Sassy somehow found herself playing host to a quartet of changelings. Actually, host wasn’t really the word she would have used. Hostage would have been a better description for her current situation.
After the changeling queen finished a short interrogation, she explained to the unicorn that she and her entourage would be staying as her guests for the remainder of the night; and possibly most of the next day. When their task in Canterlot had been completed they would depart and as long as she didn’t do anything ‘unwise,’ they would leave without putting any further discomfort upon her.
Currently curled up in the center of her living room, in a nest assembled out of almost every blanket and pillow Sassy owned, slept the queen. A second changeling, which she guessed was a drone, snoozed while sprawled out on her back across her couch. The single male among the group, a sturdy looking but disfigured creature with a missing ear and half a face of scars, had chosen to keep watch while the others rested.
As for herself, Sassy sat in one of her living room recliners, hugging a pillow against her chest and quietly watching as the smallest of the changelings, apparently the daughter of Chrysalis, roamed around her home. Refusing to sleep, despite her mother’s insistence and obviously being tired, the changeling foal had instead opted to investigate the unicorn’s belongings.
“Oh please be careful with that,” Sassy whispered to herself and bit her lip as the young creature approached a floor vase.
Rearing up onto her hind legs, the foal gripped the mouth of the porcelain container and tilted it toward herself to peer inside. Finding nothing interesting hidden within, she returned the decoration to its upright position and moved on, to which Sassy exhaled with relief.
Next the little changeling proceeded over to her small bookcase where she perused her collection of designer reference guides, fashion manuals and a few… well worn trashy romance novels.
Blushing slightly at first, Sassy quickly pushed away her embarrassment, doubting that the foal could even read, if changelings did learn to read. However when the little creature removed one of the paperbacks, flipped to an ear marked page and appeared to be skimming over a few sentences, the mare had the notion that she may have been wrong in her assumption.
She should have known better. Chrysalis did confiscate her library card only hours ago.
The foal turned the page and then made a long ‘ooh’ sound to herself, reminiscent of the kind little ponies tended to make when teasing one another when they got in trouble for something. However the next section didn’t seem to appeal to the young changeling and she moved the book away from her face while wrinkling her snout up in distaste. To top off Sassy’s mortification, the young changeling snapped the book shut and then looked back over her withers to give the mare a judgmental glance as she returned the book to its home on the shelf.
The unicorn could only respond by hiding her glowing face against the pillow in her hooves.
After taking in a calming breath and counting to three, Sassy lowered the pillow so she could continue her surveillance of the threat to her property. She just managed to catch the tail end of the foal as the little creature disappeared through her bedroom door and a bead of sweat ran down her neck.
“Um… Mr. Changeling?” Sassy said weakly.
With solid blue eyes and no pupils, it was difficult to tell where the scarred guard was looking; but when he acknowledged her with a grunt and turned his head slightly in her direction, she knew she had his attention.
“I um, I don’t think it would be a good idea for her to be in that room… alone,” the unicorn informed him.
“Why?” the changeling inquired with a voice like hooves grinding small stones. “Are you keeping something dangerous in there?”
“Well, no. Not dangerous,” Sassy replied, paused for a moment and then bit her lower lip as she tried to put together the most tactful words to convey her worries.
The sound of rummaging caused the mare’s ears to perk and she knew her time was running short.
“There are somethings a mare has the right to keep private,” she explained, adding an aggrieved seriousness to her tone.
A long uncomfortable silence passed between the mare and the unblinking guard until being interrupted by more tumult from the bedroom.
“Mature things not meant for the eyes of young foals,” angrily hissed Sassy as her cheeks brightened pink.
It would seem the changeling finally caught her meaning and his horn began to glow a soft green. From the other room the miniature intruder let out a surprised ‘eep,’ followed by the distinct clatter of a drawer being pulled out fully and its contents being spilled. Around the corner and back into view came the foal, levitated by a field of emerald magic.
To Sassy’s horror, not only was the foal dressed in the black and orange striped socks she enjoyed wearing when feeling particularly amorous, which hung loosely off the changelings' little legs, but she also had her matching feather boa draped around her neck. However the worst humiliation was that the tiny terror was dangling the nearly empty drawer of her bedside table between her hooves and continued to spill the remainder of its contents as she was moved. One particular item, which tumbled to the floor with a thud, caused the guard to look back at Sassy with a raised eyebrow.
“Princess Luna, please wake me from this nightmare,” whimpered Sassy as she plunged her face back into the pillow.
“You’re sure you’ll be okay returning to the hive on such little rest?” Chrysalis, currently disguised as Sassy, much to the real mare annoyance, questioned the changeling she called Odonate.
“Absolutely your highness,” he said with conviction.
“Very well,” the queen said with a nod. “When you arrive, let everyling know I will be back shortly and stop Termite from going out to do her surveying if she hasn’t already started. I don’t want her to attract any more attention from our neighbors after our run in with them yesterday. Also have Phasmid fly out to meet us here in case we need the extra legs to carry things back.”
“Yes my queen,” Odonate said with a bow.
“Odonate,” the changeling princess chirped to get the guards' attention.
Laying on her side and looking as if she would pass out at any moment, the foal was now being protected between the front legs of a changeling named Bristletail; who herself was posed, sphinx-like, on the couch.
“Yes, your highness?” he asked with a slight tilt of his head.
“Can you ask Mosquito to feed Lady Lolth?” queried the yawning foal. “She needs to be fed every other day and she’ll end up webbing my stuff if her meal is really late.”
“I will your highness,” Odonate affirmed.
After letting out another yawn that sounded like it could have been a thank you, the changeling lowered her head atop Bristletail’s hoof.
“Now then,” Chrysalis said, turning to address the only pony in the room, “despite the minor faux pas from last night that revealed a little more about you then any of us needed to know, I expect you’ll continue to be a gracious host and not cause any inconveniences while I’m out?”
Still sitting atop the recliner and completely exhausted from being up all night, Sassy couldn’t help but glare up at the changeling queen with a deep frown creasing her muzzle.
“Well?” menacingly hissed the changeling Queen with her eyes flashing green.
“Y-yes ma’am,” hiccupped the blue unicorn, removing the scowl from her face as she sunk back into the chair’s cushion.
“Very good,” Chrysalis said using Sassy’s voice and smirking at the mare using her own face, “because Bristletail has my full permission to cocoon you if you do anything remotely suspicious. Understand?”
“Yes ma’am,” repeated the mare submissively.
“Perfect,” the queen trotted over to her daughter and gave the foal a long nuzzle. “Please try to get some sleep.”
“Muh,” came the tired-eyed changelings’ response.
Chrysalis let out a small resigned sigh and then turned to join Odonate.
“We’ll both leave together using the confidential liaison cover,” she instructed him.
An emerald ring of fire erupted around the male changeling, replacing his form with that of a very attractive, tawny coated, earth pony stallion. A stallion that Sassy recognized immediately as the long blond mane’d one from the cover of her romance novel. She also learned what the ‘confidential liaison cover’ was once the disguised pair stepped out the front door; a fact that caused her to clench her jaw in irritation.
The false earth pony affectionately nuzzled his nose into the neck of the fake Sassy Saddles as they stood on her doorstep. This elicited the mare to playfully swat at him while tittering like a school filly, followed by her ‘discreetly’ shooing him away as she closed the door.
“I suggest you get some rest,” the changeling on the couch said, interrupting the frustrated mare’s thoughts about her gossipy neighbors and what they must be thinking right now. “It would be best for both of us if you just slept till her highness returns.”