Journal of the Alchemist

Chapters

1: Storm Blitz
2: The Summer Sun Celebration
3: The Scene Rises in Viscosity
4: Burning Twice as Bright

1: Storm Blitz

Wednesday, June 14, Year 1000 of Our Lord

It’s surprising that I haven’t started a journal yet. I really should have done so earlier, what with all that I’ve been doing. First, some personal details. My name is Mist Tumble, but people call me Storm Blitz, for soon-to-be obvious reasons. I’m a pegasus, as you might have guessed from my name. I’ve got a dark blue coat, and a dark grey mane. My mane is usually a bit messy, but I’m much too busy to get it styled. And I hate those barbershops, anyway. Always gave me the creeps. I’ve got hazel eyes, like my mother. Pretty good vision, too. Would have been a boon if I’d worked as a weather pony, but that’s behind me. My cutie mark is of a lightning bolt. A common cutie mark for somepony in the weather team, but I got it by chasing after a storm cloud. I needed some bottled lightning for a potion, and I got a bit carried away. People say I was on a blitz chasing after that storm, and that’s how I got my nickname.

Second, I guess I’ll list my interests. In no particular order, they are: flying (not speed-flying, mind. I just like gliding around on a warm day), alchemy (not the crazy stuff; I just don’t like calling it science. Makes me sound weird), reading (I have a small collection of books on elements and how they relate to each other. I call it my cheat sheet), writing (I’ve been trying to get all my thoughts about alchemy down on paper, but I can never seem to get it just how I want), and cloudball (I’ve never been good at it. For some reason I can never take the ball further than a few yards before it’s destroyed. Annoying).

Third, my house, I guess? I live on the ground, in the town of Ponyville. I used to live just outside Cloudsdale, but when I took up alchemy, I found that I needed something more solid to live in. Solid, and blast-proof. It’s a nice enough place. Three floors, if you count the basement. The top floor is not much better than a loft, but it’s where I sleep. I’ve got my writing desk up there, for when I’m too agitated to sleep. On the ground floor is my kitchen, my den (which has all my books and stuff), a guest room that I made for Sugar Heart when she started visiting, and a storage room, where I keep all the stuff I don’t need at the moment. My basement is just where I’ve got all my alchemical things. More on that later.

Oh, I guess I should mention Sugar Heart. Maybe talk about my other friends, too. Sugar Heart (or Sugar, as I call her), is an earth pony. I’ve never been able to figure out for sure where she lives. I have a sneaking suspicion she finds all her weird herbs in the Everfree, but I can’t prove it. She’s a bit crazy, but in an endearing way. Her coat is pure white (“Like sugar!” she always says), she’s got this raspberry coloured mane that she always keeps straight, and brushed to one side. Kinda cute, really. Her eyes are really blue. I mean, the kind of deep, dark blue that reminds you of the ocean. It’s like you could fall into them. Her cutie mark is of a candy heart; she got it when she was in one of her rare moods when she’ll make sugary treats. She loves cooking. REALLY loves cooking. I mean, I can enjoy it, and I like eating my newest creation (for me, cooking is like alchemy for food), but I’ve got NOTHING on Sugar. Every time she comes over, she’s got a dozen new recipes to feed me. It’s odd because you’d think she makes lots of sweets, but she’s a wizard with salads and sandwiches. I think she’s only brought over cupcakes or cookies, like, three times.

Uh, anyway, there’s also Cobalt Bright. He’s a pretty cool unicorn. He and I sometimes swap notes on alchemy, although he still calls it science (ugh). Despite his name, he’s not blue at all. He’s actually really black. Like, you could look at him, and think he’s just a shadow until he moves. Or opens his BRIGHT GREEN eyes. Or you see his BRIGHT YELLOW mane. Or he uses his WEIRD ORANGE magic. But yeah, besides that, he’d be pretty much invisible. Cobalt’s got a good cutie mark. I think it suits him, anyway. It’s these three sparkles that look kind of like blue lightning. I was there when he got it, too. We were good friends ever since kindergarten, and one day he was practicing magic and he got his mark. Cobalt likes to think that his magic makes him a better alchemist than me, but all it really means is that he can hold more than one or two things at once. Just last week, I solved a problem he was having simply because he’d forgotten to test a sample at more than one temperature. He’s still a cool guy. I think he’s got something for Starblossom, though.

Speaking of which, Starblossom! Man, she’s one insane unicorn. She’s convinced that everyone’s spying on her, she doesn’t eat eggs or milk, and she always carries around a stuffed mouse. I don’t see her often; mostly I just hear about her from Cobalt. Her coat used to be purple, but she dyed it brown when she saw another purple unicorn in town, and thought someone had replaced her. Last I saw, she’d shaved her mane and tail, but Cobalt says she’s regrown it and dyed it black. I don’t know much more about her. I kinda keep my distance. I don’t think anyone knows what her cutie mark is. Cobalt says she doesn’t like how it looks, so she’s hidden it by a lot of ways. She’s shaved her flank, dyed that spot in all the colours of a rainboom, worn a coat just to cover it... Yeah, pretty weird. I don’t know what she’s tried recently. I haven’t seen her for a few weeks.

Anyway, there are the basics. I’ve got to finish an experiment now. I’ll write down how that goes tomorrow, or whenever I remember.

Thursday, June 15, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Yeah, it exploded. See, this is why I’m glad I moved into a house on the ground. I got so sick of half my cloud being blown up whenever I added too much explosimary or slaughtercress. And I hated dropping a vial and having it fly right through the floor and smash into a million pieces on the hills below. Anyway, even if the first test exploded, it gave me some new ideas for snow. In the Northern parts of Equestria, see, they grow syrup trees and sugar trees. Maples, I think they are. Well, sometimes in the fall a light snow falls, and the people making syrup call it a sugar snow. If I can get a few sample of that sugar snow, imagine what kind of candies would be possible! I bet Sugarcube Corner would be interested if I found anything. It’s only June now, though, so I won’t be able to get any sample for a few months.

In the meantime, I’ve got to think about what to do for the Summer Sun Celebration. It’s less than a week away, and this one’ll be a doozy! I can’t even imagine what the Mayor has planned for the millennium celebration, but I know she won’t disappoint. Last year, Cobalt and I did a few tricks for the event. He was in charge of the sun, moon, and star glowstones, and I took care of all the weather. I would have liked to work with the glowstones (I’ve got a knack for getting them to hover at just the right places), but Cobalt pointed out that since I was the only pegasus, and he couldn’t manipulate the clouds with magic, I’d have to do it. He was right, I guess, and the whole thing was a smashing success (except for when the glowstone for canis minor exploded mid-show). The problem is, I don’t know what I can do this year to top it. Everyone loves fire tricks, but those are too easy. Besides, last time I singed my mane and for weeks I had a bald patch on my neck. I could get some bottled thunder and give them out as noisemakers (or bottled lightning as firecrackers), but, again, this is the ONE THOUSANDTH celebration. I can’t just do any old trick. Eh, maybe I should have thought about this earlier. At any rate, I asked Cobalt and Sugar to come over tomorrow to brainstorm. Likely Cobalt’s got a few tricks hidden under his hoof. He always does.

Oh dear! I forgot about my earth globes! I have to get them from the furnace or they’ll turn into magma balls again! Uh, I’ll write more tomorrow!

Friday, June 16, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Whew! What a day I’ve had! Cobalt and Sugar came over, with Sugar bringing one of her new salads (lettuce, kale, orange, tomato, and onions! Yum!), and Cobalt with, as he calls them, “bottled miracles”. I don’t know what he used to get mercury to stay solid in a glass vial on a warm day, but he managed it! We talked about what we were going to do for the Summer Sun Celebration, obviously.

Sugar’s going to give away a baked good. That’s all she would say, no matter what I or Cobalt asked. Sugar’s usually easy to get talking about a new recipe, so whatever she’s got cookin’, I know it’s going to be different and fun.

Cobalt had a few tricks he’s planning to do for the celebration, but they were all little things he could set off randomly, just to get the crowd’s attention. He did have a plan for our number this year, though. He claims that there’s some new thing one of his buddies in Saddle Arabia has found, and Cobalt’s confident that it’ll be just what we need to make a real show-stopper. He didn’t really know much about it, besides the fact that it seems to defy physics as we know it. The last time we found something like that, my house caught fire. That’s when I bought a whole bunch of fire-proof foam to insulate the place with. Anyway, Cobalt’s going to take the train to meet up with his Saddle Arabian friend while I mix up the smaller tricks and fill out the Mayor’s infamous paperwork. I just picked it up an hour ago, and I swear she’s added a whole new chapter on explosions and fires since last year’s fiasco.

I don’t expect it’ll take me more than a day to get the ingredients for the potions (I’ll have to talk to Zecora about some of them, unless I can somehow find Starblossom and convince her to lend me some of hers), and another day to mix them up. Might take me half a day to fill out this paperwork. I guess I could fill it out in-between making fireworks and glowstones, but that’s a bit risky. I’ll just take it slow for once. Not looking forward to trekking through the Everfree to find Zecora, but I’ve packed a lunch, so at least I’ll have an excuse not to try her latest brew. I mean, I love that zebra, but the stuff she mixes up just doesn’t sit well in the stomach. Well, I’m off to bed. Another day awaits!

Saturday, June 17, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Right, I’ve got all the supplies for a half-hundred fireworks. Although, if you want to split hairs, only about a dozen of them will be real fireworks; the rest are little concoctions of fire and lightning and smoke that I’ve invented. Won’t be able to use my best inventions, sadly. I have to set off only stable, non-property-destructive explosions, according to the Mayor. Pity. Speaking of which, I’ve started picking at the stack of paperwork. Most of it is straightforward: no potentially dangerous acts, no public nudity (though I don’t know how that classifies, since we don’t normally wear clothes, anyway), no being disrespectful to the princess or visiting dignitaries, stuff like that. Some of this stuff is annoying. No pets allowed? Specifically, a clause stating that pet alligators are not permitted on the grounds (probably due to that pink pony’s gator scaring the Mayor in the middle of a speech). And the part about “in the case of conflagration, aqueous disaster, or otherwise potentially hazardous event, staff in the echelons of political office will evacuate the premises posthaste”? Sounds like the Mayor’s way of legally telling us that we’ll die first. She’s awfully serpentine for a pony, sometimes.

At any rate, I’ve got my supplies, and they ARE LEGAL! Oh, speaking of which, I didn’t have to visit Zecora after all! I was heading out this morning to the Everfree, and I found a basket full of all the ingredients I needed with a note attached telling me to burn the basket and the note after reading it. Oh, Starblossom, you DO care! I burnt what she asked me to, of course. You don’t want to cross Starblossom when it comes to burning evidence. I made her a little thank-you gift of scent remover. She always likes not being able to be spotted, by any means, so I know she’ll like it. Oop! There goes the kettle! Time for my evening tea! Tomorrow I’ll start actually making the fireworks.

Sunday, June 18, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Most of the fireworks are done, and the rest of the paperwork didn’t actually take me that long to finish. I’ve sent it off to the Mayor for approval. I really hope she doesn’t find some excuse to deny it. I’d hate to redo all that stuff.

I bumped into Sugar at the market today. She was getting more things for her culinary creations. I wasn’t able to see what she got; she’d covered her basket with a blanket. I guess this new treat of hers is REALLY something special if it’s THAT secret. Or maybe she was buying drugs. I dunno.

I’m expecting Cobalt to arrive tomorrow with the show-stopper. It makes me feel good to have everything going smoothly for once. Although, I AM making fireworks, and fireworks are basically just explosions, and if there’s one thing I’m good at making, it’s explosions. Well, if Cobalt makes it back by noon, I’ll have everything ready to go, and we can do a couple rehearsals with dummy fireworks before picking apart his friend’s discovery. I haven’t really thought about it in the last few days, mostly because I’ve been busy with all I’ve had on my hooves, but now that I’ve got the time, I’ve been thinking about what this thing could possibly be. It probably isn’t just a big explosion. I think I’ve made enough of those before. Maybe it’s not amazing by itself, but it needs to be mixed with a few things to really shine. That would be fun, experimenting and alchemizing to find the coolest combinations (Celestia knows it’s been a long time since I’ve had a really good challenge). I suppose it could even be a new element! My, I think that’s the most exciting prospect! I can’t even imagine how a new element could fit into place. I mean, there are already so many of them! But a new element would certainly be something to one-up our last Summer Sun Celebration show...

Monday, June 19, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Oh, I’m more excited than I’ve ever been! Just two more days, and Cobalt and I will put on a show that’ll blow Ponyville’s socks off (not literally; the Mayor would have my head if I were responsible for another disaster)!

The new thing Cobalt brought back from Saddle Arabia is called a “hot snow condenser”. I have no idea how it works, but Cobalt’s got all the specs to make a few himself. It’s basically a sphere with a hole in the top. If you pour water into it, mix in a cloud, and stir it with a pegasus feather (which I’ll be providing. Ouch), and then SET IT ON FIRE, it’ll start belching snow out of the hole at an incredible rate! Cobalt says they use it in the more arid parts of Equestria to cool off and have some fun. What’s really amazing about this “snow” is that it doesn’t melt when it’s hot; it only melts after enough time has gone by, with the time able to be altered base on how much cloud you add, and how long you let it brew. For the celebration, we’ll have it melt after a few minutes, so it doesn’t become a nuisance.

There’s not much more time to explain more, as it’s getting quite late. I think Cobalt and I spent a few too many hours playing with that snow condenser. At any rate, the decorations for the celebration are going up all around town. I hear that the owner of the Carousel Boutique is putting up the decor for the town hall, so that’s guaranteed to be good. Catering is being taken care of by Sugar Cube Corner and Sweet Apple Acres, as usual. That nice pegasus with her songbirds is going to put on some music for the event, and the weather team from Cloudsdale is coming by to make sure the resident weather pony isn’t sleeping on the job instead of clearing the skies, and all around town, performance ponies are putting the finishing touches on their acts. I don’t think anything can go wrong with Wednesday’s event.

Tuesday, June 20, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Cobalt and I put the last few touches on our show, the decorations are up, food is starting to cook, music is ready, and the skies are clear! Princess Celestia sent around a unicorn from Canterlot to make sure all the preparations are in order, and she’s marked everything satisfactory. Why, Twilight Sparkle (that’s her name, by the way) even got the full Pinkie Pie treatment this evening, with a huge party welcoming her to Ponyville. As they say, ain’t no party like a Pinkie Pie party, ‘cause a Pinkie Pie party don’t stop. I didn’t get home until laaaaate, so I don’t have much energy to write more than a paragraph. Still, the Summer Sun Celebration is tomorrow (or, I guess, earlier today, if you want to get picky, but the day doesn’t start until I wake up), and it’s sure to be awesome.

End of 1: Storm Blitz

2: The Summer Sun Celebration

Wednesday, June 21, Year 1000 of Our Lord

I think today deserves a full recap; no skipping around this time; it’s that important.

I went straight from the party to the town hall, because it was the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration (everypony knows you have to stay up or you might miss the Princess raise the sun). Not only that, it was also the thousandth one, so it was obviously going to be really good. I spent the last week getting a show ready to perform at the celebration, as I do every year, and I was really excited about this one! So I pack up my stuff and leave (didn’t have breakfast, since there was food at the town hall), heading for the centre of town.

So I get there, and I’m just in time to see Sugar Heart unpacking all the baked good she’d made for the event. Oh, there were all sorts of yummy things there! All kinds of salads and sandwiches and quiche and summer rolls, and berry tarts, and in the middle of all of Sugar’s delicacies was the biggest strawberry shortcake I’ve ever seen! But this wasn’t a “short”cake, it was by all means a tallcake! It had three tiers of five layers each! Each! No wonder she was so secretive about that project; it was the best thing I’d ever seen! I think even Sugarcube Corner was envious of that cake! I ate sooo much of that good stuff, still makes my mouth water. Anyway, after breakfast/brunch, I wandered around watching everypony set up their things, getting ready for a show. Everything was fine, for a while. But then everything went to pony hell.

The first event for the celebration is always Celestia bringing up the sun. After all, you can’t have a party in darkness! So Mayor Mare took the stage after everypony was gathered together. A yellow-coated, pink-maned pegasus (Fluttershy, I think her name is. Never talked to her, to be honest) conducted her songbirds to sing the town anthem, and the Mayor started her short speech.

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” She began, “As Mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!” She paused for the crowd to cheer, which they did, before continuing, “In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year! And now, it is my great honour to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the Bringer of Harmony to all of Equestria... Princess Celestia!

The curtains on the balcony above the Mayor were drawn back, and... Celestia wasn’t there.

“This can’t be good,” I heard somepony say from the audience.

“Remain calm, everypony, there must be a reasonable explanation,” The Mayor said, a bit flustered.

“Ooh! Ooh!” Came the unmistakable sound of Pinkie Pie, “I love guessing games! Is she hiding?” Everypony looked around, hoping that this was the case, but then the pony who pulled back the curtain came out from behind the drapes.

“She’s gone!” She exclaimed, to a chorus of gasps.

“Ooh, she’s gooood,” Pinkie exclaimed, obviously missing the point. Her amazement was brought short, however, by the appearance of a cloud of purple smoke on the balcony, from whom emerged an alicorn black as night, wearing midnight blue armour. I don’t think many of the ponies there recognised her, but I remembered finding a picture of her when I was looking through one of my books for a certain recipe. That alicorn was Nightmare Moon, the very embodiment of darkness and evil. Legend says that she was Celestia’s sister, but Celestia had to banish her to the moon.

So of course, she came back. I don’t know how she did; I know there was another part to that legend, but I skipped over it once I realised that it wasn’t what I was looking for.

“Oh, my beloved subjects,” Nightmare Moon began, baring her fangs in what I think was an attempt to smile. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen your precious, little, sun-loving faces!”

“What did you do with our Princess?” The weatherpony (Rainbow Dash, maybe? I’m not as good as Pinkie is at remembering names) shouted angrily, and tried to tackle Nightmare Moon. Notice I said “tried”. She was brought to a halt by Applejack (aha! A name I remember!) pulling her back by the tail (ow).

Nightmare Moon chuckled, bringing attention back to herself. “Why, am I not royal enough for you? Don’t you know who I am?”

“Ooh! Ooh! More guessing games!” Pinkie started, again, completely oblivious to the matter at hoof. “Um, Hokey Smokes! How ‘bout Queen Meanie? No, Black Snooty, Black Snooty!” She would have gone on for some time had Applejack not shoved a baked good into her mouth.

“Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?” Nightmare Moon continued, not acknowledging Pinkie’s random outbursts. “Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?”

“I did!” Came a voice from the front of the crowd. “And I know who you are!” Heads turned to see Twilight Sparkle, Celestia’s student, and the very pony who inspected Ponyville to make sure it was up to specs for the celebration. “You’re the Mare in the Moon! Nightmare Moon!” Gasps came up from the crowd as some of them remembered the stories.

“Well, well, well,” Said Nightmare Moon, sounding genuinely surprised. “Somepony who remembers me! Then you also know why I’m here!” I racked my brain, trying to remember the rest of the legend, but I couldn’t remember in time. But that was okay; I didn’t have to.

“You’re here to... To...” Twilight Sparkle replied, looking very uneasy.

Nightmare Moon chuckled again. “Remember this day, little ponies. For it was your last! From this moment forth, the night will last forever!”

It was so quiet after that, you could hear a feather drop, which is what happened. I fear I became so afraid that I started molting. Already a hoof-full of feathers had fallen off. Now, I wasn’t panicking because I was afraid of the dark like a filly, but I kinda use sunlight AND moonlight for experiments. Besides, what would happen to the town’s crops? I guess I could have thought up a way for crops to grow in only moonlight, but that would take time, and when food is rapidly draining with no production, time is sometime a town doesn’t really have.

At any rate, Nightmare Moon wasn’t done. She was somehow able to summon a storm cloud into the town hall, and it started striking everywhere! Even when Mayor Mare sent the royal guard to attack Nightmare Moon, they were struck out of the sky by lightning. It seemed like she grew tired of that game quickly, though, so she turned into mist and flew out of the hall, away from the town, for which I was grateful. Some of the crowd in the hall fled to their homes to hide, including Twilight Sparkle, but to their credit, most of the town remained and cared for the foals who had been frightened, as well as the other ponies who had been hurt in the commotion. I helped where I could, but I was still a bit shaken from the event. Cobalt had mysteriously disappeared when Nightmare Moon came, but Sugar was still there, helping everypony. I made sure she was okay before I headed off to my domicile for some potions.

Over the course of my stay at Ponyville, I’ve been slowly getting the title of town apothecary. Mind you, I’m not as well-known as some ponies, but if I walk through town, I’ll get a few nods of recognition, mostly from ponies I’ve traded potions and poultices with. Now, you can’t get a reputation as a farmer without a field of crops, and I didn’t get my reputation as apothecary without making lots of healing potions (mind you, my main focus is still alchemy, but it’s good to have a few potions around if somepony hurts themselves). I gathered up as many as I could fit safely in my saddlebags, and made my way back to the town centre. On the way, I knocked at the houses and gave potions to those who needed them. I fear some were too scared to answer their doors, though. Once I had gotten to the hall, I passed out the rest of my effects. Fortunately, there seemed to be enough to go around, except for me. But that was okay; I was just startled, and I’ve always found helping ponies calming.

When everypony was at least calmed down, Mayor Mare started one of her speeches. I don’t think this one was for attention, though. When things really get serious, she sure can step up and help her townsfolk. I didn’t pay much attention to it, at any rate. I was more interested in flying around town looking for things out of the ordinary. I caught a glimpse of Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity heading in the direction of the Everfree Forest, but if they wanted to hide in there, I wasn’t going to stop them. I had enough on my hooves as it was. I’m still surprised that I sprung into action like that. I’ve never been a brave pony, and I’m not very outgoing, but when I saw all the town so scared and hurt, I just got stuck in helping ponies. I guess it’s the sort of action somepony takes only in dire situations, and I hope nothing that dire ever happens again. I like this town being quiet; it’s good for testing.

When I didn’t find anything out of place during my once-over on the town, I headed back to the hall. Almost all of the ponies had gone to their homes for safety, and only five remained, six including me. Sugar, as I expected, was still making the ponies feel better, but she looked so tired. She really needed to sleep. Cobalt had come back, just as mysteriously as he’d left, and was testing a scrying spell to look for signs of Nightmare Moon. Starblossom was around, looking about as normal as I’d ever seen her. Her coat was its original colour: light purple, and her mane and tail, while still short from her cutting it, looked at least well-kempt and rather charming in their new black colour. She wasn't wearing any crazy outfit, and the only thing that made me recognise her was her stuffed mouse, and the fact that her cutie mark was hidden with purple dye. It was convincing enough that some ponies might think she was a blank-flank, but just subtly off colour enough for me to notice. Daisy and Cherry Berry were sitting in a corner, talking in hushed tones. I couldn’t hear everything they said, but they mentioned Nightmare Moon, so I guess they were just talking about the recent events.

“So, uh, that was unexpected,” I began.

“Unexpected?” Starblossom interjected in her alto voice. “Everything was right there. You just weren’t paying attention to the signs.”

“Now, now, Starblossom,” Cobalt Bright gently rebuked, his deep, rich baritone soothing Starblossom’s irritation. “Storm just isn’t as well-read as you when it comes to legends and myths.”

“Except Nightmare Moon, it seems, was not a myth,” Sugar Heart noted, her soprano voice sounding supremely tired.

“Of course not. I bet you thought Celestia always rose the sun AND the moon,” Starblossom said at me.

“I know about Luna, Starblossom,” I defended, “It’s just that I only remembered the legend when I saw her.”

“I suppose you’ll want us to look for the Elements of Harmony?” Sugar hazarded.

“No,” Starblossom responded. “We are not its holders; only the holders of the Elements should find them. They’re on their way now.” The way Starblossom talked often weirded me out. Sometimes it was as if she knew what would happen before it ever did. “At any rate, we have a few hours to kill before they get back. Who wants to play Monopoly?”

Had she suggested any other game, we might have questioned her wanting to play games in the middle of a crisis. But Monopoly is serious business. Monopoly is the game of kings and queens, and I was going to win this time. “Dibs on the saddle piece!” I called, making my first strategic move. In the end, I procured the saddle piece, Sugar was the heart (a wonderfully ironic token, which we would pick on her about until she politely but firmly asked us to stop), Cobalt was the star, Starblossom picked the carriage, and when Daisy and Cherry Berry joined, they got the mug and the gem, respectively. It was a fierce game, especially when, as always, someone would buy only one of each of the colours so no-one could build houses on them. It ended three hours later (“Exactly on time,” Starblossom said), when Daisy bought Canterlot RIGHT when I landed on it next turn, and finally bankrupted me. Daisy might seem like a gentle pony, but you’ve never seen her in a game of Monopoly. That mare is ruthless.

Not three minutes after Starblossom put away the gameboard (which she keeps in her bag all the time, for some reason), trumpets sounded in town, calling everyone outside. When we stepped out, we were almost blinded by the sun, which we had been too busy playing Monopoly to notice had been brought up.

“Look!” Somepony shouted. “Up in the sky! The royal carriage!”

Sure enough, the gold-and-purple chariot of Canterlot was descending to the ground, and on it was Princess Celestia, and a newly-transformed Princess Luna. Starblossom says that Luna was transformed by the Elements of Harmony back to her normal self, but I still don’t know how she knows that. When the chariot landed, the royal sisters stepped down in front of the six ponies I’d seen run into the Everfree Forest: Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Applejack, the six of whom bowed before the Princesses. Luna was looking a bit depressed until two pegasus fillies placed a wreath of red and white roses around her neck. She cheered up quickly after that. I don’t know why. Maybe she just really likes roses. I noticed that Twilight Sparkle also looked a bit glum, and I think Celestia did as well, because she walked over and talked to her. I couldn’t hear what she said over the crowd, but everypony heard what happened next.

“Spike,” Celestia began, “Take a note, please.” A purple-and-green dragon standing beside Fluttershy and Applejack pulled out a quill and paper from nowhere and started furiously taking notes. “I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship, she must report to me her findings, from her new home in Ponyville!”

A cheer went up from the crowd again, and I could hear a couple ponies mumbling surprise that a unicorn from Canterlot would be living here in Ponyville.

“Oh, thank you, Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed breathlessly. “I’ll study harder than ever before!”

Following that was a celebration, so I guess Ponyville got its party for the Summer Sun Celebration after all, even if Cobalt and myself didn’t get to perform our show. Oh, well; we’ll just save it for next year. At least Sugar Heart got to hoof out the rest of the foods she had made, and Starblossom seemed to simply glow with pleasure. The celebration of Celestia and Luna’s reunion, as well as Twilight Sparkle’s assignment to Ponyville, went on until well past midnight. At least, that’s what Cobalt told me. Sugar and I went to bed at around six. We were just so tired.

I guess all’s well that ends well, but I’m still worried that something so dangerous and important happened in this quiet little town of Ponyville. I really, really hope nothing like this happens again.

End of 2: The Summer Sun Celebration

3: The Scene Rises in Viscosity

Thursday, June 22, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Some of yesterday’s celebration is still going on, but I think they’ve finally lost their energy. What with all the noise, I couldn’t concentrate enough to experiment. The commotion even bothered Cobalt, and he lives more on the outskirts of Ponyville, while I live close to the centre. Cobalt chose to spend the day visiting relatives in Canterlot, since it’s just a short train ride away. Starblossom has vanished again, but I didn’t really expect to see her. Sugar and I got a good night’s sleep and picnicked in the Everfree. It’s a nice quiet place to go, since most ponies are too scared to even go close to the forest. They’re all silly; the Everfree is as safe as Ponyville, if you know what to expect.

Take, for instance, the flora: just because they don’t require an earth pony’s touch to grow doesn’t mean they’re twisted. After all, Sweet Apple Acres’ zap apples came from the forest, and everypony in town loves those (leading me to suspect a possible mind-altering substance in the apples? I tried to get a sample last season, but those apples never seem to last long enough to test on. They’re just so good!), not to mention all of the herbs I use in potions and the spices that Sugar puts in salad dressings both come from the forest. Mind you, the stuff can be downright dangerous to get, but proper safety precautions minimize that risk (I’ve only hurt myself twice in the Everfree! Mostly by not looking when I was going...).

The fauna of the Everfree can also be quite friendly and hospitable. Just because somepony got scared by the odd timberwolf, or caught a glimpse of a sea serpent, everypony treats the forest as some sort of taboo place. For instance, there’s this one variety of bird which I SWEAR is nicer than any bird has any right to be. They’re all bright red, and will eat seeds right out of your hoof! Even when I first set hoof into this place, still shaking from imagined fright, these birds (which I named “jubblies” because they look so fat) landed all around me and started twittering birdsong!

At least not everypony is scared by the Everfree. Sugar and I go there regularly to gather the aforementioned herbs and spices, and Cobalt has come to more than one of our picnics. Anyway, enough ranting about the taboos of Ponyville, I’m anxious to tell what Sugar and I did. I don’t remember it all, but it started with Sugar asking me a question after we’d set down a blanket and opened a basket of snacks (apple juice and daisy sandwiches, as I remember).

“Storm,” She started, “What do you think of Starblossom?”

That was a weighty question, and one that I’d been deliberating more and more on since yesterday’s odd behavior from her. I took a bite from a sandwich, and replied:

“I think that she could be cute if she did her mane up a bit.”

“Storm, I’m serious.”

“So am I, sweet-heart!” I stuck my tongue out at her. “But for real, I’m not sure what to think about Starblossom, especially after how... Random she was yesterday. She talked as if she already knew what was happening, before it happened.”

Sugar grimaced. “That’s what I was confused about, too. She might be a unicorn, but I can’t imagine anypony, even Celestia herself, could cast a spell to see into the future.”

“I’m not the best authority on magic,” I admitted. Potions and alchemy were really more my thing. “But from what Cobalt has told me, magic is like pony’s strength; casting a spell saps your stamina, and ponies with strong bodies can cast stronger spells, and hold them for longer. That’s why he can’t use a powerful spell like scrying more than a hoof-full of times before tiring out.”

“And Starblossom isn’t exactly a strongmare.” Heart finished my thought.

“Exactly,” I agreed. “But if she didn’t use magic, how else could she know the future?”

“Well...” Heart began, looking a bit guilty.

“Oh, no. You’re not suggesting...” I stood up, spilling my apple juice. “You know I can’t stand her when she’s in that character!”

“Hey, she acts much the same as Starblossom did last night,” Sugar tried to reason. “Maybe the two are related.”

It took quite a bit more arguing, and a couple promises, but that’s how I found myself at “Madame Pinkie’s Tent”. Now, I love Pinkie; everypony does. But I like her when she’s throwing parties and making ponies smile. “Madame Pinkie” was a character that I just couldn’t stand, and not because it flies in the face of science and reason that Pinkie’s predictions often turned out to be right. No, I just hated how she acted all serious and mysterious, and completely failed, in an unflattering way. A bit of a petty squabble, but it annoyed me so much, it took even more momentum to bring myself to enter the tent. And when I say “momentum”, I mean Sugar shoved me inside and sat me down on a cushion. Pinkie, as usual, was late, so we sat in the darkness of the tent for a few minutes before we heard a voice calling.

“Whooooo dares disturb Madame Pinkieeeee?” It spoke.

“Pinkie?” Sugar asked. “It’s Sugar Heart and Storm Blitz. We seek your, uh, eternal wisdom.”

“Madame Pinkieeee is communing with the spiritsss! OoooOOOh!” The voice sounded like it was coming from under the table. I lifted the tablecloth and saw that Pinkie had made a bed from cushions and drapes underneath, and was curled up in it.

“Pinkie, you’re not communing the the spirits; you’re sleeping under the table.” I said, more than a little exasperated.

Pinkie opened her eyes wide. “Ooh! Welcome to Madame Pinkie’s tent!” She squeaked. “How can I help you today?”

I looked at Sugar, giving her a “what-did-you-expect” look, and said to Pinkie, “One of our friends, Starblossom, has been acting strange lately. What do you know of this?”

Pinkie scooted out from under the table and sat on her gilded cushion, where she looked into the crystal ball that had suddenly appeared on the table. “Madame Pinkie is parting the mists... Yes... She sees...” She drew a large intake of breath. “That this session will cost four bits!” She solemnly said.

Sugar looked at me and mouthed “I don’t have my bit-bag”. Rolling my eyes and sighing, I reached into mine and counted out four bits to hoof over to Pinkie.

“Aha! The spirits are revealing to me your friend Starblossom! They say... She walks through the sands of time, searching for the cacti of life!” Pinkie declared authoritatively. She tapped her crystal ball. “They are also saying that you should give Madame Pinkie a cupcake for her channeling! OoooOOoh!”

“We have a sandwich,” Sugar noted, digging through the picnic basket, “Will that do?”

“The spirits say all signs point to yes!” She grabbed the sandwich and shoved it into her mouth, chewing loudly. When she finished, we found ourselves outside of the tent, a bit confused as to how we had gotten there. “Thank you for your business, come again soon!” Pinkie called through the tent flap. After a few moments, I heard the sound of snoring coming from inside the tent. Pinkie had gone right back to sleep. Typical.

“I still fail to see the point of that venture,” I said, rather irritated at Sugar. “Also, you owe me four bits.”

“Pinkie knows what she’s saying. I think.” Sugar defended.

“‘She walks through the sands of time, searching for the cacti of life’?” I rebutted. “What could that possibly mean, and how could it relate to Starblossom’s oddities?!”

“I don’t know,” She admitted, “But you know Pinkie’s ‘Pinkie Sense’. She’s not often wrong.”

I just shook my head. “I’m tired of this. We’ve had our picnic, and I’ve got some new potions I want to attempt; let’s go home.”

The rest of the night went predictably; I failed the first three potions (which were supposed to lower the effect gravity has on a creature. I hoped it could be used to simulate flying for non-pegasi), and ended up with two more broken vials (the third one now contains an odd blue liquid, high in viscosity. More testing is required) for my efforts. Sugar likes watching me mix the potions, so she came in with me, staying up late as I did. She says she likes the colours and the “fancy” puffs of smoke and sparks that sometimes happen when I combine ingredients. I’m surprised that it took me so long to mix up only three (failed) vials of this potion, but I suppose it has got a lot of material that must be handled carefully, so that must have taken the time without me noticing it pasing. Even if my first few attempts failed, I’m nothing if not stubborn, so I’ll keep trying tomorrow until I succeed.

Friday, June 23, Year 1000 of Our Lord

I’m writing this at late so pardon the stuff. Potion semi-semi-semi-failed. Not gravity, but mass was changed. Not the same result. Test subject faired... Poorly. Really late now. Gonna go sleep finally.

Saturday, June 24, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Wow, I was really tired last night if that was the best I could write. To clarify, a bit after sunset, I was finishing my last attempt at the gravity-altering potion. It was going very well, and when the last ingredient was added (a dab of cloud. Odd how so many recipes contain cloud or pegasus feathers), I thought I’d finally gotten all the measurements right. I wasn’t sure, though, so I tested it on an inanimate object (one of my wooden chairs) rather than a living one. When I poured the potion’s contents onto the chair, I expected the force of gravity exerted upon said chair to lessen, but instead it lowered the MASS of the object.

I’m sure everypony knows that gravity and mass are different things; gravity give mass weight, while mass is just the measure of matter that an object contains. Changing the gravity on a sphere whose mass was 10kg so that it only weighed a half of that is fine. But halving the MASS of that sphere means taking away actual matter, rather than invisible force. In laypony’s terms: take away half a chair’s mass, and you don’t have a chair anymore. You’ve got a somewhat tasteful modern art piece. I’ve put what remained of the potion in my dangerous chemicals vault, and sold the half-chair to an art collector who conveniently passed through town today.

Also today: that unicorn from Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle, got two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala somehow. She must have had the Princess send them to her; tickets aren’t for sale for another week (speaking of which, I bribed a ticketmaster for priority service. Guess who’s getting their tickets? Storm Blitz is!). Most of the day was too hectic to do much of anything, what with so many ponies coming into my house to see if Twilight Sparkle hid inside (oh, did I mention that the entire town was chasing her, trying to secure that extra ticket? Now I have). In what little time I had, I read a bit more of my new book “The Hardy Colts: Secret of the Red Talon”. It’s about two colts who solve mysteries through one part common knowledge, four parts crazy plot twists, and five parts deus ex machina. Stupid, but hecka entertaining.

Sunday, June 25, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Early apples are growing nicely, so Sugar tells me. She says that at this rate the early harvest will be in July or August. Just in time, too: my dried apple preserves are about to run out. While I’m on the topic of fruit, what I wouldn’t do for a few watermelons right about now. Today has been unseasonably hot, and I’ve always loved watermelon. Cobalt, Sugar, and myself joined some of the townsponies in heading to the local watering hole for a refreshing swim. I suppose one good thing about this town is that it’s inland, so there’s little humidity, which would just make a hot day hotter. It was nice taking a break from alchemy to go out every so often. I’ve been caught up with the work for the past few days, I don’t think I’ve been out more than a couple times a week. I’ll do something nice tomorrow, maybe. Go out to see a film, hike up a mountain, something to break the summer doldrums. I heard that there was a carnival a couple towns over; I’ll go there, I guess.

End of 3: The Scene Rises in Viscosity

4: Burning Twice as Bright

Saturday, June 26, Year 1000 of Our Lord

The carnival was canceled today, which is just my luck. For the first time in I don’t know how long, I didn’t feel like alchemizing, or reading, or much of anything. It was odd, not wanting to do anything. In the end, I was just sitting around all day, looking out my window. Time ceased to have meaning as I contemplated the meaning of life, the universe, and everything (I couldn’t think of an answer that applied to everypony, so I’ll just say it varies from pony to pony). It took me a while to get bored of that; I like thinking hard about big philosophical questions like that, which makes me wonder why I don’t do it more often. I didn’t eat much more than a few crackers today. I didn’t feel hungry, even if I drank about three gallons of water in a crazy thirst. Screw it, I don’t feel like writing. I just want to sleep.

Sunday, June 27, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Just another week and it’ll be the fourth of July, the famous day that the griffon nations declared their independence from Equestria, and the rule of Celestia. I don’t know why all of Equestria celebrates it, if it’s basically the day that we lost a section of land, but whatever. I don’t feel like doing anything for it. I don’t think I’ll even make fireworks.

Monday, June 28, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Sugar came by to ask about me, since she’d not seen me for a few days. That was nice of her, but unneeded. I’m fine, it’s just the summer heat making me slow. I think. At any rate, she left after a while. Nothing really happened except she asked me a few questions like “do you have a sense of impending doom?”. Silly questions. Don’t know what she was trying to do.

Tuesday. June 29.

I really don’t feel good today. Like, really really bad... -ly. I called Cobalt (Not Sugar because I don’t want her worried) but I don’t know if I was intelligible. It’s too hot. I’ve got a bad headache. I’m going to sleep with some ice packs.

Saturday, July 3, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Well that was an ordeal. I haven’t written anything in a few days on account of me having been in the hospital for that time. Turns out my lack of interest in life, dehydration, and loss of appetite were signs of a severe heat stroke. Or whatever. I didn’t really listen to the doctors, I was too busy feeling generally awful. From what I did understand through my delirium, though, I gather that I was in a bit of a bad way. I know the nurse didn’t want to say it when I questioned her later, but from the look on her face, I know I almost died. Writing those words sends shivers from my snout to my tail. I’ve never thought about death much, and to know I was at his door for a while terrifies me. On the rare occasions I did think about the unavoidable end, I always thought I’d accept it with grace, but now, knowing that I was so close to it... It scares me, more than anypony could possibly imagine. For now, I want to forget about it. Maybe a time will come when I can think about this, but... I can’t right now.

The gang stopped by while I was bedridden to keep me company. Even Starblossom came along, and gave me a teddy bear. Seeing how nice she is really makes me feel stupid for going along with Sugar to “Madame Pinkie”. Star’s a friend, and I shouldn’t plot behind her back. So I asked her today, when she came to visit, about her sporadic precognition. She giggled (Do you know that’s the first time I’ve seen that mare smile?). Said she didn’t know, but wasn’t it just so fun to act mysterious about it? Keeps everypony guessing. Before she left, she gave me a kiss. On the lips. I don’t know what to say about that. I was, and still am, at a loss for words. All this time I thought she was a bit of an odd mare, but maybe she’s just doing it for fun. And giving me a kiss? ...You know, that was the first time I’d ever kissed a mare. Wow. Now that I’m thinking about it, I feel a bit dizzy, and not from lack of oxygen.

Does Starblossom like me? Was that what the kiss was? Or was it just another thing to “keep me guessing”? If it’s the latter, it sure did just that. If it’s the former... Do I like her? I’d meant to talk about what happened while I was in the hospital, but I guess Star’s monopolizing this entry. Do I care if she is? Could I have been falling for her all this time and not known it? I never had much of an interest in mares, but now... It’s like that little kiss awoke something inside me.

And what about Sugar Heart? What if all this time, she liked me? Now that I look back, she did seem to be more friendly with me than with Cobalt. And Cobalt! He’s in love with Starblossom! What if Star likes me, and he’s heartbroken? Oh, Celestia. I hope I’m just panicking and overthinking this...

Sunday, July 4, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Yeah, there was the celebration today. I’ll write a bit about it, but I really want to talk more about yesterday’s entry.

So, the fest. It was nice. There were enough booths and shows and foods to entertain everypony during the day, and at night the fireworks lit up the sky in all the colours of the rainbows! I spent a nice day walking through the stands and stalls (slowly, since I’m still a bit weak from my heat sickness, or whatever it was). I treated myself and my friends to some funnel cakes, a guilty pleasure of mine (they’re so sugary, but I LOVE them!), and we had a gay (not that kind of gay!) discussion about the upcoming apple harvest, and what we would make with the fruits, and how we’d enjoy them. When night came, everypony in town was outside watching the fireworks coming from Canterlot (I still don’t know why Equestria is celebrating its defeat in the griffon lands, but the night was so nice, I’m willing to forgive that). Oh, it was a wonderful day, and I think it did me a lot of good to breathe the fresh air and eat the good food. I wouldn’t have spent the day any other way. When the fireworks ended, Cobalt and Starblossom went to their homes, but Sugar followed me home, saying that she wanted to talk with me briefly.

And here comes the bit I was anxious to get to. When we got inside, she pinned me to the wall, her face a mask of fear and pain.

“Mist,” She choked out through sobs. It was the first time she’d ever used my real name. It was the first time I’d even heard it in years. “I was so scared, when you were in that bed, I was... I just...” She paused to choke out a few more sobs. “I was so scared, Mist, I just was so scared. We almost lost you and I -”

She couldn’t finish what she was saying. She was crying too hard. I tried to say something, anything, but the shock of what was happening, and what had happened, and what could have happened just hit me, and I just stood there, back against the wall, Sugar’s tears soaking my chest, my mouth half-open. Stupid! I wish I could have said something! I’m always so calm and confident in my daydreams, but when something happened in real life, I was just as choked and unsure and scared as I told myself I’d never be. I couldn’t even move.

It took a minute for Sugar to speak again. By that time, I was feeling very odd. It was as I wasn’t even there, or I was watching someone else’s life instead of mine as Sugar took several calming, deep breaths and spoke:

“I - I love you.” Her voice trailed off at the end, but I heard perfectly. I felt as if I had been struck by lightning (something I’d had happen before. It’s not quite as painful as you’d think, but it really messes your head up). My head seemed to be spinning, and I was shaking all over. Maybe I had had the thought yesterday, but to hear it out loud, and after such an emotional instance was unbelieveable.

“I love you too.” I blurted out, eyes tearing up, not realising until then that it was true. When I said those words, it was like a huge light had just been turned on in a dark abyss. Everything was happening so fast, and yet I knew what was happening was right. I still can’t believe it. Sugar loves me, and I love her. We fell asleep that night in each other’s arms, and the sense of closeness that we shared was unbreakable. When I woke up, I thought it might have just been a dream, but as I write this, the mare of my dreams is sleeping right next to me. And I think she’s waking up now.

Monday, July 5, Year 1000 of Our Lord

Today was the end of my life. That is not, however, to say that I died, as I think you’ve already guessed. But today was the start of OUR life. Sugar and I spent the morning and afternoon talking quietly about us and how our lives would change by being together, or just sitting together, enjoying the feel of the close friendship we now share. We made arrangements with Cobalt and Starblossom to meet for dinner at a fancy restaurant, the kind I’d never go to normally, but this was a special occasion. We told them that we had a surprise, and they told us they had one for us, as well. Sugar had me wear my suit (a simple black-and-white tuxedo. I used to wear it in Cloudsdale for especially ritzy events) to the dinner; I think the place was so fancy, we’d be turned away if we just wore our normal outfits (that is, nothing at all). We met Cobalt and Star at the table, as they had arrived first. We told them our surprise first, then they: theirs. As it turns out, the two surprises were the same! Sugar and I are now dating, and so are Cobalt and Star! I was so happy for us all, I bought a bottle of champagne, which I’d never had before. The four of us drank the whole bottle by the end of the night, and we were quite pleasantly buzzed as we went to our homes (Cobalt and Star lived close together anyway, so Star is moving in with Cobalt. For Sugar and I, it’s undecided as of yet. We both have quite the collection of assorted instruments for our particular crafts of baking and science (which Sugar has convinced me to call alchemy. I guess it was rather childish to pretend I was an alchemist), and all those tools take up a lot of space. My place isn’t big enough or well equipped enough to have a huge kitchen, and hers isn’t, uh, fire-proof enough. So for now we’re living separate until we figure out what to do.

I can’t believe this, you know. All the years of my life, I’ve never had eyes for anypony, and I used to gag at the mushy stuff that couples would say to each other. But now, I’m calling her by pet names (although Sugar is already a bit of a pet name. She just calls me Mist now), picking her flowers, and, yes: kissing. I’m head-over-heels, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. ♥

End of 4: Burning Twice as Bright