Heaven on Earth

Chapter 5: Blessed Night

Sonic sat on the balcony rail, emerald eyes wide with enchantment as he listened to Twilight tell another story about a failed experiment.

He had only spoken with Twilight twice now -- and he was enjoying it!

She was so fascinating and yet so mysterious. Yet she possessed an inner beauty that in Sonic's mind was no different than the Chaos Emeralds. And best of all, she wanted to be his friend! 

He reached down to subconsciously pet Spike. Earlier, he'd gotten to meet the dog as Twilight explained that, due to an unexplained magic rift, he'd been granted the ability to speak (a fact that spooked Sonic to the point where he nearly fell off the balcony when the dog spoke for the first time).

Abruptly, Twilight paused. "I'm not boring you, am I?"

"Considering I thought I was boring you with stories of my heroics?" Sonic shook his head. "No, not at all. I'm used to this type of conversation." He leaned forward a little. "My best friend discusses quantum physics for kicks."

"Quantum physics!" Twilight exclaimed, purple eyes lighting up. "So you understand it?"

"Enough to get the basic idea," Sonic admitted. "But yeah." He stretched slightly, as if preparing to run again.

"So what do you like to do when you aren't saving the world?" Twilight teased. "Besides running and ballroom dancing?"

"Sleeping," Sonic chuckled. "And eating. And fighting playfully. You know, typical guy stuff. But I also like music."

"Music? Do you play?" Twilight asked.

"Guitar. I sing too. My siblings and a couple of my friends have a joint band with me," Sonic chuckled. "You?"

Twilight smiled. "My friends have a band too -- I'm one of the backup singers."

"A backup singer?" Sonic asked, incredulous. "With your voice?"

"Have you heard me sing?" Twilight asked, hands on her hips.

"Well, considering this is our first real conversation outside of the Friendship Ball, that's a no. But you haven't heard me sing either, so...." Sonic shrugged.

"That's true. Maybe at our next meeting, you can bring your guitar and you can play for me. Then I'll sing for you." Twilight sat down beside Sonic, noting that the latter drew his right leg close to his body. "Sonic, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why did you come back?" Twilight asked. "I didn't expect it, but it still is dangerous for you here."

Sonic tapped his right foot. "I always keep my word. Besides, I've never met someone like you."

Twilight's eyes widened sympathetically. "But you're the crown prince of Mobius. Surely, you've met other girls that are like me."

Sonic shook his head. "I've met girls that swoon if I smile, I've met girls that don't show any romance, and I've met girls that slap me across the face." He winced as he touched his left cheek, mind flashing back to that one time he met the princess of the Acorn Kingdom. "But no girl has left me tongue-tied before."

"Tongue-tied?" Twilight asked.

Sonic nodded. "I've usually got a snarky quip for most situations. But Twilight, you left me speechless."

"Does that happen often?" Twilight leaned forward a bit, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"No, not at all." Sonic let a light smirk flit across his features. Deep down, though, he was fighting to hide the blush. Gosh, was she always this sharp? "You were the first."