Journal of Twilight Sparkle
Wednesday, March 3
Applejack stopped by today around lunchtime. She told me of Rainbow Dash’s leave. Apparently there’s been an incident at the Cloudsdale Weather Factory, and a heavy storm is brewing. I can’t say I’m surprised. The sun hasn’t set yet, and it’s baking outside. Ponies are panting because walking is extraneous; I’m watching them from the library, where I have as many fans going as possible. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the heat had fried some of the factory’s systems. I’d be on fire if it weren’t for these fans.
Spike’s enjoying it though, so at least one of us is happy. He’s actually off right now with Fluttershy, accompanying her to her house to check on Angel. Fluttershy doesn’t want to go, that much was obvious. As she walked home, I watched from an upstairs window; it looked like the sun was melting her legs. She had to lean on Spike just to get two steps from the library door.
Before they left, though, I sent another letter to Celestia. I hope Spike returns with a scroll in his hand. If he doesn’t... I don’t know what I’ll do. These ponies are looking up to me for some answers, but I don’t have any. The only way to get answers is to return to that castle and do some more looking. Perhaps a better look this time; last time we barely scraped the surface of the ruins. I’ll have to go alone though. I won’t take Fluttershy back there. I won’t do that to her.
And with Dash gone, I don’t exactly feel safe bringing anypony else out there, in case I have to make a quick getaway. My wings will carry me, and I can carry somepony, but four ponies? That’s out of the question. No, until Dash returns, only I will go into the forest. I must remember to inform Mayor Mare and make sure she informs the rest of the town. Nopony is to go into the forest until the eclipse stops and I can get in contact with Celestia. Not that they’ll have a problem with it, but it may stop the few adventurous ponies who feel like they should investigate (no doubt to earn a cutie mark...).
Once Spike get’s back, I’ll venture back into the forest. I have to know about that castle. Where did it come from? It wasn’t always there, I’m sure of that now. No, that was not there before. Does it have to do with the sun being stuck at midday? I’ve asked the guards if they knew anything, but their responses are short, choppy, and always negative. They know less than I do. Which makes me concerned that something happened to Celestia. I know her, and she would never put crops at risk like this. Not unless it was an emergency, but even then, what sort of emergency could require the sun to hang in the sky like this?
I’m going to go to Rarity’s today, before I venture into the woods. This way somepony will know where I am. I’ll record the conversation in my journal, just in case something important is said and I need a reference. Then, I’ll be off into the forest. Celestia help me in that ruin. Just thinking about it makes me... uneasy.
Wednesday, March 3
I’ll start with the conversation:
“Rarity,” I told her over a cup of tea, “I’m going back to the ruins.”
She gasped and shook her head, mouth open but no words to say.
Sipping the last of the tea, which I was very thankful for (her tea is the absolute best, and it always calms me), I nodded firmly to her. “I have to go. I’m a princess now, remember? These are just things I have to do.”
She sat beside me now. “But dearie, you mustn’t go alone. Take Applejack with you, or Pinkie. You know they both are never ponies who tend to laze about. They need the excitement.”
But I shook my head here. “No, I’m sorry Rarity. What if something happened and we needed to dash? I can carry a pony, but not two, and not far. It’s not safe, and I won’t let anything happen to you guys. That’s why I’m going in there. I’ll be back before sundown, no worries.”
“If the sun sets this time,” Rarity remarked, and that was the end of that.
Before leaving town though, I stopped by Town Hall to visit Mayor Mare. She’s looking pretty bad now, and I suggested she really get some sleep, but only after doing me a favor. I told her that if she could assemble the town for a meeting tonight, I’d take over the situation completely, and she could get some rest. I’ve never seen a mare resign her duties as fast as she did, but like I said, I don’t blame her.
So then I left down and trod through the eerie swamps of the Everfree. This place never gets easier to walk through. Behind the wailing reeds and the frowning flowers there always seems to be a spook, a shadow that watches. The trees don’t help either; it’s like walking through an army of skeletons. At least the sun wasn’t eclipsed this time, and I could see clearly.
The ruins in the day seem to be less daunting, more real. I can’t explain it, but they seemed more real, as though they truly had been there long. Still they were slanted at their fallen angle, but now I could get a good scope of the structure. It was triangular, it seemed. Walls, which seemed to comprise the bulk of the interior castle, connected three separate wings of towers, through, as I have said, the only standing tower is the tall one in the back, and even it stands at a strange list. But now I could see something that seemed to be a way into it.
Left of the tower was a smaller tower that was part of the back wing, collapsed into it’s twin. I quickly made for that tower, gliding above the rest of the ruins on the warm wind. To my right was a clocktower, part of the right wing, though the clock seemed stuck at midnight. Interestingly, I’ll add for my notes, the clock seemed to be quite fine, unharmed by whatever had befallen the castle. I’ll be sure to investigate it soon.
After gliding across the marsh-soaked courtyard, I landed on the roof of the tipped spire and made my way into the tall one. The first room I found to actually be the third story, but the first two were caved in, and thus blocking the entrance. Stairs curve up the inside of this tower from story to story, but it seems the story above the third is locked behind a metal door. Again I am puzzled by the layout of this castle. The only thing I could find in this tower (on the parts I could enter, that is) was a painting. It was very peculiar, of something that I’ve never seen before. In fact, I believe we are on the precipice of a great discovery!
The upper part of the painting was torn away, and despite my scouring of the room, I could not find it. The lower half I have carefully taken down and will transmute into the journal, just in case.
What is the most peculiar about this picture is the skeletons that the throne (I assume it to be a throne) is made of. Never in all my studies have I stumbled across skulls such as these. Is this a new species? Have we discovered something? I... I would be excited, and yet I must say that, given the circumstances, I am anything but. I must return to Ponyville now, and this will be kept confidential for the time being. I don’t want to scare anypony. They’re already scared enough.
Now, it’s about time for me to get out of this castle. I have a meeting to hold.
Wednesday, March 3, Evening
The meeting with the town went well. I explained the situation to the best of my knowledge, and I urged the townsponies to go about their business as they would.
“The moon is still rising,” I told them. It was, too, just off in the horizon. It seems that there will be another eclipse tonight. “I urge you all to take comfort in the fact that the princesses are in fact still there. Please go about your business as you will. I will continue to try and contact the Princesses.”
There wasn’t much to be said after that. The entire crowd was uneasy and shifting, but in the scorching heat, there wasn’t much to be done for it. In closing I suggested that they remain indoors with fans on and a cool drink in their hooves. Then I cracked a joke about Ponyville being “so hot that it won’t need the sun; it’ll be a sun.” Got a few chuckles.
But I can’t shake this. Today, in the castle, I felt very... strange. I didn’t notice it at the time, but now that I think about it, it felt almost like there was something there. This wasn’t the normal Everfree spook either. After an hour of thought and examination, I’m convinced that there was something there. A wild critter, a hard-headed pony, or something else, I’m not sure, but there was something. I don’t feel well now. So I decided a little while ago to lie down. Fluttershy urged me to take my bed, and she would have the couch tonight. The girl would hear no argument.
She’s doing well, though. Her animals are all well, she tells me, and her house is fine. Perhaps I should show her my find; she is the animal lover, after all. If anypony knows what kind of creature this is, it will certainly be her. But that can wait for the morning. I feel spent, and a nap would do me wonders. I’ll show her in the morning.
And maybe in the morning, there’ll be a sun-sealed scroll waiting for me.
Thursday, March 4, Dawn
It’s cool today. I woke up to feel a pleasant breeze drifting through my window, which I’ve been leaving open to try and keep some sort of natural breeze flowing. But today, it was cool. At first I was content to lie in bed, letting the welcome wind cool my sticky fur. But then I realized something; it was cool.
I’m looking out the window right now. Black storm clouds are blocking the sun’s light, and while that feels welcome, it’s dismal to realize that the weather machine had not been fixed in time. We now, of all times, are facing a brazoning storm. It worries me, so much so that I can’t even eat my breakfast. My mind is racing.
I need to find Applejack. We have to help the town secure the scaffolding and construction before the winds really pick up. Right now, things are cool, and the air has a nice pre-storm scent on it. But I can taste the dust in the air, and I don’t like it. The story will come fast and hard, of that I have no doubt. I must find Applejack. I’ll write more when I’m finished around town.
Thursday, March 4
Things are tied down and the town is set for the storm... whenever it decides to start. Thunder and lightning seem to be the “rain” here, but not much else has fallen save a few drops here or there. The wind has picked up for sure, and I can hear it howling outside. It sounds like a timberwolf, and it’s chilling. I can’t sit at the window for more than a few minutes at a time without feeling like ice.
After Applejack and I helped tighten the town down, we made a trip to Sugarcube Corner to see how Pinkie was holding up. What we found, however, was Mrs. Cake, who urged us to let Pinkie rest. She treated us to a seat and some coffee, which was nice, and then explained that apparently, just as the storm had covered the sun, Pinkie had one of her “Pinkie Sense” moments. Applejack and I aren’t entirely sure what to make of it, but Mrs. Cake obviously didn’t want to speak of it. She simply asked that we let Pinkie get some rest and to come by later.
So we went to check on Rarity, who was doing well enough. Carousel Boutique is laced with wooden scaffolding, and we quickly went through the rounds of it. After making sure it was set, we watched her do a bit of sowing and shared some thoughts over cups of tea. I’ll record as much of the conversation as I can remember:
“So nopony has heard from Dash, eh?” Applejack asked.
All of us, sipping on tea, shook our head. “No,” said Rarity, “but something interesting did happen, and I’m rather glad you’ve all stopped by. You see, last night I was watching to see if the story really was going to roll over us, when I saw a flock of bats fly overhead.”
“Bats?” I asked, remembering Fluttershy’s eyes that night. “Where were they headed?”
She looked at me, then to the storm outside. “The Everfree. I watched them go. Filthy creatures they are.”
I have to ask Fluttershy about them, now, and show her that painting. This crossed my mind at the time, but I instead said, “I’m worried. I haven’t heard from Celestia in... days now. She normally responds instantly. This delay is... kinda scary...”
Applejack nodded. “T’ain’t like her to be so quiet, especially with recent events and such. I reckon there’s a problem a might bit bigger than it seems.”
I agree. I wholeheartedly agree.
Thursday, March 4, Dusk
The storm still hasn’t started yet. Whatever malfunction it was, it must have been massive. Dash still isn’t back, and Applejack said that she’d be writing a letter to the Weather Factory for Dash just in case. As for me, while we’re all waiting for things to develop, I asked Fluttershy about the painting. And, to my dismay, she knows nothing on the skulls. Of course, she didn’t look for long; the sight of bone was enough to turn her into jelly yet again, and with all the recent happenings, I’m not going to stress her more than I have to.
I can see it in her eyes. She’s worn down, despite going for one walk a day, and only to her house at that. Spike tells me she’s doing fine, and she’s eating well, but I’m still worried for her. Fluttershy has a natural connection to the animals of Equestria, and I’m beginning to devise a theory on her behavior. With Rarity’s bat sighting, I’m thinking that Fluttershy feels no connection to those bats, and that must be throwing her off.
But then, if this is true, then those bats really aren’t bats. There’s something going on here. Even the guard feel it; they’re beginning to increase their shifts, even put ponies on double shifts. The whole town is on edge. Me? I’ll just keep my eyes out for Dash. We’ll see where to go from there.