Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: Make Your Mark - Season 3

by BronySonicFan

5. The Fox in the Storm

Sonic, Pipp, Tails and Zipp were at Zephyr Heights.

The formers were on their own having a date, while Tails decided to do some shopping for a device he was making to tear down Opaline's barrier around her castle. As for Zipp? Welp, she was doing her favorite thing in the world: Helping her mom to settle everything for the Royal Feathers Ball.

Yeah, I'm getting a little sarcastic here, sorry for that.

In all honesty, Zipp was bored on helping Queen Haven to organize all this stuff, but this year, she had two big reasons to feel a tiny, little bit less annoyed by the ball: The first one, she has helped her mom to organize it countless of times in previous years. She already knows the schedule better than her real name, and it was a bless considering how pushy Haven gets with preparing anything in general.

The second reason, and the most important for her, was that she was looking forward to the ball so she could have some time alone with Tails.

Yeah, it was weird for her to be interested on the ball, or even thinking about looking pretty for it. However, she wanted to look presentable nor only to avoid scolding from her mom, but also to see if it got Tails' attention. Again, she never though to look pretty for anyone or anything before, but she believed that it was worth it if it was to impress Tails.

She find it funny that he still didn't told her he has feelings for her, and she definitely wasn't planning on making that step herself, but maybe this ball could be the perfect excuse for her to actually encourage him to make that step forward.

But everything at it's stablished time. First things first: She had to deal with her Mom wanting everything to be perfect, which only made Zipp want to roll her eyes in annoyance at the mere thought of Haven panicking all over the castle about the ball.

Right now, mother and daughter were at the Throne Room, with Zoom marking with a check all the stuff that was already verified by Haven and Zipp, while the latter was placing on specific zones some curtains around the room.

"Food, granted by the most refined chefs of all Equestria?" Haven asked, as she paced back and forth with a panicked look.

"Check!" Zoom informed.

"All the invitations to High Social Ponies?" Haven asked again.

"Double check!" Zoom informed again.

"Decorations?!" Haven asked one last time, this time literally getting into Zoom's face and lowering her phone, while Zoom herself gulped and looked around in panic, not knowing what to tell her Queen.

"Triple check, Mom!" Zipp informed this time with a smirk, as she landed next to Zoom and pointed at the Throne Room decorated.

The already fancy Throne Room now had several tables placed around for threats and drinks; the curtains that Zipp was placing perfectly were a mix of red and pink, displaced on all the windows; and there was a small stage not so far from the thrones in the middle of the room, probably for a band to play music during the ball.

"Oh... Oh!" Haven said, really impressed that the whole place was already done. "This is... Perfect! Even better than that!" she exclaimed with a smile. "How did you got it all so well done, and even placed on the specific place?!" she asked Zipp.

"Well, after years of panicking and instructing on how things have to be done for the Royal Feathers Ball, I already get the hang on how this should be done!" Zipp replied with a slight smirk. "Also, I know how much this ball means to you, Mom. And I also know that I'm not enthusiastic for this stuff, and I honestly still ain't, but I guess I can make an exception if it makes you happy" she added.

"Aww, Zipp!" Haven said with a warm smile, touched by her daughter's words, as she didn't hesitated to embrace Zipp into a hug, which did made her feel uncomfortable, but she still hugged back because it was her Mom at the end of the day. "That's so sweet of you! This place never looked this good, nor ready in so little time! Of course, I still need to check out some minor details, but I can handle that on my own. Thank you so much for your help!" she thanked Zipp with happiness.

"Again, if it makes you happy, I can put my lack of enthusiasm aside to help you out!" Zipp replied with a smile as well.

"That's good to hear. Zoom, inform all the chefs that the ballroom is ready and they can sent their meals and threats if they're ready" Haven instructed the pegasus, who made a salute and then flew away. "And you, Zipp, really made me proud with this! Are you sure you did this just to help me out? Or you want this place to look nice so Tails can get his eye on you, hmm?" she asked her with a mocking smirk.

Zipp immediately blushed after being teased like this. "MOM!" she exclaimed embarrassed, while Haven laughed at her fully red expression. "T-That has nothing to do with it! Even though I do expect him to notice me, though..." she confessed, now looking away and looking down at the floor.

"Ooh, are you planning on leaving an impression?" Haven asked mockingly, and Zipp growled and facehoofed. "I'm just messing with you! But I do believe he'll be impressed if you invite him to your presentation" she added, as she started to walk away.

"Yeah..." Zipp rolled her eyes, but then, her blush left, and her eyes widened. "Wait, what? Presentation?" she asked confused, now flying in front of her Mom and looking at her with concern. "What are you talking about?" she questioned.

"Pipp didn't told you?" Haven asked with a raised eyebrow, and a deadpan of Zipp was enough to get her answer. "Of course she didn't..." she deadpanned as well.

"She's always on her phone and focused on Sonic. It's really weird seeing her not doing any of that" Zipp pointed out with a bored expression.

"True..." haven admitted, before shaking her head and smiling again. "Anyways! I decided to make a little change this year around. You'll be the main presentation, and you must bring a partner with you" she explained.

"What?!" Zipp shouted with wide eyes, also opening her wings in surprise. "But why?! Pipp's always the one that makes these presentations! A-And now that she has a boyfriend on Sonic, why change it to me?!" she asked in panic.

"I'm aware that you are not a fan of big crowds, nor being the center of attention" Haven confessed. "However, I need you to remember that you are the Heiress to the Zephyr Heights' Throne. Therefore, I need you to start showing a bit more of confidence when talking in public. Consider this a 'test' for that" she explained with a relaxed smile.

"B-But why?! Could you at last have asked me if I wanted to do it?!" Zipp asked, now frowning. "I know you are the Queen, and my mom, but that doesn't mean that––" she tried to say something.

"Zephyrina!" Haven shut her down, now frowning as well. "I don't want to hear what you have to say! You are gonna be Queen one day, and like it or not, you have to get over this 'I don't like crowds' thing!" she pointed out.

"But why can't I have a word on this? I'm simply trying to say––" Zipp tried to counter.

"ENOUGH!" Haven snapped, this time stomping her hoof on the ground, and Zipp flinched, as her ears lowered. "You will be the main presentation of the ball, and that's final! Understood?!" she stated with anger and open wings.

Zipp looked down at the floor and sighed. "... Yes, Mom..." she replied.

"Good" Haven said, turning around and leaving the Throne Room, while Zipp sat down on the floor and sighed again.

She always felt like her word didn't mattered to her mother. It didn't mattered what she tried to say, Haven would simply not listen and label it as 'nonsense' from her, which hurt her feelings and made her feel insecure sometimes. If it wasn't because of her friends and her sister, maybe she wouldn't feel as confident as she is today.

Suddenly, her ears perked up, and she smiled a bit. "Pipp! Of course! Maybe she can talk Mom out of it!" Zipp said with a smile, as she also left the Throne Room by flight.

The next day, back in Maretime Bay, Zipp went to Mane Melody to talk in private with Pipp.

She shared how everything was going well when she helped Haven to organize everything for the ball, until she mentioned that Zipp was going to be the highlight of the ball instead of Pipp this year around.

"... and then I tried to talk her our of the idea, but she shut me down!" Zipp exclaimed with rage, as she paced back and forth in front of the stage, while Pipp was paying attention at her and looked concern. "She didn't even let me explain myself! How can I get over my deal with talking in public if I'm not allowed to have a word at all?!" she complained.

"You truly are not taking this well..." Pipp commented with a sheepish smile.

"Of bucking-course I'm not taking it fine!" Zipp said with anger. "Why does she always refuses to listen to me?! Do I have no right to have a word on any of her decisions over what I can do or not?!" she said with rage.

"Whoa, okay, slow down your horses, sis!" Pipp requested, as she flew at her sister's side and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "Mom does care for you and your word. Is just... Whenever she gets an idea that's part of your 'Training to become Queen', she stops hearing everypony. You included" she pointed out.

"But why?! If it's my training, don't I get to decided wether if I find it adequate or not?!" Zipp asked in anger.

"Again, Mom never listens to reason when it comes to your training" Pipp reminded. "I did tried to talk her out of the idea and let me be the main event as usual, but... I guess you can already tell how that idea went..." she confessed with a sheepish smile.

"... You tried to talk her out of the idea, even though most of the time you agreed with her actions regarding me being prepared to be Queen?" Zipp asked, both shocked and confused.

"Of course I did!" Pipp said with a warm smile. "Not only because I would love to be the main event as usual, but also because you are my sister! And I know you don't really enjoy this kind of stuff. I couldn't stand there and not try to do something, but... Mom didn't listened to me, either" she explained with concern.

Zipp sighed in concern and felt a huge grudge against her Mom. Why wouldn't she listen to her?

"Look, sis. I say you let this one slip and, next year, if she gets that idea of having you as the main star, we'll both confront her, together!" Pipp told her with a smile, even wrapping a hoof around her neck.

"Well... I guess it'll be worth a shot, even though I feel like she won't listen, anyways..." Zipp said with a half-smile and a half-sad look.

Later on, Zipp went back to the Brighthouse.

There, she found both Sunny and Knuckles making dinner, with the former checking something on the stove, while the latter was wearing a chef hat and cutting some vegetables.

Just then, Sunny noticed Zipp entering to the kitchen. "Oh, hey Zipp!" she greeted her with a smile, which faded away once she noticed her conflicted look.

"Hey, Sunny. Hey, Knuckles..." Zipp greeted back, not even trying to hide the fact that she was not feeling happy nor cheerful.

"Yo!" Knuckles said, but he kept cutting vegetables.

"You look sad about something... Are you okay?" Sunny asked Zipp with concern.

"Kinda..." Zipp confessed. "It's just... Mom wants me to be the center of attention for the Royal Feathers Ball this year instead of Pipp, and I really don't want to! But... she doesn't even listen to me..." she pointed out with concern.

"Royal Feathers Ball? That thing were Pipp's show was almost a replica of the one you ruined when Sonic was the only one from our world around here?" Knuckles asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup" Zipp replied. "And this year it all depends on me... But I seriously don't want to do it! Is not what I want, I don't even like to sing that much, nor have all eyes on me! It makes me feel anxious, watched, and awkward! What if I say or do something stupid?!" she pointed out with panic.

"Zipp! Zipp, breath!" Sunny said, as she got to her side and placed a hoof on her shoulder, while Zipp obeyed and took a deep breath to calm herself. "There. Feeling better?" Sunny asked her with a smile.

"A bit..." Zipp replied. "I'm... I just really, really hate that she gets to decide everything for me, and I have no word on it only because she says so! It frustrates me!" she exclaimed with concern and a frown.

"Girl, I'll tell you what's the problem..." Knuckles decided to speak. "The way you might see things, she's being evil and mean and forces you to do stuff because she enjoys it... Girl, she's your Mom. She knows when she's right and when she's wrong. But sometimes, what she feels is right is actually wrong, and what she feels is wrong is actually right" he explained.

However, both Zipp and Sunny blinked a few times and stared blankly at Knuckles.

"The what now?" Zipp asked confused.

"Um, I think Knuckles is trying to say that your Mom may be strict sometimes and won't listen to reason" Sunny pointed out with an awkward smile.

"I know that! Pipp told me the exact same!" Zipp pointed out with a groan, even facehoofing.

"But she do can respect when things seem to get out of hand, even for her" Knuckles said. "I say let it slip this one time and then make a whole revolution if she insists on the same thing next year" he suggested, as he went back to cook.

"What?!" Zipp said with disbelief. "Pipp also said that, but I––" she tried to explain, but this time, Sunny cut her off.

"See? Even your sister agrees that this is just one of your many Mom's shenanigans!" Sunny said with a smile. "Just roll with it this year, and then tell her how you feel about it the next one!" she added, as she went back to check the stove.

"But that's not what I want! I––" Zipp tried to explain, but then, the stove started to let go some smoke, which caught both Sunny and Knuckles' complete attention.

"The stove is burning!" Sunny said with panic, while Knuckles quickly boosted away and then came back with an extinguisher and turned off the small flame.

"Welp, that was close..." Knuckles said with a bored expression.

"Yeah... I guess we got carried away with the conversation..." Sunny chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, Zipp, but I'm afraid we have to––" she tried to apologize, but once she was going to face Zipp, she was gone. "Oh..." she muttered.

"Eh, I'm sure she's just overreacting" Knuckles shrugged it off, and Sunny deadpanned at him when he did so. "Is one thing to be paranoid about a potential traitor in one of our friends, but there's a completely different one with being scolded because your Mom made an appointment for your own good" he pointed out with a bored expression.

"... Okay, that's true..." Sunny admitted.

Zipp went upstairs, where she found Sonic, Amy and Izzy playing UNO.

Well, Sonic and Amy were playing, Izzy was just keeping the count of who was winning... Amy was 36 rounds ahead of Sonic, who has won none.

Soon, though, Izzy noticed Zipp coming in. "Oh, hi, Zippy!" she greeted her with a cheery smile, also waving her hoof.

"Hey, guys..." Zipp replied with a bored expression and tone. "What are you three up to?" she asked them.

"Just playing UNO. And I am not leaving until I have defeated Amy!" Sonic declared with a smirk.

"Please, Sonic! You can't really say that for 36 rounds and still believe you have a chance!" Amy mocked up.

"I'll prove you wrong, Ames, even if it takes all day!" Sonic declared with a frown.

"At least you guys seem to be doing better than I..." Zipp muttered with concern.

"By the way, congratulations for being the main event at your Family's Ball!" Amy told her suddenly with a smile.

Of course, Amy was just trying to cheer her, but Zipp did not took it as that. So, she frowned in anger, but before she could even say it, she got interrupted... again.

"Yeah! Pipp told me that your Mom pointed the lights to you!" Sonic said with a smile as well. "Shōshin omedetōgozaimasu!" he added, saying 'Congratulations on your promotion!' in Japanese.

This just made Zipp feel even more angrier, and she started to breath heavily in rage, but she couldn't say anything again because Izzy cut her off.

"I can't wait to see what are you gonna do in the ball, Zipp!" Izzy said with a huge smile, also side-hugging the pegasus. "Oh! We gotta get back to the game. Sorry!" she added, as she, Sonic and Amy went back to focus on the UNO game between the two Mobians.

That made Zipp growl loudly in rage, but to avoid upsetting her friends with her words, she flew out of the bedroom, although she did slammed the door as she did so, which finally called her friends' attention.

"Uh... Did you girls heard that?" Sonic asked confused.

"Yeah..." Izzy replied. "Sounds like somepony hit with something..." she pointed out.

"Probably Knuckles hit the table after something went wrong..." Amy deadpanned, before looking down at her cards and smile, as she placed a 'Eat 4 + Color Change' card in the table they were at. "I change to green!" she exclaimed with a smile.

"Aw, come on–– I have 24 cards, woman! AND I DON'T EVEN HAVE A GREEN!" Sonic shouted with rage.

Now, as the sun settled, Zipp went to the Sheriff Station, this time completely outraged.

She found Hitch, Misty and Sparky there. Misty seemed to be playing with Sparky, as she was laying in the floor on her back and tossed the baby dragon in the air, trapping him from time to time; while Hitch was organizing some paperwork alone since Knuckles left early to cook dinner along Sunny.

Misty was busy playing with Sparky, but even if Hitch was busy as well with paperwork, he noticed Zipp entering the Station anyways, and he smiled at her. "Oh, hey, Zipp!" he greeted her.

That called Misty's attention, so she stood up and looked over at Zipp with a smile. "Hello!" she greeted as well, and she caught Sparky with her magic, since she launched him before hearing Hitch greeting Zipp.

"Hey..." Zipp replied, not really in the mood to talk.

"Uh, you okay?" Hitch asked. "You don't really seem good today" he pointed out with concern.

"Ugh! NO! I am NOT okay!" Zipp shouted, which made both Hitch and Misty flinch. "Everytime I want to say what I'm thinking on that stupid idea of me headlining the Royal Feathers Ball, no one listens to me, and––" she tried to point out again.

Wanna guess what's gonna happen? Yup! She gets interrupted again!

"Oh, yeah! I think we heard about that!" Misty said, as she and Hitch looked at each other for a second with a smile.

"UGH!" Zipp groaned loudly, and snapped in anger once again. "THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN!!!" she shouted in rage, before boosting out of the Station, completely outraged.

Both Hitch and Misty were completely shocked after Zipp snapped like that, and they slowly looked at each other, before looking back at the Station's door.

"Uh... What's gotten into her?" Misty asked confused. "She was talking so fast, and I could barely just get the part where she mentioned the Ball thing" she pointed out.

"I don't know, but... She didn't looked happy..." Hitch said with concern, before pulling out his phone. "Better tell Tails and Pipp about this..." he stated.

Misty didn't frowned when Hitch said he would tell Tails about Zipp's situation, because even if she was jealous that Tails liked Zipp, she knew that he was the best choice to talk with her if Pipp wasn't available. Hopefully, he could find out what was going on with her...

Zipp flew away from Maretime Bay.

Heck, she flew to a place that wasn't visited at all by anypony, nor that was near any of the three cities. She wanted to be as far as she could from any of them, specially Zephyr Heights, considering that's where the Royal Feathers Ball is gonna take place... Where the presentation she does not wants to do is gonna take place.

Why was so difficult for her Mom to show some sympathy and hear what she has to say? Why was so difficult for her friends to stop doing what they're doing and just listen to her?!

She wasn't even bother to going and talk with Tails nor Team Dark. The former was probably busy on his workshop, and the latter group wouldn't even care if she was being honest, so why bother on going to tell them the same she's being trying to tell everyone else? Just to be shut down again? No thanks.

"They cannot do that forever... She cannot do that forever!" Zipp said with a frown, as she landed on a random forest far away from her home. "I can't... I WON'T be silenced!" she stated.

Soon, Zipp started to wonder across the forest, which actually got a pretty good lightning tonight, probably because of the moon being on its full state today.

Usually, she would just let her frustration out by mental cursing everyone... But since she was alone, she felt like she could let it out in another way. And, of course, with this being a My Little Pony story, she did it the best way any My Little Pony character would do it: She sang her frustration out.

Zipp hopped over some bushes, flapping her wings a bit, and she ducked down to dodge a tree branch.

As she sang this part of the song, she frowned slightly, while she also reached a place on the forest where she could see a stone in the middle of the tress, as the moonlight illuminated it. She decided to approach said rock.

Zipp stood over the rock and looked straight up at the moon in the sky, as it illuminated her as well. Then, she resumed her walking through the forest, but this time around, she decided to fly around some tree branches.

As she sang this, she stopped herself near a lake she found in the forest and looked at her reflection on the water.

While singing, she started to remember all the previous times before yesterday that she tried to share her opinion on anything to her mother, but she was either ignored or shut down.

This is a problem that's been happening ever since she was a filly, and now, even in her young adulthood, it still happens. Worse of all, her Mom is not the only one that made her feel that way: When magic glitched on Maretime Bay Day, she also felt ignored and shut down. And after meeting Misty, it got even worse with the way Tails treated her...

He apologized unlike her mom, true, but it still hurt her sometimes...

After she remembered what happened yesterday while looking at her reflection on the mirror, she frowned, and with the last sentence being sang, she waved the water with her hoof and took flight again.

Singing this still, Zipp took flight to the sky, were she stood there while singing and staring at Zephyr Heights in the distance with concern, before frowning with anger after remembering what Haven told her, so she turned around and smiled at the sight of the forest, as she flew towards it again.

Zipp dive into the trees of the forest, and she started to accelerate across it, as she dodged tress like obstacles and made some loops around spaces between the tree leaves and the tree branches, never stoping singing a single second.

Zipp was singing her lungs out during her whole flight, as she felt free by feeling the wind in her mane, in her wings and in her face. She never felt any more satisfaction than when flying, because she knew that she was free in the sky, that nopony had control over life when she was in the air, and she loved it.

However, she never noticed that a figure was following her by flight the whole time.

Zipp almost crashed with a tree branch because of bad calculation, but she did dodged it on the last second. As she did so, she smiled and passed through a pile of leaves, as they flew and danced around her.

Even though she always said she hated to sing, the truth is that she does enjoys it. In fact, sometimes she thinks that she would be as passionate about it as her sister if she wasn't so hesitant on being the center of attention.

Still, that didn't meant she couldn't enjoy it, and this was one of the many times she absolutely loved to sing.

And as the song finished, she reached the end of the forest and ran through a small field, before reaching the edge of a cliff and once again look at the moon, while it's light pointed at her.

Zipp breathed heavily as she finally finished her song. She was impressed that she managed to get out all the frustration she was feeling because of her Mom and her friends.

Many would say it wasn't as effective as crying or talking things out, but she definitely got a massive weight off her shoulders, although she knew pretty well that it wouldn't last forever, and that she was eventually going to feel that weight again.

"Wow..." a voice spoke suddenly, startling Zipp.

She turned around with wide eyes, but her gaze softened and she even smiled genuinely after seeing that Tails was behind her, as he slowly approached the pegasus mare with a wide smile and even a look of admiration on his eyes.

"You know? I've heard you singing before, but... I've never heard you singing on your own" Tails said, stopping in front of her and slightly looking down at her.

Of course, now that he has grown up a bit, he's a few inches taller than Zipp, and not because of his hair. Still, it wasn't that much of a difference. In fact, if Zipp stood on her hind legs only, it'll be obvious that he's technically still smaller than her, but he wouldn't really care, to tell the truth.

"Well... To be honest, I... Do like to sing sometimes... Just when I'm alone and nopony's watching, you know?" Zipp confessed with a slightly embarrassed smile, and she even rubbed one of her hooves nervously while avoiding eye contact with Tails, something he found adorable. "S-So, uh... Whatcha think?" she asked him nervously.

Tails sighed, but still looking at her eyes, he didn't hesitated on saying what he truly believed. "It was beautiful... Just like the mare that sing it..." he said with absolutely no sign of shame, even though he did got a slight blush on his cheeks.

Zipp, on the other hand, got completely red from embarrassment, and her wings even opened entirely. Anyone could confuse her with a tomato because of how red her face was looking right now, but Tails still found it adorable, since he chuckled at her reaction.

So, Zipp quickly shook her head and scratched her neck, still looking away from Tails. "S-So... Heheh... W-What are you doing here, uh... partner?" she asked him, trying to look less flustered and miserably failing at it.

Tails chuckled one last time, before letting out a sigh and look at Zipp with concern. "Well... A bird told me you seemed concerned and asked me if I could check on you" he explained. "And after hearing that song, despite your beautiful and angelic voice, I got the message behind it" he confessed.

Zipp's blush disappeared, just to let in a feeling she hasn't felt ever since Pipp was almost crushed by the Death Egg Titan: Fear. But why? Because she feared to hear what Tails was going to say...

However, Tails just carefully took one of her hooves and guided her towards the edge of the cliff they were over, as they both sat down, and Tails never let go her hoof. In fact, he even placed his other hand over it and caressed it slightly, which made Zipp feel butterflies on her stomach, and she even blushed a bit again, just not as much as before.

"I understand perfectly that you feel speechless, Zipp" Tails told her. "I don't know how or why, but I'm willing to hear you, Zipp. I'll try not to interrupt you, okay? So you can explain me everything from the top" he assured her with a smile, one that warmed Zipp's heart and made her blush a bit more.

She knew she liked Tails ever since the Unicorn Sleepover, and she never thought she could ever feel more in love with him... Yet here he is, proving her wrong on something good and wholesome. He surely loved her if he was willing to listen.

So, taking a deep breath, Zipp looked at Tails in the eyes and spoke. "... Ever since I was a filly, my Mom has gotten the idea of me being the heiress and future Queen of Zephyr Heights too serious. I can never speak, refuse, give an opinion, or even stand by my position. Mom's very stubborn when it comes to train me so I can become the Queen one day, but... It doesn't changes the fact that I feel a bit left out and ignored by her... By my own mother!" she explained with concern.

Tails said nothing when he noticed that Zipp was almost at the edge of crying, and ehe even felt part of her hoof gripping into him, so he slowly grabbed Zipp from her chin and made her look at him, as he smiled at her, and she smiled back.

Zipp took another deep breath after that, and she decided to continue. "Remember that I was helping Mom for the Royal Feathers Ball while you were shopping and our siblings were dating?" she asked him, and Tails nodded, sticking to his word of not interrupt her. "Well... Mom told me that I'm gonna be the one making the big and main presentation for the Ball, something Pipp does every year instead of me! But Mom insists that I have to do it this year only because I... Because I'm the future Queen..." she said with concern, looking down and not daring to look at Tails in the eyes. "I know she means well, that she wants me to be the best kind of Queen I could ever be, but... How am I suppose to do that if I don't get a word on my own decisions?" she pointed out with concern.

Tails looked at her with shame and concern. He definitely wanted to help her out, to make her feel confident and happy as usual, but if she was right, then going with Haven and trying to talk her out on his own was maybe not the right idea.

And yet, he might had an idea on how to help, so he made her look at him again. "Well... I never got that feeling of being speechless... But I do know that you can prove your Mom wrong" he stated.

That made Zipp's eyes widen, and she looked at him confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, according to all that you've told me so far, Haven expects you to be this perfect little princess that will become the perfect Queen like her..." Tails started to explain. "But she's wrong on all of it! You gotta show her that you not only won't remain silent and obey as a perfect princess, but also that you won't be the kind of Queen she expects you to be, and that it's okay!" he said with a smile.

"... The what now?" Zipp snorted. "Little man, are we sure you're the same Tails I met last year? That wanted to hide behind Sonic and avoid talking to anyone?" he asked him with a mocking smirk.

Tails chuckled after hearing that, and Zipp couldn't help but chuckle along. "Ha ha. Very funny, princess" Tails mocked up with a smirk. "What I'm saying is that... Maybe you should apply your own words against her. I mean, I remember that Longclaw used to say no to a lot of stuff Sonic and I wanted to do, but we kept insisting until she said yes just so we could shut up about it and not annoy her anymore!" he confessed.

"... Wait, what?!" Zipp said with wide eyes, "Is... Is that even possible?!" she asked with shock.

"Yup!" Tails assured. "If there's anything that a parent hates more than a crying child? Is a kid that never shuts up about a thing. And, if you keep insisting with the idea until Haven is tired of hearing you talk about it, she might change her mind and let you not be the highlight of the ball just so you can stop talking about it!" he pointed out with a smile and a wink.

Zipp blushed a bit, but also chuckled. "So... You suggest I should insist on not doing this? You're not gonna... congratulate me or tell me that I should let this slip and wait for next year to complain with Mom?" she asked.

"Do not leave for tomorrow what you can do today!" Tails replied with another wink. "If you can do something today and convince your Mom to let you decide if you'd rather be the highlight of the ball or not, then do it! After all, your Mom might be the Queen, but heiress or not, you have a voice, a life of your own, and you are absolutely on your right to choose what you want or not to do, no matter what your Mom, or anyone else, thinks about it" he stated. "That's the beauty of life: You get to live it how you want, no matter what everyone might think of it" he finished with a smile.

Yes. This was it. If Zipp was doubting before about being in love with him, she definitely was sure now that she loved him, that she wanted him.

So, she wrapped her hooves around Tails and hugged him tightly, also feeling her eyes watering, but this tears were not of sorrow: They were from pure and bright happiness.

"... Thank you, Tails... This means the world to me..." Zipp told him with a smile.

Tails chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, also rubbing her back. "Anytime, Zippy~" he said with happiness

Zipp blushed, but she still smiled widely. Tails not only listened with no interruptions, as he promised, but he also gave her a very good advice... one that gave her the wrong idea of what Tails actually meant, and it was probably going to make more than just her mother mad.

The day of the Royal Feathers Ball finally arrived.

To this event, at night, not only attended the highest class members of all Equestria, but also everypony else could attend to it. And yes, this includes our protagonists, obviously. I mean, even if he's not that relevant this Season, Sonic's still the protagonist... his name is literally in the tittle.

However, as everypony was entering to the ball through the Castle's entrance and across the red carpet, our protagonists were on a wing in the Castle, preparing on their own for the Ball as well.

"It was so nice from Queen Haven to let us get ready for the Ball in the castle!" Sunny commented, as Rouge seemed to be dividing her usual bride pony tail in two, while the bat herself had curlers on her hair.

"Duh! Mom always moves some strings whenever we gotta look divine for the most important events in Zephyr Heights!" Pipp said with a confident smile, like if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well, yeah, it's a nice detail, but a whole wing of the castle isn't a bit too much?" Sonic asked, while he helped Knuckles to tie his bow.

"When it comes to be prepared, is never too much for a lady, honey" Amy said with a mocking and sarcastic tone and smirk, while Sonic rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Besides, having the whole wing for us means we can change each on our space, compared to the limited space in the Brighthouse" she pointed out.

"She got you there!" Knuckles said with a smirk, which lead to Sonic frowning at him and then making the bow tighter to cut the echidna's breath for a second, before adjusting it back and allowing Knuckles to breath again, as he glared daggers at Sonic, who smirked mockingly at him.

Suddenly, Pipp seemed to be counting if everypony was in the room, but then she came to notice that they were missing somepony, the one pony that shouldn't be missing today.

"Uh... Where's Zipp?" Pipp asked confused. "I was hoping I could die her mane a bit for her presentation in the ball" she explained.

"I haven't seen her ever since this morning" Izzy said, while Amy came by and started to tie her mane on a pony tail with several flowers.

"Ugh! Of course she was going to make an excuse to not get herself ready..." Pipp deadpanned, also facehoofing in frustration. "Has anyone any idea or were she could be?" she asked with half a frown and half a bored expression.

"Pipp, sweetie, this is your house. Shouldn't you know that?" Sonic pointed out with a bored expression.

"She didn't even entered with us, princess" Shadow said with a bored expression and his arms crossed, while laying on a wall near the area where Rouge was doing Sunny's mane.

"What?!" Pipp said with shock, panic and wide eyes, as she flew in front of Shadow and glared daggers at him. "You noticed that she didn't even came with us, and said NOTHING ABOUT IT?!" she shouted in rage.

"I thought she was getting ready on her own or even making her look a surprise or something" Shadow said, not even flinching at Pipp's stare. "Also, don't expect me to feel intimidated. You're all too cute for me to take you serious" he confessed.

"UGH!" Pipp groaned. "I thought that she was better after Tails talked with her! I mean, yeah, she still didn't wanted to talk about her presentation, but she didn't even seemed bothered about it anymore!" she pointed out.

"It's kinda weird, if you ask me..." Hitch said with a raised eyebrow, before looking at Tails, who's tail was being groomed by Misty. "Hey, Tails! What did you told Zipp exactly that got her so cheered up?" he asked him.

"I just told her she should've keep insisting on the idea of not being the highlight tonight if she didn't wanted to" Tails confessed while shrugging. "I don't think she actually followed my advice, but she was definitely happier after we talked that night..." he pointed out with concern.

"Well, if she wants her look to be a surprise, I don't really see the problem" Sonic pointed out with a shrug.

"Me neither! Maybe is for the best that we don't know where she is so she can impress us for the Ball?" Sunny pointed out.

"Oh, you guys clearly don't understand..." Pipp said with a frown. "Zipp never liked the idea in the first place! I tried to talk Mom out of it, but she insisted that we had to do it her way!" she pointed out.

"... Wait... Was that why she was so mad with us before Tails talked to her?" Izzy asked confused.

"Yes, Izzy. And you are just realizing. Wonderful..." Tails replied sarcastically with an eye roll.

"I would go and check how's she doing, but I need to get myself ready!" Pipp pointed out with concern.

"Then I'll go and do it" Tails said, as he walked towards the door.

"Is the fifth door after going straight for 2 minutes and take a turn to the left!" Pipp instructed.

"Got it!" Tails replied, as he left the place and went to look for Zipp.

Speaking of Zipp, she was, in fact, at her old bedroom on the castle.

However, and unlike many would've expect, she wasn't preparing for her presentation for the ball... Because she didn't even created one. Like, she had two whole weeks to plan it out after Haven told her that she was going to be highlight this year... She choose to simply not do anything at all.

Yup, her plan wasn't even to insist to her mother on not be the main event at the ball, she simply wasn't planning to show up at all and that's it...

Soon enough, however, she heard a knock on the door, but she didn't even bothered to open the door. She just lay on her bed and checked her phone, something she wouldn't do that much if she wasn't planning on staying on this place the whole night... A plan that wasn't going to work at all.

"Zephyrina?!" Queen Haven's voice spoke from the other side of the room, and Zipp groaned and rolled her eyes. "Zipp, are you in there?!" her mom asked with concern.

Sighing frustrated, and knowing very well that Haven wasn't going to leave her alone, Zipp hopped off her bed and walked over the door, opening to face her mother with a bored expression, while Queen Haven herself was wearing a long, golden-purple dress that combined with her crown.

But of course, Haven's eyes widened after she noticed that Zipp wasn't even preparing for the ball. "For the love of–– Zephyrina, why are you not even ready?!" she asked with concern and a half-frown.

"Uh, because I'm not gonna make the presentation?" Zipp replied sarcastically with a raised eyebrow.

"... Excuse me?" Haven said, followed by a sarcastic laugh and a sigh. "Okay, that was a good one, darling. Seriously, though, you better be ready to make your presentation tonight––" she tried to add, but...

"Oh, I don't even have a presentation. In fact, I didn't even made one" Zipp replied with a very relaxed smile, since it wasn't a big deal for her.

Haven chuckled a bit, but this time, she did it awkwardly and looking around. "Um... Is this some kind of joke? Are we getting recorded for an exclusive 'prank segment' on ZH News or something?" she asked, now starting to get concerned.

"Nope. I seriously have nothing for tonight" Zipp replied, still smiling for Haven's confusion.

"... Zipp, what in the name of Zephyr Heights are you talking about?" Haven asked, now frowning and getting mad, which would usually be a sign for Zipp to panic... But today? She didn't even flinched. "Are you serious with not having a thing for tonight? You don't even have a dress ready?!" she asked in anger.

"Nu-uh!" Zipp replied with a shake of her head, still smiling.

"What the buck you mean with 'Nu-uh', young lady?!" Haven shouted, now loosing her patience completely.

"Mom, is that really hard to understand?" Zipp asked with a confident smirk. "You told me out of nowhere that I'm gonna be the highlight of the show when I don't want to, but you don't respect my position. So, I'm not giving you any satisfaction tonight. I'm choosing to not perform because I don't want to. Is pretty simple" she explained.

Now Haven was really lacking patience at this point. "Zephyrina. I understand that you are mad with me for not giving you time or 'a choice', but not showing up to the ball and making us look like fools is not gonna solve anything!" she pointed out with anger.

"Um, we are not gonna be fools" Zipp spoke. "If anything, you'll probably be the fool in there for promising something that was never discussed with me in the first place. I'm not even showing up" she pointed out with an eye roll, but still smirking and even snorting a bit.

"ZEPHYRINA!" Haven snapped, but Zipp didn't flinched, although she did looked over at Haven with a raised eyebrow because of her outburst. "I don't get what's your game, nor where you want to go with it, but you are not damaging our image because of a foolish behavior like this one!" she stated.

"And there you go again, caring for ponies' opinions that are later going to be worth nothing because they talk trash about us on our backs anyways" Zipp said with another eye roll, now turning around and heading inside of her room again.

"Ugh! Why can't you ever listen to me for once?!" Haven shouted, as she got inside of Zipp's room and closed the door behind to make sure the conversation wouldn't be that loud.

"For the love of feathers, Mom!" Zipp said with anger as well. "I've been listening to you my whole bucking life! I've followed your every order, step, petition, rule and indication. I have complained, cried, shouted, begged for other choices, but I still followed your orders! Yet the only time I choose to have a second opinion out of this, you suddenly forget everything I've done because you told me to, and now I've never listened you before!" she snapped, opening her wings.

"Precisely because you never disobeyed me before is that I'm concerned!" Haven said with a frown. "What have changed this year that you don't want to do this, the one thing I hoped you would not rebel at?!" she asked with anger.

"Because I'm not the perfect princess you want me to be, Mom!" Zipp snapped with pure anger, but even at her rage, tears started to roll down her cheeks. "I never was, and I'll never will! I'm not like Pipp, who obeys you like the sweet, little and perfect doll she's supposed to be! I can never speak on my own, I just have to hang my head low and resist the urge to shout all these things on your face because I don't have a right to speak according to you! I don't follow your rules they way you want me to, because I am not going to be the Queen you want me to be! And I am definitely not going to ever be like you! So go ahead, disinherit me if you want! I don't care! I'm not going to do things your way because I'm not perfect, Mom. And I. Never. WILL!!!" she shouted in anger, as tears kept rolling down her cheeks.

"THAT'S ENOUGH WITH YOU!" Haven shouted in anger as well. "I don't know why I even bother trying to resonate with you! You are rebellious, irresponsible, insecure, and a terrible heiress! Your sister never answers to me because she knows her place, because she knows that I cannot be denied! But no! You still have to be that stupid filly that misses the father that never cared for her in the first place! And the truth is, Zephyrina, that I'll still will shut you up, that I'll still will get you to take Pipp's place in more future events because you are not enough to rule this place, and if you keep doing what you're doing right now? YOU'LL NEVER BE!" she snapped with her wings hanging up, also breathing heavily.

However, as her outburst was finally over, she got a look over Zipp's face: Her tears were rolling down her cheeks at a faster paste now; her eyeliner, which she did used today, was running down as well; her ears were hanging low; her jaw was trembling; her wings were hanging low as well; and her eyes showed a pure and genuine mix of fear and concern that Haven hasn't seen in her, nor in Pipp now that she thinks about it, ever since their father... Since her husband...

She realized too late what she did, what she said, and she felt her own eyes watering. Just remembering all the things she told her daughter a few seconds ago were enough to make her feel worse than terrible. She told her own daughter things that she have thought of her several times in the past, but she didn't actually believed them.

But of course, Zipp didn't knew that. In fact, she believed that Haven did trusted on her own words, that Zipp was not enough to be the heiress to the throne, and that she never will.

"... So that's what you think, huh?" Zipp muttered, snorting a bit despite the tears still rolling down her cheeks. "You never trusted me with this in the first place... You don't trust me with anything..." she said with sorrow and concern.

"Z-Zipp..." Haven spoke, as she stepped in front and tried to approach her daughter, but Zipp stepped back.

"You don't even care what I do at the Bay, do you?" Zipp asked. "You probably only let me stay in there not because you support me, but because you don't want to see the disappointment you have as a daughter, isn't that right, mother?" she asked her, now frowning with anger.

"Z-Zipp, t-that is not––" Haven tried to say, but Zipp just let out a cracked and broken laugh, as tears rolled down her cheeks, and Haven started to tear up as well.

"Don't. Bother. To answer me, Mom" Zipp said with a cold and hurt stare. "I know what you think of me... And honestly? I wished you were the one that left instead of dad" she added with anger, before turning around, push the window of her room open and then fly away, not bothering to look back at her mom.

"ZIPP!" Haven shouted, as she rushed to the window and looked out, but unfortunately, Zipp was already long gone.

Her breath intensified, and her mind started to roll down with thousands of ideas on where did Zipp go, or what is she gonna do now that she was far away. She also felt deep regret: Why did she said all those things? Sure, she was mad, but it was no excuse to say all the stuff she said to her.

Worse of all, she had to brought up her dad, when she was conscious on how delicate that subject was, but she still brought it up, and she broke her daughter's heart in the process.

And the last thing that Zipp said before she left was stuck on her mind: 'I wished you were the one that left instead of dad'... That was going to haunt her on her nightmares for a while now, if not forever. She screwed it big time, all because she was too focused on training her to be Queen that she never stopped to consider how she felt about it...

"Oh, Zipp... What have I done?" Haven muttered with concern, as she sobbed and cried out in sorrow, while her makeup got completely ruined because of the tears rolling down her cheeks.

However, neither the Queen of Zephyr Heights nor Zipp are aware that Tails heard the whole thing.

He actually found them talking ever since Haven arrived to her room, so he hid in the air to not be seen. However, once Haven got inside the room and the conversation got worse, Tails landed in front of the door and putted his ear on the door, just to feel shocked after hearing everything Haven told Zipp.

He was feeling bad that Zipp finally told everything that was bothering her for years out loud, and she still got scolded for it. Worse of all, Haven said really rude things, but judging by her cry that he could hear from the other side, she regrets it.

Also judging by her cry, Tails could feel that Zipp was not even there anymore... But he had to be sure. So, he slowly opened the door, and he found Haven crying down as she sat down on the floor, with her makeup completely ruined. Even worse, the window was open, indicating that Zipp escaped, which concerned him.

Haven slowly lifted her head and looked at Tails, while the young fox approached her and looked at her with concern.

"T-Tails... Y-You heard all of that?" Haven asked with concern, but the tears wouldn't stop rolling down her eyes.

Tails only nodded at her, before looking at the open window again, and then return his sight to the crying Queen, as he kneeled and placed his hands on her shoulders. "... I heard everything... And I know that you don't mean what you said, Your majesty" he told her with a little smile, which made Haven to look at him with wide and shocked eyes. "I judge people, and ponies, by their actions, not by their words. You cry here because she left, which means you don't mean anything that you said. That's enough for me, but it clearly isn't for Zipp" he pointed out with concern.

"... I... I said things I don't believe from her... But my mind wasn't at the right place, a-and..." Haven spoke with a broken voice.

"Your majesty, as I said, I know you don't mean any of what you said, but Zipp doesn't knows that" Tails explained with concern. "She feels that you don't care about her opinion, and honestly? Pipp feels that too. You need to show her that you trust her, that you care about her word" he pointed out.

"B-But I do care about her, about her word!" Haven said with concern.

"But you never show it" Tails pointed out. "Zipp feels that you never give her a chance to say what she wants to, that you never allow her to have a voice, a second opinion because you are too––" he tried to say, but...

"Focused on her training to be a Queen..." Haven finished with wide and shocked eyes, finally getting why Zipp was refusing to attend to the Ball in the first place. "All she wanted to do is tell how she felt about it, to have a second chance that she could choose on her own because she wanted. Not me, not her sister, not even you or any of her friends... Just her... And I never gave her that chance..." she finally realized. "G-Gosh... I-I'm such an awful mother..." she said with a broken voice.

"Hey, Haven. Look at me" Tails called out, even daring to leave formalities and calling the Queen by her name, but she still obeyed and looked at him. "You are not a terrible mother. You just made mistakes, like any parent, because not even they are perfect!" he pointed out with a smile. "Mine never cared for me in the slightest, hence why I was always bullied for my tails. And even if Longclaw was a great mother, she also made mistakes! You did what you thought was the right call for her education, even if that made Zipp close herself and feel speechless whenever she wanted to have a voice on anything..." he pointed out.

"... I truly screwed it, didn't I?" Haven snorted sadly. "Sweet hoofness, what wouldn't I do to change the past and allow my girl to say what she wanted to when she wanted to... So many things would've been different..." she said with sorrow.

"No one can change the past, and even if we could, it would bring more disasters than benefits..." Tails pointed out. "But you can still change the future, Majesty" he stated with a smile. "All you gotta do, is show Zipp that you care for her, that you are willing to give her a choice! I know it might look silly to you that she doesn't wants to be the headliner of the Ball, but it means a lot to her because she's not doing it by choice! She wants a choice, Haven. She wants you to give her options to choose for herself!" he explained. "You gotta show her, prove her that you are willing to do so" he pointed out, but now with a smile. "And that's not only for Zipp... Pipp deserves that, too" he added.

Haven was speechless after hearing all of this. She could understand why both her daughters fell in love with Sonic and Tails... Because both of them knew what to say and when to say it. With such simple words, Tails managed to cheer her up, and she couldn't help but smile warmly at the young fox for his words...

And she knew he was right. She loved her daughters, but she barely gave them a chance... Not anymore.

So what if Zipp was the heiress to the throne, or that Pipp was a big Pop Star in Equestria? They were still ponies, but most importantly, her daughters, two creatures she brought to the world.

They both had their own lives now, just like she has her own life as well with Alphabittle. Her daughters were free to choose what they wanted to be, and she could not like it, but she was in no position to destroy their lives just because she's their Mom, nor because she's Zephyr Heights' Queen.

So, it was settled: She was gonna give her daughters a chance, no matter if she was on board on with it or not. She couldn't control their lives, she didn't had to, and she wasn't going to anymore.

"... You are right, Young Prower" Haven spoke, as she stood up and looked at the fox, while Tails himself stood up and looked at her. "My daughters mean everything to me... but they have their own lives, and I'm in no position to take that away from them. I will change this, I will make sure they know that I care for what they have to say, that they have a choice..." she stated with a determinate look, despite her ruined makeup.

"And I know that you mean it, your majesty" Tails said with a smile, before looking out of the window. "... I'm gonna look after Zipp. I'll bring her back!" he stated, as he rushed to the window and prepared his tails to fly off.

"Tails, wait!" Haven called out, and Tails turned to see her. "... Tell her that I love her, and that I never meant all of what I said..." she begged.

However, Tails snorted at her petition. "I'm sorry, Majesty. But I'm afraid that you'll have to be the one who's telling her that!" he stated, before twirl his tails to fly in the air, and then boost away.

Haven wanted to say something before he left, but she stopped herself. Deep down, she knew that Tails was right, even if she hardly wanted to recognize it.

Tails flew across Equestria faster than he has ever done it before.

His tuxedo suit was ruined, so he removed it in the air and even brought out his googles again, placing them on his eyes.

He first visited the same place where he found her singing about how speechless she was feeling, but he didn't found her there. So, he quickly flew towards Maretime Bay, because he knew perfectly that Zipp wouldn't hide on Bridlewood.

However, once he arrived to Maretime Bay, he stopped flying right above the Sheriff Station and landed over the giant badge in front of it, as he used his googles to scan the entire bay in search for Zipp. Eventually, he got her lectures coming from the beach, so he headed to said place.

And yet, the sign guided him to a place that he could not access because it was blocked by a bunch of rocks. Tails checked the sign again to make sure he wasn't wrong, but the sign clearly showed Zipp on the other side.

So, he quickly flew above the sign, until he reached some kind of hill in top of the cave where Zipp seemed to be into. He removed his googles and looked for a place where he could enter, until he saw that there was a small hole in the ground. So, he quickly entered through said hole curled into a ball, barely spinning his Tails once he didn't felt a ground to land.

Once he did that, he got impressed when he saw all the glowing crystals and the small lake in the cave. This place was beautiful, no doubt, but that's not why he needed to get in for.

He looked down, and there, he found Zipp, looking down at her reflection on the lake, while he slowly approached her, landing behind her. Zipp didn't even flinched, despite the fact that she knew Tails was there. So, Tails approached a bit more, but that's when Zipp sobbed, and he stopped moving.

It seems that Zipp has been crying ever since she arrived here, and Tails was feeling bad because of it. Still, he choose to approach her anyways... But he didn't exactly knew what to tell her...

"... What are you doing here?" Zipp spoke first after some seconds of silence, which were only interrupted whenever Zipp sobbed occasionally.

"I... I was worried for you" Tails said with honesty. "I just wanted to check on you, but... I don't need some sort of super vision to know you're not okay..." he said with an awkward chuckle.

"No crap, Sherlock..." Zipp said sarcastically, sorbing through her nose a bit. "Well... Now you know how I'm doing.... You can go..." she said with a cold tone, despite the sad tone being there as well.

"What? No! Zipp, I'm not just gonna––" Tails tried to say.

"Yes, you are!" Zipp said sternly, as she turned to face him, and Tails felt his heart sinking when he saw that her eyes were incredibly red and her mane was a bit messy. "I don't want to hear anyone trying to comfort me with lies! Everything that Mom told me is true!" she shouted with anger and hate, but not hate for Tails... it was hate for herself.

"Zipp, whatever she told you––" Tails tried to spoke again, but again, she cut him off.

"I'm just a rebel princess that runs away from her problems, Tails!" Zipp cried out loud, as more tears started to fall from her eyes and she looked at her own reflection with disgust. "I'm irresponsible and not even dare to attend my own duties! I never feel enough when it comes to anything in general! As a detective, as a princess, as a friend, as a sister... I have so many insecurities that I simply hide away because I don't want anypony to see the fragile and ridiculous princess behind my confident smirk! I'M JUST NOT ENOUGH!!!" she shouted with rage, sadness and shame, as she started to hyperventilate.

After she spoke out all her worries out, she broke entirely and started to cry again. She couldn't hide anymore at this point. She felt completely heart-broken after Haven shouted all that stuff, and now it was stuck on her head.

It didn't mattered if a part of her wanted to believe that her Mom just said all of that because she was mad at the moment, a louder part convinced her already that Haven believes she's a failure of a heiress and princess. Worse of all? A part of her desired to end the pain she fas feeling in all the possible senses, but she was too coward to even make such a thing.

Once again, she was proving to herself that she wasn't enough if she couldn't even end everything because she's so afraid.

As for Tails, he couldn't believe that Zipp would think so low about herself. Yeah, what Queen Haven told her was horrible and wrong, but it was that bad? He couldn't understand.

And yet, he wasn't planning to leave her like that, so he slowly walked up to her, kneeled at her side and opened his arms, indicating that he was willing to comfort her, no matter how much she declared that she didn't wanted it. Zipp noticed this, and didn't even hesitated, as she buried her face on Tails' chest and cried, cried like she never had cried before.

For the next 10 or 15 minutes, they both honestly lost count, Tails just embraced tightly the white pegasus and comforted her by rubbing her back, while Zipp cried on his chest and started to calm down.

Once she finally had calmed down, she simply stood there, burying her face on Tails' chest and still sobbing a bit sometimes, holding him like if her life depended on it, and it sort of did. And Tails just kept comforting her, just like Sonic and Amy used to do with him when he was younger and got scared of thunderstorms.

After some seconds of silence, Tails sighed and finally decided to speak. "Zipp... I heard everything you and your Mom discussed about..." he straight up confessed, since he didn't wanted to lie at her.

Zipp's eyes widened, and she slowly looked up at him. "... What?" she asked confused.

"I was looking for you when I heard that you two were fighting..." Tails confessed, a bit ashamed. "I'm not proud of that, but... Zipp, your Mom was outraged from the moment. I don't think she meant everything she told you" he pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I do" Zipp said with a frown, but some tears were daring to show up. "She's been disappointed at me ever since I got more rebellious with time––" she tried to say, but Tails placed a finger on her mouth.

"Zipp, none of that is true, and you know it" Tails said with a serious look. "Now, let's pretend for a second that she does believe that, even if she doesn't... So what? She'll be wrong about you on everything!" he said with a smirk.

Zipp raised an eyebrow after he said that. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"First of all: You are not someone that escapes from her problems" Tails started to explain. "You wanted to choose wether to stay on Maretime Bay or not when magic glitched for the first time, and you choose to stay. You didn't wanted to escape your obligations, you just wanted to find out who you are first. And if you are still discovering that, is still not running away from your obligations!" he pointed out.

Zipp looked at him confused, but she decided to keep listening.

"Second: You definitely do not run from your duties!" Tails kept explaining. "Yes, you wanted to avoid Portrait Day because you didn't liked it, but you still attended to it along your sister!" he pointed out with a smile. "And don't even get me started on your delightful presentation for Wishentine! I still do not know how was that musical called, and I refuse to learn that long-ass name, but you were amazing! Y-You flew like an angel in the sky, and your voice! That's what I meant when I said that you're a great singer!" he explained happily.

Zipp felt her cheeks turning red after that compliment, but she still smiled warmly at Tails.

"And third, but most importantly: You are enough at everything you listed!" Tails said firmly, even grabbing Zipp's hooves, which made her blush increase. "As a detective? If it wasn't for you, the rest would've never had found that magic was glitching; or that Misty was a traitor, even though I didn't believed and was an asshole with you, I'm not proud of that" he deadpanned.

At this, Zipp giggled slightly at his statement.

"As a princess? Pipp might be famous and all, but ponies' are more interested in you, and not only because you're the heiress, but because you're one of the five ponies that brought magic back to Equestria!" Tails kept talking. "As a sister? Pipp adores you! You are her best friend, and she loves and knows you more than any of us, even more than Sonic! And you know how obsessed she is with him..." he declared with a smirk.

"Yeah, she never shuts up about him..." Zipp rolled her eyes, but still smiled.

"And as a friend? Zipp... I don't think I could ever shut up about everything I love about you" Tails said with a smile, not even flinching after he said straight up 'love'.

And, of course, Zipp blushed hard after she heard that. "... L-Love?!" she asked with wide eyes and disbelief.

"Charismatic, funny, athletic, intelligent, sassy, sometimes adorkable... beautiful..." Tails listed up with a huge smile, and Zipp's hearts skipped a beat, while her eyes sparkled and her cheeks got even redder if that was possible.

Then, Tails let go one of her hooves and caressed her cheek with a hand, while Zipp smiled and closed her eyes at Tails' gentle touch over her.

"Zipp, you are one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever laid my eyes on" Tails said with happiness, although this time around, his cheeks did got red, and Zipp opened her eyes wide after what he told her. "Your Mom and your sister are pretty, true... But in my eyes? I don't think I could ever find a jewel more precious than you" he confessed, and even though his heart was beating fast and his face was blushing, his smile showed confidence, and his eyes showed love for her.

Yeah, she was even more in love with him at this point, if it was even possible.

Anytime she needed to be cheered up, either Sunny or Pipp were there for her, and they did made her feel better... But the amount of mixed feelings that Tails made her feel? No one she ever met before was able to do it, and she definitely loves that about him, because she likes him, she loves him.

And yet, her eyes still showed insecurity and fear, because all the bad stuff Haven told her earlier was still stuck in her head.

"... But what If you're wrong?" Zipp asked, as she looked over at Tails with concern. "... What if... I'm not everything you tell me I am?" she added with pure fear and panic on her eyes.

Tails looked at her with concern for a moment, before having an idea on how to finally cheer her up and smile. So, he lifted her chin and made her look at him.

"Because I know that you are the most beautiful star in the sky, Zippy~" Tails told her with a loving gaze.

Zipp blushed a lot, but then looked down with doubts on her mind. "R-Really?" she asked, still not believing him.

As Tails began to sing, he helped Zipp to stand up. After that, he used his powers to create a massive cannon, which he used to destroy the rocks blocking the cave's entrance, and Zipp covered herself from the explosion.

However, once she opened her eyes, the moonlight illuminated over Tails, making him look more attractive than she already found him.

Next up, Tails extended his hand to her, and she placed a hoof over his hand. Then, Tails spun his tails and dragged Zipp to the air, as the pegasus mare flapped her wings along.

In the air, Tails let go of Zipp's hoof and pointed at the night sky while singing, and Zipp smiled brightly at the verse he just sang.

However, what Tails did next did made Zipp panic: Once they were both really high in the air, he stopped spinning his tails and dived towards the sea, so Zipp dived towards him in an attempt to rescue him.

But as the young fox sang the last line and approached to the sea, he spun his tails again and flew over water, back to the sky. Seeing what he really wanted to do, Zipp smirked, and so, she did the exact same thing, while her hind legs touched the water for a second, as she went back to the sky along Tails.

As Zipp reached the sky and stopped once she was above the clouds, Tails started to sing and move around her, also making her twirl in the air a bit, which made the pegasus mare let out a giggle that melted Tails' heart.

While singing this, Tails flew around the sky, with Zipp imitating his moves, and then, Tails approached and grabbed her hooves, as they made a little dance in the air, which was still just twirling around. But then, Tails launched her towards the sky, and the moonlight illuminated her figure, truly making her shine like a shooting star.

As Zipp dived back with Tails, he caught her in the air with his hands, and they both twirled around for a bit, until Zipp was now doing it on her own.

Now that Zipp was singing as well, Tails smiled, because it meant that her confidence was returning little to little. In fact, he did gazed into her eyes just like the song was telling.

As Zipp sang this and kept looking at Tails on his eyes, the young fox nodded, because she was finally getting what he meant with this song, and now she was singing along.

While still singing, Zipp noticed that Tails flew away from her, so she decided to follow him.

They both started to constantly dive into the clouds in a playful manner, as the pegasus mare giggled happily to be chasing the young fox, because it was just an innocent game of two lovebirds chasing each other.

At the end of their game, Tails surprised Zipp by coming below her and lift her in bridal style through the sky, but Zipp didn't really seemed to mind, since she even wrapped her hooves around his neck, and as they flew in the sky, Tails joined her into singing again.

Soon, Zipp got free of Tails' grip and started to fly across the sky while doing several loops in the air, and Tails followed her along with a smile.

They both sang in harmony and synchrony, while they also held hooves/hands and several occasions because they wanted to feel each other close.

Soon, Tails wrapped his arms around Zipp's waist, while Zipp wrapped her hooves around his neck, as they both smiled and stared at each other with loving gazes. Zipp's Cutie Mark even started to shine bright as they sang together.

For this part of the song, they both parted ways and dived towards the ground together. They stared into each other's eyes, and Zipp was marveled with Tails'. She found her happy place on them, a zone were she could be herself, were she could fly and be free... with him.

Once they were close to hit the ground, they looked to each other's eyes and smiled, then nodded with confidence, before boosting back to the air.

Once there, they flew around some more, but even if they were circling, they slowly approached each other, until they wrapped arms and hooves around each other again and stared into the other's eyes with loving gazes.

This was their safe and happy place. This is were they wanted to be. Tails always though he had just a silly crush on her, but he was glad to be wrong: He loved her, so much that he thanked whatever impulsed him to follow Sonic to Equestria along Knuckles. Otherwise, he would've never had met this beautiful mare.

And Zipp? She could clearly see that Tails loved her, too, but the way he was holding her, cheering her up, all the things he said about her earlier in the cave... Zipp was in love with this fox, and she wouldn't want it otherwise. She liked Tails, and she knew he liked her as well. This was perfect for her, no matter everything that happened earlier that night.

As they finished singing, they slowly landed back on Maretime Bay's beach, with Tails still holding Zipp's hoof over his hand.

They both looked at each other for a second, a second where they smiled. Zipp could still see on Tails' eyes that loving gaze over her, and she herself had the same gaze for him to be honest.

"Zipp, there's a sky full of stars out there, but... I find you to be the most beautiful one of them" Tails told her with a smile, and he even held her hoof with both hands, caressing a bit.

Zipp blushed again after seeing this. "T-Tails?" she said a bit confused.

"Looking back at everything we've lived together? I realize that you mean more to me than just a friend..." Tails spoke, and even if he blushed, his voice still showed security. "Despite clashing on some stuff sometimes, like your detective stuff, or the thing with Misty... I actually never realized I was doing all of that because I cared for you, and... I just didn't wanted your heart to be in the wrong place..." he confessed with concern.

Zipp's heart melted after he said that, her eyes sparkled, and she even felt her eyes tearing up. "... Tails..." she muttered with disbelief.

"What I try to say, Zipp... Is that you are enough to all of us" Tails said with a smile. "To your mom, to your future subjects, to your friends... To me... You are the brightest shooting star ever, Zipp Storm. And I... I love you because of who you are" he finally confessed.

Zipp's eyes widened, her wings opened, and her heart skipped another beat. Did he... Did he just confessed to her? Just like that? With no previous warning?!

Sure, she already knew that he liked her back, but... this was sudden and unexpected.

"I love you, Zipp, because of the mare you are" Tails kept speaking. "A beautiful mare that never gives up so easily, no matter how frustrating or desperate the situation seems. A mare that fights to keep her friends save from any possible threat, but most importantly... The mare that captivated my heart by just being herself. Because, if I haven't been obvious enough at this point? I love you, Zipp Storm..." he finished with a huge grin, although his face was flushing red.

However, Zipp couldn't care less for that last fact. Her eyes teared up from happiness, and she smiled and started to laugh. Soon, she wrapped her hooves around Tails, and Tails hugged her back, even twirling her in the air with pure joy and happiness.

Zipp squealed, but her giggles never stoped, and Tails didn't wanted them to. For him, her giggles were the most beautiful sound on the entire world, both Equestria and Mobius.

And Zipp? Finally hearing from Tails that he loves her just as much as she loves him was music to her ears. She knew that she loved him, true, but it was a different story when she was loved in the very same way, and the way he was so confident when telling it... She wouldn't change that for anything in the world.

After a few minutes, Tails finally putted her back in the ground, and they both stared at each other with blushes and smiles.

"Tails... You have no idea how much all of this means to me..." Zipp spoke with a smile. "I... Tails, I love you too! Everything of you. Is not only the fact that you have gotten more attractive as time went on..." she said with a blush, and Tails blushed like mad as well. "I also love the special way that you are with me. So sweet, so caring, so... You. Because, well... I like you, Tails! I like, like you, a lot, and... I honestly suspected that you liked me too... I was just nervous to see if you'll ever said something or not, I guess..." she confessed.

Tails chuckled slightly, and he caressed Zipp's cheek with a hand. "Well, I honestly started to suspect the same about you feeling in love with me... And I'm so glad that I was right..." he said with a loving gaze.

"Me too" Zipp said with the same gaze.

And so, they both nodded, before leaning over and lock their lips. To tell the truth, this was the first time they both were doing something like this... But despite the strange and fuzzy feelings they both had because of their first kiss ever in their lives, they were enjoying it a lot.

Now that Zipp was standing on her hind legs? They were both surprisingly the same size, but that just made their kiss easier to carry, and she even enjoyed it at some stance, if it meant she could kiss her now lover's lips.

Soon, their lips parted away because of the lack of air, but as they locked eyes, they smiled at each other with love.

"So... does this makes me a prince, or just a 'friend with benefits'?" Tails asked with a mocking smirk.

Zipp's eyes widened in shock, but then, she bursted out laughing at the joke, and Tails joined her soon enough. After all, the sound of her laugh is what he loves the most about her.

"Oh, you cute goofball..." Zipp said with a loving gaze, also bitting her lower lip. "I think we are just a couple of young adults in love... Unless you want us to go further~" she mocked up with a mischievous smirk.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, Zippy" Tails told her with a smile. "I think we should first go back to Zephyr Heights, you know?" he pointed out.

At this, Zipp's eyes widened in shock and panic. "The Royal Feathers Ball! I forgot it entirely!" she screamed in panic. "Oh, Mom is gonna kill me! Not only because I'm incredibly late at this point, but also because I seriously don't have anything! Ugh! I shouldn't had granted that Mom was going to let me slip just like that!" she pointed out with concern.

"Hey, Zipp..." Tails called out, as he made her face him, and he smiled sweetly at her. "It's not late to come up with something. We can figure out what to do for your presentation, together" he stated confidently.

Zipp was surprised to hear this, but she still smiled at him. "You truly love me if you are willing to do that for me, don't you, Mr. Prower?" she asked him with a mocking smile.

"Anything for a cute princess like you, Ms. Storm~" Tails replied.

With this, Zipp giggled and leaned for another kiss, which Tails gladly returned. These two love birds were now a couple, and even if they knew the reactions about them being an official couple were gonna be similar to Sonic and Pipp's, they didn't cared. Because, if they had each other, they were never going to be alone.

The couple of lovebirds was flying back to Zephyr Heights now.

As they were flying in the air, they decided to play around with each other, chasing and even tackling each other in the air several times to get a quick kiss, all for the sake of playing and messing around with each other.

Soon, they both landed on Zephyr Heights' land track and went inside of the Castle. As they walked down the long corridors, of the castle, however, they walked into Queen Haven, who seemed to be completely concerned for Zipp, since she and Tails left 2 hours ago.

But when the Queen saw her daughter walking alongside Tails, she immediately rushed and wrapped her into a tight hug, which took Zipp off guard, since she wasn't paying attention to her road.

"U-Uh... Mom?" Zipp called out a bit startled and confused.

"Oh, Zipp!" Haven said, as she hold her daughter tightly and teared up. "I'm so, so, so sorry for everything I told you! I-I wasn't thinking clear, my head got dizzy and messed up, and I... and I told you things that are not true..." she apologized, as she broke the hug and looked at Zipp with genuine concern and sorrow in her eyes. "I could not be anymore proud of you, my little and beautiful filly..." she added with a sad smile and a broken tone, but also caressing Zipp's cheek, and Zipp couldn't help but smile at the warm touch of her mother.

However, even if her words, her actions and her attitude were clearly showing her that she was sorry, a part of Zipp was still hesitant on forgive her mom, specially considering that she brought up her father...

"Zipp, your Mom was outraged from the moment. I don't think she meant everything she told you."

Tails' voice echoed on her mind, as she remembered that he told her that after she calmed down... and she couldn't help but smile a bit.

"Mom... I am sorry too... For letting my rebellious side get the best of me" Zipp decided to apologize as well. "While I do feel speechless with you sometimes, I also realize that we could have handled this situation better..." she pointed out with concern.

"I know, dear... Specially me..." Haven said with shame on her voice and tone. "I should had never silenced you when you wanted to have a choice, a voice on your life decisions... I know I can't go back in time and change all of that, but..." she stopped herself, then looked at Tails for a second, who smiled at her and nodded, which made Haven smile as well. "But I know that I can still make a better future for you... And for your sister..." she declared.

"What do you mean?" Zipp asked confused.

"From now on, Zephyrina... You and Pipp are free of choosing on anything you want. It won't be my choice anymore if any of you would rather headline a presentation or not... It'll be completely yours. And whenever I need a second opinion on anything from you two, I will listen, even if I do not agree" Haven explained with a determinate look. "I know we never had the best kind of mother-daughter relationship, but... I'm willing to listen and understand you, Zipp, even if it takes us some time..." she finished.

Well, this was it. If having Tails as her official boyfriend wasn't good enough, now hearing from her own mother that she was allowed to choose over her life with no intervention was a massive bless, one she was so grateful for.

So, with no hesitation, Zipp hugged Haven tightly, like she never did before, and Haven didn't hesitated on hugging her back with as much love and care.

"Y-You mean it, Mom?" Zipp asked, as she started to tear up for what felt like the millionth time today. "You really, really mean that?" she added, still in disbelief.

"I do, my dear. I do. You won't feel speechless ever again... I promise" Haven assured her with a sweet smile, and that made Zipp hold into her even tightly.

Tails felt touched by the moment, of course, but he still stepped a bit back to give mother and daughter a moment to bond.

"And I want to prove you that I'm serious with letting you choose... By letting you do so if you still refuse to headline tonight's main event" Haven stated with a smile.

Okay, that not only made Zipp's eyes widen, but Tails' as well, as he stood right besides his new girlfriend in shock. "... Uh, is this real? Are we not being the ones recorded for a 'prank segment' of ZH News?" the young fox asked confused.

Haven chuckled. "No, dears. I'm serious with this one. If you still don't want to be the center of attention tonight, I'll understand completely" she assured.

Zipp couldn't help but smile after hearing this. It was a relief that her Mom was serious about this and was allowing her to choose, because she seriously had nothing for a main event nor presentation for the Ball. However, she did had something to announce, and maybe she could use that for the big opening tonight.

"Well... I seriously have nothing for a big and fancy presentation like Pipp, but..." Zipp started, before glancing over at Tails and smile with a loving gaze over him, and Tails smiled back with the same kind of gaze. He even offered her his hand, and she gladly placed her hoof over it.

Haven noticed this and raised an eyebrow, but after looking back and forth between them, she noticed that they were gazing at each other the same way Sonic and Pipp do, and even the same way she herself does with Alphabittle anytime they look at each other. To add more into this, Tails' gesture was the thing that made her realize what was going on.

It was clear now, and her eyes widened in shock, even letting out a loud and dramatic gasp that called the new couple's attention. "Y-You two... are... You are..." she tried to ask in shock and disbelief.

"Yeah... Let's just say I wasn't so subtle with my words on me liking her, so..." Tails said with an embarrassed blush, as he rubbed an arm nervously, while Zipp blushed as well and rubbed her own hoof nervously, too.

"Right... I-I think I would like to use this Ball as my 'Big Relationship Announcement', Mom..." Zipp said nervously.

"Oh my heavens!" Haven squealed, before pulling both her daughter and her new son-in-law into a tight hug, as Zipp and Tails looked at each other confused in the middle of the hug, but they still chuckled silently, and then, Haven broke the hug. "Oh, sweet pony feathers! My babies are growing up so fast!" she said dramatically while waving a hoof at herself, while Zipp rolled her eyes with a playful smirk at her Mom's attitude. "Oh! And Tails..." she tried to add, now frowning.

However, Tails raised a hand and quickly cut her off. "I promise you, your majesty, that I'll watch her back like a guardian angel, just like she'll do with me" he assured her with confidence, and Zipp felt touched by his words, even placing a hoof on her chest. "Also, if I ever hurt her, I'll rip one of my own tails myself" he added with a deadpan. "I know it'll be a bit sadistic, but I'll deserve it for hurting her" he pointed out.

"Oh, you better-damn not hurt her, thought guy!" some weird minimized elephant said with a frown, before they walked away and disappeared as soon as they arrived.

This confused the Queen, the future Queen and the young fox, who looked at each other confused.

"What's up with the elephant in the room?" Tails asked confused.

"No clue..." Zipp deadpanned, before her eyes widened. "Wait! Does that mean that you approve us being together?! A-As a couple?" she asked, a bit scared of the answer.

"Why, of course I do!" Haven smiled widely. "Your sister is dating someone similar to him. I'm not surprised you fell for him as well~" she teased with a grin.

"MOM!" Zipp groaned in annoyance with her face fully red, also facehoofing, while Tails chuckled at her attitude, because no matter what she did or how she did it, he found her adorable.

"ABOUT DAMN TIME" Knuckles' voice shouted.

Zipp and Tails went to the private wing of the castle, and before Pipp could get a chance to scold Zipp for 'trying to run away from from her duties', both Zipp and Tails were holding hands/hooves together, and that cut her off.

Just then, they revealed the news and said that they were a couple now as well. While Team Dark was indifferent, although Shadow did rolled his eyes in annoyance and Rouge chuckled at his expression, everyone else but Misty soon gathered around them and congratulated them, with Knuckles messing with Tails' hair, and Sunny and Sonic squeezing the young fox into a hug like the older siblings they were.

On the other hand, Izzy and Pipp were doing the same with Zipp, with Pipp even dramatizing how fast Zipp was growing, despite the fact that she's the younger sister.

But as they separated to go and congratulate Tails, both Sonic and Sunny popped at Zipp's side, not looking friendly.

"Look, Zippster. We've been brothers in law for 8 months and known each other since last year..." Sonic spoke first. "But let's make one thing clear: If Tails ever gets hurt, and I find out you are the one that hurt him, I'll bring hell to earth and you'll be the cause of it!" he warned her with a menacing tone, fully blue eyes, and his electrical powers showing off.

"And if I am the one finding out..." Sunny spoke next, as she made her Alicorn form show and she gave a deadly stare that made Zipp feel her spine shivering. "I won't answer for my questionable actions" she stated, as her Alicorn form disappeared.

But as Sunny treated Zipp, Sonic looked at a random corner of the room for a second and panicked when he saw Cyber Sonic, standing behind Shadow and Omega. He shook his head, and then, the figure was gone, but it didn't made him less concerned.

Zipp, however, chuckled nervously and looked around concerned, not so sure on how to react to Sonic and Sunny's threats.

And yet, she wasn't the only one, because Tails was going down a similar situation with Pipp. "Listen here, Tails. I love you as a little brother like everyone in our group, but if you ever hurt my sister, all the other times I had gotten mad would look like nothing compared to what I'll do to you if my sister's heart is broken. Understood?!" the young pegasus warned Tails, while getting onto his face and even glaring daggers at him. Heck, Tails could even see fire on them for a sec.

Still, he nodded with a nervous gulp and a sheepish smile.

But as Hitch and Amy congratulated them as well and felt happy for them, Misty stood behind. She was smiling, true, but that didn't changed the fact that a part of her was disappointed.

Yes, she knows that Tails was in love with Zipp for a while now, but a part of her still kind of hoped that he was going to give her a chance one day... Yet that one's on her, because she should've had predicted that it wasn't going to happen.

She looked down, and even sighed frustrated, but soon, Amy approached her. "I know that look..." she told the unicorn mare. "You want to be happy for him, but you feel hurt because he choose someone else, don't you?" she asked her with a smile.

Misty's eyes widened at such an accurate description, and she simply nodded in disappointment.

"I know that feeling..." Amy confessed, as she turned around and saw Sonic and Pipp, with the latter flapping her wings in the air while hugging Sonic from the back. "A part of me is still selfish and wishes to be on her place... But I love Sonic enough to let him be happy with whoever he wants to be" she stated with a smile, then looked back at Misty. "You love Tails, right?" she asked her.

Misty hesitated on answering at first, but she still looked at her and nodded.

"Then I know that you'll heart will tell you the same" Amy finished with a smile.

To this, Misty couldn't help but smile as well.

She looked back at Zipp and Tails being congratulated for their relationship, and when they looked at each other, she could tell that Tails was very happy... And that made her happy too.

This is what Amy meant with her heart telling her the same, and honestly? She could live with that. As long as she could have Tails as a crucial part of her life, she didn't minded being her friend, one of the best, even.

She loved him, and she was happy to see that he's happy with Zipp. What else could she ask for?