I can think of no more appropriate time for our recreation of Songring than spring. The trees all seemingly resurrect themselves into bright greens and the plants flourish back into colorful life once again this time of the year. The creatures that were hidden away from the terrible cold of the winter resurface to begin their lives once more in the fresh air outside. Even when the rain falls at this time of year, the sun is bright and visible through the thin clouds and keeps the drizzle warm to the touch as it splashes all around gently. Like the life around us, The Voices of Subsisting will also spring back into full swing with our bright colors.

After embarking from the old site, it took us a few days of travel before we located a good place to set up. Considering we had to take turns hauling the wagon, we did not get as much distance each day as one might hope for, but we still were able to locate the river I had mentioned and follow it upstream a ways. The name of the river is the Charmedsmile (I can only assume by the way it curves along its banks that it must create the image of someone smiling from an aerial view). Traveling upstream, we were able to find the source of the river, which is a steady flow of melting snow set atop a mountain range known as The Fatal Horns. The river happens to run through a steep canyon at the very base of the mountain ranges, but beyond the canyon, we found an impressive geographical occurrence: A small, lush valley (approximately one mile in diameter) completely surrounded by the mountains that was separated in two by the freshwater river. The small place seemed so serene that I could not pass up going to survey the landscape there. Immediately I was able to paint images in my head of building our structures affixed to the sides of the mountains in the form of verandas and hollowing out the rocky faces to make living spaces. This will be the new home of Songring, and with any luck, will remain so for a long time.

There were some complications when trying to pull the wagon over one of the smaller hills surrounding the valley. I was in the wagon at the time. My mind was preoccupied with sketching a concept of one of the homes I had envisioned on the back of one of the pages near the end of this notebook, but I lost my train of thought when I heard a series of loud shouts behind me from Willow, Springfield, and Salmon (they were pulling the wagon at the time). "Whoa, whoa! Woah!" I kept hearing the word shouted many times over with changes in pitch and severity, so I finally had to look behind me and saw nothing but open space before me above the valley. None of the three ponies were visible anymore.

"... Boys?" I called, wondering why they were not in view as I began to step over the supplies. "Guys? What's going on up there?" As my foot stepped over one of the bins, however, I felt the wagon beneath me shift and creak ominously, followed by the panicked shouts of the three stallions at the same time. I immediately backed up, and felt the wagon ease back accompanied by a few sighs of relief. As a test, I put my foot on the same barrel once again. It was followed by the screams once more, and I felt the wagon tilt forward to view the valley below us more clearly.

"Stop it, Prodder! You're going to kill us all!" Willow erupted from below the wagon as I backed up and let it ease back into a seated position. "Just, stop! Stop moving, and wait a minute!"

"Just need a moment, Lad! We're coming up with a plan! Just sit tight!" Salmon called up as well.

Rubbing my face, I realized now that we teetered on the very edge of the ledge with all three of the stallions dangling below it secured in the harnesses they were using to pull the wagon behind them. I tried to step off of the wagon so I could assist, but as soon as one foot touched the ground, I once again felt the wagon shift and heard the familiar shouts (plus an ear-splitting Willow shriek), so I hopped back in immediately. I was stuck in the back of the wagon until their plan was formulated.

"Hold on, fellas! We're on our way back up!" I heard Maple shout from down the mountain. The rest of the group had gone ahead to scout out a smooth path to take our supplies on. The commotion happened to get the ladies' attention and brought them back up to help. While they made their way back, however, I was left with the three stallions dangling at my whim. How could I pass up such a ripe opportunity?

"Stop doing that, Prodder! It's not funny! We're in big trouble here, and you're just being a dick!" Willow spouted off furiously.

"What was that Willow? Hold on, let me get closer so I can hear what you just called me." With that, I stepped closer to the barrel until the wagon creaked once more.

After letting loose another shriek of terror, Willow composed himself enough to speak shakily. "I'm not kidding, Prodder! I'll beat you until you're the same color as Dawnstar if you don't stop it!" It seemed that Willow was the only one still in a panic over it, as I could hear the other two stallions below snort and chortle at the situation.

"Well, I guess I should just face the music then. I understand you're tied up. Let me just come down there so you can reach me, Willow."

"No! Eeeek! Stop, just stop! Stop doing whatever you're doing! Oh boy, if you were down here right now... the hurting I would put on you, Prodder."

"That can be arranged, just a second."

"Oh Celestia help me, stopstopstopstopstop! Okay, okay, what do you want, Prodder? What will make you stop? I can't take this anymore!"

"We should really see eye-to-eye to conduct business, Willow. One moment."

My fun was cut short as I heard a series of thuds, tumbles, and relieved sighs at the bottom of the ledge. The sound of ropes being cut through with a cooking knife was audible just beneath the flapping of wings. Assuming that the ladies had finally arrived to handle the situation, I reclined in the wagon. Maple finally hopped into the wagon after the three stallions were cut loose, nudging me while she quirked her brow. "Sounds like you're having a blast up here. Not going to invite us to the party?"

"Must have a Y chromosome to participate, sorry Maple." I told her. She had no idea what I was talking about, so that is either a bit too complicated of a concept for her, or they simply do not have much knowledge of genetics in Equestria at this point. Either way, I simply dismissed the joke and asked if it looked like the wagon would be alright if I jumped off now. It was, so I went to go see how far over the ledge we were. One of the wheels was hanging over the side perilously, the other on the same axle only inches away from toppling over and sending our whole inventory tumbling down the side of the mountain. It seemed there was no smooth incline down, but as we were only roughly fifty feet above the level of the valley, we figured we could slowly move the supplies manually to the new location. Pulling the wagon off of the ledge, we began scouting the valley for where we should begin.

I took an immediate liking to the northern mountain range of the valley. The base is rather smooth and straight against the crater, which should make a great place to create buildings on to overlook the valley. There are also a few clefts in the side with some flatland that I believe will make exceptional locations to place the farm plots (it would be nearby but out of the way as to avoid any of the ponies needing to step over it during their day). There was simply one problem with my insistence that we should move to the northern side of the valley.

We had approached from the southern end.

This may still not be apparent as to what the issue was, but remember that we followed the Charmedsmile here, and that it divides the valley by running west to east, creating a northern and southern hemisphere to the valley. As much of an inconvenience as it would be to cross the river, it still seemed possible to merely ignore it and drag our supplies over. As I put my foot in the water to swim to the other side, Springfield silently came over, snatched me back by the collar, and threw me to the ground before I could react. Still in shock, as was everyone else with how he had brutally tackled me, I had to ask him what in the world he was doing.

Springfield picked me back up and told me to watch for a moment as he grabbed for a stick nearby with his mouth, and then thrust it into the water abruptly. I saw the stick jerk violently for a moment, and then grow still as he started to lift it out of the water. It was a frightening sight to see three fish flopping about ravenously on the stick as he held it up to me to get a better look at the creatures he had caught. I saw long, muscular bodies for quick swimming, silver colored scales, and very sharp, pointed teeth that appeared to be interlocking in nature and used for tearing flesh from other creatures. Horrified at the sight, I could only watch as Springfield spat the stick out and back into the river, watching the creatures flail and splash about violently for a few moments before the water became still once more. "Tigerfish," he told me, shaking his head sternly, "Don't try walkin' through that. Even if they don't kill ya, you ain't gonna be living too good after you get in there with a school of 'em."

"Heavens!" Salmon shouted, resting a hoof on my shoulder with another one over his heart to take a deep breath. "That was a close one then! Who knew those kinds of beasties were hiding out here! That must mean we're in the Honoring Mire if that's the case." I asked him to explain what he meant, and he grinned happily as he detailed it for me. "Ah, it's a lowland jungle that rests in the Fatal Horns. I figured it was all on the western side of the range, but it seems this must be part of it. At least some of the fauna from it washes this direction that is." I asked what that might mean for our future here. “Well, it means we could be sharing this area uncomfortably with some large cats and perhaps hippos, but nothing too dire, I believe, if we keep a sharp eye about us."

"Big cats?" Teardrop asked excitedly at his statement, bouncing happily at the idea. "Garnet will finally have some friends then! What kind do you think they'll be? Will they have stripes? Maybe they'll be the pretty black kitties? Oh I can't wait!"

"They'd eat Garnet, and you too," Springfield interjected abruptly, ruining Teardrop's excited mood. "If you see one, you let me know immediately. I don't ever want to catch you going anywhere near one if they show up." Teardrop's ears were pinned against her head in discouragement as Springfield had rebuked her so quickly, and she merely nodded at him.

At this, I was left with the quandary of how to get us and our supplies across the river safely. It seemed apparent to me to merely get Maple to cut down one of the many trees growing close to the bank of the river and have Willow fashion a bridge out of it. We set up a temporary camp near the wagon on the ledge while they worked on it, and after a single day, Willow informed me it was done. I went to inspect the work, and all I saw was a toppled tree lying across the river.

"There, see? Bridge," Willow told me proudly. "Record time too."

"That's not a bridge."

"Okay smart guy, it gets ponies from one end to the other. What, you want it to raise up? Maybe we can set it to do it to a magic word as well? How about I just make it fly and do our laundry too? What high expectations, you micromanaging butthole."

"I'm not micromanaging, but I'm not accepting this bridge either. Make it wider: I won't risk any of these ponies falling in because you're just a loaf, Willow. Let me know when you're done so we can start moving the supplies." To my surprise, it was half a day later when Willow came to me to let me know that it was now done. Disbelieving, I had him show me, and found that I was right to not be keen on trusting his statement. Now, the same tree that was thrown across the river was split in half, and the two halves were pressed together to create a poor crossing. "Are you joking with me, Willow? Is this somehow funny to you?"

"What? You said make it wider: It's like 200% wider! Even a fatty like Salmon could make it across with no problem now." Willow kept looking between me and the bridge, having trouble comprehending why I had such an incensed expression about the situation. "Really? This isn't good enough for you either? Just how wide do you want this thing!? Why not just ask me to cover the whole damn river while you're at it! You’re such a critical douche."

"Stop insulting me for trying to make you do your job with a mote of competence! Make a real bridge this time, and stop wasting my time with your nonsense. How did you even move this tree by yourself to cut it in half?"

"He didn't do it himself, Mr. Benjamen Prodder," I heard Overcast call out from the other side of the river, his pelt dripping wet and a tigerfish flopping about violently as it was latched to his tail and trying to rip the hair out desperately, "I wanted to make myself useful and everything, so I did what he asked and "Got my ass across the river" to help him move the log." With that, Overcast tried shaking his flank around and whipping his tail to get the tigerfish to let go, but he was unable to shake it loose with his pathetic attempts. He simply sighed in defeat and rested on the ground as he waited for more orders from Willow.

"You're in so much trouble,” I told Willow as I shook my head and headed for the camp, planning to speak with Blueprint and Dawnstar about construction plans once we were able to set up on the northern side of the valley.

"What're you going to do?" Willow asked, concerned but putting on a show of confidence.

"I don't know, but you've pissed me off Willow. I'll think of something appropriate eventually. Until then, how about you just get that bridge done." Truthfully, I have no real authority to exact punishment on anyone here, but if he does not know that then I will not tell him for simplicities' sake.

The bridge did finally get completed to an acceptable standard, after another twenty hours or so. It was made from two split logs (four logs wide) laid over the river with wooden planks secured across the top of them to make a flat surface, and the logs secured to each side of the riverbank with splints and ropes. I accepted this as a fine bridge until we had more time and tools to work with to create something safer, but using a bit of caution, this bridge would work. It took us a whole day, but we were able to transport all of our supplies over to the northern side of the valley. Then the real work could begin.

Silence's first work order was to begin hollowing out a living area in the side of the mountain for each of the ponies. To help conserve space from the start, she was advised to dig straight in for a couple dozen feet, then split off and begin digging hallways with small rooms entering off of the corridors in the same manner as a hotel or an apartment complex. The rooms will remain rather small at this time, but I have also instructed Overcast to begin using the stone that Silence pulls out of the mountain while hollowing it out to make some strong doors to allow for some privacy. Willow has already been tasked with creating new beds for everyone, and Maple is busy collecting the wood and gathering the stone the two will need for these jobs. Blueprint is devising clever ways to keep a light source available in the new living quarters, and they seem to be working rather well (she has been very ingenuitive in making a candle stand that funnels the melted wax down the sides and into a candle mold with a new wick already waiting. This allows us to elongate candle life quite easily, and we only need one for each room and a few to line the hallways at this time). Dirtnap has been assisting Springfield, when he can, in tilling up some new fields and planting some seeds for strawberries, prickle berries, and more longgrass. Teardrop has kept herself occupied by throwing together quick meals for us, and taking care of two of Songring's newest pets.

The pets that I mentioned are actually stuck here in this valley due to being unable to climb back up the ledges to get out, so we have decided to adopt and try to domesticate them so that we can have some assistance with labor in the future. Two tanks were here when we first arrived, and we only noticed them after a couple of weeks when one of them decided to take a nap in one of our stockpiles. Maple threw an absolute fit over it, since it was curled up on top of the liquor kegs.

"Prodder! Get out here and take care of this!" I heard her scream one day after I came back from watching Salmon try to catch one of the tigerfish without snapping his line. The huge beast lay draped over the stockpiles lazily. "Get rid of it! Now!" I could not tell what had Maple so absolutely upset, considering quite a few of the kegs were still reachable from beneath it, not to mention she was remaining sober to collect more wood that day.

"Aw," I began as I watched the creature roll onto its back and use a clawed foot to scratch at its plated side leisurely, "It's just taking a nap, Maple. The liquor kegs are probably warm from being out in the sun all day- let the thing sleep for a while."

"What are you talking about?! You're just going to let it stay here? No, you need to make it get out of here. It's... it's big, and stupid, and ugly, and gross. We're going to catch something from it, I just know it. It's probably got all sorts of bugs and diseases. Get Springfield to make it go away!"

"Actually, this gives me a pretty good idea. How about we try domesticating it instead?"

"What?!"

"I mean, it's stuck here since it can't climb out of the valley. Why not see if we can domesticate it?"

"It's a big, useless, freaking lizard, Prodder! If you want it to be useful, then how about we just cut its damn head off and use its hide for something important!" Maple seemed to be set on getting rid of the creature for reasons I still am not sure of, but I assured her that it would be alright. I am not of the persuasion to slaughter the creature for being stuck down here with us and turn it into shoes and handbags, so I will exhaust my other options first.

I contacted Springfield afterwards to ask him if we could perhaps tame the creatures, and he seemed to believe it is possible. He assured me that he would handle their basic training and get them used to interaction with ponies, but requested that we wall off his farmland to keep them out of the important crops. When time permits next season, I will have Willow begin construction on a wall to hold the tanks out of Springfield's farm just in case. The tanks themselves seem rather easy to train, as they are quite comfortable in interacting with smaller creatures. (I cannot tell if they are perhaps a bit dumb and don't realize what danger they might be in, or if they are just secure enough in their plated hides to not care.) In fact, I saw one of them rolling over at Springfield's command for a biscuit, but when he asked me if I wanted to scratch the tank on the belly while he was rolled over on his back, I refused (as awkwardly adorable as one can be staring at you with its tongue hanging out over its face, I am not quite comfortable enough with their size to rub them on their leathery stomachs).

Lastly, I will recall a conversation this evening between Dawnstar and I before I must close this entry for the night as I have to be back to work again tomorrow. It started when she was ready to retire back to her room and asked me if I was going to be getting any sleep soon. I informed her that I would be busy with my journal this evening, but would find a place to retire afterwards. Confused as to what I meant, she asked me, "Find? Don't you have a room? They were installing the doors and beds all day today."

"There are only ten rooms so far. Looks like mine will have to be taken care of tomorrow. It's fine, though. I will be okay without a room until then. I have made it this many weeks without one, so one more night will not be too much to endure."

With a sigh of frustration, she left me for a while as I began writing, and returned to throw a blanket over me and toss a pillow at my side for wherever I might be going. "You are impossible, Mr. Prodder," she said exasperatedly. I asked her what she meant and if my being without a room truly bothered her that much. At first she did not want to respond, but as I insisted, she obliged. "I mean that I am supposed to be learning from you, and yet you are just making it more difficult than it has to be. It's not the going without a room part that I consider to be a problem, it's that it completely conflicts with your previous arrangements, yet you are so complacent about it. Don't you care? Aren't you a bit upset that nopony bothered to make your room as their superior? I thought that with your office back on the shore being what it was, that you valued your own comfort as a necessity to handle the stresses of your position, but now that theory is null because you are acting altruistic enough to just throw your own needs and comforts out and deal with whatever happens to you."

"I am not upset in the least. I'm actually rather relieved that they were able to all have rooms finally; it is the first time they have had a place to call their own and get some privacy in two years. I have only been without it for a few weeks, and comparatively, they are much more deserving of it than I. That office I had was never something I asked them to build me: Overcast started that project voluntarily, and then he got others to join in."

Dawnstar continued to shake her head in disbelief, a tad irritated now I could tell. "It can't just be that easy," she said, ears pinned back.

"Easy?" I asked her immediately, "You think my job is easy?"

"That's not what I meant," she tried to defend her words before I cut her off once more. She had offended me beyond civility at that moment.

"You are the second in command, and you're not even half as stressed as I remain! Easy? The thought that everything rides on you, the knowledge that everyone looks to you for an answer, the understanding that every little thing that goes wrong can and will be used against you and your reputation is classified as easy? You view the fact that some of these ponies' very lives depend on what I tell them each and every day, and that one slip, or miscalculation, or even oversight from me could send this whole operation into chaos and disaster as simple?" She was too stunned to respond as I continued to raise my voice, having dropped my notebook and pen as I stood up. "If you want a little bit of scope into what this job is actually like, how about you spin plates on your face while taking a calculus exam and participating in a debate; and if one of the plates falls, if you get a single question wrong, or if you don't win: everyone you care about dies." I eventually composed myself enough to sit back down and reach for my notebook, muttering angrily, "How dare you say my job is easy."

"I didn't mean it that way," she said, trying her best to not upset me any further with a gentle tone, "I meant your reasoning. Why you do the things that you do. It can't be as simple as just... I don't even know why you do them. That's what I need to know, but I can't understand it. How do you make those decisions each day? What makes you waste all the time and resources to throw Overcast a birthday party? What makes you even so bold as to throw your life on the line for just a single pony when so many others count on you? Where did you learn this? I just can't understand it."

"I didn't learn it," I started to explain, "At least not before it happened." Dawnstar asked me how that was possible, and I shrugged to her. "You still haven't figured it out yet? I'll spell something out for you then: I don't know what I'm doing either. I've never had anyone show me how to do this, or anyone give me advice. Hell, Dawnstar, you probably know a lot more about it than I do because you've gone to school with it in mind! This is my first settlement, and Celestia put me here for some reason she has failed to explain to me thus far. How do I make my decisions each day? I don't know, I just do. Why did I waste so much for Overcast? Because he is my friend, and I wanted to see him smile. Why did I throw my life on the line for Silence? Because she needed someone to defend her, and I was one of the few willing to do it."

"How did you even make it through that? Weren't you scared?" she asked me.

"Only that I was going to lose her like I lost Tick Tock." I looked down for a bit, unable to answer anymore until I remembered something rather special. "I guess all that I've said is not entirely true. I did have some prior knowledge: I wrote a synopsis of the fall of a settlement named Clean Ages before this. The Development Coordinator at the time was a unicorn named Compass Rose, and without regard to his own safety, he offered to fight Rano Warmhearts along with the troops. You know what he said when asked why?"

Dawnstar shook her head, captivated by my very short explanation.

"The will to defend those who look up to me is all the training I need." That was all that I could say of his quote, then I retrieved my notebook and began scribbling pointlessly on a page in the back as I mulled over a few thoughts.

"Now I am even more confused than before. Why did Celestia send me here to learn from you? Why did she choose you for this position if you know nothing about it?"

"You're her student, not me. I don't have a clue. I feel like she just hates me; an allonym for what is truly just a game of “smear the queer” if you will. I can't understand what she has against me, but now she's gotten you tied up into it." With that, I shook my head and stopped scribbling to write something else for her. "I'm sorry," I told her as I dotted the period of my sentence and ripped the bit of paper out to fold it over and hand it to her. As she accepted it, she feared to open it, staring at me questioningly. "I'm sorry that Princess Celestia dragged you into the mess she's made for me. You don't deserve this kind of treatment. That is a pardon; you are free to leave when you see fit. I won't force you to be a puppet in her sadistic little show anymore."

"Is that what you truly think of this whole scenario?" Dawnstar looked down to the pardon with a long pause, deep in thought. "Do you believe that Celestia is only doing this for her amusement or to sate a grudge?"

"What other possibility could it be?"

"I don't know... but I'm willing to find out." Dawnstar folded the pardon notice to put it away, and nodded softly as she stood back up preparing to retire for the night. "I believe I still have a lot to learn, Mr. Prodder... more so now. You're sure that you'll be alright tonight without a room?"

"I'll be fine. Goodnight, Dawnstar, and... thank you for staying with us. With me."

She didn't say anything more, simply left me here alone to write. I am not sure how I can know what is going through her head, but it is also not my concern. She will do as she feels she must. I have given her a decision, and she has made it. If she wishes to do this job one day, then she must be ready to live with her choices, and I must let her live with this one. I hope she knows what she's doing, however, and that maybe her trust in her teacher can be preserved despite how I feel about Celestia and what I can only estimate to be her true intentions.

The days will be no easier if I deny myself sleep. Time for me to find somewhere to crash before tomorrow. Songring is on its way to being able to stand on its own two feet again. The Voices of Subsisting must keep tuning ourselves just a bit more until we are ready to be its symphony.