Dumb Enough to Work

by Bok

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Queen Chrysalis
Length: 10399

It turns out, the changeling invasion of Canterlot was very...improvised.

It turns out, the changeling invasion of Canterlot was very...improvised.

Published 2018-08-18 17:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2018-08-19 06:16:25 UTC

Stumbling into Success

Author's Note

Chrysalis vector graciously borrowed with permission from lalieri.

Stumbling into Success

A hogtied Royal Guard pegasus was stuffed into a broom closest, his muffled cries silenced with the slam of the door.

Chrysalis stood tall in front of the door, triumphant over the lone soldier they'd ambushed in a warehouse. "Mwahahaha! With this puny guard out of the way, I can go anywhere in Canterlot!"

Green fire consumed her, replacing her lanky black figure with a perfect copy of the guard.

One of the changelings she'd brought along for the scouting mission was more hesitant. "Uh. What about us? Who do we copy?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just stay here and replace anybody that comes close. Meanwhile, I will be headed to Canterlot Castle. I can practically taste the love flowing out of there."

Her changelings saluted, taking up positions in the empty warehouse.

Confident her underlings would be able to at least control an empty building, she stepped outside under the pleasant shine of the midday sun.

It had been a simple scouting mission. Her hive was running out love to feed on; they needed more. And so she decided to take the incredibly risky move of establishing a foothold in the capital of Equestria, right under Celestia's nose, where the love would be the strongest.

What she hadn't expected was that overwhelming source of love she could sense coming from Canterlot Castle. Just what was going on in there?

No time to waste. She had to get to the castle and figure out where that love was coming from. She took off into the air, headed towards the main gates.

Once, there, she touched down, walking towards the main entrance to the palace. The guards let her approach the castle with no objections, but as she was just about to pass through, a voice called out from above her.

"Mirror Helm!"

Chrysalis kept moving, determined to keep a low profile.

"Mirror Helm!"

She couldn't ignore it. That yelling was directed at her. She glanced upward to see a white unicorn on the ramparts, wearing ornate armor. Looked like he was important.

Chrysalis scrambled into a hasty salute. "Yes, sir!"

The captain of the guard scowled as he gave the queen a dressing-down. "Where have you been? You were supposed to be at your post fifteen minutes ago!"

"I—"

Time to lie.

"I thought I saw a suspicious-looking pony near one of the warehouses, sir! Had to chase him!"

Shining Armor squinted at the disguised Chrysalis. He seemed just on the verge of exploding before he relaxed a bit, his intense stare softening into an annoyed one.

"You are really lucky I'm in such a good mood. Get to your post at Cadence’s room."

Chrysalis gawped, amazed her dishonesty had worked. It was then she realized something off about this high-ranking guard. That powerful loved she'd sensed? It was coming from him. Or at least, most of it was. Why would a guard—

"Now!"

She shot up into the air, scrambling past the gates.

Chrysalis walked down the ornate halls of Canterlot castle, completely lost. Who was Cadence, and why did she need a guard? She didn't dare ask a guard for directions; that'd immediately bring scrutiny on her.

As she rounded another corner, trying to find out how to navigate the labyrinth of towers, she nearly bumped into Princess Celestia, also rounding the corner.

"Oh!" Celestia exclaimed in a surprised voice. "My apologies."

Chrysalis froze. The sun princess herself. Chrysalis was usually pretty good about fighting her way out of a situation when her disguises failed, but even she knew she was no match for the immortal Celestia.

Still, their meeting provided an opportunity. She degraded herself to the persona of a new guard.

"Um, excuse me," she began, "I just joined the Royal Guard."

Celestia smiled. "Oh, wonderful. I hope you're enjoying it so far."

"Yes ma'am! But, I'm still trying to figure out this castle."

"Yes, it is quite the maze. Do you need directions?"

"Do you know where Cadence’s room is?"

Celestia nodded, pointing to the far end of the hall. "Just down the hall, two lefts, can't miss it."

"Thank you!" declared Chrysalis, running off.

With the princess' directions, the queen easily found the room, one guard standing outside and glaring at Chrysalis as she approached.

"You're late."

"I know!"

He didn't push the issue farther. The guard saluted, then left as Chrysalis took his place.

She took her position to the left of the door, doing her best stoic soldier impersonation while trying to figure out how to best use her new disguise.

After an hour of standing guard, she heard movement in the bride's room, and the door opened. A unicorn poked her head out, looking to the guard.

"Pssst! Mirror Helm! Could you come in here for a moment?"

Chrysalis figured this was probably against the rules, but relented nonetheless. She followed the pony inside, into a room filled with mannequins and dresses.

When inside, the queen realized this was no mere unicorn, it was an alicorn. So this was Cadence?

The princess paced around the room. "I need your expert opinion on something, Mirror."

The pony lifted something with her magic from the shelf; two crows of flower, one of red roses and the other of blue and white daisies.

"What do you think? Red flowers, or the blue/white combo?"

Unfortunately, fashion advice was not a skill she'd picked up in her long line of impersonating the poor souls she'd replaced. "Uh—-"

"Yes, I love the red roses too, but it might be too bold, you know? The blue and white seem like the safe bet, but then again this is my wedding..."

"What?"

Cadence chuckled. "Oh, Mirror Helm, I needed that laugh. 'What'? Like we haven't known each other since high school."

The alicorn continued to prattle on about the fine details of color theory, and how everything had to be perfect. Chrysalis was barely paying attention; more set on how she'd get back to that guard captain and feast on his love.

"So we're agreeing on the blue and white, right?" Cadence asked.

Chrysalis snapped to attention. "Oh! R-Right! Blue and white! Very in-season!"

She playfully punched Chrysalis. "Knew I could count on you. But you'd probably better get back to your post. Don't want my fiancé yel—"

In mid-walk, she tripped. With a cry she fell forward, legs running out from under her to restore balance. She kept going, hobbling to the other side of the room. Finally losing balance, she fell towards a clothes drawer, smashing her head on the side and falling on her sides. She feebly lifted her head up in one last grasp of consciousness, then fell limp.

Chrysalis walked over to the helpless alicorn, the pieces of the puzzle finally sliding into place. The immense love in the castle, that guard captain practically oozing it, this pony in a bride's dress...

It hit her. That guard captain wasn't just a soldier, he was the groom! And this pony was his bride-to-be! And the fates had aligned and then knocked her over the head!

Chrysalis began to cackle maniacally as the first seeds of a plan began to form. She'd impersonate this pony, and take that guard's love as her own! She would become all-powerful! Her hive would feast forever!

Her laughter was cut short when Cadence began to stir from her daze. Thinking fast, she ran over to the princess, dragging her by her hind legs to the middle of the room.

First thing was first; she rubbed in hooves together, then vanished in a green flash as she transformed into a copy of Cadence. The real Cadence, still out of it from the injury, looked up to her imposter with droopy eyes.

"W-what?"

Chrysalis fell back into an all-too familiar role.

"Poor pony princess," she cooed, "so easily defeated."

Cadence shook herself out of her stupor, challenging the changeling queen with an angry snarl. "Who are you?! What did you do with Mirror Helm?"

The false Cadence's eyes glowed with green fire, surrounding the real pony in a circle of flames. It coalesced into a dome of energy, enveloping Cadence as she slowly began to sink into the ground.

"Why, there was never any Mirror Helm!”

“Wh...what?”

“As a changeling, I’ve been playing the part of your weak pony guard friend for years! Decades! And now my time has come! And as queen, I will use your husband's love to take over all of Equestria!"

"You…” she blurted woozily, “You’ll—You’ll never get away with this!”

"I already have. Goodbye, my little pony."

She sunk lower and lower, before finally disappearing into the floor, banished to the underground of Canterlot. After she was gone, Chrysalis realized something and voiced her mistake aloud.

"I shouldn't have told her any of that.”

Just then, a loud knocking came at the door. A familiar, concerned voice shouted on the other side.

"Cadence! Are you okay? I heard shouting!"

Chrysalis turned around just in time to see Shining Armor kicking the door open, his chest puffed up and horn ready to slay any foe. Instead he only saw his lovely bride, looking at him with very confused eyes.

He sighed with relief, and relaxed. "Cadence. Don't scare me like that."

Looking back to the door, he frowned. "And why isn't Mirror Helm at his post? When I get my hooves on him..."

"Oh! I screamed because I saw a rat. Huge one. Size of a dog. Mirror Helm went to go chase it."

He wasn't assured. "That's no excuse to abandon his post! He should have called for backup!"

The unicorn's demeanor softened, and he walked over to his fake wife with a smile. "I'm just...worried, you know? I want to make sure this wedding is perfect."

He kissed her on the forehead. Chrysalis would have recoiled in disgust, if it wasn't for the surge of power she felt course through her. His love was so strong! All she had to do was call for reinforcements, and Canterlot would be hers in no time!

When Shining Armor pulled away, his eyes shimmered with optimism. "You ready?"

"For what?"

"My big surprise! I told you I figured out a cool way to protect Canterlot. I'm going to be putting up a protective spell around the whole city!"

"Protective spell?"

He chuckled. "Oh, just your standard evil-repelling barrier. Work stuff, probably really boring to you. Keeps out ponies with evil intent, malicious spirits, eldritch entities, changelings, bugbears..."

"Changelings."

"Yeah, one of the guards suggested I throw them into the spell, just to cover our bases. Can't be too careful, huh?"

Chrysalis gave a toothy smile. "R-right! So when you are putting up this barrier?"

Shining Armor laughed. "That's the best part! Right now!"

He walked to the balcony, pushing the doors open to the cloudless sky. He looked back to Chrysalis, brimming with confidence. "Watch this."

His horn erupted with a purple aura. He floated off the ground, gritting his teeth. Beads of sweat rolled down his head as the aura grew. Chrysalis' jaw hit the floor as a massive, purple barrier began to build its way around the city, slowly enveloping it in a gigantic bubble.

She ran over to the balcony, searching for the warehouse. Catching sight of it, she also noticed a small swarm of pegasi flying out from it, making a break outside the bubble. Her drones were fleeing, the cowards! She almost chased after them to punish their betrayal, but remembered the rare role she found herself in. She could only watch with resignation as the bubble slowly rose around Canterlot, finally sealing itself high above the peaks of its white-gold towers. That was it, then. She was trapped.

Shining Armor floated down, his breaths deep and heavy. "Whew. That was a marathon."

When his breaths evened out, he put a leg around Chrysalis. "So, what do you think?"

Chrysalis stared wide-eyed with fear at her new prison. "It's! Great!"

Shining Armor turned to her with raised eyebrows. "Great enough for a kiss?"

He didn't wait for an answer, closing his eyes and puckering his lips. In all her years, she'd never required intimacy from her victims. She wasn't going to start now. But she had to do something, and when the stallion's mouth was almost upon hers, instinct kicked in.

She bit him, teeth clenching down on his nose. He hollered with pain, falling back on his rump, rubbing his now-red snoot.

Instead of rising up to demand why she'd clamped down, Shining Armor just laughed it off. "Wow! Save it for after the wedding, huh?"

Chrysalis' guts wrenched at his response, and she slowly backed away. "I-" she stammered, looking for any excuse to get away from him, "I have to...princess. Be right back!"

She turned tail and ran, hoping that at least some of her changelings were still loyal.

She had to blow through six different disguises, but she finally had made her way to the edge of the barrier at Canterlot; a secluded part of the mountain that was flat enough to stand on. A few of her changelings hovered on the other side, awaiting her orders.

"I can't believe you idiots just abandoned me!" she ranted. "I'm stuck in here now! You all just took off like chickens!"

Thorax had drawn the short straw, and was the one chosen to speak for the rest of her minions. "Sorry..."

"If this barrier wasn't in the way, I'd—"

She stopped herself, taking a deep breath.

"I’ll deal with your cowardice later. Look. I've stumbled onto something huge. The most love I've ever seen in a pony. If I can feed on it, and get the barrier down, we'll never go hungry again!"

Thorax remained sheepish. "Really?"

"Really! But if we're going to pull this off, I need this barrier down! I need you to go back to the hive, and get everyone back here!"

"Everyone. Everyone? My queen, even if I left right now it'd still be several days before your swarm would get here!"

"Then go now! And you better be quick about it!"

Thorax and the others gave a fearful bow, then took off into distance as fast as their wings could carry them. As they retreated from sight, Chrysalis sunk low to the ground.

"Chrysalis, what have you done now?"

It was easy enough to make it back to the castle; sneaking past the guards and navigating her way back to the bride's room. She slammed the door behind her, back against the frame.

"Okay, I just need to figure how to get to that unicorn. Not so hard."

A flurry of bangs hit the door, followed by the voices of three mares.

"Ca-dence! Let us in!"

Oh no.

The door flung open, launching Chrysalis across the room. She just narrowly avoid the same face Cadence did, landing just short of the clothes drawer. Quickly picking herself up, she put on her best blushing bride act as Lyra, Twinkleshine, and Minuette hustled into the room, wearing disgustingly frilly bridesmaids’ dresses.

"Cadence!" they all said together. "What do you think of these dresses?"

She resisted the urge to throw them all off the balcony. "They're...great!"

Lyra wasn't so convinced, spinning around while checking her dress. "I don't know, do you think it makes my flank look too big? Bon Bon says ponies think I have a weird body because of the way I sit, but what does she know?"

"Oh, don't talk like that," Twinkleshine playfully scolded, "it looks great on you! I love how it brings out your eyes!"

Lyra blushed. "Go on! I love that shade of purple!"

Minuette joined in. "I love your necklace!"

"Your hair—"

"That brooch"

"Your flowers—"

"Gonna get myself a stallion—"

"Blahblahblahdressesblahblahcakeblahblahmatrimonyblahblaholdmare"

The three mares' circle of compliments seemed to just devolve into several key words. Chrysalis tuned their prattle out as best she could.

“How am I going to get to that love-soaked unicorn?” she thought to herself.

"So?" they all asked. Chrysalis shook her head, realizing the question was at her.

"Er, what?"

Lyra winked. "Who are you, you know, gonna give the bouquet to? Hint hint."

"Bouquet?"

All three of them stared at her, dumbfounded. Minuette then slowly stepped forward, one eyebrow raised.

"Wait a minute. Something's not right."

Chrysalis stepped back. "Oh, you know, just tired. Not feeling myself."

"I'll say!" Lyra declared, pointing at her. "You're not the real Cadence! The real Cadence would have good enough taste to go for a red flower crown!"

Chrysalis moved away from the bridesmaids as they advanced towards her.

"Imposter!" accused Lyra.

"Deceiver!" shouted Minuette.

Twinkleshine said nothing, just pointing at her with an open mouth, making a scream Chrysalis didn't know ponies could make.

Chrysalis panicked; these three mares were gonna blow her whole, totally thought-out plan! In reflex she threw out the first spell she could think of, a green beam erupting from her horn and striking her tormenters. It drilled into the foreheads of all three of the ponies, stopping them in their tracks as their eyes turned a sickly shade of green.

They stood there, awaiting orders.

Chrysalis couldn't believe that worked! She jumped into the air with toothy grin. "Yes! Who says mind control is hard?"

Now with three mares under her control, she had to decide what to do with them. She couldn't just keep them around, their hypnotized state was rather painfully obvious. She needed to put them some place where no pony would look. Some place like...

It came to her.

"Slaves!" she boomed, "You are to go to the underground caves, and prevent that despicable Cadence from ever leaving!"

They stood there, unmoving.

"Was I not clear? Go to the caves!"

"What's in it for us?" they answered in monotone unison.

Chrysalis felt the blood rush to her face. "How—how dare you talk back to your master! You are under my control, and you will obey!"

Her thralls said nothing.

"Fine! If you do this, I will make sure whoever works the hardest gets this, what did you call it, bouquet?"

"Cool," they all droned.

They remained still, staring at their puppetmaster.

Chrysalis scowled. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

"We don't know where the caves are."

She covered the bridge of her nose with one hoof. "For the love of—whatever! I'll just give you the shortcut!"

The changeling queen summoned the ring of green fire around the bridesmaids, and they sunk into the floor in a green orb like Cadence had. The pests were gone. Chrysalis now had much-needed solitude to plan her next move.

As she wondered on how to most efficiently get to Shining Armor's love, an idea struck her. If she could control those mares, what was stopping her from taking over Shining Armor? And with him enslaved, she could bring down that barrier! She delighted in the devilish scheme, rubbing her hooves together in sinister motion. All she had to do was find him.

She bounded out of the bride's room, asking anypony she came across if they had seen her so-called fiancé.

It hadn't been hard to locate Shining Armor; she'd been fortunate enough that the first guard she asked had just seen him. According to him, the groom had suddenly felt ill, and went to go lie down elsewhere.

Again navigating the maddening twists of the royal palace, she finally found the room described to her. As she approached the door, she could hear grumbling on the other side. She cautiously pushed the door open, revealing Shining Armor lying on couch, clutching his head.

He didn't notice Chrysalis walk in, and only turned to her once she called out his name. Despite his state, he managed a smile.

"Honey! What are you doing here?"

"I heard you weren't feeling well."

The groom brushed it off with wave of his hoof. "It's nothing, really. I'm totally fine. Spell just took a bit more out of me than I thought. I'm—Gah!"

He winced, and rubbed his head.

Chrysalis made sure the door was closed, and approached her victim. "That so? I just might know a spell for that."

"Really?"

Her lips spread into an evil smirk. "Sure. Just hold still, honey. "

With a burst of light, she beamed her control spell into the mind of Shining Armor. His tongue rolled out of his mouth, his eyes going cross and rolling in his head as the spell did its work. He tried to form words, but was only able to mutter nonsense as the beam drilled further into his mind.

When the green haze appeared in his eyes, Chrysalis stopped the spell, letting him recover and stand up from the couch.

But she hadn't counted on his green eyes fading back to blue, and the vacant stare of a thrall disappearing. He blinked a few times, then beamed.

"Wow!" he exclaimed, "that really did the trick!"

What.

He ran up to Chrysalis, bringing her into a tight hug. "Thanks, Cadence!"

What was happening?

He lingered on the hug for a while before finally letting go. He walked over to the couch, putting on his captain's helmet. "I'd love to stay, but I really have to get back to it."

He got close, and winked. "And don't think I've forgotten about your little love bite. I didn't know you were that kind of girl."

Chrysalis screamed internally.

He went out the door, closing it behind him and leaving Chrysalis alone.

When his hoofsteps had faded into the distance, the changeling reverted back to her normal form. She brought her hooves on her shoulders, holding herself as she shuddered.

"Ugggggggghhhhh," was her first comment on her situation.

After shaking off the creeps, she wondered aloud. "Okay, mind control cures headaches apparently. Good. We're learning new things. But why didn't it shackle his mind?"

It must have been his willpower. Those mares had soft minds, so very pliable, but Shining Armor's was almost certainly made out of tougher stuff as his position required. She'd have to do the spell more than once. Chisel him down. And not spam the spells too close together, lest she ruin his brain and put him into a coma, letting all that love go to waste.

She groaned. This long con really was going to be long.

Dancing into Defeat

Equestria was a land of magic. Love. Friendship.

So why was Chrysalis living a nightmare?

Between the ponies adoring her every second of the day, she also constantly had to seek out Shining Armor to continue feeding on his love for his bride. When he got too intimate, she would zap him with the mind control spell, bringing him ever closer to her total control. Already he’d begun to just take most of her lies at face value, and soon she was able to convince him to have her room remain unguarded, as to keep away the prying eyes of the guards.

At one point she had to go into the Canterlot caves herself to retrieve the bridesmaids, if only because ponies were starting to wonder where they’d gone. She used a much milder version of the spell that time, bringing them under hoof without totally zombifying them, and decided they were better used around her than to guard Cadence. It’s not like she could escape from the caves anyway. She also had to order more dresses for the three minions, since in their short time in the caves, their own had been ripped to shreds.

A day before the wedding, her army had still not arrived. A cold, creeping feeling wormed its way through her soul as she dreaded what would happen if she were forced to act out the honeymoon before reinforcements came.

She’d lost track of Shining Armor that morning, and only after some extensive asking around did one of the guards mention he was going to go meet his sister at a bridge between two towers.

Getting lost again, she finally managed to find the bridge in question. The torture she’d endured over the last few days had completely drained her patience, and the pony princess act had effectively evaporated. She just wanted this over with, and she was not happy about having to chase Shining Armor all over the forsaken palace.

She walked out of the tower on one end, seeing the male unicorn consorting with another of his kind, this one smaller and female.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything important?“ she asked sarcastically.

The purple unicorn turned to see her, and her eyes lit up with joy. “Cadence!” she shrilled, and jumped over. She began a bizarre dance, singing in tune with her emotes.

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!”

She finished by shaking her rump in Chrysalis’ face.

Now ponies were just doing random insane dances in front of her. Great. Her foul mood turned fouler. “What are you doing?”

The pony seemed confused for a moment, but her optimism rebounded. “Cadence, it’s me! Twilight!”

If she started to act like she knew the unicorn, she’d just dig herself in deeper with lies. Best to ignore her completely. “Uh huh,” she muttered, ignoring Twilight and walking past her into Shining Armor’s embrace.

“I’ve got to get back to my station,” Shining Armor explained, “but Cadence-”

Chrysalis’ heart dropped. But Cadence what?

“-will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going.”

No.

No no no.

He’d just drafted her!

He kept talking. “I think I speak for both of us when I saw we couldn’t be more excited to have you here. Right dear?”

Every fiber of her being wanted to just give up and throw both unicorns from the bridge. She pushed past the urge, remembering the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Absolutely,” she agreed.

Shining Armor told the purple one they had to get back to it, and walked alongside Chrysalis as the went to the other side of the bridge. When they’d put distance between them and the smaller unicorn, she had questions.

“So, dear,” she quizzed, “who should I check up on first?”

“Hmm. Why don’t you check out the kitchen? I think Twilight’s friend Applejack is helping with the catering down there.”

“Great! I bet it’ll be wonderful!”

Shining Armor’s expression softened. “That’s why I love about you. Always have something nice to say.”

She saw the body language of a kiss before he even began to lean in, and took off before he could do anything, only calling behind her back that she didn’t want to waste her husband’s time.

The kitchen, turned out, was on the ground level of the palace. The guards let her through easily enough, opening the double doors for her. She was immediately assaulted by the worst hick drawl she’d ever heard.

“Howdy, princess!” the orange earth pony greeted.

It’d only been a day ago that she’d learned Cadence’s full name, and had been dropping it at every opportunity to build her credibility. “Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”

“Hiya, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! You come to check out what’s on the menu for your big day?”

Sure, that was why. Not because she didn’t want to lock faces with that absurdly lunkheaded unicorn. “I have!”

The orange pony brought a tray of apple fritters over to her with hopeful eyes. Chrysalis lifted into her mouth, biting down and swallowing.

It was like she’d just eaten a pie made of dirt. She fought back tears; barfing in the middle of the kitchen wasn’t going to do her any favors. “Delicious! I…love, love, love them!”

The earth pony seemed proud at her false praise, and brought up a paper bag. “Aw, shucks. Why don’t you take a few to go?”

She saw the unicorn from earlier glaring at her from across the room. Was she getting suspicious? Couldn’t risk it. Chrysalis grabbed the bag, turning to leave the kitchen while Applejack returned to her work, droning on to talk about how brides always forget to eat.

Before she left, she threw the bag of fritters into a garbage pail, where it belonged. She walked out the kitchen, angrily shutting the doors behind her.

No sooner had she left than her three enthralled bridesmaids cornered her, telling her she needed to report to one of the towers to inspect a dress being made.

Chrysalis’ legs ached from all the walking, up and down the eyesore hanging on the side of the mountain. She kept her complaints to herself, her bridesmaids following her as she worked her way up to the room where she had to meet some pony about some stupid dress.

As she approached the doors, she heard the voice of the purple unicorn doing a sarcastic, poor imitation of her own, much better imitation of Cadence. “Please! Call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!”

The changeling wasn’t up for being mocked. “Did I hear someone say my name?”

Before she could force an apology out of Twilight, a white unicorn zoomed in front of her, bowing. “Your highness! Let me just saying what an honor it is to play a role in such a momentous occasion!”

She hadn’t heard that twenty times already. “Uh huh. Is my dress ready?”

The unicorn stammered out a ‘yes’ before following Cadence over to the dress, detailing her craft. “I’ve been working on it ever since I was given the assignment, and I think you’ll be pleased with the results!”

The dress was impressive, but she figured if she was stealing a whole city, she might as well get the most out of the dress as well. “I was hoping for more beading and longer train.”

The unicorn sat there for a moment before bringing up a notepad, scribbling down her corrections. “Yes! Of course!”

She came up to the bridesmaid’s replacement gowns, and had a word for them as well. “And those should be a different color.”

Unprompted, Twinkle spoke up. “I think they’re lovely.”

“Me too!” Minuette agreed.

“I love them!” Lyra chimed in.

Chrysalis looked over her shoulder, shooting venom at her minions. They shut up, cringing at her glare.

She turned back to the white unicorn. “Make them a different color.”

Chrysalis didn’t really care about the dresses either way, but corrections would keep the dressmaker busy, and off her back. She left as soon as she could excuse herself; she overheard the purple horse complaining about her demands, but was far too annoyed to care.

Once clear from the tower, she shooed off her bridesmaids and headed back to her room, exhausted.

Then out of nowhere, a pink earth pony appeared from seemingly nowhere and dragged her off to another part of the castle.

She was taken to one of the palace’s many grand hallways, where the pink pony explained all the festivities she was planning. After going over them once, she disappeared, then materialized over Chrysalis’ shoulder.

“Okay!” the pink one announced, “Lemme see! We’ve been over the games…”

She scrambled over to the side of the hallway, picking up some dice and excitedly tossing them onto the floor. She smiled at the results, looking over the Chrysalis in hopes of spreading it. She didn’t reciprocate, but that did little too dissuade the pony.

“The dances!” she continued, going over to a playing record player and doing a funky dance.

She bounded up to Chrysalis, eyes sparkling with delight. “I think this reception is going to be perfect! Don’t you?”

Chrysalis gave her answer. “Perfect!” she replied in fake enthusiasm, and then walked away. “If you were celebrating a six-year-old’s birthday party!”

The pink pony gasped. “Thank you!” she declared with genuine happiness.

Even her sarcasm wasn’t working anymore. What was left?

Leaving the pink pony to herself, she wasn’t interrupted again by some other colorful abomination trying to drive her insane. It was time to track down Shining Armor; a few more spells, and he’d be totally under her control.

Of course, she’d gotten lost again and only by chance happened upon Shining Armor talking with Twilight. She didn’t like that little unicorn; having her around only meant more probing questions. She’d have to deal with her sooner rather than later.

Then, something occurred to her. Despite the incident with the bridesmaids, Twilight was the only one that had really been suspicious. The rest of the ponies were far too toady and demure to even think of questioning her. So what if the unicorn accused her of being an imposter? The way every other pony was acting, not one soul would believe her.

That was it! She’d force Twilight’s hooves. Make her play her cards early, and ruin her reputation. All she needed was something to push her over the edge…

She loudly cleared her throat, getting the two ponies’ attention.

Twilight mumbled something about her sneakiness, by Chrysalis ignored it to concentrate on Shining Armor.

“Could I speak to you for a moment, dear?” the queen asked, motioning him over to an nearby room.

Once inside, she deliberately cracked the door open, just enough for Twilight to peek inside.

Shining Armor spoke up first, trying to vouch for his sister. “Look, she’s okay. She just-”

“Just listen to me!“ Chrysalis demanded.

Shining Armor backed down, ears drooping. “I’m listening, I’m listening.”

Twilight was almost certainly peeking in by now, so she made an effort to be as catty as possible. She chose something petty to criticize about Shining Armor’s suit, a ceremonial piece of armor tied to the front of his chest.

“I thought I made it perfectly clear I didn’t want you to wear that!” she scolded.

Shining Armor tried to defend it, pointing at it with pride. “This was my favorite uncle’s.”

“And?”

“And I think I should wear it.”

“Are you disagreeing with me?”

For the first time in a few days, Shining Armor managed to stand up to his temptress. “I guess I am—Ah!”

He patted the back side of his head, reacting to a sudden migraine. It seemed to be a particularly bad one, causing him to forget all about his argument and shudder in pain. He collapsed in pain onto the floor, barely able to think.

“Oh dear!” she faked, “are you getting another one of your headaches?”

A good a time as any. She fired another mind control spell at him, his eyes going lopsided and green. He endured the spell, then slowly rose from the floor.

“Feeling better?”

Not cognizant enough to give a real answer, he simply nodded, giving an affirmative “Mhm-hm”.

She heard whispering coming from the crack in the door. She tugged her groom towards the door, hoping to catch Twilight in the act, but heard hoofsteps clopping away from them as they neared the door.

When Shining Armor went out first, they saw Twilight taking off towards the door in full stride. He called out her name, but she didn’t stop.

“Let her go,” Chrysalis assured, nuzzling the side of her victim.

Shining Armor remained puzzled. “Huh. It seemed like she had something else she wanted to tell me.”

The unicorn would almost certainly accuse her now. But how could she make it blow up in Twilight’s face the most? She’d need as many ponies as possible, in a situation as inappropriate as possible. And what about those other five ponies that seemed to hang around her? If she could turn them against her, she’d have no allies left.

Her faced curled into an unnatural grin when the solution presented itself. “Dear?”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t we do another rehearsal of the wedding?”

“Another? We’ve already done five.”

“Just one more, so it’s fresh on our mind for tomorrow.”

“Hm. Well, okay. I’ll go see Celestia.”

He walked off to go find the princess. When he was gone, she shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Lyra! Twinkle! Minuette!”

Out of nowhere they appeared, rushing into the room, eager to please.

“Yes, Princess Cadence?” they all chimed.

She zapped them with the control spell, its effects taking over before they could react. Their normally cheerful faces were replaced by the blank glower they had the first time she’d blasted them.

“I need you three out of the way,” Chrysalis told them, “so back to the caves you go.”

A pregnant pause later, Lyra spoke. “So are we still getting that bouquet or…?”

Chrysalis screeched, banishing them into the underground without another word. When they were gone from sight, she trotted out of the room, spirits high. Time to turn Twilight’s greatest weapon against her.

She got lost again. Chrysalis swore on the changeling hive that she would burn down Canterlot once this was all over.

After nearly an hour of wandering, she found the room where all of Twilight’s friends were congregating. She kicked open the door, announcing her presence.

“Your highness!” Rarity shrilled, running over and bowing at her hooves. “What brings you here?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie added, “and where’s the groom? Wait, did we miss the wedding?”

Chrysalis had to start speaking or she’d be until next morning dealing with these idiots. “I just popped into say that I’m supremely grateful how much all of you have helped in your time here. I might have been a little short-tempered, and for that I’m sorry. To make it up to all of you: would you like to be my bridesmaids?”

Rarity fainted, while the others gasped.

“Your bridesmaids?” Applejack asked, “didn’t you already have three?”

Oh, right. They were trapped underground forever now. “I…did?“

“No need to look into that further!” Pinkie Pie cheered, running over and bringing not-Cadence into suffocating hug. “Of course we’ll be your bridesmaids!”

Fluttershy voiced a concern. “I’d be glad to help, but I’ve never been a bridesmaid.”

Chrysalis pushed Pinkie away. “That’s fine! We’re just about to do a last rehearsal, but before that…”

She turned to Rarity. “I know it’s very last second, but could you make some dr—”

She stopped when she saw unicorn looking at her with a very serious face, holding five dresses with her magic, a trunk open behind her.

“Did you make dresses in advance on the offchance I’d ask you all to be bridesmaids?”

Rarity remained stone-faced. “Yes.”

“Uh huh. Well, I’ll give you all time to try them on. We’ll be doing the rehearsal first thing in the morning.”

Chrysalis wondered if the unicorn was going to explode from excitement as she jumped into the dress, giddy at her own craft. She left the room, letting the ponies bask in their new status. If she was lucky, Twilight would come across them and see that even her own friends had been completely bought out.

Now, for Twilight to make her move.

Celestia had been more than happy to do one last rehearsal the next morning, especially upon finding out Twilight’s friends were the bridesmaids. Chrysalis had hit a snag in her plan when she realized that Celestia might not start the rehearsal without her prized pupil taking their place as the best mare, but for some reason nopony noticed her absence.

The queen waited behind the double doors, letting the ponies act out the first part of the ceremony. She heard Celestia speak Cadence’s name, signaling her part in this facade. The massive double doors were opened by the guards flanking each side as she strode in, taking her place at the altar.

Chrysalis touched horns with Shining Armor, letting Celestia explain her part in the charade. “I’ll say a few words, and then we’ll begin with the vows. Shining Armor, you’ll get your ring from your best mare.”

He turned, expecting his sister to be holding out the ring for him. Like everyone else, it was only then he realized she wasn’t there.

“Hey, has anypony seen Twilight?”

As if on cue, the doors slammed open to reveal the pesky unicorn. “I’m here!”

She trotted forward, teeming with righteous indignation. “I’m not going to stand next to her! And neither should you!“

Shining Armor recoiled at his sister’s outburst, turning to Chrysalis with apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry! I don’t know why she’s acting like this!”

Chrysalis pulled the ol’ reverse psychology out of her bag of tricks. “Maybe we should just ignore her.”

Twilight doubled down in a scowl. “You have to listen to me!”

A concerned Fluttershy ran over to calm Twilight down. “Oh goodness! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Applejack slid up next to her. “You sure about that?”

Twilight lifted AJ’s hat off and stuffed it in her face, leaving the rest of her friends behind her in shock. “I’ve got something to say!”

She lifted a hoof, pointing it right at Chrysalis. “She’s evil!“

All the ponies present murmured among themselves, floored by the accusation. To be fair, she wasn’t wrong.

Twilight continued her verbal onslaught. “She’s been horrible to my friends, she’s obviously done something to her bridesmaids, and if that wasn’t enough, I saw her put a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all…”

She rolled her eyes around in her head, trying to imitate Shining Armor’s numbness of mind.

All the ponies turned to her, even Celestia. Twilight smiled assuredly, certain they’d all join her side. But Chrysalis had a secret weapon: waterworks.

Using the forbidden black magic of method acting, she brought up tears. “Why are you doing this to me?!”

She ran off to drive the point home, letting Twilight dig herself deeper.

“Because you’re evil!“ she bragged, then teleported at the double doors to say it once more. “And if I don’t stop you, you’re gonna ruin my brother’s life!”

Chrysalis kept crying as she ran, only letting up on the tears once the main room was well behind her. She’d worked out a path ahead of time to run around on; just long enough for Celestia to kick Twilight out of the room, and then let Chrysalis double back and put on another round of sobbing to really make that unicorn seem like the villain. Then when nobody in Canterlot wanted to talk to Twilight, she’d dispose of that pony at her leisure.

After about a minute, she was sure she could return back to the main hall. She concentrated and teleported to the back of the large room, well out of sight, walking out expecting to be showered with sympathies by the other ponies. Instead she found an empty room, save Twilight singing a sad song about upsetting her brother. Everypony had walked out on her.

Well, well, well. This worked out even better. She let Twilight finish her bit, then walked over to stroke her head. She looked up, tears wet with regret.

“I’m sorry!”

If she only knew.

Chrysalis become cocky, letting her disguise fade just enough to show her true, green eyes. “You will be.”

The ring of green fire lit up around Twilight. She barely had enough to time to even react before she was pulled into Canterlot’s cave.

She walked off, her plan secure. Everything was in place. She just needed to do one more thing, absolutely vital to her plan…

Gloating was a vital part of any plan. If she couldn’t rub it in the one pony that had found her out, what was the point?

Alone in the bride’s room, she concentrated to bring up a view of the caves where she’d banished the meddling pony. Finding the unicorn was easy enough; her magical signature was incredibly strong. Twilight was currently stumbling about a crystal formation, completely ignorant of her situation.

“Where am I?” Twilight asked herself.

Chrysalis made herself known, magically bringing up her face on every facet of the crystalline walls. She spun a tale about the cave’s purpose, combined with info on a Canterlot tourist pamphlet she half-remembered reading a few days ago.

“The caves beneath Canterlot. Once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside. And now—your prison.”

Twilight ran away from one of the gems with Chrysalis’ face, screaming for help.

“It’s no use!” she continued, “no one can hear you. And no one will ever think to look for you, either.”

Twilight cowered from Chrysalis’ visage on the gem faces.

“Most ponies have forgotten that these caves even exist. Which is why they’re the ideal place to keep the ones who try to interfere with my plans!“

She cackled, delighted at her evil monologue. But instead of falling into despair, Twilight just looked up at her with confusion.

“Plans? What plans?”

The innocuous question blindsided her. She didn’t have an answer. Only after a noticeable pause was she able to slap together a reply.

“Why—the plans I have for your brother, of course!”

Twilight’s fear’s dissolved into righteous indignation, her horn glowing with power as she jumped forward. “Don’t you dare do anything to my brother you—you monster!”

She was amused by Twilight’s outburst, and dismissively waved at her. “Only way to stop me is to catch me!”

Chrysalis laughed, bringing her visage over to one of that glasslike surfaces. “Over here!” she taunted, prompting Twilight to hurl a magical beam at her face. It bounced of harmlessly, ricocheting around the cave walls before exhausting its energy.

She played a little game with Twilight, moving her face around the cavern as Twilight destroyed each gem hanging off the walls. After a few rounds of the unicorn doing nothing better than ruining perfectly good giant gems, she grew bored and abandoned Twilight in the caves to her fate. Whatever Twilight did now, she wouldn’t be able to do it in time.

Only one thing left. She walked over to the door, peeking her head out and shouting at a guard to go get Shining Armor.

Minutes later, a knocking came at the door. She opened it, letting Shining Armor in while she fell into her role as the happy bride.

“Shining Armor!” she announced with a blush. “You’re not supposed to see the bride on the day of her wedding!”

He rubbed his head. “Uh, didn’t you ask for me? Something about a last minute change?”

Chrysalis nodded while he began to discreetly charge up her spell. “Of course, dear husband. Something I think will make the wedding one to remember.“

Shining Armor cringed at the word ‘husband’. “Uh, yeah, I have a suggestion too. I’m having second thoughts about this…”

“What.”

He threw up his hooves in a defensive gesture. “I still love you, Cadence! I’m just—I’m just not ready! We need to call the whole thing off!”

Her eyes twitched. “I spend days in this matrimonial preparation prison and you want to back out?”

“It’s just—”

“I picked dresses! I did rehearsals! I’ve had to put up with your disgusting advances for days! I had to eat an apple fritter!”

“But—”

That was it. She blasted him full strength, the tendrils of the magical beam worming its way into his head. He buckled, but instead of falling down in a fugue, he simply stood in place as the magic overtook his mind. His eyes became that familiar shade of green, and did not fade. At last, he was under the queen’s control.

“Finally,” she grumbled. “Now go to your room and don’t come out until it’s time for the wedding.”

The enslaved Shining Armor gave a blank-eyed soldier’s salute, and walked out the door.

After a few moments alone, she nearly shot into the roof when she realized her army had not yet arrived. She rushed out onto the balcony, looking up for any sign of her minions. She sank in relief when she saw a swarm of black dots high above the dome, and then nearly panicked a second time when she realized all anypony would have to do to see them was look up. But no panic had engulfed the city. Ponies went about their day, not a single one of them glancing up and raising the alarm.

Might as well make use of that. She scanned the swarm, looking for one changeling in particular. She found him, hovering near the mountain and doling out orders to the other minions. Pharynx.

Making absolutely sure no pony was around, she flew up to the edge of the barrier.

Pharynx saluted his queen when she approached. “Queen Chrysalis! I’m sorry for our delay!”

“I need you to start attacking this barrier in one hour. That should be right when the wedding ends.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! We’ll pop this bubble!”

“And one more thing. Smack your brother for me for leaving me in this vile city.”

“I’ll make him see stars, Your Majesty!”

She nodded, flying back down to the balcony. As long as literally not one pony looked up within the next hour, her plan would go perfectly. Everything was going perfectly, more or less. Canterlot would be hers, and soon all of Equestria.

She felt a song coming on.

♫ This day is going to be perfect~ ♫

♫ The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small… ♫

The wedding was almost over. She could hear the faint banging of her changeling swarm chipping away at the barrier above them, just quiet enough for ponies to pay it no mind.

She’d had to sit through Celestia’s insufferable speech about love and ponies and friendship, and then choke through an “I do” when Celestia asked her if she took Shining Armor to be his bride.

Shining Armor, still under her control, had a much more verbose consenting line, when he blurted out the words “I will do anything my queen asks.”

Celestia didn’t question it, moving on to her final declaration that they were married. “Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you—”

“STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!”

Now what?!

The entire wedding turned to Twilight walking through the entrance, eyes glaring at Chrysalis.

How did she escape?!

Chrysalis did her best damage control. “Ugh! Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?!”

Celestia gave her a strange look. Wrong act.

She shifted gears, her voice becoming a soft quaver. “Why does she have to ruin my special day?” she sobbed.

“Because, it’s not your special day!” another voice boomed from behind Twilight. One Chrysalis hadn’t heard in several days.

A very ragged Cadence stepped in front of Twilight, teeming with fury. “It’s mine!”

In her confusion, Chrysalis demanded an answer to their breakout. “How did you escape my bridesmaids?”

Shouldn’t have said that.

Cadence and Twilight looked to each other with knowing smirks.

“We threw them a bouquet,” Twilight bragged. “Guess they had other priorities, huh?”

How badly did those mares want to get hitched?!

“Clever,” Chrysalis complimented, “But you’re too late!”

AJ shook her head. “I don’t understand! How can there be two of ‘em?”

The twin sister excuse has probably sailed by now.

Cadence stomped forward. “Because she’s a changeling! She takes the form of somepony you love and then gains power by feeding off your love for them!”

Welp, jig’s up.

She’d grown tired of Cadence’s form anyway. She’d been forced to wear her disguise almost constantly for the last few days to avoid being found out. It was time to show these ponies what they were truly against.

Chrysalis summoned a great tower of green energy around herself, shedding her disguise in a horrifying display. Her wings cast their feathers to reveal shining green transparency, green energy snaked its way down her pink fur to unveil black chitin filled with holes, and the last of her disguise wore away at her face. She opened her green eyes to the wedding reception, laughing as the ponies stared on in awe.

She could still hear her changelings pounding at the barrier. She had to stall everyone, but how? Might as well explain the rest of her plot.

In for a bit, in for ten.

The queen of the changeling marched forward, triumphantly explaining what she intended to do every everypony present.

“Right you are, princess! And as queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects! Equestria has more love than any place I’ve ever encountered! My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we’ve ever dreamed of!”

“They’ll never get the chance!” Cadence spat back, “Shining Armor’s protection spell will keep them for ever even reaching us!”

Chrysalis chucked. “Oh, I doubt that. Isn’t that right, dear?“

Her horn glowed, the shackles around Shining Armor’s mind forcing him to nod in silent agreement.

Cadence charged forward, but stopped when Chrysalis stomped her hoof down. “Ah-ah-ah. Don’t want to go back to the caves now, do we?”

The princess backed off, eyes still fiery.

What’s taking the swarm so long?

More stalling. “Ever since I took your place, I’ve been feeding off Shining Armor’s love for you. Every moment he grows weaker, and so does his spell. Even now my minions are chipping away at it.”

The looked up, and so did everyone else. Only then did they notice the massive swarm outside.

Chrysalis noticed something else. Why were only a few of them actually banging on the shield?

All of you attack, you idiots!

She feigned another evil laugh, bringing one hoof under Shining Armor’s chin and bringing blank his face towards hers. “He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now!”

Cadence gasped. Was it really not apparent to her Shining Armor was brainwashed?

“And I’m sorry to say, unable to perform his duties as Captain of the Royal Guard!”

Cadence feebly reached out, devastated. “Not my Shining Armor!”

Really running on fumes with the monologue.

“Soon, my changeling army will break through! First, we take Canterlot. And then, all of Equestria!”

“No.”

Chrysalis looked over her shoulder to see Celestia marching forward to confront her.

“You won’t.”

Oh right. Her. Immortal alicorn princess. Completely forgot.

“You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self—!”

Chrysalis ran forward, locking horns with the princess to prevent her from getting off a spell.

“I can protect my subjects!” Celestia continued, breaking the stalemate and lifting herself into the air. “From you!“

A surge of yellow light shot forth from Celestia’s horn. Chrysalis was only barely able to sling forward a magical beam of her own in time, and the two streams of energy clashed together, locking the two into a magical duel.

Mistakes were made.

Celestia’s beam easily overpowered Chrysalis’ own, swiftly pushing back against her green spell. The queen flinched; closing her eyes and bracing herself for the pony’s magic to blast her across the room.

Many mistakes were made.

When she felt herself still alive, she opened one eye to see her magic pushing back against Celestia’s, surging forward. The pony’s eyes went wide as it finally made its way to the tip of her horn, exploding in a ball of power.

The force of the blast threw off Celestia’s crown and she was launched across the room, hitting the floor and sliding against the smooth surface, her horn blackened and smoking from the blow.

The ponies at the wedding gasped, shocked at their monarch’s defeat. Twilight called out Celestia’s name and rushed over to her, her friends joining her.

No way.

She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She’d faced Celestia in a straight-up slugging match, and won. She could barely contain her glee.

“Shining Armor’s love is even stronger than I thought! Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia!“

She heard the sun princess whispering something to the unicorn, but she could hardly care. She was more powerful than the most powerful pony known! What could stop her now?

The ponies ran for the door, throwing off their dresses while the white unicorn lingered for a moment, trying to collect them before retreating as well.

Chrysalis flew up to the open doors, reveling in her victory. “You can run, but you can’t hide!”

Her swarm had now fully surrounded the bubble on every side, still pounding away at it. Cracks began to form in the magical barrier, and finally her minions slammed it all at once. With a deafening crack, the barrier shattered, and Canterlot was finally exposed to her army.

As the barrier collapsed, most of the ponies at the wedding ran out screaming. She let them go; her soldiers would be able to feed on them at their leisure.

With Canterlot’s defense down, her soldiers dove into the city, ready to deal with Twilight and her troublesome friends. Flashes of light erupted in the city streets as her minions engaged the six ponies. She thought about assisting, but trusted her main force was competent enough.

As the ponies battled it out in Canterlot, a few of her higher-ranking guards flew in, awaiting orders. She instructed them to seal Celestia in a cocoon on the ceiling, and bind Cadence at the altar. Nothing like a little delicious irony to spice up an invasion. Shining Armor stood where was, still well under Chrysalis’ control.

That left the small dragon in the suit and top hat.

“So,” the dragon asked, “you gonna do anything to me?”

Chrysalis laughed. “Why would I need to? You’re no threat to my plans.”

An awkward pause. Celestia was still unconscious, and Cadence just kept glaring at the queen.

The dragon spoke up again. “So, queen of the changelings, huh? Does that mean Shining Armor’s a king now?”

“I—what? Do you really think the wedding is legally binding at this point?”

“I mean, Celestia did it. Sounds pretty legal to me. What do you think, Celestia?”

He looked up at the cocoon, seeing the unconscious Celestia dangling from her legs. “Oh. Right.”

“Are you done asking your ridiculous questions?”

“One more thing. You got seducing stallions down to a science, but what about mares? Because a friend of mine likes this unicorn—”

“Finish that question and it’ll be the last one you ever ask.”

“Fair enough.”

Her changelings eventually finished the cocoon around Celestia, just in time for her to wake up and feel the weight of her failure.

“You’ll never get away with this!” Cadence finally yelled. “Twilight and her friends will—”

She was interrupted by the doors behind creaking open. In walked her troops, Twilight and her friends as their prisoners.

Good timing.

Chrysalis looked to Cadence with a smirk. “You were saying?”

Twilight looked outright shocked at their capture. Chrysalis couldn’t resist the opportunity to brag. “You do realize the reception’s been canceled, don’t you?”

She turned to her minions. “Go! Feed!“

They eagerly zoomed out of the room, ever so ready to begin their harvest of Equestria’s love. She closed the doors behind them, leaving her alone with the ponies.

“It’s funny, really,” she explained, tipping up Twilight’s chin, “Twilight here was suspicious of my behavior all along.”

Twilight batted her hoof away.

She flew over to the altar, intent on letting everypony know just how stupid they were. “Too bad the rest of you were to caught up in your wedding planning to realize those suspicions were correct! Hahaha!“

“Sorry, Twi. We shoulda listened to you,” Applejack quietly apologized.

Twilight kept her anger on the queen. “It’s not your fault. She fooled everypony.”

Oh, good compliments are hard to get these days.

Chrysalis walked over to the window overlooking the city, haughty in her walk. “I did, didn’t I?”

She knew now that her total supremacy was secure. So secure, in fact, that she felt a reprise coming on, singing as she reveled in the sacking of Canterlot below.

♫ This day has been just perfect~ ♫

♫ The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small~ ♫

♫ Everypony I’ll soon control! ♫

♫ Every stallion, mare, and foal! ♫

♫ Who says a girl can’t really have it all?! ♫

She continued to watch the destruction unfurl in the capital. Despite a few…bumps in her plan and more than her fair share of improvisation, things had panned out magnificently.

Maybe she wouldn’t burn down the city after all. Despite the horrid palace, the location was supurb…defensible location, high altitude to survey the land, sprawling cave system to imprison dissidents…really, the only thing missing was some green goo and black towers. With a little bit of hard labor by her minions, she could come to think of Canterlot as a hive of her own.

But once she had the capital, then began the process of taking over all of Equestria. That’d be easy enough; just use Celestia as a hostage. The ponies would practically beg her to steal their love if it meant saving their beloved princess.

And really, why did she have to stop at Equestria? Once she’d taken all the love from the land of the ponies, the whole world was her oyster. She’d conquer the Dragonlands! She’d roll right over Griffonstone! And she’d find the Storm King and turn him into dust! There was nothing stopping her now and what was that pink light behind her?

She turned and her mouth dropped in horror when she saw Shining Armor and Cadence floating off the ground, enveloped in pink magic. It was love, pure and absolute. So strong it seared her being just being near it, and she threw up a hoof to shield her eyes.

So that’s what they mean by ‘tunnel vision’.

The magical light consumed the bride and groom, and a wall of magic pulsed out from them. Chrysalis could only scream as it hurtled toward her, scooping her up like trash and throwing her from the balcony. It kept going, keeping the queen pinned as more changelings with caught with the spell, while leaving every pony unharmed.

Only when her entire swarm was clear of the city did the spell disperse, throwing them all outward with a final push.

As she disappeared into the sky with her army, Chrysalis screamed to the heavens at her failure.

All things considered, it could have gone worse.