Hello, fellow readers! Welcome back to Shadows of Harmony Redux! Now, what do we have today:
Sonic X: I'm aware of certain stories portraying these characters poorly, so I'll try my best to keep them in character. For the plots, I will say that some will be similar at first, but there will be new stuff to keep things from being repetitive.
Wildenboy: At least we're on the same page.
Someguy27: Thanks! Hope you stick around for more.
Marilia Helena: Hey, good to see you! Glad you liked it.
Thanks for the feedback! With that said, let us continue!
Chapter 1: Proper Introductions
The hedgehog duo was welcomed to spend the night at the castle, accepting the offer to get proper rest. What they didn't expect was after waking up, they were invited to breakfast with Celestia. Yet another offer they accepted.
If today wasn't interesting enough, the duo were surprised that there wasn't any chefs or servants to bring them food. It was just the princess, who sat at one end of the table with their plates already on said table. The two go to sit down and start a conversation:
"Thanks for the invite, princess." Sonic said.
"Of course. I wanted to leave a good impression before you headed to Ponyville." Celestia admits, "That and I'm sure you two would be hungry."
"We were." Shadow simply said.
The two hedgehogs dig into their food, being a stack of fluffy pancakes with strawberries and blueberries decorating a face on top. They were delicious, which Shadow surprisingly said aloud:
"Tasty!"
"No kidding!" Sonic agrees, "Who's your chef?"
Celestia smiles at the compliment, "Myself. I rather enjoy cooking from time to time."
"Really? My friend Blaze usually had chefs to cook her meals. Though I think she's learning to cook too."
She was gonna speak again, only to let out a giggle upon noticing Shadow. Sonic turns to see his partner had already finished his plate, properly wiping his face with a napkin. If there's anything to say, at least the hedgehog has table manners.
Sonic was visibly trying not to chuckle, as he's never seen such a sight. Shadow was unfazed by their reactions as he spoke:
"Thank you for the meal."
After their breakfast, Celestia escorted them to the throne balcony where she points to Ponyville in the distance:
"There is where Twilight and her friends currently live. I'm sure they can provide you two a more comfortable residence."
"Comfortable?" Shadow repeats, mainly out of curiosity.
"Sorry if that comes off wrong, but I noticed that you two aren't used to living in such big spaces."
"I mean, you're not wrong." Sonic confirms, "I prefer the outdoors."
"...Castles aren't for me." Shadow simply adds.
Celestia smiles at their honesty, "Then I'm sure Ponyville will suit you well during your stay."
"In that case, thanks for the hospitality." Sonic gives a signature thumbs up before jumping off the balcony.
Or rather he would have, but Celestia caught him before doing so and pulls him back up to where he was:
"I think it would be less of a trip if I teleported you two instead."
Sonic casually shrugs, "That works too."
"I'll transport you two to the Golden Oaks Library, where Twilight and Spike lives. Till we meet again."
With that said, the princess teleports the two right to Ponyville.
A flash of light appears at the entrance of the Golden Oaks Library, dropping off Sonic and Shadow in that instant. The two notice the large oak tree, where Sonic got a cozy feeling just from its exterior. Shadow walks up to knock on the door, then stepping back a bit upon hearing hooves inside.
Twilight was the one to answer, showing surprise upon seeing them. "Sonic! Shadow! Welcome to Ponyville."
"Hey, guys!" Spike came running out upon hearing their arrival, "How was your stay in Canterlot?"
"Pretty good." Sonic answers, "The princess makes delicious pancakes."
"She said that you and the others can provide us a place here during our stay." Shadow mentions.
"That's easy. You can stay here at the library, we have the extra room." Twilight solves.
Sonic smiles at that, "Sounds good to me!"
Shadow simply nods in agreement before adding, "If it's not too much trouble, it'll help us greatly if we had a tour of the town."
"No problem. We know this town pretty well by now." Spike assures them.
"Uh huh." Twilight agrees, "Let's start with the places you'll be seeing pretty often."
The tour begins with said places, starting with the town hall as Twilight gives a brief summary:
"This is the town hall, where they archive the town's history and hold important events like the Summer Sun Celebration."
"And that entails what exactly?" Sonic wonders.
"We just watch Princess Celestia raise the sun after a long night of partying." Spike answers.
"Oh. Honestly, that sounded a bit less classy than I thought."
The four then heard something flying through the air, similar to a jet, as they see a familiar pegasus come for a landing. She swirls around the town hall before reaching the ground, sliding a bit upon landing to stop.
Sonic couldn't help but clap at the stunt, "And she sticks the landing!"
"Thank you, thank you." Rainbow bows at the applause before flying up to him, "Glad I found ya, Sonic. I have something to ask you."
Sonic immediately knew what it was, but doesn't want to assume. "Whatcha got?"
"A simple proposal, now that we have some downtime. A race around Ponyville, just you and me. How about it?"
"If you want to race, can it be after our tour?" Twilight points out, "He doesn't even know the landmarks yet."
"She does have a good point, Rainbow." Sonic agrees, "It wouldn't be fair if any of us had home field advantage."
The pegasus sulks a bit before shaking it off, "OK, OK. But once you're done, come find me if you accept my challenge."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Rainbow then flies off, leaving the group to continue said tour. Before that though, Shadow had to ask:
"You didn't sound too excited. Why?"
"I knew it was coming." Sonic casually answers, "Her reaction back at the library said it all. But in a weird way, she reminds me of my younger self."
"Younger self?" Twilight repeats.
"Long story short, I've tempered my competitive side over the years. Trust me, it's landed me in more trouble if anything."
"Whoa. That's what Rainbow is like." Spike comments, which Sonic notes for later.
Shadow soon shifts things back on track, "What's the next place?"
Their next destination was a distinct building that looks to be made of desserts. Twilight unintentionally hammers it in with its name:
"And here's Sugarcube Corner, our local bakery."
"Can you eat the building?" Sonic jokes.
"No, thankfully. Something tells me Pinkie would have done that by now."
"I definitely would try." Pinkie agrees, who was sitting on the bench next to the entrance.
The pink pony was casually strumming on an equally sized acoustic guitar as she spoke:
"The Cakes have owned this bakery for a long time. When I arrived at Ponyville and accepted the job, they were kind enough to let me stay here."
"Are you working today?" Spike wonders.
"Nope. Just playing some morning music."
Sonic was watching her strum the guitar and couldn't help but ask, "Mind if I join you?"
"Oh? You play?"
"I dabble."
"Then let's play together!"
She pulls out a second guitar from somewhere and hands it to him. The blue blur sits down next to her, making sure it was properly tuned before strumming a few notes. It wasn't long before the two were playing a nice little song, attracting a bit of a crowd in the process.
Shadow was honestly just... he didn't know how to process this. He's used to Sonic being more of the party guy, but the ponies were like strangely in sync with the song. Did they know this would happen? Are they that musically inclined? Just more questions for the pile.
Sonic plays off the last few notes in spectacular fashion, doing a classic power slide finish. Applause and cheers ran rampant at the small performance, which he and Pinkie gracefully bow to. Once that passed, Pinkie was amazed:
"That was, as Rainbow would say, awesome! How long have you been dabbling like that?"
"Not as often as I used to." Sonic admits, "Almost forgot how fun it was."
"Then how about you hang on to that guitar? That way you can practice some more."
"Sure. Thanks."
After a fun time with Pinkie, the group eventually reaches Rarity's boutique. The four enter to be greeted by the generous unicorn:
"Hello, Twilight! Spike! I'm guessing you're giving Sonic and Shadow the tour?"
"That's right." Spike confirms, "Since they'll be staying in Ponyville for the time being."
"Huh. So they work similar to us." Shadow notes while looking around, "Clothing being optional and all."
"Thought it was obvious from the citizens." Sonic adds.
Rarity then gets a bright idea, "Actually, this presents a great opportunity! Sonic, Shadow! May I get your measurements?"
The two were kinda confused, which she clarifies on. "In case of any special events, formal or otherwise, during your stay. Plus, it'll be great practice to any expansions I plan in the future."
"Two hedgehogs from another dimension will help business in Equestria?" Twilight questions.
"I mean the long term, going beyond Equestria! One never truly knows, darling."
After hearing her reasons, the hedgehog duo didn't see why not. With their permission, she was surprisingly fast with the measuring tape and finished within the minute. Rarity spoke her gratitude to them while writing the numbers down:
"Thank you very much! I must give you two something in return, I won't take no for an answer."
Sonic wasn't sure what she could give them for clothing, but Shadow recalls their arrival to this world:
"Hmm... While we weren't in the cold that long, having a scarf for the winter will be handy."
"Certainly! What color would you like?"
He gestures to the markings on his face and quills, "Red, to match these."
"I would say blue, but it'd make sense that a green one would pop more against the blue fur." Sonic deduces, "Like my eyes."
"Consider it done!"
The group had finished going through the main town by the late afternoon, where they find themselves heading to Sweet Apple Acres. Sonic and Shadow were impressed at the massive orchard of apple trees, admittedly getting a bit hungry from the sight. They soon reach the farm where they find Applejack, who was currently apple bucking. She had bucked another tree clean when she sees them:
"Howdy, ya'll! What brings you to the farm today?"
"Just giving Sonic and Shadow the tour." Twilight answers, "The last landmark we haven't been to is the farm."
"I'm curious to know." Shadow speaks up, "How do you do that without breaking the tree?"
"Simple. Come on over, I'll show ya." Applejack offers, which the group takes.
They reach another tree that still had its apples, two buckets already placed under it as she begins her demonstration:
"Now, we do grow our trees nice and strong to get the best apples. But it doesn't mean we just hit it as hard as we can, that'll be too messy. We always make sure to hit the right spot with the right amount of force. Like so."
She then bucks the tree, making the apples drop into the baskets without any falling out. The hedgehogs were impressed and wanted to give it a try. The duo were given a tree each and after AJ points at the right spot, they attempted to varying results.
For Sonic, he readies a kick and adjusts to line it up properly. Upon locking on, he launches his kick instantly. The impact was strong, but it only knocked a couple of apples into the buckets.
"You weren't kidding about the trees." Sonic admits, "Just gotta hit it harder."
As for Shadow, he does something similar and readies a punch. Although when he swings, the impact was more noticeable as the tree violently shook out apples in varying directions. His fist was carved into the trunk as he removes it, only to notice the ponies' surprised reactions.
"Maybe not that hard." Sonic mutters at the sight.
Spike had a different reaction to this, "That was so cool!"
Twilight walks over to examine the tree, "I-I'm shocked it didn't fall over."
"Sorry. It's hard for me to pull my punches." Shadow casually said.
Applejack just lets out a sigh before responding, "Please do. I'd rather not have Granny Smith come back to an orchard of broken trees."
Thankfully for her, Shadow manages to adjust his strength while Sonic figures out the right amount to use. In half an hour, the rest of her apple bucking was finished as they carried buckets of apples back to the farm. After bringing the last of them in, the hedgehogs find themselves hungry from the labor they did:
"I can go for... anything right now." Sonic corrects himself, "I realized we only ate breakfast today."
"Sorry, guess lunch slipped my mind earlier." Twilight sheepishly admits.
"Don't worry about it!" Applejack assures them, "I'd gladly whip up some apple pies for ya'll!"
"Yeah, let's bake!" Spike adds.
AJ brings the group to her home, where they wait in the kitchen as they cooked up some food. In the meantime, Shadow had a question:
"The orchard you have is massive. Is it just apples you grow here, hence the name?"
"Of course not, sugarcube." AJ answers, "We also grow corn, grapes, carrots, and even a special type of apple called 'zap apples'. Although those only grow once a year, which is a story in of itself as Granny Smith would tell ya."
"Wouldn't mind a history lesson."
"Dude, we got more than that with the stories the princess told us." Sonic retorts.
"Got anything better to discuss?"
"...Good point."
With that said, the oven goes off to signal that the pies are finished. The group feast as AJ tells them an overview of Sweet Apple Acres' founding.
The sun had set to let the night sky show as the group decided to head back for today. Reaching the library, Twilight discusses their plan for tomorrow:
"We'll head to Fluttershy's after breakfast and spend the morning there. After that, you two can do what you like."
"Sounds like a plan." Sonic agrees.
Shadow heard it as he looks around, seeing the many books they had on the shelves. A wide range of genres too, which includes history, so this place can help with research and entertainment.
They then heard a yawn from Spike, who was rather tired. "Well, today was fun. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
"Night, Spike."
"Goodnight, Spike."
The two hedgehogs spoke at the same time as Twilight escorts him to bed. Now alone for the first time since their arrival, Shadow makes a small observation:
"Interesting that they don't have much advanced tech."
"Eh, they might." Sonic disagrees, "The town is definitely countryside, straight down to being built around a farm. Just my kind of place."
"Hmm..."
Shadow was thinking for a moment before seeing a display case, where he sees six pieces of jewelry. They comprise of five matching necklaces with different symbols on each one and a tiara with a six-pointed star. Just from looking at them, he senses a unified magical power.
Twilight had come back down at this point and notices him:
"Those are the Elements of Harmony. I'm guessing Princess Celestia already told you two about them?"
"Yeah. But, strange to leave it out in the open." Shadow points out.
"It's fine. They're a part of Equestria's history, other ponies need to learn about them. Plus, it helps to know their place when we need them."
"I suppose so."
Sonic had sped read a book he casually pulled off the shelf, putting it back before shifting the topic:
"Quick question. Where will we be staying in this library?"
"There's a couple of beds above the study you can use. Here, I'll show you."
She escorts them to said study, while also showing the other rooms along the way. Unbeknownst to them though, a hooded pony was peeking through one of the windows. She then goes into hiding as her thoughts were deducing what she's seen:
"Interesting species. Whoever they are, they're capable enough to help save the Crystal Empire. Just how strong can they be?"
The next day had came, where the group goes to visit Fluttershy's like they planned. Well most of the group, as Spike remembered his usual day with Rarity, but it didn't change anything.
Her place was a nice small cottage in a tree that the trio reach by crossing a small bridge. Said place was surrounded by things that are for other animals, like birdcages and holes. Needless to say, it was rather peaceful in these parts.
They soon find Fluttershy was currently doing her chores when she sees them arrive:
"Oh! Hello, Twilight. Showing our new friends our town?"
"Yup, but that was yesterday. We finish it up today as you're our last stop." Twilight answers.
"Pretty cool that you take care of animals." Sonic compliments, "Reminds me of my earlier adventures."
"Thank you. Would you like to help me feed them?" Fluttershy offers.
"Certainly."
The shy pegasus was thankful for their assistance. She fed the animals in her home as Sonic took care of the chickens, Twilight tended to the plants, and Shadow fixed up a broken part of the fence. It didn't take long for those to get done, finishing up her chores for the day.
The trio go inside where she had glasses of water for them. During their small break, she couldn't help but ask:
"I've never seen hedgehogs like you before. Is every animal like you two back home?"
"No, we still have animals like the chickens back home." Sonic answers, "Most of our friends are a different species. Foxes, echidnas, chameleons, armadillos, crocodiles, etc."
"Our world is mainly populated by humans." Shadow adds, pulling out a small book to reveal photos.
Fluttershy and especially Twilight were intrigued by such a creature. But Shadow kept it short with his follow-up as he puts said book away:
"They are complicated."
Sonic was rather casual to change the topic, "So, how did you guys get those cutie marks?"
Fluttershy starts with her story as Twilight was left in her thoughts. What was it about humans that make them 'complicated', as Shadow puts it? Despite her curiosity, she rationalizes that it's likely a personal affair and leaves it at that. For now, at least.
And done! Before we get to the story proper, I decided to have a brief chapter that has our characters get to know each other a bit. I did have a different draft where it was a bit slower in pace, but it wasn't working as well. Plus, I should remind myself that shorter chapters are fine every now and then.
The obvious thing is the gap between this and last chapter. Simply put, I got busy around that time and soon after that, I got interested in my older stuff. Now this isn't my only revival, I have a special project already out and in the middle of planning another one.
Plus, I've been hearing about Sonic x Shadow Generations and all the new Shadow stuff coming out. So I figured that I should get this chapter out to celebrate the occasion.
With all that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you guys next chapter!