//------------------------------// // Shadows and Chaos // Story: The Element of Chaos // by steel soul //------------------------------// How, in the name of Maria, did I end up here? Those were Shadow’s exact thoughts as he sat in a rather comfortable chair, his arms folded about his chest and his eyes closed in annoyance as he rocked the question around in his head multiple times. He could feel more than a few eyes passing him and his companion, the red echidna, a glance, though not for the reasons he would have believed. He opened one of his rose colored eyes, finding the white unicorn mare Rarity sitting across from him, a pair of red glasses upon her face and her muzzle buried deep in a newspaper she was scanning over. Shadows eyes shifted from her to the many stallions staring a hole through him. Huh...Wonder what their problem is... The black hedgehog sighed before shifting his gaze to his left, finding his red friend sitting beside him. The echidna’s face was pressed firmly against the glass window, ruining a rather nice view of the land of Equestria with a trail of slobber running down the length of it. “Idiot…” A soft giggle caused Shadow to look towards Rarity, a hoof covering her muzzle as she stared at him. “Hehe...Not afraid to say what's on your mind are you Mr. Shadow?” The black hedgehog chuckled lightly, sitting back in the seat as he did so. “Well can you blame me? Just look at him.” “Not the most couth stallion...Ah...Being, that is for sure. Though he does seem earnest. And you do seem to watch out for him as far as I can tell.” “More like I’m his babysitter.” Shadow corrected with a scoff. “If he had his way, he would always punch first and never ask questions later.” Rarity hummed softly. “As I recall, you gave that one stallion a sound slapping when you came to rescue me.” Shadow was thankful that the pink hue of his cheeks were covered by the brown cape he wore. “That was a different circumstance lady Rarity. The situation demanded immediate action or else harm would have befallen the one that was victimised.” “I see.” She muse before setting the paper down. “I noticed a few times you looking about. Is something the matter?” Shadow closed his eyes as he went into deep thought. “Nothing to concern about.” Sure the stares of the local males were enough to put him on edge, but still, if it came to a fight he doubted he would have any trouble. They were just a bunch of ponies after all. Still, for a land of horses, he did find other beings residing here in there. Donkeys, minotaurs, as well as some bipedal dog like creatures had been seen on the train. It was quite the surprise to him to see such and the likes of these beings quite like himself. Truth be told, he was actually afraid that them being there would have caused a riot, thinking he and knuckles were the only unique ones. Still, it was annoying at best to get a few glares thrown his way. Rather it was for being in Rarity’s company or being next to Knuckles he knew not. That being said, he had little room to complain. Rarity had been quite the host and most forthcoming, taking nothing he had told her so far in face value, even opting to bring it before their rulers. To his surprise actually, he had learned that she was something of a hero herself, being something called an Element of Harmony, though he found it strange that none of the ponies around him seemed to be clamoring. He opened his eyes to find the white mare pouting cutely at him, an action that caused the hedgehog to stare with wide eyes and blushing cheeks. “What?” “You were quiet for a while.” She said gently. “Oh...ah...Sorry…” He quickly apologized. “Was lost in some thoughts. In any case, I forgot to thank you for sharing everything about your world with me Miss Rarity.” Rarity smiled and waved a hoof. “Oh it’s no problem at all, darling.” she cooed. “I must admit though, you got me curious about your world as well. Do you, perhaps, might know what those other lights were for example? I felt a strange energy  emanating from them as they passed over the city.” Shadow closed his eyes as he folded his arms about his chest. “…I guess I can tell you all that I know. But first let me tell you about my world in whole…” Rarity sat back and smiled gently. “I’m all ears darling.”  With a sigh Shadow began. “You see, where we come from, our world is made up of two plains.” “Two plains?” Rarity questioned. “What do you mean two plains?” The black hedgehog opened one eye to look at the mare in front of him. “The Land of the Sky and the Land of Darkness. The first and foremost is the Land of Sky. That’s where the others and I call home. Its a world teeming with many islands surrounded mostly by water.” “Oh my...Sounds quite the place for an island vacation spot.” Rarity mused with stars in her eyes. Shadow chuckled. “Heh...surely seemed that way sometimes.” Rarity placed a hoof under her chin. “And the Land of Darkness?” Shadow  frowned “Its a land filled with many dangerous creatures and ancient ruins...that are just as dangerous mind you. Its also the place where Robotnik had chosen to set up base.” “So Kinda like the Everfree Forest.” Rarity said. “Everfree Forest?” Shadow asked, both eyes focusing on the mare. “It is a forest where many dangerous creatures live. Nopony has ever gone too deep in there had has came out alive...Or so the legends say.” Twilight said “Hmm.” Shadow simply said. Rarity coughed into her hoof and looked back to the black hedgehog. “Now...Who is this Robotnik pony you keep talking about?” “Is is evil..” Shadow said with a growl. Rarity frowned at the overly simple explanation. “it’s just that simple?” Shadow’s eyes glazed over as he spoke, a noticeable edge to his voice. “It’s the truth. He’s bad news. If he survived coming here just as we did then that’s even more bad news. He wants nothing more, but to destroy our world…our home...and remake it in his image. Before we came here we had been fighting him tooth and nail. We were actually at the end game of it all, and our victory was all but assured. He had something though. Something very dangerous that should have never been in our world in the first place.” “You chaos emeralds you mentioned before.” Rarity said softly. When Shadow nodded she frowned at the information. “We’ve dealt with chaos magic before, and I know personally how dangerous it can be at times, but all Discord wanted to do was have fun. Is your chaos that bad?” “There's nothing fun about our chaos at all.” “Okay...Do you mind explaining.” “Chaos,” Shadow began as he opened his eyes, the sound of the train tracks clicking along the track sending a somewhat calming sensation through him, “Is power. A power enriched by the heart. The Chaos Emeralds can amplify the chaos within one's heart by staggering amounts. The stronger the heart, the stronger the powers. Some have been driven mad from using the Chaos Emeralds for long periods of time.” Rarity shivered as she listened. “Who would create such a thing? And why?” “Not sure myself. Too many theories to really pin-point what's true and what's not.” He said as he looked away. “But I am sure that if they are here then we need to get them back no matter what…Fast” Rarity tapped a hoof to her chin as she considered something. “But if one can’t get close to them, then how does one collect them?” “A select few are able to do so for a short amount of time before succumbing to the chaos, and even use it’s powers for a time. We call them Chaos Controllers.” He pointed to Knuckles. “Believe it or not, that big lug over there is one of them,” He then pointed to himself. “As am I. Though I suspect for him it has more to do with that thick skull and small brain.” He paused before looking away. “Though it usually fell to me to keep them safe.” “You?” Rarity inquired. He shook his head. “From what I am told, I was born and raised into Chaos. After my village was destroyed Eggman took me in and raised me to be his weapon.” “Wait...You worked for that Eggman character?” Shadow sighed before nodding slowly. “At the time, I was a child. He pretty much raised me from day one to be his killing machine. I more than likely still would be if it wasn’t for…” He trailed off, leaving the sentence to hang in the air. “For darling?” Rarity edged on, leaning closer to him in her seat. “Nothing...never mind…” The train whistle blew, causing the hedgehog and the pony to jump, and the echidna to frail out of his seat. “Humph...looks like were getting close.” He said before standing up. “I’m going to go scope out the castle.” Shadow, despite the protest from Rarity, made his way out of the train’s cabin, leaving the white mare with many questions. “Huh? What?” Knuckles said as he looked around frantically. “Did I win the lottery?”