3 Years Before Nightmare Moon's Return
Cadence looked at the mountain range. She had to admit that the Changelings choice of hiding place was very elegant. The whole place was full of enough wild magic to discourage anyone from coming closer, and there should be an extensive network of underground tunnels for the Changelings to sneak in and out of the hive.
However, Cadence didn't care about how reclusive the Changelings were, she still had to talk to them. So she used the plan she had worked out before even coming to that place and started focusing on her inherent power as the alicorn of bonds.
She thought about Changelings, Cadence had absorbed everything Celestia had to tell her about them, which admittedly wasn't that much, but considering love was one of the most powerful bonds and Changelings were inextricably linked to it, Cadence didn't need much information to be able to detect the Changelings.
She could feel a multitude of them inside the mountain range, but what she was looking for was a lone Changeling who was close enough for her to intercept. It didn't take very long before she found a likely candidate who was flying nearby, presumably preparing to go inside one of the hidden tunnels.
She flew towards him, quickly getting close enough to see that the Changeling had adopted the form of an orange pegasus mare with a purple mane. She slowed down upon recognizing Cadance, allowing her to approach.
"Princess Cadenza? What are you doing here?" The Changeling seemed honestly curious and not nervous at all. She(or maybe a he) was a very good actress.
"I'm here for a special mission, and I would like for you to carry a message for me. Please tell Queen Chrysalis that I would like to speak to her in person." Cadance knew this kind of direct approach was the only thing that would work on the Changelings.
"Queen Chrysalis...? I don't know who that is." The look of confusion on the face of the disguised Changeling looked entirely genuine. Cadance might have been fooled if not for her special abilities.
"I'm sure you don't. But pass the message anyway. I'll be waiting near Red Mountain." Cadence said and turned back, flying toward the point she said. The die was cast, and she could only wait for her move to draw results.
It took three entire days, but Cadance was patient, she simply kept looking at all the bonds shared in between the Changelings, and eating the meals that were teleported to her during pre-planned times. Finally, a blue pegasus stallion with a green mane(also a Changeling) approached her.
"I have come to take you to see Queen Chrysalis." He said, standing like one of Celestia's royal guards.
"Lead the way, then." Cadence smiled at him and followed when he started flying deeper into the mountain range.
After a few minutes, the Changeling landed next to an unremarkable rock in the middle of a field of identical rocks and looked around for a bit before pushing the rock aside to reveal a dark tunnel. Glancing at Cadence to see if she was paying attention, he then dived into the tunnel, Cadence did the same, flying down for a few moments before the tunnel levelled off and both her and the Changeling landed on the ground and started walking.
He then turned into his real form, an actual male Changeling, and lit up his horn. The reason why he did it became clear once Cadence heard the rock being moved again, and the light shining from outside was blocked. In the middle of the dark passage, Cadence could only follow the small light given off by the Changeling, without knowing which paths she was going through, or even if there were any alternate paths. This would be a harrowing experience, but Cadence was only feeling fascination with the Changelings themselves. Every thing they did made her more anxious to meet Queen Chrysalis, with the depths of the sheer paranoia they were going through for this visit being particularly interesting. Cadence also engraved in her mind the image of the first Changeling she had ever seen.
So occupied was she with those thoughts that she almost missed the moment they arrived at the meeting place. Several torches on the walls lit themselves up, showing that she was in a circular chamber that was as big as one of the castle's halls, and with the exception of the torches, the chamber was completely bare. The guide Changeling turned back and left through the same place they had apparently came in, the only exit of the chamber, but Cadence barely registered it, considering almost all of her attention was in the only other occupant of the chamber, Queen Chrysalis herself.
And it wasn't surprising, for Chrysalis was clearly an exceptional example of her kind, her color was a shiny black that could not be found in nature, exccept for blue-green plating on her barrel, her legs were long and elegant, despite being seemingly out of proportion with her body. She had a curly teal mane, and a lock of it fell over her face, giving it a sense of mysteriousness. Her tail was also teal and straight, appearing to be more rigid than hair should. Her wings were insectoid, translucent and tattered, but Cadence had no doubt they could exert a lot of power. She had a twisted horn that seemed to fit with everything else better than a normal one would, next to it a crown tipped with blue orbs. Finally, upon getting closer, Cadence could see that Chrysalis had small fangs and fascinating elongated eyes with green pupils.
The princess could feel that Chrysalis eyes were appraising her in a similar manner. The queen was probably wondering why Cadence had come, so it was time to actually start the job she had came to do.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, one of the Alicorn princesses of Equestria." Cadance did a small bow. If her ambadassorial manners teacher could see her, he would probably shed a single tear at how perfect the introduction was.
"Princess Cadenza." Chrysalis spoke clearly and unhurriedly "I am Queen Chrysalis. Reaper of the Underworld. But you already knew that." She finished, taking a step forwards, closer to Cadence.
"Just as much as you knew about me." Cadence also started stepping forward, walking in a way to pass by Chrysalis' side "But neither of those things is important at the moment, so we should get to more important business." She stopped and turned to look straight into the Changeling Queen's eyes, now that they were separated by only a few inches "As this is your home, you can ask first."
Chrysalis waited for a moment before speaking "You should already know my question. Why would an Alicorn come to the land of the Changelings? What business do you have with me?" Chrysalis spoke in a tone that would admit no deflection.
"What kind of business can two rulers have with one another?" Cadence smiled lightly "I am here on a diplomatic mission."
Chrysalis stared at Cadance in a way that, translated from diplomatic speech, meant pretty much 'the hell you talking about?' "So, after five centuries, Celestia just suddenly decided to send an envoy?" Despite her surprise, Chrysalis' voice barely rippled.
"Actually, the idea was mine." Cadence looked to the side in remembrance "I am a young Alicorn, so Celestia taught me a lot about things of the past. But when I learned about the Changelings, I begged her to let me come in this mission."Cadence said with a face set in determination "Celestia wanted me to take guards, set up meetings in neutral locations and go through a whole process... but I decided to forego all those things to give me a better chance." Cadence smiled again, in amusement this time.
"And all those protection spells were a compromise, I assume." Chrysalis pointed with her right forehoof.
"Indeed." Cadence confirmed "They shouldn't really affect the diplomatic process, so I agreed." She put one hoof on her chest.
"Putting all that aside." Chrysalis did a slight shake of her head "There is a more important question." She took a half step forward, putting her face almost touching Cadence's "What is the reason it was so important for you to come on this mission?"
Cadence could feel, in the deepest part of her self, that Chrysalis was concerned for her Changelings. The bond she felt ressonate on those last words seemed like the bond between a mother and her children. This, above everything else, convinced Cadence she had made the right decision.
"It's very simple. I am the Alicorn of bonds. When I heard about a race that depended on bonds by their very existence, I wanted to meet them." She closed her eyes "And when I learned that they were isolated from our society, I decided to do everything I could in order to reverse this situation."
Chrysalis looked at Cadence with even more intensity than before. Then she proceeded to pace around the Alicorn princess in a measured step.
"And how exactly do you intend to reverse the situation?" She asked, with a sneer "How do you intend to convince us to cooperate? What place could we have in Equestrian society?" the Queen turned back to Cadence and once again invaded her personal space.
"I don't know." The princess answered. But before Chrysalis could react, she went on "No one in Equestria knows much about Changeling society. I don't know your laws and customs, I don't know what you need or what you wish for, I don't know what you can do or what you can offer. That's why I had to come here. That was the only way I could potentially learn enough to understand the Changelings, enough to be able to actually negotiate in good faith." Cadence held her ground without any signs of intimidation.
Chrysalis looked at her, then drew her head back and turned it away. She gave a few more steps, clearly thinking furiously, and the Princess of Bonds simply waited. She had done all that she could, what was left was hoping.
Finally, Chrysalis stopped, turned her head in profile and said "You would need to stay inside the hive during the whole process." Cadence had to keep herself from whooping. This was as good as already allowing it.
"That will not be a problem. I had already prepared myself for it." Cadence spoke, unable to stop a small smile from forming.
"In that case... I will allow you to remain within the hive and learn about us. We will also meet personally everyday for our diplomatic discussions." She raised a hoof, and a Changeling in armor seemed to melt away from the wall "Take her to one of the vacant guest quarters" she ordered the Changeling.
"Thank you, your majesty." Cadance bowed her head.
"Please." Chrysalis blew on the lock of hair on her face "If we're going to be meeting everyday, you should call me Chrysallis." She didn't quite smile, but the feeling was there.
"In that case, you can call me Cadence." The princess did smile, the kind of smile one would usually only show among friends "I look forward to our next meeting."
"Likewise." The queen said, and then the guard(for it could only be a guard) passed by Cadance and she turned and started following him. Steeling her heart.
Because she knew that, although she had passed through the first hurdle, there were a lot more challenges to be faced before she could complete her first real challenge as the Alicorn of Bonds.