Worst Fears
Filth. So much filth.
Even as she stood before Sunset and her friends, Gaea Everfree’s voice echoed from everywhere at once, a sound as though the ambient noises of the forest itself were hissing with scorn and contempt. And yet even then, the most unsettling things were the brief gaps between words. Though she couldn’t explain why, Sunset was certain that in the moments of silence there were other sounds just beyond her conscious hearing.
What business do you disgusting creatures have here? Was it not enough that you attempt to defile us with your putrid oil?
“W-w-w-well, um...” Fluttershy’s voice and body both shook uncontrollably. “A-Actually, M-miss Everfree... can I call you that? W-we, um...”
“We’re here to stop the Phyrexians,” Rainbow cut in. Though her eyes remained sharp, she was unable to conceal the fearful edge to her voice. “S-so, uh, if you could just let us through...”
Ľ̲ͥI͔̫̥̺ͫ̓͜Ě̵̪͕̲ͯ̄̄́ͩS͇͉͍̥̳̊͊̄̈́͊̀!̯̬̞̟̥̔̈ͬ͊̕
The abomination’s voice pierced the air like a falling redwood, its grating buzz lingering on Sunset’s ears in the silence that followed.
In the time since your forebears founded this settlement, your kind has done naught but spoil the land beneath you. You taint the rivers, stain the oceans, raze the forests, and suffocate the very air you breathe. Every passing year, the soil that you cultivate grows more barren, and yet you choose to remain oblivious to your self-destruction. We were content to let you engineer your own demise, so long as we remained sanctuary from your poisonous touch. But you filthy creatures could not even do that.
Her words scraped against Sunset’s eardrums like jagged rocks, each syllable sending chills deeper and deeper into her spine. With every passing moment, her monstrous form seemed to grow larger, her shadowed vines and leaves reaching further and further upwards, until she very nearly blotted out the blackened sky.
The infectious oil has already corrupted the lands beyond us, spreading its putrid disease across the very foundations of this world. Everything it touches is not merely blighted, it is desecrated. What were once proud examples of life’s beauty have become twisted and mangled, mutilated into shambling parodies of life itself. It was not enough for you to destroy that which sustains you. You had to go out of your way to mock it. And after you had sworn to spare us from your polluting machinations, you brought the oil directly into our domain.
Gaea Everfree’s crystalline aura burned ever brighter as she spoke, yet the harsh, shimmering glow did nothing to dispel the darkness around her. Instead it mingled and blended with the shadows, its blistering radiance emulsifying with the murky dimness, creating a darkness that burned Sunset’s skin with its heat and chilled her lungs with its coldness. All around her, silhouettes of shapes her mind couldn’t identify thrashed and quivered at the edge of her vision. Her heart pounded as her eyes darted around, struggling in vain to perceive the distant images lashing out from nearby.
Sunset’s head swam, and she reflexively reached out to the first thing she could hold to steady herself. She grasped Twilight’s shaking hand in a vice grip, feeling the cold sweat trickling off her palm. As they huddled closer to each other, the abomination’s form seemed to envelop them entirely. Though her shape remained unchanged, in every direction they looked, they could see the same mass of branches, vines, and leaves. The obscuring shadows illuminated Gaea Everfree’s rocky teeth, and she began to encroach upon them from everywhere at once.
Yes... we can taste your fear. You understand, then. You know what price you must pay for your transgressions. I want you to scream for me. Scream in terror. Scream in agony. Scream for help, knowing that none will arrive. And when the cold, silent embrace of death envelops you, you will die knowing there will be no one left to mourn.
“S-Sunset, what do we do?” Twilight whimpered.
“RUN!”
Sunset’s panicked cry immediately pushed all coherent thoughts out of her mind. She felt Twilight’s shivering touch leave as she sprinted, her friends becoming vague, indistinct blurs as they scattered across the camp. Sunset ran as fast as her legs could carry her, pushing herself away from the clearing and into the dim foliage of the Everfree Forest itself.
It was immediately clear that she had made a mistake. Not one second had passed after she entered the forest proper, and yet already the foliage had become thick and brambly, choking out the already-dim light from all directions. Sharp, low-hanging branches tore at her clothing as she ran, opening fresh wounds as they scraped against her skin. Yet despite the cries of her more rational mind, she pressed on, further and further into the depths of the wood.
Sunset had no idea how long she had been running. Only her pounding heartbeat, shortening breath, and burning exhaustion had given her any indication that she’d moved at all since she entered the woods. Even then, it was impossible to tell which direction she’d come from, or if she’d done anything other than run in circles.
Finally, Sunset’s legs gave out. With the adrenaline rush having worn out, her entire body was left feeling like jelly. She slumped onto her knees, pushing a sharp breath out of her lungs. The leave rustled, and harsh breeze blew across the forest, her wounds stinging from the rush cold air. Above, the canopy choked out the light, leaving everything shrouded in shadow.
But by far the worst of all thing of all was the creeping realization of loneliness. There was no sign of any of Sunset’s friends, no sign of any other living animal at all. Just her and an endless expanse of towering trees, their jagged limbs creaking and groaning in the wind. A soft whine escaped her lips.
Then, a twig snapped. Sunset’s body jolted straight, and a biting chill ran down her spine. Her head darted back and forth, looking for the sign of the disturbance, but the darkness of the forest remained absolute.
Another snap of a twig. A sharp rustling of leaves from overhead. Sunset craned her neck upward, and saw nothing.
And then, the silence of the forest was shattered by a blood-curdling shriek.
“Twilight!” Sunset stood to her feet almost instantly, and within mere moments she was already running. Though she attempted to herself in the direction of her friend’s cry, her perceptions betrayed her, as all around the twisting branches and gargantuan trees remained indistinguishable in the shadows.
There was another rustle of leaves overhead. Another voice screamed out, then was suddenly silenced.
“Pinkie!”
Sunset began to run in another direction, but she could neither tell which direction she was running in, nor the direction the scream came from. Her vision was swarmed with branches, swiping and clawing at her as she ran past them. New wounds were torn open, and old ones were torn open further, yet still she ran. She ran and ran, until her body was practically begging that she stop, yet still her instincts urged her to keep moving.
Another rustle, then another scream. Sunset froze like a deer caught in a pair of headlights, her entire body aching with fatigue. Her breaths were so heavy that they choked out all of her other senses, and her legs teetered as she struggled to remain upright.
“Applejack...”
Sunset pushed herself to run towards the scream, but her body refused to cooperate. The most she could manage were two sluggish, tumbling steps before she tripped over her own feet. The wet leaves beneath her crunched from the impact, and she was left face-down with a mouthful of dirt.
From there, everything became hazy. Sunset thought she had turned around and sat herself upright, but her every one of her senses had become so dulled that she couldn’t even make sense of what her own body was doing. The forest around her became a blur of darkened hues, a palate where all colors had blended into a singular mass of swirling grey.
On the edge of her hearing, two more voices screamed in unison.
“N-no... Fluttershy... Rainbow...”
It took all the energy she could gather to speak the words out loud. Her breath had become so choked that she could barely keep herself awake. Her thoughts turned to her friends as the last of her senses faded to nothingness...
...and then were suddenly pulled back into the realm of consciousness when something slammed into her at breakneck speed. A sharp pain shot through torso, and her ears were crossed with the sickening, wet crunch of her ribcage breaking at several points. Sunset’s eyes screwed shut involuntarily, her shriek of agony reverberating across her entire body. The pain in her ribs only intensified from the effort, and she was all but forced to stifle her own cries.
It had taken as much conscious control over her body as she could muster, but finally she had managed to silence herself. Though the pain in her chest remained excruciating, what was far more horrifying was the hot, sticky breath against her face. Her arms and legs were both pinned to the ground by an insurmountable weight, the touch of burning, leathery skin sizzling against her own.
Her heart pounding in her chest, Sunset forced her eyes open, and stared straight into her own face.
“You!”
“Yes,” said the She-Demon. “Me.”
Sunset gritted her teeth, and the She-Demon bared her own teeth in a vicious grin. Her eyes met her other eyes, the space between them thundering with tension.
“You... If you’re the one responsible for this, then... then...”
“Then what?” the She-Demon taunted. “You’ll stop me? Look around you, Sunset. Your precious little friends aren’t here. I’ve already done to them what you always wanted to do.”
Sunset closed her eyes and sighed. “...you’re right. I won’t stop you. I can’t stop you.”
The She-Demon chuckled to herself, her voice reverberating off the towering trees. “Really? Given up already? Come on, I expected you to at least put up some fight.”
“You didn’t let me finish,” said Sunset, her lips curving into a smirk. The She-Demon’s eyes widened, her grin predatory vanishing instantly from the display of confidence. “I can’t stop you because you’re not actually here. This whole thing is just an illusion!”
“What!?” The She-Demon’s jaw dropped as her form bolted upright, releasing the grip on Sunset’s limbs.
Sunset took advantage of the opening immediately. Her pain already forgotten, she kicked upwards and drove her right foot straight into the She-Demon’s groin, with enough force to shatter solid stone. Her doppelgänger howled in agony, the force of the impact sending her flying backwards. The She-Demon eventually collided with the trunk of a massive tree, sending little splinters of bark flying as her flight was halted by the impossibly sturdy wood.
As Sunset stood to her feet, every injury that she had suffered began to melt away. Her bones rapidly mended, her open wounds closed, and her torn clothes mended themselves, all brought on by the understanding that they were never there to begin with. The She-Demon stood to meet her, the fiery rage that once burned in her eyes dwindling to a mere ember.
“You made a big mistake, Gaea Everfree,” said Sunset. “You think I’m afraid of looking in the mirror? I’ve looked deeper than a being like you could possibly comprehend.”
“N-no! This is impossible!” the She-Demon’s voice slowly began to shift, the warped imitation of Sunset’s voice becoming a whispering chorus of rustling leaves. “We can taste your fear! Even now, we we can feel the guilt weighing down on your heart!”
“You must be confused,” Sunset countered. “That guilt has nothing to do with what I’m afraid of. So what if I feel bad about the things I’ve done? I’ve made mistakes; I’ll be the first to admit that. But why should I let that stop me? I came here to save the world, and more importantly, to save my friends! Those friendships are everything to me, and I sure as hell am not going to let you take it all away!”
With every sentence, Sunset could feel the determination pulsing through her soul. Magic surged from deep within her chest, pulling mana from lands beyond and gathering it into her hands. The edges of her vision, just beyond her primary field of sight, began to dance with colors. White, blue, black, red, green, and others so varied and vibrant she could barely count them all. It was a total saturation of hues and values, all lingering just at the edge of her perceptions, and yet at once it all remained impossibly beyond her reach. All she could touch were three of the colors — red, white, and black — and yet that was enough.
Sunset thrust her hands forward, channeling her magic into a powerful beam of destructive magic.
And all at once, the forest disappeared in a blaze of golden radiance.
————————
When Sunset’s vision returned, she found herself standing in the same part of the forest as before. Yet immediately, it was clear that things had change. The flickering, twisting shadows had receded, leaving only the usual dimness to be expected of the smog-dimmed sunlight filtering through the trees. She clutched her forehead with a palm, steadying herself as her head spun.
Jeez. That was unnerving.
I’ll say. I’m pretty sure Ego here just obliterated you in her dream.
Wha— Hey! I’m not the demon part of us! You’re the demon part of us!
As her head cleared, Sunset could see her six closest friends standing all around her in a circle, and yet it was clear from the dead, vacant looks in their eyes that none of them were present. Each of them whimpered pathetically, their bodies shivering and quaking as they remained firmly in place. They were together in body, yet in their minds they could not have been further separated.
“Girls?” said Sunset. “Girls, snap out of it! What you’re seeing isn’t real!”
“Huh...?”
Twilight’s eyelids fluttered, and for a moment it looked like she would stir, and yet still she remained entranced.
“You’ve got to wake up!” Sunset pleaded. “Whatever you’re seeing isn’t really happening! I’m here for you! We’re all here!”
Twilight let out a groan. Her gaze slowly began to drift back to reality, and soon her stirrings were joined by each of Sunset’s friends in turn. Twilight’s eyes twinkled gently as she finally returned to the realm of awareness. Before Sunset knew it, a pair of purple arms were wrapped tightly around her chest.
“Sunset! Ohmygosh, I’m so glad to see you! I was so scared!”
Sunset felt a snug, gentle warmth spread from Twilight’s touch, soothing her spirit as it burrowed deep into every corner of her heart. She smiled, and returned the hug eagerly, gently rubbing her hands across Twilight’s back.
“It’s okay. I was scared too, but I’m here now. Everything’s going to be okay.”
The two continued their embrace for longer than Sunset had bothered to keep track of, and yet still it didn’t feel like nearly long enough. She and Twilight both turned to face their companions, and Sunset’s stomach began to crawl as she realized just how deeply everyone was staring.
“Aww,” said Pinkie, “no ki— Mmph!”
A pearl-white hand forcefully clamped down on Pinkie’s mouth. “Ix-nay on the ipping-shay!” Rarity stage-whispered.
In the corner of her eye, Sunset noticed a sharp blush appearing on Twilight’s cheeks. Before she could ask what ‘shipping’ was, Applejack spoke up.
“So what in tarnation just happened?” Her head moved back and forth, looking over the unfamiliar stretch of woods. “And how in the heck did all of us end up way out here?”
“I’m not so sure about the last one,” Sunset replied. “But I think Gaea Everfree put us in some kind of nightmare so she could feed off of our fears. Did any of you happen to die in your visions, by any chance?”
The others shifted uncomfortably, avoiding Sunset’s gaze.
“U-um... I think I was about to,” said Fluttershy. “I-I was surrounded by animals I thought were my friends, but then they all turned on me, a-and this one bear mauled me a-and tore out my... my...” Fluttershy gulped audibly, cutting off her own sentence. “I was just about to lose consciousness before I heard you calling to me.”
Sunset winced, an reaction that was shared by all of her friends. Rainbow Dash leaned over and wrapped an arm around Fluttershy’s shoulder, her shuddering body steadying at her touch.
“It’s okay, Fluttershy. It was just a bad dream. We’re all okay, see?”
“B-but what if it wasn’t?” said Fluttershy. “Gaea Everfree, s-she... you saw what she did to Timber and Gloriosa. What if dying in those nightmares would have killed us in real life, too?”
Twilight coughed into a closed fist. “Well, that’s not exactly a hypothesis I’m keen on testing, if you catch my drift.” She reached towards her amulet, and held it out in front of her. The directional indicator pointed sharply to the west, its glow more intense than when Sunset last saw it. “Thankfully, it looks like we’re closer to our destination. We should get mov—”
F̸̞̼I͈̰͖ͅL͇͟T̴̻̳̪͍̗̗H!͏͉̼̻̼̲ ͓̲̮M̮̥̹i͙̤̱̭̟̞̼ṣ̺̕e̳͓̥̣r̨̬̤̠͚̱̻ͅá̘̞b̤̠͈̝l͎e̡̩͕͕̠,͖ ̸̯̰p̱̖̳͖͠u̧̥̯s͕t̥͇̫ṷ̷͖̥͖len̡͚̳̙̯̳̣̙t̳ ̶̲F̯̮͖̩̯I͕̳̠̰̰͙L̼̼̞̮͙T͈̼̝̮̞̹H̻͍̼͔̫͢!̡͈̱̱̤͙̠̟ ͈Y͍̯̲̱͎͖o̘͙̜̯̘u̼͇͟ ̟ẉ̩̗̀i͍͍̩̪͔͉l͚͕̙l͖̥̰̗̯ ͘n͢o̭̤̟̤̫̹̕t̠̘̙̘ ̸̱̼̲̻̤͍̥e̛̼͔̥͍̳͙̲v͕a̯̩̩͈̯ḓ̭̻̬e̸̙̭ͅ ̯͖̞̭̼̺͜u҉̥͉͙͎͎̟ͅs̷̝͉͖!̟̫̮͈̰͔͢ͅ
Sunset grabbed onto Twilight’s hand like a vice-grip. “Correction: we should get moving, and quickly.”
“Rainbow, darling, you’re faster than all of us,” said Rarity. “You should get out of here while you can.”
“Are you crazy!? I’m not going to go sonic speed if it mean leaving you all in the dust! Now let’s quit wasting time and get out of here before that thing finds us!”
Sunset couldn’t bring herself to argue any further, and judging by their reactions, neither could any of her friends. Before anyone could speak another word, they were all running into the forest, plunging even deeper into the unknown.
————————
Nightmare in the Woods B
Sorcery
When you cast Nightmare in the Woods, any opponent may pay 3 life. If a player does, counter Nightmare in the Woods.
Target player reveals their hand. You choose a nonland card from it. That player discards that card.
”Filthy creature, you are not chosen. There is nothing to choose you. Your friends are forgetting you, while we are remembering you.”
—Gaea Everfree
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8810079
If you want to start discourse, I’ll ask you to do it somewhere else. I’ve grown exhausted enough of it on more serious discussions, please don’t bring it here.
I don't see any 'they' in the card ability.
8810151
Two things.
1. You may want a clear way to differentiate between blue and black in the mana cost since they both start with B.
2. On some "cards" I've seen a 'U' in the mana cost, and I'm not sure what that means.
Otherwise I've been enjoying the series. Keep it up.
8810319
B is black, U is blue.
This is definitely intended to be black, as it is basically an arguably worse Duress.
8810319
Magic officially uses "B" for black mana and "U" for blue mana.
I imagine Gaea Everfree sounding like the Spirit of Carnak as portrayed in ME: Shadow of War.
8810333
8810470
Ah, thanks for clarifying. That makes a lot of things make sense.
"Yeah, take it from yourself, you're gonna want to be careful about the 'embracing all magic' thing."
Pretty sure you're missing a key "not" there.
In any case, very apt card for a nicely tense chapter. The thing about nature avatars is they aren't the best at determining what the real threat is, just that they're being threatened. And then they defend themselves. It's only natural.
Now, let's hope the sirens have fared better in these woods. Maybe the Stump of Harmony will offer a temporary reprieve from Gaia's wrath.
8810333
Unlike Duress, it can hit creatures.
Did Sunset find a way to access that purple mana from an alternate Planar Chaos set?
8810915
Thanks for the correction, fixed.
8810104
Can do, boss. Didn't realize that I wasn't wanted here, either