Twilight's House
"are you sure it's wise to keep a Changeling as a pet?" Twilight asked. Fluttershy and Tails having brought Changer to show their friends. Changer was on Fluttershy's back, looking at Twilight with his blue eyes.
"well he seems to have been abandoned. And I couldn't just leave him there" she said. Twilight sighed before she simply smiled.
"alright then, you are the expert." She said before Changer flew up and went over to her to hug her. Spike was watching the whole thing as he was petting Peewee. Chuckling a bit at the little Changeling. Changer looked at him before flying down to the ground. Landing right next to him. Leaning in closer since he was curious about the little dragon and Phoenix. Spike leaned back a bit before feeling Changer lick his cheek.
"nice to meet you too" he said to the changeling. Wiping off his cheek before returning his gaze to the changeling. Only to see himself standing there. He blinked, moving a bit. The changeling mirroring the moves. Fluttershy and Twilight both giggled at that, finding it cute.
Sweet Apple Acres
Knuckles was carrying two buckets full of Apples when the sound of howling caught his attention. "what on earth?"
"the first sign!" Granny Smith exclaimed excitedly. Knuckles just arched a brow, confused. Applejack saw that and smiled.
"the Zap Apples will be in soon. This here is the first sign and day. 4 more days and signs and they'll be ripe for harvest" Applejack explained.
"there're signs for an apple?" he asked.
"not just any apple sonny." Granny Smith said. "a Zap Apple, they're magic ya see"
"well that makes more sense" he said
"and I can make the best doggone Zap Apple Jam around" she proudly boasted.
"sounds awesome" Knuckles said.
"wait till you actually try it. It'll blow your mind" Applejack said with a smile. This just got Knuckles even more excited for that harvest.
That night
Applejack yawned as she made her way up the stairs. Knuckles was doing a check on the Master Emerald. she walked into her room, looking over at her bed and sighing.
"all clean huh?" she asked no one in particular referring to her bed, a sad look on her face. She went to her window and there she could see Knuckles finishing his check of the emerald. she sighed again, her heart feeling tingly from the fact she wanted to tell him so badly but couldn't.
Knuckles walked up the stairs and looked to Applejack's door, sighing a bit before knocking softly on the door.
"Applejack? I just wanted to say good night. see ya tomorrow" he said before turning to go to his room. Before he could take one step he could hear her.
"could ya come in? I got something to ask ya" she said. He turned before opening the door and entering her room. He could see her standing at her window, looking out of it.
"what's up?" he asked. She took a deep breath before turning to him.
"this is something I've wanted to ask for a while now, I just haven't had the courage to…" she said, looking into his eyes. This however seemed to make it harder for her. She gulped a bit /come on, just ask him. You can do it/ she thought.
"do ya ever think….that we could ever be more than….just friends?" she asked, a heavy blush on her face after she finally spoke the words. It felt like a huge weight was lifted and now replaced by another weight, the weight of his eyes as they looked at her. His eyes a little widened in surprise that she asked him. Her nerves were on fire as she awaited his answer. Finally after what seemed like an eternity she got her answer.
"How long have you felt this way about me?" he asked.
"a while now, maybe close to a month or 3…" she said, her heart getting tingly again. He went over to her before wrapping his arms around her to hug her.
"like Sonic always says. We won't know unless we try" he said softly. She was surprised by that answer. Her eyes wide from hearing it.
"ya mean…you'd be willing to try a relationship with me?" she asked.
"did I say no?" he asked. She just smiled happily, feeling her heart beat with joy.
"thank you Knuckles" she said softly.
The Next day, outside Ponyville
Rainbow Dash was with Sonic, the two of them walking to their usual relaxation spot.
"so how did you do that Sonic Boom attack?" she asked. He just looked at her and smirked.
"well air makes up the sound barrier; all I need is enough to produce the force necessary to break the barrier. Like how I can do it when running. Though I put it in my arm and release the force with a punch. Though that was the first time I did it" he said rubbing his right arm a bit at the memory.
"you think I could ever do an attack like that?" she asked.
"if you know the air, you know how" he said simply. She was a bit confused by that. "don't worry, you'll understand eventually" Sonic said with a smile. She just smiled back, knowing that was the end of that particular conversation.
Twilight's House
"so wait…I do what again?" she asked, an emerald being held in front of her by her magic.
"focus on the emerald. let your heart and mind speak. Think of stopping time and use the command phrase" Shadow said. She nodded before concentrating on the emerald. her eyes closed as she continued to focus and focus.
"Chaos Control" she said, the emerald reacted and slowed time. Though it wasn't stopped she at least was inside of the Chaos Control. "whoa…." She said as she opened her eyes and saw her clock ticking at a painfully slow rate. The effect ended soon and time began to pass normally.
"not bad for your first try" Shadow said. She blushed a bit at the compliment.
"thank you" she said with a smile. He just smirked, already liking her progress. "by the way, why did you decide to teach me?" she asked
"well you are fascinated in emeralds in the scholar sense" he said simply. She thought about what it would be like to have books written on the chaos emeralds and their abilities, stored in the Canterlot Library. The thought brought a smile to her face. Her mind began to wander soon coming to very different thoughts altogether, which brought a blush to her cheeks. Shadow noticed the change in her demeanor and arched a brow.
"what is going through your head?" he asked. Twilight squealed a bit when he asked her. She then shook her head furiously. Doing her best to avoid eye contact by moving her head to the side, but still looking at him through the corner of her eye.
"Sparkle." He said a little sternly as he crossed his arms.
"nope it's nothing" she said quickly before running up to hide in her room. He just arched a brow at her.
"okay?"
She jumped onto her bed, still flustered as she rested her head on the pillow. Letting her mind process everything that just happened. /I guess...I really do have a thing for him….but how do I tell him?/ she wondered. She then got an idea, if she couldn't find the answer herself she'd ask someone who could help.
Canterlot Palace
Celestia was enjoying some peace before noticing a message from Twilight arriving. She smiled before using her magic to open the scroll.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I think…no I know I'm in love. It's Shadow that this is directed towards. But I don't know how to tell him how I feel about him. If there is any advice you can give, please tell me.
Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
She blinked before re-reading the message. "she's requesting…love advice?" she asked no one in particular. "that's a new one" she said before writing a message to her.
Twilight's House
Spike handed Twilight the message which she quickly opened and read.
My Dearest Student,
I never expected this kind of request from you. But I will do my best to help. I suggest spending a lot more time with him, I'm sure you'll know when the right time to bring it up is. Don't be afraid, be strong. I have faith in you.
Sincerely,
Princess Celestia
She sighed before rolling the message up and using her magic to set it on her desk. "it's never easy is it?" she asked no one in particular.
Eggman's Base
Chrysalis was looking around, making sure no one could see her as she managed to fool the security system by disguising herself as Eggman. Going through all the restricted access barriers until she entered a dark hallway and walked down it. After quite the walk she entered a huge chamber and there she was met with quite a shock. Something was in there, and it was big, really big. She was looking at this thing, it seemed humanoid. But all she could see was that very power core from earlier. To the left and right she couldn't tell where it ended due to its size. Up and down yielded the same result. "what in all of Equestria?" she asked.
"Snooping as usual I see" Eggman said from behind her. She turned to him, shifting back to her original form.
"this thing is massive….what on earth…" she said, getting a little scared to say the least.
"this thing will be my last resort when all else fails. This will guarantee victory" he said. She just looked at the power core, watching as Robots worked on it.
/I don't know what this thing is…but it sends a chill throughout my blood/ she thought.