//------------------------------//
// Shadows over Equestria, Part 1 
// Story: My Little Planeswalker: Sideboard Stories 
// by Zennistrad 
//------------------------------//

Note: this chapter contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the Season 7 finale.

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AR ~3,389 — Many Centuries Ago

With a name like ‘Hollow Shades,’ Stygian was not expecting something particularly bright or cheery. Yet looking at it now, there was something to the darkness that surpassed anything he could have expected, a shadow so thick that it almost seemed to have be tangible. It loomed over the now-abandoned village like a dense fog, slithering across his coat as his hooves echoed in the dusk.

Ignoring the chill that ran through his horn and across his thaumatic sense, Stygian pushed forward. He had nothing to fear from the Darkness. It had called him here, after all. That knowledge was all he could do to ignore the churning nausea in his stomach, and the powerful dread that had crept its way into every part of his mind.

Finally, after pushing through the darkness, he had found it. The Well of Shades, the very place the Darkness had spoken of in his dreams. It was here that he would find his answer. Here he would obtain everything he could ever want. The fear within him dissipated, replaced with unyielding resolve.

With bated breath, Stygian approached the well, peering over the edge to catch a glimpse of what lay below. All that he found was an inky black darkness, a yawning abyss that looked like it could swallow all the light in Equestria. Though the sight was far from surprising, it nevertheless felt overwhelming.

“W-well, here goes nothing...” Swallowing the last of his fear, he pushed himself up with his hind legs, onto the edge of the well. He carefully began climbing his way over the wall, onto the cracks and crevasses that ran across the wells interior. The cold darkness that gripped at his spine intensified, and he involuntarily forced his eyes shut, unable to bring himself to look at the darkness.

The descent was agonizingly slow, made even worse by the fact that he had no idea how deep the well went. After what felt like ages, he was alerted to the presence of solid ground beneath his hooves. Lowering himself onto the new surface, he opened his eyes, expecting to see nothing more than pitch-black darkness. To his surprise, however, he found that he could see the interior of the well perfectly.

The inside of the Well of Shades did not appear to be a well at all. It looked instead to be some sort of temple, or perhaps a tomb. Grey stone archways held up by equally grey stone pillars, all leading to a single stone gateway depicting a shadowy, demonic being. And throughout all of the expansive catacomb, there was not a single sign of life.

Not a single sign of life, except for one. A single earth pony stallion, with a brown coat and an cutie mark shaped like an hourglass. He placed a raised a hoof to stone gateway, a glowing golden light seeping from the place where his hoof pressed against the door.

Stygian’s body seized up. Who was this stallion? Why was he here? Was he the one who built the catacomb? So many questions, but there was one thing he knew for certain: he wasn’t looking forward to being caught. Trying to avoid making even the slightest breath, he stepped backward...

...and almost immediately, his hoof caught on a loose rock. A deafening clatter broke through the shadows as Stygian crashed onto the ground, leaving his entire body in a daze.

“Hm? Who’s there?” The stallion’s voice spoke, though Stygian couldn’t rightly see him with his head spinning so much. He shook his head, attempting to right his senses, when a brown hoof reached out and grabbed his own. “Come on then,  get up!”

As he was pulled back onto his hooves, Stygian took a closer look at the stallion that was now standing right in front of him. By all appearances, he looked like a young adult—yet there was something otherworldly in his deep green eyes, something far greater than he could possibly think to describe. “Um... thanks for the help?”

“It’s no problem,” said the stallion. “Now tell me, what is a colt like you doing here?”

Stygian let out a gulp. What was he supposed to say to that? That Equestria’s greatest heroes had turned their backs on him? That he wanted revenge? That the Shadow had called to him? “Oh, u-um... Well...”

The stallion raised an eyebrow. “You’re not here to try to strike some sort of deal, are you? Make a pact with a dark and evil entity that’s powerful beyond your wildest imagination?”

Stygian gasped. “W-what!? No! I would never!”

The stallion gave a piercing glare. It was immediately apparent that he was not an ordinary pony, though what he was, Stygian couldn’t tell. “I would highly recommend against lying to my face, in my experience that never works out in the other person’s favor.”

“W-well, I...”

“You came here because the being that’s imprisoned here called you,” the stallion accused. “And I’m going to tell you right now that, whatever it is it promised you, it will absolutely not turn out to be what you wanted. Now you go on and head home, and I’ll pretend like this never happened.”

“N-now you wait just a minute!” Stygian called back. “You don’t even know what it is I want! You don’t know anything about me!”

“You’re right. I don’t,” said the stallion. “But I’ve spent no small amount of effort ensuring that the thing locked up in here stays locked up, and I’m not about to let you waltz right in and undo everything I’ve done. You had best go home, because there are precisely zero circumstances in which I’ll allow you to release this evil on the world.”

In that moment, Stygian could see that the brown stallion’s gaze held a strength more fearful than any foe that the Pillars of Equestria had ever faced. They were like endless pools of raw power, focused into a will that was both an immovable object and an unstoppable force. As he stared transfixed into them, Stygian’s thaumatic sense had become increasingly aware of a magic very similar to the Shadow that had called him, and just as seemingly endless in its might.

In just a fraction of a second, Stygian’s determination shattered. In the face of such an insurmountable obstacle, his desire for revenge faded away. In its wake was nothing but a yawning emptiness that ate away at him from the inside.

Stygian let out a sigh. “...Easy for you to say. You probably still have a home to go back to.”

To his surprise, the stallion’s ironclad gaze softened almost instantly. He looked surprised, maybe even shocked—yet beneath it all there was a tinge of sympathy. “Now, hold on there. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

Stygian blinked. “Wait... you don’t have a home either?”

“Well, I... wouldn’t quite say I have one home,” the stallion replied. “But I certainly understand what it’s like to feel lost. If you don’t mind me asking, what is it that’s been bothering you?”

“It’s... I don’t know,” said Stygian. “It’s difficult to explain. Do you even know who I am?”

“Well, no,” the stallion replied. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t get to know you, can I?”

Stygian raised a hoof into the air. “But that’s exactly the thing! You don’t know who I am! Nopony knows who I am, despite everything I’ve done for Equestria! I’m the brains behind the Pillars of Equestria! I’m the one who does all the research on their foes, the one who makes sure they even know what it is they’re going up against! But do I ever get any respect? No! Of course not!”

The stallion’s eyes went wide. “The Pillars...?” He paused, looking for a moment to be deep in thought. “Oh! Of course! You must be Stygian!”

Stygian stared in disbelief. “You... you have heard of me?”

The stallion nodded. “Of course. I’ve spoken with Star Swirl once or twice. He told me all about you. If he’s to be believed, you’re the one that brought the whole group together, is that right?”

Stygian held his head low. “Yeah. Not that it matters now. I just... I just wanted to be recognized, but everypony’s turned their backs on me. I’ve got nothing left.”

The stallion smiled warmly, and placed a hoof on Stygian’s shoulder. “Well, you have me, don’t you?”

Stygian’s jaw went slack. “Wh-wha...?”

“I’ve been here to listen the entire time, haven’t I?” said the stallion. “I’d say that counts for something, at the very least.”

Stygian couldn’t believe it. He’d come to the Well of Shades, believing he had absolutely nothing left, hoping to find the one thing that could get him what he wanted. Instead, he’d found the last thing he had ever expected to find. He had found a friend. It was such an unexpected thing, something so overwhelming that it brought him to the verge of tears. And yet, he couldn’t once even think to complain.

“U-um... yeah,” said Stygian. “I guess it does. I, um... never got your name, by the way.”

“Doctor Time Turner,” said the stallion. “Just call me Doctor, if you like.”

Stygian smiled. “Thank you... Doctor.”

————————

If you’re reading this, then Star Swirl is dead.

I’d tried to warn him, of course. I’d tried to tell him that going up against someone as powerful as Urza was a bad idea. But that pony didn’t become the stubborn old codger I knew by listening to others. For crying out loud, he even took credit for growing the Tree of Harmony! I’m sure Harmony herself would have a few choice words for him about that, if she could speak.

But I digress. I’ve been keeping a close eye on Urza’s little project for some time, for reasons that I can’t explain here. Harmony wouldn’t allow her power to be stolen by someone with a heart as cruel as his, and the moment he tried to take the Elements, their power turned against him. I’ve heard that Urza’s been permanently banished from the plane of Ungula, and I’m going to assume he’s not very happy about it.

Of course, with Star Swirl gone, and with myself perpetually kept busy with my life’s work, that leaves this plane in a bit of a vulnerable situation. While Harmony and I should be able to handle the most dire threats ourselves, there will be plenty of times in the near future when I won’t be around, and times when the Elements may not be available for immediate use. Thankfully, my young companion has reassured me that the remaining Pillars of Equestria will stand by to defend the realm, alongside the magic contained in his journal.

I can only hope that they’ll be prepared for what comes next.

“...And that’s the last of it,” said Sunburst. “It looks like whoever wrote in the journal after Star Swirl died knew him fairly closely, but I have no idea who it could be!”

Twilight listened intently as Sunburst finished the last entry in the journal. He stood before the Royal Sisters in their throne room alongside Twilight and all of her closest friends, who watched with expressions that ranged from deep concern to complete fascination.

Celestia leaned forward intently. “Curious. Whoever wrote this journal seems not only to be familiar with Star Swirl, but with the threat that we had faced so many centuries ago.”

“But the journal really did belong to him?” said Twilight. “You can confirm it?”

Sunburst rapidly flipped through the pages of the journal as he held it in his telekinetic grasp. “Well, the last entry appears to be written in earth pony script, while the rest is undoubtedly a unicorn’s hornwriting. If it did belong to him, he must have passed it to somepony he was familiar with after he died.”

Celestia nodded. “Indeed. And the events described in the last entry very closely coincide with what we know about the tyrant Urza and Star Swirl’s murder.”

Luna regarded her sister curiously. “But who could he have passed the journal onto? Star Swirl was never very forward with us about his other friendships.”

Celestia raised a hoof to her chin. “If the last entry is written in earth pony script, then perhaps it could have been written by Rockhoof or Mage Meadowbrook... but it could likely have been written by one of his other contemporaries as well.”

“Whoa, hold on there!” Applejack said. “Are you telling us that the Pillars of Equestria are real?”

“Forget that!” Rainbow interjected. “Did you hear what the journal said about Harmony? Like that it’s some kind of living being, and it was responsible for growing the Tree of Harmony?”

“And what about that part at the end about ‘what comes next?’” said Rarity. “I don’t know about anypony else, but I find that to be rather ominous.”

“There are many things about this that we do not know,” said Luna. “But I can tell you for a fact that the Pillars of Equestria did exist, up until the day that they disappeared.”

Starlight Glimmer gave the group an uneasy glance. “But how exactly did they disappear? And where did they go?”

Celestia gave the gathered ponies a smile. “Well, my Old Ponish is a bit rusty, but perhaps you will find the answers within this journal. Luna could even help you with the translation, if you need it.”

Luna shot her elder sibling an unamused look. “Sister, you know I could never read Star Swirl’s hornwriting.”

Celestia giggled slightly, and playfully jabbed her sister with a hoof. “Oh, relax, Luna! I’m only teasing!”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about translating either way, ” Twilight proclaimed. “As it so happens, I’m quite experienced in reading Old Ponish. I’ve studied practically every text on Star Swirl there is!”

“She’s not lying there,” Spike added, somewhat snidely.

“Oh, but this is so exciting!” said Sunburst with a squeal. “We get to investigate a mystery that’s more than a thousand years old! Just think of how much research we’ll do! And the re-research! I don’t even know if that’s a word, but it totally should be!”

“Ooooh, I’ll help!” Pinkie exclaimed. “I’m super-duper good at research! If you need any pictures colored, you can count on me!”

“Um... I don’t think that’s what he means by research,” said Fluttershy. “But I’ll be happy to help, too. Just as long as nopony overworks themselves, of course.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Ugh, do we have to? Research is such a chore!” A series of disapproving glares gave her an answer. “Oh, alright, fine. But you’d better not give me any of the boring books!”

Twilight chuckled silently. She was interested in learning more about Star Swirl through his journal, even before considering the possibility of learning about Equestria’s legendary figures. “Well then, what are we waiting for?” said Twilight. “Let’s get started!” 

————————

It had been three days since Twilight and her friends had returned to her library to study the remains of Star Swirl’s journal. By the end of the first day the fatigue had already begun to set in, and by the end of the second all of her friends were practically clamoring for an end to the mystery. Fluttershy had been certain to remind them to take breaks, which they gladly took at every possible opportunity.

Unfortunately, that had also left Twilight with very little to work on. As she stared at the journal, she tried to ignore Spike and Sunburst’s synchronized snoring at both sides of the table. This, of course, was more difficult by the fact that snoring in perfect sync was actually an impressive feat.

Still, she didn’t feel like she’d gotten any closer to solving the mystery than before. While she’d deciphered many a text written in Old Ponish, she’d never had a chance to study Star Swirl’s hornwriting itself. It was a complete mess, almost to the point where it looked like another language entirely.

Then, slowly, an idea began to percolate within the back of her mind. She’d come across plenty of other languages while planeswalking, both handwritten and printed. No matter how indecipherable they had seemed, no matter how poor the handwriting, her translation spell would always provide an easy fix.

Beaming, Twilight concentrated the required mana into her horn. Within moments, all of the words on the page became completely comprehensible.

“Yes!” Twilight exclaimed “I’ve done it! I’ve found something”

Sunburst immediately jumped up in his seat, nearly toppling over as he woke. “What? What happened? What is it?”

“The journal! I’ve deciphered it!” Twilight now had the undivided attention of everyone in the room (minus one particularly deep-sleeping dragon). She grinned widely, and began flipping through the pages, quickly skimming through Star Swirl’s notes.

“Well, darling?” said Rarity. “What have you found?”

“Let’s see here,” said Twilight. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on a particular passage written in the journal. “It says ‘My good friend, um...” Twilight squinted, trying to make out the name. “Somepony had offered us a piece of cryptic advice, as he often does. He says says our destiny lies in the monument of Ponehenge, at the base of Foal Mountain.”

“Hold on there,” said Applejack. “Are you saying the name of Star Swirl’s friend is ‘Somepony?’”

“Oh, I know him!” said Pinkie Pie. “He plays center field for the Manehattan Airships!”

“I don’t know his name, Pinkie,” said Twilight. “It’s too smudged for me to read, even through my translation spell.”

Pinkie giggled. “No, silly, he’s on third base!”

“Nope. Nuh-uh,” Rainbow cut in. “We’re not doing that again. Twilight, this place is at the base of Foal Mountain, right? That’s like, barely more than a couple hours away. It shouldn’t be too hard to find, right?”

“I wouldn’t think so,” said Twilight. “Come on, everypony! Let’s head out!”

————————

“This is it,” said Twilight. “Ponehenge.”

Ponehenge, as to be expected, was both ancient and weathered from centuries of disuse. The stone obelisks had been been eroded away by the elements, with large, leafy vines snaking their way up each of the obelisks. Dusk had already fallen as Twilight led her friends into the site of the ruins, carrying the journal in her magical grasp.

“Oh!” said Sunburst. In a blur of orange, he dashed over to the base of one of the obelisks, his head lowered towards an engraving at the base. “Twilight, take a look at this! I’ve never seen this kind of rune before!”

Twilight trotted closer to the runes, observing them closely. “Interesting. I’ve seen a few similar runes on other planes, but none that were quite like this.”

“Gyah!” Rainbow let out a sudden cry, and a large vine fell to the ground right beside where she was flying just a moment before. Her sudden jolt backwards caused her to crash into a nearby tree trunk, falling into a large bush. As Applejack pulled her out of the shrubbery by the tail, she coughed up a cloud of dust.

“Jeez!” said Rainbow. “Just how long has this place been abandoned, anyway?”

“Seems like quite a long time,” said Applejack. “Ah don’t rightly reckon we’d be able to study them ruins much without clearing away some of this brush first.”

“And we don’t even know if this place has anything to do with what happened to the Pillars of Equestria,” Fluttershy added. “The journal only said that somepony told them their destiny lies here. We don’t know if whoever said that was right.”

Twilight let out a sigh. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I suppose it was a long shot, coming all the way out here.”

Spike approached Twilight, and patter her on the shoulder. “Hey, cheer up. You discovered some pretty neat ruins, right? I mean, sure, you’ve probably seen a lot like it throughout the multiverse, and it’s probably not all that special compared to some things on other planes, but, uh...” Spike paused, and scratched his head. “...huh. You know, I think I forgot where I was going there.”

“It’s okay, Spike,” Twilight reassured. She struggled to hide the disappointment in her voice as she spoke. “I probably shouldn’t have just expected everything to be magically be revealed just by coming here.” Slowly, she lowered the book onto one of the obelisks, unaware of the glow that encompassed the book as it touched the surface.

Then, just as Twilight had begun to walk away, the entire ruin was illuminated in a sudden flash of light.

Applejack briefly reared up onto her hind hooves in shock. “Whoa, nelly!”

“T-Twilight!” said Starlight Glimmer, “What’s going on?”

“Look!” said Rarity. She pointed a hoof at one of the stones.

Turning to see what Rarity was pointing at, Twilight saw a bright, swirling cloud of magic hovering above the obelisk, just over the spot where the journal was located. The cloud grew in size, coalescing and solidifying in form, until it sculpted itself into the shape of a pony. Twilight stared at the image before her, of a grey unicorn colt with a blue mane, draped in a brown tunic. His entire body was translucent, as if it wasn’t entirely there; and Twilight realized right away that what she was seeing was an illusion.

“Hey Twilight, who’s that?” said Pinkie.

“I... I don’t know,” Twilight responded. “Is this... is this one of Star Swirl’s friends?”

“That’s not the only thing!” said Sunburst. “Look!”

Sunburst pointed away from the obelisk, and Twilight’s eyes followed it to the others, where five similar swirling lights coalesced into the shapes of ponies she very much did recognize.

“The Pillars...” Twilight spoke with breathless awe.

Before she could take any closer look at the legendary figure, a loud crackling of magic turned Twilight’s attention to the center of Ponehenge monument, a single circular dais. The grey unicorn’s horn flared to life, a beam of radiant light hitting the dais. At the command of his magic, a miasma of writing shadows erupted from the dais, it too coalescing into a shape of its own.

To Twilight’s horror, it was not the shape of a pony. It was the shape of a massive, demonic biped of pure darkness, a pair of large, curling horns sprouting from the sides of its head. Just looking at it she could feel it overwhelming hatred, and with a voice like a swarm of locusts, it spoke.

“How flattering of you to summon me here, Stygian. But unfortunately for you, I am no longer in need of a vessel. It is only a matter of time before I regain my full strength, and crush this world within the palm of my hand!”

The image of Stygian stepped forward, a fire burning beneath his eyes. “I don’t know how you managed to escape your prison, but I can tell you right now that you’re not going anywhere! We’ll stop you, here and now!”

The demon let out a laugh, echoing through the dark in pure malice. “And how, might I ask, do you intend to do that? Even in my weakened state, I am more powerful than anything you could possibly comprehend! You and your little ponies are nothing to me!”

“Like this,” Stygian countered. His horn once again lit up, and an image of Star Swirl’s journal raised itself above his head. The other pillars followed, each raising an item of their own: Flash Magnus’s shield, Mistmane’s flower, Somnambula’s blindfold, Meadowbrook’s mask, and Rockhoof’s shovel. Each item glowed with an intense, powerful light, until each light solidified into a beam of radiant energy, connecting the artifacts together into a hexagonal shape.

The demon recoiled, shielding its glowing eyes with an arm. “W-what? What is this? How!?”

The images of the six ponies rose into the air, carrying the demon with them. Then, in a flash of light, all of them disappeared, leaving the illusory images of their artifacts clattering to the ground before vanishing.

Twilight looked around, seeing the bewildered stares on each of her friend’s faces.

“Well, that was convenient!” said Pinkie. “You wanted an explanation, right?”

“But what the hay did that even explain?” asked Rainbow. “I still don’t know what just happened!”

“From the looks of it, that Stygian did something to defeat that demon,” said Starlight.

“Of course!” Sunburst. “And with these ruins having powerful magic of their own, that spell must have left some kind of snapshot of the spell here! Bringing back the journal must of have let us see for ourselves!”

“See what?” said Applejack.

“That this Stygian pony sacrificed himself to save Equestria,” said Twilight.

————————

The next morning, Twilight had brought all her friends to the castle to discuss what she had seen. Spike, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity had already gathered before her in the throne room, sitting before her expectantly as she held Star Swirl’s journal. Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer were the last to arrive, entering through the doors side-by-side.

“Starlight! Sunburst! You’re just in time!” Twilight greeted. “I think I understand what happened yesterday!”

Starlight shared a look with Sunburst. “You do?” she said.

“Of course!” said Twilight. “That spell was unlike anything I’ve seen before! It must have been something written by Star Swirl himself. That other unicorn must have learned it from him!”

Sunburst turned to Starlight, sharing another puzzled look with her. “Are you sure about that, though?” he said. “How do you know he didn’t invent the spell himself?”

“Look, I know Star Swirl’s magic, okay?” said Twilight. “I’ve spent practically my whole life studying it! And what we saw back there wasn’t just any spell! What we saw was a spell that would send that demon to Limbo!” To demonstrate, Twilight pulled out a diorama, with tiny cardboard cutouts of the Pillars of Equestria, Stygian, and the shadowed demon. With a flash of her horn, what appeared to be a hole in space formed above the diorama, and the entire model disappeared in a flash of light.

“Twilight, your diorama!” said Rarity.

“Don’t worry, it’s just an illusion,” said Twilight.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Well, that’s great and all, but what the hay is Limbo?”

“Limbo,” said Twilight, carrying the journal with her into the air as she explained, “is a sub-planar realm that lies ‘beneath’ our plane, so to speak. Effectively, it’s a world of complete stillness, where time and space as we know them don’t properly exist. And that Stygian pony... well, I don’t know the exact details, but it looks like he decided the only way to trap that demon in Limbo was to have himself and the Pillars take it there.”

Applejack’s eyes widened in sudden realization. “So you’re saying they’re trapped there, too!”

“Oh, goodness!” said Fluttershy. “That monster must have been awful if they had to do that!”

“Yeah, and Limbo sounds completely boring!” said Pinkie. “I bet they don’t even have any poles to do the limbo with!”

Twilight shook her head, and descended back into her seat. “Well, no. Like I said, Limbo is a realm that exists outside of time and space. They wouldn’t be able to do anything at all. Strictly speaking, they’re not even conscious. It’s... almost like being dead, kind of.”

A chorus of gasps suddenly sounded out in the throne room.

“Are you serious?” said Rainbow. “We have to get them out of there!”

Twilight froze. “G-get them out?”

“I agree with Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy chimed in. “I can’t bear the thought of leaving them all alone like that.”

“Oh,” said Twilight. “I, um... I never thought about that. I’d just considered declaring the mystery solved and leaving it at that.”

“But why wouldn’t you want to rescue them, darling?” said Rarity. “If it were one of us trapped in Limbo, I’m certain you wouldn’t even hesitate.”

“Hay, if Star Swirl himself were trapped there, I’d bet a million bits you’d be looking for a way to free him right now!” Rainbow added.

Rainbow’s words stung, if ever so slightly. It was probably true, Twilight realized. Star Swirl was her idol, and she would have immediately jumped for chance to meet him. “I... I just don’t know, Rainbow. If these ponies sent themselves to Limbo, it had to have been for a good reason.”

Rarity approached Twilight, and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Twilight, dear, I understand feeling a bit apprehensive about this whole rescuing legendary ponies business, but you’ve seen worlds beyond anything we could ever dream of. If there’s anypony who can save the Pillars of Equestria, it would be you.”

Twilight looked around the room, drinking in the sight of her friends’ faces. There was something soothing about seeing them all together like this. And as nervous as she felt about the idea, they were right. Star Swirl had already had his life tragically cut short, even as old as he was. The other Pillars of Equestria deserved to have a chance at life that he never could. And that Stygian colt in particular was young, younger than any pony trapped indefinitely in Limbo should have been.

“Alright,” said Twilight, “I’ll do it. I think I might be able to open a portal to Limbo to free them.”

Starlight blinked. “A portal? Are you sure? I, um, don’t exactly have the best track record with those.”

“Time portals and space portals are different, Starlight,” Twilight responded. “Besides, it’s the right thing to do. I can’t let these ponies spend the rest of eternity in nothingness when they could still live happy and fulfilling lives.”

“But how exactly will you be opening this here portal?” said Applejack.

“Um... hold on, let me see here.” Twilight levitated the journal to herself, flipping through its pages. “Oh! I think I’ve got it! It says here: ‘My compatriots are as varied as the realm itself and hail from every corner of our land, bringing with them artifacts and talismans of great power.’ So if we just find these artifacts, we could—”

“Um, Twilight?” Starlight interrupted. “What are you doing?”

“Huh?” said Twilight. A sudden tingling in her horn alerted her to the presence of a new magic, and she turned her head upwards, towards its source. Five dancing lights appeared above the Cutie Map, within each a symbol of an artifact: Rockhoof’s shovel, Flash Magnus’s shield, Mistmane’s flower, Meadowbrook’s mask, and Somnambula’s blindfold. The Cutie Map’s holographic display flared to life, and the five artifacts gently fell across the map, in various locations across the world.

“The artifacts!” said Sunburst.

Twilight grinned. “Pack your bags, everypony. We’re all going on a scavenger hunt.”

————————

The search for the artifacts had brought Twilight’s friends all across Equestria and beyond, splitting themselves up to each find the items and bring them together. It was no doubt an eventful journey for each and every single one of them, but that wasn’t important to Twilight right now. What was important was that they were all here, at the monument of Ponehenge, right where they needed to be.

“You sure this will work, Twilight?” said Spike.

“Well, um... no. It’s not exactly tested,” Twilight responded. “But we’ll find out shortly.”

Twilight stepped forward, towards the center dais of the monument. A simple telekinetic maneuver lifted the artifacts, along with Star Swirl’s journal, and placed them each on their respective obelisks. Then, approaching the obelisk with Star Swirl’s journal, she turned around to face Starlight and Sunburst.

“You two ready?”

The two unicorns both nodded in affirmation.

“Right! Let’s do this!” Twilight took to the air and lowered her head, and a beam of purple light shot from her horn, towards the journal. A teal beam of light from Starlight’s horn followed, and then an orange beam from Sunburst. The journal glowed intensely, and Twilight could feel something opening, something being gently tugged through.

Then, a beam of light shot from the journal, snaking around Ponehenge as it connected to each of the other five artifacts, forming the same hexagon that they had seen before. Twilight flashed a smile at her friends. Everything was working exactly as she’d planned.

The hexagon rose into the air, shrinking as the beams converged into a single point, before disappearing in a blinding flash of light. When Twilight’s eyes adjusted, the forms of six ponies appeared in the air, just above each of the obelisks. Her smile vanished when she saw that a large boulder was hovering just above each of them.

“Look out!” Rainbow called out. In a blur, she moved to catch the falling figure of the legendary Flash Magnus, pulling him out of the way just before the boulder could fall on top of him. Each of the other Pillars was caught by one of Twilight’s friends in turn, pulling them out of the way just before they hit the ground.

Then, of course, there was one last pony. Stygian, the same one that had cast the spell from Star Swirl’s journal. Twilight caught him in her hooves at the last minute, gently lowering him to the ground, out of the way of the falling boulder.

“Are you okay?”

“Uhhhhggh,” said Stygian, rubbing his forehead. “What happened?”

“It’s alright,” said Twilight, giving a reassuring smile. “You’re free now. You won’t have to spend any more time trapped in Limbo.”

“Limbo...” Stygian’s eyes suddenly snapped open. “Wait, you released us!?”

“Um... yeah,” said Twilight. “I’d heard about what happened, and felt bad. It wasn’t fair that you all had to have your lives cut short like that. I wanted to give you all a second chance.”

“Yeah!” said Rainbow. “And now you get to hang out with us, too! Talk about a bonus!”

“No! You can’t!” Stygian blurted out.

All at once, all of Twilight’s friends turned to face the frantic unicorn. His body was trembling in absolute terror, so much so that he could barely stand still.

“Y-you don’t understand!” said Stygian. “I-if we’re back, t-t-t-then that means he’s back, too!”

Twilight froze. No. It couldn’t be. That demon she’d seen.

A sound like a peal of thunder broke the silence, nearly deafening Twilight with its force. She looked up to see a swirling vortex of darkness gathering above the central dais of Ponehenge. As it swirled, it began to lower itself to the ground, condensing into a very familiar, very large, very horned shape.

But that wasn’t the only thing that was familiar. The darkness felt familiar, a darkness that she had only ever felt once before, in her entire life. A darkness she had felt coming from only one thing, owned by one person.

“This... this power,” said Twilight. “It can’t be...”

“Now do you get it!?” said Stygian. “Now do you see what you’ve done!?”

“N-no!” Twilight shot back. “That’s not it! It’s the Chain Veil! This power feels just like the Chain Veil!” Stygian said nothing in response, only staring back as though Twilight were speaking another language.

Then, a voice sounded, so loud that it seemed to shake the very earth beneath them.

“So you know of the artifact that barred me from entering the plane of Shandalar. I am pleased to hear that my power has imprinted upon it.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped. “W-what!? Shandalar!? B-b-but that’s impossible! How do you know about that plane? Who are you?”

The last of the darkness gathered together, and the shadowed demon stood as tall as an oak tree, its eyes opening to reveal a burning hatred the likes of which Twilight had never before felt.

“You may call me... Arzakon.”

————————

Arzakon the Shadowed	4B

Legendary Planeswalker — Arzakon

Arzakon the Shadowed enters the battlefield with an additional loyalty counter on him for each color of mana spent to cast him.

+1: Add B and one mana of any color to your mana pool.
-3: Destroy target creature. Draw a card.
-8: Target opponent gets an emblem with “Whenever you tap a land for mana, that land produces B instead of any other type or amount.”

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