//------------------------------// // Equestrian Journal Entry: 2 // Story: Equestrian Conjurer // by Lunafan1k //------------------------------// Dear Felix, A lot has happened in the last few days, but I was able to pass on your story to one who needed to hear it, the queen of a race called Changelings, her name is Chrysalis. It moved her in such a way that she will now hold her head high with pride and face the retaliation from the ponies for her past actions. I'm happy for her, she's been through a lot and faced a lot of challenges on her own. Backed against a wall, I can understand her reasoning and the desperation that drove her to her actions. I suppose a bit of explanation is needed. Her race is more similar to those living in the outer badlands back home, though less feral, aggressive, and monstrous. They excel in infiltrating society and feeding on the emotions of ponies, generally by taking the form of a loved one for a few minutes before departing. However, a shortage of energy has plagued them, leaving them unable to transform and those who could still transform needed to kidnap and replace the pony to get as much energy as possible to survive. They even replaced an entire town before being found out and stopped. Yet through all that not a single pony was harmed. I admire their courage to do what must be done and to do it safely, even if the victims don't appreciate it. It's better than being slaughtered and fed upon or the changelings becoming one of the skulls, a pure, unstoppable warrior who's only goal in life is to kill all living things. But that's getting off topic. She has decided to join me and learn from me, not as a student of magic, but more as a mentee to learn how to move on and live with her decisions. It seemed to pain her that she would need to pay for her actions, but as she said, she does it not for redemption of herself, but for her people. I think that's very brave, like a captain giving his life for his men, but a less dire circumstance. After that we simply waited for the guards to find us, in that time we shared some apples and other fruits I brought from breakfast as we just talked. The guards, when they arrived, wanted to immediately attack her and her remaining changelings. I had attempted to reason with them but they were blinded by their prejudice. Also, having all the ponies unconscious or near to it and covered in changeling slime didn't really help my argument, a slight oversight on my part. I was forced to summon my small squad of gryphon allies to assist with the intimidation. Did you know gryphons exist in this plane? I didn't, and they can talk, which somehow granted the squad the power of speech as well instead of their usual screeches. They were just as surprised as I was. As it so turns out, the native gryphons are unorganized and nearly feral so when the ponies saw the much larger, proud warrior gryphons, I was quite easily able to convince the pony guards to do as I commanded. We wound up taking a few chariots back to Canterlot to see the princess, Celestia, in her throne room. She greeted us with a kind smile but she was both furious and amused. I didn't point that out, but she allowed us to speak our piece. She seemed genuinely surprised with what Chrysalis had to say, and from what I was able to gather this was not the first time they tried reaching out to her. It really goes to show that words only go so far, it is actions and experience that mean the most, and apparently I was the only one to show her genuine kindness when all others stared in fear or yelled in hatred or had some other scheme in mind. Up to this point I has assumed that ponies in general were rather kind hearted, but their racism and complexes run fairly deep. I hope I will be able to meet and interact with a broader array of ponies to make a more accurate assessment, as well as the other races like the gryphons. I wonder how they would react to meeting their warrior counterparts? The princess had us, Chrysalis, her changelings, and I, wait in a small waiting room while she deliberated with Twilight and her friends. I can understand asking Twilight for council as she is a fellow princess and was once her student, but her friends seem to be just that, friends, with no training in official politics. If anything she should be speaking to her sister or nephew, Blueblood, or have a council of elders. The politics of these ponies baffles me, and their decision baffled me even further. After returning to the throne room we stood before them awaiting judgement, Celestia was no longer as angry but was worried and amused. She announced that the changelings will be given a free pass but will need to remain in their natural forms, but their queen would need to become the student of Twilight much how I agreed to be. The queen was not happy with this decision and voiced her outrage. I managed to calm her down long enough to interject an alternative solution. I was already appointed to learn from Twilight about ponies and their society, and Chrysalis was more interested in learning from me, we made a compromise that she would technically be under my guidance while I myself was under Twilight's. They both managed to agree as this meant that if Chrysalis chose she wouldn't need to attend whatever Twilight was teaching but I would be able to pass on what I had learned should I deem it necessary and in a way she would be able to understand. After signing the court order, Twilight acted like she had just received a new puppy. She was over excited that she had another new student. My explanation that she was technically my student fell on deaf ears and Chrysalis wasn't too happy with that reaction but beared with it. Honestly it was a rather embarrassing display. Tomorrow morning we will begin preparations for a ceremony of sorts as the guests are expected to start arriving then as well, even though the actual ceremony isn't for another three days. I hear that the changelings, the ones that defected from Chrysalis, would be in town about that time as well. I can tell Chrysalis is rather nervous to be meeting them again after what happened last time, their metamorphosis to their final form and her hasty departure. I assured her that they would likely hear her out and forgive her because she had their bests interest in mind. On another note, when we arrived in Ponyville by chariot this time, as the train had previously crashed and now they won't allow me on another train, the sun had set and most of the ponies had gone home. Artificial lighting seems to not have been as developed as I expected, as outside of a few lanterns it was rather dark. I hope to see the rest of the village in the daylight tomorrow to see if the structures are similar to this strange castle. It appears to be a single large crystal with halls, tables, and even chairs seamlessly a part of it. Twilight says that it was grown for her and her friends, but there's more to the story she didn't tell me. Regardless, it is late and tomorrow is going to be a busy day. Wish me luck! P.S. Don't dispel the magic from ponies, it makes them super high. I love you as always, May you forever be in my heart.