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." Next Chapter: A Minor Scuffle Estimated time remaining: 10 Minutes