"Can't we just not do this?" Spike asked as he followed behind Chrysalis through the maze of crystalline bookshelves.
Chrysalis shook her head, “I find it interesting that Twilight’s managed to find a way to block our inherent ability to sense emotions. I never considered that it would possible and I would have asked Twilight, but she’s been distant lately. That I have found to be unusual especially given how many times she fired questions at me when I first came here.”
Spike asked, “Why would you go this way then? There’s nothing really over here, this is the reference part of the library. It’s not like you can borrow from this part.”
“Something felt off to me when I came near here before,” Chrysalis answered as she looked for that place. “It was like being in the older parts of the Hive, there are hidden passages everywhere.”
Spike slapped a claw over his face and sighed, "While your desire to find secrets and hidden areas makes sense, it’s also bad. Almost as bad as Twilight in the middle of a research session and I really want you to stop, before we start tripping off the wards."
"Wards? It does make sense to block off restricted areas, but those shouldn’t be a problem. How many does she have?" Chrysalis asked.
Spike groaned, "I’ve lost track. I know where a lot of them are, but there are far too many. Some of her wards are intense and sort of unpredictable since she was experimenting a bit with ward magic when she placed them in."
Chrysalis stopped when she noticed she was in front of a blank wall, "Here, this is the place. Something’s off about this wall, I think something’s hidden here."
Chrysalis lifted a hoof and ran it over the blank wall looking for an opening. She was looking at the wall one moment, but at the ceiling the next moment. She looked around to see that Spike had tackled her down.
“What was that for?” she asked as she got up.
He sighed and pointed to the blank wall where a single rune was faintly glowing, "You tripped a protective ward, looks like a paralyzing bolt.”
He raised a claw across a section of the blank wall, “While I don't like it especially since we’re breaking into Twilight’s private space I'll help you. There are too many wards here and some could be dangerous, better not trip those ones.
Chrysalis watched as the area where his claws went over glowed faintly as miniature wards came into view. The glowing dimmed and the wall looked the same as before, it was at this point that Spike walked straight through the blank wall and a confused Chrysalis followed behind him.
After passing through the wall Chrysalis found herself in an unexpected type of place, the protection on the room was heavy and she had been expecting something a bit different. She looked around to see that they had entered what looked to be a cozy reading room decorated more like the previous library had been with hardwood floors and solid wooden walls that looked faintly like tree bark. Part of one wall was built of stone bricks to accommodate a fireplace, while the rest of the walls were covered in wooden shelves that held numerous tomes and many of them looked quite old. A few books however were placed on a few pedestal dotted around the room.
“Surprised to find such a large space behind that wall?” Spike asked.
Chrysalis nodded, “That was elaborate protection for a reading room, it doesn’t make sense to me to hide a reading room like that.”
Spike shrugged, “It fits Twilight though as it lets her keep her books safe and away from most people. This is a room that Twilight’s kept quiet for the most part, mostly for what’s in here and slightly for what’s in here,” Spike said informing Chrysalis. "Your answers are probably in here."
Chrysalis who had been admiring the room was confused by the Dragon’s statement, “What? There’s no difference between what you just said.”
“There is. Most of the stuff in here is old and rare, the stuff most would certainly put wards and spells around like crazy to protect,” Spike said.
“Most, what about the rest and when did she get all of this together? I thought she told me she took everything with her when she moved here and then most of that was lost afterwards,” Chrysalis interjected.
Spike shook his head as his eyes became downcast, “Yeah, a lot was lost that day. Most of these survived since she left them behind in Canterlot. She said there wasn’t enough room here to display it all and she only took two sets with her, or actually she took a set and a book.”
Spike lifted a slim tome off one of the pedestals; the edges of the book were slightly singed. “This is the book that she brought with her, ‘A Guide to Abjuration Magic by Starswirl the Bearded’. His only one on this field of magic and only twenty copies were ever printed.”
Spike waved a claw across a shelf that was built just above a fireplace, “The other is the complete collection of ‘The Complete Hooford Dictionary 4th Edition’. While Twilight loves books in general especially books on magic this series in particular is special. She cares for it even more than most of the other books she owns. However a lot of students used to mock her about it when they found about her liking and owning an expansive dictionary set, that’s the other reason she used to refuse admitting that she liked reading through the dictionary.”
Chrysalis blinked and said, “I will admit that I find it a bit odd that Twilight likes a dictionary series. But having it placed behind so many wards seems excessive.”
Spike shrugged, “This set was once owned by her family, she picked up on reading it about two years before I was born. After she moved into Canterlot Castle, her parents gave the set to her.”
Spike walked to the shelves and picked off the last volume in the series and held it up to Chrysalis, “Here’s your answers.”
Chrysalis looked at the last volume, admittedly slimmer than the other volumes. “How would a dictionary volume help?”
Spike lifted up the front cover and quickly leaf through it, “It’s actually her research journal. A mistake in the first printing of this edition from a last minute decision put the last two volumes into one book, but the book binder didn’t get the note. They bound it as though it was just the second last volume, not as the combined volume. It’s rare to have the mistaken set, but Twilight’s family had one. With her interest in the set, her parents gave her the entire set and then Celestia contributed as well by adding a special book charmed to be endless and looked like it belonged in the set, like it’s the missing last volume.”
Spike handed the book over to Chrysalis. “Start from here, skim through to the end. It's her study on Changelings, but like many things she researches it gets long in many places.”
Chrysalis took the offered book and looked to where Spike had opened the book to.
This marks the first entry on my studies of ‘Equus Metamorphia’ or what we commonly call Changelings. The Changelings lack a formal classification as there had long been relegated to the tales of myths and folklore; as such I have devised my own classification for the purposes of this study. Unlike other beings classified as ‘Equus’ which encompasses all of the Pony races, Changelings do not belong to either the two genus of ‘Solarus’ or ‘Lunarus’. However they share a similar body type and hence will be classified as part of the ‘Equus’ species. Secondly their innate abilities pertaining to shape shifting has led to the use of ‘Metamorphia’ resulting in their classification as ‘Equus Metamorphia’.
Chrysalis groaned lightly at she realized why Spike had advised her not to read the journal so thoroughly. Taking his advice, she skimmed the following pages until one small passage dated from a few weeks ago caught her attention.
I have found myself spending more time in the Queen’s company and enjoying myself immensely. This has gone beyond its initial study into Equus Metamorphia and I have yet to find a conclusive answer. However “hints” from some friends have alluded to the idea that what I have been feeling for the Queen goes beyond friendship and as such perhaps this is the potential cause for recent deviation from the intended purposes of this research journal.
It took a moment for it to sink in especially since the journal writing was dense and had been giving Chrysalis a headache trying to read it. At last the comprehension sank in and her eyes widened as she started to realize what was going on. Before she could look at the journal again to confirm her suspicions a polite cough came from behind her.
“Well I didn’t think you would find out this way,” Twilight said as calmly as she could. “I couldn’t find you anywhere in this palace and then I find you here snooping around my personal reading room aided by my “trustworthy” Draconic assistant.”
“Sorry Twilight,” Spike mumbled. “I just wanted to minimize problems, some of your wards are nasty….”
Twilight sighed, “You’re forgiven Spike.”
“Was that last line true?” Chrysalis asked.
“You mean about what my meddlesome friends have suggested so then yes, it is true. Although
I should have realized that you would have taken my retreat as an invitation to snoop,” Twilight said.
“So where do we go from here?” Chrysalis asked.
“I’ve been trying to determine that answer for the last few days, I’m sure we could come up with something. We could at the very least make an attempt to see if what my friends were implying was indeed the cause for my more recent distractions.”
Chrysalis ignored the urge to rub her forehead again, “I have disguised myself many times over and that was the most unromantic way I’ve heard someone ask for a date. We could try one, if you could spare me the long scientific discussions.”
Twilight nodded, “Of course. It's last minute, but would you like to do something tonight?”