Epilogue: Dark Intimations
Lunch went by without much of anything noteworthy happening.
Normally, Sunset wouldn’t have even bothered to make a note of that. But the fact that nothing noteworthy happened at lunch was, in itself, extremely noteworthy.
It was as if nothing had changed. As if Phyrexia had never invaded the plane in the first place. Because Phyrexia hadn’t invaded. As Time Turner had helpfully exposited, the entire plane’s timeline had been reset. Whether that meant time had been reset in all the other planes she wasn’t quite sure, and she was even less sure of whether Phyrexia had experienced the invasion on their end.
Sunset sighed, pressing her hand into her forehead as she leaned her elbows against the lunch table. “Ugh, this timey-wimey nonsense is giving me a headache. Twilight, do you have any idea how all of this even works?”
Twilight didn’t answer. She sat across the table from Sunset, pensively poking at her lunchmeat with a fork.
“Hello?” said Sunset. “Twilight?”
“Yipe!” Twilight exclaimed, nearly jumping out of her seat.
A slight pang of guilt shot through Sunset’s chest. “Jeez, sorry. You okay there?”
“No, it’s fine! I’m perfectly alright! It’s just, um...” Twilight’s eyes seemed to be actively avoiding Sunset’s gaze. “I was just, uhm, thinking. About the timeline reset. I-if the timeline’s been reset, then that means everyone’s alive again, right?”
“Well, yeah.” said Sunset. “That’s kind of implied, isn’t it?”
“E-exactly. A-and pretty much the entire school saw us kiss out there.”
“Yeah, so what? There’s nothing to be ashamed of for being into girls, Twilight. You know that.”
“No, you don’t get it! That’s not the problem!” Twilight shot back. “It’s not that I like girls, it’s about who’s alive again now!”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Hold on, what are you even talking about? Who are you even so worried about?”
Sunset took a moment to pause, letting her thoughts started to catch up to her mouth.
“Wait. Hold on. If we’re back to before the invasion started, and everyone’s alive again, then that means...” The realization galloped up to Sunset’s train of thought on horseback, and hijacked it at gunpoint.
“Oh. Oh my god, you’re still dating Tim—”
Twilight buried her face in her hands, and let out a loud groan.
“Hey, hold on, let’s not jump to conclusions here!” Sunset hurriedly cut in. “I’m sure if you just talk to Timber, and explain to him the situation—”
“Explain what?” Twilight hissed. “That the world ended? Sure, let me just walk right up to him and tell him about this wild apocalyptic invasion that literally nobody remembers, and also that none of us can prove ever happened!”
“I mean, technically, it didn’t—”
Twilight cut through Sunset’s words with a sharp glare.
“Right,” said Sunset. “Probably not helping there.”
“As if I didn’t have enough stress to deal with already, with the whole ‘awakening our world’s latent magic’ thing,” Twilight lamented. “Why does saving the world have to the world even more complicated, anyway?”
Sunset reached out, and gently placed her hand against Twilight’s. “Hey, don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. If we can beat Phyrexia, we can handle anything, right?”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s just... ugh.” Twilight exhaled deeply, and then glanced around furtively. “Hey, speaking of which, I don’t think anyone at school’s realized they have magical powers yet. So, uh... how exactly do we break it to them? Or, um... to the whole world, for that matter.”
Sunset opened her mouth, without being sure what her answer would be. She was, both thankfully and regretfully, saved the trouble of having to think of it herself.
A loud, fizzling pop resounded through the lunch hall, followed by a blinding flash and a cloud of smoke that billowed out from the center of the room. The entire lunchroom stopped in their tracks an gawked as a caped, behatted silhouette stepped out, dramatically sweeping her arms as she gestured to her newfound audience.
“Come one, come all! The greatest show of all time is about to begin! I may be the Great and Powerful Trixie, but you can be assured that my magic is no trick!”
Sunset pressed her fingers against her temples, massaging the throbbing headache that was beginning to form. This was going to be a long day.
————————
If lunch went by without much of anything happening, then the second half of the day went by with everything happening.
It was bad enough that, after Trixie’s impromptu show accidentally set one of the tables on fire, all of the other students started to realize that they had similar powers. Several students in gym class accidentally ended up breaking the equipment after finding a massive increase in physical strength. Others found themselves able to spontaneously generate wind currents, and still more could perform minor feats of conscious magic.
And that was before everyone started to realize that everyone else was experiencing similar new powers, all across the world. Checking her phone, Sunset found videos were already being uploaded to the internet of people with their newfound powers.
In scientific terms, as Twilight would put it, it was a total mess.
Despite the obvious gravity of the situation, people were surprisingly calm, and the remaining classes proceeded with little interruption. Once school was out, Sunset and her friends visited the local library — a quiet space to talk about everything that was happening was sorely needed.
“Okay, so,” said Sunset, trying her best to ignore the dull pain in her forehead. “Let’s start from the top. We’ve time-traveled to the Thursday before the Phyrexian invasion, except now everyone has magic. Now what?”
There was a pause for several seconds; everyone could only stare back blankly.
Sunset gave out a sight. “Alright, fine. One thing at a time. Has anyone heard from Starlight Glimmer? Do we know what happened to her?”
A bright yellow hand gently went up.
“Yes, Fluttershy? Have you seen her?”
“Um, not exactly,” Fluttershy answered. “But I did see all the posters about her seminar say it was cancelled. I asked a few people, they said they saw her, um, disappear.”
Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Disappear?”
“Oh yes, disappearing into thin air,” Fluttershy said. “They said she looked really sad for some reason.”
“Does... does she remember what happened?” Rarity chimed in. “Nobody else I talked to to seemed aware that anything had changed. Well, apart from all the magic we all have now, I suppose.”
Rainbow groaned. “Don’t tell me we’re gonna have to kick her butt again!”
“Now hold on, let’s not jump to conclusions here,” said Sunset. “With the Phyrexian corruption gone, we’ve no reason to believe she’ll be our enemy any more.”
“But ain’t she the one who invited Phyrexia into our world in the first place?” said Applejack.
“Yeah, good point!” said Pinkie. “How do we know she won’t just try again?”
A nagging thought pulled at the corner of Sunset’s mind. An intuition, one that she had dismissed earlier, but was impossible to ignore now.
“See, that’s the thing. I... I don’t really think it was Starlight that did that,” Sunset replied.
The eyes turned to her immediately indicated that she had everyone’s attention.
“Let me explain,” she continued. “When I was up there, and... channeling Harmony, becoming one with destiny and all of that jazz, I could... feel something. Something coming from inside of her. Suffocated by an oily darkness, screaming to be freed. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I think the Starlight we saw wasn’t really herself. She just as much a victim of Phyrexia as any of us were.”
Rainbow’s eyes furrowed. “Great. So then who was responsible, then? Whose butt do we gotta kick?”
Sunset hesitated. She was going to say she didn’t know. But the more she thought about it, the more she started to realize she probably did. She turned to Twilight, whose skin had gone pale.
“Twilight... you don’t think..?”
“Ether Seeker,” Twilight intoned. Hearing the name brought back a vivid memory, the man with the prosthetic arm made of seemingly living metal. “We... we know he had the glistening oil with him. I found a sample of it in his desk. I... I think the invasion might have been his plan all along.”
A sudden understanding hung over the group, choking out their lungs like a thick cloud of smoke.
“We should probably tell your brother,” Sunset said to Twilight. “And I’ll need to talk to the Princess.”
“Not saying that ain’t a good idea, but do you mean before or after we figure out what’s going on with all this magical hoodoo everyone has now?” Applejack replied. “In sixth period Ah saw someone someone use magic turn their paint into a color outside the visible spectrum! Hurt mah eyes just looking at it.”
“And I saw a bunch of students growing these glowy energy wings in gym class!” said Pinkie. “They couldn’t really fly with them, but it was still kinda weird! And that’s coming from me!”
“Not to mention all the plants in the school greenhouse that stopped wilting when other students were around them,” Fluttershy added. “They used to not get better no matter how much I talked to them.”
“And what’s strange is that nobody seems to be treating any of this like anything special,” said Rarity. “Trixie’s the only person who seems to think her new magic is something extraordinary, but... well, you know how she is.”
Twilight’s brow furrowed slightly. “Hm... Unicorns, Pegasi, Earth Ponies... those were the kinds of ponies in Equestria, right Sunset? Maybe people inherited their powers from their corresponding pony self? With some kind of subtle suggestion effect so that they see their new abilities as normal instead of a freak occurrence? If this is happening to everyone in our world, then maybe that’s part of the deal, too.”
“Whoa whoa whoa, hold on,” said Sunset. “You’re not seriously suggesting that Harmony brainwashed everyone in our entire world, are you?”
“Um. Well, think of it like this. Considering the alternative could be the entire human population panicking and lashing out, maybe it’s for the best?”
Sunset frowned, a sickening feeling forming deep within the pit of her stomach. The more she thought about the implications, the queasier she felt. “That... still doesn’t sound right. I don’t like the idea of Harmony using me that way.”
Twilight shook her head. “I don’t blame you for feeling that way. Nobody said the cosmic forces of the multiverse had to abide by human moral standards. I’m just saying, it is what it is. And it’s better than the Phyrexians, isn’t it?”
“Maybe. It’s just... ugh.” Despite the reassurance, Sunset couldn’t help but feel uneasy. She sighed, and buried her head into her palms.
Before she could spend too much time brooding, Pinkie zipped over to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, turn that frownie upside-downie! Sure, things are weird now, but we’re with you to help you work things out! That’s what friends are for, right?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” said Sunset. She looked up, and took in the sight of her friends — the people who had suffered so much, and endured so much, and come out of it all stronger than ever before. Twilight looked her in the eyes, and she found her anxiety melting away.
“It’ll be fine,” said Twilight, reaching out a hand and gently holding Sunset’s. “It’s like you told me earlier today. If we can beat Phyrexia, we can handle anything, right?”
————————
Meanwhile...
For what felt like the millionth time too many, Tezzeret found himself kneeling in deference. The Plane of Meditation was an endless pool of shimmering potential, and standing above it all was a massive throne, seating the tyrannical mind Tezzeret had been made to serve.
“...And that is what happened, Lord Bolas. I am sorry to report that the Phyrexians’ campaign was a failure.”
Tezzeret was expecting anger and disappointment. Nicol Bolas, Tyrant of Worlds, was not one to tolerate failure, and the scars Tezzeret held proved it. But to his shock, Bolas seemed quite the opposite of upset. On the contrary, his gleeful smirk only grew wider as Tezzeret spoke.
Bolas held up a hand. “Enough. You’ve no need to grovel any longer, much as I greatly enjoy it. For you see, everything has already transpired according to my design.”
Tezzeret was momentarily taken aback; but at the same time, he perhaps expected nothing less. An Elder Dragon was not one to admit failure. “Can you elaborate, Lord Bolas?”
“Simple,” said Bolas. “It is said that when the plane of Condordia was destroyed, it splintered into two parallel planes. But Harmony, the god-spirit of Concordia, could not sustain the existence of both. Unable to bring herself to destroy either plane, she allowed herself to perish from the strain instead. With the death of their god-spirit, both planes perished in turn.” Bolas grinned, baring his sharp, powerful teeth. “As you have seen, this was not the case. And as I predicted, Harmony instead greatly thinned the mana lines leading into one plane, eliminating the burden it imposed. Because she would care for Anthropia just as much as its twin, she would no doubt undo the seal if the plane were faced with a sufficient threat.”
“Like the invasion you orchestrated.”
“Precisely,” Bolas replied. “My plans for Ravnica will take some time to reach their fruition. In the meantime, I wish to entertain myself with the fate of these twin planes. The shards of the once-great realm of Concordia now lie squarely within my grasp.”
“And if I may ask, Lord Bolas, what do you intend to do with them?”
“You will see in due time, Tezzeret.” Bolas grinned, and steepled his clawlike fingers together. “For now, all we need to do is wait.”
————————
Exactly as I Foresaw It
Scheme
When you set this scheme in motion, look at the top seven cards of your library. Put two of them into your hand and the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
“This isn’t one of your pulp novels, planeswalker. Did you think I’d allow you to stand before me if you held the slightest chance of hindering my masterstroke?”
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Well uhh...that only took over a year to finish. Still, Nice finisher.
Gotta love Bolas. I'm guessing that Tezzeret was switching back and forth between Kaladesh and Anthropia then?
(looks at chapter title)
About that...
An emotional break leading to a person vanishing from existence? I'm sure it's nothing.
Just like this strange oil.Look, it's either that or panic cascading until nukes start looking like a good idea. It's not pretty ,but the alternative's even uglier.
Yeah. With a title like that—and Tezzeret's involvement, for that matter—it's clear how you'd end this one. We'll see what comes of this. Looking forward to finding out.
10829221
He was present on Anthropia only long enough to introduce the oil and then had planar probes monitor it in his absence. He’d be spending the bulk of his time on Kaladesh, occasionally reporting back to Bolas
10829228
I actually missed that, Starlight becoming a Planeswalker.
Makes me think she'd end up on Theros.
The kind of orderly tyranny that Heliod and the Order of Heliud espouse is EXACTLY the kind of idealogy that would appeal to Starlight.
10829229
Gotcha. I'm guessing that the whole Ravnica showdown will go quite differently in this story?
10829237
Yup.
Needless to say, I do not like War of the Spark’s story very much.
10829244
Yeah, I'm not a big fan either. TBH, I think they just wanted to get rid of Bolas for another decade or so.
What annoys me the most is that his storyline was centred around the Myojin of Nights Reach, and the Umezawa bloodline, and there was even a story about him sending Tezzeret to Kamigawa for some reason (where he got killed by the Kami, and Bolas somehow revived him).
They seem to have just abandoned that storythread entirely.
Just noticed the new chapter today. A few typos:
You're missing a word: “Why does saving the world have to make the world even more complicated, anyway?”
Missing word: use magic to turn their paint into a color outside the visible spectrum!
Aside from that, an interesting story. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't intrigued as to where you'll be taking the series.
Two things:
The group already went over Ether Seeker's involvement in an earlier chapter, where Sunset already explained that he was responsible. It seems that they forgot that part in this chapter.
What happened to the Dazzlings? I was disappointed that they weren't covered in the epilogue, since I like them. Did they also get reset? If so, Sunset's group should probably feel guilty about their gems again and go find them and restore them.
If not, why weren't they there?
Good story, only thing I'm disappointed with is that Sunset hasn't gotten to have any fun with being a Planeswalker yet. Went straight from becoming a Planeswalker to being split in half to zombie apocalypse.