As the Sun rose past the twisting landscape, windows of the castle flickered to light one-by-one, catching up to the daylight quickly. The shadow of night, however soothing it might've been, lifted from the towering castle of the Green Hills Kingdom.

The oldest Prince simply shifted in his bed, burying his face in his pillow. He didn't want to get up at all, see the light in the world that went hand-in-hand with responsibility and reality. His green eyes were squeezed tight, trying to shut out the morning rays in a futile attempt to stop the day. He could faintly hear footsteps on the wood floors and the call of his name.

"Sonic!" The woman's voice called out, holding out the "i." Queen Maddie, his adoptive mother, coming to wake up her son. And Sonic seemed to realize he couldn't avoid the day for too much longer.

"It can't be morning already, Mom." He complained, his voice muffled in his pillow. In all honesty, night had come-and-gone too quick, leaving him restless in the dark and tired in the light.

The Queen simply laughed as she opened the door, walking over to the bed and gently yanking the dark blue blankets from her son's weak grasp. That drew another sigh of sleepy frustration.

"If I could talk to the gods, I'd tell Apollo to let you sleep in more." She half-joked, dropping the blankets on the foot of the bed. Sonic smiled at the joking and sat up, rubbing his eyes that threatened to close again. Maddie ruffled her son's bedhead of blue hair and quills.

"Now, get up and get ready. Sonia and Manic are already down. And might just eat all your breakfast if you don't hurry." She said in a playfully warning tone, though there was truth in her words. She turned and went back towards the bedroom door.

"We've got something important to discuss tod-" Before she had even finished her sentence, the Hedgehog was standing next to her, his hair and teeth brushed, his face washed, and his day clothes on.

His royal garments were clean and unwrinkled, which would most likely change by the end of the day. His silver crown with big blue sapphires was in his hand, since he hardly ever wore it unless for proper occasions. She smiled to herself - reminded of Sonic's super speed - and walked off to the stairs, the teenager following her.

The Prince's siblings, Princess Sonia and Prince Manic, were already at the table with King Tom, their adoptive father.

Sonia was sitting up straight like usual, eating politely with a "touch-me-not" air and poised as usual. Her pink-and-fuchsia hair was combed through to leave no knots, her makeup was flawless with only the most microscopic of mistakes, and her purple dress was cinched with one of her usual corsets (Yellow today).

Manic, however, was leaning back in his chair and shoveling food into his mouth with reckless abandon. His long green hair looked like how it probably did when he woke up that morning, quills sticking out in every direction. The collar of his shirt was frumpled and his vest wasn't even buttoned. But no one seemed to notice, since it was so regular for the youngest triplet.

Sonic rushed to his chair and speedily ate the scrambled eggs and sausage. His sausage had been practically buried in chili (Many thanks to the chef would be made later). Sonia wrinkled her nose a bit, her brilliant green eyes squinted as she did.

"How can you eat that?" She asked incredulously, motioning to the messy chili on her brother's plate with her fork.

Sonic rolled his eyes, reaching for a bread roll and drowning it in strawberry jam. "How can you NOT?" He retorted with a playful smirk. Manic snorted at his siblings' bickering, wiping a smear of egg from his upper lip before eating it.

Maddie sat down, tossing over some of her jet-black braids over her shoulder. She stole a glance to her husband and smiled, knowing like a secret language as he smiled back.

"We have something very important to tell you three about." The King said, clearing his throat. The three Hedgehogs gave their adoptive parents their attention. Sonic leaned forward, interested in anything the two humans had to say.

"As you kids know, there have been some... rising tensions with all the royal areas." Tom started. The kids glanced at each other worriedly, though they didn't have to say anything to confirm they knew.

It had been frightening, to say the least, as they watched the royal areas start to turn on each other and get snippy at the faintest snubs. Any disagreement, no matter how stupidly unimportant it was, was treated as the next "big thing" to worry about and argue over.

"With all that going on, we were thinking it would be nice to invite those kingdoms here for a bit of a multi-night party. Nothing crazy, just some music and mingling together. As... buddies." That last word seemed like a far-fetched idea, even with the royals with treaties and allignments together.

Sonia's ears flicked in curiosity, causing a single hair to misplace. Sonic knew better than to draw attention to it, knowing Sonia would make herself a mess over it and need to spend a million more years in her bathroom. He looked at Manic, his eyes warning to not as well.

Sonic looked back to Tom, eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Dad?" He asked, leaning back in his seat. Manic nodded, wondering the same as he snatched another piece of food from his sister's plate, which drew an offended gape from Sonia.

"Well, I'll be a good way to calm some nerves in the other royal's minds." Maddie said, smiling reassuringly at Sonic. "We just need to encourage that small bit of calmness and peace in their minds, and it'll do wonders for this place. We can all see each other as friends again." She said, her voice light with hope.

Though, friends was a strong word for them all, considering the Gardener Clan and the Kingdom of Infamy.

Still, Sonic's ears perked up, excited by the prospect of the royals calming down just a bit. Manic raised an eyebrow in unconvinced interest, though he still said nothing. Sonia's eyes brightened with just a daring glint of hope, though the better part of her mind condemned her for it.

"So, when will the party start?" She asked, glancing at her spoon to check her reflection and adjusting her pendant- which matched her brothers'.

"Tonight," Tom said as a butler walked over, scooping up the empty plates and carrying them away. Sonic didn't pay attention to the answer, scrambling to shove the rest of his bread into his mouth. Manic's ears perked up now, taken off-guard by the sudden date.

"Now, why don't you all go off? Be kids, get dirty, go on." The Queen said, standing up and motioning to shoo the kids off.

Sonia grimaced at the thought of getting dirty, looking down and her purple dress and fancy dark red shoes. Maddie noticed and smiled, nodding to her as an encouragement to get up. The two boys stood up excitedly, Sonic's mind already fixed on running basically all day.

Manic grabbed his sister's hand and began tugging her from off of her chair as they ran outside, like a needy child that wanted attention. Despite the two's annoyance at each other's behavior, the other would rather do nothing all day than do something without the other. Which was often why, even after a huge argument, the two would be seen together after. Silent and huffy, but tolerating each other's existence.

Sonic ran ahead, leaving a flash of blue light behind him. Sonic had no problem leaving his siblings off by themselves. He found them competent enough together, though he'd often break up their bickers. So maybe his indifference to their presence was a product of being a middle child.

Sonia sighed and relented to Manic's efforts, which wouldn't work at all if she didn't let it. Her super strength would always prevent his insistence unless she allowed it. So she stood up and followed along as he went outside.

Sonic stopped - waiting for his "slowpoke" siblings to catch up - and looked up at the twisting, fantastical landscapes. Loop-de-loops and steep hills dotted around, and the grass was checkered light and dark green. All like something out of a storybook.

He loved this place. More than any other kingdom and empire or republic. It didn't matter if they were objectively nicer or more beautiful. This place was the best.

It was great for running around, despite his royal garments getting uncomfortable in the hot Sun. The loop-de-loops allowed for his silly little tricks, and the checkered grass was always there when he had to just relax and catch his breath.

And night... The stars would shine brighter than anything, and he could stay up for hours just watching them. Like there was finally that could calm his constantly-racing mind for just a moment.

Once the other two had reached him, they saw how excited Sonic was. "Do you think the party will actually go well?" Sonia asked, as the youngest triplet went to his other side.

Sonic smiled up at her. "Of course! Why wouldn't it? Everyone loves a party." He laughed. He wasn't exactly sure of his own words, but saying it out-loud made them seem more possible. With that, he rushed off to explore the wondrous landscapes of his home he'd explored a million other times.

Manic wanted to run after his brother (Maybe tackle him for being so confident in a dumb party), though he knew he'd never be able to catch Sonic. Sonia watched her brother run off and mess around like usual. She smiled to herself then to Manic, laughing a bit.

"Everyone loves a party then, hm?"