Journeys Through Equestria

by Golden Vision

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure
Length: 1312

A collection of thoughts from each corner of the land.

Each land has a life. Each land has a history. Each land has a name.

Inspired by Carbon Maestro's album Pony Empires Complete. Each "chapter" is a visit to a particular land inspired by one of the songs on the album. Each chapter's song is linked at the beginning of that chapter; it is encouraged, though of course not necessary, to listen to that song as you read.

This is not meant to be anything more than a personal creative outlet. Still, I hope you enjoy.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-02-26 07:12:50 UTC

From Saddle Arabia

Youtube Video

Hoofsteps on the desert plain. Saddles shake and wind gusts blow. The drums pound in the distance as the walls tower above my head. My head bobs to the heartbeat of the earth.

I close my eyes.

The sun rises over the plain, its harsh face gazing upon us. I sweat, and my shadow stretches across the land. It flexes into the distance, black upon the sand. I walk on, and my hooves sink into the dunes.

The clouds rise.

I stand above the world, on a dune, alone in the desert. Walls rise around me and fall to the ground, centuries passing without a caring thought. The drumbeat pounds.

Here, I can feel the beat of the earth. The life is strong here, bleeding into the shifting sands. The wind blows, and I feel her breath, hot against my face. I walk.

I plod through the sand. My shadow grows long, following me on my journey. My packs grow no lighter, yet my steps glimmer upon the unending sands.

The stars watch from day-lit skies as oases shift and grow beneath me. All eyes fall upon me, watching as the seconds flow like sand through an hourglass. My mane is sleek with sweat, yet still I walk.

I walk, as I have always walked. I run, but without running. I rise to the top of the dunes and leap.

The Sun watches over me, and I watch over the desert from atop my tower of sand. An infinity is the blink of an eye; a dune, with all the stars, naught but a grain of sand. I blink, and it disappears. My shadow dances below me, and more ponies come.

They come. I will still be here.

Griffon Kingdom

Youtube Video

A glint of light on my talon. It clicks on the rock, waiting to spring. I leap—

—into the air.

Thermals guide me, lifting me to the skies. I loop through the air and clutch my claws to my chest. The mountains stare me down, and I glare back. I know them, and they know me. The earth is in my bones, but the sky is in my heart.

The sun glares down from above and I screech in defiance. My claws shine, and I watch the lands speed past below. My wings flap—once, twice, three times, pushing the wind to my will.

I break through the clouds to see the land beneath. Forests are like matchsticks, the creatures like ants. I am a giant amongst the land. I am a titan of the sky. This is my domain, and I claim it in my name.

A flash of fur. I speed through the air, the wind screaming in my ears. My arms clutch tight to my sides as my beak shines, ready for the kill. I break through to the brush and swoop.

My prey shrieks as it speeds across the empty prey. I waver above it, easily riding the warm winds. The sky pushes me forward—to kill, to live. I scream and swoop.

I take my prey and laugh. Claws flash and blood splatters the grass. The mountains laugh as I take my share of the kill and return to the skies. I return to my perch.

And I eat.

For a United Equestria

Youtube Video

We sing a song of dungeons lost. Of shadows cast upon the streets. We wait and hear for the beat of drums.

The trumpets sound in the distance. We march, our hooves like thunder upon the streets. Our mother calls, and we rise to meet her. We must march as one.

We raise our hooves to the skies and call out Her name. Our metal shakes and gleams in the sunlight, rattling with our hooves and bucklers. The crowds swell with size until we fill the streets. We are all here, and we are ready. We await Her name, Her call, and stand tall.

We watch the skies, our eyes hardened to steel. We watch the earth, and listen.

The song of the earth sings to us, the blaze of the flames roars in our hearts. We raise our swords and await the clash of steel. Words, screamed from atop a guillotine, ready our souls. We scream together. We scream as one. The cobblestone shakes beneath our hooves, for we come.

The trumpets blare, and crimson steel blocks our path. We stand tall. We stand together. We will not break. We will not surrender. We will not run.

Each pony stands. Each pony waits. We will go to war this morn.

The troops march, their horseshoes glinting like lightning in the setting sun. Lances pierce towards the clouds, and the clank of metal fills the air. We march to war. We march to battle. We march to victory.

We march together.

As one.

As Equestria.

In Memoriam (Of the Crystal Ponies)

Youtube Video

We sleep.

It’s quiet, really. Dark. Warm.

Water drips down to the floor. And crystals grow

The caves branch into darkness, burrowing deep underground. Here, we sleep.

We wait, here in the darkness.

The stars glimmer above, but we have no eyes to see them. The moon shines upon us, but our every breath rises, unbidden, no further than the soil below.

The great beasts crawl beneath the earth, unaware of our sleep. Yet we watch, and we wait, held back in our great castles.

The towers rise into the skies, a glimmer, a myriad of colors, waiting for their time to emerge.

Once, we were more. Once, we were great. Once, our crystals shone with the rainbows of every color in the world. Once, we did more than glow—we shone.

We fought across the land, fighting for our freedom. The shadow grew, yet we resisted. We would stay in the light. We would live.

The sun burst from over the horizon, crystal fractals breaking the morning’s light to destroy the shadow. But the shadow burst into the skies, and swallowed us up.

We fought. We cried. We raged. We hated. We loved. And with each step, we fought the shadow, waiting for Sun and Moon to save us from death.

And now we sleep.

Here.

In the darkness.

In and without shadow.

Until the end of days.

Simply.

Waiting.

Dragons of the South

Youtube Video

Their feet shake the ground like thunder atop the distant mountaintops. The soil trembles beneath my hooves, and I look up—up to the skies. The trees are naught to them, the ponies below like ants. The sun flashes across the sky—and the shadows fly.

I gape as they speed past. They fill the atmosphere, scales glinting like fire and ice.

One roars, and another answers. Their calls echo in my ears, ringing like the bubbling of lava. One bellows, rears back, and delivers a stream of curling fire across the sky. It blazes, turning the blue sky crimson. The darkness floods over me as thousands of giant shadows cover the land.

Others tremble behind rocks, the darkness overpowering. But I look up—

—and soar with them in the clouds. My claws glint, and my teeth shine. I give a bestial roar and join the flock.

We swoop through the air, wings spread wide. I bring mine to my sides and dive, the wind hurtling past my scales. I narrow in, the others following in my wake. The thermals lift me high, and I raise my head and roar. The fire builds up in my chest, bubbling through my scales and stomach. It's hot, hotter than anything I've ever known. I open my mouth and roar.

It spirals out, evaporating clouds and giving new light to the world below. I grin my toothy grin, weaving and swooping back with the rest of the flock. Our wings spread wide, and we vanish over the horizon.