A collection of poems about the royal sisters and their strife.
A collection of poems about Luna's growing discontent, her fall, and her eventual return and redemption. This is by no means meant to offer a narrative take on these events, though the poems are arranged in what may be considered a chronological order. Instead, they are meant to reflect on the emotional experience of the sisters during these events. The framing device should hopefully offer a little more insight into the idea behind these.
Thanks to Ponyphonic with the wonderful songs The Moon Rises and Lullaby for a Princess for inspiring this in the first place, and to Defoloce with his Six Deeds of Harmony for inspiring me to actually go through with this crazy idea. Many thanks to Eustatian Wings on Ponychan for the invaluable feedback he provided on my first draft.
EDIT (12th April 2014): - completely rewritten introduction - rearranged poems to place the first framing poem at the beginning, rather than second to last - major revisions to Sonnets 2, 7, 12 - moderate revisions to Sonnets 3, 6, 8, 11, 14 - minor revisions to all others
I’ve found these poems scribbled into various books on astronomy and mythology in the Canterlot Archives, though none of them bore a title. Even though the poems are between only a few and almost a thousand years old, they all show similarities in writing and have all been signed with the until now unknown name Sun Net, likely a pun on their form of the poems, if somewhat inappropriate for their content. Though not connected through re-used first and last lines as in a traditional Crown of Sonnets, the poems are nonetheless connected and structured by the youngest pair of poems, composed respectively of the first and last lines of the other poems. Whether these two poems are the result of an intentional effort by the various authors or a lucky coincidence noticed by the last to take that mantle, I have arranged the other poems according to them, which also places them in chronological order. Though I have no proof to back my theories about why the name Sun Net stayed in use for such a long time, I nonetheless publish these poems with the blessing and indeed encouragement of Princess Celestia herself.
Two regal sisters rein in heaven's flight That sun will touch the earth with amber ray While Moon descends upon the mortal play To lift her charges up to greater height.
In twilight, royal hosts in battle meet Celestial orbs deciding mortals' fates. The lady's faults the moon shows indiscreet: The silver orb reflects what gold donates.
Were shooting stars that streak in dying flame Cast out upon the starless, vast expanse? A single, golden star makes lonesome claim While stars are locked in hidden, skybound frame. When mourning lights at far horizons dance New dawn reveals the paths of steadfast aim.
Two regal sisters rein in heaven's flight To keep the sun and moon on proper course. They give to tide and seasons even source And spread the brilliant tapestry of night.
Yet gods will lend an ear to mortal plight To soothe all pains with care and heal remorse. Both guide their subjects with a subtle force And guard their peace against old chaos' might.
Why ruling gods would suffer crippling blows To shelter all their mortal subjects' hearts, Can never be expressed on mortal ground. The might they bring to bear upon their foes Does grow from love and care in equal parts As sisters are in chains of fealty bound.
That sun will touch the earth with amber ray To wake all creatures up to daily toil And fill with warmth the sky, the sea, the soil To nurture tiny seeds to bales of hay.
Their subjects hide as daytime fades away And keep out cold by light of burning oil. To them the nightly chill brings deathly coil ‘Til night's pale glow is held in grave dismay.
The silent guard will never catch their eyes, Yet shrouds the beds in which they sow their dreams While withering light reveals their parched demise. The nightly blooms escape the daily guise, Rejecting subtle shades for radiant streams. They cast off crowns, and part with brighter ties.
While Moon descends upon the mortal play And fits her lines upon the common page, Not ruler then, but friend and humble sage, She sooner puts on coarse than bright array.
Her acts delight and wane above the fray, So actors bow and tumble off the stage Mistaking royal poise for covered rage, Though night still hopes their fear to praise will sway
Her audience left and spurned what she would teach So none record her solitary speech, Her face transfigured to a black disguise. None stayed to listen when the artists preach And fellow actress drifted out of reach Until familiar line, abandoned, dies.
To lift her charges up to greater height One desperate goddess pleads for help and time. To prove her worth and thus be judged sublime She summons courts and bares her work to sight.
Yet all her efforts met contempt and spite Of pleas unheeded, like a distant chime Her sister's stoic face betrayed in rime As she denies the force to given right.
The goddess' callous words left her alone Though faint appeals inscribed a gate of sound Locked tight by pride no common passion found. Her musings peered outside with darker tone Until one lonely mind sat on the throne, With guilt alone, another sov’reign crowned.
In twilight, royal hosts in battle meet To draw the lines of heaven end to end. Still blackened orb will never rule portend. The grey invader mars the azure sheet.
No forces shift for single mind's conceit And borders lie where hist'ry may contend Those vain ambitions justice will commend To fall when loyal subjects urge defeat.
The field of battle grows no peaceful fruit. No point of blade has ever treaties signed. A single blow forever takes up root Until the lines they drew are left behind. The rulers shackled like a vicious brute, Removed to where no solace they will find.
Celestial orbs deciding mortals' fates Through sun and moon are bound to watch alone, Confused and dazed at acts they can't condone: Their subjects freely run to ruined states.
Clear skies should guide all ships through any straits; The lost ones follow them on paths unknown. Their acts should hold the torch that briefly shone And stride ahead until black chance abates.
Not helping friends, their hope would starve and die; With little faith their aid would wither dry. Without command all queens are brought down low While brazen subjects do unruly grow, As none will catch them if they fail to fly Still webbed in dreams, denied the lighter sky.
The lady's faults the moon shows indiscreet Much like a mask of white that bears a crack Which hides a greater flaw behind its back Although its face still keeps their fame complete.
These hidden, ancient faults will never meet Their judge, nor fear the dutiful attack By faithful souls the acts put on the rack To render acts of grace a risky feat.
The smoothest face is easily wiped clean, For through it only chosen acts are seen. In storms the polished mask remains unmoved And shows what rare and common eyes approved. The porcelain divides the low and high. Their gazes roam, yet never find their eye.
The silver orb reflects what gold donates As mirrors turn around what light presents, Yet never pierce the outer ornaments That twist the core that lies beyond the gates.
The waves disrupt all sights the lake creates; The drifting mirror nevermore relents. Beneath the glare wait hidden elements Though frozen images betray still traits.
With passing time reflections change and age. They're never still until the watcher rests Though mirrors surface offers constant stage Like secrets they concealed within their breasts. A practiced eye does not unveil their mind Until profane illusion strikes them blind.
Were shooting stars that streak in dying flame Expelled from lofty heaven by their peers? Have they been stripped of glory's bitter name, Cast down and out, exposed by common fears?
In soaring flight of pride their wings were clipped. The crack of bones avenged their haughty leap, While bound to earth they are of power stripped, Their frame by dismal ruin buried deep.
When walls come down in choking clouds of ash The gods and guards are forced to watch in dread Till painful echoes rise below the crash With lords and ladies likewise trapped and bled. Like rubble, actions past oppress her thought As goddess carries fates her subjects wrought.
Cast out upon the starless, vast expanse The senses find no purchase and grow numb. The blackness turns the eye to inward glance From whence the deeply mended visions come.
No sight, no sound: The language falls all still. Without disturbance mind and ear grow keen To listen to the heartblood's thund'rous trill That echoes warped yet clear off walls unseen.
The barren wasteland feeds no healthy fruit Beneath the castles that on mountains loom And blacken Sol in power’s mad pursuit To force heart’s tithe from those who face their doom. The gods condemn the rulers of this place. The saints may not deserve ill-gotten grace.
A single, golden star makes lonesome claim To days and shrivels shades in parching heat. White arcs that heaven’s tears have born will maim Their prey and split dark clouds in wild retreat.
Impurities succumb to furnace wrath Until the gleaming core lies fully bare. The iron hammered in the forge’s path Meets any wicked blow the villains dare
The shield, in fighting chaos often tried, Can not deflect the aftermath of war, Nor catch the tears of wounded soldier’s pride Or scattered final breaths at heaven’s door. As dust reveals the loneliness it brought, The last survivor faces fate, distraught.
While stars are locked in hidden, skybound frame They can not meddle in the course of time As prisoners of closely guarded shame Left chained alone for near forgotten crime.
The throes of creeping years the queen can’t stand, Still tied in stocks and rack without her crown, Rebuked by fading yet familiar brand And weight that holds until her sorrows drown.
She flings vile spit and curses at her guard. Her shifting form defies her constant cell. She seeks her acts in those who hold her barred While reason passed the wronged by when she fell. Restraints may give at sense's graceful pace As painful bonds forever fix her place.
When mourning lights at far horizons dance They chase away all freezing nightmare shade. The flowing twilight melts the icy lance And wards the haven where new life is laid.
New flowers bloom in gently waning shade, Well nurtured in the cooling, faded ash, That drifts in winds that sweep the barren glade And carry seeds of sleeping nature's cache.
Once blackest clouds have met in roaring clash They yield embattled sites to gentle rains To quench their thirst at river’s lively splash And cross the bridge where tender light remains. The starving soils catch water, ash, and seed To praise return, forgiving past misdeed.
New dawn reveals the paths of steadfast aim Through fallen walls of ancient nations' keeps. The crumbling stone holds words of paling fame And woeful strife eternal mourners weep.
Remembered days leave tracks to future sweep; Their weathered signs reveal deceiving ways. The heirs rebuild on ruined glory's heap To claim what foolish greed had cast astray.
On slippery ground and ancestor's decay They craft a stronger home to brave the world, Securely resting on the works of older days To walk the brighter path the past unfurled. Reborn on time-worn stones, new kin succeed And joyously embrace new hope's clear lead.
As sisters are in chains of fealty bound They cast off crowns, and part with brighter ties Until familiar line, abandoned, dies: With guilt alone, another sov’reign crowned.
Removed to where no solace they will find, Still webbed in dreams, denied the lighter sky, Their gazes roam, yet never find their eye. Until profane illusion strikes them blind.
As goddess carries fates her subjects wrought, The saints may not deserve ill-gotten grace. The last survivor faces fate, distraught, As painful bonds forever fix her place. To praise return, forgiving past misdeed, And joyously embrace new hope's clear lead!
