Pipp had a golden strike on her mane, a mix of purple and golden glitter on her legs, yellow eye shadows, a golden stripe on her wings, and a purple musical note painted on her hooves.

Sunny had light blue eye shadows, a mix of light blue and yellow glitter on her legs, and sun rays painted on her hooves.

Izzy had purple strikes and sparkles on her mane, green eye shadows, pink and green glittered legs, and three Bridlewood crystals painted on her hooves.

Zipp had a mix of pink and aquamarine eye shadows, the same colors of glitter on her legs, more light blue stripes painted on her mane than usual, light blue fully painted hooves, a pink stripe on her wings, and a white lightning painted over them.

Finally, Hitch had pink eye shadows, a pink stripe on his mane, a fully pink-painted tail, green and pink glittered legs, and he was planning to put purple stars on his hooves.

"Okay, so I saw this one look in the magic mirror that screamed, 'Sheriff on the Town'!" Hitch told Jazz with a smile, as he approached her. "Can you do the hoof stars?" he asked her.

"Only if you plan on showing them off on the dancefloor tonight!" Jazz replied with a smirk.

"This is going to be the best Manesquerade Ball ever!" Pipp stated with a smile.

"I can't bel-izzle we're invited to the most glamouriffic event in Zephyr Heights!" Izzy cheered with a smile, as she held some letters on her hoof.

"Just wait until everypony at the ball sees the Unity Dance I choreographed for us!" Sunny told Zipp with a smile, even though the pegasus didn't seemed to excited about all of this.

"Um, excuse me, Jazz?" Izzy called out, as she at on a chair, while Jazz gave Hitch the stars he requested. "Can you do a glitter topcoat on my horn?!" Izzy asked with excitement.

"You know how we do!" Jazz replied with a smile, as she went over and grabbed a purple bottle with spray.

Then, she sprayed Izzy's horn with green glitter as she hummed to herself, and once she was done, Rocky came by and gasped at her work.

Then, Jazz gave Izzy a mirror so she could see her horn, now glowing with green stripes, and it made Izzy gasp. "It's everything!" she cheered with glee.

Just then, Team Sonic entered to the salon, but they all looked terrible: The tree of them seemed to have dust and dirt around their bodies, Tails had a tail covered with bandages, Sonic had a small burn on his left arm, and Knuckles' longest quills were now short.

"We made it!" Sonic said with an awkward smile and a twitchy eye. "It took us ten minutes, a fight with Eggman, and waste the Fire Flower power-up... But we made it!" he added, while Tails groaned and fell facewards to the ground.

Everyone else gasped in horror at how they were looking, and both Pipp and Izzy immediately rushed to check on their boyfriends, while Sunny came by and helped Tails to get up, as the young fox shook and grabbed his head.

"For the love of... What happened to you?!" Izzy asked with concern, as she looked terrified at what happened to Knuckles' quills.

"Is this a burn?!" Pipp asked in panic, looking at the small burn on Sonic's left arm, and all he could do was chuckle sheepishly.

"How did you guys ended up like this?" Hitch asked with concern, as he approached Knuckles.

"Well, it's a long story..." Knuckles said with a frown as he putted his fists on his hips and looked at the ceiling.

The fight actually started near Maretime Bay, but they all eventually started to lead the fight so far that ended up inside the volcano.

Suddenly, we see that Sonic and Knuckles are constantly Spindashing against the machine, while Tails keeps it in place with several clones using electrical yellow lassos from their watches.

Suddenly, we see the Egg Emperor bouncing Sonic like a basketball, which made the hedgehog groan in pain as he constantly booted as a ball between the ground and the Egg Emperor's sword.

Then, we see Knuckles constantly punching the the Egg Emperor, while the machine tries to protect with the shield.

Next, we see the Egg beater on the floor covering it's face, while Sonic, Tails and Knuckles are all kicking it all around with multiple clones of themselves.

Finally, with the machine defeated, the discovered that it was just another decoy, which made them all deadpan.

Then, Tails brought out the Fire Flower and used it, turning his yellow fur into red, while his shoes turned fully white with a yellow zone, and then he made a fireball appear from his hand.

The next thing we know? Team Sonic was screaming as they all flew in the air, because Tails used the fireball to burn down the Egg Emperor, which made it explode.

The trio landed facewards on Maretime Bay's beach, and the crash made Tails loose the power-up, since his fur and shoes went back to normal.

Then, the three of them stood up with groans of pain and looked ahead with bored expressions.

Back in the present, Team Sonic still had bored expressions, standing in the same positions than when they stood on the beach.

"Aww, you poor thing!" Izzy said with a sad expression, while hugging and nuzzling her cheek with his boyfriend's. "I can't believe that Eggman guy did this to you!" she said with a frown, before kissing Knuckles' nose lovely.

"Well, I would say it was actually Tails' fault..." Sonic tried to say, but then Tails looked at him in disbelief while raising his hands confused. "... But I was the one who suggested to use the Fire Flower, so... Yeah, this is kind of my fault..." he confessed with his arms crossed and a bored expression, while Pipp came by and applied a towel on his face.

"Well, he finally admits it!" Tails said with a frown, before Sunny grabbed his face with a hoof and started to clean him up as well.

Meanwhile, Jazz and Rocky were finishing fixing Zipp's mane, much for her eternal disgrace and annoyance. "Uh, you don't really have to" she told them with an awkward smile.

"You are going to the Zephyr Heights Manesquerade Ball!" Jazz pointed out excited, while Rocky nodded in agreement. "Everypony that attends always looks beyond" she added with a smile.

"True..." Zipp recognized, as she then waved her hoof so both Jazz and Rocky would stop fixing her mane. "But shouldn't you two be getting ready, then?" she asked them with a smirk.

"Yes, you!" Pipp said happily, as she got in front of them and pulled out two invitation cards. "You're invited!" she sang with a smile.

"I don't know, but it's gotta be beyond!" Jazz stated, while placing her hooves on Rocky's shoulders.

"Beyond, beyond!" Rocky said, as he and Jazz grabbed their hooves and squealed excited, before entering the backstage.

As they did so, Sunny checked herself on the mirror, before smiling and look at her friends. "Alright, selfie time!" she declared excited, as she gathered with Izzy, Pipp, Hitch and Sparky.

At this, Team Sonic got off the way, while Zipp brought out her phone and took the selfie.

"'Too much'? Izz, Izz, Izz, it's a big deal to be invited!" Pipp pointed out with a smile.

"Wow, I guess we're gonna need more glitter then!" Izzy stated with a confident look.

Then, Jazz and Rocky came back, with Jazz holding a bunch of things on her hoof. "How do we choose our looks?!" Jazz asked in panic.

"Easy! The only dress code is to wear what makes you feel fancy!" Pipp replied, as she grabbed a tiara from the stuff Jazz brought and putted it on.

"And you have to wear a mask!" Zipp added, as she brought out a one-eye mask that looked exactly like her Cutie Mark, but with a wing at the left side.

"The Manesquerade is the place to see and be seen, by ponies you can't recognize who don't know who they are seeing!" Pipp explained him with a smile.

However, it didn't took long for Sunny to notice that Team Sonic not only were not ready, but they didn't even tried to prepare, as Sonic gave Tails an apple and he putted it on his mouth, while Knuckle started to remove Tails' bandages on his tail.

"One sec, Sunny-Bunny..." Sonic replied, as he hugged Tails while Knuckles checked the fox's tail, that seemed a bit broken.

"Alright, here I go..." Knuckles announced, as he shared a quick look with Sonic, while the hedgehog nodded at him. "One, two..." he started.

After that, he fixed Tails' tail back to its position, but that made Tails had to hold a scream of agony and pain because of the apple, even though everyone watching did cringed, with Zipp and Sunny even covering their hooves, feeling concerned about him.

After a few minutes, Tails let go the apple and sighed in relief, while carefully touching the tail Knuckles just fixed.

"Man... Last time it broke it didn't hurt like this..." Tails said with sadness, wiping some tears that he let out because of the pain.

"Because last time, your powers awakened and fixed it for you" Sonic pointed out to him with an awkward smile. "But don't worry, next time we see Eggman, we'll kick him on the eggs!" he assured with a smile and wink, and Tails smiled back at him for saying that. "Anyways, what did you asked, Sunny?" he asked her.

"That if you guys are not preparing for the Manesquerade Ball?" Sunny asked again, this time more calmed.

"Oh, that..." Sonic said with a cringed expression. "Yeah, heheheh... Look, um... The boys and I were talking, and..." he started with hesitation.

"The entire concept of the Ball gets fucked up because of us..." Knuckles said with a bored expression, while pointing at himself, Sonic and Tails.

"... There was a thousand other ways you could have phrased that, but... Yeah, we kind of don't know if we should go..." Tails said with a sheepish smile. "I mean... Look at us! We're the only anthropomorphic creatures in Equestria!" he pointed out.

"Wait, hang on... You guys think you shouldn't go because the point of using masks gets lost with you three?" Zipp asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah... It's not that we don't want to go, but this..." Sonic said, as he pointed at himself with his hands. "T-This doesn't work..." he pointed out.

"Pfft! You guys are babbling!" Pipp said, as she flew closer to them. "I already have sooo many ideas on how to style you! I have it all under control, don't worry! And, even if it's true that everypony will still know who you three are, that doesn't mean you shouldn't have fun!" she pointed out.

"It still doesn't change the fact that we're no ponies, you know?" Knuckles pointed out. "And besides, the entire thing is called 'Manesquerade' because you guys have manes... We don't!" he added with a frown.

However, they all suddenly heard a maniac laugh, and when they turned around, they saw that Tails was sitting on a chair and then turning around with a mischievous grin, while having his hands together.

"Tails... You're not planning on making one of those experiments of yours on us, are you?" Sonic questioned with a frown and a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I'm not planning to... Because I already did!" Tails declared with a huge smile. "Well, kinda... Technically, it's still a prototype, but not at the same time..." he said with a confused expression. "Ugh, you know what? Just follow me! I'd rather show you all!" he stated, as he walked towards the exit.

"Oh, this better be good..." Knuckles said with a frown, as he and everyone but Jazz and Rocky followed Tails out of the salon.

In Opaline's Castle, Eggman entered to the Throne Room with a huge smirk, as he hummed a tune to himself.

"You seem quite happy today, Ivo..." Opaline pointed out with a raised eyebrow. "May I ask why?" she questioned.

"Oh, I'm feeling wonderful today, Opaline!" Eggman replied with a grin. "While my Egg Emperor had Sonic and his stupid friends busy, I sneaked in my robotic Flicky to the Crystal Brighthouse... And I got some sweet and delicious info! Of course, there's still the fact that Zephyrina is still a pain in the ass, BUT! Trust me when I say that this might be the best news we have heard in while!" he stated confidently.

"I'm listening" Opaline said with a curious look, while Misty entered the Throne Room as well.

Eggman then whistled, and from the window, the robotic Flicky entered, landing on Eggman's shoulder and projecting Zipp's Investigation Board in front of Opaline and Misty.

"While it's true that this damn pegasus hit the jackpot in some aspects, she still has no idea of what you are, not where we are!" Eggman said with a grin. "But even better than that: This means she has no idea on how dangerous you really are, nor how to locate us!" he stated.

"Which means that they'll be vulnerable if we get the Crystals from them!" Opaline said with a huge grin. "Oh, Ivo. You really have made me happier today! And because of that..." she stated, before turning to see Misty. "I'm feeling rather generous today. So, you are no longer grounded" she told the unicorn.

"Yes... I should be thanked" Opaline said with a grin, while walking pass her. "It's very impressive of me to trust you again" she stated, as she started to walk in circles around Misty.

"But I also need to teach you a lesson" Opaline declared, and Misty gulped after hearing that. "You're not coming with me. You need to stay here and watch the lair while I go back and snag that slippery Dragon Stone" she stated with an evil smirk.

"Because it is, Misty" Eggman stated with a frown. "While Opaline gets her Stone, I'll be busy on my lab for the day. Got some... research to do about the last Emerald's location..." he stated, as he turned around and grinned mischievously. "You'll be in charge of watching this place while she's out and I work. Understood?" he asked her, and Misty gulped before nodding with a sheepish smile. "Good" Eggman stated, then retired to his lab.

In reality, he wasn't going to research about the place where his Metals found the last Chaos Emerald, but neither Opaline nor Misty had to know that.

"And maybe I trust you to keep an eye on the lair, Misty" Opaline told the unicorn, before heading towards the exit. "The fact that you need to think about it should inform how you act..." she stated, leaving the castle.

As she did so, Misty looked at the ground with concern. "So this is a test, huh? Well, I should definitely stay..." she told herself, walking towards the throne but then, an idea popped on her mind. "Even though Opaline probably wouldn't know if I went to see my new friends... Now, Eggman could, but he said he'll be on his lab the whole day!" she said happily, now heading towards the exit as well.

However, just when she was going to leave, she turned back to see both Eggman's lab's door and Opaline's throne, which made her ears lower and her mind doubt.

"But Opaline would say some mean things to me if she found out, and Eggman would be disappointed too..." Misty pointed out to herself. "Then again, my friends don't say mean things to me..." she pointed out again, before groaning frustrated. "Why is every decision so hard?!" she complained out loud, before sitting down and sigh. "I wonder what fun thing they're all doing right now..." she said with concern and curiosity.

At Electronic Tails, Tails himself seemed to be looking for something inside the cabinets he had there.

"Come on, come on!" Tails said with concern. "I know I put it in here somewhere!" he assured with concern.

As he looked through his cabinets, the rest seemed to be waiting for him, with Sonic and Knuckles having bored expressions, while the rest were curious on what was Tails looking for.

"'Chinchilla', 'bunny', 'cat', 'mouse'..." Tails read, as he took out some small tubes and carefully placed them on the table. "Where's the pony one?! Those are the most recent ones, and I know I put them here!" he complained with concern.

"Whatever you do, don't drink them!" Knuckles warned with a frown. "Sonic and I made the mistake of doing so, and... Well..." he tried to explain, but he blushed embarrassed.

"He transformed into a bunny for 1 whole month, and I became a chinchilla for a whole-ass week..." Sonic replied with a frown. "It was the worse week of my life... I couldn't go and run as I always do! It was torture..." he complained with an anxious expression.

"Well, like you said, it was your mistake" Tails pointed out as he kept researching. "I told you to not grab those tubes, but you still did! You should be thankful it didn't lasted that much. My original prototype had a gap of 6 months" he said with a frown.

"If you're saying that waiting for us to apologize, keep waiting" Sonic said with a bored expression.

Tails rolled his eyes and kept looking, until he finally found what he was looking for. "Bingo!" he cheered, getting out of the cabinet and putting six tubes with a weird substance inside on the counter: Two were purple, two were turquoise, and two were silver.

However, Tails immediately dragged the tubes away from her. "Into something you already are, Izz: A pony!" he said with a smile.

"Huh/What?!/No way!" Hitch, Sunny and Zipp all said respectively, not believing what Tails just said.

"Wait... You're telling me that these tubes... can turn us into ponies?!" Sonic asked in shock, as his eyes widened.

"Mm-hmm!" Tails replied with a nod. "Now, to avoid all the mistakes that happened when you and Knuckles turned, I made absolutely sure that they're ready! Experimented with them, tested them on a few subjects, and even added a little something that will make sure that the amount of time we stay as ponies isn't too long!" he explained with a smile.

"W-Whoa! So, if you guys drink this and actually turn into ponies, does that mean that––" Pipp tried to ask.

"You could come to the Manesquerade Ball and not be recognized at all!" Izzy finished instead with a huge smile.

"That's exactly the plan here!" Tails replied happily. "The best part? All the effects are completely natural! Our transition to ponies will be natural, and we'll get the cool things you guys can do! Depending on which kind of pony we become, of course..." he explained.

"Man, if this actually works, I might share a few words with you, and not only for encouragement" Zipp told Tails with a smirk and a wink, which made Tails blush slightly and chuckle.

But then, the young fox shook his head and looked back at Sonic and Knuckles. "A-Anyways! So, which pony do you guys want to become?" he asked them with a smile.

"Duh! If we're gonna become ponies, we gotta choose for sure!" Tails declared. "The sliver tubes are for earth ponies, the turquoise ones for pegasi, and the purple ones turns you into a unicorn!" he explained.

At this, Sunny approached and gasped. "You based the substances in the Unity Crystals?!" she asked with excitement.

"Yup! Not only those Crystals got style, but they're also easier to remember" Tails pointed out with a smile, before looking back at Sonic and Knuckles. "Come on, guys! Pick it up!" he said with a smirk.

At this, Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other, before grinning at each other and nod.

"Well, if we're free to choose, I'm gonna go with a pegasus!" Sonic stated, as he grabbed one of the turquoise tubes. "I'm already the fastest thing alive in the ground. I think it's time to reach new horizons!" he declared with a smirk.

"I always felt curious on how strong earth ponies really are..." Knuckles said with a grin, while grabbing one of the silver tubes. "Guess I can finally get my answer!" he stated happily.

"Well, I'll go with the pegasus. In all honesty? I just wanna keep flying, but It would be cool to levitate stuff, tho!" Tails said, grabbing the remaining turquoise tube and putting the rest aside.

With this, Tails stood in the middle of Sonic and Knuckles, while three hesitated to drink this. Even if Tails did made sure it could work, doubts were still there among the team.

"Well, I used this weird ingredient with a pink color called 'Happily Ever After Drop'..." Tails replied while rubbing his chin. "It said that applying this would make any effect disappear by midnight. Does that says anything?" he asked.

"Well..." Knuckles started, as he removed the top of his tube, and both Sonic and Tails did the same. "To the bottom!" he stated with a grin.

And so, by hesitating for a second, Team Sonic gulped down to the last drop of their respective tubes, while the Mane 5 looked at them nervously, specially Izzy and Pipp, who hugged each other while they felt nervous for their boyfriends.

Once the trio of anthropomorphic animals was done drinking, they looked at each other, expecting anything... But nothing happened.

"Yeah, I was expecting to feel the effects as soon as we drank it, like the last time... All I feel is a sipped a cheap copy of Sunny's smoothies..." Sonic said with a confused look. "But it does taste nicely, though... What did you putted in these?" he asked Tails with a smile.

But then, before anyone could say anything else, the three of them got surrounded by a glowing auras of their respective skin colors, and everyone in the room panicked, with Izzy and Pipp now hugging even tighter.

"Um... kinda?! I honestly don't know!" Tails replied with wide eyes and concern.

"Please don't explode, please don't explode, please don't explode..." Knuckles begged out loud as he putted his hooves together.

And then, they glow became so bright that everyone closed their eyes, with the Mane 5 covering their faces with their hooves.

After a while, thought, the glow finally was over, and once they all opened their eyes, they only could see dust where Team Sonic used to be.

For a few seconds, there was only silence filling the room, until the three members of Team Sonic all collectively groaned.

This made the Mane 5 to sigh in relied, and both Izzy and Pipp let go of each other with heavy sighs, glad that their boyfriends, as well as Tails, were fine.

"Ugh... Tails, what the heck was that?" Sonic asked, as the dust started to fade away.

"What should I know? I don't recall this being part of the 'transformation' effect..." Tails replied with a loud groan.

But then, when the dust faded away, the Mane 5 and Sparky all shared a loud gasp, while Izzy and the sisters' faces got completely and bright red.

Sonic turned into a blue pegasus with green eyes, dark blue mane and tail, blue wings with light blue and red feathers, a white zone on his legs, red hooves, and a blue flame with lightning around as a Cutie Mark.

Tails became a yellow pegasus with orange mane and tail, blue eyes, brown hooves, yellow wings with white feathers, still two tails, and a box of tools with yellow lightning as a Cutie Mark.

Finally, Knuckles turned into a red earth pony with darker red mane and tail, pink eyes, brown hooves, and his boxing gloves with bigger knuckles surrounded by red electricity as his Cutie Mark. He also was taller than Sonic and Tails, and he seemed to have really strong and well-built hooves.

Team Sonic, now turned into ponies, stood up and shook their heads with dizzy expressions, but once they heard the Mane 5's gasps, they looked at them confused.

"Uh, guys? Everything okay?" Sonic asked confused, as he extended a hoof to point at them. "You seem confused... about... something..." he said slowly and shocked, because he realized now that he had a hoof instead of a hand.

Tails and Knuckles looked at him, and they gasped once they noticed his transformation.

But then, they looked at each other and gasped again, as they started to look all over their bodies, just to confirm that they all successfully turned into ponies.

"This... This is something else!" Sonic said with a huge smile, as he checked all over his wings and body. "Tails, you absolute mad lad, this actually worked!" he said, as he grabbed Tails from his shoulders and shook him a lot.

"Hohoho! Just look at these!" Knuckles cheered with a grin, as he flexed one muscle from his hooves, which just made Izzy gulp and wave a hoof to herself, while her face got entirely red. "Earth pony stallion, and I still have my beloveds!" he said confidently while smirking.

That pushed Izzy to the limit, as she fainted, while Pipp caught her in time and flapped a wing on her, but she wasn't any better: Just seeing at her boyfriend as a handsome pegasus stallion was driving her crazy as well.

"Gotta live to believe..." Hitch said, as he approached his friends now turned into stallions like him. "This actually worked! Now you are all ponies like us, and stallions like me!" he cheered with a smile.

"We still have to make sure everything's in order, though..." Tails pointed out with an awkward smile.

"Well, we gotta check that our wings do work, that our respective magic does, that we do have Cutie Mark magic, and check if our unique qualities from before being ponies are still there..." Tails explained.

"Or our cool and pretty neat electric powers?" Sonic asked with a smirk, as he opened his eyes and a slight spark of electricity went through his wings and eyes.

That was what pushed Pipp into the edge, as she also fainted dramatically, with Izzy ending on top of her.

"Okay... It's sure to say that our powers ares still there... I think..." Tails said, as he raised a hoof and focused, while yellow sparkled got around and he created a mug with his powers, which made his eyes widened. "... Yeah, we still have them" he said with an amused expression. "What about you Knuckles?" he wanted to ask him.

However, Knuckles already boosted away from the workshop, startling everypony else.

But then, the entire ground rumbled all of sudden, startling everyone in the workshop, and making both Pipp and Izzy wake up startled.

Deciding that it was best to investigate, both Sunny and Sonic rushed to the exit, with everypony else following behind.

Soon enough, they all arrived to the Crystal Brighthouse, where they found Knuckles stomping his hooves hard enough on the ground, to the point his electrical powers showed and his Cutie Mark glowed, as the floor rumbled and cracked while leaving really big holes.

"Knuckles! What the fuck are you doing?!" Sonic asked him with a concerned frown.

But then, Knuckles softly stomped a hoof forward, as it glowed in green and made the ground repair itself, as not only the cracks closed, but the grass grew back and even left a few flowers around.

At this, Knuckles smirked, while both Sunny and Tails approached him and stared at the ground in awe.

"Is that all the checking you needed?" Knuckles asked Tails with a confident smirk.

"I... Actually, yes it is!" Tails said with a surprised look. :Regarding earth pony transformation, at least... Pegasi? That's still work in progress!" he stated, turning around and walking towards Sonic.

"B-But I don't get it!" Sunny said confused. "You have earth pony magic, but you can also crack holes?! I never saw any earth pony doing that before! How's that you can do it?!" she asked Knuckles with panic.

However, all Knuckles did was look at her with a bored expression, while his eyes turned red and showed electrical sparks for a second, which made Sunny's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh... right... You have super strength by nature... I kind of forgot..." Sunny said with a nervous chuckle and smile, while Knuckles smirked and rolled his eyes.

"Dude, it's hard to believe that you became an actual pony! It's gonna take me a while to get used to this..." Hitch pointed out, as both him and Izzy arrived as well, even though the latter was still blushing like mad.

"W-Well, I-I think..." Izzy tried to say nervously, but she couldn't stop to feel nervous around her boyfriend's new look.

Knuckles noticed this, so he smiled sweetly and lifted her face with one hoof, which only made Izzy's blush increase. "Now, now, Ms. Moonbow. I get you feel flustered, but behind this new aspect, I'm still the same Knuckles at the end of the day" he assured her.

Izzy felt her heart melting but how he looked at her, but she still smiled back, and so, she nuzzled against his chest with a loving smile, while Knuckles nuzzled over her head as well, also smiling.

Meanwhile, Tails approached Sonic in hopes they both could experiment a bit with their new pegasi forms.

"So, you just want me to fly here and there and test if not only the pegasi magic works on me, but also if I can use my own super speed in mid-flight?" Sonic asked Tails with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup!" Tails replied with a smile. "It's just a test to see if your powers work, so don't get too excited––" he tried to add.

However, Sonic already smirked and opened his wings, and as soon as he flapped them, he boosted at top speed towards the air, which made Tails, Zipp and Pipp cover their eyes because of the dust he left behind.

After that, Sonic already had flew above the clouds, much to his surprise. "... Okey, maybe I got too excited..." he told himself with amusement.

Still, he smirked, and then, he dived towards the floor at top speed with his wings closed, before opening them again and just flap them once, which made him use his boost ability and flay in the air at top speed.

Sonic felt amazing by flying this fast: It was almost like running, but now that he had wings, the sky was literally the limit, and he could make so many tricks and twists in the air that went from hard to impossible by running.

"And Pipp said levitating stuff was better than flying! HA!" Sonic cheered with a huge smirk, as he then boosted to the air once again.

All the time he flew at fast paste, he left a blue aura behind him, all because of his super speed.

Then, Sonic smirked and boosted towards the air, as he moved at top speed and started to make shapes with the clouds at such a fast paste that no pegasus should normally achieve.

He ended up doing a perfect pony shape with the cloud, before diving in once again, this time towards the ocean. However, he didn't hesitated, and just grinned even more, because just when he was about to hit the water, he flapped his wings right in top of it and boosted towards the Crystal Brighthouse.

But this last move that he made was also making the water above him splash, and once he noticed that, he looked at his reflection on the water, smiling at his new form, before starting to flap his wings even faster.

By doing so, his Cutie Mark glowed bright, as electrical blue sparks appeared around his wings, making him flap them even faster. And once his eyes shifted from green to blue, he braked the sound barrier and boosted even faster towards the Brighthouse, as the water above him reacted like if he made an explosion.

Then, Sonic elevated and finally dived to the ground, landing there and forcing his hooves to stop him, while Sonic cheered loudly after making all of this, and he also shook a bit because he got all wet.

"Man! That's exactly the kind of sensation I was waiting for!" Sonic cheered with happiness, as he elevated on the air again while flying back with his friends. "The insane amount of adrenaline I just felt cannot be compared with anything! I love being a pegasus! Tails, why didn't you thought on making us ponies before?!" he questioned jokingly.

However, as he looked back to his friends, he felt startled when he saw that all of them had shocked expressions and jaws dropped, while Pipp's face was so red that you could almost compare her to Sprout's fur.

"Man... It was just making a demonstration... Not doing a whole fucking and raw show on how to fly!" Knuckles said with a huge grin.

"Wow, Sonic! I think you're adapting to your pony form really quick! Which is good, 'cause now you'll be natural in the Manesquerade Ball!" Sunny cheered with a smile.

"I... I cannot even believe that you did all of that on your first day as a pegasus..." Zipp said with utter shock. "It took pegasi weeks to learn how to fly, and you just flew like if you've been doing it your whole life!" she pointed out with amusement. "I don't know if I'm jealous, confused, excited, or all of them... But that was incredible!" she cheered, now smiling at him.

"I think I like sides of you I never even knew existed..." Pipp said with a gulp, still incredibly red.

At this, Sonic smirked, before boosting in front of her and then lift her chin with a hoof, as Pipp's ears lowered and her heart started to beat incredibly fast. "I think you might be falling for me again, Princess~" he flirted with her, also winking.

Pipp's ears kind of let out some smoke because of the heat, and she started to laugh awkwardly, while looking around nervously, before looking back at her changed boyfriend with a loving gaze.

But then, Tails got in the middle of them with a sheepish smile. "I really hate to brake this out, but I gotta say that you did putted on a show, Sonic!" he told the blue pegasus with a smile. "Still, that lefts me to prove my new form, and honestly? I don't know if I want to..." he confessed with a nervous expression, while his ears lowered.

"Hey, buddy!" Zipp called out, as she placed a hoof on Tails' shoulder. "I get why you feel insecure: You literally got your new form just 10 minutes ago, and you're still trying to get used to it... But I think you're never gonna learn how to adapt to it if you never try out your new abilities" she pointed out.

"Zipp is right, Tails" Sunny agreed, as she approached him and wrapped a hoof around his neck. "It's okay to be afraid of your new form, but it wouldn't hurt to try it out a bit, don't you think?" she pointed out with a smile.

"That still doesn't makes me any less nervous..." Tails replied. "I mean, when it comes to fly, I'm just used to spin my tails around and––" he tried to point out as he looked back on his tails, just for his eyes to widened when he noticed that he still has two tails, even as a pony. "Holy crap! I didn't know I still have them!" he said with surprise.

A few minutes later, Zipp is grabbing Tails from his hooves as they're both in the sky.

Of course, Tails was still really nervous about this, but Zipp, Sunny and even Sonic encouraged him to at least try it out, so he accepted as long as somepony would help.

Zipp immediately offered to help him out, and here they are now, with Tails holding Zipp's hooves a bit tighter than either of them would like to, as the younger pegasus gulped while flapping his wings.

"Hey, Tails, look at me" Zipp called out, but Tails was just too nervous, because he was looking at the ground, which made Zipp carefully lift his chin so he would face her. "Listen. All you gotta do is focus on flaps your wings. Not so hard, but not so soft, either. You gotta find a balance so they can lift you in the air, you know?" she explained him with a smile.

Tails blushed slightly when she grabbed his chin, but when she let go, his blushed decreased a little. "Well... I use to do that with my tails... Spin them hard and long enough to stay on air... I guess with pegasi it's the same?" he asked.

"Yeah! With wings, of course, but it's the same science!" Zipp replied with a smile. "And most importantly, you just gotta believe in yourself" she added with a wink.

Tails didn't blushed this time, but he did found her wink adorable. Still, he focused back and took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and let go of Zipp's grip, as he flapped his wings on a moderate speed to stay on the air.

As he opened one eye to check if he was still flying, he felt surprised to see he was still on the air, and even if he still could look how high he was now, he wasn't panicking.

"I... I'm flying..." Tails said with a little smile. "It... It's true! Hohoho! I'm flying for real!" he cheered, as he did some loops around Zipp happily.

"See? It wasn't so har now, was it?" Zipp told him, smirking as she then started to fly backwards. "Now, let's see how good you are at flying with your new pegasus form..." she stated mockingly.

"Uh, Zipp? What are you––" Tails tried to ask. However, it didn't took him long to understand what was she up to, so he smirked and opened his wings. "Oh, I'm definitely gonna catch you!" he stated, as he flapped his wings and boosted at her.

At this, Zipp smirked even more, and she started to fly all across the sky at top speed, with Tails getting behind of her and flapping his wings hard enough to reach her.

Despite Zipp being the superior flier as a pegasus, Tails still managed to reach her, as he looked at her with a mocking smirk. But of course, this only made Zipp to roll her eyes at his attitude, and so, she started to flap her wings faster, moving away from Tails and startling him.

Still, the young pegasus tried to catch up by flapping his wings faster as well, but it wasn't working... And yet, he had an idea, one that made him smirk.

Meanwhile, Zipp seemed confident on being ahead of Tails, but when she looked at her side and saw that Tails was not only at her side, but also starting to fly a bit ahead of her, she felt surprised.

But then, she noticed that Tails was spinning his tails at fast paste, as well as flapping his wings hardly. This was obviously a boost thanks to his unique quality, and even if she knew she was loosing, she still felt happy to see how fast he adapted to fly as a pegasus.

Suddenly, Tails' Cutie Mark started to glow, while his tails and wings got yellow sparkles of lightning. Then, his own eyes turned yellow with some electric sparkles, and once he flapped his wings again, he boosted at the speed sound, braking the sound barrier just like Sonic did earlier.

At this, Zipp stopped on her place and looked amazed at Tails, at her eyes sparkled a bit and her cheeks got red.

Meanwhile, Tails did some loops in the air while leaving a yellow trial, as he cheered loudly now that he could properly fly.

Now that Team Sonic were ponies, and adapted to their new forms perfectly, Pipp and Izzy quickly applied makeover over them for the Manesquerade Ball.

Sonic now had green and silver glittered legs; green eye shadows; a green stripe on his wings, mane and tail; and blue lightnings painted on his hooves.

Tails had red and blue glittered legs; red and blue stripes on his tails, mane and wings; a mix of red and blue eye shadows; and a yellow engine painted on his hooves.

Finally, Knuckles had purple and pink glittered legs, pink and purple stripes on his mane and tail, a mix of pink and purple eye shadows, and red crystals on his hooves to match with Izzy's blue ones.

With Team Sonic ready, the entire group sins Zipp gathered outside the Brighthouse and prepared to depart towards the Manesquerade Ball in the Marestream, since the Tornado IV was designed exclusively for fingers use, and right now Tails had no fingers.

As Hitch came out of the Brighthouse and approached the group, Sparky putted a brown tie with yellow circles with an excited babbling.

"Don't forget your masks, everypony!" Izzy told the rest with a smile, as she gave Sunny her mask, which was half purple to represent the night, and half golden to represent the day.

She also gave Hitch his mask, which was purple with slight green decorations, as both Sunny and Hitch putted on their masks and laughed.

Then, Izzy went over with Team Sonic and brought them their masks as well, with Sonic's being blue with certain pink and golden details, Tails' being yellow with slight pink, white and light blue decorations, and Knuckles' being red with some purple and green details.

The trio putted on their masks, as they fit perfectly on them, even as ponies. "Guess the body transformation couldn't change or head measures!" Sonic pointed out with a smirk.

Then Izzy gave Pipp her mask, which was golden with purple details, as the pegasus grabbed it with a smile, but instead choose to put it away.

Soon enough, Zipp also came out of the Brighthouse, while holding a basket with some food on her mouth, and humming happily a little melody, which was weird in her, and Pipp noticed that.

"I'm bringing some snacks onboard! Why?" Zipp asked back while putting the basket down and raising an eyebrow.

"You're happy" Pipp pointed out concerned. "You're never happy when you're forced to do something. And you're usually specially unhappy about going to the Manesquerade Ball" she added with a smirk.

"That's because... I'm planning to do a little research on Alicorn magic in the Palace library archives" Zipp whispered to her with a smile. "In the secret section!" she added, now bringing out her mask and putting it on.

By hearing this, Pipp gasped in shock. "But that's off-limits!" she pointed out to her with concern.

"Yeah... Can't you do this any other day?" Sonic asked with a bored expression, as he and Tails approached the sisters. "I get that you wanna prevent Opaline from stealing all the magic and all, but why choose something made specifically to not work to do your detective stuff?" he questioned with a sarcastic tone.

"Also, Sunny's been bugging us about her Unity Dance for weeks!" Tails whispered at her with an anxious expression. "And I got the feeling she's gonna be even more unbearable with that today, so I don't think you're gonna be so lucky with your investigation..." he pointed out. "Also, if I hear one more time about that dance, I'm gonna be insane!" he complained, while falling sideways to the right.

"Aaaaand he's broken..." Sonic deadpanned, while Pipp giggled at his attitude, while Zipp helped him to stand up out of concern for him.

Everyone turned to see that Misty has arrived with them, and it's sure to say that she definitely escaped from the Castle without Eggman's permission.

With her arrival, Izzy turned around and smiled. "Whoa, Misty!" she exclaimed happily, launching to the unicorn and hugging her tightly, which startled Misty for a second. "What a fun surprise!" Izzy said excited, while Misty chuckled a bit.

"Where have you been? We missed you" Sunny added with a smile, as she approached the two unicorn mares.

"Yeah! We haven't seen you in forever!" Tails added, as he approached her with a smile.

However, Misty looked confused at him and smile awkwardly. "U-Um... Sorry... I don't wanna be disrespectful, but... Do I know you?" she asked a bit nervous.

Tails raised an eyebrow and blinked a few times, before realizing why she's so confused. "Oh, right! Sorry, me and my stupid lack of thinking twice sometimes... I'm Tails! As a pony, but Tails all the same!" he told her with a smile, as he removed his mask.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true!" Sonic added with a smirk, as both him and Knuckles approached as well and also removed their masks. "Tails here made a pretty cool thing that turned us into ponies until midnight!" he explained.

"Sonic? Knuckles?!" Misty questioned, and both of them nodded with smirks. "Whoa, okay... This is not what I expected after getting out of the lair––" she tried to say, but then her eyes widened at what she was about to say. "Of-of home!" she corrected herself with a nervous chuckle. "I-I couldn't come before because I had stuff come up at home! I live at home in a house" she assured nervously.

At this, everypony else looked at her confused, with Knuckles almost pulling out a 'The Rock Eyebrow' expression.

"You know how it is, when you're trapped at home doing chores and it feels like you're grounded in a lair?" Misty said quickly with a nervous chuckle. "Me neither... Hey, look at that, are you getting ready to go to a place?" she asked, quickly changing the subject and noticing Zipp's mask on her hoof.

"Not just any place" Sunny pointed out with a smile. "We're going to the Manesquerade Ball!" she stated excited.

"The most glam night for Zephyr Heights!" Pipp said, as she and Sonic walked around each other, before bowing in front of each other.

"Well, it's a really important thing, were there's food, music, strangers who don't know you that you don't know either... Do I have to keep going?" Tails told Misty with a smirk and a wink, slightly pushing her shoulder, while Misty blushed and chuckled awkwardly.

"Oh! Oh! Oh, I have an idea!" Izzy exclaimed all of a sudden. "Misty should come with us!" she suggested with a smile, while wrapping a hoof around Misty's neck.

"Now you're talking!" Tails said with a chuckle, placing a hoof over Misty's shoulder.

"Yass!" Pipp agreed, as she approached the unicorn mare. "Misty, you will love it! It's-it's just, it's a total thing" she assured with a smile.

"Wow. I've never been invited to a thing before" Misty confessed with a sweet and warm smile. "It sounds fancy... And full of ponies... who don't know me" she said with panic, as her front hooves trembled a bit because of her nerves.

"True! Because we all wear masks!" Tails assured, putting on his mask again and smiling sweetly at Misty.

"Oh. I don't have one of those. And I don't feel very fancy..." Misty said with sadness and disappointment.

At this, both Izzy and Pipp smiled at each other, before placing their hooves on Misty's shoulder and guide her inside of the Brighthouse. "Leave that to us!" They said with smiles.

Misty walked behind them, now wearing golden eye shadows, pink and yellow glitter on her legs, yellow glitter on her horn, and yellow butterflies on her hooves.

"Ta-da!" both Izzy and Pipp said with smiles, as they presented Misty's new look.

At this, everypony else cheered at her new look, while Pipp gave her a mirror so Misty herself could see her new look, and when she did so, she smiled.

Then, Izzy extended her a mask, which seemed like the left wing of a peacock, and Misty grabbed it and putted it with a smile.

And with this, everyone cheered once again, before heading towards the Marestream.

Once inside, Zipp sat down on the pilot's seat and turned on the Marestream, as the vehicle lifted up the ground and then boosted in the air, heading towards Zephyr Heights.

Inside the Marestream, Izzy, Misty and Tails all sat on the couches in the passengers room.

"Ahh... Isn't flying great?!" Izzy asked Misty cheerfully, but then, she gasped and brought out some googles. "Watch this!" she exclaimed, before putting on the googles and stuck her head out the window. "I can taste the wind!" she managed to say as her face pushed back from the wind while screaming.

"That's quite a weird way to experience flying... Then again, she's the very same pony that once made a glider to fly along Zipp and I, so I shouldn't be surprised" Tails said with a smirk, while Misty giggled at his comment.

But then, Misty saw Sparky at her side, and she felt uncomfortable as he looked at her with suspicion, so she gave him a sheepish smile. "Hey there, Sparky…" she said to him, before making sure that Tails nor Izzy were paying her attention so she could whisper to the baby dragon. "It's okay. I won’t try to take you" she muttered with a nervous chuckle.

Sparky babbled and looked confused at Misty, while both Izzy and Tails looked at her strangely, with Izzy taking off her googles after being done with taking her head out of the window.

Misty stood in silence for a while, until she started to panic. "I didn't do anything! I swear!" she assured nervously.

"But we didn't blamed you of anything..." Tails pointed out with a raised eyebrow. However, once he and Izzy shared a look, they both smiled and nodded.

"We know what's going on with you!" Tails added, as he sat on Misty's other side.

"It's as obvious as the horn of your head!" Izzy pointed out, pointing at her own horn, while Misty looked worried at her.

Misty felt surprised when she heard this, but she still exhaled relieved and smiled. "Oh. Yeah. You got me. I'm nervous!" she admitted.

"Well, you don't need to be! You just need to be you!" Izzy stated with a smile.

"Not exactly sure that ponies like it when I'm just being me…" Misty said with worry, as she jumped off the couch.

"The what now?!" Tails asked playfully with a raised eyebrow. "That's just blasphemy! Of course they like the real you, Misty! I know we do!" he assured her.

Misty blushed a bit after hearing that, but her blush disappeared as her concern came back. "What if I do something awkward?" she asked concerned.

"You won't" Izzy assured her as well. "But even if you do, nopony will know it's you. Because of masks!" she added cheerfully, as she putted on her mask. "Oh, have you seen Izzy?" she acted playfully with a fancy tone.

Tails chuckled at her, before putting on his own mask to follow her game and look at Misty. "Now you try!" she said to Misty.

Misty decided to play along as well, so she putted on her mask and blinked a few times, still confused.

"Hmm…" Izzy looked around, like acting if she couldn't see Misty. "Hello, there, stranger!" she playfully told Misty. "If you see Misty, can you give her this charm bracelet I made for her?" she acted, while bringing out said bracelet.

The bracelet had the icons of the Mane 5's Cutie Marks and Team Sonic's logos she has seen on their stuff, with Misty's fake Cutie Mark on it with crystals on each side.

Misty felt surprised by this, looking at the bracelet with amusement. "For me? I… Thank you..." she said with a smile, accepting the bracelet and putting it on her left hoof.

Izzy smiled back at Misty and gave her a wink, while Tails removed his mask and simply gave her a warm smile.

"Eee!" Sunny squealed excited, as she approached Misty, Izzy and Tails. "Okay, everypony! I know you've all been waiting for me to teach you the moves for the Unity Dance I choreographed for us!" she exclaimed with joy, while Sonic and Knuckles followed behind.

"What's a Unity Dance?" Misty and Izzy asked confused, while Tails putted on a bored expression, as the three ponies removed their masks and looked at Sunny.

"Seriously?" Sunny deadpanned, as she brought out her phone. "It’s on the group text" she pointed out with a smile, as she showed a video from her phone.

"Well, guess we'll learn the steps along the way, 'cause I rarely check the messages on the group" Sonic said with a bored expression.

"Just imagine it…" Sunny said with a thoughtful smile. "All three pony-kinds, dancing together in perfect unison at the grand hall of Zephyr Heights Palace!" she exclaimed excited.

"I’m sorry, Sunny" Misty said with doubt. "But, um… I don’t think I can perform in front of other ponies" she added with worry.

"Aww, there's no reason to be shy, Mist!" Tails told her with a smile, as he playfully nuzzled against her, but that made Misty blush even more, and her heart started to beat really hard. "You don't mind if I call you Mist, right?" Tails asked her a bit concerned.

Misty simply smiled at him and denied with her head, which made Tails smile back at her.

"This dance is about everypony working together and supporting each other" Sunny told Misty, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "And it's fun! Once we practice, you'll be fine" she assured her with a smile, and Misty smiled back.

"That is if we even have time to practice..." Sonic pointed out with a bored expression.

Just then, the Marestream shook violently and startled them, so they looked out and saw that the Marestream just landed on the palace landing pad.

"Oh..." it's all Knuckles said with amusement, while Sonic looked at him with a mocking smirk.

Then, Hitch exited the pilot's cabin with Sparky on his back. "We're here! Let's go!" he said with excitement, as Sparky babbled excited as well.

"You ready to rock this red carpet?" Pipp asked her friends with a smile, as they all cheered in agreement. "Mask up, everypony!" she instructed, as everypony putted their masks on and exited the vehicle, except for Sunny.

"Wait!" Sunny called out. "We need to rehearse! I can't do a unity dance by myself!" she pointed out with concern.

"We'll dance it when we'll dance it, Sunny-Bunny" Sonic told her with a smirk. "You cannot force this kind of stuff" he pointed out.

"Skye Silver here at the grandest and glitziest Manesquerade Ball red carpet Zephyr Heights have ever seen" Skye Silver announced, as he and Dazzle were at the red carpet of the Royal Palace for their live news coverage. "Isn't that right, Dazzle?" he asked her with a smile.

"Yes Skye! The first ZH Ball to include all ponykinds of Equestria" Dazzle replied, and the Pippsqueaks (Seashell, Glory and Peach Fizz) whistled happily, while the cameras flashed as ponies kept arriving.

"What a historical event!" Skye stated with a nod, as ponies around were taking pictures of the ponies walking by with them wearing masks.

"Hi, Dazzle Feather, ZBS Tonight" Dazzle greeted the two ponies. "What are you wearing, and who are you really?" she asked them.

"And wouldn't you like to know?" Rocky asked playfully with a smile, as he and Jazz continued walking.

Meanwhile, the Mane 5, Misty, Sparky and Team Sonic had come up in the elevator to the red carpet entrance to the ball.

"Wow!" they all cheered in awe, while Sonic whistled amazed, and Pipp took a selfie with her phone.

But then Queen Haven, Cloudpuff, Zoom and Thunder landed in front of them, each wearing masks as they walked down the red carpet.

"How amazing is this, Cloudpuff?" Haven asked with a smirk. "Thanks to the masks, nopony knows who I am! Heehee!" she giggled gleefully.

"Excuse us, Your Majesty" Skye said, as he and Dazzle bowed before Haven, which made her frown. "May we ask a few questions for the red carpet?" Skye asked.

"Why are you bowing and calling me 'Your Majesty'?" Haven asked, trying to act like she doesn’t know them, while Skye and Dazzle looked confused. "I’m sorry, but I don’t appreciate your assuming" she added.

And then, Cloudpuff barked at them and shook his head, telling them to play along.

"I mean, whoever you are" Dazzle quickly corrected, now understanding. "It's just so hard to tell who is who with everypony wearing masks!" she added.

"You said it, Dazzle!" Skye agreed with a smirk. "I’m sure everypony at the ball will be asking: 'Who is this mysterious stunning mare'?" he added with a laugh.

"Whew!” Haven sighed in relief as she, Cloudpuff, Zoom and Thunder continued walking down the walkway.

"I don't wanna be that guy, but she does know she's not fooling anypony here, right?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ugh, Mom does this at the ball every year…" Pipp explained with a sigh, but then she smiled at her friends. "Okay, team. Showtime!" she announced.

After that, she walked down the carpet while striking poses, as the ponies cheered and took pictures of her.

I mean, they look pretty much the same, just with masks and makeover... And their Cutie Marks are still visible, too, so it's pretty easy to tell it's them.

Next, Sunny and Izzy stood together and posed at the cameras as pictures of them were taken.

Now, Hitch and Sparky stood next for the pictures, as Sparky grumbled excited and jumped off Hitch's back, walking on the red carpet and winking at the camera.

"A baby dragon on the red carpet?!" Shutter asked excited, as she kept taking pictures of Sparky. "I can't even. Too cute!" she exclaimed.

Then, Team Sonic walked down the carpet as well, with Sonic looking over at the cameras with his iconic smirk and wink, while Tails simply smiled at the cameras and waved his hoof, and Knuckles did stroke some poses, even smirking confidently at the cameras.

Nopony could imagine this was Team Sonic with pony bodies, and they honestly wanted to keep it like that.

Next, Misty walked across the carpet, just when a picture was taken in her face. "Ahh!" she cried out startled, as more pictures were taken by other ponies. Misty backed up a bit, and then walked next to Zipp. "You mind if I trot back here with you so I’m not in any pictures?” she asked her nervously.

Once they entire group was done passing through the red carpet, they all entered to the castle.

They all felt amazed at the layout for the Ball and all of the ponies dancing around with masks on, with both Sonic and Knuckles whistling at the sight.

"I said it last season, and I'll say it again: I love Equestria!" Sonic exclaimed with a smile.

Then, Pipp brought them over to the small buffet table. "We have chocolate fountains, whipped cream waterfalls, peanut butter puddles and my personal favorite; cookie towers!" she beamed, gesturing to each sweet item they were serving for the night.

At this, Hitch grinned, before grabbing a circular cookie, dip it in fudge and eat it.

"Hitch! You did not just do that!" Izzy barked, earning a surprised look from Hitch.

"Uh, yes!" Izzy said with a smile, turning to the Whipped Cream Mountain and putting some on her horn. "You forgot the whipped cream, duh!" she flicked it onto Hitch's cookie, and he ate it, but got the whipped cream on his nose completely.

"Well, there's a first time for everything!" Knuckles stated with a mocking smirk. "Like the fact that I don't know how I'm gonna grab food with these..." he pointed out, while looking at his hooves with concern.

"Actually, it's pretty sticky!" Sonic said with a smile, as he grabbed a cookie and putted both chocolate and whipped cream on it. "It's like the 'stick to walls' thingy that Spider-Man has, but it doesn't look gross" he pointed out, while eating happily his cookie.

"Huh..." Knuckles replied, as he grabbed a cookie with his hoof and looked closely at it. "For once, you might be right, Hed–– I mean! Sonic. Sorry, old habits die hard..." he pointed out with a sheepish smile.

Everypony else chuckled at that, but just then, both Misty and Tails saw Zipp trotting off, which made them both rise their eyebrows.

"Huh?" Misty asked confused, as both Tails and her followed Zipp while hiding behind a pillar. "What are you up to?" she asked with suspicion.

"Zipp, please don't do this tonight..." Tails muttered lowly with a concerned expression. "Why does she always puts her job over her friends?! I get it, she's worried for Opaline and Eggman..." he pointed out with a frown, and Misty panicked a bit when he mentioned their names. "But that's no reason to be so bold and leave her friends behind! Ugh..." he groaned.

Misty could tell that Tails was tired of Zipp doing this, and in all honesty, she was tired too, because Zipp kept messing with Opaline and Eggman's plans... And yet, she also agreed with Tails' point that she's leaving her friends behind way too much.

"Um... And what if we go and tell her that?" Misty suggested him with a smile. "I mean, it is tiring that she messes everything you guys wanna do because she's worried" she pointed out.

"I don't know... It does makes me mad, but maybe we shouldn't stop her... I don't wanna mess with her job..." Tails said with a conflicted look, while his ears lowered.

"I'm not saying we should let her stop, I'm saying we should maybe, you know, tell her to do this in a not so inconvenient occassion that involves our friends?" Misty pointed out with a nervous smile.

At this, Tails' ears perked up, and he looked back at Misty, before smiling confidently. "Well... When you put it like that... I guess we can try!" he stated.

And so, both of them nodded, before carefully follow Zipp without anyone noticing, not even their friends.

Speaking of them, Sunny gathered those who were at the time being so they could rehearse their Unity Dance.

"One more time!" Sunny called out to her friends. "It's canter, skip, double click. Hoof it up! A twirly shift!" she danced a demonstration for her friends.

The others tried to follow Sunny's dance moves, but while Hitch was struggling, Hitch and Sonic had a weird time making sure they could even move their hooves a bit to dance, so nopony but Pipp seemed to do the moves right.

"Canter, skip, and…" Pipp spoke, but then, she and Hitch fell to the floor with a yelp.

"Click! Yes!" Izzy cheered as she just moved freely with a cheery smile, while Knuckles had no idea of what was going on anymore, and Sonic could barely move alright now.

At what happened, Sunny raised and eyebrow. "Seriously?! Ugh! That is nothing like what I said!" she pointed out frustrated, before sighing in defeat. "Let me show you again..." she said with a bored expression.

Meanwhile, somewhere across the ball room, Alphabittle, who's wearing a mask, was levitating two cups of drinks, as he walked to the throne, where Queen Haven and Cloudpuff are.

"A glass of punch for the queen of the palace" Alphabittle said to Haven with a smile.

At this, Haven gave a fake gasp. "Who, me?" she asked playfully, giving a smirk to Alphabittle. "Shh…" she shushed him with a smile. "Obviously, you recognize me when nopony else does" she stated, as she walked off her throne and to Alphabittle.

"Wait, you think that––?" Alphabittle tried to ask confuse, since Haven still believes nopony can recognize her.

"Absolute!" Haven answered with a smile. "Only my closest friends and family ever know it’s me while I’m masquerading" she added with a twirl.

It was at this moment that Alphabittle knew she wasn't joking. "Oh, you're serious!" he said surprised. "Oh, so sorry for blowing your cover" he apologized with a whisper.

Haven just smiled at him, then turned and walked off with Alphabittle following her to the other side of the throne. "No apologies needed, Alphie. Nopony heard" she assured him. "But since we share a secret, could I ask you a friendly favor?" she asked him.

"Yes, indeed, your maj--" Alphabittle stopped himself quickly. "I mean, yes… whoever you are, mysterious young mare" he corrected himself, while Have smiled at him as he tapped his cup with hers.

"And I will cheers to that" Haven said with a smile, as she and Alphabittle tapped their drinks together. "Aw!" she said, as she and Alphabittle laughed together.

And yet, none of them knew that the door behind the throne room was slightly open.

Meanwhile Zipp, unknowingly being followed by Misty and Tails, went down one hall to where the Zephyr Heights Royal Archives Secret Section was.

"Huh? 'Royal Library Archives: Authorized Ponies Only’?" Zipp read before snorting a bit. "Who's more authorized than a princess?" she asked with a smirk.

Then, she looked around to make sure she was alone, before pressing the hoof scanner, that accepted her and opened the door, so she entered to the library.

Of course, she didn't noticed that Misty and Tails peeked around the corner and quickly ran in, with Misty getting caught in the closed doors by her hips for a moment before entering.

Inside, Zipp putted on her Z-Googles and hovered up to one shelf. "That's what I'm talking about. Enhance!" she said confidently, while her Z-Googles zoomed in as she read some of the titles. "Magic for Ponies... History of Zephyr Heights, 10th Edition…" she read, pulling out one book and then put it back before taking another book. "The Unexpurgated Book of Unicorns and Their Diets… Huh? Well, that's weirdly specific..." she commented.

"Wow. I didn't even know Equestria had this many books" Misty said surprised, as she pulled out one book which had some dust on it.

"Apparently, nopony else did either..." Tails pointed out with a cringed expression. "Why are there so many books, anyways? And who's crazy enough to read all of them?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"No idea..." Misty replied, as she blew dust from the book she grabbed, but it made both Tails and her sneeze, sending Misty to fall back into another bookshelf, while several books fell on her. "Ow!" she cringed in pain.

"You okay, Mist?" Tails asked her with concern, while flapping his wings to fly and check on her head, since he was now almost the same high as Pipp on his pony form.

But as he did so, and Misty blushed embarrassed, she suddenly gasped as she grabbed one book that fell in front of her with the image of an alicorn on it. "Alicorns of the Ancient World" she read, before gasp again, and take off her mask. I bet Opaline would reward me for something like this she thought with a smile.

"Huh..." Tails said, as he looked at the cover of the book she grabbed. "This seems to be the kind of stuff that Zipp's looking for..." he pointed out, while landing at Misty's side and tubbing his chin.

But then, Zipp landed, and both Misty and Tails let out cute screams. "Misty? Tails?!" Zipp asked in surprise, as Misty yelped and covered the book, while both Tails and gave Zipp a sheepish grin. "Did you guys follow me?" Zipp asked confused, as she took off her Z-Googles.

"Uh, us?" Misty asked innocently. "W-We're not followers" she said with a nervous chuckle. "Just because we're in the same place doesn't mean we followed you" she quickly said.

Feeling the tension rising, Tails immediately frowned and stepped in front of Misty. He was not in the mood to hear Zipp's nonsensical suspicions about Misty again.

"Yes, we did follow you, Zipp" Tails said with a frown. "I think Misty only did it because she wanted an excuse to not be around big crowds. You know you didn't had to come with me, right?" he turned to Misty with a smile.

Misty blushed again at him smiling, but she still managed to get herself together. "I-I know..." she replied. "I’m just freaked out by massive herds of ponies, so I thought I could follow the other ponies friends I know that doesn't also dig crowds?" she said, looking at the two ponies nervously.

"Hmm…" Zipp thought for a moment before she shrugged. "True. We do have that in common" she admitted.

"As for me? I came here because... I AM TIRED OF YOU!" Tails snapped suddenly, while opening his wings, as yellow electric sparks appeared on both his eyes and wings for a second.

That sudden scream made Zipp take several steps back from him, while Misty's eyes widened, since he never saw Tails being mad before.

"Y-You... What?" Zipp managed to ask, even though she was scared about the answer she could get.

"Zipp, when was the last time that you actually helped out on something that doesn't involves you sneaking away suddenly just to research about our enemy?" Tails asked with a frown, while closing his wings. "I get that stopping Opaline and Eggman is important, I really do... But that does not gives you any right to just sneak away and make a whole-ass research just to get back to square one anyways!" he pointed out.

"Hey, I helped with the 'Sunny Side Up' show the other day, remember?" Zipp replied with a frown.

Zipp raised her hoof and tried to reply... But no words came out of her mouth. Instead, her eyes widened in shock, as she realized that Tails was right: She's becoming obsessed with her investigation at this point.

"You see what I mean?!" Tails said with rage. "Zipp, everypony around you is moving on, growing, learning... Loving! But you? Your entire investigation will destroy your life if you keep going. What if the key to defeat Eggman and Opaline cannot be investigated until after they make their move? What then?!" he questioned.

After pretty much shouting at her, Tails finally started to calm down, while Zipp sat down and looked down at the floor with lower ears and a lost expression.

On the one hoof, this was very important: The entire magic of Equestria was at stake, and she couldn't just sit around and wait for a miracle to happen, because that's not what a detective does... But on the other hoof, Tails had a point: Her obsession with finding out about Twilight's message, and about Opaline's actual race was consuming her.

Now it was just her interactions with her friends... But what would it be tomorrow? Her family? Her royal duties? Her entire life?

Misty, however, couldn't believe that Tails did all of that so easily. Like, if she ever had that much pressure from Opaline and/or Eggman and snapped, she'll probably be dead... But Tails, he just stood up and straightly told Zipp what was concerning him.

"... Y-You... Tails, you're right..." Zipp said with an anxious look. "Ponyfeathers, I'm so concerned about loosing my magic again that... That I didn't realized how it made you all feel..." she said with regret.

Tails now felt bad for having yelled at her like that, but now that he was telling her his concerns, he decided to keep going.

"I'm not done..." Tails said with a conflicted look, while both Zipp's and Misty's eyes widened. "Zipp... I've been feeling concerned about you for a while. Ever since the Unicorn Sleepover, to be precise" he confessed.

Both Zipp and Misty gulped: Zipp because she could kinda tell what was coming, and Misty because she felt she was gonna be involved.

"Ever since we met Misty that day, all you do is look and talk about her like if she was the walking representation of the line, 'Mystery at sigh! Please come seek me'!" Tails said sarcastically while opening his hooves. "Whenever something off happens, your first target is her! Sunny's lantern, Sparky's disappearance, the thief that tried to take away the Crystals for the second time... Is like if you painted an invisible target on her back!" he pointed out with a frown.

"Oh, wow! A pony that lacks social skills and it's very shy among many ponies is suspicious!" Tails said with a sarcastic smile and tone. "You act like if she was the only pony in all of Equestria that's shy and barely talks to anyone..." he said with a frown, before his eyes widened, and he looked back at Misty with a sheepish smile. "No offense, Mist!" he told her.

"Look, Zipp. She does has done things that might be not normal, but if we're going down that logic, you should have suspicions for Izzy, too" Tails said with a frown. "After all, she tends to do things that we do not see normal, and I don't see you trash-talking about her because of that!" he pointed out with anger.

First, he stands up and says with no fear what he hates about Zipp, but now he's defending her from Zipp's shenanigans? Misty was definitely surprised by Tails' action, and... it made her smile, while her cheeks turned red, as well.

Wait... Why is she blushing by seeing him again? And why is her heart beating so fast? This makes no sense to her...

"Okay, okay, okay!" Zipp's voice spoke with panic, and that brought Misty back to reality. "I get it! You don't like that I'm putting the blame on Misty over things we already know she didn't made... But why are you so protective over her?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

She would lie if she said that she wasn't a bit jealous on how Tails defended Misty from her all the time, but she couldn't let her feelings for Tails get the best of her right now.

"Because I can sympathize with her" Tails replied, not with a frown anymore, but still upset. "She... She's never had friends before us, which is why she acts like she does. There's no bigger meaning behind her actions, Zipp. Is just like with Izzy: She's never interacted with so many ponies before, which is why she's still adapting to the concept of friendship to this very day!" he pointed out.

"Wait..." Zipp said, but now looking at Misty. "As that true? You act so awkward and nervous around us because you never interacted with ponies that much?" she asked her.

"I... Um, I... Yes..." Misty replied with a sad expression. "I never had friends as a kid, and... I'm honestly scared to loose the ones I already made... And not only because my lack of social skills..." she confessed with concern. "Tails, remember what you asked me that night? Besides never having friends before?" she asked him.

"Uh, yeah?" Tails replied, at first confused, but then his eyes widened. "W-Wait... You're gonna tell her about––" he tried to ask with concern, but Misty covered his mouth with a hoof.

Then, the unicorn mare sighed and got in front of Zipp with a conflicted expression. "Zipp, that night you were suspicious about me not being from Bridlewood... And you're right! I am not from Bridlewood. I didn't even grew there!" she confessed with sadness.

"W-What?!" Zipp screamed in shock, while Tails' eyes widened in surprise that she actually said it. "I-I was right?! You don't come from Bridlewood?!" she asked, still trying to process it.

Misty nodded, and then gulped nervously. "B-But that's not all... I… I... I don't have a Cutie Mark!" she admitted as well, wiping her fake Cutie Mark off her flank.

Zipp and Tails gasped in shock, specially Tails, because not even him saw that one coming.

"I know. It's shocking" Misty said, looked down at the floor. "And the truth is… I never had one..." she added with concern.

"I read about kids not getting theirs until their 10 or something, but a grown mare... This is both interesting, surprising and concerning..." Tails said with worry.

"I knew it!" Zipp exclaimed suddenly, with Tails glaring at her. "Well, I didn't know that. But I knew there was something different about you!" she said with a smile.

"Of course not!" Tails told her with a smile. "Just because you're different doesn't mean that is a bad thing!" he pointed out.

"Boom-zippity. Detective skills on point!" Zipp broasted, just to get a smack on the head by Tails. "Ow!" she yelped.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to rub it in" Zipp apologized to both Misty and Tails, before turning to the unicorn mare. "But why didn't you just tell us?" she asked her with concern.

"Maybe we would have freaked out, and besides Zipp, Sunny would also bomb you with questions, let's get real..." Tails pointed out. "But we would had understand! Why did you didn't tell anyone?" he asked concerned.

"Well… I figured if you all knew, you wouldn't want to be my friends!" Misty cried out, starting to sob and then running to the door in tears.

"It's okay. You don't have to say it" Misty cried. "I'll just leave and then--" she tried to add.

"Of course we do!" Tails assured with a smile. "We need you to stay, because we like you, Misty. Cutie mark or not" he added.

"And you know what? We're all different in our own way, but it's our differences that make us who we are. I mean, how boring would that be if we were all the same?" Zipp joked as she flew forward a bit before landing.

"Take me, as an example. We wanted to try out how it feels to be ponies for the ball, but... In all honesty? I think I prefer to be the little fox I've always been. It's just who I am!" Tails said with a smile. "And, being different is what makes friendship so cool!" he added.

"But let's cut back keeping big secrets, okay?" Tails said with a chuckle. "We don't want detective Zipp going on another quest for truth that might hurt anypony!" he added, slightly pushing Zipp's shoulder, as the pegasus blushed and laughed a bit.

"And I'll work on the whole 'being suspicious of you' thing" Zipp assured the mare with a smile.

Then, Zipp and Misty touched their hooves, as promising to work better for themselves.

"Good, 'cause you seriously need to work on that" Tails said with a smirk. "Also, sorry for snapping like that before... I was just concerned that you'll get too much into your investigation that it'll lead to get yourself hurt... I cannot allow that..." he said with a slight blush, and Zipp immediately blushed as well.

Misty raised an eyebrow as they both blushed at each other, and she couldn't help but frown a bit as well. Why she did, though? She didn't knew, but she didn't liked to see this either.

Still, she shook her head and laughed awkwardly. "So if we aren't keeping secrets anymore, then I think I should show you this" she stated, as she trotted off, grabbed the Alicorn book and gave it to Zipp.

Zipp gasped as she looked at the book. "Alicorns of the Ancient World?!" she asked in shock. "Where did you find this?" she requested Misty.

"Actually, it fell on you" Tails corrected with a smile, as they both chuckled happily at that.

Now it was Zipp who frowned a bit when Tails and Misty laughed together, but before she could even question anything, the door to the library opened suddenly, as Pipp popped her head.

"There you three are!" Pipp called out, startling Zipp as she put the book away. "What are you doing?! Come on! Sunny is trying to teach us––" she tried to explain as she flew in.

"Yes!" Pipp confirmed. "And she's freaking out because we are running out of time to rehearse!" she pointed out as she held out her phone, but then looked at a bookshelf. "Aw, look. All of my old Spooky Stables books, aww!" she flew up and took pictures of the books. "Anyway, are you guys coming or what?!" Pipp asked the others as she flew to the door.

"What d'ya say, Misty? Are you down to a dance we don't know?" Zipp asked Misty with a smile.

"In front of everypony?" Misty asked in panic. "I'll make a fool out of myself!" she pointed out nervously.

"Let us let you in on a little secret" Zipp said as she came next to her ear. "None of us do" she whispered with a chuckle, as she brought out her mask and putted it on.

"Let's just make it up as we go!" Tails stated, also putting his mask back and giving Misty hers with a giggle.

Misty giggled back and putted her mask on, while Zipp came back for the Alicorn book. "Woops! Can't forget this!" Zipp said as she picked up the book.

Misty, Zipp and Tails returned to the throne room as they walked up to their friends.

At the snack table, Sunny was feeling worried, while Hitch and Knuckles tried to cheer her up, and Sonic seemed to be complaining about something.

"Now, come on, Sunny. It's not that bad" Hitch tried to reassure her with a smile.

"You're right. Ha! It's fine" Sunny said in a panicked tone. "We're just about to perform a unity dance that will be completely un-unified!" she cried out in panic.

"I guess when you put it like that, it doesn’t sound ideal…" Hitch said with a sheepish smile.

"Worse case scenario? Ponies make fun of us for a whole week before something even more stupid happens that calls their attention" Knuckles pointed out.

"Yeah... Rule of the internet: It evolves quickly, so we won't be laughed at for so long..." Sonic agreed, as he closed one of his wings with a hoof, only for his other wing to open again. He groaned and did the same, but with his other wing closed, the other one opened again. "Ugh, come on! It's been doing that for the past hour! Having wings is fun and all, but not when I can't close them!" he groaned.

"Shouldn't they close like some kind of reflex?" Sunny asked confused. "That's how my wings, Zipp's and Pipp's work, at least" she pointed out.

"Well, they've been opening for no reason for the past hour like I said!" Sonic complained with a frown, just to try and close his wings again, miserably failing in the process. "Ugh, I give up..." he deadpanned.

"Thank Chaos my only existential crisis so far is that my name has no sense anymore now that I have no knuckles" Knuckles said with a relaxed smile.

"Oh, I'm not. I'm just good at hiding my pain" Knuckles replied, as one of his eyes twitched, which made Sunny and Hitch cringed, while Sonic rolled his eyes in annoyance.

With Jazz and Rocky, Izzy showed them her homemade DJ player. "Ta-da!" Izzy cheered.

"Really?!" Izzy asked excitedly. "I call it a disco platter. Huh! Must be a Unicorn thing" she commented.

"Simple!" Izzy said with her usual cheery smile. "You two bring the grooves and we'll bring the moves. Ooh!" she danced a bit before getting close to them. "That means play our song and we'll dance to it!" she whispered loudly.

"Ooh! That must be your cue!" Izzy said excitedly to the two stylists, thinking that Sunny is telling her it's time before she trotted off to Sunny.

Then, Rocky started the DJ player, while Jazz pointed to Thunder and Zoom, as Zoom pressed a button that brought out a disco ball, which shone bright.

"Wait! It's starting?!" Sunny asked in panic, once she heard the music and saw the disco ball. "No, no, no! We're not ready! We don't have everypony!" she called out in panic.

"Well, I guess we'll have to improvise" Sonic stated with a smirk. "Give me that mic, Izz!" he called out to the unicorn mare.

Izzy nodded and gave Sonic a microphone, while he boosted with his wings to the center of the Ball, and even if he still struggled to keep his wings closed, he shrugged it and decided to leave them open.

"What up, what up Manesquerade Ball?!" Sonic called out, then mimicking a party horn sound. "Everypony clear the dance floor for something that will blow you away! Away…" he added with a smile.

As he spoke, Sunny came up to him. "Sonic, this is a bad idea!" she whispered concerned

"Too late, it's happening! Take it or leave!" Sonic whispered back, before using the mic again. "And now, a special performance of the Electric Unity Shuffle!" he announced.

However, Sunny looked nervous and backed away, while Hitch and Knuckles arrived. "What do we do?! This isn't the message of unity I wanted to send!" she pointed out in worry.

"Don't worry, Sunny. They'll follow your lead. They always do" Hitch assured with a smile.

At this, Sunny took a deep breath, before walking up the dance floor. "It goes like this…" she said as she stood in the middle of the dance floor

As a light turned on over her, she started to dance, while Pipp appeared in front of her and Izzy came from behind, as the three ponies danced in sync.

Sunny:
Somepony give me a shimmy
Somepony give me a shake
Give me a twist and shout
And just feel the bass

And then, Sonic appeared from behind Pipp, as Hitch appeared in front of Sunny and Knuckles in front of Izzy, with the six ponies dancing in sync.

Sunny and Pipp:
Hey, hey!

Pipp:
Come on and let your mane down
Yeah, pony, play

Izzy:
You gotta show me
How you work it today

Izzy sang next, as she danced around and turned both her back and head with a smile.

Mane 5 & Team Sonic:
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh

Hitch:
Shake it, shake it, shake it

Hitch sang as he shook his body. And then, Misty, Zipp and Tails walked up to their friends, as Zipp encouraged Misty to join in, while Misty excitedly joined the others, as she and Sunny touched hooves and Misty twirled around.

Sunny:
Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves

Sonic:
You gotta let your mane down
Yeah, let it sway

Pipp:
Let it sway!)

Knuckles:
You gotta show me
How you're slayin' today

Knuckles sang, as Izzy, while the couple danced together with smiles on their faces.

Pipp:
Dance, feel the rhythm

Sonic:
Everypony move your hooves

Tails:
Ow!

Izzy sang as the Mane 6 and Misty then started singing together as they danced while the ponies at the Ball watched them dance and sing.

Mane 5, Misty & Team Sonic:
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh

Tails and Misty:
Shake it, shake it, shake it

Izzy sings as she and Misty dance together while the ponies start moving the song as Zoom and Thunder move their heads to the beat.

Mane 5, Misty & Team Sonic:
Shake loose, bust a hoof
Show me your pony moves
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-ahhh
Shake it, shake it, shake it

Jazz and Rocky moved to the music, while Sparky did some break dance moves and Cloudpuff moved to the music next to him.

Haven and Alphabittle watched the performance as well. "You know what this reminds me of?" Haven asked Alphabittle.

"My amazing dance skills on Just Prance?" Alphabittle guessed as he hopped up a bit before smiling at Haven.

Haven laughed and tapped Alphabittle's hoof. "No! Reminds me of my Pipp and Zipp" she said, before sighing. "The palace just feels so empty without them..." she added with sadness.

"Isn't that them?" Alphabittle asked with a smile, as he pointed to the dancefloor while the crowd started to cheer.

Haven looked to where Alphabittle pointed, and her eyes widened with surprise. "My hoofness, you're right!" she said with a wide smile, as she saw her daughters circling together in the air. "You go, girls!" she cheered happily to her daughters.

But then, Alphabittle narrowed his eyes as he saw Misty dancing next to Izzy, not recognizing her since he knew almost all the Unicorns from Bridlewood, but before he could get a closer look, a pony blocked his view. Alphabittle decided to shrug it, as he turned and saw Haven smiling at him, and he smiled back, while the two ponies walked closer to the dance floor.

The Mane 6 and Misty together as they then each struck a pose as Misty took a selfie with the with a smile.

Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony's got the moves

Pipp:
Ohhhh, yeah!

Mane 5, Misty & Team Sonic:
Dance, feel the rhythm
Everypony move your hooves

Sunny:
Ooo!

At the end of the song, the Mane 5, Misty and Team Sonic struck a pose, as the crowd cheered at them for the performance.

Later, the group returned to the Brighthouse after the Ball, as they watched the video of their Unity Dance on Pipp's phone that was recorded during their performance.

"At least it ended well!" Sonic pointed out with a smirk, before looking at Sunny at his side. "And you were so worried for nothing!" he joked, pushing her shoulder slightly, while Sunny giggled.

Misty looked down a bit as she got up from the chair and sighed, before look at her friends with a smile. "Well, I should probably be getting back home. Thank you all so much for inviting me" she said happily.

"No sweat" Pipp replied with a smile. "We had a total ball with you, Misty!" she joked, which made her and Sparky laugh. "'Cause literally..." she added with a sheepish smile.

Misty smiled and sighed happily, as they all broke the hug and Misty turned to Zipp and Tails. "Thanks, guys. For saying that I was your friend" she said with a smile.

"Come visit any time" Zipp continued. "Maybe we can even research Alicorns together?" she suggested.

"I'd like that!" Misty agreed with a smile, as she walked out the door, while Zipp and Tails smiled at her.

But as Misty left and everypony else headed to the kitchen for a midnight snack, Team Sonic started to glow bright again.

And then, their bodies glowed really bright once more, while they were lifted in the air for some seconds, before shining even brighter.

Once the light disappeared, the Mane 5 stopped covering their faces, and they saw that Team Sonic returned to their Mobian forms, even with their shoes and gloves putted on.

Team Sonic themselves opened their eyes and gasped once they looked at each other and noticed the change, as they all checked that everything was in order, with Sonic checking his quills, Knuckles closing his fists and smashing them together, and Tails checking his fluffy tails and hugging them.

"Ugh, thank Chaos!" Sonic cheered with a smile. "Being a pegasus and fly around was cool and all, but once I lost control over my wings and they did whatever they wanted, the fun was over..." he pointed out with a bored expression.

"Existential crisis over!" Knuckles cheered as well, as he made some fighting moves in the air with his arms. "My name has sense again, and my fists are back, too!" he said out loud with a smirk, while Sonic rolled his eyes with a smirk as well.

"Oh, I wouldn't have minded staying as a pony longer, but this fluffy fellas are too good to never had again" Tails said with a smile, still hugging his tails.

"So, how would you describe your one-day experience as ponies?" Hitch asked with a smile.

"Well, after today, I genuinely have more respect for you guys and the insane amount if things you can do without fingers" Sonic said with a smile. "I know it looked like I could do it just fine, but I actually struggled for ten minutes, so I definitely respect you guys even more now" he said with a bored expression.

"I was at least two times really close to start and walk around in my hind legs because a part of me kept forgetting that I turned into a pony now..." Knuckles said with an amused expression. "And I kind of felt like I needed another name because... What's the point of being named 'Knuckles' when you have none?!" he asked with panic.

"Like I said, I wouldn't had minded staying as a pony longer... I really liked it!" Tails said with a smile. "But, also... I did missed a lot of things I could do as myself" he confessed.

"Yeah, we definitely respect you more for how incredibly skilled you guys are as ponies" Sonic said, as the Mane 5 smiled at them. "But we also learned to appreciate ourselves even more. I don't think I can survive with a wing spreading the whole time!" he said with a bored expression once again.

"Yeah, that usually happens when your wings are used excessively" Zipp said with a smirk.

At this, Sonic slowly frowned. "Are. You. SHITTING ME?!" he complained out loud with a groan, while everyone else bursted out laughing. "Oh, ha-ha-ha, very funny..." Sonic said sarcastically with an eye roll, also crossing his arms.

In Opaline's Castle, Misty made it back to the castle before Opaline, as she sat alone in the Throne Room.

It also seemed like Eggman didn't noticed that she left, either, because he never came out of his lab, which makes Misty think that he's been there the whole day.

Then, the door to the Throne Room opened, as Misty stood up and saw Opaline coming in. "Well, well, well. You followed my instructions. I'm impressed" Opaline said with a smile, as she walked up to Misty.

"But not as impressed as you will be when you see what I've acquired" Opaline stated, as she brought out the Dragon Stone. "Behold! The Dragon Stone!" she announced, as she held the stone up. "Bask in its glory!" she added.

At this, Opaline looked at Misty with a bored expression. "Okay, calm down. That’s too much basking. Don’t get too excited" she told Misty, as she walked off while holding the Dragon Stone. "We still need to charge it. So we still need dragon fire" she explained.

"Fire?" Misty asked with panic, before realizing what she means. "Oh… Yeah. I'm sorry. I haven't seen that baby dragon again recently" she lied nervously. "So sorry" she apologized again.

"Not as sorry as I am" Opaline retorted, as she walked off the Throne Room and closed the door.

Misty sat down again and brought out her phone, giggling as she saw the selfie she took with her friends during their Unity Dance as the song played again.

At the Crystal Brighthouse, Zipp was at the bedroom in front of her Investigation Board.

"Hey, buddy! That’s mine!" Zipp lectured Sparky as she got her book back from him, and Sparky whimpered in disappointment.

"Now we’re getting somewhere" Zipp smirked, as she started to read the book, but as she turned the pages, she saw something that caught her attention, so she brought out her magnifying glass to get a closer look. "Pages ripped out?" she asked in surprise. "Looks fresh..." she pointed out, before looking at Sparky with a raised eyebrow, thinking he ripped out the pages or ate them.

Sparky just gave happy burbling noises with a shrug and shook his head, telling her that it wasn't him.

"It's almost like somepony didn’t want me to find what was on them..." Zipp theorized with a thoughtful expression, tapping her chin with her magnifying glass.

Just then, she heard something and gasped, because she saw Opaline's shadow coming close to her, so she quickly placed some paper under her pillows and hid them, while Opaline came in.

"My evilness, Misty!" Opaline called out, as she brushed her hoof on Misty's doorway, with some dust flying off. "It’s a pig sty in here. Clean it up!" she yelled, making Misty flinch, while Opaline left the room.

Misty stood quiet as she lifted her pillow again, seeing the pages from the Alicorn book she ripped as she read them, feeling guilty that she had to do so... But a part of her felt that she needed to keep the mystery going for Zipp.

Then, she looked at the selfie she took with her friends on her phone, then looked at the bracelet Izzy gave her on her left hoof, and she sighed in guilt and regret for doing this to her friends.

He spent the entire day searching for something in a bunch of books he took from Opaline's library, but so far he had nothing. He was so invested on his research, that he literally forgot about Misty, which is why she could go out of the Castle with no trouble.

"No..." Eggman said with anger, throwing another book backwards and grabbing another one. "No!" he groaned again, launching the book backwards as well and then grabbing other book. "Ugh, this one has empty pages! What kind of stupid would leave white pages on their book?!" he questioned with rage.

However, he knew a trick or two about this kind of books, because that made his eyes widened, so he quickly grabbed a ultraviolet light and applied it over the pages, just to grin sinisterly when he saw invisible draws of the Unity Crystals and some text around it hidden with invisible tint, just what he was looking for.

"Please bring me what I seek..." Eggman begged, as he started to read the text quickly. And then, his eyes stopped in one paragraph. "Hmm... 'Magic Absorber Spell'... 'This spell can revert the effect on the Unity Crystals to steal magic instead of give'..." he kept reading.

"Hahaha... 'Even no magical beings can use it'!" Eggman read and cheered out loud. "Opaline, you better watch your back. Because I'm keeping my friends close... And my enemies even closer!" he declared, as he started to laugh loudly like a maniac.

Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Make Your Mark - Season 2

by BronySonicFan

6. The Manesquerade Ball