Day 52; Reporting in
Well, Celestia took the news of the dinner both better and worse than I had expected. She didn't chew me out, and I think that she genuinely doesn't blame me for the fiasco. However, I still managed to get the impression that she was a bit disappointed that it had happened in the first place. Failing somebody's trust, even when you expect it to happen, can be a bit of a dampener on your mood.
However, despite the fact that I've now got a week to rest, recover, and hone my diplomatic skills (I will find a suave way to decline grass), I'm a little wary about the fact that Celestia told me to enjoy the rest of my day. I've gradually learned that she has a mischievous streak that only really comes out in informal situations, and that smile seemed a bit too angelic.
I guess I'll go to the library then. If I'm going to be waiting for potentially unpleasant news, I might as well spend the time in a way that I enjoy.
Day 53; Odium, total
Hatred. Loathing. Anguished screaming... But that's mostly my body talking. I've been put through a personalized version of hell, and I truly don't know where I'm getting the energy to put pen to paper. Perhaps through Spite... Let's go with that while I detail what I've gone through.
Today at breakfast, Cobalt and his squad informed me that I'd be accompanying them to their barracks for the day. I naively believed that they wanted to show me their rooms or something. No. They were giving me a tour of a much more sinister place: The training grounds.
Cobalt is strongly of the opinion that my safety depends just as much on my own ability as it does on theirs. The problem he had seen was that my abilities were 'woefully below anything approaching acceptable.' His opinion was actually kind of hurtful. I may not be in the best of shape, as I don't enjoy working out, but I made sure to do enough physical activities that I stay reasonably fit.
I think the difference in our opinions resulted somewhere in magic. I know, I know, magic can't be blamed for all my problems, but in this, it really does result from the fact that ponies have magic. The connection that all these equine beings have with nature gives them an incredible strength and endurance (even the unicorns I've met, despite not having any noticeable benefits to their strength, seem to have near infinite amounts of energy). I, with my purely physical body, barely meet below standard when compared to that.
Cobalt obviously noted this at SeaSaddle, and it's now that he's working to correct it. The squad ran me into the ground, literally. Oval provided motivation, sending small shocks when I fell behind my running buddy, Tours. When I eventually collapsed, they got me doing any number of upper body exercises. Where had they gotten any idea of what would be good for me?
I must have gasped that aloud, as Cobalt smiled and cheerfully informed me.
“Well, Equestria is blessed with a number of different animals, most of which have at least a few similar muscles between them. I went to both a vet and a doctor for advice to put together a training regimen, and if we get a few things wrong, there's at least one trained medic at the training facility at all times. Ah, and Celestia personally approved our initiative to get you into shape, so don't even think about trying to quit on us.”
And so we continued until they had squeezed the last dregs of sadistic pleasure from my torture. Airlift was kind enough to carry me to my room when the group realized that I was completely content to stay collapsed on the ground after we were done. I guess that makes him my favorite among the squad.
Day 54; In hiding
Cobalt told me I have the day off, and though I intellectually believe him, my body doth protest too much. I've sequestered myself into the smallest corner of the library I could find, so that if Oval over there decides to pull off a repeat performance of yesterday, I can resist. Until he starts using magic of course, but a guy's occasionally allowed to ignore unpleasant realities, right?
Day 59; In the air
Yes! It's an other day on the 'every other day' schedule for exercise, but instead of having to work out, we've got another assignment. Princess Luna is with us for this as well, so I doubt that anything will happen that we won't be able to take care of. I'm feeling good enough that I'm going to drastically tempt fate by saying 'at least things can't get any worse, right?' when things are actually going well. Take that, Murphy.
OK, now that I'm done being giddily optimistic, here's what I know so far. A pegasus inhabited city named Las Pegasus (Original, no?) is having a dispute over the weather schedule. Some of the inhabitants want to keep tradition and continue with the same kind of weather they've made for years, while a majority of the younger workers believe that changing things up could be beneficial. The managers of the factory where the weather is made have requested royal wisdom on the situation. Since we're going, I guess Celestia approved the request.
And I still find it weird to be able to write a paragraph like that and still be completely serious. Here in Equestria, the weather is scheduled.
Day 59; Marshmallow land
I've been walking on clouds all day. I've been walking on clouds all day after being pulled up into the air on a chariot pulled by sentient pegasi, any of whom could kick my ass. If it hadn't been nearly two months since this arriving in this crazy place, I'd be certain I'm dreaming right now. Thanks to a spell that Luna cast on us non-pegasi, I've been walking on white fluffy condensation that should have about as much resistance to my weight as regular air.
…
OK, I looked around, saw that no one was looking (Oval and Tours don't count since they already know me) and let my inner child out to play. I've made a cloud snowman, jumped like the clouds are a bed, and done all sorts of wild whooping about. I've had my fun, and should be able to actually think without coming back to the fact that I'm way up in the sky on giant cotton balls... One moment.
…
OK, I mean it this time. I can focus.
When we arrived, Luna and I got a tour of the local weather making facility, a tour of the city in general, and an excellent meal. We were then handed the existing calender of weather for the areas that Las Pegasus is in charge of, as well as a stack of modified calenders representing the experimental changes the group of younger pegasi wanted to make. Luna graciously accepted the papers, and then had us leave so that we could discuss the situation without interruption.
We got our rooms in the high class hotel, and then Luna turned to me. I could see from the look on her face that she already had a decision. Decisive people are like that, and the princess is most certainly a decisive person/pony. That meant that whatever she was going to ask me was for my own benefit, like when a teacher asks the class for a particular answer.
“How would you go about solving this issue?”
I carefully thought about Luna's question, and started by asking about what 'we' knew.
“Well, does the factory have records on why the weather schedule has been unchanged for so long? Like maybe there needs to be rain and sun at certain times so that people can grow food down below?”
Luna nodded, and then motioned for me to go on.
“Well, if that's the case, then there are parts of the calender that cannot be changed just for the wishes of pegasi who don't know better. However, there should be times, like during the winter, that any changes in the weather would affect others less, and experiments could be carried out during those times. In essence, they should compromise.”
Luna nodded once more smiling broadly.
“Just so. This is a truly an easily resolved matter. The difficulty lies in getting Our subjects to accept Our own decisions without complaint.”
I shrugged.
“Use guilt. Say they're all being little children in their actions, which they are. Remind the older plant workers that you have to be patient with the young, and tell the younger workers not to be so selfish as to ruin other ponies' lives. If you're the one doing the speaking, they won't even think of arguing against such a reasonable request. Just, remember to moderate your voice.”
Luna's eyes narrowed.
“We are speaking quietly to thou at this very moment, are We not?” She said icily.
“Um, yes? But you are using the older wording, and you tend to get louder when orating, regardless of need.”
A few moments later, and I noticed the beginnings of a smile on Luna's face. She'd been joking with me, and after she left to tell the town her decision, Oval, Tours and I were free to go explore the city. Speaking of, I believe I'm ready to get back to exploring.
Day 72; To the Mountains
It's been busy for a while, with Luna, the guards, and I going from place to place. I've also had to be exercising regularly in between. Ick. Then, to top it off, I left this thing in my room in the castle last time we left, so the time gap's a little larger than expected. In the time since I last wrote, we've managed to solve 4 minor disputes, and make just as many public appearances.
Now Luna and I are going to be working on something a bit bigger than taking a side in an argument: Gryphons. Most gryphons don't live in Equestria, as their temperaments don’t really mix well with most ponies. Furthermore, like most sensible beings, they don't want to piss off a being who's capable of raising and lowering the sun by causing incidents all the time.
The gryphon's government is small, in keeping with the small gryphon population, and one of its major duties is oversight of the gryphons who do choose to live in Equestria (part of their 'let's not antagonize the being who could kill us all' policy). Recently, that government has started making all sorts of noise along diplomatic channels, and that sort of abrupt reversal of policy has Celestia worried.
Luna and I have the rest of the morning to prepare, and then we're off to meet with a Gryphon delegation. Celestia wants us to placate them without resorting to the types of threats that she's had to use in the past. Here's to hoping beyond all reasonable hope that I don't screw things up.
Day 73; Imminent
OK, I don't have much time to write before I have to leave again, but as I'm already packed, there isn't much to do until Airlift comes and gets me (and I'm going to have plenty of time to think on the trip to Ponyville).
There isn't anything quite so scary as a father in a determined 'I must save my daughter' mode. It's even scarier when that father happens to be in a position of great political power, and when he's willing to destroy his nation's armed forces and doom the world in order to make sure his daughter is safe. One of the gryphons living in Equestria is his daughter, Gilda, and as of a month ago, she stopped writing her weekly letters home.
We need to find Gilda quickly, and show that she isn't hurt before a week has passed. Luna, being the more prominent of the two of us in the diplomatic role, will stay here and negotiate for more time. I, in a fit of foolishness, have also told her to feel free to use her full voice if she thinks it will help.
Cobalt's squad and I are going to be handling Gilda, and Luna has highly recommended talking to Twilight Sparkle in Ponyville as our first lead in tracking Gilda down.
Day 73; The tree house
We made it to Ponyville in record time, went to the library to get Twilight, and started filling her into the situation. Twilight was horrified, and took off almost immediately to get her friends. Cobalt, Tours, and Airlift went after her, and then Oval and I started looking through the books in the library. Oval didn't know any tracking spells that would be useful for finding a flying creature, so that was the priority in our search.
Also helping us is Twilight's adopted brother, a baby dragon named Spike. He's remarkably aware and sophisticated compared to most babies I've seen, and he's been of significant help in finding our way around the... unique filing system of the library.
Right now, Oval's trying to learn the spells we've found so far, while Spike and I try to think of other sections to search. I just needed to write this to clear my head a bit.
Day 74; It's technically morning
We've made significant progress in our search, and while most of the ponies are sleeping (Tours is at Watch), I find myself unable to join them. While we were traveling yesterday, I got the story of what happened when Gilda was in Ponyville.
It starts with Rainbow Dash, whom Gilda had come to see. They spent most of the day together, with repeated attempts by Pinkie Pie to join in on the fun. Pinkie was apparently unable to do so because 'Gilda was a big meanie' and kept pushing her away. Gilda's actions then devolved from anti-social, to petty theft and verbal assault on Fluttershy.
Their interaction with Gilda ended after a disastrous party, where Gilda managed to trip every prank that Rainbow Dash had set up for random party guests. There was a confrontation between Gilda and everyone else, culminating with Gilda ending her freindship with Rainbow Dash. She then stormed off and Ponyville left the issue as recent memory.
I was distinctly unimpressed with the tale, both with the impression of Gilda I had gotten, and with how the situation had unfolded. I managed to refrain from any negative comments though, which I'm very proud of. I wasn't thinking clearly, with the stress of possible war breaking out, and the Six weren't thinking clearly either, being faced with an issue they had thought resolved blowing up in their faces a few weeks later.
I've been thinking on what I'm going to say to them tomorrow. Most obvious is to the most oblivious, Pinkie. I have a brother, and if we were doing something together, it was very easy for him to respond with hostility to anyone trying to move in on our time. I figure that Gilda's initial actions against Pinkie were stemming from simple jealousy, especially if Gilda had traveled from any significant distance to spend a day with Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash probably deserved a bit of a talking to too, for the disastrous party, but I'm not sure if I could do it in the right way. She did end up doing some mental damage to a previously close friend of hers.
And all six could use the bit of a reality that's been shoved into their faces. Issues don't just go away unresolved; they either become somebody else's problem (like mine) or they eventually come back.
Oh, and I can't forget Gilda. I can understand the hostility, but the theft doesn't fly in my book. When we find her, I'm going to be having a few words with her.
…
Wow, I'm seriously writing down plans to fix people like I'm some sort of qualified psychologist or something. Let's go to sleep before I decide I'm ready to save the world in just a few words.
Day 76; In relentless pursuit
Finding Gilda hadn't been particularly easy, as the spell that worked the best required something that belonged to both the caster and whatever was being tracked. After a bit of brainstorming, we ended up gambling on the idea that despite any animosity left over from the party, Gilda probably still considered Rainbow her friend. Since Dash is also Twilight's friend, she could 'belong' to both, and could be used as the focus in the tracking spell. (Incidentally, Oval was simultaneously awed and irritated at how quickly Twilight had learned the spell in comparison to himself)
Luckily, the spell had worked, and we had followed the heading provided for most of the journey, occasionally redirecting ourselves as needed. I have to say that it's good thing that we had pegasi with us, as the spell provided a straight line direction to Gilda, ignoring any potential problems in the terrain, like gaping chasms.
Yesterday, we found Gilda moping on a lonesome cloud on the sky, and though Rainbow Dash was all for bringing her down by force, I really didn't think that was really the best idea. I certainly wasn't going to be explaining any funny looking injuries to Gilda's dad.
Eventually, I (Gilda was determinedly ignoring the six ponies with me, and it wasn't security's job to do mine for me) managed to convince Gilda to come down by guilt tripping her
“Your dad is worried sick about you! Even if you don't want to go with 'lame and uncool' ponies, I doubt you think the same about your dad!”
Another half-hour of similar comments, and I had managed to bring her down from her cloud. She then took a double-take after getting a proper look at me for the first time, and asked just what the heck I was. I decided with the slightly humorous approach.
“Oh, just your average human/shaved-monkey/more-interesting-than-you creature. Why?”
My sarcasm was a hit, and I managed to continue with some deadpan that kept the journey back to the Gryphon delegation relatively relaxed.
Upon arrival, Gilda and her dad had an impressive reunion that started with a hug, and ended with a shouting argument. I managed to track Gilda down when she had cooled off a bit, and she waved off my concerns as no big deal. She saw regular arguments between family members as a way to show you love each other, to show there's communication in the family. I think it explains a bit of the culture clash Gilda had when she got to Ponyville.
With the crisis over, and the Gryphons no longer ready to invade Equestria, Luna, our escort, and I were ready to go. We even got to see Gilda and Rainbow Dash formally resolve their differences while we left. A very happy ending; one that I'll actually enjoy informing Celestia about when we get back to the castle.