//------------------------------// // II: Entries 5 to 8 // Story: Diary of a Young Griff // by Isuvyw //------------------------------// 21st of Solmonth Hello diary, how was your day? The little blue colt is named Sven. He is shy, and speaks in a very small voice. He also has a very different accent. I might ask him tomorrow about it. Today was his first day working the big boilers, so I taught him the basic workings. He is responsible for making sure the pressure is at a safe level. I won't make him shove coal or stoke the fire yet, because he's quite small, and I don't want him to burn himself by accident. I think I promised to tell you everything about the boiler room, right? Well, it is a very big room with dark stone brick walls. It is quite underground, so there are no windows. There are only vents to give fresh air, doors to go in and out, and stairs to climb. The boiler room is split into three floors. At the very bottom are the furnaces, three in total. It is very hot down there, and everytime I go down there I get covered in black dusty soot, because the coal is stored at the side in a very big chamber. The next floor is the boilers itself. The heat from the furnaces below make the water inside them hot. They are big and round. Most of the boilers lie down sideways, because it is safer, but there are also some boilers that stand upright.  There are five boilers altogether - three lying down and two standing. They are all made of copper, which I think is a very dull metal.  The top floor is where all the pipes for different rooms are found. They have big and small levers that open and close for the water to flow in and out. It is very interesting, but it is also very complicated. Pipes painted red are for bathrooms, while pipes painted orange are for the kitchens. There are also pipes that make water flow back into the boilers, but that is only for certain situations. There are also other pipes that cross the boiler room. I wonder why they made these other pipes pass by here. There are some big pipes that carry away waste from the bathrooms. Remember when one of them broke and spilled all the yucky dirt on me? Yeah, it was one of these pipes. They stink quite a lot. There are also other pipes that deliver cold water. They just pass by the boiler room, but they don't go through the boilers because it is meant to be cold. I think that's enough for tonight, don't you think? You might be bored with all these descriptions. But you haven't complained or anything so far, so I think you are interested? Thanks for listening anyway, diary. Goodnight. *** 22nd of Solmonth I tried talking to Sven, because so far, the only things I’ve spoken to him are instructions and tips related to our job. But he is very shy, and seems to be very afraid to speak. He stammers and finds it very hard to express himself. Something must’ve happened to him, something terrible. I hope he will recover from it. I introduced myself to him at lunch break. He introduced himself back, although it was very slow. We ate potato sandwiches today - it is a loaf of bread with the inside scooped out and filled with mashed potatoes. It is very filling, and gives us enough energy to work for today. I eat simple, and I’m very alright with it. I have heard of the kind of food that’s served on Princess Celestia’s tables. They say that tall towers of pancakes are served at breakfast. They are so tall that a pony must climb a ladder to reach the top, or use their wings to fly up and take a bite. Imagine how much flour the kitchen needs everyday for so many pancakes! I’m really tired, diary. My mind is full of things to say to you, but I don’t know how to tell you in an organized way. Maybe tomorrow I might be able to tell you some more things in a better way, but I think that’s quite enough for tonight. Goodnight, diary. *** 23rd of Solmonth I’ve been tired these days. I think I’m not getting enough sleep? Sven is sleeping now, and I will be sleeping soon as well. We sleep on two hay mattresses covered with a cloth. It’s rough, and when I was a fledgeling I couldn’t sleep well for the first few nights. Sven seems to be able to sleep well – I wonder how? We also get blankets, don’t worry. Our room is in a corridor on the top floor of the boiler room. The corridor also has other rooms for different uses. The room on the right is the storage room for spare pipes and stuff, while the room on our left is where we keep all our tools. You can find hammers, saws, nails, drills, and many kinds of metal sheets, if you went in there. The room opposite ours is the coal chute. That is where Collier and his friends come and pour the fresh coal down into the coal chamber near the furnaces. It is quite deep, and I prefer to stay away from it. I don’t want to fall in and hurt myself. Our room has some windows, but it is near the top, so I have to stand on a stool or crate in order to see through it. I mostly see clouds and stars, and even a rainbow-maned pegasus zip by. I think it is because this part of the palace is built into the mountainside high above. Well, Canterlot is quite high up as well, so I think there are places higher than mine. The moon is beautiful tonight, because it is shining silvery beams of light into the room. I guess Princess Luna is in a very happy mood today, don’t you think? *** 24th of Solmonth Sven got his first scolding today, from Miss Hawkrose. She told him to throw some trash in one of the waste rooms, but instead he went to a laundry room and dumped it there. The washponies were very upset, and so was Miss Hawkrose. She thought he was playing pranks, so she scolded him very harshly.  He told me later that he couldn’t read. He didn’t know what the signs on the doors meant. He was crying a lot, so much that his lunch bread was wet with tears. I gave him a hug and told him it was ok. I guess Miss Hawkrose was a bit too hard on him. I went and timidly told Miss Hawkrose that Sven couldn’t read. At first I thought she was going to whip me for being nosy, but she didn’t. Instead, she was surprised (in an irritated tone) and told me to call him. She took him inside her office for some time – I don’t know how long – while I sat outside. After that, she came out and said it was true, he couldn’t read. She said something about getting a tutor, but I volunteered to teach him Equestrian. Thankfully, Miss Hawkrose nodded and said nothing else; I was glad she didn’t say anymore, because she was still very irritated and in her bad mood. I quickly brought Sven back to our workplace. He started crying again, so I gave him a hug. I told him it was alright, he was safe with me. He must be really scared. I feel really sad for him. But I hope that will change, because tomorrow, I’ll be teaching him the alphabet. Then he would be able to read, and be proud of achieving something. I’m yawning a lot. I should go to sleep. Goodnight.