64 vs. The Underground

by Jman9877

Chapter 63

Chapter 63

3rd Person POV

2 weeks flew by, each and everyday making 64 more and more frustrated. Absolutely nothing came up regarding the location of Chrysalis, as well as the location of Blusa and Crossroads. After calling Grey Streak to see if he knew anything, he immediately insisted on flying out to Canterlot and helping in the search.

Same went for Crossroads’ parents, who knew nothing about where their daughter was. They too had received word that she went on a vacation, but didn’t know where to or when she would get back. This just led to further suspicious and anger with 64, who also worried about the upcoming wedding.

That… was a whole ‘nother problem…

“Shining! Focus!” 64 barked at the Captain, who gasped startled before rubbing his eyes with his hooves. They were both in his office, with interrogation transcripts littering the desks and apparent photos of green flames in dark alleys and backroads.

“Huh?! Wha? Oh… sorry 64. I’m… just so tired right now…” Shining yawned, receiving a small glare from 64. “I was up all night with Cadence trying to see what the difference was between eggshell tablecloths and pale brown tablecloths…”

“Why the heck do you need to worry about that? I thought the attendants were taking care of decorations.” 64 asked, looking over the latest interview with one of the chefs. “It seems as if she’s trying to intentionally tire you out.”

“Heh, I don’t think she’d do something like that.” Shining looked over at the wall clock and sighed, realizing that he would need to go and add power to the forcefield he and 64 put up. “That time of day again…”

“You want me to give it a shot? I know Celestia told me to watch it with the magic, but I think I can handle it.” 64 offered, but Shining shook his head.

“Let me just… go get my armor on. It’s almost time for me to stand with the guards outside.” With that, Shining walked over to his Armor Closet and pulled out his captain uniform, the gold shining brightly in the dim room.

The gold armor reminded 64 of Aurum.

It had been like this for about a week. In the morning, Shining was being hit by splitting migraines, and from what 64 was told, Cadence was helping by alleviating the pain. 64 didn’t know a spell that could transfer pain from one pony to another, but Cadence probably had a bit more experience than him when it came to Restoration magic.

By the afternoon, Shining was dragged off by his fiance to do some sort of meaningless task, and always came back exhausted. It was becoming irritating to 64, who thought that the fact that ponies were in danger was more important than discussing clashing color schemes.

“Shining, look at yourself. Celestia told you that you wouldn’t have to worry about anything regarding the wedding, but look at you now. You have bags under your eyes, and your mane looks like it’s gotten two shades lighter.” 64 pointed out. “Take a break, and let me handle the shield.”

“N-No. I’m not some foal that needs to be watched constantly. I can handle this.” He grunted, putting on his armor and helmet. As 64 got up to block the doorway, Shining just shoved him aside to get outside.

“Dammit man…” 64 groaned, following Shining so he wouldn’t drop dead on his way there. “By the time you have to get married, you’re going to be too tired to stand.”

“I’ll be fine. All you have to worry about is making sure you can find everything you can about Chrysalis in the next 2 days. And you might be getting some extra help today too.” Shining told 64, continuing walking through the barracks towards the ground floor. “My sister and the Elements of Harmony should be getting a letter from Princess Celestia early in the morning inviting them to the wedding. And that’s another headache I might have to deal with too…”

“Why would that be a headache? Twilight should be ecstatic about you getting married.” 64 questioned, making Shining release a shivered sigh.

“I… never……...to tell ………. married…” He muttered, 64 not hearing him.

“Say that again?”

“I never made the time to tell her that I was getting married, okay?! Things… just flew by too fast”

64’s blood ran cold at that statement, knowing how pissed Twilight would be after that. “You better tell her that when she gets here.” He warned.

“I hope she’ll listen though… ever since we’ve been foals she’s been quick to jump to conclusions. I once forgot to tell her that Cadence wasn’t coming to babysit her for a few days, and she responded by refusing to speak with me for over a month. Imagine what she will do when she finds out I didn’t tell her I was getting married…”

The rest of the walk towards the Canterlot Palace Walls was made in silence, 64 looking left and right towards the many attendants dashing up and down the halls. The wedding was the next day, and 64 was made Head Of Security of the ceremonies, making him responsible for the well being of every single pony in the Palace before, during, and after the wedding.

There wasn’t a single pony or person in the Palace without a job, and unless everyone performed it perfectly, the entire thing would fall apart.

Well, that’s what Cadence had been saying anyway. 64 noticed that she was turning into a mega bridezilla, ordering around attendants to make sure that every little detail was correct. He wanted to step in and tell her that everypony was working as hard as they could, but Shining had assured him that he would take care of it.

The Captain and Human arrived at the Walls, where nearly every single guard available stood at attention, looking out for anything or anypony that even looked at the Palace the wrong way.

“I still can’t believe everypony bought the wedding excuse…” 64 muttered, watching as some civilians walked along the roads below.

Celestia and Princess Luna both used an indescribable amount of tact and PR talent to successfully distract the public from questioning the increase in Guards and the Force Field surrounding Canterlot. Of course, there were still a few who were a bit wary, but they were immediately labeled as paranoid and were ignored by a majority of the public.

“Well it’s lucky they did. There’s no need for anypony to worry anymore than they have to.” Shining replied, 64 shaking his head at this answer.

“I think there’s a very big reason to worry. Chrysalis is somewhere around here skulking around and planning. It’s obvious she plans to attack during your wedding, and we still have no clue where she is right now.” 64 growled, placing his hands on the edge of the wall and staring over it. “I won’t have some bug hellbent on reclaiming her Throne ruining one of my best friend’s wedding.”

Shining smiled at that, seeing how willing 64 was to protect him. “And she won’t. But you can’t beat yourself up about not being able to find her. She’ll come up eventually.”

“Sir! Solaris Squad reporting in!” A Pegasus Guard chanted, about 4 more Pegasi behind him. “What are our orders?”

Shining began to give the squad their orders as 64 continued to stare over the edge of the wall. He saw a flash of purple in the distance, and squinted his eyes to get a closer look. The speck of purple seemed to be getting closer and closer, but 64 still couldn’t make out what it was.

“You, Spyglass me.” 64 ordered, pointing to a Unicorn Guard standing to his right. The guard handed him a Spyglass out of his satchel and 64 peered through it, focusing to see what was coming. He froze up when he finally saw it. “Um… Shining?”

The Captain looked over his shoulder and saw 64 looking out in the distance with the Spyglass. “What is it?”

“It’s your sister, and she looks very very pissed…” 64 warned, continuing to peer through the Spyglass. Shining blanched and took the spyglass for himself, seeing the Purple unicorn headed straight for them.

“Damn, thought I had more time…” Shining groaned, not ready to explain this all to Twilight yet. “Get down there and stall her a bit 64. I have to go get somepony.”

64 nodded and jumped over the wall, grunting as he hit the ground. He jogged towards Twilight and intercepted her, giving her a smile.

“Hey Twilight! Here for the…” 64 tried to say, before Twilight just teleported around him. “...wedding?”

64 grunted and ran to catch up to Twilight. “Hey, I’m trying to say hello here, maybe the least you can do is say hello back?”

“Hello 64. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go beat my brother senseless unless he gives me a good reason for not telling me he was getting married.” Twilight grunted, not slowing down in the slightest.

“Let’s not get hasty Twilight, he actually has a really good reason for that.”

Twilight growled and turned towards 64, a very angry look in her eyes. “What reason could he possibly have that he didn’t tell his own sister that he was getting married!?” She yelled.

64 peeked over her head and saw that Shining Armor was back on the Wall, giving him the okay to send her over. “I think you should go ask him yourself.” 64 answered, pointing up towards Shining.

Twilight followed his finger and saw her brother, immediately stomping off towards him. 64 sighed and ran a hand through his hair, following the mare close behind.

“I’ve got something to say to you mister!” Twilight yelled, catching the attention of every single guard in the area. Seeing the new threat, they all brandished their Spears towards the mare, before 64 held up his hand in a palm.

“She’s a friendly!” He warned, making all of the guards relax and stand at attention.

Shining Armor leaned over the wall and took off his helmet, a wide grin on his face to try and defuse the terrible feeling he was getting from Twilight.

“‘Twily! Ah, I've missed, you, kid. How was the train ride?” Shining prattled on, trying to keep Twilight from getting straight to the point. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t have it.

“How dare you not tell me face to face that you were getting married! I'm your sister, for pony's sake!” She demanded, swatting away the hoof that Shining was about to put around her shoulders.

64 whistled nervously and turned to walk away, knowing better than to get caught up in a sibling rivalry. That was until a voice called from far away, catching his attention immediately.

“64!” The voice yelled, causing 64 to turn around so fast that he wasn’t sure how he didn’t get whiplash.

“Ghost!” He yelled happily, kneeling down as he saw the young changeling charging towards him. The colt shot towards 64 and hugged him with a flying tackle, sending 64 onto his back as they wrapped their arms around each other.

“I haven’t seen you in forever!” Ghost yelped happily.

“It’s only been about a month Ghost.” 64 chuckled, seeing the new red bowtie around Ghost’s neck. “Where’d you get that bow? It looks a lot like one... Applebloom would wear…” 64 gave Ghost a knowing grin.

Ghost buzzed in embarrassment and punched 64 in the chest. “It’s not like that! She gave to me when we first started school.” Ghost explained, getting off of 64 and stepping off of the side.

“School? I didn’t think you’d go to school willingly.” 64 said as he sat upright. “Why’d you go to school?”

“Well, I first did it so I could keep an eye on Applebloom during the day, but I also wanted to go because I’ve never been to an actual class before. I was always cooped with a private tutor.”

“And how’s she been? Any problems?”

Ghost shifted a bit, fiddling with his bowtie nervously. "Well... I guess you could say that... Applebloom dabbled in some sort of cutie mark magic, and when I went to go find out how to cure it, she started freaking out because she felt vulnerable and scared. I got back a little while later with Zecora, and she was able to fix everything."

"Well that's good. Any other incidents?"

“I was talking with Applebloom after the cutie mark incident in private, but apparently Scootaloo was listening in too. She saw me take off the disguise I had on, and she ran off thinking that I had brainwashed the Apple Family.”

64’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but stayed silent to allow Ghost to continue. “I caught up with her as she was running away and talked some sense into her, but I still think she doesn’t trust me too much.”

“How did the girls react when they found out I recommended them for flower fillies?” 64 chuckled, seeing Ghost stifle a laugh.

“They were all there when we got the letter from Celestia. I didn’t know Sweetie Belle could run around screaming that fast.”

“Glad to see that nothing too serious happened. Now c’mon, I still got a lot of work to do for the wedding.”

“Can I help?”

64 hummed to himself and shrugged. “You know what, yes you can.” 64 looked left and right, trying to see if there were a lot of ears listening in. “There’s been a breach in security, and we still haven’t found where the intruder is.”

Ghost’s ears perked up a bit in surprise. “What kind of intrusion?”

“A changeling one....”

Ghost remained silent, looking down at the ground. “Well… that’s not good.” He muttered, flying up and landing on 64’s shoulders. “How many?”

“One as far as we know. A Queen.” 64 explained. “Queen Chrysalis apparently has infiltrated Canterlot, and she’s sneaking around somewhere. She’s already taken 2 mares, Blusa and Crossroads, and we have no idea where they are. All I can do is watch out if anypony is acting strange or differently. Do you think you can trace Changeling Magic?”

“Well, a Queen’s magic is a bit more difficult to differentiate from regular magic. I can look around, but with everypony in the Palace using magic it will be harder to find the changeling magic.” Ghost pondered.

“Well I can’t just get everypony to stop using their magic…” 64 grunted, pacing around with Ghost on his head. “Any other ideas?”

“Hm… what about springing a trap?”

64 scoffed a bit at that, remembering how well things went the last time he sprung a trap. “I don’t have the best track record when it comes to traps. What would we use as bait?”

"What do you think? What is something that no Changeling can ever resist?" Ghost hinted, causing an answer to spring into 64's thoughts.

"Love... But who would we use? Who could we..." 64 stopped as he realized who could help, but he knew she would refuse immediately. "Shit..."

"What's wrong 64?" Ghost asked, seeing his sudden change of attitude.

"I know who to go to for the burst of love we need to attract a Queen, but she's getting married..."

Ghost realized that 64 was talking about Princess Cadence, but didn't know why that was a bad thing. "Well if you need help, why would she refuse?"

"Well for one thing, asking a mare to help capture a criminal one day before her wedding would just be unethical. And two, she's an absolute mess right now. She's stressing about every single little detail in her wedding, making sure every little thing is alright. I swear she's not acting like herself every since Shining proposed." 64 explained.

“Well, she is the Princess of Love. Of course she would be a little crazy for her wedding. SHe’s probably just super excited and not sure what to do.” Ghost rationalized. “Still, it wouldn’t be a terrible idea just to ask her.

64 nodded and was about to go and find her, when he heard the tell tale sign of an enormous amount of magic being gathered up. He didn’t notice that as he and Ghost talked, Shining Armor was also talking with Twilight.

With a burst of light, Shining shot of a large beam of magic towards the sky, where it collided with the pink and red shields collectively. With a gleaming shimmer, the shields were reinforced, giving them a bit power power and longevity.

With a wince and groan which were poorly concealed, Shining put a hoof to the side of his head, trying to rub away the headache he was developing. 64 walked over to him and sighed.

“I keep telling you, if the headaches are becoming too much, I’ll take over on putting up the shield.” 64 scolded, but Shining just grunted and looked away.

“And Celestia told you that you shouldn’t be using large amounts of magic like that either. What if you become vulnerable to Super Nova again?” Shining refuted, trying to counter the humans offer.

That comment hit a nerve with 64, knowing that he was slightly correct. The regular urges of anger and hostility had been suppressed ever since Celestia put those suppressants around his wrists, and along with the very eye opening moment he had with Luna, he was pretty sure that he could hold out against Super Nova.

“That won’t happen again.” 64 snapped back, seeing the confused stares both he and Shining Armor were receiving from Twilight. “We’ll get you up to speed.”

With that, Shining led his sister up the stairs to the Walls, 64 and Ghost following behind him. “Have you told her about… her?” 64 asked, receiving a nod from Shining. The stallion looked at his sister and sighed.

“I’ve been told by Celestia to only worry about the shield, but 64 and I have been scouring the Palace for clues to tell us where the Changeling is. The burden of keeping Canterlot safe and secure rests squarely on his and my shoulders. Staying focused on the task at hand has been our top priority.” Shining told Twilight, continuing to walk across the wall.

“Okay, okay, I get it. You've got a really important job protecting all of Canterlot with a force field only you can conjure up. But still... how could you not tell me about something as big as your wedding?” Twilight asked, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. “Am I not that important to you anymore?”

Shining quickly saw to get rid of those ideas. “Hey. You're my little sister. Of course you're important to me.” He comforted, before growing a smug look on his face. “But I'd understand if you didn't want to be my best mare now.”

64 chuckled and shook his head, realizing Shining’s plan all along. Within moments, she was now giving him a look of amazement, happily accepting his offering of being his best mare. But of course, she wouldn’t be swayed easily.

“But I'm still pretty ticked you're marrying somepony I don't even know! When did you even meet this ’Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’?” Twilight questioned, receiving a head tilt from 64.

“Celestia used her full Bitallion name in the letter?” He asked.

“It’s what she wanted.” Shining responded, but Twilight poked him in the chest again.

“Answer me!” She demanded, getting a chuckle from her brother.

“Twily, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadance, your old foalsitter.”

64 POV

Within a few moments, Twilight was was spouting off memories of her old adventure with Cadence, bouncing around happily as Ghost and I watched with smiles. Twilight looked so happy, and I’m glad that she was actually able to have those memories with her.

Who knows how things might might have been if things had gone differently…

I didn’t notice that as Twilight was bouncing around Shining Armor in glee, somepony had come up from behind me. Once I felt their presence I turned around with my fists clenched, not sure who it was. I let out a small sigh when I saw Cadence standing there, a less than pleased look on her face.

“I hope I'm not interrupting anything important.” She said in an almost scolding tone. When Twilight saw her, I stepped out of the the way to let her through. Ghost’s wings began to buzz as he took flight, hovering next to me as he adjusted his bowtie a bit.

“Cadance! Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Twilight chanted, causing me and Ghost to question whether this mare was going insane or not. After a few moments of awkward silence from Cadence, Twilight got up from her provocative position and smiled at Cadence.

“What are you doing?” The Princess of Love questioned, not used to having a mare all of a sudden start dancing in front of her.

My eyebrow raised in curiosity. I know Cadence was all stressed out about the wedding, but if what Twilight had said about all the fun times she and Cadence had was true, then she must’ve been driving herself even more ragged than I thought.

“Cadance, it's me, Twilight!” Twilight exclaimed, holding her forelegs out for a hug. Instead of the happy reunion I was expecting to happen, Cadence just gave her a small sigh of acknowledgement and walked around her, going straight for Shining Armor.

She nuzzled up against him affectionately, Shining draping a leg over her. “I've gotta get back to my station, but Cadance will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going.” Shining explained, to Twilight, as Ghost and I just stood spectating. “I think I speak for both of us when I say we couldn't be more excited to have you here. Right, dear?”

Cadence put on a face of… well, not one that I could identify, but it wasn’t her usual demeanor. “Absolutely.” She answered, her tone being one of malicious intent if I could label it. I stared at Cadence for a bit until she made eye contact with me, giving me a cheerful smile.

“Well, we'll let you get to it.” Shining finished, both he and his bride to be walking away. I noticed Twilight wasn’t following them, her expression a bit confused.

“You okay Twilight?” I asked, seeing that she made no move to go anywhere.

“What was wrong with her? Has she just completely forgotten about me?” Twilight whispered, looking up at me for answers. “It was as if she was a completely different pony.”

I sighed and shook my head, scratching an itch I had on my cheek. “She’s been a bit irritable lately. She’s been acting really bossy towards most of the Palace staff, and always tries to drag Shining away when we’re investigating the disappearances. I know she’s acting differently, but with her wedding right around the corner, all of her focus is probably centered towards the special day. Don’t hold it against her Twilight.”

Twilight sighed and began walking away. “I’ll go to the Kitchen and help Applejack get started on the catering.” She said dejectedly, walking away.

I looked towards Ghost, and I saw that his face was contorted into one of very deep thought. “What’s on your mind Ghost?”

“What did Twilight say? Back there about Cadence?” He asked me, as I recalled her words.

“Umm… something about Cadence acting like a...... completely different…… no…” I knew what Ghost was trying to insinuate, and stared at him. “You… you can’t really think that can you?”

“You said it yourself that you were looking out for anypony that was acting strange or differently. And based on what Twilight was saying, Cadence has been doing both.” Ghost explained, continuing to buzz around me. “I don’t think that just because she’s a Princess means that you should eliminate her as a suspect.”

I looked over the edge of the bridge we were on and thought about it. Usually, Cadence was one of the most kind and gentle ponies anyone could ever meet, but ever since Shining had proposed she had been acting aggressive and very authoritative. That was not her normal behaviour, and now I was curious.

“I can see why you’re saying this, but everypony starts to stress out when they’re put under pressure. We can’t just make assumptions like that until we have hard evidence.” I rationalized. Ghost sighed and rubbed the side of his head.

“I get that, but I’m saying it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on her. How about this, I’ll tail her and keep tabs on her, and I’ll report back to you at the end of the day?” Ghost offered, making me consider it.

“Alright, it couldn’t hurt that bad. I’ll catch up with Shining and make sure that he doesn’t drop dead by the end of the day. It’s taking a lot out of him to keep this shield up.” I said, as he gave me a salute. He was about to fly off, but I called him back. “Ghost wait!”

He turned back to me. “What happened?” He asked.

I smiled and held my arms out. “Stay safe.”

With a grin, he went flying into my arms for a hug, before he went flying off on his own to catch up with Cadence. I let out a puff of air, unknowingly breathing out a puff of smoke as I did so. I walked in the other direction, knowing that Shining’s post was along the Northeast Cliffside right now.

3rd Person POV

Ghost flew through the Palace, waving to a few of the attendants as he did so. Some of them nearly tripped up as they saw him bolt through the halls, making him laugh a bit. He saw a few guards standing in front of the Palace kitchen, and stopped in front of them.

“Is Princess Cadence in there right now?” He asked innocently, but both of the guards glared at him, not saying a word. “What’s your problem?”

“Only authorized personnel are cleared to enter any room that Princess Cadence enters.” One of them barked, making Ghost groan in annoyance. He normally didn’t like pulling rank, but if he was going to help 64 find a changeling Queen, then he had no choice.

“I am Agent #65 of the Equestrian Knights. I am cleared to enter any section of the Palace I have reason to believe there is malicious content. I am investigating the recent disappearance of Blusa Streak and Crossroads.”

Ghost knew that it was a shot in the dark, but if it worked he would be able to get inside. The two guards looked at each other, before grunting and moving their spears out of the way. Ghost gave them a smug grin, before entering the kitchen and looking around.

He barely caught Princess Cadence’s tail heading out of the room, before the doors slammed behind her. Twilight Sparkle was also in the room, giving the doors a harsh glare. “ Did... you see what she…” She stammered angrily.

“What happened Twilight?” Ghost asked, seeing her angered state. “Was Princess Cadence just in here?”

“Yes, she was.” She answered walking over to a wastebin right beside the door Cadence walked out of. “And she just threw away the apple fritters Applejack just gave her!” She exclaimed, but the country mare in question was too caught up in baking to hear her.

“Maybe… she didn’t like them?” Ghost said, but Twilight just scoffed and looked away.

“Then just refuse them like a normal pony! Why throw them away?”

Ghost shook his head and looked at the door that Cadence went through. “I’m going to catch up to her. Want to tag along?”

Twilight groaned and shook her head. “I have to go and find Rarity to see if she needs any help.” With that, Twilight’s horn lit up and with a bright flash, she teleported away.

Ghost nodded and went out the door Cadence did, seeing her walking across the Courtyard and towards the Palace once again. Using care, he began a brisk pace towards her, knowing that even if he was spotted by her, he wouldn’t be in any trouble.

She walked through the Palace heading towards the guest quarters, stopping at one of the larger suites reserved for Guests of royalty. Ghost watched her carefully from around a corner, utilizing one of the windows to peer around the corner of the hall without revealing himself.

Cadence knocked on the doors a few times, but didn’t wait for a response. She opened the doors and walked inside, allowing Ghost to move up a bit. Unfortunately, Cadence slammed the door behind her before Ghost could hear anything, causing the young changeling to groan in frustration.

“I guess I’ll just pay her a visit then…” Ghost whispered to himself, knocking on the door before stepping back with a happy smile on his face. If this really was Cadence, she’d recognize him immediately. The doors wasn’t opened by Cadence, but instead by a mint green unicorn with bright golden eyes. She looked down at Ghost and gave a surprised yelp, jumping back as she came face to face with the changeling colt.

“A changeling!” She yelled, trying to close the door. Ghost shot his hoof out to catch the door, realizing that she didn’t know him.

“Wait! I live here, I just came to see Cadence! I haven’t seen her in about a month.” Ghost explained, not trying to push the door open, but just keeping it from being shut. The unicorn continued to push against the door, trying to push it shut, but she severely underestimated the strength that Ghost had. “Just go get her, and she’ll tell you!”

There was a bit of a pause, the unicorn not making anymore effort to shut the door in Ghost’s face. “Get Cadence out of the bathroom.” She asked somepony else, still peering out of the door with a suspicious look plastered all over her face. Ghost just stood there awkwardly, giving an embarrassed smile as more hushed voice came from inside of the room.

“She says to tell us your name to make sure you really are who you say you are.” The mint green unicorn said, squinting her eyes suspiciously down at Ghost. He hummed to himself silently, wondering why she would do that. Of course, she might just be trying careful about Chrysalis, knowing that it wouldn’t look too bad to see a known Changeling in the Canterlot Palace shapeshifting.

“Ok then… My name is Ghost.” Ghost answered, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to get inside the room otherwise. More hushed whispering came from inside of the room, relaying the information Ghost gave to them. The mint green unicorn stepped back, until the door opened wide and Princess Cadence showed herself.

She had a large smile on her face, holding out one of her hooves for a hug. “Ghost! It’s been so long!” She said excitedly, as Ghost walked forward and gave her a hug. “Where have you been all this time?”

Ghost was about to ask her why didn’t she know, but realized that he never told her about his new assignment in Ponyville. even if this was the real Cadence she wouldn’t know. “I’ve been in Ponyville acting like a bodyguard for somepony. I was able to come back for the wedding!” Ghost answered, knowing that he had to act the same way he normally would when speaking with Cadence to keep his facade up.

“Oh well that’s wonderful. Come in, would you like to meet my bridesmaids?” Cadence offered, waving her hoof towards the 3 mares in the room. Ghost nodded and looked towards the mares. “I’ve known these mares since I was a little filly. This is Lyra Heartsrings.”

“Hello there, sorry for screaming when I first saw you. I… didn’t know that Canterlot had a Changeling working here.” Lyra apologized, blushing bashfully. Ghost waved his hoof understandingly.

“She and I used to play together in our school band before I became an Alicorn. I remember having to make up for her wrong notes all the time on the Bugle.” Cadence recounted, giggling at the silly memory.

Lyra blushed red in embarrassment for a bit, a small grin on her face. Cadence moved on towards the next mare, a blue and white maned blue unicorn. “This is Minuette. She was my magical tutor when I first became an Alicorn.”

“A pleasure to meet you.” Minuette greeted, nodding her head in acknowledgement.

“And last, but certainly not least, is Twinkleshine. We’ve known each other since… well… forever I guess.” Cadence introduced, but that hitch in her voice wasn’t one of deep thought to Ghost. It sounded like she didn’t remember for a moment.

“Very nice to meet you Ghost.” Twinkleshine said, holding her hoof out for a shake. Ghost took her hoof and shook it with a smile. “We were just about to go and see how our dresses are doing. Would you like to join us?"

Ghost noticed that behind Twinkleshine there was a mirror, and just as he was about to accept the offer, he saw Cadence giving Twinkleshine a death stare behind his back. His curiosity piqued, he gave a smile.

“That would be great! I bet they’re gonna be so pretty!” Ghost said excitedly, knowing that for some reason Cadence didn’t want him to tag along. She gave what was obviously a strained smile, but Ghost simply gave one back, acting oblivious.

“Alright then! Let’s… get going!” Cadence announced, walking out of the room with her bridesmaids in tow. Ghost hummed to himself thoughtfully before following, knowing that even if Cadence wasn’t a changeling, something was definitely up.

64 POV

I found Shining Armor where he was supposed to be, on the Northeast Cliffside. The same cliff I first jumped off of during my first ever escape. It was now a Loading Dock area for pegasi bringing in supplies, and Shining Armor was overseeing some of the distribution. Large carriers for things like imported foods, rare decorations, and gifts for the newlyweds.

I saw him inspecting a few large fountains which a few Gryphons had brought, and there was a bit of a heated argument going on. I walked towards them and cleared my throat, catching the attention of everyone there.

“What seems to be the problem here?” I asked with an edge to my voice, crossing my arms and looking at the Gryphons.

“This one is not allowing our gracious gifts to be brought into the Palace!” A tan Gryphon growled, pointing a talon towards Shining Armor.

“That is because I found a substantial amount of contraband hidden inside of one of the water spouts. I have every right to bring you in for smuggling charges.” Shining threatened, swatting away the talon pointed at him. I grimaced at the tension in the air, knowing that if an altercation broke out Shining would be too weak to fight back.

“After the fiasco in Ethaxial?! You even lay a hoof on us there will be hell to pay!” The black feathered gryphon next to him said, going beak to muzzle with Shining.

I pushed him away and scoffed, a grin on my face. “Well you obviously didn’t pay much attention to what really happened. The negotiations were settled peacefully, and Equestria helped in the termination of a Military Coup. I think things were left on pretty good terms.”

The gryphons blanched at my explanation, knowing that I had them cornered. “Now are you going to leave peacefully? Or do I need to assist Captain Shining Armor here in taking you to the Holding cells?”

They growled, knowing that they were beaten. “Tell Tulmech to reload the carriages… We’re bringing these back…” The tan gryphon growled. “We won’t forget this…” He glowered, looking at me and Shining. He turned back towards his small team of Gryphon’s and began to load the fountains back onto the carriages.

After a few minutes, they were all loaded up and were flying away, Shining and I staring as they did. “What was their problem?” I muttered, knowing that they were not just going to take whatever they were smuggling back.

“I don’t know… But I’ll send out a group of Pegasi to make sure they stay away from Canterlot. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them.” Shining sighed, rubbing his eyes a bit. “That reminds me, I actually have something for you. Wait here.”

Shining walked off towards a few crates covered with tarps, opening one up and rummaging around a little bit. He pulled out a smaller box out of the crate, this one very intricately designed with blue lines covering the auburn box. There were two clips on the front of the box, keeping it closed shut.

“I still don’t understand why you have an affliction towards these things, but for now, keep it as a precaution.” Shining told me, holding the box out towards me with his magic. I reached out and grabbed it, undoing the two clips and opening the box.

I sighed, knowing why he was reluctant to give it to me. It looked to me like it was a Revolver, but it was missing two things. It didn’t have a hammer, and had no chamber. I picked up the gun and inspected it further, seeing that there was one large red gem at the bottom of the grip. It was pulsing a dull red, but I didn’t know what that meant.

“It doesn’t require traditional ammunition. That gem can be charged using magic that you provide, or magic that it sent at you. If you can capture it and channel it into that gem, you can keep firing.” Shining explained, seeing my confused look.

“Is it lethal?” I asked, seeing that inside of the box was a folded up shoulder holster. I took it out, knowing that Shining wasn’t going to take a no from me this time around.

“That depends on how much magic you can put into it. If you really needed to, you can blast holes through concrete walls if you tried.”

I didn’t exactly know why’d I need to do something like that, but for now this thing was useless to me. I couldn’t charge any magic in this with the Magic Retainers around my wrists, not without risking Super Nova fucking with me even more than she was already.

I looked at the Revolver with a scrutinizing look. “Any chance I could get a Bow with this?” I joked, knowing that I was a crack shot with those things.

“Heh, don’t get ahead of yourself. I have to inspect the rest of these gifts. I didn’t need another gun.” Shining said, beginning to walk away. I watched as he did, before calling out to him.

“Shining wait!” I called, as he turned around to face me. “How’s… Cadence been?”

His eyebrow raised in confusion. “She’s been doing ok. A bit irritable thanks to the wedding, but she’s fine. Why are you asking?”

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. I knew no matter how I worded this it would sound terrible, but I had to say it. “She’s been acting… a bit strange lately don’t you think? A bit more than necessary?” I asked, seeing that what I was implying wasn’t getting to him. “She’s… changed a bit, hasn’t she?”

He was tilting his head in confusion, until I saw the gears start to spin. His eyes widened, before a look of anger flashed across his face. “You are NOT saying what I think you’re saying… Don’t say that you are…”

“Shining I just need to make sure. Like you said it yourself everypony is a suspect, no matter how well protected you might think they are. Ghost has been able to infiltrate and disguise himself as one of the highest ranking lieutenants in the deepest crime ring in Fillydelphia, and he’s a colt for crying out loud. You’re telling me you don’t think a Queen could do the same?” I asked in a hushed tone, seeing the anger in his expression slowly increasing.

“Why don’t we see if you’re one?! You seem pretty eager to start throwing out accusations!” Shining yelled, catching the attention of a few of the other guards standing near. I grunted in frustration.

“I’m not trying to start a witch hunt. Please just let me and Ghost inspect Cadence just for safe-”

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to continue my explanation before Shining lashed out at me, throwing his forehooves towards my chest. I blocked and swatted his hooves away, his tired state leaving him slow and predictable. “Dammit Shining listen to me! We can’t take any chances!”

“You stay away from my fiance! Or I will have you thrown into the Underground Prison!” Shining threatened, a few of his guards coming up behind him with their spears out. I grunted and took a step back, yielding before things got out of hand. “That’s what I thought.”

With that, Shining turned and walked away, leaving me with his gift. I took out the shoulder holster and put it on, before putting the Revolver inside. I knew Shining had a right to be angry, but it was blinding him.

I knew nothing at the moment that would help change his mind, so I needed some sort of proof. Luckily, I had a certain changeling tailing the Princess.

Ghost POV

“Okay, let me see. We've been over the games... “ Pinkie Pie said, before zooming over to a children’s board game against one of the walls and throwing the dice. “And the dances…” Once again, running over to a gramophone and playing some sort of polka song on it.

Cadence looked very unamused, and I kinda agreed with her. A wedding reception and a birthday party were supposed to be totally different from what I had read, but it looked like Pinkie didn’t know that difference.

“I think this reception is gonna be perfect! Don't you?” Pinkie asked, oblivious to the childishness of her reception.

“Perfect!” Cadence said with a fake happiness, before muttering under her breath. “If we were celebrating a six-year-old's birthday party...”

Pinkie Pie looked as if she was deeply offended by that, but a grin and a thank you showed that she didn’t hear the spite put into Cadence’s voice. Cadence left the hall, Pinkie following a few moments later.

I dropped from the roof a few seconds later, sliding down a marble pillar and landing next to Twilight. “You hear all of that?” I asked, as she nodded.

“There’s definitely something up with her. Nopony can go from being that loving and caring to one of the meanest and rude ponies ever.” Twilight sighed, looking out of one of the windows. “How does my brother not see how much she has changed? Why is he marrying her?”

“They say love is blind…” I said under my breath. “But I don’t know much about love to be honest, even if I eat it. Maybe there’s something more to all of this? More to your brother and Cadence?”

Twilight looked down and grunted, before looking up at Ghost. “I’m going to go and find my friends. Meet us at the Grenadine Cafe at 8 later tonight, ok?”

I nodded. “I’ll be there.” She went to exit the room, but the doors opened before she could get to them, 64 walking in with a strap around his shoulder. “64? What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you actually. Hey Twilight.” 64 commented, walking forward a bit. “Anything new? Something we should be looking out for?”

“Besides her acting like a super jerk to everypony that’s just trying to help make the wedding go smoothly and making last minute changes? Nothing new.” Twilight grunted. “Me and Ghost have been tailing her ever since we met up with Rarity. Why did you have Ghost following her though?”

64 let out a puff of air out of his nose, looking over at me. “We just want to make sure Cadence’s behavior isn’t being caused by something else. Something malevolent. But if Ghost didn’t find anything…” I shook my head no. “...Then we’re at a dead end.”

“This isn’t right 64. He shouldn’t marry somepony who acts that mean…” I said, but 64 just walked over and patted my head.

“I know Ghost. But the heart is fickle. It’s going to love whoever it chooses to love. If Shining loves Cadence and wants to marry her… then who are we to say anything?”

I looked down at his answer, before giving a small grunt. “I guess…”

“64, if you don’t mind, can you meet us at the Grenadine Cafe at 8 tonight? I need to have a word with everyone.” Twilight asked, 64 nodding in response.

“No problem.” 64 answered, Twilight walking away after receiving her answer. “Now Ghost, tell me everything you saw, even if it seems irrelevant.”

3rd Person POV

Luna glided through the dark sky, keeping her watchful gaze on the citizens below. She had no plans to attend the wedding, instead keeping a watch over the Canterlot Border while the ceremony was preceding.

Using her magic, she opened up a small opening in the barrier surrounding Canterlot, barely able to open 64’s magic and squeeze through before it closed. She saw the lookout point that Celestia was standing on, and swiftly made her way downwards.

“Rest, my sister. As always, I will guard the night.” Luna ordered, seeing Celestia’s eyes begin to droop a bit.

“Thank you sister. I really need to get a pillow to sit on when I’m on guard duty…” Celestia yawned, putting a hoof to her mouth. “Where did you go for the better part of 12 hours?”

“Searching for answers regarding 64’s tenant.”

This was followed by a long pause, mostly from confusion on Celestia’s part. “But… What answers did you need?”

“Anyway that he doesn’t have to worry about her infecting his mind.” Luna admitted. “The best we could find are barely enough to keep her at bay. Those small bands will only last until he wants them too, and he must actively think about keeping them strong at all times. Anything else that doesn’t require him to tire out just to prevent something from happening.”

“You’re afraid for him aren’t you?” Celestia asked, already knowing the answer. “Afraid that he’ll be consumed by the same thing that once consumed you.” All Luna could do was nod silently, barely remembering that she had to keep an eye out for anything abnormal. “Luna… Do you think he would be susceptible to those thoughts?”

“I have already caught him as he thought them. Once you have a taste… it haunts the mind forever until you have the ability to sate them. I searched our old castle for anything that might’ve helped… but there was nothing.”

Celestia saw the distress her sister was in, and wrapped a wing around her smaller frame. “Things will be okay Luna. It will not consume him as it once did with you…”

During the two sisters emotional discussion, 64 actually sat beneath them. Not directly underneath them, but many stories below, sitting in a chair just outside of the Grenadine Cafe. Next to him sat Ghost, and the rest of Twilight’s friends, minus the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Twilight herself.

“Twilight tell you what she wanted to meet for?” 64 asked, already having a small idea.

“Not really. Ah was jus’ about to finish up for the day, and she comes in tellin’ me to come here.” Applejack answered.

“Same here with me! I was practicing for my Rainboom Finale, and she just yanks on my tail as I’m making a climb upwards and tells me to meet here.” Rainbow Dash added, throwing her hooves out with a huff.

At last, the mare who had called us to the meeting came out of the cafe, holding a glass of juice in her telekinetic grasp.

“Bet I can guess what you're all thinking. Cadance is the absolute worst bride-to-be ever.” Twilight said with a smug grin on her face. Everypony looked at Twilight in shock, but Ghost and 64 kept their eyes focused on the drinks they got.

Spike jokingly pulled out Cadence’s cake ornament, “Who me?” 64 chuckled jokingly at that, but Applejack scolded the young dragon.

“Twilight, whatever are you talking about? Cadance is an absolute gem!” Rarity exclaimed, receiving a scowl from the purple mare.

“Rarity, she was so demanding!” Twilight retorted.

“Well, of course she is! Why shouldn't she expect the very best on her wedding day?”

“But Cadence is usually so nice to me.” Ghost interrupted. “But when I tried to talk to her today, she was suspicious and tried to get me to go away a lot.”

“Well she’s probably just under pressure. The wedding is tomorrow after all!” Rarity replied, but Twilight wasn’t done.

“Applejack, did you know that after she told you how much she just 'love-love-loved' your hors d'oeuvres, she threw them in the trash?” Twilight addressed, but the farm pony just waved it off.

“Aw, she was probably just trying to spare my feelin's.” Applejack rationalized. 64 raised his eyebrow at her answer, thinking she would act a bit more rash if someone just blatantly lied to her.

“No, she was just being fake and totally insincere!” Twilight yelled, an awkward silence following it. She looked around at the table, her eyes falling onto 64. “64! What did you think of her behavior?”

The human sighed and pushed his chair away from the table, leaning backwards. “Look. I haven’t seen much of Cadence for awhile now. By the time I came back from Ethaxial, the wedding was 2 weeks away and I was wrapped up in another investigation. I saw her this morning and did notice that something was off, but I’m not sure what that could mean.”

Twilight grunted at the lack of substantial evidence in her favor, that was until Fluttershy spoke up. “She did raise her voice at one of my birds during rehearsal.” Twilight was about to exclaim something, but Fluttershy continued. “But he was singing really off-key.” The mare pulled out the Redbird from her hair, as it let out a bellowing screech.

Using her last trump card, she looked towards Pinkie Pie… only to see that her and Spike were now playing with the cake ornaments. “Never mind. Rainbow Dash, you're with me, right?” Twilight hoped, but 64 could see that she was fighting a losing battle.

“Sorry, Twi. Been too busy prepping for my sonic rainboom to pay much attention to the bride's bad attitude.” Rainbow dash answered, not really caring about the actual wedding.

“The princess is about to get married. I'm sure any negative behavior she might be displaying is simply the result of nerves.” Rarity intervened, but Twilight wasn’t having it.

“And I'm sure it's the result of being an awful pony who doesn't deserve to even know Shining Armor, let alone marry him!” Twilight shouted in response, swatting away Rarity’s extended hoof.

“Think maybe you're bein' just a tiny bit possessive of your brother?” Applejack asked, knowing what it was like to have a brother.

“I am not being possessive, and I am not taking it out on Cadence!” Twilight yelled out, slamming her hoof onto the table. “You're all just too caught up in your wedding planning to notice that maybe there shouldn't even be a wedding!”

With that, she slammed her hoof onto the table one last time, causing everyone’s drink to go spilling everywhere. She turned and left the Cafe, leaving everyone sitting there uncomfortably.

“Where in heavens did that come from?” Rarity asked, as 64 slid out of his seat and stood.

“I’m not sure, but it can’t be good. I’ll follow her to wherever she’s going and see what’s she’s going to do. Ghost, you stay here with Applejack, alright?” 64 said, as the changeling colt nodded. “I’ll see you all in a bit.”

64 left to follow Twilight, as Spike began to moan uncomfortably. “What’s up with Spike?” Ghost asked, before a loud belching sound reached his ears. A rolled up letter fell onto the table, and not knowing what to do, everypony just looked at it.

“Um… ok?” Ghost questioned. He picked up the letter and unrolled it. “Dear Twilight, please bring your friends to Princess Cadence’s quarters, she has very important news to tell them.” He read simply, before turning over the letter looking for more. “Why did Princess Celestia send this through Spike?”

“Heh, I’m the quickest way of communication in Equestria!” Spike boasted, pointing a thumb to his chest. Ghost raised his eyebrow and pulled out his communication gem, before activating it.

“Hey 64?” He asked, before holding out for Spike to hear.

“What’s up?” 64’s voice answered through the gem, causing Spike’s eyes to widen.

“Nothing just settling a bet.” With that, Ghost cut off the magic to the gem, leaving Spike speechless. “Sorry Spike, me and 64 use a way that’s a bit quicker.”

The dragon just crossed his arms and huffed. “Didn’t have to be a showoff…”

64 POV

I followed Twilight for about 20 minutes until we reached Shining Armor’s home, the one he went to when he was off duty. “Twilight!” I called out, just as she was about to knock on the door. “What are you going to do?”

“I need to talk to him.” She answered simply. I crossed my arms and tapped my foot.

“About what exactly?”

“About preventing him from making the biggest mistake he might ever make.”

With that, she knocked on the door, waiting for Shining’s answer. I waited patiently with her, remembering the sour meeting I last left off with Shining. Hopefully he got some rest and was calmed down a bit.

The stallion opened the door, not seeing me just yet. “Twiley! Come in!” He said excitedly, pushing the door open even more. He finally saw me, causing his eyes to widen. He and I just stared at each other for a short while, while Twilight cut between us and walked into his home. He looked at me one last time, before grunting and closing the door.

“Really?” I sighed, looking at the two guards who were standing in front of the door now. “Let me in.” I ordered, but neither of them moved or even blinked, simply standing there with their spears at their sides.

I knew that all I could do was wait for Twilight to come out of the house, so I sat on the bottom of the stairway and scratched the back of my head. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Magic Retainer Band around my right wrist, but it looked a bit different.

I looked at them with a bit more discretion, and saw that not only were the areas around my wrists red, but the actual tribal markings which made up the bands were turning red too. “That doesn’t look good…” I muttered, not knowing what it meant.

I rolled my sleeves back down and huffed, once again waiting for Twilight to come outside. After a few moments, I heard a bit of a commotion coming from the inside of the house and stood to turn towards the door, before the door slammed opened and Twilight came running out.

“64! I need your help!” Twilight yelled, my instant reaction being to conjure a Longsword and run up the stairs. Unfortunately, the guards still stood there, their weapons brandished now and aimed at me.

“You are not permitted to enter!” They yelled, swinging their spears out at me. I looked through the open door and saw Shining Armor standing there, a furious expression on his face. Behind him stood Cadence, not even fazed with a smirk on her face.

“I told you if you ever went near my wife again, I will throw you into prison!” Shining yelled at me, his horn glowing threateningly.

“Twilight, what’s going on?” I asked, my eyes not leaving Shining’s gaze.

“We need to go and get my friends!” She exclaimed, as I dispelled my sword and turned around to run with Twilight. I didn’t know what the hell was going on, but I knew better than to doubt Twilight.

As we ran, I heard a bellowing voice. “Who goes there?!” Luna called out, as I looked up and saw Luna from her watchtower. “Stay indoors Twilight Sparkle, this goes for you as well 64!”

I gave her a thumbs up as we ran into the Palace, Twilight immediately asking one of the attendants where her friends were.

I followed Twilight towards the dressing rooms, who slammed the door open and yelled. “Shining Armor's in real trouble! You have to help–” Her words were caught in her throat as her and I saw what was going on inside, both of us flabbergasted.

Everypony, including Rainbow Dash, were wearing brand new dresses. “Dresses? What are you–?” Twilight tried to ask, but Fluttershy flew up to us and cut her off.

“Can you believe it? We're gonna be Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's new bridesmaids!” Fluttershy said with glee, but I was more focused on finding where Ghost was.

“Where’s Ghost?” I asked, not seeing him anywhere. As Twilight began to ask what was going on, Pinkie Pie told me.

“When Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was offering us to be her new bridesmaids, she took Ghost outside after to go and talk to him! She must’ve had him go do something really important, because I haven’t seen him come back yet!” Pinkie exclaimed, before bouncing off.

I stood there for a second, before my mind registered what had happened. “Wait! Pinkie!” But she was already chattering and talking to Applejack about what had happened. I looked over and saw Twilight walking out of the room.

I followed her, a sad sigh escaping her lips. “Looks like I really am on my own.”

“No. You’re not. I think something new might’ve come up in my investigation.” I growled, feeling the familiar feeling of fire in my gut. Twilight looked at me with a strange look, but I paid it no mind. I knew what to do.

I didn’t even feel the burn of magic heating up my palms.

3rd Person POV

“Perfect, girls. No need to rush.” Celestia instructed, as Cadence’s new bridesmaids walked down the aisle Cadence was scheduled to in the morning. “Then of course, Cadence will enter.”

Two guards opened up the doors to reveal Cadence, making Shining Armor’s eyes widen in awe. In his eyes, she was the most beautiful mare in the world, everything else around her blurred in a feeling of euphoric bliss.

That was what love felt like… but that wasn’t love he was feeling…

Unbeknownst to everypony else in the room, what Shining was actually seeing was the effects of the passiveness spell Queen Chrysalis had been slowly administering on Shining throughout the time of 2 weeks. She could have done it completely in one day and simply siphon the love out of him and leave… but why have a simple meal if you could have a buffet?

She wanted to wait until the wedding, where her subjects could break through the barrier Shining Armor had placed. Plus, it would look very suspicious if the groom to be suddenly became lifeless and unresponsive. Chrysalis had to make it look like a gradual thing, the effects coming from getting ready for the wedding.

Cadence finally reached the altar, as the bride and groom affectionately nuzzled horns. “I'll say a few words, and then we'll begin with the vows. Shining Armor, you'll get the ring from your best mare.”

Shining nodded and turned behind him, only to find that Twilight wasn’t even there. “Hey... has anypony seen Twilight?” He asked. The doors to the large hall were slammed open, 64 standing there with his foot extended outwards.

Celestia saw him and gasped, seeing that the bands around his wrists were now completely red, and the irises of his eyes were now red instead of brown. Twilight came up from behind him, an angry scowl on her face.

“I'm here! I'm not gonna stand next to her! And neither should you!” Twilight yelled, walking forward. 64 didn’t follow, instead staying by the open doors. Shining Armor glared at his unexpected intrusion, before turning towards Cadence.

“I'm sorry, I... I don't know why she's acting like this.” He apologized, but Cadence wasn’t having it.

“Maybe we should just ignore her.” She said snidely, turning her head away from Twilight.

“You have to listen to me!” Twilight yelled, as Fluttershy flew down to her side.

“Oh, goodness! Are you okay?” She asked, showing concern for Twilight’s state of mind.

“I’m fine.”

“Ya sure about that?” Applejack said with an unbelieving tone. Twilight pulled her hat onto her face and pushed her away.

“I’ve got something to say!” Twilight exclaimed. “She’s evil!” At this, Shining stepped in front of his fiance, an offended look on his face. “She's been horrible to my friends, she's obviously done something to her bridesmaids, and if that wasn't enough…” Twilight teleported behind Cadence slowly walking towards her as the Alicorn Mare backed away until her back hit the wall. “I saw her put a spell on my brother that made him go completely complacent!”

Cadence was backed against the wall, and with nothing to retort with, she simply began to tear up and cry. Everypony else in the room watched in awe, but Shining Armor looked on in anger. He turned towards 64, who continued to simply stand at the door.

“Did you put her up to this!?” He shouted, walking towards the human.

“I didn’t put her up to anything. But her and I agree on one thing.” 64 growled. “That… is not Cadence…” Feeling trapped, Cadence made a run for the door, but 64 stepped in front of her and blocked her from escaping.

“YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!” Shining screamed, running towards 64 and tackling him. The gun in 64’s shoulder holster went clattering across the floor, as the two began to wrestle and swing at each other on the ground. Cadence took this chance to run out of the door, not even turning to look back at her husband who was now on the ground with an angry human on top of him about to slug him across the face.

Before 64 could land any substantial blows, two magical grasps took his shoulders, pulling him off of the Captain. A large blow to the back of the head caused the human to go sprawling onto the ground, pushing himself up and seeing Celestia begin to advance on him.

“64! Stand down now!” She yelled, her horn glowing a bright yellow. His eyes glowed a brighter shade of red as he pushed himself onto his feet. His arms burned with bright fire, charged with magic.

“Not to you! Not ever again!” He shouted, but as he was about to lunge at the Solar Princess, a loud bang sounding throughout the room and 64 froze in place.

The pistol that had gone clattering out onto the floor was now held by Shining Armor’s magical grasp, the barrel smoking. 64 fell onto his knees and then onto his stomach, laying still as he groaned in pain. A large bruise was now forming at the back of his neck, but no blood came out of the wound.

Shining Armor tossed away the gun and looked towards the guards that had grabbed 64 and attacked him in the first place. “Take him to the Underground Prison for holding until further notice. I want him nowhere near this wedding.” Shining ordered. The guards nodded and grabbed 64, who was groaning in semi conciousness.

“Don’t… trust…” He barely whispered, but none were able to hear it.

Once he was taken out of the room, Shining turned towards Twilight, who was looking frightened at how violent it had all turned.

“And you…” He whispered. “You can forget about being my best mare. In fact, don’t bother coming to the wedding at all.” With that Shining walked out of the Hall, followed by the rest of Twilight’s friends.

“You have a lot to think about…” Celestia said, her voice dripping with disappointment. The Solar Princess walked out as well, one thing on her mind. “64… I pray it’s not too late to save you…”

Author's Note:

Wanna know the scariest part about this Halloween? How long it took for this chapter to be released.

Comments

[Trevor12300]

Poor 64

[DominiusTWD]

this pretty much confirms what ponies think of 64, why he puts up with it is beyond me

[Jman9877]

5227803 What you mean

[DominiusTWD]

5228747

hes always trying to help them, and only 2 trust him. thats insane!

[Trevor12300]

5233844 Ikr