Chapters Twilight's lungs and muscles burned with exertion as she led the hydra away from her friends. Having previously noticed that it wasn't very bright, she galloped between its legs, smirking as its heads followed after her and tripped itself up. She couldn't help chuckling as one of its heads was crushed under its bulk.
Taking a moment to gauge her surroundings, she saw the hydra slowly recovering and ran past it toward the cliff. As she leaped toward the first rock, she felt a sharp pain in her tail. Looking back, she gasped in horror as she saw it clenched in the teeth of one of the hydra's heads.
Twilight screamed as she was tossed into the air, tears stinging her eyes as she felt gravity reassert itself and saw the hydra lunge at her with an open mouth, ready to swallow her. She looked at her horrified friends as time seemed to slow to a crawl. Pinkie's mane had gone totally flat, Applejack was holding Spike as tears flowed from their eyes, and poor Fluttershy was a total wreck, almost like she was blaming herself. Twilight blinked away some tears of her own as she gave her friends a heartfelt smile before darkness enveloped her, the hydra swallowing her whole.
"So this is how I die. Eaten by a hydra while saving my friends..." Her eyes shot open as she felt power surging within her. She didn't know what it was, but she welcomed it, letting it flow through her and turn her into a living conduit of magic. Something she hadn't experienced since the day she earned her cutie mark. As she reached the hydra's stomach, something awoke within Twilight, and she was explosively catapulted into an endless void.
Twilight's mane was blown one way, her tail another, by winds that were not winds. No source, no direction. The burning gusts of a desert, to the frigid breath of a tundra. She smelled sweet scents that did not exist on Ungula, and yet also the rancid stench of death, and scents that only the mad could comprehend.
Beneath her, the ground roiled, yet was not solid. All around her was shifting grays and black, a lack of color more than anything. Rivers of fire, lightning, liquid stone, and jagged water snaked around her. Colors unseen by mortal, and perhaps even immortal eyes, flew about, refusing to solidify. She could see this place of realities that never were, of unchosen futures never to be mourned, for what it was. A realm of raw mana. Of primordial Chaos.
She didn't know where she was going, compelled as she was by survival instinct to flee from the hydra. Nor did she know how she was intact when by all rights, she should have been rent asunder. Mind, body, and soul ripped apart and absorbed by the twisting maelstrom of amoral Chaos. How long had she been in this void? A minute? An hour? A day? A year? A century? A millennium perhaps? She couldn't tell. Time itself lost all meaning amongst the rolling waves of Chaos. To think this had happened because she was so stubborn about proving the Pinkie Sense wasn't real.
At last she saw a light before her. A sphere that grabbed her attention. A sphere of reality untouched by the Chaos around her. Willing herself forward, she approached the sphere and started pressing against it, feeling some resistance from it as she pushed past the divide between reality and Chaos. After shutting her eyes against the blinding light, she opened them when she felt wind on her face. And gasped as she noticed she was freefalling from very high in the sky toward a massive city that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Narrowing her eyes, Twilight concentrated as her horn glowed and teleported onto a deserted rooftop she noticed nearby. Of course, the fact not all of her momentum could be arrested by the teleport sent her tumbling and she barely caught herself at the edge of the roof, briefly hanging from the edge before managing to pull herself back up. After taking a minute to catch her breath and calm down, she got to her hooves and looked out over the city.
Twilight's eyes widened as she took in the city in greater detail. Not only did the metropolis go on as far as the eye could see, it was clearly rife with problems. Pollution, crime, she wouldn't have been surprised if it was having overpopulation problems. But above all else, it was quite clear that she was no longer on Ungula. As that realization sunk in, Twilight slowly began to hyperventilate. Then she let out a very loud scream that lasted a few seconds.
"Well you can certainly shriek," a voice said from behind her. Twilight whipped around, ready to blast whoever it was, and laid eyes on a bipedal creature lacking body hair except for on its head, wearing a predominantly blue ensemble with red accents. The sleeves were rolled back, it had hands with five digits on each of them, and strapped to it was a pair of gold colored devices. One on its back, the other at its waist. And they were connected by golden cables to a gauntlet on its right front limb. "Who are you? What do you want? And where am I?"
The creature held its hands up in a placating gesture with a grin on its face. "Relax, rookie. If I wanted you dead I'd have fried you while you were screaming. Name's Ral Zarek, and I'm a human. This city is called Ravnica, as is the plane itself. And I wanted to introduce myself to the newest Planeswalker and introduce her to the Multiverse."
"Planeswalker? Multiverse?" Twilight asked, still ready to blast Ral. "Start talking, Ral Zarek. What is a Planeswalker?"
"A rare breed of sapient," Ral began still grinning at Twilight. "One in a million are born with the spark, and of those, only another one in million can get it to ignite. How'd it happen for you? Mine ignited when my lab blew up. Boy was it hard explaining all that to the Firemind..." Ral looked into Twilight's eyes. "Near death experience is usually how it happens."
Twilight kept her spell ready as she looked thoughtfully at Ral. "I was eaten by a creature called a hydra. Multiple heads, massive, carnivorous. I was swallowed whole and thought I was going to die. I felt power surge through me, and didn't stop it. And then something woke in me and I was catapulted into a void of Chaos."
"The Blind Eternities," Ral noted. "The void that all planes form from, and are eventually consumed by. Only Planeswalkers can survive there, and not forever." He took a cautious step closer. "So... you strike me as the curious sort. If you can get a disguise lined up, I can introduce you to a few of my colleagues. I bet the Simic would love you."
"Simic?" Twilight asked as she slowly let her horn's glow fade. "What is that? Some sort of research organization?"
"Yup. The Simic Combine is one of Ravnica's guilds. 'Enter and comprehend the perfection of orchestrated life.' That's their motto. Biomancers mostly. I'm more of an engineer myself. So... Any way to hide what you are, Ms...."
"Twilight," Twilight introduced. "Twilight Sparkle. And yes, I believe I can disguise myself." Her horn glowed and the air around her shimmered. She vanished and was replaced by a... rather misshapen human woman. "Well? How is it?"
Ral started laughing, even in the face of Twilight's glare. "Okay first off, humans don't normally have lavender skin. Try for my complexion. Also, human women have only two breasts, right here." He gestured to his pecs in reference. After several minutes of corrections and pointers, Twilight finally had a passable veil. She had a modest appearance with fair skin, a white and blue outfit, flowing black hair, green eyes, and at Ral's suggestion, covered it in a hooded cloak with the hood down. "There we go. Now let's head off."
Twilight looked around in awe as she was led by Ral through one of Ravnica's lower market districts. There were beings of numerous races going about their business, some shadier than others. "So tell me about the guilds, Ral."
"Ten in all. The Azorius Senate makes laws. The Golgari Swarm makes food and recycles trash. The Selesnya Conclave are healers. The Cult of Rakdos are chaotic partiers. The Orzhov Syndicate is a bunch of loansharks. The Boros Legion is law enforcement. My guild, the Izzet League, are Ravnica's engineers. I already mentioned what the Simic Combine does. The Gruul Clans are a bunch of berserk raiders. And House Dimir is made of info brokers and assassins. And here we are."
He stopped walking outside a majestic looking gate. Symmetrical in design, each side having three extensions that curved upward below spiral extensions. At the top was a carving of a face with a five pronged headpiece and a serene expression. Below that was a sigil that resembled a wave. The gate was accented by blue jewels on each side, and in the inside of the arch was a pair of statues facing each other. Each held an ax out, the heads crossing each other.
"The guild hall of the Simic Combine," Ral said as he started leading Twilight into it, their progress impeded by a group of Simic researchers blocking their path. "Gentlemen, there's no need for hostility." Ral raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I'm not here to cause trouble, I'm here as a scientist. Sure, there's always been tension between the Simic and Izzet, but surely we can put those differences aside in our mutual pursuit of knowledge."
"Like we haven't heard that line before, Zarek," one of the Simic biomancers said with a slight sneer. "We'll need good reason to trust the Firemind's closest lapdog."
Ral ignored the jab with some difficulty. "I've discovered something that can provide an enormous amount of new data to study. Something that can benefit both the Simic and the Izzet! So what say you?" Rai spread his arms as he asked. "Can the Simic and Izzet set aside their differences for the sake of science?"
Twilight looked between Ral and the Simic researchers in concern, worried that a brawl was about to start, but smiled when the Simic agreed to see what Ral had to show them. Even on such a dark world as Ravnica, friendship could overcome problems. She started following the biomancers along with Ral further into the facility, looking around at the various experiments in awe, and eyed some of the more... predatory creations with worry.
Finally, they were escorted into an unoccupied laboratory that overlooked a massive enclosure. "This laboratory is where we experiment with various evolutionary chains, strengthening the creatures we breed and preparing them for the wild," one of the researchers explained.
"Sounds fascinating,"Twilight said. "I can't wait to see what new data Ral found!" Her joy was cut off by a shock to her flank that startled her into dropping her veil and revealing what she was to the researchers. Looking behind her, she saw Ral grinning at her, his gauntlet sparking with electricity. "You... What did you..." She gasped as she was quickly restrained by several of the researchers, struggling to get free as something was injected into her bloodstream. As she felt cold spreading through her body and consciousness slipping away, she focused what little cohesion she could muster on committing Ral's face to memory. She was going to make him pay for this betrayal. That was her final thought before fading into unconsciousness.
"Incredible!" a voice breathed in awe, the anesthesia dulling Twilight's sense of pain as she lay strapped to an operating table, her barrel cut open and her innards being examined. "A sapient creature practically built to manipulate mana. Even a means of self-generating and storing colorless mana. Not only that, but converting it into any of the five colors! This creature could be a living fossil of some long extinct species."
"Imagine the possibilities!" another voice, this one female, said. "This horse could be the key. We could finally create the ultimate life form."
"It'll take a lot of work, but it'll all be worth it," the first voice said. "At long last, the work of the Simic will be vindicated. Even after the atrocities of Momir Vig. His creation was too large and ultimately too limited. But with a living template to work with, we can build upon that work, correct the mistakes that led to his failure."
Ultimate life form? What were they talking about? Who was Momir Vig? Just what were these people planning. Twilight was unable to reach for her magic, not drugged as she was under such a heavy sedative. She wondered if she was barely conscious by design or mistake. Even so, she refused to even glance at her open barrel and see her organs, fearful of how she might react to the sight.
"Magically she is powerful, but physically frail. We must focus upon her body." The sound of tools being shifted around reached Twilight's ears. "Secondary and even tertiary organs, enhanced senses, accelerated healing. But it's not enough to make her robust."
"She has to embody our ways," the female spoke. "She must be able to adapt and evolve. Such is what it truly takes to be the ultimate life form."
"We'll begin at once," the male decided.
Surgeries and tests. Flashes of all the cruel experiments of these creatures. Twilight could only keep sane by counting days. Days spent in either a lab, forced to run until she dropped exhausted, or forced to stand under weight that grew heavier and heavier until she suspected that Big Macintosh would crumble under it.
Twilight screamed in agony, tears streaming from her eyes as she felt her organs being tampered with, blood vessels added and redirected.
"Incredible. She's already adapting more and more quickly to more powerful and higher doses of anesthesia," the Head noted as he worked to merge a third liver into Twilight's body. Once it was in place and functioning, he gestured for another dose of anesthesia to be injected into Twilight's body. Her screams quieted for the moment as her pain dulled again.
"The pain lets her know she still lives," the Aide noted as she gently rubbed Twilight's mane in attempt to soothe her. In the mare's open mouth were the beginnings of her front teeth mutating into incisors and canines. "Just hang in there, dear. The interior additions are nearly done."
A second heart, an extra pair of lungs, strengthened stomach acids, two more livers and two more sets of kidneys. Worst of all was the chosen mechanism by which she was granted accelerated healing abilities. It required making her into an... an omnivore.
"Eat, dear. You must eat in order to heal," the Head said gently as he watched Twilight hold her bleeding foreleg against her barrel as she sat on her haunches with a broken hind leg. "Without extra biomass, you cannot heal quickly."
Twilight sobbed as her survival instinct forced her to bite into the raw meat, blood squirting onto her tongue. Her newer taste buds found the taste delectable, but her herbivorous mindset caused her to nearly spit it out and hurl. Fighting the gag reflex down, she slowly chewed the flesh and swallowed it. She choked back a sob as she saw how much meat was left in front of her. Felt how her palate craved more. Closing her eyes, she bit into the meat again.
Bite by bite, the slain beast was consumed. Muscle, organs, and bones alike. With each bite, Twilight felt her legs mend themselves with what she consumed. Even after she healed, she kept eating, feeling her muscles and bones become denser as the biomass was compacted into her body. She even licked up the blood on the dish, drawn to the iron in it. The next time she was maimed, she healed immediately.
Again and again her bones fractured and healed, her flesh repeatedly torn and mended. Scars healing and fading. Each cycle making her body stronger and stronger. Pitted against creatures she never thought possible. Giant fanged frogs that sought to devour her, only to be devoured from within. Serpents that tried to crush her only to be torn apart themselves.
Phantom sensations of limbs gained and lost. Adaptation after adaptation. Would it ever end? She had lost all hope of rescue. No one would come for her. Her friends and loved ones a world away, thinking her dead anyway. She was on her own. She could rely only on herself. Day by day, her thoughts and senses became clearer. Memories resurfaced after dormancy under the sedatives she was given. Until finally... a singularity.
Fluid. Warm fluid. Like she was floating in her mother's womb again. Though her eyes remained shut, Twilight's ears were sharper. Adapted to hearing through the amniotic fluid like substance she floated in. Tiny twitches to adjust her range, she finally made out words.
"It's incredible! In mere months we have accomplished what took Momir Vig years to do, and the results are looking far better." That head researcher that she had come to detest. "His Kraj was conspicuous, obviously a threat. But our creation is unassuming. None suspect what lies below the surface."
"Truly we have surpassed Vig in every way." The female that was the head's assistant. A calm voice, even compassionate. But Twilight wasn't fooled. Not anymore. She had learned of the callous indifference beneath the exterior. Her body felt so foreign now. The scientist in her admired the changes. But the pony in her was horrified. She wondered if she could even be called a pony anymore.
"And to think it was the Firemind's lapdog that made all this possible!" the head researcher boasted. "The Simic reach our magnum opus by the hands of the Izzet. Perhaps now Niv-Mizzet can be put in his place at last. That vain, self-important dragon won't see it coming."
Niv-Mizzet. Master of the Izzet League. Frenzied engineers. Mad thinkers. And the guild of... him! Twilight's heart and mind filled with rage as she was reminded of her foolishly placed trust. She was so easily deceived. He had caused her to become a monster. Her horn slowly began to glow for the first time in months as her magic asserted itself upon her cocoon. With an application of will, Twilight tore the cocoon apart and landed noisily on her hooves, drawing the attention of all the scientists.
"Get another cocoon! Subject Equs is loose!" An anonymous researcher called.
"Quiet!" The Head snapped quickly before looking at Twilight. "Let us marvel at the fruit of our labor!"
"Fruit... of your labor?" Twilight's voice was raspy from lack of use, but she slowly opened her eyes, pupils slitted vertically. She looked around slowly, fluid dripping from her body. "Do explain."
"For generations, we of the Simic Combine have labored to breed creatures able to survive the heartless city that Ravnica has become. The acts of the late Momir Vig made our efforts more difficult, but thanks to Ral Zarek, we have finally succeeded. From your body's humble template, we have created something greater than even Experiment Kraj. The ultimate life form. A creature that can adapt to any environment."
"So I'm just the end result of your experiments," Twilight muttered, her eyes traveling over the man's body. "What becomes of me now that your experiments are complete?"
"Oh our experiments aren't over yet, they're just beginning!" the Head answered with a smile. "Now that you are lucid, the serious testing can begin!"
Twilight watched him begin discussing plans with his colleagues, her ears picking up snippets that proved definitively what she had long known. These creatures... They care nothing for me. She looked down at her hooves, now concealing sets of five clawed fingers each in the forehooves, complete with thumbs. She clenched her new fists as she frowned. Is that what was intended for me? To be some laboratory specimen? She felt power come to her from the small islands deep within the sinkhole, her irises beginning to glow blue as she felt another power from further away. Even a plane away, she felt the deep power of the Canterhorn. Her eyes shifted from glowing blue to glowing deep purple. Large containers of liquid around the lab began to slowly crack as Twilight began to focus her power. I won't be a lab rat. Glass shattered as she made her decision.
Ecaban had seen a lot of disgusting things in his time with the Boros, but this took the cake. An entire Simic laboratory slaughtered. He knew they prided themselves on their bred creatures, and some even thought it a good thing to be devoured by their creations. But this? These people were perforated with glass, burned alive, splattered against the walls, and otherwise magically mutilated. They had been murdered. "Talk to me, hussar. What have you got?"
"Aside from the multitude of dead bodies missing most of their body parts?" Mirela asked, lifting her pure white robe away from her boots as she stepping around some puddles of blood before pointing at the head researcher's body, impaled against the wall on a sword made of glass. "Seems like he was the most hated target. And it appears the sword is made from the glass in this lab. Melted down, shaped, and cooled, with a telekinetic shell to reinforce it." She sighed as she looked around another area, the runes carved into her armor pieces glowing blue along with her eyes, which stood out under her hood.
Ecaban nodded and sighed as he looked through notes, brushing aside some bones that were in his way as he looked for anything not stained in blood, his armor, decorated with the sun motif of his guild audibly shifting around as a few finger bones were crushed under his foot. "I know the Simic aren't popular with some people, but who did they piss off enough to get an entire lab's worth of biomancers slaughtered?"
"Of that I am uncertain," Mirela answered as she joined him in searching through the notes. "If we don't find something, their guildmaster is not going to be happy." She stumbled upon notes that were different from the rest. Simic always prided themselves on meticulous, easily read notes. This was written in haste, perhaps not long before the writer died. "Perhaps this will give a clue."
"What did you find, Mirela?" Ecaban asked as he walked over to the smaller woman and looked over her shoulder.
"I told you not to call me by name when we're on duty," Mirela lightly scolded. "We have to maintain professionalism here."
"Yes yes. Professionalism. Keep first name basis to off duty in the walls of our home," Ecaban recited, giving his wife a cheeky grin. They had been the talk of the district for quite a while. Even a tad controversial some would say. A Boros legionnaire marrying an Azorius hussar? Unheard of! With his eagerness to fight criminals directly and her preference for more methodical investigations and looking at the big picture, many thought the marriage wouldn't last. But they had somehow managed to make it work. "So what is it?"
"Seems to be a final note from the head researcher shortly before he died," Mirela answered before starting to read aloud. "We dreamed of creating the ultimate life form... and we succeeded. I haven't got much time. I pray this record of our experiment survives. Six months ago we were approached by Ral Zarek of the Izzet League about a discovery he had made. Something that could be revolutionary. He showed us a creature he had discovered, it was-" Mirela frowned. "Looks like whoever did this didn't want whatever was being done here documented."
"Ultimate life form?" Ecaban asked while glancing around. "They're always claiming their newest krasis is the ultimate life form, I doubt whatever they worked on here is different. Doesn't matter. Whoever did this is either going in a cage or to the ax."
"Agreed," Mirela responded as she set the note down. "I won't let this killer roam free. They must be captured soon."
Twilight's ears twitched in irritation as she listened to the conversation from the upper level. Recapture her? Not on their lives. She silently entered one of the connecting corridors looking for an exit when she heard a voice behind her. "Hey. Where did you come from, little guy?" Her eye twitched. Couldn't even recognize a mare, could he? She played up the scared animal act as she looked up at him, keeping her lips down and over her teeth. "Hey it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you." She watched him knell down to her level, making himself appear less threatening. She slowly approached him, flinching at unexpected movements. Once she was within arms reach, she made her move.
Ecaban and Mirela were startled out of their concentration by a scream in a nearby corridor that was quickly silenced. Ecaban frowned and drew his sword, raising his shield in front of him and getting back to back with Mirela as she raised her spear, ready to cast spells in support of her husband. "Stay close, Mirela. Looks like whoever did this is still here."
As the pair made their way through the facility, keeping a sharp eye and ear out for the killer, they heard screams from Ecaban's subordinates every few minutes, far enough apart that it was apparent they were being picked off one by one.
"Ecaban..." Mirela voiced, a trace of fear in her tone, "You don't suppose we're dealing with this... ultimate life form, and not some average killer?"
"A sapient krasis?" Ecaban asked. "After what Momir Vig did, why would they allow that? Unless it was made from whatever it was that Zarek offered them?"
"Question is, what did he give them?" Mirela pointed out before they came across a freshly mutilated body. One of Ecaban's subordinates. "Is that...?"
"Jenkins..." Ecaban muttered as he looked at the body. Disemboweled, throat ripped out, looked like some of him had been eaten too. "Not a good way to go." He turned to Mirela with a serious look. "I'm getting you out of here."
"If you think I'll leave you to fight whoever or whatever killed those scientists and your men-" Mirela began before Ecaban cut her off by putting his hand on the swell in her stomach, reminding her that she was with child. "Alright. But just for the baby's sake. You'd better come back alive, Ecaban."
Ecaban nodded and they started moving toward the facility's entrance again, still on the lookout for their mysterious killer. Once they were in sight of the entrance, they picked up the pace, as much as Mirela's pregnancy would allow. "If I'm not back in an hour, send in reinforcements." Mirela nodded and kissed him before heading outside and leaving Ecaban alone. Once she had placed a barrier over the entrance, he started working his way back into the facility, slowly moving and keeping his eyes and ears sharp as he carefully searched.
As he searched, he found more Boros corpses, all stripped of meat. He growled at the thought of his men being eaten by whatever he was seeking. Or was he the one being stalked? His search brought him back to the main lab, where he saw a small purple horse sitting in the middle of the carnage. "An escaped krasis?" He noted the sharp horn on its head, its big, expressive eyes, and the starlike mark on its flanks. "You're rather unique for a krasis."
"Where is Ral Zarek?" Twilight inquired as she looked up at him, getting to her hooves and giggling at his shock.
"You talk?!" Ecaban gasped. "Krasie don't talk!" He leveled his sword at Twilight. "Whatever you are, you're definitely dangerous.
"Good instincts. I can do a lot more than talk." Twilight smirk turned dark before she lunged at his throat with a yell, gasping as she was run through on his sword.
Ecaban grunted in surprise at how heavy Twilight was and threw her aside, watching as her body gouged a small trench in the floor as she landed. His eyes widened as her wound quickly sealed itself, healing in mere seconds. Frowning, he charged and struck again, only for his sword to be repelled by her now thick hide. "Armored hide?!" He knocked back her counterattack with his shield before summoning a massive fire spell and hurling the conflagration at Twilight.
Twilight screamed as the flames cooked her flesh, but quickly quieted as her flesh and lungs healed and her skin adapted again, turning into dragon scales. Running through the flames, she jumped at him and was dodged despite managing to take a bite out of his shield. Chewing the piece, she swallowed it and started circling around Ecaban. "Where is Ral Zarek?!" she demanded through a snarl.
"Don't know what you want with the Firemind's lapdog, but you killed innocent people and my men!" Ecaban shot back. "I'm not letting you go free, murderer."
"These things deserved to die for what they did!" Twilight snapped. "Humans. Vedalken. Elves. They're all the same. You just want to shove me back in a cage and do more experiments! I don't think so! I'm gonna find Ral Zarek, and I'm gonna kill him for what he did!" She growled as she felt her insides shifting around as a new structure grew inside her from the biomass, and leathery wings slowly grew out of her back. "Just try to stop me!" Her eyes glowed red as she unleashed a scream and took off, smashing through the ceiling and out of the facility.
Ral Zarek walked through the Izzet guild hall as his colleagues rushed about preparing tools and gadgets to try against the rogue Simic krasis. He had a feeling in his gut that it was that same horse he'd given them. Of all the things to start raising a ruckus in the city, it had to be that walker. Worse, she was no doubt looking for him, wanting revenge for handing her to the Simic on a silver platter.
He charged up his gauntlet as he exited the guild hall, wondering when she would track him down. He'd heard the rapidly spreading word. That she had already caused hundreds of deaths in her rampage, killing any that stood in her way. Be they civilians, Boros troops, or Azorius arresters. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something flying toward him, a small dragon at first glance. Then he saw the coloration, the hooves, the enraged eyes. Grinning, he blasted her with a strong electrical bolt as he turned and allowed her to crash to the ground, carving a trench as she slowed and became still. "Such a rookie at fighting. Never charge head on," he gloated as he approached the downed dragon horse thing.
"Ah the benefits of a redundant nervous system..." Twilight muttered with a dark grin on her face.
Ral stopped cold. "What?!" He had no chance to react as he was tackled hard down a sewer tunnel toward the undercity. Since there was nobody else around, he decided to try one last trick. Mustering his strength and concentration, he kicked her away from him just before vanishing from Ravnica.
"No you don't!" Twilight snarled as she too jumped into the Blind Eternities.
Training and Soul Searching
The first time she had passed through the Blind Eternities, Twilight had been in awe of the vastness and nature of the primordial Chaos. Now? Now she was too focused on killing Ral Zarek to care, and was currently locked in a struggle with him as they floated through the Chaos. "I'm going to kill you for what you did!"
"Dammit let go!" Ral grunted as he struggled to keep the surprisingly heavy creature from biting or clawing his throat out. "If we stay here too long, we'll both die!"
"Shut up and die!" Twilight screamed as the mad flapping of her wings sent them on a random course through the Eternities. "You won't trick me again!"
"I'm not lying!" Ral snapped back. "Remember what I said when we met?! Planeswalkers can't survive here forever!" He grunted in pain as he felt the Chaos starting to wearing on him, no doubt accelerated by Twilight's repeated attempts to blast him point blank with magic. "Dammit! It's starting!" Punching Twilight hard in the face to stun her at the cost of his fingers cracking, he planted his feet on her barrel and shoved her away before making a break for the nearest plane, hoping she would be consumed.
Twilight moaned in pain, finally feeling the Eternities eating away at her body, which wasn't regenerating. Spotting a nearby plane, she made for it, growling in anger at having to abandon the chase in order to avoid death as she passed through the divide and entered the plane. She materialized in the sky above a battle being waged by two vicious armies.
Whereas her arrival on Ravnica was accompanied by panicked screaming, now Twilight spread her wings and came in for a landing, not noticing the fighting stop as she came to rest in the middle of the battlefield in order to stare at her. While she focused on regenerating from the damage done to her by the Chaos, her ears twitched and picked up snippets of chatter.
"Where did it come from?"
"Can it really be?"
"A living dragon?"
She looked at both sides. On one was a massive number of warriors riding clearly feral horses, those blank, emotionless eyes were a dead giveaway; composed of humans, orcs, and goblins. Their armor was mainly red and had a certain wing motif to them, and many of them were archers. On the other side was humans and nagas with humanoid upper bodies decked mainly in black, with no cavalry among them. The living were a minority compared to the masses of undead though. The riders flew a red banner bearing a pair of white wings, while the naga led force flew a blue banner with a gold fang on it.
Twilight was broken from her concentration by a goblin that was either extremely brave or extremely stupid rushing at her and jumping on her back, trying to ride her. "Dragon pony is my steed!" She growled and bucked the creature from her back and sent it landing hard at her hooves. Pinning it down, she opened wide and bit into the goblin's throat, ripping it out and swallowing the flesh.
Twilight's fury was reignited as she had a few flashbacks of her time as a Simic lab rat. Grinding her teeth, she growled and drew upon large amounts of mana from the nearby mountains, her irises glowing red before the glow spread to the rest of her eyes and brightened. Her pupils and sclerae were consumed by the glow as Twilight focused her power, heedless of the armies beginning to converge on her, weapons raised and loosing battle cries. As her rage reached a boiling point along with her power, Twilight let the power loose along with a scream of fury that carried for miles.
The mountains that housed and protected the monasteries of the Jeskai Way were a tranquil place, where passion was tempered into the finest of blades through rigorous training and study that instilled cunning, control, and discipline. And Narset, the clan's khan, was the greatest of them. And yet all her training and discipline could not prepare her for the sight that she doubted went unnoticed by any of the clans: a massive explosion of red mana that scoured a large area of the plains. Before Narset could even ponder the nature of the spell, she was met by the enraged scream that seemed to have originated at ground zero. No doubt the spell's caster. Red mana did after all favor raw emotion over logic.
Deciding to investigate, Narset packed up some provisions and her staff, taking advantage of the confusion and talk the explosion and scream had stirred up to slip out undetected. Mounting up a horse, Narset rode for the explosion site, stopping only to rest and eat. The area was about a day's ride from the monastery, so she didn't need long to reach it. The battlefield had been wiped clean, yet it seemed the bodies hadn't been consumed by fire, but devoured. Finding that odd, Narset dismounted and kept hold of her staff in one hand and her horse's reins in the other as she looked around. Judging from the presence of massive numbers of horse bones and naga skeletons, the battle had been waged between the Mardu and Sultai. Question was, who had cast the spell? A third party from the Temur? Before she could ponder further, her horse reared in panic before Narset was tackled to the ground onto her front, the sheer weight of her assailant preventing her from countering.
"I've got questions," a female voice snarled in her ear. "And you're going to give me answers. And try to give me answers I like, I'm not in the best mood after having to adapt stronger stomach acids and put my livers through their paces to deal with the food poisoning eating those zombies gave me." Food poisoning? Adapting stronger stomach acids? Livers, plural? What sort of woman was this? "First question: what is the name of this realm?"
"Tarkir," Narset grunted as she tried to get some sort of leverage, which was stopped by her attacker putting more weight on her.
"Second question: What is the government and ruling body?"
"Tarkir is a war torn world," Narset answered even as in her mind she contemplated the absurdity that was the idea of one entity controlling an entire plane. "Controlled by five warrior clans that seek to rule the plane. Each is ruled by a khan, and I am one of those five khans."
"Tell me about these clans." Claws were positioned at her throat, ready to rip it out at a moment's notice. Narset remained calm on the outside, however. Thus far her answers seemed to satisfy this woman.
"The Mardu Horde rules the wastes. A clan of swift horses, and swifter tempers. My clan, the Jeskai Way, are masters of the mystic arts. Cunning, controlled, and disciplined. The Temur Frontier dominates the frozen tundra. Savage opponents with ferocious hearts. The Sultai Brood and their undead servants rule a decadent jungle empire. Ruthless serpents decked in stolen treasures. And the Abzan Houses are unstoppable desert warriors. Enduring, loyal, surprisingly hard to kill."
"What's your name?"
"I am called Narset."
"Last question, for all the points, give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." This was the moment of truth. Narset's next words would determine if she lived or died. Thinking carefully, she finally spoke.
"I have answered your questions truthfully, and offered little resistance. You seem angry, lashing out at the world around you. I can help you channel and harness that anger."
"Last time I trusted a human, I got experimented on for six months. Why should I expect any better from you?"
"You could have killed me on sight, yet chose to restrain and question me. That alone demonstrates a willingness to trust that I am not like whoever caused you such hardship and pain. If you accompany me, I can train you in the ways of the Jeskai. You would not be the first to learn our ways on a quest for control over your anger. We are scholars on a neverending quest for enlightenment. All who seek to gain wisdom and better themselves are welcome among us, no matter who they are." Several tense seconds later, Narset felt the weight on her lift as her attacker got off of her. Standing, she turned and looked upon her for the first time. Her body was human for the most part, having all the familiar parts of a human woman's body, but she was covered in purple dragon scales. Her eyes were magenta with slitted pupils, and growing from her forehead was a spiral patterned horn nearly six inches long. Her fingers had wicked looking claws, and growing from her back was a pair of leathery dragon wings, and a long, muscular tail from the back of her waist. "Are you... a dragon?" Narset inquired, looking at this woman with awe.
Twilight shook her head. "No. Just grew the scales and wings as adaptations. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am called the ultimate life form. But first and foremost, I consider myself an Ungulan."
Narset nodded. "If you would be willing to journey with me to the Sage-Eye Stronghold, you can tell me more if you wish, and we can begin your training."
Twilight nodded. "Very well. Lead the way, Narset."
Narset retrieved and calmed her horse before taking a cloak from the saddlebag and passing it to Twilight. "We'll need to get you some clothes. You can't go walking through Tarkir in naught but your skin."
Twilight torched the cloak with a small fire stream, glaring at Narset. "I agreed to travel with you. Do not assume that means I trust you."
"Fair enough," Narset said as she mounted up. "I hope to change that, Twilight Sparkle."
"Just Twilight will do," Twilight said as she stared at the horse, making it whinny nervously.
Narset watched in fascination from her side of the campfire as Twilight ravenously tore into the bear that she had bested. Watching her fight the creature had been a wonder to behold. When it struck her with enough force to send her through a tree with many of her bones shattered and her neck at an unnatural angle, Narset thought Twilight had been killed. Imagine her shock when Twilight got up, the sound of bones resetting and mending coming from her body before she reached up and snapped her neck back into place. Twilight then fixed the bear with an angry glare and tackled it down a hill, biting and clawing at it as they fell, Narset following, in awe of Twilight's power. Was this the power of a dragon?
Twilight looked up at Narset and glared even as she tore off a chunk of meat and chewed it. "What? Killing it worked up my appetite," she growled after swallowing. Once Narset looked back at her own meal, Twilight tore another chunk of meat from the carcass. As she ate, Twilight's mind wandered. Initially she thought back to Ravnica and suppressed a shudder at the memories. But then her mind drifted to her home of Ungula. To the ponies she had left behind when she planeswalked for the first time. She wondered if the hydra had been slain and torn open to get her out of its stomach, only to find her missing. How many attended her funeral? Her friends certainly. The princesses, her parents, Shining Armor, Cadance... She bit deep into the carcass to suppress a sob, but it seemed to not go unnoticed by her companion.
"Are you alright?" Narset asked in concern, seeing Twilight bite into the bear attempting to quiet a sob, but Narset knew the physical signs and recognized the muffled sound.
"Why do you care, human?" Twilight asked curtly after swallowing the meat in her mouth.
"Because you're in pain, and I want to help," Narset said kindly.
"Personal matters! Leave it at that!" Twilight snapped.
"There's no need for hostility."
"I beg to differ." Twilight glared at Narset and stood after setting her meal down, the bear's blood coating much of her front and thighs, which made for a fearsome, rather intimidating sight as she started stalking around toward Narset. "See, my first impression of humans is that they're selfish, arrogant, cruel beasts with no redeeming qualities at all. I was locked up in a laboratory and experimented on by amoral researchers who wanted only to create the ultimate life form. Half the time I was fully awake and screaming in agony as my organs were messed with. Then there were the creatures I was made to fight and kill, the creatures I was made to eat. My species is naturally herbivorous. Do you have any idea just how traumatic it is to be forced to fight down my inborn instincts and eat meat? Oh it's easy now, but I was crying that first time. Then when they're done playing mad scientist with my body, they start talking about serious testing. I just snapped and killed them all at that point. I come from a peaceful species that abhors violence and killing." At this point she was looming over the nervous Narset with her wings spread and her eyes glowing red. "Because of humans, I don't think I deserve to identify with my own kind anymore. My own kind wouldn't even recognize me as I am now! There is plenty of need for hostility, Narset!" Twilight felt tears sting her cheeks as she ranted. "Humans turned me into a monster!" Her voice failed her as the emotional turmoil built up over the course of six months came crashing down on her, bringing her sobbing to her knees, face in her hands.
Narset wrapped her arms around the weeping mare and drew her into a comforting embrace, uncaring of the blood that was now staining her clothes. "You're in pain. And that pain is making you lash out at the world around you, humans in particular because they caused you that pain. But not all humans are like that. I promise there are good ones. Every species has good and bad in it. It's not fair to judge by the bad ones."
Twilight said nothing, instead wrapping her arms around Narset. She saw her companion in a new light. Looking at her not as Narset the human, but Narset the person . Even though she had attacked unprovoked, threatened, and been nothing but cold to her, Narset had patiently endured the abuse and shown her nothing but care and kindness. She found herself reminded of Fluttershy as she cried into Narset's shoulder.
How long she cried, Twilight couldn't say, but eventually she got all her frustration and sadness out of her system. Once she and Narset separated, Twilight levitated the bear carcass over to her and bit into it again after using some flames to heat up the meat. She felt a bit more comfortable sitting beside Narset now as she enjoyed her meal.
Narset watched Twilight eat in silence as she finished her own meal. She could only ponder what drove the dragon mare to consume such large amounts of food. She was contemplating asking her when she shivered even through her cloak. The cold of the Qal Sisma mountains was tough even at lower altitudes. It really made one respect the determination and skill of the Temur for surviving at higher elevations. Her shiver did not go unnoticed, and she flinched in surprise as Twilight's wing dexterously curled around her and drew her closer. Narset felt the cold retreat as her body was bathed in the heat that radiated from Twilight's core. "Thank you, Twilight."
"Yeah well, can't have my soon to be teacher freeze to death," Twilight answered dismissively after swallowing a lump of meat. The sound of loud crunching filled the air as she bit off some bone and chewed it. "Once we got to the colder region, I adapted for the weather, so I'm okay."
"May I ask how you adapt so quickly? And what requires you to eat so much?" Narset inquired as she leaned on Twilight and curled up to better retain her companion's warmth.
Twilight was silent as she pondered whether or not to tell Narset about her ordeals in detail. Ultimately, she decided to confide in her. "When I called myself an Ungulan, I wasn't referring to my species. I was referring to my homeworld. I'm not from Tarkir, you see. I was born on a plane called Ungula." She looked at the sky through the forest canopy and took in how different the stars were from her home. "I'm special though. I'm a planeswalker. Not sure of all the details, but I can travel between the worlds of the larger Multiverse at will. The first time I planeswalked, I landed on a world called Ravnica. Not long after I got my bearings, I was approached by a man named Ral Zarek. Misplaced trust got me handed to an organization called the Simic Combine on a silver platter. They experimented on me and turned me into what they termed the ultimate life form."
Narset gasped at the thought of anything so cruel being done to any sapient being. "What did they do?"
"Gave me backup organs first," Twilight said. "I've now got two hearts, three livers, three sets of kidneys, two pairs of lungs, and I adapted a redundant nervous system on my own. The Simic define the ultimate life form as one that can adapt its body to any kind of environment. But I exceeded expectations by being able to adapt to things that can hurt me. These adaptations and my accelerated healing ability need something to work with. So I eat a lot to store surplus biomass for them. It's packed together tightly, so I'm a lot heavier than I look."
"How did you find you find yourself on Tarkir?" Narset asked, in awe of the possibility that the visions she'd had of other worlds since her youth were not fictional, but other planes.
"Eventually I escaped containment in the Simic lab and killed all the researchers in a rage. The massacre didn't go unnoticed. I killed the humans that came to investigate. All but one. The one fought me briefly, and is the reason I look like a dragon, since I adapted to his blade and fire attacks. When he refused to tell me where to find Ral Zarek, I grew my wings and flame sacks before bursting out of the facility and out into the city. After cutting a swath through anyone that tried to stop me, I finally found Zarek and attacked him. He tried to paralyze me with a lightning spell, but it didn't work thanks to my extra nervous system, and I tackled him down a tunnel. As we fell, he tried to escape by planeswalking away. I followed him into the Blind Eternities, the primordial Chaos between planes, and we struggled as we floated around. Once we started dissolving in the Chaos, he got away and I had to abandon the chase. Tarkir was the closest plane I could find."
Narset gave Twilight's shoulder a squeeze of sympathy as she looked at her. "You've endured such hardship, Twilight. No one should have to suffer like you have."
Twilight was about to answer before pain erupted from her back and chest. Looking down, she saw a spear impaled through her torso. She barely had time to register this before angry battle cries came from behind her and Narset. Turning, she saw a group of five people charging them all together as Narset got to her feet and grabbed her staff, ready to fight.
"Kill the bear eater!" one of the attackers yelled as he attacked Twilight with a huge sword. Letting instinct take over, Twilight raised her right arm and blocked the blade, her eyes widening as it cut clean through her scales and severed her arm. As the blade cut through her chest, she jumped back to avoid getting cut in half, her stump slowly regenerating as she ripped the spear from her body and held it tightly. Eyes narrowing, she roared in rage and charged her attacker, knocking aside his blade and biting his throat out in one clean motion. As the body fell, Twilight charged another and breathed a jet of flame at her that set her cloak alight.
As the screaming woman was distracted, Twilight tripped one of the younger looking ones with her tail and skewered him on her stolen spear before grabbing his sword and cleaving the burning woman's head off. She felt weight on her back as one of the remaining two, a burly man, tried to pin and snap her neck. Turning the tables, she grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground before stomping on his skull hard enough to crush it like a melon. By this point, her arm had fully regenerated, and she turned her sights on the last assailant, charging him and tackling him to the ground. Dispensing with weapons she simply balled up her fists and started beating him, ignoring his pained screams and attempts to fight her off. She was so deep in her rage that she didn't notice when he stopped moving.
Narset stared in wide eyed horror at the carnage Twilight had created. She'd seen plenty of bloody killings, but Twilight was one of the more gruesome. No mercy. Just bloodrage and attack. She was still caught in the throes of Bloodfire's embrace as she beat the final attacker's corpse, her fists becoming more bloodstained with each blow. Until she finally leaned down and savagely bit into the body, starting to devour it. Getting a hold of herself, Narset rushed forward and threw her arms around Twilight from behind. "Stop! It's over, Twilight! You can stop now! Enough!"
Her words somehow got through, and Twilight stopped moving. Slowly, she sat up, truly looking at what she had done. Twilight looked down at her bloodied hands and felt tears sting her eyes again. "I've turned into an animal. A mindless, bloodthirsty beast!"
"You just need discipline, Twilight," Narset assured her as she moved in front of her and looked her in the eyes. "You're not used to a predator's survival instincts, are you? You only ever had the instinct to flee before. Now you have the urge to fight instead. I promise you'll be able to control yourself in time."
Twilight looked at Narset and did her best to wipe her tears without getting blood in her eyes. "You seem to have a knack for knowing what to say, Narset."
Narset chuckled and wiped Twilight's tears for her. "Being the khan of the Jeskai means that all my clan looks to me for guidance and wisdom. It's to be expected."
Twilight smiled a bit. It seemed that she had managed to find a human she'd be able to call a friend. Like Narset said, she couldn't judge all humans by a few bad ones. So she did her best to put Ral Zarek and the Simic out of her mind.
Twilight took in the sight before her from the hilltop. Below her lay a massive lake, rock formations and dragon ribs jutting out of the water. Moored to these points was an intricate web of bridges and platforms that floated on the water's surface, surrounding a large island stronghold. Twilight's training allowed her to sense the blue mana coursing within the island, something she found extra soothing. "Six months on this plane, and only now I'm visiting the Dirgur Stronghold for the first time." Out of habit had she spoken aloud, but she was alone this time. Narset had her own responsibilities to attend to, so Twilight had left Sage Eye Stronghold on her own, to find a skilled blacksmith that Narset spoke highly of. The gentle breeze ruffled her clothes: a pair of loose fitting red pants with a hole for her tail, her feet bare, and a mass of bandages wrapping around her breasts and shoulders to allow her wings freedom of movement if she were to shed the blue cloak that lay draped over her shoulders. And hanging from her waist on either side was what was technically a kama with a folding blade. These weapons however, were more akin to smaller scale scythes. When Narset told her that every member of the clan chose a weapon to train with, Twilight had designed the twin scythes at her waist and the best smith in Sage Eye Stronghold had forged them under her close watch.
Taking a deep breath of the air, she set off down the hill, enjoying the soft feel of the dirt between her toes before that gave way to warm white sand. She gave a smile to the pair of burly men keeping watch over the bridge as she approached. Her friendship with Narset and her draconic appearance had made her something of a celebrity among the Jeskai, but she wasn't about to take advantage of that.
Walking across the bridge, she started exploring, seeing all manner of craftsmen at work either creating or selling their wares. She even saw uneasy trading going on with Abzan merchants and recalled that both the Abzan and the Jeskai made use of the nearby trade route that Narset called the Salt Road. Taking a moment to buy a couple of fresh fish from an aven fisherman, she snacked on them as she kept walking, being in no hurry to find the man she sought. She was knocked from her musing by the impact of bumping into someone.
"Push off! I ain't done nothin' to you!" the irritated sounding man snapped as he pushed Twilight back with surprising strength. Twilight quickly flared her wings to help regain her balance, retracting them as she got a good look at the man: tall and well built with a blood red robe draped over his shoulders and partially covering his otherwise unadorned torso, held closed by a curious looking broach. His pecs and abs were very well defined, and his blue pants were tucked into well made boots. Twilight's nose wrinkled as she smelled alcohol on his breath.
"What are you starin' at?!" the drunk demanded, his left hand tightly gripping a gourd that carried the same alcohol scent as his breath while his right hand curled into a gesture, blue mana swirling around it as the water near the bridge began to roil slightly. Twilight wasn't intimidated and raised her right hand, small magenta flames coming to life around it as red mana gathered around it and her eyes glowed red.
The surrounding people looked on in silent nervousness as the tense standoff continued for several seconds. The drunk then grinned and started laughing, allowing the mana he'd collected to disperse. "I like you already! Not intimidated in the slightest, are you? Just what I'd expect from Narset's pet dragon girl." He took a swig from his gourd as Twilight's flames and mana dispersed and she lowered her hand. "Walk with me."
Twilight looked around the drunk's shop in curiosity. She was quite surprised to discover that he was a blacksmith. The walls were covered in all manner of weapons and tools, but there was a special display case with a broken sword in it. Curious, she approached it and lifted her hand to the glass and pressed her palm against it. Closing her eyes, she let her magical senses extend to peruse the broken blade. Her eyes shot open as she felt the darkness of black mana coming from the blade. Intermingled with the other four colors yes, but black was the dominant one.
"My greatest work," the drunk said from behind her, taking a swig of liquor as Twilight turned to face him. He fixed her with a knowing look as he lowered his gourd. "So tell me. How are things on Ungula?"
Twilight gasped at the question, the realization dawning on her. "You're a planeswalker."
"Correct. I have many names on many different planes. Here on Tarkir I use my birth name, Rodin."
"Wait!" Twilight interrupted. "You're Rodin? You're the master blacksmith that Narset speaks so highly of? You're clearly an alcoholic, so I don't see how you could be a master of any craft as precise as forging."
Rodin took another swig of liquor and grinned. "I've had thousands of years to perfect my craft, pup. I work my forge drunk more often than when I'm sober. I only sober up when I have a really important project. You actually know of me from Ungula's legends. Ever heard of Aesir the Watcher?"
"Aesir the Watcher?" Twilight took a step back as she stared at him. "The same Aesir that showed the Royal Sisters how to bind Tirek, and created Tartarus and Cerberus?" She shook her head. "That happened thousands of years ago. You can't be that same Aesir. It's impossible!"
Rodin let out a laugh as he fell back into a chair, finally getting his laughter under control. "You're a little late to the planeswalker party, pup. Up until a few years ago we planeswalkers weren't just people that can travel the Multiverse. No. The most accurate term for us back then was god ." He grinned widely. "We didn't age, we could shapeshift, we didn't need to eat or sleep, there was no limit to how much knowledge we could memorize, and we had the raw power to create entire planes." His grin faded to a smirk. "I'm old, pup. Very old. I was there when your princesses were born. I was there when your nation was first coming together. I've lived a very long life, pup. Around 20,000 years to be exact."
Twilight looked into Rodin's eyes as he spoke. She was no lie detector like Applejack, but she didn't sense any deceit from his gaze. He was being honest. "So. How did we lose all that godlike power?"
"The Mending." Rodin took a extra long drink, frowning in disappointment when he noticed the gourd was empty. "About ten years ago, there was a crisis on a plane called Dominaria. A series of time rifts were threatening to tear the plane apart. Normally I wouldn't have cared about the destruction of a single plane beyond the potential loss of knowledge and relics. But Dominaria is the nexus of the entire Multiverse. Its destruction would mean the destruction of every other plane, and the Multiverse would basically reset. Me and a few other planeswalkers managed to get the rifts sealed, but the Mending was triggered as an unforeseen side effect." A gesture brought a full gourd to Rodin's hand and the cork came loose, letting him take a swig. "The Mending sealed every time rift in the Multiverse, big and small. But more importantly, it altered the fundamental nature of the planeswalker spark. The shock of this alteration killed most of us, I'm one of the few that survived." He took another swig of liquor. "Since then, we planeswalkers are mortal, we lost most of our arcane knowledge, planeswalking is tougher now, and we don't have the raw power of gods anymore."
Twilight stared at him in silence, slowly processing what he had just told her. "So... If you're mortal, and as old as you claim, then shouldn't you have aged into dust by now?"
Rodin chuckled. "Sharp. Once I realized I was aging again, I took steps to stop it." He gestured to the broach that held his robe closed. "This broach keeps me from physically aging. Had to use some pretty rare materials to make it." He fixed Twilight with a look. "But enough about me. You haven't answered my question yet. How are things on Ungula? Last I heard, Luna was imprisoned in the moon."
Twilight took a seat in one of the free chairs, her tail slipping through the open lower back. Taking a breath, she began her tale. "Things on Ungula are pretty good. My name is Twilight Sparkle, by the way. I was born in Canterlot and became the personal student of Princess Celestia. Didn't have friends until she sent me to a town called Ponyville to oversee the Summer Sun Celebration. Long story short, Nightmare Moon returned, and me and some girls I befriended blasted her with the Elements of Harmony. Princess Luna rules beside her sister now."
Rodin nodded and took another drink. "How did your spark ignite?"
"Got swallowed whole by a hydra in front of a few of my friends," Twilight said. "That was a year ago."
"And judging by your appearance, I'll bet Ravnica was the first place you planeswalked to. That body of yours has Simic written all over it."
"Yeah. Experimented on for six months."
"Sad to hear that happened to you." Rodin took a drink and looked up as a voice from the front of the shop called his name. "Well, love to chat more, but back to work for me." He stood and gave Twilight a genuine smile. "My door's always open if you want to talk. Catch ya later, pup."
"Twilight."
"Compared to me, you're a pup. Pup will do."
Though she had planned to further explore the stronghold, Twilight found herself standing in Rodin's workshop as he forged a knife, the sun having long set and the moon risen into the sky. She sat in a chair out of Rodin's way as she watched him work, enjoying the heat coming from the forge, and blushing lightly as she caught herself staring at his muscular, sweat coated physique. Despite being constantly inebriated, Rodin's hands were surprisingly steady in every blow, his every movement sure. Had he simply grown used to forging under the influence? In fascination, she watched as the ingot he'd first placed in the forge was beaten into shape, slowly becoming the rough shape of a knife before her eyes. Once the steel was shaped, Rodin set aside his hammer and put the metal through what Twilight vaguely remembered was called heat treatment. Once he was finished with that process, Rodin set the cooled steel aside and started working on another piece of steel, making this one into a curved piece of cylindrical metal with a rounded end. Once it was finished, the knife was picked up and applied to a grindstone, sharpening the cutting edge before Rodin polished the blade and attached a piece of beautiful oak wood to either side of the handle. Finally, the cylindrical piece was polished and welded onto the knife as a hand guard, Twilight realized.
The finished product was a beautiful weapon that also spoke of durable lethality. One could never guess from the craftsmanship that its maker was drunk as he worked.
"I underestimated you," Twilight breathed. "Your craftsmanship is beautiful."
Rodin grinned as he gave the knife a few test swings. "If you think this is good, wait till you see what I can forge sober." He tossed the knife up and caught it by the flat of the blade, holding it out to Twilight hilt first. "A gift to commemorate our friendship."
Twilight smiled and accepted the knife, holding it in her left hand as she gave it some swings. It was very well balanced and easy to manipulate. "Thank you, Rodin," she finally said as she stored the knife in one of her new rune tattoos.
Rodin nodded. "No problem, Twilight." He looked at Twilight's waist. "If you don't mind, I'd like a look at those scythes of yours."
Twilight nodded and handed him her weapons, curious as to the master smith's opinion of them.
Rodin flicked his wrists to swing the blades down and lock them into place before looking them over with both his eyes and his carefully honed magical senses. "Gotta admit. I've been forging weapons for thousands of years, and this is something I've seen before, but not pulled off this well. In the past they were horribly impractical. Great in theory, but never really perfected." He scrutinized the blades closer. "Whoever forged these knows their stuff. But I'm guessing the high end magnetic seals on the pommels and blade hinges are your doing?"
Twilight nodded with pride. "Yes they are! I started as a student of magic back on Ungula, so I'm really good at spellcraft."
Rodin nodded in agreement. "The ones on the blade hinges make up for the blades not being full tang." He flicked his wrists and the blades straightened up, becoming more like swords. "Interesting. Are these meant to be joined at the hilts into a polearm?"
"Yup!" Twilight chirped. "I even designed them to be like magnets. The poles match up if the blades face the same way, so there's no way they won't face away from each other when being joined!"
"Ingenious," Rodin noted with a tone of praise. "I'd say you've got a lot of untapped potential as an artificer." He grinned and handed her the scythes once he folded them back up. "Those scythes are high quality, but not the same as the steel I use."
"What makes it so special?" Twilight asked as she drew her knife and looked at it curiously, wondering what the difference was when they looked alike.
"I melt down dragon scales and add them to the molten steel," Rodin explained. "The result is an extremely sturdy alloy that doesn't sacrifice ease of being worked. And I never found scales better than those of Tarkir's Light Dragons." He sat down with a sigh as he summoned a gourd to his hand and took a swig. "Dromoka hated me. All because I would hunt her brood just to harvest their scales." He took another swig from his gourd. "If I had known that Ugin's death would cause the dragon tempests to stop, I'd have saved him."
"Ugin?"
"Another planeswalker," Rodin said before drinking more liquor. "He was called the Spirit Dragon, and there's no telling how old he was. But he was older than me, and had lived so long that he transcended color entirely, becoming a master of colorless magic. His magic apparently caused the dragon tempests, the storms that Tarkir's dragons formed from fully grown." He drained the gourd and loudly belched. "Nowadays I get dragon scales from a little world called Jund..." He slumped back and went limp, the gourd falling from his hand and rolling across the floor as he peacefully snored.
Twilight called the gourd to her hand and curiously sniffed the opening, recoiling as she winced. "Strong stuff," she muttered as she put it down and put out the forge's fire before gently putting a blanket over Rodin to protect him from the night's chill, tucking it behind his shoulders. Stepping back, she looked at the sleeping man with a small smile. "I'll do something nice for you," she decided as she summoned her cloak from the rune tattoo at her throat and secured it around her shoulders, pulling the hood onto her head and activating the concealment enchantment on the clasp that hid her true appearance and made her look fully human.
After securing her scythes and knife, Twilight sat crosslegged on the floor of the shop and closed her eyes, breathing deeply as she focused, looking deep within herself. After several moments, she found it. The spark in her soul that connected her to the void. Concentrating on that spark, she felt herself being lifted and becoming lighter. Opening her eyes, she found herself floating in the Blind Eternities right outside Tarkir. She smiled at the plane. "I'll get you some dragon scales." Turning away from Tarkir, Twilight ventured out into the void, wondering how difficult Jund would be to find.
After traveling for what felt like maybe minutes, Twilight saw something very strange. A cluster of five planes hovering quite close in the Eternities. Setting her curiosity aside for the moment, Twilight approached the planes, wondering if one of them was Jund. Picking one to enter, Twilight pressed against the divide between reality and Chaos, landing in a crouch right before her nose was assaulted by the stench of death.
Standing up with a hand over her nose, Twilight's eyes widened at the sight that greeted her eyes. Everywhere she looked there was something dead, nothing alive as far as the eye could see, and if not for her constantly evolving immune system she had no doubt that she would already be suffering from the plane's toxic atmosphere. "No dragons in sight. I seriously doubt this is Jund," she muttered, preparing to planeswalk again, only to stop as she heard noise over a hill. Walking to the top, her eyes widened as she beheld a small horde of zombies assailing a pair of humans that were trying to hold them back and out of the remains of a small bunker. But Twilight could tell they would be killed without help.
Gathering red mana, Twilight lifted her left hand as she worked a spell, a tenth of the zombies bursting into magenta flames as her eyes glowed red under her hood. Her flames drew the attention of the zombies, who sensed an easier meal and started rushing at her. Unintimidated, Twilight's hand lit up with more flames that she unleashed in a wave at the undead, who were engulfed and consumed in their singleminded drive to devour this new living creature. One lucky zombie made it through the inferno, only to have its neck grabbed. "Burn to nothing," Twilight muttered before another burst of fire incinerated the zombie. Cutting off the flow of mana, Twilight's eyes lost their glow as the flames died. With a glance to make sure the humans were alright, Twilight turned and walked back the way she came, planeswalking away once she was out of sight.
On a nearby ridge overlooking the altercation stood a well dressed man in a white suit with black pants and black boots. His hands were adorned by white gloves, and his neck covered by a red scarf. He had fair skin, black hair, green eyes, and adorning his head was a red banded black fedora with a white feather. He frowned and lit a cigar with a small fire spell and puffed it as he thought to himself. "This will complicate things..."
Floating in the Blind Eternities, Twilight looked at the five planes before her, hovering next to the land of death she had just departed. "Hm... That plane is saturated with black mana. Five planes, five mana colors. I'll bet each is ruled by one. So going by the arrangement of color agreements and disagreements, then the red and blue planes would be to either side of black. Wonder which one is red." Turning away from the black ruled world, Twilight entered the plane to its left, landing on a cliff jutting out of a volcano.
Looking around, Twilight beheld vast mountain ranges separated by dark valleys, and the sky was clogged with volcanic ash. Before she could further admire the view, Twilight heard a roar from above her. Jumping back, she rolled back and to her feet, seeing a massive hellkite where she had been standing mere moments ago. The dragon snarled and roared at Twilight, fluttering her cloak with the accompanying gust.
With a smirk, Twilight reached up and stored her cloak in the tattoo at the base of her throat, dispelling the enchantment that hid her true appearance. "Bring it on, big boy," she challenged as she spread her wings and crouched, her eyes glowing purple as she took deep breaths to help control the flow of mana. Beside her, a winged fire elemental appeared, snarling as it awaited her command.
With a mental command, Twilight sent the elemental to attack the dragon, meeting it in midair as they clawed at each other. The dragon quickly tore the elemental apart, but not before sustaining several gashes to its softer underbelly. Seizing the opening, Twilight darted in with time slowing around her to make her able to strike the dragon's weak spot with a powerful punch, damaging its organs beyond repair and sending it plummeting into the valley dead.
Following it, Twilight folded her wings and started tearing scales from the carcass, storing them in a free tattoo. She didn't know how many scales Rodin usually collected during a given trip, so she decided she'd just strip the whole carcass clean. But as she went to tear another scale free, she heard a noise behind her and allowed her honed reflexes to take control. Turning, she caught the incoming spear by its shaft and disarmed her attacker, running him through with his own weapon and tossing him over her shoulder past the dragon carcass.
Surrounding her was a group of humans all armed to the teeth and looking very eager to kill her. Drawing her scythes and flicking the blades open, Twilight fell into a stance with the scythes in reverse grips and the blades pointing upward behind her back as they crossed. Allowing the humans to come to her, Twilight began methodically tearing through them, disemboweling several before joining the scythes at the pommels and throwing them in a spinning arc controlled by her telekinesis to slice off several heads. As she caught the scythes, she kept them joined and extended the blade of one out into its spear form and jabbed behind her, impaling a man that tried to attack her blind spot.
As she pulled her blade free and let the corpse fall, a burly man took advantage of her lapse in concentration to swing down with his huge sword, which was tinged with black mana. Twilight moved to dodge, but wasn't quite fast enough as the blade connected with her horn. Twilight's senses became flooded with pain as her horn shattered, bringing a scream of agony from her throat as the shards clattered to the ground. Twilight's scream was cut off as a pair of blades pierced her from behind, sending her to her hands and knees coughing up blood.
Fighting through the pain, Twilight's irises glowed red, the glow spreading to envelop her eyes and becoming brighter as she called on the plane's abundant red mana. As the massive blade was raised to take her head off, Twilight unleashed her spell with a roar of pain and fury, engulfing her attackers in magenta flames that reduced them and their slain comrades to ash. Twilight panted from the exertion of the spell, hearing the roars of dragons coming to investigate her roar as she telekinetically pulled the swords in her back free, feeling her insides knit themselves back together as the entry and exit wounds closed. Knowing she was in no condition to fight, Twilight managed to focus on her spark and planeswalk away from the volcanic world, making a blind jump to one of the other planes.
"Too easy." Irene Vos glanced up from her hand mirror to look at the man seated beside her on the wagon. Gwafa Hazid. A merchant with a keen mind for one sided business. Irene watched him shine the enchanted dagger he'd conned off a blacksmith back in a tiny Jhessian coast town who thought one of the sigils that defined Bant's caste system could get him a better life. Instead he got a jail sentence for fraud. Pity they couldn't have hired the man. The dagger was a work of art. Small. Easily concealed. Perfect for ending lives. Irene found the caste system amusing because of how ridiculously easy it was to take advantage of. Her mastery of mind magic had enabled her to assume the identity of a member of the sighted caste in order to further her benefactor's plans. She didn't know those plans, nor did she particularly care. As long as she could enjoy the finer things in life, then she'd do whatever she had to do, kill whoever she had to, to keep it that way.
"Master Hazid. Madam Vos." The voice of one of the men got her and Hazid's attention, bringing to it a knight of sigiled caste making rounds through the caravan. The broad white bird emblazoned on his tabard identified him as a Knight of the Bright Dove. Difficult to bribe, reasonably intelligent, but would be alone.
Irene looked at Hazid as she stowed her mirror away and pulled a lipstick from her generous cleavage, coloring her lips scarlet. "I'll handle this." Hopping from the wagon, Irene slid the lipstick back into her cleavage as she approached the knight, shading herself under her umbrella. "Good day, sir knight. How may I be of service to you this lovely day?" She moved with grace and a sway to her hips, making sure to emphasize her curves.
"Good day, milady," the knight greeted. "May I see a manifest for this caravan, please?"
"But of course," Irene answered as she slowly pulled one from where it had been tucked next to her breast, feeling the knight's gaze linger for the briefest of moments as she passed it to him. "Mostly farming tools and miscellaneous items. We've been as far as Jhess this month. Anything catch your fancy? Perhaps toys for the children? Or a gift for the wife?"
"No wife or children," the knight muttered. "This manifest has an out of date stamp. Please step aside so I may check the contents."
Irene gave him a pleasant smile as she channeled some blue mana into a spell she had used countless times in her previous occupation. "You don't need to check the contents." Her smooth, seductive voice entered the knight's ears and made his eyes glow a light blue.
"I don't need to check the contents."
"Everything is in order."
"Everything is in order," the knight repeated as he updated the stamp on the manifest.
"We can go about our business."
"You can go about your business."
"You'll remember us as an ordinary caravan come sunset."
"I'll remember your caravan as ordinary come sunset."
"Move along."
"Move along please."
Irene smiled and gave the knight a small peck on the cheek before returning to Hazid's wagon, settling into her seat as they began moving again. "What would you do without me, Hazid? Oh yes. You'd have killed him and that would have made your task more difficult." She pulled out her mirror and admired her reflection. "Shame what that task is though. I hear Giltspire Castle is quite lovely this time of year."
The caravan made camp that night, only a few more hours from Giltspire. Irene stood up after finishing her meal and looked at Hazid. "I've business to tend to. I'll return before dawn. No one is to follow me." With that order made clear, Irene mounted up one of the leotau and rode into the darkness. As she rode, she noticed a light in the distance. A brief flicker that heralded a shape appearing. Curious, she rode to the shape and found it to be what she could only describe as a dragon woman. But she wasn't dressed like anyone from one of the shards. She had to be a planeswalker. "Are you alright?"
Twilight looked up at Irene and summoned her cloak, donning it and activating the veil. "I'll be fine. Though... I don't understand... Why isn't my horn regenerating? I always regenerate when I'm injured."
Irene thought on that. Before the veil had activated, she saw the broken stump of a horn on this woman's forehead. Leverage. "I may know someone who can assist you with that little problem. You just have to follow me."
Twilight got to her feet and fixed Irene with a glare. "I've been deceived like this before. If you're lying to me, I will kill you."
"No lie, sweetie," Irene assured. "We're not far from the meeting place."
Twilight nodded. "Alright. Lead the way, Ms..."
"Vos. Irene Vos." She smiled as she introduced herself.
"Twilight Sparkle."
In the middle of a plain far from civilization, Irene dismounted her leotau and securely held its reins as she waited with Twilight. Soon enough, a large light flickered in the sky, giving way to a black shape that fell and caught itself on wings. As it came in to land, Twilight realized the shape was a dragon. The dragon landed gently before them and tented its claws as it regarded them. Its scales were deep black, yet reflected the moon light with a strange golden glow. On its head was a pair of horns that curved upward, and a strange, egg shaped orb floated between them. The way it had appeared clued Twilight into its status as a planeswalker. This regal titan of a dragon was without doubt the strongest she'd ever encountered.
Irene smiled at Twilight as she held her closed umbrella against her shoulder with her free hand, the other keeping the nervous leotau in place. "Twilight Sparkle, allow me to introduce my employer: Nicol Bolas."
Twilight stared up at Bolas in silent awe as she was introduced to him. Finding her voice, she respectfully bowed. "It's an honor to meet you, Nicol Bolas."
"The pleasure is mine," Bolas answered, his voice a deep one that seemed to pierce into Twilight's very soul as he regarded her. He then turned his gaze to Irene. "Why have you brought her to me?"
Irene kept her smile even under the elder dragon's gaze. "She's a planeswalker. And she has a problem she needs help with."
Bolas looked back at Twilight in curiosity. "Do tell, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight reached up to her cloak's clasp and deactivated the veil, gesturing to her horn's stump. "My horn was shattered on one of the neighboring planes. A world of volcanoes teeming with red mana. I normally regenerate when injured, but my horn hasn't since it was shattered. I don't know why that is, and Irene said you might be able to help."
Bolas was silent through Twilight's explanation, regarding her with an analytical eye. "The world you speak of is one of five shards of a fractured world called Alara. We are currently on Bant, and the shard you spoke of is Jund."
Twilight's eyes lit up. "I didn't think I'd find it so quickly! All I had to go on was a name and the knowledge that dragons live there! Wow! That is lucky." She withered under Bolas' silent, unblinking gaze. "Sorry."
Bolas nodded. "At any rate, Irene is correct. I can assist you. On the blue shard, Esper, exists a metal called etherium that can be molded into a prosthesis that will also have the benefit of enhancing your magic. But first, I need you to do a task for me." He groaned as he stretched his wings, joints creaking in protest.
Twilight noticed upon closer inspection that Bolas' wing membranes were tattered and his scales lacking in sheen. "Are you alright?" she asked in concern for the aged dragon.
"I am a very old dragon, child," Bolas answered. "I am feeling my age after so many millennia. The task I wish you to perform will go a long way toward easing my ails."
Twilight nodded. "Okay. What do you need done?" She may have only just met him, but she wanted to ease Bolas' suffering any way she could.
"I need you to go to the green shard, Naya, and activate an obelisk that is located there," Bolas instructed as he held out his claw and conjured an image of a bipedal lion. "This is a leonin. Seek him out for guidance to the obelisk of Naya. His name is Marisi. When you have completed your task, go to Esper and seek out my agent there." The image shifted to show a well dressed human man. "He will see to your prosthesis."
Twilight nodded with a respectful smile as she committed the faces to memory. "Alright. I'll get started right away." Just as she prepared to planeswalk, Bolas lifted his claw and slashed its palm before offering the bleeding appendage to Twilight.
"I have long preferred to seal the pacts I make in blood," Bolas said. "Exchange blood with me, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight winced at the thought of exchanging blood, but saw no harm in it considering her body's nature. Drawing her knife, she slashed her left hand's palm and placed the wound against the one in Bolas' palm, shuddering as she felt something flow through her for a brief moment. Thinking nothing of it, she pulled her hand away, idly watching the cut heal before putting her knife away and planeswalking off of Bant.
Once Twilight had departed, Bolas turned his gaze to his minion. "Is your task nearing completion?"
"By midday tomorrow, Giltspire Castle will be a pile of rubble and the obelisk of Bant will be producing mana," Irene reported with a grin.
"Good," Bolas answered with a small smirk. "Return to Hazid, and once the obelisk is active, make sure he is dealt with. Then assume your place among the sighted caste to play out the rest of your role."
Irene took a moment to curtsy before mounting up and riding back toward Hazid's camp, leaving Bolas alone with his thoughts, the dragon gathering his energy and leaving Bant.
Grixis, lair of Nicol Bolas
Bolas soon arrived back in his lair on the world of death that was Grixis, silently contemplating what he had seen in Twilight's mind. While the girl's naivete had cost her dearly, those other two could be problematic down the line. Pinkamena Diane Pie. The one being to have withstood his touch with sanity unchanged. Difficult to predict, but not impossible to manipulate. Rodin Vulkis. A true wild card with no care for any besides himself, and a talent for artifice that Bolas had yet to see rivaled. He chuckled in respect for his fellow ancient. Truly Rodin was almost as cunning and ruthless as Bolas himself. His thoughts turned to Twilight next. So utterly filled with power. So wholly lacking in vision. Content to study and gain knowledge. Would Twilight continue to be naive and malleable? Or would she live up to the hope of the Simic Combine as the so called 'ultimate life form'? It hardly mattered. For if she dared face him, destroying her would be his... pleasure.
Ungula, one year earlier
Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Spike watched helplessly as the hydra swallowed Twilight whole, tears streaming down their cheeks as they grieved.
Pinkie Pie's mane and tail had fallen flat and her colors muted somewhat, even her Pinkie Sense had fallen silent. That is, until a bright glow appeared in the throat of the hydra head that swallowed Twilight. Bringing the attention of the others to it, they watched as the glow traveled down toward the hydra's stomach, Pinkie beginning the full body shake that heralded a doozy again as the glow reached the hydra's stomach and suddenly exploded outward, leaving a gaping hole in the hydra's belly as it keeled over dead.
When Twilight didn't emerge, the four went over the rocks to the carcass and looked inside the hole made in it. They didn't see Twilight, but burned into the wall of the stomach was a symbol that had a single prong on one end, and five side by side on the other. Pinkie stopped shaking as her mane and tail poofed up again. "TWILIGHT'S ALIVE!!! So that was the doozy!"
"Pinkie Pie what in tarnation are ya talkin' about?!" Applejack demanded in confusion.
"I gotta find Ditzy Doo!" Pinkie exclaimed before hopping in the air and taking off toward Ponyville.
"What does Ditzy Doo have do with any of this?" Spike asked before Pinkie reappeared, the wall eyed mailmare in tow and looking very confused.
"Pinkie Pie, why did you drag me away from work to come look at a dead hydra?" Ditzy asked before laying her eyes on the symbol burned into the hydra's stomach. "Who did this hydra eat?"
"It ate Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed as she floated for several seconds. "You know what this means! Twilight's a planeswalker!"
"What's a planeswalker?" Spike asked, looking on in confusion and hope that Twilight really was alive.
Before Pinkie could start talking, her mouth vanished in a flash of light, causing the rest present to gasp in shock. Both at the mouth removal and the fact that Ditzy Doo's eyes were glowing white.
"Why don't we gather the rest of Twilight's friends, her family, and the princess before I start explaining?" Ditzy offered to the mute Pinkie as the glow in her eyes faded, revealing that both were now looking in the same direction.
It had taken much pain, a lot of yelling, and a few bouts of hitting ponies over the head with a thick book, but at last, Ditzy Doo, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Spike, Princess Celestia, Twilight's elder brother Shining Armor, her old foalsitter Princess Cadance, and her parents Night Light and Twilight Velvet all stood in the Golden Oak Library.
"Now then, Ms. Doo, would you care to explain that mark in the hydra's stomach and Twilight's disappearance?" Celestia asked in her calm, motherly tone.
Ditzy nodded. "Of course, Princess." Her eyes then glowed blue and an image of several spheres appeared in the air, each containing at least one smaller sphere within. "Our world of Ungula isn't the only reality," she began. "It is but one of an uncountable number of worlds in an endless Multiverse that float in an ocean of primordial Chaos that we call the Blind Eternities." The spheres around her floated in a slow orbit as she spoke. "The planes are home to countless mages that, for all their mastery over their craft, are bound to their own planes, blind to the true vastness of the Multiverse. But some mages, like Pinkie Pie and myself, are born with the potential for more: the Spark. This gift, once ignited by a near death experience, immense psychological strain, or a moment of true meditative enlightenment, allows the mage to travel between planes at will." The spheres faded as Ditzy's eyes ceased to glow. "We call ourselves planeswalkers, and very rarely do we reveal our nature to those lacking the Spark."
"And you think Twilight is one of you?" Shining Armor asked, rubbing his head. "This is a lot to take in."
Ditzy nodded and conjured another image: the symbol from the hydra's gut. "This mark is always left scorched onto a surface when a planeswalker ignites their Spark and planeswalks for the first time. So we've adopted it as our emblem."
It was at that moment that Pinkie's mouth reasserted its existence, allowing the party pony to speak once again. Something she proceeded to do with gusto. "The real problem is that there's no telling where Twilight ended up! She's probably scared and doesn't know how to planeswalk yet! She could be anywhere! Ravnica, Innistrad, Zendikar, Tarkir, Theros, Dominaria, the list goes on! And all those planes are really really dangerous!"
"So what do we do then?!" Rainbow Dash demanded as she frantically flitted about the room. "Isn't there something we can do to track her?!"
"All of you can only sit and wait," Ditzy calmly explained. "Without Sparks, you can't enter the Blind Eternities without being torn apart mind, body, and soul. So Pinkie and I will make our preparations and go look for her."
Pinkie nodded as she stopped bouncing. "We'll find her. We'll find her and bring her home."
"Then all we can do is trust in the two of you," Celestia said. "May you find her soon."
Ditzy looked down at Spike as he approached her and Pinkie. "Please bring Twilight home soon."
"We will," Ditzy promised.
Bant, present day
Irene took in the sight of Giltspire Castle from the shade of her umbrella as she idly tossed a knife up and down, catching it by the hilt every time it came down from a flip into the air. It was a simple weapon, but deceptively deadly. Its blade was black with red accents, specifically designed not to reflect light, and its hilt accommodated a slight bend of around 20 degrees, allowing it to fit more comfortably into Irene's palm for better control of the blade and a tighter grip. And she found it infinitely more beautiful than the castle. Looking to the guard that rode next to her and Hazid's wagon on horseback, she spoke. "Ready the chanters."
"Yes, ma'am."
Taking in the castle's design in detail only reaffirmed to Irene how its symbolism of social order, while superficially pretty, paled when compared to the humble implement of death she was still tossing up and down.
"Sir, Ma'am. A contingent of knights approaches from the castle," the guard to Hazid's right informed them.
"The status of the chanters?" Hazid inquired.
"Ready, sir."
"Then tell them to get started," Irene ordered. "Hazid and I will handle the knights." She stowed her knife in its hidden sheath and looked at her reflection in her mirror to color her lips as her eyes glowed a faint blue, casting an illusion over her attire that made her look like a particularly attractive merchant's wife. "Moment of truth, hubby ," she teasingly purred at Hazid as the knights drew closer while the rest of the caravan began circling the castle and surrounding it.
"Halt, please, sir and madam," the lead knight, a young woman that looked to be in her early twenties, ordered.
"Hello!" Irene greeted with a cheerful wave as Hazid stopped the wagon. "Oh Giltspire Castle is so much more beautiful than the last time we visited Akrasa! Isn't it, dear?" she asked of Hazid.
"It is indeed, my love," Hazid answered with a smile. "Have the Amesha blessed the citadel recently? The shine on the towers is intoxicating."
The knight held out her hand. "Manifest, please."
"Of course," Irene said as she passed the knight the manifest. "Signed and stamped by Sir Hadadir."
"Sir Hadadir was recently murdered," the knight said as she looked over the manifest.
"Such a tragedy," Hazid said. "My deepest condolences. He seemed like a good man." Though he was calm outwardly, Hazid couldn't resist a sideways look at his smiling partner, wondering if she'd had yet another lapse in control.
The knight looked out at the rapidly expanding caravan as it kept forming a circle. "Please tell your caravan drivers to stop their wagons. According to records, you were the last people to see Sir Hadadir alive. We need to question your employees for statements."
"They're deaf and willful," Irene said. "We can't stop them no matter how much we want to." Hurry up! she thought. If we mess this up there's no telling how mad Bolas will be! I will not have a blemish on my record!
"Stop those wagons!" the knight ordered. "Kill any who refuse!"
"Now or never," Hazid muttered before he and Irene jumped onto the leotau hooked to their wagon, Irene cutting it free and allowing Hazid to send it galloping toward the wagons, the droning of the chanters filling the air. As they passed each, Hazid whistled, signaling the throwing aside of tarps to reveal magic circles carved into each wagon, which the mages used to channel the spell.
Irene smiled serenely as she watched the castle begin to crumble, Hazid too distracted by his success at first. But as the castle collapsed with a great tremor that reverberated across the field and a cloud of dust passed them by, he stopped their mount and dropped the reins as he stared at the ruin, which lay around a massive, conical white obelisk. "What have I done?" She kept smiling at Hazid's muttered question, silently drawing her knife and burying it in his back, relishing his choked gasp as some blood flowed from his mouth. She gently rested her left hand's fingers on his face as she leaned forward and put her mouth next to his ear. "You've done exactly what you were meant to do," she purred as she twisted the knife in the wound. "Shame that you won't be getting that throne you were promised." She giggled as his breathing faded and he fell limp, like a puppet with its strings cut. In one fluid motion, she shoved Hazid from the saddle as her knife slipped out of the wound in his back. Her task complete, Irene planeswalked off of Bant right before the knights crested the hill and saw the abandoned leotau and Hazid's corpse.
Grixis, lair of Nicol Bolas
Irene whistled a tune to herself as she strode into the lair of her master, paying no heed to the invalid being led out of the chamber by another of his low level functionaries. She was more focused on cleaning the blood from her knife.
"Well?" Bolas demanded in an impatient tone.
"Giltspire Castle is rubble and the obelisk is active," Irene reported. "Killed Hazid when he expressed regret. No loose ends, right?"
"Of course," Bolas replied. "Now. Return to Bant and assume your role among the sighted caste."
Irene rolled her eyes as she inspected her knife. "And this is why I hate fashioning identities whole cloth. I had to actually marry that tool of a knight. Can I please kill him when this is over? He's unbearably naive."
"I don't care what you do after my machinations come to fruition," Bolas answered. "Now go."
"The things I do for my payment," Irene muttered as she planeswalked off of Grixis, leaving Bolas alone once again.
Bolas tented his claws and silently pondered how well his plans were proceeding. And thanks to his hidden work in the ungulan's mind, the Obelisk of Naya would soon be active as well.
Bant, home of Rafiq of the Many
Lilith sat in front of the mirror in her bedroom brushing her hair, clad in an elegant white robe that was accented with gold. Around her neck was a gold necklace, and her wrists were adorned by gold bracelets inlaid with diamonds. Gifts from friends. She set her brush down and turned to the opening door with a smile as she saw who it was. "Welcome home, dear." She stood and strode over to her husband, embracing and lovingly kissing him.
"It's always good to return to you, Lilith." Rafiq said as he leaned his head on Lilith's after the kiss was broken. He considered himself truly fortunate to have met a woman like her. She was always there for him, always supportive. He had never loved another woman like he loved Lilith. "I missed you."
"And I you, Rafiq," Lilith answered before sharing another brief kiss with him. Resting her head on his shoulder, she gently traced patterns on his back, which was uncovered by his armor. So foolish, she thought. The knights of Bant couldn't even conceive of a foe that would strike them from behind. A weakness she had every intention of taking advantage of once he had outlived his usefulness. She found herself imagining different scenarios while caressing a particular spot on his back. The spot she had long ago decided would be where she stuck the knife.
Naya, Qasal
Twilight calmly walked toward the outer gates of Qasal alone, having been informed by Marisi that he wasn't welcome there for reasons that he refused to elaborate on. An arrow striking the ground near her left foot caused her to stop walking and look upward. She had her cloak on with the veil active and her hood pulled over her head. "I'm not hostile," she called to the guards.
"Humans rarely visit the Cloud Nacatl," a guard called back. "State your business."
"I'm looking for something," Twilight explained. "And a reliable source directed me to this city."
Twilight found herself seated across from a gray-furred nacatl wearing multiple layers of fine robes in ochre and maroon, and silver rings on his fingers. To his right was an elderly female with blind eyes. "Ambassador. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle."
"I am Banat, and this is Ruki, my adviser," the ambassador answered. "You have been given an audience because you cooperated with the guards, but if you cause a disturbance, we will not hesitate to act."
"I will kill you," Ruki muttered.
"Understood," Twilight answered with a nod.
"You say you are looking for something, and your search brought you here?" Banat inquired.
"Yes. An obelisk made of golden stone," Twilight answered. "I was told it can be found in Qasal. Is that true?"
"There is no golden obelisk in Qasal," Ruki said, her voice sounding very much like rusty hinges. "Unless you refer to the Tower of Qasal."
"My source said the tower is a symbol of Cloud Nacatl culture," Twilight said. "That right?"
"Indeed," Banat confirmed.
"Well then... That's all I needed to hear," Twilight muttered as she stood, her choices of words and actions influenced by nudges in her mind that she neither noticed nor questioned.
"What do you mean?" Banat asked, suspicion in his voice.
"I mean I'm going to kill you, and destroy the Tower of Qasal," Twilight answered.
Silence reigned for several moments before Ruki made the first move, lunging at Twilight with surprising speed and slashing her claws across her face. As Twilight was staggered and turned her back to Ruki, the aged leonin straightened her clawed fingers and lunged, punching a hole straight through Twilight's back and out her chest. "I warned you."
Twilight ignored the blood trickling from her mouth as she chuckled and reached up, gripping Ruki's wrist in a vice grip. As her hood fell from her head, she craned her neck and smirked at Ruki's shocked face. "Nice try." Her free hand shot up and grabbed Ruki's head, swiftly twisting and rending the air with a sickening crack as she snapped Ruki's neck and flipped her behind her, letting the dead leonin's arm slide out of her torso before she yanked Banat over to her with telekinesis and took a chomp out of his face, killing him instantly.
Allowing her cloak to fall, along with a few of the bandages of her sarashi, Twilight stepped outside with her true appearance revealed, blood covering her chin and face as the Cloud Nacatl scrambled to surround her. Drawing on some of the mana bonds she'd made with the mountains of Jund, Twilight lifted her left hand as magenta flames burst to life around it. "No survivors," she muttered to herself as several of the surrounding leonin burst into magenta flames, screaming in agony before being silenced as they were reduced to ash.
Twilight calmly strode through the city burning all in her path with a calm expression as she walked toward the Tower of Qasal. Sensing a great deal of red mana coming from the tower, she began drawing on that mana to fuel her conflagration. Whenever a leonin drew too close for her liking, she turned the attack against the assailant and killed them. She idly snacked on a particularly beefy warrior as the tower began to crack and fall apart. With one final, massive conflagration, the tower fully crumbled, revealing the golden Obelisk of Naya within.
Twilight nodded in satisfaction and dropped her snack to the ground beside her. Taking a new cloak from her throat tattoo, she secured it in place and activated the veil on it before stepping into the Blind Eternities, leaving a burning city surrounding the obelisk.
Out of sight of the city, Marisi watched in horrified awe as Qasal burned, and the Cloud Nacatl with it. "My word... Such fearsome power in one being..."
Twilight dropped to her knees after landing on Esper. After sparing her surroundings a glance, she clenched her head as she panted. "Why did I do that? Why did I slaughter those leonin without provocation? It... It doesn't make sense." Hearing the approach of footstep on the metal rooftop she'd appeared on, she took cover behind a taller part and cloaked herself in an invisibility veil.
"I know I sensed the arrival of a planeswalker," a male voice said, sounding annoyed as something impacted sharply against the roof. A cane? "Where is Lord Bolas' latest pawn? Do you see anything, Tezzeret?"
"No," another man, Tezzeret likely, answered. "Probably for the better. Etherium is hard enough to come by without the boss using it as a bargaining tool with some naive little ungulan that's too stupid to realize when she's being used, don't you think, Ren?"
Twilight's eyes widened when she heard that. Used? Just what kind of person was Bolas?
"It hardly matters as long as she completed her task," Ren said. "Lord Bolas' plans are moving along smoothly and he will soon regain the power that was stripped away from him by the Mending. Once the shards join back into a single world, it's only a matter of time before he regains his power and we can destroy Alara."
Twilight barely suppressed a gasp when he said that. Closing her eyes, she gathered her mana and quietly planeswalked off of Esper, heading away from Alara altogether. She needed answers, and there was only one person that could supply them.
Ren lit a cigar as he looked around the corner of where Twilight had been hiding. Frowning, he began preparing his own planeswalk. "Inconvenient."
Dispensing with subtlety in favor of speed, Twilight flew straight to the Dirgir Stronghold, bursting into Rodin's shop. "Rodin! I need to talk to you!"
The drunken blacksmith looked up from the sword he was working on, eyes widening when he saw her broken stump. "What happened to your horn?" he asked as he set the unfinished blade aside and ushered her into the back, away from prying eyes.
"It was shattered on Jund," Twilight said as she sat down in one of the chairs, head in her hands. "Rodin? What do you know about a dragon named Nicol Bolas?"
Rodin's gourd stopped mere inches from his lips at that question. Slowly, he turned to look at her. "Did you say... Nicol Bolas?" When Twilight nodded, he took a huge pull from his gourd. "Nicol Bolas... Is the oldest living planeswalker in the Multiverse. He was ancient when I was born, and he's incredibly ambitious. Nothing less than complete domination of the entire Multiverse will satisfy him. I've tangled with him a few times over the millennia, most recently was during the time rift crisis. He completely dominated Teferi before sealing one of the rifts and leaving Dominaria in attempt to outrun the Mending."
"He was definitely showing his age," Twilight said as she looked up Rodin, which alarmed him further.
"You saw him? Spoke with him?" Rodin asked.
"Yeah. He sent me to Naya to activate some obelisk there," Twilight said. "Offered me a horn made from etherium in exchange. But I didn't meet his agents on Esper. I overheard them talking about his plans. Something about the shards coming back together and Alara being destroyed."
"Well that clenches it," Rodin said, putting his gourd down and retrieving a metal flask, taking a swig from it before putting it in his pocket. "I need to get to Alara and start wrecking his operation. I am not letting the only source of etherium in the Multiverse get destroyed. That metal is damn useful."
"Etherium?" Twilight asked incredulously as she stood. "What about the people that live on Alara?!"
"Twilight, those shards have been isolated from each other for centuries, and have developed vastly different cultures. Once the shards recombine into a single plane, those cultures are gonna go straight for each others throats. It's gonna be a planewide bloodbath, something that I would have no hope of preventing even at the height of my power," Rodin explained. "So instead I'm going to focus on preserving my resources." Going over to a cabinet sealed by magic, Rodin opened it and pulled out an angular octahedron that had arcane runes covering all of its faces. "Gonna need this," he muttered as he sealed it in a rune tattoo on his chest.
"Even if it will be a bloodbath, we have to at least try!" Twilight argued, glaring at Rodin as he turned to her.
"How about this?" Rodin offered as he started his planeswalk. "You do your thing, and I'll do mine." With that, Rodin vanished into the Blind Eternities.
Twilight growled and took time to fix her sarashi before putting her cloak back on and activating its veil. "Can't believe this. I make friends with a planeswalker and find out he's selfish enough to ignore the danger to innocents." Pulling her hood on, Twilight too vanished from Tarkir to return to Alara.
"Rody!" Pinkie's call echoed through the Dirgir Stronghold as she flitted about, looking in the most random of places for her old friend. "Rody? Rody?! Rody! Where are you?!"
"I don't think he's here, Pinkie," Ditzy muttered from behind her hyperactive companion, wearing a veil that disguised her as a human while she followed the pink pony, who apparently was known among the Jeskai for her association with Rodin Vulkis. Ditzy didn't have a personal familiarity with the planeswalker that apparently called Tarkir home, but Pinkie had said a lot about him. Like him being a blacksmith, thousands of years old, and a former, as Pinkie put it, 'meanie mean pants'.
"Aw man! I was sure he'd be able to point us the right way," Pinkie complained, pulling a map from her mane and looking over it. "We've been to Segovia, Diridin, Zendikar, Regatha, Theros, Kaladesh?! But Eldritch Moon isn't out yet!" Ignoring the strange look that Ditzy was giving her, Pinkie stowed the map back in her mane and turned to Ditzy. "Alrighty then, Ditzy! Time to split up! You check Innistrad, and I'll check Ravnica."
"I got strapped to a dissection table the last time I visited Innistrad," Ditzy pointed out, not eager to relive the memories. "I'd rather avoid that place."
"You're better at looking human, and I've got friends in the Rakdos and Gruul," Pinkie pointed out. "Just trust your Auntie Pinkie."
Ditzy was about to point out that they weren't related, but the pink pony had already vanished. Sighing, Ditzy found a secluded spot and dropped her veil, concentrating as she vanished from Tarkir.
Pinkie hopped through the back alleys of Ravnica, her destination in sight as she emerged from the alleys at last. Grinning, she hopped through the entrance of the district's Rakdos pleasure club, taking in the music and dance, plus the performers. Feeling something drip onto her muzzle, Pinkie crossed her eyes and saw a drop of blood. Looking up, she saw a man holding a pig's head aloft on a chain above the floor. Grinning, she raced up to the other end where the chain's start ladder was. "Me next! Me next! The blood landed on me!"
Never one to question somebody seeking a good time, the woman standing by the ladder grinned and handed over a fresh pig head to Pinkie, who took it in her mouth and climbed up to the chain. Rising onto her hind legs, she began walking across the chain, the pig's head wobbling about and dripping blood at random as Pinkie surveyed the room from her bird's eye view.
As she reached the middle of the chain, she spied a familiar head of white hair on a pale man rocking a leather coat and sword on his belt, a glass of wine in his hand. Sensing a lead, Pinkie fell from the chain into the crowd, only to mysteriously vanish from sight. "Tada!!!" she cheered from where she appeared at the bar, reared up with her forelegs spread wide. Soaking in the cheers and applause for her performance, Pinkie hopped down and closed the distance between herself and the yellow on black eyed vampire. "Sorin! You old count you!" She wrapped her forelegs around the self-proclaimed Lord of Innistrad in a tight hug.
"Hello, Pinkie." Sorin Markov could never be said to be one for genuine physical affection even with his extremely small circle of friends, hence getting out of Pinkie Pie's grip with a quick transformation to and from mist, not even spilling a drop of his drink. "So after all this time, we cross paths again. What's the occasion?"
"I'm looking for my friend Twilight Sparkle!" Pinkie answered. "She's like us and me and Ditzy have been looking for her for a whole year, and we're getting so worried! I saw you here and thought you might know something!"
Sorin sipped his drink throughout the explanation. "As it so happens, I heard an interesting story from a Simic Biomancer that I fed from when I first arrived. He told me that a krasis escaped six months ago. It butchered scores of people on a rampage toward the Izzet league's guild hall. It attacked Niv Mizzet's right hand man, then vanished, never to be seen again. He also told me that it was sapient. A purple, equine dragon creature that could adapt and evolve at a moment's notice."
Pinkie gasped. "That sounds like Twilight! I've gotta find her even faster now! And now I know who to talk to!" She tightly hugged Sorin and smiled. "Thanks, Sorin! Now I just need to track down Ral Zarek!"
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