//------------------------------// // Chapter 28: Winding Down // Story: Sonic New World // by ColossalParadox //------------------------------// Months had passed and progress on finding the final chaos emerald was slow paced and seemed next to hopeless in finding it. Sonic and his friends knew that if they could keep Eggman or the Deadly Six from getting their greedy hands on it, then they might have a chance in turning the situation in their favor. The Doctor was still around, but only to take breaks in between the grand adventures he was having with Derpy's sister, Roseluck, who craved exploration and discovering new flowers for her to cross breed with her own and bring back to town to sell the newly discovered plant for a good price. School had started back up, forcing the CMC's and Dinky to go back to school. The Doctor dropped Derpy and Dinky back off after the summer was over and went back to adventuring with Roseluck. Derpy didn't really mind because she trusted the Doctor to take good care of Roseluck and make sure not to put her in a deadly situation. The Doctor always made sure to stop in and visit once in while for an update on if he spotted a possible area where the emerald was or just to say hi. Little did they know that the emerald hung right above them, orbiting their atmosphere. Sonic and the others opted to staying mainly in Ponyville for now on and if any news or sightings came about a couple of the members of the group would go and investigate. However, it had been very quiet as of late and everyone has started to worry that getting home may take longer than expected, especially Sonic. Sonic sat on the Golden Oaks Library balcony with his legs crossed and stared up at the stars. He had contemplated what there next move would be if they never found the emerald, but the thought was too saddening for him to think about. He instead decided to try and count the stars, but he could never get past six because his mind would begin to drift back to the emeralds. He also thought about all the praise him and his friends received after that day they defeated the changelings, and when he saved the CMCs from Zazz's evil clutches. o.0.o "Uuuhh..." Zazz moaned. The entire group looked past Sonic, who turned to look at Zazz as well, and watched him crawl from the debris of his demolished robot. He slowly and shakily stood up, still recovering from his detrimental crash caused by Sonic. He stared daggers at the entire group, especially Sonic, as he thought about what his next move would be. He shakily raised his arm and pointed it straight at Sonic. "I'll- I'll get you Sonic," Zazz said with heavy breaths, "and you're little dog too!" Everyone looked at Zazz with confused looks, Sonic and his friends getting the reference but still being off put by the threat. "....What?...." Sonic asked. Zazz realized what he had said and shook his head, "Uh, I mean... BAH! Whatever! I'll be back," Zazz finished, running past the group and heading towards the Everfree forest with Zeena, Zor, and General Hewdraw following him from out of nowhere. Everyone thought they had cleared until they heard one final message be shouted back at them by Zazz. "STINKIN' HEDGEHOG!! Everyone just shrugged off the comment and turned back to Sonic, who was busy setting the cage up Cutie Mark Crusaders on the ground. The entire group gathered around as Sonic grabbed the handle on top of the cage. With a strained grunt, Sonic pulled on the handle. In a matter of seconds, Sonic tore off the top of the cage and threw it to the side. He then began helping the shocked fillies out of the cage, one by one. Once they were out, Scootaloo was the first to shake off her petrification and run up to Sonic, soon followed by the others. "Man, Sonic, that was so COOL! I mean, the way you turned into the awesome green streak and bounced off those stars.... how did you do it?" She asked enthusiastically. "Yeah Sonic," Tails cut in, "how did you pull off that laser maneuver? I thought you could only do that if you absorbed a cyan wisps hyper go-on energy?" "I thought that too Tails," Sonic answered, "But I guess some of the wisps' energy still remained in me from absorbing so much of them." "Hmm...." Tails pondered. There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Twilight decided to break it. "What should we do now?" She asked. "We just won, didn't we?" Amy rhetorically asked, "LET'S CELEBRATE!!" "I'll get the party ready!!" Pinkie said. "And I'll kick it off," Derpy said, turning towards the Doctor, "Come here Doctor" The Doctor turned to look at her, "Ye-MMMHMM!!" The Doctor tried to say, but was cut off by Derpy grabbing the back of his head with her hoof and shoving him forward so that their lips connected. The Doctor was surprised at first, but quickly melted into the kiss given to him by his beautiful wife. Dinky sat on the ground, smiling at the public display of affection her parents showed. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both "aaaawww"ed at them kissing well Scootaloo looked away and produced a fake gagging noise at the display, even though she secretly thought it was cute and loving on the inside. Sonic smiled at the two kissing ponies as well, almost as if he could feel the love from the two equines. He wasn't sure, but he also thought he heard a slight thumping noise as well. He shrugged it off, not thinking much of it. Derpy slowly pulled away from the Doctor, both opening their eyes at the exact same time to look into the eyes of their one true love. After they had separated, they both went to nuzzling each other and giving little, forelegs-less hugs. Dinky walked over to them as well and began nuzzling their legs. After their show of affection was over, all three of them turned back towards the giant group, the family of travelers wearing loving and happy smiles. Derpy stepped forward and looked around at everyone. "Well, what are we waiting for," She said in her soft and innocent voice, "Let's PARTY!!" o.0.o Sonic sighed as continued to stare at the stars, thinking about nothing but home now. The sporadic and hustle and bustle of Mobius was the only thing on his mind at this point. He was always far away from his actually home in Mobius and never really felt homesick before, but now he knew the effects of long term stays in unknown places. For once in his life, he truly felt depressed. Sonic's ear twitched as he sensed a presence behind him. He turned his head to look over his left shoulder and noticed Twilight standing at the door. He waved to her and she smiled, walking over to him slowly. She stopped beside him and locked gazes with him, her smile made him smile as well and helped him think about something other than home. They both then turned their gazes to stare at the stars together. "Lot of stars out tonight," Sonic chatted. "Aren't they're every night," Twilight asked jokingly. "You've got a point," Sonic replied. There was a few moments of silence in between the conversation. "Nightmare Night is tomorrow, you excited?" Twilight asked. "Nightmare Night huh? I remember you telling me about that, it is basically like my Halloween where I'm from." Sonic realized what he said and shivered. "Yeah, I suppose. Kids and some adults dressing up as monsters or their favorite character and going door-to-door, siphoning candy from everypony. Good times," Twilight reminisced. "Yep. Funny-ish story about the origin of Halloween. It was actually a very long time in some time period where the townsfolk and villages were tormented by monsters. Every night on October 31st, the people would have to make an offering of some type of food item to the monsters or they would forever be haunted by them," Sonic finished, glancing over to see a look of surprise on Twilight's face. "Who would have thought that you'd give me a history lesson? I am supposed to be the bookworm here," Twilight said, lightly stomping her hoof on the ground in joke frustration. "Well, that is only what I have been told. That may or may not be historically accurate; it could have been just a bunch of teenagers who devised a devious plan to get free food and scare their elders everywhere. But what do I know, I'm not a historian." Sonic adjusted his position on the railing of the balcony to get more comfortable. Twilight walked over and draped her forelegs over the railing beside Sonic. "It is still an interesting story to say the least, and I enjoy a good historical story; fictional or non-fictional," Twilight thought out loud, looking back at Sonic and smiling at him once more. Sonic chuckled at the purple unicorn's enthusiasm in history, never meeting someone who was smart other than Tails. (And maybe Eggman). Twilight pushed off from the railing and walked to the door, stopping to look back at Sonic. "You know, it has been a while since the changeling attack and when you saved Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo from that odd pink monster and they are still talking about you in the papers. The whole world knows about you and what an amazing hero you and your friends are, you should be proud." "Heh," Sonic laughed and looked over at Twilight, "if I am then it will all go to my head. Nah, it is better if I just remain humble and accept the compliments the townsfolk give me, if any," Sonic replied, waving it off. "Alright... Well you had better get some sleep. It is a big day tomorrow and we want you to be able to enjoy the full festivities of Nightmare Night. Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are coming to visit, which is new this time around. But I am so EXCITED!!" Twilight exclaimed, hopping giddily in place. "Tch, Okay. I'll come inside in a little bit, I just want to sit out here for a little longer." Twilight nodded at his request and went ahead inside. After she was gone, Sonic turned to look back at the stars again and sighed once more. He knew that the world he was in wasn't his own, but someway, somehow, he was looking up at the same sky he would back home, and that thought alone made him crack a smile. Sonic felt the affects of staying up too late hit him and he yawned a little louder than he would have liked. He now knew that it was time to sleep and rest for Nightmare Night tomorrow. After all, he decided that him and his friends deserved a break from all the hard work of finding the last chaos emerald and that they should have a relaxing day off, and what better way to do that than to celebrate a foreign world's tradition. Sonic jumped down from the railing he was relaxing on and took one final look at the sky. He was about to turn away until he saw a few stars twinkle in the sky; brighter than usual. Sonic wasn't sure, but he felt as if the stars were twinkling for him, trying to communicate. Sonic couldn't make out what kind of message they were sending him, but he grinned at the stars anyway for the beauty they produced by doing so. Sonic yawned once more and turned to walk back towards the door, stretching on his way there. Sonic walked inside and closed the door behind him softly, noticing that Spike and Twilight were already asleep in bed. He chuckled and shook his head, never noticing how adorable a pony looked when they slept so peacefully. Sonic soon realized that he was gawking at Twilight and blinked his eyes to stop himself. He then proceeded to walk over to the little circular window he had officially made his bed. He had always enjoyed sleeping in hammock-like structures, even when others found the positioning uncomfortable. Sonic hopped up to it and got into his normal sleeping position, his hands behind his head and right leg crossed over his left one. After he was comfortable, Sonic glanced out the window and looked at the stars one last time; still twinkling. Sonic's eyelids began to feel heavy as he watched the stars, almost thinking that they were lulling him to sleep. Sonic closed his eyes and felt the wonders of sleep consume him quickly. With what consciousness he had left before succumbing to slumber, Sonic thought of his home once last time and was miraculously able to crack one more last smile before drifting off into slumber.