It was once again that special time of year, the day that was about celebrating love: Valentines Day. As usual, Canterlot High was in the spirit for the holiday as shown by the students and staff wearing red or pink clothes with heart-shaped accessories. Most of them were exchanging Valentine's cards with each other in the halls as Silver walked through the doors. He looked around with a confused expression. He had never seen anything like this before, so it was all new to him. He then shortly met up with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Manic in the hall.
"So, this is what the Valentine holiday is supposed to be like?" Silver asked them.
"Yes, isn't it marvelous, darling?" Rarity gushed. "A day where people get together and find a special somebody! It's so romantic!"
"It's not enough if you ask me!" Rarity and the others suddenly heard Pinkie's voice and they started to look around for her but she was nowhere to be found.
"Pinkie, where are you?" Fluttershy asked.
"In here." Pinkie's voice said from a locker. The 4 of them turned to it and got closer for a better look.
"What are you doing in there?" Manic asked.
"Open up and you'll see!" Pinkie answered in a cryptic manner.
"I swear, there better not be some kind of giant cake or something, I just this vest cleaned." Manic remarked as he went to open the locker. As he did, suddenly, a red version of Pinkie's Party cannon popped out, but she was absent.
"Wait, what?" Manic said as he turned back to the others, who looked just as lost as he did and Silver shrugged.
"That's strange, where could she be?" Rarity wondered before the cannon suddenly started to rumble and shake violently, catching other students attention as they turned to see it beginning to erupt. After a while, the cannon fired a large shout, which released Valentine decorations such as hearts, flowers, cards and candy before Pinkie herself emerged from the cannon as she was shot in the air. She landed on the floor as the students looked around in awe at her designs.
"I take it all this ruckus is Pinkie?" AppleJack said as she came from the bandroom alongside Knuckles, Twilight, Sunset and Rainbow Dash. They stopped in their tracks to take a look a the newly decorated hallway.
"You really did it this time." Knuckles observed.
"Of course!" Pinkie happily responded. "I'm just so excited! It's like this day was made for me! It's the best!"
"So Sunset, did they have anything like this back in Equestria?." Twilight asked her friend..
"Yeah, it was called Heart and Hooves day.It was more or less the same as this day. I wasn't that into anyway. Didn't really have a special somepony back then. I guess it's the same here, but at least I get to celebrate it with friends." Sunset responded.
"If you ask me, Valentines day the lamest holiday. There's nothing fun to do, like pranks or getting presents. The only good thing is that you get candy if you ask me." Rainbow Dash said as she took a candy heart from Pinkie's decoration and popped one in her mouth.
"Rainbow Dash, what an awful thing to say." Rarity scolded as Rainbow shrugged.
"I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. It lets girls notice how cool guys like me are." Manic said as he rubbed his nose cockily and Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, you're like 20% less cool." She snarked as Manic lowered his eyelids.
The front door of the school opened and it was Shadow as he entered. He looked around and noticed all the Valentine ornaments. His eyes landed on Pinkie in the center, who waved to him. Shadow's response was to close the door and he began to walk down the steps before Pinkie suddenly appeared in front of him, startling him.
"Hey, Shady! Happy Valentine's day!" She told him.
"But you were, how did you-, nevermind," Shadow said before he realized it was futile to try and make sense of Pinkie's antics.
"You know....I got a special Valentine today, can you guess who it is?" Pinkie asked him with a wink as Shadow just slightly fumed. He knew her answer.
At SugarCube Corner, Sonic was waiting outside as he tapped his foot impatiently. After a while, Tails came out, holding an extra-large hot chocolate which was decorated with pink whipped cream and covered in red sauce.
"It's about time, what took you so long, man?" Sonic asked.
"Sorry, Sonic. They were having a special sale for their Valentine combo." He explained. Hearing the word 'Valentine' made Sonic groan slightly. He had forgotten it was that day today. He figured that if they arrived at school, he wouldn't forget for the rest of the day.
"We should head to school. We're getting kind of close to being late." Tails said as he checked his watch and began to walk in front.
"About that....listen, buddy, you go on ahead. I'll catch up. I just want to take a quick run before classes start." Sonic explained to him as Tails turned back.
"You sure?" Tails replied.
"Yeah, I'll see ya later." Sonic insisted as Tails turned around and headed for school. Sonic turned in the opposite direction and became a blue streak as he zipped through the city.
"(I'm not sure if I can stomach a whole day of this Valentine nonsense. I think I'll just lay low for today. I doubt I'll miss anything since Valentine is going to be on everyone's minds. Well, mostly everyone.)" Sonic thought as he was running outside the outskirts of the city and came across a large grassy plain. Just as he was about to enter it, a loud puffy pink cloud appeared in front of him, catching him off guard as he skidded to a stop as he entered it. Sonic wheezed and coughed as he emerged from the cloud and fanned it away.
"*cough* What was that?!" He exclaimed.
"Hi, Speedy!" He heard two familiar voices say in unison.
Sonic eyes widened and he was really hoping it wasn't who he thought it was. He slowly turned around.
"(Please no)" He hoped as he came face to face with the two Erotes, Eros and Anteros. Sonic sighed out loud.
"(Not these guys again. What do they want now?)"
"It's you two. What's up?" Sonic said as he forced a smile. He didn't want to make them mad like last time.
"It's Valentines day, silly! That's what's up!" They both answered.
"That much, I got. Look, I thought we were cool. I learned my lesson, love isn't useless. " Sonic said.
"We are. We just wanted to check in on you, make sure you enjoy the holiday to the fullest. But....you aren't doing that. Do you know why?" They asked him.
Sonic scratched his head. He had to make sure to say the right thing so they wouldn't get offended.
"Uh......I dunno." He said with a shrug.
"You don't have a Valentine! That's it!" They informed him as they came up in his face.
"Oh, don't worry about me, I'm perfectly ok with that. I can still enjoy the day without one. Thanks for stopping by, but everything is A-ok." Sonic quickly said in an attempt to persuade them.
"No, no, no! We insist. We want you to be the happiest today!" The Erotes both said. "You have to have a Valentine."
"I would love to, but the thing is....I don't know anyone who could. Oh well, too bad." Sonic said as he began to back up.
"That's ok, we can decide who's best for you!" The Erotes exclaimed as Sonic's ears perked up at that suggestion.
"Wait-wha-"Sonic began before the two Erotes turned their hands intangible and placed them through Sonic's head as he was temporarily frozen with his mouth open. They dug their hands in his head for a while before their eyes lit up and they took their hands out. Sonic gasped for a bit once they were done.
"What....did.....you....do?!" Sonic demanded as he caught his breath.
"We looked around in your memories to see who would be the best fit." The Erotes explained. " And we say its.....
"Sunset Shimmer!" Anteros said.
"Rainbow Dash!" Eros said.
The two Erotes eyes widened as they realized they disagreed with each other and they made eye contact. Sonic just looked around as if he couldn't believe what he had just heard.
"Brother, what are you saying? Rainbow Dash is the perfect fit for Sonic. Their personalities are so alike." Eros said to his brother.
"You're mistaken, my dear brother. Sonic and Sunset Shimmer have spent many great moments together. Their chemistry is amazing." Anteros argued.
"I am not hearing this." Sonic said as he gripped his head and sank with embarrassment.
The Erotes shot each other glares before they began to argue.
"Sunset Shimmer!" Anteros yelled.
"Rainbow Dash!" Eros yelled.
The two shouted the names back and forth as Sonic just looked in total disbelief at what was going on before Anteros stopped the both of them.
"Brother, this argument is getting us nowhere. I have a suggestion. Why don't the two of us prove it?" Anteros offered as Eros looked interested and Sonic looked confused.
"I'm listening." Eros said, intrigued.
"Why don't each try to set Speedy up with who we think he should go with and we'll see who he picks." Anteros suggested as Eros face lit up.
"Brilliant idea, brother! May the best Erote win!" Eros agreed.
"Wait!!!" Sonic yelled, catching both of their attention. "What do you think you're doing?! You can't just go meddling in my life like this!"
"Oh, it's for your own good! You'll thank us!" The Erotes said as they vanished in a puff of smokes. Sonic frantically looked around for them but he didn't see anything as he formed an 'oh crap' look as he put his hand on his face.
"This is going to to cost me!" Sonic muttered under his breath as he dashed off for dear life, leaving behind a large gust of wind as he rushed throughout the city before he shortly arrived at the steps of CHS. He then began to desperately search for any sign of the Erotes.
"Ok....they gotta be around here somewhere." Sonic said before he looked up and gasped. He saw the two Erotes, who were now a transparent pink color. He mad eye contact with them and they gave him a wink with the thumbs up before they disappeared into smoke once more. After they did, Sonic heard the bell rang and he quickly dashed inside the school.
Inside, Sonic was still looking for the Erotes, but in a more discrete manner. In front of him, he saw Rainbow Dash heading towards her locker.
"Hmmmmm, everything seems fine in the halls. Where could they be?" Sonic said before he saw a pink smoke come from Rainbow Dash's locker, which she didn't notice and he turned his attention there. When Rainbow opened her locker and reached in, she pulled out a blue Valentine card which had Sonic's symbol in as she studied it in a confused manner. Sonic's eyes widened in horror at what he saw.
"From Sonic?" Rainbow Dash read. "I thought he didn't like Valentines Day. Unless, is he...."
Rainbow Dash paused and thought a little about the idea of Sonic actually going out of his way to give her a Valentine card. Sonic noticed this and his expression turned to sheer panic.
"Well.....I should see what it says." Rainbow decided as Sonic saw her beginning to open up the envelope, much to Sonic's dismay.
"(NO! She can't open that!)"Sonic screamed inside his head as he dashed as fast as he could and turned into a blue streak as he took the card from Rainbow's hand, shutting her and making her hair blow. Rainbow Dash was stunned for a moment before she turned to see Sonic holding the card before he ripped it up like crazy and began to pant. He then wiped his brow.
"Sonic? What are you doing?" Rainbow asked as Sonic turned to see her.
"Oh, hey Dash! What's up?" Sonic said, trying to act casual.
"I should ask you that? Why'd you rip that Valentine card you gave me?" She asked.
"Oh, that old thing? Well......I. did it because...it was supposed to be a prank! Yeah! But then I realized it was way too lame, so I decided to scrap it." He explained quickly to save face as Rainbow Dash gave him a weird look.
"Really, huh? Well, glad you came to your senses. You should know by now that you can't outprank me." She said as she playfully punched his arm.
"Yep, I now that. Heh, heh, heh." Sonic responded in a nervous manner, making Rainbow Dash look at him strangely again.
"Well, see ya later." She said as she walked off to class. When she was out of sight, Sonic slumped against the locker with relief.
"Phew. So far, so good."He said before he heard the sound of giggling. He looked up and he saw the two Erotes wink at him once more as they flew into the boys bathroom. Sonic growled a bit as he dashed in after them. When he was there, it was empty as he paused to take a look.
"That wasn't fair, Speedy, you ruined my turn." Eros complained as Sonic turned around to see him with a disappointed look as Anteros looked pleased.
"I'm telling you, knock it off!" Sonic demanded as they just giggled once more at him.
"Oh, but this is perfect and fun. Besides, I don't think there'll be much you can do against my trick. Catch you later, dude." Anteros finished as he changed his voice to that of Sonic's, much to his surprise.
"What the? What do you have planned?! Tell me!" Sonic barked.
"No spoilers." Anteros replied, still in Sonic's voice before he and his brother disappeared into smoke as Sonic growled. He then headed out of the bathroom door and stopped in front of Flash Sentry, who was giving him an odd look.
"Wow! Sonic, are you ok? I heard voices. Who were you talking to?" Flash asked him.
"Oh uh, no one. Just thinking outloud, don't worry about it. Anyway, gotta speed." Sonic answered in a huff as he sped away. Flash shrugged in confusion after he left.
The bell rang again, which signified that the students had a break now as the hallway was flooded with them. Sonic emerged as well but he was wary. It had been quiet, too quiet. He knew the Erotes were up to something, but what?
"And get this, Sonic tried to prank me today." He heard Rainbow Dash say. Sonic looked around the corner to see her walking with Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer as they exited the classroom.
"That doesn't sound very nice." Fluttershy said with disapproval.
"Eh, I don't mind. Makes this lame day sort of exciting, you know?" Rainbow replied.
The sound of a phone ringing was heard and it was coming from Sunset's pocket. She then took out her phone to see who was calling.
"Speaking of which, I'm getting a call from him now." Sunset said as Sonic looked confused. He hadn't dialed her number on his phone.
Sunset answered the phone to hear Sonic's voice coming from it as she listened and then she took it away from her ear.
"Sonic says he wants me to go somewhere private. He says he has something important to tell me." Sunset explained as Sonic jaw dropped open slightly. Now he knew why Anteros had spoken in his voice.
"What could it be?" Fluttershy asked.
"I guess I'll find out. I'll catch up with you guys later." Sunset said as she headed in the opposite direction of her friends as Sonic looked mortified.
"(Ah, man! They're probably going to say some kind of confession! In my voice! I gotta find them!)" Sonic screamed in his mind as he became a streak, passing by students, including Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, leaving them mystified.
"Wait, was that?" Rainbow Dash said in a perplexed manner.
Sonic was searching like crazy around the school as he speed in and out of classrooms and labs alongside turning over recycling bins and trash can. He had to find them and fast.
"Where are they? Where are they?" He said to himself as he going up and down the stairs around the halls. As he did, he passed by Tails and Twilight.
"Oh, there you are Sonic. I was worried you-" Tails was saying before Sonic just rushed past the two of them. They both looked back to see Sonic continuing his search, puzzled.
"What's gotten into him?" Twilight asked as she and Tails exchanged glances.
Sonic dashed out of the school and checked around the field and the rooftop but no sign of the Erotes as he stood on the roof.
"Where are they? Come on, come on!" Sonic said as he dashed back in the school.
Meanwhile, Sunset entered the bandroom as she sat down on a table and held the phone to her ear.
"Ok, Sonic, I'm alone. What do you want to say?" She asked.
"Good. Now, Sunset. What I'm about to say takes a lot of guts, so listen carefully." His voice said.
Sonic dashed in the hall and he passed by the bandroom. He then came back and saw Sunset listening on the phone and pressed his face and hands against the door as he made an anguished look.
"(NOOOOOOO! I need to stop them!)" He screamed inside his thoughts as he dashed ahead.
Sonic then found himself now in the gym and he began to zip through it many times.
"They have to be here! This is the last place left!" Sonic said as he went around it. Suddenly, he heard a faint sound of what sounded like his voice and he stopped running. He listened further for a source as he tiptoed closer to it and found himself pressing his head against the gym wall in front of him.
"Sunset, I want you to know how I feel." He heard his voice said as his eyes widened.
"(Aha!)" He thought as he wound up his fist slightly before smashing it into the wall, making a hole in it. He then saw the transparent Erotes, with Anteros holding his phone as Eros looked on. They both turned to see the furious Sonic and yelped as they saw him coming towards them.
"EEEP!" Sunset heard from the other end as she raised an eyebrow. "You litte!" She also heard before the sound of a hung up phone was now present.
"Hello, Sonic? Sonic? You want to tell me how you feel about what? Sonic?" She said before she held up her screen, which showed he had hung up.
"Huh. That was weird." Sunset said as she put her phone in her pocket and headed to leave the band room.
In the cafeteria, Sunset sat down and joined the rest of the Rainbooms alongside Knuckles, Tails, Manic and Silver but Sonic was nowhere to be found.
"What did Sonic want to tell you?" Fluttershy asked her.
"I don't know. He started saying some things, there was some weird noise and he just hung up." Sunset explained. "It was so strange."
"Was he trying to prank you, too? What's his deal?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Twilight and I saw him earlier and he was like running around like he needed to find something really badly." Tails brought up.
"What the hays gotten into him? Why is he acting like this on Valentines day of all days?" AppleJack questioned.
"Maybe he's planning some kind of super secret Valentine party?!" Pinkie suggested in an excited tone at the idea.
"I seriously doubt that. You know it's not his favorite day. But still, all the stuff he's done doesn't sound like how he'd act, even towards something he dislikes." Knuckles began to ponder.
"Now that you mention it, aside from in the halls, I haven't seen much of Sonic today at all." Twilight said.
Suddenly from outside the cafeteria, what sounded like an airplane propelling was heard outside as all the student stopped what they were doing to listen. The noise was getting louder and closer and it made them stand up to go see it. As they stood near the window to get a better look, they managed to see what looked like a red and yellow biplane with a folded banner behind it.
"Hey Tails, isn't that your plane?" Silver realized as he focused more on aircraft.
"Yeah....it is! Is that Sonic piloting it?" Tails said with a surprised manner.
Outside, Sonic stopped in front of the field as he looked around for the Erotes again.
"Where did those little freaks go?" He said before he heard the familair sound of a plane proppler. Sonic looked up and he nearly had a heart attack from what he saw. It was the Tornado, flying above CHS.
"The Tornado?! But Tails is inside! Who's-?" Sonic said before it dawned on him who else could it be and he glowered. "They wouldn't!"
The large banner attached to the Tornado suddenly began to unfold itself and it spelt out the phrase 'I LOVE' and Sonic panicked as he now knew what the Erotes were up to. He then dashed to the schools rooftop.
" 'I love'?" Rainbow Dash read. "What's he doing now?"
On the rooftop, Shadow was staring out into space before he noticed the Tornado as well, which caught his eye as he saw that the banner was now beginning to say 'I LOVE RA'.
"Why does Sonic have his plane out?" Shadow wondered. Just as he did, a blue streak zipped past him and he saw Sonic leap off the top of the rooftop, which surprised him.
"Sonic?! Then whose driving the plane?" He wondered out loud.
"Hey look, someones jumping towards the plane." Manic pointed out from inside as now everyone else focused on what was happening.
Mid-Air, Sonic did an airboost to get himself closer to the banner, which was starting to unveil the letter I. Before it did, Sonic became a blue streak, shredding it to pieces entirely as they were sucked into and completley erased by the plane proppler.
"Hey, no fair!" Eros complained from the Tornado cockpit as his brother flew next to him.
The two of them heard a loud thud on the top of planes wings and looked up to see Sonic, who was now seething with rage, making the Erotes scream.
"Get out of my plane!" Sonic shouted as the two of them vanished into puffs of smokes. However, this meant the plane had no pilot and it was starting to fall towards the ground. Sonic hung on to the wing for dear life as it was descending. The students below gasped at what they saw.
"Oh, no! It's going to crash!" Fluttershy exclaimed.
"Sonic's in there! We have to do something!" Sunset stated as she and the others began to head out the door.
As the Tornado fell, Sonic put both hands on the wing and he pulled himself closer on top of it before he was directly above the cockpit. He then jumped into and immediately grabbed on the controls. He then shifted the Tornados course from going down to up just as the Rainbooms and the others arrived outside.
"Hey, he got the hang of it!" Knuckles noticed as he and the group watched as the Tornado flew off in the sky.
"These things are driving me crazy." Sonic said he parked the Tornado in its usual spot behind Tail's workhouse and wiped his brow.
"I need to catch them and fast. I'm not sure how much of this I can take anymore." Sonic said with a tired tone as he dashed and headed back to school through the city. As he was running in the city, he passed by a jewelry store and noticed that the entrance seemed to open slighty without anyone entering. He slowed down to observe the scene.
"What the? Am I seeing things?" Sonic said as he looked from across the street.
In the store, everything seemed normal for a while. That is, until Sonic noticed that a white pearl necklace in the background seemed to be levitating without anyone holding it. Sonic rubbed his eyelids to make sure he was clearly seeing the scene in front him and sure enough, he was. It was discrete and the store was quite crowded, so no one noticed except for him. He watched as the necklace began to float itself into the back exit of the store.
"What in the?" Sonic said before he sighed in annoyance. He knew it was the Erotes and then became a blue streak in the same direction that the necklace was headed out of. He came into a back alley and saw the floating necklace. Before it went any further, Sonic grabbed onto one of it's ends and he felt a yank.
"Hey, what gives?" He heard Anteros's voice say before he revealed himself.
"I should be asking you that! What are you doing now?" Sonic questioned.
"Simple. I'm going to take this necklace and give it to Sunset Shimmer and make it look like it's from you." Anteros casually explained.
"Question. Did you even pay for it?" Sonic asked him.
"No." was Anteros answer.
"Well...that's stealing! You can't take things that don't belong to you! Even in the name of love or whatever! I'm taking this back." Sonic said as he pulled on the necklace but Anteros didn't budge.
"No, let go, you're ruining everything!" Anteros yelled as he and Sonic did tug of war with the necklace.
"Hey, the pearl necklace is missing!" The two of them heard a voice from the store say, stopping them in their tracks.
"What, how?"
"I dunno, someone must've stolen it!"
"Look, the backdoor exit is open. The thief couldn't have gone far!"
"Uh oh, later, Speedy!" Anteros said as he vanished, leaving Sonic alone with the necklace. Sonic began to panic as he knew that if the store owners saw him, they would think he stole it. He was stumped before he slapped his forehead.
"Duh!" Sonic said as he dashed so fast in the store and put the necklace back in its proper place just as two of the owners came outside.
"I don't see anyone! Did they leave already?"
"Hey guys, come in! The necklace is back!" Sonic heard a voice say as he looked on from the street at the other owners heading back in due to this and he sank to the floor, relieved.
The two Erotes appeared in a puff of smoke just above the city. They looked quite frustrated.
"Brother, this isn't going anywhere. He keeps getting in the way." Anteros complained.
"You're right. At this rate, things'll never go as planned. And we're running out of time.....unless." Eros said before he grew a mischievous grin and turned to his brother.
"I've got the perfect idea! Now..." Eros said as he began to whisper his plan to Anteros.
Back at CHS, it was the end of the day as the students began to pour out as they headed down the steps, including the Rainbooms and the rest of the group, except for Rainbow Dash as she decided to stay after to practice her soccer skills.
"I wonder what could be going on with Sonic? That whole thing was the plane was absurd." Tails said outloud.
"Yeah and after that, he just vanished." Manic added. "Is he going crazy?
"I hope he's alright." Fluttershy said with a worried tone.
"I'm going to try calling him." Sunset said as she reached into her pocket for her phone. When she did, she grew a confused look as it wasn't there. She searched the rest of her body, but didn't find it anywhere.
"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.
"My phone. I could've sworn I put it in my pocket. I must've left it in the bandroom. You guys go on ahead." Sunset said as she ran back inside to search for her phone.
Sunset walked through the halls until she came into the bandroom. Right on the table was her phone in plain sight.
"Silly me. I should be more careful." She commented as she went to take it.
As her back was turned, Sunset didn't notice the small shadow coming from behind her. Suddenly, she felt something sharp sting her back and she perked up.
"What the? I-" She started to say before she fell completely unconscious.
On the soccer field, Rainbow Dash was juggling her soccer ball for a while as she stood in front of the goal. After doing this for a while, she then launched it at the goal with a strong kick. Before it went inside, the ball then popped suddenly, much to her suprise.
"What was that?!" She exclaimed as she ran over to where it had happened. She examined the scene but everything appeared to be normal. Just then, she felt a sharp sting on her back and her eyes widened.
"Hey, what's the-" Rainbow Dash yelled but before she could finish, she sank to the ground, out cold.
Sonic was still a blue streak as he investigated the city still before he dashed back in front of Canterlot.
"This game of tag is starting to get boring. But at least the days almost over. Soon, I won't have to put up with this much longer." Sonic said to himself.
"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure." Sonic heard two familar voices say as he turned to see the Erotes floating above him. He was less than thrilled to see them and his face showed it.
"You two. Why can't you just leave me alone? You're wasting your time. Valentine's day's nearly done, so you might as well give up." He informed them.
"Well, there is one thing we haven't tried yet. You're in for a real surprise." They said with a giggle. Sonic didn't like that and he raised an eyebrow.
"I never liked riddles. What are you talking about?" He questioned.
"Here." Eros said as he fired an arrow with an orange tip to Sonic, who caught it easily. He then examined it. He noticed there was a map to some kind of location on it.
"What gives?" Sonic asked.
"Follow the map and you'll see. See you soon, Speedy!" The Erotes cheerfully said as they disappeared into smoke, leaving Sonic to study the map. He glowered a bit as he did.
"Fine, I'll take your bait. Anything to get this over with." He grumbled as he dashed off in the direction of the map.
After a while, Sonic found himself in some kind of ancient ruins. There were marble temples, columns and statues scattered everywhere and the entire area was covered in green grassy hills that went up and down. Sonic recognized this place immediately.
"The Marble Zone?" He said as he scratched his head. "Never thought I'd visit this place again. I don't like this."
Sonic continued to press forward as he dashed through the area as the hills went up and down and he avoided the occasional lava shots that erupted from the ground and the hills that burst into flames. Soon, he began to enter the underground part, a purple dungeon like area. Sonic shivered a bit as he began to descend.
"I really don't like this." He muttered to himself as he got deeper into the zone.
"Someone get us out of here!"He heard Rainbow Dash cry out from below as he froze in place.
"Rainbow Dash? What's she doing here?" Sonic wondered outloud.
"Can anyone here us?" He then heard Sunset yell, which puzzled him even more.
"Sunset's here too? Oh man, what did those little creeps do?" Sonic said with a bit of worry in his voice as he sped up, watching out for the spikes emerging from the ground or coming from above. Sonic was now in the furthest part of the zone and he soon found himself facing an entire floor of lava. When he saw what was in front of him, he gasped. There, he saw two pink bubbles which were held just above it. In them were Sunset and Rainbow Dash, the former who was quite concerned with the lava below while the latter appeared to look quite angry at her situation.
"Rainbow Dash? Sunset?" He called out, making the two girls turn to him.
"Sonic?! Thank goodness you're here." Sunset said with relief.
"What are you guys doing there?" Sonic asked.
"What kind of question is that? How should we know? One minute I was practicing my soccer skills, the next thing, I'm trapped here!" Rainbow exclaimed with great annoyance.
"Can't you bust out of there?" Sonic asked.
"Nope. Their magic doesn't work inside those things, Speedy!" All three of them heard the Erotes says as the two of them appeared above Sunset and Rainbow Dash. The two girls weren't expecting to see them.
"You two? What are you doing here?" Sunset asked as Rainbow Dash frowned.
"Wait, did you bring us here?" She asked them as the two Erotes nodded happily.
"WHY?!" Rainbow Dash screamed.
"Because, he needs to choose." They said as they pointed to Sonic, which made Sunset and Rainbow Dash look at him as well.
"Sonic, what did you do now?" Sunset asked.
"Nothing, I swear." Sonic told her before his attention turned to the Erotes. "What do you mean choose?"
"It's simple. Both of them are in danger of falling inside the lava. With us here, there's not enough time for you to save both, so you have to pick one. And the one you pick will show which one of them is meant to be your true love." The Erotes explained as Rainbow Dash and Sunset looked as if that was the craziest thing they had ever heard while Sonic put his hand over his face.
"This is insane. You two are crazy! I'm not going to let one of my friend fall in lava!" He declared.
"True love? Sonic, what are they talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"It's simple. I believe you and Sonic should be together. My brother believes him and Sunset would be better. So, we're forcing him to choose." Eros explained as Rainbow Dash and Sunset looked even more confused.
"One of us? With Sonic?" Sunset said in a perplexed manner. "Why?"
"Well, we both read his mind and it seems he has good chemistry with you two." Anteros said as Sonic just whimpered as he massaged his temples while Sunset and Rainbow exchanged glances.
"For the last time, I'm not going to date either of them. Just give it up." Sonic pleaded
"Nope. You'll have to pick one. Who do you like more?" The Erotes questioned.
"(Oh man. These guys are really serious. Sunset and Rainbow are in deep trouble. There's gotta be something I do. Think man, I've been here before. Use this place to my advantage.)" Sonic thought as he studied the area. His eyes landed on the ceiling and then he remembered what they were for as he smiled.
"(Hope this works.)"
"Ok, I should be truthful. The reason why I say this is because.....I can't choose between Sunset and Rainbow Dash." Sonic 'admitted', much to Erotes surprise and Sunset and Rainbow's shock.
"Yeah. I mean, how can I choose? Sunset's so smart, kind and caring. She's also a great leader. But at the same time, Rainbow Dash is just so awesome. I mean, she's great at sports and so athletic." Sonic went on, as the two girls blushed a little, as they turned away, feeling a bit embarassed, while the two Erotes looked pleased.
"Oh, why didn't you say so, silly?" The Erotes asked him.
"I just had trouble being truthful. The struggle was tearing me apart. But I have a solution. You should hit me with one of your arrows. That way, I'll be able to decide once and for all." He suggested as Rainbow and Sunset formed astonished looks at what Sonic said as the Erotes grin.
"Gladly! We're so happy you're being true to yourself, Speedy!" They said as they both prepared a large pink arrow together and aimed at Sonic, who spread out his arms ready to get hit.
"Here's to love!" The Erotes declared as they fired arrow straight towards Sonic.
However, before the arrow hit him, Sonic let out a smirk. Using his reflexes, he caught the arrow in one hand, stupefying the Erotes while Rainbow and Sunset now had bewildered expressions.
"Hey, what's the big-" The Erotes complained as Sonic turned the arrow around and launched it straight towards them. They panicked as they duck and with force, the arrow struck the top part of the dungeon, causing purple blocks to come down on the lava and form a pathway. Sunset and Rainbow's bubbles popped due to the Erotes losing focus and they landed on the platforms with a thud. Now they understood what was going on.
"Yes!" Sonic said as he turned to the Erotes now. The two of them looked back at the very angry looking Sunset and Rainbow Dash and Sonic, who had a sly grin as he cracked his knuckles.
"Time to go!" They said before they were intercepted by Rainbow Dash using her speed. She then grabbed them by their wings tightly so they couldn't fly or teleport. They struggled as Sonic and Sunset walked up towards them.
"Not so fast you little creeps." Rainbow Dash said.
"I thought you two learned your lessons from last time." Sunset scolded.
"We were just doing our jobs." The Erotes protested.
"By putting us in danger?!"Rainbow Dash nearly screamed.
"Well....when you put it that way...." They said.
Sonic came near them and he took out two arrows from their slings and he examined them. After a while, he got a smile.
"I don't like that." Eros whispered to his brother.
"I have the perfect punishment for these two." Sonic said as he aimed the arrow steadily at them.
"Wait. You don't have to do that! Come on. We just wanted to help you." They pleaded as Sonic jabbed the two of them, causing them to wince. Suddenly, their bodies began to harden as they slowly turned to stone before they were completely still.
"Perfect." Sonic said with a smile.
"So, what do we do with the statues?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Let's send them back to Equestria. I'm sure Princess Twilight would like to add these to her castle." Sunset suggested.
"Sounds good to me. As long as I never have to see them again. Now let's get out this place." Sonic said.
"Hold on. But those Erotes really thought that you and me or you and Sunset, could be a thing?" Rainbow Dash said with curiosity.
"You heard them." Sonic answered.
"But that stuff you said back there. About us. Did..you really mean that?" Sunset asked him.
"Nah. I just said it to trick them." Sonic nonchalantly said with a handwave. Hearing this made Sunset and Rainbow Dash look not too happy as they frowned at him.
"So you don't think I'm smart? Or nice? Or a good leader?" Sunset said with mild irritation.
"Or that I'm good at sports? Or awesome?" Rainbow Dash added.
Sonic then now realized what he said and that he was now in an uncomfortable situation. His eyes darted back and forth nervously as he rubbed the back of his head.
"No, I mean, I can explain. See, what I meant to say was., no that won't sound right, give me a second." Sonic said as he began to think as the two girls gave him icy glares and just started to walk past him towards the exit.
"Rainbow? Sunset? Wait for me. I can explain." Sonic shouted as he took off after them, but they weren't listening.