“I still don't get why you needed to bring me along, Twilight.”
Twilight glanced back towards the young drake perched between her wings, even as she walked the halls of Canterlot Castle.
“I told you, Spike. I'm going to need help finding the necessary reference materials, if I'm ever going to get this book properly translated. And no one knows the Castle's Library better than my Number One Assistant!” Twilight finished with a chipper tone and a smile for the baby-dragon on her back, hoping a bit of flattery would encourage the young drake.
Spike didn't seem to notice, as he began scratching the back of his head and thought aloud “I guess...but don't you think Princess Celestia would have hired some librarians by now? Couldn't they help you instead?”
Twilight sighed “I promise we'll be quick, Spike. And I don't want to have to count on anypony being there so soon after Hearth's Warming. I mean, there's never been that many ponies working there before, so-”
“That's cause you always had me in there with you. Princess Celestia didn't need to hire anypony back then.” Spike pointed out.
“True enough, Spike.” Twilight easily agreed with his boasting “And, like I said, it shouldn't take us too long. I just need to find some native examples of draconic writing, ideally with some properly translated copies, some cultural reference materials on dragons, and-”
“You're not gonna make me carry all of these books too, are you?” Spike interrupted, sensing that Twilight was about to list off quite a bit of material. Material that someone was going to have to carry all the way back to Ponyville.
“...We'll figure something out.” Twilight assured, even as she spared a glance for the large tome floating alongside her, held aloft in her magic.
It had come into her possession just over half-a-year ago, during her visit with Chrysalis' changelings. More specifically, she acquired it while perusing the contents of the changeling's own library, having spotted the curious tome amongst the eclectic collection of written works. The changelings, it seemed, had acquired reading materials from just about every sapient species she knew of. Most of it was stuff written by ponies, but there had also been works by griffons, zebras, donkeys...
...and, in this case, a dragon.
Chrysalis ended up gifting her the book, shortly thereafter, an action that had confused her at the time.
And still kind of did, for that matter.
But, at the time she was far too excited to give it much thought. All signs had pointed to the book having actually been penned by a dragon, which had marked it as an extreme rarity. It was basically a literary treasure that had fallen into Twilight's hooves.
The only problem was, she couldn't read it.
Chrysalis was no help, apparently quite gleeful at the prospect of seeing Twilight stymied by the book.
Yes, Twilight had a very basic understanding of the draconic language, thanks to Princess Celestia's tutelage, but only enough to glean the very smallest of bits from the book.
And The Golden Oaks Library, as fond as she was of her home, was not so large a library as to have the materials on hoof to properly translate the draconic language. Which wasn't so large a problem itself, as she was easily able to place an order for a guide covering the language. It was a bit of a niche purchase, but it would have been a welcome addition to the Golden Oaks Library collection, as far as she was concerned.
It would have, if she had not made a very distressing discovery in the course of translating the text, that had ended up negating the usefulness of her new translation guide.
The written tongue of the dragons was a profoundly lazy and apathetic language, that was not given over to completeness or clarity.
The translation guide she had ordered had been very useful when it came to providing direct translations for the various runes found in the book. But all this provided her was an incomprehensible word-salad.
She had actually been a bit curious as to why the translation guide had seemed so small, at first. With each rune representing a given word or idea, she would have expected the guide to be a fairly weighty tome in it's own right. What she didn't know at the time, was that dragons rarely bothered coming up with new words for new ideas. More often than not, they would just jam several words together that described the new thing, and call it a day.
Apparently, this was why the direct translation for the draconic word for 'pony' came out as 'hard-footed dog'.
Twilight spent three days double-checking that, trying to figure out if she had gone wrong in the translation at some point.
Then she tried translating the word for 'pegasus'.
It came out as 'annoying bird-dog'.
The word for unicorn was even more bewildering, as it translated out to 'dog-that-breaths-fire-from-its-skull'.
Even more frustrating, the draconic language didn't have a proper grammatical structure to it. Evidently, dragons didn't organize their words into proper sentences based on intent and function. No, they put the words in order based on which words the dragon speaking personally thought were most important!
It was utterly schizophrenic.
Sure, on some level, this provided a great deal of insight into draconic culture, and it even lent a certain poetic quality to their language.
But, it also meant that Twilight had wasted several months worth of her own free time trying, and failing, to translate the tome.
It really was no wonder that most dragons just seemed to settle for speaking plain Equestrian.
Poor Spike probably was going to end up having to carry quite a few books for Twilight. She was going to need a lot of reference material, in order to parse out some of the draconic phrases found in her literary treasure.
But, she needed to get it done now, while she had the opportunity.
There was only a small window after Heath's Warming where the library wouldn't be receiving any customers, she could reasonably be allowed to put off her work helping the changelings, and she wouldn't be at the center of organizing the Winter Wrap-Up. If she didn't make some actual headway now on this project, when would she? That the tantalizing secrets of the book hadn't driven her mad, with their inaccessibility, spoke of how far along her self-discipline had come along in these last few years.
Now that she thought about it, it was entirely possible that they might have to swing by the Canterlot Academy's library, if they couldn't find what they needed here.
One thing at a time.
She passed one of Canterlot Castle's many servants, before turning the corner that would lead her to the castle's library and her old refuge.
“Alright, Spike? Do you have the checklist ready?” Twilight asked of her Number One Assistant, as she came to a stop in front of the door to the library.
“Huh? Oh, yeah.” Spike said aloud, as he took out today's checklist and started going down it.
“Right, 'Reach the Canterlot Castle's library' is ready to be checked off.” Twilight happily informed, as she got ready to push open the door.
“...You know, we might be able to get more done if we didn't put every single thing that that we end up doing on these checklists.” Spike noted as he ticked off the item.
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, pausing at the door to look back towards Spike.
“I mean...did we really need to make separate items to check off, for riding the train to Canterlot and getting off the train?” Spike asked.
“Spike. The whole point of a checklist is to mark off every step of a project, delineating progress and allowing one to track what still needs to be done.” Twilight patiently explained.
“Yeah, but...so far I've had to check-off walking to Canterlot Castle, going through the maingate, and getting up to this floor of the castle. Seems like we'd save a lot more quills and ink if we just brought all those together into one 'Go to Canterlot Castle's Library' point, you know?” The little dragon explained.
“Well-...we'll talk about it when we get back home. For now, let's just focus on wrapping things up with this checklist.” Twilight compromised, having trouble arguing with Spike's point, but not yet willing to give-in on maintaining thorough checklists.
“Alright...'Reach Canterlot Castle's Library' is done. Next up, 'Enter Canterlot Castle's Library'...good thing we wrote that down.” Spike muttered to himself, a bit too loudly
This earned a brief frown from the purple princess, before she turned her attention back to the door to the library. Pressing her hoof against the door, she was just about to enter, when it flew open, seemingly of it's own accord.
Twilight was given momentary pause, as she found herself looking up into the eyes of Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings.
“Is there some reason you- Oh...Twilight Sparkle, I wasn't expecting you.” Chrysalis came to a stop, as she took note of the young alicorn.
“Uhhhh...” Twilight gaped, as she couldn't help but stare at the, normally, very intimidating Changeling Queen.
More particularly, what the changeling was wearing.
Once again, Twilight found herself in the position of being caught between her desire to have answers for just about everything and the knowledge that the answers she sought would likely be very distressing for her.
“What are you wearing?” Spike helpfully blurted out, not worried about what the answer might be.
“Pajamas. Obviously.” Came the prompt response from Chrysalis.
She was wearing pajamas.
Pajamas that were obviously a soothing lavender color, not all that different from the color of Twilight's own coat.
Pajamas that were only completed by the addition of a nightcap atop the changeling's head, that sported the same colors as Twilight own dual-colored mane.
The sleepwear gave the Changeling Queen a distressingly strong resemblance to a certain young Pony Princess.
“...Huh.” Came Spike's own reply.
“...I take it you're not here to deliver our hot cocoa?” Chrysalis asked, unperturbed by Twilight's bewildered silence.
Twilight had yet to formulate a response.
“Who is it, Ms. Chrysalis?” A young voice called from just behind Chrysalis. A moment later, a young colt peeked his head around the Changeling Queen, showing off his bright pink-and-blue mane, against the less eye-catching dull red of his coat.
Chrysalis spared a glance for the foal at her side “Just Princess Twilight...without our hot cocoa.”
Twilight's eye twitched for a moment, as her mind finally latched on to something “...Cocoa?”
“Hey, yeah. Can I have some cocoa too?” Spike suddenly asked.
“Obviously not, as there is none here.” Came Chrysalis' dry response.
“That's alright. I didn't really want mine anyway.” The colt noted, as he began pulling at a heavy scarf wrapped around his neck.
“Don't be ridiculous. Of course, you want hot cocoa.” Chrysalis told the foal.
“Naw, I'm good. Thanks though.” Came the colt's easy response, as he finally pulled the scarf loose.
Chrysalis narrowed her eyes at this, before sending a light glare Twilight's way, surprising the young princess “I hope you're happy.”
“...What?”
“Poor Hard Note has clearly been deprived so long of his hot cocoa, that he has slipped into some manner of delusional state. No doubt caused by his sheer despair at being left waiting for so long.” The Changeling Queen calmly informed the confused alicorn.
“I did? When did that happen?” The curious colt, Hard Note, asked of Chrysalis.
“Just a moment ago. It was terrible. Very distressing. Tears were shed.” Came the changeling's bland response.
“...Oh. Cool.” Hard Note remarked.
“So...he doesn't want his cocoa, then? Can I have it?” Spike asked again.
“What are you wearing?” Twilight finally blurted out, earning a wry glance from Chrysalis.
“Again...pajamas.” Chrysalis reiterated.
“It's rude to make others repeat themselves.” Hard Note helpfully chimed-in.
“Indeed...” Chrysalis agreed, before her eye darted to the side. She raised an eye, at the sight of the book floating in Twilight's magic, recognizing it “...though it seems, I may have to repeat myself once again.”
Twilight's ears perked at this, as she looked up to the Changeling Queen, curious now.
Chrysalis didn't give much mind to Twilight, turning around to march back into the library “As I said, when I gave you that book, I don't care how disappointed you are with it's contents. We won't be doing any 'trade-ins' or any such thing.”
“What?” Twilight called back.
“You're making her repeat herself again.” Hard Note cheekily pointed out, before following the changeling back into the cozy confines of the library.
All of this actually broke Twilight from her pajama-induced stupor, as she quickly followed after the Changeling Queen “Wait! I'm not trying to give the book back!”
“Oh?” Came Chrysalis' mildly curious reply.
“Not at all. In fact, I'm still trying to read it. That's why we're here.” Twilight explained, as she came up alongside the changeling. She made a point of ignoring the stylized stitch-work in Chrysalis' pajamas that made it look like she had a couple of feathered wings at her sides. The holes in the top of the pajamas, meant to accommodate the changeling's gossamer wings, helped.
This actually was a rather fortuitous turn of events for Twilight, the Changeling Queen's bizarre sleepwear not withstanding. Chrysalis had implied before, that she knew the contents of the book, and knew them fairly well. If she could pry even a few hints from her, it could do wonders for her translation work...
'Mustn't. Stare at...Pajamas.'
Chrysalis didn't seem to notice the effort-of-will that Twilight was undergoing, focused more on the alicorn's explanation. Stopping, she glanced to her side to Twilight “You still haven't read that thing yet? It's been months, has it not?”
“I-...well, no. It's been kind of...hectic the last few months.” Twilight admitted, a bit chagrined by the idea that she was being stymied by a book of all things. She kind of felt like she deserved the teasing that the changeling would, no doubt, put her through. Twilight cleared her throat before continuing “And, if I'm being honest, I've been having no end of troubles trying to translate it.”
“I see. So, that's why your here, to pester me into helping you read it. Is that it?” Chrysalis asked, in a somewhat condescending tone.
“N-no. I was just coming here to get some more materials on the draconic tongue, so that I could translate it myself. I didn't even know you were here...in your pajamas.” Twilight explained.
“But, if you could just tell us what's in the book, that'd be great too.” Spike piped-up hopefully.
Chrysalis seemed to take Twilight's words at face value. The Changeling Queen had an uncanny ability to pick at Twilight's motives and words, so it seemed she was convinced that Twilight was speaking honestly.
Unnoticed by the two royals, Hard Note glanced between Chrysalis and Twilight once again, scrutinizing them both “Uh, Ms. Chrysalis? Did you know your pajamas kind of make you look like her?”
Leave it to the foal, to tackle the draconequus-in-the-room.
“Really? I hadn't noticed.” Chrysalis casually remarked, while glancing down at her sleepwear.
“How could you not?” Spike asked, not picking up on the irony of the changeling's words.
Twilight had to clear her throat, as she used a hoof to rub the back of her head, a bit embarrassed for Spike.
There were several moments of silence, as Chrysalis turned her gaze on to Twilight. After several more moments, wherein the young princess held her tongue, Twilight eventually gave in “Uhm...yes?”
“Are you going to ask the question or not?” The Changeling Queen demanded.
“Question?” Twilight hedged, having a fair idea as to what Chrysalis was referring to, but not ready to commit.
“Yes. The question you obviously want to ask.” Chrysalis clarified.
Twilight glanced to the side again, before speaking up “...Would you mind helping me translate the book?”
Chrysalis' glare briefly intensified, before she finally let out a sigh while rolling her eyes “Celestia gave them to me as a gift. I, perhaps not thinking at the time, did not give her any parameters for my Hearth's Warming pajamas. She, obviously, took that as an opportunity to have some fun at my expense...Satisfied?”
“Oh...well, wait a moment.” Twilight was given some pause, at that explanation. She knew that Chrysalis and Princess Celestia were almost relentless in their teasing of one another. And while she was sure she was still left bereft of some context, there was still another question left “If you know she made them that way to mess with you, then why are you wearing them?”
“Because, I'm stubborn and prideful.” Chrysalis frankly informed her.
“So...spite?” Twilight asked, with a raised eyebrow.
“...They are also very warm and comfortable.” The changeling added.
“I think they look cool.” Hard Note noted.
“And, Hard Note thinks they look cool.” Chrysalis amended a moment later.
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...Uh-huh.” Came Twilight's slow response.
Chrysalis narrowed her eyes a bit, before sighing “Make it quick.”
“...Uhm.”
“What exactly is troubling you so much about the book?” Chrysalis clarified for the purple princess, even as she turned and began walking further into the library. The young colt followed a moment later, as he tossed his scarf over his back.
Twilight found herself glancing back to Spike, eliciting a shrug from the small dragon. With no better recourse, Twilight trotted after Chrysalis, the book following through the air “So, does that mean you're going to help?”
“If you can stop wasting my time, yes. We were in the middle of something.” Chrysalis explained, as she glanced towards the colt trailing beside her.
“...Is he-” Twilight began, as she too began eying the foal.
“Hard Note.” Chrysalis supplied, which earned a grin from the colt.
“Right...is Hard Note supposed to be here?” Twilight asked, with just a touch of concern.
“I'm allowed to be here.” Hard Note said, garnering the princess' attention.
“Oh?” Twilight asked, as their small group again came to a stop.
“Uh-huh.” The colt nodded.
“...Would you mind elaborating?” Twilight asked, realizing she would need to prompt the foal for anything further.
Hard Note blinked at that, before furrowing his brow “Elabo-...Elabro-”
“Elaborate.” Twilight helpfully repeated for the colt.
“It means-” Both Spike and Chrysalis began at the same time, before they each abruptly came to a stop.
After exchanging a brief glance with the Changeling Queen, Spike scratched the back of his head “You probably got this, I guess.”
Chrysalis just shook her head at this, before focusing back upon the confused colt “To elaborate, means to explain something in detail. She wants to know why you're allowed to be here.”
“Oh...well, why didn't she just say that instead?” Hard Note asked.
“She did.” Chrysalis replied, before Twilight could.
“Yeah, but...if she could have said it that way, why'd she go and use a word like-...like that one? Why didn't she just say it using those words, instead of using that other word?” Hard Note clarified, his expectant gaze shifting from Chrysalis to Twilight.
Twilight gave a smile for the curious foal “Sorry. I guess, I'm just used to using words like that, Hard Note, and I sometimes forget that not everyone knows the same things as me. But, on the bright-side, now you know a new word.”
“Well, no, I get that. But why do we even need that word? I mean, we could already just use the word 'explain' couldn't we?” Hard Note pressed.
This gave Twilight some pause.
“Huh...that is a good question.” Spike admitted, from a top Twilight's back.
The young princess had to furrow her brow at this “Well...it's like Chrysalis said. To elaborate, means to explain in detail. See?”
Twilight gave a smile to the young colt, as she finished. It quickly began to fade, as she noted the dissatisfied expression on Hard Note's face.
“But, couldn't ponies have just kept saying it that way? Instead of making up a new word?” The colt asked, even as he rubbed the back of his head with a hoof, shifting the mess of blue-and-pink mane that rested there.
After a few moments of considering this question, Twilight found herself glancing towards the Changeling Queen. The young princess had never been in a position where she needed to explain something like this “Uhm....Chrysalis? Perhaps you can handle that one?”
“Hm? Oh no. I think you're doing quite well on your own.” Chrysalis denied.
“Really? Cause I'm not sure Twilight knows-” Spike began, before being interrupted by Twilight suddenly giving him a small buck.
The princess quickly turned her attention back to the foal, a smile plastered on for his sake “It's complicated, Hard Note.”
“That's an excellent point, Twilight. The word 'elaborate' can have more than one meaning.” Chrysalis interjected.
“It can?” Hard Note asked, disbelievingly.
“Indeed. It can mean explaining something in detail, but it can also mean that something is very complicated.” The changeling easily explained.
“Wait, wait, wait...so we made a new word for explaining stuff a lot, but that same word means that other thing too? Why didn't they come up with another word for that too?” The colt asked.
“I'm not sure. But, Princess Twilight could surely explain that little inconsistency for you.” Came Chrysalis' casual reply.
Twilight sent a glare towards the changeling.
She quickly assumed a friendly expression, as the colt again turned his attention towards her.
“Can you explain that?” The colt innocently asked.
“Yes, can you?” Chrysalis unhelpfully echoed, visibly trying to conceal her amusement.
“I-...maybe not right now, Hard Note.” Twilight finally admitted.
“Oh...well, that's alright.” Hard Note quickly assured, before turning back towards Chrysalis and prodding her with a hoof “So, can we get back to the story, Ms. Chrysalis?”
“In a moment, little one.” Chrysalis assured, before she again resumed her walk, the colt quickly following behind.
As she watched the two of them turn onto and begin ascending the library's staircase, she quickly realized that, at no point had her own question been answered.
Spike had to grip his small claws in her mane, as Twilight flapped her wings, following them up the stairs.
“Just to be clear, Chrysalis, he is-...” Twilight drew to a pause, as she caught sight of the Changeling Queen making herself comfortable upon a large pile of colorful blankets and pillows. Judging by the size of the pile, Chrysalis must have emptied out, at least, two full linen closets. It was just a big hodge-podge of bright colors set into one big comfy pile, that Chrysalis was happily taking advantage of. The bright lavender of the changeling's pajamas almost failed to standout against the...
'Ugh...I'd almost stopped thinking about those pajamas.'
Twilight had to vigorously shake her head clear of that thought. It was just sleepwear. Some fairly ridiculous sleepwear. That the Chrysalis was wearing. That gave the changeling an uncanny resemblance to a certain alicorn princess...
“Oh, sweet! I'm getting in on this.” Spike spoke up, breaking Twilight's focus again, even as he excitedly slid off of her back. A few moments of running on a pair of stubby dragon legs, led to Spike diving onto an open spot on the pile of cushions and blankets, right alongside Hard Note.
“Spike...” Twilight admonished, as she began a hesitant canter over that way.
“Oh, come on, Twilight! This is great! I was freezing my scales off outside.” Spike complained, even as he rolled himself up in one of the blankets.
Twilight rolled her eyes at this, and was about to speak up again, when a green glow sprang up around the blanket Spike had grabbed. In the next second, it flew up into the air, letting the small dragon fall out of it's warm confines. The blanket then floated over to the frowning Changeling Queen, before settling across her withers.
“This is my blanket.” Came Chrysalis' rather forceful declaration.
“Uh...my bad.” Spike awkwardly conceded, squirming under the gaze of the changeling. Twilight didn't really know how to respond to that, but could only note that Hard Note seemed inordinately pleased by the whole thing.
“Right...So, just to be clear, Hard Note has permission to be here right? Here? With you?” Twilight asked of the changeling, deciding not to cling to the blanket-issue.
“Uh-huh! My dad said he'd let me come with him today, if I behaved myself.” Hard Note quickly supplied for Chrysalis.
“His father is a member of the Royal Guard. A Stalwart Gaze, I believe.” The Changeling Queen added next, answering the obvious question before Twilight could give voice to it.
The name actually rang a bell, in Twilight's mind. She had always stayed on pretty good terms with most of the ponies that worked around Canterlot Castle, and she could recall a quiet, even-tempered, Earth pony by that name “Oh, I see. So, you wanted to come see the castle then, is that right?”
“Not really. I mostly just wanted to hang-out with Ms. Chrysalis again.” Came the colt's frank reply.
“Oh.” The princess couldn't help but blink at that answer.
“Yeah, she's really cool.” Hard Note added.
“He's very astute for his age.” Chrysalis casually noted.
“Wait. You came here to spend time with her?” Twilight asked disbelievingly.
“Yeah? Why?” Came Hard Note's reply.
Catching sight of the look of surprise on Twilight's face, at this turn of events “I'm a bit insulted that you find it so hard to believe that I'm cool, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Oh, right. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-...” Twilight had to swallow down a bit of embarrassment. She supposed that was kind of unfair of her to make those kind of assumptions about Chrysalis, at this point. It had been over half-a-year since she had decided to help Chrysalis' changelings, and she had been given more than a few chances to interact with the Changeling Queen in that time. And while Chrysalis wasn't exactly a nice individual...
Twilight tilted her head towards Chrysalis “That was rude of me. I'm sorry.”
Chrysalis simply nodded.
“Now...what exactly is the problem you are having with that book?” Chrysalis suddenly demanded, turning her attention over to Twilight once more, to Spike's relief.
“Oh...right. Well, I seem to be running into some issues translating the text, and-” Twilight began.
“What kind of issues?” Chrysalis cut-in again.
“Pretty much all of them.” Spike piped-up, cutting Twilight off, even as he wrapped himself up in a different blanket. This earned an annoyed look from the princess, that eventually slipped into a sigh, as she conceded the dragon's point with a nod.
“So, basically you can't read the book.” The changeling summed up.
“I can get the exact translations for a lot of the words and phrases in the text. I just didn't realize how little good that would do me.” Twilight managed to explain.
“Where'd you get the book?” Hard Note asked, his curious gaze resting on the tome in Twilight's magic now.
“It was a gift, that I gave her some months back. This was when Princess Twilight visited my changelings, so she could help them.” Came the surprisingly straight-forward and respectful answer, from Chrysalis.
Hard Note thought about this for a moment, before seeming to nod in understanding.
“So...how much have you actually managed to translate?” Chrysalis asked of Twilight, gesturing a hole-filled hoof towards the book.
“Properly translated? I can only say with certainty that I've managed to translate the cover correctly.” Twilight relayed truthfully. While she could technically translate quite a few words in the book, she had no idea how to even organize these contents into coherent ideas and sentences. She had managed to confirm her translation for the presumed author's name, which was emblazoned along the cover.
“The Dark Tempest that Shattered Crystal Mountain.” Twilight said, catching sight of the expectant look coming from the Changeling Queen.
It was a dragon's name. More particularly, an adult dragon's name.
That had actually been the one part of her research that had garnered some genuine interest from Spike. As it happened, most young dragons had names quite similar to his own. Short, descriptive names, that young dragons would carry with them until they had achieved something worthy of bragging about. After some impressive accomplishment or another, the dragon would fashion a longer name for itself, describing itself or the act. This typically marked the transition point for young dragons into true, independent adulthood, when they would no longer be under the protection of their guardians and elders.
The fact that this dragon's name featured a very specific locale, as well as a notable event relating to that locale, made it very easy to research. This was especially so, since Twilight basically had free reign to poke around the Crystal Empire's libraries, and was regularly making trips to the region anyway.
She probably could have found actual Crystal Ponies that knew of this dragon, and learned even more, but for one issue.
King Sombra.
From what she had been able to piece together, before Sombra had seized the Crystal Empire as his own, he had served as a prominent adviser to the ruling family at the time. One with his own motives, naturally, who had capitalized upon the bygone, and since returned, empire's more isolationist days.
It used to be that the Crystal Empire had been quite guarded about it's independence from Equestria, and more specifically Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Which he took advantage of, stirring up the population against any attempts at outreach with other nations, and playing upon fears of outside threats, all while gathering his own supporters.
As time wore on, Sombra eventually directed these fears towards the, at the time, apathetic dragon roosting within the nearby peak of Crystal Mountain. This forced the ruling family to allow him to organize the military expedition to oust the dragon from their lands.
Given his goals, it wasn't a terrible idea.
If he succeeded, they would drive-off or kill the dragon and seize a vast pile of wealth, all at the prompting of Sombra himself, letting him take the credit. If they failed and were routed, that would mean the military power of the Empire would be weakened and he could use it to frighten the populace even further into following him. The forces were largely comprised of those loyal to the rightful rulers of the Crystal Empire, those that had volunteered for the task, while many of his supporters stayed behind, possibly at his prompting. And if the Crystal Empire's rulers had refused to back the expedition, it would have looked as if they didn't care about the safety of their subjects.
A win-win-win.
Until one factored in the part that involved a very old, very angry dragon.
Arguably, things were still going according to Sombra's plan, when the dragon ended up devastating the army sent to oust it.
Things were getting a bit iffy, when the dragon turned it's power against the mountain itself, purposely causing most of it to collapse upon the remaining portions of the army. But, the dragon's wealth wasn't of that much importance to Sombra's plans anyway.
When the dragon started razing the countryside, as it chased the remnants of the expedition back towards the capital, that's when things were getting out of control.
Written accounts stated that the whole of the Crystal Empire's westerlands were set ablaze, and that the rising smoke and dust from the collapse of the mountain made it look as if a terrible storm was sweeping across the land. Still other accounts claimed that the dragon itself belched out great bolts of lightning, and swept down upon the countryside with the force of a hurricane.
Sombra was eventually forced to take to the field himself, perhaps revealing a great deal more of his magical prowess than he really wanted to. Ironically, the future Dark King had to save the Crystal Empire before he could take it over.
Which he succeeded in doing.
While it was a titanically destructive battle, Sombra was able to rally the surviving forces and did most of the work of driving away the dragon himself.
It's rather telling, that the fight was so impressive that the loser still gained a great deal of respect, accolades, and fear from his fellow dragons in the end. It made it clear why, when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna faced Sombra down, they did it together.
Ultimately, the event was cited as the last Great Dragon Rampage on record, and served to elevate Sombra's status as a hero at the time, facilitating his eventual tyranny over those lands.
...Yeah, that part Twilight was pretty easily able to translate and confirm. There were quite a few records available describing these events, stored away in the archives of the Crystal Empire, being among the more recent historical events to occur before the Crystal Empire was lost to time.
She couldn't help but look back with even greater concern, for what could have come about if they hadn't thwarted Sombra's full return.
“So, all you have is the name then, yes?” Chrysalis asked, breaking Twilight from her recollections.
Twilight quickly nodded, as she focused back upon the now “That's the only part I'm sure I have translated correctly, yes.”
“Well...at least, you've accomplished that much.” Chrysalis sarcastically conceded, earning a mildly annoyed look from the princess.
“Right...So, this book was definitely written by this dragon, this Dark Tempest?” Twilight asked.
“He responds to 'Tempest'. And he more dictated the book than wrote it himself. Very large claws, you see...” Chrysalis casually mentioned.
“That book was written by a dragon?” Hard Note asked, pointing a hoof towards the tome.
“Apparently. That's what got Twi so excited about it, anyway.” Spike said from his own cozy little nest amongst the blanket-and-cushion pile.
“Huh...So, is it that dragon, Ms. Chrysalis?” Hard Note asked, as he looked back towards the Changeling Queen.
“What? Which dragon?” Twilight asked, thrown by the colt's earnest question.
“That would be the dragon I was telling him stories about...before we were interrupted.” Chrysalis explained.
“Oh, so you were telling him stories. That explains things.” Twilight said with a nod, recalling the time she witnessed the Changeling Queen entertaining a large group of young changelings with her story-telling skills. The young princess could admit, that she had been entertained at the time too. Sending a smile towards the young colt “Well, I'm not sure which stories she's been telling you, but there are quite a few dragons out there, and-”
“Actually, he's correct.” Chrysalis suddenly interrupted.
“...What?” Twilight blurted out.
“Yeah! She was telling me all about Princess Platinum's dragon and-” Hard Note excitedly began.
“Wait. Princess Platinum? What does she have to do with any of this?” Twilight asked.
“Only everything.” Came Chrysalis' easy reply.
“But...Princess Platinum didn't have a dragon. There isn't anything like that in the-” Twilight began.
“Do you want to know what's in this book or not?” Chrysalis sharply demanded.
Twilight's mouth quickly snapped shut. Chrysalis didn't make many empty threats, and the implied threat, could have left her never knowing what was contained in that inscrutable book.
“That's what I thought. Now, if you're willing to accept that perhaps your accounting of what took place in a tumultuous time from over a thousand years ago might be wrong, I can tell you the story that I know.” Chrysalis offered. After a few moments of continued silence from everyone present, the changeling took in a deep breath and seemed ready to begin.
Chrysalis paused, before glancing down towards the colt at her side. This incidentally set the small, puffy ball hanging from the tip of her nightcap dancing “That is...assuming Hard Note doesn't mind hearing the story again from the beginning?”
Twilight couldn't help but turn towards Hard Note, to catch his reply. Fortunately, the colt gave a big smile “Sure, that's cool with me!”
“Excellent. Then-” Chrysalis again paused, as she noticed Spike holding up his own clawed hand, in a bid to get attention.
“...What is it?” The changeling asked.
“Uhm, before you get started...where are we on that hot cocoa?” Spike asked hopefully.