A disguised Queen Chrysalis never felt more ecstatic than she did before, seeing the busybody mare abandoned by those calling her friends. The Changeling Queen took particular joy in this unicorn's suffering.
The pony was an annoying perv, shaking her rump in the disguised Queen's face as part of some bizarre pony mating ritual or something. More importantly, she came close to unraveling her whole scheme of conquest. But with a good performance of crocodile tears and a good alibi, Chrysalis had not only protected her identity and brought more sympathy to "Cadence" but made the prized pupil look like a lunatic who nopony would ever believe.
She trotted back into the throne room to retrieve a broach for the wedding. She didn't want to wear such pointless luxuries, but it was more important than ever that she played the part of the kindly Princess, so nopony else got suspicious.
The disguised Changeling monarch trotted toward the throne room and saw the lavender moron, Twilight was her name, in the reception room from behind the door. She laid in the ground, wallowing in self-pity from everypony abandoning her. The unicorn was so lost in grief that she didn't acknowledge the presence of the disguised Queen. A nasty grin forming on her face, the disguised changeling ruler decided to give that lavender menace one last twist of the knife: pretending to forgive the mare and then banish her to the mines.
"Your Majesty." Chrysalis turned around and saw a white Earth pony filly with a poofy orange mane approach her. She wore a black and green dress, which her spies wore to make them identifiable while disguised as ponies.
"Dispense with the disguise Thorax," Chrysalis said civilly, "we are not under observation."
The disguised aide looked crestfallen. "But this dress is so...fluffy and comfortable." The disguised Princess glared. "OK. OK." With a burst of flames, Thorax was back to his old self.
"Congratulations on your performance," Thorax said in a subservient tone.
The Queen rolled her eyes, annoyed by his brown-nosing. "Yes, but now I must finish the job."
Thorax looked confused. "Finish the job how?"
A mean grin formed on Chrysalis' face. "I intend to send the pathetic mare to the mines."
"Why?" Thorax asked in confusion.
"Because it's funny," Chrysalis pointed out as if Thorax had asked why the sky was blue.
"Wouldn't she just, I don't know, discover the imprisoned Princess and help her escape."
Chrysalis grumbled like an angry filly. How dare Thorax disrupt her fun with his pathetic logic. Were Thorax not so competent, she would have destroyed him long ago.
But with some reluctance, Chrysalis accepted this. "Very well, Thorax. What do you propose we do?"
"Well, she thinks she screwed up," Thorax said. His tone indicated he felt a little bad for the weeping pony, "so I doubt she'll suspect you again. So maybe we should leave her to her own devices."
Suddenly, Thorax was struck on the head by Chrysalis with a hoof.
"What was that for?" Thorax replied with dismay.
"For suggesting something as ridiculous as sending her to the minds!" Chrysalis bellowed.
Thorax was annoyed at his Queen, passing the buck onto him for her bad ideas once again. "I didn't suggest that, you-,"
"What do I pay you, minions, for anyways?" Chrysalis whined.
"You don't pay me," Thorax pointed out with a frown. "You're technically an autocrat under which my fellow soldiers and I lack collective bargaining-,"
"Just shut up and get me ready, servant!" Chrysalis pointed out, storming away to Cadence's suite.
"Yeah, servant, go get her ready!" Thorax groaned in annoyance as he saw what looked like a Canterlot Royal Guard approaching him. But the smug smile and evil eyes told him who it was.
"Ah, Pharynx," Chrysalis said with a more welcoming expression. "Are our forces in position?"
Pharynx shed his "guard" disguise, a devious grin on his face. "Yes, your majesty-," he paused, noticing his dweeb of a younger brother was standing around. "I think you have a room to clean, don't you?" Pharynx asked, looking at Thorax with no small amount of condescension."
Thorax looked annoyed. "But I think I want to know what's going-,"
"I think you should leave and let the grown-ups talk," Pharynx mocked. "NA NA NA NA NA NA!"
"Yes, Pharynx, begone!" Chrysalis demanded.
"Fine," Thorax said, sounding like a little colt sent to his room without supper. "What's up, her carapace?" Thorax grumbled. He shifted back into his little filly form as she stormed away. "At least the dress is comfy."
The pathetic way Thorax trotted away as if he was a little grub sent to his room without supper reminded Pharynx why he was of a higher rank than his brother: because he was a creature of action. Pharynx was reluctant to admit it, but Thorax did have brains. But brains were no good if they didn't have the guts to go with them.
"Our forces are in position, your majesty," Pharynx uttered with guarded excitement. "Once the shield falls, these pathetic ponies won't know what hit them."
"Excellent!" Chrysalis purred.
"By next week, Equestria will be yours, your Majesty!" The changeling warrior said. Chrysalis looked at Pharynx with no small amount of joy. Not only was Pharynx competent, he was a loyal minion, but not with the pathetic obsequiousness that exasperated Chrysalis. "What is your next order, Your Majesty?"
"You may enjoy the sights, Pharynx," Chrysalis said with honest pride in her soldier. "Because after tomorrow," Chrysalis smirk became nasty, "there won't be any sights to enjoy." Pharynx also smirked deviously at the underlining meaning.
"As for me, I shall continue to watch the pathetic Princess of Love squirm," Chrysalis gushed. Pharynx's respectful gaze was replaced with confusion momentarily. He quickly regained his composure, but not fast enough for his master to not notice. "Does something trouble you, Pharynx?"
"The Princess is still alive?" Pharynx asked with barely hidden dismay in his voice.
"Of course she is alive," Chrysalis said with a sadistic smile, "I enjoy seeing that pathetic pony squirm and suffer."
"While I do enjoy the suffering of my enemies, if you leave her alive, she could still pose a threat to you and your plan of conquest. She could easily escape?" Pharynx said with more frustration. "Please tell me you're at least keeping her under guard."
"No, no," Chrysalis said casually, "I'm just going to leave her alone and assume she'll never be able to escape despite her being a magically potent alicorn.
Pharynx looked at her liege with no small amount of confusion. "I have a sword in my room. Give me ten seconds, and shh," Pharynx ran his hoof along his neck, "I'll slice her head clean off."
Chrysalis looked at Pharynx like he was an overgrown child. "You just don't get it, do ya, Pharynx?"
Pharynx was dismayed. "But-,"
"Quiet!"
"Bu-,"
"Quiet."
"Just give me-,"
"Quiet."
"But-,"
"Before you start, that was a pre-emptive 'quiet.'"
"What did the pony who crossed the road say?" Chrysalis asked.
"What?"
"Quiet."
"Here's a story about a pony named "Quiet!" Chrysalis mocked.
"But-,"
"Quiet."
Pharynx threw up his hooves and stormed away in annoyance. Chrysalis smirked. Pharynx was a good soldier, but he always overcomplicated things, thinking her ideas wouldn't work. Silly little grub!
"There," Twilight said in tears. "My goodbye letter has been completed. All 674 pages of it." The stack of papers went up to the ceiling. She looked around her old room in Canterlot Castle. While Ponyville was her home at heart, she never forgot Canterlot as the place she grew up in. Now she would never see it again since Princess Celestia was going to banish her any second.
The thought made Twilight nearly cry some more. After all her hard work, her relationship with the Princess was ruined forever over one dumb mistake. She couldn't go back to Ponyville either. Her friends-former friends now hated her guts. She had nowhere to go and nothing left to live for. She placed the goodbye list right on her desk near the window so that everypony would see it.
She bade her first home outside her parents' house a silent farewell with one last sad look.
Twilight looked over her Warlord Checklist. "Make a silent, but solemn, exit from my old bedroom. Check." She slammed the door. "Slamming the door in anger and dismay: check. If all goes well, my friends should discover my letter of departure any second."
A gust of wind blew in, blowing all the papers out of the window. Just one second later, the Bearers and Spike burst into the room, forgiving smiles on her face.
"Twilight," Pinkie Pie chirped while carrying a large cake on her body. "We're gonna throw you a We-Forgive-You-For-Acting-Like-A-Paranoid-McLooneypants-Party." Pinkie gasped. The room was empty."Oh no," Pinkie Pie wept, "Twilight was so upset by what we did, she must've exiled herself to the badlands, forsaken friendship, and become a meany supervillain." Pinkie wept, tears bursting out of her eyes.
None of the other Bearers were impressed with Pinkie's inference.
"Or maybe she just went home out of embarrassment," Spike remarked dryly.
"Well, there's that," Pinkie commented, her crying stopping almost immediately.
"Should we go to Ponyville and bring her back to the wedding?" Rarity asked with concern. "I know Twilight acted out of sorts, but getting kicked out of one of the most important days in her brother's life is a bit harsh."
The Bearers thought it over before Applejack answered.
"I think Twilight should stay home and give her brother some space," the orange pony said in a stern, but understanding, tone.
"But she seemed sorry," Fluttershy said, her blue eyes upset at the idea of making anypony upset.
"She said she was sorry when she brainwashed everypony with a doll," Rainbow Dash pointed out with some harshness. "She promised us she wouldn't let her egghead obsessions ruin anypony's day again. And guess what? She did it again."
"I agree with Rainbow," Applejack said with some sternness. "It may be harsh, but I think Twilight needs a good lesson about not acting out."
"Besides, we can always bring her pictures of the wedding," Spike said with a smile while wearing a camera around his neck. With that, everypony left the room and went back to planning the wedding.
"All those fools laughed at me!" Twilight declared in a vengeful rage. "But I'll show them! I'll become the most feared warlord in the badlands and-
"Madam." Twilight was interrupted from her ranting by an annoyed train attendant. Some blue stallion with a blue officer's cap. "Several passengers have complained to me about you disturbing them with your monologuing." He pointed with a hoof at the window. "If you wish to rant, please do it out of the window."
"Sorry, sir," Twilight said gregariously, "I may be about to embark on a descent into evil, but I never wanted to be rude about it." Twilight stuck her head out of the window to continue her megalomaniacal gloat.
- I will have vengeance upon all those fools for doubting me! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
Twilight looked over her warlord list. "Make a deranged proclamation of vengeance against my former friends and family. Check." Twilight was about to pull her head back into the passenger car, only for the window to slam shut on her neck. "Conductor!" Twilight gasped, her windpipe slightly crushed by the window, her panic making her unable to use magic on the window. "Help!"
Twilight arrived at the barren town. Its lack of development showed it was the perfect place to begin her reign of terror.
"Smile nefariously as I contemplate my plan to crush this pathetic town under my hoof. Check," Twilight said, grinning as she put her plan of conquest into motion.