VI June
And That's How they Do It Down On The Farm
June 1: Applejack had us all over for supper and "some down home cooking". Pinkie took a break from knocking on doors and showed us all the signatures she'd collected so far. There were lots of scraps of paper stashed between the pages to keep down the smudging while the inked signatures dried. Most ponies signed on their pictures, near pictures of ponies they knew well or near pictures of events that night that they liked. Rarity fussed a bit over the scuff marks to the covers and put a fresh shine on a few of the rock candy flowers. Pinkie had also brought over the scrapbook she had made of her road trip with the Apples to Goldie Delicious' house. Fluttershy was especially fascinated by the odd creatures living in the "scariest cave in Equestria".
The food was delicious. After we ate we played horseshoes out back until well after moon rise. There were two horseshoe pits, which is just as well, or we'd still be waiting to play the winner after Applejack and Rainbow Dash got at it. They just don't know when to call it even.
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Carerfilly Trip Planned -- It's a Picnic
June 2: While soaking in the hot tub at the Ponyville Spa, I announced my intention to Rarity to head over to Carerfilly Castle to browse the books. Rarity thought that we should all go. It would be a great excuse for a picnic and to see how her mended tapestries were holding up. Dash volunteered to get the word out to Pinkie and Applejack. Fluttershy, surrounded by friends in the warm relaxing embrace of the hot tub and feeling brave, said she would come too. She's curious what late spring has brought to the Everfree. I could almost see manticore cubs dancing in her eyes.
So we're going tomorrow! Spike has packed a pot, bowls and the ingredients for alfalfa cube, apple slice sugar beet pulp soup. I've packed quills, ink and scrolls, and I've invited Zecora. I intend to get there early and to leave late.
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The Heart of Carerfilly Castle Beats Still
June 3: I got ready early and set out to the Carerfilly Castle with Spike. While on our way to pick up Zecora, the morning sun broke through the Everfree gloom and briefly shone on a large stone outcrop up ahead. A cockatrice jumped up on the rock and started sunning itself. We made a detour.
Zecora was all set to go, some picnic treats packed in one saddlebag and her all purpose herb kit packed in the other. We set out for the library! Adventure awaits! (Spike rolled his eyes when he thought I wasn't looking.)
We were soon over the moat and at the entrance to the ruins. The time had passed for lilacs and innocence, it was too early for forget-me-nots, but there were a few irises and dandelions in bloom by the tumbled stones. We walked in and strolled down the stately halls, down to the library and magic.
I lost track of time.
While I was nose-deep in books, Rarity, Fluttershy, Tree Hugger and Applejack arrived, around about late morning. Tree Hugger is Fluttershy's naturalist friend and she was passing through Ponyville today so Fluttershy invited her to come along to our picnic in the Carerfilly Castle ruins. We had met before as Fluttershy had also invited her to the latest Grand Galloping Gala. Along the way they had met the river serpent again, sunning and preening in the shallows. Tree Hugger says he's one with his center, all his chakras are in order and his aura just glows. I think that means she is impressed.
Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash arrived a bit later. Dash helped Applejack spread out the picnic while Rarity, Tree Hugger and Fluttershy toured the castle and discussed esthetics. Pinkie Pie made a bee-line for the "organ to the outside" and started pounding out preludes and fugues by Eweslamb Sebaastian Black on the keyboard. This I know because she hit a key sequence that nearly launched me out a window while I was reading a book on living tree trunk habitat and design. It took me five minutes to find my place again. Zecora and Spike snickering in the stacks did not help me regain my concentration.
Over lunch Tree Hugger spoke at length of the harmonics in the ruined structure and discussed harmonious reparations with Rarity. It looks simple to me. You put the stones back from where they fell, and if you're not sure, you copy the pattern across the hall. Esthetics escapes me.
After lunch I zipped back to the stacks. So many books to read! I think Zecora found good reading too. Evening came much too soon. Spike had headed back to Ponyville with the others and it was just me and Zecora turning pages in the deepening shadows. It was time to go home.
How I missed this library and all these old books! I want to take them all home.
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The Grass Also Rises
June 4: I went for a morning stroll in the Ponyville Commons and grazed a bit in the pasture while leafing through Effective Haying Equipment and Practices for Temperate Equestria and the Lower Mountainous Regions. The grass is growing well (it's also quite tasty!) and soon there will be another Hay Board meeting, some time before First Cut.
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The Stars, See How They Shine For You
June 5: It's so nice out tonight. Rainbow Dash had cleared out every last cloud out of the sky over Ponyville before sunset and all the constellations were up and active. The night is just full of stars. Princess Luna waited at least two hours before raising the moon, probably to show off her sea of stars to full effect. I saw at least two shooting stars go by, winking over Applejack's farm. Getting a new telescope is still on my to-do list. But laying down on my Treecastle balcony staring deep into the starry abyss, I could feel my whole universe spin. Wheels within wheels.
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Get Power Grass! Your Fillies Will Run Like Griffins!
June 6: I'm going to have to cut down on that fresh spring grass. There are ponies selling fresh picked bundles at the bazaar and I just can't seem to only eat one. As a result, my energy levels are coming in fits and bursts. I fell asleep halfway through re-reading Daring Do and the Eternal Flower. Will she meet the unageing pony one day? My hooves are growing long and uncomfortable. I'll get them filed down on my next trip to the spa.
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Back to the Books
June 7: I was feeling a bit fidgety so I decided to go browse the Carerfilly Castle Library some more. I made myself comfortable with a few likely books in Princess Celestia's old reading room, checked out of Equestria and into the thoughts and words of ponies gone a thousand years. Little has changed. The crops still grow, ponies change the seasons and magic is magic. We have a good system.
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As the Sun Rises So Does the Moon
June 8: Another Summer Sun Celebration is coming soon. This year Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are going to Fillydelphia to be feted. Princess Cadence is staying in the Crystal Empire, and I am staying here in Ponyville. My best friends are here, so that suits me fine. Getting anchored to this Tree-Chest-Castle, as Pinkie puts it, does have an up side.
Every town in Equestria is set to party all night until the sun is raised on Summer Sun Celebration day, regardless if they're in the crowd watching Princess Luna lower the moon and Princess Celestia raise the sun. Ponyville is no different. Pinkie will be off to the races with the planning and execution, but everypony will be lending a hoof. It's tradition. Fluttershy is orchestrating her birds for a special dawn chorus. There will be food and banners and glitter and clouds in the shape of the Royal Pony Sisters placed 'just so'...
There's tradition, but with Princess Luna back, should there be a stargazing event included? If so, should the name be changed to... Summer Sun and Moon Celebration? Or better yet: Summer Sky Celebration? Or maybe have two events six months apart. A Summer Sun Celebration and a Winter Moon Festival? Winter Moon, right after the Running of the Leaves, kicking off three months of ease and holidays. That could work.
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Refreshed
June 9: Spa Day just couldn't come soon enough! My hooves were really feeling long and off and all that time in Princess Celestia's old reading room in Carerfilly Castle got me feeling all grubby. That place hasn't been dusted in centuries. I arrived at the spa early, even before Fluttershy. Luckily, I'm always equipped with a book to read.
It wasn't long before Pinkie joined me in the waiting room. She has just about finished touring Ponyville with her scrapbook. When she's finished, we'll probably freshen up the scents we put in it.
Applejack walked in looking a little worse for wear. She's been clearing out some of the dead apple trees and teaming up with Big McIntosh to pull out the stumps. She went for the sauna, massage and aromatic oils regime.
Fluttershy and Rarity arrived at about the same time. Fluttershy's house full of critters is driving her a bit ragged (especially the baby birds fillies and colts keep bringing her) and Rarity is midway through completing another order for Sapphire Shores. Both also looked past due for the Ponyville Spa. Aloe took our orders.
An hour and a half later we were mellow, shiny new mares. Rainbow Dash too, although she arrived late and just soaked with us in the hot tub. Finally my hooves feel right again and I don't feel like I've spent an afternoon cleaning an attic. We celebrated with ice cream, just because. Philosopher Pinkie Pie stated on no uncertain terms that ice cream with friends is reason enough to celebrate. I couldn't agree more. I had orange chocolate jalapeno ice cream. For the adventure!
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Call of the Smoothie
June 10: I can hear the spring grass calling me. Soft, tasty spring grass. Leave me be, grass! See here, I'm eating second cut hay from last summer. Ha! I am safe in this Tree built rock horse-house, high above your siren song, here in my fortress, my island of serenity. I am an island in the sea of green. You can not touch me. I'm not listening.
I wonder if Fluttershy saw anything interesting in the Everfree the other day? Not that she could take a manticore cub home. It would probably eat her nestlings.
I think there's a pony at the bazaar who specializes in grass smoothies... a spring grass smoothie must be really, really good.
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Brain Freeze
June 11: I caved in. I got a spring grass smoothie. It was good. It was cold. I have a headache. I think I drank it too fast.
Hay Board meeting tomorrow. I'll feel better by then. Yay.
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Making With The Hay
June 12: Hay Board Meetings are fun! Our hay stores are still well stocked. We'll make it to the second cut. The rougher first cut hay is better for less active ponies. The more physically active ponies, such as the pegasi and ponies plowing the fields, need the boost provided by the faster burning second cut hay. But because the second and third cut hays are softer and sweeter smelling, most ponies like them a lot too. Our local harvesters also produce special mixes with more or less alfalfa, clover and with other grasses like oats and wheat, as well as fermented bales. A lot of that is for export and trade with other species.
There is still a fair amount of demand for our specialty hays but prices have dropped now that the pastures are lush once again. We have just about depleted our inventory of fermented hay. Export demand is highest for our silage so we recommended that our harvesters make more polymer-sealed hay bales. Those are the easiest to transport and because they're relatively small, they sell better because less is wasted to spoilage after the polymer seal is broken.
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Spur of the Moment
June 13: After the all the fun of planning out the short, medium and long term production recommendations and common pricing strategy with the Hay Board, I was keen to gossip with Applejack and Rarity. We got together at Sugarcube Corner today, all six of us, and over tea and oatmeal cookies, we hatched a plan to take a day trip to the Crystal Kingdom and visit their library!
Or maybe it wasn't so much a plan, more of a suggestion. That I made. To return a few books. And look at more books. Did I mention it wasn't a popular plan? Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy didn't look too excited.
Well I'm going, and surprisingly, Applejack and Rarity are coming too. Rarity is looking for fresh pattern ideas and she wants to research old Crystal Empire fashions. Applejack wants to see if she can grow crystal corn in Ponyville and to see first hoof what apples and apple accessories sell in the Crystal Empire.
I wrote a quick note to Princess Cadence and Shining Armor to say we're coming and sent it by express mail, special delivery.
Tomorrow, we take the train! Bright and early.
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On Our Way
June 14: Ugh. Who named me 'Twilight' Sparkle? Wouldn't 'Evening' Sparkle have been enough? (Went to bed late last night... or earlier this morning.) Must get going. To the train station. For the books.
I'm worried it might have been a bit too short notice and we might have trouble finding a room. Too late now! We could always take the overnight train back to Ponyville. I hope Rarity packed light.
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Back From the Crystal Empire
June 15: We're back from Crystal Empire and I have a fresh load of books from Cadence and a few borrowed from the library. That library, so big, so full of books! Floors and floors of bookcases full of books! The librarian found several illustrated manuscripts for Rarity detailing exotic Crystal Pony fashion as well as scrolls with dressmaking patterns. Rarity looked like she was rolling in clover. Meanwhile Applejack canvassed the Crystal Empire shops, picking up crystal berries and corn, and finding new clients for her apples and apple-based confections. She even joined us at the library to look up recipes and to jot some down.
Cadence and Shining found rooms for us in the castle. We didn't have to sleep in the street or sleep three in the same bed. I did get chided for not giving them more advance notice. Ha ha, ah well, sometimes I'm not as organized as I could be.
Cadence and Shining Armor invited us to dinner. I almost missed it, the librarian let me stay late and I lost track of the time. Applejack came back to get me. Rarity wore an 'evening hat' to dinner that trailed colored streamers down to her withers. She said it was all the rage over a thousand years ago in the Crystal Empire. That's a bit vague since _all_ the Crystal Empire fashions date back to over a thousand years ago. She did attract some odd looks from the older crystal ponies serving us.
This Summer Sun Celebration in the Crystal Empire promises to be extra festive. Princess Cadence has been studying Crystal Empire traditions and now that the ponies have most of their memories back, she has been pumping them for ideas. It's going to be a big bash, sure to light up the night sky all over Equestria. A gala, dancing, midnight candle-lit parades, extravagant costumes. Rarity's eyes were as wide as saucers. She looked very tempted to skip Ponyville's Celebration and go back to the Crystal Empire to see this. Maybe next year.
Cadence has been picking up books here and there for me. She's put the word out that she has a taker for any old books that ponies might not want any more and she has been given several dozen. It's an eclectic mix. Children's story books, reference books, journals, cook books (Applejack has already borrowed those from me), travel guides... Almost all of them are over a thousand years old, like the Crystal Ponies that had owned them. It's fascinating!
Time to hit the hay! It's been an exciting, but tiring, couple of days.
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Paper Lanterns and Fireflies
June 16: On the ride back to Ponyville on the train, Rarity was hatching a plan to have a Ponyville version of the Crystal Empire parade in the wee hours before the Summer Sun Celebration sunrise. It involves streamers, paper lanterns and fireflies. She'll have to run it by the mayor and Pinkie for approval.
In the late evening the weather ponies sent us a real drencher! The clouds just poured down pounding torrents of water. It was quite exciting! Spike called me to the balcony to watch. It was totally worth putting down a book for a few minutes to go look. The heavy, sudden rainfall was there to flush out the streams and drainage ditches. It beats cleaning them by hoof. Then the pegasi mostly cleared the sky and dropped in a few rainbows. Everything looks sparkling clean in the bright sunshine now, all set to get decorated for Summer Sun.
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Proposing the Procession of Sparkles
June 17: Rarity had little difficulty convincing Mayor Mare and Pinkie to include her idea of a parade of lights. Usually ponies just step out of their houses or where they're having their all-night parties and watch the sun rise from the streets. With the parade, we can all end up together in a good spot, like a hill top, and watch the sun rise from there.
That was Rarity's opening argument, parading through town, picking up more ponies on the way, and ending up somewhere with a view. Probably the west pasture. There are some nice big rolling hills there. She brought some samples to show what she had in mind: wide gossamer cloth streamers glistening like dewy leaves, magicked to float like the air; colorful paper lanterns, some transparent, suspended on sticks and lit by candles. What she didn't have on hoof, but she hopes Fluttershy can pull off, is to have hundreds of fireflies to fly above the procession and follow it. Fluttershy is already having rehearsals with her special dawn chorus flock of birds. A hilltop destination would work out well with that too.
I saw Rarity's sample streamer. It's really beautiful. She and Spike spent all afternoon today digging up gems and tomorrow, while she's breaking and polishing the stones, I'm going to Canterlot with Spike to pick up enough gossamer cloth for her project.
Fluttershy was out after dark, rounding up and talking to fireflies. Spike was exhausted and went to sleep early.
Canterlot tomorrow! I wonder if I'll have time to take a peek at telescopes!
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We Came, We Bought, We Bolted
June 18: We caught the early train to Canterlot and arrived in time for an early lunch. We hoofed it to a café, ate and set off to the garment district where we found a few shops dealing in bolts of cloth. We got a rainbow assortment and we had so many that we hired a cab to lug it all back to the train station. It's a lot harder to find a cab in Canterlot than it is in Manehattan. Ponies are just more used to trotting and strolling leisurely in Canterlot.
I left Spike to guard our cloth horde while I went back to a shop selling scientific glassware and optical equipment. They had telescopes. Many telescopes. Mirrored telescopes. Glass lens telescopes. Combinations of reflective and refractive telescopes. Tracking telescopes. Telescopes with oculars that can be swapped for a photographic plate or a projector. They also had a book on telescopes. I bought that.
Back at the train station, I took over guard duty while Spike ran off to buy a snack. We caught the afternoon train back to Ponyville, arriving just before moon rise. It isn't too far to the Carousel Boutique from the train station. I managed to levitate all the cloth, and carry a sleeping Spike, and take it to Rarity.
I have lots of room on my Treecastle balcony. Maybe I'll get a nice fat mirrored telescope. But a small refractive telescope is fast and versatile! Hmph.
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Many Hooves At Work
June 19: Preparations for Summer Sun Celebration are picking up steam. Lots of decorations are going up following that drenching rain we got and the parade has been announced in the Ponyville Express. Pinkie has several ponies making the paper lanterns and the poles to carry them with. The candles were easy enough to find.
Pinkie and the Mayor have planned out the parade route and Pinkie is going to stash lanterns and Rarity's streamers all along the way. That way, as the parade grows, she can keep supplying ponies with more lanterns and streamers.
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There's a Party Going On
June 20: It's the night before the Summer Sun sunrise and the celebration has started! I have to gallop off to the Town Hall to where most of the ponies are partying. Pinkie wanted me to be the greeter at the door, seeing as I'm the local princess. Applejack thought that made sense, I could see the gears beginning to turn in Rarity's head and Fluttershy looked conflicted. I threw cold water on that idea. That's Mayor Mare's strength and this party is as much her doing as it is Pinkie's. Not only do I not want to steal her thunder, but if I shake everypony's hooves, all six of us will have to do the same. We're a team. And this is not our party, it's to celebrate the Royal Pony Sisters.
Luckily for me, nopony else was keen to spend the night shaking hooves. At least not that kind of shaking.
It's going to shaking, pronking and rolling at City Hall! DJ Pon3 is spinning her records, Rarity and Pinkie incorporated the paper lanterns and the bejeweled streamers into the festive decor, and Fluttershy's myriad of lightning bugs are blinking like mad on the outer walls of the building.
I'm going to catch up with my friends there. Maybe I can organize the overnight treat tables! Or maybe if a bring a lexicon and my Piaffle game I could interest some ponies in a game? Um, probably not. I'm sure Pinkie's got the party games covered. I'd better just go.
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Happy Summer Sun Celebration!
June 21: The party was fun. I spent the whole time there with my friends. I danced for a while, and tripped over my wings a few times. Those wings still have a mind of their own. At least they don't throw my covers halfway across the room that often anymore. I think I tripped a fair number of ponies too.
Pinkie Pie was often zipping off to organize a game, like pin the tail on the pony, or to tell a joke, or to juggle cream pies, or to drop a thousand balloons into the room. Applejack had her hooves full keeping the refreshments coming, and no she didn't want any help. Fluttershy stepped out a few times to make sure the fireflies didn't wander off. Her dawn chorus birds were sleeping in the bushes around a hill in the west pasture. Rarity was wearing a summer dress sequined in a starburst pattern and she had on a large plumed hat. Spike was playing all the games and Dash was playing pranks on Pinkie and Mayor Mare. That joy buzzer earned her a bucket of ice water over the head, courtesy of the Mayor.
Before the morning twilight, while the stars were still shining brightly in the night sky, Mayor Mare cut the music to announce the parade! That was Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's cues. Rainbow dashed off with a few other pegasi to collect and shape the clouds they'd parked by the west pasture and Fluttershy went out to rally her flashing fleet of lightning bugs. Rarity, Spike and Pinkie set to moving the lanterns and streamers to the door, ready to be distributed by me and Applejack.
Mayor Mare explained that we were all to follow her lead. She was going to trot all around town, and we were to try and match her gait pattern, the clip-clopping of our hooves in the streets ringing as one! Now that's a fun game. She pointed out that Applejack and I were handing out lanterns and streamers to ponies to carry, and as a bonus, there were little silver bells and chimes on the lanterns and streamers, to compliment the fancy hoofstepping. She told us remember to look up, and as a final surprise, we were heading to a choice location to watch the sun rise. There was much hoof stomping. Everypony was champing at the bit to get going.
Rarity, Spike and Pinkie Pie slipped out ahead (Pinkie knew the route to be taken), Mayor Mare got to the door, and out, and the trot about town began. I calculated that with what we had, every fifth pony should get a lantern or a streamer. That went pretty smoothly. There were a few ponies that didn't want to carry anything and a few that really, really wanted to be a lantern or streamer bearer. I had to relight a few candles that had gone out. Finally, everypony was off and trotting and we followed.
The Mayor was having a grand time putting us to the test. Not just trotting, but stomping and tap dancing, fast and slow. As we went along, ponies that had stayed home or were at other parties joined the procession and joined in the drumming of the hooves. Pinkie was pulling out more lanterns and streamers from where she'd hid them and Applejack and I helped distribute them among the new ponies and I helped Spike light the candles. Meanwhile, a river of fireflies followed us overhead. It was amazing.
As the twilight grew near, Mayor Mare left the edge of town and trotted zigzags and loops through the western pasture and then spiraled up the biggest hill in the field. The lightning bugs were matching us every step of the way, the sky was growing lighter, and suddenly I felt waves of hope and love in the air. Everypony stopped and stared. From the north, giant streams of colored light were spreading south. The Crystal Empire. The crystal ponies, like us, were celebrating.
"Look east, everypony!" called out the mayor. There, bookending Ponyville in the distance were the Royal Pony Sisters carved in clouds. Rainbow Dash landed next to me, pleased as punch. The cloud sculptures began to turn pink, then salmon. To the west, the moon set. Then, straight over Ponyville, the sun rose. In the hush, Fluttershy's special dawn chorus sang from all around. Everypony cheered.
We were a lot of excited ponies, full of hope and love, in a wide, rolling field, with dozens of very sparkly streamers clenched in our teeth. There was pronking and galloping and prancing, the ponies with the streamers became impromptu leaders of small processions, running patterns. It was dazzling, like a thousand stars in the early dawn light. After a while the leaders took off toward town and headed back to the Town Hall where Applejack's crew was spreading a delicious Summer Sun Celebration breakfast for everypony.
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After the Party
June 22: Summer is here and the Celebration is done for another year. All that's left is the clean-up. The western field got a bit dug up with all the galloping yesterday morning. Our agriculture specialists have been busy all day smoothing out the ground, raking in peat and compost and reseeding. Right before sunset the weather crew gave the hill a light drenching. Fresh new grass will give the hill stripes in bright shades of green in no time.
The streamers that Rarity made have been collected and carefully stowed away for next year. The lanterns were given away to anypony who wanted one. Now every house has one, including mine. I have a lavender one hanging above my front door, and after sunset, I lit the candle.
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Dear Princess Celestia
June 23: It has been a long time since I've written a Friendship research letter to Princess Celestia. Research in that respect has been replaced by sporadic practical applications. What Friendship lesson can I draw from the success of our Ponyville Summer Sun Celebration? That when many friends work together in harmony, the fruit of their labor can be better than they ever imagined.
So I asked Spike to pick up a scroll and ink, just like old times.
Dear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna,
This year's Summer Sun Celebration party in Ponyville was like no other that I've seen. While your royal presences were absent, your spirits were in the hearts of everypony in Ponyville. The pre-sunrise party lasted all night and was crowned with a procession of glitter and lights designed by Rarity and inspired by the Crystal Empire festivities. Fluttershy orchestrated thousands of fireflies for the procession and dozens of birds for the dawn chorus. We had the night sky, the lights from the Crystal Empire, the lowering of the moon and raising of the sun, all while everypony in Ponyville was gathered in an open field. It was magic.
Many hooves worked and stamped as one to make this the best Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville ever. The lesson that I learned right there and then was that when many friends work together in harmony, the fruit of their labor can be better than they ever imagined.
Your faithful student, now and always,
Twilight Sparkle
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First Cut Harvest Party
June 24: The timothy hay first cut harvest has begun! The cut grass is drying in the sun in several fields now and more is going to be harvested soon. By mid afternoon the mouth-watering scent of curing hay was wafting through my open windows. I was finding it hard to focus on my reading. I went down to the kitchen stores to see what I could pull out. I was rummaging through the pickled beets, crispy dried celery sticks and chopped corn stalk silage when I received a knock at the door. It was Pinkie dressed as a hay bale. She gave me an envelope, which promptly exploded in a cloud of confetti, leaving me with an invitation to a 'surprise hay harvest make way for the new harvest feast and party party' with only one hour to prepare myself and arrive at Sugarcube Corner. A feast was sounding really good by then.
It was just after closing so we had the first floor to us and the Cakes. Pinkie had gone all out with the harvest theme. There were long straw bale tables piled high with food, smaller straw bale tables with straw mound seats, harvesting equipment on the walls and paper lanterns hung up with baling twine. (I didn't know she had any left. She's getting extra mileage out of those lanterns. I guess she stashed a bunch more for "lantern emergencies".) Even with all the cooking and decorating she had found time to pick a few tasty bouquets of daisies, bladder campions, dandelion leaves, evening primrose and rough bedstraw.
The general idea was to eat the old hay to make room for the new hay. There was no way we were going to do that in one meal or even one day, but that was part of the joke. Still, Pinkie and the Cakes had pulled out all the stops in preparing and serving first cut hay in every way imaginable. It was all delicious. Now I'm stuffed. I think I ate too many hay fries, and crispy hay, and hay soup, and sweet and sour hay silage. And hay casserole. And hay juice smoothies. And hay cake. And ooooh, I'm going to go lay down for a while.
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Under Cover of the Night
June 25: Pinkie's hay feast was a good idea. After stuffing myself silly last night, I haven't been hungry all day. I did make a fresh batch of mint iced tea and I nibbled a few carrot sticks, but for the most part, I didn't eat. The smell of the fresh cut hay from the surrounding fields isn't as alluring as it was yesterday.
I bet there are foals out there now, in the fields under the cover of darkness, rolling in the sweet smell and eating great mouthfuls. I know I'd be tempted. The farmers are going to be vexed. There was an article about that last year in the Ponyville Express.
The hay farmers had a long list of complaints, like bunnies running off with their mouths stuffed with cut timothy grass and alfalfa, hiding it and coming back for more. Older foals sneaking into the fields after dark and not only eating the hay but making "hay princesses" everywhere, building hay forts, hay tunnels and carving trails through the hay as they galloped about chasing each other. The hay doesn't dry properly when it gets bunched up by this activity, and the gaps make baling more difficult too. At least there haven't been any stampedes. Yet.
I think someponies were exaggerating a bit. In Pinkie's opinion they're just grumpy gusses from working long hours without a break. According to Rainbow Dash it's just the prima donna farmers fussing. Rarity sympathized with them -- laying the grass out in patterns to dry right is _an art_. Running about on that tableau is _vandalism_. (Her emphasis.) Applejack didn't comment, she was on the farm, hard at work weeding and hoeing. And probably chasing varmints.
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When Winter Came to Equestria
June 26: One of the books Princess Cadence passed along to me is pretty interesting. It's a foal's storybook about how winter came to Equestria. It's a great insight into Crystal Pony culture. It goes something like this:
When Winter came to Equestria
Long, long ago when ponies first came to Equestria, the land was forever green and the grass grew long and lush. But the giant Windigo that lived in the mountains of the north came down to live in the plains and forests, and his name was Winter. Where he went, his hoofprints left sheets of ice. Where he swished his tail, frost covered the grass and the trees. Great clouds billowed from his breath, covering the sky and burying the land in snow. Soon all of Equestria became frozen and white. Nothing grew anywhere and the ponies became weak with hunger and despair.
Epona, the All Mother, decided to send the Windigo away. She traveled long through the wilderness, following the frost to where the snow was the deepest, to where Winter had settled. She found him one night, resting by a frozen waterfall as tall as a castle, on a carpet of pure white snow that glittered like a field of diamonds, under a breathless sky where every star stood still and shone with all their might.
The giant Windigo bid Epona welcome, but before Epona could speak, Winter began to mesmerize her with tales of the land before ponies, when all was cold and rock and sparkling crystals. Epona became drowsy and fell into a deep sleep. She had a dream. In her dream, the giant Winter filled the sky, his eyes like ice and his mane weaving across the sky like smoke. Then suddenly, in her dream he began to shrink and melt. Great rivers flowed all around and meadows of sweet grass sprang up. Epona slept for three whole months.
When she woke, the Windigo was gone and her friend the crystal hare was nestled in her mane. "Far to the south there lives a Princess," said the hare "her power is greater than the Windigo. Find her and bring her here."
More tomorrow.
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When Winter Came to Equestria (concluded)
June 27: Epona wallowed through the deep snow and made her way south. The days passed, the snow and ice grew thinner, then patchy, and here and there green things grew. She crossed rivers and plains. She trotted through wild mossy forests, skirted a vast swamp and walked through a jungle into a wide clearing. It was as hot and humid as a sauna. Birds chased insects over gigantic leaves, grass grew belly deep and the scent of flowers filled the air.
In the distance Epona could hear the sound of hooves and singing. She approached cautiously. On a low hill rested a grey mare and around her galloped and pranced four foals. The grey mare was unlike any Epona had seen before. She had wings. And she had a horn. When Epona had recovered from her surprise she noticed that she was no longer alone. An old pony had joined her. The old pony spoke. "The foals are celebrating Life, Growth, Renewal and Light. They do so to honor their Princess. Her name is Summer." At last Epona had found her Princess.
Epona emerged from the tall grass, stood at the bottom of the hill and called. Summer rose, and with hoofsteps as light as a feather, walked down to meet her. The All Mother is leader of all ponies everywhere.
Together they raced back north. In every hoofprint Summer made, grass sprang up and spread in all directions. Above her the skies cleared and the frost retreated. Over the hills and to the north they ran, leaving a trail of green life behind them. Finally they reached Epona's country where everypony slept and the land was silent and white.
Winter was waiting for Epona to return and he was delighted to see she had brought a tall grey mare with her. But before Winter could speak, Princess Summer took to the air. With great wing-beats she cleared the air of mist and clouds. She folded her wings, dived to the ground and landed so hard that she shook the snow off the trees, shattered the ice on the lakes and rivers and woke everypony in the north. She then opened her wings and with her horn shining like a second sun, sang a note so pure that every plant burst into leaf and flower; and the heat that they made melted all the snow and ice, carrying away Winter in a torrent of water.
But Epona is the All Mother and she caught the giant Windigo by the tail and she dragged him to the shore. She made Winter promise to return to his mountains. But she also granted Winter permission to come back every year for three months to balance out Summer's growth and bounty and to give ponies and their land a rest.
In this way, Epona gave us a new Harmony. Summer and Winter give us a time for work and a time for play. And like night and day, a balance between the time to run and the time for little ponies to sleep.
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Epona the All Mother
June 28: That foal's storybook is probably a glimpse into pony culture thousands of years ago, before there was an Equestria and maybe before alicorn ponies. The story elements of relevance that I'd place emphasis on are: winter, snow, Epona, strange alicorn, crystal hare, land before ponies, north, a time without seasons, weather as an instrument of harmony and a benign/tamed windigo. Also: the story predates Crystal Empire princesses and was probably adapted to include Equestria to make it relevant when this book was printed about a thousand years ago. Epona is a very old legend. I wonder who she retrieved from the south to combat the windigo in earlier versions and what did the crystal ponies call Equestria back then?
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Ancient Chic
June 29: We all met up for some ice cream at Sugarcube Corner this afternoon. Rarity was keen to share her latest designs inspired by ancient Crystal Empire chic. She's been studying a book she'd borrowed from the Crystal Empire Library and she'd come up with a few ideas. I went with Fluttershy to the Carousel boutique to look, but Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had other plans.
From the line of dresses and ensembles Rarity showed us, I see she picked up mostly on the ancient styles of pleated skirts, the variations on zigzag and squared sinusoidal curves, the light gauzy wraps and the rope-like gold leg bands, necklaces and head ornamentation. Rarity's creations look both elegant and summery. They also look very reserved for Rarity. The glitter was turned way down, she had just a hint of sparkle along the hem line, nothing more. Very nice.
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Getting Bathed, Oil School!
June 30: It was another hot and humid day today and I was ready for trip to the spa. So was everypony else. Fortunately I'd dropped by the spa yesterday to reserve us six spots.
The spa ponies had something new. Rarity had come across a description of a fragrant oil bath in a book she consulted at the Crystal Empire Library. It involves getting covered in oil and then getting nearly all that oil combed out of your fur, mane and tail with a curved, scoop-like comb. I had to try that! For science! Fluttershy, Applejack and of course Rarity were game too, but Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had other plans.
While we got hooficures, massages, seaweed wraps and finally a cool rinse and dry in anticipation of getting slathered in oil, those silly mares went from the hot tub to go roast in the sauna! When finally they were so hot you'd think they were about to burst into flames, the two of them dashed outside to where Dash had parked a big black cloud. Dash kicked the cloud into action and they cooled off in the torrential downpour. Then, looking like drowned rats, the two of them ran back inside and giggling like fillies, shook their coats, spraying us until we too were soaked.
We dried off again, and we were ready for the oil. Lotus and Aloe must be consulting quite a bit with Zecora because that oil really smelled heavenly, relaxing and invigorating, all at once. Rarity said that the reference she had was pretty vague on what the oil was made of or what it smelled like, so the spa ponies just, improvised.
We stood on large raised stone tables and got light, warm oil poured all over our bodies. It felt weird. There were grooves on the table to both collect the oil that dripped off our coats and to ensure we wouldn't slip and fall. There was also a wooden bar in front that we could grab with our teeth, in case we started to slip anyway. When the oil had soaked through, the spa ponies pulled out their custom-made "strigil combs" and combed and scraped every flank, hock, crevice, nook, hair and feather on our bodies. Those ponies work fast but it still was a lot of work. But Celestia! It was worth it!
When the four of us stepped out of the spa, so mellow and so silky, I swear all conversation just stopped everywhere. We just glowed and glistened in the sunshine and everypony stared. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie joined us and as we strolled to Sugarcube Corner for ices, I think we nearly started a parade of agog ponies.
It still feels fantastic, but there is a downside. I have to watch where I settle down so I don't leave a pony-shaped oil patch on a favorite rug or anything else that's hard to clean. Like my books.
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I genuinely hope this story gets more attention. It seriously deserves it. If I could upvote more than once, I would do it.
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Thank You! ^_^ Kudus from out of the blue from people I've never met carry a lot of weight, I figure you're not just saying that to be nice.
To be honest, I'm surprised they don't have a permanent room on reserve in the tower, given their status and relationship to the ruling couple, plus how often they seem to visit here (much more than in the show).
Yes, and I need to try out that triple-layered chocolate devil's-food cake topped with fudge and rocky-road ice-cream...for science!
(maybe how the consistency of the warm gooey cake contrasts with the cool flavor of the ice cream?)
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I wouldn't want to paint Twilight as being presumptuous, it does not seem to be in her nature. Well, except a few times where she was sure Princess Celestia would make time for her and that the Princess would prioritize a prophesy over a Summer Sun Celebration preparation. Those presumptions got rather squashed. Still, Princess Cadence has yet to refuse lodging for Twilight and her friends, despite circumstances. ^_^ You are probably not wrong.
Mmmmm! You might need to test that cake/ice cream combination several times at random hours and in each season, to reduce variables and for a high p -value in your statistical analysis. For science!
Oh, by the way, the oil bath is based on an ancient Roman means of bathing, right down the the strigil spoon used to scrape the dirt and oil off the bather's skin. Looks like you can buy a strigil spoon on Etsy.