Twilight Sparkle wrote furiously with her quill, hoping to send her incredibly important letter as soon as possible. "Dear Princesses, Garruk has informed me of the planeswalker Liliana's nature. I strongly advise..."
The lavender alicorn stopped when she saw a bright flash. Celestia appeared, with Shining Armor unconscious on her back. Both were covered in scrapes and bruises, as if they had been through a rough fight.
"Princess Celestia! And Shining!" cried Twilight. "What happened? Where's Luna?"
The sun goddess took a deep breath. "The witch Liliana has taken over my sister's mind. She nearly defeated me."
"What?!" Twilight couldn't make any sense of it. "Luna is against us?"
"Not Luna anymore," said Celestia as she placed Shining Armor on the floor with her magic. "She's become Nightmare Moon once again."
"How could it be?" The purple alicorn stepped away from her letter. "We saved her with the Elements of Harmony. She can't become corrupt again... can she?"
"It appears she has. I'm confident that we can save her, but we must first do something about the witch. Where is Garruk? Perhaps he knows of some way to defeat her."
Twilight looked down at the floor sheepishly. "Umm, about that... I kind of, sort of let him free to go fight Liliana."
"You what?" asked the white alicorn incredulously.
"I let him out of his prison in the hopes that he could help you fight her. I guess he didn't show up, then?"
Celestia did her best to remain calm and patient. "My faithful student, do you know what this means? There are now three planeswalkers running rampant throughout Equestria! We must find a solution at once."
Twilight had an answer almost immediately. "We'll go get the Elements and stop her! It's worked before, it will work again."
"Right," the goddess concurred. "Find your friends quickly, Twilight. Perhaps we may have to work with Garruk after all, if I can find him." She flapped her wings and departed from the castle.
Twilight figured that the castle being empty was now the least of her problems. After making sure Shining Armor was okay, she hurried out of the castle and flew back to Ponyville.
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Twilight Sparkle's friends had been very confused by the alicorn's instant disappearance. For a while, they had imagined that something bad happened. Eventually, though, they reasoned that she must have been called by the Princesses. The five ponies and Spike resumed their lunch quietly.
After a while of eating in silence, Applejack spoke up. "Ya know? Ah'm gettin' pretty sick and tired of Twilight disappearin' like that. Ah know she's got royal duties n' all, but is it really that important that she's gotta leave at a moment's notice?"
Fluttershy looked at her farmer friend. "I don't know, Applejack. What if it really is important?"
"Aw, shucks. Nothin' important has happened since the Tirek incident, and that was a donkey's age ago."
Rarity took a bite of her daisy sandwich and joined in the conversation. "Exactly, Applejack. That's a reasonable amount of time for another emergency to come up."
The earth pony nodded. "Ah know. Ah just miss talkin' with her is all. Ah'm sure y'all do, too."
"Of course we do," said Rainbow Dash. "But if the Princesses called her, it's for a good reason. As much as I hate to say this, the fate of Equestria is more important than hanging out with her."
After a bit more small talk and conversation, the six had finished their meal. Applejack stood up when she was done and tipped her hat to her friends. "Well, Ah hate to eat n' run, but Ah gotta help mah brother with some chores."
Spike stood up. "And I've gotta wait for Twilight at the... er, castle-thingy." They all were about to go on their way, but a very distressed Twilight Sparkle landed in the center of the picnic, knocking over plates and cups.
"Girls! There's a problem."
Pinkie Pie looked at the alicorn. "What is it? A grumpy pony that needs cheering up? Did I forget somepony's birthday? Or did Pumpkin and Pound Cake fall down the old well?"
Twilight shook her head. "No, it's much much worse."
Pinkie gasped. "Something worse than forgetting a birthday?!"
"There's an evil planeswalker in Equestria. She took over Princess Luna's mind and turned her into Nightmare Moon!"
Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. "Not again. I thought she was done with that."
"Should we go get the Elements?" asked Fluttershy.
The lavender pony nodded. "That's precisely what I was thinking. Hurry, before things get any worse!" She and her friends darted off.
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Meanwhile in Froggy Bottom Bog, Liliana stood with Nightmare Moon at her side. "Excellent work, servant," said the witch as she began conjuring the dead soldiers back to life. "But you must pursue her and destroy her."
"Yes, my liege," replied the Princess of the Night. "I will find her." She spread her wings and took off to find her target. Liliana calculated that the mind control spell would last for still a while longer, so she hadn't a need to worry about it wearing off. Once the corpses of the fallen ponies began to live once more thanks to her spells, she beckoned for them to follow her.
She marched out of the bog with the zombies following behind her. Once she found her way out, she would search for the nearest town and take it over. With her magic spells and superior knowledge, she knew it would be a piece of cake. If these puny soldiers had been Canterlot's best, then she had no doubt that the rest would fall shortly.
Liliana made it out of the swamp and studied her surroundings. Far off in the distance was what appeared to be a small village. That would do fine, she thought to herself. Her forces stumbled in the town's direction, hungering for the flesh of the living.
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Garruk made his way swiftly through the forest. It appeared that the alicorn's spell had put him further away from the swamp than he had thought. Focusing on the energy around him, he detected several different spikes of magic. Two were rather far away, but he could feel two more approaching quickly. He was familiar with these; he had a hunch that it was the Princesses.
The man raised his axe. He'd been hoping to avoid attracting unnecessary attention by killing them, but if it came down to it, he was both willing and able. Nobody stopped his hunt for Liliana without severe consequences.
Closer and closer they approached. Finally, a blur of white burst from the clearing, stopping in front of him. It was Princess Celestia.
"Garruk, I-"
No time for talk. With the knowledge that actions spoke louder than words, he raised his axe and swung at the Princess's neck. Had the alicorn not ducked, surely his attack would have made her a foot shorter. When his swing failed to connect, he raised the weapon again.
Celestia cast a restraining spell on the hunter, binding his hands together and stopping him outright. "Very little patience, I see," remarked the white pony. "As I was going to say before you attempted to behead me, I have come to a decision. I will help you find Liliana, on one condition."
Garruk struggled against his bindings to no avail. He sighed in resignation. "What is that condition?"
"When you have finished your deed, you leave this plane and never return."
The hunter scoffed. "I wasn't planning on coming back anyway. You have yourself a deal."
Celestia sparked her horn and Garruk's restraints disappeared. "Excellent. Unfortunately, it appears that Liliana's taken hold of my sister."
Garruk could feel a dark presence all around them. "Even more unfortunately, I think she's here."
His hunch was confirmed when a beam of dark magic carved a swath of destruction through the trees, approaching them quickly. The two planeswalkers dodged to either side, narrowly avoiding annihilation. A jet-black alicorn appeared before them, sharp teeth flashing in a sadistic grin.
"Luna, please!" begged the sun goddess. "Rebel against your master! Do you wish to suffer the same fate as last time?"
"I wish for only one thing, Celestia, and that is for your destruction." Nightmare Moon rushed her sister, but Garruk stood between the two with his axe. A swift strike with the weapon sent the moon goddess reeling in pain. "How dare you!" she cried.
Celestia cringed at the sight of Nightmare Moon's injury. "Do not kill her, Garruk!"
Garruk sighed. "Do you always have to make things complicated?" He whistled, and a great tusked beast appeared in front of them. The creature stood defensively, eager to protect its master and his companion.
The black alicorn regarded this beast with little interest. She concentrated and summoned three shadowy pegasus ponies from the Æther. The pegasi tensed and leapt at the beast, engaging in a fierce battle with it. Celestia, meanwhile, searched for the right spell to detain her twisted sister.
"Are you going to help or what?" demanded Garruk as he strengthened his creature with an enlarging spell.
"I'm wracking my brain for the spell right now," explained Celestia. "I haven't done this in a thousand years, cut me some slack!" The enlarged beast fell as the shadow ponies overwhelmed it with their sheer numbers. Nightmare Moon trotted past the defeated creature and made her way menacingly towards her sister.
"Ah, my dear sister. Always too much of a coward to take a life. Now it will be your downfall."
"Not if we have anything to say about it!" cried a voice from a short distance away. Curious, Nightmare Moon tilted her head and searched for the source of this outburst. Lo and behold, six familiar ponies stood together. Upon the necks of five were necklaces, and one had a tiara atop their head.
"Ah, the Elements of Harmony," said the Princess of the Night. "Come to stop me again, have you?"
Twilight Sparkle nodded. "This isn't you, Princess Luna! Snap out of it, or we'll have to do this the hard way!"
Celestia looked at her student. "Be careful, Twilight." She and Garruk were preoccupied with fending off the shadow pegasi that were quickly advancing on them.
"Give up, little ponies. This is my true form, and I will no longer be hampered by your friendship. I will not bow to anypony but Liliana!" Nightmare Moon narrowed her eyes, a purple aura beginning to envelop her horn.
The purple alicorn pursed her lips and glanced back at her companions. "Girls! Use the Elements!" Slowly, the six ponies rose into the air, a brilliant light surrounding them. Their eyes glowed white.
But Nightmare Moon would have none of it. She unleashed jet-black tendrils from her horn that, in a flash, wrapped around Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus let out one squeak before the appendages tightened around her and turned her to stone.
In an instant, the others dropped from the air and landed in the grass with a thump. They stared in complete disbelief as the tendrils released their grip on the pegasus statue, which fell to the ground.
"Fluttershy!" screamed Applejack. The earth pony was the tentacles' next target. Within seconds, she was also petrified. Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity scrambled to their hooves, desperately trying to avoid the same fate as their friends. But alas, none could escape. Finally, only Twilight was left unscathed.
"How could you?" cried the purple alicorn as the tendrils advanced upon her.
Nightmare Moon merely scowled. "I do what Liliana wishes."
Celestia tore her attention from her struggle with the pegasi to call out. "Twilight! You must flee! Quickly, escape to another plane!"
The alicorn gulped. Her mentor wanted her to planeswalk? But... she wasn't even sure if she knew how! She was about to tell the sun goddess so, but she felt a tendril creep up along her torso and wrap around her. She had no time. Without hesitation, she closed her eyes and concentrated.
Get me out of here, get me out of here, get me out of here.
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There was absolutely nothing. No sound, no light, no feeling. What was happening? Had she been petrified? The alicorn had never experienced this before in her entire life. But all at once, her senses returned. Twilight could feel a peculiar type of stone beneath her hooves.
It was time for her to get her bearings.
The pony opened her eyes and found herself in the middle of a street. Lining the road were buildings of all sizes with smokestacks poking out of them. Black smog filled the air, making it difficult for Twilight to breathe at all. This was nothing like Equestria's clean, crisp air.
She took a step forward, but immediately tripped over something. After regaining her footing, the mare turned her head to examine the object.
It was one of the Elements of Harmony. She glanced all around, finding that all five of them were strewn on the floor. Hers was still safely on her head. She levitated them up, one by one, and placed them in her saddlebag. She would need them to...
To...
What the hay was she going to do? Her friends were all petrified, and Garruk and Celestia were hardly a match for the strength of both Nightmare Moon and Liliana. Without her, Equestria would be doomed!
Twilight calmed herself. No need to panic. That would be the last thing she wanted. What she needed to do was formulate a plan. There had to be some way of stopping the threat against Equestria. What she really needed were allies to help her.
That's when the alicorn had a brilliant idea. It was risky, but it was also her only option. Nopony could deny that two heads were better than one. If she could recruit other planeswalkers to stop Liliana, then it might turn out okay. The trouble would be finding reliable-
The purple mare froze as she felt a hand rustling around in her saddlebags. Twisting around, she came face-to-face with a curious green creature with a club. Its hand retracted from the bag with Applejack's necklace in its clutches. Then, it sprinted down the road with its precious cargo.
"Hey!" Twilight shouted. The young pony flapped her wings and charged after the creature. "That doesn't belong to you!"
The thing merely snickered and doubled its pace. It was surprisingly quick, putting quite a bit of distance between Twilight and itself. She struggled to keep up, especially with the smoke invading her lungs. Whatever this place was, the air was absolutely sickening. Thinking it better to pursue on hoof, the princess landed and followed the thief into a dark alley.
"Gimme my necklace back!" Twilight ordered. "Don't you know who I am?"
The goblin looked back at her and laughed... before running straight into a brick wall. It lay spread-eagle on the ground, the artifact just out of its reach. Twilight at last levitated the necklace and put it back into her bag. Examining the goblin, she found it to be unconscious. Must have hit its head quite hard.
As she was turning around to leave, she was greeted by a horde of other goblins just like the last. They all held various bludgeons in a very menacing manner.
"Oh, horsefeathers," cursed Twilight. The goblins charged, leaving her no way out. Save for one, that is. She sparked her horn and teleported behind the mob. The goblins, dumbfounded by the disappearance of their prey, stood around in confusion for a brief moment. That gave the alicorn just enough time to slip away unnoticed and flee from the alley.
After she was sure she was safe from the creatures, Twilight looked to the horizon to get an idea of where to go next. Unfortunately, her view was blocked by spires and buildings that truly scraped the sky. However, she did notice that there was less smog in the distance. Deciding that was her best bet for now, she hurried off on foot in that direction.
Along the way, she saw quite a few different citizens of the city on their way. The alicorn saw everything from lizardmen to humans (like Garruk?) to large minotaurs all traveling up and down the street. She caught mutterings of things such as "foundry street" and "Izzet" and something called a "guildpact". Some of the people stared at her, but others merely looked forward and kept to themselves.
After a brisk walk, Twilight began to notice a change in the scenery around her. Whereas she had seen factories and foundries before, now there were many marble buildings and courtrooms. Occasionally large eagles flew overhead. She was actually surprised to find that she recognized many of the animals around here. This plane must share quite a few similarities with Equestria.
Finally, the alicorn spotted a rather large building that was adorned with elegant decorations, blue-and-white banners, and gold-colored trim. It seemed like something that Rarity would appreciate for its appearance. Twilight studied the sign emblazoned across the front of the building.
"Azorius Public Relations Headquarters," read the alicorn. "Well, I'm sure they can explain to me where I am." She trotted inside.
Twilight found herself in a marble-white room, much akin to a lobby of some sort. The interior of the building was just as ornate as the outside, but it was more difficult to appreciate due to the number of citizens inside. Many were waiting in line as a receptionist spoke with a person in front. A sign on the wall read, "Estimated wait time: 20 minutes."
Twenty minutes? Twilight had no time for waiting, she had to get help as soon as possible! But at the same time, she couldn't just cut in line. Not only was that wrong, but it was also breaking the rules! She couldn't stand to do that.
So the mare waited. As the minutes ticked by, the line moved forward at a snail's pace. It felt like it would take an eternity! Thankfully, though, she finally reached the front of the line after about a half-hour.
The receptionist was an adult human, hair tied in a bun and blue robes on. "Welcome, how may I assist you?" asked the woman in a bored tone. She didn't even bat an eye at the appearance of such a strange creature.
Twilight looked at her. "I don't know where I am."
The woman sighed. "This is the Azorius Public Relations Headquarters."
"Oh, I know that. But, I don't know what this city is called."
An incredulous blink. "You're in Ravnica, the City of the Guilds. You know, the entire hub for the guild activities? Shouldn't you already know this?"
The alicorn frowned. "I kind of, sort of just got here. By planeswalking."
The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "A planeswalker?" She flipped through a booklet in front of the desk and read something carefully. "Take the door on your left and wait there until further notice." The woman glanced over the mare's shoulder. "Next."
"But I still have-"
"Next, I said."
Twilight sighed and trotted to the aforementioned door, turning it open and stepping inside. This room was not at all complicated; it was simply a square room with gray walls and gray floors. In the center of the room was a small metal table with two chairs. She sat in one with some difficulty, waiting patiently. In almost no time at all, a human with dark hair and blue robes stepped into the room. He sat in the chair opposite her. At once, she felt a rush of mana emanate from him. Surely he was a planeswalker too!
"Greetings," said the man without a hint of emotion. A white marking on one of his eyes stood out to her.
"Hello," replied Twilight. "My name's Twilight Sparkle. Who are you?"
"I'm Jace Beleren," replied the man. "And welcome to Ravnica, planeswalker."