My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition

by SuperPinkBrony12

Chapter 52: A Queen Exposed

Princess Celestia and Twilight's friends waited for as long as they possibly could for her to return, but it didn't occur. At last, Princess Celestia admitted defeat. Barely able to contain the sadness in her eyes, she reluctantly said to everyone gathered "We can not delay the wedding any longer, or the imposter will become suspicious. Even if Twilight managed to locate the real Cadence, we must assume they could not escape. We will hold the wedding as planned, and then we will have to confront the imposter when she is vulnerable."

All of the friends took the news hard, not a single smile could be found on their faces. All that fake anger in front of the public had all been for naught. But Spike took the news hardest of all. "My family is gone," he said glumly "My mother has been captured and possibly killed, and my uncle is brainwashed completely. I couldn't protect them when they needed it most."

"Don't blame yourself, Spikey-Wikey," Rarity replied, putting her hoof around the little dragon "There was nothing any of us could've done. We should've noticed something was off much sooner, and acted on it before Shining Armor was brainwashed."

"I alone hold the burden of guilt for these recent events," Princess Celestia insisted, her voice sounding not unlike that of a mother who had lost her child to a war "Cadence was my niece, and yet I couldn't sense the change in her behavior until Twilight came charging into my room. If I acted sooner, we would not be having this discussion. But to the public, we must hide our grief. If we wish to thwart the imposter's plans, we can't let her suspect we know her secret."

"I still say we should just call off the wedding and 'persuade' the imposter to tell us everything!" Rainbow Dash said angrily, smashing her front hooves together "And if she's done anything to Twilight, I'll make her regret it in an instant!"

"Hatred and violence won't bring back Twilight, or free Shining Armor from the imposter's control," Fancy Pants replied with a shake of his head "Such an act would only lead to suffering for us all."

"So we just pretend we don't care that we cast our best friend out of the most important day of her life?!" Applejack asked, steam blowing out of her nostrils "It sickens me that we have to keep up this lie! What point is there in keepin' up the act?!"

"This imposter snuck into Canterlot under my very nose, impersonated and imprisoned or even killed my niece without my knowing," Princess Celestia replied unhappily "There is no telling what else she might do if she believes her plan is at risk of being thwarted."

"How can you even be sure the imposter is a girl?" Soarin asked.

To everyone's shock, Princess Celestia replied by saying "There is only one creature I know that is capable of such advanceded deception, though why she has not yet made her demands clear, I do not know. Her name is Chrysalis, Queen Chrysalis. I encountered her once before, but could not bring myself to destroy her and her race. Instead, I sealed they away in a remote location where I thought they would never be able to escape. It seems, that is yet another mistake of my youth. And yet another threat that I have been powerless to stop. If I act now, Twilight and Cadence could be lost forever, if they are still alive."

"And if they aren't?" Big Macintosh nervously asked.

"Then Chrysalis will likely turn the public against me. They will only see an innocent young mare being harassed and tormented by her overbearing aunt for no good reason. Such an act would leave me with no choice but to step down, and with Luna's lack of knowledge about the evil queen, she will be powerless to stop her." Princess Celestia explained, and nothing more was said. Twilight's friends sadly realized that there was little that they could do against a queen that Princess Celestia had once faced.

Reluctantly, the wedding would have to take place as planned.

---

It was not easy to convince Shinining Armor and Twilight's friends to keep up the act, and pretend that nothing was wrong, even when they knew the truth. Multiple times, Applejack looked like she was going to crack and expose the secret. But Big Macintosh just barely kept her under control, as the imposter posing as Princess Cadence made her way to the alter.

"Princess Cadence-" Princess Celestia began.

"Please, call me Princess Mi'Amore Cadenza. After all, it is the title I was given when you adopted me." The imposter Cadence interrupted rudely.

Princess Celestia sighed, but obeyed "Princess 'Mi'Amore Cadenza'," she said, barely able to maintain a straight face "Do you take Shining Armor Sparkle to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for as long as you shall live?"

"I do." The fake Cadence said with a grin.

"And what about you, Shining Armor?" Princess Celestia asked, even though she secretly knew the truth "Do you take Princess 'Mi'Amore Cadenza' to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for as long as you shall live?"

"I do." Shining Armor replied slowly, sounding almost emotionless and robotic like. To everyone but Princess Celestia, Twilight and Shining Armor's friends, Spike, and the imposter Cadence, they assumed it was because he was recovering from the grief of having to kick his sister out of the wedding.

"Very well then," Princess Celestia nodded "Now, if there is anyone among us who wishes to object to this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace."

As if to actually respond to Princess Celestia's request, the doors suddenly flung open, and in marched a furious looking Twilight Sparkle covered in dust and scratch marks. Her mane and tail looked like they had not been styled in a few hours, but otherwise she seemed to be alright. "I object! Nopony as mean as that WITCH is marrying my brother!" This prompted the entire audience to gasp in surprise, and it wasn't long before everyone started whispering to each other about what was going on.

"Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?" The fake Cadence asked rudely, causing all eyes to be cast towards her. "Why does she have to ruin my special day?" she sobbed, tears streaking down her face.

"Because, it's not your special day!" a familiar voice replied, and into the room trotted what appeared to be a second Princess Cadence. But this seemed to be as dirty and beat up as Twilight.

"Imposter!" The Cadence at the alter shouted "She's with the enemy! They've been sent here to capture me!"

"Don't listen to her, she's the imposter!" The Cadence at the door shouted back.

"Ignore her, she'll say anything to make you believe she's me and I'm not!" The Cadence at the alter pleaded.

"She's the one who's trying to trick you! She kidnapped me and took my place, she's been posing as me the whole time!" The Cadence at the door insisted.

---

"I don't believe what I'm seeing," Rumble exclaimed, as he and his fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders obeserved the situation "Two Princess Cadences, and both of them say they're real and the other's a fake!"

"This must be a dream!" Scootaloo remarked "Any moment now I'm going to wake up and you're all going to laugh at me for watching too many movies before bed!"

"But if this is a dream, why are we all having the same one?" Sweetie Belle asked "Besides, this feels more like a nightmare."

"This ain't a dream, I can feel it!" Apple Bloom said with a shake of her head "The only problem is, I don't know who to believe."

Having overheard this conversation, the Princess Cadence in the dress smirked as she said "Well then, perhaps we should correct that problem before somepony does something they'll regret."

"But, how do we prove who's real, and who's a fake?" Thunderlane asked.

"Why don't we let Twilight decide?" the beaten up Princess Cadence suggested "After all, she's the one who claims to know me so well, and is the one who suspected something was off about me."

"For once, I agree with you," the Cadence at the alter chuckled fiendishly "Twilight started this whole fiasco, it's only fitting that she should solve it. Let her ask us both a question. One that only the REAL Princess Cadence would know. Whoever answers correctly gets to stay, the loser will be arrested!"

"Is that okay with you, Twilight?" the Cadence at the door asked nervously "I'd hate to put more pressure on you after everything we've been through."

"It's fine, I already know what question I need to ask to put an end to all this," Twilight said seriously, and cleared her throat "What is the nickname that Shining Armor gave me as a filly, and still occasionally likes to call me?"

Almost as soon as the question had been asked, the beaten up Princess Cadence said with a smile "That's easy, Twily. I should know, it's a nickname I used from time to time when I foalsat you. You were the filly I loved to sit for the most, although you were quite the hoofful from time to time."

"That can't be! You cheated!" the Princess Cadence in the dress growled "How did you escape my brides maids?!"

"They were easily distracted, I knew their weakness," the beaten up Cadence said with a smile "Now, why don't you drop the act, and show us who you really are? You don't honestly think you can fool anyone any longer, do you?"

For a moment, the Cadence at the alter was silent. She just glared at the other Cadence, and Twilight with a look that rivaled even Fluttershy's personal stare in terms of intensity. Then, her eyes grew a sickly shade of green, as a similarly colored circle of flames surrounded her. "So be it, I have no use for this disguise any longer!" she shouted furiously, as she began to transform "Now you'll see me for who I REALLY am! The mighty Chrysalis, Queen of The Changelings!" And the fake Cadence began to transform into what could only described as a giant bug that had somehow fused with a pony's body. She had several holes in her legs and arms, sharp fangs, and a darkly colored blueish-green mane and tail that hung limp at her side.

---

"It may be a first, but it's far from a pleasure," Queen Chrysalis hissed, her voice echoing throughout the throne room "I have been humilated and made a fool of, and I don't like that at all!"

"Well, I 'hate' to break it you, but you walked right into a trap," Twilight said with a smirk "What you saw earlier was all a well staged act by my friends, and Princess Celestia."

"Did you really think we'd be so petty as to cast our friend aside for the sake of a royal wedding?!" Applejack said angrily, glad that she could finally drop the act "If so, you're either really arrogant, or really stupid!"

"What?! That's impossible! My plan was fool proof!" Queen Chrysalis bellowed, as the rage inside her continued to build "Equestria has more love than any place I've ever encountered! Ever since I took Princess Cadence's place, I've been feeding off of Shining Armor's love for her! With each passing second he grows weaker and weaker, as does the spell he cast that has kept my children at bay! But even as we speak, they are chipping away at that protective forcefield! Once it falls, so does Canterlot! And once we take this city, we'll bring all of Equestria to knees! After your high and mighty ruler ruined my good looks, and locked me in that volcanic prison, I'd say this is only fair! An eye for an eye, and a nation for a nation!"

"So, that was your plan all along?!" Princess Celestia asked, locking horns with Queen Chrysalis "You're even more cocky and careless than you were when we last met!"

"You won't be so lucky this time!" Queen Chrysalis hisssed "When we last fought, I was but a learner! Now, the roles have reversed, and it is I who is the stronger mare!"

Princess Celestia responded with a smile as she said to Queen Chrysalis "Maybe, but you've overlooked a key detail. You've made two fatal mistakes. The first was replacing Princess Cadence without taking the time to learn how she behaved, thinking that the stress of the wedding would be enough to fool anyone. And the second, was exposing yourself before my eyes! You will not invade Equestria, not as long as I'm here to stop you!" And with those words, Princess Celestia rose into the air, and shot off a powerful blast of magic from her horn.

"Then you'd better be prepared to strike me down, Princess!" Queen Chrysalis taunted, as she countered with a magic blast of her own. The two beams collided in mid-air, producing quite the show for everyone.

But while all that was going on, Princess Cadence seized the opportunity, and raced up to the alter. "Now's my only chance," she thought to herself, as she carefully lit up her horn "If this doesn't work, I've lost Shining Armor forever." and once her horn was enveloped in a soft blue glow, she touched the tip of it to Shining Armor's forehead, while a few tears trickled down her cheeks. There was a flash, and Princess Cadence shut her eyes.

---

Shining Armor wasn't exactly sure what happened. All he knew, was that one second there was a powerful and blinding flash of blue light. And then, when he opened his eyes, he realized he could no longer feel the hynoptic influence of Queen Chrysalis' magic flowing through his mind. He had been set free.

Shaking his head, as the world around him slowly came back into focus, Shining Armor looked up, and gasped! Princess Celestia was engaged in a vicious beam struggle with Queen Chrysalis, and neither side seemed to be gaining or losing an inch of ground. "What's going on?!" he asked.

"You've been freed from Chrysalis's brainwashing!" Princess Cadence exclaimed happily, as she embraced Shining Armor in a hug "That nasty queen tried to use you to bring down Canterlot, but Twilight thwarted her plans, and now Auntie Celestia is gonna give that witch what she deserves!"

Cadence had no sooner spoken those words, when an unexpected developmet occurred. Princess Celestia seemed to finally gain the upper hoof, as her beam almost completely overpowered Queen Chrysalis'. "THIS INVASION ENDS NOW!" she bellowed in her Royal Canterlot voice "SURRENDER, OR BE DESTROYED!"

Queen Chrysalis screamed and winced, as she struggled to muster up the strength needed just to keep her beam pressing against Princess Celestia's "NEVER!" she shouted defiantly. Then, the unthinkable happened! Somehow, Chrysalis' beam managed to push back Princess Celestia's beam and completely overpower it. The blast was so powerful, that it knocked Celestia's crown off her forehead and sent it flying through the air, until it hit the ground with a faintly audiable "tink".

Princess Celestia hit the floor a second later, the top of her horn was covered in black scorch marks as a result of the blast "I........... failed." she muttered weakly. Everyone gasped!

Queen Chrysalis smirked with triumph, as she stood at the alter, looking down on her defeated foe "Well, that was unexpected," she said to herself "It seems that even though he's no longer under my control, Shining Armor's love for Princess Cadence is stronger than I could've ever imagined. Consuming it has made me more powerful than even your precious Princess Celestia! And now, there is no one left who can stand in my way!"

"You....... won't win....... Chrysalis." Princess Celestia groaned, as she struggled to stand. It turned out to be a pointless endevor, her body could not hold out and she collapsed onto the floor again.

"It was foolish of you to hold back like that," Queen Chrysalis taunted "Not that it matters, you and I both know you could never bring yourself to unleash your full power against me. That's why you'll always lose, you're too soft."

"Just you wait, Auntie Luna will-" Princess Cadence warned.

"You idiot!" Queen Chrysalis interrupted "Don't you think I'm aware of Princess Luna's existence?! I'll see to it that she never makes it here, I'll send some of my best forces to tie her up! And anyone else who attempts to challenge me will meet the same fate as Princess Celestia."

"Then you'll have to defeat me as well!" Princess Cadence boldly proclaimed, and quickly shot off a magic blast from her horn. The blast caught Chrysalis by surprise, knocking the changeling queen back a bit.

"Why couldn't you just stay in those caves like a good little princess?" Queen Chrysalis asked, as she fired off her sickely green magic blast.

"That's one trick I could never learn." Princess Cadence replied, as she countered with a soft blue magic blast from her horn. The two beams of magic collided, and a struggle not unlike the one between Chrysalis and Celestia commenced.

---

"Cadence, what are you doing?!" Shining Armor asked. Cadence was no match for the queen of changelings, surely she had to know this. What could she possibly stand to gain by engaging in battle with someone that had just stricken down Princess Celestia?

"I'm buying you time!" Princess Cadence explained, as she struggled to keep her beam from being overpowered "You and your friends must reach the Elements of Harmony, before it's too late! They're the only things that can put this royal pain in her place!"

"Cadence, I can't leave you! Not after you just freed me!" Shining Armor insisted "If you keep this up, you're likely to be killed!"

"It's a risk I must take, for the sake of Equestria, and for you!" Princess Cadence replied "Now go, don't worry about me!"

"But Cadence-" Shining Armor pleaded.

"GO, NOW!" Princess Cadence ordered in her Royal Canterlot voice. It would seem that such a trait ran in all three alicorns that currently existed, and for two of them, it appeared whenever they were angry or wished to make a point.

Reluctantly, Shining Armor nodded "Just hold on tight, Cadence! I'll be back for you, I promise!" he said, and whistled to his friends "Come on guys, let's go!"

"We'll stay with Twilight," Applejack insisted "She's goin' to need our support. Besides, we won't be much help against those changelin's."

"Cousin Applejack, you do realize that by stayin', you're likely to be captured." Braeburn said nervously.

"I know that, Braeburn, and so do the other girls," Applejack nodded "Just go, we'll be fine. No matter what happens, you've got to get to those Elements of Harmony, so you can bust those bad boys out and give Queen Cheeselegs somethin' to really be afraid of."

"I heard that, you insulent worm!" Queen Chrysalis shouted angrily, before she was hit by another beam of magic from Princess Cadence.

"Oh, did that hurt? Sorry!" Princess Cadence taunted, sticking her tounge out at Queen Chrysalis.

"We're wasting time standing around here," Soarin said seriously "Let's move it!" And with that, he, Big Macintosh, Braeburn, Thunderlane, Fancy Pants, and Shining Armor, all raced out the front door as fast as they could.

---

"It's just you and me now, Cadence," Queen Chrysalis smirked, as the beam struggle continued "And this time, Shining Armor isn't here to save you."

"You won't win, Chrysalis," Princess Cadence replied, even as she attempted to keep her beam of magic from being overpowered "When Shining Armor and his friends come back, you won't have anything to be smiling about."

"Oh, what a lovely but absolutely ridiculous sentiment." Queen Chrysalis taunted, and she began to sing:

This day is going to be perfect,

The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small.

Everypony was gathering round,

Said I looked lovely in my gown.

Not once did they suspect I'd fooled them all!

Much to the surprise of everyone watching the struggle, Princess Cadence began to sing in response:

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.

With an evil laugh, Queen Chrysalis sang:

I could care less about the dress,

I won't partake in any cake!

Vows,

I was lying all the way!

That through any kind of weather,

I'd want us to be together.

The truth is, I never cared 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!

Princess Cadence heroically sang in response:

I escaped before it was too late,

I'll find a way to save the day!

Hope,

I'd be lying if I say:

'I don't fear that I may lose him,

To one who wants to use him.

Not love for him, and cherish him each day.'

For I oh so love the groom!

All my thoughts he does consume!

Oh, Shining Armor!

I'm doing this for you!

As the beam struggle began to wind down, and Queen Chrysalis' beam began to overpower Princess Cadence's, she grinned and sang:

Finally,

The moment has arrived!

For ME,

To be one lucky bride!

Even as she realized she didn't have enough strength left to fight Queen Chrysalis, Princess Cadence sang nervously in response:

Oh please,

Tell me it's not too late!

This cannot be,

Equestria's fate!

The next line was sung by both Chrysalis AND Cadence:

Shining Armor,

Will be-

But it was Queen Chrysalis who got the final verse, as her beam destroyed Princess Cadence's, and knocked the young alicorn of love to the floor much like her adopted aunt:

Mine! All mine!

Author's Note:

I borrowed a bit of Chrysalis' background from the IDW comics, in regards to how Princess Celestia knew about Chrysalis.

Since Shining Armor is the Element of Magic in this universe, he couldn't stay brainwashed for the same length of time he did in the original episode.

As for Princess Celestia, common fandom speculation as to why she lost to Queen Chrysalis is because she was holding back. And considering what the comics show, that speculation seems to make a surprising amount of sense. Her moment of Royal Canterlot voice was an attempt to show what would if she were to go all out.

And since Chrysalis sang "This Day Aria" in a duet with Cadence towards the end of this chapter, I like to think that while she was getting ready for her "wedding" Queen Chrysalis was singing this song to herself in her room, while in disguise:

Comments

[kahnac]

Very awesome. And i'm glad Shining's free now. I just couldn't stand seeing him enslaved like that any longer. Guess it must be because of how much i like him so. Though i do like the callback you made to IDW. It was really cool. And so was the "battle duet" as i'll call it. Now, it's time for Shining, and his friends to save the day. let's hope he can succeed. (Though we know he wiiiiilllll~:D)

[Godiswithus3]

First of all, "queen cheeselegs?"

Secondly, the duet was brilliant.

[Yoshifan30]

Oh my god that was something Again I do like the twist in the story so now they need to stop queen chrysalis and it looks like princess cadence got to shining armor and free him so now shining armor and his friends is going to the elements of harmonies and i do like the song dust during the battle awsome