Bantam Tales

by Chris

The Sun's Victory

For seventy seasons the Sisters' reign

Was untouched by trouble; traffic from afar

Bustled the busy broadways of Equestria.

Trade and transit were untarnished by poverty,
05 And Equestria was not cursed with unkind profits.

Likewise, the land was lawful and calm;

Peace was the providence of her peerless Knights,

Those guardians of goodness and givers of justice.

At the Sisters' insistence they strove for equality,
10 And for seventy seasons success was their lot.

But peace and prosperity could not pacify one soul;

Her heart was hardened with hate, this despite

The beauteous bounty that burgeoned the land.

Luna Light-Moon, lesser sister
15 To lovely Celestia, the Lady of Day,

Was unmoved by the masses' many joys,

Nor counted their carefree kindness and generosity

When she sat on her seat in the Citadel of Night.

Rather, she rued their reticence, her subjects',
20 To dally at darkness; indeed, the night

They feared, and fled to firesides for light,

Or hid in their homes and hated her gift,

The black blanket which broke each morning

To their giddy gratitude and glad rejoicing.

25 "And why should one as wise as I,

As powerful and potent, as practiced in magic,

For what reason that rates not round dismissal

Am I scorned, and subject to such slanderous rebuke?

Is my night made for naught? Shall none admire it?
30 Is no loveliness in my constellations, in Lyra or Orion,

In the Big Bear or his brother, Ursa

Minor? In the myriad mysteries of stars

Which I wove, that wend their way on high,

Is there nothing of note? Nothing of worth?
35 This cannot be ken! Cassiopeia and Scorpio,

Pisces, the Pleiades, all purchased by my sweat,

Are worthy of wonder, and willing observance.

This, then, is the thread of my pondering:

Acting unaided, and absent any friend
40 Or compatriot, what plan or plot will bring

The silver stars suitable admiration?"

And deep in the darkness of her dim castle,

The purple-clad princess pondered and thought,

For many months as measured by mere ponies,
45 Yet only an instant to ageless minds

Such as the powerful Princess'. Presently, she arrived

At a gambit so grim it gripped even her,

Regal royalty, with wracking fear.

But she set aside her squeamishness, and took up
50 From deep in the dark dungeons of her castle

The ancient armour, ashen and black,

Which had mouldered in the musk, unmissed and forgotten.

Donning this defence she daringly came forth

Into the night, noiseless and unnoticed by any
55 Of the still slumbering stallions and fillies

Who spent their sleep in stillness below.

She came to Canterlot amid chaos and panic,

For already her wrath was writ on her brow,

And anger and evil were upon her visage.
60 Coming to the court in costume of darkness,

Bearing tools of grim trial, trappings of war,

She hailed our highness haughtily, and brashly

She spoke to her sister of her unspeakable deed.

"Celestia, light-giver to our land, take heed!
65 Too long have I labored in loveless exile,

scorned and refused, and by our subjects feared.

No more! Morning I'll make to wait

And hold upon my hest, that heavenly darkness

May rule this realm, and right the imbalance
70 Between day and dark!" Deftly she spoke,

And the truth of her tale was terribly apparent

For the moment of morning had meanwhile past

As she spoke, with no sign of sparkling light

From the smiling sun; the silver moon
75 Shone its sheer sheen alone.

Celestia was livid, but love for her sister

Forced her, at first, to try forging a compromise.

She bargained unabashedly, even begged; the mighty

And powerful princess prostrated herself
80 And, in the name of the numberless needy, her subjects,

Implored the prideful princess to reconsider.

But, her sister spurned these insistent pleas,

Laughing at Celestia, Luna refused.

It was then, thoughtful of the threat she posed,
85 Yet desiring to avoid responding too viciously,

The Sun-guide instructed that her sister be brought down,

And signaled to strike her stalwart Knights.

These fearless defenders to fight were eager,

Despite sparring 'gainst an unstoppable power.
90 They readily rushed the ruler of night,

And cried out for combat; no cowards they!

But the bravest and the best; they burnished their weapons

And hefted their hooves, her helmet to crack.

But Luna laughed at their luckless charge,
95 Her magic was more than their might could sway.

And her armour was proof from all of their pounding,

She soon had swept each stallion from combat

And was left alone with Celestia herself.

The Sun-lady said, "My sister, oh Luna!
100 It grieves me greatly that your galling attack

And reticence to remove the rogue midnight

Have forced me to face you with a fearsome weapon:

Behold! The Elements of Harmony!" And even

As she spoke, the spell she had sewn burst upon
105 The purple-clad princess, and powerfully bound

Her, head and hoof. Then hurled her skyward,

Locking Luna, Lady of Night,

In the masterful mazes of the moon itself.

And Celesta did lie in its lambent glow
110 And weary, she wept. But when she was recovered

She saw to the sun and swept away

The dreary dark.

And so decreed the Princess,

Upon the break of day,
115 That light and darkness henceforth

Be governed by her sway.

And deep within the silver moon,

The lonely Luna dwells.

She seeks an exit, but is bound,
120 By many devious spells.

But sages say the night will come,

When a thousand years have passed,

Her stars will help her break her bonds,

And she shall win free at last.

125 Upon that day will darkness fall,

And night eternal loom,

For only the six elements

Can vanquish NIGHTMARE MOON.

Author's Note:

Originally written Spring 2011. Despite my apparently having no talent for it, I continue to enjoy writing alliterative poetry--see below for more info on the form:

This piece is written in Early English-style alliterative verse.  Unlike rhyming poetry, where the end sounds of words match up, in alliterative verse the first sounds of the stressed syllables are matched (stressed syllables are just syllables on which you put a natural emphasis when talking).  This particular poetic style takes AA / AB form preferentially, but can also use AB / AB or (more rarely) AB / AC.  In other words, each line is divided in half; each half-line has two stressed syllables and any number of unstressed syllables.  The two stressed syllables in the first half-line and the first one in the second half-line should all start with the same sound (spelling is irrelevant), while the final stressed syllable must begin with some other sound.  Traditionally, any syllable that starts with a vowel is treated as alliterating with any other such syllable, and voiced and unvoiced consonants alliterate with each other (so, for example, them and think alliterate, even though one is voiced and the other isn’t).

Comments

[Prof Holly Oats]

I love alliteration (had a lot of fun with it when writing about Beowulf in high school), but for some reason can't get most of this to flow right in my head. The issue's probably on my end, though, rather than a flaw in your work; I have trouble reading a lot of poetry

[PresentPerfect]

Neato style. :O