Revolt of the Changelings

Finest Hour - Card Number 63: Revolt of the Changelings

They all looked at him with a mix of surprise and horror.

“You WHAT? How could you do that? WHY?”

“I know, I know, it sounds horrible. Sadly the truth might be even worse.”

As he began to tell his tale, his mind slipped into the past. The memories began to flow free again. He could remember everything perfectly clear, even his old journal entries…

Project Otherworld, day 1:
This will be the journal of Senior Scribe of Project Otherworld, Starswirl the Bearded. I will use this book to keep track of our discoveries and our progress in breaking the proverbial wall to other worlds. Hopefully, this project will be a success.

Project Otherworld, day 48:
With the creation of a Mana Pylon, we have managed to create a powerful source of magic energy. Current reading suggest that we need to construct more, to power up the rift device that was created several weeks ago.

Otherworld Project, day 70:
With the combined power of the pylons, the device have torn a rift in the fabric of time and space. Further investigation will proceed in the following days, as we send the first team through the portal.

Otherworld Project, day 74:
The first team have returned after a quick recognisance at the other side. So far the world shows clear signs of life and inhabitants, some more friendly than others. List of encountered species include:
Kithkin (bipedal creatures, friendly)
Merfolk (bipedal river dwellers, friendly)
Hobgoblins (smaller bipedal creatures, aggressive)
Elves (xenophobic, stay clear!)
Changeling (shapeshifters of some king, friendly)
List will be extended as further discoveries are made.

Otherworld Project, day 80:
We have brought some of the changeling back to Equestria for further studies and tests. Initially we though we had to capture one for studies, but a few of them had listened on us, and volunteered out of curiosity.

Otherworld Project, day 93:
Today we encountered the leader of the changelings, Queen Chrysalis. Compassionate and wise, she is almost a mirror image of our Princesses Celestia and Luna. She has decided to work together with us, to strengthen the relations of our two races.

Otherworld Project, day 143:
Over the last week, we have noticed a change in the world we found, the changeling calls it Lorwyn, it is somehow getting darker. We have not found a reason to this, and the changeling has no knowledge of it ever happening before. Further investigation, and preparations for whatever could happen, is a must.

Otherworld Project, day 151:
This will be the last planned entry, as the nature of the changes in Lorwyn has become visible to us. The entire plane has become a dark and twisted reflection of its past, all the creatures we have found and befriended have turned hostile and violent, including the changelings we have brought here. The gate has been closed, and a warning for future explorers has been made on the seal. With this entry, I close the Otherworld Project and begin Project Defiance, in an attempt to clear Equestria of the hostile changelings that are still here. The focus of Defiance will be a reforming of the Elements of Harmony, in order to harness their power against the changelings.

Back in the present, in the ruined summoning chamber, Starswirl sighed heavily.

“But Project Defiance was never completed, the changelings found a way to escape to the outer lands. Even worse, a strange black shade, shaped vaguely like an alicorn, made its way though the gate before we sealed it off at the end of the conflict. We never found out what it was, or where it went, but I fear that it was part of Princess Luna’s descent into madness a few months later. So yeah, the changelings AND the loss of Princess Luna is my entire fault.”

Next piece of the story

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Finest Hour is the second part of a 3 part MTG expansion set, intended to tell an overall storyline through ponified Magic the Gathering cards, exploring the plane of Equestria and its struggle against a darker force invading it.

A prologue set named Unseen Invasion begins here
Read it if you want the back-story of the main set. Or just want to see more cards. Each piece will have a link to the next part.

This set, named Finest Hour begins with a quick recap of the prologue here
If you want to read the story of this set, simply hit the above recap link, and follow the “Next piece of the story” links.

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Original artwork done by Raikoh, find it Here