9th Entry:

Fort Gale is as impressive as any of the other Pagasus aerial constructions that I've seen, even if its size pales in comparison to that of Pegasopolis. At the moment I can only observe it from the ground, however. After talking to the officer in charge of such things, I was informed the pegasi are not accustomed to having ground-based guests, and that I would be without regular lodging, were it not for the kind hospitality of a local unicorn family.

The Stone family operates a gem mine in the area, and it appears that I will be staying with them for the foreseeable future. Although, with any luck I'll be able to observe some of their spells so that I might add them to my own growing list.
The family consists solely of the father, named Slate, and his two daughters, Gem and Sand. The eldest of their children, Gem, has offered to give me a grand tour of their property. I might even take her up on it one of these days.

I'm told that recruit training starts tomorrow with some light calisthenics followed by spell practice for myself, and aerial maneuver instruction for the other recruits. It's really starting to look like I am the only magician in the unit. I need to remember to write to Penny, informing her of my safe arrival in Prance. I should probably leave out the whole cockatrice encounter though. She'd probably wring my neck if she found out I'd put myself against anything really dangerous.

10th Entry:

It seems news of my status has finally passed through the ranks. Whispered callings of Starswirl the Banished were destined to form, but it doesn't feel any better coming from a self-proclaimed 'Superior Officer', named Lieutenant Thunderhead, who has taken it upon himself to inform me that I am nothing more than a worthless asset as far as he's concerned. He even attempted to complain that my first day of self-instructed magic training wasn't as strenuous as it should be. Had I less sense about me I may have blinded him with my newest spell. Alas, managing to remain calm seems to be a necessary skill when dealing with the denser military types.

Needless to say, I didn't bother sticking around after drills. I left for the Stone's home at the edge of town, hoping that I could accept Gem's tour proposal. As I was cutting through town, I came across a tailor shop. Sadly, there didn't seem to be anything there to my liking. If I'm going to be some sort of combat spell caster, I'm going to need something a bit less cumbersome than armor in order to not impede my casting. Not too many of the casual offerings they were offering would fare very well in battle either.

The outfits that the Platinum Guards wear are more suited for close combat. It's ideally designed for either defense or offense depending on which type of castor is using it. Being raised on neither discipline, I think I might need change up some things as far as a uniform goes. Thinking up ideas on what would make my clothing the most useful kept me occupied until I made it to the edge of town, the Stone Manor visible upon the valley slopes.

It didn't take long to locate Gem and take her up on her tour. Many questions were passed back and forth between us regarding family histories and I answered as best I could. At some point I asked her how her family manages a complex of a task as running a mining operation. This earned me a confused look from the mare.

She questioned why a Celestial Clan member would ever want to know about the fine details of prying gemstones from rock. I assume she was only worried that my family was trying to buy out her family's operation, to which I assured her that I was only showing interest in order to sate my innate curiosity. In truth I was just interested on how they used their magic to locate and remove the gems without compromising the mine shaft's structural integrity. Much to my amazement, I've learned that the Stone family hires Earth ponies to dig up the gems instead of using magic.

Upon inquiring why they preferred to use other races instead of Unicorns to extract the gems, my tour guide unintentionally gave me what I needed to discover the basics involving their family spell. Their spell wasn't just a basic clairvoyance spell modified to detect the precious stones, as I'd first suspected, but rather they used an alteration type spell that let the gems reflect light even through the rock walls. My guess is that another unicorn casts a specific kind of light, with its color and intensity altered to match the types of gem that are desired.

The type of light used must be the proprietary portion of the Stone's spell casting technique. I should be able to ask for training in the rock alteration portion, in order to help the family business during my stay of course, without arousing suspicions.

11th Entry:

The last few days have been much the same. Morning magic practice down beneath Fort Gale followed by a quick meal in town before leaving to assist my hosts. I've convinced the father to let me learn the portion of the spell that didn't involve any proprietary information, and I soon hope to add the alteration magics to my training regimen.

Today, I ran into Frigid waiting outside the small establishment that I've been frequenting for my mid-day meals. He apparently had been waiting for me in hopes of what he described only as 'hanging out'. Frankly, I was a little surprised to hear from him again considering what the rumors surrounding my arrival were saying about me. I invited him to join me for lunch.

Frigid said that he had heard the rumors of my banishment but that he didn't care. He considered himself my friend, and after that whole incident with the cockatrice he wasn't going to hold anything in my past against me. At least as long as I continued to help others, he insisted. That's when he decided to inform me of the reason why he decided to join up with the freelancer group.

It turns out that he has a younger sister back in his hometown whom he cares for deeply. He came out here so that he might learn to be able to protect her better. When we ran into the cockatrice, he froze up whilst I charged in. If he could learn to be more courageous by following my example, then he would be glad to be able to fight by my side.

When I informed him that I thought our last adventure was less about courage and more about brash recklessness, he said that it didn't matter. If he could fight to protect ponies, including his sister, from the dangers of our world, then the motivations behind the actions didn't really matter.

Reflecting on his words, I've come to understand that I have made a wise friend indeed. Even if he himself didn't understand just how much wisdom his words held.

Our talk took a brighter turn after that and Frigid informed me that a lot of the hostility I had been receiving from superiors stemmed from the fact that I couldn't attend the normal briefings and such that took place up in the clouds. Why they hold these types of things in such high regards is beyond me, but if being stuck on the ground was what was causing such grief, then I'd better add 'finding a way to get to the fort' to my list of things to do.

12th Entry:

After several failed attempts at conjuring a set of wings that would allow me to visit the offices of my command structure, I've enlisted the help of my friend to try and see if I could alter the properties of the cloud itself. Maybe then I could use it to ferry myself to up to the fort. The tiny cloud he managed to procure was less than ideal, but it was better than nothing. Frigid also informed me of the fact that there are different types of clouds, but aside from storm clouds I still haven't been able distinguish between them easily.

The cloud that I was using for practice was one of the denser varieties that would normally be used for constructing one of the buildings that the pegasi are so fond of. At least that's what I was told, my hoof still passed cleanly through it, hardly disturbing the surface when I attempted to touch the cloud. I asked Frigid if he knew how the cloud normally reacted to his touch, and how it was supposed to support his weight. After observing his 'demonstration' which consisted of him simply jumping onto the cloud, I made some closer observations.

Not only did my pegasus friend not pass through the cloud, but the cloud actually seemed to push back. This means that the cloud is actually more dense when it comes into contact with pegasi magic. While I'm not sure I can't simulate that particular magic, I might just be able to modify how the cloud reacts to my own hooves.

I enveloped myself in an aura that would pull the cloud material towards my hooves in order to simulate the observed effects. I tested the effects by attempting to jump onto the cloud as Frigid had done earlier. The result was myself completely covered in cloud, thoroughly soaked. After Frigid pulled himself out of his fit of laughter and helped get the cloud off of me, I decided that we would continue the experiment after we figured out what the spell was still missing. That, and the fact that we were now without a cloud with which to conduct more tests.

13th Entry:

Success! I can't believe that I'd forgotten to take into consideration the fact that pegasi magic has the potential to lessen the weight of objects under its influence. I've also learned not to apply the actual cloud interaction to anything other than my hooves. Now if only my superiors could understand how much effort it takes to develop a such a spell. It was nice to see the surprised look on everypony's faces when a unicorn just strolls through Fort Gale. I still need to be transported via cloud or cart with the help of a pegasus, but at least now they can't claim that I'm trying to exempt myself to their normal operations.

To celebrate my success I've decided to go ahead and purchase the supplies I'll need to make my new uniform. If I'm going to spend any length of time in a pegasus structure I'm going to want to stay at least a little bit warm. Gem has even volunteered to help me put it together, a boon considering I've never attempted to sew anything together before. I'm not sure whether or not she has any experience either, but she has been insistent on spending more time with me.

If my relationship with her is headed in the direction I think she's intending, I may just have to distance myself before she can get too attached. No reason to ruin her family's standing by intermingling with one whose standing is in as such a questionable position as my own. Besides, I've no reason to tie myself to a singular location just yet. There are only so many spells that I can learn from hurling magic at targets.

I still need to see more of this world. Learning it's secrets and how to use them advantageously is almost a stronger motivator than wanting to help others.

14th Entry:

I've received another letter from Penny. She's been talking to the unicorn guards on my account. Nothing that's cause for banishment, just tips on how to increase casting stamina. Apparently the Alteration Class Spells that I've been using are on the higher end of spell casting as far as how much magic they drain when cast. The conjuration spells that they use are capable of multiple casts depending on the mass of the object being created. The suggestions they've provided for a training regimen also include prioritizing a reduced recovery time between spells instead of focusing on the overall number of casts.

I plan on implementing this into my training plan tomorrow.

15th Entry:

During training, I noticed that the Pegasi were amassing a number of rain clouds above the town, but were stockpiling them instead of laying them out as they normally would for a storm. I asked Frigid what was going on during our normal lunch break. He asked If I knew what a Firefly was. Other than something a Phoenix might like to snack on, I wasn't sure what it was exactly. Frigid then proceeded to berate me on missing so many daily briefings (I've really got to stop the habit of only going about once a week).

As it turns out, Fireflies are a pest from the southern badlands. They appear as a swarm every half century or so, burning everything in their path before returning to the badlands to repeat the cycle. A swarm was recently spotted by one of our scouts and would be hear in a few days. The rain clouds were being made as fast as possible in order to keep the flaming insects from setting the town ablaze.

Lunch ended early as Frigid had to get back to work manufacturing clouds. I got a lift up to the fort to see if there was anything that I could assist with. I was told, under no uncertain terms, that unless I had a way to turn all of the Fireflies into some less harmful insect or learn to make clouds, that there wasn't much that they would let me do. Needless to say, telling me that I'm not able of assisting makes me more determined to find a way around such implied limitations.

We have a few days, and I have a plan.

16th Entry:

I've spent a busy couple of days preparing for the swarm. The spell is complete, but I don't have any time to really test it. Luckily, it doesn't require any of the limited knowledge I have in Conjuration. For this to work it will require all of the information I've obtained concerning Alteration Magic, as well as the fast casting practice I've managed so far. I can't alter the Fireflies because I've never studied them, and I've never tried conjuring clouds but I have learned a thing or two by manipulating them.

The variant spell I've created is designed to be used on the houses in town. I plan to envelop as many flammable buildings as I can, in hopes that it can whisk away any heat produced by fire. I'm not sure how many buildings I can protect, but it should work if any part of the swarm makes it past the pegasi's Storm Curtain that they've been surrounding the town with.

I should probably get some rest before tomorrow. A red glow can be seen in the distance, caused by the fires that are already spreading in advance of the swarm. I believe that the insects will be arriving sometime around noon.

17th Entry:

A few days have passed since my last entry. I can say that the swarm was more than anything I could have imagined. An untold number of insects all trying to burn anything they could touch. I've been told that the reason they do this is because they need to consume the ash. Luckily the town was encircled within the veil of constant rain being maintained by the freelancer pegasi. As long as the bugs chose to stay near the ground where they could feed on the ash there was no chance that the town was in any real danger.

After being a little let down that I wouldn't be of much help, a frantic Gem Stone practically crashed into me, thwarting my observations. Her younger sister, Sandy, was nowhere to be found. Gem thought that she might have escaped back to their house, which had been sealed up before the family had sought shelter within the veil. It also happened to be the only structure which I felt the need to cast my spell on. Even though it was mostly made of stone, it wasn't near enough to the town to gain protection via storm cloud.

We ran into Mr. Stone after we rushed to the veil nearest the house. He was nearly distraught asking to see if anypony had seen Sandy, but still no word about her whereabouts had come. I offered to check the house.

I stood in the rain for a bit, soaking myself and my new cloak as much as possible before I venturing out into the swarm. After casting the Flame Ward spell on myself, I galloped into the swarm. The tiny insects kept haphazardly bumping into me in their attempts to set me aflame, only to have the flames rapidly whisked away. The sudden loss of their element caused every Firefly that came into contact with the spell to fall away, dead. Apparently, they were unable to sustain themselves once their flames died. Sadly the spell did not last for long on a moving pony such as myself, and would need to be recast before I reached my destination. My dampened cloak was my only protection while I recast the spell. The only problem when this occurred, was that the Firefly were free to attack as many times as they wished. By the time I reached the stone house, I was almost completely dry.

After sealing the door behind me, I quickly searched the house. I almost missed the little filly tucked away inside her closet, leaving its safety only to investigate the sound of my bell, while clutching something to her chest. I learn that she had forgotten to bring her doll with her to town earlier today. When she overheard some adults talking about swarm arriving, she came to retrieve her treasured toy. Once the insects arrived, she became trapped here. At least she had managed to seal herself within the enchanted walls. I shudder at the thought of her being left to wander outside during this ordeal.

Her family left to worry back in town, and no guarantee that the pests wouldn't eventually find a way around my wards, I convinced Sandy to accompany me to the veil. I removed my cloak and had her climb atop my back, then soaked the cloak with water once more before covering the both of us with it. I made sure the enchantments were holding before we left the safety of the house.

Maintaining the ward on myself and the filly while galloping towards the proved to be quite difficult, and soon it began to weaken. Sandy let out a whimper every time a Firefly noisily collided with the cloak covering her, a dull thud followed by a whisper of steam. I did my best to maintain the ward, but after a few casts my magic was already beginning to wane. I would just make it with what would be my last cast, but the thickest part of the swarm lay between us and the safety of town. My spell wasn't going to endure the number of hits that the solid wall of Fireflies would impart.

Instead of casting the final ward on the filly and me, I pulled together every last bit of magic power that I had left and quickly grafted the Fire Ward into my Solar Flare spell. I blasted a crater into the scorched wall, which rapidly sucked the insect's cumulative heat into the rain. The last of my energy spent, my final memory was that of myself collapsing from exhaustion, just short of the veil.

I'm told that, luckily, that the crowd of ponies that had gathered to search for Sandy had witnessed my final spell. They crossed through the rain and pulled us to safety before the swarm could reclaim us. Had it not been for an unexpected effect of my spell, they might not have even managed that. The massive amount of heat sucked away from the insects by my magic was pushed into the veil, apparently causing the the falling water to convert to steam so violently that it suppressed any nearby insects who managed to survive the initial spell. This leads me to believe that my understanding of Fire Ward is not as complete as I thought. The dissipated heat doesn't disappear at all, it likely just moves somewhere else.

The swarms have subsided and both Sandy and I are doing fine now. I haven't really been able to get away from the gratitude and praise bestowed upon me from the rest of her family though. I've been constantly congratulated for showing the courage to save a filly who, they seem to fail to realize, would have been perfectly safe had she simply stayed inside the still-intact, stone house.

The only casualty, aside from any surface crops outside the veil, seems to be my new cloak, which received numerous scorch marks, my bell being the only part to remain unscathed. I swear that I'm just going to completely cover my next uniform in bells, just so it survives the next random enchanted creature encounter.

I take that back. It's a terrible idea. I seriously doubt that anypony would take me seriously if every move I made was cause for them to cover their ears from the tumult of bell chimes.

18th Entry:

A few more days of rest was all I needed to fully recover. Gem surprised me this morning by bringing a wholesome breakfast. It turns out that the doll that Sandy rescued was a memento from their mother. I feel utterly terrible by thinking that I'm going to break her heart when I leave. I've already decided to put in a request for a transfer to another branch of the Squall Squadron.

I've learned about as much as I can from this place, and as much as I appreciate the adoration of the town, it's time for me to move on. A good portion of my command still hasn't managed to notice just how useful a mage of my talents can be. Hopefully a change of venue will present me with some more insightful colleagues.

19th Entry:

My transfer request was approved, more or less. I had a long talk with the head pegasus-in-charge about the matter. He was actually a witness to my endeavors during the swarm. After what I did earlier, it wasn't hard to prove that the Squadron actually had no idea how I could be of use to them. I was informed that the transfer was initially denied, but instead, I've been given special dispensation. I've been promoted to a new Unicorn-only rank (whatever that means) and I'm allowed to go where I think I'm needed, so long as the squadron has a means to communicate with me.

Frigid took the news well enough, and I'll miss him, but he says he understands the motivations behind my decision to leave. Gem was less that understanding. I tried to explain to her that any sort of relationship with me was just not going to work. I've got nothing to my name, and I still have a job to do. My work is just too important for me to be tied down just yet.

Gem will get over it, I'm sure, with time.

As for my destination, I'm not entirely sure where I'll end up next. After I finish making preparations, and a new cloak, I plan on sneaking into the Capital and saying 'hello' to Penny. Maybe she knows of a place where I might be needed.

Twilight put the quill down. "Another section complete." she thought to herself, just as Pinkie Pie burst the the front door. She had told Pinkie about the pancake recipe in hopes of piquing her interest in history.

"Where is it? Is it in here?" Pinkie yanked Starswirl's journal out from in front of Twilight and began flipping through the pages.

"Careful with that, Pinkie, It's really old and-" Twilight interrupted herself as a single piece of paper fluttered to the floor. "delicate..."

"Oops, I am so sorry, Twilight. I just wanted to find out how to make those pancakes." Pinkie said with a frown.

"That's alright Pinkie, I'll just have to figure out which part of the book it came from."

Twilight grasped the loose paper within her telekinesis and took a closer look at it. Instead of the random recipe or other miscellaneous letter that Starswirl usually kept, this sheet contained only numbers. The numbers were arranged as though they were a series of dates, like so:

3/16/17, 1/6/3, 2/15/14

"That's odd, I wonder what they refer to?" Twilight asked aloud.

"Maybe they were days that were super important!"

As far as Twilight knew, Starswirl didn't spend much time in the Classical Era. Maybe he looked them up afterwards and tucked them in his journal for future reference. Either way It was just another addition to the mystery that was Starswirl.

Spells Learned:
Alteration
Conjure Wings (Butterfly wings? What was I thinking?)
Cloud Walk
Flame Ward

Author's Notes:

Outbreak of Fireflies! What?
Gem Stone - Daughter of the Stone family, has an slight, but un-returned, interest in Starswirl as a romantic partner(probably due to the low number of eligible unicorn in the area.)
Father Stone - Father of Gem and head of the Stone family. Helpful and honest, but strict in a business sense.
Sand Stone - Youngest daughter of the Stone family
Lieutenant Thunderhead - One of the higher ups of Squall squadron.

Recipe text:

-Pegasopolis Pancakes-
Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups Flour

2 Eggs

1 3/4 cups Milk

1 spoon Vanilla

1 1/2 cups Skyberries
Directions:

Mix eggs, flour, milk, and vanilla in a bowl until you reach a well-combined but still lumpy consistency. Gently add berries into the mix until evenly distributed, taking care not to crush them. Pour small amount onto a hot griddle, flipping them once bubbles start to force themselves up through the uncooked batter. Once the pancake has cooked to a golden brown on both sides, it is ready to be served.
Starswirl's Notes:

The first time I had this it came with a side of Poison Joke. The taste was energetic regardless of the harmless entertainment value I provided my cohorts shortly thereafter. If I never see that magic flower again it will be too soon. Also, instead of throwing the berries while mixing the batter placing them onto the pancake in concentric patterns while they cook keeps them intact and sates any obsessive tendencies.