//------------------------------//
// Chapter 20 - Love spell 
// Story: Dusk Shine in pursuit of Happiness II 
// by bigsnusnu 
//------------------------------//

Love spell

As Cadance finished getting ready for the wedding, covering her long mane with a veil, she couldn't help but give a worried look. She knew that in just a few minutes she would go up to the altar to marry the stallion she loved.  However, she couldn’t stop thinking about Dusk Shine.

After 'Celestia' made Cadance's assistants and Dusk's friends leave the room, only the Princess of Love, Celestia, and Sweet Creme remained in the room. The latter two were in complete silence as they watched a worried Cadance put the finishing touches on her wedding dress.

Just when Cadance sighed worriedly, a sudden chill ran down her spine. With her ability to sense the hearts and feelings of those around her, Cadance had a sudden chill as she felt someone looking at her with jealousy, desire and  much, much evil in its heart.

“You really look beautiful… Now I get it. Now I know why everyone's eyes will be on you instead of me." 'Celestia' said, approaching Cadance from behind with a strange smile.

Hearing that strange comment, Cadance turned around and looked at who she thought was her aunt. Who at that moment had a strange and intense green glow in her eyes.

"Auntie?" Cadance asked, looking worriedly at 'Celestia'. Thinking for a second that the evil she felt could come from her aunt. But distrusting her aunt was something so crazy that her brain prevented her from believing such madness.

“I guess I'll have to change my appearance for the wedding. After all, it’s an important day, and I must stand out.” The fake Celestia said with a sinister smile. Her horn glowed green and a green fire cover her body completely. Then, in just an instant, a perfect copy of Cadance appeared, staring with a cruel smile at the real Cadance. "Now I will be the beautiful bride that everyone will look at." The fake Cadance added, speaking in a perfect copy of the pink alicorn's voice.

Cadance was so shocked that it took her a second to react. However, that second was crucial so that she couldn’t react in time. As soon as she saw that the creature that had been by her side was not her aunt, but the impostor they had sought so much, her body was paralyzed by external green magic.

Cadance could barely move her eyes to the side, and see that the one who had used immobilization magic on her was Sweet Creme. Who now also had a green glow in her eyes.

“Don't worry about the wedding, dear. I’ll take your place.” Chrysalis said, staring at the bride as she hypnotized her to sleep. “Soon, the perfect bride will become the perfect assassin. Which will fill this realm with fear and terror, haha…” Chrysalis added with an evil smile, as Cadance fell into a deep sleep. 

Having fallen into the darkness of Chrysalis's hypnotic sleep, Cadance lost track of time and reality. Until she felt someone touch her and call out to her.

“Cadance… Cadance!” Celestia called, shaking her niece awake.

Just a few seconds ago, in the old mines of Canterlot, the real Celestia had been shocked to see that the changelings had captured another prisoner, her own niece. Then Celestia hurried to wake her up to get her out of the trance that Chrysalis had surely put her in.

Once Cadance woke up, she felt disoriented and confused. After a few seconds, she managed to remember what had happened. Then Cadance saw Celestia, jumped to her feet, immediately on her guard. She pointed her magic-charged horn at Celestia. 

"Stay away!" Cadance yelled furiously at the mare she thought had betrayed her.

"Cadance, it's me, the real me." Celestia quickly said, imagining that her niece had been attacked by Chrysalis disguised as her. “The one who attacked you was a changeling. You must trust me."

Cadance stared at her. Then the pink alicorn concentrated on Celestia's heart. She was able to notice the genuine concern and affection that only the true Celestia could have towards her.

Once Cadance calmed down, she asked her aunt to explain what had happened and where they were. After a quick explanation, Cadance understood the great danger they were all in, and together with her aunt they got ready to quickly get out of there to stop Chrysalis's invasion.

To her bad luck, Cadance couldn't teleport since she didn't know how deep the crystal mines were and Celestia was still unable to use magic due to the necklace Chrysalis had put on her. The only option left to them was for Cadance to break the necklace with her horn, since her magic also vanished when she approached the necklace.

It took Cadance a long time to break the necklace of stones without magic, hurting her own horn in the process. However, that didn't matter, the only thing that mattered at that moment was to get out of there as soon as possible and alert everyone to the danger they were in. Especially her fiancé, who could be fooled by the changeling who was imitating her at that moment.

Once Celestia was freed, she walked over to Cadance and concentrated. The mind of the white alicorn struggled to have a little hope, despite the fact that she knew that they would arrive at the castle to face a battle at a clear disadvantage. They didn’t know exactly the size of Chrysalis's army, nor how many impostors were in the castle. Furthermore, Cadance had injured her horn and she herself had a serious wound on her side, making it difficult for her to even stand. Celestia feared for what was to come, however, they had to put their worries aside and simply go face the changelings before the damage they did was irreparable.

Having already been in the mines before in her youth, and knowing perfectly every corner of her castle, Celestia was able to use her powerful magic to teleport along with Cadance and all the cocoons with captured ponies to one of the main corridors of the castle. As soon as they appeared, two royal guards jumped in fear at the surprise appearance and were even more shocked to see the wounded alicorn princesses with several dozen huge green cocoons.

“Where is Shining Armor!?” Cadance quickly asked. Approaching one of the guards and looking at him with a frightened look.

"T-The wedding... It's already started..." The guard stammered, pointing towards the main hall.

Wasting no time, Celestia approached Cadance and they both teleported again, appearing right in front of the doors of the great hall. There, Cadance saw with horror how all the guests were already in the hall, all looking in horror towards the altar. In the middle of the altar was her fiancé. Who seemed to have attacked the fake Celestia, turning her back on the fake Cadance, protecting her.

“SHINING!!” The real Cadance yelled in terror. 

To the mare’s horror, her doppelganger moved quickly and stabbed at Shining Armor fiercely. At that moment, Cadance turned pale and felt as if time had stopped, seeing how her beloved fiancé was murdered before her eyes.

Everyone else in the hall was shock for an instant at the horrible and evil act.  For an instant, Cadance lost her other senses and her eyes could only see Shining bleeding while he closed his eyes. She couldn't even hear the cruel taunt Chrysalis said as she looked at Celestia. The only thing Cadance heard was the faint beating of Shining's heart before it went completely silent.

The pink alicorn was finally able to snap out of her shock and ran to her dying husband.

“SHINING!!” Cadance yelled in horror, not caring that Shining Armor's body was still being held up by the enemy's hooves. The only thing Cadance's eyes focused on was Shining Armor, running to help him, and having him between her hooves.

Witnessing the evil Chrysalis was capable of, Celestia gritted her teeth against the pain in her side and forcing herself to forget the pain for a second, Celestia spread her wings and flew to attack Chrysalis.

Chrysalis smiled evilly, let go of Shining's body and flew to the ceiling of the hall for Celestia to follow. As Cadance reached the dying white unicorn, screams of horror began to fill the hall and Chrysalis and Celestia began to fight over the great hall, flying and launching powerful lightning attacks at each other.

When chaos and fear began to spread among all the guests; Dusk, Luna and Sunset arrived at the great hall. The three of them had hurried after Shining Armor, knowing that the white unicorn ran that way because he knew something bad was about to happen. However, none of them imagined the horrible scene they would encounter.

Dusk saw how Cadance hurriedly took Shining Armor between her hooves at the alter while he didn't move at all. That made Dusk shiver like he had never felt before, imagining that the worst could have happened.  For the first time in his life, Dusk didn't care what Princess Celestia or anyone else in the hall was doing. He just used his magic and immediately teleported to the altar.

For her part, something similar happened with Luna, only she saw how her sister flew around the hall with a serious wound on her side, fighting against a dark creature that she guessed was the evil Chrysalis. Without wasting any time, Luna spread her wings wide and immediately flew to help her sister.

The only one who was left standing at the side entrance of the hall was Sunset Shimmer. The always analytical unicorn was stunned by the horrible scene her eyes saw, but at the same time, she took a second to analyze everything around her to fully understand what was happening before acting. It was at that moment that Sunset's gaze focused on the false Celestia, the one who had been rammed by Shining Armor moments before, and who was now standing up after coming out of her daze.

For a second, Sunset and fake Celestia's eyes met.  As they did, fake Celestia smiled evilly and opened her mouth, letting out a high-pitched shriek that echoed throughout the hall and made most of the ponies cover their ears.

Dozens of false guests surrounded themselves with green fire throughout the hall, revealing their true identities. Dozens of changelings appeared from the crowd, quickly charging at the other guests. Closing in on their necks with their sharp teeth, lashing out at them with their hard chitin hooves, all to wreak even more chaos and fear in the crowd.

As if this entire hall had been doomed to be a sacrifice zone, the changelings barred the main doors of the hall, lest anyone escape their first attack. All this was just the beginning of what would be their great invasion to take over the entire kingdom. Two changelings rushed at Sunset to attack her and block the side door as well. However, the skilled unicorn used her magic to hit both changelings hard and knock them away from her.

Having waved her horn, Sunset inadvertently caused her hood to fall back, revealing her face again. A face that showed a mare struggling to remain calm, despite the fact that she was also actually scared at the large scale of the attack she was in.

If she had been the old Sunset, she would have immediately gone with Dusk, or perhaps she would have fought to save herself alone. However, after being a student at Cadance, Sunset felt for the first time that she should put aside her own concerns and focus on helping others. So, the mare looked around, and saw how the ponies near her were being attacked. In the midst of the crowd, her eyes fell on a certain group of ponies. Five mares and a baby dragon, who were still in shock what was happening around them.

"You girls!" Sunset Shimmer yelled with a scared, but commanding voice at the group. “Don't just stand there! We have to help others!” She hated to ask those mares for help, but she couldn't stop an army by herself.

Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike snapped out of the shock they'd been in and stared at Sunset Shimmer in shock. A mare that they had all hoped never to see again, and that now appeared before them asking for help. That left the five mares even more shocked than they had been seconds before. However, Spike had witnessed the true heart of Sunset and how she really wasn't as evil as she liked to appear. With that background, Spike put on a serious look and ran over to where Sunset was to help her fight off the changelings in the hall. For their part, the five Ponyville mares snapped out of their daze, and ran to fight the changelings as well. They didn’t want to follow an order from Sunset, but they knew there was something much bigger at stake: Saving the kingdom.

As the chaos continued below the hall, Chrysalis flew over everyone, shooting lightning bolts at each other at Celestia and colliding from time to time, hitting each other every time they managed to meet in the air. Even with Luna's arrival, it didn't seem to bother Chrysalis at all, who simply continued to laugh evilly as she single-handedly fought both alicorns at the same time.

If it had been a fight between Chrysalis and both alicorns at another time, perhaps it would have been a fairer fight, even with the advantage of the alicorns. However, there were three factors that made the fight lopsided. The first factor was that none of the Alicorn sisters were at their full potential. Celestia was injured in her side, which made it difficult for her to fly, and even to breathe at times. Luna was still stronger than a normal unicorn, but she still hadn't regained her full power. The second factor was that Chrysalis was at her best. She was in her full form, with more power than she had ever had, and that made her power easily match and even surpass that of an alicorn. And finally, the third factor, was one that Celestia discovered while fighting. With every little pause Celestia and Luna took to catch their breath, Chrysalis smiled and breathed heavily. But what Chrysalis was doing wasn't breathing, it was feeding. Eating all the fear, horror and confusion that came from the ponies attacked in the room. With each attack of her soldiers, all that love that the ponies had was transformed into dark feelings, and the Changeling Queen fed on those terrible feelings, growing stronger with each bite she took, as if she breathed in the very terror that reigned in the air.

"Delicious..." Chrysalis said after sucking in and eating all the fear that was in the air. 

In that little pause when Chrysalis fed and smiled evilly, Celestia and Luna hovered, breathing heavily, feeling their energy drain as Chrysalis's surged. They both knew it was a matter of time before they were defeated, but that didn't matter to them. As guardians of the kingdom, both were willing to give their lives for their beloved ponies. And if this was their last fight, they would keep fighting until their bodies gave out. Thus, both alicorns resumed their attack, while Chrysalis's cruel laughter filled the room, knowing how that battle would end.

In the midst of all the chaos, right at the altar of the hall, another important event was taking place. Dusk had arrived just before the false Celestia had given the changeling attack signal. Upon reaching the altar, Dusk approached where Cadance was holding Shining.

"His heart isn’t beating..." Cadance whispered, helplessly. She touched Shining's chest, right at the wound, which had reached his heart. She lit her horn with magic to try and stop Shining from bleeding.

"Shining..." Dusk whispered with tears in his eyes, turning pale as he felt an emptiness grow in his stomach. "He... He is..." Dusk stammered, not daring to pronounce the word 'dead', as if by saying it, all that would become real and it would stop being just a cruel nightmare.

Breathing heavily, feeling that he was about to panic, Dusk averted his gaze. Upon doing so, he saw that half of those present watched in terror as Celestia and Luna fought against Chrysalis, while the other half watched Shining's dying body in terror. Among those who looked towards the altar were his and his brother’s parents. His father, Night Light, held his mother, Twilight Velvet, who had fainted at the sight of her eldest son being killed on what should have been the happiest day of his life. Seeing his parents, Dusk opened his mouth and breathed heavily, shooting sparks from his horn as he felt he was losing control of his emotions.

At that precise moment, Dusk came out of the dark trance in which he was beginning to enter, having to cover his ears before Thorax's scream, disguised as Celestia. He watched in horror as dozens of guests in the hall transformed into changelings and launched themselves over the other guests. Then, Dusk saw that a large group of changelings, who had been disguised in the front row, smiled sinisterly and pounced at the altar.

At the last second, Dusk Shine cast a shield spell encasing him, Cadance, and Shining Armor. A powerful barrier of transparent lilac color that protected them from the attack, against which the changelings collided as if it were a wall. Then the changelings got up and began to hit Dusk's shield hard, making it tremble with each blow.

Dusk had to concentrate even more on maintaining the shield from the force of the blows. He knew that he couldn't risk making it disappear to fight back against the changelings, because it could put Cadance and Shining at risk.

"Magic shields are my best spell. I hope that with that I can impress the guards and let me join the royal guard." A very proud and young Shining Armor had said the day before he was accepted as a royal guard candidate.

"Wow… You really are strong, big bro!" Dusk said that the time, impressed with the strong shield summoned by his older brother.

The memory made Dusk closed his eyes and a tear ran down his cheek.

“I just perfected my teleportation to run away from trouble. You perfected your shields because you never ran away from anything..." Dusk whispered while crying, knowing that his brother could make a much stronger shield than his. "Shining... We still have a lot to talk about... Please, don't leave us..." Dusk cried, looking askance at Shining, who had her chest glowing with pink magic while Cadance struggled to close her wound.

"Cadance closed his wound. She… She's using her magic to put his body into stasis." Dusk thought, understanding what the mare was trying to do. Though he was still skeptical that it would work, since everything indicated that Shining was already dead. "But there’s no magic that can heal a dead heart, and without a heart… The moment Cadance stops using her magic, Shining's body will die."

As Cadance used her magic and held Shining, she wiped away her tears with one of her hoofs and put on a small smile. She forced herself to calm down, realizing her healing magic would suffer if she was emotionally weak. She decided to speak to Shining as she normally did, as if it was just the two of them alone. 

"You know, Shiny. Spike told me that he thinks he and Dusk have a special magical bond." Cadance said tenderly while caressing her lover's face. “He said he can make his brother listen to him when they’re both in danger… I believe him. I believe in the magic of love. I believe that when two souls are united by such a special unique bond, their feelings can cross time and space. Even surpass death.” At that moment, Cadance couldn't take it anymore. She rested her head on Shining's chest and started to cry again. “You have to wake up Shining. You promised, you said you would be with me forever and ever… Sniff … Remember your promise, my love…” Cadance cried, as her tears fell on Shining Armor's chest.





'Cadance and Shining flashback.'

Years ago, Dusk Shine was a young colt who had not yet entered the School of Magic. But the ones who did go to school were Shining Armor and Cadance. They both attended Canterlot Academy, a prestigious academy for young mares and stallions, distinct from the School of Magic, which took in only fillies and young colts and focused only on magic. Canterlot Academy focused on higher education in a variety of fields to prepare young ponies for the world of work. A school with a more accessible income than the School of Magic, but in any case, just as elitist as the future school in which Dusk Shine would study.

There, by chance, Shining Armor and Cadance entered when they were the same age, both studying in the same grade. However, it seemed that both of them lived in parallel worlds light years apart.

Princess Mi Amore, or simply Cadance, as her friends called her, had entered the Academy late. Having spent his childhood away from the capital, she studied magic with the Princess of the Sun until she decided to enter the Academy and study with ponies her own age. For the young princess, it only took one day to become the most popular pony in the Academy. Being an alicorn princess, she made all the young sons of noble and wealthy Canterlot families want to approach her and praise her for everything she did.

For Cadance, it was a joy to see how all the ponies there approached her and sought her company. However, as the years passed, her innate talent for sensing the hearts of those around her grew.  It finally served her to realize that many of those around her were only with her for selfish reasons, and that behind the false smiles were hidden envy and jealousy. For these reasons, Cadance eventually narrowed her group of friends, and despite her popularity, she only trusted a very small group of ponies.

Besides her title as a princess, there were powerful reasons why Cadance gained a lot of popularity. The first was that year after year Cadance's beauty only grew, becoming a beautiful and elegant mare. Her cute personality also made her easily trusted by everyone to help them with their problems, especially love-type problems.

It was around this time that Cadance discovered her talent for feeling and sharing the true feelings of those around her, and her ability to make those good feelings come out more easily in ponies. Thus, the mare helped many couples in conflict to forget their differences and remember the love they felt. Also to their friends, helping them to recognize which colts felt true feelings towards them, and which ones were only with them to enjoy the moment. For these reasons, Cadance became the most popular mare in the Academy and was recognized by the nickname 'The Princess of Love'.

On the other hoof, who had also entered Canterlot Academy late was Shining Armor. The young stallion had not been able to enter the School of Magic since his family was neither noble nor well-off. However, after his father got an important job helping the academic council of Canterlot, he managed to get a place to enter that prestigious academy. Something very important for Shining, since graduating from an academy was one of the requirements to be a Royal Guard, which was his dream.

Fortunately, despite not having attended a magic school, Shining Armor never gave up or stopped trying to learn since he was a young colt. Together with his parents and grandmother, he studied magic independently. Learning all the basic spells a unicorn was supposed to learn, focusing on one in particular.

"Gotta make my shields stronger." Shining Armor said as he trained his magic. Looking askance at his own cutie mark, which was a shield with a star in its center. “One day I’ll be a guard, and I’ll protect the entire kingdom with my shield.”

Shining Armor was eventually approved to enter the Canterlot Academy, but unlike Cadance, his admission was not well received by the other students in his grade. Shining quickly became an outcast in his class, being despised by the sons of the nobles, who couldn’t bear that a simple peasant who didn’t come from a good family could live up to their level and study with them.

It seemed that the only one who didn’t look down on the newly inducted unicorn from the Shine family was the young Princess Cadance. The pink alicorn recorded in her mind the first time she met eyes with Shining Armor. For some reason, she felt her heart stop for an instant and everything around her turned pink. Shining Armor felt the same thing upon seeing the beautiful alicorn, gaping at the sight of her. However, seeing that he had been staring at her like a fool, all the other young stallions around Shining pushed him away and started making fun of him at how goofy he looked. He dared to look directly into the eyes of the most beautiful mare in the Academy? It was a privilege that they wouldn’t give to that simple peasant.

Seeing how he had been ridiculed in front of the beautiful mare, Shining Armor turned red with embarrassment and ran away. As for Cadance, she simply watched that young stallion walk away and then she lowered her gaze, touching her cheeks and feeling that she too was blushing for some reason.

"Cadance, is something wrong?" Diamond Rose asked, one of the few close friends Cadance had at the Academy. She was a mare with white fur and pink mane.

"I... I'm not sure..." Cadance answered with a confused look.

Since that day, Cadance searched for Shining Armor with her eyes, to see if that strange feeling would repeat itself when their eyes met. However, as much as she searched for it, it seemed that Shining Armor was so shy, that every time she looked at him, he would blush and quickly avert his gaze.

Cadance was amused from the sight of the serious white stallion, turning red and clumsy with just one look.  Day after day she grew fonder of him, despite the fact that she had not even exchanged a word with him. Something that could hardly happen, given that Shining Armor always ran away when she approached him, and those who always surrounded Cadance made it impossible for her to be alone with the tender white unicorn.

For Shining, that first year at the Academy was horrible, and was depressed that he still had another year. Fortunately, Shining didn't seem to be the only outcast at the Academy, and he got a few friends who were in a similar situation to himself. A group of young stallions from more humble families than those of the nobles, stallions who secretly got together to play board games and role-playing games. That made Shining's popularity drop from zero to negative, by hanging out with the nerds in the class. However, despite all the teasing, Shining cared little. He was simply focused on passing his courses at school so he could enter the Royal Guards Academy.

With every taunt, stumble and blow that the other ponies in the class gave Shining, he simply stood his ground and wore a blank stare. Without giving those bullies the pleasure of showing sadness or shame. The only time Shining would lose his serious look and run away in shame was when Cadance was present and watched as he was being mocked. This didn’t go unnoticed by the bullies, who began to annoy Shining more when he got closer to Cadance.

For her part, the pink alicorn did her best to exert her influence and stop bothering Shining Armor. However, it seemed that the more she tried to protect him, the more the others teased him, as if the fact that she liked Shining increased their jealousy even more. That was how Cadance lamented upon discovering that the only way to protect Shining Armor was precisely by not getting close to him.

“He has a beautiful heart full of integrity, kindness and courage. Why are their hearts so closed that they can't see it!?” Cadance lamented silently. 

Without realizing it, Cadance became more focused on what Shining's heart felt. Noticing her strength in not being intimidated by the teasing of others, and how his heart beat like crazy when she looked at him. She felt that he liked her, but in a different way than all the other stallions felt for her. What Shining Armor felt was more intense and much more sincere. And without her realizing it, she began to feel the same, still not understanding what exactly that was feeling that she had never felt in her.

It was finally at a sleepover that Cadance had with her two best friends, before entering her final year at the Academy, that the pink alicorn discovered the truth.

“Buck Withers could be my ideal partner, don't you think? He's captain of the polo team, and he's sooooo handsome…” Lemony Gem, A mare with yellow fur and blue mane, cooed.

"I already told you, I don't think he’s your ideal partner." Cadance answered, amused that her friends always thought they were in love with the most attractive stallions without looking further. “I've felt how you two really feel when you're together. And Buck has no real love for you, and in time, you'll find that you don't have real love for him either."

"Cadance, you always tell us that what we feel is not true love. But then, what does true love feel like?" Diamond Rose asked.

"Hmm... I don't know, it's just something that I feel." Cadance replied with a thoughtful look. Throughout her life, she hadn't seen more than ten couples in love that she could honestly say really loved each other. “When I see a couple who are really in love, I can feel their hearts beating in sync, excited when they see each other. I can feel them giving off an aura of happiness that only the two of them feel, as if there is only the two of them in the world. I feel…"

At that moment, Cadance's eyes widened in understanding. What she had felt when seeing Shining Armor when their eyes met was the same as what she had felt when seeing those few couples who were truly destined to be together, only that her feeling had been much more intense, because she didn't feel someone else's heart, but for the first time she had felt her own.

“It’s him… He is the one my heart chose! And… I’m the mare he’ll love with all his heart! Our hearts connected and I didn't realize it until now!" Cadance said in surprise, slowly realizing the importance of her own words. Then she grabbed a pillow, hugged it tightly and began to laugh, filled with joy like she had never felt before. “Is this what a heart's desire feels like? Hahaha…” Cadance laughed, tightly hugging the pillow.  She felt joy of discovering that she was in love, and that from that day on, she would do her best to follow her heart and that that bond that destiny showed her, would become a great and true real love.





The following school year started off quickly, and sadly for Cadance, her last year at Canterlot Academy didn’t start as she expected. That summer, Shining Armor had passed the tests to enter the Royal Guard Training School. And although he still had to graduate before being formally accepted as a guard cadet, he already had to complete extra training and studies. So Shining began to attend the Academy less and less, which caused Cadance to have even fewer opportunities to get close to him.

In addition to his training, another point that made Shining avoid the Academy as much as possible was that just that year, his younger brother, Dusk Shine, enrolled in the School of Magic. News that quickly became known throughout the Academy, and of course, brought problems to Shining Armor. He was constantly accused for being the older brother of a cheater who had tricked the test judges using magic that was impossible for a young colt to have. That caused Shining Armor to be bullied even more at school, further distancing himself from his classmates.

All of that made Cadance's plan to get close to the colt that year go down the drain. She couldn't just go with Shining Armor to try to be his friend and get to know him better, not when little Dusk had already been accused of being unfairly favored by Celestia. Cadance knew that if she got any closer to Shining, the rumors might get worse and they would start saying that she herself had used her influence to get Shining accepted into the Royal Guard Training School unfairly.

Still, knowing that she couldn't get close to Shining in front of everyone, Cadance didn't give up and struggled to secretly get close to who she thought might be her special pony. She conspired with her friends to help her meet him alone, taking advantage of every time that Shining was alone in the Academy to invent excuses so that both could meet. However, as soon as Shining Armor was alone with Cadance, he would start babbling like a fool and run away. With each week and each month that passed, she was questioning more if what she felt that time, they saw each other for the first time was indeed love at first sight or had only been something unilateral.

For his part, unaware of all the plans and feelings that Cadance had for him, Shining Armor simply ran away from his own feelings.  Just as Cadance had guessed, Shining had fallen in love with Cadance upon seeing her for the first time. And with each kind gesture from the alicorn, with each sweet word of encouragement, Shining fell more and more in love with her.  However, the scrutiny of the Canterlot nobility and his low self-esteem convinced him that he would never be worthy of Cadance’s love and always ran away. 

"I will fight for her. One day I'll become a Royal Guard at the castle, maybe I'll be a sergeant one day. And when that happens, I’ll show Cadenza that I am a stallion worthy to be with her." Shining Armor said excitedly one day as he and his few nerdy friends were playing 'Ogres and Oubliettes' in the basement of the Academy.

"Sure… and you two will live in a crystal castle and live happily ever after… Get real!" Poindexter, a slim, white-coated stallion who wore glasses, said. "Lower your aim, pal. Princess Cadenza is on another level."

"Don't discourage him. You can totally get with her, but it must be now! It's your last year here!" Gaffer, a colt with green mane and orange fur, with white spots on his legs and snout, said. "Join the Royal Guard and become a sergeant? How many years are you planning to wait before proposing to her!? Do you think Mi Amore will wait that long? Maybe she could, but you gotta at least make sure she knows you exist!"

After listening to his friends, Shining had to accept that they had a point. He wanted with all his heart to show Cadance with concrete actions that he was worthy of being with her, but his studies at the Academy would end before he could. And by then, someone as perfect as Cadance would have already found another stallion to be in love with.

The young stallion gathered courage, and together with his friends, decided one day to participate in the end-of-the-year talent show and sing a song written by himself. All about a beautiful pink mare who had stolen his heart and he secretly loved with all his being.

For Cadance, it was the most tender and beautiful thing she had ever heard in her life. However, the other stallions' jealousy caused them to mock Shining and his friends' performance. A mockery that grew in the crowd and made Shining and his friends leave the stage in shame. And even though Cadance sought out Shining to tell her that his performance had really moved her, Shining simply left the Academy, thinking that he didn't want to be seen by Cadance after the entire Academy made fun of him.

Thus, both finished their last year at Canterlot Academy and ended up with what they believed was their last chance to propose to the pony of their dreams. Since then, Shining Armor would start with its full-time classes at the Royal Guard Instruction School; and Cadance would have to focus on her status as Royal Princess and forget about being a normal teenager.





That summer, each senior at the Academy was required to intern in their chosen profession to finally finishing their chosen career before graduation. For his profession, Shining obviously spent his summer with the Royal Guard, giving his all to one day become a worthy castle guard who would protect his beloved princess. For her part, having already known her destiny written in stone since a filly, being a princess, Cadance had the option of enjoying that last summer as a normal teenager and dedicated herself to being a foal-sitter.  Thus discovering her love for taking care of young ponies, together with to her immense maternal instinct. The ponies spent that summer without seeing each other again, but always painfully remembering in their dreams that they had lost the opportunity to meet the one who could be their special pony. However, as if fate itself refused to separate those two hearts, it was precisely Cadance's hobby for being a foal-sitter, which could make both ponies in love meet again.

At the beginning of the year, just before the dance and graduation ceremony, Cadance was hired as foal-sitter for Dusk Shine. The young colt stole Cadance's heart instantly from how cute he was. And even before meeting Dusk, Cadance was very excited to learn that she could see Shining Armor again after not having seen him since the talent show.

Shining Armor was speechless when he saw that his little brother's foal-sitter was none other than Cadance, the most popular mare in the entire school and the one who had stolen his heart two years ago. As soon as he saw Cadance, she greeted him with a sweet smile, while he, already having the composure and serious look that a guard should have, simply melted, babbled awkwardly and ran away. Just like he did when he saw her at the Academy.

That babble made Cadance smile as she remembered how cute Shining looked being clumsy like that and moved her as she recognized that despite the time, Shining still had feelings for her in his heart. However, she also realized that fate was giving her one last chance to be with the stallion that could be her special pony.  And this time, things had to be different. So it was that, for her prom, Cadance made a risky decision, and rejected all the stallions who offered to be her date, deciding to be the only mare to go alone.

The next day at prom night, Cadance waited for Shining Armor to show up. Not caring if she was the one who finally declared her feelings first, she was willing to take that risk and tell Shining how she felt. However, as long as she waited, the colt didn’t show up. Cadance was sad to realize that for Shining, the Academy was never a good place, and that he would hate going to a prom and being with all those ponies who had made fun of him.

Just when the dance was about to end, with Cadance always alone, without having danced even once, Shining Armor finally appeared. He had fought with himself to go to this dance. He knew that if he went, he would simply be the laughingstock of everyone for going without a date, as well as always being the center of ridicule in his class. However, a strong desire made him go to the academy one last time. The desire to see his beloved Cadance. It didn't matter to him if he saw her from afar, or if she was dancing with another stallion. The only thing that finally motivated Shining to risk ridicule was seeing the beautiful alicorn.

As Shining entered the room, his and Cadance's eyes finally met again, just as they had the first day they met. The big difference being that this time, both of them slowly approached each other.

Cadance sighed with a small smile, knowing that she would have to be the one to break the ice, since Shining was too shy.

"Are you going to talk to me this time or are you going to babble again?" Cadance asked coquettishly, wanting to enjoy seeing Shining blush before asking him to dance with her.

"I love you." Was what Shining replied immediately, with a serious look. As if he himself hadn’t realized what he had just said.

As soon as Cadance heard that, she put on a shocked look, her lip trembled and she turned red like she had never been before.

“What is this!? I was supposed to make him blush, not the other way around!” Cadance thought, covering her mouth and lowering her eyes embarrassment.

"I… I'm sorry.” Shining suddenly said, embarrassedly averting his gaze. "It's just... coming here, I promised myself that I would finally tell you what I think, but... those words... came out of my mouth as soon as I saw you." He sighed then, and it took all his courage to finally declare his feelings. "Cadance, I know this is the first time we've had such a long conversation, but I need to tell you my feelings before this night is over. Since I met you, I felt that I couldn't stop thinking about you, as if a strong magic told me that you were my soulmate, that I couldn't be happy if I wasn't with you. For years I thought it was an impossible love, and last year, I thought I had lost my chance. But yesterday, when I saw you again, I finally got it. I know that maybe I'll never be worthy to be with a Princess like you, but I didn't fall in love with the Princess, I fell in love with Cadance! The sweetest, most tender, beautiful and compassionate mare I have ever met. And I… I know that maybe it's crazy and that I'm a nobody right now, but the only thing I can offer you is my love. My total and utter love for you, and only you." 

Surrounded by a crowd, who had been shocked to see the nerd of the class facing the most popular mare in school, all the ponies burst into hearty laughter. They made fun of that silly stallion again who fell in love with an impossible love. As for Shining, just like in the academy, he didn't flinch from the teasing. Long ago, he had learned to be someone brave and strong, and his only great fear had always been that the mare he loved would think he was a fool. But not anymore, he finally realized that there was something that scared him more than the fact that Cadance thought he was a fool, and that was not seeing Cadance again and that she would never know what he really felt. He had finally declared his feelings and no matter what happened, that heavy weight had already been lifted from his shoulders, and he could look to the future with no regrets.

As laughter filled the room, they were dead silent as Cadance touched Shining's face and kissed him tenderly. Something that surprised the white unicorn, who opened his eyes in surprise, and then closed them and returned the kiss to that beautiful mare.

As the two of them kissed, their horns briefly touched and cast a great glow. Inadvertently releasing some of Cadance's magic, making everyone in the hall excited and blissful with each other. It was just a small sample of what Shining Armor and Cadance really felt at that moment, as their lips touched. Kissing and being kissed by the pony his heart had longed for. Kissing the soul they knew they were destined to love for the rest of eternity.





Since that day, Shining Armor and Cadance officially began dating, and anyone would think that since then everything would be much easier for them, but it was not like that. Being Cadance a princess, and Shining a royal guard cadet, both had to hide their romance. The news that a princess had kissed an ordinary stallion had become the most talked about rumor in all of Canterlot. Paparazzi harassed Cadance for weeks, trying to take a picture of her with Shining Armor. For this reason, both continued to see each other in secret, away from the eyes of others, so that neither of them would have problems or start false rumors that would discredit them.

Despite the fact that both had very little time to see each other, and that in doing so, they had to do it in the strictest secrecy, both managed to make their love grow day after day. Enjoying each other's company and discovering together how compatible they were, and how they were truly meant to love each other.

Shining grew to love Cadance, both as his princess and as his marefriend. He knew that even if they had different opinions from time to time, he had to obey her in any order she gave, since she was a princess. Even having to put up with hearing her fellow guards talk about how sexy Cadance looked, since none of them knew that he was the princess's coltfriend. For her part, Cadance also learned to love Shining's complicated side, amused when he became jealous when she told him how cute his little brother Dusk Shine was. She laughed at how jealous Shining got every time she showed him a locket in which she kept a photo of Dusk.

Those small problems were very easy to overcome for the loving couple, whose love grew over the years. They had fun and fantasized about what it would be like to have a family together, have many babies and live in a crystal castle. 

“I don't know if I would like to have too many babies. Siblings can be a nuisance.” Shining Armor said one day, making a thoughtful face as he hugged his marefriend in one of the palace gardens.

"Hehe! You only say that because you're jealous of Dusk." Cadance laughed. “One, two, five, I don't care how many kids we have. As long as we're both together." Cadance added with a tender smile, kissing Shining. "Although for that, there is still a long time, hehe."

While Cadance and Shining were enjoying thinking about their future, from not far away, in one of the windows of the castle, they were both being watched by Celestia. The white alicorn had made sure that no guard approached the lovers so that they could enjoy their moment together. However, Celestia couldn't help but overhear the conversation the two of them had, and as she did so, she put on a sad look.

From that day on, for some reason, Cadance began to have less time to see Shining Armor. A distance that became enormous when, surprisingly, Shining was chosen to guard the northern border. A designation that took him completely by surprise.

Standing on the icy northern border, Shining continued to write letters to Cadance. Letters that were never answered, something that made Shining suspect that something bad could be happening between them. The colt investigated who had given the order to send him to the northern border, thinking that perhaps it was the old Captain of the Guard or Princess Celestia herself, who wanted to prevent him from being with his beloved Cadance. However, his heart nearly broke upon discovering that the one who had given such an order had been none other than Cadance herself.

After finishing his long stay in the North, Shining Armor finally returned to the Kingdom's capital and his first action was to visit Cadance in private.

“Shining… I-I'm glad to see you. I heard you got promoted to lieutenant! I hope your watch in the north has… been fruitful.” Cadance spoke in a much more formal tone than usual once she and Shining were alone. 

Knowing that Shining was smart enough to figure out that she was the one who had sent him to the North, Cadance knew that such talk would be hard. She knew that after avoiding that moment for so long, he would finally reprimand her for not answering his letters and for staying away from him for so long. She perfectly understood the hatred that Shining must have for her at that moment, and she was prepared to accept it.

"Cadance..." Shining said with a serious look, suddenly crouching down and levitating a small box in front of him. He opened it and revealed a beautiful gold wedding ring. "Will you marry me?"

The pink alicorn was shocked. Her lips trembled slightly and she looked teary-eyed at Shining.

"Why are you doing this…? You know I've tried to keep you away from me these months. I've been distant with you... You should want to end our relationship! Why are you asking me to marry you!?” Cadance yelled with tear, realizing that her beloved Shining Armor still loved her, despite how cruel she had tried to be to him.

"I don't care if you send me to the moon, I told you at the Academy, you’ll always have my absolute love." Shining answered, still holding the wedding ring in front of Cadance. “I don't know why you sent me to the North, nor do I know why you haven't answered my letters, but the one thing I do know is that I love you, and I trust you completely. And in my time away, I learned that I can’t live happily without you, and that I want to spend the rest of my life with the mare I love.”

Cadance covered her mouth as she got emotional and cried even more. As much as she shouldn't, she loved that stallion with all her heart, and she couldn't deny it.

“I love you, Shining…” Cadance said with a sad smile. "And that's why... I can't accept your proposal." The mare ran out of the room in tears, leaving behind a confused and heartbroken stallion.

After that day, Cadance took a break from her royal duties and shut herself in her room for days. For his part, Shining struggled for days with himself, feeling anger, confusion, sadness, all surrounding a broken heart, which told him that without his beloved mare, nothing had meaning, not even life. Thus, it was one day Shining couldn't take it anymore and went to Cadance's room, knocked out two guards stationed in front of the doors and broke in.

"Why?" Shining Armor asked on the verge of tears to a shocked Cadance. “If you don't love me anymore, I understand. If I’m not worthy to be together with a princess, I understand. But I need to know, I want you to tell me! Why don't you want to marry me!?"

Having spent several days alone, Cadance had been able to calm her broken heart. And despite the pain still tightening her chest, she finally had the strength to be able to give an explanation to her lover. After all, he deserved it.

"Shining, why do you want to marry me?" Cadance asked, looking with a sad smile at her coltfriend.

“Because I know we are made for each other. Because we love each other above all things. Because I want us to have a beautiful family and have many children. And because I want to be by your side until the last of my days.” Shining Armor replied, finally breaking down and looking in pain at his beloved.

"That's why I can't marry you." Cadance sighed, trying to smile as her eyes filled with tears. “Shining, I… I can't have children. I cannot give you the family you so long for.” 

At that moment, Cadance explained to Shining a conversation she had with her aunt Celestia months ago, just before sending Shining to the Northern border. Celestia had explained to her niece that as alicorns were immortal beings, it was impossible for them to have children. This was against ancient magic and the natural order of things. It was why the Princess of the Sun herself had not had children in her hundreds of years of life.

Shining felt an emptiness in his stomach. Not for him, but for Cadance. For years, they had dreamed of having a family, especially Cadance. She loved foals and ever since she was a foalsitter, she had dreamed of one day being a mother. Shining understood the shock and pain that news must have had on Cadance and understood why she tried to make him break up with her.

Shining approached his marefriend and hugged her tenderly as she cried. A bitter cry that the alicorn released when she felt the pain of not being able to fulfill her most longed-for dream, in addition to the pain of not being able to fulfill the wish of the stallion she loved so much.

“Cadance, I don't care about that. I want to be with you." Shining said lovingly as he hugged his marefriend.

“You don't understand, I'm immortal! Not only can I not have children, but I would also be condemning you to live a life with someone who will not grow old with you. With someone who will not be able to be by your side forever as equals.” Cadance said, feeling the true weight of being an alicorn. The curse of living an eternal life in complete solitude.

“Cadance, I told you I wanted to start a family with you, but it can be just us! We’ll be a family of two, that’s just as beautiful.” Shining said, caressing the neck of his beloved. “Even if one day we want to have children, we can adopt. That doesn't have to be an impediment to our happiness!"

"Shining, you-" Cadance cried, until she was stopped by Shining's hoof. Who stopped hugging her and looked her in the face with a tender and affectionate smile.

"And about having an immortal marefriend, believe me, it's not a problem that my wife is eternally young, hehe." Shining smiled, wiping the tears from Cadance's cheeks. “Please don't worry about me, I promise never to die or leave you alone. It doesn't matter if I must fight my way through hell and fight death itself. I promise to always be with you. From today, my heart is only yours, and it will never leave you.” Shining added, tenderly taking Cadance's hoof and placing it on her chest, so that she could feel his heartbeat. The heart that he now gave her.

Speechless at that gesture, Cadance shed a tear and tenderly kissed Shining. Deciding that she didn't care about the future, all she wanted was to always be with that stallion and give him her love for the rest of her life.





A few weeks after Cadance accepted Shining's marriage proposal, Celestia was walking through the halls of the castle library, heading towards the forbidden section. She was looking for her niece since she had been missing for days from her royal duties.

Just as she feared, Cadance was in fact there. The pink alicorn had ransacked the entire forbidden section of the library, having read hundreds of books and discarding them on the floor. Just at that moment, Cadance was reading another book, with her brow furrowed, since it seemed that in that book there was not what she was looking for.

"I guess you accepted Shining Armor's marriage proposal." Celestia said from a distance watching her as she kept her gaze fixed on her book.

Cadance didn't flinch at the alicorn’s voice. She just kept reading, turning page after page, frustrated that she couldn't find the spell she wanted. As for Celestia, she put on a sad look and guessed what must be going through her niece's mind… through the mind of an immortal alicorn in love.

"This is why I warned you, I knew this would only bring you suffering." Celestia said with a sad look. She knew how beautiful love was, but how painful it could be to imagine losing it. “Tell me, is this what you are looking for?” Celestia added, levitating some scrolls that seemed to be very old.

Cadance looked eagerly at the scrolls, walked over to Celestia, and began to read them. Celestia knew it was dangerous to let her niece read those scrolls, but she wanted her to decide for herself that it was wrong to use them.

“This is an immortality spell. However, even if you use it, you won't be able to make Shining Armor become immortal like you." Celestia said with a sad look, while Cadance silently read that scroll. "Turning a mortal into an immortal will only make you create a monster." Celestia added, her eyes full of pain as she remembered something from her past.

"It's not the spell I'm looking for." Cadance said suddenly. She returned the scrolls to her aunt and went back to the pile of books to find what she wanted. Celestia looked at Cadance in amazement. She had been sure that Cadance was looking for that spell to make her lover immortal, all to avoid a cruel fate that was impossible to avoid. But then…

"Cadance, what are you looking for?" Celestia asked without understanding what her niece was really looking for in those books.

Cadance stopped searching through the books, sighed, and looked down at the floor with a sad look.

"I know that alicorn magic is very special, so I am looking for a spell to transfer my alicorn magic when the time comes." Cadance replied. Then she looked up and looked at her aunt with a sad but determined look. “I will fulfill my duties as Princess for as long as it takes. But when the time comes, when Shining has to leave this world, I will leave it with him.”

Celestia widened her eyes in surprise. Then she walked over to Cadance and gave her a warm hug. That hug said more than any words she could say. What Cadance was asking for was crazy, but what she needed was not to be told, but comfort to support her in a difficult decision. As for Cadance, she understood what that hug meant and began to cry helplessly.

“I love him, Auntie. I… I can't live without him.” Cadance said through tears. "I didn't ask for this... I never asked to be immortal... I never asked to be a Princess..." Cadance cried, feeling that all her power was useless if she had to give up everything she loved and desired.

“I know, dear Cadance… I know…” Celestia replied, stroking her beloved niece's head. Fully understanding the frustration her niece must have felt at that moment.

Remembering the words that Shining Armor had said to her when he asked her to marry him, Cadance repeated exactly those same words.

“Shining… It doesn't matter if I have to fight my way through hell and figh death itself. I promise to always be with you. From today, my heart is only yours, and it will never leave you.” Cadance whispered, swearing the same oath Shining Armor had sworn. Just as the tip of her horn inadvertently glowed, releasing a magical spark in the shape of her cutie mark, a heart.

'End flashback.'





Back in the present, everything was in complete chaos in the main hall of the castle. What should have been a beautiful wedding had turned into the first attack of an invasion. And at the altar, instead of having a couple lovingly reading their vows; groom and bride were lying on the floor. The bride holding her dying groom, who was only kept alive by powerful pink alicorn magic.

“Hold on, please…” Cadance cried as she used her magic on Shining. She knew that no magic could revive the dead, and that Shining's heart no longer beat. But in the same way, feeling deep down, that Shining was still alive in some part of his being.

The magic to keep someone alive having their heart stabbed didn’t exist. This damage was too severe, and Cadance well knew it. However, what Cadance still didn’t understand was that what she herself used in Shining was a new magic, a magic that she and Shining had inadvertently managed to create. One that had managed to miraculously save Shining's life, at least for a few more seconds of life.

To create a spell, various factors were required, and without realizing it, Cadance and Shining had fulfilled them. They had both sworn a strong oath to each other. Both had released their magic by declaring their feelings, creating a unique magical bond between them. Cadance's powerful alicorn magic was able to make her desire to give her heart to Shining, making Shining's life tied to Cadance's, which helped him survive. All of this caused the two of them to create a new and unique life magic spell, however, all of that would have been useless without a curious and lucky accident that managed to complete that powerful life magic.

Inadvertently, Chrysalis made a serious miscalculation which helped Shining's heart not die immediately despite being pierced. Since before stabbing Shining Armor, the Changeling Queen had stabbed Celestia, and some of the alicorn's blood had remained on the dagger. Unbeknownst to Chrysalis, alicorn blood was one of the few elements in the world that contained ancient magic, with alicorns being the only living beings to have such magic coursing through their veins. That caused Celestia's blood to partially protect Shining's wounded heart.

However, despite all those factors in their favor which had managed to prevent Shining from dying immediately, the white unicorn was still slowly sinking into death, as his heart was not beating. He needed a spark to wake up, a reason to live, and that was what his beloved Cadance had to give him.

Oblivious to all the chaos that occurred in the real world, Shining's consciousness was in a lonely and dark abyss. One that grew darker as he fell into death and his very essence ceased to exist.

"Where am I…? How did I get here…?" Shining Armor thought in the dark as his brain shut down and his soul left this world. His memories began to fade away, along with his own being. "I… Who am I…?"

In that last second before vanishing completely, a very small but bright light appeared in the dark mental abyss into which Shining disappeared. Accompanied by a warm feeling and a sweet voice.

“You have to wake up, Shining. You promised, you said you would be with me forever and ever…” The sweet voice of Cadance cried, using all of her magic for her voice to reach Shining Armor. "Remember your promise, my love."

"Promise?" Shining Armor thought, already forgetting his own self. However, there was one last thing that he still had to forget and that he refused to do. "It's true… I promised… I promised that… I promised that I would always be by your side!" Shining yelled in his mind, finally waking up, remembering that he had a very powerful reason to live.





"I love you." Cadance cried in the real world. She touched the face of her beloved and kissed him. Right at the moment when she felt a warm feeling like she had never felt before, and both her body and Shining's body began to glow.

Meanwhile, Chrysalis took flight and hit Luna hard, who in turn hit Celestia, and both alicorns finally crashed to the floor of the room. With an evil laugh, Chrysalis looked up with a smile and breathed in again to eat the fear out of the room, ready to deal the final blow to her enemies. However, as she ate the fear from the hall, a very unpleasant taste filled her mouth. That taste was that of pure love, a love full of hope, strength and kindness that shouldn’t exist in this room.

Chrysalis looked down at the altar. There, Dusk Shine vanished the shield with which he had been protecting the altar.  Next to him, Cadance was standing, looking lovingly at her coltfriend, who had miraculously woke up and was also looking directly at her with a loving gaze. Both Cadance and Shining were enveloped in a bright pink and white aura so bright that it blinded some of the changelings that were close to them.

"That... That's impossible..." Chrysalis murmured when she saw Shining Armor was standing up alive.

Meanwhile, at the altar, Cadance and Shining kept looking at each other, as if for a moment they forgot everything around them and there were only the two of them in the whole world.

"You saved me." Shining smiled, feeling that his heart was healthier than ever. His horn magically connected with Cadance's, and he felt magic more powerful and warm than he had ever felt before, beginning to grow within him.

"It wasn't me, it was our love." Cadance said, also feeling her magic grow and grow. She felt happiness and warmth in her heart that she could only feel by looking her lover in the eye. And that now, by recovering him, it only made that feeling stronger.

“I… I KILLED YOU!” Chrysalis suddenly yelled in fury, swooping down to attack Shining and Cadance.

Still oblivious to the outside world, Shining and Cadance didn't even hear Chrysalis scream and simply kissed. Showing their love, just like that first kiss at the prom, where they had discovered that the pony they were kissing would be their special pony for the rest of their lives.

The love magic that had been contained in Cadance's secret bloodline for centuries was finally released. Then a great magical wave spread out from the two lovers and spread throughout the hall.

The wave had two effects on those present. In those ponies that had been filled with terror and confusion, it made them start to feel happy and fearless after that warm magic hit them. As for the changelings, who only sought to steal the love of others and provoke fear, the magic hit them like a strong slap to the face, leaving them dazed and confused. And precisely, who seemed to hit the hardest, was Chrysalis, who was hit by that magic just before she could touch Shining and Cadance. Chrysalis to hit the floor hard and roll on the floor in shock.

Seeing Chrysalis fall, Dusk Shine saw that something very important had fallen from the Changeling Queen: her crown. He hurried to go to where the crown was, raised his front hooves strongly, charging them with magic, and with a strong stomp he crushed that crown. As soon as he did, it gave a loud bang that caused Dusk to be pushed and fall on his back. At the same time, a black smoke came out of the crown and formed a strange figure, making a very strange mixture of a scream of terror and laughter, a noise that vanished into the air along with the smoke in just an instant. As if the crown itself had taken on a life of its own and vanished.

After the blow, Dusk raised his head in a daze, not sure if the crown had really made a noise or if it had just been his imagination. He then looked at his front hooves and saw that they seemed to have been burned after crushing that crown, even though he protected his hooves with magic.

"I knew it, that crown had dark magic. That gave Chrysalis power!" Dusk thought. He felt that his heart was in extreme agitation after destroying that crown.

"What did you do!?" Chrysalis suddenly cried out in terror. She got up after her fall and saw how her precious crown had been destroyed. Then the Changeling Queen raised one of her hooves and saw how her appearance began to change. The holes that she had tried so hard to hide with her 'perfect appearance', reappeared and filled her hooves. "My power! Give me back my power!”

"You have no power here." Cadance said, staring at Chrysalis. All while her and Shining's eyes glowed white. Both of them were surrounded by a huge pink aura.

“You… what did you do? It… It’s impossible to revive the dead, there is no such magic!” Chrysalis said, glaring at Cadance.

"Love is stronger than any magic." Shining replied.

"Love? Don't make me puke! Love cannot save you, Love is useless, more than to feed on another! That's not magic!" Chrysalis yelled.

"You believe in the power of evil, hate and fear." Cadance answered, looking at Chrysalis and then at her coltfriend. “But you will never understand the power of love. Because you fear it.”

Chrysalis widened her eyes in surprise. She couldn't be afraid… She had never been! And yet, there she was, standing all alone, unable to move at the feel of warm magic, her body trembling for some reason.

"Fear? Fear!?" Chrysalis thought furiously, not wanting to accept that what Cadance said was true.

Then Chrysalis looked around her and saw how some ponies who were looking at her, who had already forgotten their fear thanks to Cadance's warm magic and were now staring at her with pitying eyes. Glances that made Chrysalis even more irritated. She was a Queen! No one could pity her! She was perfect!

With a growing hatred for Cadance and Shining, Chrysalis spread her wings and with a cry of fury she charged back at them. However, the magic surrounding Cadance and Shining Armor shone brighter than ever. Causing both ponies to rise into the air as they crossed their horns, and an even more powerful wave of warm love magic shot from their bodies.

When that new wave of magic hit the changelings, this time it hit them even harder like a heavy concrete wall. This caused the Changeling Queen and her soldiers to come out heavily beaten and shot through the glass ceiling of the hall. Shattering the roof and throwing all the changelings present away from the castle. A magic of pure love that hit them so hard, it would leave a mark on those dark creatures for life. One that would forever remind them that love is stronger than anything.

After the changelings went flying into the air, everyone in the room looked at each other, smiling and hugging each other. Just like the first magic wave, the magic of Cadance and Shining made the hearts of everyone present fill with happiness and completely forget the traumatic situation that they had experienced minutes ago, leaving fear and horror behind.

Meanwhile, Shining Armor and Cadance slowly descended, and their bodies stopped glowing. While at their side, Dusk Shine stopped looking at the couple and focused his eyes on the distance. For some reason, perhaps because he was close to the dark magic of the crown when breaking it, Dusk was not completely affected by Shining and Cadance's magic. He kept watching how the changelings had been expelled far into the air, and in doing so, his eyes widened in fear when he saw that a distant point managed to stop the impulse that had made it fly, and with a green flare, it went back down to the center of the city.

"It’s not over yet." Dusk whispered, knowing that there was only one changeling who could be stubborn and powerful enough to have forced her fall in Canterlot.

Dusk quickly took Chrysalis's crushed crown, which no longer emanated any dark aura, and hurried out of the hall.

“Dusk! Where are you going?" Applejack asked from afar with Spike and his other friends at one end of the hall when she saw her coltfriend run off.

"Stay here! I'll be right back!" Dusk said quickly. He burst through the doors and away from the hall.

For their part, Dusk's friends looked at each other, and they gave serious looks. They managed to overcome the happiness of the magic of Cadance and Shining when they saw that Dusk abandoned them.

“Ugh! When is he going to learn? We're a team!" Rainbow Dash huffed as she rushed along with her friends to make their way through the crowd to follow Dusk.

Just at that moment, another nearby mare, a yellow unicorn with red and gold mane, also saw Dusk Shine leave and watched carefully as the five mares hurried after him.

End of chapter 20