Let's try this one more time... Hello, fellow readers! Welcome to yet another Sonic x MLP story of mine. So, what's the gimmick this time? Random shenanigans? Post-apocalyptic final stand? Actually, let's just do a simple story of adventure across the land of Equestria. Now, what are the rules?

1. Like my previous stories, no pairings. Nothing against them, it just doesn't serve the story I'm going for.

2. The title is mostly for the type of story I imagine it to be, mostly an action RPG platformer game.

3. Yes, this will have OCs too. More on that later.

4. The timeline for the worlds are gonna be after Sonic ATBK and between MLP's seasons 8 and 9.

EDIT: So, it's been a long while since I've started Shadow of Harmony. Yeah I know, but I had my reasons at the time. Looking back though, I figured to give this a second chance.

But first, I'll be editing the current chapters to my current style. Feel free to tell me if it flows better, I'll appreciate the feedback!

With that stuff said, let's get this party started!

Prologue: Simple Curiosity

The castle was rather quiet as the morning sun shines through the windows, a certain unicorn sitting in the library to read a book. Her persian blue eyes glances at the last pages before closing it, putting it back on the bookshelf behind her before picking another book at random. Right now, she was just glad to relax after what had happened a few days ago.

The book she chose was rather interesting by just the cover, showing that it was a peculiar spellbook. Opening it, it turns out it was about interdimensional travel and discoveries. Wasting no more time, she opens it to the section of various spells ranging from pocket dimensions to even conjuring portals to other worlds.

"Portals into other worlds?" Her curiosity was now peaking at what could be beyond the stars.

Her eyes then caught a glance at the next page, revealing instructions on how to create such portals. A huge smile appears on her face before she goes outside to perform a field test.

Upon reaching an empty field near the Everfree Forest, she opens the book back up to the instructions page and wastes no time in reading the words for the spell:

"Oh spirits from beyond, show me proof from the stars..."

Her horn shines in a bright white aura as she continues, "Let me use your power to reveal the gate far beyond!"

A sudden burst of magic energy fires from her horn high into the sky, way farther than she expected above the Everfree Forest. Landing on her back from the recoil, she quickly sat back up as her eyes widen in surprise:

"Oops... Maybe that was just a fluke." Her false claim was quickly dismissed as she quickly goes into the forest.

Meanwhile in another dimension, the sun was rising over the horizon as a familiar blue hedgehog sat on one of the rocks to watch it. It's already been some time after the awakening and defeat of Dark Gaia, due to the actions of a certain mad scientist. He made sure to keep Windmill Isle as one of his mental landmarks, where the adventure began. His mind drifting off, he finds himself looking down at the bracelet around his left wrist and recalls what he heard:

"Sonic, you must live. I'll always be here by you, as part of the earth you tread. I'll never forget you."

Those words echoed in his mind as a small smile forms on his face. A few quiet moments pass by before he heard a small distorted sound, his ears perking up as he got on his feet:

"What a weird sound." Sonic mutters.

He then feels a breeze going upwards, looking up to see a small ball of light a few feet in the air above. He watches as the ball starts to slowly grow in size, the breeze becoming a strong wind that catches the hedgehog off guard a bit:

"What's happening!? This another one of Egghead's traps?"

He quickly sprints to get out of range as the ball of light expands rapidly to the size of a boulder, a strong whirlwind getting sucked into it like a vortex. Even with his speed, Sonic finds himself being pulled back before getting swept off his feet. He had no luck with grabbing something as he got sucked into the vortex, it closing soon after to leave the isle quiet once more.

A portal forms over a strange forest as Sonic gets shot out, reflexively grabbing a branch on one of the trees to regain some sort of footing. He turns his head to where the portal was, only to see it close up entirely.

"Well, shoot." He snaps in annoyance.

Dropping down to the ground below, he looks at his surroundings and couldn't help but get an interesting vibe from the forest. Either way:

"Well, I know standing around ain't gonna do nothing. Time to explore!"

Sonic rubs his nose with a smirk before running off in a random direction. The forest itself was rather thick, making Sonic use his classic spindash to cut through some thicker vines before bouncing up to the bigger trees. This allows him to avoid the river below, quickly leaping off one trunk to the next before landing back on the ground.

Dashing down a narrow path, it lead him to a swamp area before he stops. What made him stop? There was a rather big crocodile next to it that looks to be made from stone, rocks for scales and all.

"A moving statue? That's pretty cool."

He then hears flapping wings, looking up to see yet another cool sight of what seems to be a lion flying overhead before flying downwards to him. It lands a few feet across the blue hedgehog, allowing him to see the wings are more bat-shaped and the tail is more akin to a scorpion.

"Now I met a few lions myself before, but you take the cake in terms of looks."

The scorpion-tailed lion growls as it bares its claws, standing on its hind legs to tower over its 'prey'.

"Oh, I get it! Sorry to disappoint, but-"

The lion slams its paws down upon him, only to hit the ground where he once stood. It was confused at what just happened before hearing Sonic continue his sentence from behind:

"I'm not one to stick around. See ya later!"

The bat-winged lion turns around just in time to see the blue hedgehog run off in an instant, making it stare at what just happened before leaving the area.

Continuing on the path, Sonic finds himself in a rather big clearing before slowing his pace to look around. So far this place is more of a hazardous area compared to Knothole, but most likely has much more that can't be seen anywhere else. Before moving to speed walking, his ears pick up the sounds of various birds and rustling leaves from the breeze before it suddenly went silent.

His nose then starts to itch a bit, making him rub his finger under it. As he figured from it, there was danger lurking by as he sees a pack of yellow eyes looking through the bushes:

"That's not a very nice way to welcome your guests. I mean, I can smell you from here!"

What he didn't expect was a pack of wolves that looked like they literally came from nature. Leaves and sticks form their entire body as they slowly stalk around the blue hedgehog, even growling to boot.

"Oh, I get it! That must be your natural scent, huh?"

Now ready to pounce, the wolves dived at him in unison. Unfortunately for them, Sonic is not like other prey as he simply sidesteps it, making them collide into each other. The resulting impact made the wolves break apart into bits and pieces, just like that.

"Huh... that was anti-climatic." Sonic scratches his head at the 'threat' this was.

He will admit, this forest is getting more interesting by the minute. Before he walks away, he saw the sticks and leaves start to twitch. He didn't feel any rumbling from an earthquake as they connect with each other into one. He took a few steps back as it grew bigger and bigger into one giant wolf that reaches double the height of the trees.

The titan wolf stares down with glowing green eyes as the blue blur was getting excited:

"Now this is more like it!" He quickly sidesteps one of the paws that slams upon where he was before zooming around, "Can't catch me!"

Sonic ran around the wolf in circles before running up its left arm, performing his signature homing attack against the head to stun it. The point of impact was heavily dented as he went upwards from the momentum, channeling energy into his feet before performing a backflip kick to fire a blast of wind energy.

The attack hits its mark as it blows the big wolf away, a small sound echoing throughout the area as the giant slams into the ground and breaks it apart again. He lands on the ground before noticing a green gem where the giant wolf fell, which looks a lot like the Sol Emeralds from Blaze's dimension except slightly smaller in size.

Before he moved in to pick it up, the sticks and leaves moved to form together again to bring the giant wolf back within a large whirlwind-like aura:

"I don't know where you got that, but that don't belong here."

The wolf goes on the offensive again as it swings its claw in a wide arc, creating a shockwave that forces Sonic to run out of the range to avoid damage. Fortunately, this works in his favor as it gives him time to prepare one of his stronger skills. Performing a spindash in place, light energy then starts to power it up.

The giant wolf had lost sight of the blue hedgehog, looking around over the surrounding trees to find its speedy prey. It didn't take long before seeing a light shine through the leaves straight north of its position. It crushes any flora and fauna in its path as it runs to close the distance, leaping the rest of the way for a giant pounce.

Next thing that happened, a beam of light shot right to the sky in an instant before the wolf crumbles once again.

The blue blur uncurls at the height of the launch to reveal that he grabbed the green gem and notices the energy it gave off was familiar, yet different. It then glows, creating streams of wind energy around him to slow his decent until he lands back on the ground safely.

Sonic puts the gem away before doing a small victory pose out of habit with a smirk on his face.

"Your skills are aggressive, yet are very impressive."

Turning towards where he heard the voice, he sees a zebra approach him. After all the danger, he is relieved to see a friendly face:

"Thanks. Name's Sonic the Hedgehog. And you are?"

"Zecora is my name, rhyming is my game. I live here in the Everfree forest and yet, you seem like a tourist." The zebra returns the gesture in kind.

"The Everfree Forest, huh?"

As far as Sonic knew, there wasn't a forest with that name from where he's from along with talking animals that walk on all fours.

"Best we move elsewhere or danger will return in the air." Zecora warns him.

"Good point. Lead the way."

Lucky for him, Zecora's home wasn't too far from where he was. They enter the hut as he sees it was quite the cozy little place, having various herbs and medicines along with decorative masks on the shelves. There was also a cauldron spot in the center of the room, which she clarifies as mainly a decoration to tie the hut together.

"Do you have animals like me in the forest?" Sonic wondered.

"Not in the Everfree Forest have I seen someone like you, but there are animals that walk on two legs without having natural fur in blue." She answers, looking through her books.

He walks over to a table while keeping the conversation going, "So I'm not that out of the ordinary. Do they wear clothing like gloves or shoes?"

"Some do and some don't, either as normal clothing or special occasions. Don't worry, you will not fall under accusation."

She pulls out an interesting book and places it on the table, which turns out to be a special spellbook that talks about other worlds. Sonic immediately got the picture:

"Judging by this, are you implying that I'm really far from home?"

"It's good that you are perceptive as I want to avoid being repetitive."

He places his hand on his chin in curiosity, "And how exactly did you know that I wasn't from your world?"

"Your speed is unlike any I have seen, even the fastest spells are not as keen. I would be lying, if you make even Rainbow Dash not go into trying."

Sonic was of course flattered at her comment. Whoever this Rainbow Dash is must be quite the runner if his speed would give them a challenge. Putting that in the back of his mind, he still had more questions to ask:

"If you know all this, how exactly did I show up here?"

"I'm afraid that the answer is not from me, but rather somepony else who has the key."

"So if it's not you, then who or what brought me here?"

The two then heard knocking at the door before Zecora answers:

"It may be possible that your answer is here, hopefully one you like to hear."

She walks over to the door and opens it, showing a unicorn on the other side as she greeted the visitor.

"Greetings, fellow traveler. Perhaps you have something to unravel?"

"Uh... Oh! You must be Zecora. Twilight has told me about you, your rhyming being one of them."

"Ah yes, the alicorn who is now princess. However, that is not who is on my mind this instance. You must be her student Starlight, correct?"

"I actually graduated from student status, last time I checked."

Sonic notices the intentional rhyme with Zecora's previous sentence, deciding to step in to move this conversation along:

"Sorry to interrupt, but how is this gonna help my situation?"

Starlight suddenly zooms right to him upon hearing that, analyzing him for a few seconds in silence before speaking:

"You're not from around here, are you?"

Sonic kinda figures that this question will be raised up more in the future, but answers just to humor her. "Last time I checked, I'm not walking on all fours."

"Then, did you come through a portal of some kind?"

THAT got his immediate attention as he taps his foot:

"Let me guess, was it you?"

He didn't have to wait long to see the obvious signs, her nervous smile with an equally nervous chuckle to match before he smirks:

"...And without an invitation to boot?"

Her nervousness changes to confusion along with Zecora being just as confused:

"I'm sorry?"

"It took me a bit to figure it out, but this is like the other times I went to another world other than mine. Guess what threw me off was the lack of a welcoming committee."

Starlight and Zecora are surprised, the former being more curious about the other worlds before a sudden beeping sound starts coming from nowhere. Sonic recognizes it as he moves his right glove to show his wrist, revealing a wristwatch to be the culprit as he presses the screen.

The image changes from a green phone icon to another animal that is bipedal like him, except it's a fox with yellow fur.

"Yo, Tails! Was wondering if you could get reception here." Sonic greets his buddy, the other quadrupeds watching with interest.

"Did you go somewhere with no reception again?" Tails wonders.

"Kind of. I don't know how you did, but it's nice I have a connection back. I'm actually in another world again."

"Aww, you promised that you'll take me with you next time." Tails sarcastically mentions, mainly as a joke.

Sonic chuckles a bit at that, "Well you know, nothing is boring with me."

"How did you get there, anyways?"

To provide the short answer for his buddy, he moves his arm to show him Starlight and Zecora. The fox blinks before greeting them:

"Uh, hi."

Starlight steps closer to examine Sonic's wristwatch, "Hello. Um, how are you in that?"

"I'm not in the watch, it's more of a moving picture projection in real time." Tails briefly explains.

"Which reminds me, do you have a way for me to return home?" Sonic asks the unicorn.

"Yeah... Give me a second."

She quickly pulls out a book that was the same as the one Zecora has, flipping through the pages while reading every word in mere seconds, Starlight's expression went deeper and deeper with worry until she closes it, a blank stare on her face:

"...It doesn't say."

"You hear that, Tails?" He casually said.

"Yup. Don't worry, I'll try making a portal device to bring you back." His two-tailed buddy reassures him.

"Such magic is possible, though such a device may not be. At least, it sounds that way to me." Tails was more perplexed at Zecora's speech pattern as Sonic summaries for him:

"She rhymes... a lot."

"Really? That's pretty impressive." Tails compliments her skill with words before asking, "What is the name of that world, anyways?"

"The land of Equestria. Don't be fooled by the name, though. We prefer the term 'pony' over 'horse'." Starlight clearly answers.

"Equestria, gotcha. I'll get started on the portal device and get back to you later." Tails informs them.

"Thanks a lot, buddy. I'll see you then." Sonic simply said.

The transmission ends as Sonic turns his attention to the other two, "With that taken care of, how about a tour of your world? I always like to travel around."

Starlight got an immediate idea, "Actually, a friend of mine loves meeting new ponies and throwing them nice little welcoming parties. She's in Ponyville, which isn't very far from the forest."

"Sounds like a nice way to meet the locals." Sonic then turns to Zecora, "Thanks for your hospitality, Zecora."

"It was my pleasure, Mr. Sonic. You will enjoy our world, that is a promise." Zecora reassures him.

"Just Sonic is fine and I'll take your word for it." He then turns to Starlight, "You're the tour guide, lead the way."

"Gladly. Nice meeting you Zecora, and thanks for finding him."

The two were about to leave before Sonic suddenly stops in his tracks:

"Oh, almost forgot."

He then walks over to Zecora before pulling out the green gem, "I found this with the living tree beast I fought. Does this belong in your world?"

Zecora studies the gem for a little bit before coming to a conclusion:

"It reminds me of the Elements of Harmony of old, but the energy it emits is uncontrolled. I'm not familiar with this gem, but I feel you'll find out where it stems."

More questions pop in Sonic's head as he puts the green gem back in his 'hammerspace', "Thanks for clarifying. See ya later."

With him and Starlight exiting the hut, Sonic starts stretching his legs while wondering:

"Now, which way is this Ponyville?"

"You just have to head north from here." Starlight answers.

Sonic finishes up with his stretches soon after, "A simple jog will get us there in no time. Think you can keep up?"

Starlight uses a simple levitation spell, making her float a couple of feet above the ground as she confidently answers:

"I'm able to cruise with my fast pegasus friend, so-"

Sonic then suddenly zooms off, leaving her stunned for a moment before going after him to catch up. She was honestly surprised at his speed that would usually be seen with pegasi like the Wonderbolts. Upon reaching him, he tosses a casual joke towards her:

"There you are. Pretty sure that I'm set on cruise speed for you."

"Are you using magic to be this fast?" She wonders.

"Nope, all natural like my fur." He casually answers.

"What about your friend? Is he fast like you?"

"He can keep up with me, if that's what you mean. Besides, there are few that can rival my high speeds."

It wasn't long before the two arrived at their destination, the hedgehog seeing a nice little town with a few of the folks going about their way and doing business. Starlight deactivates her spell as Sonic comments:

"Pretty peaceful place you have here."

He then hears his tummy growl a bit before asking, "Anywhere in mind to eat at?"

"Depends, do you like sweets?" She knew just where to take him.

"I don't mind them. As long as you guys have chili dogs somewhere, I'm good."

"...Um, what are those?"

The instant she asked that, he froze stiff as a statue. She looks at him with concern as his eyes stares into space while his limbs were quite straight. Heck, she didn't even see him breathe:

"...Sonic?"

Next thing she knew, he yells at the top of his lungs.

"Got some extra books for you, Twilight."

A young purple winged dragon walks into the main room with books in his hands as the alicorn looks up from the book she was reading:

"Thanks, Spike. Place them on the table, I'll sort them out later."

Just as he does that, the doors leading to the room slam open that shook the castle for a brief moment before a excited pink pony suddenly appears in front of her:

"TWILIGHT! There's a blue hedgehog wearing white gloves and red shoes passed out in Ponyville! You gotta see, you gotta see!"

"Uh, what about a blue hedgehog?" Spike managed to catch that part, at least.

"Pinkie, can you repeat-"

Twilight and Spike were suddenly dragged out of the room and out of the castle as their surroundings were a blur. The two were practically flying in her grip before Pinkie stops, allowing them to stand again. The two were a bit dizzy as Pinkie was bouncing around the unconscious hedgehog:

"See, see! I told you!"

She reaffirms her point as they see Starlight poking her hoof at his head.

"Starlight? Do you know what's going on?" Twilight asks her, who nervously chuckles:

"Well, considering that I brought him here... I know Pinkie is excited about it."

Speaking of Pinkie, she was now right next to Twilight. "And WHY shouldn't I be? This is a new friend from, no joke, another world!"

Those last two words definitely got Twilight's attention, "Another world!?"

"Ugh..."

Their yelling was causing the hedgehog to stir, "I hear ya Tails, but you know Knuckles wouldn't let you do that..."

"What's he talking about?" Twilight mutters to them.

"Tails is a friend of his and no, he's not here." Starlight clarifies.

Sonic's eyes start to open as he slowly sat up, "What a weird dream..."

"What was it about?" Pinkie asks him.

"Something about Tails' portal device and a world without-" Sonic cuts himself off before stating, "It wasn't a dream."

"Before you pass out again, what world did you come from? Canterlot High?" Spike questions as the hedgehog got up to his feet:

"Uh, I'm not familiar with that place. I'm from Mobius."

"Mobius? What's that place like?" Twilight has a quill and paper in her aura at this point.

"I'm just as curious too." Starlight agrees to hear that.

Sonic's stomach then growls a bit louder, "Well, I'll be happy to answer once I get some food."

"Perfect timing! Time for your welcome party!" Pinkie exclaims before dragging him along towards Sugarcube Corner, the others quickly following after them.

While this was happening, a pair of orange eyes was peeking through the bushes and saw what went down.

"Colorful ponies? What am I now..." A quiet voice mutters to himself.

And done! All right, a couple of things to point out. The beginning was short mainly just to jump right into the adventure, similar to early sonic games when I think about it.

The first level takes place in the Everfree Forest, titled "Everfree Explorer". It's mostly a linear path, but it does have a couple of alternate ways such as thick tree branches and gaining air by swinging on vines to find various goodies. Average time is about three minutes.

Ponyville is the first hub world, going from the entrance to Everfree Forest to Princess Twilight's Castle and Sweet Apple Acres to Fluttershy's Cottage. It will involve the various ponies that lives in the village for NPCs from the fan favorites to even the students at Friendship School. Side missions mainly take place in the town with the occasional forest ones.

This is also my first time writing Zecora in a long time, so I hope I did good with the rhyming. Starlight makes her debut in my stories and I'm happy about that, I really like her character.

If this chapter is a little too fast, later ones will slow down a bit for the interactions to be more fleshed out.

Anyways, thanks for reading and I'll see you later!