artist description: Ner’zhul, Warchief of the orcish Horde, stood at the crown of the hill overlooking thronging congregation of his people. Months of planning an preparation have brought them all to this moment of triumph. A new world ripe for the taking was within their grasp. A toothy grin spread across his face, cracking the bone white pain that covered his face from his forehead down to his lip. He spread his hulking arms wide, displaying in either hand the artifacts he had acquired. The Jeweled Staff of Sargeras in one hand, the skull of his former apprentice, Gul’dan, in the other and the Eye of Dalaran strung across his neck.
 
“Lok’tar, my warriors!” He bellows in a deep, guttural voice, “The time has come to reclaim our honor and to become the conquerors we were destined to be!”
 
The statement was met by roars of anticipation from the crowd below.
 
“A new world shall be ours for the taking, and its inhabitants shall break before the mighty onslaught of the Horde!”
 
The cheering intensifies as Ner’zhul turned around and faced the towering stone portal that had once been the gateway into Azeroth, but now re-purposed to take them to countless other worlds. With the staff and skull in hand, Ner’zhul gazed up at the archway and recited the incantations. Light emanated from the artifacts and slowly began to envelope Ner’zhul’s body as the magic surged through him. An unnatural wind flurried about him as his body lifted off the ground. His chanting intensifies and is intermingled with the chanting from the congregation below.
 
At last a beam of blueish-green light bursts from Ner’zhul’s chest and careens toward the center of the archway. As it approached the center of the archway, the light dispersed toward the outer edges of the gateway, filling the gap between the pillars with its glow. Ner’zhul’s chanting begins to subside as an image of the world beyond the portal comes into view amidst the swirling magic. The light around Ner’zhul’s body immediately fades away once his feet reunite with the ground. For a moment… all is silent.
 
After a moment of gazing at what he had created, Ner’zhul finally addresses the mass of orcs below him. Raising his fists to the red sky above him he cries, “LOK’TAR OGAR!”  
The Horde responds in kind as the army of orcs charges up the hill and into the swirling mist of the portal.
 

 
Celestia wakes with a jolt and busts upright in her bed. Panting heavily, she brings her hooves to her head. “W-what was that?” She stammers to herself.
 
Not a moment later, her sister bursts through her chamber doors, nigh in a panic. “Sister! What was that just now?” She asks, urgency permeating her voice.
 
“I don’t know.” Replied Celestia, her voice shaky. “I’ve never felt anything like this before.” She rises from her bed and walks out to the balcony.
 
Luna quickly trots to her side. “Do you think this could be the work of Tirek, or even Discord?” She inquires.
 
“I don’t think so. Neither Tirek nor Discord, even before his reformation, have ever performed magic this foul.” She said.
 
“The what do you think it means, dear sister?” Luna continued.
 
Celestia shakes her head. “I don’t know, but I fear that whatever it was… is unlike anything Equestria has ever faced…”
 

 
So this piece is going to be the cover art for a crossover story that I’m going to be writing called Warhorses. If you haven’t already figured it out, it’s going to be a crossover between Warcraft and MLP. The particular time-frames I’m using are post season 4 of MLP and Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal. The idea behind the story is, “What if the orcs were able to successfully open a portal into another world after they failed on Azeroth? And what if that world just so happened to be Equestria?”
 
So, that’s what this is. What’s going to happen to the ponies of Equestria when they are faced with the brutality of the orcs? Is Equestria going to survive, or are they going to fall under the might of the Horde? Quite frankly, I’m not sure. Shall we find out?