Chapters Spring, Second Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
My travels have taken me to the eastern shores of the continent, far beyond the borders of Unicornia and all other lands inhabited by ponies. King Bullion has entrusted me with finding new and powerful magicks to use against his enemies. It must be stated that I do not agree with His Majesty’s goals, but I am a servant of the crown.
I stood at the edge of the known world and gazed across the sea. One must wonder what lays beyond the water. What manner of creatures inhabit distant lands? What magic do they hold? I will not find out anytime soon, but perhaps one day.
For now I will make camp here at the edge of the world and begin my search. To preserve the limited amount of journals I have brought, I will only update when necessary.
-Starswirl
Spring, Tenth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I have indeed found one of the leylines. With a divining rod and a natural cave formation, I have found a source of mana. If this one is connected to the same source as the one that runs through Unicornia, then all we would need is one more outlet and we should be able to track it back to its source.
If all leylines are connected to one central source, then this presents a vulnerability for all unicorn-kind. Though there is a certain safety in knowing that we are the only ones that can detect the substance.
This must be reported back to the King.
-Starswirl
—-Addendum—-
I was resting in my tent when I heard a noise. It sounded like voices. Feminine. Young. I did not see them but when I went outside I heard a scream and they yelled something. I heard the word but I must’ve misheard. It seemed as if they called me an ‘eagle’.
Spring, Twelfth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
There is another sentient creature out here, or multiple of them. I know of at least two. They have been skulking around my camp at night and have left tracks. If I did not know better, I would say they are ponies such as myself. The tracks are small and round, like a foals, with no distinct digits protruding from them. The depth of the tracks also lends credence to the idea they are either young or generally small.
Whatever they are, they have a curiosity not unlike my own. Though I do not wish to scare them off and they have not shown any aggression towards me, so I will let them snoop. I have moved all of my food to inside of my tent to be safe, though.
-Starswirl
—-Addendum—-
I was woken up in the middle of the night once more by the little creatures. This time they spoke! Or at least one of them did. Whatever language they speak, it is not Ponish nor does it branch from any of the root languages I know of. From now on, if I have communications with whatever they are, I will write what I hear phonetically and try to divine meaning from the context in which it was said.
“ Ehp-eel say-loo-sas-tees-een-ah!” - Yelled at my tent in the middle of the night. A greeting? It was aggressive. A challenge perhaps?
Spring, Thirteenth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I saw them! Well, I am currently seeing them! I was taking soil samples when I spotted them on a nearby hill! They are equines, but to call them ponies would be premature. There are two of them and both look to have horns and a pair of wings!
Remarkable!
Descriptions: One of them is white with a tricolor mane of pink, blue, and green. The other is dark blue with a lighter blue mane. Both look female in nature.
They are speaking again.
“Ehp-eel say-loo-sas-tees-een-ah !” -White
“Ehp-eel say-loo-lay-oo-nel-nen!” - Blue
They did not wave nor make any gesture towards me. I attempted to wave at them and said ‘Hello’ but they disappeared over the hill as soon as I did so.
It must be a greeting of some kind. Both of them said the same first word.
“Ehp-eel” - Said by both Blue and White as the first word in a greeting. Was not aggressive this time. Hello? Perhaps a declarative meant to define intent? Challenge less likely given the stature of the creatures.
“Say-loo” - As of right now it is impossible for me to say what the second word from each of them might mean. They both did contain the same root word, though. There is structure and it is not just gibberish. The divergence past that root offers a challenge. Need more information.
They are curious creatures who obviously have an interest in what I am as much as I am interested in what they are. I must use this to my advantage. They have been sniffing around my camp every night, so tonight I will endeavor to stay awake and greet them.
-Starswirl
—-Addendum—-
I have kept my fire going through the night and I have removed my cap and cloak as to appear smaller and less intimidating. I have also retrieved some of the sweet rolls from my supplies and deactivated the preservation spell in hopes that the smell might draw them in.
I have begun to worry that they are ponies, and if they are then what are they doing out here? This is far beyond any pony settlement, even the fringe ones where the tribes live freely together. Is the presence of both horn and wing the reason for their apparent isolation? A mutation? Consequence of a pegasus and unicorn breeding?
They did not appear.
Spring, Fourteenth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I left the sweet rolls out last night as a gift to them. When I awoke they were gone. It is impossible to say whether the little creatures, the ponies, took them or if some other critter got to them first. I choose to believe that my little curious friends took them.
I’m afraid that these two are taking up much of my time and thoughts. I cannot help myself! There is a mystery before me and I must solve it! It is the nature of the universe! As surely as the water flows down the nearby stream, I must research and resolve any problem set before me.
I will try my sweet roll gambit once more tonight.
-Starswirl
—-Addendum—-
THEY ARE HERE! RIGHT BEFORE ME!
As soon as I got two more sweet rolls they seemed to appear from behind my tent! I was so caught off guard that I did not hear what it was that they said, but I have been around enough foals to know they were begging for treats!
They are so remarkably similar to ponies that they must be directly related. Are they a lost tribe? Their horns look no different than any other unicorn and their wings look to be structured almost identically to any pegasus’ I have ever studied.
It is my conclusion that they are ponies. Their origin is no clearer, though. Once they are finished I shall attempt conversation. For this, I will record what I will say, say it, then record their responses:
“Hello. I am Starswirl the Bearded.” - Spoken slowly while gesturing to myself and tugging at my beard when said.
“Ehp-eel say-loo-sas-tees-een-ah .” -White
“Ehp-eel say-loo-lay-oo-nel-nen.” - Blue
Both said with a positive tone. Not a challenge. Definitely a greeting. Most likely names.
Blue spoke and waved a hoof up at the night sky. Mimicking me tugging at my beard? Does her name have to do with the night sky?
White looked disappointed while Blue smiled at the moon.
“Feh-tram leg-eel keh? ” - No input from myself. Said by Blue while gesturing at me. Question, but no sounds or words I recognize. Asking about my appearance? Perhaps about where my cloak and hat are?
White whispered something to Blue while tapping her on the leg. Admonishment. Blue’s ears folded down.
“Feh-tram?” - Asked while getting my cloak from my tent.
The only way to learn more is by learning more the direct way, call and response. I will present something and ask what it is called and record their responses.
“Yeh-tan. Feh-trah” -White. First word said while shaking her head and second said as she spread one of her wings.
Yeh-tan: No/incorrect/wrong.
Feh-tram/ah: Wing. First syllable ‘feh’ sounds exactly like ‘feather’. Indicative of possible similar root language? Would have to be ancient to diverge this much. Uncontacted tribe? Second syllable changes depending on possession?
If it is on somepony else: am
Blue had been asking why I didn’t have wings, then. Do they believe all ponies look like them? Surely not.
In regards to their wings: they function, or at least they unfold and have a full field of motion. If this is a mutation or birth defect, then I would think some physical abnormalities (more than just the apparent one, I mean loss of use or limited mobility) would present itself. I need to see them use magic or fly.
If they can do one, they are healthy. If they are able to do both, then they are miracles.
No sooner than they finished did they dart off with a quick word. Once more, I did not catch what was said as they spoke too fast and I was taking notes. They ran off to the south, towards the ocean.
I hope that wherever they go, that they are safe. I am not one for foals, but I have a soft spot for curiosities.
-Starswirl
Spring, Seventeenth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I have not seen the two foals for two full days now and I’m beginning to worry. The fact that I am beginning to worry is making me worry. I have spent most of my days in a tower studying and doing as ordered. I have never felt the need for personal connections nor have I ever felt pangs of loneliness. The trek from Unicornia was one of the most blissful stretches of time in my life. I had no other ponies to bother me nor intrude upon my thoughts.
Why now does the sting of isolation torture me?
Perhaps I’m going mad.
Unlikely given my age and mental acuity, but I suppose madness isn’t supposed to set in logically. There is also the possibility that all of this is some delusion brought on by something I have come into contact with. Not all of these plants have been categorized and studied and I have spent much time around them.
For my own sanity, I am going to find where those little ponies are staying. First, however, I will describe them in detail to have it on record and to refer back to in case something about them changes. This will be a good baseline.
~~Filly~~Subject One:
Personality: Subject One appears to be the dominant one between the two creatures. It was the one to shout at my tent the first night and has been observed chastising Subject Two. Often observed to be in the lead.
Subject Two:
Personality: Subject Two is the submissive one of the pair given noted interactions. I have heard it speak twice. It was the one to ask if I had wings and was admonished for it. I believe Subject One saw the question as rude. Perhaps a sign of impulsiveness or immaturity?
I know I have a text on linguistics somewhere. If I brought it with me, then it would be in my trunk. I will endeavor to find it and go over my past notes about what they have said and see what I can learn.
-Starswirl
Spring, Eighteenth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I did find my tome on linguistics. Polly Glot’s Guide to Equine Phonetics and Language Structure. I do not know what possessed me to bring this along, but I am glad I have it now. This should help me if I encounter the subjects again. Perhaps I can get them to speak in full sentences and I will be able to diagram them and parse how their language is constructed.
As of now I only know of one complete sentence they have spoken and I will attempt to break it down the best I can with the help of the Polly Glot’s guide.
“Feh-tram leg-eel keh? ” This is a three word sentence, a question, spoken by Subject Two. I am aware of the meaning of one of the words.
“Feh-tram” means wing, or ‘your wing’ if Subject One’s correction of myself is to be believed.
“Leg-eell” Shares same general sound with “Ehp-eel”, which both subjects have been heard saying as a form of greeting. This is a leap, but I will assume that these are meant to be pronouns. This would track with them telling me their names Ehp-eel = “I”. Leg-eel would then be equal to “their” or “your” given the context.
“Keh” This is a beard scratcher, but given that this is a question I must assume that this final word is the interrogative. “Where” perhaps? This stands to reason if my assumption of what Subject Two was asking is correct.
“Feh-tram leg-eell keh? ” - “The wing of yours, where?” Would be a quite literal translation given current knowledge.
As for their names, I am still up the proverbial creek on that front. They are very long and dense words, the only way to learn is to study. So that is what I must do. I will need to speak with them more in order to learn more. To that end, I must locate them. So I will draw up a map of the area, detail the sightings of the subjects, and try to triangulate their possible hiding spots.
—-Addendum—-
I did not find it today. I narrowed it down to a few general areas, but the region is littered with natural caves and rock formations. To go through all of them would take weeks, if not months. They must leave signs that they are in the area, as any creature would. I can only hope that I do not encounter their parents and need to defend myself.
Spring, Twentieth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
Today was, and currently is still, eventful.
I had just finished searching a cave along the coast when Subject Two spotted me. She It called out to me, even attempted to speak my name.
“Staruhswirlbearden!” A childish mispronunciation, but I suppose the message had been delivered.
Before I knew it, Subject Two was practically on top of me. It pulled my saddle bags off of my back and searched through them. I assume to find another sweet roll. Thankfully, I had not brought any with me. Though it did succeed in dumping all of my papers, and in fact this journal, into the grass. Frustrating, but it did reveal that it had fully functional magic.
Subject Two often speaks fast and is unintelligible to my untrained ear. I did pick up the word “keh” multiple times, though. So I was being asked where the food was, no doubt. I did not have the words to explain that I did not have any with me. The only thing I could do was ask about Subject One by name.
My pronunciation must have been odd or perhaps it is the accent. Subject Two gave me a strange look but eventually relented.
“Yeh” - Yes. This would make sense as "Yeh-tan" I have assumed to mean "no". The only question I have is if the removal of -tan makes it yes or if the addition makes it no. This is important for how the language is structured.
I was led to where I am currently sitting: a cave that overlooks the ocean. It is nestled in the cliff and one whole side is exposed to a terrifyingly long drop. The entrance I was taken through is hidden by a wooden hatch covered with moss and grass.
The Subjects do not have the capabilities for woodwork, or at least I assume they do not. How many foals could make a hinge? Somepony built this for them. The question of ‘who’ lingers in my mind. I will endeavor to ask them after I recount what else transpired.
The cave they live in is not barren. On the contrary, it is quite well furnished for such a primitive dwelling. There are four beds, rugs on the stone floor, and even a bookshelf (though it is sadly devoid of any reading material). Despite the number of beds, only Subject One was present.
Subject One greeted me in the same manner that Subject Two had. So, now that I think about it, that must be a pronunciation the two agreed upon in their spare time. Perhaps it is an attempt to fit my name into their language.
Subject One also berated Subject Two. They were far enough away that I could not hear what was said, but it was clear that Subject One did not appreciate that I was brought here.
One thing is very clear to me now: they are indeed very real. This is no hallucination or delusion.
Now I am sitting on one of the rugs with both of them watching over my shoulders as I write this. Subject Two is just staring, but it feels like Subject One is attempting to understand the words. The only way I can think of to learn more of their language is to ask. I will use things in our surroundings, point to them and say my word for them and hope they understand the exercise.
“Ker” - Horn.
“Mood” - Mouth. This is another one of those words that feels similar to our own. It lends more and more credence to a shared language at some point in history.
“Nee-mah” - Mane/hair
I attempted to get a word for ‘beard’ but they kept insisting it was still “Nee-mah” . Disappointing as I am not Starswirl the Maned, and given my receding hairline that would be even more incorrect in a few decades.
“Ah-gen” - Eye
“Sah-pone” - Hoof
“Roh-peek” - Rock/stone
“Roh-peek-eh-lees” - Cave.
“Vehd” - Water
“Vehd-eh-lees” - Ocean.
I did not have to ask about that one, I guessed it on my own. As I spoke it, both Subjects One and Two bounced around the room in excitement. They are obviously very excited about being good teachers. I have to admit, I did feel a hint of excitement as well. It feels good to understand something for the first time and have your understanding affirmed.
On a more serious note, “eh-lees” seems to mean “place of”. Therefore it is not a “cave”, it is a “place of rock/stone”. It is not an “ocean”, it is a “place of water”. As I am not a linguist in any serious capacity, it is hard for me to discern what this means about their culture. Historical context is needed to understand the language and the opposite is just as true.Just having words is only giving me half of a picture. To get the full picture, I must speak with somepony that is not a foal.
I will ask about their parents somehow. Perhaps by miming rocking a child or motioning like I have a pregnant belly. There must be some way to ask about their mother and father.
-Starswirl
—-Addendum—-
That was a mistake.
I write this now, hours later and back at my own camp. I am unsure how to process what I have learned. So I will write it down here and hope that getting these words down onto paper will bring clarity.
“Averlas” - Mother or parent.
“Avertanlas” - ‘tan’ was also used in the word for ‘no’: “Yeh-tan” . My previous assumption that this is some lingual form of negation, as to say “not”, is correct. It is a strange thing to have 'no' not be 'no' but instead 'not yes'. This would mean Avertanlas means “Not mother” if that assumption holds true. So the father.
I got my first glimpse at their written language. It is similar to our own and has many of the same characters. This is supposed to be a joyous revelation, yet all I can find is sorrow in my own heart. For this revelation only came to me in the form of a word on a wooden marker in the ground atop an old grave.
“Averlas” I will never forget the pain in that word as that little white filly spoke it. Oh, my soul, it weeps for them. I cannot imagine their sadness or their loss or how they can stand to smile even on the sunniest of days with the cloud that must hang above their hearts.
Their other parent, I do not know where they may be. They spoke the word “Avertanlas” and motioned out towards the sky above the sea. They have been abandoned here, two tokens of grief deposited upon unknown shores.
I am filled with a pain which I did not know I was capable of feeling: pain for another. I hope in time this will pass as it is a most interminable feeling. Though I am struck by a reality that once you have felt such a thing, that searing empathy, you may not un-feel it for the rest of your days.
One more word was spoken. I can only assume it is their homeland. Some far away place across the sea.
“Skaros”
Spring, Twenty-First Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I was awoken by the fillies. They had come out to my tent as the sun rose and had gotten inside. I did learn some new phrases, though. Learning something new is a wonderful way to start the day.
“Ehp-eel say-loos-ah-steen-uh hall-en. ”This was spoken by the white filly, obviously. The second word is her name. The first two words are things I have heard multiple times now in the same configuration. It is a greeting “I am…name.” The last word sounds like ‘hello’. I will assume this is more of a formal greeting, whereas before it was a declaration of identity. “I am [this pony] and hello.”
“Ehp-krehs hall-en” This one is new! Hall-en means hello, but the first word is a mystery! “Ehp” is the root word and is indicative of a pronoun. “-krehs” is a new twist. I have no clue as to what it could mean or why the blue filly would not simply say the same thing as her sister but by inserting her own name.
Perhaps I upset her and this is a subdued greeting? She is a foal though and she could just be grumpy. Her level of energy is much lower than her sister’s at the moment. Maybe she is just not a morning pony. I know in my days I have mumbled half-hearted greetings to ponies after a long night. Who is to say they are not the same?
Now I am sharing breakfast with them. The white filly has taken a sweet roll but, surprisingly, the blue one has instead joined me in having a small bar of oats with mixed fruit embedded in it. I had assumed after the way she had mauled me the other day that she would have the sweet tooth.
I have just now had the realization that I did not see any kind of food storage in their cave. I did not see traces of grazing near it either. They do eat, though. I am seeing the act right now with my own eyes.
This is a chance for research.
“Eat?” Said as I pick up my oat bar in my magic and mimic taking a bite of it.
“Eet-ah” Responded to by the both of them. Fairly simple. Easy to remember. I like words like that. Once more, another possible sign of a distant common language.
“Eat next when?” Said while mimicking eating and then motioning to the sky.
There was no immediate response. They are now conversing quietly between themselves to decipher what it was that I said.
“Eet-uh-fet ken?” The white filly spoke to me. I know that “Eet-uh” means eat.
“Fet” is a new modifier.
“Ken” is also a new word from their mouths, but considering I know this is a question and the interrogative for ‘where’ shared the same general noise, I can assume that it means ‘when’.
They have rephrased my question in their own language!
“-fet” is a modifier that must signify time.
When will we eat next? It was asking for clarification!
“Yay.” Said while nodding at the two of them.
“Ken eh-seb dest-fet. Ehp-eell nah-weh-tan.”
A FULL RESPONSE!
I had to ask them to repeat that a few times with a hoof to my ear. I got them both to say it as well, which earned a laugh from the blue one. This is astounding! I can now break this down…with them both looking over my shoulders as I write yet again.
“Ken” Presumed to mean “when”
“Eh-seb” Another new word, but similar construction to other known pronouns. I must assume this is another one for now.
“Dest-fet” I believe that -fet is a modifier that signals some passage of time, as previously stated. We will assume that it means next.
There is a problem with this sentence. I thought I already knew the word for “you”. The blue one used a third person pronoun for me the first night they joined me at my camp. “Leg-eel” when I was asked “Where are your wings?” I suppose that it might be the difference between “your” as a possessive and “you” as an individual linguistically. Why that wouldn’t just be a modifier is beyond me.
Either way.
“When you(?) ___ next” “Dest” is the only word of the bunch I do not have any context for. I will ask them what it means. Hopefully if I just repeat it enough in a confused manner they will grasp that I do not understand the word.
That worked. I repeated the word a few times and eventually the blue one picked up a rock with a hoof then put it in my hoof and repeated it back.
“Dest” - Give. At least, I think.
“Ken eh-seb dest-fest.” When you give next. Another simplistic translation. I will assume there is nuance here I am not grasping quite yet and not that this is an underdeveloped language.
“Ehp nah-weh-tan.”
“Ehp” is a twist on a known quantity. I know of ‘ehp-eel’ which I thought meant “I”. This brings to new light that -eel is a modifier, which recontextualizes what I know about their pronoun systems. What does the modifier signify? Context gives me no clues.
“Nah-weh-tan” There is yet another known, -tan is negation modifier. So whatever “nah-weh” means, -tan makes it not that anymore. I will once again demonstrate my own ignorance and hope that the foals can enlighten me.
Once again, it worked. They are quite bright for being so young.
When prompted to explain, they muttered between themselves for a few minutes. When they next broke up, they each did separate things. The white one took deep overexaggerated breaths while the blue one just generally moved around aimlessly.
Now I am here mulling over what they mean by it.
Need?
They had been demonstrating needs: breathing and moving around. While the latter is hardly a ‘hard’ need, I suppose it is something one requires to stay sane. It is not the first thing I would have thought of, but if it is the logic then I understand it.
“Nah-weh” Need.
“Ehp nah-weh-tan.” I need-not.
Well, that is a little disturbing now that I write it down and say it aloud. Both sentences in full: “When you give next. I need-not” That is literal but if I were to attach the connotation from body language and translate the feeling more than just the words, I would say it means “Whenever you give us more. I don’t need food.”
This is a chance to construct a follow-up question! How exciting! I believe I have enough knowledge to do so! This will be clumsy and most likely wrong, but it will be enlightening all the same.
“Eh-seb nah-weh-tan eet-ah?” You needn’t eat? We will see what happens.
I, Starswirl the Bearded, the greatest of all of King Bullion’s many mages, have been mocked by foals. It is truly a day I will never forget. It was humbling to have the two of them laugh at me and mock my words in silly voices. It also felt good to bring them joy.
I was corrected by the white one. She gave me a playful ‘tsk-tsk’ and repeated my question but corrected the grammar for me.
“Ehz eet-ah nah-weh-tan”
Ehz is yet another new pronoun. There seem to be an unending number of them floating around in this language and their uses are confusing to a novice such as myself. Perhaps there is a misunderstanding somewhere. I will go through my notes to see if I can interpret something else differently.
-Starswirl
—-Addendum—-
I believe I have found it. The first night where I spoke with them. The blue one was not asking “Where are your wings?” she had been asking the other one “Where are their wings?” leg-eel is a third person pronoun, whereas ep-eel is a first person and it seems as if “ez” is second person.
Could -eel signify possession of something? When they say their names they say “ep-eel”, so they are saying “I am in possession of this name”? “Leg-eel” in reference to my wings. “Where are the wings they have?” It is a possibility but I am still uncertain.
The white one has badgered me for one of my journals and a quill. I am hesitant to give one as they are as valuable as gold in this new environment with these strange fillies, but I must think of the possible gains. If I can get her to write, perhaps I can learn more. I will show her the words I have learned from them so far, speak them, and ask her to write them if she is indeed able.
Already I can see her testing the quill upon the page. I know they share similar characters to our own, but I feel like I will need to take some liberties to make the words fit within Ponish letters.
—-Addendum—-
I went over every word I have learned so far with little Celusastisina, that is how her name is spelled, and learned much. Her ability to write is rudimentary, as is to be expected by somepony of her age, but it is legible. The blue one, Celuleunelnen, is not so lucky. She can write, but the letters are hardly legible.
I suppose before I go into transcribing all of the words I have learned so far, I should point out something I have noticed but have not recorded yet. They have limited vowel sounds, only five if my ears are to be trusted.
A - Ah
E - Eh
I - Ee
O - Oh
U - Oo
I will try to keep this in mind as I learn these words. This makes their language simple to the ear, but I fear that it masks the more complex things. Already I find their pronoun system labyrinthine and I fear there is yet more uncovered.
Proper Nouns
Celusastisina - say-loo-sas-tees-een-ah - The name of the white filly with the blue, pink, and green mane.
Celuleunelnen - say-loo-lay-oo-nel-nen - The name of the blue filly with the blue mane.
Averlas - Ah-vehr-lahs - Mother.
Skaros - Skah-rohs - Their homeland across the sea.
Avertanlas - Ah-vehr-tan-las - Father. (Now that I am not in a strange mental state, I have looked at this word more. -tan here is negating Aver. Which means that Aver and -las are two different things and not one whole word. -las is another modifier. I have not encountered it in any other words yet so I do not know what it might mean.)
Pronouns
Epil - Ehp-eel - First person pronoun. “I/me” (Unsure if the addition of -eel marks the pronoun as possessive. I need more information.)
Ez - Ez - Second person pronoun. “You/yours”
Eseb - eh-seb - Second person pronoun. (I feel like I am missing something with this one as well. It is possible the root word is Es and -eb is a modifier but it is impossible to tell. The context in which it was said might mark it as a pronoun when an action is taken?)
Legil - Leg-eel - Third person pronoun. “They/them/theirs” (See note on Epil)
Nouns
Fetra - Feh-trah - Wing
Ker - Kehr - Horn
Sapon - Sah-pohn - Hoof
Mud - Mood - Mouth
Nima - Nee-mah - Mane
Agen - Ah-gen - Eye
Ropik - Roh-peek - Rock
Ved - Vehd - Water
Verbs
Ita - eet-ah - Eat.
Dest - Dehst - Give
Nawe - Nah-weh - Need
Statements/Interjections/Answers
(Polly Glot cannot decide what parts of speech ‘yes’ and ‘no’ are, so I will just throw them into a category of their own.)
Ye - Yeh - Yes
Yetan - Yeh-tan - No. (The addition of -tan as a suffix signifies negation as stated before. This is not literally ‘no’, but instead ‘not yes’.)
Interrogatives
Ke - Keh - Where
Ken - Ken - When
Modifiers
-tan - tan - As stated above, this signifies negation. Literally ‘not’.
-elis - eh-lees - denotes a place or area holding/composed of something.
-fet - fet - Presumed to be a measure of time/proximal modifier. ‘Next’ is my current understanding of it.
-las - lahs - Inconclusive. I require more examples of this in use to understand.
-kres - krehs - Unknown. (Only used once as a modifier for a pronoun. Epkres. It was said in relation to a greeting.)
Other
Hallen - Hah-len - Hello
Other Observations
I have tried to teach them some of our words as well. They have trouble with -th as a sound, same with -nd and -tch. Indicative that this is not a sound prevalent in their language. Interesting divergence if so.
As stated previously, their pronoun system is currently beyond my understanding. I can grasp what has been told to me, but I feel like I am missing the core of it. There is something fundamental here, perhaps cultural, that I am not aware of.
Language and culture evolve simultaneously. As I am speaking with foals, it is impossible to get a clear grasp of even the language side of the equation. The culture side is a complete unknown and, depending on how long these two have been abandoned here, I may never have a full view of that. If only I could ask them about what Skaros was like, then I might learn more.
Perhaps one day I might go there.
Spring, Twenty-Second Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I have received a message.
King Bullion dispatched my student, Clover the Clever, to come find me. When I saw the magical flare go off on the horizon, I thought myself insane. I am lucky that Celusastisina and Celuleunelnen were not at my camp or following me around or else I would have had to explain them.
When I first saw them, I thought they might be the discovery of a lifetime. They still might be, but I need more time with them first. My pupil is a curious and good pony, but I cannot trust her not to tell the King.
The King must not know yet either. In my idiotic youth I already gave him too much knowledge without any safeguards. I have already jeopardized the safety of not only my tribe, but the world as well. I will not endanger these fillies. As they have both wings and a horn, I do not know how he would react. I have heard his screeds against the pegasi in the past and what he would like to do to the young Commander Hurricane. That fate shall not befall these two.
Clover imparted some troubling news that may change some equations, though. King Bullion has fallen ill. I know the stubborn old goat, though. He will not be taken by sickness. Death will need something stronger than a mere cold to take him down.
Even at two-hundred years of age, he is still as hardy as the day he saved my life during the siege of Mareacuse. He is still as fiery. I also doubt that the young Princess Platinum is ready to take over for her father. Her vanity would not serve Unicornia well in matters of diplomacy.
Then there is the matter of winter. It still lingers back home. Our spring is usually frigid so I thought nothing of it, but then Clover told me that it still persists in the lands of the pegasi and earth ponies as well. That is troubling. Especially for the earth ponies. While our relations with the other tribes have always been difficult, the earth ponies have always been less hostile. After all, without us they would not have the sun to raise their crops and we would not have the food they grow.
I instructed Clover what to do in my stead. I even told her how to handle the death of the King if that unlikely outcome comes to pass. I told her to bury that damned vault of his, preferably with him in it.
I do not think she is holding up well.
I asked how the raising of the sun is going without me in the council of mages. They are doing fine for now, but she does not know how long they can keep going without me.
I told her I must stay here as I have discovered something important, but I could not tell her what.
“I hope it’s worth it, Starswirl.”
It is.
-Starswirl
Spring, Twenty-Third Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I tried to get Celusastisina and Celuleunelnen to cooperate with more research, but they seemed uninterested. They were down in their cave, staring out at the sea. They seemed very intent about a storm on the horizon. That is notable as the weather in the area has been rather nice and placid since my arrival. There has rarely been a cloud in the sky and the temperature has been unremarkable.
Perhaps they are worried about their home. Maybe that storm is coming from the same direction.
I suspect the storm will be upon us in the next day or two. I attempted to put up a magical barrier over the opening in their cave so the rain does not flood it, but they did not like that. They told me ‘yetan’ repeatedly until I dropped the shield. Maybe they like the fresh sea air. I will monitor their dwelling as the storm approaches. The last thing I would want is for them to be washed away.
For today I will instead focus on the leyline that runs through this area. My notes for that will be within another journal as this one has assumed a very particular purpose.
-Starswirl
Spring, Twenty-Fifth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
Celuleunelnen has awoken me in the middle of the night. She is crying and babbling a few words over and over again. I am following her back to the cave as the rain falls around us. I am hoping that her sister is not hurt.
“Epil es gentan. Es epkres lepil goda trak. Es legil anvitarve et legil nitam anwerne antakane. Ortamfet lepil anismervne: es Skaroseliswer gatan. Upalas rakinti deulentan, nit deulentan dreblen. Ansotelve...”
“Es fetelis legil.” - You are the future of them and their promises.
Spring, Twenty-Sixth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
Yesterday was not a good day.
I am still having trouble processing what I have experienced.
I suppose I will write about it. It must be recorded for this to be studied while the memory is still fresh.
I met their other parent, their Avertanlas. Her name was Cer. I learned that from her daughters.
I am finding it hard to write about this. I must detach myself.
Subject Three (Cer):
Personality: I cannot say. What can you know about a creature when the only moments you knew them in were their last? She was loved. I know that much. ~~Their wails will haunt me~~
I heard her speak. With the last of her strength she instructed me to take down her words. Then after I had done so, she used what little magic still coursed through her body to cast one last spell to let me understand her. I heard the words that she spoke, but in my head I understood them.
“Es fetelis legil.”
“You are the future of them and their promises.”
This provides the much needed cultural context for the pronouns. Perhaps she knew I needed it, or perhaps this was the last desperate grasp at hope for her children. Serendipity. Providence. It is impossible to say which, but I am eternally grateful for the knowledge and I accept the burden placed upon me by it.
Es - Es - You. Second person pronoun. Singular.
Fetelis - Fet-eh-lees - Literally ‘place of next’. Translated means ‘future’.
Legil - lehg-eel - Their. Third person pronoun. Plural. Possessive.
Their pronoun system is unique if I am to believe the message that I was made to understand. There are two sets of pronouns. One for an individual, and then the other for an individual plus something else . They call this a promise, or that is what they understand it as. That is what the suffix -il seems to denote: this other thing that resides within or around the individual. Whatever this is, I do not have one. Cer, Celusastisina and Celuleunelnen do though. I suppose it may be tied to their tribe.
From this, I might be able to translate some of the message.
“Epil es gentan. Es epkres lepil goda trak. Es legil anvitarve et legil nitam anwerne antakane. Ortamfet lepil anismervne: es Skaroseliswer gatan. Upalas rakinti deulentan, nit deulentan dreblen. Ansotelve...”
This is now just a mix of pronouns that I think I now understand and unknown words. The only word I recognize in this entire body is “epkres” and that is because Celuleunelnen has spoken it before to say good morning. I will give them space before I ask them for help in translating this.
After this, I buried Cer. I made sure to put her next to her partner on the hill.
I thought the last time I would need to bury a parent was when my father died. I thought myself insulated from such tragedies. I thought I had protected myself from seeing foals cry over the corpses of their parents.
Perhaps I never should have come here.
I should’ve stayed in my tower among my books. There are no tears there. Here they are falling from the sky.
-Starswirl
Spring, Twenty-Sixth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I packed up my camp last night, put it into my wagon, and dragged it closer to their cave. I set up right outside of the moss covered hatch. My wagon sits between the ocean and it to provide cover from the wind coming off of the sea.
I awoke before the sun rose to find Celuleunelnen in my tent. She had the flap open and was staring at the pre-dawn sky. She pointed at the moon.
Celuleunel - say-loo-lay-oo-nel - Moon.
This does mean -nen is a modifier of some kind. I will figure it out later. She is now pointing at the twinkling lights of the stars before the sun chases them away and speaking excitedly. I think I just want to listen to her talk about them for a while without writing all of her words down.
She deserves my attention.
-Starswirl
—-Addendum—-
I had a very interesting discussion with the fillies today. Well…“discussion” in the loosest sense of the word. It was our characteristic dance of me trying to explain what I was confused about and them doing their best to understand and explain through pantomime.
I knew that Celuleunelnen’s name now had something to do with the moon. While I wasn’t ready to dive back into the contents of Cer’s final message, I hoped that learning about them would be enough to get both of our minds off of the events of yesterday.
The suffix -nen is what separates her name from the moon itself. So I asked about that.
Celusastisina motioned with her hooves close together and repeated nen several times. I put my hoof just above the ground to make sure I understood.
-nen - nen - Modifier. Small/diminutive.
This of course means their names also have the same root word. Celu. I will repeat my previous translation attempts by writing down what I say and do and recording the responses.
“Celu?” Said while shrugging.
Both fillies are gesturing up at the sky.
Celu - seh-loo - sky?
“Sun?” Said as I pointed up at the sun.
Celusastis - seh-loo-sahs-tis - sun
This would indicate that -sastis and -leunel mean something akin to night and day, I believe. Sun and moon would translate literally to ‘sky-day’ and ‘sky-night’. I assume I am missing more cultural context here or perhaps even celu is two separate words.
“Ina” Said while shrugging again
They both are conversing in hushed tones. Now Celuleunelnen is laying on the ground and getting slowly to her hooves. Celusastisina pointed at the horizon and now her hoof is tracking up through the sky. Both things are being lifted. Or, perhaps, Rising? That would make sense in terms of the sun.
Ina - ee-nah - Rising
Therefore we now can have full translations of their names. It will be useful as their native tongue is not kind to my Ponish accent. I will still endeavor to call them their native names while speaking to them, but I will write their more simple Ponish translated names.
Celuleunelnen - seh-loo-leh-oo-nehl-nen - Little Moon
Celusastisina - seh-loo-sah-stee-see-nah - Rising Sun
There is one thing I wish to know, just one more word. It is in the final message, but they have also said it before.
“Kres?”
They seem stumped on how to explain it. Both keep talking to one another in a very quick manner. Little Moon points to her leg and chest but the Rising Sun shakes her head and repeats ‘yetan’ again and again. Rising Sun makes a motion across her chest and then her hooves go from her chest and out in front of her multiple times with an accompanying sound effect of ‘psssssh’.
A bit comical, but it gives me an idea.
Then the Little Moon lights up her horn. It is surrounded with a faint blue glow. She points at it and repeats the word ‘kres’
Does it have a dual meaning?
My mind, sadly, goes back to Cer. Her blood, pink and shimmering, looks just like the mana that flows through the ground in this very spot. I had not connected that until now. Yesterday it had caught me off guard but now that I think back on it.
Nothing should be able to live with pure mana flowing through its veins. It should be burning them up.They should be ash where they stand. So how are they not? How are they alive ? If this is true and is not a childish misunderstanding. What I have seen with my own eyes confirms it, though.
Kres - krehs - blood/magic
Epkres - ehp-krehs - My blood. This could be translated to ‘my kin’ or just ‘family’.
This would mean when Little Moon told me “Epkres hallen” the other day, she was really saying “My sister says hello” then to extrapolate that further, when referring to her sister what Little Moon truly meant was “Rising Sun says hello” so…good morning! How wonderfully dense. To have so much meaning put into two little words. How compact and meaningful.
With this, I feel like I can get some more cultural context. Cer’s words literally translated to ‘My promise and I’ so what is a promise? These two have been using the same concept when using pronouns so perhaps they understand it.
I will try to separate the ‘ep’ and the ‘il’ and see if they can explain it. Well, I will do it with the second person pronoun that I know, so I will say “Legil” then separate the words and isolate “-il” in an attempt to show confusion.
Rising Sun immediately points to the sun, then back to herself. “Epil” she insists repeatedly as she gestures back and forth.
“Moo-trah pehp Celusastis.” Mutra pep Celusastis. She says this a few times.
“Moo-trah” is an unknown
“pehp” is obviously another pronoun, but what could the difference here be?
Wait. I am having an epiphany. “legil” and “pep” both break the conventions I know about their pronoun system in that they have a letter before ‘e’. The common theme between them is that the last letter is transposed to the beginning of the word. “Ep” means I/me. So this is a modification of that . Could the last letter being put in front signify possession?
When Little Moon asked where my wings were that first night she said: “Fetram legil keh?” If this new rule is true then what she was asking was “The wings that belong to them, where are they?” That is, if this is correct. These are educated guesses, but still guesses nonetheless. I have been wrong twice before on this word, legil, I will hope that the third time is indeed the charm.
There is only one way to confirm this, by speaking it.
I know that ‘Ez’ is a second person pronoun. So If this rule is correct then I should ask “Mutra zez Celusastis?” as confirmation.
Aha! Success! They both nodded at me and stamped their little hooves in congratulations. It is good to know that I am not totally lost when it comes to their language. Though there is still the question of what “mutra” means. The inkling I have currently is “promise”. Once again, there is only one way to know.
“Ezil Celusastis Celusastisina?”
“Epil Celusastis et Celusastisina.” Was the response I received, with extra influence on “et”. I will assume this means “and” as is yet another connection between their language and our own, as sayings such as et cetera and et al still persist in academia.
“My promise and I are the sun and Rising Sun.”
Fascinating.
It is difficult to grasp at this moment just what this means, but it seems as if they think themselves connected with something else and include it as part of themselves. Rising Sun is named that because, in her culture, she is thought to be both this body and the sun itself. As must be the case with Little Moon and the moon itself.
Is everypony in Skaros like this or are these two special? If they have a whole system of pronouns dedicated to this concept I must assume that this extends just beyond these two ponies. The problem is that I only know of two other ponies from Skaros and both of them are buried.
Should I bring them up now? Is it too soon? Would talking about their parents just be painful or would it be a catharsis? I am not good with ponies and little ponies are even more of an enigma. I know after my parents died I buried myself in my work for months afterwards.
I must know, though. Curiosity is now weighing more heavily upon my shoulders than empathy. There is a puzzle before me and it must be solved.
“Mutra Cer…?” I will ask this softly and with a heavy heart.
They both gestured up at the sky after a moment.
“Averlas…Ire.” Rising Sun picked up some dirt with her hoof and let it fall back down.
The name of their other parent: Ire.
Ire - ee-reh - Earth/ground
“Ken Cel et Ire medentan, liuflasam kumamtan. Ez per celiredun nit celusastis celuleunel mutratelfetam.”
Thank the heavens for my good ear and quick writing ability. That is an extremely loaded sentence. Knowing how dense their language is, I can only assume this is akin to a full paragraph. This is not as daunting as Cer’s final message at least, but it is still intimidating.
I will figure it out later.
Spring, Twenty-Seventh Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I went back into the caves today and found a way down to the leyline itself through a variety of very tight passages. Thank the stars above for my slim frame or else I might not have fit. I have retrieved a sample of the pure mana that flows through the veins of the earth. It is just as pink and brilliant as the blood I saw the other day.
Just fascinating.
To test that I had not slipped into some parallel world where pure mana was not a dangerous substance, I put a drop of it on my exposed hoof. The tingling and shock was enough to make my head go fuzzy. So yes, having this as blood would be extremely hazardous. But I saw it with my own eyes. I felt Cer cast that spell on me and the power behind it.
What their capacity for magic must be…I would hazard a guess that they are some of the most magical things on the planet. How dangerous.
I cannot tell anypony back home. Not until I can be absolutely sure that they will not be used as weapons or harmed. It is hard to say what the warmongers that reside in the palace might see them as. It will either be threats or tools and they are neither. They are just little fillies and they should be treated as such, not anything else.
At the same time, I worry about bringing them home for other reasons. Their parents are both gone now, but I know nothing about their home. I do not know if I should try to bring them to Skaros, keep them here, or some other option.
It is imperative that I translate Cer’s message. Tomorrow I will ask them for their help, no matter how much it may hurt.
—-Addendum—-
I am down in their cave and they finally let me put up a shield to keep them from the harsh sea air. I have also found that they pushed their beds together since the day Cer came here. I suppose for comfort.
I have learned two more words at the behest of Little Moon.
Kiz - keez - Story
Kizelis - keez-eh-lees - literally ‘place where stories are’ but we shall just call it a book.
I am being asked to read them both a bedtime story.
I think I will tell them the story of the ancient unicorn king who befriended the wild earth pony stallion. I think it is appropriate given the circumstances. They may not understand my words, but I’m sure with the help of my magic I can illustrate some of it for them.
Spring, Twenty-Eighth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
“Epil es gentan. Es epkres lepil goda trak. Es legil anvitarve et legil nitam anwerne antakane. Ortamfet lepil anismerne: es Skaroseliswer gatan. Upalas rakinti deulentan, nit deulentan dreblen. Ansotelve...”
We will start there. This is the day where I will get them to help me bring this down. I do not know how, but I will get it through to them that it is important. Whatever this says will decide what happens to them. As fillies, even ones as assumedly powerful as they are, they cannot be left alone out here. I will either take them to their home on Skaros somehow or I will…well, if I am to bring them back home then it would have to be well after Bullion is gone. Princess Platinum may be many things, but she is certainly not her father. She does not possess the same mind or cruel cunning as her father. Any Unicornia ruled by her would be preferable for their existence.
If I must stay out here in the wilds until that day comes, then I will.
If their homeland of Skaros is at war, the wounds on Cer’s body seemed to indicate a fight of some kind, then they cannot go home and I will remain here with them until they can go home or until they are old enough to make that determination themselves.
If, by some tragedy, Skaros is destroyed or too dangerous for them to return to then I will wait until King Bullion passes and take them back home. In that case, I must take care to preserve their culture and language. Any submersion into pony culture, no matter what tribe, at such a young age would risk alienating them from their very unique and different language and culture. I must be able to spend time with them before that and document it all so it cannot be forgotten. So they do not forget where they come from.
My curiosity must also be sated. So I suppose either way I will be spending a lot of time with them.
Rising Sun seems determined to help me, but her sister does not. Both of them teared up as I showed them the words and Little Moon ran out of the cave. That is fine, I think I shall only need one of them for this important task.
The first word I do not know is ‘gentan’. Obviously -tan is the negation modifier, so we must figure out what ‘gen’ means. I will point to that and hope to get something understandable.
Rising Sun is now pointing to her head and repeating the word. I do not think it means ‘head’. She has now picked up a book of mine with her magic and is pretending to read it, she then puts it down and points to her head again.
Understand? Know? It has to be one of them. I will plug it into the sentence and see how it fits.
Epil - My promise and I/We, referring to the physical body of Cer and the sky itself as her promise.
Es - You, singular and referring to myself.
Gentan - Know would make more sense here.
Gen- gehn - know (This is a hard ‘g’ by the way, I know when I read it I still want to say it as a j)
“Epil es gentan.”
The next sentence has some words I already know, the first half is actually translatable.
“Es epkres lepil”
“Goda”
Rising Sun has sat down to think on this one. She keeps muttering to herself and tapping her head in frustration repeatedly. Whatever the word means, it must be difficult to get across through action alone. I can think of some words or concepts that would be nearly impossible to convey without words to go with them.
Finally she gets up and nods vigorously while smiling as she says the word ‘goda’. Then she frowns and shakes her head while saying the word ‘woda’. She is now doing this again.
I know it does not mean ‘yes’. So it must have another meaning still relating to a positive concept.
My gut says it means ‘good’, partially because it sounds so similar and I know that there is some distant language we both share. Also it has an opposing word in ‘woda’ which could mean bad? It is my only lead, so I guess that is what I will go with for now.
Goda - goh-dah - Good
Trak is giving her fits just as goda did. She has been pacing in the cave for several minutes now.
“Epkres goda trak.” She repeats the phrase, sits down and acts as if she is cradling a foal in her front legs. I cannot blame her for giving up on the word and trying to explain the phrase instead.
Trak - trahk - Care for? Look after? Take care of?
“Take care of my children.” makes the most sense in context. I will go with that unless I am proven wrong at some point in the future.
“Epil es gentan. Es epkres lepil goda trak.”
I don’t know you. You (must?) take good care of my children.
The next sentence will surely be one that takes some time:
“Es legil anvitarve et legil nitam anwerne antakane.”
From the outset this sentence begins with dual pronouns yet again. “You them(possessive)” Then there are three words that all share similar construction: anvitarve, anwerne, and antakane all begin with ‘an-’, two of them end with ‘-ne’ while the other ends with ‘-ve’. Given what I know about the density of this language, I will assume this is deliberate and those prefixes and suffixes mean something. If that is the case then let us dissect the core words first.
Vitar, wer, and taka.
“Vitar.”
“Fetram vitar.” Rising Sun answers immediately as she spreads out her wings, then points to my side. “Fetram vitan.”
Well -tan means not. I know Fetram means wings and that I do not possess wings. I am without them and she is with them. That will do as a preliminary translation for now. I only need a feeling for what they mean, not something exact at the moment.
Vitar - Vee-tar - with
Vitan - Vee-tahn - without
“Wer”
Once again Rising Sun is ready with a swift answer. She stands up straight and looks ahead with a serious face. A hoof is brought up to her forehead and she scans the imaginary horizon. She then marches to and fro in the space of the cave while carrying the same demeanor.
Is she trying to mimic a soldier of some kind? A guard perhaps?
Wer - wehr - Guard
“Taka”
“Es!” She points at me and mimics my pose, sitting on the ground and writing in my journal and barks out gibberish in a tone approximating my own, then she stands up again. “Ep!” She points to herself and then marches around and does a variety of things. “Taka!”
So she recreated what we are doing now. I suppose she is teaching me. Either teach or instruct, unless on the off chance she means mimic or copy but that does seem unlikely. I am very lucky that I have a very intelligent and creative assistant in this endeavor.
Taka - tah-ka - Teach/instruct
I am going to assume ‘et’ means and. We use that in academia still, old hints of a dead language, so I think it is a safe bet. That means the only unknown word is nitam.
“Nitam.”
“Nitam fetram et ker.” She says while pointing to her wings and horn. She then turns her hoof towards me. “Ker min fetramtan.”
I believe it is a conditional term. In the first instance it means ‘both’ while in the second it means ‘one but not the other’. She has both wings and a horn while I have a horn but no wings. So ‘nitam’ should mean ‘both’ or ‘all’ depending on what is being listed after.
Nitam - nee-tahm - ‘All’ or ‘both’ depending on context.
So before the prefix and suffix that pervade three of these words, what do we have?
“You them(possessive) with them(possessive) all/both guard teach.”
an- -ne/-ve
I am sure I can work this out logically without Rising Sun’s help. This is a final message from a parent, their dying words. That is the context. When Cer spoke the words they were desperate pleas. They were things she was requesting of me. Could that just denote a request? Need?
If so, let us try to make this legible.
“I need you with them and I need you to guard and teach them”? I will admit this might be me injecting some of my own personal feelings onto the subject. It feels right, though. Given the context, given…everything.
“Epil es gentan. Es epkres lepil goda trak. Es legil anvitarve et legil nitam anwerne antakane.”
“I don’t know you. You take good care of my children. I need you with them and I need you to guard and teach them.”
“Ortamfet lepil anismerne: es Skaroseliswer gatan.”
Once more unto the breach.
Ortamfet. -am indicates something is plural while -fet indicates something in the future. So ‘ort’ is the unknown. Lepil is trivial at this point, first person plural possessive. an- -ne again and I believe that signifies a desire or need on the part of the speaker. I see Skaros and -tan.
“Ort”
Rising Sun says it again, gesturing from her mouth into the air as she does. The then comes over and points to my journal as I write and says “Ortam. Taka, wer, vitar, vitan. Ortam.”
Ort - Ort - Word
‘Ortamfet’ would then mean future words. Ortamfet lepil - My future(next?) words.
Anismerne. What we’re looking for is the root word, ismer.
“Ismer.”
Rising Sun put her hoof to her head and slowly pulled it away, as if she was tugging on an invisible thread. “Ismer” she stated simply after. Sadly, this is lost on me. It must be some sort of idiom for this word in their culture, but it’s not one in ours. I shrug my shoulders. She sits down and thinks.
She is
She grabbed my journal and flipped to the very beginning, then tapped her head again and repeated the word at me more insistently. I suppose she is trying to tell me to think, but that doesn’t fit. The only other thing I can think of for it to mean is ‘remember’. I confirmed this with a similar motion to what she did and mimed out some events from prior days.
Ismer - eez-mehr - Remember
Therefore ‘Anismerne’ would mean something along the lines of “I want you to remember”, at least if all of my guesses line up.
This is a lot of guesswork and I could be completely wrong.
Best not to think about that possibility.
We now have at least the first part of this sentence completed.
“Ortamfet lepil anismerne” - “I need you to remember these next words”
Skaroseliswer.
Skaros, obviously is the name of their homeland. However this one has -elis attached, which we know to mean ‘place of’. Perhaps Skaros is not the name of their homeland, but instead just the word for ‘home’. Skaroselis would then be ‘place of home’ or…homeland.
Wait, -wer.
That should mean teach, right? I just learned this. How does that fit into this word then…? That doesn’t make any sense.
Well, the ‘wer’ before was a root word. It had the an-/-ne addition to designate need. This -wer is on the end of the word. It is possible that it has a completely different meaning as a suffix. Which, quite frankly, is not helping with how dense this language already is.
Perhaps the next word will provide me with some context.
Gatan.
Obviously -tan is the negation modifier.
“Ga”
Rising Sun got up and tugged on my cloak until I stood and is now pointing towards the hatch leading out of their cave and repeating the word. Once outside she does the same thing again, this time directing me back inside.
Seems pretty obvious, if I do say so myself.
Ga - Gah - Go
Therefore: gatan - go not. Don’t go.
The last little fly in my linguistic soup is that -wer suffix. Let’s see what this said, translated literally, without acknowledging it.
Ortamfet lepil anismerne: es Skaroseliswer gatan.
Words-next I (possessive plural) need you to remember: You (singular) skaros-place go-not.
I think the only thing really missing would be a preposition. It is possible that -wer could mean something akin to ‘to’. “You skaros-place-to go-not” “You don’t go to Skaros.”
Upalas rakinti deulentan, nit deulentan dreblen.
I have seen the suffix -las before, twice in fact. Averlas and Avertanlas. I know what these words mean, but perhaps I do not understand them fully. Aver would be the root word then. Maybe it does not mean mother but ‘birthing parent’. This would make a lot more sense as their avertanlas was, or at least seemed to be, female. So let us assume that -las is some indicator of agency. “One who”
“Upa.”
Rising Sun went straight to the journal I gave her and got the quill and ink as well. She is now drawing something. It is a stick figure of a pony with wings and a horn wrapped in chains, then she draws the same pony free of the chains and flying away. Over the chained pony is the word “Rakin” and over the flying one is the word “Upa”.
Upa - Oo-pah - Free
Rakin - Rah-keen - Locked up/imprisoned/chained
Now about the suffix -ti. I do not believe I’ve encountered it before. A cursory glance of my notes confirms that.
Rising Sun draws another pony, this one with a frown on her face. A line connects her horn to the bodies of other ponies, all of them look sad. She labels the frowning pony “Upalas Rakinti”. Does the suffix make a word a noun? A proper noun as this seems to be the name of this pony.
Upalas Rakinti - One who frees chains
With a name like that I would assume they would be a liberator, then again most villains see themselves as heroes. What chains are being broken by this pony? What is she freeing them from?
‘Deulentan’
“Deulen”
The response is simple and heartbreaking.
“Nit Averlas, Avertanlas deulen.”
Deulen - deh-oo-lehn - Dead.
This pony, Upalas Rakinti, is not dead.
“Dreblen”
Rising Sun adds to her drawing. She draws a box around Upalas and scratches out the lines connecting her to other ponies.
Locked away or trapped perhaps.
Dreblen - drehb-lehn - Trapped
“Upalas rakinti deulentan, nit deulentan dreblen.” - “The one who frees chains is not dead, both not dead and trapped.”
“Sotel”
Rising Sun got up and motioned to the space around her and repeated the word. She then pointed out to sea and said “Skaros: Soltan.”
Limited, but knowing what happened to their parents in Skaros I think it’s safe to assume that Skaros is dangerous. Which would make this place safe. This is a very big stretch but I’m trusting my intuition here.
Sotel - so-tehl - Safe
“Epil es gentan. Es epkres lepil goda trak. Es legil anvitarve et legil nitam anwerne antakane. Ortamfet lepil anismerne: es Skaroseliswer gatan. Upalas rakinti deulentan, nit deulentan dreblen. Ansotelve...”
“I don’t know you. You must take good care of my children. I need you with them and I need you to guard and teach them. I need you to remember these next words: don’t go to Skaros. The one who frees chains is not dead, both not dead and trapped. I need you to be safe…”
I will not deny a dying parent their last wish. Whoever this Upalas pony is, they will never harm either of these foals. I will promise you that, Cer.
-Starswirl
Spring, Thirtieth Day of the Third Moon, Year of Peace
I have done something unforgivable.
Last night I made sure that the two fillies were asleep. Then I locked their hatch to make sure they could not come up and put a barrier over the entrance of the cave. I knew they could not see what I was doing.
I dug up their parents.
Back home I would be put in irons and have my horn separated from my head. Desecration of a grave is a crime so heinous…but I had to know how dangerous this Upalas pony is. I know of Cer’s wounds, but not of Ire’s
I had to know.
Their bodies were in perfect condition. Decay had not set in. No bloat, no rot, no maggots. If it were not for the wounds on their bodies I would’ve thought they were merely sleeping. Ire, true to her name, was a mare the same color as the soil that surrounded her. She had a mane of green with specks of other colors peppered throughout it, like a field covered in fresh flowers.
Cer’s fatal wound was not obvious. Her body was covered in wounds, from small scratches to very deep cuts. It was death by a thousand little things rather than anything definitive. It was deep and probably hit something that took a long time to kill her. I will not even assume they have the same internal anatomy as us and I do not want to dissect them. My actions are horrific enough as they stand right now without mutilating corpses.
For Ire it looked to be death by a few very severe cuts rather than the thousand for her spouse. One of her legs was bent at an awkward angle and she was missing an eye along with a deep laceration down her side. I must wonder if she even survived the journey to this place or if she died once here with Cer and their foals.
It would be impossible to know without asking, and I do not think I could do that now.
The preservation of their bodies, especially Ire’s, was and is fascinating. They have not decomposed one iota. Beyond that, I did an age detection spell on both of them. Having learned it from my time studying archaeology is a blessing. The results were surprising. I had to replicate the results multiple times on different parts of their bodies and the whole. The results were the same every time.
Cer: One thousand three hundred and twenty years old
Ire: One thousand one hundred and fifteen years old.
The longest a unicorn has ever lived in recorded history is three-hundred years. The average age of a unicorn is about one hundred and twenty. For these two ponies to live magnitudes longer and for their bodies not to decompose…I must consider the possibility that they are immortal.
They are certainly not invulnerable, that is clear. As of right now it stands to reason that once they reach maturity, who knows what age that is, they do not age anymore. Their bodies become immune to the ravages of time.
Imagine everything you could do with that time. Imagine what you could learn, what you could accomplish.
It is a tragedy that they died. I will never learn from them, nor of their civilization. I will never visit Skaros either. That is not an option. If Upalas did this to fully grown members of their tribe, then there is no telling what she could do to regular ponies. For the safety of not only the fillies, but for the world, she must stay undisturbed.
Skaros and the knowledge of it must be lost to time.
But I cannot get rid of this journal, not yet. Their language will survive in my private studies as I acclimate them to our world, as I teach them our language and our ways.
When I get news of King Bullion’s death we will start back towards Unicornia. I will fashion them cloaks from one of my spares to hide their wings until I can discuss their existence with Princess Platinum and Clover. I will also have to make their names into something more acceptable in Ponish, something easier to say. I will also come up with a cover story of some kind of where they came from, something to obscure their true origins.
It breaks my heart to do this. To take this away from them, but it must be done.
This will be the last entry in this journal.
I have been responsible for too much danger in the world already.
-Starswirl the Bearded
Author's Note
There are pieces of loose paper in front of the final page of the journal. They are obviously written by Starswirl, but the pages look newer than those of the journal itself.
Zekizfet
Nit Celusastisina Celuleunelnen,
Kai ep epti rika ep gentan. Kai ep eptielis ep erga ep gentan. Ep gelef ka ko foristi ka Cer palved ke ekep ortamfet lekil takaved. Ep gelef ka ep ortamfet pep strek nawe. Nitan epep foristan strek, nitan epez dest.
Ortam ebti deufet, nit kapetan ismertan.
Ke epez medenved, epez wotrakdun. Ep agelenved. Ez nit polosam godadun et streklasam godagodam kumaved. Anselipne epez, min gelef ep vitan ez godagodam.
Fetnenelis ep deufet. Aletitan veg epti strek. Ka Stygian fatanti nawenawefet deu ep gan. Nit ep primam pep epti gan. Ke ez anselipve strekfet, foristan fatan ep ganfet. Hiritan eb sapil, hiri ire ez nawefet.
Fetelis eunel - yetan, fetelis ASTISTAN - regenfet ko streklasam aldam nit deunen deu. Alotiam nit averlen faberlen nawenawe. EZ ezti fetelis. Ez nawedun nit vetik regen naweti ka ep erstrek per petra ire faden.
Epez gelefdun. El diganam el totumam ep epti, mintan veg pep kardulen. Iltan epez vetik nawenenved. Iltan epez et epek Ekestrianen godagoda nawenenved. El diganam el totumam ep epti nawenen.
Ep epti kizelis eradenradenfet et ep mir ka mirlen ismerti ka ek kapet. Ep tazmir ka ezti obrekfet. Ep zat ka ezti epti rakinelisen nawedun deu et el soltantiam ep faberved.
Nitanam polostan Skaros naweduntan gentan. Nitanam polostan ka ektielis naweduntan ismertan.
Ebti ismertiam gaduram pep ka nit ismer taka zugen lezil. Ezti hokelisen pep deufet ep foristan deutan, et epep foristan vapertan ezti. Ezti eztielis deu.
Ep follasdun.
Hiri ez epti ismertiam faden, hiri hallentan. Epez taka enerti agati. Ezil ko epkres ep kapetanfet. Epezil liuf.
-Starswirl the Bearded
