Flawless Victory
Cadenza's smirk was reflected off the crystals surrounding Twilight. Her own cries for help echoed in the dim light of her horn. The reality of the situation was crashing down on her.
"It's no use!" Cadenza mocked with glee. Her face moved yet again to the crystals behind Twilight. "No one can hear you, and no one will ever think to look for you either." Twilight dropped to the ground as Cadenza disappeared yet again, intense fear setting in. Cadenza was on the ceiling now. "Most ponies have forgotten these caves even exist, which is why they are the ideal place to keep the one who try to interfere with my plans." Cadenza laughed, absolutely delighted at the idea of Twilight being trapped forever.
"Plans?" Twilight asked. "What plans?" Cadenza had clearly proven she was evil. What could she truly be up to?
Cadenza looked surprised for a moment, but then the smirk returned. "The plans I have for your brother of course!" Cadenza grinned.
Twilight reeled in shock. Her brother? This was all about Shining Armor? No. No! She was going to stop this. She had been right about Cadenza and now it was her responsibility to protect her BBBFF. There was no way he was going to marry an evil mare, not while Twilight was around! Her horn charged with furious magic. She was close to shouting now. "Don't you dare do anything to my brother you - you monster!"
"Only way to stop me is to catch me!" came Cadenza's sing-song reply. Laughter echoed through the cave again. Cadenza's reflection vanished, revealing nothing but mirror images of Twilight. She appeared once more. "Over here!" she called.
Twilight charged a spell and fired just as Cadenza disappeared. The spell reflected off the crystals, bouncing around dangerously before impacting just in front of Twilight. She hopped back, frightened by how close it had been to hitting her. Cadenza was on the floor now. "Nope!" Gone again. Now she was all around Twilight. "Over here!" The laughter was infuriating. Cadenza laughed, jumping from crystal to crystal as Twilight fired spell after spell. The crystals shattered one after another, but the laughter didn't stop. Cadenza disappeared one last time as Twilight charged an even stronger shot that managed to blow through a wall. The laughter died down just as the dust began clearing.
Cadenza had been in the next room the whole time. She looked up from her sitting position surprised at the turn of events. Twilight was overcome with rage. She leapt at the evil mare, horn blazing. "No!" Cadenza cried. "Wait!"
Twilight tackled Cadenza. The unicorn quickly regained her footing, towering over the now cowering alicorn.
"No, please!" Cadenza begged. "Don't hurt me." Cadenza shivered, her hoof protecting her face. She risked a glance at her attacker. Surprise and hope came across her face. "Twilight, it's me!" Twilight hesitated, distrust clearly dominating her expression. Cadenza continued, "You have to believe me! I've been imprisoned like you. The Cadence who brought you down here was an impostor."
"Likely story!" Twilight practically growled.
Her horn lit up once again. "I won't let you hurt my brother!"
Cadenza's face dropped from hope to horror. "Wait!"
The spell washed over the alicorn. She let out a yelp of pain, twisting beneath Twilight. Then she went limp. Her breaths were shallow. "Changelings... impostor..." Then her eyes closed in blissful unconsciousness.
Twilight was breathing heavily. Nopony hurt her brother. She let out a satisfied huff and backed away, taking a seat. It was only then that she took a real look at Cadenza. Why was she so disheveled? She looked like she hadn't had a bath in days. She even looked thinner than when Twilight had last seen her. Twilight frowned. Looking closer, she could see little cuts and bruises covering the alicorn. That wasn't normal. There was no way Twilight had done that. What had she been saying? Changelings? Weren't changelings shapeshift -
Twilights ears drooped and her eyes went wide. Oh no...
"Cadence?"
"This day is going to be perfect, the kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small. Everypony will gather 'round, say I look lovely in my gown. What they don't know is that I have fooled them all!"
Cadenza was walking down the aisle. Ponies for miles around had gathered to bear witness to the marriage. It was all for her. Her and the Shining brat of course. She had been lucky her groom's sister had bought her story. Shining Armor was indeed the key, but he was not the whole plan.
"I could care less about the dress. I won't partake of any cake. Vows? I'll be lying when I say - "
She stood at the altar, Shining Armor in front of her, Celestia, the Celestia, standing next to her, none the wiser. She was the perfect bride saying the perfect words. "No matter the circumstances, no matter the weather, no matter what happens, I want us always to be together. I love you, Shining Armor."
"The truth is I don't care for him at all! No I do not love the groom. In my heart there is no room! But I still want him to be all mine!"
Celestia was about to do it. "If there are any here who have a reason that these two should not be joined together in marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace." The day mare had licked it all up. Cadenza could see the true happiness in her eyes and feel the slight disappointment at her student's absence. Everything was going perfectly.
"Finally the moment has arrived for me to be one lucky bride."
The great white Alicorn looked down at the happy couple. "Then I now pronounce you stallion and mare. You may kiss the bride!" It was only a tiny thought now. Shining Armor was fully in her control. The love simply oozed off of him as she made him kiss her.
"Shining Armor will be mine. All mine."
Now was the time. Go my children. Do as we have planned.
A loud crash boomed from outside as Shining Armor let out a grunt of pain, falling to the ground.
Panic had seized everypony. Cadenza had rushed to Shining Armor's side, the bearers of the Elements of Harmony right behind her. The ponies in the hall were standing in confusion, some moving for the door, others for the windows, yet others moving to the altar. Everypony was yelling. This was a disaster waiting to happen. Celestia had to stop this before someone was trampled. "BE STILL" She yelled. It was not often that Celestia had to use the traditional Canterlot voice, but now certainly called for it. It was a good thing Luna had come back. She would have been out of practice otherwise. Instantly, all ponies stopped what they were doing. She had their attention.
"Everypony move away from the windows. Guards, bar the doors and protect the guests." For just a moment, she was Celestia, the rising sun that triumphed over Discord. She was a radiant commander whose orders brooked no argument. Ponies scrambled to follow her orders.
She glanced at Shining Armor. Clearly, his shield had been destroyed. The backlash must have knocked him unconscious. Cadenza was crying, cradling his head, Twilight's friends trying to help and comfort her. The bride would have to wait.
Now of all times? Why did it have to be now? She walked to an open window. Changelings. An army of them. They would overrun the city in minutes if the guard hadn't been incapacitated already. Changelings were known for infiltration. Who knew how many were already in position? Celestia grimaced. Ponies would suffer or even die if she stood idle. "I will handle this!"
Her wings spread and pumped powerfully as she leapt from the window into the air. Faintly, she heard Cadenza calling out after her. No. Shining Armor could wait. Magic gathered around her. Her foes would know the power of the sun. She was Celestia! No one harmed her ponies. None! She shown with brilliant yellow light, her horn becoming a blinding star as she gathered her full power.
Yet she hesitated.
Changelings were infiltrators. They did not attack en masse in an effort to overrun entire cities, much less capital cities ruled by near deities. This was suicide. And who was controlling them? Changelings were little more than aimless drones without a leader.
Pieces fell into place.
The threat against Canterlot. Shining Armor's headaches. Cadenza's erratic behavior. Twilight's accusations.
Twilight's absence.
Oh, I've been such a fool Twilight.
Green magic gathered behind her.
Twilight panted, carrying Cadence with her telekinesis. She was almost to the cathedral. She could see Princess Celestia in the sky, shining like a second sun. Hope filled her heart. Maybe they could stop this invasion yet.
A green spell shot out from the window behind Celestia. It did not miss. There was an explosion of green light before both green and yellow went dim.
Celestia had gone nearly limp. Smoke curled from her body. She seemed to fall in slow motion, her wings doing nothing to slow her descent. The day mare crashed into a house five stories below, nearly half a mile from Twilight.
"NOOO!!"
For a moment, Twilight thought she had screamed the word. Indeed, she had screamed, but it was nothing like this shout. A black blur shot from a tower at the palace, streaking towards the chapel. Luna had no concern for the drones that flew into her path, barreling through them. Twilight could almost feel the rage flowing off of the princess of the night from down on the ground. Luna shot a bolt of lightning at the chapel window, but Twilight could not see what happened from her vantage point. Luna came to a halt, hovering just outside the window. Now Twilight could see the look of shock on her face.
Then another green bolt of magic struck Luna directly in the face.
"No..." Twilight said as she watched Luna fall just as Celestia had. The princesses... nothing could hurt them. This was not happening. Changelings couldn't be swarming her because the princesses would never allow this to happen. It couldn't. It was impossible. "NO!"
"This day has been just perfect, the kind of day of which I have dreamed since I was small. Everypony I'll soon control, every stallion, mare and foal. Who says a girl can't really have it all?!?
Author's Note
This oneshot is a response to Antony C and BronyCurious's Reviewing is Magic episode 4 on Youtube where they cited legitimate concerns over the episode A Canterlot Wedding. Both reviewers were extremely confused with what Chrysalis's plan actually was. The way the episode plays, it seems like Chrysalis was revealed, forcing her onto plan B. I decided to show what plan A was.
