Xenoverse Pony Dark Ages Nursery Rhyme · 7:20pm Aug 1st, 2013
The Xenoverse has a lot of potential, and with dark things lurking in the wings of it, I find myself inspired. I'm certainly no poet, of course, but I thought I'd share this... because it creeps me the fuck out.
I actually came up with this on a complete whim. Remember, sometimes children's rhymes contain warnings...
The Knackerjack
If the weather's misty cold, and a sour smell is near,
If you hear bell a tinklin', then the good foals know to fear,
For he wears a thousand colors, and he has a thousand Marks,
he has knives for his fingers, and he scrapes them making sparks,
Best to lock your door, my foal, and hide under your bed,
For if the Knackerjack he finds you, then my foal you will be dead
We may see your face again, but it will not be on your head
Knackerjack, Knackerjack, please just go away,
we have no skins to give you, no bones to pay our way
run away, hide away, stay still if you can,
'cause I'm so afraid of that Knackerjack Man
He sometimes runs on two legs, and sometimes runs on four,
You may hear him a scratching, or a scraping on your door,
He may ask quite politely, in a dry and scratchy voice,
Please to give the old and tired, or the young if you've a choice?
But his courtesy's a ruse my foal, his heart is black as sin
It's best that you stay quiet, that you never let him in,
Or one of your herd we'll never see again
Knackerjack, Knackerjack, please just go away,
we have no skins to give you, no bones to pay our way
run away, hide away, stay still if you can,
'cause I'm so afraid of that Knackerjack Man
If you do hear him a scratchin', and you hear that dry dead voice,
Just remember colts and fillies, that you DO still have a choice,
For the full moon is a weakness, and to obey it he is bound
And as morning's light comes over, and it brings the light around,
then the Knackerjack will turn, and he will surely skitter free,
Just be sure to know the sky my foals, as sure as you can be,
Best not be out at night when clouds you see
Knackerjack, Knackerjack, please just go away,
we have no skins to give you, no bones to pay our way
run away, hide away, stay still if you can,
'cause I'm so afraid of that Knackerjack Man
Yeah, you're right, that is pretty damn creepy.
1255649 Like any good nursery Rhyme, there are hidden truths in it. It's probably something that foals say as they play some little game, never realizing that there's more to the story than a little rhyme. Celestia has suppressed information about the Gentry, as I understand it from Xeno canon, because naming them and thinking about them gives them power, but there are remnants here and there. Shreds of evidence, if you will.
Knackerjack is widely considered by pony historians to be a nursery rhyme about the practice of ancient Earth Pony tribes who, when faced with starvation and the death of whole herds, would sometimes drive away the very old or the very very young to die of exposure. It is not a proud moment of pony history, and it has left a dark mark on their psyche.
Of course, that's merely the accepted idea. Perhaps there is more to the legend then that....
1255655
Interesting concept, I've never really read any of the spin-off Xenoverse fics, so I wouldn't really know much about the Gentry or anything like that.
Is it wrong that I was reading this in a sing song voice while smiling evilly
?
1255686
Not at all.
What a thing to read before bed! *shudders*
I like it though, it's somewhat reminiscent of Poe's darker side.
Will we see an update on Quantum Castaways anytime soon? I'm really looking forward to it!
1255655
Unfortunately, I might have run into one or two on my travels. Because of course there had to be a parallel universe with them in it. Least I killed em dead, permanently.
That was interesting. I like it.
When I read it, the words refused to be spoken in my head. They had to be sung instead. I'll probably be humming the tune it made over the course of the day.
Is it weird that, for whatever reason, as I read this my mind matched the words to the tune of Gypsy Tamborine?