Monarch of Monsters, by Vylet Pony

Monarch of Monsters

by Vylet Pony

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starvingartist03 This album was so visceral and raw, yet so beautiful, creative, and bittersweet. Sludge is probably one of the most intense tracks I've ever heard, while Huntress is the most heartbreakingly beautiful songs I've had the privilege of hearing. Thank you so much for sharing this album and the story behind it. We love you Vylet <3 Favorite track: Huntress.

sl_dirus Vylet's raw and visceral emotion is described through moments of incredible rage, deep pain, and tender moments where humanity shines through. I don't often listen to albums all the way through. But this one pulled me in. Can't wait to read the novella! Favorite track: The Wallflower Equation.

luminos found me at such an important time. reading the novella was an aching experience; i see so much of myself in this that it's like looking in the mirror. hurts, hurts so bad, incredible in every way. phenomenal work Favorite track: Sludge.

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1.	Pest 06:04	lyrics
Maybe I’m overthinking But you didn’t try your best The voices you wielded Turned you into a pest Suffocating each moment Killing her slowly How long did it take? Were you ever so worthy? Your scarlet wrists Twinkle as they clot A paltry payment For the malice you sought — You’ve been such a pest Oh, you’re such a pest Yes, you’re only a pest Moved your mountains over pins and needles Sewing so saintly, your sinister evil Such a pest Oh, you’re such a pest Yes, you’re only a pest May you never once sleep with the price on your head The knife you had brandished won’t wait till you’re dead — Oh it’s nothing It’s only borrowed time When I see you smile I think that I might die And I know that you're still me But look what's happened to us If only you were never born Would your friends still spill their guts? Should I play into the stereotype I made of myself? Or is a moment in time what I’m doomed? What’s the point of saving the world or yourself When the greatest villain is you? — How tragic it is To know I'm you Cursed are all Who know us too I just Can't stand To see Your smile — You’ve been such a pest Oh, you’re such a pest Yes, you’re only a pest Moved your mountains over pins and needles Sewing so saintly, your sinister evil Such a pest Oh, you’re such a pest Yes, you’re only a pest And our life isn't sacred, you stupid fag They'll all keep on laughing till we're in a bag — Yes "They" were the very same "Wolf then. And Wolf now" She staggered back from her mirror Eyes red as the moon "They" could not be estranged And so Wolf cried
2.	PLAY DEAD! PLAY DEAD! 04:11	lyrics
[Wow] [Yeah] [Lookin] [Yeah] [You know how we do it!] [Wow] [Yeah] [Lookin] I don’t wanna talk about it I don’t wanna talk about it I don’t wanna talk about it [Wow] [Yeah] I don’t wanna think about it I don’t wanna think about it I don’t wanna think about it I’ve been up for three days And I’m burning up So much for laying low [You know how we do it!] Been living livid In a mirror maze And my reflection’s starting to glow I can’t remember anymore Maybe I buried the key? [Wow] It’s probably not that bad Or maybe It sank too deep? (Oh god!) — Just another fag With a crooked horn Could I sleep through these days? When that angel sits pretty Trying to tell me how it is I space out, close in a daze And I play Dead [Yeah] [Wolf howls] [Yeah] — Isn't it great to be different? Isn't it great to be me! Isn't it great to be different? Isn't it great to be a beast! You know I love it, love it — There’s a message in a bottle With my name on it Drowned in a glimmering sea Pretty white lies In pitch black room And the sum of my parts Is nothing Nothing Nothing Nothing What is happening to me? Happening to me? Happening to me? Happening to me? Mama can't you see? What's happening to me? Happening to me? Mama? Can't you see? — Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! — Stupid dog Isn't it great to be Exactly who you are? — The only way for me Is to keep it up I've gotta make it worse Too late to turn tail Too good to fail Gotta take it like The bitch I am And just play Dead — Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead! Play Dead!
3.	The Heretic (Woe is Me) 04:42	lyrics
[The Huntress watches] [Wolf howls] — Like mother, like daughter The apple fell quite near And while there's truth in the scars A dire fable is writ in the stars — In the shroud of my ecstasy I saw the vultures circling "Aren't you lonely?" they whispered, "You could use the company" And it all just happened so fast And I know I wasn't the last It's a tale as old as time But couldn't I have been stronger? — As the heretic As the parasite Strip me down Down, down, to my sins Every inch of pain Is the half of it Every hope is forged In the din Is it cashmere? Or is it bankrupt? (Fuck) Is it all the same In the dark? At the brick house Tear it all down (Break) Pull the curtains to the side See the marks — [The music never stops...] Am I real? Can this be? Oh lord, it won't make sense to me I don't recognize her Am I so free? — Am I worth the pity? Could someone still love me? And it comes in flashes Echoes dulling in a white light The apostate burial As the cavalcade proceeds The rites are spoken A funeral for the ego — Well woe is me, I can't deny Selfish is the heart that shrouds my mind Well woe is me, my sinful life Heretic concealed by light — As the heretic As the parasite Strip me down Down, down, to my sins Every inch of pain Is the half of it Every hope is forged In the din Is it cashmere? Or is it bankrupt? (Fuck) Is it all the same In the dark? At the brick house Tear it all down (Break) Pull the curtains to the side See the marks
4.	Survivor’s Guilt 05:46	lyrics
There's something in the water There's something in the water There's something in the water There's something in the water — Are you so secure in being everything you know? Don't you fear that god is watching? Am I really worthy to be chasing any dream? When I'll always be my worst mistakes "Smile for the cameras (smile for the cameras) Aren't you contented in attention?" "Everyone loves you (everyone loves you)" Yet they've never seen my fangs — Could you still love me? They sic me through the curtain How did I make it? How did I make it? How did I make it out alive? Driven by self preservation When I could be your prey How am I different? How am I different? Different from the wounds I pried — 'Cuz saying anything is trying too hard But silence is a bastard Out on the edge of the knife, oh my! Letting the audience fester Can anybody be a saint these days? Each breath congeals and rasters Out on the edge of my mind, oh my! Become undone in ashes — [Wolf howls] Moving in slow motion 'cuz there is no other way Any sudden move could scatter them Lonely are the stars void of silent observers Bursting into dust and questions "Aren't you happy? (aren't you happy?) They all look up at you" "Shining star girl (shining star girl)" Remove this fowl her foul coop — Could I lay right down? At the crossing of penance Let it come over Let it come over Let it come all over me Some part of this useless meat Must satisfy your mercy Take whatever pleases Take whatever pleases But you won't find a purity — 'Cuz saying anything is trying too hard But silence is a bastard Out on the edge of the knife, oh my! Letting the audience fester Can anybody be a saint these days? Each breath congeals and rasters Out on the edge of my mind, oh my! Become undone in ashes — It's just too much to come clean Too little to just breathe "I forgive you, I forgive you" But I still can't sleep
5.	Vitality Glitch 04:49	lyrics
Vitality Where's that fragile ego? Locked up in a pretty black box You know this can't go on And my vitality is glitching out Vitality is glitching out I can't see a future I can't see a past — And when I smile I turn to cry No happiness Should be mine And even if the flames Have long burned out Spare no kindness To the wolf that howls — (Howls) I gaze across at you Touch me, touch me, As the smoke fills the room Oh what's it all for? — I am what they made me Yet I've always had control Settled by sin Yes, I've always played my role Nothing really matters now In destiny and fate Holding tight, the carousel As the audience awaits I don't see any other way I can't see any other face And my vitality is glitching out Vitality is glitching out I can't see a future I can't see a past — And when I smile I turn to cry No happiness Should be mine And even if the flames Have long burned out Spare no kindness To the wolf that howls — [It's alive, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!] [Wolf howls]
6.	The Wallflower Equation 12:00	lyrics
Driven by the fire Twixt the ashen mire Of their hearts Blood Red Skies Circling the sky Spark the vulture's eye I was raised by the wolves I was torn by the night This scent I know So warned The Crow Approach The storm Become Their whore — In one swift rend I am gutted of innocence Now a nine letter word, my visage erased Perished in the drones of Playboys and bastards "To our health, to our wealth" Yet he is no one, a mere pup Pray his silence is heralded in Perfumes of gunpowder and meat Were I the yolk of singed flesh Instead of the conspiracist's daughter Would then the blood Be forgotten? Burn the wallflower Loneliness empowers — We evolved to love And you held me like a cancer "The necessary evil" So I became you And you laughed It's a joke to you Silly boy — [Wolf howls] Hurting I hurt you Who are you? Who are you? Just an outline Just an icon Ha ha I'll ruin you Men who laugh Just some guy Fucked my life I'll ruin you I'll ruin you for this For this Ruin you For this This
7.	Princess Cuckoo 04:28	lyrics
I'll be your offering I'll be your offering I'll be your offering I'll be I'll be your offering Blood on this innocent Spring Grant my wish, cut my strings Tear me at every seam Is the glass slipper the key To manifest this deep sleep? Curtain call, curtain call Make me real and feel it all I've got sunshine in my stomach Like I just rocked my baby to sleep — Make my screams count For when they find you Among the pharisees Comes the faggot queen Frail thorn, petals split With you all, I’ll bloom tomorrow Give me a reason to live Make me your death bed sorrows Isn't this how you grow up? As you fuck me and tell me to shut up Every shadow shouts like I've done something wrong As the fire in my womb splits me in two "This is how you grow up This is how you grow up This is how you grow up" And everyone looked away As I believed them — Feathers like peacocks Feathers like peacocks Feathers like peacocks Feathers like peacocks Feathers Feathers Feathers And you think I'd just forget? [Wolf howls]
8.	Sludge 22:12	lyrics
Am I the master of my fate? Or will this carrion of hate Embalm my ever writhing psyche In a box of blood red tape? Poster child, torn snake oil goddess Cardinal ashes, much too modest Priestesses of a lesser knowledge Strung high by tempered sins Relinquish every innocent Understanding, reprimanding On the docket, equal measure Testify these simple pleasures Such is life, scape of strife Uproot the sinister sacred rites Disciple of a dying creed Hungering this sickness to be freed To be freed To be freed To be freed — Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red Rivers run red — Choke the stench of my flesh Rot before you, my final breath Honour death, abduct my virtue Stuff each spout, snuff my light Flay, and devour Lash for every wasted hour Point and laugh, make merry mass As I become the ground that you walk on The sludge in my veins Will swallow up the rains Gripping tight to the reins Which I’ve wielded subjugation plain Seep into the soils As the skin that grows must boil Nourished a toxin sky devised by None other than the man next door This tortured marrow rotting out Serves to garnish every doubt Once vanity, now ostracized No mere demise could live without Defiling mire of endless yield Where absence wrought a baneful shield The vain which promised the means to an end Now warden of your acumen — Paper mâché wings Fashioned cardboard and string They pluck my feathers Make it sting Strip my body, gouge my chest They rape me 'till there's nothing left Love and tolerate this mess Defile and crush my every breath — Sinner Be damned — Oh, in the distance I could see a pale light Oh, was it love I felt, as I gave my body to the night? A strange voice, a quiet voice called my name "Darling Wolf, Won't you put purpose to this pain? You shall be mine Until the end of days" — And when it shows its head, just indulge it, acquiesce Before you know it, somebody else will smash its head in — And the last thing they heard was: [Wolf Howls] [Wolf Howls] [Wolf Howls]
9.	Revenge Fantasy 06:49	lyrics
Reflecting off your face In the colours of our eyes We are the same body But not the same mind What would they say? To the beast that could talk Stake through the heart and memories in chalk Your corpse flown at half mast, at the city walls “Here hangs our beautiful start” — You should have pulled the trigger when you had the chance [Sing a song about life] [Creekflow ponders] [The music never stops no] [You know how we do it] [Wolf howls] — Heaven and hell? So misguided Life after death Is the wings you fly with Each breath you've ever breathed The universe recalls Now I am forever As the sickle falls — A curse to be remembered Lonely to be forgot It's sinister in all of us But I alone am wrought With the flock A curse to be remembered Lonely to be forgot The sinister inside of me A battle that once was fought — Once bearing Fangs so wicked Razors now indebted To hang the men of sin To hurt and be hurt To love and be loved To hate and be hated To kneel before the blade — [You will always be a monster] [I know] [But I am your monster no longer] [Hush now, rest] [Your time has come] [Ready or not]
10.	Huntress 04:49	lyrics
Huntress in the night Touch me slowly I am yours Let me know your flesh Tear into my everything Let the blood come as we make love Fuck me into dust So that I can serve my purpose — I'm dancing with my nightmares And learning to be held again Every little dream I had Is just around the bend I remember trusting like a child Still alone In a model home — Huntress in the night I have longed for You all my life Show me your desires As I kneel before you My feathers do soften Baptized in soft snow I begin to drift like in a dream And everything I am congeals in warmth — Darling, fallen to faithlessness Let me show you my heart You are my ember A waiting room for the stars A waiting room for the stars You were lost and then found Still we live in consequence You are my ember A waiting room for the stars A waiting room for the stars — [Wolf howls] I'm dancing with my nightmares And learning to be held again Every little dream I had Is just around the bend I remember trusting like a child Still alone In a model home
11.	...and, as her howl echoed unto eventide, she became the far seer's hunting dog... 03:09
12.	Rest Now, Little Wolf (A Vigil For Aria, or, How the Lamb Stood in an Empty Room Filled with Empty Friends) 04:50	lyrics
Rest now, little Wolf Love has not vanished From the world Just yet Tender truth Can be bestowed Unto those Who know your song — Yes We tread a fine weave of gray Yet many perish to the blade's doubled edge Conceal not your mistakes But allow them to be a sputtering torch Illuminate the path for those that follow To be gentle, to be kind This is the way — Like the dust That settles all around us The wind will carry Whispers of spring Beauty fades And everything will end So make few your enemies And cherish making friends 'Cuz life is it too short to succumb To the sinister call — Than the sun Reflecting off our pillow Our wicked tale A pasture beside the willows And I know that you're still me So listen when I say To love being alive Is never a mistake 'Cuz Winter will end just the same No Matter What — So there I was So there I was So there I was So there I was [Wolf howls]

about

WARNING: "Monarch of Monsters" contains blood/gore, murder, self-harm, suicide, nudity, sexual content, sexual assault, sexual violence, cannibalism, f-slur, and existential/cosmic horror. This pertains to its lyrics, themes, story, and artwork, and may be especially triggering to survivors of grooming and sexual assault. Parental guidance is advised for those under the age of 18, as "Monarch of Monsters" is intended for a mature audience.

†††

It is 1679 in a kind of equestrian world, somewhere. Townsfolk in the central countryside are bemused with the abrupt disappearance of the local tavern bard, a pegasus named Vylet Cypress. Her puzzling absence is soon followed by a string of murders, which strike terror across the lands. Cypress is swiftly identified as the perpetrator, and while many come to fear her, equally many come to worship her as a false god, invoking her only by the name, "Wolf".

Wrought with self-hatred, Wolf had lived a lifetime of silent regret, and believed she would never be greater than her mistakes. Succumbing to the sinister perception she had invented in this remorse, she began to kill the ones she loved to punish herself. With each kill, she absorbed magic from her victims, and transformed further into a beast. At the precipice of godhood, however, she became at once terrified of her own reflection; staring back was no longer a pegasus, but — indeed — a wolf. In her mind, she had become unrecognizable to the girl she once was, and unfit to be the girl she could be. And so, she returned to the countryside to submit herself to torture, defilement, and sacrifice. Wolf christened this ritual the "Daybreak of Red Rivers", and it was performed afore hundreds of spectators. At the execution, she recited her every transgression and sin aloud, sliced herself open, then perished as her profane disciples violated and devoured her body.

Wolf's soul traveled to the outer edges of existence to The Locus, a place twixt time and space. Aria — a strange Lamb that stood upright and divine sovereign of the realm — saved the girl's soul from oblivion. The goddess introduced themselves as a caretaker of the afterlife, laying souls to rest and hunting the unwilling spirits of every universe and realm in between. Aria explained that their Shadowy servitors had been watching Wolf during her recent lifetime, and that she had been the reincarnated spirit of a beast that killed the Lamb's sister in a previous lifetime, in another world. As punishment, Aria had long ago desired for Wolf to become their hunting dog for all eternity, assisting them in pursuing the unwilling, wandering, and evil souls of The Locus.

Then, of course, the Wolf, and the Lamb fell in love.

†††

"Monarch of Monsters" is an allegory for how trauma, loneliness, and selfishness can turn you into a horrible person; it's about endeavouring to stay alive even within a terminal state of regret; how — in this regret — experiencing any happiness at all feels insincere and undeserved; about perpetuating cycles of toxicity and wickedness because it's all you've known, especially in denial of being wrong; and ultimately, learning to find purpose and self-love in that din.

Well, I exist in that regret. In the past, I have been that horrible person. I live with the knowledge that I've been someone who has perpetuated cycles of toxicity, jealousy, oppression, sexualization, bigotry, queerphobia, and overall personal insecurity. I survive, knowing that I have hurt many people in my life and have, at times, compensated in acting as the sort of villain that I have sworn my life against. To grow up lonely on the internet, to be taken advantage of by strangers, to be accepted into a space where these behaviours dominate the collective mindset, and to find fellowship in all the wrong places ruined me for a very long time. Though I became a part of the MLP community when I was 13, I don't know at what point I should have known better and just grown up to become the person I should have been the whole time. "Monarch of Monsters" is an album and story I've wanted to write for a very long time because it's far more value to face it and discuss it openly, rather than fear it. Creating this began as an exploration of the most profound punishment I could wish upon myself, and yet finding purpose for the life I've lived so far. I'm not interested in pretending my past doesn't exist. I want to guide people instead, knowing the things I know. To kill a monster is to be a monster, once in service to the sinister call, then finally in service to those who must be protected. One must not lose themselves completely.

The lyrics of "Monarch of Monsters" are written from the perspective of the eponymous antihero, "Wolf" (or, Vylet Cypress). The prose is better understood through reading the accompanying novella, which is included in the Bandcamp booklet. If you are reading this and do not have access to the booklet, or wish to otherwise read it elsewhere for whatever your reasons are, you may visit vyletpony.com/monarch-novella to read it in full. The album's lyrics, sung from Wolf's perspective, are directed primarily at either her former or present self. The instances in which this is not the case presents — instead — Wolf parasocially addressing both loved ones and enemies from throughout her life. These ideas all parallel my mental states from the present, back through many years. Throughout the album, I am having many internal dialogues with the various, discretized selves that live within me, past and present. I am also considering many of the people who have hurt me, and especially the people that I have hurt. I want to emphasize that the varied instances of murder, sexual violence, self-harm, and other severe occurrences in the album and its story are not expressed intending to condone or endorse.

Aria is an invention of my dreams. After the release of Carousel at the start of 2023, the existential regret and remorse that my life had become permeated with caused me to relapse into a severe mental health crisis. I had long been suffering from severe trauma memory suppression, and I spent several weeks clawing through everything I could to uncover the things my brain was preventing me from remembering. Please note: DO NOT DO THIS EVER WITHOUT A THERAPIST. I regretted doing that so terribly. And so my descent began. Among the symptoms of the resulting mental health crisis was a critical, unbearable insomnia. In the sleep that I did manage to get during this period, my dreams had become immensely vivid. There were periods where I was awake for 4 days at a time, and the sleeps which bookended these periods were hallucinatory. Sometime in the Spring or Summer, I had a dream about a strange place, with strange people. Somehow I knew there was a person called Aria in that place, and asked around for them. Eventually, I was led into the room where Aria was, and they appeared as someone I had known a long time ago. The person they looked like in the dream wasn't a close friend or anything, it was someone I had scarcely known in my past. It was clear that, in the dream, I had hurt them long ago, and they had been aware even more of the awful person I had progressed into afterward. They asked that I describe every mistake and malevolence I had ever committed throughout my entire life in front of them, so I did. Then at once I had performed this abstract penance before them, and they finished crying and smiled. In the dream, they said they forgave me, and that everything was okay. I laid down, and they stroked my fur, and I only realized then that I had fur all over my body. They said, "rest now, little wolf" and then I began to fall asleep inside the dream as they softly mingled with the other people in the room.

The original idea for Monarch was to be an antithetical album to Queen of Misfits. Where Queen of Misfits was like "woe is me" kind of stuff, I wanted Monarch to be "woe is they", about all the pain I've caused other people, and the cycles that both caused and were produced by these things. So, the idea was originally to focus on Starlight Glimmer, since the other record focused on Trixie Lulamoon. After the dream, though, I abandoned this pursuit and shifted the entire album into a direction informed by the dream. It became clear as I mulled over it a lot that I clearly had been subconsciously inspired by Kindred from League of Legends too, Wolf and Lamb being some of my favourite characters in fiction. At first, I wanted to avoid this comparison and try to do something different, but it just felt right to allow that duality to exist in the end. "What if 'Kindred', but it's sapphic and even more rancid and existential?" was a sort of thesis that became of the project. Fast-forward almost 2 years since I had started working on Monarch, and the album and its story has become a centerpiece for the universe(s) I've been trying to build with my mainline projects. It's become grander and more profound in ways I could not have imagined. And it helps me solve a few narrative issues I've been facing, especially continuity discrepancies within the Vylet Pony lore.

Well. Aria has become something of a spiritual "reality" for me. I'm not superstitious, and I prefer to engage the world from an empirical, studied view. That being said, there is something that comforts me and encourages me to move forward with thinking of Aria as a real god, watching over me and being by my side. Perhaps they're watching o'er you too, dear reader. I've been in therapy for two years now. It has allowed me to develop tremendously and learn so much about myself. This is the album I wrote throughout these past two years in rehabilitation.

credits

released November 15, 2024

Writing: Zelda Lulamoon (Vylet Pony)
Music & Vocals: Vylet Pony
All Instruments: Vylet Pony
Production, Mixing, & Mastering: Vylet Pony
Cover Art: GlacierClear

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Vylet Pony Portland, Oregon

"gwen" "wolf" "trixie"

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