//------------------------------// // One Less Hero // Story: Worlds Apart: The Chosen of the Prognosticus // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// The first thing Data did upon arriving in the world was whip out the tricorder and start taking readings, particularly of the lamppost. “Princess,” he began. “Hmm?” Twilight looked up. “Oh, no need to be so formal, Data. Just ‘Twilight’ is fine.” Data nodded. “I suppose this is not a Starfleet away team. If my procedures interfere with your command style in any way, do not hesitate to inform me.” “I’ll… try.” Twilight smiled with the intent of encouraging him. “Anyway, what did you want to tell me?” “During our time with access to the other worlds, cursory scans have been performed of them. We have identified a ‘moldability’ within the fabric of each universe we suspected is roughly analogous to what you call ‘magic.’ Until now, you were the largest source we had scanned.” “Is this lamppost more magical?” Twilight lit her horn, performing her own scans. “Doesn’t feel like it…” “No, it only has mild amounts. I’m referring to the very fabric of spacetime in this universe. Every square meter has far more energy than you.” Toph smashed her foot into the ground, lifting a pillar of rock upward. “I can earthbend, that’s all I care about.” “Oh, how delightful!” Cosmo clapped her hands. “I didn’t get to see any of that in the previous world.” Toph winked at her. “Watch and learn, Cosmo, we’re gonna have a rockin’ time.” “Excellent pun, Toph,” Data commended. “Thank you!” A smug smile grew upon Toph’s face. Twilight facehooved. “Okay, okay, let’s just try to figure out where you need to go. Tippi?” “Yes, I can sense it… I…” Tippi paused. “This isn’t right. This isn’t Charn… Thi—” “Hey, sweet!” Sonic rushed through the door, taking in a deep breath of air. “Ah, you can smell the unexplored nature!” “Sonic!” Cosmo chided. “We kept all the Hume teams out, you can’t jus—” Sonic laughed and ran into the distance. Toph folded her arms and grinned. “All things considered, I still like that guy.” With a sigh, Cosmo walked up to Tippi. “You were saying this wasn’t Charn? Perhaps it has just changed?” “No,” Tippi said. “This is not the world in my records. I…” She fluttered a short distance away from the group. “Since the creation of Flipside, a new world must have taken Charn’s place.” “The worlds do not remain the same?” Data asked. “No…” Tippi fluttered around as if looking for something. “There are only eight, but every now and then one ends, and another forms, taking its place. But it’s so rare... “ “That’s what Count Bleck is trying to hijack!” Twilight realized, speaking with more excitement than was warranted. “The way in which new worlds are created when old ones end. Maybe something happens when he destroys all of them, giving him a blank slate to work with?” Tippi didn’t respond. “Tippi?” Twilight cocked her head. “Hm?” Tippi glanced back at Twilight. “Oh, yes, that seems… reasonable…” “Tippi, are you okay?” Cosmo asked. “I’m fine, just… disoriented, the world’s wr—” An ugly, wart-covered old woman stepped out from nowhere—as though she were standing behind something invisible previously—and trapped Tippi in a jar that glowed with a golden aura. “Eek!” Tippi shouted. “I have you now, my pretty…” the hag said, cackling. Twilight grabbed hold of the jar with her magic and pulled. “Give her back!” “No!” The witch twisted her mouth into an ugly sneer that showed off all her uneven, cracked teeth. With a shocking amount of strength, she yanked the jar out of Twilight’s grip and vanished. “Wh…” Twilight cast a spell to remove invisibility but found nothing. She spread her wings, channeling magic between the tips of her feathers and her horn, creating a triangular circuit of magenta energy. A magical circle appeared in front of her face, etched with numerous runic markings of a mysterious language. “Revel atti exter nevesum,” she incanted, tapping into one of the more advanced spells she had at her disposal, activating a burst of amethyst energy that went out from her position for half a mile. It had one job: Detect Tippi. It found absolutely nothing. “I… I don’t understand… how did she…” Twilight sat down, blinking. “Perhaps with more ‘magic’, this world may surpass even your knowledge,” Data suggested. He tapped his communicator. “Data to Enterprise, do you read?” “Yes, Data,” Picard’s voice came in. “What’s the situation?” “Tippi has just been kidnapped by an unknown female entity. I recommend downloading her design specifications from Merlon, to see if there is anything to track.” “Acknowledged.” Toph stomped the ground a few more times. “I’ve got nothing, but I can’t feel her normally anyway. So...” “We need her,” Cosmo said. “She is the only one with the ability to sense the Pure Hearts,” Data noted. “More than that.” Cosmo shook her head. “She ties everything together. She may not say much… but…” “We’re getting her back.” Twilight hoofed the ground, narrowing her eyes. “Saving her is our new mission. The Pure Heart is secondary.” Toph punched her palm with her fist. “All right! Let’s go beat up an old lady!” “Picard to Data,” the Captain called through the communicator. “Merlon reports nothing obvious to track, but we have the design specifications and are searching through them. I… have had to classify them since they contain information akin to a private medical history.” “An… interesting interpretation, Captain.” “It’s not what you think, but I am not at liberty to say.” Picard paused. “When you find her, I would like to have a word with her.” “We can certainly arrange a meeting,” Data confirmed. “Good. Find her, Data. Picard out.” Toph frowned. “It feels a lot less like we’re on a dangerous adventure if we can just call in at any time.” “It is much safer, though,” Cosmo said. Twilight nodded. “Right…” She glanced at the lamppost. “So, any ideas on how to find her? If it’s anything other than ‘explore until we find something,' I’m all ears.” “I… may be able to help.” A humanoid creature walked out of the forest. His upper half was almost entirely human save for a set of small, nubby horns above his eyebrows. Below his chest, however, was a decidedly inhuman pair of goat’s haunches, complete with stumpy tail, wooly hide, and cloven hooves. “Oh. So you weren’t just some two-legged goat,” Toph said. “...I probably should have told you guys he was there.” “I do not believe he means us any harm,” Cosmo said, walking up to him. “Please, how can you help?” “W-well, I don’t know what I can do about the Hag, but… I know someone who might be able to help.” “Who?” “The King.” “The King of where?” Data asked. “Why, the King of Narnia of course!”