//------------------------------// // Waiting For the Dawn // Story: Worlds Apart: The Chosen of the Prognosticus // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// Since Tippi wasn’t strong enough to actually carry the Pure Heart, it was Twilight who ended up taking it back through the door to Flipside. When they walked through the door, they received a massive amount of applause—which, in all fairness, was to be expected. They had all the Pure Hearts. Their primary mission… was complete. All that remained was to follow through. With a silly smile, she lifted the Pure Heart into the air with her telekinesis. “The journey is done, but the day is not won. I know you’ve all been preparing for quite some time, but that doesn’t mean we can celebrate yet. The longer we wait to attack the Castle, the more we will lose. So… one day. One day, and we charge into the belly of the beast. Be ready.” “Yes, Twilight!” The crowd responded. They made a path down the middle for the heroes. Standing tall, all seven of them made their way to the elevator and descended all the way to the Heart Pillar room. Twilight all but threw the pink Heart into the pillar with all the others. It nestled into the flow with the other seven forming a complete color wheel that twisted itself into a figure eight shape, pulsating within the pillar with the core essence of eight worlds. “You know, that opens the door to Earth, doesn’t it?” Caspian asked. “It should,” Tippi said. “I’d… like to look through it,” Caspian said. “Not go in, we don’t have time for an adventure right now, but… I’d like to see it.” “Not a problem,” Twilight said, turning back to the elevator, but stopping just outside one of Merlon’s screens. >>Well done, heroes.<< “Thank you! But… the work’s not done yet.” >>No. The Light Prognosticus insists you make it to Bleck. Be careful.<< “We will.” They entered the elevator and went back up to the main platform. Most of the people who had been there had already transported away, giving them space to spread out and appreciate what they’d accomplished. Every side of the eight-sided platform had a door. The red crimson of Diqiu, the succulent orange of Mobius, the stellar yellow of Hume, the lush green of Narnia, the innocent blue of Lumash, the dark indigo of Equis, the powerful purple of the Ninth World, and the simple pink… of Earth. Caspian walked to these new, Pink doors, and opened them—careful not to go through. On the other side he saw rolling hills and well treated trees surrounding a homely mansion that was running with electricity. A smile grew across Caspian’s face. “Yes...” He slowly shut the door. “That is enough for me. For now, let us rest… and prepare.” “There’s nothing stopping you from going through,” Twilight said. “Their world is a simple one, from what we know.” “It… I feel it wouldn’t be right.” The smile never left his face. “I am blessed enough to receive the glance.” Twilight bowed her head, deferring to his judgement. “All right. In that case… to the inn.” ~~~ Captain’s Log, Stardate 47938.8 As I turn in early today to get the proper rest required for tomorrow, I find myself apprehensive. This is far from the first battle I’ve had to wait for, and I am far from alone across history in waiting for the dawn to break on a coming battle. Even considering that I’ve been given the honor of commanding the fleet due to my experience isn’t what makes this time different. Perhaps it is the stakes. This is truly a situation where failure is not an option. Reports tell me that Mobius is already breaking up and that chances are good it will not last until the completion of our mission. Depending on how long it takes, it looks as though Lumash and my own world may fall as well. It’s times like this I pray Twilight’s assumption is correct—that everything will be restored with the defeat of this monstrous Void. And yet, I find myself doubtful. Doubtful that this multiverse is kind enough to allow the loss to be undone. Although… the Pure Hearts suggest the very fabric of reality itself is built upon love. That gives me hope. Hope that whatever happens, the beauty of our relationships will triumph. ~~~ Twilight woke up last. Everyone was there—including Data, who had no need to sleep but had chosen to remain at their side for the last night nonetheless. Letting out a big yawn, Twilight stood up. “Hmm… Should I give another good speech? I hear I’m pretty good at them and there’s starting to be an argument about if I’m better than Picard or not.” “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time for speeches later,” Toph said, cracking her knuckles. “Right now, I think I’d like to enjoy possibly my last day on earth. ...the multiverse. Whatever, you get what I mean.” Twilight nodded. “How… are you doing? I wasn’t there, I didn’t see what it was like…” “I didn’t see what it was like either.” “Har-de-har.” Toph chuckled. “I’m fine. Really, they convinced me to think about me as I am so I… kinda just did? ‘Giant rock monsters’ don’t really have much need for carrying memories or thinking very much, so I don’t remember much aside from when the Heart was stopping me from blowing myself up by thinking too hard.” Toph shrugged. “I do know it was terrible and that I’m glad that the entire place is sealed up where I can’t get to it anymore.” “The mind is an uncontrollable beast,” Caspian said. Vivian chuckled softly. “I don’t know... “ “Do you really think you could pull that trick of yours again?” “Nope!” Vivian grinned. “And if Aslan hadn’t actually come it would have been terrible but I’m still going to enjoy the harmless fantasy.” “...So we learned nothing about the dangers of fantasy from Celerillion, then?” Tippi asked. Vivian shrugged. “Okay.” Cosmo stretched herself out. “Well, if we’re going to be enjoying our last day here, I’ve got some people I’d like to talk to. I’ll meet you at the platform when the time comes.” With a cutesy wink, she hopped out of the inn and toward the rest of Flipside. Caspian shrugged, walking out with Vivian in tow. Tippi fluttered out as well, though she flew upward instead of following the street. Toph yawned. “I think I’ll go talk with Iroh and then fall asleep in the middle of his stories. It’ll be amazing.” She clapped her hands together and jumped out, leaving only Data and Twilight behind. Data turned to her, cocking his head. “Should we talk?” “Probably,” Twilight admitted, folding her ears back. “I… yes, I think we probably should, at least briefly.” He sat down on the bed and tilted his head forward slightly, waiting for her to talk. “So I’m pretty sure I’ve fallen for you,” Twilight managed, and once that was out, her mouth just kept moving at a million miles an hour. “And I’m not entirely sure how I can fall for—no that’s not right, I know exactly how, you can keep up with me, you show interest in not only the science of the world but also who I am, you both understand things about me no one else understands and don’t understand things that make me fascinated, you…” She stopped herself. “You’re amazing, Data. Simply… amazing. But I’m not sure this can work. You… don’t have emotions. You strive to have them and understand them in such a determined way it gives you a spark of life and a spirit like anything else…” Data held up a hand. “Before we continue, I will remind you that I do have an emotion chip sitting on the Enterprise, I just haven't installed it.” Twilight put a hoof to her mouth. “That… that’s right, I’d completely forgotten about that! In that case… well I don’t want to get my hopes up but I totally am! Let’s install it and… see where it goes.” “I will most certainly do so after our final mission. I do not wish unforseen emotional difficulties on the final mission.” Twilight couldn’t hide her disappointment. “Oh… well, that’s a good and very reasonable decision.” “Your emotions tell you otherwise?” “Yep! See, if I’ve learned anything from talking to Cadence, it’s that emotions this close to the heart entirely override the logic centers of the brain. And… as we’ve seen on this quest of ours, that can be a good and a bad thing.” Data nodded. “I believe I understand.” “You don’t, but I appreciate the effort. It’s… part of the reason we’re even having this conversation. You try so hard. It’s… very admirable.” She smiled. “Come on. Let’s go enjoy this last day. Maybe I should take you out to lunch, or something.” “Is it not the male who traditionally does the taking out?” Twilight snickered. “In your world, maybe. But I think we both know we’re just going to Ten Forward, so the point is moot.” She pushed the door of the inn open, walking with Data out into the street. Celestia was waiting for them with a sad smile. “I… I am sorry Twilight, I can see you’re attempting to enjoy yourself, but this may be the last time I can give you this.” She levitated a journal with a sun emblem on the front of it to Twilight. “Sunset wrote… many things in it.” “O-oh…” Twilight stared at the journal in shock. “I… guess I should read it.” “She found out how to transmit more than just words, Twilight. You will get to see her face.” Twilight swallowed. “Data… let’s go back into the inn and look at this.” Data cocked his head. “Are you certain?” “I think I might need an emotionless pillar of stability right now.” She was already feeling the tears come to her eyes as she stroked the journal—Sunset Shimmer’s journal. “Th-thank you, Celestia.” “Thank you, Twilight, for all you’ve done.” Celestia bowed to the much smaller alicorn before taking off to elsewhere in Flipside. Twilight took in a sharp breath. “Okay…” She trotted back into the inn and opened the book. “Let’s see what she has to say…” ~~~ “So,” Iroh said as he poured tea for Vanilla and Toph. “I hear you were a giant boulder-flinging mountain for a while.” “Yep!” Toph said, downing the entire cup in a second. “Two words. First: awesome. Second: stupid.” “But it was your own mind that told you to become that monster,” Iroh said. “My mind also tried to blow myself up a few times. Everything in that world was made from thoughts. ...I bet if I thought I could see, I would actually have been able to see.” She shivered. “There’s too much power there. Apparently Tippi talked a guy into defeat just by suggesting he light on fire in very descriptive ways.” “You were afraid.” “Who wouldn’t be? You’re your own worst enemy there.” Toph tapped her fingers against the table. “I know I was. I was even their enemy. And… geez, it all seems so petty.” Iroh cocked his head. “What does?” “Everything. Like… before all this started, I was running away because I didn’t want to be a teacher who failed to give her students anything. Now I just… I’ve been a jerk, jeopardized the mission, refused to trust, and tore myself up into a mountain monster while all worlds get torn apart. Everything that felt like such a big deal before… it’s trivial.” “They meant a lot to you at the time, do not forget that.” Iroh took a moment to smell the aroma of his tea. “Just because you have moved on to larger games of life and death does not mean your earlier struggles are meaningless. They made you who you are today. Able to face those problems.” “I haven’t been facing a lot really well…” “But you have friends who hold you up.” “Yeah…” Toph frowned. “Still, I’ve messed things up a lot.” Vanilla spoke up this time. “And you’re still one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, Toph.” Vanilla smiled brightly. “Just keep getting back up and you’ll do fine.” “Heh.” Toph traced her finger over the edge of the table. “Maybe you’re right… Nevermind, you’re definitely right, what am I saying?” She laughed, and Iroh and Vanilla joined her. ~~~ “Hello, Doctor Eggman!” Cosmo cheered, jumping into the control room at the bottom of the Pit. “If that was an attempt to scare me, you have failed miserably,” Eggman deadpanned, not looking up from the primary control console. “I’m just dropping by. It’s the last day and I’m going around visiting people—and that includes you.” “You’re wasting your time. Nothing interesting down here.” Cosmo hopped to the other side of the console and peered over the top of it at him. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re working on?” “A conundrum,” Eggman said. “The eight Pure Hearts, together, have enough power to hold the Void at bay indefinitely. We can save… Flipside and the surrounding structures.” “That means we have a fallback!” “No, it doesn't.” Eggman drummed his fingers on the bottom of the console. “Because we need to eject the Pure Hearts to destroy the power Count Bleck gains from the Chaos Heart. And once we do that, our protection will be gone, and I suspect the Pure Hearts will be largely drained.” “But we’ll have won at that point, right?” “It’ll stop the Chaos Heart’s power. It won’t stop the Void. And it won’t stop him. That last part will be up to you seven, if the Light Prognosticus is to be trusted. It’ll come down to you and him, in the end.” “We’ve come this far.” “You were the chosen of a prophecy. Need I remind you that he is a chosen one as well?” Cosmo shook her head. “Nope. But we have many things he doesn’t have.” Eggman snorted. “What, friendship? I’m pretty sure his minions actually are rather fond of him, from what I hear.” “Huh? Oh, no. I mean, we do have that, but I was thinking more of seven of us, one of him, have Toph throw a giant boulder in his face kind of thing.” She smiled innocently. “Cosmo… you never cease to surprise me.” He grinned. “Oh ho ho ho ho ho! Yes, why not, throw a boulder into his smug, dark face. That’ll show him.” “That’s the spirit!” Cosmo lifted a fist into the air and jumped. “What strange times we live in…” Eggman shook his head. “I think you like it.” “Hmm?” “Being the good guy for a change.” “My dear, I assure you that I’m only doing this to further the reach of the Eggman Empire. When Bleck is down you and I will be at each other’s throats again.” “...That might be true. But I think I know you a bit better, now. You’ve always been smart enough. You could have taken over the world with extreme force and brutality if you really wanted. But… that’s not what you want. You want the thrill of a fight, the adrenaline rushing through your veins as you face your nemesis, and the joy… of an adventure.” Eggman snorted. “Don’t go pursuing a psychology degree.” Cosmo shrugged. “I still think it’s true. See ya, Eggman.” She walked away. As she began to move up the stairs, Ty Lee cartwheeled down in her Starfleet uniform, landing at Eggman’s side. “Ah, Ty Lee.” “I’m so excited!” Ty Lee called. “And nervous, very nervous, but also excited! We… we’re going to save the worlds!” “Or die horribly.” “Even that’s a little exciting! And… horrible. But hey, at least we all have each other, right?” Cosmo shook her head as the two friends conversed. Eggman, when are you going to learn where you’re happiest? Among friends. Friends you don’t try to fight in giant robot battles every week. She left the two to catch up. ~~~ It took Twilight several hours to get through Sunset’s journal. Not because there was a ton of stuff in it—most of it was brief, to conserve space—but because she kept bursting into tears at the memory of a friend, reading about a life she’d lived far apart from Twilight. After the portal to Equis had ceased functioning due to the massive shift in the time constants, Sunset was cut off from her homeworld. She had to live the rest of her life as a human, which would have been fine. Early on, she went through a graduate program to study the fundamental nature of physics on a subatomic level. She became virtually the only source of Equestrian magic on Earth—Hume’s Earth, that is. Much of the early sections in the journal were brief updates about her becoming a great scientist, occasionally working with a man named Christopher Thorndyke. It was a happy time, and Sunset was slowly uncovering the time disconnect between the universes, understanding why the portal wasn’t working. And then World War Three erupted on the face of the Earth and everything fell apart. Her research lab was destroyed and, as far as Twilight could tell, Sunset never saw her friends from Canterlot High again after that. The journal shifted to a darker tone, where Sunset stopped being the great scientist and became a highly prized warrior. The only human with magic, magic she had honed over the years, was a great asset—which prompted her to stop trying to end the war, instead waiting it out in the shadows as a strange hermit, practicing magic away from prying power-hungry people. Several of the passages sounded old, bitter, and angry. And then… something changed. She met a man named Zefram Cochrane, though it wasn’t the man himself that changed her outlook—it was what he did, building the first warp capable ship, working off research she had started before the war broke out. This led to First Contact, and the first long section in the entire Journal. When you get this, Twilight, I want you to know that… this world has hope. Before we launched the Phoenix, they came, people from the future. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Enterprise… (“If this is time travel,” Data offered. “It has not happened yet for me.”) …They came to save the project. And the short time they were here, they told of a great Federation of Planets that this Earth was a part of. I… all this pain seems worth it, now. Losing you, losing my friends, even. I’m sorry if that sounds crass, but I think it’s true. Maybe I’m just trying to cope, to come to terms with all that happened. But right now… Right now, I am certain. I am certain that the brilliance of this future will make up for it all. I hope that, when the time of our worlds connects once more, you will be able to see this future. (Twilight let out a delighted, sorrowful laugh at that). And… I’ll do my best to live that long. This is a human body, but it’s filled with magic. With that future to look forward to, I can’t imagine doing anything else. After this, somehow Sunset had discovered how to transmit holograms. They still took up some space on the page, but were able to display a lot more messages. She sent images of the technology she was working on, the ships she helped design, and, eventually, the names she had to take since she was starting to live just a little too long. Sunset Shimmer. Aurora Samwise. Synthia Oroboros. She got rather creative with them as time went on. “A man named Jean-Luc Picard was born today,” Sunset’s recorded voice played from the page. “I’ll wait to meet him. But I know the future is almost here.” “Are you… still alive?” Twilight found herself asking, turning pages, getting closer and closer to the end. “I was on the Enterprise-D today. ‘Lieutenant Shinjo.’ We encountered the being known as Q, and I got to witness first-hand the man Picard is. He’s not quite as old as I remember him, naturally, but I can still see that spark. But then… Q took me aside, and said it was time for me to come with him. I said no, but he said it wasn’t a choice I got to make. So… it looks like this is the end of the line for Lieutenant Susan Shinjo. I’ve only got a page left anyway, might make use of it.” On the last page, a fully rendered three-dimensional hologram of Sunset Shimmer appeared on the pages. She was taller than Twilight remembered, and her hair was significantly shorter. While the hair remained its usual red and yellow self, Sunset’s skin tone had been changed to be a more neutral human color. At some point, Sunset had given herself pointed ears, though Twilight wasn’t sure exactly why. They weren’t quite as pronounced as a full Vulcan’s, but it set her aside as not quite human—perhaps intending to be a halfbreed? She wore a red Starfleet uniform similar to Picard’s proudly. “Hello, Twilight,” Sunset said, smiling. “It’s… well, for me, you’re just a memory that happened several lifetimes ago, an old friend I write to every now and then and never hear from. For you, as best as I can tell, you’ll get this a week or so after you lose contact with me. It’s… hard to think of how much time has passed. I want you to know, though, that I’ve lived a very full life, more than I had any right to. I was a scientist, a mystic sage, an explorer… I even got to be a starship captain there for a while. But you probably know all that from the rest of the Journal. “There’s so much I want to say to you… but the last page can only hold so much video. Just... I want you to remember that none of this would have been possible if you hadn’t given me a chance all those years ago and helped me look past my anger. I owe you my life. And I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to stop sending things to you. “There’s this race called the Q. A bunch of beings so powerful they make Celestia look tiny. They’ve been watching me ever since I arrived, and, apparently, now they want me to go with them. I… don’t have a choice. I’d ‘interfere with their trial’ or something dumb like that. So I guess I get to be all-powerful but don’t get to do anything.” She chuckled. “Preferable to being vaporized! “Anyway, when you get this—and they assure me you will get this one day—just remember me for who I was, okay? I’m not sure if what I’m going to become will be… recognizable. But we’ll see, eh? Just… remember. That’s all I ask.” “I will,” Twilight said. “I guess this is goodbye, in a way. So… goodbye, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Lead your ponies well. And tell Celestia I’m sorry we never got around to having that lunch.” She shook her head. “One more thing. The Q want to meet you when you can get back here. Bring Discord along. He’s important for some reason they didn’t exactly want to tell me.” Sunset let out a deep sigh. “Well, I’m out of time. Here’s to the next stage of life.” To close the message, Sunset held up her hand and parted her fingers down the middle, a gesture several Vulcans had given Twilight. “Live long, and prosper. I know I have. I can only wish the same of you.” The message ended. Twilight was smiling brightly. “...I sure hope all of us do, Sunset.” She wiped her eyes, turning to Data. “We should get Discord and go to the Q. This might… be important to our mission.” “Are you sure you are up to it?” Data asked. “I… all evidence to the contrary, I actually feel really great right now.” Twilight beamed, face still wet. “She lived her life well. That’s more than I could have asked.” ~~~ Picard had never seen a creature quite like Discord. Tall and snakelike, but also made of a mish-mash of other organisms in such a way that it made looking at him rather painful. And then there was his voice. “Glad to be on board, Captain!” It sounded very, very similar to Q, and it bothered Picard enough that it was hard to keep his smile steady. The way Discord bowed overtop of the bridge’s tactical console only made things worse. “Welcome aboard, Mr. Discord. We will be underway shortly.” He turned to Twilight. “You can show him around as you wish.” Twilight nodded. “Thanks for doing this, if anyone can grab Qs attention, it’s you—from what Data tells me.” Picard nodded slowly. “Regrettably, that does appear to be true. But he will only show if he wants to. Data, a moment, please?” Data and Picard walked into the ready room and sat down. “Data, what do you know of this Discord?” Data took a moment to access his memories. “Prior to his abduction by Count Bleck, he was the Spirit of Chaos on Equis, an entity who shared a large number of similarities with Q, although with a notably higher level of empathy. He tormented their world until Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony turned him by showing their kindness. He has been their close friend ever since—until the Count took him and used his chaotic nature fused with the breaking of Cadence's vows to empower the Chaos Heart, according to a prophecy in the Dark Prognosticus.” “The others all responded to love, even broken love…” Picard scratched his chin. “The Chaos Heart responded to the blasphemous opposite. It was not hate. It was destructive, false love.” “According to Luigi and Starlight, hypnosis was involved.” “I feel as if there's more to it.” “I am afraid I cannot see it if there is.” Picard nodded slowly, contemplating. “How is he now?” “His power is slowly returning to him, but his abilities are nowhere near that of Q’s right now. He attempted to create a rubber duck and it used up almost all of his capacity.” “Perhaps… Q can restore him?” “Perhaps,” Data admitted. “He does seem to be related, and Sunet’s message asked specifically for him to be taken.” “But Q powers cannot function outside our universe.” “Precisely why I believe we are being summoned, to solve that particular mystery.” “Hmm…” Picard sat back. “...Data, in a few hours we will be charging down the throat of the man that has caused this entire calamity.” “I know.” “It feels… final.” “I have the same sensation.” Picard stood up, walking to his window, taking in the appearance of Flipside. “Is the experience in Narnia fading for you, too?” “Not at all sir. My memory is perfect.” “I suppose that’s another advantage of yours.” “Do you wish me to remind you?” “Perhaps another time, Data.” Picard folded his arms behind his back and let out a sigh. “We must focus on the mission ahead. Lions of immense power will not step in to solve our own mess.” “Who’s to say he won’t?” “And I think that’s a place where you have a disadvantage, Data,” Picard said. “It’s… a feeling.” “Ah. I should inform you that, after completing this mission, I am considering installing the emotion chip.” “Oh?” “Twilight appears to have become attracted to me in some fashion, and expressed a desire to continue only if I could express emotion.” Data frowned. “I may be oversimplifying.” “Data? You, oversimplifying? Never.” Picard returned to his chair, leaning into his hands. “I can say I’m surprised, but thinking about it, the two of you are rather similar. Big minds with big dreams.” “Thank you, sir.” “I wish you luck, Mr. Data. ...I wish all of us luck.” ~~~ Caspian had only been told he “needed to get up here.” So he’d jumped into the elevator and slid all the way to the top platform of Flipside, coming out to see three very familiar faces standing next to Iroh. They were young, human children—older than Caspian remembered them, but still undeniably the Pevensies; the Kings and Queens of Narnia that helped him reclaim his throne. Though, there were only three—Peter, the eldest; then Susan next to the youngest, Edmund. “Caspian!” Peter called, waving. “Peter!” The two men clasped their hands around the others’ arms and entered a great embrace. “What are you doing here?” “The door,” Peter pointed at the pink one. “Appeared right outside our property. We walked in the moment we noticed.” “Apparently,” Edmund said, “being told you can’t return to Narnia does not mean you can’t go to other worlds.” Susan nodded slowly, a look of mild disbelief on her face. “Susan?” Caspian cocked his head. “What’s wrong?” “I… I had almost convinced myself it was all a dream.” She held out a hand, approaching the green door cautiously. “But… it’s behind this door, isn’t it? Narnia?” Caspian nodded. “It is.” “We cannot go, Su,” Edmund said. “We can’t go back.” “We can,” Peter said. “But Aslan said we were not to return, so we shall not. It is as simple as that.” “Right.” Caspian smirked. “Well, you’ve come for something else, then. We’re just about to organize a raid on this terrible best of a man that’s trying to destroy all worlds. The legendary Kings and Queen will be of great help.” “I doubt it,” Peter said. “We… are not in Narnian air. Our experiences… aren’t coming back to us.” “It still feels like a dream,” Susan added. “I’m sorry, Caspian.” “We’re just a bunch of plucky kids,” Edmund shrugged. “Of course, of course,” Caspian nodded in understanding. “You’re welcome to stay in Flipside as long as you’d like. Might even get to see some fireworks.” He winked. “I must ask…” Peter stepped forward. “Have you seen Lucy?” “No, I have not. I have her cordial with m—” “I am not asking for her cordial. She… disappeared off the face of the Earth some months ago.” “Concerning…” Caspian shook his head. “But no, I have not seen h—” He froze. “No…” “No, what?” Susan asked, putting a hand to her mouth. “Iroh,” Caspian said. “Do you have one of those tablet things? Bring up a picture… of Lulu.” Iroh took a data pad out of his robes and pulled up what Caspian had asked for. Caspian winced as he saw the image, turning it to the other three. “This is her.” “What… is that garrish thing she’s wearing?” Susan asked. “Magician’s robes.” Caspian frowned. “Lucy… If I had to guess, Count Bleck has hypnotized her and has her working for him under the name Lulu. We’ve… actually fought her a few times, not realizing who she was.” “The expression’s too angry to be Lucy,” Peter said, taking the data pad. “But it’s definitely her face.” “Oh, no… she’s on the enemy team…” Susan whispered. “Aslan will come through for her,” Edmund said. “He did for me.” “And I will do all in my power to protect her.” Caspian bowed to Peter. “You have my word as King of Narnia, Peter.” “Bring her home, Caspian.” ~~~ Twilight and Discord were on the bridge when the Enterprise transitioned back to Hume. “Here goes nothing…” Picard cleared his throat. “Q! We have bro—” In the middle of his sentence, he, Twilight, and Discord were all teleported to a strange western-style road in the middle of nowhere with a single, decrepit waystation. On the porch of this waystation sat two individuals—Q himself in his standard red starfleet uniform, and a woman with hair of fire in a similarly colored uniform. “S-sunset?” Twilight stammered. “To you, yes,” she said, smiling warmly. “To all else, I am Q. Isn’t that right, Q?” Q rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, get on with it.” “He’s your experiment.” Sunset said. “You’re the one who wanted to be here.” “Um, excuse me?” Discord asked, snaking forward. “Do you mind explaining what’s going on?” “I would like some answers as well, Q,” Picard demanded. “You’re hiding things from us.” “We’re aware of the motion of every molecule in your meaty body,” Sunset said, twisting her hand to create a miniature version of Picard and then disintegrating it. “If we shared such things your mind would explode.” “I had hoped you would be a more reasonable member of the Continuum.” “A reasonable Q is one who sits and never does anything.” “So dreadfully boring,” Q muttered. “And responsible, until it’s not.” Sunset pointed at Picard, and he suddenly felt warm all over. “I admired you, Picard. I admired you for a long time. Even though your original meeting has not yet come.” “Do you have no regard for the temporal continuity of reality?” Picard asked. Sunset smirked. “Captain, captain, captain… I will use my powers to ensure the timeline takes the course it already took, assuming reality still exists in a few years. For now, time and loop continuity are broken by the Chaos Heart. Do try to keep up.” “S-sunset…” Twilight stammered. “Twilight, I did warn you before I changed that I wouldn't be the same.” Sunset looked at her—or, perhaps, through her—and smiled sadly. “I still cherish those memories, but they seem like… like the memories of a childhood, now. A precious childhood, yes, but so… small.” Twilight folded her ears back. “O-oh…” “Egh, enough of this petty sentimentality,” Q groaned. “We have a purpose here, and it’s not to get nostalgic or drive Jean-Luc to minor insanity.” Picard raised an eyebrow. “I was under the impression that was your hobby.” “It is. Unfortunately, I don’t get to do hobby things anymore. Because today…” he pointed at Discord. “We need to address the draconequus in the room.” Discord slithered up to Q. “So, great and powerful mastermind of all that is fun and amusing, Q of the strangest letters of the alphabet… Spill the beans!” Focusing all his energy, Discord managed to produce a can of beans and kick it over, pouring the beans on Q’s shirt. Q snapped his fingers to teleport the beans away. “Fine. You, Discord, are an experiment.” “His experiment,” Sunset emphasized. “Yes, yes whatever. See, we wanted to explore the other worlds—” “He was bored out of his skull and couldn—” Q threw his hands up in the air. “Since you seem to know the story so well, why don’t you tell it?” Sunset’s eyes flashed, and a book hit Q in the face. “By all means…” She turned to the others. “In ancient times, shortly after the destruction of Gaia, there was a Q that was bored: Q. He knew of the other worlds, but he also knew that Q powers never function outside Hume. So he sought to create something new that would go out into the world. Contacting the expert of dimensional travel at the time, the Shadow Queen, he began allowing her to influence the world of Hume in exchange for her help. Somewhere, sometime, he developed with her an entity that could use Q-like power in any realm.” “Me, obviously,” Discord said, smirking. “Cool, I didn’t know I was getting an origin story today. This deserves a celeb—” “You are but a fragment of the original entity,” Sunset interrupted. “The All-Q had to be destroyed. It was able to find the Experiment instantly and threatened to use it and the Dark Prognosticus to end all worlds just because it could.” “That doesn’t sound like me at all,” Discord pouted. “Which is why you aren’t dead,” Q said. “...Oh.” “You are the only cohesive fragment of his essence we know of,” Sunset continued. “And you are a remarkable being. But this also means you are unimaginably important—and exploitable. There’s a reason Count Bleck chose you to empower the Chaos Heart. What you were before was one of the Dark Prognosticus’ chosen, like the Shadow Queen and Count Bleck. You are, so far, the only one to escape its tragedy.” “Escape?” Discord snorted. “I appear to be powerless.” “But your powers return, with time, and you have many friends.” Sunset lifted his head with a finger, making sure he looked right at her. “But you have a tragedy to end. You know what you must do.” Discord swallowed hard. “I… I guess I do.” “Do we get to know?” Twilight asked. “No,” Sunset said matter-of-factly. “Continue your mission as you have planned. What he does is none of your concern.” She folded her hands and smiled sadly at Twilight. “And with that, our purpose in being here is gone.” “Th-that’s it?” Twilight stammered. “I am sorry, this is probably the last time they will permit me to speak with you. My ideas are… not very well-received in the Continuum. I was ascended more as a way to keep me from using extra-dimensional magic against their world order than anything else. I both love them and hate them for it. Don’t worry about me—there are infinite books in the Q Continuum.” Twilight nodded slowly, swallowing hard. “That… sounds amazing.” “I would offer to take you with me, but we both know you don’t want that.” “Yeah…” “Then goodbye, Twilight Sparkle,” Sunset said, cupping her head under Twilight’s chin as if the alicorn were a beloved pet. “I will miss you.” Her eyes flashed. They were back on board the Enterprise. “...That was a trip,” Discord said, though he was visibly distracted. “Right…” Twilight took a breath. “I guess… that was what we came for.” Picard nodded. “Lieutenant Knuckles? Return us to Flipside.” ~~~ Vivian floated up to Starlight as she watched her team engage in combat training. Cadence jumped Luigi, pinning him to the ground while Amy smacked Discord away with her hammer. “...I didn’t know Discord was in your team,” Vivian said. “Showed up an hour ago,” Starlight explained. “He said something about ‘what we must do’ to Cadence and suddenly Cadence was breathing down my throat to let him on. He’s a terrible fighter but apparently he needs to be here.” She tossed her mane back. “What brings you here?” “Just looking to talk with Luigi for a bit.” “All right… Take five!” Starlight waved for her team to stop fighting. Discord and Cadence went off to the side, talking to each other in hushed tones. Amy and Luigi walked up to Starlight and Vivian. “I’m ready,” Amy said, gripping her hammer. “I’m ready. I’m gonna smash that Bleck’s face in for all he’s done.” “Uh… sure!” Luigi said, sliding a few steps away from her. “That sounds, uh, great.” “Yes. Great.” Luigi turned to Vivian with desperation in his eyes. “So, Vivian, what’s up?” “Just dropping by to see how you’re doing!” Vivian blew him a playful kiss. “How are you doing?” “Eh, okay. Looking forward to seeing the Resistance again. Then I guess we… win and go back home? ...Sure doesn’t feel like we can go back home.” “Who said we had to?” Vivian asked. “Flipside is a home of its own, we could just stay here if we wanted.” “I… Hmm. Not sure I want to do that, either.” “What do you want to do?” “I dunno.” Vivian shook her head, smiling. “Luigi, you’ll have to decide at some point what you want to do.” “I know.” Luigi rubbed the back of his head. “I’ll do it later.” Vivian rolled her eyes. “If you say so, Jumpman. Good luck!” “You too!” “Also don’t let Amy smash you to pieces.” Luigi laughed nervously. “No promises there.” “I heard that!” Amy shouted. Luigi let out a yell and took off at a high run while Vivian only giggled. Amy, for her part, didn’t chase him. With a grunt, she put her hammer away and stared into the Void. Starlight’s horn started ringing—something the unicorns in Flipside were using to receive information much like a cell phone. She turned to answer it. “...It sneaks up on you,” Amy said, forlorn. “It was just a speck in the sky when we first came here, but now…” She gestured at the Void taking up half the sky. “We’re flying right into that. That thing that’s almost eaten my home.” “Has,” Starlight said, coming back from her message. “...Mobius was just devoured.” “Which one’s next?” Vivian asked. Does it matter, shadow? Every world wiped clean replaces chaos with emptiness... “Hume or Lumash,” Starlight answered. “We’re not sure. We no longer have the option to evacuate more. We’re mobilizing now.” Vivian took this as a cue to get to the top of Flipside and wait for the others. ~~~ They would be leaving in less than an hour. Tippi had called them all together in the Light Prognosticus room. She wanted only her friends and Merlon to be present for this. Vivian was the last to arrive, scrambling through the elevator, breathing heavily. “I… I made it!” “Good. Now that you’re all here…” Tippi took in a deep breath. “Merlon, you go first.” >>Gladly. The final leg of the journey has come. I need to do some last things with you.<< “Anything,” Twilight said with a slight bow. >>First, take the Light Prognosticus with you. You may not be able to reach it ever again, and it should be there in the final moments.<< “I grabbed a staff of holding from Jenny,” Tippi said, pointing at the staff in question, laying on the ground. “Cosmo, would you like to carry it?” “I would be honored.” Cosmo grabbed the staff and pointed it at the massive tome of the Light Prognosticus, sucking it into the main crystal. “We have the words of the prophecy with us.” >>Yes, you do. Secondly, we need to be able to deliver the Pure Hearts to you in an instant when you need them. I need to inject all of you with pattern enhancers. Normally, these are used to make it easier to transport you away from danger, but today they will be used to deliver the Pure Hearts to you the moment you need them.<< “Can we use it to ask for backup?” Caspian asked. >>Sadly, no, only the Hearts themselves will be able to pierce the barrier because they are connected to you on a deep level. Everything else would be lost in the Void.<< “We must be sure only to ask for the Hearts when we absolutely need them,” Tippi said. “They will lose energy even when used against the Chaos Heart directly. We cannot waste that energy on any other task.” “No special defense against darkness, got it,” Vivian said. “Got it.” “The injector is right there.” Tippi gestured at a cylindrical machine from the Federation. Everyone but Tippi herself took it—it wouldn’t play well with her circuitry. “And now…” Tippi landed on the podium the Light Prognosticus had been resting on. “I have something I need to tell you all. I wasn’t always a Pixl.” At this point, none of them were surprised at such a mild revelation. They nodded slowly, not understanding the point yet. “I… I used to be human, but for most of our adventure I didn’t remember anything about it. I wasn’t supposed to, since I was in a bad place when I was transferred into this Pixl form by Merlon. But ever since you all saved me at Narnia… something snapped in my mind and I’ve started remembering flashes. I dismissed these as unimportant, but…” She paused. “But?” Twilight asked, encouraging her to continue with a smile. “...But I think it is important now. I’m sure—absolutely positive—that my human self used to know Count Bleck. Though, in the memories, his name is Blumiere.” Vivian gasped. “The… Blumiere that helped defeat the Shadow Queen with the Experiment?” “I think so. I think that’s how he got hold of the Dark Prognosticus… and how he activated the Chaos Heart. Using the Experiment’s remnant. He was its Chosen, so he could do what he wanted with it.” “So, how did you know him?” Data asked. “...I’m fairly certain we were married,” Tippi said. That got a reaction of shocked silence from the six of them. “From… what little I can remember, he went against the wishes of the Tribe of Darkness in courting me, and that his father punished him for it by sending my human self to wander the multiverse, cursed for eternity. Well, not actually eternity. My body died, and I was transferred to this one without the curse.” “He was a nice man, wasn’t he?” Cosmo said. “He was,” Tippi admitted. “I’m not sure what he’s been through to bring him to this… but maybe as I remember more I’ll figure it out. I just… I wanted you to all be informed.” Twilight lifted Tippi off the podium with her wingtip, smiling. “Tippi, thank you for telling us. We’ll help you with these memories however you can, and if you can’t bring yourself to fight him… just let us know. Okay?” “I will. But I can’t let half-remembered feelings get in the way of our mission. The worlds are more important than them.” “But we aren’t always stronger than them,” Cosmo said. “It will be hard for you. Don’t be ashamed if you have to stop.” “I’ll punch him for you if you can’t,” Toph said. “She cannot punch at all,” Data added. “I don’t think this is the sentiment she’s looking for,” Caspian said. “It’s not,” Tippi giggled. “But it’s part of what makes you all amazing. So many different kinds of people… joining together to become the best of friends. Heroes.” She fluttered into the air. “Let’s go show him that we won’t let these worlds fall into nothing!” “Yeah!” The six of them cheered, scrambling back into the elevator. Including a joyfully laughing Tippi. However, somewhere in the back of Tippi’s mind, she was crying. She hadn’t told them everything. She’d been honest about her memories and the past. But they don’t need to know that this body is failing and temporary. We need to stand together in strength, not in fear. ~~~ The final preparations were underway. Twilight stood on top of the main platform, looking at all the doors around them, one by one. Going through the rainbow, starting with red and cycling all the way to pink. Each door held a story behind it, and not just the story of her traveling through them to gather Pure Hearts. People lived behind those doors, entire civilizations had risen and fallen, complex histories twisted together in ways Twilight could never hope to fully understand. Every world, all on its own, was too big for her mind. And there were eight of them. Eight fully fleshed realities whose stories they had only scratched the surface of. Yet, the seven chosen heroes were to save them. She felt small. “There’s so much…” Twilight shook her head. “How can we even know what we’re fighting for?” “We do not need to know,” Caspian said. “We only need know that it is right.” “I think we were led through all the worlds for a reason,” Cosmo said. “I think it’s the same reason there wasn’t just one hero—so that we would form connections with every world. So that we would get a tiny understanding of what exactly we were fighting for. All the people we’ve encountered… the good, the bad, the strange… they’re all counting on us, even if they don’t realize it.” “Our journey has seemed an unlikely one,” Data mused. “Improbably placed in situations that are difficult, but precisely what were needed to push us onward.” Toph snorted. “More often than not singling me out for being a stubborn dolt.” “We’ve all grown,” Tippi said. “Not just you, Toph.” “Yeah, you were just the loudest about it,” Twilight said. Toph folded her arms. “Gee, thanks.” “We have all learned,” Caspian said. “The prophecy has led us through where we needed to be to become who we are now.” “One must wonder why we were given special attention,” Data said. “Back in the gauntlet, we wondered what made us heroes. I do not believe that question has been answered.” “I don’t think anything really does make us ‘heroes,’ “ Tippi said. “Not more or less than anyone else. But the worlds needed someone to save them, and we fit the mold. We were chosen.” “But it couldn’t have been anyone else,” Twilight asserted. “We… are here because we were meant to be.” “The prophecy is a strong one,” Caspian said. “But there are two prophecies,” Toph pointed out. “We’ve been following one. Bleck has been following another.” “They can’t both be true,” Tippi said. “One destroys, the other heals. They oppose.” “And yet, neither has been wrong,” Data said. “The final moments will show the true fate of the worlds.” Tippi fluttered far above them. “And we are going to see to it that the fate is continuation!” Twilight nodded. “Still… all the enemies we’ve encountered… they weren’t Bleck. They weren't chosen like we were. Our… luck might not protect us against him.” Toph clapped her hands together. “That’s why we’ve got a big honking armada! Look, I know you guys can see it up there. A fleet!” Twilight smiled. “It almost makes you think we don’t even need to be here, not really. They could take care of it themselves.” “But we know that’s not true,” Vivian said. Twilight nodded. “And I don’t know why we know that… But we’ve been put on this journey. The Pure Hearts have accepted us, and we keep being told to push onward. I’m not sure what it means, but I’m not going to worry about that right now. Now is not a good time to be questioning our free will.” “...Maybe it is,” Cosmo said. “Maybe our choices are what determine which prophecy comes true.” Twilight paused, looking intently at the door to the Equis emptiness. “...Trying to cheat the prophecy won’t help.” She looked knowingly to Caspian. “We can’t try to second-guess what will and won’t result in success, failure… or how much our actions do or do not influence what happens. We’re going to charge into Count Bleck’s castle, and we’re going to do whatever we can to stop this destruction.” “Anything?” Cosmo asked. Twilight nodded. “Anything. Even if we may find it unpleasant. ...We’re guaranteed to find some of it unpleasant. It will be a large battle.” Caspian drew his sword and tapped the tip to the ground. “It will change who we are and how we see each other. But no matter what, we must stand by each other. Our bond is our strength.” Cosmo curled her hands into determined fists. “Right!” “Picard to Data,” Picard’s voice came from Data. “It’s time.” Data nodded. “Acknowledged. Whenever you’re ready.” Twilight let out a long breath. “This is it, everyone. Do your best. I love you all—and I’m so proud of each and every one of you.” The Enterprise’s transporter beam picked the seven of them up, carting them away to their final preparations. ~~~ All around Flipside, doors opened to each of the remaining universes, allowing last minute reinforcements to arrive. Armies upon armies poured into the city of Flipside until it was almost impossible to find a place in the once-abandoned city that didn’t have a person. When the doors to Diqiu opened, large spiritual creatures akin to manta rays came through, wishing to defend their land together with the ships and technology of other worlds. Hume’s doors allowed the entry of the Borg into Flipside space for the first time, with over a dozen cubes. Nobody trusted them for anything, but they didn’t attack. They wanted the worlds to survive as much as anyone. Further reinforcements from the other nations of Hume came as well: the Tholians, the Breen, and a few space entities that nobody could identify. Not a single Q, of course. Narnia had no ships to offer, and its soldiers were meager. But they were the most honorable, brave, and fantastical—ranging from massive centaurs to minor river gods to star-like beings that walked with light shining from them. They let out a shout of “For Aslan! For Narnia! For all Worlds!” that soon got several others chanting with them. Lumash was minimal in space faring races, but the Comet Observatory itself had Rosalina and a few small mushroom-shaped ships around it. They were ready to bring a suitable challenge to Count Bleck’s forces with their mastery over gravity. The Ninth World was the most surprising: despite having very little galactic structure, there were a large number of people piloting spaceships from the prior ages of the world, and no small number of these ship captains fancied themselves heroes. When Jenny put out a universe-wide call for help, hundreds had come, ranging from tiny rust buckets to massive ships made of organic plant matter fused with plastic crystals that dwarfed even a Federation Starbase. The most welcome addition, however, was a spherical craft constructed by the Twilight Splinters. “Twilights of Thon reporting for duty!” One reported using a digital avatar to the entire fleet. “You’ll find that we’ve spent the last several Thon months building the perfect ship of war! And, the best part? We’re all digital! So technically the crew compliment is zero!” She winked. “Welcome to the fleet,” Picard said from the Enterprise, which was currently sitting at the front of well over two thousand ships, staring at the creamy nothingness of the Flipside sky. “I believe it’s time. ...Open a channel to the entire fleet.” “Done, sir,” Bon Bon said. “I won’t belabor the point with a long speech,” Picard announced. “No doubt you have all heard many rousing speeches from me and your other leaders over the course of the last day. So I’ll cut to the chase: we are about to drive this fleet directly into the belly of the beast, the Void itself, where Count Bleck’s castle lies. The fate of the multiverse depends on our actions here, today. Failure is not an option.” He raised his fist into the air. “And from what I’ve seen over these past few months, with enemies becoming friends and new worlds accepting new ways of life, I do not believe even for a moment that failure is a possibility. Today, we end the Void and stop this senseless, nihilistic violence!” He sat down in his chair. “Doctor Eggman, you have control of Flipside. Open the door.” From his position in the Heart Pillar room, Eggman smiled. “With pleasure, Captain.” He pressed a button on the screen in front of him; a re-routed version of the controls in the bottom of the Pit. All eight of the Hearts shone brilliantly. In the air before the fleet, a circle began to appear. At first, it was just a black line moving in a circular pattern, then it was two, and then it was several criss-crossing in all sorts of ways until a massive circular door had formed, made of four segments. Unlike the other brightly colored doors that Flipside had generated, this one was a pure, inky black with purple highlights, much like the Void itself. The doors let out a rumbling shudder before sliding open to the world on the other side. “Picard to the Fleet of All Worlds…” Picard said, pointing forward. “Engage.”