In The Shadow Of A Doubtby Joker the Hedgehog
Chapters
Awakening
My name is Jack Daniels. Or, at least it used to be before I was transformed into the Ultimate Life Form, Shadow the Hedgehog, and shipped off to a more technologically advanced version of Equestria, where the ponies walk on two legs, wear clothes, and still have their wings and horns and whatnot. I know what you're probably thinking, "Whoa, you became Shadow? Awesome!" And well you'd be right. Except, anthropomorphic hedgehogs aren't exactly the same as anthropomorphic Unicorns, Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and alicorns so I do get a few looks every now and again, especially when me and Gilda go out for date night. Also, learning to use those Chaos Powers is really, really hard. But, I digress.
Now, I'm sure you're wondering just how this all came to be. Well, I'll tell you. I was searching around eBay for some Sonic the Hedgehog and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic merchandise, when I came across a listing for replicas of the red Chaos Emerald, Shadow's guns, some throwing knives and even a full-sized duplicate of his motorcycle for only $1,995. Naturally, being the Sonic fanboy I was, I couldn't refuse such an offer. In retrospect, I probably should've taken a closer look at the username of the guy who posted the listing: TheDisplacer666.
Anyways, the delivery truck with what I assumed were the guns and the Chaos Emerald arrives the next day. Which struck me as very, very weird, as A: it was Sunday, B: You'd think guns would take a LOT longer to get through processing, and C: The delivery guys weirded me out a bit, as I hadn't even heard of DSP Shipping before then, and the guy who asked me to sign the packaging thingy wouldn't give me a straight answer when I asked when the bike would arrive. But, I was getting some of my stuff, so I couldn't really complain.
Alas, all that excitement was for nothing, as when I opened the box, all that was in there was the Chaos Emerald. Angry, I grabbed the Chaos Emerald, ready to throw it at something. But, as soon as I touched the gem, everything went black...
...
In the darkness of a Canterlot alleyway, a male figure stirred. Just barely discernible, he appeared to be an anthropomorphic hedgehog with black fur and short black quills with red highlights, and wore black combat pants with a black leather belt with two specially designed pistols in their holsters, four throwing knives in their sheaths, and several other pouch that presumably held various other items, such as ammunition, a black leather trench coat, black leather gloves, and red-and-white shoes with what appeared to be rocket boosters in the bottoms. On his wrists and ankles were two golden bracelets and anklets. a tuft of white fur could be seen on his exposed chest. When his eyes flew open, it was revealed that they were a deep shade of crimson.
"Oh, Christ... what the hell happened last night? Someone get the number of that taxi," the hedgehog grumbled, his voice deep and gruff. He reached for the back of his head to rub it, only to get poked by his quills. "Ow! Son of a bitch!" he yelled.
The hedgehog felt the back of his head more carefully this time, and of course, came to the conclusion that he had quills. "What in the...?" he grumbled. A chill of suspicion running through him, the hedgehog looked around for something to check his reflection with, and managed to find a gleaming silver trashcan nearby.
His jaw dropped when he saw who was looking back at him. "What the... I'm Shadow the Hedgehog? How'd this happen?" Shadow asked himself. He knew it wasn't a dream, because if it were, the poke from his quills would've woken him up. Shadow then looked down at himself. "Whoa... cool outfit," he muttered. "Well, no use standing around in this alley. I better get out of here and see where the heck I am."
And so, Shadow did just that... and made an already crazy day even crazier.
Everywhere he looked not only seemed to have a purplish tint to it, but this whole city seemed to be populated with ponies that looked very similar to the ones he'd seen on My Little Pony... except, these ones seemed to walk on two legs, wore clothes and, judging by the fact that there seemed to be cars of some type driving down the streets, were far more advanced than the quadrupeds from the cartoon. And yet they still seemed to have the same qualities, such as wings and horns.
"Where the hell am I?" Shadow asked himself as he looked around the city, in in turn, a few of what Shadow deduced were wealthy Unicorns, stopped and looked at him, curious and in a few cases, fearful, expressions on their faces. A look at the sky revealed the source of the purple tint was in fact a large purple dome that presumably encased the entire city of... wherever he was.
"Hey, you! Halt!"
Shadow whirled around to find that a band of bipedal Unicorns and Pegasi clad golden armor and helmets that reminded him gladiators. Except, this armor also looked a bit more on the modern side. These soldiers also carried swords of some type.
"What is that thing? Some kind of emo mutant porcupine?" one of the soldiers whispered to one of his fellows.
"I don't know... can you understand me?" the lead soldier said slowly and carefully to Shadow.
"Uh, yeah. I mean, you're speaking plain English, so why wouldn't I understand you?" asked Shadow, irritation in his voice.
"What's an english?" one of the soldiers whispered to another, only to get a shrug in response.
"Yes, well, then perhaps you understand the meaning of the words, 'you're under arrest,'" replied the lead soldier.
"And what the hell am I supposed to have done?"
"We have reason to believe that you're the one responsible for making an anonymous threat against Canterlot, and have therefore declared hostile intentions against Equestria and all ponies of our land. Now, will surrender peacefully, or do we have to use force?" the leader soldier said, his hand drifting to the hilt of his sword.
Shadow closed his eyes and gave a soft, barely audible chuckle. So, he really was in the magical land of ponies, albeit one that had some modern technology within it. Not only that, but he had a sneaking suspicion about WHEN he was in Equestria as well.
"Very well, then... I'll come with you. On one condition: you gotta catch me first!" said Shadow, and with a click of his heels, his Hover Shoes started up, and he began to skate away from the guards.
"After him!" yelled the lead soldier.
And we’re off! Shadow thought to himself with a smirk as the soldiers were rushing after him. Smirking he then turned around and shouted “CHAOS CONTROL!” and it worked... only a little too well as he soon ran into a car that stopped in middle of the street due to him stopping time itself. “Ow… okay I need to practice that stuff,” said Shadow as he slowly got up. However, as he got up, Chaos Control wore off and he was smacked into a building by a nearby pegasus.
“SORRY! I DIDN’T MEAN IT!” yelled the pegasus and Shadow looked at her... and saw that she was gray, had a blonde mane and tail, wore a mailman's outfit, and her eyes were crossed.
“Wait… my little brother mentioned... are you... are you Derpy?”
Derpy nodded her head. "Why, yes it is. Derpy Hooves," said Derpy with a smile, before she frowned. "How did you know my name? Are you from the Pony Express? I swear I just don't know what went wrong!"
"No! I'm not from the Pony Express!" said Shadow, before noticing that there were a few soldiers outside, most likely looking for him. "But, I am in a bit of a hurry, so if you could move over so I can get out of here, that'd be great."
"Huh? Oh, yes," said Derpy, as she moved out of the way. Shadow then got up, click his heels, but before he could go anywhere, Derpy called out. "Hey, Mister! Er, you ARE a mister, right?"
"Yes, I am."
"Is that red rock yours?"
Shadow seemed puzzled for a moment, before he saw where Derpy was pointing. Was that...?
"The Chaos Emerald?" whispered Shadow, picking up the red jewel. Much to his disappointment, nothing happened, save for the feeling of becoming stronger.
Derpy looked even more bemused than usual. "Uh... I'm pretty sure that's a ruby, not an emerald. Then again, I've been hit in the head a lot, so that could be a sapphire for all I know," she said.
"All right, I've dawdled long enough. I need to get outta here before-"
"Don't move, freak!"
Shadow turned around to find that two of the soldiers, who he now suspected were actually Royal Guardsponies, were standing there, swords drawn, and in the case of the Unicorn, horn glowing.
"You're coming with us," said the Unicorn.
Shadow smirked. "Come and get me," he said, his hand clasped tight on the Chaos Emerald behind his back.
With a glance at each other, the two Royal Guardsponies charged at Shadow, who simply smirked and said, "CHAOS CONTROL!"
The red emerald in his hand cast a bright light at these words. Only this time, instead of freezing time, Shadow felt an inexplicable pull onwards to who-knew-where, before coming to an abrupt halt on an intersection a good five or six block away. With his enhanced hearing and eyesight, Shadow could see the Guards back at the building, and from the sound of it, they were confused as to what had just happened, almost as much as Shadow himself was.
I don't get it... before, Chaos Control froze time, now it teleported me? I thought it'd be easy to be the Ultimate Life Form- thought Shadow before another voice in his mind spoke up.
What part of "easy" applies to me exactly, Jack?
Shadow gave an audible gasp, before he looked around and found no one.
Don't bother, Jack. I'm not there... now, we should probably get moving. We wouldn't want to get ourselves arrested on suspicion of war crimes, now would we?
Who are you? Answer me! demanded Shadow.
Now is not the time. We've got company.
Shadow turned and looked behind him. Sure enough, there was another group of Royal Guardsponies heading for him. But, the one leading them seemed different from the rest. He wore purple armor with golden highlights, complete with matching gauntlets, helmet with blue horsehairs,and boots. The upper parts of the arms of his armor were black, but were gold and purple from the elbows down. On this stallion's belt was an elegant ceremonial sword, and on the chest of his armor was an emblem of a purple shield with a magenta starburst in the center.
Shadow immediately recognized who this stallion was. Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. And if he was right about when he was in Equestria, then he was also the unwitting fiancè of "Princess Mi Amorè Cadenza."
"So, you must be the giant porcupine who's been giving my ponies the slip all morning," said Shining, his hand wandering towards his sword.
"Hedgehog, actually. But, everyone makes that mistake," said Shadow casually.
"Is that so? Well, then, hedgehog. I'm going to have to either take you in or take you down. The choice of which one is entirely up to you," said Shining Armor, drawing his sword as he spoke.
"Because of that threat I've apparently made against Canterlot, right?" asked Shadow.
“How do you know about the threat?” asked Shining as he slowly circled Shadow.
“Look, I don’t have time for this, okay? Your wedding is going to be a sham. Bad things are a knockin’ Shining Armor...”
“What do you mean, my wedding’s going to be a sham? You better start talking before I have to take you down,” said Shining Armor, pointing his sword directly at Shadow’s chest.
“Well, sorry, Shiny, but I’m not squealin’. Besides, would you REALLY believe what I have to say? I don’t think you would,” said Shadow.
“Then, you leave me no choice.”
And with that, Shining Armor charged at Shadow, who got out of the way of the Captain’s first swing. At this Shadow tried to counter but soon found the Captain was much faster than him with a knee aiming right for his gut followed by his other fist decking him in the face. Shadow tried to stand up but he still got his ass kicked. He only got lucky once when he kicked the sword out of Shining’s hand…. looking back he REALLY should’ve let Shining keep it since it was giving him a slight edge in the fight. Finally Shining ended with bringing Shadow’s head directly towards his knee causing his nose to bleed since it was slightly busted.
“What a waste,” said Shining said as Shadow laid upon the ground. “Take him to the dungeons. I’ll stop by a little later to interrogate him and see what he knows about the threat. Something tells me he knows who’s behind it. Oh, and be sure to patch him up.”
As Royal Guards gathered around Shadow and picked him up by his arms, the black hedgehog passed out.
Interrogations and Introductions
Shadow groaned as he began to wake up to the clinking and clanking of heavy metal chains and the smell of a barnyard. As he slowly opened his eyes, Shadow found that he was in a dungeon cell of some type and that his Chaos Emerald and his equipment were gone.
The same voice from earlier returned, chuckling in Shadow's mind. Pathetic, Jack. Getting knocked out cold from a knee to the face and chucked into a dungeon. You're not even good enough to be my fake, much less the inheritor of my body and power... but, one day, you will be, it said.
Shadow frowned at the voice's statements as he sat up on the cot he was on. Something about the way it spoke seemed... familiar, yet unfamiliar at the same time. No way out of it this time. Who the hell are you, and what are you doing in my head?demanded Shadow.
The voice laughed. I should've known you'd be this dense. I mean, who falls for something as bogus as guns, knives, a gemstone, and a fully operational motorcycle for just under $2,000? I mean, the bike itself has to be worth at least SEVEN times that!
Not answering my question!snarled Shadow within his mind.
Very well, then... my name is Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog. As in, the one whose body you're in control of,explained Shadow.
Shadow's, or rather, Jack's, mind was reeling from this revelation. He was sharing the body of a living weapon with the "perfect and pure" mind it had already belonged to in the first place?
Now, then, I'm sure you must have some questions as to how in the hell you took control of my body away from my mind, Shadow's voice said.
Well, yeah! People don't just hijack a fictional character's body every day! Jack's mind yelled.
Oh, actually, it happens far more often than you realize. And it's all thanks to an entity known as the Void. He loves to cause mischief and mayhem among the various Equestrias of the multiverse. To him, everyone and everything are mere toys, and the Equestrias of the multiverse are his playsets, said Shadow's mind.
Oh, well ain’t that fan-freaking-tastic, said Jack's mind as his shared body glared at a wall before looking around the cell. Now care to explain HOW the hell am I gonna to escape this place?
Your options are very limited without that Chaos Emerald. Otherwise it'd be a simple matter of using Chaos Control to warp out of here, said Shadow's mind. I suggest waiting until the guards show up to bring you food. Then you can overpower them and fight your way out of here, grab your equipment and the Chaos Emerald, then get the hell out of here.
And then I get to live the eternal life of an outlaw with the Ultimate Life Form as my imaginary friend. Yippee-skippy, said Jack's mind.
Before Shadow's mind could retort, the lock on the cell door began to open. Here they come. Get ready.
However, when the door swung open, instead of a single Guard Pony entering the cell, four of them entered, unlocked Shadow's chains, and grabbed his arms before the hedgehog could do much of anything. The Royal Guardsponies then proceeded to escort Shadow past several other cells, the chatter from which filled the corridor.
"You foolish little ponies sleep tight, because you'll never know when the Pegasus Device will reawaken, hungry again."
"Anchovy pizza! Something, something Italian sounding!"
"BEARS!"
"IT WASN'T ME! I SWEAR I'M INNOCENT! IT WAS THE ONE-ARMED MAN!"
"Dude, what's a 'man?'"
"...I have no idea."
"Oh, Celestia, why can't I free your doubtful mind, and melt your cold, cold heart?"
As Shadow was led past these various cells, he began to wonder where the Guards were taking him to. It wasn't long, however, before he got his answer: the interrogation room.
"If anyone so much as THINKS about trying to waterboard me, then I give you my word that there will be bloodshed and broken bones," warned Shadow.
"Shut up and get in there!" snapped one of the guards as he opened the door and gave Shadow a rough shove into the room.
As the door shut behind him, Shadow took a moment to look about the room. It looked pretty much like your standard interrogation room: small with dim lighting and reflective side of a one-way window facing the door, and a table with two chairs on each side.
Shadow's unamused frown deepened when he saw who was sitting in one of the chairs: Shining Armor. To top it off, his guns, knives, ammo, Chaos Emerald, and a small device that reminded him of the Sega Game Gear were on the table, most likely as evidence against him.
"Welcome," said Shining Armor. "Have a seat."
Not really seeing any other option, Shadow took the seat adjacent to Shining.
“I know what you’re going to try and do.”
“Really now?”
“Good cop-bad cop routine. You act nice and polite while I-” whatever Shadow was about to say next was silenced as a Guard beside him slammed his head into the table.
“Whoops. Sorry about that. Hand slipped,” said the female voice of what had to be another Royal Guard... but the guard sounded like…. no, that wasn’t right because she was an Element of Harmony.
“What the... Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow Dash frowned. "Okay, pal, start talking. How do you know my name?" she demanded, grabbing Shadow by the coat.
"If I tell you, will you explain why you're a member of the Royal Guard and not a Wonderbolt uber fangirl? Er, fan filly? Fan mare?" asked Shadow.
Rainbow growled a bit. "Why would I ever want to be associated with Spitfire's circus clowns?" she snarled. "I was born to be a fighter. A soldier, loyal to Princesses Celestia and Luna to the bitter end. Not some tight-wearing stage performer!"
"Lieutenant! This is an interrogation, so I suggest you do less hating the Wonderbolts, and more playing the bad cop," said Shining Armor.
"He started it!"
"Rainbow, that's an order!"
Rainbow glared into Shadow's crimson eyes for a moment, before letting him go with a shove.
"Sorry about her. She's been in a bad mood ever since two days ago. We have a threat against Canterlot. But, then again you already know that don’t you? Why don’t you tell us EXACTLY what’s going on with that and maybe she’ll calm down.”
"Shining, I already told you, I'm not talking. Besides, if I did tell you what's going on, you wouldn't believe me anyway," said Shadow, an annoyed look on his face. Rainbow slammed her elbow into Shadow's hand in response, causing the black hedgehog to hiss through gritted teeth. "Yeah, that doesn't really hurt that bad since you already slammed my head into the table," he told the pegasus
"I'll keep that in mind," growled Rainbow.
Shining Armor took no interest in Rainbow's remark. "And WHY wouldn't I believe you?" he asked Shadow.
"Didn't I tell you? Your wedding is going to be a sham, and will damn near bring about the destruction of Canterlot. Tell me, has the bride been acting a little differently lately?" asked Shadow.
Shining Armor frowned. "What does that have to do with..." he began to say, before it clicked. "Are you seriously implying that Princess Mi Amorè Cadenza... my own fiance, who I've known and been in love with since high school... is the one behind the threat against Canterlot?"
"Either that, or she's one hell of a bridezilla," said Shadow.
At that remark, Shining Armor cast a glance at Rainbow, who merely shrugged. Neither of them had a clue what the black hedgehog just said. But, Shining knew one thing. His darling soon-to-be wife just COULDN'T be the one behind the threat... she loved him too much to want to do something like that, to even think about harming even a fly.
"You're right... I don't believe a word you just said... Cadence would never dream of bringing Canterlot to ruin," Shining Armor finally said. "That's why, until you help us catch whoever is truly responsible for this threat, I'm keeping a close eye on you. It will be up to you to help me, Cadence, and our party planner make decisions for the wedding decorations, the music, you get the idea. During the wedding, which I'm willing to bet is when the culprit will strike, I'll need you to attend the wedding and help me protect Celestia and the wedding guests at all costs. Is that understood?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever... I assume I can have my equipment back?"
"Of course. But, I gotta say, that gem of yours is really something. When the Royal Scientist ran tests on it, it made their equipment come to life... so, we figured we'd better give it back to somepony who knew how to actually USE that thing," said Shining Armor, while Rainbow nodded.
"Yeah, well, that's what Chaos Energy does to electronics; it makes them go crazy," said Shadow as he stood up and collected his equipment.
Before Shining Armor or Rainbow Dash could reply, another Royal Guard knocked on the door and entered. "Uh, Captain, Lieutenant, there's a group of ponies and a dragon at the front gates. They say they've come from Ponyville to help with the wedding," he said.
Rainbow's face broke into a grin. "That must be Twilight and the others!" she said.
Shining smiled. It had been far too long since he'd seen his LSBFF. "Well, what are we standing around here for? Let's go and see them," he said.
And with that, Rainbow and the Guard left. Shining Armor made to follow, but paused in the doorway, having remembered something. "Forgive me, but I don't think I ever asked you for your name," he said.
"My name is Ja-Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog," said Shadow.
"Well, Shadow, let's get going. My little sister's gonna get a kick out of you, as I'm highly certain there aren't any other gun-toting black and red hedgehogs in Equestria... or anywhere else on Equis, for that matter," said Shining before he walked away.
As Shadow followed behind Shining Armor, the mind to which the body originally belonged to chuckled. Well, this should be interesting, it said.
You got that right, Shadow. If Rainbow's a Lieutenant in the Royal Guard here... then, I wonder what the other Elements of Harmony are like, replied Jack.
We are about to find out.
...
On the front lawn of Canterlot Castle, a small group of ponies, plus one teenage dragon hidden amongst a mountain of luggage, were waiting to be admitted into the castle. The ponies, all five of which were mares, consisted of two Unicorns, two Earth Ponies, and a Pegasus. One of the Unicorns was a lovely shade of lavender and had a dark blue mane and tail, both of which had a magenta stripe through them, and wore a dark purple shirt with a magenta starburst on the front, black pants, and purple and pink sneakers. This was Twilight Sparkle, and she was the younger sister of Shining Armor, and a very gifted and powerful Unicorn sorceress.
The second Unicorn was chalk white with a curly purple mane and tail wearing a white t-shirt,designer jeans, and black and white sneakers. This was Rarity Belle, and she was the fashionista in charge of designing the outfits to be worn during the wedding.
One of the Earth Ponies was orange with a blonde mane, which was tied back in a ponytail, and wore a brown stetson hat, a white t-shirt underneath a green short-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and brown cowboy boots. This was Applejack, and she was in charge of the catering for the wedding reception.
The second Earth Pony was a bright and bubbly shade of pink, from her fur to her bushy mane and tail. She wore a white t-shirt with a heart on it underneath a light blue t-shirt, a pink skirt, with three balloons on it, and blue heels with little pink ribbons on them. This was Pinkamena "Pinkie" Pie, and she was in charge of the wedding reception decorations.
The pegasus was a cream yellow and had a light pink mane and tail, and wore a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and sandals. This was Fluttershy, and she and her songbirds were in charge of providing the music for the wedding reception.
The dragon, Spike, had purple scales, small dark purple wings, and green spines, and wore a green t-shirt underneath a purple hoodie, blue jeans, and purple and green sneakers.
“Hey girls what’s up?!” A voice yelled as Rainbow came flying down still dressed in her guard attire.
“Wow, Rainbow. The Guard must be busy if yer our welcoming party,” said Applejack with a grin as she and Dash hugged each other... only to be interrupted by a gasp.
“A PARTY?! WHY DIDN’T ANYPONY SAY SO! I WOULD’VE BROUGHT MY PARTY CANNON!” screamed Pinkie at the top of her lungs.
Rainbow chuckled and shook her head. "Some things never change... but, you're right, AJ, the Guard is really busy, and it's not just because of the big wedding, at which I get to do my Sonic Rainboom, by the way. We've got other prob-"
"I'll take it from here, Lieutenant."
The seven gathered creatures turned to find Shining Armor strolling up to them, and with him was... an unidentified black and red creature with quills on the back of its head. Not only that, but the creature appeared to be wearing an outfit that wouldn't look out of place on a mercenary, complete with gun belt and other bits of weaponry.
"It's good to see you, Twilight!" said Shining Armor, opening his arms wide for a hug.
What Twilight did instead was walk up to her brother and glare at him. "First off, how DARE you not tell me in pony that you were getting married, and to somepony I've never even met I might add!" she said, poking Shining Armor in the chestplate of his armor. "And secondly, who, and if you don't mind me saying, what, is the mercenary?"
"What? Mercenary?" asked Shining Armor, looking confused for a moment before he realized that Twilight was talking about Shadow. "Oh! You mean this guy. Everyone, this is Shadow the Hedgehog. He'll be helping out with the wedding until the threat has passed."
"Threat? Why, Shining Armor, whatever do you mean?" asked Rarity, a classy elegance in her voice.
"A threat's been made against Canterlot. That's why all the Guard is busy except for me and Shining Armor, and nopony knows who's behind it. That's why we've got Shadow here helping out," explained Rainbow.
"Ah may be just stating the obvious, but did it by any chance cross yer minds that that there Shadow character might just be the varmint behind this threat?" asked Applejack.
"That's the other reason I'm helping out with this wedding; to prove my innocence," said Shadow.
"Well, be that as it may, I simply refuse to allow you to go anywhere near the throne room dressed like that. This is a wedding of storybook proportions, not a war zone," said Rarity, causing Shadow to smirk a little. "I simply insist that you follow me, so that I may take your measurements for a more appropriate wardrobe for the occasion."
Shadow hesitated a moment, looking at Shining Armor, who nodded. "Well, that depends," he finally said.
Rarity raised an eyebrow. "On what?"
"Does it come in black?"
Rarity smiled. "Very well, then, if you will follow me."
A Minor Scuffle
"What in the wide, wide, world of Equestria were you doing in such a..." asked Rarity as she worked on Shadow's suit, which consisted of black dress pants with a black leather belt, a black tailcoat, a white dress shirt, a crimson bow tie, and black dress shoes, pausing as she tried to find the right word. "...combative outfit on such an elegant occasion as this? I mean, are all those weapons really necessary? It's not like we're at war.”
"Well, I didn't have time to get into a tux before Shining Armor kicked my ass," replied Shadow.
Which SHOULDN'T have happened! said Shadow's mind.
Oh, shut up! retorted Jack's mind, before he continued speaking as Shadow. "And as for the weapons, I have a funny feeling that I'm going to be needing them before the engaged couple are declared stallion and mare."
"You really should work on your manners, you know. Language like that most certainly will not impress any of the ladies at the wedding," said Rarity as she finished up with Shadow's bow tie.
"And I would care what those stuck-up rich ponies would say because...?" asked Shadow.
Rarity gasped in shock. "'Stuck-up rich ponies?’ I'll have you know, sir, that I have many Carousel Boutiques all over Equestria, and my largest store and corporate headquarters in Ponyville rakes in over 17,000 bits a day, so don't you go referring to ponies like me as 'stuck-up!'" snapped Rarity.
"Whoa, sounds like I just hit a nerve big time," said Shadow with a smirk.
"I'll say. I could hear you two screaming all the way down in the throne room, and that makes supervising the decoré exceedingly difficult."
Shadow and Rarity looked towards the doorway to find a pink alicorn princess wearing a maroon dress, high heels, and a small golden tiara on her head.
“And… what are you, exactly? A giant porcupine?” the pink princess asked.
Shadow sighed and smacked his forehead in frustration. “Okay, that is getting really old, really fast. I’m a hedgehog, and my name is Shadow. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Chys-” said Shadow before he gave a false cough. “Sorry about that, milady. As I was saying, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” Shadow finished, giving a low bow.
Mi Amore Cadenza stared at Shadow for quite some time. “Yeah, sure, nice to meet you too, Slade, now run along and do hedgehogy things. I need to get ready for my fitting,” she said.
“As you wish, my qu-er, my princess,” said Shadow, before he climbed off of the platform and left the room, Mi Amore Cadenza watching him go with every stride.
Although the Princess’s face showed no emotion, her mind was racing. That black rat knows something about my plan… maybe this won’t be as easy as I thought… then again, I truly wished I didn’t have to do this in the first place… but, what choice do I have? Besides, the big machine can’t be stopped, as the wheels have already started to turn, thought Cadenza as a pang of guilt ran through her.
“Princess? Are you ready to begin?” asked Rarity.
“Whuh? Oh, um, yes.”
…
Later that night, Shadow, clad in his usual outfit once again, managed to sneak back up to Cadence’s room and found her not there at all. Smirking, he searched all over the castle and the city as he tried to find her, having a quite a few near misses with both the Lunar and Solar Guard.
Shadow’s search would eventually prove fruitful as he caught sight of a heavily cloaked pony ducking out of an alleyway and rushing to where he’d bet his spiky hair was the Crystal Mines.
All right, Chrysalis. Time for you and me to have a little chat about the finer points of foreign policy, thought Shadow as he began to follow her into the mines, trying to avoid the eerie green glow coming from the cloaked ponies horn as it bounced off the crystalline walls, while making sure he had a close eye on it. Thankfully, he didn’t actually need to use the light in order to see where he was going, as since he was the Ultimate Life Form, he had amazing night vision.
After many twists, turns, ups, downs, and several close shaves, the hooded figure reached its destination, and right in front of her was a very battered, weak, and tired-looking Princess Cadence… the real one.
“I brought you your dinner, Princess,” said the hooded figure in a raspy, insect-like voice as she tossed a couple of fresh apples down at Cadence’s feet.
Cadence scowled up at the hooded figure. “How do I know they’re not poisoned?” she asked her captor.
“Oh, Cadence, what could I accomplish by killing you?” Chrysalis asked.
Shadow, from his hiding spot, rolled his eyes. It was almost like Chrysalis was begging to become the newest member of the Equestrian Branch of the Stupid Villains Club. He pushed the thought from his mind as he continued to listen to the Queen of the Changelings.
“I just stopped by to give you some food. Oh, and I wanted to tell you that MY wedding is going just be picture-perfect. In two days time, your beloved fiance will be my husband, and we shall rule over the Changeling Empire and drain every last pony of their love. Oh, and we’ll have two crossbreed children, the eldest of which will ascend to my throne.”
“You won’t get away with this. Someone will find out about your plan and put an end to it,” spat Cadence.
Chrysalis frowned under her hood. Ever since that black-and-crimson creature showed up, she’d been worried about the same thing. But, he didn’t matter now. All that truly mattered was that her changelings survived, and she would ensure that they did, by any means necessary.
“Oh, please. Who could possibly figure out my plan?”
Sick of listening in on this monster, Shadow emerged from his hiding place.“Well, I certainly did,” he said, his hand wandering towards his pistol.
"So the rat shows himself," growled the Changeling Queen.
"Not a rat. I'm a hedgehog, you insect," retorted Shadow but before he could react the Changeling grabbed him in her magic and threw him into a giant crystal, shattering it.
“Oh, really? For all your big talk, you really are quite the pushover,” snarled Chrysalis, her horn glowing faintly as she stepped over the bits of crystal.
Come on, get up! You have a gun, use it! It should be no problem for a crack shot like you… just think of Chrysalis as just another buck to bag on a hunting trip with your father, said Shadow.
Wha- how do you know about about my father-son hunting trips? asked Jack.
I’m inside your head, remember? I can access your memories, and you can access mine, replied Shadow.
“You know, now that I think about it, it’s really no surprise that Shining Armor was able to beat you. You’ve got no skill. You’ve got no talent. And you have no chance of stopping me,” said Chrysalis.
“Well, then…” said Shadow, pulling himself up to his hands and knees while reaching for one of his pistols. “Let’s how you deal with this!”
On that last word Shadow turned himself around and tried to shoot Chrysalis. However, before he could get a shot off, Chrysalis used a beam from her horn to knock the weapon out of his hand.
‘You really are terrible at fighting aren’t you?’ Shadow asked Jack.
‘Oh shut up.’
“What’s the matter? No gun?” snarled Chrysalis. “Pity… this is really going to hurt.”
“TWO GUNS, BITCH!” snarled Shadow, pulling out his second pistol, only to get hit in the chest by a beam of magic from Chrysalis.
“You really are slower than I expected.” Chrysalis said as she picked Shadow up and tossed him into a crystal hard enough to crack it… and all of a sudden rings just popped out of his body. “What in the-”
“Yeah don’t ask. I don’t know either.” Shadow said as he pulled himself out of the crater.
Chrysalis then kicked Shadow in the face, causing him to fall back into the crater, unconscious. “To think, I almost considered you a threat to my plans to take over this land,” Chrysalis muttered to herself before returning her attention to a stunned Princess Cadence. “In any case, perhaps this will serve as a lesson on why you’ll be staying put down here until after the wedding, after which you’ll be disposed of. Good night, Cadence.”
And with that, the Changeling Queen turned on her heel and left the caves, leaving the battered hedgehog and princess behind her.
…
The following morning, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza stretched as she climbed out of bed. Last night had been interesting in so many ways… it was almost a shame that it was nothing more than a trick to ensure the wellbeing of her kind. However, one needs to crack a few eggs to make an omelette.
“Speaking of... breakfast sounds good about now.” Mi Amore said to herself as she headed downstairs to the Dining Hall, where she heard the others talking and laughing together. Once she reached the door, she flung it open. “Hello every-” she started to say, but stopped short once she saw who was at the table.
“Ah, so the sleepyhead finally wakes up,” said Shadow, munching on a plate of pancakes while Mi Amore Cadenza stared at him with a stunned kind of look on her face, like she was seeing a ghost or something.
Wha… How’d he get out of those caves?! They’re nothing short of a maze! Cadenza thought to herself, and for a moment, she was worried that her plan had officially hit the fan and that the real Cadence was here somewhere, waiting to expose her for what she truly was.
“Honey? Are you okay?” asked Shining Armor, noticing the horrified look on his fiance’s face.
Regaining her composure, Mi Amore cleared her throat. “Y-yes, dear, I’m fine. Just not used to seeing a giant hedgehog sitting at the table is all,” she said, giving a nervous smile.
“Oh. Well, then come and sit down,” said Shining Armor with a smile while Shadow rolled his eyes. Cadence sat down beside Shining but was still sweating a bit as Shadow kept sitting at the table.
“S-so…. someone mind telling me what the hedgehog is doing here?”
“Well, Shining Armor invited me down for breakfast so that way he could keep a better eye on me, and also so we could discuss the security details for your wedding, what with this threat to Canterlot and all,” explained Shadow.
“O-oh… is that so? I was under the impression that my fiance's shield spell would keep out anyone who had ill intentions against Equestria,” said Mi Amore with a skeptic look at Shadow. Or, at least, as much of one as she could muster under the circumstances.
“So did I,” said Shining Armor. “But, Shadow here seems to be under the impression that the enemy may actually already be in Canterlot, waiting for the opportunity to carry out their plot.”
“And what makes him say that?”
“Call it… intuition,” Shadow said, a smirk on his face. “Now, then, where is Twilight and her crew of merry mares?”
“They should be coming here soon,” said Shining as he looked outside. “Rainbow’s a bit…. obsessive about being on time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it started back when she was still just a recruit in the military. One time, Rainbow overslept and was over two hours late to her training station. After she got her ass chewed out by her CO, she found herself enduring some… cruel and unusual punishment.”
“And that would be…?” asked Shadow.
“Take off her clothes and do sit ups until told otherwise... she kept at it until night fall.”
“Holy hell.”
At that moment, Rainbow, Twilight, Applejack,, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, and Pinkie entered the breakfast room.
“Whew, made it just in time,” said Rainbow, checking her watch.
“Good. With everypony here we can start talking about plans for the wedding,” said Shining Armor.
As the ponies, dragon, and hedgehog talked about what the plan was for the wedding rehearsal later that afternoon, Mi Amore kept casting looks at Shadow, and Shadow did the same to her. Both of them knew that the other was a major threat that needed to be dealt with if either her plan or Equestria’s peace was to make it through this wedding in one piece.
I’ll have to snag him while he’s sleeping. That way, he won’t be able to stop my plans and ruin my kind’s hopes of survival, Mi Amore thought to herself.
Knowing Chrysalis, she’s probably planning to attack you in your sleep when you can’t fight back. Lucky for us, we only need to sleep one day out of the entire year. So, while everyone else is sleeping, we can work on those terrible combat skills of yours, Shadow told Jack.
Sounds good to me, was Jack’s reply.
In the end, both Mi Amore and Shadow knew that when the wedding bells started to ring, there were going to be some fireworks… and only one of them would be left standing.