Kairi groaned after waking up from unconsciousness. She opened her eyes, finding herself in nothing but darkness. Lighting up her horn, the white glow of her aura brightening the dark place she was thrust into. She looked like she was in a cavern, the walls and ceilings covered with gems and crystals of varying sizes, reflecting the light coming from her horn.
"Where am I? Where did that witch take me?" Kairi summoned her Keyblade, looking around to see if Cadence had teleported in to deal with her.
"Kairi!? Is that you!?" She spotted a purple glow from across the dark caverns.
"Twilight!?" Kairi quickly ran into the direction of the light, finding Twilight thankfully unharmed and trapped in the same caves she was. The unicorns hugged each other, glad to not be alone in the dark caverns and uninjured by Cadence's flames. "Thank goodness you aren't hurt. I thought she burnt you to ashes."
"I knew she was evil! I was right!...And no one believed me..." Twilight shook her head, brushing off the painful loss of faith everyone had for her. She was right, and she will prove to the others that Cadence was not who they think she really is. "I can't be upset now. We need to take that heartless monster down."
"That's going to be impossible for you to do, Twilight." Appearing in the crystals was Cadence, grinning maliciously at the unicorns she took captive. "You two are trapped deep in the abandoned crystal mines, far below Canterlot. Greedy unicorns left this mine, who tried to claim all these gems for their own, but now, this will be your prison." The evil alicorn giggled, her image switching to a different gem. "And don't bother trying to call out for help. These caves have been long forgotten, and no one will even know you disappeared."
"What are you planning to do to Canterlot!?" Kairi questioned, pointing her Keyblade at the mare. "What do you intend to do with Twilight's brother!?"
"Oh, I have some major plans for him...though, I think I might change them for that cute pegasus stallion. He really seems to care about you a lot. So, I decided two is better than one." Both unicorns growled, Twilight's horn glowing brighter and sparking dangerously while Kairi focused on casting one of the most powerful of spells she had at her disposal.
"What have you done to Sora?" Kairi demanded. "What have you done to them!?"
"You want to find out? Then I suggest you try and stop me." Cadence cackled, disappearing to different gems, mocking the mares.
Unleashing their anger on the wicked alicorn, Twilight shot a dangerous beam of magic at one of them. Instead of breaking it, the gem managed to bounce the magical beam off, ricocheting around the cavern until it struck the ground next to them. That only made Cadence laugh uproariously at their attempts to try and attack her, only getting them more furious. Kairi shot powerful Firaga spells at any crystals she spotted the alicorn's face was in, the large fireball exploding in a massive radius, shattering it to pieces.
They each continued firing magic until they both shot one at a large crystal, blowing it away to reveal a path out of the room they were trapped in. Ironically, sitting on the other side was...Cadence. Only instead of mocking them, she seemed shocked as the wall had been blown clear open. She was also really dirty, her mane and tail unkempt, tear streaks on her cheeks, and she looked really frail.
"There you are!" Kairi and Twilight rushed the pink alicorn, intent on getting back at her for what they did to Sora and Shining Armor.
"Wait! Don't!" she begged, her pleas unheard as she was tackled by the unicorns. Kairi held her Keyblade at Cadence's throat, the alicorn looking up at Twilight, standing over her. "Twilight, it's me! You have to believe me. That isn't the real me. She's an imposter."
"I don't believe you for a second!" Twilight exclaimed, her horn glowing brightly.
"I swear, it's me." Cadence squirmed out from beneath the unicorns and stood up. "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake," she said, doing the same odd motions Twilight had before when they saw the pink alicorn back at the castle. "Clap your hooves, and do a little shake."
"...T-That's..." The alicorn looked back after the "do a little shake" part, smiling warmly as she saw Twilight now realized it was really her. "...Cadence...You remember me!"
She ran into Cadence and hugged her tightly, Kairi lowering her blade as the two had found the actual bride, not the mare impersonating her up above. "Of course I do, Twilight. How can I ever forget the filly I loved to sit for the most?" The two nuzzled each other, Cadence happy to see Twilight again after so long. The fake Cadence's laugh echoed throughout the mines, all three mares looking up, unable to see the imposter anywhere. "We need to stop her..."
"Princess?" Kairi got Cadence's attention, her and Twilight breaking their hug. "I apologize for earlier. Do you know who exactly that was that was impersonating you?"
"Yes. She's not a pony." The alicorn glowered at the ceiling, where the fake mare was probably doing something to her beloved husband-to-be. "She's the queen of a group of bugs called Changelings. Chrysalis."
"Changelings?" Twilight asked.
"They're nothing but heartless monsters, taking the form of the pony they love and suck the love magic out of them. I was held prisoner here for weeks, and nopony even noticed I was gone." Kairi's eyes widened as Cadence explained what a Changeling was.
"So, they're like a succubus," Kairi muttered. That explained why Sora looked drained the other night and his behavior earlier. He was in contact with this Chrysalis, having shifted her form to the unicorn's and sucked his love from him. "That's it. She's going to get it this time."
Before Kairi could run off to take down Chrysalis, Cadence stepped down on her tail to stop her. "Wait, there's somepony else down here we need to save. I can't do anything in the predicament he's in, being trapped down here having weakened me physically and magically."
"Somepony else?" Twilight asked. "Who is it?"
"I'll show you." The alicorn lead the way, struggling to stay standing in her weakened state, but she persevered. After making her way through a few splits in the winding pathways of the caverns, they made it to where the pony Cadence saw was trapped. "There he is."
Twilight and Kairi gasped, seeing a stallion trapped inside of a green pod of sorts, almost like a cocoon. Kairi recognized the pony just from some of his features and what he wore: short, silver hair, a white and yellow vest, but what gave it away was his cutie mark.
"Oh my gosh! Riku!" Kairi ran up to the pod, pressing her hooves into the green chrysalis. She moved her hooves away as it secreted some kind of disgusting green slime on the outside. "What happened to him!?"
"Wait, did you say Riku?" Twilight asked. "As in yours and Sora's best friend?"
"Yes! I recognize his Keyblade as his cutie mark!" Twilight walked over to examine the pod while Cadence stood next to Kairi.
"He showed up unconscious a couple days ago," she explained. "Chrysalis must have knocked him out and brought him down here. But I don't understand why she put him in a cocoon."
"I know why." Kairi levitated her Keyblade, aiming it at the green pod. "She must have known Riku, Sora, and I were strong fighters, sent by Celestia to try and thwart her plans. Too bad she made a fatal mistake. Never mess with my boyfriend, or my friends!"
The pink unicorn hacked through the cocoon with one swing, breaking it in half as green slime spewed out from it and dropped Riku down to the ground. The moment he was freed, the white stallion opened his eyes and breathed in a lungful of air, hacking up the mucus-like goop that he inhaled and swallowed while trapped inside of the pod. After he managed to get enough oxygen back into his lungs, spitting out any of the slime still lingering in his mouth, he slowly stood up, groaning in exhaustion and annoyance as he got his bearings.
"I hate this world already..." Riku looked up and noticed Twilight, Kairi, and Cadence. When his eyes were locked on Cadence, his last moment before unconsciousness was getting knocked out by the only pony he was with when he snuck in, and that was the backstabbing princess. He quickly stood up in his hind legs and summoned his Keyblade. "You! You attacked me when I was trying to help you!"
"Riku, wait!" Kairi swiped the white pegasus's Keyblade out of his hoof, forcing him to sit down on his haunches. "She's not the one who attacked you."
"...Kairi? Is that you?" The mare nodded as Riku got a better look at her. "...What exactly happened?" After being introduced to Twilight, she and Kairi told him what had occurred in Canterlot and what they were doing down in the mines. Cadence was told of who the two Keyblade Masters were and what their weapons were called, along with them being from another world, as much as Riku didn't want to let that information leak out. "Ok. I think I got it all now."
"Great. Now, let's hurry! The wedding's going to start soon, and my brother's going to marry a Changeling!" The four ponies quickly hurried off to find their way out of crystal mines and stop the wedding before Chrysalis succeeded in whatever she had planned.
"Hey, you guys hear music playing?" Riku asked as he could hear music echoing around them, even though they were the only ones in the caves without any musical instruments.
"Cadence" walked up to the mirror in her room, wearing her custom made wedding dress as she smirked at her reflection. "Everything's going exactly as planned," she said, levitating a rose up to her ear as she began to sing.
[Chrysalis]
This day is going to be perfect
The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small
Everypony will gather 'round
Say I look lovely in my gown
What they don't know is that I have fooled them all
Down below the caves, Riku, Kairi, Twilight, and the real Cadence ran through different passageways, the pink alicorn singing the aria after they heard Chrysalis sing out of nowhere.
[Cadence]
This day was going to be perfect
The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small
But instead of having cake
With all my friends to celebrate
My wedding bells, they may not ring for me at all
"Ok, what's with the random singing?" Riku asked. "And how are we hearing her from several miles above us?"
"This kind of stuff happens, Riku," Kairi explained as simply as she could. "Sometimes, there may be a moment where you can't help but join in."
"...Is it bad that I kind of like this song?" he whispered to himself as they continued finding their way out.
[Chrysalis]
I could care less about the dress
I won't partake in any cake
Vows, well I'll be lying when I say
That through any kind of weather
I'll want us to be together
The truth is I don't care for him at all
No I do not love the groom
In my heart there is no room
But I still want him to be all mine!
[Cadence]
Must escape before it's too late
Find a way to save the day
Hope, I'll be lying if I say
"I don't fear that I may lose him
To one who wants to use him
Not care for, love, and cherish him each day"
The escaping group soon found an abandoned mine cart up ahead, Cadence running ahead to try and push it out of the rocks the wheels were trapping it underneath the cart. Unfortunately, because of her weak state, she was unable to even budge it.
For I oh so love the groom
All my thoughts he does consume
Oh, Shining Armor, I'll be there very soon
Twilight smiled, touched to know that her favorite foalsitter really does love her brother that much. Ever since she was little, she always saw them together and knew one day they would be together forever. Seeing just how worried Cadence was about Shining Armor proved to her that their wedding shouldn't be ruined, all the more determined to stop Chrysalis before it was too late.
Kairi and Twilight helped Cadence inside the empty cart, leaping in after her while Riku smashed the rocks with his hooves. He pushed the cart and clung onto the edge, letting gravity do the work for them as they spiraled down the tracks, leading further down into the caves. The rails ended all too soon at the bottom, the cart slamming into a barricade meant to keep it from flying off the tracks, sending everyone flying off into the air. Twilight clung on to Cadence as she used what strength she still had to glide the two of them over to safety while Kairi did the same with Riku.
In the wedding hall, the ceremony was underway as the room was filled with ponies. Some of them were relatives to the bride and groom or close friends to them, while the rest were the nobles that had been lucky enough to attend. Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy stood on the bride's side, wearing unique bridesmaids outfits Rarity managed to make before the wedding began, some of their family having arrived as invited guests. The doors opened up, the Cutie Mark Crusaders dressed up as the flower girls, skipped down the aisle spreading flower petals along the way for "Cadence" as she followed after them.
[Chrysalis]
Finally the moment has arrived
For me to be one lucky bride
[Cadence]
Oh, the wedding we won't make
He'll end up marrying a fake
Shining Armor will be...
"Mine. All mine." Chrysalis giggled, her voice echoed in the mines as Cadence feared the worst was already happening.
"No. We're not going to make it in time," she said as she wept, losing her love to the heartless witch that replaced her.
"There's still time!" Riku exclaimed. "We've got to be close to the exit. How deep could this mine have possibly gone?"
"There's the exit!" Twilight pointed to a cavern, sunlight shining through from the outside.
Before they could make their way out, the three bridesmaids that Chrysalis had were found, leaping out from the rocks as they barred their path. They had an evil look on their faces, eyes glowing green as they approached them menacingly.
"You're not going anywhere," they said, Riku and Kairi stepped forward with their Keyblades at the ready.
Celestia, acting as the presider for her niece and captain's marriage, spoke to the crowd to honor this momentous occasion, unaware of the smirk on "Cadence's" face. Standing across from the bride was Shining Armor in his formal soldier's uniform for important ceremonies: a red suit with a blue sash cross over his left shoulder. What no one seemed to notice was the captain of the guard's eyes were green and staring into space, lost in a trance, not even Celestia herself, standing right next to the unicorn stallion. The girls acting as the bride's maids of honor noticed a few ponies missing during the procession.
"Hey, where's Sora and Kairi?" Rainbow asked. "I haven't seen them since the rehearsal."
"Maybe they have a stomach flu?" Pinkie wondered.
"Sora didn't even get sick when the first day of winter came around," Applejack said. "Ah don't think he's ever had a sick day since he got here."
"Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you two-" Celestia was interrupted as the doors to the wedding hall opened up, Twilight, Riku, and Kairi walking in as the audience was surprised by the sudden halt in the procession.
"Stop the wedding!" the lavender unicorn exclaimed.
"Ugh! Not again! Why do you have to ruin my special day?" As Chrysalis fake cried, she was snapped out of her acting when a dark fireball flew right at her, quickly ducking as the dangerous ball of black flames was fired from Riku's hoof.
"Cut the lies, you cockroach! This isn't your wedding day! It's hers!" The trio stepped aside as the real Cadence stepped forward, everyone gasping in shock as they saw two pink alicorns in the room.
"W-What!? How did you escape!?" Chrysalis asked both Cadence and Riku.
"You have no idea how easy it was to get past your 'bodyguards'," Riku said.
The hypnotized bridesmaids continued walking forward, Kairi and Riku backing away, not wanting to hurt them. "Ok, so do we whack them or avoid them?"
"Wait, I have an idea." Cadence pulled out her bouquet she had kept before she was kidnapped by the Changeling queen.
Even though it was slightly withered, it still looked good enough. She levitated it out in front of the mares, overriding their command as their eyes were glued on the flowers like dogs to a ball. The alicorn tossed the bouquet far into the mine, the mares clambering all over each other to chase after it.
"Girls," Riku scoffed as they were easily distracted by a bunch of flowers that signified the lucky mare who catches it will get married next.
"HEY!" Twilight and Cadence complained, leering at the stallion.
"What?" The mares ran on ahead, leaving Riku behind in confusion. "You girls get excited over the dumbest things, like a bunch of flowers..."
"...Oh," Chrysalis groaned. "Stupid mares."
"W-What's goin' on!?" Applejack asked. "Why are there two of them!?"
"Because she's an imposter!" Cadence said, stepping down the aisle. "She's a Changeling! She turns into the pony you love and steals the love from them, gaining power from it!"
"She did the same thing to Sora the other day, turning into me and practically draining him of almost all his energy!" Kairi added, pointing her Keyblade at the disguised mare. She looked around the room, finding no sign of Sora anywhere. "Where's Sora!? What did you do to him!?"
"Wait, he wasn't with you!?" Rainbow asked, their friends shocked as Kairi had no clue where he went if they weren't together.
Chrysalis growled, surrounding herself in green flames, causing Celestia and the five mares next to her to back away in surprise. The fire burned away the wedding dress as her body and features began to change as everyone watching stared in fear: Her fur turned black and sleek like the carapace of an insect, her hooves now had holes through the limbs, her wings were now thin and see through, sporting holes just like her legs, her mane mane a dark blue-green, her horn jagged and curved, fanged teeth in her maw, and when she opened her eyes, they were green like the flames around her. With her transformation into her real form revealed, the Changeling cackled as the audience cowered in fear, Kairi and Riku leering at the villainess with their weapons ready, and the others in complete shock at her form.
"Well, you are right about me, princess," Chrysalis said as she looked over the frightened ponies. "As queen of my subjects, it is up to me to find food for them. And where shall I find enough love to feed an entire army than in Equestria, in a royal wedding, no less. Even as we speak, my army is breaking through that flimsy barrier!"
Those near the windows or balcony looked up in the sky, seeing a large black cloud looming over the pink barrier. It wasn't a large storm cloud, more like several thousand Changelings, all of them smaller than the queen with no manes and blue, beady eyes, all of them slamming into the barrier to break through.
"Shining Armor's protection spell is stronger than you think!" Cadence said. "They'll never be able to break through!"
"Oh, won't they?" Chrysalis brushed her holed hoof against Shining Armor's cheek, the stallion unresponsive as he stood like a mindless puppet. "I've been feeding off of Shining Armor's love for a long while, and every moment he grows weaker, so does his spell. Isn't that right, dear?" The stallion slowly nodded his head, Cadence staring at her husband-to-be in sadness, wishing he wasn't tricked by the witch that turned into her. Riku had enough and was about to step forward, only to stop as the Changeling queen dragged her sharp horn to the mind-controlled captain's neck. "I wouldn't take another step if I were you. Or would you rather have the bride become a widow before she even gets hitched?"
"No! Don't hurt him!" Cadence shouted as Twilight feared for Shining's life as well. "Riku, please don't!"
Reluctantly, the pegasus stallion backed away, keeping his glare on the Changeling. "That's better. With Shining Armor under my control, we'll take over Canterlot, then all of Equestria!"
Chrysalis nearly fell over as Shining mysteriously teleported away from her, shot in the side by a golden beam of magic. "No, you will do no such thing." Celestia stepped forward, staring the queen down. "You foolishly revealed yourself to us. You tricked my subjects with your deceptive transformations, you made me believe my own student was making up lies about you, and you have the gall to kidnap my niece and impersonate her for your own evil deeds!" She rushed forward and butted heads with Chrysalis, their horns clacking as they knocked into each other. "You may have rendered Shining Armor's spell from functioning, but I will not allow you to make my subjects suffer! I will protect them from the likes of you!"
The princess of the sun flew up and fired a more powerful beam down at the queen, Chrysalis countering with her own. The beams crossed and Celestia's was winning, pushing Chrysalis's back as the evil mare struggled to push back. When it seemed like the alicorn was about to win, a sudden burst of magic shot out from the Changeling's horn, overpowering Celestia's and pierced through it. She gasped in shock as the green beam struck her, creating a massive explosion around her, sending her flying to the ground in a crumbled heap. Her crown fell off her head, along with the rest of her regalia, her body heavily scorched from the sudden burst of power from Chrysalis's magic
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight screamed, the others panicking as their princess was bested by the Changeling queen.
"...Heh...Heheheheheh..." Chrysalis grinned, looking down at her hooves at the magnificent power she never realized she had stolen. "This is incredible...But this power didn't come from Shining Armor...It came from Sora. I'm even more powerful than Celestia!"
As the queen cackled with delight, the Mane Six ran up to Celestia, thankful to see her still alive, but barely able to move after getting struck by that powerful beam. "Princess Celestia..."
"Y-You...have to get...the Elements of Harmony," Celestia weakly said, barely able to stay conscious. "They're...our only hope..."
The princess passed out, the mares nodding to each other in agreement with their ruler's command. "Riku, Kairi, we need you to come with us in case the Changelings make it through."
"And what about her?" Riku asked, keeping his glare on her. "Or Sora? What happened to him?"
"We don't have time to dwell on that. We have to move now!" The group of eight hurried out, the dressed up mares discarding their outfits as they ran out into the streets of Canterlot. Above them, the barrier was broken through as the army slammed down hard on it, buzzing down and trying to dive-bomb down on them. "Riku, cover the rear! I'll take the lead with Twilight!"
"Got it!" Riku held back until he followed behind the mares, Kairi and Twilight at the front as they ran for the castle to where Celestia locked the elements safely away.
"Wait! We need an alicorn to unlock the safe!" Twilight realized.
"No worries! Our Keyblades can unlock anything, no matter what seals are set in the lock!" Kairi assured, all of them avoiding incoming Changelings.
The group managed to evade the Changeling missiles slamming down into the street in front of them, the mindless drones leaving them open to get stepped on as they tried to recover from the harsh landing they made. They soon reached the location where Celestia stored the Elements of Harmony, only to stop as the entryway was guarded by hundreds of Changelings waiting for them.
"Looks like we're going to have to fight our way through!" Rainbow sped forward and was about to ram into one of them, only to find herself doing the same thing. The two mares looked at each other in confusion, but the fake acted first, punching the real pegasus mare back toward the others. "W-What the hay!?"
Soon, the rest of the Changelings, now surrounded by the fleet, transformed into them in a flash of green fire. Now, several clones of the mares and Keyblade wielders stared them down, the real ones grouped together to avoid getting mixed up. Some of the Kairi and Riku clones stepped forward, the real teens looking at each other, only for their looks to turn blank as they looked back at the transformed insect-pony hybrids. If they could transform into them, that didn't mean they had the abilities that they were able to do.
"You know, you guys aren't that smart," Kairi said as she and Riku held out their forehooves. They both summoned their Keyblades, shocking the clones. "Can any of you guys do that?"
All the clones looked at each other, many of them disguised as the Keyblade wielders sweating as their choice of impersonating was a failed attempt. "Guess that answers that. And, as for the rest of the girls-"
Both teens nodded at each other, aiming their Keyblades at the Mane Six. They cast an Aeroga spell on them, making it easy to tell which of them was the real one and give them a little help injuring any Changelings that tried to hurt them. The army grew worried, none of them able to pull off magic like these two had, or even make a weapon similar to theirs appear out of thin air.
"CHARGE!" Pinkie yelled, pulling out her party cannon as all of them, except Fluttershy, ran in different directions, charging head first into the enemy army.
With the mares surrounded in magical wind, the Changelings were unable to use their transformative magic to confuse their opponents to overwhelm them in sheer numbers. Twilight used her magic to stun the insect-pony monstrosities, even using the basic magic spells she was taught by Donald months ago. Applejack had her bone-shattering bucking power to their chitin bodies, the force of each kick only increased by the miniature whirlwind blowing around her. Rainbow Dash slammed through her side with her swift speed, only increased by the Aeroga spell cast on her giving her an added boost of agility, bouncing off each Changeling soldier like a pinball against a hundred bumpers.
Rarity was able to hold her own, despite always striving to be a lady, though each of them, a majority of them being male, were too enraptured by her beauty to even focus on stopping her. It was a bit odd to see the Changelings disguised as herself and her other friends ogling her with their jaws dropped, the fashionista unsure if she should be flattered or disgusted. Pinkie Pie blasted her party cannon at point blank range in each Changeling's face, shooting out confetti everywhere, though one unlucky drone got smacked by a bowling ball that had mysteriously gotten inside, the sound of bowling pins crashing as that shot managed to hit several of them unfortunate enough to get in the way. Fluttershy cowered under the protective wind spell, perfectly safe as the Changelings tried to break through the barrier, getting struck by the dangerous air as they made contact.
Over on Kairi's side of the invading fleet, spells flew everywhere as Changeling bodies were scattered around the spiral of powerful magic: some burnt and singed, paralyzed as electricity coursed through their spasming muscles, frozen in blocks of ice, or even crushed down to the ground by heavy gravity forced down on them. The pink unicorn evaded each chomp and kick from the enemy as they tried to rush her, flipping and twirling elegantly as her aura made her Keyblade orbit around her, smacking any that were out of her line of sight. Grabbing her weapon in her mouth, she ran up to one of them and unleashed a flurry of slashes. Before ending her combo, her magic began sucking in some of the drones up to her, all of them confused as they now stood around her, unable to move their limbs. Kairi spun in place, her blade smacking each one in the face as light built up around her, unleashing a powerful shockwave of light as soon as she stopped, sending the trapped Changelings flying off in different directions.
Riku swiftly took out his larger group of enemies with ease, moving far too fast for any of them to realize they had been hit. The white pegasus had to limit how much he used his Dark Fire spells, going with just brute force and regular spells. One of them managed to get a lucky hit on him and knocked the teen on his back, but he flipped right back up, smacking his attacker with his hind legs, slashing a few more around him as he got back up on his hind legs. He stood still and waved his hoof forward, taunting any of them to try and hit him again. One was dumb enough to do so, having its slightly holed hoof to be parried by Riku's Keyblade, knockup high into the air by his hoof. Aiming his weapon in the sky, he cast a powerful Magnega spell above him, drawing the flung Changeling and several others still standing into the gravitational pull. The teen leapt up after them, flew past them, and dove right back down. In a blur of white, dozens of slashes were heard from the sky, Riku landing on his hooves as he stood perfectly still. A moment later, the Magnet spell imploded, shooting the trapped Changelings everywhere as they plummeted to the ground, unconscious.
Eventually, the group took out the attacking fleet that had chased them and stopped them. The Aero spells on the mares had worn out, all of them taking a breather from fighting off a lot of Changelings. At least they weren't Heartless, otherwise they wouldn't stand much of a chance.
"We're almost there," Twilight panted. "Now, we just need to get in there and put our elements on."
As soon as they opened up the doors, their glee turned to misery, the entire hall literally a hive of Changeling drones covering most of the room. They hovered in the air with their clear wings or hung on the walls and ceilings like the giant insects they were.
"Oh great. We only took out the welcoming committee," Riku sarcastically said as he and Kairi were ready to take down the next group. They waited for them to attack, but the Changelings just stood where they were, staring at them. "...Why aren't they trying to swarm us?"
The ones on the ground slowly moved away, having surrounded something they were concealing from the group. Standing in the middle of the Changelings was Sora, his back turned to the entrance.
"Sora!" Kairi tried to run up to him, but Riku stopped her.
"Hold on. Something's not right." Sora was completely unharmed from what they could see, and if he was fighting the Changelings, they should have attacked him. Riku cautiously stepped forward, being wary of the army of pony insects around them, slowly closing off their only means of escape. "Sora? What are you doing here?"
As Riku was far enough away from the girls, a magical barrier appeared around the two pegasi stallions, trapping them in a big enough space for a duel. Completely caught off guard, the Changelings finally swarmed them, far too fast for any of them to fight back as they were completely overwhelmed. He looked back, unable to see what was happening by the thousands of black pony bodies covering the impenetrable magic barrier trapped him with Sora, leaving space above them to give them some light inside.
Riku turned back to his friend as he heard him summon his Keyblade. With Sora's weapon in his mouth, he slowly turned around. As soon as his eyes were visible, they were glowing green, holding a blank expression as he too was trapped under Chrysalis's control.
"Of course. Chrysalis has Sora under some kind of mind control after pretending to be Kairi to get to him." Riku got in his unique fighting stance, staring down his best friend obeying the evil queen's commands. "Well, this feels like deja vu. Except I'm the one who's sane while you're under someone else's control." Sora gave no response, crouching low to prepare fighting against the "enemy". "Time for me to return the favor and save you."
Both pegasi rushed forward and swung their blades, clashing into each other hard as sparks flew out from the contact. Even though he was under Chrysalis's spell and had his love drained, Sora still moved as fast as he always had in battle, controlled like the brainwashed soldier the queen had created. Every single one of their duels in the past were always for the fun of competition, just to see which of them was the strongest among their circle of friends, always keeping score over who won and lost. Nowadays, their friendly battles became life and death situations, using their newly discovered powers with their Keyblades to actually hurt each other. Riku had been the first to instigate these fights, being tricked by Maleficent and had the Heartless Ansem invade his heart, but Sora struggled to fight back to save him. Now, his friend was in trouble, trapped in his mind as his body moved against his own will under the control of a madmare who is using him to take over the city.
The Changelings surrounding the barrier watched the battle unfold, the others capturing the mares dragging them off back to the wedding hall. Keyblades clashed, neither teen backing down as they fought with all of their strength, one to defeat their opponent while the other wanted to snap them out of the spell they were under. Each strike was blocked, evaded, parried, but neither stallion had gotten hit once with their blinding flurry of slashes.
Riku flipped back, distancing himself as he shot Fire spells at Sora. The mind controlled teen smacked the fireballs away, sending some flying right back to Riku, avoiding his deflected spells as he rushed Sora again. The teens clashed again, but Sora tapped into his Drive Forms, the explosive light shoving Riku back against the barrier. The light faded from the stoic pegasus's clothing, now silver and black as he hovered in the air without the use of his wings. The two Keyblades hovering around him in a telekinetic hold next to his hooves were the Oathkeeper, a white blade, the guard a pair of angel wings while the teeth was in a symbol that represented "light", and Oblivion, a Keyblade contrasting the Oathkeeper: a black blade, the guard a pair of bat wings, and the teeth in the symbol representing "darkness".
"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Riku grumbled, Sora now in his Final Form, the strongest and more powerful of his Drive Forms.
Sora rushed forward and commanded his Keyblades with the actions his hooves made, both blades flying erratically around Riku. He tried to block and evade them, but they were faster than he could blink. One second, he was blocking one Keyblade, the next, he was struck from behind by the other. It didn't help that Sora was able to freely hover around, barely lifting a hoof as he somehow was able to move them around by his mind-controlled will alone, becoming a blur of silver light as he added a few punches with his weapons. Riku was completely defenseless, even with his defensive barrier he was able to put up was broken through immediately.
Riku was being tossed around like a rag doll under Sora's Final Form. Any chance he had to escape the onslaught of swift slashes, he was only struck by powerful magic spells that stunned him. And any chance to avoid the spells, the tan pegasus would rush in and strike him down, trapping him in a hurricane of swipes. The battle was soon over, trapped in a devastating combo in the air. Sora hovered above Riku, thrusting his hooves above and beneath him, creating blades of light from his hooves, the bottom one constantly hitting the trapped teen. The blades disappeared, the mind controlled pegasus flipping up in the air, then finally dove down into Riku, slamming him down hard to the hard marble floor of the hall.
Riku groaned, struggling to move his limbs, but his energy was completely drained as he passed out, his Keyblade disappearing. With the white pegasus defeated, the barrier trapping them faded away, Sora's form reverting back to normal. The Changelings flew down and dragged the beaten pegasus back to the castle to their queen.
"Wow, this pony is really powerful," one of the drones said as they lead Sora back to their queen.
"At least Her Highness had placed him under her spell," another said. "He could have done a lot worse with those other two."
Chrysalis smirked as she watched Cadence struggle to break free of her bindings to the floor, her hooves stuck in a green slime that rendered her immobile. The pink alicorn tried to fight her, but due to her weakened state, she couldn't do much. One of the heroes that had left should have stayed behind to fend her off, but with the power she had from Sora's love for Kairi, she could easily take over the world if she wanted. Looking up, she saw Celestia waking up from unconsciousness, trapped inside a green cocoon hanging above the ceiling.
"Don't think you've won!" Cadence said, giving up trying to break free. "When Twilight and her friends come back, you'll-"
The doors to the wedding hall opened, the mass of her Changeling army tossing the mares in, their limbs and horns or wings covered with the same green slime Cadence was trapped in. "Oh my. They did come back. But they seemed to have lost."
"It's not over, Chrysalis," Kairi said, sitting up as she leered at the queen. "You hypnotized Sora too, but when Riku beats him and snaps him out of your spell, you won't be so smug when he's back with us!"
A moment later, the drones carrying Riku through the balcony dropped the unconscious teen to the ground. The girls gasped as they saw how badly injured he was, Sora flying inside and landing next to the queen, still expressionless and still under Chyrsalis's control.
"Well. That's disappointing, isn't it?" she asked, gently nudging the tan pegasus stallion over to where Shining stood. "Looks like I've won. Even if you had been able to defeat my army, it seems as though none of you had ever stood a chance against this little guy." The queen dismissed her soldiers, sending them out into the city to feed on the love of the ponies outside. "It's quite funny. Twilight and Kairi seemed to have suspected me of my behavior and the rest of you were so focused on the wedding. And Sora was easy to trick, teenagers so quick to let their hormones win them over, no matter how much they try to resist."
"Then why choose them over us?" Kairi asked. "Cadence is a mare that gives love. My heart is practically more pure than Sora's. You could have fed off of us instead, tricking us."
"I could have, but there was a big problem with that," Chrysalis explained. "You and Cadence were far too smart to fall for my hypnotic spell. Sometimes, a stallion can be so easily fooled with beauty, seduction, and with a little persuasion, control." She wrapped her hooves around the mindless puppets that were stallions, pulling them closer to her. "Sure, you two could have given myself and my hive an infinite meal, but I wouldn't have the chance to feed the rest of my subjects. A captain with a powerful barrier spell to keep anything out, a skilled warrior that's saved Equestria from the likes of Nightmare Moon and Discord by himself, and I have myself the perfect little puppets to take over the world."
"And she tricked everyone," Twilight added. "She planned everything perfectly. We were five steps behind, and she's won..."
"I have, haven't I?" Chrysalis giggled as she walked over to the balcony, music beginning to play as she overlooked the invasion her soldiers were wreaking havoc upon the ponies.
[Chrysalis]
This day has been just perfect
The kind of day of which I've dreamed since I was small
Everypony I'll soon control
Every stallion, mare, and foal
Who says a girl can't really have it all!?
Everyone can hear the chaos going on outside. Ponies fleeing in terror, royal guards caught off guard from the invading forces and were trapped in the same slime that bound the mares' limbs, and all hope seemed lost as Equestria would soon be taken over by the Changelings. Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding was ruined, he and Sora were both still held under Chrysalis's spell, and there was no possible way to stop her without the Elements of Harmony or the three Keyblade wielders' power. Cadence and the Mane Six felt hopeless, none of them able to fight off the massive army and a powerful Changeling queen with unimaginable power.
Kairi, however, didn't give up. The slime coating her horn may have disabled her unicorn magic, but Chrysalis forgot to realize she had her own unique magic that wasn't a part of this world. With her distracted by watching her subjects feed on Canterlot's ponies, the pink unicorn summoned her Keyblade in her mouth, cutting her hooves free with the teeth of her blade, then sawed off the slime coating her horn. Being quiet, she crept up to Cadence, Sora and Shining as still as statues as they weren't given any other commands from their leader, freeing the alicorn.
"Cadence, we have to get them free from her spell," Kairi whispered.
"But how?" Cadence asked. "I don't have any magic in me to free them."
"I don't think we need a counter spell. If fake love made Sora and Shining fall under her spell, what if our love for them is able to free them?" Cadence's eyes widened, finding Kairi's idea crazy enough to work.
"...I-I think...we can try it. I only hope it works." The two freed mares approached their stallions, being careful not to alert Chrysalis.
Cadence stared at the blank, glowing green eyes of her fiancé. It pained her to see her royal guard captain in this state, the stallion having been unaware of the fact that his real bride had been trapped in the abandoned mines for weeks. Tears welled up in her eyes, not blaming him for falling for the impostor. The alicorn tried to get his attention, but his mind was too far gone to notice her standing right in front of him. Cadence embraced Shining, nuzzling him affectionately as her horn began to spark.
Kairi couldn't snap Sora out of his daze physically either: nuzzling him, hugging him tightly, nothing worked. At least he wasn't in the lovey-dovey state like when he and Twilight drank the love poison, but Chrysalis's spell must have been strengthened when she absorbed his love for her. She could hear Cadence weeping softly, the alicorn's face buried in Shining's shoulder. The unicorn brushed a hoof along his chest, stopping her hoof over one of his jacket's pockets as she felt something flat inside. She pulled out what was stored in there, which happened to be her charm she gave to him.
"You still kept it." Kairi looked up at Sora, holding her hand-made charm up to his eyes. "You never did break your promises to me. Always keeping them, even if they seemed impossible to." She took his hoof and placed her charm in his hoof. She gently moved his hoof over to his heart, pulling herself closer to him as her chest and white heart cutie mark began to give off a light glow. "Sora...Remember what else you promised me? That you would never change who you were. That you would never forget me...Please. Wake up, and be the same, silly boy I fell in love with."
Kairi pressed her lips softly against Sora's in a passionate kiss, the light in her chest glowing brighter as their lips connected. Cadence's horn began glowing blue, her magic subconsciously shooting out a pink heart. The light from Kairi's chest shot out a white heart made out of pure light, both the magical hearts hovering over them and floating toward each other. They joined together, both mares' magic strengthening each others as the blue and white mixed heart of magic exploded, sprinkling healing light around the room.
The mares all looked up as they saw the bright lights coming from Kairi, staring in awe as the sparkles floated down on them. It felt calming and rejuvenated them, even melting away the green slime from their bodies. The cocoon keeping Celestia contained melted away as well, freeing the alicorn from her prison as she floated back to the ground, still feeling woozy after getting knocked unconscious. Riku began to wake as well, his injuries disappearing as he slowly stood up, feeling just as surprised as the others. The sudden healing light had alerted Chrysalis, the queen turning around in confusion as she gawked in shock at her prisoners now free and standing.
As the lights landed on Sora and Shining Armor, their eyes slowly returned to their normal colors, both stallions slightly confused as they came back to their senses. Sora looked down as he felt a pair of lips against his, seeing Kairi holding him as she kissed him. He pulled away, trying to wrack his brain over what was going on.
"Kairi?" Kairi hugged him tighter, nuzzling his neck while the pegasus looked around him. He spotted Twilight and her friends, Princess Celestia, and a pegasus stallion that looked strangely familiar to him. "Wait...Is that Riku? What's going on?...And why is he here?"
Shining Armor was still pretty dazed, shaking his head as he had his love absorbed more than Sora had. "Ugh...What's happening? Is the wedding over?"
"That's impossible!" Chrysalis exclaimed, Sora and Shining looking over at the Changeling queen. "My spell was unbreakable with the love I had taken!"
"...Who the heck is that and why do her legs look like blocks of swiss cheese covered in black mold?" The queen growled, taking offense to Sora's question.
"That's Chrysalis," Kairi growled, pressing herself closer to her boyfriend as she glared at the Changeling queen. "She's a Changeling. She hypnotized you and Shining Armor, stole your love by transforming into us, and in your mind controlled state, you beat Riku and stopped us from getting the Elements of Harmony."
"...I was manipulated?" Sora's shock turned to anger, leering at the arthropod mare. He summoned his Keyblade, pointing it at Chrysalis. "That's the one thing I really, really hate. Villains like you that control others and use them. And you used me to hurt my best friend!?...Even though I still have no clue why he's here! You're going down!" The teen tried to rush forward, but his legs began to give out on him. Sora fell to the floor, dropping his weapon, still feeling heavily drained from all the love Chrysalis greedily sucked out of him. "...Or I'm going down."
"Shining Armor! Your spell!" Twilight called out. "You have to cast your shield spell!"
The guard captain nodded and lit up his horn, only for it to sputter as his power was practically running on fumes. "Urgh! I don't have any strength in me either. I can't repel them."
"My love will give you strength," Cadence said, hugging Shining tightly.
"What a ridiculous sentiment!" Chrysalis cackled. "No matter what any of you try, there's no chance for you to escape or fight back! My army is unstoppable, and my power overwhelms even that of Celestia's by tenfold!"
"You may be strong now, Chrysalis, but you should know a thing about the love you and your kind devour." Kairi helped Sora back up on his hooves, levitating his Keyblade back to him. "You have no idea just how strong a heart can be with light and love being someone's drive to fight. It may seem ridiculous to you, but you seem to forget about one saying that isn't just a cheesy line in fictional romance tales: Love conquers all."
"Oh please! You really think that will defeat me!?" the queen asked. "I consume love! Any you give off will only make me stronger!"
Chrysalis charged her horn to fire a powerful beam at the two couples and destroy what confidence they all had in Kairi's words. Before she unleashed her power, Riku flew at her and twisted her head up just as she fired, sending the beam of green aura flying out of the balcony. They heard a shriek come from one of the Changeling soldiers outside, having been struck by it and fell to the ground. He struck the queen's horn, disabling another chance for her to use her magic again.
"That's for turning my friend against us!" The silver-haired pegasus wrapped his forelegs around Chrysalis's barrel, trapping her wings to her sides as he suplexed her hard to the hard floor. She was knocked in a daze, landing head first. "And that's for the cheap back attack when I tried to 'help' you." Riku brushed the dust off his vest as he turned back to Sora, Kairi, Cadence, and Shining Armor. "Hope you know what you're doing, Kairi."
"I know exactly what I'm doing." Kairi looked over to Cadence and nodded to her.
The alicorn nodded back as she looked at her groom, their horns glowing as they gently touched each other. Their auras mixed and grew in strength from their love, swirling around them and a warm embrace. Surprised at first, the engaged couple hadn't expected this to happen, but they smiled when they looked at each other, powering the magic around them more to strengthen the barrier spell beginning to form from their combined magic. Shining and Cadence began to float up in the air, their eyes glowing white as they began to form a heart shape with their bodies.
Chrysalis snapped out of her daze and sat up, feeling the powerful love magic as soon as she awoke and stared at the couple in shock. "No! NO! This isn't happening!"
"It is." Kairi held her Keyblade in her hoof, aiming it at Shining and Cadence as a heart shaped keyhole appeared between them. She looked over at Sora, the stallion taking the hint as he pressed his hoof against hers at the handle. Their combined light appeared at the tip of the blade, an outline of a heart forming as they took aim. "You may be able to steal love, but what you can't take is the light that comes from that love. Your power means nothing when it comes to true love!"
The Keyblade couple shot the heart-shaped beam of light into the keyhole, unleashing the power of Shining Armor and Cadence's combined spell and increasing its strength. The magical pink barrier shot out from the unicorn and alicorn, phasing through those not considered a threat to Equestria. As soon as the shield touched Chrysalis, she was shoved out of the balcony and sent flying off and out of Equestria, along with her Changeling soldiers as they were all scattered. Their screams could be heard as they disappeared off in the distance, the ponies trapped by the insect equines freed as they were bathed in the warm light that expanded around the city.
Shining and Cadence hovered back down to the ground, the alicorn now looking a whole lot better than she had being trapped in the caves beneath Canterlot for so long. The couple embraced each other, the enemy finally gone and out of the city thanks to their love, along with the light of Sora and Kairi assisting them and powering their spell. Twilight grinned as her brother and favorite foalsitter were reunited, looking back at her friends and mentor, all of them looking at the lavender unicorn apologetically.
"Twilight, we're really sorry about earlier," Applejack said. "We should have given ya a chance when ya called Chrysalis out."
"Indeed. Even she had fooled me," Celestia added. "You persisted in the face of doubt and brought the real Cadence back to us. You trusted your instincts, and they were true, a very important lesson to learn, even if none of us had believed you. Including myself."
"That is a good lesson." Sora, Kairi, and Riku approached them, the tan stallion leaning against his girlfriend, still feeling a little weak as his strength slowly returned to him. "I went through the same thing you did, Twilight. And it involved Riku when he lost himself to the darkness."
"Please don't remind me, Sora," Riku groaned. "I still hate how I could have been so gullible back then."
"I know. Being gullible is my job." Kairi giggled as Sora grinned at his friend. He earned a hard punch in the shoulder by Riku, wincing in pain as the white pegasus stallion grinned back. "Ow."
"You deserve that," Riku said.
"Yeah, yeah. Worth it, though." Sora wrapped a free hoof around his best friend and pulled him closer in a friendly hug. "So, did you introduce yourself to the rest of the gang, or were you too busy stopping what was happening?"
Suddenly, the wedding hall was filled with the sound of rumbling stomachs that came from Riku and Cadence. "I think we can introduce each other during dinner," Celestia said. "After everything that's happened, it's better for us to rest up and make the real official wedding plans for Cadence and Shining Armor."
Before they left, Luna walked inside the wedding hall, having missed everything that had happened. "Hello, everypony! Did I miss the wedding!?" Everyone stared at the princess of the night with blank stares, some of them facehooving as the blue alicorn hadn't noticed the invasion or even bothered to help. "...What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"