Hello, fellow readers! And welcome back to Shadow of Harmony! So, the usual:

JeaSonDash: Response to the points:

1. Oh... Oops.

2. Well, I've constructed his Chaos powers from the games and in Shadow the Hedgehog, the blast was pretty big with only a short activation period. Though, if it makes you feel better, you could argue that he channeled his leftover light speed energy to speed up the charge.

3. No joke, it's more of a coincidence that Sonic saw her. Stealing the artifact before the presentation is actually smart as you get what you want with no resistance. Plus her underestimating Sonic's capabilities on top of that.

4. Sonic Wind is a signature move he has without any Chaos Emeralds, as he IS the wind! But yeah, it sucks that a lot of people forget that ability.

And don't worry, I appreciate the clarification. Glad you enjoyed the chapter regardless.


Marilia Helena, this section is my answer and my apology to you:

I've COMPLETELY MISUNDERSTOOD your intentions. Whenever I hear the word 'shipping', I've ALWAYS heard it for romance, nothing else. But you meant just them interacting, to which my answer is YES! Yes they will, don't you worry.

And to answer your other question, I am planning to do ALL nine seasons of MLP. I say that as I don't want to jump the gun and make another empty promise like I did with my previous attempts.

Hopefully, that clears the air about that. And once again, I'm sorry for misinterpreting your words.


Thanks for the feedback! With that said, let's continue!

Chapter 11: Mission Complete

Ponyville

The group returns to their home with the townsfolk being quite grateful for their efforts. After some thorough convincing, Pinkie threw a short success party as they were very exhausted from their trip. With the others heading home as the sun has disappeared over the horizon, Shadow and Twilight arrive back at the library with Spike in tow.

"I still can't believe you actually FOUGHT the dragon! That's crazy!" The young dragon was still processing that part.

"He didn't want to go peacefully. Besides, it was Fluttershy that made him leave, not me." The black hedgehog clarifies to him.

"Which reminds me, I know just what to write to Princess Celestia!" Twilight exclaims as she gets a quill and scroll.

The other two observe what she wrote as the note read as such:

Dear Princess Celestia,

I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our country, thanks to our good friend Fluttershy. Embarking on this mission has shown me that you should never lose faith in your friends, as they can be an amazing source of strength and can help you overcome even your greatest fears when you find yourself unable to.

Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle

Shadow immediately knew where she learned that from with Spike about to comment before letting out a yawn, "Oh... that's a nice lesson, Twilight."

"Thank you. Could you send this real quick?" She asks him, levitating the scroll to him.

"Sure, sure." Grabbing it, he then blows a small burst of fire that sends it away before letting out another yawn.

Noticing this, she lets out a small chortle. "Now you can go to bed."

"Yeah. Good night, you... two." He lets out another yawn in the middle of his sentence as he goes upstairs, leaving the two alone in the library.

Shadow was also a bit tired, but wasn't quite ready to go to sleep as he looks around at the bookshelves.

"Interested in reading, too?" Twilight kinda knew what he was thinking as she walks over to him, "I've honestly lost count of how many times I fell asleep reading a book."

"I'm not surprised." He can see that before asking, "Is there any books here about other species?"

"Um, I'm not sure." She thought about that for a moment, trying to think of if she saw any before. "Literature isn't really something that the species outside of Equestria are known for, like dragons for example."

"Any reason why?" He asks her, crossing his arms in the process.

"Well... it's just speculation, but I think it's just a cultural difference. They tell their stories through word of mouth rather than history books or schools." She theorizes, which makes sense for the most part.

"I see." Not really in the mood to scour the entire library right now to prove her theory true, he just takes a random book and sits down as he opens the pages.

"Ooo, that's one of my favorites." Twilight mentions as she sits down nearby.

Shadow looks at the cover with the title 'Daring Do and the Eternal Flower' on it. The art for it was nicely done with the title character reminding him a bit of Rainbow Dash, for some reason. His eyes shifting to look at Twilight, she looks to be waiting for something.

"...You want me to read it to you?" He offers, which she answers with a sheepish smile. "...Maybe."

Shadow shifts his eyes back to the book and opens it to the first page, reading the title:

"Daring Do and the Eternal Flower, by A.K. Yearling."


Meanwhile, back at Manehattan

Sonic has arrived back at the police station with the thief still out cold from the chase beforehand, holding her under his arm as he walks through the doors. Reaching the front desk, the security guard behind it was a bit surprised upon seeing him.

"Is the chief in his office?" Sonic asks him, which he simply nods yes. "Thank you."

The blue hedgehog casually walks away from the desk soon after, leaving the guard still a bit baffled at what he saw. Opening the door to the office, he sees the chief was actually about to leave when he stops upon seeing Sonic.

"Sonic? What brings you-" He then sees who he's carrying, "Wait, is that-"

"It's a bit to explain." Sonic interjects as he places the thief in one of the chairs.

After about a minute of telling the small story of what happened, the chief took a moment to process it all:

"So, the emerald teleported to you as some sort of warning that something was happening and upon arriving back at the museum, she was already breaking in?"

"Yup. I had to chase her across the rooftops for a bit afterwards." Sonic confirms.

"But wait, how would she know about the plan?" Good question, Chief Stablemaker.

"I had a hunch." Sonic then pulls off the thief's mask, revealing-

"Officer Fluffles!?" Upon saying the name, she was coming to as Sonic chimes in:

"Yup. When I showed off the Chaos Emerald earlier today, she briefly eyed it like it was a prize before we discussed forming a plan. Guess she just got a bit overconfident."

"You!" The former officer growls at the hedgehog as she tries to move, only to realize she was tied up at the moment. "You're so lucky I can't move right now."

"Yeah, doubt it. You didn't even try and fight me, that's on you." Sonic recalls.

"Impersonating a police officer will get you a long time in jail." Chief Stablemaker tells her, "What do you have to say?"

"Heh, those gems are too beautiful to gather dust in the museums and stores. I'm doing those 'owners' a favor." Rough Diamond retorts with a devious smirk, "And besides, like you can hold somepony like me behind bars for long."

Sonic rolls his eyes at this, having heard something similar to this many times while the chief gives her a stern stare.

"Whatever. To the bars you go." The hedgehog comments as he picks her up, putting her under his arm again as the three left the office.

"You cannot hold Rough Diamond! I will have all the special jewels of the world!" She exclaims, much like a cliche bad guy would say.

"Yeah, yeah." The chief also had his share of criminals like this, which doesn't make it any less dumber to hear.


?

ALERT! ALERT!

Red lights flare to life as a warning alarm blares throughout the lab, ringing in their ears as they try and find a way off the ARK. Shadow held Maria's hand tight as the two ran as fast they could from their pursuers.

"This way!" She told him, pointing to the hallway to their right.

He took the turn with no hesitation, managing to lose about half of their pursuers as the soldiers split up to search for anymore survivors. Shadow realizes where she wanted to go, entering the observation deck with her in tow before looking around.

"Wait, this is a dead end!" He exclaims, which she corrects him.

"No, this has an emergency escape pod. Here, stand there." She tells him as she runs over to the control panel.

Shadow did as he told, standing in the middle of the room where she told him as she presses a few buttons. Unfortunately, that's when a few soldiers enter the deck and sees them:

"Freeze!"

Shadow was ready to fight them off, which made them flinch and raise their guns at him. Although, to both parties' surprise, the pod emerges from where Shadow stood, trapping him inside.

"W-What!?" He was understandably confused before hearing Maria call out to him, "Shadow. Don't hold it against them."

He looks right at her with sheer bafflement, only listening as she continues:

"Not all humans are like this. Please, give them a second chance."

He then sees the soldiers surround them, two of them aiming their guns at Maria as the others focused on him despite the obvious. His instinct kicks into overdrive as he slams against the glass as hard as he could, to no avail.

"MARIA!" He screams at the top of his lungs, feeling his heart grow heavier by the second.

"Please... Promise me, Shadow." She pleads as he sees one soldier ready his gun.

"MARIA!" Again, he lets out a desperate cry as he slams against the glass again, only to still be trapped...

Despite having all that power... he could only feel powerless...

"MARIAAAAAA!"

He goes to break the glass once more, only for it to disappear like water. Like a ripple effect, his surroundings and even the people around him dissipates, only to leave him in a cool blue void. He continues to looks on in disbelief as he sees a star appear, then another, then another, one by one until the void resembles a clear night sky.

"We meet again." A familiar voice rings in his ears, making him turn towards who spoke.

He finds himself seeing Princess Luna again. Not Nightmare Moon, but her true self that he saw after she returned to normal. Of course, he only had questions to what was going on at the moment:

"Where am I?"

"You are still in the dream world. I have the power to traverse through here to reach others' dreams, and help those who have nightmares." The lunar princess answers as she walks to him, ripples appearing around her hooves as she does.

"I see." He simply said, keeping it simple for himself to process.

"I came when I heard your voice... and saw such a sight." She admits as she stops upon reaching arms' length between them.

He knew what she meant as he shifts his eyes away, "...Yeah."

The two stood in silence for a moment before she asks him, "If I may, who is this 'Maria' you know?"

"Can't you read minds with your power?" Shadow suddenly snaps at her, which made her flinch a bit.

"I-I understand your assumption, but I'm not one to go into others' personal affairs without their consent." She clarifies on how she uses your power.

He then turns his back towards her and crosses his arms over his chest, not a sound coming out of his mouth now. However, she proves to be persistent with her words.

"It's reasonable to guard yourself from such memories. But, wouldn't it be best to talk about it instead of keeping it all inside?"

Shadow didn't move, but his ears proceed to listen to her as she continues.

"Time moves slowly within this void compared to the outside. I'm willing to wait until you want to talk about it."

Moments turns to seconds, then to minutes and even hours as he stood still. Princess Luna just sat there all that time and continues to do so until she finally hears something:

"She... was very close to me."

That one sentence spoke volumes to the princess as she responds back. "Your emotions show that greatly."

He finally turns towards her, revealing something she didn't notice before. His cheeks had dry trails of tears upon them as his eyes stare right at hers.

"Maria... is someone I knew for all my life. From the day I was born to... that day, we were inseparable. Whenever I was conflicted on what I was feeling or during my many tests for the Doctor, she would be there to help me as best she could. The two of us would read many books that contain fascinating stories within, even if the content itself isn't actually good."

He couldn't help but chortle during his last few words as those memories surfaced for a moment.

"She sounds wonderful." Princess Luna smiles as she has a good picture of the person he's describing, which made him smile as well.

"She is. We may not share the same species, but there's no doubt in my mind we cared a lot for each other." Shadow reassures her, only to clench his hand into a fist. "And those humans... took her away from me!" His seething rage through his own teeth as he raises his fist into view.

The princess simply sat there, listening on as he starts to vent.

"All because of my existence! The Doctor was captured, and they took out any survivors who resisted! All because they FEARED ME! THEY- THEY-"

Shadow suddenly collapses to his knees, eerily quiet for a moment as only his breaths could be heard before whispering:

"They only came... because of me..." Fresh tears began to flow down his cheeks again and onto the surface they stood on before raising his head, "...It is my fault... wasn't it?"

The strong warrior her dark alter-ego fought was not the one she was looking at right now... as she only saw a vulnerable, confused child looking back at her.

"...Being born was not a choice you made. Therefore, you shouldn't blame yourself for forces outside of your control."

Her advice seems to have an effect as he closes his eyes and sits on his knees. The princess raises her wing and wraps it around him for comfort as they stay in silence for quite some time.

Despite releasing all that repressed emotion, he finds himself conflicted. After his fight to save the ARK and fulfilling his promise, he still felt like he was missing something after being given this chance. And whatever it was, he's yet to figure out what. Putting that in the back of his mind for now and finally calming himself down in that time, he realized the wing around him and looks at the princess again:

"Thank you, for listening."

"You're very welcome, Shadow." The princess sincerely said back, "It's the least I can do after all you've done."

A small smile appears on his face before wiping his tears away, her wing retracting back as he gets back up on his feet. "So, uh... how do I leave?"

"Simple, you wake up." The lunar princess answers as she stood back up, "This is still a dream, after all."

"I see." Shadow simply said as he sees her horn glow, making the void fade away around them.

"Until we meet again." She tells him as he feels his eyelids getting heavier until closing completely.


The next morning, back in Manehattan

Sonic just told Stylite about what happened last night as the two headed back to the police station, making the latter honestly a bit disappointed after hearing him finish telling it:

"I was kinda hoping to try the chasing thing again."

"You didn't really miss much." The blue blur admits, "Anyways, I want to stop by here before we leave."

"What for?" Sty wonders about as the two enter said station, only for the chief to see them as he came out of his office.

"You two!" He calls them, getting their attention as he walks over. "Good to see you again."

"I actually came here for a small favor to ask of you." Sonic starts out with.

"For what, exactly?"

"We came to Equestria in order to find some friends of ours. And since we're still new here, can you keep an eye out for one of them here while we search elsewhere?" Sonic asks the chief, who takes a moment to think about it.

"Hmm, that'll be tough. The city is quite big with an equally large population. What does your friend look like?"

"Similar to me. Although, he has black fur with red streaks, rings on his wrists and ankles, and the quills pointing upwards a bit." Sonic describes what he remembers from his encounters with Shadow.

"OK, got it. I'll have my squads keep an eye out." Chief Stablemaker reassures him, "As a way for me to repay your efforts."

"Thanks!" Sonic was glad to hear that before taking their leave, "See ya later!"

He and Stylite then exit the station and starts walking down the sidewalk before the latter asks the obvious, "So, where to next?"

"...Good question." Before Sonic continued that thought, his ears then overhears a conversation between two ponies nearby.

"Did you hear about the new train tracks they just built?" The male one asks his friend.

"You mean the one where it goes over to... what was it, that griffin kingdom?" The female one tries to recall.

"I think it's called Griffinstone or something along those lines." The male one answers, "They made them on the land that connects the two kingdoms up north from here."

"Got it, thank you!" Sonic calls out to them before running off, confusing them and Stylite.

"Wha- Hey! Wait up!" Sty quickly took flight to catch up to the hedgehog as the two headed out of the city.

And done! Kept this one short to wrap up what has happened, basically. And also to send out my message up above as soon as possible.

The lesson taught this time is one of the better ones, in terms of the message and wording. There are times where your own strength just isn't enough to face your fears, but having others to support you can make a difference. In the end though, it's still up to the individual to make that choice, which is what I tried to do with Fluttershy last chapter.

All right, dragon's gone, thief's jailed, on to other ventures. Although, it seems that Shadow has something else to deal with right now.

Of course, more shall be revealed in time! With that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you all next chapter!