An Unlikely Diplomat (Rewrite In Progress)
The clip-clop sound of hooves was muffled by the rich rug underneath the pink princess' hooves, accompanying it was the sounds of incoherent mumblings of a toddler, one that currently rested on her mothers back. There was a noticeable prep in her step, as she approached the door to her aunt's throne room. The solar guards opened the golden double doors for her, letting her see the regal throne room beyond.
"Ah, Cadance. You're back. How have you been?" Princess Celestia greeted her dear niece with a genuine smile, which was replaced by a pleasant look of surprise when she saw the pink foal sitting on her mothers back. "And Flurry Heart, how have you been?" The foal responded by taking off into the air and quickly zooming towards the solar princess, giving her the biggest hug she could muster.
"Auntie Tia! It's so good to see you. We've been great, the Crystal Faire passed without any incidents." Cadance stopped at the middle of the throne room as she saw Celestia stand up from her throne to join her side, a baby alicorn flying beside her. "What have you been up to in this time? It feels like forever since we've last spoken face to face."
Celestia let out a small giggle. "I've been a bit busy, some nobles still persist on the whole Anon thing, but they have mostly died down as he has had time to get himself known around Canterlot. Apparently most of the other nobles really like him, but for some reason I can't put a finger on it." She winked at her niece, who in turn gave her a confused look. "Say, where's Shining Armour? Twilight had decided to visit later today and I bet she would be excited seeing her brother." The group of two goddesses and a small foal, exited the throne room as they were headed towards the castle gardens.
"He's busy with catching up with a few of his old friends, he said he'd join us for dinner later today." As they traversed past the ludicrously rich looking hallways and many stone faced guards, one of them seemed to recoil at seeing Princess Cadance, but otherwise didn't speak up. It seemed that neither of the goddesses noticed due to the foal flying over both of their heads in circles, giggling all the way, while both of them were locked in a discussion.
"By the way, what did you mean with "the finger" thing you mentioned?" Cadance questioned her aunt, a look of curiosity on her face.
Celestia slightly faltered in her stride but didn't physically react otherwise. "I was talking about Anon's services."
"What services?" The through look of confusion on the alicorn's face was all the evidence needed that she truly didn't know what Celestia was talking about.
This time Celestia stopped in the middle of the hallway, turning her head to look at Cadance. "You've been seeing Anon for his services for the past two months. You come by every other week for a day just to have him give you scratches." Celestia's eyes narrowed at the increasing befuddlement of the pink princess.
"But I've been at the Crystal Empire for the past three months, I have been too busy to visit. And what do you mean with scratches?" Sensing the tension in the air, Flurry Heart carefully landed on her mothers back and took cover behind her neck.
Suddenly Princess Celestia's horn glowed a brilliant golden light and in an instant many of the solar guards passing by stood at attention, before either rushing off deeper into the royal wing of the castle, or standing at attention next to the princess of the sun. Now flanked by five similar looking white unicorn guards, Princess Celestia turned around. "Come, follow me."
To say that the pink alicorn wasn't put on edge by this sudden situation would've been a lie. "Auntie, what's wrong?" Her walking speed faltered but the royal guards behind her forced the pink mare to keep up the pace next to her aunt. Flurry Heart babbled something incoherent to her mother who then nuzzled her cheek, comforting the small foal.
"We might need to have a conversation with Anon, to confirm my hunch." Celestia turned in the opposite direction of the castle garden and headed deeper into the royal wing, Cadence, Flurry heart and the guards in tow.
A pink ear flicked under the pressure that a certain hand was giving it's attention to, a soft hum accompanied each little movement of the fingers as they moved in tandem with the the other hand, currently giving it's attention to another fluffy pink ear.
The two adorably large eyes of the princess of love were shut in bliss, it was almost impossible for her to keep them open even for a second under the assault of his hands. "You really know how to treat a mare, don't you Anon?" Her sentence ended in a soft purr as she leaned her head deeper into his hands. "How did you even get here anyway? I don't think there ever was a royal scritch giver before you came here."
The pink alicorn was currently splayed on a royal bed specifically made for alicorns. The bed was a bit larger than what the pink alicorn was, it was usually occupied by a much larger white alicorn instead. The room they both resided in resembled many of the royal guest rooms, but this one had an additional bedroom next to the main room. This was due to the fact that this spacious room was Anons workplace, he often pampered both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. Princess Cadance only recently had found out about the humans extraordinary skills.
Anon brought his hand to scratch at the bottom of her chin, but before he could respond the door to his workspace was flung open and Princess Celestia casually walked into the room. "What is going on here?" Her eyes narrowed a bit when her eyes met Cadance.
"Oh, Celestia. I thought your appointment was later in the day, why are you here? Is it that you want to join in?" A small tone of surprise quickly turned to that of playfulness as Anon turned to Celestia, but his smile was quickly wiped off his face when he saw the unnatural serious look in Celestia's eyes.
"Anon, for your safety, step away from her." Her fierce gaze turned to the now surprised pink alicorn that was splayed on the great bed. Anon quickly got off the bed and moved a few steps away from it.
"What's going on here?" His questioning look suddenly turned to befuddlement as he saw Cadance standing behind Celestia, this Cadance was currently balancing a small alicorn foal on her back, a confused look on her face. The two big baby blue eyes of the foal kept switching between the Cadance who she was sitting on and the one splayed out on the bed.
"It seems my hunch was correct." Celestia's eyes narrowed. "Now, which one of you is the real Cadance?" Celestia's horn glowed and the Cadance behind her was brought fourth by her magic, the small foal was picked up as well, and was deposited on the white furred alicorn instead. The foal reached out to the Cadance that she was sitting on a few seconds ago with her two tiny front hooves.
"Can someone explain what is going on here?" Anon gestured at both of the Cadance's in front of the bed. Both looked confused at the sudden situation that they were put in.
"One of these Cadance's is my dear niece, the other is a body stealer that feeds off the emotions of others to gain power. Though I am not sure which is which."
"I am not a changeling!" Both of the Cadance's stated in a firm manner, before throwing a glare at each other.
Anon rubbed the back of his head with a hand. "Body stealer huh? I really hope this isn't like an overdone cliché that's seen way too many times on TV." When all of the equine occupants of in the room gave Anon a confused look he sighed. "Right, no TV's." He decided to change the topic before they got too off track. "If you aren't sure which Cadance is a changeling, then how can you be sure that the foal isn't one as well? Seeing as she came with the other Cadance." Anon pointed out.
Celestia slowly turned her head towards the small pink alicorn sitting on her back. Huge baby blue eyes stared into the eyes of a millennium old being of immeasurable power. A small glint could be seen inside both pools of light magenta eyes, as Celestia's eyes gazed into the eyes of the small foal, she then turned her attention back towards the two Cadance's. "I'm certain that she isn't a changeling."
"How exactly? And if you are then shouldn't that give credibility towards the Cadance that came with her?" Anon raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner.
"I'd like to call it great-aunt sense. I can feel that she isn't a changeling."
"Seriously? If this situation was some kind of story, it would sound like a poor excuse to further the plot." Anon crossed his arms and shook his head in discontent. "That can't truly be it? Right?"
Celestia leaned in closer to Anon and whispered. "Just play along." Celestia winked at Anon, who in turn dropped the subject of the obviously bad reason of plot development. "I need you both to prove yourselves to me by answering this one question right." Celestia straightened her posture. "What were you going to originally dress up as, on the first nightmare night since you had achieved alicornhood?"
A deep red blush showed on the face of the Cadance who had brought Flurry Heart for a visit, the other Cadance imitated the same expression moments after the first. A smug smile crossed Celestia's lips as she looked at the guilty Cadance. "You can let your disguise down now, I know it's you."
The blush of the other Cadance was replaced by a frown, as she was enveloped in bright green flames. When the fire subsided in the place of the alicorn of love stood the dark queen of the changelings, Queen Chrysalis. Her green eyes narrowed at the Princess of the sun.
"Chrysalis. What are you doing here?" Celestia's tone was that of slight surprise. "I never thought you would have the guts to try and impersonate Cadance again. Tell me, was it a part of yet another invasion attempt on to Canterlot?"
Chrysalis chuckled. "How perceptive, of course it was. Well it was at first, but once I realised the bottomless reserves of love that your dear friend Anon possesses, I realised that an all out invasion of Canterlot wasn't worth it when there was a much easier way of obtaining love. Do you even know how much love he produces as he gives those amazing scritches and head pats? He practically oozes love, he could fully feed at least a thousand changelings in a few quick hours!"
"So you're here just for Anon?" Celestia asked.
"Absolutely." Chrysalis responded with a wide grin. It was a grin that didn't show any ounce of defeat. It was as if she had a backup plan on hoof.
"If you're planning on foalnapping him then I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Celestia glanced at both Anon and Cadance next to her.
"Huh, my grandma was right. I guess I really am good with women." Anon chuckled. All the mares took a quick glance at Anon before getting back to their intense conversation.
"Now that you mention it, he would be an extraordinarily good asset to have, not to mention it would probably cripple the entire monarchy of Equestria if you didn't get your daily pampering session." Celestias eyes widened at the mention of the incident.
"Of course it had to be you who saw it." Celestia grit her teeth, at that moment it seemed that her eyes really did not want to look at the queen of the changelings.
"Auntie, what is she talking about?" Cadance questioned, that pink and innocent face that had never experienced pats and pampering couldn't understand the difficulties of a day without them.
"I have an offer." Queen Chrysalis butted back into the conversation. While both of the alicorns in the room looked shocked that Chrysalis would open herself up for diplomacy. "I will not tell your secret to the rest of your subjects and family members. And I will not invade Canterlot for the small price of-" Chrysalis stopped mid sentence, as she seemed to consider her offer. "-having Anons services for three days a week for free."
Celestia's eye twitched. "You resort to blackmail and threatening an invasion for Anon's services for three days each week?" If it wasn't obvious that Celestia wasn't happy, then the flickers of small flames dancing in both of her mane and tail would tell all that was needed.
"Exactly, now do you accept? Remember, there are hundreds of changelings currently in Canterlot, awaiting my orders. And you wouldn't want your little incident to be spread about either." A smug smile slowly spread on Chrysalis' lips.
"Do I not get a say in this?" It was a perfectly valid question for Anon to ask, it was his future on the line after all.
"No." Chrysalis quickly replied without even sparing a glance at him.
Cadance shared a worried look towards her aunt who seemed to be in deep thought now. Celestia clearly didn't like the sudden situation that she and her subjects had been placed in, but she really didn't have any other choice to choose, the only non-violent thing she could reasonably do was to accept the deal.
"I will accept your deal Chrysalis." Celestia sighed. "But only if he remains here in Canterlot castle, and is looked after while you're being pampered."
Chrysalis' smile didn't falter. "I accept. Now be a dear Anon and let us get back to our little session."
"Hey, uhh. I'd like to not be treated like property, you know." Anon butted in. "While I do understand that I'd be like some sort of weird peace negotiator with you two, I'd like if someone would ask my opinion first."
Chrysalis responded with a glare. "Come now, let us resume the session that was so rudely interrupted." Chrysalis laid down on the large bed and beckoned Anon towards her. Anon simply sighed.
Celestia's horn glowed and the only window in this workplace shone in a golden light. As the magic around the window faded a small trace of magic could be spotted after the powerful spell that she had casted. "I will leave my best solar guards watching the only exit to this room, and I have magically reinforced the window so there is no way out, except the door. I will not take kindly to any attempt at foalnapping Anon." She threw a glare at the changeling queen.
Chrysalis simply rolled her eyes at the white mare. "I have no such need when I can simply gain all the love I want from Anon right here and now. And provided that you stick with your side of the deal I will not have any need to foalnap him." She flashed a smile at the old alicorn, her sharp teeth glinted in the ambient light of the room. "If you truly don't believe me then let us make a magic pact. I will not attack Cantelot, foalnap him or tell your little secret for as long as Anon supplies me with love, and you will let me get a pampering session from Anon thrice a week. In turn you will not have to worry about us ever attacking you again." Chrysalis' horn lit up in a green flame as she pointed her horn towards Celestia, who seemed to be thinking this answer through. After a few seconds she sighed and brought her white horn down to touch upon the cracked black horn of chrysalis. Both of the horns were enveloped in a greenish yellow fire and then with a flash they both pulled back, as the magic contract was sealed.
Celestia sighed. "I believe everypony deserves a second chance. This is the only deal I will do with you. If you break your promise you'll have a lot more to worry about than simple magic seal damage." And with that Celestia left the room, followed closely behind by Cadance and Flurry Heart.
As Anon wearily resumed his pampering session with Chrysalis he noted that she seemed to be much more relaxed now that the deal was over and done with. A small chuckle escaped the big bug, as his hands ran over her chitin.
His fingers moved through her green hair, which looked wet and slimy, but actually felt just like any other mane on a pony. His hands eventually found their way to the top her head, where he slowly began to massage with one hand an pat her with the other. Eventually the massaging changed to chin scratching.
Anon could see a slight pink glow in Chrysalis' half closed eyes as she sunk in deeper into the bed. Her insect like wings buzzed from enjoyment. "Huh, you're just a big lovebug." Anon warmly said as he moved is palm underneath her chin and scratched at it with four of his fingers, with his thumb he slowly moved it up and down on her cheek. He noticed that Chrysalis' cheek was surprisingly soft, as he slightly moved the soft near skin-like chitin around with his thumb. "And pretty adorable too."
"Never call me that again." Chrysalis barely whispered through the haze that had taken over her brain. Her mouth was slightly open, and a pink glow emanated from within, thin wisps of pink energy were slowly being pulled from Anon's hands. Anon's hands tingled from the sensation but he was otherwise fine with it.
"You come with built in LED lights too? Cool." He remarked after he lifted his right hand up to his face, seeing the pink energy leave through his hands and slowly move towards her mouth.
"What?" Chrysalis had a hard time keeping herself awake, it was as if there was large quantities of magic inside his hands. Magic that could make even the most angry insect into a harmless lovebug. Her wings had slowly stopped buzzing as her body relaxed under the continuous assault of head pats. Her eyes slowly closed, and her head lowered down to the bed. The last thing she felt was the soft touch of Anon's hands on her head.
Author's Note
There will be another chapter based around both Flurry and Cadance, with a side of Chrysalis. It'll be posted when it's done.
This chapter will be rewritten. If you're reading this then know that it hasn't happened yet.
