Heaven on Earth

Chapter 1: Of Honorable Reckoning

The citizens of Canterlot all giggled, laughing as they traversed the cobblestone streets and hung their purple banners emblazoned with the sun and moon symbols from every lamppost and corner in the capital city for which their kingdom was named.

For today was the Festival of Friendship, a holiday as honored as Queen Celestia and as old as Canterlot itself. This day was marked by feasts, forgiven debts, fireworks, and of course, the Friendship Ball hosted at the palace.

In short, it was splendid. Glorious. Enticing.

And faulty, just as the feud was.

From one of the rooftops overlooking the market square leaned a slender figure with a dark brown hood over his head. Emerald green eyes flashed eagerly from one happy traveler to another, smiling at the words of goodwill exchanged from one person to another.

"There you are, faker."

"Nice to see you too, Shadow." The hooded figure chirped tensely with a sigh as he leaned forward on his elbows.

The black hedgehog deactivated his rocket skates and approached the hooded figure. Behind him, an orange two-tailed fox scrambled over followed by a red echidna, who was glaring at all of the Canterlot people from the safety of the roof.

"I should've known that I wouldn't be hidden for very long. What did you do, use Chaos Control to find me?" The hooded creature asked.

"Sonic, you know your mother will kill us if she knew that you were here." The echidna rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

The hooded figure threw aside his hood, revealing cobalt blue quills. The teenage hedgehog rolled his eyes as he adjusted his dark brown scarf and fiddled with the sports tape on his gloves. "So what? She won't know -- I'm the fastest thing alive, after all."

"That doesn't apply to all of us. Except maybe Shadow," the fox countered.

"Tails, Knux, you guys worry so much." Sonic threw his hands into the air. "I've done this trip to Canterlot so many times I could do it in my sleep and still not get caught."

"But then this brings up the question of why is today the day you pick to ditch the palace and come here." Knuckles crossed his arms over his brawny chest.

"Because today is the Festival of Friendship." Sonic turned his attention back to the crowd, eyes soaking in everything like a sponge. "Every year it's this big party to celebrate friendship and love and how it affects our future. But that counteracts the feud." Emerald eyes sparkled with curiosity. "How can you have a festival dedicated to friendship and at the same time endorse hatred for someone different than you? I mean, isn't that the point of friendship? To care and to support people who are different from you?"

"And wisdom speaks from the impulsive one." Knuckles put his hand on Sonic's shoulder. "But then again, you've always been the more perceptive one compared to your siblings."

"Well, I'm not super perceptive to begin with," Sonic smiled. "Maybe I'm growing up, Knuckles."

"That is clear." Knuckles pulled the cobalt prince into a headlock. "It's hard to believe that you're only fifteen and you're as wise as a scholar. Is it from all your travels?"

"You might be on to something." Sonic gently pried himself from Knuckles' grip. "I've been to so many places and seen so much." One of the flags blew up toward them and Sonic, acting on lightning reflexes, caught it and held it up to the sun. "When I'm king, I will end the feud between our kingdoms. After all, someone has to make the first move to forgive, right?"

"It's not going to be that simple, Sonic. Harsh wounds take longer to heal," Tails argued.

"I know." Sonic's emerald eyes hardened in determination. "But that's not going to stop me from trying. Both of our kingdoms are of honorable reputations and it's a shame we've been enemies for so long."

Knuckles' violet eyes glinted with pride. He'd known Sonic since the crown prince was a little hoglet. Of his siblings, Sonic had generally been the peacemaker despite his sassy attitude and laid-back style of life. In this regard, Sonic was a diplomat, secretly striving for peace.

"Come on, Sonic. Let's go home." Tails climbed down the building by the fire escape, Shadow following.

Sonic took one last look at the banners and the citizens. "Someday, there will be peace. I know it."

Knuckles smiled again, though more out of pity. "Come on, Big Blue. Pull your hood up."

Sonic sighed, yanked the hood up over his head, and then vaulted over the stone ledge, spiky blue quills exposed for a minute before his signature red sneakers hit the pavement in an impressive hero pose. Sonic dusted himself off expertly. "That's ten points for Team Sonic, plus an extra five for dramatic finesse."

"Okay, showoff," Tails rolled his eyes. "Now hurry up."

"Excuse me?" A small voice piped up, full of innocence. Tails, Shadow, and Knuckles darted into the alley nearby while Sonic whirled around to face whoever chose to challenge him.

Emerald eyes focused on a girl with skin white as snow, lavender and sunset pink hair, and dark green eyes eerily similar to his own.

"Can I help you?" Sonic asked politely.

What? This girl looked to be at least as old as Tails. Of course he's going to be civil with her, and not just because he often played the diplomat.

"I was just about to ask if you had an invitation to the Friendship ball. We're handing them out to everyone today." She pointed to little homemade stand where two other girls (one with apple-red hair and butter-yellow skin and another girl with hot pink hair and orange skin) sat holding out maroon envelopes from several weathered baskets. She brandished the envelope with a flourish. "Will you come to the Friendship Ball?"

Sonic smiled and lightly took the envelope with both hands before bowing to her. "It'd be my honor, your ladyship."

The girl giggled and curtseyed in response. "We look forward to seeing you tonight, assuming you aren't from the Mobian Kingdom."

"Oh, could I get three more envelopes?" Sonic asked, holding up both hands. "My friends would love to come too."

"Absolutely!" The girl squealed before rushing over (weaving through the line of people) and plucking two envelopes from the basket. "Apple Blossom! Scootaloo! Can I take these?"

"Sure, Sweetie Belle!" The redhead called.

Sweetie Belle weaved through the line like a needle through fabric and handed Sonic the envelopes. "Enjoy your day, sir."

"Thank you," Sonic smiled before dashing into the alley his friends were in.

As soon as Sonic stopped, Shadow slammed his fist into Sonic's head, causing him to drop the envelopes. With his head reeling, Sonic took a minute to recover as Shadow scolded him for his negligence illegibly.

"Faker, what the actual hell were you thinking?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Shadow demanded. "You have a death wish, I'm sure of it."

"I do not have a death wish, Shadow, though I think I have stars from that punch. Sweet Chaos, that's going to leave a mark." Laying a hand to his left temple, Sonic picked the envelopes back up from the road, noting that they weren't gunky. "This is our chance."

"To get killed?!" Tails exclaimed. "Sonic, I swear to Chaos, one of these days--"

In a rare moment of rage, Sonic hissed back. "Shut up, Tails! Do YOU want us caught?!" When he received no answer from his best friend, Sonic gathered his thoughts. "Look, we don't even have to go diplomatically. We'll go for kicks. Just for an hour, just to see what it's like." Emerald eyes softened to pleading. "Please Knux? Shads? Tails?"

"Oh, grow up, Sonic!" Knuckles grunted, but then he smiled. "Only an hour?"

"Just one." Sonic held up one finger. "We'll stay for one hour and then we'll go home."

"Okay, big bro. I'll hold you to that," Tails sighed with a smile. He plucked an invite from the stack.

"Count me in," Knuckles quietly cheered as he took his.

"I guess I'm going too. After all, someone has to watch out for you children." Shadow scowled as he plucked the maroon envelope. "Now can we go home?"

"Yes." Sonic scooped up Tails and Knuckles and took off, a blue blur through the streets and roofs as Shadow followed not far behind.