Changeling Roundup
Dec 1: There are no signs of changelings in Ponyville! Not that they're that easy to detect. At least nopony I met is acting strangely. There are probably still neotenic changlings roaming Equestria, not every changeling is going to believe Thorax's claim that freely giving up love triggers the metamorphosis to the adult changeling form. Still, Thorax's changelings will do a far better job than the Equestrian Guard could do in rounding up changelings. Thorax's friendly changelings is the best possible outcome we could have had under the circumstances. The changelings in the hive know who's in the field and who they were tasked to replace and who the couriers are. The couriers will return on their own to the hive, but Thorax's subjects will have to go out and fetch the dopplegangers themselves. I suspect that many will be resistant to metamorphosing and that many will have been collected by Queen Chrysalis. With the help of an unchanged neotenic entourage, she should be able to gather quite a few. It remains to be seen if her nymphs consider the advantage of metamorphosing or if she raises an army from the ground up. This is far from over.
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Restless Nights
Dec 2: I joined my friends for lunch at Café Hay today. Over hot, comforting plates of hay fries, winter squash and silage ratatouille, grated carrot and apple salad and oat bread slathered in apple butter, we talked about how we're all holding up after our ordeal. We're all a bit jumpy, and we've all had nightmares with some variation of being paralyzed or tied up or drowning in green goo and trying desperately to wake up. Since nightmares about being paralyzed are also a reflection of natural muscle atonia during sleep, having just been through the real deal is feeding that fear while we sleep. The good news is that we've been spared intruder hallucination nightmares and Princess Luna is on her toes and helping us pull ourselves out of these bad dreams. In Rainbow Dash's dreams, she is having trouble with friendly, metamorphosed changelings popping up and getting in the way of the old changelings she would like to kick, if she could only move. We all can't wait until these nightmares fade away. The fact that Queen Chrysalis is probably plotting something and gathering old guard changelings somewhere does not help in the least.
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Safety In Numbers
Dec 3: Spike has moved his cot into my room. He says it's to guard against foalnapping changelings. I did not protest. What's left unsaid is who's watching over who. Truth be said, we're watching over each other. It's been a while since we've slept in the same room like this but I find the sound of Spike's even breathing reassuring. I go to bed late and Owlowiscious has been timing his return from his night prowls to follow me when I go to turn in. He perches high up on a bookcase and spends the rest of the night watching over us.
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Getting Nervous Nellies To Chillax
Dec 4: The Ponyville Hay Board met today, so of course I went. By now most, if not all of Ponyville knows that I had been abducted by changelings. I think some ponies are giving me a wide berth, like I might attract changelings, or worse, that I might actually be a changeling. At the meeting, several members were looking askance at me, staring until I looked their way. Maybe they hoped to catch me dropping my disguise. Every time I shifted position or even just twitched, almost everypony there cringed and looked ready to bolt out the door. One pony was sweating heavily. I got fed up. I put my hooves on the table and told them in no uncertain terms that I was not a changeling, that I did not have changeling cooties, and that I would appreciate if everypony at the table would just chillax and get on with the meeting. There was a stunned silence. A few ponies cleared their throats, then one nervous voice chimed in, stuttering. What is a chillax? So I had to explain, as best could, through examples and etymology, Rainbow Dash's vague portmanteau term, how it isn't a contraction, and with a brief mention of Levade Corral's Harness In Wanderland, from whence originated the term "portmanteau". That took about seven minutes. Several ponies had glazed looks and one had to be nudged awake. But they stopped looking at me like I was going to sprout fangs and suck the love out of them.
As predicted, we have a fairly big surplus of first cut hay. The Crystal Empire recovered nicely from their wild growth problem and they didn't need the 20% of our harvest that we had set aside. We are going to wait until just before the first cut next year before going ahead with the plan to use that hay as building material. We'll probably use it to build the walls of a hay barn or a silage warehouse. The architecture would be quite different from what we usually see in Ponyville, so it will be tucked away out of sight in one of the new fields.
Overall, our early-cut strategy is working and we are getting good prices for our hay. If the grass grows faster and stronger in the spring, we plan on continuing with the same strategy next year.
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Dusty Travelers
Dec 5: Apparently, lecturing the Hay Board has quelled the fears of quite a few ponies. It looks like word has spread throughout Ponyville and ponies are acting normal again when I walk by. Many waved and looked happy to see me. They really did think I was a changeling. The ponies in this town are crazy.
Starlight Glimmer and Trixie are back from the Village. They only got back a short while ago, dusty and tired from the road. They had walked all the way back instead of taking the train, even though they didn't have Trixie's wagon to haul. It's next to the castle, right where Trixie had parked it before Discord whisked the four of them off to the Changeling border. After scaring up a late supper of hay and grated carrot salad, Starlight stumbled down the hall to her bed and Trixie let herself out to go sleep in her trailer. They both look like they could benefit from a trip to the spa.
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This Calls For A Party!
Dec 6: We had Trixie over for breakfast and it wasn't hard to convince both Starlight and Trixie to come join me at the spa. We arrived there around mid-morning, earlier than Rarity or Fluttershy, so we didn't wait for them. We had our hooficures together but after the massage we split up. They wanted a seaweed wrap with a mud facial and I was not ready for that yet. It reminds me too much of being trapped helpless in a cocoon and those scars are still fresh. Floating in a hot tub was out of the question and even the thought of the sauna made me claustrophobic. So instead I indulged in a Crystal Empire oil bath. That was a lot of work for the spa ponies because my winter coat has fully grown in. They were combing the fragrant oil out of my fur for quite a while before they were satisfied with the result. Now my body just shines with every hair, I smell great and I feel so clean! If a changeling tries to grab me, it will slide right off. Ha!
They told me that the Sunset Festival went very well and that they had had a great time. Trixie put on a magic show and directed the closing fireworks display. Trixie is a self-professed expert on fireworks.
We stepped out of the spa a few hours later, three fresh, relaxed ponies, all shiny and clean, and right into an open air surprise party for our two rescuers. Pinkie must have been planning this since we got back, but still, she works really fast. The party was for Discord too. He showed up fashionably late and proceeded to pretend, badly, that he didn't care for the adulation. Pinkie had sent an invitation to Thorax, but he's very busy figuring out how to be Hive Leader and how to keep Chrysalis from stealing the nymphs away before they're old enough to morph.
At the party, Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack each told me at different times over the course of the afternoon, that they had heard that I had given a particularly boring lecture on axes that had lasted the better part of an hour, that I had recited several chapters from some obscure book and that I had put the whole Hay Board to sleep. I did nothing of the sort! My explanation was short, succinct and to the point and had nothing to do with axes! Nopony seems to believe me. Next time I'm going to use a chalk board and distribute notes.
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Game Night With Trixie and Starlight
Dec 7: Well, I can't top the party Pinkie threw yesterday, but my friends and I thought a nice quiet game night with snacks together with Trixie and Starlight Glimmer would be a good way to say thanks for saving our hides. Pinkie said we had Trixie on board at "snacks" and Starlight thought it was a good idea too.
Spike and I picked up some peppermint sticks at the bazaar, along with a jar of apple butter and a few bunches of carrots. Back at the castle he baked a few dozen oatmeal cookies and two loaves of lemon poppy seed bread. I got a few flakes of third cut hay out of the larder and Starlight Glimmer set up the tables, the cushions and got out the games. By the time Applejack arrived, with a fresh apple pie, the bread was coming out of the oven, the carrots had been cut into sticks, the cookies were piled high on a platter and I was brewing a big pot of mint tea.
I helped Spike and Starlight Glimmer carry all the food down to the mane hall. Pinkie bounced in with eighteen muffins, then Rainbow Dash arrived with hay crackers and silage sesame seed paste dip. Starlight went out to get Trixie, and while she was gone Rarity arrived with a box of sesame seed snaps, accompanied by Fluttershy who was carrying a basket of dried apple slices. We piled all the food on the table and sat down on the cushions to wait. Trixie announced that she and Starlight had arrived by setting off a smoke bomb. I discretely blew the smoke out the door before we all choked, and we all went over to the food table to fill our plates with snacks.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack naturally gravitated to the Ring Fling game and soon they were groaning or nickering in turn as the sharp crack of colliding wooden rings meant somepony had been knocked off the target. I challenged Starlight Glimmer to a game of Bookchase. Meanwhile, Spike and Pinkie were playing the Rope Rings game and Trixie, Fluttershy and Rarity were testing their skills at Bundle of Sticks. Trixie is amazingly good at the steady eye, muzzle coordination needed for Bundle of Sticks! I think she won every round. It must be her traveling showmare magician skill that gives her the edge. I think she may even be good enough to beat Zecora.
Starlight Glimmer almost beat me at Bookchase. I caught her taking notes on which books to read... I might need to get an expanded edition with more obscure references to Star Swirl's lesser known scrolls if I don't want to get pummeled next game.
We all had a good time. I even played a round of Ring Fling against Starlight Glimmer. We're both very bad at it. Then Trixie played against Dash. That was intense. Trixie beat Dash and Dash couldn't believe her eyes, Trixie's throws were always right on the money. She's really nimble with her hooves. But it was high time for everypony to turn in, we were all still a bit worn from yesterday's party, so Dash did not get her chance for a best two out of three series.
Starlight thankfully convinced Trixie to not set off another smoke bomb on her way out.
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Decanting The Works Of Wordsmiths
Dec 8: Winter is only a few short weeks away and there was a light frost in the fields this morning, especially in between the hills where the chill settled into pockets of cold, still air. The whiteness sparkled in the morning light until the sun's rays melted it all into dew.
After two days of socializing and parties, I was ready for a break. I spent most of the day in my library with my books. Starlight Glimmer had much the same idea, making a few forays into the library and retreating to her room with stacks of reading material. The printed page holds so many wonders. Worlds distilled into words right at our hooftips.
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The Falling Leaves
Dec 9: At breakfast, Trixie announced herself rested up and ready to get back to traveling. She hitched herself to her wagon later this morning and set off down the road, heading for the Crystal Empire. Starlight Glimmer hastily packed her saddlebags and went with her, with the intention of visiting Sunburst. Pinkie sent a note to Princess Cadence so that the Crystal Empire can prepare to receive them when they get there.
The early frost was back again and it has spurred Fluttershy and Amethyst Star into action. They were busy all day inspecting and renovating hibernation dens, getting them ready for our local critters. The leaves on the trees are beginning to look a bit tired and brown. They're just waiting to be knocked down for winter. Already, many of the trees will drop leaves whenever a few ponies walk by together. It's quite pretty, really, walking through a wooded area with a friend and getting gently showered by leaves. It's not something you'd see in the streets of Canterlot. That may be why Trixie and Starlight Glimmer walked back from the Village together. It's also part of the reason why I was out in the woods today, tagging along with Fluttershy and Amethyst Star as they walked through the falling leaves.
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The Elements of Goodwill
Dec 10: Suddenly, we're off to Yakyakistan. This morning Spike coughed up a scroll from Princess Celestia inviting all six of us to an overnight goodwill tour of Yakyakistan. Hiking may be involved so we were told to dress for the cold and to bring sensible walking boots. We're to meet Princess Celestia late tomorrow morning near the Crystal Empire-Yakyakistan border and proceed from there. It's just a one day trip and we should be back the next day. Our job is to be retinue for Princess Celestia and Prince Blueblood and to serve as gift bearers. Soon after I got all my friends around the Map Table to tell them the news, a courier arrived with the six specially wrapped boxes we are to carry. Rainbow Dash was itching to peek inside her box, but we convinced her to leave it sealed.
I have all my gear out on my reading table, organized, ready to wear and to be packed into my hiking saddlebags. Winter clothes, a purse of bits, bed roll, blanket, the wrapped box, boots, hiking saddlebags. Check! I also packed some light reading, just in case. I considered taking The Illustrated Book On Unnatural Snowflakes And Where To Find Them, but I doubt I'll have time to go prospecting for snowflakes, and if I have the guide on hoof, not getting to use it will be more frustrating than anything else.
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The Early Morning Train
Dec 11: I'm off to catch the morning train to the Crystal Empire and the road to Yakyakistan. Spike is minding the castle while I'm gone.
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The Road To Goodwill Is Paved With An Iron Stomach
Dec 12: After a very full day in Yakyakistan yesterday, we caught the overnight train back to Ponyville and we were woken up by the conductor just in time to collect our things and to stumble sleepily out onto the Ponyville platform. We decided to go to castle to have breakfast before everypony went home. When we stepped in the door we surprised Big McIntosh, Discord and Spike in the mane entrance hall, engaged in a full immersion version of a combat role-playing game. They must have been at it all night. I was going to propose we go to the kitchen instead, or Cafe Hay, and leave Spike and his friends to their "secret" endeavor, but Dash and Pinkie thought it looked like so much fun that they jumped right in and joined them. Applejack and Fluttershy wanted to watch, so Rarity and I went to the kitchen and brought down breakfast for nine. The players reached an ending point in their game, about the time Big McIntosh got impaled by an arrow in his knee, and we all had breakfast right there in the hall.
So yesterday we met Princess Celestia in her official pegasus guard-drawn chariot outside of the Crystal Empire, and we proceeded to hike up the road to Yakyakistan. The road looks a lot more traveled now than it did when we were here last summer. There are lots of wagon ruts in the muddy parts from yaks hauling Ponyville hay and other Equestrian specialty items up the steep grade. There were sections that are beginning to get paved with rough-hewn stones, especially in the marshy sections. We passed several yaks on their way to Equestria, and a few passed us too, on their way home. The yaks are no strangers to walking up steep trails, they move quicker than we do. Pinkie had brought yeti food that she set out for the yeti on Frost Field Glacier, but we didn't see one. By early afternoon we reached the Yakyakistan gates where Prince Blueblood and several high ranking yak nobles were waiting to greet us.
While we discretely caught our breaths, we were serenaded by a choir of yak calves who chanted something atonal that resonated with the distant snow laden escarpments. From there Princess Celestia and her Royal Guard proceeded with Prince Blueblood and his retinue in matched chariots. We followed behind as Prince Blueblood directed us through the streets of Yakyakistan and the surrounding countryside. It was a lot of walking with several planned stops.
At six of those stops and we met a notable or a few notable yaks and one of us would be called forward to present the preplanned gift we each carried. All the gifts were lovely which the yaks delicately opened without tearing the wrapping paper. Prince Blueblood had personally selected each gift and he took care of presenting them. He put a positive spin on any shortcomings our hosts might find with the gifts.
Thanks to Rainbow Dash, Princess Celestia had revealed what was in the boxes before we delivered them. She told us that the reason for not unwrapping the boxes was to keep them pristine until given (the Yaks can be very touchy on perfection), not to keep the gift bearers in suspense. Pinkie protested about getting told what it was she was carrying on the grounds that it would spoil the surprise, but the surprise was not meant for us and Princess Celestia answered Dash's query anyway. She told us that each gift was meant to represent something special from six different regions in Equestria. She described the contents of each as we walked up the steep grade to Yakyakistan: Sparkling edible oils in crystal decanters from the Crystal Empire; a trio of pony dolls in felted pony fur and decked out in fine clothes and jewelry from Canterlot; a pair of tiny rainbow generating clouds trapped in a bell jar from Cloudsdale; a conch shell from Puerto Caballo (when that was opened, Pinkie demonstrated how to blow it like a horn and how to put it to your ear and hear the ocean); Chocolate covered cherries and a big cranberry glass medicinal bottle of sweet cherry extract from Dodge Junction; and from Ponyville, three jars of zapapple jam. Prince Blueblood was in charge of framing the value of the gifts, we were just the ponies carrying them, although I'm sure it helped that we each thought that the gift we carried was choice. Each item was given as an open invitation to come visit Equestria.
Apart from being gift bearers, it was our duty to drink a lot of fermented milk. It's yak tradition to offer fermented milk to important guests and alas, we were important. Fortunately there was solid food as well, although by the fourth stop were were all getting a bit full. The yaks still remember the lost explorers we rescued from Winter's clutches. At each stop, after unwrapping their gift, our hosts placed something of equal value (by their standards) into the box and carefully rewrapped it. Our plan, back at the castle, was to unwrap our boxes over breakfast and see what they had given us in return1.
By the time the sun was flirting with the horizon we were very full of goodwill and back at the curving gates of Yakyakistan. A very large crowd of yaks had gathered to see us go and to bid us farewell. Princess Celestia set the sun and she and Prince Blueblood launched their chariots into the twilight and flew home to Canterlot. We took the road down to the Crystal Empire and the train station. It got really cold after dark and it even started to snow! In autumn! Fortunately we had our winter clothes on and the brisk walk downhill kept us warm.
We didn't stop in the Crystal Empire this time and we didn't see either Trixie or Starlight Glimmer. They are probably already in the Crystal Empire now, visiting Sunburst (and getting a parade too, no doubt.) The Crystal Empire ribbons of light were carrying quite a bit of joy earlier. It's toned down to general contentment now, probably as the crystal ponies settle down to sleep.
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1 Applejack's box was packed with flaky layered pastries topped with dried cranberries and dripping with honey, plus an ornate bottle of vanilla extract; Rainbow Dash received a very light but warm yak down scarf; Pinkie found an etched bronze hoof ring in her re-wrapped box; I got a few bags of fragrant exotic tea leaves; Rarity was gifted with a colorful stole with interlocking geometric figures; and for Fluttershy, in the box that she had been carrying the yaks had packed a small delicate whirligig wind-catcher.
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Games Ponies Play
Dec 13: Spike told me that his "secret" game night activity wasn't always this exciting. At least, nopony ever got an actual arrow in the knee before. It's that Discord joined them this time, and Discord, being Discord, made the game quite a bit more real. Usually Spike relies on weighted story elements in a fantasy setting that get propelled by decisions made by the players and outcomes dictated by rolls of dice. It's like that find your fate book I got trapped in, but with more decisions and with many random outcomes from each decision. I'm not touching that game.
Stargazing is the game for me and tonight the shooting stars are afoot. My Almanac promises that they will be bright and rambunctious. I'm going to brew one of the teas given to us in Yakyakistan and I'm going to sample that while wrapped in a warm blanket and watching the night sky.
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Pumpkin Soup
Dec 14: While out restocking the pantry with Spike I noticed a sure sign that harvest season is pretty much over: the fresh produce at the bazaar is scarce. There are still a fair number of squash and a lot of root vegetables, but many stalls are carrying only dry goods and preserves. We bumped into Rainbow Dash there, sporting her new yak down scarf, tied up smartly around her neck so it wouldn't get in the way while she's flying. She said that it's very warm. By then we'd filled Spike's baskets and my saddle bags and we were heading home so I invited Dash over for lunch. Spike made a pumpkin sesame soup while Dash and I made a grated carrot salad, fetched some second cut hay and got out the bread and apple butter. After lunch we played a few rounds Cloud Clash before Rainbow left to tend to her tortoise. The cool weather is making Tank lethargic and Dash is only too aware that her pet is going to be moving into a winter den very soon. They were going to scout out locations as soon as Tank wakes up from his nap. I suggested they consult with Fluttershy. Winter is just a week away.
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The Shut-Ins
Dec 15: It was cold, wet and miserable out today. I stayed inside under a horse blanket where it was warm, reading books and eating comfort foods like pumpkin beet pulp soup. Starlight Glimmer had caught the morning train and arrived in Ponyville around midday. She had a good time in the Crystal Empire but all the attention has worn her out. She's retired to her chambers with reading material and a big flake of hay. I guess she's had her fill of rich food for a while.
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Hot Chocolate
Dec 16: The weather is still brisk but the sun feels good. I went out looking for Fluttershy to see how her winter preparations were going. Unfortunately she was not home. She must be out in the field again with Amethyst Star. I'll try again tomorrow. Instead I had a hot chocolate at Sugarcube Corner with Pinkie Pie. We're going to be on the same team for the Running of the Leaves, the one going through Whitetail Woods, and Pinkie wants go on a few practice runs around town over the next few days. I think that's a good idea, so I'm joining her for those.
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Born to Run
Dec 17: Pinkie came knocking at my door before breakfast, wearing legwarmers and a sports whistle (for sport related emergencies), all hot to trot. And gallop. Seeing her legwarmers, I felt a bit under-dressed. What would Rarity do? What would she wear? Not a hat, that would fall off. Ear muffs are too warm. Maybe a scarf. A breezy silk scarf. I invited Pinkie in and we picked out a fine scarlet scarf and I tied it on securely. All ready to go!
Pinkie's plan was to run once around Ponyville, crossing the river on the Saddle Lake bridge, along the riverside to the windmill bridge, around Ponyville again and back to the castle. From there it would be straight through town to Café Hay for breakfast. Sounds good to me. I tightened my scarf, Pinkie reared up on her hind legs and kicked the air, and we were off, through the fields towards the outskirts of town! We galloped at first to shake out the tickles and bursts of adrenaline and then I slowed down to a fast trot. Pinkie slowed down until I caught up and as we circled Ponyville I explained what I had read about pacing. Meanwhile, several ponies out grazing and taking a morning walk saw us gallop by, and as we slowed to a fast trot, a few came pronking and cantering up from behind to join us. Running is infectious.
Pinkie slowed down to confirm what they had guessed, that this was a fun run and a warm up for the Running of the Leaves. Pinkie caught up again with me as we crossed the first bridge. We were now five ponies pounding down the path, high tailed and blowing steam into the cool morning air. I asked Pinkie about the hoof ring from Yakyakistan, which she had managed to re-purpose as a ponytail ring at the base of her tail, holding it in place with knot and several long hairpins. It was bobbing around a lot and it looked to me that she could get jabbed by one of those hairpins at any moment. Pinkie said this was the only way she could think of wearing it, yak hooves are a lot thinner than pony hooves and there was no way she could wear it as a leg band unless she cut it and opened it a lot wider.
As we trotted toward the windmill bridge, a couple of foals had followed us on the Ponyville side of the river and had ended up waiting for us to cross the bridge. They knew one of the three mares that had joined us and they asked to run with us. Of course! Now we were seven circling Ponyville through the morning mists and long shadows, our pounding hooves turning heads. Here and there a pony out walking and taking in the air would watch us wide eyed as we rushed past, and if caught by the whirlwind in our wake, toss their manes and come barreling after us. Soon we were ten ponies feeling the thrill of the blood pounding through our veins, the rush of the air and the flexing of our hooves on the hard ground. Twelve ponies, we rounded a corner and there, down a straightaway, the castle! I pulled out all the stops and kicked into a straight, hard gallop, streaking down the road to the castle as fast as I could go, Pinkie right behind me practically breathing down my neck. Nearly there, I veered right and kept going, around the castle and slowing gradually to a canter as we got back to the entrance. The two foals were just then arriving at the castle and blowing hard. I was feeling a bit winded myself. Everypony caught up, and with a lot of giggling and snorting, we trotted slowly back in town. Most of them went back to whatever it was they had been doing before getting swept up in our little run, but the three that had joined us before the first bridge stayed with us. We had caught our breaths, cooled down and reined in our wild spirits by the time we reached Café Hay. We were ready for a civil breakfast.
By chance, Rarity walked by while we were waiting for our orders and she joined us. She didn't seem too keen to come running with us tomorrow, but watching us run by would be more her style. Talk of style led to fixing Pinkie's ersatz tail ring. Earlier, Pinkie had broken one of the hairpins and had poked herself with another when she sat down at Café Hay. Her high pitched squeak had led Rarity to look our way and spot us at the Café. Rarity pulled out the pins and replaced the ponytail knot with two infinity braids, one below and the other through the yak hoof ring, and tied the two braids together with ribbon under the tail. That ring is still too big for a pony tail. Maybe Pinkie should get it stretched.
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A Mare With Many Hats
Dec 18: This morning Applejack and Rainbow Dash joined us in our warm-up run. Following their suggestion, we ran a circuit around and through the orchards at Sweet Apple Acres, after which we had breakfast in the Apple family kitchen.
Dash has finally decided on the perfect den for Tank. It's in a high, well drained area, on a south-facing slope and protected by a grove of trees. It's quite near where Tank hibernated last year.
I went to see Fluttershy after breakfast to see how I can help after the Running of the Leaves. I noted that Dash had chosen a den for Tank and I asked Fluttershy how it went. She said that the den Dash chose had been one of the first dens Fluttershy suggested to her, if not the very first one. But Dash had to see all the other available dens, just in case. She may have driven Fluttershy just a little bit batty. Fluttershy tells me that Dash has started decorating Tank's winter lodgings and it's looking like a Daring Do shrine, with a few flying awards thrown in for variety. There's even a little Tank-sized bed. Tank wasn't present during the den renovation -- Rainbow wants it to be a surprise. Then Rarity arrived and we stopped gossiping. Rarity had her saddlebags full of warm knitted and felt hats for the hibernating critters, which she dumped out onto a table. I helped sort those and the ones Fluttershy had collected during Winter Wrap Up by size, type and species.
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Hotcakes
Dec 19: I got ready bright and early to meet Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash at the castle door for our morning run. Pinkie still arrived before I did, but at least I managed a few stretches before Applejack and Dash appeared. I was feeling quite pleased with myself (despite getting beat to my own front door by Pinkie), I'd found a headband to match my scarf. Pinkie wasn't wearing the yak hoof ring this time, but she did have a scarf to match her legwarmers. Dash was sporting a scarf too, the one that was one of the gifts the yaks gave us. Only Applejack braved our training run without any fancy garb whatsoever. Her hat doesn't count, she always wears that.
Pinkie's plan was to circle Ponyville again, but going the other way around and finishing at Sugarcube Corner for hotcakes. We were all itching to pound the ground so without further ado, we were off! Charging off across the nearest pasture with Pinkie in the lead.
It's getting quite cold at night now. The cold lingers late into the morning, leaving a touch of frost on the grass and shrouding the Ponyville river in a freezing mist that rises lazily and barely peeks above the sides of the riverbanks. The frost makes the grass slippery and brittle and as we thundered through the pasture in a sweeping curve toward the edge of town, I could hear the rattling grass stalks hiss as they shook in our wake. By the time we reached the edge of the field we'd burned off our excess adrenaline and we were blowing great gouts of hot steam. Pinkie eased onto the road at a distance-friendly fast trot.
We amused ourselves by synchronizing our hoofbeats, the four of us running as one. We were having a great time and just like the last time, several ponies that watched us trot by couldn't resist the pounding call. They kicked up their heels, dropped what they were doing and came galloping up to join us.
Crossing the bridges was a bit tricky. The mist rising from the river had left a heavy frost on the structure and the sun had not risen high enough yet to burn it off. My hooves were sliding in every direction and we came close to getting tangled and tripping, skidding over the bridge and back into better traction by virtue of luck more than out of skill. I stepped a lot lighter crossing back to Ponyville on the next bridge.
I think we were twenty ponies circling the castle at the end of the run. The frost was melting fast and Pinkie's legwarmers were soaked, so were my legs. We went straight from the castle to Sugarcube Corner and the promise of hotcakes. We slowed to a walk and entered -- a table was already set for us, so we rested our rumps on stools while Pinkie ran upstairs to remove her wet garments and Mr Cake fetched our reward.
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Extended Trot
Dec 20: This morning I practically sprinted out of bed, grabbed my scarf and headband, tumbled down the stairs, galloped through the cavernous entrance hall and burst out my front door with my cold weather wear in my mouth, only to nearly collide with five ponies waiting there. Pinkie and four others who wanted to join us. Still not the first to arrive at my own door, not by a long shot. Princess Celestia hadn't even raised the sun yet! Phooey.
When Applejack and Rainbow Dash got here, we were already fifteen ponies raring to go. By now all of Ponyville knows we're doing this morning run. For this last run before the real deal tomorrow, Pinkie took us across the fields at a full gallop, heading directly toward Canterlot as the pegasus flies. At the far end of the pasture she turned right, circling back in a wide arc to the river, which we followed toward Ponyville. I thought maybe she'd lead us to some place across the river, like maybe halfway to Rambling Rock Ridge? But no, we stuck to this side of the river and ran through the more sparsely populated areas in and around Ponyville, which is good since we wouldn't want to spoil the fun by knocking down the leaves that a Running of the Leaves team had planned on.
By the time we had crisscrossed Ponyville twice we'd become a small stampede of ponies, rattling windows and pulling a small gale behind us. We slowed down to a synchronized extended trot for the final leg back to the center of town, our hooves clapping to the ground in time, the rhythm making our hearts bounce and attracting everypony to come watch our parade. Then at last, breakfast, at Sugarcube Corner. Hot apple hay blintzes.
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Fall's Farewell
Dec 21: I got up bright and early this morning, "bright" in the figurative sense since Luna wasn't due to lower the moon for about another hour. I figured I'd have plenty of time to get some breakfast before heading out to join Pinkie and the rest of the ponies on the Whitetail Woods run. It's the Running of the Leaves day! I had a lot of running, raking and critter caring ahead of me and I figured a good breakfast would be essential to keeping me on an even trot. I left Spike undisturbed and still sound asleep in his basket, closed the bedroom door and headed to the kitchen. I heard the clatter of dishes down the hall and the sweet aroma of cooking pancakes. I wasn't expecting Starlight Glimmer to be up this early. Or to cook pancakes without burning a few. It wasn't her.
I entered the kitchen to find that Pinkie had let herself in and had cooked breakfast for both of us! The pancakes were stacked twelve high on the table and more were on the way. I guessed the extra pancakes would be in case of pancake emergencies. I was a bit sore that Pinkie had again beat me to my own front door again, and this time, even to my own kitchen! But those pancakes really smelled good, and after four days of morning runs, I found that I was ravenous! I got out the syrup, apple jelly, butter, plates for four, and I put on the kettle for tea. Pinkie flipped a pair of pancakes (she had two griddles going at once) and turned to say: "Alfalfa oat pancakes! Breakfast of champions!" So they were. My book on long distance running stated that a diet rich in alfalfa, third cut hay and oats was essential in offsetting the caloric and protein requirements of the long distance runner. I went to fetch a flake of third cut hay. On the way I bumped into a bleary eyed Starlight Glimmer. She mumbled that she thought she smelled pancakes, so I nudged her toward the kitchen.
Sated and full of pancakes, we left Starlight Glimmer with the dishes and I went to rouse Spike on our way out. He wouldn't want to miss out on a pancake breakfast. I packed a few cold pancakes and a bunch of oat bars in my saddle bags and left them by the door on our way out. Pinkie and I stepped out into the dawn light.
It wasn't as cold this morning as it had been a few mornings ago, but there was still a touch of frost on the ground. Pinkie was running au naturelle, so I left my scarf and headband at home. We trotted off into town and went to the town center for Mayor Mare's pep talk and to join our herd. There we saw Rainbow Dash and Applejack in with the north woods runners and Fluttershy, Amethyst Star and Rarity rallying the critter care team. It was well past sunup before we had our numbers pasted to our flanks and we had cantered over to the starting line. Spike was there to officiate the start of the race. All the teams started at the same time, but their finish was dictated by the length of the circuit they were running. The sheer number of ponies running together causes the deciduous effect to spread far and wide through the woodlots, but having a few teams on different paths ensures clearing all the trees around Ponyville. If the leaves don't fall, more winter snow gets trapped by the branches. The snow laden branches then get too heavy and they break. Spike gave us the ready, get set call, and we were off and running!
Pinkie and I ran by the book, pacing ourselves until the last two furlongs where we sped up to a full gallop and sprinted to the finish line. We passed a lot of ponies but there were some really good runners in our group. I came in fifth again. Pinkie came in fourth. It's still funny to see the looks of shock on the faces of the exhausted ponies we galloped past on our way to the finish.
After catching our breath, we went to join the ponies raking up the fallen leaves, swinging by the castle on the way so I could collect my saddle bags. Pinkie and I shared a few oat bars. The rest of the day was spent raking leaves, rounding up critters, distributing supplies to the animal care team, and checking checklists. Then Cloudsdale's clouds arrived, laden with snow. Our day was over, I invited all my friends over to the castle for an early supper and we got inside just before it started snowing really hard. White-out conditions.
After supper, full of rich Ponyville hay and hot chocolate, we stepped out into a world gone white. The weather ponies had already cleared the clouds so above our heads the stars twinkled and at our feet countless hoof-made snowflakes glittered in the moonlight. I called for a Winter Moon Festival, with just the six of us, to celebrate the beginning of three months of rest, and to celebrate our Princess of the Night. There are also meteors galloping the skies tonight. We got out the picnic blanket, a bunch of horse blankets, and some snacks. Rarity found some candles.
We found a good spot in a field and spread our picnic blanket. Rarity stamped holes in the snow to shelter the candles and we huddled together and passed the snacks. It was very peaceful. While the land slumbered under a blanket of white and Luna's sky sparkled, we counted shooting stars.
Autumn is over. Winter began today.
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Down The Path Of Little Resistance
Dec 22: Rainbow Dash came pounding on my bedroom door early this morning. Much too early this morning. I was happily sleeping in after yesterday's combo of cleaning out fall and watching for shooting stars until the wee hours. It's the holiday season, isn't it? Three months of holidays, as of now? But Rainbow Dash can be insistent and I stumbled groggily out of bed to find out what the ruckus was all about.
She'd already half dressed me in my scarf, hat and ear muffs by the time I'd pulled enough wool from between my ears to gather that she wanted me to go sledding. Spike was already there, on the hill. Everypony else was already there, except me. There's hot apple tea to drink, toboggans, muffins, an awesome jump! Rainbow had collected a few snow laden clouds yesterday and she had parked them right over the hill. It was now belly-deep in fresh, fluffy snow and getting slipperier with every pony that sledded down it. I had go. So I went.
The cold air woke me up and before long I was careening at break-neck speed down a white on white nigh cliff, seeing nothing but the ears and mane of the pony ahead of me, screaming in primal fear all the way down to the foot of the slope, only to get up and scramble back up the hill, collecting my stomach from where it had abandoned ship somewhere near the summit of the run. It was loads of fun but screaming that much in the cold air has made me a little hoarse.
I think I must have been shivering for an hour after I got home. Spike built a fire in the sitting room fireplace and I sat there under a warm blanket while nursing a big mug of hot chocolate peppermint spice tea and watching the flames. Brrr.
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Winter Ease
Dec 23: It's really cozy, lying on my cushion by the fire in the sitting room. A good book, a hot cup of chocolate peppermint spice tea and a crackling fire makes winter pleasant. I could use some fresh reading material. I should go see if Fluttershy would like to go to Canterlot with me and browse the bookstores. Now that we have sent the birds south and most of the critters into hibernation, she should have more time for reading.
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Appetite For Books
Dec 24: Fluttershy didn't want to brave the bookstore crowds this time and it was too short notice for Rarity. She's preparing her spring apparel line, so I went to Canterlot alone. By late morning I'd stepped off the train and I'd popped over to Celestia's School. I trotted downstairs to Physical Hippology and Archaeology and made my way through the maze of pony artifacts in subbasement D. I peeked into the workspace reserved for Prof Quest's research. There I found Moondancer up to her ears in manuscripts. The science of hippology does not pause for winter, but luckily for me, it will take a break to go book browsing with a good friend. Moondancer knows all the best stores for buying books.
It was snowing in Canterlot, but getting caught in a flurry while shopping in a city built into a mountainside lacks Ponyville's charm. The cobblestone streets are often steep and they get very slippery fast when it snows. I fell a few times.
We made it to the district where most of the booksellers have their shops. We got out of the weather and down to the serious business of selecting books. Just the best ones. I can't take the entire store home. A Shadow Spade novel. Some collections of scientific letters. Land of the Tapirs by Pier Biddet. A biography on Mare Cutie. The Cutie Mark of Dorein Bay by Ostler Wild. A Hairy Thatchet book. Another by Pasture Ffjord.
While we were in a big Barns and Pommel bookstore, we asked what was new and good in Neighponese illustrated books. I chose one I thought Fluttershy might like. It's risky buying books for somepony else. I really tend to buy things I'd like to read, and Neighponese illustrated literature is very low on my list of preferences. Barns and Pommel likes to make tempting display piles of half-priced books, placed right near the entrance where you can't miss them. I poked through the books and one was an illustrated joke book called 101 Uses For A Raw Carrot. Moondancer and I snickered over some of the illustrations showing ponies using carrots in silly, unlikely and even unsanitary ways. I bought that book for Pinkie. It was half price!
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Fir Ever Boughed
Dec 25: Happy winter tree festival, people of the "World Wide Web"! May your houses smell like fresh conifers, may your pastures grow as green and may your friendships be as bright as your candles!
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Stabling
Dec 26: I have no projects due and the Map Table doesn't spur us off on that many tasks, but I do have a library full of books and a pantry full of hay. I could go for a walk tomorrow.
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Braving The Restraints
Dec 27: It's Rarity's usual spa day today and since I was feeling a little long-hoofed and grimy, I packed my saddle bags, tossed a scarf on and trotted off to the spa. It has been ages since the last time I went, and it showed. I had been avoiding going there. But if Rarity and Fluttershy were there with me, I knew I'd manage better.
I arrived about the same time as Rarity and we found Fluttershy waiting for us in the lobby. Excellent! I gave Fluttershy the book I'd bought for her in Canterlot and we decided on what spa treatments we wanted. I had Pinkie's book too, but she wasn't at the spa at that moment. Together we decided to brave the sauna before getting shampoos, massages and hooficures. No mud baths or hot tubs this time. Maybe next week, at least for Rarity. She really likes what getting plastered in mud does for her complexion.
We only lasted about ten minutes in the sauna before busting out in a panic. We calmed down while rinsing off and I was only a bit antsy while getting my hooficure. Aloe spent a long time filing down the chips I'd picked up on my Leaf runs, both the practice ones and the real deal. I had a small rock wedged into my left hind hoof and I didn't even know it. She asked, teasingly, if I wanted to keep it. Meanwhile, Rarity and Fluttershy were already getting massaged. After the massage I was so relaxed I was wobbly on my hooves while getting the full body shampoo, conditioner, blow dry and wing wax. We stepped out of the spa into the crisp winter air shiny, clean and fluffed. Clean fur keeps out the cold, especially fluffy clean fur. This called for hot chocolate at Sugarcube Corner!
We found a table, ordered hot chocolate from Ms Cake, and a wild Pinkie appeared! We captured her with a mug of hot chocolate, and as she took her place at the table I pulled out the book I'd bought for her. Pinkie flipped through the pages and we looked in over her shoulder, giggling over the ridiculous raw carrot uses, none of which actually involved eating them.
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On With The Shows
Dec 28: I'd forgotten that Starlight Glimmer had bought tickets to the Bridleway show Manespray ages ago. Well, over lunch she told me that her reservation is for the end of next moon. You often have to get your tickets that far in advance if you want good seats, especially if it's as popular as Manespray. Trixie has agreed to go with her. I hope they take the train this time.
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White Out
Dec 29: Cloudsdale sent us snow today to build up our protective snow cover. If there are any ponies that don't go on holiday for three months in the winter, it's the weather ponies. It was a serious snow storm that they parked over Ponyville. I went out to admire and classify the snow flakes and I got plastered head to hoof in snow. It was light, insulating snow, but it was warm enough out that it stuck to everything. The windward side of the castle was completely white and the trees are very pretty. Ponies came out soon as the storm ended to clear the streets and walkways. That's a good thing because this snow quickly compacts into ice wherever we walk. For the castle's walkway, I have Spike. He blasts the snow away with dragon fire. He does a good job at that, even blasting away any weeds that may have taken hold in our walkway while he's at it.
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Bitter Cold
Dec 30: It got bitterly cold overnight. I went out for a trot this morning, warmly dressed and blowing steam from my nostrils. The air was still and the deep blanket of snow muffled my hoofsteps. I plodded through hock-deep snow drifts in a field, drawn by sharp retorts coming from the woods on the other side. As I got closer, the sound became clearer. The trees were making snaps and bangs as the sap under the bark froze, expanded, and made the wood crack. It was really cold. After a few minutes of listening to the random bangs, I had to turn around and head back to my warm fire in my tree-shaped stone stable, disturbing the pristine white blanket as I went. Below the snow, protected from the bitter cold, mice went about their business in the relative warmth of the subnivean crawl space.
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Canterlot Explorer's Society Talks
Dec 31: I'd received a letter from the Canterlot Explorer's Society a few weeks ago with a list of speakers for the upcoming series of In The Field lectures. As an honorary member for life, I don't have to pay to attend these lectures, and they include dinner. The due date for my reply is fast approaching so today I had another look through the list and there are a few I'd like to attend.
There's one, about cloud hopper conservation, that would be fun to go to with Fluttershy. I'll have to ask her if she'd go to that with me. In another lecture, Dr. Intrepid Tölt is back, this time talking about Griffonstone1. Since he was there centuries ago, before it fell into ruin, this should be very interesting. When Spike gets up I'll ask him to send a note to Princess Celestia asking if she's going to that one. I also need to clarify if honorary members get to invite a guest to sit at their table. I'd like to invite Moondancer.
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1 Griffonstone, Then And Now. Rescued explorer Dr. Intrepid Tölt returns to Griffonstone following his harrowing release from being trapped in ice at the hooves of a windigo and relates what Griffonstone was like in its hayday and its outlook for the future.
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