Twilight opened her eyes to see the cavernous ceiling of the refugee shelter. The faint sounds of light breathing and snoring echoed came from all around her, becoming clearer as the rest of her senses caught up with her eyesight. She sat up on her sleeping mat, taking a moment to rub the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes before looking around.
The cave system wasn’t the least bit extensive, but spacious enough to comfortably fit everyone. The cave looped around after the entrance with a couple openings covered by shower curtains, clearly meant to be used for privacy, while a long table and chairs sat by the entrance. The sleeping members of the group were spaced apart with a fair amount of room to spare, with the males and females being divided and allocated half of the cave each.
There weren’t enough sleeping mats already in the cave for everyone, so Master Hand had to conjure some up. A glance to her right showed the massive, sentient hand resting in one of the side rooms. He could do anything, seemingly, and it did a lot to reduce the sense of danger she felt being at Aza’s mercy, even if Master Hand was hesitant to get involved in combat. A few conversations with some of her fellow captives over the past three days revealed they had similar thoughts.
Twilight stood up and off her sleeping mat, taking extra care to muffle the clopping of her hoofsteps against the stone floor as she headed for the cave entrance.
A small pond greeted her upon exiting. A strange large, metal object sat in the center. She had inquired Shulk as to its purpose, but he only said it was the ship used to transport all of the refugees his friend had come here with and that he wasn’t as familiar with them as the ships used by Colony 9. His answer had only fueled Twilight’s appetite for knowledge, but she knew better than to prod the young man any further.
A small grassy hill separated the refugee camp from the rest of Gaur Plain. Twilight traversed the hill before entering a small outcropping of trees, venturing through to the plains proper.
The plains were utterly beautiful, a fact which further cemented itself into her subconscious with each journey the group had taken over the past three days. Getting to see all the various landmarks up close and personal had been a delectable treat for her inner academic. Shulk’s world was rich in culture and history and mysteries waiting to be unraveled— she was ashamed to admit to herself that part of her wanted to be sent here after Aza’s game was over rather than return home to Equestria. That wasn’t going to happen, which meant she had to savor this rare opportunity to study an alien world while it lasted.
The fact that things had been completely peaceful over the past three days had certainly made that easy. Ever since the physical altercation between Aza and Garp, the sentient universe had remained completely inactive, throwing no challenges at the group or saying anything to annoy them. A nice reprieve to their collective nerves, for sure, but not knowing what was ultimately going on had kept the group from completely enjoying their newfound freedom.
Palutena’s theory had resulted in a few rounds of group speculation, with everybody spitballing ideas as to what was really going on. No one had come up with a theory that everyone could agree on, or even wanted to agree with, but it was still known between everyone they were trying to interpret laws of reality far beyond their comprehension. All they could do in the end was to wait for something to happen and remain united until they were allowed to go home.
Twilight walked a little distance away from the trees before falling onto her back and splaying her legs out. She relished in the cool touch of the grass under her back while watching the clouds above lazily drift by. She wondered how climate and weather were supposed to work for a bipedal landmass, especially one as incomprehensibly large as the Kyoshin. Shulk had told her the weather changed in accordance with the ether flowing through the titan’s body, with rain, fog, humidity and so on all determined by its patterns and various fluctuations. Twilight deeply regretted she had no way of taking notes during his lectures.
“Kicking back and relaxing, are you?”
Twilight turned her head to see both Shulk and Yugi emerging from the treeline. “Oh! I didn’t wake you guys up, did I?” she asked.
Yugi waved a dismissive hand. “Don’t worry about it.”
“This is the first time you’ve been up before anyone else,” Shulk remarked. The two guys came up and sat down on either side of Twilight. “Something on your mind?”
Twilight shook her head. “Nothing in particular, really. I just happened to be an early riser today.” She closed her eyes and breathed deep, relishing in the peaceful tranquility around the three of them. Memories of picnics with her friends back home rose from her memory banks, the only difference being the lack of food and a blanket, but that could easily be remedied by returning to the refugee camp and pilfering some of Master Hand’s crates. A cool morning breeze blew across the plains, the touch of it against Twilight’s coat sending a pleasant chill running down her spine. “The breeze feels so good.”
A moment of silence passed before Yugi said, “Shulk, is something wrong?”
Twilight blinked, turning her head to the taller boy. His mouth had turned grim and his eyes downcast. Upon seeing both her and Yugi’s worried stares, however, he perked up. “Oh, uh, it’s nothing, really.”
Twilight and Yugi said nothing, merely smiling and nodding.
“Anyway, I’ve been thinking about something,” Shulk continued.
“About what?” Twilight asked.
“If and/or when we get sent home, that would be the last time we get to see each other, wouldn’t it?” A wistful smile split his face while his eyes turned distant. “I’m not sure how to feel about that, to be honest.”
Twilight’s mind, previously relaxed and absorbing the tranquil aura of Gaur Plain, began racing in response to Shulk’s statement.
He was right, that would be the last time any of them ever saw each other. The exact science behind Aza’s displacement of everyone was something she knew would forever be beyond her comprehension, so once everyone was returned home there would be no way they could see each other again. That is unless she discovered a long forgotten spell that actually allowed inter-universal travel, but she’d be a fool to bank on that ever happening.
It was a thought that brought many conflicting thoughts to the forefront of her mind. On the one hoof, getting back home to her friends was what she, as well as everyone else, wanted above all else. On the other hoof, she’d spent so much time with everyone else and gotten to know them very well, that she’d be lying if she didn’t consider them all to be friends as well.
Twilight mused to herself while tuning out her surroundings, trying to decide if she was ready to accept that reality when it inevitably came. She had stronger bonds with certain members of the group than others; Yugi and Shulk, for example, she’d grown quite close with, whereas people like Ryuk and Garp she was a bit more indifferent toward. Having to say goodbye to them would no doubt be a little hard to bear, but she figured she would manage in the end.
The thought of possibly having something to remember everyone by struck her brain. A photograph would be the ideal solution, but she would need a camera and possibly enough film to give everyone their own copies should they want one. Master Hand could conjure one up if she asked, but the giant hand was already doing so much for the group that she wondered if he’d think she was trying to take advantage of his powers if she asked.
Twilight came out of her musings when she realized Shulk and Yugi were calling to her. She turned to look at each of them, and they pointed upwards into the sky. She looked up, not seeing anything unusual at first, but a closer look revealed something that shouldn’t have been there.
A small colorful dot hung in the sky above Gaur Plain, growing bigger and more defined as it came closer to Kyoshin.
It wasn’t until the object was about two hundred feet from the ground that Twilight could clearly make it out, and even then, she struggled to put words to its appearance. The object was maybe half the size of Canterlot Castle, sporting a vague spinning top shape with many bright primary and secondary colors. A few spires jutted down from underneath the object while a single one towered over everything above, with various structures hanging off of the main body. Most striking of all was the giant blue orb hanging in the center, glowing and shining with brilliant radiance to rival the most beautiful of stars. A faint shimmering aura hung in the air around the oddly-shaped structure which Twilight guessed was the result of the giant blue orb.
She spared a glance each to Yugi and Shulk, finding equally awestruck expressions plastered across their faces. She was feeling much the same way. Whatever that object was, it had to be piloted by an intelligent being, but even more unusual was the fact that it appeared to have come out of the sky, likely space itself. What that could mean, Twilight could only make a rough, uneducated guess, but she felt a surge of dreadful anticipation over having to explain what was happening to even more of Aza’s captives.
The craft halted in place once it had reached an altitude of about fifty feet, hovering in place over a section of plains not too far from the three friends. None of them said a word, their eyes glued to the strange craft. Then Twilight’s ears twitched in response to a sound coming from behind her. She turned her head to see Florina stepping out of the grove of trees. The timid pegasus knight hadn’t seen the strange alien craft, her gaze fixed on the trio and giving them a small, friendly smile.
Twilight spared another glance at the craft before turning back to Florina and pointing her hoof up towards it. Florina followed her hoof, eyes bulging when she saw the craft. She hurried over to join everyone, her eyes never once leaving the craft.
“What is it?” she asked, sounding on the verge of panicking. “What’s going on? Are we in danger?”
“We don’t know,” Shulk said without turning around to regard her. His gaze grew more intense and he tentatively reached a hand back to grip his Monado. “But if we’re going to have to fight, we’ll need to wake up everyone else.”
Twilight was about to tell Florina to go do just that when Yugi said, “Wait, look at that!” He pointed up at the left side of the craft.
Two figures were standing upon the deck of the craft, undoubtedly staring down at the group. Their body shapes were that of humans, one of them sporting longer hair than the other, possibly indicating them to be female. Looking closer, Twilight thought she could see something yellow and small bobbing through the air above their heads, trailing shimmering sparkles in their wake. Twilight felt uneasy under their distant stares.
“What are they?” she asked.
“I’d think they were aliens, but they’re clearly human,” Yugi said.
“Aliens?” Florina questioned.
The group’s talk was halted when the three figures stepped over the side of the craft, but rather than falling through the air, a sparkling bubble enveloped them which began gently lowering them to the ground. As they grew closer, details about the newcomers filled themselves in.
Two of them were indeed human, while the third one was a creature Twilight didn’t recognize. It was small, red and star-shaped, with stubby little limbs and beady black eyes, but no other distinguishable features. It hovered over the humans’ heads within the bubble like a buzzing fly, excitedly weaving back and forth.
The two humans looked very formal, especially in regards to their attire. One was a platinum blonde woman wearing a long turquoise dress with star patterns and slippers, a star-shaped chest brooch, star-shaped earrings, a silver crown with red and blue jewels, and holding a star-studded wand. She looked down at the group with a single, brilliant blue eye, while the other was covered by a bang of her hair. Her smile was soft and almost motherly, sending a sudden surge of warmth through Twilight’s heart.
The man beside her wore a brown overcoat, dark blue pants and suit, a white t-shirt, red tie, with the only piece of casual clothing he wore being his shoes— being a pony and thus unused to human footwear, Twilight couldn’t place the exact type. His short brown hair was curly and slightly unkempt, with prominent sideburns running down his cheeks. His eyes were dark brown and showed an advanced wisdom despite his young appearance.
The bubble brought the three newcomers down to ground level a fair distance away before disappearing, letting the two humans land gently on their feet. The man took a moment to straighten the collar of his suit while the woman brushed some hair behind her ears. Together they walked toward the group, to which Shulk partially unsheathed his blade. The action must’ve been noticed by the trio, as they paused in their tracks to momentarily whisper to each other before continuing forward.
“I don’t think they mean us any harm,” Twilight whispered to Shulk.
Shulk was silent for a moment. He relaxed his stance but kept his grip on the Monado. “You’re probably right, but I’d rather still be ready to fight.”
The three newcomers finally stopped once they were a scant ten feet from the group of four. The woman gave a courteous bow before them while the man put his hands in his suit pockets and simply nodded. The floating yellow creature waved a stubby little arm back and forth in greeting.
“Hello,” the woman said. Her tone was both kind and wistful, radiating with solemness, yet wisdom to match that found within the man by her side. “I am pleased to meet you.”
“Same here,” the man said. His tone was a little gruffer, yet still cordial. “And from the looks of things, we have quite the dilemma here.”
“Yeah, a big one!” the red star creature chirped in a feminine voice
Twilight blinked, their greeting somehow taking her back with surprise. She’d expected a little more… uncertainty? Confusion? Maybe a little nervousness at seeing a lavender unicorn. Whoever they were, they must’ve been very familiar with strange alien beings.
“Um, who are you three?” Florina asked.
The woman placed a hand on her chest. “My name is Rosetta. I am the owner of the craft you see hovering above: the Comet Observatory.”
“I’m a chiko!” the red creature said, then giggled. “But my name is Maria! I was named after a super awesome hero!”
The man’s mouth lifted up into a small smile. “Just call me the Doctor.”
Twilight arched an eyebrow. “Doctor who?”
“Exactly,” he replied.
“But—”
“Anyway,” the Doctor said, cutting her off, “you all look like a nice bunch. Mind introducing yourselves?”
Twilight growled under her breath, not appreciating him cutting her off, but let it slide. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
“My name is Shulk,” he said, relaxing his grip on the Monado a little. “This is my home: the Kyoshin.” He swept his hand across the landscape around them.
“Yugi Muto,” he said, stepping forward with a smile.
Florina hesitated at first, twirling a lock of her hair as she shied her gaze away from the newcomers. “Um… I’m Florina,” she said after a few moments.
Rosetta fixed her attention on the shy girl. “There’s no need to be scared, Florina. The Doctor and I understand the situation you’re all in, and we want to help you all return home.”
“Wait, ‘return home’?” Twilight said, a small surge of hope shooting through her. “You can do that? Seriously?”
“Oh don’t worry, we’ll explain everything to you all.” The Doctor looked between the four friends. “Is this your entire group? Probably not, I’m guessing.”
Shulk shook his head. “Everyone else is still sleeping in a cave down that way.” He pointed to the grove of trees behind them.
“This is a lovely place to settle down and come together,” Rosetta said, sweeping her gaze across the plains. “It reminds me very much of my home planet.”
“Yes, grass and trees seem to be a constant on every planet that supports life,” the Doctor noted, rubbing his chin.
“Do you really know what’s going on?” Shulk asked them.
“Like I said, we’ll explain everything,” the Doctor replied. “But you’d best get us acquainted with the rest of your group first, right?”
“Um, sure,” Twilight said. She lifted her gaze up to the Comet Observatory, still hovering high above the ground. “Is your ship being controlled or something?”
“My children are keeping it in place,” Rosetta explained. “The Comet Observatory is meant to fly through space, and as such, it isn’t equipped with traditional landing gears.”
“My brothers and sisters are keeping it ship shape and not crashing,” Maria stated with pride.
Twilight made an understanding ‘o’ with her mouth before something she said struck her as odd. “Wait, Rosetta, your children are—”
“So, which way did you say your encampment was?” the Doctor asked, causing Twilight to scowl over being interrupted again.
“Just past this tree grove,” Yugi said, pointing behind him.
“Then lead the way, Yugi.”
The newcomers fell into step behind the group of four, following them through the tree grove and to the refugee camp. A few more group members had woken up and were loitering around at the bottom of the hill leading to the cave entrance by the time they arrived.
One of them was Ryuk, who turned to watch as the group of seven approached the cave entrance. His unchanging expression followed them, his eyes trained on the three newcomers the whole time.
“So we have some new arrivals, then?” he said once they were within earshot.
“Looks like it,” Shulk said, shrugging.
“You’re a curious-looking fellow,” the Doctor said, eyeing Ryuk up and down. “… Shinigami, right?”
Ryuk’s head flinched back a little in surprise. “Y-Yes,” he stuttered. “How did you know?”
“Those in my line of work get to know a wide assortment of peoples,” the Doctor said before stepping inside the cave, Rosetta and Maria following right behind.
Ryuk stared at him for a few moments before turning to Twilight. “He’s certainly taking this situation in stride.”
Twilight sighed. “Apparently he and Rosetta already know what’s going on. Which, considering the lack of anything happening for the past three days, would be great to finally know why that is.”
“I guess.”
It took a few minutes to gather everyone who was awake as well as bring those who were still sleeping out of their slumber. Fortunately, those who were still asleep weren’t the type to make a grumpy fuss over being woken up, and in fact were actually thankful upon learning of the possible chance to be returned home.
Once everyone in the group had given a brief introduction of themselves to the Doctor, Rosetta and Maria they gathered around in a semi-circle outside the entrance to the cave, with the three newcomers standing right at the entryway. Everyone in the group watched them with varying levels of trust, but Twilight could see looking into their eyes a sense of gleeful anticipation. She, herself, was feeling similarly. The faces of her friends back home flitted through her mind, and she smiled at the thought of being able to see them again after what felt like an eternity, even though it had only been about a week.
“So,” the Doctor said, clapping his hands together and scanning his eyes over the crowd, “do I have everyone’s full attention?”
There was a collective murmur of agreement from the crowd.
“Good. First things first, a formal introduction is in order.” He gestured to himself. “I am the Doctor, hailing from the planet of Gallifrey, and to basically sum up my life story: I travel time and space in my Tardis, which you’ll get to see for yourselves later, helping people — mostly humans — with more problems than can be counted on a hundred fingers. Although right now, I must say, I’m in deeper than I’ve been in quite a long time.”
Rosetta placed a hand on her chest. “I am Rosetta, from my universe’s version of Earth. I am the owner of the Comet Observatory which I use to travel through space and watch over the cosmos. My adopted children, the chikos, are my pride and joy, and it’s my job to raise them until they’re ready to become cosmic bodies: planets, comets, stars, and so on.”
Maria waved to the group. “I’m going to become a beautiful comet when I grow up, blazing blue across the skies for thousands of planets!” Rosetta gently stroked Maria’s pointy head, earning her a smile from the perky chiko.
“Now, before we explain what’s going on, there’s something we need to know,” the Doctor said, sweeping his gaze across the group again. “Who’s been a part of this group the longest?” Twilight and Yugi raised a hoof and a hand, respectively. “I need a timeline of all the most significant events that have happened since you’ve been here. Don’t fret over details; just give me the biggest events in as broad a sense as you can recount.”
“Alright then,” Twilight said.
Both she and Yugi stood up and recounted everything that had happened over the past week, all while the Doctor and Rosetta and even the rest of the group listened attentively, despite already knowing what had happened before they joined as a result of Twilight’s memory spell. The Doctor and Rosetta didn’t seem the least bit fazed by any of the outlandish things Twilight and Yugi described, and in fact, only when they mentioned how the last three days had been completely quiet did they start showing more interest.
The Doctor and Rosetta conversed in a hushed tone for a few moments following the debriefing. Twilight could almost physically feel the tension between everyone in the group as they waited for the duo to explain things to them. But even beyond that primal need to not be kept in the dark, Twilight had a vested academic interest in learning more about what was going on. A chance to learn more about how sentient universes was an opportunity she never knew she wanted, and now it was being delivered to her on a silver platter by two apparent experts.
Finally, the Doctor and Rosetta returned their attention to the group. “We suppose it goes without saying you all know how multiverse theory works, correct?” the Doctor asked.
Everyone collectively nodded their affirmation.
“In order to explain what’s going on, we first need to explain a few details you might not be aware of,” Rosetta said. “You’re all familiar with the concept of family trees, correct?”
Most everyone nodded again.
“The multiverse actually abides by a similar structure,” she continued. “All universes stem from a single progenitor, each one its own, solitary branch. Some branches connect to each other, and not always in the same manner. Some group together into giant clusters and some even manage to overlap and mix their contents.” She held a hand up to her mouth which lifted into a soft smile. “It can be rather confusing for the first time learner.”
“It’s all a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey spacey-tracey,” the Doctor said, earning him a giggle from Rosetta.
“But where does Aza fit into all of that?” Twilight asked.
“We’re getting there, rest assured,” the Doctor said. “The real reason why the multiverse is set up like this is more abstract than you’d think.”
“Indeed it is,” Rosetta said, stifling another giggle. “How many of you have ever written a story? Or just in general created a piece of fiction in your lives?”
The resulting confusion from Rosetta’s question hung solidly in the air. No one said anything, but one look at their faces was enough to know what it is they wanted to say. Twilight, too, was puzzled by the seeming and abrupt change of subject. She was about to raise her hoof to verbalize everyone’s shared question before Ash beat her to the punch, breaking the confused silence.
“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” he asked.
“We’re trying to teach through example,” the Doctor said, a little bit of annoyance creeping into his tone. “I do believe that’s a constant factor in every alternate Earth school, or am I wrong Mr. Williams?”
Ash scowled, before sighing. “Whatever.”
“I understand the confusion,” Rosetta said, warmth and understanding prevalent in her voice, deeply contrasting the Doctor’s. “We've been trying to slowly ease into the meat of this discussion because the answers you seek might not be easy to comprehend. Assuming you even choose to believe them, that is.”
“I think I speak for the entire group when I say we’ll believe whatever you tell us,” Charlotte said. “We’ve all already seen too many things that defy logic and reasoning as we individually understand them.”
Many people in the group voiced their agreement to her assertion.
Rosetta shook her head. “I don’t doubt that, but the facts we have to share go beyond mere logic and science. The Doctor and I actually fear some of you will have existential crises upon hearing our explanation, which is why we’re trying to be careful with how we go about explaining this.”
That heightened Twilight’s interest considerably, while a quick glance around showed many people were baffled by Rosetta’s statement. Silence once again dominated the air around them all, as they were likely once again too confused to say anything. Twilight decided to swiftly cut the silence before it turned awkward and to keep the conversation moving at a steady pace.
“I’ve written a series of novels before,” she said, drawing the Doctor and Rosetta’s attention. “Do you… need me to go into more details about what they were about?”
The Doctor smiled and shook his head. “That won’t be necessary, Twilight. But let me ask: How would you describe the relationship between yourself and the characters in your books?”
Twilight’s confusion only heightened in response. She didn’t let it throw her off, however, and replied with, “I… don’t know? They’re just words put to paper. What are you getting at?”
A coy smile crossed the Doctor’s lips, and he shook his head. “My apologies; I let myself get a little carried away.” He waved a hand at the collective groan that emanated from the group. “Yes, yes, I understand your impatience. Anyway, what I’m getting at is this; creating a piece of fiction is similar to adding a new generation to a family tree, which itself is similar to a whole new universe being created as we stated.”
“So… what?” Garp said. “You’re saying that universes can procreate or something?”
Both the Doctor and Rosetta laughed. “Hardly,” the Doctor answered. “It’s not universes themselves that create new ones, but rather, the people living within them. And if you’ll recall, we stated that all universes are born from a single progenitor. Which means…?” He rolled his hand, gesturing for everyone to figure out the answer themselves.
“That means...” Twilight said before her eyes shot wide in realization. “That means our homes were all created by intelligent beings. By actual, literal gods.”
“Wait a minute, what?” Samus said, as gasps of shock and disbelief emanated through the group.
The Doctor nodded at Twilight. “Pretty much.”
“Wait, so you’re saying we all owe our existences to random schmucks putting words to paper?” Ash asked him.
“Not just books, actually;” Rosetta said, “any and all mediums for telling stories.”
Garp put a hand to his forehead, massaging it a little. “You’ve gotta be bullshitting us.”
Rosetta frowned. “Please refrain from using such vulgar language in front of my children.”
Maria came around to face her. “Why Mama? What’s so bad about saying 'bullshi—'” She was swiftly silenced by Rosetta’s hand covering her mouth.
Rosetta sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Why don’t you return to the observatory? We’ll have a talk later about foul language. Okay?” She smiled sweetly at her.
“Okay, Mama!”
Maria floated up and over the grove leading toward the camp. The group didn’t watch as she left, their attention unfocused as the full implications of the Doctor and Rosetta’s words started sinking into their minds.
By Twilight’s observation, reactions among the group were heavily mixed: Charlotte, Hermione, Garp, Ash, Samus, Florina, and Yugi seemed to be caught somewhere between discomfort and denial; Pit and Palutena looked as if they’d found the answer to a longtime mystery which had been eating away at them; Shulk, Pikachu, and James were clearly in straight up denial; Ryuk and Master Hand’s thoughts were hidden behind their inability to communicate emotions through facial expressions; Ed, Kirby, Gillman, and Thomas were characteristically failing to comprehend what exactly they’d been told.
Deadpool was the only one in the whole group who didn’t appear to be perturbed in the slightest. On the contrary, he had his arms folded behind his head and was laying on the ground, seemingly perfectly content.
A part of Twilight was echoing Garp’s sentiment, though, in a much more polite manner. But another part of her knew that any explanation the Doctor and Rosetta gave them was better than anything they could come up with. The duo certainly believed in what they were saying, and while they hadn’t shown any irrefutable proof that they were correct, the group had no means to disprove their explanation.
“Suppose we believed you;” she spoke up, meeting the Doctor and Rosetta’s dual gazes with her own skeptical one, “where does Aza fit into this?”
“Aza’s ‘birth’, as it were, was the same as any other universe,” the Doctor explained. “It was created by someone from the progenitor universe, and judging by everything that you’ve recounted, it appears Aza was created specifically for this little experiment.”
“So you’re saying Aza is nothing more than a tool to bring us all together?” Palutena asked.
“Something along those lines,” Rosetta replied. Her face turned grim. “But there’s more to tell you that might be hard for you to accept.”
“Honestly, lady?” Garp said. “I don’t think anything you tell us could be heavier than the meaning of life.”
Rosetta’s grim expression turned more intense but lightened up a little when the Doctor placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
He gave her an equally comforting smile before turning to address Garp. “I regret to say it’s much worse than simply being created by random beings that you’ll never meet,” he said. “The truth is that those random beings have quite a great degree of control over not just the physic systems and people of the universes they create, but the chains of causality within them as well.”
Twilight’s eyes bulged at his words while the bottom fell out of her stomach. She turned to gauge everyone’s reactions to his revelation, only to find many of them seemed more confused than anything by what he said— Shulk, Charlotte, and Hermione seemed to be on the same page as her, at least.
Sighing, she decided to explain it to the group. “Causality: the relationship between cause and effect. For example; throwing a bucket of water onto a fire will douse it. The same applies to all the decisions a person will make and the consequences that result from them.”
Some members of the group instantly recognized the implications of what she was saying while comprehension took a little more time to dawn on some others. Ed, Kirby, and Gillman had seemingly completely tuned out the conversation and were instead munching on food conjured by Master Hand, their eyes staring off into space.
“Wait wait wait,” Ash said, holding up his hands and turning back to Rosetta and the Doctor. “So what you’re saying is I lost my friends, my girlfriend, and my hand because some random schmuck made it happen for their amusement?”
“And the same for my parents?” Samus questioned.
“And me losing my best friend?” Palutena followed.
“Times have been especially rough since I arrived at Hogwarts,” Hermione said, casting her gaze downward. “To say nothing of what my friends have gone through in their lives.”
“Dracula has been the scourge of the Earth for centuries,” Charlotte remarked. “To think someone would actually wish that upon my world…”
“All the seemingly random events we’ve been forced to deal with in our time here suddenly make a lot more sense now,” Yugi observed.
“Now hold on,” Garp said, “why should we believe any of that bullcrap? Gods pulling the strings behind our realities as some sick form of amusement? What proof do you have that’s true?”
“It does sound far-fetched, doesn’t it?” the Doctor said, his tone remaining upbeat. “Knowledge of the progenitor universe isn’t something that’s granted all willy nilly. Really, it’s quite a rare blessing. Or a curse, depending on the person in question. Probably more often the latter.”
“The two of us only know about it as a result of our travels across existence,” Rosetta explained, staying calm and serene. “Every now and then we would encounter beings who made weird references to things seemingly beyond our comprehension— pursuit of deeper knowledge led us to the conclusion of the progenitor universe’s existence.”
Shulk placed a hand on his chin. “It sounds like you don’t have any concrete evidence, then.”
”Wait a minute.”
Everyone turned to Master Hand, but he was facing toward the right side of the group— his lack of eyes made it impossible to tell who he was looking at until he continued speaking.
”Deadpool.”
The red-suited mercenary looked up to him. “What up, Master Handjob?”
Deadpool’s lewd nickname didn’t seem to bother Master Hand, who continued speaking unperturbed.
”She said ‘beings who made weird references to things seemingly beyond our comprehension’. That sounds an awful lot like what you’ve been doing the past few days.”
Hearing that brought up memories from Twilight’s subconscious. Instances where Deadpool talked about things like ‘authors’ and ‘fanfiction’ that she’d brushed aside as just nonsense.
The pieces clicked into place. Twilight’s stomach dropped again. Other members of the group simultaneously reached the same conclusion as her, most of the color draining from their faces and their eyes glazing over.
“Yep, you pretty much hit the nail on the head there, Fingerin’,” Deadpool remarked. “Knowing you’re the plaything of some random schmuck with artistic passion and the need for a paycheck ain’t something you’ll readily believe from even your closest friends.” He brought up a hand and waved it towards Rosetta and the Doctor. “But yeah, I’ll vouch for what they’re saying. Whether you believe me is your choice. Actually, wait, no it isn’t.” He barked out a laugh to cap off his statement.
As socially disconnected as Twilight sometimes was from other people, she’d spent enough time with everyone in the group to get a good sense of the general mood they were all feeling at any given time. The depression and despair that settled around everyone were almost thick enough to cut with a knife, and she’d be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t feeling similarly.
What Rosetta and the Doctor were saying had sounded so incredibly far-fetched that, indeed, she was on the verge of dismissing them as crazy. But it made too much sense to not be true, especially regarding Deadpool’s various odd statements since he’d arrived. A small part of her believed there was a higher power dictating everything purely on the notion that she was believing something Deadpool had said at all.
A short period of silence settled among the group, broken only by the continued sounds of Ed, Kirby, and Gillman’s snack time. Twilight took a deep, relaxing breath and set about organizing her emotions, as futile a task as that might’ve seemed.
It was hard to have a definite opinion on what the Doctor and Rosetta were saying. A small part of Twilight actually didn’t want to believe them, but a larger part of her was trying to come to terms with it, to accept the probable reality presented to her. But that brought to light the repercussions such a reality would entail: even if they all returned home they’d still be at the mercy of a higher power, which wasn’t a pleasant thought. Downright terrifying, even.
Then a spark of hope lit up in her chest. Were things really so bad either home or here in Aza’s clutches? They were still alive. They had each other for support. Back home she was living a happy, fulfilling life. Admittedly, she couldn’t say the same for some other people in the group based on their backstories, but they were all strong of character in her eyes. Whatever hardships they were destined to suffer through back home, she had no doubt they would overcome them.
“I can see you’re not taking the news very well,” Rosetta said, drawing everyone’s collective attention back to her. She smiled warmly at them all. “Rest assured, however, that there’s a silver lining to it.”
“And what might that be?” Ash asked, making no attempt to hide his sarcasm.
“The beings of the progenitor universe have control over the chain of causality, true,” the Doctor started. “That said, the exact extent of their control is unknown, and there’s evidence to suggest it isn’t absolute.”
“And what’s that?” Yugi asked.
“Look among you,” Rosetta said. “What species is the most prevalent in the entire group?”
Her question caught the entire group off guard at first, but eventually, Florina answered with, “Um, well, many of us are humans.”
“I’m actually called a homs,” Shulk said.
“Lady Palutena and I only look human,” Pit added.
“Fuck consistency!” Deadpool laughed.
The group ignored him, keeping their attention on the Doctor and Rosetta.
“Admittedly it’s mostly conjecture, but the sheer number of universes dominated by humans is mind-boggling, quite frankly,” the Doctor explained. “It’s not unreasonable to surmise that the progenitor universe’s beings would have a creative bias towards their own species.”
“What relevance does that have to all of this?” Charlotte asked.
The Doctor replied with another question: “Are humans any more intelligent and meticulous than any other known sapient creature?”
“I knew a human who outsmarted an entire police force for years,” Ryuk put out.
The Doctor stared bemusedly at him for a moment before looking back to address the group. “My point is that humans have limited creative vision. Could any of you literally chart out the entire life of a fictional character all on your own? No. They may be directly responsible for creating you and your destiny, but for sure, at least some of your decisions were, indeed, your own to make.”
His words were quick to lighten the group’s collective mood. Twilight looked around and saw wide, relieved smiles on everyone in addition to the one she felt splitting her own muzzle.
“Wait a minute,” Palutena said. “Is there any way for us to know when these progenitor universe humans are influencing us?”
“Wow, a chance to educate the Goddess of Wisdom herself,” the Doctor joked. Palutena kept her smile while playfully rolling her eyes. “Truth be told, there’s no way to know for sure since you can literally put words to anything your mind can think up.”
“But there are ways to get an idea of when your life is being orchestrated,” Rosetta continued for him. “You’ve all had life-changing experiences happen to you, correct.” Everyone nodded in unison. “It’s safe to assume that all of those events were orchestrated. Smaller things like what you decide to have for breakfast, or whether you take the scenic route on a long trip are too minuscule to think up.”
“Well, that’s somewhat reassuring,” Hermione said with clear relief in her voice.
“Yeah,” Ash agreed.
“But how are we supposed to get home?” Samus asked. “From the sounds of it, we can’t until whoever is making all this happen decides to let us go.”
The Doctor smirked. “Yes, that is the dilemma. Really, as long as whoever it is is under no pressure to stop, they could keep us here indefinitely. At least until they themselves die, but then they could just pass us along to one of their friends, and nothing might change.”
Everyone must’ve realized he was joking, as their expressions changed to bemused instead of discomforted. The Doctor waved them off and continued.
“But no, we have reason to believe escape is within our grasp,” he finished.
Rosetta pointed to the Comet Observatory barely hovering within sight of everyone, the top of its center spire peeking over the treetops. “My observatory is equipped with cosmic energy measuring technology. Before the Doctor and I landed here, we were able to pick up an enormous signature coming from somewhere off in the far reaches of space. Considering everything you’ve told us, we believe that energy signature is significant to our situation. Possibly even for getting us all back home.”
“How sure are you of that?” Garp asked, clearly skeptical.
“Does it matter?” the Doctor asked. The question was obviously rhetorical. “You’re all wasting your time doing nothing here anyway. Come with us, and at least there’s a chance we all can return home.”
The group was silent again for a short while after that. In Twilight’s mind, the Doctor was one hundred right; they had nothing to lose by joining him and Rosetta in investigating this energy signature thing. Everyone else didn’t seem quite so eager, however, and it was easy to see why.
The idea was too good to be true. She didn’t believe trust was an issue, given how open and friendly the Doctor and Rosetta were. If everyone else was feeling the same as her, then they’d be perfectly willing to journey into the deepest reaches of space and brave all the potential dangers it might herald if it meant finding a way home.
But there was no guarantee that would happen. Knowing what they do now about the progenitor universe, it wasn’t too hard to believe it was little more than a red herring. It being an actual trap wasn’t a concern in her eyes, as the group had long since overcome any issues regarding courage in the face of adversity. But the prospect of getting their hopes up at the idea of finding a way home only for them to be dashed after a long journey through space was probably every bit as terrifying as facing down whatever cosmic horrors Aza, or whatever was controlling Aza, could throw at them.
Finally, she broke the silence by saying, “I’ll come with you,” and stepped forward to join Rosetta and the Doctor.
“Twilight?” Florina said.
“I’m willing to take this chance,” she said, turning around to face everyone. “I get that you’re all hesitant, but there’s really nothing else we can do except follow this lead and hope and I guess pray that it gets us somewhere.”
There were murmurers of half-hearted agreement and sheepish neck rubs throughout the crowd.
“Well, I suppose that’s settled, then,” the Doctor said, clapping his hands together. “Shall we depart immediately, then? Or might you have some unfinished business you want to wrap up here before we do so?”
No one said anything. “All right then,” he continued. “Let’s get moving.”
“What about me?” Thomas asked.
The Doctor snapped his fingers and pointed at him. “Rest assured, I’ll have something for you within the next two seconds.”
A second of silence followed. Thomas opened his mouth but was stopped when the air between the group distorted. A tall, blue box took shape before them with windows around the upper half, a light situated on top, and the words ‘POLICE BOX’ written against a black bar with ‘Public Call’ written in smaller text.
“Well, that’s another random occurrence,” James remarked. “Why’s there an old-fashioned police box here?”
“Wait for it,” the Doctor said, holding up a hand.
The door to the police box opened, and there was a collective gasp throughout the crowd as a perfect copy of the Doctor stepped out: same clothes, eyes, and hair down to a T.
“What time?” the first Doctor asked the new one.
“A little bit after takeoff,” the new one replied. “You’ll see why soon.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
The two Doctors shared a laugh before the future one approached Thomas, who eyed him curiously. He pulled out what Twilight thought looked like a purple mushroom with a pair of beady black eyes on one side and held it up to Thomas.
“Should I put it in your mouth or in your boiler?” he asked jokingly.
Deadpool gave a sharp laugh. Thomas stared bemusedly at the Doctor.
“I’d like to know what that thing is before you put it in my boiler,” he said disapprovingly.
“Ah, I was just fooling with you,” the Doctor admitted.
He pulled his arm behind him before delivering an underhand throw to Thomas. The mushroom hit his front buffers and instantly disappeared without even a flourish. The resulting effect was so quick that Twilight didn’t have time to fully process it as it happened. Thomas’ entire form seemed to shrink and expand in a series of rapid pulls, almost like his body was made of rubber, before eventually settling down and stopping when he was about one-tenth of his original size.
Thomas’ eyes spun around dizzily as a result of the transformation before eventually settling on the group and bulging. “Why am I so small!?” he cried.
“Because you need to be in order to fit through the door to my Tardis,” the new Doctor explained. He bent down and lifted Thomas’ shrunken frame in his hands, grunting a little with the effort.
He turned to the rest of the group, ignoring Thomas’ cries and speaking loud enough to be heard over him. “See you back at the observatory.”
He turned and headed back into the blue box, the ‘Tardis’, shutting the door behind him. The police box was soon to disappear after, leaving everyone in the group silent and completely at a loss for what to say, if doing so could even be considered appropriate at such a point in time.
“Well,” Ryuk said, breaking the silence, to everyone’s immense relief, “that happened.”
“Indeed it did, Ryuk;” the Doctor said dryly, "happens a lot in my line of work.” He turned to everyone. “Shall we get going, then?”
The group was all too happy to oblige. They quickly gathered together and began the march back to the Comet Observatory. Twilight could almost taste the anxiety in the air between everyone from where she stood near the front. In spite of agreeing to come along, everyone still had reservations about making the journey, not that she could blame them.
They’d made it up the hill when Rosetta came alongside Twilight. The human woman’s strides were long and graceful beneath her ankle length dress, and Twilight wondered how she managed to keep from tripping on the uneven grassy terrain beneath her.
“Might I ask you a question, Twilight Sparkle?” she said.
“Sure, go ahead.”
She pointed to the Element of Magic resting on Twilight’s head. “That is a peculiar tiara you’re wearing there, and it matches the necklaces some of these other people are wearing. What are they?”
“They’re called the Elements of Harmony, and they are, simply put, the most powerful magic artifacts from my world.” She returned Rosetta’s curious gaze. “Why do you ask?”
“Our machine also picked up seven unusual energy signatures coming from here in addition to the one we discovered far out in space,” Rosetta explained. “These ‘Elements of Harmony’ account for six of them, so what’s the seventh?”
Twilight pondered for a moment before the answer struck her and she turned around. “Hey Shulk, could you come up here?”
The young blonde man pushed past the crowd and up to the front alongside Twilight and Rosetta. “What’s up, Twilight?” he asked.
“Your Monado gives off a faint energy signature, doesn’t it?”
Shulk cocked his head for a moment before unsheathing his blade and staring at it while he walked. “Kind of, yeah,” he replied. “It’s not something I fully understand, however. It makes sense, though, given how powerful it is.”
Rosetta placed a delicate finger on the sword’s length and began examining it. She spent the next several seconds looking it over, so absorbed that she almost walked right into a tree but side-stepped it in time.
“I feel there’s something significant about these items…” Rosetta trailed off.
“How so?” Twilight asked.
Rosetta was silent for a moment. “Little more than intuition,” she replied.
Twilight stared back at her for a moment before returning her gaze forward, only to halt in her tracks. The rest of the group halted in place in response.
“What’s wrong, Twilight?” the Doctor asked.
She said nothing. Her eyes remained fixed straight ahead as her jaw opened a little.
Everyone followed her gaze and adopted similar expressions. Standing just outside the grove of trees were four very familiar newcomers standing around looking confused: a white alicorn, a human man holding a camera, and a bipedal squirrel and yellow sponge wearing karate gear, the latter also wearing a helmet filled with water.
Twilight’s muzzle split into a wide grin. “Princess Celestia!” She dashed forward.
The princess turned at the mention of her name, smiling upon noticing her pupil. “Twili–oof!”
The force of Twilight’s tackle hug knocked Celestia back, forcing her to regain her footing. Twilight wrapped her hooves around her chest and buried her muzzle into Celestia’s coat, tears streaming from her eyes while muffled cries came from her mouth.
Celestia took a moment to regain her composure before smiling and wrapping her wings around Twilight. “There there, Twilight, I’m right here for you,” she soothed.
Twilight continued crying for a few more seconds before she lifted her eyes to meet Celestia’s gaze. “You’re my Princess Celestia, right?” she asked, a little nervousness creeping into her voice. “Do you remember all of this?” She gestured at the approaching group.
Celestia nodded. “Yes, Twilight, I remember everything about Aza.”
Twilight’s smile grew even bigger before she re-buried her face into Celestia’s chest. “It feels so good to see you again, Princess,” she choked out.
Celestia was silent for a moment before replying with, “And I concur. Although, I wish it were back home and not here again.”
“You can say that again, Princess,” she heard Frank say.
“Barnacles, not this again,” Spongebob groaned.
“Language, Spongebob,” Sandy admonished.
“Sorry.”
Twilight managed to pull her face away from Celestia and wipe the last of her tears away just as the group reached them. Casting her gaze between the four new old arrivals, the only one who actually looked any different was Frank West. His face was a bit more tired and his hair had started graying a little, but otherwise, he looked the same as he’d been when he left about a week earlier. He must’ve been pulled back from a later point in his life; a few years, from the looks of it.
“Well well, a few more colors to add to the cast it looks like,” the Doctor said, stepping up next to Twilight. He looked at her while gesturing to Celestia. “You know her?”
Twilight nodded. “The four of them were abductees who were returned home earlier in the week,” she explained.
“And dangnabbit, we got pulled back so soon after we both returned home,” Sandy said, making no attempt to hide her irritation.
“How long were you home?” Frank asked.
“About eleven minutes,” Spongebob answered.
“Damn. Eight years for me.”
Celestia glanced over Twilight’s head at the group. “I see a number of new faces among the crowd.” She glanced down at Twilight. “How long has it been since I left?”
“Three days, Princess.”
“I was literally flying down to Ponyville to see if you were back when I was returned here.” She sighed, slumping her shoulders. “It looks like Aza has other plans, it seems.”
“Actually, Aza isn’t responsible for all of this,” Twilight replied.
Celestia quirked an eyebrow— Frank, Spongebob, and Sandy had similar reactions. “Wait, what do you mean by that?”
Twilight felt a rising headache come on— she needed more time to digest the revelations Rosetta and the Doctor gave, clearly. “We’ll explain everything later,” she promised, rubbing her temples with her hooves. “Right now, we’re preparing to head for the deepest reaches of space in search of a way to get back home.”
“Space, huh?” Spongebob said. He nudged Sandy, a playful grin crossing his mouth. “Maybe we’ll meet some aliens.”
“Don’t remind me of the rocket, Spongebob,” Sandy groaned. “But we might actually meet some this time around, yeah.”
James stepped to the front of the crowd. “I’d say we’re all aliens to each other, aren’t we?” he asked with a playful grin.
“... Good point.”
A round of merry laughter spread through the crowd— it helped to diffuse the tension in the air, something that Twilight greatly appreciated.
Once the laughter died down, Rosetta said, “Well then, shall we get going?”
Everyone voiced their agreement.
“I doubt I could make a scoop out of this, but the pictures would still be nice,” Frank said, lifting up his camera. “Count me in.”
“Me too,” Sandy said with rising fervor. “Show me a varmint an’ I’ll give ‘em a good ol’ Texas style butt whooping.”
“You know what I’m gonna say,” Spongebob said casually. There was a brief pause before his lips curled into a sly smirk and he shouted, “I’m ready!” at the top of his lungs.
“Then let’s make haste,” Rosetta said. “Gather around me, everyone.”
Everyone did as instructed. Rosetta raised her wand and waved it in a twirling spin, creating a transparent, shimmering bubble of magic around everyone identical to the one she’d created earlier. Twilight was once again fascinated to see the display of alien magic before her, though, some other members of the group weren’t quite so enthused judging from the couple of whimpers she heard. If the journey through space was to be as long as she figured, she’d want to spend some time asking Rosetta for details about how it worked.
Rosetta flicked her wand, and the bubble started rising, slow but steady. A quick glance among the group showed more than a few masks of anxiety, which worried Twilight a little. If they couldn’t handle a gentle rise into the air, she shuddered to think what their reactions would be to flying through space.
The bubble lifted up and over the edge of the Comet Observatory after a few seconds of ascending. The bubble settled in the air just a few inches above the deck before it blipped from existence and everyone landed on the observatory’s deck. Twilight swept her gaze at her new surroundings, taking in sight of her new home for the foreseeable future.
It was a lot more lively than she expected. Off to the left was a lush green terrace while a cozy sitting area was situated to the right. Between them was a transparent screen displaying what Twilight assumed was a map of the observatory, behind which she could see a giant, glowing orb of blue something. The map itself showed a wrap-around design to the observatory with about half a dozen areas situated across three levels. Bright, primary colors dominated every inch of the observatory, which reminded Twilight very much of some of her Equestria friends’ custom-built homes like the Carousel Boutique and Rainbow Dash’s cloud house.
Hovering through the air everywhere she looked were dozens of chikos of various colors and even a few sizes, chatting and playing. The closest ones took notice of the group’s arrival and began whispering to each other. Twilight was surprised to see how many ‘children’ Rosetta actually had— assuming they were anything like baby foals, having so many must’ve been a real hoofful to care for. Then again, it made sense she had so many given how the cute little creatures apparently turned into celestial bodies.
“Wow, this place looks really nice,” Yugi said.
“Nothing like your rocket, Sandy,” Spongebob remarked.
Sandy nodded. “Yeah, this is way outta even my league.”
A sudden thought occurred to Twilight and she turned to Rosetta. “Wait a minute, if we’re going to be traveling through space, then shouldn’t we be in a closed off area with oxygen?” she asked.
Rosetta turned to her with a soft smile. “Don’t worry, the Comet Observatory is surrounded by a magic veil which provides oxygen to myself and all air-breathing passengers.” She made a sweeping gesture in front of her at the observatory, glancing at everyone. “Feel free to make yourself at home. I understand you’re all capable of providing for yourselves regarding food and water, but we have plenty of star bits to go around for those who are interested in trying chiko food. I would also ask that you refrain from making noise after I’ve put my children to bed. Otherwise, you’re free to wander at your leisure. And don’t worry about falling off the deck; there are safeguards in place to rescue anyone who falls off.”
“Mama! Mama!”
One of the nearest chikos — a green, slightly slender one — hovered over to the group.
“Hello, Laura,” Rosetta said sweetly. “Were you all good while the Doctor and I were away?”
Laura nodded. “Yep. We were all very good!”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I have a question, Mama.”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“What’s ‘bullshit’?”
There was a brief moment of silence before a round of snickers erupted from the crowd. Rosetta’s eyes bulged briefly before she pinched the bridge of her nose, her smile falling into an exasperated frown.
“Where is Maria right now?” she asked.
“In the kitchen, Mama.”
“Okay then, it appears I’ll be busy for a while.” She turned to the Doctor. “Mind getting the engine up and running?”
A wholesome smile broke out on the Doctor’s face as he stuck his hands in his pockets. “No worries. You go discipline your kid; I’ll take care of everything.”
Rosetta nodded, and took off down the platform, turning right through the reading area and towards a brick, dome-shaped structure a little further away.
Twilight looked to the Doctor. “I don’t want to sound rude, but I’m genuinely curious: Are you two married?”
“Not at all,” he replied, turning to watch Rosetta’s retreating form. “She’s a good girl, definitely a good companion, but no way could I ever stand being a surrogate father for all of these chikos. I’d be driven right up a wall and back down more times than a paint roller.”
Twilight giggled. “That’s easy to imagine.”
The Doctor smiled. “You’re a smart girl, Twilight. Or mare, I guess I should say. I’m looking forward to our time together.” He capped off his statement by gently patting her on the head before taking off in the opposite direction as Rosetta.
“He’s certainly quirky,” Yugi remarked, coming up on Twilight’s left.
“They both seem like very good people,” Florina said, coming up on her right.
Twilight nodded. “I think we’re in good hands being here.”
“Or whatever those chikos have that count for ‘hands’,” Samus said from behind her.
Twilight turned around to face the group. Everyone who she’d met since the beginning of this forced adventure was here with her now. People from different worlds in different universes, brought together to fulfill the sadistic amusement of an omnipotent being with an audience. They’d overcome so many challenges together, gotten stronger both individually and as a collective whole in both spirit and body.
And their journey together was soon to be over.
“Hmm? Are you okay, Twilight?” Florina asked.
Twilight blinked—tears had filled her eyes. She took a moment to wipe them away before regarding the group with the most genuine smile she could ever remember giving in her entire life— one to easily rival the one she had when she first discovered the magic of friendship.
“Sorry, sorry,” she repeated, shaking her head. “I was getting a little sentimental is all.”
“It’s okay to get a little emotional, Twilight,” Celestia assured her. She walked up and nuzzled the smaller mare, earning one in return. “It’s only natural after all the time you’ve spent together.” She spread her wings over the group. “These are our friends, after all.”
Twilight nodded. “Exactly, Princess.”
James joined the two of them, hands in his pockets and a sly, contemplative grin splitting his mouth. “In my line of work, friendship tends to be more of a hindrance than anything,” he said.
Celestia and Twilight both quirked eyebrows at him.
James laughed. “It’s a good thing I’m not on duty, then.” He spread his arms wide. “I’m guessing a group hug is in order, hmm?”
Celestia and Twilight both returned his laugh before settling into his arms. Twilight looked to everyone else; they were staring at the three of them with expressions ranging from bewildered to bemused.
“Feel free to join in, everyone,” she said.
She’d meant it mostly as a playful joke but nevertheless didn’t object when a few members of the group did indeed decide to join them. The ones that didn’t continued standing there, unsure how to react to the brazen display of cuddly friendship. Eventually, and with more than a few exasperated sighs, they too walked over and joined in as best they could with how massive the ring of people had become, topped off with Master Hand lightly resting on top with his fingers gently wrapped around everyone.
The group finally split apart after a few moments, sharing a round of merry laughter before Twilight spoke up.
“All right then, I suppose we should bring you guys up to speed on what's going on?" She nodded to the four returning group members.
Celestia nodded. "Yes, please do, Twilight." The other three nodded as well.
"Well, I hope you're ready for a doozy. It all started when..."