The Choice
“Twilight…”
“Ergh… five more minutes.”
“Twilight.”
Twilight opened her eyes. She was no longer in the central chamber of Castle Bleck, but instead on the top of Flipside platform. There were no active doors at all, and the only other people up there were the ones who had witnessed the final act of Blumiere and Timpani.
Picard was standing over her, extending a hand. With a smile, Twilight took his hand and stood “So… it worked?”
Data was grinning, holding up his tricorder. “Not even a trace of the Void! And… and we believe all worlds were fully restored. The ships eaten by the Void in the battle have returned! Yes!”
Picard looked at Data. “That emotion chip has… done interesting things to you, Commander.”
“I feel great!”
Picard put a hand on his shoulder. “I can tell. You’ve entered a new stage of life, Data. I know you will do well.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
“So… uh…” O’Chunks rubbed the back of his head. “I feel a little awkward now…”
“Just smile and be nice,” Lucy suggested. “It’ll all work out.”
“I… Uh…”
“I’m… um…” Nastasia adjusted her glasses. “I’m not sure what to do now. He’s… I…”
Picard leaned down and placed a hand on Nastasia’s shoulder. “He’s with her now, in paradise.”
Nastasia’s smile widened—remaining even when she burst into tears. “I… Blumiere… I’m so lonely but I’m so happy and… I don’t know…”
Twilight put a wing around her. “You’re welcome here, Nastasia. All of you are.”
Rarity coughed. “For what it’s worth, I do apologize for trying to cut off your head. Multiple times.”
“I deserved it,” Nastasia said. “I… followed him to the letter. To the extreme. I’m… not going to do that anymore. It’s a new chapter, ‘K?”
“Woah, like, what?” Mimi reeled back. “Nastasia being nice?”
“I’ve seen crazier things,” Rarity said, chuckling. “Like an anti-social mare with no friends becoming the Princess of Friendship itself.”
Twilight chuckled and pulled Rarity into a hug. “It’s good to have you back.”
“I… I’m looking forward to having some stability,” Rarity admitted.
“Minor problem with that,” Gilgamesh said. “Your doors aren’t working and without the Void I have no curse, so no jumping dimensions. Sooooo…” He shrugged. “We’re kind of stuck here for now.”
“A new chapter it is, then!” Caspian drew his sword. “We will sail across the sea between worlds, looking for our homes! And then we will bring all of them… together!”
“Yeah!” Everyone cheered.
“Um… how?” Luigi asked.
“Experiment, have fun, live dangerously!” Rarity chuckled.
“Or I could work on the Castle and see what it has in it,” Vivian offered.
“Or that…” Rarity turned back to Luigi. He still flinched from her gaze. “...I am sorry, Luigi. Looks like it just isn’t going to work, huh?”
“Er…”
“It’s fine. I think my delusions of finding a man have been supplemented by me turning into a complete badflank.” She winked. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Bad… flank?” Luigi cocked his head.
Mimi rolled her eyes. “She means ba—”
The Enterprise appeared just above Flipside. “Riker to Picard.”
“Here, Number One,” Picard responded.
“...It’s good to hear your voice. All the enemies have stood down and celebrations are breaking out. So far even the Borg are still behaving, though they’re clearly working on assimilating what’s already been destroyed.”
“Good. Let me speak to the Fleet. I need to make sure we stay unified—the Hearts are gone, so we’re not sure how any one is going to get home.”
“You’re on an open channel.”
Picard cleared his throat. “This is Jean-Luc Picard calling to the Fleet. Well done, everyone, from the foot soldiers to the pilots to the medics, you’ve all performed admirably. From friends to enemies, we came together to save all worlds—and we have succeeded! Those worlds that have been previously lost are restored, and the threat of the Void has been extinguished forever!” He paused for a moment, letting that sink in. “However, we lost the Hearts in the attack. So while we have an absolute victory, we don’t have a way to return home quickly. Go, enjoy your celebrations, but tomorrow we will need to come up with a plan to return to our worlds.”
Twilight let out a sharp gasp. “I… I don’t think we need to worry, Picard.”
“Why not?”
The Purity Heart appeared in front of them, casting its brilliant white light upon all. From it, there seemed to emanate a great lion’s roar that filled the ears of everyone on Flipside, Castle Bleck, and everywhere in between. A voice entered the minds of all, but it wasn’t quite that of a powerful lion, or an ancient woman of the stars… it was both, and yet so many more, and yet it was no voice they had ever heard before. It was everyone they had ever known and also a singular unknown.
People of All Worlds, the Wood Between Worlds has almost completed its thaw, and once it is complete the worlds will no longer be connected as they are. Time will flow like many rivers once again. But while they still flow in unison, there is one last gift for you all.
The Purity Heart flashed brightly, and all eight doors appeared around Flipside’s platform, flinging open to the worlds they connected to. Right now, you have a Choice to make. You may each return to your world or remain here, in the in-between places. It is not your mind that is asked to make the Choice, nor your words, and not those close to you. Your Hearts are asked. Every last one of you has a place you want to be, if you know it or not. And that wish, that deepest desire of your heart, is known. In respect for what has happened here this day… it will be granted.
Twilight felt worried at first. How would she choose? Which group of friends, which of her adventures, which… which of her homes?
But then, when the Choice came to her in the light of the Purity Heart, all those worries vanished. Suddenly, it was perfectly clear. She knew where she belonged, and she knew she could never have made any other choice. She closed her eyes and let out a soft laugh. If only every decision could be this simple.
~~~
The red door in the Jasmine Dragon shuddered. Iroh watched, slightly sad, as it fell into nothing, cutting his shop off from the rest of the multiverse.
“Well…” Aang said, shaking her head. “That was an adventure.”
“Quite the understatement, young Avatar.” Iroh turned around, expecting to find a ton of people who had been evacuated from Diqiu all surrounding his shop and filling Ba Sing Se. But he found no such thing, just a handful of soldiers particularly close to him.
“I figured more would come back…” Iroh said, scratching his chin.
“They did,” Toph said, stomping her foot to feel throughout the city. “They… were sent back to their homes.”
Iroh let out a laugh. “Small conveniences!”
“You… you came back?” Aang said, turning to Toph. “But you were one of their heroes!”
“I’ve got unfinished business here,” Toph huffed. “Need to teach the next generation of metalbenders even if they’re a bunch of idiots. I’ve got a few more ideas that range from hitting them in the head with books to sappy friendship speeches.”
“I’m glad to see you’ve come to your senses,” Iroh chuckled. “At long last.”
“Hey! I’m a slow learner. ...Maybe they are too.”
“Did anyone not come back?” Aang asked.
Iroh nodded. “I do not believe Ty Lee returned with us.”
“...I hope she likes her life over there.”
“I’m sure she will. That woman would enjoy her life anywhere.”
~~~
The Master Emerald sat on its pedestal, shining its light on the Mobians who had returned. Like Diqiu, most of the Mobians who’d been evacuated were returned directly to their homes. However, a few of the Master Emerald’s closest remained.
Tails and Cosmo clasped each other’s hands and kissed.
“I… I thought you weren’t going to come back!” Cosmo said. “You fit in so well on the Enterprise I figured you’d want to keep exploring!”
“And you were one of the heroes, I thought you were going to stay!”
Cosmo giggled. “It looks like both of us wanted to go home.”
“Hmph,” Shadow grunted. “Sappy.”
Vanilla shook her head. “Beautiful.”
“Well, I’m going for a run,” Sonic said. “Knuckles, is your island still open?”
Knuckles folded his arms. “Just don’t put the Master Emerald in a spaceship again.”
“All right.” For once, his smile faltered before he took off into a run. “See ya!” He blasted off.
“...I don’t think Amy came back,” Tails said, looking around.
“The girl’s finally moved on,” Knuckles said. “That’s good for all of us.”
“Yes, but… still. I’ll miss her.”
“And Eggman,” Cosmo said.
Tails rolled his eyes. “I am not going to miss Eggman.”
“He was a good man. Just… confused.”
Tails shrugged. “Agree to disagree, Cosmo.”
She chuckled. “Oh, all right.”
~~~
Picard stood on the bridge of the Enterprise, looking out at a sea of stars. Numerous ships from Hume were there with him—every single one from the fleet, if he had to guess.
“Number One, report,” Picard ordered.
Riker pressed a few buttons on his console. “Universe is stable… Despite having the Master Emerald ripped out of engineering all systems aside from the superdrive appear to be operational… We’re missing every single crewmember from another universe…”
“As expected.”
“And… a few of our own, sir.”
Picard nodded. “I’ll want that list in my ready room.”
“Commander Data is on that list, sir.”
Picard closed his eyes and nodded slowly. “...I still want it in my ready room, Number One. And do not grieve—he is not dead. In fact, I think he is living life more than he ever has before.”
“Sir,” Worf said. “We are being hailed by… multiple factions at once.”
Picard adjusted his uniform and shook his head. “It never ends, does it? Open a channel. Let’s see if we can keep this peace…”
~~~
Caspian stood, looking at Narnia’s lamp post, an eternal reminder of other worlds.
Narnia’s connection to them was not done, he was sure of it. But for now… Narnia was its own again. With just a few missing subjects who found a life for themselves on Flipside. He wished them luck.
“We will thank Aslan for bringing us home!” Caspian declared, turning to the animals and assorted Narnians around him. “And as soon as we return to Cair Paravel… a feast! That will last a week to celebrate all the distant worlds we have explored!”
“HEAR HEAR!” The animals cheered.
~~~
Luigi stood in the central square of Rogueport, arms crossed.
“Well,” Professor Frankly said. “That’s that, it seems.”
“I guess Imma gonna just… go home, now. See Mario.” Luigi smiled. “I haven’t seen Mario or the Princess in forever.”
“You won’t have to wait.”
Luigi turned around, seeing Princess Peach and Mario walking toward him. He rushed his brother into a hug and both of them burst into laughter under the watchful eyes of Peach and Frankly.
“Another good ending,” Frankly said.
“Can there be any other kind?” Peach asked.
“Don’t ask me, I’m old and cynical.”
Peach chuckled, though stopped when she saw Beldam appear. “Oh! Beldam!”
“...Looks like Vivian’s gone,” Beldam said.
“Oh!” Luigi jumped up. “Yeah, that makes sense. Blumiere gave her the sigil or something of the Tribe of Darkness. She owns the castle now.”
Beldam paused. “So the ungrateful runt… has inherited everything.” Beldam let out a chuckle. “She was the best one to get it out of all of us. She’ll turn that place into something other than a freak-show.”
“Don’t you miss her?” Peach asked.
“I’m an old cranky woman, if I did, do you think I’d admit it?”
“It is our way,” Frankly admitted.
“Well,” Peach bowed. “I invite you all to the Mushroom Kingdom for a feast, if you wish.”
“Are you kidding?” Frankly jumped up and down. “It’s free food! Of course we wish!”
“I hear you make an excellent cake,” Beldam said.
~~~
Fluttershy woke up just outside the Castle of Friendship.
“She’s awake!” Rainbow Dash called, swooping down to her.
“You sleep hard, Fluttershy,” Applejack said, helping her up.
“They were worried, but I knew better!” Pinkie giggled.
“We… we’re home,” Fluttershy said, smiling. “We… we’re home!”
Discord leaned down and picked her up. “Yes! We’re home! Everything’s going back to normal, ha ha HAH!”
“Not… quite everything,” Celestia said, walking up to them.
Fluttershy stopped smiling. “What… what do you mean?”
“Rarity’s not back,” Applejack said. “And…”
Slowly, Celestia lifted the Element of Magic up in her magic, setting it before the four mares. “Twilight has chosen to stay… with her new people.”
“But… she’s a Princess!” Fluttershy said. “She…”
“She was a Princess torn between two kingdoms,” Luna said, walking up. “She had to choose. And… we all know how the Choice was presented to us. It was presented to her in the same fashion. She chose with her heart.”
“She and Rarity are doing fine,” Pinkie insisted. “Don’t worry!”
“Is… is it really better this way?” Fluttershy asked.
“You saw what happened to Rarity,” Pinkie said. “...It happened to you and me too, but not as much. Would she have been happy going back to being a seamstress?”
“I… no.” Fluttershy shook her head. “Probably not.”
“And we have no idea what Twilight’s been through,” Applejack said. “Who knows? All we know is that, even if she’s not here, she’s still our friend.”
“Yeah!” Rainbow shouted. “Nothing is ever going to change that!”
“Although, I do have to admit I’m slightly upset at her,” Celestia said.
“Oh? Why?” Pinkie asked.
“I don’t get to retire anymore.”
Pinkie giggled. “I’m sure you can rule for a few more centuries, no problem.”
“I was looking forward to it…” Luna grumbled. “Sister, can’t we just let Cadence do it alone?”
“I am not ruling everything by myself!” Cadence shouted from a short distance away.
Celestia gestured toward Cadence, giving Luna a smirk. “Ask question, get answer.”
“Ugh, fine...”
Pinkie stood up and cleared her throat. “Everyone. We’ve just saved all worlds and our home is back! Do you know what this calls for?”
“...A party?” Rainbow deadpanned.
“A PARTY!”
~~~
“Hah! We win! Yeah!” Jenny did a little jig in the streets of Beanstalk city. “Take that, stupid Void, oh yeah, oh yeah.”
Ivan frowned. “You were on Flipside delivering more troops just a moment ago. Why have you returned?”
“Because this is Jenny of the Red Gloves’ home and you can’t get rid of me that easily!”
Ivan sighed. “No… I suppose it was too much to ask for.”
“That’s the spirit!” She put her hands on her hips, smiled, and breathed in the air of a world not in danger of being ripped apart by an all-consuming Void. Which smelled exactly the same as it had before. Dusty, with little flecks of metal around due to all the old machinery.
Dintin, the large robot, walked up to Jenny. “Call from the Twilight Splinters. They want to offer their services or… something.”
“That’s what I like to hear!” Jenny clapped her hands. “I’ll take it! Let’s bring the Ninth World somewhere new!”
~~~
Lucy stood with her brothers and sister outside a large mansion, looking at the place where the pink doors had just disappeared.
“There’s only one last thing to do…” Lucy said. She pressed her hands to her head and recited the spell for forgetting things, casting it on herself and removing all knowledge of all the spells she’d learned. Feeling them slide out of her head like fish from the hand, she turned to her siblings and jumped into their arms, hugging them tightly.
And the Earth kept turning, largely oblivious to the doom that had been brewing at the core of their world.
~~~
Twilight opened her eyes. She stood on the top platform of Flipside. The Element of Magic was no longer on her head, and there were no doors surrounding her. She saw Data first, smiling brightly, and Vivian, also smiling—though her smile was more expected than Data’s. “So… Toph, Cosmo, and Caspian went home.” She smiled. “They’ll live wonderful lives, I’m sure of it.”
Data nodded. “They did have responsibilities.”
“But so did we,” Twilight pointed out. “And yet… we were allowed to make our choice without that holding us back. So… I don’t feel guilty about leaving them. I’m sad that we won’t see each other… but I’m not ashamed. This… this is where I need to be. Princess of… Flipside, I guess.”
“You’ll do great!” Vivian encouraged.
“And you’ll do great as well,” Twilight said. “You have quite the responsibility, looking after the last vestiges of the Tribe of Darkness.”
“I won’t let Blumiere down!” Vivian saluted.
Rarity walked up to Twilight. “Do you think you’ll be okay living with a slightly crazy mare with a stabbing problem?”
“Rarity, I’d love nothing more than to get to know you again. Have you met Data, by the way?”
“Briefly,” Rarity said. “So not really. Plus, I hear he’s gotten an upgrade.”
Data extended a hand, cocking his head. “Hello. I am Data, Rarity.”
“Charmed! If you break Twilight’s heart, I cut out yours.”
Data cocked his head. “I do not have a heart.”
Rarity chuckled. “I can see why you like this one. You two have fun.”
“...You all got choices,” Mimi said, suddenly. “But I… I was made in these in-between places. I didn’t get to pick anything.”
“But… Mimi, don’t you see?” Twilight placed a hoof on Mimi’s shoulder. “You’re the Flipside interface, now. You can finally do what you were meant to, no matter how childish everyone thought you were.”
Mimi gasped. “R-really?”
“Yes. Really.”
“You hear that, O’Chunks? I’m gonna—” she paused. “O’Chunks?”
Nastasia adjusted her glasses. “It appears that he returned to his world. Along with Gilgamesh, though I have no idea how that warrior even has a home…”
“I think… for now, he wanted to keep wandering the worlds,” Twilight said. “Maybe he was given that back.”
“Maybe. We won’t now… can’t know.” Nastasia started shaking.
“Hey, hey…” Rarity said, putting a comforting hoof on her back. “You do realize you can be the almighty secretary for someone else now, right?”
“But who?”
“Well…” Twilight ruffled her feathers. “If I’m going to be the Princess of Flipside…”
Their conversation was interrupted when a cloaked thing appeared in front of them, its single glassy eye staring at them all intently.
“Ezermond…?” Vivian asked, cocking her head. “What are you doing here?”
“Heart Pillar.” Was all he said before he vanished.
“...I think we should check out the Heart Pillar,” Twilight said with a shrug. They piled into the elevator and sank down, stopping first at Merlon’s room. There was no Light Prognosticus, but otherwise it was the same.
>>Congratulations, heroes. Well done.<<
“Thank you,” Twilight said, bowing.
>>There is a surprise waiting for you in the Heart Pillar.<<
“That was where we were headed,” Vivian said.
They descended the rest of the way, popping out. Several others were already there: Ty Lee, Eggman, Amy, Cortez, Bon Bon, and a few others. To their shock, the Heart Pillar wasn’t empty. Inside it was a gift powering the entire city—unable to open any doors to other worlds, but nonetheless beautiful and far more than they ever could have asked.
The Purity Heart shone its bright whilte light down on them all. They all felt that the future would be bright with it on their side.
It was all the proof they needed that all the hardship was worth it, in the end.
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Huh. I hadn’t realized that ship was even in the harbor, much less being sunk.
They say a dream is a wish your heart makes, and any good ending should have some dreams come true. It feels wrong for Twilight to leave Equestria behind, but even without the multiverse in temporal sync, she can still return one day.
Mind you, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sunny Starscout and company welcome her back…
c.tenor.com/kWqWdBT-_cYAAAAM/applause-clap.gif
No time for sleep, Twilight, the updoot train never stops!
Impossible. Her very name says otherwise.
Join us back here next week for Worlds Apart 2: Worlds Aparter!
Luigi X Rarity is like, the Chaotic Evil ship equivalent to Twilight X Data's Chaotic Good. I don't know how to feel about it.
So, uh... Aslan and Rosalina were the Purity Heart the whole time? I'm not even sure where to to start in trying to comprehend that... I'm just going to assume that the Purity Heart is the true form of the Emperor-Beyond-The-Sea and leave it at that to avoid breaking my brain. Or, like, his Heart, or- no, no more thinking, not worth it.
Damn. No cool multiversal society. And after everyone started working together too...
Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, pictured here saying that the choice to abandon some of her closest friends is easy.
Toph character arc! Toph character arc! Now, to get back to training those idiots... Give The Dark One a bap on the head for me.
But without Eggman, what's Sonic gonna do with his time? He's gonna have to get a hobby or something, or he'll get bored, and that's when the real problems start. Not that I think he'll miss Amy though. I think he'll sleep easier knowing she's finally gotten over him.
Good luck with that. I hear there's a war just around the corner.
*Emotional Italian gibberish*
Let's bake a delicious cake for our hero... Luigi! (It's tradition)
Also, you guys just aren't as important to her as her boyfriend. Sorry!
...Maybe? She still works with sharp pointy things...
And just like that, a questionable plot thread is averted. I mean, I enjoy Ruling Princess Twilight, but I'm biased.
Luna, you've been back for what, a decade, tops? Suck it up. Maybe take the initiative for once.
The more things change...
That's the only kind of place the Ninth World can ever go.
Maybe you should have, like... written down how to cast Cura, just in case? No, just me? Okay then.
We seem to have made a habit of that, don't we?
A city built on the friendship between worlds? Sounds like the perfect kingdom.
"After all, there are still weapons to collect, and challenges to face! I hear that the land known as 'Eorzea' is home to both, in spades... Come, Enkidu, adventure awaits!"
Ah, cool. God is powering our city. Neat.
And so ends the tale of the Prognosticus. The Void has been vanquished at last, and the Purity Heart restored. I must admit, I did once think 'The Choice' would be either to return all worlds or restore them to Eden, but that... well, that would be retreading old ground, now, wouldn't it? The people of the worlds have made their Choice, and while those who return shall miss their friends... Thus begins the tale of a new world. A world born of friendship, ruled by a Princess wise and fair. A world powered by the Purity of Love.
Join me here one last time tomorrow, my friends, as we see how that tale unfolds.
11225423
Not easy, simple.
Here's hoping they all find their yellow and green rings.
11225482
Now there's a callback and a half
So does that mean the earth was nearly destroyed twice? Once in the 20th century and once in the 23rd?
11227676
Earth the universe and Earth in Star Trek were two entirely different places in this continuity.
-GM, master of ink.