The Laughter and the Night

by AugieDog

Book III

The luncheon passes in a blur
Beneath that perfect blue,
The grasslands rustling all around,
And Luna rustles, too.

When Pinkie swallows at one bound
A dozen candied fruits,
The princess laughs, a sound she's heard
Compared to crystal flutes.

Yet all the same, unease has stirred
Through Luna from ahead,
From where the Mountains of the Moon
Lie cloaked about with dread.

That voice, that silken little croon
Bucephalus has used
To touch her thoughts, is quiet now
But still, she feels bruised.

The sweat that starts upon her brow
Is cold, then hot, then cold,
And sensing his benighted gaze,
She trembles, less than bold.

She startles, then, when Pinkie lays
A hoof upon her leg.
"He knows you're strong, and in the end,
He knows he'll hafta beg."

For what? the princess can pretend
She doesn't think at all.
She stands and spreads her wings. "Perhaps
We'd best pay him our call."

Her tongue extending, Pinkie laps
Up all remaining crumbs;
She climbs aboard at Luna's nod,
The air around them thrums,

And Luna launches from the sod,
Outracing ev'ry doubt
To land sure-hoofed upon the stone
Outside his foul redoubt.

"It's nice!" says Pinkie. Luna's thrown:
"Excuse me, Pinkie Pie.
It's meant for his imprisonment."
"You sure?" She squints an eye.

A bouncing Pinkie laughs. "The scent
Of all this gorgeous pine!
The dappled sunlight... Ooo! A stream!
This place is mighty fine!"

While Luna's glare's been known to steam
The dew from off the grass,
Against the wall of Pinkie's grin,
It shatters like it's glass.

But then a rumbling voice—"Come in."—
Makes Luna gasp and freeze:
Caressing, gentle, promising,
The perfect summer breeze.

"Is that—?" asks Pinkie, whispering.
The princess somehow nods,
Her words again all jammed inside
Her throat like soiled clods.

Unbidden, Luna's glance goes wide;
It settles on the door,
Half-hidden in the undergrowth,
And sparks her inner war.

"The rules," says Pinkie, "state that both
The breaker and breakee
Must meet each other face to face
Before you can be free."

"The rules?" asks Luna. "There's a place
Where these things are defined?"
"Just in your heart." Then Pinkie taps
Her head. "And in your mind."

Another rumble: "If perhaps
You fillies would allow,
Your safety here in my domain
I'll solemnly avow."

"You what?!" A stab like real pain
Makes Luna wince and glare.
"You have no standing, prisoner!
What right have you to dare—?!"

"Ah, Luna." How it shivers her
To hear him speak her name!
And how revolting that she feels
Affected by his game!

The space within the prison steals
Her breath: the redwood beams
Immense to keep the spell contained,
So cavernous it seems.

And there, his rocky hide unstained
By dust or time or age,
Bucephalus stands towering,
Still locked within his cage.

He isn't grim or glowering,
Although the arrow clenched
Between his teeth makes Luna think
Of all the pain he wrenched—

And suddenly, a fetid stink
Invades the piney smell,
A stench of fear and blood reborn;
She rears and starts to yell:

"You're nothing to me, Rage Forlorn,
A blot I've cast aside!
Begone from all my dreams and thoughts!
I shall not be defied!"

She tells herself of all the plots
And schemes he might attempt,
This one is simply juvenile,
Too ragged and unkempt.

But if it's true... A tiny smile
Tugs squirming at her lips—
When Pinkie bursts out into tears.
"That's beautiful!" she drips.

"You've pined here all alone for years
Just waiting her return!"
She jams a kerchief to her snout.
"Oh, how your heart must yearn!"

The princess stares, this turnabout
Unnerving her a bit
Especially when Pinkie turns
On her: "You hypocrite!

Remember those who had concerns
Right after Nightmare Moon?
But ev'rypony knows you now
And sings a diff'rent tune!"

A bounce, and Pinkie bends a bow.
"Hello, Bucephalus.
My name is Pinkie Pie, and I'm
So glad you met with us!"

"Indeed." The statue seems to chime
The word, its mouth unmoved.
"It's nice to find my ancient name
By some not disapproved."

"I understand you like to game,"
Says Pinkie with a grin
And something Luna thinks a wink.
"And that you play to win."

The statue's head with creak and clink
Adjusts a slight amount.
"I never lose," his voice declares,
"At least in ways that count."

"Terrific!" Pinkie further bares
Her teeth. "And goodness me!
The prize we're playing for today?
The key that sets you free!"

"The puzzle stone." His words like clay
Take shape upon the air
And harden fast. "Where did you get—?!
It's mine, you stupid mare!

I've sought for centuries, have set
My spies upon its trail
Without success, and now you pull
The thing from out your tail?!

I'll kill you, you contemptible—!"
A choking sort of gasp.
"I mean," he goes on, soft and sweet,
"I only wish to clasp—"

"No more." The princess sighs. "Deceit
Was ever your lifeblood."
A flame inside her gutters low;
She stomps it in the mud.

"No more." She growls this time. "You show
At last your one, true face!
I thus dismiss you from my heart,
This world, and ev'ryplace!"

He splinters, scatters, bursts apart,
His rough and stony skin
Exploding in a storm of dust—
But standing there within,

Bucephalus, as dark as rust,
As bloody red as Fate,
Expels a snort, and lightning flares
Around his armor plate.

He shouts, his voice all trumpet blares:
"Oh, how I've longed for this!
To crush you after savoring
One final, loving kiss!"

The princess laughs unwavering,
Her ev'ry sense alive.
"But now I've seen you truly, dear!
My kiss you won't survive!"

He charges, roars, but Luna's fear
Has vanished like the dew.
She meets him solid as a fist,
As righteous and as true.

A roll of thunder, then she's kissed
His cold, unmoving mouth,
The storm that raged around their brawl
Now clearing to the south.

"I'm sorry," comes a gentle call,
And Pinkie's standing there.
"But now at least you'll start to heal.
You've washed him from your hair."

"Except," says Luna. "Was he real?
When fighting, I could tell
I made him move. I pulled his strings.
I rang him like a bell."

"Until you stopped it!" Pinkie sings,
"'Cause now you've got no need!
Forgive yourself and take the blame!"
And Luna nods. "Indeed."

But ev'ning's falling, clouds aflame
And fading with the light.
Together, then, they raise the moon,
The Laughter and the Night.