After our little talk Rainbow let me off early to see what I could find on changelings. Admittedly I was only thirty minutes earlier than everypony else, but I'm not going to complain. Now that me and Rainbow have agreed to be civil and try to get along I feel almost like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, if I'm going to be stuck here for awhile I might as well make it as easy for myself as possible.
The little bell chimed as I walked through the door of the 'Book Barn'. Dusty looked up and beamed when he saw me. "Twilight! It's so nice to see you again". He didn't get up from his desk this time, I suppose the shock of having a customer has worn off slightly.
"It's nice to see you too Dusty". I walked up to the desk, I could see a book lying open in front of him with a red book mark resting on the page.
"What can I do for you today?"
The reason I came here after Rainbow asked me to find out about changelings was because last time I came here they had the exact book I needed, complete with messages from the real world. I've got a feeling this is more than just a book shop, it's a link to the real world. That means I'll probably find anything I need, just as long as I look.
"I was hoping to find something about changelings?" He had that slightly confused look again, I can understand why since not many ponies know about changelings back in the 1970s. "Mythical creatures, magic beings? Something like that?" Dusty smiled and nodded.
"Yes, I have something like that. Follow me". He led me to a shelf on the right side of the shop. "I hope you find what you're looking for". As I was reading through the titles I remembered my last conversation with Dusty...
"Hey Dusty, did you want to hear about my old library?" I thought it might help strengthen the link between here and home if I talk about something from the real world.
"Oh I'd love to!" He sounded so excited, I wish the girls back home were so interested.
"Well, where do I start? It's a tree". I chuckled. "I know, library made out of a tree, how silly".
"I don't think so, I think it's clever and ironic". I looked over to him.
"You do?" He nodded. "Well you're the first". I turned back to the books. "Anyway, me and my friend Spi...." I just remembered, I can't talk about Spike. "Spiral, lived there for a few years. We lent books to ponies, but for the most part they stayed in the library". I let out a wistful sigh. "I must have read every book in there at least twice. Spiral used to say I spent more time in the library than outside".
I remember how Spike used to be back when we lived in Canterlot, he always tried to make me go outside and make friends. I guess I should have listened to him. I remember the day we moved to Ponyville, Moondancer was having a party or something like that. I hope she wasn't too upset that I didn't come, I'm sure she's fine.
"I completely understand, I know if I lived in a library I would probably never leave". For a brief moment I really wished I could show Dusty the Golden Oak Library, but sadly that is impossible. It hadn't even been built (grown?) in 1973. In fact, Ponyville probably hasn't even been founded yet, when did Granny Smith and her family move there? If it has then it's still in its early days.
I continued looking though the books on the shelf until I found one that seemed to stand out from the rest. It was emerald green and the title written in gold along the side, it read 'Diversity in Equestria'. I picked it off the shelf and looked at the cover, there was a picture of a pony with a dragon on their left and a fox like creature on their right. I flicked through the pages, there was information on multiple creatures including parasprites, zebras, dragons and even three separate chapters for unicorns, earth ponies and pegisi.
This was exactly what I needed!
I walked up to the desk and put the book down. "This one please". He checked the price written on the inside front cover.
"That will be ten bits". I pulled out my wallet and pulled out all the money I had.
"I've only got six, could I possibly pay you back later?" He smiled at me.
"It's ok, honestly". He looked me over. "I never did ask what you do for a living did I?" I shook my head. "Well, it must be pretty good for you to have left your library behind". I gave a sad smile.
"It wasn't exactly my choice". I mumbled. He gave me a sympathetic look, then looked down at the book, then back to me.
"You know what, have it, for free". My eyes widened in shock.
"A-a-are you sure?" I get the feeling he doesn't get many customers except for me, I wouldn't want to deprive him of any money.
"I'm sure, you look like you need it. Think of it as my contribution to your new library". I was so touched, no pony done something like this for me before.
"Well if you're sure, thank you". I smiled so wide it nearly split my face in two. "Thank you so much".
"Think nothing of it, just promise you'll come back soon to tell me more about your library". I practically bounced out of the shop.
"I will, I promise. Have a good day Dusty".
I heard him call out "And you too Twilight" before I closed the door and was off down the street. I couldn't believe how nice he had been, especially since he clearly needs all the customers he can get. I know, I'll bring one of the girls down to see him. Fluttershy would probably love it there.
When I finally got to my flat I jumped onto my bed and opened my new book. It was a beautiful book, with coloured illustrations and carefully written paragraphs about each creature. I finally managed to find the page on changelings, it had a lovely drawing of a changeling standing on all four hooves with green smoke (probably made using chalk) around it. It has a block of text underneath the picture.
'Changelings are a race of beings that can morph into any creature they desire. They have evolved to have this talent to make it easier to hunt for their food. Most changeling feed on love, however some have been known to eat berries and other plants when love is scarce, these changeling were spotted in places like Griffon Stone'
Really? I didn't know that...
'Most ponies are under the impression that changelings are parasites and should not be allowed near other ponies. However research has shown that not all changeling feed to excess, in fact this only occurs when the hive is in danger and the Queen decides to invade a neighboring town or city as a last resort. The have been some reported cases of changeling hives trying to unnecessarily over take populated areas, but for the most part they are relatively peaceful creatures.'
PEACEFUL! That is not true! Look at me! I am living proof that changelings are not peaceful! One put me in a coma!
On the next page there was a drawing of a changeling rearing up into a fighting stance.
'If a changeling is provoked they will usually change into somepony nearby to either escape or confuse its enemy. They will usually kick at the attacker or use their teeth to fight them off. Some ponies were lucky enough to study of a hive close up, they noticed that changeling soldiers will fight as an army to protect their Queen, regardless of if they want to or not.'
If that is true, then what was Chrysalis doing in Canterlot? Is her hive in trouble, or did she just want to take over Equestria for her own selfish gain? And what about Royal Pin? What was he doing in Manehatten away from his hive?
'If a changeling disobeys their Queen then they are banished from the hive and left to fend for themselves. Sadly due to most ponies prejudice these changelings don't tend to survive.'
Was that what happened to Royal Pin? Oh, now I feel doubly guilty. No wonder he ran away, he was just trying to survive on his own.
'Little is known of changeling biology. We have many theories as to how they came to be, the most commonly accepted theory is that during the Great Blizzard of Hearths Warming a group of ponies became isolated from the rest of society. Over many years they have evolved and bred with other creature creating the changelings we know today. This would explain their dependence on emotions and why they live away from ponies.'
I never thought about that, what if that's true? After all, we don't really know what happened to the other ponies after the Windigos arrived.
Why have I never heard about all of this before?