It's a glorious spring day in the Acorn Kingdom.
All the citizens are gathered in the large square below the balcony of Acorn Castle, from which the royals make their announcements, as in this case.
Sally, the princess, gets married and is about to be crowned queen along with her rightful husband, Sonic Hedgehog.
He is radiant, with his cobalt-colored quills illuminated by the strong May Sun, which give him an even more heroic look.
His black tailcoat with white shirt and cream-colored bow tie makes a nice contrast to his usual sports shoes.
The bride is beautiful: the hair that recalls the autumn leaves in color is combed in soft waves and held by a small crown from which a light veil runs; around her neck she wears a necklace of white pearls, under which the wide white and light yellow dress takes shape, and it hides the low-heeled shoes.
The two beloved heroes of the Acorn Kingdom greet from the balcony, immediately showered by a storm of applause and whistles of admiration.
For one person, however, that day is comparable to a funeral.
Amy Rose, the eternal suitor of the blue hedgehog.
She, small and pretty with her white headband and the fresh red rose picked from her garden, which slowly loses petals.
She, with the peach-colored dress ironically given to her by Sonic for a birthday, on the advice of Sally herself.
She, with high-heeled shoes, which make her sway dangerously.
When Sonic and Sally kiss, Amy turns her back to the balcony, intent on running home, taking off her clothes and throwing them in the garbage bag, along with the memories of that day.
A voice calls her, submerged by the others. She honestly cares little.
A hand reaches her, holds her: it's Tails, flawless in his black suit complete with a tuba.
The mascara is already dripping on the beautiful face of the pink hedgehog girl, torn apart by the prospect of Sonic married to another woman, who is also a friend of hers.
"Amy... Don't be like that, come on..."
Those words, while filled with concern, trigger Amy's anger:
"Like what? You all know how I feel about Sonic, what did you expect from me? That I danced and sang, that I threw petals and rice smiling? I can't pretend, Tails, I'm sorry."
Tails is silent, sorry for his friend but also aware that he is not blind to Amy's defects: Sonic has never reciprocated her, not even closely, hers has always been a one-way fantasy, ever since she was a child.
Unable to reply, the fox lets Amy's hold and she runs away, picking up her shoes and putting distance between the cheering crowd and her soul darkened by sadness.
When she comes home, the house she shares with her parents, who are often away for work reasons, her mood is like a mirror about to fall apart. The girl throws her shoes into a corner of her bedroom and falls dead weight onto the bed, her face pressed against the blanket.
She imagined her eighteen years of age to be different. Happy, golden, accompanied by Sonic.
Instead… Nothing.
Damn Metal Sonic, it's his fault that she feels that way now.
Amy cries, for many hours she does nothing but burst into sobs, until the sky gets dark and the stars begin to light up Sonic and Sally's first romantic wedding evening.
At the thought of crossing those two, Amy feels sick and a lump forms in her throat.
She should leave Acorn, move to a new place, to heal her heart and why not, make new friends.
Her home makeup job could be practiced in any other city.
With a weak spirit, but illuminated by a faint hope, Amy grabs an old map and begins to search on it carefully, looking for attractive locations.
A little city draws her attention: Ponyville.
It's far away, on the continent of Equestria, located on the other side of the ocean.
Money is not her problem, and as much as breaking away from her parents, friends and the places where she was born and raised hurts her, she feels that her wounded soul needs it to digest that unfulfilled dream into which she poured all her childhood and adolescence.
Calmly, Amy prepares for her moving, and in just a month she is ready to leave for that unknown continent, hard to reach both by ocean and by air due to the violent bad weather that often rages in the intermediate section between the two lands.
When she communicates her decision to her friends, they are shocked:
"I'll miss you so much!" is Cream's reaction, who throws herself at her neck in despair.
"How am I going to do without your lipsticks? They almost shine brighter than gems!" that is Rouge's all in all flattering comment.
"Hey, let me know if there are any tough guys over there! I challenge them!" is Knuckles' attempt to play down.
"Yes, sure, Knux, they will all be there waiting for you!" the bat mocks him laughing, leaving him annoyed.
Sticks takes the opportunity to attack, in her own way:
"Is it true that there are wizards there? Are they perhaps of alien origin?"
Her gaze runs to Shadow, who is aloof and silent.
"I know that Ponyville is populated for the most part by ponies with no particular powers, but there is no shortage of magical unicorns and pegasi that can fly."
After this statement, silence falls between the friends and melancholy takes hold of Amy, who wipes away some tears.
Tails goes to hug her.
"We will always be here waiting for you."
"Sometimes we could visit you, couldn't we, Silver?" Blaze proposes, also involving her boyfriend.
"Sure! We won't get lost, Ames!" adds the white hedgehog, giving her the ok sign.
Amy's tears, melancholy at first, are now moved by gratitude.
"Thanks to everyone, my friends. I will write to you often!"
There is a general hug, and Amy cries even before falling asleep, that same early summer evening.
The crickets and cicadas sing outside her room, and this almost seems like her farewell to her life in Acorn, to the races through the flowery meadows and to the thousand chatter with her friends on her bed.
The next morning, her mother, in one of her rare presences at home, calls her into the kitchen.
The reason is obvious: Sonic is there.
The hedgehog tries to ignore her furious heartbeat and greets him.
He, however, is serious:
"They told me you will leave."
Amy hides her arms behind her back, very embarrassed.
"Y-Yes... I need it."
Sonic runs a hand through the high quills and immediately holds it out to her, to squeeze it.
"I wish you the best."
Amy shakes his hand and thinks that formal contact between them is the worthy conclusion to a story that only existed in her head.