It had been so long since he had visited this plane.
It was not a dead plane as many had believed; in fact it was thriving under the absence of any form of mana. He remembered being trapped here for some time as he replenished his mana at an achingly slow pace, desiring only to leave this cursed plane. The people were carefree here; at least in context to the present state of the multiverse.
Jace Beleren walked through the bustling streets of the city, drawing many odd looks for his attire. What he sought was not here, but on a continent that had not been there previously. A curious development indeed. He turned into a darkened alley and faded from existence.
---
Princess Celestia sat upon her throne, listening to the reports that her advisors gave her about the Conversion Bureaus. The conversion of willing humans were going at an appropriate rate; not too fast to make it feel forced, and not too slow and impassive.
“There have been more and more threats from the HLF, many of them death threats to your majesty should you set hoof on ‘their’ cities again. Loud bark for a toothless pack of dogs,” the advisor quipped.
“Their threats are something to take seriously. Should they try to attack, innocents are surely to get hurt in the altercation. See to it that the visit to New York City next month gets additional security.”
“Of course, your highness.”
Something caught her attention as the advisor droned on. Something she believed to be impossible. A human. He stepped through the doors into her throne room as if it was but a normal room.
“You. What business do you have here?” Celestia demanded of the trespasser. His attire was strange to her and everypony present. He wore a blue and white trimmed cloak, patches of fabric quilted on with silvered pendants and latches across his chest. Most of his features were obscured by a hood.
The alicorn lashed out with her magic at the human. He should’ve dropped dead immediately from the exposure to the magic alone; there was more to him than just a strange outfit. With a wave of his hand and a flourish of blue light, the human wiped Celestia’s magical effort from existence.
The royal guards began to charge their own spells to cast at the intruder, but another flash of blue from the stranger’s hands imploded their spells as well.
“There’s no need to be so aggressive. I only wish to talk,” he said, his words smooth and calm; it was an inverse reflection of what Celestia felt at the moment. “And if it is possible, I wish to speak alone.”
Celestia begrudgingly sent her subjects away. Each one of them stared at the man as they left. He waved his hand as the last pony departed and closed the titanic doors behind him with a deep thud.
“When was it that your spark ignited?” he asked. “Please don’t play coy with me, ‘Princess’. I am not your enemy nor your friend; the latter doesn’t have to stay that way. I am Jace Beleren.”
“I am Celestia. It is a pleasure to meet you, Jace Beleren. Am I correct to assume that you are no ordinary human?” the alicorn asked.
“Indeed you are.”
“I ask for forgiveness then for my actions just now. I feared that you were an agent of the organization out to end my efforts to save the human race.”
Jace’s eyebrow rose. “‘Save’? What about them needs saving?”
Celestia affirmed herself. “They mercilessly kill each other for the sake of killing, and at times for the sake of joy. Their world is at the brink of collapse and I only wish to provide them with a better alternative.”
Jace stood silently for a moment. “Are you, or are you not a Planeswalker?”
Celestia balked. “A what?”
“A Planeswalker.”
The term was completely alien to the princess. “I know not what you speak of.”
Jace stared at the princess with his piercing gaze. “Yes you do. That sense of openness outside the boundaries of your world. The potentially infinite lifespan. The ability to manipulate mana in ways mortals fail to comprehend, displayed by your merging a Plane into another. This has been done in the past, and not so smoothly; his name was Teferi, and it cost him his spark to do so.
“You are a Planeswalker, and yet you refuse to visit the other planes in the Multiverse?” Jace asked.
“How did you...”
“It is not something you need to be privy of. But I ask you this: if you feel that this backwater, mana-less plane is deserving of your abilities, have you not seen the rest of the multiverse? The problems humans face here pale in comparison to the many others. On the Plane of Innistrad, humanity faces the threat of demons, the undead, and vampires. The Plane of Mirrodin was scoured of all life and repurposed as a bastion of death, necromancy, and horrors beyond comprehension.”
Jace’s eyes widened suddenly. “And the being that corrupted Luna is still out there.”
“What did you say?” Celestia asked. How did he know about Luna, let alone her... corruption?
“Your sister. Luna. She is a planeswalker too, isn’t she?” Celestia nodded. “The being that turned her into Nightmare Moon is called Nicol Bolas; he is a being of limitless power and infinite conviction. Minds are shattered at the slightest brush of his dark claw; he is a master of subjugating the minds of even Planeswalkers. It’s no wonder your sister fell under his spell in her hour of weakness.”
“What are you asking of me, Jace Beleren?”
Jace had already turned away. “It matters not. You will not leave your subjects; your love for their wellbeing controls you too powerfully. I pray for you and your ponies should Bolas, New Phyrexia, or any of the other horrors of the Multiverse cast their gaze on your Plane.”
Celestia tried to reach out to the mage, but he had already vanished in a flash of blue light.
A dark cloud was cast over her mind, but was quickly swept aside. What if this Jace Beleren was lying about all of that? Surely he was merely trying to scare her into acting the way he wanted.
The doors to the throne room were thrown open by a very panicked blue alicorn. “Celly! Are you alright? I heard a human was here!”
Luna stopped short of Celestia’s throne, her eyes wide with worry. Celestia warmly smiled. “It is nothing, dear sister. He was merely a wanderer with an offer I declined. It is nothing for you to worry about.”
“I’m sorry I was not at your side, sister.” Luna trotted up and sat next to Celestia on her large throne and nuzzled her.
“Luna...” Celestia asked; something was nibbling at her mind and she just needed to appease it before she could get over the encounter with the Planeswalker.
“Yes, sister?”
“Does the name ‘Nicol Bolas’ mean anything to you?”