You just laid there in your seat, shaking. You were stunned and found it hard to move as your mane stood on end. But it wasn’t really the shock itself that kept you down, it was what just happened that caused you to lay there, thinking. You hadn’t seen Chrysalis in a long time, and she only came back to kill you. But once she calmed down, it was almost like old times again, just hanging out together. You only wanted her to be good so you both could hang out whenever you both wanted, but she just wouldn’t do it. This time though, her excuses were somewhat different. It wasn’t just her wanting to be evil that prevented her from changing sides, no, it was due to the fact that she was afraid of change. She was afraid of losing herself, becoming weak like the other changelings. It really seemed she believed she wouldn’t be herself if she gave in, and so chose not to. Secondly, she was a little more subdued than she usually was, and seemingly more lonely. Perhaps it was the loss of her children, but the fact that she actually cared what Diamond thought of her was very out of place for her. Either it meant that she actually cared about her friendship, or deep down, she didn’t want everyone actually hating her despite the fact she didn’t give a shit about it before.
It made you think of Gertrude, from that other Equestria. Her children were actually killed by a squad of exterminators, and she was taken as a slave. She took in actual foals as her children after that, caring for them as if she was their mother. Maybe that’s what Gertrude meant about Chrysalis becoming good like her, it really did require the loss of her brood. The only difference is that due to the way it happened, Chrysalis wasn’t willing to throw in the towel just yet. No, she had to realize her own feelings about it first before anything could truly happen. Which means…
“HAHA!” You yell as you jump up on your seat. “I finally have the solution! I CAN FIX CHRYSALIS! ALL I HAVE TO DO IS… Is… Ogh.” No, you didn’t have the solution, just the foundation. You still had roadblocks to manage. How would you convince Chrysalis? How would you make the ponies see she could be good, it's not like you could do that with a song or something. And then there was the fact the princesses had to be in the know so they wouldn’t ruin your shit. It also goes without saying that Starlight and the others have to know as well… Maybe even Fluttershy should know. Can you do all that?
No, you couldn’t puss out this time. You had plenty of time to figure it all out. Chrysalis would make her appearance again sooner or later, and you’ll show her that she can be accepted if she compromises just a little. She didn’t have to be a good guy, she just had to be close to an anti-hero in terms of her attitude. And the princesses? As soon as you get the chance, you were going to step up to each one of them and give them the fucking business. You had a foundation now, and they fucking owe you for your part in defeating the Storm King. Ok sure, Twilight kind of helped, and you wouldn’t have gotten far without Tempest, but the other princesses got fucking stoned before they even knew what hit them. You had the leverage and- Oh shit…
“THE WEDDING! FUCK!” You were wasting time planning when you had a wedding to get back to. What if it already started?! What if you ruined your relationship with the Riches?! And oh god, what is Starlight thinking right now? No time to think! You rub your forelegs through your mane to straighten it out, then start rushing towards the portal door as fast as possible. When you get into your room however, you stop to take notice of a few things. You look over to the window first, with the blinds open to expose what is beyond the other side. The X-Captain still wasn’t there, he was just gone. Where the fuck did he go? Ugh, he’s probably doing something stupid, and it was something you couldn’t deal with right now. The other thing to notice was the dial next to the portal door, it was set to the Everfree Forest. Seems Chrysalis made a getaway into the forest and into the unknown, she’d definitely be back once she comes up with another plan, and you’d be ready for her when she does… Hopefully.
You set the dial back to Ponyville, and look back at the mirror on your dresser for a moment to fix up your tuxedo. It was disorganized, and given the lack of time you had, you were nearly fumbling trying to get it back to an acceptable level. “C’mon… C’mon, ugh, this isn’t uhmmm… Ngh, ok… Erm, good enough?” You did your best to get the black bowtie straight, but it was slightly crooked, not to mention the suit itself had gotten somewhat dirty. Dammit, it’ll still have to do. You rush through the door, through whatever crowd was outside, and you don’t even stop to speak to Number Four… Which was a dumb move since the door was closed, causing you to crash head first into it.
“Anon? Huh, I don’t know why you’re out here, but I certainly hope you aren’t going through enough of a bout of madness to not notice a door. Is this wedding too stressful for you?” Four asked as he stood you up and dusted you off, his swipes of his paw actually fixing your suit and fur, and hell, even your mane.
“Wha? Huh? Uhmm…” You were straightening out your thoughts after that impact. You weren’t dazed, you were just wondering how the fuck your stride got stopped. “Madness? OH… No nah, I just had to go home for something. Y’know, important stuff… I’m not late for anything, r-right?”
Four just slowly begins to open the door for you, having a small chuckle to himself. “No, our originator and dear Fluttershy haven’t arrived quite yet, but it won’t be long… Also, I already know about Chrysalis. Starlight was able to figure that out rather quickly with the help of Number One.”
FUCK! This was gonna be uber awkward. But then, why is Four so calm? “You’re not upset?”
“I don’t have long to exist, and my memories will soon be Discord’s. All I can say is be careful. And considering you obviously did your best to hide Chrysalis, I can already tell you’re going to make another attempt to reform her. Is that wise?” He asks you, sounding as calm and cool as a wise old man.
That question and his overall reaction made you feel a tad irked, like there was going to be an incoming shitstorm coming your way soon. You took a deep breath, and did your best to answer his question. “I actually have a foundation to stand on now, I know what’s hurting her. I even have a general idea on how to fix it, I just need to get past a few hurdles first.”
“Hmm” Four said with a nod as he stepped aside. “I wish you good luck then, that’s all I can really say about that. But for now, I would suggest making yourself known. Commander Starlight was having quite a time explaining what happened to you.”
Oh shit, right. She probably had to explain why you suddenly just disappeared. “R-right, um… Before I go, how do you think Discord will react to this?”
“Skeptical, worried, and yet willing if only for wanting some of the credit for reforming a villain such as Chrysalis. Of course, you’d only have that last part if what you have to tell him is good enough. Otherwise, he might be surprisingly protective of you. Is that a good enough answer?” He asks.
“Yeah, thanks, I think that might help me figure out how to proceed then. Erm, anyway...umm” You look down at your chest, noticing how much nicer your tux looked. “Thanks for the cleanup.”
“No trouble, wouldn’t want to disappoint the little filly, now would we? Again, good luck to you, Anon. Don’t dawdle now.” He says, with a shooing motion. Of course, he wasn’t doing it to push you away, he just didn’t want you to waste any more time than you already have.
“Right, thanks! Um, here I go!” Yeah really, geez, how were things going to go now? And where the fuck was Discord and Fluttershy? He said they were coming, but when? You step inside to see what chaos awaited you, but it seemed there was none to be had. Mayor Mare was at the podium, Scootaloo was up front on the left side, holding the box with the locket, everyone was seated, and everything seemed ready to go. It was awkward though, you could see that the rest of the Discord clones, a total of four, were seated side by side with Starlight, all of them looking at you, hell everyone was just looking at you. “Um… Hi? S-sorry everypony, sorry, was just uhhh, doing something. Um, I guess I should come to the podium, right?” You were nervous for sure. You could see Mrs. Rich sitting with the paparazzi, not looking like she was too angry or anything of that nature. But Starlight? Oh man, you could tell she was waiting for it all to be over just to find out what the fuck you were thinking.
“Of course, Anon, please come up. Don’t worry, we won’t start unti-OH MY!” Mayor Mare was greeting you with her usual cozy smile, only to be surprised when the door behind you suddenly bursts open, smacking into you so hard you go flying into the air and fall right in the spot you needed to be, landing right on your hooves.
“G-gyah! What happened, am I dead?! AM I DEAD?!” You looked at yourself, then around to see you were still in town hall, and without harm. “Oh, I landed right where I needed to be... For once… The heck was that?!” You and everyone in the room look down into the aisle to see the originator of all things chaos himself, Discord. He was dressed in a white and red football uniform with an infinity symbol as his number.
“Touchdown! Chaotic Discords beat out Everypony else in a blowout game! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Look at me go!” Discord was really putting up an act here, hell, it took you a moment, but you realized he was holding onto Fluttershy like a football as he began to dance, spotlights coming upon him as he did his victory jig.
Discord just danced there, not noticing that everyone was just staring, Mrs. Rich already starting to fume until she finally let out a “WILL YOU STOP WITH THAT MINDLESS DANCING! THIS IS A WEDDING, NOT A SPORTS GAME, YOU DOLT! SHOW SOME CLASS!”
Discord stops immediately, slumps, then just looks to everyone with an annoyed expression of his own. “Well, excuse me, I’m sorry for bringing home the Chaos Cup trophy to our wonderful little town.” Discord said as he held a worried and dizzied Fluttershy in one arm, his trophy in the other. His trophy, of course, just being a statuette of himself holding a long looking platinum trophy.
Mrs. Rich just slowly stood up from her seat, and started to smile an eerie smile as she stepped up to Discord. “Oh, and it’s a very lovely trophy indeed. Completely worth your… Unique entrance. May I see it?”
Discord gently puts Fluttershy down and gives her a pat as she begins to regain her senses. He then looks to Mrs. Rich with a chuckle and hands her the trophy. “But of course, and here I thought you didn’t appreciate my hard work. But I suppose my grand prize changed your mind quickly.” He then noticed the paparazzi just staring and preparing their cameras. He straightened his helmet as Mrs. Rich took the trophy. “And look at that, just in time for a photo op!”
“Yes, just in… TIME!” Mrs. Rich slams the cup part of the trophy right onto Discord’s snout, causing it to get stuck. Oh yeah, she was pissed. “NOW SIT DOWN BEFORE I RUIN YOU FINANCIALLY! AND TRUST ME, I WILL FIND A WAY TO DO THAT!”
Discord did not like that at all, he could see the newsponies snapping pictures of his humiliating predicament. But before he could even raise a talon, Fluttershy starts to shake his side with her hoof, catching his attention as she looks up at him with her usual soft expression of worry and care. “Discord, please don’t. Remember, we’re here to support Anon, not cause a scene.”. Discord however, pointed to his snout, then to the reporters, which only caused Fluttershy to become a tad sterner. “Well, you shouldn’t have upset Mrs. Rich like that. But um… If it’ll make you feel any better…” Fluttershy slowly hovers up to him, and very quietly whispers “I thought it was kind of funny…”
Discord immediately calmed down upon hearing that. He sighed a muffled sigh, snapped his talons, and redressed himself in a tux of his own… With the trophy still stuck to his snout. He just looked down on it, shrugged, and went to sit down at the seat reserved for him, giving you a small wave as he did so, you just returning the wave with a small chuckle.
As Mrs. Rich calmed down, with a sense of satisfaction for shutting Discord up, Fluttershy just turned her attention to you, and smiled such a sunshiny smile as she waved at you. “Anon, it’s so good to see you again. How have you bee-” But before she could finish her sentence, Mrs. Rich just grunted and rolled her hoof along, signalling that things were about to start. “O-oh, erm… Sorry.” Fluttershy gave you a sheepish smile, and just waved as she went to join Discord. “I’ll be watching from right over there. I love you, Anon, it really is good to see you again.”
You couldn’t help but smile. Goddamn, you missed her. Her unconditional love for you really made you feel like a trillion bits. There was no other pony you could think of that was capable of the motherly affection Fluttershy was capable of, and that alone could pierce any melancholy within your heart. “I love you too, Aunt Fluttershy.” You say as you wave back to her.
And with that, music started to play all around city hall…
The wedding had finally started.