The Day the Sun Still Rose

by alki

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Celestia, Tragedy, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Death, Sad
Length: 1376

The sun princess’s time is near. Without her, who raises the sun?

What do ponies leave at a princess’s grave?  Well I was there, kid, and I’ll tell you what I saw.  

Cover art credit: https://derpibooru.org/images/1339357

This story’s an entry to the “Pony Poetry Contest” hosted by alafoel and SecondPrances

Published 2024-10-17 16:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2024-10-17 16:00:01 UTC

The Only Chapter

Hey kid, come over, listen close
Just for you, a story
‘Bout a holy princess’s lost glory
One warm, crystal September
Equestria had come to pay
Their tributes on her passing day
And even though my mane is gray
I can still remember

The nobles drained their coffers dry
To paint all Canterlot with gold
To catch that ruddy sun of old
‘Fore it finally went down
Not a single bit was spared
The sun’s banners filled the air
In the west, an amber glare
Sank slowly towards the ground

Doors were opened, the squares were packed
And the trains rolled in the station
Ponies from across the nation
Filled the streets with thunder
At my bar, I looked out
The window, and I saw the crowds
Why I never stepped hoof out
to join them, I sometimes wonder

Up in the castle, on the mount
The sun princess was sick in bed
Couldn’t raise her poor old head
That’s what they said, I heard
Her servants’ hooves were stained with ash
Waited faithful, till the last
Counting seconds till she passed
She didn’t say a word

Then finally, the sun fell dead
The light on the horizon dimmed
And we all raised a lonely hymn
For the last shimmer of daylight
And all around, the princess’s host
Raised their cups in silent toast
And her poor sister cried the most
And flew into the twilight

And I was there, on that day
When the throne went empty and the sky went dark
When ponies cried and shouted names
Sweet Luna couldn’t move my heart

~

Every street in town was cleared
All the bars opened up shop
The stallions drank near every drop
Of liquor we had stored
They always said to never try
A drink straight from your own supply
But heaven knows my throat was dry
And Luna, I was bored

All ‘round the tables, they all wept
And smiled at distant memories
And kept laughing all bittersweet
And gave each other hugs
I stood there, behind my bar
Couldn’t face what they all saw
Kept wishing on a dimming star
At the bottom of my mug

Out the window, all was black
The sky was dark as runny tar
Flecked with silver nugget stars
But not the slimmest crescent moon
Abandoned? Wondered if we’d sinned
But delicate and deathly thin
Carried faintly on the wind
Luna hummed a mournful tune

Through the city, now and then
A toast from some hole in the wall
A party, less’n ten in all
Echoed down the boulevard
Through the alleys, past the spires
Their songs kept rising ever higher
To the stars, pulled on by wires
Winking pity from the dark

Perched up high in marble towers
The nobles all forgot their manners
Spilled their hearts down past the banners
Down to all the common herds
One folk, one nation, ponykind
That night, for once, we shared a mind
To honor her, and to remind
Ourselves of her impassioned words

And I was there, on that night
When the throne went empty and the city sang
Of harmony, friendship despite
The darkness, an enduring flame

~

After all had downed their fill
With heads on tables, laid to rest
Heartbeats murmured in their chests
Half of ‘em were fast asleep
Eyes were dry, I couldn’t pray
I stretched my neck and looked away
And I could see the sky was gray
Through the valley in the east

Like embers at a smoky hearth
It huddled down, a chilly glow
Good Luna, come to soothe our woes
But no moon crested o’er the land
Horizon hid it from my sight
Fire hit the clouds and set alight
Kindled purple, orange, white
Comin’ home, without command

The whole town saw, and glanced again
Ears perked up, and held their breath
I hadn’t checked my timepiece yet
When sunlight hit the mountain’s peak
Now, that’s when talk had first begun
“Princess’s dead, who lifts the sun?”
“Nopony, she’s the only one,”
But their heads were low and voices meek

It didn’t make no sense to me
No princess meant no dawn would come
But there we were, all standing dumb
Watching it in motion
And oh, that sun, way up on high
Did smile down its stone-cold light
And said, “Why, I could never die.”
“Who gave you such a notion?”

It took an hour ‘fore a soul
Could tear their face away, and whisper
To their neighbors soft, “Why miss her?”
“Ain’t it movin’ on its own?”
The sun had crawled above the range
And witnessed something awful strange
In Canterlot, there was a change
A tremor, felt it in our bones

And I was there, at the dawn
When the throne went empty and dawn rose up
To burn away their faith, long gone
We all drank deep from empty cups

~

A wake-up sure is what we had
Ponies knew the bitter taste
Betrayal left, and what a waste
Their prayers were, and stinging shame
Of gazing at her peaceful smile,
Loving her, and all the while
Eating up that heaping pile
Of horseapples of royal claims

The banners twisted in the breeze
Branded with the sovereign’s mark
Dull and leaden gold of earth, stark
Contrast to the shattered sky
Reverent ponies took a seat
To wonder how it felt so sweet
Adoring her, before deceit
A revelation none denied

“She has no right!” the whispers grew
To jeers and calls to take a stand
To take up arms and save the land
Knock the crowns off tyrants’ heads
Chomping at the bit, they went
Hearts aflame with discontent
A coup against the firmament
And I chose to hang back, instead

The crowds were at the castle gate
Over rooves, their chants came ringing
“Do you hear the ponies singing?”
The only song I heard was steel
And lists of traitors, chanting names
Heads raised on pikes with crimes proclaimed
I saw the palace catch aflame
Too beautiful for something real

The revolution wouldn’t stop
The rebels spilled into the city
Methods rough, but words were pretty
A flame for every promise broke
Every guardhouse, every cache
The treasury was emptied fast
Statues toppled, to the last
The banners all went up in smoke

And I was there, that smoky morning
When the throne went empty and burned to ash
Beneath red flags of bloodstained warning
The old princess’s crown was smashed

~

Canterlot shone gold again
Not with sun, but roaring flames
Of any they could think to blame
And I stepped out, to smell the fumes
Walked around the town a spell
Saw ancient dust of rulers felled
Saw ponies’ blood filling the wells
Came home to an empty room

Some revolution, it turned out
Leaders backstabbed and turned coat
The wolves leapt at each other’s throats
Till the only ponies left were sheep
An afternoon of blood and knives
Shortened blades end shortened lives
Stallions’ corpses, lonely wives
And dead mares leaving foals to weep

They burned her letters, journals, books
Only speech was left behind
And in a day, its echoes died
No mouth to speak a liar’s tongue
No more statues, paintings, marks
Nothing left worth a remark
Memories lost to the dark
Soon forgotten by the young

They held the castle, or what remained
Just until the moon came back
Leading armies, to attack
But nothing passed the city gates
Soon, they went their separate ways
Only rebels for a day
Never friends, since only rage
Had lassoed them and bound their fates

And all that harmony, for what?
All burning in a bloody heap
Can’t hold onto smoke; it keeps
Rising up and fills the air
Some of it caught in my eye
And I laid down for a while and cried
Canterlot was loud that night
All sore over a twice-dead mare

I left town since, but I was there
When the princess died and the sun still rose
She’s nothing but a lanky mare
And where I’m going, Luna knows

Author's Note

Forgot to note (but now remembered it):
This story was inspired by the song
"American Pie" (partly for the rhythm)
And the song "House of the Rising Sun".