//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Liliana Strikes 
// Story: Confluence 
// by Endless Madness 
//------------------------------//

In the sunny and bright town of Ponyville, seven friends sat down in the green pastures to enjoy a picnic and each other's company. One of them, a lavender alicorn with straight purple hair, grasped her picnic basket with magic and opened it. A blanket flew from inside the container, draping itself over a section of the grass. Plates and cups wrapped in the alicorn's magical aura followed after, landing gently on the blanket.

"There we are! Picnic's ready," she said.

Her friends gave her a smile. One of them, a young dragon by the name of Spike, licked his lips. "Where's the food, Twilight?"

"Hang on," said the alicorn. She levitated six daisy sandwiches from the basket, passing one to herself and her other friends. Then a large gem floated out, landing with a plink on Spike's plate. "There you go."

The dragon rubbed his hands together eagerly, lifting the gem to his mouth and swallowing it whole. Twilight's other friends also started eating, albeit in a much more polite manner.

"Thank you, Twilight," said a yellow pegasus named Fluttershy. "I'm so glad we could do this."

"I am, too." Since she had ascended and become a planeswalker like Celestia and Luna, she hardly had any time for her friends back in Ponyville. "I've been so busy that I've barely seen you girls in months!"

Rarity, a white unicorn, adjusted her mane with a hoof. "That reminds me, darling: how's your training coming along? Learned any new spells from the Princesses?"

Twilight looked down at her hooves, obviously uneasy. "Uh, a few. Though they want me to avoid rifting to any new planes for a while. They say that it's dangerous outside of Equestria for ponies."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "But you're more than a pony now! You have all the magic in the world in your hooves and they won't let you even explore?"

The alicorn merely shrugged. "I don't mind. Maybe they're right." Twilight knew, of course, that the Princesses were just trying to protect her from the dangers of the Multiverse. Not all planes were as peaceful as Equestria, after all. There hadn't been an outsider from another plane in a long, long time. On the other hoof, though, she had a deep desire to explore the Multiverse. Not many ponies had that opportunity, after all! She raised her sandwich and opened her mouth to take a bite.

A bright white light flashed. Twilight blinked, and she was no longer in Ponyville. Looking forward, she found she was in the presence of Princess Celestia and Luna in a large and decorative marble room. The pony knew at once where she was: Canterlot Castle.

"Twilight Sparkle," addressed Celestia. "We need to speak with you."

The purple alicorn quickly got over the shock of being teleported, the feeling being replaced with fear. "What's wrong?" She was only to be summoned this way when it was of the utmost importance. "Is it Tirek again? Diplomacy issues with the Zebra kingdom? Or... Discord?"

The sun goddess shook her head. "No, my student. The day has come upon us at last."

Twilight blinked. "You don't mean... another planeswalker?"

Luna spoke up. "It is. We have one sealed in the dungeon for the time being."

"You mean there's more than just one!?"

Celestia nodded. "There is one hiding somewhere in Equestria. We have already sent your brother and several other capable soldiers to locate them."

Twi had little doubt in her brother's combat prowess, but she wondered to herself if he would be able to take down a planeswalker. Few ponies even knew what they were capable of except for the most high-ranking officials. Sensing the alicorn's doubt, Celestia spoke up again. "Do not worry for your brother. We have instructed him to avoid a fight and instead contact us when he finds the planeswalker."

"Which is precisely why we have summoned you," said Luna. "We must be ready to confront this intruder at a moment's notice. In our absence, you will watch over Canterlot."

The alicorn looked unsure. "Me? Why not Cadence?"

Celestia smiled at her student. "You are more familiar with alicorn magic, thanks to that incident with Tirek. We feel that it would be better to place the palace under your control. And besides, it will only be for a short amount of time."

"What should I do in the meantime?" asked Twilight.

"Perhaps you should speak with the captured planeswalker and find out what they know." Celestia and her sister stepped away from the throne and toward one of the room's many doors, beckoning for the student to follow. The three made their way down a set of stairs to a darker stone room.

Twilight looked around and saw a large man behind a set of iron bars that cut the room in half. He raised an eyebrow at the arrival of the Princesses, but otherwise showed no interest.

"Have you come to your senses yet?" he asked. "I've got a witch to kill."

Celestia shook her head. "Princess Sparkle here would like to ask you some questions, Garruk."

Twilight looked at the man, a bit intimidated by his size. Surely he could escape from his prison and crush her in an instant! But she remembered that the entire dungeon was indestructible. She gulped and asked her first question: "Why have you come here?"

Garruk sighed. "I told the taller ones the same thing: to track down that witch Liliana and seek revenge. If you let me out, I'll finish her and be on my way."

Celestia shook her head. "I'm afraid we can't let you go yet. When we have captured the planeswalker and dealt with her as we see fit, you may return to your home."

The man tightened his grip on the metal bars. "She's not yours to 'deal with'. I'm the one who's hunted her across the Multiverse and endured her evil curses, she's my prey."

The purple alicorn looked Garruk in the eye. "Are there any others?"

"As far as I know of, no."

"For the sake of Equestria and yourself, I hope you're right."


(W)


(G)       (U)


(R)  (B)


Shining Armor and his troops waded through the mucky bog, eyes peeled and spears out. They could see no sign of any planeswalker, though; no tracks, no strange goings-on, nothing. Either they were hiding from somepony, or they just weren't here.

One guard groaned as he removed a pesky leech from his hind leg. "Captain, can we head back to Canterlot now? It's obvious this is just a wild goose chase."

Shining shook his head. "Not until we find the witch. If Celestia says for us to look here, then she must be here. Now keep searching, men!" The five of them spread out to look for signs.

After a half-hour more of searching to no avail, though, Shining was beginning to wonder if there was anybody here. Maybe it would be a good idea to head back... He shook himself free of that thought. Equestria's safety hinged on himself and the guards. They had to keep looking.

Just as the captain was about to say some encouraging words to his men, however, he heard a deep rumbling beneath his feet. He backed away just before a large, skeletal beast began to rise from beneath the swampy ground, its decaying flesh trembling as it was filled with unnatural life. Immediately, Shining raised his spear. "We've got company!"


(W)


(G)       (U)


(R)  (B)


Celestia's horn glowed for a brief moment, and her eyes widened. Twilight looked at the sun goddess in worry, but the older alicorn quickly returned to her normal state.

"Your brother has told me he encountered a particularly necromantic monster within Froggy Bottom Bog. My sister and I must go and investigate immediately. Your time has now come to guard over the castle."

Twilight stared at the ground. "Okay, I'll do my best." Celestia put a hoof on her student's chin and looked her in the eye.

"Do not worry. Everything will be fine." And with that, she and her sister were gone in a flash of white light.

Twilight sat down on the floor of the dungeon. She had never been given such a big responsibility before, aside from the incident with Tirek. And what if everything wouldn't be fine? What if something happened to the Princesses?

Garruk stood in his prison, observing the alicorn. Perhaps there was some way that he could convince her to set him free. "You're worried, aren't you?" he asked.

The Princess looked up at him in surprise. "Yes," she replied hesitantly. "I mean, I have no idea what that planeswalker is capable of." She blinked, remembering something. "But I bet you do."

He nodded. "I might tell you if you let me out of here."

The purple mare thought about it for a while. "How can I trust you?"

"I'm a man of my word. Besides, do you have any other choice?"

"Fine." Twilight stood up and approached the metal bars of the prison. "Tell me what you know first, and I'll let you out."

Garruk looked at the mare, finally deciding to speak after a time. "Liliana practices black magic and summons the dead to do her bidding. She can even drain the life force of living creatures to keep herself healthy. Not only that, but she can put debilitating curses on her foes."

Twilight cringed. "That sounds awful. Why is she here?"

"I can think of a few reasons. I have heard that she's gathering power to destroy a group of powerful archdemons she made a deal with. She must believe that she can harness the mana of this plane once you're gone to become even more powerful."

The alicorn didn't know what to think. Celestia and Luna were in serious danger! She had to do something to help them. Yet, she couldn't leave the castle unsupervised. Maybe she could warn them somehow...

"Ahem. Your end of the bargain?"

"Oh." She unlocked and opened the prison door. "Look, if you can stop this Liliana..."

"Of course." He looked down at his feet. "But, uh... can you point the way out of here? I have no idea where I am."

Twi smiled. "I've got it." She let loose a spell from her horn, teleporting the planeswalker from the dungeon to Froggy Bottom Bog. No need to make him rile up the whole capital again. Then, without further hesitation, she rushed to find a quill and parchment.


(W)


(G)       (U)


(R)  (B)


The zombified beast roared and charged the soldiers, bowling several of them over. One managed to bury their weapon into the attacker, but it did little to stop it. One of the guards was caught under the creature's foot and crushed. Shining Armor wasted no time, casting a communication spell to the Princesses. "We've found an undead creature in the bog! The planeswalker must be close."

Seeing that the monster's back was turned from him, the captain galloped toward it and leaped onto its back. The beast attempted to swipe him off, but he ducked beneath its massive paw and jabbed his spear into its neck. With a vengeful roar, it shook him off and raised a leg to stomp him. The captain rolled out of the way just moments before its leg came down, then got back to his hooves and took several steps back.

He was about to point his spear at the beast, but he realized he had dropped it. Looking around frantically, he found the now-broken weapon beneath the monster's powerful foot. It snorted, preparing to trample right over him, but two guards hurriedly rushed it and stabbed with their weapons. It howled in anger and bit down on one of the stallions, shaking him around like a ragdoll and tossing him to the side.

Shining Armor, desperate to save his fellow guard, cast the first spell that came to mind, a beam of light that pierced through the monster's chest. Its lifeless body collapsed in the marsh, slowly sinking back into the mud from where it had been raised.

The two remaining guards rushed to the wounded one's side, doing their best to tend to his injuries. Shining trotted to the soldier that had died and sighed. "He was a good stallion. We'll send his body to his family." Then, he levitated the corpse's spear to himself. It may seem disrespectful, but he needed it and the stallion sure wasn't using it now.

The injured pony slowly rose to his hooves with the assistance of his comrades. "Captain, what was that thing? It looked... unnatural."

Shining glanced back at his troop. "It was most certainly undead. The witch must be close."

"Closer than you think," said a sinister and feminine voice from somewhere out of sight. A black aura began to swirl around the dead guard, and a chill went up the captain's spine. The corpse awoke from its eternal slumber, eyes glowing a deep purple and skin paling by the second. Shining Armor held the spear in front of him cautiously.

"The witch! She's casting a spell on him!" cried Shining. And the planeswalker Liliana appeared before him, a pale and striking woman with black hair and strange markings upon her skin.

"Soon, you will all be my servants," said the witch. "Give in, and your deaths won't be too agonizing." The undead guard shuffled its way toward its former allies.

The captain scoffed. "Never!" He cut down the zombie with his spear and turned to confront the planeswalker. His guards joined him at his sides, both ready for combat. He remembered Celestia's warning not to fight her, but there was no way out. If the witch could summon more creatures like that, they would have to battle their way out.

Liliana merely chuckled, and with a wave of her hand an ominous fog rolled in. Shining Armor's eyes widened as the fog passed over them, and he immediately weakened. His guards coughed and sputtered, collapsing to the ground in a heap, but he maintained his stance.

"Your hexes... won't... stop me," panted the captain. He tried to stab the planeswalker with his weapon, but she easily sidestepped and knocked him over with a backhand. He was so weakened by the fog that he couldn't even stand. Liliana stood over him, hands on her hips.

"Perhaps I should keep you alive," she mused aloud. "You have a certain charisma about you that you just don't keep after undeath. I suppose I could just enslave your mind instead of zombifying you." The planeswalker crouched down and looked at the captain closer. "You'd make a fine commander for my army of zombies."

"N-no. I'll stop you, witch..."

Liliana laughed. "You and what army?" From behind her, there was a flash of white. Celestia and Luna stood before her.

"Stay where you are, Vess," ordered Celestia. "We have no qualms about erasing you from existence."

The death mage turned around, already sensing the immense waves of mana coming of the Princesses. "More of you pesky planeswalkers? It's like your type can never seem to stay away from me."

"You shall not leave here in one piece," threatened Luna, "unless you surrender immediately. We outnumber you."

Liliana tapped a finger to her chin in thought. "Why, yes, you do. That is, for now." She raised her arms, summoning four skeletal ponies from the bog. They approached the Princesses, swords clutched between their bony jaws.

The sun goddess was not impressed. She stomped her hoof, and a purifying wave of light washed over the skeletons. Their bones scattered across the swamp. "No games. If we must destroy you, we will."

"You thought that was all I had up my sleeve?" the witch asked. She clenched her hand as a shadowy ball began to form in her grasp. The two alicorns instinctively took a step back, but they were too late to prevent the spell. The witch launched the dark energy, striking Luna with it. The blue alicorn fell to the ground, convulsing as the shadow spell began to take hold. Celestia could only watch in horror as she saw a very familiar transformation take hold of her sister.

Luna's mane swirled with magic energy, and her appearance changed before everyone's eyes. Dark armor encased the alicorn, completing her transformation into the fearsome Nightmare Moon. Then she rose, standing in front of Liliana and quickly bowing. "How may I serve you, master?"

Celestia could barely believe her ears. What had the planeswalker done to her sister? Clearly something was not right at all. Liliana simply smiled and pointed at the sun goddess.

"Slay her," she ordered the Princess of the Night. The dark alicorn complied and charged at her sister with murderous intent.