Twilight's Dawn

by Dinkledash

Chapter 5: Practical Things

Dear Diary,

It figures that on Princess Twilight’s ship, the one thing we have a lot of is quills and paper! So since there isn't a whole lot to do once you get your chores and your homework done, I figured I’d start a diary. And there is a lot to write about! I have to be careful about my grammar though, in case Princess Twilight reads this.

I think I’ll skip over Equestria being destroyed and all the adult ponies dying. That’s horrible sad, although Rainbow Dash did tell us all about how when she was in a coma and almost died, she saw everypony else, including my big sister, having a great time in Elysium. So maybe dying isn’t so bad. The food and parties and games sound like a lot more fun than scrubbing decks and counting barrels of onions and dried apples and going to Princess Twilight’s classes on Practical Colonization. It seems like every book in that big old library is about farming or prospecting or carpentry or medicine or blacksmithing. Although I do have to say that one of the blank flank colts, a purple colored fellow named Plumb Bob, got a hammer and saw cutie mark while he was reading a carpentry book. Nothing like that has happened to me yet.

Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh! How could I forget? The first of the Cutie Mark Crusaders got her cutie mark and what a cutie mark it is! What a story! What action! Swoosh! Zap! Poof! Boom! Scootaloo can fly almost as well as Rainbow Dash and she has an amazing fire contrail that’s actually pretty hot, and her cutie mark is this awesome flaming red heart! It looks so cool! I am totally jealous, and I told her, but I forgive her because she saved Rainbow Dash and the ship. She promised she’ll still hang out with us when she isn’t on patrol. She says the CMC won’t disband until all the Crusaders are cutied! And then we’ll just be friends forever. Even in Elysium.

Speaking of the Crusaders, Babs, I am assuming you got out of Manehattan. Scootaloo is looking all over for other ships with Rainbow Dash and some of the other flying colts and fillies, but they haven’t spotted anything yet. The sea ponies said they haven’t heard anything either, but said that they probably wouldn't have been told for security reasons, whatever those are, at least that’s how Twilight translated it. To me it sounds like they’re blowing bubbles. Rainbow didn't say she saw you in Elysium when she was in that coma. I asked and she said she wasn't there long enough to see it all, because she was just there for a moment you see, but she said she didn't see you there.

I guess that's where all the rest of the Apples are. Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, the Crisps, the Oranges, everypony. They've all gone to a better place. I know I should be happy for them, but I miss them something awful. I was just so used to waking up to the roosters crowing and smelling fresh apple pancakes for breakfast. Mac would already be in the fields pulling up stumps or breaking earth with that big old plow of his. There'd be all sorts of work being done; hard, backbreaking work from sunup to sundown. I guess they don't have to work any more, though I'm pretty sure they're still at it up there. I just can't imagine Granny Smith not working all the time, doing things for other ponies. Ah shoot. I'm so darned lonely.

Sweetie Belle isn't speaking to me, so when Scootaloo is away it gets real lonely. I don’t mean she isn't speaking to me in particular, I mean she isn't speaking to anypony. She’ll do chores and stuff but she won’t pay attention in class and all she does is draw pictures of her and Rarity doing stuff together. She acted like she didn't even hear when Rainbow Dash told her Rarity is very happy and is the best dressmaker in all of Elysium. I’m sure she’ll come around. I’ll let her read my diary even! Maybe she’ll write one too instead of just drawing pictures that make me sad.

OK diary. I have some more homework to do. I have to write up a three-field crop rotation plan for potatoes, beans and wheat including quantities of seed, irrigation requirements, soil treatments, the works. And the princess always makes us present our work in class, so I better get it right.

Just a sec, let me check something. Nope. No diary-writing cutie mark. Sigh.

Author's Note:

I made an addition to this chapter in response to concerns that I was neglecting grief issues surrounding the lost background ponies.

Comments

[James Rye]

You know, i really like your sketches. Poor Sweetie Belle. :/

Was it explained though why mostly all adults died and only Twi survived with no damage? Dash died too after all just for a moment though.