What the Stallions Thought

by libertydude

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Zephyr Breeze, Sad, Drama, Filthy Rich, Shining Armor, Big Macintosh
Length: 1422

Four stallions wax poetic about their world.

A farm-pony reminisces about his mother.

A business-pony ponders a problem.

A hairdresser sings his beloved's praises.

A stallion talks to the mares in his life.

These are how they thought about them.

Written for the Pony Poetry Contest.

Published 2024-10-17 22:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-10-17 22:50:00 UTC

My Mother Used to Be Here

My mother used to be here.
She was here for a long time,
Then she wasn’t.
She was there in the fields, harvesting
And apple-bucking with Pop and feeling
The warm sun upon her cheeks and sweating,
But knowing the work was worth
Every drop.

My mother used to be here.
She was in Ponyville all her life,
Then she wasn’t.
She was there in the barn, wrangling
The cows and sheep at day and comforting
The newborn calves and ewes at night, bawling
Because they were young and everything hurt and they wanted it
To stop.

My mother used to be here.
She was in a palace,
Then she wasn’t.
She was in the farmhouse, telling
Stories of peaches and apples and mincing
Both to make the best jams and baking
Them to show us how to do it and use all
The crop.

My mother used to be here.
She was in paradise,
Then she was in the ground.
I know I should be happy with my lot and smiling
Sisters and lovely wife and farm that’s sprawling
Further and further across the countryside, leaving
Us with more than she and Pop ever had, and making
The best of the pain that should be finishing
Up now that I have my own family and casting
The yoke of somber desire into the same place she’s resting
With Pop.

But I can’t.

Because my mother used to be here.
She was here for a long time,
Then she wasn’t.
I wish she was here to see
The fruits
Of her labor.

Author's Note

This was the first poem I wrote. I thought it up when I visited the college where my deceased mother used to work and I remembered everything I did with her there. A certain melacholy came through me, and I decided to convey those feelings through Big Mac (who also lost his mother).

I initially approached this as a free-verse poem, but soon fell into a rhythm by repeating the title at the start of the stanzas.

Money on My Mind

Massive costs for shipping fees mean
Only the richest can fill my stores.
Neigh, this is bad business, for
Everypony must shop at Rich’s Barnyard Bargains,
Yet profits must still be made.

Must we delay the new hoes and fertilizer?
Oh, no, the growing season is coming, and
Nearly everypony buys those here. A cost
Expanded is a customer lost, and a competitor’s
Yearning for our destruction.

Maybe the workers must take a dock
On their pay, for three weeks about.
No, they need to
Eat too, and many are too talented of
Yeomares to lose.

My mind wanders to the worst-case scenario:
Ostentatious signs declaring a closing,
Nugatory profit of a few bits, from ponies with
Empathetic eyes on me, knowing
Yours truly will be on the street soon.

Marvelous Diamond Tiara and splendid Spoiled
Outed from the Rich Mansion and into the poorhouse?
Never, I will not allow it! There must be-
Eureka! The answer so obvious,
Yanked from my brain!

Mares and stallions guard a pocketbook like
One of their own children. But
Nopony can resist a sale.
Even the most miserly ponies
Yield to the promise of cheapness.

Mulch shall be the first item,
Offered half-off with purchase of
New hoes. And the tree-trimmers and
Extra-sharp saws bundled together for those
Youthful wood-workers in the hills.

Mayhap the chicken feed drops five bits,
Or perhaps ten. The yield was good this season.
Not worth letting it go bad. Yes, yes, this
Exceeds the costs! And with the added profit, the Riches will
Yodel with joy at the new pool next spring!

Multitudes of problems build up, but
Observant minds can keep
Nervousness from begetting destruction.
Entrepreneurs know you must always keep
Your head, and profit will soon follow.

Author's Note

This was the poem I had the most fun writing. I love Filthy Rich as a character, and I loved the idea of him treating a relatively minor business problem as the start of a total corporate collapse. I also used the Acrostic style to show how single-minded Filthy was on profit.

This was originally the third poem, but I switched spots with "Haikus for Rainbow", as I felt this one was more comical and needed to be here to ease the sadness "My Mother Used to Be Here" provoked.

Haikus for Rainbow, from the Illustrious Z. Breeze

Eyes burning cerise
With passion for open skies
And love for the wind.

Mane flaps from the breeze,
And another rainbow streaks
Across the clear sky.

How does this one look
More awesome than ones made of
rain? Because it’s you.

Nopony argues
this fact. They know you’ll fight to
Be the best Rainbow.

Being the best comes
Naturally to you, as
Easy as breathing.

You belong in the
Sky. I’ve met your mom, but the
Sky is your mother.

Your coat is the same
Hue of the blue, sunny days.
Days of quick action.

Excitement is your
Father. Speed an aunt, swiftness
A well-known cousin.

Loyalty, a close
Sister. And Hesitance, a
distant half-uncle.

Your fidelity
Proves your beauty’s not a fluke,
Just a testament.

I wish you could sing
Like the birds and nopony
Would know you are you.

They would think you are
Just another bird, and leave
You alone up there.

But you cannot live
Without ponies looking up
At you, beautiful.

Ponies love you and
You want their love like a mug
Of apple cider.

That’s fine. I want love
Too, but only one pony
Has the love I need.

She is up there in
The clouds, laughing and living
For every moment.

I wish those moments
Could be shared. That somepony
Could laugh along too.

Please let me up there.
Together, we’ll love deeply.
We can share the sky.

Author's Note

Haikus are generally supposed to be self-contained, but I decided to use multiple ones to tell a story. Also, because Zephyr seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn't follow pesky style rules when trying to woo Rainbow.

This was the hardest one to write, partially due to the formatting rules of haikus, but also because it was supposed to be a balance of comedy and longing.

My Best Girls

To Twiley, the best sister of them all:
I’m so proud of what you’ve become
And how you rose when most would fall
To their knees and be struck dumb.

New magic comes from you every day,
Making Equestria a better, sweeter paradise.
Everypony living has only one takeaway:
The Magic of Friendship Electrifies!

You will be our best monarch,
As long as you remember your friends
And practice the friendship you preach.

Don’t fret if surrounded by the dark;
You’ve got more than enough sense
To find the light and break the siege.

To Cadence, my darling wife:
How many ways can a stallion say
I love you? You’ve spent your life
Teaching me and others, every day.

I see only happiness upon the faces
Of your subjects and our daughter.
And nopony can even find traces
Of unpleasantry in your aura.

Thank you for saving me from
Queen Chrysalis and her hateful horde
And saving Equestria with your love.

I feel giddy, like I want to strum
A guitar and put a smorgasbord
Of kisses upon you, sweet dove!

To my beautiful Flurry Heart:
Please never falter in your giddiness.
Stay safe and stay smart,
And keep just a touch of silliness.

When the day comes, love the Empire
Like your own child. The slightest hate
Builds upon itself and will not expire
Until contravening love helps it abate.

Your aunt and mother are good teachers;
Learn from them and become the mare
We all know you shall soon be.

And no foul villains or fiendish creatures
Will ever make as much as a glare
At the Princess of Compassion and Glee.

Author's Note

I initially started writing this one as a group of sonnets, but I was halfway through when I realized I'd screwed up the format sonnets are usually in (ABBA ABBA CDE CDE) and done ABAB ABAB instead. I decided to run with the Frankensteined format I'd created, just to see where it led me, and I'm glad I did! This is the happiest poem of the quartet, and I think it gives a nice sense of hope to close the collection out.