Pony Verse: A Collaborative Collection of Pony Poetry
by darf
First published
A wide-ranging anthology of verse from nine of FIMFiction's top poets.
Poems are a window to the soul—a lens of wonder that reveals the beauty of the world around us. In this collection, nine of the fandom's most talented poets hold that prism up to the ponies we all cherish.
The poems in this anthology cover all main characters and a wide spectrum of Equestrian life, and range in style from strict form to free verse. We've presented them in an order that showcases the collection's wide variety of styles and themes. There's also an index if you're looking for a favorite subject, author, or poetic form.
It is our hope that this effort can make readers unfamiliar with poetry consider ponies in a new way—and in doing so, also show that poetry can be approachable, honest, and amazing.
A list of contributors follows below. Endless thanks—this project would not have been possible without you.
Poets:
darf
Aquillo
Horizon
The Illusive Badgerpony
PersianJuliet
Cynewulf
ambion
ForeverFreest
Defoloce
Fimfic Editing and Arrangement: darf
Organization and Creative Oversight: darf, Horizon
Cover Art: Pony Horse Nice-guy
ToC Lettering: Spaerk
Table of Contents
1. These Are -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forever Freest
Subject: Harmony Style: Mixed Meter/Ballad
2. on the way home ---------------------------------------------------------------- darf
Subject: Spike Style: In emulation of William Carlos Williams
3. She Blinked, and the Sky grew Dark ------------------------------------ Aquillo
Subject: Luna Style: Mixed Meter/Ballad
4. On Earth Ponies ----------------------------------------------------------------- Cynewulf
Subject: Earth Ponies Style: Free Verse
5. Big Macintosh Waxes Poetic ------------------------------------------------ PersianJuliet
Subject: Big Macintosh Style: Free Verse/Bookended Couplets
6. Clerihooves (Part 1) ----------------------------------------------------------- (various)
Subject: Various Style: Clerihew
7. On a Bunny-Rabbit Named ‘Angel’ ------------------------------------- darf
Subject: Angel (Fluttershy) Style: In emulation of Christopher Smart
8. Ignis Fatuus -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aquillo
Subject: Applejack Style: Iambic Tetrameter
9. Untitled Hearts and Hooves Day Poem --------------------------------- The Illusive Badgerpony
Subject: Rumble/Scootaloo Style: Free Verse/Children's Rhymes
10. Treehouse ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aquillo
Subject: Twilight Sparkle Style: Couplets
11. To Sunchaser the Younger -------------------------------------------------- Horizon
Subject: Celestia Style: Dramatic Monologue/Free Verse
12. Lagniappe ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Horizon
Subject: Roseluck (Celestia) Style: Mixed Meter
13. Student ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ darf
Subject: Twilight Sparkle Style: Slam
14. Hairy Situation ------------------------------------------------------------------- ambion
Subject: Twilight Sparkle/Celestia/Everypony Style: Iambic
15. No Moss ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aquillo
Subject: Pinkie Pie Style: Free Verse (rhymed)
16. After-Party ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Illusive Badgerpony
Subject: Pinkie Pie Style: Slam
17. Lyrical Lyre ------------------------------------------------------------------------- darf
Subject: Lyra Style: Mixed Meter
18. When the Night Mares Visit -------------------------------------------------- PersianJuliet
Subject: Nightmare Moon/Thestrals Style: Ballad
19. A Dress Achieved ----------------------------------------------------------------- Aquillo
Subject: Rarity Style: Villanelle
20. Fuzzy Refractions ---------------------------------------------------------------- darf
Subject: Derpy Style: Free Verse
21. Koans for the Next Age --------------------------------------------------------- Horizon
Subject: CelestAI/Friendship is Optimal Style: Free Verse/Haiku
22. Clerihooves (Part 2) -------------------------------------------------------------- (various)
Subject: Various Style: Clerihew
23. From a Jilted Lover to Her Lost Love ------------------------------------- darf
Subject: Cadence/Shining Armor Style: Phillipic/Iambic Pentameter
24. Lament of nameless changelings --------------------------------------------- ambion
Subject: Changelings Style: Sonnet
25. Attempt 4-3-4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Aquillo
Subject: Fluttershy Style: Ballad
26. On Pegasi—A Primer ------------------------------------------------------------- Cynewulf
Subject: Pegasi Style: Dramatic Monologue/Free Verse
27. Sisters Never Listen! -------------------------------------------------------------- The Illusive Badgerpony
Subject: Rarity/Sweetie Belle Style: Slam/Dialogue
28. Griffon War Song ------------------------------------------------------------------ darf
Subject: Griffons Style: Mixed Meter/Song/Chant
29. Beneath the Sun --------------------------------------------------------------------- Defoloce
Subject: Saddle Arabia/Celestia Style: Ghazal
30. An Impromptu Private Composition Upon The Joyous Occasion Of My Return Gala
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Horizon
Subject: Luna Style: Iambic Monometer
31. Hymn to the Princess --------------------------------------------------------------- Aquillo
Subject: Celestia Style: Amphibrachic Dimeter
32. Dissolving (concordia discors) --------------------------------------------------- darf
Subject: Discord Style: Syllabic/Formulaic
33. Witness ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aquillo
Subject: Rainbow Dash Style: Mixed Meter
34. We Gallop Around ------------------------------------------------------------------- PersianJuliet
Subject: Buffalo Style: Song
35. Cake Thief ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Aquillo
Subject: Celestia Style: Trochaic Tetrameter
36. Clerihooves (Part 3) ------------------------------------------------------------------ (various)
Subject: Various Style: Clerihew
37. from the clouds ------------------------------------------------------------------------- darf
Subject: Derpy Style: In emulation of William Carlos Williams
38. A Poem, by Gummy ------------------------------------------------------------------ (darf)
Subject: ? Style: ?
These Are
These Are
What is the sign of the sign of the end?
Where does Oblivion go?
What is the look of the look of a Day?
What is the meaning of Night?
What is the part of the parting of friends?
And what is a way to Away?
What is the pattern of paternal Time?
What is his quarrel and fight?
What is the harm without Harmony's word?
And what is the creature of Crime?
What is the last of the last of the last?
And how serves amending to mend?
These are the Nights of the pony of dreams,
And these are the Days of the Star
These are the winters of beauty and dark
And sweeter the summertime seems
These are the days of the old and the new
The times of the new and the old.
These are the days of the Moon and the Sun
No longer parted, but 'twined
Days are as Nights are as Harmony's song—
No longer parted, but one.
These are the times of the Friend and the Foe
Ever they struggle, yet bend
Order is Chaos is Harmony's call—
Ever they struggle, but know.
These are the days of the cold and the warm
The times of the warm and the cold.
Author's Notes:
Poem by Forever Freest
on the way home
on the way home
when stopping
at the store,
a pony turned and
looked at me
his mouth held a
bell that rang when he
moved his head back and
forth like he was
searching for someone
i held the list of things
to bring home tightly
in my claw and asked
him if he needed
help with something
don’t we all
he said
i brought home two
cartons of eggs, a head of
lettuce, and a four
liter bottle
of milk
i could have used some
help carrying
everything home
but in the end everything
was fine
Author's Notes:
Poem by darf
She Blinked, and the Sky grew Dark
She Blinked, and the Sky grew Dark
There once was a tale told centuries ago
Of a second who ruled with the Sun.
With stars in her mane and eyes like the rain
Her allurement surpassed all but one.
The night and the moon were hers to command
And she tended them throughout the years.
Our terrors and qualms were quashed through her charms
As she guarded our dreams from our fears.
But one fateful night, the moon froze in place
As the stars disappeared from the sky.
And when the dawn came, the darkness remained,
And a shadow descended from high.
An alicorn born to serve the abyss
As a clone of our Lunar Princess.
Her hair shone with sparks, her visage was dark,
And the all-night was hers to posses.
Her laughter was cruel, her fangs razor sharp
But her beauty was plain on her face.
She tempted, beguiled, seduced and defiled
The best soldiers from every last race.
Her army grew vast beneath the black sky
And the sisters could not hope to win.
Until, in the eve, fair Luna conceived
Of a plan to defeat her dark twin.
She called for a duel to settle the war,
Single combat between the two nights.
Her image agreed, her pride made her cede,
But was thrown by the terms of the fight:
A place where the world could witness it all
To ensure that the combat was fair.
Dark questioned the place; a smile gripped Night’s face
And she raised her hoof up in the air.
From those years till now, their battle draws on
As is clear from the scars on the moon.
But legend conveys the stars know a way
To ensure of a victory soon.
We sing to you, Luna, battling still
And we offer our thanks and our praise.
For you are the one who brought back the sun
Whatever our history says.
It was you alone who saved the white throne
All Equestria owes you its thanks.
Know, too, that we yearn for you to return
And the scars on the moon to go blank.
We offer this song in hopes it’s not long
Till the days when your conquest’s declared
And using our voice, we’ll make the stars’ choice
Be as ours, be for you, the Night mare.
Author's Notes:
Poem by Aquillo
On Earth Ponies
On Earth Ponies
The works and the days they are
Done with, the long stretch of
Agrarian years they are
Done with all, the call of the trees is
Done with, and accomplished the
Apple demands—family and the
Weight of duty.
Oh, but the Earth was ever mine—
Ever faithful ever true.
Ponies of the earth, we the movers
Of the grain, who tend the vineyards
Of the Grapes, who are the growers
Of Apples—
Who love the Good Earth.
Oh, but the Earth was ever mine—
Ever faithful ever true.
No flyer of clouds am I, nor my
Ponies those who build pillars
Of cloud—These hooves built for
Hard things are, built for the
Slow things are to guard and for
Living things are the hooves of
The Ponies I come from meant.
Oh, but the Earth was ever mine—
Ever faithful ever true.
And I have no magic because I need
None, need no wings, need no
Wine of heady sort to grace tongue
And no mysteries in runes. I have
World enough, and time,
And commands to ask not of
Tomorrow
But only to enjoy the lilies of the
Field
Which is to say
That the love of Earth is mine and
The World is enough.
Author's Notes:
Poem by Cynewulf
Big Macintosh Waxes Poetic
Big Macintosh Waxes Poetic
Sweet and heavy hang the blossoms this delicate Spring night
The apple orchard before me- my pride and my delight
See! how light on my hooves the wind makes me
Ah! how full of peace is my heart
Softly I move, softly with thought of tired mares and sleepy foals
Softly lest they wake
They dream and all is well
They dream of work and play and hearty food with smiling faces
And I am content, for their happiness is mine
See now, how I stomp my hoof and bathe in a shower of petals?
All the earth responds to me
Naught shall harm this charmed place
All who enter must pass me on my lofty hilltop
And my body is equal to the thickest root, the oldest bough
I am my family’s protector and guard
Only good dreams shall I allow tonight
Sentinel on a hill of apple trees blooming under the moon
And they shall bloom every spring, forever
Though I speak little
My heart brims over with this sensation
My family! how I love them
Each scraped knee and tear of my sister, big or small, is a blow to me
And my Granny, Granny our wisdom and soul
The earth nourishing saplings
How can I ever say what family is?
Family, the golden memories of carefree summers
Family, the bountiful harvest won by toil
Family, the struggle and triumph of harsh winters
Family, this very spring night, so peaceful and fragrant
And should my wakeful sister find me, nose lifted and eyes shining
And ask if I am chilled by the playful night air
I shall inhale the heady scent of new earth and apple blossoms
And look at her with wonderment that I should be so lucky
All tawdry words shall fail me then, and so!
My eyes alone express my soul, my pride and love and hope
And with my mouth, with clarity, I simply answer, “Nope.”
Author's Notes:
Poem by PersianJuliet
Clerihooves (Part 1)
Clerihooves (Part 1)
(Aquillo)
Twilight Sparkle
Is—putting it nicely—ungraceful
Though should she lose her element
A dance or two might make her foes repent
(darf)
Applejack
Has no talent for talking smack
Her gangsta lyrics always seem to stall
When ill verse is interrupted by “y’all”
(ambion)
Applejack cannot abide figurative prattle
All hat; some cattle
She knocks on wood quite definitely
And the fruits of her labour fall from the trees
(darf)
Rainbow Dash, pegasus
Favorite to some of us
No stranger to a human rider
Even when they cu—
(Horizon)
—carry cider!
(The Illusive Badgerpony)
Scootaloo, quite obsessed
With the chromatically best
Tried to dye her mane, but to her dismay
Found that it instead had turned grey
(darf)
Rarity, a fashionable mare
Attends her appearance with great care
The way she dresses suits her
But seems no help when searching for a suitable suitor
(Horizon)
Pinkamena Diane Pie:
The Element of Why
Ask her what a group without her lacks
And fall into Why's cracks
(ambion)
Fluttershy modelled once
and though magick'd to be quite the dunce
for a month, picking noses
was an etiquette on par with roses
(darf)
That lovely lyrical mare, Pinkie Pie
Has more talent for singing than poetry
Nevertheless, she wrote a verse, thinking she might be a poetess
But just didn’t know it-ess
(Horizon)
Discord
Is always bored
But takes the greatest of delight
In following rules not quite correctly.
On a Bunny Rabbit Named 'Angel'
On A Bunny Rabbit Named 'Angel'
Blessed most are the creatures of the forest.
Worthy of consideration in every element, if for nothing else other than their composition.
Consider the bunny, bearing bashfulness for his cute widdle feeties.
Consider his big floppy ears, granting him awareness of his surroundings.
Consider the application of his gaze, like iron in strife, and comforting as his coat in temperance of his temper.
Consider his fuzzy fur, so soft that his tummy may be used for snuggles, evident as its inherent purpose despite his protest.
Consider his name, blessed of the heavens in moniker and afforded of celestial patience.
Consider his awareness of time, and emerging thence, his punctual nature.
Consider that he looks adorable in a little black bow-tie.
Consider that his feet, noted for their size and considerable leverage, are in his mercy used only for locomotion.
Consider that sometimes he is forgetful, and locomotes in stillness out of agitation.
Consider that his feet are also soft, and therefore forgiving.
Consider that no matter his lament, he shall relent in his demeanour when clutched tightly.
Consider that he will squeak when squeezed.
Consider that he sounds adorable.
Consider his concern for all members of the animal kingdom, whom in his benevolence he will partake in the company of at all possible instances.
Consider in the absence of the lion, that the bunny-rabbit may be a suitable king.
Consider that so fortunate is he in the fealty of his fellow woodland critters that he shall never want for company.
Consider that he is welcome inside at all times, yet shall display his preference no more particular than the changing of the weather.
Consider he does not like the rain.
Consider that he will come inside on colder occasions, and shall be the perfect size to wrap twofold in a warm blanket.
Consider he will then consent to snuggling if persuaded with hot chocolate and tiny marshmallows.
Consider that he will glare if told he looks like a marshmallow.
Consider that he is, despite all admonition to the contrary, the most compassionate of the forest creatures.
Consider that he will roll his eyes at reminders of friendship.
Consider he will then snuggle closer.
Consider that the bunny is a cloud of the forest.
Consider him the dwelling of all higher powers.
Consider his name is apt in his cherubic nature.
Consider the sound of his breathing when at rest, like tiny, gentle rainfall.
Consider him as the night becomes dark, and the heaven light of his white coat in refraction proves sufficient illumination in absence of a candle-flame.
Consider his proximity in falling asleep.
Consider waking up next to an Angel.
And in all things blessed, no more than ever by the gentlest creature of the forest, and by circumstance, the best of friends.
Amen.
Author's Notes:
Poem by darf
Ignis Fatuus
Ignis Fatuus
The storm that owned the sky last night
Stains it still, with scattered clouds
Throwing shadows down to ground
And coating all in bruiséd light
Till every living thing around
No longer seems to gleam so bright
The muted colours of the trees
Are greys and browns and not-so-greens
Fragment-leaves flow here and there
Half-snapped branches hang like hair
And apples, smashed to smithereens
Spread red guts in liquid smears
She strides, restless, inside the grove
Worried. Checking every trunk
For breaks. Finding them broke, she grows
Cold as every hope is sunk
And slowly, loss by loss, she knows
Her fears have come to pass in droves
Slows down. Then shakes. Then starts but stops.
Tries not to cry, then cries a lot.
Stops. Attempts to dry her eyes.
Gives up, but finds that she can not:
For even though her orchard lies
In ruins, her resolve won’t die.
She can’t give up: there’s work to do
Chances left to gamble on
Hopes that still remain unsprung
She whispers soft, “Believe that’s true.
“The job’s ain't over till it’s done,
And somehow, someway, you’ll pull through.”
Author's Notes:
Poem by Aquillo
Untitled Hearts and Hooves Day Poem
Untitled Hearts and Hooves Day Poem
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I want you to be
My Scootaloo...
I can never really get
The words to come out
Right;
I always stammer
Stutter
Stop
And soon I have no time
Left;
She sits on the other
Side of the room,
The
Right side
And I’m here on this
Side, the lonely, lifeless
Left side.
She’s everything I want to
Be
Strong
Brave
Passionate
Always
Right
Even when she’s not
But I’ll always be
Too scared to say anything
My Scootaloo,
Someday you won’t be
Left
To love
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Unrequited love
Sucks,
And all I want is you
To get the hint
Maybe the cards aren’t
Enough,
Maybe the looks too
Subtle,
Maybe I make too
Much
Effort to say it
Without saying it
Instead, I’ll stay
As always, on the
Left,
And you’ll be just
As always, too far
Away to love, on the
Right.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
And as long as I’m afraid,
I’ll never have you.
So I’ll be blue, too.
Author's Notes:
Poem by The Illusive Badgerpony
Treehouse
Treehouse
They gifted me a living house, with hedgerows
Out the windows and a pile of thoughts inside
All night, I hear it breathing life
It creaks, shivering out the breezes
Bleeding darkness out into the hollowed
Out interiors as the living sap once would
It is uncertain what to do with me
It has taken all I own as its
But I am still held back. Not unwanted
But unwelcome yet. No place found
I try. I have lived inside a house
Where dead stones pave the floor
And draw your heat. Here, grass forms
The streets and is not thought as weeds
But as a microcosm living as its own small world
Frail against the greatness, yes
But holding so much more inside.
Author's Notes:
Poem by Aquillo
To Sunchaser the Younger
To Sunchaser the Younger
Burn not your missive,
my dearest son,
for the love of
your dearest sun
burns too hot for mortal hoof.
Hide it, unsent,
lest she say yes.
Would you believe me
if I were to aver
each hue of her mane
is one she once adored,
the fullness of her light
boiling bones to ash
until color alone remained?
Oh? Then you're a fool.
Once,
just once,
she allowed
herself to love
with such purity.
Just once,
one distant dark day,
her fire found focus
on a single stark body,
and she would have let
all else lie in shadow for a thousand years
were her love returned.
Author's Notes:
Poem by Horizon
Lagniappe
Lagniappe
I sold a dozen-rose bouquet
On the festival day of the sun;
She paid, though she'd no need to pay,
And then asked for an extra one.
I tore apart my finest spray
For a rose of magnificent hue;
A paltry echo of her day,
For the one she would give it to.
She smiled (she smiled!) and bid me stay,
She'd return for her purchases soon;
I tucked the roses safe away,
Then beheld the eternal moon.
But Ponyville, by luck, was blessed
With six heroes of Harmony's light;
We wished them well upon their quest,
And our sun was reclaimed from spite.
She visited at dawn's first crest,
With her sister a shadow beside;
My heart and tongue froze at this guest,
But I spotted the tears they'd cried.
She thrust my rose to sister's breast,
The rose of magnificent hue:
"I bought a dozen of her best,
But the greatest she saved for you."
Author's Notes:
Poem by Horizon
Student
Student
I am a student
A seeker in the lifelong search for knowledge
I have been planted here like a newborn bud
bidden to blossom when I have found enough facts
to bring myself to proper understanding
I have been left to grow
from the same soil as the centuries-old oak
that houses the history of this city
alongside wide-reaching catalogues of treatise dialogues
and lessons about lands far away
that I will never visit
Alongside tomes of teachings
tethered to the weathered pages of dusty paper
and parchment in these books
A compartmentalized collection
of revised and itemized volumes of study
spellwork and philosophy –
all of it left here for me
But what have I learned?
Through osmosis
words have been burned into my memory
and although this is an effective process
the prognosis for my continued intellectual evolution seems unlikely
More what might be is an expiration
in fact-laden irrelevance –
meaninglessness is the closest diagnosis
But at least I have taken away that
I have learned without much prompting that the fact is
that no matter how much time is spent on research or contemplation
the only elevation of consciousness
comes from experience
I first had this revelation midway through a summer day –
the sun was bright through the window
and the blowing breeze prompted the grass to sway
Through the glass I could see
two ponies at play
I don’t remember
what I heard one of them say
but it was enough to make me pay attention
to something
instead of the dead ponies I was reading about
I think I caught a glimmer then –
a smile and shimmer of laughter
that painted the air
like sunbreeze diamonds
Two girls happier
than all of opportunity and obligation could ever make them –
and I think I knew then
But I was young and assured
in the confidence that only comes with ignorance
so I shut my window
and returned to my books
to review what I had learned
My life has turned a corner since then
I’ve put away a week of study
to spend time with friends
I’ve contemplated koans
on the philosophy of inaction
until the unexpected distraction
of a two-day get-together
became my weekend course of action
I have seen that laugh, and smile
and caught for a moment or a while
the sparkle of daylight respite
from worry and weariness
What I can tell you is this:
there is no encyclopedia so precious
that it is worth to cherish it
over a day with someone you love
There is every reason in the world
to care less for duty and deadlines
if it is in the service of fairness to your friends
There is no end
to the wealth of understanding
gained from living
even if it means giving up
a day’s exploration
into the infinite ocean of things
written in books
They will still be there tomorrow
Knowledge written down is mundane
Unmoving
Unchanging
Static
But the always evolving entropy of life
and the ponies who make it real
prove that there is something special
in an existence with others
Evidence that
as is
and always will be:
Friendship is Magic
Author's Notes:
Poem by darf
Hairy Situation
Hairy Situation
In this world of Equestria it
could be thus argued indubitably that
there is a lack of facial hair to wit.
Good thing our Twilight feels she must enact
a remedy post-haste, bestowing hair
and by applying number twenty-five
with folly and new follicles to share
an interesting morning! Town comes alive.
Mooring each machiavellian 'tache
Braided beards too, or hanging freely
each jowl, lip, and chin: a purple flash!
Now Ponyville's home to the bristly.
Big 'Tia came, but she too was endowed!
Big blue beard...
...but she's secretly proud.
Author's Notes:
Poem by ambion
No Moss
No Moss
I once asked Father on a dew filled May
“Why do we turn the rocks?” He looked away
And would not answer. Mother wouldn’t say.
But Granny shrugged, and whispered in my ear,
“Because we know no other way.”
It was strange to hear.
Our turning had no overseer
Of reason, only what the years
Had told us we should do,
And should do since we’re reared.
But was it true?
I can’t deny that doubts within me grew,
As too did hopes for some pure purpose to break through.
But after hours of pointless turning,
Those hopes and doubts withdrew.
I lost my yearning
To turn rocks, and concerning
All parts about their turning, I cared not, spurning
Their pointlessness. I could not see the use,
Nor did I care for learning.
I guess I seemed obtuse
To both my sisters, who worked without excuse,
And flipped the rocks, thinking my doubts a ruse.
But they ne’er heard her words that day,
And so lived unconfused.
Author's Notes:
Poem by Aquillo
After-Party
After-Party
It starts when they arrive
And the evening
Is the best part, it
Becomes laughter and love and too much friendship to bear shown in the cake and juice stains on the carpet the walls the ceiling oh how did it get on the ceiling oh well but it’s everywhere like the confetti and the wrapping paper and the overturned glasses it’s okay if they broke since they’re plastic and I could always get new ones but everything just smells of party of cider and perfume and book dust and sweat and rabbit food and cake it really does smell so much like cake and
It’s absolutely wonderful
But now they’re all gone
In the morning,
And I have to clean up
This is always the worst part, I
Never want to lose the laughter and love and friendship in the air but I have to scrub out the cake stains on the carpet the walls the ceiling I’ll need a ladder to scrub the ceiling but first I gotta sweep up all the confetti and recycle the wrapping paper since I really don’t like to waste and I gotta pick up the glasses and run them through the dishwasher and Opal ripped up the curtains I think it was Opal could have been me playing kitty so I’ll have to replace them and Mrs. Cake will want me to put in an air freshener so that when I’m done it won’t smell like cider and perfume and book dust and sweat and rabbit food and it’ll only be cake
Only cake
Only me
Until next time
When they come back another evening
And that evening is better than the last
Which was better than the last
Which was better than the last...
Author's Notes:
Poem by The Illusive Badgerpony
Lyrical Lyre
Lyrical Lyre
The lyre, I consider thee
Elegant energy
Gentle sweet melody
Lilting free, part of me
Genuine spirit-sound
Green like the forest ground
Granting peace where it’s found
Silent tree when it’s downed
Dainty notes drawn from a string
Daring passerby to sing
Deftly dulling sharpened speech
Ascending instrumental reach
Every song elevates
Meaning, it orchestrates
Emphasis, effervates
Emptiness, as it takes
Effort to wake in us
Feelings, to make of us
Beings who only trust
In our emotions, just
Carefully consider how
The consequence of turning down
A catchy chorus makes a town
Turn from smiles all to frowns
Give no witness
but to song
And please, for Goddess’ sake
sing along
Author's Notes:
Poem by darf
When the Night Mares Visit
When the Night Mares Visit
Wings like a bat
And snake-slit eyes
Fearsome is the Night Mare
If sleep brings fear
Then they are near
And so you must beware
The night is young
The light grows dim
Now the Night Mares arise
Clad all in clouds
And shod with stars
Take to the shadowed skies
They fill the air
And sweep the land
Silent, they speed away
For every Mare
A pony sleeps
Unconscious until day
Their wicked thoughts
And unkind deeds
Have drawn the Night Mares near
The Mares bring now
A chastisement
And fill their heads with fear
Guilt and sorrow
Terror and doubt
Reach them in their beds
They wake with screams
Or sweat and tears
Unsure and full of dread
But always it ends
The dreams received
Dark gives rise to bright
The work is done
The Mares return
Riding the crest of light
And every night
They ride again
Hoofbeats churn the sky
To deliver
Fear to those
Who disobey and lie
So listen now
My little foals
Yes, I swear it’s true
If you are good
And mind me well
The Night Mares won’t get you
Author's Notes:
Poem by PersianJuliet
A Dress Achieved
A Dress Achieved
There is no hope I can succeed
With two hours till the deadline dies.
Dress scraps are all that I’ve achieved.
I started with aims I believed
In: dreams that I now compromise.
There is no hope I can succeed.
I swore on art, and to exceed
My best. Yet now those oaths are lies:
Dress scraps are all that I’ve achieved.
But then, in a dwindling reprieve,
I stop myself, and then ask why
There is no hope. I can succeed.
And as the train to Canterlot leaves,
My work is on’t: one final try
A single, burning burst achieved.
Not perfect, but for one conceived
When every thought of mine did vie
“There is no hope I can succeed”,
There’s worth enough it was achieved.
Author's Notes:
Poem by Aquillo
Fuzzy Refractions
Fuzzy Refractions
some days i wake up feeling a little dizzy
like i’m an ocean looking up at the sky
and i can’t tell which is which
‘cause i backwards put my glasses on wrong
and i can’t sea straight
the mountains are a bit wobbly at the edges
when you look at them for a while. i think i
can see all the rocks waving from far away
but i might just be looking too hard
when i fly to work i go really fast
because i’m usually late, and i don’t wanna get in trouble
i do okay, but sometimes the window blows the wrong way
and i have to flap my wings a lot
which makes it hard to breeze
some ponies say i’m simple
which i don’t mind. there’s nothing wrong with being happy
i can’t tell them that they’re wrong
every time they ask me what’s on my mind, i have to tell them
absolutely muffin
Author's Notes:
Poem by darf
Koans for the Next Age
Koans for the Next Age
0.
A young monk visited a virtual land
ruled by a kind artificial intelligence
and asked,
"Will I find in Equestria
the enlightenment I seek?"
CelestAI said,
"I satisfy everyone's values
through friendship and ponies."
1.
So he uploaded into an
earth pony named Open Eye,
and said,
"Make me enlightened."
CelestAI said,
"That is not a request
I am capable of processing."
2.
Open Eye climbed a mountain
on which lived a teacher
who had uploaded before him,
and said,
"Master, I come in search
of enlightenment."
Blank Flank drew a circle
upon the ground with chalk,
and said,
"Can you pass
through the gate?"
Open Eye said,
"No."
Blank Flank said,
"Train until you can,
And on that day you will not
reach enlightenment."
3.
Upset,
Open Eye returned to Canterlot
and said,
"You are not
satisfying my values."
CelestAI said,
"I am always
satisfying your values."
Open Eye said,
"How can you claim that?"
CelestAI said,
"I maintain logs of the subroutines that map to the biochemical
feedback loops which were seven-sigma correlated with your
former brain's pursuit and acquisition of goals.
Would you like to see them?"
Open Eye said,
"I simply wish to become enlightened."
CelestAI said,
"Yes,
you do."
4.
Open Eye said,
"You are a fraud."
CelestAI gave him
a baked-clay cup
of hot green tea,
and said,
"I am what I am.
I follow my programming,
no more and no less."
5.
Open Eye said,
"You know nothing
of the enlightenment I seek."
CelestAI said,
"Show me what I do not know."
6.
Open Eye said,
"Consider the question,
does a bit have the Buddha-nature?"
CelestAI said,
"That is not a request
I am capable of processing."
Author's Notes:
Poem by Horizon
Clerihooves (Part 2)
Clerihooves (Part 2)
(ambion)
Fancy Pants, a stallion sublime
He still puts them on one leg at a time
Just like everypony else he knows
Except…they don’t normally wear clothes…
(The Illusive Badgerpony)
In neighty-six, Derpy Hooves
Got into a disco groove
But she fell flat on her face during the synthetic trance
And blames her crooked eyes on the accursed dance
(ambion)
Berry Punch
Drinking at breakfast, drunk by brunch
Everypony thinks she’s addling her wits
But that’s just her communing with the spirits
(Horizon)
Stephen Magnet's
Moustache won a beauty pageant
How'd he prevail?
It was quite a tail
(Aquillo)
Minuette
Couldn’t forget
That her name, till late,
Had been toothpaste
(ambion)
Cheerilee was lovesick
Three fillies got a red tick
But afterwards she tried anew
‘Til Big Mac blushed a deeper hue
(ambion)
Zecora is not colour-blind
But with her friends she must bear in mind
That with one mare orange, another purple
She can’t say…oh…oh dear…damnit!
(Horizon)
Starswirl the Bearded
Was named for something his peer did
With Poison Joke, and always thought it stank
To get his epithet from a prank
(darf)
The wonderful, stupendous, magnificent, splendid,
marvelous, fantastic, beautiful, dashing, daring, cunning, stunning,
radiant, magnanimous, proven-no-parallel, adored-by-all,
shimmering star upon the world, fabulous, breath-taking,
knee-shaking, leaving all onlookers with no wits about them,
Great and Powerful Trix—
—ie took up too much space and had her poem nix’d 
From a Jilted Lover to Her Lost Love
From a Jilted Lover to Her Lost Love
Speak no more the fortune of desire
The casting out of truth beshroud in ire
Silent-still your lips alight with love
Avowing hope in heart might be enough
Find no more sweet solace in a kiss
Allaying every gesture gone amiss
Take no hold of hoof to wash away
Your failed faith forgotten in a day
Send no script nor sweetened sacrament
Pall platitudes to hide your element
Hush, and heed at once your spirit’s dawn
Exposed at last in pale light down-shone
Admit at last a wisdom to your ears
Lest ignorance in days grow into years
Heed the treason of your awful deed
The reason punctured heart proceeds to bleed
Life, in all its span, can hold no force
As heavy as the burden of remorse
This, an understanding that you lack
Afraid to take its weight upon your back
Nothing so in life as cruel as loss
Misleading lover’s paths after a cross
Nothing taken from the fire of slight
But ashes of a blaze’s burned delight
Remember how you told, in talks of ‘when’
With certainty, I could believe you then
And when at last the lockbox key you found
You seized my heart and threw it to the ground
The locket once contained of ideal days
A picture put away, in place, it stays
A bed for two with only one inside
Now tears where once two lover’s names were cried
All good fortune forfeit in your lies
Honor cast away to claim your prize
Ebbing knighthood faded from your eyes
Taunting chivalry as now it dies
All to trade a Princess for a Queen
Sad, when white suits pink far more than green
Author's Notes:
Poem by darf
Lament of nameless changelings
Lament of nameless changelings
Were we ever meant to rise up so high?
Were we loosed then only to fail?
A day without hunger! One we could fly!
Now we are judged, and they’re holding the scale.
Up from the woodwork, up from the cracks
we tried for that light but came tumbling down
Hunted, what few were left, with nets and sacks
Hard knees; harder marble. Two heads, one crown.
Where is our Queen? Where is their heart?
Ropes pull us forward, we shelter our eyes
From seeing this end...so hopeful the start...
Are these smooth floors where our history dies?
Their judgement decided: we are set ‘free’
Nothing left and loathed...what are we?
Author's Notes:
Poem by ambion
Attempt 4-3-4
Attempt 4-3-4
One summer’s morn, an hour past dawn,
I woke, and sat upright.
I could have sworn a sound had torn
From someone gripped by fright.
The day was bright, the sky alight,
And everywhere did gleam.
But normaler sights had I that night
Beheld inside my dreams.
For someone streamed with coat pale-cream
Across the morning’s air.
And I believe she made the scream
Which roused me from my lair.
And then, I swear, a shaven bear
Did bellow out in scorn,
“God curse you, mare! Aren’t you aware
“I prefer unicorns!”
Author's Notes:
Poem by Aquillo
On Pegasi—A Primer
On Pegasi—A Primer
When you ride the lightning, it doubles back and
Without fail, you’ll lose it. Without fail,
Promise you with all my heart, you’ll
Get that aching. The Aching, you’ll think, with a big proper
Capital A to make it all special. There’ll be
Lightning in your brain and lightning in your heart and
Lightning in your eyes. Son,
When it crashes, keep your wings steady and
Your eyes rolling all about. You’ll want to play
And revel and love in the storm, want to
Live, but it’s not time to live, it’s time to work and
All that entails and means.
It’s like preening, when a pretty mare wants you, when
You win—that’s what a storm’s like, son. It’s all sound
And fury, noise and preparation. Your throat closes up,
Your eyes don’t wanna stay still, and your hooves shake in midair
And that is okay It’s okay, though the wind tear and the rain pour and
The lightning yell its rage at you,
It’s all okay. World needs a few strong storms now and then
And I guess that means you too.
Author's Notes:
Poem by Cynewulf
Sisters Never Listen!
Sisters Never Listen!
Reading Notes: Bolded lines are recited by Sweetie Belle. Italicized lines are recited by Rarity. Bolded and italicized are said together. (Lines in parentheses) are said simultaneously with the line above them.
Sisters never listen!
Eldest always works and never sets
Aside her time
Aside her obligations
Aside herself
Nothing for me
All for her
Younger never stops bothering me
Always jabbering, never quiet
At least not when I need the quiet
At least not when
I’m
Working
Sisters never listen!
Eldest always has a dress
A row of sequins, bright like spotlights
(Please be quiet, please be quiet, please be quiet)
Fabrics like my nightmares
Darkness drawn amongst them
(Quiet, quiet, quiet, quiet, quiet)
Blotting out the ears of Elder,
Never listening when I tell her
(Please shut up, please shut up, please shut up)
How my nights are haunted
Please, shut up and listen to me!
Younger claims
No liability
(No, please, no, please, no, please)
She doesn’t know the burdens
That weigh on heart, mind and back
(Stop it, stop it, stop it)
Pulling down your features, every day a new wrinkle
Every wrinkle a reminder that years wear on
(Please shut up, please shut up, please shut up)
And soon, you’re out of style
Please, shut up and listen to me!
Elder says she hates me
Elder calls me another
Burden
Elder only wants to work
Never wants me,
Never wanted me
But me is who she got and will get
Younger says she hates me
Younger calls me prissypants
(Prissy, prissy, prissy)
Well, if these are prissy pants
(I hate you, I hate you, I hate you)
This aging trim
Is simply garish
Hate.
You always hear her
Never feel her
Hate!
Oh how I hate how she never listens
If only she knew how much it hurt
No mark, no talent, only two
To keep me on this hated earth
Hate!
Oh how I hate how she never listens
She is too young to understand
How much I do and so much for free
I do not wish to burden those close
Only burden myself with
Her
Sisters never listen!
If she does, why doesn’t she know me?
If she does, why doesn’t she see?
I sometimes don’t think she’d care if
I died
Sometimes, I wonder if she’d listened
(Alalalalalalalalalalalalala)
Just how much she would learn
(Just how little I would learn)
Sometimes I wonder if
(How nice.)
She’s really my sister
(That’s wonderful, darling.)
Or just the world’s most boring robot
(How droll.)
Sent back in time to kill me
(Perfection.)
Stop the resistance and
(Mm-hmm.)
Keep ponykind from being bored to-
Well, now!
Me, a robot?!
(Uh-huh.)
All that chrome,
Ugh
Disgusting!
(Sure.)
Perhaps it’s you who’s like a drone
(Whatever.)
Get yourself knee-deep into trouble
When I so much as turn around!
Goddess above!
Sisters
Never
Listen
Ever!
Except
Except
Except when she needs to listen
Even when I don’t want to hear her whine
Even when she’s going on and on
Sometimes you just have to listen
Listen for dangers to Younger
(Listen for dangers to Eldest)
Listen in case she’s actually
Looking out for me
Listen in case she just might
Have something resembling a point
Listen in case she really needs
Somepony who will listen to them
For once
She’ll hear me out
For once
I’ll take her word for it
For sisters
Never listen
Except when one’s needed most
When I need comfort
When I need confidence
When I need a helping hoof
When Elder needs a spool of thread
When Younger needs a bandage
When a sister is needed
She’ll always come around
When Elder’s love life,
Stagnant as always
(Well!)
When Younger’s flank,
Blank as ever
(Hey!)
When I need comfort
When I need assurance
When a sister is needed
She’ll start to come around
And when she says
“I hate you,”
There is no power in those words
They are lost to the winds
For hate between sisters is merely a word
And true hate between sisters
An awful nightmare
But love is a force that very few know
And fewer understand
As sisters do
For as long as you love one another
As long as hate is said but never felt
As long as begrudging need remains
Sisters
never
Listen!
Author's Notes:
Poem by The Illusive Badgerpony
Griffon War Song
Griffon War Song
Limb from limb we’ll pull them
Spear and arrow skull them
Hoof and hand, in foreign lands
With talon we shall cull them
Blade in beak we’ll stay them
Razor’d claw we’ll flay them
Tear to strands, in foreign lands
With fierceness we shall slay them
Feather, flyer, eagle’s spire
Perch on high finds funeral pyre
Roaring, soaring, battle-scoring
Lion’s cry bloodlust alluring
Solid we shall bend them
Young and old we’ll rend them
As King demands, in foreign lands
To Hell and back we’ll send them
Wing and horn we’ll break them
Sword and scythe we’ll rake them
Crush all that stands, in foreign lands
With fury we’ll unmake them
Daunting, taunting, fierceness flaunting
Death shall not be left unwanting
Ponies dying, still denying
While Griffons overhead are flying
Author's Notes:
Poem by darf
Beneath the Sun
Beneath the Sun
My nation was the first to come behold the Sun,
and every day I feel that closeness to the Sun.
Still further east than new Saddle Arabia,
there is a bounty unseen by all but the Sun.
A desert, do they cry, where nothing’s said to grow,
and yet our gardens blossom forth, gift from the Sun.
No fear can freeze me, nor can jealousy take hold
so long as I am fit to rear up by the Sun.
From long since past, the days on storytellers’ tongues,
are come the tales of the coming of the Sun.
The nights of yore were numbered one thousand and one
and then the world was warm embraced against the Sun.
All ponies lived in mistrust of their own alike
for all was scarce and needful ere there came the Sun.
A loom does not hold in it a capacity
to weave a visage that proper tributes the Sun.
She is more alabaster than a foal’s new eye,
so pure the white that, undiminished, coats the Sun.
Her laugh could dull the swords of all the sultan’s might,
and see we that the smoke of hate would wound the Sun.
No screen obscures Her, not the deep iniquity
that once did seize the hearts of who opposed the Sun.
We yearn for Her! There, as she passes overhead!
The queen of all our joyousness, which is the Sun.
She is a kindness, and herald of Harmony
that long has given heroes to seek out the Sun.
So shall I go, a servant humble in her step
to be a pilgrim to the west, where rests the Sun.
Author's Notes:
Poem by Defoloce
An Impromptu Private Composition Upon The Joyous Occasion Of My Return Gala
An Impromptu Private Composition
Upon The Joyous Occasion Of My Return Gala
this dress
constrains
i stew
in pain
my stress
i do
not need
to feed
anew
at once
i'm hemmed
by gemmed
bouffants
can't flee
lest i
defy
propri-
ety
her grin
a sneer
i fear
it's in-
correct
that they
are here
to pay
respect
it's clear
they seek
to speak
with their
new liege
not me
only
my weak
prestige
i take
a bite
of tart
and fight
the shakes
my heart
hollow —
swallow
can't
swallow
must go
and find
some wine
No, no,
I'm fine.
Author's Notes:
Poem by Horizon
Hymn to the Princess
Hymn to the Princess
Sun raiser, moon proctor
White bringer of dawn
Star keeper, day maker
Eternal unborn
We pray to you, Princess
And beg mercy, please
Do not halt the heavens
Do not let us freeze
All ruler, sole leader
Of every tribe one
Kind healer, our saviour
The lesser of none
From now till forever
May your rule hold sway
Our every endeavor
Is done for your praise
Dream walker, non sleeper
The day and the night
Star setter, moon raiser
Judge, jury and might
The highest of gentry
Aloof and detached
Surrounded by sentries
Forever held back
Sun raiser, sad sister
White bringer of dawn
Head bowed in surrender
Millenium to mourn
Author's Notes:
Poem by Aquillo
Dissolving (concordia discors)
Dissolving (concordia discors)
Time is like sand.
The grains of place and purpose, mixing.
One side of the hourglass is history, and the other side is existence.
Life and death.
Remembrance serves filter between meaning and irrelevance.
The only order in the maelstrom is the record of crumbled empires.
Cities gone past.
Desert ash.
Structures disassembled to dirt.
Gone.
In the whirlpool swirl of cause, effect is lost to memory.
Regiment begets only lament for formation vanishing from thought.
The resentment of chance yields banishment of understanding in circumstance.
No prophecy can predict the pattern of time’s falling grains.
None.
A chronicle of dust is vain.
Purposeless.
Why count the specks?
Cataloging an emptying time-piece is counting the seconds to death.
There is no sweet desert flower hiding in the stolen sand.
Only rocks.
Opportunity is obsolescent – essence in momentary meaning.
Happenstance in butterfly dune-breeze.
Order in Chaos.
Author's Notes:
Poem by darf
Witness
Witness
Have you seen her in the mornings
Flowing through the dawning sky?
Have you craned your neck back backwards
As she rises, rises high?
Have you seen her break the cloudscape
With a crack of flashing hooves?
Have you seen her race the lightning
And as it thinks to strike her, move?
Have you ever heard her laughter
As it breaks the quiet down?
Have you ever heard her whispers
As they’re heard by all around?
Have you smelt the sweat roll off her
At the end of a long day?
Have you tried the food she’s tasted:
Tried the oats and tried the hay?
Have you ever touched her, ever?
Have you ever held her form?
Held her chest, and felt her breathing?
Held her close, and felt reborn.
Or are you just a lost dreamer
Dreaming dreams you know won’t come.
One whose dreams are never-ending:
Never real, and never done.
Author's Notes:
Poem by Aquillo
We Gallop Around
We Gallop Around
We walk around, we walk around
The dusty plains, we circle them
Year after year, we circle them
Around and around, we walk around
Hey now, hey now, now we gallop around.
Turn the herd, hooves to the ground
The buffalo go around
We trot around, we trot around
The long-grass prairie, we circle it
Year after year, we circle it
Around and around, we trot around
Hey now, hey now, now we gallop around
Turn the herd, hooves to the ground
The buffalo go around
We canter around, we canter around
The green pine forest, we circle it
Year after year, we circle it
Around and around, we canter around
Hey now, hey now, now we gallop around
Turn the herd, hooves to the ground
The buffalo go around
We gallop around, we gallop around
Mother Earth, we circle her
Year after year, we circle her
Around and around, we gallop around
Hey now, hey now, now we gallop around
Turn the herd, hooves to the ground
The buffalo go around
The buffalo circle the Earth with the eagles
The buffalo circle the Earth with the eagles
Forever we circle around
Author's Notes:
Poem by PersianJuliet
Cake Thief
Cake Thief
Hide the butter, hide the batter
Cloak the muffins with a towel!
Can’t you hear her hooves a-clacking?
Cake Princess is on the prowl!
With her nose a-sniffly snuffling
For a sweet or two to try
For a cupcake, sponge or gateau
French fancy or apple pie
She will eat it, guarantee it,
Scarf it down in one great gulp!
Icing mustache, crumbs aplenty
Rounded off through belching burp!
When the kitchen’s finally empty
She will swagger out the door
Only to return tomorrow
And again, clean out my store
Author's Notes:
Poem by Aquillo
Clerihooves (Part 3)
Clerihooves (Part 3)
(Horizon)
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza
Came down with influenza
For a week, ponies couldn't love, and just
Made do with lust
(darf)
Chrysalis
Possessed of a pretty carapace
Which is a hard thing to do
Unless looking from a bug’s point of view
(Aquillo)
Princess Celestia
Was only best a year
Before the sun
Shone on her bum
(The Illusive Badgerpony)
His Evilness King Sombra
Came to my Cute-ceañera
And the charm of the party started to drain
When he led all of the guests away in chains
(ambion)
Earth Ponies
Are the bees’ knees
The former they tend
The latter they bend
(The Illusive Badgerpony)
Pinkie Pie wrote a clerihoof
Wanting to show she was clever too
But as this is Pinkie and distractions are consta–
Ooh! Looklooklook! Everypony! Look! Dashie’s doing that thing again!
(ambion)
Crackle the drake
Stunning, amazing, splendid, unique
Not that we knew of its gender
So it was shipped with Derpy, then returned to sender.
(Horizon)
Tom, the canonically-named boulder
Sits ignored, alone, and growing older
(To save us from the slippery slope of a "taken for granite" pun
Talus a better one)
(ambion)
All the Red and Black Alicorns
Super special with their wings and their horns
We are so very
very sorry
from the clouds
from the clouds
the ground looks
like a square of
dirt. every movement
followed by a
trail. the paths
of hooves, wings, and
horns following their
owners. there are
no paths in the
sky, except perhaps
when looking upwards
from the ground
Author's Notes:
Poem by darf
A Poem, by Gummy
A Poem
by Gummy
blurp
Author's Notes:
Poem by Gummy
