Dusk Village

Dusk Village Log: Day 1

We have finally arrived at the designated location, the place we will be calling home for however long this dispute lasts. The groups ahead of us have started to establish a  rudimentary settlement here out of tents we sent with them. It was hoped that more supplies could have been sent with later groups; then again, it was also hoped that more groups would be coming. Approximately 3000 ponies have made it here so far; barely half of what we had projected, even with Paragon's preemptive attack. Presumably, many groups became lost along the way, or they were attacked. While Stragglers may yet arrive,  as it stands, we are only 3000 strong; and  the only known force left to oppose Paragon's devastating onslaught. We have dubbed this settlement Dusk Village; a rather pessimistic name, derived from the unspoken but widely shared belief that this may be the end of our time. I, Twilight Sparkle, have taken it upon myself to catalog our day to day progression, in the hopes that future generations may know of our struggle, and of our enemy. Assuming that this is not the last of our days.

Dusk Village Log: Day 7

A week has passed since my arrival here. New arrivals; stragglers from both before and after the attack on Ponyville; have been arriving continuously throughout the week. However, while the week started with as many as 60-70 arrivals per day, a mere 8 arrived just yesterday, and no arrivals have been seen yet today. I fear that this may be all that is left of Ponyville; a mere 3500 ponies. As of yet, none of my friends have made it here. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity are still unaccounted for, and even Applejack, who I had presumed to have gone ahead during the  family migration, is missing. All I have left is Maree. Speaking of which, Maree has me worried, she has not spoken since our arrival. She eats acts very minimally, with greatly delayed responses. It's a textbook case of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, and I wonder if she'll ever recover. The Mayor of Ponyville has yet to be seen, and thus I have taken up the  position as  leader to these lost people. I can only pray I am up to the task.

Dusk Village Log: Day 11

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy arrived together this morning, and I am relieved to see familiar faces at last. This is the happiest I've been in almost two weeks; however, there is still no accounting for Rainbow Dash, Applejack, or Rarity. We haven't had much difficulty with supplies yet; a large amount of food was sent in the first waves, and we are already in the process of foraging through the forestry at the base of the mountain for more. It's a long hike up and down, and i don't envy the workers who make that trek. Not much else to report at this time; it has been almost suspiciously quiet lately...

Dusk Village Log: Day 14

Maree's condition is slowly improving; she at least managed to say 'hello' to me this morning, and even managed a full meal at supper. I had hoped that by now, I could have started giving her lessons in magic, but clearly, that will be impossible for some time yet. Cold weather is starting to set in; the season has just started to turn. Our homes are nowhere near weather proof; it's going to be a long winter. We have established a defense protocol in case Paragon's troops are in the area, where all unicorns in the village band together and join me in a cloaking spell that refracts light around our settlement; rendering us  invisible to anyone perceiving it from the outside. I hope we never need use of it.

Dusk Village Log: Day 20

Spike is dead. Today, only 4 ponies arrived; one of them was Rarity. She states that she was travelling with Spike, when they were ambushed by Paragon's troops. Spike protected long enough to permit their escape, but shortly before they were beyond visual range, she witnessed the killing blow, and Spike collapsing, lifeless on the ground. I... I can't quite articulate, with mere pen and paper, the pain I feel. I have isolated myself from the others all day. I can't let them see me like this... an utter, emotional wreck. If I am to be their leader, I cannot damage their morale like this. I... I need to be alone for a while.

Dusk Village Log: Day 37

Maree has become receptive to my lessons in magic as of the last few days; however, we have already hit a bump in the road. She seems to struggle greatly with accessing her magic. She should be past this phase by now, but she can't seem to perform even basic magical functions. Clearly there is some sort of mental block preventing her from succeeding. I must uncover this block and try to get past it if we're ever going to start training properly.

Dusk Village Log: Day 56

Winter has started to settle in; and it's taken it's first toll. The first fatality in Dusk Village's history has occurred; a lone stallion we seemingly knew very little about, succumbed to hypothermia on a routine trip down the mountain. Losing a worker is something we can't afford; there are only so many of them.

Dusk Village Log: Day 63

At last, a stroke of fortune! After over 2 months of this wretched, dreary weather and virtually non-existent morale, we of Dusk Village have been graced by the presence of Princess Cadence and her daughter of 4 years, Symphonia. She is unaware of Princess Luna's whereabouts, as they ended up separated during their escape from Canterlot. These two stumbled upon us by sheer accident, and a pleasant one at that. Naturally, the people of the village have insisted on her taking up a leadership role here; however, due to Cadence's inexperience with leading others, she has appointed me her chief adviser. Realistically, I am still making all of the decisions, she just voices them to the villagers, acting as a figurehead to help boost our spirits. Hopefully, this is some sort of turning point. Still little to no progress on Maree's training; every time she gets close, it all slips away from her. I would have thought, if anything, that training somepony with as much power as her would be dangerous, when in fact it's been rather anti-climactic. I'm starting to wonder if I might have put too much stock in her... nevertheless, I can't give up on her.

Dusk Village Log: Day 77

Today was a very  dangerous close call. For the first time in 11 weeks, we witnessed Paragon's scouts flying over the village. We were barely able to initially our defense protocol in time to cloak the village. We have to try and keep this active until we see them circle back and leave. Only then can we be reasonably certain that they will not need to come back here again. Until then, we sit, and we wait...

Dusk Village Log: Day 80

Keeping the cloak active constantly is a near impossible task. We work in rotations, and the unicorns are exhausted. I hope this doesn't last much longer. I can't stand it. I have, at the very least, come up with a theory that may help me get somewhere with Maree. I believe that magic is at least partially dependent on emotion in most users, and reacts differently to each emotion. Infants, who have little to no capacity for knowledge or understanding, are prone to powerful outbursts of magic due to the fact that their cognitive abilities are purely emotional; however, these outbursts become less frequent and less volatile with age, as a pony develops logic, understanding, and common sense. If I am correct in this, it's possible that Maree may still yet be able to perform magic if I can figure out what psychological block has caused her to be cut off from her magic. Then, I can attempt to repair that damage and reconnect her with her emotions. Only then can she learn the ways of spell casting.

Dusk Village Log: Day 82

Today's log will be short. Paragon's soldiers have finally circled back and are gone. He believes we are not in this area, and now it is safe to uncloak the village. We're safe now. I'm far too exhausted to try and test my thoery of magic on Maree right now. Tomorrow. I have to sleep now. For a long, long time...

Dusk Village Log: Day 83

Maree has finally explained the nature of her... incident, with the soldier who assaulted her... I have to admit, I'd be pretty shaken up too. I have to try and console her, and try and make her realize that this wasn't her fault, and that she only did what she had to do. Hopefully, she can start to forgive herself, and come out of her self-imposed mental exile long enough to start training. I would do anything to have a psychologist right now...

Dusk Village Log: Day 87

I've finally made a breakthrough with Maree, and she's starting to get a better handle on her magic. she moved a book from one end of the room to the other without dropping it. We're not exactly gearing up to storm Canterlot, but it's progress, and I’ll take any of it I can find.

Dusk Village Log: Day 116

Today marks a very special occasion; we welcome into our village the very first natural arrival of Dusk Village; a newborn baby filly, born from an already pregnant mare who arrived in the first waves of new villagers. As of today, there is at least one pony in this world who would willingly call this place home.

Dusk Village Log: Day 124

Maree's progress is grinding to a halt again. She has't been improving at all for the last two weeks. There's definitely another block in there, and I have an idea as to what it is linked to; Rainbow Dash. I'm afraid that's something I can't fix. If that's really what's bothering her, I might never be able to straighten her out on my own. I have to pray that somehow, someway, Rainbow Dash turns up. Damn, and I was getting so close too...

Dusk Village Log: Day 156

The warm weather is finally back again, and surviving is becoming significantly less of a chore. We have the time and safety now to build proper, house-like structures out of the trees in the area. Again, I do not envy the diligent, hard working stallions carrying the lumber up the mountain. Back breaking work to be sure. It's become apparent that this settlement is at least somewhat permanent, and so we may as well build somewhat permanent homes.

Dusk Village Log: Day 365

We "celebrate" our one year anniversary today, as Dusk Village becomes 365 days old. Since our arrival here, 8 new foals have been born; by contrast, 19 ponies have died. That is a ratio we can't afford to keep. Something has to change. We need to come up with a plan; something to move against Paragon, and it needs to be  soon, so that we can take advantage of the numbers we still have. While we still have them.