Geoverse: An Unfamiliar Worldby GeodesicDragonChaptersPrologueThe Search BeginsAdjustingSolutionReunionPrologueCHAPTER ONE Prologue "So put simply, Fluttershy, Twilight isn't feeling all too well and she's asked me to tell her friends." "Oh my, that's terrible news," Fluttershy replied. "Is there anything we can do to help, Spike?" "Well I've been asking if somepony can come and help me at the library," Spike said. "There's too much to do on top of making sure Twilight is all right. Could you help me please?" Fluttershy looked at the pleading look on Spike's face, his hands clenched together as if in prayer, and smiled warmly "Of course I'll help you, Spike," she nodded. "I'll even get Toby to help as well. I'm sure that he'd love to, and I'm also sure that Angel can take care of the critters until we get back." "Great!" Spike cheered. "Thanks, Fluttershy. I'll head back to the library and get things sorted. See you there later!" Fluttershy waved to the retreating form of the dragon and closed the door before turning around and trotting upstairs. She gently pushed open another door, the smile on her face widening slightly as she took in the form of the sleeping child on the bed. With a contented sigh she walked over and gently roused him. "Toby?" she cooed. "It's time to wake up, precious." Toby murmured into his pillow and opened his eyes slowly, looking around the room for a moment before the familiar yellow blob in front of him took the shape of his adoptive mother. The child sat up and yawned, stretching his arms. "Good morning, momma," he said softly. "Good morning, sweetheart," Fluttershy replied as she nuzzled his cheek. "I've told Spike that we would help him at the library today, because your Auntie Twilight is feeling very ill." "Oh, no," Toby said concernedly as he got out of bed and onto Fluttershy's back. "Is she okay? And I'd be happy to help her and Spike in any way I can." "She's fine," Fluttershy soothed. "Now let's get you cleaned up. Then we can have breakfast and go to the library." With those words she dropped Toby off at the bathroom door before heading downstairs into the kitchen to start breakfast. A few minutes later two plates of scrambled eggs were on the table, and Toby had come downstairs dressed in his familiar red sweatshirt and blue jeans. Around his neck hung a small locket, which he ran his fingers over gently as he took his seat and began eating. Breakfast was soon over, allowing Fluttershy and Toby to leave the cottage. Fluttershy placed Angel in charge of her home while she was away, a task he responded to with a salute, and flew to the Golden Oaks library with Toby safely on her back. *** Upon arriving at the library, Fluttershy and Toby were put to work by Spike. Fluttershy was tasked with serving visitors to the library, while Spike and Toby cleaned the place up. The relieved smile on Spike's face said everything about how happy he was for the help, and the day passed by in a whirlwind of activity and chatter between the three. "Thanks for your help, guys," Spike said as he waved the last visitor out, locking the door behind them. "I was able to get so much done than I would have had I been on my own. Next time we're at Sugarcube Corner the treats are on me, okay?" "It's okay, Spike," Toby replied. "You don't have to do that. Momma and I were glad to help, weren't we?" "Oh yes," Fluttershy nodded. "We're your friends, Spike, and friends always help each other out when they can." "They do indeed," a voice croaked. All eyes turned to the stairs, which a groggy Twilight was slowly making her way down. "Thanks to you two I was able to relax and stop worrying about how Spike was coping without me, which has helped my recovery quite a bit. I'm still not one hundred percent, but I'll get there soon!" Toby went to hug Twilight, but she stopped him. "No, no, sweetheart," she said kindly but firmly. "I don't want to risk you catching anything. But I appreciate the gesture all the—" Before she could finish her sentence, her horn began to glow with a bright purple light. Toby and Fluttershy looked on in awe, while Spike looked worried. But as soon as it started the glow faded, leaving everyone looking confused. "Well that," Twilight mused, "was certainly ran—ACHOO!" With the sneeze came a small explosion of magic, which was concentrated on the area directly in front of the stunned alicorn. When the brightness cleared, Twilight grinned sheepishly. "Excuse me," she giggled. "Now as I was saying, that was certainly random. But with magical illnesses, random is to be expected." Fluttershy smiled politely and nodded, before her eyes suddenly widened in fear and she gasped. "Toby?" she said. "Toby, where are you?" There was no reply. "Twilight... what did you do?!" Twilight didn't reply, choosing instead to look frantically around the library calling Toby's name. In a matter of seconds Fluttershy and Spike had joined her, the three of them searching high and low for the missing child. *** Toby opened his eyes slowly, unsure of where he was. He remembered a bright light, followed by a loud bang. Taking stock of his surroundings, he came to realise that he was lying on what felt like grass with the clear blue sky above him. As he prepared to sit up, a couple of faces appeared in front of him. They were ponies, but one was wearing a golden helmet which identified him as a member of the Royal Guard. Oh good, Toby thought. Auntie Twilight must have accidentally teleported me somewhere when she sneezed. "What do you make of this, Dusk?" one of the ponies asked of the guard. "Do you think Discord is playing another trick?" Discord? Trick? Toby was aghast. Why would they say that? I thought Discord was good now? "I'm not sure, Worthy," Dusk replied, before turning his attention to Toby. "Hey there, friend. What's your name?" "T-Toby," Toby stammered. "My name is Toby." "Okay, he's not one of Discord's tricks," Dusk said. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Toby. My name is Dusk Wind and I'm with the Equestrian Royal Guard," he then pointed at the other stallion. "And this fine gentlecolt is my good friend, Worthy Cause, who is well known for his charity work." "N-nice to meet you both," Toby said. "Could you please take me back to Ponyville now? Momma Fluttershy and Auntie Twilight must be very worried about me." Dusk Wind and Worthy Cause exchanged a puzzled glance with each other. "Er, are you sure you've got the right Fluttershy and Twilight?" Dusk Wind asked hesitantly. "Because we're friends with them both... and neither of them has talked about having a son or a nephew named Toby before." The colour drained from Toby's face. "N-no," he whimpered. "That can't be right. I was at the library in Ponyville earlier today. Auntie Twilight was ill so Momma Fluttershy and I were helping Spike. Just as we finished, Twilight came downstairs to thank us... and then she sneezed and accidentally teleported me here." "By the sounds of things, Toby, I think she did more than just teleport you," Worthy Cause said. He turned to Dusk Wind and added, "I think we should take him to see the Prince, because he knows more about this stuff than we do." Prince? Toby was even more confused. Don't they mean Princess? Dusk Wind helped Toby to his feet. "Worthy Cause is right," he nodded. "The Prince will almost certainly know what to do. Please, come with us and we'll do what we can to help." Toby rubbed his arm nervously before following the two stallions into Canterlot Castle. They walked through the endless ornate corridors for what felt like hours before coming to a stop outside the throne room. Dusk Wind knocked on the door a couple of times before opening it. As he did, he turned to Toby. "Stay close," he said. "Worthy and I will do all the talking. But don't you worry, Toby, the Prince is a great guy. If anypony can help you, then he can." Toby looked nervously at the floor and gingerly followed both stallions into the room. They walked for a few feet before they stopped, whereupon Dusk and Worthy bowed. "Rise," a male voice said. "And how many more times do I have to tell you guys, stop with the formal—" Toby raised his head slightly as the speaker suddenly stopped, only to find himself looking at another human. He was much taller than Toby, clearly an adult, with fair brown hair. He was wearing a suit, a cape and had a crown on his head. "Prince Geo?" Worthy Cause looked up as well. "Are you all—" he saw Toby and Geo looking at each other and coughed. "Ah, yes, our guest. This is Toby, your Highness. We found him lying on a patch of grass outside of the castle." "How did he get here?" Geo asked. Dusk Wind opened his mouth to reply but was stopped by a raised hand. "Let him answer. You're not in any trouble, Toby, I just want to know how you got here." Toby recounted his story to the Prince, who listened with rapt attention. By the time he finished, Geo was clearly concerned. "I believe your story, Toby, honestly I do," he said. "But I can tell you right now that neither Twilight or Fluttershy have never mentioned you. In fact, I think I can safely say that you have come to us from another universe." "B-but surely Momma Fluttershy has talked about me?" Toby pleaded, to which Geo shook his head solemnly. "What about Auntie Twilight, has she not mentioned me?" "Sorry, Toby," Geo sighed. "This is the first time I've ever heard any mention of you. But surely the fact that I'm here has told you that you're not where you're supposed to be?" As soon as those words left his mouth, Geo groaned. Toby took only a moment to process them before the crushing realisation hit him, causing him to fall to the floor in floods of tears. And in between his panicked sobs, a single word could be heard. "M-momma..." Author's Note This is a crossover between the Geoverse, my own series of self-insert HiE fics, and the Tobyverse, a collection of stories about a human child (Toby) in Equestria. This story has been written with the consent of APoeticHeart, creator of the Tobyverse, and it is not a collaboration. Geoverse readers, take note: This story is canon to current events within the Geoverse. It takes place after the coronation chapter in A Season of Adventure, but a few months before the Epilogue. So there will not be any sign of Ace (sorry, Crimson Star). The Search BeginsCHAPTER TWO The Search Begins It took Worthy, Dusk and I several minutes to calm Toby down after my major faux pas. Eventually we managed to get him settled, and he told us the shocking story of how he ended up in Equestria. Once he was finished Dusk, Worthy and I were on the verge of tears. I sent Dusk away to find Twilight and let Toby sit on my throne while we waited. Sure enough, she soon came trotting into the throne room with Dusk at her side and Azure and Evening, our children, on her back. She approached me with a loving smile on her face, which quickly turned to shock and then confusion as she spotted Toby. He seemed really pleased to see her, but given how he said Twilight was his auntie where he came from that was hardly a surprise. "Auntie Twilight?" he asked hesitantly. She cocked her head at me and mouthed 'is he talking to me?'. "It's me, Toby. Don't you remember me?" "Dusk and Worthy found him outside the castle," I explained. "From what we've been able to gather... he's from an alternate universe, a version of Equestria where you, Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie are Toby's aunties, and Fluttershy is his adoptive mother." Twilight's eyes widened. "Adoptive mother?" she queried. "What happened to his real mother?" At the mention of his real mother, Toby's eyes began to water. However, he managed to stop himself from crying again and straightened himself up on the throne, sniffling heavily while I told Twilight all that he had told me — and needless to say she was just as horrified as I was. She walked over to him, matching his smile for size, and laid a forehoof on his shoulder. "I know this is probably very confusing for you," she said softly. "But I promise that we will find a way for you to return home, so you can be with your family again." Toby nodded. "Thank you, Auntie Twi—" he cut himself off and sighed. "Thank you, Princess Twilight. I just... I just hope I don't cause you and Prince Geo any problems." "You don't have to call us 'Prince' and 'Princess'," Twilight giggled. "And you won't cause us any problems. It is our duty to help ponies, or humans in this case, in need." Toby smiled, before his attention was drawn to the two foals on Twilight's back. Azure and Evening were watching him curiously. Toby swallowed and waved politely. "H-hello," he said. "Are they your foals, Twilight? I'm just wondering, because they both look a lot like you." "They are indeed my foals," Twilight replied as she nuzzled them. "This is Azure Hopes, my son, and Evening Whisper, my daughter." "Hi!" Azure and Evening said together. "It's nice to meet you," Toby said. "My name is Toby. If you don't mind me asking, Twilight, who's their father? He must be a very proud stallion to have fathered such cute foals." I walked over to Twilight, picking up and hugging both foals before placing them on a shoulder each. They squealed happily and wrapped their forehooves around my neck. "I wouldn't say I was a stallion," I chuckled. "But you're right in saying I'm proud of my children." A look of shock crossed Toby's face. "That's right, Toby, I'm their father. And Twilight here," I kissed her on the cheek, "is my wife. As you can no doubt see, my own time in Equestria has been quite eventful." "Wow," Toby stuttered. "That's really nice. I have a fillyfriend back home, Silver Spoon, but I think marriage can wait for a while." I bit my lip, not wanting to tell Toby what I really thought of Silver Spoon. Then again, the whole 'different Equestrias' thing probably had something to do with why she was so nice. "I'm really happy for you," Toby trailed off. "So, um, what do we do now, if you don't mind me asking?" Wow, he is definitely Fluttershy's son, I thought, before actually answering Toby's question. "Well first of all, we'll introduce you to the rest of our friends, including another human... as well as Celestia and Luna, who will hopefully help you get home." "I'd like that a lot," Toby said. "I like it here, but I would really like to go home. Momma and my aunties must be worried about me." "I'm sure they are," I replied solemnly. "Come on, let's get something to eat and then we'll take you to meet the others. Dusk and Worthy, you can come too, since you'll no doubt want to see Celestia and Luna, right?" Dusk and Worthy grinned and nodded. "Follow me, Toby, and you'll be all right." He nodded and stood up before rushing over to me and standing behind my legs, taking in his surroundings with awe. I chuckled before leading my merry procession out of the throne room and in the direction of the delectable smells emanating from the kitchen. *** "I'm sorry, Fluttershy!" Twilight pleaded. "I have no idea what happened to him!" "I've looked everywhere," Spike added. "He's not in town." "You have to know something, Twilight!" Fluttershy snapped. "Can you at least remember what spell you cast?" Twilight scrunched her face up in thought for a moment before she gasped and lit her horn. "Of course..." she muttered. "The last spell I cast was Teleportation but, given how this illness has been affecting my magic, the power of the spell was greatly increased. This means that Toby could be anywhere in Equestria!" "He is somewhere in Equestria," a voice said with a chuckle. "Just not the Equestria you know." Fluttershy, Spike and Twilight looked around in confusion before the couch they were sitting on suddenly sprouted legs and stood up, morphing into a familiar figure. "Discord?" Fluttershy squeaked. "W-what are you doing here?" "I went to visit you at home," Discord replied, "but that rabbit of yours told me you were here. I got here just in time to see Twilight's impromptu magic act." "Do you know what happened to Toby?" Fluttershy pleaded. Discord nodded. "Please, I must know what happened to my precious boy!" Discord raised a hand to calm her. "I assure you, Fluttershy, that Toby is quite safe. Twilight's spell had been amplified to such an extent, she was able to interfere with the very fabric of time and space. And given how chaotic that can be, it should hardly come as a shock to know that I felt it. Toby is indeed in Equestria... or, at least, an alternate version of it." "An alternate version of Equestria?" Twilight looked dumbfounded. "So you mean to tell me I sent him to another universe?" Discord nodded gleefully. "Indeed you did," he grinned. "Where exactly, I cannot say, but there will no doubt be alternate versions of you and your friends, living different lives and whatnot." "And how can you just assume that Toby is safe?" Fluttershy demanded. "What if our alternate selves are evil?" "Hardly," Discord scoffed. "This is a different version of Equestria. It will have had the same history as this one, but some things will be different. Your alternate selves will have made different decisions, and led different lives. But they will still be the same lovely bunch of ponies I have come to see as friends." Fluttershy sighed in relief. "Be that as it may," she said, "we still need to find him. Can you help us?" "It would be an honour, my dear," Discord bowed. "After all, I've come to admire Toby a great deal in the short time I've known him. He belongs here, of that I have no doubt." "Thank you, Discord," Twilight dipped her head. "Spike, go and round up the rest of our friends and tell them what's happening. I'll inform Celestia and Luna." Spike saluted and ran out of the library while Twilight began writing a couple of letters. As she worked, Fluttershy looked to the sky and let out a soft sigh. "Don't worry, Toby," she whispered. "Momma's coming." Author's Note In the next chapter, Toby will meet the rest of the crew... including a certain man with a habit of making dirty jokes, as well as a party pony who doesn't really feel like partying. Meanwhile, in his own world, his family will be working on finding a way to reach him. And just in case you didn't see the updated Author's Note in the Prologue: this story is now canon to current events within the Geoverse. AdjustingCHAPTER THREE Adjusting As we entered the dining room, we saw Luna and Celestia both sitting at the large table in the middle. They were talking to each other but looked up as our group came in, though it has to be said that they seemed more interested in seeing Dusk and Worthy. Only once the kissing was over did they finally notice Toby peeking out from behind my legs. "Oh, my..." Luna said sheepishly. "If I had known there was a child here, I would have shown more rest—" She shook her head and blinked in surprise as she realised something. "Wait a minute... who is this child, and how did he get here?" "I was just thinking that myself," Celestia added. "It's okay, little one, you have nothing to fear from us." Toby came out from behind me and approached the table before bowing his head. "Hello, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," he said. "It is nice to meet you both. My name is Toby, and I am here from another Equestria." Celestia and Luna looked at him blankly before I stepped in and told them what he had told me, and they both seemed genuinely concerned by the time I was finished. Toby sat down at the table, eyeing a bowl of fruit. I nodded my consent, not that he needed it, and he took an apple. While he ate, Celestia and Luna came over and we all got into a huddle. "Do you think his family are looking for him?" Celestia asked. "If they're anything like the Element Bearers we have in this Equestria, I'd like to think that they are." "They are looking for him, there is no doubt about it," I replied. "But we don't know how long it's going to take for them to do so. Is there anything we could do from this end?" Luna sighed. "If only Doctor Sorou wasn't in the middle of a domestic," she grumbled. "All we'd need to do is adjust the settings on his portal and send Toby back to where he belongs." "Who's Toby?" a voice suddenly asked. I looked to my left and saw that John and Applejack had managed to integrate themselves into the huddle without any of us noticing. "Damn it, John!" I snapped. "Stop sneaking up on people like that!" He opened his mouth to reply but I interrupted him. "And don't even think about saying that sneaking is what you do for a living, because it's not. You work on an apple farm." "Point taken," John muttered. "But you still haven't answered my question. Who's Toby?" I nodded my head towards the boy in question, who had now moved on to what appeared to be his second apple. I guess crossing universes builds up quite an appetite. Upon seeing him, John and Applejack both did a double take. "Where in tarnation did he come from?" Applejack wondered. "And more to tha point, how are we gonna get him home?" I briefly explained how Toby arrived in our Equestria but omitted his full backstory, as I felt it would be best to save that until all of our friends were together. Not only that, it would stop me from going crazy as a result of repeatedly telling the story over and over again. "Oh," was all John could say once I'd finished. "So basically, we've got to keep an eye on him until these alternate versions of the girls come by to pick him up?" I nodded. "Jeez, do you have any idea how long that will take?" "I don't care how long it takes," I growled. "That kid has been separated from his family, which is heart-wrenching enough without you acting like a complete and total c—" "Umm, excuse me, Geo?" Toby asked. "I've been thinking, and I have some questions for you... if that's okay." "We'll talk about this later," I said to John, before detaching myself from the huddle and joining Toby at the table. "Of course you can ask me some questions, Toby! What would you like to know?" Toby scratched the back of his head nervously. "What's going to happen to me?" he asked hesitantly. "Where will I stay while I wait for my momma and aunties to get here?" "Hmm," I put a hand to my chin in thought. "I haven't really thought that far ahead, though I for one wouldn't have any problems with you staying here at the castle." I looked at the others. "Unless of course anypony else has any ideas?" "Toby is welcome to stay at the castle for as long as he needs to," Celestia said. "And you have our word that we will help you in any way we are able to." Toby seemed content with this, if the small smile that appeared on his face was anything to go by. "Thank you, that's very kind. I have another question... you know how I got to Equestria, but what about you and your friend there?" He pointed at John. "How did you two get here?" "First of all, my name is John," John explained. "And this is Applejack, but you already knew that. She's my wife, and she is currently pregnant." He beamed from ear to ear as he said this. "Secondly, the story of how Geo and I got here is a long one indeed. Do you really want to hear it?" Toby nodded, and John shrugged in response. "All right then, here it goes. It all started when Geo was on his way home from work..." *** An hour later, John had finished recounting our respective stories to a fascinated Toby — though he thankfully neglected to mention the more intimate parts of them. Once he was finished, Toby yawned. "Thank you for telling me your story, John," he said. "But I'm really tired now, so I would like to get some sleep." "Of course," Twilight replied. "A room has been prepared for you next to Geo and I's. Please, follow us." Toby stood up and stretched his arms before saying his goodbyes and following Twilight out of the room. I did the same and went after them, and a few minutes later Toby was in the bed with a forlorn expression on his face. "What's the matter, Toby?" I asked. "... oh, wait, I know. This will be your first night away from your family, won't it?" Toby nodded. "Momma usually tucks me in at night," he said. "And sometimes she'll sing to me. Being away from her just seems... wrong." He sighed. "But she wouldn't want me to be afraid. I need to be strong and get through this, just like she will be trying." I smiled at him. "That's great, kid. And remember, if you ever need to talk, Twilight and I are right next door. Get some rest, Toby, for tomorrow will be a busy day." Toby yawned one last time and drifted off to sleep as I tip-toed out of the room and closed the door softly behind me. And as I got into bed next to Twilight, I knew that we all had to do our best to get the boy home. He belongs in Equestria, yes, just not ours. And tomorrow, we would work on getting him back to the family who love and care for him more than anything else in the world. *** "This is taking too long, Twilight!" Fluttershy whimpered. "Surely we would have located Toby by now?" She looked out the window at the night sky and let out a small moan. "Oh, I hate to think that I'm not there to give him a kiss goodnight..." Twilight looked up from her book, Crossing Universes For Dummies, and sighed. "We are dealing with very advanced magic here, Fluttershy!" she groaned. "We will find Toby, but it will take a lot of time, not to mention a lot of magic." "Well in that case, why don't you just get another cold?" Rainbow Dash offered. "Then all you've gotta do is sneeze on us and hey presto! We've found Toby!" "Sneeze on us?" Rarity said, shocked. "Not only does that sound horribly disgusting, there is no guarantee that we'll end up in the same universe as Toby... provided we even get sent to another universe and not just covered in germs." She shuddered. "Ah reckon Twilight knows what she's doin', Rarity," Applejack rolled her eyes. "Her special talent is magic, after all. Why, Ah bet we'll find Toby in two shakes of a rattlesnake's tail!" "I sure hope so!" Pinkie Pie bounced on the spot. "Then I can throw our cutie-wutie widdle nephew a super-duper 'Welcome Home From The Other Universe' party!" "But until then, we have to find him," Twilight snapped. "And in order to do that, I need to concentrate! So please, let me study this book, and then I can get to work on finding a way for us to travel to the same universe as Toby without anything going wrong!" She buried her face in the book again, oblivious to the shocked looks on her friends faces. "Sorry, Twilight," Applejack said. "We're just worried is all." Twilight sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry for snapping at you," she replied. "It's just... it's my fault that he was sent to this other universe in the first place, so you can imagine that I'm keen to find him and make sure he's safe." Fluttershy rubbed Twilight's back affectionately. "I don't blame you for anything, Twilight," she cooed. "And I'm sure Toby doesn't either. We all have faith in your abilities, and we know that you'll find him. And we also know that we'll help you in any way we can." Twilight nuzzled Fluttershy's cheek. "Thanks, Fluttershy," she murmured. "Your support means a lot to me." Fluttershy brought Twilight in for a hug, which was returned. Soon, the other four Element bearers had joined in. And for a few brief minutes, the book was all but forgotten. *** Daylight crept slowly into the room, touching the sleeping form of Toby and rousing him gently. He sat up slowly and stretched before his attention was caught by voices filtering in through the door. With his curiosity piqued he got up and went into the bathroom, whereupon he had a quick wash and slowly walked into the corridor. He followed the voices down the hall and into the dining room, where he saw Geo, Twilight, John, Applejack, Celestia and Luna, as well as some other ponies. As his footsteps filled the room, the conversation stopped and several sets of eyes turned to face him. The group all had smiles on their faces, and Toby was warmed by the fact he recognised most of them. But one mare in particular caught his attention, as did the warm smile she had on her face. By her side stood a unicorn stallion whom Toby did not recognise. He had a brown coat and a black mane and tail. His cutie mark was a needle against a red cross. As Toby approached them, this stallion held out a forehoof. "Hello, Toby," he said. "My name is Doctor Haywick. As you can see, Geo and the others have been bringing us up to speed with your current situation." He pointed at the mare next to him. "And this is my lovely partner, Flu—" "Fluttershy?" Toby asked. "Um, hello, Toby," Fluttershy said timidly. "It's lovely to meet you. Haywick and myself, as well as Rainbow Dash, Spark Plug, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Spike, have been told of your situation. It must be awful being away from your family like this." Toby nodded and Fluttershy brought him in for a hug. "Well don't you worry, little one, because we're going to make it all better. Okay?" The only response she got was Toby burying his face into her chest fur and sobbing profusely while she tried her best to relax him. After a couple of minutes, he finally broke away from the hug and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry for doing that," he said softly. "It's just that... you remind me of my momma. She always hugs me when I feel sad. I miss her so much, all of my family." With those words he sat down at the table before burying his head in his hands, his little heart no doubt tearing itself in two at the thought of a world without his adoptive family. Author's Note Feels? Feels. SolutionA 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. ReunionCHAPTER FOUR Reunion A week passed, and Toby was still missing his family. At the same time, however, he had managed to adjust to the changes he was going through rather well — which was easy given how he got along so well with everyone. Twilight, Luna and Celestia were spending as much time as they could poring over books and scrolls, looking for anything which might help us return Toby to his rightful home. The search so far had been fruitless, but they vowed to persevere. Even Discord was trying to help, since he saw Toby's arrival as 'messing with the fabric of time and space' — which is apparently a very chaotic thing to do. So it's hardly a surprise that he was so keen to help. He was clearly jumping at the chance to be chaotic, yet maintain his reformed image at the same time. Toby's days were often spent in the company of at least one of us. He spent some time with me during my weekly meetings with the gryphons. He had never met a gryphon before, so he was understandably timid around them, but he soon warmed up to them once he got past their extremely picky natures. He also spent some time with Azure and Evening. It took some time, but I finally managed to explain to them that Toby wasn't an adult human like the ones they are used to. They were really excited at the prospect of spending time with a human child, playing as much as they could with him. Twilight, Celestia, Luna and I all agreed that it wouldn't be fair to keep Toby in the castle at Canterlot, so we decided to send him to Ponyville. He spent a lot of time with Applejack, Dash, Rarity, Pinkie and – of course – Fluttershy, whom he regaled with tales of how the Fluttershy where he came from treated him like her own son. Toby's visit to Ponyville also brought with it the expected meeting with a certain pair of fillies — who were going to harass him for being with the Crusaders until they spotted the Royal Guards nearby. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo then took great pleasure in telling the two that Toby was under royal protection. They told me later that, up until that moment, they'd never seen the two bullies run away so fast in all the time they'd known them. All in all, Toby was fitting in very well with us — but we all knew that the time would come when he would have to return to the family he loved and the mother whom he cherished. *** Two weeks had passed since Toby's arrival, and he was once again in Ponyville with the others. I was helping Twilight, Luna, Discord and Celestia with an experiment they were performing. Dusk Wind and Worthy cause had suggested searching the area where they found Toby for clues, so that's where we were. The moment we arrived, a large grin spread across Discord's face and he chuckled. "Oh yes," he said. "I can feel the chaos of Toby's arrival still lingering in the air." "Good," Twilight replied. "Now we just need to see if we can find any trace of the spell which sent him here." She lit her horn and began walking around the area. As she walked over a patch of grass, the light brightened. "Hmm..." she mused. "Interesting." "What is it, Twi?" I asked. "Have you found something?" "I'm picking up a faint magical aura," she replied. "And it's not one of ours. I believe it could belong to the other me." Celestia and Luna joined her on the grass, lighting their own horns. "I can feel it as well," Celestia said. "But what can we do?" "Discord, get over here," Twilight said. "Use your powers to see if you can increase the power of this aura. If you can, then we might be able to open another portal. Or, at the very least, some way of communicating with the other versions of us." Discord cracked his knuckles before removing them entirely and blowing on them. "Stand back, everypony," he chuckled. "Let the master work his magic." *** In the Golden Oaks Library, a group of individuals sat in a circle around an empty patch of floor. Fluttershy looked around meekly at her friends, each of them offering a small smile in return. "What are you going to do, Twilight?" she asked. "I'm going to see if I can open another portal," Twilight replied, a hint of determination in her voice. "Except this time I don't need to get ill to do it, since Discord is going to help me." "Indeed I am," Discord added. "If messing with the fabric of time and space is the most chaotic thing I'm going to get to do this millennium, then so be it. Are you ready, Twilight?" Twilight nodded. "All right, everypony. Brace your—" His words were cut off by a loud humming noise which filled the room along with a bright white light, which the six mares and Discord were quick to shield their eyes from. "Did it work?" Discord's voice asked. "I can't tell." "What?!" a perfect copy of Discord's voice said. "That wasn't me! Who's there? Show yourself!" The light faded and everypony rubbed their eyes for a moment, before a gasp of shock entered their ears. They looked to the middle of the room — only to find themselves looking at another Discord. At his side stood another Princess Celestia, another Twilight Sparkle and another Princess Luna. The new arrivals were surrounded by the familiar purple glow of Twilight's magical aura. The Discord in the library stood in front of his doppelgänger and grinned. "Well well well," he said. "Aren't you a handsome fellow?" "I could say the same for you!" the other Discord replied. "Tell me, are you by any chance looking for a young man named Toby?" Fluttershy's eyes widened and she dashed to the portal, pushing Discord away from it. "You know where my baby boy is?!" she asked. "Please tell me that he's okay!" Celestia raised a hoof. "Toby is fine, Fluttershy," she said gently. "You have nothing to worry about. In fact, he has faced this... rather unusual situation with admirable tenacity." "Where is he?" Fluttershy demanded. "I have to see him!" "He is in Ponyville at the moment," Luna replied. "We will send somepony to collect him post-haste. Discord, how long do you think this portal will remain open?" The portal Discord reached out with a talon and tentatively brought it towards the shimmering orb of magic, only for the appendage to be knocked away by an unseen force. "I'm not sure," he said. "It would appear that I have no control over it. So it could be open for a few hours... or a few minutes." "Time is of the essence then," Twilight said. "I'll take Geo to Ponyville and fetch Toby, while you three stay here and try to find some way of turning this into an actual portal we can send Toby through." she turned to leave, but the other Twilight stopped her. "Wait a minute," she said. "Who's Geo?" "I am," a voice said. Another human stepped into view, placing an arm around Twilight's shoulders and kissing her cheek. "I'm Twilight's husband, and you must be... well, Twilight." *** The Twilight on the other side of the portal gasped. "Another human?!" she said, shocked. "Impossible!" "You're forgetting that this Equestria is far different to the one you live in," I said with a laugh. "Of course things are going to be different here. But we'll hopefully have plenty of time to talk later. Right now we need to get Toby here so that he can speak to his family. He's going to love this — speaking to you all is all he's been thinking about for the last two weeks!" With those words, Twilight and I left, she levitating me onto her back and flying as fast as she could towards Ponyville. *** "Say, Twi, wouldn't it have been quicker to get the train?" I asked her as we landed. "Or you could have just teleported, which would have been even quicker." "I made use of wind currents to get us here faster than the train," she replied. "In fact, if we'd got the train instead, we'd be pulling into the station right about... now." A loud whistle pierced the air as she finished talking and she grinned smugly. "But I will be teleporting us all back to Canterlot, that much is certain." "All right," I said. "Now where do you suppose Toby is?" I put a hand to my chin in thought. "Let's try the park. And if he's not there, we'll try the Carousel Boutique." Twilight nodded and we both started walking, only to stop when we heard the sounds of clattering metal and rapidly approaching hoofsteps. Turning around, we saw a squad of Royal Guards coming towards us, led by none other than Dusk Wind. I held out my hand and the group stopped and saluted. "Hey, Dusk," I chuckled. "Where's the fire?" "Toby is at the library," he replied, pointing towards the building in question. "Princess Celestia sent a message to Spike asking that he brought Toby there. So he did, and now they're waiting for you." "Lead the way, Sergeant," I ordered. Dusk laughed in response and pointed at his silver armour. "Oh, you got promoted?" He nodded. "Sorry, Dusk, I didn't even notice. Congratulations! Anyway, let me rephrase that." I cleared my throat. "Lead the way, Lieutenant." Dusk grinned and started cantering towards the library with his squad close behind. Twilight and I were bringing up the rear, returning the many greetings we were getting from the townsponies with naught but a wave and a smile. We arrived at the library and the guards stood outside while Dusk opened the door and went in. I could hear Toby's voice, as well as those of Spike and the Crusaders, wondering what was going on. The chatter stopped as we went inside. "Prince Geo?" Toby asked. "Princess Twilight? W-what's going on?" "There's no time to explain, Toby," Twilight replied. "You need to come with us back to Canterlot immediately. We've managed to open a portal back to where you came from, but nothing can go through it just now. We also have no idea how long it will be open for. But your family is on the other side, and they want to—" She was cut off by Toby attaching himself to her neck. "We have to hurry!" he said. "I want to talk to my momma and aunties before that portal closes! Please, Princess Twilight, take me to them!" "All right," she soothed. "We're going to teleport back. Hold on tight, okay?" Toby nodded and she trotted over to me. I took a hold of one of her forehooves and nodded as well. "Brace yourselves." One flash of light later, and we were gone. *** Twilight and I reappeared with Toby in front of the others. Through the portal, I could see that Fluttershy had been joined by the rest of her friends. I could even see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who were both smiling sweetly. I shuddered and walked over. "I hope they get back soon," Discord groaned. "I don't know how much longer I can hold this open." "I know, right?" the other Discord lamented. "Here we are, using all our energy to keep this open, and the guest of honour is nowhere to be found!" "Right here, guys," I said. "Now, before we bring Toby here I want to get something straight. We need to come up with ways of differentiating between the two versions of everypony. Tell me, do you girls have any nicknames?" "Um, no," portal Fluttershy replied, to which I smiled. "I'm guessing your versions of us do?" "They do indeed," I chuckled. "So we'll refer to you by your proper names, but we'll refer to our versions by their nicknames. So that'll be Twi, AJ, Rares, Dash, Pinks, Shy and Dizzy." "Dizzy?" our Discord asked. "I'm not sure what to make of that. In fact, I wasn't even aware of the fact that was my nickname." "I call you that because that's how you made me feel when you turned me into a woman," I snapped. "Anyway, enough messing around. Toby! Here's your family!" Detaching himself from Twilight's neck, Toby ran over to the portal. As soon as he and Fluttershy saw each other they both began crying profusely. They tried to hug each other, but the portal stopped them from doing so. Instead, they opted for laying a hand and a forehoof on it, as if they were holding each other. "It's so good to see you, sweetie," Fluttershy simpered. "Have they been treating you nicely?" "Yes, momma, they have," Toby replied. "I'm so sorry that this has happened. I didn't mean to make you worry. Can you forgive me?" "What?!" Twilight said. "If anypony has to apologise, Toby, it's me! I'm the one who sent you here to begin with, and for that I am truly sorry. I'm the one who should be seeking forgiveness, not you. So... can you forgive me?" "Of course I can, auntie Twilight," Toby giggled. "It was an accident after all. Anyway, I've been having lots of fun here with the new versions of my old friends." Silver Spoon came over to the portal and laid a forehoof on it like Fluttershy was doing. Toby placed his other hand on it and the two looked into each other's eyes. "I've missed you, sweetie-pie," Silver Spoon said. "Please tell me that the other version of me hasn't tried stealing you." "Um... no, she hasn't," Toby sighed. "In fact, she and the other version of Diamond Tiara are still as mean now as you both were when we first met." Silver Spoon looked downtrodden. "But don't worry, once they found out I was a guest of the Prince and Princess, they didn't do anything to upset me." "That Equestria has a Prince?" Diamond Tiara asked as she too approached the portal. "Where is he?" Toby turned around and pointed at me. Both fillies looked stunned. "Another human? Wait... two humans?! How is that even possible?" "It's a long story," Toby said. "But I can tell you that Geo is married to Twilight – er, I mean, Twi – and John is married to AJ. Geo and Twi also have two foals, and AJ is pregnant." There was a collective 'aaaawwwwwwww' from Fluttershy and the others on her side. They all talked excitedly for a moment about having some of their own — just as a humming noise filled the air. "The portal is closing!" Dizzy yelled. "I can't hold it! Toby, you must move away from it, now!" Toby and Fluttershy shared a crestfallen look with each other as he backed away. Toby blew two kisses – one to Silver Spoon and the other to Fluttershy, who returned them eagerly – just as the humming grew louder. "Promise me you'll find a way to open this again!" Fluttershy shouted. "And take care of my baby boy!" "We will!" Twi shouted back. "You have my word that you will have Toby back where he belongs soon!" Dizzy's concentration faltered and he slumped over. The humming grew into a high-pitched whine before going silent. A few seconds later, the portal closed with a quiet pop, Fluttershy's despairing face being the last thing any of us saw. Author's Note What, you actually thought Toby was going home? HA! We're still not done yet, people! But hey, at least he got to speak to his family again!
PrologueCHAPTER ONE Prologue "So put simply, Fluttershy, Twilight isn't feeling all too well and she's asked me to tell her friends." "Oh my, that's terrible news," Fluttershy replied. "Is there anything we can do to help, Spike?" "Well I've been asking if somepony can come and help me at the library," Spike said. "There's too much to do on top of making sure Twilight is all right. Could you help me please?" Fluttershy looked at the pleading look on Spike's face, his hands clenched together as if in prayer, and smiled warmly "Of course I'll help you, Spike," she nodded. "I'll even get Toby to help as well. I'm sure that he'd love to, and I'm also sure that Angel can take care of the critters until we get back." "Great!" Spike cheered. "Thanks, Fluttershy. I'll head back to the library and get things sorted. See you there later!" Fluttershy waved to the retreating form of the dragon and closed the door before turning around and trotting upstairs. She gently pushed open another door, the smile on her face widening slightly as she took in the form of the sleeping child on the bed. With a contented sigh she walked over and gently roused him. "Toby?" she cooed. "It's time to wake up, precious." Toby murmured into his pillow and opened his eyes slowly, looking around the room for a moment before the familiar yellow blob in front of him took the shape of his adoptive mother. The child sat up and yawned, stretching his arms. "Good morning, momma," he said softly. "Good morning, sweetheart," Fluttershy replied as she nuzzled his cheek. "I've told Spike that we would help him at the library today, because your Auntie Twilight is feeling very ill." "Oh, no," Toby said concernedly as he got out of bed and onto Fluttershy's back. "Is she okay? And I'd be happy to help her and Spike in any way I can." "She's fine," Fluttershy soothed. "Now let's get you cleaned up. Then we can have breakfast and go to the library." With those words she dropped Toby off at the bathroom door before heading downstairs into the kitchen to start breakfast. A few minutes later two plates of scrambled eggs were on the table, and Toby had come downstairs dressed in his familiar red sweatshirt and blue jeans. Around his neck hung a small locket, which he ran his fingers over gently as he took his seat and began eating. Breakfast was soon over, allowing Fluttershy and Toby to leave the cottage. Fluttershy placed Angel in charge of her home while she was away, a task he responded to with a salute, and flew to the Golden Oaks library with Toby safely on her back. *** Upon arriving at the library, Fluttershy and Toby were put to work by Spike. Fluttershy was tasked with serving visitors to the library, while Spike and Toby cleaned the place up. The relieved smile on Spike's face said everything about how happy he was for the help, and the day passed by in a whirlwind of activity and chatter between the three. "Thanks for your help, guys," Spike said as he waved the last visitor out, locking the door behind them. "I was able to get so much done than I would have had I been on my own. Next time we're at Sugarcube Corner the treats are on me, okay?" "It's okay, Spike," Toby replied. "You don't have to do that. Momma and I were glad to help, weren't we?" "Oh yes," Fluttershy nodded. "We're your friends, Spike, and friends always help each other out when they can." "They do indeed," a voice croaked. All eyes turned to the stairs, which a groggy Twilight was slowly making her way down. "Thanks to you two I was able to relax and stop worrying about how Spike was coping without me, which has helped my recovery quite a bit. I'm still not one hundred percent, but I'll get there soon!" Toby went to hug Twilight, but she stopped him. "No, no, sweetheart," she said kindly but firmly. "I don't want to risk you catching anything. But I appreciate the gesture all the—" Before she could finish her sentence, her horn began to glow with a bright purple light. Toby and Fluttershy looked on in awe, while Spike looked worried. But as soon as it started the glow faded, leaving everyone looking confused. "Well that," Twilight mused, "was certainly ran—ACHOO!" With the sneeze came a small explosion of magic, which was concentrated on the area directly in front of the stunned alicorn. When the brightness cleared, Twilight grinned sheepishly. "Excuse me," she giggled. "Now as I was saying, that was certainly random. But with magical illnesses, random is to be expected." Fluttershy smiled politely and nodded, before her eyes suddenly widened in fear and she gasped. "Toby?" she said. "Toby, where are you?" There was no reply. "Twilight... what did you do?!" Twilight didn't reply, choosing instead to look frantically around the library calling Toby's name. In a matter of seconds Fluttershy and Spike had joined her, the three of them searching high and low for the missing child. *** Toby opened his eyes slowly, unsure of where he was. He remembered a bright light, followed by a loud bang. Taking stock of his surroundings, he came to realise that he was lying on what felt like grass with the clear blue sky above him. As he prepared to sit up, a couple of faces appeared in front of him. They were ponies, but one was wearing a golden helmet which identified him as a member of the Royal Guard. Oh good, Toby thought. Auntie Twilight must have accidentally teleported me somewhere when she sneezed. "What do you make of this, Dusk?" one of the ponies asked of the guard. "Do you think Discord is playing another trick?" Discord? Trick? Toby was aghast. Why would they say that? I thought Discord was good now? "I'm not sure, Worthy," Dusk replied, before turning his attention to Toby. "Hey there, friend. What's your name?" "T-Toby," Toby stammered. "My name is Toby." "Okay, he's not one of Discord's tricks," Dusk said. "Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Toby. My name is Dusk Wind and I'm with the Equestrian Royal Guard," he then pointed at the other stallion. "And this fine gentlecolt is my good friend, Worthy Cause, who is well known for his charity work." "N-nice to meet you both," Toby said. "Could you please take me back to Ponyville now? Momma Fluttershy and Auntie Twilight must be very worried about me." Dusk Wind and Worthy Cause exchanged a puzzled glance with each other. "Er, are you sure you've got the right Fluttershy and Twilight?" Dusk Wind asked hesitantly. "Because we're friends with them both... and neither of them has talked about having a son or a nephew named Toby before." The colour drained from Toby's face. "N-no," he whimpered. "That can't be right. I was at the library in Ponyville earlier today. Auntie Twilight was ill so Momma Fluttershy and I were helping Spike. Just as we finished, Twilight came downstairs to thank us... and then she sneezed and accidentally teleported me here." "By the sounds of things, Toby, I think she did more than just teleport you," Worthy Cause said. He turned to Dusk Wind and added, "I think we should take him to see the Prince, because he knows more about this stuff than we do." Prince? Toby was even more confused. Don't they mean Princess? Dusk Wind helped Toby to his feet. "Worthy Cause is right," he nodded. "The Prince will almost certainly know what to do. Please, come with us and we'll do what we can to help." Toby rubbed his arm nervously before following the two stallions into Canterlot Castle. They walked through the endless ornate corridors for what felt like hours before coming to a stop outside the throne room. Dusk Wind knocked on the door a couple of times before opening it. As he did, he turned to Toby. "Stay close," he said. "Worthy and I will do all the talking. But don't you worry, Toby, the Prince is a great guy. If anypony can help you, then he can." Toby looked nervously at the floor and gingerly followed both stallions into the room. They walked for a few feet before they stopped, whereupon Dusk and Worthy bowed. "Rise," a male voice said. "And how many more times do I have to tell you guys, stop with the formal—" Toby raised his head slightly as the speaker suddenly stopped, only to find himself looking at another human. He was much taller than Toby, clearly an adult, with fair brown hair. He was wearing a suit, a cape and had a crown on his head. "Prince Geo?" Worthy Cause looked up as well. "Are you all—" he saw Toby and Geo looking at each other and coughed. "Ah, yes, our guest. This is Toby, your Highness. We found him lying on a patch of grass outside of the castle." "How did he get here?" Geo asked. Dusk Wind opened his mouth to reply but was stopped by a raised hand. "Let him answer. You're not in any trouble, Toby, I just want to know how you got here." Toby recounted his story to the Prince, who listened with rapt attention. By the time he finished, Geo was clearly concerned. "I believe your story, Toby, honestly I do," he said. "But I can tell you right now that neither Twilight or Fluttershy have never mentioned you. In fact, I think I can safely say that you have come to us from another universe." "B-but surely Momma Fluttershy has talked about me?" Toby pleaded, to which Geo shook his head solemnly. "What about Auntie Twilight, has she not mentioned me?" "Sorry, Toby," Geo sighed. "This is the first time I've ever heard any mention of you. But surely the fact that I'm here has told you that you're not where you're supposed to be?" As soon as those words left his mouth, Geo groaned. Toby took only a moment to process them before the crushing realisation hit him, causing him to fall to the floor in floods of tears. And in between his panicked sobs, a single word could be heard. "M-momma..." Author's Note This is a crossover between the Geoverse, my own series of self-insert HiE fics, and the Tobyverse, a collection of stories about a human child (Toby) in Equestria. This story has been written with the consent of APoeticHeart, creator of the Tobyverse, and it is not a collaboration. Geoverse readers, take note: This story is canon to current events within the Geoverse. It takes place after the coronation chapter in A Season of Adventure, but a few months before the Epilogue. So there will not be any sign of Ace (sorry, Crimson Star).
The Search BeginsCHAPTER TWO The Search Begins It took Worthy, Dusk and I several minutes to calm Toby down after my major faux pas. Eventually we managed to get him settled, and he told us the shocking story of how he ended up in Equestria. Once he was finished Dusk, Worthy and I were on the verge of tears. I sent Dusk away to find Twilight and let Toby sit on my throne while we waited. Sure enough, she soon came trotting into the throne room with Dusk at her side and Azure and Evening, our children, on her back. She approached me with a loving smile on her face, which quickly turned to shock and then confusion as she spotted Toby. He seemed really pleased to see her, but given how he said Twilight was his auntie where he came from that was hardly a surprise. "Auntie Twilight?" he asked hesitantly. She cocked her head at me and mouthed 'is he talking to me?'. "It's me, Toby. Don't you remember me?" "Dusk and Worthy found him outside the castle," I explained. "From what we've been able to gather... he's from an alternate universe, a version of Equestria where you, Dash, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie are Toby's aunties, and Fluttershy is his adoptive mother." Twilight's eyes widened. "Adoptive mother?" she queried. "What happened to his real mother?" At the mention of his real mother, Toby's eyes began to water. However, he managed to stop himself from crying again and straightened himself up on the throne, sniffling heavily while I told Twilight all that he had told me — and needless to say she was just as horrified as I was. She walked over to him, matching his smile for size, and laid a forehoof on his shoulder. "I know this is probably very confusing for you," she said softly. "But I promise that we will find a way for you to return home, so you can be with your family again." Toby nodded. "Thank you, Auntie Twi—" he cut himself off and sighed. "Thank you, Princess Twilight. I just... I just hope I don't cause you and Prince Geo any problems." "You don't have to call us 'Prince' and 'Princess'," Twilight giggled. "And you won't cause us any problems. It is our duty to help ponies, or humans in this case, in need." Toby smiled, before his attention was drawn to the two foals on Twilight's back. Azure and Evening were watching him curiously. Toby swallowed and waved politely. "H-hello," he said. "Are they your foals, Twilight? I'm just wondering, because they both look a lot like you." "They are indeed my foals," Twilight replied as she nuzzled them. "This is Azure Hopes, my son, and Evening Whisper, my daughter." "Hi!" Azure and Evening said together. "It's nice to meet you," Toby said. "My name is Toby. If you don't mind me asking, Twilight, who's their father? He must be a very proud stallion to have fathered such cute foals." I walked over to Twilight, picking up and hugging both foals before placing them on a shoulder each. They squealed happily and wrapped their forehooves around my neck. "I wouldn't say I was a stallion," I chuckled. "But you're right in saying I'm proud of my children." A look of shock crossed Toby's face. "That's right, Toby, I'm their father. And Twilight here," I kissed her on the cheek, "is my wife. As you can no doubt see, my own time in Equestria has been quite eventful." "Wow," Toby stuttered. "That's really nice. I have a fillyfriend back home, Silver Spoon, but I think marriage can wait for a while." I bit my lip, not wanting to tell Toby what I really thought of Silver Spoon. Then again, the whole 'different Equestrias' thing probably had something to do with why she was so nice. "I'm really happy for you," Toby trailed off. "So, um, what do we do now, if you don't mind me asking?" Wow, he is definitely Fluttershy's son, I thought, before actually answering Toby's question. "Well first of all, we'll introduce you to the rest of our friends, including another human... as well as Celestia and Luna, who will hopefully help you get home." "I'd like that a lot," Toby said. "I like it here, but I would really like to go home. Momma and my aunties must be worried about me." "I'm sure they are," I replied solemnly. "Come on, let's get something to eat and then we'll take you to meet the others. Dusk and Worthy, you can come too, since you'll no doubt want to see Celestia and Luna, right?" Dusk and Worthy grinned and nodded. "Follow me, Toby, and you'll be all right." He nodded and stood up before rushing over to me and standing behind my legs, taking in his surroundings with awe. I chuckled before leading my merry procession out of the throne room and in the direction of the delectable smells emanating from the kitchen. *** "I'm sorry, Fluttershy!" Twilight pleaded. "I have no idea what happened to him!" "I've looked everywhere," Spike added. "He's not in town." "You have to know something, Twilight!" Fluttershy snapped. "Can you at least remember what spell you cast?" Twilight scrunched her face up in thought for a moment before she gasped and lit her horn. "Of course..." she muttered. "The last spell I cast was Teleportation but, given how this illness has been affecting my magic, the power of the spell was greatly increased. This means that Toby could be anywhere in Equestria!" "He is somewhere in Equestria," a voice said with a chuckle. "Just not the Equestria you know." Fluttershy, Spike and Twilight looked around in confusion before the couch they were sitting on suddenly sprouted legs and stood up, morphing into a familiar figure. "Discord?" Fluttershy squeaked. "W-what are you doing here?" "I went to visit you at home," Discord replied, "but that rabbit of yours told me you were here. I got here just in time to see Twilight's impromptu magic act." "Do you know what happened to Toby?" Fluttershy pleaded. Discord nodded. "Please, I must know what happened to my precious boy!" Discord raised a hand to calm her. "I assure you, Fluttershy, that Toby is quite safe. Twilight's spell had been amplified to such an extent, she was able to interfere with the very fabric of time and space. And given how chaotic that can be, it should hardly come as a shock to know that I felt it. Toby is indeed in Equestria... or, at least, an alternate version of it." "An alternate version of Equestria?" Twilight looked dumbfounded. "So you mean to tell me I sent him to another universe?" Discord nodded gleefully. "Indeed you did," he grinned. "Where exactly, I cannot say, but there will no doubt be alternate versions of you and your friends, living different lives and whatnot." "And how can you just assume that Toby is safe?" Fluttershy demanded. "What if our alternate selves are evil?" "Hardly," Discord scoffed. "This is a different version of Equestria. It will have had the same history as this one, but some things will be different. Your alternate selves will have made different decisions, and led different lives. But they will still be the same lovely bunch of ponies I have come to see as friends." Fluttershy sighed in relief. "Be that as it may," she said, "we still need to find him. Can you help us?" "It would be an honour, my dear," Discord bowed. "After all, I've come to admire Toby a great deal in the short time I've known him. He belongs here, of that I have no doubt." "Thank you, Discord," Twilight dipped her head. "Spike, go and round up the rest of our friends and tell them what's happening. I'll inform Celestia and Luna." Spike saluted and ran out of the library while Twilight began writing a couple of letters. As she worked, Fluttershy looked to the sky and let out a soft sigh. "Don't worry, Toby," she whispered. "Momma's coming." Author's Note In the next chapter, Toby will meet the rest of the crew... including a certain man with a habit of making dirty jokes, as well as a party pony who doesn't really feel like partying. Meanwhile, in his own world, his family will be working on finding a way to reach him. And just in case you didn't see the updated Author's Note in the Prologue: this story is now canon to current events within the Geoverse.
AdjustingCHAPTER THREE Adjusting As we entered the dining room, we saw Luna and Celestia both sitting at the large table in the middle. They were talking to each other but looked up as our group came in, though it has to be said that they seemed more interested in seeing Dusk and Worthy. Only once the kissing was over did they finally notice Toby peeking out from behind my legs. "Oh, my..." Luna said sheepishly. "If I had known there was a child here, I would have shown more rest—" She shook her head and blinked in surprise as she realised something. "Wait a minute... who is this child, and how did he get here?" "I was just thinking that myself," Celestia added. "It's okay, little one, you have nothing to fear from us." Toby came out from behind me and approached the table before bowing his head. "Hello, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," he said. "It is nice to meet you both. My name is Toby, and I am here from another Equestria." Celestia and Luna looked at him blankly before I stepped in and told them what he had told me, and they both seemed genuinely concerned by the time I was finished. Toby sat down at the table, eyeing a bowl of fruit. I nodded my consent, not that he needed it, and he took an apple. While he ate, Celestia and Luna came over and we all got into a huddle. "Do you think his family are looking for him?" Celestia asked. "If they're anything like the Element Bearers we have in this Equestria, I'd like to think that they are." "They are looking for him, there is no doubt about it," I replied. "But we don't know how long it's going to take for them to do so. Is there anything we could do from this end?" Luna sighed. "If only Doctor Sorou wasn't in the middle of a domestic," she grumbled. "All we'd need to do is adjust the settings on his portal and send Toby back to where he belongs." "Who's Toby?" a voice suddenly asked. I looked to my left and saw that John and Applejack had managed to integrate themselves into the huddle without any of us noticing. "Damn it, John!" I snapped. "Stop sneaking up on people like that!" He opened his mouth to reply but I interrupted him. "And don't even think about saying that sneaking is what you do for a living, because it's not. You work on an apple farm." "Point taken," John muttered. "But you still haven't answered my question. Who's Toby?" I nodded my head towards the boy in question, who had now moved on to what appeared to be his second apple. I guess crossing universes builds up quite an appetite. Upon seeing him, John and Applejack both did a double take. "Where in tarnation did he come from?" Applejack wondered. "And more to tha point, how are we gonna get him home?" I briefly explained how Toby arrived in our Equestria but omitted his full backstory, as I felt it would be best to save that until all of our friends were together. Not only that, it would stop me from going crazy as a result of repeatedly telling the story over and over again. "Oh," was all John could say once I'd finished. "So basically, we've got to keep an eye on him until these alternate versions of the girls come by to pick him up?" I nodded. "Jeez, do you have any idea how long that will take?" "I don't care how long it takes," I growled. "That kid has been separated from his family, which is heart-wrenching enough without you acting like a complete and total c—" "Umm, excuse me, Geo?" Toby asked. "I've been thinking, and I have some questions for you... if that's okay." "We'll talk about this later," I said to John, before detaching myself from the huddle and joining Toby at the table. "Of course you can ask me some questions, Toby! What would you like to know?" Toby scratched the back of his head nervously. "What's going to happen to me?" he asked hesitantly. "Where will I stay while I wait for my momma and aunties to get here?" "Hmm," I put a hand to my chin in thought. "I haven't really thought that far ahead, though I for one wouldn't have any problems with you staying here at the castle." I looked at the others. "Unless of course anypony else has any ideas?" "Toby is welcome to stay at the castle for as long as he needs to," Celestia said. "And you have our word that we will help you in any way we are able to." Toby seemed content with this, if the small smile that appeared on his face was anything to go by. "Thank you, that's very kind. I have another question... you know how I got to Equestria, but what about you and your friend there?" He pointed at John. "How did you two get here?" "First of all, my name is John," John explained. "And this is Applejack, but you already knew that. She's my wife, and she is currently pregnant." He beamed from ear to ear as he said this. "Secondly, the story of how Geo and I got here is a long one indeed. Do you really want to hear it?" Toby nodded, and John shrugged in response. "All right then, here it goes. It all started when Geo was on his way home from work..." *** An hour later, John had finished recounting our respective stories to a fascinated Toby — though he thankfully neglected to mention the more intimate parts of them. Once he was finished, Toby yawned. "Thank you for telling me your story, John," he said. "But I'm really tired now, so I would like to get some sleep." "Of course," Twilight replied. "A room has been prepared for you next to Geo and I's. Please, follow us." Toby stood up and stretched his arms before saying his goodbyes and following Twilight out of the room. I did the same and went after them, and a few minutes later Toby was in the bed with a forlorn expression on his face. "What's the matter, Toby?" I asked. "... oh, wait, I know. This will be your first night away from your family, won't it?" Toby nodded. "Momma usually tucks me in at night," he said. "And sometimes she'll sing to me. Being away from her just seems... wrong." He sighed. "But she wouldn't want me to be afraid. I need to be strong and get through this, just like she will be trying." I smiled at him. "That's great, kid. And remember, if you ever need to talk, Twilight and I are right next door. Get some rest, Toby, for tomorrow will be a busy day." Toby yawned one last time and drifted off to sleep as I tip-toed out of the room and closed the door softly behind me. And as I got into bed next to Twilight, I knew that we all had to do our best to get the boy home. He belongs in Equestria, yes, just not ours. And tomorrow, we would work on getting him back to the family who love and care for him more than anything else in the world. *** "This is taking too long, Twilight!" Fluttershy whimpered. "Surely we would have located Toby by now?" She looked out the window at the night sky and let out a small moan. "Oh, I hate to think that I'm not there to give him a kiss goodnight..." Twilight looked up from her book, Crossing Universes For Dummies, and sighed. "We are dealing with very advanced magic here, Fluttershy!" she groaned. "We will find Toby, but it will take a lot of time, not to mention a lot of magic." "Well in that case, why don't you just get another cold?" Rainbow Dash offered. "Then all you've gotta do is sneeze on us and hey presto! We've found Toby!" "Sneeze on us?" Rarity said, shocked. "Not only does that sound horribly disgusting, there is no guarantee that we'll end up in the same universe as Toby... provided we even get sent to another universe and not just covered in germs." She shuddered. "Ah reckon Twilight knows what she's doin', Rarity," Applejack rolled her eyes. "Her special talent is magic, after all. Why, Ah bet we'll find Toby in two shakes of a rattlesnake's tail!" "I sure hope so!" Pinkie Pie bounced on the spot. "Then I can throw our cutie-wutie widdle nephew a super-duper 'Welcome Home From The Other Universe' party!" "But until then, we have to find him," Twilight snapped. "And in order to do that, I need to concentrate! So please, let me study this book, and then I can get to work on finding a way for us to travel to the same universe as Toby without anything going wrong!" She buried her face in the book again, oblivious to the shocked looks on her friends faces. "Sorry, Twilight," Applejack said. "We're just worried is all." Twilight sighed. "I know, and I'm sorry for snapping at you," she replied. "It's just... it's my fault that he was sent to this other universe in the first place, so you can imagine that I'm keen to find him and make sure he's safe." Fluttershy rubbed Twilight's back affectionately. "I don't blame you for anything, Twilight," she cooed. "And I'm sure Toby doesn't either. We all have faith in your abilities, and we know that you'll find him. And we also know that we'll help you in any way we can." Twilight nuzzled Fluttershy's cheek. "Thanks, Fluttershy," she murmured. "Your support means a lot to me." Fluttershy brought Twilight in for a hug, which was returned. Soon, the other four Element bearers had joined in. And for a few brief minutes, the book was all but forgotten. *** Daylight crept slowly into the room, touching the sleeping form of Toby and rousing him gently. He sat up slowly and stretched before his attention was caught by voices filtering in through the door. With his curiosity piqued he got up and went into the bathroom, whereupon he had a quick wash and slowly walked into the corridor. He followed the voices down the hall and into the dining room, where he saw Geo, Twilight, John, Applejack, Celestia and Luna, as well as some other ponies. As his footsteps filled the room, the conversation stopped and several sets of eyes turned to face him. The group all had smiles on their faces, and Toby was warmed by the fact he recognised most of them. But one mare in particular caught his attention, as did the warm smile she had on her face. By her side stood a unicorn stallion whom Toby did not recognise. He had a brown coat and a black mane and tail. His cutie mark was a needle against a red cross. As Toby approached them, this stallion held out a forehoof. "Hello, Toby," he said. "My name is Doctor Haywick. As you can see, Geo and the others have been bringing us up to speed with your current situation." He pointed at the mare next to him. "And this is my lovely partner, Flu—" "Fluttershy?" Toby asked. "Um, hello, Toby," Fluttershy said timidly. "It's lovely to meet you. Haywick and myself, as well as Rainbow Dash, Spark Plug, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Spike, have been told of your situation. It must be awful being away from your family like this." Toby nodded and Fluttershy brought him in for a hug. "Well don't you worry, little one, because we're going to make it all better. Okay?" The only response she got was Toby burying his face into her chest fur and sobbing profusely while she tried her best to relax him. After a couple of minutes, he finally broke away from the hug and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry for doing that," he said softly. "It's just that... you remind me of my momma. She always hugs me when I feel sad. I miss her so much, all of my family." With those words he sat down at the table before burying his head in his hands, his little heart no doubt tearing itself in two at the thought of a world without his adoptive family. Author's Note Feels? Feels.
SolutionA 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.
ReunionCHAPTER FOUR Reunion A week passed, and Toby was still missing his family. At the same time, however, he had managed to adjust to the changes he was going through rather well — which was easy given how he got along so well with everyone. Twilight, Luna and Celestia were spending as much time as they could poring over books and scrolls, looking for anything which might help us return Toby to his rightful home. The search so far had been fruitless, but they vowed to persevere. Even Discord was trying to help, since he saw Toby's arrival as 'messing with the fabric of time and space' — which is apparently a very chaotic thing to do. So it's hardly a surprise that he was so keen to help. He was clearly jumping at the chance to be chaotic, yet maintain his reformed image at the same time. Toby's days were often spent in the company of at least one of us. He spent some time with me during my weekly meetings with the gryphons. He had never met a gryphon before, so he was understandably timid around them, but he soon warmed up to them once he got past their extremely picky natures. He also spent some time with Azure and Evening. It took some time, but I finally managed to explain to them that Toby wasn't an adult human like the ones they are used to. They were really excited at the prospect of spending time with a human child, playing as much as they could with him. Twilight, Celestia, Luna and I all agreed that it wouldn't be fair to keep Toby in the castle at Canterlot, so we decided to send him to Ponyville. He spent a lot of time with Applejack, Dash, Rarity, Pinkie and – of course – Fluttershy, whom he regaled with tales of how the Fluttershy where he came from treated him like her own son. Toby's visit to Ponyville also brought with it the expected meeting with a certain pair of fillies — who were going to harass him for being with the Crusaders until they spotted the Royal Guards nearby. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo then took great pleasure in telling the two that Toby was under royal protection. They told me later that, up until that moment, they'd never seen the two bullies run away so fast in all the time they'd known them. All in all, Toby was fitting in very well with us — but we all knew that the time would come when he would have to return to the family he loved and the mother whom he cherished. *** Two weeks had passed since Toby's arrival, and he was once again in Ponyville with the others. I was helping Twilight, Luna, Discord and Celestia with an experiment they were performing. Dusk Wind and Worthy cause had suggested searching the area where they found Toby for clues, so that's where we were. The moment we arrived, a large grin spread across Discord's face and he chuckled. "Oh yes," he said. "I can feel the chaos of Toby's arrival still lingering in the air." "Good," Twilight replied. "Now we just need to see if we can find any trace of the spell which sent him here." She lit her horn and began walking around the area. As she walked over a patch of grass, the light brightened. "Hmm..." she mused. "Interesting." "What is it, Twi?" I asked. "Have you found something?" "I'm picking up a faint magical aura," she replied. "And it's not one of ours. I believe it could belong to the other me." Celestia and Luna joined her on the grass, lighting their own horns. "I can feel it as well," Celestia said. "But what can we do?" "Discord, get over here," Twilight said. "Use your powers to see if you can increase the power of this aura. If you can, then we might be able to open another portal. Or, at the very least, some way of communicating with the other versions of us." Discord cracked his knuckles before removing them entirely and blowing on them. "Stand back, everypony," he chuckled. "Let the master work his magic." *** In the Golden Oaks Library, a group of individuals sat in a circle around an empty patch of floor. Fluttershy looked around meekly at her friends, each of them offering a small smile in return. "What are you going to do, Twilight?" she asked. "I'm going to see if I can open another portal," Twilight replied, a hint of determination in her voice. "Except this time I don't need to get ill to do it, since Discord is going to help me." "Indeed I am," Discord added. "If messing with the fabric of time and space is the most chaotic thing I'm going to get to do this millennium, then so be it. Are you ready, Twilight?" Twilight nodded. "All right, everypony. Brace your—" His words were cut off by a loud humming noise which filled the room along with a bright white light, which the six mares and Discord were quick to shield their eyes from. "Did it work?" Discord's voice asked. "I can't tell." "What?!" a perfect copy of Discord's voice said. "That wasn't me! Who's there? Show yourself!" The light faded and everypony rubbed their eyes for a moment, before a gasp of shock entered their ears. They looked to the middle of the room — only to find themselves looking at another Discord. At his side stood another Princess Celestia, another Twilight Sparkle and another Princess Luna. The new arrivals were surrounded by the familiar purple glow of Twilight's magical aura. The Discord in the library stood in front of his doppelgänger and grinned. "Well well well," he said. "Aren't you a handsome fellow?" "I could say the same for you!" the other Discord replied. "Tell me, are you by any chance looking for a young man named Toby?" Fluttershy's eyes widened and she dashed to the portal, pushing Discord away from it. "You know where my baby boy is?!" she asked. "Please tell me that he's okay!" Celestia raised a hoof. "Toby is fine, Fluttershy," she said gently. "You have nothing to worry about. In fact, he has faced this... rather unusual situation with admirable tenacity." "Where is he?" Fluttershy demanded. "I have to see him!" "He is in Ponyville at the moment," Luna replied. "We will send somepony to collect him post-haste. Discord, how long do you think this portal will remain open?" The portal Discord reached out with a talon and tentatively brought it towards the shimmering orb of magic, only for the appendage to be knocked away by an unseen force. "I'm not sure," he said. "It would appear that I have no control over it. So it could be open for a few hours... or a few minutes." "Time is of the essence then," Twilight said. "I'll take Geo to Ponyville and fetch Toby, while you three stay here and try to find some way of turning this into an actual portal we can send Toby through." she turned to leave, but the other Twilight stopped her. "Wait a minute," she said. "Who's Geo?" "I am," a voice said. Another human stepped into view, placing an arm around Twilight's shoulders and kissing her cheek. "I'm Twilight's husband, and you must be... well, Twilight." *** The Twilight on the other side of the portal gasped. "Another human?!" she said, shocked. "Impossible!" "You're forgetting that this Equestria is far different to the one you live in," I said with a laugh. "Of course things are going to be different here. But we'll hopefully have plenty of time to talk later. Right now we need to get Toby here so that he can speak to his family. He's going to love this — speaking to you all is all he's been thinking about for the last two weeks!" With those words, Twilight and I left, she levitating me onto her back and flying as fast as she could towards Ponyville. *** "Say, Twi, wouldn't it have been quicker to get the train?" I asked her as we landed. "Or you could have just teleported, which would have been even quicker." "I made use of wind currents to get us here faster than the train," she replied. "In fact, if we'd got the train instead, we'd be pulling into the station right about... now." A loud whistle pierced the air as she finished talking and she grinned smugly. "But I will be teleporting us all back to Canterlot, that much is certain." "All right," I said. "Now where do you suppose Toby is?" I put a hand to my chin in thought. "Let's try the park. And if he's not there, we'll try the Carousel Boutique." Twilight nodded and we both started walking, only to stop when we heard the sounds of clattering metal and rapidly approaching hoofsteps. Turning around, we saw a squad of Royal Guards coming towards us, led by none other than Dusk Wind. I held out my hand and the group stopped and saluted. "Hey, Dusk," I chuckled. "Where's the fire?" "Toby is at the library," he replied, pointing towards the building in question. "Princess Celestia sent a message to Spike asking that he brought Toby there. So he did, and now they're waiting for you." "Lead the way, Sergeant," I ordered. Dusk laughed in response and pointed at his silver armour. "Oh, you got promoted?" He nodded. "Sorry, Dusk, I didn't even notice. Congratulations! Anyway, let me rephrase that." I cleared my throat. "Lead the way, Lieutenant." Dusk grinned and started cantering towards the library with his squad close behind. Twilight and I were bringing up the rear, returning the many greetings we were getting from the townsponies with naught but a wave and a smile. We arrived at the library and the guards stood outside while Dusk opened the door and went in. I could hear Toby's voice, as well as those of Spike and the Crusaders, wondering what was going on. The chatter stopped as we went inside. "Prince Geo?" Toby asked. "Princess Twilight? W-what's going on?" "There's no time to explain, Toby," Twilight replied. "You need to come with us back to Canterlot immediately. We've managed to open a portal back to where you came from, but nothing can go through it just now. We also have no idea how long it will be open for. But your family is on the other side, and they want to—" She was cut off by Toby attaching himself to her neck. "We have to hurry!" he said. "I want to talk to my momma and aunties before that portal closes! Please, Princess Twilight, take me to them!" "All right," she soothed. "We're going to teleport back. Hold on tight, okay?" Toby nodded and she trotted over to me. I took a hold of one of her forehooves and nodded as well. "Brace yourselves." One flash of light later, and we were gone. *** Twilight and I reappeared with Toby in front of the others. Through the portal, I could see that Fluttershy had been joined by the rest of her friends. I could even see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who were both smiling sweetly. I shuddered and walked over. "I hope they get back soon," Discord groaned. "I don't know how much longer I can hold this open." "I know, right?" the other Discord lamented. "Here we are, using all our energy to keep this open, and the guest of honour is nowhere to be found!" "Right here, guys," I said. "Now, before we bring Toby here I want to get something straight. We need to come up with ways of differentiating between the two versions of everypony. Tell me, do you girls have any nicknames?" "Um, no," portal Fluttershy replied, to which I smiled. "I'm guessing your versions of us do?" "They do indeed," I chuckled. "So we'll refer to you by your proper names, but we'll refer to our versions by their nicknames. So that'll be Twi, AJ, Rares, Dash, Pinks, Shy and Dizzy." "Dizzy?" our Discord asked. "I'm not sure what to make of that. In fact, I wasn't even aware of the fact that was my nickname." "I call you that because that's how you made me feel when you turned me into a woman," I snapped. "Anyway, enough messing around. Toby! Here's your family!" Detaching himself from Twilight's neck, Toby ran over to the portal. As soon as he and Fluttershy saw each other they both began crying profusely. They tried to hug each other, but the portal stopped them from doing so. Instead, they opted for laying a hand and a forehoof on it, as if they were holding each other. "It's so good to see you, sweetie," Fluttershy simpered. "Have they been treating you nicely?" "Yes, momma, they have," Toby replied. "I'm so sorry that this has happened. I didn't mean to make you worry. Can you forgive me?" "What?!" Twilight said. "If anypony has to apologise, Toby, it's me! I'm the one who sent you here to begin with, and for that I am truly sorry. I'm the one who should be seeking forgiveness, not you. So... can you forgive me?" "Of course I can, auntie Twilight," Toby giggled. "It was an accident after all. Anyway, I've been having lots of fun here with the new versions of my old friends." Silver Spoon came over to the portal and laid a forehoof on it like Fluttershy was doing. Toby placed his other hand on it and the two looked into each other's eyes. "I've missed you, sweetie-pie," Silver Spoon said. "Please tell me that the other version of me hasn't tried stealing you." "Um... no, she hasn't," Toby sighed. "In fact, she and the other version of Diamond Tiara are still as mean now as you both were when we first met." Silver Spoon looked downtrodden. "But don't worry, once they found out I was a guest of the Prince and Princess, they didn't do anything to upset me." "That Equestria has a Prince?" Diamond Tiara asked as she too approached the portal. "Where is he?" Toby turned around and pointed at me. Both fillies looked stunned. "Another human? Wait... two humans?! How is that even possible?" "It's a long story," Toby said. "But I can tell you that Geo is married to Twilight – er, I mean, Twi – and John is married to AJ. Geo and Twi also have two foals, and AJ is pregnant." There was a collective 'aaaawwwwwwww' from Fluttershy and the others on her side. They all talked excitedly for a moment about having some of their own — just as a humming noise filled the air. "The portal is closing!" Dizzy yelled. "I can't hold it! Toby, you must move away from it, now!" Toby and Fluttershy shared a crestfallen look with each other as he backed away. Toby blew two kisses – one to Silver Spoon and the other to Fluttershy, who returned them eagerly – just as the humming grew louder. "Promise me you'll find a way to open this again!" Fluttershy shouted. "And take care of my baby boy!" "We will!" Twi shouted back. "You have my word that you will have Toby back where he belongs soon!" Dizzy's concentration faltered and he slumped over. The humming grew into a high-pitched whine before going silent. A few seconds later, the portal closed with a quiet pop, Fluttershy's despairing face being the last thing any of us saw. Author's Note What, you actually thought Toby was going home? HA! We're still not done yet, people! But hey, at least he got to speak to his family again!
