Chrysalis walked in through the front doors of the Crystal Oak, upon entering she noticed two things, one how quiet it was and this was emphasized by the lack of the ever present pair of Guards standing about like statues and second was the usually heavier weight of ambient magic. It took a only a moment for her to determine what it was and when she did she sighed and turned to head to where Twilight had likely buried herself in.
She had first returned to Equestria as part of the diplomatic envoy sent by the Changeling Collective to negotiate peace with the Equestrian Triarchy. That had been months ago and the result of the peace agreements was the increased interaction between Changelings and Ponies. Over those few months Chrysalis found herself spending time with newest Princess who at first resented her for what she had done, but over time warmed up to having the Changeling Queen around as a friend.
Ahead of her was the last barrier between her and Twilight, she had already pushed through the wards that Twilight had installed. Thankfully the wards that were up were only protective wards and not more dangerous one. Pushing open the thick door of solid wood in front of her with her magic aura, Chrysalis entered the expansive library. The library shelves were thankfully sturdy as the sheer number of volumes crammed in the available spaces likely would have destroyed flimsier shelves. It was still baffling that these shelves had been bare only a few months ago, the size of the collection had her believing it was the result of several years of collecting.
Her friend, the third Alicorn Princess of Equestria was seated at a sturdy table with books piled on any and all available space on the table and the nearby floor. Twilight seemed deeply engrossed by her latest text. This was a sight she had grown used to seeing; often she would find her camped here with piles of books, scrolls, ink bottles, and quills.
The sight of seeing Twilight reading was nothing unusual although Chrysalis had to sigh as she recognized what subject Twilight was trying to research and which book she was likely consulting.
With a strong pull Chrysalis gripped the book with her magic and wretched it away from the reading Alicorn.
“Hey!” Twilight yelled as she noticed that her book had been taken away from her.
Chrysalis ignored Twilight’s cries as she proceeded to remove a slim chapter from the book. However she was stopped by the opposing magic of Twilight who had quickly recovered from her shock.
With a firm tug of her magic Twilight wretched the book away from Chrysalis before turning to glare at her guest, “I know you don’t like this book in particular, but we don’t destroy books here. These books are part of the library and anypony should be able to borrow and read them which they can’t do if you go destroying books.”
Chrysalis returned the glare, “I only dislike one section, an unnecessary one at that.”
Twilight rested the book on the nearest book stack, “That is not an excuse to destroy books.”
Chrysalis snorted, “I’ve heard of the so-called author from my predecessor, a true coward who refused to set hoof on Changeling lands and instead turned myths into facts for his research ”
Twilight sighed, “His writings as fictitious as it may be is all there is written on Changelings. We have great number of accounts on Changeling physiology and appearances, but almost nothing on culture or society.”
Chrysalis tapped her chin with a forehoof, “I’ll agree to tell you more if you can get his writings removed from the next edition.”
Twilight nodded and walked over to the nearest available table space while she also pulled out a fresh scroll and some ink. “Good idea with the greater number of Changeling visitors it would be good to clear up any misconceptions.”
Chrysalis shook her head at the excited actions of her friend as she look for an available space to sit. “The Hive Mind is a myth,” Chrysalis began, “one of the first things Dim Light claims is false. Our minds are our own, free of the influence of others to direct our actions. If we wanted an example, then my failed invasion was a poor decision on my part. My Hive was lacking food and we were getting desperate but, instead of asking for help I devised a plan to forcefully capture the city because I was too full of pride to ask for help and it is our way to blend into society to cultivate emotions into food. The plan was originally simpler, but the lure of the oncoming wedding was tempting and I gave into greed hoping that in success I would have a steady supply of food for my Hive some time.”
Twilight nodded as she continued to write her notes down, “I have to ask about why you call them Hives, both your people and your cities.”
“Those are connected, Hives can refer to those who live together collectively which Changelings do. We have a unified government in one sense, but for the most part each Hive is largely independent. The Hive in this sense refers to our collectively way of living. Hive as a people is because of our close ties with each other, we Changelings have many stories that are believed to tell of origins. In one was that we were once something else perhaps Ponies who banded together for protection and that magic works in unusual ways. That over time the closeness between those beings intensified into a sense of empathy between them.”
Isn’t that still a Hive Mind of sorts?” Twilight asked. “The close connection that Changelings share could be considered akin to one as your minds are linked in one way.”
Chrysalis tapped her chin again, “Maybe, but far too often others associate the concept of Hive Mind with mindless orders from a leader. Our empathy allows us to sense the general emotion of fellow Changelings and it forms a sense of comfort knowing others are around and that we can sense them in a way. The empathetic connection is usually limited between Hives and it is a social custom and a common courtesy not to intrude, intrusion often makes things difficult as each Hive being independent runs in their own ways. Only when the Hives gather to form the Collective in which case those decisions usually affect Changelings in general.”
Twilight looked up to look at Chrysalis with a confused expression on her face, “How do you keep Hives apart like that? Couldn’t one Changeling just connected emphatically to whoever they wanted to?”
“The Hives themselves are part of the separation as I mentioned it is part of social custom, but there are also the Hive Royals and one of their task is to be part of the separation. For one to be considered for the position they need to be mentally strong since the Queen or King with the use of artifacts they can feel the emotions of all Changelings in their Hive and through them they help maintain the separation. Of course any Changeling could break this and connect with another Hive if they wish as these artifacts are not always on, to maintain the artifacts’ powers is very taxing mentally.”
Twilight continued to write and finished the last sentence off with a flourish before looking up again, “I think that cover a lot of the basics and while I would like to continue discussing Changelings, we do have somewhere to be.”
Now it was Chrysalis’ turn to be confused, “We do? I can’t remember what it could be though.”
Twilight’s magic picked up her various books and began slotted themselves to their proper places, “Tonight promises to be warm and my friends and I have invited you to join us for dinner. We’re supposed to be at Sweet Apple Acres in about half an hour and I thought since the weather’s good that we could walk there.”