When I woke up, Spike was curled up in bed next to me. The "old" Twilight Sparkle probably would have freaked out and pushed him away. But today, I just thought it was cute. Besides, I like Spike. I don't see any reason to be angry with him for wanting to be near me. Now, he did have an erection while he was sleeping, but that's a totally natural thing for colts. I guess I really was some kind of horrible prude before all this happened.

This raises some uncomfortable questions for me. Going through all these terrible experiences has taught me valuable lessons. I don't know how I would have learned these things otherwise. If it weren't for my exposure the Spring Order, would I have spent the rest of my life messed up and angry all the time? Are my parents really to blame for that, in the way they think they are?

But there's an even scarier question: If I was screwed up about sex before, how do I know I'm not still screwed up now? I feel like I'm obviously in the right, but I would have said that two months ago, and I was so naive and wrong about sex back then. I'm embarrassed by my actions. I'm ashamed of the way I've treated some of my friends. I don't know how to atone for any of it. A mental death by giving into whatever the brain-scrambling artifact thing does almost seems appealing.

Can't the truth be somewhere between the two extremes? I know it's fallacious to suggest the truth always lies between two endpoints, and I can't imagine this strange controlling fetishy stuff is a good thing for anypony in the long run. But if Celestia is blocking the path to inquiry, then she's not in the right either (though I don't believe the law is nearly as bad as my brother complains it is). Can't there be something in the middle that respects personal choice, but isn't so intolerant of expression? Some way to satisfy stallions without resorting to weird, unnatural sex?

I still have so many questions unanswered. I wish I could squeeze the truth out of somepony involved in the Order. The biggest thing I don't understand is how ponies can have their opinions turned upside down—in a mere matter of days! My parents were pretty straitlaced and "normal" and Brother somehow turned them in the span of a few days. I don't get it. There has to be something supernatural involved here, right? If there isn't some kind of direct mind-control component, it would mean the power of sex itself is far stronger than I ever could have imagined. That's a scary thought.

Maybe scary enough for Princess Celestia to clamp down on our society entirely...?

I'm also uncertain what the end-goal of the Spring Order is. If it's changing society from one form to another, that's straightforward enough, but it seems very unrealistic. I'm not certain whether they're trying to induct all of Equestria, or just take over the power players, but there must be more. Apart from the sex and submission creepiness, the vamponies aren't acting irrationally. They're coordinated, intelligent, and resourceful. This is not an adversary I can afford to underestimate.

Everything I've discovered so far suggests they're intentionally harming ponies behind closed doors. However, I have yet to see direct evidence of harm with my own two eyes; and my friends, who are normally very sensible, are going along with it. Until I can understand the mindset of my friends, I don't think I'll be able to grasp "why" behind this. I'm even afraid there might not be a why. Maybe it can't be understood from the outside. Sex seems to be like that, you know.

There is one piece of it I do understand, however. It thoroughly disgusts me to say this, but if I could just somehow make myself forget how horrible and wrong it is to have your father holding you tightly in bed like that, I'm sure I'd be completely fine with it. I was almost there, mentally. I was giving in and it felt wonderful. The unconditional love of family is too important, psychologically speaking. Despite my complete lack of experience in the area, I'm pretty sure most ponies spend their lives looking for that kind of love in a special somepony. Confusing those two types of love is clearly wrong, and while I can't empathize with the feeling (I'm still not attracted to my parents, sorry Team Creepy), I can at least understand it in the clinical sense. And if I had given in to my parents, I'm pretty sure I'd be (ugh) hot for them right now. The depth of desire produced by the infection is abundantly clear. And it would be a lot easier to resist this thing if I could see evidence that anypony who had fallen to the Order wasn't perfectly happy. So far it's been, to quote Shining Armor, "smiles all around".

My primary resistance at this point is knowing that the Order places far too much emphasis on sex. You can't base a society on sex without trampling on individual needs. Relationships are complicated for a reason, and the same thing that works for me won't work for everypony else. And okay, maybe I would actually enjoy being marehandled just a little by Flash Sentry, even without the vampony thing. Maybe not all the time, but at least on occasion. I don't mean abused, I just mean, you know, to be held in his strong legs, to feel protected and cared for... To let him take some of the stress away, by making dec—

Excuse me.

But that doesn't mean everypony would appreciate it, nor should they. It's very easy to be convinced that something is good while you're riding the high of an orgasm, but when cold reality finally hits it's a different beast altogether, and individual differences can't be ignored. The same standards can't work for everypony, or even for a single pony at all times. Add to that the fact that some of this seems to be forced (like the brain thing) and I can't sign on.

I just have to remember all of this when I'm horny. That's... not as easy to do as it sounds. I guess that's why I'm going to the trouble of writing it all down. It's a weak form of inoculation against the madness.

Granted, I can't fairly claim that the way society works right now is entirely different, but at least the emphasis is on polite relationships rather than sex as a form of social lubricant. There's no weird magical forcing or brain-scrambling going on, either (at least not that I'm aware of). I'm sure the counterargument would be "forcing us to be sexually reserved with laws is just as bad", but I still don't believe things are that bad. I may not know much about relationships, but I know the law. If the law is being used to punish ponies for minor offenses, that's being covered up too. When in doubt I will choose Princess Celestia's judgment over the batty (heh, that's kind of funny) schemes of vampony sex fiends.

Everything was so much easier when this stuff was hidden from me. There's no turning back from knowledge, though. I can't make myself unlearn things, and even if I could, it wouldn't be ethical to do so at this point. I'm stuck in knowing.

Okay, that's enough blather. Back to the narrative, Sparkle.

So I woke up next to Spike, and it was cute. But something was very wrong. I was hornier than I've ever been in my life, and my vagina was soaking the bed. I shook Spike awake. I was taking deep, labored breaths.

"Tw-Twilight? Oh! I, um, I'm sorry I crawled in... You're not mad are you?" he asked, blushing. "Wait. Twilight, are you... feeling okay?"

It took me a moment to figure out what was going on, but seeing a delicious apple resting nearby tickled my insides with desire, and this was sufficient confirmation.

"I... I need to bite, suck..." I said, panting deeply. "Oh buck. The bite... Dad bit me, my neck! Why didn't I realize it? Spike, I have to cast the spell: get me the book!"

Spike jumped off the bed and raced to get the book. He brought it back in a matter of seconds and tossed it to me (I think he wanted to keep his distance, and I can't blame him). Granted, I already knew the spell, but it was tricky and I didn't want to risk anything at this point. I lay there shaking on the bed, trying to focus. I made one miscast, then succeeded on my second attempt. Relief washed over me. Yet, something wasn't quite right...

"Did it work?" Spike asked, cowering on the stairs.

"I think so. Wait... why am I still horny? It's not as bad, but it's still there," I said.

I cast the spell again. I felt the same wave of relief, but after it passed I was still horny and unable to completely relax. It took a moment for me to figure out what this meant.

"Horse apples! It's not a real cure. It's a temporal retraction spell for magical infections," I said.

"Oh. Um, what does that mean?" Spike asked, finally walking up to the bed.

"It means it works within a fixed time window," I said. "It rolls the infection back by maybe a day at most, and I can't go back any further. I'll need to rework the spell to be able to cure the infection, but until I can, I'm trapped in the early stages of the vampony infection. I waited too long to cast it this time, so it can't cure me completely. The best thing I can do is cast it a couple of times per day to keep the infection from advancing any further."

"So you were bit maybe two days ago, but you were so busy you just didn't notice it?" he asked.

"No, it was only a day ago. Wait, that doesn't make any sense. The spell worked before under a similar time constraint, unless..." I said. "Spike, what day is it?"

Well, this is great. I've been missing a whole day! Today is Day 49, not 48! The only explanation that makes sense is that the "nap" I took put me under for a whole twenty-four hour period, right there on the warehouse floor. That would explain the hunger and thirst and aching muscles, but what could have knocked me out for that long? I really, really need to figure out what happened. I'm certain I had some vivid dreams, but I can't remember any details: my brain starts to fog up every time I focus on it. I'll work on that mystery soon enough. For now, I'll put some corrections into the previous entries.

"Okay Spike," I said, "let's get down to brass tacks. What's new here in Ponyville, and what have you and Pinkie Pie discovered?"

"Let's see. Someone, more than likely Princess Celestia, sent several blank scrolls here by me-mail," said Spike. "I'm sure it's because I mentioned in the message I sent to her that we were all out of scrolls. She didn't respond with anything else but, um..."

"What is it?" I asked.

"I know about the coded message. I kind of peeked in your journal while you were sleeping so I could get up to date more quickly," said Spike, looking rather guilty. "I didn't mean to break your trust but I know we don't have a lot of time so I figured you'd be okay with it. I... I ended up reading the whole thing. I'm sorry Twilight." Spike winced and bowed his head.

"Oh geez," I said, feeling simultaneously betrayed and embarrassed. But what Spike said was right, we didn't have much time; and it was a good idea. "Spike, there's a lot of really personal and embarrassing stuff in my journal. I guess it's okay, though, because you're right about the situation. I'm actually more upset about having to expose you to all of that crap than about you knowing what's going on. I've been trying to keep you from finding out about everything but there's no way around it now. No eleven year-old pony, or dragon, should have to be an adult, but that's what you are now and I need to start treating you that way."

Spike looked directly at me, eyes wide, contemplating the gravity of what I'd just said. "Thank you Twilight. I'll do my best to not let you down," he said. "Oh, and, um, when we're through this mess, you wouldn't mind telling Rarity I'm an adult, right?" he added, with a grin.

I chuckled. "No problem," I said. I don't mind making a silly promise if it means someday things will be back to normal.

"And don't worry about what I've had to go through. It's nowhere near as bad as what you've been dealing with," said Spike. "Oh... I did have a couple of questions about the journal, but they can wait until later."

"No, go ahead. Anything now could be important," I said.

"I noticed in the rewrite, you forgot to put a couple of things in that I assume were there before. The Six Keys, for one."

"Oh crap. I totally forgot to include that information at the beginning of the Sweet Apple Acres entry. Thank you Spike. I'll need to add that to a later entry, or more likely to one of the addenda. What was the other thing?" I asked.

"Um," Spike said, and blushed. "I think you know. The night we all spent together, in the hills? You left out all of the important details about what happened."

I paused for a moment to think.

"Twilight...?" asked Spike, which snapped me out of my daze.

"Spike, what we did was... I don't know if I can write about it," I said.

"What?" said Spike, a look of confusion on his face. "You're kidding, right? You wrote about your parents and um, what they did to you, and you and Applejack..."

"Yes, I know," I said, "but with my parents, they were under some evil force or something so they're not responsible for molesting me. And what Applejack and I did was close enough to consensual it wouldn't be a problem unless I tried to file charges against her, which I wouldn't, and she was also dealing with the vampony infection, so even if somepony tried to press charges they would never fly. But what happened in the hills was a different story altogether."

"I don't understand. It wasn't anything wrong..." said Spike.

"It was illegal, and not the kind of legally-questionable-but-rarely-prosecuted-illegal stuff that my brother was whining about. What I let happen was felony-conviction-and-permanent-registry-illegal. Like, inexcusably, unforgivably illegal. If I write about that in the journal, it could ruin me, and Pinkie Pie, and it would hurt you too since you'd no longer be my assistant. I'd probably never be allowed to see you again."

"Twilight, that's ridiculous," said Spike, in a huff. "This is, like, a really special case! You're under the influence of the vampony stuff, and you were wounded and exhausted that night, and you're trying to defend two kingdoms..."

I shook my head. "There aren't exceptions like that, and for good reason. Those mitigating factors could prevent jail time, but it wouldn't limit parole, and it wouldn't stop me from losing my title as Princess. I made a mistake, and Pinkie Pie did too. Hers was far less excusable than mine, even though I forgive her completely, but we're both guilty."

"You're one of very few people on the right side of this, Twi," insisted Spike. "Celestia will pardon you, guaranteed. She'll pardon Pinkie too, I know it! There's no way she would blame either of you for any of this nonsense."

"Maybe you're right, Spike, and maybe not. I've known Princess Celestia for most of my life, but I still don't understand her as a pony," I said. "She's very guarded, and you know that better than anypony. Well, except for me and the other princesses, of course. I'm afraid we've made a mistake that could ruin us all, Spike. I should have been stronger, but I failed you both."

"Not everything that happens is your fault, Twilight," said Spike, placing his claws gently on my shoulder.

"It feels like it is. I'm often in a unique position to save Equestria, so everything rests on me... It's so tiring, and awful, and I hate it so much," I said. It felt good to get this out. "There's nothing heavier than that tiara. I'd give anything to not have to make these kinds of decisions. The stress is indescribable. I don't know how Princess Celestia does it."

Spike looked down at the floor. "The Twilight Sparkle I know cares about friendship and truth above all else. That's why you're a princess."

I closed my eyes and buried my face in my hooves. "If Team Creepy is telling the truth, Princess Celestia has been hiding bits and pieces of the truth for the common good. If she's doing it, then it probably is the best thing for society. But that puts us at odds, because I can't stomach it," I said, as I let out a large sigh and held back tears. "You're right, though. My first priority should be to uphold the truth, even if it might not be right... Maybe I'll need to make another entry later to describe what happened. I just, I just I don't know if I can do it. Like, emotionally."

Spike walked up to me and we hugged. I cried in his arms for a few minutes, then took a rest to regain my composure. I decided this would be a good time to eat something.

I guess the fact that I've written this down means I've already decided I'm going to add it to the journal. I just don't want to think about it right now.

During brunch, I was actually tempted to suck the juice out of some apples rather than eat them normally. I don't think it was the vampony thing, though. It was probably just my mind obsessing over the idea.

After eating, we continued our conversation. "Alright Spike, I think I'm going to be okay now. I'm just not going to think about the journal thing until later. So, what have you been up to while I've been away?"

"Not much. I decided to lay low so nopony knows I'm in town. Pinkie Pie of course has her cover story about being ill, you remember the one. She stops by here every evening at twilight..."

"Obviously," I said, rolling my eyes. "No problem is so serious that that pony can't turn it into a pun."

"Yeah. Well, she stops by once a day and delivers gossip, and food supplies for Owlowiscious and I," he said. "Also anything I ask for the previous day, but we have pretty much everything here except scrolls. We do have three blanks Princess Celestia sent, probably because I mentioned we were out in the scroll I sent her, following your instructions."

"I thought we had plenty of scrolls here?" I said, puzzled.

"The day you left, somepony ransacked the place. They took all the scrolls, and it looked like they were looking for a book or something too. I don't have any idea if they found it. I checked the card catalog and everything matches, and all of your personal books are accounted for," said Spike.

"Wait, you cleaned the entire place up?" I asked, rather amazed.

"Well, I had two days and nothing else to do, so yeah," he said. "It really was a mess, though. Honest!"

I smiled and petted my Number One Assistant on the head. "I'm sure it was! I can always count on you, Spike." That elicited an obvious blush.

"Heh. Well, let's see what else. Pinkie says she found five of the Keys of Friendship: everypony's key but yours. According to Pinkie, Fluttershy's key was the hardest to figure out, but they've all transformed into actual keys and they're stuck in the box. Since we have no idea what your key might be, and you seem to think it doesn't exist yet, we haven't tried anything from the library."

"Wow, that's great news. Go Pinkie Pie!" I said. Finally, things seemed to be going our way.

"Yep! And she talked to Zecora, too. Zecora knows about everything that's going on. Pinkie hasn't confided in anypony else, however," he said.

"Good. I agree with her judgment," I said.

"Pinkie spends her days with the Cakes, as normal, and apart from her trip here—"

"Do ponies see her come here?" I interrupted.

"Nah, she wears that ninja outfit. You'd think she'd be really unstealthy, but she's pretty good at it actually," said Spike. "I doubt anypony thinks she's been inside the library since before we all left here. Oh, and she's keeping an eye on Sweet Apple Acres."

"Anything happening there?" I asked.

"Not so far. Big Macintosh is doing chores like always," he said. "Oh, Cheerilee is back teaching, but she has a distinct goose-step in her walk she can't quite hide, and... well, Pinkie Pie told me, but I read you know about the, um, teats. I can't imagine what ponies are thinking, or why parents aren't raising concerns about it."

"They probably just think she's near foaling," I mused.

"I dunno. Pinkie Pie says they're pretty outrageously large, but maybe that story is working for now. She's gotta be telling them something, right? Maybe everypony is too afraid to ask, though. I mean, I would be! Oh, and Pinkie Pie said 'but she's not foaling anypony', just so you're prepared for the joke when she does it again."

I admit it. I laughed out loud at that one. It was funny and horrible at the same time: classic Pinkie Pie.

"Heh. Okay, that's quite a bit for three days..." I said.

"Well, that's not all. Hold onto your haunches for this one. Rarity arrived here in the morning, two days ago."

"Wait, two days ago?! Oh, shi... um, I mean, shoot. Sorry, I've had a real potty-mouth lately Spike. I kinda let my standards go in all this mess," I said. "Er, but I was going to say, right, I was unconscious for a whole day, so she would have been here for two days now. Damn. I mean darn. Whatever."

"We don't know what she's up to. She just spends a lot of time in the Carousel Boutique. But around noon on the day she arrived, she called an emergency meeting at Town Hall, and everypony showed up, except me of course."

"Even Pinkie Pie?" I asked.

"Yep, Pinkie was there too. Rarity basically told everypony that you and Dash were under an evil curse, and you weren't aware of it so ponies should approach you with caution, and Princess Celestia was looking for a cure. So the Ponyvillians have made, um, preparations for you. Not like an ambush or anything, just defenses in case you go crazy and attack. I don't think they will do anything without you having the opportunity to give your side of things, except maybe contact Princess Celestia."

"That would be fine by me!" I said. "Wait, what did Pinkie do at the meeting? Does Rarity know she's here?"

"Oh, she knows alright. Pinkie says she argued with Rarity right there at the meeting, and claimed she didn't see any evidence of what Rarity was talking about when she was with us at the Crystal Kingdom. But then Rarity said Pinkie Pie was sick while she was there, so she didn't see most of what was going on. Since that was Pinkie's alibi, she backed down. Rarity probably found out Pinkie's alibi shortly after she arrived, since it's pretty much common knowledge around town at this point."

"But why didn't she just go public with the vamponies and the horn mutilations and..." I said, then realized the answer. "Oh. Right. Pinkie Pie screaming about vamponies and the sky falling. That would be a major disaster, and she'd probably end up in the psych ward at Ponyville General. Again. Right where the Order would want her, too."

"Again?" Spike asked.

"Don't ask," I said, shaking my head. "But wait... Why haven't Big Mac and Rarity attacked Pinkie Pie outright? They know she's on our side!"

"I was thinking the same thing! I asked her that, and Pinkie just said that you would know why Rarity was leaving her alone, and it would make much more sense coming from you. Like, she really insisted you be the one to tell me. So, I was hoping you knew. Don't you?" he asked me.

I paused and thought about it. "Spike, I don't have any idea. I have a lot of questions for Pinkie Pie..."

"Oh. Um... are you going to challenge Rarity?" asked Spike.

"Well... I can probably hold my own against Rarity in public speaking and talk my way out of whatever quagmire she's embedded me in. I'm nearly as good of a speaker as she is, and I have a lot of goodwill built up here. Besides, I'm a freaking Princess! Even if they think I'm nuts, it's not like they can countermand my orders," I said. "But I can't challenge her quite yet."

"Why not?" he asked.

"I don't like dealing with unknown quantities, Spike," I explained. "I need to translate Princess Celestia's message first. Without knowing where she stands or what our combined plan of attack will be, any action I take could be extremely foolish. I also want to speak to Pinkie tonight before making further plans."

I had several hours available to translate Princess Celestia's cryptic letter before Pinkie Pie was likely to stop by. Fortunately, I was able to do it in about ninety minutes (yes, I suppose I am bragging just a little). It's very clever, actually. I've decided to include the intermediary translations in case the reader would like to try their hoof at it. The first hint isn't spoilered, because you need it to begin at all:

Hint 0: This is a letter from Princess Celestia to me about the vampony situation. It must be tricky to figure out, so only I would be likely to unlock it quickly. But it must also be easy to translate once the trick is known, because time is of the essence.

I should mention that the script Princess Celestia used was a little unfamiliar. Celestia has a very precise hoof when she writes, even though she doesn't use her hooves for it anymore, of course. Each letter is very clear and very exact, with no extra flourishes or anything. Just simple sans-serif letters, perfectly formed. The script here is slightly rougher. It's still just as exact, still sans-serif, but it has gentler, more swooping strokes and lazier intersections. It's a little rougher in appearance, overall. But the exactness is the same, which is something you only get from centuries of practice no doubt! It seems clear to me that she modified her writing style to mask the fact that this message came from her. Even the angle of the letters is just a little off: instead of straight up and down, there is a very slight tilt to the left. Fortunately, I'm not so easily fooled by superficial differences like these.

Here is the exact ciphertext, with spaces replaced by _ for legibility:

!@_#[[$_%%#)({}%
^_&''*_%<;(_!^$@#/*_)/[{(_@^'_"!:,
([[[*_&:(_'@@@!##_!*_<._%"*_#""::;(_@&'_>^*$@#_%<_&+!
@#'_!@@%_.%%_,,,,,._%<_($#%$$;_:"'<$
&*_=$._.<_,,,$$$_/*_%@#$#@#
:;+[[}@_"]<_&](_/{@._%&^^^#_/@_%@@(_?*#%##@_=@=@=@=@@._=!!!!%_/*_%@<>>>#
^%_^(_^!@#$%$#$*_%%%%_@"'_#<_.$%_((**)#_^)()(^%$%"._:',,%_%...$_,.<(
??????????@_,!@@!!!;_::::%_))))...[._+(){){].*_^(_^****)_:_?!@!@!@&._<)_%%*_,&"
#<_.$%_(!!$+_<)_^%_%<_:^&$@@@
#<_.!%_:!!!!@%_%<_>%@##*_%.<(_^>>><<<,,,._^._:$@_"*@
^_"[],_%{@_%<_)}}#_:_(!$#@%%._%<_<!$_!)(**,_>!!@#@!_#;;::;_!@_?'"'%_%<_%^*_=,,''.,_+=###.!
>((%$*_/*_(@#@@;_>%%%%$#(_%%%%%%%%_(!@!$^*
@@'_:{*_%}*_<[]@_>[[@_^_=,._%,,,%_$...%_.<"_:>#_^_+;:"_@?'_(?!!,_./%_)/=,_!*
>+++[()(_=##=@==:

As advertised, it's pretty tough! You would need to be a master cryptographer (like me) to solve this one without at least the following hint, which turns it from tough to straightforward:

Hint 1: Only the symbols at the beginning and end of each word are meaningful!

I figured this hint out because first off, the number-of-letters distribution matches up with formal writing, indicating that each string of symbols is likely a word of the appropriate length. But the existence of many three-or-more symbol progressions suggested that if all of the symbols were meaningful, there would necessarily be some odd two-for-one substitutions or a rotating cipher, and even then the message would need to have been tailored specifically to create that effect. Since this is overly complex and highly unlikely, I tried to translate it under the assumption that only the first and last letters in each word (the most important ones to determine what the word is) were ciphered; and that the remaining symbols stood for "any letter". This assumption turned out to be correct.

This epiphany makes it much easier to solve the resulting ciphertext, which becomes:

!@ #--$ %------%
^ &--* %--( !-----* )---( @-' "--,
(---* &-( '-----# !* <. %-* #-----( @-' >----# %< &-!
@-' !--% .-% ,----. %< (-----; :---$
&* =-. .< ,----$ /* %-----#
:-----@ "-< &-( /--. %----# /@ %--( ?-----@ =--------. =----% /* %-----#
^% ^( ^--------* %--% @-' #< .-% (----# ^---------. :---% %---$ ,--(
?---------@ ,------; :---% )-------. +-------* ^( ^----) : ?-------. <) %-* ,-"
#< .-% (---+ <) ^% %< :-----@
#< .-% :-----% %< >----* %--( ^---------. ^. :-@ "-@
^ "--, %-@ %< )--# : (------. %< <-$ !----, >-----! #----; !@ ?---% %< %-* =-----, +-----!
>----* /* (----; >------( %------% (-----*
@-' :-* %-* <--@ >--@ ^ =-. %---% $---% .-" :-# ^ +--" @-' (---, .-% )--, !*
>------( =------:

Note: The - symbol means "any letter". The symbols []{} are unused, and probably correspond to unlikely letters like 'q' or 'x' (there are twenty-two symbols, so four letters are absent).

At this point, an amateur cryptographer (with the knowledge of my situation that this journal provides, of course) could solve the puzzle without too much difficulty.

Just to provide a challenge for the reader who is not a cryptographer (but why not become one, it's fun!), I will post one more version of the text before the final cut, with this enormous hint provided:

Hint 2: Below I have replaced all of the symbols with their corresponding letters, so now all you have to do is figure out which words start and end with those letters and are of the appropriate length.

With this last hint, a partial translation should be possible even if you know nothing about cryptography. Well, maybe not for anypony, but I think most ponies have a good chance to figure out most of it. So give it a go! (This journal has to be worth more than just scarring its readers for life, right?) Here is the next-to-final version:

my d--r t------t
i h--e t--s m-----e f---s y-u w--l
s---e h-s u-----d me on t-e d-----s y-u p----d to h-m
y-u m--t n-t l----n to s-----g a---r
he c-n no l----r be t-----d
a-----y w-o h-s b--n t----d by t--s v-----y c--------n c----t be t-----d
it is i--------e t--t y-u do n-t s----d i---------n a---t t---r l--s
v---------y l------g a---t f-------n k-------e is i----f a v-------n of t-e l-w
do n-t s---k of it to a-----y
do n-t a-----t to p----e t--s i---------n in a-y w-y
i w--l t-y to f--d a s------n to o-r m----l p-----m d----g my v---t to t-e c-----l k-----m
p----e be s----g p------s t------t s-----e
y-u a-e t-e o--y p--y i c-n t---t r---t n-w a-d I k--w y-u s---l n-t f--l me
p------s c------a

This is the most awesome thing (I start to sound like Rainbow Dash when I geek out, I'm realizing) Princess Celestia has ever sent me! Well, maybe not exactly the most awesome, but it was really fun to decipher. It took me about ninety minutes.

Below is the final translation. Words marked with (?) are uncertain. Words with possible alternates are likewise marked. The message is clear, however:

my dear twilight
i hope this message finds you well
spike has updated me on the details you passed to him
you must not listen to shining armor
he can no longer be trusted
anypony who has been turned(?) by this vampony connection(corruption?) cannot be trusted
it is imperative(impossible?) that you do not spread(?) information about their lies(laws? loss?)
voluntarily(?) learning(?) about forbidden(?) knowledge is itself(?) a violation of the law
do not speak of it to anypony
do not attempt to pursue(peruse?) this information in any way
i will try to find a solution to our mutual(?) problem during my visit to the crystal kingdom
please be strong princess twilight sparkle
you are the only pony i can trust right now and i know you shall not fail me
princess celestia

I may have mistranslated some of the larger words, even those I didn't mark, but in cases like this (information, knowledge, etc.) I can't imagine a different word that might significantly alter the intended message. I admit there is a chance that something important is being overlooked, but I don't think it's a realistic thing to worry over. Princess Celestia wouldn't send me something written too vaguely to parse properly.

Unfortunately, Celestia's letter appears to support to what Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were saying about her blocking open inquiry and scientific documentation. I don't like this one bit. I have some hard questions to ask my mentor. But I still trust her, and for now will work under the assumption that she is entirely in the right, as this is typically the case (and I don't think the data suggest her rectitude in this matter is impossible).

One thing, however, is unclear. The princess went to a lot of trouble to tell me not to trust the vamponies and not to spread any information about what they've told me. Hell, it's like, 80% of the message! That doesn't make a lot of sense if I'm supposed to be helping out here. When she mentioned "do not speak of it to anypony", she must have been referring not only to my brother's lies, but also to the information we've gathered about the vamponies. I'm not one-hundred percent on this, but I am fairly certain she is ordering me to avoid passing any information out publicly.

This means I'm not allowed to confront Rarity, and I can't tell any of the truths I know in public. I can't say anything about vamponies, or the sex, or Shining Armor's plans, or Luna's Night Guard, or any of the details that suggest there actually is a menace afoot. I suspect that Princess Celestia knows the vamponies are extremely dangerous, and all hell will break loose if we go public (and that would be a Bad Thing at present).

All I can do now is wait for future orders from her. In the interim, I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon researching a method for recovering dream details from a pony's subconscious. I'll wait until Pinkie arrives to make my next entry.

I'm going to have to add information about what happened in the hills soon. Celestia forgive me.

After a couple more entries, I'm pretty sure I didn't leave anything from this one. So I'm going to use the extra space I left here to give details on the Six Keys of Friendship prophesy.

This is a very old prophesy, more than a millenium old (it might even be older than Princess Celestia, though that's kind of a scary thought). The book is merely a couple of centuries old because it traveled through time like the rest of the Crystal Kingdom when King Sombra sealed it away.

The gist of the prophesy is straightforward. There is a tree of "creation" (obviously the Tree of Harmony) which one day will "yield fruit" in the form of a locked chest. That much we already knew.

There are also six friends who represent six "truths". I recognize the first five as "celebration", "honor", "law-abiding", "sharing/producing", and "tending/overseeing". I'm 99.98% certain that these correspond to Laughter, Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, and Kindness, as they are called today.

Curiously enough, I don't know what the sixth word is! I know it's not "magic", so I presume it's a magic-related word (since my element is obviously Magic). I'm stumped, however, because I can't find any references to it anywhere. The only sources I have for this ancient dialect are books that chronicle trade disputes, legal matters, and of course, magic. So I don't have any poetry or works of fiction or cultural information, but this word appears here so it must have a relevant meaning. Whatever this word is, it's very short (two glyphs long!) so it must be a very important word, even though I've never seen it before. I'll have to ask Celestia. (If you're curious, I believe the word would sound like "tss-aa", where the "aa" sounds like a mix of "ah" as in "call" and the short "aa" as in "cat". Also, the vowel rises in pitch as you say it.)

Anyway, here's the prophesy. When the six ties (friends) come together, each key will reveal itself (or spring into being) in turn. The sixth key can only appear after the five. Every key is described as a "key of learning" but the sixth key is a "key of sacrifice". Hmm.

Once the keys are together, the six (friends) will unite to open the box and release... something. This one is a proper noun, I'm sure. Part of the noun means "what is called" so that might mean "what you summon", or "something previously named", or even just "the right thing at the right time", which magic and prophesy tend to do. I don't think the prophesy gives enough information to tell what's in the box. What's inside? We just have to open it.

Of course, there is a puzzle to solve before that question can be answered: I still don't know what my key is. Magic, and a key of sacrifice? Given what I know about the Order, well... I'll bet you're thinking the same unfortunate thing I'm thinking.

I'm more than a little concerned that the sixth key might be my horn.