Emrakul hasn't been seen in a very long time. Worries of a possible attack on another plane lead Gideon Jura to Equestria, where he must hunt down Emrakul before the history of Zendikar is repeated.
It has been a very long time since anyone in the plane of Zendikar saw the eldrazi titan Emrakul. Visions of a devastated land trouble Gideon Jura, who has decided to track down the last of the three monstrous giants. With Jace off to Innistrad and Nissa healing the plane along with Chandra (However she can), Gideon follows the essence which Emrakul left in her last hedron prison.
This leads him to a peaceful, new plane filled with strangely sentient creatures. However, Gideon can't allow himself to be distracted by this, since as every second goes by, the eldrazi titan becomes stronger and spawns a huge brood of all-consuming aberrations.
If you play MTG, but don't follow the story, here's the summarized story of the Zendikar block: First Second
You can read this story without knowing the MTG lore. But it's highly recommendable to do so in order to understand many keywords.
The calm breeze of dead wind... The lifeless sensation in the earth... The fragile and bone-like dust which replaced the ground... Gideon Jura was unfortunately familiarized with all of this. He remembered his first encounter with the eldrazi and the countless allies and friends he lost against them. He remembered needing the help of the entire plane of Zendikar, inhabitants and nature alike, to finally beat the menace. He had won the battle.
So why was he standing in a wasteland again? Why couldn't he see anything but that awful dust expanding beyond the horizon? The planeswalker keeled and gently ran his fingers through the surface of the scarred land. His suspicions were confirmed as the spot he touched crumbled and faded into the wind.
“No,” Gideon shut his eyes and closed his fists “Not again...” he remembered the fall of Seagate and the screams of it's victims. Something he wished to forget and never see again. However, this devastation made him remember what happened. Had he failed? Was this Seagate? Gideon rose to his feet and began wondering around the place. Most of it was like a blanket of dust, but there were also hills and what appeared to be the remains of a forest. Venturing into the blank canopy, he started finding statues of the fauna which used to inhabit this plane. He could identify hydras, crocodiles, different types of birds and plenty more creatures that seemed to belong to many different places. As if the multiverse had combined the worlds to make all species live in a single one. His feet led him to the edge of the forest, where the wreckage of a village lay. At first sight, he saw that most of the dust sculptures had an equine figure. Some had horns, some had wings. It was strange to see all of these creatures without a single human on sight. Maybe they left, leaving their mount behind... But, that wouldn't make any sense... Gideon thought. Why would anyone leave behind their best way to flee from the attack? It was like the eldrazi had attacked a stable from Theros and the owners ran away hoping to escape while the abominations were busy with the horses.
There was something strange about the animals though: They were shorter than the average horse. Although Gideon had never seen a pony as a unicorn or pegasus, he didn't doubt it was possible for them to exist. What was even weirder was their really big eyes and small muzzle. The proportions of their faces allowed them to have more humanoid-like expressions. And they were terrified expressions. Faces that Gideon had seen plenty of times before. The fear and dread... The faith torn... The panic... And sometimes the resignation.
Gideon heard a crawling sound behind him. Immediately, he turned around with a fighting stance and his whip started glowing. Behind the ruins of a house, an eldrazi crawled into sight, just patrolling around. It moved thanks to the tentacles beneath him and possessed four arms. The back of it's head was uncovered, but Gideon could see there was a bone mask on the other side. He recognized the creature as one of Ulamog's spawns. Taking the opportunity to make a surprise attack, Gideon charged at the beast as fast as he could. He leaped forward just a few feet from it, to land a killing blow from above. Right before his whip connected with the eldrazi's head, the creature turned around; revealing the bone mask Gideon expected to find. But there was something else... Right in the middle of it there was a red, glowing circle. Like a never-blinking, flaming eye. This distracted the warrior for a split second, but he refocused quickly and resumed his attack. The searing light cut through the eldrazi, which let out a screech in response. As it was being consumed by the energy, the creature writhed and emitted what could be called screams of pain.
Soon, the body of the eldrazi disappeared, but it left behind it's head. Curious, Gideon approached slowly and picked up the skull. It seemed lifeless, and even the strange red glow was out. Unable to figure out what this meant, he dropped the thing back to the ground. It was probably a good idea to look for shelter before more eldrazi found him. Gideon turned to leave wen he heard a strange whisper behind him: “She's here,” the voice said. The planeswalker froze. Unsure if he had imagined it.
“She's here,” the voice insisted. Although more than a voice, it was a distorted sound which tried to mimic a voice.
Finally, he gathered enough courage to turn around, and to his dismay, the eye socket was glowing red once again. The skull never moved, but it was more than obvious it was saying the words.
“She's here,”
“Shut up,” Gideon grit his teeth as he commanded. Taking firm steps towards the head. Without waiting for it to repeat the line, he lifted one of his feet and forcefully smashed the remaining extremity. That instant, everything collapsed. The world, the head, Gideon himself.
Gideon was startled awake by the terrifying sentence. Or rather, the way it was said. He was breathing heavily, but fortunately, he managed to stay quiet enough to let the other ones in the camp sleep. He slowly got up from his bed and silently crept out of his shared tent. There were ten other humanoids there, none of which appeared to notice the sudden worry of their leader. After years of exhausting battle, they deserved a peaceful rest. Sleeping in the common soldier's tents and eating their food was also inspiring for the troops because they could relate to their captain in every way possible as an example of equality. This didn't make Gideon shine any less in battle, but it made others aspire to be like him. Trying his hardest not to wake anyone up, he walked out of the barracks. A difficult task considering stealth was never one of his strong areas and the fact he had slept with his armor on. Force of habit. Despite the difficulties, he managed to leave unnoticed... Or so he thought.
“Hey.”
Gideon's eyes widened and he looked over his shoulder quickly. His combat reflexes were appeased when he saw it was one of his allies who had called. Said ally was Chandra Nalaar.
“What are you doing up this late?” Gideon asked.
Chandra simply crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
“Right,” he mentally slapped himself at the irony.
“Were you seriously expecting to leave without anyone noticing? There are vampires here, you know?”
“Vampires who aren't here. You know they are in a different sector.”
“I still think that was kind of racist from you and Tazri,” Chandra joked.
Gideon ignored her comment and stayed silent.
At this, Chandra kept going “So where are you going?”
“Somewhere you don't want to follow.”
“I'll be the judge of that,” Chandra smirked.
Gideon sighed and indicated his fellow planeswalker to follow him away from the encampment. When they were out of earshot, he went straight to the point.
“I had a vision,” he began.
“You're spending a lot of time around Jace.”
“Chandra, please listen,” he added a scolding tone to his words.
Chandra rolled her eyes and crossed her arms once again.
“I was more than that. It was vivid. I was there.”
“Where 'there'?”
“In-” he paused to think for a moment. What he saw didn't match any of the planes where he had been to. There were no unicorns or pegasi in Zendikar. And the fauna was too diverse to be Theros. “I'm not sure...” he gazed at the earth beneath him, trying to find a plausible explanation to give “All I know is that I have to stop the last of the titans before my vision becomes real. Or find the wreckage to investigate if it has already happened.”
Chandra moved forward and put a hand on Gideon's shoulder “Calm down,” she said with concern “You need to take a break from all of that. It will help you more than you think,” she then took her hand off “Why don't you plan something cheerful? Like a party with goblins!” she suggested, smiling.
“A party,” he droned “How is that going to help? It would only give us more false hope. It would lead us into believing we actually won when there's still a threat to fight.”
The pyromancer overheard him, not actually minding his points.
“Why would we celebrate? Because that way we can ignore our problems for once until they come back and strike twice as hard?”
“No, because goblins are the freaking bomb when it comes to parties,” she replied with seriousness “Trust me. They are,” she tapped her chin “Sometimes quite literally.”
Seeing there was no point in reasoning with the girl, Gideon walked past her, shaking his head slowly.
He felt a grip in his arm, but he didn't look back. “You can't leave. The troops need you.”
“They need me to do what? Didn't you say it was all over?”
“Without you at the lead, every race will start to spread and hate each other again. I could swear I saw a vampire gnawing an elf's bone last night! In the middle of a campfire! And do you think anyone cared? No, no one did,” she looked away with a semblance of guilt “I know I didn't.”
“I'm pretty sure they can handle themselves just fine with the help of the other leaders,” he pulled his arm, leaving Chandra's hand nothing to grasp “I assure you I won't be gone for long, but I need to find Emrakul before she finds us,” he started walking again “I trust you, Nissa and the others to keep everything under control.”
Chandra stared at him as he kept going towards an unknown destination “Gideon!” she called.
The warrior stopped and again, didn't look back.
“Can I have your pillow?!” she shouted to make sure he heard her.
Gideon made a quick mental note to never pay attention to a pyromancer again. After a few feet of walking, he smiled “Sure thing, Chandra,” he said to himself.
It had been three days since Gideon left to find Emrakul. Barely eating and taking short rests on nearby ponds to replenish his energy and drink water. The land was healing quicker than he expected, but it was still too damaged. It didn't take long for him to get to the most devastated area of Zendikar, where Ulamog and Kozilek had went through. The place where he stood was like a painting portraying a before-after situation: Just a step ahead lay a prairie of ash devoid of life. Behind him, was the beautiful and dangerous jungle of Bala Ged. Glancing side to side, he saw a dividing line between the vast vegetation and the dust blanket. As if the eldrazi had decided to stop right there.
I should've brought some provisions. Gideon thought as he took his first steps. Hopefully there would be an intact place around the scattered hedrons. Or hopefully his goal was close. He was just a few feet away from nature when he heard an elk bulge at him. He looked to his left, where the animal was standing; staring right back at him. The elk turned around and trotted slowly away from him. Gideon thought nothing of it for a moment, until he saw the elk turn his head and bugle once again. Strange as this was, Gideon nodded and followed. The unlikely guide waited patiently for the human to catch up with him to resume his movement. Both of them walked along the great division, the elk never touching an inch of the corrupted land.
After three hours of walking straight, they arrived to the end of the jungle, where the wasteland started taking more and more terrain. Weird as it was to follow a random and somewhat intelligent animal, it was clear it knew where to go. The strange creature stopped and turned it's gaze to Gideon, who also ceased to move. When it had the human's attention, the elk pointed it's head toward a direction that led into the wasteland. Nothing seemed to be there, but it would probably take a while to reach his destination. Gideon didn't know if this animal could be trusted since he had never seen one as clever as this, but right now it was his only lead. He would have time to investigate about this phenomenon later. Before he could nod or give a sign of thanks to the elk, it was already going back to the vastness of the jungle.
Gideon had been walking for a long, long time by now. His entire body started aching and begging for water. The worst part was that he didn't even know where this way was supposed lo lead him to. I really should stop trusting everyone. After fighting shoulder to shoulder with vampires and goblins alike, the planeswalker had developed a dangerous sense of companionship towards everything that wasn't an eldrazi. A sense of companionship he should probably start ignoring, his current situation considered. Fortunately, this time he hadn't been fooled. After hiking up a small dust dune, he could see a canyon downhill. What was interesting about this canyon, was the hedrons spread across it. Hedrons which looked drained. Out of power. Originally, they were supposed to float and glow with a distinctive blue. Indicating they were either working as a lock, or they had still magic inside them. Now, they were empty shells. The remains of a prison broken thanks to three certain planeswalkers. Regardless of what they were now, this was undoubtedly the place where the mysterious elk wanted Gideon to go.
Approaching the hedrons proved to be a difficult task; the canyon didn't make it any easier to reach down to them. Thinking for a moment, Gideon came up with an idea. His right fist started to glow and he delivered a powerful blow to the dead land beneath him, which instantly collapsed, bringing Gideon along with it. The fragility of the dust was unbelievable. In some places, it was as hard as a baloth bone, but now it was like mere ashes. Was it because the eldrazi titans were gone? Probably. Whatever the reason, the crushed edge of the cliff worked as a slide for Gideon. It wasn't a pleasant experience to be covered in that awful stuff, but it helped him get down. Shaking like a dog that just took a bath, Gideon readjusted his armor to get rid of the remaining dust in his clothes. Then, he headed towards the nearest hedron. It looked like any other one the allies used for their settlements, and this was definitely not the Eye of Ugin, so what about this place? Gideon placed his hand on the hedron and tried to channel the magic left in it, if any. That moment, he was attacked by another vision. At least, he thought it was a vision.
Emrakul, the eldrazi titan, hovered above this exact same spot. Restrained by a hedron alignement. What? How could this happen? Gideon thought, as he watched the scene in awe. The abomination tried to fight, to destroy or move the hedrons away, but to no avail. The only thing the eldrazi could do was produce aberrant noises and cast devastation below her, wave after wave of death hitting the ground. It eventually formed the canyon Gideon was currently standing in. Did someone capture Emrakul? He was pretty sure the alliance hadn't done this, yet there was no one else who could've possibly done it. Even if there was, they would've informed immediately. How someone had been able to form a hedron alignment around Emrakul without being obliterated was beyond Gideon. He took his hand off of the hedron after the flashback was over. His entire body was shaking. He had forgotten how terrifying the eldrazi titan was.
“But what happened then?” He thought aloud. His curiosity led him to try to do the same with all of the other hedrons around, but there were no more visions. Instead, he found a strange essence in one of the last remaining stones. Something he could identify was not from Zendikar. It was magic... Magic from another plane.
A sudden realization hit Gideon. A horrifying truth revealed: Emrakul was gone from Zendikar.
Still shaking, he put his hands on his head and pressed. He clenched his eyes shut and screamed out of desperation. It took him time to regain his composure and take a decision. He didn't know how long Emrakul had been gone, and since it had already been months since anyone saw the titan, it probably was too late for the invaded plane. However, Gideon couldn't waste any more time going back to inform the others. He would need to see how much damage was done and only then, he would determine the next course of action. Hopefully, this plane was still alive.
Gideon thanked the gods for his luck at finding this hedron. He breathed in and out a couple of times, preparing for whatever he could encounter. He couldn't identify this kind of magic, so it was for sure an entirely new plane.
His thirst, hunger and exhaustion replaced by determination, Gideon planeswalked away.
The vast meadow beyond the Everfree forest was as peaceful as ever. Birds were chirping and the sun shone brightly above the vast extension of land. The cycle of nature worked as usual: Predators hunting, critters gathering food, plants and trees cleaning the air; and of course, sentient creatures doing sentient stuff. Living a life with a few ups and downs, but nothing that would shake their world on an existence-threatening scale. A squirrel was collecting acorns around it's home tree when a sudden rush of energy ran trough it's body. It felt weird, as if something was interrupting the natural order of things. Led by curiosity and instinct, the animal let go of the acorn in it's paws and sprinted towards the source of the energy. Upon arriving to what seemed to be a perfectly normal spot just about anywhere in the meadow, the squirrel noticed it wasn't alone. Many other animals stood forming a circle around the exact same place. Whatever it was, it had gotten the attention of every nearby creature. Then, another wave of energy made the animal's senses increase immensely, their biological alarm tingling like never before. Many of them screeched in surprise while others instantly ran away. The squirrel, for it's part, was paralyzed in shock. In an instant, a strange figure had appeared in front of it, with no fur and wearing metal as if it was it's skin.
Gideon watched as a tiny squirrel let out a 'kuk' and left quickly. To his surprise, many animals where also leaving at top speed from there. Evidently, no other planeswalker had come to this plane. Not in this part of it, at least. Fortunately and unfortunately, this meant Emrakul wasn't close to where Gideon was right now. He cursed his luck for this and looked around. A clear sky, a vivid field, wide fauna variety, beautiful landscapes in the horizon, and everything he considered admirable from the previous planes he had visited. This was easily the most colorful and peaceful world he had been to. Another reason to hurry up. He thought. As much as he wanted to take the first step, the view was just too great to simply ignore it. Zendikar was wilder and had similar looks, but the danger of exploring it made it a perquisite to concentrate on the task at hand. Here, however, it felt like one could have a picnic and forget about society. Or civilization in general. There was literally no threat at sight-
“GRRRRRR,” Gideon heard a groan behind him. He turned around and saw a huge hydra staring down at him. Why did these things exist in every plane? He cursed his luck yet again and assumed his fighting stance. Apparently, only one of the heads was paying attention to him. It's eyes were big. Very, very big. The hydra's head had an almost anthropomorphic head. It could even frown and make more gestures than the other hydras Gideon knew. What really called his attention tough, was the other heads; one was chewing on a random bone and wasn't even looking his way; another was also staring at him but with curiosity instead of hostility, something it's facial features allowed; the last head was sleeping and smiled, probably because a good dream. It was really comedic. If Gideon hadn't encountered hydras before, he would've lowered his guard and laughed about it. The first head roared at Gideon and waited... then waited some more... then raised an eyebrow and turned to see the other heads not giving a living fudge about the situation. The head rolled it's eyes and angrily bashed against the sleeping one, which's eyes shot open to identify the aggressor. Realizing it had been one of it's brothers-in-body, it grit his teeth and glared at the attacker. Both heads started roaring at each other and Gideon simply scratched his head. He had never seen so much disarray on the behavior of a hydra before. He decided it was a good chance to flee and, with caution, slowly walked towards the forest. The inspecting head lowered and groaned, as if warning Gideon he shouldn't move. This made the planeswalker stop for a second and check the other heads again. They were still arguing. Good. He ignored the warning and kept moving. At this, the only focused head tried to move it's body, but was stopped by the other two, which were now also mad at it. They roared in complaint and the gesture was returned. Now, there were three displeased brothers. The last head shut it's eyes closed, trying to numb the rants of the others. When they were too loud to ignore, it joined the discussion to shut them all up.
In the safety of the canopy, Gideon smirked in disbelief of what happened back there. Maybe that was just mere luck and not every predator was as clumsy as that, but something told him there would be no problem concerning his safety. He walked with fast pace through the trees and spiked bushes of the forest, fast enough to avoid every single danger the Everfree had to offer... and without even trying. A manticore saw the rare human passing by, and hid behind a bush to catch him. Oblivious, Gideon kept walking straightforward until he was right in front of the manticore. Then, he felt a crack beneath him, and the earth below collapsed almost instantly, making him fall into a muddy pit. The animal, for it's part, had leapt at Gideon with it's muzzle wide open right when this happened, making it crash headfirst into a tree.
“Gah!” Gideon yelped when he hit the bottom of the pit. He rubbed his nape and looked up. He was at least ten feet down under. “Great,” he muttered.
From behind, a stone crocodile lurked in the shadows, precisely waiting for something to fall. The crocodile approached silently and watched as the new prey jumped helplessly, trying to get a hold of a twig or branch he could use to get up. After a few more tries, the human sighed and knelt. The crocodile thought of this as a sign of resignation and took the chance to attack, launching itself at Gideon; but the latter didn't kneel to accept defeat or even think what to do, it was to take impulse and jump higher. He sank his fingers into the muddy dirt in a vane attempt to stay attached, but the wall was too wet and broke up too easily. Before he fell down again, Gideon felt something under his foot. A solid toehold. Even though he didn't know what it was, he used it to jump again and got out of the hole. Below, the crocodile munched on mud while grimacing. It was bad enough that the prey had escaped by stepping on it's head.
A few more minutes of walking later, Gideon entered a zone of carnivore plants. Not a big deal considering most of the plants didn't dare make the first move because this was a new creature. Was it poisonous? Even if it wasn't, it was covered in metal... and biting metal was painful. The plants which had the courage to attack were either out of range or took a lot of time to make up their mind. One of them stretched as much as it could and bit forcefully, missing Gideon's hair by an inch. The other plants sighed and one even shook it's mouth while covering it with a leaf. Apparently, human wasn't in the menu of anything today.
After a pretty uneventful hike, Gideon arrived to another field. There was a village just a mile away from there. An oddly familiar village. Taking his time to analyze it, his mind finally made the connection and a flashback invaded him: this was the place of his vision. This was the victimized village he saw. Since it was still complete and free of any signs of eldrazi presence, Gideon breathed in relief. He still had time before the attack.
He took firm steps with his head on straight. It wasn't long before he got to the first building of the place: A store decorated with hearts, diamonds and other details Gideon considered too cheesy. There were also a few natives wandering around, so he could finally identify the type of creature they were. It seemed like this plane had given sentience to a few animals, which were now the main inhabitants of the world. Gideon didn't mind that much but it was still weird not to see another humanoid there.
“Hello, stranger!” a voice cheered behind Gideon.
The pupils of the warrior shrank and his battle reflexes made him turn around immediately and clench his fists.
Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's self-proclaimed 'official greeter' jumped back and covered her face with her hooves “AH! Please don't hurt me I didn't mean to disturb you I swear I'll leave you alone if that's what you want in fact maybe we can talk any other time when you don't feel like harming innocent ponies such as myself sir!”
Gideon lowered his stance and tried to process all of what the pony just said “Sorry, I just...” he left his sentence like that, unsure if he should apologize or ask what was that sneak-up about.
“Oh, you're sorry?” Pinkie stopped covering herself “Well no harm done then! I was passing by to visit my friend Rarity over there-” she gestured the nearby store “-when I saw you and I was like-” she gasped “-what is that?! And then I realized you weren't an animal, or well, at east you didn't look like a regular animal,” she clarified “Then I looked closer and you were dressed and I thought: Oh! that thing must come to show off his clothes to Rarity!”
The fact that the pony was referring to him as 'thing' really ticked Gideon, but it was hard to care when he didn't even understand the topic of conversation.
“So I wanted to say hello and I did!” her excitement diminished and she looked down in shame “I'm sorry if I startled you, it wasn't my intention.”
If there's one thing an extra-planar traveler appreciated, it was hospitality and gentleness. Gideon smiled and opened his mouth to respond when...
“By the way, why are you wearing an armor? I mean, it's not like there's a war going on, is there?”
“No... I guess not...”
“Then again, maybe you did come to speak with Rarity,” Pinkie rolled her eyes “Silly me, of course you didn't come to speak with Rarity, I mean, Duh! She would've talked to us about you if she knew who you were!”
Gideon began feeling a little harried by the situation. Who's us?! Is Rarity a name now? Maybe it was for the best if he didn't find out “Alright, alright, calm down,” Gideon put his hand in front of her, as a way to politely ask her to shut up “First of all, where exactly are we?”
“This is Ponyville! the friendliest place in Equestria!”
“Ponyville?” Gideon raised an eyebrow.
“Yup!” Pinkie nodded with excitement.
“Equestria?” he double-checked.
“Yupperoni!”
“And your name is...”
“I'm Pinkie Pie!” she tapped her chin “Well, technically that's my nickname but it's how everypony calls me, so you can call me Pinkie Pie too.”
Gideon took a moment to see the pony in front of him more clearly: Pink mane, pink coat... even her hooves were pink. Now he wore an expression that said 'are you kidding me?' “Is everything's name supposed to be a pun?”
Pinkie giggled “That's a funny one!”
“...It wasn't a joke...”
“Tell me, what are you? I can't wait to show you around and introduce you to my friends! I can tell you everything you want to know!”
Gideon wasn't sure if he liked the idea. This... pony... was like a more energetic yet more polite version of Chandra. And one Chandra was more than enough to deal with. On the other hand, he needed someone to show him around and the pony was eager to do just that. “I guess it's okay to give it a shot. Just one thing though, just tell me what I need to know about Equestria. Skip details, skip introductions, skip everything that's not vital information.”
Pinkie's ears lowered “What? Skip all of that? But that's the fun part of the tour!”
“I'm in a hurry. Believe me, you'll thank me when you know what I mean.”
Pinkie smiled “You remind me of a certain donkey who just wanted to be left alone when he first arrived to Ponyville. Then, after we spent some time together he softened and now we're friends!”
“Yeah, well, I'm not here to make friends. Also, could you stop speaking so loud? I mean no offense, but it's like you're screaming all the time.”
Pinkie giggled “I'll try. Anyways, you didn't tell me what you are. Or your name, for that matter.”
“Name's Giedeon Jura. A human warrior who fight's for justice and peace.”
“Well, mister 'human', why don't you come with me so I can show you something more valuable than whatever has you in a hurry?”
“I don't think that's possible, Pinkie. What the future holds is something that has to be dealt with today.”
“How can you deal with tomorrow when you can't live today?”
“Huh?” Gideon was slightly taken back by the question “What do you mean?”
“You see, Giddy-on, if you stop enjoying what you have right now because you might lose it, you've already lost it.”
Some birds landed on carousel boutique, directing their attention to Pinkie and Gideon; and proceeded to sing together in a coordinated rhythm.
“I used to look out the window, And wonder 'what I'm gonna do?' Starlight's visiting tomorrow, It's Pound and Pumpkin's birthday too!
My worries kept me up all night, How could I fail a compromise? But then I saw another side, It's better still to improvise!”
Pinkie sang at the compass of the melody provided by the birds. It was a spectacle, really, and it made Gideon stand still; thinking it was all staged.
“How... Wha...” the planeswalker shook his head and inferred the pony was just messing with him “You can't live always improvising. A bright future is determined by thinking ahead. Strategy and planning,” Gideon looked over his shoulder “Besides, what I'm about to encounter is no laughing matter.”
“I've had to face dangerous situations too, I'll let you know. I was afraid, just like you, but there are certain things you can't expect to go as planned. That's when you have to rely on your friends and trust your heart! It's okay to think about the future, not to worry about it.”
The birds were still singing and a few crickets joined the chorus.
“If you think of scary monsters Scary monsters will appear, Think instead of pretty flowers, And you'll have nothing to fear!”
As she was singing, Pinkie bounced from side to side of Gideon, making him shift uncomfortably. Clearly this pony had no idea what personal space was.
“Yes, it's good to have a plan; Yeah it's nice to know what's next, But don't let tomorrow take Fun that you could have today!” Pinkie finished her verse with a wink.
The song was catchy, Gideon had to admit. Although it still was obviously rehearsed “How about when you know the type of danger that's coming? Do you sit down and watch it happen?”
“Nuh-uh! You get your friends and tell them about it. Together, I bet you can overcome anything.”
Gideon sincerely didn't expect that type of answer. He was all about how the war wasn't over and Zendikar shouldn't celebrate, but he didn't ask for help either. But that's because they had bled enough... Right? He wanted to protect the inhabitants of every plane, that much he was sure of. What he didn't know is if he was willing to make Zendikar fight again, no matter the plane. Sure enough, unlike his fellow planeswalkers, the army can't leave their home; but if they could, they wouldn't fight for another plane. Much less if the attackers were the eldrazi. And the reason he left Chandra and Nissa out was because he wanted to keep them safe too. Altough it was risky and probably a bad idea.
“What if you want to protect them?” Gideon asked.
“What better way to do so Than standing by their side?”
Gideon instantly thought of his battles beside his Irregulars, the Boros Legion and most recently, the Allies of Zendikar. For a creature who lived in a seemingly harmless plane, her words held great wisdom. Something that caught his attention. While he was recalling those battles, the wind played with the animal's melody, changing tones and making the rhythm even easier to get.
“I realize now, thanks to your words, That in my rush I was indeed wrong.” Wait... Did I just...? Had he spoken to the compass? No, mere coincidence.
Pinkie smilled almost maniacally at this. “No matter if the tempest comes, You'll be fine if you remember:
That it's good to have a plan; It is nice to know what's next, If you don't let tomorrow take Fun that you could have toda-a-ay!”
On the final sylable, an ending tune signifying the end of the song ran through the place. The birds flew in circles and flew away afterwards while the other animals dissipated, heading towards their respective lairs. It had been a short number, but it had been breahtaking nonetheless. The beauty of the scene was something unlike anything he had ever seen, and it made him smile and feel a peace of mind and spirit he had never felt before. At that time, Gideon allowed himself enjoy the greatness of life for once in a very long time.
“It's incredible...” he whispered.
“Isn't it?!” Pinkie beamed... Then, after a moment, she scratched her head with a hoof “Uh... What is?”
“This place. Equestria,” he said with enthusiasm “From the scapelands to the clean air. It's... It's...” She's here. A familiar voice rang in his head, making him halt “It's...” She's here. His expression of happiness was replaced by a serious face. He looked at Pinkie, his fists now clenched “It's a place worth saving,” he finished.
The pony wasn't sure what she did to make him angry; the human was clearly bohered by something. She didn't like when her victories were sort lived, but she'd do whatever she could to fix it.
“Uh... Mister Giddy? Are you alright?” she asked with caution.
“Righ now I am, Pinkie,” Gideon sighed “Right now I am.”
