She closed the door to her room slowly, letting out a sigh of relief.
After, according to her, another boring day at school, all Pipp wanted to do was take a hot bath and get comfy to flop on her bed and check her social media until she fell asleep. She felt exhausted after all the things she had to do on school just to organize the preparations for Fall Formal: check out the invitations were sent, the participants for the Fall Formal Princess, make sure Izzy doesn't ends up eating all the food for the great day... again. It was very stressful, and she could really use a brake now...
Unfortunately, she had 2 inconveniences: First, she had to rehearse her songs for her next concert, since she would have a small rehearsal in the auditorium tomorrow. And second, she promised a livestream for that night, so 'rest' was not on her schedule. At least not yet.
The biggest disadvantage of being a pop star was that she was always busy, always. Whether it was writing a new song, livestreaming, or creating a new beauty product with her image, she rarely had any free time. And when she had it, gosh, how she adored it. She loved her friends, more than any of her 'loyal fans', because they loved her not for being a pop star, but for being her, for simply being Pipp.
And although they understood that Pipp had a busy life, she felt terrible that she couldn't be with them as often as she wanted. The real problem was her mom: Haven's expectations of Pipp aren't that high, since her attention is only on Zipp as she is the heiress to her company. Not that Pipp wanted to inherit all of that, no, she didn't really care about it, but that Haven didn't give her the same level of attention just because she was her youngest daughter hurt.
She kept herself busy with her songs and livestreams to take her mind off all that, because it was painful to think that her own mother didn't take her seriously.
She sighed ruefully at the thought, shook her head to put those thoughts aside and scratched at it with one hand. "Don't get distracted, Pipp" she told herself. "Not when you have to rehearse" she reminded herself.
She left her bag with her school things next to her desk, where she had all of her equipment for her livestreams, and sat on her chair and then watched the songs she had to rehearse, ordered from the least popular to the most popular. Although saying that some of her songs were not popular was a lie, because all her songs went viral in a matter of seconds.
She checked the time on her phone, it was only 5:23 in the afternoon, so she had plenty of time to rehearse before her livestream tonight. After tuning her vocal chords, she began to rehearse the lyrics of the first song: Glowin Up. She remembered that song with some nostalgia, because it was thanks to her that she met Sunny, Izzy and Hitch.
It is true that they accidentally sabotaged that show during a school event, but she was grateful for that mishap, although at first she wanted to beat them up badly.
But again, her barely being able to interact with them hurt. They were the first friends of hers that she made of her own, and yet she couldn't meet them the way she would like.
After 2 hours of rehearsals, Pipp decided to call it quits and bang her on her bed. She was already used to this routine, so her voice didn't hurt at all. She checked her cell phone again: the time was 7:30 at night. She had 30 minutes to spare before starting her livestream.
She then decided to check her social networks, in order to stay informed in case something interesting has happened in the last 2 hours, or to try to train in general. Well, the key word here is try, because after 10 minutes she was bored. She put her phone down next to her and sighed ruefully.
She wasn't going to deny it: she wanted to give up this way of living. She longed to be able to go out with her friends like anyone else, to be able to be available more often and do these concerts and livestreams on the side.
She has told Zipp on several occasions, and her sister agrees that giving up her pop star life would be one of the best decisions she could make. On more than one occasion, Pipp has had the opportunity to be in front of her fans and tell them that she was going to quit, to have a more normal life with her friends, but in the end she retracted and sent a message that made her fans scream of emotion.
The funny thing is that no one was stopping her from leaving that life, not even her mother. Pipp could announce at any time that she was going to stop being a pop star to focus on herself, her friends, her family and her life and move forward smoothly. No one was stopping her...
Nobody, except herself. Why? Fear, that was the perfect word to describe it. She knew that people like her friends and family would accept and support her, but she was terrified that the world would not respect her or let her go. The very idea of announcing that, and then walking down the street being singled out and watched with hatred and contempt from her made her tremble and feel anxious.
She suddenly felt her cheeks wet, and looking at herself in the reflection of her cell phone screen, she found several tears running down her cheeks, ruining her makeup in the process.
"No, no, no, no, no... Not now!" Pipp complained quietly. Quickly, she got up from the bed and walked over to her dresser, she quickly wiped away the makeup that was ruined by tears and made up again. "Try not to think about it, Pipp," She told herself in the mirror. "Do it for them…" She added with a somewhat sad look.
Having fully prepared, she headed over to her desk and got everything ready to begin her livestream. And finally, she thought of things that filled her with life, that made her days happy and that allowed her to smile. She always did that before every livestream, so her smile would be genuine and no one would suspect that she felt sad before she started livestreaming. And now, with a real smile, she pressed the record button and started her livestream.
No matter what he did, how many sheep he counted or how tired he felt, Sonic couldn't sleep.
In fact, he's been having trouble to sleep at all lately. Opaline's attack was almost three weeks ago, and ever since, neither she nor Eggman have showed up yet. It should be a good thing, right? Well, not when Opaline's scheme was close to succeed.
Eggman created a metallic virus that could infect and mind control anyone that touched it. He was planning on using said virus to infect everyone and everypony in Equestria... but he never expected Opaline to not only find out about his plan, but to also turn it against him and control him in the process.
So, Opaline infected the virus on everyone, except for Tails, Zipp, Misty and Sunny, and Equestria was about to fell on her hooves, if it wasn't because of Tails. Just as Sonic told him he should do, a few weeks before the Zombot Apocalypse happened, Tails found the courage to put his fears and doubts aside, turning into 'Super Tails' and spreading the cure that Zipp and Misty finished.
Thanks to this sample, Tails not only destroyed the Metal Virus and defeated Opaline along Sunny, but he also saved Equestria from falling to Opaline's control and became a hero with an own identity, no longer being outcasted by Sonic.
Speaking of Sonic, he opened his eyes, just to smile brightly at who was at his side: That pink pegasus with floppy wings, purple mane and golden hooves that captivated his heart, resting peacefully at his side as she snored quietly. Even as she slept, Sonic found Pipp the most beautiful thing he has ever met.
If someone told him before that one day he'll be in love with a pegasus of another dimension, he would probably believe it thanks to all the crazy stuff he had gone through. And yet, he couldn't believe how lucky he was to meet her, to love her. His smile grew bigger as he wrapped his arms around her and carefully attached her to his chest, kissing her forehead softly.
He rubbed her back gently with his hand, feeling her soft fur that could make all of his worries leave in a matter of seconds, even if it was just for a few minutes. Sometimes, he still couldn't believe that Pipp also had a crush on him, despite the very obvious signs for the rest. But that was the beauty of love, wasn't it? Like each other and yet not realizing the feeling is mutual.
Their relationship grew really fast ever since they met. Sonic though her name was funny, and that she was just an influencer that would marry her phone if she could. Then, he thought of her as a selfish princess that had her life settled and didn't seem to care about her people. How much he thanked Chaos that he was completely wrong, once he started to meet her better.
Pipp was no different in that aspect. At first, she though he was a porcupine instead of a hedgehog, and she treated him horribly. When Sonic saved her from the angry crowd of pegasi, she felt very mad until he told her many hurtful things. And yet, Sonic stood with her, he extended his hand with a smile and offered her the chance to change, because she did was a bit selfish back then. And gosh, how much she thanked to have the will to take his hand, because the simple act of him kissing her hoof it's what started everything.
Time passed by, they met each other better, they lived together, and they fell in love with each other. And after a disastrous attempt, they finally told each other how they felt, and their relationship officially began.
Their friends were the first ones to know, and boy, they cheered a lot. They expected them to realize sooner, but they were happy that they finally confessed to each other. They told the news to others, like Haven, who approved their relationship almost on a jump of excitement. And then there was Amy, who at first wasn't so happy, but she did congratulated them, because she loved Sonic and wanted him to be happy, no matter is it wasn't with her.
They also told the news with a concert, and the reception was positive and supporting for the biggest part, but of course, there where those that didn't liked the idea of a pegasus and a hedgehog together. Still, they didn't cared, because they loved each other. And that's how they got here, after so many adventures and crazy situations, they were sleeping on Pipp's bed after another day.
Speaking of her, she opened her eyes slowly and saw herself wrapped in her boyfriend's arms, then smiled as she nuzzled her head on his chest, which made Sonic to look down at her.
"Sorry..." Sonic said with a little smile. "Did I wake you up?"
"No~" Pipp whispered softly. "I just wanted to nuzzle my handsome hedgehog boyfriend~" She said in a playful tone, nuzzling again on Sonic's chest.
Sonic himself smiled at her girlfriend's attitude, and kissed her forehead again. "I just love how floppy your skin and wings are," He said on a playful tone as well. "It feels better than any blanket or pillow."
Pipp giggled a bit, as she wrapped her hooves around Sonic as well. "Oh, you silly hedgehog," She said with a smile that melt Sonic's heart. Seriously, anything she did made Sonic feel on haven, like if she was an angel that feel from the sky. However, his eyes showed up his worry, and Pipp could notice that, she started to notice how Sonic felt with his expressions long before they even became a couple. "You can't sleep, can you?"
Sonic sighed a bit frustrated before replying. "No... I can't..." He said with honesty. In other circumstances, he would make up some joke or directly lie so Pipp won't worry... but he also learned long ago that it was better being honest than just try to avoid the matter. "It's been difficult for a while now."
"Is this why you asked me to sleep with you?" Pipp wondered curiously.
"Yeah..." Sonic said with a side smile. "You're the only thing in the world that can make me forget about all my problems and help me to relax," He explained, while Pipp smiled at him. "I just though that sleeping with you by my side would help me sleep... but my worries keep getting bigger. I'm sorry to drag you along, Little Pipp."
"Don't be," Pipp told him with a smile, then she kissed him to give some comfort. God, how much Sonic adored her lips, so soft and sweet, just like her. "So, what's bothering you?"
"Eggman... and Opaline too, to be honest. No matter how much we defeat them or we get rid of them, they always come back," Sonic muttered with a frown. "I shouldn't feel bothered, but after what happened last time... I don't want anything bad happening to you," He confessed, gently caressing her cheek. "Or the others," He added.
"And it won't happen, my Blue Star," Pipp assured to him with a smile. Yeah, that nickname also made him love her even more. "Look, I think I know how to make you sleep, but first I need you to relax and close your eyes, okay?" She instructed.
Sonic kissed her back and smiled. "Anything for you, Little Pipp," He said, as he let out a sigh and closed his eyes.
Pipp then nuzzled against his chest and started to hum a soft and improvised lullaby. Yeah, another thing Sonic loved from Pipp: her voice. Her sweet, angelical voice that always made his days shine, and his problems disappear. That lullaby was working indeed, because he felt sleepy in a matter of seconds. However, a bad feeling grew inside him, like if something wrong would happen at any second now.
But he didn't got a chance to think further on it, because Pipp's song made him finally fell asleep.