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Organised by
RogerDodger
Word limit
400–750
Forced Perspective
Celestia rose from her lace-canopied bed in an alcove along the wall and strode to the chamber’s center. She peered up at the starry images painted on the ceiling—a nice reminder of her sister’s presence, but they hadn’t interacted in ages. Luna did not seem to care much for mundane matters around their home anyway, preferring to soar among the heavens for weeks on end. She did not seem to care much for Celestia’s little experiment, either.
She gazed around the circular stone room. Each window looked out upon endless clouds that gently swirled and churned. If she wanted to leave, she could simply leap out one of the windows and take flight, but she hadn’t felt the urge in so long. Everything she needed resided here, including her sister. Enough of the time, at least.
No staircase down, no ladder. The turret floated on the clouds—if it had a bottom, she did not remember creating one.
A light breeze billowed the sheer curtains and sent ripples across the shallow pool in the basin before her. The stars on the ceiling glittered back at her from the water’s surface. And just beneath it, small swirls of sediment curled in a complex cadence. The longer she stared at it, the more it settled into order, the more it took shape.
Her mouth bowed into a frown. A blackened field stood before her, charred dirt, bare gnarled trees… bodies. Lines of unicorns behind their shields, in their trenches, but overwhelmed, sprawling, lifeless. Spears protruded from their sides, and where they had attempted a retreat, earth ponies had closed in from all sides, only to fall victim to an aerial assault. Even pegasi littered the battlefield, but they had apparently won a war of attrition. And taken no prisoners.
The remaining pegasi picked over the corpses for any serviceable weapons and armor. Not that it would do them any good—they had wiped out the others. Who would oppose them now?
It had been going so well, too. Almost. Almost this time. Every subtle piece in place, every undercurrent of guidance she could offer. And they still did not understand.
She waved a foreleg over the water, and it went quiet, the image gone, the dust all settled to the bottom again. Formless, ready to be molded anew. But not today.
Celestia peered out her tower window away from the rising sun. The dark line of dawn had pursued her sister toward the horizon once again. A little game, nothing more. But Luna had been decidedly less amused about the outcome of yesterday’s experiment. Let it go, she had said. They cannot understand. The ponies had resisted, finding ever more creative ways to kill each other, the inevitable result each time.
Still, she reset everything, little clumps of silt forming and organizing into groups. And while their domains stretched toward each other, Celestia left her pool to evolve as it may. A few years would not hurt while she reached outside to scoop up some crystals of cloud mist. Then she tossed them in the water, and they circled, haunting those ponies.
They huddled together in the cave. Perhaps a shared danger, a common enemy, one whom they could not kill so much as dispel…
Celestia’s heart leapt! They emerged as one, united, returned to spread the news to their tribes, and—too soon, they’d thrown away all they’d built.
So close. She hung her head, dashed her hoof across the water, and returned all the bodies to the sediment. They did not understand!
Today, they would understand. Perhaps Luna would not.
Celestia had just finished swirling in the ice crystals, and the ponies would emerge from that cave momentarily. She already knew what formula worked there. What came after, however… She had one thing left to try.
Her horn glowed brilliantly, and the basin grew, its water overflowing. The clouds floated up—no, the tower sank, below the mountaintops. In her chest, Celestia’s soul burned as hot as the sun, and the light engulfed everything, her whole world, now theirs.
When it had finally subsided, she stood in a rocky clearing, her gaping sister by her side. The last trickle of melting ice flowed away from the cave’s entrance, and three pairs of ponies peeked out to see how the world had changed. They found yet another pair waiting for them.
“Hello, my little ponies,” Celestia said. “If you will allow us, we would like to help make your peace a lasting one.”
She gazed around the circular stone room. Each window looked out upon endless clouds that gently swirled and churned. If she wanted to leave, she could simply leap out one of the windows and take flight, but she hadn’t felt the urge in so long. Everything she needed resided here, including her sister. Enough of the time, at least.
No staircase down, no ladder. The turret floated on the clouds—if it had a bottom, she did not remember creating one.
A light breeze billowed the sheer curtains and sent ripples across the shallow pool in the basin before her. The stars on the ceiling glittered back at her from the water’s surface. And just beneath it, small swirls of sediment curled in a complex cadence. The longer she stared at it, the more it settled into order, the more it took shape.
Her mouth bowed into a frown. A blackened field stood before her, charred dirt, bare gnarled trees… bodies. Lines of unicorns behind their shields, in their trenches, but overwhelmed, sprawling, lifeless. Spears protruded from their sides, and where they had attempted a retreat, earth ponies had closed in from all sides, only to fall victim to an aerial assault. Even pegasi littered the battlefield, but they had apparently won a war of attrition. And taken no prisoners.
The remaining pegasi picked over the corpses for any serviceable weapons and armor. Not that it would do them any good—they had wiped out the others. Who would oppose them now?
It had been going so well, too. Almost. Almost this time. Every subtle piece in place, every undercurrent of guidance she could offer. And they still did not understand.
She waved a foreleg over the water, and it went quiet, the image gone, the dust all settled to the bottom again. Formless, ready to be molded anew. But not today.
Celestia peered out her tower window away from the rising sun. The dark line of dawn had pursued her sister toward the horizon once again. A little game, nothing more. But Luna had been decidedly less amused about the outcome of yesterday’s experiment. Let it go, she had said. They cannot understand. The ponies had resisted, finding ever more creative ways to kill each other, the inevitable result each time.
Still, she reset everything, little clumps of silt forming and organizing into groups. And while their domains stretched toward each other, Celestia left her pool to evolve as it may. A few years would not hurt while she reached outside to scoop up some crystals of cloud mist. Then she tossed them in the water, and they circled, haunting those ponies.
They huddled together in the cave. Perhaps a shared danger, a common enemy, one whom they could not kill so much as dispel…
Celestia’s heart leapt! They emerged as one, united, returned to spread the news to their tribes, and—too soon, they’d thrown away all they’d built.
So close. She hung her head, dashed her hoof across the water, and returned all the bodies to the sediment. They did not understand!
Today, they would understand. Perhaps Luna would not.
Celestia had just finished swirling in the ice crystals, and the ponies would emerge from that cave momentarily. She already knew what formula worked there. What came after, however… She had one thing left to try.
Her horn glowed brilliantly, and the basin grew, its water overflowing. The clouds floated up—no, the tower sank, below the mountaintops. In her chest, Celestia’s soul burned as hot as the sun, and the light engulfed everything, her whole world, now theirs.
When it had finally subsided, she stood in a rocky clearing, her gaping sister by her side. The last trickle of melting ice flowed away from the cave’s entrance, and three pairs of ponies peeked out to see how the world had changed. They found yet another pair waiting for them.
“Hello, my little ponies,” Celestia said. “If you will allow us, we would like to help make your peace a lasting one.”