//------------------------------//
// S2 E26: A Canterlot Wedding, Part 2 (What If?) 
// Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 15 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

When last we left Twilight Sparkle, she had made a rather rash decision when confronted with what she thought was an evil pony. And although she did turn out to be right, the unicorn's decision to confront said evil alone had resulted in her being defeated and captured, sent to who knows where.

It had all started when Spike had delivered two scrolls to Twilight, one of which was a wedding invitation. And Twilight was most shocked upon learning who the wedding was for: Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and..., then she gasped! "Wait, my brother's getting married?!"

And indeed it was true. Twilight's big brother, Shining Armor, was getting married. In Canterlot no less. And all of her friends had been officially given jobs to help out with the wedding and its reception.

Upon arriving in Canterlot (and finding it heavily fortified with extra guards and a protective bubble covering the whole city), Twilight had seen fit to confront her brother for keeping her out of the loop. But Shining suspected nothing as he had cheerfully greeted. "Twily! Ah, I've missed so much you, kid."

Twilight had quickly scolded her brother by telling him. "How dare you not tell me in pony that you're getting married! I'm your sister, for pony's sake!"

Shining had been quick to apologize for not telling his sister sooner. And he soon revealed something that explained why all of Canterlot was on heightened alert. "A threat was made against Canterlot," He had explained to his sister, revealing that the shield spell was his handiwork. "We don't know who sent it, but they threatened an invasion of Canterlot and said they would not be denied. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were both convinced the threat was serious, and that it's out there, somewhere."

Twilight quickly found herself feeling sympathetic for her brother's plight. Though there was still one aspect about the wedding that she had seen fit to criticize. "I'm still pretty ticked you're marrying somepony I don't know."

But Shining Armor had then revealed that his soon to be wife was somepony very familiar to Twilight. An alicorn princess with a lovely pink coat. "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is none other than Cadence, your old foalsitter."

Yet upon meeting Cadence for the first time in years, Twilight found that the alicorn didn't seem to recognize her or the secret hoofshake they'd shared when Twilight was a filly. "I'm sorry, guess it's been a long time since we've seen each other." The princess had apologized.

Twilight found this behavior most suspicious. Yet it wasn't until she ended up evasedropping on a conversation between Shining and Cadence that night that she saw something that truly convinced her that Cadence wasn't who she said she was.

"Are you disagreeing with me?" Cadence had asked when Shining Armor insisted on wearing a red suit over his soon-to-be wife's objections.

"I guess I am." Shining had replied, only to suddenly suffer a headache and be forced to his knees from the pain. That gave his fiance the opening she needed to cast a sickeningly green colored beam of magic at him, which appeared to have the effect of brainwashing him.

Horrified at this, Twilight tried to tell her friends only to find that they already been won over when Cadence offered to make them her new bridesmaids.

"And you had your doubts about her." Applejack had replied to Twilight, making it clear that the studious unicorn was the only one in her circle of friends who at all didn't trust Cadence.

Fortunately, there were someponies still willing to listen to Twilight: Namely Princess Luna and Princess Celestia. "We must inform my sister at once of your suspicions." Princess Luna had told Twilight upon comforting and reassuring the unicorn about her concerns.

But in the end, Twilight decided to confront the impostor that had taken Princess Cadence's place on her own. "If it's me she wants, it's me she'll get!"

Yet that decision backfired big time on Twilight when she was easily overpowered and trapped by the impostor, surrounded by a circle of green flames. "You were a fool to think you could stop me. Your friends abandoned you, and your brother is now under my control." The impostor had taunted Twilight.

Depserately, the unicorn tried to beg for mercy. "Please, just let me go! I'm sorry!"

The impostor Cadence had shut down any such attempts by coldly replying. "You will be!" And that was the last thing Twilight heard before the flames dragged her down through the floor of the throne room.

Now, a royal wedding in Canterlot was about to take place. And the only pony who knew the truth about the bride had been taken prisoner, sent to an unknown location. It seemed that the impostor, whoever they were, had won.



Twilight's friends didn't think anything was out of the ordinary when they didn't see Twilight before they all went to bed that night. None of them were aware of what had transpired in the throne room, and thought very little of Twilight not appearing at the wedding rehearsal.

It wasn't until the next day dawned and all were making the final preparations before the wedding, that the circle of friends would be made aware of the reason behind Twilight's absence. It all started with a knock on the door in the section of the castle where the five mares and one dragon were all gathered.

When the door was opened, in trotted Princess Celestia and Princess Luna with the most mournful expressions upon their faces: Their eyes seemed to be filled with sorrow and their heads hung so low it looked like they could fall to the floor.

"Is something wrong, your majesties?" Rarity asked the royal sisters upon being the first to notice the looks upon their faces.

Princess Celestia spoke up, her voice sound low, mournful and most of all regretful. "I'm afraid not. I'm afraid that Luna and I have some very bad news."

"About what?" Fluttershy asked with concern. "Is the wedding being called off? Wouldn't Twilight have told us if that was the case?"

Meanwhile, Spike put a claw to his chin. "Come to think of it, she didn't come back to the castle suites after she went to go see her brother. Did she spend the night with him or something?"

Princess Luna spoke next, and what she said came as a shock to all gathered. "No. Twilight is gone. She's been captured."

"Captured?!" Spike gasped in disbelief! "By who?!"

Looking across to her sister, Princess Celestia explained to the best of her ability. "Twilight came to Luna and I late last night, expressing her concerns about Princess Cadence. She suspected that the Cadence we've all known since yesterday is an impostor, the real Princess Cadence is missing."

Then Princess Luna explained. "But she insisted on going alone to confront the impostor, to find out where she'd hidden the real Princess Cadence and what her plans were," Her lips quivered as she concluded. "That was the last time we saw her. Nopony has seen hide or hair of her since."

All at once, the five mares and one dragon all collectively gasped together! "What?!"

"You're kiddin' me!" Applejack exclaimed with disbelief as her trusty stetson fell off her head. "Why in the wide world of Equestria would Twilight go and do a thing like that?! Why wouldn't she come to us first?!"

But Fluttershy gulped as a horrible realization struck her. "Maybe because she didn't think we'd believe her. And she would've been right. We were all won over by Cadence even before she made us her new bridesmaids. We all thought she was just acting off because of the stress of the wedding."

"She did say she was sorry for the way she treated us," Pinkie Pie spoke up, and then gasped! "But she wasn't really sorry! She was just trying to trick us!" And she kicked at the ground! "And we fell for it!"

At that, Rainbow Dash grit her teeth as her eyes narrowed! "Well nopony makes fools of us and kidnaps our friend, and gets away with it! Whoever that phoney Princess Cadence is, she's gonna regret ever laying a hoof on Twilight!" She immediately threw off her dress as she declared! "I was bored anyway, a royal wedding didn't sound like my cup of tea. Good thing I'm always itching for action! This will just take ten seconds!" And before anyone could stop her, she flew out of the room in a rainbow blur!

Applejack immediately ran after her fellow athlete, all the while shouting at the top of her lungs! "Rainbow! Wait!"

Alas, Rainbow Dash was in no mood to listen to reason. Especially not once she spotted the Princess Cadence she now knew to be an evil impostor all by herself near the barracks. It seemed like she'd just come back from a visit with Shining Armor.

Suddenly, Princess Cadence found herself face to face with none other than Rainbow Dash. The pegasus quickly glaring at the alicorn. "Okay you, whoever you are, spill it! We're onto your plot!"

Princess Cadence seemed to feign ignorance as she blinked and nervously replied. "Plot? What plot? What are you talking about? And where's Twilight? Isn't she supposed to be with you girls?"

Rainbow spat at the ground and hissed. "You know where Twilight is, you impostor! You did something to her, just like you did something to the real Princess Cadence! Now talk, where are you hiding them?! Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be!"

Yet it was then that the tomboyish flyer felt a sharp and abrupt tug on her tail. She turned to see that she was being held back by none other than Applejack, who spoke through gritted teeth. "Rainbow, this is no time to be reckless! We don't know what we're dealin' with!"

At that, Cadence laughed as her entire attitude seemed to change. "You should listen to your friend, you know," She remarked to Rainbow in an ominous, almost creepy like tone of voice. "You don't know what I'm capable of. I already managed to capture an alicorn princess and Twilight Sparkle. Do you really think your threats scare me?"

"You! You!" Rainbow growled and groaned even though Applejack prevented her from moving.

Cadence smirked. "Relax, I haven't hurt Twilight. I just needed to get her out of the way. And I'm more than willing to do the same to anypony who stands in my way!" After issuing that threat she then added in a sickeningly sweet tone. "Tell your friends and anypony who will listen: The wedding will go on as planned. And if anyone tries to stop me, I can't guarantee my prisoners will remain unharmed. But don't worry, you'll see your friend again soon enough."

Rainbow Dash roared in fury even as Applejack dragged her away. "You monster! You'll pay for what you did to Twilight! I swear it!"

"Promises, promises." Cadence taunted with indifference while shaking her head back and forth. Then once the two athletes had left her sight, she trotted off. It was time to get ready. Everything was falling into place.





It seemed like it had been an eternity to Twilight by the time she finally opened her eyes again. She didn't know where she was, and she couldn't see anything at all. Darkness surrounded her on every side, even as she lit up her horn to provide the faintest hint of light. Nervously, she called out to the darkness, hoping for a reply. "Hello? Is anypony out there? Can you tell me where I am?"

Suddenly, the unicorn felt herself brush up against something cold and sharp with a thud. And as she turned around to inspect, she could hear laughter echoing all around her. It seemed like she was in some kind of cave or cavern, albeit one she didn't recognize in the slightest.

"Ah, you're finally awake," A familiar voice cruelly taunted, before suddenly a projection of a very familiar looking alicorn appeared everywhere. "And how is my little prisoner doing?"

"You!" Twilight hissed as she jumped back, horn at the ready! "What have you done to me?!"

"Nothing, compared to what I'm going to do to you and to the rest of Equestria," The impostor Cadence remarked. "It's no surprise you don't know where you are, hardly anypony remembers this place. It was a mere stroke of luck that I found these caves, but they make the perfect hiding place for ponies who try to interfere in my plans!"

Twilight Sparkle snapped in fury! "Plans?! What plans?! Does that explain why you've been pretending to be somepony you're not?!"

The impostor Cadence nodded. "Correct. I've got big plans, and your brother is the key. Taking the place of the pony he loves more than anything is just the beginning. And the best part is, he has no clue! I had him fooled from the start!"

At that, Twilight roared and shouted at the projection! "Don't you dare do anything to my brother! If you do, I won't stop until I've made you regret it!"

The impostor Cadence just laughed, even as one of the crystals projecting her image was shattered. "The only way to stop me is to catch me! So come get me, if you dare! I'll be waiting."

Seething with rage, Twilight shattered as many of the crystals as she could, even though sometimes she had to dodge the beams of her own magic when they were reflected off the crystals.

Suddenly, when one of the crystals was shattered, Twilight's eyes beheld a sight she had not been expecting to see: It looked like Princess Cadence, except this pony was covered in dirt and bruises and her mane and tail looked incredibly messy.

Cadence looked at Twilight and quickly realized that the unicorn saw her as a threat. "No! Wait! Don't!" She desperately pleaded, only to be immediately tackled by the unicorn and pinned down! "Please!" She shouted as she tried to hold back tears. "It's me, Twilight! The real Princess Cadence! I've been trapped down here just like you."

Twilight rolled her eyes and scoffed at the plea. "Likely story. You don't fool me! You were trying to make me destroy myself, but now it's you who's about to be destroyed! Nopony puts my big brother in danger and gets away with it!" She raised up a hoof, preparing to deliver a powerful blow to the defenseless alicorn underneath her.

However, Princess Cadence managed to wiggle her way free of the embrace and began to chant. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves..."

"-And do a little shake?" Twilight replied as she watched the alicorn repeat the gestures that went along with the chant. Remembering how the other Princess Cadence had not recognized the chant or the dance that went along with it, Twilight realized at once that this Princess Cadence was indeed the real one. She'd found her at last! With tears in her eyes, Twilight rushed to her old foalsitter and embraced her in a big hug! "You remember me!"

Princess Cadence smiled as she stroked Twilight's mane to calm her down. "Of course I do. How could I forget the filly I loved to sit for the most?" And she added. "I've heard so many wonderful things about you, Twilight. You've grown into a fine young mare, and I'm glad you finally came to accept friendship."

Twilight nodded before drying her eyes. "There'll be time for happy reunions later, Cadence. We need to get you out of here before it's too late."

At that, Cadence gasped as a realization struck her! "The wedding! Of course!" She unfolded her wings! "Come on, Twilight! We've got a wedding to crash! This impostor's not going to ruin my happily ever after, not on my watch!"

As the two ponies raced along through the crystal caves, up above they could hear music beginning to play.





Nopony who had gathered for the wedding was any the wiser as to what had transpired the night before, or of the two ponies currently held captive below.

Organ music played as Princess Cadence (or rather, what all but a select few believed to be Princess Cadence) strolled down the asile and right up to the altar in her lavish dress. She smirked with satisfaction, convinced that her deception would stand until it was too late for anypony to do anything to stop her.

Princess Celestia cleared her throat and began the proceedings. "Mares and gentlestallions, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor Sparkle, captain of the royal guard."

Down below in the crystal caves, Twilight and the real Princess Cadence could hear everything. The wedding was proceeding right on schedule. And they realized that if they didn't escape soon, they would be too late to thwart the impostor's plans.

"We're never going to save him," Princess Cadence lamented. "Seems like I can't save anypony, not even myself!"

"No, Cadence, you can't think that way!" Twilight firmly protested. "We will save him, together!" And she began to look around for any hint of natural light that might indicate a way out. At last, her dark violet-purple eyes spotted what looked like an exit on the other side of a crevice. "There!" She shouted and pointed a hoof!

Yet when the two mares teleported over to what they thought was the exit, they found their way blocked by the three unicorns had been the impostor Cadence's first bridesmaids. All three of them now had a sickly green glow over their eyes, indicating that they too had fallen victim to the impostor's brainwashing. All three unicorns said at once. "You're not going anywhere."

Meanwhile, up above, Princess Celestia had just finished asking the bride and groom to say "I do" to one another, a process that had only been interrupted when "Cadence" insisted on being called by her full name. Still, the process was completed and it was time for the union to be declared official. "Princess Cadence and Shining Armor," The sun princess declared. "By the power invested in me, it is my great pleasure to say: I now pronounce you-"

Just then, however, the throne room doors swung open! In trotted a very furious and determined looking Twilight Sparkle, her eyes locked firmly on the alter and on the mare standing beside her big brother. She said only one word, and that one word spoke volumes! "Stop!" She demanded as all eyes became fixed on her, prompting several ponies to gasp (including her parents, who had not been any the wiser to their daughter's unexplained absence up to this point).

"You again!" "Cadence" hissed and rolled her eyes. "Why are you so possessive of your brother? He's mine now, not yours!" But as she realized that her statements were attracting unwanted attention, she sniffled, sobbed and began to weep openly. "Why do you have to ruin my special day?"

"Because it's not your special day! It's mine!" Said a voice. And then, emerging from behind Twilight was a battered looking candy colored alicorn princess. Now there were two Princess Cadences in the throne room, which only further increased the dramatic confusion that was filling the air.

The Cadence at the alter was quick to demand of the Cadence standing by Twilight. "How did you escape my bridesmaids?! I specifically put them there to keep you from getting out!"

The battered looking Cadence grinned as she tried to hold back the urge to chuckle. "I'm just as surprised as you are there that I defeated them so easily. Never expected them to fall for the oldest trick in the book." She then recalled how she had thought to hastily make a fake bouquet down in the caves, and then had tossed it a ways behind her after getting the attention of the trio of brainwashed unicorns.

Surprisingly, all three had immediately jumped and ran after the fake bouquet while shouting! "I want it!"

As the memory faded, the battered looking Cadence looked to her apparent duplicate at the alter. "I know what you're thinking," She commented in what sounded like a mocking tone of voice. "'Which one of us is real and which one of us is an impostor?' I know you'll claim you're the real me, but we both know that's a lie."

The Cadence at the alter just coldly replied. "You can't prove anything!"

"Well I can," Twilight firmly insisted. "I know something only the real Princess Cadence would know," And she immediately asked. "What was the school I attended as a filly after I got my cutie mark?"

The battered looking Princess Cadence immediately replied. "That's easy: Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. My Aunt Celestia always spoke fondly of your talents, Twilight. And once I started foalsitting you, I could easily see why. No other unicorn I'd ever met was as magically gifted as you were."

The Cadence at the alter snarled. "Why couldn't you just be a good little prisoner and stay in those caves?!"

"Because I love Shining Armor, and I refuse to let you take him away from me!" The battered looking Cadence replied, before demanding. "Now why you don't show everypony who you really are, impostor?!"

Snarling and growling, the impostor Cadence began to glow a sickly shade of green as she remarked! "You had to spoil everything, didn't you?! So be it! I have no use for this disguise anymore!" And her voice began to take on an echoy tone! "Witness my true form, and my true power!" Then, a pillar of green flame surrounded her completely, as she began to undertake a most startling transformation!

"What the hay's goin' on here?!" Applejack demanded in a concern and confused tone! "How can there be two Princess Cadences?"

The real Princess Cadence explained. "The impostor me is a changeling: A pony/insect hybrid. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them."

Meanwhile, the impostor Cadence slowly but surely transformed into a massive pony/insect like creature. Every part of her was completely black, except for a bit of a dark moss green that made up her mane and tail. All across her body there were little holes on her legs and even across her back. Her eyes were dark green, she had two wings the same color as her mane and tail, and she sported a long, crooked horn. She was truly a terrifying sight to behold!





Now revealed to all, the changeling let out a wicked laugh as she gazed at the pony she'd been impersonating until just recently. "Right you are, princess. I see you learned a lot about me in the time you spent down in that cave. But you should know," She smirked and boasted. "You're not dealing with any ordinary changeling, you're dealing with their all powerful leader: Queen Chrysalis."

Cadence scoffed in indifference to the queen. "So you finally decided to show yourself in all your glory."

Queen Chrysalis nodded. "You forced my hoof. Still, you're far too late to stop me! My plans are already in motion! After all, as queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects," With a smile she fondly proclaimed. "Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered before. My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of! Power that will belong to us, and us alone! And I will be the one to rule all!"

Princess Cadence boldly retorted. "They'll never get the chance! And you won't either! Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us! It was really foolish of you to announce your intentions through a threat. As soon as you made that threat, Shining put up the most powerful shield spell he could conjure up! You may have been able to slip in, but your subjects won't be as lucky!"

The changeling queen gave off another wicked laugh as she lit up her horn. "Oh, I doubt that. Did you really think I came unprepared? That threat was all a part of my plan, I knew Shining Armor would cast that shield spell of his. And while he worried about a threat from outside, he never suspected a threat from the inside! Now he's all mine, he'll do whatever I say. Isn't that right, dear?"

Using her magic, Chrysalis forced Shining to give off a nod as his eyes glowed green.

Cadence gasped, before plucking up courage as she tried to rush forward!

Chrysalis immediately stepped forward to block the princess' way, her horn charged and at the ready as she taunted. "Ah, ah, ah. Don't want to go back to the caves, now do you? You know you won't escape a second time, I'll personally see to that."

"But... but..." Princess Cadence stuttered in disbelief.

Queen Chrysalis laughed anew! "Ever since I took your place, princess, 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. And of course, if that doesn't work, I can always ask him to just lower the shield." It was now that ponies became aware of a series of loud cracking sounds.

Sure enough, several changelings were pounding away on the bubble and trying to break it. They hadn't succeeded, yet. But that didn't mean they were going to stop trying.

Swelling with pride and confidence, the evil changeling queen began to boast. "Soon, my changeling army will break through. First, we take Canterlot. And then, all of Equestria! And after that, the world!"

However, to the surprise of all, Princess Celestia stepped forward with her eyes narrowed. She was solely focused on the would be invader and conquerer before her. "No. You won't," She calmly but firmly replied as she locked horns with the queen. "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!"

"Strike me down if you can, princess!" Chrysalis taunted! "I'm not afraid of you!"

Princess Celestia just replied as she unfolded her wings. "Had you come to me and asked nicely, maybe we could've worked out an agreement for your subjects. But now, whatever happens next is on you!" Then she shot off a beam of golden yellow energy from her horn!

Chrysalis countered with a beam of her own, only to find herself quickly being overpowered! She groaned, squinted and shut her eyes as she tried to concentrate! Her hooves dug into the ground! "No!" She winced in a defiant tone of voice!

Suddenly, something most unexpected happened! Chrysalis' beam managed to overpower Princess Celestia's beam! Before the alicorn with a majestic white coat had a chance to react, the beam knocked off her crown and sent her plummeting to the ground, a black singe mark appearing around her horn! Gasps filled the air anew!

Even Queen Chrysalis seemed to be surprised by the display of power she had just performed, looking to her own hooves in amazement. "I did it?" She quickly recovered. "Er, I mean, of course I did it! I knew Shining Armor's love made me strong, but it seems I may have underestimated just how strong it's made me. Consuming it has made me stronger than even you, Princess Celestia! Too bad I'm no longer in a negotiating mood," Then with an ominous laugh she added. "And don't think I've forgotten about your sister, Luna."

"You stay away from her, you fiend!" Celestia valiantly hissed even though she knew was in no position to fight back. She tried to rise to her hooves, only to stumble and fall to the ground again as her body betrayed her.

The evil queen just cackled with glee. "Oh, don't worry. I'll visit her soon enough. I could use a new playmate to test my limits. Perhaps she will be more of a challenge than you were."

Meanwhile, Twilight rushed to her fallen mentor's side as panic filled every ounce of her being! "Princess Celestia!"

Despite her weakened state, Princess Celestia immediately forced out. "Never mind me, Twilight. It's all up to you, now. You and your friends must retrieve the Elements of Harmony and use their power to defeat this evil queen! Go, while there's still a city left to save!"

Twilight firmly nodded even as she promised. "We'll be back for you, Princess Celestia. Queen Chrysalis won't know what hit her!" Then she gave a whistle, instructing all her friends to rush to her side! "Come on, girls! It's hero time!"

"Now we're talking!" Rainbow Dash cheered at the top of her lungs, and one by one the mares all ditched their wedding dresses (though Rarity made it a habit to catch each one and carefully preserve it, not wanting her hard work to go to waste).

But Queen Chrysalis only laughed as she flapped her wings! "You can run, but you can't hide!" Taking to the skies, she taunted. "You ponies dont scare me. I'll let my best soldiers deal with you defiant ponies. Princess Luna is mine!" And she set off to find her next "victim".





Twilight and her friends ran through the streets of Canterlot, rushing as fast as they could towards the vault where the Elements of Harmony had been moved following Discord's defeat! Meanwhile, they could hear the changelings pounding away at the protective bubble covering Canterlot. And to make matters worse, they could see visible cracks forming in it, indicating that the shield spell was beginning to fail.

Sure enough, the cracks widened until the entire bubble shattered not unlike glass! With the bubble destroyed, changelings began to rain down from the sky, swarming every street corner and alleyway! Canterlot was now under attack!

One changeling crashed into a crater right in front of Twilight and the others, hissing audibly as it bore its fangs! "You will go no further!"

But Twilight blasted the changeling aside with her magic and urged her friends onward! "Go! Go!"

When at last the six mares reached the building that housed the vault, they were confronted by a huge army of changelings that stood ready and waiting to intercept them.

Rainbow Dash put her hooves together. "Looks like we're gonna have do this the hard way! They won't know what hit 'em!" She flew forward, ready to fight any number of changelings. But she stopped right in her tracks when one of the changelings transformed into her and imitated her moves. The confusion gave the changeling the opening it needed to kick  Rainbow and knock her back.

"They're changelings, remember?" Twilight pointed out, only to be immediately imitated by several changelings all at once. The unicorn shook her head and grit her teeth as she stood by her friends, warning them. "Don't let them distract you. We have to get to the Elements of Harmony. They're our only hope. Stay sharp!" And so a fight began!

It wasn't long until the mares found themselves separated in the confusion of the fight, which kicked up a huge cloud of dust. Fluttershy was terrified when she found herself all alone against a series of changelings that looked just like her. Yet she quickly summoned what courage she had and threw her voice, hoping to fool them. "They went that way!" She gestured a hoof, and was surprised when all her look-alikes trotted right past her, heading for the direction she had just pointed out.

Fluttershy was relieved, but not for long when she suddenly found herself facing down several Rainbow Dashes. That is, until one of them knocked the others aside and pulled Fluttershy close. "It's really you, right?" Rainbow asked in a hopeful tone of voice.

"Uh, I think I'm me." Fluttershy gulped.

Rainbow smiled as she hugged her fellow pegasus. "Of course it's you!" Then she instructed! "Come on! Stay close and do what I do! We won't let them get the best of us!"

Meanwhile, Applejack was easily holding her own as she stood next to what she assumed was Twilight. But she was proven wrong when "Twilight" suddenly transformed and hissed, pouncing on the unsuspecting farm mare! "Okay, this is gettin' weird!" She quickly threw all her strength into her back hooves, flipping the changeling and tossing it over the horizon! Soon afterward, Applejack was pulled close in a violet-red glow. "Twilight, it's the real me!" She insisted!

"Prove it!" Twilight replied.

Gulping, Applejack confessed. "You remember the 'Applebuck Season' incident?"

The studious unicorn nodded, releasing her hold on Applejack. "I do. That's good enough. Let's not separate again, Applejack. We need to find the others!" And then she began to pull various changelings close, using her horn's magic to remove their disguises one by one.

As for Pinkie Pie, she seemed to be having the time of her life as she watched one changeling rapidly change forms several times: Going from Rarity to Rainbow Dash to Fluttershy in the blink of an eye. "Do me! Do me!" She laughed and giggled.

The changeling rolled its eyes, but obeyed. "Tada." It weakely exclaimed as it transformed into Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie was silent for a moment, before she replied. "Meh, I've seen better." And then she grabbed Twilight, pulling the unicorn close and treating her as if she were a magical gattling gun! Beams of magic shot off from Twilight's horn in rapid succession, blasting away changeling after changeling!

At last, after several punches, kickes, cannon blasts and various other means of combat, the six mares managed to defeat the last of the changelings. For a moment, they stood in triumph, before the rush of combat wore off and they remembered their goal.

"Quick, before they come back!" Twilight Spkarle shouted and led her friends into the building in front of them.

Upon entering the building, however, the mares found that several more changelings were already there and were waiting for them. The path ahead was blocked.

To make matters worse, when the mares turned to leave they found other changelings blocking the exit. The changelings quickly encircled the ponies, preventing them from escaping.

"There's just no end to these guys!" Rainbow Dash groaned and panted! "I don't know if I can keep fighting them for much longer!"

"What's the point?" Rarity unhappily remarked. "If we have to fight them to the elements and back, we'll be too exhausted to do anything. We're outnumbered."

Reluctantly, Twilight declared. "We're finished. There's no point fighting back anymore." And just like that, the heroic resistance crumbled.





Back in the throne room, Queen Chrysalis finally managed to overpower Princess Luna and knock the alicorn to the floor! "Well, that was fun," She sadistically remarked. "But did you really think you stood a chance against me, princess? If even your big sister couldn't stop me, what made you think you'd be any different?"

"Forgive me, sister," Princess Luna weakly replied as she was surrounded by changelings. "I failed."

Princess Celestia couldn't reply. She'd been imprisoned within a cocoon that hung over the altar. Moving around was impossible for the alicorn, let alone speaking.

Despite knowing it was a futile gesture, Spike plucked up courage and bravely ran forward to try and attack Chrysalis with his fire breath! But he was easily knocked down and tossed aside.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes. "Child. You really thought you could do anything to me? Guess I'll have to teach you some manners."

But Princess Cadence, despite having her hooves bounded to the floor by a green colored goo, glared at the changeling queen and defiantly shouted. "You think you're so smart?! Twilight and her friends are out there! You'll see! You won't have anything to smile about when they get back with the elements and kick your sorry butt!"

Just then, however, the throne room doors burst open. Twilight and the others were ushered in by changelings, all of them bearing the look of defeat as it was possible to notice they weren't wearing the necklaces and tiara that made up the Elements of Harmony.

Queen Chrysalis can't help but look back at the princess of love, gleefully rubbing in her victory as she taunted. "You were saying?" Then she turned to the changelings as the throne room doors closed. "Go! Feed, my subjects! Bring this city to its knees!" Once she was alone in the throne room with her captives, she couldn't resist rubbing in her victory! "With how long I took your place, Cadence, I of course learned about the Elements of Harmony. A lot of good they'll do anypony when their bearers are my prisoners! I'm taking over, don't bother trying to stop me!"

"You... you heartless monster!" Cadence defiantly roared!

Chrysalis only laughed. "Flattery won't save you, princess," Then she turned her full attention to Twilight. "Isn't it funny? You were skeptical of me the whole time, but nopony believed you. Maybe if they had, they could've stopped me. But I had them all fooled from the start!"

Applejack hung her head in shame as she glumly looked in Twilight's direction and apologized. "Sorry, Twi. We should've listened to you when you were tryin' to warn us. It's our fault this all happened."

"Some friends we turned out to be in the end, huh?" Rainbow Dash bitterly remarked in shame.

But Twilight shook her head from side to side. "Now's not the time for feeling sorry for ourselves," And she added. "Even I didn't know we were up against something like this. It's really my fault for thinking I could handle things on my own."

"Exactly!" Chrysalis gleefully pointed out as she rubbed her hooves together. "But then again, you never could've known about us changelings. Princess Celestia is the only one who did, and even she believed us to have been defeated. Her first mistake, perhaps her greatest. But certainly not her last."

The studious unicorn then took notice of something that Queen Chrysalis apparently wasn't aware of. Princess Cadence was using what magic she still had to try to free her hooves from the goo. Sensing an opportunity for a distraction, Twilight spoke up. "You know something, your majesty?" The last part of the sentence was practically dripping with sarcasm.

Queen Chrysalis decided to humor the pony she'd come to despise the most. "Do I know what?"

With a grin, Twilight Sparkle declared. "You talk too much. Are you that in love with the sound of your own voice? Or do you think somehow it imitidates your enemies? Because I can tell you, all your rambling and prattling doesn't scare me. You're just an overgrown bug with a big mouth, and an ego to match!"

"BUG?!" Chrysalis snarled and seethed with rage! "You dare to mock me even now?! Even after seeing me defeat every single threat that's come my way?!" Her horn began to sparkle and crackle ominously! "Perhaps I need to make an example out of you!" Yet it was then that she became aware of something, of a link being severed. She turned around in time to see Shining Armor's eyes revert to their original moderate cerulean color.

Princess Cadence shed a single tear as she threw her hooves around Shining Armor and hugged him tightly! "Oh, thank goodness! I feared I'd lost you forever, Shining! That I'd failed to save you!"

"Wha...?" Shining stumbled as he tried to shake the mental cobwebs from his mind. "I... is the wedding over?"

"There's no time to explain!" Twilight called! "Quick, cast your shield spell! Canterlot is under attack!"

Queen Chrysalis laughed as she slowly trotted forward. "Go ahead and try. I took more than your love, after all."

And indeed, Shining Armor soon found that he could barely get his horn to spark. "My power is useless now. I don't have the strength left to repel them anymore."

Princess Cadence simply replied by touching her horn to Shining's. "My love will give you strength! Together, our love will defeat Chrysalis and her changeling army!"

The changeling queen laughed as she rolled her eyes and began to light up her horn. "What a lovely but absolutely ridiculous sentiment. It's all over: For you, for Canterlot, for everyone and everything you care about!"

"We'll see about that!" Cadence defiantly replied as she and Shining started to fly into the air, their horns all but joining together. Soon, there was a spark. And then, before everyone's eyes, a bubble formed between the two horns. It started small, but with each passing second it began to grow. And grow, and grow, and grow!

Chrysalis stomped a hoof down as her horn was now fully charged! "Enough of this madness! I'm putting you both down! Then after I drain all of your combined love, I will destroy your entire world piece by piece!" She fired off a powerful burst of sickly green magic, only to find it effortlessly deflected by the growing bubble! "W-what?!" She stuttered in disbelief!

Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's eyes glowed bright white as the bubble grew to truly massive size! Then it began to expand outward, beyond the reaches of the throne room and all the way to the horizon!

Queen Chrysalis tried to run, but it was no use! The bubble overtook her and blasted her away, along with every single changeling that had been a part of her invasion army! "I'll remember this!" She shouted, before she disappeared over the horizon with a twinkle (as did all of the changelings).





It didn't take long after the changeling threat had been repelled for Princess Luna to stumble to her hooves. She quickly flew up, using what magic she had to free her sister from her cocoon prison. "Did you know Cadence was truly that capable of enhancing another's magical power, sister?" Luna questioned as she helped guide the still weakened Princess Celestia down.

"No," Princess Celestia replied in what sounded like a sincere tone of voice. "I knew Cadence had potential from the moment she became an alicorn. But I never imagined she would be the one to save us all," Upon hearing a throat clearing she corrected. "With a little help from her soon-to-be husband, of course."

Spike then saw fit to ask. "So, is the wedding cancelled, then? Are we gonna have to wait and do the whole thing all over again?"

Pinkie Pie shook her head and bounced over to Twilight, giving the unicorn a big hug while proclaiming! "If there's anypony who can put together an entirely new wedding in less than a day, it's Twilight! She can organize just as about anything!"

Twilight couldn't help but blush. "Well, if it's okay with the bride and groom."

"We'd be honored, Twily," Shining Armor nodded while looking across to Cadence. "Just give us a little time to get cleaned up." Then he took his fiance's hoof into his own and led her down the asile as the two departed the throne room together.

With only the royal sisters in the throne room along with Twilight's friends, the mood quickly became far less celebratory as five very guilty looking mares (and one guilty looking dragon) all came forward to confront the studious unicorn. "We really are sorry about everything that happened yesterday," Rarity took the lead in apologizing this time. "It's not like we didn't think your concerns weren't valid. But we let ourselves get distracted with the wedding preparations."

Fluttershy then apologized. "We understand if you can't forgive us right away. If we'd just listened to you, you never would've gone off on your own and gotten captured."

Spike practically threw himself at Twilight's hooves, trying to hold back the tears. "When you didn't return this morning and Princess Celestia and Princess Luna told me about last night, I feared the worst. I thought I'd never see you again! Please, don't ever leave me like that again, Mom!"

Twilight stroked Spike's scales, calming him down. "I promise, Spike. The next time I get the idea to play the hero, I'll talk it over with you and our friends first."

The word "friends" came as a shock to Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Rarity! "You... still wanna be friends with us after all of this?" Rainbow Dash questioned with concern. "You're not just pulling our legs?"

The studious young unicorn nodded her head quite firmly. "Of course I do. I can tell that you're all sincere in your apologies. And it's not like I'm completely innocent, I should've talked things over with you girls before running off on my own," She blushed a bit as she added. "Even if it did ultimately work out for the best."

Princess Celestia appeared to nod, even as she cautioned Twilight. "Even so, I hope you understand the dangers of putting yourself before others, Twilight. Next time, you may not be so lucky."

Twilight Sparkle nodded back. "Believe me, I know that now more than ever," Then she looked towards the throne room doors. "Now, I think there's a certain other pony I need to have a little talk with."





As it turned out, Twilight had no need to track down her brother. He came to her as soon as she had left the throne room. "None of this would be possible if it wasn't for you, Twily," He began, before he tried to hold back a tear. "Sorry I couldn't be there for you like I promised. If only I'd noticed sooner, maybe we could've rescued Cadence together and you wouldn't have had to get yourself captured."

Twilight embraced her big brother in a hug. "It's okay, B.B.B.F.F., I forgive you. Even I began to think I'd been wrong about Cadence at one point. Chrysalis knew how to fool everypony, even the princesses."

"Still, whether we knew it or not, we had been growing apart before all of this," Shining Armor confessed. "It wasn't intentional, we had our lives and they kept us busy. But if we'd really wanted to we could've seen each other any time we'd have liked. So let's agree that we'll at least keep in touch as best we can from now, sis."

Twilight nodded again. "Only if you agree to let me still be your best mare for the wedding. I know how much it means to you and to Cadence."

Shining smiled as he told his sister. "It's a deal!"

And so the wedding commenced just a few hours after the invasion had been defeated. The throne room had been cleaned, and both Shining Armor and Princess Cadence had signed off on every aspect of the wedding and its reception.

As Princess Cadence strolled down the asile to the alter, ready to stand alongside Shining Armor and exchange vows with him, Twilight adjusted the badge on Shining's suit. Then she whispered to him. "Seriously, though. I get why the queen of the changelings wanted to be with you, but how did you ever get someone as amazing as Cadence to marry you? You struggled just to work up the nerve to ask her out for a date."

Shining Armor grinned as he explained in a soft and quiet tone of voice. "It's simple. I told her she wouldn't just be gaining a husband. She'd be getting a pretty great sister-in-law, too. And I know it was still her when I proposed, those emotions couldn't have been faked by an impostor."

When Princess Cadence reached the altar all but a few seconds later, Princess Celestia cleared her throat. "Mares and gentlestallions, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza–"

But Cadence corrected. "Just Princess Cadence is fine."

Celestia smiled as she continued. "Princess Cadence and Shining Armor Sparkle. The strength of their commitment is clear. The power of their love, undeniable. May we have the rings please?" She watched Spike bring them forward, wearing a finally pressed tuxedo. Using her magic, she took the rings off the pillow and placed them on the horns of both Shining and Cadence as she declared. "By the power invested in me, I now declare you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Shining Armor needed no further encouragement. He leaned in and happily kissed his wife as she kissed him back.

The sun princess then whispered to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash, that's your cue. You know what to do."

Rainbow Dash needed no further encouragement. She immediately took to the skies, and any hesitation she might have had disappeared. With what looked like the greatest of ease, she performed a sonic rainboom all the while proclaiming! "Best... wedding... ever!" And indeed, all believed that it was. It would be a wedding to remember.





That evening, with the reception for the young couple in full bloom and all the traditional dances started, Twilight Sparkle took hold of a microphone as she announced to all. "I'd like to dedicate this next song to my big brother, best friend forever and his new wife. May they live happily ever after together for many, many years to come."

Pinkie Pie then happily shouted! "Alright! Let's get this party started!" She then rushed over to a nearby turntable where a unicorn mare with a white coat and an electric blue colored mane and tail was waiting.

And soon, music began to drift through the air. Amidst a chorus of cheers and whistles, Twilight began to sing:

Love is in bloom.

A beautiful bride, a handsome groom.

Two hearts becoming one.

A bond that cannot be undone because...

Love is in bloom.

A beautiful bride, a handsome groom.

I said love is in bloom!

You're starting a life and making room...

For us.

The song continued as the newly married couple headed down to a waiting carriage with a "Just Married" sign attached to the back of it.

"Ready to go, hon?" Shining Armor asked his wife when they were seated in the carriage.

Princess Cadence nodded, before she suddenly remembered. "Oh! Almost forgot." She proceeded to lean out of the carriage, tossing her bouquet high into the air!

"IT'S MINE!" Rarity shouted at the top of her lungs as she pushed the original trio of bridesmaids aside and caught the bouquet with her magic. But when all eyes fell upon her, she blushed as she shamefully gave up the bouquet.

As the carriage then sped away into the night, Twilight Sparkle smiled as she finished her song. "Now this was a great wedding." She thought to herself.