Years 0 - 9
Year 0, Spring.
I have no idea what happened. It should not have had happened. Really. I doublechecked everything. Go figure. That`s what happens when you do magical experimentation. Oh well. To the point. This is my diary. I`ve decided to keep it because, well.. I`m in a situation here.
My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I`m normally an alicorn. Well, lately, anyway. But right now, I am kitten. Yes. Kitten. Sort of. I`m using the word kitten because the body shape is close to kittens I`ve seen, and, well.. because when I woke up, I had the words "You are a kitten in a catnip forest." bouncing around in my head.
I`m going to state clearly that I have no idea why I`ve been afforded this diary, the quill that never seems to dull or the inkpot that does not run out. They`ve been in the satchel next to me when I woke up. Regardless, in my situation it`s invaluable.
Year 0, Summer.
It`s been a while. I can not do magic, so I`ve been... settling. The catnip is, amusingly enough, exactly that. It keeps me rather sated. However, I`ve noticed a tangible drop in catnip growth once the summer started. If that`s an indication of a trend, then in winter, catnip will be scarce. I`m setting up primitive catnip fields in order to bolster my food reserves. Must consider some kind of barn.
I`ve tried to look around, but I couldn`t locate anyone at all. There are animals in the forest, but they are quite wary and won`t let me close. Makes sence, I`m currently a predatory species after all, catnip diet nonwithstanding.
I have been thinking (and dreading it, if frankly), about my diet. Cats are obligate carnivores, but it`s been about two weeks and I`ve yet to feel any negative impact from eating only catnip. Nor do I really go crazy from it, like the cats are supposed to do. So... what exactly am I? No idea, so I am going to identify as kitten until I know better.
Year 0, Autumn.
I`ve left a bale of catnip under the rain and forgot about it. When I found it again, it had fuzed together into some sort of log. I`ve experimented and found out that I can reproduce this. Furthermore, the log thus created is a good piece of timber. I`m going to attempt a construction, I believe. I do need some barn, and a place to stay out of rain won`t go amiss either.
Autumn is upon me, and I`m worried. This world does not seem to have anyone managing seasons, which means they come and go as the air currents will. The thought is terrifying. But then I remember that Zecora does manage to live in Everfree somehow. So, by the same token, I should be able to, right? Still, a hut is a priority. I`ve made due sleeping under the convenient tree so far, but evenings are getting chilly.
Oh Celestia, will I ever get home? Without magic, it might be decades before I gather the necessary ingredients to attempt alchemy. Still, something to occupy my time with, if nothing else.
Year 0. Winter.
I`ve underestimated the quantity of catnip necessary to create those logs. Winter had came and I barely have enough timber for a hut. It will suffice, I suppose.
I`ve learned from the mistakes made back in Ponyville and built hut to be as roomy as I can. By my estimates, it can easily accomodate me and someone else. Which is good to have. Better to have space and not need it, then not having it and needing it.
Catnip wood is surprisingly lightweight. I`m glad it is so, otherwise putting those logs in place all by myself wouldn`t be fun. I thought about constructing a ship, but without any means to navigate by, I just might end up getting lost in sea. So to avoid unnecessary temptation, I`ve withheld from making a boat just yet.
Year 0. Winter addendum.
ANOTHER KITTEN! Today, a kitten found my hut. Unfortunately, they don`t have much to tell me. According to them, the society of kittens is... well, not. Everyone is for themselves, gathering catnip as they know. I`ve invited them to stay over, given their exhausted looks. They were duly impressed with the fields I`ve set up so far. According to them, this is a revolutionary idea.
Given that the fields produce some catnip even during winter, me and my new companion were free to harvest some more timber from the wood and clear out a space. This will be... Kittenville.
Year 1. Spring.
I have constructed a library. Well, a building that will grow into library, in any case. A place to plan out things, in any case. I have had counted the days and my feline companion knows something about the year cycle as well. I`m going to invent a calendar.
Without some way to track time at least on daily scale, agriculture will likely prove to be nigh impossible, let alone anything more complex. So... developing calendar and some seasonal basics at the very least. I`m trying not to think about it much, but I might spend years upon years in this catnip forest before I`ll find a way to return...
Oh Celestia, I want to go home....
Year 1. Summer.
Expanding fields. I am toying with the idea of constructing additional hut in hopes that it will lure in more kittens to settle with me, but I am wary of overpopulation. It wouldn`t do to invite everyone here only to let the starvation kill everyone, right? So calendar first, agriculture next, settler advertisements third. If I even need advertisements, that is. I might be misunderstanding my companion, but according to them, extra kittens will just, uh... show up, I guess, as I make accomodations for them. I`m not sure about the mechanics of this, but more helping paws won`t go amiss, that`s for sure.
Year 1. Summer addendum.
Couldn`t resist, built one more hut. Two more kittens arrived. How do they know exactly how many kittens I have accomodations for? Asked. Didn`t get a reasonable answer. "We just know." is the response. Something is off here, and I have no idea what. I don`t want to accuse them of spying on me, but they totally must be... Though why. And why come and settle with me? It`s not like anykitten is living lazy. Logging is brutal work, let me tell you.
Year 1, Autumn, 33.
Calendar is handy. The year here is weird, full four hundred days, a hundred per season. Catnip grows half again as good as usual in spring and only quarter of usual in winter. The summer and autumn are normal. Which means I can afford to take risks with catnip stock in spring, but should be cautious in autumn and winter, lest I end up without food for my little community. Thinking about supplementing it somehow. Cows, maybe? I think I saw some in the forest. Gotta consider how to domesticate them...
Year 1, Autumn, 53.
Saw an amazing astronomical event. A comet had passed so close I could see it with naked eye. Astonishing.
Year 1, Winter, 24.
The beginning of winter was a close call. With four of us, a quarter of field yield isn`t enough. Had to frantically gather more in the woods while thinking about ways to boost the fields. I figured it out in the end, but both of the newscomers have to attend the fields now. Meaning that we gain timber that much slower.
What we need is a barn to store a surplus of catnip in. If we had some safety net, things would be much less by the seat of a pants. But barn will need a lot of wood... Though that is just idle grumbling, we need the barn and that`s the bare truth of it. Regardless of how many logs we have to cut and haul.
Year 2, Spring, 12.
Finally got enough wood together to raise the barn. This will tide us over for quite a while, even if we are struck with completely barren fields. Well, once we fill the thing up, of course. Which, by itself, is not a trivial task, let me tell you. In my caution, I`ve planned the barn big, and dedicated most of it to catnip. Oh, we do have a space for logs set aside, and I`ve reserved some for a rock bin... A bit of wishful thinking here, I suppose, but sooner or later we will have to look into masonry. Some things just can`t be constructed with just timber.
Year 2, Spring, 65.
Expanding fields is harder now. More expensive in terms of catnip. But the gains are well worth it. Extra work beats starving in the cold. I was expecting some grumbles from my earstwhile companions, but much to my surprise, they agreed with proposal wholeheartedly. Well, the exact words were "Bigger is better, mew!" I`m getting this feeling they`ll be in favor of any new expansion, provided I don`t actually kill off my whole village by wasting catnip stock on it entirely. It`s been almost a year since we got any new faces around here, so I can actually understand their eagerness. More food means ability to invite more settlers.
Year 2, Summer, 2.
One of the kittens brought me a "shiny stone". It`s a metal ore. I`m thinking about mining. Having some iron for the tools would be quite a step forward in my new lifestyle. Oh Celestia, what an irony. What am I doing playing tribal leader for... kittens. They need me, though. I can show them the way to civilisation.
Year 2, Summer, 96.
I need to expand the library. Kittens are illiterate, of course, but they`re learning my writing. And me? I`m reduced to using wood panels to carve my words in, no way to make parchment. Yet at least. For some reason, this diary just isn`t comprehensible to kittens. Something about object makes them just go "Mew." at me when I try to show them anything. They CAN see the diary, that much I`ve ascertained, but there is some kind of... logic barrier, of sorts, that renders this diary of mine into a complete informational blackbox for them. Curious. Who gave me that diary anyways?
Year 2, Autumn, 24.
Expansion complete. Now I can plan out where to dig and what to mine, at least. Also, maybe, some kind of weapon for my kittens? Just because we didn`t encounter any dangerous predators yet, does not mean we won`t do so in the future, and they don`t have any kind of magic to defend themselves with. Nor do I, for that matter.
Year 2, Autumn, 75-78.
There was a meteor shower today, followed tightly by a partial eclipse. I`ve gained lots of inspiration observing such majestic events. Curiously enough, my kittens are more fascinated then frightened. Maybe their scientific curiosity is on par with mine? On one hand, a civilization of scientifically-inclined kittens could be a wonder to behold. On other, they already are enabling me far more then it`s healthy for one`s ego. I need to keep the people within my sights while I`m striving for greater picture. It won`t do to build a bright future on the bones of ancestors, after all.
Year 2, Winter. 26.
With the barn three quarters full, this winter is calm so far. We have communally decided to build another hut. We need more kittens around. The food expenses will rise, but we can afford that, now. It seems that the huts we can construct can accommodate up to two kittens per hut. Sadly, there`s preciously little space to place them, and before long, I might be reduced to adding second levels to huts rather then bother with clearing more of our, well... clearing. The amount of wood that has to go into shoring the hut up goes up for each new one. It makes little sense, to be honest. It appears that just about any upgrade or build-up in this world is incremental. The initial investment may be affordable, but each consequent one requires more and more resources. Bizarre.
Year 2, Winter, 89.
As the winter comes to wrap, I am planning on using up most of old catnip to fertilize yet another field, and fill barn with fresh nip for next year. If this pans out, I might make it my official strategy to expand during springs and bunker down during winters. Leftover old catnip will be converted to wood, it`s just not good to chew on anymore. Not when we`ll have abundance of fresh.
Year 3, Spring, 17.
I have constructed workable bows and began teaching archery to my kittens. As much as I`m loathe to think about it, we do need some meet to supplement the diet, so I`ve detailed one of the newcomers to train as a hunter. Other had shown aptitude for preparing lumber.
Kittens are surprisingly capable with the bow. Must be something inherent to predator species, as I`ve found my own ability to make leading shots to be significantly improved. Something with eye structure, perhaps?
Year 3, Spring, 85.
Compressing the remains of old catnip and adding some cut timber yielded sufficient wood to raise the fourth hut. I`m hoping a farming-inclined kitten would arrive this time. While we`re still not below the threshold, the yields are dipping, and I`d rather not scour the woods in snow for more catnip again.
Year 3, Summer, 30.
Score! A farmer and a scholar. Well, future farmer and scholar, anyway. Now we`re well-rounded. I will abstain from creating more lodgings until I figure out better ways to farm - we`re quickly exhausting the field capacity, and too many new arrivals will cause starving.
I`m seriously looking into domestication now, because without alternate mean of gaining food, we won`t be able to expand much further. Not to mention that after three years of nothing but catnip, even meat starts to look enticing.
Year 3, Summer, 75.
Expanded library again. More space to plan means more plan to space. Or something. I`m honestly not sure why things work out like this, but apparently there`s an inherent limit to how much can be contained, and that spans from things as material as catnip and logs all the way to metaphysical concepts like scientific knowledge. Puzzling. I`m looking into this strange phenomenon, of course, but it will take significant time before I`ll have anything more then idle musings.
Year 3, Autumn, 19.
Kittens are asking to conduct a big hunt. I`m still iffy about actually killing other animals, but I`m cognizant of the fact that winter is soon, and even I would feel better if we had some furs to cover with, as barbaric as using the skins of other beings for warmth is. Of course, fire is always an option, but there just no way to carry fire with you while you`re cutting wood or tending fields. Not in amount that will provide tangible warmth, at least. I believe I will allow them that much, but between the seven of them, they have more then enough of catpower to handle this without my participation.
Speaking of catpower. I`m going to keep a periodic record of what occupations my village has and how the settlers are distributed. It would make things much easier in the long run, if I have some data points to compare. So, we have two woodcutters, three farmers, two scholars (yours truly included) and one hunter. Total catpower - eight kittens.
Year 3, Autumn, 19 addendum.
They came back toting a good number of pelts and a few hefty pieces of bone, but no meat. I`m tempted to ask, but I`m worried that trying to ask them about meat will just bring forth lots more questions I do NOT want to ask. Nonetheless, the bone will prove to be handy. While we`re not at metal-making stage yet, bone is a good alternative for making detailed items like needles and other utensils that wood is too rough and fragile for. And maybe some decorative carvings. I`ve seen kittens cut wood figurines before with their claws, but the quality is... subpar to say the least.
Year 3, Autumn, 45.
We have had amassed enough catnip for another field expansion, but this late in autumn I`m wary about committing with it. I believe I will postpone the expansion until winter, so I could see how our consumption compares with our production. In other news, I`m planning on several more expansions to the library. The more space we have, the easier it is to plan, after all. Later on, a barn expansion won`t be amiss either. Simply because a few more fields and we`ll need more for expansion then total capacity of the current barn.
...I just realized I`ve used word "expansion" a lot. I guess this is what the theme of next few years will be, no? Expansion. I`m looking into mining resources and into herding some cows. Cows here don`t seem to be sentient at all, but they do produce nutritional milk that agrees with my palate very well. Unfortunately, milking cows in the wild is not an option - the effort I went through to obtain a cupful of milk so I could get the opinion of my villagers on it was simply gargantuan. Domestication is a must if we are to enjoy milk as a part of our meals. On the plus side, I`m confident that kittens will see that effort with great enthusiasm. They were quite, ah, empathetic about how sorry they were there wasn`t more then just a sip per kitten in that cup.
Year 3, Autumn, 68.
Adding more to library. Now we have enough space that I can dedicate a corner to permanent educational stands. Now each kitten can come in and refresh their memory on basics of farming and woodcutting in comfort. They take advantage of this, by the way - one thing that I was sorely missing in Ponyville. Dedicated students.
Year 3, Winter, 6.
I`ve decided to hold off staking out new field. The consumption is sizable enough. It`s true that the barn is at four fifth of capacity, but the whole half of it will be emptied if I`d decide to set up field now. If there`s still close to half the barn by the spring, we`ll set up the new field immediately, otherwise as soon as the spring harvests enable it.
Upon consideration, I`ve came to conclusion that all the produced wood for now will go towards expansion of library. I foresee great need for educational space in the future, once I lay down the concepts of animal domestication and mining. I`m leaning towards setting the domestication as a first task. Teaching all the kittens on how to do it will take a good while, but we will all be richer for it.
Year 3, Winter, 42.
The spoils of hunt have long since run out, and kittens are clamoring for another one. I`m still not certain just how they procure furs and ivory without coming back splattered in blood, but I`m going to allow it just for the peace of my mind. Also, because sleeping under the fur blanket is much, much, much, MUCH better then without it right now. It`s amazing just how easily the need trumps the ethics, especially when I have no alternative option. Maybe sometime later, I`ll see about finding some plant source of fibers, but for now, pelts are the only viable source of clothing and bedding. I`ve.... resigned myself to it.
On a side note, we will probably see the field staked first thing in summer. I`ve measured the catnip stock in barn and it seems like we`re going to have just over a half left over after winter. And since fresh will be coming aplenty, there won`t be any problem putting the old stock towards seeding.
Year 3, Winter, 42 addendum.
No ivory this time, just furs. I guess it depends on what they find. Oh well, furs are just what we need in winter anyways. Kittens do seem happy enough with the haul.
Year 3, Winter, 58.
More space in library today. The requirements of timber continue to grow up, but not quite as drastically as the cost of huts and barns. I imagine it is due to the fact that library is smaller then barns and is one building, unlike huts. So it requires much less foundation real estate then either of aforementioned. Oh well, if it works, it works. Far it be from me to gainsay any expansion to the learning space.
Year 3, Winter, 83.
I was right. If I`ve committed with construction of a new field before, we would`ve run out of food right now. Well, maybe a few days later, given that field would have supplemented something towards the stocks, but still... I`m very glad I`ve shown restraint - otherwise I`d be frantically gathering catnip in snowy forest again for like ten days in a row to keep my fellow kittens from starving.
I suppose we could have also weathered the issue if everycat went to tend the fields, but that would mean no wood income, no preparation for hunting, and worst of all - no scientific progress. Best not to run into such emergencies at all, rather then resort to hasty measures to mitigate the consequences later.
Year 4, Spring, 1.
I`m probably getting far too obsessed with this issue for my own good, but... I`ve measured. If I made a decision to risk it in autumn, we`d have a week of no food right in the end of winter. That`s more then enough to kill somecat. And while my kittens seem to be fatalistic about the possibility of me accidentally killing them through my decisions (HOW? I`m still trying to wrap my mind around the fact they purported that they would be "OK" if they all starved because I miscalculated!), I`m very much NOT OK with this.
I, Twilight Sparkle, do solemnly vow that no kitten will go hungry on my watch.
Year 4, Spring, 7.
Expanding field today. I love it when the plan comes together, I do. A few more expansions will max out the barn capacity, however. If I intend to go bigger, storage facilities will have to follow suit. Which means I need more wood. Or more patience.
Year 4, Spring, 40.
This is a memorable day. We have had finished a construction of a pasture and captured some wild cows to inhabit it. Since we had the extra wood, I`ve ordered the pasture to be thrice as big as originally planned, and consequent increase in captured cows. After some time settling in, the efforts paid off with several bucketfuls of delicious milk. While I don`t foresee this as a complete alternative to catnip farming, it will supplement our diet magnificently, and nutritional value of milk is sufficiently rich to actually make us need to eat less catnip.
With the timely expansion of pasture and field, I do believe we will be able to handle the further population increase easily. Irrigation is becoming a problem, however, so masonry is next on the list. Wood is not durable enough to form aqueduct, so we`ll need vast quantities of quarried stone in order to construct it. A project I can dedicate my full attention to, now. Kittens will handle the production of food.
Oh, I`ve suggested not to hunt as soon as supplies for one hunt are ready, but rather wait a bit and conduct a deep search with additional supplies. We`ll see if this approach will provide better results.
Year 4, Spring, 50 - Summer, 100.
The summer have had been warmer then usual, and our catnip fields bore more then usual as a result. We`ve dedicated the whole summer towards expanding fields and pasture as far as our resources can take us. The autumn will be slated for gathering up supplies for the winter. I am well satisfied with progression of pasture expansion in particular, as it had already been brought to three times as much as what we`ve initially built. That means ninefold increase from what I have originally conjectured to be sufficient. We, well, won`t quite be swimming in milk, I suppose, but we will have enough to make winter taste good.
Year 4, Autumn, 31.
It seems my theory had vindicated itself. Waiting until the hunter prepared enough supplies for two hunting trips allowed my kittens to conduct a longer one and procured good supplies of both fur and ivory. Just the thing before the dreary winter starts. I`m hoping it won`t be cold one.
Year 4, Winter, 1.
Expanding library again. I`ve amassed some interesting data about geological makeup of the region and plan on imparting that much to my kittens, so they could grasp the finer nuances of mining and recognition of various ores. It will help them to construct an actual mine. I`ve had the kitten with shiny stone show me the place where they found it, and it does look like a good spot to dig in. It seems that the area has a bedrock of igneous stone, mostly granites. This is fortunate, because granite is far better construction material then sedimentary options like sandstone I was expecting. Mining it will be harder, of course, but such is the life. For every benefit, there must be some drawback. It might be a good idea to arrange for an additional hut. We will need a dedicated miner to quarry those stones. I can`t imagine working this part-time.
Year 5, Spring, 34.
Expanded pasture again and finished my educative efforts as far as basic mineralogy is concerned. The mine itself will require quite sizable amount of timber, of course. I`m thinking that giving myself some time to shore up the fields further as well as possibly expand the barn and library might be a better option. After all, I am planning on building another hut, because I am at a loss as to whom I can possibly spare to quarry the stone right now.
On a plus side, maybe that`s for the best. So far, all the tools we have at our disposal are literally sticks and stones. It might not hurt to educate kittens on some metalworking before the mining starts, so that we may fashion iron pickaxes for the miner as soon as possible, if nothing else. Iron axes for lumberjacks as well.
Year 5, Summer, 6.
What a misfortune. I`ve ordered another expansion of field and pasture, but the summer is chilly. Catnip is not quite as fast to grow. I`m afraid that for this year that`s it for expansions. We need to stockpile for the winter, and with chill in the air, it will take extra days for catnip to grow.
Year 5, Autumn, 87.
A meteor shower! I`ve been able to observe it from a fortuitous viewpoint and gained much inspiration. Also, I`m now confident that every single kitten observed the event with me. One of them later inferred that sometimes, the meteors do reach the ground. A loud event, as I`ve been told, but usually educational.
Year 5, Winter, 5.
Observed a comet today. Also, the winter is milder then usual, and fields are not impacted quite as badly. We`re gathering almost twice as much as usually during winter. So I`ve decided to add more to pasture, since we have wood for it. Metalworking is a harder topic, and kittens take a while to grasp it, but I`m confident we`re making progress.
On a side note, I`ve decided not to write down each time I`m expanding field or pasture, as we`re doing such things as a matter of routine now.
Year 6, Spring, 5.
Warm summer! Catnip is growing through the roof! If there`s too much, we will convert the excess catnip into wood by the process I`ve learned before. We could use more wood.
Year 6, Spring 24.
The field is now exactly sixty times as large as the little parcel I`ve set up initially. To celebrate, kittens are going on all-out hunt. There`s literally no more space for supplies, it will be as big as hunting four times back to back. I wonder what will they bring this time.
Year 6, Spring 24 addendum.
No big surprises. Furs and ivory. A good lot of both. Artisans ahoy!
Year 6, Autumn, 4.
The warm spring was followed by warm summer. But the autumn is cold. What if winter is going to be cold too? We have enough lumber, I`m ordering the expansion of the barn. We need to have better reserve capacity if we`re to invite additional kittens.
Year 6, Autumn, 30.
An eclipse of the moon. It gave me an interesting insight into the tides of this world. Something to consider later. Water supply will be an issue soon, so... yeah. Head full of curiosity, paws full of necessity. At least the education about metalworking is coming to fruition. Now all we need is some metal to work.
Year 6, Autumn, 60.
Kittens are as trained to handle metal as I can make them without actual metal to shape. The creation of the mine becomes an order of foremost importance. We`re going to stockpile wood all winter and if there is a good crop of catnip in the spring, convert all the winter leftovers into wood. If that`s not enough, I suppose one more year just stockpiling things won`t change much. We do have ample space to stockpile after all, with the recent barn expansion.
Still... I am unnerved just how casually I waved my paw at a whole year of stockpiling. It`s been what?... Seven years now that I`ve been here? That is very troubling. I`m going native. At this rate, a few more years and I`ll start looking for a nice tomcat to have kittens with.
Speaking of which, surely my kittens might have gotten around to that by now? Why I`ve heard not a peep about children so far? It`s like they don`t even procreate normally... Oh Celestia, what if that`s true!? What if... I mean, they DO show up when I need them and seem to like exactly what I need doing at the moment. What if I`m wishing them into existence? I`M TOO YOUNG TO BE A MOTHER! Especially to a civilization of kittens. Oh stars above, this must be what it`s like to Celestia... OK, I`m fine, I`m fine... I don`t like this. I don`t want this. But these kittens have no one else to guide them. Without me, they`d be scattered in the woods, eating what they can find and conversing with groans and face punches. So, I will see to it that their civilization rises above that and makes it`s own history. I owe them that much, at least. Without them, I`d be alone here, eating catnip in my hut and wondering why I`m cursed with such lonely existence.
Year 6, Winter, 40.
A meteor fell near the village! While this is interesting from scientific point of view, of course, there`s also the fact that it`s impact had shattered it into perfectly usable stone, and a good quantity of it. My kittens wasted no time in putting it all safe into storage. I must think what to do with this unexpected windfall.
I`ve long since mulled over the construction of proper workshop, with forge and all manner of tools necessary to fashion things. But that kind of building requires a solid stone foundation and walls, as the forge is both heavy and hot. Timber won`t support it, nor will it shield the walls from the heat of furnace.
Alas, while the amount of stone from meteor is significant, it`s not enough to lay proper foundation. Guess the mining project is still on. I`ve sent kittens on an extended hunt to blow off some steam after the scare given by meteor. They returned in good spirits and brought back a decent haul. While this winter is rather mild, some extra furs never go amiss.
Year 7, Spring, 20.
A warm spring and a meteor to my backyard. A good start of the year, if a bit, ah... stressful. Still, the stone`s been put away and the catnip is being harvested in bundles and oodles. Soon we`ll have enough wood to create a mine. On a side note, I`m thinking about maybe stopping with the hunts for now and move the hunter to quarry stone instead. We`re all sufficiently supplied with clothing and bedding and utensils for now.
Year 7, Spring, 40.
The mine is ready, and hunter seems to be reasonably well at getting the stones dug up. Now to set up the smelter and workshop, and we`re in business. OOh, I can think of so many eminently useful things to teach my kittens to make. This is actually exciting! I don`t know how I came to enjoy this, but... Yes. Seeing them gain control of environs, thrive and improve... I hope I will see such success in the future as well.
Year 7, Autumn, 18.
Very setback! Much consternation!
...Sorry. For a moment there, I`ve taken leave of my grammatical senses. Using the stone from meteors and quarried ones we`ve constructed the smelter. And it worked just fine. The problem is, the darn thing has way too much of an appetite. We literally can not cut wood fast enough to keep it working. It does produce iron, I`ve run a test batch to verify, but until we get more kittens to cut wood and more kittens to mine ore, the smelter is going to sit idle. Very disappointed right now. Things working too well can be a problem too, it seems.
On the plus side, we did prepare a bit of an overstock of wood in preparation for smelter testing, so we were able to expand library again.
Year 7, Winter, 36.
Another meteor. What happened? Are we going to see them more and more until nothing alive is left under the stony bombardment? I`m worried by such a development, but there is just no way I can advance kittens enough scientifically to construct something that will be able to sustain meteor hit in just a few years. So unless things start getting really bad, I`m just going to smile and put the stones to good use and pretend nothing is amiss.
Year 8, Winter, 9.
It took me more then a year to educate my villagers in mathematics. We`re picking the last few things to create a workshop, as well. After that? We will be creating an academy. Try as I might, the library alone is simply no longer sufficient to facilitate learning. A division is necessary between a place to store knowledge, i.e. library, and a place to share knowledge, i.e. academy. Thankfully, the initial building for academy does not need to be too big. I estimate that we will be able to raise one by the spring.
Year 8, Winter, 19.
The workshop is complete. I am both excited and weary, because the amount of work had just increased exponentially. First things first, I`m going to use the workshop to carve up a stone tablet with a permanent system of celestial movements, so that I can teach astronomy efficiently. It may seem weird to insist that villagers must know astronomy, but the truth of the matter is, celestial movement affects the crops and weather immensely. Moreso, knowing at least the basics of it, kittens will be able to tell me if there was anything unusual about meteors or skies when they see them, and thus, further my own understanding of this world.
One other important thing workshop does is keeping the record of all measurements and conversion ratios. Now, combined with public knowledge of mathematics, I can simply talk numbers and kittens will understand me easily.
Year 8, Winter, 79.
An odd combination of late sunset and early moonrise allowed me to map out several of moon`s largest craters. Nothing like the moon in Equestria, as could be expected. No imprisoned godcats either. Thankfully.
Year 9, Spring, 1.
As the new year just broke, I`ve seen a green sunrise. This is a rare event, normally sunrise starts with yellow and goes upwards on the rainbow scale. Sometimes, like today, when the weather conditions make good combination, it`s possible to see earlier stage of it, green. I`m... overwhelmed by the sight. I`ve never seen that happen in Equestria, Celestia never rises the sun in a way that could create such a magnificent view. I`m not sure she even knows it`s possible.
With magic, it might be viable to change the atmosphere refraction coefficient further, possibly creating blue sunrises, indigo sunrises, or even violet sunrises. Wouldn`t THAT be a nice show? If I ever end up in control of the sun, I`m so trying it out.
Year 9, Spring, 39.
A bit later then I predicted, but the academy is ready to serve. And not a moment too soon - I have a presentation on celestial movement scheduled in a week. Oh, I`m so excited to actually have a classroom to teach!
Year 9, Spring, 55.
OK, that may have been a little more then a week. OK, so it was over two weeks. I`m sorry, but there`s just ever so much to do! Anyhow, I`ve gathered all the kittens, brought in the chiseled plate of celestial movements, and conducted my lecture! And everykitten listened! And they asked intelligent questions after!
I`m... incredibly happy right now.
Year 9, Autumn, 1.
As happy as I was to lecture, it is obvious that a single classroom is insufficient. So we`re adding another. Same song and dance as every other addition, really. For a bit more then initial cost, we can expand. And then again and again, and again. I`m starting to think that this incremental expansion is something inherent to the world itself, because no matter what, there`s always space and ability to add more. So long as you can satisfy the ever-increasing resource investment.
Speaking of which, the next field expansion may be the last for a while, because the amount of catnip that would be necessary for one after it is liable to be more then we can stuff in our barn. So storage capacity must grow, if we are to grow the rest of our facilities. First things first, however, I intend to use workshop to, at least, replace the haphazard stones and sticks with uniform rock tools. Iron tools will have to wait a bit until we bolster our resource base sufficiently to allow smelter to run without impedance. More kittens required. Here`s hoping that an investment towards better farming tools will improve our catnip production enough to offset the addition of new mouths.
Almost forgot - I`m using newly expanded academy to teach kittens the intricacies of construction. They know how to slap together basic buildings, but they don`t know more elaborate architectural tricks that allow bigger better buildings to be erected. This should open up many interesting new venues of insight and interest to look into.
Year 9 - Winter, 100.
On this day, it`s been ten years since I`ve arrived to this place. Yesterday, for the first time, I`ve heard other kitten refer to this world. He called it Cath.
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Что ж в мире?
8053430
Russian does not actually have a literal translation of "What in the world?" idiom.
К слову об идиомах - онлайн переводчики их воспринимают слабо. Лучше спросить у знающих людей.
8053434
Блин. Не старался словаря. Думал бы лучше после я был за год в Москве и потом окончил университета с диплому по русскому языку.
8053444
...Ну бля. Шо я могу сказать. Если за это дали диплом... Щедрый университет был. И великодушный.
Use english. Really. Your russian makes me want to facepalm and laugh in the same time.
KITTENS!!! YYYEEEAHHH!!
I LOVE CATS!
8053449
Что ты? Ты совсем прекрасно знала английского языка когда ты начала? Ты можешь так теперь и без ошибок? Давай, давай, сестра. Ошибки твои в этом разговоре есть.
PUH-LEASE tell me the pun was intended
it makes your tuna breath smell nice
yes its the eye structure
its been experimented on and a cat is better at sniping than a top professional sniper
8053468
There`s a proverb in russian.
Не лезь с кувшинным рылом в калашный ряд.
The exact translation is flatly impossible, as it`s deeply cultural thing. If you tried, you`d basically get something like "Do not approach the artisan bread row with your pot-like mug." The actual meaning is "do not attempt a job you`re not qualified for", and mention of "кувшинное рыло" is really a mispronounced "мякинное рыло", which rather obscurely defined an untrustworthy person trying to peddle low-quality bread.
As for me? Basically, until I was confident that my grasp of English is sufficient to understand and be understood, I did not approach the venues where knowledge of english was necessary. Instead, I lurked and read and bolstered my vocabulary and my understanding of how it works through repeated exposure.
8053481
A little.
8053486
Amusingly enough, there`s no option to eat fish in the game. There`s option to trade with sharks, though.
8053491
There`s more to sniper then just shooting accurately. That being said, yes, cat eye structure is well suited for sharpshooting, provided the limb-eye coordination is comparably good.
8053581 wait you can speak russian or you ARE russian and you can speak english?
also i got a note if you're american: don't EVER translate russian with a translator, especial google translator, it almost NEVER turn out right
but if your russian then stop learning english, it's just the messed up form of the british language, i bet the british are mad at america for messing up their language, no the world, including us too, are making fun of the language, and the british are sometime shamed for it being messed up, even though it wasn't the british that did it, it was the americans
8053581 Also what is this game? it sound interesting, and as i said before:
8053587
Second.
8053589
The link to game is included in author notes.
8053581
Молодец. По-моему ты не можешь очень хорошо говорит по английский, Хотя я рад,что ты използываешь язык, потому что лишь можно стать лучше. Птицы не могут летить сначало от яйца.
8053591 thx bro, ill try to look for an excuse to how i found it, that way you aren't criticized on how you got me interested in the game
my parents are kinda strict on what games i play, plus i'm using a chromebook right now so ill have to wait some time
8053601
Don't call Cytotoxin a guy. Doing so will make your demise long and painful.
8053594
Compared to the trainwreck you make out of russian, yes, I can speak rather bloody well.
Just... stop. Please. It`s not even minor mistakes, it sounds like "mista ten dolla, ten dolla mista very well thing here buy to please mista". You utterly wreck the prefix-suffix conventions, for one, and make an utter mash out of tenses. Which, yes, are present in russian as well.
8053601
Not a bro.
Also, no need to wait. This game is browser-based and will work on Chromebook without any downloading just fine.
8053610 YAY!!, hopefully its not blocked
*goes to edit comment*
YAY ITS NOT(i had to edit it again because i originally accidently had it say "NOW" instead of "NOT"
) BLOCKED!!! i will most CERTAINLY be bookmarking this! TANK YOU!!, oops, sorry, i do dat a lot 
, i meant: THANK YOU!!
and if your not a bro than... what are you consid- oh yeah, a pegasister, right, maybe? IDK! i'll just leave dat subject alone
8053609 listen when i became HER 100th follower, i then noticed that she was a girl, sorry if i made a mistake, no one's perfect y'know
so its like a strategy game
I LOVE STRATEGY GAMES!
thanks for introducing me to this cute, and fun game
you mam' have made a man happy
that's hard to do in my case
8053644
If you need more, you can try Cookie Clicker.
8053610
No, trust me on this one, but you're making metric tons of mistakes in English.
Do keep in mind that I have actually written out a grammar of the Russian language. All of us had to in our program. You also are NOT the only person I speak Russian with, but you are the only person who swears up and down that I can't and shouldn't. These are real time oral conversations that can last for hours- we aren't just saying 'привет-пока" in passing.
Your remind me of a professor I had. She insisted everyone was wrong, including the fellow professors who are actually were Russians and had lived in Russia. In one hilarious occasion, another professor had written something and had it looked at by the editor of the Moscow Gazette. She immediately proceeded to mark it up, finding mistakes by the dozen which somehow a professional user of the Russian language had failed to find.
I have also seen you get into numerous fights with lots of people around the site. You seem to have a real problem with anyone who doesn't align 100% with you. There's blunt and then there's picking fights. Learn the difference. For example, Atlas Nebula is incredibly blunt and we clash on almost everything. However, we don't bray at each other like donkeys. You fancy yourself an intellectual, don't you? Part of that is defending your positions rather than attacking.
You will probably be very ashamed to read this, but you are the second most pugnacious person I have ever met.
Show how my Russian is so terrible and I shan't use it with you anymore. Indeed, I will be grateful for the appraisal of my skills and will know what to work on.
And to think I just wanted to crack a joke and then see what you'd come up with for the story.
8053652 yes ive heard dat 1
clik clik clik clik clik clik clik clik clik clik clik clik clik clik clik clik
There's an argument going on in a foreign language... Ahh, you gotta love how integrated our world is nowadays
8053687
LOL. Foreign to whom, though?
8053689
Me, unfortunately I'm still a 'Murican idiot
Thank God for Google translate.
8053695
Could you post what it says?
8053700
You said: "Что ж в мире?" When put through Google it says
"What in the world?"
The Author Said: "К слову об идиомах - онлайн переводчики их воспринимают слабо. Лучше спросить у знающих людей". When put through Google it says
"By the way about the idioms - online translators they perceive weakly. It is better to ask knowledgeable people"
8053715
Nah, she already knew. The real question is how did she not know that's meant to go into dative case instead of the genitive case like she used?
Спросить=Дательный падеж.
Should be "Лучше спросить знающам Людам."
Also, based on the context, it should be спрашивать, because The action she is describing has not definite and and may be repeated in the future and therefore ought to be in the imperfective aspect instead of the perfective. And finally, because the action has to be carried out in present tense, it has to technically be in imperfective, because perfective doesn't really exist in present, it just gets grammatically treated as such - it's a weird nebulous sorta future thing. And that's what I was taught at МГУ - Институт по имени Ломоносова, факультет иностранных языков.
8053666
Huh? Well, you asked for it. Like, literally. So here goes.
This is the only sentence that is grammatically and semantically correct in the whole statement. I have no issue with it.
Issue 1 (Severity:low): Generally, using "ты" is overly familiar when you`re addressing someone you don`t know well. Using "вы" is much safer and much more polite.
Issue 2 (Severity:high): You`ve used verb "говорить" in third person. It should be used in conjunction with "she" or "he", but your choice was "you". "он/она говорит" would be right, but when you`re using "ты", the proper form would be "ты говоришь". However, in your case it`s even more interesting. The right way to say exactly what you said is "ты не можешь очень хорошо говорить".
Furthermore, "по английский" is flatly incorrect. "английский" on itself means "english" as a noun. English language. But in your case, it`s not used as a noun, and you need to change your suffix accordingly. "по английски" will be the right way to spell it.
That being said, this construction is very weird-sounding and immediately pegs you as a non-native speaker. I`d have formed it as "ты не силен в английском." Or, considering that it was supposed to be addressed to me, "ты не сильна в английском". This form skips over a lot of auxiliary words and uses idiomatic expression, which is flatly impossible in english due to different contextual structure and less flexibility in imparting contextual information within a single word via use of suffixes and prefixes to denote gender and the exact connotation of the word in question.
Issue 1 (Severity: critical): "исползываешь" is not a word you want. Given the context, I surmise that you meant to use verb "используешь", but your proposal is technically a highly nuanced form of verb "ползать", i.e. "to crawl", and "исползываешь" implies someone you`re addressing currently being in process of thoroughly crawling all over something. As in, methodically crawling over every single surface area sequentially. That being said, it`s not a word that someone would say casually, even though it is technically correct as far as semantics go.
Issue 2 (Severity: high): "потому что лишь можно стать лучше" has no reasonable meaning. Literally, it would translate to "because only possible become better". It`s not hard to infer that you meant "because that`s how you get better" or "because that`s the only way to get better", but being able to discern the meaning does not ameliorate the inept way in which this part of sentence is delivered.
I would rephrase the whole of the thing as follows.
"Хорошо что ты пользуешься языком, это единственный способ достичь совершенства."
"Good that you use the language, it`s the only way to attain perfection."
Issue 1 (Severity: High): "летить" is not the right form of verb for this particular enactor. You need to use "летать" to acknowledge the plural form of enactor. Additionally, "сначало" should be "сначала". That last one is flatly spelling error.
Issue 2 (Severity: Medium): You`re trying to use an idiom that has no direct translation in russian and can not be literally translated without coming off as foreign. The idiomatics with close meanings include options like "Лиха беда - начало." (Denoting the fact that beginning something is usually the hardest part of it, in this case the hardest part of studying language.), "Москва не сразу строилась." (Denoting the fact that action in question is major and could not possibly be enacted in short amount of time.), "Реки начинаются с ручейков." (Literally, "Rivers start from streams", implying that high skill must be based on fundamental knowledge of basics.) or "Чтобы бегать, сначала нужно научиться ползать." (Literally translating to "To run, learn how to crawl first." and implying that in order to master something complicated one has to ace the basics first.).
All in all, I`d rephrase your statement as follows.
"Молодец. Хотя мне и кажется, что в английском ты не сильна, я рад что ты продолжаешь практиковаться - ведь это единственный путь достигнуть совершенства. Ты же знаешь, что реки начинаются с ручейков."
You may notice that I have had used different words then what I`ve mentioned in earlier explanation. This is due to the fact that in final suggestion, I`m orienting towards transmitting the context well, rather then trying to make your message right verbatim.
8053756
...You`re kidding... You`re kidding, right?
This is not dative case. It would`ve been dative case if I were GIVING advice to knowledgeable people. I`m giving advice TO WHOM? - to knowledgeable people.
But what I`ve used is ACCUSATIVE case. I`m asking for advice FROM WHOM? - from knowledgeable people.
It just so happens that in this particular case, genitive and accusative case form the same structure.
"Чей совет? - Знающих людей." (genitive)
"Спросить у кого? - У знающих людей." (accusative)
8053817
8053430
Please can you both stop. I don't care that some sentence structure in Russian was butchered or not. I really don't. But I dislike having to see a literal wall of text in the comments, worse, it being about a stupid argument.
All I believe is as long as you can read and understand it, good. Leave it be.
If you believe it could be better, then good, give HELPFUL pointers.
Just kiss and make up and leave the comment section alone. Do it on a private chat, call each other, just not the comments. It's a place where things can be solved peacefully and feedback to be given without a metric shit ton on criticism, so leave it be.
8053829
Dude. Not to rain on your parade, but this is my story, and I`ll spam it if I want to, mm`kay?
Please, leave the decisions on what is and isn`t acceptable on the story comments to story author. In this case, me.
8053829
8053849
He just wanted to end the argument with a sense of civility. Honestly, it's quite remarkable that you and Kal know more than one language, and know both languages quite fluently. Just come to terms and let this be like rational adults.
8053891
No words. I have no words for that level of brazen audacity. What next, you`re going to dictate me what tone to blog in? Seriously, are you even cognizant of how rude this is? We have a saying in russian, that roughly translates as "Keep your rules in your own monastery." I think it applies here very well.
Have a Blunt review
8053911
You call yourself an intellectual right? Well lets see just how 'logical' you actually are.
Now, judging by how you talk you seem to be an older well versed woman. Being of such, I believe you would have even a minute amount of respect for those who even take the time to try and spark up a conversation with you.
You pride yourself on being blunt while forgetting to comprehend that blunt does not mean that you're pretentious. Blunt in the context that you're using means you speak your mind. And yeah, I respect someone who doesn't pull any punches. But here, you had better expect the rest of us to come back at you in full force.
So you're saying in Russian "keep your rules in your own monastery", yeah here in my neighborhood we say "don't start shit you can't finish". I was simply agreeing that YOU a rational GROWN WOMAN should try to look down off her high horse and look to reason. This argument was pointless, you're both good at Russian go on about your lives.
I don't mean you any disrespect, but if you come at me, come at me right instead of having the brazen audacity to try and put me in my place, ma'am...
8054007
No, he`s NOT good at russian. Nor even passable, really. The amount of mistakes made in just few sentences is staggering and unequivocally gives out a foreigner who`s grasp of russian is on the level of translator program. Verbatim translation of words with little if any regard to tenses and cohesion, let alone maintaining context.
That much is barren truth with no embellishment nor malice to it. Statement of fact. Moreso, statement that has nothing to do with you whatsoever.
And I do NOT need feelgood advocates to come around and shush and pap on me and tell me "you`re all fantastic, you`re all unique and gifted, now let`s get along children". You don`t know jack about the topic discussed, you`re not qualified to pass judgment on how good or bad the participants are. Kindly wait until the conversation turns to something you have some degree of proficiency in, if you want to chat.
P.S. Almost forgot to mention. I will block the next person who comes around to say something condescending on this topic to me. I`ve had quite enough of people getting uppity with me for shits and giggles.
8054042
Lady, I couldn't give less of a fuck about the Russian argument. I'm saying cool down and think like an actual adult. Right now you're raging and it's breaking down that respectable 'intellectual' facade that you've built. In other words; you're making yourself look like an ass
8054047
What part of "I`ve had enough of condescending crap" you fail to grasp? Right. Off you go. You get one last word if you want it, I won`t be replying to it. After that, bye baby bye. Or... you can not respond at all and show you are actually willing to deal with it like an adult you`re touting so much. No response - no block. Decide, babydoll.
8054053
You are a riot
Been a while since someone has gotten this riled up over something so childish. Hopefully our paths will never cross again
8053817
Thank you.
* Govorit and anglijski are spelling errors I made thanks to typing on a phone.
* I have NEVER seen "v anglijskom" anywhere. I once put that on a homework and got points off, actually. I've heard of na anglijskom. As a matter of fact, I'm looking at a Russian copy Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdone. <<Безумный Макс Под Куполом Грома>>, and the language options on the back explicitly say Ha.
* Sprosit is a pretty serious fuckup of mine. I had always thought it was supposed to take dative.
* "Given the context, I surmise that you meant to use verb "используешь" Eeyup. Fuck minimal pairs.
* "Птицы не могут летить сначало от яйца." It doesn't exist in any language, but the meaning is clear. Letit' was a typo.
* I shall ask my friends to really pounce on my mistakes.
As promised, no more Russian to you for a long time.
8053817
No one uses "вы" on the internet except for working relationship.
also, you have a typo in your user description.
8054378
That`s where the big brainscrew comes into play. See...
говорить НА английском - speaking in LANGUAGE English.
силен В английском - strong on TOPIC of english.
Those little nuances are very hard to explain, much less translate, and not grasping them is one of the primary hints that you`re talking to foreigner.
8054576
Why do you think I marked the severity as low, duh?
Wow. Average story. Horrible author. Go figure.
8054378
Don't look at the word "английский".
"силён в чём-то" is an expression. It means you do something very well. You can say:
Я силён в английском
Я силён в математике
Я силён в плавании
Я силён в написании текстов о цветных лошадях
etc
8053644
If you are a cheeky cheater, you can use the following magical incantation to help jump-start your kitten metropolis:
(spoiler'd, because cheats)
var ᕕᐛᕗ = JSON.parse(localStorage['com.nuclearunicorn.kittengame.savedata']); ᕕᐛᕗ.resources[0]['value']='99999999999'; localStorage['com.nuclearunicorn.kittengame.savedata']=JSON.stringify(ᕕᐛᕗ);
8055165 dacrap is that gibberish?!
8054802
Common knowledge on both counts. Care to say something interesting next time?
8055400
A piece of javascript that fudges around with the game inner code. I`m not sure what resources[0] is, but I`m guessing that it`s either kittens or catnip. In any case, 99999999999 is ridiculously lots to start with.
8056020 Nah. Why would I bother saying something interesting about a dull author who writes borning content? That's like me giving a 9/10 to No Man's Sky. It'll be misleading, so I rather just state what you truly are, and that is an asshat with a story about Twilight being a cat.
Bravo! Bravo! That is some creative writing right there! You surely took your time on it! You can just see the amount of thought you put into such a shameless act of cashing in. Congratulations, you special snowflake you! You're going to go far!