//------------------------------// // Chapter 51: Into The Fire // Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// Princess Celestia listened patiently and carefully, while Twilight told her story. By the time Twilight was finished, she looked like she was on the verge of panic. "What are we going to do, Princess?!" Twilight asked nervously, hoping that her teacher would have an answer "I don't want to lose Cadence, or my B.B.B.F.F! We've got to resuce them!" Princess Celestia nodded silently, before she spoke up in a soothing but serious tone of voice "Twilight, please calm down," she instructed "Take some deep breaths, and relax. You can't think clearly when your mind is in this state of anxiety." Reluctantly, Twilight obeyed Princess Celestia's instructions, and took some deep breaths. Sure enough, the deep breathing did the trick, and her mind reverted to its usual relaxed state "So, what are we going to do?" she asked Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia frowned "We must find the real Princess Cadence, before it's too late," she said to Twilight "Unfortunately, we don't know where she is, or if she's even still alive." "She's alive, I know she is!" Twilight insisted "We've got to find her!" Princess Celestia continued to frown "Even if you are right, if we confront the imposter Cadence, there's no telling what she might do to the real Princess Cadence. She might hurt or even kill her, or possibly even use her as a bargining chip to force our hoof." "But, there's got to be a way to free Cadence and save my brother, there has to be!" Twilight said seriously. In response to that, Princess Celestia took another deep breath, and looked Twilight in the eyes. "There is one way we might be able to find the real Cadence before the wedding. But, you won't like it." And she whispered her plan into Twilight's ear. "That can't be the only way to find her!" Twilight pleaded "It can't be!" "I'm afraid the only other option would be to tear up all of Canterlot and even beyond in order to find her," Princess Celestia said glumly "That could take days, possibly even weeks. But if it has to be done, then so be it! I will not put you in danger!" "No, we've got to save them, now!" Twilight insisted "If your plan is the only way to do so, I'll co-operate. Make it look convincing, and the imposter is sure to fall for it." "Twilight, you don't have to do this!" Princess Celestia pleaded "I can't bring myself to be mad with you, no matter what you might do. And to intentionally put you in danger, even if it's for the greater good, is something I've strived to avoid. Your brother is a member of The Royal Guard, and a bearer of an Element of Harmony, you are my faithful student. If I lost you, or let you get hurt, I'd never be able to forgive myself." "Princess Celestia, I know how you feel about me, but my brother, my friends, and all of Equestria may be in trouble. If I'm the only one who can thwart the imposter's scheme before it's too late, then I'll do what I must," Twilight said, as she hugged Princess Celestia tightly "I'll be okay, I promise." Princess Celestia didn't say anything, she just returned the hug full force. Reluctantly, her mind had been made up for her. A short time after Twilight had left, a reluctant Princess Celestia spoke to all of her friends, and informed them of her plan. "Remember, you need to make it look as convincing as possible." she told them. "I don't like it, not one little bit," Applejack complained "Twilight is our friend." "Yeah, there's no way we could pretend to abandon her for the sake of a wedding!" Rainbow Dash added "No matter how awesome it might be." "But, if we don't do this, Shinin' Armor may be lost forever." Braeburn said glumly, a rare frown appearing on his face. "I hate to admit it, but Braeburn's got a point," Soarin reluctantly chimed in "If that imposter really has Shining Armor under her control, and this plan is the only way to free him from said control, it must be done." "I just hope the imposter doesn't see through our act." Thunderlane said nervously, and everyone reluctantly agreed to go along with the plan. As all of Shining Armor and Twilight's friends left her room, Princess Celestia looked out to the moonlit sky as it shone through her windows. Already, memories of her failure to prevent her sister from falling to the forces of evil worked their way back to the surface of her mind. "I failed Equestria once before, and my sister payed the price," she thought unhappily to herself "Now, to prevent another catastrophe, I must risk the life of my faithful student. I can ony hope, Twilight will survive, and won't hate me for this." The next morning, at the wedding rehearsal, Celestia's plan was put into motion. Soon after what most ponies thought was Princess Cadence (but Princess Celestia and all of Twilight and Shining Armor's friends believed was an imposter) came trotting leisurely into the room, Twilight came storming in, looking quite angry. "I'm here, and I'm not going to stand with her," she said, pointing a hoof to Princess Cadence accusingly "And neither should of any you! 'Why?' You may ask?! Because she's evil, that's why!" As expected, an uncomfortable silence fell over the throne room. Everypony just stood there in silence, not daring to say a word, as Twilight teleported towards Princess Cadence and began to lodge accusations at her. "She's been acting like a complete jerk for the past whole day! She's obviously done something with her bridesmaids, because they aren't here! And, I saw her cast a spell that made my brother's eyes go like this!" And she proceeded to spin her eyes around like crazy. For a moment, Princess Cadence was silent. But then, she burst into tears as Twilight approached her. "Why are you doing this?! Why are you ruining my wedding?!" she asked, and ran away sobbing. "I told you, it's because you're evil! EVIL, with a capital E!" Twilight shouted, only to suddenly find herself looking into the disapproving eyes of her big brother. In his mind, Shining Armor saw what was going to happen. But he was powerless to stop it from occurring, even as he screamed internally "Twilight, get out of here! Don't believe what I tell you! You're onto something!". Unfortunately, thanks to the spell, what came out was "Do you want to know 'why' my eyes went the way you say they did?! It's because I've been having PAINFUL migrains! Princess Cadence hasn't been using her magic to brainwash me, she's been using her magic to HEAL me! She's been under a lot of stress lately because of the wedding, something that obviously wasn't important to you! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and comfort my wife! And you can forget about being my best mare at the ceremony! In fact, if I were you, I wouldn't show up to the wedding at all!" And he went off in a huff, turning his back on Twilight and refusing to make eye contact. Just after Shining Armor left, Rarity spoke up "Come on, everypony," she said to her friends and boss "Let's leave Twilight alone until she's had time to think about her actions." And one by one they all left too. "You have a lot to think about my faithful student, I'm very disappointed in you." Princess Celestia said unhappily, as she walked past Twilight and shut the door, leaving Twilight alone. "Do you think the imposter took the bait?" Applejack whispered to Princess Celestia, as she teleported all of Twilight's friends away. "I don't know, Applejack. I can only hope that she did." Princess Celestia said glumly. Twilight was alone at the alter, but not for long. "There, there, Twilight," Princess Cadence said in a soothing tone of voice "Everything will be okay." "I'm so sorry." Twilight apologized. Suddenly, Cadence's eyes flashed a sickly green "You WILL be! I'll personally see to that!" she said angrily, lighting up her horn and surrounding Twilight in a ring of flames. Smiling evily, Princess Cadence turned and walked away, while the flames carried Twilight to a location where no one would ever think to look for her.