(From the desk of Twilight Sparkle)
Dear Princess Celestia:
When you first sent me to Ponyville, I didn't know anything about friendship. After meeting Princess Luna back in Canterlot, I was able to see that she had the same problem. Thanks to her, I learned that the best thing you can do with friendship is give it to others, and help them find it themselves!
The celebration was very briefly interrupted by Typhon, who had another human accompanying him. This other human was even larger than Typhon, with an intimidating visage and booming voice. His name is 'Gilgamesh', possibly a parallel with the Sumareian king of old, and I will make sure to send pictures. We all learned that, even if somepony seems a little intimidating, even scary, when you offer them your friendship, you'll discover a whole new pony underneath. Despite his boisterous persona and peculiar magical abilities of great potency, his behavior kept alternating between that of a proud warrior, an overdramatic actor, and a foal in an adult's body.
He was almost as popular with the children as Princess Luna herself. He seemed to admire her, too, given his shows of respect and formality towards her. He even expressed the same opinion I had, about there being many ponies just waiting to meet her to become friends, she just had to go out and meet them very much the same way I had to stop pushing others away from me.
The Green King Verre appeared and made another interruption. Both new arrivals were very eager to start a fight, but Typhon directed them to the park to have more breathing room. I admit to having gotten nervous, and I asked for their reasons to fight in an effort to get them to stop. Verre told us that her group was brought together by a shared wish to face and defeat strong opponents, which seems to have made an impact in Rainbow Dash, who often said how much she hated to lose and how she loved winning more than 'flying fast'; Gilgamesh was more complex in his motivations, as he has a strong sense of justice but a love for battle, although he explained that it was used simply as a means of testing oneself and their opponent, their mutual convictions, and a way of knowing somepony's true disposition - Shining Armor told me something similar once; Typhon himself simply stated that he fought to help his friends, which meant sending the 'Phantoms' back the way they came from, even if Prosperity commented that he also likes a good spar - making the distinction between a battle for fun and/or self-improvement and a battle out of necessity.
She had strange magic as well, first employing what appeared to be a heavily-modified nature-based stress-relief spell of some kind to improve her concentration and thus her accuracy; Princess Luna has speculated that the blue aura around Typhon signals a similar state with the added benefits of his sensing abilities. Then, Verre used a form of dark magic mixed with martial arts that would have disastrous effects upon the victim. It was scary, but not as much as I thought - there was something about it, and, noticing my confusion, Princess Luna has agreed on instructing me on the mysteries - and, of course, dangers - of the arts.
Curiously, facing possible death just made Gilgamesh happy. He transformed, turning into a greater and more formidable form, with more weapons and more arms to wield them. Before that, he had displayed great speed and considerable strength, to the point Typhon admitted that his own physical prowess was overshadowed in such a way that a fight between the two would require him to not hold anything back, causing the destruction of the surrounding area through their combined powers. After the change? Gilgamesh dominated, displaying frightening power, and allowing Typhon to keep his abilities secret from his opponent; he only engaged in a brief bout of hoo hand-to-hand combat, created a sword out of a patch of grass, and landed the finishing blow.
Prosperity helped Gilgamesh with some magical object, Typhon left only to come back with a small injury, and Gilgamesh made a spectacle of himself by challenging Pipsqueak and the Cutie Mark Crusaders to a mock fight. He also put on a show with music he provided - through an enchanment, apparently. Even if my Starswirl the Bearded costume didn't go over, and despite the interruptions, it was still the best Nightmare Night I ever had.
I was told that the Ribbon would protect me from most of Verre's magic, and many others, so I'm going to always have it near or on me in case of any emergencies. I know that you said to be careful when around Typhon, but I simply cannot stay idle when something important is happening right under my muzzle. I simply cannot stay ignorant of the dangers threatening my friends.
I would never be able to forgive myself if one of them got hurt just because I stood in the sidelines instead of work to prevent it.
Your Faithful student
Twilight Sparkle.
P.S.: If Cadence or my mother ask, Shining is most definitelly not in Ponyville, and certainly under no guise whatsoever. It took me a while to notice, but he still sighs like a lovesick fool when he smells Cadence's favorite anything in the market.
*****
(Shining Armor's observations, diary log entries, reports, and orders)
This is more complicated that I thought.
Now that I could get to see him in a relaxed environment, as well as during a threat to his life, I have come to the conclusion that I simply cannot stay content with mere surveillance. I need to know how deep this goes; I have established clear links between Typhon and two recent additions to the town - a mare and a stallion going by pseudonyms - and... several other ponies, who gladly answered questions when asked.
There is a reason the Wind family is so close to one another, even when the blood-relation is thin and the distances large. He's the link between them. It's him.
Given their contributions to society, it's clear that Typhon does not hold any ill-will towards ponies, and acts much like a proud grandfather if the stories are any indication. He is, in fact, doing his best to keep Equestria in good health.
Save for the parts when the opposite is needed, as it was him who trained the mare involved in the infamous 'Bubble-stream incident', which ended with an overly-aggressive bodyguard twice (perhaps thrice) her size in traction. I need to know how she did that with just a pair of bowls of punch, how could she have commanded her magic with such ease, precision, and alacrity; it's been eating at me ever since I read the report, and the horrid, obvious pun rubs me the wrong way.
The more I learn, which is already at an impossible rate, the more confused I am. I'm trying to keep an open mind, but it's hard. It's hard, being caught up in all of this. It's hard, and nopony understands.
Well, with all the times I have been told 'you just had to ask' and 'why didn't you ask?' I am certain that somepony out there is saying exactly that, and they might understand better than I thought.
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He has not displayed most of the abilities the princesses reported he possessed. No production or manipulation of fire, minimal use of manipulation of weather, minimal use of air manipulation, no use of familiars, no rocket-based transportation devices, minimal evident use of magic, and discrete-if-still-impressive feats of physical prowess.
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The abilities he has displayed are much more subtle. He treads very lightly, specially when in the presence of hostile intent; his every move is subtly controlled and minimalized, likely due to self-awareness born of training and experience. When calm, his movements are loose but gentle; he is in complete control of his physical strength.
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The ability to summon other humans is worrying, more so since it seemed like he didn't know much about this new one.
He has regular contact with other worlds, or at least, is aware of them and the situations happening in them. It could possibly explain certain oddities that would otherwise be inconsistencies.
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The orders are to remain largely unchanged. Civilian safety first; at any sign of danger, prioritize evacuation and protection of other ponies. In case of anomalous weather of larger scale than what is available to a regular pony, investigate source, abstaining from involvement should that source be Typhon. Do not engage; he is hiding the full extent of his capabilities, and just one of the reported powers he possesses are beyond the scale of most ponies, more so all of them at once. He is noticeably non-aggressive, but is willing to defend himself and his friends; any conflict that arises is to be resolved as pacifically as possible - his friends, most of which we know nothing about, are also willing to defend him if his daughter is to be believed. Discourage would-be hunters hoping for a reward - there is none, and the 'Phantoms' are fixated on him, so any hunters will get caught in the crossfire. Should another being, particularly humans, be around him, proceed with caution and determine intent, acting accordingly.
Treat the dragon with caution. She is, technically, covered by the treaty - regardless of her particular family situation - and a civilian. Movements similar to those of Typhon in parts, confirmed to be because of combat training. Proficient in the use of a sword, likely magical in addition of being magically assisted. Capable of enchantment and spellwork, likely through similar means to Typhon.
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His daughter is not worried about the guard, citing that, if the guards from three centuries ago did not concern her, the current generation wouldn't, either. A harsh blow to our pride, but sadly quite accurate; I'm trying really hard to change the current... "policies" and make them train more and polish less. Night Guards have the right mentality and better combat training than Day Guards, but I have the feeling that nocturnal combat makes no difference to them.
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Must remember parade-grade armor polish. Cadence likes it when she can see herself in my armor.
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Prosperity, Typhon's adoptive daughter, can cast spells and enchant items. Hoards knowledge and friendship - somehow - and has done so with the works of preeminent ponies through history, casters most likely included. A complex spell was performed to reduce her size and shift her appearance; assume, as is SOP, that it can be broken at will and thus release a full-size adult dragon in the middle of a situation. Willing to use her mind and hone her skills for the sake of self-improvement and defense of her hoard; shows a degree of contempt or antipathy towards dragons that just grow fat atop their hoards. Abilities largely unknown, but clearly above those of 'regular' dragons, if our own encounter with dragons is anything to go by.
Also, she bucking knows who I am. It took me several hours to notice. She made comments about how delicious certain earrings looked, but also how perfect for a wedding proposal they were - the Bearer of Generosity mentioned that they were 'simply divine' on certain colors of coat, including pink. She keeps making subtle jabs at me like that, just like Typhon announced how I chickened out postponed proposing to the four winds.
Note: Find out if Typhon can send messages through the wind.
Though nopony else seems to have noticed, save Typhon. I just hope Twilight doesn't know, and she doesn't tell the Princess Celestia about it.