Pictures speak 1000 words

Chapters

Celestia in her Armor
Mist in the Everfree
Rivalry of two Siblings
Zebra in the Mountains

Celestia in her Armor

Luna finally raised the moon. It was a simple task to do for her, and she was well practiced in it, but the task was made harder by also trying to lower the sun at the same time. She finished wearily, before going back into the castle, where Celestia lay silent and motionless.

Celestia had, for the past few days, neglected her task of raising and lowering the sun. Something was wrong, but she refused to talk about it, even with Luna.

"Tia, what is on thy mind? Thou hast been acting most strangely recently. Thou hast not risen from thy bed nor eaten anything drink in several days, and it troubles us to see thee in such a state." Celestia didn't bother to respond. She merely lay as she had, with her forelegs crossed beneath her chin, her half-open eyes hardly aware of the world.

Luna sat next to her, placing a tender hoof onto her sister's shoulder, unsure whether she should be comforting or stern. "Please, Tia... Tell us how thou canst be aided. We only wish to help thee..."

The chamber doors flew open, slamming into the wall. "Forgive my intrusion, your majesties, but the monsters have returned!"

In an instant, Celestia was alert. Next to her bed stood a suit of golden armor. She donned a breastplate set with amethyst and shoulder guards that matched. A plated neck guard, jointed to allow flexible movement, and a helmet tipped with two pointed horns that were set with amethyst protected her head. On her legs, she wore fleured leg braces which wrapped their forms around her hooves and came to points at her knees. Her pale, sunrise-hued mane flowed majestically behind her as she sprang to the window.

"Hurry, Luna!" Luna's own armor formed around her body as Celestia swiftly flew toward the small village at the base of their castle. When Luna caught up to her sister, she was already challenging the beasts which threatened her people: Canis Majors, the starwolves.

A group split off away from Celestia while she was distracted and attacked a group of undefended ponies. The ponies screamed and ran, but the wolves were far too quick to be simply out run.

Luna teleported in front of the pack, her horn glowing bright as beams shot out and struck the wolves. They yelped and turned tail back toward the forest which lay at the edge of the village. She then turned her attentions back to the main group.

Luna watched as Celestia rose into the air, her horn shining like the sun. Suddenly, a streak of fire blazed forth and lit the pack. They howled and ran back toward the forest. But then Celestia appeared before them and blocked their path. She sent another blaze straight through the wolves, consuming them in flames. Her eyes burned white, and her mane flared like the flames before her until the wolves were nothing but dust. Satisfied that her work was done, Celestia flew back to the castle, where she would surely remove her armor and curl up like she had the past few days.

As Luna watched her fly away, the townsponies crept out from their homes to see the threat was gone. Cheers fell on her ears as she spread her wings and followed her sister back to the castle.

\When she landed, she noticed Celestia hadn't taken off her armor yet. Instead, she was sitting on the pedestal which overlooked the forest and distant Ponyville.

"Is there something the matter, Tia? Thou hast yet to remove thine armor. Dost thou fear for the townsponies still?"

"I don't know what's happening to me, Luna." Celestia said without turning her head. "I killed them. I killed them all. Not only that, but I didn't even care that all of Ponyville was watching."

"Dwell on it not. Thou didst as thou thought best," Luna consoled.

"You're right... I defended out subjects. I did what was best." Celestia turned her head to face Luna, who was now standing beside her. "But the threat still remains, because you didn't do that. You let some escape." Celestia's eyes firmed and became resolute. "Why?"

"Because the creatures of the forest are as much our subjects as the ponies."

"No, Luna. They are just a disease that poisons the land and must be exterminated to protect the ones that truly matter."

"Thou art not thyself. The Celestia we-- I, know would not so quickly destroy any creature within her domain. Rest thy body and mend thy heart, sister, lest-"

"Or what, sister?" Luna became silent as she watched her sister subtly transform. Even the sky around the castle began to swirl into an ominous cloud from the magic that was swirling through and around Celestia.

Luna suddenly recognized the evil that had grown inside Celestia's heart, but it was too late. She cursed herself for her ignorance. That same evil had claimed her just over 1000 years earlier, and she knew how difficult it was to fight.

"Luna, by your actions, thou hast proven that thou cannot be trusted to do what is best for our subjects." At that, Celestia's mane grew dark, flowing like the blue beginnings of a flame. Her face became hard, and her eyes became slit like a dragon's and glowed a deep purple. The sun began to rise behind Celestia, displacing the night and casting a ray of light behind her which glistened against her armor. "Luna, thou art no longer fit to rule by our side. We shall take thy half of the kingdom!"

Celestia's mane and tail exploded like a blazing Corona, and her eyes gleamed a pupil-less white. Her horn glowed, and her assault against Luna began.

Mist in the Everfree

One finds one's self in a dreamlike place. A fine mist spread across the land. The clouds expanded and covered the Everfree, untamed by any pegasus. Over the treetops, beneath the canopy, it permeated everything. The sun rarely reached this area of the forest, but the water could travel where the sun could not, and it made the area darker, colder.

If one chose to tread in such weather, one would feel as though one's soul were being slowly drawn through one's pores. A slow leak, a relentless seeping ooze coming out of one's body, as though the forest itself were trying to consume one's very life essence instead of feeding your body to the predators housed within its wooded demesnes.

The ground might feel wet and chilled as one walked through dew covered grass. One would have to be careful not to stub one's hoof against a tree root hidden by the mist. There may even be small creatures beneath the layer of cloud, so one must tread softly. But more so than small creatures or the roots of trees, one would have to be wary of stepping into the grove of a tiny blue plant known as poison joke.

If one were to smell the air around one's self, one might find it to be pleasant. A patch of flowers may be just off to one's right, and a stew may be cooking in the hut of a resident zebra. The again, one may also smell a fetid stench, like rotting eggs or decaying meat: the foul breath of a timber wolf.

If one looked around, one might be able to see a few feet in front of one's face. What could be hiding in the mist? Just the trees? Perhaps a hidden patch of the joke? What sorts of fauna might one find inside the Everfree? Fish might be swimming in a brook or a pond. Many species of birds of all colors and plumage might be just around the next tree. One such bird would more than love to gaze directly into one's probing eyes. One must stay clear of that bird, that bird known as the cockatrice.

What sort of flavors might the mist be carrying? Delectable flower petals and herbs. Fruits not found in any orchard. Swamp water, stagnant and putrid. That stew mentioned earlier, perhaps.

Nearby, one might be able to hear a brook or a creek as it rolled across a rocky bed. Or the rustling of a waterfall in the distance. Perhaps the screech of a phoenix as it flew overhead. The growl of a hungry wolf hidden behind the trees, or the snoring of an ursa echoing in a cave. The screech of a phoenix, or the roar of a manticore.

A roar that may be growing in intensity as it gets closer to one's position. One cannot hide from such a beast. Not when it smells something that doesn't belong in the forest, like one's self. One would be wise to run if one ever find one's self in such a predicament, taking care not to step in the joke or stub one's hoof.

And if one ran far enough, one might come to a clearing where the mist was broken. One would hear the brook rolling on the rocks, its soothing melody of ripples and twitters caressing the ears like a mother cooing her baby. One would see many trees of various colors: reds, yellows and greens, with brown bark, some of it covered in lichens. The rocks would have a tint of green as well from the moss which dotted their faces. The grass beneath one's hooves would be cool under the light of the moon's rays which could finally reach the ground.

Above the treetops, one would see the mountains, cold and grey except for one spot. Shining bright against the monotone of the stony mountains, one would see white ivory spires, capped with gold domes, pointed at the top. Canterlot Castle as it stands prominently from the cliff face would greet one's eyes. Just around the castle, one would see the colors of trees growing out of the mountainside. At its foot, one would see the waterfall one heard earlier, flowing directly from Canterlot into the forest below to form the brook at one's feet.

And above the castle, the sky would be covered by the cloud that created the mist. The cloud would be flowing down the mountain and through the forest where one stood. It would stretch across the sky in preparation of a storm until it was ready to challenge the pegasi outside the forest. It would sit upon the mountain top like a throne where the sunrise would catch its belly, warming the water until it was fully ready to make its move on the unprepared ponies.

A sunrise which would be strangely out of place so soon after sunset. Not to mention rising from the wrong side of Equestria as it traveled backward through the sky. Flashes of starlight and flames would appear from just outside the castle, as if in a battle for control of the skies.

Then one would watch as the cloud flashed with lightning and roared with thunder as it descended upon the land below.

Rivalry of two Siblings

"H-how...? How could this happen?" Rainbow Dash walked slowly across the ruins of what used to be Cloudsdale.

To her left, she saw several large basins which at one point held enough water to produce clouds for the hottest summer days. Scattered nearby were chunks of metal, indicating not all the tanks survived their encounter with doom.

In the distance to her right, Dash saw what remained of the Wonderbolt Academy. It didn't seem so long ago that she had attended a camp there and earned respect from Spitfire as a powerful flyer. Just recently, Scootaloo had attended that very same camp under her care.

But now everything was nothing more than rubble. Cloudsdale City Hall lay still, a silent wreckage. The young flyer's arena? Reduced to a few shattered pillars. Just behind it, the Reservoir was more full of stone than water. Dash could see crags of broken building poking out from under its surface like foals poking their heads from their hiding places, hoping they wouldn't get into trouble.

Rainbow Dash continued her search. Spitfire had sent her on a mission to root out the attackers and eliminate them. Down the cloud streets she walked until she came to base of the young flyer's arena, where a figure stepped out from the rubble.

Dash recognized her immediately. There were only two mares with a mane and tail as blonde as hers, and she wasn't Applejack. She carried a thick greatsword over her shoulder, one of the few ponies strong enough to wield such a weapon without magic. On her chest and hooves, she wore the signature grey and purple armor of one of the most powerful family of ponies in Equestria, a family which boasts such members as Daring the Adventurer, Dinky the Sorceress, and even Rainbow the Dash herself.

"Derpy..."

"Dash."

"Did you do this?"

Ditzy Doo's pulled the greatsword off her shoulder and swung it at a nearby pillar. She stopped the blade just as its edge nicked the pillar, then pulled it back and struck the top of the pillar with its broadside. The stone structure exploded from the impact as though it had been shot with a cannon, sending more chunks of stone into the reservoir and leaving a perfectly smooth stump where she had cut.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Why?! Why are you doing this?"

Ditzy trotted toward the edge of the cloud island and pointed toward Canterlot. "Look, Dash. Over the castle."

Rainbow turned her head. A wild storm was growing rapidly over the mountains near the Canterlot side of the Everfree Forest, unchecked by pony hooves.

"That's... big."

"There's only one pony I know who can stop something like that, Dash." Ditzy glanced sidelong at Rainbow. "And I couldn't get your attention without doing something drastic."

Rainbow gaped at Ditzy. "Are you saying you destroyed Cloudsdale just to get me to talk to you? That's just..."

"Derpy?"

"I was going to say insane, but derpy works too." Rainbow looked back at the storm that continued to grow. "Still, if you hadn't gotten my attention, I would never have known about the storm until it was too late. Thank you, Derpy." She spread her wings. "Time to get to work."

A glint of light flashed across Rainbow's vision. She instinctively leapt to the side and rolled to her hooves as Ditzy's enormous blade crashed down where she had been standing.

"Derpy, watch it!" Ditzy pulled the sword back over her shoulder and glared at Rainbow Dash.

"Woops."

"You... You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Suddenly the broadside of the blade crashed into Rainbow's chest, blasting her into the wreckage of City Hall.

"Does that answer your question?"

Rainbow shoved the rubble away and climbed back to her hooves. "Have you gone nuts?! I've got to stop that cloud before it's too late!"

Ditzy 'Derpy' Do and Rainbow 'Dash' Do looked into each others eyes, neither flinching, neither backing down.

"No, sister. You aren't going anywhere."

Zebra in the Mountains

As surely as my eyes can see, my heart is filled with glee at the sight of such beauty

I've been to many places, yet I've never seen wonder like these cliff faces

There is a bright orange tree to my right

Rooted on the mountain's height. In front of me, I see many birds of white

As well as several large stones like the planet's backbones

Above my head are clouds painted in many shades of red

And yellow with a background of deep blue. Not a sound

Of disharmony touches me

The clay under my hooves is smooth, without grooves

Down below in the valley, mist covers the Everfree. To my left is Canterlot, the city of Ivory

It basks in the sun's glow, the same light which helps my herbs grow

The air I breath is crisp and clean, and my mind is purified by the scene

On both of my sides I hear the waterfalls that are near

Some beneath the orange tree, and more under the castle of Ivory

The mountains grow dark, their landscapes stark

Naked under the waning sun, signalling that the day is done

Now the night can truly descend, the moon rising to tend

The skies in the sun's stead, bringing soft light upon my head

The stars are beginning to dance, giving me a rare chance

To see Luna's work unhindered by trees which shirk

Away the light of day and night

My eyes lovingly greet the stars like my ears would the beat

Of my homeland's drum. I cannot help but hum

A cadence to celebrate the beauty of this great

Sky and its architect and her ability to project

Her thoughts and feelings into the night's dealings.

The mountains of stone like a great backbone

Shine in this different gleam and the tree on my right does seem

To blaze its orange hued leaves like flames unsubdued

As they shimmer and flow, I realize and know

That even after many years, Nature can still bring me to tears

But what is this? There grows a mist

Near the castle of Canterlot, and in the sky grows a large bright spot

Does the Sun's glow return even during night and grow?

This is madness, but it seems this vision is not just a dream

The Sun has indeed returned even though the sky has spurned

Its light for the darkness of night

The mist is swelling very large, and the clouds have taken on a charge

Of lightning and thunder. It's a cloud meant to sunder

The ground below, yet there are no pegasi that go

I understand it not, this storm that covers the celestial spot

Zecora on Canterlot Mountain Range