The months began passing by, and life was back and forth between Canterlot and Ponyville. I mostly stuck with my duties in the Royal Guard, but every now and then I was pulled into some party by Pinkie Pie or challenged to a new race by Rainbow Dash. I never won, but it gave me an excuse to practice new maneuvers on my sword since the races tended to be in some ridiculous places. I was really getting the hang of stunt flying. I did win once though, when I accidentally let too much magic surge into my sword and went spiraling out of control and past Rainbow, crashing into her in the process.
“What the hay is up with your sword, anyway?” she asked back on the ground, dusting herself off and clearly upset at the loss. “I thought unicorns weren’t able to fly like that.”
“They aren’t,” Twilight said, having been watching most of our races, though she seemed more interested in my sword than the races. “At least not easily.”
I shrugged. “It’s enchanted.”
“What sort of enchantment? I’ve never seen one that lets a unicorn fly well enough to compete against a pegasus, especially against Rainbow Dash.”
“It’s a basic enchantment, just meant for ease of use. I don’t know how it can do what it does.”
Twilight tilted her head. “Have you studied it at all?”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Eggheads. I’m outta here. See ya later, Sword.”
I gave Rainbow a salute as she flew off, then looked back at Twilight. “No, I haven’t. Didn’t really think about it.”
Twilight glanced up at the sky thoughtfully for a second. “Would you mind if I borrowed it to study? I’m sure I could learn something useful about it.”
I glanced back at my sword and formed it into a belt around my waist. “I can’t, but maybe another time when I don’t have as much work to do.” Really I didn’t trust her with my sword. I didn’t trust anypony with it. What if they broke the enchantment somehow?
“Oh, of course. Another time then.” She turned and began walking off. “I’ve gotta go finish up my costume, but I hope you enjoy Nightmare Night tomorrow! It's gonna be great.”
Nightmare Night… I remembered that holiday. I was never allowed to participate in it as a young colt. As anything, really. I was dressing up as a Royal Guard for tomorrow’s Nightmare Night, since I’d be working. Didn’t much care for the celebration.
That night passed, autumn passed, winter arrived and then passed, all without much interest going on. Twilight had taken charge of Ponyville’s Winter Wrap Up, though I didn’t participate besides shoveling the snow off my roof and around my door with my sword. By the time I arrived in Canterlot, winter had already been wrapped up. I was on wall patrol for most of the day, but nearing the end of my shift Shining Armor called me into his office at the barracks.
“What’s up, Captain?” I asked, sitting down opposite of him.
“I’ve been reviewing your service records,” he said, levitating some papers onto the table in front of us.
“Oh. Is there something wrong with them?” I dearly hoped not.
Shining Armor shook his head. “Not at all. They’ve been quite impressive, actually, which is why I’m promoting you to Lieutenant now.”
My mouth dropped and I twitched my ear, wondering if I had heard right. “Lieutenant?”
He nodded. “That’s right. I could use another Lieutenant, and you were the perfect choice. You make good calls, you can handle paperwork, and I’d almost say you’re as organized as my sister, though that might be pushing it. Can I trust you with this?”
I stood up and gave the most formal salute I could. “Absolutely. What would you have your Lieutenant do?”
Shining Armor smiled. “I knew I could count on you.” He levitated a small, red box onto the table and opened it. Inside was a golden ring with three small diamonds mounted on it. “I need your help with something.”
I looked at the ring confusedly. “What are—wait, is this what I think it is?”
He nodded. “What do you think?”
I looked back at him blankly. “I think you promoted me just to pull me into one of your romantic schemes.”
He grinned. “Did it work?”
I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Yes.”
“Alright, so here’s the plan. Cadance and I are going to dinner at Olive Farm this evening. I want you to be the one serving us. Before we get there, however, I need you to take the ring-case and hide it in the middle of our reserved table, however you can. Use flowers or something, but make it look normal. After you deliver our drinks I’ll do the rest.”
I chuckled. “Sounds cheesy, but I’ll do it. I shall dub the plan ‘Operation PTC’ for ‘Propose to Cadance’.”
“And you call me cheesy. You’ll need to be dressed for this. You still have that tuxedo, right?”
I nodded. “Back in Ponyville. One moment.”
I cast a sight spell on my sword and levitated it out of the barracks and off to Ponyville, faster than an arrow. It quickly reached my home and I slipped it through a crack in an open window. It took me only a few seconds to find the tuxedo folded in my dresser. I had my sword grab it and then teleported it back to me.
Shining Armor shook his head with wonder. “That will never fail to impress me. Anyway, I’m going to get dressed and meet up with Cadance. You hurry up and get out of that armor and into your suit, I’ll want everything to be perfect when we get to Olive Farm.”
I nodded and magically began unstrapping my armor. “You got it. Operation PTC is a go.”
With Shining Armor’s ring-case hidden in my tux, I made my way to Olive Farm, one of the fanciest restaurants in Canterlot. I had never eaten there myself, but I remembered that my parents had on occasion. I hoped everything would go according to pl—
“Oof!”
A rock!? I seriously tripped on a rock? Stupid rock!
I quickly stood up and dusted myself off, and panicked when I couldn’t feel the ring-case on me anymore. I looked up and noticed it floating in somepony’s magic—Cadance’s magic.
“Are you all right?” she asked obliviously. “You dropped this.”
I blinked and took the ring-case into my own magic and put it back inside my tux. “I’m fine, thanks. Where are you off to dressed like that?” Like I didn’t know, but it was a beautiful dress.
Cadance smiled. “I’m meeting up with Shining Armor for dinner, that’s all. So, who’s the lucky mare, and why didn’t you tell me?”
I tilted my head. “Huh?”
“Don’t be coy, I know a ring-case when I see one. You’re dressed up like you’re off on some date to propose, too. So, what’s her name?”
Ponyfeathers, why did I have to get caught up in this? Ugh! I was never very good at lying with a straight face. “Nopony, it was just a gift from my mom… she made me promise to use it one day. I was just having dinner with her, which is why I’m all dressed up still.”
She eyed me suspiciously. “I see. Well, I hope you find the right mare one day. Have a nice evening!”
I forced a smile. “Thanks, you too.”
Continuing on, my head nearly blew off. That could’ve gone a lot worse. It also could’ve been completely avoided. I shuddered and quickened my pace whenever I thought of any way it could’ve gone worse.
I made it to Olive Farm. It was very well lit, with colorful raindrop chandeliers and dark, intricate tables and wood-paneled walls to contrast. It wasn’t crowded tonight, which was nice. I walked up to one of the staff and asked for the manager, stating it was for Royal Guard business. The manager came out and I explained the situation and showed him the ring. He loved the plan and was ecstatic of the news. I was brought a giant bouquet of flowers to hide the ring-case in, along with a silver platter to serve Shining Armor and Cadance with.
“If there’s anything you need, just give a holler,” he said. “I’ll let the staff know what’s going on.”
I set the bouquet up on Cadance’s and Shining Armor's reserved table, and a few minutes later they walked in. Shining Armor glanced at me, and I winked in return. Cadance was surprised to see me, and totally suspicious, but Shining Armor explained he preferred to have a friend serving them tonight, and I had volunteered. That only seemed to make her more suspicious.
I took their orders and brought them their drinks, and as I set them on the table Shining Armor cleared his throat.
“Cadance, there is something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” he said.
Cadance took a sip of her drink and looked at him with an oblivious smile. “What is it?”
As Shining Armor continued, Cadance’s smile only widened. “It’s been a long time since we first met each other. The first day I saw you, I couldn’t describe how beautiful you were. I still can’t manage that today. It isn’t only your wonderful eyes or your amazing smile, but who you are in your heart that makes you beautiful. There came a point in our relationship where I knew I wanted to see you every day, to be by your side for the rest of my life.” He got up from his chair and knelt down in front of Cadance, and I could tell there were tears forming in her eyes. “After all the time we've spent together, I truly believe I’ve found the one mare for me.” He levitated the ring-case out of the bouquet and opened it before her. “My Princess, Mi Amore Cadenza, will you marry me?”
Cadance gave a soft gasp at the ring and looked at me. I could only grin like a moron, and I’m sure most of the restaurant staff was watching with smiles too. She looked back at Shining Armor, tears streaming down her face. “Sh-Shining Armor… I don’t know what to say.”
“You could say yes,” I said.
“You won’t only be gaining a husband, you’ll be getting a pretty great sister, too,” Shining Armor said.
Cadance laughed and tackled him with a hug. “Yes, yes, Shining Armor, I will marry you! I love you!” She kissed him, and everyone in the restaurant applauded. I could only breathe a sigh of relief and then go back and bring them their dinner. Operation PTC was a success.
For the rest of the evening Shining Armor and Cadance ate and discussed plans for the wedding. I sat by and was forced to give whatever opinions and answers I had when they asked during conflicting ideas. I wasn’t exactly a master wedding planner though.
On and off throughout the next two months they continued to discuss wedding plans. I thought it was ridiculous that it could take them so long, but eventually all the plans were settled, to the relief of everyone. I spent most of my time with my nose buried in the new paperwork that I had to do, now that I was a Lieutenant. Shining Armor was also grateful for the help in keeping the Royal Guard organized while he got wedding plans smoothed out.
Of course I had to work overtime to make sure that happened, while missing out on a dragon attack in Ponyville—thank Celestia my house hadn’t gotten smashed—or Cerberus breaking loose, but luckily Twilight and her friends had that and whatever else happened in Ponyville covered while I was busy. I certainly wasn’t upset about missing Hearts and Hooves day.
Shortly after Shining Armor’s and Cadance’s wedding plans were finished—which consisted of not having any plans and letting Princess Celestia be in charge of preparations and helping her figure it out as they went, apparently—all that planning for nothing—we received word of a threat against Canterlot. We weren’t sure what sort of threat, it was incredibly vague, but it was serious. Cadance was worried about the wedding plans, as was Princess Celestia, so they had Shining Armor put the Royal Guard on full alert and cast a protection spell over the city. A rather impressive one, at that. I didn’t even think I could create as big a one using my sword.
As preparations for the wedding began, Cadance seemed to begin acting a bit off. I was often on duty in the castle, and whenever I saw Cadance out of the corner of my eye, she was frowning and acted generally unhappy. That wasn’t like her, and it made me worried. She seemed to fake her smiles when working with the ponies preparing her wedding, even among Twilight and her friends whom Celestia had invited to help handle the preparations. The only time it didn’t look fake was when she was around Shining Armor.
Bah, she was probably just nervous about the wedding. That made enough sense. I had heard weddings do strange things to ponies. As I was leaving the castle in the evening, however, I overheard Twilight talking to her friends at a table.
“—I’m sure it’s the result of being an awful pony who doesn’t deserve to even know Shining Armor, let alone marry him!” she was saying.
“Think maybe you’re bein’ just a tiny bit possessive of your brother?” Applejack asked.
The rest of them nodded with a unified “Uh-huh.”
“I am not being possessive, and I am not taking it out on Cadance!” Twilight said. “You’re all just too caught up in your wedding planning to notice that maybe there shouldn’t even be a wedding!”
Huh, so Twilight was suspicious of Cadance too. What did she call her? An awful pony who doesn’t deserve to even know Shining Armor? Buck, that’s harsh. Something was definitely wrong with Cadance, but enough to cancel the entire wedding? I doubted that was going to happen.
The next morning I visited Cadance’s door and knocked. “Cadance, are you feeling all right today? You haven’t been acting like yourself lately.”
Cadance’s muffled voice answered. “I’m fine! You don’t need to be checking up on me.” She didn’t even bother opening the door.
“Are you absolutely sure?”
“I said I’m fine. I promise. Now go, I need to get ready for the rehearsal!”
I frowned and walked around the corner then took out my sword. Making it paper thin, I cast a sight spell on it and levitated it under Cadance’s door until the tip came out the other side. I didn’t want to spy on her, but something was wrong, and I spotted a clue as to why. As she used her magic to pick up a hairbrush, the aura around it was green, but Cadance was supposed to have a light blue aura.
I quickly brought my sword back to me. That was convincing enough that she wasn’t the actual Cadance, or if she was, something was seriously wrong with her. Perhaps she was under a spell, or she was sick in some way and didn’t know it. Shining Armor had to be warned.
I made my way to the rehearsal room, but opening the doors I was stopped short by the guards on the other side.
“You’ll have to wait, Lieutenant,” one of them said in a whisper. “Princess Celestia doesn’t want any interruptions with the rehearsal.”
I sighed in aggravation. “But it’s important.”
The guards only shook their heads, so I walked back down the hall. A moment later Cadance strolled by and entered the room, then Twilight came running after only seconds after.
“I’m here!” I heard her shout. “I’m not gonna stand next to her, and neither should you!”
The doors swung closed, and there was silence. I ran back and put my ear to it. I had to know what was going on in there.
“You have to listen to me!” Twilight continued.
“Oh, goodness! Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Ya sure about that?” Applejack asked.
“I’ve got something to say! She’s evil! 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—!”
I heard Cadance gasp and start crying. “Why are you doing this to me!?” I heard her galloping towards the doors and—OOF! Why was I standing here again!?
“Because you’re evil!” Twilight teleported into the doorway. “Evil! And if I don’t stop you you’re going to ruin my brother’s life!”
I heard Shining Armor speak up. “You want to know why my eyes went all—? Because ever since I started having to perform my protection spell, I’ve been getting terrible migraines. Cadance hasn’t been casting spells on me, she’s been using her magic to heal me! And she decided to replace her bridesmaids because she found out the only reason they wanted to be in the wedding was so that they could meet Canterlot royalty! 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!"
“I was just trying to—”
“She’s been completely stressed out because it’s really important to her that our big day be perfect! Something that obviously wasn’t important to you… Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go and comfort my bride. 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.”
From behind the door, being squished into the wall, I caught glimpses of Shining Armor and Twilight’s friends walking down the hall and around a corner.
“You have a lot to think about,” I heard Princess Celestia say shortly before she walked out of the room and slammed the doors, freeing me with a gasp.
“Ow… thank you, Princess Celestia,” I said, rubbing my head. “There’s something I need to talk to you about Cadance, though.”
Celestia continued to walk past. “Not now, Lieutenant.”
I followed her down the hall and around the corner. “This is important, Your Highness, and I must ask you listen. Before the rehearsal, I noticed the color of Cadance’s magic aura wasn’t right. It was green, not blue. Twilight might be right. The Cadance I knew isn’t evil, but the way she’s been acting, I don’t think that’s really her. I don’t think it’s stress.”
Celestia sighed. “You’ll need proof if I’m to believe that. It’s perfectly normal with the way she’s been acting lately, weddings can be extremely stressful when you want them to be perfect. Perhaps you don’t know Cadance as well as you think.”
I grimaced. “Princess, with all due respect, Canterlot is in danger. With the recent threat and Cadance’s sudden change in attitude, don’t you think it’s at least a little too coincidental?”
“I know perfectly well the danger Canterlot is in, Lieutenant, you do not need to remind me. Shining Armor’s protection spell will be enough. Now if you’ll excuse me, the wedding is going to start soon.”
I stopped and watched as Celestia disappeared down another hall.
Ugh, she doesn’t believe me or Twilight! How could it not be obvious!? It should be so obvious to anypony who’s known Cadance before she began acting so strange. Rrrgh. There was only one thing left to do.
I turned around and ran back to the rehearsal room, but it was empty. Looking through the halls, Twilight was nowhere in sight. Where could she have gone? I was probably the only pony to believe her, and she disappears like this. Maybe she took a walk outside… Nope. Maybe she’s in her guest room at the castle… Nope.
A crowd was beginning to gather in the courtyards for the wedding. It was starting. With some reluctance, I made my way back to the rehearsal room and took a spot at the back just in time. The doors opened, the music began, and Cadance walked up the red carpet to Shining Armor and Princess Celestia. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
The music silenced and Celestia began the ceremony. “Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor…”
I didn’t pay attention to the rest of it, I was too busy keeping an eye on Cadance. Her cold demeanor seemed to have vanished, but she didn’t seem as thrilled about the wedding as I thought she should be. Celestia was about to pronounce the two mare and colt, when somepony shouted.
“Stoooop!”
I looked back, and Twilight was standing in the doorway.
“Ugh! Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?” Cadance asked with annoyance. She looked back at Celestia and forced sobbing. “Why does she have to ruin my special day?”
Cadance—the real Cadance—walked in and stood beside Twilight. “Because it’s not your special day, it’s mine!”
The fake Cadance gaped. “What!? But how did you escape my bridesmaids?”
The real Cadance explained how she and Twilight had escaped the bridesmaids in the crystal dungeons beneath the castle by distracting them with a bouquet.
The fake snorted. “Clever. But you’re still too late.”
“I-I don’t understand,” Applejack said. “How can there be two of ‘em?”
Cadance pointed at the fake and looked through the crowd. “She’s a changeling. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them.”
The fake began channeling magic, and a pillar of green magical energy burst from the ground and surrounded her. In the panicked gasps, I quickly slipped out the door and began running off to find the chamber of the Elements of Harmony. Something told me they would be needed to defeat this changeling.
I made it outside, jumped on my sword and began flying for the building the Elements were held in. I reached it quickly, but before I could enter, a loud cracking came from above. Looking up, a swarm of changelings were pounding on Shining Armor’s protection shield, and with a thunderous shatter, it broke and faded. Changelings began flooding into Canterlot.
With a panicked burst of magic, I flew into the chamber and rushed over to the sealed door the Elements were stored in and thrust my horn into the keyhole, but it was too short. I couldn’t unlock it. I jumped off my sword and reshaped it to fit into the keyhole, but as I did, a swarm of changelings burst in and rushed me. I pulled my sword out of the keyhole, shaped it into a giant club and swung at them, cleaving swarm after swarm of changelings. There were too many though, and the club wasn’t enough. I was forced back into a corner, so I shaped my sword into a protective dome with air holes. It was all I could do to stop the changelings, though they remained outside hissing and pounding on my sword.
Come on, think! How could I get the Elements to Twilight and her friends? Perhaps they were trying to reach the Elements themselves at this point. At this rate, I could only wait for them.
A few minutes later, the pounding on my sword stopped. I made one of the air holes bigger and peeked outside. The changelings were gone. I reshaped my sword and plugged it back into the keyhole, and the door finally unlocked, when something struck the back of my head.
I awoke with a gasp and looked around. The chamber was empty, the door holding the Elements of Harmony hanging open and untouched. No changelings in sight. The one who’d posed as Cadance must still be at the wedding. I levitated the box containing the Elements out and jumped on my sword, racing outside and back into the castle, seeing no changelings on the way. Bursting into the rehearsal room, I jumped off my sword with a tumble and levitated the box of Elements forward.
“I’ve got the Elements, we can stop the changelings!” I said, blinking in confusion as I realized there were no changelings in the room and everypony was staring at me, who then burst out laughing.
Cadance stepped forward with a smile. “It’s okay, they’re all gone.”
Celestia also stepped forward. “The power of true love has proved itself more powerful than Queen Chrysalis could ever expect.”
I blinked again. I hadn't expected that either. “Oh. Good.”
Everyone laughed again, and Celestia looked between them all before settling back on me with a frown. “I must apologize for doubting you, Swordulan.” She looked to Twilight. “You as well, Twilight. Had I not brushed aside your claims against Cadance so quickly and instead listened, this might’ve all been prevented.”
“All is forgiven, Princess,” Twilight said.
I nodded. “What’s done is done. All that matters is that Canterlot is safe and the wedding can go on as planned.”
“Speaking of which, shouldn’t we get this wedding going already!?” Pinkie Pie asked.
Everyone agreed and began helping clean up the mess that remained. It was a scramble to set everything back up, but within half an hour everything was spotless and organized. I even had enough time to fly my sword home to fetch my tuxedo. I had my previous spot in the back as the wedding began, music and all. Cadance—the real Cadance, I was sure!—finally walked up the red carpet with a group of fillies—whom I recognized as the Cutie Mark Crusaders from back in Ponyville—leading the way with flower baskets. Cadance stepped onto the platform with Shining Armor, and Celestia began the ceremony, for the second, and hopefully last, time.
“Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza—”
“Princess Cadance is fine,” Cadance said.
“Hm. The union of Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. The strength of their commitment is clear. The power of their love, undeniable. May we have the rings please?” Spike brought the rings forward and Celestia placed them on Shining Armor’s and Cadance’s horns. “I now pronounce you mare and colt.”
The crowd cheered, and Shining Armor and Cadance walked out onto the balcony, looking down at all the citizens of Canterlot. They shared a kiss, and Rainbow Dash flew out and performed a sonic rainboom. I still envied her of that.
With the ceremony over, the reception began. There was music, a song, dancing, delicious food and drink. I got a few pictures taken with Cadance and Shining Armor. I performed a few flying tricks on my sword for fun. In the midst of it all, I had forgotten Shining Armor tasked me to drive their carriage, and finally remembered at the last second as they were climbing in. I dashed into the driver seat and shaped my sword to fit the reins, then magically pulled us off into the moonlight.
Doubtful that this was going to be the last of my crazy adventures.