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// We Near the Mountain City 
// Story: Her Eyes Reflect The Stars 
// by Lynwood 
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Dear Diary,

Our study of the Event is back on track! After last entry's mishap in the Fields and our little detour that didn't end up being so little we finally made it to the Mountain City, or as it was called before the Event, 'Canterlot'. 

I'm getting ahead of myself. We stayed in the town for a week or so. (Plenty of time for me to properly apologize.) Compass cataloged some cartographical data and Score and I recovered some texts from that nearby school. We ended up storing all our recoveries thus far in a cellar for the way back. I warded it to stave off the elements, so it's safe for a few weeks. Less work for us! Hooray!

Because the town was so close to the city, traveling between them only took a day. We saw the densest destruction we'd seen so far but it was nothing compared to what we found when we reached the mountain. I can only guess what chaos must have taken place, with everypony fleeing to the one place they thought had to be safe. Needless to say, I'm glad everything has long since rotted, and that Ashen Children are so few in number nowadays. 

We hiked up the old road and made camp outside the gates. I think Auburn is starting to warm up to us, or at least to me because she actually made some conversation as we were setting up camp. Of course, it was to make a snarky joke about how Steady and Score were always arguing like an old married couple. (Today it was about how to set up the tent. I don't know how they haven't figured this out by now— I've lost count of how many times we've made camp.) She's got a good sense of humor when she chooses to speak. I'm glad we hired her, and not some other somehow-even-more-gruff-and-silent guard. (Can I hyphenate stuff like that?)

The city was incredible. Things fell apart so quickly that nopony had any time to take anything with them, if they got out at all. Combine that with the fact that, for a long time, it was the densest population of Children... anywhere (AKA The Place You Don't Loot Unless You Have A Death Wish) and presto, you have a treasure trove of pre-Event, well, treasure!

We filled our funding quota in a matter of hours just by breaking into the fanciest-looking houses and we were able to get through the old wards into the Royal Library the next day. There's so much lost knowledge there that I couldn't decide which texts to take. One place we didn't go was the old palace, though. 

There's a ridiculous amount of elongated remains in the city, but a specific set is easy to pick out. Long strings of leg bones and knees, about as thick as your torso, crisscross through roads and over rooftops all over the city. They all lead into the palace. We all decided that whatever was in there was something best investigated by a braver, more numerous group of ponies.

In terms of routes, we finally decided where to go. I told Score that I thought Steady Compass had a good point. Historically, because the machines followed the ponies, the desert should be safer, and it's a more direct route to our destination. Less time traveling equals less money spent, right? Steady agreed, so as soon as we finish up here, we're going to begin heading southeast.

Auburn just called me over. This should be interesting.

Signed,
Quick Quill