//-------------------------------------------------------// The Day the Sun Still Rose -by alki- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// The Only Chapter //-------------------------------------------------------// 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".