The Ultimate Lifeform In Equestria

Chapters

Arrival
Q&A
The Everfree Forest
Five New Faces
Rhyme Time

Arrival

Shadow stood inside the space colony ARK, looking out to the stars. Dr. Gerald Robotnik, Maria, and Shadow were all in a picture he clutched in his hand, his family. With a quiet sigh he looked at the picture as he finalized in his head what he was about to do.

"Goodbye forever....Shadow the hedgehog." he said as he turned and tossed the photo, putting everything behind him as he went toward the transporter to head back to Earth. Once in however he realized something was off, it was sparking, it never sparks.

"What the?!" He exclaimed as he was engulfed in a bright light and whisked away to somewhere.

Twilight looked at Nightmare Moon with renewed vigor, "You think you can destroy the elements so easily? Well you can't, for the spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!" she proclaimed as 5 other ponies arrived and stood near the lavender colored unicorn.

"Wh-what?!" Nightmare Moon gasped as the shards began to float and gather.

"Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. Represent Honesty, Kindness, Generosity, Laughter, and Loyalty." Twilight said as the shards encircled each of the five distinct mares.

"These five ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us!" Twilight said triumphantly. Nightmare Moon was taken aback, knowing this looked bad she quickly thought of a way to reassure herself of her victory.

"You still don't have the sixth element. The spark didn't work!" The black alicorn stated, feeling more confident.

"But it did." she said as she turned to the others. "If it wasn't for you girls, we wouldn't even have gotten this far, I wouldn't have gotten this far." She smiled happily "When I heard your voices calling to me I could feel this rush of magic well up inside me. This spark I felt was ignited within me when I realized you girls are all my friends!" She proclaimed with gusto.

"You see nightmare moon, when this spark ignites in all our hearts it creates the sixth element. The element of Magic!" the six mares were engulfed in a bright light, each gaining a necklace with a gem in the shape of their cutie mark on it. Save for Twilight, as she was given a crown. They bodies began to float as pure magic seeped out of them, creating a rainbow that engulfed nightmare moon in a torrent of bright colors.

"No!" Nightmare screamed as she was finally defeated. The room soon dimmed as the light show ended, the girls all on the floor and slowly picking themselves up. They soon realized they had the elements around their necks, each one ecstatic about it.

"Gee Twilight, I thought you were just spouting a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship" Applejack said

"indeed you do." a regal voice said as Princess Celestia arrived along with the sunrise of the new day. The five ponies bowed to her as Twilight ran up to her.

"Princess Celestia!" she exclaimed happily as she went up to her mentor and they exchanged a small hug

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student" Celestia said with pride. "I knew you could do it"

"But you told me it was all an Old Pony Tale." Twilight said confused.

"I told you that you needed to make some friends, nothing more" she clarified "I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return, and I knew you had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it unless you let true friendship into your heart"

"That makes a lot of sense when you think about it." Twilight said, smiling happily.

The girls all looked at each other with smiles. "Now if only another will as well" Celestia said as she approached a pile of armor where a blue alicorn was. "Princess Luna" at the mention of her name Luna gasped and tried to make herself as small as possible as Celestia knelt down beside her. "It has been a thousand years since I've last seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together little sister."

"Sister?" the six mares each asked in shock at this revelation.

"Will you accept my friendship?" Celestia asked as she stood up. The girls all watching with held breath, hoping she would accept the offer of friendship and patch things up with her sister.

Luna thought for a moment before jumping up and nuzzling her sister as she cried in joy. "I'm so sorry. I missed you so much big sister"

Celestia with tears in her eyes could only smile, "I missed you too."

Pinkie began to cry before snapping back to her happy self "hey you know what this calls fo-huh?" Pinkie said, noticing something a few feet away. Twilight and the others turned and felt their eyes widen as they gazed upon a creature they had never seen before. It was wearing gloves and strange footwear. it was black and crimson and seemed to be unconscious.

"What in tarnation is that thing?" Applejack asked.

"I have no idea, but we're going to find out" Twilight said. Celestia looked to her student with concern.

"Twilight, are you certain?" she asked, not really sure why Twilight would even consider taking something potentially dangerous back with her. Yet she had confidence in her student, awaiting her answer.

"Well it wasn't here before, so I'd like to find out what this thing is and why it's here" she said, her mind displaying that deadly curiosity of hers. Celestia nodded in understanding.

"Very well, then I will assist you in getting it back to your library." she said as she used her magic to gently lift the figure, making sure not to jostle it around.

"My library?" she asked curious as to what she meant by that.

"Of course, that's where you'll be staying while you discover all you can about friendship" Celestia said. Twilight began to jump around happily, feeling ecstatic that she was going to stay in ponyville with her friends. Once that was taken care of Celestia left with them all, returning to Ponyville where she set Shadow on the couch of the library before Pinkie began setting up a celebratory party for all that had transpired.

A few hours later Twilight returned home, exhausted from partying. "Whoo, that was some party. It's good to be home though" she said

"Wonderful" a voice said from behind her, masculine and quite chilling since she never heard a voice like it before. "Then perhaps you'd be the right one to ask where I am?" Twilight turned, shaking a bit, her gaze meeting the intense firey ruby gaze of the very creature that was put on her couch. he was awake, and he didn't look happy.

Q&A

Twilight heard him alright, she could see him clearly enough thanks to the moonlight bleeding in from the window. Her mind just wasn't in the mood to process it, whatever he was he could speak her language and she could tell this was a delicate situation based on how serious he looked. One slip up and she might be on the receiving end of this creature's wrath.

His eyes narrowed as he got more impatient, never once did his gaze break away from the lavender mare in front of him. Why on earth was it lavender? Why could it talk? What was with the horn? So many questions in his head that he shoved to the side, leaving the all important question of, "Where am I?"

"E-E-Equestria." Twilight managed to get out of her drying throat. "Ponyville...to be exact." His gaze never faultered as the words sunk in.

"You mean to tell me, that there's more equines?" He asked for clarity. The lavender mare simply nodded, taking a shaky breath.

"Yes, this world has various dominant species. Griffons, Dragons, and most especially Ponies." Twilight said, sweat trickling down her forehead from how unnerved she was. The creature sighed before standing up, about the same height as her, maybe an inch taller from the top of her head.

"So he's bipedal, and he has hands like a Minotaur. Five digits, stands to reason if he's this intelligent then he must have opposable thumbs. Twilight thought as she observed him. Her violet eyes scanning every inch of him, trying to figure out what he was.

"So what's with the horn?" He asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. This action being something he always did, a habit he formed. He couldn't remember how it started, he just knew he'd been doing it for as long as he could remember.

Twilight looked up to him his gaze still intimidating, yet softer than before. "I'm a unicorn, a pony that specializes in magic." She managed a smile however small it was.

He closed his eyes, thinking about what he was just told "Magic? How preposterous..." The thought rang loud in his mind. His eyes opened and he looked at the unicorn, "Anything else I should know?"

"Well, there are ponies with wings. They can fly and control the weather. They're called Pegasus ponies." She said, her smile increasing since she was happy to share this info. Not only that, but since this creature wasn't making any attempt on her life she felt slightly more comfortable. Only slightly though. "Earth Ponies don't have wings or horns and they're the masters of agriculture. Then last are the mysterious Alicorns, they have a horn and wings and vast magical energy. They're capable of utilizing all three races powers. They can grow anything, create and control storms, as well as various other things."

He took in this information, feeling it would be helpful in the long run. While it was hard for him to believe most of what she said, he knew nothing of this world so he had to take this unicorn's word for it. "What is your name?" he asked.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle, personal protege to Princess Celestia."

"Is she one of these Alicorns?" he asked, Twilight nodded.

"Yes both her and her younger sister Luna are Alicorns." She answered with a happy look on her face, "So now that you know my name, I'd like to know yours."

He just arched his brow at her, noticing her eyes had a sparkle to them as she waited with bated breath for his answer. "Shadow the Hedgehog." He finally answered. Twilight did her best to not squeal loudly in delight. Not only did she learn his name, but his species too. Her horn lit up as a quill and parchment were levitated in front of her, wrapped in the glow of her horn. Her smile only growing as she prepared to take notes.

"Where do you come from? Are there more like you? How old are you? What does your diet consist of?" and various other question just flowed out of her mouth as she questioned him. Shadow eyes widened slightly. Having not expected such a reaction, or that many questions flying out seemingly at once. It was then Shadow finished an inner debate of his, thanks to the dietary question. He was fully aware equines are herbivores, and since these particular ones were capable of complex emotions, eating meat in front of them wouldn't bode well. Especially around one that had magic, magic he saw her use and knew she could probably do something to him and he wouldn't be able to stop it. He began toward the door during her flurry of questions and opened it before leaving the library and heading through the town at a leisurely pace.

"Hey! Wait up, Shadow!" she called after him before following him outside. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"Somewhere." He said casually as he kept walking. Twilight was even more confused, had she done something wrong?

"If it's about those questions" she began to say before Shadow waved a hand dismissively.

"Don't worry about that, You'll have your answers in due time." he said as he kept walking heading for the forest.

"Wait! That's the Everfree Forest!" she said, as if it were the gate to Hell itself. Shadow stopped and turned to face her, interested in why she was so panicked about it.

"What about it?"

"Dangerous creatures live there, in fact that's where we brought you from when you first arrived." she said, but upon seeing the expression on his face she realized that she said too much.

"All the more reason for me to go there, if that's where I came here then it's how I'll get out." he said walking toward the forest now. More determined than before to go in there and look for a way home.

Twilight got a serious expression before galloping past him before pivoting on her hooves and turning to face him, her expression serious. "You'll die if you go in there. I can't let you endanger yourself."

"I'll take my chances." he said before brushing past her. Something soon felt off, he could tell his muscles were getting the signal to move yet they didn't. It was then he became aware of some force that was restraining him and a soft purple glow that accompanied it. "It'd be wise to let me go." he warned.

"I can't let you get yourself killed." she said stubbornly, refusing to let him leave.

"As if that forest has anything in it that can kill me." he said, finding the whole thing laughable. She was shocked to hear him say that, her jaw hanging open from how arrogant he sounded.

"What are you talking about? The creatures in there have many strange powers!" she said, trying to dissuade him from going. Shadow then did something unexpected, he vanished in a bright flash of light and appeared a distance away in another flash.

"So do I." he said before resuming his walk. Twilight was too awestruck to even say anything to try and stop him. She sighed and hung her head low, giving up trying to stop him as he got farther and farther away.

"Fine be that way." She said in an frustrated tone. "I just hope the next time I see you that you won't be dead." She turned and headed back to her library in a huff. Sleep thankfully came quickly for her as she got into bed, the entire day having been draining. Finally it all caught up to her and she drifted into a deep sleep.

The Everfree Forest

Shadow had been walking for several minutes before reaching the entrance to the Everfree forest. Nearby was a cottage, he could see several animals there asleep, deciding not to bother with it he continued onward. Once in the forest he could literally feel the change in the air from breathing it. It seemed less pleasant that was for sure, but if it held his way home then he wasn't going to let that stop him. Ducking beneath the overgrowth and stepping over undergrowth he trudged onward, going deeper into the forest. It began to get very dark as he continued, the canopy doing a good job of blocking the moonlight above.

He reached behind him, as if a secret compartment was there and was soon holding a green gem that glowed with a brilliant shine. Focusing on it he could see its light grow to help him see where he was going in the dark forest. Unbeknownst to him, several sets of eyes caught that light and began to gather to it, seeing what looked like a potential meal to be the source of the light.

After a few minutes of walking Shadow became aware that he was being followed by something, or a group of something to be exact. His ears twitching as he heard the sounds of what sounded like a whole pack circling him. Oddly enough he could also hear wood as if it was clacking against other pieces of wood. Growling was heard as the creatures came out, having him completely surrounded. Shadow noticed they were like wolves, if they were made by a puppeteer. They were comprised of logs, twigs, and sticks. Glowing yellow eyes constantly watching him as they just observed him, poised to strike.

"Oh please..." He thought before tossing the emerald high into the air. One timber wolf leapt for him only to meet a powerful roundhouse to its jaw, sending it to the ground with a thud. Two more ran in, claws and fangs ready to tear at the potential meal. Shadow jumped up into the air, watching as they ran past where he was standing before rolling into a ball and crashing into both of them, causing them to break apart into many pieces. He did a flip just before landing on his feet and catching the emerald as it came back down.

"Next." Shadow taunted the wolves before they all rushed him at once only to crash into each other as the creature disappeared in a flash. The wolves looked at one another as if asking if any of them saw him. "Up here" Shadow said from a tree branch he was standing on. His right hand glowing and crackling with energy. "Chaos Spear!" he swung his arm and fired his trademark Chaos Spear at the ground by the wolves, kicking up a dust cloud before jumping down and rushing them. Punching and kicking the wooden wolves left and right. The wolves yelped and growled as they were knocked around by him, angry that he was capable of outsmarting them like this.

This anger soon made all their bodies glow as they gathered and formed a gigantic wolf. Shadow was surprised by this, having not expected it. The wolf moved in, its jaw open to swallow him whole. Shadow saw it coming, but wasn't quick enough and was soon in the belly of the beast. The wolf smiled, having triumphed its foe. How dare that creature think it could best one of the apex predators of the forest. It would think with pride, until it felt a burning in its belly, looking down it saw it was glowing red.

"Chaos..." It heard muffled in its belly before something it never expected happened. "Blast!" The red colored intense energy shot out in all directions, blowing the wolf apart and freeing Shadow. The pieces landed all around him, the magic that held them together smoldering off the wood. Shadow began to move forward before a roar rang out and he was blindsided by something. His body struck a tree hard enough to knock a few leaves down. Opening his eyes he saw a lion with a scorpion tail and bat wings. It obviously was there due to hearing the struggle and was going for what it assumed to be weakened prey.

The tail of the creature returned to its side, having used it to hit Shadow. Opening his eyes, he could see just what had hit him. "That wasn't very..." he trailed off before disappearing in a flash, appearing above the Manticore. "Nice!" he finished his earlier statement as he stomped onto its head. The manticore yelped as it fell forward and hit the ground hard. Shadow landed and created distance between them before the beast rose up and aimed its tail at him. Shadow dodged the strike, the tail digging into the ground and getting stuck. He ran up the tail and jumped, delivering a spin kick to its face. He wasn't done, landing in front of the manticore and punching it hard in the stomach. The beast roared in pain before swatting him aside with its paw. Shadow slammed into another tree, closer to its side and rolling off with momentum. Landing with a thud beside the tree.

"Okay...you wanna play rough?" he asked as the manticore began to go toward him, raising its stinger and aiming it for shadow before striking. Shadow shot his arm forward, unleashing a chaos spear that split the creatures tail. The half that held the stinger falling to the ground harmlessly as it howled in pain over the missing tail. "We'll play rough." Shadow said, standing in front of it and punching it in the stomach again before jumping and curling into a ball. The beast felt its teeth snap together as the ball struck its chin, several teeth cracking and breaking from the force of the hit.

The manticore was whimpering and injured, now beginning to regret trying to prey on Shadow. However, it was too late for it to apologize or even run away with what was left of its tail between its legs. Shadow appeared in front of it, placing his hands over its eyes. "Chaos Spear!" he fired two Chaos Spears, both of which exited out of the back of the manticore's skull. The beast made no sound as it collapsed onto the ground, dead. Shadow panted a bit as he looked upon the corpse of the creature. He turned his head and looked at all the wood from the timber wolf. His stomach growled and he smirked. "Looks like I'm camping."

Shadow spent the next few minutes digging a small depression in the ground to make his fire pit. Using the wood of the timber wolves as firewood and using his chaos spear to ignite them. Once that was done he went over to the corpse and focused the energy of the emerald onto his hand to make a blade that extended past his fingers, using said blade to cut off its meaty arm before skinning it and using some of the other pieces of wood to make a spit. Once he skewered the arm with the makeshift spit he then placed it over the fire, cooking the arm.

"I hope all those survivalists weren't joking when they said it tastes like chicken." he said as he patiently waited for his meal to finish cooking. In all honesty, when he took his first bite he could admit that while they were a little off on the flavor it wasn't particularly horrible. Once he finished his meal he picked a spot by the fire and closed his eyes, slowly falling asleep to the ambience of the forest.

Five New Faces

Fluttershy was unable to fall back asleep, having been awoken by loud sounds. It was as if a huge fight was going on between the creatures. Then she heard something that made her heart drop, the pain filled cries of a manticore that were followed by a silence that could only be described as eerie. She had no idea what was going on, but felt absolutely terrible that there were animals in distress. Yet at the same time she knew how unforgiving everything in that forest was, but that didn't make her feel any better. There was nothing she could do.

"I'm so sorry." She said softly as a tear rolled down her cheek, hoping those animals were okay or at least if they were no longer living that their death was quick. The pain she heard in that cry was absolutely terrible. Yet she knew, nothing could be done, it was just the way nature worked in there. Finally after what seemed like forever Fluttershy could feel sleep finally take her, giving her what little rest it could before morning.

Morning soon came to Equestria. Rays of golden light shining down on the country, and through the windows of its citizens. Twilight awoke with a yawn as the light made its way in and stirred her from her slumber. She got up and stretched her sore muscles, gaining a few pops from her joints as she did so. Heading over to her vanity she looked at her disheveled mane and used her magic to lift her brush and tame her hair. All the while she found herself thinking about Shadow, wondering if he was even still alive. She was jarred from her thoughts by a knock at her door.

"Who could that be?" she wondered in her head. "Coming!" she called out before heading to the door and opening it only to see Fluttershy. Now that wasn't what was surprising, what was surprising was the fact Fluttershy had bags under her eyes and looked absolutely terrible with her unkempt mane and ruffled feathers. She obviously had trouble sleeping last night, would be any person's first thought.

"Fluttershy, what happened to you?" Twilight asked worried.

"Oh it was awful Twilight, I was awoken by the sounds of animals fighting in the Everfree." She said, her voice quieter than normal since the poor thing was so exhausted.

"Don't they do that all the time though?" Twilight asked, not sure why this would cause Fluttershy to lose sleep.

"Yes and normally it doesn't bother me, but this time was different." She said with a sad expression.

"Come on in, you can tell me more."

"Thank you Twilight." She said with the best smile she could muster before walking in and sitting down. Twilight sat across from her after shutting the door.

"Now what was so different?" Twilight asked.

"I heard the most heartbreaking thing, it sounded like a manticore was in severe pain." Fluttershy explained, "I felt so scared and so worried. That only got worse when the sound stopped and nothing, but quiet remained."

Twilight was certainly surprised by this, that would certainly unnerve anybody that heard it. "Not only that, but before that happened I heard a loud booming noise." Fluttershy added.

"How loud?" Twilight asked

"Enough to rattle my house." she said. Twilight was now very shocked at hearing that, her mind immediately going to Shadow and what happened the previous night.

"Could he really have been the cause of that?" Twilight wondered in her mind before looking at Fluttershy and smiling at her. "Don't worry Fluttershy, I'm sure it wasn't anything to worry about." she said before getting an idea. "Let's get the girls and go see what happened."

Fluttershy smiled brightly at that, "I'd like that, thank you Twilight." she said, though she was scared she knew that with the girls by her side she'd be able to go into there. Not only that, but it would put her mind at ease to know what happened.

"I'll go get Rarity, you see if Dash is up and get her to come along" Twilight said before heading off. Fluttershy nodded before flying over to Dash's house.

Rainbow woke up and stretched her muscles, ready to take on the day. She looked at her mane in the mirror and used her hoof to help straighten it a bit, keeping that messy look without it looking horrible. A knock came to her door and she flew down her stairs and answered it, seeing Fluttershy.

"What happened to you?" She asked completely shocked and confused at how she looked.

"Something happened in the Everfree Forest, Twilight is getting Rarity right now and we're going to go investigate what happened." she answered.

"Why?" Dash asked, not understanding at all.

"Because when a loud boom as well as an eerie silence following a manticore's pained screaming occurs one after the other, you get a tad worried." Fluttershy snapped, her lack of sleep making her grumpy. Rainbow was wide eyed, taken aback by that sudden mood swing.

"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"It's okay Fluttershy, I'll go get Applejack and we'll meet you at the Everfree entrance." she said before flying off at high speed toward Sweet Apple Acres.

The six girls were soon all at the entrance to the forest, ready to enter. "I don't know what happened, but if it's got Fluttershy all up in a tiff we have to see what happened." Applejack said.

"Uh oh." Came the now worried sound of Rainbow Dash's voice.

"What's wrong Dashie?" Pinkie asked.

"I see smoke." She said.

"Come on girls, let's hurry." Twilight said knowing that if that forest burned down, well she'd rather not think about it. The six mares all rushed into the forest and soon came upon a peculiar sight once they were deeper into it. Shadow was in front of a campfire and seemed to be hunched over doing something. The girls were curious as to what they were looking at.

"Who is that?" Rainbow asked.

"Shadow?" Twilight asked, all the others confused as to how she knew his name.

Shadow turned when he heard that, the other arm having been cooked and part of it in his mouth "Hm?" he asked, his teeth on the meat and sinking in before tearing a piece off before he began to chew it. The six mares soon felt all the blood leave their faces, Rarity even fainted temporarily from the sight of that.

"W-w-what are you eating?" Twilight managed to stammer out of the silence.

"Breakfast" He said simply before finishing his chewing and swallowing.

"I can see that, but what is it?" she asked.

"That." he deadpanned pointing at the corpse nearby. Fluttershy's eyes widened before she fainted right then and there.

"Dude...what the heck..." Rainbow said, completely sickened and shocked.

"You eat meat?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, and plants too." He said before taking another bite. The stomachs of the ponies churned at the sight.

"You're an omnivore?" she asked. He simply nodded since his mouth was full.

"Did you kill that manticore?" Rainbow asked.

"Is that what it's called?" he asked, looking back at the corpse. "Yes I killed it, I also killed some kind of wooden wolf, surprisingly useful as fire wood"

"You defeated a Timber Wolf?" Applejack asked, surprised.

"Timber Wolves...you can't be serious." he murmured, the name sounding so obvious and yet very silly.

"How did you do all this?" Twilight asked in disbelief.

"I told you nothing in this forest could kill me." he said before moving to take another bite.

"Stop that!" she snapped at him. He looked at all of them before gaining a half lidded expression. A devilish grin forming on his muzzle as his tongue came out and slowly licked the meal in his hands. The girls all felt their stomachs flip from seeing that.

"I'm out." Rainbow said before picking up Fluttershy and flying out of there. The others following her out of disgust for what they just witnessed. Twilight just looked at him before seeing him do it again. She groaned in frustration.

"You're impossible!" she said before leaving to join the others. Shadow just chuckled to himself and resumed his meal.

Rhyme Time

Spike was humming a small tune to himself as he began to dust the shelves. He knew Twilight appreciated coming back to a library that was cleaner, and he was happy to help. He got the ladder used for reaching higher shelves and climbed it. With a smile he began to dust the top shelf since it always had the most dust. He was so focused that even the slightest noise would cause him to topple over. Good thing he wasn't expecting any one to barge through the door at this point and time.

The door to the library suddenly slammed open, "Spike!" Twilight called out as she entered, only to see her assistant and ladder fall to the ground with a huge crash. She rushed over to him and helped him up. "Oh my gosh, Spike, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, though what's with the whole barging in thing?" he asked, "Weren't you going to be gone longer?" he didn't mind she was home, he was just curious about her unexpectedly soon return. Twilight knew that and just sighed.

"I need you to take a letter Spike. It's important." she said.

"Alright." Spike replied before getting a parchment and quill, ready to write. Twilight cleared her throat and began.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I'm writing to you at this hour to inform you about the creature we discovered after saving your sister, Luna. Yes Spike Celestia has a younger sister. No don't write that. What do you mean you already wrote that?! Ugh, nevermind, let's just keep going.

Anyway, about the creature. Well first off it's a male. This is evidenced by how much deeper its voice was, very masculine. Oh yeah, he can talk too. He told me his name was Shadow and that he was a hedgehog. He's no longer here at the library...he left as soon as I let the whole we found you in the Everfree Forest part slip.

This morning the girls and I decided to track him down, we found him a little ways into the Everfree Forest. He actually seemed pretty okay despite how deep he was into the forest. He had a campfire going and was eating something. Upon questioning him we learned he was eating the cooked meat of a Manticore that he himself had killed.

It was...stomach chern chirn churning to say the least. He also claimed to have also bested a fully empowered Timberwolf. I would've been skeptical, but with Fluttershy having informed me of alarming sounds that kept her up at night I'm inclined to believe him. The worst part was when we tried to question him further he began to lick and bite the meat to make us leave. It worked, but at least I was able to learn from him that he is an Omnivore.

I'm sure convincing him to leave the Everfree will be impossible, because he diduce deduse deduced that if that's where he was found then that would be the most likely place to get him back home.

I'll do my best to make sure he doesn't get himself killed. Please write back as soon as you can.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Spike rolled up the letter and breathed fire onto it, sending it straight to the princess herself. "So...Shadow. He's pretty...unique from what I've heard." Spike said, having never met him since he was still asleep during both meetings with him.

"Unique...is an understatement." Twilight said as she sighed, hoping she got a response soon.

Shadow trekked deeper into the forest, many exotic plants filling his vision as he kept walking. Making sure to avoid those that sported vibrant colors, since his knowledge and common sense dictated that bright colors are bad which was usually the case when it came to anything in the exotic department. As he continued through he came across a hut that he could see a Zebra through the window of.

"seems I'm not the only one that decided to make the forest a home of sorts..." he thought as he turned his gaze forward and began to walk, that is until the emerald in his possession began to glow and pulse. Bringing it into his field of vision he noticed it was a calm reaction, meaning another emerald was near. "Seems the other 6 emeralds might be here"

He decided to hold his arm out and use the emerald like a dowsing rod, by pointing it in any direction from where he was standing he would determine where to look for the other emerald based on how much of a reaction he got. Holding it away at arms length seemed to garner the best result when doing this. He took note that the hut was to his right, where he came from was behind him. A great deal of forest growth was to his left and more path was to his front. He held the emerald out in front of him, the reaction seemed to lessen slightly. Turning around he held it out to the path he just took, same reaction. The growth was now to his right and he held it out toward it, and the reaction was almost non-existent. Turning to the hut he held it out and was genuinely surprised, it began to react by glowing and pulsating.

Zecora smiled to herself as she hummed a tune from her home. Brewing a potion for a plant she just found. The plant possessed a pollen that blinded anything that startled it into releasing said pollen. The plant was in a pot she had. Getting it in there was easy, since it was a seed. Growing it and making sure not to set it off was the hard part. From what she observed, loud sounds and sudden rapid movements that happen to touch the plant would set it off. Once the pollen was out the plant would wither and die. She was fortunate it was still full of pollen, for her potion. Now how would she get the pollen out of one of the bulbs? There were three on the thick green stalk, the magenta bulbs would twitch a bit. This was a sign the plant was ripe and ready to release pollen.

Zecora looked at the plant and sighed, she knew the plant would also release pollen naturally. When that was she never knew, but at least it was one bulb at a time. She timed it and it seemed one bulb would rupture every twenty-four hours. She had three chances once it started to naturally pollinate and that was it.

This plant wasn't the only thing she had discovered in her recent travels. Turning her eyes to a nearby shelf she could see a blue gemstone that glowed with otherworldly beauty. She didn't know what it was, but since she found it along with the seed she decided to keep it as a good luck charm. She gathered a small bowl of crushed leaves to add to her potion. The trick to it was adding the crushed bits slowly, otherwise the reaction would be extreme. Slowly she began to add the leaves when something startled her and nearly made her lose focus. It sounded like a small humming sound and a slight rumble. She realized it was the gem she found, it was making that noise and glowing brighter. Why was it doing so?

Deciding to drop it she turned back to adding the leaves, tilting the bowl just as her door slammed open. Causing her to drop the bowl in the pot. The mixture going wild and exploding in a flash of smoke and sound. The plant reacted to this by releasing its pollen. The next thing Zecora knew she could hear a masculine voice displaying agony. Turning to her door she saw a black and red creature clutching its eyes. Above the creature she could see the bright pink pollen and quickly worked to gathering as much as she could.

"What the hell was that?!" Shadow asked in discomfort as he felt his eyes burning in a pain he never could have imagined. It was like someone dipped his eyes in acid and roasted them on an open fire before putting them back into his head.

"It was the bulbing blindness. A price to pay for your rudeness." Zecora responded, having finished gathering the pollen. "Now may I ask who you are? Why have you come into the forest so far?"

Shadow just writhed, releasing grunts and pants as the pain became a dull throb. "I'm Shadow...the hedgehog" he managed to say once he caught his breath. Zecora noticed a green gem next to him on the floor, it looked just like the blue one she had. "I have seen that gem. Tell me, are there more than one of them?"

"Yes...seven in total. That's why I'm here." he said as he tried to stand up, blindly searching for something to support himself on as he got to his feet.

"You have come to claim this stone I have found. Yet you enter my house like that of a hound." she said with a glare.

Shadow began to open his eyes, but as soon as a speck of light and some air touched it the pain hit him like a jolt of electricity. Immediately he clamped his eyes shut. "Gah!" he said as the pain hit him and slowly faded.

"Opening your eyes, is not wise. That plant is your sight's demise."

"What do you mean?"

"In time, your eyesight will be obscured. Fortunately I can have it cured."

"Then do it." Shadow said, impatient and irritated.

"You will find no such help here. For your attitude must disappear. You are quite rude you see. I refuse to treat you with no apology."

Shadow growled in frustration, he really wasn't in the mood for this. "You will give me that cure and that emerald or I won't be held accountable for my actions." he said before Zecora whipped out a staff she used for meditation and swept his feet out from under him. Her staff pinned to his chest to keep him down.

"Respect you will learn. My hospitality you will earn." she said. "These stones I shall take until you learn from your mistake."

Shadow grabbed the staff, only to feel himself get pulled up by it and then swatted out of the home. Zecora then grabbed the green emerald and put it with the blue one. Turning to her door she could see Shadow standing up.

"If you think you can best me, you're wrong. I'm just as aware blind as I am with sight." he said.

"Would you like to prove that in a fight? If you defeat me I will restore your sight." she said as she walked out, still holding her staff.

Shadow wasted no time and headed straight for her, his ears working to find her location. As soon as he was close she jumped back and flicked her staff upwards, cracking Shadow in the chin before prodding him in the stomach. Shadow landed on his feet and slid back a bit. His stomach and chin aching from that. Zecora just smirked, before she took to the offensive. Shadow could hear her and ducked below her swipe. Pulling a fist back and throwing a punch. Zecora spun her staff, a satisfying crack sounding as it collided with his wrist, sending the punch off course. She jumped back to make distance between them.

He heard when she landed, and went for her again. She sidestepped the frontal assault before hitting him in the back of the head. Shadow caught himself with his hands before quickly sweeping his legs in a circle motion. Using his hands to keep himself upright as he did this. Zecora was shocked at how fast he recovered from that and soon felt her own legs get swept out from under her. Shadow quicktly turned to her and with his hand grabbed her throat and pinned her down.

Zecora still had her staff in hoof and quickly flicked it, striking the side of his head. Shadow's grip faltered as he felt the momentum of the staff transfer to his head and cause him to be knocked off of her. She stood and began to attack. Striking Shadow repeatedly, taking out his elbows and knees before striking his back and then his stomach before finally hitting him in an upward strike with all her might. The blow sent Shadow a few feet into the air before he came down like a rock, hitting the ground with a hard thud.

"This fight is done. I have won." She said before looking at Shadow and gasping. Blood was cascading down his face. Sure his lip was bleeding and maybe that little gash in the side of his head, but this blood was coming from his eyes. That was bad. From what she studied victims of the pollen went through three stages. First was an infection that resulted from bacteria that was spread out with the pollen. The second was bleeding from the eyes. The third was total blindness followed by death as the bacteria entered the skull through the ocular nerve.

"This cannot be, he has entered stage two already?" She began to worry, knowing he didn't have long before stage three. At most she estimated he had 36 hours before death.

"Despite your rude demeanor, letting you die would not be keener. I will make a cure ready and your recovery will be steady." she said before dragging him into her hut and managing to get him onto the bed near a window. She got a rag and began to clean up the blood on his face before going to her pot and beginning to brew the cure.

"A lesson you shall learn. These emeralds you shall earn." she said, needing to teach him proper respect. To do that she first had to save his life and go from there.

Hours passed by and just as the moon rose the potion was complete. Zecora approached Shadow, only to see him up, and his eyes open and looking at the moon. For some reason his eyes didn't hurt as much, maybe that was because they were numb and he could barely see.

"You are awake and can see? How many can you see of me?" she asked. Shadow turned to her. A pink ring around his irises and his sclera turning a golden yellow from the infection. Some of the vessels had burst, giving him red splotches in the corners of his eyes.

"Two" he answered, she just arched a brow and gave him this look as if she expected him to say one.

"Drink this and nothing your eyes will ever miss." she said handing him the potion. He took it into his hands before sniffing it and immediately wishing he hadn't. It was putrid, and that smell stuck with you once you smell it once.

"Its scent will not last. Yet its effects last and last." she said. Shadow sighed before downing the potion. It tasted worse than it smelled and immediately he felt the need to vomit. Using his willpower he kept it down and immediately felt a tingle in his eyes before he felt bandages being wrapped around his eyes.

"What are you doing?" he asked

"You must keep them bandaged to avoid further damage." she explained. Shadow let her bandage his eyes before he turned his head to her.

"Why did you save me?"

"No one deserves to die, that is the reason why." she said.

"Thank you" he said. She blinked, unsure if she heard him correctly since it was so out of nowhere.

"It was no trouble, but if you behave your emeralds will double." she said with a smirk.

"You mean you'll give me the emeralds once I'm healed?"

"Yes its true, but I have much to teach you." she replied.

"What's your name?" he asked

"Zecora is my name, brewing potions is my game." She said "Rest you must, for we do not want a morning fuss"

He nodded before laying down and resting his head on the pillow, feeling himself drift to sleep soon afterward.

Celestia yawned after such a long day, going to her room and slipping out of her regalia before noticing the letter on her night stand. Remembering she put that there after receiving it due to how busy she was. Using her magic she levitated it to her face and opened it. Her eyes skimming along the words as she read it.

"Well it seems Shadow is quite the interesting character." she said with a small chuckle. A yawn soon made itself known as her day caught up with her. She rolled it up and set it back on the night stand, deciding to respond to it tomorrow. With grace only known to a princess she began climbing into bed. Pulling the covers over her and resting her head on the pillow before falling into a deep and peaceful sleep.