Give us this day our daily bread, and I'll give you back your homeView OnlineThe Filly Who Cannot BreatheGive us this day our daily bread, and I'll give you back your homeAuthor's Note Technical notes (spoilered for those who want go in blind): This poem is written in both iambic tetrameter and trochaic tetrameter, which left-justified text iambic and right-justified text trochaic. Also, since dialogue tends to be difficult to attribute in verse, and I'm loathe to use color to denote it, I will instead say that I gave Flurry a William Blake-inspired tic of capitalizing Words in the middle of sentences, to structurally differentiate her dialogue from Cozy's. Give us this day our daily bread, and I'll give you back your home I tried my Best, I swear I did A Good Mare always I have been And yet the Heavens did forbid That I would be the perfect Queen In Winter's Heart I first drew breath Where Love I gorged with mother's milk And Friendship lessons most in-depth The Sun and Moon among my ilk And so we forged our Paradise A golden age of Harmony And in the Light did I arise Until it burned me presently My Heart is pure, I swear that’s true By Harmony I am most bless’d I’m Kind and Honest, Loyal too I help all who might be distress’d But Harmony did plant in me (When I drew breath so long ago) A Light that blinds Morality And chokes me with Desires low And so I beg Forgiveness though It’s not my Fault, I’m good at Heart But she now plagues my tortured Soul That cunning Temptress oh-so smart I read her Words and watched her Deeds Plumb'd Memories to see it all Her Wickedness did plant its Seeds Inside me, as I was enthrall'd With ev'ry waking Thought consum’d By One subsumed in stony Cage Before her Connquest was resum’d To bring about the Darkest Age So now, though I have all I want I’m drowning in the wishing Well For She whose Legacy now haunts This Paragon turned Infidel To Cozy Glow, my life’s new Light I’ll save you from that Darkness cold And we shall burn in maiden Flight To purify our tainted Souls ......... ...... ... Darkness endless always ever Never peaceful thoughts are churning Burning angry raging fever Fester faster frothing nothing Flash of light so sudden piercing Stone to flesh to pain to panic World returning overwhelming Sights and sounds and time and magic "Be at Peace." A voice so lovely Chiming like a bell in winter Anchors me to now just barely "Welcome to your new Forever" "Who are you?" A single question Yet the first words I have uttered Voice my own yet also foreign Skin my own yet also fettered "Goddess, Princess, Saviour, Lover Purest Heart that walks amongst us Past and Present unto Future You shall call me each I promise" Madness to my ears still tender "Princess I can see quite clearly Wings and horn you have that render Title that you cherish dearly "Goddess, though— for all their hubris This you’ve gone beyond the others” With each word I grow more breathless As the air grows thicker, denser “Lost you are, my Lamb so little Only such explains your error Now we must begin to whittle Impudence towards your Saviour” Through this choking spell I spite her "Saviour yes — that's quite objective But I will not thank you either For reversing this injustice” “Truly you must be befuddled Rest you need so to Recover From this Spell that’s left you addled Sleep and we shall speak more later” Darkness closes in so quickly That I fall before my words can Doom me further to this crazy Mare I pray is just mistaken ......... ...... ... So many Secrets to be found Within this Palace that is Home For I who am by Crystal bound To bear my Burden all alone Ensonced within a hidden Room My Charge now slumbers 'til the Morn Shall come so that we might resume The Discourse marred by Madness borne In Flesh her Beauty almost shines As bright as Mine, but deep as Skin Her ugly Heart is misaligned But soon we’ll beat without our Sin A gentle moan as she Awakes A flutter of her Eyes so red I offer Water so to slake Her thirst as she does rise from Bed “I bid you Welcome to our home” I say politely, smiling soft "It's Here that you will now be shown A better Path to be your Troth” A quiet Moment as she drinks Her fill from Chalice in her hoof "And why am I the one you think Most needs your care beneath this roof?" "A valid Question," I concede "In Truth you don't deserve this Boon But Fate ordained that I would read Your Words and then in Love be Doom'd "And so I'm left with just one choice A Heart as Pure as mine cannot Be Poisoned by your sinful Voice Redemption thus must be your Lot "With Heart and Soul made Clean again Together we will will bow to Fate And be as One forever then As you will be a worthy Mate" From Her a smile that's filled with Lead "Redemption as your prisoner That you would force into your bed Belies a heart more sinister" She's goading me— I see this clear "My patience dwarfs Eternity And you are Weak— I taste your Fear Soon your Resolve shall bend the Knee" "Then let the games begin at last" Defiant still, for Now at least "My wits against your fated task We'll see who then at last shall feast." ......... ...... ... Games aren't fun all by my lonesome Weeks or days or hours even No idea how long this loathsome Princess means to leave me trapped in Bread and water feeds the body While the mind returns to darkness No escape I've found already Lest I yield and beg her kindness Will she let my mind now shatter So that she can then reforge it? Now defiance doesn't matter If she won't come down and visit Change of strategy is needed Pride means nothing without vict'ry Let her think she has succeeded ‘Til she drops her guard around me “Please, Your Majesty,” I grovel "Save me from this lonely darkness In your friendship I will revel Let me bask within your largess” Not a moment then is wasted In a flash she makes her entrance "Glad am I that you've Recanted See what can be done with Temp'rance?" "Torture always yields the answer That your subject thinks you wanted" Pride is slower to be severed Now that I'm not isolated "Sad it is that Contemplation Is to you Excruciating" Flurry frowns in castigation "If that's All then I'll be leaving" "Wait!" I cry, the fear returning "If you so believe your gospel Prove the value that you're preaching Show me that it's more than drivel" Warmth throughout me then suffuses From a hug so soft and stifling Gentleness that still confuses Should she not be more distrusting? "Wonderful!" my captor gushes "Wise you are to drop your Protest" Thus does end the contest this is Now our game begins in earnest ......... ...... ...
Which ones squirm and which one's god?View OnlineThe Filly Who Cannot BreatheWhich ones squirm and which one's god?My Love knows only Evil’s screed To trust her would be Folly true Her silver Tongue must oft mislead Yet of her Plan I've not a clue "I move my rook to take your queen" So Cozy falls into my snare Within this game, as I've forseen So I will bring my troops to bear "Your Rook then falls before my Knight" Alas, that I can only read Her Strategems in games so trite My Gaze can't pierce where I most need A Moment later, Cozy sees The Downfall planned right from the Start A sigh from ruby Lips slips free As her Defenses fall apart "A valiant Effort, Cozy Glow" Benevolence demands that I Give Praise to soften up the blow That's dealt towards her waning Pride "I'll get you yet, you mark my words" A precious Huff— so different than The Anger that I first had heard Back when our Chess Games first began The Tantrums thrown were fiery So Fasting I did then prescribe To cool that Flame entirely And ward away what I've Proscrib'd "What Subject shall we next discuss?" I ask and whisk away the Board To Everything a Season, thus With words we'll work towards Accord "Philosophy we've talked at length" Does Cozy answer, sounding Bold "And you have shown me all your strength Yet since the day I was paroled "Of base desires we've spoken not" A Smirk that's hiding far too much Beneath a Soul that still would rot Without my holy, radiant Touch "A Time to plant, a Time for Love A Time to reap what hath been sown So I must Nurture from Above Although I yearn to hear you Moan" "But does a Goddess not deserve To take what's hers by any means As payment for the time she's serv'd? You know I could be forc'd, my Queen" "I would not force you," I reply "But rather you would give Yourself Entirely, when you do See The Path that we must Walk in depth" "And once I'm yours, what happens next?" A Flash of Frailty so fine Within those cunning Eyes complex "Am I to be your concubine? "To use and toss away when time Has passed and I no longer can Amuse you once I'm past my prime? Will I be free from your command?" I reach a Hoof to cup her Chin And speak to calm her Fears undue "To let you go would be a Sin You shall be Mine alone unto The End of all Eternity" Her Doubt assuaged, I smile once more And so the Conversation flees From Heaviness to peaceful Shores ......... ...... ... More than ever I can see it From the start the end I'm planning Soon we'll plummet from the summit After an ascent amazing First to make her think she's winning With the cooling of those tantrums That I feigned just like me losing 'Til she "cured" me of my doldrums Slowly surely she will trust me But for now my work continues Play the part, but not too sweetly Darkness tempered still has uses "What a sordid little Story" Flurry says to me this morning As she sets the book down gently "Is this truly what you're Favouring?" "Tales of jealousy unheeded Are the one that I most cherish" Such a blatant lie that's needed So that seed in her can flourish "For the world is vast and scary Nothing we have lasts forever Always we must be most wary Time will claim yet the most clever" "Mortals have such Worries plenty But a Goddess rises higher We shall have Eternity When your soul I last acquire" "This I thought when I ascended But as long as there are others Who could keep you bound and grounded Safety is as naught but aether" Silence then from Flurry as she Fails to counter this new toxin Seeping deep into her psyche Opening such dire options "Pardon me for this presumption" I then add while bowing deeply "This is far above my station Such a beauteous Goddess clearly "Does not need my morbid counsel" Here I chanced to touch her foreleg "But is this not duty spousal To forewarn what may still come yet?" With a blush that's ne'er acknowledged Flurry feigns aloof composure "It is Well that you've accepted This bright Future given over" Nothing further then is utter'd On this matter as we move on To a game on board so checker'd As I let take hold my poison ......... ...... ... A Goddess must have Patience true But cannot fall to Cowardice A Crossroad now before me shews And threatens to devour Us I'd fain believe she's seen the Light For ev'ry test my Cozy's pass’s I've planted false Escapes each Night And yet her Loyalty stands Fast But Cozy is a cunning Mare Who may have seen through my Untruth A final Risk I'll have to bear And bare a Weakness grim in Sooth A Mare of Faith I've always been And with each day my Love does grow Towards this Sinner I have seen Became a Saint, my Cozy Glow "To ev'ry Thing a Season comes" I say, assembling Relics six "With Love for you my Heart does thrum And so for you I'll risk the Styx" "I know those six within your grasp The end of magic they portend" My Love replies with outraged Gasp "What sorcery do you intend?" A Ritual familiar To Cozy Glow is then prepared And then I bow my Head to Her My Life and Soul to her now Bared "I've studied well your History" I say as I produce a Knife "If you desire to walk Free Then take this Blade and take my Life" The Spell completes as I command And I am but a mortal Mare Who stares at One who could now End A Goddess given to her Care A Moment passes, Time stands still 'Til Cozy follows Fate's Design And cuts the Thread that then does kill The Magic that was binding Mine "My freedom would be empty if I did not have you by my side" A Smile most wide from Cozy drifts Into my Heart so filled with Pride With all my Might I sweep her up Into Embrace so long deferr'd At last upon our Lust we'll sup A Kiss is shared sans any Words "I love you so, my Cozy Glow" A Truth I'll carve onto my Throne "And it is Good that you now know You place as Mine and Mine Alone" "Forever yours I wish to be" Another Kiss, another Fall "Together I'll be truly free And I will answer when you call "But promise me in turn that you Will safeguard me forevermore If I am yours alone in truth Let nothing threaten this, our core" An easy Pact to forge with her "If any Pony seeks to steal My greatest Treasure I'll deter And force them All aground to kneel" ......... ...... ...
If I can live inside of you, we'll never be aloneView OnlineThe Filly Who Cannot BreatheIf I can live inside of you, we'll never be aloneFreedom tastes as sweet as nectar Drunk right from within her flower Yet my purpose is a specter From whose haunting I won't cower First the grand reveal in public Of redemption so surprising Praise this Princess curing those sick Plagued by hatred for those ruling "Sorry," I say 'til my throat bleeds My contrition spake without jeer What a foolish goal that rage breeds Now in love my mind is most clear "So forgiving are your subjects" I opine one quiet eve'ning "Charming too— so many rejects That I have been busy making" "Rejects?" asks my lovely lover "What would they from you be Wanting?" So naïve, I have discover'd Such a pretty dove for tainting "Why, to court and then be courted" I reply as if it's obvious "Am I not one who's been touted As a catch to all our audience?" Icy chill blasts through the chamber Freezing all our tea in stasis Fear and dread to be remember'd Now let's drown in rage so gracious "You are Mine in ev'ry Manner" This and more my love announces Breathless am I at her candor And the passion she professes "'Goddess' is an empty title Ownership you must now earn from Those that you would now belittle" Standing ground, I face the maelstrom With a spell I'm bound to silence "Let the Heavens see them tremble If they dare to lay a Hoof hence On your Body, Soul or Temple" ......... ...... ... My Love is Pure, I know this well My Loyalty infallible And yet my Mind cannot but dwell Upon that Fear intangible My Lover lacks my Perfect Soul And though I’ve tried to Purify The Roots of Evil deep and foul I know They run too deep to pry At Night these thoughts do plague me so And never shall I know of Peace For though she’s Mine I yet still know This Happiness could always cease So what shall I be forced to do? A Goddess cannot know Defeat By Might and Right I'll take what's Due To those opposed will Judgement mete ......... ...... ... Plant a seed and watch it flourish Let the thorns choke out the daylight In the darkness I will cherish All the bloody flags in hindsight Ev'ry word of doubt I utter Brings her closer to our ruin Ev'ry feather that I flutter Building up the grand illusion Paint a picture of a filly Lost and found who still does flounder One whose faith confounds the lily Sanity now torn asunder “There are others” I still whisper Deep at night in veilèd wording “On the ‘morrow will I linger Or will I be then departing?” Tossing, turning through the nighttime Seeking solace, a solution Then I drip the poison so fine In that mind that seeks delusion ......... ...... ... A Good Mare always I have been And yet I'm choking on this Bile That she has spread beneath my Skin To change me into Something vile A Ball tomorrow to debut My Love as one that others Lust And so we'll dance Together through The Night as all returns to Dust For Others always will but seek To take what's Mine, as Fate concurs Unless we are to purge the Meek 'Til all that's left are I and Her And when our Dance comes to a close We'll look upon a World reborn Where all the Thorns upon the Rose Are pruned to Neveremore be mourn'd ......... ...... ... Failure was the only option This I knew right from my rebirth Now the fruits of all my caution Ripen rotting wretched unearth'd Dragged into the sky by magic Flurry holds me 'gaint her body As a storm that's most dramatic Gathers 'round in air so foggy "Be now Judged by I, your Goddess!" Words that echo 'cross the kingdom "For the Virtue taken from us You shall drown in all my Wisdom" Never has she been more beauteous In this moment I am certain Though my love be more than dubious I shall bear so gay this burden For no mortal could have ever Triumphed over one immortal But one alicorn could never Best the four who proved so fatal "Soon we'll see the end ecstatic” This I promise as they enter Sun and Moon and Heart and Magic Judgement ready to be render’d First they cry for peace and parley As they try manipulation “This is not who you are truly! Violence can’t be your solution!” “See how they deny your Godhood?” Whisper I within the storm’s eye “If you give into their falsehoods I'll be trampled like a mayfly" "My Devotion cannot falter" Thus my lover seals our outcome Nothing further would I alter Let the Fates receive our welcome "Be the good mare that you promis'd" I demand as battle rages "See now that my words were honest They will slay me here, these mages" One against these four unwav'ring Such a spectacle so awesome But a standstill we are fav'ring For collateral is loathsome Thus shall they be forced to bring out That one weapon overwhelming Once again shall Harmony rout One who dared to be rebelling As the rainbow drawing closer Ready to us both imprison I reveal my true form to her Gloating as she doffs all reason "Check and mate, my love divinèd Now eternal is our union For your soul I've much malignèd With each instance of communion "Once you thought I sought to flee from Your imprisonment most cruel But in truth when first you transform'd Me from stone to flesh most rueful "Love I felt but in my own way Never would I bow before you So as equals we'll stay always After stone we are reform’d to" Flesh to stone as pain and panic Blend and fade to darkness deeper As the choking grip of magic Takes our final breaths so meagre ......... ...... ... A Good Mare always and forever Remember me as one of Virtue Whom Harmony condemn'd for Fervor Whose Love at last defined my Purview Darkness is but misery Yet I now possess my balm For I love my company My belov'd with me embalm'd I tried my Best, I swear I did Now the games at last have ended But Love my Goodness hast forbid Gaze upon our statues splendid ......... ...... ...
