//------------------------------// // 52. Trouble in Canterlot - Part 2 // Story: My Little Pony - The Legend of Friendship // by Danieru //------------------------------// “Heeeeelp!” Star Twinkle screamed through the cave in hope that somepony would hear him. But the only thing that could be heard was his voice echoing through this mysterious cave. He couldn't tell where exactly he was right now and even if he knew, he was still trapped in a big cocoon, several hoofs above the ground. He could barely move while being wrapped into this cocoon, making an escape almost impossible. Still, he tried to do his best to free himself no matter how pointless it was. Especially, after imagining what Cadance could have done with Twilight. Star Twinkle blamed himself for not staying with her. If he wouldn't have walked away, then he maybe could have prevented everything. Or at least be with her instead of no knowing where she was or what happened to her. Just the thought of her being hurt because of him made him angry, causing him to struggle even more inside of the cocoon. However, it was no use. He couldn't get out of it on his own and had to wait until somepony would find him. This is not what he wanted right now because he could only think and worry about Twilight, making him more and more frustrated. He thought about the last moments before he confronted Cadance and It only made him feel bad the more he thought about it. “I said that I believed her... But what did I do? I walked away... What kind of a friend does that?” He said to himself while he looked around in his cocoon, seeing only undefined Images outside. He could swear that he saw something move while outside of the cocoon which made him regain his hope to get out of this situation. “Hello?” A voice said from outside before Star Twinkle could even scream for help. It sounded like a female voice but he couldn't identify it from inside the cocoon. “Yes? Is somepony there?” Star Twinkle asked confused, not knowing if the pony from the outside could hear him at all. “Wait, I'll try to get you out of there!” The voice said. He couldn't see who it was. He could hear noises from behind, making him suggest that this pony was trying to open the cocoon. But he couldn't move his head due to being wrapped inside of the cocoon and didn't know exactly what happened to him. But whoever it was, if he or she was trying to help him then there was nothing more to discuss. He was just glad that somepony found him right now. There was nothing that Star Twinkle could do anyway. Except waiting for something to happen. Eventually, the cocoon was lowered and fell down to the ground, causing Star Twinkle to be covered in the remains of the cocoon while his head was spinning because of the abrupt landing. However, he was free now and turned around to his savior. “Thanks...I don't know if I would have gotten out of it on my own...um,” he said before he turned his head to the pony to find out who saved him. But when he realized who it was, he no longer was in the mood to thank his savior. It turned out to be Princess Cadance. Star Twinkle instantly backed away from her and gave her a glare, much to her surprise. “You again! What did you do with Twilight?” Star Twinkle exclaimed angrily at the mare. “Twilight?” Princess Cadance asked confused. “You did something to her before you captured me, right? Where is she? What did you do to her!?” He said even angrier than before, not knowing what Cadance did to Twilight. “No! I'm the real Cadance,” she replied little startled by Star Twinkle's tone. “The Cadance that captured you is an impostor!” Star Twinkle didn't believe her. She probably tried to confuse him. Although, he wasn't sure what she would gain from that because she already managed to capture him. It didn't make much sense but he was way too concerned about Twilight to think straight at this moment. “Too bad! I don't believe you! And now you tell me what you did with-” Suddenly, there was an explosion at the wall behind Star Twinkle, causing him to jump a little. When he turned around to check what caused it, he saw Twilight with an angry expression on her face and her horn ready to shoot out a spell. But the moment she saw Star Twinkle her expression changed to a surprised look. “Star Twinkle?” Twilight said confused. She probably didn't expect him to be in this place too. However, before she could explain anything, she saw Cadance behind Star Twinkle and instantly charged at her with an angry look on her face, pinning her down on the ground. “No! Wait! Please! Don't hurt me!” Cadance begged while she was pinned down by Twilight but after she opened her eyes to take a look at her attacker, her fear vanished. “Twilight, it's me!” Twilight seemed surprised by Cadance's reaction and raised her eyebrows in confusion. “She claims that the Cadance who brought us down here was an impostor and that she is the real one,” Star Twinkle explained, clearing up the situation. “Likely story!” Twilight exclaimed, not believing in this story just like Star Twinkle did. Cadance took the opportunity to free herself from Twilight. Star Twinkle and Twilight prepared themselves for whatever she has planned. But instead of going after the two, for example, she was doing some kind of dance in front of the two. “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves... “ she said while she hopped on the spot followed by covering her eyes and clapping into Twilight's hooves. “…and do a little shake,” Twilight joined in as Cadance clapped into her hoof. Twilight seemed confused at first but her expression became happier in an instant and she hugged Cadance as a reply. Needless to say, Star Twinkle was really confused by what just happened in front of him. “Care to explain what just happened?” Star Twinkle asked confused, still staying away from Cadance in caution. Twilight noticed Star Twinkle's confusion and explained. It was some kind of special dance that the two of them had when Cadance was still foal-sitting Twilight. Apparently, that enough proved for Twilight that this Cadance was the real one. Since Star Twinkle had no way of telling, he had to believe Twilight. While they still hugged each other after all this time, a voice laughed from all over the cave and interrupted their moment. It sounded a lot like Cadance which meant that the Cadance in front of the two ponies was definitely the real one. Knowing that the impostor was still out there worried the three ponies and they quickly decided to find and exit out of this place. Twilight explained that they were in the mines somewhere beneath Canterlot. At least that's what the fake Cadance said to her. There was no other choice but to find an exit so that they could stop the wedding in time. While they looked around to find a clue where the exit might be, Star Twinkle took the opportunity to talk with Twilight who was inspecting the walls I front of her. She noticed how Star Twinkle walked up closer to her with a concerned look on his face, making her turn to him. “I'm sorry...” he said without hesitation, getting his apology out as fast as possible. “...You know...because of before...” he added rubbing his neck and looking away in embarrassment. Twilight seemed to notice Star Twinkle's regret but she had other things to worry about to fully accept it right now, making It kinda look like as if she didn't care about his apology. Star Twinkle noticed and figured that she would react like that and felt bad for that but he also knew that Canterlot was in possible danger now and focused on finding an exit as well. “How...did you end up here anyway?” Twilight asked before Star Twinkle could walk away to focus on finding an exit. “Me? I was captured by Cadance's impostor after I got concerned about-” However, he was interrupted by Cadance who seemed to have found a pathway that would lead to a possible exit out of this cave. They followed the way which was surprisingly longer than expected and could possibly even lead to an exit so they quickly followed the long path. The length of this path gave Star Twinkle the opportunity to ask the question that bothered him for a while now. “So...who is this impostor anyway?” Star Twinkle wanted to know as he walked beside the two mares. “A Changeling” Cadance replied. “Changeling?” Star Twinkle asked confused. The term seemed to ring a bell but he couldn't put it right away until Twilight explained further. “Changelings are creatures who can transform into other ponies. They do that in order to feed off from their love. The impostor is taking advantage of the wedding and Shining Armor's love for Cadance. She is probably feeding off from him at this very moment!” This caused Cadance to get a little more worried. She began to sprint a little faster in order to find an exit out of this cave. She must have been concerned about Shining Armor and wanted to save him from the Changeling. Star Twinkle and Twilight didn't want to loose her and increased their speed as well. They had no idea what dangers lie in this cave and couldn't afford to let anypony walk in it alone. However, Cadance seemed almost desperate to find the exit to rescue her future husband. Star Twinkle was quite impressed how much strength she got from her love for Shining Armor. After running for a really long while now, they discovered how light was coming from the ceiling, meaning that it would lead outside. The three ponies ran towards it in hope to finally get out of the cave. However, their path was blocked by three mares, wearing some fancy wedding attire. Cadance informed Star Twinkle and Twilight that they were the previous bride-maidens. The three mares didn't look too friendly. In fact their eyes were glowing in a bright green color which reminded Star Twinkle to the eyes of the fake Cadance. Whatever was up with them, they were in the way so Star Twinkle tried to come up with a plan. “Okay, you go and I will distract them!” Star Twinkle said determined as he prepared himself to charge at the three but Cadance put a hoof on his shoulder and showed a confident smile. She then walked up a little to the three mares and got out her bouquet that she was supposed to throw at the wedding. Instead, she threw it away, causing the bridesmaids to follow it and ignoring the three ponies. “Or you could do that...” Star Twinkle admitted, realizing that Cadance's plan worked as well. She returned a confident smile before she looked at the exit in determination. There was probably not much time left for them to stop the wedding but the three ponies were not about to give up now and followed the path. They were in luck. As they followed the path, they eventually ended outside of the cave and saw some sunlight again. But they couldn't lose any more time and quickly rushed to the hall where the wedding was taking place. There were a lot of ponies waiting inside of the palace. Luckily, some of the guards recognized Cadance and wondered why she wasn't in the wedding hall already. This made sure that the three wouldn't run into any trouble on the way. They ran towards the door which would lead to the wedding hall with Twilight leading the way. When she opened the door the hall was filled with dozens of ponies, including Shining Armor, Cadance's impostor, Princess Celestia and the rest of Star Twinkle and Twilight's friends. The princess was about to say the last words to finish the ceremony until Twilight interrupted her. This, of course, caused some gasps to fill the hall and some embarrassed looks from her friends. Except for Star Twinkle of course, how stood right beside Twilight this time. “Why does she have to ruin my special day?“ The impostor Cadance said while sobbing a little in order to get the crowd on her site but to her surprise somepony she didn't expect showed up. “Because it's not your special day! It's mine!” Princess Cadance said as she stepped into the hall, once again, filling it with gasps from everypony. ”She's a changeling. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them,” she explained, causing the impostor to realize that hiding was no use anymore. The impostor surrounded herself in some light green flames. This made her body change into something entirely different. Her body still resembled a pony but her coat turned black and her legs were filled with holes, as well as her horn. Her mane turned to a green blueish color and her wings became more insect like. In fact, she strongly resembled a big insect. Despite being exposed by Cadance, the Changeling didn't seem to lose her confidence. “Right you are, Princess. I, Chrysalis, the queen of the changelings, will 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 have ever dreamed of!” She declared. “They'll never get the chance! Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us!” Cadance returned. That reminded Star Twinkle about the giant shield around Canterlot. Shining Armor must have been the one who created it to protect Canterlot during the wedding. However, Queen Chrysalis seemed to have taken control over him which would explain why he was acting so absent-minded before. Out of concern, Cadance ran towards him but Queen Chrysalis stood beside the two. She explained that since she was taking Cadance's place, she was feeding off from Shining Armors love, growing stronger from it and weakening his spell that he put around Canterlot. “Soon, my changeling army will break through. First, we take Canterlot. And then, all of Equestria!” The Changeling Queen declared with a smile on her face as if she had already won. “No. You want,” Princess Celestia said, making the smile on Queen Chrysalis vanish in concern as she realized that Princess Celestia watched the whole scene, waiting for a moment to step in. “You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self, I can protect my subjects from you!” She said as she stepped forward to confront the Queen herself. Princess Celestia flew up and prepared to shoot a beam of magic out of her horn directly at Queen Chrysalis. The Changeling Queen returned a beam of magic herself, making their magic collide. Princess Celestia seemed to have the upper hoof in this battle. She remained calmly while Queen Chrysalis seemed to struggle to keep up with her. However, the Changeling Queen did overpower the princess without realizing it at first. Surprised by this, Princess Celestia was no longer able to keep up and was beaten by Chrysalis and fell to the ground. Of course, everypony in the hall was shocked to see their beloved princess fall in front of them. Especially Twilight who quickly rushed to Princess Celestia. But For some reason, Star Twinkle had mixed feelings about this scene. As he watched seeing Princess Celestia in the ground and Queen Chrysalis in front of her, some other picture was flashing before his eyes. It seemed to be some kind of memory that he remembered in this very instant. He saw himself standing in front of Princess Celestia who was laying on the ground and possibly hurt. She opened her eyes to look at Star Twinkle and seemed heavily surprised. “It's you?” Celestia said as she looked at the Star Twinkle that stood in front of her. “I can't let you interfere...anymore...” he replied calmly. Surprisingly, as quick as this scene flashed before him, it vanished again. Star Twinkle had no idea why this images would flash through his mind in this very moment. It may have been caused by the shock to watch Celestia get hurt but it was enough to confuse him for a moment. “This looks...familiar?” He wondered, not sure what he should make out of this picture. “Star Twinkle!” Twilight said, making him snap out of his thought again. “We need to go! The princess ordered us to get the Elements of Harmony to stop Queen Chrysalis!” Some time must have been passed while he was seeing this images. Princess Celestia was still laying on the ground while the Changeling Queen laughed in her victory. It was now that Star Twinkle realized how serious the situation actually was. Finding the Elements and using them to defeat the Queen was the best that they could do right now so Star Twinkle didn't ask any questions and followed Twilight who was also calling the rest of their friends to accompany them. Queen Chrysalis didn't seem to be aware of what the group has planned and remained inside of the hall. The group exited the castle and made their way to the royal tower where the Elements were kept inside. Star Twinkle looked up and saw a bunch of creatures over the shield of Shining Armor who tried to break it in order to get in. Eventually, they succeeded and the barrier broke over the heads of the citizens of Canterlot. Moments later an army of changelings came crashing down towards the group starting their attack on Canterlot. “There are so many! Wait!” He saw how a group of them was flying dangerously close to where his parents were living. “Mom, dad!” He said before he followed this group in order to get there. “Star Twinkle, where are you going?! The tower is this way!” Twilight corrected, wondering why he was walking away from them. “This is where my parents live! I have to make sure that they are safe!” He replied in a panic. “But if we don't hurry, then the Changelings will overrun the whole town,” Fluttershy said. “I know but...” was all that Star Twinkle could reply since he was aware of the situation. Twilight did not like the idea to endanger the city any longer but she could also see the concern of Star Twinkle. “Alright. But we have to move quick,” She said as she asked Star Twinkle to lead the way. “Thank you!” He replied before he ran towards the direction of his parent's house. Changelings came swarming all over Canterlot and ponies on the streets were all cornered and attacked by them. They looked similar to ponies but more insect-like, just like their queen. They most likely had also the ability to turn into other ponies as well. But Star Twinkle didn't care about any of that right now because he was way too concerned about his parents. The group was only one corner away from Star Twinkle's parent's house and as they got closer, the more worried he became that the Changelings might have attacked them. However, when they were about to walk around the corner, they saw a bunch of Changelings being knocked back. The group was wondering what could have caused it and walked around the corner where they instantly saw Star Twinkle's parents, fending of the Changelings. Star Twinkle's mother used a broom and waved it back and forth to get the Changelings away from the house, while his father was using a floor lamp to do the same. They actually did a good job to get Changelings away from them. “Hah, take that you mean...bug...pony things!” Sunny Twinkle exclaimed as he waved his lamp almost randomly around, scaring off most of the Changelings in the area. “I think they are called Changelings, honey,” Rainfall Twinkle corrected. “Yeah, what she said!” Thought they didn't have much trouble, Star Twinkle was oblivious to it and asked if they were alright. “Mom? Dad? Are you okay?” He asked worriedly. They both noticed their son and waved at him as if there was nothing wrong in this very situation. “Well, there are those Changelings who bother us a little but other than that...” Rainfall Twinkle explained as she cleared some dust off from the ground with her broom. “I think your worries were a little unfounded darling,” Rarity said. “Yeah, they seem to have lots of fun!” Pinkie Pie added though Star Twinkle wouldn't exactly call it “having fun”. His parents wondered who the group of ponies behind Star Twinkle were “I hate to say it now but we don't have much time Star Twinkle, we need to get the Elements of Harmony to stop the Changelings!” Twilight reminded. This caused Star Twinkle's parents to get a little confused. “Elements?” Sunny Twinkle wondered. “Stop the Changelings?” Rainfall Twinkle added confused. There was no point to keep anything a secret anymore so Star Twinkle decided to spill the beans. “I think I have to explain some things that happened to me recently, that you don't know about...” He took a huge breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again he walked up to his parents and in one big rush, explained everything at once. “I was chosen by one of the Elements of Harmony, the most powerful magic in Equestria and helped to fight off a mare that was trapped on the moon for one thousand years and tried to bring an eternal night in Equestria. Then I helped to stop the god of Chaos, Discord who once ruled over Equestria. After that, me and my friends stopped a group of Pegasi who wanted to steal the Elements of Harmony for their crazy power hungry Unicorn leader. And now we have to get to the royal tower to get the Elements of Harmony to stop the Changelings and their Queen, who disguised herself as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza in order to take over all of Equestria,” Needless to say, there was a huge shock in both of his parent's faces after this wrap-up. Star Twinkle could only smile awkwardly. His mom and dad both looked at each other confused until they both eventually broke the silence. “I'm proud of you son,” Sunny Twinkle casually replied with a satisfied smile on his face. “Wait, what was that about saving Equestria?” Rainfall Twinkle. “Yeah, I know...” Star Twinkle replied with a frown. “Those are some pretty big news. I understand if you think less about me now...” His parents again looked at each other confused. “Why in the world would we think that?” Rainfall Twinkle replied confused. “Because I haven't told you about all of that. I mean, any normal son would tell his parent's important stuff like that. I didn't know how you would react to all that, especially since we don't see each other that much anymore. I didn't want you to think that you were not important to me anymore because I didn't tell you about all that...” he explained with a sad frown on his face as he looked down to the ground in regret. Again, his parents looked at each other, not being able to see the problem here. His mother walked up to him and put a hoof on his shoulder to comfort her son. “Starfall. It's only natural that you can't tell us everything,” “Starfall?” Rainbow Dash wondered which was kinda out of place right now and caused Rarity to poke her in the sides so that she wouldn't ruin this, in her opinion, beautiful moment. “But...” Star Twinkle only replied. His father cleared his throat before he eventually walked up to his son too with an unexpected serious expression, instead of his usual silly one. “We sometimes miss it to spend time with you but also have to that you are a full grown stallion who lives his own life now,” Sunny Twinkle assured, making Star Twinkle feel kinda surprised seeing his father speaking so normal for the first time. “So you do have saved Equestria a few times and you didn't tell us that. Who cares! Nothing of that changes that you are our son...” “And that we love you very much,” Rainfall Twinkle continued. “What she said,” Sunny Twinkle added with a bright smile on his face. Star Twinkle couldn't help but let some tears slip. All this time he felt bad for not talking with them but in the end, they weren't even sad or mad or anything that he expected. They accepted him as their son and not because of what he did or didn't do. When he thought about he did realize that it was also the other way around. He loved his parents no matter what happened or how many friends he made recently. Rainfall Twinkle walked up closer to her son and gave him a hug to which Sunny Twinkle happily joined in lifting the both of them over the ground. However, while they were enjoying the moment Applejack coughed up a little, reminding Star Twinkle of what is actually happening right now. “I'll hate to be the one to interrupt this moment of yours but we kind have to save Canterlot now,” she said while she rubbed her neck, feeling bad to interrupt them. “Right!” Star Twinkle replied before he jumped out of the hug in panic. “You think you'll be safe while we clean this mess?” He asked his parents. “You'll bet!” Sunny Twinkle replied confidently. “Go and defeat those Changelings for us!” Rainfall Twinkle said in a cheering tone. Star Twinkle nodded in confidence before he signaled his friends to go ahead with him following close by. He looked back for a moment to see his parents waving at him with smiles on their faces. He had to be brave for once, now that they believe in him and smiled happily as he ran beside his friends. “Your parents are pretty cool, Star Twinkle!” Rainbow Dash said while she flew beside him. “They are the best!” Star Twinkle replied as he focused his eyes in front of him with a smile on his face. It didn't take long until they were close to the tower. The group stopped after a while, much to Star Twinkle's confusion who was behind all of them. As it turns out, there were a lot of Changelings in front of the tower, preventing the group to advance any further. The group was clearly outnumbered but there was no turning back now. They needed to get the Elements of Harmony as soon as possible. “Looks like we're gonna have to do this the hard way,” Rainbow Dash said, not losing her confidence in the slightest. When she was approaching one of them, however, she was surprised to see herself in front of her. She was confused for a moment and was knocked over by her opponent because of it and wondered what exactly happened. It was to be expected. The Changelings were all transforming into Star Twinkle and his friends. All of them changed into every one of them, leaving no Changeling left untransformed. Twilight reminded everypony that they had to get the Elements and advised to not let them be distracted. Star Twinkle was far away from being distracted at this very moment. If they loose, then not only Canterlot will fall but also all of Equestria. This included the safety of his parents as well. Thinking about them and knowing that they were believing in him gave him the courage to go on without regret. The two groups charged at each other until the whole place was covered in dust due to the intensity of this battle. It sure was confusing to see himself and his friends multiple times and even beating each other up. Star Twinkle was afraid to hit one of his friends on accident so he figured that he should only go after himself. That way he would only fight against a Changeling because he was the original one. He couldn't afford to hold back or worry about anything right now so proceeded to kick every Star Twinkle that he could see and was actually doing a good job at it. He was not sure if he and his friends were winning this fight or not but if he was dealing with every Star Twinkle one by one, then things should get easier after a while. Slowly, the number of ponies decreased and a number of beaten Changelings raised. Every time when one of them was beaten, they would turn back to their original form. Before they knew it, there were only seven ponies remaining. Star Twinkle approached the girls but they seemed to be a little cautious and stood there as if they were about to attack him, causing him to back off in shock. “No! It's me! Star Twinkle! You know, the lazy and grumpy one!” He said, trying to convince his friends. They seemed to believe him since there was no other Star Twinkle standing right now. They wasted no more time and entered the tower with the Elements inside of it to get rid of the Changelings. However, when they entered the door they were greeted by another swarm of Changelings who blocked their way to the Elements of Harmony. There was no way for the group to get past them. They were still exhausted from the previous battle and the number of Changelings seemed to be even bigger than the group before. The courage of the group went down and they decided to back away but unfortunately, behind them stood another swarm of Changelings who were ready to attack as well. “Now what do we do?” Star Twinkle said in concern while he and his friends slowly backed into a corner because of the Changelings who slowly cornered them robbing group of any hope to win this battle. Back in the Wedding hall... Queen Chrysalis was overlooking what took place in Canterlot while her Changelings were capturing and attacking ponies all over the city. She placed some Changeling guards in the wedding hall who kept a close eye to Cadance, Shining Armor, Spike and Princess Celestia. The latter of them being imprisoned into a cocoon so that she would posses no danger for Queen Chrysalis. Cadance was also trapped on the spot by some kind green slime that was most likely created by Chrysalis or the Changelings. “You won't get away with this!” Cadance said to Queen Chrysalis who did not seem to be worried at all. ”Twilight and her friends will–“ But as soon as she wanted to finish her sentence, the door of the hall opened up and revealed Star Twinkle and his friends who were dragged inside of the hall by the Changelings. “You were saying?” Queen Chrysalis replied amused, especially after Cadance's previous words. The group was placed in the middle of the hall while some of the Changelings stood guard around them to make sure that the group wouldn't do anything suspicious. The situation was hopeless. The group wasn't able to retrieve the Elements of Harmony nor where they able to do anything in their current situation. Meanwhile, all of Canterlot was overrun by the Changelings. “It's funny, really. Twilight here was suspicious of my behavior all along. Too bad the rest of you were too caught up in your wedding planning to realize those suspicions were correct!” Queen Chrysalis said while she toyed with Twilight in her victory before she went to the balcony to watch over her swarm in Canterlot. This caused most of her friends to apologize to her on the spot because they knew that if they would have listened to her then this whole situation could have been avoided. Twilight was not mad at all. There was no point to be in this moment. Star Twinkle didn't want to give up for once, but it was hard to come up with an idea on the spot while he was looked at by a bunch of Changelings. “We won't be able to do anything with those guards watching our every move... Come on...there has to be something that we can do... But what?” He thought in his frustration. While thinking, he looked over to Queen Chrysalis. He could swear that he saw something move in the distance, far away in the clouds. Queen Chrysalis also realized some movements in the distance. There was a huge shadow behind the clouds that became bigger every second. She moved her head closer and focused her eyes in order to find out what it was. Eventually, she could make out a shape. It was a fortress that was lifted by a giant balloon. “Wait...is that?” Star Twinkle said as soon as he figured out what it was. It was the Storm Fortress. The flying base of the Storm Wings. Queen Chrysalis was not sure what to think of it, seeing a giant flying fortress approaching Canterlot. Three Pegasi stood over the front gate of the fortress and overlooked the scene that occurred in Canterlot. It was the three most important members of them, Cyclone Wing, Steel Wing and Hurricane Wing. “Sure is a long time since we were here...” Cyclone Wing said while keeping a serious face. “You think we are too late? Hurricane Wing asked in a monotone voice. “Not if we can do something about it!” Steel Wing said excitedly as he jumped down to Canterlot as if he wanted nopony else to beat up the Changelings. He landed on the ground and quickly proceeded to go after every Changeling that he could see. “Was waiting for a signal really too much for him?” Cyclone Wing said. “Well, you know how is ever since then...” Hurricane Wing reminded. “Should we go too?” Breeze Flyer asked who walked up to the two Pegasi along with Cloud Head and Featherbrain who looked a little more worried by the sight of the Changelings. Cyclone Wing nodded and raised one hoof to give a command to the rest of the Storm Wings. Only seconds later, the sky was filled with Pegasi who all dived down to the town in order to protect the town from the Changelings. From this point on the battle was a little evener. There were still more Changelings then Pegasi but the Storm Wings put up a really good fight. One of them was easily taking on five of them and Steel Wing was easily fighting of ten. Worried by his sight Queen Chrysalis became angry and ordered the remaining Changelings inside of the hall to take care of the new enemies. “That's what I call, perfect timing!” He thought before he nodded to Twilight, who nodded back and quietly sneaked away from the group in order to free Cadance. “Quick! Go to him while you still have the chance!” She said to Cadance using her magic to remove the green stuff that trapped Cadance. She wasted no time and went to Shining Armor. Realizing that he wasn't responding to her at all, tears began to fill in her eyes. She hugged him and performed some kind of spell, which created a little heart above her head that touched Shining Armor. After that, he came back to his senses again and was confused what exactly was happening right now. “Wha– where... huh? Is...is the wedding over?” He asked as he looked around confused. However, this was noticed by Queen Chrysalis who appeared in front of the two, claiming that even after Shining Armor was back, there was no hope left for them anymore. Shining Armor did try to perform his shield spell to get rid of Chrysalis and her Changeling Swarm but it didn't work and nothing happened as a result because Queen Chrysalis already absorbed most of his magic. “No! My power is useless now. I don't have the strength to repel them,” he said in frustration. “My love will give you strength,” Cadance said before she hugged Shining Armor once more. But Queen Chrysalis was unimpressed by those words and didn't took them seriously at all and returned to the balcony to watch over her swarm again. Cadance and Shining Armor both joined their horns together and combined their magic. There was a bright light coming from them, making them even levitate above the ground. It was beautiful to look at. Queen Chrysalis noticed the light and feared that something would happen against her favor. And just as she expected, it did. The light became much stronger and the protection spell was coming from them and pushed away Queen Chrysalis. Outside of the hall, the Changeling Swarm was also repelled, leaving only the citizens and the Storm Wings inside of Canterlot. It was incredible. In only a few seconds, all of Canterlot was safe again. The Changelings, Queen Chrysalis, all of them were gone and the group could take a breath again. Twilight quickly ran towards Princess Celestia who still seemed a little injured from her fight against Chrysalis. Meanwhile, Some of the members of the Storm Wings came flying through the windows to make sure that everything was alright in the wedding hall. Star Twinkle recognized the members that walked towards him. They were Cyclone Wing, Steel Wing, and Hurricane Wing. “Things seemed to have settled down outside. What about here?” Cyclone Wing asked. “All good. You sure came at the perfect time,” Star Twinkle complimented. “How did you even know that Canterlot was being attacked?” “Well, the Princesses contacted us to stay close by because of the wedding,” Cyclone Wing explained. “Congrats by the way,” Hurricane Wing said rather out of place. “After we saw this huge swarm of Changelings appear, we came rushing to Canterlot to save the day!” Steel Wing said proudly. “Yes. And now we are leaving...” Cyclone Wing said, much to the surprise to his brothers. “We are not staying for the wedding?” Steel Wing asked confused but also a little disappointing. “I think you would be more than welcome after what you did just now...” Star Twinkle pointed out. “Even if that was true, we will leave now. There is still much to make up for all the ponies we hurt and attacked in the past. The princesses asked for our help and we acted. It's as simple as that,” Cyclone Wing explained with a stern look on his face. “You shouldn't be too hard to yourself...” Star Twinkle said in hope that there wouldn't take their action too much to heart anymore, especially since it was their previous leader, Mystic's fault for all of that. While still being a little disappointed to not join the wedding his two brothers fully stood behind Cyclone Wing's decision and left the hall. Only a few minutes later the Storm Fortress was flying away from Canterlot again but not without some ponies in Canterlot cheering for the Storm Wings. Featherbrain and Cloud Head quickly felt flattered and waved and childishly cheered back at the crowd. They were soon accompanied by Breeze Flyer, Steel Wing, and Hurricane Wing. Cyclone Wing was stunned by the sight that ponies were actually cheering for the Storm Wings again and couldn't help but to feel happy. He decided to wave at the crowd and smiled while doing it until he and the Storm Fortress were out of sight again. Later that day... The wedding might have been interrupted but that wouldn't stop Twilight and her friends to do anything to make it still happen. It took half the day to get everything ready but with the help and approval of Cadance, all of them were able to successfully put together the wedding. From the food, the decoration or the dresses, Cadance seemed a lot more open than Chrysalis was back then. She quickly befriended everyone of them and had a lot of fun spending time with them, much how Twilight expected it. Star Twinkle didn't spend much time with her since he didn't have to prepare anything for the wedding but he did get a chance to talk with her a little and also got along well with her. Later when the wedding was about to start, Star Twinkle and his friends, as well as Shining Armor, were waiting for Cadance to enter the hall. After thinking about it, this was the first wedding that Star Twinkle ever attended, making him a little nervous of how he should behave but he figured that he should just stay with his friends while the wedding proceeded. Eventually, the birds started singing the wedding choir and door of the hall opened, revealing Cadance who walked up to Shining Armor while wearing a beautiful dress. Shining Armor was stunned to see his future wife and Twilight was clearly happy as well. The rest of Star Twinkle's friends seemed to be emotionally touched too. But Star Twinkle was just watching with a happy smile on his face. He was more happy that after all what happened these two still managed to come together. When Cadance arrived next to Shining Armor, Princess Celestia officially started to pronounce the two to mare and colt. “Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza– “ “Princess Cadance is fine,” Cadance corrected, feeling a little uncomfortable to be addressed like this. Princess Celestia nodded in acceptance and continued. ”The union of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. The strength of their commitment is clear. The power of their love, undeniable,” She then asked for the rings which Spike had ready in his claws. Princess Celestia used her magic and put a ring on both Cadance's and Shining Armors horns and finally pronounced them mare and colt. The two of them walked over to the balcony and greeted the ponies of Canterlot who cheered loudly for the two. Princess Celestia took the chance to talk with Twilight in this happy moment. “This is your victory as much as theirs. You persisted in the face of doubt, and your actions led to your being able to bring the real Princess Cadance back to us. Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn,” she said to her beloved student with a warm smile on her face. Star Twinkle listened too and took this message to his heart as well. His instincts told him to go back to Twilight when she was left by everypony else. He might wouldn't have made much of a difference if he was with Twilight and Cadance or not but he was happy that he was going back to her. Cadance and Shining Armor kissed each other and Princesses Celestia reminded Rainbow Dash that she was going to do a Sonic Rainboom right now so Rainbow Dash quickly went to the sky to perform it, making this wedding complete. Later that night... There was a huge party going on that night with a lot of music and dancing. So as usual, Star Twinkle kept it pretty quiet but not without having a little fun himself. He was drinking something and talked with his friends and was just calmly enjoying the party. To his surprise, two ponies came walking towards as he spent time with his friends. “Mom? Dad?” He said surprised as he spotted his parent walking towards them. “What are you doing here?” He asked confused. “We got invited! By the Princess!” Sunny Twinkle exclaimed in an excited tone. “Imagine the reaction of your father when we were visited by a Royal Guard who invited us to this wedding,” Rainfall Twinkle said amused. Star Twinkle was actually happy to see his parents. Now would probably a better time to talk with them now instead of when they were surrounded by Changelings who try to destroy the town around them. “That's great, maybe I can even manage to introduce you two to the princess,” Star Twinkle suggested. Rainfall Twinkle quickly changed the subject before her husband would get a heart attack because of Star Twinkle's offer. “I believe we weren't properly introduced to your friends yet,” she said hinting at the group of ponies behind her son who watched the conversation so far. Star Twinkle's friends were clearly eager to meet his parents as well and smiled at the two politely. “Yeah. Of course,” he said before he introduced everyone of his friends and giving some information about each of them. The first impression on each side seemed really positive. They all got along really well which mad Star Twinkle happy. It was good that every worry that he had about his parents was for no reason. He was happy. His Parents were. And the relationship between them grew stronger. So in the end, this visit was much to Star Twinkle's liking. Some time has passed and Shining Armor and Cadance were about to leave the scene inside of a carriage to mark the end of this wedding. Twilight was with them and said her last words to her brother and Cadance. “Twilight! None of this would've been possible without you, little sis. Love ya, Twily,” Shining Armor thanked his little sister. “Love you too, B.B.B.F.F. And I am very happy for both of you,” Twilight replied with a heart warming smile. “I hope that someday, you will be lucky to find somepony that makes you just as happy. Maybe I can take care of your wedding, then,” Shining Armor said with a smile as if he couldn't wait for that day, making Twilight feel a little weird. Cadance overheard the conversation and couldn't help to join it. “Maybe that day will come sooner than you expect,” she said, leaving Twilight and Shining Armor a little puzzled. “What about that Star Twinkle? He seems nice,” Twilight couldn't help but blush. Not because of embarrassment but rather because of the thought alone. “Star Twinkle and I are just friends, Cadance,” she replied casually making her feel silly just thinking about this idea. “You are?” Cadance replied surprised. “I was sure that there was more, judging from what happened in the cave,” “What do you mean?” Twilight asked. “I don't know. When he found me, still believing I was Queen Chrysalis, he seemed furious and really desperate just by the thought that I did something horrible to you,” Cadance explained. “Wait...He was?” Twilight replied almost stunned just imagining Star Twinkle to act like that for her. Her face turned towards Star Twinkle who was still spending time with his parents and the rest of his friends, not noticing how he was looked at by Twilight with wide eyes. She slowly formed a smile on her face and couldn't help to fell warm from the inside. However, it felt kinda new and she didn't exactly know what to make out of it. The carriage with Cadance and Shining Armor inside shortly left and Star Twinkle and his friends waved them goodbye. “Now this was a great wedding,” Twilight said in relief. “Love sure is an amazing thing,” Star Twinkle said almost out of the blue. “What do you mean?” Twilight asked. “I mean, we were supposed to use the Elements of Harmony to save Everypony...but in the end, love was all that was needed to save the day. It's quite fascinating,” Star Twinkle explained as he looked at the carriage leaving in the distance. Once again, Twilight looked at Star Twinkle with wide eyes and him not noticing before she eventually replied. “It sure is,” Star Twinkle's parents watched how his son was next to his friends in happiness. They both were happy as well to see how their son changed from the last time they saw him. “Our son sure has grown up...” Rainfall Twinkle said with a tear falling out of her eyes out of joy. “He sure has. I mean, one day he was all lonely and sad and in the next, he is surrounded by friends and happy,” Sunny Twinkle said. “I guess staying in Ponyville was actually a good thing for him,” Rainfall Twinkle figured. “Oh, that reminds me! We really should have asked him again why he did want to stay in the first place. You know, since we kinda forgot the reason,” Sunny Twinkle said as the term Ponyville was mentioned. “I think we should let him have some fun, right now,” Rainfall Twinkle replied, seeing that it would be a bad timing to bring that up, right now. “Yes. Your right,” Sunny Twinkle admitted as he watches his son happily with his friends. Star Twinkle and his friends were about to leave too since it was already late and the party was over. “Sooooo should we call you Starfall from now on?” Rainbow Dash asked jokingly as she poked Star Twinkle in the sides. “Star Twinkle is just fine,” he replied, even though he didn't have anything against his full name at all. The name Star Twinkle was just more common for him. “Your parents seem really super duper fun!” Pinkie Pie said while she bounced beside him. “You should be really lucky,” “Yes...I am,” Star Twinkle replied sincerely as he and his friends walked away from the party. Somewhere in Canterlot at the same time... In the middle of the night, a door was slammed loudly open, revealing an Earth-Pony stallion with a light brown coat and a dark brown mane, jumping out of his house and wearing some strange device on his left hoof that looked like some kind of piece of armor. “Okay! I'm ready! Now where are the attackers!?” The stallion exclaimed confidently, waiting for something to happen. But there was nothing. Much to the stallions confusion. “Wait...why is it dark already? And why does the town look so demolished?” A member of the Royal guard noticed how loud this stallion was and advised him to be a little quieter since some ponies are trying to sleep. “But I can't be quiet!” He replied in the exact loud tone than before. “Canterlot is about to be attacked! I need to protect myself!” The member of the Royal Guard raised an eyebrow in suspicion. “I don't think the Changelings are gonna attack this time anytime soon again. Not after they got pushed out like that,” the Royal Guard said calmly, despite dealing with a really strange pony. “Are you telling me that there already was an attack?” The stallion replied confused and with widened eyes as if he just heard the most shocking news ever. The Royal Guard member only nodded and then left again, clearly feeling a little weird to talk with this pony. The stallion dropped down on his front legs and seemed shocked hearing this news. “After all the time I spent to build this, there is no chance for me to test it?” He said while he looked at the device on his left hoof. He spent some more seconds on the ground looking depressed or even sad with a dead silence around him. “Well, whatever!” He then said with no care in the world inside of his voice as if everything was alright again. “There is always a next time to try out your inventions, Tinker! Sooner or later you will have the chance to stand in the spotlight!” He said in confidence as he walked back inside of his house again, again with no care in the world. Somewhere else in Equestria at the same time... One pony was traveling through the night, exhausted by how much way he has traveled so far. It was Mystic, the previous leader of the Storm Wings who was defeated by Star Twinkle and his friends not too long ago. He was walking through a forest and slowly made his way through the bushes, shooting at them with his magic so that they wouldn't get in his way. Eventually, he stopped after he saw his destination. “I never thought that I would come back here...” he said to himself as he looked at an old castle in the middle of the woods. He seemed to struggle to walk towards it but he knew that he eventually had to and made a serious face while thinking about some things. “If it means to get my revenge...then coming back here is all worth it... To get my revenge against all those ponies... Those ponies who leaned the Storm Wings up against me... This hooded pony that humiliated me... ...and... Princess Celestia!” He said to himself, remembering himself of his own goals before he eventually walked up to the castle in silent determination.