//------------------------------// // Lesson Eight: Prioritize // Story: Intermediate Lessons // by dungeonguy88 //------------------------------// Twilight wasn't really sure what to think. On the one hoof, she had just been psychically assaulted by her former enemy's own mother, whilst on a mission of peace. And she was now realizing that the aforementioned enemy, an individual for whom until recently Twilight utterly despised, might be dealing with some very serious emotions right now. All while Twilight was trying very hard to bring about peace between two competing species, while two of her dearest friends seemed to be making every effort to keep that from happening. One of whom was currently missing. And on the other hoof...library. To be fair, it was likely a library that no living pony had ever set hoof into and served as a home to the written texts of a race which, until recently, nopony even knew existed. A collection of writings that could do more to illuminate the mysteries surrounding the changeling race in a single afternoon, than could be done in a month of wandering about the hive. If it met even a portion of Twilight's expectations, this library could answer every lingering question she had carried with her on this adventure. It could give her that last push she needed, to not only know that peace could be had between ponies and changelings, but that it was the right thing to make happen. However, as some ponies that weren't Twilight Sparkle would say...it was just a library. And her brainpower might be better spent on other more important issues. Like her missing friend. Glancing towards Chrysalis once more, Twilight's thoughts went back to the...uncomfortable conversation they had, mere minutes ago. In retrospect, Twilight might have pried a bit more than was appropriate, into Chrysalis' personal affairs. Ok. Way more than a bit. Even after the years she had spent learning about building ties with others, Twilight still found that she could run at the mouth or say the wrong thing. As the current awkward silence stood as a testament to. But extreme discomfort was no excuse to not ask after Pinkie Pie's welfare... “Why is everyone being so quiet?” Rainbow Dash blurted out, just as Twilight was preparing to inquire after their missing friend. All things considered, it was actually kind of amazing that, in a group that included Rainbow Dash, things had been able to get quiet enough for there to even be an awkward silence. Everypony and changeling drew to a halt, before turning their collective attention towards the colorful pegasus. “What?” Chrysalis asked with a tilt of her head. “Well...everypony's acting like somepony just died. It's creepin' me out.” Rainbow Dash explained, a touch defensively. Chrysalis, apparently unsure how to respond to Rainbow Dash's question, simply stared at the pegasus for a few moments. Growing impatient, Rainbow Dash made a gesture with her hoof, that suggested she was saying “Well?” Chrysalis simply raised an eyebrow, before turning towards Twilight, evidently now expecting some input from the pony princess. Rainbow Dash's own gaze quickly traveled over to Twilight, placing even more pressure on the young alicorn. Her mind, taken up with other concerns, was not in a state conducive to trying to field that kind of question. And she couldn't exactly tell her friend the truth, that everyone was being quiet as a result of a psychic attack on Twilight, perpetrated by Chrysalis' own mother. On the other hoof, even though she didn't exactly expect the headstrong pegasus' reaction to that news to be productive, Twilight was kind of regretting lying about it all in the first place. The fact that Chrysalis, and probably Blueblood as well, had seen right through her cover story actually seemed to make the whole situation seem even more underhoofed. Like they were working together to purposely exclude her friend. Realizing that these thoughts had distracted her from finding any sort of response to Rainbow Dash's question, and that she had been standing there silently for several seconds now, Twilight decided to follow Chrysalis' lead. “Uhmmm...” She turned towards Blueblood, evidently passing the question on to the stallion. Unfortunately, the moment Rainbow Dash's confused and exasperated gaze turned towards the unicorn, Blueblood abruptly shook his head, before pointing a hoof towards the two changeling twins, Alate and Cryptic. Twilight wasn't exactly sure why the duo was still following the group, but they had indeed been quietly flying behind Chrysalis the whole time. She suspected there was some sort of changeling protocol being observed there. And unfortunately, the two changelings didn't seem to understand what exactly was going on. After quickly glancing towards one another, they both turned back towards Rainbow Dash before simultaneously pointing their own hooves towards the pegasus. “Seriously?” Rainbow Dash asked, exasperated with the run-around that she seemed to be receiving over a simple question. Alate and Cryptic, recognizing that they hadn't exactly provided the desired response for the pegasus, glanced back towards one another, before turning their shared gaze back towards Chrysalis questioningly. “Oh, come on!” Rainbow Dash, shouted as the silent conversation came about full-circle back to the Changeling Queen. Rolling her own eyes, Chrysalis quickly concluded that no progress was being made like this. “Fine. I can't speak for everyone, but I can tell you why I haven't spoken, if you want.” Chrysalis irritably offered. “Well, that'd be a nice start.” Rainbow Dash responded, with equal irritability. “Very well. I...have nothing I want to say.” Chrysalis answered. “...That's it?” Rainbow Dash asked, not expecting the simple answer. “Yes.” Chrysalis answered tersely. “Well, why didn't you just say so?” Rainbow Dash asked, evidently accepting the answer at face value. After a brief pause, Chrysalis again moved her gaze back towards Twilight, though this time Twilight suspected she was just doing it this time to mess with her friend a bit. “Alright, alright! Forget I asked.” Rainbow Dash said with a wave of her hooves. The slight quirking at the corner of Chrysalis' mouth at the Dash's reaction seemed to support Twilight's theory. Sensing an opportunity to bring up a rather important topic, Twilight stepped forward before raising a hoof to get Chrysalis' attention “Uhm, actually, I was hoping to ask about Pinkie Pie.” “Hey, yeah!” Rainbow Dash quickly seconded. Chrysalis spared a momentary glance towards the pegasus, before focusing back on Twilight. After a few seconds of staring at Twilight expectantly, Chrysalis followed up “...and?” “And?” Twilight responded with a blink. “What did you hope to ask about...Pinkie Pie?” Chrysalis clarified. Twilight briefly frowned at Chrysalis' overly literal interpretation of her question, before sighing. Twilight realized that recent events had done nothing to diminish the changeling's desire to needle her whenever possible “Alright...What is happening with Pinkie Pie right now? Is she alright?” “Or have you gone ahead and thrown her into some cell?” Rainbow Dash interjected. Chrysalis considered the two for a moment, three if one took into account Blueblood, before focusing on Twilight “As far as I know...she's fine.” “Fine? How do you mean?” Twilight asked, in a fairly neutral manner. “I mean, that last I heard, she had convinced a number of my subjects to assist her in preparing a party. Of which I did not, and still do not approve of...At all.” Chrysalis answered evenly. “The last you-...I thought you were going to...check on her though?” Twilight asked again. “Yeah, I bet-” Rainbow Dash seemed ready to jump into the conversation once more, but managed to stifle herself at a strong look from Twilight. Briefly raising an eyebrow at the interaction between the two, Chrysalis apparently decided not to comment upon it “I was...until I realized that I had left you...unattended to, in my haste. Worried about what trouble you might get into on your own, I turned back to find you.” “...Oh.” Was Twilight's only reply to that explanation. Glancing towards Rainbow Dash now, Chrysalis continued “And as it happened, I came across your friend here, arguing with one of my subjects about who was the superior flyer.” While Alate shrunk down behind Cryptic in shame at the recounting of the events, knowing that her Queen was likely still rather...aggravated, Rainbow Dash seemed rather unrepentant about the whole thing. “Fortunately, it seemed that...Rainbow Dash and my subject were shaken from their little discussion, by my passing, and wisely elected to follow me...Rather than wander off. Again.” Chrysalis finished Rainbow Dash, rather than arguing any particular point, seemed to be considering something at the moment. Presumably, it was in regards to what had transpired earlier. “Well, then. It seems there's little need to worry about the Lady Pinkie Pie, I suppose.” Prince Blueblood interjected at this point “By all accounts, she should be fine, correct?” “...More than fine.” Chrysalis supplied sardonically “Now, shall we be on our way?” “I guess...but, just what exactly do you mean by 'fine' though?” Rainbow Dash hesitantly began to agree. “Coercing my subjects into aiding in her in the preparation of an unwanted celebration, through the power of song.” Chrysalis answered, not missing a beat. “Oh...well, that's cool then.” Rainbow Dash decided. “Is it?” Chrysalis asked pointedly, before turning about and continuing down the tunnel, having evidently decided it was time to move on. “Tch...she's acting kind of moody.” Rainbow Dash observed. Twilight was tempted to chastise her friend, before she admitted to herself that Chrysalis was acting kind of moody. In the course of a short conversation, the Changeling Queen had gone from uncertain, to teasing, to aggravated, before seeming to settle on disdain. Though, given Twilight's recent encounter with Manti, her subsequent, and unintentional, prying into Chrysalis' private affairs, and just the general stress the Changeling Queen must have been feeling before all of that, she supposed Chrysalis' moodiness was understandable. Noticing that Chrysalis didn't seem to be slowing down her pace for anypony, Twilight soon cantered after her, without comment. Rainbow Dash found herself furrowing her brow a bit, at her friend's own contemplative mood. Everyone was acting kind of weird. Weird for them, as this was already kind of a weird group. Rainbow Dash was pretty sure something was going on. Prince Blueblood, like Twilight, followed without any further comment. The stallion set a quicker pace, to draw alongside the purple alicorn, leaving the pegasus with the twins once more. Humming to herself, Rainbow Dash cast a glance towards the two hovering changelings, prompting Alate and Cryptic to glance towards one another. A moment later, they both shrugged before turning back towards Rainbow Dash and leveling their hooves in the pegasus' direction once again. Rainbow Dash resisted the urge to roll her eyes, at the sight “So, I guess you guys don't really know what's going on around here either, huh?” The twins lowered their hooves once more, both considering the question briefly “We...know that we're in trouble. And our Queen is upset. And...” “...And?” Rainbow Dash prompted, as the twin trailed off. The twins took a moment to share in another of their wordless conversations with one another, before Cryptic spoke up “We're not really sure what's going on either.” They probably could have guessed at more of what was going on that Rainbow Dash, but they weren't sure if it was a good idea to volunteer anything at this point. “Hm...what is up with everypony?” Rainbow Dash seemed to ask no one in particular, as she began to trail after the rest of the group, alongside the hovering twins. Alate and Cryptic simply shrugged. Though they quickly noticed that Rainbow Dash also seemed to be wrapped up in her own thoughts, prompting the two to turn towards one another in consideration. A few moments later they shared a nod before focusing back upon Rainbow Dash. After a few moments hesitation, Cryptic waved Alate forward, encouraging her to gather the pegasus' attention “That was a...pretty cool bit of flying though. You know? Earlier.” “Huh?” Rainbow Dash cleverly responded, blinking as she was shaken from her thoughts. Seeing her twin hesitate, Cryptic took point “You flew quite well, is what I think she is trying to say.” “Uhm, ok...Thanks, I guess, but-” Rainbow Dash began. “She did alright, but she's lucky I wasn't trying that hard.” Alate suddenly interjected, with a surprisingly accurate display of Rainbow Dash's own brand of bravado. “What?! You're kidding me, right? The only thing you had going for you was the homefield advantage. I was leaving you guys in the dust.” Rainbow Dash confidently countered. Soon, the two changelings managed to drag into a debate over flying ability and technique, distracting the pegasus from whatever suspicions Dash may have been entertaining. Prince Blueblood seemed to be eying her. Twilight suspected she knew why the royal unicorn had his attention upon Twilight, though she hadn't given voice to these suspicions yet. It was kind of obvious, that he had seen through her...lie from earlier. Again, she found herself thinking that it had been a rather pointless endeavor, trying to cover-up Manti's actions, for the sake of the diplomatic mission. Everypony seemed to see right through Twilight, with even Rainbow Dash seeming to catch on that things hadn't gone exactly as she had described. Twilight glanced over towards Chrysalis, to their fore. She wouldn't be much help right now, Twilight suspected. The Changeling Queen seemed rather intent upon her own thoughts. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash seemed to have fallen to the back of the group, and seemed to be chatting up the twins once more. Glancing towards Blueblood, she tried to give an easy smile, though she felt it come off as more than a bit forced “So...this has been-” “I'm not really one for smalltalk, Princess Twilight. At least, not usually.” Blueblood interjected abruptly, still eying the young princess intently. “Oh. Well, what would you like to...” Twilight began, before giving up on attempting to divert Blueblood any further, from the topic that she knew he wished to speak of. Seeing Rainbow Dash wrapped up in her own discussion with the twins, and knowing that Chrysalis was basically privy to everything anyway, Twilight found herself taking a quick breath. There weren't really any excuses for her not to admit to the truth, that Blueblood already seemed to have guessed at. “Well, the truth is-” Twilight began in a low voice. “We're here.” Chrysalis suddenly called back, interrupting Twilight's attempt at a confession. Fortunately, Blueblood seemed to be willing to put this discussion on hold for the moment, as he cantered ahead, leading Twilight to do the same. Again, Twilight found herself before a set of double-doors, albeit a much plainer set of doors, bereft of the carvings and woodwork she had seen upon the doors leading to Manti's chambers. In spite of Twilight's own anxiety, she had to admit to feeling a small swelling of excitement, at the sight of this last barrier to the changeling's library. Part of her mind reminded herself, that she still had to settle a lot of issues between most of the members of their party...but, it would also be rude not to give proper attention to what Chrysalis planned on showing her. “Where exactly is 'here'?” Rainbow Dash chimed in from the back of the group, hovering between the two twins. Chrysalis glanced towards the pegasus “Oh...good. You haven't wandered off again. What a pleasant surprise.” “Yeah, yeah, just tell me where you've been dragging us already.” Rainbow Dash said, as she waved off Chrysalis' remark, earning some mildly irritated looks from the twins at her flippant manner with their Queen. “It's the library, Dash.” Twilight supplied, before either Chrysalis or Rainbow Dash could aggravate one another any further. “Correct.” Chrysalis confirmed. “Oh...Huh.” Rainbow Dash said to herself, glancing towards Twilight, before turning back towards Chrysalis “Not exactly the most original way to lead Twilight around.” Rolling her eyes, at her friends comments, Twilight sighed as her perfectly normal fondness for books was thrown in her face once again “Dash, she isn't leading me around anywhere, we're just-” “Technically, I have been leading you around.” Chrysalis pointed out. “I-well, yes, technically. But-” Twilight began. “So what's your next evil plan? Are you going to wave a book in front of her nose, or something? Lead her into some sort of overly elaborate trap?” Rainbow Dash asked Chrysalis. “...Perhaps.” Chrysalis said, without a hint of irony. Sparing an annoyed look for the two of them, Twilight had to resist the urge to say something unkind. One moment, Chrysalis and Rainbow Dash were spending their time sniping at one another, then ignoring one another, then they were making fun of Twilight. Again. “Could we perhaps focus on wrapping up our little tour?” Blueblood interjected, in a mildly condescending manner “I understand that we are on a timetable. And, frankly, there are things I would like to see to.” Again, Twilight was fairly sure as to just what Blueblood wanted to see to. Library or not, he probably wanted to discuss certain recent happenings with the young princess. “As you wish.” Chrysalis agreed easily enough, before turning towards Twilight “I imagine you'll wish to take a moment to brace yourself.” “Brace myself? Why?” Twilight asked. “Uhm, for the big pile of books your gonna get all excited and weird about?” Rainbow Dash cheekily supplied. Twilight was about to respond to that entirely uncalled for remark from her supposed friend, when Chrysalis pushed open the doors, without warning. Twilight would deny claims that she nearly got whiplash, after turning her head so quickly from her friend towards the prospect of big piles of books. Even if she found herself rubbing some kinks out of her neck for the next couple of hours, it wouldn't do to validate her friend's teasing jabs about her love of reading. Twilight would never hear the end of it, if she did. Twilight had been undeniably looking forward to this, and with the knowledge that her friends were alright, she didn't feel particularly bad about that. Her other worries could wait for a few minutes as she got her first glimpse of the literary works of the changelings. It wasn't a particularly impressive sight. The room seemed to be somewhat smaller than the main floor of the Golden Oaks Library, with much of the space taken up by long, low tables, the tables cluttered with scrolls, vellum and writing utensils. Amongst the tables was a scattering of changelings moving to and fro carrying scrolls, others focusing upon the contents of the table, and still others writing onto blank scrolls and books. The scritch-scratching of quills, the buzz of changeling wings, and the clopping of changeling hooves all drew to a pause as the party entered the chamber, as the changelings turned their gaze to the doors. All in all, this room looked more like an office than a library. Along the walls were various cubbies etched into the wall, with many of them holding a few scrolls or sheaves of paper, with some sections of the wall playing home to maps and charts that Twilight couldn't immediately decipher. On the farwall there seemed to be another set of double-doors leading from the room. There were some books scattered here and there, to be sure, but far fewer than Twilight honestly expected. One changeling seemed to be manipulating an abacus in the glow of it's magic... There were a couple of bookcases shoved up against one wall, haphazardly filled with books and scrolls...though hardly enough to qualify as even an individual's private library. Perhaps the changeling definition of a library was a bit...different from that of mainstream pony society... “It's...” Twilight awkwardly began, unable to really come up with the right thing to say. The changelings seemed even less certain of the situation, with most of those present unabashedly staring at the ponies, apart from a couple that had failed to even glance up from whatever it was they were perusing. “Uhm, are you sure this is a library?” Rainbow Dash asked as she slipped into the room, glancing around “I mean, I've probably got more books than this just lying around my house.” “That's-...I mean, Dash, you can't really...maybe they...” Twilight began haltingly, looking for something to say about the relatively small chamber's contents. “This isn't the library.” Chrysalis said. “You've got that right.” Rainbow Dash agreed, earning a mildly annoyed glanced from the Changeling Queen. “What? If this isn't the library, what is it?” Twilight asked, supplying the most obvious of question. Chrysalis slowly panned her gaze across the room, and more specifically it's changeling workers, before turning back towards Twilight. “Record-Keeping.” “Record-Keeping?” Twilight repeated back, surprised by the answer. Chrysalis gave Twilight a look that suggested that she wasn't particularly inclined to repeat herself, before again sparing a glance towards the staring workers. Taking the hint, most of the changelings went back to their work, only sneaking the occasional glance now towards the ponies. Chrysalis rolled her eyes, before she began a canter across the chamber “There happens to be quite a bit of information that a swarm this size needs to keep track of, obviously. So we record it, and keep it hereabouts. I shouldn't think the idea to be too alien for a pony to grasp.” Frowning a bit, at the obvious jab, Twilight found herself cantering after Chrysalis, with the rest of their party quickly following. "Alright. Well, if this is Record-Keeping, then where is the library then?” Twilight asked, as the party joined Chrysalis by the second set of double-doors. Chrysalis simply pushed the doors open with a single motion of her hole-filled hoof. This was a somewhat more impressive sight. One could tell this, by the way Twilight Sparkle's mouth dropped a bit...and the way her wings suddenly sprang open. “Pbsts! Really? That's nice, Twi!” Rainbow Dash complained, as one of those very wings smacked her in the face. Spitting out a couple of purple feathers, and shoving the offending appendage away, Rainbow Dash continued to gripe “That's really uncool you know?!...And you haven't been preening, like I showed you, have you?!” “Yeah...” Twilight absently replied, as she stared at the shelves and shelves of books. The chamber was far larger than the one they had just passed through, with several levels, and countless shelves stocked with wonderful,wonderful books. It seemed as if almost every available inch of of wallspace had been carved out to accommodate reading material, with even support columns for the large chamber being designed to accommodate even more books. All of it was cast in the soft, but bright glow of the many luminescent little orbs the changelings used for lighting. The huge chamber even smelled of books. “This would be the library.” Chrysalis said, with a touch of clear pride. “H-how? This-this is amazing!” Twilight blurted out, as she took in the large collection of books. Very large. Larger than even the collection at Canterlot Castle. The closest comparison she could draw, would be to the library she and her friends had tracked down in the Crystal Empire. Chrysalis easily cantered into the chamber, apparently enjoying Twilight's reaction “Aside from providing something for my changelings to entertain themselves with, books have always provided a safe avenue for my changelings to gain a better understanding of ponies and the outer world.” Chrysalis paused to brush a hoof along the spines of the books one of the many shelves “To that end, I have encouraged my subjects to bring back any literary works they could acquire while on excursions. A thousand years of steady additions, along with a few...donations, here and there, has lead to what you see here.” “Hm, might I ask just how your subjects have been acquiring these additions to your collection?” Blueblood calmly asked. “They stole them.” Chrysalis bluntly answered “Not all of them, but a fair few. Others were acquired with more traditional means, like trades or the exchange of bits.” “I see. And just how did your subjects obtain these bits and tradable goods?” Blueblood further inquired. “My subjects are perfectly capable of earning such things, while keeping themselves hidden among you ponies. A pony without some sort of job would stand-out, I should think.” Chrysalis pointed out. Blueblood simply nodded, conceding the point. “This really is amazing, Chrysalis.” Twilight said again, having now stepped further into the library “I just wish I had time to look around...” “And why wouldn't you have the time to do so?” Chrysalis asked. “What? Well, you said we only had time for a visit...” Twilight pointed out. “And isn't the point of visiting a library to read books?” Chrysalis pointed out neutrally. “R-really??” Twilight asked excited at the prospect of perusing the collection. Chrysalis simply raised an eyebrow, as if to ask what the princess was waiting for. Twilight immediately shot into the air, quickly drawing up to one of the shelves and beginning to scan the spines of the books. The rest of the party found themselves watching, as the excited princess began her enthusiastic exploration of the library. “She spends a week training with the best flyer in Equestria, and she can barely get off the ground. Bring her to a library and she's flying around like she was born to it.” Rainbow Dash complained a bit, though not without some clear fondness in her voice. It took the best flyer in Equestria a couple of moments to realize that Blueblood had cantered after Twilight without a word, leaving Rainbow Dash alone in the company of Chrysalis and the twins. Rainbow Dash glanced towards the Changeling Queen briefly, before looking away again “So...” Chrysalis said nothing. “...Yeah. I'm just gonna say it. I don't know what your deal is, or whatever...but that was kind of cool of you.” Rainbow Dash finally admitted. “I have no idea what you're talking about.” Chrysalis said dismissively. “Right...” Rainbow Dash replied skeptically.