Celestia's log - entry #5579

Hearth's Warming, 3 R.L

We all looked over to Ebony, after Chrome pointed to him. The changeling was silently mouthing words, his eyes were concentrated on something in the distance. He then performed a slight ceremonial bow. Before moving backwards, away from us.

I was put on guard as soon as he bowed, that particular bow was only used by knights and high ranking guards when thanking royalty. And if that was the case, I had to be ready for anything.

His horn lit, creating a glowing rune on the floor. We all stepped back slightly, I began racing my mind, finding and remembering every spell I could use if the worst happened. I looked to the ponies I would have to defend. They were all frozen in fear, though Dan seemed more concerned than anything, he was still focusing on Ebony, unlike the rest of them, who were staring at the rune. Though I did notice Dan readying one of his knifes slightly, but for some reason, he moved his hand back into a more relaxed position.

The rune burst into a tall stream of changeling magic, appearing as flames.

I closed my eyes, hopefully rest did too. We all looked up at the creature that stood before us. Many gasps came from the ponies behind me. I instantly began to analyse it's body-language, but Luna beat me to it.

"She is not in a combat stance. Stand down, but remain on guard." She said, he voice echoing around my head, signifying she was talking though her magic, so only I could hear it. I nodded her thanks and took a confident stance.

Before us stood a Changeling Queen. Though much different to the one who had attacked Canterlot beforehand. This one was older. Much older. It's jagged shell-like skin was slightly grayed and covered in scars. Ranging from small cuts around her legs and face, to large incisions on her sides. One of her wings was limp by her side, it was torn down the middle. She was almost twice my height, my eyes only coming up to just above the base of her neck. It was clear, despite her war-ridden appearance, that we would be close-to out-matched if she decided to attack. But she remained still, with a neutral expression.

As I prepared myself for the multitude of occurrences that could come from this. Dan called, "Ebony!" As he ran towards the Queen.

"Dan, what are you-" I began to say, but stopped as he ran head-first into the creature's chest, landing on his back. He looked up at the Queen, before shaking his head slightly and standing up. He looked to me, "Erm, Celestia? Did you just hit me with magic or something?" He asked in a slightly offended tone. The queen remained unmoved, and simply stared down at the human with watchful eyes. Her pupils intently focusing on him.

I grit my teeth slightly, now was not the time for his games. "Dan. Get back here." I said. The Queen narrowed her eyes slightly. I looked to her, doing my best to look apologetic, "We apologize. State your intentions." I said in a neutral voice, trying to hide our collective feelings, but I am sure she could taste them.

The Queen looked to me. She gave me a look I had only ever seen in a couple other ponies, and a human. She really did not care, there was almost no respect in that gaze. It was not degrading, but it did not make any of us very comfortable. She opened her mouth to answer. "I, Elder Que-" She stopped as someone cut her off.

"I, wanted to help Ebony." Dan said. The Queen behind him did not move. But her features hardened.

The now slightly trembling ponies behind me gasped. I was lucky I had trained myself well, or I would have been sweating bullets at this point. Luna looked as if she was feeling the same way. If she was so inclined, that Queen could easily lift a hoof or cast a spell, and Dan would be no more than a pile of dust, if that.

"Dan." I said, trying to remain calm, and in control of the situation, "You are not helping matters at all, get back here!" I looked back up to the Queen, she met my eyes with her own. "I am so sorry, please repeat."

Dan looked around in mock confusion. Before shrugging and turning towards the Queen, she looked down at him with slight annoyance. He simply stared through her, not even meeting her eyes, that were almost directly above him.

He took a step and hit her chest again. I debated using telekinesis magic to haul him back over to us, but I did not want to alert the already angered Queen. Dan mumbled to himself, before placing his hands on her throat. Her eyes widened in rage, her teeth ground as she refused to move. After a couple very tense seconds, Dan turned around and looked at me.

"What is thi-..." He looked at our shocked expressions. Even I found myself at a loss for words. "What?"

The Queen spoke from behind him. "Remove yoursel-"

Dan raised his voice. "What?! What are you staring at?!"

The Queen growled in frustration, but remained still.

"Guys, I don't think you realize this, but there is an invisible warm thing here. It's king of freaking me out. And so are you, with the staring."

The Queen looked to me, a mixture of anger and patience on her face. "Dan." I said, "Look behind you."

He turned quickly, again, not meeting the queen's eyes. "Ebony's just passed out, why are you guys freaking out about that and not this!" He said, poking the Queens chest. The Queen twitched slightly, clearly wanting to do something about the human in front of her.

Everypony behind me remained silent, staring at Dan. I looked to the Queen. "I am so sorry about this. I don't know what's gotten into him."

The Queen sighed slightly. "Please remove him."

I nodded slightly sympathetically before looking back down to Dan. "Now, please. Come back here, so we can discuss in peace." I said to him.

"...what do we need to discuss about?"

What is wrong with him? Does he have a death-wish all of a sudden? The Queen looked as if her limit was about to be reached. "Dan, look behind you. Tell me everything you see." I said, I looked up at the Queen again. "So sorry, just bare with us here."

The Queen nodded, exhaling in an attempt to contain herself.

He looked over his shoulder and back again. "There is just Ebony passed out on the floor. That's it."

"...Dan..."

"...yes..." He said, mimicking me.

"I think we have found yet another one of your 'powers'." I said.

He smiled. "Really? What did I do?" He looked back at Ebony. "Is Ebony not really there or something? Can I see into the past? Is that it?" He said excitedly.

I blinked. "No. Not quite. Please Dan just... wait outside the door please." I pointed to the door with a wing.

He huffed, "Fine." And walked out of the door.

I sighed. "Sorry about him. He is... not of this world, I do not think he could see you."

The Queen sighed in relief as Dan left the room. "I see... That is unfortunate." She paused, slightly. Taking that time to straighten herself and regain any lost composure. "Now, my intentions." I nodded to her, Luna did the same. "I first want to thank you all, for keeping this scout safe. Despite his lack of a disguise."

I smiled, the Queen didn't return it. "You are very welcome. Ebony here has been rather pleasant over the last couple months."

The Queen nodded. "Yes, he was always a little strange. Tell me, who was it that discovered him?"

I shook my head politely. "That can wait until after you state your intentions."

She smiled. "You need not worry. You have shown that the ponies have learned. I come in peace. Though I regret to say it, it will bring confidence to you that I no longer have a hive of my own. 'Ebony' here is all that's left."

I blinked. "You are Ebony's Queen?"

"Yes, I was captured by another hive a couple years ago. They invaded our hive and poisoned me a couple days later. I still do not know how. The poison they used kept me unconscious, but alive. And from what this scout told me," She indicated to Ebony. "The poison also blocked any of my telepathic transmissions."

"Then how are you here? What happened?" Luna asked from my side.

"I awoke 3 weeks ago. In their hive. The troops surrounding me instantly converged on my position. It is very clear I was not meant to have woken up at all. Obviously, they stood no chance against me in combat, so I fought my way out of their hive. That is part of the reason I don so many marks of war." She ran a hoof along one of the many lines on her chest. "Once I was out I made my way back to my old hive... It was empty. I waited there for hours, no changelings ever showed themselves. So, as I left the hive, I decided to re-activate the old telepathic communications gateway held within me. I found only one changeling able to receive the messages. But they were unable to respond. I had given up all hope of finding them, I could not fix their communications gateway unless they held a very high amount of emotional energy within them. But this changeling seemed to be limiting himself."

I raised a hoof slightly to make her pause. She turned to me slightly, with attentive eyes. "Ebony is in a relationship. I believe he has been sustaining himself on the love given by his partner."

She nodded. "Yes, that explains it. If he took to much, he could drain them. Thank you for that information." I nodded happily. "I believe this scout is in need of reward, he has done rather well for himself. But I as I was saying: I could not fix his communications without a very high amount of emotional energy, just now, there was one that was large enough. I used the energy he collected remotely, directing it to his communications gateway. This allowed it to work temporarily, we conversed shortly, then I teleported here, with help of his magic. The distance was large, so I believe he will need time to recover his magic. But he should be unharmed."

Sensing an incoming silence, I decided to ask another question. "So, you have stated that you come in peace and why." She nodded. "What do you plan to do now?"

He hummed slightly. "I plan to stay here as long as this city stands. If that is allowed."

I narrowed my eyes. "As long as this city stands?"

She waved a hoof. "Pony, if the date that scout told me was correct, I am 7583 years old. And as far as I am aware, I have a lot more years to come. I have seen cities rise and fall. I doubt, from what I have learned, that any city will last forever. Even this one."

I nodded. "That is understandable, I was not aware of your age. I am sorry." She snorted slightly. "And I am sure we can arrange for you to live here as long as you need too. But, please, call me Celestia."

The Queen became more focused. "Ah, yes. Celestia, I have heard of you before." She turned to Luna. "You must be Luna?" Luna nodded. "Nice to meet you both, I appreciate the understanding and help you have given to me. I suppose I should introduce myself, that creature interrupted me the first time." She said, pointing to the large doors Dan had left through. "I am Elder Queen Vicissit. Though I suggest for your own convenience that you call me Vicissit."

I nodded to her, Luna did the same. "Welcome to Canterlot. Vicissit." I said, Luna followed up with a similar statement.

I turned around, to see the ponies and griffin behind me. some of them still looking rather shaken. "Any of you want to introduce yourselves?" I asked.

Rosewood shrugged and raised a talon. "I'm Rosewood. Celestia's personal guard. I'm not on duty right now so do whatever you want."

I was slightly shocked at him, but Vicissit seemed to enjoy his casual nature.

The rest of them introduced themselves slowly. Chrome Star almost fainted and Feather Flame and Dawn did not look very comfortable at all. I sighed inside when I saw this. Some old wounds never heal, or at least, not within their life-time.

"Sorry," I said, "But could the rest of you leave us for a while? I believe we have some arrangements to make."

The rest of them nodded and turned to leave. But Luna seemed reluctant, staying behind for a couple seconds. "As you wish sister, I will be staying with Chrome tonight if you need me." She said, before turning to head towards the door. She didn't see it, but Chrome performed a small hoof-pump before she turned. Luna used her magic to carry all of the still open boxes of gifts, since it would be impossible for many of them to carry them themselves.

They all paused at the door. "Celestia?" One of them called. "Dan's asleep by the door."

"Just sneak past." I said, waving a hoof dismissively.

They slowly exited the room, leaving me, a magically fatigued Ebony and Vicissit.

Me and the Queen discussed the agreements and arrangements needed for her to stay her. They were the same as Ebony's. She quickly agreed to all of the rules and limitations. She must have been desperate.

"Thank you for this. There is nowhere else for us to go, unless we went into hiding." She said as she passed the now signed paper back to me. The sun was long-gone past the horizon.

"No problem, it's the least we could do. Now, is there anywhere specific you would like to stay while you are here?" I asked.

"I would like to stay with the scout. 'Ebony' you call him?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yes, he still goes by the name of the pony he was disguised as. But unfortunately, Ebony is already staying with someone."

"Ah yes, you mentioned he is in a relationship... I will allow them their privacy. I will take any room. Though... a large one would be nice. I have a feeling some of the rooms might be... a bit too small." She said, referencing her grand stature.

"Yes, there are more... customized rooms, designed for beings of all sizes. Though they are rather far from Ebony's room." I said.

She sighed. "They will have to do. Now, Celestia, about that creature, earlier." She said, glancing at the door.

It was my turn to sigh. "I am sorry for his behavior. I will explain everything, but first, let me get him in here." I said, collecting the signed paper and teleporting it to my quarters. I walked over to the doors and peaked through them.

Dan was asleep, leaning against the wall. Every so often his head would slump, then spring back up. I walked through the door quietly, in slid shut behind me. I lightly poked Dan on the shoulder. Slowly, he slid down the wall, but quickly built speed as he headed towards the floor. His knifes clattered as he collided with the floor.

Dan moaned as he recovered. "What?" He said into the ground, impatiently.

"You can come back in, everything's sorted out." I said, opening the door and walking in.

He slowly followed me in, I lead him to Vicissit. Then turned to look at him.

He looked about he room a little. Confused. "What?"

"You really can't see her, can you?" I asked.

He turned an scoured the room with narrowed eyes. "See who? Okay, this is getting to much now. Please... just tell me what is happening." I pleaded.

I turned to Vicissit, who was looking a lot more understanding. "You don't mind if I-"

"Go ahead." She said, cutting me off slightly.

"Okay, thank you." I turned back to Dan "You want me to explain everything?"

His eyes lit up. "Yes! God yes! I have no idea what h-" I silenced him with a raised hoof.

I sighed. "This really is a shame. Well... you see, Dan...

Updated: 11/11/15
-Fixed stuff (can't remember anything, stuff is happening)

(Vicissit is pronounced: Vi-sis-it. By the way. It derives from the word Vicissitude, do your own research into what that word means if you want to know. I didn't even know it existed until I found it today.)

There, that explained everything. Kinda. Don't worry, answers are coming. Don't be afraid to ask questions in the comments, I will answer them, I won't take offence, I know I miss bits of information I mean to put in sometimes. Plus, if you tell me stuff I have not explained, I can put that explanation in one of the later chapters, so the other people will know too! It helps everyone, so please, You see anything amiss in these chapters, please tell me so I can attempt to fix it.

This chapter is formatted slightly differently, because it's written by someone other than Dan. That's how it works now? K?