Memories

by Sun Aura

Change

I was awoken by a gentle nudging. I did not remember where I was. I could see stone and crystal walls. Was I in bed? No, I must be on the floor. Maybe I rolled off. I saw a familiar multi-hued mane, which much belong to the pony that nudged me awake.

“Azura, I do not care if Dissi turned the entire castle into cake,” I grumbled, not fully awake. “I need five more minutes to sleep.”

“Who’s Azura?” the pony replied. I shook myself back to today. Time caught up with me; I remembered where I was and who was waking me up.

“Sorry,” I yawned. “She was a pony I used to know. We should focus more on getting out of here.”

“I heard something that way,” she pointed with her wing to the wall she had slept by. “Somepony else is down here.”

I walked up to the wall, putting my ear to the crystal. I could hear two voices, one was actually there, but the other sounded distorted; somepony was using magic to talk to the one in the next room from elsewhere. I heard loud crashes, drowning out the words.

I used the Realm of Souls, searching for who was on the other side. I could not see who had been the distorted voice, though I had a guess ready. However, I smiled when I saw the pony that was in the room. She was shooting beams of magic all over the place, then turned to this wall and began charging her magic.

“Look out!” I shouted as I jumped to the side. The wall crumbled just as I got away. As the dust settled I saw a lavender blur jump ad Cadence.

“Don’t hurt me!” Cadence screamed, now pinned under the lavender blur. “Twilight, it’s me! Please, you have to believe me. I’ve been imprisoned like you. The Cadence who brought you down here was an imposter!”

“Likely story!” Twilight growled.

“Twilight stop!” I shouted, pulling her away. “It is really her!”

“Oh really?” she spat, turning on me. “What happened to ‘she’s an innocent mare who didn’t deserve your insecurities’?”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“This morning,” she answered, “When I tried to tell everypny about her, and you all bought her act!”

“Twilight, I have been down here since last night,” I explained as calmly as I could. “Cadence, the true Cadence has been down here for at least a day.”

“Prove it!” she challenged.

“Knowing you, the thing you said I said was an exact quote,” I reminded her. “How often do I use a contraction when I talk unless I am quoting somepony else?”

“It might mean you’re real,” she admitted, turning back to Cadence. “But how do I know you’re not them trying to trick me again?”

“Sunshine, Sunshine, ladybugs awake,” Cadence sang, doing the steps to what I knew was their secret hoofshake. “Clap your hooves-“

“And do a little shake,” Twilight finished. “You remember me!”

“Of course I do!” Cadence laughed. “How could I forget the filly I love to sit for the most?”

“Need anymore proof?” I asked. “I can list off some of your more hidden screw ups!”

“No, I believe you,” she said. “We have to get going. We have to stop her.”

“We have to get out of here first,” Cadence reminded me.

She was right about that. I had no idea how many walls we would have to bust through, and we did not have enough magic. I studied the walls, my eyes landing on the crystal I had used last night.

“Why did I not think of that earlier!” I exclaimed. I picked up the crystal again, expelling the heat magic. I began using the charge spell on it, letting the crystal absorb a large amount of magic. Twilight caught on and began doing the same.

As the crystal charged, I went into the Realm of Souls. I followed the residual magic left in the other crystals to find the direction the exit was; there were a few ponies by the doorway, probably guards. I aimed the crystal directly toward where we would have to go as a large blast came out of it, destroying all the walls in our path.

“You were right about how crystals absorb and amplify magic,” Twilight commented at we ran through the newly made tunnel. We quickly reached something I had not expected: a large chasm, with just an old mine cart as a way across.

“Cadence, are you okay?” I asked. She had been staring at her hooves the whole time. When she did look up, she looked near tears.

“It’s just that this day was supposed to be perfect,” she sighed. “Ever since I was small, I’ve dreamed of this day. I was supposed to get married, celebrate with my friends, and then fly off for a honeymoon on a beach somewhere. Now my wedding bells might not ring for me at all.”

“I wish I could have helped earlier,” I said.

“That’s not even the worst part!” she exclaimed, beginning to push the mine cart. “I might lose Shining Armor. I could handle nearly anything happening to him, if he got hurt or wasn’t able to do be guard captain anymore or if he left me for somepony else. Even handle if he died, I could handle it. But I might lose him to some jerk that wants to use him for some evil plot, somepony that will never love him or even care about him.”

“Now that, is a level of love I rarely see,” I smiled. “You would be okay as long as he is happy, even if you were not his happiness.”
Twilight and I used our magic to move the rocks blocking the cart. We were lucky it was big enough for all three of us. I could see a smile growing on Twilight’s face. The little bit of insecurity about her brother getting married could practically be seen melting away. I smiled at the thought of how Shining would act if she were to get married someday.

“I really do love him,” Cadence laughed as the cart rode down the track. “Even knowing what all could happen today, I can’t stop thinking of him, hoping he’ll be okay. I just hope we’ll make it in time.”

“We will,” I assured her.

“I just can’t stand the idea of what happens if we don’t get there!” she insisted. “We don’t even know why she needs to pretend to be me in the first place!”

“Uh, we have bigger problems!” Twilight warned. We looked ahead to see the track had broken over the years of not being used.

“We have to fly,” I shouted. “Twilight, hold on to one of us!”

I saw her hooves wrap around Cadence as the end of the track came nearer. We all jumped when the cart began to fall. My wings extended, and I could see Cadence doing the same, struggling to hold Twilight up. I lit my horn and used a levitation spell to help. I would carry her too, but our wings would knock into each other.

“There!” Twilight exclaimed as we landed on the other side. I could see where she was looking; a light shone through a pony-size gap at the top of a pile of rubble that used to be the exit.

“You’re not going anywhere,” three voices threatened. I saw those ponies that had been guarding our exit. It was three Unicorn mares that blocked out exit: a pink and gold one in a pink dress, a blue one in a turquoise dress, and an aqua one in a yellow dress. I recognized them as Twinkleshine, Minuette, and Lyra, the ones who were going to be Cadence’s bridesmaids, until last night.

I had wondered why they were picked to be the bridesmaids, as Cadence knew them, but was not close friends with them. Twinkleshine was a Canterlot noble, she had gone to the same school as Cadence, but Lyra and Minuette made no sense. I knew they belonged to the same musical theatre group as Cadence’s parents, but they were down in the Ponyville branch, only ever coming together for a festival once a year. Now that I know Chrysalis was Cadence the last few days, it makes sense for the bridesmaids to be ponies she only sort of knew.

“They are not Changelings,” I whispered to them. “I assume they are under some kind of spell. A distraction would work much better than fighting them.”

Cadence reached out with her magic to a group of rocks, turning them into a bouquet. She waved it in front of the mare’s faces, watching as their heads followed. They were like a dog with a ball. Without warning, she tossed the bouquet, and the mares jumped after it, screaming that it was theirs. Taking the distraction, we climbed out of the caverns.

We galloped up stairs and through halls, not stopping for anypony. The guards that were patrolling probably thought they were going crazy, since the wedding was already almost over, but here was the bride looking like she just crawled out of a cave. Of course, dramatic timing waited for the final hallway for Cadence to trip.

“Go on ahead!” I shouted to Twilight. “Stop the wedding; we will catch up in a second.”

“I’m alright,” Cadence assured me as I helped her up. “I just haven’t run like that in a while.”

“Stop!” I heard Twilight yell as she burst through the doors. We began running again to catch up.

“Why does she have to ruin my special day?” whined the false Cadence.

“Because it’s not your special day!” the true Cadence announced as we ran through the doors. “It’s mine!” The crowd gasped and began chattering, all asking what in the world was going *on.

“What! How did you escape my bridesmaids?” the false Cadence asked.

“Mind control makes them succetable to all suggestions, not just yours,” I reminded her. “Now would you like to give up your ruse? Or would you rather they test to see who is true?”

“Clever,” she scoffed. “But you’re still too late.”

“Ah’-Ah’ don’t understand,” Applejack stammered. “How can there be two sets of ‘em?”

“They’re Changelings!” the true Cadence accused. “They take the form of other ponies and feed off their love!”

“Mostly true,” I muttered.

Ponies screamed as green flames erupted where the false Cadence was standing. I watched as green magic enveloped her body, transforming it. Her coat became black, and her legs lengthened. The multihued mane turned a dark blue-green. Her wings shed their feathers and became insect-like, while her eyes turned green and the pupils daggered.

This was not the Chrysalis I remembered. Her mane and tail that were once flowing curls with volume that was envied by many, was lackluster, limply hanging off her head. Wings that shone like fine gossamer were tattered and dull. And the holes, oh of all the things I could imagine, I never could have predicted the holes in her body. They were everywhere, in her legs, he wings, her mane, even her horn. I glanced to see that even Celestia was shocked at her appearance.

“Right you are, princess,” Chrysalis laughed, walking down the aisle toward us. “And as Queen of the Changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects. This land has more love than any place I’ve ever encountered. My fellow Changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!”

“They’ll never get a chance!” Cadence retorted. “Shining Armor’s protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us!”
“Oh, I doubt that. Isn’t that right, dear?” she chuckled.

Her horn lit, recasting some spell on Shining. He nodded back to her, the spell was working. I heard Cadence gasp next to me. She began to charge toward him, only to have Chrysalis block her way.

“Don’t want to go back to the caves, now do you?” she threatened. “Ever since I took your place, I’ve been feeding off Shining Armor’s love for you. Every moment he grows weaker and so does his spell. Even now, my minions are chipping away at it. He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now. And I’m sorry to say, unable to perform his duties as captain of the royal guard!”

“Not my Shining Armor!” Cadence gasped.

“Soon, my Changeling army will break through!” she announced. “First we take Canterlot. And then, all of Equestria!”

“No, you won’t!” Celestia shouted, recovering from shock faster than I. “You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self, I can protect my subjects from you!”

“You do not know what she can do!” I screamed to her.

My words fell on deaf ears as they charged each other, locking horns. Celestia jumped backwards into the air and her horn lit gold. Chrysalis’ horn lit green as the two released a constant beam of energy, meeting in the middle. The energy paused for a moment, but I could see how uneven this fight was. The green magic forced its way through to Celestia, exploding in a flash of light.

I heard the screams of ponies as Celestia fell to the floor. Her horn was burned and her crown slid away, lost in the crowd of ponies that was not running away. I felt tears well up in my eyes.
“Princess Celestia!” Twilight shouted, running to her teacher.

“Shining Armor’s love for you is even stronger than thought,” Chrysalis boasted to Cadence. “Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia!”

“The Elements of Harmony,” Celestia told us. I could tell she was slipping out of consciousness. “You must get them and use their power to defeat the queen.”

“But you’re-“ Twilight began.

“Just go!” I commanded. “I will stay and protect them. You have to come back here anyway to use them on her, so hurry!” I watched as the six of them ran off, leaving me to defend them.

“You can run, but you can’t hide!” Chrysalis teased.

“Tia!” I heard somepony scream. A dark blue something flew toward us, landing in a protective position in front of Celestia and I. Her wings were flared and her horn already lit a silvery-blue.

“Hello, Luna,” Chrysalis laughed, as if she were no threat. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”

“You will not harm my sisters,” she growled in responded.

“Luna be careful,” I warned. “You might be more powerful than Tia, but she took her out in one hit.”

“I have to try,” she insisted, attacking Chrysalis with a beam of magic. I watched as the floor frosted over around her hooves. Wind whipped around the room, picking up objects and throwing themselves at Chrysalis. She retaliated with green flames, melting Luna’s ice and singeing her feathers.

I stepped forward, preparing to fire spell of my own, when a beam of golden magic shot inches in front of me, stopping me from entering the battle. I looked to its source to see myself, or more accurately, the Changeling that had taken my form. I remembered what she said to Twilight when she tried to expose Chrysalis at the rehearsal.

My anger rose as I released the magic suppression spell. I walked toward her deflecting the next attack with a small shield spell. My mane seemed to do more than imitate fire, it felt like it had become fire. I towered over my doppelganger, realizing just how much taller I am.
The thing that bothered me more than her looking like me, was her wearing my outfit. The things Rarity makes are made with all her heart. Every good feeling she has toward me went into making that dress, but this Changeling was wearing it instead.

“Those do not belong to you,” I said to her as calmly as I could. She cowered in my presence, like I would strike her down just for that, but slipped her body out of the dress. I levitated the tiara away from her, and put it on my own head. As much as I felt I did not deserve it, I should wear it when I try to earn it.

I heard the sound of something break. When the magical pressure changed I knew Shining’s barrier was gone. The Changeling in front of me smiled, light enveloping her as her form changed. I could see more changelings out the window; I could see their armor, magic armor that thickens their coats, and created a uniform of blue eyes and short gray manes.

The armor of the Changeling in front of me was different, in the way of it being visible. She had the standard coat thickening as the rest, but she was wearing black metal with green decorations. I assume this indicated that she was like Shining Armor, leader of the Army under their ruler.

The wind stopped roaring. A scream of agony came from behind us. Forgetting the Changeling in front of me, my head turned to the battle. I saw lightning everywhere, arcing through Luna’s body. She fell to the floor, landing on her hooves next to Celestia. She favored one leg and her right wing hung limp. There were cuts all over her body, mostly minor and barely bleeding, but there was a particularly nasty one across her Cutie Mark.

In an instant I was between her and Chrysalis. My limbs trembled as my mane flew wildly. I flared my wings and lit my horn, trying to decide on a spell to use.

“Is it your turn now?” she laughed.

“Feria, do not-“ Luna tried to ask.

“Luna, do as I say,” I commanded. “You do not have enough energy left to properly try to fight her and I do. I want you to use what you have to heal yourself and Celestia. Cadence, make a shield around yourself, Shining, and my sisters. Keep up a shield as long as you can.”

“It won’t matter,” Chrysalis scoffed. “You’re just trying to buy time for your friends to get back with your precious Elements of Harmony. Something they’ll never retrieve before my army captures them.”

“I am not going to use the Elements on you,” I told her. I was going to keep her talking long enough for Cadence to weave her spell. “You are mostly disconnected, but not fully. You lost Laughter, Generosity, Kindness, Magic, and Love. By lying and pretending to be Cadence, you began to break Honesty, but you did it for those you care about, your Loyalty is still fully there.”

“Why not just blast me?” she teased. “Aren’t you going to ‘restore’ what you think I’ve ‘lost’, like you did with the fearsome Nightmare Moon?”

“It does not work like that,” I replied. “They neutralized the magic in Luna, letting her think clearly and come back to them Elements on her own. Using them on you would not have the same effect. You might get trapped in your own magic or turned to stone, or who knows what else. I promised to never again use them on someone I believe I can still save. But for now, I will fight to protect who I can!”

“You think you can take me?” she asked. “I took down Celestia in one hit. Luna, your magical expert, took mere minutes. Even you can’t take me alone.”

She was right, I could feel how much power she had right now. But as I felt her power, I could feel so much more. I could feel Cadence’s completed shield, protecting her family, I could feel Luna healing Celestia, I could feel everypony outside fighting. Every time a Unicorn blasted a Changeling away from their friend, every time an Earth Pony bucked out and kicked down everything in their path to their loved one, every time a Pegasus picked up their child and fly them to safety. I could feel every Changeling, fighting to make sure their friends and family have the food they would need.

I could feel where everypony was. I felt my friends on their way to the Elements. I felt Minuette, Lyra and Twinkleshine, free from their spell, helping each other out of the city. I could hear my niblings lead everyone to safety. When Zircon blasted a Changeling way from Zarnie, I felt the magic spike. I could feel a small group of ponies across town, led by Iridescent, protecting the hospital.

“I am not alone,” I said. My own voice sounded distorted. It almost echoed, though I do not know if that was just in my own head. My body felt warm. I no longer trembled, but I seemed to be tingling all over.

“Of course you’re alone,” she laughed. “The room emptied long ago, your friends are fighting for your lives, and the only ponies that can help you, well, you’ve safely put them in a bubble.”

“I am not alone!” I repeated. “I can feel their energy, radiating around us. I feel their magic synchronizing with my own heart. I can protect them as they protect those they love, because love burns brighter than any flames you can conjure up!”

She seemed to be looking up at me with slight fear. Why was she looking up? I should be near her height. She was not cowering, was she?

“It’s not going to work!” she exclaimed, though her voice wavered. She was doubting herself.

I did not wait for her to continue. A wave of flames shot from my horn, only to be met with her green flames. I leaped into the air, flying around her, going faster and faster, trapping the flames inside a vortex.

I wondered why this was so easy. I felt like this had taken less effort than lifting my hoof. It felt amazing, like I could do anything, as if shifting my wing could cause an earthquake.

Something cold hit my side, shards of ice I think. I did not get cut by it, but it knocked me away. The vortex dissipating to reveal Chrysalis in a dome-shaped shield of ice. She retaliated with a blast of lightning, which I knocked back.

“When did you update your title to ‘queen’ by the way?” I asked, deflecting another blast.

“You really want to talk in the midst of battle?” she scoffed, taking a hit from vase I levitated. “Besides, anything would have been an upgrade in my title. I wasn’t a princess, after all!”

“That was your own choice!” I yelled. “We offered it! All seven of us, and quite a few of the others, offered to give you the title, but you declined!”

“You offered it because I was immortal,” she retorted. “I was different from you seven. I didn’t wield one of your precious Elements of Harmony. Tell me, didn’t the princesses also offer your royalty to Discord?”

“I offered it to him!” I shouted, flying upward to dodge a blast of light. “Everypony who offered royalty to you wanted you to be royal! I had to convince them to even consider offering that to Discord! I did that because I thought it would be unfair to have eight out of nine Immortals be royal while the ninth was not without a true reason! They did not think he could be any type of ruler, but we thought you could! The rest of us Immortals thought you would be a better ruler than any of us!”

“You were right about that!” she laughed, blasting me with another beam. I took the hit, dropping in the air, but recovered enough to throw a hunk of ice her way.

“How can you say that you have been better?” I asked. “Tell me, why did you have to be Cadence to feed off Shining’s love for her? You can easily feed off any love around you! Why pretend to be her? Why even attack this place when you can get your food so easily?”

“It works so much better!” she replied, taking the opportunity to throw something at me.”I know you can feel how much magic I have now, thanks just to the love of one pony! I’m more powerful from this than I was from feeding off love directed at others!”

“Is that worth what it does to you?” I retorted. “Instead of feeding of the love that exists everywhere, you have to lie and steal it from others! And that is only how it works on your mind! What about your body?”

“I’m fine! Better even!” she insisted. I created a ring of fire around her, closing it quickly and forcing her into the air. My eyes flicked to the small altar, and I levitated it into the air. The altar knocked her sideways, all the way to the ground.

“That is fine?” I exclaimed. “A mediocre Pegasus could have easily dodged that! Your wings do not work as well as they used to! Do you have any idea what stealing love does to you?”

I used my magic to break the enormous crystal chandelier above us. Shards flew toward her, but most barely scraped her. One large shard landed inches in front of her. She tried to back away from it, but I created a circle of flames to push her forward.

“Look at your reflection!” I screamed at her. “Your mane is lackluster, hanging off your head! Your wings are in tatters, barely letting you fly! You and your subjects are full of holes! You are not supposed to live like this!”

As she jumped away from the crystal and my spell, I pushed forward. I stopped when I got to the crystal. I saw my reflection.

My coat had turned the color of a burning coal. My mane and tail were no longer just flame-colored or magic imitating flames; they were complete fire, I could actually feel the heat radiating from them, though I did not burn. My body was larger, my legs slender, my wingspan was wider than ever before. My eyes looked as if they belonged to a dragon, not to me. Even my tiara had transformed, growing in size and becoming curled at the ends like Celestia’s was, though it curled in both directions.

I was astounded. This was what Rarity had called ‘my Nightmare Moon form’. It was not as evil as her costume had depicted, but that was because I was not using it for evil. I needed more power to fight, and my own magic gave it to me. I might have stood there for hours had a voice not brought me back.

“What is she talking about?” asked the voice. It was the Changeling who had pretended to be me. She had put herself between Chrysalis and I. Her helmet was off, and she had taken off the spell that made her look uniform. The short gray mane was now long and pink, curling over her shoulders, with a black streak running through.

One thing about her was different from any other Changeling I had seen today. She was not full of holes; her body was normal. Even her mane seemed livelier.

“What do you mean?” Chrysalis replied, focusing on her instead of me.

“You know what I mean!” the Changeling exclaimed. “She’s right about being able to feed off love without stealing it, isn’t she?”

“It’s possible but not as good,” she admitted. I glared at her from where I stood. I should attack while Chrysalis was not paying attention to me, but I could not bring myself to do it.

“Not as good?” the Changeling questioned. “You’ve complimented me on my abilities. You made me the head of your army and your personal guard because you saw me as the best of the best. I thought I was strange, that I was cheating my friends and family by being able to feed without parading around as somepony else, stealing the love!

“Now I hear that it’s what we were supposed to be doing!” she continued, shouting at her queen. “I was stronger and faster and more talented than everypony else because I was doing what our bodies our supposed to? I’m probably only average compared to what we should be! You think we’re better, but you’ve weakened us!”

“How can you call us weakened?” Chrysalis replied. “With love stolen from one pony, I am equal to an Alicorn at her most powerful!”

“My friends and family are literally falling apart!” the Changeling screamed. “Their bodies are too weak to survive in their true form! They have to take the form of other ponies just so they don’t get sick when it’s cold!”

“What would you do of it?” she asked. “If you feel this way, would you betray us?”

“You already have!” the Changeling answered. “You’ve lied to us! And I’ll tell them! I’ll tell everypony!”

“Even if you did, they’d never believe you,” she replied. “Do not forget your place. You might be captain, but you are still far beneath me.”

The changeling’s anger reached its boiling point. She used her magic to throw lightning at Chrysalis. She retaliated with a large blast of magic. The Changeling tried to make a shield, but the magic shattered it. She went flying across the room when it hit her. Reacting out of memory, I gently caught her in a levitation spell before she hit the wall. Her body was a little burned and I think a leg was broken. She was slipping in and out of consciousness, but she was okay otherwise. That hit my boiling point.

“That spell was too much for her!” I screamed at Chrysalis. “She would not be alive if she had not tried to protect herself! And even then she only lived because she did not break her neck when she hit the wall!”

“She attacked me,” Chrysalis replied, shrugging it off like it was nothing.

“Do not act like that!” I pleaded.

“And why shouldn’t I?” she asked.

“Because it means your connection to the Elements is weakening!” I answered.

“And that is all that mattered to you,” She scoffed. “Your Elements. You seem to be forgetting that I never was connected to an element.”

“You never wielded one, but everyone was connected to them!” I replied. “All ponies and dragons and griffons and every other living thing is connected to the Elements of Harmony from the day they are born! Things happen and they can disconnect, but I have no idea what would happen if someone disconnected from all of them. The only thing I have seen that was not connected to any Element was the one that killed me two thousand years ago!”

“You said at the beginning of this battle, that you wouldn’t use the Elements on me because you thought you could ‘save’ me,” she reminded me. “Now would you use them on me?”

“No, you can still come back to us,” I said.

“Looks like you’ll never get the chance,” she grinned, looking past me.

“What are-,” I began. I looked over my shoulder to see my friends back in the room, escorted by many Changeling guards. I nearly stopped breathing at the sight of them. They were bruised and battered and wiped out both physically and magically. They fought as long as they could, but it was still not enough for them.

I saw slight fear in their eyes, not from the Changelings but from me. They knew I was not evil like Luna had been in this form. But the idea plays at the back of their minds.

“Let’s test your Elements,” Chrysalis laughed. “If you continue to fight me, my subjects will ‘take care of’ your friends. If you stand down, I’ll let them live. Where is that ‘Loyalty’ you value so much?”

I looked to my friends and the guards keeping them in place. I could try and take out the guards, but if I missed or reacted too slowly they would strike. I turned my gaze to Cadence’s shield. Celestia was awake again, her and Luna’s wounds healed. I knew they did not have enough power to help right now. Cadence might have enough power to recreate Shining’s sheild, but she did not have the talent to do it. Shining had been snapped out of Chrysalis’ control spell; he was trying to recreate the shield and throw the Changelings out, but his horn barely lit up.

“As long as somepony somewhere never gives up, I never will. But this is not how I will win against you.” I sighed and closed my eyes. I did not have to say anything, my magic spoke for itself. I felt the power leave me as I stood there. I was back to the size of a normal pony, my magic at its normal level. Chrysalis laughed at my surrender, telling her guards to go back to attacking the town.

“It’s funny,” Chrysalis remarked. “The only ponies to figure out who I was, were the one who’s never met me, and the one who should have been dead years ago. Too bad the rest of you were too caught up in your wedding plans to realize it! Had you noticed earlier, you might have stopped me.

“You can put the shield down,” I whispered to Cadence. “If she wants to attack you directly, she would break through.” I sat with them all while she undid her spell. I heard apologies from Everypony. Celestia and Luna were apologizing for not knowing Chrysalis was deceiving them, Shining Armor apologized for getting himself brainwashed, and everypony apologized for everything they said to Twilight when she pointed out how ‘Cadence’ was acting.

“This day has been just perfect,” Chrysalis gloated. “I’ve dreamed of this for so long! Controling everypony, every stallion, mare, and foal! Who says a girl can’t have it all?”

I reached out with my magic to see what was happening. It was not good. Ponies were still fighting as hard as they could, but most of Canterlot does not know how to fight. The Guards and the Unicorns at Celestia’s school were the only ones with any kind of battle training, and most of them were taken. Iridescent was leading what guards were left, though losing their numbers.

The only good part of all this is that I could tell nopony had died. There were many injuries, enough that, if we could defeat Chrysalis, we would have to set up extra medical wards. Yet none had died. I had to wonder, was it just us being lucky, or were they purposely not killing?

“We have to do something,” Twilight whispered at my side.

“What can we do?” Cadence whispered back from the other shoulder.

“I do not know,” I answered them, “but something.”

“We could attack while she’s still looking out the window,” Shining Armor joined in.

“No, she is too smart for that,” I replied. “Glad to have you back though.”

“She’s right,” Twilight agreed. “There’s an invisible shield up between us. Shining, can you make another shield?”

“I’ve been trying,” he replied. “I don’t have enough magic left.”

“If she feeds on love, maybe we can overload her?” Twilight suggested. “Cadence, you could use your spell on the crystal like we did in the caverns!”

“No, Chrysalis would have to be actively feeding on her love for that to work,” I said. “Considering that, for who knows what reason, she thinks that stealing love is better, she will not try again on any of us. At least without separating us, taking our respective love’s form, and hypnotizing us.”

“Well that’s good, I guess,” she sighed. “I really thought the crystal would help.”

“It might actually!” I exclaimed, jumping at how loud my voice was. “But we need a different spell. Can either of you do Shining’s shield spell?”

“No,” she answered. “I can do one, but it would force out everypony from where it begins, not just the changelings.”

“Same for me,” Cadence said. “Though I can connect with a Unicorn to give them a key into it. But it won’t help, even if I connect to every Unicorn in Canterlot.”

“No, we need the specific spell,” I said. “We only need to toss the Changelings out, preferably with enough force to toss them far away from here. I know that if we can toss her out, she will not try this again, at least not for a very long time.”

“What if I try using it on the crystal?” Shining asked. “You said it amplifies magic.”

“Didn’t we already establish that nopony can do that exact spell?” Cadence asked.

“But that is only if one pony uses it!” I almost laughed. “Ponies that are connected to one another can combine their magics and make one spell incredibly more powerful! It is one of the reasons for the amount of magic in the Elements of Harmony. The connected magics multiply on themselves, including the bearers’ magic and every piece of the Elements’ magic it can hold on to.”

“That’s incredible!” Twilight exclaimed. “But we can’t use the Elements right now.”

“We are not the only ones to be connected,” I explained. “The Elements are only one type of connection. Another connection that works like that, is true love. Shining can direct the magic while he and Cadence are both using the connected spell. And using it with the crystal can speed up the process of deciding who stays and who goes, you can scan everypony at once!”

“We can try,” they answered in unison.

“We might want to back up,” I suggested. As the rest of us were taking steps back, Shining and Cadence stepped up to where the altar used to be. Without warning, Chrysalis jumped between us.

“And what do you think you are trying to do?” she asked. “It’s all over for you!”

“Our love will defeat you!” Cadence shouted.

“What a lovely, but absolutely ridiculous sentiment,” she laughed.

Cadence and Shining both lit their horns. Her blue magic and his pink magic combined into a beautiful purple. I did not need the Realm of Souls to see the magic emanating from them; it swirled through the air, creating a vortex of wind that made their manes fly wildly.

They looked at each other with a little uncertainty, not sure if this was supposed to be happening like it was. I would see their fear melt away as they stood closer to one another, closing their eyes and letting their magic do what they wanted. Soon enough, they were lifted off their hooves.

The light shone brighter and brighter, pinks and blues and purples dancing around them. As they opened their eyes to cast the spell, the light reached its brightest, making us actually have to look away. I saw something shift in my vision. The Changeling that pretended to be me had woken up.

As Cadence and Shining’s spell was being completed, I jumped over to the Changeling. I put a barrier around us. It was a sort of override on Shining’s shield spell; He was making it so all Changelings would get thrown out of the city, but within our barrier, when the shield passed over us he would interpret everything in it as ‘me’.

I heard Chrysalis scream as she was forced from the room, and eventually out of the city and far, far away. I felt both Shining and Cadence’s magic wash over me, one felt of protection, the other felt of home. Together, their magic reminded me of a family’s love. As the two of them gently landed back on the ground, Twilight ran up to Celestia seeing if she was alrght.

“Don’t worry about me,” Celestia told her. “I’m fine. You have a real wedding to put together.” I could see Twilight roll her eyes from here. I waited as everypony filed out of the room, going back to redo the wedding. They would not have much to do, really just remake the wedding dress and cook fresher food, but I knew Cadence would want to see everything.

Soon only four of us were left in the room. We would have to go over what would be done about the city, and about the Changeling I was still protecting. I was lucky that nopony else had seen her as they left the room.

“Considering Luna and I are the only ones with enough power left for spells, how about we begin on taking care of all those injured while you work on calming down the panic and telling ponies where to go?” I suggested. “I would suggest setting up at the School for Gifted Unicorns, after all, most of the higher level students know healing spells.”

“Fair enough,” Celestia agreed. “But we need to disscuss the Changeling you are protecting.”

“We can discuss her after the ponies are healed,” I insisted. “Luna and I will set up at the school.”

Without an actual warning, I teleported the Changeling, Luna and I to the Headmistress’s office. The room was empty, its navy occupant probably helping keep her students together after the battle. The office itself was right and neat; the desk, chair and bookshelves were all cedar wood, every surface covered with books or instruments of some sort, yet nothing looked out of place.

“You should have waited for the discussion,” Luna scolded.

“Sorry,” I replied. She shook her head, trying to shake off the dizziness. “You know that she would have wanted to have us wait there, and I wanted to get this going, along with talking to her.” I nodded my head at the Changeling, who was doing worse than Luna when it came to dealing with the feeling of sudden teleportation. The teleportation is disorienting enough without being suddenly sucked into it, especially when injured.

“You have probably put the conversation off until after the wedding celebrations,” Luna warned. “I will let you talk to her. In the mean time, I will find Headmistress Ivy and tell her to prepare the students for healing spells.”
She left the room, leaving me alone with the Changeling, who was being oddly quiet. I wondered for a moment how to start the conversation. What do you say in a situation like this?

“I’m sorry I used your form,” the Changeling said, her voice wavering. “And for everything I said. A lot of it was the Queen’s idea, but I could have said no.”

“Not many ponies would deny their ruler when asked to do something,” I replied. “You were supposed to guard her and discredit anypony who figured out who she was, which is why you posed as Valor. Where is she, by the way?”

“Visiting her family in Manehattan,” she answered. “We could have used any guard that was on vacation or sick leave. All I had to do was intercept the letter that told her superiors where she was. I didn’t worry about acting too much because as soon as the Queen was in place, ‘Cadence’ hired a personal guard.”

“Why not capture them and hid them away like she did with Cadence?” I wondered.

“Because this was actually easier,” she admitted. “When you try to replace a pony, they fight back. It’s why there was a threat made against Canterlot. When the Queen replaced Cadence, a fight broke out and attracted a bunch of guards. She told them somepony attacked her and threatened the city.”

“That answered my next question,” I chuckled. She looked up at me, and I got the first real look at her face. Her mane was similar to Pinkie’s in color, other than black streaks. It curled and bounced and looked like a complete mess, but I knew some of that was just how it worked instead of battle. Her eyes were green with the usual dagger-pupil shape of a Changeling. She looked familiar yet I could not place her face.

“Is there anything else you wish to know?” she asked.

“One thing that I forgot to ask,” I replied. “I never asked for your name.”

“Heart Song,” she answered, looking shocked. She then dropped her head. “I wouldn’t think you’d want to know the name of a prisoner.”

“What?” I almost laughed. “You are not a prisoner.”

“Then why are you-?” she began.

“Because I knew you would be if you had gone back with them,” I explained. “You attacked your ‘Queen’ and threatened to expose her lies. Even if you decided to comply and keep the secret, you probably would have been thrown in jail.”

“What have I done?” She exclaimed, bringing her hooves up to her face. “I screwed up! I’ll never see any of them again! If I’d kept my mouth shut I’d be just fine! I should’ve stayed out of it!”

“Please, do not think like that,” I said, gently putting my hoof on her shoulder. “She was lying to all of you, and as I said, it made you weaker; When I attacked Chrysalis with my magic it did not do much, but when I hit her with the altar it did a good bit of damage. You mentioned that they get sick in cold.”

“Yeah,’ she nodded, her breathing still panicked. “E-everypony around me would get sick in the winter. I thought I was lucky but I guess I just, I can’t believe she’s been lying like that.”
“You did the right thing,” I assured her. “And we are not going to keep you here. I plan on talking to Chrysalis again; somehow I have to prove to her that she’s wrong about this. I will take you back to them, but I will do it safely, and do it in a way that frees the others from the lies they have been told. You will see them again! But I have to ask, do you have any idea how Chrysalis came to think that stealing love is better?”

“Not really,” she said, calming down. “But I did hear the Queen talking to herself before, when she first started making the plans to attack here. She was so glad that ‘he’ told her about the ability, that ‘he’ showed her the true path, away from those who thought themselves better, which I assume she meant to be you. Not that I think you think you’re better than anypony, but from what she said to you when you fought with her.”

“I think I might know who it was she was talking about,” I shuddered. Just the idea of the magic that killed me sent terror running through me. He had orchestrated at least two major events in the Immortals history and tried to do another. He could easily convince her.

“You used to know the Queen well, didn’t you?” Heart Song asked, bringing me out of panic. Did she do that because she could see me panicking? She must have, since the next logical question should have been ‘who?’

“I did,” I answered. “Two thousand years ago, we grew up together. Well, when I say we I mean a lot of us, over a hundred, and just about fifty of them were ponies. In some ways she has not changed. She is incredibly brilliant; I assume she created most of the fine details of your plan? She is also still stubborn and hates being wrong, which will make it difficult to fix this mess.”

“I’d like to help,” she offered. “Knowing the truth now, I want to help them. If they just feed on the love around them without becoming the pony it’s aimed at, like I have, they’ll be like me? Stronger and healthier?”

“You are the only Changeling today to not have a body full of holes,” I reminded her. “And having you help will actually be great. A familiar face, and somepony who already knows the truth. They would not have to ask one of their own to test something they are unsure of, and- I am sorry, we should wait to discuss this. I should not plan ahead before I see what my sisters will say.”

“Do you think they’d say different?” she asked.

“They might volunteer to go instead of me,” I laughed. “For now, we should continue cleaning up from today, which involves healing your injuries. I am not the best at healing spells, so please tell me if this hurts at all.”

I lit my horn and moved my magic through her body. She was not in as bad a shape as I thought. I dread to think what she would look like if she had fallen out the window. The worst part of this was that I had to levitate some bones to keep them in place. I would not want to screw this up and have it heal wrong, my stomach churned at the idea of re-breaking them. Her burns were easy, since it would be pretty hard to screw that up.
While anypony could technically make injuries heal as fast as possible, it would take up a lot of their magic to heal big things like broken bones, so Unicorn doctors usually they speed it up to a week or so because they have many patients to work on. Though all ponies can be doctors, only Unicorns can be Healers. Pegasus and Earth Pony doctors still do know how to treat these without magic, since a Unicorn might not always be around.

However, I was not worried about my magic running out from making Heart Song heal in minutes. When I teleported, I noticed my magic regenerating faster than usual. I think it was because I released myself from my ‘Nightmare Moon form’ instead of being forced out of it like Luna was with the Elements. I was still drawing in energy from around me.

“You knew Changelings before we began stealing love,” Heart Song said. “I-well, if we were not made to steal love, why do we have the ability to transform like we do? I know it’s not just a transformation spell like Unicorns can do, but I don’t know why we do it.”

“I do not know for sure,” I answered as the last few bones clicked into place. “But I will tell you what I think it was for. I think it was meant for you to be adaptable for any situations. Unicorns have magic, Pegasai have flight, Earth Ponies have strength. Changelings can be any of these three at any time they want. You can use their abilities, including things like a Pegasus’ speed or an Earth Pony’s endurance; if I had a bit for every time Ambrosia would use that endurance ability to challenge Bronze Gear to a drinking game, well, let me just say that I could buy a bigger house.”

“Isn’t that a bit unfair?” she laughed.

“It balances out,” I replied. “Even if you take the form of an Alicorn, you only have enough magic to use either the horn, the wings, or the strength at once. You cannot fly and use magic, nor can you cast a spell while carrying a lot of weight.”

“I guess you’re right,” she agreed as I finished with the healing. I heard a knock on the door. Luna came back in, but instead of Headmistress Ivy walking behind her, Celestia entered the room. I felt Heart Song shrink down behind me, trying to hide from them.

“I was wrong about it lasting until after the reception,” Luna joked.

“I figured this would happen,” I sighed. “Say your piece.”

“I just want to make sure that you have a plan,” Celestia said. “I know why you kept this Changeling-“

“Heart Song,” I corrected. “Her name is Heart Song.”

“Okay, I know why you kept Heart Song here,” she continued. “And I know you well enough to know that you haven’t given up on Chrysalis. I want to make sure you’re not planning anything stupid, and that you know what you’re doing with all this.”

“I am not doing anything stupid,” I assured her. “I know to wait for a cool down before trying to get Chrysalis to change her mind. As much as we want to go as soon as the wedding is over, we can wait a bit.”

“And what are you going to do about Heart Song?” she asked. “You might have saved her, but you also took her away from everything she has known. She’ll have to find a house and a job and because of this attack she can’t really go out in public as herself, and even though you believe she will not do anything, I cannot be responsible for her if she does go back to stealing love. Also, as much as I would love to help you find everything, I cannot use the royal budget to-“

“I do not need the royal budget,” I interrupted. “My home has a second bedroom and there are plenty of jobs in Ponyville. As for her being a Changeling, either we can keep the whole attack secret, media blackouts and such, or she can easily transform into another form, whichever she would like to do. As for the idea of her ‘going back to stealing love’, I will be the one to take responsibility if that happens.”

“You don’t have to do that!” Heart Song cut in. “I can live on my own just fine! There ‘s no reason that you have to do this; none of our plan had anything to do with you. You were barely even a factor in the plan! We knew you were here, but when the Queen saw you yesterday she-“

“She looked like she saw a ghost?” I teased. “That is probably exactly what she thought when she opened the door. After all, last time she saw me, I was dead. But that is a story for later. But as for why I would help, only part of it is the nagging feeling that every bad thing that happened the last two thousand years is my fault. The rest of it is just because I want to, because I easily can do this, and it does not burden me at all to do it.”

“Are you sure about all this?” Celestia asked me. I nodded in response. “Very well. You may do all that you said but you still will have to consult Luna and I when it comes to when and how you will be going after Chrysalis.”

She left the room presumably to continue with today’s duties. The three of us stood in silence. I could tell she was upset.

“Do not worry about her,” Luna said. “She is upset that she could not see what Chrysalis had done. I would blame myself as she had, but with the city on its threat alert I was only awake at night while they slept. And Shining was under a spell, so he would not notice. Everypony else either did not know her well enough to notice or did not show up until yesterday.”

“It is not completely fair,” I sighed. “With the Realm of Souls I can easily tell who she was as soon as I saw her, and Twilight was paranoid from the beginning because she was protective of her brother. Tia never was given any hint that ‘Cadence’ was not just strange from wedding jitters.”

“She will get over it,” Luna replied. I doubted it. I could tell Celestia’s train of thought. She will wonder what else could have happened without her knowing, she will go on a spiral thinking she is useless which in turn leads to barely getting through a day by going through the motions. After what I found out from Hearth’s Warming, I wanted to keep an eye on her. Thoughts like that seem to make ponies vulnerable to being controlled by that magic.

“We should continue with today should we not?” I finally answered. “How are we doing on Healers? I know only the Unicorns in the top three levels are good enough at the spells we need, but we can-“

“You have other things to do,” she stopped me. “You should be helping your friends set up again, and they need you more than we do. I can be late to the wedding as I do not play a major part but you have to walk Cadence down the aisle. You cannot be late.”

“Fine,” I sighed. “Heart Song, I can take you with me.”

“Should I stay and help Princess Luna?” she asked. “I don’t know any healing spells, but I’m sure I can still do something. It’s my fault for this, after all.”

“I can understand that,” I agreed. “But there is not much you can do here without a healing spell.”
` “Okay,” she sighed. “And before we go I would like to put on a disguise.”

Her horn lit gold as the magic enveloped her body. It is interesting, how all Changelings are technically Alicorns; they all have both the horn and wings, even if they only have enough magic for one. I guess it plays into how they can be every other type of pony. They would need wings to be a Pegasus and a horn to be a Unicorn, so what they do not use disappears.

In this case, her horn disappeared, even though the golden light was still surrounding her. Her face and body were the same, though her coat lightened to white. Her mane stayed unchanged, but as she opened her eyes, I could see they changed to normal green pony eyes. Her wings stayed where they were, becoming feathered instead of gossamer-like. She even created a Cutie Mark for herself, a compass rose with a heart in its middle. I realized why she looked familiar, and I could see Luna was thinking the same.

“She looks just like-“ Luna started.

“I know,” I replied, cutting her off. I could not help but grin.

“I wasn’t trying to look like somepony?” Heart Song replied. “I’ll just change to somepony else-“

“No, it is fine!” I assured her. “The pony you remind us of is a mare by the name of Morning Aura; she was alive two thousand years ago. There are only five that might notice, and two of them are in this room. The third is obviously Celestia while another is Chrysalis.”

“And the fifth?” she asked.

“We will talk about him later,” I sighed again. “You ready?”

“Actually, I thought of a way I can help Princess Luna over here,” she answered, turning to my sister. “You’re still low on magic, right? I can transfer what extra I have to help you. It’s not stolen love! I just got a lot from everypony around here.”

“That would be helpful! If you really want to you can. It is a spell, correct?” Luna asked.
Heart Song nodded, her body lighting up with that golden magic. It was not just like if she had a horn, but more like the spell itself becoming physical. She began to sing.

“It’s a long, long day and you’ve got to make your way
But the world won’t let you fall
So take the light, the magic and the love,
And keep on standing proud and tall”

It was musical magic, which can be incredibly powerful when done right. While it is not directly in a Changeling’s magical field, a talented singer could learn.

“That was amazing!” I exclaimed. “I have not seen that in years!”

“It did work,” Luna laughed. “Thank you, Heart Song, that was helpful, and you really do live up to your name!”

“That she does!” I laughed with her. “Are you ready now?”

She nodded as I lit my horn. While I began teleporting us away, I looked through the window of Ivy’s office. I still had the tiara on my head. I still did not think it suited me, but I think I can tolerate it more often.

Next thing I see is Rarity and Twilight around Cadence in an unfinished dress. All three of them jumped at the pop that put us in here. I was glad to see the dress was coming along nicely, and it looked just like Rarity’s first design.

“Good afternoon!” I greeted while they calmed.

“You scared me!” Cadence exclaimed. “Though I guess we’re all a bit jumpy today.”

“You can say that again,” Rarity agreed. I felt Heart Song shrink behind me. “And who is this?”

“Her name is Heart Song,” I told them.

“You sort of met me earlier,” Heart Song said. “I was the one who was posing as Princess Feria during the attack.”

“Now before you say anything!” I jumped in, hearing the alarm bells go off in their heads. “I am the one who kept her here and we are okay with this, and by ‘we’ I mean my sisters and I. Cadence, you were there. Do you remember the Changeling who, upon hearing that Chrysalis had been lying to them, risked her life to stand up for what she believes in?”

“You’re romanticizing it,” Heart Song said, though the blush on her face said she liked it.

“No, she’s right, I do remember you,” Cadence replied. “That was both brave and stupid of you to do. I’m sorry you were lied to like that. A ruler should be honest to her subjects.”

“You have nothing to apologize for!” Heart Song exclaimed. “I should be apologizing for ruining your wedding!”

“It’s not completely ruined!” Cadence assured her. “After all, I’m still getting married today, and considering most of the reporters are covering the attack, so it won’t be as much of a media circus!”

“Now that is not true!” I laughed. “It will probably be even more of a media circus!”

“Not to sound suspicious,” Twilight interrupted. “But are you sure we can trust her? I don’t want to sound paranoid again, but-“

“Twilight you have every right to be paranoid,” I said. “But I trust her.”

“And I trust your judgment,” Twilight replied, “so if you say she’s okay, I’ll agree to it unless proven wrong.”

“As will I,” Rarity interjected, not stopping her work on Cadence’s dress.

“Thank you,” I said. “By the way, Rarity, I was wondering when your sister and her friends got here. I thought they were still in Ponyville?”

“Don’t you remember?” She asked. “The flower fillies we had got a cold. It was your suggestion to bring my sister in. We sent Rainbow Dash to get them this morning.”

“Actually that was me,” Heart Song admitted. “I heard you mention your sister beforehoof, and when you needed somepony I thought it would make sense for Princess Feria to suggest that. I didn’t realize until after I said it that they’d be brought into the attack, but it was in the plan to leave foals alone. I was still wondering if I could get them out of the direct line of fire, though, if it helps.”

“You were much more dedicated to your part than your Queen was,” Rarity remarked. “She didn’t even try to act like the real Princess Cadence, but you did make a good Feria, for the most part. And I don’t blame you, darling. Applejack and I were both going to suggest bringing them in if you hadn’t.”

“Speaking of the wedding,” I interrupted. “I was going to bring Heart Song with me, but then I remembered that she would need a dress.”

“And you wanted to see if I could make something!” she exclaimed. “Well I am just doing the finishing adjustments on the Princess’s wedding dress, so I-“

“Hold on!” Twilight shouted. “I only scheduled enough time for Cadence’s wedding dress and remaking your dress, we can’t-“

“What do you mean my dress?” I asked. “It was fine, was it not?”

“Sorry, dear, but I think it got caught in a fire blast,” Rarity replied, holding up black fabric in her magic. She was right about a fire blast, the skirt was much shorter now, its hem having burnt through quite a few inches, a sleeve was missing too.

“That was probably my fault,” I said. “I threw a lot of fire around, and I did not think to remember where the dress was. You have to remake the entire thing, right?”

“Yes, I have spells for stains and small tears, but none to fix this,” she answered. “But it won’t be too bad to do; I still have the patterns and plenty of fabric left, and I can save most of everything else, just not the skirt or sleeves. I’d love to make a dress for Heart Song, but I wouldn’t have time to do all the measuring and pattern-making and the actual sowing.”

“If I may suggest something,” Heart Song interrupted. “You don’t have to make something completely new. I’m a Changeling; I can change my size and coat color to match whatever you have on hoof.”

“That’s brilliant!” Rarity exclaimed. “I’ll still make something new, I think we can squeeze it in now, but I will insist on making a new dress with the patterns I have.”

“I think there’s barely enough time for that,” Twilight grumbled, writing in an edit on her checklist. “After finishing on Cadence’s dress of course. After that we just have to check on Fluttershy’s songbirds and then the actual wedding!”

* * *

A few hours later we were all gathered back for the wedding. Cadence and I were waiting in the hall for our cue. Cadence was currently pacing back and forth, while my ear was to the door, listening for the song to change.

“Are you nervous?” I chuckled.

“Completely,” she answered. “So many things have already gone wrong, what else could? Do you remember at Zircon’s wedding when Zarnie tripped on her way down the aisle?”

“Yes I do,” I replied. “And considering everything else that has happened, the universe’s laws of ‘something must go wrong’ should give you a break. I am just happy to hear that your nerves are not due to the idea that you should not be doing this.”

“Before this morning I might have wondered if we were moving too fast,” she admitted. “But now, I feel in my heart more than ever that this is right.”

“Your family has always been good at following your hearts,” I grinned. From the door I cloud hear the music change. “There is your cue!”

She got into place next to me as I opened the doors, the flower fillies got the cue too and began leading the way down. There were a lot of ponies here, some were friends, some were dignitaries and famous ponies such as Sapphire Shores or the Wonderbolts. I saw all of the royals in the front row, including a disgruntled Blueblood; Apparently he was upset after being covered in some kind of goop earlier.

All eyes were on Cadence, as they should be on a day like today. I studied everypony as we reached the altar. My friends and the flower fillies stood to our left, looking great in Rarity’s designs. Twilight was on the right, standing next to her brother, and trying not to readjust his outfit again. Celestia’s annoyance from earlier seemed to have disappeared in the last few hours. Heart Song was beside Rarity, wearing an emerald version of my dress, but with gold and silver lining its edge.

I stepped back, mirroring Twilight’s position. I glanced down to the front row again. Four seats were saved out special. Two were occupied by Twilight Velvet and Nightlight, Shining Armor’s parents, but the other two were left empty. A few ponies followed my gaze, giving a silent acknowledgement to Symphony and Dancing Light.

“Mares and Geltlecolts!” Celestia exclaimed. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza-“

“’Princess Cadence’ is fine,” Cadence interrupted.

“The union of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor,” she corrected with a smile. “The strength of their commitment is clear. The power of their love is undeniable. May we have the rings please?”

Spike walked forward, carrying the two gold rings on a red pillow. Celestia picked the rings up in her magic and slid them onto the horns of the bride and groom. I could almost hear the crowd hold its breath as we waited for her next line.

“I now pronounce you mare and colt!” she announced as everypony erupted into cheers. The newlyweds walked forward, past Celestia and out onto the balcony. Most of Canterlot was on the Castle grounds, bursting into even more applause as they saw the couple. Celestia nudged Rainbow Dash, who immediately flew up and preformed a sonic rainboom as Cadence and Shining’s lips met.

“Did I miss anything?” Luna asked, landing next to me.

“Most of the ceremony,” I answered. “You got here for their first kiss as husband and wife. “

“Even with Heart Song’s magic it took a while to get everything back on track,” she sighed.

“Sorry I could not help,” I replied.

“It is alright,” she assured me. “You had to make sure the wedding went off perfectly.”

“It did,” I grinned. “It really was their perfect wedding.”

I watched the guests as we all headed to the reception. Everypony began singing and dancing. I saw Rarity holding up a conversation with Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee, a pony coming up every once in a while to compliment her designs. Rainbow Dash had dragged Applejack over to the Wonderbolts; I laughed to see Saorin’s face turning redder and redder as the conversation went on. Heart Song was with Spike and the Crusaders, entertaining them by changing shape into ponies they knew.

Pinkie was at the DJ’s turntable, helping Vinyl Scratch, giving her the records she needed and hitting buttons and levers just out of reach of the Unicorn. Twilight was singing on the dance floor with Cadence and Shining. Even Fluttershy was socializing; she had been introduced to a few of Shining’s friends from the Royal Guard. She was doing well on her own, but her group was close enough to Rarity’s that if she could save the day if anxiety became too much. I should go down with them, introduce everypony like I promised Fire Trail I would do.
“A moment of happiness,” I heard somepony say. “A calm before my storm.”

I looked around for the voice, but nopony was near me anymore. I shook off the cold fear gripping me. I was not sure I had actually heard it, that my paranoia had not just made it up. I would not let it get to me. If this truly is the calm before his storm, I will enjoy it, but that does not mean I cannot make plans for what will come.

Author's Note:

You know what's the hardest part of this? the songs from the show. Like, it all depends on how the song is used. Like, "Giggle At The Ghosties" is actually a character bursting into song so it needs to stay in. And other songs like "Generosity" can be skipped altogether. But both "BBBFF" and "This Day Aria" had to be turned into dialogue. Don't think I did too bad, but eh.