Spring, Seventeenth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I have not seen the two foals for two full days now and I’m beginning to worry. The fact that I am beginning to worry is making me worry. I have spent most of my days in a tower studying and doing as ordered. I have never felt the need for personal connections nor have I ever felt pangs of loneliness. The trek from Unicornia was one of the most blissful stretches of time in my life. I had no other ponies to bother me nor intrude upon my thoughts.
Why now does the sting of isolation torture me?
Perhaps I’m going mad.
Unlikely given my age and mental acuity, but I suppose madness isn’t supposed to set in logically. There is also the possibility that all of this is some delusion brought on by something I have come into contact with. Not all of these plants have been categorized and studied and I have spent much time around them.
For my own sanity, I am going to find where those little ponies are staying. First, however, I will describe them in detail to have it on record and to refer back to in case something about them changes. This will be a good baseline.
FillySubject One:
Appearance: Approximately three feet tall with a white coat. Its mane is composed of pink, blue and green hair. It has both a horn on its head and wings on its side. Its eyes are purple and look like standard equine eyes. Besides the inclusion of both a horn and wings, physical appearance does not deviate from a standard equine. I have seen Subject One spread a wing, so I know that it has motor control over that appendage. Whether it can use magic is unknown.
Personality: Subject One appears to be the dominant one between the two creatures. It was the one to shout at my tent the first night and has been observed chastising Subject Two. Often observed to be in the lead.
Subject Two:
Appearance: Shorter than Subject One, but not by much. Approximately just under three feet tall. Subject Two has a grayish-blue coat with a pale blue mane and tail. I believe its eyes are green, but I will check later Its eyes are bluish-green. Like Subject One, it possesses both a horn and wings. Functionality of the appendages is unknown.
Personality: Subject Two is the submissive one of the pair given noted interactions. I have heard it speak twice. It was the one to ask if I had wings and was admonished for it. I believe Subject One saw the question as rude. Perhaps a sign of impulsiveness or immaturity?
I know I have a text on linguistics somewhere. If I brought it with me, then it would be in my trunk. I will endeavor to find it and go over my past notes about what they have said and see what I can learn.
-Starswirl
Spring, Eighteenth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I did find my tome on linguistics. Polly Glot’s Guide to Equine Phonetics and Language Structure. I do not know what possessed me to bring this along, but I am glad I have it now. This should help me if I encounter the subjects again. Perhaps I can get them to speak in full sentences and I will be able to diagram them and parse how their language is constructed.
As of now I only know of one complete sentence they have spoken and I will attempt to break it down the best I can with the help of the Polly Glot’s guide.
“Feh-tram leg-eel keh?” This is a three word sentence, a question, spoken by Subject Two. I am aware of the meaning of one of the words.
“Feh-tram” means wing, or ‘your wing’ if Subject One’s correction of myself is to be believed.
“Leg-eell” Shares same general sound with “Ehp-eel”, which both subjects have been heard saying as a form of greeting. This is a leap, but I will assume that these are meant to be pronouns. This would track with them telling me their names Ehp-eel = “I”. Leg-eel would then be equal to “their” or “your” given the context.
“Keh” This is a beard scratcher, but given that this is a question I must assume that this final word is the interrogative. “Where” perhaps? This stands to reason if my assumption of what Subject Two was asking is correct.
“Feh-tram leg-eell keh?” - “The wing of yours, where?” Would be a quite literal translation given current knowledge.
As for their names, I am still up the proverbial creek on that front. They are very long and dense words, the only way to learn is to study. So that is what I must do. I will need to speak with them more in order to learn more. To that end, I must locate them. So I will draw up a map of the area, detail the sightings of the subjects, and try to triangulate their possible hiding spots.
—-Addendum—-
I did not find it today. I narrowed it down to a few general areas, but the region is littered with natural caves and rock formations. To go through all of them would take weeks, if not months. They must leave signs that they are in the area, as any creature would. I can only hope that I do not encounter their parents and need to defend myself.
Spring, Twentieth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
Today was, and currently is still, eventful.
I had just finished searching a cave along the coast when Subject Two spotted me. She It called out to me, even attempted to speak my name.
“Staruhswirlbearden!” A childish mispronunciation, but I suppose the message had been delivered.
Before I knew it, Subject Two was practically on top of me. It pulled my saddle bags off of my back and searched through them. I assume to find another sweet roll. Thankfully, I had not brought any with me. Though it did succeed in dumping all of my papers, and in fact this journal, into the grass. Frustrating, but it did reveal that it had fully functional magic.
Subject Two often speaks fast and is unintelligible to my untrained ear. I did pick up the word “keh” multiple times, though. So I was being asked where the food was, no doubt. I did not have the words to explain that I did not have any with me. The only thing I could do was ask about Subject One by name.
My pronunciation must have been odd or perhaps it is the accent. Subject Two gave me a strange look but eventually relented.
“Yeh” - Yes. This would make sense as "Yeh-tan" I have assumed to mean "no". The only question I have is if the removal of -tan makes it yes or if the addition makes it no. This is important for how the language is structured.
I was led to where I am currently sitting: a cave that overlooks the ocean. It is nestled in the cliff and one whole side is exposed to a terrifyingly long drop. The entrance I was taken through is hidden by a wooden hatch covered with moss and grass.
The Subjects do not have the capabilities for woodwork, or at least I assume they do not. How many foals could make a hinge? Somepony built this for them. The question of ‘who’ lingers in my mind. I will endeavor to ask them after I recount what else transpired.
The cave they live in is not barren. On the contrary, it is quite well furnished for such a primitive dwelling. There are four beds, rugs on the stone floor, and even a bookshelf (though it is sadly devoid of any reading material). Despite the number of beds, only Subject One was present.
Subject One greeted me in the same manner that Subject Two had. So, now that I think about it, that must be a pronunciation the two agreed upon in their spare time. Perhaps it is an attempt to fit my name into their language.
Subject One also berated Subject Two. They were far enough away that I could not hear what was said, but it was clear that Subject One did not appreciate that I was brought here.
One thing is very clear to me now: they are indeed very real. This is no hallucination or delusion.
Now I am sitting on one of the rugs with both of them watching over my shoulders as I write this. Subject Two is just staring, but it feels like Subject One is attempting to understand the words. The only way I can think of to learn more of their language is to ask. I will use things in our surroundings, point to them and say my word for them and hope they understand the exercise.
“Ker” - Horn.
“Mood” - Mouth. This is another one of those words that feels similar to our own. It lends more and more credence to a shared language at some point in history.
“Nee-mah” - Mane/hair
I attempted to get a word for ‘beard’ but they kept insisting it was still “Nee-mah”. Disappointing as I am not Starswirl the Maned, and given my receding hairline that would be even more incorrect in a few decades.
“Ah-gen” - Eye
“Sah-pone” - Hoof
“Roh-peek” - Rock/stone
“Roh-peek-eh-lees” - Cave.
“Vehd” - Water
“Vehd-eh-lees” - Ocean.
I did not have to ask about that one, I guessed it on my own. As I spoke it, both Subjects One and Two bounced around the room in excitement. They are obviously very excited about being good teachers. I have to admit, I did feel a hint of excitement as well. It feels good to understand something for the first time and have your understanding affirmed.
On a more serious note, “eh-lees” seems to mean “place of”. Therefore it is not a “cave”, it is a “place of rock/stone”. It is not an “ocean”, it is a “place of water”. As I am not a linguist in any serious capacity, it is hard for me to discern what this means about their culture. Historical context is needed to understand the language and the opposite is just as true.Just having words is only giving me half of a picture. To get the full picture, I must speak with somepony that is not a foal.
I will ask about their parents somehow. Perhaps by miming rocking a child or motioning like I have a pregnant belly. There must be some way to ask about their mother and father.
-Starswirl
—-Addendum—-
That was a mistake.
I write this now, hours later and back at my own camp. I am unsure how to process what I have learned. So I will write it down here and hope that getting these words down onto paper will bring clarity.
“Averlas” - Mother or parent.
“Avertanlas” - ‘tan’ was also used in the word for ‘no’: “Yeh-tan”. My previous assumption that this is some lingual form of negation, as to say “not”, is correct. It is a strange thing to have 'no' not be 'no' but instead 'not yes'. This would mean Avertanlas means “Not mother” if that assumption holds true. So the father.
I got my first glimpse at their written language. It is similar to our own and has many of the same characters. This is supposed to be a joyous revelation, yet all I can find is sorrow in my own heart. For this revelation only came to me in the form of a word on a wooden marker in the ground atop an old grave.
“Averlas” I will never forget the pain in that word as that little white filly spoke it. Oh, my soul, it weeps for them. I cannot imagine their sadness or their loss or how they can stand to smile even on the sunniest of days with the cloud that must hang above their hearts.
Their other parent, I do not know where they may be. They spoke the word “Avertanlas” and motioned out towards the sky above the sea. They have been abandoned here, two tokens of grief deposited upon unknown shores.
I am filled with a pain which I did not know I was capable of feeling: pain for another. I hope in time this will pass as it is a most interminable feeling. Though I am struck by a reality that once you have felt such a thing, that searing empathy, you may not un-feel it for the rest of your days.
One more word was spoken. I can only assume it is their homeland. Some far away place across the sea.
“Skaros”