Building the Perfect Talk
Nov 1: The Society is taking its sweet time writing back with a reply to my request to include Moondancer in my talk. I hope they say yes. I'd have Moondancer explain how she came to the conclusion that Winter wasn't just some old ponies' tale and how she knew where to look. That will give me a starting point and put a face on the ponies we set off to rescue. I think I'll have Moondancer appear on my podium via the Haycartes spell, at which point I'll invite her on stage to fill us in on Winter. That will be fun! C'mon Society, say yes!
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Wild Book Chase
Nov 2: Since I would really like to have some star charts of the far northern sky for my Canterlot Explorer's Society dinner lecture, I took Spike and Owlowiscious with me on a book run in the princesses' library in the old castle ruins in the Everfree. I have the most recent edition of The Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy, but it just doesn't cover the night sky that far north.
We dropped by Zecora's on the way, but she was busy drying, chopping, grinding and storing herbs. It's harvest season in the Everfree too, it would seem. She had a fire going making her home sweltering hot and there were plants hanging everywhere. The mix of volatile oils and aromatic essences in the air was a bit overwhelming.
Almost all of the Everfree trees have dropped their leaves, and it's not even close to Winter yet! Between the rustling of the dried leaves on the path and the lack of cover from the leafless branches everywhere, I was feeling jumpy and exposed. Fortunately, the cool weather makes the cragadiles and cockatrices sluggish, and I had Spike and Owlowiscious providing two extra pairs of eyes to spot any dangerous creatures before they spied us.
We arrived safely at the castle ruins around mid-morning and we went straight to the library. We searched the stacks for star charts and books on the night sky. I tried to stay focused and not get distracted by interesting titles... A cultural study on freeze-branding, searing, piercing and body art. Who would want to do such a thing? Oh! with illustrations and techniques! That went into my saddlebag.
We also looked for maps of the north but without much success, for either star charts or land maps. What we could find didn't cover the region north of Yakyakistan. I already have what I copied from the Crystal Empire Library but not much else and The Royal Cartographer Society Atlas of Equestria stops pretty much in Yakyakistan. Leaf Hairrakesson would be right useful in that regard, if I could contact him.
We went back to Ponyville, mostly bookless. There's still Yakyakistan, if I can find a book seller there, and if they make that kind of book.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Plans and Details
Nov 3: I got mail! Specifically, a reply from the Canterlot Explorer's Society planning committee secretary. It appears that it's an unusual request but they will allow it. Now I just have to orchestrate it with Moondancer. I wrote to her outlining what I have in mind. Then I worked some more on my flash cards.
Today I attended the Hay Board meeting for the third cut, which is due to start by week's end, give or take a day. With the autumn cold, the grass growth has really slowed down and we have to harvest the hay while the sun can still dry it properly. The weather ponies are going to give us five straight days of cloudless blue skies and we'd better make the best of them. The farmers on the board are a bit antsy, some feel we put off the third cut too long. The grass needs six weeks before hard frost to recover and build up energy stores before the Winter. It's the same story every year, the third cut has to wait for the apple and carrot harvests to wind down, to free up the harvesters. Fortunately, we're not due for a hard frost in Ponyville for another six weeks at the earliest. Unlike the Everfree Forest.
Tomorrow we head out to the Crystal Empire, and from there to Yakyakistan for a day. Applejack and Rarity are all set to go and I've packed my over-night saddle bag. I think what Spike is looking forward to the most in this trip is to see his statue in the Crystal Empire again.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
(Twilight has gone booking. Back in a few days.)
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Back to Yakyakistan
Nov 7: We got back yesterday from our trip and I'm happy to report that we were successful. I have maps and Machur Lulach has agreed to join us for dinner in Canterlot.
Let's see, our trip started with the train to the Crystal Empire. Spike, Applejack, Rarity and I got off at the station, dropped off our bags at the Castle and I made arrangements for dinner with Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the Crystal Empire market.
Applejack bought some crystal corn to take home, Rarity found a few bolts of crystal pattern cloth she liked and I picked up some leather leaf tea for Zecora and a book: Fundamentals of Book Collection Development and Systematic Reference Management.
Spike found a souvenir stand full of miniature copies of the statue the crystal ponies erected in his honor. He signed several and got one free. And yes, he posed next to his statue, holding his souvenir. I thought he looked like he was trying shelve it on an invisible bookcase.
We got back to our rooms, cleaned up and had supper with Cadence and Shining Armor. There was a wide variety of food on the table. Princess Cadence is wrestling with surprise changes in what she finds tastes good and what tastes bad. That's normal, since she's pregnant, she's more vulnerable to bacteria and fungus that may grow in fescue and other grasses, and to other things that are normally not that toxic.
After dessert, we had tea on a balcony overlooking the city. The sky was clear, a great night to look down at the city lights below and at shooting stars above. We even saw an early fireball! Then the Crystal Heart channeled the good will of the crystal ponies, shooting colored lights straight up into the night sky. It's a very impressive sight to see from where we sat. It's huge! A voice of light at our backs, rising like a geyser to paint the sea of stars.
We didn't stay up long, we had an early start the next morning.
Next morning we hiked to Yakyakistan. Once in the gates, it wasn't long before we had a giggling gaggle of calves following us, again. This time all eyes were on Spike, riding on my back. I guess dragons, especially baby dragons on the backs of ponies, are rare in Yakyakistan.
Finding Machur was easier than I expected. We went to the general neighborhood in which we had found him last time and we got promptly lost in a maze of tiny streets. The calves were of no help. But not for long, we asked around and every yak we met seemed to know who had guided our expedition.
When we found him, he was sitting at a stall selling a close approximation of the alfalfa-oat-nut-honey power cubes we ate on our expedition! It took a while to explain that were weren't hiring him, or trying to muscle in on his alfalfa-oat-nut-honey power cube business, we were inviting him to a dinner in Canterlot. I was beginning to wonder if he expected us to pay for his fare and his time.
But we got through and I did explain a few times that the food, while probably not perfect, will be edible. It's being at the table with friends and meeting new ponies that is the point. I hope that only Prince Rutherford expects perfection, or reacts as strongly.
He wrote down the date, place, time and how to get there, and how much the train fare would cost. We also exchanged mailing addresses while we sampled Machur's power cubes. They were different. We didn't smash the table, but Machur could tell that we knew these weren't pony power cubes. Instead, Applejack dictated the recipe she used for our power cubes as Machur wrote it down. She explained that she and Pinkie drew from three different recipes to make her version and she listed several substitute ingredients Machur could try.
That was quick, so we had time to shop! Machur gave us directions to a market where we could find vendors of fine cloth. Once there, Rarity bought a few bolts of beautiful dyed yak felt cloth and Applejack traded two dozen Macoun apples for a nice two tone green yak wool headband with red stripes that fit right under her hat. To keep her ears warm.
At another stall a vendor asked Rarity, "How much? How much for your baby dragon? I trade you three groats and a lemming." The lemming was very cute. Rarity refused quickly. "Not for sale." Spike thought he had said "goats". He looked half insulted, half proud. Insulted that anypony would think he could be bought or sold, half proud that he outmatches at least three goats.
The best find was a stall selling illustrated manuscripts! Legends, botany guides, astronomy, medicinal herbology, metallurgy, farming practices, and fashion and etiquette (Rarity and Applejack immediately borrowed the last two). The astronomy book includes star charts that I will be able to use in my talk! Success! Finding Machur and star charts, two more items off my check list. I was quickly much lighter in bits and much heavier in books. It was a long walk back to the Crystal Empire.
It was late evening by the time we got back to the Crystal Empire. We went knocking on the kitchen door for a snack and we got delicious hot leftovers instead! Just as we sat down to feast, Princess Cadence came in to join us. She was feeling restless and hungry. She's eating like a horse.
The next morning we caught the train back to Ponyville. Rarity trotted off to her boutique with her fresh bolts of cloth, Applejack made a beeline for the farm and her haying equipment, and I settled in with my new books. Spike put his souvenirs up on his shelf: a replica of his Crystal Empire statue and a Yakyakistan groat. I'll take the tea to Zecora some other day.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Harvesting
Nov 8: I had a Haycartes chat with Moondancer and that part of the Society talk is now all set. It should take Moondancer about ten minutes to explain the basics of what drove her to go looking for Winter, how she knew where to look, and a bit about her journey. It will be a bare-bones version of the lecture she will give three days from now at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. I'll be there!
Ponies that had been out mowing their fields while we were in Yakyakistan are already starting to bale the third cut. We've had clear blue skies, a light wind and pleasantly warm, dry days. The cut timothy stems in those first fields to be mowed are nice and dry, they don't smell moist and they don't discolor when rolled between the hooves. Granny Smith uses the oven method to test the Apple Farm hay, just to be sure. Applejack is out raking and turning her crop of timothy hay, it should be dry enough by tomorrow.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
The Final Cut
Nov 9: The fields of Ponyville are dotted with bales of timothy hay. I have great views of this from my Treecastle balconies and it's very pretty. Especially with the trees all around the fields in full blazing color. There are still horseradishes, cabbages, beets, stalk-dried corn, soybeans and turnips in the fields, but this is the last big harvest before the running of the leaves.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Hay Harvest Picnic
Nov 10: Pinkie and Fluttershy put together a combination pet date and third cut harvest picnic in the western pasture today. They set the rendez-vous for mid-afternoon. Fluttershy came over to invite us this morning, so we skipped lunch and when the time came, I roused Owlowiscious and Spike and I went out looking for everypony else.
We hunted about a little, but not for long. Pinkie had chosen a high spot to spread the picnic blanket. Up by a rock pile, in the middle of a harvested field and we could see it from a good ways away.
It was really a choice spot for a hay harvest picnic. All around us were fresh bales of hay waiting to be picked up, above us brilliant sunshine in crystal blue sky, and beyond the fields, the trees glowed in oranges, reds, yellows and browns, with a hint of green. In among the rocks, there was one gnarled pine tree and several tall asters that were blooming in shades of lilac, hosting a few lazy butterflies drifting in on the breeze.
Angel and Gummy were already present, and soon Dash arrived with Tank. Dash had Tank dressed up in a scarf and coat against the nip in the air and it wasn't long before Tank found a sunny spot out of the wind and took a nap. Tank will be getting sluggish soon, not that it's that easy to tell with a tortoise.
Then Applejack and Rarity arrived with Opalescence and Winona. We got down to eating. Pinkie and Fluttershy passed out the dishes and spread out the greens and grasses, the soup and sandwiches, the corn and carrots, and the cakes and cookies.
After our late lunch we relaxed and chatted on the picnic blanket while the pets did their thing -- exploring, running, digging, watching, napping... Until Celestia's setting sun began to paint the sky and we collected ourselves and headed home.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Moondancer's Lecture
Nov 11: I went to Canterlot today to attend Moondancer's lecture at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, so I was gone for most of the day and part of the evening. I caught the Friendship Express to Canterlot and arrived just before noon.
Lemon Hearts was on the platform to meet me and we walked together to the restaurant to join Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lyra Heartstrings and Moondancer for lunch. My foalhood friends were all in high spirits, except Moondancer. Her class was just a few hours away and she was all jittery and distracted, going over her flash cards and tweaking the order. I complimented her on using flash cards but I don't think she heard me. She barely touched her hay sandwich.
Lemon Hearts is glad to be back in Canterlot. No more trotting off into the frozen wilds for her. At least, not for a while. She still dreams of being buried to her ears in snow and helplessly watching shimmering snowflakes drift down from a sea of stars. She takes frequent trips to the spa to sweat in the sauna, get a massage and relax.
After lunch we split up and Moondancer and I headed to Celestia's School and the lecture hall where Moondancer would be speaking. Minuette, Twinkleshine, Lyra Heartstrings and Lemon Hearts had other obligations and since Moondancer had practiced the lecture on them more than once, they'd heard it all before. Lemon Hearts didn't look like she was really all that hot to relive that adventure again today.
We were early, and while Moondancer set up and tested the projector and counted chalk sticks and erasers, I found a seat in the back and pulled out a book to read. I was prepared for this.
Before long, students began to filter in and Moondancer left the room to go over her notes again. By the time she got back, the room was filled to capacity. She looked a bit shocked. But she had her flash cards, and reading off them, one by one, I could see that she forgot the crowd and caught the flow of her carefully planned out exposition. It was an excellent lecture. She got a stamping ovation.
After Moondancer bid farewell to the chair of cultural studies and the lecture series coordinator, we walked together to the train station. We chatted about our respective lectures and about Moondancer's paper, soon to be published in the Journal of Cultural Hippology and Magic, until the train was ready to board. Before I got on, she gave me the three other books she had borrowed from the Princesses' library in the Everfree ruins so I could return them for her. Then she went back to her books and the train whisked me back to Ponyville and mine.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Fleeting Stars
Nov 12: According to my The Astronomical Astronomer's Almanac to All Things Astronomy, tonight is a good night to see shooting stars! So I took a break from transcribing star charts and maps onto transparencies for my talk, brewed a fresh pot of chocolate peppermint spice tea and went out on my balcony to watch the sky.
The stars are easier to see here than in Canterlot. Not only are there fewer lights in Ponyville, but my Friendship Treecastle is outside of Ponyville itself. I get a better view than I did from the top branch platform on the Golden Oak Library.
I saw a dozen shooting stars before I called it a night. A few of them teased the Ursa Minor, zipping past her head. They're much too fast to get swatted. I wonder what motivates these stars, that they aren't just content to be fixed stars, or to join a constellation?
There were quite a few yak hay buyers at the market earlier today. They select the finest, softest bales from the cut and have them delivered to the train station. From there the train hauls them to the Crystal Empire on hay cars. The yaks use carts to take the hay the rest of the way to Yakyakistan. Good thing I ordered my hay in advance, the best of the 3rd cut is selling off fast and the prices have tripled already. Applejack collected the last of her bales off her fields yesterday, just in time for peak demand! She should deliver my order of 15 bales tomorrow.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
My My, Hay Hay
Nov 13: Applejack and Big McIntosh rolled up to my door with 15 bales of choice third cut hay, right on schedule. I lifted the bales, one at a time, to the room that serves as a pantry for my second and third cut hay. Right into the balcony door and about where I wanted them stacked. Now I'm all set for the winter. I have 1st cut hay to keep me warm in the cold winter weather, and I have 2nd and 3rd cut hay for quick energy and fancier dishes. It's just as well that the yaks prefer the 2nd and 3rd cut hays, it's the 1st cut hay that keeps a pony on an even keel during those lazy winter months.
With the new addition of fresh hay, it smells just heavenly in there! I have to fight the urge to loiter in the pantry and eat the fresh hay straight off the bale. Why is it that? It's the same hay that's in the bowl on the table! Fortunately for me, Spike thinks hay is just OK. Otherwise I'd expect to find Spike-sized tunnels eaten into our hay hoard.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
On Call
Nov 14: I went back to the ruins of the castle in the Everfree to return the books Moondancer borrowed. It's freezing in the Everfree. There's even snow on the ground here and there. The Everfree snow wasn't much to look at. There were no flakes, just tiny white round balls of various sizes.
On the way I went down the stairs to the stony crevasse where the Tree of Harmony... is rooted? It hasn't changed. I looked at it for a while. It didn't move. Or speak. Or write any messages. It gave no clues as to what it may be thinking1 and I have no way to find out. It would be nice to be able to communicate with the power that drops puzzles on our backs without so much as a by-your-leave.
My life had more stability... and purpose, when I was just researching Friendship and reporting back to my teacher. I guess the old Friendship puzzles were a bit mundane, but they were _my_ puzzles and there were many lessons to learn.
Now there are fewer puzzles to solve, and when I or my friends fix a problem, we don't report back to anypony. And so I just sit in our giant, cold, tree-shaped castle, with my nigh 20,000 books, and wait to be prodded and guided to something disharmonious that requires a fix.
-----------------------------
1 The Tree of Harmony's actions have been complex; the box of locks series of quests that were instrumental in defeating Tirek, growing this Friendship Castle, the map of Equestria table and the link it has to our cutie marks, all those actions by the Tree have been spontaneous, directed and occurred one after the other. Whatever this enigmatic Tree scheme may be, it really doesn't look like any old pony would serve the Tree's plan. It wants us. It chose us. Ergo, it thinks.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Future Fields
Nov 15: Now that the hay is in, the forage specialists of Ponyville have started a month of intensive hay field expansion in preparation for next year. We expect more demand for our hay from Yakyakistan buyers next year and we want to be ready. Also, we plan on moving up the third cut by at least two weeks earlier next year. The extra pasture space will offset the shorter growing time and the increased rest time for the pasture will mean healthier grass in the long haul. It will also mean longer hours for Applejack and the other ponies tending the fields. We'll see next year how that works out.
From my balcony I could see ponies out at the far end of the eastern pasture starting to remove trees and rocks. Fluttershy and Amethyst Star are also hard at work, establishing wildlife sanctuary zones in and around the expansions, relocating animals, having snags and hollow logs collected and moved, and building new hibernation dens. The farmers have selected gentle, smooth slopes with good drainage for the future fields, leaving the rocky, wet and steep areas to the wildlife specialists. The new patchwork of woods, brush and pasture will benefit many creatures that thrive in ecotones or use multiple cover types.
Winter happens in just over four weeks from now. By then, the new fields will have been cleared, graded, tilled, seeded and spread. From there they shall sleep beneath a blanket of snow until spring, where sun and Earth Pony power will urge them to awake and grow.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Picking Perishables For the Pantry
Nov 16: Spike and I went to the open air market together today to replenish the perishables in our larder. There are a lot of pumpkins and winter squash at the market this time of year. We picked up a bunch of small pumpkins, some spaghetti squash, a big zucchini, some fresh-picked alfalfa, a few jars of silage and some turnips.
We'll make squash spaghetti another day. Today we just ate raw pumpkin, seeds and all, stuffed with fresh alfalfa. My stars, that was good! The pumpkin seeds really settled my stomach, too. I also had a big plate of beet pulp mash to go with my pumpkin. The beet mash gives me steady energy and an even mood after the alfalfa and pumpkin power rush wears out. We ate so much beet pulp during that trip to find Moondancer. It's good I no longer mind it, beet pulp is an excellent, gentle food. Versatile too! It can be served hot, cold, as a soup, as an ingredient...
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
They Sparkle and Fly, Just Out of Reach
Nov 17: I've been out, catching an eyeful of yet another meteor shower. A lot of the more restless stars are up and zipping about this time of year. More now than in, say, the winter and spring. I have yet to see a good explanation.
What gets them up and going now? Is there more energy in the air now than there is in the winter and spring? Do they migrate in the winter to another part of the sky, somewhere beyond Equestria? Or are they around always, but the kind of events that they observe don't happen in the winter?
They do not talk to me.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Talking the Talk
Nov 18: The Canterlot Explorer's Society Dinner lecture is all set. I tried to get my friends to sit for a dry run. That didn't work out. But Zecora agreed! Probably because she didn't live through it.
The dry run went well, I think I'm ready. Zecora said there weren't enough zebras in my story. I think she was kidding.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
We Wonder Whether Wetter Weather Wets Her Withers
Nov 19: It's windy and wet outside. This afternoon, weather ponies set up a cloud bank full of dark, rain laden clouds over Ponyville and area, bunched them tight, and bucked a shock wave through them. It's like ringing a bell or dropping a big rock into a pool. The kick rings back and forth through the cloud bank, sending down waves of big heavy raindrops. Some time tonight the clouds will run out of rain, at which point they will be small and white. Tomorrow morning the weather ponies will clear them out. There shall be blue skies and mud puddles. And not the imported kind.
Tomorrow I'm going to invite my friends over for supper.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Spaghetti Squash
Nov 20: I had my friends over for supper. They hesitated, suspecting a trap. I had to convince them I wasn't going to test my talk on them.
Spike and I cooked the spaghetti squash, loosened it up in the rind and topped up the result with oats boiled and softened until they pop when you bite them, fresh ground green alfalfa sauce and cubed carrot chunks. We served that on a big plate of third-cut timothy hay. For dessert we had hay crackers dipped in chocolate.
After supper we settled in for a game of Bundle of Sticks while we munched on peppermint sticks and sugar cubes. It's not too easy to reach for the right stick with your mouth full of peppermint stick! It was lots of fun, chatting up a storm and trying not to breathe while pulling sticks from the jumbled structure. It's Nightmare Night tomorrow and we made plans to meet up here. Except for Fluttershy. Nightmare Night is not her thing. Chatting about it and what we planned on wearing was throwing off her game, so we talked about other things.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Not Her Element
Nov 21: That was a fun Nightmare Night with my friends. Even Fluttershy joined us for a while... with mixed results. I should explain what Nightmare Night is.
After the harvests, when food is plentiful, it's another way to celebrate, relax and party. It was also a way to defuse the terror of the eventual return of the slumbering Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon. During Nightmare Night, everypony puts on disguises, decorates the town with scary faces, and gives out candy. This way we make two paired associations: fear with fun, and the unknown (disguised ponies) with reward (candy).
For extra measure, we sweeten the deal by making a sacrifice, giving some of the candy to Nightmare Moon, for the common good. Thus, we say we go in disguise so Nightmare Moon wouldn't know who gave her what candy, prompting her to spare everypony equally.
It's pony psychotherapy. It's also a lighthearted way to calm the nervous Nellies everywhere. There are always a few. Disguises also encourage pranking, which adds to the fun. But nopony really remembers these little details anymore. So when the Mare in the Moon was no more, nopony thought to cancel Nightmare Night. It has taken on a life of its own, an excuse for a fun costume ball with games and generous gifts of candy.
The Tree Castle is really far off the foal candy-quest circuit, so it doesn't get that many visitors on Nightmare Night. We decided to meet here at sundown before heading over to Rarity's Boutique to put on the costumes she'd made for us this year. Then Fluttershy showed up, looking to "borrow" some carrots for her bunny. That was a surprise. Usually she doesn't even answer the door on Nightmare Night. It's too scary for her. It was a whole new level of surprising when she volunteered to join us.
I put out a big bowl of candy by the door. Spike (who already had his costume on) went questing in town, and the six of us went first to Rarity's place for our outfits and then to Sugarcube Corner for fun and games. That didn't work out to well for Fluttershy, who was anything but relaxed, even though Pinkie proposed very mundane games. I got an idea. Since we couldn't come up with anything, maybe if Fluttershy was the pony pulling the strings, she would be able to join us by running the game, but since she would be trying to scare us, she wouldn't be scared. It was worth a try. It flopped.
We wandered around Ponyville while Fluttershy set up in her cottage. We took in the sights, munching on sweets, then we went to Fluttershy's place. Her 'dinner theater social disaster' set up was just not scary. Inventive, but something that would not keep me up at night. We moved on to collect Spike and go try the Sweet Apple Acres corn maze, without Fluttershy.
The corn maze was fun, but not that scary, until Fluttershy, with the help of her critter companions, scared the oats out of us. I guess paired association kept us from keeling over from shock when we realized it was Fluttershy stalking us and we weren't all going to die.
Long story short, Fluttershy has tried Nightmare Night and she still doesn't feel that it's fun to be scared, or to scare others. It's not her thing.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
The Future is Coming On
Nov 22: Panic! The Canterlot Explorer's Society talk is in two days! I think Spike is getting sick of hearing me timing my talk, shuffling the order of the different modules, trying different forks in logical progression, juggling the numbers, anecdotes and props to retain the interest of all three personality types... I'd better get some quality sleep tonight. I tend to mumble when I'm tired. What if I'm tired tomorrow?! What if I drop my cards? Maybe I should triple check to see that they're all numbered. And then bind them together! Or not. Time for some breathing exercises.
Welcome to my primal fear.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Last Minute Review
Nov 23: The Canterlot Explorer's Society talk is tomorrow. I am calm. I am focused. I can do this.
My preamble will go like this: It all started with a foal's storybook from the Crystal Empire, sent to me to help rebuild my book collection which Tirek had incinerated when he burnt the Golden Oak Library to the ground. The storybook tells a cute story about how winter came to Equestria, and it goes like this. {Read book, project transparencies of the book pages}. I didn't dwell much on it until I had a chat with my friend Moondancer. She had seen a different telling of this story on a scroll fragment in the Canterlot Mane Library archives. This led her to do some research. Next thing I knew, she, via a quirk she had discovered in the Haycartes spell, appeared in one of my books and announced to me that she was in the Crystal Empire and that she was on her way north on an expedition! {Place open Haycartes' Treatise on Ponies on projector plate, Moondancer appears}. There she is now! (Speak directly to Haycartes book, invite Moondancer up on stage to share why she went and what happened next...) {Moondancer tells how she knew where to go and what to look for and what happened up until she and Lemon Hearts fell into Winter's icy slumber}.
...
Thank Moondancer for her help, move on to our expedition.
1. Our gear and supplies. Show examples of horse blankets and boots designed by Rarity. Our camping equipment and yak gear. Short list of staple foods and power cubes. Our yak guide, Machur Lulach. Group picture of us in our winter gear and snow goggles.
2. Map of the route we took, with camp sites indicated. Pictures and descriptions of the terrain. How many hours we walked a day, approximately how far north we went, how long it took, how cold it got.
3. Star charts from Yakyakistan covering portions of the heavens not seen in Equestria but sadly, not as far north as we went.
4. Arrival at Winter's castle of ice, already described by Moondancer, explain how we succeeded in thawing everypony, allowing us to escape and the ancient explorers to disperse. With Winter lurking in the tunnels, there was no time to explore. {pictures by Pinkie}
5. Our rescue by an unknown pegasus constellation.
6. The other cultures we met however briefly: the long eared Cirrostratans, our caribou companion, our guide and our brush with Yakyakistan. {pictures by Pinkie}
7. Home safe and sound. And very skinny. The expedition was longer than originally planned.
8. Question period.
That should take about an hour. I'm going to pack my saddle bags now. That way I can repack them with everything I forgot three or four times before I catch the Friendship Express to Canterlot with my friends tomorrow. Wish me luck!
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Nopony here
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Canterlot Explorer's Society Lecture and Dinner
Nov 25: I should have mentioned that it was an overnight stay.
Yesterday we were seven ponies, one dragon and a mannequin riding the late morning Friendship Express to Canterlot. Me, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Lyra Heartstrings, Pinkie Pie and Spike. The mannequin was for the talk. I was far too distracted to notice the trip.
Minuette met us at the train station and gathered up my companions to show them where they could drop off their overnight bags. While they were off trotting about town, I headed to my old place, carrying the mannequin. There I met up with Moondancer and we prepared for the talk. A few hours later, Moondancer left to catch up with the others back at the train station where they welcomed our yak guide, Machur Lulach. I went straight to the Canterlot Explorer's Society hall to test the set-up in the ballroom, dress up the mannequin for northern exploration, and stash my cards, transparencies and Treatise on Ponies in the podium.
Not much longer now. I went into the room reserved for their guest speakers, furnished with a table, a cushion, water to drink, quills, ink, scrolls, a mirror and a wash basin. Hay wafers on a silver tray. I couldn't eat. Shelves packed with old issues of the Canterlot Explorer's Society quarterly journal. I couldn't read. The wait had me sweating and champing at the bit. So I made myself stop pacing. Worked on my breathing. Focus. Live the moment. Like Zecora taught me. Calm and ready.
Just in time.
There was a light knock on my door. I opened it to find a pony waiting to tell me it was time. Down the hall I could hear the sound of many ponies chatting. This was it.
I waited at the stage door as the crowd grew silent. The chairpony of the Canterlot Explorer's Society made a brief statement, introduced me and during the polite applause, I took her place at the podium.
Good evening. To every adventure there is a beginning, and this adventure began with a tale in a foal's storybook. I was given this book by Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, along with many other volumes, to help restock my personal book collection after the Golden Oak Library was incinerated by Tirek. The storybook tells a cute story about how winter came to Equestria, and it goes like this.
After Moondancer gave her account of what drew her to travel so far into the Frozen North, I talked for about an hour. It was distracting to talk to a room full of ponies seated at round tables, sipping their drinks, whispering to each other from time to time. The lights in the room were dimmed a little to make my transparencies easier to see, but I could see everypony very well. Did I know that pony? That other pony looks familiar too. Was that pony laughing at something I said? So many ponies dressed in sequins in the room, sparkling like frost in the night. Now everypony is looking at me. Change the transparency! Next subject!
After the applause, there were many questions. About the Haycartes spell, about why didn't we map Winter's ice castle, did we bring home samples of the frost, will we be going back, what did it feel like to be in such an ancient building, is Winter a threat to Equestria, and so on. Then it was over and I got to sit down for supper.
I was at the Very Important Ponies table, with the society heads, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and other notable ponies. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that Fancy Pants had a chair at the VIP table. He does seem to be the type that enjoys hearing of exploration and adventure exploits. As it was, I did a lot of talking, and not much eating.
I think my friends had more fun at their tables. They were seated at two tables of seven. Pinkie and Dash sat with Lemon Hearts, Moondancer, Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lyra Heartstrings. That was the party table. The other table was much more sedate: Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, my parents, Applejack and our yak guide, Machur Lulach.
Between Dash, Pinkie and Minuette, the gags, balloons and confetti were flying every which way. The food too, as there were at least two impromptu food fights. It looked like bread sticks versus croutons. Lemon Hearts is a Canterlot palace event organizer and there she was, under the princesses' noses, constructing makeshift crouton catapults out of the cutlery. I obviously have not been going to the right parties at the palace.
At my parents' table, things were much less wild. Machur was the epitome of yak sophistication and panache, manipulating pony utensils and glassware with ease, dressed to the nines in gold leg bands and sparkling crystals that dangled from braids in his mane. Rarity was in her element, my parents looked charmed, and Applejack looked like maybe she would have preferred to sit at the party table. But then Spike got a scroll, quills and ink, probably from Moondancer, and he was busy writing things down. The whole table was intently discussing something. They told me later that they were trading recipes and techniques.
Princess Luna got my full attention when the conversation at my table shifted to talk of constellations. She pointed out that a constellation is made of several stars and thus out of several personalities. The pegasus that saved us could not have been just Summer. Summer may have been the dominant personality, as evidenced by her driving Winter back, but the other stars may be her companions from her lifetime, or just other ponies with similar nurturing tendencies. It's rare for constellations to form a figure that resembles their form in life. The form a constellation takes is the embodiment of their collective drive, in the same way that a cutie mark is the illustration, often symbolic, of a pony's drive or ability. The map is not the territory, but it is an abstraction of the essence of the territory. A constellation is an abstraction of the essence of the collective motivation or commonality of the stars that joined it. The point is, the constellation may not have been Summer but it could be the combined will of many lives that together act as Summer would. You can't exactly go up to a constellation and ask, either. If you can get their attention, constellations generally don't speak. Their actions and replies are the consensus of a myriad of voices and as such, that generally results in simple activities and an entity that forgets that you are there and just listens to itself think.
The dinner finished late and rather than leave early and run to the station to catch the last train back to Ponyville, we stayed overnight in Canterlot. That way we could see Machur off safely to his morning train the next day. Rarity went to her boutique (with her mannequin); Machur stayed at my old place; Pinkie and Lyra stayed with Minuette; Twinkleshine put up Fluttershy; Dash and Applejack "crashed" at Lemon Hearts' house; and Spike and I stayed at my parent's place.
This morning we got up early, said goodbye to my parents, collected Machur and went to meet everypony else for breakfast at a restaurant Minuette recommended. After breakfast, Rarity went back to review some orders at her boutique, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts left, Moondancer went to the library, and the rest of us gave Machur a guided tour of some of the things to see in Canterlot.
Machur, his saddle bags laden with Canterlot specialties, caught his train back to the Crystal Empire, and soon after, Rarity arrived and we boarded our train back to Ponyville. Home at last. Canterlot Explorer's Society dinner: a success.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Moondancer Corralled
Nov 26: I was relaxing in my reading room, pouring some chocolate peppermint tea when I heard Moondancer calling me from my Treatise on Ponies book. I'd stacked a few copies of Applejack's magazines on top of it but there was a corner of a page showing, with Moondancer's head and a waving hoof peeking out.
She's hiding out at my old place. It seems that ponies have been interrupting her studies all day and into the evening since my In The Field lecture two nights ago. They all want to learn the Haycartes spell. Oops. She also got a letter from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns inviting her to do another guest lecture, this time for the Advanced Magical Techniques class. If you guessed Haycartes Spell, you get a carrot and advance three spaces.
Moondancer was trying to not look too put out, but her tail was swishing. I don't think there are any flies in my old place. At least there weren't any two days ago. Well, if she agrees to teach that class, she may get away with not getting asked to teach it over and over again, one pony at a time. Or not. At this rate, Moondancer is going to end up becoming a professor, either by plan or by default. Her first article is soon to be published, in the Journal of Cultural Hippology and Magic no less! She's doomed. Sorry, Moondancer.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Walk, Crumble and Fall
Nov 27: The trees are really pretty this time of year. I went out walking the fields this morning and down to Whitetail Wood. I returned home hungry for some apple crumble. Spike baked some this afternoon. What would I do without Spike.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
Game Night Get Together
Nov 28: It was a crisp day today. Short too. I decided to round up my friends and have a game night in the Treecastle. With food, or at least substantial snacks.
Late morning, Spike and I went to the market to see what we could find. Squash, roots, hay (I have lots in my pantry), silage, fresh alfalfa (looking a little yellowed), still lots of apples (hi Applejack), dried mint, sugar cubes, milk, flour.
After lunch, Spike went around with the invitations while I got out the games and brought them down to the mane hall. Bookchase, Ring Fling, Bundle of Sticks, Tangle, Piaffle and Rope Rings. Quills too, lots of quills, ink and scrolls for score keeping and for quill on paper games like Tic Tac Toe and Bulls and Cows. I set up the tables and the cushions. Put out plates, cups and bowls, and pulled out a book to read until Spike got back.
Spike returned and we got cooking! He made bread, I got out the hay crackers, alfalfa cubes, peppermint sticks sugar cubes and a few jams. I brought down the mint tea, tea pot and water so I could start it brewing after everypony had arrived. I got a few flakes of second and third cut hay from the pantry. Spike fluffed up the hay and threw in some dried daisies and chopped up dried rough bedstraw to make a dry salad. And last, he cooked a squash, added hot sauce and pureed the mix. Right before the guests get here, he'll open a jar of silage and stir that in to make a salsa. You have to be careful with silage.
While the bread was rising, we went to Sugarcube Corner to see what we could find. We came back with cherry pie, cupcakes and a chocolate dip. I put out more hay crackers and a candle to heat the chocolate dip. I also put out more water. Hot mint tea may not be what a pony may want to wash down a burning mouthful of Spike's hot sauce salsa.
The bread was cooling in the mane hall when our friends began to arrive. Lyra Heartstrings arrived first, followed by Rarity and Applejack. Rainbow Dash was delighted to find the Ring Fling game waiting and challenged Applejack to a tournament. Pinkie, Lyra and Fluttershy got into a game of Tangle, distracting Rarity, Spike and me from our game of Bundle of Sticks. I think that Tangle was the favorite game of the evening. We all had a go at it. I can't say if anypony really won at that game, it always ended with everypony collapsing into a giggling tangle of legs, manes and bodies. But that is the point of Tangle. Silly fun. Everypony wins.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
At Your Peril
Nov 29: I've started work on the article that the Canterlot Explorer's Society publication has requested. They sent me several examples of articles with notes on style, length and illustration that they expect me to emulate. It looks like I'll need to cut out a lot of the backstory and details. I'll need to focus on the trial of surviving the cold, the wonder of Winter's ice palace and the cultural shock of Yakyakistan. I'd better not make it sound like a walk in the park or before you know it, there are going to be dozens of frozen pony tourists entertaining Winter.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°
High Society
Nov 30: Today I received a wax-sealed scroll, via special delivery. The primary document, written on high quality cotton paper, was a proclamation of my appointment as a honorary member of the Canterlot Explorer's Society. Not a subscription to the quarterly journal, membership in the actual society. That's worth a lot of bits. It probably means that if I attend any of their dinners, I sit at the VIP table. There was also an RSVP where I am requested to confirm acceptance of this membership. The Canterlot Explorer's Society membership committee is so sure that I would jump at the occasion that they have apparently sent the out the cart before checking to see if it was hitched to the horse. Should I accept?
They also sent me a schedule of the In The Field dinners. There is one a few months from now where the speaker is Professor Intrepid Tölt. He's one of the explorers we rescued from Winter! Seems that he was a big name that vanished centuries ago and nopony knew where to look for him. I'm going to go to that one.
°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°Øo.¸¸.•*´¯`°