Geoverse: An Unfamiliar World

by GeodesicDragon

Solution

A few weeks after Toby saw his adoptive family, we were still nowhere near getting him home. He was taking being away from his family for so long with a stunning level of maturity, but I could tell that he was hurting on the inside.

And so it was that Twilight and I found ourselves staying up for the third day in a row. She was poring over ancient texts and mouldy old spell scrolls, while I was just there for moral support. I didn't understand any of what she was researching, but I wasn't prepared to let her go through it all alone. So I opted for keeping her fed and watered, as well as giving her the occasional hug and kiss.

But as she flicked her way through what felt – to me, at least – like the millionth book, I saw a familiar spark come to her tired eyes. As she read on eagerly, a smile soon followed.

"I think I've got it!" she said excitedly. "According to this scroll, written by Starswirl the Bearded, a portal to another universe can be opened if we have an object that came from it."

"Whoa, whoa, hang on a second." I put my hands out. "Starswirl the Bearded messed with portals to other universes?"

Twilight nodded. "I found some old notes of his which explained the many places he went to. But I can't find anything which explains why he stopped his experiment. It's like he destroyed his notes, which is something I just can't picture him—"

I snapped my fingers in front of her face. "Come on, Twi, focus," I said. "How does what you've found help Toby?"

"His locket." Twilight smiled. "It was the only object that Toby had on him when Dusk and Worthy found him. If my theory is correct, then it will have some trace of the other Equestria's magic on it."

"And then you can use it as a focus to open another portal to the other Equestria," I offered. "Only, this time, the portal should be stable enough to allow anyone to travel through it."

"Exactly." Twilight kissed my cheek. "You're so smart."

I shrugged. "I just made an assumption that turned out to be correct," I replied. "So it is actually me being 'lucky,' not 'smart.'"

Twilight stuck her tongue out at me. "Always the optimist, Geo," she said. "Come on, let's share this news with the others."

With that, we both stood up, stretched our legs, and left.

***

After explaining our theory to our friends, who all agreed that it was a good one, a guard was sent to fetch Toby. He came into the room with Azure and Evening clinging to his legs, all three of them with large smiles on their faces.

"Hello, everypony," he said, as Twilight levitated the two foals off him and onto her back. "The guard said you wanted to see me?"

"Hello, Toby," Twilight said. "Geo and I have been working really hard, and... well... we think we've found your way home."

Toby's eyes lit up. "Really?" he asked, to which I nodded. "So I can finally go home and see my momma again?"

"You can indeed," Luna said. "Twilight has discovered that we can open another portal to the universe you came from — but, in order to do so, she will need your locket."

At the mention of the word 'locket,' Toby put a protective hand over it. "M-my locket?" he repeated. "Why do you need my locket?"

Twilight walked over and put a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. "In order for me to make the portal stable enough for you to use, I need an object which originated in your universe." she moved her hoof to the locket. "This locket is the only item you had on you when you came here, so it is also your ticket home. I know that you're very protective of it, but you have my word that I will be careful. In fact..." She did the motions of a Pinkie Promise. "I Pinkie Promise that your locket won't be damaged."

"Okay." Toby took the locket off and handed it to Twilight, who took it in her levitation aura. "I trust you."

"Thank you, sweetie," Twilight replied. "Discord!"

At the mention of his name, Discord descended from the ceiling, where he had apparently been disguised as one of the lights.

"You called, Your Highness?" he asked.

"You're the only one who can open a portal to the other Equestria," Twilight said. "Do it again, but this time..." She passed him the locket, which he took. "Use this as a focus. And for the love of all that is sacred, be careful with it!"

"You always think so lowly of me, Princess Twilight," Discord pouted. "I know how much this locket means to our dear little friend here — and besides, do you really think I am going to risk being encased in stone for another millennium... just for the sake of what would be an extraordinarily cruel joke?"

Twilight sighed. "Sorry, Discord," she said. "Please, continue."

Discord floated the amulet in front of him and cracked his knuckles. There was another flash of light, and the portal to the other Equestria was once again open in front of us — as were the faces of the alternate Elements of Harmony.

"Oh, my!" Rarity gasped. "You startled us!"

"Told you so." Discord said. "Did I not say 'Things are about to get very Dizzy in this room?'"

"Bah," Dizzy grumbled. "It's back to the silly nicknames again."

I grinned at him and walked over to the portal. "Don't mind me, ladies," I said. "I just want to try something."

I put a hand up to the portal, which didn't react to my presence. Intrigued by this, I moved my hand closer...

And closer...

Fluttershy's excited squealing soon told me that my hand had passed through the portal without incident — and the fact that I quickly ended up on my back told me that she had passed through herself to embrace her adoptive son.

"Oh, precious, I am so happy to see you again!"

"I'm happy to see you again, momma!"

I stood up and dusted myself off, watching as Toby and Fluttershy hugged each other. They both had tears in their eyes as they held each other tightly, and it wasn't long before I was crying myself.

I turned to the portal. "You five might as well come through too," I said. "I'm pretty sure our universe can handle two of each Element bearer." I glanced at Discord. "You too, I suppose."

The six of them beamed from ear to ear and tentatively stepped into our universe. When the world didn't suddenly implode, the five mares were quick to envelop Toby in a group hug — while Discord and Dizzy started comparing notes on pranks they had pulled. Dizzy told Discord of the time he turned John and I into women, a story which had Discord trying – literally – to recover his sides.

John and I told the girls our respective 'How I Came To Equestria stories, Toby told them about how well we had looked after him, and they went mad over Azure and Evening — who were confused as to why they suddenly had two mums and two of each auntie.

Eventually, though, it was time for them to go home. Their little group walked towards the portal, but Toby stopped short of going through it. He turned around and addressed us.

"Goodbye, everypony, and thank you." He wiped his eyes. "I am so glad that I have friends who are as amazing as you."

"Goodbye, Toby," we all said in unison.

Twilight floated Toby's locket over to him. "Don't forget this," she said. "Safe and sound, just like I promised."

Toby smiled at her and turned to face the portal. With a reassuring nuzzle from Fluttershy, he stepped through it — and back into the home he deserved. Fluttershy herself then spoke.

"Thank you so much for looking after my boy," she said.

I waved a hand dismissively. "Don't mention it," I replied. "Now, go, he's waiting for you."

Fluttershy dipped her head and then walked through the portal, the rest of her friends saying their goodbyes and following suit. As soon as the last one was through, Dizzy snapped his fingers to close it.

"And that's the end of that chapter," he said.

"The end of our chapter, maybe." I nodded. "But for Toby, he has plenty more chapters to look forward to."

The only response I got was a collective nod, and then we all left the room — happy that things were as they should be.

THE END

Author's Note:

I'm so sorry that it took so long to finally finish this. But, hey, at least it's a happy ending!

Bonus points if you spotted the reference to something else MLP related.

Oh, and a big shoutout to Crash Bandicoot Fan 1, who reminded me that this story existed — and then pestered me asked me nicely to finish it.

Comments

[APoeticHeart]

Awesome ending my friend! Toby not only returned home, but he returned home with new memories of new friends that shall stay in his heart forever.

[The Mysterious Lombax]

What does it mean "Big shootout to Crash Bandicoot Fan 1"?

[GeodesicDragon]

6200117

It basically means 'I am mentioning you specifically.'

[The Mysterious Lombax]

Will you make another Toby Mason story?

[GeodesicDragon]

6200567

Probably not.

[The Mysterious Lombax]

Well, you would need to ask the author about it first. Plus, that ending was beautiful.

[The Mysterious Lombax]

6171853 And you can thank me for asking the author to reunite Toby with his family. And here's a song for you, Jason.

[APoeticHeart]

6420204 First of all, what do you mean I can thank you?

[The Mysterious Lombax]

6426849 First off, I asked the author to finish the story and return your OC to his family. But the real credit goes to the author. Second, (I know this is off-topic, but it's something I'm asking you) can I still apologize to you for something I did?

[GeodesicDragon]

6428010
6426849

If you two need to talk, please take it to PMs so you don't spam the comments.

Thanks!

[The Mysterious Lombax]

6428100 What do you mean "spam comments"? I don't know what you mean by that.

[GeodesicDragon]

6428104

Use Personal Messages to talk to APoeticHeart, rather than talk in the comments section of this story.

[APoeticHeart]

6428147 I apologize for that Geodesic. I'll pm him.

[The Mysterious Lombax]

6428147 There's a problem. I can't PM him.