//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Villainous secrets // Story: The final challenge // by Dianabel //------------------------------// “CHRISSY IS GOING TO KILL ME!” Cozy Glow exclaimed to Tirek while lowering her eyelids. In contrast to the nervous filly, Tirek was calm. He rolled his eyes. “Quit it out, will you?” “I just can´t quit it out! Those six fools have managed to free the school, which means that they´re free running out around Equestria!” “So what?” “What do you mean by so what?!” asked Cozy very upset. “They are powerless! They have nothing to do against you. You´re an alicorn, for goodness´ sake.” “Need I to remind you that even though I´m an alicorn, Starlight and her friends almost managed to kill me if it wasn´t for Chrysalis?!” she gasped. “If those six are free… Oh no! That means that Starlight is free, which will anger Chrissy even more!” “She´ll get infuriated by the fact you call her that little nickname of yours, that´s for sure.” “Ok, are you taking our conquest seriously?” “I am.” “Then why are you acting like you don´t?! Don´t you realize that Starlight, her friends and those six fools will motivate everypony by telling them `we can defeat them together´,” Cozy mockingly mimicked them. “to rebel against us and interfere in our plans?!” “Firstly, because I´m waiting for you to make your move.” Tirek pointed at the ground. “I´m waiting for my turn, you know?” Cozy looked at the ground. She was so stressed by what happened at the school that she forgot that she was playing tic-tac-hoof with Tirek. “Oh. Sorry.” She grabbed a stick and made a circle in the row that Tirek was about to complete. “Remember we´re doing this so you can relax. We need you calm to proceed with the plan. Secondly, it´s not too late. Even if they are free running around, they´ll be trapped again and under control once we retrieve the bell again!” “I guess you´re right. But I don´t think Chrysalis will take it that way.” “Then I´ll tell her the same thing. You´re acting like it´s the end of the world but it´s not. There´s still a chance.” Cozy hugged Tirek´s neck tightly. “Thank you! Thank you!” Tirek took Cozy out of his neck and sat her on the ground. “Chrissy´s hasn´t returned yet. What´s taking her so long?” “Will you stop calling her that? The only thing you´ll get if you go on calling her that is getting all your love drained.” Cozy looked surprised at Tirek. “What?” “Is that the reason you don´t like that nickname? You fear that she´ll hurt me?” she asked hopeful. “What? No! I mean, yes, but just so we can go on with the plan.” Tirek explained. “You care about me! I knew it! Oh, you sweet centaur! Cozy was going to hug Tirek but he stopped her by putting his enormous hand on her face. “Ok. Ok. Don´t you dare call me that!” Cozy smiled apologetically. “Sometimes I get the feeling that you think that what the three of us have is friendship. We´re allies, not friends.” Upset, Cozy raised an eyebrow. “You´re saying that because I´m a pony, are you?” “What?” “Come on! I thought you got over that thought. Not all of us are sappy creatures that believe in friendship, candy and rainbows, you know? And not looking threatening doesn´t make me less evil than you!” “I never underestimated your evilness.” “Well, you just did! And you always have! From the moment I entered Tartarus, you thought that I was only an annoying pony!” Tirek looked away. He usually considered Cozy´s enthusiasm and optimism annoying. But he also didn´t like to see her angry. “Look. I´m…” he was going to see the word `sorry´ but his lips weren´t able to pronounce that word. He shook his head. “I´ll think of a better way.” he cleared his throat. “I got that impression because I always see you enjoying our company. Too much, I think.” “Well, don´t you enjoy being around us?” Tirek growled. “Why are you doing this to me?” “Do what?” “Talk about my feelings. Why?” “Mainly because I´m bored. But I also want to clarify our misunderstanding.” Tirek sighed. “Ok fine, I like being around you!” Cozy smiled. “I knew it.” “It´s just… I think you two are the only ones that get me. Neither my family understood me!” “Neither Scorpan?” Cozy asked. “Ugh, don´t let me get started. He always claimed that he understand me and that he was by my side, but he always told me `Don´t do that, it´s too dangerous!´ or `What will father think? And when he picked the ponies´ side…” Tirek puffed. “It was crystal clear. Everything he said were lies. I´ll never forgive him that.” “I hate it when they do that!” Cozy exclaimed. “The `I understand how you feel´.” Tirek´s eyes widened. “They pulled the same thing on you?” Cozy nodded. “You ever wondered if I had a family? Or why would a filly like me be on her own doing machiavellian things?” “Actually, yes I have.” “Well, that´s because I don´t have a family! All I know is what they told me in the orphanage. Foggy night, knock at the door, and there I am.” Tirek listened with attention. “I hated that place! All those ponies treating me as a little filly.” “You are a filly.” “But not a dumb and helpless filly! That was because every time a couple of ponies went to the orphanage, they never adopted me.” “Really?” Tirek asked surprised. “You seem surprised.” “Well, d´uh! You´re the master of manipulation! Surely you could have brainwashed one of those couples to adopt you.” “But that´s the thing, I didn´t want to be adopted!” Tirek widened his eyes. “Much like you, I was the black sheep. I had different tastes and interests compared to the other foals in the orphanage. My dream was to conquer Equestria! I always liked the idea of being on control of everything, not playing around all day like an idiot!” Cozy approached Tirek´s ear. “Just between you and me, but this sweet innocent pony I always play to get what I want, didn´t always exist. I was very aggressive and yelled at the other foals at the orphanage! That got me in trouble lots of times. I always got grounded or scolded. And that´s what scared the hopeful parents away. They didn´t want a child like me. But I didn´t care. If they thought I was too aggressive or mean, then they better not adopt me. I didn´t want parents that weren´t on my level. And everypony that came to adopt was the same!” “Huh. Never thought this filly was so much like me.” Tirek thought. “The ponies who took care of me were worried, so they took me to a foal´s psychologist. That´s when the `I understand you´ tactic came in. She was kind and sweet because she wanted me to change. I knew that from the first appointment!” “Reminds me of some creature…” Tirek referred to Scorpan with resentment. “But you know what? I learned something from her: you could manipulate ponies by being nice! I wanted to learn more things about social skills. And what better way to learn social skills than enrolling in the School of Friendship?” “Clever filly.” “You know I am.” “And that´s when you started to write me letters, didn´t you?” “Yes. I thought that in order to conquer Equestria, the ponies needed to be powerless. In other words, their magic had to be taken. And who´s the expert on taking magic away from ponies?” Tirek smiled smugly. “Me, of course.” “Also… when I read your letters, it felt so good that I found somepony who was like me. That´s why I love being around you. You think the same way I do, we have the same interests, you´re as smart as me! You´re on my level!” Tirek was perplexed by those words. He didn´t know what to say. “I know that what we have is only an allyship. But let me tell you: I enjoy our allyship.” “Well… I also enjoy it.” Tirek smiled nervously. Cozy smiled too. Suddenly, out of nowehere, the two of them began shivering in disgust and jumped back. “Oh dear, what was that?” Tirek asked confused. “I don´t know. Maybe I took Twilight´s lessons too seriously. Sorry.” “None taken. But I think that once we´re done with the conquest, we´ll take some time apart from each other. Just so we avoid more sappy moments like this.” “Agreed. Moments like this also disgust me. But after that time passes, we´ll see each other again, right? You know, to discuss things about our kingdoms.” “Yes, we will, but let´s stop talking about this. Ugh, I feel like I´m acting like Twilight Sparkle and her friends.” “Me too.” Cozy left her tongue out in disgust. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Chrysalis appeared next to them, yelling in frustration. Cozy hid behind Tirek´s leg. “UUGH, FINALLY! I´m finished.” she sighed exhausted. “It´s so hard to be a queen.” Chrysalis turned around and raised an eyebrow estranged when she noticed Cozy shaking in fear. “What´s wrong with her?” Tirek looked at Cozy. He pointed with his eyes at Chrysalis, advising Cozy to tell Chrysalis the truth. But the filly shook her head nervously. “What are you telling each other?” she asked suspiciously. She gasped. “I should have known. I should have known that I couldn´t trust you!” Infuriated, Chrysalis ignited her horn. “Wow, relax Chrysalis.” Tirek told her calmly. “DON´T TELL ME TO RELAX, YOU TRAITOR!” Chrysalis yelled at him. Seeing that he couldn´t calm her, Tirek prepared to defend himself. But before they started a fight, Cozy reappeared between the two. “Wait no! Don´t fight. Please.” “Why should I listen to you? You and him were plotting against me!” Chrysalis replied in an accusing tone. “We weren´t plotting against you!” Tirek replied back. “Shut up!” Chrysalis yelled. “Ok. Ok. We know something that you don´t. But we´re going to tell you so you don´t think we´re against you.” Chrysalis widened her eyes in surprise. She calmed down and stopped lighting her horn. “Go on then.” Cozy looked back at Tirek. With his hands, he encouraged her to talk. She gulped nervously. “Umm… The school… The school…” “Yes, the School of Friendship, what´s wrong with the school?” “Well…” she cleared her throat. “Apparently… It… It…” “Yeees?” asked Chrysalis while raising an eyebrow. Fear didn´t let Cozy speak, making her spend some time quiet. Chrysalis grew more and more impatient. “Ok. Are you going to let me know or not? Because if you´re not, there´s no time to waste, Cozy! We have a kingdom to conquer!” “The School of Friendship has been freed!” Cozy spurted out quickly. Chrysalis widened her eyes in surprise. She scowled. “What?” she asked angrily. Cozy sighed. “I checked the locations you told me to tell the changelings to look for the bell, and when I checked the school… All the changelings were tied up or locked. I couldn´t find a single student nor Starlight Glimmer and her friends.” “STARLIGHT GLIMMER IS FREE?!” Cozy gulped before responding. “Yes.” Chrysalis clenched her teeth and growled. “I know, I know. I messed up, ok? I´m sorry!” Cozy summoned a force camp and covered herself with her wings, closing her eyes. “THOSE IDIOTS! THEY ONLY HAD ONE DARN JOB!” Chrysalis looked at Cozy confused. “What are you doing?” she asked estranged. Cozy heard her words. “Wait.” She undid the force camp. “You´re not mad at me?” “Why would I be mad at you? It was their responsibility to look after the school, not yours. You were doing your job while that happened.” she frowned suspiciously. “Unless you sneaked off.” “What? No!” “Good. Because in that case, I would be very mad at you.” “Oof!” Cozy cleaned her sweat. “I´m so relieved I seriously thought that you were going to kill me, Chrissy.” “DON´T CALL ME THAT!” Cozy jumped back. Tirek smirked. “That was me being mad at you, see the difference?” Cozy smiled nervously. Chrysalis sighed. “Look. I know I have poor temper management. And that I´m very paranoid about being betrayed again. But that´s because loyalty is something I take very seriously. And as long as you don´t betray me, I won´t hurt you.” “Really? Because you have tried to kill me dozens of times, Chrysalis.” Tirek complained. “That was bickering. Nothing serious. Come on, do you think I would kill you or hurt you seriously knowing that the only guarantee that I get to rule Equestria is working with you two? I need you as you need me. So what I mean Cozy, is that you don´t have to be afraid of me because I´m not going to hurt you if you´re loyal to me. You´re loyal to me already, so there´s nothing to worry about.” Cozy raised an eyebrow. “Hmm… This doesn´t sound like you Chrissy, I mean Chrysalis.” She corrected herself, when she saw t Chrysalis glaring at her. “You hurt or yelled at your changelings each time they did mistakes even if they were loyal to you.” Cozy gasped. “She enjoys our company as well!” she said to Tirek. “We make a great team.” Cozy embraced both Tirek and Chrysalis. Tirek and Chrysalis shared a glance and looked away while blushing. Chrysalis undid the hug aggressively. “No! Don´t be ridiculous! We are not friends, ok? We are an allyship. ALLYSHIP.” Chrysalis remarked. “I know. But you like being on this team, admit it.” Cozy teased Chrysalis. “Yes…” Chrysalis replied moodily. Cozy laughed mischievously. “But please, don´t show off the great team we are or how much you enjoy being around us because that would ruin my reputation as a queen, ok?” she told Cozy. “Promised. But you´ll have to talk more about it, if you want me to keep it as a secret.” Chrysalis sighed frustrated. “You little devil.” she insulted Cozy under her breath. “Ok, I admit that working with you guys is very fun. I didn´t have much fun ruling a kingdom since my mother died.” Cozy widened her eyes. “What?” “You had a mother?” Cozy asked perplexed. “Well, where else would have I come from?” “I know, it´s just it´s a bit weird imagining you as a little changeling with your mother.” “Where do changelings come from, anyway?” Tirek asked. “It´s always been a mystery to me.” “The funny thing is that neither do we. But the most accepted theory among us is that we came from a cursed tree.” “Can you tell more about your mother?” Cozy asked. “Are you doing this to make me talk about my emotions? Because if you are, that´s very mean.” Cozy shrugged. Chrysalis sighed. “She was the best evil changeling I had ever known, aside from me, of course. She taught me how to be a tyrannical leader and how to conquer other kingdoms. She helped me to rule when she passed the crown to me. Unfortunately, she died of old age.” “That made you a lonely changeling, did it?” Cozy asked. Chrysalis shook her head. “Not at all. I missed my mother and all, but at least I was surrounded by changelings. It was fun abusing and commanding changelings on my own, but I forgot how fun was to be with a creature that was as intelligent as you, and most importantly, as evil.” Tirek was astonished at how many things he had in common with these two villains. He knew that they were evil and wanted to rule but he didn´t know that the three of them shared a deeper desire: somepony who understood them. “I understand how you feel. Nothing feels as great as having somepony at your level!” Cozy exclaimed. “I like this side of you.” Chrysalis didn´t listen and kept on reflecting on her past. “I did miss that. Especially after that soul Starlight Glimmer stole my hive!” she exclaimed with so much hatred. She gasped. “Why are we talking about my feelings and past instead on focusing on taking back the bell? We look stupid!” “Aaand she´s back.” Cozy muttered dryly. “Now that you talk about the bell, there´s something you two should see.” Tirek said while looking at the horizon. Cozy and Chrysalis approached Tirek. Like him, they peaked their heads out from a wall. They gasped when they saw Twilight and her friends walking around Canterlot with the bell. “Well, at least we won´t have to be looking for them all around Equestria.” Cozy said. “You´re right Cozy. Our victory is very near.” Chrysalis smirked. “You ready to do this?” Tirek asked confidently as he stretched his neck and shoulders. Chrysalis and Cozy looked at each other and nodded. “Ready.” they said in unison. The three villains chuckled evily.