An hour later, and their covert “meeting” was winding down. An uncomfortable amount of what they had decided seemed to weigh on her more than anypony else. Sky took another deep breath, looking closely at the screen and the markings Wanderlust had made. “You're sure... this is where they meet? That close?” She gestured to the satellite picture, centered as it was on the roof of a house on the end of the lane, not quite within sight of the makeshift pasture (but almost).
“Positive.” Wanderlust nodded. “It should be easy for you to ‘accidentally’ wander into the house.”
“There might not be anything in there. Maybe they just go there to light up or something! Maybe they’re remodeling the house! Maybe they just want to be alone and relax away from us! There’s nothing that says they’ve got to be doing anything bad.”
Lonely Day’s voice came over the satellite radio after a few seconds. She didn’t sound good, about the same level of worn-out that she had sounded the day she came back from the HPI. “It would be a mistake to lump all of them together, just as it would be a mistake to assume that just because they arrived so close to when this disaster happened they have to be responsible for it. None of the ponies who came to Alexandria could’ve been there, unless they planted some sort of device to cause it.”
“I wish we had a forensic fire investigator, but what we’re seeing makes it seem like the flames were recent. We were attacked by a gigantic flaming fire-monster, which suggests a possible cause for the fire here.”
“If we see new ponies arrive in the next few days, and they seem to know any of the ponies already in Alexandria, then we should be worried. What happened to us was a spell. Somepony had to cast it. But… we don’t really know magic well enough to know if the spell was cast in real time, or if it was put into an object or something and left to be triggered by its victims.”
“I only saw magic in Equestria for a week, but if what I understand is right, a spell like that couldn’t be performed by the average unicorn. It would take lots of them working in concert, or else a fantastically powerful single caster, like an Alicorn.”
“I guess what I’m saying is, we’re probably looking for an Equestrian. Even if a former human had a natural talent like that, he or she would never have the experience and skill after so short a time.”
“Look for runes, Sky. That’s all you’ve got to do. See if you find any in that house. We know we’ve got the only library, and they’ve only had a few days to read it. Find runes, and we know we need to be worried. Well… that would mean we’re dealing with Equestrians, Equestrians who chose to lie and claim to be from Earth. Still doesn’t mean any of them are guilty of anything.”
Wanderlust rubbed against her side, though not very hard. She enjoyed the gesture, at least until she saw the way the bug’s head pivoted to watch, her eyes almost hungry. Of course she was hungry. The filthy parasite would eat their love if she could. Whatever that meant. “Riley and I will be close, ‘taking a drive’ the whole time. If we hear anything even slightly unusual from your radio, we’ll speed straight there.”
She nodded. “Y-Yeah. I know. I’m not worried. It’ll be during the day. They’ve gone to the library every day since they got here! Besides, we could always call it off if we weren’t sure the house was empty!”
“The HPI might be willing to help us, if things go bad,” Lonely Day said. “Captain Wright has a team standing by. They value our cooperation too much to let us get replaced at this juncture. At least, I think they do. But I can’t call down their help unless we’re absolutely certain we need it. It isn’t the kind of thing they’ll do for us more than once or twice. Ultimately, we aren’t that irreplaceable. If we’re more trouble than we’re worth, they’ll find other ponies to work with-”
“-And there goes our best chance of making any fuckin’ difference, ever.” Whiplash’s voice cut in, harsh and poignant. But Sky wouldn’t have argued the point, at least not so far as “preserving humanity” was concerned. Not that it mattered to her, but it mattered to Lonely Day.
That was enough.
“We understand.” Wanderlust’s voice was firm, but also a little annoyed. Not that he didn’t get that way more and more when Whiplash spoke, these days. Nor was he the only one. At least her objections were more reasonable this time. “I’ll let you know if things get violent. I don’t think they will, though. New ponies could’ve taken over when they got here, and they didn’t. Could’ve tried to steal the library, and they didn’t.”
“Since the Event, there have been tons of opportunities for people to get violent with one another. Ponies in the other settlements have had disagreements. But so far, I haven’t seen any sign of people hurting each other. Well… almost no sign.” He shifted uncomfortably, looking disturbed.
“Point is, since this whole mess started, people almost universally want to work together and help each other out. It’s going to clear up. This is just… just a precaution, that’s all!”
“Yeah,” Whiplash’s voice again, obviously in agreement. “It makes sense to eliminate the immigrants as suspects. Whatever they’re keeping secret in that house, it makes sense to check and make sure it’s nothing to do with the people who died. Eliminate suspicion.”
So on that charming note, with Wanderlust and Whiplash agreeing on something for the first time she could remember, their meeting ended. Sky ended up staying the night on Wanderlust’s couch.
It smelled like bug, and she just knew the bug was up most of the night watching her. But even so, the changeling hadn’t burned down a village. Really, the girl hadn’t done anything except look and smell absolutely terrifying. Better her than take the risk somepony who was willing to kill might find her alone in her trailer during the night.
The next day, she went about her business as she always did, with one exception. Though Sky never carried a gun of her own, she did keep her saddlebags and the radio within reach at all times. She did put off her caring for the cows a few hours, long enough that the visitors would have time to eat and make it to the library before she attempted her incursion to the house several of them visited when they thought they were alone.
Of course, before she could be some kind of pony-based spy, she had to accomplish her regular cow-related responsibilities. There was milking to be done, cleaning, washing and maintenance that wouldn’t just happen. Smart as the cows were, they were cows. They had not bothered to develop the ability to care for themselves when they never expected to need it.
“Hey, everypony.” The little herd of cows was already grazing. Almost as one, the group turned away from her, showing their backs to her. She was sure she heard several fart, or otherwise relieve themselves.
“Come on!” She moved closer, raising her voice. “I’m three hours late!”
Betsy, the largest cow in the herd (though there were two bulls larger), glanced over her shoulder and made an annoyed sound Sky took for ‘Three hours later than you should’ve been!’
“Yeah, I know.” She kept her distance, staying well out of kicking range, making her way past them to the generator. A flick of the electric start and a few agonized noises from inside and it was running, and water was flowing again into the mostly-empty troughs.
While the elders of the herd were shunning her, the calves seemed not to notice or care. There were three now, each smaller than she was (though not by much in one case).
“Hey guys!” She took the pitchfork briefly out of her mouth, waving at them with a hoof. “Sorry to keep the best part of your breakfast waiting.” She shoveled, and the young bovines watched with interest. To their credit, they didn’t go for the food, knowing not to interrupt her and that their parents got it first regardless.
It was scary how smart the calves could be. Some days, she was sure they had actually spoken. Not the animal-noises she could kinda understand kind of talking, but the kind where they used her words.
There were books about Equestrian farms, and she had read a few of them. They had many of the same animals apparently, though the relationship worked differently. Nothing was kept for meat, obviously, and animals were never killed. The single book she had finished about farming talked about cows like they were somehow partners in the process, not property to be kept and traded. Yet she had also seen no mention of cows moving about Equestrian society, nor were they listed as things the “Preservation Spell” might transform humans into.
In Equestria, she was pretty sure cows could actually talk, and that they made money for what they provided. How long would it be before cows on Earth were doing the same?
“I’m not sure what I’m gonna do,” she said to the watching “children”, tossing the pitchfork down and pausing to catch her breath. “When you all start talking, I mean. We don’t even have money, so I’m not sure what I’ll pay you with. Maybe we can trade… like building you all a nice barn, and making you better food, and stuff like that.”
She shrugged. The calves shrugged back, making a sound she took for giggling. They imitated her gesture several more times, repeating it until it had lost all meaning, chasing each other out of the barn and into the field with their parents.
A few minutes later and she had dragged the food over beside the newly-refilled water tray, and the cows were “talking” to her again. There was milking to be done, though she used a portable milking machine for it now and it was much easier on everypony involved. Really it was too fast, since she knew what fun was waiting for her when she was done.
Sky stretched her farm work as long as she could, a full hour and a half. Any more, and she would risk the ponies leaving the library and coming upon her. She would take many risks, but that was one she would prefer to avoid. It was only reluctantly she said goodbye to her bovine friends and began the brief walk to the house some of the visiting ponies had made into a temporary headquarters.
Her dread grew with every step. There were many ways this might go, and she didn’t think very many of them were good. She was going to have a rough afternoon.
Aw, please don't let this
suspicionprecaution turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy....Aww. I like secret agent Cloudy Skies. I get the feeling of incredibly awkward misunderstanding coming in the next chapters.
See, listen to Alex! All you're panicking over at the moment is a coincidence!
Still loving 'Whiplash', that's just so great.
Okay, so no actual cow speaking (yet).
That's either cute or creepy when you think about it. Maybe both.
I get the feeling that an Equestrian is being forced to do these things.
huh. this update answered my cow questions exactly! :twilight smile:
its a shame Sky doesn't have a sneaking suit for this little escapade. Also Hang in there Riley! It'll be slow going but she'll see you're a good person eventually.
Was that wing-related mayhap?
Day really isn't the only one to keep uncomfortable or disturbing things to herself.
Well... building trust to the point of sharing things that weigh heavily on your soul takes a long, long time. Especially when you don't really trust yourself or your own thoughts yet.
Sky's character deepens. I think only Day realizes there's a lot more to this girl in terms of abilities and potential than meets the eye. But then she's seemingly the only one who sometimes can see past all that pony behaviour gloss.
Also, is she projecting her old self on Riley who is hated by most and hardly ever experiences kindness except from her saviour Adrian? *over analyse*
Sky hates Riley because she's a changeling, but it's funny how much she trusts her that in spite of that.
I'm still a bit pissy at how Sky treats poor Riley. That kid needs some love.
Literally.
Jus one question, why was Sky chosen to garner the info on the new arrivals?
Throwing a random question to the hive mind: what do you think it's Cloudy Skies' special talent is? Or her cutie mark's meaning, it's the same thing.
6292960 It made me think he learned of what happened in Dallas …
6292808
Yes, but I'm also more tactful than yall
6292770
That'd be like having an evil moustache as a cutie mark
6292770
Alright, fair enough, I suppose I can look forward to when-
...
...
Well... it really can't come fucking soon enough, THIS unrealistic, immature, HYPOCRITICAL bitch needs some SERIOUS mental payback for the amount of COMPLETE and UTTER disrespect to not only Riley, but Adrian for not even giving her a chance for her supposed 'lover' and Alex for not respecting her enough that when she says 'this is a little girl, treat her well' that Sky decides 'FUCK THAT' and goes on to maliciously comment and think about her whenever Riley is brought up.
Seriously, it's obvious she's had a bad childhood, but it's to the point I can't draw a single bit of sympathy for her because of it child abuse, and I don't feel sorry for her at all right now... you understand how messed up that is right?
... So, otherwise, they are going to investigate the ponies and figure out what is happening, and also cows are becoming sentient, joy.
Considering Riley to be "The lesser evil" is one step closer to friendship. A small step, but in the right direction.
6292958
I can't help but think of this
1.bp.blogspot.com/-r70FmdXDJv4/ULwWMnLFoiI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/i8mHftKlzgo/s1600/S3E5_fluttershy_costume.png
And, let's be honest here, Cloudy Skies is basically Fluttershy 2.0
So last chapter we were introduced to 3...no. 4...no. 5...... I don't even know how many new characters. I really don't like how you just threw all these new characters at us out of the blue like that. All throughout the last story and even the beginning of this one, new characters were introduced slowly and one at a time. First it was Sky, then it was Joseph, then it was Moria, then Oliver, then Adrian and finally Riley. And there were always a few chapters to flesh out and develop each character before a new one entered the scene. That doesn't work when you try to introduce a bunch of new characters all at once, especially in a non visual non auditory medium like a book. We know that one of them is apparently a bat pony but besides that, I'm just left scratching my head and saying to myself "who the hell are these people???"
At this point I can't really figure out how much of Skies's loathing for Riley is due to her own broken-ness and how much is instinctual for ponies in general. Though I shouldn't be surprised that smell plays as much of a factor as sight in it.
Y'know, of all of this crowd we're following, I might've expected Moriah (okay, okay, Whiplash) to be second in line to sympathize with Riley, behind Alex (Lonely)- if only she had the empathy to relate to someone else being forced into a form she couldn't have wanted.
Hmm. This probably isn't going to end well, no matter what Cloudy finds. The breach of trust will be a major blow to the community, and that's assuming the newcomers are innocent. If they're not, they have vastly more experience with their forms and capabilities.
Also, Cloudy Lainey really needs to try to get past the instinctual fear of Riley, unless she wants that fear to become its own justification. She knows what you're feeling, girl. She's going to remember it. (Of course, I say this not knowing just how intense that fear is. Still, it doesn't seem to be shutting down rational thought. Not entirely, anyway.)
The cows are intriguing, certainly, but there are much bigger concerns at the moment. Still, definitely something to keep an eye on.
6293182 Remember that Cloudy is the most pony of them, and therefore follows her instinct of being scared and distrutful of Riley more than the others.
6293442
The new named characters , the humans are pretty much indistinguishable exposition dumps for HPI.
The other "new" pony characters are simply the original cast renamed.
Because Sky is neurotic.
And apparently should never be left alone with small children.
6293422
Fluttershy with a clown car of mental baggage.
6293182
She clearly came from a broken home, and was likely an older sibling who was "replaced" by a much younger one.
Abuse of the verbal, physical, psychological and sexual varieties seem likely given her dim view of humanity, and outright eagerness to abandon all ties to her former species, and eagerness to spread that mindset to others.
6293182
unfortunately when it comes to kids who were abused they often turn into abusers themselves. Combine that with the instinctual fear that ponies seem to have of changelings, its sad, but not entirely surprising that she's acting like this.
I'm not condoning her actions but I suppose that, at the moment, not verbalising all the horrible things she's thinking is progress of a kind for her. Hopefully she'll pull her head out of her ass soon, Riley needs all the allies she can get.
Whiplash?
Wow, sky is an ass.
Oh and the first evidence of pony to pony racism.
I don't feel bad for the little parasite.
6293643
And that's meant to make me feel better for her... why?
Let's consider Zecora, she was a herbivore, has the same physical looks of a pony, only different colors and, lets be honest, stripes are hardly much of a color change from what Equestrian ponies are known for, and despite that, ponies were scared of her because... what?
Instinct can be stomped down, and then it can just be illogical, I'm pretty sure that it must have been an immediate response from Zecora because otherwise she would have ironed out an misunderstandings others would have of her.
Sky is TOO set upon becoming a pony that she is trusting these alien instincts too much that she is abandoning common sense, an idiot character is not a sympathetic one, and especially one that is becoming spiteful to a empathetic kid.
6293671
Well funny thing, it's not really helping much, emphatic changeling remember? Whenever she is saying it out loud or not really doesn't matter, and it's shown she knows she CAN feel emotions.
6293833 Well, I think the reason she wants to be a pony so bad (except the childhood issues) is that she only see the positives in it. She doesn't see anything negative in it at all. (For instance, I think I read about her bragging how much better it is to be naked, when the others got sweaty from the heat.) And that means trusting her instincts. Really, she's doing a dumb choice there and can't see the dumb consequenses, only the "good" consequenses. (Like not being around "an emotion eating parasite").
Other people in this story are dumb in certain places too, Joseph has as much grace and tact as a boulder, and is therefore insensitive, but people don't want him dead for that.
I'm not agreeing with Cloudy, I just don't like it when people want her head for a mistake she's making. (A huge mistake, but a mistake nonetheless)
6293838
she can't control the emotions that she feels anymore than I could stop myself from having a mini heart attack when I walk into a cobweb and get a noseful of dead flies. What she can control is how she acts on those emotions.
Until she opens her eyes and looks past the bug and sees the child, not saying anything is the best she can manage right now. She has a lot of redeeming to do when she does though.
6294060
I'm not saying I hate her, in fact, several of my other comments show my desire for the heads of other characters but here's the thing, I'm more of an on the moment reactor. If a character is being particularly idiotic on one scene, I'm going to point it out, rage and point out the clear contradiction to what they SHOULD be judged on their previously shown personality.
Sky is just hitting all the wrong buttons on her first parts of the chapter, I know that Scribe will surely flip things around later, for now I get the permission to rage as much as I would like.
6294084
I'm pretty sure thinking vindictive thoughts about someone else is a lot more open than simply being scared of her, if this was purely instinct driven then she would have been scared, not vindictive. In a way she hasn't submerged herself entirely into the pony mind yet, a lot more confrontational with her thoughts on Riley and doesn't really have thoughts to avoid or stay away from her, simply calling her insult in her mind... and behind her back.
If it were the common 'predator unease' in pony instinct, then she would be scared, not... THIS.
6294098
I'm not saying that she isn't being an ass (she definitely is), I'm just saying this isn't out of character. The mane six let their fear control them too when they first met Zecora, started to hate her and lost touch with their common sense.
regarding why she hates Riley instead of simply fearing her I'm going to quote the great wrinkled one himself 'Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate...to suffering.'
As for staying away from Riley, she was trying to do that but relented when Adrian said they needed to include her.
6293039
Perhaps she appears to be the most nonthreatening one? It'd be a lot easier to pass her snooping off as unintentional, than to have any of the others do it. And she's a pegasus who can fly, so she has the best chance of escaping pursuit if things were to get REALLY ugly.
6294202
Alright then, explain all of her friends then, Alex says Riley is a poor child, throws down a picture, explains the situation, everything, Adrian, he takes care of Riley, kindness of his heart, cares for her like a guardian.
Why does Sky have her head so far up her ass that she can't drop her pony instinct shtick and trust her friends? That's the thing that most bugs be, she doesn't take her friends opinions and confrontations into mind AT ALL.
She set Riley with a label, and it didn't affect her at all.
There is a limit to how ignorant someone can be before they are at fault.
6294216
Oh I agree, she most definitely at fault here. I think that she is taking her friends considerations into account because, if it wasn't for them she would run away and never come near Riley. Besides apart from Adrian, Alex is the only one actively vouching for her and even she's admitted that she still has to suppress her fears.
I'm sorry though, I thought you were criticising Starscribe for writing her out of character, but you were criticising Sky personally yes?
6294243
Oh no, I wouldn't criticize an author of their character because I dislike the character, it doesn't work that way.
It's when the situation and circumstances presented by the author is tampered with to a stupid degree do i complain abut their writing style. In a way, everything that Starscribe is writing makes the world of sense, people, and people as ponies are overall, stupid, it's a fact of life, they will be bullheaded, idiotic, annoying, slow and pathetic, and makes a lot more sense than simply a nice guy with few to little flaws.
I hate the attitude and sheer disregard despite what assurances Sky's friends give her, this ISN'T a monster, it ISN'T 'freaky parasite', she is a little girl, and yet, Sky is stupid and can't see through the veil of what she see's as 'the true pony way' of being suspicious of anything outside of a particular norm.
Zecora is an example of how STUPID this close minded 'normality' can be, and Pinkie Pie is the example of how nonchalant ponies can be to something out of the norm. I find it utterly FRUSTRATING how ponies accept Pinkie's acts and existence as an unexplained fact, yet find things like Zecora and Iron Will as strange, brutish and dangerous or in Rarity's words, 'monster'.
This is the equivalent of looking at a little kid with a birth defect and labeling them with 'ugly' and 'freak', Riley can't help what she turned into, yet Sky is IGNORING all these facts and not even getting to know her even tho everpony else is supporting or indifferent, and even MORIAH doesn't care much about her, MORIAH! The thing about Moriah is that I EXPECT this from her, she's a military nut paranoia mare, yet I've seen more insulting names tacked on by Sky than her!
6294290
agreed. That's one thing ponies and humans have in common, they're both enthusiastic and exceptionally talented at being idiots.
6294325
Hmm, glad we reached an agreement.
6294338 I think we just realised we had been agreeing with each other the whole time really. I feel kinda silly actually.
6294349
I feel kind of silly arguing with someone who has an avatar of Pinkie Pie, so we're even.
6293508 Oh, let's not forget one of the most famous derivative words: Fascism.
Also, Rome. Latin. Odium.
willvandervaart.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/screen-shot-2013-06-06-at-9-27-06-pm.png?w=300
6295372 Don't worry, neither have I.
Actually are we the only ones working on it right now?
6292734
Going of MLai's comments, I for one feel the story is slightly disjointed in a bad way. As it stands the story almost reads like a Greek play, where most of the stuff that is 'actiony' is done off stage. You have done a good job of switching around the third person voices, to the point where I can get some personality reads on the other characters. This is a nice change after the first story since it was told entirely in Alex's head-space. It allows for other character's perspectives. However I feel the short sections for each character are working against the story at this point. Some of the actual story arcs seem to be disjointed because of the relatively common and kind of forced perspective shifts. For example, parts 1 and 2 could have been integrated into each other a bit better, especially since Part 2 discussed knocking out Adrian from the rather passive view of Joseph. I would have liked to see Adrian's reaction after he woke up. It took me a while to realize that they were occurring so close together, partially because of the diary interludes. The diaries have become synonymous with Alex's voice at this point, so it effectively creates two rapid perspective shifts right when we're getting used to the old one. Additionally by describing certain events when other characters would be better suited to describing them creates a sense of distance from the action that is jarring. I feel so far that Alex's diary interludes haven't had the feeling of intimacy that the first story had.
On the subject of the diary, having the diary sections mention things but remain silent on the details is infuriating to me. While the first series had its own mysteries, it was because the narrator didn't know the answer so Alex and the audience were in the same boat. My many long posts on these stories attest to the fact that I enjoy the speculation. Having Alex mention things casually without elaboration creates an artificial mystery. I assume that she had explained the more mysterious parts in other parts of the diary, so why would we not have read those parts as the reader of the diary? This is especially noticeable with the conceit that she is writing partially for posterity as you suggest. If nothing else it makes me want to smack around the historian that felt that it was important to read those particular entries without giving context.
By having the interludes being diary entries, you have created the issue of the physical object; of how the story is being related to the audience. If Alex wants to avoid talking about the secret stuff in the diary, then you need to make that clear that it is omitted from the document. It then raises the question of 'why would you need to keep it secret'. I can understand keeping the memory crystals under wraps because they can't reproduce them and it is a rather personal event for Alex, but we the readers have been shown those. We have the first 'half' of the diary in it's entirety so Alex not being forthcoming with details on the undisclosed parts, especially when Alex hasn't expressed concerns of the information 'falling into the wrong hands' or something similar, comes across as being needlessly coy. For example, the line from interlude 2 "Riley was the only one who saw. She’s the only one who knows; it is our little secret." still puzzles me in an annoying way. I may be brain-farting hard, but I have no idea what secret Riley could possibly have witnessed within the chapter outside of the dream. If you meant to imply that the dream was the shared dream then the "shared' part of the dream seems more interesting to discuss than the dream itself, especially since Riley has been kind of a non-entity since Adrian's section. I feel like this diary, the physical book , should become a plot point as it is threatened or something if only to validate why we are only getting bits and pieces of it.
I get that you want to have mysteries, but they are jarring when they are only mysteries because the character refuses to tell the audience. It's even worse with the diary since, short of Alex coming in and ripping it out of our grasp, there should be nothing stopping us from flipping through it to our heart's content. I've probably have worked myself up a little in the writing of this post, but that refusal to tell the audience while we are ostensibly reading the character's most private thoughts is frustrating. At least 'Dracula' was ostensibly a collection of documents compiled in story by Mina to help make sense of the narrative. The 'Mina' in this story seems to be editing the diary in a deliberately confusing way.
I'm sorry if I came across as hostile, but this diary/perspective thing has become an elephant in the room for me. I like the story, it is one of the few stories I have ever wanted to write a side story to, but I would be disingenuous if I gave unqualified praise to the story.
6296297
I'm still going to respond to the other comments, but given the passion clearly visible here and the sheer length of the comment, I thought I'd say a few words to clarify things a little. By all means things might still seemed flawed and frustrating even when I'm done, but I think you might at least be able to forgive the diary if you're on the same page with what I'm doing.
So as you'll recall, Last Pony on Earth was a story told in a daily format. We pretty much never skipped days (unless Alex skipped them in her writing). It was a diary-format story, and as such, the readers were free to "flip between the pages" at our leisure, except that you had to wait for them to be written first (obviously).
This sequel isn't a diary format story. The diary exists not to do any narrative heavy lifting, but more as a way to facilitate the connection between character sections. Alex isn't being obtuse in her writing, we're just only seeing a random page. She's (safely) assuming that real readers would have read it in some kind of order and would have context we lack. She has no need to repeat things from previous entries when readers will have already read them. So it's no fault on Alex's part things aren't talked about the way we like. The way she writes has always been consistent, and the only things she doesn't write about are things that make her super uncomfortable (like how she didn't talk about her own TG EVER, we only learned about it from the memories).
It's a fair point that it's fault on mine for choosing the style, however. I fully acknowledge it might be incredibly frustrating to a reader, and it's totally fair to say it was a mistake to choose the current style. In which we see the diary entry exactly on the day the previous series of entries ended. I actually don't intend to do diary entries for every interlude, but I didn't have any stellar ideas for the ones we've hit so far, and I just used the diary. I expect to see some other stuff in the future. Her diary hasn't been damaged, destroyed, or stolen. We, the readers, just only see part of it, since I wanted to tell this story in prose instead.
Is it a mistake? Obviously I don't think so (or I wouldn't have picked it), but i can understand how some might think that.
The diary will be completely gone in part 3/3 of the series, if that's any consolation.
Of course! The evil ponies who have been burning survivors to death with foul curses and communicating in cryptic ciphers are not native Equestrians at all! They're ponies who used to be horses, who everyone knows have a secret desire for eons past to kill all humans. It was only stymied by their lack of intelligence, and now they walk among us undetected, hungering for revenge and hay.
thinklikeahorse.org/images2/horse%20bite.JPG
This chapter made me think about the Ponyville school and it's notable lack of calf students. Separate but equal, or are there actual laws on the books against teaching bovine chattel how to read?
that part where Lainey is talking to the horses reminds me of Monty Roberts, "the man to listen to horses". he studied the body language of horses and figured out how to make friends with them. he can convince a completely wild horse to give him a ride in minutes!