Spike's Diary

by Jay David

Rating: everyone
Tags: Spike, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 51888

The thoughts of a young dragon as he and his best friend journey to their new home

As a young dragon who has many strange and wonderful things happen to him, Spike surely has numerous thoughts on the events of his life. And where better to put those thoughts than his very own diary?

Published 2019-02-28 19:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2019-10-13 04:16:59 UTC

I mess up...then get good again

Dear Diary,

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting all of this to happen when we went to the Crystal Empire for the Games. Seems they wanted me to light the fire to start the event, and I was just terrified of doing that, which was made all the worse by the fact that, when it came time for me to do all that, I just couldn't. Without realising it, Twilight lit it with her magic, and afterwards I spent a good amount of time just thinking I had some special power. When I realised what had actually happened, I felt terrible. Lower than I had ever felt for quite some time.

I felt that way all through the games, but then disaster struck! After a few mishaps, a massive block of ice formed that threatened the other spectators, and I didn't know what took hold of me but I raced in and blew the biggest breath of fire in my life. The ice was gone and everypony thanked me for it. But I still felt down after the earlier failure. Everypony said that I shouldn't feel that way, and that what I did with the ice was heroic. Because of this, I was able to start the Games again, and this time I did.

So yeah, lots of stuff happening and not all of it good. But you know, I'm glad it happened.

Resting for a bit

Dear Diary,

Today, I have absolutely nothing to do. Now, I enjoy a good busy day as much as the next dragon, but I love times when I can just kick back and enjoy doing nothing. And where might I be right now, you may ask? Reading in the library? Hanging out with the other colts and fillies of the town? Nope! I'm just laying on the grass on a nice sunny hill looking everything over. And I know I won't be interrupted up here because Twilight and the others are all greeting somepony new to town. Pinkie's sister! Yeah, her name is Maud and this is her first time in Ponyville. Now, you may ask why I'm not going over to say hi, and the reason is, well, I'm sorta worried about meeting another Pie.

Don't get me wrong, I like Pinkie plenty, but just one of her is enough to exhaust me most of the time, and the thought of there being two mares like her around here is just way too much for me. Maybe I'll go and meet this Maud person later, but right now, I'm just gonna enjoy a nice long nap.

So, if you'll excuse me, nap I shall.

Rarity has sister trouble again

Dear Diary,

You know how Rarity and Sweetie Belle haven't always had a perfect sisterly relationship? Well, seems things reached a whole new level of bad between them recently after an incident involving a play that Sweetie was part of. Turns out Rarity's costumes got more praise than the play, so Sweetie was angry about being overshadowed. So, unbeknown to Rarity, she sabotaged her outfits for an upcoming fashion event. After though, she felt bad about it, rather quickly I have to say, and went to fix the mistake. And just in time too, because Rarity was this close to putting those outfits on display.

Now, you may expect me to get pretty angry at Sweetie for what she did, but...no. I actually can't. Why? Simple. I know how she felt. Remember, it wasn't too long ago when jealousy and spite made me try and do something terrible to someone who I felt was upstaging me. Remember Owlowiscious? Yeah, this was pretty much the same thing. It was wrong of Sweetie to do what she did, but I'm not above that kind of thing myself, so I can't get too mad. You know, glass houses and all that.

Still, what matters is that the two sisters made up. Can't be unhappy about that, now can we?

Rainbow's learning troubles

Dear Diary,

As you're well aware by this point, Rainbow has spent her whole life trying to get herself into the Wonderbolts, and as you can also expect, this hasn't been the easiest of things for her to do. Lately, she's had another hard time of it, as one of the entrance exams was pretty difficult for her to study for. We all tried to help her to learn and memorise the know-how she needed for the test, but nothing we did was able to help her. Things got pretty heated, and she and Twilight had a few angry words for one another because of all this. But in the end, we actually managed to find a way to help her, and she actually passed! Isn't that great?

I'm happy for her, we all are. Getting into that group has been something she's wanted since she was a filly, and now she's one step closer to it. I tell ya, Diary, seeing one of my friends get something they've been working hard for always makes me smile. It's like when Rarity gets noticed over in the fashion world, or when Twilight succeeded in some task Princess Celestia gave her. It's just really great to see, and I'd say the day was a pretty awesome one because of it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, we're all going to Sugar Cube Corner for some celebratory cakes.

What's gambling like?

Dear Diary,

Today, I watched as Applejack and Fluttershy went off to the city of Las Pegasus to try and solve a new friendship problem from the Cutie Map. As always, I hope they do well with whatever it is they need to do there. I have to say, I know next to nothing about that city, so after they left I did a bit of research. Hehe, listen to me. "Research". Twilight would be so proud. Anyway, I looked the place up, and it seems like it's a lot of gambling involved, or at least that's what the book likes to talk about more than anything else. I've never gambled anything myself, and Twilight's always told me it's something I need to avoid. Must be an adult thing.

But I never really understood the appeal of it at all to be honest. I mean, putting your hard-earned bits at risk because you might get some more on pure luck and chance? That just sounds silly to me, not to mention risky. But hey, seems a lot of grown-ups do it, so maybe they just enjoy it? Or maybe it's like cookies. You know, try it once and then you can never not have one again afterwards? Can you tell I wrote this when I was hungry? Because I wrote this when I was hungry.

Anyway, I can always just ask when Applejack and Fluttershy come back.

The Wonderbolt mission

Dear Diary,

Today, Twilight and Rainbow headed off to the Wonderbolts Academy for a friendship mission, leaving me and Starlight alone in the castle together. We didn't really talk much during all that since we had a whole bunch of our own stuff to do. I had some cleaning chores to get on with, as well as some groceries I needed to pick up in the afternoon. As for Starlight, she was busy studying magic, as well as going over some notes on her friendship lessons that Twilight had prepared for her earlier. So yeah, things were fairly quiet in the castle today.

I do wonder what kind of mission was needed over at the Academy though. Although, now that I think on it, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The Wonderbolts have had their fair share of problems. Lightning Dust, that guy who tried to frame Rainbow, there's no shortage of pegasi in their group who can cause problems. So I wouldn't be surprised if Rainbow gets called there more often on these missions. Ugh, she's gonna be exhausted after all this.

You know, maybe I should make her some hot chocolate when she gets back, so she and Twilight can relax a bit.

Changes. Lots and lots of changes!

Dear Diary,

...Where do I even begin with this one?! Okay, so me, Twilight and all our friends were captured by the Changelings! Then we were all put into these gross pod things and, well, I don't really remember what happened after that until we were let out. That's right, somepony else did the saving this time, and it was a team of Starlight, Discord, Trixie and my old buddy Thorax. Together they were able to beat Chrysalis and disable her weird anti-magic chair thingie. And what's more, through following Thorax's example, the other Changelings, er, changed. Now, they all look different. Way less scary, and Thorax is also really tall now, which is awesome.

But not every Changeling went through this, as Chrysalis was still her mean old self. Starlight tried to offer her a hoof in friendship, but the Queen just rejected her. She flew off, to where I don't know, I'm just glad she's gone for now. The Changelings are our friends now, and I can't even describe how happy I am about that! Hopefully, with Thorax leading them, they can accept friendship just as he did. Am I worried about Chrysalis still being out there? Of course I am, but I'm confident that, with all our new friends, we can handle her if she ever comes back.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go and take a nap, because this day has taken a lot out of me!

Rainbow's story

Dear Diary,

Today, Rainbow told me the most amazing story. Seems her fellow Wonderbolts actually thought she was trying to sabotage their leader Spitfire just to give herself a chance of getting her spot! I know, it sounds crazy, right? Rainbow loves the Wonderbolts, sure, but there's no way she'd ever stoop to something as low as that. Well, turns out that instinct is right, because Rarity stepped up to help her defend herself against the accusation. And after some investigating, they discovered that the real mastermind behind it was...um...some old stallion whose name I can't remember.

I think he was another Wonderbolt from way back when, at least that's what I remember Rainbow saying about him. But yeah, he did it to make her look bad because she was starting to become known as being a better flier than him. I mean, wow, that's just low, dude! And guess what, seems him doing this made him look bad. I know, shocking. Well, I'm just glad he's been kicked out. A guy like that doesn't deserve to have a mare like Rainbow looking up to him. And I'm glad Rainbow's managed to clear her good name.

Remind me to thank Rarity for her great work on that later. I mean, is there nothing that mare can't do?! No, no there is not!

Cleaning up Ponyville

Dear Diary,

Okay, I admit, the title is a bit of an exaggeration. It's not actually Ponyville being cleaned up, just a bit outside the town. You see, we had the annual Sisterhooves Social today and, well, one of the contestants got a bit too eager to win. No idea who it was but they completely wrecked the racetrack and everything. Everypony's pitching in to get the place back together, and Twilight suggested that she and I volunteer for it. I was happy to help, given that cleaning up messes is about half of my daily routine anyway, and hey it's a nice day for it with the sun shining and all that, so yeah, not too bad a way to spend the day.

Kinda wish I'd been here to see what happened though. From what I heard it was somepony with an even bigger competitive streak than Rainbow Dash, and that's saying something! Speaking of Rainbow, she and Scootaloo are here too, helping out. I asked them about the mare who did all this but they just started looking like it wasn't something they were supposed to talk about. Actually, a lot of ponies around here are acting like that. Well, everypony apart from that one old judge. He just smiled to himself as he thought about her, so think I'm just gonna leave it at that.

So yeah, still got some work to do here, so I'll catch up later.

Tickets

Dear Diary,

Twilight and me have had a pretty rough day today. We were helping Applejack with some of her chores when Princess Celestia gave her two tickets for this year's Grand Galloping Gala. She was really excited, until she realised she could only give the extra ticket to one of her friends. She had a really hard time trying to think of who to give it to, and she and I were pretty much chased all over town once news of it got out. Who knew ponies here would get so excited about going to that party? It was kinda scary, if I'm being honest.

But Twilight was able to fix the problem. She actually sent the tickets back rather than choose between her friends, which was really nice of her. And after sending a message to Celestia, she actually got a whole bunch of more tickets! Even better, I got one too! I've never been to the Gala before, but I hope it's as fun as the party Pinkie threw last week.

Anyway, I'm really hoping nopony here tries to coax this ticket out of me like they did with Twilight. I don't think I could handle that kind of attention twice in one day.

So, guess I'll see you later, Diary.

Applejack Gets Tired

Dear Diary,

Did you know that all of Ponyville can be thrown into chaos because one apple farmer gets really really tired? Well, apparently it can, because Applejack was going through a pretty difficult time recently. She was trying to prove she could get the whole orchard of her family harvested without help, and yeah, I can sort of see her wanting to do that. I might do the same in her horseshoes. But you should've seen her, Diary. I've never seen a pony that exhausted, not even Twilight when she pulls one of her all-night study sessions. Applejack could barely think straight by the end of it.

And Ponyville felt it, believe you me. There were rabbits all over the place, Rainbow got hurt because of some stunts, and there was even a bunch of food poisoning going around. That last one I don't really get, because I thought those muffins were great! Heck, I've got one right now, and it is delicious! But yeah, AJ couldn't keep it up, so she asked Twilight for help. We all pitched in, and the orchard was finished before the day was over. I'm really glad we were able to help Applejack like this, and she was really grateful to us.

But I really hope she doesn't try doing this much work on her own again. It just isn't good for her.

So, gotta go, Diary. I've got some yummy cupcakes to finish.

Bad Griffon

Dear Diary,

Rainbow Dash had a bit of trouble today. An old friend of hers came to Ponyville to visit. At first, things were really good, but then there was some trouble. Most of us didn't notice it, but then things kind of exploded when Pinkie Pie threw a party for her. She just yelled at all of us, and it really hurt. It was only after when we learned what she'd been doing around town. I was shocked that someone like that could be friends with a pony like Rainbow. But I guess people change, and maybe Gilda used to be different when she and Rainbow were younger.

But, that's not the only thing to happen recently. Seems Rainbow and Pinkie decided that it'd be a good idea to start pranking people, and I was one of them. I couldn't stop hiccuping for hours after they were done with me. I really hope none of those scrolls ended up anywhere bad, I'd never hear the end of it.

So yeah, it's been kind of a rough day for everypony. But I'm glad Rainbow and Pinkie are happy again. And the party went pretty well too. I had a lot of fun with it, but I should probably expect that of Pinkie's parties by this point.

Catch you later, Diary, and I hope I meet a nicer Griffon than Gilda one day.

Twilight is the Best Magician!

Dear Diary,

I've been telling ponies all my life how great Twilight is at magic, and now everypony knows it! This other unicorn, Trixie, she came along and tried to wow us all with her spells, but I knew they were nothing compared to what Twilight could do. But, humble mare she is, she didn't get involved. She'd have probably spent Trixie's whole time here just avoiding her if she had the choice, and I guess I can't blame her. But, there was kind of a teensy-weensy little....okay major disaster. A couple of local colts, Snips and Snails, they tried to get in Trixie's good books by bringing in an Ursa Major into town. I don't need to tell you how ponies reacted to this.

Well, Ursa Minor actually, as Twilight said. And you know what? She actually beat the thing all by herself! You should've seen it, Diary! Even I've never seen her do magic that great, and Trixie was utterly gobsmacked by it! She ran off soon after, don't know where she's gonna go though. Heck, I don't even know why she's running. She didn't let the monster in, it was those two colts! Why do I hang out with them again? Oh well, at least I got a sweet-looking moustache out of the whole thing.

...And no, I'm not gonna give you context for that one.

See ya.

Weird Stuff and a New Friend

Dear Diary,

My friends had an...odd day today. It all started when this new person, a Zebra named Zecora, came into town. Nopony talked to her because they were scared of her, because they've never seen somepony like her before. I'm not sure why though, I mean, I'm not a pony, yet ponies have always been fine with me being around. I guess not every non-pony gets to have that though. Still, after my friends followed her to the Everfree, they started being affected by these weird blue flowers. It changed them all in one way or another. Twilight's horn was floppy, Rarity's hair was really long, and Fluttershy's voice was, well, super-deep! It was hilarious, but I think only I felt that way, given how they all looked at me.

So they tried to find Zecora again to get her to change them back, and she did, but not until after explaining that she wasn't responsible. My friends apologies for making assumptions, and now they're back to normal. A shame it happened so quickly though, because I haven't laughed that hard in ages. Huh, I wonder what would happen if I went through that joke flower? What would it do to me? Meh, maybe I'll find out one day. So Zecora is a friend now, and she's really nice. She talks in rhyme a lot though. Not sure why, but hey, it's pretty neat.

Twilight plans to bring her over for tea later, so maybe I'll ask. Catch you later, Diary.

Infested!

Dear Diary,

Ponyville had a real problem today. There were all these little bug-things called parasprites running around and eating stuff. Fluttershy brought in the first because she thought it was cute. And yeah, it was, but then there started being more and more of them as they kept eating. Twilight tried to fix it with her magic but that just made them eat other stuff. Things were really bad. But then, out of nowhere, Pinkie Pie comes along and starts playing all these weird instruments and stuff, and she used them to lure the bugs out of town. We were all amazed that she could do this, and hey, her music sounded pretty nice too.

Kinda wondering how she knew to do that though. I mean, has she met parasprites before? She must have done. But how did she learn that you need music to get rid of them? Maybe I'll ask later. I gotta say though, it was a shame the parasprites didn't work out, because I'd have loved to have a pet like that. Most of my other friends have a pet, and I kinda wonder what it'd be like to have one. Not the kind that eats everything though, because I think we've all learned our lesson on that one.

So, guess I'll sign off now, Diary. I'm gonna go ask Pinkie if she can teach me how to play some of those instruments.

Bye-Bye, Winter!

Dear Diary,

Today was Winter Wrap-Up, and I've gotta say, it's pretty neat seeing the ponies of Ponyville do things so differently to how we do it in Canterlot. They don't use magic, so it's a lot of hard work for then. But the whole town was out, and things were so busy! Twilight and me tried to help of course, but she had a bit of a hard time doing things, so she...well...kinda used some magic. I know, she wasn't supposed to, and she felt really bad about it, but all she did was try and help. She shouldn't be made to feel like she did something wrong there. At least I don't think she should.

But things ended up working out in the end. Why? Well, turns out Twilight's really good at keeping everypony organised. I know, try to contain your shock over that. She got everypony together and helped sort everything out. Even the Mayor was impressed with how well things were going, so she made Twilight an official Winter-organiser-person. I'm sure there's a smarter-sounding name, but I wasn't really paying attention. Anyways, bottom line, Twilight's really happy that she gets to help things out, and Winter is long gone now!

It was great seeing it all happen, but I wish I could've done more to help myself, but all that happened on my end is that I got a cold. Future reference, dragons and cold don't mix.

So yeah, guess that's all for now, Diary.

The Race

Dear Diary,

Did you know that I got to spend the day as an awesome race commentator? Well I did! It was the Running of the Leaves, where the ponies of Ponyville race along a path to get the leaves to fall from the trees. It was a lot of fun, and me and Pinkie were commenting on it from the balloon. I mean, Pinkie's a wild card among our friends, but she's always fun to be around. Oh, and I can't forget the big draw of the race, and that's Applejack and Rainbow. Yeah, turns out those two are really competitive against one another. You should've seen just how unwilling they were to back off from one another. It was quite something. They raced and raced and even resorted to some dirty tricks to win. Kinda scary, if I'm being honest.

But, they didn't win. Either of them. But, you know who actually managed to get ahead of them? Twilight! Yeah, our very own bookworm actually did better than the town's two best athletes. She didn't win either, but she still got way further than either of them did. Even had a nice medal to go with it. I'm happy for her. Maybe I'll cook something nice for our dinner tonight to celebrate it. But yeah, the race was great, Rainbow and AJ are friends again and I had a lot of fun commenting on it.

Wonder if next year will be as interesting? I hope so!

Twilight is flammable, apparently

Dear Diary,

You know how I've talked about how Pinkie Pie is kind of a wild card in our group? Well, turns out that was more true than I thought, because me and Twilight have just gone through a whole day of following her and learning just how many weird things that mare gets involved with. There were Pinkie senses galore today! Oh, and it turns out that Pinkie also has an alligator for a pet. His name is Gummy, but he doesn't bite, which is nice. Gave Twilight a bit of a scare though, but I can't blame her for that. We had a bit of trouble when Fluttershy was nearly eaten by a Hydra. I didn't even know those things were real! And trust me, I'm gonna stay way clear of that swamp for now.

But yeah, Twilight eventually accepted Pinkie's weird sense things. I don't understand it myself, and neither does she, but that's okay. We don't need to understand everything. All that matters is that we're friends with her and have fun with her. And hey, at least we'll know if something's about to fall down. Oh, and I should probably mention how Twilight seems to have the power to set herself on fire. You'd have thought that would be pretty bad for her but...I guess not.

So yeah, this was quite a day.

Cleaning Up

Dear Diary,

I have got the Mother of all messes to clean up right now! Turns out Rainbow Dash was trying some new trick, and she just crashed right into the library. There's books everywhere! Normally, Twilight would be here to help, but she and the others decided that they were gonna go all the way up to Cloudsdale to join Fluttershy in cheering Rainbow on in this contest of hers. Honestly, I'm fine not going myself. Being that high up? No thank you! Anyways, someone has to clean this place up, so it might as well be me. And hey, at least this way I'll actually have some better idea of where all the books are when Twilight asks me to find them.

I hope Rainbow does okay though. Rarity says she was nervous, which surprised me. Rainbow always seemed the most confident mare I've ever met, but Rarity is usually pretty good at telling this sort of thing. I wonder what Cloudsdale's like? I know it's made of clouds, duh, but that just seems to weird to me. And this is coming from a dragon who's already seen some weird things. Still, I hear Rainbow's heroes, the Wonderbolts, will be there, and Princess Celestia too! That'll be pretty daunting for Rainbow to perform out there like that. But still, I'm sure she'll do great.

I hope Twilight has a good story about it all when she gets back. But, yeah, I'd better get back to this cleaning.

Spike the Hero!

Dear Diary,

Today, I became the greatest hero Ponyville has ever known! Well, aside from when Twilight saved us all from Night Moon. And yeah, there was that time Fluttershy got that dragon to leave. And okay, I guess Pinkie saved us from parasprites once. But today, I was the hero! It all began when Rarity and I were looking for gems. All of a sudden, these ~~three~~ ~~five~~ ~~ten~~ twenty monsters showed up! They were big dogs with massive teeth and claws, ready to do all sorts of horrible things to us. But I, the brave dragon that I am, leapt into action. I blew my great fire and scorched about five of them in one breath! But alas, I didn't notice that the others had captured Rarity while I was distracted. But fear not! For I had a plan to rescue my fair lady back from their clutches!

I returned to Ponyville, to enlist the aid of my trusted friends. And together, we heroically ventured into the lair of the monsters. We fought tooth and nail past endless legions of them, and at the end of it all, there she was. Rarity, in all her elegant splendour, eyes fluttering as she saw her rescuer approach. And to make things better, turned out she'd actually managed to convince some of those things to not be such a bunch of jerks to her while she was their prisoner, so hey, go Rarity! We returned to the surface, and I was rewarded by the taste of a delicious gem. And so ends to heroic tale of Spike the Brave!

Oh, and I was wearing a cape during all this. Just wanted to make sure that was clear.

War!...Almost

Dear Diary,

Today, me and my friends went over to the town of Appleoosa to deliver, you guessed it, an apple tree. But we hit some trouble along the way when we were attacked by the local buffalo. Turns out they had some trouble with the ponies of the town, so we all decided to get involved and see if we could get some kind of peace settled. But things didn't really work out that way, at least at first. Rainbow and Applejack sort of got involved in the two sides and were almost more eager for war than the buffalo and Appleoosans. Guess I can't say I didn't see that coming though. This is Rainbow and AJ we're taking about.

But you know what actually sparked it all off in the end? Pinkie Pie's singing. Yeah, no joke. Apparently that was all it took for them to just lose it and start attacking. I mean, sure, it wasn't her best song, but geez! The fighting was pretty rough though. I don't think I've ever seen that many mutilated pies in one place before. That'll haunt my nightmares for sure. But, things actually got worked out, and the buffalo actually managed to get a place to stampede through, which was all they really wanted. I'm glad they can be friends with Appleoosa now.

Oh, and remind me to visit the buffalo again one day, because those guys seriously know how to treat a dragon right.

Baby Pictures

Dear Diary,

I'm sorry to report that Twilight has gone into a bit of a nostalgic mood today. She and the other mares were talking to the CMC today about how they all got their cutie marks, and after they were done, Twilight came home and gave me a big hug. I've got no problem with that, but then she went on about drudging up my old baby pictures, and all those photos of when she and I were little. She almost had tears in her eyes as she looked over it. Although, if i'm being honest, I kinda felt the same way. I couldn't help but smile as I looked over those pictures.

I may not understand cutie marks all that much, but I do understand how important it is to feel like you belong somewhere, or to find something you feel that you should be doing in your life. I feel that way all the time, when I'm with Twilight. She's my family, and when I'm with her, helping her out with whatever it is she's doing, I'm always at my happiest. But, er, don't tell her I said that. I'd never see the end of those hugs.

Anyways, gotta go. Twilight's just called. I think she found another photo album. So prepare for an hour or so of her gushing over it.

...I have no title

Dear Diary,

~~I...I just want to say~~

~~Sometimes, we need to step back and realise...~~

...Twilight is important to me. I honestly can't think of a single person that means as much to me as she does. She was the first thing I saw when I was hatched, and there's never been a day in my life when I haven't been with her. I value her more than I can ever say, and it's only today that I've truly understood just how much I feel that way. You see, there's this new addition to our home. His name is Owlowiscious, and he's, well, an owl. Yeah yeah, I know, not very imaginative, but hey, it works for him. But, I might have gotten jealous of him and tired to make him go away. When Twilight got mad at me for it, I did something really stupid. I ran away.

It got me in danger pretty quickly. I went to the Everfree and I met another dragon. But not a little one like me, oh no, this was a big dragon. He nearly ate me, and if Twilight hadn't been there with Owlowiscious, I'd be dinner by now. I made mistakes, and I make no excuses for that. I'm not proud of what I did because of my jealousy, but I'm happy that Twilight still cares about me. She still wants me with her, and I don't think there's anything I could ever hear that would make me happier.

Now, if you'll excuse me...I want to go and give her a hug.

I think Pinkie might be...weird

Dear Diary,

Pinkie was a bit...odd today. And I don't mean in the usual talking about bizarre things out of nowhere kind of odd like she usually is. I mean really odd. You see, Twilight and the others were trying to keep her Birthday party a secret, but she was apparently trying to find out what they were doing. She got super intense about it to, even getting me over to interrogate me over it. I didn't know anything about it at the time so I had no idea what was going on. Also, that Gummy really knows how to bite down without teeth. Pinkie sort of got depressed after she spoke to me, and she started talking to some inanimate objects. I never knew her parties were that important to her. It's pretty lucky Rainbow was able to get her over to hers though.

Still, this whole thing was a pretty new experience for me. I've always liked Pinkie, don't get me wrong, but she was seriously scary back then during all that. It was like she was this whole other person that we never knew was there. Has she done this before? Will she do it again? I've no idea, but I think it might be best to just avoid saying the wrong thing around her. Not that we'd want to say the wrong thing of course.

Anyhoo, I'm just gonna make sure that bag of flour wasn't really talking.

Twilight's turn to be crazy

Dear Diary,

You know how there are those days when everything can go just as they always have, but then one thing goes just a little bit differently and it sends you into a moment of insanity? Well, that was Twilight's day today, as it turns out that forgetting to send a weekly letter to Celestia is all it takes to send her mind spiralling out of control. Don't get me wrong, I've always known Twilight was pretty obsessed with doing everything by her schedules and stuff, but oh boy, this was really out of control, even by her standards. I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say Ponyville had quite a few things going wrong today because of her trying to get this letter sorted out.

Things actually got so bad that even Princess Celestia herself got involved, fixing everything that went wrong. She wasn't mad, thankfully, and Twilight's not feeling quite so pressured to send her lesson letters every week now Heck, she doesn't even have to send them at all if she hasn't actually learned anything. Oh, and all her friends get to join in on those too, even me. That'll be interesting, sending letters to the Princess. I'm just happy things are back to normal.

That is, until the next time Twilight obsesses over something.

Nightmare Night

Dear Diary,

Tonight, on one of my favourite holidays, Ponyville got a special visitor. Can you guess who it is? That's right, it was Princess Luna! Geez, I haven't seen her since we first arrived in Ponyville. She looks pretty different too, I guess because she's not weak like she was after being his with Harmony magic, maybe? Anyways, she arrived in town and, well, ponies kinda got scared of her, including me for that matter. In our defence though, the last time she showed up it wasn't exactly the nicest of encounters. Everypony here thought she was still kinda dangerous. I'm not proud of it, but that's how we reacted.

Well, everyone but Twilight. She actually did a lot more than the rest of us to try and make friends with her, and while there were a few hiccups along the way, everypony here eventually accepted her. I'm glad she's managed to relax around us here, because she looked like she was having a lot of fun by the end of it...in spite of briefly cancelling the holiday of course. Still, the night went great, and hey, we've got a great new scarer to make the night a bit more interesting in future, so there's that to look forward to, right?

Also, note to self, I should probably try and come up with a better costume next year. Going as another purple dragon probably wasn't my most imaginative idea.

Rarity's sister trouble

Dear Diary,

Today, things were going pretty quiet for me. Not a whole lot going on, which is nice. Always good to take a break from the craziness that is regular Ponyville life. And there was even a new event I got a chance to watch. The Sisterhooves Social. Basically, all the sisters in Ponyville get to join in this big sports race and see who gets to be the winner. Looks like it was fun too. Oh, and turns out Rarity was competing with Sweetie Belle, but that only happened because Sweetie was tricked into it. I know, that sounds pretty confusing, but the thing is the two were having a bit of trouble with one another. Seems Sweetie's living with Rarity now and they were having some disagreements.

Things got so bad that Sweetie actually wanted to have Applejack as a sister instead! Can you believe it? Who'd want to trade a mare as wonderful as Rarity?! I mean, I don't actually live with them, so I guess there's a whole bunch of stuff I didn't see between them, so maybe things got worse with them than I've heard. Still, at the end of the day, the two are getting along, and that's what matters. They even did a little hairstyling thing together, and don't tell them I said this, but they looked pretty silly. But at least they were silly together.

Huh, I wonder if me and Twilight could compete in the social one day? I hear the rules are kinda flexible on that, so maybe I'll go and ask.

Heroes of Ponyville

Dear Diary,

Today, Rainbow Dash had a bit of a problem. You see, she got involved with doing some heroic stuff earlier, and the praise sort of went to her head. She started doing stuff all over town to try and recapture that feeling, but after a while the ponies just started getting tired of it. In the middle of all this, there was a new hero on the scene. The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well. A bit of a mouthful, I know, so let's call her Mystery for short. Anyways, Mystery started getting all the praise, and Rainbow got really jealous of her, so she started going after her.

Then, at the end of it all, it turns out Mystery was actually our friends! Yes, all of them! Seemed they got just as tired of Rainbow trying to act like a hero this whole time, so they tried to bring her down a peg. It was quite a scoop! Oh, that reminds me, I was acting as an awesome reporter the whole time, but nopony wanted to buy my newspaper. I guess it would probably have helped if I'd made more than just one page per issue. But hey, you live and learn, right?

Still, all this superhero stuff makes me want to read the latest Power Ponies issue. It should be coming out soon. Hehe, wonder what it'd be like if Twilight and the others were superheroes? That's be something.

Alone in the Library

Dear Diary,

Today is Twilight's Birthday, and while I'd have loved to celebrate it with her, it looks like I'm not gonna get the chance to do that just yet. You see, Rarity's over in Canterlot right now, and she sent word that she wasn't gonna make it back in time for the party. So Twilight and the others decided that they were gonna go to her instead. And since the library needed looking over, I volunteered. I would've liked to go over to see Rarity of course, but sometimes, a dragon's just gotta do the responsible thing. I hope they all have fun over there, and hey, I really look forward to seeing what Rarity made for Twilight as a birthday gift. Knowing her, it'll be beautiful at least.

As for me, I've got the whole place to myself for now. Nopony here, which is expected by now. I long ago accepted that nopony really comes to the library all that much. Shame too, because there's some sweet books here. And no, before you ask, I don't just mean my comics, there's other stuff here. In fact, I think I might get started on this one book Twilight recommended to me. It's about this pegasus adventurer mare called Daring Do, and it looks pretty fun.

So yeah, guess I'll get to some reading then.

My greedy Birthday

Dear Diary,

Yes, yes, I can hear you already? Another Birthday? So soon? Well, I can't help when Twilight and me were born, now can I? But I will say that this one didn't really go the way I'd have wanted. Oh, the day itself was fine, but what came after was an absolute nightmare! You see, after getting so many gifts, something just started to go wrong with me. My dragon instincts kicked in and I started collecting everything I could get my claws on. I couldn't stop myself, and it terrified me! More than that, I actually started growing! Before long, I was a monster, towering over everypony and everything. Who knows what I would've done if I hadn't been stopped?

And who stopped me, you may ask? Why Rarity of course! That wonderful, amazing mare managed to get through to me, even though she didn't even know it was me at the time. Her words changed me back and...um...I think she might possibly know I have a crush on her. She didn't say anything, but there was just something about the way she looked at me as we were falling to our death. Oh yeah, that happened. Probably should've mentioned that. But yeah, we survived, as you can probably tell, and I've learned a very important lesson. Don't. Get. Greedy.

Geez, these last few days have been exhausting! I hope you don't mind, but I'm just gonna go and lie down for a bit.

The most wonderful time of the year

Dear Diary,

Yep, it's the best time of year yet again. Hearth's Warming Eve! And before you ask, no, I'm not gonna go and look forward to getting lots of gifts this year. I learned my lesson about that after my Birthday and I do not want a repeat of that! Anyways, me and my friends were responsible for hosting a very special event this year. We're gonna put on a play talking about the founding of Equestria. You know, the story about how unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies stopped being enemies and became friends? I've always loved that story, and now we get to be a part of it! And even better, I get to be the narrator! How cool is that?!

It sort of reminds me of how things are between Twilight, Rainbow and all the others. Sure, they've all got their differences, and yeah, they tend to bicker, but things are always better for them when they come together, and they can make really good things happen as a result. Yeah, yeah, I know, that was a really cheesy things to say, even one a day like this one, but what can I say, I'm a romantic.

Sorry, but I gotta go. They've called for the play to start, so I need to get out there. Not fond of the costume though. These pants are just way too tight!

No sign of AJ!

Dear Diary,

Today, disaster struck Ponyville! Applejack, after going to take part in a rodeo over in Canterlot, has just sent a message saying that she's not coming back home! Nopony knows what's going on, so Twilight and the others have gone over to find out what happened to her. I hope nothing bad happened. Everypony's really worried about her, especially her family. I went over to see if I could maybe cheer them up, but they were all so sad that nothing I could say to them had any effect. Apple Bloom was on the verge of crying the whole time I was there. It was next to impossible not to feel as bad as they did during all that.

I really hope Twilight and the others can find her okay. Ponyville just isn't the same without Applejack in it, and her family even more so. Still, something weird is up with her, I'm sure of it. Applejack loves her home, and her family too. She wouldn't just up and abandon it unless something really bad had happened. Oh, now look at me, now I'm getting myself worked up again. I need to calm down. Twilight can fix this. She always fixes these things. I have to have faith that she can sort this out.

Fingers crossed that Applejack comes home, Diary.

Con-artists in Ponyville

Dear Diary,

Barely has AJ come back to Ponyville when trouble rears its ugly head again for her and her family. These two slimy unicorns, Flim and Flam, they just rolled into town with this big fancy machine to convince ponies that they can make better cider and faster than Applejack's family. And yeah, it looked like it could actually do that for a while, so AJ basically had a problem where all these ponies, her own neighbours, were actually considering getting cider from somepony else. It was really bad for them. There was even this big contest between them to see who would win, and it looked like those two con-artists might actually do it.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Turns out their fancy machine wasn't as perfect as they thought it was, and their cider wound up disgusting to their new customers. Applejack and her family won, and Flim and Flam left Ponyville with their tails between their legs. I'm glad the Apples had a win like this. After the trouble with the rodeo, they deserved to have some success in their lives. And hey, we all got some really good cider out of it at the end. Well, all except me, since Twilight says I'm not old enough yet.

But hey, maybe next year.

Rainbow loves to read now!

Dear Diary,

You know how I talked about how one of Rainbow's big things was how she likes to appear all cool and stuff? Well, apparently this goes deeper than I thought, because she went to insane lengths to keep us all from finding out that she has a love of reading. I mean, what, did she really think ponies have that low an opinion of liking books? How often has somepony come along and just say "I think books and ponies who like them are stupid" for her to think that? Whatever. If she's wound up liking them then at least some good came from this. And you know what else? It's a Daring Do book that she likes! Yeah, that series Twilight loves so much? Now Rainbow likes it too!

I've read a few before, and I think I mentioned that once. They're really fun, and I guess it makes sense that Rainbow would enjoy them. I mean, one adventurous pegasus liking another adventurous pegasus? Yeah, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Hey, maybe Rainbow would like to come over and read with me and Twilight one day? That'll be pretty fun to do.

At the very least, let's hope she doesn't have to break another wing before realising that something she dislikes is actually really good.

Helping Twilight

Dear Diary,

Today was a pretty normal day to me. Just helping Twilight with some of her daily schedule. Studying her magic, reading up on her latest history books, the usual thing. It was different in one way though. She seemed preoccupied with something. Apparently Pinkie Pie had been getting involved in some new arrival to Ponyville. A donkey named Cronky. At least I think that's his name. I might need to double-check that later. Anyways, seems that Pinkie was having a hard time making friends with him, and was getting more and more outlandish with her efforts. Twilight was worried, which she would be of course, but never let it be said that she can't focus on her usual routine even when something else is on her mind.

Either way, things went at about a normal pace for me today, so there's not much to say here. Although maybe I'll go and see this new donkey person. If nothing else, it'd be good for me to just pop over and say "hello" to him. Always nice to meet new people anyway, and I don't think I've never actually met a donkey before, so that'd be pretty neat.

So yeah, pretty average day for me.

Rarity Upset

Dear Diary,

Today, I went over to Carousel Boutique, ready to help Rarity out with some of her chores as usual. But when I got there, I found that she was really, really unhappy about something. Pinkie was there too, and together, the two looked really hurt. I asked what was wrong, and all they said was that it involved Fluttershy and that they didn't want to get me involved with it. I couldn't imagine what Fluttershy of all ponies could have done to upset them like this, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it has something to do with that new guy who turned up not so long ago. His name is Iron something-or-other and he basically gives lectures about being tougher and more assertive. Now, I like Fluttershy, but there's no question that getting more assertive is something she needs more of in her life.

But I don't know what happened between that and whatever Rarity and Pinkie were brought down by. Did Fluttershy say something bad to them? Did she insult them? no, of course not. This is Fluttershy we're talking about, and she's not like that.

Still, whatever it was, Rarity and Pinkie left soon afterwards. I don't know what is was they were planning to do, but I hope it fixes whatever problems the three were going through.

My "own kind"

Dear Diary,

I've known my whole life that dragons could be dangerous. Heck, I've actually been a dangerous dragon. Yet there's always been this part of me that's wanted to try and find out more about my nature as one. Well, I recently got that chance, and let me tell you, what I experienced has completely changed my views on my "people". I went to the dragon lands to meet up with some other dragons, and for a time, I did. But things took a turn for the worst when they wanted me to do some pretty horrible stuff. Eventually, I reached my limit, something they weren't willing to accept. Luckily for me, Twilight, Rarity and Rainbow were there to help me, and together we were able to get ourselves out of it.

I've spent my whole life around ponies, and now, I realise just how grateful I should be for that. If I had been raised as a normal dragon, would I have been just as bad as those guys? I don't like to think about it. But, if nothing else, I've never appreciated Twilight more. My life with her is so much better than a life as a "real" dragon. And you know what else? I actually managed to make a new friend out of all this. His name is Peewee, and he's a baby Phoenix. I'll probably take him back to his family one day, but right now, I like having him close by.

So yeah, if ever there was a doubt in my mind about how good it was for me to be raised by ponies, those doubts are long gone.

Bad news

Dear Diary,

I want to make it very clear right now that I like Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They're good fillies and they all mean well. And I want to say also that I am not above making bad choices myself. However, having said that, they really messed up today. Yet again they were pushed into doing some bad stuff by that Diamond Tiara, who might as well be tying damsels to railway lines at this point. This time it was positing bad information about our friends in the local newspaper. As you can expect, everypony was really mad at them for it. And I can't blame them. If my deepest secrets were published for all to see, I'd have nothing but bad things to say about it.

However, I guess that I can forgive them. I mean, Rarity seemed to be understanding with Sweetie Belle, and that mare always knows the right thing to do in times like this. And hey, after this whole mess, Diamond was actually removed as Editor of the newspaper, so we got a happy ending at the very least. So yeah, all is forgiven, and the bad news has stopped. Here's hoping this is the last time those fillies get tricked into doing nasty stuff by Diamond.

...For a little while anyway.

No cake for Spike

Dear Diary,

Today, I'm on library-watch duty again. This time, it's because our friends are all going off to Canterlot to deliver a very important, not to mention enormous cake to a contest there. Pinkie is super-stoked about it, and you know that mare loves her desserts, so there's no chance that cake isn't making it to the capital. And words can't do that thing justice, but you should know anyway that it was, without question, the biggest and tastiest-looking cake I have ever seen in my life. And given some of the cakes I've seen Pinkie bake in the past, that's really saying something.

So yeah, I'm alone here today, so I've got plenty of time to catch up on my comics. Oh, and I'm also thinking of trying this new recipe for soup that I saw in one of the cook-books we've got around here. Might need to go to the store to get some oregano though, since we got pretty low after that pizza I made at the weekend. I hope Twilight and the others have a fun time over at that contest, and hey, if there's any of the cake left over, maybe they'll save some for me?

Oh who am I kidding? Everypony knows Pinkie will just scoff every single piece of it. Seriously, that mare has one major sweet tooth!

So much stuff happening today!

Dear Diary,

You'd think we'd get some kind of rest after that whole wedding fiasco, but no! Turns out we needed to head north to go to this place that, apparently, has just appeared out of nowhere. The Crystal Empire, which was made to disappear about a thousand years ago by this evil unicorn king who's now coming back, sort of. There was a lot of work by all of us to try and stop him from taking over, and we needed this special magical doohicky called the crystal heart to make that happen. Twilight did her best to try and find it, but in the end, she actually gave me the job of getting it where it needed to be!

That's right, today, I was the hero! And just in time too, because we were about a second away from Sombra actually winning this one. But between me and Cadance, we managed to get the heart in its place, and now the Empire is saved. So yeah, this whole other country is now a part of Equestria again, and they were all really nice to me about helping to save them. Cadance and Shining now get to rule the place, which is pretty neat, and even Twilight managed to pass her test. Oh, she was also on some big test by Princess Celestia this whole time, as you do. And yes, she did get just as worked up about it as you can imagine.

But yeah, this was one stressful time. If I never see a monster like Sombra again, I'll be one very happy little dragon.

Bully trouble

Dear Diary,

Today, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo got into some trouble. And not the usual kind of CMC trouble either. No, this time, it was a bully they had to deal with. Bloom's cousin, Babs Seed, came to town, and shortly afterwards she started getting involved with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. And if you thought those two gave the Crusaders trouble, you should've seen how bad Babs was. I've never seen the Crusaders so upset before, and I couldn't believe it when I heard that Bloom's own cousin would treat her and her friends so badly. As it turns out, she's been dealing with bullies herself back home, and while I can't let that excuse her for what she did, I do understand that it can probably leave a pony in a bad way.

Besides, I can certainly relate to being under the thumb of bullies myself. It reminds me of some of the stuff I had to go through back in the dragon lands that one time. All those bigger and stronger dragons trying to push me around or make me do stuff I don't want to. Could they have been bully victims themselves, like Babs was? Hard to say, but I still wouldn't have liked them even if that was the case. Anyway, the important thing here is that the bullying has stopped, and the Crusaders now have a new member, so hey, that's something.

Now we've just got Diamond and Silver to put up with, as usual.

Trixie comes back!

Dear Diary,

You'll never guess who showed up in Ponyville again. Well, I guess you can, since I put it in the title and all. That's right, it's Trixie! Unfortunately, this time she'd gotten herself all super-powered and evil, and she used that power to make Twilight leave the town so she could take over. Things were horrible in here while that was all happening! Trixie was bossy and forcing everypony to basically be her servants the whole time. Thankfully, Twilight managed to come up with a plan from the outside to get back in and stop Trixie from being all evil and powerful. Now everything's back to normal and Twilight's back where she belongs.

I can't tell how bad this all felt to me. Seeing Twilight forced out, kept from coming back in? It was awful! I wanted to be out there, helping her with whatever she was doing, but I had no choice but to be here and putting up with Trixie. I still can't believe Twilight accepted her apology for what she did. I don't think I could've done that. Still, I guess I can be happy that the amulet thing that caused all this is gone. Don't know where they put it, and I don't want to know. I'm just glad its gone.

Anyways, I've gotta go. I'm making Twilight some of her favourite hot cocoa as a special welcome home present.

Quiet in town

Dear Diary,

Things have been pretty calm here in Ponyville since Trixie left. Stuff is getting back to normal and we're almost done taking down everything she made up put up. Plus, its a lot quieter since the Crusaders are going out with about half our friends on this big camping trip tonight. I've never been camping myself, but that's okay. I prefer my nice soft bed thank you very much. Things are so peaceful in fact that even Twilight's decided to take the day off and relax for a bit. And given everything she went through recently, I don't blame her for that.

As for me, I think I'll just wander around town for a bit, maybe do a bit of window shopping, I've been meaning to get a new pillow for my bed and I hear there's a sale going on. I can't wait to just lie down and dream a sweet dream. Actually, now that I think on it, I wanted to mention that dreams have been kinda weird lately. Yes, I know, nopony wants to hear about somepony else's dream. But you know, I could've sworn I saw Princess Luna in one of them. Or maybe I'm going crazy. Could be either at this point.

Oh, I should probably get going. That pillow store won't stay open forever.

Looking after the library

Dear Diary,

Yep, it's library watch duty again. But that's okay. I like hanging out here when nopony else is about. Gives me a chance to look through some of our new cookbooks and see if there's any neat recipes. But you're probably wondering where Twilight and the others are. Well, wondering is the right word, because they're all going off to visit Rainbow up at the Wonderbolts Academy! Hehe, see what I did there? But yeah, Rainbow finally got accepted, which is like the best things she's ever had happen to her, or at least that's how she seemed to feel about it. And she's up there now, giving it her all to become a full-fledged Wonderbolt.

I hope she's doing okay. I know she tries so hard to be as good a flier as she is, and I know I don't have the same love of the Wonderbolts as she does, but I can certainly see why a pony like her would want to be a part of them. They are pretty impressive, but I hear that Spitfire is kinda demanding. I hope they're not too hard on her up there. Well, if nothing else, maybe she'll make some friends while she's there? Somepony who's just as eager as she is? I hope so. The more the merrier! Anyway, I just found this awesome recipe for a pie, and I think I'll make it for her for when she comes back down.

I hope she likes it.

The day of the Code

Dear Diary,

Today was a LOT to take in. It all started when, after having the day to myself, I ended up being chased by Timberwolves in the Everfree. I'd have been done for if it wasn't for Applejack, who saved my life. In gratitude, I offered to serve her to repay my debt. She didn't really want me doing that, but I insisted on it, and so I spent a whole bunch of time trying to do whatever it was she needed doing, no matter how small. But, things took a rather bad turn when an even bigger Timberwolf turned up. This time, it was my turn to save Applejack's life, and after I bravely threw a nearby stone, the Timberwolf just collapsed.

I'd paid my debt, but I had also found out that AJ had been trying to stop me from being in debt to her to begin with. I was kind of upset at her at first, but then I realised that, after everything I'd been doing, I guess I was kinda overbearing the whole day. She said helping each other is just what friends should do, no debt required, and yeah, I guess I can live with that. Still, it was nice to spend time with her, We don't hang out that much, and it was neat for us to do so for once.

Here's hoping we don't come across terrible danger to have the chance to do so though.

Chaos comes back!

Dear Diary,

I respect and admire Princess Celestia a great deal. I want that on record for when I say this. Because sometimes, she can do things that just make me want to bang my head against a table. Today was just one such day, as she decided that it might be a good idea to try and reform, of all people, Discord. Yes, the take-over-Equestria-and-plunge-it-into-chaos guy that Twilight dealt with a while back. Well, she freed him, and immediately he was being trouble. Fluttershy specifically was chosen to keep watch on him, but even though she was doing her best, he was still causing mischief all over the place. Things came to a head when he actually convinced her to give up her Element, and he just announced he was not gonna change.

But then, something weird happened. He actually started to look sorry for upsetting her. And he turned everything back to normal. Seems that, in spite of everything, being Fluttershy's friend actually had an impact on him. I know, I'd have never believed it, but there it is. So yeah, turns out Discord's gonna be free from here on out. Not sure how I feel about that, but I'm glad Twilight and the others have the Elements close by. You know, in case of any lapses.

This is gonna be a pretty weird thing to live with, I'll say that much.

That darn rabbit

Dear Diary,

You know what stress feels like? I mean what it really feels like? It's like everything that can possibly go wrong is going wrong and that you're completely powerless to stop it, all while feeling that you got yourself into that mess to begin with. Yep, it's been that kinda day for me. I volunteered to look after all my friends' pets while they were visiting the Crystal Empire, for a modest fee of course, and things pretty much went downhill from there. Looking after just one would have been hard enough, but all of them? It was the kind of chaos even Discord would tip his hat to. I felt like I was being pulled int six different directions, literally in some cases.

Everything kept getting worse, and that included unexpected train trips to the Empire and trying to hide from my friends. It was just madness all over. But, in the end, I realised that I had been a fairly poor carer for the pets. I was more concerned with getting something out of the arrangement than with looking after them properly. But, thankfully, they seemed to be willing to forgive me, and we were able to get back home without anypony being the wiser. And hey, I hear Twilight's mission up North was a success, so that's even more good news!

Still, if I ever get it in me to look after those critters again, just throw me in the asylum.

Equestria's newest Princess!

Dear Diary,

Today, the person I have known longer than anypony else has just had the most extraordinary thing happen to her. Twilight Sparkle, my closest friend, is now an alicorn! And more than that, she's a Princess now! After some magical mishap where our friends's cutie marks were switched, Twilight was beside herself with worry. But then, after figuring out a solution, something strange happened. After Twilight returned to us, she was changed, and now had a pair of wings! Everyone was unsure of how to take it, but then Princess Celestia showed up, telling all of us that Twilight has accomplished something that nopony else has ever done, which lead to her transformation.

This is so much to take in. Does she have awesome new powers now? How soon before she can use those wings to fly? Will she move to Canterlot or something? What's gonna happen? I'm just so excited and worried about all this, my head feel like it's spinning. But I haven't said anything to Twilight so far. Because let's face it, no matter what stuff I'm fleeing, she's probably feeling a hundred times that! I think we'll just ease back and let her get used to all this. Besides, I think we could all do with a rest after a big chance like this.

I mean...wow, this was one heck of a day!

Another disaster already?!

Dear Diary,

Can't this country go one day without something hugely terrible going on in it?! Barely has Twilight become a Princess when she's already asked to step up and save the day again! This time, it was when the Everfree started going nuts, invading the nation and sending these creepy-looking vines everywhere. And the other Princesses couldn't help because Celestia and Luna had been captured by them. It was all down to Twilight to lead Equestria while this was all happening, and let me tell you, the stress of that really got to her in places.

But, as always, she and her friends managed to come together for it in the end, fighting off the vines and saving the day. But not without a price. They had to give up the Elements of Harmony to their original owner, which is apparently a tree in the middle of the Everfree that nopony knew about. It's kind of a big thing to learn about, but hey, at least the problem got fixed. Oh, and the vines? Yeah, turns out Discord made them way back when, as a kind of final "haha, I got mine" moment to Luna and Celestia. And believe me, I'm gonna have words with him over that.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna make Twilight the most relaxing cup of tea I've ever made. Because trust me, she deserves it!

That castle is scary!

Dear Diary,

The castle of the two sisters, the place where Twilight and her friends all found the Elements of Harmony? Yeah, that place is scary! You know all those creepy old castles you hear about in children's stories? You know, the ones that are always found in the middle of the night with lightning striking in the sky as soon as people see them? Well, take that level of scariness and just multiply it by ten and what you've got there is the castle me and Twilight have just been through. If it wasn't for Twilight being with me as we were going in, I don't think I'd have managed to make it more than five steps inside that place.

And you know what else? Turns out all our other friends were in there too! Yeah, seems they all got it in their heads to go in for one reason or another, even Pinkie, who was apparently just in there to play some music. She scared the life out of us, and we all thought it was the Pony of Shadows this whole time. Oh, that's this legendary evil pony that causes evil and doom and stuff. Probably just an old ponies' tale, just like Twilight said.

Still, I do not want to go back to that place again anytime soon. Not without some serious renovations!

Catching up on my reading

Dear Diary,

Today I get the chance to catch up on some of my reading. And you guessed it, it's my favourite Daring Do book. I always love those adventures, and Twilight's always nice enough to let me read her first edition copies. oh, and speaking of Daring Do, turns out she's the reason Twilight and the others have gone off today. I heard it was something about Rainbow getting worried about the books or something. I wasn't really paying attention, I was a bit focused on trying to catch a spider that had snuck its way into our house after hitching a ride on my back when we were back in that Castle.

So yeah, no idea when they'll be back, but hey, those mares can handle anything. So I'm not worried. Anyways, back to my book. Oh, and what a surprise, looks like Daring's gotten herself captured again. Will she escape before it's too late? Hehe, as if I even need to ask at this point. I love these stories, I really do. Huh, wonder if Rainbow would want to read one with me when she gets back? Might be worth asking.

Anyways, catch you next time, Diary.

Scootaloo's not feeling so good

Dear Diary,

I may not spend too much time with the Crusaders, but that doesn't mean I can't tell when one of them is in a bad way. And trust me, Scootlaoo was in a bad way today. She and the others were supposed to be coming up with a performance for the upcoming Equestria Games, but Scootaloo was looking just so sad today. After I asked her, it seems she was made fun of for her inability to fly. I won't say who made fun, but you can probably guess. I'm so mad at those two right now. Who do they think they are making her upset like this?! So she can't fly, so what? Does that give them the right to devastate her like this? No, it doesn't!

Ugh, anyway, I knew it was at least worth trying to cheer her up, so I sat with her and talked with her about it. I knew I wouldn't have much luck, because if her closest friends couldn't help her what chance did I have? She was so unhappy about being unable to fly, and I don't know what made me do it, but I just mentioned how I couldn't fly either. She looked at me weirdly, and I basically explained that dragons can usually fly and, well, I can't. So I sorta knew what she felt like.

I don't know if that did anything meaningful. but she smiled and said "thanks" to me for it. I know I probably won't be the one to really settle this fr her, but it was good to help all the same.

Flutterbat!

Dear Diary,

Today, an argument between Applejack and Fluttershy kinda got out of hand. You see, AJ's orchards started getting infested with these mean old fruit bats, and she, of course, wanted them out. But Fluttershy, animal lover she is, tried to say that wasn't a good idea. In the end, they tried using magic to solve the problem, but that sorta backfired. Fluttershy was affected somehow, and started becoming like the bats themselves. She became some kinda monster, and we were all worried about what was gonna happen to her!

Thankfully, Twilight and the others were able to get hold of her and get her back to normal. But let me tell you, this was not a night I'm going to be forgetting anytime soon. Who knew Fluttershy could be so scary? Still, I guess it all worked out. She's back, and she gets to convince AJ to set up a kind of reserve on her orchard for the bats. I know it's not exactly what AJ wanted, but it's definitely better than having Fluttershy face the consequences of it again.

Anyways, that's enough for now, and remind me to tell Twilight not to mix fruit and magic again, because that just never works out for her.

Rarity's not perfect

Dear Diary,

Every once in a while, you stop and realise that someone you revere highly has their own flaws. That they can make bad choices and do things you're not happy with. Well, I'm sorry to say that Rarity, my sweet beloved, made me feel that way recently. We all went to Manehattan to help her with one of her fashion shows, but thanks to being tricked by a fellow designer, she got pressed for time and had to come up with a whole bunch of new outfits. This drove her to the brink and caused her to act, well, not very nice to our other friends. Everypony felt really bad about the whole thing, and after a while, so did Rarity.

In the end though, Rarity realised what was really important, and she managed to make amends to her friends for the things she said and did. And it's a good thing too, because I was really uncomfortable with everything that was going on there. Seeing Rarity in that light, it...it wasn't great. But I suppose that's just something I'll have to get to grips with. Ponies may mean the world to us, but there will always be things they do that rub us the wrong way.

Still, at least Rarity managed to work her way past all that.

Family matters

Dear Diary,

Did you know that Applejack and Pinkie Pie are related? Well, actually, that may or may not be the case. You see, Pinkie found this old document that basically made her think that the two of them had some distant ancestor or something, so they and the rest of the Apples went off to try and find somepony who would help them find out if it was true or not. They're out there right now, and it's been a while since we saw them leave. Not sure if they'll find what they're looking for, but I wish them all the best of luck all the same.

It's kinda weird to think about really, that two people who've known one another for so long might have had this unseen connection and just never known about it. How many other family branches connect without our knowledge around here? Is Fluttershy related to Rainbow somehow? Does Twilight share some great-great-great Grandma with Rarity? Who knows? But it's kind of exciting to think about.

Huh. Wonder if I'm related to that big dragon that nearly covered Ponyville in smoke a while back? Ugh, now there's a connection I don't wanna think about!

Hanging with Big Mac

Dear Diary,

Today, while my friends are out practising for the Ponyville team for the Equestria Games, it's just me here at the library again. Well, not just me, as Big Mac came over too to hang out. Turns out he has no chores today, so his day is completely free. At first we didn't know what to do, but then I remembered a bunch of old board-games I found in the cupboard while I was doing some cleaning the other day. We got it out and we started playing them together. Now, most of them were pretty boring, but we eventually found one that actually was fairly fun to play. It was called Ogres and Oubliettes.

Basically you pretend to be this fantasy character and go on these big adventure with magic and monsters and stuff. It was a load of fun. I got to be this awesome wizard while Big Mac tried his hoof at being a warrior. We had a great time. So much so that a few hours had gone by before we realised it. We knew the mares would be getting back shortly so we decided to call it off for now, but we agreed to maybe catch up and play another round when we've both got time for it.

Wonder if we'll get anypony else to take part one day?

Trouble with Discord

Dear Diary,

Remember how I said that I was worried about what it would be like to have Discord living with ponies nowadays? Well, turns out you can say I called it on that one because, surprise surprise, he was up to his old tricks again. This time he decided to mess around with Twilight when she's in the middle of enjoying a visit from Cadance. After all Twilight did to make this visit good, suddenly Mr Chaos turns up to try and spoil everything. And you know what else? He actually lied about being sick to do it! Now that's just low!

As you can imagine, I'm not really very happy about this, particularly since he also messed around with our friends to be able to get to her. Still, at the end of the day, he got his just desserts and really got sick. I'd laugh, but I don't wanna maybe get him to get back at me for it later. Still, I suppose I can calm down since Cadance said she had a good time while she was here. How that mare manages to be so okay with all this craziness I'll never know. Huh, maybe I'll ask her. Might come in handy next time Discord decided he wants some fun again.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta make soup for the guy. Yay.

Rarity and Applejack do...stuff

Dear Diary,

You know, what even is it that Rarity sees in all this big fashion and designer stallions? They're all snooty, full of themselves, caring about looks and all the rest of it. What, me, jealous? No! Whatever gave you that idea? Okay, maybe I am, but seriously, this week's model is called Trenderhoof, and he's a weird one. Rarity met him earlier today, and now the guy, for whatever reason, can't stop obsessing over Applejack. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad he's not trying to move in on Rarity, and yeah AJ's great and all, but come on, dude! Rarity's throwing herself at you there!

Anyways, things got weird between AJ and Rarity and both of them, well, tried to pretend to be the other. I know, that sounds crazy, but that's what happened, and things became just as over-the-top as you'd expect. I have no idea what was going on with those two today, but the whole thing was just a catastrophe from start to finish. Oh, and don't even get me started on Trenderhoof's little addition at the end there. That was just painful.

Still, things are back to normal. Or at least as normal as things can get around here.

Ponytone trouble

Dear Diary,

Guess what? You know the Ponytones? That group of local signers that Mac and Rarity are a part of? Well, seems Fluttershy's a part of them now too! Yeah, but I should probably mention that things kinda got bad there with her for a while before that happened. You see, Fluttershy was helping the group out by using the Poisoned joke to make her voice deep enough to sound like a replacement for one of them. The reason? She was too scared to come out and sing publicly even though she's really good at it. But then everypony found out it was her and she was devastated.

In the end though, all of our friends managed to convince her that there's no need for her to shy away from singing since she loved it so much. So now, she's singing with the best of them, out in the open and everything! I'm really happy for her, and hey, now we get to hear her more often, which is great! But I am sorry she felt so bad about it for so long. We all know how self-conscious she can get about these things.

So, here's hoping for more of her lovely singing in future!

So...many...nachos!

Dear Diary,

Seems a certain trio of fillies were led astray by a certain tiara-wearing other filly. What a shock, am I right? But yeah, the Crusaders were made to do something bad by Diamond again. This time it was using their special time with Twilight as a means of getting popularity and favours from their classmates. It's a pretty terrible thing for them to do, and Twilight, once she learned about it, was understandably upset. Thankfully, they were all able to make up at the end, and now the Crusaders are just there for the same reasons as before. Their lessons continue, and I'm happy to say that they've learned to appreciate Twilight's willingness to help them.

But couldn't they have learned all that before I had to go and get nachos for everypony?! Seriously, what am I supposed to do with all this stuff? Eat it myself? I mean sure, I've got a pretty big appetite most of the time, but even I've got my limits. Ugh, guess I'll find somepony else who wants them. Maybe Pinkie or Rainbow? Those mares have got stomachs for days when it comes to stuff like this.

Anyway, maybe I can have some Twilight time of my own, since everypony else is gone now. We haven't had tea together in a week, and it's high time I fixed that!

Breezies

Dear Diary,

Today...I messed up. Big time! I just wanted to have a closer look at the Breezies as they came through Ponyville. But because of that, there was an accident, and now a whole group of them are stranded here in Ponyville! We have no idea how to get them back where they need to be, and Fluttershy's taken them into her cottage to look after them while they're here. I feel terrible. Because of me, those tiny little things might never be able to get back home to their families. What have I done?

Fluttershy and the others tried to console me and let me know I shouldn't feel bad, but I do! This was all my fault, and I don't know how to make it up to them. How can one tiny leaf have done so much? I wanted to volunteer to hep, but I don't think the Breezies would want me anywhere near them right now. And I don't blame them. Hopefully, Twilight and the others will be able to come up with some kind of plan to fix this, but until that happens, the little guys are trapped.

Remind me never to watch their migration again, because I do not want to cause something like this again!

Helping out Fluttershy

Dear Diary,

After that whole mess with the Breezies, I felt that, at the very least, I can make things up to Fluttershy. So, without any chores of my own to do, I went over to her cottage to volunteer with whatever it is she might need help with. She said I didn't need to do that, but I insisted. So, I got to a few things here and there she hadn't gotten around to, like sweeping her floor and washing her windows. She was thankful, even making me a little cookie as a thank you present. We got to talking, and it seems she had nothing on today because her plan to spend the day with Applejack got called off because AJ was doing some kind of delivery.

But yeah, it was just me and Fluttershy today, and it was a nice afternoon. She told me what it was like to be changed into a Breezie, which sounds like both a fantastic and terrifying experience. I couldn't imagine turning into another creature, much less something so small. But, she liked it, and hey, it helped them get those guys back home, so I guess it can't be too bad. Anyway, it's getting late, and Twilight will be wondering where I've gotten to. So I'm just gonna finish up on one last bit of tidying and I'll head on home.

If nothing else, at least I gave Fluttershy some company today, which is always nice.

Flim and Flam are back!

Dear Diary,

Yeah, you read the title, so you know who's turned up to mess things up again. Flim and Flam. Apparently just one time of getting under Applejack's skin wasn't enough for them, so they decided to do it again. This time they had this so-called "cure all" tonic that, at the time, everypony thought would...well...cure all. One of these ponies was Granny Smith, who took it and felt like she could go back to her old swimming career. AJ was convinced it'd be good to lie, but, as ever, she realised this was a bad idea in the end and confessed to everything the brothers had been getting up to.

It was weird, hearing about it when Twilight told me what had happened. Applejack is the most honest pony we know, yet she was tricked by a pair we all know are tricksters and charlatans. I guess, when the wind is, right, anypony can be made to do something bad. Say enough nice things about something we know is wrong and, well, I guess we might start to think that it's right. At the very least the Flim Flams have been driven out of town again, and if they know what's good for them they'll stay out this time.

All the same, AJ's back to her old honest self, and though she thinks it may take a while for us to trust her, I think it'll be less time than she thinks.

Bad trades

Dear Diary,

Um...did you know it was legal to trade ponies? Because apparently it's legal to trade ponies. We all went to the regular traders exchange over at Rainbow Falls, and in her efforts to get this vintage Daring Do book, Rainbow Dash accidentally traded away Fluttershy. Well, technically she traded Fluttershy's services in helping a new owner of a big animal, but still. I think I need to have a talk with Twilight about that because that doesn't seem like something that should be happening. Well, knowing her, it's probably something that will be looked over, several times over, before being re-written and sent for proper examination at some kind of legal board thrice over before being swamped in paperwork. You know how bureaucracy works.

But aside from that rather uncomfortable moment, the exchange went pretty well. I got my new comic and I plan on spending the whole day reading it. The others all have their own stories to tell, and I'm guessing Rarity and Applejack had a bit of a tense moment given how they're nervously laughing over the whole matter. So yeah, pretty eventful day all around.

Well, except for Twilight, since she doesn't seem to have traded anything. Oh well, maybe next year.

Note to self, don't mess with dark magic

Dear Diary,

You know, you'd think that, after all the times dark magic has messed things up in Equestria, i'd have learned not to go around playing with it. But apparently not! You see, Rarity was in a bit of a creative slump, and I wanted to help her out with it. Unfortunately, I sorta resorted to some bad spells to do it. I found this book in the castle of the two sisters, and gave it to her. After reading the spell she certainly got her mojo back, but it kinda went berserk. She started seeing inspiration for changes everywhere. And the changes were causing all sorts of madness. Honestly I think even Discord would have been impressed with how disarrayed everything was.

In the end, I realised I needed to be honest with her about what she was making, as well as my own part in the whole thing. She understood, even though we both admitted that what I did was wrong. Twilight too was upset, not helped by the fact that I'd been covering myself this whole time. I can't imagine how much work she and the other Princesses had to put in to fix it all.

So yeah, gonna stay way away from dark magic now, because that stuff just ain't no good.

A new disaster for Equestria

Dear Diary,

There's been a lot of stuff going on right now, so I don't have time to talk too much about it. Seems this big dangerous guy from thousands of years ago, Tirek, got himself free and is now causing problems for everypony. Celestia decided to send Discord out to find him, but we haven't heard back from him yet. Twilight's pretty worried, and I can't really blame her. Usually this is her kind of job, and Discord hasn't exactly been the most reliable guy since he was freed. Still, Celestia has faith in him, so I guess we should too. What's more, Twilight and the others have been learning more about the Tree of Harmony, so maybe that'll help?

Everypony's really on edge at the moment, so there's no telling what's gonna happen or when. But I'm confident it'll all work out. It always does after all. Anyway, I'm gonna sign off early. Twilight's acting a bit weird right now, even more so than usual at times like this, and I think it's best if I'm available for whatever she needs. Oh, and I think that, for now, I'm just gonna hide you away somewhere. Maybe under my bed.

Don't worry, you'll be safe. Because let's face it, what are the chances this big centaur guy is gonna go out of his way to wreck some little dragon's bed?

A new mission for Twilight

Dear Diary,

Today we got the first big sign that things are gonna be changing for us from now on. After doing a bit of talking about the castle, guess what happened? This crazy magic table showed up in the middle of the room with this glowy map of all of Equestria! And what's more, it seems that Twilight and the others have been summoned to some corner of the country we've never heard before. Whatever it is, it seems that it's something only the Princess of Friendship and her friends can do. Oh, I forgot to mention, that's her new title by the way. Pretty neat, right?

But, looks like I won't be going with them on this one so I get to stay and keep an eye on the castle. It won't be so bad though. I'll have Big Mac coming over and we can hang out like we've been doing here and here. We'll play some sports, get out the old Ogres and Oubliettes board, it'll be great. Gotta say though, I'm pretty worried about Twilight. This is their first mission and it was given by a magical whatever we're still confused about. And she's going further than ever before. It's hard for me not to get a little bit concerned for her.

But you know, maybe I'm overreacting. I mean this is Twilight we're talking about! There's nothing that mare and her friends can't handle!

I miss that tree

Dear Diary,

There's an old saying, You never know what you've got until it's gone. Well, for Twilight and me, that saying has a lot of weight nowadays. Losing the Golden Oak, it...it hurt. A lot. We made so many great memories there, and it was our home for a very long time. Having Tirek destroy it was like having our heart ripped out. I know, I know, we all made it out okay and in the end all that was lost was "stuff". I get that. But a home is still a home, and Golden Oak was a good home at that. I'll always miss it, and I'll always think of the good times we had. And the new castle, while awesome, might not ever recapture that feeling for me, however impressive it might be.

Twilight felt the same way, since she was avoiding it for so long. But thanks to her friends, and a little bit of distraction from me, we were able to bring a little bit of the familiar to the new place. I won't saw how, but let's just say it brought more than a few tears to Twilight when she realised what had been done for her. Our old home will always be with us, in more ways than one now, but we should give the new place a chance.

Besides, like with the Oak, it's me and Twilight together, and that's all that matters.

Bye for now, Tank

Dear Diary,

Today, Tank the tortoise had to go into hibernation. All of us gave him a farewell before he carefully buried himself under. It'll probably be a few months before we see him again, but I hope he has a nice long nap down there. Gotta say though, Rainbow didn't take it that well, at least not at first. She did everything in the book, even bringing winter to Ponyville early by accident, just to avoid parting with him during his hibernation. Still, i can't really blame her for it. Being separated from the pet she loves so much? I can understand that kind of thing. I remember when I had to let Peewee go back to his parents. I was sad that I wasn't going to be able to see him as often, but I knew it was the right thing to do.

Rainbow seems to have learned the same thing, as she eventually learned that this was what Tank needed. I know she'll miss him, and I know we will too, but we all care about him, and when you care for someone you have to do things that sometimes make you sad. This was one of those times.

We'll see him again, and when we do, I wouldn't be surprised if Rainbow asked Pinkie to throw him the Mother of all "welcome home" parties.

A quiet Ponyville

Dear Diary,

Things have been fairly calm around Ponyville lately. And the reason? Simple. The Crusaders aren't here! I know, I know, that's mean of me to say, but let's be honest here, those three are as chaotic as Discord when the circumstances are right for it. Just the other day they got into trouble when trying to get their cutie marks when they tried to see if they'd be good at cooking at the local restaurant. It didn't go well. Seriously, Ponyville hasn't seen a food poisoning that widespread since Applejack's applebuck incident four years ago! Still, at least it's quiet now.

And where are they, you may ask? Well, they went over with Applejack to some rodeo, and I hear her cousin Braeburn is going to be there too. I'm fine with rodeos, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see one like that. At the very least though I hope they all have fun over there. They'll probably have a few nifty stories to tell when they come back. Wait, oh no! Please don't tell me they'll want to try their hooves at being rodeo performers when they get back!

Sorry, Diary, but I gotta go! I think it's best if we get to reinforcing local housing before they get back, just in case!

Discord's Gala

Dear Diary,

Now I know from experience what jealousy can do to a person, as I think I've mentioned here once or twice. We've all done things because we were jealous that we weren't entirely proud of and it's understandable that mistakes will get made when we feel that way. But hoo-boy, did Discord take that idea to a whole new level tonight! You see, we were all going to the Grand Galloping Gala tonight with all our friends. And yes, I can hear you already, the last one we went to was terrible so why is that a good thing, right? Well, this time, we agreed to stick together, which we all knew was gonna be much more fun.

Anyway, Discord was getting territorial when Fluttershy took somepony else, a mare named Tree Hugger as her plus-one to the party. Discord brought a friend of his own, a creature called the Smooze, and things sorta became icky after that. There was slime everywhere, Discord wasn't caring about any of it, and he even threatened to throw Tree Hugger into another dimension towards the end. It was getting pretty bad. Thankfully, Fluttershy was able to talk him out of it and convince him that what he was doing was wrong. But yeah, kind of another disastrous Gala.

Now, sorry to sign off already, but I have a suit that needs cleaning.

Being a Princess is hard

Dear Diary,

Today was not a great time for me. I had to try and do everything I could to keep all the noises of Canterlot away from Twilight so she could rest. There's this big gathering and she had to be at her best to try and sort it all out. And you know, you never realise just how loud a city like Canterlot is until it suddenly becomes your job to keep those sounds away. But, if I'm being honest, I might have let my position go to my head a little bit. I started using my position as a proxy to Twilight to get all sorts of great things coming my way. And yeah, I can see you judging me already, but you weren't there! It's easier than you think to get swept up in that sort of thing.

But, as you can imagine, this all sort of fell apart towards the end. Everything I'd been doing to keep Twilight asleep ended up causing an even bigger disaster later on, and the gathering of the delegates was nearly ruined because of it. Because of me. I felt terrible and did what I could to apologise and make up for it. Twilight and Cadance were really nice about it, just like everypony else was, and I'm glad they're still not mad at me for it.

Still, I should probably avoid positions of power in future. I don't think I'm really ready for that sort of thing.

We need more diplomats

Dear Diary,

If there's one thing I can safely say I've learned today, it's that keeping the peace is hard. We recently had a group of Yaks visiting us, the first time they've ever really had anything to do with Equestria, and it was next to impossible to keep them happy! They were offended by everything, and Twilight was at her wits end trying to keep them comfortable and welcome while they were here. If it hadn't been for Pinkie turning up when she did, I really think we'd have had full-on war with them. I mean geez, how little does it take for something that catastrophic to happen?!

Now, I don't want to be the kind of guy who just sees these few from their people and make assumptions, because let's face it, that's what people have been doing with my people for centuries. But if Yakyakistan has nothing but this kind of Yak in it, then I shudder what it'd be like to actually go up there. I mean, I'd probably shudder anyway, what with the cold and all. That was supposed to be a joke, and yeah, I know, it was terrible.

Still, if nothing else, I guess I can appreciate pinkie's parties a bit more, which is always nice.

Hold onto your friends

Dear Diary,

You may remember, way back when I first started writing in you, that I mentioned that me and Twilight were about to head out to a party with our old friend Moondancer before we got sent to Ponyville. Well, we actually had another encounter with her today. You see, after being reminded about how distant she was from her friends back in Canterlot, Twilight and me flew all the way back there for her to make amends for it all. At first, things looked good, and Minuette, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine were all just really happy to see her again.

But then it came down to Moondancer, and it seemed her being ignored by Twilight back in the day was taken a bit harder. And I mean really harder. She'd shut herself off from everypony, refusing to be friends with Twilight for a long time. Twilight did all she could to make up for it, but Moondancer was just so upset by it all that she was even in tears by the end of it. Thankfully, she and Twilight managed to patch things up, and with luck, they'll stay in contact after this. I guess we never consider just how painful losing a friend can be until you have a moments like this.

Oh, and I finally, finally got to give Moondancer my present from all those years ago, so there's that loose end tied up!

Luna needs help

Dear Diary,

Tonight was...how do I even describe it?! We got met by Princess Luna who needed help in tracking this nightmare monster called the Tantabus, and to do it she needed to go into each of our dreams and catch it before it got powerful enough to escape into the real world. Thankfully, we managed to get it in the end, but not before a whole mess of trouble. It spread to everypony in Ponyville, and in the end we all banded together to fight it as a team. Everypony, and I mean everypony had a shot at helping out, and it was, I've gotta be honest here, pretty awesome to see.

But then there came the kicker. Seems the Tantabus was made by Luna, and what's worse, it was because she wanted to deliberately hurt herself because of her time as Nightmare Moon. Now, I know she probably feels awful about that, and I wouldn't blame her, but something like this? This is way too far for her. Hurting herself was never gonna be any good, and as Twilight herself said, we already forgave her a long time ago. At the end, Luna managed to work herself past her guilt, and I hope she's having a more restful night's sleep because of it.

Still, it's hard to imagine she was doing this to herself all this time. Note to self, get her a nice present. Maybe that'll help her after this.

Twilight needs to chill

Dear Diary,

Today, another friendship mission was started by the Cutie Map, and Twilight's actually pretty bummed out about it. Why? Simple. She doesn't get to be the one to go on it. This time it's Rarity and Applejack's turn, and they're going all the way to Manehattan. I wish them luck over with whatever they're supposed to do there. But yeah, back to Twilight. Ever since this whole thing started she's been getting really stressed out every time the map doesn't need her specifically. It's like she thinks that, as Princess of Friendship, she needs to be involved in every mission that comes her way.

After all this time of being with our friends, she should have learned by now that they can handle themselves. Why, just the other day, Rarity managed to save Rainbow from being kicked out of the Wonderbolts, and Twilight wasn't there for that, was she? I know having a job like hers can be stressful, and yeah, after all that's happened she probably does feel a lot of responsibility and all that. But come on, Twilight! You can ease back and let others take the strain from time to time!

You know, maybe I should make her some hot cocoa. That usually cheers her up.

Cutie marks at last!

Dear Diary,

Today the most amazing thing in the entire history of Ponyville has just happened! Well, okay, not as amazing as Twilight becoming an alicorn. And yeah, not as amazing as a giant crystal palace appearing out of nowhere. But hey, this is definitely up there. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, after years of effort, have finally managed to get their cutie marks! I know, right?! I honestly thought that'd never happen! But it did! And you know what else? They all got them at the exact same time! So it's sort of like how Twilight and all of our friends got their marks after Rainbow's first rainboom years ago. So yeah, this is a pretty special day, and their families and all our friends are so happy for them too.

I know I've complained about those girls a few times in the past, to you mostly, but the truth is I really do think of them as friends. Sure, they've messed up from time to time, and yeah they've done things I haven't been entirely on-board with, but I can honestly say that I'm happy to have had them in my life, and today I am just as thrilled as everypony else that they've accomplished this. With their goal of helping others with their own mark problems, I'm looking forward to seeing what those fillies can do.

See ya later, Diary.

Hearth's Warming Eve!

Dear Diary,

That's right, it's that time of year again. Hearth's Warming Eve. The nights are getting longer, it's getting colder out, and everypony's just spending the day indoors next to nice warm fires. Oh, and let's not forget all those lovely presents that'll come our way soon. Yeah, yeah, I know. I said I was gonna hold off on presents after that greed transformation incident, but how can you blame me? I mean, I'm looking at all this colourful boxes with their ribbons and, gah, I can't help myself, I wanna see what's inside. But, luckily, Twilight's here too, and she knows not to let me get too far this time.

The only downside this year is that not all of our friends are gonna be in one place. Pinkie is taking Applejack and her family over to meet her family on their rock farm. I've never met Pinkie's family outside of Maud that one time, so I'm not sure what they're like. But hey, it'll be distant relatives all getting together for a special day, so who knows? Maybe they'll have a really fun time together.

Oh, and speaking of fun, I'd better get back to the kitchen. I'm making an awesome pudding for me and Twilight tonight and I really should keep an eye on it.

Dang, Fluttershy, you scary!

Dear Diary,

The creepiest night of the year has come to us once more. Nightmare Night! No sign of Princess Luna this time, but hey, I'm sure she's busy scaring other ponies tonight, so I take comfort in the knowledge that, somewhere out there in Equestria, somepony's getting the living daylights spooked out of them. Oh, and speaking of being spooked, seems Fluttershy has an unexpected talent for it. She arranged this big old thing for all of us to get scared in, and wouldn't you know it, she actually succeeded! I don't remember the last time I've was that terrified! There were screams, running for our lives, it was horrific!

So yeah, I never thought I'd ever say this, but Fluttershy is one of the best scarers we've ever known! At least, she was, until she learned that this night isn't really for her, She just didn't like scaring us as much has she did, even though she was good at it. I can understand, and hey, we're not gonna force her to take part in this. But boy oh boy, I'm gonna remember this Nightmare Night for the rest of my life!

Still, I hope she's having fun with whatever else she wants to do tonight. She deserves it.

Discord's friendships

Dear Diary,

Twilight and I had a bit of an unexpected surprise when we returned back to Ponyville from a recent trip. Turns out that Discord had become rather chummy with all of our friends while we were gone. Now, I'm pretty happy that things with them are okay since the various incidents Discord was involved with recently, but Twilight wasn't so sure. And I can understand that, since Discord, being Discord, has a habit of mischief even on his good days. So Twilight started poking around and seeing if he was doing something wrong. Oh, and she was also totally jealous of him while this was all happening.

And don't think for a moment that she didn't feel terrible about it when she finally accepted it. She's the Princess of Friendship after all, so letting herself feel that was was something she felt she shouldn't be doing. But she really shouldn't be beating herself up over this. It's only natural to have moments of weakness like this every now and again. Besides, given how amused Discord was by this whole thing we can't exactly call him completely innocent, now can we?

Still, at the end of the day, we can just look back on this whole thing and laugh, which is always nice.

Lots and lots of booksorting

Dear Diary,

Today, I got the whole castle to myself. And by now you're probably guessing why. Yep, Twilight's out of town. Specifically, she's out with Fluttershy on a friendship mission. That's right, she finally got her wish and has been sent out on one of these missions for the first time since they started! I hope she and Fluttershy manage to do whatever the table wants them to do, because unfortunately, the thing can't speak to be more clear about it. Well, I guess I can safely say that with certainty since, while I was alone with it, I actually started talking to it to see if it talked back. Please don't tell anypony I did that!

Anyway, with me all by myself, I've got some work to do. Twilight ordered in a whole load of new books for her library, and I've gotta try and get them where they need to go, all while reorganising several books that were strewn about the last time Rainbow came over. I know she loves a good adventure story, but does she really have to make such a mess while she's reading them?

Ugh, anyways, this is work I can probably do blindfolded at this point, so I doubt it'll take too long. Catch you later, Diary.

A star in Ponyville!

Dear Diary,

Today, Ponyville had a very special guest coming to visit. No, not Princess Celestia. No, not Luna. No, not even Cadance. It was Countess Coloratura! That's right, the famous singer! She was here for a live performance! Everypony was super excited about it, and you know, we got even more excited when we learned that Applejack actually used to be friends with her back in the day. Seems they went to some camp or other when they were fillies, but haven't seen each other since. It was nice for them to finally catch up after all this time, and hey, at least it was a happier reunion than Twilight when she went back to re-meet Moondancer a while back.

Things kinda became rocky after that though. Seems her manager hadn't exactly been the best influence on her, and we managed to get Coloratura to realise that. But without a manager, she was in a bit of trouble, so Applejack and the others managed to help her get the confidence she needed to put on another show. And let me tell you, it was amazing! I've heard plenty of good songs since living here, and this one was right up there.

I hope AJ and "Rara" spend more time with each other after this, because it was really nice that they had this time together.

Flurry Heart

Dear Diary,

Apparently even births are capable of causing near-apocalyptic catastrophes in our world, as our family has now seen the arrival of Twilight's niece, Flurry Heart. Now, that little foal is an absolute sweetheart, I want to make that absolutely clear. But boy, did she cause a fair bit of trouble recently! She shattered the Crystal Heart, nearly caused the destruction of the Empire, and everypony nearly got overcome with snow and ice. Needless to say, it was a hectic day. But, thankfully, everything was able to be sorted out, and hey, we managed to get a handle on her powerful magic too. Cadance and Shining have their hooves full with a filly like her, but I'm confident they're up to it.

Oh, and I mustn't forget Starlight in all this. Seems her old friend, the one who indirectly caused her to be evil in the first place, is also living in the Empire. His mane's Sunburst and he's kind of a dork if I'm being honest. He's nice enough, but he's a bit oblivious at times. Hehe, how much do you want to bet he and Twilight would get along great? In any case, he and Starlight managed to patch up their old friendship, and everypony's happy. We're all on the train ride back now, so hopefully nothing else will come along in the meantime.

One last thing though. I thought I spotted something flying towards the Empire as we left, but I think I might have just been seeing things.

Looking after the Boutique

Dear Diary,

Rarity's out of town right now. Seems my prediction that she might try to find a place in Manehattan was closer to the mark than I thought, because that's exactly where she's gone. Well, she and Pinkie. Oh, and Maud too. Seems the two sisters have this big annual thing together and are going to Manehattan for it. Rarity, as I said, is looking for a new possible site for another boutique, and I'm looking after her one in Ponyville while she's looking. Although, I have to say, it's been pretty quiet here. Nopony's come here except for Sweetie Belle, but hey, she lives here, so I don't think she counts.

Sometimes, I think Rarity really is the main draw of this place, because it seems like nopony else is ever able to get any customers. Although, now that I think on it, what would I even do if I had a customer. I know Rarity left me instructions, but they're kinda weird. All full of fashion lingo and dress jargon. I mean, what the heck is a "top-stitch" when it's at home? Oh well, guess I can always ask her when she comes back. I really hope she finds what she's looking for over in Manehattan.

Because if her boutique in Canterlot can do well, I'm sure she can succeed in a place like Manehattan too.

The Crusaders perform!

Dear Diary,

Today, without anypony knowing, I watched as the Crusaders put on a little show. It was nice, and I got the chance to see them with their new mission to help ponies their their various cutie mark problems. It was actually something they were struggling wit, and for a time they've been apart from one another trying new things. Sweetie and Scootaloo really took to it, but Apple Bloom had a harder time. But, after going to this dance class, they found their first client. Tender Taps. The most nervous-looking colt I've ever seen in my life.

Thankfully, after some encouragement, the Crusaders were able to help him, and he put on one heck of a show for everypony else. The Crusaders were pretty happy with themselves, and they should be. If I'm being honest, I was kinda worried. The last time they put on any kind of show, it was pretty embarrassing, so I guess I came along just to see if it was going to be like that. Well, I'm happy to report that it was great, and what's more the three know now how they need to do what they need to do.

This is gonna be a good thing to talk to Twilight about. She's been pretty eager to hear about this new task of theirs.

Dragon Lord for a day

Dear Diary,

The last time I went over to spend time with other dragons, it was one of the most unpleasant times of my life. Having gone back there, I can safely say that, yeah, there's a good reason why I don't visit my homeland that often. Why did I go back, you ask? Well, seems the position of head dragon was up for grabs and all of us had to go there. I didn't want to, but hey, I had no choice. Once there, I realised that I sort of had to try for the job myself, since the alternative was letting other dragons, like that Jerk Garble, take it. No way was that gonna be any good! So I competed, and even had the help of the Dragon Lord's daughter, Princess Ember.

You'll never guess how it ended. I actually managed to win! I, Spike, was ruler of all dragons! But, it was only for a few moments, because I immediately gave the job to Ember. Because ruling over that lot? Yeah, no thanks. I'm much happier in Ponyville thank you very much. Besides, given what I learned about Ember, I think she'll be a pretty good Dragon Lord, or at least better than every other dragon that might have got the job.

All I can say now is that I'm really glad to be back in Ponyville.

Wonderbolt woes

Dear Diary,

Rainbow has been having some trouble fitting in with the Wonderbolts lately. Seems they kept making fun of her and resorting to some nickname she had to put up with back when she was a filly. I can't say I blame her for being upset. Because at this point my opinion on bullies is pretty well-documented. I can imagine what she must have been feeling during all those times when her co-workers were laughing at her. It reminds me of when I first went to the Dragon Lands and met Garble and the others. Ugh, no thanks.

Fortunately, Rainbow was able to get past all that, and hey, it turns out she knows a few nicknames to throw back at them in return. So the name-calling hasn't stopped, but it's not something Rainbow alone has to deal with. Is...is this actually a happy ending? Because I still don't know if it is or not. I mean, I'd still prefer all that stuff to not be done, especially if it's happening to one of my friends. Seriously, Rainbow tries so hard to get the Wonderbolts' approval, so going through all this must have been a real strain on her.

But, this is something we're accepting as just normal. So...acceptance, I guess?

Hearth's Warming with Starlight

Dear Diary,

Yep, Hearth's Warming Eve once more. I swear, these things come faster every year. Anyways, today, me and Twilight learned the most shocking thing we've ever heard in our entire lives. Seems Starlight was planning on just skipping the holiday! I know, right?! I know that mare has had a few screws loose here and there, but skipping out on Hearth's Warming Eve? The madmare! Anyways, being the much smarter mare in this situation, Twilight took it upon herself to teach Starlight the value of the holiday by telling her this story about a crotchety old mare from way back when who also didn't like the day.

It was a lot of fun to listen to, and even more fun to see Twilight get sucked into her own story. I mean you should've seen her singing in some of those moments, it was hilarious! All the same though, by the time it was over, Starlight had changed her tune, and now she's celebrating Hearth's Warming with all the rest of us. Hey, the more the merrier, right?

I'm glad she's joining us though, because I do not want to run the risk of having a holiday-hating mare who'll just attract three weird ghosts to us!

Friends in Manehattan

Dear Diary,

Today I look after the castle while my friends are again in Manehattan. Seems Rarity if finally opening her new store, and she and our friends are being asked to give interviews about their experiences getting it ready for opening. As for me, it's been fairly quiet back here, so I figured I'd ask Big Mac to come on over so we can play another game of Ogres and Oubliettes. It's been a pretty fun time with him so far, and hey, we even managed to slay a massive swamp monster together, so that was kinda awesome, right? Really wish the others enjoyed this game as much has we did, because I'm sure they'd enjoy it.

Well, looking at the clock, I'd say it won't be long now before they're all back, so I think I'll just pack up and head on over to the train station. I hope Rarity did okay with everything that was going on there, because she's worked so hard to get that place up and running. After all the trouble she's had with all her other business outlets, having another one face difficulty is the last thing she needs right now.

Anyway, enough worrying, time to head on over and welcome them back.

Farming is hard!

Dear Diary,

Every once in a little while you come to understand and appreciate just how much hard work your friends put into their day jobs. For Twilight and me, we learned today just what kind of sheer effort Applejack has to do on a daily basis. I mean wow, the work that mare puts into her day-to-day routine is just off the charts. Granted, it turned out that many of her chores were deliberately made harder than they needed to be because of this or that thing that happened in the past, but even after Twilight helped AJ with that, it would still have been an enormous amount of work.

Do all Apples work this hard? It's hard to imagine. But, knowing AJ, I sort of get the feeling that she goes out of her way to work harder than the rest of her family to serve as some kind of example. You know, be somepony they can all look up to and be inspired by? Don't know if that's true or not, but I can safely say that I was certainly inspired by what she does.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I think Twilight and me have earned a session at the local spa after all this work.

Fluttershy's brother

Dear Diary,

Not everyone has relatives that are perfect. Everypony knows it, and we all accept it to one degree or another. But geez, Fluttershy's brother Zephyr has taken that to a whole new level! I was warned beforehand that he might not be the easiest stallion to get along with, but I did not know just how little I was gonna get on with him. We gave him some simple work, and what happened? That's right, I did all the work! And it seems we're not the only ones who had a hard time with him, as this has been going on all over Ponyville.

Look, I like Fluttershy, I do, but she really needs to get a handle on that guy. Oh boy, how anypony could be that much of a jerk while being related to a mare as nice as Fluttershy I'll never know! Ugh, calm down, Spike. Just breathe. This is Fluttershy's brother, her family, and you need to get a hold of yourself. She loves him, so there must be something decent about him. It might be hard to see...really, really hard to see, but it's probably there all the same.

All I know after this is that I really hope Fluttershy manages to find something for this guy to do, because there's only so much this town can tolerate.

Milkshake time

Dear Diary,

Today, I get the day off, so I'm spending it out here in the lovely Sugar Cube Corner. They've got this new milkshake they've been wanting to try out, and as the helpful dragon that I am, I couldn't wait to offer my humble services to taste it. And let me tell you, it's one of the nicest things I've tasted in a long while. I really wish I can learn to make something like this one day, because this is just way too good to not be made again and again. I suspect Pinkie had a hoof in it, given how sweet the thing tastes, and if so, remind me to thank her for it later.

It's been pretty quiet here in Ponyville today, and really the only thing worth talking about is how Rainbow went over to this Daring Do convention. I like the books, don't get me wrong, but I don't think I could ever go to one of those things. Days on end with nothing but other fans, talking about the same thing. Hey, if they like it, more power to them, but it's just not for me. I'm much happier just sitting back and enjoying a milkshake thank you.

And speaking of which, my stomach is telling me that one wasn't enough, so it's back to the counter I go.

The Applewood Derby

Dear Diary,

You know how the Crusaders usually have problems here and there with their older sisters? Well, this time it was the sisters' turn to get on the nerves. Seems the local Derby stirred up some rather competitive feelings among the older mares, and all of them basically took control over the Crusaders' respective projects for making carts. The whole thing ended up as a disaster, and the Crusaders gave their elders a stern telling off. It's always hard to see family squabble like that, but I can't really say that I blame them for being upset.

Now, I like Rarity and Applejack and Rainbow, but they were kinda being overly-controlling. This was supposed to be a fun time for the kids, but it ended up as anything but fun. Thankfully, they all recognised that and ended up helping the Crusaders in the way they actually wanted. So yeah, all's well that ends well. I'm no racer, but that actually looked like a pretty neat race to go through from up here on my little hill.

Here's hoping we have fewer disasters next year this happens.

Pranking Rainbow

Dear Diary,

Rainbow can have a hard time understanding when she's done something wrong. It doesn't make her a bad pony, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it does make it hard for us to let her know stuff. So, when she started pranking ponies left, right and centre, we decided to pull a little bit of a prank of our own. And I have to say, I was rather pleased with this one. We tricked her into thinking the town was being taken over by an infection of mind-altering cookies that she and Pinkie had come up with. You know, make her feel her actions had led to something terrible?

It was all spooky and stuff, and we managed to get pretty much the whole town on it. It was like the Mare-Do-Well thing from a few years ago, but on a way bigger scale. Rainbow was terrified, and after we revealed what we'd been doing, it was safe to say that she got the message. Here's hoping that she holds off on her pranks after this, because I don't think something like this is gonna work on her twice.

I will say I'm glad it ended where it did though, because I had the mother of all itches on my nose from that rainbow stuff, and I just had to scratch it!

A new friend

Dear Diary,

Today, I made a new friend, though this may come as something of a shock to you. You see, my new friend is named Thorax...and he's a Changeling. Yes, you heard right, a Changeling! We met up at the Crystal Empire, and he's really nice. He broke off from Chrysalis' hive and was trying to be better than the rest of his people. I met up with him and tried to help him get introduced to my other friends, but things kinda took a few dramatic turns along the way. I won't bore you with details, but let's just say he didn't exactly get the warmest welcome.

It was kinda disturbing, if I'm being honest. I knew Thorax was a good guy, yet everypony I knew, even Twilight, was looking to him like a monster. I know Changelings have been bad in the past, but there were moments when they looked like they were gonna be terrible to him! Thankfully, I was able to convince them to stop before things got too bad. And now, with help from Twilight, he's been accepted. I have to say, I never expected to have a Changeling as a friend, but I'm glad I do.

And hey, maybe more Changelings can stray from Chrysalis too after this? We can only hope.

A fellow adventurer

Dear Diary,

Today, me and Big Mac got someone new to join us during our regular Ogres and Oubliettes sessions. And you'll never believe this, but it's Discord! Yeah, after Twilight and the others went out of town for a bit, me and Mac invited Discord to join us with the game. At first he didn't really care for it all that much, and actually he did everything in his power to try and avoid playing it. But in the end, after making him realise that we were trying to be nice to him, he finally started getting into it.

And let me tell you, these games have never been as good as they are now that he's joining us. I mean, it was always fun, but now it's like we get to play these things out like it was in real life! I get to shoot real spells, we've got real monsters, and hey, even Pinkie and Rainbow say they wanna join in now! It's really awesome, and I'm looking forward to having Discord involved in this a lot from now on.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some skeletons to slay. Woe to ye, minions of darkness!

A new Griffon in town

Dear Diary,

Twilight told me the most amazing thing today. Seems Ponyville had a new visitor show up. A Griffon named Gabby. Thankfully, this one turned out to be a lot nicer than Gilda when she first visited, and she was apparently here to meet up with the Crusaders. Why? Well, seems she wanted to get herself a cutie mark. Now, you can already see the problem here, since cutie marks are, well, kind of a pony-only thing. Twilight said as much to the Crusaders, and the girls were, you guessed it, pretty upset that they weren't able to help her.

Things kept on going wrong for Gabby, but at the end the Crusaders were still able to help her, in a way. They told her that she still helps people, and that that's a worthy goal even if she doesn't have a mark to show it. I like that they were able to meet her, but I wish I could've done so myself. Oh well, maybe I can see her next time she's in town. Still, it would have been pretty neat if they had helped her get a mark. It'd be like making history or something! A place in books forever.

Well, I'm sure Twilight would have put them in a book at least.

Starlight still has a ways to go

Dear Diary,

Starlight has been having...some difficulties. Seems that, in an effort to try and spend time with all of our friends, she decided that the best way to do this was to use magic on them to turn them into mind-controlled drones. No, I am not making that up, though I really wish I was. I don't know if it was stress or fleeing overwhelmed, but that's seriously the solution she came up with to the issue of spending time with other ponies. If ever there was a sign that Starlight needed extra helping in leaning about friendship, it's this.

Still I don't think I can give her too hard a time on this. After all, its not as if Twilight hasn't had mistakes when she was Celestia's student. Remember the doll incident? And yeah, I am so gonna keep reminding her of that, because why wouldn't I? So while Starlight undoubtedly messed up here, and big time, I can appreciate that she probably felt that she was maybe backed into a corner on this one. I mean who hasn't done desperate stuff like this in their lives?

Although, I'm just glad I wasn't here for all this, because I do not like the idea of being controlled like that.

Trouble with friends

Dear Diary,

One of the hardest things I have to see in my life is when my friends aren't getting along, and I'm sorry to say that Twilight and me had to go through that today. Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack were going through some difficulties after their boat trip went through a few hiccups. But the problem we found was that each mare had a different take on what was going on, so it was really hard for us to get a handle on what needed to be done. Thankfully, with Twilight being as smart as she is, we were able to piece together what really happened, and the three were able to reconcile at the end.

At the end, they were able to get the nice boat trip with their friends that they wanted, and hey me and Twilight were even able to join them. It was nice, being out there on that boat with all of them, and I'm glad they're not mad at each other now. Still, I can't help but think this could've all been avoided if they'd just talked to each other. But, I guess that kind of thing gets forgotten when you're mad enough.

Oh, and remind me to ask about the recipe for those sandwiches, because they were great.

More games with the Crusaders

Dear Diary,

Well, as I promised, I was able to make a day available to play with the Crusaders, and as you'd expect after last time, we had a lot of fun. We almost didn't have Apple Bloom though, since she was help up with some family trouble. Turns out she was being lectured by Applejack about some time she and Big Mac got into trouble years ago. But we didn't want to pry into family stuff so we didn't ask too much about it. Anyway, back to the games. This time, we arranged for a race, and yeah, I didn't do that well on the last one, but we were able to make it a bit more interesting this time.

You see, we decided to split into teams of two and do a three-legged race instead. I was with Sweetie while Bloom and Scoots worked together. I was pretty confident this time, even if Sweetie was a bit more nervous. But, it turns out none of us were as good as we were hoping to be, because only after taking one step forward did we all just fall flat on our faces. The race was a complete shambles, but surprisingly, we all just laughed about it. It was fun, even if it was a compete failure of a race. We just enjoyed getting to do it together.

So yeah, I enjoyed my time with them today, and I look forward to the next time we can have a playdate together.

Starlight gets to stay

Dear Diary,

After everything that happened last time, Starlight, Discord, Thorax and Trixie all got this huge party thrown for them as a big "hank you" from everypony else. It was great, but it got Twilight worried about what should come next for Starlight. She spoke with Celestia about it and reasoned that she needed to be sent away, just like she was when she was Celestia's apprentice. She didn't take to the idea well, but she gave it her all when it came to figuring out places for her to go. And let me tell you, it was weird seeing her use her magic to conjure up all those solutions to the issue.

In the end though, she basically left it up for Starlight to decide for herself, and the decision was...she's staying! Starlight feels like she's not ready to strike out on her own just yet, and Twilight was more than happy to accept that choice. So yeah, Starlight's staying with us, and I'm happy for that. It's been good having her here, and I look forward to a lot more fun with her in future.

Also, did Celestia have some hidden meaning when she said there's "no wrong way to fantasize"? Because I feel I need to look deeper into that.

Anger issues

Dear Diary,

You know how, even when you care a lot for your friends they can still drive you nuts? Well, seems Starlight has been going through that exact thing with Trixie. The other mare has just been rubbing her the wrong way in a few places and, with Twilight and her friends out of town for now, Starlight has to deal with the issue herself. Her solution? Well, she's going to use magic to just literally bottle her anger away. I didn't even know you could do that! But then, I guess I shouldn't be surprised about what magic can and can't do after everything I've seen.

But Trixie really knew how to push buttons today, and the whole thing ended up as nearly a total disaster for all concerned. Oh, and the Cutie Map got teleported away by Trixie, as if she didn't already have a lot on her plate today. Seriously, I do not envy whatever stress Starlight was going through today. I wouldn't be surprised if this whole experience has aged her by about ten years. She was certainly exhausted, I'll say that much. But, in the end, it all got resolved, which is what matters.

Oh, and remind me to keep a safe distance from Trixie in the near future, because I suspect that mare still wants to try out her teleportation spell on me.

Flurry comes to visit

Dear Diary,

Today, me and Twilight got ourselves a little surprise. Flurry came over to be babysat! Cadance and Shining needed some time off, so they left Flurry with us for the day, and I cannot even do justice to how happy and excited Twilight was over that prospect. Seriously, I haven't seen her this eager for something since the day she decided to re-organize the castle's libraries. Flurry was pretty happy about it too, especially after her "Aunty Twily" gave her some new little toy friends to play with. It was just a nice and adorable moment, which I guess is expected when there's a foal involved.

Things sorta got difficult when Twilight's schedule got involved and she became distracted with a whole bunch of other stuff. Between that and having to look after Flurry when she started getting into trouble, Twilight was feeling the pressure of it all. Thankfully, she was able to get the whole thing sorted out, as well as learning to appreciate the fact that she shouldn't have accepted the task of looking after Flurry if she didn't have her complete focus on her. The day was nice though in spite of all that, and it was really good to see Flurry again.

I do wonder how Shining and Cadance got on with their trip to the art gallery though. Maybe I'll check it out myself when I've got time?

Fluttershy being awesome

Dear Diary,

Today, Fluttershy was, if you'll pardon the lingo, and absolute boss! You see, she had this dream of opening an animal sanctuary close by in Ponyville, and she called in these big experts to hep her make it. But all of them were really bossy and pushy with her, all saying they knew better about what was needed for the place. But did Fluttershy back down against them? Did she budge and relent to what they wanted? Heck no! She stood her ground, declared that she didn't like what they'd done, and politely asked them to leave. She was in total control of that whole situation and it was great to see!

But then there came the issue of the sanctuary, which still needed to be built. So, of course, we all pitched in. Now, after all the work we've put in, all to Fluttershy's designs of course, the place is finally finished. And let me tell you, it all looks fantastic! The animals are all getting comfy here right now, and it's just beautiful to stand back and look at it all. I can't remember seeing Fluttershy this happy, and we're all proud of her for finally achieving her dream.

So yeah, this was a pretty good day.

Helping Rarity again

Dear Diary,

Rarity and I are doing some work over in her boutique this afternoon, and I have to say, she's in a very good mood right now. I'm always glad to see she's upbeat like this, and I hear I sort of have Sweetie Belle to thank. You see, Rarity was feeling like the two of them hadn't spent much time together lately, so she decided to fix that by, well, spending more time with her. Those intentions were good, but Sweetie isn't the little filly she used to be, so there was some trouble for Rarity coming to grips with that. In the end, they had such differences about what they did and didn't enjoy doing together that the two had an argument.

Now, those two have had issues together in the past, and this one was no different. There was a fair bit of discomfort over the whole thing, but Rarity eventually learned that she shouldn't see Sweetie as this little foal anymore. So, the two started off their day again, and this time they had a much more fun time of it. And I mean a lot of fun, Rarity's still going on about it as she's working. You know, I should maybe suggest to Twilight that she and I have a day out together like that in future. Might be nice.

Anyways, gotta go. Time for more work over on this new dress of Rarity's.

Mac's love problems

Dear Diary,

I had myself a bit of a surprise today as Big Mac came over for our usual session of Ogres and Oubliettes. Seems he has a special somepony in his life! I had been wondering why he'd been looking so spacey during our last few games together, and heck even Discord was starting to worry about him. This explains a lot, and hey, I'm happy he's managed to find somepony special. Hehe, at least one of us has. But then he told me that it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the Crusaders being there. And as soon as I heard that, my stomach just seized up and I dreaded hearing about what had actually happened over there.

Thankfully, it wasn't as apocalyptic as I had feared, though there were quite a few moments in his story that, if I'm being honest, I'm glad I wasn't there to see. But, at the end of it all, his new marefriend, Sugary Bell I think her name is, decided that Mac was actually somepony she wanted to be with. Can't wait to tell Discord and see his reaction. But, he's busy at one of his tea parties with Fluttershy, so I'll have to wait for it.

Huh, wonder if Sugary will come to Ponyville one day? Might be nice to meet her.

AJ helps Rarity

Dear Diary,

Today, while I was helping Rarity with some of her chores, she made a surprising announcement. You see, she's got this new fashion show coming up, and she's invited some high-up fashion people to act as judged. Hoity Toity and Photo Finish are two of them, but for the third judge Rarity decided to use somepony outside the fashion world. Seems Applejack is her pick for the role, and let me tell you, everypony was just as shocked to find out about it. I get where Rarity's coming from, but AJ has next to no experience in this sort of thing outside of helping Rarity with this or that show.

Heck, I probably have as much experience as Applejack when it comes to fashion, but I'd never take on a role like this. Not even if Rarity batted her eyes at me and offered me a big tasty gem as a reward. Okay, maybe I would under those particular circumstances, but even so. Still, Applejack will probably be game for it. She usually is, and hey, she might actually do pretty well. Rarity will be there to help after all so if there's anything AJ doesn't know about she can just ask, right?

So hey, this might turn out okay after all.

Discord's first tea party

Dear Diary,

Ponyville had a bit of a ruckus today as Discord was in a kind of a worried mood. Now, this is actually pretty surprising since he's usually pretty chill and okay with most things. And by chill I of course mean causing mischief for others. But you see, he had a good reason for feeling on-edge today, and that's because he's actually going to be making a tea party for Fluttershy. He's always been the one to go over to her place, but now he's decided he should return the favour by hosting one of his own. And you know, I've gotta give credit to him, that's actually a really nice thing for him to do.

But of course, this is Discord we're talking about so of course things aren't going to go as you'd expect. Why, I was just going to buy some of our weekly tea over at the local store, and the owner told me what Discord was like as a customer. Not bad exactly, but unsatisfied with a lot of what was being offered, even to the point of using his magic to make things more, shall we say, interesting? Naturally, I start to worry about what this tea party of his is going to look like, but, I'm going to just assume things will work out. I mean, when don't they?

Oh, that reminds me, I need to pick up a new teapot too. Might be worth asking what Discord did over there while I'm at it.

Ponyville gets filled with jerks!

Dear Diary,

You know, you'd think that after all the things Twilight and the others have done for this country, all the times they've put their lives on the line and saved everypony in Equestria, that the ponies could all be a bit more grateful towards them. But no! Apparently, they think they have the right to march on in here and criticise and condemn every single thing they think is wrong with them! Now, you're probably wondering what I'm talking about, and you see, it all started when Twilight decided to publish this book they'd all been writing in about their various friendship lessons. But, surprise surprise, other ponies haven't been getting the more positive side of those messages.

They've picked apart everything and I mean everything they've been trying to teach! And you should've seen Fluttershy during all this! She was almost in tears because of all that heckling! I swear, if Twilight hadn't stopped me, I'd have charged out there and just roasted them as soon as I found out what was going on! I doubt they'd be so happy to insult my friends if they knew they had a former Dragon Lord on their side! But, Twilight and the others just decided to wait for it to blow over.

She's more level-headed than the rest of us, always has been. But let me tell you, I sometimes wonder if ponies in this country even know what the word "gratitude" even means.

Camping

Dear Diary,

You know, I've never been camping myself, and I thought I'd give it a try. Now, you're probably confused about where this has come from all of a sudden, so let me explain. You see, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow decided to take the Crusaders out on a camping trip, sort of like they did a few years ago, and it got me thinking that it might be fun to try it myself. And hey, Twilight was nice enough to help teach me how to set up a tent and everything. So, here I am, Spike the camper, braving the wilds of Equestria with only my wits and a small amount of supplies to help me get through the experience.

Okay, granted, the "wilds" in this scenario is just the back garden behind the Friendship Palace, but sill I'm out here, all by myself, with only the bare minimum necessities, like my flashlight, a box full of food, my comic collection, a nice soft pillow, my stuffed Rarity toy, a few books given by Twilight and a few cans of soda. But only as much as is needed out here. I can only imagine what hardships the other campers are having out there right now, but hey, I'm sure they're doing just fine. I mean, I'm a first-time camper and I'm dong pretty awesome myself, right?

So yeah, it's getting dark now, so I think I'll tuck in. Later, Diary.

History lessons

Dear Diary,

Today, it was decided by Twilight that I need to do more to brush up on the history of Equestria and the famous ponies that have lived here. Why? Well, seems Rainbow and Pinkie have had a few history lessons of their own while out helping Daring Do. Oh, yeah, seems Daring was having some trouble and wanted to retire, so Rainbow and Pinkie went over, talked to her, had an adventure and so on and so forth and now she's back to adventuring. But, yeah, they came back from that whole trip with this story of some mare named Somnambula who was this really big deal back in the day, and that basically inspired Twilight to try and teach me some stuff.

Now, I'm no stranger to her going off like this. I mean, heck, you should have seen her after that one Nightmare Night when I told her I didn't know who Starswirl the Bearded was. She basically sat me down and read out his whole life story until I'd memorised it. And I can assure you she's probably gonna do the same here today. Not only about Somnambula, but every other hero and heroine Equestria's ever seen.

Ugh, I'm gonna get myself some tea to calm myself before this starts, because this is gonna be a long day.

Rarity's mane trouble

Dear Diary,

Rarity...had a bad day today. And I mean a really bad day. After a mix-up with some of Zecora's potions, she, well, lost her mane. I won't go into too much detail, but let's just say she wasn't looking her best. Her friends and I tried to help her, but nothing could really replace it. But, after all of this difficulty, she realised that she's fabulous even without it. So she went out there, got herself a brand new look, and strutted around like she owned the place. And let's be honest, having her actually own the place would be a pretty awesome thing.

It's times like this when I'm reminded why I like her so much. Oh, sure, there are ponies who may look at her and say she's "too worried about looks" or some nonsense like that, but when you get right down to it, even if you took that away, Rarity's still great. She has her confidence, she has her way with others, and when she gets in the right frame of mind for it she can take whatever bad looks are thrown her way as nothing to worry about. Mane or not, Rarity is an incredible mare, and let it never be said that she isn't!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and finish picking up all of this stray mane-hair around here. And no, you don't get to ask about that.

Covering for Twilight

Dear Diary,

Today, I am all by myself here at the Friendship Palace. Starlight's out hanging with Trixie, Owlowiscious is busy chilling with the other pets, and Twilight, thanks to yours truly, has been convinced to go on a vacation with her family for the first time in forever! So, it's just me, and I've got a whole day of covering for Twilight and helping sort out her Princess paperwork. I'm pretty happy to be helping her if it means she gets some time off, because believe me, she's been looking exhausted lately. She needs this more than you can imagine, and I hope she has a wonderful time with Cadance, Flurry and all the others on that zeppelin of theirs.

But anyway, back to the paperwork. You wouldn't believe how much stuff gets brought Twilight's way with all this. I mean, I'm looking at this one paper in particular, and it's to do with overlooking tax legislation over in Manehattan. Since when did Twilight get involved with that part of Equestria? Are any of these things actually her responsibility? Because I'm starting to get a sneaking suspicion that she was only given it because a certain somepony didn't want to do it themselves. Well, I wouldn't bring it up with Twilight, because let's face it, she'd do the work even if it wasn't hers.

Anyway, no sense complaining. Might as well keep working on it. And hey, if Prince Blueblood's "high commission for Baltimare upper-class parties" needs my input, then I'm sure I can come up with a few suggestions for them. Hehehe.

Sunburst comes over

Dear Diary,

Sunburst is a pretty decent guy, but boy, can he get oblivious sometimes. Starlight was really excited about having him over for a visit, and at first things were going pretty well for them. But as time went on the guy started hanging out more and more with all these other mares. Maud, Trixie, even Twilight! Starlight felt really down about it, and I can't say I blame her. I mean if Peewee came over and spent most of his visit hanging with Owlowiscious or Angel or Tank, I'd be fleeing left out too. But, not being the kind of mare to back down, Starlight tried everything she could think of to try and spend more time with him. Her heart was in the right place I'm sure, but, wow, some of those plans did not work out for her.

In the end though, they came to an understanding about the whole thing. Sure, they might not have as much in common as they first thought, but that's not what matters. What does matter is that they simply enjoy doing it with each other. And hey, if nothing else, at least this visit meant that Sunburst now has a whole bunch of other friends he can look forward to visiting from time to time, and that's always nice, right?

But seriously, somepony needs to teach that guy how to tell when his best friend isn't at her happiest. Or at the very least maybe just give his glasses a clean?

Twilight opens a school

Dear Diary,

After everything that has happened recently, Twilight and her friends decided that it's no longer as easy as it was for them to just go out and teach friendship lessons. Something else has to be done. Twilight's solution? Open a school of friendship! Yeah, some pretty big ambitions, right? With Celestia's blessing, she went to get it started, but trouble reared its ugly head with this guy called Neighsay. Turns out he's the head honcho of all things educational in Equestria, and he was not impressed with the school, especially once he found out that Twilight had brought in students from outside of Equestria.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention them. We have a Yak named Yona, a Griffon named Gallus, a Dragon named Smolder, a Changeling named Ocellus and a Hippogriff called Silverstream. For a while, the school was closed by Neighsay for all this, and Twilight felt terrible. But then, after some encouragement from Starlight, she decided to re-open it anyway. But things got difficult when all those students I mentioned, as well as a pony student called Sandbar, ran away together. Seems they'd already become friends, much to Twilight's delight, and that gave her even more reason to go ahead with the school after we got them back.

So yeah, we're in charge of a school now. Neighsay's ticked off, but hey, that guy can just go off and grumble for all I care. I'm happy things have ended up as good as they have done, and I have confidence that Twilight can make this work out.

Pinkie gets jealous

Dear Diary,

Maud, Pinkie's sister, actually managed to get herself a boyfriend recently. You know, I'm happy for her. She's a really good person and I'm glad she was able to find somepony special to share her time with. Unfortunately, Pinkie wasn't as happy about it, since the guy in question, Mudbriar, was somepony she'd had a hard time getting along with earlier. Now, you can probably see where this is going. She gets jealous, there's some bad feeling, and then everypony makes up in the end, right? Well, yeah, but there's actually more to it than that. You see, Pinkie has basically accepted that she herself probably isn't going to be close to Mudbriar like Maud is, but she's also decided that it doesn't matter if she does or not. Maud likes him, and she can see things in him that appeal to her that just don't to Pinkie.

And you know, I like this. Sure, it'd be nice for Pinkie and Mudbriar to be friends, but this right here is also good. It's sort of like how Pinkie was able to get Twilight and our other friends to get closer to Maud through their shared closeness to her all those years ago. As for me, I think Mudbriar might be an acquired taste, but hey, let it never be said I can't try new things.

Wonder what an actual date between Maud and Mudbriar would look like? Now there's something to wonder about.

Fluttershy times four!

Dear Diary,

Recently, Rarity left Fluttershy in charge of one of her boutiques, and things sort of got out of hoof as a result. Nothing catastrophic, like the boutique having to close down or anything like that, but the job sort of changed Fluttershy in a way that we weren't expecting. You see, in order to try and bolster her confidence when dealing with customers, Fluttershy took on all these different personas and costumes to acts as different types of fashion people to try and get more business. For a time, it worked, but then things got weird. And I mean really weird. It was like Fluttershy was being sucked into the personas more and more, until these three fake Fluttershys were all there were of her.

It was so weird seeing her act this way, and even more shocking when she did things like insult her close animal friends. In the end, Rarity had seen enough, and she fired all three. Apparently, this was all it took to get the real Fluttershy back, and after all was said and done the two were able to reconcile and even put on a new fashion show together.

Still, might want to watch out when giving Fluttershy a new job in future. Who knows how she might act?

Twilight's trip to Mount Aris

Dear Diary,

Today marks a very special day for us, as it seems that the Cutie Mark Crusaders were chosen by the Cutie Map for their very first friendship mission. And what's more, they get to go to mount Aris of all places! Not sure what friendship problems the Hippogriffs would have up there, but I hope the three of them have a good time while they get involved with it. Oh, but they're not the only ones who're going up there right now. Twilight also needs to go, since she has some kind of school business to attend to. So hey, if nothing else, at least the Crusaders have an experienced friendship teacher with them in case they get any problems with their mission.

Still, I have to say I'm more worried about Twilight than the Crusaders over there. You see, I never said anything about it when I wrote about the whole Storm King thing, but Twilight kinda sorta did something to make the Hippogriffs angry at her, and it wasn't a great time. I hope they don't treat her too badly now, especially since we've already had enough diplomatic incidents with the opening of the school already.

But, you know, I'm probably over-worrying again. I should just get to my stash of gems to calm myself down. Oh, don't tell anypony that I have a stash of gems by the way.

A mission for Starlight and Sunburst

Dear Diary,

Another friendship mission today, and it seems that it's now the turn of Starlight and Sunburst. I'm excited about what they're going to need to do, but they were a bit down on the whole thing. You see, the place they've been sent to is none other than Sire's Hollow, their hometown. Now, I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty happy whenever the chance to go and visit Canterlot comes up. But, hey, I guess not everypony is as fond of their homes as we are. Still, at the very least, the two were game for it, so me and Twilight wished them luck as they boarded the train and headed on off.

I do wonder sometimes about why certain ponies get chosen for this stuff. Or, I guess I should say creatures since I was chosen once too. And what's more, Equestria is big, as are the lands beyond it. So how does it makes sense that only one friendship problem is happening at a time? Shouldn't it be all over, like, twenty-four-seven or something? But you know, maybe the map doesn't want to overwhelm the ponies it sends so it just picks out the important ones?

Huh, look at me, getting sucked into speculation again. If ever there was a time to rest up with a nice cup of tea, it's now.

AJ and Rainbow get competitive again

Dear Diary,

The school saw a bit of a ruckus today, and much more so than usual. You see, Applejack and Rainbow got a little bit annoyed that Fluttershy kept getting awarded the teacher of the month title, and so they decided to compete against one another to try and prove themselves as the better teacher and get the title themselves. As you can probably expect from these two, one thing led to another, and there was a lot of bad coming out as a result of this contest. Heck, several of the students actually got put at risk because of this, and Twilight even came out and gave the two a big talking down because of it.

But, at the end, the students all came through. I was having lunch with Smolder earlier and she basically spilled the whole story of what went down out there. There was danger, and the students ended up saving Rainbow and AJ. So yeah, everycreature's home safe and the contest didn't lead to any catastrophes, which is always nice. Twilight still wasn't convinced about all this, but the important thing is that everycreature made it back.

Will those two actually get the title one day? Maybe. But not if they keep fighting like this. I'd tell them that myself, but, yeah, they're busy fighting right now so...maybe later?

I have wings!

Dear Diary,

No, you didn't read that title wrong, I really do have wings! After spending all my life as a flightless dragon, now I can finally get up there in the air like the rest of them! How did this happen? Well, it began when I started to itch uncontrollably, and then a whole bunch of other symptoms started showing up. I had no idea what was going on, but then Smolder came along and told me I was going through the molt, basically a dragon's time of growing out of the baby phase. I was terrified of being rejected by Twilight since that's what's supposed to happen to dragons who go through it. But, after it happened, Twilight still wants me with her. I mean, why did I let myself think that? This is Twilight. She'd never reject me like this!

So yeah, you're talking to a bonna fide flying dragon now! I can't wait to get into practising my flying. But who do I ask for help? Twilight? Rainbow Dash? Smolder or Ember maybe? I can't think because I'm just so excited. Heck, I've only just started and I was already able to help beat a roc! Don't ask.

This is such a huge change. I wonder if this is what Twilight felt when she got her wings? I'll go ask her.

New student

Dear Diary,

Today, the school of friendship got itself a new addition. Her name is Cozy Glow, and I'll be honest, her arrival didn't come without a few bumps in the road. You see, she had this thing involving the Crusaders, who were helping her to enter the school to try and do well. Only, things kinda got confusing, and she made it look like they were actually trying to hurt her education, which Twilight got mad at them for. But, after going to Starlight about it, Cozy then explained the whole thing, and now the Crusaders have not only been forgiven, but they've been officially recognised by Twilight as being friendship graduates. I'm happy for them. After all the things they've done together, it's nice they're getting some recognition like this.

So, Cozy Glow. I'll admit, I don't really pay that much attention to every single student who comes in through our doors, but I'd say this filly is pretty notable. I mean, having this big plan backfire in her face because she was trying to help? Oh yeah, she'll fit right in around here. Given all the hiccups all the rest of us go through when trying to help others, there should probably even be a t-shirt or something.

So yeah, here's to Cozy. A bit of a rocky start, but I'm confident she'll do well here.

Starlight vs Discord

Dear Diary,

Today was...difficult. After being sent out to a friendship mission by the Map, Twilight left Starlight in charge of the school. Now, at first, this wasn't too bad a thing, but then it seemed that Discord wanted in on the plan. Starlight told him she had it covered, and the guy, well, didn't take to that well. He started pulling all of his usual Discordy pranks all over the place, and Starlight became pretty stressed out about it. After all, Twilight gave her this responsibility, and Discord was getting pretty out of hoof with all this. Things kind of took a turn for the worst though as one bad remark led Starlight to just blast the guy, banishing him.

It was a bad time all around, especially after Discord's ghost came back. Oh, yeah, he can do that apparently. In the end though, Starlight realised he was just feeling left out, and so invited him to be a part of things again. But then Twilight and the others came back and it seems the only reason they left at all is because Discord had used his powers to only make it look like they had a mission. Twilight was pretty ticked off, and I don't blame her. This day has just been a massive headache.

So, if you'll excuse me, I'm just gonna go and find the biggest pillow I can to nap this whole mess away.

Neighsay and Flim-Flam...oh joy

Dear Diary,

Well, we all knew we were gonna hear from that Neighsay jerk sooner or later, but I'm surprised he came back this way. Seems like the Flim-Flams are back to their old tricks of scamming ponies, and this time they've done it by mocking Twilight's school with their own so-called "Friendship University". Those two? Teaching? Don't make me laugh. But Twilight began to get worried when, of all ponies, Starswirl the Bearded enrolled there! As you can expect, this was kind of a blow to Twilight, who tried to expose whatever plot the Flim-Flams had up their sleeves. And in the end, she did. They were charging massive fees for worksheets all to line their pockets for their Las Pegasus resort.

Thankfully, Twilight was able to get them to stop doing what they were doing, and even Starswirl condemned their actions. So yeah, this rival school thing is now behind us, which I'm thankful for. Still, I think we should keep our ears out. If Neighsay is this willing to undermine Twilight's school, then who knows what else he might do in future! But, I guess I should just relax for now. The problem is over, and that's what matters.

Still, I do wonder about Rarity. She came back with this weird outfit and she seems really fond of it for some reason. Meh, it's probably best I don't ask.

Rainbow and Rarity fight

Dear Diary,

We had a bit of a hard time at the school today. You see, after getting involved with one class in particular, Rarity and Rainbow started having difficulties with one another. Some of the students had pointed out that the two didn't really have much in common, and that it's weird the two are even friends at all. This sent the two mares into sort of a panic mode, and as a result they even started getting aggressive with one another. It was pretty hard to watch, and Twilight thought the same, so she devised a plan alongside Starlight. And let me say right now, I know this is gonna sound mean, but it was for their own good, honest.

So the plan was...trick them. Yeah, I know I already said it'd sound bad, but work with me here. We sent them on basically a wild goose chase to find some important thingamajig, but in the end all it really was is a reminder of how much the two mean together. Sure, they may not have the same loves and stuff, but that's no reason to say they can't be friends. And besides, after all they've been through together, how could there ever have been any doubt?

I'm just glad this is all wrapped up now, because I hate seeing my friends fight. Hopefully this won't happen again for a while.

Pinkie's music

Dear Diary,

You know, I really like Pinkie. She's optimistic, energetic, has a wonderful outlook on life and...yeah, you already know I'm about to say something bad, don't you? Well, seems she'd started taking on this new hobby of playing a...something-or-other from Yakyakistan. And no, I can't remember it's name, and believe me, I've tried. Now, I'm all for taking on hobbies, but the thing is, well, she wasn't very good at it. She was pretty terrible to be honest. And when we told her, she seemed to be fine at first. But then things kinda got out of control when she decided to leave Ponyville entirely over it.

Our friends tracked her all the way to Yakyakistan, and they were able to convince her to come back. What's more, she decided to keep on playing. I know she's not very good, but hey, it makes her happy, and that's what matters. A happy Pinkie is better than a sad one any day of the week. And who knows, maybe she'll get better in time. Twilight told me they heard some of the genuine stuff up North, and if Pinkie stays at it long enough, she might actually get that good. We can only hope.

And if not, well, at least that new earplug store that opened up last week will get some pretty decent business, right?

Starlight's duties

Dear Diary,

I recently got myself a new job, and it's Starlight's role as the school's guidance counsellor. Well, me and anypony who has time to pitch in. You see, she decided to head on out to help Trixie with one of her tours, and it's all the way down in Saddle Arabia! I've never been there myself, and I look forward to hearing what kinds of stuff the two got up to on that trip. But anyway, back to my new job. And boy oh boy, I had no idea Starlight had this many ponies to talk to on a regular basis. There's every grievance under the sun being brought to me right now. How does she cope?

But, at the very least, she made sure to give me some notes and guidelines on what to do in times like this, and her advice has been very helpful to me so far. I especially like when Fluttershy or Applejack come in to help. They're always so much better with the students than I am. With luck, we can go Starlight's entire absence without a single mental breakdown. And if we do get one, well, at least we can rest assured that it's only going to be mine from all this work.

Now, sorry to cut things short, but I've just got another client. Apparently they've got a dream about falling a lot. Gotta go.

Pillar troubles

Dear Diary,

We recently had a bit of trouble with Rockhoof, one of Starswirl's Pillar friends. Seems that, unlike all his other friends, he's having a hard time fitting in with modern Equestria. He tried everything, even trying to hold one of his own classes, but no matter what he did, he just couldn't do well in it. Then, at the end of it all, he actually asked Twilight to turn him into a statue, just like Discord had been! I know, right? I know he was having a hard time, but that kind of thing was just way too extreme a response to all of this. But, you needn't worry, because he decided in the end not to go through with it. Instead, he's become Equestria's official "Keeper of Tales" which is totally a real title and not just something Twilight made up at the last minute.

And you know, I'm happy for him. Above all else, Rockhoof enjoys his stories. And I know the students love them too. Even if some of them might be a bit exaggerated, Yona absolutely adores them. In fact, I suspect it's because of her that Rockhoof decided to not go through with his stone plan. And if that's true, then remind me to thank her for it later.

So yeah, I've gotta go. Old Rocky's got another tale lined up and I do not plan to miss it!

Something's up with the students

Dear Diary,

I've been noticing a few things with some of the students. Specifically with Sandbar and his five non-pony friends. They've been chatting with each other more than normal, and usually that wouldn't catch my notice. But lately it's like they've got this big secret, and it all started with that recent exam they had. And in the times I've passed them by in the hallways and stuff, I keep hearing little snippets of things that just don't make sense to me. Like Smolder mentioning something about a dress, or Silverstream apparently being happy about "yelling at the Storm king" even though that guy's been toast for months now. Something's up with them, and it just itches me like only curiosity can.

But, you know, with all the weird and out-of-nowhere stuff that always happens around here, maybe I shouldn't be too worried. I mean it's not like they're the only ones doing private stuff. Take Cozy Glow. Always fluttering about and going places even late at night. I bet she's just burning the midnight oil with her studies, just like Twilight's always encouraging the students to do. Maybe Sandbar and the others are involved in something like that too?

Yeah, that's what it is. You're right, Diary, I shouldn't worry so much.

Kirin research

Dear Diary,

Today I'm busy doing something that, quite frankly, I was not expecting to have to do when I woke up this morning. You see, Applejack and Fluttershy have just been sent on a friendship mission, but to a place that is apparently inhabited by creatures called Kirin. I've never heard of them before, but Twilight found out about them through, what else, her books. But since AJ and Flutters won't be back for a while, Twilight's decided she can't wait for them to get back before learning more about them. So, she's roped me into helping her do as much knowledge-gathering as she can about these Kirin and what they're like.

Now, enjoy learning about new peoples as much as the next dragon. It's always interesting. But did I really have to be woken up for this? I mean sure, it's kinda cool how there's also this dangerous group called Nirik roaming about in the same place, and that it's mysterious that they and the Kirins have never been met by a pony before or had any real contact with them, but can't all that wait until after I've had my breakfast?

Ugh. Never mind. Maybe if I just put on my "eyes open" glasses, Twilight won't notice I've fallen asleep again. Oh, who am I kidding, of course, she will.

Twilight matters

Dear Diary,

Sometimes, we forget to appreciate the ponies who really matter to us. And for me, that pony is Twilight. I won't go too much into what's brought this on all of a sudden, but let's just say I've had a hard time with a certain somecreature who I never want to see again after this. But yeah, I just wanted this on record. Twilight is family to me. She always has been. She was there when I first opened my eyes, and she's been with me all the years afterwards. She's always cared for me and had my best interests at heart, and I just couldn't imagine my life without her. And even if I could imagine it, I wouldn't want to.

But you know, there'll be times when that fact slips your mind, and you maybe feel that such a pony isn't as important as you thought. But I know now that I was stupid to think that. Twilight will always matter to me. There is nopony in all of Equestria who has meant more to me, and while the two of us don't always agree on stuff, what family does? She's special to me, and I care about her more than I can ever say.

Sorry, but...I just needed to get that down.

Getting gifts

Dear Diary,

Hearth's Warming Eve again. Boy, it feels like only yesterday that I last talked about it. Anyway, me and my friends got into a spot of trouble after we started getting overwhelmed with all the preparations and plans to get gifts for everypony. So, we came up with a solution. Randomly choose a friend and get a gift only for them. I know it sounds bad, leaving out five of our friends and all, but hey, everypony seemed on-board with it, so we went along with it. I wanted Rarity, as you'd expect, and it took more than a few visits to my other friends before I finally had her as my gift target.

Then came the problem of actually getting a gift, and let me tell you, it's always a hard thing to figure out what you're friends are going to want. And if that wasn't bad enough, there was this whole bunch of other stuff going on that just became bigger and bigger disasters. Heck, we even had a pudding monster to contend with at the end of it! And no, I do not want to get into too much detail about that! In the end, while not all of us were able to go through with what we'd originally planned, we all had a fun and happy time together, and hey, I even got to give a song to my fiends after all was said and done.

So yeah, all things considered...this was a good Hearth's Warming. Can't ask for more than that.

A whole load of visitors

Dear Diary,

Guess who turned up at the castle recently? Sunset Shimmer! Yeah, turns out there's actually another portal between Equestria and the human world, and they just stumbled on it by accident! Oh, when I say "they" I mean Sunset, and the other world's versions of Rainbow and Twilight. I gotta say, it was weird seeing Twilight as a unicorn again, even if it wasn't technically my Twilight. Still, it was nice seeing Sunset again, and boy did we have a lot to talk about. But, she and her friends had to go back after we learned that some of the Storm King's old magic was messing things on their side. Honestly, some bad guys just can't stop causing trouble, even when they're dead.

But, that wasn't the end of it, because they actually turned up again, and with a whole boat-load of others from their world. And I do mean boat-load quite literally, since they were on a cruise ship and all. This castle has seen a lot of weird things, but having it be used as a way-station for humans? That's definitely a new one. Thankfully, they're all back through the mirror now, so we can finally relax, and maybe I can finally get around to getting that darn painting where it's supposed to be.

Also, and I know, Twilight won't admit this, but she was totally checking that Flash guy out while he was a pony. Don't let her deny it, we all know it's true!

Spike the winner!

Dear Diary,

Today, I accomplished something I honestly never thought I would. I became the sibling supreme! That's right, the contest that me, Twilight and Shining have been waging since we were kids, and I finally won! Oh, I can't tell you how good it feels to finally get this crown, but it was no small thing, believe me. It took a lot of luck, as well as some help from a certain Princess, to pull it off. But at the end, I finally got it, and more importantly, I got something I've been wanting right along with it. Twilight and Shining looking to me as more than just the funny little dragon who's been living with them all this time. I'm family, and a valued part of that family too. I can't even remember the last time I felt this happy.

But it wasn't as if the day was all successful. There were plenty of hiccups, at least on everypony else's side of things. Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, they all had their problems here and there, but if I'm being totally honest here, it was actually kinda funny to watch. Me and Luna even had a good long talk about it over some tea when it was all done, and let me tell you, she laughed so hard when I told her all the stuff that went on today. It's nice to be able to spend some time with her. She's pretty cool when you get to know her.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a shiny new crown that needs polishing.

Buckball time!

Dear Diary,

As soon as our friends got back from their big Buckball game, Rainbow took me and the Crusaders aside for some practise in the game. Of course, when I say "practice" what I really mean is that she trained the girls while I sat on the side and cheered. And that's fine, I have much more fun watching. The girls were pretty good, but then I guess that's expected when Rainbow's teaching them. She seemed really happy about something too, like she had a nicer time than usual over at the big match. Not sure what it was, but chances are it'd be pretty interesting. So who knows? Might ask her about it later.

But anyways, back to the Crusaders. They all had fun with it, as you'd expect, and Sweetie even invited me to join in after Rainbow went over to talk to Fluttershy. Now, I'm no athlete, but I was willing to give it a go. I tried both the earth pony and pegasus roles, and I had fun in both of them. Didn't actually manage to do that well, but hey, it's all nice anyway. I just liked getting to spend time with the girls.

Might make plans to do this again with them one day.

The Pony and the Yak

Dear Diary,

Tonight was the night of the newly-named Amity Ball, hosted right here at the Friendship School. Twilight arranged the whole thing and we all got together to make sure it was the best party it could possibly be. Pinkie had a blast getting everything right of course, and who else but yours truly was chosen to be the music guy for the night. And let me tell you, I put down some pretty nifty beats tonight, not that I like to brag about it or anything. But, the biggest event of the night was undoubtedly Yona, who caused quite a stir when she tried her best to fit in by doing all the things ponies usually do at this thing. As you can probably expect, it didn't really end up all that well for her, and she was really upset about it.

Thankfully, one of her friends was there to cheer her up. Sandbar, who was actually the one who asked her to the dance to begin with, managed to convince her to re-join the party. After everything was smoothed over, we all got together and tried out this awesome new Yak dance Yona showed us. It was really fun. Oh, and let's not beat around the bush here. Sandbar totally has a thing for Yona. You know it, I know it, they know it, everycreature knows it. And let me tell you, they do make a pretty cute couple.

And hey, if a pony and a yak can get together, then maybe the idea of a certain dragon getting together with a certain unicorn isn't so wild a thing to think about. Claws crossed.

No Sleep

Dear Diary,

Do you have nay idea how hard it is for me to get to sleep sometimes? Answer, very. Between my chores and having to memorise all the stuff I need to do the next day, my brain buzzes so much that it's a miracle I ever get forty winks at all. But, then you get nights like I've been having, and it just became plain old impossible to doze off. What is it that's giving me a hard time? Well, I've no idea what, but there was a bunch of loud crashing sounds lately, right in the middle of the night, and I must have the best ears in the world, because when I looked out of my window to see where it was coming from, it was like it came all the way from Applejack's farm! I have no idea what they're doing over there, but it's pretty loud.

So, here I am, my diary under my blanket, focusing on a bit of writing. Maybe doing that will help me to sleep. Or maybe I can count sheep? They say that's pretty good too. One, two, three, four, five, six. Actually, you know what, scratch that, counting sheep won't help, because now I'm just wondering where all those sheep that used to live around here went to. We saw them shortly after arriving in Ponyville for the first time but now they haven't been seen for years.

Ugh, this is gonna keep me up all night!

A new friend for Silverstream

Dear Diary,

You know, it's always nice when somecreature gets themselves a new pet, and today, Silverstream managed to get one of her own. But I have to say, it wasn't one I ever expected. Her name is Edith, and she's, wait for it, a cockatrice! Yeah, no joke, Silverstream actually went into the Everfree Forest as part of an assignment and came out with a cockatrice as a pet! Who'd have ever guessed? I actually got the chance to see Edith up close after Silver brought her back to the school. And you know, Silver's right, she really is nice when you get to know her.

I can't help but think about Peewee of course when I see her. He was a great little guy, and I can't wait to go and visit him again. I wish I could have seen him more often, but phoenixes aren't like regular pets. They need their freedom. I'm happy that he has his, but even so, I sometimes wonder what it would have been like if he and me had stayed together, like what Applejack has with Winona and the like. Still, getting back to Silverstream, I'm really glad she was able to get herself an awesome pet without getting into trouble, because I hear the same couldn't be said for Starlight when she tried to find her.

Huh, I wonder if pets are actually allowed in the school? Hmmm, better check in with Twilight about that.

Appreciation

Dear Diary,

You know, there comes a time when you learn to appreciate someone in your life in a way you maybe never did before. Today, me and the rest of Ponyville got that feeling when we threw a party honouring the CMC. You see, Scootaloo's parents came to town and were planning on taking her with them to move somewhere else. The other fillies were devastated, and after going through plan after plan, it was decided to throw them one final party to show our appreciation for them. And you know, when you have all of their achievements laid out in front of you, it's hard not to feel good towards them.

But in case you were wondering if Scoots is still going, don't worry, she's not. Turns out she's going to stay here in Ponyville with her Aunts. There were plenty of tears, I can promise you, and the three girls are feeling pretty good right now. And you know, so am I. In fact, I think I'll go on over to their clubhouse later on and ask if I can hang out. I don't really spend as much time with them as I should, and it's probably right that I fix that.

So, see you later, diary. I've got some fillies to play with.

Purpose

Dear Diary,

You know, every once in a while, your friends will say something to you that just gets you thinking in a way that you weren't expecting. For me, it was something Pinkie said after coming back from her visit to Cheese Sandwich. Oh, remember him? He was her rival party pony that one time. Anyway, she went into this big philosophical dealy about what her purpose in life is, since all of our friends all have one now, like Twilight becoming ruler or Rarity's boutiques and stuff. Now, don't worry, Pinkie eventually managed to figure out what hers is, and surprise surprise, it's just to keep everypony happy. I imagine any of her friends could have told her that, but still, I'm glad she's satisfied with it.

But anyway, what got me thinking about it is that, well, I'm not really sure what my purpose is. I know I'm Twilight's assistant, as well as Rarity's on occasion, and I love doing all that. But is that it? Is being a little kid assistant really all I am? I may love having that job, and I can't imagine my life without the ponies I help, but I can't help but wonder if maybe I should do what Pinkie did, and just go out to see if there's some other role I'm meant to have in life.

I might not go out and find it today, but it's worth thinking about.

Fun in unexpected places

Dear Diary,

Yes, I know, I'm talking about buckball again. But can you blame me? It's not my fault the game keeps coming up in our lives these days! Not that I don't like the game, I love it, but hey, that's how it goes. There was a bit of a problem with the latest game though, as Rainbow wasn't really finding all that much enthusiasm in her role as coach of the cheer squad. Then again, she never struck me as the cheering type either, so I guess I can't say I don't see where she's coming from. It was sort of how she felt about reading books back in the day. Having said that though, her lack of interest really put a damper on the rest of the squad, and it took an apology from her to get things back on track.

And boy, did things get back on track. I've never seen that many cheer-leading performances, aside from that one time Twilight was one, don't ask. But even so, Rainbow and the others really put on a show today. I'd even say that the match was twenty percent cooler just because of it! Oh, and don't tell Rainbow I said that, because I'd never hear the end of it. So yeah, all-in-all it was a good game and Rainbow's squad enjoyed the heck out of it. So it's a win-win all around.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and stop Snips from extorting ponies with his ridiculous souvenir prices.

Twilight's twilighting

Dear Diary,

You know, Diary, there are some things in life that you can just tell will happen. The sun will rise, birds will sing in the trees, and Twilight will inevitably go crazy because things have gone just slightly differently to how she's planned. It's just one of those inevitabilities that life has to offer. And you know, having spent my entire existence with her, you'd have thought I'd grow used to it by now, yet here I am, constantly being taken aback by her when she goes that way. Just when you think she can't get any more focused and obsessed with something, she pulled out all the stops and manages to go just that little bit further.

It's actually kind of impressive, when you stop and think about it. It's like a personal record for her. Think you've gone as far as you can go? Boom! You go further! I guess it's something to be admired, in a weird kind of way. Most wouldn't consider a simple trivia game to be a cause for a personal quest to be the craziest pony alive, yet here's Twilight, proving them wrong. I've had my fair share of moments where I can sit back and watch the train-wreck happen, but it's pretty encouraging to know that, even after all this time, Twilight can still manage to surprise me.

...Either that or I'm just going as crazy as she is, either way works.

Peewee comes to visit

Dear Diary,

Today, my good friend Peewee came over for a visit! I know I said I'd spend more time with him, but with everything that's been happening lately, it just feels like there isn't enough time in the day for me to get together with him. The solution? Easy, he came to me. It's kinda weird having him here and not in the wild, but he seems happy enough. I did have to promise Twilight not to let him near her books though, since Phoenixes and paper probably don't mix. Anyway, we're having a really fun time together, and it's great being able to fly around with him these days.

We even had a fun little moment when we were out on the castle's balcony together. There was some kind of ruckus over in the direction of Fluttershy's animal sanctuary. Me and Peewee sort of knew that Fluttershy's rabbit was involved somehow, but we also felt confident that she could put right whatever that little guy was doing. And hey, even Twilight managed to hang out with Peewee for once, which was great. I'm not sure if she's ever even spoken two words to him before, but at least they're spending time together now.

Animals really are great, and I do envy Fluttershy being able to spend her whole day around them. It's a lot of work though, and I hope she gets all the appreciation we can give for it.

Rarity time

Dear Diary,

You know, there are something things in my life that, when I stop and think about it, have always been kind of question marks. One of those things is my friendship with Rarity. Or, to be more specific, if she views our friendship in the same way I do. Well, consider today the moment when I well and truly got my answer for it. She does value me, and she does value the relationship we've built with one another over my time in Ponyville. How, you ask? Well, I won't go into too much detail, but suffice to say it became pretty apparent that she missed having me around during the times I wasn't there with my usual times with her.

But don't worry, nothing went horrible or anything. Well, maybe it did, but it all worked out in the end. And hey, I even have a new friend to talk to you about. You remember Gabby? That Griffon the Crusaders let into their group? Well we've been pen pals for a while, and we've started hanging out together a lot. I know I should have told you about that, and yeah I should have told others too, but still, it's great spending time with her. And hey, she's even starting to spend time with Rarity too, which is pretty awesome, right?

Anyways, gotta sign off. I'm kinda late writing my next letter to Gabby. Oh, and I need to get ready for tomorrow's spa day with Rarity. I hear Bulk's got a new massage technique and I've been dying to see what it's like.

New Staff

Dear Diary,

You'll never guess who just got picked to be the new Headmare of the school! That's right, it's Starlight! Me and Twilight were pretty excited to tell her, but not anywhere near as excited as she was when she heard the news. I still think a bone popped out after she hugged us. Still, she was pretty nervous about it, which I can definitely understand. After all, remember how much stress Twilight went through when she took on the job? But hey, Starlight's not facing this alone. She's brought Sunburst in as her right-hoof stallion to help her, and she's even given her old counselling job to Trixie. I know that kinda sounds like a weird choice, but I trust Starlight if she says Trixie's good for the role.

But, if it's okay to tell you a secret, I'm not sure if I'm gonna be here at the school as much as I used to be. It's not that I don't want to work here, don't get me wrong, but most of that was in helping out Twilight. And since she's gonna be going back to Canterlot to rule Equestria, I'll probably be going with her to help with that too. I might not actually have time to stay here and do all the stuff I used to do at the school. You know, I think I'll talk to Twilight about it later. She's probably even more worried about all these changes than I am, so maybe she can offer some advice?

Anyway, gotta fly, Diary. I'll see you next time.

Perspectives

Dear Diary,

You know, it's weird how you can see someone for a long time as being one thing, and then suddenly see them in a whole new light. Like, you spend your whole life thinking of them in maybe a bad way, and then boom, suddenly it's not the case anymore. I know I sound kinda philosophical there, but trust me, I've got a good reason for it. Fluttershy came over for tea today, and she told us the most amazing story about what she and Rainbow had been getting up to. I won't spoil things, but let's just say it was quite an adventure for them. And it ended in a way that, well, nocreature ever saw coming. Just goes to show you, doesn't it? That sometimes life can still have surprises for you, even when you think you've got it all figured out.

It actually kinda reminds me of my relationship with Garble. Every time I met up with that guy, it was nothing but bad and badder, to the point where I was just dreading ever having to see him again. Then that business with Smolder happened and I suddenly saw him as something totally different. All my past bad feeling, just gone, like it was never there. It was the weirdest feeling, and I wonder if Fluttershy and Rainbow are feeling the same thing right now?

Either way, it's something to think about. Pretty hopeful though, that people can be better than we think, isn't it?

A Great Battle

Dear Diary,

My friends and I have been through a lot of fights in our time. Changelings, Tirek, the Pony of Shadows, but today we just went through probably the biggest fight anycreature has ever experienced. You see, Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow had all formed an alliance, and yeah, I know, that's a pretty nightmarish idea right there. But anyway, they'd got this massive new power for themselves, and they were more dangerous than ever before. Seriously, you wouldn't believe some of the stuff they pulled off together. I seriously worried that this might be it, the ultimate threat that finally doomed us all.

But, if you know anything about us, you know we don't go down all that easy. We fought back, and not alone either. Pretty soon, those three were facing down far more than just Twilight and our friends, and before long they were beaten. And you know what else? The three of them got turned to stone! Yep, just like Discord once used to be! They're not getting out of there anytime soon, I promise you. Seeing that fight over, I can't tell you how relieved I feel. But I shouldn't have worried. Twilight always comes out on top with these things, and I should have known she'd do so here too.

So, guess all that leaves us now is her coronation. And...huh, I actually worry if that's even more terrifying now.

First Page

Dear Diary,

...Is that how I start this? It seems kinda boring, but, whatever. Anyways, this is Spike here, writing in you for the very first time. It's pretty weird and I don't really know what to say. Twilight gave you to me just this morning. Said it'd help me keep better organised. I know she likes that kinda stuff, but I'm not sure if it's for me. Well, we'll see how it goes, and hey, I might have fun with it. Not much to say right now, I've just got some present-wrapping to do for a party I'm going to. Her name is Moondancer and she's invited us and some of our other friends over. It'll be nice to see them all, and I really hope she likes her present.

Anyways, that's all I've got to say right now, so this is Spike, signing off.

...Maybe I should work on that one too.

Ponyville

Dear Diary,

You wouldn't believe the kind of day me and Twilight have had! First, we had to go to a town called Ponyville, which I've never heard of before. And I wasn't able to get over to Moondancer's party either, which was pretty disappointing. I hope we get to see her again after all this. But I'm getting distracted, because guess what happened when we went to the Summer Sun Celebration? Princess Celestia was gone! And what's more, Nightmare Moon showed up! Yes, the Mare in the Moon! She's real! I was so shocked that I couldn't help myself. I fainted. Oh, er, I mean, I passed out. Yeah, much better.

When I woke up, Twilight was gone too. But she left a note at the library. That's where we're staying while we're here by the way. It said that she's gone to some place called Everfree with five other ponies. She didn't name names but I think I know who she's talking about. We met some really nice mares when we arrived here today, and they were a lot of fun. There was even one...a wonderful, beautiful one that...er...maybe I'll write about her later, when things are less doomy.

So yeah, I'm just sitting here right now, waiting for Twilight to come back. I really hope she's okay. I don't know what I'll do if I don't see her again.

I guess I'll just wait and see.

Until next time, Diary.

...If there is a next time.

New Home

Dear Diary,

Yeah, I've got a lot to talk about again. Twilight and the others came back, and with Princess Celestia too! I was so happy I couldn't stop smiling when I went over to hug her. She told me all about what she and the other mares did, and it sounded so cool! I wish I could've been there to help. Because hey, you never know, a dragon could've been pretty useful to them. They went through monsters, chasms, you name it. It sounds like a real adventure. I'm just glad she's back though. Oh, I nearly forgot, there's another Princess here now. Yeah, it turns out Celestia had a sister this whole time, and her name is Luna. Who knew? I never knew Princesses could get that small though, but don't tell her I said that. I wonder how Cadence will react when she hears about this?

But anyways, we're having a party right now. One of the mares I mentioned, Pinkie her name is, she really loves her some parties, and this is the biggest one I've ever been too. Everypony is happy and celebrating, it's really great. But the biggest news of all? We're staying here! Yeah, that's right, me and Twilight are gonna be living in the Ponyville library now. It's pretty neat, like this ginormous tree-house full of books, so yeah, Twilight's gonna love it of course.

I'll miss Canterlot, but I think Ponyville will be an even better place to live, especially if it has ponies as fun as the ones we've met.

Guess this is a new chapter in our lives. Pretty neat I got a book to write in about it then.

I've no idea what life here will be like, but i'm looking forward to seeing it.

Until next time, Diary.

Babysitting Animals

Dear Diary,

Guess what? Go on, guess. That's right, there's actually another dragon close by! Just outside of Ponyville! Can you believe it! I've always wanted to meet another dragon. I wonder what he's like? I guess I won't find out because I won't be seeing him. Turns out his snoring has been causing trouble, all that smoke and stuff. Princess Celestia has asked Twilight to try and get him to leave before he blots out the sky or something. Twilight's up for it of course, and she's taking her friends with her. That dragon won't know what hit him when those mares come to call.

Me? Oh, I'm staying here. Seems Fluttershy's animals need looking after while she's going on this mission. I like animals normally, but these little guys are a real clawful, especially that rabbit! What did Fluttershy call him? Angel? Pfft! I can't think of a less-fitting name to give him. That little guy is a demon, I'm sure of it! Every time I think I've got a hold of him, he disappears! I swear, he's enjoying trying to get me to chase him like this! I really wish Fluttershy would get back so she can take him off my claws.

Still, it'll be pretty neat to hear what Twilight saw up there on that mountain. How big was that dragon? Will I get that big one day? I have so many questions! Guess I'll wait for them to get back.

So long for today, Diary.

Back in Canterlot

Dear Diary,

Well, I'm back in Canterlot. Twilight keeps telling all our friends that I'm "away on business" or something, but really, I just asked her to say that. Makes it sound all official and important and stuff. In truth, I'm actually just visiting the family. Twilight's parents were really glad to see me, and Velvet kept trying to stuff my face with cookies, as usual. I love her cooking, I really do, but sometimes she can go way overboard with it. Night Light was a bit more laid back, telling me what's been going on in town since me and Twilight left for Ponyville. Not a lot, apparently, which isn't surprising. Canterlot doesn't really change all that much.

I tried to find Shining while I was here, but you know how it is. He was always pretty busy with his time in the Royal Guard. He's kinda like Twilight with her studies, always so focused that he doesn't think of anything else. But hey, maybe I'll see him next time. Oh, you know who I did see though? Cadence! She was really excited to hear what me and Twilight have been up to since we moved, and she seemed pretty interested in everything I told her. Psst! Just between you and me, I think she suspects I have a crush on somepony. Well, that's the Princess of Love for you. She always knows what's up.

Anyways, that's all for now, Diary. I've still got some time to kill before I catch the train back to Ponyville. I wonder what Twilight's been doing while I was gone?

Day Off

Dear Diary,

Nothing special going on today. Twilight's spending some time with her friends over at Sweet Apple Orchard, so I've got the whole library to myself for a bit. I thought of maybe going out into town and see what other ponies are getting up to, but I figured it'd be better to just stay indoors and relax for a bit. I hear there was a party going on somewhere though, so I might check that out. Some cutesie...cutesie-something-or-other with this little filly. I think Applejack's sister was maybe gonna go, but maybe I'm just remembering that wrong.

Well, I guess I finally have some time to catch up with some comics. I found this new one that's really fun. It's about a group of six superhero mares and their sidekick. Looks pretty neat. Twilight's not a big comic fan, so I don't really talk with her about it, but maybe some of the other kids here do? I might check in with Apple Bloom and ask her, if she's not busy with that party and stuff. So yeah, it's pretty quiet here for once, which is nice. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love living here, but it can get pretty crazy.

Guess it's nice to kick back and relax a bit. It'll probably end when Twilight gets back though, but hey, what can you do?

Fashion is Hard

Dear Diary,

Rarity, the most wonderful, elegant and stunning mare in all of Equestria, actually got somepony to notice her incredible work today! But, I have to say, she had a hard time making that happen. you see, Twilight and the others were getting excited because Rarity offered to make them outfits for the Grand Galloping Gala, but as she started making them she kept trying to make everypony happy by listening to everything they wanted. When the big show first started, the outfits weren't...um...liked all that much. Everypony thought they looked ridiculous, aside from Twilight and the others of course. Rarity was devastated, and it really hurt to see her like that.

Fashion is so weird to me. I mean, yeah, I like that Rarity loves it so much and I know a lot of hard work and artist-stuff goes into it, but she did make stuff that the ponies wearing them actually liked. And everypony just thought they were silly. It wasn't fair, not to Rarity and not to the others. But, I guess I can be happy that things worked out. The others actually made a dress themselves, and Rarity liked it so much that it got her out of her funk. She re-made the dresses and that snobby fashion guy came back. This time, he liked them, and Rarity finally has a hoof in the fashion world!

I'll say this though, I know I couldn't make it in that world. Having to put up with ponies like Hoity Toity? Yeuch! No thanks!

Getting Some Sleep

Dear Diary,

Today, I heard that Fluttershy was having the Cutie Mark Crusaders over for a bit of a sleepover. Oh, the CMC are what Apple Bloom and her two friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, call themselves. Sorry for not mentioning that earlier. Anyway, them going over to Fluttershy's got me thinking, maybe I should have one too? And then I realised that aside from those three, I don't really know that many kids my own age. I mean, sure, there's Snips and Snails, but I'm still mad at them after that whole Ursa Minor thing from a while back, so that's a no-go for now. So, I guess it's just gonna be me here for this sleepover.

But hey, that's fine. Twilight's out visiting Zecora, so I haven't had any chores to do this evening, and it looks like it's gonna be a nice night out. Lots of stars and everything. I've got a new comic to read and a nice glass of milk to go along with it. Oh, and don't tell Twilight this, but I also snuck a cookie out from the jar she think she's got hidden in the kitchen. It's really nice. Huh, now that I think on it, Twilight has been gone a lot longer than I thought she would be. Maybe she decided to stop for a longer chat with Zecora? Oh well, I'm sure she's fine.

This is Spike, signing off for the night. So goodnight, Diary.

The CMC are at it again

Dear Diary,

Apple Bloom and her friends have really been making themselves known lately. There's not a single thing under the sun that those fillies haven't tried their hooves at. I mean, Twilight usually keeps me pretty busy and stuff, but those three? Yeesh! I couldn't imagine doing all that stuff in a single day! And they're all doing it to get their cutie marks, which they haven't managed to do just yet. I don't think I've ever met anypony who was as obsessed with getting cutie marks as those three. It's one of those things about ponies that I don't think I'll ever understand. I mean, I'm a dragon, and I'll never get one, but you don't see me worrying about that.

Still, I guess I can't fault them for wanting something this badly. And hey, they're all working really hard to make it happen. I wonder if I should help them? Nah, they'd probably just drag me into some crazy scheme, and frankly, I have enough craziness just dealing with Twilight and her friends in my life thank you very much. I wonder what they're gonna do in the talent show tonight? Everypony's excited to see what the kids of the town all come up with, and I've gotta say, I'm pretty excited too. It might be fun, and maybe I should volunteer to help out with it?

Gotta go, Diary. I think I might go over and see if there's anything I can do.

More Weird Fashion Stuff

Dear Diary,

Well, turns out Fluttershy's a natural model, or at least that's what this new fashion person in town seems to say. Fluttershy helped Rarity with one of her outfits, and now she's the talk of the town. I like that ponies are paying attention to her, since she's always been so nice to me and others before. But, you know, attention isn't really Fluttershy's thing, so that didn't really work out too well for her. I can understand of course. These fashion types have always been a weird lot to me. Oh, except for Rarity of course. She's just great. I'm glad they were able to make amends after their trouble, since Rarity kinda sorta got jealous of Fluttershy's popularity. If only they'd have said something earlier they might have avoided this whole mess. Still, I can't say I wouldn't have had a hard time in their place.

Oh, and speaking of Rarity, I finally decided to tell Twilight and Pinkie about my crush on her. Pinkie was shocked of course, but Twilight just acted like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I bet she was just trying to look cool, because I've been super subtle about my crush ever since I got it. But it turns out she couldn't keep it to herself though, since she just blurted it out later on. Rarity wasn't around thankfully, but I was still pretty mad about it.

Still, all's well that ends well, as they say. Huh, wonder who actually did say that?

P.S. Remind me to never break a Pinkie Promise. I get the feeling that'd be pretty bad.

Celestia comes to visit

Dear Diary,

Today was really special for us, because Princess Celestia actually came over for a visit! No big occasion or serious business, just her coming over and spending time with everypony. Twilight was thrilled of course, but, as usual, she couldn't help but get overly-stressed about the whole thing. Celestia probably knew that, but she was just too happy to just be there and enjoying her time with us all. It was great catching up with her. I don't think I've been able to have a proper talk with her for ages. Oh, and let's not forget the spread. There was loads of great food put out for her, and Mr and Mrs Cake really gave it their all.

That's not to say there weren't problems though. I hear Fluttershy actually took Celestia's pet bird to her home without asking. I know the thing looked kinda sick...okay really sick, but still, she really should've asked first. And given all the commotion I heard across town I'm guessing the bird was more trouble than she was expecting. Twilight came back to the library recently, and I've gotta say, she looks exhausted. I don't know what she went through, but she probably doesn't wanna talk about it. Maybe I'll make her some tea, get her to relax a bit. She'll like that after a day like today.

Well, guess that's all for now. Bye, Diary.

The Gala

Dear Diary,

Tonight was the night of the Grand Galloping Gala. After all this time of waiting and preparing, me, Twilight and the others were finally there, in Canterlot, ready to enjoy the evening. Or, at least, that's what I thought was going to happen. As soon as we arrived, they all went their separate ways. They all had big plans to get on with and none of them seemed to have any interest in spending time with one another. And I was really hoping for a fun night with them too. I tried talking around with some of the other guests, but they were either uninterested in talking to me or so unbelievably boring that i nearly fell asleep after a minute of speaking to them. I had hoped to at least see Cadence or Shining here, but I couldn't see them. It was a bummer.

In the end, I just decided to get out of there and wait for my friends to all be done with it. I found this neat little donut store nearby and this guy named Joe. He was happy to have a customer, so he was pretty friendly to me. But I was too upset to really get involved with him all that much. Then, Twilight and the others turned up! Before the party was even over! Seems they all had a terrible night there, and even caused a bit of trouble before they left. Kinda makes me wish I'd stayed, because that sounds like it would've been fun to watch.

But, the important thing is that we're all here, and that's all I really wanted out of this. Oh, I wonder if Joe still has any more donuts for us?

Chaos!

Dear Diary,

You...would...not...believe the day we've had! So there's this guy, Discord, who used to cause a whole bunch of trouble for Equestria back in the day, and he sorta came back. He started giving Celestia grief over in Canterlot, so she sent for Twilight and her friends. Now, I wasn't worried, since they always managed to fix these kinds of things. But, they didn't! Discord managed to beat them over there, and they still didn't have the Elements to take care of him, so he started coming over here instead! And what's worse, Twilight and her friends were all acting really weird while this was going on. I bet Discord had something to do with it, which is even more reason for me not to like him.

But Twilight managed to get herself out of whatever it was she was feeling, thanks to Celestia's letters. It was all the stuff Twilight had written to her since we moved here. Oh, and that reminds me, I really need to find some stomach pills for that, because a dragon was never meant to blow out that many scrolls at once! So yeah, she got her friends back to normal, found the Elements and saved the day. There was even a big party and everything. It was pretty neat. Discord's a statue again, and I really hope he stays that way, because this town was a mess when he was over here.

Oh, and I was apparently Rainbow Dash for a few moments. Don't tell Scootaloo, because I'm not sure I really want that kind of attention.

Cutie marks cause havoc again!

Dear Diary,

It's pretty hard sometimes to figure out exactly which of the CMC is the most trouble, but I'd say Apple Bloom is a pretty strong contender, at least after everything she did today. After yet another attempts to get their cutie marks, Bloom decided to try and force the issue by getting a magical potion from Zecora. This didn't exactly work out for her, because instead of getting just one mark, she got a whole bunch of them! And she started going all over town acting out everything her marks were telling her to do. Even she wouldn't want her marks after all that. I'm not gonna say it's what she deserved for stealing, but still, she had to know something bad was gonna happen when she did this.

Still, everything eventually settled down. Zecora came along to fix the problem and Bloom is back to normal. And you know, I think I realise just why I don't spend that much time with those girls. Their obsession with cutie marks would drive me nuts if I was involved with it this much. I like them, don't get me wrong, but after a day like today, I think we need to keep a close eye on therm, just in case they get it into their heads to try and mess with magic again.

Now, I think it's high time I help out trying to patch up everything Bloom did while under that cutie-curse. And yeah, I know that's the least-dangerous-sounding curse you've ever heard, but come on, work with me here!

Pets are great!

Dear Diary,

You know how most people would get themselves a pet by maybe going to a shelter or possibly going to just your average pet store? Well, turns out Rainbow Dash never got the memo on that one because her way of doing it involved nothing less than a deadly obstacle course through a dangerous canyon! And all because she was looking for the coolest and most awesome pet she could find. I know that cool and impressive stuff is kind of her thing, but it's not really something you should focus on when looking for an animal to live with you. But, at least she learned that lesson in the end, because she actually did manage to get a pet out of this, and a really good one too!

Wanna know what it was? A hawk? An eagle? Maybe a ~~terro~~ ~~terra~~ pterodactyl? Nope! Turns out Rainbow's idea pet was a tortoise! Yep, no joke. His name's Tank, and even though he's the slowest thing I've ever seen in my life, he's really nice. Rainbow certainly likes him, which makes sense given that he saved her life in that canyon, and I think the two are really gonna get along well together. Kinda makes me with I had a pet of my own. It might be nice. Oh, but don't tell Fluttershy about that, because she was kinda scary when she started obsessing over the thought of Rainbow getting one.

Well, guess we'll see how Tank fares as Rainbow's pet. Hey, maybe he'll calm her down a bit.

Families matter

Dear Diary,

Some days, I just find it really hard to understand the other kids in this town. Take Apple Bloom for instance. Today was supposed to be Family Appreciation Day, where ponies, you guessed it, appreciate their families. Apple Bloom was supposed to bring her Grandmother, Granny Smith, to class with her so she could talk to the class. And what did Bloom do? She did everything in her power to avoid having Granny Smith be there at all! Look, I know Granny Smith could be a little silly sometimes, but there's no reason for Bloom to be as embarrassed of her as she was. I can't imagine how hurt her Grandmother would be if she actually knew what she'd done.

But you know, I suspect she was driven to do that by somepony else. Diamond Tiara I'll bet. That filly always manages to trick Bloom into doing stuff like this. But, I guess I can't get too mad. Bloom did learn to actually appreciate her Grandmother by the end, which is nice. Still, she shouldn't have done what she did anyway. I'd love to have a Grandmother. I don't really have a family like Bloom does, and I don't care how embarrassing they'd be, I'd just want them in my life.

Oh well, I have Twilight at least. And you know, I think I'm gonna cook her favourite meal today. I think she'd like that.

Babies!

Dear Diary,

Today, Ponyville saw two new arrivals. Mr and Mrs Cake have just had their children delivered! It's a colt and a filly, named Pound and Pumpkin. I got a chance to see them at the hospital, after everypony else had already seen them, and I swear, they are the tiniest little things you've ever seen! They were both asleep at the time, which was fine, but I bet they'll be opening their eyes and playing around in no time. Oh, and you should've seen Pinkie Pie going on and on about them! The way she tells it, its like these two babies are the best thing to ever happen in the history of ever! Though, in her defence, seeing some adorable babies would make anypony gush uncontrollably, and if it didn't, well, I guess those ponies just don't have a soul or something.

I wonder if I might be asked to look after them one day? Pinkie certainly seems to hope to do that eventually. Did ponies fawn over me when I was that age? Or maybe just Twilight? Probably. I mean, I've seen the way she looks at my baby pictures, so I bet she spent days just squealing over me when I was first born. Anyways, I'm really happy for Mr and Mrs Cake. They're very nice ponies and I'm glad they're so happy about their new kids.

And hey, guess this means I'm not the baby of Ponyville anymore, so there's that too.

Love is in the air!

Dear Diary,

Today is Hearts and Hooves Day, one of the most important events of the year. A time when couples all over Equestria spend the day together and talk about how much they mean to one another. As you can probably guess, I spent all day trying to think of how best to talk to the pony I care for. Rarity was in her workshop all afternoon, so I knew where she was gonna be. But, as usual, I just couldn't figure out what to say. Ponies always say how "you'll know what to say when the time comes", but I can say from experience that it's nowhere near as easy as that! When I went up to her, it was like my ability to talk was just yanked out of my brain and I just stood there with my mouth hanging open for a good five minutes.

In the end, I just wound up helping her out with some chores while she worked on her latest outfit. And you know, I can certainly think of worse ways to spend the day. Although I wish Rarity had been in a slightly better mood during all that. Apparently Sweetie Belle and the other fillies had done something that had ticked Rarity off. Something about "getting involved in things they shouldn't have done" or something. Knowing those three, it's probably best I don't ask about it.

Still, I guess I got to spend the day with my crush after all, so I can be happy about that.

Time travel is weird

Dear Diary,

You know, you think you have the world figured out. You think you know how things work and what can and can't happen. Well, turns out your don't know nothing. Because guess what? Time travel exists! Yeah, no joke! Twilight's future self turned up in our living room this morning, warning of some big disaster that's gonna happen. And, as you can probably expect, this has caused Twilight to, you know, obsess over it just a smidge. She's going all over town, trying to completely disaster-proof it, going all over and fixing whatever tiny problem might lead to some future issue. Heck, she's even got us all doing stuff outside of Ponyville! There's no doubt in my mind that she'd look over all of Equestria if she could!

Then, as if things weren't bad enough, who should come charging along but Cerberus! Yeah, the guard-dog of the mythical Tartarus? Turns out he's real as well! He just arrived in town for no reason and started causing havoc. Twilight managed to get him to leave though, and right now she's probably sending him back where he came from. And now that she's out of town things are actually quiet, typically. Still, I can't say I'm unhappy. After everything so far, it's nice to just have a moment to relax, though I do miss having her here. I hope she's okay.

Still, time travel and Tartarus. I really hope that's the last time I ever had to deal with either of those things!

Fluttershy steps up

Dear Diary,

Today I learned just how much work the pegasus ponies put into making the weather of Equestria run so smoothly. I mean, I always knew there was a lot of work involved, but oh boy, I never really understood until today! The sheer effort of all those pegasi trying to get all that water up in the air, it was amazing! And you know what else? Fluttershy really showed her A-game today! Everypony thought she was gonna be unable to really contribute, but she proved everypony wrong! She really showed her worth today, and whatever fears she had about helping out, she truly overcame them! It was great being able to see her help like this, and Rainbow Dash was pretty amazed too.

Twilight and me are planning on inviting them over to our place for dinner, as a kind of celebration for a job well done. Rainbow looked pretty eager, and even Fluttershy was excited to come over. I've always enjoyed cooking for friends, and I look forward to being able to make something good for them. Though I hope Rainbow doesn't brag too much about how awesome they were. I know they did good, but that kind of boasting can get pretty tiresome.

You know, I think I'll cook Fluttershy an extra-big portion, just because I can.

Weddings!...And also a war

Dear Diary,

Okay, so...where do I start? So it turns out Shining Armour was getting married to Cadence, which was a surprise because neither of us knew those two were even a couple, so we all went over to Canterlot to take part in their wedding. But things got weird and Twilight suspected that something was wrong with Cadence, and none of us took her seriously because we thought she was being overly-possessive of her brother and all that. Things got bad when she blurted out some stuff in front of everypony and everypony turned their backs on her. And I'm sorry to say that I was one of them. Then, plot twist, turns out Twilight was right! Cadence was evil!

Actually, no, it seems it wasn't Cadence at all, but rather the Queen of the Changelings! What's a Changeling, you ask? No idea, I just found out about them myself. Anyway, Twilight and the real Cadence came back and exposed her in front of everypony, and then things got even worse. There was this whole army of them and they attacked. Twilight and her friends were captured and it actually looked like the bad guys were gonna win. But then Cadence reunited with Shining and they were able to beat them with the power of love! Yes, really. So the day was won, everypony apologised to Twilight for doubting her and the wedding went along without a hitch this time.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go and take a long nap. Because guess what? Seems going through all this is pretty tiring. Yeah, who knew?

So many Pinkies!

Dear Diary,

You know how Pinkie Pie is the most bubbly and energetic mare in the whole world? Well, now imagine what it's like to have a whole bunch of them running about! Yeah, that's right, by some magical whatever, Pinkie was able to make more of herself, and it wasn't long before they were all over town causing havoc for everypony. I like Pinkie, but having there be more than one of her is way too much to take in. Thankfully, Twilight was able to come up with away for us to make sure that we got the original one back. Now, there's only one, and trust me, we're all glad about that.

But you're probably wondering why she did this. Well, turns out she felt bad about not spending enough time with her friends. If she was with one, she couldn't be with another. So, the solution, obviously, was to make lots of Pinkies so she didn't have the problem. Makes sense, I guess, from a Pinkie Pie way of looking at things. I mean, I can understand myself. I know what it's like to feel like I don't have enough time in the day to do all the things I need to. We all feel that way from time to time. But having there be more than one of us at a time? Yeah, probably not the way to go.

Besides, its kind of like Applejack's cider. If there's too much of something, that something stops being as special. And Pinkie Pie is special to us.

Apples! Apples everywhere!

Dear Diary,

Today was the day of the annual Apple family reunion, and oh boy, I remember the last time we saw that happen! It was when me and Twilight first came to Ponyville, and we were utterly swamped with them! They were nice, sure, but my stomach was full to bursting by the time they'd finished giving me all that food! This time, it's Applejack's family's turn to do it again, and they pulled out all the stops to make it the best one the Apples have ever known. I know AJ's family is big, but I swear it's even bigger than the last time I saw them all together! Maybe some of them just couldn't make it last time maybe? Meh, either way, Ponyville saw quite an influx today.

I hope they all have fun. I mean, I'm not an Apple so I'm probably not gonna go over. You know, don't wanna stick my nose into family business and all that, but I hope they have a good time anyway. And I hear Babs Seed is coming back too. Apple Bloom was really excited about that, so I'm glad they were able to work out all the bad stuff from the last time they saw one another.

Applejack loves her family, so I'm sure she'll do all she can to give them a good time today. And I hope that, whoever hosts this next year does her the same courtesy. Hehe, they'd have to work pretty hard to top her efforts though.

A whole new world

Dear Diary,

Sorry I haven't written in you for a day or two, but me and Twilight have been pretty busy. You see, after we went to the Crystal Empire, Twilight's crown ,the Element of Magic, was stolen! It was a mare named Sunset Shimmer, and she escaped through this magical mirror portal thingie. Me and Twilight went after her (even though I wasn't supposed to go), and we ended up in a completely different world! It was weird! No ponies, no magic, and me and Twilight were completely transformed! I was a dog of all things, and she was...I actually don't know what they're called, but they looked pretty freaky to me.

Things got even stranger after that, as it looked like, for every pony here in Equestria, there was a creature sort of like them in that world too! We found Rainbow and Fluttershy and the others, and together we tried to get the crown back and stop Sunset from doing all the nasty things she was planning to do with it. It was a close call though, but in the end, Twilight got back what was hers, and we were able to get back to Equestria. I don't think I'll ever forget an experience like this. It's just so weird, thinking this other world is out there, with people so much like the ones we know over here. Nothing I write here will do it justice, so I think that's as much as I can say right now.

Oh, and don't let Twilight know I said this, but she totally had a thing for that one guy she met over there. But remember, it's just between us, Diary.

I'm not a Humdrum!

Dear Diary,

Today...how do I even describe this? By way of a magical comic book, my friends and I were sucked inside and took on the roles of the fictional Power Ponies, after which we were needed to stop one of the super-villains of the comic before being able to escape back into the real world. Yeah, I told you it was gonna be weird. But yeah, that was basically my day. I never saw it coming, but it was an experience, I'll say that much. But you know, I can safely say that I feel a lot better for having gone through it. Why? Simple. Because my friends don't and never have, seen me as a Humdrum.

I know that probably means nothing to you, so let me explain. I've always felt like I don't really contribute all that much to the group. I'm the tag-along kid, the little one who's just along for the ride and doesn't do anything important. But, looks like Twilight and the others never felt that way about me. I've been able to help them before, just as I helped them today, and I should not feel as though I'm in any way lacking or that I'm some kind of disappointment. I'm Spike, and I do contribute!

But, if it's all the same, I think I'll avoid magical comic books from here on out.

Rainbow's party!

Dear Diary,

I think it's well established by this point that Pinkie Pie takes her parties very seriously. Making them to make other ponies happy is pretty much her main reason for being, so you can imagine that being unable to make a party for one of her closest friends would sorta get to her emotionally. Well, enter Cheese Sandwich, this new guy in town who basically wowed everypony with his claims of being a great party-maker. Rainbow actually considered having him involved, which kinda ticked Pinkie off a bit. Things got so heated between them that there was actually a full-on party war going on for a brief time!

In the end though, things have, mercifully, calmed down. Pinkie and Cheese aren't rivals anymore and have actually worked together to make Rainbow and even better party than the two could have ever made on their own. It was great, and we all had a lot of fun with it, but then Cheese made his way out of town. Apparently there are other places out there in need of his parties, so off he went. Still, that was a pretty weird day. It hurt to see Pinkie so upset, but I'm happy that she was able to cheer up and get to keep on doing what she does best.

And hey, Rainbow had a pretty awesome time too, so yeah, more power to her.

A diary reborn!

Dear Diary,

Sorry I haven't had the chance to write in you for a while, but...well... you haven't actually been around for me to write in you. You see, my hiding place wasn't as safe as I thought, and Tirek, the jerk that he was, blew up our entire house and everything in it! So I'm afraid that, when I finally found you, you were in a thousand pieces. But, through hard work, I was able to finally put you back together! Sure, you may have a few singes around the edges, but you're still good as a Diary, and I really hope I can write in you for a long time after this.

Anyways, a lot happened after this. Tirek was beaten, naturally, but after that something amazing happened! The Tree of Harmony created an entire palace for me and Twilight to stay in. No joke! I'm in my new room right now and it's awesome! I can see all out over Ponyville from here! I mean, I never thought making houses was one of the Tree's powers, but hey, beggars can't be choosers after all. I'll miss the Golden Oak, as will Twilight, but I'm just happy all of us managed to make it out of there.

Oh, and not long after, we got a call. Guess who from. That's right, it was Sunset Shimmer! Thanks to some fancy machine-magic work from Twilight, we were able to get the mirror portal working again, and the two of us went back. Turns out there was some trouble back at that school thanks to some nasty Sirens. Seems old Starswirl had banished them there years ago and they were causing trouble again. But, with Twilight to help them, the girls over there managed to win, and heck, even Sunset is a friend now! How great is that?

So yeah, we've had a lot happen recently, and I'm glad I've been able to get you back to be able to talk about it. It's been a crazy time for us, but maybe it's be good for us to rest for now. Maybe a year-long hiatus of sorts?

...Huh...why'd I say it like that?

Troubled Crusaders

Dear Diary,

Today the Crusaders were looking pretty tired. And I mean really tired. It's like all three of them just went through the worst night's sleep anypony has ever had. I don't know what was going on through their heads last night but it can't have been good. But there's also something else in there. Some knowing look about them. Most days it's usually some talk of getting cutie marks, but that seems to be a bit less than usual today. It's like there's a kind of acceptance about them not having it right now, which is nice. I know the marks are important to them, but I'm glad they're not letting it dominate their thinking like they normally do.

Oh, and I nearly forgot! Turns out Babs Seed got her cutie mark! Yeah, pretty neat, right? I should send her a letter telling her congratulations for it. Not sure if the letter will get there, but hey, it's worth doing all the same. Still, the Crusaders says she was having some trouble adjusting to it, so they wanted to help. It's a nice thing for them to do, so maybe I'll help out. Also, there was this weird thing where I heard Bloom mumble something about "thanking Luna", which I didn't get. I mean, Princess Luna hasn't been anywhere near Ponyville in a while, so what's she talking about?

Meh, probably just the usual silly Crusader stuff.

Another friendship mission

Dear Diary,

Today, I watched as Pinkie and Rainbow headed off on another friendship mission by the cutie map. Oh, that's what we decided to call the glowy map table in the castle by the way. Where are they going, you ask? Griffonstone, home of the Griffons! It's quite a journey over there, and none of us have ever been there before. Who knows how long it'll take them to get there or when we're going to see them again, but knowing them they'll probably be fine about it. I mean it's not like it's the only time they've been to hard-to-get-to-places before, so hey, what's one more?

I have to say though, Rainbow was looking less happy than Pinkie about this. And I mean, sure, she always looks less happy when standing next to a mare like Pinkie. Who wouldn't But I think I know the reason for this one. You see, she's probably worried she'll come across her old ex-friend Gilda when she's over there. You know, home of the Griffons and all that? Not sure if she will meet her but I'm guessing it'd be a pretty awkward moment if it did happen. I hope nothing goes wrong for them over there. This is the first time any of us have been sent as just a pair instead of all six. They won't have the rest of the mares there in case anything goes wrong.

Nah, I'm overly-worrying about it. This is Rainbow and Pinkie! They'll be fine!

Wedding diasters!

Dear Diary,

Can't this country go one day, just one day, without a wedding being interrupted and nearly ruined by some big catastrophe? Well, apparently not, since the long-overdue wedding of Cranky and Matilda was nearly derailed by the arrival of a Bugbear. Thankfully, Twilight and the others faced off against it and have been spending all day just trying to get the thing out of town. Now, this leaves the business of the wedding down to the rest of us, and let me tell you, it's no small order. There's stuff going wrong all over the place and the ponies all seem to have some issue of their own to be dealing with right now. At the very least, I'm happy Celestia and Luna will be coming over to visit, which will be nice.

I hope Cranky and Matilda are happy at the end of all this. They spent so long apart from one another for so many years, and now they finally have a chance to tie the knot and get married. I know, I'm getting sappy and emotional, but what can I say, I love a good romantic moment when I see one. Wish Twilight and the others would hurry it up with that monster though, otherwise they're gonna miss the whole thing!

Anyways, I've just gotta put my gift over on the table over there, so see ya!

Success for Rarity!

Dear Diary,

Today, Rarity finally achieved one of her long-term goals, and that's too open a brand new boutique! And it Canterlot no less! She was really excited, and we all went over to check out the new place and wish her luck with it. Oh, and she's also got this new manager for it called Sassy Saddles. She's kinda pushy here and there, but if Rarity trusts her with her boutique then I guess she can't be too bad. We weren't there for long, just long enough for Twilight to give some extra help but endorsing one of Rarity's new outfits.

We left shortly afterwards, and Rarity's gonna be staying there for a bit longer before the place gets really up and running. It'll be weird to think that Carousel Boutique won't be Rarity's only outlet from now on, but I guess that's what happens when somepony gets more and more successful in businesses like this. More places. Huh, wonder if she'll try for one in Baltimare next? Or Manehattan? Or the Crystal Empire maybe? That'd be pretty neat to see.

Anyways, we're just getting back on the train now, so I guess it's just reading some comics before we get home.

A new addition

Dear Diary,

You'll never guess what me and Twilight have just found out. Seems Shining Armor and Cadance are gonna have a foal! Yeah, I know, I couldn't believe it when I heard about it either. But there it is. Don't know when the little one is going to arrive, but I can't even begin to say how excited I am! And if you think I'm looking forward to this, you should see Twilight. The look on her face was just so perfect for the moment that somepony should have it framed and put on their wall or something. Then again, when you learn you're about to become an Aunt, I guess the reaction's pretty appropriate.

Still, I'm definitely happy for the two of them. I hope that, whenever their baby arrives, it brings them nothing but happiness. Oh, listen to me now, getting all sentimental again. But hey, I can't help it, at least not at a time like this. I wonder if it'll be a colt or a filly? Well, either way, I'm sure everypony in the family will just fawn and gush over it like there was no tomorrow. I k now I certainly plan to!.

Oh, and there was also a lot of stuff involving Pinkie acting weird because she found out ahead of everypony else and was trying to keep it a secret, but hey, the important thing is that she didn't spoil it for us, because this news was just way too good for that!

Time travel is still horrible!

Dear Diary,

We all knew she would come back one day, and now she has. Starlight Glimmer. Oh, I know I haven't talked about her before, but she was the one responsible for the first friendship mission Twilight and the others were sent on. Anyways, she came back and used some super-old magic to go back in time and mess with history so Twilight and her friends never met one another. Me and Twilight followed her, but every time we tried, we failed, getting sent back to the present. And what's worse, every change made back then created this terrible alternate history where all the bad guys we've stopped actually won! There was Chrysalis, Sombra, Tirek, you name it!

Thankfully, after going back and forth who knows how many times, we managed to show Starlight just how damaging her actions were, and after another tense moment, Twilight was able to talk her down and convince her to stop doing what she was doing. We all came back to the present, and after a long talk, Twilight's decided to take Starlight on as an apprentice. I know, it's a pretty dangerous thing, given her actions, but if Twilight is willing to trust her, then I will too. So, let's see, that's Luna, Discord, Sunset Shimmer and now Starlight we can add to the list of friends who once tried to doom us.

Oh, and speaking of Sunset, Twilight got another message from her after we came back, so she charged back through the mirror to help with whatever was needed. It was a pretty short trip though, and Twilight was back quickly afterwards. But I gotta say, she looked like she'd just seen a ghost. Whatever she saw over there, I think it'll take a while before she's ready to talk about it.

The showmare returns

Dear Diary,

You know, there are some days when I'm actually glad I'm not around to see what happens with Twilight and the others. Today is one such day. Why? Because guess who strolled back into town. None other than the "great and powerful" Trixie. Yeah, she came back to Ponyville for a show. And what's more, it seems that she was chosen by Starlight as a friend after Twilight instructed her to go out and find one. And you know, when you think about it, the two are sorta similar. Both did bad stuff and both are trying to be better than they were. So yeah, they've got something to connect with.

But boy, would it not have been good for Twilight when she first realised who Starlight had chosen. I can just imagine the look on her face as that mare walked in through those doors. Thankfully, I was out doing grocery shopping at the time, so I wasn't able to be there for the fallout. Oh, and speaking of fallout and groceries, can you believe they've doubled the price of apple juice today? Do I look like the kind of dragon who can spare two whole bits for one of those?

Ugh, anyways, I'm glad Starlight's got a new friend, even if it is a somewhat controversial one.

More friendship missions!

Dear Diary,

Today, Twilight and Starlight were able to use their combined magic to get the Cutie Map working again. Yeah, you might recall that I haven't talked about it in a while, but it seems that when Starlight used her nasty time travel spell, it messed the table up. But now it's working again, and what do you know, there's missions waiting for them. Who knows how long they've been waiting to be heard like this, but the mares have already gone. Specifically it's Rarity and Pinkie, and they've been sent to Canterlot. Not sure what they're gonna find over there, but I wish them luck with it.

As for me, I've got some cooking to do. You see, Rarity recently gave me a gift, this old cookbook her Mother once gave her. It has all these tasty-sounding recipes in it, and I'm pretty eager to get started with them, Not sure what I'll do, but I think I'll try something spicy. I've never done something like that before, so I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out. And hey, if Twilight and Starlight say its was hot enough to burn their mouths as they ate it, I guess we can put that one down as a "maybe" in future.

Well, better get to it then.

Sports

Dear Diary,

You know, I've never been much of a sporty dragon. I'm more of a stay-at-home-and-read-comics sort of guy. But that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a good game here and there. You see, Rainbow and AJ decided to take Pinkie and Fluttershy over to play a game of Buckball, and that got me thinking it might be worth trying some sports out myself. Seems the Crusaders had the same idea, because it wasn't long before I met up with them and the four of us decided to do a whole bunch of games together.

We started out with a race, and if I'm being honest, I didn't exactly do well with this one. I came last, but hey, I suppose I should expect that when I'm up against three ponies. Next, we tired a simple game of catch, and here I did a bit better. Got a few points higher than Sweetie Belle, who was a little annoyed by that, but we all had fun regardless. Afterwards we tried playing a game of Buckball itself, though since we don't have two three-person teams of unicorn, pegasus and earth pony, it ended up being me against all three Crusaders. No prizes for guessing how well I did on that one.

It was all a lot of fun though, and we agreed to maybe set aside a day for games with each other again some time. I look forward to it.

Unexpected friendships

Dear Diary,

I guess we can never predict who's gonna end up as friends with who in this world. Because it seems that Starlight got herself a new friend besides Trixie today, and it's none other than Maud. Yeah, seems that Maud is going to be living in Ponyville now, or at least "adjacent" to it, and has been looking for somepony to spend time with. Pinkie, as usual, was pretty eager to help her sister out with that, and was scouring all over for a new friend for her. Seems Starlight ended up as the perfect fit, and after some mishaps here and there involving stuff like a cave-in, the two are now friends with one another.

I'm happy for them. I mean, sure, Maud's not the easiest mare to spend time with, but she's always been a decent person, and spending time with Starlight might be good for her since both mares have sort of been outsiders in their lives for one reason or another. Although I do worry about Starlight's side of things, especially when you consider a certain show-mare. Seriously, Trixie does not strike me as the kind of pony who likes to share, so here's hoping she doesn't get too jealous of Starlight and Maud's new friendship.

Or maybe I'm just over-worrying about stuff. That's always a possibility.

Excited Scootaloo

Dear Diary,

I had a semi-unpleasant experience today, and all of it centred around Scootaloo. Now, I like my friend as much as the next dragon, but seriously you shoulda seen how happy-go-lucky she was today. She was going on and on and on about her time with Rainbow Dash lately, and yeah that's usually the case with her, but today it was like she'd taken it all the way to eleven! Seems Rainbow had this thing or another with her parents recently, who I'll admit I never really gave much thought to before now, and Scootaloo was there to see it. Apparently there was some problem or argument, I'm not sure, but whatever it was it's over now.

All the same, Scootaloo's just been excited to just talk about her day with the first friend who came her way, and apparently that was me. I wouldn't mind so much except that I was in the middle of grocery shopping. And let me tell you, having a bouncy filly next to you talking about Rainbow while you're waiting in line to buy a bag of oranges is not exactly the best of situations. Still, I'm glad she's in a good mood, and I'm also glad that Rainbow sorted out whatever it was she needed to sort out.

But, Scoots is still here, sitting right next to me in fact as I'm writing. Hasn't even noticed that I'm doing it yet, so I'm guessing I'm gonna be hearing about this for some time yet.

Starlight gets a mission

Dear Diary,

Today, somepony entirely new got to have a chance at doing a friendship mission by the map, and it's Starlight Glimmer! I know, right? Nopony besides Twilight and her friends has ever been sent on one of these things before, and we've also never had anypony go on their own before either. This is something pretty special, and what's more, seems Starlight is being sent to Canterlot of all things. I'm excited for her, but I also know she might get a bit overwhelmed by this. It's her first mission after all, so I'm hoping she doesn't get too stressed out.

But, sadly, that ship might have already sailed, because guess who decided to keep an eye on her while she was doing it? Yep, good ole Twilight. Seems this situation isn't really one she feels she can let go, so she's using every trick she can think of to try and help Starlight along the way. Apparently that means striking some sort of dancer pose in the middle of the living room for long periods of time for some reason. I'm not gonna ask why because chances are the answer would just confuse me more.

So yeah, I'm just gonna go get myself some lunch now. Hope Starlight does okay over there.

Pinkie in Yakyakistan

Dear Diary,

Today, Pinkie pie left to go to a special event over in Yakyakistan. I'm really excited for her, though naturally not as excited as she was feeling about it. You should have seen the way she was squealing, bouncing around, laughing uncontrollably. And yeah, I know she's always like that, but she was even more so today because of this. Though I'll admit, I probably wouldn't be as excited about it as she is. I don't dislike the Yaks, but after their last visit over here, I probably wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to meet up with them again. I mean, if they were as loud and stompy over here in Ponyville, I can only imagine what they're like in their own homeland.

But, you know, maybe I'm worrying too much. Pinkie seems to like them after all, so I guess I can give them the benefit of the doubt. Plus, they seem to like her, so hey, that's a point in their favour as far as I'm concerned. I hope she has fun over there with...whatever this special day is, I've completely forgotten its name by now. But, I think I'm fine staying here in Ponyville right now. I couldn't do well in a land that's always covered in snow.

Still, I would be interested to hear about what happened up there when she gets back though. Looking forward to it.

Bloom gets emotional

Dear Diary,

Apparently it's now my lot in life to be somecreature the Crusaders come to whenever they go through some sort of big thing in their lives. Now, I like those girls as much as anypony in this town, but sometimes it's just out of nowhere the way they arrive here at the castle to talk to me. But, I suppose when you've just been through what Bloom's been through, it's not unreasonable. I'm guessing she's already told Sweetie and Scoot, so that make me number three on her list probably. And what was it she wanted to talk about? Her parents. Seems she and the rest of the Apple siblings just got a bit of a history lesson about that, and more than a few secrets came out from it.

I'll admit, it was kinda hard not to get sucked into the story as Bloom was talking about it. All these things they never knew about their Mother and Father, this whole other family they thought they were supposed to hate this whole time, it really was a lot to take in. In the end, Bloom was just quiet for a long while, and I started to get worried. I asked her if she was okay, and she just smiled at me. Then, she leaned over and hugged me, and before I could say a word, she was off, saying something about hanging out with her Granny.

So...yeah, kind of an unexpected day for me.

Two friends in town

Dear Diary,

Today was kinda hectic for me. You see, by total accident, I'd managed to arrange a visit by both Princess Ember and Thorax on the same day. Now, you're probably wondering why this is an issue, and yeah, in hindsight it was silly for me to get worried. But at the time I was terrified that them meeting would lead to some kid of war or or catastrophe or something. So, panicked, I did everything I could to keep the two separated and unaware of each other. This, as you can imagine, proved pretty difficult, and I ended up stressing myself out more than anything.

If that wasn't bad enough, I got called for a friendship mission. Yeah, me! Turns out that my efforts had actually caused the friendship problem and that I should have just been honest with my two friends from the start. Now it seems that Ember and Thorax are friends too, which I'm really happy about. Now we can actually spend some time together, and let me tell you, I feel so much better now that this is all behind us. Still, I guess I was being silly about the whole thing. Guess it just goes to show you that your friends can surprise you.

Anyways, I'm gonna sign off now. Because this day has just given me a massive headache and I need to nap it off.

Thorax has trouble with his brother

Dear Diary,

Today I got a letter from my good buddy Thorax. Now, I'm normally pretty stoked to hear from him, but it seems he's been having some hard times over at the hive. Turns out that he has a brother, and more than that it's a brother who's not the easiest to get along with. Apparently, he was one of the drones Thorax tried to talk with me about during his last visit to Ponyville. The ones refusing to accept the new ways. Now, most Changelings have accepted it now because of Thorax's firmer stance, but looks like this brother of his isn't budging. I can understand. I imagine Ember ad a hard time bringing other dragons in line when she said they weren't supposed to be enemies of ponies anymore.

Still, I wish Thorax would have sent me this letter sooner than he did, because Starlight and Trixie have only just left to go and visit him themselves. I would have warned them that they might meet this brother of his. Still, perhaps I shouldn't be too worried. Starlight's pretty powerful, so chances are she can handle herself if she comes across him. I wish he and thorax would be better at seeing eye to eye though, because I don't like that my friend is having trouble in his own family.

Guess I'll just have to keep an ear out for how this goes for him.

Studying medicine

Dear Diary,

Just a short while ago, Fluttershy and Twilight left to go and help Zecora after she fell ill. Yeah, this time it's her turn to be sick, and it seems it's a pretty bad case too. So Twilight and Fluttershy have gone to try and find whatever cure they can. I have to say, I'm worried. Not just for Zecora but for Twilight and Fluttershy too. I mean, medicine isn't normally something they get involved with, and chances are they could get exposed to all sorts of nasty stuff when finding a cure for Zecora's illness. I look around the castle here and I know they went through a whole bunch of books to try and find something, but if they left they might not have had anything useful right now.

Still, it might be worth me having a look myself. Health is important after all and who knows what kind of sicknesses I might gave to face in the future. Maybe I come down with something or maybe one of my friends gets bedridden with a nasty virus. Who knows? But, as their number one assistant, I feel it is my duty to be prepared for this sort of thing. So I guess I'm gonna be spending the day looking through these books about it.

Don't wait up, because this'll take a while.

Crusaders visit

Dear Diary,

You know all those times when the Crusaders did everything under the sun to try and earn their cutie marks? Well, seems they came upon a colt who didn't see eye-to-eye to them on that point. His name is Rumble, and he's a classmate of theirs. Now, I've seen him a few times here and there, but we've never really spoken. And from what the Crusaders tell me about him, he probably would have been hard to get along with. They came over this afternoon for some snacks by the way, so they told me this whole story about he basically upended their camp for cutie marks. Kinda difficult day for them, all things considered.

You see, Rumble ended up being apparently worried about his own possible mark, so he tried to disrupt it for everypony else. Yeah, I know, a jerk thing to do, but hey, when you're worried about stuff you tend to do nasty stuff to others. Need I remind you about my first few days getting to know Owlowiscious? Anyways, after talking to Rumble's brother, the Crusaders were able to fix the whole thing and now everypony's friends again. It was a decent story, and one that made their visit pretty neat.

Though I will say I didn't bake enough cookies for them, because wow, those three fillies can put them away when they need to.

Pies...so many pies!

Dear Diary,

Today, Pinkie Pie unleashed a wave of torment the likes of which I have never seen before. It surrounded us, it crept into every waking moment of our day, and for as long as I live I shall never again sleep without thinking about what has taken place here in Ponyville. What is it she's done? What horror did she let loose you may ask? Why...it was the pies! So many pies, so many flavours, so many places to find them! They were all over town, and I mean all over! I wasn't able to go anywhere without coming face-to-face with those things. And at first, sure, it was great to have so many tasty pies around. They were Pinkie's after all.

But then, as time sank in and the true extent of them began to be unveiled to us, I realised at last just what terrors we were in for. Pies in the morning, pies in the afternoon, pies at night, there was no escaping them! I was so stuffed that I just retched at the sight of them. I know! So much tastiness, yet I couldn't eat any of it! It was like my worst nightmare or something! Why, Pinkie?! Why did you unleash this terrible plague of pastry upon us?

Oh, wait, never mind. I just heard my tummy grumbling. So, if you don't mind, I think I'll try and find another one.

Legends!

Dear Diary,

Well, after Sunburst's visit, seems he happened upon an old book that, guess what, tell the story of none other than Starswirl the Bearded! Twilight was all over that, especially since it mean finding out what happened to the guy all those years ago. Seems he and a bunch of other Equestrian heroes, like Somnambula, got trapped in this bad magical place alongside the legendary Pony of Shadows! Yeah, turns out the guy was real this whole time! So, after going all over and finding a bunch of magical stuff, Twilight cast a spell to bring them all back! Unfortunately, this brought old Shadow back too, so yeah, we had a new bad guy to stop.

Didn't do it in the best of company though, because wow, that Starswirl was a jerk. Twilight, Starlight, it didn't matter who, he was just rude to everypony. What's more, he totally rejected Starlight's idea that something was up with Shadow when the Cutie Map got involved. And what do you know, Starlight was right! Seems Shadow was really this guy named Stygian who was rejected and outcast by the heroes way back when. When this came out, Twilight and the others managed to get him separated from all that evil. So yeah, the day was saved, and thanks to Starlight, we got to do it without sending a victim back into Limbo do do it.

Now everypony's back in the present, and are all friends again. Here's hoping they can do okay here in the modern world.

Big adventure!

Dear Diary,

Whoo boy, do I have a story to tell you! During the Festival of Friendship, Canterlot was attacked by this mean old mare named Tempest, and she was so bad she actually managed to take over the city and capture three of the Princesses! Thankfully, Twilight escaped, along with me and our friends. Together, we had to come up with a plan to get our people saved from Tempest, so we actually left Equestria to find some help. We went all over the place, through deserts, through the skies, and even to places underwater. And we met a load of people along the way who became our friends, including the lost kingdom of the Hippogriffs! How cool is that?!

But things weren't all exciting, and after getting into a fight with her friends, Twilight got herself captured. By the time we'd gathered our new friends to go after her, Tempest's boss, this big dude called the Storm King, had taken her and the other alicorn's powers. He was super-powered now, and it took all of us to have even a chance of getting to Twilight and helping her. In the end, after that whole fight, it was actually Tempest who saved us from the Storm king's final attack. For that, we saved her too, and she was willing to help us restore what had been taken.

So, the Festival was able to go off without a hitch this time, and hey, we've even got a new friend to boot. This was a majorly stressful time, but I'm glad we all came out okay.

...Well, everyone except the Storm King. But hey, just no helping some people, I suppose...Hehe.

Worried Applejack

Dear Diary,

Today, while helping Applejack out with one of her classes at the school, I noticed that she was looking preoccupied. Nothing too serious, but I could see that something besides the lesson was on her mind, and that it was bothering her. So, worried about her, I waited until the bell rang and all the students left to ask what was eating her. Seems she's concerned about her Grandmother, and that she left Rainbow Dash in charge of looking after her and her friends during a trip to Las Pegasus. I smiled and assured her that she didn't have anything to worry about. Rainbow wouldn't put Granny or the other mares at risk or anything after all.

But Applejack was still worried. She kept going on and on about things she maybe should have said to Rainbow before she left, or that it was maybe a bad idea not to chaperone them herself, and all these other points that had been bothering her. But again, I said she needed to calm down. Rainbow wouldn't let her down, and she knew it. Applejack, after a while, sighed and smiled back to me, giving me a pat on the head and thanking me for trying to cheer her up. It was good to help her, and I'm glad she was feeling better.

But, she had a big day ahead of her covering for Rainbow, so it was off to the next lesson shortly afterwards.

Celestia's acting...ooooooh

Dear Diary,

Princess Celestia. A good mare. A wise mare. A mare we all look up to and respect, who has guided Equestria for countless ages and is beloved by all. But boy is she a terrible actress! I mean, words cannot even begin to describe just how bad she was when Twilight put her on stage. You see, there was this big anniversary of an important sunrise for the Princess, and Twilight wanted to commemorate the day with a play about her life. Sadly, Celestia, after having the chance to play as herself, soon proved that, as good a leader as she is, pretending to be herself apparently isn't on her long list of positive traits.

But Twilight, who adores her as much as anypony, couldn't tell her, and when the truth finally came out, things were a bit upsetting for everypony. Thankfully, the two were able to reconcile, and Twilight learned that she should have just been open and honest with her about the whole thing from the start. Celestia still gets to be part of the play though, even though Fluttershy took on her role, and in the end, the play was actually all the better with Celestia's inclusion. I guess we shouldn't be surprised. I mean come on, a mare who's run the country for a thousand years by herself, of course she was going to be good at coordinating a single play.

But yeah, I hope everypony enjoyed the show, because I know I certainly did!

Mac's love troubles

Dear Diary,

Love is in the air again, but that doesn't mean it didn't have a hard time of it. You remember how I mentioned how Big Mac got himself a marefriend? Oh, her name is Sugar Belle by the way. Well, he got into some grief when, after overhearing a conversation, he thought she was going to break up with him. Discord and me were worried, even though Discord seemed more occupied with playing a game than helping, and so we did all we could to try and see this problem through. Things sort of got worse before they got better though, since Mac decided to break up with Sugar first, leaving her heartbroken. But, after one thing led to another, the two reconciled and got back together, so hooray.

Oh, and it seems the Crusaders were busy themselves today too. The pie Mac had made for Sugar got sent to them instead, and so Sweetie thought she had a secret admirer. They went all over town, asking every colt they came across to find out who it was. Only when they started eating the pie properly did they realise their mistake, and hey, they had a good laugh about it at the end, which is good. So yeah, lots of miscommunications, but at least everypony turned out in a good place when all was said and done.

Hey, wait a minute, why didn't the Crusaders ask if I was Sweetie's admirer? I mean, I'm not, but still...

Looking after the castle

Dear Diary,

Today, I get to watch over the Friendship Palace while Twilight and all of our other friends are out having a nice camping trip in the Everfree. I wish them luck with it. After all, having endured a brave and exciting camping trip myself not so long ago, I can safely say that it'll be an experience for them at the very least. Besides, it'll give them a chance to have a break from all those other ponies who keep wanting their time and attention. Like that one photographer mare who came along this morning. What was her name again? Meh, can't remember. That's just a good sign as to how many ponies come along for them these days.

Meanwhile, I'm just gonna kick back and enjoy myself. Well, more or less. There are of course a few chores I need to see to here and there. There always will be when you live in a home as massive as this one. Oh, and then there's all that other Princess paperwork I volunteered to help out with again. But hey, that's just all the more reason to give Twilight a moment to herself and her friends. And yeah, I really hope they have fun out there. Granted, the Everfree isn't always the most pleasant of places, but I guess after all the times they've been there, they're just kinda used to it by now.

Anyways, gotta fly. I've got a bowl of gems with my name on it before I get to my chores.

Hearth's Warming mystery

Dear Diary,

Hearth's Warming Eve is with us yet again, and for the record, now I'm certain they're coming faster each year! Anyways, we had a bit of a problem here at the school lately before all the students went home to their families. A massive mess was made and nopony knew who made it, so Twilight and Rainbow had to investigate to see who it was. The students who were kept back because of this were all upset, as you can expect, and even they didn't know who was to blame. In the end, it seemed it was Gallus who did it. You see, he has no home to go back to, so he didn't really want to not have somecreature with him when they all went to their own families. And, yeah, I guess I can understand his reasons there.

But Twilight and Rainbow found out and accepted him in spite of his actions, and hey, all of his friends were willing to stay with him all the same. It was really nice of them, and I guess it's a testament to the school that we've managed to make a group of friends who are even willing to forgo going to their own homes for each other. Twilight was happy, and invited them all to celebrate with us this year. So yeah, we're all together right now, and we're having a blast.

Still got a bit of a mess to clean up, but hey, I'm sure we can all get it cleaned up together.

The Scootaloo fan club

Dear Diary,

Today, I got made into a member of a new fan club here in Ponyville, and from the title of this chapter you can probably guess who it's for. Yep, little Scoots has got herself a club. How, you ask? Well, Rainbow made it! The two had a bit of a hard time with one another after that bad mare lightning Dust showed up in town. She did a few stunts, wowed some ponies, and Scootaloo actually thought she'd make a better role model than Rainbow. I know, Scootaloo dismissing Rainbow? What madness is this?! But thankfully, the filly came to her senses before it was too late. And by "too late", I of course mean before she got herself killed with one of Lightning's stunts.

If that mare knows what's good for her, she'll stay away from Ponyville after this. Anyways, I'm glad Scootaloo's safe, and she was so excited after everything that had happened that she burst into my room while I was reading my comic and slapped a "Scootaloo fan club" sticker on my chest before squeeing and bouncing out again. I just sat there and blinked before getting told by Rainbow what had happened. Who knows, maybe I will check out the club after I'm done with my chores for today.

Or maybe she'll just drag me there because she's still giddy about it. Either option's possible at this point.

Cozy Glow was evil!

Dear Diary,

You know Cozy Glow? That little filly student here at the school I've talked about a few times? Well, turns out she was secretly trying to rule all of Equestria behind Everypony's backs! Can you believe it! I'd never suspected her, but it's true! She was using a whole bunch of magical artefacts here at the school to drain away all pony magic, and she did it while being advised by Tirek. Yes, that Tirek. The jerk who blew up Golden Oak! Me and Twilight and the others went all the way to Tartarus to interrogate the guy, but when we did, we got trapped there! And let me tell you, Tartarus is not a place you'd want to visit! It took pretty much every ounce of magic we had available to us down there to get out, and we were only just in time.

But Cozy had already been stopped, and it was by Yona, Gallus and all our other students. Together, they foiled Cozy's plan and freed Starlight, and hey, they even managed to get Neighsay to help them. Now, Cozy's stuck in Tartarus as punishment, and the school is doing great again. The students are happy with what they did, which they should be, and now Neighsay has finally come around to appreciating them as we do.

This was a tough few days, but at least everycreature's okay now.

Lots of stuff

Dear Diary,

Every day since Hearth's Warming has had interesting stuff in it lately. And yeah, I know we always have interesting stuff, but it's like every day has had little sprinkles of fun and excitement for us, and it's come in all sorts of forms. Rainbow and Applejack competing with each other over dares, Fluttershy going into more detail about how she constantly wins the "teacher of the month" award Rarity trying to get her mane to move about like Celestias, Pinkie hosting some kind of ice cream party, Starlight trying out hypnosis, oh, and let's not forget the rather big incident of a sick alicorn whose illness causes her magic to go haywire. Nothing that can fill a day, but they're certainly interesting to see.

And speaking of Twilight, I still have to take care of her, even after she got medicine to help cure her illness. Why? Well, one of the side-effects of being cured was that she's been turned into...well...a foal. No you didn't read that wrong, I said a foal. And she just won't stop crying either! It'd be nice if our other friends were around to help, out apparently taking care of a baby is too much to ask. Not even Pinkie, and heck, she's supposed to be good at looking after babies now! Ugh, whatever, it's fine. I can look after Twilight when she's like this. I mean, she looked after me when I was a baby, so maybe it's time I returned the favour.

So anyways, gotta go. I've got some milk ready to give her, and hopefully she won't blast it back in my face this time.

Where do I even start?!

Dear Diary,

Okay, er, not quite sure how to say this, but you know that Sombra guy? The one who tried taking over the Crystal Empire? Yeah, turns out he came back from the dead, not sure how, and he took the place over again! Yeah, he totally caught Cadance and Flurry and our whole family, enslaving the whole population too! But Twilight, me and our friends all went up there to stop him and help free the crystal ponies. It took a lot of effort, but with the Elements of Harmony, we managed to beat him back and free the Empire.

But, that's where the good news ends, because he was only pretending to be beaten. Why? To follow Twilight and find the Tree of Harmony. And here's the really bad news, because he destroyed the Tree! Yeah, I'm not making this up! The Tree of Harmony is gone now, and so's the Elements! After that, I don't remember much, because he used his power to take control of everyone here in Ponyville, including me. I only remember what happened after Twilight and our friends managed to beat him again, for good this time. But now, I'm afraid. The Elements are gone, and what happens if someone even worse than Sombra comes along after this? How will Twilight and the others cope when they take on Celestia and Luna's ruling job?

Oh, yeah, I probably should've mentioned that they're gonna be ruling Equestria eventually. I'm happy for them, I really am, but I just can't help but feel that something really bad is gonna come after this. I have confidence that Twilight can face it, but I'm still worried.

The kids to the rescue!

Dear Diary,

So, turns out the Tree of Harmony might not be quite as dead as we first thought. Yeah, I'm just as surprised. I'd have thought getting spiked by a bunch of evil black crystals would do it in too, but nope! You see, last year, during that whole school debacle, six of the students, Sandbar, Silverstream, Ocellus, Gallus, Yona and Smolder managed to get some sort of connection to the Tree, and that connection led them back here before the new school year. They were pretty upset to learn the Tree had been destroyed, not that I can blame them, but they endeavoured to try and make some sort of monument to it. Good for them, and hey, I'm kinda surprised Twilight and the others didn't think of that.

But this is where things got interesting, because after disagreeing on how to do it, they all came together and made basically a tree-house out of the Tree's remains. When they did this, something happened, and now we actually have a new palace for them and others sprouted up where the old Tree used to be. It's sort of like how Twilight's castle was grown years ago. So yeah, seems Sombra wasn't able to get rid of it after all, and while I'm happy about that, I can't deny that it's still a little weird. I mean, just when you think you know what the Tree can and can't do, suddenly it pulls something like this on you!

Still, I'm happy it's still with us. Sort of. I guess we'll find out just how much one day, knowing Twilight.

Don't be perfect!

Dear Diary,

You know how, every once in a while, Twilight finds out that some little thing from her past has caught up with her and is making her stress out beyond belief? Well, yeah, it happened again. After getting a delivery of some of her old stuff, she found out that she had an overdue library book from Canterlot. And I mean majorly overdue, since before she and I first moved to Ponyville. What's worse, she found out that she might have been responsible for getting the mare who lent it to her fired! So she went all over Equestria trying to find the mare, Dusty, and set things right. And wouldn't you know, it turned out that Dusty's life has actually been made all the better since she left the library. Yeah, seems she was unhappy in the job, and having that overdue book was exactly what she needed to get out.

And I have to say, I'm pretty happy for her. Twilight and me actually saw all the stuff she and the other retired ponies do all day, and it looked really fun. I'm definitely gonna put myself down for staying in a place like that when I retire. That is, if dragons can retire, I might need to double-check that. But yeah, the book situation got resolved, and with a much smaller fine than expected thankfully, and Twilight learned that trying to be perfect all the time just stresses you out more than you need. But hey, I could've told her that from the start and saved her the trouble.

Oh, and we also met Moondancer briefly during all this, which was nice. And hey, guess who turned out to be pretty good as a waiter? Might offer to work there at the Tasty Treat one day, just for fun. See ya around.

A Nice Day

Dear Diary,

You know, today's just been really good. From the moment I woke up today, everything's just been going perfectly. I had a wonderful breakfast with Twilight and Starlight, and afterwards we all just spent the day lounging around the castle. Twilight didn't have any business to attend to, Starlight had no counselling sessions, and I'd already done my chores yesterday. So yeah, we all just did a bunch of relaxing stuff to fill the day. Twilight and Starlight did a session of that game she and Sunburst like, I forget its name, and I finally managed to get around to some of that gardening I've been meaning to do.

I saw these beautiful roses over at the local flower store recently and I bought a few seeds to plant. I've never really been one for gardening before, but I got really excited for it. Hopefully they'll grow big and beautiful like the ones at the store, but I know I gotta wait a while for that. So I finished up the day with some comic reading and we're all going to go out for dinner at a nice restaurant this evening. Yeah, it's been pretty great today. Nothing bad's happened, and we've all had a fair bit of fun.

I like to think things are going well for everycreature right now. Hey, we can only hope, right?

Smolder's Brother

Dear Diary,

I've talked about my issues with Garble the dragon a couple of times by now, so it's no surprise that I wasn't too happy about meeting up with the guy again. But, it seemed that I had no choice this time, as he turned out to be Smolder's brother! Yeah, I know, I wasn't expecting that either, but hey, that's how it went. I'd never have thought that somecreature as nice as Smolder could be related to a bully like Garble. Although, I guess I shouldn't really call him that anymore since he and I actually managed to patch things up. Yeah, you heard right, we actually buried the hatchet today. Though it didn't come without a few bad times first.

Seems some of the other dragons, idiots that they are, decided to have some fun with the local lava, and this made the hatching grounds really cold for all the eggs that were supposed to hatch today. Ember was really mad, and it looked like we weren't going to be able to do anything about it. But then, in came Garble with his, and I swear I'm not kidding here, poetry. He got the dragons to laugh so hard that they heated the eggs to hatching. Finally, I'm no longer the only baby dragon around! And that made Fluttershy really happy, I can tell you. But yeah, things turned out pretty well for Garble, all things considered. And with luck, this'll be the last time other dragons are a chore to be around.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to convince Fluttershy that she can't take all of those baby dragons home with her. May Celestia have mercy on my soul.

Ruling is tough

Dear Diary,

Today, Twilight and the rest of our friends all got a good idea of how much work it's going to be to rule Equestria when Celestia and Luna retire. You see, the two sisters decided to go on vacation, get away from the work of ruling for a bit, and left Twilight in charge of Canterlot in their absence. Things seemed fine at first, and Twilight was confident we could do it, but things got out of control pretty quickly. And you wouldn't believe how much work goes into throwing a party for a bunch of swans. Why swans even need to have a party, I don't know, but hey, I'm not royalty, so maybe there's something I'm missing.

Thankfully, everything pretty much got resolved without all of Canterlot burning down at the end, and Twilight even managed to get the sun and moon under control. Sure, it took Celestia and Luna coming back from their vacation to sort that out, but still, it got fixed, and that's what matters. I really should ask them how it went when I've got time, but right now I need to go and check up on Fancy Pants' arrangements for the party. Say what you will about the guy, but he knows his formal events.

With luck, the next time I write in you I'll be back in Ponyville. Preferably in my bed at the time, because trust me, we could all do with some shut-eye right now.

While the Princess is away, the Spike will play

Dear Diary,

Well, another time of me keeping an eye on things while Twilight and our friends are off on some big adventure. This time, it's because Rainbow got invited to some big festival in a village a long way away. I've never heard of the place myself, but if they like Rainbow then I guess they can't be too bad. Anyways, I've got some work to do back here while they're gone, not the least of which is doing some of Twilight's grading. Some of those students have been waiting a while already to get these papers back, so I'd probably get to them. After that though? Well, I was thinking of inviting Mac over for maybe a little buckball game. I know it usually involves three people, but I kinda don't want to know what'd happen if Discord got involved.

But yeah, things are pretty quiet around here right now, which is usually the case when those six aren't here. I love them to bits, don't get me wrong, but it can get kinda tiring. Still, I wish them luck on their trip, and I hope they have fun. And you know, it's funny, having them go off to a place they've never heard of while I'm still here. Reminds me of the time they first met Starlight. But you know, maybe that's just my brain being weird. I mean, that trip took them to a completely middle-of-nowhere place where everypony was dulled out and acting really weird for secret and mysterious reasons.

And what's the chance something like that would happen to Twilight and the others twice?

From bad to worse

Dear Diary,

Remember a while back when I talked to you about how hard it was for Twilight, me and all our friends to run things in Canterlot while Celestia and Luna were away? Yeah, you can just forget about that, because that day was nothing compared to what we just went through for the final Summer Sun Celebration! Storms out of nowhere, ponies getting sick, performers refusing to perform, literally everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong, and all within a few minutes of one another! I swear, it's like the universe just waited for Twilight to have her back turned, and then boom, chaos!

And no, Discord wasn't responsible, even though he was there the whole time. But, thankfully, everything managed to sort itself out in the end. Twilight really kept her cool during this whole thing and managed to get everything back on track. She didn't even snap and go crazy first or anything! It was really weird to be honest, but hey, I'm not complaining. Still, it's kinda sad that this was the last Celebration, but Twilight turned it around to make it a way for us all to appreciate the two sisters, which I really liked.

Things really do seem like they're coming to something big these days, and I'll admit, I'm nervous. But I'm positive that Twilight and the rest of our friends can make this great.

With age comes wisdom

Dear Diary,

You know how Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo sometimes get themselves into kinda bad situations? Yeah, it happened again, and boy was this a weird one. Kids will often talk about how awesome they think it'd be if they were to be older, you know, all grown up and stuff. But suddenly it happens all at once and suddenly it's not all that great. The fillies definitely understand that now, and I can safely say that they appreciate the age they're at right now. I know you're probably confused, but trust me, they've been through a lot, and I'm not willing to criticise them behind their backs about it.

After all, I remember all too well how bad it was when I grew up too fast myself. That birthday incident still haunts me, all these years later. Growing too fast, and becoming so much of a problem for everycreature around me? Yeah, that was a bad experience, so I guess I'm the only person in the world who knows what Apple Bloom and the others have been through right now. Maybe it's worth going to talk to them about it? Yeah, I think that'd be a good idea.

So, see ya around, Diary. I've got another play-date to arrange.

Mac's Big Day

Dear Diary,

Today, Big Mac ended his time as a lone bachelor. Yep, that's right, he finally proposed to Sugar Belle. Sorry, ladies, but he's definitely taken now. You really should have seen the wedding, I had to do everything in my power not to just grin like an idiot when I saw it. Thankfully, Discord helped with that with his own little touches to the ceremony. As for Mac, I don't think I've ever seen him happier. His time with Sugar Belle has been great, and now they're finally together as husband and wife. There were tears all around. But just to make clear, none of them came from me.

...Okay, maybe a few...or a lot. Okay, I definitely bawled like a baby today. But hey, can you blame me?

But I will say it was kind of hectic getting to this point. There was lots of stuff going on, and even a big talking apple monster. And no, you don't get to ask about that, because trust me, it's just a headache to think about it. Still, for all the mess the build-up to it was, I think we can all agree that it was worth it. Mac and Sugar and Applejack and all the rest of their family had just such a wonderful day today, and I wish the happy couple all the luck in the world with their new marriage. I do wonder if Sugar's gonna be called Sugar Apple from now on though. Or hey, maybe Mac will just call himself Big Belle. Wouldn't that be interesting?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I still have to try a bite of that wedding cake. And I'm pretty confident Mrs Cake made that one tasty at least.

Final Entry

Dear Diary,

Hey there, old friend. We've had a lot of fun together, haven't we? Talking about all the great and exciting stuff that's happened since Twilight and me first moved to Ponyville. But now, well, things have changed. After everything that's happened, Twilight has finally taken that last step. Yes, you heard right, our beloved bookworm is finally the ruler of all Equestria. If you'd have told me all those years ago that this would be what would have happened to her, I'd have called you crazy. But now? Now, I honestly couldn't imagine anything else for her.

But things don't just stop there. Her friends may not be together as they used to, what with all they're gonna have to do these days, but they have every intention of continuing to stay in touch and work together for the good of Equestria. And you know what? I'll be right there along to help them, just as I always have. But the thing is, that's gonna leave me kinda busy. Too busy to really keep making entries into you like I've been doing. I know, I'm sorry. I've been really happy having you to come to whenever something good happens, but I guess, like with Twilight's time in Ponyville, everything had to end eventually.

We've had a good run though, haven't we? I took a look back at all the times I've written in you, just before I started writing this one, and I couldn't help but smile at it all. There are so many wonderful memories, such happy times in here. I'm gonna keep you, Diary, and you'll be with me whenever I want to look back at this great time in my life. Just like my memories of being with Twilight and my friends. This is a change, sure, but we're all changing now, aren't we?

Thanks for being there, buddy. It's been one heck of a ride. This is Spike, signing off for the last time.