that, he teleported out to chase down Sonic outside of the Brighthouse, making everyone else that saw this chuckle.

Upstairs, Misty was heading to her side of the room with a smile.

She was about to pick something from her desk, but right as she approached it, she noticed the blue box with a red ribbon, and she tilted her head a bit confused.

She levitated the box with her magic, and then she opened it... Her eyes shot open when she then levitated out a golden necklace shaped like a heart, as well as a note that came with the necklace. Misty opened the note to see what it said and who gave her this.

"To the daughter I lost because of my arrogance.

Misty. I cannot express in words how happy and proud I am that you finally have gotten your Cutie Mark all by yourself, without needing Opaline's help nor mine! You have grown into a young and beautiful mare that's more than ready to face the world, even if you think otherwise.

Don't let Opaline's words get in your mind. You are more than capable to survive without any of us... Because you've got more than just lots of new friends. You've got a family, one that will look after you the way I couldn't.

I'll never forgive myself for hurting you when I promised that I wouldn't, and I really hope you don't forgive me, either. I don't deserve it. Just know that I'll always be proud of you, and that I cannot wait to see you kicking ass next time we see each other!

Go and make me proud, Misty, even if we are on different sides now.

Yours truly: Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik."

After reading all of that, Misty's eyes watered, and she smiled fondly after reading the letter, then she opened the necklace to see what picture was inside, and her smile grew when she saw a photo of her and Eggman.

In this picture that she took on a sneaky way, she was taking it so fast that she appeared a bit blurry, but with a huge mocking smile for finally getting the picture, while Eggman himself turned and looked very confused at the camera, clearly not expecting Misty's move at all.

Misty smiled brightly, and then she held the note and necklace close to her chest.

"I won't let you down... Dad..." Misty declared with a determined look.

It was a rainy and stormy night in Equestria.

Deep inside of Bridlewood, in a regularly avoided place, an abandoned mansion rested on a hill. This mansion looked like any abandoned mansion would look: There were gargoyle statues at the entrance, a huge gate with spikes, the mansion was black and gloomy, there were holes around it due to its dilapidated state, and the few windows that were not covered with wooden planks were broken.

Yup, an abandoned mansion no doubt.

Inside the mansion, a door opened slowly as it creaked.

Then, a light illuminated the path, while two colts entered to a room in the mansion. One of the colts was a green unicorn with purple mane and tail, brown hooves, silver horn and a cookie as a Cutie Mark, as he levitated a flashlight with his magic.

The other colt was a blue pegasus with yellow mane and tail, silver hooves, red and yellow feathers, and a red ring with a star in the middle as a Cutie Mark.

Both colts were completely scared to be in this mansion, but of course, they still had explore it because kids will be kids.

The place they were both exploring right now was a room where all the furniture was covered in white blankets, except for an old clock, a few tables, some chairs, and a dresser with a globe.

Suddenly, lightning stroke and reflected a shadow in the ground that startle the two colts. So, the unicorn colt quickly pointe the flashlight on said direction, while the pegasus colt hid behind... But it was just the shadow of an old knight armor for ponies that was holding a sword.

The two colts sighed in relief after seeing this, and the unicorn even wiped some sweat from his forehead, but then, the pegasus pushed the unicorn a bit and indicated with his head they should keep going.

Frowning at first, the unicorn silently agreed and kept walking forward.

However, as they did so, they didn't noticed that they were being followed by something. Well, not at first at least, because the figure zoomed towards them after a few seconds... And then, the two colts turned around.

Soon enough, a camera took a picture of them, but whoever took it apparently scared them, because their screams of fright were heard from outside the mansion... They'll be fine, though... Probably...

In Bridlewood's forest, while lightning kept striking, some critters hoped by.

Soon, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Sunny, Hitch and Pipp passed by, as they tried to find the exit to said forest. Tails and Amy were holding several boxes and bags with Nightmare Night stuff on them. Of course, they were all wet because of the rain, and only Pipp seemed to be mad about it, because the rest didn't really minded that much.

"Ugh! I can't believe it started to rain the exact moment we stepped out of the Nightmare Night store!" Pipp groaned with a frown.

"That's why I told you guys we should had taken the Marestream out instead!" Tails pointed out with a bored expression.

"Or buy stuff from Maretime Bay instead of coming to Bridlewood..." Amy pointed out with an eye roll.

"But unicorns have gotten so much better with the spooky stuff!" Sunny pointed out with a slight smile. "I'm usually not too fond on the decorations department, but it's hard to ignore that the Nightmare Night stuff that's being made in Bridlewood lately is nothing but quality!" she added.

"I hate to admit it, but I agree with her" Hitch said with a smile. "When it comes to Nightmare Night parties, Zephyr Heights is on top. When it comes to decorations? Bridlewood wins that department" he pointed out.

"Look, I get that you guys want to make tomorrow's Nightmare Night party memorable and all, but who in their sane sake takes a whole-ass day to choose on decorations?!" Sonic asked confused while walking backwards.

"Uh, hello!" Pipp said with an eye roll. "If we want to make the best Nightmare Night party in Equestria's history, we've got to have the best of the best!" she declared.

"Doesn't change the fact that we could have brought the Marestream, or even the Tornado IV!" Tails pointed out with a frown. "We don't even brought any Warp Rings!" he added.

"Warp Rings are for live or death situations from now on, Tails" Sonic reminded with a bored expression. "We can't just use one of them anytime we're stuck in some place!" he pointed out. "And, we don't have that many anymore, so we have to spare them wisely" he finished.

"Ugh, but the walk back to Maretime Bay is long!" Pipp groaned, before taking out her phone and groan again. "And it's 9 p.m. in the night already!" she added with concern.

"Not to mention, we're already far from the main town. I guess we'll have to spend the night somewhere else" Hitch added.

"Um, where exactly do you want us to stay, Sheriff?" Amy asked with a bored expression and a raised eyebrow. "If you haven't noticed yet, we're trapped in a forest that looks the same to me at night!" she pointed out with anger.

"And Izzy stood in the Brighthouse with everyone else to babysit Sparky after you told her that we'll be fine without guidance..." Sonic added with his arms crossed and a bored expression as well.

Hitch chuckled sheepishly after hearing that and scratched his neck. "Okay, yeah... Maybe I got too carried away with that..." he confessed.

"I'm sure we can find some place to stay!" Sunny said confidently. "After all, Bridlewood is big enough. There's several sectors around, too. We should find somepony that let us pass the night with them!" she added with a smile.

"How exactly do you expect us to find someplace in here?!" Tails pointed out with a frown. "Are we just gonna walk a few meters into the forest until a big, old and spooky mansion pops out of nowhere––" he tried to be sarcastic, but as they literally walked some meters away, they came in front of a huge gate with spikes that lead to... A big, old and spooky mansion. "... You've gotta be kidding me..." Tails deadpanned.

Everyone else looked at the mansion at the other side of the gates, and while Sonic and Sunny raised eyebrows, Amy and Hitch gulped nervously, leaving Pipp gasping in excitement at the sight.

"Dude, are you sure Apollo didn't hit you with the gift of prophecy or something?" Sonic asked Tails with a mocking tone, while Tails rolled his eyes in annoyance and lightning stroke behind the mansion.

That last thing made Hitch yelp a bit in panic, while Sunny at his side snorted playfully at his attitude.

"Um, are we sure this is the closest place we have?" Amy asked nervously. "It can't be the only house around..." she pointed out, gulping nervously again.

"I agree with Amy!" Hitch said with a nervous smile. "Is not that I'm terrified or anything, but this place gives me a bad feeling..." he confessed with concern.

"Right. You're definitely not scared" Sunny mocked up wit a giggle, while Hitch at her side frowned and blushed.

"Well, if there's other houses or not, I'm not in the mood to look after it" Sonic said with a frown, as he pushed the gate open and kept it like that for the rest to follow along. "I wanna get dry! And maybe get a hot drink, because it's freezing out here!" he yelled with a frown.

With the gate open, Pipp immediately followed over, followed by Tails and Sunny, leaving Hitch and Amy behind, who looked at each other nervously, before gulping and follow everyone else as well.

Then, Sonic closed the gates and boosted towards the entrance of the mansion.

Speaking of such, inside the mansion, a ghost-like figure was holding two pictures.

Both of them were pictures of the two colts from earlier, making funny faces after they were scared. However, the pictures had something on themL The picture of the unicorn colt had a red scarf on it, while the picture of the pegasus colt had a red tie on it.

The ghost-like figure was looking back and forth between the two pictures, and when they retired them, they had two white ghosts in front of them.

The ghost on the left was holding a camera, had greens eyes, a red scarf and fangs on his upper teeth. He was taller and skinner than the other ghost as well. Speaking of the latter, he had yellow eyes, hold a camera as well, a red tie and fangs on his lower teeth. He was not only shorter than the first ghost, but he was also a bit more chubby.

They were the ones that scared the two colts before and took the pictures. The skinner ghost was called Uh, and the chubbier one's name was Su.

As they waited eagerly for the mysterious ghost-figure to say something about which picture they liked more, Su mocked Uh a bit by pushing him slightly, while Uh got payback by pushing Su's camera away and laughing, before pretending he did nothing once Su adjusted his camera and glared daggers at Uh.

"Hmm..." the ghost-figure from before said with a thoughtful look and a smile, while Su and Uh payed attention to her.

Yes, she was a ghost girl. Her name was Lah, and she was a pink ghost with purple hair tied in two pony tails with two golden rings, blue eyes, pink eyeshadows, a pink flower over her hair, two golden rings as bracelets on her right arm, a pink heart painted on her left cheek, and a long pink dress.

This girl was obsessed with laughing at the funny faces of the ponies (foals and adults) that showed up to the mansion to prove courage or something like that, I don't know.

Of course, she has Uh and Su to make that job for her, and why? Well, she manipulates them by making them compete on who gets her the funniest picture to reward them with a kiss on the cheek, all with the excuse that she loves them... Yes, she's that kind of girl.

Curiously enough, she also has a sick obsession with monsters, specially werewolves.

After analyzing both pictures for a while, Lah finally make her decision: She turned Su's picture and showed it to the two ghosts, which made Su happy and Uh sad... But then, Lah threw Su's picture away with a smirk and showed Uh's picture while pointing at it, indicating that he 'won'.

This made Uh incredibly happy, while Su stared at Lah in disbelief, as Lah herself hugged the picture and then flew to her board and pinned the picture there, along with the others pictures she has saved from Su and Uh in the past.

With this, Lah went over to Uh and kissed his cheeks as a reward, which turned his whole face red. Then, he cheered and flew through the room like a rocket, finishing his cheer up by posing in front of Su and showing off the kiss mark on his cheek, while Su kneeled and smash his hand on the ground with frustration.

Yet, that frustration didn't lasted long, because as soon as a knock was heard on the mansion's door, the three ghosts got excited, specially Su, who was planning on get a picture for Lah and win his so desired reward.

In the mansion's first floor, the door opened slowly.

Soon, Sonic popped his head through the door and looked inside, while Tails flew behind him to do the same, and Pipp popped her head from behind Sonic.

"Hello?!" Sonic called out. "Anyone there?!" he asked, but he got no response, which made him smirk. "Oh well. Seems like no one lives here!" he stated, as he stepped into the mansion with no shame at all.

"That's perfect!" Pipp cheered, as she followed along.

"It'll be weird if someone lived here, anyways" Sunny pointed out, as she also stepped in.

"As long as it gives us a place to spend the night, I don't really care" Tails said with a smile, following Sunny along as he still hold a box with some Nightmare Night stuff they bought.

"Um, guys?" Amy called. "Are we sure nopony lives here? We might be doing something illegal..." she pointed out.

"I still have a bad feeling about this place..." Hitch said with a gulp.

Yet, they both had no choice but step in as well, with Hitch closing the door and Amy still holding bags with Nightmare Night stuff as well.

Since the ground was all full of mud, everyone had their hooves and shoes muddy, which left some gross and marked foot and hoof prints on the ground, but none of them seemed to care. Instead, their attention was focused on the mansion, which seemed in a better state from inside than the outside.

"For a allegedly abandoned mansion, this place looks better than I expected..." Sonic confessed with an amused expression, as he looked over at some tables with candles and some chairs across of what appeared to be the living room.

"Right?" Pipp said with an excited smile. "And yet, it gives a spoooooky feeling, too!" she pointed out excitedly.

"I had enough spooky experiences while getting that mice out of Canterlove Studios, I don't need another experience like that on a place like this!" Hitch cried out in panic.

"Aw, come on, Hitch!" Sunny called out. "It's just an abandoned and really old mansion. What's the worse that could happen?" she questioned confidently.

Suddenly, a loud thunder stroke and illuminated the living room, which startled Hitch a lot, while everyone looked up to the ceiling. There was a giant crystal protecting the mansion, as rain drops falling over it could be seen.

However, it wasn't that what caught the group's attention, but instead the amount of floors that the mansion had.

"One, two, three, four, five..." Tails counted. "If we don't count the main floor, this place has six of them!" he pointed out.

"Whoa!" Sonic exclaimed with a smile, as he headed towards the staircase, with Pipp, Tails, Sunny and even Amy following behind, while Hitch extended a hoof and tried to say something, but couldn't.

Now, why was Sonic heading to the stairs? Because he's an adventurer! Exploring places and see every corner out of it is just a part of who he is. He needs to be moving around, and what a better way to do so than exploring a spooky mansion from top to bottom?

Pipp was just as eager as her boyfriend, if not more, to explore down this entire mansion. There was no sign to make a livestream about it because of the rain, but she was going to take lots of pictures and upload them later!

As for Sunny and Tails? They were just curious on exploring the place as well, and maybe Sunny could even find something here from Ancient Equestria depending on how long has this place been abandoned. Amy was a lot less scared than earlier, but she did had a bad feeling about this place.

Oh, and Hitch? Yeah, he's completely scared of this place. If he had to be thankful for something, at least, was the fact that Sparky wasn't here, as well as the fact that this mansion could work as a place to stay this night only.

As the group climbed upstairs, they saw a couple of paints in the walls, while their furs started to dry out. The paint in the left was a paint of how the mansion used to look years ago, before it was abandoned. The second one, however, showed a dismal background with dead trees and a pony on a black cape with just their left eye open.

That last paint startled Hitch, as he shook in fear while slowly passing by the paint with his eyes half-closed and half-open.

Just then, the open eye of the paint saw Hitch and started to follow him, which just startled the Sheriff even more and caused him to finally broke in panic and ran away towards the rest.

Sonic slowly opened a door to a room in the second floor.

Once he did so, he whistled amazed, while Pipp gasped excited and flew around, starting to take several pictures and selfies of the room. Sunny and Tails got inside and inspected their some stuff on their own, while Amy was even less spooked by the place and actually smiled at the sight.

This room was the very same one where Su and Uh scared the two colts earlier, and if I had to make bets, Su's probably waiting to scare someone in the group.

And if I had to guess again, then I'll say that Hitch is the unfortunate soul that's gonna be scared, because he popped his head from the doorstep while trembling and gulping, as he slowly stepped into the room and looked around with wide eyes, since he didn't wanted to be here at all.

Soon, Sonic, Sunny and him passed in front of a mirror, but Hitch was doing it on tippy toes... Until he saw his reflection and freaked out because of the surprise, which made both Sunny and Sonic turn to him.

However, as soon as they saw that Hitch got scared of his own reflection, Sonic frowned and Sunny deadpanned.

"Seriously, Hitch?" Sunny asked on disbelief.

"It got me freaked out!" Hitch replied on defense.

"It's your reflection!" Sonic shouted with anger, before turning around along Sunny and keep walking away.

Hitch chuckled and scratched his neck sheepishly... while his reflection chuckled with a sinister grin and looked over at him.

The Sheriff did noticed that last thing, because he slowly started to look over at his reflection on the mirror with pure fear on his eyes. At first, nothing seemed out of place... But then, Hitch's reflection smirked sinisterly.

That already had Hitch going pale, but it just got worse when Su came out of the mirror with his mouth widely open, which just scared Hitch entirely as he made a funny face. That gave the perfect chance to Su for taking a picture, because he had his hands with the camera ready inside of his mouth, and he took a picture of Hitch's face.

Once the earth pony fell to the ground with his face entirely pale, Su disappeared as soon as he arrived, while Sunny rushed to see if Hitch was fine, and Sonic just came back to look at him with a bored expression.

"Hitch!" Sunny said, as she helped him to stand up quickly. "Are you okay?!" she asked with concern.

"You look like if you just saw a ghost, man" Sonic mocked up with a smirk.

And yet, Hitch said nothing and just stood closer to Sunny, even wrapping a hoof around her and hugging her like a big teddy bear, which made Sunny blush and look around nervously.

"Dude, if you just wanted an excuse to be with Sunny, you could had come up with something better than screaming like that" Tails mocked up, and Amy at his side chuckled.

"N-Not helping, Tails!" Sunny said with a completely flustered expression, but Hitch never separated from her, nor tried to scold Tails along Sunny.

On the other hand, Su delivered his recently taken picture to Lah.

The picture showed Hitch's scared and funny face, and as Lah looked over at Su, who was smiling at her with a loving gaze, Uh looked down to the floor with shame, since he didn't even went to take any picture.

Lah smiled and hugged the picture that Su took, before moving over to him and kiss his right cheek, who made Su feel in heaven already... But then, Lah also kissed his left cheek, and that made Su melt. No, seriously he literally melt in the ground and smiled like an idiot after getting not one, but two kisses from Lah.

Uh groaned in anger and flew away from the room to get a picture of a scared Hitch himself, while Su followed him since he wanted to take more pictures as well, and Lah behind them waved her hand with a giggle and a smile.

Back with our heroes, the group was now on a hallway from the mansion's second floor.

Hitch still felt spooked out by Su's scare from earlier, and he was walking slowly while staying close to the wall. But then, he stopped when his hoof touched something fluffy, and he slowly turned to see that he was touching Tails' fluffy tails, as be snatched them from Hitch with a bored expression.

The Sheriff sighed in relief, but Tails rolled his eyes and walked away, while Sonic looked at Hitch with a frown and stomping his foot desperately.

"Stop being a chicken and move!" Sonic scolded, before walking away with a groan as well.

Hitch frowned as well at Sonic's attitude, but once lightning stroke, he yelped in fear again, before following up the rest.

But as Pipp kept taking pictures and selfies of everything, while everyone else just followed her, Hitch kept looking back constantly, and just when he turned around again, Uh appeared and spooked Hitch again, taking another picture of him.

Of course, Hitch's scream made Sunny's ears perk up alert, and she quickly ran towards him after hearing his scream, while the rest kept walking, as Pipp ignored Hitch's screams and took more pictures and Sonic rolled his eyes in annoyance again with a groan, something Tails and Amy noticed.

"Sonic, are you okay?" Amy asked confused, but Tails actually didn't seemed concerned about it.

"As okay as I can be with a chicken disguised as a Sheriff..." Sonic replied with annoyance and anger.

Amy's eyes widened after hearing that reply, and Pipp even looked at him confused for a moment, but she thought he was probably just grumpy because of Hitch's attitude, so she decided to shrug it off and keep taking more pictures.

"What's the matter with him?" Amy asked confused.

Tails' eyes widened after she asked that, and he quickly glanced at Pipp for a second, before looking back at Amy with concern. "Today's October 30th... You know what that means, right?" he asked her with concern.

Amy's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth while gasping. "Wait! So today... Sonic's curse flows over?!" she muttered at him with panic, while Tails just nodded and confirmed her worries. "Are they aware about it?" she asked.

"No!" Tails muttered back. "Last year, Sonic convinced them to go to sleep earlier so we could all enjoy Nightmare Night, and Knuckles stood awake to keep guard and make sure none of them woke up, while Sonic was out and slept in a forest until he wake up the next morning" he explained. "But I don't know how he plans to hid it this year, or if he's gonna hide it at all..." he pointed out with concern.

They didn't knew that Sonic was hearing them, however, but he really didn't wanted to bring it up, either. He did had to recognize, though, that he needed to find a very good excuse to explain his curse to The Mane 6, specially to Zipp, Izzy and Misty once they went back to the Brighthouse...

Well, that is, if they can ever go back with Hitch.

In Lah's room, Uh placed the picture he just took of Hitch over the one that Su took earlier, and why? Because they were both planning on take more and more pictures of them scaring Hitch to please Lah like never before.

Call it a temporal partnership between them until Lah decides who took the best pictures... You know what this means, right?

Yup, it's montage time!

Later, Hitch approached to a window with doubt.

Just then, Su appeared and scared Hitch again, taking a picture of his scared face.

A while later, Hitch noticed a frame in a wall upside down.

This frame was a paint of Uh, who was smirking and holding a camera. Hitch got confused on why it was upside down, so he approached the frame to check it out, just to get jump-scared by Uh, who got out of the frame and took another picture of Hitch's terrified look.

Later on, Hitch was on the dining room and found a table prepared.

That should had been a bad sign already, but the Sheriff was starving, so he approached to the table to pick something to eat... Just to get jump-scared by Su, who took another picture of the earth pony's scared face.

Soon, more and more pictures are taken by Su and Uh of Hitch, as both ghosts were not only enjoying scaring the poor Sheriff to death, but they were also dying to know who's gonna have the most and better pictures to get kissed by Lah.

After a while, Hitch was walking through a corridor with an exhausted look.

He was tired of getting scared for so long... But it was far from being over, because someone touched his shoulder, which made his eyes widen in pure terror and panic.

So, he turned around and... Well, he instead got scared by Sonic, who brought out a lantern and approached to his face while making a spooky face. That was the straw that broke the camel's back for Hitch, because his eyes twirled around dizzy, and then, he fainted in the ground tiredly, which made Sonic look at him with genuine concern now.

Still, Sonic looked away and turned off the lantern while scratching his head with embarrassment. "Whoops!" he exclaimed sheepishly, not noticing that Uh appeared behind him and took a picture of Hitch's expression once again.

In Lah's room, Lah herself never giggled as much as she was doing right now.

The table was full of pictures of Hitch being spooked by Su and Uh, and Lah was feeling in heaven right now with so many funny pictures of Hitch being scared.

Uh and Su, of course, were happy to see her happy, as well as proud of themselves for taking so many pictures.

But that didn't lasted long, because when Lah picked another picture, she was not happy of what she saw. This confused both Su and Uh, who looked at her confused. Then, Lah looked at more pictures on the table and gasped in horror, because whatever she saw on the first one she just let go, it was on many of them.

She then looked over at Su and Uh with a frown, smashing a hand on the table with anger, which confused Su and Uh even more, but then, Lah decided to show them what was concerning her:

Despite all the pictures having Hitch on them, some also got Sonic, Tails and Amy in the middle. There were also some pictures with Pipp and Sunny in the background, but unlike the Mobians, none of them noticed Su nor Uh scaring Hitch behind them, since Pipp always appeared taking pictures and selfies, while Sunny was just distracted with something else.

But Team Sonic's pictures? Well: Amy appeared surprised in one of them, Tails looked at the camera with a raised eyebrow, and Sonic... Sonic appeared reading a book and smirking at the camera, in other one he yawned in boredom, and on other one? He straight up was in the full picture while making a mocking face, clearly indicating that he wasn't slightly scared with Su nor Uh.

Speaking of them, Su grabbed two pictures and looked at them concerned, even showing one that Uh took to him, while Uh showed Su one he took, as they both looked at each other concerned, before looking back at Lah.

Lah humphed and looked away from them, before flying away and leaving the two ghosts behind, not even giving them a chance to explain themselves. At this, Uh groaned in anger and flew away, while Su smashed his fists on the table and flew away as well, both ghosts ready to give Sonic a real scare and get Lah's forgiveness.

Sonic and company were walking through a corridor in the third floor.

Outside, it was still raining with thunders, and Pipp was still taking pictures and selfies around like a maniac, while Sonic found everything so interesting and cool.

Amy wasn't scared anymore, and even after seeing those ghosts earlier, she was enjoying the stay in the mansion as well. Tails wasn't grumpy anymore, and even if he still preferred to sleep on his bed back on the Brighthouse, he was enjoying this too.

As for Sunny? Her excitement faded away once Hitch got startled constantly by some ghosts that she never saw, and Hitch at her side was panting heavily while praying inside that this got over already.

"How long until the rain leaves?!" Hitch cried out with concern. "I've been getting ghosted by literal ghosts the entire night, and none of you besides Sunny seems to mind it!" he pointed out with an anxious look.

"Dude, you go out on nocturnal guards around Maretime Bay the whole time!" Sonic pointed out with a mocking smirk. "Why is a mansion with some silly ghosts were we cross the line?" he asked.

"It's one thing to guard over a place I know perfectly at night!" Hitch pointed out with a frown. "One completely different one is to enter a haunted mansion!" he added.

"But it's amazing!" Pipp sang with joy. "And we cannot leave yet! I still need a picture of those ghosts for my Ponygram!" she added with excitement. "After the fiasco at Canterlove Studios, I'm so happy to find real ghosties this time!" she cheered.

"I find it amazing that you, being a princess, love spooky stuff so much" Amy confessed with an amused smile.

"What is there not to like?!" Pipp asked excited, while flying around the corridor.

"Everything?" Hitch deadpanned and rolled his eyes.

"The spooky sensation, the unsettling feeling, that chill running down your spine as you get scared! There's no excitement I love more than a spooky one!" Pipp exclaimed with glee. "That's why Nightmare Night is my favorite holiday of the year!" she added.

"I'll usually would be happy to see somepony enjoying what they like, but if this place really has ghosts that had been scaring Hitch the whole night, I don't really share the excitement of being on a haunted mansion..." Sunny said with concern.

"You're just mad because they're scaring your boyfriend, Sunny" Tails mocked up with a smirk.

"Shut up, Tails!" Both Hitch and Sunny scolded with frowns and blushes.

The rest chuckled at their flustered reactions, and Sunny looked away from Hitch slightly embarrassed, while Hitch rolled his eyes in annoyance again.

But then, they all heard a loud and metallic stomp coming from the end of the corridor, which they were reaching now, and everyone stopped moving, as Pipp landed on the ground and stood behind Sonic, while him, Tails and Amy stood in front of the three ponies, and Hitch yelped a bit in fright.

As a thunder roared outside, the light from the lightning that stroke showed a shadow approaching. And then, a metallic hand grabbed the corner of a wall, as a knight statue appeared, and then turned their head to the rest, showing green eyes.

"Oh, now this place wants to haunt us for real!" Amy said with anger, as she took her Piko Piko Hammer out of nowhere.

"Where did you took that out from?!" Pipp asked confused with wide eyes.

"There's a haunted knight in front of us, and that's your concern?!" Sunny asked her in disbelief.

"That's it! I'm out of here!" Hitch declared in panic, as he turned around and tried to run away.

However, he bumped into something metallic and fell to the ground, sitting on his hind legs and shaking his head a bit... Just for his eyes to widen, as he slowly looked upwards and found himself facing a chubbier knight armor, which looked down at him with orange eyes and a frown.

This, of course, made Hitch scream in panic, as he quickly stood up and returned with the rest, while the two walking knight armors approached and cornered the group.

"Um, Sunny? How about you give us some magical help with your mystic Alicorn powers, please?!" Amy requested, as she lifted her hammer and got ready to fight the knight armors.

"Roger that!" Sunny stated, as she made her Alicorn form appear and looked at the chubbier knight with a frown.

Both sides were protected now: Tails and Amy had the left with the knight with green eyes, and Sunny had the right with the other knight, the one with orange eyes, while Sonic, Hitch and Pipp stood in the middle.

"Guys! Getting spooked to death wasn't on my bucket list today!" Hitch cried out with panic, as he stood over the wall with panic and fear.

"Well, at least this will make some good content!" Pipp said with a gulp and a nervous smile, as she took pictures of the two knights. "Besides, we can deal with this, right, Blue Star?" she asked confidently, not looking at Sonic.

Yet, the response she got was unexpected, because... He started to whimper...

That made both Hitch and Pipp's eyes widen, as they looked at each other for a moment before looking over at Sonic, and then panic when they noticed that he was trembling.

"S-Sonic?" Hitch called out with panic.

Sunny looked over at him over her shoulder and gasped in panic when she noticed that as well. As for Amy and Tails, they noticed too, but they didn't panicked because of the fact that he was trembling and whimpering: They panicked because they knew why he was trembling.

Of course, the ponies didn't, and they were genuinely concerned that he was scared of the knights.

"This gotta be a joke!" Hitch exclaimed in panic. "You have fought literal Titans before, and you're scared of some haunted armors?!" he pointed out with terror.

"Sonic, dear, if this is a joke, is not funny!" Pipp exclaimed in panic as well.

But Sonic kept trembling and whimpering, as his ears lowered and he looked around with pure fear on his eyes.

Soon, the two armors came closer to the group, and as they did so: Amy and Tails stepped back, with Tails creating a plasma gun with his powers; Sunny stepped back as well; and Sonic fell on his knees in the ground, as the whimpers turned into groans of pain.

"Okay, seriously: What is going on?!" Pipp exclaimed, now genuinely concerned for her boyfriend.

"Um, Tails? Should we tell 'em?" Amy asked with concern, as she also gulped nervously.

"Tell us what?!" Sunny asked this time.

"You're gonna find out for yourselves..." Tails replied nervously.

And so, Sonic kept grunting in pain, while outside, the rain stopped and some clouds showed the sight of the full moon up in the sky. As this happened, the two armors stopped, and the eyes changed to show Su and Uh inside of them, with Uh even holding a camera, ready to take a picture of Sonic's scared face.

"Oh man, I think I'm gonna throw up..." Hitch said with a dizzy expression, while Sunny came to him and hold him to make sure he wouldn't loose his balance.

And just then, Sonic gasped and looked at the moon outside, while his pupils went from round to oval.

With this, Sonic began to transform: His skin went from normal blue to Prussian blue; his ears became more hairy and pointy, which startled Su, who also got his camera out; his teeth sharpened and turned into fangs, which startled Uh; his arms went from being shaved to completely hairy; his body was growing to the point that his gloves ripped apart once his hands were too big; his hands turned grey now; his nails grew into claws that he buried in the ground while making a chirp sound; his wrists got hairy and in white hair; the tip of his quills were white now; and his shoes had spikes over the white stripes and on the sole, while his socks were a bit spiked as well.

Tails and Amy were just staring at Sonic with concern, since they were already used to this, yet it was still painful to watch his transformation. The ponies and ghosts, on the other hand? They were completely terrified at what they were witnessing, and Sunny's Alicorn form even disappeared.

Hitch was speechless at what was he seeing, like if he was in some kind of horror movie, and Pipp was completely shocked to see this. Watching a werewolf type of transformation wasn't as exciting as many books and movies she has seen before made it look...

Finally, Sonic's transformation completed as he growled in anger and covered his face with his hands, before exploding in rage and hit the two armors that Su and Uh were using with his arms.

The armors poofed and turned into the normal Su and Uh again, as they both were sent backwards and rolled in the ground, accidentally taking pictures of themselves in the process as well.

Soon enough, though, Su shook his head and tried to stand up, just to feel completely terrified when a red shoe with spikes stepped in front of him. So, the ghost looked up, and he got even more terrified when he saw at Sonic... Now transformed into a completely different creature, one that had teeth sharp enough to bite him.

Of course, and naturally, Su got scared as heck, and so, he flew and crashed with the ceiling, before recomposing himself again and then grab Uh, as he dragged him away in fear of Sonic's monstrosity aspect.

With the two ghosts gone, Sonic let some smoke go from his nose and nodded confidently, before slowly turning around to look at his friends and his girlfriend, with Tails and Amy smiling sheepishly at him, while the three ponies were completely terrified at him, even Pipp.

"I thought it was going to take you some time before turning into the Werehog again... Guess I was wrong..." Tails said with a sheepish smile.

This made the three ponies look at him with wide eyes. "W-What?" Sunny exclaimed.

"W-What are you talking about?!" Hitch asked in panic.

Tails, Sonic and Amy looked at each other, but then, Sonic nodded at them with a serious expression, and Tails and Amy nodded back at him.

"Guys. This is still Sonic..." Amy explained first.

"He just changed, but he's the same Sonic we're used to deal with" Tails assured with a little smile. "Remember that prank we did with the Werehog last year? Well... It wasn't that much of a prank..." he confessed.

"Wait, wait, hold on!" Pipp said, as she flew closer to Sonic and looked at him in the eyes.

Despite his pupils being oval instead of round as usual, the same loving sight that Pipp could recognize on him whenever he looked over at her was still there, deep down that angry look on his expression.

That made Pipp gasp and cover her hooves, as she landed and looked up at the much taller and completely transformed boyfriend of hers. "S-Sonic... It is really you..." she said with surprise. "I-I thought that you were replaced with a monster or something like that!" she confessed with concern.

Sonic chuckled slightly after hearing that. "... You... Wouldn't be so far from the truth..." he spoke, but his voice was raspy, deeper and sounded more like if he were ready to roar at any second now.

"Sonic?!" both Sunny and Hitch asked on disbelief.

"So you're a big and scary monster now?!" Hitch asked with panic, as he walked around Sonic and analyzed all his changes.

"Werehog" Tails deadpanned.

"Same thing to me!" Hitch exclaimed.

"Ugh! Sonic, just explain them about your curse already!" Amy told him with a bored expression, annoyed of Hitch's attitude.

"Wait, curse?!" both Sunny and Pipp asked in panic, as the latter flew over and placed her hooves over his right shoulder.

"What are they talking about?!" Sunny asked confused and concerned.

Sonic let out a sigh and looked at Sunny and Hitch on the ground, then at Pipp on his shoulder and nodded. "I'll tell you everything... You deserve to know the truth" he stated, still with a raspy and deeper voice.

On the other hand, Lah was at her room, laughing like she never did before.

The pictures that Su and Uh delivered to her this time around were different: The pictures showed them with scared expressions after the way Sonic scared them with his Werehog form, which Lah found hilarious, as she laughed loudly about their situation.

Uh and Su, on the other hand, were completely ashamed and disappointed that Lah saw that. At least she wasn't mad anymore, but it didn't changed the fact that they felt ashamed of those pictures.

Just then, Lah started to laugh even more, which lead her to smash the table were all the pictures of Hitch and Sonic were, as well as the ones of Su and Uh. But as Lah smashed the table, the picture of Sonic making a mocking face to the camera fell to the ground, and Su and Uh looked at it for a second with raised eyebrows.

But as soon as they noticed that it was the picture of Sonic's mocking look, they both felt something they barely have felt since they started to do this moons ago... Rage. Pure and hatred rage.

Looking at each other with angered expressions, the two ghosts nodded and placed their right hands together, as their hands started to fuse in a green fire that clearly represented all the hate and anger they felt towards Sonic, who's scared face they were going to take a picture of, one way or another.

Around midnight, the group went to the mansion's living room.

Sunny started a fire on the chimney the same way she did back when Sonic was the only Mobian around and they were heading to Bridlewood to get the Unicorn Crystal.

As she did so, Amy quickly prepared some hot cocoa so they could warm themselves better and, at least, calm down a bit, because Sunny and Hitch were staring at Sonic with wide eyes, while Pipp was more concerned about him, because she was frowning instead of feeling freaked out by his Werehog aspect.

Soon, Amy came with the hot cocoa, and that finally distracted the three ponies' attention away from Sonic, as they all grabbed a cup and thanked Amy for making it and deliver it.

One slurp from the cocoa was enough to switch the three ponies mood, as Sunny and Hitch actually sighed in relief because of the cocoa's taste, while Pipp calmed down a tinny bit, but she still glanced at her boyfriend with a frown.

"Okay... We're all gathered here" Pipp pointed out with anger, as she placed her mug with cocoa on the table in front of the whole group. "Can you explain yourself, Sonic, about your aspect?" she requested calmly, even though Sonic could perfectly see on her gaze that she was beyond furious.

"... You remember when I told you about Dark Gaia?" Sonic asked with a serious expression, a side he used to only show when he was fighting, but he showed it more often as a Werehog.

"The giant and scary monster with many arms and eyes?" Hitch asked.

Sonic nodded after he asked that. "12 years ago, Chip and I were there, face to face with that monstrosity..." he started to narrate.

The scenario changed, and now, we see Sonic and Chip, face to face with Dark Gaia.

"That thing came out from the ground like the demon it was" Sonic narrated, as Dark Gaia launched some blasts to Sonic and Chip.

Then, Sonic grabbed Chip and jumped from rock to rock to avoid Dark Gaia's blasts. Sonic soon landed on a rock and let go of Chip, while they both frowned in anger towards Dark Gaia.

"We were both ready to take that thing down... But Dark Gaia had other plans..." Sonic kept narrating, as Dark Gaia's normal eyes glowed in purple.

That made Sonic's eyes widen, and he fell to his knees, something that Chip noticed a bit too late.

"Sonic! What's wrong?!" Chip asked the Werehog with concern.

Yet, all he got for an answer was a painful groan from Sonic, as his fangs and his claws started to grow backwards. And then, the energy from Dark Gaia that Sonic absorbed before went back to Dark Gaia himself, while he went back to his normal self in a really weakened state.

"We all thought that 'Sonic the Werehog' was gone when Dark Gaia absorbed back his energy from my body..." Sonic narrated, while his flashback-self looked down to the ground with fear and confusion on his eyes. "But we were very, very wrong..." he added with concern.

Sonic was now running across Green Hills during nighttime with a smile.

"Exactly one year later, after defeating Dark Gaia from destroying the planet, I was doing my usual run across Green Hills..." Sonic narrated. "But as I stepped out of the shadows and the moon shone bright above me... The horrible sensation I always had before turning into the Werehog came back that day..." he added.

Sonic suddenly tripped and looked up at the moon, which made his eyes go oval, and his Werehog transformation repeated again. Of course, once the transformation was over, Sonic looked at his hands down in pure panic and terror.

"I didn't knew how, nor why I was like that again, so I ran towards Tails' Lab to find out what was going on" Sonic kept narrating.

And so, we see the Werehog on Tails' lab.

"After scanning some of my extracted DNA, Tails found residues of Dark Gaia's power inside of my blood, which worried us, because we both thought that the Werehog was gone when Dark Gaia was defeated..." Sonic narrated with concern.

"And what am I suppose to do now?!" Sonic screamed in rage on the flashback.

"First of all, calm down!" Tails requested. "You're not going to win anything by getting so raged up! Besides, I don't want you to destroy anything in my workshop.." he pointed out.

With that, Sonic took a deep breath and calmed himself down, as all the sudden rage faded away.

"Good. Now, let's not jump to conclusions yet" Tails stated. "I don't know why there's remains of Dark Gaia's power inside of you, but I can find out if I study your DNA sample. As for what to do with you? I suggest you stay here for the night, and we'll see if tomorrow you transform again. If not, then it's both a good and bad sign" he pointed out again.

"Why would it be a bad sign?" Sonic asked calmly.

"Because it means that I only have one night to find out about why you still have Dark Gaia's power, as well as one night to find out if you'll ever transform into this again or not" Tails explained, as he turned to his computer and started to type on it.

"And that's exactly what I did..." Tails joined the narration. "I spent the whole night analyzing and comparing Sonic's old DNA samples with that new one, and it was clear that Dark Gaia did not removed all his power from Sonic's body..." he explained.

One year later, Sonic went to Windmill Isle.

He came by to the city to pay a visit for the old times, as well as to remember Chip and all the good moments they lived together, back when Chip couldn't remember who he really was.

"I didn't transformed into the Werehog again for a whole year once more..." Sonic narrated again. "But that day, the very same day I visited Windmill Isle... That horrible sensation came back" he said with concern.

And so, once again, at night, Sonic felt his body experimenting the change of becoming the Werehog, and he couldn't feel more panicked if it was even possible.

"I couldn't understand why this was happening again... But unlike the previous year, I tried to didn't let it affect me, and I simply acted like nothing was wrong... But it was..." Sonic added.

One year later, Sonic was on Tails lab, as Tails held his Miles Electric and pointed it at him.

"The next year, we decided to test if the pattern repeated the exact same night" Tails narrated now.

Just when the clock hit 11 p.m., Sonic groaned and fell to his knees, just for the Werehog transformation to repeat once more, which startled and worried both Sonic and Tails.

"Our suspicions were confirmed that third night..." Sonic narrated next. "The remains of Dark Gaia's powers indie my body were not an accident, but a curse that monster launched on me..." he finished narrating with concern.

With this, the Werehog in the flashback growled, before shouting in rage and howl to the moon, because he hated to be attached to this curse.

Back to reality, Sonic had his claws buried in the chair he was sitting on.

He did this to contain his anger of remembering that he was going to take this same form, on this very same night, every single year until he died.

"The next year, it happened again, and since the confirmation of the curse kept growing, we all decided to let it be" Sonic said. "This form awakes in me my most violent and angered side, but nothing really bad has happened that makes me feel like that... not until tonight, at least..." he explained.

"Ever since, Sonic transforms into the Werehog this very night, every year" Tails added with concern. "And, well, is not a big deal since he's the same Sonic" he pointed out with a sheepish smile.

"A bit grumpier sometimes, but yeah. Same old Sonic!" Amy added with a sheepish smile, as she drank from her hot cocoa while sweating.

The three ponies, even Pipp, looked at Sonic with shock and wide eyes after he explained the whole thing of his curse, and Pipp felt a bit bad for being mad at him... although her reasons to be so are justified.

"Wait... You transform into this... Every year?" Hitch asked first confused, and Sonic nodded.

"But you didn't transformed last year!" Sunny pointed out. "You even disguised as the Werehog for Pipp's Nightmare Night Party in Mane Melody, and both you and Tails used an hologram to scare us!" she reminded.

"I did transformed... the previous night to the party" Sonic confessed, but in no moment his serious expression left.

"What?! But that doesn't make any––" Pipp tried to say, but then, she gasped dramatically and frowned. "So that's why you told us to sleep earlier last year! It wasn't for the party, it was for your curse!" she realized with anger.

"Are we sure your sister's the detective around here?" Sonic asked mockingly with a raised eyebrow.

The fact that his voice was deeper, as well as the fact that Pipp found his fangs and new aspect in general attractive was a problem, because she blushed completely flustered at his flirting, even thought she was still mad with him. "D-Don't you dare to flirt with me right now!" she cried out like a filly.

"Sonic... Why didn't you told us about this?" Sunny asked concerned. "We all thought that you told the whole story about you turning into a Werehog when you talked about Chip and Dark Gaia!" she pointed out.

"You really thought I could just tell you all that I turn into a wolf-hedgehog hybrid by night every October 30th at 11 p.m. just like that?" Sonic asked with a deadpan.

After saying it like that, the three ponies looked at each other and shrugged. "Well, maybe not just like that, but at least knowing that something was going to happen would had spared us from such a scare! I thought you were dying or something!" Pipp pointed out with anger.

"I get why you guys are mad with him for not explaining himself... As usual..." Amy deadpanned, and she frowned at Sonic, who growled and frowned back. "But would you had trusted him the same way you do if he suddenly forgot about the curse and turned into the Werehog in front of you?" she asked with anger.

"Be scared of him? Totally! I'll say is a normal reaction to see a friend suddenly turn into a different creature!" Sunny pointed out with concern. "But mistrust him? Sonic, we are friends!" she reminded, now looking and walking up to him. "Maybe your aspect would had freaked us out, but if you explained us this after we calmed down, we wouldn't be this freaked out right now!" she added with concern.

"I can't believe you don't trust us with something this important, Blue Star!" Pipp exclaimed mad, as she crossed her forelegs. "What else do you hide from us? From me?!" she asked with rage.

"Alright, let's calm down for a second, okay?" Tails requested. "Guys, Sonic's on his right to share or not something. You can't just take it out of him because you're concerned and worried! If someone doesn't wants to tell you something, no matter their reasons, you have to respect it!" he stated with a frown.

"No, Tails" Sonic spoke this time. "They're right. This specifically shouldn't had stayed as a secret... I was just scared that you guys would look at me as a monster, and not as Sonic anymore..." he confessed, and that made the three ponies' eyes widen again, while Pipp's anger entirely faded away to let some shame get in. "I know it's silly and all, but... I'm a completely different guy when I'm mad... Specially as this... thing..." he pointed out, looking down at his hands.

Tails and Amy looked at him concerned, and then they looked at each other, both worried for Sonic.

Soon enough, however, Pipp arrived and placed her hooves on Sonic's right hand, who was way bigger compared to his normal one, and Sonic felt a bit surprised to see his girlfriend's hooves on his hand, so he slowly looked up to face her.

"Sonic... You are not a thing..." Pipp began with a warm smile. "You are just Sonic. Hedgehog, or Werehog, what's the difference? That you look different and are a tiny, little angrier? So what?!" she pointed out.

Soon, Sunny joined and placed her hooves on Sonic's hand as well, startling the Werehog again. "Pipp's right, Sonic" she began. "Just because you look different now doesn't means you are a monster. To us? You're the same old you, no matter what aspect you take" she assured him with a smile.

Finally, Hitch approached and placed his right hoof on his hand as well. "Look, I'm not going to lie and say it: This aspect, this place in general! It does freak me out, a lot!" he confessed, before looking at Sonic with a smile. "But just because you look like a scary monster doesn't mean you are one" he pointed out. "You are our friend, the same old Sonic that likes to kick butt and have fun! Just bigger, with scary fangs and some anger issues, but we already deal with Knuckles. What's another one?" he joked with a wink.

That made everyone else but Sonic laugh at the joke, while Sonic chuckled with a slight smirk, and his pupils went from oval to round again, despite his form still being the one of the Werehog.

"I was mad at you because you didn't told us, but... You were scared to tell us, and I can get behind that" Pipp said with a smile, even flying over to his face and kissing his cheek lovely. "I do hope, though: No more secrets, dear!" she warned.

Sonic could have thought on a joke if he was his regular self... But he wasn't, and so, he limited himself to smile at his girlfriend and nod at her words.

"... Thank you, guys..." Sonic said, as he looked over at both Pipp, Sunny and Hitch with a smile. "I... I feel a lot better now. I'm still concerned about one thing, but... Everything at its time, right?" he declared with a slight smirk.

The rest nodded at him with smiles, even Tails and Amy, and Sonic felt like a huge weight left his shoulders.

Suddenly, however, Hitch noticed from the corner of his eye that his cup with hot cocoa moved. So, the Sheriff looked closer to the cup, but before he could look inside of it, the entire cup moved as it trembled, and even spilled some hot cocoa on the table it was over.

That startled Hitch as he started to look around because of a strange sound, which everyone else noticed soon as well.

"Um, is everyone hearing that?!" Pipp asked in panic, as she hid behind Sonic and looked around, while Sonic frowned and moved his ears.

"Yeah!" Amy said, taking out her Piko Piko Hammer again. "But were is it coming from?!" she asked concerned, as Tails came at her side and created to giant metallic gloves with his powers.

And then, they all heard the ground being completely demolished, while a creature came out of the ground and landed in front of the group.

Of course, Hitch and Pipp yelped in fear, while Sunny stood along Tails and Amy with her Alicorn form and frowning at the creature in front of them.

What was what scared the pegasus and the earth pony? Well: This was a a green and anthropomorphic bull ghost, with red eyes, long claws, and a red scarf. His name was Baker, and he looked over at the group with a frown, specially at Sonic, while Sonic himself growled in rage and looked over at the bull ghost with a frown as well.

Baker then got on his fourths and prepared to charge against the group, while Sunny, Amy and Tails did the same, and Sonic decided to stay behind to protect Hitch and Pipp.

Then, the bull ghost charged, and so did Amy, Tails and Sunny, with the laters flying over Baker, which confused him, while he got his face slapped by Amy's hammer, which sent him backwards.

Baker shook his head and growled in anger, but just before he could fight back, he got his face hit by Tails, who started to punch the crap out of him with his amplified fists thanks to the metallic gloves, and even if Baker was growling and trying to fight back, Tails was always a step away, hitting the bull ghosts right where it hurts.

But he wasn't the only one, because Sunny soon joined by flying around Baker and kick him over several spots, like his back, his shoulders, and even his face.

Of course, Baker got tired of this, and so, he quickly grabbed the three of them and launched them towards a wall. Thankfully, Sunny protected the three of them with her Alicorn magic, but it didn't change the fact that Baker was getting madder.

"Sunny!" Hitch exclaimed in panic, before frowning in anger. "Oh, now you've done it!" he declared, tired of getting spooked by ghosts tonight.

And so, Hitch stomped his hooves on the ground, which made some vines come out of the ground so quickly that Baker couldn't even dodge them, and so, the bull ghost got sent backwards, as he landed on the ground with a painful groan... Just to be launched by another vine, then another one, and then another one.

As Hitch kept stomping his hooves on the ground in anger and playing with Baker, Pipp and Sonic were surprised that Hitch was doing this just now, after getting spooked by Su and Uh the whole night.

"Are you telling me that you could have done that this whole time, and you choose to do it right now?!" Pipp said in rage.

"One thing is to mess with me, to mess with my friends, and with my fellow earth ponies..." Hitch started with a frown. "But no one, and I mean NO ONE, messes with Sunny and GETS. AWAY. WITH IT!!!" he declared, completely angered, before stomping his hooves hard enough to create another vine that sent Baker backwards.

As all this happened, Tails, Amy and Sunny were watching this with wide eyes as well, but Sunny even had her whole face as red as a tomato.

"Whoa, girl... You truly hit the jackpot with him!" Amy teased Sunny with a smirk, which only made Sunny's ears lower in embarrassment.

"I've been telling them that the whole crossover, but they even listen to me?! Nooooo!" Tails complained, crossing his arms and shacking his head.

Just then, Baker stood up and roared in rage, but he decided to ignore Hitch and get his revenge on him later, because he had a mission first: Take down Sonic, who he looked at with rage, as he roared in anger and approached to the Werehog with his arm raised, ready to punch the crap out of him.

Yet, Sonic extended his arm to a chandelier in the ceiling and moved away, as he twirled in the air and then stomped on Baker's face, which didn't sent the ghost backwards, but it did made him drop a camera, something that Pipp noticed.

Soon, Sonic slid on the ground and buried his claws on the ground to stop himself, before roaring in anger and extend his punch to beat the crap out of Baker... Yet that didn't happened, because instead, his fist traversed the ghost, and Sonic retracted it confused.

To make things even weirder, the place that Sonic traversed soon started to dissipate, and as Baker chuckled mischievously at Sonic, he became invisible, which made Sonic panic, as he started to look around him to find the bull ghost.

And yet, he couldn't look too much, because he was punched on his back by Baker himself and sent backwards, crashing against a table and sending both Hitch and Pipp backwards as well, with Hitch landing first and Pipp landing second on his back, as they both groaned painfully.

In the process, however, the camera that Baker let fall also got sent backwards, and it took a picture. Pipp shook her head and got off from Hitch, rubbing her back a bit painfully, but then, she noticed the picture and the camera.

So, the pegasus princess took the picture on her hoof and noticed that it was a picture of the same background, but with Baker in the middle. So, Pipp looked at the real empty background, then at the picture again, then at the camera in the floor, and she kept doing this back and forth, until she realized something, and she smiled with an idea in mind.

Meanwhile, Sonic was being careful on where was Baker going to attack next, but sadly, he got hit and sent back to the main floor of the mansion, traversing the wall and rolling in the ground with painful grunts.

Soon, Sonic kneeled and shook his head while feeling dizzy, as he also sighed frustrated. But then, the camera from earlier was launched, and it first bumped over Sonic's head, before it also felt in the ground. Sonic looked confused at the camera, and then he looked up to see his girlfriend.

"Use the camera, babe!" Pipp told him from her place, before she took out the Baker's picture and showed it to him. "He can't hide from cameras! Take a picture, analyze where he is, and show him who you are!" she cheered to him with a smile.

Understanding her plan, Sonic smirked at her and raised his thumbs up, before taking the camera and stand up, as he started to look around the room with a frown and being careful. Then, he took a picture with the camera and took the phot that came out of it, as he looked at it being empty, so he frowned and looked around with concern again.

Pipp landed on the upper floor and looked down with concern, while everyone else joined her, as they looked down at Sonic confused. "Why is he with a really old camera?" Tails decided to ask.

"That thing can't hide from pictures!" Pipp replied, and that was enough for everyone else to understand what was the plan here.

Yet, it didn't seemed to be a good plan, because the picture was taking too long to show up, and Sonic started to get desperate, so he shook the picture for the image to appear already.

And still, when it did so, it showed Baker on his fours and smirking mischievously at Sonic, while at the same time, Baker stopped being invisible and raised an arm, something that Sonic noticed too late, because he got punched on his jaw and set towards the ceiling, while Baker went invisible immediately afterwards.

"SONIC!" Amy, Pipp and Tails all shouted in fear after seeing this.

Sonic, on the other hand, was dizzy and confused at first, but then he shook his head and looked back to the ground with a frown. As he head back to the floor, he took three more pictures with the camera, and then made a quick twirl in the air, landing on his feet and then blowing over the three pictures desperately.

Yet, Baker appeared out of nowhere and sent Sonic against a wall, as the Werehog landed over a table and destroyed it, while he also lost the camera in the process.

Sonic shook his head dizzy and stood up, now looking at the three pictures he took a few seconds ago. The first one showed Baker reading a book and smirking at the camera, the second one had Baker yawning in boredom, and in the last one, he was making the same mocking face that Sonic did earlier with them.

As Sonic looked at each picture, he felt everytime more enraged, until he saw the last one, and that made him snap again, because his pupils became oval-shaped again.

So, Sonic ripped the three pictures apart, roared in rage and started to move his arms across the room in anger, as well as grabbing stuff and throwing it to hopefully hit Baker at some point... not noticing that his friends were getting caught in the middle.

"Whoa!" Hitch exclaimed, as he immediately dragged Sunny to the ground, and they both stayed there while some stuff flew in the air and crashed against the walls. "He's completely enraged!" Hitch exclaimed in panic.

"We've gotta calm him down!" Sunny pointed out.

"You think?!" Pipp exclaimed in panic, as she, Tails and Amy ducked down as well to also dodge Sonic's attacks.

However, none of them knew that Baker was smirking, then he got on his fours and charged against Sonic. Just when he was about to hit Sonic, in the exact last second, Baker became visible again and hit Sonic right on his chest, as he sent the Werehog backwards and made him crash into a wall, as Sonic groaned in pain and the fell sitting down, falling unconscious.

The rest didn't took long to notice that Sonic stopped throwing stuff, so they quickly got up to see what happened, just to panic when they saw him unconscious and laying against a wall.

"SONIC!!!" Pipp cried out, as she opened her wings and tried to fly towards him, but both Amy and Tails stopped her by grabbing her and making sure she wouldn't open her wings. "GUYS! LET ME GO!" she cried out desperately.

Meanwhile, Baker laughed victoriously over Sonic and approached him while becoming invisible again. Then, he grabbed the camera that was near Sonic, and with that, Sunny made her Alicorn form appear and was ready to charge against him for what he was doing to the Werehog, but before she could even fly in the air, she noticed the camera moving back and forth, which confused her a lot.

With this, Baker stopped being invisible, and then, the ghost split up from the waist up back into Su and Uh, since all this time, Baker was a fusion between them, forged as an alliance between the two ghosts, one that was breaking now that they had Sonic where they wanted, and now, they were going to fight and see who takes the picture of Sonic's face for Lah.

"Uh... What is going on?" Sunny asked confused, as she rather landed back with the rest, and all of them looked confused at Su and Uh fighting to see who kept the camera.

However, that also seemed to be enough time for Sonic to slowly wake up and shake his head, at first confused, and then completely enraged.

Su and Uh, on the other hand, kept fighting with each other on who was going to take the picture, until they noticed that Sonic was growling, so they slowly looked towards them, which made Sonic scream in rage. That made the two ghosts panic, and they even fainted because of the shock, also letting go of the camera in the process.

Then, Sonic grabbed then from their still fused feet and started to twirls them around the room while extending his arms and smashing the two ghosts against the walls, as they both screamed in fear.

Finally, Sonic throw the two ghosts in the air, and as they fell towards Sonic, he raised his punch, ready to sent the two ghosts flying away, something that made both Su and Uh panic even more. And so, Sonic punched the two ghosts, undoing their fusion entirely and sending them through the ceiling, as they got lost in the sky.

With them gone, Sonic nodded confidently, before going over and smash the camera from earlier, as a way to realize the little anger that remained inside of him. With that, he sighed relieved and smirked, as his pupils went round again.

"Blue Star!" Pipp's voice called out, and Sonic turned to see her, as she approached him along the rest of their friends, with Pipp wrapping her hooves around his neck and nuzzling to him. "I was so worried about you!" she confessed with concern.

"Well, even if I did worried too, you still came out on top as usual!" Tails cheered, as he and Sonic fist bumped.

"I still don't get this whole thing of the Werehog being a 'curse', you know?" Amy confessed with a smirk. "You just become more skilled in fighting! Despite getting slower..." she mocked up.

Still, Sonic chuckled at her comment and smiled. "Well, I guess I should thank that sudden anger I felt after those two mocked me up" he said with an amusing smirk.

"Well, as much as I'm glad that this is over, I think we should leave..." Hitch said with a nervous expression. "I hate to admit it, but this place creeps me out, and I don't want those two ghosts to come back!" he added with a frown.

"You literally smashed the whole room we were in with your magic and those two combined!" Tails pointed out with a bored expression.

"Because they messed with Sunny!" Hitch said with a frown, and Sunny blushed and looked away a bit flustered.

"We got, Sheriff. You just stood for your girlfriend. I would've done the same if it was Pipp" Sonic said with a mocking smirk, as he started to walk towards the exit.

"Aww!" Pipp said with a smile and a loving gaze towards Sonic, feeling touched by his words. "Well, I don't mind going back to the Brighthouse now, either. I already got, like, a bazillion pictures of this place! And I honestly don't think I could sleep in an old and rusty bed in this mansion" she confessed, as she followed Sonic to the exit.

"And for the last time, Sonic: We are not a couple!" Sunny groaned with annoyance and a blush, as she and Hitch followed Sonic and Pipp towards the exit.

"Yet!" both Tails and Amy said with mocking smirks, as they followed the rest while holding the Nightmare Night stuff they bought earlier, while both Sunny and Hitch groaned in annoyance at their teasing.

"By the way, how are we gonna explain the rest that you, um... Look like this?" Pipp questioned him.

"Knuckles and Team Dark know already" Sonic explained. "As for the rest, I guess we'll just had to hope that Misty won't faint and Zipp won't try to attack me..." he added with concern.

"What about Izzy and Sparky?" Amy asked confused.

"Eh, Sparky saw the Werehog prank last year, and Izzy is Izzy" Hitch replied with a bored expression.

"If anything, Izzy's gonna think he's someone else and not Sonic!" Sunny pointed out with a giggle, and the rest chuckled along her.

As they finally left the building, they never heard Su and Uh screaming in fright, as they came back from the sky and now traversed the ground, groaning painfully after their crash.

They slowly got out from the hole and shook their heads dizzy... Only to feel completely panicked when they saw that Lah was there with them, not looking happy in the slightest. In fact, she was very, very mad with the two ghosts, as she pointed not only at all the things destroyed in the mansion, but also at the destroyed camera.

Su and Uh looked around with panic and concern, before looking up at Lah with sheepish smiles, while Lah herself started to get so mad that her face went red, her hair got messed up, and her teeth turned into fangs.

With this transformation, both Su and Uh hugged each other in fear and concern, and so, Lah roared in pure rage and hate at the two ghosts, while they both screamed in fear and panic.

Yeah, let's just say that they were going to be resting painfully in their bed for quite a long time...