//------------------------------// // Diplomatic Quests Are Fun! Said Nopony Ever // Story: Legends Never Die: The Search For Sunny // by bookhorse125 //------------------------------// “I hate this,” Chrysalis grumbled, glaring down at her orange hooves. “Why? You look great,” Cozy Glow told her encouragingly, though her tone gave away her real feelings. “Besides, nopony can see you except for me.” Chrysalis shot her a withering glare that lacked its usual fierceness, instead filled with what looked like… fear? Regret? Anxiety? Cozy Glow shook her head, sure she had been imagining it all. “I hate,” the changeling hissed through clenched teeth, “the feeling. Ugh, it’s the worst.” Cozy Glow peeked around the rock formation they were hiding behind to look at the changeling hive, virtually unchanged since her and Chrysalis’ time. Cozy Glow was posing as a pony who was secretly sympathetic towards the changelings, and Chrysalis was posing as… a changeling. Her story wouldn’t be questioned, which was why she wanted to do this alone and without any help. Well. Cozy’s story wouldn’t be questioned, either, because she was very persuasive. Nopony would even know the difference… or the truth. The sun was hot above them, and Cozy Glow put a hoof in front of her face to shield her eyes. If this was brutal now… how had it been when Chrysalis was in charge? Was it even more miserable? How had her subjects stood it? They didn’t, she reminded herself. They unfairly kicked her out and painted her as the bad guy - which I guess she kind of is. But she was trying to be a good leader, and now they’re getting rid of everything she did. How is that fair? She grumbled as she sat back down, leaning against the cool rock. Everypony looks at us and sees only villains - and that’s all they’ll ever see. Why don’t they give us a chance - a real chance? Why don’t they try to understand? “Are you done grumbling and groaning?” Chrysalis snapped, standing up. In her disguise, Cozy Glow hardly recognized her - an orange changeling with shades of purple around her wings. “You don’t have to be so mean,” Cozy said innocently, standing up and tossing her head. “Part of being a team is that we respect each other.” “Team,” the changeling growled. “I hate this so much.” “There’s a reason Twilight Sparkle and her friends always beat us,” Cozy reminded her. “It’s the only way to beat them as well. You do want to get your kingdom back, don’t you?” She mentally smirked as the exiled queen growled but complied. She knew what made all of them tick - she wasn’t so sure if they knew what motivated her. “Can we go now?” Cozy Glow shrugged. “Sure. You just had to ask.” She trudged behind Chrysalis as they walked, looking around with a wide-eyed stare of wonder and awe. She kept her head down, heeling to Chrysalis so that the other changelings wouldn’t get suspicious. Stars above, I hate this, she thought to herself, careful not to let her emotions show. It’s only temporary, Cozy. Soon, Chrysalis will be the one following you around. “Halt!” a changeling by the entrance to the hive called, spreading one of his wings in front of the doorway. His companion did the same, forming an X with their wings, clearly demonstrating that they weren’t allowed in without a good reason to be. “Who goes there?” Chrysalis looked them in the eye and smiled pleasantly. “My name is Morphosis, and I came to speak to your leader.” “Our leader?” the second changeling snapped, narrowing his eyes at her. “We’ve never seen you before. Why do you need to see the Queen Monarch? And why have you brought a pony with you?” Cozy had to decide whether to be offended by the guard’s loathing of her or to accept it. She decided on the former, lifting her head slightly in indignation. Chrysalis’ wing twitched as she said, “I’m not from around here. I live in the forest outside of Zephyr Heights, forever in shame because those ponies refuse to let us in. But things are changing. I bring news to the queen, news I think she will want to hear right away from some creature who’s seen it firsthoof.” “And the pony?” the first guard questioned. The changeling jerked her head at Cozy. “She sympathizes with us. And she knows more things than I do - she’s completely trustworthy.” It took all of Cozy Glow’s self control to not burst out laughing at that, and she was very proud of it. Instead, she fixed her features with a helpful, cheerful, kind, and definitely trustworthy smile that seems to sway the guards. “All right,” the first guard relented, folding his wing in, the other following somewhat reluctantly. “We will take you to see the queen, but if you try anything funny, you’ll find yourselves wishing you hadn’t tried anything.” Chrysalis nodded and glared at Cozy Glow, jerking her head at the entrance as she followed the guards inside. Cozy lowered her head and obediently followed. The inside of the hive was just as the outside - the bland gray walls covered with green plants and colorful flowers that made it seem almost… homey. Sweet smells filled the air, and Cozy found herself smiling, only noticing when Chrysalis glared at her and bared her teeth. She could tell that the spell of the place was wearing on the changeling, too, but she was refusing to let it show. The throne room was at the top of the hive, and it had no roof or walls - completely open to the refreshing breeze. Cozy took a deep breath and felt herself relax. The guards took them to the foot of a large stone throne draped with strands of flowers. Chrysalis kneeled, and Cozy followed her example. “Visitors from outside the hive, Your Majesty,” one of the guards said, gesturing to them. “They say they have news for you.” “Really?” came a voice, female and smooth and comforting. Just listening to it made Cozy Glow relax. “It has been many years since a pony has walked into our fair kingdom. Tell me, pegasus, what kind of news would you have for me that is so apparently urgent?” “Your Highness-” Chrysalis started, getting to her feet, but the new voice cut her off. “I asked the pony,” she said calmly, and Chrysalis settled down, seething. “Well, young filly? Speak.” Cozy Glow looked to the exiled queen beside her for encouragement, but there was none. “...Your Majesty,” she said, standing up and lifting her eyes to meet the queen’s. Queen Monarch was a surprisingly darkly colored changeling with stripes of bright orange. Her purple eyes looked familiar, but Cozy Glow couldn’t place where she had seen them before. Unlike the rest of her tribe, the queen had two slender horns protruding from her head. She pinned Cozy Glow with a calm, collected gaze. Cozy took a deep breath and continued. “The pony tribes have united,” she began, and the other changelings in the room took a collective breath. “Magic has returned, and they have begun to come together again. However, they have - as I have noticed - not asked any of you to rejoin them. In fact, I have seen no mention of your tribe in any of the ponies’ history. It is as if they have simply wiped you from existence.” “Yes?” Monarch said, tilting her head. “We have known that they do not know of us. What does this mean to you?” “I was wondering…” Cozy glanced at her colleague and saw Chrysalis watching her with an anxious gaze. She quickly looked away, but the emotion on her face was enough to make Cozy hesitate. “Perhaps you would like to take this time to rejoin society. Open the borders of your kingdom and show your subjects what the world is like outside this hive.” “Is that possible?” “Well…” Cozy rubbed her arm sheepishly, as if she were embarrassed to say such a thing. “It would be… except that the ponies are having a bit of a crisis right now. The pony most responsible for bringing the ponies back together has been charged with treason, and her friends as well. Equestria will soon be in a state of chaos so absolute it may take them a while to get out of it. They would never let you join them in such a state, so for now, I believe the best thing to do is stay out of it and let them sort themselves out. Once they do, I will return and let you know that now is the time to give your kingdom the life it deserves.” Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a look on Chrysalis’ face - something that looked like surprise and… pride. But she blinked and it was gone. Monarch tapped her hoof against her chin, thinking. “I see no reason why we should help the ponies. After all, they have denied us for years. If they will soon be in a state of madness, the aftermath could provide the right conditions that would allow my subjects to reintegrate. Yes, I do believe…” “Wait,” Cozy Glow suddenly interrupted, a new idea coming to her. “Well… me and Morphasis here were planning to fight back against the ponies. But we would not be able to do very much alone. We would appreciate it… if you considered helping us.” She looked up at the sky and, as if noticing the position of the sun for the first time, gave a little jump. “We should be going. Thank you for your time, Your Highness.” She bent her legs in a bow before gesturing to Chrysalis, and the two spread their wings and flew away. Chrysalis was silent for the entire flight, and when they made it to the group of trees just beyond the kingdom, she shifted back into her original form and whirled around to snarl at Cozy Glow. “What have you been hiding?” she hissed. “Have you done something like this before? Why are you so convincing and good at it?” Cozy blinked, unsure if she had heard correctly. “I… I’m very persuasive?” she tried, not knowing what to say. “That’s how I work - manipulation and alliances and fancy talk. I know it’s not as effective as threats in your eyes, but for me-” “I could not have done it better myself if I rehearsed it a hundred times,” Chrysalis muttered under her breath, massaging her forehead. “All right. Fine. You’re doing all the talking from now on. I’ll get us in, and then it’s all on you. Deal?” She stuck out her hoof. Cozy blinked and hesitates before taking it. “Deal.” Chrysalis looked over Cozy’s head to a small gap in the trees and hissed, “Get down,” shoving Cozy to the ground and flattening herself against the grass. “Someone’s looking this way.” Now curious, Cozy slowly inched towards a bush and peered through the leafy green foliage. Indeed, a pale blue changeling with hints of pink was staring intently at the place where they were hiding, her blue eyes narrowed in concentration. Had she seen them? If she had, she didn’t give any indication as she shook herself and flew off. “Maybe keep your disguise on until after we’re out of the kingdom?” Cozy suggested in a voice that was barely below a whisper, and Chrysalis nodded slowly. A scroll suddenly materialized in front of Chrysalis with a pop, and she let out a yelp, scrambling backwards as the scroll fell to the ground. She glared at Cozy Glow though she hadn’t made any indication of her emotions. The changeling lit her horn that eerie green and unrolled the piece of paper. A slow smile spread across her face. “It’s from Tirek,” she said, and Cozy flew over to hover behind the changeling as she read the letter over her shoulder. “He says the next phase of the plan worked perfectly - couldn’t have gone better, in fact.” “Are we sure it was smart to let him out so early?” Cozy asked as Chrysalis teleported the letter elsewhere. “What if he does something irrational?” “He won’t,” the changeling said arily, putting on her changeling disguise again and lifting into the air. “I know how villains work - he’ll assess the situation first, especially after he lost so soon last time. Once he finds out that everything’s changed, he’ll be a little disoriented, but then he’ll go to get what he wants, only to find out that it’s next to nothing now. But then our brave little group of heroes will discover him, and he will pick a fight with them.” Chrysalis flew above the trees, Cozy Glow behind her. As they left the changeling kingdom behind, Cozy Glow grinned and said, “Next stop: dragons.”