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// The Foal and the Fountain: Complete 
// Story: Marked 
// by Eisen 
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Once, long ago, in a time of old,
Where the ponies were not yet as one,
There lived a smart and wise young foal,
Who's genius had not gone unsung.

He awed one and all, with his brilliant mind,
For a genius, indeed, was this boy
The people all loved him, they treated him kind,
Not a soul would dare call him coy.

But he was unsatisfied, he wanted more!
For knowledge to him was his pride.
So he looked into stories, he looked into legends,
Until, one day, it arrived.

The answer he sought, his challenge, his mountain,
Was revealed to him in kind.
The legend, it goes, was of a great fountain,
Which expanded anyone's mind.

For hours and days, he researched it more,
From dawn till dusk he did read.
Until, finally, a location secured,
He assuredly had what he'd need.

He told all the elders, he told all his friends,
Of the journey on which he'd embark.
Warnings they issued, caution of ends,
But not a single word did he hark.

Thus he left from the village prepared as can be,
Hiking and journeying far.
Until such a time as he reached the peaks,
Where a guardian stood with a bar.

"What seek ye, foal?" The guardian asked,
His staff now raised in alarm.
"to be wisest of all, to have knowledge unmasked!"
He replied, not afraid of the harm.

The guardian pondered, looked over this boy,
Finding mind and strength to be best...
"Alright my dear boy..." The guardian said,
"But first, you must pass my test..."

"The test is threefold," the guardian told,
"A test of the typing of mind,
And so, to begin, a riddle of old,
If the thoughts of yours is shan't bind.

So he spoke out a riddle, that is lost to time,
Though assuredly it was quite hard.
The foal had no trouble, he answered in kind,
Words smooth and flowing, like a bard.

The second task overshadowed the first, 
As the guardian aimed the boy's sight
To a series of tools bound by rope of great girth,
Hoof on it, explaining the second part's plight.

"You see here the distance, from tip to tip,
Of that rather large chasm right there?
Well using the tools found here in my grip,
You must measure the distance, quite fair.

The smug little foal had figured the trick,
And rather than use all the tools...
He gathered the rope, and measured the span,
Thinking much wiser than fools.

"The first and the second, done with ease,"
The guardian said with a sneer,
"But the final task, you won't find such a breeze!"
He said, to destroy his good cheer.

"One of these rocks is a geode you see,
The crystals contained there within!
But you must find it without cracking any,"
He said, with a devilish grin.

The Foal did ponder, and wonder in thought
But just a moment of thinking
For he simply gently tapped on the rocks,
until one  left a dull echoy ring.

The haughty young foal did scoff at the tests,
Having passed each one so simply,
"Alright, young boy, you've outdone the best,
So the fountain itself will you see."

And there lay before him the waters of thought,
To increase his prowess of mind,
"Now only take sips, take drops, dive in not!"
But his warning did not come in time.

The foal, wanting knowledge, jumped into the pool,
And drunk deep of the waters inside,
But soon, all at once, he felt quite the fool,
And the warning, he had wished to abide.

The knowledge surged through him, he knew way too much! 
This foal did come to realize...
"Please, help me sir, my mind has been clutched!
The secrets are burning my eyes!"

"Well my young foal," The guardian said, 
his tone quite solumn and grim
"You now have three choices to deal with your head,"
He calmly explained unto him.

"The first of these all is to share all that weight,
And let it be known to the world!
Profess all those secrets, Improve your own state!
But in so, leave society unfurled."

"The second however, is a much braver task, 
Though something quite lonely at times...
You take my place, guard this fountain, I ask,
And keep hidden that within your mind."

"And finally, sir, is choice number three,
The messiest choice of them all.
The drop from this peak is quite steep you see,
All you need do is to fall."

So these were the choices, before the new foal, 
In order to relieve his brain,
But no matter what, the choice would be bold,
But also would come with great pain.

Now the choice that he made, I cannot well say,
For lost is a record or two...
But perhaps you know the wisest way,
So, reader, what would you do?