The Days in the Cavern

by PinkamenaPiePrincess

The Escape

Day 5 continued...

I heard nothing for hours.

I was scared she'd done something to Twilight. I kept trying to reassure myself that my former charge was ok, but the more hours past the more scared I grew.

It must have been morning...the morning of what was supposed to be my wedding day.

Day 6
I still had not heard a peep from Twilight. Then...

"H-hello?"

Twilight.

"Is anyone there?"

My poor Twilight. I didn't dare answer her for fear she'd think I was her.

On cue, she began to laugh. I hid my head beneath my hooves. I couldn't do it. Couldn't take anymore of her taunting, even if it was directed at Twilight.

"Wh...where am I?" Twilight asked.

"The caves beneath Canterlot," she answered, just as she had me. "Once home to greedy unicorns who wished to claim the gems that could be found inside."

I couldn't see her, but I knew her...my...face occupied every facet of the caves.

"And now..." she began, still taunting Twilight, "Your prison!"

That seemed to be a last straw for Twilight. I could understand. She had a knack for frightening dramatics.

"Help, HELP!" Twilight screamed, I heard galloping hooves, she must be trying to run away from the frightening visage of somepony she thought was her old beloved foalsitter.

She cackled. "It's no use, no one can hear you, and no one will ever think to look for you either."

I knew that feeling too well.

"Most ponies have forgotten that these caves even exist, which is why they're the ideal place to keep the ones who try to interfere with my plans," the fake me explained, then laughed maniacally.

Ok, now she was monologing. And least with me she had the decency to shut up when she locked me up.

"Plans?" Twilight asked desperately. "What plans?"

"The plans I have for your brother of course!" she said.

I flinched. I couldn't help it. It wasn't just Twilight's brother she was talking about...it was my Shining Armor.

Twilight clearly felt the same as I did.

"Don't you dare do anything to my brother, you...you MONSTER!"

"Only way to stop me is to catch me!" she teased.

I didn't like to swear, but she was far too much of a bitch for me to label her anything else.

Her maniacal laughter filled the room. I still couldn't see any of what was going on, but I heard it all.

"Over here!" she taunted.

I didn't know what she hoped to gain by teasing Twilight this way. But then, I didn't know what she hoped to achieve by torturing me with visions of her fooling everypony.

More laughter, and a shot of what had to be Twilight's magic. I heard the magic bounce off the crystals like mine had.

"Heh. Nope!" she taunted again. "Over here!" her voice taunted, echoing , clearly baiting Twilight into...something. I had no idea what.

More laughter and shots of magic. I heard crystals breaking, magic bouncing off the walls. Then...it headed right for me...

I flinched as Twilight's magic broke the crystal in front of me. One I'd been beating on for the last six days.

I opened my eyes. Twilight stood in front of me, angry, her horn glowing with a magical rage. She charged. Crap.

"NO! WAIT!" I shouted hoping she'd listen to reason and not kill me. I was too weak to fight her in this state, and Twilight's magic had enough sheer power that I'd never want to fight her.
"Please, don't hurt me," I begged. I felt myself shaking and hated myself for it. "Twilight, it's me!"
She looked at me skeptically.
"Please, you have to believe me," I pleaded. "I've been imprisoned like you! The Cadence who brought you down here was an impostor."

She still didn't buy it. Oh. That's what she wanted. She wanted Twilight to finish the real me off...
"Likely story!" Twilight accused, glaring at me viciously.
I remembered the first meeting Twilight had with the fake me...how she hadn't known our...special rhyme.

"Sunshine, sunshine," I began, starting the dance. "Ladybugs, awake."
Twilight sat, stunned. "Clap your hooves," I clapped her hooves, "and do a little shake" she finished with me.

I turned around and grinned at her. She remembered me.
Twilight's face grew from confused to the most joyful grin I've ever seen.

"You remember me!" she exclaimed as she threw herself on me in a hug. We embraced. It was the first contact I'd had with a pony in six days. My heart swelled as I hugged one of my few true friends. "Of course I do," I said. "How could I forget the filly I loved to sit for the most?"
I just sat there, embracing Twilight.

Then SHE ruined the moment with her laughter.

And that's when I saw it.

Twilight had done enough damage to the caves that I saw I tiny speck of light in the distance. A speck of light that could only come from the outside.

And that's when I remembered that the wedding was today.

"We have to get out of here!" Twilight said, reading my mind. I just nodded and let Twilight take the lead. I was weaker than I've ever been, and could only do so much.

I'm coming Shining Armor...

"We have to stop her!" Twilight exclaimed.

If there's one thing Twilight and I have in common that will always bind us together it's our love for her brother.

I ran ahead. Weak or not, I had a wedding to get to. Twilight galloped behind me.

We ran through the caves, twists and turns nearly getting us lost at more than one moment. We didn't speak. We were racing against time and speaking would only tire us out.

This day was supposed to be my day. I've dreamed of the perfect wedding since I was small. I was going to be celebrating with cake, and my friends. But... I heard music in the distance not wedding bells, or the wedding march, just a choir of birds warming up.
My wedding bells...will they ring for me at all?

I followed Twilight, trying not to lose hope.

Shining Armor...

She was in my chambers. Preparing for my wedding. Wearing what was supposed to be my dress. Planning on eating my cake, speaking my vows.

I fell. Twilight looked at me concerned.

"This day was going to be perfect..." I murmured. Twilight put a hoof around me, and looked around. We were lost again.
I saw the light again, and struggled to my feet, and beckoned Twilight to keep going.

We ran around the corner, another one that looked exactly like the last.

"We must escape, Twilight. It could be too late...can we find a way to save the day?"

She nodded, trying her best to be confident for me, I was growing desperate.

She was in my rooms, wearing my dress, preparing for my wedding

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't losing hope, fearing I might lose him," I rambled. Twilight listened, not saying a word, just letting me panic. In a way it was good, I saw a cart in the distance and began to run for it.

"I know all she wants is to use him for her own ends...she doesn't want to cherish, love, and care for him..." we got to the cart and I ran for it. It was covered in boulders. Twilight stopped, a panicked look on her face. But I wasn't letting her get Shining.
I threw myself on the rocks and tried desperately to push the cart lose. It was rusted, old, and stuck fast. My eyes filled with the last of the tears I had.

"I know she doesn't care for him at all...but I oh so love you, Shining Armor, all of my thoughts you've consumed," I was truly just thinking out loud at this point, six days in a cavern will break anypony.

Twilight seemed to find this display of affection touching though. I felt magic surround me, the rocks fell away and I landed in the cart. The much less drained Twilight pushed the cart, with me in it, and managed to break it lose.

"Oh Shining Armor, I'm coming, I'll be there very soon!" I shouted, for the first time in six days truly gleeful, if still a little panicking. I was on my way to him.

The cart spiraled down, down, down, quickly, almost like a roller coaster, Twilight hanging off the back. We hit a dead end, over a pit, I spread my wings, begging I'd be strong enough to not only fly but carry Twilight as well. Gravity put her on my back, and we flew toward the ledge just above us.

I heard fanfare. The wedding procession was starting. My panic escalated.

Shewas walking down the aisle to my Shining Armor...

"We won't make it to the wedding, Shining Armor...he'll end up marrying a fake..."

I collapsed, covering my face. Oh we're going to be too late...

Shining Armor will be...

Her voice sounded in my head.

"Mine. All MINE!"

Her laughter faded into the recesses of my own mind.

***

I could hear the wedding music. We were so close. Twilight and I searched around the cave. We had to be just below the chapel. I could hear Celestia, using my goddess-awful full name that she liked so much. My panic and fear escalated again.

"Oh...we're never going to save him!"

"We will, we just have to find..." Twilight began.

We both saw it. The light we'd been following the whole time, on a ledge just above us.

"There!" Twilight exclaimed.

I spread my wings, about to fly, but Twilight was having none of it. She teleported us both up to the ledge. I closed my wings just before we arrived.

And then...

"You're not going anywhere..." droned three nearly identical voices.

Just in front of me, three seemingly ordinary ponies, dressed in bridesmaids dresses, their eyes glowing green, like hers.

They advanced on us, both of us backing up dangerously close to the ledge.

"Cadence! What'll we do?" Twilight panicked. Seemed she was out of ideas.

Um...ah ha! They may be possessed or Changelings, but all bridesmaids came to a wedding for one major detail."

I conjured a bouquet. The watched it intently. I waggled it in front of them, then tossed it out of their reach.

"I want it!" they all shouted, as they chased after it.

"Perfect!" Twilight said.

"Thanks," I muttered, a little embarrassed that she'd gotten me out of here. Of course, I'd always known she was more than a "regular old unicorn."

"Let's get back to the wedding, and hope Shining Armor's ridiculously long vows buy us enough time to stop her!" Twilight said.

I nodded vigorously. I didn't mention that my own vows were just as "ridiculously long", though I doubted she was using my vows.

We exchanged a smile then we raced toward the light, and came out in the ground floor of the castle. No one was there, likely they were all at the wedding...though there should be guards here...something was off.

Both of us said nothing, following the sounds of vows and Celestia's voice.

"Princess Cadence and Shining Armor," we heard.

Twilight and I exchanged a glance.

"It is my great pleasure to pronounce you..."

Twilight sprinted ahead, shouting "STOP!!!!!!!"

I heard gasps from the crowd and sped up. Twilight was going to need back up here soon.

"Ugg...why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?" she grumbled, falling out of character.

I grinned. There was no way they were going to believe she was the real me with that slip up.

"I mean, why does she have to ruin my special day?" she sobbed. By my auntie's mane, she was a bad actress...

I strode through the door.

"Because it's not your special day," I said. Everypony in the crowd turned to look at me.

"It's mine."