The Journal
By JakeDrake
Chapter 1
Entry
One night, of her second winter in Ponyville, Twilight goes into the libraries basement. She was looking for a bit of light reading to entertain herself with. Nothing too common was ever kept in the basement, mostly outdated science textbooks, a few damaged novels from years ago. Sometimes even a biography that would be asked for by a pony so he or she could read about their ‘famous’ family members.
She reaches a fairly far back corner of the piles of books to skim through a few by the title on the spines. Some about the reason dragons eat gems, some about how Celestia ruled through ponies when she needed a break, and one book at the bottom that looked like a journal.
This journal seemed just the thing that Twilight was looking for. She lifted the stack, slipped the journal out with her hooves and set the stack back down. She lifted the journal and blew on the cover to get the dust off of it carefully.
“Transformation Diary of a foreign entity.” Twilight read as she walked up the steps turning the lights off with a simple spell. “Interesting...I wonder who wrote it.”
She walked up to the small reading area on the lower floor as Spike rummaged in the kitchen for a gemstone he had been keeping in the icebox. She sat down and lit a candle that gave off a faint blue glow, magical fire that wouldn’t burn wood was very handy to have in the library and was a gift from Princess Luna. She enjoyed the light and found it a novelty that would be useful for night time readings like now.
Spike walked out of the kitchen, he had bought some crystal sweets on a stick from Pinkie Pie that day and sat on a couch in the reading area and said, “Haven’t seen that book before, dig it up in the basement again?” He took a loud crunching bite of his candy that made Twilight wince slightly.
“I did actually, it’s a journal by some unknown pony who apparently went through some sort of transformation.” Twilight said opening the book carefully and looking at the first page which had a small bit of scrawling script, seeming to be someone’s hoofwriting. She squinted and smiled a bit, seemed this was either the first copy or hoof-copy of the original. She thought she could recognize it, but she couldn't quite place where she knows it from.
She started to read the first few pages, most were about how the book was to be returned to the owner if it were ever found by somepony other than the owner. A kind note of the writers name which Twilight found rather...odd to say the least. Selena, not a name she had heard for a pony, but she didn't think a pony had written it.
She flipped to the third page of the journal and found the first entry.
10/5
Entry 1
I have gotten this journal in the mail today, fitting seeing it is my birthday. I thought I’d might as well use it as my personal journal, as I refuse to call it a diary. (Twilight had a private giggle as spike continued with his candy reading a magazine called “Gem Weekly”)
I’ve felt strange sense yesterday, well midnight actually, odd pain in my back has been bugging me throughout the day. Making it hard to do much except sit back and read or watch television. But when I looked at my back I didn’t see anything except for two large bumps that were a slight blue in color. I think I’ll record everything that’s been happening to this and any other changes in the future in here, to make sure I know exactly what order it happened in incase I need to see some sort of doctor about it. It’d be weird if I ended up having wings or a tail. Even if it would be a little interesting.
That’s all for tonight, I’ll write down whatever happens tonight tomorrow morning. man my did my parents insist I start working in the public library? Probably because Janna gets the better deal because she’s the ‘more responsible one’. Stupid sister...always getting the praise while everything I do is forgotten...I’m so sick of staying in the shadow of everyone because of her.
Twilight closed the book softly and smiled, she put a small cloth bookmark with a tassel with the royal emblem to mark the page for later. She yawned and brought the book up to her dresser and put it in the small bookshelf above it. She laid down herself, knowing Spike would probably fall asleep on the large comfy couch in a while if he didn't come up soon.
She wondered who this pony was, or if the writer was even a pony at all. Perhaps she was a Dragon who had been like Spike and grew her wings later in life and left home to live their lives on their own. Perhaps an Earth pony who had learned that she was destined to fly when she magically grew wings. She allowed her mind to wander, if the story was true. If the writer was anything like her friends or herself. Even if she would learn anything from the book about magic or history from it’s first hoof accounts.
But what Twilight Sparkle didn't know, she wasn't going to be reading the private thoughts of any common pony or some forgotten celebrity that no one had any interest anymore. Someone who owned the diary had thought that it had been outside of the room it was written, or the room the other hid it in away from her younger sister so it was not disturbed.
But one pony, one that had been ignorant of the journal’s move to Ponyville looked out a window and into the night sky. She felt the magic from the book shift from the winds that started to blow in the night. She could only sigh, as she felt the magical signature from the book tell her that it was the young Element of Magic who opened the book and started to delve into it’s pages. She had hoped no one would ever find the book, but knew if she took the book away...she would have to explain exactly what it dealt with if Twilight asked.
Twilight had always been told that her teacher did things for a reason. But she had to find the reason of why she didn't want this burden hidden away again.