"Is this the only thing you guys do anymore? Just sitting around all day doing nothing?" Spike was practically dying of boredom in his miniature throne in Twilight Sparkle's grand crystal castle in Ponyville. Twilight just smiled and rolled her eyes at Spike's comment. She was busy writing information on scrolls that would soon be added to her ever-expanding library. She and her friends were sitting in their respective thrones, situated around the giant, round crystal map table.
Spike grunted. "I'm serious, Twilight! It seems like you guys never do anything anymore. The last time anything interesting happened here was when Luna made that massive dream with everyone in Ponyville... which I didn't even get to see because I was awake the whole time!"
"Aw, quit your fussin', Spike," Applejack retorted from across the table. "Surely you can find somethin' to entertain you for a while." She re-positioned her hat back on her face and attempted to continue her nap. Rainbow Dash looked up from her Daring Do book.
"Yeah, come on, Spike. Settle down a bit. Would it really kill you to relax?"
Spike took a panning look around the room. Fluttershy was brushing Angel's fur, Rarity was admiring a pair of sapphires that she had Spike dig up yesterday, and Pinkie Pie was blowing up balloons and trying to tie them together to make something, making a lot of noise in the process. Applejack sat up again, her hat falling off her face as she did so.
"Aw, come on Pinkie, can't you give it a rest? I was working in the orchards all day yesterday."
"Sorry, AJ, I'm trying to do a trick that Party Favor showed me last time we were in the village."
"Party Favor? What did he show ya?" Applejack said while reaching down for her hat, now slightly interested.
"Let me see if I can... wait, that's not right... wait, maybe if I can... oh, so close... I did it! Wait, no I didn't... what was I doing? Oh yeah, silly Pinkie!" With a few final twists, she finished her creation; a balloon rocking chair. Pinkie set her masterpiece on the ground next to her crystal throne and proceeded to bound onto it. Surprisingly, the rocking chair not only held, but began rocking her back and forth as it were made of wood. The rest of the group stared in wonder.
"Wow... that's, uh... pretty impressive Pinkie." Applejack put her hat back on her head, officially giving up on sleep.
"Thanks, Applejack! I'll probably never be as good at making balloon animals and stuff as Party Favor, considering it's his special talent and all, but it's really cool that he showed me all of these cool balloon tricks before we left!" Pinkie began rocking faster and faster as she talked. "I've already made a trampoline, a scooter, an elephant, and now a rocking chair!" Pinkie stopped rocking instantly right as she became hard to see due to her speed, eyes alert for her friends' feedback.
"Well that was nice of him, dear." Rarity said, focusing back on the gems that she held with her magic. "Hmm. You know what, girls?" Rarity tore her eyes away from the gems. "I think maybe Spike was right."
Spike smiled, glad to have somepony agreeing with him, Rarity especially. She continued.
"It seems like all we've done in the past month is sit in this castle. Nothing exciting has happened at all, minus Twilight and Applejack's trip to Appaloosa. Now, don't get me wrong, it feels a bit nice to have some quiet time after all that's happened, and this castle is simply divine, but... maybe we should schedule something that will get us up and about and... maybe out of town?"
Fluttershy spoke up. "I would be fine with that. It would be nice to go and do something fun. But, where?" She stroked Angel's head, who happily tapped his foot in response.
"I don't know..." Twilight teleported the scrolls and quills away. "Usually whenever we go away from Ponyville, it's because we have to, either to save Equestria or for some big event." Twilight looked down at the massive crystal table that her and her friends were seated around. "And for the map."
Twilight's friends matched her gaze. The map had sent all of them to the ends of Equestria. If anypony needed them, it would alert them immediately, and they'd be there. Twilight couldn't figure out how it worked, but its purpose was crystal-clear (no pun intended). It had been more than active at first, but after Luna created a massive dream shared by everyone in Ponyville in order to track down the Tantabus, the map had been all but silent. It had sent Twilight and Applejack to help two ponies in Appaloosa, but since then, nothing. And that had been over three weeks ago. Twilight began to try and contemplate why the map would have gone inactive for so long when, suddenly, the table began to glow, and the six ponies' cutie marks began to shine and pulsate. They all watched in awe as a holographic map of Equestria appeared before their eyes.
"Finally, something exciting!" Spike was shaking his fists in anticipation.
All six of their cutie marks appeared, Twilight's in the middle with the others making a ring around it. They popped up on top of Ponyville... and stayed. They all stared in confusion at the odd behavior of the map, nopony completely sure of what was going on.
"Uh, why are they just sitting over Ponyville? Is the trouble here?" Rainbow Dash questioned.
Twilight examined the map more closely. "No, not here, there." She pointed at the map with a hoof. "The meadow right outside Ponyville where we have all our picnics."
"What are we waiting for? Let's check it out!" Spike was more than ready to get out of the castle and turn around what had been a boring morning so far, but Twilight was a little more hesitant.
"What could be going on there?" That's just an empty plot of grass." She stated.
"Well, we thought the village was just a barren patch of desert on the outskirts of Equestria," Fluttershy said.
"Yes, but, we've all been to that tiny meadow before. We know there's nothing there."
"Aw, come on Twilight!" Spike said eagerly. "What if... somepony got hurt there or something. The map thinks it's important, so it must be!"
Twilight sighed.
"Spike is right. We need to check it out. Come on, girls!'
They all nodded to each other. Spike hopped onto Twilight's back and they all galloped out of the throne room.
. . . . .
"I don't see anything," Rainbow Dash complained. They had arrived in the small expanse of land that the map had labeled. Twilight had triple checked their location with a paper map just to be sure. They were all scouring the area, but so far had found nothing. Spike sighed.
"I can't believe that map sent us here when there was nothing wrong!" Rainbow Dash kicked at the grass beneath her hoof.
"No." Twilight said firmly, deep in thought. "The map wouldn't have sent us here for no reason."
She unfurled her wings and rose into the air. Once fairly high, she scanned the area below. Still nothing. She was about to come back down when she just barely spotted something at the edge of the field. She flew closer towards the anomaly. Eventually she was able to make out the shapes of five ponies, all lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Twilight gasped. She turned around and flew back to her friends.
"Girls!" Twilight yelled. They all looked up at her. She was using her hoof to point in the direction of what she saw. "I think I found what the map sent us for!" She flew off, and the rest of her friends followed eagerly until the arrived to the sight Twilight had seen.
There were indeed five ponies laying on the ground. All unconscious, but still breathing. The first was a earth pony colt, with a blue coat and a wild, spiky dark blue mane, with a cutie mark that seemed to resemble a blue fireball.
The second pony was a unicorn stallion, his coat a glossy black with odd red highlights around his hooves and eyes. He had a peculiar tuft of spiky white hair on the front of his neck, and his mane was almost as wild as the blue pony's, but his was a deep black with red highlights that matched his body. His cutie mark was a deep red, ominous-looking symbol that nopony recognized.
The third was also a unicorn, who was silver in color. His hair was pure white, and it came up in stylish spikes around his horn and proceeded to even out and flow down the back of his head. He also had a thick tuft of hair covering most of his neck, and his cutie mark looked something like an electrical current.
While the first three ponies had been nearly even in size, the fourth was noticeably bigger. He was an earth pony, with a bright red coat. His hair was dark red and long, composed of simple, flowing locks. he had a white, crescent-moon shaped mark across his chest, and his light gray hooves gleamed like metal. In fact, they looked exactly like metal. A giant green gem cutie mark graced his flank, and there seemed to be strength radiating off of him even while he was laying unconscious on the grass.
The final pony was a pegasus, who looked a small bit younger than his counterparts. His fur was a cheery yellow-orange, and his messy mop of a mane was a shade darker than his coat. His tail, however, consisted of orange and white fur. His cutie mark was two crossed wrenches with a golden ring in the middle.
Twilight and her friends stared in silence until Rainbow Dash spoke up.
"H-have you guys ever seen any of these ponies before?" she said, her eyes sweeping the unconscious stallions.
"What could've happened to em'?" Applejack was staring in horror. The group continued to study the strange ponies in awe, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"I'm going to try and wake up them up." Twilight stepped back and flared up her horn, sending small energy waves around her. Rainbow Dash stepped closer to the ponies, and stooped to get a closer look at the blue stallions face. Suddenly, a magenta aura flared around him, and he opened his eyes. Rainbow was suddenly staring into a shocking green iris.
"GAH!" Rainbow flew back in surprise
"WHOA, WHOA!" The blue pony suddenly tried to stand up on his hind legs , which caused him to fall backwards and land on his back in the grass. But what surprised Twilight and her friends was how fast he did it. He had done it so quickly that he was nearly a blur.
The others also began to stir in their comas, all having similar reactions to the blue colt, seemingly aimed at themselves. Twilight and her friends slowly stepped back from the strange scene. The strange stallions looked around until their eyes landed at each other, and a flurry of rushed conversation ensued.
"Who are you?"
"Shadow? Is that you?
"What's happening?"
"Where are we?"
"I thought we were dead!"
"The Emeralds... They opened a portal, didn't they!?"
"Are we horses?"
"Sonic!"
"Tails! You look... uh... you okay?"
"Wait, who are they?"
The stallions turned to look at the six ponies that had been staring at them.
"Who are you?" The dark unicorn demanded. The intensity of his red-eyed stare almost made Twilight shrink back, but she held her ground. She stepped forward and spanned her wings, putting as much regality into her voice as she could.
"My name is Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship."
The dark pony looked at all of Twilight's friends in turn, creating a very unnerving setting. The blue stallion cleared his throat and walked up in front of his dark acquaintance. He stepped carefully as if he was afraid his hooves would give out from under him. The rest of the stallions were looking themselves over, varying degrees of confusion and shock apparent on their faces. Except for the dark stallion, who didn't seem bothered much at all. The blue stallion looked at Twilight and gave an unconvincing smile.
"Uh, sorry, we're a little, um, out of it. Anyway, I'm Sonic, Sonic the... Uh, yeah, anyway, that's Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver. What about the guys behind you." He had a strong tenor voice, a big contrast to the grimness of Shadow's tone. All of his friends' eyes were on Twilights'. She spoke up again.
"Oh, well, this is Spike, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash."
The two groups awkwardly stared each other down until Spike broke the silence.
"Okay, don't wanna be rude or anything, but where exactly are you guys from? You're all acting kind of... weird."
Sonic looked back at his peers and sighed.
"Well, it's... kind of a long story..."
. . . . .
"So you're saying this Dr. Eggman could be in Equestria?" Twilight asked. She, Sonic, and both of their respective parties were sitting at two conjoined tables at Sugarcube corner. Sonic and company had shared as much backstory as they felt necessary, including the race for Eggman before everything went dark. Twilight, in return, gave them a basic grasp of Equestria and its pony population.
"It's more than possible," said Tails in his high, youthful voice. "If that force paradox got me when I was over fifty miles away, and Eggman was standing right next to the Chaos Emeralds, he practically has to be here. Unless he was destroyed..."
Sonic put down his mug of hot chocolate with his new appendage.
"I hate to say it, but if the Emeralds blew him sky-high, maybe it was for the best. If he's here, we have a serious problem," he said.
"Indeed." Shadow said as he levitated a cupcake in front of him with his newfound magic. His magic was an odd shade of orange, like muted fire. He set the desert down and continued. "If the good doctor is dead, your world can sleep easy at night."
"Good doctor? I thought he was bad." Spike scratched his head. Shadow glared at him.
"Good as in intelligent."
"Oh, sorry..." Spike shrank back from the Shadow's gaze. Twilight courageously intercepted his glare.
"Shadow, please stop, you're scaring him." Shadow stared at Twilight for a few eternal seconds before shifting his eyes back to the pile of sweets on the table.
"My apologies," Shadow said in an unreadable tone.
Pinkie giggled. "You guys are all so super-fun!"
Everyone turned to look at Pinkie. She didn't even react.
Knuckles swallowed the remains of his fourth cupcake. "Uh, anyway, you told us about these 'Elements of Unity?' They sound powerful... very powerful."
"They're the Elements of Harmony," Applejack corrected. "And they are. Helped us beat countless villains and save Equestria more than once."
"What about those Chaos Emeralds you were talking about? How powerful are they? Do they create chaos based magic?" Twilight asked. She stared at Sonic for the answer.
"Not exactly. They're called the Chaos Emeralds because of their power. They contain infinite energy, and can be used for good and bad. There's really no such thing as magic where we're from."
"Not to mention what Sonic, Shadow, and Silver can do with them," Tails said. He socked sonic lightly on the shoulder with his hoof. "They can absorb the power of the Emeralds somehow. It's pretty cool."
"But only when we have all seven of them," said Silver. "We can use their individual powers in various ways, but their real power is only revealed when you have all of them together."
Rainbow Dash took center stage.
"Okay, so I have a question. You said something about how a portal took you to a different world way back when, but you were still... the same. So if that's true, why did you get turned into ponies when you got sent here?"
Shadow's head jerked up towards the end. He turned to stare at Tails, the rest of the group following his gaze. Tails shrank back from the sudden spotlight.
"Uh, I've been thinking about that. The Emeralds are really mysterious, nobody is really sure how they work, not even Dr. Eggman. The energy levels of the Emeralds were nearly too powerful to measure when they released it all and sent us here, and a lot of things are possible in a scenario like that. My guess is that it mixed our DNA with the DNA from the local beings of this world."
"Well, I want to ask the real question on everyone's mind." There was an ominous sense of dread in Shadow's voice. "How do we get back?"
"The only way I see us getting back is finding the Emeralds and opening another portal," said Tails uncertainly. They traveled to Earth last time, so it makes sense to think that they're here now. A portal was how we got back home from earth, even if we unintentionally opened it. But even if we find them, it would be... tricky to use them to get back. A redirection paradox might do the trick, but that could have serious consequences."
As Tails ended his answer, his eyes landed on Fluttershy, who quickly turned away. Tails raised an eyebrow. What was up with that?
"So until further notice, we're stuck here." Shadow nearly spat the words. Rarity made an attempt to better his mood.
"Darling, I know this is a lot to take in, and I can't imagine what you're feeling, but maybe you should-"
"Don't call me darling." Shadow said firmly. He glared at Rarity with visible agitation. Sonic placed a hoof on his shoulder.
"Ease up, Shadow. This isn't their fault." Shadow turned back to Rarity, who had been rendered speechless. He closed his eyes and released a heavy breath through his nose.
"You're right." He looked up at the her. "I'm sorry." Shadow stood up and walked away from the table towards the exit. Twilight watched with blazing curiosity as he left, her mind racing. Rarity, on the other hand, was still staring off into space, looking completely frazzled.
"Was... was it something I said?" Rarity looked at Sonic and his remaining friends for an answer. Silver gave one to her.
"No, it wasn't you. He's just... a little unprepared for this. He's never really been good at keeping his emotions in check." Silver gave Rarity an encouraging smile. She tried to smile back.
"That guy seems like a real jerk," Rainbow Dash grunted.
Fluttershy spoke up. "Now, Rainbow, we haven't known Shadow for very long, and this must be a lot for him to take in."
"Hmm, he does seem a little grumpy, though..." Pinkie put her hoof up to her chin in thought. She suddenly gasped. "Maybe a party will cheer him up!"
There was a symphony of groans from her side of the table.
"At least he apologized," said Knuckles indifferently as he eyed another cupcake. "That doesn't happen very often."
"Anyway, moving on." Sonic reclaimed everyone's attention. "If the Emeralds are here, we need to find them, especially if Eggman's here, too. We can't let him get his hands on them again. And no offense to any of you guys, but we need to get home." Sonic turned to his best friend. "Any ideas, Tails?
"I'd need some equipment." Tails turned to Twilight. "You mentioned a laboratory?"
"Yes, in my castle. We can start tomorrow. Oh, that reminds me, you'll all need a place to stay while you're here. You're all welcome to stay with Spike and me."
"Sounds great." Sonic took another sip of his hot chocolate as the discussions around the table turned from business to chummy chatting, the atmosphere around the two groups finally lightening up. Rainbow Dash proceeded to ask Sonic just how fast he was, which lead into a quick argument on speed that evolved into her challenging Sonic to a race that would take place the next day. Sonic had apparently kept his speed in his new equine state, so the race would be something to watch. Twilight eventually excused herself so she could get the castle ready for her new visitors. But as she walked out of the doors, she saw Shadow sitting on the front steps of the bakery, seemingly lost in thought. Twilight made the decision to speak before she could contemplate whether or not it was a good idea.
"Um, hi." She said. Shadow looked back in slight surprise at her, but then seemed to lose interest and stared back at the near-empty street in front of him. Twilight sat down on the steps next to him, much to the newly-turned unicorn's apparent discomfort.
"I'm sorry about all of this. I know it must be a lot for you to take in."
"You have nothing to be sorry for. None of this is your fault," said Shadow without so much as blinking. If his tone was anymore indifferent, he would've sounded like a robot.
"Are you doing alright? I know it's strange, having a completely different body. I've... kind of been there myself. Uh, long story."
"It's certainly different," he replied calmly.
Twilight fiddled with her hooves, trying to think of a response. "Well... I just want you to know we're willing to do anything we can to help you get home."
Shadow finally turned and faced Twilight, his deep red eyes mesmerizing her. He just stared at her for a moment, then turned away and sighed.
"Why are you all so willing to help us?" Twilight shook off the effect of his gaze and tried to think of a good answer.
"You're just a group of ponies, or, whatever you want to be called, trying to get home. We can't just walk away from something like that. Besides, the map says you're all important, which means that you must be. We're here to help. In any way we can." Twilight unconsciously reached out and laid her hoof on Shadow's shoulder, which earned her a questioning look from him. She quickly dropped her hoof back to the ground and looked away, blushing slightly.
"Well, thanks," was all he said. The two sat in silence for a while before Twilight dared to ask another question.
"Why do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"It seems like you make an effort to show as little emotion as possible. I know it's none of my business, but I'd like to know."
For a while, Shadow said nothing. Twilight was about to get up and walk away when he finally answered.
"I don't make an effort. I suppose I was just made that way."
"So you've kept to yourself ever since you were born?" Twilight asked. Shadow sighed.
"I wasn't born," said Shadow ruefully. "I was created in a laboratory by Dr. Eggman's grandfather, Gerald Robotnik." he turned to see Twilight's reaction. She was staring at him, dumbstruck.
"You... you're an experiment?" Twilight could barely get the words out.
Shadow nodded.
"I was designed to be the ultimate life form, a living weapon. I was created to enact Robotnik's revenge." A hint of a smile crossed Shadow's face. "But a friend of mine taught me that I had a choice. I decided to help my world rather than destroy it." Twilight listened to Shadow's story with obvious fascination.
"So Sonic's the reason you're here?" Twilight though she had made the connection, but Shadow shook his head.
"I owe a lot to Sonic, but Maria was the one that showed me the way."
"Maria?"
"She was Gerald Robotnik's granddaughter." Shadow closed his eyes, vicious memories flooding his mind. "She's gone now."
"Oh." Twilight's heart ached to see Shadow like this. The sun was now beginning to set, turning the sky orange. They could hear laughing and loud conversations between their friends coming from inside Sugarcube Corner. Twilight sat there, reflecting on what Shadow had told her.
"What happened to her?"
"She was killed." Twilight stared at Shadow in horror. "Murdered. It was a horrible mistake. She was wrongly accused. Hunted down. I tried to save her but... I just couldn't." A single tear began to descend down Shadow's cheek. Shadow realized this and wiped it away aggressively. He turned to Twilight, who seemed to be on the verge of tears herself.
"Shadow... I'm... Im so sorry..."
"It's fine... I suppose I-"
Twilight suddenly embraced the dark stallion in a unexpected hug. Shadow remained motionless, unsure how to react. After a while Twilight pulled back at scooted away from him.
"I'm sorry, I just... that's just horrible."
Shadow kept facing forward.
"I suppose I'll never stop missing her..." Silence reigned for many moments until Twilight spoke again.
"You said you owed a lot to Sonic... How did you two meet?"
"I was convinced that I needed to destroy the world to get revenge for Maria. Sonic stopped me. He helped me realize Maria would never want that. That she wanted the exact opposite. I owe him my life."
Shadow turned to Twilight and smiled, something that she previously thought impossible.
"How do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"All you have to do is sit next to me and ask a few petty questions, and I'm suddenly willing to share everything."
"Uhhh..."
Shadow chuckled lightly, which in turn made Twilight smile. He had a wonderful laugh. It was a shame to her that he must not have used it often.
"Maybe this world will be a little bit easier to bear than I imagined."
With that, Shadow stood up and walked back into Sugarcube Corner to rejoin his friends, leaving Twilight with a thousand thoughts in her head. So that was why Shadow acted the way he did. He was created to be a weapon, and lost the only thing he cared about. Although Shadow didn't say it out loud, Twilight knew that he must have loved Maria. If it wasn't for Sonic and company, he would've destroyed an entire world.
Twilight began to think about how comfortable Shadow had seemed towards the end of their conversation, blushing when she thought of his smile and laugh. She stood up and began her walk to the castle, Shadow dominating her thoughts for the entire way there.