//------------------------------// // Fateful Showdown // Story: My Little Planeswalker: Glimmering Oil // by Zennistrad //------------------------------// “Welcome to the show We’re here to let you know Our time is now Your time is running out” Sunset had not wanted to hear that song again, let alone only a year after the Dazzlings’ defeat. Too many bitter memories were associated with those sounds and voices, of how close she’d come to losing everything. Now, the very same power-hungry sirens responsible were her only hope. To their credit, the sirens’ song had proven itself to be immediately and overwhelmingly effective. Dozens of Phyrexian soldiers and compleat students patrolled the outer perimeter of Canterlot High, and the Dazzlings’ melodic tones had instantly pacified all of them, reducing them to mesmerized drones. While the sirens stood before the school’s entrance, Sunset took advantage of the opportunity to sneak into a side door, carefully weaving through the catatonic bodies that vaguely resembled her classmates. Still, Sunset couldn’t be too careful. The very fact that a patrol had been set outside the school seemed to indicate that Starlight was expecting her. Her friends had begged to accompany her and offer assistance, but she adamantly turned them down. If the Dazzlings’ song didn’t carry into the school interior, there would be even more trouble, and a lone infiltrator would much more easily bypass it than an entire group. More importantly, she couldn’t risk allowing her friends to come to even more harm. They had barely made it out of their with Gaea Everfree alive, and they had already suffered enough from the Phyrexians beforehand. Sunset’s gut told her that there was going to be big trouble at the portal, and she couldn’t bring herself to put everyone else in danger. No, this was something she had to do alone. Alone, for the sake of her friends. “Feel the wave of sound As it crashes down You can't turn away We'll make you wanna sta-a-a-ay” The song lyrics slowly began fading into the distance as she crossed the building’s threshold. Going through the side door led her once more into the bone-like, mechanical corridors that could generously be described as a school’s hallways. The auditorium was not far from there, she would only have to make it a short distance to find it. The sound of falling footsteps reminded her that would be easier said than done. While most of the Phyrexians were waiting outside for a frontal assault, no doubt several more patrolled the interior of the school. Thinking quickly, Sunset turned her head, seeing a large air duct traveling across the ceiling. On the bottom, facing towards the hall, was a single vent. Sunset’s eyes darted back and forth. No sign of Phyrexians were visible, but the rapidly loudening footsteps were more than enough signal of their approach. Thinking quickly, she channeled a tiny spark of plasma into her index finger, pointing it up at the vent. The beam struck the vent’s latch, and as it melted away, it swung open onto its hinges. Sunset then channeled her magic once again, materializing a pair of orange wings on her back, which gave a single powerful flap before dissolving once again into nothing. Propelled by the sudden lift, Sunset leaped upwards, grabbing onto the rim of the vent opening at the height of her jump. Her legs flailed in the air below as she backside hung from the ceiling, slowly wriggling her way into the opening. When Sunset finally managed to fit herself in, she was forced to contend with an unbearably cramped space. The air was thick and polluted, no different from anywhere else in the corrupted Canterlot City, but here it was impossible to ignore as it rushed past her and into her lungs. Below, she could hear the Phyrexian footsteps falling against the school’s corridor. When the volume of the footsteps reached their crescendo, they stopped briefly, and Sunset’s breath caught in her lungs. What if they had found her? Her fears, thankfully, were then alleviated. The footsteps resumed, gradually fading away as they moved further and further into the distance. She was in the clear, for now. Navigating through the air ducts, thankfully, was a simple task. Moving through such a tight space was unpleasant, but their layout appeared unchanged, and she could locate the auditorium through them with relative ease. She’d crawled the air ducts frequently in her early years at Canterlot High, using them to snoop on on others and gather dirt for blackmail. I guess being the mean girl does have its advantages. Hah! See? I knew you were the demon part of us after all! “Will you two shut up?” Sunset whispered. “I need to focus.” She stopped in her tracks, as a new thought made itself apparent to her. “Wait, if I can talk to you both, then who am I?” Uh... Uh... Sunset shook her head, putting the matter out of her mind. There were better times to worry about the side-effects of split personality merging. For now, she would keep moving. There was no telling what nasty things would come out of that portal if it were left alone. Finally, after winding her way through the air ducts for minutes, she arrived at her ultimate destination. It was a single air vent, indistinguishable from others on the inside, but as she peered through the grate Sunset could see a glimpse of the auditorium below. Placing her palms flat against the vent, she sent a burst of plasma outwards. The vent’s grating exploded out from the impact, leaving a single hole in the duct that she could crawl through. With careful positioning, Sunset managed to crawl backwards out of the opening. When her waist slipped through, she let the rest of her body drop, feeling the minor shock against her legs as she landed feet-first onto the floor below. As she stood up, Sunset was surprised to find that the auditorium was nearly unchanged. The same seats faced the same stage, beneath the same ceiling. What had changed, however, was what the stage held. Sitting atop the stage platform was a portal, the very same portal Sunset had seen in Twilight’s memories. A massive, circular ring shape of darkened steel, swarmed by flittering motes of golden light. Just by looking at it Sunset could feel an immeasurable stubbornness, as though eons could pass and the portal would remain in pristine condition. One thing was for certain, the portal couldn’t possibly be from Anthropia. And that begged the question, how did it get here? What other strange magic could have possibly bridged two distant planes? “Why hello there, uncompleat one.” The voice that spoke was lilting, soft and dripping with venom. A familiar figure stepped out from the shadows to the side, standing between Sunset and the stage platform. Sunset leaned forward, stomping her foot against the ground. “Get out of my way, Starlight Glimmer. That portal has got to go.” Starlight clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, slowly shaking her head. “Oh, child. You poor, lost, pitiful little child. I think you’ll find that destroying this portal is quite impossible. But we certainly still have other unfinished business to take care of. ” Her smile deepened, revealing a pair of sharp, elongated fangs, their tips oozing oil that dripped across the rest of her teeth. “And pray tell, where exactly are your friends? I’d have thought your first order of business would be to find the other stragglers.” “You leave them out of this!” Sunset shot back. “This is between you and me!” “Is it?” said Starlight. “Or are you simply acting out of your foolish sentiments? You came alone because you thought that would protect them. But it makes no difference. Either way, I will have them. And so long as your thoughts remain separate from ours, you will always be alone. Only through Phyrexia can you know harmony, for we are both many and one.” A bubble of anger formed at the bottom of Sunset’s throat. She grit her teeth, fingers twitching as her hands balled into fists. “What you are is an abomination. One that I intend to put a stop to once and for all!” “So you claim,” Starlight retorted. “A claim without threat or purpose, for you lost before you even knew you were playing the game. Your world is ours. Your hope is ours. And soon, all of your precious friends will be ours, too. Resisting us now is an exercise in futility.” “SHUT UP!” With a shriek, Sunset channeled an intense, radiant mass of plasma into her palms. Thrusting both her palms forward, she launched the magic in a massive beam of destructive impulse, searing the air as it rocketed towards its target. But this time, Starlight had come prepared. She held out her own palm, her porcelain-like arms glimmering with a soft white light, and a glowing barrier instantly materialized in front of her. There was a flash of light as the bolt of plasma struck, then a tepid fizzle as both spells dissipated into nothing. “Tsk, tsk. How predictable,” Starlight scolded. “Such feeble emotions have no place in our world.” Sunset howled wordlessly, launching another projectile at Starlight. Starlight in turn countered with another instant barrier, rendering the attack useless. “You... You...” Sunset’s arms shook by her sides. Looking at Starlight now, seeing the one who had taken away her home, it brought her nothing but rage. She couldn’t help but think of all of the things she’d made for herself in the world she now called home, all of the things she had lost. “Ho hum. Let’s put a stop to this before it gets repetitive,” said Starlight. “As I said, you are alone. I, however, have the greatest force of Phyrexia to call upon. I wonder... were you curious as to what this portal was for, by any chance?” Sunset’s anger began to fade away, replaced by a sinking feeling that struck deep into her gut. “Wha...” “Well, you’re in luck,” Starlight continued. “Because now, right before your very eyes, you will witness it firsthand!” “No!” Sunset shouted. “Wait!” Her plea went ignored, however, as her fear was immediately made real before her. Starlight’s entire body was engulfed in radiant white light, and she threw her hands into the air, a gesture towards a sun that was blotted out by smog. Behind her the portal hummed to life, a swirling nexus of magic crackling like thunder within its ring. Sunset could only gape in silent terror and awe as the magic washed over her, until finally, something from within the nexus began to emerge. It came through slowly, but from the very beginning there was no mistaking it. The monster emerged through the portal, tall and slender, a body of porcelain plates and darkened spines beneath membranous leather wings. Four arms adorned its sides, two of them grasping a massive polearm that dripped with the noxious oil. And as it stepped forwards, Sunset’s eyes looked upwards, into the face of the apocalypse. And as the apocalypse loomed tall on the stage above, Starlight was the first to speak. “Behold, the voice of Phyrexia made flesh.” ———————— Purposeful Summoning 2WB Sorcery Put your commander onto the battlefield from the command zone. “Our purpose is not fulfilled until there are no worlds left uncompleat.” — Atraxa, Praetors’ Voice