It was too chilly. She should really talk to Shining about it. She didn’t want to sound impertinent, but this was ridiculous. She started fumbling around for the blankets. Sheesh, even the bed was uncomfortable. It hadn’t been this hard and lumpy when she went to sleep...
She stopped reaching for the sheets and opened her eyes wide as her sleepy brain finally put everything together. This clearly wasn’t the bedroom. It looked like a cave, one with large, flat crystals that shone like mirrors strewn everywhere.
She tried to quell the rising panic. Somepony must have taken her from her apartments. She’d been kidnapped! She lurched to her feet and trotted over to the wall, looking for an exit. She started trotting faster, eventually breaking into a gallop as she searched along the wall. Nothing.
She shot into the air, rapidly searching the walls for an opening, a crack, anything! But there was nothing. She had just landed, panting, when her reflection in a nearby crystal rippled and gained a sickly green tint.
At first she thought it was still her reflection, that perhaps the crystal was just a different color. But as she looked closer, she saw her face just looked so angry, so cold. It just couldn’t be her reflection. She raised a hoof, hesitantly reaching out toward the mirror...
“Ah, so you’re finally awake. Good.” The image spoke, causing her to jump.
“Who are you? Where am I? Why have you kidnapped me?”
The face rippled with green energy, changing into a horrible, insectile parody of a pony’s, all dark chitin with a long, membranous mane and a smile full of sharp teeth. “I am Queen Chrysalis, Queen of the Changleings, and soon to be Queen of Equestria.” She gave Cadence a nasty smile and her image flared with energy again as she retook her alicorn disguise.
“Your friends call me Cadence. As to ‘kidnapping’ you... well, it seems you’re no longer invited to the wedding. Turns out that there’s some other mare- well, changeling, that has, shall we say, ‘stolen his heart.’” Her voice was full of smug superiority. “Don’t worry, though: I’ll send you a picture. Or maybe... I’ll let you watch, as I make Shining Armor mine and destroy Canterlot.” She started to laugh as the image faded out and she was left staring at her normal reflection again.
She struck the crystal, which did absolutely nothing but hurt her hoof. “Come back! Let me out of here! What have you done to him?” She pounded on the crystal again, to no avail: Chrysalis didn’t return, and the crystal did not yield. She was left alone in the dark. A few hours later, every crystal in her cavern blinked to life.
As promised, Cadence was made to watch, horrified, as the doppelganger manipulated Shining Armor’s mind as he slept, and cemented her hold on him when he awoke. Before her first day in captivity was over, Chrysalis had slid herself seamlessly into Cadence’s life and had Shining Armor’s total devotion and affection.
Cadence soon came to realize that it was that stolen affection which hurt her the most. Everytime Shining told the imposter he loved her she felt a fresh stab of heartache. Whenever they were walking together, planning some little detail of the wedding, she felt pinpricks of jealousy down her spine. And every time they kissed... rage. Pure, unbridled rage.
The intensity of her reactions shocked her. Just yesterday she’d been doubting whether or not she truly loved Shining. But yesterday felt like years ago, when she’d felt so suffocated by everything, felt like she’d had no choice but to resign herself to marriage.
But now that everything was out of reach, now that she’d lost her fiance, she began to see just how much she actually wanted her old life. She started to realize just how much she wanted it back, realized how much wanted to be with him. Maybe she did truly loved him.
As the days passed, despair set in. Nopony seemed to notice Chrysalis was an imposter, not even Celestia, and everything seemed to be going Chrysalis’s way. Cadence scuffed a hoof across the rocky ground as she curled herself into a fitful ball.
Whether she loved Shining or not didn’t matter anymore. It was too late: the wedding was only three days away and she was still trapped, helpless in her prison. Nopony was even looking for her. What did it matter? She curled up tighter.
Her captor reappeared in the mirror, if anything more smug than before. “So? Are you enjoying the show?”
She didn’t turn around, didn’t even move. “Go away. Just... leave me alone.”
“Oh, I couldn’t do that. I had something to ask of you.”
She did turn at that, lifting her head to stare at her in disbelief. She gave a sarcastic, stunted half-chuckle. “What more could you possibly want from me? You’ve already taken everything!”
“No!” For a split second, Chrysalis lost her contented smile, a snarling, hateful grimace flashing across her face, before she snapped back to her smirk. “At least... not yet. Soon enough.” She leaned in closer, seeming to almost pop out of the mirror. “I wanted to make you an offer. Simply do something for me, something very simple, and I can make all this go away.”
“What, you’d just let me go?” She gave a dry snort. “I find that hard to believe.”
“I didn’t say that. No, I hope you understand that I can’t set you free. I would, however, provide you with a much more comfortable existence down here. A bed, pillows...” She chuckled. “Food and water, even. Anything you want, within reason of course, to live out your life comfortably. And all you have to do is admit to me, here and now, that you don’t love Shining Armor. Sounds reasonable enough, doesn’t it?”
Her breath caught, and she stood up slowly. She knew it was wrong, but she felt a strong urge to just give Chrysalis what she wanted. It was a seemingly small thing to ask. And for food and water? Her cheeks flushed red with embarrassment at how good something so simple sounded.
There was some condensation in the cave and she could go longer than normal ponies without food, but even alicorns couldn’t survive indefinitely without sustenance. Even if it was a trick, what did she have to lose? Her dignity? She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She couldn’t say it. She strained, forced her lips to move, but what she said surprised her. “I... can’t. I love him.” It was but a tremulous whisper.
Chrysalis laughed derisively. “Oh, stop lying to yourself. Trust me, Cadence; I’m a master of love, and it’s quite obvious to me that you do not love him.”
She started to breathe a bit faster. No, it wasn’t true, was it? She did love him. She did.
“Just admit it.”
“No.”
“Cadence, accept the truth. You thought you did, but you didn’t, so you did something foalish. Tell the—”
“No!” She charged at the hated image, smashing her hoof into the mirror and breaking off a tiny chip from its surface. “I won’t say it! I won’t!” She stood, panting and staring defiantly at her captor.
For the first time Cadence had seen, Chrysalis seemed taken aback for a moment, before scowling at her. “Fine. I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.” The image in the mirror winked out and Cadence was left alone again.
Her breathing slowed as she gradually regained control of herself, her brief flare of defiance petering out as she curled herself back up again. Well, she thought, that’s that then. I’m going to die here, all because I was too angry to think rationally. Stupid.
But no matter how she berated herself, she couldn’t help but feel her knot of confusion over Shining loosen a bit more. She felt more sure of herself now, more sure that her love was real. Or maybe, she thought with a rueful smile, I just hate Chrysalis that much. For the first since her captivity began, her face bore a small smile.
Her better mood didn’t last very long once Chrysalis’s mirror flared to life again the next morning. It seemed the changeling was exacting revenge for Cadence’s defiance; she was constantly romancing Shining, brushing up against him, giving him little kisses throughout the day, flirting, and generally spending every waking moment in some form of lovey-dovey pursuit. She was the perfect image of an enamoured bride-to-be.
Strangely, she didn’t feel nearly as depressed as before. Now, what she felt most was anger: anger that somepony could do something like this to her, to Shining Armor. If she could only get out of here, she’d show Chrysalis a thing or two...
Her vivid fantasies of bucking the changeling queen out of a palace window were interrupted as she caught something Shining was saying. She refocused her attention on the mirror and listened intently. “Oh, before I forget, I got a letter from Twily today. She said she’ll be here tomorrow.”
Chrysalis stopped batting her eyes at him and recoiled from the stallion. “What?! Twilight Sparkle?! Who invited—” She shot a poisonous look through the mirror at Cadence, who was nearly giggling at the changeling’s consternation. Served her right.
Shining frowned, his brows furrowing in confusion. “...You did, honey. Besides, it’s not like I could refuse to invite my own sister to our wedding. Why, what’s-ngghhh-what’s wrong?” He grimaced, and brought a hoof to his head.
Chrysalis quickly regained her composure and attended to Shining, her voice a soothing and calming, like a siren’s song. “Oh, nothing, dear. Nothing is wrong.” Her horn glowed with a green magic that reflected in Shining’s eyes. “I just forgot I invited her for a moment. Wedding nerves, I guess. Why don’t you go back home and wait for me? I’ll be there in a little bit.”
Shining nodded slowly, his voice a soft monotone. “Yes, of course...I’ll wait for you in our room... See you soon... Love you.”
As he walked off, Chrysalis focused her attention on Cadence, her face livid. “You couldn’t just let it go, could you? You had to try and drag in another. Drag her into this. Trying to distract me.”
For once, Cadence was the one with the smug smile. “Awww, what’s wrong?” Her mocking tone provoked a snarl from her imposter. “Are you nervous, now? Are you afraid?” Her smile vanished as she spoke more seriously. “You should be. Even if Twilight and I aren’t quite as close as we used to be, she’ll see you for what you really are. She’ll expose you! And cast you down!”
“No!” Chrysalis’s shout reverberated throughout the cavern and Cadence shot her hooves to her ears to try and stave off the ringing. “This is between you and me, Cadence! You should never have brought her into this! She doesn’t belong here!”
Cadence brought her hooves down, and felt a small smile creep to her face. It seemed she’d struck a nerve. Time to hammer at it. “Twilight will get rid of you! You’ll see. She’ll find out the truth.”
Chrysalis opened her mouth, then stopped, thoughtful, before closing it again with a wicked smile. Cadence faltered slightly, her smile fading to a small frown. What had she missed that could cause Chrysalis to go from furious back to smug so suddenly?
“And what if she does, Cadence?” She gave a nasty chuckle and arched an eyebrow at her. “Hmm? What if Twilight does find out the truth? All of it, the real truth... and tells her brother your dirty little secret?”
Cadence recoiled from the mirror. How did she know? How could she possibly know that?
Upon seeing Cadence pull away, the changeling’s grin turned feral. “Well, then you’d be out, true, but...” She gave Cadence a look of mock sympathy. “I doubt Twilight would care much for you, and Shining... well, you can imagine how upset he’d be.”
Her sympathetic frown changed back to a satisfied smile. “Now, If you’ll excuse me, I have a fiance waiting for me. It’s a big day tomorrow, after all. I have to meet the best mare.” The mirror rippled and Chrysalis started to disappear.
Cadence charged the crystal, pounding futily on the mirror as Chrysalis vanished, her strikes eventually petering out. She felt her earlier hope drain out of her like water from a sieve, and she finally felt fear, though not for herself. However she’d found out, and however much Cadence hated to admit it, Chrysalis was right. That vile little insect was right.
If Twilight found out the truth and told everypony, she’d lose Shining Armor for sure. But she didn’t want Chrysalis to hurt Twilight! And if Twilight couldn’t stop her, who knew what she’d do? Yes, it was best to hope that Twilight would win... only then she’d lose her fiance forever. Some true love that’d be. And it wasn’t as if Twilight would talk to her. She’d be alienated forever.
She flopped back to the ground and started sobbing at the hopelessness of it all. “What am I going to do?”
The mirror flared to life again the next day as Chrysallis climbed the steps of the tower. “You know, I really didn’t need this, Cadence. My wedding’s tomorrow, and I really don’t have time to deal with your problematic little pen-pal.
Cadence snorted at the insult. “Twilight and I are good friends. Best friends! She knows me, and she’ll know you’re not me!”
She tsked. “Writing her letters when you have the time hardly makes you best friends. She’s been slipping away from you since Celestia took her as a student. Now she has new best friends, and you aren’t among them.” She stopped in from of the door and turned to look straight at her. “She used to know you, Cadence. The old you.” She gave a cold smile. “Let’s see how she likes the new you.”
Cadence shot her a hateful glare. Would she never be satisfied with how thoroughly she had ruined her life? Why did she always seek to further destroy it? “Will you leave me nothing at all, you witch?” But it went unheard; Chrysalis had already turned away, either no longer listening or actively ignoring her.
Chrysalis opened the door, clearing her throat pompously. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything important!” Cadence saw Twilight again, for the first time in years. She had grown into a fine looking young mare. Cadence’s eyes watered, and she reached up to wipe at them with a hoof.
She’d grown up so much, it was hard to believe she was the same little filly from her younger years. She so wished she could have been the one there, meeting her. She had so much to ask her: everything she’d learned, how her studies were, whether she’d met anypony-
“Cadence!” Twilight ran up to the imposter, and started to sing as she acted out their old hoof game. “Sunshine sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!”
Cadence found herself mirroring the unicorn before she could stop herself. She looked at her hooves in disbelief, then shook her head slowly. It was infectious.
Chrysalis looked rather taken aback. “...What are you doing?”
Twilight looked at her questioningly before she regained her composure. “Cadence, it’s me! Twilight!”
“Uh huh.” She walked past her nonchalantly to stand beside Shining Armor, who embraced her.
The hurt look on Twilight’s face was reflected on Cadence’s own. How low of her. It was bad enough she was impersonating her and stealing her fiance, but now she was intentionally ruining her relationship with Twilight.
Cadence was unsurprised to see Shining Armor didn’t notice the strangeness of the supposed reunion. He was so deeply enthralled Chrysalis could have thrown Twilight off the bridge and he wouldn’t have batted an eye. He gave his sister an ecstatic smile. “I've gotta get back to my station, but Cadance will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going. I think I speak for both of us when I say we couldn't be more excited to have you here. Right, dear?”
“Absolutely.” The imposter didn’t even bother to disguise her hatred, fixing Twilight with a malicious gaze. Twilight recoiled, and Cadence couldn’t blame her.
Cadence turned to a nearby crystal and tried to imitate the stare. Did she really look that scary when she got angry? She turned back as the couple left Twilight on the bridge, staring at Twilight over the shoulder of the retreating Chyrsalis.
“Come on, Twilight,” she called out to the unhearing pony, placing a hoof on the mirror over the image of Twilight, trying to reach out to her. “That isn’t me. You know it isn’t me.” Twilight hung her head and began to walk away as the door shut behind Shining Armor. “...Don’t you?” Cadence dropped her hoof from the mirror dejectedly, her pleas unanswered.
It was not her last chance to see Twilight. Indeed, she was a common fixture as Chrysalis went on a tour of terror through the wedding preparations, yelling at workers, scoffing at their efforts, and generally making her look like the most pompous mare in Equestria.
She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or upset by the sort of stares Twilight was starting to throw her double’s way. However good it was to finally see somepony not take Chrysalis for granted, it hurt to see Twilight think of her in such a venomous way.
She just hoped Twilight would hate her enough to stop her.
Chrysalis sat in Shining’s bedroom, brushing her mane and humming an idle tune. She turned to look at Cadence. “How could you entrust your wedding to such horrible amateurs?” She snorted. “I suppose you just couldn’t resist making the wedding even more of an atrocity.”
“I thought most of it was nice! You just couldn’t—”
Chrysalis had stopped listening, and had her head perked as if listening to something else. “Later.”
“No, now, you slimy little...” It was no use. Chrysalis was ignoring her again.
She cracked open the bedroom door and Twilight’s voice drifted up from the living room. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Ugh. Why can’t she just leave us alone?” She strode out to the top of the stairs and cleared her throat loudly. Shining and Twilight both turned to face her.
Shining recovered first. “Oh, uh, hi Sweetie.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes and muttered something under her breath.
Chrysalis descended, staring coldly at them both. “Could I speak to you for a moment, dear?” Her vehemence made clear it was not a request. She turned without waiting for a response and stalked off toward the study.
Shining Armor followed quickly, and barely had the door shut before she rounded on him. “Look, we need to talk.”
He held up a hoof placatingly. “I'm here to talk. I—look, she's okay—”
She slapped his hoof down. “Just listen to me.”
“I’m listening, I’m listening.”
As the two bickered, Cadence caught a brief flicker of motion out of the corner of her eye. She looked back to the study door, and saw Twilight peeking in on the two.
Chrysalis, still engrossed and facing the wrong way, didn’t seem to notice. She cut off Shining’s argument with a powerful burst of her magic. Cadence saw Twilight gasp and dart away from the door, and a hard smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. “Just you wait, monster,” she whispered. “Now Twilight knows for sure.”
“..Because you're evil! Evil! And if I don't stop you, you're gonna ruin my brother's life! Evil!”
Cadence could have cheered, and she heaved a deep sigh of relief as Twilight laid it out for the other ponies. Surely now, they’d investigate the impostor, and they’d see it wasn’t her! Surely now... She saw the horrified looks on the assembled ponies as Chrysalis fled from the grand hall, ‘crying’ her eyes out.
Her heart sunk as she heard Shining berate his sister for jumping to the correct conclusions, heard Celestia’s cold disapproval as she too scolded her. Chrysalis’s tears cut off as soon as she turned the corner, and the changeling gave Cadence a confident smile. “Any more forlorn hopes, Cadence? Any other ponies to throw between us? Face it, you’ve lost.”
She really wasn’t in the mood for gloating. “You’re a sick, twisted creature.”
Chrysalis laughed. “You’re the only pony who seems to think so. Don’t worry: you won’t have to go through with the wedding after all. Isn’t that what you wanted? Isn’t that what you secretly hoped for, deep-”
“Shut up.” Cadance’s anger didn’t reach her voice, she sounded calm. Dangerously calm. She’d finally gotten so angry, so frustrated with the changeling, that she’d forgotten about everything else; the hopelessness of her entrapment, the self doubt, even all her doubts, were burned from her by fury. All she could think of was a heartbroken Twilight, and Shining Armor chained to Chrysalis for the rest of his life.
The changeling started, taken aback by her sudden change.
“This has gone on for too long! Well, I’m not going to just sit here anymore! I’m not going to give up on them! I won’t let you hurt Twilight, or Shining, like that again! You hear that, you slimesucking drama queen?! I will stop you!”
“Her again. Again! Always between the issue. You still can’t admit how you really
dare hurt her!” Cadence screamed, pounding on the mirror frantically as Chrysalis smirked, and surrounded Twilight in a dome of green flame. “No! No! Stop it!” But the flame cleared, and Twilight was gone. Her hooves didn’t slow. Why hadn’t she fought harder? What had she ever just given up? Now, for her own stupidity, Twilight was gone. Her hooves started to hurt, but she didn’t stop, a low growl building up to a wordless shout.
Suddenly, much to her surprise, the wall and mirror in front of her exploded. She jumped back in surprise, coughing from the dust raised by the rubble. There was no way she’d hit it that hard, had she? As the dust cleared, she saw Twilight stand in the newly created hole in the wall.
She felt her heart unclench. Twilight was alive! Twilight was okay! Twilight... looked pretty mad. Cadence’s eyes widened as she realized that Twilight had reason to hate anypony looking like her. She managed to get out a startled “Wait!” before she was slammed into the ground by the unicorn. “It’s me!”
“Prove it!”
She blinked, at a loss as to how, then settled for their old fillyhood pattycake game. Twilight looked a little surprised, then let her up. “It’s you.” Twilight hugged her, and she closed her eyes, leaning against the mare, and for just a moment, everything was all right again. She opened her eyes, looking over Twilight’s shoulder, face pulling back into a determined grin as she saw a small spark of light from the cave Twilight had come from. There was an exit now.
It was time to stop standing helplessly, and try and right things. It was time to crash her wedding.
She only hoped she wasn’t too late.