The Code of The Secret Society of Bronies/Pegasisters in Ponyville, The SSBPP

by L

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Human, Random
Length: 9102

A realistic approach to how a secret group would regulate staying in Equestria under the radar, using code and following certain guidelines to keep themselves safe.

What you are reading is the pamphlet handed out to the individuals who were chosen to participate in a permanent vacation to Equestria. It sets out what will be done before going there, and what rules apply while living there. Chapter two will be the records and dairies of committee members kept at the monthly meetings of how things went. Every subsequent chapter will be the same, one month later, just from different characters' perspectives. I don't know how this passes the No User Guide rule, but I've read a story similar to this one and it was okay. Maybe it's not. I'll find out.

Anyway, I replaced the cover image. I think it's perfect.

Here's a sample because I'm lazy:
1. This one is a bit harsh, but we have to uphold it. We do not ever approach any mane 6 or important characters in the show. Their business is their own and suspiciously pestering them like they're celebrities all of a sudden makes us look bad. They ARE a bit famous in their own realm, but you've seen the show, we hope you have a pretty good idea how they're treated. Characters like Lyra, the Cakes, the Apples, Derpy etc. are a bit iffier, but just don't be fanboy/girl.

This is rated 'teen', but the one instance of swearing was censored and was in an example context. The rest that may raise the 'everyone' eyebrow is not explicit, and tries to avoid detail, as it is only for the record. It's one or two sections and is not themed around it. Entirely. Still, I'll stick with 'teen'.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-22 23:58:44 UTC

Day of Departure

The intercom bellowed, echoing in a voice mask through the large yellow facility instructing the excited people, "Please take a look at the pamphlets on the coffee tables in front of you. Read them carefully for the adventure that awaits. There's enough for everyone."

Everyone bent over in their chairs in unison. The chatter dampened while the huge, white accordion papers folded open making the only loud noise in the room. Some one coughed, others crossed their legs, and quietly began reading.

Welcome. If you are one of the 119 qualifying Bronies or 52 Pegasisters brought here for this top secret permanent vacation to our beloved utopia, Equestria, (specifically Ponyville of course) you have been given this large pamphlet to read in complete detail.

If you are not, and this somehow falls into the unwanted hands, hooves, claws, talons, wings, fins, tentacles or any other strange appendages, we would prefer it if you discreetly ignored and destroyed this message and never spoke of it ever. It really would be best if this didn't get out. We realize that probably isn't possible, but we'd like to make it our statement. Just in case.

This yellow box you're all patiently sitting in is our official waiting room so that you can be contained while reading this information. We were going to do this over intercom, but it's really noisy and tires the oral reader and the listeners. So instead, we handed these out for you to read at your own pace.

PLEASE NOTE: There WILL be a breif quiz later for all of you to ensure the safety of the society, so please study our rules (well, everything actually) carefully. We really shouldn't even be doing this at all to be quite frank.

About Us:

The group is 176 strong. The other five? Us. There are five equal members on the society committee. Graham, Elliot, Red, Nate (yours truly), and Rosie. We make the decisions, but no single individual is in charge. We discuss all questions and concerns raised by you humans. As long as it pertains to the society of course, and hasn't already been mentioned in our pamphlet. Right, that's another thing.

You see, we've already been to Equestria. Our transporter/transformer is now hooked up to the once fictional land and we have set our own temporary B.O.O. there, (Base of Operations) and also certain parameters for first time visitors. This might shock some of you, but we aren't the same anymore if you get what we mean. You won't be either. Unfortunately, despite our efforts and thorough testing, cutie marks, coat and mane colors, race and even gender cannot be determined. To put it painfully, but honestly, what you end up with is what you get. It truly is a miraculous wonder that we got this to work as much as it did. (Don't ask about the details. Truthfully, not even we fully understand how it all works. Let's just be glad it does.) We haven't shown ourselves to you yet for two reasons:

It would be very awkward.

Just in case some of you decide to back out. You may not be ready yet. In that case, you will have to leave here lying about where you've been for the past four days for the rest of your life. (Most of you had to fly in to get here) The alternative being lying in Equestria for the rest of your life. We highly recommend, for the quality of your own life, that you consider this very carefully. Hopefully you do already know that this is the biggest decision of your life. So don't callously throw it away either direction. This is just the committee, but we'd love you to come with us, but that really isn't our choice to make.

Logistics:

First, now that you have been selected for your good judgement, general kindness, and likelihood of you purposefully doing something very non-Equestrian, read this handout in the big yellow box. Good job.

Second. Once you understand the rules and everything else, there will be the aforementioned quiz to hammer in what you know. If you fail, don't worry, you can come back and re-read this and come test again the next hour or two. Try not to fail though, just to save time. This is also when the final decision about your life's course is made. We will be behind a one way mirror and voice filtered mics, and the tests will be set up on the desks right there.

Third... If you have not chosen to go home, you'll step through the transporter when it is your turn to the secluded B.O.O. Please don't call it a "portal" or "stargate". That's when you'll get to meet three of us. Once you're there and we know what you look like, Elliot, Roise and Red (Or rather, Fall Sky, Star Dazzle and Crimzion) will help you decide on a new name for yourself. (We're all here now, this is just a little later) Once every one has made it through this process, Graham and I will come introduce ourselves properly and we will have a final meeting at the B.O.O. before we dive in.

Fourth and Finally, we will abandon the B.O.O. in the Mountains and destroy it and all evidence attatched to the project. We will blow it up, burn things, bury it and hope to god nopony finds it. By agreeing to this, you understand there is NO going back, and that we want to keep the interaction between their world and ours to an absolute minimum regarding our hanious violation of the innocence of this realm. We will then make the long trek to Ponyville or wherever you prefer seperately. But try to stay close, we meet monthly. (mentioned later) We will not travel in a single large group. That would seem odd if we were asked why we were all out. We're not tourists, we don't have a train or something. You're on your own for the most part, although you can be with smaller groups of up to 7 or 8. You will need to find a job, get settled etc. We're really getting a little too deep into this for now. This is just to give you an idea. We will make individual plans for each other in that final meeting and future meetings from there. Which brings us to the next section. The code.

Our 10 Essential Rules:

This one is a bit harsh, but we have to uphold it. We do not ever approach any mane 6 or important characters in the show. Their business is their own and suspiciously pestering them like they're celebrities all of a sudden makes us look bad. They ARE a bit famous in their own realm, but you've seen the show, we hope you have a pretty good idea how they're treated. Characters like Lyra, the Cakes, the Apples, Derpy etc. are a bit iffier, but just don't be fanboy/girl.

If you are spoken to by a popular character, DON'T PANIC. Do not let them invoke a bad reaction from you. Just treat it like regular business and carry on. If they want to be your friend, (Beware Pinkie Pie) attend the welcoming party and from then on keep it down low. Not TOO low, you don't want to seem like a anti-social stick in the mud. We just hope to god we don't have to deal with a situation like this. Pinkie Pie is a very large liability. Remember, she meticulously memorizes inconsequential facts like hobbies and birthdays and there's very little we can do to hide it. Just go with it.

Sorry, another tough one. You can't bring anything with you. We hope you get why this has to be the way it is. Evidence and all that. All your stuff will be confiscated before you leave and will be destroyed with everything else. (So yes, you will have to step through the transporter naked. No one's looking. Have you ever seen The Fly? That's another reason... We don't know what might happen.)

As mentioned before, you'll have to have a pony alias that somewhat matches your appearance. You will also need to know personal facts like those hobbies and birthdays. (your own will probably do, the cutie marks are accurate) It will be discussed in person later.

No references. We know. It's fun. But we just can't risk breaking the fourth wall to them. How are we supposed to know how many blades of grass are growing at Sweet Apple Acres or anything else ponies have said alone to each other. Sorry, we have to know nothing most of the time. If you really don't know something, like the name of a town, don't pretend like you do. That's important.

No extra technology. We like to call this one The Prime Directive if you will. We can't even TALK about cars or computers let alone bring them. That said, you also cannot INVENT things or create scientific theories you didn't come up with. Number one, that's stealing, and also we don't want to cause an industrial revolution here. This will be the most HIGHLY punished offence. Keep an eye out for what does exist here and what science is currently known. Who knows? It could be completely different. With Princess Celestia and Luna around, this obviously isn't a heliocentric world. Or maybe it is. WE DON'T KNOW, DON'T TRY ANYTHING. We don't want any Neo Issac Newtons around.

We will meet at the end of every month to discuss the status of the overall society. You must attend on time. The message will be spread via word of mouth. PLEASE NOTE: The password is; "Crimzion (or another committee member) wants to hang out with the group today." and your response will be "Sure! I've got time." or simply "Yeah okay." The idea is accept the offer. Just in case an Equestrian pony we don't recognize is mistakenly invited, we have another password; "Do you remember what happened to the fox?" You respond, "It was stung by the bee, right?" Words do not HAVE to be exact, but try your hardest to be as close as you can. Passwords may change, which is why it's important to attend all meetings. We will usually meet around near the end of the day just after business hours on the last day of the month. Locations change, so ask and follow the committee members and those in the know. These are the only hours we speak about anything beyond our fourth wall. Everything outside of the meetings will be spoken in code. We will talk more about that when we come up with more.

Please, no swearing or other vulgar things. It just doesn't happen there. Profanity is a freedom we have on Earth that we must sacrifice strictly for consistency. We are not against swearing, it's only that we just cant do it. Also, further familiarize yourself with the horse pun filled vocabulary. You've hopefully seen the show, and understand the terms. But just to review, nopony says, "people", "person", "man", "woman", "boy", "girl", however every "one" is uncommon, but still okay. Things "hand" related are replaced with hoof, (there may be hands, but just not in common speech) "God" is not a thing, so be careful with that one, certain articles of clothing, etc. Pay attention to anything that wasn't in the show. It's probably important. "Buck" is not an acceptable replacement for "f*ck" by the way, and so is everything else like that. You probably know what you're doing.

Now it's time to address the delicate issue of relationships. If you know what we mean. Not that we're into that sort of thing, but if this is between you and another member of the society, that's perfectly okay. Just get a room for pete's sake. And in all seriousness, don't let an equestrian find you two. You may be doing something... they wouldn't... normally... You get the point right? Now if you're somehow with an actual Equestrian, we highly recommend you just don't. But we understand the needs of some of you, so we will be a little lenient on the subject. However! The law still applies, and seducing somepony will not be tolerated. If this comes up, we swear, you will not like what happens.

Anyway, if you have a thing with another pony, everything you do must be consensual. In fact it should be your partner's idea in the first place. Sexuality is a bit more difficult now, so learn from you partner how things go. It might even be really boring by our standards. And remember rules #1 and #2. Yes, that does mean you can't be with some of your favorite mane characters, even if they want to. This is just too far, we're sorry. We don't know what kind of catastrophic upsets may come of it. Remember, the show is still going, so it may or may not affect the writing! You will have to make some excuses. Besides, they're out of your league anyway.

Obey the law. Like always. No further explanation needed.

That's pretty much it. Now that you know how to behave in your new home, we can begin the transition as soon as every one's ready. Hold on tight, enjoy yourselves and keep everything a secret. It will soon be time. If you finished early and still have time, don't waste it. It is a good idea to review the pamphlet a second time. You will never see it again when we're gone.

Crimzion: The Q and A

Crimzion

Before, everyone was talking to each other in the yellow box about themselves and why they like the show and how this was going to be a big, fun trip to a theme park type place. We made it very clear in our letters and emails that this was the real thing, and you're not coming back. We don't understand them. Those people there all came anyway. Our initial invite numbers were in the 300s, but only the 171 showed up. We're still surprised as many people as that came to the thing.

When they all finished reading, almost no one spoke. There were whispers here and there, and there seemed to be a lot of confusion and distress. We get that, so against the plan, we agreed that when everyone had filed into the long classroom area, I step in to prove everything. It was almost as big as the yellow box, just longer instead of taller. Winter Breeze (Nate) wanted me to, "Record my account of their reactions." So that's why this exists. (By the way, this was written while we were tearing down the B.O.O. It's just an old looking warehouse, nothing special, honestly. Some of the others helped me remember a few things)

Before I showed myself, using the masked microphone I said to them, "Hi, it's Crimzion here. We're going to take the test now. Would you please take your seats and write your names on the little space at the top of those blue papers. Everything's going well, except we've changed one thing. Don't worry though, you won't have to do anything new. We've decided that it's best if I step out and show you people some of what makes us... us. We're sorry that this contradicts what we said in the papers. Just get ready."

The metal door went, "chank!" and it smoothly swung open. I waited a moment before I stepped through. This is the first time I've ever shown myself in public like this. I took a breath and emerged from the doorway onto the grey carpet. I walked over in front of the one way mirror and said nervously with my nose to the floor looking up at them, "Uh, hi."

They froze in their identical plastic seats in awe at the two dimensional cartoon entity if front of them. Some of the ones in the back stood up to get a better view. It was like Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I'm a male earth pony, my eyes are a loud green, my coat is bright red, just like my name, and my mane is a little short and chunky and it's very dark brown, almost black. I love music, most kinds, too. I was known for having my ipod with me all the time and I even used to dance a little, so my cutie mark is a vinyl record player. There were a ton of "Oh my god"s, "Wow, I can't believe it"s and curious hysteria once they got a longer look at me. I just continued with the plan like nothing was wrong and announced, "So yeah, when you're done with the questions, just sign the agreement if you choose to come with us. Hand them in to me and just wait for results when every one's done. I'll just, uh," I stepped over to a nearby chair by the mirror, "sit right here until then. Good luck, I guess."

I laughed once nervously. It was very awkward to sit like this, (sorry Lyra) and a moment later I just sat on the floor. One girl raised her hand, "So you've been to Ponyville?"

With a surprised look, I looked up at her and quickly answered, "Yeah, we've been there. We didn't stay too long, but we know a lot of routes to get there."

Another guy added to the questions, "Have you seen anypony important?"

I had a hard time with this one.

"Uh... Yeah. I think I saw Berry Punch once. Uh... Roseluck, Carrot Top, ah... Caramel... I think... Um... (laughs again)"

Before I could finish that, the group became more excited and another from the back helped push the questions snowball, "What's it like to transform?"

More people were like, "Yeah, tell us!"

I didn't want to suppress their very justified concerns, but I wasn't ready for this much attention. I'm usually a pretty confident guy, and I volunteered to be the one to do this, but I was a mess in there. I had no idea how hard this would be.

"Uh okay, we'll have a questions period now I guess. We kinda promised that already. If that's okay with the other four of us."

The intercom came on, it seemed like Star Dazzle (Rosie) or Checkmark (Graham). I dunno. I couldn't tell because of the voice filters, remember.

"Yeah, there's certainly time. I don't see why not."

The crowd was relieved and hands from across the room shot up. I finished the last question, "So, uh, yeah. What happens is you go through the transporter into a watery gel like stuff, uh, void. And then you lose consciousness for a while. It really doesn't feel like anything. You just get a little wet. It's just like being asleep, and takes about as long. Then you're there and you check for parts... if you... understand." I shrunk and coughed into my hoof.

"So yeah, it's not easy to explain, you'll just have to be there. Ah..."

I aimed my hoof at all the hands in the air and shouted out, "Yes, you! the one in the blue and red shirt."

"Where is the transporter?"

That was easy, and I don't know why it wasn't in the pamphlet, "Just beyond that door to your right, the opposite wall from when you came in, is a garage where the oval shaped machine sits raised up on a platform with stairs. We've also set up dressing rooms for you to drop off your stuff. Anyway. How about the bearded guy with the grey hoodie."

"It said in the brochure that your gender might be changed. Who did this happen to?"

I was getting even more embarrassed, I smiled to try to help it, "Ah huh... Good question. This happened to Nate. Who's now named Winter Breeze. She's a blue and white pegasus now. She got a bit nauseated the first trip through, but she was fine and active after about five minutes. The hardest thing was the new voice. In fact is was that way for all of us."

I was starting to feel a bit more comfortable with this so I explained a couple more details, "But I think she handled it pretty well, actually. Then there was the walking and flying, which none of us knew anything about. I know how this sounds, but honestly, you do get the hang of it. Flying is tougher. She still can't do it perfectly and can only stay airborne for a couple seconds. Uh... Okay, the girl in the purple dress, what do you have?"

She stood up, trying not to trip over the dress, "How do you know we won't leak any information if we decide to go home?"

I sighed, "Well, we trust you. And it doesn't really matter anyway. If a video of this gets out, it will look edited. It may be a big deal for a while, with the crazy idea in the first place, but I just don't think people will believe it. No offence, though. We'll be gone, so how are they gonna know, right? We're destroying all the real evidence, this building, and all the equipment anyway for just that reason. Sorry."

I felt a little bad to have to say that. It was a pretty brutal truth. I just moved on to the next hand.

"Okay then. I'll take the guy with the Rainbow Dash wig."

He turned his head sideways while keeping eye contact, "Uh, dude, this isn't a wig."

"Oh."

The guy uncrossed his legs and spoke up, "What's gonna happen to this building? And how are we just gonna simply get a job and survive?"

I stood up while saying, "Okay, that's two, but I'll give them both to you. Uh, well, first... Please stay calm, but uh... We've already rigged it to go off when we want to."

There was a sharp uproar anyway, and the mic. came on to intervene, "Please sit down. We've taken all safety measures necessary, and no one, neither brony or civilian will get hurt. We own this building, and the damage will be completely localized to it. I will come out and explain."

And that seemed to get everyone to quietly sit down. I was so scared. I'm never scared like that. That was a one in a lifetime experience that I didn't need any help remembering. Nate, Winter Breeze opened the door and trotted out with stride.

"Okay guys, listen. The building is set to implode when we give the order when only Checkmark and I are left inside. It is set to a timer for 1800 seconds. That's half an hour. That means that as long as no one is inside at the time, and we will make sure no one is, there will be zero casualties."

A male voice called out from the back, "How can this be your decision?!"

She stood with hooves flat on the desk.

"Please let me finish. We have people who will set up red tape, cones, signs and barriers around all the locked entrances so no innocent people get hurt. They don't even know what we're doing. They just think this is a regular operation. Any one who wishes to leave after this will have plenty of time to go quietly. We will alert them when we're ready and no sooner."

Winter Breeze stepped down, sighed and began slowly pacing around the floor.

"As for what will happen to your stuff, and by the way we've tested this, if we just toss it all in by itself with no one with it, at the very end, it will make it to the other side quickly and safely. That's where it will all be disposed of. You were told in the emails not to bring anything that was even a little important to you, and this is why. We hope it's all clothes, watches, those papers, and things like that. But we're still sorry about what will happen even to them so Equestrians don't see all of it."

There was a silence. I decided to say something to get the process moving, "I think that's enough questions. We'll talk about Equestrian life later when we know for sure who's coming."

Winter Breeze came over and rubbed me on the shoulder, then stepped back behind the mirror and shut the door.

It took a long time for everyone's pencils to get scratching. Most of them just continued to gawk at me for about ten minutes. Some people just stared blankly at their papers for a while, seeming to realize just exactly what they're getting into. Some finished faster than others. The hardest part was obviously the final agreement. But all 171 people passed with high to moderately good scores. I think we got the message across. In the end; 41 people decided not to come with us. We let them go quietly just as we promised. There were only just those 130 then. I will now give the diary to Checkmark, who stayed with Winter breeze just as we planned.

Checkmark and Fall Sky: The Hard Part

Checkmark and Fall Sky

Checkmark here. I think it's about time we finally got together some more details about the five of us. Before we actually head to Ponyville. But first, I want to mention something that we don't usually talk about.

We keep this diary because, well honestly, we all know we're going to be caught. It's a matter of time. It's an unspoken truth we all have to live with. When everypony signed on the dotted line, they knew. This was going to be a short and very sweet life. Another thing that wasn't written in the pamphlet was that we chose people who seemed to have little hope. People for whom this was truly the best thing to do. The purpose of this whole project is to make our dreams come true. That's all. It's an escape. Those 41 who left, they were very wise. Not because of the danger, but because they knew they had things in life they had to accomplish before running away to their paradise. The world still needed them. Whether or not they all knew it. That's what I think. Maybe not. Maybe it was just too overwhelming. Anyway, that was my little monologue.

I'm the one who checks all the details, organizes everything, and helped fund it all. I'm very scientific. The transporter is my life's work, and when I discovered the show and everything, I had something to look forward to. So I told myself, "Ponyville, eh? That's what I want to do with this." Although it wasn't just my idea. That's why we're all together. That's my thing; I do all the boring and hard work. I don't mind. It makes me feel important. Gives my life purpose. I'm glad I'm the one who makes everything possible. My cutie mark is a scroll and a violet quill with check marks. Hence the name we chose. I'm a unicorn, and I have a tawny colored mane, and a beige coat. I'm also still male, by the way. The only time that happened was with Winter Breeze. (Although it's my guess that this could happen more often than 1 in 5.) Oh, and my eyes are Amethyst.

Anyhoo(f), with that out of the way, I can talk about our anxiously patient guests waiting for their escape from this abysmal planet. In comparison anyway.

The process of getting everypony over there took many hours. We began the written test at 10:45 A.M. and by the time our old home was behind us, it was 11:19 P.M. by the same measurement of time. Equestrian time is not parallel to ours, so there was some jet lag for many. We destroyed the building the next day; when the demolition men were on their shift. But I'm getting ahead of myself. We sent people three at a time, one for each committee member on the other side to adjust them to their dramatically different environment.

A lot of people went back to the yellow box while they waited for their turn, while some sat in the testing area to get away from the crowd. I saw groups of new friends laughing together and playing cards while others shed tears in each other's arms. Some were taking this very hard. But it was their choice. I had never seen such happiness and fear at the same time. When Winter Breeze or I stepped out of the big garage with our clipboards, they all stopped what they were doing to see who was up next. Maybe they were also still in such shock that they needed to look at us to validate it to themselves that this was still real.

"Hello, Tyler? And also a Rachel. Rachel? Okay, and Damon, I'm looking for a Damon."

Some groups were untimely separated, and would have to regroup in their new form hours later. All of their belongings were put into shopping carts. We microwaved some ravioli for some of the late stayers. Although it wouldn't matter once they got their bodies. I'm sure they had meals prepared on the other side too. It was about time they learned how to eat hay.

When there was no one left but us two; that's when the real work began. I didn't know how to use magic very well, so it didn't help me lift anything that big. But (Excuse me for gushing for a second.) it was just so cool! It was like using the force! Don't tell me you haven't always wanted to do that, so shut it. (ahem) The demo team was going to inspect the building, so the mere two of us had to move the transporter to our tiny secret basement. A very big hassle that was indeed. First we tossed in a note saying, "We have to move the transporter, remember. We'll be a long while, guys. Tommorrow maybe. See you. -Winter and Checkers"

Then we flung in the rest of the things, keeping a good distance so we don't throw ourselves in. We were already getting tired, but at least the demolition men were going to get rid of all the tables and chairs in all the other rooms. Then there came the enormous task of disassembling the cursed thing, shutting down all the computers, untangling ALL the plugs and extension cords and slowly bringing the large equipment down the stairs into the cramped room. We had it all worked out, but the creepy basement was still pretty small for it. We were so unbelievably tired, and there was STILL more work to do. We didn't tell the guests, but we put up charges on all the equipment, set it for 1800 seconds so even if it was all found, it would be beyond repair. It would go off the same time the building would implode. Now we just had to wait for the crew to get here, inspect everything and leave. Then we could push the locked button.

We gave the signal over walkie-talkies when we heard them arrive, "Okay, everpo- Okay, everyone. Get in there and move all the furniture. That should be it. It's all clean."

It was a grueling seven and a half hours later when they reported finishing tearing down all the wall paper and shipping away the desks and everything. We got some much needed sleep; it was dark in there with all the electronics off. But when it was time, we powered everything up, unlocked the charges, and told them to bring it down. Then we leaped through the transporter like frightened little wallabies.

It wasn't over when we got back to Equestria, however. We had to help remove the corresponding transporter so it wouldn't send over any debris from the explosions or overload and kill us all. Maybe. Why risk that? About 45 minutes later the five of us together tested it one last time. It wasn't working. Exactly the result we were expecting. Right then, Star Dazzle gave a bit of a final word, "Well guys. We're trapped in Equestria with a bunch of stolen hay and other goods with over a hundred homeless gender bent, magically illiterate, flying disabled ponies and a ton of other incriminating stuff in the middle of nowhere with no excuse. Job well done?"

In harmony we cheered, "Job well done!"

We had a great laugh.

Fall Sky coming in. Hey everypony. He he. You've always been the dramatic one huh, Checkers. [The monologue.] Ah... anyway...

Yeah, so I helped with all the big stuff on the other side while all the new ponies came through. By the way, I'm not much of a writer, [his hooves] so Star Dazzle is helping me scribe this while I lay it on her.

Right, okay. I've got a nice yellow mane, grey coat, and... I'm a pegasus. I've got lime colored eyes and my cutie mark is a brown leaf. I'm a bit of clean freak, and like to notice it when the trees get all orange. I'm probably going to be a leaf and snow blower during those seasons. Fixing things where some ponies can't get to them. I'm the Swiffer pony.

It wasn't easy going through the same shtick with 130 different ponies. The whole, 'Welcome, stay calm, who are you now, where will you be going, what are you gonna be doing?' thing was getting a bit old. But the thing was to keep up the enthusiasm because they're all new. We didn't have a welfare or some beginner, first timer, starter kit to help us out. We were on our own, so we had to politely steal a few things. No bits or anything, just essential supplies. [We don't like to talk about that much, you know.] We had some hay for them to chew on while we went through the questions. It took a little coaxing, though... Some ponies were just too freaked out with themselves and everything to even talk for a while.

But once that settled down, we had to teach the pegusi flying, the unicorns magic, and the earth ponies gardening and baking. All the basic skills, we figure. We had some issues. We didn't have the right tools or Checkmark with us at the time, [We really should have left Crimzion back at the yellow box instead.] so the magic was hard to get right. And that was just the levitation. We don't even get anything about the other stuff. So some unicorns are going to have to [embarrassingly and quietly] study up on common spells. We don't know who's running the library now. What with Twilight's new royal business; we'll have to see if she's still home. Maybe the unicorns aren't so unlucky after all. We'll see.

Like I just said, we didn't have any baking supplies, so we had to hope that it was close enough to our system that we wouldn't have to worry if something different came up like putting flowers in the cookies. The same deal with gardening, except we know for sure that that's not even close to the same. Again, more studying later. (grunt/sigh)

I can fly. Just fine. I'm no ace or anything, but I can show the pegusi how to lift themselves up. Believe me, I know how weird it is at first trying not to stand on anything, and you need some momentum to get yourself going. That, and you're still figuring out how to walk on all fours, so this was the most frustrating thing of all. [Yes, yes it was...] We spent three days here just getting everypony ready for the world before it was time for the five of us to tear the place down. I think it'll pay off. I was having my doubts before, but now it looks okay.

Meh. That's all I've got to say. I've gotta get back to burying the last of the burnt trash. I hope the fumes don't hurt us. Or give us too unique of a smell.

Star Dazzle: Stranded With Spaghetti

Star Dazzle

I'm the one holding on to the Diary right now so I guess I'll write some more. I kinda like holding it. I could be some kinda... cool secret book bearing pony who takes notes all the time.

Note: Write things down in a safe place so you don't forget something important you think you'll need to remember later.

I'm Star Dazzle. You know that, but it seems more proper that way. I should get my introduction in right about now so anypony reading this will have a good idea who's doing all this. I like to impress people with awesome shows and visual displays. I'm a showpony and love to hear people joke and cheer. I've always wished life could be filled with more organic funny moments and feel more like TV. That's why I came to Equestria. So everything could be happier, cooler and funnier. Doesn't it feel good when someone says something really exploitable and you just happen to come up the PERFECT thing to say back? That's what I'm talking about. Those little things that might seem like a rehearsed sketch, but are completely natural and great. I even like pranks a lot, where the moment is planned out. That's fun too, as long as it's safe and in the best spirit.

Sometimes I even wish that life could be like a musical. Where a major situation begins and music comes on and it just goes on impromptu, you know? That's what's so cool about life here. That stuff is very common and socially acceptable and I like it. Still. It isn't okay to force that idea onto other people on Earth, where the norm is to do your job and be boring most of the time. You'd come off as smarmy and fake to all those lawyers and secretaries who act smarmy and fake. I know, sometimes you need to relax, but I like it here better. Not as many double standards.

My cutie mark is some colorful fireworks. They represent those special moments in life that just come and go quickly. I was a book keeper on Earth, but I also sung and played piano a bit on the side. I think when I move in to Ponyville, I'll be some kind of event planner or spokespony. Or maybe just to get started, I'll do what I do best which is to do ponies' homework. Physically, I'm a banana yellow unicorn mare with a pure violet mane and dark pink eyes.

So yeah, I think I'll move on from me for now.

What happened at that final meeting was a thing where ponies would step up onto the stage and do the same thing I did which is to talk about themselves and what their plan was for their "vacation". But also what routes we were taking there. It felt more like a graduation ceremony than a meeting. It was actually really boring... But there was this one pony we named Spooky Shadows who can apparently manipulate shadows with his magic. The cutie mark is also a silhouette. It doesn't really do anything tangible, but yeah, it sure is spooky I guess. How he ever got into My Little Pony I'll never know, but hey, he was kinda cool. He says he's going to be a shadow puppeteer and maybe a medium to take the place of Madame Pinkie Pie to make a living. As a book keeper, I'm a little worried for his future, though. He's a bit of a lurker and I don't know how many customers he'll get. He might just have to get out more. This is Equestria for pete's sake.

Then there were ponies like the yellowy brown stallion, Hoover Sweeps and the normal brown coated, dark purple mare, Drippy Drinkwater. These two liked to hang out with Fall Sky because they're all good at maintenance and cleaning and plan a career in Ponyville with their skills. All four of us like to meet for our so called boring jobs. I wanted to brighten that up a bit. (Which is why I bothered to mention them.) Hoover Sweeps has a broom cutie mark sweeping papers and is a unicorn apparently. That surprised me a little. I'll talk about that in a second. Hoover Sweeps says he, "-got canned because the company wanted to 'trim the fat'."

He had no problem with his old job as a janitor, living back stage. But his quiet lifestyle stole his chances, and when he got the email, he took the opportunity. Even if it might have been a waste of time.

Hoover and Fall Sky really hit it off together in their own way. They exchanged rude, but clever insults to each other, and at first I thought they were fighting. But when they bursted out laughing I realized what was going on. This was just their friendship. Drippy isn't much like those colts. She's really shy and sulky, but every time they're around she seems to feel better. Drippy is one of the sex changed guys that came through here. A while back we said that certain traits about your new form couldn't be chosen. Weeeell... That's not 100% true. It just seems to go with what's most comfortable with you. Some guys would just prefer to be mares. Or whatever else most suits them, I guess. This little theory might explain why nopony was really disappointed when they came through. We didn't get too many earth ponies, and like I said just now, I don't know why Hoover Sweeps became a unicorn. Maybe there's something we don't know about him. He is a bit passive aggressive, slick and even mean. But I know he's a great Stallion, he's just got too much pride for his own good heart.

As for Drippy Drinkwater, she's a pegasus with minty green eyes. Her cutie mark is like a twizzler of water and lightning strung up together. Drippy knows pipes and water systems inside out. As a human, he (Remember, he.) worked behind a desk for a while just to make a living. But when he found that he was really good at fixing the copier and keeping up the water coolers, he decided to go to school for trades and wanted to learn plumbing and electric power. But as studious as he was, things weren't going well at all, and he'd had his heart broken one too many times and never passed. And ever since then he spiraled into an unspeakable depression. I think My Little Pony may have saved him, and like the rest, he took the chance to come and stay.

So there you have it. Those are some of the ponies I met along the way. (I rhymed. Ha!) Don't worry though, I'm not finished yet. I still haven't talked about the trip out to Ponyville. We leave tommorow morning when everything's buried.

*...*

It was about time to leave. Most of us had Ponyville in mind, but some preferred Canterlot; within spitting distance of Ponyville. So we could meet quickly when we had to. Each group was given a saddle bag and a map to use to show them the long way down and how to avoid the Everfree Forest. It was cool to look at and to see how this region of Equestria was actually laid out. We outlined four different routes to Ponyville and two to Canterlot. I wasn't able to go with Fall Sky and the others because there could only be one committee member in a group so at least that five of them wouldn't be lost or late. I lead a group with nopony I knew very well. Four other mares whose names I can't remember. (I should probably find out again. :twilightoops:)

The first leg of the trip was to get down Foal Mountain. There's a big forest down there at the foot. (Should I have said "hoof" there, maybe?) It's safe to travel through, but it's dense. So we didn't go that way.

I called out to one of the green mares, "I know you're excited, but try not to tumble down the slope!"

She continued anyway, "Wow. I'm still not over the backgrounds and everything. From a distance that rock looks so simple, but up close it gets more detailed!" I am freaking out here!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Isn't that how that works anyway?"

She stopped, and a glazed expression came over her face while she stuttered, "Well, uh, daungh- Fugh- Shut up." She laughed quietly but hysterically.

Well to be honest, I'm still not over all this. But these ponies are driving me nuts. Sometimes. A little direction helps them escape their little zones. To make an unnecessarily long story a bit shorter, we traveled down the very west end of the mountain. There was even a beaten trail. It must be the most common route up here. Hopefully our old B.O.O. was out of the way enough. We didn't run into any ponies on the mountain side. When we got to the train tracks leading west to Ponyville, that was a different story. There was the train, but there was also plenty of road to walk on. We passed some western style ponies and some general common looking ones too. I'm pretty sure I caught a glimpse of Cherry Jubilee boarding a train we didn't have bits or tickets for. That kinda made me feel bad. It also made me wonder why she was out here. I guess she gets out a lot.

We had to follow beside the tracks because there was a major river and we needed to cross the bridge over. Then we had to go through one of the many tunnels in Canterlot Mountain to access the North East road into Ponyville. We were only a few kilometers away at that point. Ponyville has two main roads by the way. One from the North East and one from the South West that comes in from Apple Loosa eventually.

...

Well we're here. It was a great and awful time getting here on hoof. I spent all day with those ponies and we don't plan to hang out again any time soon. Not that we hate each other, but we were just off in our own spaces all the time. Coming here again brings back the terrifying rush of knowing nearly every house and pony who lives here and not being able to say anything or act on it. It's so beautiful, though. It makes me want to cry. Just seeing all the familiar settings in person. It's just so unbelievable. You don't know how freaky it is when Sea Swirl and Lightning Bolt just brush right pass you. '(Just keep walking...) I thought with an awkward blank expression.

We were in Ponyville on legit business today so we could have a bit of a look around. We explored some more and we noticed Carousel Boutique to our right. But that's not all. This is when we saw Rarity herself carrying home groceries in her saddle bag.

She stopped at the door and made eye contact with us. Then she looked around. Then raised her eyebrow with an odd look at us.

Then I realized what we were doing. We were all just standing there in a straight line with our mouths hunging open in awe like she had just robbed a bank. I snapped to, and I nudged the pony next to me.

"Stop that! It's..." my tone eased up a little, "rude to stare..."

Rarity turned back and her eyes widened as she sighed. She continued inside. And that was it.

Then I remembered our first objective here. "We've got to find the others. Checkmark ought to be here now. He said he'd be at the Town Hall, remember?"

He was going to talk to the mayor about the jobs and  housing status in Ponyville. It probably wasn't easy to break it to her that 115 (15 in Canterlot) potential residents from Manehatten were seriously considering moving in. That would increase the population of Ponyville by at least a fifth. It's no ignorable little crisis.

When we stepped up to the front desk at town hall, we were told to wait and that Checkmark would see us shortly. Well great. At least his group was also waiting for him in the lobby. We asked what was going on. They said he was in there for about half an hour and that we came pretty close by. Let's fast forward a bit again.

...

When Checkmark opened the door and said goodbye to the mayor I jumped up, "Checkers!" and I gave him a big hug. Despite everything in Ponyville, Checkers was the one pony I wanted to see most of all. He made a fake laugh and slithered out of my clutches.

"Hi, Star Dazzle." he began.

"What's the scoop?"

"Well, we got something arranged. I expected it to end up kind of like this. Come with me, I'll elaborate a little."

He took the two groups outside and we walked out to the park with a fountain and some benches. You probably know where we're talking about.

"There isn't much housing here at all. There's no way they could have expected us. There's a mere 19 available and affordable houses in Ponyville tops. That's the bad news. The Good news is that a big new set of apartment buildings has been set up in Canterlot about 2 months ago and has room for another 150. Which is more than enough. We also qualify for welfare. However Ponyville will have some trouble paying it. So whoever will be living here will have to have a paying job by the end of the month so they support themselves. Canterlot is more expensive to live in though. So to cover the rent, they'll have to find jobs too. At which point they also won't qualify for Canterlot's welfare. So... Plans will have to change. But I did tell her that most of us prefer it here for some reason so she has decided to invest more of the local budget on housing. Ponies have more powers to work with so we can expect a few more residential areas in about 2 to 6 months. The mayor has booked me an appointment with the mayor of Canterlot via teleporting scroll, so I have to get there soon."

That was a lot of news. And we had agreed to hold meeting with everypony in the Everfree Forest tonight when we all arrive. He's going to pick up our ponies already in Canterlot (Winter Breeze was in charge of those ponies, I think.) His group was about to leave for the train station with some mysterious tickets when he called back, "Oh yeah, there's one more thing you should know that's coming any sec-."

At that very moment, (I still can't believe it.) Pinkie Pie came prancing into the park. (Uh oh. Oh NO! I know what's coming!)

"HEY YOU, NEW PONIES! I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU EVERYWHERE!"

We turned around slowly... Pinkie Pie approached the eight of us.

"Oh my gosh! I finally found you! Are you ready for the coolest thing you've ever seen?!"

A red pegasus raised a hoof, "Uh-" Without even looking, Checkmark stopped him by putting his hoof over his mouth.

"It's so great to hear so many of you want to come to Ponyville! So here it is! Geeat ready for the Welcome Wagon!"

Pinkie Pie manafested the familiar device out of nowhere and pushed the button.

"Welcome, welcome welcome! A fine welcome to you!"

"Welcome, welocme welcome! I say how do you do?"

Her trumpet thundered through all eight of our ears like magic.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome! I say, hip hip, hooray!

"Welcome, welcome, welcome to Ponyville todaaaay!"

We couldn't help ourselves. We knew what was coming. "RUN!" I yelled before she could say, "Wait for it." and we ducked behind the park bench while the ballistic yellow cake exploded like a bombshell nearby.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry, did I give too much power to the cake thrusters this time?"

We stumbled back up.

"What was that?" one of the others asked while already knowing fully well the answer.

Pinkie Pie responded, "That's the Welcome to Ponyville theme song! I always do it when I meet somepony new. On Thursdays."

Checkmark intervened, "But I'm the Manehatten ambassador."

Pinkie Pie blinked, "And I'm Pinkie Pie. What's your point?"

We were all a tiny bit perplexed with what just happened. Checkmark dismissed it, "You know what, never mind. We should go and catch our train. We'll introduce ourselves properly as soon as we get the chance."

Then out of nowhere, I couldn't couldn't control myself again. I laughed out loud out of pure spaghetti. Then Pinkie Pie turned her attention to me.

"What's your name?"

My smile quickly disappeared as I found her standing less than two feet away from me.

"Star Dazzle, and you're Pinkie Pie."

Then Pinkie Pie left her entrancing gaze to remember something, "Oh my! I've still got a lot of ponies to welcome! I should go wait by the road for them! Bye!"

She shot off and left a puff of dust behind her. She's scary in person...

...

May 16, Everfree Forest, Star Dazzle

The meeting tonight happened where we planned. We took our head count; everypony was there. Even Checkmark. Most of the ponies were lined up for job interviews for tomorrow. Everything seemed to be going fine. They'd all spoken to the Canterlot landlord and he was glad to get so many tenants all of a sudden. He was a little worried for his business before. Though, those 96 were going to leave for Ponyville eventually. We're still stranded though. We had to camp out by Sweet Apple Acres. We were out of the way, we didn't stay on property or anything. Tomorrow will be when we can start earning our own way. I've got get a small place of my own tomorrow with our new head start. I'm still a little scared for us though.