//------------------------------//
// Wounded 
// Story: Healing 
// by CalmHeart 
//------------------------------//

This was a challenge. The hardest yet. What made him so powerful?
Shadow, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Silver were standing in a fighting stance, facing Eggman.

He, could destroy the world with this power.

They all were fighting in one of many Eggman's secret bases, in the control room.
Yes, of course he was in the usual big mech, but powering it was something Sonic and friends had not herd about.

"I call it Black Mist. It's power is unmatched, possibly even more powerful than the chaos emeralds themselves! But speaking of those emeralds," Eggman held up the green chaos emerald. Except, it was a darker color. Sparks flying off of it.

Sonic gasped. "You were the one who stole the emerald!"

"Of course I did! I didn't want to waste the extra energy.."

"Extra energy?" Tails questioned.

Suddenly, Shadow jumped up from behind, and swiped the emerald from him. Eggman gasped, then grumbled. Tails, Knuckles, and Sliver were surprised. Sonic smirked. "Nice Shadow!"

Eggman yelled with anger, and pressed a button. "Fire!"

Lasers and missiles started shooting out of Eggman's mech, aiming for everyone individually. Sonic playfully jumped around a missile. Tails and Knuckles dodged lasers, and Shadow outran his laser, still holding the extra charged emerald.

He glanced around the room, and saw it.

Silver.

In seconds, time seemed to slow down for his thoughts.

'It's dead on his heart. And he doesn't have enough time to dodge. That beam would kill him instantly.'

He then thought about the emerald.

'...'

'No one is dying on my watch!'

"Silver!"

Sonic shouted to Silver, but it seemed he was too late. Silver closed his eyes, his life flashing before him.

Shadow jumped in front of Silver.

"AGHH!"

Silver opened his eyes.

The emerald had reacted with the laser, and Shadow was pulsating white from the reaction.

The laser had hit him.

He screamed in agony.

A bright light filled the room, blinding Sonic and his friends, as well as Eggman.

...

It was midnight. She was just out to look at the stars. But a rescue mission was what she would be doing instead.

Pinkie Pie reached the open, green fields around Ponyville when she herd something.

It... Sounded like pain.

She gasped, and saw a small figure in the distance. Her face turned into one of determination, and she ran towards it. Pinkie pie soon found Shadow, struggling to stand, holding his chest. A pool of blood was starting to collect on the ground.

Pinkie's eyes widened. She didn't know what this species was, but he was injured badly.

She ran up to the hedgehog. He began to fall again when Pinkie caught him in her hooves.

Shadow suddenly realized somebody had caught him.

He looked up, and saw the pink mare, her face full of worry. His eyes widened in shock, however, he did not have this time to be so.

"Sweet Celestia! What happened to you?!"

Pinkie helped him stand, and held him up with one hoof under his right arm.

Shadow grunted his words out. "I was fighting... An enemy... And.."

He removed his hand to look at his injury. The huge gash ran across his chest, blood seeping out onto the floor. bruses were abundant on his forehead, arms, and legs.

Pinkie gasped loudly with concern.

"You need immediate attention!"

She bumped him onto her back, Shadow laying horizontal. He groaned in pain in response.

"Oh! Sorry! Come on, I'll take you back to Sugarcube Corner! We can fix you there!" In a flash, Pinkie pie galloped back to Ponyville, and to her house.

To Shadow, everything was a blur. Was he dreaming? Hallucinating?

He felt his hand brush the pony's soft, magenta pink mane.

No. This was real.

He let his arms wrap around her neck softly, holding onto her.

Pinkie seemed to not mind this, as she was driven by urgency to save him. the door of Sugarcube Corner was in her sights.

She bust though the door and ran to the stairs leading up to her room.

When Pinkie got to her bed, she threw her blankets on the floor, and carefully laid Shadow down.

"I have some big bandages and an emergency kit downstairs." She ran to the top of the stairway. "Keep pressure on it!"

Shadow nodded. "I know. It slows down the rush." He replied to her, pushing his hand on the injury as she ran down the stairs.

She came back with the supplies. First, she put a towel on his gash. Second, she poured rubbing alcohol on another towel, and placed it on the injury.

"Keep it there."

Pinkie was working frantically.

She wasn't no doctor, but she had to do something! There was no way she could get a doctor here in time before his demise.

Out of the emergency kit, Pinkie Pie took out a numbing solution, a bag of ice, and some medical string, with the needle.

"we have to deal with this now."

She looked up at him, with concerned eyes. Shadow finally got a good look at them. Big, sky blue. Full of emotion.

"Can you handle it?"

Shadow closed his eyes. She had...

Blue eyes.

'... A Beautiful Soul.'

He exhaled.

"Yeah. There's always a little pain in life."

"Okay." Pinkie took the whole roll of string to her mouth. She held the needle with her curl of hair, The numbing medicine in her hoof.

'Just stitch like rarity did. We didn't take those lessons together for nothing.'

She worked though the night, carefully stitching Shadow back together. It was painful, and her hooves her caked, but it was worth it. At the end, she wrapped bandages around his torso, then his head.

It was still night fall as she finished.

They both stared at each other in disbelief.

"You... saved my life."

"I...did."

Silence fell. Pinkie stood up slowly, and walked over to her bathroom to wash up.

Shadow was dumbfounded. He looked down at himself. She didn't do the stitches precisely, but she did it. Enough to... Save his life. Pinkie walked back over to Shadow.

"Why?"

"Hm?"

He looked at Pinkie. "Why did you save me? A Stranger?"

Pinkie Pie beamed. "You needed help, and anypony who needs help will always have my side!"

Shadow blinked. Her personality was overly cheery. Bubbly.

"...Thank you."

Pinkie Pie picked up the blankets, and laid them over Shadow.

"It's no problamo, besides, this is the most excitement I've had in a while."

Pinkie hopped to the stairs.

" Oh, I'm Pinkie Pie by the way!"

"Shadow." He replied back, before Pinkie hopped downstairs again. "I don't want to see you move a muscle!" She yelled.

Shadow just stared up the ceiling.

"Did I... Chaos control with that emerald? Hmm... Eggman said it had extra energy..."

'-!'

"from that Black Mist. I guess... I'm in a new world."

Suddenly beside him, something was glowing. He looked over.

It was the chaos emerald. Still powered. By what?

He gasped.

When he touched the stone, the glowing softened to that of a nightlight.

He hid the emerald under the blankets. He didn't want to worry that cotton candy colored pony, of the powers the emerald held.

Pinkie came back up with an extra blanket and pillow for herself.

"You need to rest for as long as you're hurt." She walked next to the bed and placed her things down.

"So, you can stay in my bed 'til then!"

"Thank you. Really."

Pinkie Pie smiled at him.

"Like I said, It's no problem. Just trying to do the right thing." She went over to the light switch.

"Try to get some sleep Shadow. I'll have the perfect thing for you in the morning!"

"Okay."

The lights turned off, and Pinkie went and laid down on her spot.

"Night Shadow."

"Night. Pinkie Pie."

Shadow turned his head away from Pinkie and rested his hand on the pillow.

'The luck I have.'