In Memoriam R.D.

by Bulbasaur

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Sad, Romance
Length: 1348

When Rainbow Dash dies, her wife, the Princess of Friendship, reflects on a life well lived.

"This truth came borne with bier and pall; I felt it when I sorrow'd most, 'tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all..."

When Rainbow Dash dies, her wife, the Princess of Friendship, reflects on a life well lived.

Closely based on Tennyson's masterpiece.

Published 2015-03-22 16:10:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-03-22 16:10:02 UTC

I

A messenger, demeanour meek,

He knocks, exhausted from his run.

I smile at him for all he's done
For Dash and me these past few weeks.

A messenger, from distant sands,

Had brought me Dash's thoughts and words;

He bridged me with my blue love-bird
Through missives, from the Gryphon-lands;

A messenger, who, dress'd in red,

Does greet me in the early morn';

In grief I instantly am torn:
He bears the message, "DASH IS DEAD"

II

Old oak in which I used to live,

A gnarled, old, but simple thing,

To ashes quickly flames did bring --
Lord Tirek I can ne'er forgive.

I walk along the empty road

Whereon my former home did lie.

I see the charr'd remains and sigh,
Rememb'ring hearth and home of old;

And as my life around me burns

Again, I've not a solace blue,

No featherbrain, no cockatoo,
No one to hold me as I yearn

Or claim this is a dream absurd,

No one to comfort all my fears,

No one to whisper in my ears,
"This too shall pass; be reassur'd."

III

A Field Experiment on Grief

I) Motivation: Rainbow Dash,

A pegasus mare, bold and brash,
Has left this world; her life was brief.

Now I am left with this strange mood

I've never had; so here shall I

Observe and note my feelings; try
And figure out what had ensued.

II) Methods: For the past few days

I've noted down my troubled thoughts,

The feelings Dash's death had wrought
Into a strange miasmic haze.

Then, synthesizing all these things,

I'd analyze and then conclude

Exactly what from me elude;
Besides a pair of downy wings.

III) Observations: I can't seem

To put down into words the way

I feel today, or yesterday,
Nor days to come, I dare to deem.

I levitate the quill, and dip

The apparatus into ink

But all I write, and all I think,
Are poems, and the arrow-tip.

So, therefore, I shall deem this ill-

Thought study inconclusive; I,

Shall on this matter ne'ermore try
To study; I have not the skill.

IV

'Tis late at night, or early morn;

I'd slept tonight - the first in days,

When, in my catatonic haze,
An image from my mind was born:

She lives! A zombie, hollow-eyed,

Dull face, matte coat, mane like a nest.

She tears the arrow through her chest;
Internal organs flow outside.

She turns to me with trademark smile;

Says, "Come and join me, Egghead!" Then

She laughs, turns back, walks into fen,
Therein dissolves in substance vile --

And with a jolt I then return'd

To consciousness. I guess I'll stay

Awake tonight, or sleep at day,
'Til my mind clears its image burn'd.

V

Inept and inexact are words,

Which, all throughout my life have been

My servant, I their master, when
I needed something to be heard

Or written. I have come to see

That flaky are these treasured things.

See, hollow sound around me rings:
Though I speak words to them; they, me;

I cannot process sounds, extract

Their meaning, speak, or comprehend.

Alas, my former stalwart friend
Has broken down our precious pact.

Through words my world was torn apart,

However; yea, through words was I

Inform'd my Rainbow Dash did die:
O pow'rful, terr'ble, wretched art!

At last, words can be wolves in sheep's

Skin; power, surely they possess.

Sometimes they help; sometimes, distress:
For now, words fail me, and I weep.

VI

I understand, my mentor dear,

That you cannot bring Dashie back;

That doing so'd to space-time wrack
An instability, we fear.

Oh you, who governs hill and lea,

Control the Sun, yet cannot fend

Off death, except the aether rend --
You too must share your grief with me.

That I am join'd by friend and Lord

In grief does not alleviate

My suff'ring; nor do they abate,
The laments I to her afford.

VII

In cleaning Dash's study-room,

A clutter'd mess with few real books

Within our cloud-house, in a nook,
The corner where I thought to doom

I'd fall -- I think to when I first

Was crown'd and couldn't fly, and when

I first set foot in Dashie's den
Without my spell: the clouds did burst

Beneath my hooves. 'Twas only in

The nick of time that Dash did catch

Me, save me from a fall through thatch.
I vow'd to not set foot again

On clouds without my safety spell.

Yet Dash encouraged me to fly;

She train'd my body, mind, and eye;
Her confidence, my fears, did quell.

Through patience and tough love did she

Enable confidence to seep

Into my mind; it went in deep,
Much deeper than my fears could be.

Though sometimes I her patience wore,

Through Dash I gained the confidence

To walk on clouds, fly continents,
And, fin'lly, like an eagle soar.

VIII

My mind puts forth a memory

Of when I did propose to Dash.

'Twas mid-flight -- oh! I thought I'd crash! --
My wings turned stiff as emery!

'Twas in the dale where I now fly,

A shortcut straight to Canterlot.

Two stones from Rarity I'd bought
Were in my bags, hid from her eye.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash!" I call'd, and swoop'd

Ahead of her, look'd in her eyes.

I pluck'd a primary of size;
Behind her ear I placed it; loop'd

Below her. From my bag I took

A sapphire and an amethyst.

Her answer, I already wist,
But still, my voice and body shook.

"Dash, will you marry me?" I asked.

Time seem'd to, for a moment, stop.

I fear'd that from the sky I'd drop.
I couldn't keep emotions mask'd.

As answer, she a gentle kiss

Placed on my lips, and whisper'd soft,

"Of course I will. Now fly aloft,
And faster -- you'll your function miss!"

Of course I'd planned some extra time,

But full of energy was I:

I climb'd and soar'd with Dash up high,
And cared not on my feather rime

Was forming. Straight aloft I flew,

At fifty, forty centibars.

We flew toward the fixèd stars;
We reach'd them, then enjoy'd the view.

Today, the sky is thick with clouds;

I cannot soar up high like then.

I fly through field and vale and fen
To Canterlot, where clouds do shroud

The landscape. On a ledge I land.

I trot to where Celestia

Would meet me to discuss ideas
To end the war with Gryphons, and

Have high tea at my fav'rite place,

Where I took Dash to many dates --

I'd ramble on about the greats
Of hist'ry over leeks and dace.

I canter past a busy bar

Where Dash and I would often go

To drink 'til we'd forget our woes:
That she and I were kept afar

When oft I stayed in Canterlot

To serve my duty to the land,

'Cause sometimes Cloudsdale would demand
Dash take the place that they'd allot.

Now, I approach our meeting-place.

Oh, what I wouldn't give for Dash

To be with me, just for a flash,
That I could kiss her graceful face.

Prologue

Dear Princess of the Sun and seas,

Who kindly guided me throughout

My youth; who told me all about
The world and all its mysteries:

Today I learn'd beloved Dash,

A spectral wonder of the skies,

A mare who's easy on the eyes
A loyal friend; at times, though rash--

She always cared, she never fled,

She comforted in times of doubt,

She always loved, she did not flout --
today I learn'd that she is dead.

I sit now in my study-place

With Spike and Owl' by my side;

I wish to curl up, sleep, and hide--
Instead, I write you, by your grace:

Dear Princess of the Sun and earth,

Whose reign does span all mortal planes:

Will you please guide me through my pain,
Be ever present by my hearth

By reading, sharing misery,

The endless drivel I will pen.

I do not know where to begin
Except by writing poetry.