The Equestrian Journal, by Anonymous - Day 20

>You sat in the garden with Celestia one last time, at the overlook.

>Well, the last time it would be a regular occurrence.

>For the last time you'd be seeing be seeing Celestia for a while, you two were remarkably silent.  The two of you sat just watching the sun rise.  Or well, you were just watching.

>Finally, after maybe fifteen minutes of sitting silently, you stood and gave Celestia a wing-hug.

>"Be sure to write."

As much as I can.

>She broke the embrace first, levitating saddlebags over your back.  They were small and lightweight, intended to be used while you were flying and holding little.  All you had was the journal, some teabags (the drink started to grow on you), and some bits to get you started.

>"Try not to stall out on your way?" She looked at you with that loving smile.

>You walk up to the edge and stretch your wings, ready to jump into the air.

Love you.

>You barely hear her respond in kind as the wind starts rushing by your head.

>Fuck yes. Flying is still amazing.

 

>Fuck no. Flying is still really tiring.

>About twenty-five minutes later, way longer than it should take you, Ponyville is almost under you.

>Strength spent, you lazily descend with a glide as you get a good view of the layout of the town.  You land near the center of town next to a fountain, sitting against it panting.  Ponies around you notice your presence and state, some staring.  You ignore them and catch your breath until one cream-furred earth mare with a pink and deep purple swirl mane comes up to you and bows, saying "Welcome to Ponyville."

>Did she just bow to you?  Oh right, alicorn.

Hey, none of that.

>You pull her head up with a hoof so she's eye-to-eye with you.

I'm not royalty.  Please don't bow to me.  And, thank you.

>She smiles and nods.  "Bon-Bon" she says and puts a hoof forward.  You meet her halfway.

Anonymous.  I don't suppose you could point me in the direction of the library?

>She directs you down a road, and tells you to take a turn until you come to a treehouse.  As in, a "tree that is also a house."

Sounds distinct.

>"It is. See you around, Anonymous."

Anon. Thanks, Bon-Bon.

>Seems like a nice mare.

 

>On the way, you swear someone is following you.

>A shadow in a passing alley that disappears when you look.

>A puff of pink in a nearby window.

>A distant, but recurring giggle.

>You definitely walk, casually and not hurried at all, up to said treehouse-housetree-house and, not in a panic, invite yourself in and close to door gently and not at all slamming it.

>You're in a massive room with shelves of books everywhere.  There's almost enough paper in here to transcribe the monstrosity that was SOPA.  Twilight sat at a desk with books and papers around it, looking at you with some mix of annoyance and concern.

>"Uh....please, come in."

Sorry, being stalked.

>"What?"

It's true!

>"Riiiiggghht.  Well, glad you could make it.  You know Celestia sent me two letters in the time it took you to fly here worried about whether you fell or were attacked over the forest or something?"

Yeah, well, that's the longest I've had to fly.  Still need to build up some wing muscle I guess.

>"I'll talk to Rainbow about helping you out.  She's probably the fastest mare in Equestria."

>You doubt that.

I suppose I'll meet her later.  For now, I should probably tell Celestia I made it and drop my bag off in my room.

>"I'll take care of the letter.  The beds are in the room above us."

>You ascend the stairs to find, sure enough, a bedroom with two and a half beds in them.  There is one with nightstand next to it with various objects on it, which you assume to be Twilight's.  Next to it is a basket on the ground, almost like what a baby would sleep in.

>Interesting, you didn't think Twilight was a mother.

 

>Relieved of your bags, you come back to the stairs FUCK THESE LEGS

>After your daily spin-dash practice routine, you keep your eyes closed trying to ignore Twilight laughing at you.

>"I didn't know you still had problems walking, Anon!"

And I didn't know you had a kid.

>"What? Why would I have a goat?"

>You're about to give her an Areyoufuckingkiddingme.jpg when you see the small lizard next to her, barely containing his smirk.

Nevermind.  Who and what are you?

>"Name's Spike, a dragon.  I'm Twilight's number one assistant!" He pounds his chest with a fist, clearly proud of himself.

>"Anyway, sign it off and send it Spike."  He scrawls something on a letter and then rolls it up, seals it and...it goes up in flames...

>Why.  Why can't anything just be normal around here.

He just...nevermind.  Magic?

>Twi:  "Good deduction!"

Fucking magic.

>The three of you exit the building, Spike riding on Twilight's back like a horse.  Huh, you would have thought that would be incredibly offensive or something.

Alright, so, what's on the agenda for today?

>"Well, to help acquaint you with Ponyville, I decided to call in a friend to host a party for you to meet my friends."

A party is a little much, don't you think?

>"IT'S NEVER A BAD TIME FOR A PARTY!"

>Oh god damn it

 

>You and the ground are becoming lovers at this rate.

>Atop you stands a pink earth mare with a pink mane.

So pink...

>"MYNAMESPINKIEPIEWHATSYOURS!?"

uh...Anon...could you-

>She jumps on your chest, knocking the wind out of you again.

>"Nice to meet you I haven't met an alicorn that wasn't the princesses since the royal wedding but I guess she was a princess too HEY ARE YOU A PRINCE?!"

No. Would you please-

>Twi: "Pinkie, you were at that ceremony when he turned royalty down."  She mutters something neither of you heard.

>She jumps again

>"OH THAT'S RIGHT why would you turn that down I mean who wouldn't want to be a prince or a princess I mean come on HEY YOU'RE THE ONE WE'RE THROWING A PARTY FOR ARE YOU EXCITED!?"

Breathless...

>"I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE EXCITED Twilight here didn't want a party when she came from Canterlot but its good to know not all Canterlot ponies hate parties YOU DON'T HATE PARTIES DO YOU?!"

Air...

>"You hate air? what?"

>Twilight FINALLY helps you out and pushed Pinkie off you.

Thank....you......

>Pink: "You didn't answer my question, silly filly!"

Looking forward to it.

>For a moment you consider accepting royalty so mares don't tackle you and jump on you.

>But who doesn't want chicks jumping on them?

>Shut up self.

 

>Walking through town, you receive significantly less looks your way.  You've heard that word travels fast in small towns but this is ridiculous.

>You arrive at what appears to be a house made out of candy.  As you approach you can hear music thumping.  Seems that party time waits for nobody.

>Err, nopony.

>Inside are the mares that attended your would-be-crowning, as well as a few other ponies.

Hey Twilight.

>"Yes, Anon?"

Why did Celestia invite your friends to that ceremony?  Guard Captain Armor and Princess Cadence I understand, and of course you're her personal student, but the others?

>"Didn't she tell you about the Elements of Harmony?"

I remember some certain enchanted stones and the only other filly to lift them.

>Got her, she's blushing.

She said you're the Element of Magic or something?  I've only heard of the 'Elements of Harmony' in the old legends.

>"Well, my friends and I are the embodiments and holders of the six Elements of Harmony."

It's like I'm really in fairy-tale land.

>She gives you a shove.  "Didn't your world have its legends like this?"

A few I guess, but they were just old stories.

>"That sounds terrible..."

It sounds like it makes sense.

>"This makes sense too!"

If you say so.  What was the name of the flier I'm supposed to look out for?

>"You mean Rainbow Dash?"

Riiight.  I'm gonna go mingle.

 

>You start with the two in the corner, Amaranth and Fabulous.

>The two notice you come to them first.  The yellow one cowers behind her hair while the white one is giddy but trying to look coy.

Hi, my name's Anon.

>"Pleasure to meet you, Anon.  I am Rarity, Equestria-famous fashion designer."

Charmed.

>Not really, she sounds stuck-up.

>"This is Fluttershy.  You'll have to forgive her, well, shyness."

>You wrap a wing around her before she can react and give her a smile.

Hey, no reason to be so timid.

>As you release her, she visibly comes forward from behind her mane.  "It's...nice to meet you...Anon..."

Likewise.

>"I rarely see stallions with a taste for jewelry, Mr. Anon.  Even mares don't typically wear it casually." Rarity is eyeing your earring.

Uh...yeah, I ...uh,

>ohshit thinkfast

You said you were a fashion designer?

>"Oh yes, I own Carousel Boutique in town.  It's not Manehatten or Canterlot, but the occasional big name still makes the trip out to me for my work.  I designed those dresses we were wearing at your ceremony, if you remember."

I do remember; they were great.  I'll keep you in mind when I need something of the sort.

>"Of course dear."

It was nice meeting you two.  I'm gonna continue this little party adventure, if that's alright with you ladies.

>Rarity barely stifled a giggle.  Fluttershy smiled and nodded.

 

>In the middle of the room, you see Bon-Bon sitting at a table with a mint-green mare in front of her with her back to you.

Hey there Bon-Bon.

>"Anon!  Good to see you again!"

Likewise.  Who's your...oh...wow...

>You just now turned to her friend, who you recognize as the lyrist from the concert.

>Bon: "Is...something wrong...?"

I didn't think I'd get to meet you.

>Bon: "Lyra, what's going on?"

>Lyra: "Remember that concert I played in about a week ago in Canterlot?"

>Bon-Bon nods.

Her music got to me.

>Lyra, who was straight-faced, is now smiling.

>"It wasn't that great..."

I know you played that for me.  It meant a lot.

>She's blushing now.  "How did you..."

Magic.

>Trademark excuse for everything.

>Lyra laughs. "You realize I'm a unicorn right? That won't work."

>Shit.

But yeah, I never got to thank you.  Is something wrong with your back?

>Lyra: "What?"

>Bon: "Dear, he means the way you sit."

It seems strangely...human.

>OHWAITSHIT PONIES DON'T KNOW-

>Lyra: "You...know what humans are?!"

>WAT

>Bon: "Ugh, not you too!"

>SHE'S ON TO ME.

>Lyra: "They're real I'm telling you!"

>Bon: "We're not arguing this now."

Um...I...nice meeting you both! Thanks for the show Lyra!

>ABSCOND

 

>For now, you find yourself about to sit with the last of the six, the orange earth mare and the cyan/rainbow pegasus mare.

This seat taken?

>"All yers, partner."

Thanks.  I'm Anon.

>"Oh, everypony here knows who yew are, sugarcube.  Name's Applejack."

A pleasure.

>cyan: "Is everyone from Canterlot that stuck up? We get enough of it from Rarity."

Fuck no, ya dumb cunt.

>Applejack gasps in enough air to fill a balloon in one go.  The cyan one stares at you agape for a few seconds of awkward silence.  You maintain your pokerface.

>She loses the face-off and bursts out laughing.  You can't help but chuckle along with her.

>"Name's Rainbow Dash."

Oh?

>"What, you heard of me?"

Only that you couldn't out-fly a tree.

>Applejack's turn to laugh.

>Dash: "Hey buddy, I could fly a lap around Ponyville before you even took off, tough guy."

I'm sure you could; that's actually why I wanted to talk to you.

>"What?"

I need to get better at flying. Twilight recommended you.

>"I'll have you know it'll take a lot of work to fly as fast as the Dash!"

>AJ: "And a lot of braggin" You two snicker at her expense.

>"Whatever AJ!"

 

>The party was winding down; it was just you and the Elements left, everyone else leaving throughout the evening for various reasons.

>You sat in a circle on the floor, the six recounting their adventures against Discord.  After they finish with their story, which was pretty good, you're finding yourself missing a last crucial detail.

Alright, so I get that you're the embodiments of these Elements of Harmony, but what exactly are the Elements?

>Twi: "Well you see, they represent the different aspects that make up what encompasses a real friendship."

And so you each represent one, right?

>Dash: "Hey, that doesn't mean we're not capable of them all!"

So what Element do you each represent?

>AJ: "Ah'll bet yew've met us well enough ta guess."

>Pinkie: "OO! A game! Twilight name the Elements and Anon try to match them!"

This is going to be terrible.

>Pinkie: "You can do it, Anon!"

>Dash: "You better get mine right or I'm gonna be mad."

ooo, I'm terrified.

>Twilight cuts off the banter.  "Alright, well you know me."

Magic. How does that even...nevermind, fucking magic.

>Twi giggles. "Okay.  Laughter."

Starting easy?  That's obviously the bouncing ball of joy, Pinkie.

>Pinkie cheers with confetti.  "Good.  Kindness."

Probably the most timid and adorable, Fluttershy.

>Fluttershy blushes and looks away with a smile.  "Alright smart guy, Generosity."

Hm.  Well Rarity said she made you all those elaborate dresses just because you're her friend, right? Gotta be her.

>Rarity: "Oh he's good."

>Twi: "Great! The last two, Honesty and Loyalty."

>You just stare at Dash and AJ.  AJ seems like she'd be all about sticking with her family and friends, and Dash probably isn't afraid to tell it like it is.

AJ is Loyalty, Dash is Honesty.

>Rainbow huffs and goes to get some more punch without a word.  Applejack just laughs.

 

"Today was fun.  I still love flying, even after doing it for so long I didn't want to move when I landed.  After having to cross a distance rather than flying in the same small area, I'm actually noticing the change in air pressures and am learning to ride gusts properly.  Rainbow Dash will probably drill the lesson in.  Which brings me to the Elements of Harmony.

 

I'm told you're familiar with all of them, so that saves me some ink and time.  Twilight had Pinkie Pie throw me a party to help introduce me to some of the ponies of the town, mainly the Elements.  I finally had them explained to me (why did I never ask you?) and correctly matched them to the ponies they represent save for two.  I swear Applejack and Rainbow Dash exhibit each other's elements from what I've learned about them.

 

Do you remember that concert we went to see?  I actually happened to meet the mare that was the guest star playing the Lyre, aptly named Lyra.  She is apparently obsessed with humans or something, which is frankly terrifying.  I don't know whether to befriend her or avoid her.  I'll decide later.

 

The day overall was fun.  I'm ending it with this journal before I sleep.  Good night Celestia."