Chaos in Harmony

by Chet-Manley01

The Multiverse is a complex place. Any amount of interference from one place or another can spell disaster for all the others. But what happens when several dimensions collide and form one? Twilight, Shadow, and their respective gangs are about to find out. Reviews and criticisms are appreciated and welcomed. Note: Story Cancelled.

14. A Mountainous Day

Morning came swiftly to Ponyville that day, as if the sun itself couldn't wait for the coming news. Twilight Sparkle awoke to it as the birds chippered away in the way they usually do on a beautiful summer day. To start it off, she flopped off of her bed and onto the floor. She wasn't sure she'd ever get used to getting out of bed upright.

She decided to go downstairs to the kitchen and what she saw there was somewhat strange. There was Metal Sonic in the kitchen, and it looked like he was reading out of a cookbook. How was that right? She decided to ask him "What are you doing?"

He looked at her as he said "Well ma'am, I told Spike he could sleep in and I could fix breakfast for us, however, I find myself more and more perplexed as I look through this book. Take for instance, this recipe for a daffodil and daisy sandwich. I recall from earlier studies on life forms that ponies have hard times swallowing daisies and daffodils can be poisonous to them."

Twilight looked at him and answered "Well actually, at one point that was the truth, but our species has grown past that, and we can now eat it freely. Look, why don't I help you get a recipe ready so you can cook it, is that alright with you?"

Metal looked at her for a second before saying "Thank you for the kind offer, but I already have some pancake batter whipped up and ready to cook."

Twilight rose her eyebrow as she asked "Wait, let me get this straight, you've had something ready for hours, and you've had it sitting there for a while? Why haven't you cooked anything before now?!"

He replied "Because I was fascinated at the prospect of learning the diet of an alien species. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a breakfast to cook." She just shook her head and let him go about his breakfast preparations.

It wasn't long after that that the others got out of their beds. Spike, as per his usual, requested some diamonds sprinkled into the mixture, the reply to which was a surprised robot asking about what dragons ate. Eventually the mixture was finished and all of them were enjoying a well cooked meal.

Not long before they were finished, a pink blur appeared before their eyes, took one whiff of the pancakes and declared "Mmmm, smells like victory!"

Sonic, who was getting used to the pink ponies apparent randomness by now, said "Hello there miss Pie. What can I do for you?"

She giggled and said "Did you forget already sillies? We have a mondo important big giant super awesome totally expositionary entirely important meeting with the whole town, remember? Everyone else is waiting for you right now."

Twilight looked at the clock in shock. "What? But it's only 8:30, how are we late?"

Twister thought for a second before answering "It's probably just my luck, I'm always late to things even when I'm on time." She looked at him and then snorted, slightly annoyed at his answer, mostly annoyed that she was going to be late to something important. She gathered up her friends and left immediately.

Pinkie wasn't lying when she had said they were all waiting for them. Everypony that hadn't gone missing was there, and so were all of their friends. They went around the side and up to the podium there, all except for Sonic. He took a moment to look at the podium before stepping onto it, but a sudden cry of "Look out!" directed his attention skyward, where a gray blur was headed straight toward him.

He jumped to the side as the blur skidded past him and rolled into the ground. When it finally stopped rolling, it was on its back. It turned out to be a gray pegasus mare with blonde hair. He walked up to her and said "Are you alright? Do you need any help?" It was then that she turned her face to him, and he saw that her eyes were, in fact, skewed. The one on the right pointed at him while the one on the left looked back to where she had fallen from the sky.

She answered him in a high pitched bubbly voice, saying "No no, don't worry about me, I've had worse landings before." She then looked at him in earnest for a moment and then made slight gasp, as if she had had an idea. "Say, you look mighty strange. Tell me, have you seen a mad pony in a blue box and a green tie who calls himself the Doctor?"

Metal went through his databanks, and they showed no record of such a pony. He said "No, that person does not sound familiar to me, miss?"

She then looked saddened for a second before saying "Oh right. Hi, my name's Ditzy Doo. If you see the Doctor, tell him I've been looking for him, would you?" He nodded, and she walked into the crowd. He wondered if her cross eyes were a condition of some kind, but said nothing as he walked up to the podium.

After that little incident, the meeting began without a hitch. The first to go up to the podium was the mayor. After clearing her throat she declared "Citizens of Ponyville, I thank you for coming to this rather short notice emergency meeting. As some or most of you already probably know, this meeting was called by our resident librarian and hero, Twilight Sparkle, to give us details on what transpired all those days ago when we changed into what we are now. So, to fill us in, here she is, Miss Twilight Sparkle. She then made way for the purple unicorn, who stood up to the podium with her legs shaking.

Twilight was beginning to wish she hadn't been fretting away yesterday afternoon and been preparing a speech for the meeting instead, for she now found herself at a loss for words. How would she be able to explain to them that they were on a new world and not have them panic?

It was a question so hard that she'd have had to have thought about it for two days at least to even answer it passibly. Still, there was only one thing she could do. She had to tell them the truth. She couldn't fudge details or flat out lie, these ponies needed to now what the odds were. So, after taking a deep breath, she began speaking.

"Citizens of Ponyville, Id' like to say first good morning to you all. It gives me great joy and comfort to see so many familiar faces around me in this, my new home. However, I bear news of the type that will shock and confuse many, so please bear with me as I tell you of the discoveries that have been made over the past few days by me and my friends." She paused for a moment to gather her thoughts before continuing on.

"Right now, we are in the midst of a brand new world, similar and yet unlike the one we have lived in up till now." There were murmurs spreading through the crowd like wildfire now, every single pony wanting to know just what she meant by that. She then tried to clarify her statement. "What I mean by that is that our world has been merged with another world, and that is why all of this is happening." Even more murmurs and shouts of surprise and shock were heard then. Twilight got the feeling that the crowd was going to fall into panic soon. She honestly wouldn't blame them for it.

Then, one of the ponies in the crowd asked "Another world? What in the hay does that mean?" Others started nodding and whispering in agreement with the question just asked, curious as to the answer.

Twilight wondered for a moment as to an explanation and then got down to work. "As you all know from your school and classes, there are other planets in this galaxy aside from this Earth. But something you may not realize is that there are things outside of this galaxy, and even outside of this universe. What I speak of is a place known as the multiverse, where there are many different worlds similar and different from our own. There are worlds out there where magic is feared, and others where it is not a part of the world at all. Several of these worlds have collided and morphed into ours, becoming one with us and changing our physical appearance."

It seemed that the more she talked, the less people understood what she was saying. It wasn't their fault really, this was really hard stuff to wrap their heads around. Some of them recognized what the words meant however and asked "What do you mean morph? Morph how?"

She answered "What I mean is, that due to an accident of multiversal proportions, involving several giant mystical blasts, these worlds merged together, resulting in our current appearance, and the disappearances of some of our friends. Do you understand now?"

The townsfolk all looked at each other for a bit before one answered "Not exactly, but I think we get the picture Mrs. Twilight. Say, do you have any news from Canterlot? What do the Princesses have to say about all of this?"

Twilight sighed. She had been dreading this question since she had been planning the meeting, but she wouldn't back down from it. "Unfortunately, I regret to inform you that princesses Luna and Celestia are currently missing from Equestria."

From there it was sheer bloody panic. Each and every pony not on the platform were now screaming their heads off, screaming about how it was the end of the Earth as they knew it, how there was no hope, and how horrible it was.

This continued until Fluttershy cried out "QUIET!" They all stopped and looked at her for a moment, before she began hiding herself behind her own hair while whispering "I mean, if you wouldn't mind."

Applejack then took the stand so she could calm them all down. "Look, I know y'all got spooked by what ya just heard, and hay if I weren't a bit nervous myself, but we can get through this. The princesses are out there, and we've got everypony we could get lookin' for 'em, so it's only a matter of time before they're found. But in the meantime, we can't be panicking over it. We gotta band together and get ourselves ready for whatever's waitin' out there for us, every one of us. I ain't gonna lie, there's a lot more danger in this world than what we had before, but as long as we all stick together we'll be a lot better off then us just waitin' fer trouble, wouldn't y'all agree?" They looked at her for a bit before nodding their agreement.

It was at this point that Twilight began talking again. "Applejack is right. We'll be better off if we stand together rather than alone. As for what threats we will face, to that end I turn to our new friends, who I would like to formally introduce to you. Over here we have Sinbad, a traveler from his world and an adventurer."

The red echidna bowed his head and said "It's an honor to be here."

She then said. "Here we have Lady Percival, a knight and defender for her world."

She said "Greetings strangers, I am thankful for your hospitality."

Twilight continued with introductions. "Here we have Mr. Miles Prower, a blacksmith of great repute."

Tails realized she was talking about him, and after giving a nervous smile said "Hi."

"Over here we have Francis, a friend and assistant to Mr. Prower."

He said "Good day." and that was it.

"Then there's Santa Fuega, travelling companion to Lady Percival."

Fuega bowed and greeted "Good Morrow my fellow horse-folk."

Twilight then moved over to Shadow. "This is Shadow, where he's from he's a hero and a leader of great repute."

His reply was a throaty "hnn" and a nod.

"And finally, we have a being quite unlike any others here. I am referring to my metallic friend here, a defense robot by the name of Metal Sonic."

He also nodded, but he added "A pleasure to be here."

The populace looked at her companions with a renewed interest. Just what were they about to say to them? What dangers were they about to face? The first to step up was Shadow. "Alright, listen up! The number one threat that we have to face is a cunning madman by the name of Emperor Robotonik. He has created many robots, some like our friend here, to take over the whole world. If you should see a robotic figure outside of this town, run for the capital. Run immediately and don't look back. But he and his robotic legions are not our only concern."

Lady Percival came up from behind him and started speaking. "There is a being out there who goes by the name of 'The Black Knight'. Whether he is the original or not, I cannot say, but be forewarned that he controls spirit warriors from the underworld, and they will not show mercy unless he wills it. They will stop at nothing to get their master's will, so be cautious. These are, as far as we know, the biggest threats from our worlds."

Fluttershy then came up behind Twilight and whispered something into her ear. She nodded to her and then said "Some of you may remember the near disastrous wedding of my brother to princess Mi Amore Cadenza. You may also remember the attack by the Changelings and their Queen Chrysalis. Though they were certainly driven from Canterlot, they have begun attacking other places currently outside of Ponyville. I do not know if she has any designs for Ponyville, but we'd better be safer than sorry. So be wary of any travelers and strangers that come through, and make sure that any friends from elsewhere are who they say they are."

Shadow stepped back up and said "These are the treats that we face. As you can see, things do not seem great at this moment in time." The citizens of the small village were shocked. How could they stop any of these threats from destroying them? Sure the Elements of Harmony were there, but what if someone else needed them? And could they stop an entire army by themselves? There was not much hope in that regard.

It was then that the robot stepped up to the podium. "You need not despair over these dangers, for as many threats as we have inherited, we have many new allies that will help us as long as we seek their aid. The people of the Guardians United Nation will help for certain, as will the people of Camelot and even Shamar. They are all our friends in this time of great fear, and as long as we aid them, they will most assuredly help us. Still stay wary of all travelers, for there could be trap. Are we understood?" They all showed their agreement in one form or another.

At this time the mayor stepped back up to the podium. "Thank you for telling us what we are up against my friends. Is there anything else we need to know about?" Twilight thought for a minute, and opened her mouth as if to speak again. She never got the chance, for at this time, water rose up from underneath the podium.

It rose upward and spiraled about until everypony there could swear it was making a dress of sorts. Sure enough, as it finished spiraling, a dress as beautiful as sparkling water was formed, and along with it formed the face of a woman, much in the same style as the beings from other worlds.

When Percival looked upon the figure that had appeared, she immediately bowed. "Lady Nimue, this is an unexpected pleasure. To what do…"

Nimue interrupted her "No time for formalities Percival, I have urgent news that will concern all present. I have found the one you call Princess Luna."

Suddenly the whole crowd was littered with excited whispers. Twilight said "Really, that's great! Where is she now?"

Nimue averted her gaze and replied "Well, that's the bad news. She is currently being held in the place you all know as the White Acropolis." Their eyes widened in shock, and none could speak, except for Pinkie Pie.

"PLOT TWIST!" she exclaimed.

After sending away the crowd so they could keep their meeting private, they began speaking to each other. Twilight asked "How did you find out about where Princess Luna was Lady Nimue?"

She answered "I have a very strong connection to magic Mrs. Sparkle, and each and every being on this world and others lets off a different signature. I found Luna's particular energy signature by tracking a version of her in a different universe, and applied it to here."

Pinkie shot up, amazed by what she could hear. "Really?! Wow, I wish I could do something amazing like that with my powers."

The hedgehog chuckled slightly before saying "Oh my dear Pinkie Pie, you can do so much more than you know already. Besides, not all of us can do exactly the same things everyone else can. If that were the case then there wouldn't be any differences in the galaxies, and that'd just be boring, wouldn't you agree?"

Sinbad cleared his throat. "While all of your talks of differences in worlds are fascinating, that still doesn't bring us any closer to our goals. Say, did you have any information on that other princess, Celler-something?"

Nimue looked at him and answered "Celestia, and no, I haven't found anything of her power. As a matter of fact, I'm not even sure that she's in this universe."

That comment shook the ponies to their cores. If she wasn't in this universe then just who was keeping the sun going? More importantly, where was she? Twilight thought for a moment before coming to a horrifying conclusion. "She isn't, I mean, she hasn't, is she dead?" she asked, each question making her voice get smaller and more wavery.

Nimue shook her head. "No Mrs. Sparkle, I know that she is not dead. When a person of magical talent dies, they send out a pulsating sort of wave, like a ripple on a lake, but naked to the eye and non magical senses. The more powerful the mage, the bigger the ripple that is sent out. Since I do not feel those ripples here, and Princess Celestia is a super powerful mage, so I would be able to feel her if she were to die." Twilight breathed a sigh of relief to hear that.

Metal asked the next question. "If she's not here, and she's not dead, then where is she?"

She answered "I have a theory on that. Each of you were transported to a different location after the chaos blast, correct?" They each nodded at her assessment. "I think that, if you were displaced by the blast, then it stands to reason that others that are lost were displaced as well. Though it is also possible they weren't displaced into this reality."

All present found themselves confused again, except for one multi-dimensional thinking pony. "Oh, so you think that it's possible that Celestia and the others were thrown into another dimension!"

Nimue nodded, glad that her friend caught on so quickly to her thinking. "Wait, if they're in different dimensions, then how are we going to get them back?" asked Twilight.

Nimue held her hand up. "Don't worry dear, I'll be able to find them myself. I will need some help getting them back though, but I've got a man for that."

Sonic was intrigued. "Who is this man you speak of?"

She replied "I can only say this much. He is a man of incredible power and might, and he lives both out of time and even out of reality. He is a servant of the light and an ally to good. As for his name, well, I'm sure he won't mind telling you when he gets here." He nods to her, but still finds himself intrigued. Anyone who could go from reality to reality at will had to be impossibly strong and smart to even survive.

Shadow finally chimed in. "Alright, enough of this extra-dimensional stuff, how do we get to Princess Luna?"

Applejack answered "Easy, we'll just take the train north till we reach the nearest station."

Rarity retorted "Don't you remember Shining Armor's letter from yesterday darling? The tracks have been confusticated by the addition of new territories into our lands, so there's no telling how far north we could go before the track just stops."

Percival then said "Why not take a train north anyway and keep a scout out so we know where we have to stop? After that we can just walk the rest of the way there."

Rarity asked "Is there a train in the station Ms. Mayor?"

The mayor, who had been silent during most of the conversations, finally said "Well no, but there are some trains just to our south. I could a message through miss Ditzy Doo to the stations south of us and send it here. With any luck, it'll be here by the afternoon."

Metal was about to ask a question about the cross eyed courier, but he was cut off by Twilight saying "Guys, you're forgetting something big here. Since we've found Princess Luna, we should tell my brother about it. I'm sure he'll send us in some support once he hears of what has happened."

Shadow countered her. "Tell your brother, but don't expect help from him like that. His forces are currently spread out across the world and what's left here is needed to guard the palace. Besides, I know some men up there that will be able to help us in this."

He then turned to the mayor and said "Miss Mayor, send this courier of yours to the station and tell the people to come back to the podium. We'll tell them the plan then." The mayor nodded and headed off.

Nimue looked at them and said "Well, it seems that everything is in order. I'll just leave you to your business and I'll start working on finding the lost ones and bringing them home. Farewell, my warriors of the light." Her form then evaporated as if it were water, disappearing entirely from their view.

They told the townsponies of the transpired events and told them that they were heading north and would return soon. After a quick tear filled goodbye to their families, they gathered everything that they needed and headed to the train station. Not an hour later, a train entered the station and they boarded it, heading due north so as to get as far as they could.

During the train ride, Twilight had been thinking on what Rainbow Dash had told her happened during the time that they were separate, and she began thinking on what Rarity had done during her battle on the plains.

She had summoned a diamond shield while not even using magic, and to hear her tell it, it was as if her element of harmony had reacted to the danger around her. It made her wonder if the elements really could enhance their bearer's properties, or even give them different and awesome abilities. What possibilities could be discovered from this if it were true? How could she go about discovering them? All of these questions filled her mind as she pondered on them.

Aside from that, the train ride was uneventful. It took them two days to reach the northernmost part of the tracks, which was backed up with trains waiting to go north to the turnabout station. They exited the train and headed northwards to the acropolis, but found themselves in the middle of a worksite. Ponies, pegasi and unicorns of all shapes and sizes flitted about the front of this massive line of trains. They were carrying around giant metal rails and wooden beams to fix the rails, and in the middle of this was a colt with a construction hat on a black mane, and light yellow fur.

He was currently shouting orders at the others, things like "Frank, tell your brother Earnest to get over here, this beam's not going to move itself. Daffodil, get those beams ready as fast as you can, we're going to need every single one. Get movin' ponies, these rail workers are countin' on us. Say Airbend, when are those carts gonna get back? We need to get these passengers and cargo movin' north."

Applejack made a run up to the Pony in charge and tacklehugged him. "Why cousin Delicious, I never thought I'd see you up here."

The fore pony smile as he exclaimed "Cousin Jackie! Well ain't you a sight for sore eyes, I didn't expect you up here either. What are you doin' all the way up here, come to see your cousin?" He then looked at the group heading toward him and whistled. "Quite the gang you got there cousin Jackie. I recognize most of these folk from Ponyville, but what about the rest of these fellers?"

Applejack ran through the list and introduced them to her cousin, who then said "Pleasure to meet y'all, name's Golden Delicious, but the boys just call me Goldilocks, and please don't ask why, it's a long story. I don't suppose you and your friends are here to help us get the rails to the north working, are you?"

Applejack shook her head. "Sorry cuz, but we're here 'cause we gotta head to some place in those mountains over there called the White Acropolis. You wouldn't happen to know any good ways there, would you?"

He looked at her before answering "Don't rightly know 'bout any 'Acropolis', but there are some new mountains back behind the forest over there. We've been wary of it ever since those creatures marched past our worksite and kept us away for about a half of a day. These soldiers are over here to make sure we don't get ourselves in trouble with those creatures over in the forest. Well I wish you luck cousin, you're gonna need it." After a farewell hug, he went back to work with his men. The rest of them turned to the forest and began their journey to the Acropolis.

In the snow covered forest at the base of the mountains, a traveler sat on a tree. Ever since that flash of light, he had been stranded here in these mountains. He could have left at any time, but he did not because of what lurked in the woods. It seemed that the underworlders he had helped to defeat several years ago had returned in force, and had made camp in the mountains near here. Ever since their main force entered the mountain passes, he had been dealing with the patrols that came to seek out the area.

After he had sat there long enough, his mental powers detected movement coming from his front, facing the edge of the forest. He got up and jumped from treetop to treetop until he saw a rather odd looking group headed his way. But, among them he found four familiar faces. One was a two tailed fox whom had been his blacksmith, a black and red hedgehog with whom he had butted heads, a purple cat whom he had considered a friend, and a red echidna who had been a comrade in arms.

He wondered to himself, 'How did these loyalists come to be in my neck of the woods? I wonder what they want. And who's that they're with? Should I let them know I'm here?' he then grinned as he thought 'No, I'll let them see how long it takes them to figure out someone's following them. They'll be surprised to see me, I think.' He then followed them from the front, watching as he waited for one of them to make a move.

Sonic surveyed the scene before him, and he knew exactly what was wrong with this picture. There was too little noise coming from the woods about them, it was too quiet. Something was disturbing the creatures here, but what was it? He looked around and saw nothing. He then activated his thermal imaging to be sure he was right. When he looked around, he saw…

Metal fired several shots from his blaster into a thicket. Before any could ask why, a group of floating and walking underworld enemies emerged from the bushes. All of them jumped to action as quick as lightning bolts, pulling weapons from their backs and charging the enemy with great fervor.

Shadow sliced through a couple walkers in his first swing, though more quickly followed to take their place. He slashed his way through a couple of them before he ran into some with shields who halted his advance. Before he could change his tactics, Metal Sonic came in from the side and stabbed through the both of them. He turned to Shadow, who smirked at his ally. They then jumped to attack the floating enemies and keep their attacks from reaching their friends below.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were giving the creatures a pounding on the ground, choosing hoof to hoof combat over their foes. They were a formidable team, striking left and right, up and down with skills that would make a hand to hand master jealous.

In the meantime, Pinkie did her usual bit of bouncing around the enemy, distracting them and frustrating them to no end. Rarity stood with the non fighters of the group so that she could help them if anyone should attack. The others took out whoever they could with whatever they had.

The traveler watched their displays with great interest. 'So,' he thought, 'they are quite the companions. Not half bad on their part.' He then looked at the number of enemies and thought to himself 'That's way too big to be a regular patrol. Either their leader must be growing weary of my interference, or there's something else he's after.' He then saw that Rarity was having some trouble beating back a few of the underworld solders, and knowing she wouldn't last long, he decided to intervene.

She was fighting three of the beasts when he dropped down in front of her. He threw the soldiers away from her, and she got a good look at this mysterious stranger. He was a knight in armor, and much like Shadow he had spines on his head, thought most of them stuck out of the top of his head. He also wielded a strange looking sword, a pyramid shaped thing with a hilt. His face was covered by a helmet, and his metal gloves bore strange green glowing insignia. Before she could say any word of thanks to him, he ran forward and started beating up more of the creatures.

It wasn't long before the battle was over and the other allies noticed the newcomer. It was Percival who recognized him first. 'Sir Galahad! What a pleasure to see you up and running my friend."

The silver hedgehog turned to her with a great smile and said "The pleasure's all mine Lady Percival." He then got a good look at the rest of the group and declared "Tis a pleasure to see you too Sir Gawain. I'm also glad to see that Lancelot hasn't given you too much trouble. But, pray tell, who are these fanciful folk you now travel with?"

After Galahad was introduced to the group, he looked in particular at the robot and asked "Metal Sonic? I'd heard of a Sonic in the realm, but I must admit that from your description, I didn't think you'd look like this."

Metal looked as if he were embarrassed and said "The Sonic you speak of and this model are not even closely related to one another, and for your information we are from different timelines altogether."

That statement had Galahad confused. "Different timelines, the devil are you talking about man?"

It was then that Percival stepped back into the conversation. "We would be glad to tell you friend, but we do not have the time to stand around. We have an important quest to accomplish."

Intrigued and excited, he asked "A quest? Ooh, I love those! Could you mayhaps tell me what this quest is?"

Twilight looked at Galahad and said "Very well, we are looking for the princesses, and we know for a fact that one of them is in this mountain stronghold. Would you help us get there?"

He then stepped in front of her and, grabbing her hand, said "Madame, it would be my honor to do so." He then turned and started walking, shouting as he went, "Come along, we don't have all day, sally forth!" and charged up hill like a madman.

The others followed and soon found themselves next to the peculiar Galahad. Each began telling him their side of the story, until finally they had both finished and found a path up the mountain. When they had finished telling him, he whistled out and said "That's quite the tale, and quite the explanation to go with it."

He then turned his golden eyes skyward. "Other worlds, memories that are from another you, the possibilities free and boggle the mind all at once. It almost makes me wonder if there's something else out there." He then looked back at the ground before saying "Well, my moment of deep philosophical feeling is over; let's go send these underworlders back to the abyss!"

'He's an energetic one, isn't he?' thought Sonic. He then went back into his deep thinking mode. Shadow had told them they were going to meet some people in this forest to help, but this guy wasn't a part of it, was he? If he was the backup then where were the others? It didn't make much sense to him, so he decided to ask the one guy who would know.

Walking up to Shadow, he asked "You said you knew some men up here, care to tell us who they are?"

Shadow's red eyes looked back at the hedgebot in question and replied "There are some great men in these forests, and I suspect we'll be getting a visit from them shortly. Better keep your ears peeled, automaton." He then looked back in front of himself. Metal wondered what he had meant, but he knew that he wouldn't have to wait long.

Suddenly, a bird call sounded in the forest. Now, if it weren't for the snow and the fact that they were in the mountains, you probably would have ignored that. But as it was, the fact stood out like a sore thumb to the group.

Knowing that something was not right, they huddled together and faced outwards from the group, so they wouldn't be taken by surprise. Shadow then started chuckling to himself and called to no one in particular "A bird call in the middle of winter? Your men are getting sloppy Vulpe."

He then got an answer from a gruff voice in the trees of the forest. "We only did that for your benefit sir, just to make sure you knew we were the only ones here. Alright men, let's introduce ourselves!"

After that, several wolves popped out of the snow and from the trees, each of them carrying guns in their hands, though they didn't aim them at the group. There were several small groups all around their formation waiting for something to happen. It was then that their leader walked out of one of the groups.

He was a white wolf that blended into the snow almost perfectly, taller than the others and with red eyes staring at the strange group. But it wasn't long before he started smiling with a non wolfish grin and walked towards Shadow. He then said "Its' wonderful to see you sir. I'll be honest, when I heard about that attack on Robotropolis, I thought you had bought the farm with the rest of our leaders. I've never been so happy to be wrong."

When they stood next to each other, they grasped each other's arm and put the other hand on their shoulders, as if they were brothers. Then, the wolf pulled in closer to the hedgehog and whispered something that Sonic could not tell. Shadow whispered something back and they separated after that.

He turned to the others and said "Welcome to my part of the woods comrades in arms. I will show you to our accommodations while you stay here in the White Acropolis. Onward comrades, we're homeward bound!" The men started marching through the snow, and Twilight was amazed that they weren't leaving any prints behind in the snow. Some of the wolves followed behind and covered the other tracks as they walked.

It was not long before the group reached a cave in the mountain. The wolves made their way in single file, and it wasn't long before they started ushering in the newcomers. The first to get there was Twilight, who saw that they were headed to the back of the cave. The men in front of her just seemed to disappear into thin air, but as she got closer, she realized that the rock was just an illusion they could pass through. So, when her turn came, she passed through the rock.

What she saw first was a room made of metal, and there was a window with a being on the other side. Several beams of light surrounded her body, and they went in a circular motion around her. When the beams finally stopped, a cold voice intoned "Subject clear, access granted." And a green light appeared on top of the door in front of her and unlocked itself.

When she opened the door up, what she found surprised her. Instead of a continuing metal hallway like she expected, the hall looked as if it were in a very comfortable house. The walls were plastered and had many furnishings, like flags hanging on the walls, a suit of armor here and there, and even the skins and appendages of animals. She wasn't very fond of the last part, but she didn't make decisions for decorations around here, so it was to be expected.

She still couldn't believe that something inside a cave could look as homely as this one. Wasn't this supposed to be a military instillation? Why was it so decorated? She continued looking around the base until she found a big room full of men. It was a cafeteria of sorts, complete with a stage. In front of the stage was an assortment of creatures, from canines to felines and birds to bovines.

But on the stage was a sight most strange, a light blue furred creature in a purple cloak and hat, both with stars of multiple colors on them. Her hand glowed pink as several small metallic objects floated around her. The men clapped and stared in awe at this, because they had never seen anyone use magic before.

It was then that she deemed it time to speak. "The great and powerful Trixie thanks you for your generous applause, but this is a mere parlor trick compared to what I will do next, my adoring public." She then held her hand up in the air and turned the metal into a bouquet of flowers. She then flung it over the crowd, which Twilight found herself catching. The rest of the crowd looked at the newcomer, obviously surprised as they had not seen her before.

Trixie was about to continue her act, but she stopped when she noticed that their attention wasn't on her. "Hey guys, what're you looking at? Who in their right mind would dare take the attention away from the awe inspiring Trixie?!" She then looked at what had their attention, and her face turned from prideful anger to shock and embarrassment. "Oh, that's who."