In the mines below Canterlot, Twilight Sparkle and Princess Cadence still looked for an escape.
Cadence let out a sigh. “I hope he’s alright. Who knows what the changelings might do with him?”
Twilight said, “It’ll be alright, Cadence.”
Twilight wondered if her friends even noticed she was gone. ‘They probably wouldn't care,’ Twilight thought.
“Are you sure, Twi?” Cadence said.
“I’m sure,” Twilight said, “we’ll find a way out of this and stop the changelings.”
Cadence smiled. She remembered the good times she had with Twilight. ‘You always were a special kind of unicorn,’ she thought.
A few moments later, They heard a voice in the distance. “Hello, is anypony there?”
Twilight recognized the voice. ‘Applejack?’ she thought. She and Cadence tried to follow the voice.
In the castle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity were preparing for the wedding. Pinkie’s tail was twitching again.
“I’m so excited for his wedding,” Pinkie Pie said. “Are you excited for this wedding? It’s gonna be so exciting...”
Just then, Rainbow Dash flew into the room. “Hey, guys.”
“Darling,” Rarity said. “Why aren’t you dressed?”
“And where’s Applejack?” Fluttershy said.
“Yeah, me and Applejack are gonna be late,” Rainbow Dash said.
“But why?” Pinkie Pie said.
Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure what to say next.
“Darling,” Rarity said. “You aren’t keeping secrets from us, are you?”
“No,” Rainbow Dash said. “But I’m beginning to think Twilight was right, at least about the bridesmaids. Applejack went with two other ponies to search some cave for prisoners.”
“But why would Cadence take any prisoners?” Fluttershy said.
“I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash said.
Everypony thought back to the rehearsal and wondered if Twilight was in the caves.
“You said Twilight may had been right about the bridesmaids?” Rarity said. “What happened to them?”
“Well,” Rainbow Dash said. “One of them was unconscious when I saw her. I think Applejack knocked her out for some reason. I don’t know where the other one is.”
The other three were surprised to hear this. They wondered if Cadence was keeping secrets.
Rainbow Dash was about to leave. But Rarity said, “wait! We’re going with you.”
“What?!” Rainbow Dash said. “No! Cadence would notice if all her bridesmaids went missing.”
“And you think that she wouldn’t notice if two or her bridesmaids went missing?” Rarity said.
“But--” Rainbow Dash said.
“Besides,” Rarity said. “You think we wouldn't worry about Applejack? She went into a dirty old cave with two strangers, looking for other strangers. Of course we would be worried.”
“Did you forget what happened with that rodeo?” Pinkie said.
“Oh, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said.
“Besides,” Pinkie said. “The wedding won't be fun if we spend it worrying about Applejack.”
“Where is Applejack, anyway?”
Princess Cadence had entered the room. The other ponies had an expression of shock on their faces.
“Princess,” Rarity said in surprise. “Applejack went to get some um--”
“Rainbow Roses,” Pinkie Pie interrupted.
“Rainbow Roses?” Cadence and Rainbow Dash said.
“Yes,” Rarity regained her composure. “Rainbow Roses. They are rumored to bring good luck to the bride, groom, and whoever catches the bouquet.”
“Oh, really?” Cadence said.
“Why yes,” Rarity said. “In fact we were just about to help Applejack pick the roses. They are very rare! So we may be fashionably late for the wedding.”
“Very well.” Cadence said. ‘They wouldn't try to find Twilight now. I’d made sure their bonds are severed,’ she thought. “I’ll be preparing for my wedding.” She left the room.
“Phew,” Rainbow Dash said. She looked back to her friends and considered that they might be worried about Applejack. "Alright, you can come.” She flew out the tower.
The other mares went downstairs and followed her to the cave.
Behind the tower, a large crack appeared in the barrier.
In the skies above Canterlot., the windigo adviser was looking at the barrier. He saw the cracks and said, “Yes, soon we shall feast.”
Diamond Dust approached her adviser. She said, “What was yesterday’s ‘presentation’ for anyway?”
“I noticed your servants needed some motivation,” the adviser said.
Diamond Dust was getting concerned. She looked back at Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo’s responses to the rehearsal. She thought, ‘What the hay is this feeling? It feels... wrong.’ She wondered if it had anything to do with the Crusaders. ‘That can’t be right, I’m their queen, I’m superior to them and everypony on this dumb cloud!’ Yet she felt less superior than she was before becoming queen.
“You should get ready,” the adviser said. “The barrier is due to fall soon.”
Diamond Dust trotted away. She still wondered what that feeling was.
In Canterlot’s mines, Applejack, Bon-Bon, and Lyra were looking for anything suspicious.
“Hello, is anypony here?” Applejack said.
The red string was straightening. Lyra strummed the sting and it made a beautiful sound.
Bon-Bon gave Applejack another set of strings. She tied them together and used them to expand the tether.
“So, are you looking for anypony in particular?” Lyra said.
“Depends,” Applejack said. “Why’d you ask?”
“Cause you look kinda down?” Bon-Bon said.
“I don’t wanna talk about it right now,” Applejack said. The three continued their search.
Meanwhile, Twilight and Cadence were still looking for the exit. They saw a strange red string on the ground.
“Huh?” Twilight said. “Cadence, did Chrysalis keep any other prisoners here?”
“No,” Cadence said, “I was the only one she trapped here untill now.”
Twilight heard Applejack’s voice again. It was coming from the cave behind them. She wondered if she really is here. The two followed the string and the voice and took the cave behind them.
Meanwhile, Minuette was patrolling the mine on Chrysalis’ orders. She saw a red string on the ground.
“Well,” Minuette said. “What have we here? An escape line perhaps? Not on my watch.” She used her horn to server the string. “Now to find who’s responsible for this.” She followed the line further into the cave.
Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie went to the mouth of the cave. They saw the lifeline attached to the stalagmite. Rainbow Dash tugged the string, but she pulled too much and the other end of the string flew out of the cave.
The four mares were shocked. They wondered what happened to Applejack.
Rainbow Dash was the most worried. She flew into the cave and the others followed.
Twilight and Cadence followed the string through several caves and shafts until the two saw Applejack, Lyra, and Bon-Bon.
Applejack looked back and saw Twilight and Cadence. She was relieved that Twilight was okay, but confused about Cadence. She noticed that Cadence looked like she hadn’t eaten or slept well in days, a stark contrast to the clean but mean bride-to-be. She was also confused about why Twilight was with her after she accused her of being evil the previous day.
Twilight noticed that the fake Cadence’s ex-bridesmaid and her friend were there.
Applejack approached her friend. “I assume you know why Cadence looks messier than a pig?”
Twilight said, “It’s a long story...” She and Cadence explained about the changeling queen and how she impersonated Cadence and used her form to advance her plans.
A few minutes later, Applejack said, “So you mean to say that this Cadence is the real deal and the one outside the caves is an imposter?”
Twilight nodded.
“And that the imposter wants to use your brother to feed her minions?” Bon-Bon said.
Cadence said, “That‘s right.”
Applejack felt even more regret about not believing Twilight.
Lyra asked, “And that she wants to break the barrier so that her army can feast on all the love in Canterlot?”
“Yes,” Twilight said.
Applejack said, “I’m sorry, sugarcube. I don’t know what came over me, aside from Chrysalis’ lies.”
“It’s alright,” Twilight said. “She fooled us all.” She looked behind her to the string. “We need to get out of here, there’s still a wedding to stop.”
“I don’t think so!”
A voice was heard from where Twilight and Cadence came from. Minuette emerged from the cave. “My mistress wants you nice and trapped here while she marries Shining Armor. You’re not going anywhere.”