~ From Applejack’s Diary:

June 3rd:

Fluttershy came by today to ask for some more fish for her critters. Still doesn’t make sense to me, but it gives me an excuse to sit back and relax for a few hours. It’s supposed to be a real scorcher this whole week, and everypony doesn’t feel much like working. I’d do anything to beat the heat today.

I found this spot out by Starfall Mountain I’ve wanted to try fishing in. The forest is really dense there, right where the mountain’s cliff face meets a deep gorge and the trees get so thick hardly any daylight gets through. I don’t think many ponies ever go down that way – it was nice and quiet when I walked through while looking for Winona. There’s a waterfall there that comes from some kind of underground cave network, and when I went and checked it out last time, the river was full of great big trout. At the very least, it’ll be fun wrangling those fellas.

A big storm’s moving in tonight, but tomorrow should be the perfect time to put that fishing hole to the test.

June 4th:

I had the strangest encounter today while fishing.

The trout were biting something fierce – I could barely reel them in fast enough, it felt like. I’d filled Fluttershy’s quota in the first fifteen minutes, but I decided to hang around and have some fun.

Next thing I know, I get another hit. It had to be the biggest one I’d gotten all day. But when I reeled it in, I found some weird tentacle-looking thing wrapped around the line, tugging like some puppy playing with a rope toy. Then it just let go and disappeared.

I didn’t see it again for a few more casts, but then it did the same thing – caught my line, avoiding the hook, and made me think I had a real record setter on my line. After about the third time, I realized what it was doing – it was playing with me! Like it knew if it yanked on the line, it’d get my attention. I should have gotten upset, but something about it made me want to play along. I can’t rightly explain it, but it felt like it was some kind of child playing a game with me. It was kind of endearing, really.

Think I must’ve played with it for a good two hours. It would come and go, getting a little bolder every time. Then, I felt it touch my foot.

I didn’t pull away rough or nothing, but it startled me. And I guess I spooked it, because it just vanished – never seen something move so fast before. I tried to coax it back out, but it never turned up again.

Tomorrow, I’m gonna go back and see if it’s still there. I probably should go talk to Twi’ or Granny Smith about it, but it seems harmless enough.

June 10th:

It’s been about a week now. The fella doesn’t spook as easily anymore, but it’s still shyer than a sheep around trimming shears. Today was the first time it touched my foot since our first meeting. It did it all slow and nervous-like, but I held real still. It wrapped real gently around my ankle, and tried to pull me into the water, but there weren’t no real effort behind it. Like it was trying to ask me to come in with it. Dunno why, but just realizing that put a whole mess of flutters in my chest, like I’d swallowed a dozen butterflies. Could have sworn it suddenly got hotter too. Maybe the breeze died down, or something.

I pulled back again, and it let me go without putting up a fight. But five minutes later it was back at it, this time looping around both my feet. I don’t know why, but maybe it was the heat, or the way it moved all those big arms under the water, or the way it glows deep down at the river bottom, but I have to admit, its persistence was really starting to make it hard to say no. All day after I left, I wondered what would’ve happened if I had gotten in with it? It don’t pay it get into something’s environment if you barely understand it, I know that. But I can’t shake the thought.

And it’s supposed to be hotter than ever tomorrow.

What’s this? Could it be? Well I woke up with the damn idea in my head, so here we are!

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