A Wedding to Remember - Part 3
"Come on Shining, get it together. All the plans are out the window and Chryssi came up with something new." The stallion inhaled deeply, closed his eyes. Counting to ten in his head he opened his eyes again. "Nope, the place is still crazy."
"What was that dear?" Chrysalis stepped out, wearing Cadance's form as a disguise. "Oh look at you, all ready for when Twilight arrives?" She walked right up and leaned in against Shining, as she had seen Cadance do a thousand and one times.
But Shining had already guessed. "Chryssi, drop the disguise." He waited, and waited. "Well?"
"I am not going to drop it, it is part of the new plan." Chrysalis pouted and drew back from Shining. "Also, Cadance won our bet."
"What bet is that?" Shining was full of questions, but he wanted to know what the two mares had bet on first.
"She bet me that you would find me out almost immediately. How did you do that?" Chrysalis walked over to the bed and flopped on it.
"Cadance walks a little different when she is alone with me. She… she uh… shows off." Shining blushed a little and grabbed his helmet to pull on his head. "I take it the threats were you?"
"Of course, keep Princess Celestia and Princess Luna dancing around, looking outside the city." Chrysalis sprawled on the bed, spreading Cadance's wings out and squirming on her back. "How are you handling the shield spell? Keeping it up okay?"
"Yeah." Shining disliked being outside the "know" for Chrysalis' scheme, but it did make things more exciting. "There are a few other things you will need to know about Twilight, if you are going to fool her."
"No, no I don't want to fool her. Twilight needs to have something to focus on or she will find what I am really planning. Her brother in the hooves of an evil monster is perfect." Chrysalis bounced a little on the bed. "Wow, you really got a great mattress."
"She is going to catch you out so fast it isn't funny." Shining stepped up to the window and watched the plume of smoke slowly drawing into Canterlot train station.
"Nope, there is a secret little trick, and it didn't work with you because there was only you." Chrysalis flopped off the bed and onto the graceful pink legs of Cadance. "Now, let's greet your sister."
Shining looked at the changeling, stared at her. "You have her form down perfect. So how long will the charade last?" He walked past the fake fiancee, reaching for the door with a hoof to save his magic.
"Until Twilight is ready." Chrysalis shook herself off, then used a blast of green fire to restore her form back to pristine neatness. "She is the lynchpin in all this." The queen was suddenly confronted by a very focused Shining Armor.
"Don't hurt her feelings." Shining didn't see Cadance any longer, just the mare he had been friends with since they were both foals. "You know how much Twily means to me, I am betting Equestria on you not hurting her."
"It," Chrysalis paused a second, not wanting to lie to her friend, "may seem like I am hurting her, but I am going to help her see the side of Celestia that we see. She can't do that without a little hurt."
"Then this is all off, Chryssi." Shining turned around and started for the door, finding it closing in his face. "Chryssi!"
"Shining Armor, she needs to see that her teacher has been using her. The longer this goes on the more it will hurt her to see that Princess Celestia is just another pony, one that makes mistakes and can keep making them. While she thinks the Princess is pristine and perfect, she can't be freed." Chrysalis let go of her disguise and parked her plot on the floor. "I won't let her hurt long, I promise."
"You care for her?" Shining turned, hearing an edge in his friend's voice, an edge that spoke of Chrysalis not liking her own plan. She is willing to do anything she can to help Equestria, that includes Twilight. "Okay, but Chryssi?" He waited for her to look in his eyes. "After this is over, I am explaining how you manipulated her, right to her."
"I would love to be friends with Twilight Sparkle." Chrysalis gave a deep sigh. "But having her work with me will have to be enough." She was shocked when a pair of big white forelegs wrapped around her withers. Chrysalis was pulled into a hug with Shining.
"We'll do it together, then. You are too much like Twily not to be friends." Shining squeezed the queen changeling and let her go again. "Let me greet her first, take the brunt of things." He marched for the door. "You come in when you think the time is right."
"Got it." Chrysalis had to fight her tears, she wanted to hug the stallion more, but the plan needed her to act as Cadance would.
~~~~~+++++~~~~~
"Cadance!" Twilight started in on her dance. "Sunshine, sunshine. Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"
"What are you doing?" Chrysalis suddenly wished she had asked Shining Armor for help. Twilight and Cadance would have had to have a special greeting.
"Cadance! It's me, Twilight!" Watching the alicorn walk past her, Twilight barely registered the rest of the conversation. Something was really off about her former foalsitter.
Leading the disguised Chrysalis away, Shining got all the way back to his room before he started giggling. "She is going to catch you out so fast." He pointed a hoof at Chrysalis. "She already caught you on the very second thing she did!"
"I can't be too subtle, I want her to suspect me." Chrysalis grumbled and stalked over to the balcony. "There is just one 'wild-card' that I haven't been able to plan for, well not in the basic plans. I have no clue how Princess Luna will respond in all this." She gazed up at the tower that the Princess of the Night slept in.
"Couldn't get a feel for her?" Shining joined his not-fiancee at the doorway.
"Not at all. She seems to be mostly hiding, but I don't know from what." Chrysalis didn't play her role, Shining had seen through her and keeping her ploy up was more effort than she liked. "The main reason I am doing all this during the day is to avoid her. Once her sister is under control, a simple request for her presence should be all it takes."
"You sound nervous." Shining turned and looked at Chrysalis. "If you get that far you will have my backing." He held up a hoof to Chrysalis.
"I appreciate it." Chrysalis clopped his hoof in mid-air. "And I promised Cadance, and you now," Chrysalis grinned, "I will not marry you."
Shining lost his composure and started laughing. He lifted his helmet free and set it on the armor stand in his room. "Nothing personal Chryssi, but I don't want to marry you either…" His laughter drained into a sigh. "This is all so sudden, feels like just a few weeks ago I got promoted, then this."
"You think it's bad for you? I was planning to invade and she organizes this in the middle of it." Chrysalis gave her friend a sideways look. "Let's just do the best we can and if it comes to it I will drop my disguise before she gets those words from me."
~~~~~+++++~~~~~
"Could I speak to you for a moment, dear?" Chrysalis saw the accusations almost boiling out of Twilight, but she kept her eyes focused on Shining.
"I better see what she wants." Shining nudged his sister and tried to buoy her spirits with a smile. Following the changeling—still disguised as his fiancee—into the next room he closed the door; or thought he had.
"I hate every second of it. I had to be really mean to her friends. Shining, I don't know if I can do this." Chrysalis slumped, none of her plans had accounted for her not being able to perform her role, she had no clue how it would turn out if she just dropped her disguise now.
"You are strong." What the buck am I doing? Am I giving her emotional support to help her take over Equestria? Shining braced against his friend. "You can do this, you have all the plans, the army an-" A jolt of pain pulled Shining from the conversation, the strain of keeping the pointless force field taking its toll.
Chrysalis felt a bubble of curiosity coming from the main room. No, it is closer than that, the doorway? She looked from the corner of one eye and saw a crack, and a unicorn peeking through it. Panic rushed her, she wanted to help Shining but… Time to let more slip. Plan ZZ15s. "Oh dear," with a plan chosen, the panic subsided, "are you getting another one of your headaches?"
Shining had a fraction of a second, the pain still paralyzing him, to see Chrysalis' horn energize green. Sudden relaxation flooded him, the world seemed to tint to green as she sank her magic into his head. He let out a whimpering groan, the pain was gone.
"Feeling better?" Chrysalis helped her friend up with a hoof. She could see his eyes were stained green with her magic, and they were a little derpy.
Rubbing the side of his head with a hoof, Shining felt that magic pinging around in his head still. It was amazing stuff, it took away all the pain. "Mmm-hmm." He nodded, regretting the motion immediately. The sound of racing hooves caught his attention. Stepping to the door, Chrysalis at his side, Shining called out, "Twilight!?" Only the mare's tail was visible as she raced from the townhouse. Turning back to Chrysalis, Shining shook his clear head. "What did you do to me?"
"If I were an infiltrator, with barely any grasp on controlling my magic, you would be in a stupor and thinking only happy things." Chrysalis trotted forward to close the door. "But if I ease up on the stupor bit, it just leaves you feeling clear and happy. Great way to show off, too."
"You knew Twilight was watching? And you used your changeling magic?" Shining rubbed the side of his head again, feeling none of the agony of moments ago. "So you are stepping things up?"
"The rehearsal is in the morning, it will be the first time we are all together. It will be her watershed, if I judge Princess Celestia right." Chrysalis leaned sideways against Shining. "Thank you, for going further than you said."
"Hey, you are a friend, Chryssi, I am helping you, not your plan." Shining reached a leg over the mare's back and gave her a squeeze. "So tomorrow you be gentle." He wanted to do more, to tell Chrysalis that she didn't have to do this, that everything would be okay. But he couldn't.
Chrysalis leaned into the hug. "Thank you, Shining Armor. If this world had a lot more stallions like you, I wouldn't need to do this. When it is all handled, you can be the knight you want to be. I will give you an army."
"What would I do with an army?" Shining already knew, however. He had spent some time talking with Chrysalis' drones, getting to know them. "Scratch that, I know. The next Discord, the next Nightmare Moon… do we even know when it will happen?"
"Step one, build the defense. Step two, employ it preemptively to cut problems off." Chrysalis ducked out from under Shining's foreleg. "I'll take the couch again." She smiled to the stallion and made her way to her impromptu bed.
~~~~~+++++~~~~~
Evil. The word echoed around in Chrysalis' head. She wanted to drop her disguise there and then and admit everything. She wanted to tell the cleverest pony she ever knew what was going on and beg her for forgiveness. Tears came first, her cheeks staining with them. Celestia, Twilight's friends, Shining, and the guards looked on. The script came back to Chrysalis, reminding her what to say. "Why are you doing this to me?"
Chrysalis bolted, she ran from the room, leaving everypony behind. Evil! The horrible word echoed in the changeling's head, blocking out anything anypony said. There was something worse, though. She heard the tale-end of the conversation.
"And you can forget about being my best mare." Shining had to keep facing away from Twilight, he wouldn't be able to finish if he saw her ears tuck back, her terror. Chrysalis, you had better be there for her. "In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't show up to the wedding at all." Tears were in his eyes, more than enough to match Chrysalis'. He heard everypony following him, streaming from the room. The last to come was Celestia and her guards.
Chrysalis worked her magic, teleporting back into the room where the ceremony was to be held. Twilight was in tears, laying on the stairs leading up to the dais.
Twilight looked up, her tears staining her cheek and dripping down her snout. "I'm sorry…"
"No, never be sorry Twilight Sparkle." Chrysalis brushed the mare's mane with one hoof. "I know how it feels to be where you are." She lay down on the platform and gazed over Twilight's head. "I studied history, research. I found out about a great evil that would come back to Equestria on the longest night of the thous-"
"Thousandth year…" Twilight's thoughts were hijacked by the research she herself had done. "Nightmare Moon."
"Nightmare Moon. Celestia should have fought her, she could have sent her back to the moon. She wanted her sister back." Chrysalis had the full attention of the unicorn. "I have to admire a mare who would risk an entire world to get her sister back, but would I trust her to run a country?"
Twilight's jaw hung open. "Cadance?"
"And then with Discord. I warned Celestia nearly nine months before he got free. Did she hide his statue? Did she prepare you and your friends for him? She threw me out of the castle." Chrysalis shook her head and lay it on Cadance's beautiful pink forelegs. "I am tired, Twilight. I can't bear to see these things happening to Equestria, and each time you and your friends are thrust forward into the vanguard… not even the vanguard, she pushes you forward without any backup."
Twilight, despite her chewing out by Celestia, felt she had to defend her. "What do you mean? Princess Celestia always-"
"Princess Celestia is just a pony, she makes mistakes. She doesn't see as clearly as you or anypony else believes and worse of all, she thinks she knows what she is doing." Chrysalis took a deep breath and called her fire.
Time seemed to freeze. Twilight watched the mare that used to foalsit for her suddenly burn up, the pink and pony natures fading and leaving a black creature behind. "What… what are you?"
"I am just another pony. I love Equestria, I can't bear to see it be left open to abuse. I love all the ponies in it and, most of all Twilight Sparkle, I made myself a promise." Chrysalis was as nonthreatening as she could be.
"A promise?" Twilight feared what the answer might be. Her world had been shaken, she had so much to think about before the wedding later. "The wedding?"
"Another of Princess Celestia's mistakes. Shining Armor and Cadance love each other, they didn't need to be pushed." Chrysalis started to summon her magic, wrapping fire around Twilight. "My promise, Twilight Sparkle, is to protect Equestria better than anypony else can. Even Celestia."
The green rush of magic flowed over Twilight and she found herself, soon enough, in a crystal-lined cave. She had no idea what was going on, or what would be happening. "Cadance?" She looked at the pink alicorn.
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I really hope Celestia eventually sees just how ignorant she's been in certain choices. I can't stand how she makes bad choices from a position of power and always seems to be vindicated. This is actually one of the few stories I've been able to find that she has been called out in some capacity.
All your clop is leaking into your other writing. There is so much in this story that ends up sounding just a little too suggestive.
Or maybe it's just me.
I am so looking forward to this conversation. That'll be a sight to see, given the different context. Now's when the story really starts to take off.
7658357
I like the interpretation that the Royal Guard is basically Celestia's eye candy. Gotta do something to liven up the job after a few hundred years. It's not like they're actually good for anything else.
An interpretation I've personally always liked about Celestia is that, while she has a nigh unbeatable poker face and an uncanny ability to cut through paperwork, she has no idea what she's actually doing in regards to dealing with the numerous villains and has just gotten really lucky or, in the past, relied on her sister for more practical thinking.
For instance, prior to Luna's banishment, she had Discord's statue at the bottom of a five mile deep pit submerged in molten lava and over ten thousand different traps between Discord and the exit, alongside a fire proof sign right near Discord's statue triple dog daring him to go through the entire obstacle course rather than just teleport out-this would not have stopped Discord, but would have bought her and Celestia time to get the elements and respond.
Of course Celestia thought the statue would look good in the Royal gardens.
7661954
You know, I actually don't quite agree with this. What we see of Discord's power is of a sort that none of this would have stopped him - or even slowed him down. He can instantly teleport basically anywhere and he has this same kind of limited humor-based omniscience as Pinkie does. Having him in plain sight was an advantage, because it made no difference to him, but it meant that the princesses would know he's gone the moment he disappears, instead of giving him the chance to escape out of sight and maybe wreak havoc for who knows how long until it's noticed. Faster response time, zero real downside.
7661968 Hence why Luna tripple dog dared Discord to go through it the hard way. He'd cheat of course and probably get bored, but it would buy some time. Would certainly help if she had some alarm spells there to go off the moment he breaks free.
Edit: That being said, Celestia keeping the statue in the garden does make sense with your explanation. Really depends on how you go about it-chance to prepare the Elements to take down the elements in Luna's trap while having the advantage of immediately knowing when Discord escapes.
Here's where things really start to diverge from baseline, I suppose? This is gonna be really good!
7661968
Or better put him in closed room with basic detection spell which detect move or his disappearance and instantly set alarm. You can backup it with other spells. With this you also cut him out of potential close sources of chaos.
7661983
...fair enough, I can't say that doesn't make sense in context. It's Discord. Would work equally well setting him on a pedestal in the castle maze, though, with less overhead.
To be honest, just finding a name of an ancient evil and shouting "He will break free right now! Or maybe tomorrow, but still" in my eyes doesn't really qualify for a "warning". Because in this case just checking "Villain alphabet" from A to Z will do the trick.
With Discord, we even can see Chrysalis's efforts helping another side - if Elemens were in their place, Twilight with friends might jist bash Discord with Friendship ray right this instant. Concerning the wedding, there might be not only Cadance and Shinings' interests in mind. Their wedding is A. National holiday , an idea she seemingly got after being asked about Luna's birthday and B. might be a step in preparation to Sombra's return.
When young, people often assume better(Twilight) or worse(Chrysalis). And so, she wants action. Well, maybe Celestia has a valid reason for not acting. Do not underestimate old, experienced people.
Interesting! Wrapping up various problems - shining being too young, ... :)
Greatly enjoying.
Twilight Sparkle vs Chrysalis
Chess
Poker
Trivial Pursuit.
Best 2 out of 3. Who wins?
This is going to be one hell of an interesting discussion.
To Chryssie go!
7661998 That. Putting him in the garden was probably one of the stupidest things to do.
7662290 Chryssie. She'd win in chess, she's been already shown to be a superb strategist, and poker due to natural changeling abilities,aka best poker face ever. She might lose in trivia.
7662379 I dunno. Chyrsi has already said in this that Twilight is smarter than she is. I think Chess would be a pretty epic game between them.
Thank you for leaving out the repetitive plot tales (gotta think of a better description than that....NAAAHHHHH!).
Can't imagine the thought gone into rearranging canon into this little alternate happening so far. Now the embargo is lifted you can start on S6E25/26 here. 
orig02.deviantart.net/40bc/f/2015/001/a/d/mlp_equestria_100_years_later____by_0bluse-d8c3tmy.png
(Just kidding, Twi is gone as well Muhahahaha)
media.tumblr.com/79f8a7764a7e0fc3e339791e67871385/tumblr_inline_mqoxxjyNlm1qz4rgp.gif
(Are we trolling for Nightmare Night yet?)
7662612 Perhaps culminating (after they are already one game apiece for poker/trivia) with them declaring a draw and being friends?
7662612 She might be smarter, but read she ever taught actual strategy?
7662823 Twilight is not smart...she reads a lot but there is a huge difference between reading a lot and actual intelligence...something demonstrated in the show millions of times because twilight is the main character...
7662637 Or they realize just how much each other's intellect turns them on and they forget the games in favor of a furious make-out session.
)
(I ship it hard and you can't stop me!
Chryssie... glasses... hhhhnnnnnnnng....
Nah, I think it'd take at least another several hours to break Twilight of her fawning loyalty to Celestia
a nice twist.
7662634 that "100 years in the future" reminded me of this:
http://vavacung.deviantart.com/gallery/51002140/Crazy-Future
fyi, that story references the "Nightmare Rarity" comic book story.
And so it begins
Hopefully
The bomb has been planted!