The Mane Six drew together, close; against the cliff they backed,
But Fluttershy, compassion stirred, although her mind was racked
By fear and doubt, she raised her head and looked towards the place
Whereon the stallion stood above. She sang out, full of grace.
"Oh, goodness, you must surely be," the pegasus began,
"So cold and lonely way up there. Please tell us, if you can:
Why haunt you this forsaken place? An answer will you give?
Among these stark, forbidding cliffs you surely cannot live."
A moment passed; the ponies wondered what their friend had done.
Their muscles tensed, they stood prepared to turn and fly, to run
Back down the hillside whence they'd come, though none among them knew
The consequences such a thing would bring them – what to do?
But hark! A voice was calling them: the stallion said, "Hello!
Don't worry, please! I am a friend; I'm here to help you. Whoa!"
But Rarity was not impressed. She called, "Why do you not
Come down here, colt, and tell us of your enigmatic plot?"
The stranger smiled. "Oh, unicorn, you really ought to know:
As earthen ponies' tender care will help the plants to grow,
So trust is not at all a thing to flourish on its own,
It needs a little give and take if seed is to be sown."
"That ain't a proper answer," hollered AJ, sorely vexed.
"You're spying on us. Don't pretend your acting all perplexed
Is anything but fancy words. We won't stay in the dark.
Just tell us straight: who are you, and where is your cutie mark?"
On hearing her, the stallion jumped, and taken quite aback
Replied, "How can you be so rude? The reason that I lack
A cutie mark is not a thing to lightly give away:
Have you the right to ask of me my history, I pray?"
His tone was haughty; Rainbow Dash was highly unimpressed
And told him so in no uncertain tones: "You have professed
To be our friend. It doesn't look as though you really meant
A word of that. Did you not think that we would now resent
"Your treatment of us? We cannot afford to stop and chat
Before the wyverns have their way and squash our country flat–"
Though Twilight reached a hasty hoof and silenced her... too late!
The stranger's eyes had widened and he looked upon her straight.
"Ah, you are Twilight Sparkle, and that hothead Rainbow Dash,
Here's Rarity the drama queen and Applejack the Splash,
With Fluttershy the soppy one and crazy Pinkie Pie:
Your purpose here is known." He paused. "Now is your time to die!"
The ponies turned to run, but no! The walls had closed about
Their little group. Search as they might, there now was no way out.
Though panic rose within their hearts, one tried to reason: "If
We can't descend it," Twilight said, "We'll have to climb this cliff!"
"Hey, are you nuts?" yelled Rainbow Dash. "That pony wants to kill
The six of us!" She flared a wing. "We can't just go uphill!"
"Have you a better plan?" snapped Twi. "If we just stand around,
We surely shall die anyway – our bodies won't be found!
"At least this way we'll honour those who set by us such store,
I thought you wanted bravery from all of us in war!"
On hearing Twilight Sparkle's speech, the pegasus felt sick:
She felt embarrassed, for those words had cut her to the quick.
However much Dash still believed that this was suicide,
She knew she must support her friend, and never leave her side,
For loyalty was at her core: without it she was lost.
Her mind raced back to Discord's time; she felt an icy frost.
The memory those dreadful days had planted in her breast
Would never disappear, but now she felt it for the best,
For she recalled so clearly how that Dragonequus had
Been beaten by them even when their world had gone quite mad.
Dash raised her head, prepared to loose a mighty cry of war–
But in that instant to her ears came something even more
Astonishing – it was the sound of feathers being spread.
'Twas Fluttershy! Her countenance could never be misread:
The gentle pegasus, her pink mane streaming in the breeze,
Looked straight upon the stallion who stood up above them. "She's
About to use her Stare!" gasped Pinkie. "He will surely break:
Nopony could stand up to that. Great; soon we'll have our cake
And eat it too – though I'd have thought we'd do that anyway,
Since cake is made for eating. How the seconds melt away!"
She trailed off, and gave her friend a cheery little wink,
And Fluttershy, she smiled back – alas, that little blink
In concentration was enough: the stallion shook his mane
And reared up on his two hind legs. "You thought that you could drain
My power just like that? You foal! You think I'm just a colt
Who'd see her Stare and kneel and beg for mercy? Oh, you dolt!
For I have pledged my life unto the mighty Wyvern Lords,
They gave me power to resist – and other small rewards.
The price was that I never grew, my flank forever bare,
That bargain I accepted, and I then did gladly swear
"To serve them all my days, no matter what their orders be,
E'en though I must repudiate my ponyhood, for me
That was and is my choice. No longer are we equine kin:
Although my outward form is still this tough and hairy skin."
He raised a mocking hoof. "I know what you are thinking now:
And no, I'm not a changeling. After all, you knew just how
To fight their Queen, so why would I be sent to harry you
If I were someone you could beat? And now your days are through!"
There was a moment's utter calm, then Applejack spoke out:
"What in tarnation do you think you're doing, you great lout?
A slave to wyverns? How can you imagine that to live
Like that could ever satisfy? What does it have to give?"
Then quoth the pony, "Nevermore shall we give you the name
Of stallion." "You are nothing but a monument to shame,"
Said Rarity, emboldened now, her head erect and proud:
"Though you're no pony, we six are: together and unbowed!"
The wyverns' servant looked at them without a trace of fright,
Indeed, his body seemed to grow; his eyes were shining bright.
A flicker of a ghostly smile appeared upon his face;
The stallion then threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, what a place
This story of you lot shall have in our great wyvern lore:
A tale of half a dozen foals, who thought that they were more
Than what you are: nonentities; a pointless waste of time,
There'll be such jokes about you, yes, and songs and mocking rhyme."
"Is that the best you've got? Well is it?" Rainbow Dash then jibed.
"The library of jokes containing you's oversubscribed!
All right; I will admit a few of us were briefly scared,
But you can do no more than talk, it seems – as if we cared
What loudmouthed traitor ponies say. Your little ruse has been
Completely ineffective; all you've done is made a scene.
I'm gonna call you out now, and I'll say that I'm not cowed;
In fact, we all shall sing that tune – and sing it very loud!"
The stallion did not seem impressed; he barely moved an inch.
"I'd love to hear you sing," he sneered, "like some sweet thrush or finch."
At that, AJ could hold no more the words within her breast:
"Then come on, y'all, let's show this thing the music we love best."
Of course 'twas gentle Fluttershy whose melody first rang
Across the hills, but one by one, the other five, too, sang.
But as they voiced their words of life, young Twilight gave a glance
Of horror. "No! We've let them in! This is the Wyvern Dance!"
And at her words, a deafening cacophony of sound
Arose from down below the band, and as they stared around,
The very rocks on which they stood began to crack and shake,
What could they do? Where could they run? There was no move to make,
And so they grimly stood their ground; the hour was at hand,
They knew, when they'd be called upon to make their final stand.
For through the cliffs were breaking now the terrifying hordes
Of enemies they'd come to face: these were the Wyvern Lords!