Of Loyalty and Chaos

by PxDnNinja


Chapter 15: A Canterlot Wedding Pt. 1

"Canterlot! Last stop! Please check for your bags before exiting the train!" A voice carried through the intercom within the passenger car as the train pulled to a stop inside a highly decorated station.

"Thank Celestia! I forgot how long that trip is when you are stuck on the ground!" Rainbow Dash was the first to escape their mobile cell to inhale the fresh air of freedom. Her wings spread wide to stretch the sore muscles down her back as her friends stepped out of the car as well.

"Come on Dashie. It wasn't that bad." Swift tried to console the mare who had become his marefriend over the last few weeks. Things hadn't gotten serious beyond a couple of dates a week and usually a night relaxing at her house after a long day of stunt practice. He wouldn't say it to her, but those were his favorite times. Simply relaxing on her couch, her laying against him with her Daring Do book open and drawing all her attention while Swift would be absently looking over weather reports or reading over her shoulder.

"Seriously sugarcube. Listen to yer coltfriend, tha trip wasn't all that bad." Applejack, along with the rest of their friends, exited the train behind the two pegasi. Rarity was sporting one of her typical high class, wide brimmed hats with some sort of designer sunglasses on. Beside her, Sweetie Belle walked, standing as tall as the small filly could. Her sister's influence on being a proper mare was clearly at work with the young filly's behavior.

Beside Sweetie Belle, Applebloom was standing, looking around at the surrounding buildings with awe. It was clear the young Apple had never been outside of Ponyville, and Canterlot was more than just a step up from the small village. Her sister, however, had been here a couple of times before. Shortly after the Nightmare Moon incident, then for the Grand Galloping Gala and the Discord fiasco. The countrypony was clearly used to it, judging by the relaxed stance she currently held alongside her sister.

Fluttershy surprisingly wasn't the last one off the train, stepping off just after the Apple clan. She did decide to stay fairly hidden behind the group however, and was currently doing her best not the be noticed while glancing around at all the other ponies on the platform. Just after her, an orange blur shot off the train and lept up onto Swift's back.

"This is going to be SO AWESOME!" Scootaloo shouted as she placed her front hoofs on Swifts head and stood, looking around from as high a vantage as she could get, drawing a laugh from both Rainbow Dash and Swift. Also joining in the laughter was Pinkie Pie, who suddenly was next to Swift, looking from feature to feature, mirroring Scootaloo's head motions.

"Yes, this is going to be the greatest party EVER!" Swift winced as the pink mare shouted her excitement, which also drew some odd glances from the crowd.

Finally Twilight exited the train along with Spike, who was already talking about something with the purple unicorn.

"Come on Twi, I thought you were okay with it by now." Spike's comment caused the group to collectively roll their eyes. Twilight had constantly been shifting between staying calm about this mare her BBBFF was marrying, and then demanding that she wasn't good enough. Clearly it was currently the latter of the two.

"Spike, I know most of the Lords and Ladies of Canterlot, and this Mi Amore doesn't ring a bell. She is probably just after him for his position. It is my responsibility as his sister to protect him from that." Twilight explained as though teaching a class. The group realized that this could only end in trouble.

"Twi, perhaps y'all should jus' wait till ya get to meet her. She might not be so bad." Applejack tried to reason with her, using logic. Normally this would get through to Twilight, but today she was being more stubborn than usual.

"Applejack, I intend to meet her alright. Then I'm going to find out what it is she is after!" Twilight stormed forward, most likely to find her brother. As the left the platform, Swift noticed Dash seemed to be looking around with a confused look. Leaning towards her, he spoke quietly to prevent drawing attention.

"What's wrong? You look concerned?" He whispered, almost making Dash jump. After she composed herself, she tilted her head to the guards ahead at the entrance to the castle grounds.

"The guards. There are a lot more than there were the last few times I was here. I think something is going on." She answered, gaining a nod from Swift who now realized that there were indeed guards just about everywhere. It felt as though the guards were on high alert, though with a royal wedding coming up that might be standard procedure. Nonetheless, Swift couldn't shake an odd feeling he had felt since the group passed through the security checkpoint on the train.

When they had started passing populated areas in Canterlot as they approached the station, this feeling had been growing in the back of Swift's mind. He had shaken it as nerves about being in a new city, and taking part in something as important as a wedding, but even now the feeling was there, faintly in the back of his mind. With a shake of his head, Swift pushed the thought out of mind again. Unfortunately for his passenger, this action knocked Scootaloo off balance, who dropped from Swift's back.

"Oh crap! Are you okay, Scoots?" Swift turned his attention to the young filly when he realized what had happened. Dash also dropped her concerns and turned to check on her greatest fan.

"Yeah kiddo, you alright?" Dash joined in on the questioning. Scootaloo sat up and shook the cobwebs from her head before looking up to her two friends.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I've had worse from practicing. Just need to walk if off." Scootaloo stood up and stretched her back while flexing out her wings to work out the soreness from the fall. Swift and Dash shared a look of relief. If Scoots said she was fine, then they had no need to worry. Before anything else could be said, the remaining crusaders were running over, followed by Rarity.

"Scootaloo! We saw you fall! Are you alright?" Sweetie Belle asked as the two fillies approached their friend, who waved off their concerns.

"Yeah yeah, like I told Swift. I get worse from practice." The two friends nodded, having seen the crashes Scootaloo had had in the past. Without any other thought, they immediately started talking about the wedding and what they were going to do to help.

As they spoke, Rarity approached Swift and Rainbow Dash with a smile on her face.

"If it is alright with the two of you, I will take Scootaloo with me. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are helping with some projects I have while in town, and I'm sure the two of you have plenty to deal with." Rarity offered to the two pegasi. Given Scootaloo's inability to fly yet, it would be easier for the pegasi to deal with the air details if they didn't have a filly to watch.

"Sure thing Rarity. Hey Scootaloo, you go with Rarity and your friends. I'll meet up with you later." Swift accepted the offer and instructed Scootaloo. Since Scootaloo didn't have any family on the trip (she had said they were busy and couldn't make it, which added further concern about her home life to Swift), Swift had taken it on himself to watch after the young filly. Scootaloo nodded briefly before turning back to her friends to talk about whatever fillies talk about before a wedding. Rarity nodded and collected the crusaders before heading on her way, leaving Swift and Dash alone on the platform. A glance around and Swift could see the various members of their group going in different direction.

"Well, I'm going to go scout the location for the rainboom. Should be near that tower. Wanna join me?" Dash asked to Swift, a smile on her face. Swift almost agreed out of habit, but paused when he spotted Twilight not too far off, storming towards the castle.

"Actually Dashie, I'm going to follow Twilight. I would like to see the Princess and I'm sure she will head that way. Plus if she runs into this Mi Amore, it would be good for someone to keep her sane. You know how she can get." Swift explained, looking his marefriend in the eye. Dash started to look a bit saddened that he didn't want to join her, but his reason quickly cleared any concern. He had a good point about Twilight going off the deep end at times.

"That's fine. You know where to find me." Dash smiled and gave Swift a quick hug before launching into the air leaving a rainbow streak in her wake. Swift watched as she took off with a smile on his face, wondering how he managed to get as lucky as he had. As Dash grew smaller, Swift turned his attention to the unicorn currently storming to the castle.

"Twilight, wait up!"

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"Thanks again for coming along Swift." Twilight walked past the main gate into the courtyard of the Royal Guard Barracks where her brother should be located. As they had walked, Swift had remained silent while simply being present as support for Twilight.

"Not a problem Twi. Just doing what a friend should do." Swift smiled, puffing his chest in a self mocking manner. Twilight couldn't help but giggle at the antics of her friend.

"Yeah, keeping me company and preventing me from going crazy?" Twilight's comment caused Swift to stumble slightly before he noticed the grin on her face.

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything specific, but yeah kinda." Swift bumped shoulders with Twi as they walked in a friendly manner.
"But hey, you will be fine. I'm just here in case something goes terribly wrong, but what are the odds of that honestly?" Both ponies froze as the words left Swift's mouth and shared a panicked look. After a moment, their views shifted to the surrounding area, watching for whatever inevitable disaster that follows such a phrase to occur. Moments of silence assured them that all was well with the world.

"Careful, don't jinx us Swift." Twilight continued walking with Swift taking up step after her. Swift smiled once again to the unicorn.

"Oh, you don't believe in all that jinx and karma stuff. You are way to scientific for that." Swift explained as they walked.

"I used to, but then I met Pinkie Pie. And besides..." Twilight started to go into her research on their party friend, but stopped when she saw a pony up ahead giving orders to guards.
"There he is. Now to find out what is going on." Twilight advanced upon the pony that Swift had deduced must be Shining Armor.
"I've got something to say to you, mister!" Twilight spoke up, drawing an immediate reaction of the guards. Many put lances at the ready, as though Twilight intended to attack the captain. Luckily the captain turned and smiled widely at the sight.

"Twiley!" Shining shouted as he took his helmet off and approached the duo. His eyes glanced over Swift, but just for a moment before returning to his sister.
"I missed you kid! How was the train ride?" Shining moved to give Twilight a hug, but she stepped back, now allowing him a moment before venting her frustrations.

"How DARE you not tell me in person that you were getting married! I'm your sister for ponysake!" Twilight berated the guard captain in front of all his troops. Swift noticed a few of the guards grin at their captains predicament, and joined them in snickering as quietly as possible. Shining didn't find any humor in his sister's upset nature.

"It's not my fault. Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security. Didn't you see all the guards at the train station?" Shining waved his hoof out towards where the two had approached. Swift grew serious on this comment. Dash had noticed as much and thought something was going on. Sounded like she might have been more accurate then they thought. Twilight on the other hoof wasn't having any of it and walked off slightly from the two colts.

"Yeah, there's a big wedding coming up! Maybe you heard about it!" It was clear all the talk she and Swift had done over the past month about why he hadn't contacted her was going right out the window. Shining didn't seem to be hurt by the scathing comment. Clearly at some level he had expected this.

"It has nothing to do with the wedding. A threat has been made against Canterlot." Shining's comment drew Twilight out of her frustration, as evident by the shocked look on her face. A look that Swift currently shared as he approached the two. A threat against the capital was definitely a reason for all the guards, but Swift couldn't help but wonder who would dare to threaten the seat of power to all Equestria.
"We don't know who's responsible for it, but Princess Celestia has requested that I help by providing additional protection. This, you need to see." Swift and Twilight listened as Shining confirmed that they also did not have any idea who would threaten the kingdom, and watched as he stepped away from the two. As Shining's eyes closed, his horn started glowing a dark purple as he built power. After a moment of it charging, a beam shot straight up in the air and collided with the shield surrounding the city. Swift noticed instantly that the shield was the same color as the magic from Twilight's brother and realized he was the one maintaining the shield from whatever threat was out there. This kind of power amazed Swift, and caused him to look at Shining Armor in a new light.

Once the spell was complete, Shining opened his eyes and appeared drained for a moment. The shield was exhausting him, but he had to maintain it until the threat was over. After his head cleared, he started walking up the stairs to the archway. Twilight fell in step beside him, having noticed his exhaustion as well and was worried for his safety. Swift chose to instead hover just over the steps behind the two, staying out of their way and providing them a bit of privacy.

"The burden of keeping Canterlot safe and secure rests squarely on my shoulders. Staying focused on the task at hoof has been my top priority." Shining explained to his sister, who realized how childish she had sounded earlier. Nonetheless, the pain of having found out about the wedding was still within her.

"Ok, ok. I get it. You have a really important job protecting all of Canterlot. But still, how could you not tell me about something as big as your wedding. Am I not that important to you anymore?" Swift felt terrible for his friend as she asked her brother of her own importance. He hadn't looked at it that way from her point of view all this time. That was the ultimate issue, and Swift hoped Shining handled it correctly.

"Hey! You're my little sister. Of course you're important to me. But I'd understand if you didn't want to be my best mare now." Shining spoke with kindness, then dropped the question on Twilight, drawing a smile from Swift who was doing his best to blend into the background, and failing since he wasn't wearing armor. Twilight heard the question and all her worries seemed to fall away.

"You want ME to be your best mare?" She asked, her excitement at such an honor building.

"Well, yeah." Shining said as he approached his sister who finally accepted his hug from earlier.

"I would be honored." Twilight did well maintaining her composure as she accepted the offer, and held her brother tight as they hugged. She was as glad as he was to have cleared the air on the issue.

"Oh, also, who is this? Some new coltfriend?" Shining asked, giving Swift a stare. Swift might not have all his memories, but he knew instantly what was happening here. Brother and sister were okay with each other again, now brother realizes sister arrived with a strange colt. Brother is also Captain of the Royal Guard, and not someone you want disliking you.

Crap.

Thankfully, before Swift could say anything that would cause trouble, Twilight just laughed as she shook her head.

"No no. He is just a good friend. Swift, meet my brother, Shining Armor. Shining Armor, this is a good friend of mine from Ponyville, Swift." Twilight formally introduced the two as Swift approached and locked hoofs with Shining. Shining didn't seem to relax at the mention of this 'friend from Ponyville' routine. Twilight watched as they shook, but noticed her brother was maintaining a steady gaze on her friend.
"He is the colt dating Rainbow Dash, if you heard about that." Twilight added, to prove to her brother he had nothing to worry about. This seemed to do the trick as his eyes shot wide in surprise.

"Ah, well then welcome to Canterlot, Swift. Feel free to visit anyplace you like." Shining offered politely. Swift nodded and opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as Twilight suddenly pushed a hoof against her brother's chest and appeared very upset again suddenly.

"I'm still pretty ticked you marrying some pony I don't even know! When did you even meet this Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?" Twilight asked with a stern tone to her brother. Swift was a bit surprised not just at Twilight's outburst, but at the smile Shining Armor had on his face.

"Twilight. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadence. Your old foalsitter." Shining explained. Twilight appeared confused momentarily until some distant memory appeared to surface.

"Cadence? As in THE Cadence? As in the greatest foalsitter in all the history of foalsitters!!!" Swift wasn't sure he could follow Twilight on this rollercoaster of emotions much further. Her brother and her continued talking about Cadence as Swift walked to the other side of the path and looked out over the guard compound. Twilight's excitement over Cadence meant Swift didn't need to worry about any further issues thankfully, so he could start taking in the sights. The guard compound looked to also serve as a gate into the city. Not far from where he stood, he could see archway doors that opened into shopping centers and various street paths. Canterlot was even larger than Cloudsdale, and he had been amazed at the size of even that town.

Swift let the sounds of Twilight dancing around and singing fade as he wondered what to do in the town now. Rainbow Dash would be easy to find. He just had to fly up and look for a rainbow streak flying around. If a rainboom happened to take place, that would make it even easier. He could always help Rarity out as well. The crusaders no doubt would be causing her no end of trouble.

Before his thoughts could progress further, a new voice spoke up behind him, drawing his attention to a beautiful mare who had joined them on the archway. Her purple coat and hair was pristine, and her wings and horn meant she must be a princess.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" She spoke with a rather frustrated tone to her voice. That feeling in the back of Swift's mind started flaring up again, but he pushed it aside. Nonetheless, he kept his eye on this pony. Twilight however seemed perfectly find with her leaped over to stand in front of her. Swift had always know Twilight could be a little goofy, but overall he viewed her as a level headed scientist/bookworm. He never imagined he would see Twilight dancing like a small filly.

"Cadence! Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Twilight ended her dance, as best as Swift could tell it was, and looked to Cadence for some sort of reaction.

"What are you doing?" Swift really didn't like the way this pony was addressing his friend, especially as he saw the hurt look flash across Twilight's eyes. Twilight didn't seem to be hurt for long, and quickly stood to face her former foalsitter.

"Cadence, it's me. Twilight!" Twilight explained, a look that screamed how she expected Cadence to respond at this point. Unfortunately, Swift doubted this Cadence would follow suit. The feeling he had been shutting out seemed to flare again. Swift got ready to follow his intuition and would help Twilight if she needed it. He didn't have any childhood connection to this pony, or anypony for that matter, so he could see things as they really happened.

Swift's worry was confirmed as Cadence snubbed Twilight as she approached Shining Armor. The hurt look on Twilight's face returned, strengthening Swift's suspicion of this pony. Swift walked forward to stand beside Twilight and as supportive as possible. Cadence watched as Swift approached Twilight and gave a genuinely surprised look. After a moment, she got herself under control and glanced to make sure no one noticed. Thankfully everyone was either watching Shining or his sister.

"I have to return to my station, but Cadence will be making sure all preparation for the wedding is taken care of." Shining explained before excusing himself and Cadence as they walked towards a set of guards to escort them. Swift ignored the duo and looked to Twilight. He could tell she was holding back her emotions and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

"Hey, you alright?" He asked, carefully. He thought she looked sad, but if she was angry, he didn't want her to snap at him, especially with how powerful she really was.

Twilight jumped slightly at the touch and looked to Swift. She had completely forgotten he was there after learning who Mi Amore was. With all that had just happened though, she was glad a friend was nearby.

"I...I'll be fine. I just thought she would be, I don't know, nicer. She helped raise me and was the best pony ever back then. I can't believe she could have become so, so, so MEAN!" Twilight clearly was growing angry as spoke. Swift didn't bother trying to calm her down, since he felt she was more than just mean. Before he could speak, Twilight simply sighed and lowered her head, letting the tension fade from her muscles.

"Hey now, don't be down. I thought she was really mean as well. Nothing like the pony you described. Maybe..." Swift tried to start explaining that maybe something had happened to make her so mean. Perhaps after Twilight left, she had family issues or something else had occurred. Unfortunately, Swift never got the chance to make such a suggestion.

"Maybe...she wasn't really that nice all along! Or maybe she is under a spell. A spell could cause such a change. I need to check on this." Twilight started speaking faster than even Swift could follow, but the drive he knew her to possess was showing itself and he knew better than to stop it.
"Thank you Swift. Go find Rainbow Dash. I am going to check on the tasks for the wedding, then research what is happening with Cadence." Twilight turned and sprinted away before Swift could reply, leaving him alone on the archway.

"Well, I guess that will keep her occupied at least." Swift mumbled to himself as his thoughts returned to the princess in question. The feeling had faded a bit when she had left, though hadn't left completely. After this disaster, he decided it was worth listening to that feeling since it was right about Cadence being a rude pony. Looks like he had a good intuition about it.

After his moment of thought, Swift suddenly spread his wings and shot off into the air as fast as he could, drawing attention from a few guards. Most ignored his flight away, though a few tracked his path, their eyes seeming to turn emerald for a moment.

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Cadence had separated from her betrothed and was currently sitting in her bedroom as some servant was doing her hair.

'That Twilight is more juvenile than I expected. What was that dance all about? Still, I should be careful. She is the holder of the Element of Magic, and Celestia's personal student. She couldn't have all that if she wasn't powerful.' Cadence thought, her dislike of Celestia dripping through her thoughts. A tug at her head pulled her from her planning and she cast an angry glare at the servant.

"Apologies Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. You're flight here really knotted up your mane. That should be the last of it though, so just a bit more." The servant explained, as if Cadence cared WHY she had yanked at her. Cadence simply didn't want it to occur again. Slowly the servant continued to work on her mane while Cadence returned to her thoughts.

'Yes, Twilight shouldn't be a problem. That other pony however, that one must be Swift. He didn't have a cutie mark and Celestia made a big deal about that. He was different. Felt different. I've never seen a pegasus that felt like they had any magic, and clearly he didn't possess magic, but he possessed something. I'll have to keep an eye on him.'

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"That should handle the costs for the wedding. I believe doing the books is possibly the worst part of being a princess." Luna looked up from the ledger she levitated in front of her face as she and her sister worked on the royal budget. Every year the ledger got messier and messier, and every one hundred years they always needed to gather all the ponies with talents in finance to clean up the disaster. Glancing over to her sister, Luna could see a smirk on the older sister's face.
"What?"

"I'm sorry dear sister. You just get so exasperated when we handle the budget." Celestia explained as she took control of the magic holding the book and moved it to the side where other papers lay on a desk.
"I tell you what, while you are away I will see about getting Twilight to look over the books. Her attention to detail will help clear it up quickly." Celestia offered to her sister to cheer her up. Luna hated dealing with the budget and Celestia always stuck her with it. The reason being that Celestia hated the budget work as well, and gained a little sisterly joy from dragging her sister into it as well.

"About that, are you sure it's alright that I leave before such a large event, especially with the threat looming?" Luna asked, standing from her seat and stretching her legs. Sitting and dealing with the budget had caused her flank to cramp. Yet again more reason to hate the budget meetings.

"I'm assure you it is okay. With Shining Armor keeping the shield up and all the element bearers in Canterlot, we will be safe for a few days while you are gone." Celestia assured her sister with a warm smile. Unspoken was also the fact that if the worst did happen, only Celestia was at threat, and Luna would be safe to pull forces together or lead an investigation. Luna didn't need to be told that. Best keep the worry as minimal as possible.
"You just worry about the trade agreements with Saddle Arabia. Also be sure to offer them a chance to visit here." With that, Celestia stood as well, also stretching to work out the soreness of sitting in one place for too long. Luna nodded and opened her mouth to explain how she planned to present the agreements when a loud noise from outside the door distracted them. A metal sound crashed just behind the door and a scratchy, and familiar, voice could be heard laughing and quickly fading.

"Hey, get back here! Catch them!" Guards could be heard chasing whoever caused the commotion fading into the distance. Luna looked from the door back to her sister.

"What was that? Are we under attack?" Luna sounded somewhat nervous. She hadn't expected an attack to come so sudden. The laughter from her sister banished such thoughts and replaced them with simple confusion.

"No sister. I believe Rainbow Dash and her colt friend might be having more fun than our guards appreciate though." Celestia explained as she laughed. Rainbow had tried pranking and getting reactions from the guard before, and now she seemed to have succeeded.

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Two pegasi shot through the air faster than any pony could dream to keep up with. Behind them, the fading sound of armored ponies doing their best to do so could be heard, along with the occasional shout to stop. Swift had no intention of slowing down, especially for the pony they had managed to surprise into jumping, thus dropping his spear and hitting another guard, who then lost balance and fell over, drawing the attention of a patrol.

Rainbow Dash didn't appear to be slowing either, and Swift could clearly hear the laughter coming from her direction. She had explained to him her plan to finally get a reaction out of the guards once he met up with her after the odd meeting with Cadence. The ensuing hijinks had helped to get his mind off that, as now his full concentration was on loosing the guards.

After spinning around the spires of Canterlot Castle, the duo realized they were no longer being followed and headed towards the ground to rest.

"Wow, they gave up quicker than I expected." Dash commented, almost sounding as if she was complaining that the Royal Guards were no longer chasing them. Swift just shook his head and smiled, the antics of his marefriend never surprising him.

"They just aren't in as good a shape as we are. We set weather, they stand all day. We win." Swift puffed his chest out in pride at the workout both of them put in each day. Dash laughed as she moved next to Swift and bumped him with her flank.

"Don't get too cocky now. I can still destroy you in a race." Dash always taunted him when he started talking about how fast he had gotten. To many, it sometimes sounded mean, but between the two it had become a sort of challenge. Dash would taunt Swift to force him to push harder, and as he pushed harder, she had to practice more to stay ahead. She would never admit it, but having someone snapping at her heals helped her push herself even harder.

Her smile faded when her flirty jab drew no reaction from Swift as his attention was locked onto something else. Following his eye line, she realized what he was staring at and grew somber as well. They had landed in the palace hedge maze garden. Specifically, they were in the statue courtyard within the garden. The courtyard had statues of ancient ponies, including the leaders who had helped found Equestria. Starswirl the bearded also possessed a statue out here, as did both of the princesses. There was even a statue of Nightmare Moon to stand as a reminder of what happened when you gave in to your dark desires. Luna herself had commissioned that statue to be placed out here.

None of that mattered, as the statue Swift was locked onto, and Rainbow herself couldn't stop thinking about, was one she had helped create. The twisted, panicked expression on the face forever echoed the final thoughts Discord must have had as she and her friends sentenced him to an eternity of stone.

"That statue. It seems...different." Swift finally muttered aloud. It was more a thought to himself, but Dash heard it all the same.

"That's Discord. We fought him shortly before you showed up. He is the embodiment of chaos, and was a monster." Dash passively explained as she recalled how he had tricked her into betraying her friends. She still had bad dreams about that encounter.

Swift slowly approached the statue, registering what Dash told him but not reacting to it. This statue was calling him, almost screaming at him. Where he had an odd feeling in other parts of the castle, here it wasn't just a small feeling but a huge force.

Dash watched as her coltfriend slowly approached the statue. Swift had never dealt with Discord, or didn't remember it in any case, so he wouldn't understand how much she hated being in the presence of this statue. Waiting to the extent of her famously short patience, she finally approached Swift as he was a few paces from the statue and tapped his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Oh! What?" Swift's mind cleared as he looked to Dash and realized she seemed odd. The way she was glancing at the statue constantly, and the way she stood as though prepared to run, hinted at her discomfort.

"You seemed off in your own cloud. Just pulling you back to reality." Dash tried to project her typical bravado, but Swift could tell she was highly troubled around the statue of Discord. Pulling himself from the statue as well, a task he noticed was harder than he expected, he simply smiled and turned towards the courtyard exit.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Just I have heard a lot about this Discord, so seeing what he looked like was interesting. Sorry about that." Swift brushed off the concern and motioned for Dash to follow him. Dash wasted no time in accepting the offer, spreading her wings and taking off with Swift following behind.

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"Twilight, trust us. You are looking too much into this. She is just making sure her wedding is perfect." Rarity's voice echoed up to the duo as they landed where their friends had gathered by an outdoor cafe. Everyone had a confused look on their face with the exception of Twilight, who appeared frustrated. Swift imagined he knew the reason but chose to be silent for the moment.

"Rainbow Dash, glad you are here! Haven't you noticed Cadence acting strange?" Twilight pounced on the opportunity for fresh input. Apparently she had already heard from each of their friends that she was being overly critical. Rainbow Dash however hadn't dealt with Cadence, so all she could contribute was a confused look.

"Twilight, I have been practicing for my sonic rainboom all day." Dash explained as she motioned to the sky near the castle.
"I haven't even seen whoever this Cadence is." Twilight's ears dropped as she realized Dash had indeed left before finding out that Cadence was the bride-to-be, so of course she had nothing to add.

"I hear you were practicin' more than just yer sonic rainboom. Had some guards askin of I had seen a pegasus causin' trouble. Cyan coat, and very fast. Followed by a purple pegasus, almost as fast. Sound familiar?" Applejack cast a knowing smirk at Dash and Swift, who simply grinned to each other and high-fived with their wings. The attention to Swift however brought a thought to Twilight.

"Swift! You met Cadence. Didn't she seem odd to you? You said so yourself, that she was mean." Twilight almost sounded like she was begging for someone to believe her. Their friends all rolled their eyes at the continued antics of the book worm, drawing a sympathetic glance from Swift who noticed it.

"Actually, yes. She didn't seem very nice to me either. She had a glare about her that felt uncomfortable." Swift explained, supporting his friend. Everyone else just shifted their exasperation on to Swift, including Rainbow Dash.

"Swift, she is a princess, of course she has a glare. I doubt she meant anything by it." Rainbow replied, dismissing Swift and Twilight's concern. Twilight's frustrated expression grew harder at the continued distrust of her concerns, and Swift's expression drooped as Rainbow Dash dismissed his own concern.

"Rainbow is right. Cadence is just making sure everything goes fine. Just watch, after the wedding, she will be back to her old self in no time." Rarity spoke as she stood up, lending an air of finality to the conversation.
"It's getting late, and we have practice for the wedding in the morning. I say we all get some rest and do our best to make this wedding the perfect wedding Cadence is trying so hard for." As Rarity spoke, the rest of the ponies except Swift and Twilight stood to join her. As the started to walk off, Rainbow and Applejack looked back to the two ponies staying behind.

"Y'all two comin'?" Applejack asked, a hint of sadness at the way the group had dismissed their concerns present in her voice. She knew Twilight was just worried, and Swift had no experience around these royal types, but they were still friends after all.

"No, you guys go on ahead. I'll finish my tea and make my way in a bit." Twilight's response was polite, but her frustration was not masked in the slightest. AJ simply nodded and looked to Swift.

"Swift, you coming? You don't know where our rooms are at." Dash pointed out further proof of Swift's lack of experience in Canterlot, and expected him to join them back to the castle. A motion of his head said otherwise.

"I think I'll stay out here for a bit as well. Twilight can show me the way to the rooms. I could use some tea to help wind down." Swift's excuse made enough sense to Dash, who drank tea after a long day as well. AJ knew it for what it was though: a lie. She didn't know why, but Swift wanted to talk to Twilight, likely about these imaginary issues with Cadence.

"Oh. Ok. Well, I'll see you in the morning then." It was Dash's turn to be hurt by Swift suddenly not wanting to walk with her, but given his reason, she could understand why. With a look to AJ, she headed on towards the rest of the group who had already gotten pretty far ahead. AJ simply nodded and followed, hoping her friends were okay.

"You didn't have to stay behind Swift." Twilight spoke after her friends were out of earshot. The fact that he had stayed did help relieve some of her frustration however, and she took a small sip of her tea.
"Thank you for standing up for my side of the argument though. I can't believe they don't see the way Cadence is acting."

"They haven't ever met her, so their thoughts aren't that hard to understand. Surely you can see that Twi." Swift explained as he relaxed backwards.
"They aren't trying to be dismissive of your claims, but they can't help it either."

"Why do you believe me then? You never had met her, so you could see it the same way they do." Twilight asked, realizing that Swift was right, but that his explanation had that hole in it. Swift's thoughts shot back to that feeling he had been having all over the castle, and heavily at the statue of Discord. Twilight might have an idea of what it is, so telling her could help. However Twilight was also one to go to the extremes with things like this and might assume Discord is coming back or some other great evil is out there, when it could simply be his nerves. Making a snap decision, Swift decided that it wasn't worth mentioning.

"I can't say. She seemed odd to me, and I can't imagine any of the princesses being that mean, even for a wedding. I guess hearing you describe her, then seeing how she acted made what you say make more sense." Swift explained. It was also the truth, but just not the entire truth. After the wedding he could explain the details more.

"Fair. Well I appreciate your support on this. Something is certainly going on and I will find out what. But I guess for now, we should head on back." Twilight finished up her tea in one gulp and stood from the table. Swift nodded and began following her to the castle, sharing small talk about the town and staying away from the subject of the princess.

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The two friends arrived at the castle corridor where they were staying after a peaceful walk through the grounds. Swift noticed Twilight seemed to be relaxing with the entire Cadence issue, but said nothing about it. Better to let her cool off than to bring it back up was his thoughts.

"Here we are Swift. Your room is two doors down. I'll see you and the girls tomorrow." Twilight stopped and directed Swift to his room before turning to leave again. Swift saw her moving to leave and called out, confused.

"Twilight? Where are you going?" Swift knew she could get a bit fixated on things when her mind got onto something, and all of the girls needed their sleep for the practice tomorrow. Twilight looked back to Swift with an expression he found hard to read. She almost looked ashamed.

"I'm going to go talk to Shining. I've been thinking about what the girls said, and maybe I am overreacting. After all, Shining still seems to love her, and if she is as bad as I think she has been, I can't imagine he would." Twilight's explanation drew a nod from Swift who agreed with the idea. Something about Cadence still rubbed him the wrong way, but Twilight's brother would be able to explain if anything odd was happening.

"Ok Twilight, just be careful. I'll see you tomorrow." Swift motioned for her to go ahead with her plan before turning back down the hallway to his room. Swift hadn't realized how tired he actually was. As quietly as possible, he opened the door to his room which was dark, with just the light of the moon shining in through the window. Up on the large bed, Swift could see a small orange filly who was currently snoring quietly to herself. Even through his exhaustion, the sight brought a smile to Swift's face. Closing the door and approaching the bed, Swift noticed some spare blankets he could use as he curled up on the couch, letting the filly he was in charge of have the massive bed.

----------------------------

"Perfect girls. No need to rush." Celestia directed as the five elements walked down the carpet towards the raised platform where Shining Armor and herself stood. Swift stood silently by the door alongside two guards. During the actual ceremony, he would be seated near the front, but since there were no chairs currently in the room, he simply stayed out of the way. Swift grinned as he watched Rainbow Dash and Rarity share a giddy school filly smile, and planned to taunt his marefriend about such girlish antics later.

"Now, Cadence will enter." Once the elements were in position, Celestia guided them to the next part of the ceremony. The door beside Swift opened to show Cadence waiting on the other side. Pushing aside the feeling that unfortunately hadn't left after a night of sleep, he silently watched as she walked in and approached Shining and Celestia on the dais.

"I'll say a few words, and then we'll begin with the vows. Shining Armor, you'll get the ring from your best mare..." Swift, along with the rest of the group, noticed at this point that Twilight had still failed to arrive.

"Has anypony seen Twilight?" Shining's question confused Swift, as Twilight supposedly spoke with him last night.

'Did she not show up? What's going on?' Swift's thoughts were pulled to a halt as the door magically swung open again, answering the question of where Twilight was. Before anyone could ask where she had been, Twilight angrily stepped forward and started speaking.

"I'm here! I'm not going to stand next to her, and neither should you!" Twilight declared with a fury in her eyes as she approached the group, walking past Swift as he stood in shock at her behavior. Shining moved to his fiance and tried to diffuse the situation.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why she is acting like this." His attempts to calm everyone down being only marginally more effective than had Fluttershy herself tried. Cadence scowled towards Twilight while speaking to Shining.

"Maybe we should just ignore her." Swift couldn't help but get a bit angry, hearing someone so callously dismiss one of his best friends. He moved to speak, but was cut off by Twilight who didn't seem the least bit put off by Cadence's words.

"You have to listen to me! She's evil!" Twilight pointed directly to Cadence, who suddenly looked shocked before being blocked from view by Shining. The expression on Shining Armor's face was clear: he was done putting up with Twilight's behavior. Gasps from their friends added to the suspense in the room.
"She's been horrible to my friends, she's obviously done something to her bridesmaids, and if that wasn't enough, I saw her put a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all wobbly!" Twilight threw accusation after accusation at the bride to be, teleporting around and walking her into a corner. Cadence looked genuinely afraid of the purple unicorn pinning to towards the wall. Silence hung in the room as everyone watched the two with mixed thoughts. Swift wondered how they would take the news that Twilight seemed to be throwing at them with no evidence. Shining was clearly appalled by Twilight's behavior, while Princess Celestia was impossible to read, keeping a straight face during the entire ordeal.

After moments of nothing, Cadence finally broke down crying and ran from the room.

"Why are you doing this to me?" was all that could be heard as she ran by, drawing no compassion from the enraged Twilight.

"Because you're evil!" Twilight teleported to the door to shout her final barb at the princess before slamming the door. With that done, a much happier Twilight turned and marched into the room, slamming into her brother who had moved just behind her. Looking up to her brother's eyes, her smile quickly vanished as he looked anything but pleased.

"You want to know WHY my eyes were all wobbly? Because ever since I started having to perform my protection spell I've been getting terrible migraines." Shining explained in part what apparently Twilight had seen when she went to visit as best as Swift could gather. Twilight's ears drooped as she heard his explanation of what had happened.
"Cadence hasn't been casting spells on me, she's been using her magic to heal me!" Shining walked around Twilight, never taking his glare off her as he approached the door.
"And she decided to replace her bridesmaids because she found out the only reason they wanted to be in the wedding was so they could meet Canterlot royalty!" Shocked looks at the venom in Shining's voice were on the faces of every pony in the room, including Twilight. Shining wasn't finished yet though as he continued.
"And if she hasn't been on her best behavior with your friends, it's because with me being so busy she's had to make all the decisions about the wedding!" Shining circled around his sister as he continued.
"She has been stressed out because she wanted this day to be perfect! Something that obviously wasn't that important to you!" His final accusation against Twilight caused everypony in the room to recoil. Swift couldn't help but feel terrible for his friend who was beginning to see the terrible mistake she had made. Shining finally stood and headed for the exit.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and comfort my bride." Twilight reached out to her brother as he reached the door, but he never stopped, speaking only as he reached the door.
"And you can forget about being my best mare! In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't show up to the wedding at all!" Shining slammed the door behind him, causing Swift and the guards to lean away from the noise of the large wooden doors coming to rest. Silence hung in the room as everyone took in what had happened. Swift looked to their friends, waiting to see how they planned to comfort Twilight after all this.

"Come on y'all. Let's go comfort tha princess." Applejack spoke and lead the group around Twilight and towards the doors, never stopping to check on her. The guards opened the doors to let the group out, while Swift stood shocked that they would just leave Twilight. A voice pulled Swift's attention from watching the group leave the room.

"You have a lot to think about!" Celestia's voice carried an anger that Swift didn't think was possible. As she reached the door everyone else had exited through, she paused and looked to Swift, her anger present in her eyes.
"Swift, it's time we left so she can do just that." Celestia all but ordered that Swift follow her. Looking between Celestia and Twilight, Swift wasn't sure what to do. The look on Twilight's face betrayed the pain she was feeling in her heart, but Celestia was the ruler, and Twilight had behaved horribly. After moments of debate internally, Swift nodded and followed Celestia and the guards out of the room with his head hung, sighing at the sound of the doors slamming shut behind him.

Outside of the room, Rainbow Dash and Rarity had stayed behind. Noticing the look on Celestia's face, the two decided a proper bow was warranted as the princess stormed past. Once it was just the three of them, Rainbow Dash walked over.
"Come on Swift. Let's go get your outfit finished at Rarity's shop, then we can go practice some flight." Dash offered, appearing much better than she had moments ago. Rarity chimed in information about his outfit.

"Rainbow is right dear. I have some fabric that will bring out the purple of your coat. It will look..." Rarity jumped back as she was cut off by Swift, who clearly wasn't in a good mood.

"Really! Our friend just got destroyed in there, and you want to talk about getting me an outfit?" Swift pointed a hoof at Rarity accusingly, then turned his attention to Rainbow Dash.
"And you want to just go flying? We should be helping Twilight, not just standing around." Swift's voice lowered as he vented at his friends. The two of them had leaned back as he yelled, and glanced at each other after listening to his words. Finally Rarity spoke up.

"Swift. We know she just went through something terrible, but you heard what she said about Cadence. She jumped at her with no evidence or provocation. I love Twilight, I really do, but this is a life lesson she has to learn." Rarity explained, getting a nod from Rainbow who chose to stay quiet. She knew good and well she couldn't voice these thoughts as well as Rarity and let her take the lead. Swift simply listened as he calmed down. They had valid points and he shouldn't be yelling at them.

"I'm sorry, you're right. It's just not like Twilight to act this way." Swift explained, drawing a nod from his friends who forgave his outburst.

"True dear, but everyone makes mistakes. So what do you say? Come get fitted for an outfit?" Rarity asked, placing a hoof on his shoulder. Swift thought about it, debating on what he should do. As he did, that feeling in the back of his mind flared up sharply, helping him make his decision.

"No, not right now. You guys go on ahead. I'm going to clear my head." Swift motioned for the two mares to head on as he stayed behind. Rarity sighed before simply nodded and turning away.

"Sure, but do make it by when you can. I need to fit you before the actual wedding. Come on Rainbow, let's head on to fix your dress." Rarity paused to wait for Rainbow, who looked between Rarity and Swift, debating on where to go.

"Go ahead Dashie, I'll catch up later." Swift motioned for her to go ahead, that he wouldn't be upset for her leaving. Dash looked into Swift's blue eyes for a moment before nodding and following Rarity around the corner. With the hall cleared, Swift turned back to the doors and flung them open. He wasn't going to let Twilight suffer alone. She and Rainbow were the first ponies to talk to him when he woke up from his coma, and were the ponies he knew longer than anyone else. If one of them needed his help, he would do what he could.

Walking into the room, Swift started to call out but was caught short by the sight before him. Cadence was standing over Twilight with a sinister look on her face. More importantly was the green flames and field of magic currently dragging Twilight into the ground to who knows where.

"TWILIGHT!" Swift, without thinking, shot off through the air using all the speed he had developed while practicing with Rainbow Dash. In what seemed like an instant, he was across the room, zeroing in on his target, the princess currently casting whatever magic was at play. Inches from slamming into the princes, a magic field wrapped around him and stopped him dead in the air.

"What have we here? Another pony who snoops to much? This pony is special though." Cadence finally looked up directly into Swift's eyes, where he noticed they flickered an emerald color as she used her magic.

"What was that? What did you do with Twilight?!" Swift shouted at his opponent while trying to break free from the magic holding him in place. Cadence laughed as she walked around Swift.

"Oh, she is where I can deal with her later. The question is what should I do with you? For a pegasus, you have an immense power in you. I sensed it every time you were near." Cadence explained as she continued to inspect Swift from every angle. The comment struck Swift and made him realize the feeling in his mind was stronger than ever while this close to Cadence. Maybe she sensed this feeling too. What it was, however, was a mystery to the pegasus.
"I guess you can go into storage as well. Once I finish with everyone else, I can research you more."

"Finish with everyone? What are you planning?" Swift hoped to keep her talking, and perhaps someone would come in and see that Twilight was right all along.

"Simple. I'm going to overthrow Celestia. I thought that was obvious. But first, I have to kill off those elements of harmony." Cadence drew close as she taunted the group that Swift and come to think of as his closest friends.
"First, I'll skin the dress maker. Perhaps turn her coat into a nice dress to wear to formal events. I'll turn the yellow one into a throw rug, or maybe a statue like Celestia tends to do. And the rainbow maned one..." Cadence had finally made a mistake bringing up any plan to hurt Rainbow Dash. Swift grew even more furious and managed to snap free from the magic just long enough to slam his hoof into the side of Cadences face. The instant they made contact, a large concussion knocked them away from each other, throwing Swift across the room and into the floor hard. Landing on his back, Swift fought the urge to black out from the blow to his head as he watched his enemy. Even through hazy vision, he could make out that she had changed. Where the pink ailcorn had been, a black monster with holes in it's body now stood.

Unfortunately for Swift, the blast hadn't knocked her down, or even back far at all. She was simply dazed and could shake it off quickly. As Swift tried to get back to his hooves, he could hear her gasp.

"What? How did you force me out of my disguise!? That power you have, it must be..." 'Cadence' seemed to have an idea of what had happened, though Swift could care less at the moment. All he wanted was to get his balance, then to force this creature to bring Twilight back. As he finally got on to his legs, he felt the magic from before grab him again and hold him down as green fire spread around him as it did with Twilight.
"You will be very useful. Once I destroy your friends, you and I will have plenty of time to find out just what you are." The fire blocked Swift's view as he felt the ground below him shift and he started sinking. Fighting as best as he could to prevent whatever was happening, all he could hear was the sound of the creature laughing before he fell completely into the portal, and into darkness.