The castle library. That's where the trail lead to finding Princess Twilight. All the guards, maids, and butlers that I ran into would give me the same answer. The library.
So that's how I found myself there, standing just outside of it. It wasn't too fancy. It was the usual Canterlot entry but with the carving of an open book etched into the double doors. Staring at it, I wasn't really sure how to approach at first. Should I knock? Enter? Call out my name? Maybe announce my title, if I had one?
What kind of title would I have? Oh Princess Twilight! The young and rebellious renegade changeling, student of Discord, Ginseng, has arrived! Please please, don't be alarmed. She will not take your love or your country! Yes that's right, I was smiling at my at own jokes.
I shook my head and told myself it was not that complicated. It was just a door. It was just the Princess of all of Equestria. No big deal, right? She wasn't going to do anything like banish me to Tartarus or something. The only ones who would do that would have been the old Princesses and Discord, right?
I breathed in, readied myself to knock, but still found myself hesitant. When I moved my hole-ridden hoof forward I end up gently pushing the door open instead of thumping against the wood. It hardly creaked as it revealed a sliver of the vast library just on the other side.
"-I'm so relieved she's actually doing alright out there." I heard Twilight sigh, "And to think I was so worried about her not being able to make any friends."
"Well you know Twilight," Her royal advisor, Spike, let out a chuckle, "She does seem a lot like you. Of course she'd be fine. Especially in Ponyville!"
"From Starlight's letters, she's already becoming a promising student at the school," The princess hummed, "Maybe I could have Luster show the two new students around? I'm sure they'd love a tour."
Spike agreed, "Yeah, and Luster could introduce them to her friends too!"
"That's a wonderful idea! I just hope they'll be welcoming to Ginseng, like you once were with Thorax."
"I'm sure they'll be fiiine! Not of a lot of creatures, especially those in the Friendship School, are scared of changelings anymore. Right?"
Twilight hesitated, "I suppose so..."
It was then I decided to make myself known, "Princess Twilight?"
The two perked up as I carefully entered the castle library.
Spike let out a surprised laugh and crossed his arms, "Well speak of the devil."
"Oh! Ginseng, what a surprise!" Twilight smiled as she lowered her mug of coffee, "Is there something you need?"
I nodded and made my way over to the two. They both sat comfortably on cushions and sofas in a small section of the library that sat right smack in the middle of the large room. It was like a lounging area complete with a coffee table and a few potted plants to liven up the area. There were a couple of other chairs and divans scattered about in several corners as well. Made me wonder if Gimmick would love a place like this.
"Yeah, I just wanted to talk for a bit..." I glanced over at Spike who was loudly munching on a crispy croissant, "... but maybe alone?"
As Spike sat up, dumbfounded, Twilight gave me a concerned stare, "Is something wrong?"
"It's kind of personal..."
"Oh. Uh-" Spike quickly scrambled up, "Don't mind me then! Twi, I'll be around with Thorax if you need me."
Twilight nodded, "We'll talk later."
Spike ran off with his snacks and scrolls before closing the door behind him. Once he did I found myself there alone. With Twilight. Princess Twilight.
I gulped and tried to push down my bubbling anxiety, "Do you mind if I..?" I gestured to one of the comforters.
"Not at all. So, what did you want to talk about?" Twilight warmly asked as I sat just across from her.
"Uh... Well, I don't really know exactly how to start." I admitted, "I guess after yesterday, I just wanted to talk to you. I feel a little bad, for avoiding you so much. I guess I was just scared of y-" I stopped myself and quickly recovered, "Um, that you would think of me differently now because of... this." I pointed at myself. My unreformed changeling self.
"Oh Ginseng... I know you're still young. Still learning," Twilight assured, "I understand that you're afraid of what others will think of you in this form, but trust me, I'm a very patient and welcoming pony. I won't judge you too hard for it." She plucked up a small bagel from a plate nearby and offered it to me.
I gingerly took it in my hooves, "Thank you..." Then took a small bite.
"Of course." Twilight smiled before taking another sip from her coffee. A calm silence trickled between us. I wasn't really sure what to say from here and it seems she was waiting for something.
When she realized that I had grown quiet, she plucked up a book from nearby with her magic and passed it over to me.
I curiously took it in my own magic, "Ruby Stone and The Grand Jewel?"
The princess nodded, "It's a new addition to the library. Spike and Gallus love this series. It's about a young detective dragon named Ruby Stone who goes on all sorts of adventures to save a more modern looking Dragon Lands. I think it's called Dralandia in this story? Something like that."
I opened the book to the first page to see a very vibrant illustration showing off a crimson dragon with a long snout and narrow eyes wearing a grey trench coat and a hat. I couldn't help but chuckle, "Hah. Sounds more simple."
Twilight raised a brow, "Hm?"
"I mean, just being a dragon? And a detective going on mystery adventures? That sounds so simple. More simple than what I got going on." I closed the book and set it to the side, "I'll check it out later."
"If you don't mind me asking," Twilight pondered, "Why does that sound more simple to you? To me it sounds pretty dangerous. And you'd have to be really perceptive to be able to solve all those mysteries."
"But that path is so much more straight forward," I explained, "More straight forward than what I have. I'm going to a Friendship school to learn about friendship so I can do the metamorphosis or something. On top of that, I'm being taught by Discord to be a chaos lord one day. And who knows if I'll actually stay his student? But... it's so confusing and complicated. There's more stuff going on than just that. Like- with my caretakers and with every creature around me being as confused as I am about what I am. I'm a... mess with a messier title. Dragon detective sounds much more simple than... that. I'd rather be some creature like Ruby Stone at this point."
Twilight responded with a shake of her head, "Oh Ginseng... You're unique and special in your own way, like Discord had said. You might be strange to others, but don't let their views get to you. You create what you are, even if you have no control of it at the start."
I let out a quiet sigh, "Everything is just so... complicated though. Who knows if I can handle chaos magic? Who knows if I should even have it..? I'm kind of... scared of it now. I wasn't before, but I've been thinking a lot about it. What if I'm not suited to be Discord's student? What if I just... ruin everything?"
A considerate look flashed in the princess' eyes, "... Do you mind walking with me for a moment? I feel like I have something that could help."
I stared at her with a curious gaze.
The Canterlot archives. I've never really heard of them before, or was very interested in whatever they were. It must have been some sort of big deal, because it seemed heavily guarded. There were security measures to get through, I could tell, but it was all bypassed easily by Princess Twilight herself. All she had to do was walk on through and that was it... and I guess, since I wasn't disguised, they weren't too alarmed about me either.
Especially since I was next to the Princess of all Equestria herself.
I stuck close to her side as a particular blue griffin guard eyed me. I returned his stare with a sheepish smile, "So... Uh. Why are we here again?"
As a kirin guard unlocked the gated doorway into the archives, Princess Twilight turned to me with a grin, "Well, as the personal student of Discord... I suppose it'd be fair if you learn a thing or two about chaos lord history."
"Personal student of Discord..?" I heard the blue griffin mumble nearby.
"Chaos lord history??" Ignoring him, I flew up to Twilight's eye level, "You have a book about that?"
"Possibly several." She chuckled as she lead me within the room of old books and tomes. In the center was a large hourglass of some sort that was nearly emptied out from the top. With a flick of her magic, Twilight easily rotated it so it would start all over again, "In my first years ruling Equestria and taking residence in Canterlot, I decided to read all the books in the archive that I could whenever I was available to. In the process, I remember finding books about chaos magic and chaos lords like Discord. Eons ago, there were more that have existed even before Discord himself was formed by Grogar. I'm sure your history classes don't cover Grogar that much, but he was once a powerful creature that created various monsters in his prime. Chaos lords being one of them."
I blinked up at her, "There... were more? What happened to them?"
Twilight paused at the question and went over to one section of the archives. There, she easily dusted away some webs with a wave of her magic and plucked out a book that had caught her interest. From the symbol on the book, it represented a strange creature with an angry monkey-like bearded face, antlers, wings, and large talons as it stood on four legs. I stared at it, confused, "What... is that?"
"A piasa, the book explains. This is titled Lords of Chaos Volume I, Creation And Purpose. It details various chaos lords and the forms they took, like the draconequus you know, Discord. Then there's Volume II. Harmony Vs Chaos. This was the time when they... began to disappear. Love and Harmony throughout Equestria was too much for them to the point it nearly drove them completely extinct."
I perked up in alarm, "Love and Harmony?? What- Then how is Discord still around? And, would it be safe for me to even BE a chaos lord in Equestria?"
"Chaos magic at the time had been much different," Princess Twilight explained, "Nowadays, there is an easier way to let out chaos magic without harming those around us and to still be able to use it. In fact, using chaos magic can help also create harmony in itself. I personally have a theory to why Discord is still around. His chaos magic was much more new, since he was the last chaos lord to be formed by Grogar. He was able to create a new form of chaos magic entirely in his time, one that was more silly than... catastrophic as the ones you will see here."
She passed me the book and I gingerly took it in my own magic, "... You think I can really learn something from this?"
"Possibly. I'm sure there's another book around here about chaos magic itself, but not how to use it since that in itself is a... pretty big mystery. Just- what it entails. The abilities and the consequences. Etc. Etc. I heard, actually, that many were able to harness past chaos magic and managed to use it before one day relinquishing it by... confusing means. If you want, I can have those stories sent to your room once I find them around here. Along with anything else chaos related."
"Princess, I'm not sure what to say..." I muttered out as I clutched the book close to my chest.
"Oh don't worry about it Ginseng. This path you're going through is different and intriguing. Besides those harnessing power temporarily, nothing more permanent like this has ever happened before. After all, chaos lords were known to be formed from a powerful being, but never taught before. It is possible to hold chaos magic, but not many know how to control it or wield it as Discord. I hope that, after learning about previous chaos lords and the abilities you can hold, you might gain a better understanding of it. And that, honestly, is probably the best I can offer you. But don't worry, I'm sure you will become a great chaotic user one day. But please, be on our side when you are?" She joked with a giggle.
"Hah. Of course!" I chuckled but felt this nervous twist in my stomach, "Where's... Volume II?"
"Ah, right over here-" As we began to scan through the shelves for anything chaos related, Twilight had easily gathered up three books for myself.
Volume I, Volume II, and a bookmarked page on ancient legends and myths. That page lead to a short story of a mare who had managed to gain the powers of a demonic chaos lord who claimed to devour souls. I left the archives with a small smile... but I entered my guest room with this strange feeling in my gut.
A chaos lord...
Would I be ready for that?
"Hey Ginny!"
"Ah!" I jumped in surprise and whirled around to see Gimmick holding a tray of food in her magic.
"I got us some lunch!" She announced with a smile.
"Lunch?? But isn't it still morning-?" I glanced over to a nearby clock. Huh. I guess I really lost track of time, didn't I? It seems Twilight and I were in the archives longer than I thought...
"Nah, it's way past 12 now," She set the tray down and casually readjusted her glasses, "Anyways. After we eat we have to start searching the castle. I've got some information and... sugary nonsense from the scrolls but I don't think it's enough. I need to find something that we can easily access and I need it now. And fast. If only we knew where Canterlot's restricted section was... or the Canterlot Archives. Heh. Like as if we could get into the Archives. Even if we find it there's no way we could get in thanks to the amount of guards they stationed there thanks to the knowledge-eating villain that attacked a bit ago. So maybe that one's a total bust."
"..." I stared at Gimmick, "I... I found a way in."
Gimmick paused, "You what?"
I went to repeat, "I found a way into The Canterlot Archives-"
"HOW DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS GINSENG?!"