Author's Note

Again, this was a contest prize for my long time friend, OTPL (One True Pony Loser -- I disagree. Her art is great.)
Art by OTPL

Feather's Day

Feather the pony was dancing on a ball
The Circus audience was waiting for a fall.
With bobbing plumes, she completed her trick
And hopped free with a hind hoof flick.
The pink pony with white tail and mane
Gave a bow with a smile that hid her pain.

In her dressing stall she hung her costume
With its bright straps, skirts and plume.
In her dressing mirror a lonely pony looked back.
Before her next job she needed a snack.
To the paypony's stall she trotted her way
Three bits he shorted from her pay.

Rudely, he told her, “It's a new fee!
From now on, coin counting ain't free!”
Whickering at his evil joke,
A few more words he spoke.
“You can still earn full pay
But with me you have to play!”

The sad pink pony left for her main work
Being a Dairy Maid “milk-jerk.”
She went to her place in Stall 14
And hooked herself to the machine.
It pumped her udder of the milk she sold.
She wished better ways to earn bits of gold.

At least, Dairy Maid Dairy paid her fair,
But it was never enough for the little mare.
She had stall rent that she needed to pay
And there was always the cost of her hay.
The mirror in her stall showed a lonely mare;
She wished that it showed a stallion there.

She wished for a mate who was good and kind,
Not another who would leave her behind.
She settled herself in the straw of her bed
And on a chaff pillow rested her head.
At least in her dreams she was treated well
And that was what made her waking life hell.