Princess Cadence is haunted by memories of her imprisonment during the Changeling Invasion of Canterlot
Princess Cadence may have married Shining Armor, the stallion of her dreams and is now ruler of the Crystal Empire, but the events of the Changeling Invasion haunt her to a point where it concerns all those who care deeply about her. Now Shining Armor, Twilight and her aunts must help her confront her fears and put them to rest forever.
“The Nightmare of Princess Cadence” By TwilightSparkle3562
Chapter 1
“In the Beginning…”
In the short span of a few months, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza otherwise know by her nickname of Cadence, had become the wife of Canterlot’s Captain of the Royal Guard and had assumed the role of Princess of the Crystal Empire. Cadence had come a very long way from when she was taken in by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as their niece. As a young filly, she was abandoned and taken in by a group of Earth ponies who raised her as their own daughter and when she got older, Cadence took on a creature called Prismia who wore a magical necklace that amplified evil and jealousy to all who were near her. When Cadence at last confronted Prismia, she used her magic of love to change Prismia’s ways and it was that moment where she came face to face with Princess Celestia herself. In restoring love and laughter to Equestria, Cadence was transformed into an alicorn and adopted by Princess Celestia and her younger sister, Princess Luna.
Ever since then, Cadence had dedicated her life to spreading love and laughter wherever she went. It wasn’t until she was a student at the Canterlot Academy, that she would first meet the love of her life, Shining Armor. From the moment it was love at first sight for the two lovebirds and it was the moment where Cadence was introduced to the filly that she would build a relationship with and that was Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor’s younger sister. Twilight was a pony who was unlike anything that Cadence had ever seen or met before, having mostly gained a devoted interest in books and magic. However, Twilight loved Cadence for who she was and that Twilight thought of her as someone like Shining Armor, almost like a second best friend forever to an extent. However, Twilight’s parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet wanted to keep Twilight and Cadence connected as much as possible, seeing that their relationship was inseperable. One night, as Cadence was nearing the end of her time as Twilight’s foal sitter when she saw her charge’s parents, holding what appeared to be a piece of paper.
“Mrs. Velvet, Mr. Light, what are you looking at?” she asked, walking over to them. The two parents then looked over to Cadence with very happy expressions.
“Cadence, we are thinking about having Twilight be in your aunt’s school for gifted unicorns,” said Twilight Velvet excitedly, handing her the paper. “You may have noticed that Twilight’s interest in magic has grown since the Summer Sun Celebration. Ever since then, she can’t stop talking about magic.”
At that moment after reading the paper, Cadence was happy that Twilight was to be enrolled as a student in her aunt’s school. It seemed like Twilight was going to be heading for a bright future, but Cadence was worried that Twilight would be so absorbed in her studies on magic, that she would never see her favorite filly again.
“Why couldn’t she be in Canterlot Academy with me and her brother?” asked Cadence, thinking that Twilight was still too young to be in a school like her aunt’s. “She loves me for who I am and that is her sister figure and foal sitter.”
“And she does love you for who you are, Cadence,” chuckled Night Light, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “We all know, including Twilight, that your time as foal sitter is coming to an end. But just remember, you two will always be together and that you are always a part of our family, no matter what happens from here on in. Mrs. Velvet was in your aunt’s school when she was younger and went on to graduate with high honors.”
With these words from Night Light, Cadence was reassured quickly on this matter and in the years that followed, Twilight would grow and mature under her aunt’s leadership and when her Aunt Luna was freed from her Nightmare Moon persona, Twilight left Canterlot for good and was now living her life in Ponyville, studying the magic of friendship. Being Celestia’s niece, Cadence had always wondered how her favorite filly was doing and that she was always interested in what Twilight was learning.
In fact, Cadence had always wanted to see Twilight again and as the months passed, Cadence was starting to miss more and more of Twilight. However, the night that her life was changed forever came on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala, where Twilight and her friends were in attendance. But just as Twilight and her friends arrived, Shining Armor and Cadence were in a secret part of the Canterlot Gardens where he had wanted to ask her something that he had been dying to ask since they graduated from Canterlot Academy.
“Cadence,” he said, trying to find something in the pocket of his red royal guard uniform. “Before we go in and attend the Gala tonight, there is something I have been meaning to ask you.”
“Oh, what is it?” asked Cadence, who was wearing a blue crystal dress, the same one she would later wear for the Equestria Games inspector, Ms. Harshwinny. “Do like my dress? Is it time to go see Aunt Celestia and Twilight?”
“Well, yes, I like your dress,” replied Shining Armor, trying to hide his true feelings. “I can’t wait to see Twiley as much as you do. But, there is something I want to propose to you.”
Cadence gasped in hush and sharp breaths, as she saw Shining Armor use his magic to pull out what appeared to be a gold ring box and opened it to reveal a gold ring with a ruby diamond on top. Tears came into Cadence’s eyes when she saw the ring in all its glory.
“Shining Armor,” she gasped as she placed her hoof at her mouth in shock and awe. “Are you asking me to--?”
Shining Armor stood up and knelt down on one of his knees and using his magic, levitated the ring onto Cadence’s horn.
“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” he asked happily, knowing that he was about to become the luckiest stallion in all of Equestria. “Will you marry me?”
Cadence could not believe what she was hearing. She had always thought that Shining Armor was the colt for her and after many years, the moment was finally here.
“Shining Armor,” she gasped, feigning the true feelings that were inside her. “This better not be a joke you are trying to pull on me.”
“This is no joke,” he said happily, looking at her tear filled eyes. “Will you be my wife? If you say yes, then you gain Twiley as a sister.”
Shining Armor placed the ring on Cadence’s horn and with her eyes filled with tears of happiness, leap into her fiancé’s arms and hugged him tightly. He chuckled knowing that this was a response that Cadence would indeed marry him, given the fact that Twilight would become her sister-in-law.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said happily and the two of them celebrated their engagement so much that they forgot about Twilight and her friends. However, they heard the crazed sounds of animals not too far from where they were and then looked at a yellow Pegasus pony in a green gown running around the gardens. Her hair was frazzled and frustration was shown in her eyes.
"Wonder what got into her," remarked Shining Armor, but Cadence diverted his attention back to her.
"Don't worry about her, my love," she said, as they walked towards the castle and the Gala. "Let us celebrate our love tonight."
But, as the months went by, the two engaged ponies began to plan out their wedding with Twilight and her friends playing key roles for their wedding. But, for Twilight, not only was she in charge of organizing the wedding, but she was also to be Shining Armor’s Best Mare, a role that was of major significance to both Cadence and Shining Armor, as Twilight was the one pony who had brought them together in the first place and that the true symbol of the wedding was Twilight herself.
Unfortunately, as the days to Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding grew nearer and nearer, Canterlot had received a mysterious threat that was disguised in the form of Queen Chrysalis who was determined to absorb the love out of all who cross her path. As Twilight and her friends arrived in Canterlot, Chrysalis knew that the one pony who held the most love out of all in Canterlot was none other than Shining Armor himself. While Twilight and Shining Armor were conversing for the first time in a long time, Chrysalis moved into Cadence’s quarters and attacked her, sending her down into the Canterlot Caves while Chrysalis assumed Cadence’s form and sucked out as much love as possible from him while Cadence could only watch from below in horror.
But, thanks to Twilight, Cadence was rescued from the caves and Chrysalis was driven out by the power of her love to Shining Armor. However, the memories of that fateful day would continue to haunt Cadence from that day on and one night as she and Shining Armor slept in the Crystal Empire, it would all come out for all to hear…
By the time that Cadence’s nightmares were starting to take form, she and Shining Armor had only been rulers of the Crystal Empire for a short period of time. Of course, they did have the moments where they missed their old lives back in Canterlot, but they enjoyed ruling over the Crystal Empire and its inhabitants, the Crystal ponies. Cadence and Shining Armor loved them and the Crystal Ponies loved Cadence and Shining Armor. For 1,000 years, the Crystal Ponies were ruled by the evil King Sombra, who ruled over the Crystal Empire with an Iron hoof. It wasn’t until he returned recently to reclaim his throne did Cadence lead the Crystal Ponies in exterminating him from existence.
But, one night, it seemed like not everything in evil terms had disappeared from Cadence and Shining Armor’s lives. A dark shadow continued to hang over them in the form of the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis. As Shining Armor slept soundly in the bed he had shared with the love of his life, he began to feel the bed move violently and the sounds of Cadence screaming had woken him up with a start.
“HELP ME, SHINING ARMOR!” Cadence sobbed as she continued to shake violently. “GET ME OUT OF HERE! YOU’RE MARRYING A FAKE!”
Finally, she opened her eyes and sobbed into her husband’s arms. Shining Armor didn’t quite know what to make of this, but he knew that Cadence was the real victim in the Changeling Invasion of Canterlot. After all, Shining Armor's biggest regret was not heeding his sister's warnings about Chrysalis and because of that, Cadence continued to be scarred with the memories of being in the caves.
“Cadence, it’s all right. I’m here for you,” he said softly as he hugged his wife tightly. “You just had a nightmare, that’s all.”
Cadence released her grip on her husband and Shining Armor could see that her eyes were filled with tears and heavy puffy bags were underneath them. It was more worse than when she tried to keep Sombra at bay with her magic. During that period, Cadence barely slept and barely ate, causing Shining Armor to grow even more concerned for his wife.
“Shining Armor, it was awful,” she gasped, finally calming down a bit from her heavy sobbing. “I was having a dream where Chrysalis returned and kidnapped me from the Crystal Empire and then threw me down in the Canterlot Caves.”
“But we sent Chrysalis as far away as possible,” said Shining Armor, trying to calm down his wife. “We used the power of our love to banish her, remember? She was sent deep into Equestria, remember?"
He then used his magic to give his wife a glass of water as the loud screaming had caused Cadence’s throat to become dry and the only sounds that came out of her was ragged gasps from the hard crying she had made.
“Yes, we did,” she sighed, her voice ragged from all the crying, seemingly still worried. “But, I have this strange feeling that she’s going to come back, Shining Armor and ruin our lives again.”
She began to cry again and as she continued to let her feelings out, Shining Armor could not help but think back to the wedding rehearsal when Twilight tried to warn him, Princess Celestia and her friends that Cadence was not who she claimed that she was. Yes, Twilight did say that they were all fooled, but not before Shining Armor kicked Twilight out of the wedding which would turn into the worst mistake he had ever made.
“Cadence,” he said, rising out of bed to come over and sit next to Cadence as she sat up for him to sit next to her. “What you just experienced was something in your mind. Do you remember when Twiley had those same feelings when she first enrolled in Princess Celestia’s school? She thought that she would fail and you saw what happened.”
“But, this is different, Shining Armor,” sighed Cadence, adjusting her messed up mane. “In the dream, Chrysalis said that she would return and seek revenge for what we did to her and the Changelings. The memories of my imprisonment in the Canterlot Caves aren’t going away anytime soon and I fear that I am going to go back for good.”
Shining Armor then gave Cadence a handkerchief and the pink alicorn princess managed to blow her nose. Once she stopped blowing, Shining Armor pulled Cadence towards him and looked at her straight in the eye.
“You’re wrong, Cadence,” replied Shining Armor, placing a hoof onto Cadence’s hoof and turning her face towards his. “As long as I am here with you, you will not go back to the caves beneath Canterlot. You realize that you have the love and support of Twilight, her friends, your aunts, your subjects and me.”
Although not fully sure of what her husband was trying to say, Cadence smiled a little, but was still scared by the nightmare that she had just experienced. Chrysalis was the most dangerous threat to Canterlot next to Discord and it had to take Cadence’s imprisonment for both Shining Armor and Princess Celestia to realize that.
“But, I think that you are also still getting used to our role as rulers of the Crystal Emprie,” suggested Shining Armor, trying to make his wife happy again. “And the way you act around your subjects is remarkable to an extent. Nopony realizes that we are more loving and caring than either Queen Chrysalis or King Sombra combined.”
After a moment, Cadence began to feel tired and although she felt reassured to a small degree, the memories of that time in the Canterlot Caves on the eve of her wedding was the worst moment that she would ever experience. After all, had it not been for Twilight, the pony that she loved to sit for the most, she wouldn’t have been married to the Stallion of her dreams and that their rule over the Crystal Empire would never have happened.
As Cadence fell back to sleep, Shining Armor stayed awake and wondered how scared his wife really was. He knew deep down that had he and Celestia listened to Twilight at the rehearsal, then maybe things would have been a lot different. Instead, he ignored the concerns and was taken advantage of by the Changelings, allowing their plans to come to fruition and result what eventually became the near death of Canterlot under his own watch.
Ever since then, he had dedicated himself to heeding any suspicious warning that came his way so that a repeat of the invasion would never happen again. But, he took note that his wife’s imprisonment in the Canterlot Caves was a warning that something was defiantly wrong with Cadence and that he was going to do whatever he could to help his wife, by any means necessary…
In the days that followed, Cadence was starting to have more and more nightmares in relation to her imprisonment on the eve of her wedding. This had started to make Shining Armor more and more concerned for his wife and he knew that Cadence had to return to familiar ground and be with those that knew and loved. She had to be with Twilight, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna or anypony for that matter. One night, while Cadence went to sleep early due to lack of sleep, Shining Armor sat at his desk and wrote a letter to his little sister:
“Dear Twiley,
I am sorry to have to write to you on such short notice, but I need the help of you and your friends on a matter of great importance. Ever since Cadence and I have become rulers of the Crystal Empire, she has been having nightmares related to the Changeling Invasion that happened during our wedding. I know I emotionally scarred you that day at the rehearsal, but the real victim in all of this is Cadence herself. I want you to know that we are returning to Canterlot tomorrow and we will not return to the Crystal Empire until Cadence is well again. All I want is for her to be the loving mare that I have married and that the fears of Chrysalis are barred from her memory for as long as we live. Cadence and I would love to see you again and maybe you and her could spend time together to help her get over this nightmare that she now finds herself in. I can’t wait to see you.
Love, Shining Armor, your BBBFF.”
Using his magic, he teleported the letter to the Golden Oaks library for Twilight to read the next day and then turned over to Cadence, who was sound asleep. Shining Armor didn’t quite know what was going to happen now as Cadence laid sleeping. He was expecting her to have another nightmare as he walked over to her and instead of crawling into bed with her, he just sat on his side just looking at Cadence as she slept soundly.
“I hope you sleep well tonight, Cadence,” the white unicorn thought to himself as Cadence slept in their bed. “I will not rest until the memories of the invasion are buried deep from our minds. I am much to blame for what happened to you as much as anyone and I want nothing more than to atone myself for what I have done.”
And Shining Armor just sat there and it was the first time in several days that Cadence slept soundly. But the memories were still there and just before dawn, Cadence once again woke up screaming in fear and unrest.
“How long can she suffer like this?” he thought to himself as he comforted his wife once again by hugging her. “I just hope Twiley and her friends can help.”
Meanwhile, back at Golden Oaks library in Ponyville, Twilight had just woken up as Spike was forced up by the sounds of a belching letter that came out of his stomach. At first, Twilight thought that Princess Celestia had given her another assignment, but this was something completely different.
“That’s funny,” Twilight said as she saw the letter. “What is Princess Celestia sending me this time?”
“I don’t know,” sighed Spike, still half asleep in his bed. “It must be another one of those assignments that she has been giving you lately. It could be another overdue friendship assignment.”
Spike fell back asleep and Twilight annoyingly bonked him on the head for reminding her about the time she missed a lesson on friendship. This immediately woke Spike up and rubbed his head after Twilight bonked it.
“Don’t remind me of that Spike,” Twilight snapped as she opened the letter. “What have I been trying to say about bringing up bad memories like that?”
“I know, I know,” pouted Spike as he climbed out of his little bed. “But, I was half asleep Twilight. Cut me some slack, will you?”
But, Twilight did not respond to her assistant’s remark and instead continued to read the letter that Shining Armor had sent her. Upon seeing his name at the bottom and what the body of the letter was about, Twilight gasped in shock and horror at what she witnessed.
“What’s wrong, Twilight?” asked Spike as he put on his pink apron. “You’d look like you had seen a ghost or something?”
But all Twilight could do was just stare at the letter and it took Spike to tap her on the back to get her out of the trance that she put herself into. She then rolled the letter back up and dashed for the door while throwing Spike on her back.
“Twilight, what’s wrong?” remarked Spike, as Twilight gasped loudly. “Is it an emergency?”
“I’ll tell you on the train,” panted Twilight who ran towards the door of the library. “It’s concerning my sister-in-law.”
Upon hearing those words, Spike immediately could tell that Twilight was referring to Princess Cadence, her former foal sitter. Although he was only a baby at the time and even though Cadence was technically no longer her foal sitter, Princess Celestia would always have her niece close by to be with Twilight on days when she was not studying. Spike could remember how Cadence was always like an older sister to Twilight and there were times that Cadence was always like an aunt to him. Hearing that something was wrong with Cadence made Spike feel sorry for her and Shining Armor, who by now was racing towards Canterlot as fast as possible.
On the train, Twilight had managed to calm down and once she got a chance to breathe, she began to tell Spike of what was happening. Although it was very uncomfortable for both of them to understand the situation that Twilight’s brother and sister-in-law were in.
“Sorry we had to run like that, Spike,” gasped Twilight, as she continued to catch her breath. “But, it seems that Cadence is still haunted by the Changeling Invasion not that long ago.”
“But, didn’t we have a successful wedding?” asked Spike, wondering just as much as Twilight why Cadence was acting this way. “I mean, we did everything but the Bachelor Party, you know.”
“We did, but not before everything that had happened,” replied Twilight. “Shining Armor wrote to me that Cadence is still having bad memories of being in the Canterlot Caves while Chrysalis walked around Canterlot posing as her. Although, not before I thought she had changed into someone else.”
“Shining Armor did provide a pretty good excuse for her,” remarked Spike, but once again, Twilight bonked him on the head. She gave him a strong glare and the baby dragon cowardly crouched down before his friend.
“This is serious, Spike,” she said sharply. “Something’s wrong with Cadence and we need to be there for her.”
“All right, all right,” cried Spike, slightly bothered by Twilight’s raised voice. “You don’t have to tell me twice. This is a personal matter for you to attend to, but, can I ask you something personal?”
This made Twilight calm down and drop her irritated persona. She could tell that Spike was also hurt by Cadence’s condition and even he wanted to help her.
“What is it, Spike?” asked Twilight, changing her mood. "Is there something about you and Cadence that you want to tell me about?"
“Well, you know how you always told me that Cadence was like a sister to you?” replied Spike, looking slightly embarrassed. “Well, I think of her more as like my aunt of some sorts.”
“What makes you say that, Spike?” remarked Twilight, filled with surprise. “Although I do remember Cadence and I helped take care of you when you were just a baby. In fact, one of the first lessons I had under Princess Celestia was to learn the art of responsibility by taking care of you. So, yeah, I think she is more like an aunt to you. Perhaps, you and her could bond and reconnect in some way.”
"I hope so," replied Spike, grabbing his tail in embarrassment. "One day perhaps."
So, Spike took in what Twilight said as the train neared Canterlot where Shining Armor and Princess Cadence had already arrived with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna already there awaiting to greet their niece and nephew-in-law. The two royal sisters were shocked at how exhausted and scared Cadence was and immediately they took Cadence and Shining Armor to Canterlot castle where Cadence was to begin her recovery from the worst experience of her life…
As Twilight and Spike arrived at Canterlot, they were unaware that Cadence and Shining Armor had already arrived ahead of them. By this time, Cadence was led into Canterlot Castle and placed in the private suite that she had during her wedding. Shining Armor was glad to see that his wife was resting comfortably, but he wanted what was plaguing Cadence to go away and that would not be easy for him to do or to wish. As he let her rest, Shining Armor walked into the throne room and unlike most times where he would always come in to hear orders from Princess Celestia or Princess Luna, he felt like the most helpless pony in all of Equestria at that moment.
“I’d just wish I could help Cadence,” he said sadly, his head hung low. “If only the Changelings didn’t invade, none of this would have happened.”
“It’s not your fault, Shining Armor,” said Luna, walking over towards him. “My sister and I were completely fooled by them just as much as you. We were not aware that Cadence was really who she was.”
“How could you know, Luna?” asked Shining Armor, surprised that Luna would say such a thing. “You’re the Princess of the Night, if there are two ponies to blame for what happened to Cadence, it’s me and Princess Celestia.”
Luna was speechless and looked over towards Celestia, who was also showing a look of guilt on her face. After all, she was the princess of the sun and the true ruler of Equestria. As a result, she accepted some of the responsibility for what had happened to Cadence. Had she and Shining Armor took Twilight’s concerns seriously, then maybe the outlook would have been a lot more different. Of course, that was not the case.
“Shining Armor is right, dear sister,” she said walking over and looking towards the stained glass window of Shining Armor and Cadence saving Canterlot. “I am just as falable as any other pony in Equestria and even I can make mistakes at times. Ever since the invasion, I have had a lot to think about in terms of being a good ruler, a good teacher to Twilight and a good Aunt to Cadence.”
Celestia then turned over to see that Twilight and Spike had just arrived. Twilight ran towards her brother and hugged him as Celestia and Luna watched from a distance. Twilight then walked over to Celestia and hugged her as well. This made Celestia smile a little for that the one pony she could trust was now with her in her niece’s time of need.
“It’s good to see you, Twiley,” said Shining Armor, feeling comfort now that his little sister was here. “Cadence needs you right now.” “Where is she, big brother?” asked Twilight, not knowing that Cadence was already asleep just across the hall.
“She’s asleep, finally,” sighed Shining Armor, feeling tired himself. “Everyone in the Crystal Empire is worried about her. To them, Cadence and I are probably the best thing that has happened to the Crystal Empire in 1,000 years.”
Shining Armor was right, Twilight knew that King Sombra’s rule over the Crystal Ponies had filled their hearts with fear and torment and now that he was destroyed, life was returning to normal for them. To everyone in the throne room, this was nothing more than a leftover obstacle that they all had to endure.
“There must be something we can do,” said Twilight, trying to figure out what to do. Being a bookworm, Twilight would normally have a book on how to control nightmares. But, she didn’t even think of bringing one with her since this was an emergency. “If only I had a book or something.”
“You wouldn’t need one,” said Celestia, trying to dismiss the idea as she walked back towards her throne. “Sometimes, my faithful student, we must realize that books cannot solve everything. All that we could do is support Cadence in her time of need right now.”
Celestia then sat back down and looked out towards the room where Cadence was in. It was very clear to Twilight that there was very little for Celestia to do to help her niece. After all, she was still recovering from the public scrutiny from her subjects not that long ago. But just then, Luna had an idea and then walked over to Celestia to present her idea.
“I have an idea, my sister,” she said. “As Princess of the Night, I can enter the dreams of other ponies and talk to them as they sleep.” This gave Shining Armor a gasp of hope, knowing that Princess Luna could do that for Cadence. After all, being the Princess of the Night, Luna was nocturnal most of the time and that by entering Cadence’s dream, she could help her niece overcome the fear that she held most greatly.
“You can do that, Princess Luna?” he asked excitedly. “You can enter Cadence’s dreams and help her as she sleeps?”
“Yes, I can,” replied Luna. “It is my duty to enter the dreams of ponies and console them as they sleep. Recently, I helped a young filly named Scootaloo overcome her fears of being a disappointment to Rainbow Dash.”
Twilight then remembered that Rainbow Dash told her about Scootaloo’s encounter with Princess Luna during their camping trip to Winsome Falls. Scootaloo had to face her fear of disappointing Rainbow Dash and in the end; it helped them come closer together. “Do you think it could work, Princess?” asked Twilight. “I mean the same thing with Scootaloo?”
“Of course, Twilight Sparkle,” she said. “Princess Cadence must face her fears, because if she does not, the nightmares that haunt her will continue to torment her.”
Shining Armor could well understand what Princess Luna was saying. He could remember when Cadence began having the nightmares and he had to tell her that Cadence had the love and support of those around her while Chrysalis had nothing. Nevertheless, the torment continued despite his valiant efforts and the time had come for the Princesses to intervene.
“When do you plan on helping Cadence?” he asked.
“I will hence tonight,” replied Luna, preparing herself for the task at hand. “When you are all asleep and I assume my duties of Princess of the Night, then that is when I will see for myself the torment that Cadence is enduring.”
As she listened to Luna’s plans, Twilight wanted to see the torment that Cadence had endured. In many ways, it would help give her a sense of closer to that horrible day at the wedding rehearsal. Stepping forward, she looked at Luna earnestly and her violet eyes locked with hers.
“I want to see for myself as well,” said Twilight, but Luna didn’t quite know what to make of this.
“That cannot be possible, Twilight Sparkle,” she replied. “This is a mission that I must do alone. Besides, you have experienced the Canterlot Caves for yourself and you have done enough to help save the wedding.”
This made Twilight grow slightly upset at this remark. But, Celestia knew that Twilight was important to Cadence and wanted to have her sister help her out.
“It would give Twilight a sense of closer,” replied Princess Celestia. “Let her go this once, my sister.”
Knowing how important this was to Twilight as much as it was to her and Celestia, Luna sighed heavily and gave in to what her sister wanted her to do.
“Very well then, Twilight Sparkle,” she said to the lavender unicorn who was her sister's protégé. “You may come with me tonight. Meet me when all are asleep.”
So as Twilight and Luna prepared themselves to go inside Cadence’s dream, Spike had left them all alone and cuddled up next to Princess Cadence as she slept in the former bridal suite. He wanted to make Cadence feel comfortable and supportive, much like she was when Spike was just a newborn dragon.
“I’m not leaving you, Cadence,” Spike thought to himself as he laid next to her. “Not until you are back to your old self…Aunt Cadence.”
Throughout the rest of the day, Princess Cadence spent most of the day sleeping only to come down for dinner with her loved ones. When she went back to sleep that night, Cadence had the intention of going back to sleep trying to keep the memories of Chrysalis out of her mind, but that would not be the case. After falling asleep, Cadence opened her eyes to find herself in a place that she knew all too well. It was dark, it was creepy and it was a place that she knew all too well. The area in which she was in was surrounded by crystals and her disheveled reflection was seen everywhere. Cadence could see that she was covered in bruises, her mane was a mess and her gold crown was missing from her head. In other words, she was in the same state that she was in when Twilight found her.
“Hello?” she called out to no reply. “Is anyone there? Can someone get me out of here?”
All that she could hear was silence, then suddenly, the sounds of evil laughter came out of the darkness and a large pony with green magic appearing out of its horn, greenish blue hair and holes in its legs stepped forward towards the frightened princess of love, smiling evilly as she stepped forward towards her.
“You’re not going anywhere, Princess,” laughed the creature evilly. “As long as I rule your dreams, you shall not relive your wedding day again.”
Cadence cowered in fear at the sight of the creature who then pointed her horn right at her, ready to impale her. Tears began to form in Cadence’s eyes as she tried to not let Chrysalis get the best of her, as the Queen of the Changelings advanced towards her.
“Why do you do this to me, Chrysalis?” she cried, fearing for her life. “Every night since Shining Armor and I defeated you, you have been coming into my dreams and tormenting me. Why, I beg you? Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
Chrysalis reared on her legs and was about to charge, only to have her legs land down hard on the surface, causing some of the crystals to break.
“Because I had a dream since I was small to marry somepony who had more love than anything in the world and use that love to make my race grow stronger than ever,” explained Chrysalis, who stared evilly at Cadence. “By having you relive the moment of our invasion of Canterlot, I will weaken you to the point where you can no longer maintain your love for Shining Armor and once I destroy your inner spirit, I will take control of your body and this time, it will not be an imposter of you walking around.”
This made Cadence gasp in horror and the pink alicorn tried to fight Chrysalis, charging at her with her horn fully powered. But, she was too weak and Chrysalis used her magic to send her flying into the crystal walls, nearly killing her.
“You foolish mare,” chuckled Chrysalis, evilly as Cadence struggled to get back to her feet. “Don’t you see? My inner torture of you has left you weak and helpless. Now, you are mine for the taking and there is nothing you can do about it.”
Just then, Twilight and Luna appeared and just saw Chrysalis advancing towards her prey like a hungry predator. Both the Princess of the Night and her sister’s most faithful student had to help Cadence and charged towards Chrysalis as fast as their hooves and wings could carry them. Just as Chrysalis was about to fire her magic at Cadence and finish her off, Luna fired a blast from her horn and struck Chrysalis in the back, causing her to fall flat on her face. Cadence, who had been cowering in fear, looked up to see Luna with her wings opened and her horn pulsing.
“Twilight! Aunt Luna!” she cried as Twilight ran to hug her foalsitter who was badly hurt. “I’m so glad to see you!”
“It’s all right, Cadence, your safe now,” said Twilight, but Chrysalis had other ideas and was just about to fire another blast at Cadence and Twilight, but Luna charged and struck her in back, causing one of her wings to be injured. As Chrysalis laid on the ground, Luna charged forth and pointed her horn straight at Chrysalis’ face.
“Princess Cadence, Twilight Sparkle, get out of here now!” ordered Luna, in her royal Canterlot voice. “I’ll hold her off!”
“But, Aunt Luna…” protested Cadence. But, Luna was not going to let her niece and her sister's student be put in harm's way. If there was going to be one pony who would not make it out alive, it would be Luna.
“I said go!” shouted Luna, as Chrysalis got up and tackled Luna to the ground. This caused Twilight and Cadence to run off as Luna was lying there at Chrysalis' mercy.
“Princess Luna,” sneered Chrysalis, as she observed the downed Luna. “Come to save your precious niece. How very sentimental of you.”
And as Luna struggled to get back on her feet, Chrysalis charged at Luna, kicking her down with one of her holed hooves, as the Princess of the Night rolled into one of the walls.
However, Luna managed to hang on and despite the beatings she was taking, charged at Chrysalis once again as Twilight and Cadence were now torn by either leaving Luna to fight Chrysalis and possibly never return to Equestria or to stay and help Luna defeated Chrysalis.
“Twilight, we have to something!” cried Cadence, not wanting to leave her aunt to her doom. “Aunt Luna can’t fight her alone!”
“No, Cadence, we have to go,” cried Twilight, knowing that Cadence's safety was more important. “You have an entire life to live by. She’ll be fine.”
Cadence just stood there frozen as Chrysalis and Luna took to the air and began to fire magic beams at each other. For a moment it seemed that Luna got the upper hand, but Chrysalis, still holding on to some of the love she had absorbed from Shining Armor, fired a blast at Luna and struck the Princess of the Night in the chest, causing her to yell in pain as she fell to the ground below.
“Aunt Luna, no!” yelled Cadence, as she ran towards Chrysalis with her horn now becoming charged once again.
“Stay right where you are, princess!” growled Chrysalis, who had her horn right at the wounded Luna’s chest. “One more step, and say goodbye to your precious Aunt Luna!”
Tears were now beginning to form in Cadence’s eyes as she wanted to save her aunt and extract her revenge against Chrysalis for ruining her wedding, but that was all hanging in the balance now. Clearly, Chrysalis was going to kill Luna and wanted Cadence to watch her succeed in doing so. Knowing that something needed to be done, Twilight teleported to where they were and fired a blast of magic at Chrysalis, sending her back once again.
“Twilight!” she cried, relieved that her aunt had been spared, thanks to her sister-in-law. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Cadence!” replied Twilight, as Chrysalis began firing blasts at Twilight and Cadence, looking to put them next to the wounded Luna. Both sisters-in-law jumped and dodged each blast that was fired upon them. Although she was weak, Cadence did manage to flap her wings and attempt to fly away from Chrysalis’ range, but it was no use as a blast hit her in the left wing, causing her to crash land on her chest.
“Cadence!” yelled Twilight as Chrysalis advanced towards her prey and for a moment it seemed like Chrysalis was going to succeed and both Twilight and Cadence were hoping and praying for something, if anything that could help them now…
She laid helplessly as the evil Queen of the Changelings advanced towards her like a predator being drawn to its prey. For all Cadence could see was her mind racing before her very eyes of her life right up until that point. She tried to desperately get away, but her injured wing prevented her from doing so. At that point, Cadence pleaded for anypony, anyone to help her in her moment of need. Just then, a commanding booming voice came out in the distance.
“CHRYSALIS, LEAVE HER ALONE!” called the voice and just then, a beam of golden light fired and hit Chrysalis hard in the back, blasting her into Cadence, before she pushed her off of her. Cadence opened her eyes to see two important ponies in her life, Princess Celestia and Shining Armor standing in front of her, their horns powered with magic auras. Struggling to get back up, Chrysalis growled at the sight of the pony with whom she defeated in front of her subjects.
“Princess Celestia,” she groaned, as she struggled to her feet. “It’s you again and I suppose you haven't learned your lesson from last time."
“You have done enough damage, Chrysalis,” snarled Celestia icily, her horn ready to fire a death blast at the Changeling Queen. “You have tormented Princess Cadence and all of us for the last time. Now you shall pay for everything you have done to our family and our kingdom.”
Knowing that his enemy was weak, Shining Armor gave Chrysalis an angry glare before running over to be with his wife. Chrysalis tried to blast him away, but her magic was all but used up. In response, the Prince of the Crystal Empire kicked her in the chest and sent her into yet another Crystal Wall. He then fired a magic beam of his own at her, further weakening her.
“That was for ruining our wedding,” he shouted at Chrysalis and running over to Cadence, Shining Armor came over to her hugged his wife tightly as she sobbed into his arms.
“It’s all right, Cadence,” he said calmly as he consoled her. “It’s all over now. No one is ever going to harm you.”
Twilight, who had been with the injured Princess Luna, ran over to them as Luna struggled to her feet and joined her sister as they advanced towards Chrysalis in the same way as Chrysalis did to Cadence. They may no longer have wielded the Elements of Harmony, but Celestia and Luna had to punish Chrysalis for everything she had done to them and raising their horns together, they created a powerful magical ray similar to the Elements of Harmony and as Shining Armor and his wife and sister watched, the two sisters produced a rainbow that came up and down as Chrysalis screamed in horror.
“You have caused enough damage to all of us for the very last time,” cried Celesita as she and Luna pointed the Elements at Chrysalis . “The time has come for you and your Changelings to never come back and never harm Equestria ever again!”
“NOOOOOOO!!!” she screamed as the rainbow hit her and the Queen of the Changelings felt herself starting to disintegrate before her eyes. Chrysalis tried to scream, but she had dissolved before another word would come out of her mouth and as she disintegrated, the rainbow began to consume the caves and the light then consumed Celestia, Luna and finally Cadence, Twilight and Shining Armor.
Just then, Cadence opened her eyes again and could see that she was now back in the bridal suite in Canterlot castle as she moved around and Spike fell off the bed and onto his chest. This managed to wake him up and Cadence was wondering what was going on. She looked down and saw the baby dragon lying on the ground and Cadence discovered that she was not alone in the bridal suite.
“Twilight, Aunt Luna, what are you doing here?” she asked, totally oblivious to what was going on. She then, looked down and saw Spike trying to climb back onto the bed.
“Here you go, Spike,” she said and used her magic to bring Spike back onto the bed. Luna and Twilight came around and got to their feet as they walked over to Cadence and joined her on the bed. Just then, Princess Celestia and Shining Armor came in and joined Cadence and the others as well.
“How are you feeling this morning?” asked Twilight, placing her hoof on Cadence’s hoof. “Did you sleep any better?”
“I did,” replied Cadence, who was feeling a lot happier than she had in the past few days. “But I had another dream and you were all in it.”
“We were all in your dream, Princess Cadence,” said Luna, smiling at her niece despite the injuries she had suffered. “Chrysalis was tormenting you and we had to protect you from her.”
Cadence had forgotten that her Aunt Luna had the ability to go into the dreams of other ponies and was surprised that Luna was inside her mind as were all the others.
“What did you do in my dream?” wondered Cadence. “How did you protect me from her?”
“We used a little something much like the Elements of Harmony,” laughed Celestia. “It came from our love for you.”
What Celestia and Luna used to finish off Chrysalis was still a mystery to them, but little did Cadence know that the rainbow was used to keep evil ponies from ever coming back.
“You might say that the Queen of the Changelings was sent back to a place where she will never escape from to torment you or any of us ever again,” added Luna, who then groaned in pain as she was still feeling hurt from her battle with Chrysalis.
“Aunt Luna, are you hurt?” asked Cadence, worriedly. But, Luna was not going to let something like this get her down.
“I’ll be fine,” groaned Luna, trying to fight through the pain. “I was injured in my battle with Chrysalis, but it will get better. Most importantly, if I or any of us was injured in anyway, it would be to protect you because you are our niece and friend.”
This made Cadence feel reassured as she knew that her aunts, her sister-in-law and her husband would be there for her as she would be there for them, as Spike crawled towards her and hugged Cadence tightly.
“Aw, thanks Spike,” she laughed. “You don’t have to do that.”
In the days that followed, Cadence returned to the Crystal Empire and was feeling a lot more confident in assuming her role as leader of the Crystal Empire. Little did she know that what her loved ones did that day in her dreams was put a barrier in Cadence’s mind to keep evil creature like Chrysalis from ever tormenting her.
Princess Cadence was the Princess of Love and while she would be faced with evil enemies every now and then, she would forever have the support of those closest to her from now until the end of time…
