Temperance's Journal - 4th Granite, 270

Well, today was looking to be a pretty boring day, until I had a griffon blunder his way through the wall of my office less than an hour ago.  He wasn't hurt, thank goodness, but of course both of us were a bit shaken up.

After I talked to him a bit, he told me his name was Max and that he lives alone out here.  Or, somewhere close by anyway.  I tried to tell him that the damage wasn't that bad and that we could get it patched up, since there wasn't any way for him to literally repay us.  He insisted that he be allowed to help make amends by fixing it himself though, which I reluctantly agreed to.

I certainly don't mind the extra help, but I know next to nothing about him, and while I hate to be distrustful, it's hard to just accept a stranger and put him to work like this.  I don't think the griffons would send a spy or anything, but he could be a thief looking at an easy way in.  Right now though, he's getting looked at by Case Study, although he didn't seem to be too badly hurt.

Well, in the morning I'll tell Flamberge about it.  If he thinks it's too big of a security risk I'll have to break the news to our new friend I suppose.

6th Granite, 270

I had Smoothblock come to me this afternoon, complaining that Redhat wasn't doing much but slowing her down in regards to digging the ditch.  He's a militia pony and not a miner of any sort, so that's not surprising, but she was pretty clear that something had to be done.  So, I went to go find Praetorian to figure out what else the stallion could do.  He didn't like Smoothblock's suggestion for him to help Holly cut trees, and instead said he'd get him to dig some latrines.  That works for me, and if it keeps him out of Smoothblock's mane I'm fine with it.

Praetorian didn't seem too thrilled for me to interrupt him, actually.  I found him and Maize curled up out in the fields sleeping, which I must admit was about the last place I expected to find him.  Well, he might not have been thrilled to see me, but I was thrilled to see them.  I'm no expert on these matters, but it seems pretty obvious to me that he and Maize are more than just friends.  I was really worried about the mare, but knowing that she's making friends, and especially a friend like this, really eases my mind.

Speaking of Holly though, I've noticed that she seems to be spending more and more time out in the woods and away from everypony.  She didn't come to Wood Chips' party either.  I should probably go check up on her some time soon.  I don't want her feeling like she's not part of the community.  Or if anything else is wrong, I need to know.  Dr. Serenity may have more business than I thought she would.

10th Granite, 270

The tavern is officially ready for use!  It took forever and ever (and I'm not complaining about the effort put in by the carpenters at all), but it's finally ready.

It's still pretty sparse inside, but we're working on that.  I've asked a few of the carpenters to get back to work on building housing since we're still in pretty dire need of that, but there's still a lot of furniture to put together for the tavern.  We'll need a lot of tables and chairs, and that's on top of the other things I've got on my list.  We're going to be needing more wood…

Speaking of the housing, I think Max is fitting in well with the others.  I saw him out on the roofs helping put some planks into place.  Come to think of it, he's already helped fix up the wall to my office.  Maybe he's just being charitable, but he's repaid his debt.  I should flag him down in the morning and let him know he's free to go whenever he's ready.

11th Granite, 270

Well, it wasn't another badger pony, but we had another thief show up today.  A diamond dog this time.

Smoothblock was busy removing the access ramps left over from digging the defensive trench when it jumped her.  She managed to get away, thank goodness, and Redhat charged off after it.

I'm not sure whether it's a good or bad thing, but it managed to get away before he could catch it.  I doubt it would have given him that much trouble, but I'd hate to see anypony else get injured by a thief.  I haven't forgotten what happened to Morning Dew.  Or Brook or Barley, from Virtue's diary.

14th Granite, 270

I'm scared.  I wouldn't admit it in front of everypony, but I'm actually quite frightened.  Something most unsettling happened today.

A discordant pony came.

Nopony knows how she managed it, but she managed to sneak right into the center of town, where everypony could have seen her, and all butgrabbed poor Cumulus right from under our noses.  It was only by great fortune Lathe was standing nearby.  His frantic shouts alerted the militia, and he managed to distract the discordant pony long enough for them to respond.  Bless that stallion for his bravery.

I forgot to take a picture of her unit screen, but that gray 'p' is our little intruder.  I hope the militia are quick!

Redhat was the first to respond, and he admirably charged straight into the fight with nothing but his spear.  I think Praetorian may have misjudged him.  He was very brave, and if he had been a bit more lucky he'd have struck her down himself.  As it turned out he managed to get a decisive blow in with his spear, but her retaliatory strike crippled him too much to continue the fight.

By that point, Flamberge and Praetorian were hot on her trail, and wounded as she was she had no hope of escaping.  Flamberge was able to fly over the trench she struggled to climb out of, and he caught her well before Praetorian could.  The fight was horrifically brutal from what I'm told, but over mercifully quickly at least.

Just as they were finishing the fight, another of those ominous clouds was sweeping nearby.  Praetorian had to drag Flamberge away, but the two escaped before they were caught in it.  I still doubt there's anything to them, but they give me chills to watch now.

This changes everything.  I've only ever heard stories about discordant ponies, but I never thought I'd see one.  I only caught a fleeting glimpse while she lived, but even looking at her made me feel uneasy, in a way that you can't explain through just fear.  It's impossible to describe, but very real.  Even seeing her corpse gave me the jitters, so I promptly asked the soldiers to dispose of it somewhere that we wouldn't see it.

After all of this was over I went to check on little Cumulus and his mother, both of which were understandably shaken up.  He was alright though, thank goodness, leaving only Redhat injured with easily treated wounds.

I'm going to go see him and Case Study soon.  I want to make sure he's alright, and to congratulate him on his bravery.