Hello, fellow readers! And... it's all or nothing on this one. To be honest, I have been thinking about this for some time after looking back at my older stuff and made a decision. Let's start back at square one and make my own canon with this series.

In terms of Sonic's timeline, here's what I decided:

Sonic Classic Trilogy (1, 2, 3 & Knuckles) / Sonic CD

Sonic Adventure

Sonic Adventure 2

We'll be starting with the beginning of MLP. Yeah, so original, but I have a couple of ideas to keep these interesting.

Now, with all that said, let's get started!

Prologue: A Second Chance

"This is my promise I made to you..."

His last words as he fell towards the planet, his super form fading away from using all of his strength to stop the ARK from falling. He fulfilled his promise after so long after seeing the truth in his altered memories. Now thinking of his only friend, he can now finally rest-

"SHADOW!"

Upon hearing his name, he opens his eyes to see a yellow blur diving down towards him with a hand outstretched. He recognizes the individual as Sonic the Hedgehog, his enemy during his plan of vengeance before setting aside their differences to face the bigger threat. Despite his heroic attempt, it was rather reckless.

"GRAB MY HAND!"

Despite the two going towards the earth at terminal velocity, the heroic hedgehog was gaining speed to reach him in time before impact. Shadow took a moment to decide before managing to reach out his own hand... and creates an orb of chaos energy within it.

"The world is in good hands with you, Sonic..."

Sonic realizes a bit too late what he said before being teleported away, leaving Shadow to fall towards the planet below alone.

Later, back on Mobius

Days have passed since then until some unexpected news reach the ears of the blue blur. Despite their original thoughts, there were rumors of a black hedgehog wandering through the lands and Sonic took it upon himself to investigate. This leads him back to Angel Island where Knuckles currently resides, the red echidna greeting his spiky blue friend near the waterfalls:

"Sonic, what brings you here?"

Sonic quickly greets him back, "Knux, good to see ya! Me and Tails are tracking down Shadow, have you seen him around here?"

"Really? I thought-" Knuckles then cuts himself off as he sensed something near the Master Emerald, "The emerald!"

Sonic immediately went into action, "Let's get going!"

The two didn't waste time as they headed right for the shrine. Upon arriving, they see a familiar figure standing at the top of the stairs.

"Shadow!? You're alive!"

The black hedgehog notices their presence, "I was wondering where the guardian went."

"Are you stealing it!?" Knuckles was understandably on edge right now.

"No, I'm not the doctor. I only need it for a one-way trip."

The two didn't like the sound of that as Sonic questions what he meant, "One way? To where?"

"...I don't know. I have fulfilled my promise to Maria and gave humanity a second chance. There's nothing for me here now."

By the tone of his voice, he spent quite some time to think about all of this.

"S-So what!? You have us to help you now! You don't have to go!" Sonic tries to reason with him.

"...No one will miss me." Shadow simply said as he turns back to the emerald.

Upon placing his hand on it, Chaos energy began to surround him as Sonic and Knuckles spring into action. Time appears to slow down to a crawl as the two sprint right up the stairs. Despite the blue blur reaching it first, the barrier didn't budge as he pushes himself into it.

"Shadow!" He calls out in an attempt to stop him.

Knuckles reaches the barrier soon after and slams his fists in repeatedly to break through, only to prove futile as he didn't even leave a scratch on impact.

With conviction, Shadow calls forth the emerald's power one last time. "Chaos... CONTROL!"

A bright light envelops him, blinding the other two momentarily as the energy shrinks and distorts before disappearing. Upon looking back, he was gone.

"Oh no..." Knuckles couldn't believe what just happened.

Sonic was just speechless as without a word, he immediately headed back to Tails' lab to tell him what he found... or rather, lost.

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

Everything was dark as Shadow felt himself being carried through a current of sorts, his eyes closed from the bright light before opening them to see a dull gray void surrounding him. It was an odd feeling to experience as his thoughts wonder:

"This is disappearing? I suppose it's fitting for an artificial form..."

He then saw the void start to brighten up, making him look upwards towards the source. It was some sort of portal, a swirling vortex that consisted of the colors to form a rainbow. Before he realized it, he felt the current go faster towards it and drags him inside.

It was instantaneous as he then fell on solid ground, dazed from the sudden impact before shaking it off. Pushing himself up to his feet, his eyes only saw darkness despite them being open still. Reaching his hands outwards, he takes about three steps forward before feeling a wall of sorts.

Moving his hands around for a bit reveals that it was a door, eventually finding the doorknob and tries to turn it-

Only to find it locked.

"Seriously?" He mutters.

Getting a bit annoyed at this point, he goes for the immediate second option and pulls his hand back-

SLAM!

Launching a straight punch through it and pulls back out to leave a hole in its wake. Looking through it, he saw a rather specious room with windows to reveal the night outside, if the stars were any indication. Reaching through it, he finds the knob to unlock it and lets himself out before his ears picked up footsteps approaching his location and stops:

"HALT!"

His eyes were met with bright light again as a man's voice spoke:

"Intruder! Identify yourself!"

"Stop blinding me and I'll tell you." Shadow remarks, his annoyance growing in his tone.

There was a brief moment of silence before the light dims down just enough to let him see better. Though, what he saw was a bit of a surprise.

Instead of humans, there was two unicorns with the light coming from their horns like spotlights. They were wearing suits of armor that were gold in color, giving the impression that he was in some sort of medieval timeline.

He then sees a third one as it steps into the light, most likely the leader of the trio as it was his voice that was talking:

"Now tell us, who are you?"

"...I'm Shadow. You?" His annoyance dwindled a bit as he tries the passive approach.

"I'm Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard. And you are trespassing in the princess's castle." He briefly pauses as his eyes avert a bit, "And vandalizing as well."

At this point, Shadow finally remembers that his hand was still in the door and quickly removes it. "It was locked."

Shining notices the light from his guards' horns were being reflected in the room behind the hedgehog, deducing the most likely cause of the arrival:

"That mirror... Did you come from it?"

That phrase perplexed Shadow as he looks back to see the mirror, reaching the same conclusion as he turns back around:

"Most likely. Why?"

Shining Armor then turns to one of the guards, "Inform the princess immediately."

The soldier nodded before heading off as Shining looks back at Shadow, "If what you say is true, then you must have came from another world through that mirror."

"...I see." The latter simply said, visibly conflicted on what this means.

Shining notices the expression, but chose not to press the matter any further. Instead, he shifts the focus with an offer, "Well, it's possible that the princess may be able to help you."

Shadow eventually accepts, "...Very well."

The night sky was rather late upon entering the throne room, Shadow being in awe with the interior structure of the castle as they entered before his eyes saw the princess. She was sitting in the throne with the symbol of the sun on top, next to a similar throne themed with the moon. The princess had a horn like a unicorn, but also has wings of a pegasus and was rather tall compared to the guards.

Getting up from her throne, she starts walking down the incline that shows her flowing mane and tail as her voices echoes:

"You must be the visitor from another world, correct?" She held a stern tone, in case he was a threat in any way.

But honestly, the last thing on his mind right now was a fight and stayed passive:

"Yes. I left my world by my own volition and was brought here by chance."

The princess stood there for a moment before easing her guard just a bit, "Is that so?"

His eyes avert to the window as he somberly answers, "All I did was fulfill a promise I've made. Now... there's nothing for me back home."

She has dealt with liars and the like over the years, but she has also met those who were genuine with their words. She can hear the sincerity in his voice as he answered the question, so it's clear he was the latter of the two.

"Those who believe they have nothing, are ones who don't know what they really have until it's gone." Advice was the last thing he expected to hear as she spoke more friendly towards him:

"But, I doubt you traveled this far for someone else to tell you that. I am Princess Celestia, and who might you be?"

Shadow looks back at her before answering, "I'm Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"Welcome to Equestria, Shadow." She then realizes something as she turns to the nearby window, "One moment please."

He wasn't sure what she meant until he saw her horn starting to glow, seeing the moon outside going down over the horizon to be replaced by the sun. It shined down upon the land and through the windows of the throne room as it rose into the clear sky.

Shadow was still processing what power he just saw, "Did... did she just move the sun and the moon?"

Princess Celestia then turns to her guards, "Thank you for your hard work."

Shining's crew took this as their shifts being up and exit the throne room, leaving the two alone.

"I now welcome you into my castle as a guest. If it's not too much to ask, can you tell me more about your world?"

Shadow wasn't sure what to think of such kindness. A complete stranger suddenly appears in her castle, only to be fine with it after hearing their reasons? Either she thinks she can handle it or it's simple naivety.

"As long as you tell me about yours in return, since I'll be staying for the time being."

Celestia gives a kind smile upon hearing that, "Very well. Come, let us discuss this over breakfast."

Mobius, Earlier after Shadow's departure

"He did what!?" Tails was shocked to hear the news after Sonic returned to his lab to tell him what happened.

"Yeah. Knuckles can tell you the same thing." The latter mentions.

"T-That's insane! Why would he do it?"

"I've been hung up on that part myself. It's only been a few days, so he had time to think about this." Sonic deduces as he paces around the room.

What he said helped Tails form a possible conclusion, "Actually, wouldn't he have traveled the world during that time?"

Sonic stops pacing and turns to his two-tailed friend, "True. And since the people don't know Shadow, then it could be possible that they are still afraid of him."

"Especially after the whole 'revenge' plan." Tails adds offhandedly.

Sonic almost forgot about that part as he lets out a small sigh, "Yeah, that too..."

The two then fell silent to fully process this recent turn of events, only for Sonic to shake his head in denial:

"No, he's still out there! Maybe he changed his mind last second and warped somewhere else in Mobius! Call up the others, we'll need all the help we can get!"

Tails simply smiles at his friend's determination before agreeing, "Got it!"

Current time, Equestria

Shadow sat at the table as the princess was currently in the kitchen. He only heard about royalty in the various books he read so long time ago and most stories depict them having many chefs to cook their meals. Guess she's not one of those as he hasn't seen anyone else besides the guards in the castle.

"Here we are." He heard the princess enter the room with food in tow.

Placing one of the plates in front of him, he sees that it's a stack of pancakes with strawberries and blueberries, some of them forming a smiley face on top with whipped cream. She sits down in the chair across from him as he begins cutting into it with a knife and fork and takes a small bite...

He did not expect it to be delicious. Very delicious.

"Whoa. You made this?" He wonders out loud, his mouth full with the current bite he's having.

"Yes. I'm glad you're enjoying it." She casually said in response.

His eyes widen at that for a moment before digging in, savoring the taste as Princess Celestia begins to eats hers. After finishing another bite, a question pops into his head:

"Is everyone in your world a pony... of sorts?" It was rather weird to ask, but it's a start.

"Not exactly." The princess swallows her food and continues, "While Equestria is home to the ponies, we do have other species that live in our land and beyond. From the small Breezies to the gigantic Dragons, this world is full of wonders that has yet to be discovered."

So mythical creatures are real in this world... says the artificial life form based on a mysterious mural in his world.

"Does the same apply to your world?" The princess asks him.

He answers straight to the point, "Yes. There are others like me that live among humans."

"Humans?" Celestia was intrigued, due to lacking knowledge on said species.

Shadow tries to recall what he learned about them back then, "There are only theories as to how they came to be, but they are the most dominant on my planet compared to the animals that live there."

"How peculiar. What are they like?"

He tries his best to answer, "They are... complicated. Some can be kind while others... not so much."

Celestia detected what she can describe as disdain in his voice, so she decides not to press on the matter for now. "I see."

Another question pops into his head upon remembering something, "Why are there two thrones?"

He felt the atmosphere shift a bit before she answers, "...The other throne belongs to my sister. She's a night owl, being the princess of the night and all."

He tries to go for a small joke to lighten the mood a bit, "Guess she's not a morning... pony."

That managed to do something as the princess shows a small smile, "Yes, very much so."

The two continue to make small conversation up until they finished their meals, where Princess Celestia gets an idea. She lead Shadow down the halls to the library as she explains her intentions:

"Due to my royal duties, I'm not as free as other ponies to show you more about our world. However, I do have a pupil that can inform you of our history better than most others."

"Who is it?"

"You'll see." She kept it vague before they reach their destination.

Upon opening the doors, the two saw a unicorn reading one of the many books she pulled off the shelf before the princess clears her throat to get her attention. The unicorn looks back and jumps to her feet immediately:

"Princess Celestia!" She exclaims, immediately dropping what she was doing to go and greet them. "Good morning!"

The princess's kind smile shows again, "Same to you, Twilight Sparkle."

The unicorn notices Shadow and looks at him with a curious gaze, "Who is your guest?"

"This is Shadow the Hedgehog. While this may sound far fetched, he comes from another world."

Celestia's answer was rather surprising for her, "W-Wow. I have several- or rather, a LOT of questions about that. But if that's what you're saying, I can believe it... at face value."

"You'll understand in due time. As of right now, I have a task for you."

Upon hearing this, Twilight stood at attention as the princess continues. "I want you to teach Shadow the basic history of Equestria."

A simple task that is doable, the unicorn agrees to these terms. "Understood, princess. I'll do my best."

"I shall leave it to you then." The princess then turns to Shadow, "I enjoyed the time we had, but now I must go attend to my duties. We will meet again."

"Thank you very much for the charity." He simply said in response.

Once the princess took her leave, Shadow was now alone with her pupil as she tries to be friendly. "It's nice to meet you, Shadow."

"...Same to you."

She didn't expect him to be rather straight with his words, leaving the two in silence briefly before she continues. "S-So, what would you like to learn about first?"

"...Is there only unicorns around here?"

"Canterlot does have mainly unicorns, but we do have pegasi and even earth ponies living here." She briefly explains as she escorts him through one of the library's aisles.

"What is the princess classified as then?" He does see qualities of all three with her.

She starts pulling out some books from the nearby shelves as she answers, "She is known as an alicorn, which are rather rare and are usually associated with royalty. They also have a longer lifespan than normal ponies."

"Like, immortality?" He understandably assumes.

She debunks such an assumption, "Nononono, that's just a rumor ponies believed back then. Although, we have yet to figure out how it works..."

Shadow simply nods his head before glancing at one of the books she places on a table, "What is this book about?"

Twilight follows his gaze and recognizes the book, "Oh! This is called 'The Tale of the Two Sisters'."

He was now curious about what it contains as she picks it up with her magic, "I'm guessing it's about the princess?"

"Actually, yes. I was gonna read it again as a nice refresher..." She then gets an idea, "Do you want me to read it to you?"

He simply shrugs in response, which she took as a yes. The two then took their seats as she opens to the first page and began to read:

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria...

There were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. The eldest uses her power to raise the sun at the start of dawn, while the youngest brought out the moon to begin the night. By doing this, the sisters were able to maintain balance for their subjects and for all the different ponies living under their reign. However, such harmony cannot stay forever...

As time went on, the younger sister grew resentful of her eldest sister. While the ponies played during the day and basked in the light, the same ponies also shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One faithful day, the younger sister refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn.

The eldest tried her best to reason with her, but the growing bitterness has corrupted the young one's heart and transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness called:

Nightmare Moon!

She vowed to shroud the land in eternal night and never allow the sun to rise again. Reluctantly, the eldest sister had to use the most powerful artifacts known to ponykind:

The Elements of Harmony!

While the battle between them was hard-fought, the eldest was able to use their power with her own to banish Nightmare Moon within the moon itself. Ever since then, the eldest sister took on the responsibilities of both the sun and moon to maintain harmony for generations to come.

Twilight finishes up the story as Shadow was starting to form possibilities in his mind.

Princess Celestia had a sister that used to be the 'other half' of the land's rule, yet she was ironically being overshadowed by Celestia? Did the princess not realize her sister's suffering? And were there no other pony that were night owls or even went out to stargaze? He found that to be far fetched before Twilight indirectly got his attention:

"The Elements of Harmony... where have I heard that before?" She wonders out loud before remembering Shadow was there, "S-Sorry! I tend to talk to myself a lot."

"It's fine. I do that from time to time." He admits before glancing at the other books, "What else does your history have?"

A small smile forms on her face as he's starting to show an interest in the books, "Well, we have a lot of ground to cover."

And done! OK, there's a lot to clarify.

First, in terms of the timeline, I'm treating this as a sequel of sorts to SA2 and NOT including the other games made afterwards in terms of story. So whatever happened in games like Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog don't apply to this current timeline.

While MLP is at the beginning here, I will be changing around how the canon works to make it more consistent and... well, different. Nothing too drastic, don't worry.

Second, in terms of characterization, Shadow is probably one of the most interesting I've came across. Honestly, if he was given proper treatment, he could have really stood out as one of the most unique in the cast. And since I had Sonic be a central character for most of these stories, I decided to switch things up. Though that doesn't mean the blue blur is gonna miss the party.

Third and the most important thing I've recently learned is this. While it's nice to have a big picture of your story, there's no point in framing it if there's no central point in it. Basically, always start small and then build upon it after establishing the basics. I'll be putting this into practice as best as I could as I tend to have the habit of having grand ideas without thinking it all the way through.

As for why this is happening now... let's just say a rough week at work can do stuff to your mental health. I write to keep it in check and writing a story with dwindling motivation won't help with that. Plus, I rather channel my negative emotions to do something positive instead of the cliche drama, which is why action scenes are rather cathartic for me.

ANYWAYS, I hope that clears things up a bit as to how I'm approaching this story. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter!