Only, Only, Only You

by Corejo

II - A Nightshade-wound Chrysanthemum

The city streets below are bare.
It’s quiet here—a silent prayer

To you so close before the dawn.
I feel you, taste you, pull me on.

The throne is just beyond the hall,
But you not quite. Not quite at all.

Industrious, you ever were,
Unceasing bone and skin and fur.

Forever working, seeking fame,
In starlit night with starlit mane.

Beneath Her shadow, out of sight,
You toiled, thankless, every night.

You knew your place ‘neath Silver crown,
Despite the Gold, despite Her frown.

She never knew the pain inside,
Your humble wants, your jealous pride.

‘Twas much deserved, if only seen.
But only I, my love, my queen,

Could see within what, hateful, burned—
For simple recognition, yearned.

And still your nightly clip-clop speaks
Of retribution. Interest piques.

I follow, low; I follow you,
Across the velvet floor imbued

With scent of silver filigree.
Like rainfall on the Everfree,

‘Tis one I know as safe and dear,
So near to heart, so ever near.

Your hooffalls stop before a door
Of golden sunbursts I abhor.

And I, too, end my creeping crawl.
I cease my hopeful, inward drawl

That you but turn and gaze at me.
But wait, what’s this? What flowers be

Within your grasp, this azure vase
That you so hesitantly place

Against the foot of sunburst door?
Two flowers I have seen before.

For reasons I can scarcely plumb:
A nightshade-wound chrysanthemum.

Its golden bloom bobs over death.
It bobs beneath your sweetest breath.

You smile—smile!—it farewell.
You turn and see me, see me well.

Your smile fades, the trick forgot;
Conniving gesture leaves your thought.

How long I’ve waited now for this,
The catch of breath, the gasp of bliss.

Come closer here—my heart, my host.
Come closer. Hear my heart, my host.

This beating, thumping raucous boom
Within my chest has ample room

For what was lost, your power—mine.
Reclaim me now, my heart entwine!

Together soon, we’ll ever be.
Together, you and I are We.

Oh, We the crown and We the sky
That draws attention to our eye:

The Moon above, forever full,
That watches, sees, is never dull.

With wings unfurled, our shadow’s cast
Forever on the world at last!

The ponies tremble, stumble, quake.
Apologies both real and fake

Will fumble from their lowly tongues.
From one—from all!—both old and young.

They’ll learn their wrongs, their errored ways.
They’ll see soon, then, the end of days.

Your silver hoof, but give to me,
And all the world will surely see that

WE ARE NIGHTMARE!

…

But... What is this? That hardened gaze,
So twisted, fraught, need I rephrase?

Your eyes a-tremble, lowered head...
Had you assumed that I was dead?

What darkened shadow hesitates?
The Night is come! The Night awaits!

But cast aside your worries, love!
We’ll rectify the sky above,

And you will know your righteous rite
Of birth and scorn Sun Sister’s spite!

N-No? What’s this? You look away?
You’d rather see the light of day

And shun your nightbound pedigree—
Remain in surly apogee?

What’s happened in these years apart
That’s broken you, my vexing art?

Why stand you so, why look aghast?
I’m less a shadow of your past

Than outstretched future just in reach.
Come hither, Luna! I beseech.

Your hoof, it rises from the stone.
As cold as moonlight, white as bone.

You speak with solemn, hollow voice,
As if you haven’t any choice:

“I’ll bear no more your hateful curse.
I’m sorry, Sister. Be dispersed.”

Though formless, shapeless, I am stunned.
I falter, waver, wholly shunned

By love long lost that now is found—
In Sunlight’s chains is clearly bound.

You lie! Your words are drops of doubt.
You seek to slander, curse throughout.

My Luna’d never bide the sun.
With her—my love!—what have you done?

The silence reigns as darkness should.
Your tears fall free like any’s would.

That wince upon your face I see.
If it’s not Her, then… Is it me?

Am I not what you wanted, dear?
Am I not what you sought in fear,

To sow the seeds of their respect
And find in comfort, derelict,

Those trampled flowers without bloom
That whither ‘neath neglected moon?

I brought you from your lower state,
But now you claim it’s me you hate?

Oh, wherefore comes this disrespect?
From you, my love, I’d not expect

A face-heel turn to Sister Sun.
Return to me, and we will run

Her through with moonshaft bright!
We’ll close her eyes and snuff the light!

Within, I see the shadows sown
By years in darkness, fears that grow

Of what We were, of what could be…
Is it true...? That you fear me?

A forward step, a step t’ward me.
Within your eyes, I wholly see:

A mare inside, in shackles, chained
To whipping post, forever pained

By what was done, what I hath wrought.
Our deeds—our sins? We duly sought

What’s ours by birth divine, my queen.
Our methods now, though, seem obscene?

You weigh your mind with conscious guilt,
With foalish mounds of moral silt.

Impossible to let them go?
Then keep them if it suits you so,

But surely you don’t feel the need
To stay but half, be from me ‘freed?’

You look at me, now resolute.
You speak with voice I can’t refute:

“These words I’ve said I won’t again.
I’ve freed myself from darkened reign.

“Be gone, my soul-spun, twisted vice!
I’ve paid already hefty price

“For suff’ring, sorrow, death you’ve caused.
When from you freed, I’d nothing lost.”

I thought, I-I thought we were in love?
My mare, my Luna—night-ful dove!

This gift of kinship sought on high,
Our life—our love—was… but a lie?

No.

You liar! Whore! This cannot be!
You give yourself to Her, not me?

I bring with me the night’s advance,
But you won’t take a second chance?

Am I not worth the uphill fight...?
Your Nightmare—me—your loving Night?

Within your eyes, a silent pain:
You wish of all, you wish in vain

That We had never come to pass.
My heart, it feels like fractured glass.

I ache, my Luna, how I ache.
Lacuna, oh, soon will I break.

I cannot bear your callous plea.
I take to sky; I fly from thee!

From castle bright, to forest dark,
I fear to turn and see the spark—

That wond’rous flame within your eye
That dares not seek to shroud the sky

With stolid, cold, and moonlit night,
Now so much colder ‘neath your light.

‘Tis full, the moon, as full can be.
You made it so, but absent me.

Within. Without. I feel so numb.
Oh, where is my chrysanthemum

To twine with you within your breast,
To sleep with you and claim my rest?

My Night Mare! Nightmare! Lid my eyes,
So I endure not moonless skies!

I see now in these years apart,
You’ve turned a leaf to vexing art.

I thought we were, we are—will be!
My lovely Luna, we shall see.

For now, though, can I hardly feel
Your warmth of heart or Nightmare zeal.

This ghost will go and pass you by.
I’m lost, my Luna. Tell me…

...Why?

Author's Note:

Special thanks to AugieDog/Baal Bunny for his comments during the Write-off, and to Cassius for his help with pacing on the rewrite.

So yeah, a Write-off fic. And it's a poem! Loved putting this one together, and I think it came out spectacularly. Inspired by John Donne's "The Computation."

Comments

[Skeeter The Lurker]

...I am 100% being serious about that, by the way.

~Skeeter The Lurker

[The Bricklayer]

I don't normally read poetry, but this isn't half bad.

[WishSeeker]

I have to say that's good. I'm glad I read through this.

[RQK]

I normally stray from poems as well
Longer forms are what I desire
But I found these entries oh so swell
Burning with a poetic fire

Come closer here—my heart, my host.
Come closer. Hear my heart, my host,

These lines are golden, truly they are
They caught my eye, and they were so brave
Good poetry, this piece is by far
So have yourself a like and a fave

[Heart of Blades]

Got moved to tears more than once, beautiful poetry, both of them. Though I'll admit to enjoying the second one a bit more than the first

[ponygrad]

Excellent work. Only the second poem on here that hasn't caused my eyes to glaze over.

This is a great take on Luna's temptation. It is not primarily anger our jealousy, but a yearning to be loved, that causes her downfall, so it makes sense that that is what the nightmare would tempt her with. That the nightmare has a limited range of emotion lends an element of tragedy, as Luna looks back and sees and must reject a creature that was in a similar place that she was once herself. But, she is powerless to show kindness to it, as, unlike her, it cannot grow and overcome petty lusts.

[Corejo]

7216652
7216924
Glad you enjoyed it! But you guys do realize it's all one story, right? The chapters are just scene breaks.

[Ice Star]

This was a very interesting take on NMM and Luna.

And there was poetry!

[FadFreaky]

I'm happy to see someone on this site doing poems! I think a lot of us get negative impressions from them early on in life because of our... English classes, but this is great! I love reading poetry and I thank you for putting some on this site (It could bare to get a bit more cultured). It's a shame fimfiction caps stories at a thousand words, though, because I feel like these poems could've done better if they were shorter. The more concrete something is, the less you repeat yourself, and the more depth you can put into fewer words than necessary. Which in a sense is what poetry is all about and why I love reading it for its simplicity yet complexity. Some of which is here, but I would say the extension of the words here can lead to some boredom. Furthermore, I don't know about you, but it seems OOC for Nightmare Moon to be all buddy buddy with Luna. You know, body possession and all that by an evil spirit equals love seems... Mmmmm... Not really grasping it there. Still, I enjoyed reading it and thought it was great despite the little things I picked out of it.

[Forderz]

Jealousy and a yearning for adoration. Makes sense that the Nightmare would have a mature that appealed to such needs.

[SaBOTour]

Yandere!NMM is now my headcanon.

[PresentPerfect]

Who-ho-hoa! Insert Celestia's Ballad here, this is some of the best poetry I've ever read in this fandom! :D

[Neighrator Pony]

Found this by way of Vicodin's reading...holy crap this is terrific. This may well be the best epic poem I've seen come out of this fandom. OK DO MORE NOW

[Corejo]

7290479
I would love to do another long-form poem like this. Just need to come up with a story first!

[ChuckHorsis2015]

7290479 Wrong, my friend, this is by far the best poetry I've ever read, it's flow and construction trump even Edgar Allan Poe's masterpiece, Annebel Lee it's simply phenomenal I hope to see more from this author in the near future ~ChuckHorsis martial arts legend and watcher of candy colored equines.

[tehspeleengpolise]

Has anybody done a good reading of this yet?

For some reason, I always find poems dry and tedious to read, regardless of how good they are. Listening to a poem, on the other hand, is much more enjoyable - despite the fact that when it comes to prose, I absolutely despise audiobooks.
Since this piece has been so highly praised I would love to enjoy a proper reading of it myself.

[Tast]

Masterful. It's always such a delight seeing somebody tell a story not just with words or their order, but also how they're written. Thank you for the opportunity to read this.

[TheJediMasterEd]

This feels very Jacobean--reminds me of The Collar, in fact.

And someone else knows what a refrain really is, and how it works. In-teresting.

[horizon]

*glances longingly at senpai*

(And yes, I am totally going to Never The Final Word that, if you're okay with it.)

[Serenity Rising]

Instantly subscribed. The power and beauty of this was completely unexpected, and i thank you for it.

[NikitaKitten]

Because I have nearly zero experience with poetry, I can't really say anything in terms of critical analysis. All I can offer is the sense of awe and sorrow that I felt when reading it. This is a beautiful poem, with simple but classic story in its structure. I'm not about to start preferring poetry over prose, but if we had more poetry like this on the site then I'd certainly entertain giving it a shot every once in awhile.

Thank you.

[Meridian Prime]

Wow. This is sublime work.

I really wish I had more to say, but I'm speechless in that way one often is after reading a masterpiece.

[oak-tail]

This is beautuful. The idea of nightmare being Luna's lover is fascinating, and the poetry is just sublime. The way you maintain the same the same syllable and rhyme scheme through the thole thing, and yet weave the verses(?) together and hold them apart to make the rise and fall of emotion... Just truly wonderful

Nightmare's rant near the begining was especially clear to me; I could just hear the power and desire rising up in its voice, gaining power until the final release of WE ARE NIGHTMARE!

I definitely will be reading this again someday.

[PaulAsaran]

You can has review!

[Advisability]

...poor thing...