January 14
Mister Longfellow is very much like Mister Whitman, but I kinda like Longfellow a bit more. Leaves of Grass was very nice to read, but it was a bit long for a poem. Although there are some poets who like to write epic poems that are as long as a story, and those are nice for winter days.
That's more of an earth pony thing, though. A lot of them don't have much to do in the wintertime, because all the crops are in and the days are short.
Anyways, today in class we read two different poems. The first one was about him shooting an arrow into the air. Humans don't have to be as careful about that, because there aren't any flying humans that they could hit by mistake.
It's kind of a metaphor, though. He's talking about how he doesn't really know where the things he says go. Words have a power beyond just their appearance on the page or the sounds that they make in the air, and you don't always know just how far they'll go. Like, one of my cousins (sorta distant, and I don't really know her but my dam says she's my cousin) got inspired by something one of the Wonderbolts said and is now a personal guard to Princess Celestia. I think it was Spitfire who said it, but I don't know what it was.
I guess I kind of got inspired by hearing about how Princess Twilight had discovered a whole new world of people, and just thinking of the possibilities of it . . . I started to read everything I could about it, and now here I am! So maybe Princess Twilight's arrow wound up (unintentionally) lodged in my breast.
It's funny sometimes to think about how one thing leads to another, and when you're in the present, you don't really consider it. Right now, I'm sitting in my room writing in my journal by my little silver desk lamp with the bendy neck while Peggy is still sleeping. She's so cute when she sleeps.
There had been a special meeting at school, and once we were all in the school coliseum, our headmistress stepped up to the podium and announced that Princess Twilight had found a new world. There was a moment of dead silence as it sank in, and then there was all sorts of cheering and I remember all I was thinking about at the time was if Stormbreaker liked me or not. Turns out it was 'not.'
It was only later that it sunk in, and then I started reading everything about this new world I could get my hooves on, and—
Well, anyway, the point is that now I'm here, and I never could have imagined the chain of circumstances that led up to this point.
The second poem we read was The Wreck of the Hesperus. I think Professor Hillberry chose it because of the ice storm. It made it easier to imagine the struggle.
People were struggling this morning. There was a glittering coat of ice on everything. It was beautiful to see, and no bother to me at all, but humans were moving slowly and falling down a lot. I hadn't really thought about how much of a hinderance having only two legs must be. Sometimes I see Peggy or the other students writing or doing other clever stuff with their hands while I have to clumsily poke at my computer's buttonboard whenever it doesn't listen to my voice, and I get a bit jealous. I wasn't jealous this morning. For walking around on the ice, four legs is better.
A couple of my friends were playing around this morning. Well, it kind of started out after breakfast. Christine and I went out of the dining hall together, and she saw that I was flying above the ground while her feet were slipping on the ice. She wondered if it would be possible for me to pull her along on the sidewalk, and I thought that sounded like it would be interesting, so she grabbed my tail and I pulled her behind me all the way to the Olds-Upton building.
Then Aric and another friend called Meghan who I knew from Equestrian class and he knew her from bell choir (I don't know what that is, but that's what he said) with Aric saw how much fun we were having and had to join in. I flew slow, because they had trouble staying on their feet at first, then sped up when they got used to it.
Pretty soon I'd zipped a bunch of my friends around campus like that and even a few other people who I didn't really know that thought it looked like we were having fun.
I was kind of curious if I could actually lift any of them up, but the rules say I'm not supposed to carry any passengers when I fly, so I didn't. I don't think dragging them along the ground counts as flying, although perhaps I should ask Mister Mark to be sure. I don't want to break any rules.
After poetry class, I was hoping that we could play some more, but the college workers—who are collectively called Fac Man—had put down salt that melted all the ice. Some of their sidewalks have steam-filled tunnels under them and didn't need any salt at all to make the ice melt.
By the afternoon, the sun had come out and the temperature was rising, so all the ice on the trees melted,. Everybody seemed to like it better, but I missed the ice and the bejeweled world it had given us, at least briefly.
Weather is like that. It's an arrow or a song that we give to other ponies, and then they make the most of it. Whether it's sticking their tongue out to capture a fat snowflake, or sitting in their living room with their family listening to the rain drum off their roof, or the gleeful shouts when they see fresh snowfall, we sing our song and know not where it lands.
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And Tirek with both hands and four legs is jealoused by all!
Huh, surprised there was no mention of the special after-class meeting. Maybe in the next one?
7019445 Did I get a smile or groan out of it?
Or do I need to step up my game?
She waxes much poetic.
This was a lovely chapter.
Alas, no "Psalm of Life"
And in the summer, she can take them water skiing. They won't even need a boat.
Wut?
7019435 Yeah I've had a few similar experiences in a professional setting myself. Even managed to pulled something similar on a couple of my teachers when I was in collage. Something about a decade of self teaching and practical field work before actually coming into a classroom setting. I think the prof I was a teaching assistant for had a look on his face that could have had a look on his face rivaling a Pinkie smile when he introduced me to one of his colleagues and said he should tell me about a project he was working on.
I get the feeling that Silver's her teacher there might be on the verge of having one of the most popular semesters of basic climatology in the school's history if he plays his cards right.
There is no way hooves are finding better traction on ice than shoes. Snow, sure. Ice, not a chance.
But then we have seen ponies wear boots in the cold. Best of both worlds?
Well, the butterfly effect uses weather as a metaphor, so you could say that even for us humans our "arrows" affect the weather. There's just no way of knowing for sure who we're affecting.
Hehe, sometimes you just get more philosophical like that.
Keep going! ;)
I like how well the author avoids narrative traps.
I have to say I'm glad to see a story that explains weather and climate properly. I have my masters degree in atmospheric science and always wanted to be a pegasus.
Does this place have "ice polishers," the tractors with brooms that brush light snow off and merely polish heavy snow and ice?
Also, I would think a pony's tail would not be a good place to grab. What's wrong with hind legs?
7019349 Up there amongst the Moonbut types? As if any mere Pegasus could ascent to such heights!
Huh. I'll be honest, I don't think I've ever actually read that poem. Heard of it, yes. Read, no. I'm going to have to correct that.
In any case, a lovely chapter in both scene and philosophy.
7019729
Yeah, but Silver doesn't need to touch the ground at all.
7019652
Stormbreaker did not like her.
7019462
Yes, it could have and probably should have. I feel that the FAA would probably be slow on the uptake, though, like they were with drones.
7019514
Oh, you got a smile.
7019623
Yes! That would be awesome, and the beach isn't very far.
7019729
Depends on the type of shoes they're wearing, but of course that also applies to humans.
Regardless, it's a moot point; Silver Glow solved the traction problem by flying, something nobody else on campus can do.
7019914
Would you be willing to preread some upcoming chapters that involve weather?
7020001
No ice polishers; snow in Kalamazoo was usually lake-effect.
We've seen lots of grabbing onto tails in canon, and I think it can be done with IRL horses, too.
7020471 sure
Sweet Discordia, that is a cute mental image.
Nice to see Silver's introspective side come out again. The English Major in me is very proud of her right now.
I don't know how this become a "roundabout" thread, but I'll join the fun. Yes, the roundabouts in the US do seem to be smaller in diameter than is comfortable, and there are still a few drivers who try to change lanes or stop while in the roundabout, but the only really confusing part is the road designer's habit of connecting more than two intersecting streets to the roundabout, bottle-necking the roads to force several lanes into one, and attempting to compensate for the ensuing chaos by posting arrow-marker signs in somewhat random locations. Near my home, there is a road about half a mile long in which one must navigate three roundabouts in series to reach the other end... Which then becomes a cloverleaf access ramp to an Interstate highway. Whee!
PS: Icy days like that are why I finally got wise and bought a set of snap-on ice-cleats for my shoes. People started looking at me funny as I strode along with confidence, while they did that other thing...
7020474
Safety tip: don't grab a horse's tail unless you know them. IRL horse is snap a 2X6 with a kick
and pasture skiing while holding onto a tale can be done, but its not as fun as one would think.
This was a short, but beautiful chapter!
7019348 Uncontrolled airstrips yes. But on controlled ones all you have to say is: "Tower, [your callsign]. Downwind for [runway # (first two numbers of compass baring)] Requesting full stop."
Sorry I'm a pilot. I like it when people do flying rules right
7020264 Yeah that didn't really register. Try this:
Great poem. Its been a while since I read it. I think however one that gets to me is the song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".
Silver should watch some ice racing featuring small cars or 4x4s.
7020793
English majors FTW!
(I've only got an English minor; can I be in the club, too?)
7021012
I did a bit of research on how hard a horse can kick. I never came across any firm numbers, but anecdotal evidence suggested that they could kick through 2600psi rated lumber, and that a girl who got kicked in the stomach had a visible hoofprint on her liver on the MRI.
Horses can wreck you with a kick.
Probably the pasture makes the difference. Most of the ones I've seen are lumpy and covered in shit, which I have to imagine would take a lot of the fun out of it.
7021638
They're being extra-cautious with her because other airplanes wouldn't be thinking to look out for a pegasus. So she has to follow some rules that ordinary airplanes don't (but she also has some additional rights, as well: she has no minimum altitude).
7022289
I made a change (I think it was what you said, but it's been a few days 'cause I'm behind on everything).
7034600
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is a great song.
One of these days, I'm going to write a sailing story. There's something about those stories I've always loved.
You're a poet;
You don't know it;
But your feet show it;
They're Long-fellows!
izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-i-shoot-an-arrow-into-the-air-where-it-lands-i-do-not-care-i-get-my-arrows-wholesale-curly-howard-88175.jpg
7040197
3 / 10
I didn't know Groucho Marx wrote poetry.
Ponies are typically very proud of their strength. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they all found hauling humans around to be a way to show off!
7893267
I think that would be more of an Earth pony thing. But dragging them around on the ice is fun, too.
7020001 know this is a pretty old post, but I feel a need to comment on it.
As someone who works wih horses, I can tell you that not only can you grab their tails, but with horses who have back problems, one thing you can do to stretch them is pull their tails but grabbing them and leaning back, putting all your weight on it. It's actually somewhat enjoyable for them, like getting a nice stretch. Just don't do it without someone there who really knows what they are doing, at least if you don't want a face full of huff
7938477
Huh, that's really interesting. How ponies stretch their backs . . .
I can see how just going up behind a horse who doesn't know what you're doing and grabbing its tail would end very badly for you. In the Think Like A Horse videos, he does cover getting a horse used to having you around its tail, so that if you are in a situation where you need to do something back there the horse doesn't panic.
While I don't know if this is actually a part of horse psychology, I think that in general equines probably wouldn't like having their hooves grabbed, either, since if they're not expecting it that's probably (to their minds) the first step before eating them.
Oh, nice to get some incidental background on that
Ah, teen problems. Who cares about world-shocking events?
Not to mention, just being able to fly over it
I knew it! Four legs, indeed
Don't think that just testing whether you'd get them off the ground qualifies as "flying with a passenger".
Longfellow sure put her in a poetic mood, heh.
Remarks and Corrections:
> There was a special meeting at school
That whole paragraph should technically be past perfect: "There [had been] a special meeting"...
7989434
I know, right? She's probably still a little bit upset that Stormbreaker wasn't interested in her, too.
Yeah, that's very true. Why walk on the ice at all when you can just fly over it? As she does, because she's smart like that.
Yeah, technically it probably doesn't. Actually, it's interesting to think about how pony rules for flying are probably a lot different than ours, since about a third of their population can self-fly, but they also have flying machines.
Silver's at her very best when she's being poetic.
Correction made; thank you!
7998826
8025334
Ah, okay. Thought it was an Americanism.
Xenophilia, the objectively better one of the two, of course. pls don't kill me ;-;
8025501
Hah, I remember that when it came out.
Fair point, I suppose.
8025319
For you ~<3
That's the one I watched last year.
8025240
8020071
What'd the foal look like, though?
8015405
8027283
Not as far as I know. Although I know lots of people who speak bad English, so it's possible.
Yeah, it kind of is. Although Memoirs has some really great scenes in it, too.
Thank you! I won't get a chance to watch it until I'm caught up on the comments, but. . . .
derpicdn.net/img/2013/12/18/500357/full.jpeg
Something like this, probably. Or else a centaur, but that's overdone.
7049256
Or, the infamous version attributed to Ogden Nash:
I sneezed a sneeze into the air,
It fell to earth, I know not where,
But hard and cold were the looks of those,
In whose vicinity I had snoze.
8563532
That's one that I didn't know.
Given that Silver Glow herself is from a previous generation, you kind of had slip this in. Even if it wasn't a conscious choice on your part.