//------------------------------// // 36: One Massive Fort Update... And Some Broken Laws of Physics. // Story: My Little Fortress: Dawnpick // by Paaaad //------------------------------// 7th Malachite, 256 I'm so excited! I've been thinking it to myself for a while now, but it's finally gotten to the point where nopony could deny it any longer. I'm pregnant! I stopped by the hospital to talk with Panacea today, and she had Wool work a little magic to confirm it! She says I'm due in anywhere from two to three months now, but it's hard to guess. Just one little foal, but I didn't really doubt that. She said she can't tell if it's a boy or a girl yet, nor can she tell what kind of pony it is. I'm not sure I want to know, keeping it a surprise just makes me even more excited. Harvest Moon was overjoyed to hear it too. I knew he secretly wanted a little foal of his own, and now he'll have one! 27th Galena, 256 I suppose things had been going a bit too quietly lately. We had a bit of an upset with the caravan that arrived. From what I gather, some of the guards were assaulted and there were suspicions that some ponies might have attempted to either make off with merchandise and/or bribe the guards to look away. It took some convincing, but I managed to calm them all down. I offered them all a free hot meal in the dining hall and some drink to ease the tension. Once they were all settled I talked with the caravan master and paid for the damages. I hope our relations haven't been too strained by this. That little Granite was largely to blame for this is unsettling to say the least, but I spoke with his father and I think his parents will be handling any disciplining there is to be done. I didn't tell them this, but we ended up paying a few thousand bits out of the town treasury to settle everything. Normally I'd be a bit more upset about that than I am, but we're so oversupplied in everything we need I don't think the money will be missed. Not that we can make it a habit, of course. 28th Limestone, 256 Today was the day! Little Rose came into the world today. She's more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. The moment we saw her, both Harvest Moon and I knew the name Rose was hers. We were both quite shocked to learn that she was a unicorn! I don't have any unicorn blood in my family as far back as I can remember, although Harvest Moon says he has some on his mother's side. I suppose that's just the way it happens. We'll worry with how to teach her magic when that day comes. Right now I'm utterly exhausted. I knew childbirth was painful and draining, but until you've gone through it, you really have no idea. I owe Wool a tremendous amount for the pain relief he was able to give me though. Both he and Panacea are wonderful doctors, and we all owe so much to them. 2nd Sandstone, 256 Something terrible happened today. I'm not sure what they were doing down there, but several ponies were exploring the caverns earlier today. Flux got scratched up pretty badly, but Jaxler was all but killed. I feel horrible for him. If Stiletto hadn't been there, both of them would surely have died. The stress of dealing with the ponies here getting injured, and nearly killed, is starting to wear on me. I don't know how much more if it I can take. I don't know how they even got in there. They must have bypassed the trap for some reason. Maybe Flux was just inspecting it. I don't know. I need to speak with him about making sure that nopony else gets by it, especially the children. I'm exhausted. Raising a child is more demanding than I think either of us realized, and I haven't been getting enough sleep lately. I'm sure I'll manage though. I've got the best stallion in Dawnpick to lean on when I need to. Which has been more than I'd hoped for lately, I'm afraid. 11th Sandstone, 256 Grapple's church was finally finished today. I haven't heard much out of him lately, which makes me wonder if maybe he's ticked off enough of the locals to keep it all to himself. Whatever the case, I'll let him know next time I see him that the work is done and he can do with it as he sees fit. It's not much to look at. Just some tables and chairs. I'll probably designate it as a meeting area, which I haven't done yet. A little scare today had me remember to return the military to active duty. Jaxler was busying himself making some bolts for the guard when a diamond dog stumbled upon him. He put the thing down with a few shots of his crossbow using those new bolts, but if a diamond dog was able to sneak into the settlement that means it's time to get everypony back on their hooves watching for trouble. The badger ponies likely won't be far behind. I also heard that we've got a new member of the guard. Somepony named Kat asked to join up, and Partisan let her in. That makes four crossbow armed ponies to back up the militia and watch for trouble. Our settlement grows every year, so we'll need all of the help we can get. I hope she does well. Which reminds me. I saw Billows give Falcata her repaired armor today. I think we're going to start a tradition where those wounded in battle will get a medal of sorts. In this case I had Billows fashion a small medal out of some of the gold we dug up and stud her armor with it. She's nearly died twice on our behalf. I think she's earned it. He also gave her a suit of double-weave chain to replace her current chain mail. It's a bit heavier, but even more resistant to damage. I hope the rest of the militia isn't put off by her getting the gift. Glaive and Halberd deserve something too, which I'll have to think about. Jaxler too, come to think of it. He nearly lost his life trying to save Flux. That deserves a reward too, but I'll have to think of what. Perhaps a medal like Falcata's. Woohoo, studded with gold. It's not much, but I couldn't think of much else to do that seemed appropriate. I didn't want to go overboard, else Virtue feels even worse about looking like she's playing favorites. 17th Sandstone, 256 These strange moods have taken a frightening turn for the worse today. Sienna, one of the older foals was possessed by some desire today and claimed a craftspony shop. That this madness could grip even our children frightens me to the core. Will Rose be next? I shudder to think of the possibilities. At least nopony has shown any ill effect from them yet. I fear that may only be a temporary thing though. Speaking of foals, Naginata gave birth around lunch time today. I had a bit more sympathy for her when I heard about it this time, and went to go see the little earth pony filly, who she and Marbles named Floral. She's adorable, just like Rose. I worry what might happen if Naginata is ever badly injured, or worse, killed. To leave so many ponies behind would tear my heart out. But she insists on staying in the militia. 19th Sandstone, 256 Sienna has begun feverishly working on whatever it was she started on. At least her possession will be over soon. While I watched her work away, I saw Stiletto and Flux worrying themselves with the well. I know it's been a bit stagnant lately, so we've needed a solution to that problem. Perhaps they'll think of something soon. 23rd Sandstone, 256 Sienna finished her crown today. I'm not sure what to make of it. She claims she's never heard of the creature depicted on it, and neither have I. For now she said to do with it as we wanted, so I had it moved to the stockpiles. Maybe we'll find a use for it some day. After taking care of that and seeing to it that she was alright, I bumped into Flux who told me that the entrance to the mines has been completely surrounded with traps. That should keep the badger ponies out, although the diamond dogs seem to be able to get by the traps without much difficulty. In any case, we've made it abundantly clear to everypony that the traps are there, and especially for the children to not go near them. After what happened to Flux and Jaxler, and doubly so now that we've got traps there, I think only the miners and militia when needed should be heading down to the mines. That ought to keep the badger ponies out. Haven't had a big problem with them and the mine, but why take chances when I'm stuffed to the gills with steel? 25th Timber, 256 Now that the church and fishing pier have been completed, I had the masons go back to work on the keep, while the carpenters set back to building new housing for our future. The keep is likely to take another year to finish completely, but it's getting there. Once it's ready, we'll have an above ground safehouse if we need it, and a place to possibly station the guard to fire on intruders from safety. Speaking of thieves, we had a grand total of six attack today, which is a new record. Three badger ponies tried to sneak in, only to meet the militia after they were spotted by Partisan. One was cut down by Naginata as he tried to make off with her newborn. I don't have any sympathy for him. The second was killed by Sarissa, who intercepted him on the bridge after he was maimed by our trap network. The third tried to sneak into the mines where he met a similar fate by the new trap network. I suppose I spoke true when I said how dangerous the traps were. The other three were diamond dogs. Halberd killed one that made it onto the bridge, while Sarissa wrestled one to the ground inside the walls and crushed his skull. I was unfortunately there to witness that. Why they keep invading when they meet this fate is beyond me. At least the third had enough sense to run at the sight. Last we saw of him he was disappearing over the hill to the north. 9th Moonstone, 256 Glaze gave birth again today, making this her fourth foal. She and Cleaver named the little unicorn filly Wisteria. An interesting name for her, but regardless she was a cute little thing. I hope Granite and his siblings are looking forward to a new little sister! In unrelated news, the keep is coming along faster than I expected, and my new office is ready for me to move my things in. It's going to take some getting used to, since I've spent close to seven years in my old one, but I'm sure I'll get acclimated. I need the space. And I'm sure Partisan will appreciate moving his office out of the barracks into my old office, where he too can have a little more space. What's the first thing Partisan did when he moved in? Dropped his socks all over the floor. 15th Opal, 256 Apparently there was a bit of a mishap regarding Stiletto and Flux' new water purifier. I heard ponies shouting and came running to see it spewing water everywhere. Nopony was hurt thankfully, and they got it shut down in time. I hope they're a bit more careful before turning it on again. Whoops. Forgot to wall up the back of the dwarven water reactor. Let's try that again... 21st Opal, 256 Stiletto and Flux apparently fixed their little toy. I walked by today to see the great waterwheels powering a pump, which in turn powered the wheels. Flux swears it's impossible for a machine to work that way, but Stiletto enchanted it with some of her magic. It also cleans the water going into the well, which is being siphoned from the moat. We shouldn't ever have to worry about running out now! Speaking of water though, Ocean Breeze dropped by my office to tell me that she thinks we've fished up everything in the brook to the south. I'm not sure if there is anyplace else safe nearby to fish from, so I'll have to think about what to do regarding that. Maybe nothing for now, but we can maybe expand the pier if we need to. 8th Obsidian, 256 Loom gave birth to her first foal today: a little unicorn colt the family named Maize. Loom hasn't been particularly busy the past few months, but I officially gave her some time off anyway. I know what it's like having your first foal now, and I know she's going to need that time to recover and to get to know her little bundle of joy. After bidding them farewell at the hospital, I noticed Naginata and Glyph sparring out in front of the barracks. Glyph has come a long way since he switched over from being a mason to joining the militia, but Naginata is easily one of our best soldiers. She's close to Halberd's skill, and so he didn't get many hits in, but he's a fast learner. I think he'll do us proud one day. Looks like Glyph finally got a chance to spar with Naginata. 24th Obsidian, 256 The rainbow ponies arrived with a caravan today, along with our outpost liaison and homeland caravan. After our last little fiasco at the trade depot I was afraid word might have spread and traders would be hesitant to show up, but there were no problems. That is, until a couple of badger pony thieves attacked the caravan and slew one of their draft animals. The guards dealt with the problem at least. Once we got everypony inside, we helped them move some things to the depot and I traded for some of the usual things. I traded away some scavanged clothing and detritus left behind by previous encounters with the badger pony thieves, as well as a few crafts in exchange for some cheese, drink an orange tree and a chicken. I came to realize that we could use a little variety in our diet, so I'll make it a point to grab a few chicken hens or other poultry to try and get some eggs coming in. While all of this was going on, I hear Hickory gave birth to a pegasus Filly that the family named Clear Skies. I didn't get to see him today before they spirited off home, but I'll put in for her to have a little time off for maternity leave. 7th Granite Well, I'm not as excited as I was the day Rose was born, but today takes a close second! I was heading to the dining hall to snatch a bite to eat before I went to clear a few work orders, when I noticed that it was awfully quiet outside. Nopony was around! When I stepped inside, I was nearly floored by a surprise party everypony threw for me! I had no idea what it was for of course, until Harvest Moon stepped over to me and handed me a letter from Coupledye. Sealed by the king himself. Apparently he's so impressed with what we've done here, that he's appointed me baroness of Dawnpick and made the surrounding lands an official barony! The liaison officer spoke with Storm Cloud about it, and he seconded the recommendation. I'm glad he thinks I'm fit for the job! I'm not so sure myself. I don't know how I feel about being a noble of anysort. I'm just a regular pony. And it's a lot of responsibility. The letter mentioned that since we're officially a barony now, we're expected to start exporting some of the steel we produce here. It was our original purpose after all. I'll have to go check the stocks on that tomorrow sometime. But for now, I'm going to snuggle up with my stallion and get a little sleep. I think I might have had a bit too much wine at the party, and I'm pretty beat. Oh, but first, I forgot to mention Detergent gave birth to an earth pony filly today named Daisy. She wasn't able to make it to the party, but I made sure to have some of the food saved for her and her family. 19th Slate, 257 Totem was the next victim of the strange moods. I'm glad at least it wasn't one of the children this time. And he seems to be in a bit of a better mood than Sienna was when she was possessed. He's off to one of the workshops and is gathering random things. He hasn't had a lot to do here in Dawnpick lately, other than help Flux set up some traps, so maybe he'll find a new trade to start this way? 5th Felsite, 257 Totem finished what he was working on today: a giraffe bone crupper. It looks quite intimidating and would be a fitting part of our militia, except Halberd promptly told me it was worthless in a fight compared to steel and I suppose he's right. I told Totem he could keep it and do whatever he sees fit. I hear he hung it on the wall in his home, which seems appropriate. While I was worrying over that, Glaive stopped by and had a good recommendation related to the keep. He suggested a few things about fortifying it for use as a firing tower in the event that we ever do get invaders inside the walls, and I can't say I fault his logic. The idea about stockpiling some things in the cellar sounds like a good idea too. There's enough room for everypony to pack inside if we had to in an emergency, so I think I'll go through with his plans at the earliest opportunity. 11th Malachite, 257 My heart nearly leaped out of my chest when I heard from Powder Miner that something large had been caught in the ballista trap. I immediately had the guard head down there with Arbalest to take a look at killing it, but the ballista was positioned wrong so he couldn't get a clear shot at it. I feel kind of dumb now, looking at the plans. It's obvious what I missed, but we can't fix it with the beast in there. Instead I had the miners carve some fortifications into the walls so that the guard could take shots at it with their crossbows. Going to have to relocate the ballista or something I think. At least I got some fortifications carved to shoot and get some easy markspony skill! Partisan and his ponies shot all of the wooden bolts we had stockpiled but they didn't manage to get a whole lot accomplished. I sent down the order to Pewter to get some iron bolts made, hopefully they'll make a difference. 16th Malachite, 257 Morale took a bit of a dive after everypony heard about the beast, but by now everypony seems to have mostly returned to normal, since it can't get out. The bolts are almost ready to take another crack at the monster. I was a bit surprised to hear that Panacea and Saw Dust were married today, considering what just happened! But from what I hear this is what it took shy Saw Dust to propose to her. I talked with her a bit after the reception and she told me that he was a nervous wreck the night we captured it, and he decided it was time to move on in their relationship in case it was too late soon. I certainly hope it doesn't come to that, but I'm glad to see them married. They've been dating for seven years now, and I could see on their faces how happy they were. 20th Malachite, 257 Today was an extremely busy day, to say the least! It started out innocently enough, with me overseeing the relocation of a few of our workshops to make better use of our space. Yeah, it's a mess. Time to get that megastockpile converted into smaller special purpose piles and get the hodgepoge of workshops relocated to better locations. While I was working at that, I heard that Ocean Breeze gave birth to a unicorn colt the family named Crimson. I headed to the hospital to take a look at the newborn, when I went into labor myself. It was an amazing coincidence, but I suppose it couldn't have happened at a better time. I knew I had to be due any day now, but Panacea didn't think I'd give birth for another week or so. But nature makes up its own mind, and my little earth pony colt decided that he wanted to be born today. We'd picked out a few names for possible colts, but the only one that really seemed to fit him was Valor. I can't really place why, but that's just what his face said to me. Now we have two little foals to call our own, and I know Rose will be overjoyed to have somepony to play with when he gets a little older. I think two is enough for now though, being a baroness on top of a mother and manager is hard work! Harvest Moon came charging in at the news, and had news of his own, after he settled down and got to hold Valor for a minute. It turns out that the guard managed to kill the giant lizard in the trap. The iron bolts cut through its hide without hesitation, and Storm Cloud has the honor of getting the fatal shot. I think I speak for everypony when I say that this is a new chapter in Dawnpick's history. We no longer fear what lurks beneath the ground! While I was recovering with Ocean Breeze and talking about the things mothers do, Storm Cloud came in with another official letter from home. The king wants an update on our status, including census information and a tally of all of our stocks. I'm going to take a few days to recover, but I'll get all of that together as soon as I can.