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                       Take the Leap                       
                      -by marmalado-                       
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                       Dive of Death                       
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Dive of Death
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.~~