Journal of a War Pony

by CrackedInkWell

August 4 & 16, ?

August 4,? – I must apologize for not writing in this journal for the past week. The reason why I'm writing today is that I have some very good news. For the first time in months, I am able to hold still without shaking what-so-ever. According to Twilight, another week and a half, and I will be cured of my shell shock!

Today I showed Twilight a memory in which I told her that she better hold on for dear life, for she was in for a very bumpy ride.

It was the memory that I have on purpose left out of this journal. Up until now, I couldn't even write sentience without shaking at the thought of it. But now, thanks to Twilight, I can now again recall the day when I stared down the barrel of an enemy cannon.

I can still remember that cloudy day perfectly. After we gave the enemy a very heavy bombardment, we were given the order to go over the top. I still remember jumping over barbed-wire and into bloody mud. Ducking all the while from bullets and shrapnel. The only sounds were the men screaming orders or pain, and explosions left and right.

The thing was, I was looking at the ground the whole time, having no idea where I was going. I only snapped out of it when a bloke nearby shouted “GET OUT OF THE WAY!” was then I looked up and my legs froze at the sight of it. I was staring down a black hole of metal riffling. A second later, I saw from the bottom the igniting of the gun, and the only thought I had was I was going to die!

And then, I have pushed aside, and I saw the bloke getting blown out of existence and hearing the loudest boom of my life. A noise so loud that it sent me into temporary deafness. The next thing I knew, I was covered head to foot in blood, guts and who-knows-what-else along with a long one note ring in my ears.

The whole combination of nearly dying, covered in blood and couldn't hear a thing was far too much for me to handle. Thus began the longest two minutes of my life. You cannot even begin to imagine how terrified I was that I couldn't hear anything in the middle of a battle. One needs to hear the shouts of others to know where one is supposed to go. One needs to hear to know where the guns and explosions are. However, during that moment, to say that I was scared beyond my wits is a gross understatement.

With caution, I crawled my way back to the trench, very slowly, my hearing regained but I couldn't stop myself from shaking.

“This explains everything.” I heard Twilight's voice in that unbearable silence. Then I heard the familiar alarm clock going off.

She broke away, and I was able to see her turning off the clock. “So, was that the reason why you reacted the way you did with Pinkie's party cannon?”

“It brought back so much of that memory.”

“Well, look on the bight side, your not shaking anymore.”

And she was right! For the first time in all of those long months, I wasn't shaking at all.

“But that wasn't the last memory from that war is it?”

I shook my head.

“I would like to continue farther just to make sure we didn't miss anything.” I agreed I am almost cured now. But not quite yet.

August 16,? – At the moment that I'm writing this, I am on the Pony Express with Twilight; going towards Equestria's capital, Canterlot. But before I tell why, I must tell you that I am fully cured of that dreaded shell shock. Just as Twilight promised, I can still remember about the war, but it doesn't bother me now. In fact, the very last session was about Pinkie's party cannon. At least I can now sleep better.

Anyway, after the last session, Twilight along with her friends discussed how to take me home. In order to get me back home, they need to know two things, where to cast the spell, and how far back to send me. The question of where is already established, on the mountains near a place called Appaloosa. The trouble, of course, was how far back.

Twilight thought that maybe her teacher and one of the rulers of the land can help me. Celestia, if I'm not mistaken. The reason behind this is that she has ruled the land for over a thousand years and one of the oldest known living beings on the planet.

What's even more curious about this Celestia, is that no one knows how old she really is nor does anyone know anything about her childhood. As well as her younger sister that I've just been told from Twilight.

Yet, Twilight did find one clue, but it doesn't make sense. It's a surviving passage of a poem that has survived a fire. According to the unicorn, apparently, the poem must have some sort of very important information because both Celestia and Luna (the younger sister) ordered that every copy of that poem to be burned at the beginning of their rule. The surviving poem goes like this:

“For these three slept in a glass den,

asleep for a thousand times ten.

Awaken to a world without a tree,

where nowhere in sight were fish or bee.”

Twilight said that she has spent years to solve the cryptic meaning of the poem with no real success.

That is one reason why I'm going there, the other is because both the princesses (yes princesses, not Queens, every single pony always addresses the two sisters as princesses. I myself find this rather odd, I should ask them about that.) has invited both of us to their castle. Well, come to think of it, it was more like ordered us than anything else. They told us through a letter for us to come immediately, otherwise, why wouldn't we be on this train that's running at full speed in the middle of the night?