The Rhyme of the Ancient Marener

by Brolkier

Part I

I stood upon the sandy shores,
Staring out to sea.
I wondered what lie beyond those waves
That moved so bold and free.

No pony had dared ever cross
The water, dark and blue.
It’s distance so vast, it left them aghast,
That the end was not in view.

I wanted to try to test my hoof,
To be the very first.
To cross this blue, untamed best,
And quench my unknown thirst.

To do such though, I’d need a crew,
One brave, one quick, one loyal.
To join me on this daring quest,
Beyond Equestria’s soil.

I need not look very far,
To find one that was quick.
A Unicorn, of coat pure white,
Whose mind was far from thick.

I watched, as she tricked a stallion,
Whom had too much to drink.
In a flash, appeared his belt,
And quick his pants did sink.

A hearty laugh, from mares and colts,
Did fill up the saloon.
The stallion left, without a word,
As if from mocked, by a bird,
Staggering like a loon.

I approached the mare, to ask her name,
But she quickly walked away.
I called: ‘Please miss, oh Unicorn,
Won’t you hear what I have to say?’

She turned to me, eyes of cold,
Ones that made me shiver.
I gathered the courage to speak the words,
That I knew I must deliver.

I told her of my adventurous quest,
To sail the salty brine.
To sail, and sail, and sail through on
Celestia’s sunshine.

She looked at me with eyes of query,
Per’aps thinking me insane.
‘Twas crazy for any normal pony,
To traverse that blue terrain.

She opened her mouth, and spoketh to me:
‘What do I have to gain?
If nothing of value is my to take,
Then this quest sounds like a pain.’

I knew she was quick, so I thought quicker,
To keep her interest in.
I said: ‘Join me, and riches be,
If you stick thick and thin.’

I knew my bluff had won the mare,
When she came back with a smile.
She told me her name was Cat’s Eye,
And that she’d stay for a while.

Now with the quick, and me the brave,
We need now find the loyal.
A pony with guts to never quit,
Despite our constant toil.

We asked around, to find such pony,
But all to no avail.
The very thought of a rocking boat,
Made all their faces quite pale.

We searched around for hours more,
Till soon our hooves did tire.
Returning to my waiting ship,
I quickly made a fire.

The glow of the flames kept us warm,
As the fire let out a crackle.
I returned from the ship, with cider to sip,
And sticks to roast an apple.

The two alone, we sat in place,
Till something broke the silence.
A growling of menace,
Of which we would gladly pay a penance,
To avoid a more gruesome violence.

The growling grew louder, only to die down,
And then let out a snort.
We each looked around, to find the sound,
Until our necks contort.

Soon enough, we narrowed our search,
And found the noise up high.
Up above, on a cloud of tuft,
Was a yellow Pegasus in the sky.

The mare snored loudly from her cloud,
Oblivious to those below.
She shifted slightly, and the cloud did shake,
Releasing flakes of snow.

Cat’s Eye annoyed, picking up a rock,
Doth chucked it at the mare.
It hit her square in the plot,
Giving her a scare.

She leapt from her cloud, and flew to the ground,
To confront her rude attacker.
I quickly jumped in-between, preventing a scene,
Thinking she would smack her.

The Pegasus opened her mouth wide
‘What do you think you’re doing?
Why did you hit me with a rock,
Whilst I was just snoozing?’

I apologized for Cat’s Eye
‘She really didn’t mean it.
It’s just your snoring was so loud,
By just a teeny-tiny bit.’

She rolled her eyes, to no surprise,
And asked why we were here.
We told her of our wanted quest,
And how it gripped ponies in fear.

Her eyes lit up when we told her of,
Traveling across the sea.
A thought that which would normally cause
Other ponies to flee.

She told us that she wanted in,
And would not betray our trust,
We found our loyal in Endless Sky,
It was now the ocean, or bust!