An Alternate Ending to A Canterlot Wedding

by MeadowRosePony

Change of Plans

The air around Twilight swirled and howled as she traveled to her library.

What had seemed like a soothing night sky only served to darken her mood. The soft, tinkling chimes now resonated through the halls as a loud clatter. The pleasant breeze she had felt earlier was forgotten, instead a howling wind roared throughout the halls. Gone were the songbirds that had flew overhead, in their place thunder rang through the sky.

Her path was lit with the flashes of scorching light as the ground rumbled beneath her hooves.

But Twilight noticed none of that as she traveled. For the storm within her was far too great. Her flame was sparked and had quickly grown to an inferno. And soon all would burn in a wild fire.

"So that's how it is. They all think they can use me. Well, they'll see. They have no idea what I'm capable of."

Twilight paused, twirling the flower thoughtfully in her magic. Slowly, an idea formed. And from that idea grew a plan. A plan that would change everything. She smiled as she light her horn.

"But they'll learn" She said, watching intently as the flower was consumed by her fire. Soon there was nothing left but smoke. Smoke and ashes.

"Well Discord. It's looks like there's going to be a change of plans."

---

Lieutenant Cherry Fizzy was known for his levelheadedness and his ability to read the moods of ponies (particularly those in positions of authority capable of making those under them miserable) quickly and accurately. He was also known for being very proficient at BARCing*.

So when the door to the officers barracks swung open and his fellow officers saw him standing there, it was no surprise that they watched him for a moment. And then quickly stopped what they were doing and became busy with various tasks of suitable importance (such as polishing armor, studying, straightening the barracks, or just trying not to be noticed), while still keeping one eye on the entrance.

"Captain on the floor! Assemble!" Lieutenant Fizzy bellowed as he stood at attention.

Royal Guards sprang to attention as Captain Shining Armor stormed into the castle barracks. Several of them held their breathe as he passed while some of the braver (or dumber, as the case may be) of those he had already passed exchanged nervous glances. But all of them stayed at parade rest as they watched their captain march over to two lieutenants and order them to report to his quarters.

An order to report to the Captains quarters could only mean one of two things. Either somepony had screwed up big time and was about to get a major chewing out, or somepony was getting a promotion. And nopony was making any bets on the second.

The Guards stiffened as one (if it were even possible at this point to stand straighter, they did) as Captain Armor left the barracks, just as quickly as he had entered.

The two unlucky guards who had been singled out exchanged worried looks with the guard in the doorway as they grabbed their helmets and all three of them hurried after the Captain. Their fellow officers gave them sympathetic looks as they hurried out the door.

But that was all the movement there was for a few minutes as nopony wanted to be the one to move first and risk the Captain's wrath should he come back.

After an appropriate amount of time had passed, they broke formation. One of them reached under a bed and pulled out the game board that had been hidden there, while another grabbed the box from a locker.

"I'm guessing there's been a change of plans." He said as he made note of the current plays before helping to pack up the game they had all been playing. (It was awfully difficult to play without the game master.)

---

"There!" Discord said in satisfaction as he surveyed the scene before him in pride. After today, Discord would finally claim his place as the sole ruler of Equestria!

When Shining Armor arrives with his army to rescue his poor innocent little sister, he will find a pleasant little welcoming party waiting for him. And when Twilight sees the Royal Guard invading her castle, well, Discord could imagine how'd she react.

Of course, there is always the possibility of a small team trying the sneak attack routine, but Discord had another plan for that...
Either way, with them occupied, Discord would be free to defeat the pathetic pony princesses. And then Equestria would be his.

Discord hummed as he pulled out a mirror. "After all, one must make a good first impression." He smoothed out his ceremonial robe and tried on a couple of crowns.

"Hmm, it's still missing something..." Discord said thoughtfully as he tried to think of what that something was.

He pulled a few random accessories out of his pockets and posed, "Wand...nope, pocket-watch...nope, snow-globe...nope, hat...nope, flower...ugh, definitely not!" Discord said hurriedly as he flung it over his shoulder.

There was an explosion behind him, that he ignored as he continued his search for the perfect item to complete his ensemble.

But even though he nearly emptied his bottomless pockets (and that's not easy to do) none of his props seemed to quite mesh with his image.

Discord pouted for a second before shrugging. "Well you know what they say, if you can't find something the first time, pick something randomly!" he said and grabbed the cane leaning against a bookshelf. Discord examined it closer as he checked how it went (or didn't go, that could be just as fun) with his robe. It certainly was an interesting cane. It was also very gaudy and ornate, with the top shaped like a unicorn's head.

"Perfect!" He exclaimed as he spun it around. He buffed out a smudge on it's tip as he admired his reflection smugly. He looked very dapper, if he did say so himself (and he did). He laughed and twirled the cane as he danced about the room.

"We do make a good team, don't we?" He said, chuckling as he stopped in front of the mirror again. But as he looked at himself with his cane, he imagined the cane's head growing and turning purple. "You are one crazy friend Discord..."

His smile faltered as he imagined how Twilight would react to his betrayal. Her ears would fold back and her bottom lip would quiver. Her eyes would go wide as she cried. "Why...?"

"Why did he stop? Why isn't he moving?"

The sounds of whispering pulled Discord out of his thoughts.

"I do not possess that knowledge. Perhaps you would deign to inquire as to the reasoning regarding his current state of inaction?"

Discord looked about him for the beings that would dare to interrupt his epiphany. Then his annoyance quickly turned to a sense of confusion as he spotted the dolls he had created.

"Nuh, uh! You ask him! The last time I talked to him, he got all cranky, remember?" the first doll whined.

"Do be quiet. I believe our presence has been discovered."

"Didn't I get rid of you?" Discord asked.

The whiny Twilight doll harrumphed indignantly, "Oh, that's nice! We go through all the effort to come back just so we can help you, and all you can say is 'Didn't I get rid of you?' Really?! Do you treat all your friends like that?"

"Wait, what?" Discord asked in confusion.

Twilight doll 2.0 answered, "Actually, that is an impossibility."

Discord grinned smugly at the first Twilight Doll, "There, you see!"

"Discord does not have any friends. Therefore, it is impossible for him to conduct himself in any manner towards them at all."

"Hey!"

"Were you to imply that he consistently behaves towards of all of his acquaintances poorly, them I would agree with you."

Discord grabbed for the doll, who simply ducked out of his reach. "Stop helping!" he growled.

Twilight 2.0 merely tilted her head and looked at him in confusion. "I do not believe I was ever being helpful to your cause."

"But didn't you just say..."

"That the reasoning behind our return was with the intent of providing our services to you? Technically, no. She did. I am merely here to prevent any mistakes beyond reparation from occurring."

Discord groaned behind his paw. This was not in the script. (Not that he ever followed the script in the first place...)

"Discord." The egghead Twilight doll interrupted his thoughts, (quite rudely for a monotone doll, I might add) "What is the reason for your delay? With each passing moment, your margin for success becomes increasingly smaller. Already, the probability of your plan succeeding has lowered by..."

"Wait! Discord! Don't do it!" The other Twilight puppy-eye cried as she clung to his goatee. "What about all the fun times we've had. How could do this to me, to us?"

"Huh? How'd you...?" Discord started. Only to be interrupted. Again. (These dolls really didn't seem to have much in the way of manners.)

"Do be quiet." Twilight 2.0 admonished it's double. "Emotions have no place in logical calculations of success versus failure. As it is, the continued procrastination on the part of our creator shows an internal uncertainty that does not raise the chances of his plan succeeding. Besides, I do not believe that our past experience with Discord could be correctly described as 'fun'. Also, you are embarrassing yourself."

"But isn't embarrassment an emotion?" Discord interrupted in confusion, (apparently it was going to be one of those conversations) but the dolls paid him no mind. (Again, quite rude.)

"I was talking about the fun he had with the REAL Twilight, duh! And how would it be a success if Twilight is betrayed by who she thought she could trust? Then she won't have any friends and be sad! Which means we'll be saddddd!" The doll cried as the ground beneath her flooded with her tears.

Discord quickly grabbed his umbrella as it floated by. He opened it above him to shield from the torrential tears, only to be soaked as a sheet of water fell from the umbrella's folds.

Twilight 2.0 considered. "True, but we are technically part of Discord's imagination, so if he is defeated, then we will disappear. Regardless of feelings, our very survival is contingent to his continued freedom."

Discord spit out a stream of water, and shook off his umbrella. Then he flipped it over and climbed into his new umbrella boat.

"But what is the point of freedom if we will be angry and sad for the rest of our mi... miserable livesssss?" Whiny puppet cried as her tears grew to a fountain, sending a tidal wave crashing against Discord's umbrella boat.

"We are puppets. We don't have lifespans." Twilight 2.0 pointed out.

Abruptly, Whiny doll stopped crying as she thought about that. "Oh yeah..."

"And furthermore, I do not believe we emulate her current emotional state consistently."

Discord quickly took advantage of the lull in the storm to pull the plug, and send all the water down the drain.

"What do you mean? We won't be sad even when Twilight is completely miserable? But...but I thought we were connected! You said..."

Unfortunately for Discord, this created a whirlpool that quickly sucked in him and everything else in the room.

Except for the floating dolls. Who ignored the whole thing, figuring it didn't affect them. (Which, truth be told, it didn't. They didn't even get wet.)

"That I believed our continued existence despite the efforts of our original creator was a result of sharing a baseline level connection with the individual originally deemed Twilight Sparkle? Yes. And I stand by my statement."

Upon seeing the first (or possibly the second, depending on how you're counting) Twilight's look of confusion, she decided to elaborate.

"Perhaps I should elaborate on my theory in hopes of clarifying a few points. I would supposition that due to the manner in which we were created, we were not designed with the capabilities of continued sentience, or self-awareness, planned. We were merely created for the comedic value of having a known individual being portrayed in a less than favorable, and most probably exaggerated, manner. Therefore, our connection to the biological Twilight Sparkle would merely be one of co-existence, with the exception of sharing her aesthetic appearance, and emulating some of her less desirable traits. We are, in effect, parodies."

Discord gasped and sputtered as he flailed against the pull of the water. They continued to ignore him.

"Oh, okay then." She looked pensive for a moment before gasping in horror and bursting into another round of tears. "Oh nooooo!"

"Please express the reason for your distress."

"I... I don't wa... wanna have a bla... black mane!!!"

The force of her cry caused the whirlpool to reverse directions.

Discord shrieked (or he would have shrieked, if his lungs weren't currently home to the aquatic swimlympics. In actuality, it sounded more like a high-pitched gurgle) as his directional course was rapidly changed so fast his tail hit him in the face.

Twilight 2.0 tilted her head and frowned as she thought. "I do not comprehend the connection. Explain your reasoning."

"Well if ... if Twilight looks like us and we look like her and she acts like us and we act like her that means when her mane turns black from the flower Discord gave her, so will ours!

Luckily (or not, depending on your point of view) Discord was near the bottom of the spiral and was soon sucked into the drain.

Twilight 2.0 sighed. "Stop crying. Your logic is flawed."

Just as suddenly as Whiny Twilight's tears had started, they stopped. "It is?" she asked hopefully.

Unfortunately, (or fortunately, it really was a matter of opinion) Discord was too big to fit all the way through the drain, and so got stuck.

"Correct. Twilight's appearance started to change as soon as the flower was given to her. However, our appearance only changes when Discord wills it. Therefore, our aesthetic appearances are not contingent to each other."

But, as fortune would have it (we leave it to you to decide which type) Discord had held onto his umbrella, and was so protected against all of the various props and knickknack that landed on top of him.

"I can keep my pretty purple mane with its pretty pink stripe?!"

Of course, it also buried him. Making it quite difficult for him to emerge from the drain pipe.

"So long as Discord does not see fit to change it, yes."

"Yay!"

With a grumble and a mutter, (in between coughing out water and the occasional snow-globe) Discord changed into a centipede and crawled up the umbrella's handle and out from under the pile of stuff.

"So... do we care what happens to Twilight or not?"

"I suppose that since the theory of our continued existence being contingent on her survival has been disproved, we do not need to concern ourselves with the affairs of her existence."

"Oh. But we can still be friends, right?"

"I do not believe that will be problematic."

"Yay!"

At this Twilight 2.0 put a hoof around her double. "And I believe that although individual personalities will always have imperfections due to very nonconformity that makes us all individual, that the personality and characteristics you assume are quite pleasing and satisfactory to your existence."

"I think that you're perfect too! I love you too, sis!"

"I also find that although emotions should not be possible for me, that I find myself perhaps feeling a familial sense of affection towards you."

With a squeal of joy Whiny Twilight launched herself towards her new sister.

After a brief moment of internal strife, (which proved beyond a doubt that she had sentience) Twilight 2.0 returned the hug, albeit briefly.

"Are you two quite finished?!" Discord asked as he wrung out his tail.

The two Twilight dolls looked at each other and then shrugged.

"I dunno."

"That is entirely dependent on the outcome of your actions. Should you fail in your plans and be imprisoned in stone for another millennium, then we are most assuredly finished. Should you succeed in your plans, but decide to eradicate us, then we are also most assuredly finished. But should you decide to keep us, or free us from our ties to you, then we are most likely finished or not finished dependent on your definition of the term. Therefore, only you will know the answer to your query."

Discord slapped his paw to his face and dragged it (and his face) down as he sighed. "Please go away..."

"So, if this doesn't actually affect us...Do you wanna go get some ice cream?"

"I do not find the acquisition of frozen confectioneries objectionable."

"Yay!"

And with that they left Discord (and the mess) to himself. Alone.

Discord humped indignantly as he stalked about. "Stupid dolls, give them the smallest amount of sentience, and they decide they can just go ahead and do what ever they want...who do they think they are... of course they're not Twilight, I could have told them that! Stupid, inconsiderate, little brats, making a mess and leaving me to clean up after them... the REAL Twilight would never have left me like... this... oh..."

And just as quickly as his anger came, it left him. With a sigh, Discord turned to the long task of cleaning up. He could have used his magic, but for some reason he just wasn't in the mood.

"No! It won't end like this! Its not too late. " Discord thought about it.

"It simply needs a change of plans. After I've defeated the princesses, I'll return Twilight's power and we'll rule Equestria together! It'll be perfect! Just her and me!"

Discord snapped his fingers and held a tiara before him. "After all, every king needs a queen..."

---

*BARC [Beware. Advancing. Royalty. or Commanders.] :The practice of portraying a VIPA's [Very. Important. Pony. with Authority.] moods to fellow guards through his behavior as an early warning system. Passed down through the guards in a time honored tradition as holy as their oaths to their positions and promises to their mothers.

Comments

[Mystic Solstice]

Never mind...found it

[MeadowRosePony]

7327195 Oh good! I'm glad you found it! Sorry it's a little late... Totally blaming my baby nephew for that one. It's a good thing he's so cute!

Anyway, Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it and look for the next chapter in two weeks!
But... you know... not to the second... because I don't think I can time it that well...
MeadowRose

[King of Kings]

"So that's how it is. They all think they can use me. Well, they'll see. They have no idea what I'm capable of."

Evil Twilight is BEST Twilight!

Already, the probability of you plan succeeding has lowered by..."

Already, the probability of your plan succeeding has lowered by..."

"True, but we are technically part of Discord's imagination, so if he is defeated, them we will disappear.

"True, but we are technically part of Discord's imagination, so if he is defeated, then we will disappear.

Therefore, our esthetic appearances are not contingent to each other."

Therefore, our aesthetic appearances are not contingent to each other."

[MeadowRosePony]

7331365 Thank you for reading! Also, thank you for pointing those out! I appreciate you reading the story and then taking the time to point those out for me. I've edited the chapter. I hope you keep reading!
MeadowRose

[MeadowRosePony]

7331365 And yes, I do love Evil Twilight. She's so fun to write!

[King of Kings]

7335253
Indeed. She's also really fun to read about! Especially if she winds up killing EVERYPONY! Though, seriously, she is fun to read about. It's nice to see what she could actually do if she ever actually cut loose with her powers. Especially the Want It Need It spell. Most people don't realize just how brutal that particular spell actually is...

[sapphireStarzzzz]

So, is this a twicord ship?