Canto IV
Breaking the deep sleep that filled my head
A heavy clap of thunder startled me up
As though by force; with rested eyes I stood
Squinting through clouds of must
I threw myself back from the lip
of a deep chasm of infinite black
Into the canyon, I could see nothing below.
Luna rested her hoof on my shoulder,
"Now we descend into the sightless zone,"
Luna wore a pale face now: "I will go
Ahead, you second." I gathered the courage to ask,
"How can I continue if even you,
Who has pushed me through such dread,
Look so pale with fear?" And she: "It is the pain
People here suffer that paints my face this color
Of pity, which you mistake for fear. Now hurry,
This journey is far from over." She entered the
the abyss's first engirdling circle, and down
I followed quickly after, not wanting to doddle
in such a place. We heard no laments, or screams
Only sighs that trembled the timeless air.
Of all sorts of ponies: colt, mare, filly and
stallion alike, they emanated from the shadows.
"Do you not wonder what spirits are these?"
Luna looked behind her shoulder to pass
a glance towards me. "What sin could cause
such an apathetic eternity?" I replied as if by command.
"I will tell you: they did not sin. These souls lived
before the time of Equestria and its blessing.
Through this, no individual is truly at fault.
Merely lost, afflicted only in this way:
Without hope, they live in longing." I regretted
opening my mouth. If Luna could speak in a normal
tongue for a few minutes, it would satisfy my patience
For her need of the dramatic. We continued our journey as she
continued speaking in rhymes and riddles,
passing through a woods-not of trees,
but a wood of thronging spirits; it was not before long
that we came across a fire that shined
overcoming the bleak darkness. From afar
I sensed them to be honorable folk. "Who
are these ponies," I asked Luna,
"To command a fire in such a place?"
And her: "Their honored names still resound
in your life above, have earned grace here..."
Meanwhile a voice afar: "Luna? Luna how long
has it been?" A shadow of a hoof raised
in the air from the circle of fire.
"Far too long" Luna carried a warm smile
as we walked forward. My jaw agape,
I stared dumbfounded at these ponies in the light.
"Among these giants: She is Firefly, their leader of sorts
There is Suprise, the first party pony. The last two follow-
Posey, and Sparkler filling their own respective roles."
Each name shared to me only brought fog
The true shock indeed, was the physical shape
of each of these "ponies"
Snouts longer than any normal standard and eyes unlike
any I have seen before. The white one spoke,
"You come here too little Luna, far too little."
"I regret each passing day I don't join you," Luna
replied. Warm smiles around, the gaze of each pony
focused upon my trembling form.
A familiar yellow pony with pink mane broke the
stillness, "Is she going to be alright Princess?"
"Merely shocked at your forms my little pony, she has not
graced such a prestigious group of your like before."
My Princess took her seat near the fire, tapping a hoof
next to her, "Regain your composure mortal and take a seat"
Shivering in fear I couldn't place, I walked towards Luna
with the same strange eyes glaring at me. "To begin,
Honor these ponies well, for they stand on the highest
of towers casting a shadow upon all of Equestria."
I nodded. "Each one of them played a vital part in the
world you call home, because they planted the seeds
that would soon become the herd." My curiosity
got the better of me: "I remember you speaking of
this "herd" before Princess. What is this community?"
Smiles went across the fire pit. Luna chuckled to herself
and gave the pink Pegasus a nod. She spoke, "we came together
to bring love and tolerance to the world.
The magic of friendship is a powerful weapon, and we
harnessed it to do good for all pony kind." The white pony
spoke again, "To help those in need of laughter!"
"To help those in need of kindness."
"To help those in need of charity."
"To help those in need a friend."
The nostalgia both brought me to tears and laughter.
These ponies truly were good willed as I guessed.
Luna rose from her seat, OF HIGHEST SONG WHO
LIKE AN EAGLE SOARS HIGH ABOVE THE OTHERS
The royal canterlot voice shaking the trees down to their roots.
I found my breath in this dark abyss, and it complimented new
friends. Among themselves, they turned and greeted me;
I made me one among them-talking for what seemed
like hours. Amid such store of wisdom, we walked.
We spoke of matters of magic and friendship,
who is in the herd and what it represents.
At a length of time, a castle blocked our path,
Encircled seven times by a barrier
of lofty walls, and defended round by
Pegasi in dark black armor;
A reflection of Celestia's yet without color.
I passed through seven gateways with the ponies.
We came to a fresh green meadow, where we met
A group of ponies. With grave, deliberate gazes
And manners of great authority, they spoke
Sparingly and in gentle, courtly voices.
We drew aside to a place where we could look
From a spacious well-lit height and view them all.
On that enameled green Luna spoke pointing to each
Bowtie, Glory, Ember, 4-Speed, Cuddles, and Bubbles.
Sundance, Sweet Stuff, Magic Star, Gingerbread.
I saw so many I cannot tally the list;
Cotton Candy stood near Cupcake and Knight Shade.
On one side Lickety-Split, while the other
a baby of the same mane and coat.
A mare named Truly conversed with Buttons
near a fountain. Lofty and Locket looked up towards
us and trialed a wave.
A unicorn named Gusty tried to calm ponies named
Starflower and Powder arguing in a plaza.
Dangerous magic flowed throughout the air.
That which pulls my story is not a telling of names,
To continue the list is to be too little.
For the multitude of names could fill my journey.
The company of six divided and dwindled
To two; my wise guide lead me from that quiet
Another way-again I see air tremble,
And come to a part that has no light inside it.