7. A Little Horse
Team Sonic had moved the couches away in the Crystal Brighthouse's living room.
In the middle, Knuckles was sitting with a black drum set in front of him, Tails held a blue bass, and Sonic held his red guitar. They all agreed to help Pipp with her livestream today, which was about a new song.
Why were they in the Brighthouse and not in Mane Melody? Pipp's stage in the salon doesn't have enough space to perform live with her, so they will play from the Brighthouse while a camera records them and projects them in Pipp's stream.
The team spent the whole week in Electronic Tails rehearsing the melody since Pipp was the only one going to sing. They were both relieved to know the instrumental backward and forward, but they were fed up with this fact because it was stuck in their minds now.
Thankfully, Pipp still needed 15 minutes to prepare herself for Mane Melody, so Team Sonic could chill for the time being as they waited for the pop star princess to be ready.
"Hey guys!" Sunny's voice spoke as she and the Mane 5, but Pipp approached the rest.
"Sup!" Sonic greeted with a smile.
"Hi!" Tails waved his hand happily.
"Yo!" Knuckles replied with a nod.
"Huh, you guys are ready to help Pipp with her stream?" Zipp commented with a smirk.
"Oh, we sure are!" Sonic stated with a confident smirk. "We've been practicing the instrumental the whole week," he pointed out.
"And I seriously went from like it to hate it in just two days..." Knuckles said with a bored expression. "I can't take it off my head now!" he complained while placing his hands on his head.
"On the bright side, once we finally perform it, we'll forget the tune... Right?" Tails asked with an awkward smile and a twitchy eye.
"I think you two are being really dramatic over this," Sonic said with a mocking smirk. "Is a really good tune! I don't see why to complain?" he pointed out.
"Sonic, Pipp could lead a revolution to take down a whole square in Zephyr Heights for no reason, and you'll still cheer her for that..." Knuckles pointed out with a frown.
"The same way you cheer everything Izzy does with her unicycling stuff?" Sonic countered with the same bored expression.
This made Izzy and Knuckles blush like mad while everyone else chuckled, and Sonic smirked mockingly at the echidna.
"Why don't you guys play something to ensure you're ready for the livestream?" Hitch suggested with a smile.
"Yeah!" Izzy agreed, with her blush leaving, and then she gasped excitedly. "Oh! Oh! What about one of those songs from your games?! Maybe that could help to forget about the instrumental you gotta play for a second," she pointed out.'
"Well, not forget it, but at least it would be something different than what's playing in your minds, right?" Sunny pointed out with a smile.
"Huh... We could try..." Tails admitted, scratching his head a bit. "The question is... What do we play?" he asked, while Knuckles just shrugged at the question.
On the other hand, Sonic initially felt as confused as his friends until he smiled and knew which song to play.
Then Sonic started to play a melody on his guitar. Tails and Knuckles looked at him, surprised, while Sonic looked back at them with a smirk. "Come on, guys! I know you want to do it!" he said confidently.
Tails and Knuckles looked at each other for a second before smirking, and then they started to play along with Sonic.
Sonic:
What goes up must come down
Yet my feet don't touch the ground
See the world spinning upside down
A mighty crash without a sound
Sonic and Tails:
I can feel your every rage
Step aside, I'll turn the page
Breaking through your crazy maze
Tails:
Like a laser beam, my eyes on you
Sonic and Tails:
Watch me rule the night away
Watch me save the day
Feel my storm is getting close
Sonic:
Headed your way
Team Sonic:
Sonic heroes, Sonic heroes
Sonic:
Bind you, confine you
Defying your reign
Team Sonic:
Sonic heroes, Sonic heroes
Knuckles:
Setting the stage
For a heroes parade
Sonic:
You can bet there ain't no doubt
As the words spill from the mouth
Of a hero
Team Sonic:
I can chase another day
Fight you all the way
Knuckles:
Like a hero
Team Sonic:
And together we stand tall
No matter how
Tails:
No one can bring us down
Team Sonic:
Sonic heroes, Sonic heroes
Sonic:
Bind you, confine you
Defying your reign
Team Sonic:
Sonic heroes, Sonic heroes
Knuckles:
Setting the stage
For a heroes parade
Team Sonic:
Sonic heroes
Sonic:
Give us a reason
And we're on our way
Once Team Sonic was done singing, their friends cheered loudly at their performance while Team Sonic smirked at each other.
"Ah, shit!" Knuckles complained suddenly. "The fucking instrumental we gotta play for Pipp, it's still stuck in my head!" he shouted in rage.
Team Dark and Amy were closer to reaching the Emerald at the top of the mountain.
"At long last, we're finally reaching the top!" Rouge said with a relieved tone, walking to rest her wings since she'd been using them to fly for days.
"It took us a week... maybe two, but we're finally making it," Shadow said. "Omega, how long would it take to reach the top from here?" he asked the robot.
Omega stopped moving and rotated his head 360 degrees, scanning the entire area to arrive at the best-calculated answer. "Scanning complete. Our arrival at the top of this mountain is calculated to be in one exact day," he said.
"Well, it's just one more day..." Amy pointed out. "Come on, now! The sooner we get the Chaos Emerald, the sooner we'll reunite with those three. Fortunately, they're not in so much trouble without me..." she added concerned.
Shadow and Rouge looked at each other with frowns but nodded and followed Amy while Omega walked behind them.
"Say, Amy..." Rouge called out. "You seem worried about those three, but... You still quitted from their little group a while ago. If I recall correctly, you––" she tried to say.
"I never explained why... I know..." Amy immediately replied, but she kept walking and didn't look back at Rouge or Shadow. "Honestly? I never wanted to quit... But I wasn't too comfortable the last months I was with them..." she confessed, hugging herself and looking down but still walking.
Rouge raised an eyebrow, confused, and Shadow scratched his head. Then, Rouge pushed Shadow slightly, confusing the hedgehog, and the bat made a sign with her head, telling him to continue the conversation.
With an eye roll, Shadow decided to obey. "And... Can we ask why?" he went on.
"Well... Those three have always been reckless. Or rather, Sonic and Knuckles are, at least; Tails follows their game because he doesn't want to feel left out..." Amy explained with a sad smile. "Maybe I should've followed his example because... That's exactly how I felt. Left out... Suddenly I wasn't part of them anymore, I was just 'Amy, the girl in the group' and... I hated it..." she added with a frustrated look.
"Wait... Sonic, a guy who always makes sure everyone feels included, no matter how he feels about them, made you feel excluded?" Rouge asked in disbelief.
"Are we sure you're talking about Sonic and not a clone Dr. Eggman created?" Shadow asked with a concerned frown.
"I know, it's pretty hard to believe... But it's true," Amy said with a fully sad expression. "They all made me feel like I was being there with them because they didn't want to be rude, but... I didn't feel like part of them. Just 'a girl with them,' and that's it..." she explained. "I needed to make my name out of them, make sure people would look at me and say, 'Hey, it's Amy Rose'! Instead of some bullshit like 'Hey, it's the girl from Team Sonic'!" she pointed out.
"And? How did it go?" Rouge asked curiously.
"Well... It was hard and took a while to do it, but... I did it," Amy replied, now smiling. "I mean, I was still defeating Eggman as those three would do together, or alone in Sonic's case, but I was doing it alone. No help from anyone; it was just me and my hammer against Eggman to protect innocents," she pointed out. "People were asking for my help, not only Sonic's," she added confidently.
"That would explain why there was a time he felt so bored because there was no Eggman attack... Guess you leave him with no job for quite a while, huh?" Shadow said with a mocking smirk.
"Well, he likes to steal others' fun sometimes. Karma was going to hit him anyway!" Amy pointed out with a mocking smirk as both Rouge and Shadow chuckled at her statement.
In Bridlewood, a unicorn filly trotted past some other ponies as she went up to two of her friends, with one of them holding her phone out while it started buffering.
In Zephyr Heights, the big screens were also buffering while everypony around looked expectantly.
At Maretime Bay, the Pippsqueaks huddled together and looked at their phones, which were also buffering.
"Only one more minute until another live update from Princess Pipp!" Seashell said in excitement.
"I wonder what she’s going to do?!" Peach Fizz asked excitedly. "A big announcement? A song? A big announcement about a song?" she added with a twirl as she squealed in excitement.
But then, Glory looked at her phone and widened her eyes. "Low battery? No, no, no, no," she cried out as she started to look around. "Where’s my charger? Where’s my charger?!" she panicked, not wanting to miss Pipp's stream.
At Mane Melody, Pipp was getting ready for her live video.
She looked in the mirror to ensure she looked great, then flew to the stage and tossed the microphone away, replacing it with her lucky microphone, which she kissed before putting down. Next, she flew to her laptop and brought it in front of the stage, pressing a button that made Team Sonic appear on the screen.
"Alright, Little Pipp!" Sonic spoke with a smile. "We're ready when you are!" he stated, as Knuckles twirled the drumsticks excitedly while Tails nodded in agreement to Sonic's Statement.
With this, Pipp pressed a button on her laptop, turning her camera on and flying in front of it with a smile. "Hey everyone––" she tried to say, but then, she suddenly started coughing, which surprised and worried Team Sonic, especially Sonic, while Pipp tried to talk again. "Hey. Hey, hey, everyp––" she tried to say again, but she started coughing even more, as her voice began to rasp. "Hey…" she tried to speak again, only to make a raspy sound.
With the Pippsqueaks, they were taken back by Pipp's coughing and raspy voice.
"Is this some performance art thing? If so, genius!" Seashell cheered to her friends before suddenly becoming sad. "If not, I'm pretty disappointed," she added, while Peach Fizz nodded in agreement.
"Yeah!" Glory agreed. "If her new song is just coughing and silence, then I have noted," she added as they looked back at the phone.
Back at Mane Melody, Pipp quickly grabbed a smoothie cup and took a quick sip before returning to the stage and grabbing her microphone.
"Technical difficulties!" Pipp said in a raspy tone as she spoke through the mic. "Gonna reschedule until tonight," she said, giving a small smile to her viewers and not noticing that Sonic behind put his guitar down and then boosted off camera. "Stay tuned, and thanks for watching--" she tried to say but didn’t get to finish because she started to cough again, which made her viewers gasp in worry.
Then, Pipp closed her laptop and turned to the screen, which turned off before she realized Sonic was gone.
But it didn't take her long to find out her boyfriend was coming, anyway...
"Pipp!" Sonic's voice rang as he rushed through the salon's entrance, jumped onto the stage,, and carefully placed his hands on her cheeks. Honey, what happened? You just kinda started to cough out of nowhere," he pointed out with concern.
"I don't know..." Pipp replied with concern before coughing again. "Everything was fine one minute, and then I just—–" she tried to add, only to cough again.
"We were watching the stream!" Hitch's voice called out suddenly as he and the rest of the Mane 5, Tails, and Knuckles rushed into Mane Melody.
"We were all watching when you started to cough a storm!" Izzy said with concern. "What happened?" she asked.
"I'm fine! I'm fine!" Pipp assured her friends and boyfriend in her raspy tone with a smile as she flew over her laptop. She landed in front of the rest, with Sonic walking at her side and looking at her with a frown. "Really! I think I just ate a weird apple or something," she insisted, then gagged a bit and covered her mouth.
Zipp saw that and gasped. "Oh no," she said, flying before her sister while Pipp coughed. "You’re… sick!" she called out.
"Yeah, I was having the feeling that would be the case," Sonic said with his arms crossed and a frown.
"Fair warning," Zipp called out, zooming in on the others with a smirk. "She’s about to become very high maintenance,," she pointed out.
"No! No, I am not!" Pipp denied. "I'm…" she tried to say, but before she could finish, she started sneezing like crazy, as she sat on her hind legs and sneezed again.
"Deny, it is just gonna make things worse, hun," Sonic pointed out as he kneeled and placed a hand over her mane. "You are sick, like it or not," he added with a concerned frown.
"It’s okay, Pipp," Sunny assured her with a smile. "Let us help you! You need to rest," she added.
"I promise! I’m fine," Pipp raspy assured her friends as she stood up. "I’m probably just allergic to exciting collaborations with amazing bands," she insisted before she started sneezing so hard that she flew back and landed on a mane dryer chair, she spun around and finally stopped while Sunny walked up to Pipp and took off the mane dryer helmet. "Okay. I guess I'm sick," she admitted.
"By the way, we're a team, not a band," Knuckles pointed out with a bored expression.
"Same meaning, different words, Knuckles," Tails pointed out with a bored expression and crossed arms. "Also, we can wait until you're better to perform with you, Pipp," he told her, now smiling.
"Yeah, your health is more important," Hitch said with a smile. "Now, let’s get you better!" he added, and Sparky nodded in agreement.
"But, but, but, but…" Pipp started stammering as she looked at her friends, who were smiling or frowning at her, while Sparky gave her a firm look and placed his hands on his hips.
"Young lady, you are resting to get better, and that's final," Sonic told her with a glare.
Pipp started to sob after being scolded by her boyfriend, even if she knew he was right. "Okay, fine," she said to her friends, then suddenly flew to the stage. "But I’m taking this," she added as she grabbed her lucky microphone. Then, Zipp flew to her and smirked with a raised eyebrow. "What? It’s my lucky microphone!" Pipp said in defense with a small smile. "I’ll just sing a little teensy tiny bit…" she tried to say.
"You will not!" Zipp said firmly, which made Pipp flinch a bit. Then Zipp took her microphone. "Two words, Pipp: vocal rest," she advised.
Pipp whimpered after hearing that, clearly not on board with the idea.
In the Brighthouse, Pipp was typing on her computer happily.
She was supposed to be resting, which she wasn't doing right now, but then she heard Zipp's voice.
"How's my little patient?" Zipp asked.
Pipp gasped and quickly flew back into bed, holding a thermometer in her mouth. She covered herself before her elder sister came in, and she sobbed. "Being sick is the worst feeling in the world!" she exclaimed while Zipp felt her head and took the thermometer out to check her temperature. "I just want to feel normal!" Pipp cried out.
"Hey, come on. Tough it out!" Zipp reassured her sister. "We all get sick sometimes. It's a part of life!"
"Yeah, I guess," Pipp sighed before she coughed.
"Aww, you poor thing. I'm sorry for the tough love," Zipp apologized. "It’s what works on me but not on you," she realized.
"Yeah, did you just come here to be mean to me until I feel better?" Pipp asked, sounding a bit stuffed up.
"No, not totally," Zipp said, shaking her head with a smile. "I prepared a backup plan to help you recover. "
"A miracle cure?" Pipp asked hopefully.
"Kinda," Zipp replied before she hovered in the air.
"What is it?" Pipp asked curiously.
"An escape from your nasty cold," Zipp began as she vanished from sight for a bit before returning with a huge bookshelf filled with books. "... and entrance into another world!"
"Is that what I think it is?" Pipp asked.
"Yep, my favorite books!" Zipp confirmed as she pulled herself in front of her sister's bed. "Aka, every volume of the greatest fantasy series of all time: The Chronicle of Chevalia! Including expanded universe, official canonical side adventures novellas, and..." Zipp pulled out one book and took it to Pipp. "The Official Chevalipedia!" she exclaimed excitedly before opening said book. "Every term defined, every creature species classified, and every map you'll need to find your bearing in this expensive and amazing universe!" she declared. At the same time, Pipp smiled sheepishly before getting out of bed and hovering a bit near her sister.
"Well, that is a lot," Pipp replied, looking at the books. "Thank you, Zipp, but how long do you expect me to be sick?" she asked nervously.
"Whether it's two days or two moons, there's always time to throw yourself back into Chevalia!" Zipp said with a fond smile while looking at the bookshelf.
"I do love reading. But for the record, let's hope it's two days," Pipp replied, taking a book before frowning. "I can't take two moons of this!" She fluttered onto her bed and sat down sadly.
"Enjoy the journey, and tell me when you get to the 'Tree of Fortunica'!" Zipp said with excitement. "Don't worry. It's not a spoiler. Oh no, saying it is a spoiler is sort of a spoiler, but not really," she quipped as she left. "Oops... Uh, you'll see," she finished before finally leaving the room.
Pipp sighed and prepared to open the book, but then Sunny appeared.
"Hey, hey!" Sunny called out, startling Pipp. She gasped and fondled the book, then started sneezing. "How’s my friend feeling?" she asked with a small smile, catching the book with her hoof and placing it on the bed.
Pipp recomposed herself and turned to Sunny with a smile. "Sunny! I’ve--" she cleared her throat. "I’ve been better. It’s just a quick little cold, though. I’ll be fine in no time!" she assured, now giving a sad expression. "I just have so much I want to do," she whimpered.
"Oh, I know you're reeling, but try to relax," Sunny said with a smile. "Is there anything I can do? Is there any food you like when you’re sick? Are there any home remedies that help?"
"No, not that I can remember..." Pipp answered, rubbing her chin with a hoof, until she gasped as she remembered something...
When Pipp was a filly, she was lying in bed sick. Queen Haven approached her daughter with a bowl of soup and spoon-fed Filly Pipp some, which made her smile at the taste.
Back in the present, Pipp had the same smile as she spoke. "Actually! There is something," she said as she looked at Sunny. "Whenever I got sick, Mom would make this amazing soup. That stuff was a miracle!" she said fondly at the memory.
"Say no more!" Sunny said with a smile as she held out her phone. "I’m on it, in it, and around it!" she stated as she twirled around and tossed her phone in the air before catching it with a smile and giving a small chuckle. "That means I’ll get it. So, what was in this magic soup?" she asked since she was about to write it down.
"Oh, there was... Um…" Pipp tried to say but then stopped. "Uh… I don’t remember! It was just this, um, this soup," she said, spreading her wings while Sunny listened with a small smile. "You know, good soup! The yummiest, like a warm hug for your taste buds," she stated as she lay on her bed and hugged a pillow with a smile. "Oh! Wow, I feel better just talking about it!" she commented happily before looking at Sunny. "Thank you so much, Sunny," she finished.
Sunny looked at her phone, confused. "A warm hug… uh-huh. For your taste buds," she said, making Pipp lay on her bed again and joyfully hug her pillow. "Okay. I'll get that, then," she assured Pipp as she left the room.
As she did so, Sonic entered, looked around, saw his girlfriend on her bed, and smiled.
"Heya, Pippsy," Sonic said with a smile, kissing her cheek, which made Pipp chuckle. "I won't bother to ask how you feel 'cause I already see it is everything but good..." he pointed out concernedly as he sat at her bedside.
"Yeah... I hate this!" Pipp said with sadness as she tapped her hooves on her pillow in such a cute way that Sonic smiled like an idiot. "I just wished I could feel better in such a short notice!" she cried out.
Yet Sonic could only chuckle at her attitude. "Heh, if being extremely cute was a crime, you'd get the life sentence, Miss Petals," he said with a loving look, caressing her cheek.
Pipp blushed like mad after hearing that and chuckled a bit sheepishly. "Blue Star, you've been too cheesy lately?" she pointed out. Not that I complain, but—–" she coughed a bit before continuing. "It's still kind of weird that you act so lovely with me," she confessed.
"Aw, are you flustered 'cause I love you too much?" Sonic asked her with a smirk, kissing her forehead, which made Pipp giggle.
"Aww, thank you, Blue Star..." Pipp said with a smile. "I would kiss you back, but I don't want you to fall sick, too," she giggled.
"It's okay, Little Pipp. You rest that voice and don't. Try. To sing, or you could lose your voice forever?" Sonic pointed out to her, which made her gasp and place a hoof over her throat. "I'll be back in an hour or two. First, I need to do something quickly, okay?" he assured her before kissing her forehead again and the boost away.
Pipp sighed, but she was feeling better now that Sonic had visited. So she grabbed the book again, hoping she could start reading it this time.
Sunny went downstairs while some critters were flying around the Brighthouse. "I have no idea how to make this soup, but that's never stopped me from doing something before," she added, rushing downstairs. "Oh, it is on, Hitch!" she suddenly called out with a determined look as she trotted past Hitch, Knuckles and Sparky.
"What is?" Hitch asked, confused.
"The soup!" Sunny called out as she made her way out of the Brighthouse.
Hitch and Knuckles looked at each other and smiled as they walked upstairs along the critters.
In the bedroom, Pipp sighed again and opened the book, but then, Hitch's critters came before her.
"Huh?" Pipp asked in surprise as she saw Hitch and Knuckles coming in while Sparky jumped on Pip'’s bed and jumped on her for a hug. "Oh, oh wow..." she said in surprise, smiling sheepishly at them. "Hi, everycritter! What’s going on?" she asked, confused by Hitch and Knuckles.
"Well, pal. We thought you might be bored in here all by yourself!" Hitch started as he placed Curtle on the bed. "So…" he tried to continue with a small smile.
"I haven’t been by myself yet," Pipp answered with a bored expression.
"That's why the critters, Hitch, and I thought we'd cheer you up!" Knuckles announced while the critters chirped, and Hitch nodded in agreement.
"Oh, that’s so sweet!" Pipp said with a small smile as she petted Sparky. But nothing would cheer me up like being outside on this beautiful day," she said, looking at the window with a fond smile.
"Hey! Is outside more interesting than some fascinating nature facts?" Hitch asked with a smirk, taking some charts from the squirrel.
Pipp giggled at this. "Um, I guess not," she answered.
It was. It was a lot more interesting.
Right now? Pipp felt very bored because Hitch and Knuckles had been reading all the charts about nature, making her sleepy.
“And that's why they're called, say it with me, pine cones!" Knuckles announced while Hitch and the critters chattered.
"Oh, wow..." Pipp said tiredly, thanking deep inside that this was finally over.
"Aha!" Izzy cheered as she appeared from the stairs while the rest looked at her. "Thanks for stopping by, cuties! But now it's time for the holistic healing helping hoof, Izzy!" she announced cheerfully with a wave of her hoof as she hopped next to them. "Izzy! Izzy! Izzy!" she mimicked an echo around the critters.
"Don’t worry, Pipp. We have many more nature facts to share," Hitch assured them with a smile as the critters jumped off the bed.
"We'll be back later," Knuckles stated, then shared a quick kiss with Izzy, and after that, he left the room along with Hitch, Sparky, and the critters.
"Oh, Pipper!" Izzy called out with a smile as Pipp turned to her. "Once I work my magic, you'll be back to your old chipper, sparkly, singing self in no time!" she assured cheerfully.
"Uh, okay, Izzy, but––" Pipp tried to explain but was cut off while Izzy hopped out of the room.
"My crystals reminded me of the ultimate tea potion for your flu!" Izzy called out, rummaging through some stuff downstairs, while Pipp looked confused before Izzy came back up while levitating a giant teapot and a tea cup. "Here it is, my Unicorn Remedy Tea: guaranteed to cure what ails your tail! And the rest of ya," she assured, pouring some in the tea cup and giving it to Pipp.
Pipp smiled and held the teacup, taking a sip. She smiled at the taste. "Wow. I was skeptical, but it’s delicious!" she said while Izzy smiled at her. "Thank you so much. And it's a magic cure?" she asked, taking another sip. "I can feel it working!" she cheered, but she just sneezed again. "Okay, maybe not," she said after the sneeze.
Izzy looked closely at the tea, soon realizing what she had done wrong. "Oh yeah, oh no, I forgot to add the magic!" she said cheerfully, laughing at her mistake. "Yeah, I just made a tasty tea. But I can fix it," she assured, levitating the tea cup and kettle again. I'll be right back! Keep resting! No moving!" she added, walking out of the room.
Pipp sighed, disappointed at this outcome, sadly resting her head on her hoof.
In the living room, Zipp was flying around. At the same time, Sunny was sitting with stacks of books around her and looking at her phone. Tails was helping her around by reading one of the books.
"'Magic get-well soup,'" Sunny typed in her phone, but it gave a beep. "Nope. 'Magic get-well soup, Zephyr Heights'?" she typed again, but she got another beep. "Nothing. Uh, 'Princess Pipp's perfect magic soup recipe for when Pipp is sick soup,'" she typed again with a smile.
At this, Tails looked up from the book and raised an eyebrow at her. "That's oddly specific to even be on the internet," he pointed out. When Sunny's phone gave another beep, Sunny groaned in frustration and leaned back. "Told ya!" Tails said, returning to read the book.
"Sunny? Something on the stove smells strange…" Zipp called out from the kitchen.
At this, Sunny gasped in realization. "My test soup!" she called out in panic, rushing to the kitchen.
Zipp saw the pot with the soup burned up. Smoke smog exploded out of it, covering everything. Sunny rushed to it with a gasp and turned off the stove.
"I'll take that," Sunny said with a sheepish smile, taking the spoon from Zipp.
The two ponies looked at the pot, and Sunny tapped the spoon on it, but the liquid was hardened now. Soon, Tails arrived as well, and he looked with disgust at the pot.
"Yikes, I think I'll make other lunch plans," Zipp cringed.
"I'm ordering pizza today, I guess..." Tails said with a disgusted expression.
"No, this isn’t for us," Sunny said with a smile. "I’m trying to make your mom's special soup for Pipp, Zipp!" she explained, walking off. "I should just go to Zephyr Heights and ask her––" she tried to finish.
But Zipp flew up and stopped her when she mentioned talking to Haven. "Oh… Maybe don’t do that," she suggested.
"Why not?" Tails asked, confused.
"Mom only made that soup when we were sick," Zipp pointed out.
"So?" both Sunny and Tails asked in curiosity.
"If she knows one of us is sick, she'll freak out and fly here!" Zipp explained as she landed on the ground. "Be cool about it, Sunny?" she asked nervously.
"Cool? I can be cool!" Sunny said with a wide smile. "I can be very cool," she assured, trying to act cool.
Both Zipp and Tails gave Sunny bored expressions. "Yeah... No... No, this is not gonna work. Sorry, Sunny. When it comes to motivational and inspiring stuff? You and Sonic outdo everyone else, no doubt!" Tails said with a smile. "But when it comes to lying? Only Sonic can be in that department... You still need work to do," he pointed out with a bored expression. "Which is why I'm going with you!" he smirked.
"Um... I don't think it's necessary, but okay!" Sunny said with a smile.
Then Zipp sniffed the air and cringed. "But maybe you should take care of that first…" she said, pointing to the burnt soup pot.
The three friends looked over the pot, sniffed it, and gagged.
"I don't think I'll eat soup in a while..." Tails said with a cringed expression.
Sunny covered her mouth to avoid vomiting right there because of the smell. "Blech! No, good call," she said to her friends as she closed the pot.
Sonic opened The Sacred Gate of The Ancients and popped his head.
As expected, Canterlot was still this abandoned city that nopony would dare to visit. Was it because of Discord? Well, kinda, but also... This place is creepy as fuck. Why would anyone come here, anyway? It is part of an age that disappeared long ago when that mysterious unicorn mare made the three pony tribes split up with their respective Unity Crystal.
Sonic stepped into the City and looked around, not noticing Eggman's robotic flicky that also entered and flew away, following the Hedgehog from the shadows. Despite this being his fourth-fifth time here, he still got goosebumps whenever he saw the place around.
"I get this place is abandoned, but man... I seriously feel like there are some hobbyist jobbies around here, " Sonic said.
Still, he nodded with a determinate look and then accelerated toward the Castle. He remembered how excited Sunny was to be in the same place as her childhood heroines, while the rest... well... either were amazed to be here or wanted to go home as soon as they recovered the Pegasus Crystal.
But that was months ago. They were on good terms with Crystal's thief—or at least, he believes. The last time he talked with Crystal, he said he needed time to reflect on his actions.
That was two months ago, and he still hasn't shown up in Maretime Bay.
Yet, it wasn't stopping Sonic from talking to him. After all, he still had to answer him something. So, Sonic reached the Throne Room in Canterlot's Castle and stared down at the one hole left, which he entered curled into a ball.
Once again, he didn't notice Eggman's robotic Flicky, which followed Sonic closely.
Landing at the bottom on a comfy chair with a table in front, Sonic smiled: This was the same place where he met him, the so-called 'Lord of Chaos' himself.
"Yeah, 'self-called' is rude. I am the Lord of Chaos," a voice spoke suddenly, startling Sonic a bit.
He calmed down quickly since he already knew who was talking. "I thought we were done with the surprise games?" he pointed out mockingly.
"Oh, but what fun could I ever get if there weren't surprises?" a flying book spoke behind, and when Sonic turned around, he smirked playfully.
"You get being chaotic to a whole new level, Discord..." Sonic pointed out with an amused tone.
Then, a snap was heard, and the book Sonic was talking with turned into a strange creature with a lion's arm, an eagle's arm, a dragon's leg and tail, a horse's leg, a serpent's body, and a pony's head. This was Discord, and as he said earlier after interrupting me, he's the Lord of Chaos.
"That's what makes me charming!" Discord exclaimed as he snapped again, making him and Sonic appear seated on the table from earlier. "So, my unexpected spiky-head friend. What do I owe the pleasure to my humble abode?" Discord asked with a smirk as he grabbed a cup of tea and drank the cup instead of the tea.
"First, your 'humble abode' needs serious supervision from Izzy... Like, for real," Sonic pointed out, looking around the cave.
"Aw, come on! This place isn't so bad!" Discord said while a bird flying upside down passed above them. "How badly could it be, anyways?" he asked rhetorically.
"How bad could it be? Man, you would make Izzy and Rainbow Violette run out of money if they decided to unicycle this place..." Sonic pointed out with a bored expression. "Second, do you always have to be surrounded by chaos? It doesn't bother me, is not weird considering all the crazy stuff I've seen before..." he confessed, while Discord made a plate with donuts appear, then he grabbed one donut and opened his mouth, only for a smaller discord to come out of it, grab the donut and get back inside Discord. "... Okay, I'll take that back..." Sonic corrected himself after seeing that.
"Chaos is just a part of what I am!" Discord said happily as another Discord suddenly came by and took out a needle, which he used to make the other Discord explode in confetti. "Is part of who I am! If I didn't have chaos, it would almost be like if you didn't have your speed, you get me?" he pointed out.
"Uh-huh..." Sonic said with a raised eyebrow. "And third, my presence here... I think you can tell," he pointed out with a bored expression.
"... Yeah... I can," Discord said with an eye roll as he snapped his fingers and appeared lying on a massage bed. Another Discord - with a mustache - massaged him. "You still want that info on the last floating gem with chaos magic, don't you?" he asked Sonic with a relaxed look.
"Yeah... Also, is Chaos Energy, not Chaos magic..." Sonic pointed out.
"Same thing to me––" Discord replied before letting out a cry of pain when the other him started to flex and stretch his back in ways that could kill anyone else. "Ow! Yes! Right there!" he said with half a painful look and half a smile.
"... Dude, you freak me out sometimes..." Sonic confessed with a cringed expression.
Then, the other Discord let go of the main one, whose back immediately got as good as new, as the other Discord bowed and disappeared. "Oh, yes! That's much better!" Discord cheered with a smirk. "Look, Sonic... I know I said that you should leave and all of that, but seeing how much you care about protecting everypony in Equestria, and not to mention your brand new relationship with Pipp, maybe you should reconsider––" he tried to point out.
"Discord, I'm not leaving this time," Sonic said firmly. "I want to know where the fuck is that last Emerald and I'm not leaving until you give me that info!" he stated with a frown.
"Perhaps your memory is not that smart..." Discord mocked up with a bored expression. "If you don't remember, I said––" he tried to remind, but...
"The remaining Emerald is here in Equestria, but not at the same time," Sonic said instead of Discord. "Yes, I know. I've been day and night since you told me that bullshit, trying to understand its meaning... I still have nothing," he pointed out with a frown.
"Gosh, Sonic... You cannot be that stupid..." Discord said with a glare.
"Says the guy that wanted to destroy all magic just because he refused to listen," Sonic countered.
"Ugh! You're as unbearable as the first day we met!" Discord declared with a frown.
"Cool, we can agree on one thing at least, Mr. 'I can't move on, so I'm gonna fuck my best friend's last wish by destroying all magic'..." Sonic mocked back with a smirk.
And that, that was the straw that broke the camel's back for the Lord of Chaos, because he screamed in rage, and both his eyes and hair turned into actual fire, while he glared down at Sonic...
Yet he could not do anything because he started coughing violently and quickly returned to his old self.
"Man, getting on your nerves is so easy!" Sonic chuckled with a smirk.
Discord coughed some more before finally stopping, then he got up and looked at Sonic bored. "... You are an annoying Hedgehog..." Discord said with a bored expression himself.
"What can I say? Is part of my charm!" Sonic mocked up with a smirk.
Discord rolled his eyes again, but he still smirked. "Alright, Sonic. You win. I'll tell you what I know," he said.
Meanwhile, Pipp was still in the room...
However, instead of resting as she should, she was trying to practice singing.
"What's that sound? It's the sound of the…," Pipp coughed. "... thundercloud. Crash, you gotta believe in the…" she coughed some more, just when Zipp came in and saw her on her phone, trying to sing.
"Hmm…" Zipp said with a frown. "Hey!" she called out, spooking Pipp as she fumbled her phone into Zipp's hooves. "You're supposed to be resting. Vocal Resting!" she pointed out with a frown.
"No! Not Bestie! Give her back!" Pipp frowned, hovering up, but Zipp blocked her with her hoof as she tried to reach her phone, waving her hooves around and screaming until she stopped.
"No more secret singing! No more ClipTrots! No more livestreams! You can have this back later. Give yourself a break for now! Sheesh," Zipp stated before flying off.
Pipp sighed, frustrated, and grabbed a Chronicles of Chevalia book, opening it up.
In Zephyr Heights Castle, Queen Haven was leaning on her throne with a wide smile. She was playing a game on her phone and laughing at it.
Haven didn't notice Sunny and Tails entering the throne room while being escorted by Thunder and Zoom.
"Hi, Queen Haven!" Sunny quickly called out as Thunder and Zoom walked off. "Your Majesty!" she quickly corrected herself, bowing.
Tails also bowed, but he was facepalming internally at Sunny's nerves getting the best of her.
Haven heard Sunny and was surprised that Tails and she were here. Not wanting them to see her playing on her phone, she tossed it away and stood up.
"Oh, please, Sunny," Haven said with a small smile and wave, acting like nothing happened. "Call me Your Majesty Queen Haven," she said as she flew up with her wings spread and did a pose. "To what I owe the pleasure? And where are my girls? Are they here?" she asked, looking around for her daughters.
"Play it cool…" Tails whispered to Sunny, smiling and giving her thumbs up. She smiled at him and nodded.
"Well, Zipp has some sleuthing to do, and Pipp is sick…" Sunny tried to say, but she stopped mid-sentence as Haven's eyes widened in surprise, and Tails' eyes widened in panic. "... at skateboarding!" Sunny quickly corrected herself. "She's so sick at it. Sick means good. She's skating," she added, giving an awkward chuckle.
"Y-Yeah! Sonic's been teaching her lately, and she still needs practice, but she's good at it!" Tails added with a nervous smile.
Still, Haven believed it and calmed down, flying down to her throne. "This is a satisfying answer," She said with a calm smile.
Sunny and Tails sighed in relief at this outcome. "I’ll just cut to the chase and tell you that, that…" Sunny trailed off. Tails forced a smile and glared at Sunny while Haven looked at them confused and raised an eyebrow. "We've entered a cooking competition!" she quickly said. "Yup, we did, and we need to bring some elevated flavors from Zephyr Heights to Maretime Bay," she added.
"Yeah! We think it'll be the height of sophistication!" Tails added with a laugh. "Get it?" he asked.
"Oh, how lovely!" Haven cheered as she flew towards Sunny and Tails. "And you're right about that. Our cuisine is second to none. I love to help," she said, which made Sunny and Tails smile at the answer.
"I'm surprised she doesn't suspect, considering we had that cooking show with the mixed recipes a week ago," Tails muttered to Sunny with a smile.
"Well, considering there's a lot of stuff happening in ZH, she might think another cooking competition so soon isn't that odd," Sunny muttered back with a giggle.
In the Brighthouse, Hitch and Knuckles were back in the room with the critters while Pipp watched what they were doing.
"Okay, guys," Pipp said, placing down the book she was reading. "Whatcha got for me, now?" she asked with a small smile.
"My incredibly talented critters and I have prepared a play for you!" Hitch revealed with a smile while the critters got on the desk, and Sparky clapped his hands, turning off the lights.
"And I am gonna play some background music cause I don't talk bird," Knuckles said with a smirk, as he brought some bongos and sat in front of the desk so Pipp could focus on the play and not on him.
Speaking of Pipp, she looked at her friends and the critters confused.
"Our story starts in a humble wooded thicket in Maretime Bay…" Hitch started as he translated and pointed a flashlight at Kenneth, while Pipp watched interested, and Kenneth made some moves. "Hark! To what do mine eyes see but a spotted owl?" Hitch continued, now making hooting sounds.
Pipp giggled at this, got a pillow and watched the play with a smile.
The play continued one critter at a time, with Kenneth chirping as he held onto Curtle with an old Anti-Unicorn mind-reading helmet on his shell.
Then, the next scene shows Sparky growling while wearing his mask from the Manesquerade Ball. Then, McSnips jumped on with a pen, acting like it was a sword and poking Sparky, who pretended to be stabbed as he lay down and his mask came off, playing dead.
Finally, Kenneth posed as Hitch translated. "And there was never a war between the spotted owls and the striped lemurs again!" he finished as the critters waved and the squirrel released streamers.
Knuckles also stopped playing the bongs, and he sighed in relief that the play was over.
Pipp clapped with a smile at the play. "That was so cute!" she cheered, rubbing her nose. "Oh, one question, though. Did the winged gopher learn to fly because it was inside him all along or because the Breezie fairy granted him a wish?" she asked. "I'm sorry, it's just a little unclear. Feels like a first draft," she pointed out.
Kenneth grew frustrated and threw his can hat down, chirping off mad.
"He says…" Hitch tried to translate but stopped himself. "You know what? I… won’t share that one," he stated nervously.
"I don't speak animal, but I think that's probably just the bird's way of calling you a b––" Knuckles tried to say as he stood up, but Hitch immediately covered his mouth with a hoof, which widened the echidna's eyes.
"Knux, I'm serious. Let's not tell her..." Hitch begged with an anxious expression.
Back with Sunny and Tails, they were still walking with Haven through the hall past some large clear windows.
"So, do you have any special soup that might heal? I mean, wow, the judges?" Sunny asked with a small smile.
"Oh, do I? I do!" Haven grinned. "There's Cream of Marshmallow, Egg Cloud Bisque, and Pegasus Wedding Soup. My personal favorite," she said with a fond smile.
Sunny and Tails looked at each other as Haven named the soups. "Not exactly what we're looking for. But they all sound great, anyways!" Tails said with a smile while Sunny looked down in thought.
Back at the Crystal Brighthouse, Izzy came into the room again.
"Okay!" Izzy called out cheerfully as Pipp lay on her bed and saw Izzy coming. "Pipperoni and Cheese, this time, I think I’ve got it," she said happily, bringing out the tea kettle again. "The magic potion tea to cure your bug and bring you back to maximum sparkle!" she announced.
Pipp smiled with her wings flapping as she stood up. "Ooh, I'll try it! The last one was delicious," she commented.
"Notes of cinnamon, and ginger, and…" she listed out, stopping for a second and rubbing her nose. "Cotton candy?" she finished with a small smile.
"Oh, you noticed, aw!" Izzy smiled. Now, she was pouring tea into the cup and giving it to Pipp. "Okay, here you go! Bottoms up!" she cheered.
Pipp smiled and happily took a sip of the tea. "Again, delicious," she said, but now she said it in Izzy's voice instead of hers, greatly shocking her. "Wait, why do I sound like this?! I'm you, Izzy! I mean–– I'm not you, but I have your voice! Oh no!" she cried out in panic and with Izzy's voice.
"What?" Izzy asked, confused since she didn't expect that either. "Let me try!" she said, taking a sip of the tea and tasting it before smiling. "Mmm, tasty!" she said cheerfully, and then she felt the aftertaste. "Huh? That was new! Must have been the bumbleroot," she stated before suddenly gasping. "How’s your voice now?" she asked Pipp.
"Fa la laa––" Pipp tried to sing, with her normal voice returning despite still being raspy. "Still the same.." she answered with a sad expression.
"Oh, flying rats!" Izzy called out. But I’m not giving up yet. Potion tea magic is real!" she said with a determined look. "I’ll be right back!" she said, giving Pipp back the cup and walking off with the kettle.
Pipp glanced at her cup of tea momentarily before putting it aside. She didn't want to talk like Izzy again.
"Look who came to see you, Pipp," Zipp called out as she entered the room.
Misty slid into the room next to Zipp with a smile just then.
"Misty?!" Pipp called out with surprise. "Haven't seen you since the Manesquerade Ball!" she said with a smile while Zipp and Misty approached her.
"I know, I've been busy," Misty said with a sheepish smile. "But I saw you on the livestream and wanted to check up on you," she explained.
"Aw! Aren't you sweet?" Pipp asked with a smile at Misty.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, very sweet," Zipp quickly said, now getting closer to her sister. "Okay, sis, it's time we talk turkey," she said seriously.
"Oh, I don't know any talking turkeys," Pipp said, tilting her head a bit before gasping. "You should ask Hitch!" she suggested.
"No! 'Talk turkey' is detective speak for 'get down to business'!" Zipp said with a smirk, but Pipp looked at her confused. "I want to take you through my ongoing case against the nefarious evil pony who wants to steal magic!" she explained. "Aka Opaline, aka Dr. Eggman's partner," she added.
Misty gasped in panic after hearing this.
"Oh, ooh!" Pipp said excitedly with a clap of her hooves. "Okay. You mean the dirt. The goss. The tea?" she asked eagerly.
"No! It's not ready yet!" Izzy's voice called out from the living room.
"The facts!" Zipp answered.
"I love it; let's get into it," Pipp said eagerly.
"Or uh…" Misty called out, looking very nervous. "We could play a game instead!" she suggested.
"Nah, I like my idea better," Zipp said, which left Misty even more nervous. "So after hours and hours of digging through everything, including the book Misty helped me find… I've determined that Opaline is an alicorn!” she declared. "And she's been around since the days of Twilight Sparkle!" she added. "But maybe even way before that!" she finished.
After hearing that, Pipp gasped dramatically. "I love this theory! Keep going!" she said eagerly, then started coughing again.
As she did so, Misty looked on with worry. Of course, they knew about Eggman; he hadn't tried to stay hidden, but how did they know about Opaline?
Back at Zephyr Heights, Sunny and Tails still listen to Haven's different kinds of soups.
"Apple Bisque, Tomato Bisque and Biscuit Bisque..." Haven continued to give Sunny and Tails the list of her winning soup recipes. "But that one's not very popular," she confessed.
"Your Majesty, I'm just going to say it..." Sunny replied. "What was that soup you would make for Pipp? She made it sound so great, the way she talked it up," she pointed out.
Haven gave a soft smile after hearing that. "You mean the Special Sick Day Soup?" she asked. "For days when she was sick? Why? Is she sick? My baby!" She panicked and went into mother-overdrive mode.
"No, no, no, no, no,! I am," Tails quickly excused as he gave a fake cough.
"Oh, you poor dear. But please, for the love of Cloudpuff, don't pass it on to me," Haven said. "I have places to go and ponies to see! I'm meeting Alphabittle for tea later," she said with a smile as she walked off.
Sunny and Tails chuckled awkwardly, which turned into a grimace when Haven was gone after hearing that.
"You owe me one!" Tails whispered to Sunny with half a frown.
In Canterlot, Discord leads Sonic to the library.
Of course, Eggman's Flicky was still following from behind. Still, even if he was far away, neither Sonic nor Discord could find him; it had a sound amplifier, so Eggman could still perfectly hear whatever Sonic and Discord were gonna talk about, just as if he was there with them instead of far away.
The draconequus snapped his fingers and made a big blue book with Celestia and Luna's Cute Marks on the cover. Then, he opened the book and started projecting something as an illusion. It seemed to be a mountain full of snow, but Discord zoomed in to the top, where a cave could be seen.
"Uh... What is this?" Sonic asked, confused.
"This is where the last Chaos Emerald should be..." Discord replied. "But! Don't get excited; this isn't a matter of where it is, but rather a matter of when it is," he pointed out.
"... What?" Sonic asked, confused.
"'The remaining Emerald is here in Equestria, but not at the same time. ' My riddle isn't a duality of being there and not simultaneously, Sonic: Is a matter of being in the right place, at the wrong time!" Discord explained.
At this, Sonic blinked a few times, confused and gaining a bored expression from Discord. Before finally realizing what he meant. "The Emerald... It is not lost in a specific location... It is lost in time?!" he shouted in shock.
"Well, there it is!" Discord said with a bored expression. "It took eight issues, 8 Tell Your Tale episodes, and six chapters this season to discover. Happy now?" he asked rhetorically, also crossing his arms.
"Happy now?! You are telling me that I've been looking until the last fucking corner in Equestria for that Emerald... And you casually tell me that it's been stuck in the past this whole time?!" Sonic shouted in rage.
"My riddle was pretty easy to understand, Sonic," Discord pointed out. "It was common sense! If it's not a matter of simultaneity, it's a matter of a thing being in the wrong time!" he explained.
"I consider myself to have an average IQ, but did you think anyone was as crazy as you to find out what your message was about?" Sonic asked with a frown.
Discord looked at him with a blank expression and blinked a few times. "Okay, maybe I should've been more specific..." he confessed.
"OH, YOU THINK?!" Sonic shouted angrily, which made Discord snap his fingers and bring some noise-blocking headphones he put on while Sonic groaned and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. "Chaos, bring me peace... Alright, if the Emerald is really in the past, how did it end up there?" he asked, confused.
"Thanks for asking that politely!" Discord said with a smile.
After that, he snapped his fingers again, and Sonic and he sat down on chairs surrounded by multiple Discords also sitting on other chairs.
A TV appeared before them, which turned on and started to show something. This was the very same day that he fell into Eggman's trap and arrived in Equestria.
"While you were busy talking with your friends, the Emeralds traveled here first," Discord explained. "However, on the way, the Light Blue One strayed away from the others and entered a different time branch. Now, even if it did end up in Equestria anyway, it had traveled around a hundred or two hundred years before our present day. And once it arrived at the top of that mountain, due to the distortion in time it experimented, the Emerald created that cave to protect itself and wait for you!" he added.
"That... Has some sense, I think. I mean, it's pretty much a coincidence just one Emerald out of 7 strayed from the way, but things happen for a reason," Sonic said with a raised eyebrow. "But that raises another question: The other 6 Emeralds weren't restored until Tails and Eggman broke the Bridlewood Crystals over them and got a bit recharged by my new powers. Wouldn't that mean it would be completely dead if the Emerald is still there today?" he questioned.
"Oh, it is. That Eggman guy has it," Discord replied, extremely calm.
"... You've gotta be kidding me..." Sonic said with a glare.
"Hey, it is fully dead, which means you're still in time to retrieve the non-dead one... In the past!" Discord said with a smile, trying to sound positive.
"That just makes it worse..." Sonic muttered with an anxious expression. "I'm gonna guess that the Emerald in the past does have energy because it recovered by itself before losing its power after years of not being used... right?" he asked.
"It's a theory but a plausible one!" Discord replied.
"Gosh... This is... A lot to process..." Sonic muttered with a confused look.
"Thanks, Celestia. He's not finding out about them being from Equestria until the next episode," Discord muttered to you, reader, with a smirk.
"Did you say something?" Sonic asked him, confused, since he thought he heard the draconequus talking.
"I think you're hearing stuff, Hedgehog," Discord said mockingly.
"Uh-huh..." Sonic replied with a glare before shaking his head. "Well... I have what I wanted now... And I don't know what to do with this info..." he confessed.
"Hence why I didn't want to tell! It is a lot to process and hard to believe!" Discord pointed out. "Yet, when I tell you that I'm not lying, it is because I'm not," he assured with a serious look.
"Well, you know a lot about chaos, and honestly? After a whole year of not knowing where that last Emerald is, I'm going to trust your word this time," Sonic said with a smile. I hope, for your good, that you didn't lie to me..." he warned Discord with a bored expression.
"It would be fun, not gonna lie... But I'm a force of goodness now," Discord assured with a relaxed expression, floating in the air and waving his legs happily like a schoolgirl. "I'm not lying to you, Sonic. And that is a promise," he stated.
"You sure?" Sonic asked with crossed arms and a mocking smirk, raising an eyebrow.
Discord got immediately what Sonic wanted him to do, and even if he rolled his eyes again, he still smirked. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" he declared.
Sonic laughed after he did that, but he still raised his thumbs and smirked. "Thanks for the help, Discord. I should go back with my girl now. She's not gonna heal in loneliness, you know!" he stated with a determinate expression.
After that, he waved his hand at Discord and then returned to the Crystal Brighthouse at top speed.
"Say hi to everyone else in my name!" Discord screamed while waving a handkerchief and then sorbing on it.
However, Discord never noticed that the Flicky recorded it all, and Eggman heard everything about the conversation... Even the part where Discord mentioned that the Chaos Emeralds are from Equestria...
In his lab, Eggman stared with no glasses and fully wide eyes at his screen.
He couldn't believe what the Flicky recorded... The thing about the Emerald being in the past with power had no sense until Sonic and Discord discussed it... But the Emeralds being from Equestria?!
"N-No way... I can't believe this!" Eggman exclaimed in shock. "I-I mean... Looking back, it makes sense... It would explain why the magic of Bridlewood's crystals restored them or why one of Sage's analyses showed a coincidence pattern that established the crystals and Emeralds with the same energy! B-But that doesn't explain Sonic's powers helping as well... Unless there's something about that hedgehog that nobody knows... Not even himself..." he declared.
Then, he grabbed his glasses and returned them, staring again at his computer's screen.
"I never actually wondered where the Chaos Emeralds come from... Guess it's time to do some research!" Eggman stated with a determinate look.
After that, he clapped his hands, and soon enough, a Moto Bug arrived, pushing a shelf with wheels that had several books from Opaline's library.
Back in the Brighthouse, Pipp was reading a book when Zipp suddenly flew in.
"Sis! I forgot to share a key detail!" Zipp called out as she and Misty came in. "The book says Alicorns can harness other types of magic," she explained while Misty panicked again.
"I’m not following this turkey talk," Pipp said, confused, as she placed the book down and wiped her nose. "If an Alicorn already has Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony magic, what other kind of magic is there?" she questioned.
"Dragon magi––" Zipp tried to answer but was cut off when Misty started to fake coughing.
The sisters turned to her, confused. "Oh!" Misty said with a nervous chuckle, clearing her throat. "Ahem, I must be coming down with what you have, Pipp," she lied nervously, giving another fake cough. "Anyway, uh, I just came here to bring this get-well gift," she said, holding out a newspaper-wrapped present with some ribbons. "It’s a mane brush. 'Cause a pony never has too many mane brushes!" she added with a laugh while Pipp smiled both at the present and at Misty. "Am I right?" she asked with a smile.
Pipp gasped happily. "How thoughtful!" she said with a sniff. "Thank you so much!" she thanked.
"Hey Misty, tell us that story you shared at the unicorn sleepover again, would you?" Zipp asked while Misty panicked for the millionth time today.
"Uh… Uh, uh..." Misty said nervously, giving a nervous smile. "Sure, I… I just... I just… I gotta get some water first," she stated, fake coughing again, trotting out of the room as she headed downstairs.
"What’s stuck in her mane?" Pipp asked, confused, as she pointed a wing to where Misty trotted off.
"Hmm, hmm," Zipp shrugged. "Remember that one time I got a candy apple stuck in mine?" she asked Pipp with an amusing smile.
"No, that was me," Pipp deadpanned as she placed Misty's gift present down. You put it there. At the carnival," she pointed out. It took Mom an hour to get it out," she reminded her.
"Oh yeah!" Zipp said with a chuckle. "Classic..." She smiled fondly at the memory, but Pipp gave her a bored expression. "I mean, sorry about that," she quickly apologized with a sheepish smile.
Meanwhile, Sunny and Tails were still trying to get the soup from Haven.
Tails was getting too much into the act because he was coughing like a maniac, while Sunny smiled sheepishly at his act. "So, can I get that recipe or––" Sunny asked, as Tails coughed again while Haven checked on her phone.
"My, aren't you a persistent one?" Haven suddenly frowned, throwing away her phone and sighing. "Okay, fine! You don't have to keep twisting my hoof! I admit it! The soup is not homemade! It's from the Souper Ladle Food Cart!" she yelled out while Sunny and Tails looked at each other, both surprised and confused. "It's the number 12, add carrots. I've been ordering it and passing it off as my own for the girls' whole lives. I'm embarrassed! I'm a good mother but a terrible chef," Haven admitted as she sat down.
"Oh no, I don't judge you!" Sunny replied quickly. "I'm sure it's delicious either way!" she assured her.
Haven wiped her tears and clapped her hooves as Zoom came to them, holding a bowl. "At least take the official Royal Ponyware for authenticity," she said as Zoom gave Sunny the bow and guided Tails and her out the door. "I did always serve it in this. Good luck and feel better, dear Tails!" she called out.
Zoom guided Sunny and Tails out the door and then closed it. "Wait, where's the Souper Ladle Food Cart?" Sunny called out.
"So... Good mother, terrible chef... For Sonic's sake, let's hope we don't have to add 'Paranoid mother-in-law' to the list!" Tails joked with a mocking smirk while Sunny covered her mouth in an attempt not to burst out laughing.
Back at the Brighthouse, Pipp is trying to suit her makeup supplies, moving them around.
Just then, Zipp entered the room. "Sis, you won't be better for days if you’re not––" she tried to say, but...
"Don't say resting," Pipp cut her off. She pointed a makeup bottle at her sister, and Zipp felt startled at Pipp's snap. "Please. Please don't say resting! I'm so sick of resting," she cried as she flew to bed. "I've been resting for hours. I'm done!" she pointed out, then sighed in defeat. "I feel crummy, but doing nothing is making it worse!" she added.
"I'm sorry! I just…" Zipp tried to explain with a guilty expression but stopped herself. "Never mind. I'll go," she said while looking down.
"I'm just so over being treated like a patient," Pipp answered, lowering herself to her bed and kicking a tissue away. "It's not you. I'm sorry!" She apologized, now sitting on her bed.
Just then, Sonic got into the room, but before saying anything, he saw that Pipp and Zipp were having some discussion. "Oh, sorry. Is this bad timing? I can leave and let you two sort this out––" he tried to say, smiling sheepishly and stepping back.
"It's okay," Zipp said suddenly, which made Sonic stop moving. "I'll give you your space…" she added. As she walked out of the room, Pipp groaned stressfully.
Sonic noticed that and raised an eyebrow, so he approached his girlfriend and sat at her side on the bed. At this, Pipp lay her head on his shoulder by instinct, and Sonic wrapped his arm around her.
"Mind to explain what happened while I was out?" Sonic asked her.
"I'm just... Everypony's been treating me like a patient, and I know is just because they're worried, but... I don't wanna be here doing nothing anymore..." Pipp explained as her ears lowered and she sniffed from sadness and sickness.
"Well, I cannot provide a magic cure even if I wanted, but I can keep you company until you feel better," Sonic told her with a smile. "What do you say about that, Princess?" he asked her with a mocking tone and smirk.
Pipp giggled at hearing that and sniffed again. "I think that'll be perfect," she declared with a smile.
Later, Pipp read the book again with a small smile while Sonic returned his old ukulele and played some music.
"Hey, Pipper-status!" Izzy called out while Pipp and Sonic turned to see Izzy coming in with a new tea cut and wearing protective goggles.
"Where are you doing a tea or a science project?" Sonic asked sarcastically.
"Ugh, Izzy, I know you're trying here, but––" Pipp tried to say as she closed the book and sat on her bed.
"Just taste it, silly," Izzy said with a smile. "I promise I got it right this time," she assured.
Pipp took a sip of the cup and... smiled. "I love it! What is it?" she asked happily.
Izzy took a deep breath before smiling and replying, "It's just chamomile tea. I finally stopped looking for a cure and settled on something that would make you feel nice."
"Aw, that's exactly what I needed!" Pipp cheered with a smile. "Thanks, Izzy, you're the best!" she said, taking a closer look at her tea. "You're sure this won't mess with my voice?" she asked.
"This one is just 100% chamomile flowers, honey, and water," Izzy assured her. "Oh, and love," she whispered with a smile.
"Now, this is some magic I can get behind!" Pipp said happily.
"Mess with your voice? What exactly happened while I was out?" Sonic asked, confused.
Pipp sorbed by her nose before replying. "I'll explain to you later, sweetie," she assured him with a smile.
Meanwhile, Sunny and Tails went to the Souper Ladle Food Carry to get Pipp her soup.
"Number 12, add carrots," Sunny asked with a smile.
"Ooh, so sorry, we just ran out," the sales pony replied.
"No! Poor Pipp is never going to get better," Tails said with worry, but the sales pony's face lit up by hearing Pipp's name.
"This is for the Princess?! Well, why didn’t you say so?" The sales pony called out. "I need an extra number 12 with carrots for the Princess!" he ordered.
Then, the Chef appeared before them. "For the Princess?! Coming right up!" he stated, then worked on the soup.
"And don't keep royalty waiting!" the sales pony added before winking at Sunny and Tails, which smiled back.
Zipp and Misty returned to the Brighthouse with a board. Pipp and Sonic saw them arrive, so Pipp put the book away, and Sonic sat at her side.
"First of all, I want to say I'm sorry for getting on your case all day, sis," Zipp apologized. "I just care about you, okay?" she pointed out.
"I know," Pipp said, now looking down. "I'm sorry for being Little Miss Cranky Hooves," she apologized before sobbing. "I'm just stir-crazy from being inside today," she added.
"You should thank I'm not the one that fell sick... I'll be twice as upset of being inside than her," Sonic said with a bored expression.
"Well, then, let me knock your stir-crazy sock off," Zipp joked as she flipped her board to show the clues and hints of Opaline and Eggman.
Misty gasped in shock while Pipp stared in awe, and Sonic raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, what is this?" Sonic asked, confused.
"This, my spiky-head brother-in-law, is how all my theories connect!" Zipp started. "On Alicorns, on dragon magic, on glowing Cutie Marks…" she said with a smile.
Misty squeaked nervously while Pipp watched uninterestedly. Sonic grabbed a notebook, pencil, and reading glasses to look more intelligent.
On the other hand, Zipp started explaining her theories, connecting the clues while replaying Twilight's message. She explained every detail and every clue she had researched and gathered, which made Misty even more nervous. Pipp seemed amazed by this, and Sonic kept taking notes.
She also explained why Opaline needed Eggman's help and how it was safe to say that one of them was going to backstab the other one as soon as any of them got their hands or hooves on the Unity Crystals and/or Chaos Emeralds.
After a few minutes of explaining, Zipp revealed that Opaline was an Alicorn, which left Pipp speechless. Sonic stared at his notes thoughtfully.
"Amazing! I love it," Pipp said with a smile while Zipp smiled back at her. "I mean, I don't love that we have to stop this evil Alicorn, Opaline, nor that creepy Eggman dude, but excellent work," she added.
"An evil genius that can build machines as an army, and an Alicorn that has the power of three different types of magic, joining forces..." Sonic muttered. "As if finding a way to retrieve the last Emerald from the past to our present wasn't enough pain in the ass..." he said with concern.
"Wait, what?!" Zipp asked in shock. "The last Chaos Emerald is in the past?!" she exclaimed.
"That's what Discord said, at least..." Sonic replied, removing his reading glasses. "I know I should take his word carefully, but is everything I have so far..." he pointed out. "Say, Misty... You're quiet," he commented.
But once he and the sisters turned, they saw Misty was gone.
"Oh no, I hope she's not getting sick too," Zipp said with concern.
In the Castle, Eggman spent hours reviewing all the books he got from Opaline's library.
Finding out that the last Chaos Emerald was stuck around a hundred or two hundred years in the past was one thing, but finding out that the Chaos Emeralds are from Equestria? This was a huge discovery, and he had to dig deeper into the subject.
After reading all the books about the Starfall Islands he had, the three volumes on 'History of Equestria: Before and After Celestia', and hearing from the Lord of Chaos himself that the Emeralds were created in Equestria, Eggman's suspicions stopped being that...
"So it's official now... The Chaos Emeralds are from Equestria..." Eggman said with a slight frown. "I still cannot believe this... My whole life, I've been seeking their power... And it turns out that they're from a completely different world?! Guess my interest in Equestria and its magic wasn't born out of a coincidence..." he pointed out. "However, that doesn't help to find out how I'm going to retrieve the last Emerald from the past... Nor what to do with its dead counterpart," he added with concern.
However, before he could question this further, he heard Opaline screaming in anger...
"What do you mean 'they know'?" Opaline questioned in anger.
Eggman raised an eyebrow at hearing her yells, so he stood up and left his lab. He then entered the study room and saw Opaline completely mad, while Misty felt nervous.
"Who is 'they,' and what do they know?" Opaline asked with rage.
"Zipp, Pipp,, and Sonic——they know everything!" Misty answered. "Well, not everything, but a lot. They know who you are, well, almost," she added.
"Ugh, almost?" Opaline scoffed. "They had never heard of moi? The great and powerful Opaline?" she questioned, as her horn lit up in flames and she spread her wings out.
Misty backed up nervously while Eggman raised an eyebrow.
Then, Opaline retracted her wings, and her horn died out. "What are they teaching these ponies in history classes? Nonsense? Gibberish?" she asked while looking at Misty, who stood silently, unsure what to say. "Well?" she questioned, which made Misty flinch.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Misty quickly apologized. "Uh, I, I don't know. I thought it was one of those questions you're not supposed to answer," she confessed.
Opaline groaned, annoyed at that.
"I'm sorry, ladies, but I'm afraid I'm lost here..." Eggman confessed. "What is going on?" he asked.
"Sonic, Zipp, and Pipp is going on!" Misty said with a panicked expression. "They know almost everything! The hideout is still a secret to them, and our full plans too, but they know everything else!" she explained.
Eggman groaned and frowned after hearing this. "I should've made sure those stupid princesses died inside that cave after Misty trapped them!" he shouted in rage.
"Or she should've made sure that they actually stayed trapped!" Opaline shouted with rage as well, which made Misty flinch.
"UGH, WHATEVER!" Eggman shouted, stomping his foot hard enough to make Opaline and Misty flinch. "I'm tired of this dance. I've been hearing the same fucking song for 21 years, and I'm STILL on square one!" he pointed out with anger. "But not anymore..." he stated with a frown.
Back at the Brighthouse, Pipp was watching the critters and Sparky, playing instruments since they started a band together to entertain Pipp, while Hitch listened to the music in the background with a smile.
As for Sonic and Knuckles, they decided to move aside to talk about the last Chaos Emerald being trapped in the past.
"So Discord did know where it was, but he didn't tell 'cause it would been hard to believe..." Knuckles muttered.
"Pretty much," Sonic replied with a worried frown. "Now we know when it is, but... How are we gonna get it?" he asked confused.
"Maybe once Pipp feels better, we could gather all the crew and discuss that?" Knuckles suggested. "We can even involve Misty and everything," he pointed out.
"Eh, I don't know, Knux... I don't wanna drag them to this problem..." Sonic confessed with concern. "I know they can handle weird stuff and care for Eggman, but they have enough by knowing he's around. Time travel? You think they could handle that?" he asked with a frown.
"Hmm... I guess I see your point. Still, you are underestimating them," Knuckles pointed out. "They can deal with Eggman; you say it yourself. I think they'll be fine with some time travel stuff," he smirked.
"I hope you're right, Knux..." Sonic said with concern, looking at Pipp and Hitch. "For their sake and ours..." he added with worry.
On the other hand, the critter finished playing the instruments, and Pipp started to clap lightly to them. "Oh, wow…" she said with an uncertain smile. "Yay, uh… That was great," she said with a sheepish smile. "Hitch, I appreciate you trying to keep me entertained all day, but what I could use is somepony to hang out with," she said with a small smile. "Sonic is the best example of that, and I really would like just to chill, you know?" she pointed out.
At this, Hitch sighed relievedly and smiled. "Boy, wow. Thank you. Yes! I must admit, we were running out of stuff to show you, weren't we?" he asked his critter friends and Sparky with a smile. Sparky gurgled in agreement as he took off his sunglasses.
At this, Pipp smiled and hugged her pillow with sparkling eyes.
A little later, Sunny and Tails returned from Zephyr Heights in the Tornado IV.
They had to land it on Electronic Tails' heliport, which meant they had to come to the Brighthouse running, with Tails carrying the soup.
Sonic, Pipp, Knuckles, and Hitch played UNO inside the bedroom while Sparky slept with a pacifier and a pillow. Then Sunny and Tails came into the room, and Tails placed the bowl of soup down.
Sunny sighed tiredly. "Wow, that took all day!" she said with a smile. "Pipp, we got it! We did it!" she cheered, pushing the soup closer to Pipp.
"We have your magical soup... And it took a lot of jobs to get it..." Tails added with an anxious look and a twitchy eye.
"Sunny, this is so nice!" Pipp smiled. "But I should tell you, there's nothing magical about it," she revealed.
Sunny was surprised by that, and Tails' eyes widened, with one of them twitching even more now. "There… isn’t?" Sunny asked.
"It's special because of my mom's effort to get it and her stubbornness in insisting it was homemade!" Pipp explained with a smile.
"You knew?!" Tails asked/shouted in shock, with his eye twitching even more now.
"But I love it!" Pipp cheered. "It always made me feel good when I was sick, and this is the nicest thing. You guys are the best," she added, smiling at Sunny and Tails for their effort.
"I think I'm gonna get sick for real now..." Tails muttered with an angry tone, and his eyes still twitched.
"Hmm," Sunny said as she was about to return the soup.
"Hey!" Pipp suddenly called out, making Sunny stop taking the soup. "I know I said it was the thought that counts, but it's also really delicious soup," she explained. "Give it, please?" she asked politely.
Sunny smiled and gave her the soup to Pipp while she accepted it.
"Thank you!" Pipp said happily as she drank down the soup.
In the Castle, Opaline and Eggman were pacing back and forth while Misty sat on the floor.
"So, what do you want me to do?" Misty asked uncertainly.
"What do you think?" Opaline questioned firmly as she turned Misty in a slight panic. "That little detective girl is getting too smart. We must act," she declared.
"Indeed..." Eggman agreed. "But this time, we cannot allow ourselves to fail. It isn't an option anymore," he declared, and Opaline nodded in agreement while the doctor turned to face Misty. "You will get that winged lizard from those fools once and for all!" he instructed with anger.
Misty felt surprised that Eggman was yelling at her, but she still nodded at him with a nervous smile.
"Once she brings you the fire, power up and get those Crystals!" Eggman instructed Opaline now. "As for me? I have plans for tomorrow..." he declared with a sinister grin, turning around and heading back to his lab.
"What kind of plans?" Opaline asked.
"I'm gonna get myself a Roasted Hedgehog," Eggman replied. "I've gotta remind him... What. I'm. Made of," he declared, followed by a maniac laugh as thunder roared outside the castle.
Night hit Equestria almost out of nowhere.
Team Dark and Amy were just an hour or two away from getting the Chaos Emerald at the top of the mountain. However, even if they knew they were close, they still chose to stay behind and sleep tonight to have full energy tomorrow while taking the Emerald back.
However, only Amy and Omega were sleeping. Shadow and Rouge were staring at the night sky, with Shadow's expression somewhat conflicted. At the same time, Rouge hugged her legs and wrapped herself with her wings, sitting at Shadow's side.
Soon enough, though, Rouge turned at her side and noticed Shadow's expression. "Something on your mind?" she asked.
"... Kinda..." Shadow replied. "I guess my mind's conflicted... The Emeralds are from this Equestria world we're in now... As weird as the idea sounds, it also seems... logical to some point," he said, sighing. "I guess... I'm concerned that everything we thought we knew about the Chaos Emeralds was a lie..." he confessed.
"Well, we technically never knew that much about them, anyways," Rouge pointed out with a smirk. "But I get where you are coming from. After all, you have Chaos Energy in your veins, so you can use Chaos Control with no Emerald, even if it takes your energy, right?" she asked.
Shadow nodded at that statement before sighing again. "Finding those three is not urgent. With Eggman causing trouble in this universe instead of ours, their job remains the same," he pointed out with a slight smirk. But we have no idea what kind of consequences their stay here could bring to Mobius," he added with concern.
"Do we know if there's any consequences at all?" Rouge questioned with a raised eyebrow. "We have left our world for several months before. Remember the Olympics with the Mushroom Kingdom people?" she pointed out.
"That's the thing, Rouge. It was several months, not a whole-ass year," Shadow pointed out as well with a concerned frown. "Maybe I'm trying to look for the cat's fifth leg, but it's concerning anyway. Despite my attitude, I do care for our world, for people. Despite their downs, I get why Maria wanted me to protect them... I'm afraid that staying far from our home might destroy it in the process..." he confessed.
Rouge only nodded at that statement in understanding and sighed. "Well. You should share that with Sonic once we find him and the other two," she suggested.
At this, Shadow looked at her with a bored expression and a raised eyebrow, but Rouge looked at him with an expression that shouted, "I'm being serious."
"Rouge, you ask me to be open with that hedgehog?" Shadow pointed out, still with a bored expression.
"Oh, but I mean it, Shadow," Rouge said seriously. "Telling him why we're even looking for them might make him enter to reason," she pointed out.
"Reason? Why would he need to be convinced to go back?" Shadow asked, confused.
"I just have a feeling he might have established a new leaf here this past year..." Rouge replied, looking back at the sky with a serious expression.
Shadow still felt confused but decided to let the subject die and looked back at the sky.
Meanwhile, Amy heard everything they just said but decided not to reveal that she wasn't sleeping. Still, she also felt that making Sonic back home might be difficult, especially considering he's been in Equestria for a year.
In the Brighthouse, the Mane 5 sins, Pipp, Tails, and Knuckles, were in the living room.
After looking after Pipp the whole day, they were all tired, so Sonic decided to keep his girlfriend company and let the others rest. Now, Izzy was sleeping over Knuckles, who was also asleep, while the others were tired on the couch.
"Hey, ponies!" Pipp called out, sounding like herself again, as she arrived along Sonic and made the rest wake up. "Listen to this," she said, landing on the table and clearing her throat. "Hey Pippsqueaks, it's ya girl, Pipp! Please welcome my guests, Team Sonic!" she called out with a smile as her wings spread.
"She's back!" Hitch cheered while the others smiled at her.
"See?" Zipp asked with a smirk as she flew next to her sister. "All you needed was a little rest!" she winked.
"A little tea!" Izzy added with a smile, coming next to her friends.
"Some yummy soup!" Sunny added next.
"And a good hangout!" Hitch finished, as he placed his hoof on Sparky, while the baby dragon cheered and Knuckles came to pat the baby dragon's head.
"Yeah!" Pipp said in agreement. "I'm sorry if I was a difficult patient," she apologized. "You all worked so hard to entertain me, keep me preoccupied, and even get my health back, but all I needed was to know my friends care about me," she finished with a smile, and her friends smiled back.
"Ah!" Izzy called out with a wave and a smile. "If I knew that's what you needed, I wouldn't have tried so hard!" she said cheerfully.
Everyone else laughed at her. "Izzy, please never change," Tails told her with a smile.
"Ugh... I don't want to turn the whole mood down, and I'm the last person to say this, considering I'm always late even though I'm the fastest thing alive..." Sonic started to say. "But!" he added, taking out his phone and showing the time to Pipp. "We're already late for your stream!" he pointed out with panic. "You're still in time to go to Mane Melody and prepare everything while Tails, Knuckles, and I––" he tried to add.
But Pipp giggled and cut him off. "You know what? I think I'd like to do it here, with you guys," she said, while her friends smiled at her. "You're the reason I feel good enough to stream, after all!" she added.
"I think we can help with that!" Sunny said to Pipp with a wink and a smile.
And so, the Mane 5 and Team Sonic settled things up for Pipp's livestream: With Hitch rolling out Pipp's laptop and Sparky opening it up, Izzy levitating the microphone holder and Pipp placing her lucky microphone in place, and both Zipp and Sunny helped Team Sonic set up the entire set to play the instrumental and let Pipp sing the song.
However, as Pipp prepared to sing and Team Sonic prepared to play, the Brighthouse's room started to glow blue.
That's because, below Sonic's bedroom, where the box with the Chaos Emeralds is hidden, the blue Chaos Emerald is shining bright...
"Sonic..." Longclaw's voice came out of the box and echoed around the room.
You know? This chapter was longer at first, but then something happened...
Here's a little story: Before Chapter 4 came out, I already had written a different way for the Mane 5 to meet Opaline, a way that didn't involved Misty finally stealing Sparky nor revealing her as a traitor...
BUT! The Chapter released, and it not only made my version look like ass, it made me question the deepest mysteries of the universe... Starting with the fact that Hasbro actually made their meeting, as well as Misty's revelation, decent enough.
So, with everything I wrote being humiliated by Hasbro, I had to scrap that and rewrite almost everything again. Now, this episode I'm talking about was an original one, but now that place goes to the next episode to this one, leaving 'Missing the Mark' as Episode 9.
Now, why is all of this relevant to why this episode isn't longer? Because what I wanted for the ending has been moved to the next episode, which is an original one. Hopefully, I left you all skeptical for what comes next.
P.S: Thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! 
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Great chapter, Pipp got sick again when team sonic was gonna do a stream band, and the her friends tried to help her get better by resting, while they are doing that, Sonic visit Discord for answers on the last chaos emerald, and found out that the last one is in the past! Wow, if it’s in the G4 timeline, that would be more I interesting, looks like time travel adventure will happen, and team dark is still searching while Amy explained why she quit the team, which she is still conflicted on her chose and sonic and rouge feel bad for her, I hope she rejoins the team, and rouge and shadow explain about their discovery and rouge telling shadow that getting sonic and the others to leave equestria will be hard on how much of a home and how much friends and love ones they made, which is something they might not want to leave, and looks like Opaline and Eggman are going to put their plan into action as Misty doesn’t feel right about it, things are about to get more intense, awesome job on this chapter! Looking forward to the next one!
Ai wo shirazu. Nikushimi dake de. Sodaterareta. Aware na ko nigeru ga ii.
Okay, why does that happen? Whatever. Hopefully it’ll be done soon.
Anyway, this chapter doesn’t have too much to comment on. Sonic and Pipp are cute as always, Eggman and Opaline realized they screwed up with Zipp will never not entertain me, and we even got to see Discord again.
This was a nice breather, because next time is when things really start to get crazy.
I Can't wait for the next chapter,Good job 😎😎👍👍😁😁
Why do I get the feeling that when Team Dark & Amy arrive that some damage was done and Shadow knows Sonic is involved from a shockwave and goes to confront him.
Sonic: Gah! *gets up* Shadow?!
Shadow: what did you do?!
Sonic: what did I do? Eggman’s the bad guy here! Remember?
Shadow: But you literally shook the world.
Sonic: *dodges Shadow* That is cause I am good! And powerful apparently. Jealous?
Thus a race fight happens
Tails: here they go again.
Now that Sonic and Knuckles (and presumably Tails) are in a relationship, I really hope they don’t leave Equestria when it’s time. I know that they said that they won’t be there forever, but I hope that’s not the case. This is just a suggestion, maybe you could do like the ending from Toy Story 4, only with Sonic, Tails, & Knuckles and Team Dark.
I love how natural Discord felt in this episode. His presence wasn't forced and he actually was important for the plot.
I said it once, and I'll said it again: This Season is a massive step forward to the previous one!