There was blackness and silence; quite a perfect pair, really. I could feel nothing, I could see nothing, hear nothing, taste nothing, only think. I analyzed my situation, and decided that this must have been it. This was the end. This was death.
It wasn't as glamorous as people made it out to be, and I felt a bit disappointed. I was expecting either flames and eternal agony or golden gates and angelic music. Neither met me in my unfortunate end. I had time to think; about, well, everything.
I thought about life back on regular old Earth, and life on Equestria, and compared them both, just to pass the time. I became angry at the fact that I couldn't even feel sad about dying; there was just thought, no feeling. I knew that I would miss Luna, Twilight, Applejack, Celestia, all of them, in fact. Even the DJ from the party!
I almost hated myself for not only bringing them all into this, but forming bonds with them and taking that all away. They must be weeping over my body this moment, and Luna, I'm so sorry Luna... I'm so sorry.
I stared (I think that would be the term) into the blackness, and floated in this ethereal prison consumed by the misery of my own misfortune. I had gone through so much, suffered so greatly, and induced suffering upon others, and this was my reward for trying to set things right. The universe is cold and cruel; it doesn't care one way or the other what happens to you and couldn't care less about your deeds or misdeeds. Fairness is a lie.
Suddenly, my spirits lifted as I saw a faint glimmer in the distance. It grew slowly, and cast rays of comforting radiance over me. Heaven? Perhaps, but before I could make any assumptions, the light erupted into an explosion and enveloped me in luminescent wonder.
Before me there stood a massive figure, larger than Mephistopheles, and much more pleasant to look at. It was a tall, thin, equine-shaped being, with a long, flowing, dark red mane and tail, and possessing a horn and wings like the Omni-beings. It had kind, blue eyes that looked down at me gently, but sternly, and Its coat was a pale golden hue. This magnificent being was an Alicorn, one of the beings that created this universe.
It and I stood in front of a backdrop of the entire universe, with all its vastness and nebulae and galaxies pleasing my eyes.
It spoke to me in its gentle yet powerful voice. The voice hinted to me that the figure was female.
"I know of you, human. Your history is a sad one, and I am sorry for you. We have watched you. We have been watching you since your arrival in my universe, and We have watched the events unfold after that time..."
As she spoke, several more tall, godlike beings fell in line beside her and formed a semicircle around me. I felt nervous, as if this was some sort of astrological courtroom where I would be sentenced to some punishment for causing so much trouble in this world.
"W-Who's we?" I asked nervously.
"We are the Alicorns: the creators, the destroyers, the omnipotent rulers of this world. We were disturbed by the presence of an outer-world force interfering with our rule. We tracked the presence to you, and were... disturbed.
"You were a human; We have dealt with a human interference more than once, but you were... different. We sensed evil hiding within you, and endeavored to snuff it out, but another presence was blocking our power. This "Mephistopheles," the demon in you belonged to him, correct?"
I agreed quietly.
"It being his jurisdiction, We had no power over it. Our inability to remove the evil was the reason for the unfortunate events that followed after. Do not blame yourself; you are innocent. All that has occurred was totally out of your power."
I breathed a sigh of relief.
"This is why We found Ourselves surprised at your actions; you did not yield to the demon, you fought back. You protected others, and you banished the wickedness from this world entirely, protecting everyone you could. No human we have ever observed has been up to the challenges that you have. You have showed Us great displays of kindness and heroism, and We thank you deeply."
I found that I was no longer disembodied thought as my cheeks began to flush. I reached up to touch them, and was happily surprised to see that my entire body has been re-materialized.
"And, after thoughtful delegation, We have decided to reward you for your acts of strength and goodness."
My eyes lit up at this. My mind raced with the possibilities of what they had in mind with their no doubt unlimited powers.
"We have analyzed your dark, traumatizing history, and your thoughts and emotions about everything in your life. We have agreed on two options for you to choose from. Keep in mind that they are options, not two separate gifts. From Our observations, We have found that the two things in the universes, Ours and yours, that have made you the most content in your entire life: the time spent with your original family, and with my daughter, Luna, and her friends. It is up to you to decide which of these you desire the most. Should you choose your family, you and they will both be returned to your world, where you and they will live out the rest of your existence. Should you choose my daughter, you will be restored to life and will remain in Our world. The choice is yours; take time to think it over..."
I was torn. Now I understood what people meant when they said they had to make "Sophie's Choice." The other Alicorns faded away slowly, and left me and the female alone in the vast universal viewpoint we had. I looked solemnly down into the blackness as I thought about it.
I thought about my family first. They loved me, took care of me, and I really was the very happy when I still had them. I thought about what it would be like if I had them back again. I'd get to see them again, but, they would see me after all these years, all grown up, traumatized more than once, and permanently scarred emotionally. They'd see me and think I was a wreck. They'd also be shocked at the dark things I did while in all those different cults. All the dark things that I've done, and then there was how they'd react to the how the world had changed while they were gone. All the things they've missed out on, all the people they knew who'd died since then; I couldn't do that to them. They would certainly be overjoyed to see me again, but overall, it would be awful.
Then there was Luna; she was perfect, as was her world. No crime, no problems, no troubles, nothing like that. I had formed such wonderful bonds with everyone I met there, especially her. I also caused so many problems for them all; more deaths than they could count, and so much panic as an addition. I was also so close to fixing everything. I just had to return the souls to everyone else, and after that, everything would be back to normal. But there would be so much I would miss on Earth; the friendships I had there, however few, all the things I've done, and, however shallow it may make me seem, all of my material possessions.
I glanced up at the female briefly, and then began scanning the many stars and constellations.
"Which one's Equestria?" I asked somberly.
She took a step towards me, and shrunk as she did so. She came down to the size of a regular horse and came over to my side. She leaned her head down and her horn lit up like a candle as she pointed at a small galaxy in the distant. It grew in size and closeness and eventually the view was zoomed in to the exact spot where my body lay.
I saw everyone sobbing over my cold, disheveled corpse, and Luna holding me and staring at my face, begging me to come back. I wanted to reach out to the image and touch her, comfort her somehow, but I knew that wouldn't do anything.
I turned to the female Alicorn. "What's your name?" I asked.
She looked at me with her bright blue eyes. "I go by many names, but you may call me Faust."
I chuckled at the similarity between the ancient story of the man named Faust who sold his soul to Mephistopheles and the mystical god-horse sitting next to me.
"How did you say you and Luna were related, again?" I asked.
"She and her sister are my daughters. They were the first beings in this world. Since I myself created them, I considered them my daughters. They used their own abilities to forge beings of their own; the Air, Magic, and Earth beings."
"And... Why did you use the image of a human to make this race?"
"Because I knew that humans were capable of great good, as you have proven well."
I turned back to the saddening image, still thinking about the immensity of this choice.
Then I made my choice.
"Faust, I... I want to stay here; in this world."
She looked me in the eyes. "Understand that there is no turning back from this choice."
"I understand," I snapped.
"And, when I put you back into your body, know that you must no longer be a human. You shall become one of the Beings."
"I don't care. Just put me back, please..."
She stood back up and stood in front of me, looking me in the eye. Her horn lit up and she brought it slowly towards my forehead.
"Wait-" I stopped her. "Before I go back, can you do something for me?"
Her horn dimmed. "What is your request?"
"I... Can you just tell my family, wherever they are, that I love them?"
She smiled kindly. "You have my word."
I closed my eyes as she resumed her work. My body felt warm, and I became disoriented as it worked. The light from her horn illuminated the inside of my eyelids, blinding me with warm light. Just before the light consumed me, she spoke to me.
"I will indeed tell them, Alexander..."
Then feeling came over me again. I felt arms around me, and my face was moist in certain spots. I slowly tried opening my eyes. The moon still shone down on the world, and bathed everything in a pretty silvery white light.
I moved my limbs, trying to regain control of my new-ish body. I wonder what kind of Being she made me: Magic? Air? If it turned out to be Earth I would have been a bit disappointed. I heard Luna and the others gasp at my motion. I slowly but surely pulled myself up off of the cold ground. I sat there as they all stared at me with awe and surprise. I rubbed my eyes and turned to Luna and smirked at her surprise.
"Did I miss anything?"
She stared at me a bit more; I was expecting her to lunge at me and we embrace tenderly, but she didn't. I reached up to rub my head again, and pulled back when my fingers touched something jutting out of my forehead. It felt like bone, but at the same time it didn't. I saw my reflection in one of the nearby windows, and reeled with shock at the strange new horn loudly presenting itself on the top of my head. I chuckled at the somewhat pleasant surprise. I stood and faced the others, and saw another odd thing in my shadow on the ground. Two large wings spread out behind me. I turned around, expecting to see an Air Being or something, but instead noticed the two massive, black, feathered wings attached to my back. I felt them, just to make sure that they were real, and laughed giddily at my unexpected transformation.
An Omni Being! Faust had turned me into an Omni Being! I remembered hearing Twilight tell me that Omni Beings were immortal, either that or they lived unnaturally long. I realized that I could live the rest of my now-extended life with Luna, and that thought filled me with immeasurable joy.
Before I could loudly and proudly state the obvious and wonderful fact to the rest of them, she lunged at me as I imagined and we embraced tightly and kissed again, this time much longer and more passionate than the last. I heard Rainbow Dash snicker warmly, "Get a room, you two."
After a recovery from the recent trauma, we set forth to reclaim all the lives that were taken abruptly. For all the other victims who were not in the castle and killed by Vesania, like Nurse Redheart and the other few, Celestia issued that letters signed by her be sent out to all the families of the deceased to bring the bodies to the castle to properly revive them with my new-found powers brought about by my new body. It took a considerable amount of time to get used to using my new mode of magic-using and extra appendages poking out of my back. In time, peace was restored and things reverted back to normal in Equestria, and the people went back about their
My and Luna's wedding took place several months after the recovery from the unfortunate events that brought us together. I became one of the Royals after that, and took some of the responsibility for running Equestria. It was fun; I got to spend time with everyone I met and made new friends. We had a kid some time later, a boy; he was just the most perfect child one could ever lay eyes on. I eventually had an entire life in Equestria; a job, a home, a family; a life that was fantastic. I couldn't ask for anything more.
And I spent time with the six women who took me in under their wonderful care when I arrived here. When certain problems and evils appeared and threatened the well-being of everyone, such as the reappearance of Discord, we often fought together as an unstoppable force for good.
I often thought back to the time when Faust told me my name as she gave me my new body. It was Alexander. I remember the kind gesture well. And it makes me think about my old life and my one here in Equestria. I felt bad to think this, but, I came to the idea that I didn't need to know my name now. I had a new life, with a new beginning, and a new story to tell. I came into this world a Nobody, and I will stay in this world a Nobody; plain and simple. Alexander was a poor, unfortunate man in a world full of wickedness, but Nobody is a happy, content man in a world of beauty, a man who had people that he loved, and people who loved him back, a man who had seen and experienced things of incredible wonder and horror, and a man who went to hell and back to protect this fantastic world.
I am Nobody, and this concludes my story...
~Finis~