What are an ambassador's duties, exactly? Am I to be learning more about this strange new culture? Am I to be making deals, or signing contracts or treaties? Should I be teaching the ideals of my people to the residents here?

This is something I have been pondering the past couple of days as I have been ushered around from place to place excitedly by numerous individuals striving to get my attention. I could best compare what is happening to be much like a new student in a grade-school class whom everyone wishes to meet, or perhaps the foreign exchange student who arrives halfway through the school year. I'm something new and special now instead of something weird and scary.

I would write this down as a Psychology Discovery, but it might have to wait until I return to Keycrescents and do a bit of research to confirm my suspicions: That this is indeed a part of equine psychology there too (a herd mental that dictates the Alpha must approve or dismiss a new object or stimuli before the rest of the herd will approach it willingly).

I have actually been enjoying the attention, and it has taught me alot about the lifestyle here in this place called Canterlot. There is a fair bit of aristocracy here as I had originally observed, but I have also found it to be a very studious community too. There is even a special school here for gifted and talented young unicorns where I have had the pleasure of being given a tour. Considering that their matriarch is located here, I am assuming this place is the nation capital of Equestria.

Political Discovery: I have not yet decided if the state of this ruling is a monarchy or a theocracy, but what I have been able to discover is a bit more about the regional division of political structures: Equestria itself is very large, and I would state is more suited to be the name of the continent itself rather than just a nation. The main ruler over all of Equestria would be Princess Celestia, who has the final say on any decision that must be made. That, however, would be a responsibility impossibly large for any single being to handle. This is where I have learned of provinces: Provinces of Equestria happen to be political divisions of land that are ruled over by a Duke or Duchess (which I believe are at least mostly Alicorns: A pony sporting both wings and a horn) who handles the decisions of local affairs for their province. They are all subsidiaries of Equestria, however, and as such, they still must follow the mandates and decisions set by Celestia. The ladder of power seems to extend rather far in some cases: Some provinces prefer to also have lords and ladies, followed by governors, then mayors, and on down until they feel comfortable with the distribution of responsibilities.

I have tried to learn a bit more and have discovered the name of the capital province of Equestria: "The Sun of Chance" is the name of the province that Celestia directly advises, and is where I have been since I arrived. Ponyville and Canterlot are two cities that happen to fall within its borders. There seems to be a dispute as to whether or not Cloudsdale (a city erected upon the clouds by pegasus ponies) is within The Sun of Chance or in the borders of its neighbor, The Sister of Clouds. It seems that the city is prone to shift occasionally across the borders, and both would like to lay claim to it, but Celestia has never made an executive decision.

I actually happened to meet with the Duchess of the Sister of Clouds, Nimbus. She is an Alicorn (though quite a bit smaller than Celestia) with a cerulean pelt and a misty-colored mane. We did not speak much, as she was rather busy and needed to request an audience with the Princess, but I did get to hear some interesting pieces of their conversation since I happened to be present during the audience.

"Princess Celestia, I wished to inform you that we have received final reports of the fate of Clean Ages."

"Clean Ages? Nimbus, it's been over two years since the liquidation of The Bejeweled Leopards: Why are you just getting this done now?"

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but we have been sending out search parties to investigate. My bureau of investigation was hoping to locate the rebels that fled into the nearby rocky wastes. After two years, we may now declare the missing as legally dead and close the case."

"... Legally dead? I see. None of the missing were located?"

"No ma'am, not even the bodies.”

"This now makes sense why you're reporting it directly to me then: So you mean to tell me that I have lost Compass Rose? Was there any specification on what happened?"

"We were able to collect what we believe to be the most accurate recount from a unicorn miner named Amethyst who had been with the expedition since they struck ground back in the year 1212. We have recorded all of our findings in these case files for your review."

Princess Celestia did not seem quite ready to respond, visibly disheartened by the news of this Compass Rose. Nimbus was waiting patiently for her to accept the file, but I could see that it was going to be a heavy burden for Celestia to lift: She was mourning.

Today is one of those days that I happened to feel quite ballsy (as a certain friend of mine, Cooper Thurs used to say), so I stepped forward. "Excuse me, Lady Nimbus, but may I accept that at this time?" I received strange looks from both of them, forcing me to reconsider, but I was in too deep to stop. "I would simply like to know more, and... perhaps I can... assist?" With a sigh of defeat, I was ready to step back and accept that I was only making a fool of myself when I was surprised by an answer.

"I'm sorry Ambassador, but I feel that this is none of your concern, however altruistic your offer may be," Nimbus responded to me, before the Princess spoke again.

"Give him the files, Nimbus. I trust him to review them for me and write a detailed recount of the happenings of Clean Ages."

With a nod, the Duchess relinquished the files to me (though a bit hesitantly). "Very well, Ambassador; please make sure the royal archives receives these once you have completed your synopsis for the Princess. You will find inside detailed transcripts of interviews with individuals still residing in Clean Ages, maps of the patrol routes, photographs of clues and evidence recovered by the investigators, and other information they were able to compile. If you have any questions, please feel free to call upon me: I will not be returning to Cumulin until tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lady Nimbus. I do have one question: Could you tell me what Clean Ages was?"

"Perhaps you should do a bit of reading first," she responded dryly, appearing unimpressed with me, "then you may ask necessary questions. I had the bureau compile those reports for a reason."

Stupid question, stupid answer; however, now that I have done some research, I can surmise that Clean Ages is the name of a settlement that was first erected (or the party at least struck ground) in the year 1212 of the current calendar age.

I have already completed my synopsis of Clean Ages for the Princess, which I rewrote again to make sure my handwriting was more acceptable than in my first attempt. I will include the messy version here for future reference.

Tomorrow is when I will present the breviary to the Princess. I need to stop writing for the evening as I've been informed that I have a visitor. I will update once again when I have more relevant information to chronicle.