Sunset listened intently as Twilight explained the situation. Emotions ran thick within her as the story continued, running the gamut from fear, to horror, to disgust, to...
...well, mostly fear, now that she thought about it further. When Twilight finished, Sunset looked over her gathered friends one last time, turning to address them as a group.
“So the oil did all of this?”
“Sort of,” said Twilight. “From what I’ve been able to research on it, the glistening oil acts as some sort of virus. The... I guess you might say strain of oil we found appears to be engineered to lie dormant and unnoticed, until a magical trigger activates it. It spreads through contact, turning anyone it touches into a vector of infection so that anyone they contact becomes infected. And with an apparent infection rate of one hundred percent, it’s likely the entire school was already infected by the time we discovered the oil, if not half the city.”
“And that’s when Starlight Glimmer activated the contagion, right?”
“I... yes.” Twilight closed her eyes, shivering slightly at the thought. “A-at her ‘self-help’ seminar, she showed up, and showed us something she called a ‘Phyrexian Portal.’ T-this monstrous, four-armed creature came out, and activated the oil with some foul magic. I...” Twilight shuddered, prompting Sunset to reach out and gently hold her on the arm. As her shaking gradually steadied, she looked up at Sunset, her eyes quivering under the dim florescent light. “We’re the only living things I know of to have been spared. Equestrian magic seems to act as some kind of immunizer against the Phyrexian contagion... I guess that’s why Starlight must have destroyed the portal. But e-everyone else, they’re...” Twilight’s words caught in her throat. Her lip trembled, and the corners of her eyes became soaked with tears. “They’re gone, Sunset. Spike, our families, everyone. T-they’ve all been absorbed into some twisted hive mind. They’re not the people we knew.”
Sunset a deep, gaping void within her chest, a yawning pit that seemed to swallow up all of her emotions. It was unthinkable. In just two weeks since she’d left, nearly everything her friends had cared about had been taken away.
“I-I’m sorry, I should have been here,” said Sunset. “This might not have happened if I’d been here to help. I shouldn’t have abandoned you.”
Twilight exhaled softly, turning her head to the ground. “There’s no need to apologize. I doubt you could have done anything to stop it, anyway.” She turned up, and looked Sunset in the eye. “Just where were you, anyway?”
“Oh, uh...” Sunset placed her hands behind her back, fidgeting idly with her fingers. “Well, there’s actually kind of a funny story there. You remember when your counterpart showed up in the cafeteria two weeks ago?”
Twilight blushed furiously. “Er... y-yeah. It’s, uh, kind of hard not to. Shut up, Rainbow.”
“What? I didn’t say anything!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Were you about to?”
“Well, yeah, but—”
“Then I rest my case,” said Twilight. “Anyway, Sunset, what were you saying about my counterpart?”
“Right, that. Well, you remember the whole deal about her being a planeswalker?” said Sunset. “Being able to travel across the multiverse through her own magic and all that? Well, as it turns out, I, uh... I’m kind of one, too.”
Sunset felt her skin burn under the force of stares she was suddenly receiving. Every other pair of eyes in the room had locked onto her like she’d suddenly become the most bizarre and interesting thing in the entire world.
“Okay, now I’m really jealous,” said Twilight. “First my counterpart, now you? I’m almost starting to feel like there’s some conspiracy to leave me out of your adventures.”
“I don’t think you would have wanted to get involved in this adventure,” Sunset replied. “I did learn a few things about myself I definitely needed to learn, but I wouldn’t call it an adventure. And it definitely wasn’t fun, either.”
“Oh my,” said Fluttershy. “That sounds like it was rough. What happened?”
“Short version?” said Sunset. “All of the rage, jealousy, and resentment I’d been repressing since the Fall Formal split off from me and became a separate being, took over my body and planeswalked to Equestria, then tried to take all of her anger out on your counterparts by stealing their souls. Then she turned my other half into a toy, until that half came back and confronted her. And then I learned that this only happened because I’d been denying my feelings instead of trying to understand them, and both halves of me learned to accept each other and become one again. I’m pretty sure there was also a lesson in there about finding a healthier coping mechanism for my trauma, too.”
If Sunset’s friends were staring at her oddly before, it was absolutely nothing compared to the stares she was receiving now. It was like she’d suddenly gone from the most bizarre and fascinating thing in the world to the most bizarre and fascinating thing in the entire history of humankind.
“So, uh,” said Rainbow, “if you came back from Equestria, how come you’re wearing clothes?”
“Probably an illusion of some kind,” said Applejack. “Though Ah don’t rightly know how anyone’d put up with running from Phyrexians without proper support for—”
“It’s not an illusion!” Sunset shot back. “I had Rarity’s counterpart make clothes for me before I left!”
“Oooh, really?” said Rarity. “Do tell. Granted, I wouldn’t have guessed that she’d make something so plain-looking, but if she’s anything like me I’m guessing she tried to hound you into ordering something fancier. Is that correct?”
Sunset groaned. “You are far too self-aware, you know that?”
“Quite,” said Rarity. “And was she able to do the undergarments correctly? I assume ponies would have no need for those, even on the occasions when they dress up. Unless, of course, you’re simply not wearing—”
“Will you stop talking about my underwear!?” Sunset shouted back. “I thought that was supposed supposed your cultural taboo!”
“That’s enough, all of you,” Fluttershy said. Her voice carried an uncharacteristic sternness, still as soft as always, yet firm much the same way as the glare of disapproval she shot towards the others. “I understand it’s all in good fun to have shouting matches, but we need to be keeping a low profile. So let’s all try to be quieter, okay?”
Everyone went quiet. Sunset stared at the floor dejectedly, the same look of a someone who’d just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. There was a conspicuous zipper noise off to the side, coming from Pinkie’s direction, as she appeared to literally zip her lips shut.
“There,” said Fluttershy, “that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Right... anyway, that’s more or less what happened,” said Sunset. “Is there anything else I need to know about what’s going on?” Her eyes scanned the forms of her friends. Now that her emotions had settled, she was able to notice something around their necks... or rather, something that wasn’t there. “Wait, where are all of your geodes? What happened to them?”
“What? You don’t know?” said Applejack. “Ah kinda figured it was the same that happened to yours.”
“My... wait, what?” For a brief moment, Sunset delved into another fit of panic. She looked down at her collar and found that, true to Applejack’s word, her magic geode had disappeared completely. As she reached down to touch collarbone, however, a warm sensation of magic washed over her palm, and a bright red aura enveloped her hand. “That’s... weird. The geode disappeared when I became a pony, but now that I’m human again, I can still feel something there.” Lifting her hand for a moment, she turned to face Twilight. “Hey Twi, could you help me test something out? Nothing scientifically rigorous, just try to imagine something in your mind and hold out your hand for a second.”
“Oh, um... sure.”
As Twilight held out her hand, Sunset stepped forward and gently grasped it in her own. She turned her mind inward, her imagination recalling the familiar sensation of the geode’s magic. As if moved by her command, that very same magic stirred within her, and Sunset found herself being pulled into Twilight’s mind. After a moment of glimpsing the thought, her mind returned to outside world.
“Hey, it worked,” said Sunset, grinning in satisfaction as she pulled her hand away. A slight warmth began to form on her cheeks. “You, uh... didn’t have to think about me, Twilight.”
Twilight flushed. “O-oh, well, uh... I wasn’t trying to? It’s just, uh... I was so worried about you when you were gone, and then I was so happy when you came back... I guess it just sort of came to me?”
The warmth in Sunset’s cheeks intensified to an intense, feverish blaze. “Uh... r-right.” She quickly decided the best available course of action was to change the subject. “So, uh, geodes. What happened to them?”
“Oh! Of course!” Twilight perked up almost immediately, grinning the way that she did whenever she explained something new she learned. “I’d completely forgotten to tell you about our awakenings!”
“Awakenings?” said Sunset.
“It’s, uh, the best name I could come up with. Effectively, we’ve found that not only does Equestrian magic act as an immunizer against the contagion, it also has something akin to an immune system response. Each time one of us was injured by a Phyrexian, our geodes responded by melding into and fusing with our bodies, causing our magical powers to undergo a metamorphosis. In addition to our normal abilities, we now each have additional powers as well. For example, I can now create solid hard light constructs out of magic.”
To demonstrate, Twilight held out her arm, leaving her palm upstretched. A gentle purple glow encased her hand, and suddenly a tiny, translucent image of a purple alicorn appeared in her palm. It stood unto two hooves and then performed a graceful pirouette, before disappearing again into nothing.
“Huh,” said Sunset. “That’s pretty neat. Could be useful if you could shape it into other things, I’d imagine.”
“Yeah,” said Twilight. “It’s... saved my life a few times since I gained the power. Though I kind of thought you’d be a bit more excited to see me with new magic, honestly. You were the one always telling me how wonderful it is.”
Sunset sighed deeply, and shook her head. “I can’t really bring myself to be any more enthusiastic in a situation like this. I’m happy for you, I really am, but this isn’t the kind of circumstance I feel comfortable celebrating.”
“...Right, of course.” said Twilight.
“So what about the others?” said Sunset. She turned towards the rest of her friends and looked at them expectantly. “Rainbow?”
“That’s easy!” Rainbow bragged. “I’m an airbender!”
Sunset blinked. “A what now?”
Twilight rolled her eyes, the gesture magnified by the thick lenses of her glasses. “She means she can control air currents. Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy have similar air powers, though their characteristics are different. Fluttershy’s wind currents have healing properties, while Rainbow can condense hers into sharp, blade-like projectiles.”
“Ugh, Twilight, why’d you have to just go right out an explain it like that?” Rainbow complained. “It’d be so much cooler if you let me show her!”
“And since you can’t possibly use any of your powers in a small space without breaking something, I see no reason why I should do that,” said Twilight.
“Yeah, fine,” said Rainbow. She’d apparently decided not to argue any further, though she did cross her arms and mutter something under her breath.
“So, razor wind, healing wind,” said Sunset, pointing to Rainbow and Fluttershy in quick succession. “Makes enough sense. Applejack, let me guess. Your powers are apple-related?”
“Close,” said Applejack. “Plants in general, more like. If Ah concentrate, Ah can make pretty much anything grow from any soil in an instant. Real useful for keeping us all from going hungry.”
Sunset’s eyes trailed over to the garden in the corner, and the miniature trees growing from it. “So why only grow apples?”
Applejack shrugged. “Ah only said Ah can grow other plants. Didn’t meant Ah can keep ‘em once they’re grown. Plus Ah’m pretty sure these apples ain’t ordinary apples, since we’ve been eating ‘em pretty much exclusively and ain’t felt the least bit odd. Must be some extra nutrition somewhere in there.”
“Hope you like apple pie!” said Pinkie. She seemed to have pulled an entire pie, apron and pair of oven mitts out of nowhere. She leaned over and shoved the pie into Sunset’s face.
“I’ll, uh, eat it later,” said Sunset, gently pushing Pinkie away. “Rarity, what about you? I assume your new power is related to gems somehow, right?”
Rarity grinned deviously. “Not quite, I’m afraid. I believe my new powers would be called sangromancy.”
“Sangromancy?” said Sunset. “Wait, you mean like blood magic?”
Rarity chose not to say a word in response. Instead, she summoned a single, sharp, knife-like diamond into her right hand. Then, to Sunset’s horror, she held out her left palm, positioning the diamond knife just above it. “Fluttershy dear, get ready to heal me in a moment, will you?”
Fluttershy let out a squeak. “U-um, okay.” Her body shivered slightly, and she covered her eyes her right forearm, while holding up her right palm. “J-just let me know when you’re ready. I-I don’t think I can watch.”
“Rarity, wait!”
Sunset’s words came too late, as by then Rarity had already moved. Her slice quickly cut across the flat of her palm, spilling a slick current of crimson red across her body. Rarity winced at the pain, biting her lower lip as she stifled a cry, but otherwise remained stoic in the face of injury.
The diamond-knife in Rarity’s hand disappeared. Then, in one of the more disturbing displays of magic Sunset had seen, she gestured with her now-free right hand. The blood flowing from her left palm streamed upwards, defying gravity, before pooling into a hovering red glob. Then with another gesture, the gross orb of plasma split into a series of elongated, ovoid shapes.
With one final gesture and a sound like tinkling crystal, each blood-shape solidified into a dark, ruby-red gemstone. The gemstones then arranged themselves in the air into a necklace, before placing themselves on Rarity’s neck.
“Gah!” Sunset cried out, barely able to prevent herself from retching. “Rarity, that’s disgusting!”
“Oh, don’t be so squeamish, darling,” said Rarity. “Pearls are made from the bodily fluids of oysters, and you don’t see anyone complaining about that. Besides, this magic is especially well-suited towards getting those pesky blood stains out of clothing. Fluttershy, if you would?”
“R-right,” said Fluttershy. Still averting her eyes, Fluttershy gestured with her own hand. Lime green currents of wispy, air-like magic whirled around her hands, and a similarly-colored air current rose up from the ground and encircled Rarity’s injured palm. Within seconds the wound closed, and her hand was no worse for wear than before.
“Okay, alright, blood magic.” Sunset pressed a pair of fingers against her forehead. “Now that we have that bit of grossness out of the way, that only leaves Pinkie Pie. I’ll be honest, I almost dread to ask what her powers could be.”
“Toon physics!” Pinkie replied. “I’m like a living Zany Tunes short now! Check it out!”
Then, in one of the most bizarre demonstrations Sunset ever witnessed, Pinkie placed her right thumb into her mouth, and began blowing on it until her face nearly turned blue from the effort. With a sound like a rapidly inflating balloon, her hand began to expand in much the same way a balloon would, until it resembled a pink rubber glove that had been filled with helium. Then, in another swirl of pink motion, Pinkie grabbed her inflated hand with other hand, and began twisting and contorting it into a new shape. The result was a limb that was indistinguishable from a balloon animal, save for the fact that it was still attached to the end of her arm. Then, with the sound of a deflating balloon, the hand reverted to its normal shape.
Sunset could only gawk at the sight. “Huh,” she said. “Somehow, I feel both surprised and completely unsurprised.”
Pinkie giggled lightly. “I know! I never thought I’d be able to do things like this, but it just feels so right! So, what’s your new power, Sunset? Does it have something to do with that shield you made?”
“Um... Well, to be honest, I don’t think I actually have any,” Sunset replied. “From what I can tell so far, I can use my pony magic as a human now, but I’m guessing that’s only because of my planeswalker spark. It doesn’t feel like magic’s changed, only... grown, if that makes sense. And that’s even if you count the whole split-personality-merge thing.”
“That makes sense,” said Twilight. “Each of our awakenings only occurred after nearly being killed by a Phyrexian. If you haven’t been wounded by one yet, there’s no reason to think your awakening would have happened.”
“Right... the Phyrexians.” Sunset’s eyes turned towards the ground. Images of the horrific cityscape above drifted to the forefront of her imagination, her stomach turning inside out with every image of the warped and twisted students that crossed her mind. “Is... is there anything that we can do about them? Do you have any plans at all?”
A tense silence lingered over the room. Many eyes, suddenly filled with weariness and fear, drifted towards each other, and then back to Sunset.
“We... we don’t know,” said Twilight. “As far as any of us can tell, the whole city is gone. We don’t even know how much of the world the Phyrexians have taken over, but it won’t matter as long as we’re trapped here. There’s nothing we can do but hide away and hope to survive.”
“But there have to be other survivors,” said Sunset. “There have to be ways of contacting them. Please tell me there’s something else we can do to reach them!”
Twilight shook her head. “If there are any survivors, there isn’t any way for us to contact them. The internet is down, and all other means of communicating outside Canterlot have been cut off. I tried building a radio transmitter to send an S.O.S., but...” Her words died off as her face contorted into a grimace. “...it, uh, turns out that whatever the Phyrexians use to connect to their hive mind lets them pick up radio signals, too. They were instantly alerted to our location the moment we turned the transmitter on. We had to abandon our old base entirely.”
Sunset let out a deep breath. “I was afraid you might say something like that. If what you’re saying is true, we might not be able to get the help we need on this plane.”
Twilight blinked “On this plane?”
“The other Twilight has a few friends on another world who might be able to help us,” Sunset replied. “I’m going to see if I can ask for their assistance. Just hold tight, okay? I promise I’ll be right back.”
“Um... okay,” said Twilight. “Just, um, don’t be gone long alright?”
“Don’t worry. I won’t.”
Sunset gave Twilight a warm smile. She placed a reassuring hand against Twilight’s one last time, gazing into her eyes as she planeswalked away.
————————
Seeing Ravnica in Twilight’s memories was one thing, but nothing could have possibly captured the experience of seeing it in person. The city, or at least the part of it she was seeing, could not be described as anything other than a spectacle, with extravagant gothic architecture, pearly-white spires, and a truly immense system of aqueducts and canals that put the greatest works of ancient Roam to shame.
And, of course, that was to say nothing of just how staggeringly diverse the city was. There were so many different peoples of all shapes, sizes, and colors walking through the ever-crowded street that almost no person of any appearance would have looked odd or out of place. Even Sunset, with her natural hair colors that were apparently wildly impossible on any other plane, barely looked noticeable between all the goblins, centaurs, viashino, and literal spirits of the deceased. Then again, hair dye presumably existed on Ravnica, and her orange skin also wasn’t too far removed from the normal range of melanin hues.
Okay, so if I’m correctly remembering what I saw in the pony version of Twilight’s memories, then I should be turning right in a few blocks.
Do you ever think about how strange our life must be for that sentence to make sense?
That’s not really relevant to what we should be doing, so no... Wait, ‘we?’ I thought we were the same person now?
I’m pretty sure we are the same person, just different parts. You know, id, ego, superego; that sort of thing.
Haven’t Figmentoid’s theories been mostly discredited?
Sunset shook her head, hoping that it would shake off the irrelevant thoughts that were distracting her from her goal. And if Twilight’s friend was really a telepath, the last thing she wanted was to sound like she’s arguing with herself.
Her path eventually led her to a dark and musty alleyway, one which few people would have been interested in exploring. The way that other people’s eyes seemed to glide past it without even a cursory glance made her suspect that there may have been something else hiding it as well. She ducked quickly ducked into the alley, and found a plain, unassuming wooden door on the side.
Bingo. If her memory served her correctly, this was exactly where she needed to be. She inhaled sharply, and, after a second’s hesitation, knocked on the door.
Several more tense seconds passed, before the door finally slowly pushed itself open. There, standing in the doorframe, was a very stern-looking woman clad in ornate silver armor. Her mouth remained chiseled into a frown as she looked Sunset over.
“Um, hey,” said Sunset. “You’re Lavinia, right?”
“That is correct,” Lavinia replied. Her eyes narrowed, and her frown deepened. “Who are you, and how did you find this place?”
“Oh, um...” Sunset could feel Lavinia’s gaze piercing through her, infused with the full strength of her authority. A bead of sweat began to drip down Sunset’s forehead. “M-my name is Sunset Shimmer. I’m a planeswalker, and friend of Twilight Sparkle. I-I was told that the Gatewatch were here. Is there one of them here I could speak to? I kind of need their help.”
Lavinia’s frown softened slightly, though her eyes remained firm. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to come back later. The Gatewatch are currently dealing with matters outside of Ravnica.”
Sunset very nearly jumped back in shock. “W-what? All of them? Can you at least tell me what plane they’re on? It’s an emergency!”
“I’m afraid I don’t know,” said Lavinia. “But even if I did, that information wouldn’t be mine to divulge. Goodbye, Miss Shimmer.”
As Lavinia began pulling the door closed, Sunset frantically reached out and seized it by the edge, forcibly holding it open. “W-wait! Please, you have to tell me where they are! My plane is in danger! My friends are in danger!”
Lavinia’s lips twitched momentarily. A sympathetic look crossed her features, but disappeared just as quickly. “I’m deeply sorry for your plight, Miss Shimmer, but if you don’t leave I’ll have no choice but to arrest you for trespassing. If you want to speak with the Guildpact or his associates, I suggest you come back tomorrow.”
“W-what? Wait! No, don’t!”
Lavinia slammed the door shut with truly impressive strength, forcing Sunset to move her hand out of the way before her hand could be crushed against the door frame. There was a subtle click of a mechanism behind the door, and when Sunset pulled it open again, it opened to nothing but a blank wall.
Sunset pulled at her hair, letting off a deep, skyward scream of frustration, so loud that it echoed off the alley walls and into the street beyond. When her throat was finally raw from the strain, she turned to the inert door and glared furiously.
“Fine! Be that way! I don’t need your help anyway!”
Her mind still blistering with the heat of anger, Sunset planeswalked away.
————————
When her body reconstituted its form, Sunset found herself back in the maintenance room that had served as her friends’ makeshift base. Her entire body felt exhausted, and her mana lines depleted so thoroughly that they felt almost completely dry. She hunched over and began to collapse, only for Twilight to rush forward and catch her by the arms.
“Sunset!” Twilight cried out. “Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah,” Sunset said breathlessly. “That last planeswalk took a lot out of me, that’s all. I guess controlling where you arrive on a plane is more difficult than it sounds.”
Twilight gazed into Sunset’s eyes worriedly. “So did you find them? Those people you said could help us?”
Sunset gulped. “I... no.” Already as she spoke, she dreaded to see the disappointment on Twilight’s face. “B-but that doesn’t mean we can’t find help! There has to be someone else! M-maybe there are other survivors!”
“W-well, yeah, but who?” said Twilight. “Is there even anyone else who’d be able to stand up to the Phyrexians?”
Sunset paused. It was a good question. As she pulled herself free from Twilight’s embrace, her mind raced with possibilities.
Standing up to the Phyrexians was no easy task, that much was obvious. Despite their lack of intelligence, their hive mind meant they could coordinate their movements with absolute perfect precision, moving with an efficiency and ferocity that no individual minds could hope to match, even working together.
It was then, considering this, that an idea began to form. As a hive mind, the Phyrexians were powerful. But if something could disrupt that hive mind, they might possibly stand a chance. Something that could get the Phyrexians to start seeing themselves as distinct individuals. Something that could break the absolute unity of their thoughts, something that could introduce the possibility of disagreement, something that could bring them into conflict...
...and then suddenly, a devious grin formed across Sunset’s lips.
“Actually, I think I do know a few others who can help us.”
————————
Crazy Idea 2UR
Instant
Draw three cards, then discard a card at random.
There’s a very fine line between “crazy enough to work” and “crazy enough to get us all killed.”