> Friendship is Magic: The Gathering > by TyHunter > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Chase > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jace was exhausted. He had tread the thicket of the Llanowar for days, hoping that his pursuer would tire and give up on her hunt. He had been attacked several times while wandering aimlessly through the savage undergrowth of Dominaria's most forested section, yet nothing could come to close to harming him. He easily vanquished all that the Llanowar could throw at him, including dangerous beasts, war-mongering elves, and adept druids. Jace clutched the small crystal in his left hand, and could feel the immense waves of power the crystal seemed to give off, as if the pressure of such powerful magic would erupt within the crystal at any moment. When it surged, he knew it's true owner was close by, probably stalking him, and now, it felt as if it had a heart of it's own, pulsating rapidly in his palm. Feeling this, Jace quickly cast a camouflage spell, knowing that the pyromancer couldn't hit with a fireball, that which she couldn't see. Suddenly a burst of flame made itself visible only a few hundred feet away. "No!" Cried the pyromancer, "Show yourself thief! Give me back what is rightfully mine!" Jace knew he could do no such thing, so he sat completely still, not making even the slightest noise. "Mage!" She yelled once again, "I shalt not tolerate this!" And with those words she unleashed a devastating whipflare, cutting down several trees and setting even more aflame. Jace had to jump out of the way of the sudden, fiery slash, thus, breaking his concentration on his spell and revealing him to the fiery planeswalker. He ran the opposite way, with no hesitation, and she followed, burning and shriveling the hindervines in her way, effectively increasing her pace. "Give up the stone, mage, and I shall make your death quick!" She bellowed. "Please understand, I simply can't!" Muttered Jace under his breath. Jace ran even faster, and before long, he grew weary. He noticed a clearing not too far ahead, and knew that if he could bring this crazed sorcerer there, he could get the upperhand. He made that his priority, and using this new found goal as a second wind, he sprinted faster through the underbrush. Upon coming to the clearing, though, Jace realized he had made a deadly mistake. This "clearing" was the end of a cliff, which dropped down, too far for the mage to see. He couldn't stop himself in time, and he leaped as he came to cliff, much preferring this fate to whatever one lay with him and the pyromancer. And he plummeted. Down. Down. and even down further. "Ahhhhhh!" Jace faintly heard the sorceress yell, from pure rage, at the top of the cliff, as he fell. He panicked. He couldn't die now. He had the key to peace on his plane. He couldn't just let it go that easy. He needed to calm down. Jace surveyed his situation... He was falling. He couldn't see the bottom of the great gorge, but at the rate he was falling, he was sure it would make itself visible pretty soon. He had a small bit of time. Calm down Jace told himself. And, being a master at clearing his mind, he was calmed in an instant. He couldn't allow himself to die. He couldn't hit the ground. He needed a portal...or a rift! He could rift to another plane! Then, he would be safely away from the wicked witch, and wouldn't die! Then, he saw the the bottom of the gorge. He didn't have time to rift to a plane he knew. He would have to think too long for it... Then, he remembered the crystal he still held tight in his hand. With his own will, and the power of whatever this shard was, he could probably planeswalk to an unknown plane. But, no planeswalker would ever do such a thing. They never knew what might present itself in an unknown plane. Horrible creatures, toxic gases, hell, even a realm of molten lava was a scary thought. But... Jace had no other choice. He decided to risk it. He clutched the crystal hard, and started reveling the spell in his head. He started to get closer and closer to the bottom of the gorge. He thought harder. It still wasn't working. Why wasn't it working?! He was only a few hundred feet away from the ground now. He tried one last time. He screamed as he mustered all his willpower toward this task, and the shard cut slivers in his hand as he squeezed it with all his strength. Suddenly, a bright, white light flashed around him, and he realized his attempt was successful. But, this was different than normal. Instead of planeswalking somewhere...he was nowhere. He was in Oblivion... And then, he was undergoing a transformation. He felt his legs shorten, fatten, and stiffen. His eyes grew larger. His posture was bent, and his neck and face elongated. It wasn't so painful, as it was uncomfortable, feeling his body stretch and his matter shift. His hair shifted back and down his neck, in a horse's mane, and a tail grew from his backside. His skin turned a dark blue, and his pupil's widened. A horn grew from his forehead, and was covered mostly by his hair. The hair or his mane and tail stayed black, and suddenly, he felt his transmutation cease. He longed to see himself, what he had just been turned into...and he wondered WHY he had been transformed in the first place. With another flash, he was falling again. This time, it lasted only a split second though, before he realized he was being suspended in mid-air. He looked down to see what was causing this, only to see a cloud of butterflies, slowly descending towards the ground. As he reached the earth, and stepped off of the makeshift butterfly platform with a bit of difficulty, he heard a timid voice come from behind him. "Oh, uh, hi. Are you okay?" It spoke softly from behind him. He turned to face what had spoken, surprised to see, not a human, or even a humanoid creature for that matter, but a light yellow pegasus with bright pink hair. This place? These creatures... is this what he looked like now? Like a... pony? He didn't seem to have wings as this one did though. Jace checked quickly to be sure he still held the crystal. Though, he couldn't actually hold it, it found itself a level place on his back, where it stayed while he moved. He spoke back to the creature," Yes, I'm fine. The butterflies... were they your doing?" The pegasus replied, "Oh, yeah. I saw you falling, and I didn't want you to get hurt. I would hate to see somepony in the hospital if there was a chance of me preventing it." Jace felt respectful toward the creature, it..or she... had saved him after all. Maybe not from death, but at least a few broken bones or mortal wounds. "I'm very grateful. My name's Jace... and... I guess you could say I'm kind of lost..." "I'm Fluttershy..." The pegasus said quietly, " I know somepony who could help you, if you'd like..." "That would be fantastic." Said Jace, as he started to fall in stride beside Fluttershy. "Do you mind if I ask you a few things, Fluttershy?" Jace was curious about a lot of things in this realm... where it was, and what is was called, being his top priorities. "No, I don't mind at all." Said Fluttershy with a sincere smile. She always looked Jace right in the eyes as she talked. Jace liked that, he had known her not five minutes, and he already found her to be somewhat... kind and trustworthy. Jace started to question Fluttershy about where he was, as they trotted down a dirt path, with a wooden fence on one side, guarding the largest grove of fruit trees Jace had ever seen. They were on their way to Ponyville. > The Spark Ignites > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equestria. That's what the light-hearted, yellow pony, Fluttershy, had called this plane. Equestria, land of Ponies. Jace listened intently as Fluttershy answered each of his questions, usually in short responses, but she had told him enough. More than Jace had hoped, seeings he was a stranger to her. Jace understood the way the different ponies worked together in this realm. Earth Ponies, he saw as regular Mundanes in his own world. Tending to crops and farming the Earth, as they were meant to do. The Unicorn being the magic-bearer's, and the Pegasi, he could only associate with the angels. He knew how inaccurate he could be ,as he only scavenged a small bit of information, from only one person, or "pony", however. But he decided this was an easy way to remember the information he had gathered. Jace and Fluttershy walked side by side on their way to Ponyville. He could see the buildings from where they were, but it seemed they still had a ways to go. Jace would see another pony here and there, some harvesting crops, some walking the direction opposite of Ponyville, and some simply living in the outskirts of the city. Each had greeted the two happily, and they had said their "Hello's" back. Jace admired how nice everyone treated each other here, he wasn't used to it. Soon, the two ponies were close to Ponyville. Jace could see the many houses, all painted a variety of colors, creating a welcoming rainbow in the town. He slowed as he walked across a small bridge, admiring the beauty of such a simple thing. And as they crossed it, he was filled with the aroma of fruit and pastries. "This is it.." Fluttershy said quietly, "I can show you the way to the pony who could help you now, well, if you'd like me to, that is..." Jace didn't understand why she had doubted herself so. Was she shy of him? He had hoped this wasn't the case, he had come to like the Pegasus, and would want to stay friends with her. "Yes, Fluttershy, that's fine." Jace said cheerfully, with a smile. "Ok," Fluttershy said, happy that Jace was smiling at her, and being kind towards her. "Uh, It's this way." Fluttershy started to walk forward, deeper into the city. Jace followed behind her, admiring everything about Ponyville. He was used to large spires and the huge buildings that were established in Ravnica, this small town was a new sight to him, and especially the way the ponies acted toward each other. Jace soon found himself standing in front of a large tree in the middle of the town. There were windows on the outside and a door, so Jace figured something lived here. Perhaps the tree was hollowed? Fluttershy knocked quietly. After a few moments, the doorknob turned, and out came a small, green and purple dragon. But, this dragon had no wings! And how small it was! Jace had to stifle a chuckle as he layed eyes on the dragon. But this also confused him. How did dragons fit into this society? Perhaps the pony who could help had a few answers. "Hi, Spike" Said Fluttershy. "Twilight wouldn't happen to be here... would she?" "Yeah, she's here." Answered Spike, "Reading. Like always. Who have you got with you Fluttershy?" "Uh, oh, he just came here. From the sky." Fluttershy replied. Spike eyed Fluttershy oddly. Jace knew why. She said he was from the sky! Of course no one would believe that. Of course, technically, that is how he ended up here. Spike then looked at Jace. He saw the crystal on his back, and his eyes yearned for it. "What have you got there?" Spike asked Jace. "Oh, this? It's a crystal. I need it for something. To tell the truth, I don't really know why..." Jace answered truthfully. He didn't know why he needed this. All he knew was that the inscription in the maze had asked for a "shard of rock, infused with the power of Planeswalker", and this rock perfectly matched the description. It had allowed him to planeswalk here. All he needed to do was get back to Ravnica and insert it into the tablet now, and hopefully he could work from there. But, now, he had a minor setback. Also, for some reason oblivious to him, he couldn't perform magic on this plane. Perhaps the landforms didn't hold mana? Or maybe there was a difference to the way magic was done here, but he was determined to find out. "Well, ok." Spike said sadly, "Twilight! Fluttershy's here with somepony for you!" He called to somebody in the tree-house," I'm going to the Cake's." He said as he walked out the door, and past Jace and Fluttershy. Then, a purple unicorn came to the door. "Hey, Fluttershy!" She said, " Oh, whose this? I've never seen you around Ponyville before." She was eyeing Jace now. Fluttershy spoke up. "He's lost, he needs help, Twilight. I thought you could be the one to help him... if that's okay.." "Of course!" the Unicorn answered, "I'm Twilight Sparkle, pupil of Princess Celestia, I'm sure you're familiar with her. And you are...?" "Jace." Jace answered. "And... well, I'm not from these parts so to speak. I actually don't know who this Princess is. I didn't even know where I was until earlier. Fluttershy here helped me a lot." Twilight looked disheveled after the comment about Jace not knowing who the Princess was, but had quickly regained her fairness and Fluttershy blushed at Jace's compliment. "Oh really? That was nice of you Fluttershy." Twilight said. "Could you do me a favor actually? "Sure, Twilight." Fluttershy replied. "Could you tell Pinkie Pie that I won't be making it to lunch with her? She should still be at the Cake's." "Of course I will Twilight.." And Fluttershy trotted happily in the same direction the dragon had gone. "Now, Jace, would you like to come in?" Asked Twilight. "Sure. Thanks very much." Jace said, with a polite nod, as he walked through the door and into the large tree. Jace couldn't believe what he saw. Books on shelves lined the whole room that the door had opened to. The walls were filled with blueprints and checklists, rituals and spell words. Telescopes and globes lined the floor to the sides of the room. There was a small balcony across from where the door was and up a flight of stairs, that led to, what Jace had thought to be Twilight's room. Books were piled on the floor in various places. Jace read a few of the titles: History of Magic-Vol. 1 Starswirl's Lost Handbook Ghosts and the Paranormal THIS reminded Jace of his own home. He was definitely a never ending seeker of knowledge and he had read more books than most of the libraries in Ravnica could hold. Nicol Bolas was the only other being that Jace knew that could honestly say that he held more knowledge than him. Though Jace had tried to read Bolas' memory, Bolas' thought block spell was too powerful, not allowing Jace to gather any information whatsoever. "Sorry it's such a mess in here. Let me just tidy up real quick." Said Twilight. She then began to levitate books into their correct spots on shelves, making organization a priority. Jace was exhilarated! Was this magic she was using to levitate these books? He was a mage himself, how was it that none of his spells worked here?! "Magic! You're using magic!" Jace said enthusiastically, "So magic DOES work here! I'm a sorcerer myself, but I can get none of my spells to work right!" Twilight finished putting the last book away as Jace ended his sentence. "But... you're a Unicorn. You don't know how to do magic?" Twilight asked, clearly confused. "No. Well yes. I do. I mean, I can. Just... can I explain something to you Twilight Sparkle?" Jace asked. Twilight was confused, but understanding towards Jace. She knew he needed help, and he obviously wasn't from Equestria. "Of course Jace." Twilight said understandingly. Jace hesitated. Then, he explained to her who he was, and how he came to be on this plane. He had put much trust in this Unicorn, but a fellow practitioner of magic was someone Jace thought he could trust. And it seemed she had understood him. "So you already know magic... you just don't know how to use it here! Of course! Well, you see, only Unicorns can cast magic in Equestria. and it's channeled through our horns. Try focusing your spells there." Said Twilight confidently. Jace nodded. He closed his eyes and searched through his head for a pathway to his horn. He reached it soon, and when he had, it was a whole new feeling to him. It felt as if cold water had been poured down the length of his spine, and then started to rise back up and out of his horn as he started to levitate a book off of a shelf, and toward his self. Jace was elated! He figured out how to work magic on this plane! He had always been so fond of his sorcery, he had never really thought of life without it. He now knew he could barely live without it. Suddenly, something caught his eye from across the room. The light had shone on one of six gems, sealed in a glass case, and had been reflected into his periphery. He walked toward them, curious about their existence, and deeply admiring the intricacy of what seemed to be five amulets and a crown, each with it's own colored symbol. A red lightning bolt, a blue balloon, a violet diamond, a pink butterfly, an orange apple, and, in the middle of them, sat a crown, with a large, beautiful, six pointed star, tainted a light hue of violet. "Hey, Jace." Said Twilight, noticing his fascination with the jewelry, and knowing that, unlike most of her friends, this pony might be interested in learning more about Equestria. "Do you mind if I tell you a story about those? They're called the Elements of Harmony, and they've got a very interesting background, trust me." Said Twilight with a smug smile. Jace knew the story before she had even thought of telling it to him. He had learned how to use his magic now, and had watched the whole story in the back of Twilight's mind. He thought it best to keep this to himself, though. "You have my full attention, Miss Sparkle." Said Jace, loyally. Jace listened as Twilight told her story. Though he knew the whole thing, he found the details in Twilight's story more interesting than what he had found in her head. She explained how each of the 6 Elements, of which he had met two, discovered what element they were. And, ultimately, defeating Night Mare Moon. Jace clapped as Twilight's story coming to an end. This pony was impressive. She was the smartest in this land, and he was in her presence. He knew he had made the right choice to trust her. Finally, Jace had a question. "Can I... or, can you open this glass cover? I'd like to examine these more closely if you don't mind..." Twilight hesitated, but decided to trust Jace. "Ok, just please be careful. I...I trust you." Twilight said as she levitated the glass off of the Elements. Jace looked at the crown first. It was absolutely stunning. He levitated the crystal off of his back to compare the two. They were both crystals, so of course they looked the same, and Jace could definitely feel the power resonating from these crystals also. Twilight inspected Jace carefully. His posture, facial expressions, everything. Nothing went unnoticed by Twilight Sparkle, especially if the Elements of Harmony were involved. Jace then reverted his gaze to the pink amulet depicting a butterfly. He once again compared the crystals. Slowly, he started to move his shard toward the crystal butterfly. Twilight was scared as to what might happen. She didn't know what this crystal was that this pony had! But she kept quiet, deciding to trust Jace. Jace touched his crystal to the butterfly. As he did, a small flare ignited, shocking Jace and making him drop his crystal. It fell to the floor and he swiftly levitated it back to his face. Something was different about his crystal now... It now had a small, thin, pink band in it. The Element glowed bright pink and then, stopped. It was as if nothing happened. "Jace, what happened?!" Twilight asked, concerned. "I don't know! I didn't mean to!" Jace proclaimed, "Nothing seems to have changed. Perhaps, it was just nothing? As if two of the same poles were to touch, they possibly just pushed each other away." Twilight liked this theory. She understood Jace was an intellectual person. "Perhaps you can tell me more about where you're from Jace?" Twilight asked, trying to divert him away from the Elements of Harmony. Not that she had stopped trusting him, they were just too fragile for such a new pony. She put the glass case back on the their stand. "Sure, Twilight Sparkle." Said Jace, diving in to another story about Ravnica. He was eager to take the attention off the Elements. He knew something had happened, he just didn't know what. He didn't tell Twilight about the pink band on his own crystal. ***************************************************** Fluttershy was on her way back to her cottage from the Cake's. Pinkie had been quite disappointed about Twilight's rescheduling of their lunch. Suddenly, she felt a surge through her body. It was quite painful and uncomfortable for poor Fluttershy. She was lifted into the air and she screamed. "Help! Somepony, help me!" She screamed louder than she had ever screamed before. The pain was unbearable. Then, a white light flashed before Fluttershy's eyes, and as she opened them, she realized she wasn't in Ponyville. She was in a field. It was dark, and the moonlight was the only illumination the frightened pony had. Dense forest was to her left, and more field was to her right. Straight ahead, however, there was a cabin. Fluttershy sobbed quietly and walked slowly to the cabin. As she looked into a window on it's side, she saw something. Something was dead inside of the cabin. She didn't know what... some creature. It had four limbs, just as the ponies had, except each had five smaller limbs on the ends of them. It's skin was a pale color, and it's hair was black. It looked as if it had a dress on. And in it's throat, a dagger lay. Blood surrounded the creature. Fluttershy gasped and cried a bit louder, looking away. She had hoped to seek refuge in the cabin until daylight, but she couldn't be in there with that! She couldn't stand this! Where was she?! Then, she heard a loud crack, as the door was swung open. Fluttershy looked back in through the window. Standing in the doorway, was a large creature, the same type as the one lying motionless on the cabin's floor. This one had shorter brown hair, and wore a green cloak, with a large brown belt. An axe was pinned to it's back and it wore helmet that covered the top half of his face. This creature looked sickly, though. Fluttershy could tell it needed rest. The creature walked right past the dead one, on two legs, and went to another part of the cabin. Fluttershy, lay down right there beside the shelter and cried. Dozens of forest animals came to comfort her. Soon, she cried herself to sleep. > Sub-chapter -*Fluttershy*- Soulbound > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fluttershy woke with an abrupt jerk. She had forgotten where she was for a moment, before realizing she didn't know where she was in the first place. She started to cry silently again, and she layed her head down on her hooves. The sleeping critters around her stirred as they realized their new friend had awoken. They started to comfort the Pegasus again, patting her on the back and straightening the knots in her hair. Then, Fluttershy looked up suddenly, hearing voices from the front of the cabin. "This is the cabin, is it not, Grete?" She had heard somepony say. Most likely not somepony but something... what else could she call them? She didn't know what they were. She stayed quiet and listened from the side of the cabin. "Yes, sir. If I'm not mistaken, she should be here." She heard another one say. Then, Fluttershy heard the stomping of their boots as they approached the door to the cabin. Loudly, one of them knocked on the door. Fluttershy heard as the creature she had seen last night got up and walked to the door from the other room of the cabin, away from the rotting, dead one. She peeked in the window, and saw the large thing in green hesitate to open the door. But he did. "Garruk?!" The creature on the outside of the cabin, the one in charge, gasped shockingly. She could see the dominant one clearly now. It wore a long white cloak, with an iron chestplate. On his side, it carried a sword in a sheath. It had white hair. "Odric." The one named Garruk, nodded respectfully toward the armored creature. Then, the armor-bearing "Odric" glanced behind Garruk, notcing the decomposing corpse on the floor of the cabin. "You! I've always knew not to trust you! And here you are, slaughtering the innocent of Torbach! You shall die at my blade!" Odric vented. Fluttershy was scared. She knew that Garruk hadn't killed that creature. Garruk had stumbled upon it about the same time she had. Why hadn't Odric asked what had happened? Why had Odric just concluded that this poor creature committed such a horrid crime? It actually made Fluttershy quite angry as she watched the rest of what was happening. Odric unsheathed his sword and walked toward Garruk. "No, Sir, spare him!" The other man yelled. "Why spare someone worth so little? A complete waste of breath." Odric replied, eyeing Garruk. Fluttershy could hold her anger no longer. NOPONY could talk about somepony that way! Why was this creature being such a bully?! And, before she knew it, she jumped in the window of the cabin, between the two warriors. "LOOK HERE YOU BIG MEANIE!" Fluttershy yelled as loud as she could at Odric, her back turned to Garruk, "Stop being so mean to Garruk! It didn't do this, and you didn't ask what happened! You just assumed and that's not fair at all! So you can just turn around and go be mean somewhere else!" Odric was speechless. Being an elite member of the Gavony Riders, he wasn't use to being spoken to this way. He felt disrespected from this thing's words. He didn't know what this small pony creature was, and, truthfully, he didn't care. It would pay for what it had said. "Nobody, or creature, for that matter, speaks to the commander of the Gaa...-" Odric paused mid-sentence. Fluttershy was staring at him. Odric felt unease from the way that the creature stared. A cool sensation rippled through his body. He couldn't break away from the creatures eyes. Fluttershy stared at Odric the same way she did anypony else when they had done something wrong. Feeling tugging sensations coming from the forest that was now behind her, she used it to her advantage, staring harder and with more power at the commander. Odric sheathed his sword. He was fully in control of himself, but this stare... It was just thought bending. He couldn't comprehend what was happening. "Sir...?" Grete asked from the doorway. Seeing what was happening to Odric, Grete revealed another sword, unsheathing it from his own side, and walked slowly toward Fluttershy. Fluttershy noticed this and she was scared. She didn't know what to do. Then, she heard a voice in her head. "Close your eyes. Call upon your friends from the forest. They will help you." She heard a gruff, familiar voice say. And she did. Using the tugging sensation from the forest as motivation and power, she closed her eyes and thought hard. And suddenly, a large, black bear broke through the side of the cabin with a long swipe of it's paw, launching Odric across the cabin along with much debris. Odric quickly found his footing and looked worriedly toward Grete. "Another walker!?" Odric called to Grete Grete looked toward Odric, then at the bear, and ran out the door. "Your crimes will not be forgotten brute!" Odric said to Garruk, and with another glance toward the yellow pegasus, he was out the door. Then, as quickly as the bear came, it was gone. Fluttershy turned to the confused, but calm, Garruk that was standing behind her. "Oh, are you okay?" She asked. Garruk bent down on one knee to be at an equal stance with the creature. "Thank you. Truly, I am grateful." He said. Garruk's voice. It was the one that spoke to Fluttershy in her head. "You... you talked to me... in my head...how did you-?" Fluttershy inquired. She didn't feel the usual shyness she did around everypony else. Garruk made her feel different. As if she had already known him for a long time. An old friend. "I don't know. I don't do that kind of magic. But, I realized I could after reading your thoughts." Garruk explained, "I've never seen your type before. Where are you from?" Fluttershy replied, "Equestria. Where am I? How did I get here?" "Equestria? I've not heard of that plane. And this is Innistrad. You must have planeswalked. You should know that? Wait... how long have you been how you are?" The only thing Fluttershy understood from this answer was that she was in a place called Innistrad. Planeswalked? How she was? What did Garruk mean? "I mean how long have you been a planeswalker, small Fluttershy?" Garruk answered her thoughts. "A.. a planeswalker?" Fluttershy asked. "Ah, that answers it. You coming here, it wasn't on purpose was it?" Garruk asked, understandingly. "No..." Fluttershy answered. "Well don't worry, I'll help you out as much as I can." Garruk said, "I do owe you, after all." Then, he rested his hand on the side of Fluttershy's back. Suddenly, Garruk's memories came flowing into Fluttershy's mind. She felt Garruk's early childhood, his adolescence, all the way up to the present. She felt how he had taken the blame for his father's death, and how he feared no one would forgive him for this. How he had been cursed and how so many feared him, which is why he took refuge in the forest. And, likewise, Fluttershy's memories came to Garruk. He felt her sadness as she was picked on as a small pony. Her shyness around all the others on her plane, which is why she took refuge in the forest. They knew everything about each other. "A soulbond? With an... Equestrian? A pony, or pegasus, whatever it is you are?" Garruk said. Fluttershy felt a little hurt from his words. She didn't make it happen, it wasn't her fault... "I'm sorry..." Fluttershy said, looking at the ground. Garruk looked at her. "I forgive you..." But it wasn't Garruk who said this, it was from the mouth of Fluttershy. She was forgiving Garruk, for the death of his father. Something Garruk had expected nobody ever to do. And, yet, here it was, coming from a stranger he had met only 3 minutes before. Garruk picked up the pegasus in a strong embrace. At first, Fluttershy was scared, and then she realized Garruk was hugging her, and she smiled. "Fluttershy..." Garruk prompted as he set her back down on the cabin floor, "Why are you here?" "I don't know." She answered, "I just was walking... and, I started to levitate...and then, I started to cry... I was really scared... then, a bright flash happened... and... I ended up here." "The spark had to be ignited some way... did you do anything different? Find anything new? Meet anyone knew?" Anyone? She had met somepony new... Jace. Just as she thought this, Garruk read it in her head. "Jace?! Jace Beleren?! And he's a unicorn!" Garruk was amused. "You know Jace?!" Fluttershy asked. "Yeah, he's also a planeswalker. Along with myself, and you too." Garruk said. "Wait...so you can get me back to Equestria?!" Fluttershy couldn't hide her excitement. "Yeah, definitely, especially since I know Jace is there. But, I'm gonna have to do it through your thoughts, Fluttershy." Garruk explained. He understood how much she yearned to be home. And Fluttershy had saved his life... kind of. She also was soulbound with him. He needed to help her. "What do you mean 'through my mind'?" Fluttershy asked. "Just close your eyes and tell me about your home, Fluttershy." Garruk said. Fluttershy did as she was told. "Well, I live in Ponyville... In Equestria. It's filled with lots of nice ponies, including my best friends in the whole wide world..." Fluttershy began to explain. Garruk used her image as his own means of walking. Garruk promised himself he would get Fluttershy home, promised himself this would work. In the middle of her rant, Fluttershy heard his promise and smiled. She would be home soon. > Pinkie Pie Promise > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Twilight!" A pink pony yelled, while crashing through the doorway of the library and broke Jace mid-sentence as he was describing the plane of Ravnica to Twilight Sparkle. "How dare you break your promise with me!" She yelled toward Twilight again. "Pinkie, can't you see I'm talking with somepony? I'm sorry, and I never promised you anyways!" Twilight said to her. "Okay, maybe you didn't exactly promise, but you said you would! And who's that?" The pony said. "Pinkie Pie, this is Jace. Jace, this is Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter." Twilight said. Jace knew who this pony was before Twilight had even told him, he had remembered her from Twilight's memories. Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter. A spirited, fun-loving pony, who could become quite obnoxious at times, but it was all in good heart. Jace attempted to read Pinkie's mind and then realized... he couldn't. But why was this? He could read Twilight's mind with ease, not even trying, it seemed that Twilight was the only pony whose mind he could read, recalling he couldn't hear Fluttershy's thoughts either. And he didn't understand this. "Well, hi!" Pinkie said, "Where are you from? How'd you get here? Oh, you're a unicorn! Can you do magic? Are you better than Twilight?" Pinkie rambled on and on with questions and Jace laughed. "Pinkie!" Twilight exclaimed, "Did you see Fluttershy on the way back?" Twilight was trying to get Pinkie to be quiet, she didn't want Jace feeling uncomfortable and bombarded. "Hmmm... No." Pinkie answered. "I need Fluttershy. Something weird happened with her Element, and I want to see if anything odd is happening with her." Pinkie Pie raised her hand. "Ooh, ooh! I'll get her! I'll get her! But you have to time me! Okay? Okay, ready, go!" And then Pinkie Pie was back out the door. "Sorry about Pinkie..." Twilight said to Jace. "Oh, no harm done. She's just a curious little pony is all." Jace said understandingly. Then, the crystal on his back started to pulsate rapidly. He hadn't felt it surge this powerfully since his pursuit with Chandra, and it scared him. Was she here? Or had she done something that triggered a change in it? "What's wrong?" Twilight asked. Jace was confused. How did Twilight sense how distraught he was? "I can hear it in your head..." She answered his unspoken words, "I'm sorry, I don't know how, I can just hear your thoughts. I thought you had been channeling them to me. But, now I know it's not on purpose. I don't mean to..." This confused Jace even more. No one could read his mind! He had always made sure of that... Then, the crystal stopped pulsating. Twilight looked at Jace, and was about to say something, when Pinkie Pie burst through the doorway again. "Flutter. Shy. Is. MISSING!" She exclaimed, "She's not at her cottage, and Angel hasn't seen her all day, and nopony's seen her since she walked to tell me you BROKE MY PROMISE! The critters even said she wasn't anywhere near the forest!" It had been about 30 minutes since Twilight sent Fluttershy to relay her message to Pinkie Pie. What had happened between then? Twilight looked back at Jace. "What happened, Jace? What did you do?" She accused. Jace felt hurt, he hadn't done it! "I don't know! I'll fix this, I'll find Fluttershy, I promise." Jace said. "Do you Pinkie Pie Promise?!" Pinkie Pie asked Jace, breaking his stare with Twilight. "Uhm... yes, Pinkie. I Pinkie Pie Promise..." Jace promised. "Okay, I'm not worried anymore, nopony can break a Pinkie Pie Promise." Pinkie said with a smile. "Pinkie, can you take me to Fluttershy's house, please?" Jace asked. "Of course I can!" Pinkie said, "Follow me!" "Twilight... I'll be back. With your friend, I promise." Jace said to Twilight. Twilight looked up at Jace... she looked sad and worried, "I hope so..." She said, as she turned her back to Jace, and walked upstairs to her room. Jace began to say something, but thought otherwise and followed Pinkie Pie out the door. They galloped out of the town, and onto a dirt path. On their way to Fluttershy's cottage. Suddenly, Jace felt a strong tug randomly on there way. He stopped walking, much to Pinkie's surprise. "What are you doing? Hurry, you can't break your promise!" She said. "Wait, Pinkie. I feel something..." Someone recently planeswalked here, he could feel it. The same thing he felt after he planeswalked somewhere, the essence left after the planeswalk... either another planeswalker found their way to Equestria...or someone planeswalked away. Fluttershy! When he had touched the crystals, it must have triggered her spark! Fluttershy had planeswalked away, he knew it. He didn't know where she was, though, and that was the problem... she could be...dead, for all he knew. And it was his fault. Why hadn't he been more cautious?! "Pinkie," He said, "I need you to take me to Fluttershy's now. This is urgent." And it was true. He needed to save his new friend. It was his fault if she was in trouble in the first place. For the first time in his life... He was worried for someone. Soon, they made it to Fluttershy's cottage. It was also a tree, like the library. Except, he could feel how much this place resonated the essence of the forest. Fluttershy was very fond with the forest and all of it's creatures, It reminded him of another planeswalker he knew. A bridge crossed a stream, and then led to a very short path, which made way to the cottage's door. "This is it!" Pinkie said, "Why are we here anyways?" "Pinkie, could you do me a favor?" Jace asked. "I don't know, probably." She said. "I need to be alone. Tell Twilight I'll be back at her house by mid-day tomorrow. Can you do that for me?" "On my way!" And then, once again, Pinkie ran off. Jace walked the perimeter of Fluttershy's cottage. There were chicken coops in the back, and a whole section of field was surrounded by a thin, wiry fence. Inside of the fence, creatures scurried and played, crawled and jumped every which way. Everywhere he looked there was some new creature for him to lay his eyes upon. Then, he eventually came back to the front door of the cottage. He knocked, before realizing this was a dumb thing to do. It wasn't as if someone would answer. And he opened the door and walked inside. The inside of the cottage mirrored the outside completely. Birdhouses hung from the sealing, with families of birds living inside of them. Small critters ran across the floor, away from Jace as he walked inside. He sat down on a sofa near a window. He could feel the imprint Fluttershy's presence made on this cottage, and could feel how much power and energy this cottage resonated, mimicking the same feeling he could feel in the deepest of jungles. He knew these feelings would help him find Fluttershy. He would have to completely redo what had happened to her, and to do so, he would have to wait until the right time the next day. He would need to have the feeling of Fluttershy's presence be imprinted onto himself though. So, he decided he would spend the night here. Then, the next day, he could go about re-opening whatever rift Fluttershy had opened. Or he had opened. Jace sighed. He felt bad... he had come to this plane, on accident and put an innocent being in danger... He thought about how hurt Twilight had seemed. He felt horrible. He would make it up to her someday. This feeling... it was new to him. This whole place was new to him. Everyone was so nice and kind to each other... at least from he had witnessed they were. And now Fluttershy was missing and it was his fault. He would save her. Even at the cost of his own life. He wouldn't allow the nicest creature in all of the multi-verse to suffer for something her had done. Jace lay his hoof over his eyes. It wasn't too late. Not late at all actually. But Jace's eyelids began to grow heavy. Peacefully, he drifted into sleep. Jace barely dreamed of anything. The only thing he could remember was seeing another pony, this one with wings AND a horn, looking at him. She was black and blue, with a long, beautiful flowing name that sparkled as if it were copying the sky on a clear night. Her eyes penetrated, as if looking into his soul and sifting through the good and bad. She wore a beatiful crown atop her head. Then, as if realizing who he was suddenly, her eyes grew wide. Suddenly, she ran the opposite way, and Jace's dream was just darkness. He woke up early the next morning. It would be a few hours before he could try and save Fluttershy. He got up and stretched his legs. Then, Jace froze as the door to Fluttershy's cabin was swung open. In walked Fluttershy, "And this is my cottage." She said to someone. Jace was speechless Fluttershy saw him, "Hey Jace, I met one of your friends..." She said. Behind Fluttershy was someone he recognized... SomeBODY. Not a pony... a human. In Equestria. "Jace?!" Garruk called from the doorway. Jace couldn't speak. He was abashed. He couldn't wrap his mind around this. Why?! Why had HE been turned into a pony, yet here Garruk was... completely normal?! Garruk was here. In Equestria. And he was a human. > Sub-chapter-*Celestia*-Infiltrated Barriers > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Celestia sat in the elegant chair in her throne room. She had just woken up, and the morning sun shone through her windows, painting the whole room a beautiful spectrum of colors. She liked to come here during this time, it always lightened her spirits. She was completely content. Nothing had gone wrong in Equestria for days, and nothing would go wrong, she hoped. She smiled as she thought happy thoughts to herself. The alicorn looked over the beautiful, stained-glass windows lining her exquisite throne room. Telling the stories of the Elements destroying Night Mare Moon, and restoring Harmony to Equestria. Celestia was happy. She had not a care in the world, other than her royal duties of course. Suddenly, her sibling, and princess of the night, Luna, came crashing through the doors to her throne room. She looked urgently distressed about something, which worried Celestia. Luna ran in front of the other princess, catching her breath before speaking. "Sister! Another one is here!" She said, flustered. She looked concerned. Celestia's mood quickly lightened. "Oh, Luna. There is nothing wrong. We have the barrier for a reason, and it hasn't failed us yet. Peace will be kept. You should know that." Said Princess Celestia calmly. "Sister, but you don't understand. He retains his memory! He's forgotten nothing! The barrier HAS failed us!" Then, once again, Celestia was alarmed. Did one of them actually get through? She had thought they had made the barrier flawlessly! "Where is it? What part of Equestria did it walk to, Luna?" "He's in Ponyville. When I saw him, he was in Fluttershy's cabin, on the outskirts of the Everfree. But he has been spending a lot of time in the dwelling of your pupil, Twilight Sparkle." "Has he brought them any harm? Is everpony ok?" "Yes, they are all ok." Luna didn't know about Fluttershy's disappearance. "Are there more?" "No-" As Luna said this, she paused. Even Celestia felt it this time. Something else had just entered Equestria... something extraterrestrial. Something that did not belong in their land. "Sister-" Luna began to speak. "Yes, Luna. I felt it too." "Another?" "Luna, we must go see Twilight Sparkle at once. Prepare the chariot and round up some guards as an escort." "Yes, Celestia." And with those words, Luna ran frantically out of the room. Equestria was in danger, and the Princess could feel it. Too long had she kept her beautiful land isolated. Why had the barrier failed?! Why had a walker kept their memory? Celestia would find out. She walked calmly, successfully hiding her true fear and anxiety. She wrote a letter to Twilight as she walked out the door, and by the time she was ready to board her chariot with the Princess of the Night, she had sent it. Celestia and Luna looked at eachother. They could feel each other's troubled feelings. "We will figure this out." Celestia reassured Luna, as the chariot pulled off. > Harmonize > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jace eyed Garruk. Why? Why had Garruk kept his physical form, yet Jace had been transmutated on the way to this plane?! "Garruk?!" Jace said, "How did you-. I mean, why...-?" Jace was at a complete loss of words. "Fluttershy here, pretty much saved my backside. She asked me to come back, said that you were here and needed help... but it looks to me as if you're getting along right fine fittin' in!" Bellowed Garruk, amusingly in regards to Jace's stature. "Fluttershy?! Saved you? What... how did you guys get back?" "She's a planeswalker Jace, don't you know?" Jace thought about this. He had made her planeswalk. But, he never thought of her being an actual planeswalker. Fluttershy spoke up, "Well... The first time, I mean, it was just an accident... the 'planeswalking'..." "How did it happen Fluttershy? What went on?" Jace asked. "Well, I was just on my way home from delivering Twilight's message... and then I was walking... I started to float and it hurt really bad... and then... then, I was somewhere different." "What about the second time?" Garruk answered for her, "I helped her a bit." Jace thought about it once again... Then, he heard a voice shouting in his head, Jace, get to the library as soon as you can! I just got word from the princess, and she's on her way here now to speak with me about something. She said something about "a new pony", so I can only guess that it's something about you! Have you found Fluttershy? I can only imagine how cross the princess will be if she finds out Fluttershy is missing!". The voice spoke with an urgent, yet calm, tone that Jace quickly recognized. He looked to Fluttershy and Garruk. "Alright, you two, we need to get to Twilight's library, and we need to get there quick." "Oh, I know how to get there." Fluttershy said with a smile. Then, she began to gallop out of the tree-house. Jace followed behind, with Garruk running, keeping up with his tail. It didn't take long for them to get to the library. Jace burst through the door, just as Pinkie Pie had the day before. Inside was Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and three more ponies he'd never met before, one of each type. An orange Earth Pony with a hat on. A white Unicorn with a dubious lavender mane. And finally, another Pegasus. It was light blue, and it's mane and tail were rainbows. Not a rainbow of colors, no, a legitimate rainbow. After the new ponies had interrupted his thoughts, he quickly collected them and spoke to Twilight. "Twilight, a promise is a promise. I've found Fluttershy. But there's a bit of a catch..." Twilight eyed Jace suspiciously. "What's the catch?" She asked. "Fluttershy come in. You to Garruk...." "Garruk? Whose Ga-" Twilight began to say, but was rendered silent by the appearance of a mysterious creature entering her library. "Oh..my. What's this?" She asked. Fluttershy spoke up on Garruk's behalf, "Garruk is a human, and he is my friend. He helped me get home, so please be nice to him. He's just as smart as us and we all speak the same language. So, don't be a bully." The rainbow pony spoke next, "A human, eh? Pretty cool. Where's he from?" "He's not from here...from Equestria I mean. He's from a different...what is it? Oh, yeah, right, a plane. He's from a different plane." The rainbow pony got quiet, not understanding what a plane was, or it's significance to the matter. Little did she know, it would be revealed to her soon. The orange Earth Pony was the next to speak, "Now, Twilight, min' tellin' us who yer friend is?" She asked. "Oh, right. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, this is Jace. Jace, these are my friends. The other three elements." It seemed they didn't know one bit about Fluttershy's disappearance... which seemed to be good at the moment. "Why are we here anyways?" Rarity said. "Princess Celestia will be here soon. Something serious is happening apparently, and she wants us all to be present when she comes to tell us what." Twilight answered. "Oh the princess!" Shouted Pinkie Pie, "I can't wait to see her again!" Then, as if answering Pinkie's dreams, there were a few short raps on the library door. Twilight took a deep breath, and then slowly opened it. Two more ponies he had never met before stepped inside, and all the ponies bowed. One was all white, with a beautiful pink, green and blue mane, all infused with light hues so none of her body was at all dark. She wore a crown, on her horn, but she also had wings. She was fit to be loyalty. The other pony, also had a horn and wings. But, this one seemed to deeply and completely oppositely contrast the first princess. She was all black, with a blue, starry mane. She seemed familiar, but Jace gave up on thinking about it. He felt awkward being the only pony that didn't bow, but then he saw Garruk and realized how much better he fit in the the large, grisly, human planeswalker. And the princesses seemed to notice too. They both gasped in shock. "So it is true! It...we..." The dark princess seemed to be at a loss of words. "Princess, I can explain, you see-" Twilight hastily began to explain. But she was cut off by the lighter princess. "No...Twilight. You don't understand..." "But...Princess. What do you mean?" The lighter princess looked down quietly, then back up to Twilight with moist eyes. "Twilight... I haven't been honest with you all this time. I haven't been honest with anypony... and I think it's time everypony knows..." Twilight stayed quiet. She knew something of great importance was about to be revealed to her. Something she shouldn't know... something the princess had even LIED about to her. Twilight couldn't help but feel the least bit betrayed deep down. "Twilight, do you know why these ponies are here? Not only ponies, but this human also?" Twilight shook her head quietly. She was suprised... she hadn't even known what the creature was, when it first came here, yet the princess had no problem identifying it in no time at all. The other ponies stared and listened in amazement as Princess Celestia began to unravel the mystery of these strange creatures and random ponies showing up here. "You see... a long time ago, this use to be a land for everyone. Other races... Ponies being the dominant race, but other creatures also existed as well. Humans, elves... it was so peaceful." Then the princess' expression turned grim. "Two dragons came here... planeswalked, as most of you know the term now. The second they entered Equestria, I sensed danger resonating from them. I knew nothing about them, except that they were dimensional beings from another plane. They were fiercely intimidating. One dragon was a lot larger than the other and they stuck together. But, as much as it went against my better judgement, I decided to trust them as they entered. They did nothing to harm us, yet. I gave them a chance. One too many..." "Wait..." Rainbow Dash spoke up, "We know an evil dragon! Oh, what was his name again? Yeah, that's right, Discord!" The other ponies gasped. "Rainbow Dash!" Twilight exclaimed, "Discord isn't a dragon!" Just as the powder blue pony was readying to defend her statement, the lighter princess spoke up again, "Twilight. He may not be a dragon everypony is used to.. but he comes from a land full of them. He is a dragon. He was just so different from the others... we didn't know what to call his species. That's why it's ok to classify him as a dragon." Twilight stood shocked, unable to speak. "Well, if Discord was one of the dragons, who was the other?" Rarity asked the crowd. "To this day, not even I know." The princess answered, "He vanished. See, he and Discord were traveling all of Equestria together, looking for something. Heaven knows what... But, that whole time, they brought no harm to anypony. They just walked, scaling the whole map as we know it." "Until one day, they must have come across what they were looking for. I suddenly felt another surge of dread and chaos. Then, I heard Discord's scream all the way from my castle in Canterlot. Mind you, they were in the San Palomino Desert, near the Macintosh Hills. All the way from there, I heard Discord's shriek, and I immediately flew towards the sound." "As I came closer to the Hills, I caught sight of Discord, near a small mountain. In the side of the mountain was a cave. He was screaming frantically to himself, 'Where is it?! Where did it go?!' as he dug around in holes and scoured the ground. But, whatever he was looking for, wasn't there. I descended towards him, and he yelled at me to go away, how it was his,and he wouldn't share it with anyone. Then, I realized his lifelong companion wasn't there. I asked him what he was looking for, maybe I could help him find it. He looked up at me with wide eyes, and, though he spoke no words, I read the words, 'I. Don't. Know.' escape his lips as he answered my question. Then I asked him where his friend was, and once again he stared at me in shock. Except, this time, he answered, 'Who?'." "'You're companion? Associate? Where is he? The other dragon?' I asked him. He said he had no idea what I was talking about." "Then, I felt something seep from within the cave. An evil, hating, entity poured from it, and it seemed Discord could feel it too. He looked toward the cave, then toward me one last time, and then ran into the cave. I yelled at him to stop, but he didn't listen..." "And as he ran in, a powerful burst came from within the cave again, except this time, stronger." "And with it came a vision." "I saw the story unfold, of my sister Luna, princess of the night, being transformed into Night Mare Moon and trying to engulf the whole of Equestria in infinite darkness. Nothing else was revealed to me, and I flew back to Canterlot at once, scared of what I had just seen in my own head. I had to tell Luna, and we had to make some quick decisions, to try and ensure that what I saw wouldn't happen. Though, as much as I tried to believe it not to be true, I knew that what I saw would happen,no matter what we did to prevent it. So instead, I decided on another plan." "Luna and I first began exiling every non-pony creature from Equestria. Nothing else could stay, other than the original inhabitants of the plane. It took a few decades, but after a lot of work, it was done, and Luna had shown no signs of turning yet." "The ponies were the only creatures that could keep harmony with each other. 6 Planeswalkers were banished from our plane this way, and each of them took their spark with them." "Then, Luna and I got the help of Starswirl the Bearded himself and a few other Unicorns. Together, we traveled across Equestria, syphoning all the magical energy that was left. We wanted nothing to be able to be as powerful as we used to be." "Starswirl and the Unicorn though, got a bit greedy, and left small reserves of mana in the land, making it only accessible by Unicorns." "After a few long years, we had done our second task." "Now, this was the part Luna and I knew we needed to do alone, and needed the most concentration. Together, we used the syphoned mana and the magic we held within ourselves to cast a protection spell over our whole plane. This shield blocked anyone who was trying to come here. We made it so they couldn't. The only way you could get to Equestria, was if you randomly teleported for no given reason. Even then, we had a plan. The barrier was made to transform any walker into an Equestrian, and then wipe that beings memory..." "But, as you ponies know, my sister here still was transformed. But easily defeated, since she couldn't be as strong as initially though. We had gotten rid of most of the magic in Equestria." "But... I foresaw this... this phenomenon..." "Planeswalkers coming back to Equestria... returning the spark. Reactivating the mana pools." "You see, you six ponies contain the entity of the 6 planeswalkers originally exiled from this plane... and this is where it becomes a bit hard to comprehend." "Every Equestrian planeswalker has a Soul Mate. A being, not necessarily another Equestrian, it could be any race, any species, from any plane. The Soul Mate is also always another planeswalker, and no matter what, it was destiny that the Soul Mates would meet. There was no way they could not. Once they met, they would then 'Harmonize'. This means they would learn everything about each other. They would know each other's pasts, secrets, everything. They could also feel each other's emotions, and communicate through their minds." Garruk spoke, "Wait...so Fluttershy and I hadn't been Soul Bonded. We had... Harmonized?" "It seems so. Meaning each of you other 5 ponies will also meet your Soul Mates soon." Jace and Twilight looked at each other. They knew they must be Soul Mates... they could read each other's minds... and talk through their heads... but they didn't know everything about each other? "Also, the planeswalker will not Harmonize with their Soul Mate until proving themselves worthy of the piece of Harmony that they represent." The princess had pretty much answered Jace's and Twilight's confusion. "So, hold awn minute. We are all goin' tah be teleported to some place we ain't never been before, tah hope we fin' someone we ain't never met before, and Harmonize with 'em?" Said the orange Earth Pony. "Yes." Answered the light princess, "But, there is no way to tell who will be next..." "Put these on." Said the princess as she unhinged the glass case against the wall containing the Elements of Harmony. She used her magic to place each necklace on their respected pony's necks. "Keep them with you... that way we'll know if anything happens." Jace then thought about his crystal. It had gained a pink streak in it after it's contact with Fluttershy's Harmony Stone, Perhaps the princess would know why? He used his magic to take the crystal out of a sack slung over his side. Then, his horn cramped, and he dropped the crystal to the ground with a wince. The blue pegasus flew down quickly to retrieve the crystal for Jace. "DASH, NO!" Cried Twilight and Jace at the same time. But it was too late. Dash grabbed the crystal. "What? I was j-" She was cut off as the crystal started to surge and shock her. She dropped it the the floor again. Slowly, the pegasus ascended into the air. "Hnnnng! HnnGAAHH!" Cried the pegasus. And, after a split-second scream, she was gone. All the ponies in the room gasped in horror. Jace looked to the crystal on the ground. It now had a red stripe, parallel to the pink one. > Sub-Chapter -*Chandra*- Assistance > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Ahhhhhhh!" Chandra yelled as Jace fell down the gorge. She had stopped short of the edge, she wasn't dumb enough to jump off! Why was this man so stupid! So impudent! Does he not realize the power he held in his hand?! The red planeswalker turned back, And as she did, she felt a surge come from the bottom of the gorge. She turned back around to look over the edge. She didn't see the flattened remains of the bastard who stole her crystal, No blood. Nothing Had he actually figured out what it was?! Did he really figure out how to use it?! Again she screamed. Chandra planeswalked to the hiding place of the other half of the crystal. She knew what she had to do. Then, after gathering her other crystal, she planeswalked to a realm full of nothing. A realm made by a planeswalker purely for meditation. In search of him. The one who could help her get her crystal back. As she walked, she came to a gate guarded by a fierce looking man with a large silver arm that glew neon purple underneath. It must have been magically held together pieces of metal, for the pieces seemed to float by themselves, all held together by one aura. He stopped her short. "Yessss...?" He asked her. "I require a presence with Nicol Bolas." "Who doesn't?" The man said, with a wicked grin, " Come. I will escort you..." The man walked through the gate, and Chandra trailed behind. Behind them, the gate's doors shut. Chandra held the crystal tight in her right hand. She looked at it, and it surged. Suddenly, a pick band formed around it, She needed to speak to Bolas... And she needed to do it fast.