First published
When Rainbow Dash dies, her wife, the Princess of Friendship, reflects on a life well lived.
"This truth came borne with bier and pall; I felt it when I sorrow'd most, 'tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all..."
When Rainbow Dash dies, her wife, the Princess of Friendship, reflects on a life well lived.
Closely based on Tennyson's masterpiece.
Dear Princess of the Sun and seas,
Who kindly guided me throughout
My youth; who told me all about
The world and all its mysteries:
Today I learn'd beloved Dash,
A spectral wonder of the skies,
A mare who's easy on the eyes
A loyal friend; at times, though rash--
She always cared, she never fled,
She comforted in times of doubt,
She always loved, she did not flout --
today I learn'd that she is dead.
I sit now in my study-place
With Spike and Owl' by my side;
I wish to curl up, sleep, and hide--
Instead, I write you, by your grace:
Dear Princess of the Sun and earth,
Whose reign does span all mortal planes:
Will you please guide me through my pain,
Be ever present by my hearth
By reading, sharing misery,
The endless drivel I will pen.
I do not know where to begin
Except by writing poetry.
A messenger, demeanour meek,
He knocks, exhausted from his run.
I smile at him for all he's done
For Dash and me these past few weeks.
A messenger, from distant sands,
Had brought me Dash's thoughts and words;
He bridged me with my blue love-bird
Through missives, from the Gryphon-lands;
A messenger, who, dress'd in red,
Does greet me in the early morn';
In grief I instantly am torn:
He bears the message, "DASH IS DEAD"
Old oak in which I used to live,
A gnarled, old, but simple thing,
To ashes quickly flames did bring --
Lord Tirek I can ne'er forgive.
I walk along the empty road
Whereon my former home did lie.
I see the charr'd remains and sigh,
Rememb'ring hearth and home of old;
And as my life around me burns
Again, I've not a solace blue,
No featherbrain, no cockatoo,
No one to hold me as I yearn
Or claim this is a dream absurd,
No one to comfort all my fears,
No one to whisper in my ears,
"This too shall pass; be reassur'd."
A Field Experiment on Grief
I) Motivation: Rainbow Dash,
A pegasus mare, bold and brash,
Has left this world; her life was brief.
Now I am left with this strange mood
I've never had; so here shall I
Observe and note my feelings; try
And figure out what had ensued.
II) Methods: For the past few days
I've noted down my troubled thoughts,
The feelings Dash's death had wrought
Into a strange miasmic haze.
Then, synthesizing all these things,
I'd analyze and then conclude
Exactly what from me elude;
Besides a pair of downy wings.
III) Observations: I can't seem
To put down into words the way
I feel today, or yesterday,
Nor days to come, I dare to deem.
I levitate the quill, and dip
The apparatus into ink
But all I write, and all I think,
Are poems, and the arrow-tip.
So, therefore, I shall deem this ill-
Thought study inconclusive; I,
Shall on this matter ne'ermore try
To study; I have not the skill.
'Tis late at night, or early morn;
I'd slept tonight - the first in days,
When, in my catatonic haze,
An image from my mind was born:
She lives! A zombie, hollow-eyed,
Dull face, matte coat, mane like a nest.
She tears the arrow through her chest;
Internal organs flow outside.
She turns to me with trademark smile;
Says, "Come and join me, Egghead!" Then
She laughs, turns back, walks into fen,
Therein dissolves in substance vile --
And with a jolt I then return'd
To consciousness. I guess I'll stay
Awake tonight, or sleep at day,
'Til my mind clears its image burn'd.
Inept and inexact are words,
Which, all throughout my life have been
My servant, I their master, when
I needed something to be heard
Or written. I have come to see
That flaky are these treasured things.
See, hollow sound around me rings:
Though I speak words to them; they, me;
I cannot process sounds, extract
Their meaning, speak, or comprehend.
Alas, my former stalwart friend
Has broken down our precious pact.
Through words my world was torn apart,
However; yea, through words was I
Inform'd my Rainbow Dash did die:
O pow'rful, terr'ble, wretched art!
At last, words can be wolves in sheep's
Skin; power, surely they possess.
Sometimes they help; sometimes, distress:
For now, words fail me, and I weep.
I understand, my mentor dear,
That you cannot bring Dashie back;
That doing so'd to space-time wrack
An instability, we fear.
Oh you, who governs hill and lea,
Control the Sun, yet cannot fend
Off death, except the aether rend --
You too must share your grief with me.
That I am join'd by friend and Lord
In grief does not alleviate
My suff'ring; nor do they abate,
The laments I to her afford.
In cleaning Dash's study-room,
A clutter'd mess with few real books
Within our cloud-house, in a nook,
The corner where I thought to doom
I'd fall -- I think to when I first
Was crown'd and couldn't fly, and when
I first set foot in Dashie's den
Without my spell: the clouds did burst
Beneath my hooves. 'Twas only in
The nick of time that Dash did catch
Me, save me from a fall through thatch.
I vow'd to not set foot again
On clouds without my safety spell.
Yet Dash encouraged me to fly;
She train'd my body, mind, and eye;
Her confidence, my fears, did quell.
Through patience and tough love did she
Enable confidence to seep
Into my mind; it went in deep,
Much deeper than my fears could be.
Though sometimes I her patience wore,
Through Dash I gained the confidence
To walk on clouds, fly continents,
And, fin'lly, like an eagle soar.
My mind puts forth a memory
Of when I did propose to Dash.
'Twas mid-flight -- oh! I thought I'd crash! --
My wings turned stiff as emery!
'Twas in the dale where I now fly,
A shortcut straight to Canterlot.
Two stones from Rarity I'd bought
Were in my bags, hid from her eye.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash!" I call'd, and swoop'd
Ahead of her, look'd in her eyes.
I pluck'd a primary of size;
Behind her ear I placed it; loop'd
Below her. From my bag I took
A sapphire and an amethyst.
Her answer, I already wist,
But still, my voice and body shook.
"Dash, will you marry me?" I asked.
Time seem'd to, for a moment, stop.
I fear'd that from the sky I'd drop.
I couldn't keep emotions mask'd.
As answer, she a gentle kiss
Placed on my lips, and whisper'd soft,
"Of course I will. Now fly aloft,
And faster -- you'll your function miss!"
Of course I'd planned some extra time,
But full of energy was I:
I climb'd and soar'd with Dash up high,
And cared not on my feather rime
Was forming. Straight aloft I flew,
At fifty, forty centibars.
We flew toward the fixèd stars;
We reach'd them, then enjoy'd the view.
Today, the sky is thick with clouds;
I cannot soar up high like then.
I fly through field and vale and fen
To Canterlot, where clouds do shroud
The landscape. On a ledge I land.
I trot to where Celestia
Would meet me to discuss ideas
To end the war with Gryphons, and
Have high tea at my fav'rite place,
Where I took Dash to many dates --
I'd ramble on about the greats
Of hist'ry over leeks and dace.
I canter past a busy bar
Where Dash and I would often go
To drink 'til we'd forget our woes:
That she and I were kept afar
When oft I stayed in Canterlot
To serve my duty to the land,
'Cause sometimes Cloudsdale would demand
Dash take the place that they'd allot.
Now, I approach our meeting-place.
Oh, what I wouldn't give for Dash
To be with me, just for a flash,
That I could kiss her graceful face.