Tails guided Sonic and Knuckles back to his workshop in Maretime Bay and told them to wait on the ceiling.
"What is Tails up to now?" Knuckles asked with his arms crossed.
"No idea" Sonic confessed, tapping his foot on the floor desperate. "But he says it can guide us to the rest on the Basaltic Caves, so I trust him" he said with a smirk.
Tails already proved to be a genius with his inventions several times before. Not only all the variants of the Tornado he built before have helped, but also other stuff like that translator for the wisps, his modified Soap Shoes so they could resist his speed, the watches of the whole team to use their electrical powers to create weapons, and a very long etcetera.
Yup, everything Tails has built before has been incredibly useful for desperate situations.
Suddenly, they both felt the building rumbling, and then, the ceiling of Electronic Tails opened up to reveal something big covered on a blanket, slowly moving up with Tails standing at its side with a smirk. Once the entire thing was out, both Sonic and Knuckles felt curious on what was down the blanket.
"Guys!" Tails called out with happiness, also smiling. "This is what I've been working on for these past moths!" he stated excited.
And so, he finally removed the blanket to reveal a yellow plane with white stripes, no wheels, white wings with his iconic two tails printed on the sides and the words 'Tornado IV' written down beside the plane.
Sonic whistled in amazement at the new plane, while Knuckles' jaw dropped to the floor.
"Say hello to the Tornado IV!" Tails presented with a proud smile. "This one wasn't made out of my powers because it wouldn't had a special meaning, so I decided to make it from the ground!" he explained, flying up and then sitting on the pilot's seat. "It has several weapons, three different types of shields, three seats instead of the usual two, a four blade propeller instead of the usual three, retractable wheels... and, instead of turning into a tank like the Tornado II, it transforms into that cool robot I created when I first awakened my powers!" he said with joy. "So, what do you guys think?" he asked them.
"Little bro, you outdone yourself this time!" Sonic cheered, jumping and landing over the plane's left wing. "I mean, my Tornado is cool and all, but the ones you made by yourself are amazing! And this promises to be the definitive one so far!" he complimented with pride.
"I'll usually argue that I don't get your stuff, young man... but this is beyond amazing!" Knuckles said with a smirk, as he climbed up to stand over the plane's right wing. "Is it ready yet?" he asked.
"I wouldn't be presenting it to you if it wasn't!" Tails pointed out with a smirk as well. "Wanna take it out for a ride?" he asked back.
"I would be offended if we weren't!" Sonic replied with a smile.
And so, Tails putted on a pilot hat with pilot googles before turning on the Tornado IV. The engine began to roar, and the propeller spin fast enough. However, unlike the other tornados, this ons elevated on its place instead of going forward, and the wheels retracted to hide inside the flying vehicle.
"Okay... this is new..." Sonic pointed out.
"One of the new few things I added to this baby!" Tails said with a proud smile.
Then, the plane started to move in the air, making a loop before boosting away.
Several hours later, the sun was setting on the horizon, and Tails discussed his plan with Sonic and Knuckles.
"Sounds good to me, little bro!" Sonic said with his thumbs up. "You really thought on everything, didn't you?" he asked him rhetorically.
"You know me way too well!" Tails replied with a smile.
Knuckles, however, saw something that made him frown. "Ah shoot! Discord has the rest encaged!" he pointed out with the spikes of his fists.
Sonic and Tails looked at that too, and Sonic frowned as well. "Thank Chaos he's distracted, because I can finally do this!" he stated, before charging up his Spindash with his electrical powers and then boosting towards the draconequus.
He crashed on his face, and then landed back on the Tornado IV with a smirk.
"God, I feel so relieved now that I caught him off-guard!" Sonic stated happily.
"What the–– WHO DID THAT?!" Discord shouted in anger, with fire forming on his eyes.
However, as he looked around, he didn't noticed Knuckles coming at him, and so, he ended up punched on his stomach by the echidna, who smirked with joy after he finally could strike a punch on the draconequus.
"Oh, I was dying to do that to you, old man!" Knuckles stated, before landing over some kind of yellow wing.
Discord putted his hands over his stomach and looked around with a frown, but then his eyes literally came out of his body, and he screamed like a little filly when he saw something coming right at him.
The Mane 5 inside the cage felt confused by Discord's sudden change of attitude, and were also wondering who attacked him.
"Uh, what's going on?" Hitch questioned confused.
"Why did Discord just screamed like a filly?" Zipp asked startled.
"Uh... guys?" Pipp called out with wide eyes. "P-Perhaps you wanna take a look at this..." she added, pointing at something outside of the cage.
The others looked on the direction she was pointing at, and their eyes also widened in surprise: Tails piloting the Tornado IV, with Sonic and Knuckles standing over the wings with their electrical powers charged up.
"Get him, boys!" Sonic instructed with a confident smirk.
Knuckles glided down of the plane and tried to punch Discord again, but the draconequus dodged the attack this time. However, he couldn't even cheer, because he was kicked in the back by Sonic. Then, Knuckles landed on a rock and used to impulse himself back at Discord and strike a critical hit right over his head.
Then, Sonic and Knuckles grabbed crossed their right arms over one of the ropes holding the cage and started to punch and kick Discord with their electrical powers combined multiple times.
Eventually, Knuckles stroke a punch so hard that he sent Discord towards the mountain, making the old draconequus traverse the rock structure entirely.
Then, Sonic pulled out a strange device from his quills. "Guys, wherever you are, duck down" he instructed.
After that, he placed the device over the cage, and the device shoot a hook that attached to the ceiling of the cage from the lower part, while the higher one created a circular structure with a hole.
Knuckles pulled out a wire with double hook, one on each extreme. He attached one of the hooks to the device on the cage, then pulled out another device where he placed the hook on the same hole, and then he launched that second device to the Tornado IV's lower part, where it attached equally.
After that, both Sonic and Knuckles grabbed the two strings at the cage's sides and used their electrical powers to cut them off. Then, Tails flew over one of the mountains and carefully placed the cage with the Mane 5 on the ground.
Once safe, Knuckles literally ripped off one of the cages sides, while Tails landed the Tornado IV near them and then got close them, also launching the pilot hat to the pilot's seat.
However, as the Mane 5 got out of the cage, Discord traversed the ground with rage, and looked with his eyes turned into fire at Team Sonic and the Mane 5.
"This is the last time you interfere with my plans, little pests!" Discord stated with anger. "I'm destroying the Pegasus Crystal, and that's final!" he added.
"Not if we can reach the basaltic caves first!" Sonic challenged with a confident smirk.
Discord looked at him confused at first, but then he grinned when he got what was Sonic's game. "What, are you challenging me?" he asked.
Sonic's smirk and electrical powers grew bigger, and as the draconequus and the hedgehog stared at each other, the others felt the tension in the air.
"Oh, I'm challenging you, Sir Lord of Chaos" Sonic replied in a mocking tone.
"You're entering on dangerous arena, Sonic. You sure you wanna make a deal with the devil?" Discord asked in a mocking tone as well.
"Wouldn't be the first time I kick the devil's fat ass, and it sure won't be the last" Sonic replied confidently.
"Big talk for a little hedgehog" Discord pointed out.
"I think you'll find I'm average height" Sonic continued to challenge.
After Sonic said that last line, Sunny's eyes widened: that was exactly the same thing she told Alphabittle back when they tried to win the Unicorn Crystal. She always thought that Sonic never heard that, but today, he proved her wrong without knowing it, and she couldn't help but smile at him.
Discord, however, stared deeply on Sonic's eyes, trying to find something, anything that could help him get the higher hoof... but all he saw was an unbreakable spirit, one that was willing to go as far as he could if that meant he could recover the Pegasus Crystal... and maybe even get some answers about the last Chaos Emerald.
"Alright then, Sonic" Discord stated, before snapping his finger and disappearing. "May the best competitor win" his voice echoed, and then, he disappeared entirely.
Once Discord was gone, Sonic sighed relieved, with his powers calming down as well.
However, he was suddenly wrapped on a big hug by Pipp, who nuzzled against his chest as Sonic's entire face turned red.
"Huh... didn't expected you of all people to stand up like that, hedgehog" Zipp said with a mocking smirk.
"Yeah, that was really impressive!" Hitch added with a smile. "Didn't knew you could pull off such a dear like that one!" he confessed.
"Thanks for saving us!" Pipp said, now looking at Sonic in the eyes in a lovely way, while his blush increased, and then, Pipp turned to see Tails and Knuckles as well. "To all of you" she added with a smile.
"Helping is our job!" Tails replied with a smile, also scratching his neck a bit.
"Besides, is not like we were gonna leave you hanging in there. Literally" Knuckles pointed out with a smirk.
"And all thanks to Tails' little plan!" Sonic added with a smirk, as Pipp finally separated from him.
"Oh, so the young man planned this out, huh?" Zipp said in a mocking tone, while Tails blushed, cleared his throat, and looked away nervously. "Thanks to the three of you, anyways. Is not like we could have come with a plan to get out of there, anyways" she pointed out.
"Well, waiting around until Discord came back technically is still a plan" Izzy pointed out, also rubbing her chin. "But it's not a very good one because if Discord did came back, it'll mean he already destroyed the Crystal" she added with a concerned tone.
However, soon enough, the group heard sobs, and they all turned to see Sunny, who was crying a lot in sadness as tears fell from her eyes. Hitch immediately moved to her side by instinct, while the others felt their ears falling flat as they felt bad for Sunny.
"Ssh... It's alright now, Sunny... We're here with you..." Hitch said, as he wrapped a hoof around his best friend, while Sunny buried her face on his chest.
"A-All I wanted to do was bring magic back to Equestria... I-I thought it would make things right..." Sunny said in sadness, as tears kept falling from her eyes, while Hitch rubbed her back with his hoof. "B-But all it's done is make us fight and argue about everything... T-That's why we ended up trapped in that cage..." she pointed out with concern and sadness.
Nobody said anything for a while, but as everyone else just felt sad for Sunny's words, Sonic frowned and stepped closer, before kneeling in front of her.
"Sunny, I don't know if you noticed, but having magic around Equestria is what changed everything, don't you see?" Sonic told her, now smiling a bit. "Everyone's being busy trying to figure out what magic means for themselves, even us, and we never stopped to consider for just a tiny second what it means for all ponykind" he pointed out.
"... I think Sonic is right..." Izzy spoke, as she also approached Sunny. "That's why it can sometimes fell like our magic is dividing us. And it's not that it makes me angry or want to fight with everypony... It's that it scares me..." she explained with a sad smile.
"And yet, I doubt things have to be this way" Sonic added, now looking at the ground with sadness. "Everything I did so far was out of fear... Confronting Discord on my own, hating so much on him, refusing to wait anymore for more clues... I only acted like that because I was scared of what he could do with chaos..." he explained with concern, before looking back at Sunny, and put on his iconic smirk. "But not anymore. It doesn't have to be that way, and even if Discord is still doing the wrong thing, I understand now that he has no bad intentions. Yet, we still have to stop him" he pointed out, now standing up and staring down at Sunny.
"Is true..." Izzy added with a more happy smile now. "If we all come together, nopony will feel left behind" she pointed out, and then she placed her hoofs on Sunny's cheeks, while Hitch let her go, now smiling at everything Sonic and Izzy have said so far. "You're the one who can bring us together, Sunny" she finished with a big smile.
"After all, you already did" Sonic added with a smile, also winking at her.
Sunny smiled after hearing all of that and dried her tears. "Discord was right in one thing at least... Even with everything that's happened, you two always see the best in others..." she said with a smile.
"I guess it's part of our charm!" Sonic said in a mocking tone.
Sunny giggled after hearing, that, and then, she gasped in realization of something. "Wait! That's it! I know exactly how to get that Crystal back from Discord now!" she said suddenly with a huge smile.
"Serious question: Does it involves fighting? Because that old man still didn't got the last of us!" Knuckles asked with an excited smirk.
"Actually, it does!" Sunny replied with a little grin.
Later on, Discord admired the lava at the edge with the Pegasus Crystal on his lion hand.
"It seems like I won this race, Sonic" Discord said with a grin. "Now, is the time to make things right! For Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies to come together in peace, without magic or the belief that any one species is better than another" he declared, now dangling the Crystal over the lava. "I’ll always protect the Equestria you believed in…. Fluttershy..." he added in a slightly sad tone.
However, just when Discord was about to drop the Pegasus Crystal, it levitated back over his hand, which surprised and irritated Discord, since he got a twitchy eye. So, he turned to the other side of the edge and saw the Mane 5, with Sunny bringing out her horn to levitate the Pegasus Crystal away from him.
"Time to give the Crystal back!" Sunny stated with a frown, although she was struggling to use her horn.
"If it’s magic you’ve come for… you’ll have to be part of the show!" Discord replied, as he snapped his talons and putted Sunny in a cut-out magician box, that split her in half while Reginald Fursome and a squirrel separated her.
Zipp glared at Discord and pointed a hoof at him. "We’re not interested in joining your act today, Discord" she called out with anger.
"RAAGH!" Discord yelled out, as he extended his arms and went to grab Zipp and Pipp, while Izzy and Hitch took cover.
"Ahhh, Zipp!" Pipp cried out with tears on her eyes.
"I’ve got you!" Zipp shouted, as she grabbed Pipp and tried to run away. Unfortunately, the two sisters didn’t get far, because Discord's talon got them. "Ahhh!" Zipp cried out, while Discord pushed them to another section of the cave. "Put us down!" she demanded, while Discord dropped them on a stone as they landed with a thunk, right in the middle of the lava. "I didn’t mean here!" she yelled out, while Discord's talon retracted away from them.
"Where is here?" Pipp said in fright as she looked around at the lava surrounding them.
However, they soon heard a strange sound behind them...
Back with Discord and the remaining Mane 5, Discord retracted his talon and looked down at Reginald, who give him back the Pegasus Crystal.
"Thank you, Reginald" Discord thanked with a smile, taking back the Pegasus Crystal.
Suddenly, however, he was surrounded by bunnies, that were trying to get the Pegasus Crystal. Discord just gave a sigh, not bothered by it, before looking at Hitch, who was glaring at the Lord of Chaos. Hitch probably found the bunnies nearby and asked their help to recover the Crystal, but of course, it seems like it's not working.
"Oh, to be young and believe you are invisible…" Discord started, but then he snapped his fingers at Hitch, putting him and the bunnies over a rock that was floating in the lava. "...It’s a real kick to the ego when reality finally sets in" he added.
"Hold on!" Hitch yelled out to the bunnies, as they huddled close to avoid getting hit by the lava.
After that, he walked towards Sunny and gave her a small smirk in victory, while Sunny glared daggers at Discord.
"But surely you would have known your failing magic could never best mine" Discord taunted Sunny, twirling the Pegasus Crystal on his finger.
"It was never meant to" Sunny said with a grin, which made Discord confused.
And so, the ground started to rumble all of a sudden.
"What the––" Discord exclaimed startled.
However, the draconequus didn't managed to finish his sentence, because he was hit in the face really hard by Knuckles, who came off the ground and stroke a punch right on his face, which sent Discord backwards as he fell to the ground, while he also dropped the Pegasus Crystal at the same time.
The Crystal flew in the air, before a yellow blur passed by and grabbed it.
At the same time, Discord stood up and shook his head, before looking up with a frown and glare at Tails, who was flying in the air as he held the Pegasus Crystal in a hand.
"Looking for something, old man?" Tails asked in a mocking tone.
Discord prepared to snap his fingers again, but then, Knuckles suddenly grabbed him by his tail, and smashed to the other side in one single move, making the draconequus groan in pain.
"I've been waiting the whole arc for a good battle!" Knuckles declared with a huge grin.
Discord, however stood up faster than before and glared at Knuckles with fire on his eyes. Yet, the echidna didn't felt intimidated by the draconequus, as he charged against him with a warrior crime.
So, the Lord of Chaos snapped his fingers multiple times, making a bunch of rocks appear so they could fall over Knuckles and crush him. However, what happened in the end was that Knuckles traversed every single rock that was thrown at him, all thanks to his super strength and his electrical powers.
Izzy was watching him moving, and she felt her entire face blushing, as well as her eyes, sparkling as she looked at Knuckled moving in action against Discord.
After that, he charged up his left fist and tried to punch Discord, but the draconequus managed to move aside... and yet, Knuckles moved his right hand instead, hitting Discord's crotch in the process.
"Ugh!" Discord shouted in pain, as he feel on his knees and placed his hands over his crotch, since Knuckles clearly hit something painful.
After that, Knuckles punched Discord's stomach, then kicked his neck, and finally, he sent Discord backwards with a massive punch on his face, that caused the draconequus to crash against some rocks formed like pillars.
Discord landed in the ground again, but he groaned in pure rage, and turned around with his eyes turned in literal fire. However, he felt very confused when Knuckles wasn't there anymore.
"Surprise, motherf$*%#^!" a voice shouted from behind him.
Discord barely turned around, just to get a kick on his face by Sonic, who soon landed on the ground as he looked at the old draconequus with a smirk.
Discord groaned again, and he look at Sonic with rage. "Why do you keep getting in my way, little pest?!" he shouted in anger.
"Because I can, because it's fun, but most importantly..." Sonic started, before launching himself against Discord in a Spindash.
Discord smirked and moved aside to dodge the attack. But then, some kind of portal with the shape of a ring opened right below him, and so, Sonic smashed his head with his Spindash, making Discord groan in pain and anger as he grabbed his head and rubbed it, while Sonic landed a few meters away and frowned at him.
"Because you messed up with my friends. And I won't let that slip" Sonic stated with anger, as his electrical powers showed up.
"Grr! I'll make you pay for that, Hedgehog!" Discord announced, as he launched himself against Sonic.
Sonic smirked and launched as well, but just when they were about to crash against each other, Sonic ducked down and slide below Discord, just to stop and grab his tail, while the Lord of Chaos fell to the ground with a thud and a painful grunt. And then, Sonic started to spin the draconequus around, making Discord crash against the rocks and the walls of the Basaltic Caves, while Discord himself grunted in pain as he was being smashed across the caves.
Meanwhile, Izzy and Sunny were amazed but how Sonic was moving the Lord of Chaos himself, and while Sunny would feel mad that Sonic needed to be so violent, she also understood that Discord himself kind of asked for it, so she allowed herself to be impressed.
On the other hand, Tails opened one of those portals with the shape of a ring behind Sunny and Izzy, as Zipp and Pipp traversed it confused, while other one appeared for Hitch and the bunnies.
"What are these things?" Zipp asked confused, after the portals closed.
"Warp rings" Knuckles replied. "Ancient artifacts from the Owl tribe that open portal to any point on the current universe" he explained. "We have plenty of those, but we never thought they'll be necessary... until now, that is" he added with anger.
Finally, Sonic let go Discord, launching him towards a wall, and the draconequus crashed on his back, grunting in pain once again.
Once in the ground, Discord roared in pure rage, and so, he extended his arms again to grab both Sonic and Knuckles, smashing them against a wall as well. After that, Discord moved both heroes and smashed them on the ground, leaving them all weakened in there.
With Sonic and Knuckles out, Discord turned his head upwards and grinned sinisterly at the remaining member of Team Sonic. "Is just you and I, little fox" he stated, snapping his fingers and making the Pegasus Crystal appear on his hand again.
However, and to Discord's surprise, Tails grinned back with confidence. "Wrong! Is just you..." he started, pressing a button on his watch, and making at least 39 copies of himself appear around the draconequus. "... and us!" all the Tails' copies, as well as the original, said in unison.
The Mane 5's jaws fell to the floor after Tails pulled that trick out, but Zipp felt her eyes sparkling and her face heating up as she saw 40 Tails in the cave.
Sonic and Knuckles, who were still on the ground and suffering in pain, stood on their knees and smirked weakly at Tails. "W-Way to go, little bro..." Sonic said happily, but still in pain at the same time.
"G-Good job, kiddo..." Knuckles said with his thumbs up, but coughing in pain soon afterwards.
Then, all the Tails' copies in the cave created a yellow electrical lasso with their watches, and they all tied up Discord on his entire body, even his fingers so he could not snap and escape away.
Reginald and the squirrel tried to do something, but Hitch and Zipp stepped in front of them and glared daggers at them, scaring the two critters and making them step back with sheepish smiles.
With Discord tied up, it was time for the final phase of the plan. "Now, Izzy!" both Sunny and Tails yelled out to their unicorn friend.
Izzy nodded and stepped forward, stopping in front of Discord with a smirk, that soon changed to her cheerful tone. "You got a voicemail!" she said happily, now levitating Pipp's phone in front of him and playing a video on it.
Discord felt surprised when he saw the recording, since it showed somepony that he hasn’t seen in a very long time. It was none other than Fluttershy, and her message she left for him so long ago.
"Hello, is this thing working? Discord… Listen closely because this is something you need to hear…" Fluttershy said on the recording.
Discord shook his head at the sight of seeing Fluttershy's image, and he turned his head away from the phone. "I can’t see this again. I can’t see her. Please don’t make me watch!" he begged with panic and terror.
"And stop rolling your eyes at me like that! I know you are because I know you better than anypony else" Fluttershy said again, while the recording continues.
"Oh, no! You won't escape this!" the original Tails, the only one that wasn't tying him up, said with a frown, as he moved over and grabbed Discord's head, before moving it against his will to face the recording again.
"You need to hear it" Izzy said with a sympathy expression.
"Which is why I can tell you how hard it’s been for you to let go of the pain caused by these magical divides. I’m creating this message for you in the hopes that every time you feel overwhelmed, you can listen back and remind yourself why anger is not the answer..." Fluttershy explained in the recording.
After Discord started to cry, Tails decided to let go his face, and by pressing a button on his watch, all of his clones vanished in the air, letting the draconequus go entirely, while Discord himself held the phone close to him as he listened to Fluttershy's message.
"Our magic does make us different… and that’s something we should embrace… Both in ourselves and in others. Our powers let us be the best versions of ourselves. I mean, who would Rainbow Dash be if she couldn’t fly?" Fluttershy said, while her spirit suddenly hugs and smiles at Discord over his head, something that made Discord's tears fall even faster. "And yes, our powers might threaten some ponies, but if we’re able to use what makes us special in unity, I know we can create the Equestria we always dreamed of. Lead with your heart, Discord. It will always show you the way" the recording finished.
Discord looked at Fluttershy, finally having second thoughts over everything he's doing. "That was a long time ago. Fluttershy hadn’t even experienced the worst of it when she recorded that message" he said, still willing to keep going with his plan if necessary.
"But she would say the same thing if she were here right now" Izzy pointed out at him. "I’m not saying I've never felt left behind... But mistakes happen. My friends showed up for me today when I really counted. And we got all the way here because we know that what makes us special alone makes us even more powerful together" she added.
"Unity and friendship aren't an easy thing, true..." Tails stepped in as well. "But isn't the fact that we remain together what matters at the end of the day? Fluttershy always believed that we could all live together without a care about 'talents' or 'special magic'. She only wanted to live in peace and harmony, and I know you want that too... But magic isn't the problem. Is that ponies are scared of staying together because they're afraid of their own magic. So, you can choose to live in fear... or you can choose friendship" he finished with a smile.
Discord analyzed everything that Izzy Tails told him, looking looked at the Pegasus Crystal and wondering what Fluttershy would think about his idea of unity if she was still here. The answer came faster than he expected, because it was pretty clear: She'll be pretty disappointed on him, and beyond furious on his decision as well.
So, with a last glance at the Crystal, he extended it to them. "Take it" Discord said, finally making the right choice.
Izzy and Tails were surprised by Discord's choice, but Izzy took the Pegasus Crystal back in her hoof, smiling at Discord.
"Thank you" Izzy thanked with a smile as she placed a hoof on Discord's arm, while Reginald and the squirrel gave Discord a comforting touch. "We promise you we'll honor Fluttershy and create the Equestria you always wanted it to be" she assured to him.
"One where everypony and draconequus belongs!" Sunny cheered with a smile, while her lower half kicked in joy, even when she was still split in half.
Discord sighed happily to himself, still feeling Fluttershy's spirit as a butterfly stood on one of his horns.
Soon enough, Sonic and Knuckles joined them, with Pipp and Zipp helping Sonic to stand up, while Hitch helped Knuckles, since both Team Sonic members were still feeling in pain because of how hard Discord smashed them against the ground.
Once Discord saw them, he looked at them with shame on himself. "I owe an apology to you two for what I did earlier... But Sonic? I owe you a bigger apology for everything I said to you..." he apologized. "I... I actually have no idea of when the Emerald you are looking for is... And I'm sorry I made you struggle so badly for nothing..." he confessed with shame.
Of course, Sonic felt both anger and disappointment after Discord confessed that... but he still smirked at him.
"Eh... It's fine. Is not like we want to leave yet, anyways" Sonic assured. "Besides, I'm pretty sure that we'll get to it sooner or later. There's no rush..." he added with a mocking tone.
"Except that we still have to deal with Eggman and get him the hell outta here..." Knuckles pointed out with a bored expression.
"Discord, please make me a favor and turn him into a Donkey if he says more bullshit during wholesome moments" Sonic said with a frown towards Knuckles, who's jaw dropped after Sonic said that.
"Hey!" Knuckles complained.
Everyone else just bursted out laughing at that, even Discord himself.
A little bit later, after Discord fixed Sunny back, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic returned to the Brighthouse, with Cloudpuff now joining them.
They were at the Crystal Room in the top, where the Unity Crystals should go, as the Mane 5 but Sunny either stomped their hooves on the floor, while Team Sonic played actual drumrolls with huge smirks.
"We’ve got the drumrolls going, so it must be time" Sunny said with a smile as she held up the Pegasus Crystal.
Soon enough, she reunited the Unity Crystals, as they gave a big glow before shooting a rainbow up into the sky, once again spreading all magic back to Equestria.
The five ponies felt their magic returned, with Hitch hooves glowing, Pipp and Zipp wings glowing while Pipp took fight and recorded the whole thing on her phone with a wide smile, Izzy's horn glowing too and Sunny's alicorn magic now stable, as she took flight between Zipp and Hitch, while Cloudpuff barked happily on Hitch's hooves.
"Look at all the bright, shiny colors!" Izzy cheered.
"So this is how magic returning looks like..." Knuckles said with a smirk.
"You were right Sonic. It is beautiful!" Tails confessed with a smile.
As Sonic only nodded, the entire Team Sonic grinned at each other, and then...
"Nailed it!" the three of them cheered, as they fist bumped together with huge smiles.
In Maretime Bay, the ponies felt their magic returning as well as the rainbow was shining all over Equestria, with the ponies enjoying their recently returned magic.
"The sky is once again the limit!" the red pegasus stallion said happily as he flew to the air.
"Race you there!" The pink pegasus mare cheered to her friend as they flew through the air.
"Oh, how I’ve missed you, my silky, smooth mane!" the unicorn stallion said happily, using his magic to restore his mane.
Sometime later, Sunny placed a new photo frame with a picture of her and her friends, along with Discord with them, at the ruins of Canterlot with a new sign that says 'Welcome to Canterlot', and she placed the group photo on her nigh stand, right beside the picture of her and her father.
Sunny stood back as she felt her father's presence behind her as they looked at the picture together.
"And so long as you make sure no earth pony, pegasus, or unicorn ever feels lesser than because of who they are, Canterlot will always be your home..." Argyle’s voice echoed through Sunny as she gave a smile at her father’s words.
"I did it, Dad. I made it to Canterlot" Sunny said with a smile as she touched the picture of her and her father.
Soon, Izzy joined her, along with Tails and Knuckles, as Izzy ate a snack piece that fell out from the frame. "Reginald did a great job with the frame! And now you can always grab a snack on your way out the door" she said happily.
"Is that even healthy?" Knuckles asked to Tails in a whisper.
"No, but this is Izzy we're talking about" Tails pointed out with a smile. "No matter how dangerous or deadly something is, she simply survives because she's built different" he added.
Sunny, however, still felt guilty about something, and so, she looked at Izzy with shame on herself. "I owe you an apology, Izzy. You were right. When magic came back, I was so excited about my powers that I let it get in the way of our friendship. That wasn’t fair to you" she apologized. "I know it will take time, but I hope one day I can earn your trust back" she added, rubbing her right hoof nervously.
"You can’t" Izzy said, before smiling and pulling Sunny into a hug. "Because you never lost it" she finished, while Sunny smiled and returned the hug.
However, once they broke the hug, Sunny turned to Tails and Knuckles, and suddenly pulled them into a hug as well, startling the two of them as they looked at each other confused.
"I also should apologize with you two" Sunny said. "You two were only trying to protect Izzy, and... we were so afraid of loosing our magic that we never stopped to consider how the rest were feeling... not even you, guys..." she pointed out with concern.
Both Tails And Knuckles smiled, and they returned the hug. "Don't worry, Sunny. We're not mad... Not anymore, at least" Tails said cheerfully.
"Just try not to let your cool Alicorn powers to get over you again, alright?" Knuckles stated in a mocking tone.
Sunny giggled, before braking the hug and nodding at them.
Suddenly, Zipp appeared through a window of the bedroom. "If you’re done chatting in here, we've got a game to play!" she called out with a smile.
Later on, the Mane 5, Tails, Knuckles, Discord, Reginald Fursome, the squirrel and Hitch's animal crew reunited in a circle, with Zipp sitting over the board with the rules of the new game, while Pipp pulled out her phone to record the game.
"The rules of Power-Pass are simple. There are two teams and two nets" Zipp started to explain. "The goal is for each team to get the ball through the other team's net" she added. "All magic is allowed on the field, but you’ve got to pass to each player on your team before getting the ball in the net. If not, your goal doesn’t count" she finished.
A later on, the Mane 5, Discord, his critter's comrades and Team Sonic were playing the game together. Izzy levitated the ball over Sunny as she hopped along, while Zipp tried to catch the ball. However, Discord appeared through a portal and snatched the ball from Izzy, giving her a mocking face as her disappeared through another portal, right before Zipp could catch him.
After that, he appeared on the ground and ran out with a smile, as he tossed the ball to Reginald, who then passed it to the squirrel. Both Tails, Knuckles and Zipp rushed to try and catch the ball back, while Hitch and his animal crew were next to their team's net, as he got ready and tried to catch the ball.
The squirrel kicked the ball into the net, and unfortunately, Hitch missed his block, so the squirrel scored a point.
"AW!" Hitch groaned in frustration.
Pipp and Zipp were flying in the air, and Pipp looked at Zipp with a smile, still livestreaming the whole thing on her phone. "The score’s ten to five now. No way we’re winning this" Pipp said to her sister with a playful smile.
"They might win the game, but we all know who pulled the best trick today" Zipp said with a confident smirk, looking back at Pipp.
"You saw my double air kick?" Pipp asked her sister with a smile.
"I was talking about me. I came up with this ingenious game" Zipp pointed out playfully.
"You heard it here first. Zipp’s ego is now ten times as big as it was when this whole thing started. And that’s not the only thing that’s changed in Equestria. It’s definitely been an adventure for the books" Pipp said to her followers with a mocking smirk, shacking her head in disbelief at Zipp's attitude, before turning around the camera of her phone and smile at her followers. "Thanks for coming along for the ride, Pippsqueaks. Until next time. Pipp, Pipp, hooray!" she cheered with a warm smile, as she ended her livestream with a final text that said '#TheEnd' on it.
However, as she pulled her phone away and decided to return to the game, she noticed in the corner of her eye that Sonic was sitting over a hill, looking at the horizon while holding the Blue Chaos Emerald on his hand.
She'll usually just approach to check how's he doing, or what is he doing, but she felt like Sonic wanted to be alone for now, so she smiled sadly to respect his decision, and then flew back to the game.
Sonic, on the other hand, still had thousands of questions on his head. It was clear to him now that Discord wouldn't answer his questions, and that his search for the last Chaos Emerald was going to be longer than he ever expected.
"Longclaw..." Sonic muttered, still holding the Blue Chaos Emerald. "What would you do?" he questioned with worry, closing his eyes.
However, the Chaos Emerald soon glowed a bit on his hand, but Sonic didn't noticed it, yet he could feel it's power...
"... Stay strong, my dear Sonic..." Longclaw's voice suddenly echoed on his mind.
Sonic opened his eyes widely, and looked at the Chaos Emerald on disbelief, that was still glowing and... talking with him.
Sonic felt a tear rolling down his cheek at the sound of Longclaw's voice, since he haven't hear it in years, but he still smiled and looked back at the horizon, not even bothering to dry his tears away.
"Right... I'll just do that. Just like you taught me... Mom..." Sonic muttered to himself with a sad smile.
THE END...?