Sunny days.
The clouds persist.
On the ledge
Of a bridge
In a town with a forgotten name
She stands

Eyeing the water
Glazed half-lidded look
"Should I sit?"
"No, I should stand."
She stays upright
And continues to stare.

Life is rough
Others have it rougher
Hers is roughest
Husband has left
Colt has died
And parents were taken by a tornado.

Comfort at the bar
Drowning her sorrows
More and more and more
Until she can't take it
And she leans over
To throw up.

Chug
Chug
Chug
Chug
Chug
Another glass empty.

Closing time
No one takes her home
So she walks
And collapses
And becomes a patient
At the closest hospital.

An underlying problem
A horrible diagnosis
"Not long left to live"
Crying
Apologies
"That'll be four hundred bits."

The final nail
Always feels
The sharpest
Something she realizes
Looking at her fate
In the water below.

No money
No job
No kids
And nothing more
That she has to live for
Anymore.

Will someone save her?
Will someone leave her?
She does not know
Nor does she care
As no one can stop
What has to be done.

Stance is lowered
Bunching four legs together
Reaching for something
High in the sky
But missing
And reaching for intent.

And so
With pain in her heart
Tears in her eyes
And fleeting memories in her mind
She jumps
And soars.

Gravity
What a harsh mistress
Inconveniencing ponies
But it seems the mistress
Is willing to give her victim
Her due this time.

Mane and tail billowing
Body going limp
Eyes slowly closing
Letting the world do its work
As it takes the life
Of a worthless soul.

Buildings passing slowly
Ponies moving vertically
How does that work?
A final riddle to solve
As she takes the leap
Into her deathly fate.

She thinks of her husband
Her son
Her friends
Tears leak out
She grits her teeth
As she remembers.

Once upon a time
She was happy
Living her best life
With a stable job
A stable family
And good friends around her.

But happiness
Is fleeting
And it only takes
One slip
For it to fly off
Into the distance forever.

"I can't do this anymore"
"I need a divorce"
"Go get help"
And with that
He was off
Into the dead of night.

She doesn't wish to remember
And opens her eyes
Long ways down still
Impatiently she swims
Towards the water
That will embrace her.

Finally, finally
After several minutes
She lands
With a mighty splash
Into the cold water
Like a hasty diver.

Stinging
Cold
Deep
Dark
This is where
She wants to be.

Her body rises
She panics
Hooves kicking wildly
As she tries to get
Deep, deep down
Into the belly of the beast.

Sea life surrounds her
Fish nibble at her hair
She ignores them
And continues to swim
Deeper, deeper, deeper
Forevermore.

The pressure gets to her
Crushing her body
Her hooves cease movement
And she lets the water's weight
Push her further still
Into the depths.

The twilight zone
An area of darkness
Ponies cannot venture
Without proper equipment
But she will try
On her own power.

Organs
Limbs
Hair
All will be squished
Until nothing remains
Of the underprepared.

Air leaves her body
As she lets death
Caress her in its hooves
And take her
To a place of rest
Forevermore.

Her eyes open wide
Only to meet darkness
Not the twilight zone
But something more sinister
Something more everlasting
Something more permanent.

Silence
Darkness
Emptiness
There is nothing
That is here for her
In the void.

Something long
And furry
And teal-colored
Reaches out
And touches her
And hooks into her.

She tries to scream
But finds she can't
And so she is at the mercy
Of this long, furry thing
That pulls her forward
Further and further into the void.

White
Shining
Warm
The thing pulls her closer
And she feels herself
Heading towards the light.

The sky is bright
The grass is green
And she finds herself
In the view of thousands
Staring at her eagerly
With their loved ones by their sides.

Her colt
She must find her colt
He must be somewhere
In this vast land
Touched by the light
Of the Sun Princess herself.

Running
Calling
Searching
Nowhere
Lost
Forever.

A voice flows through
Sweet and svelte
Telling her that
Her son is not here
He wants nothing to do
With her anymore.

Frozen in place
Strangled sounds
Eke from the throat
Pure disbelief
He must be here.
He must be here.

She runs
Fast and far
Calling out
Never stopping
The endless chase
To find her son.

The voice persists
Trying to convince her
But with all of her might
She blocks it out
And continues the endless chase
To find her son.

Over land
Over water
Over clouds
She runs
She leaps
She cries out.

A tall silhouette stops her
Imposing, almost regal
White wings splayed out
Eyeing her derisively
Her maw open to say
"You do not deserve your son."

"And why is that?"
The mare wants to know
As she stands tall
And the silhouette
Begins to approach her
With a single explanation.

"You, the drunken mare,
Living a selfish life
With a twisted mind
Had let your son
Be killed prematurely
By your own hooves."

The mare freezes again
Staring at the silhouette
Eyes open wide
As she tries to search
For any memory
Of killing her son.

"That is not true!"
She cries out in pain
Until a memory hits her
And she staggers back
As she finally remembers
The whole truth.

Blow after blow
Blood in eyes
Screaming
Apologies
Left for dead
"And victory is mine."

Tears fall
She can't breathe
The silhouette cares little
Only offering its verdict
"You did not deserve to die
But you do not belong here."

The mare is falling
Through an endless void
Unable to protest
Or even to ask
Who the silhouette was
That ruled justly.

With harsh impact
The mare lands on the ground
Unable to move
But brought to her senses
By a single whisper:
"Welcome to Hell."

She stands up
Looks up at the gate
And finally realizes
The horrid truth
Her son hates her
And wants nothing to do with her.

The gate opens
A force moves her forward
She hangs her head
As the gate closes behind her
Another whisper in her ear utters:
"Enjoy your stay."

Author's Note

Yeah, you can tell poetry isn't my strong suit, huh? I warned you in the LD!

Still, this was fun to write. I've had this story in the drafts forever, but didn't think of turning it into poetry until the contest came about. What I wrote heavily deviated from my original idea, which would have focused more on the fall than what came after it, but I like where it went, even if it's too basic for a contest entry.

~~"Don't join any more contests," I said. "You need to prep your crossover fic for the 10th anniversary of~~ Odd Squad~~," I said. "But...but the practice!" I said.~~