A Tale Never Told

by TimeFactor

Rating: teen
Tags: DJ P0N-3, Doctor Whooves, Lyra, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Bon-Bon, Adventure, Derpy Hooves
Length: 36571

A group of ponies uncover a sinister plot in Canterlot.

Everyone knows about the Changeling Invasion. We know how the Changeling Queen and her entire army were defeated and banished thanks to Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Shining Armor, and most importantly their undeniable love. But what nobody seems to know is what occurred during that famed incident, events that few individuals know about and were actually there to witness it. It all leads to a sinister plot that still remains unresolved. Follow these ponies as they uncover the true purpose behind the Changeling Invasion.

Regarding the image cover:
* Six panels around the center are the protagonists
* Other panels are cameos or minor roles
* Positions and images may be subject to change
* Number of panels may increase if an artist is willing to draw OCs

Published 2012-08-22 08:34:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-18 16:05:27 UTC

Change

"Oh my gosh! Is that-? Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!"

Lyra Heartstrings, a mint-green unicorn with a golden lyre for a cutie mark, had opened her mailbox to find a large envelope. However, this was not just any kind of envelope. Marked on the back was the Royal Canterlot Seal, a round amber emblem depicting the rulers of Equestria, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The image portrayed these beloved figures crossing each other in the sky as they each commanded the Sun and the Moon respectively.

In seconds high-pitched screams filled the air as Lyra repeatedly hopped around her mailbox in circles. One could even feel small tremors if he came within the vicinity of the mare's cottage. Despite this ongoing commotion, passersby ignored Lyra or at the least payed very little attention to her. To them a moment like this was much tamer when compared to other events that have occurred in this town. If a rampaging beast such as a hydra or a dragon showed up one day, the citizens would not be surprised, although they would still be downright terrified.

"Lyra?" another mare's voice called out after almost twenty minutes. "Hey! Calm down! What are you so excited about?"

Bon Bon, a pale earth pony with three wrapped pieces of candy for a cutie mark, grudgingly dragged her hooves out of Lyra's cottage. The mare was dressed in a long, violet nightgown. However it was hard for someone to ignore the state of her mane, a bracken of pink and blue hair. Her eyes were half-lidded and blinking occasionally as she stared blankly at the ecstatic mare before her.

Bon Bon was Lyra's best friend and current roommate. The two ponies had known each other as long as the other could remember. Originally born into upper class families in Canterlot, they were raised with the highest expectations. Unfortunately for their parents, the Canterlot life was simply not for them. When they grew old enough, the pair decided to escape the rules of high society and eventually settled down in the town of Ponyville.

Ponyville was a small, quiet town—or it used to be. Located a few miles southeast of the capital city, the town was built upon a vast hilly plain. Like many towns in Equestria, most of Ponyville's architecture had barely changed since its foundation aside from the minor adjustments to keep up with the customs of the modern world. Buildings were mostly straw-roofed cottages that were closely built together. Any places that did not conform to the style usually indicated it as some type of business such as the local library or town hall. Residents were common folk, average ponies who only wished for the best whether it was finding a job, raising a family, or just finding a nice place to stay.

After Canterlot, a friendly town like Ponyville was exactly what Lyra and Bon Bon desired. To them Canterlot had always been a place filled with rich uptight citizens who looked down upon anyone of a lower social standing. Those ponies' attitude always bothered the mares, especially Bon Bon. She personally saw the town as a blessing. The only thing keeping it from being paradise was Lyra's massive yet innocent tendency to annoy her. Bon Bon loved Lyra as a friend, but she had to admit that the mare's "habits" irritated her at times.

Bon Bon sat down and drowsily rubbed her eyes. Doing this had practically become a routine. She idly waited for any chance of Lyra calming down but soon lost her patience by the unicorn's twelfth giggle.

"Would you calm down already?!" she exclaimed while pressing her hooves against her head.

Finally noticing her friend's presence, Lyra quickly hopped towards Bon Bon and held up the envelope. The mare was almost shoving it into her face.

"Look! Look!"

Bon Bon sighed and gently pushed Lyra back. The earth pony was still half-asleep and thought nothing of it until her vision cleared enough for her to see the center.

"Is that...the Royal Canterlot Seal!?"

"Hay yeah!" she said nodding. "What do you think it is!?"

"Don't ask now! Hurry up and open it! If it's from Canterlot, It could be important!"

"Okay! Okay!"

Lyra quickly tore off the top portion of the envelope using her her teeth. Reaching inside she pulled out a scroll tied neatly with a large red ribbon. She undid the knot and hoofed the ribbon to Bon Bon before beginning to reading.

"Fancy handwriting..." Lyra remarked as she skimmed through the scroll's contents.

"Well? What does it say?"

"Dear Lyra Heartstrings,

Greetings from the royal city of Canterlot. I am sure you are most excited for the upcoming wedding to take place in two days.”

“Wedding?” Bon Bon repeated. “Did you hear about one?”

Lyra paused for a moment. “Hm… I think heard somepony mention it at the marketplace, but I didn’t think it was a royal wedding though…”

“Well keep reading. We’ll learn more about it eventually.”

“ On the behalf of Princess Celestia, you are cordially invited to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard.

As requested by the Princess, you have also been given the honorable responsibility of being one of her bridesmaids. The envelope delivered along with this letter contains money for the train fare and other items you may deem necessary. You are expected to arrive by tomorrow morning. Please make no delays.

Sincerely,

The Minister of Royal Affairs"

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?" Bon Bon said in a surprised tone. "Your old foalsitter?"

"Wow! She still remembers me! I haven't seen her in like...forever!"

"And she made you one of her bridesmaids. You must've been good friends."

"Yeah, we got along great!"

Lyra reminisced her early childhood in Canterlot. Her parents were constantly busy with their blossoming careers that they had no time to spend with their own daughter. Lyra strangely did not mind though. The thought of her parents coming into her room and giving a kiss every night while she slept was more than enough for her to excuse their absence. When alone or not spending time at a friend's house, an activity she did quite often, the family butler was usually the one to watch Lyra. But even his rising duties became too much that foalsitting would be impossible for him. Thankfully Lyra's parents were able to use their family connections to hire another foalsitter. However both of them were baffled to learn they actually acquired the niece of the Princesses themselves.

Her name was Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but she insisted on the nickname "Cadance" to make things simple. Even though her times spent with the princess were far apart, sometimes even months, Lyra was always excited to learn that Cadance would be foalsitting for the day. Though Lyra's parents set some standards, the most important one being "No leaving the property!", the pair tended to get mischievous, sometimes sneaking out for dessert at the nearby ice cream parlor. There was even one incident where they were caught by Lyra's mother, but the mare laughed and admitted she tended to break a few rules sometimes.

Eventually there came the moment for Cadance to leave permanently, but by that point Lyra's mother had chosen to quit her job and finally spend quality time with her daughter so no major problems resulted. At first Lyra did not know the reason for Cadance's departure, but she soon learned that Cadance was growing closer to inheriting the throne of another empire and had to leave to assume her new responsibilities.

"Though we kinda stopped seeing each other when my parents thought I outgrew the need for her." Lyra continued. "I wonder why she picked me though? It's been years. She would probably have closer friends to choose from..."

"Maybe she...wants to catch up with you after so long?"

“I don’t know… But still! We can’t pass up a chance like this! C'mon! Let's start packing for tomorrow! We can stay at my parents' house! I know how yours are still mad over the whole 'ditching Canterlot' thing..."

"Yeah..." she muttered while glancing to the side. "But what about the train fare? It sounded like it was only enough for one pony. And you know about our current financial situation due to the investments in your...special interest..."

Lyra frowned knowing Bon Bon was right. The mares had only been able to pay off some of their most recent bills due to Lyra's carefree spending. Now they were barely keeping themselves afloat with a piling debt. By Bon Bon calculations, their salaries at the marketplace would not break even until months later.

"C'mon," Lyra said failing to sound optimistic as she reached inside the envelope, "I'm sure there's enough for at least-..."

"Lyra?"

Bon Bon observed Lyra standing motionless and unresponsive, a very unusual state for her. The unicorn was wide-eyed with her mouth was agape. Bon Bon was about to nudge her paralyzed friend until Lyra quickly jumped back.

"Hay, this is enough for maybe a hundred ponies!" she exclaimed, her voice suddenly perked up again. "I've never seen this much...! In years, I mean!"

"Let me see." Bon Bon said in a skeptical tone.

Bon Bon grabbed the envelope from Lyra's hooves and examined its contents. Inside were gold coins known as Bits, Equestria's currency. What made these particular Bits special was that their faces were cut to depict the Sun and Moon individually on each side and that their rims were diamond-encrusted. Normal Bits were just simple coins with no special markings. More intricate designs meant more value, but even they were rare to see around the middle class.

"Sweet Celestia! Are those real diamond-encrusted Bits?! Did the Minister make a mistake or something?"

"Who cares?!" she exclaimed while hopping again. "What are we gonna spend it on?!"

"Save it! I still need to pay off some of your debts! Honestly, just because we were born into high society, Lyra, doesn't mean we should go spending our Bits all over the place..."

Lyra giggled hesitantly while rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry..."

"Anyway, I'll go start packing. What about you? Thinking about bringing anypony else?"

"Hm... But if I tell one pony, he'll tell another, then they'll tell two more, and then we'll get swamped by desperate ponies wanting to tag along, right...? Can the train even fit all those ponies?"

"I doubt it, but at least you're using your head for once! Just us then!"

The Next Day

"All aboard! Next stop, Canterlot!"

The Friendship Express, a six-car locomotive, departed Ponyville Train Station at the sound of the conductor's whistle. It would not be a long trip since the city was clearly visible from Ponyville, but it would still take a few hours as the tracks had to ascend the mountainside through spiraling tunnels. As for the passing scenery, there was not much to gawk at. It was mainly vast open fields with scattered patches of flora and a chain of tall snow-capped mountains in the distance. A large river occasionally came into view as the train rose to the summit of small hills. The water stemmed from Saddle Lake, the massive deposit for the mountain waterfall that flowed through Canterlot.

Inside the train's last passenger coach directly next to the caboose, Lyra and Bon Bon occupyied one of the many booths, each seated across from the other. Lyra, as usual for her, was sitting in a reclined position like any bipedal creature. This strange habit had always perplexed Bon Bon, but she normally kept it to herself out of respect. As the hour passed, the mares chatted amongst themselves, occasionally glancing outside at the repetitive image before them.

"Strange, isn't it?" Bon Bon suddenly asked.

"What? How I sit? C'mon! We've been over this! I just-!"

"No, not that!" She pointed to the side of the coach. "Nopony else seems to be here... You'd think a train bound for the capital would have more ponies riding it..."

Lyra looked around and saw that it was true. Every seat besides their own was empty. Seeing as how nopony else was going to use the other windows, Lyra used her magic to pulled down all the shades except hers. She did not understand why, but she always preferred rooms to be dark with only one light source.

"Maybe we just got lucky and got a car all to ourselves?" she asked shrugging.

"It’s possible, but still... I'm going to go check the next car."

Bon Bon stood up and walked towards the door leading to the next coach. As she reached for the handle, the door suddenly slid open as another pony came inside. She was a white unicorn with a backwards black double quaver cutie mark. Her wild mane was cobalt blue with cyan streaks, and she wore dark violet-tinted shades that veiled her eyes.

"Heeey." she greeted Bon Bon, dragging out the word. "What's up?"

"Oh! Uh...doing fine, thank you."

The mare pointed to the door. "You were...heading over to the next car?"

"Hm? Oh yeah! It was just weird since my friend and I were the only ponies in this car...before you came along of course."

"Ah, okay." she said nodding. "I get it. Yeah, there sure is a lack of ponies on this train today. There’s some more over in the next car, but... I wouldn't go in there if I were you."

Bon Bon tilted her head. "Why?"

"You guys are from Ponyville, right? Then you know that Twilight Sparkle girl?"

"Twilight? Yeah, we've seen her around plenty of times. Lyra even went to borrow a book from her library just last week."

"Well, she seems upset that her brother, Shining Armor, is getting married to this princess chick for some reason."

"Wait... Princess Cadance's groom is Twilight's brother?!"

"Candance?" She repeated the princess' name while putting a different spin on the pronunciation each time. "Is that her nickname or something? Huh... That sounds much better than her real one. Anyway, yeah. I was kinda surprised too. You'd think somepony would mention her brother being a Captain of the Royal Guard once in a while..."

Bon Bon turned to Lyra who was staring out the window. "Did you know about this?"

"Who? Shining Armor? Yeah, Candance sometimes fantasized about him when we she foalsat me, saying how 'cute', 'hot', and 'dreamy' he was...and other things too... I thought it was just teenage hormones talkin' so I just played along."

"But you knew he was Twilight's brother..."

"Yeah, but I just kept it on the down low. Didn't think it was that important. I mean I know some ponies in Ponyville that would die wanting to meet a Captain of the Royal Guard. Things could've gotten outta control. I didn't wanna do that to Twilight."

Bon Bon sighed and faced the new pony again. "Anyway, I'm Bon Bon. My friend's name is Lyra. What about you?"

"Vinyl Scratch." the unicorn replied. "Or my handle, DJ P0N-3. Whatever floats your boat if fine with me."

"So why did you come here, Vinyl?"

She motioned her hoof in a circle towards her own head. "Eh, I just had to get away from the craziness over there. Twilight also brought her friends so-"

Vinyl paused mid-sentence as the train entered a mountain tunnel, plunging the car into pitch darkness.

"BEST WEDDING EVER!!!" a high-pitched voice exclaimed, making the three mares cringe. The echoing effects of the tunnel only served to extend its duration.

"-Pinkie Pie's there..." Vinyl continued with a small laugh.

"Pinkie Pie?" Bon Bon repeated. Knowing this specific mare's reputation in Ponyville, she sighed. "Let me guess... She's in charge of the reception?"

"Yup! And I'm DJ-ing! Why? Don'cha like Pinkie's parties?"

"No, I do like them! It's just... I was expecting the reception for a royal wedding to be more...formal, y'know?"

"Oh, right. Well everything else is still all fancy-like so you don't have to worry about that! Thank Celestia I don't have to wear one of those fancy dresses though! Besides, a thing like this comes only once in a lifetime! Let's just have a good time!"

Bon Bon only chuckled and nodded as a response.

"Hey, mind if I sit with you guys? It ain't fun sittin’ by yourself, y'know."

"Sure!" Lyra exclaimed as she patted the cushion next to her. "The more, the merrier!"

Bon Bon returned to her seat while Vinyl sat next to Lyra. Almost immediately Lyra started asking Vinyl questions, specially about who she was. The disc jockey explained she was a traveler, a wanderer who never stayed in the same place for long. She made her living by playing at various nightclubs across Equestria. There was hardly any place that she had not visited. On top of being a disc jockey, Vinyl occasionally experimented with creating music. She was skilled in the bass guitar, but she never produced any original songs of her own. Though that did not prevent her from joining other bands as a guest musician.

Eventually the conversation shifted into Lyra and Bon Bon telling Vinyl more about themselves. Lyra spent the most time talking while Bon Bon provided extra details if descriptions were unclear. The mares talked about their lives in Ponyville and the many memorable events that had taken place there.

"No way!" Vinyl exclaimed. "That was here!? I was wondering where all those parasprites came from! Hahaha!"

"I'm really sorry that happened." Bon Bon said giggling.

"Naw! Sure, we had to cancel the gig, but it was fun with all that chaos! It was a tough crowd anyway!"

"At least you had Celestia's help!" Lyra exclaimed. "That parasprite ate my slice of strawberry pie!"

"Are you ever going to get over that?" Bon Bon asked. "Besides, I bought you another one."

"Yeah, but that one was a smaller piece! The original one had perfect dimensions!"

"Alright," Vinyl said while motioning her hooves up and down, "let's not fight. Say, Lyra, there's something I gotta ask though...I'm not sure if I should..."

"Go ahead. It's hard for me to get offended! Hehe!"

Bon Bon stared back and forth between the two mares. She soon caught Vinyl glancing at Lyra's lower half. Realizing what the disc jockey was about to ask, she attempted to speak up but was too late.

"Why are you sitting like that? It looks...weird..."

"Hm? Oh, I just find it more comfy."

"You don't say..." Vinyl stood up and sat back down again, this time mimicking Lyra's position. "Heeey! This is comfy!"

"Not you too..." Bon Bon groaned.

"Woah! What the hay is that?" Lyra exclaimed.

Bon Bon and Vinyl stared at mare but then realized she was gazing outside the window. Canterlot was coming into view, but a massive pink, transparent barrier was now encasing the entire city. It looked like a giant sphere had become wedged inside the mountain.

"I've never seen a magic barrier that big before..." Bon Bon remarked.

"I have," Vinyl said, "but that was used for special effects during a gig I was doing..."

"Why do you think the city's like that?" Lyra wondered aloud.

"I guess we'll just have to find out when we get there..."

The train reduced its speed just outside the barrier where two unicorn guards were standing by their posts. After examining the cars, they each raised their spears granting passage. Instead of going through an opening, the train simply phased through unharmed. Inside the coach, the three mares panicked for a moment and quickly shut their eyes as the barrier rapidly approached them. They felt a slight tingling sensation once their bodies passed through, but the barrier had no ill effects to their relief.

Now inside the city, the train continued to Canterlot Station. It passed through a tall archway and came to stop at the platform a few meters ahead. Upon the conductor's call, the coaches' doors were opened.

"Hey, do you guys mind if I come with?" Vinyl asked.

Lyra and Bon Bon looked at each other, each waiting for the other say something. Both of them would not mind another companion with them, but there was still one matter that concerned them.

"It's fine," Bon Bon replied, "but what about setting up for the reception?"

"You're both headin’ to the castle, right? Then we're both goin' to the same place! Besides, Pinkie's got it all covered and the party's not gonna start 'til tomorrow night!"

"Alright," Lyra said, "but we're stopping by my parents' house on the way. You don't mind, right?"

"Sure, go ahead! Just hold on a minute. I just need to make sure these guards don't break my... Uh...special surprise."

Lyra and Bon Bon watched Vinyl head towards the caboose where most of the larger items were being stored. The pair retrieved their smaller luggage as they waited for the unicorn's return, but she never showed after almost ten minutes. If they did not get off soon, the train would be heading to its next stop in the very distant city of Vanhooyer. Eventually, Lyra turned her head towards the window to see Vinyl tapping on the glass, quickly telling the mares to come out.

"Sorry about that." Vinyl apologized once they were all outside. "I stepped off the train and the guard wouldn't let me back on. It just had to be the stingy one..."

"Did he happen to say why this magic barrier is up?" Bon Bon asked as she handed her and Lyra's suitcases to a guard.

"Oh, um… I think they got 'suspicious reports' about something ‘making a threat against Canterlot’ or something like that. It's why you're seeing tons of guards around."

Bon Bon looked around and like Vinyl said, there were a large number of golden clad guards around the platform. There was practically one standing in every corner of the station along with rows gathered on the rooftop. Pegasus guards were also patrolling the skies, sometimes even accompanied by a member of the Wonderbolts, one of Equestria's finest flying squadrons identified by the blue suits with yellow streaks shaped like lightning.

"The must really be on high alert..."

"Eh, don't worry about." Lyra said. "C'mon, Vinyl. My old house is this way!"

Lyra escorted her friends out of the train station and onto the bustling streets of Canterlot. Since they were still in the outer section of the city, regular middle class ponies were much more common to find. Compared to a normal day, there was quite a large number of them. Most of them were engaged in various common activities ranging from chatting among themselves to browsing through the merchandise in the windows displays.

As the group made their way to the center square, Lyra caught a glimpse of a familiar pair standing by the fountain depicting Princess Celestia in statue form. One of the ponies was a brown stallion with a spiky dark brown mane in a slicked-back style. He had an hourglass cutie mark and wore a white collar with a long green tie. The other one was a gray pegasus mare with a blonde mane and bubbles for a cutie mark. A very noticeable characteristic was her constant cross-eyed expression wherever she looked.

"Hey!" Lyra exclaimed as she weaved her way through the crowd. "Doctor! Derpy!"

The stallion seemed surprised when he turned his head, but he still smiled and waved back. He quickly nudged his friend who had been staring into the fountain.

"Hello, Lyra!" he said in his strange, exotic accent. It was not one many ponies had heard before meeting this stallion. "And Bon Bon too! Fancy meeting you mares here!"

"Friends of yours?" Vinyl asked.

"Oh sorry, Vinyl." Bon Bon apologized. "Doctor. Derpy. This is Vinyl Scratch. We met on the train ride here."

"Pleasure to meet you." the Doctor said shaking her hoof.

"What's up!" Derpy happily exclaimed.

"Nice to meet ya!" Vinyl replied. "So what are you two doin' in Canterlot? I’m guessing you’re not from here?"

"This was the last stop on my delivery route." Derpy answered first. "Plus I'm off tomorrow. Thought I'd just stick around for the wedding."

"And Derpy insisted that I come along with her." the Doctor added. "It’s a shame Dinky didn't want to be here earlier. But I know she vastly prefers spending time with that Pipsqueak lad and her other friends. Oh well..."

"What about you guys?"

"I'm DJ-ing for tonight's party!" Vinyl proudly exclaimed.

"I'm just here with Lyra." Bon Bon said. "She's going to be-"

"I'm gonna be one of Candance's bridesmaids!" Lyra quickly finished for her.

"Oh, that must be an honor!" the Doctor said. "Are you close friends with the Princess?"

"Well...yeah, but that was years ago. This is actually the first time I'll get to see her since then! It'll be great!"

"That long...? Don't you think that's a bit...strange? I mean to make a friend who you haven't seen in years one of your bridesmaids?"

"I thought so too," Bon Bon responded, "but I suggested that Princess Cadence is just trying to get close to her older friends again. She was always the friendly and fun-loving type by how I remember her."

"I suppose that make sense, but...it still seems fishy to me..."

"Oh c'mon, guys!" Lyra interrupted. "Candance isn't some evil monarch trying to take over Canterlot! Let's just get going. I'll be late at this rate."

"Hehe... Rhymey..." Derpy mumbled.

"Would you like to come with us?" Bon Bon asked. "You'll get to meet Princess Cadance in person."

"I would love to," the Doctor replied, "but I'm afraid I'll have to decline. Derpy and I are meeting an important friend at Pony Joe's in a quarter of an hour. Perhaps you could save us front row spots at the ceremony?"

"Alright, I'll try! Goodbye, you two!"

The Doctor and Derpy waved goodbye to the trio as the mares hurried along the northern road to the upper district. Lyra in particular was dashing ahead of the others, quickly motioning her arms while Bon Bon was angrily yelling at her. While this was happening, Vinyl smiled and simply laughed at the back-and-forth banter between the mares.

"Hey, Doc..."

"Yes, Derpy?"

"We're not meeting a friend at Pony Joe's..."

"I know. I just didn't want to get them involved is all. Well then, shall we go?"

Ten minutes later

"Lyra! Bon Bon! It's so nice to see you!"

Within Canterlot's upper district, Lyra's group came to a large, two-story residence. Unlike most of the nearby buildings, this one was actually separate from the others rather than being built close together. The house was contained within a metal-fenced property although the front gate was left wide open. A cobblestone path passed through a small garden where twin fountains modeled after the Princesses were surrounded in circles of flowerbeds.

Standing under the doorway with a warm smile was a yellow unicorn mare. Her golden hair glimmered in the sunlight. Particularly shining was the white streak it shared with Lyra. The mare's cutie mark was not visible, covered by an elegant white dress with a high collar.

"Hi, Mrs. Heartstrings." Bon Bon said after receiving a powerful hug from the mare. "This is Vinyl. She's coming with us to the castle."

"Nice to meet you, dear! I hope my Lyra hasn't been too much of a bother to you!"

"Naaah," the disc jockey replied, "she's cool."

Vinyl peeked behind the mare to see a wide collection of exotic furniture and other ornamental decorations inside glass display cases. Some of them even seemed foreign in origin. Vinyl could definitely recognize a few items crafted by griffons and even dragons.

"Sweet pad you've got there."

"Oh, well yes!" Mrs. Heartstrings said slightly embarrassed. "They're mostly my husband's though. I honestly prefer to keep things simple, but I will admit I absolutely love his tastes!"

Lyra's father was an avid antique collector. He loved to acquire rare and valuable artifacts though unlike most of Canterlot's collectors, Lyra's father actually worked for them rather than purchasing them at an auction house. Lyra even recalled a moment where he spent sleepless nights in order to receive a sword dating back to the Discord Era.

"Where is Dad, anyway?"

"He went out to an important meeting. Don't worry though! He'll surely be back by in time for the wedding. Perhaps you could surprise him there? He's been a little depressed lately that he can't see his 'precious baby girl' as much anymore."

"Oh, Dad..." Lyra said blushing. "Anyway, Bon Bon needs a place to crash for the night. Is the guest room still clean?"

"Absolutely! What about your luggage, Bon Bon?"

"A guard should be bringing it here soon." the earth pony replied. “Though with all of them on high alert like this, I can't be entirely sure.”

"It’s okay. I'll have the butler keep an eye out for it. Now what's the occasion?"

"I'm one of the bridesmaids!" Lyra exclaimed.

"Wha-...? Dear Sweet Celestia! Princess Cadance chose you?! Then why are you still here?! Go on! Go! Have the time of your life, girls!"

Mrs. Heartstrings quickly pushed her daughter and her companions out the front gate, urging them onwards to the castle. Lyra and Bon Bon protested at first, originally expecting the stay a little longer. However, Lyra's mother was resistant and took it upon herself to personally force them two city blocks before finally returning to the manor. With nowhere left to go, the mares continued their way to Canterlot Castle.

"Hey, Bon Bon." Vinyl said. "Didn't you say both you're from Canterlot? Why not stay at your folks?"

"They're...kind of the opposite of Lyra's parents. Mr. And Mrs. Heartstrings were completely okay with Lyra leaving Canterlot for Ponyville. They just wanted her to be happy with her life. My parents...are still angry I quit being their 'perfect girl'. I don't think they even know where I went after I stormed out the front door..."

Bon Bon's past lifestyle was, as she described, the opposite compared to Lyra. Her parents always pushed her to be the best but without the loving support a filly would need. She was always expected to be the best at everything in hopes the family could finally rise beyond the upper class and into nobility. Whenever Bon Bon made a mistake, it was not tolerated. Punishments varied depending on what she did whether it be hours of intense study or the rare slap on the face. The only refuge Bon Bon found was with her friends, but even that was difficult to do. Her parents were extremely strict on which families they approved of and that most of the children from the "approved" families were either stuck-up, snobbish, or spoiled to the core.

Thankfully Lyra's family were close acquaintances though Bon Bon suspected it was mainly due to their vast fortune and close ties with the throne. It did not matter to Bon Bon as she finally had a legitimate friend. She would normally venture to Lyra's house whenever possible to vent her frustrations. Lyra had suggested multiple times to let her own parents talk to Bon Bon's, but the earth pony always declined thinking it would be useless and possibly, if not definitely, put Lyra's family in "shun" status.

"Oh..." Vinyl turned her head, hesitant to look back. "Sorry about bringing it up..."

"No, no... It's fine. I know I should make up with them, but...I don't think I can do that right now..."

"Hey, it's all good! My folks are mad at me too! For some different reasons though, but I feel you!"

"...Thanks, Vinyl." she said with a knowing smile.

The group continued along the ascending street to the mountain's cliffside summit until they reached Canterlot Castle's outer wall. It stood across across a small flowing river that poured over the nearby cliff into the massive lake at the base of the mountain. A lowered wooden drawbridge was the only way across. Standing by the entrance gate was a single guard, a gray unicorn, though two more of his pegasus comrades were stationed above as lookouts.

"Hello there." the guard kindly greeted them. "Purpose of this visit, please."

He spoke with a refined accent that was very common in this city, but his friendly behavior was quite different than what one would usually expect from a royal guard, quite the opposite.

Lyra handed the guard her letter. "I think this'll explain it. These two are with me."

The guard took a moment to quickly read the invitation. "Oh! Another one! You better hurry. I think you're the last one to arrive!" He fired a small magic flare from his horn. Understanding this, the other guards began opening the metal gate. "Enjoy your stay."

The mares proceeded inside once the gate was fully raised and continued to the entrance courtyard. It was a large, open, hilly space filled with dirt paths, green patches, and small ponds. Even here a dotted chain of guards formed a perimeter around the area. More were also gathered in a group on the balcony of the main building, a portion of them leaving for the city or taking flight time from time.

After looking around, the group found two mares waiting by the door to the eastern wing. Bon Bon and Vinyl could only stare, completely baffled by these ponies' appearance. The first one was a unicorn, but she shared Bon Bon’s body color (a more lighter and whiter version) and even her hairstyle. The only other differences were that her mane was completely pink rather than Bon Bon’s alternating colors of blue and pink and that she had three stars for a cutie mark. The second pony was also a unicorn. She was basically a blue-shaded version of Lyra with an hourglass cutie mark just like the Doctor.

“Uh… Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Vinyl whispered to Bon Bon.

Bon Bon only nodded and made a quiet sound that Vinyl assumed to be an agreement.

"Hey there!” Lyra exclaimed while shaking the blue mare's hoof. The idea of meeting her doppelganger did not disturb her at all, or at least passed completely over her head. “I'm Lyra! I couldn't help but notice we have the same hairstyle! Who's your barber?"

"Well, we're not from Canterlot," the pink mare responded. "Ponyville actually. And we go to that beauty parlor right next to the spa."

"Oh! No wonder! I go to the same place too! I can't believe we’ve never ran into each other! What are the odds?"

The blue mare laughed. "Hehe! Weird how big a small town like Ponyville could be!"

"So who are you guys?"

"I'm Minuette though some of my friends call me Colgate. This here's Twinkleshine. We're waiting for Princess Cadance to come back. We're her bridesmaids."

Lyra gasped. "Me too! Nice to meet you! Am I too late or...?"

Minuette giggled. "A little, but I wouldn't worry about it. She just went to check up on her groom though I don't know how long she'll take."

"Oh, alright." Lyra turned her attention to Bon Bon and Vinyl, waving for them to come forward. "Hey, guys! You wanna stick around to say 'Hi'?!"

"Hold on!" Bon Bon exclaimed as she took Vinyl aside. "I'm really sorry for making you wait a lot, Vinyl. Do you want to just meet up with Pinkie Pie now to set up for the reception?"

"I'll stick around." the mare answered. "Not very often you get to meet a princess up close and in person."

Bon Bon and Vinyl joined Lyra and her new friends. After introductions, they all began discussing their separate trips until now. Lyra let Bon Bon explain their story starting from when they found the envelope in their mailbox. Colgate and Twinkeshine also shared similar stories as well. They too knew the princess as foals, but certain events cause them to lose touch with her. Lyra found it funny, but Bon Bon and Vinyl found it perplexing.

“You girls…haven’t seen the Princess in years too?”

“Weird, right?” Minuette asked. “I wonder why Cadance choose us...?”

“H-Hey! C’mon” Lyra interrupted. “Let’s not turn this into conspiracy theories! We can talk about-!”

Before Lyra could continue, the large double doors slowly opened to reveal a pink alicorn calmly walking outside. Her long, dark violet mane had equally sized streaks of rose and gold that were curled at the end. Her cutie mark was also quite unique, a heart-shaped crystal bordered by gold lace. The golden tiara, necklace, and footwear obviously signified her status and identity.

“Cadance!” Lyra exclaimed.

The Princess did not respond and coldly stared at the group.

“It’s me! Y’know…Lyra? You remember those times you foalsat me?”

“Uh, did I ask you to speak?” Cadance answered in a condescending manner. “And why are you not bowing? Don’t you know how to behave in front of a princess?”

“Huh? But you never-”

"Ahem! I'm waiting!”

Startled by the tone of her voice, everyone quickly bowed down to appease the princess. Bon Bon was forced to quickly pull down Lyra whose body seemed to be paralyzed.

“That’s better.” Cadance remarked as she observed all of them. “Finally you three are here. Come with me. We still have to check on the wedding preparations.”

Lyra was hesitating to speak now. “W-wait. Can my friends…come too?”

“What? Of course not! Now hurry up!”

Princess Cadance began walking back inside with Minuette and Twinkleshine following closely behind her though they were looking back with unsure expressions. Meanwhile Lyra sat down on the pavement, staring at the ground with a blank expression. Her mind was repeatedly flickering images of the Cadance she once knew and the Cadance she just witnessed. After her friend was not moving for almost a minute, Bon Bon walked up and placed a hoof on Lyra's shoulder.

“You okay?”

“I’m alright…” Lyra muttered.

“Wow…” Vinyl said aloud. “I don’t even know how to describe that… Is she even really a princess? That attitude and that vibe she gave off was just… Wow…”

“Maybe she… Maybe she’s just stressed out? I mean…a royal wedding is a big thing, right? Yeah…that could be it…”

“You should hurry and catch up with them.” Bon Bon told her. “And I know it might be asking too much, but try to put on a happy face. Maybe you and those girls can figure out something. Try to find something that'll trigger fond memories.”

“Alright…”

Lyra took a deep breath and regained her composure. Putting on a confident expression, she quickly ran inside and disappeared down the long hallway. Back in the courtyard, Bon Bon took the liberty of closing the doors herself.

“Lyra seemed really upset.” Vinyl remarked.

“She can get…really attached to a person. I really didn’t know what would happen if somepony close to her changed that drastically.”

“So like…Cadance was a ‘Luna’ and now she’s a ‘Nightmare Moon’?”

“I guess that’s one way of putting it… Still, something's not right. I spent some time with her too and there's no way in Tartarus the Cadance I knew would behave like that...”

Accompaniment

"Wow! You can see the entire city from here!"

Lyra and her new friends were following Cadance as they ascended a large staircase that twisted around one of the castle's towers. In her excitement, Lyra had been the first to reach the top where she was gazing down at the city. From this height she could make out the numerous buildings, but finding actual ponies proved difficult with patrolling pegasi blocking her vision.

"Would you cut that out?" Candance asked behind her in an annoyed tone. "We're not here to sightsee, remember?"

"R-Right." Lyra said with a false smile. "My apologies, Princess."

“Princess…?”

She sighed. "…Princess Mi Amore Cadenza…”

Cadance smirked. "Looks like you're finally getting it."

Lyra stumbled back, unsure what to think of the princess' first smile since they reunited. It was not a pleasant one and carried a more mischievous vibe. However, Lyra decided to ignore this observation in hopes that Cadance's icy exterior was finally beginning to thaw. After all, the princess did not reprimand her for going ahead.

Standing by the entrance to the next room, Cadance waited for Minuette and Twinkleshine to rejoin and line up with Lyra before she magically opened the large double doors with a vibrant green aura. Seeing made Lyra tilt her head. She stared at Cadance's horn for a few seconds and then nudged Twinkleshine.

“Hey," she whispered, "how long did you know Cadance again?”

Twinkleshine looked towards the princess before turning back to Lyra. “Uh… A few years. Why?”

“Wasn’t her magic…blue?”

“Hm...I don’t remember. It’s been so long…”

"Huh..."

The group proceeded inside one of the castle's suites. It was circular in shape with tall arched windows that provided an overhead view of the castle in every direction. A vanity and a queen-sized bed lying beneath a pink-draped tent were to the left while a large wooden wardrobe and the entrance to the bathroom were to the right. The opposite walls were mainly adorned with bright tapestries that complimented the bright chandelier hanging from the center of the spire roof.

"Please," a voice said mockingly, unaware of the group’s presence, "call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!"

Also here were two unicorn mares currently having a conversation. Lyra immediately recognized them as friends from Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle and Rarity. Technically Lyra did not interact with Twilight often, but she still considered her a friend regardless.

Twilight Sparkle was a violet mare with a unique cutie mark. It was a pink six-pointed star surrounded by fives smaller white ones. Provided he knew her, anyone would recognize the violet and pink streaks in her dark indigo mane and tail. Around Ponyville, everypony knew Twilight as the local librarian at Golden Oaks Library and less commonly as Princess Celestia's apprentice. She was also considered one of the main leaders in Ponyville. Saving the town from a rudely awakened Ursa Minor and breaking the town's late spring season streak are among some of her many achievements ever since she moved in from Canterlot.

All of Twilight's accomplishments originally surprised Lyra. When both mares still lived in Canterlot, Twilight always had the reputation of being a recluse, an asocial girl who almost always locked herself inside the castle's library and did nothing but study. The news of her moving to Ponyville sounded like a practical joke to Lyra. When she learned of the welcome party being planned for Twilight, Lyra did not hesitate to go see it for herself. She believed witnessing Twilight's progress played a small part in finding a new home in Ponyville. Who would have thought an awkward girl like Twilight could make many new friends and contribute in defeating the returns of Nightmare Moon and Discord?

Rarity was a white mare with three blue diamonds for a cutie mark. The ends of her purple mane and tail were always seen curled in a spiral. Rarity was both a fashion designer and seamstress who ran the Carousel Boutique, Ponyville's best and only clothing store specializing in formal attire. It was the common go-to place for anyone in need of a fancy suit or elegant dress. After receiving appraise from famous stars of Equestria's fashion industry such as Sapphire Shores, Photo Finish, and Hoity Toity, business for Carousel Boutique had skyrocketed. Though recently Rarity had been limiting her orders to prevent the job from dominating her personal life.

"Did I hear someone say my name?" Cadance asked.

“Your Highness!” Rarity exclaimed.

In an instant, the seamstress dashed towards the princess. She then bowed before her unaware of her unimpressed glare.

"Let me just start by saying what an honor it is to play a role in such a momentous occasion. Ehehe…”

“Uhuh… Is my dress ready?”

“Oh- Uh- Y- Uh yes! Of course!”

Rarity showed Cadance her mannequin wearing a crown of flowers and a newly stitched wedding dress. It currently consisted of an aqua-colored bodice with the straps extending from the waistline and a white skirt lined with golden lace. The finishing touch to the collar was a fake crystal heart perfectly matching Cadance’s cutie mark. It was currently serving as a placeholder for the real treasure.

“I’ve been working on it ever since I was given the assignment. I think you’ll be pleased with the results~!”

Cadance did not bother looking at it for more than two seconds before walking away. “I was looking for something with more beading and a longer train...”

“Oh! Yes… Of course!” Rarity raised a notepad and quill with her light blue magic to write down Cadance’s comments.

“And those should be a different color.”

Cadance was indicating another row of nearby mannequins wearing the dresses created for the bridesmaids. They were basic designs, consisting of only the skirt portion and a necklace of either pearls or a flower bud. What they all shared, however, was the crown of aquamarine pearls and a set of jungle green flowers with a pink center.

“I think they’re lovely!” Twinkleshine remarked with the others soon joining in.

“Me too!”

“I love them!”

Cadance immediately glared back. Twinkleshine and Minuette looked away, pretending to not have said anything. Lyra cringed back but still kept her eyes on the princess. It seemed Cadance “opening up” was still a false hope to her.

“Make them a different color.” Cadance told Rarity.

The Princess turned back and exited the room with Twinkleshine and Minuette following. However, Lyra decided to stay behind for a moment to examine the dresses more closely. She at least wanted a better idea of what she was going to wear for the ceremony.

“Gee,” Twilight began, “maybe her name should be Princess Demandypants.”

“Oh, she’s not that bad...” Lyra muttered.

“Not bad? Have you seen the way she’s been acting? I don’t know when she changed, but she changed...! Wait…didn’t I say that already...?”

“Changed? So I’m not the only one? Hey, Twilight-! Huh? Where did she go?”

It seemed Twilight had already left before Lyra could notice.

“Oh, don’t mind her.” Rarity told her as she began stitching a new bodice with a golden sheet roll of fabric. “Twilight’s probably just a little upset her about her brother.”

“Didn’t really look like that to me…”

Rarity continued speaking as she worked on the dress. “Trust me… By the way, Lyra, you should’ve told me you were one the bridesmaids! I would’ve put extra work into your dress if I knew!”

“Hehe… Well, this was kind of a last minute thing.”

“Oh, I understand. Is Bon Bon here with you too?”

“Yeah, but we split up once we got to the castle. She’s with a friend we met on the train.”

“I see… Well, I do hope you like the dress.”

“This one, right?”

Lyra walked up to the left-most mannequin wearing a cold violet pearl necklace and a yellow skirt with a red waistline. Rarity quickly turned her head before going back to work on the wedding dress.

“Yes. What color would you like it?”

Lyra rotated the mannequin trying to picture herself wearing it at certain angles. “But I really like this though… I guess turquoise so it matches my body?”

“Alright... I’ll get on it once I finish this. Tell Bon Bon I said ‘Hello’.”

“See ya.” Lyra headed back towards the exited but quickly stopped when she gripped the door handle. “Oh, do you know where Twilight was heading?”

“Uh… Either Pinkie Pie’s reception in the castle ballroom or Fluttershy’s musical choir in the wedding chamber.”

“Fluttershy it is! Thanks!”

Dashing out the door and running down the staircase, Lyra headed towards the castle’s central audience chamber since it was much closer. As she was about to turn left at a corner, a mare suddenly appeared dragging something from the right. Unable to stop, Lyra was forced to crash into her. Upon impact, the pair slid across the floor and knocked over a marble stand. Luckily nothing had been placed on it, but Lyra was unfortunate enough to have it fall on top of her hind legs.

“Ow! Ow! Ow! Ooooooow! That huuuuurts!”

“Hold still. I’ll move it.”

The unknown mare quickly lifted the stand and moved Lyra’s legs out of the way before setting it down.

“Ugh… Thanks and…sorry about crashing into you like that. Hehe…”

“Don’t worry.” she replied in an accent similar to the Doctor. Lyra was surprised to finally hear a pony with an exotic accent like his. She had started to believe the Doctor was the only pony who spoke like that. “I’m quite used to it, believe or not. Are you all right though? You were screaming in pain.”

She was a grey earth pony with a gravel-colored mane and an amethyst treble clef for a cutie mark. Lyra assumed she was one of Canterlot’s nobility since they were in the castle, but this pony did not dress in elaborate outfits that most noblemares used. She only wore a simple white collar with a pink bowtie. The longer Lyra looked at her, she noticed that this mare never fully opened her eyes, keeping them half-open as if she was bored looking at her.

“Oh! No, I’m fine! Really sorry about that!”

Lyra faked a smile once again and stood up ignoring the pain. The new mare did not respond and stepped forward. She lowered her head to examine Lyra’s injury. The unicorn's legs were trembling, almost as if they were ready to collapse at any moment.

“Lie back.” she commanded.

“Huh?”

“You’re hind legs are obviously in deep pain. Let me test them.”

“But-“

Lyra was physically forced down before she could finish her objection. The earth pony performed a basic inspection, mainly checking for any broken bones. Lyra gave small yelps from the mare’s poking, but did not dare move just in case.

“Well, nothing serious. You’ll probably have two big bruises soon, but since you're a unicorn magic will be able to mask that. Just don’t put too much stress on those legs.”

“Thanks…” she said looking away.

“…Octavia.”

“What?”

“That is the proper way to thank somepony's hospitality, is it not? By their name?”

“Oh… Right… Thanks, Octavia.”

“You seem troubled.”

Lyra laughed, though the fact she knew it was hours since the last time she felt amused disturbed her. “Well, yeah. I just had a heavy stand fall on me!”

“Is this how you deal with all your problems? Laugh them off?”

Lyra regain self-control and looked up at Octavia who still stared at her with a bored expression. “You wouldn’t understand…”

“I understand enough to know something is bothering you.”

“...It’s Cadance.”

“The bride, correct?”

“I’m one of her bridesmaids…and what I thought was her friend…”

“Well, why don’t you start from the beginning?”

Lyra turned her head to see Octavia sit back against the wall next to her. “Uh, weren’t you in the middle of going somewhere though?”

“It can wait.” Octavia replied staring off into space. “Besides…that nutter is the reason I’m here…”

“He-Hey! If it ain’t the Doctor himself!”

The Doctor and Derpy had entered one of Canterlot’s many dining establishments where they were immediately greeted by the store’s owner, Joe. He was a light amber, brown-maned unicorn with a sprinkle-covered strawberry donut for a cutie mark. Around the more common citizens of Canterlot, this stallion was known by the nickname, Pony Joe, which inspired the name for his bakery. He was almost always seen wearing his usual working uniform, a simple white baker shirt and vendor hat, even when he was not working.

The interior of Joe’s shop was designed in a fancy Canterlot style. White and gray checkerboard tiles, parallel rows of numerous pointed arch glass windows, and hanging paper lanterns made this room seem like part of Canterlot Castle. But now it was customized to house a bakery. Round wooden tables were scattered across the room, some of them already occupied by ponies stopping by to eat. Yellow portraits of various pastries such as cookies and donuts decorated the pistachio green walls. And across from the entrance was the main counter that displayed Joe’s grand selection of donuts within a glass casing.

“Hello, Joe.” the Doctor greeted him as he approached the counter. He quickly glanced at Derpy who was examining what was currently available, mainly the muffins on the tray racks lined up against the back wall. “Business as usual, I see?”

“Heh. Tell me about it. Ever since word got out about the wedding, I’ve been getting customers from all over Equestria. Hay, I even got some griffons and a pair of teenage dragons. You won’t believe how much of racket those last two caused.”

“Haha! Well, I do hope you can still manage this place by yourself.”

“Hey, if I’ve been doin’ this for twenty years, I can do it for twenty more!”

“Trust me. You will.”

“Uh, Doc?” Derpy meekly interrupted. “I thought you said we weren’t going to Pony Joe’s.”

“No. I falsely told Bon Bon that we were meeting an important friend at Pony Joe’s in a quarter of an hour. We were going to meet him at the quarter of the fourth hour…plus I got hungry!”

Derpy sighed. "You really need to stop doing that…”

“So I’m important now?” Joe asked in an amused tone. “Hehe! Now that’s a first!”

“Oh, come now.” the Doctor told him as he turned his head to the dining ponies. “Everypony’s important in some way or another, even that dashing fellow right over ther-Wait a minute, is that a pear pie?” The stallion had a look of disgust on his face. "You actually serve those now?"

Joe laughed once again before shifting into a serious expression. “Alright, Doc. What is it that you want?”

“Ten of your finest donuts, a large muffin for the mare, and access to that secret passage of yours.”

Joe’s eyes widened and nervously stepped back. He quickly examined the room, worriedly twisting his head in all directions to make sure nopony else had been listening. Thankfully, they were all still chatting amongst themselves. Not wishing to continue the conversation here, Joe motioned the pair to hop over the counter and enter the kitchen through a metal door. Inside was a simple white space, medium in size and furnished with all the necessary equipment a bakery needed.

“Who told you about that?” Joe asked. He was clearly angry that somepony knew about his apparent secret.

The Doctor did not react to this sudden change of mood and casually inspected his hoof. “I know certain ponies. They know certain stories. Those stories know certain histories.”

Joe remained quiet, unsure of what to do. He considered forcing the information out of the Doctor but deemed that action as too rash. He turned his attention to Derpy for a moment, but she just seemed deeply confused about the situation.

“Well?”

Joe sighed as he walked over to the nearby oven. It was quite large compared to a regular oven, almost double in size. Gripping one side, Joe pushed the machine until it revealed a wooden door hidden amongst the floor panels. It seemed quite old and unused for years. Joe then gripped the faded gold handle and pulled it with all his strength. Once it was open and the dust cleared, it revealed an old staircase leading into a dark underground tunnel.

“The castle armory’s at the other side.” Joe plainly told the Doctor. “Make sure nopony’s at the other end or I’ll have to bail you out of the dungeon…again...”

“Oh, that was an accident,” the Doctor replied, “but thank you, Joe!”

“Again. What’s all this about, Doc?”

“Oh, the usual business. Now about those donuts and that muffin…?”

Joe sighed once again and walked out of the room. He soon returned with a large paper bag filled with his pastries. He then hoofed it to Derpy who immediately removed the sticker seal to retrieve the large muffin resting atop the donut pile and tossed the entire delicacy into her mouth.

“Thanks!” Derpy said with a full mouth. “So, uh... What’s wiff the secret passage?”

“Well, uh… Too put things simple-“

“He and Celestia have a history together.” the Doctor quickly finished for him.

This statement made Derpy suddenly swallow her food and grin with delight. “Dog!”

“Would you just take the donuts and go?” Joe angrily asked blushing. “I have customers waiting at the counter!”

“Hehe! Alright!”

Derpy followed the Doctor down the staircase as Joe closed the door behind them and sealed it once again with the oven. Inside the tunnel, the only light to guide the way was the Doctor’s special tool, a sonic screwdriver. It was a small pen-like device with multiple functions though the Doctor was only making use of the blue light attached to the end. The tunnel itself was straightforward, no branching paths that could possibly lead the pair astray. Its size was actually quite larger than the entrance implied, large enough for Derpy to spread her wings and even take flight if she desired. Expecting this walk to take some time, the Doctor exchanged the screwdriver for the paper bag. Rummaging through his selection, he pulled out a powdered donut and began eating.

“Blast. I should’ve told Joe to hold off on the powdered ones. I was never fond of this world’s-Oh, who am I kidding? Joe’s donuts even make the powdered ones taste heavenly! Would you like one, Derpy?”

“Uh, no thanks. I’m good.”

“Suit yourself. More for me!”

Bon Bon and Vinyl entered one of the castle's outdoor gardens where the reception was to take place. It was located just outside the ballroom in the south eastern portion of the castle where it had a clear view over the main courtyard and the city. The garden had a simple design, a large circular shape. Two black archways, each placed at opposite ends and decorated with thornless red, pink, and violet roses, served as the entrance. Large rose bushes formed the perimeter along with black metal fencing shaped like vines and golden street lamps for good measure. The area was mostly a large field of grass, normally used by Canterlot’s nobility and upper class to play crochet. In the center was the end of a close walkway leading to the southern exit.

Not many materials had been prepared yet besides a few streamers. And the only pony around was a lone pink earth pony with wild puffy hair and three balloons for a cutie mark. Bon Bon and Vinyl immediately recognized Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's 'Party Extraordinaire'. When not running around Ponyville or hopping over rooftops bringing smiles to everypony's face, she was usually found working at Sugarcube Croner, a bakery near the town's marketplace. There was not a single pony (or any creature) in Ponyville that did not know Pinkie Pie's name.

Pinkie did not take notice of the pair as she seemed too preoccupied with her Party Cannon, a small wheeled cannon that could fire everything party-related anypony could imagine from confetti to candle-lit birthday cake. Bon Bon wondered how the mechanics of this weapon made sense, but since this was Pinkie Pie, it was best not to question it.

"Something wrong, Pinkie?" Vinyl asked as she approached the mare.

"My Party Cannon isn't working right. It's only firing the confetti and nothing else..."

"Here. Let me take a look at it..." Vinyl stuck her head and hooves inside of the cannon to find the problem. One could overhear her shuffling through the cannon's seemingly endless supply. This alarmed Bon Bon as she was about to speak up on how dangerous this seemed. "Oh! There's the problem!"

Vinyl came out with a small baby alligator biting her hoof. She tried removing it multiple times, but the creature continually grasped onto another part of her body. Bon Bon was surprised Vinyl was not reacting in any motion that resembled pain; the disc jockey just seemed annoyed. In truth, the alligator completely lacked any teeth to pierce skin.

"Gummy!" Pinkie exclaimed as she easily grabbed the alligator and tightly hugged him with glee. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you, mister! Thanks a lot, Vinyl!"

"No prob. So did they drop off my special surprise yet?”

“Oh, uh…” Pinkie seemed unsure of what to tell her. “I’m really sorry! Princess Cadance told me to get rid of it…”

Vinyl stood dumbfounded with her mouth agape. “She…what?”

“I swear! I tried to keep it, but it was the only thing she didn’t like!”

“How could anypony not like it? Where did you put it?”

“She got some guards to take it away. I don’t know where though…”

Vinyl seemed extremely upset now. By the furious expression on her face, Bon Bon thought she was going to rampage throughout the castle. Pinkie was almost cowering in fear. Apparently seeing an angry Vinyl was something she had never seen before. Desperately trying to ignore this, the scared mare put on the best smile she could manage.

“Ugh! Do you know how much time I spent working on that?" Vinyl angrily asked. "Years, Pinkie!”

“I-… I’m sorry, Vinyl. But hey! I’ve still got all your speakers and turntables set up! We can use one of your crazy awesome tunes!”

“Uh, Vinyl?” Bon Bon worriedly called out. “If you want, we can go look for it.” The earth pony hoped this would calm down her before the situation escalated beyond anyone's control. “Maybe Lyra could convince Cadance to get it back. Or maybe we could get the guards to give it back to us?”

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Clearly Vinyl was still angry, but she soon backed away and turned towards the castle. “Fine. Let’s go, Bon Bon...”

Now caught in the middle, Bon Bon looked back and forth between Vinyl and Pinkie Pie. Technically she did not know Pinkie that well past her glorified reputation, but she still wanted to comfort the poor mare. Going with Vinyl was no different. Bon Bon barely knew this mare and what the repercussions for letting her anger get out of hand would be.

“Sorry, Pinkie…”

“She’s just really different now… I don’t know why…”

Lyra had just finished recounting her story to Octavia. She began with her first meeting in the castle courtyard and continued to the point where she bumped into Octavia. The pair was still sitting in the hallway, barely having shifted from their original position. It was strange that not a single pony had found them yet, not even a patrolling guard, though they just assumed most of them were busy outside.

Octavia proved to be a good listener. She never looked away, even when Lyra was disturbed by the loud, echoing sound of a door closing somewhere down the hallway. She always kept eye contact, nodded and agreed at appropriate times, and occasionally asked questions when clarification was needed.

“Everypony changes," she said, "…just not that much. Do you know anypony who might help support your claim?”

"Are you saying you believe me?" Lyra asked surprised. She found strange how Octavia was this quick to trust her story.

"You have that honest look in your eyes. Not many ponies can fake that."

“...Well, there’s Twilight. I told you about that. And maybe Shining Armor, that's her brother and Cadance’s groom.”

“Any idea where I might be able to find them?”

“Rarity said she would be either at the wedding chamber or the ballroom, but she might be gone now since we spent this much time talking to each other. And Shining Armor-”

“What about my husband?” a voice interrupted.

The mares looked up to see Cadance standing over them. Lyra was a little worried that Cadance would scold her for not rejoining her and the others bridesmaids. In contrast, Octavia remained calm and helped Lyra to her hooves.

“Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

“I got hurt.” Lyra responded. “Can’t exactly move when your legs are in pain...”

Cadance lowered her head and examined the injury. “It’s just a few bruises! You can walk just fine, right?” The princess then looked towards her right where Octavia had originally come from before meeting Lyra. She immediately saw a large object parked in the hallway. “And why is that there? I thought I told those guards to get rid of it!”

“I’m disposing of it personally.” Octavia told her. “Is there a problem?”

Cadance was obviously annoyed to see Octavia. “Oh… It’s you…”

“Yes. The mare who had the ‘audacity’ to attempt poking your eye out…”

“You’re just lucky it didn’t. Otherwise, I would’ve gotten you kicked out of here!”

“Apparently you’re not aware about the concept of accidental mishaps…”

“Just shut it before I change my mind. And make sure you really do get rid of that thing.” Cadance then turned her attention to Lyra again. “Since I don’t have much time and you have your…minor hindrance, meet me at my bridal chamber tomorrow morning fully dressed and don’t be late.”

Cadance walked off, disappearing through a set of doors that lead back to the courtyard. Meanwhile Lyra followed Octavia to the large cart parked in the hallway. She did not know what it contained as it was covered by a giant white sheet, but it was clearly a massive piece almost four or five times her size.

“What is this?” Lyra asked as she was about to lift the sheet.

She was able to catch a glimpse inside, but Octavia quickly smacked her hoof away before she could determine its identity. Whatever it was, Lyra could tell light was reflecting off a shiny plate.

“Sorry, but I have my reasons. I stumbled upon some guards arguing when I was leaving the castle. Seeing what’s inside, I managed to convince them to let me have it.”

“What are you gonna do with it?”

“Find its rightful owner, I suppose. That is…assuming I can find her in this city...”

Possessive

"Hurgh...! Once more...! C'mon...! Ah! There we go!"

After spending hours traversing an overly long tunnel, the Doctor and Derpy entered Canterlot Castle's armory through a secret entrance. It was disguised as one of the racks for storing the Royal Guard's uniforms. The upper half had the helmets, galeae with either light indigo-portage or geyser-white feathers for the crest. The lower half had the armor which covered the chest and back portion of the body. Moving the rack itself proved difficult as the Doctor requested Derpy's assistance. There was a switch disguised as a torch holder, but the door had not been used for such a long time that it would no longer open automatically. Nevertheless, the pair was able to physically open it after three extremely forceful shoves.

Thankfully there were no guards on the other side, much to the relief of Derpy who feared accidentally getting arrested. The Doctor was the one to reseal the passage while Derpy looked around the room to browse its contents. There were many more racks for the other guards, all of them divided according to which faction he belonged to. The eastern wall where the pair emerged from housed the more commonly known gold version of the armor. The western counterpart housed the black and indigo variation used by guards under Princess Luna's command. This section, unlike of the room, was now a work-in-progress; it had previously fallen into great disrepair. The wall paint was chipping and the chains supporting the shelves were rusted, but at least the equipment was properly restored. This was probably due to Princess Luna's return after a millennium-long absence from the throne which resulted in her faction being disbanded or merged with Celestia's.

The area in between near the entrance to the south stored armor for the independent nightwatch, a rhino black piece that had the helmet's crest slicked back. Towards the back were three individuals racks that contained special, custom-made armor and weapons for the captains. Derpy took notice to the center one, the one with a small plaque labeled "Shining Armor".

"Find something interesting, Derpy?" the Doctor asked as he rejoined her. He too began examining the racks though in a more admiring fashion.

"Uh... Don't all the captains have a special emblem on their chestplate?"

"Mmm... Last time I checked, yes."

"Then why is this Shining Armor guy missing his emblem?"

The Doctor politely asked Derpy to move aside so he could get a better look. The mare was correct. Shining Armor's emblem was indeed missing. The Doctor glanced left and right to check the other captains' chestplates; their emblems were left intact. Upon closely inspection of Shining Armor's piece, the emblem seemed to have been forcefully removed as there were slight scratches that could only be made by certain maintenance tools. Strange considering no guard would ever have a reason to possess one while on duty.

"That is strange... But why would somepony steal an emblem? As far as I know, all emblems of the Royal Guard are made of the same material..."

"Maybe Shining Armor's was special?" Derpy suggested. "He is a captain so maybe he got special privileges?"

"Hm... Perhaps, but searching for a missing emblem is not why we're here. It's this Mi Amore Cadenza."

"So are you gonna tell me what we're going to do or am I just going to get dragged into another life-threatening situation like usual?"

"Well...what do you prefer?"

Having the Doctor as a best friend was extraordinary considering his mysterious background, but even Derpy felt it was annoying at times. Near experiences with drowning, suffocation, and incineration are among the many situations she had gotten herself into thanks to being with the Doctor. In fact, Derpy would not be surprised if she suddenly woke up one day to find herself tied up and hanging upside down over a vat of a toxic waste. These bizarre situations had practically become a lifestyle for her, but at least she could count on the Doctor (and occasionally some other ponies) to rescue her every time.

"...Let's just get this over with..."

Derpy proceeded to the armory's front door and peeked through the window. Outside was the castle bailey though it seemed nopony was around to guard the armory. It was already nighttime so most ponies would be going to sleep or enjoying the nightlife right now. Derpy could only see the nightwatch unicorn making his rounds across the training yard. Opening the door would probably create an audible noise so the pair would have to be quick if they did not wish to be spotted. Allowing the Doctor to make the call, they both waited for an opportunity to move.

"And... Go, go, go!"

Once the guard was far away and had his back turned, the Doctor quickly opened the door just enough for him and Derpy to pass through. Like they expected, the door made a creaking sound that the guard surely heard. Derpy quickly took cover inside a large bush while the Doctor stayed behind a few extra seconds to lock the door and draw away suspicion. Luckily, the stallion managed to dive out of sight and run behind the building by the time the guard arrived to investigate.

From their respective hiding spots, the Doctor and Derpy watched the guard use an illumination spell. Derpy remained safe as the bush covered her shadow, but the Doctor's would surely be exposed if that light came from a different angle. He could hide in the row of bushes in front of him but there was no guarantee the guard would ignore the brushing sound and neglect searching the bushes. The easiest solution was to simply knock him unconscious or wipe his memory. The sonic screwdriver had the potential for the former, and the Doctor's special abilities allowed him to perform the latter. But there was no predicting what would happen once he woke up or if another guard noticed he is missing.

"Come on now... Just pull the handle and leave..."

The guard tugged the handle to find it locked, but he still keep the illumination spell activated and continued looking around for trespassers.

"Chirrup?"

The Doctor looked up and was amazed to see an extremely rare creature perched on a tree branch with its head tilted and staring curiously at the Doctor. It was an adult phoenix, a species of magical birds possessing fire-related abilities. Like a flame, its feathers were bright red and orange. Even though it was night, the phoenix was still clearly visible though it was not exactly glowing like a candlelight. Seeing this rare sight before him gave the Doctor an idea.

"I'm in a predicament here." he said mentally. Telepathy was another one of the unique abilities the Doctor possessed. "If you could chase away that guard, I'd be eternally grateful."

The phoenix looked towards the guard and then back to the Doctor. "Are you here because of Princess Cadenza?"

The Doctor nodded.

"Very well. Make your way to the eastern tower, the one with the sunflower spire. There is something you should see."

"Thank you kindly. Do you have a name, Miss?"

"Philomena."

Philomena took flight and alerted the guard by screeching and rapidly flapping her wings, pretending she had detected a disturbance. Knowing the major importance of this bird, the guard dissipated the illumination spell and chased after her. Once he was gone, Derpy emerged from the bush and rejoined the Doctor.

"Telepathy?" she asked. "It's been a while since you used that one."

"I know. I almost forgot I could talk to animals! Hahaha!"

"A large object you say?"

Bon Bon and Vinyl were speaking to a pair of guards currently making their rounds together in the castle's interior. The mares had asked about the whereabouts of Vinyl's "special surprise" describing it as a "large object with a sheet covering it". The pair had spent hours searching the castle of where it could possibly be located. They were positive they had searched a majority of the castle. The only places off-limits to them were the Princesses' bedrooms and private chambers—the reason was obvious, the basement, and certain towers. Reasoning that they were running out of options, the pair resorted to asking for assistance.

"It's really important." Bon Bon told the stallion. "We've already tried every open store rooms and found nothing. Please..."

The guards looked at each other and discussed their day, trying to recall ever seeing an object matching the mares' description. While the stallions conversed, Bon Bon glanced at Vinyl who was not even paying attention. The disc jockey's head was lowered and staring at the floor, lamenting over her loss. She had barely spoken ever since the pair left Pinkie Pie at the castle gardens. Bon Bon had attempted to cheer up the unicorn with smalltalk, but the lacking knowledge of Vinyl's interests prevented any progress. The earth pony at least tried to retrieve information about the belonging's actual appearance so she could properly assist, but Vinyl stubbornly refused to answer. However, the disc jockey did provide an explanation for why she was upset.

The item technically did not belong to Vinyl, at least not fully; she only provided the concept. It was a collaborate effort for entertainment amongst various ponies across Equestria. Money for development was provided by a wealthy sponsor in Los Pegasus, research was carried out by a scientist residing in Manehattan, and consulting advisers came from other major cities such as Vanhooyer, Fillydelphia, and Baltimare. As the project was a few days from completion, news of the upcoming Royal Canterlot Wedding began spreading. Not long afterward, Vinyl was requested by Pinkie Pie to help host the wedding's reception. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity to release their grand achievement, the project's entire staff agreed to unveil their creation at the wedding.

As Vinyl would be the first one to arrive in Canterlot, she was tasked with transporting the project. The others would follow based on when they could get time off from their jobs. However, they were expected to arrive by evening on the wedding day at the very latest. Having to face and severely disappoint all of these ponies discouraged Vinyl. This was the biggest responsibility she had ever received and now had to accept the fact she blew it.

"What's the point...?"

"Oh yeah!" one of the guards suddenly exclaimed. "I overheard two of my fellow comrades arguing with a mare when I was making my afternoon rounds in the east wing. They claimed to have been ordered by Princess Mi Amore Cadenza to dispose of a 'large object', but the mare insisted that it belonged to her. I know it was...improper of me, but I continued listening. She seemed to have put up quite a fight, not physically of course. She provided a very strong argument, even threatened to take up this matter with the Princess if it continued. In the end, my fellow guards relinquished it to her."

"Did you happen to see what she looked liked?" Bon Bon asked. "Color? Hairstyle? Clothing, maybe?"

"Sorry, I was too far away to tell. But by the look of it she was gray and had her black mane down."

"Great..." Vinyl groaned as she slumped to the floor. "How many gray and black ponies are there in this city...?"

"Anything else that could help?" Bon Bon continued asking. "Something that would make it easier to find her?"

The guard pondered his thoughts for any other useful details. "Well...her accent was pretty strange..."

From the corner of her eye, Bon Bon noticed Vinyl's ears suddenly perk up at the stallion's mention of "accent". The disc jockey no longer had a depressed look, but a rather surprised one. Bon Bon could not see past her shades, but she surely felt Vinyl now had a twinkling glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"I don't venture far from Canterlot," the guard continued, "and even though you get ponies from all over Equestria here, but I'm positive I never heard an accent like hers before. I don't know how to describe it...fancy-like?"

"Wait, wait, wait." Vinyl interrupted. She quickly altered her voice, now imitating the Doctor's accent. "Did she sound like this?"

The guard pointed at the mare with a look of assurance. "Yes! That's it! Where in Equestria do you find ponies who talk like tha-?"

"Thanks, dudes!"

Before Bon Bon realized it, Vinyl grabbed her hoof and hastily dragged her out the nearby door leaving the guards stumped about what just occurred. Outside, Bon Bon was desperately urging Vinyl to slow down. The earth pony could feel the intense friction against the hard pavement and dirt stinging her body as Vinyl dashed across the courtyard. Thankfully for the poor mare, Vinyl was forced to stop at the front gate. The drawbridge had been raised for the night so they needed to wait for the guards to lower it again.

"Ooooowww!" Bon Bon moaned as she clutched her stomach, finally free from Vinyl's grasp. "What the hay was that for?"

Vinyl neglected to reply while jumping up and down in glee. In Bon Bon's eyes, Vinyl was starting to behave like Pinkie Pie, almost a complete turnaround from how she behaved before. If she were delusional, the earth pony would not be able to tell the difference.

"I can't believe she got it back!" Vinyl squealed. "What are the odds!?"

"Aaand you're ignoring me..."

"Hey, sleepyheads!" she shouted into the air. "Get your plots in gear and lower the drawbridge!"

There was no vocal response, but Vinyl noticed a unicorn guard stick his head over the wall to see what the commotion was about. Vinyl continued demanding the stallion to lower the drawbridge, but she only received an annoyed glare. Still, the guard was obligated to fulfill his duty and began opening the way. In a few seconds, the mares were able to cross.

Bon Bon followed Vinyl who was now finally calm after venting her excitement. The pair began their walk back to the city where they would find their mare. As they headed down the twisting hillside slope, Bon Bon occasionally turned her head towards the city. Its nocturnal state was not as brightly illuminated or alive as other major cities, but Bon Bon still found it quite peaceful and relaxing. Maybe when the wedding was over, she and her friends could lounge in the grass here.

"So where exactly are we going? How do you know where this mare is?"

Vinyl stopped and turned to face Bon Bon. She lifted her shades to reveal her red violet eyes, now with a strong look of determination.

"Easy!" she proudly exclaimed. "There's only one place she goes to around here!"

"Hm... Coincidence or fate?"

Lyra and Octavia had been walking down a quiet street not far from Canterlot Castle. Still feeling guilty about crashing into Octavia, Lyra had volunteered to help the mare in finding the owner of their mysterious item. Octavia declined at first as she was concerned about Lyra's leg injury, but the generous unicorn was too persistent so she finally accepted. Once they were back in the city, Octavia decided to take a break to visit her usual bar. However, they quickly stopped at the intersection once Lyra pointed out some individuals in front of the building.

Seated in the bar's outdoor dining area under a violet-purple striped awning was a group of five mares and a juvenile dragon; Rarity and Pinkie Pie were among them. Lyra informed Octavia that they were Twilight's friends and usually seen together. She identified the dragon as Spike and the other three mares as Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack.

Fluttershy was a buttermilk yellow pegasus with three pink-winged butterflies for a cutie mark. Her cupid pink mane was quite long, lengthier than the size most mares maintained and allowing it to touch the ground if she was standing. It was styled so that a large portion would fall to her left while the remaining strands would curve behind her ear and fall to her right. Fluttershy was an official resident of Ponyville though she lived outside the town. Her home was a cottage located very close to the nearby Everfree Forest, a mysterious place that is widely considered to be the most dangerous location in Equestria. Around Ponyville, Fluttershy was known to be an animal caretaker. If anypony needed assistance with their beloved pets, they would turn to Fluttershy despite her outwardly shy demeanor.

Rainbow Dash was also pegasus though sky blue in color. She shared a similar hairstyle with Derpy, but it had multiple streaks that gave it a full rainbow pattern. She also had a unique cutie mark, a simple white cloud with a lightning bolt emerging from it. What made it special was that the lightning bolt was divided into equally sized smaller bolts using the primary colors. In Ponyville, Rainbow was one of the pegasi responsible for maintaining the town's weather. Though when not on duty, she was usually found napping in a cloud or a random tree branch strong enough to support her weight. If not, she would take to the skies, training her aerobatic skills in hopes of becoming a member of the famous Wonderbolts someday.

Applejack was a yellow orange earth pony with three apples for a cutie mark. No matter where anypony saw her, she was always wearing her brown cowgirl hat. As a part of her cowgirl style, she also tied the ends of her marigold mane and tail into buds using red ribbons. Applejack was the middle child of three on a family-owned farm just outside Ponyville known as Sweet Apples Acres. When not bucking apple trees in the field, she would be found in Ponyville's marketplace selling her freshly grown produce, sometimes accompanied by her siblings. Applejack was also a very reliable mare, known to have helped Ponyville avert some potentially disastrous predicaments such as a rampaging stampede through the town. To some ponies, Applejack was seen as a town hero.

Spike was a special sight being a dragon living in modern society. He was still quite young, usually referred to as a "baby dragon", but he has proven himself to be mature for his age behind all of his childish tendencies. As for his physical appearance, he had a purple body with pastel green scales. As a juvenile, his size was comparable to a colt or filly, about half the height of an average mare. Right now he required three cushions just to sit and reach head-level at the table. For his regular life, Spike lived at Golden Oaks Library with Twilight and served as her assistant having accompanied her during their move from Canterlot. He would normally be seen with Twilight carrying a checklist, marking off tasks they needed to perform as the day progressed.

"But that's weird..." Lyra muttered. "Twilight's almost always with those girls if they're together."

"Let's try inside." Octavia suggested. "Perhaps she's purchasing a beverage."

Octavia looked back towards an alleyway. She pulled the cart inside and left it abandoned as she rejoined Lyra.

"Uh, you sure it's safe to leave it there? I thought you wanted nopony to see it?"

"Trust me. With almost every member of the Royal Guard in Equestria here, somepony would have to be an idiot to commit a crime or suspicious act right now. Besides, most ponies living in this part of Canterlot wouldn't dare, let alone think, of investigating a random object in an alleyway."

Lyra just shrugged and nodded in agreement as she followed Octavia across the street. From what she saw, there were six guards surrounding this two-story building alone. It seemed intimidating though at least they respected privacy by leaving the dining area unoccupied. As the pair got closer, Octavia told Lyra not to turn her head towards Twilight's friends to avert unwanted attention. Lyra complied, but somepony unfortunately noticed her a few steps from the door.

"Oh! Lyra!" Rarity called out.

Lyra wanted to pretend she did not hear Rarity, but she was too close for that excuse to work. She hesitantly turned around to greet everypony and acted surprised.

"Oh hey, guys." she said awkwardly. "Uh... Didn't notice you here!"

"I'm terribly sorry for being too preoccupied to chat with you back at the castle." Rarity told her. "It was on a very tight schedule with the wedding tomorrow."

"Psssh! Oh, that's okay! I was in a hurry anyway."

"Well, I'm sure you'll glad to know that I finished your dress per your request. Would you like to stop by before I retire for the night to see it and perhaps try it on?"

"No thanks. I, uh...have some important things to take care of."

Lyra was starting to progressively speak faster. It alerted some of the mares who looked at each other strangely. Spike, however, seemed too preoccupied playing with miniature toy replicas of Cadance and Shining Armor in their wedding outfits.

"Uh... Everything all right, sugarcube?" Applejack asked in her farmgirl accent. "Yer startin' to sweat."

"That's 'cause I...uh...Think, think!...scrapped my legs while I was running from the castle!"

"Oh my." Fluttershy said in a worried tone. "Are you sure it's not infected or something? It could be a fever or-" She was about to get up, but Lyra quickly stopped her.

"No, no! I already have another pony looking after it."

"You mean the one that just went inside?" Rainbow asked pointing at the door. "She kinda seemed like one of those stuck-up ones if you ask me..."

"Who? Octavia? She's not like that at all."

"Ooo~! Octi!?" Pinkie exclaimed as she hopped onto the table surprising everypony. "I should go say hi!"

"Oh, c'mon!"

Lyra angrily motioned Pinkie to sit back down before she made a guard come to investigate. Thankfully Rarity and Spike, who were seated on opposite sides of her, managed to calm down the hyperactive party animal. Seeing this as a chance to leave, Lyra slowly backed away.

"Well, it was great seeing you guys." she said now halfway inside the building. "I'll catch up with you at the wedding, or maybe back in Ponyville so we can finally hang out for once! Anyway, bye!"

Lyra quickly shut the door and walked a few steps to the right so she would not be blocking the way. With a sigh of relief, she slumped to the floor with her back against the wall. She looked up once regaining her posture and looked around. The restaurant was a medium-sized space though not many ponies were present. There were about seven at most assuming nopony was using the restroom. The southern half served as the dining space filled with round tables designed like a lime slice. In the northwest corner was a small stage for hired entertainment. It was currently empty, but the overhead spotlights still illuminated the closed curtain.

In the northeast corner was the small bar managed by a steel blue unicorn stallion with a spiky black mane. As for his uniform, he was wearing a white long-sleeved dress shirt, white tie, and black buttoned down vest. He was currently in the middle of serving Twilight a strawberry beverage similar to what her friends were previously drinking.

Lyra was about to approach the mare but was immediately pulled aside by Octavia. The earth pony had already been seated at the table by the window though Lyra was more surprised that Octavia had already ordered two glasses of wine in her short absence.

"Why didn't you help me out there?" Lyra angrily asked as she sat down. "You could've done something like pull me inside saying 'Sorry, but we're in a hurry' or something like that..."

Octavia did not respond and continued sipping her glass.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me!?"

"Quiet down."

Lyra was confused at first until Octavia pointed towards the window next to them. Octavia had opened one of the glass panels just enough so she could hear what Twilight's friends were discussing without alerting them. She then hoofed Lyra her other glass.

"I didn't know what you like," Octavia continued, "so I ordered another one of mine."

Lyra, trying to do this politely, moved the glass aside. "Thanks... But I don't drink..."

She shrugged and took back the drink. The mare absentmindedly spun glass before speaking again. "Nice performance..." she said smirking.

"Wait...did she just...?!

Lyra almost fell back having been completely startled by Octavia smile. It was actually more disturbing and spontaneous than Cadance's sudden grin back at the castle. Lyra did not know what to think of it. Be uncomfortable or terrified?.

"What?" Octavia asked playfully. "I have a sense of humor~"

"It's creepy..." Lyra whispered. "Anyway, why are we eavesdropping?"

"Twilight's about to rejoin her friends. Let's just see how this turns out. Pretend we're talking about something."

Lyra nodded and did as she was told. In her mind, she cycled through random conversations she had in Ponyville. She eventually picked one with a friend named Golden Harvest. The unicorn began repeating her lines, mostly questions, with Octavia improvising answers. Since she was facing the door, Lyra kept an eye on Twilight as she walked out with her glass floating in her raspberry magic aura. Lyra then leaned closer to the open window panel though Octavia seemed content with her current position.

"Bet I can guess what all of you are thinking!" Twlight said with a fake smile. "Cadance is the absolute worst bride-to-be ever!"

All of Twilight's friends turned their heads towards the mare as she set down her drink. They were clearly surprised and thought she was speaking nonsense.

"Who, me?" Spike jokingly asked in a high-pitched voice imitating a female. He had pulled out a wedding dress Cadance doll while saying this.

"Spike!" Applejack exclaimed, reprimanding him with a look of disapproval. "That goes on the cake!"

Spike tossed the doll onto the table and laughed in an embarrassed manner.

"Twilight," Rarity began, "what ever are you talking about? Cadance is an absolute gem~!"

Twilight momentarily stopped drinking and pushed her glass aside. "Rarity, she was so demanding!"

"But of course she was! Why shouldn't she expect the very best on her wedding day?"

Twilight sighed as she put her hoof to her head like she had a headache. "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?"

"Aw, she was probably trying spare mah feelings." the farmgirl replied as she continued drinking her blueberry beverage.

Twilight was getting more annoyed. "No... She was just being fake and totally insincere!"

Spike and the mares looked away thinking Twilight was being crazy, but Fluttershy was the first to speak up.

"She did raise her voice at one of my birds during rehearsal..."

"See!? Rude!" Twilight exclaimed as she smiled and crossed her hooves believing she had now a supporter.

"But...he was singing really off-key..."

Fluttershy brought out one of her birds from under the table, now perched on her hoof. It let our an ear-shattering screech that caused everyone present to cringe back or cover their eyes. Lyra, however, was sensitive to this sound and smashed her head onto the table, strangely hoping the pain would disappear as a result. When she looked up at Octavia, the mare seemed completely unaffected like she did not even hear the noise. In a few seconds, she grinned at Lyra once again.

"You...are...cruel!" Lyra angrily whispered.

"Pinkie Pie," Twilight continued, "you had to have noticed how Cadance treated-"

Twilight stopped mid-sentence when she saw Pinkie and Spike were playing with the Cadance doll again, this time accompanied by a matching Shining Armor doll. Both participants were happily giggling and making smooching sounds between them.

"Nevermind..." she said rolling her eyes. "Rainbow Dash, you're with me, right?"

"Sorry, Twi." the sportsmare replied while examining left arm and slowly flapping her wings. "Busy preppin' for my Sonic Rainboom to pay much attention to the bride's bad attitude."

"Aurrrrrgh!"

Now worried, Rarity approached Twilight and put her hoof on the mare's shoulder. "The princess is about to get married. I'm sure any negative behavior she might be displaying is simply the result of nerves."

Twilight stomped her hoof on the table, finally having enough of this conversation. "And I'm sure it's the result of her being an awful pony who doesn't even deserve to know Shining Armor, let alone marry him!".

"Think maybe you're being just a tiny bit possessive of your brother?" Applejack questioned.

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"I'm not being possessive! And I am not taking it out on Cadance! You're all just too caught up in your wedding planning that maybe there shouldn't even be a wedding!"

Twilight fiercely stomped her hoof once again, this time creating enough power to flip everyone's drinks over. Knowing she would not make any more progress with her friends, she angrily walked away leaving everyone confused.

"Gee..." Spike muttered. "Should we go after her?"

"Eh, just let her cool off." Applejack replied. "Like Ah said. She's just bein' possessive."

Inside the restaurant, Lyra was dumbfounded at how Twilight's friends did not believe her claims about Cadance. She strongly desired to stand up, crash through the window not caring if she caused property damage, and back up Twilight's story, but Octavia's glare and demanding nature were the only things keeping her seated.

"Do you believe that?" Lyra exclaimed as she drooped her head onto the table. She glanced at the glass Octavia had offered her and soon seized it. "Y'know what? There's a first for everything..."

Raising the glass over her head Lyra poured a mouthful of wine but quickly spit it out to her right, utterly revolted by the flavor. Fortunately no ponies were in her spitting range, but Lyra drew attention from everypony in the bar. The other customers, all members of the upper class, stared with disgust. In their anger, this display was enough for them to leave their payment on the tables and leave as fast as possible. Meanwhile the bartender rolled his eyes and retrieved the mop and water bucket. Before cleaning, he handed Lyra the white towel he kept on his back.

"Ugh! Is that what it tastes like!?" Lyra exclaimed. She began wiping her tongue desperately trying to erase any lingering drops. "Oh dear Celestia, I can still taste it!"

Octavia still remained unfazed and continued drinking with a hysteric Lyra in front of her.

"You get used to it... Perhaps a weaker beverage this time?"

"I'M NEVER DRINKING AGAIN!!!"

Secrets

"Tavi! I knew you'd be here!"

Bon Bon and Vinyl arrived at the restaurant where Lyra and Octavia had been dining for the night. Vinyl had practically stormed inside to the alarm of Bon Bon, the disc jockey almost tearing down the doors in her excitement. This reckless action had Bon Bon deeply worried about disturbing the peace. But thankfully the guards turned a blind eye and there were no more ponies around besides the bartender and Octavia. The latter was still sitting at her table quietly drinking her second glass. Octavia did not even turn her head until Vinyl came closer to her and sat down in Lyra's seat.

"Hello, Vinyl." Octavia greeted her calmly. "Would you like a glass?"

"Nah, I'm good." Vinyl quickly stood up, reached over the table, and tightly hugged Octavia affectionately. "Thanks a million for getting it back! How can I make it up to you!?"

"Put me down and let me finish my drink..." she said rolling her eyes.

Vinyl complied with Octavia's request and gently set her down. "So uh... Where'd you put it?"

"In the alleyway across the street. Would you like me to retrieve it?"

"Naaaw. As long as I know where it is, I can get it anytime."

"So is that it or is there something else you came here for?"

"Aw c'mon, Octavia! Open up for once!"

Feeling this conversation would take a while, Bon Bon pulled up a cushion and joined the table. Vinyl was mainly attempting to convince Octavia to join her for a late night party, but Octavia continuously declined using tomorrow's wedding as her excuse. This did not stop Vinyl though as she eventually resorted to physical force by using her teeth to drag Octavia's cushion to the front door. Octavia did not bother to move and sighed at Vinyl's futile effort. The bartender took notice not long afterward and used the blunt side of his mop to strike Vinyl in the back of the head. Vinyl did not respond well to this and dropped to the floor while clutching her head in pain.

"Oooowww! Duuude! Not cool!"

The bartender rolled his eyes and ignored Vinyl's agonizing groans. Instead he assisted Octavia by returning her cushion to its proper place and allowing her to sit down.

"Gee, Sis." he said with a spontaneous smile. "You still need your Big Bro to protect you from crazy strangers?"

"Believe me," Octavia replied, "she would've tired by the time she got me out that door."

He chuckled. "Whatever you say..."

"Uh... Is she going to be okay?" Bon Bon asked.

She wanted to helped poor Vinyl, but she also feared the bartender doing the same to her. He seemed unpredictable based on how he suddenly changed his attitude.

"Vinyl is just over exaggerating." Octavia replied. "She's taken much more abuse than that before. And Beat doesn't hit ponies that hard anyway."

"Liar!" Vinyl exclaimed as she continued rolling on the floor.

"Oh, and you should go inside the mares' room. You're friend, Lyra, might still be puking in there."

Bon Bon's eyes widened as she quickly stood up. "What!?"

Concerned about her best friend, Bon Bon immediately dashed to the restrooms located in the back of the restaurant. She could distinctly hear Lyra's moans as she got closer to the door. Once inside, Bon Bon found Lyra lying on the tiled floor and clutching her stomach in pain. It was clear she had been puking in the nearby stall, but she was at least able to wipe herself clean with some fresh hand towels.

"What happened?" Bon Bon asked as she helped Lyra properly stand up.

"Urgh... Wine... Tasted horrible!"

Bon Bon facehoofed. "Ugh! Don't you remember your parents saying what alcohol does to you!?"

"Oh..." Lyra began giggling from her stupidity. "I forgot... Hehehe..."

"Honestly..."

Once Lyra felt well enough to leave, Bon Bon escorted her back to the table where Vinyl had taken Lyra's seat again. It seemed the disc jockey had finally recovered from Beat's blow, but she was still glaring at the stallion who ignored her rude gestures and continued cleaning the stains from Lyra's spit-take. Bon Bon allowed Lyra to take her cushion since the sick mare obviously needed it much more than her. Beat offered Bon Bon another cushion in hospitality, but she declined preferring to stand. She felt the table would have become a little crowded with her anyway.

"What did I miss?" Lyra grumbled after she slumped over the table.

"Not much," Octavia replied, "besides the party animal over here."

"Geez, you look terrible." Vinyl remarked while observing Lyra. "What the hay happened to you?"

"Tell you later..." the sick mare muttered. "Urgh...! Wake me up when we're leav-...-ing... Zzzzz..."

Lyra had fallen asleep instantly. In response, Beat retrieved a tablecloth from a nearby cabinet and spread it over Lyra's shoulders as a blanket. Bon Bon thanked the stallion as he went back to cleaning the floor.

"So how did you two meet?" Vinyl asked Octavia.

"Long story short, she crashed into me just after I got back your w-"

Vinyl quickly silenced the mare by holding a hoof to her mouth. "Shh! I don't want anypony to know what it is before I reveal it!"

"She crashed into you?" Bon Bon repeated.

She glared at the sleeping Lyra feeling the urge to smack her awake. Lyra had always been the type of mare who tended to not watch where she was going. It was a habit that had gotten her into many awkward or bad situations. The incident in Ponyville where Lyra accidentally crashed into a passing by noble was still etched into her mind.

"Yes," Octavia answered, "but once you get to know Vinyl like I do...that sort of thing doesn't bother you anymore..."

"Aw, shucks!" Vinyl bragged, taking Octavia's statement as a compliment.

"Well..." Bon Bon said, "as long as she didn't cause you too much trouble..."

"On the contrary, I believe she should worry about her own trouble more than mine."

"What...do you mean?"

Octavia stretched her arm and fully opened a window panel so Bon Bon and Vinyl could have a clear view of the table Twilight's friends had been using. They were gone now having returned to their suites in Canterlot Castle. The only evidence proving they had been here were their overturned drinks that Beat had neglected to clean.

"I'm assuming you know Twilight Sparkle? Well about ten minutes ago, she confronted her friends with claims about Cadance being 'the worst bride-to-be'. She was describing qualities such as her 'bad attitude'."

Vinyl crossed her arms and looked away with an annoyed expression. Her first impression of Cadance was something she would never forget.

"Pfft... You're telling me..."

"Anyway... Twilight continuously tried to gain support from her friends, but they all insisted that Cadance was, in that white mare's words, 'an absolute gem'..."

"Are you kidding?" Bon Bon asked. She was starting to progressively raise her voice. "If my first meeting with her today was anything to go by, Cadance was the exact opposite!"

Using her eyes, Octavia motioned Bon Bon towards Lyra. "She felt the same. I actually had to stop her before she caused a scene..."

"Wait," Vinyl interrupted, "why didn't you just let her? Twilight would've had a witness!"

"Judging by how highly her friends spoke of the princess, I doubt Lyra and I could have convinced them."

"So what?" Vinyl was starting to raise her voice too but with a more angry tone. "We just let them keep thinking how much of a 'perfect lady' Cadance is!?"

Surprising Bon Bon and Vinyl, Octavia stood up and leaned over the table. It was quite unnerving to see given Octavia's calm, somewhat emotionless, behavior until now. She was practically inches in front of Vinyl's face, and smiling too.

"Who said anything about that?" She then turned towards her brother who had returned to the bar counter. "Beat, do you still remember how to perform Father's memory spells?"

"You know it!" the stallion proudly exclaimed.

Just like Lyra beforehand, Vinyl grew extremely nervous as she witnessed Octavia grin once again. Despite having known the mare for a long time, the rare occurrence of Octavia becoming mischievous was something she did not like to see.

"The plan should be simple." Octavia began. "We will follow the princess, keeping out of sight of course, and observe her behavior. Once we see her perform a number of actions that reveal her true 'villainous' character, my brother will be able to show our memories to anypony we know."

"But how are we going to find the princess?" Vinyl asked. "I mean, sure, we can get back inside the castle, but I doubt the guards will let us get close to Cadance's room."

"Not exactly. Before Twilight's friends left, the dragon mentioned the princess is staying at her groom's apartment tonight. It's not too far from here actually."

"But there are still guards all over the city! They definitely find us sneaking around eventually!"

"Not if we hurry." Octavia then turned her head towards Bon Bon. "Would you like to join us?"

Bon Bon wanted to accept knowing it would help support Lyra's cause. She too also wanted to learn the reason behind Cadance's sudden change from how she remembered the princess from years ago. But the mare could not just abandon her best friend in a restaurant only to come back later. Considering Beat was Octavia's brother, he could have been willing to care of Lyra, but Bon Bon felt obligated to take her home as part of her responsibility. Lyra's mother would probably get worried also if they did not return soon.

"Sorry, but I've got to take Lyra back to her house. Just know that we'll be counting on you."

"Don't worry 'bout it!" Vinyl assured her. "We'll stop by once we've got proof!"

Octavia turned to her brother again. "Beat, help Bon Bon take Lyra back her house."

Beat quickly stopped what he was doing and rejoined the mares. He was expecting to take one of Lyra's arms while Bon Bon would take the other, but Octavia quickly stood up and mounted Lyra's sleeping body onto his own. The weight was straining on his back, but it was manageable enough for him to walk at a steady pace.

"Wow. You're turning into Mom everyday." he jokingly remarked. As he felt Lyra's breathing, he looked at Bon Bon and pointed to Lyra's limp arm. "She's not going to wake up, is she?"

Bon Bon shook her head. "No. When Lyra's like this, nothing will wake her up."

"Alright, lead the way then. And Sis, make sure you lock up before you leave."

Bon Bon opened the door for Beat and began escorting the stallion back to Lyra's house in the upper district. Back inside the restaurant, Octavia watched them take the westbound road until they were too far away to track. Meanwhile Vinyl was cleaning up the table using her light blue magic. She followed Octavia outside once she placed her wine glass at the counter hoping Beat will pick it up later. Using a key that was hidden in the hanging flower pot just above the right side of the door, Octavia locked the building and tossed the key back into its hiding place.

"So where exactly is Shining Armor's apartment?" Vinyl asked.

Octavia pointed behind Vinyl to the east. "The eastern residential district. Just down this road."

"How do you know that exactly?"

Vinyl grew a little suspicious. It was true Octavia had a good knowledge of Canterlot, but even the captains of the Royal Guard were regular ponies just like anyone else. To know their residence, she would have to be friends with one or actually live near them, and Vinyl was positive this was not true for her.

"Well, I..." Octavia blushed. This also a reaction that was rare for somepony to see from her. It even caused Vinyl to raise her shades. "I happen to know this...pony...who happens to know Shining Armor..."

It took a few seconds, but Vinyl managed to figure out what she meant. "Oooh! I get it~! What his name?"

Octavia's face grew even redder. She quickly turned her head away from Vinyl and began walking down the street. "That is...nothing to be concerned about! Let's just go before we miss our chance!"

"Suuure... Whatever you say~"

"Well... Here were are!"

The Doctor and Derpy stood before the entrance to the tower Philomena had described to them. It was a small tower compared to the rest of the castle. It was two stories in height, three if one counted the inaccessible spire. The balcony on the second floor provided a clear overhead view of the short river that flowed past the castle and into the lake far below the mountain. The outdoor entrance was unfortunately unusable due to the number of guards patrolling the grounds nearby. After a number of detours, the pair managed to find an alternate route through a hallway in the east wing.

Proceeding inside, they found themselves in almost complete darkness. Finding no mounts for a torch, the Doctor use his sonic screwdriver to illuminate the room with a blue glow. It was a storeroom filled mostly with unopened wooden crates and barrels filled with large blank scrolls. It seemed to have been unused for quite a long time as dust and cobwebs covered every object in the room. The only major light source came from a large window, but its ray only shined at the large wooden support in the center of the room.

Derpy wondered why Philomena had requested her and the Doctor's presence here. To the pegasus, it seemed nothing of importance could be found here. Her best guess was that something was hidden inside one of these old containers. She took flight to see if there was anything of interest on the second floor, but only found piles of sandbags scattered across the floor.

Meanwhile the Doctor ascended the spiral ramp that hugged the outer wall and rejoined Derpy. He then approached the nearby door and peeked outside its small window. The window was in perfect alignment with the castle's highest tower, the observatory. On its balcony, the Doctor could see Princess Luna herself using a telescope to keep watch over the entire city. Ever since the city went on high alert, both of the Princesses had been dedicating their time to this position. It had been a hindrance to the Doctor and Derpy as it prevented them from crossing most of the castle's courtyards and gardens. They were lucky a tower obscured Luna's view of the armory when they had exited from there.

As the Doctor turned around, he spotted Philomena flying towards the larger window. He alerted Derpy who immediately flew up to undo the lock and allow the mystical firebird inside. Philomena circled the room a few times before descending to the lower floor where she perched herself on the edge of a crate.

"Thank you for listening." she told the Doctor. "It is quite rare to find someone who can understand a phoenix. Are you sure you are pony?"

The Doctor giggled. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I see... As for why I told you to come here, I require assistance."

"Let me guess. Princess Cadance?"

Philomena sighed as she closed her eyes and tilted her head down. "Yes... I am afraid even Princess Celestia would not believe me, attributing my feelings as 'jealousy'...which is quite absurd, I assure you."

"What are you're feelings then?"

"The princess' aura...a perfect match, but...there are occasional moments, very short in length, where it suddenly changes before returning to normal. Cadenza's sudden personality change around certain ponies was what made grow more suspicious."

The Doctor put a hoof to his chin trying to make sense of this information. "That's similar story to a friend of mine who happened to know Cadance..."

"It feels reassuring to know someone else shares my feelings... Is it why you felt it necessary to sneak inside the castle?"

"Well..." The Doctor was not sure how to word this sentence. "We could have come here with that friend of ours, but we did not want to inadvertently get her involved with what we were planning..."

"I understand." Philomena then perked up suddenly and bowed in a respectful manner. "Oh dear. Where are my manners? I completely forgot to ask for your names when we first met."

"Oh. I'm the Doctor." He then turned around and motioned Derpy to come forward. "Derpy! Come here and introduce yourself to this beautiful lady!"

The mare nervously approached Philomena who stared at her cross-eyed expression curiously. Derpy was unsure of what to say. Speaking to other animals was not exactly something where she had experience.

"Uh... Hello? Name's Derpy."

Philomena turned to the Doctor and made a series of chirping sounds. The stallion simply nodded to what Derpy assumed to be a sentence.

"Philomena says it's a pleasure to meet you." he translated.

"So... Uh... Why'd you make us come here?"

Philomena took flight once and landed on the Doctor's mane. She raised her wing upwards and pointed at the support beam where the window's light was focused.

"The light is shining on a hidden switch you need to press. A special magic that only allows pegasi to utilize it prevents me from doing it myself."

The Doctor translated for Derpy again. Understanding the situation, the mare flew up and began searching. Her shadow made it difficult to see so she resorted to rubbing her hoof across the surface. Close to the ray's rim, Derpy felt a slight notch. She traced it around to discover it formed a rectangle that perfectly fit her hoof.

"Found it!"

Derpy pushed in the panel and rejoined the others as they waited for the result. In a few seconds, the ground started to vibrate. Philomena urged the ponies to step back as the stone floor beneath them began to retract. Once the shaking had stopped and the small dust clouds finally dispersed, the group found a large staircase before them. It spiraled down the support beam an into the castle's underground. Derpy carefully approached the opening and gave a quick shout only to receive an echo in response.

"That's deep..."

"What exactly does this staircase lead to?" the Doctor asked Philomena. "I would have assumed the basement, but that echo proved it to be much deeper."

"The abandoned mines beneath Canterlot. Before this area became a grand city, a band of unicorns discovered a vast deposit of valuable gems deep within the mountain. After all the gems were used up, they simply abandoned the operation until the city rediscovered it. Ever since then it's been connected to the castle through secret passageways in the event the Princesses were being threatened and in need of an escape route."

"Fascinating... And why is it so important that we must venture down there?"

"I have been spying on Cadenza. I have witnessed her teleporting someplace multiple times when she assumes she has privacy. I could not track the precise location, but it could figure out it was somewhere beneath the city, and thus these caves. I specifically chose this entrance because most of the Royal Guard had forgotten it even exists."

"Very well then. Let us go discover what our Amore Cadenza is up to, shall we?"

"Great! There are two guards right by the front door! Now what?"

Vinyl and Octavia had arrived at the eastern residential district. They were a few buildings away from what Octavia claimed to be Shining Armor's apartment. It was a two-story building with a small set of stairs that lead to the front doors. Vinyl originally had her doubts with this being Shining Armor's residence until she noticed the coat of arms painted above the entrance, two crossed swords with a shield depicting a unicorn's head. As Vinyl said previously, two unicorn guards were standing by each side of the staircase with their spears ready.

"Don't worry." Octavia told her. "Just follow me and don't say anything."

The pair proceeded down the street and towards Shining Armor's home. Not recognizing any of the mares, the guards quickly blocked their path.

"Halt! What business you have with the Captain?"

"I'm here with a message from Blues." Octavia calmly replied. "He says it's a matter of grave important that needs Shining Armor's opinion."

The guards looked at each other wondering to do. One was in favor of granting passage, but the other was still suspicious. To them Octavia seemed like an honest, sophisticated mare, but the fact a common mare like Vinyl was accompanying her was a little strange.

"Why can't Blues do it himself?" a the skeptical guard asked.

"He is much too busy preparing for his role as Shining Armor's usher. He wanted to save time by sending me as a messenger."

"He did not give any sort of proof?"

"My word is not enough? Shall I take up this matter with him?"

The guard was starting to become nervous as Octavia continued to stare into his eyes. "Th-... That won't be necessary! Proceed!" He and his fellow comrade withdrew their spears and moved out of the way. "Don't mind the open door, the Captain's sister went inside about a minute ago."

Octavia nodded and motioned Vinyl to follow her. Inside, they found a small parlor. To the immediate left was a statue of an earth pony soldier. It was donning a older version of a guard's uniform that was gray in color. It was also holding a black banner pole in his arm though age had made the writing illegible. The rest of the room was decorated in a typical Canterlot style. There was a small sitting area to the right. It consisted of a large couch, a wheel converted into a coffee table, and a small cabinet with a lamp on it. Next to the couch was a large cupboard displaying various china, and just above the collection was shield with crossed swords mounted on the wall.

Directly ahead, Vinyl and Octavia spotted Twilight slowly walking towards a door across the room. It seemed the purple mare had not noticed them enter the room yet as she was too preoccupied with sneaking up on whoever was behind that door. Not wanting to be seen, Octavia shushed Vinyl and quietly tiphoofed closer while hugging the left wall and going around the small fireplace. Meanwhile Twilight pushed the door just enough to peek inside with one eye. This act allowed Vinyl and Octavia to dash for the nearby staircase and pass by unseen. Once out of sight, Octavia slightly stuck her head out and leaned closer so she could hear the ponies Twilight was spying on.

"This was my favorite uncle's." a male voice said. Octavia assumed this was Shining Armor.

"And?" Cadance's voice responded.

"And I think I should wear it."

"Are you disagreeing with me?" She sounded extremely annoyed now.

"I guess I am-! Eh-Agh!" It seemed Shining Armor was in some sort of pain.

"Oh, dear..." Cadance said in a somewhat concerned tone. "Are you getting another one of your headaches?"

Shining Armor did not respond and continued groaning in pain. What followed was the sound of a spell being activated. It seemed powerful enough to give the room a brilliant green glow. This obviously shocked Twilight causing her to cringe back.

"She isn't just unpleasant and rude..." she said. "She's downright evil!

Upon this realization, Twilight quickly turned around and dashed for the front door just as Cadance and Shining Armor exited from the next room.

"So that's Shining Armor..." Octavia quietly muttered to herself. "Quite a dashing fellow..."

Shining Armor was an alabaster white unicorn. His cutie mark also unique, even sharing some characteristics with Twilight's, particularly the pink six-pointed star. This shared image was the emblem of a purple shield with three light blue stars over it. He had a sapphire-colored mane with streaks of various shades of blue. Currently, Shining Armor was wearing a crimson, formal military uniform with a gold collar. It had a mabel blue sash with a spade-shaped emblem that also had the pink star printed on it. Octavia guessed this mark was common in the family.

"Uh-Twilight!" Shining Armor exclaimed.

It seemed Twilight did not hear her brother and continued running down the street. He then turned to Cadance with a worried look.

"Let her go." she told him while snuggling against his arm.

"Huh... It seemed like she had something else she wanted to tell me..."

Seeing enough, Octavia pulled herself back and ordered Vinyl to head to the next floor. She wanted her to find a safe hiding place, leaving the door open to signal her location. The DJ nodded and headed off making minimal noise. Octavia stayed behind to see if she could learn anything else from the to-be-wed couple.

"I think I should go after her..." Shining Armor muttered.

"Twilight just needs to time to herself, that's all~"

He nudge the princess away. "But I'm her brother. I should be there for her and-"

Cadance embraced Shining Armor in a hug before he could finish. "Trust me, dear. This is a girl problem. It's best to just leave her alone for a little bit~"

"Well...you do know Twilight just as much as I do..."

"That's right~ Now why don't you go put away that outfit?"

Shining Armor complied and headed back to the previous room. Now alone with Cadance nearby, Octavia quickly headed upstairs to find Vinyl. There were only three doors up here. One of them seemed to be a closet, but it appeared Vinyl had not chosen it as a hiding spot. The other doors lead to the bedrooms, and the only one left open was towards the back of the building. Octavia quickly ran inside as she heard Cadance coming up the steps.

"Heeey, Octavia." Vinyl nervously greeted her. It was dark, but Octavia could see Vinyl sitting in the middle of the floor. "We... Have a problem..."

Octavia sighed. "You couldn't find a hiding place?"

"Not exactly..."

The lights sudden switched on to reveal two figures standing behind Vinyl on twin queen-sized beds. What surprised Octavia beyond belief was their appearance. They took the form of Vinyl herself. It was like staring at her identical twin. The only difference was that their eyes were strangely crimson rather then violet.

"We have company..."

The fake Vinyls leaped towards Octavia attempting to restrain her. Octavia managed to punch the first one out of the way, but the other was too fast for her. It held her down as its friend recovered and retrieved some cloth as an improvised rope. Octavia was wondering why Vinyl had not assisted her until she noticed the DJ had already been restrained before she entered the room.

"Let go! Urgh!"

Octavia struggled to break freak, but it was useless. Her arms were unusable now and her hind legs would not be able to reach her captor. She was forced to submit an let the fake Vinyl tie her hooves with a tight knot. Once Octavia was fully restrained, the fakes tossed her next to Vinyl.

"Hey! Are you okay?" Vinyl asked worriedly.

"I'm fine..." she angrily mumbled

Octavia lifted her head to see the Vinyls laughing at her. She tried her signature glare once again, but the imposters were unaffected. They began grinning as they pondered about what to do with the mares next.

"Alright, who are you!?" Vinyl exclaimed.

"Hehe! Like you need to know." one of her doubles replied.

"Urgh! Let me go!"

Vinyl began violently squirming, knocking into everything object she could reach. She hoped the noise would alert Shining Armor and hopefully make him come to the rescue. The imposters did not react and continued giggling at Vinyl's pain. Finally fed up, Vinyl was about to let out her loudest scream, but she quickly stopped when she heard the doorknob turning. In a few seconds, Cadance entered the room.

"Why, hello there!" she greeted the captive mares with a sadistic smile. "What are you girls doing here? Don't you know my loving groom is waiting for me? You shouldn't keep a lady waiting~"

"What the hay are you talking about!?" Vinyl exclaimed. "Why do you have clones of me!?"

"Clones? Hahaha! I guess you can say that~"

"Does Shining Armor know about this!? And why isn't he hearing this racket!?"

"No and that's because I just sound-proofed the room. My groom doesn't suspect a thing!"

"How long had you been keeping up this facade?" Octavia finally asked.

"What? My love for my darling groom? Why, the moment we were engaged!"

"No... Your facade as Princess Cadance..."

Cadance eyes widened, completely surprised by the mare's statement. Octavia had been observing the fake Vinyls and eventually Cadance when she entered the room. She recalled a few stories her brother told her as a filly. Beat simply loved telling his sister scary bedtime stories when he foalsat her. Octavia was never truly frightened, but she feigned being scared at times to preserve Beat's pride.

One story Octavia remembered was about a beautiful young mare...

She lived happily in a quiet, peaceful town working in her parents' bakery. When she was not busy, the mare would always visit a friend who lived across town. He was a handsome stallion, and she had a very deep crush on him. Eventually the two ponies began dating each other. However, one day the stallion went missing, and the mare was heartbroken. He was quite well known among everypony which stirred a massive uproar in the town. Search teams were formed, but they never found him.

The next day, the stallion returned to the town. His clothes were torn, but he was completely unharmed. He claimed to have been chased by a pack of carnivorous Timberwolves and was unable to make it back by sunset which forced him to camp out in the lone wilderness. Upon learning of his return, the young mare was overjoyed and immediately abandoned her post running to his house for a welcome back kiss. When she arrived, she noticed a change in his behavior but dismissed it thinking it to be part of the trauma of a near-death experience.

It was not until a few days later when something strange began happening. Just like her boyfriend, various ponies' behaviors started to change. Even the kind old lady who lived in the windmill became hostile to other ponies. The young mare started to get fearful. Was it some kind of disease spreading throughout the town? The mare originally turned to her parents, but even they started acting strange now. Her own mother actually forgot her name on one occasion. The only comfort she had was her boyfriend who reassured her that everything would be okay.

Curiosity soon got the better of her. In order to investigate this mystery, the mare decided to follow one of the only remaining ponies who's attitude never changed yet, her next-door neighbor. He was a recluse who lived by himself, but the mare knew him more than anypony. She followed him to the town market where, at a distance, she witness two ponies drag him into an abandoned warehouse. Keeping out of sight, she climbed a stack of crates and peeked through the windows. Her neighbor was struggling to escape, but his captors held him down. It was then another creature appeared from behind a haystack.

It was unlike anything the mare had seen before. It looked like a black blue-eyed alicorn but mutated to resemble a pony-insect hybrid with fangs. Instead of feathered wings, it had beetle-like set that buzzed whenever they flapped. Their legs also had large holes in them, making them look like phantoms that had not fully materialized. What came next baffled the mare. After examining her captive neighbor, the creature transformed into a double of him, perfectly copying every detail right down to the cutie mark. The mare could not believe her eyes and, in her shock, fell off the crates and hit her head on the ground.

When the mare finally awoke, it was already night time. The first thought to register in her mind was to immediately run towards her boyfriend's house to tell him of what she had seen. The mare ignored everypony she saw and focused all her effort in reaching the house. Once reaching her destination, the mare went inside without even knocking and locked the door to the confusion of the stallion. She tossed herself onto him and began recounting her story while crying on his chest. When she was finished, the mare continued sobbing as she waited for the stallion's response.

There was a laugh, a manic laugh. The mare looked up to see her boyfriend's eyes had suddenly turned into the same pupil-less eyes as the strange creature. As the mare slowly backed away with a horrified expression, the "stallion" stood up and allowed his disguise to disperse in a green fire to show his true form. He then revealed everything. The mare's lover had never returned on that fateful day. One by one, the creature's colony began replacing everypony in town with themselves in disguise. Now the mare was the only real pony left, and she had "outlived her usefulness".

The mare screamed and jumped out the window having no time to undo the lock on the door. She ran; that was the only thing she could think of doing. But everywhere she turned, another one of these hideous creatures awaited her. By sheer luck, the mare was miraculously able to escape the town. However, nopony knows what happened to her after that. There are multiple guesses of her fate. Some claim the creatures managed to recapture her or that she continues to forever wander the wilderness, distrusting anypony she meets. Others claim she made it to a safe city where she managed to gather an army through the use of her memories and a unicorn's magic only to later find her home a desolate ghost town.

Whatever these strange new creatures were, it was clear that ponies were their enemies. They were called many things: shapeshifters, doppelgangers, and evil twins. Eventually, they came to be known by one common name...

"You're a Changeling..."

Ultimatum

"This is...captivating..."

The Doctor and his group arrived at the abandoned mine deep beneath Canterlot. Halfway down the incredibly long staircase, the walls had stopped being pony-made and and became natural stone. Once the group had reached the bottom, the Doctor and Derpy were amazed to find a grand cavern. It stood a towering height that rivaled even Canterlot Castle's architecture. No natural sunlight even reached down here, but luckily the group could still see without the need for the sonic screwdriver or Philomena's abilities. Light came from crystallized stones that softly glowed in the dark. Every wall and the entire ceiling were composed of this material. Their natural color ranged from various shades of blue and green though it was possible to use another light source to temporarily change it. Philomena quickly demonstrated by radiating a beam of sunlight from her body to give the cavern a bright red and orange tint.

The chamber they were currently standing in seemed to have been used previously as a stockpile for unwanted material. Large piles of rocks and dull crystals were spread all over the ground. There was a lone track that twisted around these piles and ended in the center of the chamber; however, there were no mine carts. Looking further down, it appeared that the rail split up in two directions. There was an empty cart that had stalled while making a turn due to a pile of rocks blocking the way.

"I don't get it." Derpy remarked as she stared into her reflection within a large stone. "This place still full of crystals. Why'd they stop mining here?"

Philomena made more chirping sounds and allowed the Doctor to translate.

"Only the bright, glowing gems were mined in those times. These faded crystals were deemed useless as their magical properties made them ineffective. It was unicorns who made use of this place after all."

"Okay. But why don't ponies use these mines still?" Derpy picked up a broken piece of crystal in front of her, staring at numerous tiny reflections of her face. "These things are actually neat if they can change color..."

"It has the potential for disaster." the Doctor replied. "You have an entire city built directly on top of here. Theoretically, it would not be likely judging by how far down this place is, but one wrong excavation and you will have the entire cavern collapse upon itself, dragging the city along with it."

"Oh..." Derpy laughed nervously, embarrassed she had not considered every possibility. "My bad..."

The Doctor looked up to Philomena. "Well then, Philomena. Where should we go?"

The mystical bird flew off the stallion's head and held her position in midair. She closed her eyes and used her innate abilities to track any nearby magic residue. Before meeting her new companions, Philomena had used this skill to track Cadance's secret departures, but it could only do so much without knowing the precise destination. Now that she was closer, locating residue from a teleportation spell, especially when it was used multiple times, became much easier.

"Northeast!" Philomena screeched as she flew off.

The bird took flight with Derpy following closely behind her. They both made sure to fly at a slow pace to accommodate the Doctor. Obviously being an earth pony, the stallion was forced to take detours through a maze of crystals. He contemplated using his sonic screwdriver to create shortcuts but soon decided against it. He did not want to risk accidentally disrupting the structural integrity of the cavern or draw unwanted attention from potentially dangerous creatures that could live here. Overhead, Derpy served as the Doctor's navigational guide by providing him directions of which way to turn so he would not run into a dead end or difficult crossing. Whenever faced with a gap that could not be jumped, Derpy would carry the Doctor across while Philomena perched atop a crystal and waited for them. Carrying the stallion was tiring for the pegasus, but luckily this situation did not occur often.

As the group followed the wooden tracks, the Doctor and Derpy came to learn of the mine's outrageous transportation network. Philomena lead them along a cliffside path which had an overhead view of a gigantic cavern even larger than the first one. The tracks had been so wildly constructed that it looked it belonged in a high-speed thrill ride at an amusement park. There were sharp drops, helices, and even a few loops that spanned a majority of the cavern. Derpy questioned the efficiency of this system, but the Doctor urged her onward before she could put much thought into it.

After crossing numerous tunnels and smaller caverns, Philomena gave a loud screech to indicate the magical residue was close. The group soon came upon a grand chamber. Unlike the previous one they had passed, this one had a more spherical shape and the entire ground was crystallized as well. Philomena landed in the center where there was a circle of burn marks, the result of a teleportation spell if too much power was put into it. The spell had clearly been used a large number of times, enough to produce a faint, green magic aura that was radiating from the ashes.

"Well, we found where Cadance goes." Derpy announced. "Now what?"

"We should explore the general area around here." the Doctor replied. "Perhaps we will find the purpose of why the princess has regularly visiting this place."

"Wait." Philomena told him. She raised her head, feeling another familiar essence nearby. "That aura..."

Without another word, Philomena immediately took off towards the only other tunnel, opposite of where the group had entered. Having noticed the concerned expression on her face, the Doctor urged Derpy to follow Philomena and not worry about him falling behind. The pegasus nodded and quickly flew after the phoenix. Unfortunately for the former, the bird's anatomy allowed her to soar much faster than Derpy.

"What I'd give to be Rainbow Dash right now..."

The Doctor was not far behind. The tunnel was actually straightforward with very little obstructions. By the time he finally rejoined the others in a small chamber, the stallion found Philomena leaning her head against a crystal wall. Derpy had also made it here though she was exhausted. Carrying the Doctor over the previous gaps had depleted much of her stamina.

"Philomena," the Doctor said as he approached the bird, "what's wrong?"

Philomena did not respond and continued leaning her head closer to the wall. Wanting to learn why she was doing this, the Doctor stood beside her and performed the same action. He listened carefully for any sounds or vibrations.

"The Princess..." Philomena muttered. "Her voice..."

"What?"

"Princess Cadenza... She's behind this wall, crying!"

Hearing this, the Doctor immediately brought out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the wall, loudly ordering Philomena and Derpy to get behind him and cover their ears. Once they did so, the Doctor fired a stream of sonic waves at the wall. He continuously adjusted the outputted frequency until the crystals began to vibrate vigorously until they finally shattered into multiple pieces. A mare's scream followed not long afterward and drew everyone's attention. The Doctor quickly withdrew his sonic screwdriver and proceeded inside the newly formed hole to investigate.

"P-Please...!" a feeble voice muttered. "D-Don't hurt me...!"

In this small chamber, the Doctor discovered a pallid Cadance attempting to hide behind a large crystal. The stallion was quite surprised by her appearance and behavior. The princess's hair was disheveled and an overall mess full of split ends. Various places on her skin were covered in dirt, seeming to be the result of being tossed and dragged on the ground. Judging from her weakened body, Cadance had been suffering from a lack of proper nutrition. There was a lone wooden bucket nearby, but it was now barely filled with fresh water. Apple cores also littered the floor, but most of them had been gathered into a small pile. The Doctor wanted to learn of the being who put Cadance through this torture, but checking on her current condition came first.

"Miss, are you-?"

"No! S-stay away!"

Cadance could not even open her eyes out of fear. She blindly attempted to crawl away only to corner herself in front of the advancing Doctor. It was at this point Derpy and Philomena had entered the chamber and saw the terribly shaken princess. After examining the room, Derpy was horrified and about to speak up, but the Doctor quickly silenced her with a telepathic message while shaking his head. Derpy immediately took notice of the Doctor's serious expression, something she did not see often. At a glance, nopony would expect a stallion with his happy-go-lucky attitude behave like this. But then again, the Doctor had always been unpredictable to Derpy despite how much she knew him.

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza," the Doctor said in his most calming voice, "we are not here to hurt you..."

"N-No!"

Quickly searching for something to defend herself, Cadance picked up a few sharp rocks beside her and threw one in the Doctor's direction. It missed, though it managed to scrape the stallion's cheek and leave a small cut. It soon began bleeding, but the Doctor ignored it. He did not even react and retained a straight face while he continued trying to convince the princess.

"Princess, believe me. We're here to help you..."

"You're just trying to trick me again!" Cadance quickly retorted.

"Am I?" he asked raising his hooves despite the princess being unable to see him. "I don't seem to be hurting you..."

"That's-... You're just trying to trick me again! I won't fall for it!"

"Alright then..." He reached into his collar pocket. "Here."

The Doctor had taken out his sonic screwdriver again. Once activated, he rolled it across the floor towards Cadance and let it collide with her hoof so she would notice. Confused, Cadance finally opened her eyes to see the device before her. She hesitantly grabbed it and then looked up at her supposed attackers, unsure of what to do next.

"Aim that device at me, and it will send sonic waves at the frequency it takes to slowly kill someone of my biology, quite painful to say the least. It's your choice..."

Cadance shut her eyes again and turned her head away. She raised the sonic screwdriver to the alarm of Derpy and Philomena who quickly doved out of its firing range. The frequency would not be fatal to them, but there was no telling if it would severely damage their eardrums. The Doctor, still unfazed, remained standing in his current position as he waited for Cadance to make her decision. The princess' arm was shaking tremendously, but she could not find the strength to use the sonic screwdriver. Giving up, she let it fall onto the ground and roll towards the Doctor.

"I'm sorry..." Cadance muttered. "Ever since I've been down here, I couldn't trust anyone..."

"Why is that?" the Doctor asked as he got closer and assisted the weak mare to her hooves.

"Changelings. They're creatures that can mimic your physical appearance. They kidnapped me and have been taking my place ever since I was engaged to Shining Armor. For the past..." She stopped, resting her head against the wall as teardrops ran down her face. "I don't even know anymore! A week? They've been checking on me by using their...sick humor to give me false hope. They stage somepony rescuing me by using their appearance and then betray me right when we're close to an escape route. The first time was some royal guards. The next was my own groom; that one devastated me the most. The last time was Princess Celestia, but by I already saw through their scheme and didn't move at all."

"I see... I hope I'm not being rude, but do you know why they kidnapped you? Is it because you're royalty or another reason?"

"Changelings feed off the love somepony has for another. What better place to feed than Canterlot itself and during a wedding to boot?"

"So the Mi Amore Cadenza out there preparing for the ceremony tomorrow is merely an imposter?"

Cadance nodded and looked up, clearly distraught and worried about what was happening on the surface. "Not just any imposter. The one impersonating me is the queen of the Changelings. She's feeding off Shining Armor's love for me and slowly bending him to her will! It's all part of her plan to destroy the barrier protecting Canterlot so her colony can invade the city and feed off everypony here!"

"Interesting...but that still doesn't explain the missing emblem."

Cadance looked at Doctor with a confused expression. "Missing emblem?"

"Before we came here, we happened upon Shining Armor's uniform in the armory and it was missing its emblem. Upon closer inspection, we learned it was forcefully removed. Do you know if there was any significance to it?"

The princess closed eyes trying to remember every piece of personal information her groom had told her. "Well, nothing about his armor, but...there is something similar..." She paused for a few moments to make sure she recalled every detail correctly. "Shining Armor inherited a family heirloom from his deceased uncle."

"An emblem?" the Doctor assumed.

She nodded. "But it was definitely not part of his armor. That one is an entirely different piece. It's a standard part of any captain's uniform. Shining Armor values that heirloom too much for him to put it on something where it could get easily damaged."

"Do you know anything else about it? Any special properties? The significance of it? Why someone would desire it? Et cetera?"

She shook her head. "He only told me how important it was and where he got it. But what does this have to do with the Changelings?"

The Doctor sat down and put a hoof to chin as he tried to put this information together. "These two things might not even be connected at all, but the conditions just make it seem like a perfect opportunity. Who would have a better position to steal something of value to Shining Armor than...?"

"...the bride herself." Cadance finished for him.

"And a city-wide invasion would be a most effective distraction."

"But I already told you! Not even I know where he keeps it!"

"Then the next target the queen goes after will be someone who does know... If it's not Shining Armor himself then...his parents, perhaps?"

She shook her head. "No. Shining Armor kept that inheritance as a secret from his family. He only told me because... Well... We were going to be married and believed there should be no secrets between us. And the only other pony he ever told was...Twilight..."

"Twilight?" The Doctor looked up in surprise. "Twilight Sparkle?" he repeated to make sure he heard Cadance correctly.

Cadance nodded. "I was her foalsitter when she was a filly. She was a bit of a recluse back then. When I wasn't around, Shining Armor would always be the one to make her put down that book of hers and start getting out for a change." She slumped to the ground and covered her head in despair now that she knew another one of her friends was in trouble. "Oh, this is bad! Twilight's probably walking right into her hooves thinking she's me!"

"Au contraire~" a menacing voice told her.

Startled and recognizing that voice as her own, Cadance threw herself towards the Doctor. The stallion quickly caught the princess and gently set her down. The two ponies looked up to see the Changeling queen standing by the hole, maliciously smiling at the princess and still mimicking her form.

"Truth be told," the fake began, "I was intending to shoo away that pesky Twilight. In fact, she's been the only pony who's been growing suspicious of my activities. But now that I know she could be useful, I now have different plans for her~!"

The Doctor fiercely stomped his hooves in front of her. "You will do no such thing! And for your information, Twilight's not the only one who suspected something different about you!"

"Really?" She raised an eyebrow, slightly curious by the stallion's claim. "Are these ponies perhaps the ones you were talking about?"

The queen stepped aside and allowed two of her Changeling subjects to enter. They tossed the captured Vinyl and Octavia in front of the two ponies. The mares were still restrained from their previous encounter with the Changelings. Judging by the amount of dirt stains on their bodies, they had also been forcibly dragged here.

Derpy and Philomena watched from a distance. They were still exposed, but their location and angle kept themselves from being spotted by the Changelings. Philomena was about to take off in a sneak attack, but Derpy quickly stopped her before a sound could give away their location. After all her experiences during her adventures with the Doctor, she normally found it better to wait until the villain finished providing useful information. The Changelings were still not aware of their presence so they were in the perfect position to provide support.

"Vinyl?" the Doctor wondered aloud. He then pointed to Octavia. "Who's this beautiful lady?"

"Tell you later!" Vinyl exclaimed as she began trashing around. "Untie us first!"

The queen began laughing. "Hahaha! So much for your little investigation team~"

Still confused, the Doctor looked up and began speaking in a completely honest matter. "One, I just met the blue and white mare; I barely know her. Two, I don't even know the other one. Three, they're not who I was even referring to..."

The queen did not seemed bothered by the Doctor's statements, but she still readied a magical spell, obvious by her glowing green horn. Vinyl responded by preparing her own spell as she twisted herself around.

"Don't even bother." the queen told her. "You are clearly outmatched."

"So what!?" Vinyl rebuked. "Just because you're copying an alicorn doesn't mean you're just as powerful!"

"Wait!" Cadance exclaimed. "You don't understand! A Changeling's power is determined by how much it feeds!"

"The princess is quite right." the queen added while laughing. "You won't believe how delicious and plentiful Shining Armor's love for you is. It's too bad I'll have to dispose of him when all of this is-"

Vinyl fired a magical blast before the Changeling could continue. It was a simple spell most unicorn mares learned for self-defense. Vinyl only modified it by pumping more power than what the spell normally required. To her frustration, Vinyl's projectile was easily blocked by the queen's magic shield as it turned green and rebounded towards its caster. Now in the line of fire and still restrained, Vinyl and Octavia attempted to scurry away but were luckily pulled away at the last second by the Doctor and Cadance.

The spell collided against the wall, creating an explosion that sent shattered pieces of crystal flying in every direction. Derpy and Philomena took cover behind a wall while Cadance and Vinyl combined what was left of their energy to form a shield around the others. As the smoke cleared, the Doctor quickly seized the opportunity to undo Vinyl and Octavia's bondages.

"There we are!" the Doctor said as he removed the last knot from Octavia. "I can't imagine how uncomfortable you must've felt!"

Octavia dusting herself off before answering. "Thank you, Mister...?"

"Doctor is fine! Don't let the tie and collar fool you! No formalities are needed!"

She then looked towards Vinyl. "Your weird-to-normal ratio in friends is astonishing..."

"Hey," the disc jockey retorted, "I have plenty of normal friends!"

"Uh, guys?" Cadance interrupted. The princess was dumbfounded at how these ponies were now ignoring the threat standing a few meters from them. "We're still at mercy of someone!"

Cadance directed them towards her double who now seemed mildly annoyed. Seeing her expression struck fear into the other Changelings as they dispersed their disguises, returning to their natural form, and begin backing out of the chamber.

"That was a little rude." the queen plainly remarked. "First you attack me before I finish speaking and then you dare have the audacity begin ignoring me? Is that any way to treat a queen?"

"If you're a queen," Vinyl began, "then you sure as hay don't act like one!" She pointed at Cadance's worn body. "You would actually do that to somepony!?"

"Please..." she scoffed. "It's survival of the fittest~ And judging by your conditions and my previous display against that...insignificant demonstration, I believe I hold the advantage!"

"Grrr! If I had my equipment, I'd so mop the floor with you!"

"You're more than welcome to do that once I take over Canterlot, minus me of course! Now, how shall I deal with you?" The queen examined her captives more closely. "You know too much already...but the fact you stumbled upon my plans like this is impressive. Perhaps I'll have more use for you in my army~"

Octavia rolled her eyes. "Like I'd ever work for a rude-mannered girl who claims to be the ruler of an illegitimate empire. I'd rather perish in these caves than be forced into slavery."

"Oh? Who said anything about forcing you? You'll all be doing it of your own free will!"

"And how exactly are you going to do that?"

A mischievous smile appeared on her face. "Ever wonder why Shining Armor has never suspected a thing about me yet? It was easy, really. I simply put up my best act in order to draw more love out of him, and the rest was simple if you knew the right spells. Hehehe..."

Cadance's eyes widened upon realizing what the queen meant. "You didn't!"

"Oh, but I did!" she gloated. "Worked like a charm~ Thank goodness too! Faking affection for that stallion all the time was disgusting!"

Cadance ignored the queen's last comment and continued speaking. "Spells that manipulate the mind against a pony's will!? That's...evil!"

"Dear," she said deadpan, "do you realize who you're talking to?" The queen then readied her magic. "Now...who wants to go first?"

Everypony remained silent as the Changeling eagerly waited for an answer. They looked at each other hoping somepony would formulate a plan. And they could not openly discuss a solution with their enemy watching them.

"Close your eyes." the Doctor telepathically told all of them.

The mares were startled upon hearing the stallion's voice inside their heads. Vinyl was the only one to fall back which drew a strange look from the queen. Cadance and Octavia reacted more subtlety by staring at the Doctor as they were adapting to this new mental connection.

"Close your eyes and wait for my signal."

Vinyl was still freaking out as she tried adjusting herself to this new method of communication. She nodded and agreed with the Doctor, assuming he was able to hear her. The other mares agreed as well, putting their trust in a stallion who they have known for less than ten minutes.

"Now!"

Everypony quickly shut their eyes. Receiving another signal from the Doctor, Philomena quickly flew up from her hiding place. The phoenix used her powers to radiate a blinding light. The queen was caught off guard as she covered her eyes and turned away from the bird. After the light died down, Philomena let out a screech and exited the chamber with Derpy flying behind her.

"Go! While she's distracted!"

Taking the Doctor's lead, the remaining mares closely followed the stallion to the next chamber. The two other Changelings had been waiting for them, but they were too preoccupied with Philomena and Derpy who were pecking and tackling them respectively.

"Time to go, Derpy!"

Derpy nodded and quickly shoved her opponent towards Philomena's as they rejoined the group. They managed to run a couple of meters before the queen recovered and was stepping outside the chamber.

"Insolent vermin!" she angrily muttered while rubbing eyes. "What are you waiting for, you fools?! After them!" The queen turn to her underlings and saw they were now stacked atop one another and unconscious. "Urgh! I have to do everything myself!"

The queen quickly used her magic to teleport ahead of her escaped prisoners. She reappeared at the end of the tunnel and immediately fired a laser spell towards the group. Everypony in the group managed to dodge in time by ducking or hugging the wall, but the spell was not intended for them as it destroyed a section of the ceiling and caved-in their escape route. The only way out now was behind the Changeling queen whose magic still posed a threat.

"I'll teach you to never make a fool out of me!" she angrily growled.

"What now!?" Vinyl exclaimed. "We're trapped!"

"Calm down." the Doctor said telepathically. He now had the whole group within the same mind link. "We're not out of options yet."

"What are you talking about!? We can't get past her!"

"True." Octavia told her, but she realized what the stallion meant by his words. "Not all of us can make it."

"What the hay are you saying!?"

Octavia turned towards the Doctor. "You intend for some of us to sacrifice themselves, don't you?"

"...Yes." the Doctor quietly responded. "I absolutely despise that word and concept, but many lives are one the line! We have to make the tough decisions now! I know it's non-gentlecoltly to ask this from you ladies, but..."

She shrugged. "I never said I was against it."

"Please, don't do this!" Cadance urged them. "I don't want to be responsible of letting something bad happen to any of you!"

"Princess, it's either us or the entirety of Equestria..."

Cadance knew Octavia was correct, but she was still torn with this situation. She never expected to be faced with a decision like this, especially when she had not even ascended the throne in her own kingdom yet.

"It's obvious the Changeling isn't going to kill us." Octavia continued. "We're still useful to her."

"Then... Then I'll stay too! My magic can help hold her off! You all know what happened here so you can get help!"

"No." the Doctor told her. "Out of all of us, you are the only one who others will believe. You must escape, Princess, for everypony you love!"

"But-...! No...you're right... But please, be careful!"

"I'm not sure if I'm totally okay with this," Vinyl said, "but if everypony else is willing to do it then count me in!"

Derpy, Octavia, and Philomena agreed in unison as they readied themselves in front of their opponent. Seeing this, the queen laughing at their supposed attempt to defeat her.

"You're actually going to fight me? Hahaha! This is very amusing! Ha... I'll be sure to end this quickly!"

The group remained silent as they made their move. They were all still linked by the Doctor's telepathy which relayed their orders. Vinyl was the first to dash forward as she readied another projectile spell. The queen countered with own, albeit a more powerful version. It hit Vinyl directly in the chest and sent her flying back. Octavia, who had been running alongside the mare, made use of the small opening where the queen's guard was down and immediately tackled her aside, both colliding against the wall.

With the route now open, the remaining ponies hurried towards the next chamber. The queen struggled to get up as Octavia held her down. The civil mare was surprisingly strong for even earth pony standards, but the queen knew she was still susceptible to magic. The queen fired another laser spell that sent Octavia crashing into the opposite wall. She then followed by enveloping the mare within her aura for a levitation spell and hurled her towards Vinyl who was still attempting to stand with her injury. Like a fragile statue, the already weak disc jockey was quickly knocked over and rendered unconscious.

"Two down!"

The queen ran into the next chamber where she was confronted by Derpy and Philomena. The former immediately shut her eyes as the latter rose up and used her blinding abilities once again. The queen however was prepared this time and utilized a wide-range wave spell that disrupted Philomena's concentration and knocked her out of the sky. Derpy dashed forward and caught the phoenix. Immediately recovering and now angered, Philomena leaped out of Derpy's arms and cloaked herself in fire. She quickly soared up and dived towards the queen like a flaming arrow.

"Impressive, but not good enough!"

The queen fired a concentrated laser spell once Philomena was flying too fast to change her course. The Changeling's attack was direct hit that resulted in Philomena screeching in pain. Almost instantly, the phoenix crumbled into a pile of ashes. Meanwhile Derpy stood with her mouth agape, horrified at just witnessing her friend perish right before her eyes. It enraged the pegasus who immediately dashed forward for a tackle in a rush of adrenaline. The queen proved to be too fast for the mare however and blasted her with another spell. Instead of hitting her in the chest like Vinyl, the laser scorched one of Derpy's wings causing the pegasus to spiral downward and tumble across the ground. The queen was easily able to step aside and let the mare come to a halt beside her.

"Oh, too bad..." she teased.

"You...monster!"

"Please, I didn't put any more power into that spell than I did with you. The birdie was just that fragile."

Still exhausted, angry, and now barely able to move, Derpy grabbed the queen's hind leg in last attempt to slow her down. The mare knew her own weight would not affect her opponent much, but it would at least provide Cadance and the Doctor slightly more time to get further away.

"You're persistent, I'll give you that. By the way..." The queen immediately blasted Derpy with another spell that knocked her back a few feet. "That cross-eyed expression of yours was annoying the hay out of me."

Derpy still held on despite enduring two direct hits from a powerful laser spell within a short time span. She tried pulling herself up, but the mare soon found that she was losing her grip on reality as her vision became blurred and her body going numb.

"Wait... I'm not...!"

"Just give up already." the queen said with a small shred of pity for the mare. "You've lost."

"No, I can't when-!"

Derpy stopped talking when she noticed something strange occurring behind the Changeling. Philomena's ashen remains were now rising into the air and spiraling like a tornado. In a few seconds, all of it was compressed into a small ball which soon exploded to reveal a fully rejuvenated Philomena. The reborn phoenix illuminated the room with a radiating glow that was even more blinding than before. Derpy did not even bother closing her eyes this time. The knowledge that her friend was unharmed was more than relieving to her. Feeling no more worries, the mare finally let herself fall back and drift asleep.

Meanwhile, the queen was struggling to counter Philomena. This time the bird was rapidly attacking her while utilizing multiple abilities at the same time, ruining any concentration required for a spell. The queen resorted to flailing her arms in the air hoping she would smack away Philomena, but that proved useless when touching the phoenix's fiery body scorched her skin.

"Urgh! You phoenixes have made quite a name for yourselves!"

Risking her chances, the queen decided to release a strong burst of non-concentrated magic. Without proper thought, performing something like this was unpredictable. The effects could be minor or completely devastating, but the queen did not care. A single large wave of magic began to rapidly expand from her horn. In response, Philomena dispersed her active powers and redirected all of her energy to defending herself as the spell got closer. She was soon surprised to realize the magic passing through her body without any ill effects, though she could still feel the immense power that sent shivers down her spine.

The queen seemed angered that her last minute effort did not work thinking it was a failure. Now that the queen's guard was lowered, Philomena prepared to strike but soon stopped when she felt sudden vibrations overhead. Both combatants looked up to see the ceiling shaking ferociously. The occuring tremors soon caused numerous crystallized stalactites to detach and rain down below. Immediately realizing Derpy's endangered state, Philomena flew towards the unconscious mare and cloaked herself in fire once again. She used a combination of precise strikes and fireballs to shatter any crystals that were a danger to Derpy.

Now that the Philomena was focused on protecting the mare, the queen seized the opportunity to escape and let the collapsing cavern finish her work. She immediately teleported away and headed towards the exit. Derpy and Philomena's distraction had cost the queen much of her time, but she still knew Cadance and the Doctor had not gotten close to escaping yet. Aside from the passage used by the Doctor's original group (which now could not be reached without going through a long maze of tunnels), the nearest exit to the outside world was located at the other side of the cavern.

The next chamber was large and had multiple tunnels branching in all directions. By the time the queen arrived, only the Doctor remained to face her. The stallion stood upright wielding his sonic screwdriver already activated in his mouth.

"Where the princess?" the Changeling asked after surveying the room for a possible hiding spot Cadance may have been using.

The Doctor shrugged. "Far away from here, I can assure you."

"Let me guess, you want to fight too? I already defeated your friends single-handedly. What makes you so different from them?"

The Doctor happily laughed, surprising his opponent. "What you see is what you get! Just a guy who loves adventure!"

"I see. But you know, I can't let you leave. Your adventuring days are coming to an end!"

The Changeling moved first by firing another laser spell. The cavern's massive space allowed the Doctor to easily dodge the attack. The stallion responded by aiming his sonic screwdriver at the ceiling and releasing a short frequency wave that shattered the crystal holding the stalactites above his opponent. Not having enough time to move, the queen fired individual spells to destroy them. Doing so also left her vulnerable so the Doctor galloped forth for a tackle. The stallion managed to knock her towards a stone pillar which caused it to tilt over. The queen recovered quickly and realizing herself to be in the way, she scurried to her side almost having her legs crushed.

"Loud, strong, persistent, and annoying." she said referring to her previous opponents. "Now I have to deal with a crafty one!"

The Doctor did not respond as he continued detaching more stalactites above the queen. This time she was better prepared and began performing a balanced mix of dodging, raising magic shields, and destroying the crystals. The Doctor kept his distance while avoiding the queen's spells as well as his own attack method from striking him. He employed hit-and-run tactics whenever his opponent left herself exposed and continued doing so until he finally ran out of usable stalactites.

By this point, both combatants were exhausted from all of their sprinting. The queen still had plenty of magic stored within her, but the injuries sustained since her fight with Vinyl and Octavia prevented her from properly using it. The Doctor still stood upright, but he was secretly hiding his desire to drop down and rest. He only had one eye open now as a result of irritation when running through a dirt cloud.

"I didn't expect a ragtag group like you to wear me down like this!" the queen remarked in an amused tone. "You'll make an excellent addition to my army!"

"You still haven't beaten all of us yet!"

"Haven't I?"

The Doctor was confused for a moment until he heard Cadance's scream through his telepathic link. The princess had apparently been captured by two mares who she assumed were Changelings. They were now holding her hostage and using their magic to imprison her within another crystal chamber inescapable from the inside.

"I assume my bridesmaids found the beloved princess?" the queen asked.

The Doctor did not respond while biting his lip.

"I assumed you possessed powers of telepathy judging by how that unicorn reacted towards you earlier. An interesting ability, indeed. That will prove much useful in the future!"

"..."

"Silent, I see? Face it, you cannot hope to defeat me! Why don't you just accept reality and surrender?"

The Doctor acknowledged he was finally out of options. He was overpowered and technically outnumbered in terms of who was still able to fight. The sonic screwdriver was never built as a weapon; he had only been improvising its functions on the environment. The stallion's mental connections with the others had all been severed except Philomena and Cadance's. The former had successfully protected Derpy from the falling debris through sheer perseverance, but she was now weak and rendered unable to use her powers. After a few seconds, her connection was lost as well. The Doctor could now only hear Cadance repeatedly apologizing to everypony for allowing them to sacrifice themselves despite knowing they could no longer hear her.

"Well?" the queen asked.

"Princess," he began in his mind, "I am sorry, but if you do manage to escape this wretched place before the wedding in some miraculous way...please forget about finding us. Save your groom, Canterlot, and possibly Equestria. I know I do not speak for the others, but I am confident they would say the same... Please honor this as possibly our last request... Goodbye...

Not wanting to share more of Cadance's agony and be reminded of his failure, the Doctor shut his eyes and grudgingly severed the last connection with the princess. He slowly loosened his grip on the sonic screwdriver and deactivated it, letting the device fall onto the ground. He then sat down and raised his hoofs in the air.

"I concede defeat..."

Lament

There was a soft grumble as sunlight peered through the massive glass windows of the Heartstrings' manor. Inside the second floor bedroom that overlooked the street, Lyra lied in an queen-sized bed. Tightly gripping a soggy pillow the mare let out an agonized moan. Her body was twisting as pillows and blankets were kicked onto the floor. Lyra was also mumbling incoherent phrases under its breath. All of this had been going on for the past few hours.

In her dreams Lyra recalled conversations she had with her mother. In a calm yet progressively stern voice, Mrs. Heartstrings constantly warned her daughter of the nasty effects that even the tinniest bit of alcohol had on her body. The older mare even told a story of a past incident to further emphasize her point. However, Lyra was a filly back then. She never adhered to those warnings, but she still had a vague memory of the event though she always thought of it as a terrible nightmare rather than an actual experience.

The night was young, and the Heartstrings were invited to attend a Canterlot Garden Party, a momentous occasion in Canterlot that only came second to the Grand Galloping Gala. This event took place in the most obvious location. The castle gardens weren't decorated on a grand scale, but the minimal details satisfied everyone. A large platform stage held a quartet performing numerous classical pieces. If not enjoying their performance, the guests were either helping themselves to the grand buffet prepared by the castle chefs or taking part in a game of crochet hosted by the famed Fancypants.

Standing by an empty table, Mr. Heartstrings carried his yearling daughter on his back. He was left alone as the wife left to mingle with the other ladies. The stallion originally decided on not attending the party as there were no available foalsitters, but Mrs. Heartstrings already accepted the invitation. Among Canterlot's high society it would have been extremely rude to make last minute changes, and the Heartstrings greatly disliked to disappoint. Luckily Mr. Heartstrings was joined by a small band of gentlecolts who had noticed him sitting alone for the past hour.

These ponies were foal-less, but they still understood the stallion's predicament. Their conversation started off slow with introductions, but it then picked up once they began discussing their leisure time. Mr. Heartstrings was never the kind of pony to share many interests with Canterlot's elite, but the stallions surprisingly shared a passion for collecting valuable artifacts. Their conversation soon lasted longer than the actual party.

Lyra was asleep the entire the night, but she suddenly awoke when most of the guests had already departed. She was lying on a makeshift bed made out of her father's coat and a clean tablecloth. The filly looked up to see her parents conversing with two gentlecolts and another couple, all of them unaware of her being awake. However, Lyra ignored them as there was only one thing on her mind. She reached for the nearby glass next to her father's hoof, stared inside, and finally took a few sips. The other couple, specifically the wife, was the first to notice this and quickly alerted Mr. Heartstrings.

The stallion responded immediately and seized the glass from Lyra before she could have consumed any more. It was too late though as Lyra suddenly began coughing violently. Eventually tears poured followed by anguished screams. Mrs. Heartstrings screamed as she desperately looked around for help. No one present had any kind of proper medical knowledge, but every unicorn used any spell they knew that could lessen the pain. Meanwhile pegasi made haste to city. They soon returned carrying a doctor who immediately injected Lyra with an anesthetic. The hysteria died down, but now there was a crowd gathered over the unconscious filly. It the last moment recall could recall from that night.

"Lyra?" a voice said weakly. "Are you awake?"

Lyra slowly opened her eyes and pushed herself up. She rubbed her head as she drowsily looked around the room. When her vision cleared, she saw her mother with a joyous expression on a tear-covered face. Lyra was soon caught in a tight, warm embrace.

"Oh thank Celestia!" Mrs. Heartstrings exclaimed. "I thought I was going to lose you again!"

"Wha-? Mom? H-How did I-?"

"Bon Bon and a nice stallion brought you home. But don't worry about that! Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"Yeah... I'm fine. I have a headache, but I can probably walk it off... Why? Did something happen?"

"Don't you remember? You drank last night!"

"I did...? Oh yeah... I di-"

Mrs. Heartstrings slapped her daughter, but the young mare didn't show any physical reaction. She only rubbed her cheek and stared at her mother's piercing eyes.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again! One time was terrifying enough!"

"I won't..." Lyra said plainly.

As if the previous action never happened, Mrs. Heartstrings instantly smiled and patted Lyra's head. "Well now that I know you're feeling better... Bon Bon!"

Bon Bon soon appeared under the doorway holding a gold tray in her mouth. As she placed it on the bed, Lyra drooled over a plate of sizzling scrambled eggs with fresh toasted bread and butter on the side. Ignoring her utensils, Lyra seized the warm plate and instantly scarfed down every bit. Bon Bon and Mrs. Heartstrings simply laughed as the mare finished her glass of milk.

"I still wonder how you didn't turn out to be a chubby girl!" her mother remarked.

"Can't blame a high metabolism." Lyra said shrugging. "Hey, Bon Bon, did you hear from Vinyl and Octavia yet?"

The earth pony shook her head. "They never came back. I guess they didn't find anything. Wait...how do you know that? You were asleep."

"I was coming and going. I caught bits of its. But how are we gonna find out if we don't know where they are?"

"We can stop by Beat's bar and ask him if you want."

"Alright! Let's go- Er..." She turned to her mother. "If it's okay with you..."

"Honey," Mrs Heartstrings said, "you definitely learned your lesson. If anything, I'm much more relieved than angry with you. Plus this wedding is a momentous occasion. I can't let you miss that!"

"Oh, right!" she exclaimed as leaped from her bed. "What time is it anyway? I'm gonna be late!"

Bon Bon grabbed Lyra's hoof and pulled her towards the door. "Plenty of time if we run!"

The two mares exited the bedroom into a grand foyer. Lining the gold-red striped walls were twenty-four urns placed on marble pedestals. Each piece was painted in a different art style and depicted a certain event in Equestria's history such as the "Banishment of the Goddess" or the "Downfall of Chaos". Hanging from the center of the ceiling was a large twelve-lamp chandelier. Each lamp's position corresponded to a door on the second floor, Lyra's room being at six o'clock.

Bon Bon dragged Lyra to the opposite side where they descended a massive staircase. It was the same area Vinyl had seen during her first visit to the manor. The maze of display cases made this room seem more like a museum than someone's home. Bon Bon slowed her pace as she navigated past the obstacles and allowed Lyra to catch her breath. Once the mares were past the front door, Lyra finally took the lead down the eastern street towards Beat's bar.

The streets of Canterlot were mostly empty now, a very rare moment. Any ponies still around were either closing up their shops or heading to the castle. By the time the mare's arrived at the restaurant, Beat was already locking the front door.

"Beat! Wait up!"

The stallion turned his head as he stuffed the key into his shirt pocket. "Oh, Lyra! You feeling better now?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine, but what did you hear from Vinyl and Octavia?"

Beat looked at her strangely. "Huh? I thought they were with you?"

"What? You mean...they didn't come back?"

He shook his head. "I just assumed they were sleeping at your house..."

"Is there any other place they could've stayed?" Bon Bon asked.

He looked up at the restaurant's second floor. "No, Octavia lives with me up there. Vinyl...well she stays wherever the hay she wants."

"Oh man!" Lyra exclaimed while gripping her head. "Maybe they got caught by the guards!"

"But Octavia and I have connections." he said putting a hoof to his mouth. "I would've at least known if she got sent to prison..."

"Well let's just ask Cadance!" she said with a stern face.

Bon Bon and Beat looked at the mare with wide-eyed expressions.

"I'm gonna be one of the closest ponies to her today! And she of all ponies has to know. I'll just-"

"But Lyra," Bon Bon interrupted, "what about-?"

"No! This is serious! Two of my friends are missing and it's my fault anyway for not stopping you guys! I don't care if Cadance's really turn into a massive b-!" She quickly stopped herself and took a deep breath before continuing. "Let's just go!"

Lyra turned and dashed towards the castle neglecting to even check if anyone was actually following her. Bon Bon then worriedly turned to Beat.

"Go," the stallion said, "I'll ask around here. You make sure she doesn't get into any trouble."

Bon Bon nodded and immediately chased after Lyra. As she got closer to the castle, there were many more ponies blocking her way. At the edge of the city, the mare made a short detour up a small staircase and peered over the crowd. Lyra was already halfway down the dirt road, expertly zooming past ponies before they could even notice her. The only obstacle was the massive line of ponies waiting to cross the drawbridge.

Bon Bon's agility was not very comparable to Lyra's, but the earth pony did her best to catch up. When she arrived at the drawbridge, Bon Bon extended a hoof to grab a furiously stomping Lyra, but the unicorn suddenly moved away and dived into the river. The mare emerged seconds afterward on the other side and climbed ashore. She easily zipped past the guards who were still staring at her completely baffled.

"Sweet Celestia..." Bon Bon muttered. "Definitely not showing my face around here for a while when I do this...

She took a deep breath and jumped into the river as well. The current carried her under the bridge, but she managed to get a firm hold on the other side. This time a guard was able to react accordingly and pulled her out.

"Good heavens," the stallion said, "is everypony that anxious to see the wedding?"

"Sorry," Bon Bon replied coughing, "I just need...to catch that mare before she does something crazy."

After shaking some of the water from her body, the mare ran through the gate. Inside there was already a crowd gathering on the other side of the courtyard. In a few hours at the strike of noon, the newlywed couple would emerge on the balcony overlooking the area once the ceremony is completed.

Knowing even a serious Lyra would not dare force her way through this many ponies, Bon Bon began looking around for an alternate route to the princess. She soon found Lyra to the left struggling to push open a door. Though relieved Bon Bon sighed as she approached.

"It's pull." she said deadpan.

Lyra paused. She stared at the door handle and then looked at Bon Bon while rubbing the back of her head. "Oh... Hehe... Guess I got carried away, huh?"

She smiled and pointed inside. "Just go."

Lyra nodded and hurried inside while Bon Bon closed the door behind them. The mares turned left at the end of the hallway and headed up a staircase to the second floor. They then opened a nearby door to the spiral staircase leading Cadance's suite. After ascending the tower, Lyra was the one to force open the doors with a powerful burst of magic. She even startled Bon Bon as the strong gust of wind accompanied a loud crash.

"Cadance!" Lyra exclaimed.

The princess was standing awestruck by the window, but this expression did not last when she realized who entered the room.

"There you are! Where have you been?" She stared at the droplets coming from their manes and pointed at Bon Bon. "Why are you wet and why is she here?"

"Look, I'm not in the mood right now. My friends are missing, and we think you're one of the only ponies who knows what happened to them."

"Me?" she said feigning innocence. "I've been here all morning."

"And what about last night?"

"Oh?"

Bon Bon noticed a spark of interest in the princess' eyes, but there was something else. It seemed the color of Cadance's eyes had turned into a luminous green for a split second.

"I didn't want you to find out," Lyra said, "but...I let two ponies go spy on you last night."

Cadance grimaced and closed the doors with her magic. "Go on..."

"You been acting like a completely different pony from the one I know. I don't know if it's because you changed or this is the real you, but I don't care anymore."

"I see... I didn't appreciate those two ponies invading my privacy."

"So you did see them!"

"Yes. I had my guards take care of them."

"Well...can you...release them? I'm really sorry for what happened."

"Oh, I will after the wedding when I personally deal with them, but first..." She turned to Bon Bon. "You were also an accomplice?"

"Y-Yes..." the earth pony replied hesitantly.

"Very well then. Seize her."

Lyra and Bon Bon were confused until Cadance pointed above them. When they looked up, two Changelings who had been observing the entire conversation immediately swooped down and tackled Bon Bon against the wall. The mare struggled but was unable to escape. Not even her advantage as an earth pony could help against these wicked creatures. Meanwhile Lyra tried using magic to blast them away, but she was stopped by Cadance's own levitation field.

"You sure saved me the trouble of searching for you. I actually thought there was a chance our plan would fall apart!"

"What the hay are you doing!?" Lyra exclaimed as she thrashed around in her prison. "What are those things?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned over. In fact, you never need to be worried about anything again!"

"What do you me-Gaaah!"

A focused magic beam struck Lyra in the forehead and enveloped her entire body in a green aura. Bon Bon ceased fighting back and gasped in horror as she was forced to watch Lyra's squirming in pain. As time progressed, Lyra gradually stopped resisting. Her body went limp, and her eyes stared blankly at the princess. Her pupils were now glowing, and the color of her iris was transformed into a sickly green.

"Wha-! What did you do to her!" Bon Bon exclaimed.

"Why, just made her into my obedient slave~ Isn't that right, dear?"

Still staring into space, Lyra remained silent and nodded.

Cadance grinned and looked back at Bon Bon. "Now...what about you?"

"P-Please! Just turn her back! She's not even herself anymore!"

"I don't think you're in any position to give me orders! But since I was only in need of one more slave, consider yourself lucky. Put her with the others!"

A intense light radiated from Cadance's horn, making Bon Bon and the Changelings disappear in a flash of light. Turning back to Lyra, the princess raised the mare's head with a hoof.

"Why don't you get changed into that hideous dress of yours? I need you to deal with a certain problem if it arises..."

Deep within Canterlot Castle, Bon Bon growled at her captors as she struggled against the ropes binding her arms. The two Changelings had now disguised themselves as royal guards. They were dragging the earth pony down a long dark corridor leading to the castle dungeon. It was a tight space that was suited for two ponies side-by-side at most. The only light came from mounted torches, their fires being sustained by an everlasting spell. The corridor had also deteriorated with age. Masses of cobwebs could be found sewn into the bricks. The Changelings even decided to humor themselves by shoving Bon Bon's face into any thick masses they came across.

After almost every thirty seconds, Bon Bon screamed for help. However, she soon realized her desperate calls were useless as she was taken deeper. Though they did not speak to her, the Changelings snickered at the mare's attempts. Eventually Bon Bon stopped struggling and shut her eyes in despair.

Descending a short staircase, the Changelings came to a wooden door with a rusted handle. Forcing it open they dragged Bon Bon inside a small rectangular room. On the opposite end was a line of doors evenly spaced apart, each with a sliding slot at eye level. Bon Bon assumed her cell was the rightmost one as it was the only door still open. However, that was not the case.

Using the keys left on an old wooden table, one of the Changelings unlocked the middle door. Bon Bon jaw dropped when she saw Vinyl and the others imprisoned inside. Their eyes were closed and Bon Bon could not tell if they were breathing. The second Changeling removed Bon Bon's restraints and quickly shoved her inside closing the door behind her. The mare then hastened to the nearest pony.

"Vinyl!" she exclaimed while shaking the unicorn's body. "C'mon! Wake up!"

Vinyl made a faint mumble and slowly opened her eyes. "Mmm? Bon Bon? Ugh... What's wrong with your face?"

"Oh, thank Celestia! Quick! Help me with the others!"

Vinyl looked at Bon Bon strangely but soon pieced together the situation when she saw the earth pony attempting to wake up the Doctor. The stallion's case seemed particularly serious. He was sweating heavily and his contorted face was not improving. His mouth was moving, but audible words rarely left them.

"N-No!" the Doctor muttered. "No! Don't do it! No!"

The Doctor's eyes snapped open as his body wildly trashed about. Caught by surprise, Bon Bon accidentally got struck in the stomach by his hind leg. The sound of the startled mare's yelp allowed the Doctor to quickly regain his sense of reality. He grasped his head, but soon stared in shock over what he had just done. He lifted Bon Bon's head and began examining the afflicted area.

"Bon Bon!" He was speaking very rapidly. "Are you all right?! I didn't hurt you, did I? Nothing's broken, right? Please tell me I didn't-... I never intended to-!"

"I'm okay." Bon Bon said coughing. "I've taken worse..."

"But...! Sometimes I don't know my own strength, you see, and I...!"

"No, really... I'm fine. Just help me wake up the other two."

"Oh... Well...ahem, of course..."

After gently setting Bon Bon against the wall, the Doctor walked over to Derpy and lightly tugged one of her wings. The pegasus immediately shot up looking around in a panicked manner. Derpy was a little disoriented with her eyes spinning, but the Doctor's guidance let her to regain her composure.

As the stallion was dealing with Derpy, Vinyl began nudging Octavia, but the earth pony did not provide any kind of response. Vinyl stared at her while contemplating her likes and dislikes. An idea then dawned on Vinyl to use a certain spell. Lowering her head so her horn was close to Octavia's ear, Vinyl cast auditory magic. In seconds Octavia's head was overwhelmed with manipulated drum patterns and bass lines. The earth pony's face soon contorted as she sat up clutching her head.

"Oh Celestia! Not that again!"

"He-Hey! I knew that would work!"

"Never...do that...again! Ugh...Where are we?"

She shrugged. "Don't ask me. Ask Bon Bon."

Everyone turned to Bon Bon who was able to stand now. She informed them of what happened to her and Lyra starting from the moment they entered Cadance's room. She was worriedly proclaiming that Cadance has something sinister planned for Canterlot.

"That was not Cadance." the Doctor told her. "She's an imposter, a Changeling to be more precise. They're twisted creatures that can manipulate their physical form and feed off somepony's love for another."

"Not to mention it's the Queen that's up there." Vinyl added.

"Then...where's the real Cadance?"

"We tried rescuing her, but the Queen got the upper hand. She's still probably down in those caves..."

"Is there anything we can do?"

The Doctor shook his head. "We can only wait..."

"Uh, guys?" Derpy said. "What happened to Philomena?"

The true Cadance awoke to find herself still trapped within her crystallized prison. After being captured by a pair of very familiar unicorns to her, she was blinded and taken to a new cavern and sealed inside. This time she was given no provisions to sustain herself. Her aching stomach pleaded to her at every possible moment, but the princess eventually grew tired of hunger. It was like eating didn't matter to her anymore.

Cadance sullenly looked up at her reflection as tears ran down her face. The thought of her very image transforming into a monstrous creature in front of the unsuspecting citizens of Canterlot repeatedly flashed in her mind. Now her dreams were shattered, her hopes were fading, and everyone she loved would soon fall to the Changelings. She could even hear the Queen laughing in her voice. Except...that wasn't in her head.

The princess looked up, listening more closely now. She could vaguely hear own voice talking to someone just beyond the cavern's wall. The words were unintelligible, but it was definitely a female on the other side. The conversation soon turned into maniacal laughter accompanied by numerous magic explosions. Cadance slowly backed away, fearful of what was going to happen. She shut her eyes as a large portion of the wall was instantly shattered. When the dust cleared there was a furious unicorn with a glowing horn standing before her. The mare then leaped at the princess.

"No! Wait!"

The mare tackled Cadance to the floor. As the dust cloud cleared, she was now standing over the cowering princess shielding her face.

"Please! Don't hurt me!" Cadance looked up and was soon relieved to see it was Twilight. "Twilight, it's me! Please, you have to believe me! I've been imprisoned like you! The Cadance that brought you down here was an imposter!"

"Likely story!"

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake." Cadance was hopping in place and then crouching while covering her eyes. "Clap your hooves and do a little shake."

After clapping one of her hooves with Twilight and shaking her flank, Cadance looked at the unicorn with a tearful smile.

"You remember me!" Twilight exclaimed as they both embraced each other.

"Of course I do. How could I forget the filly I loved to sit for the most?"

Cadance looked ahead after hearing her imposter's echoing laughter. For a moment she saw a distant glimmer of light being reflected off one of the crystals. She looked at Twilight who also knew what this meant.

"We have to get out of here." the unicorn said.

The princess nodded and took the lead. It was easy to follow the light's direction, but this particular cavern proved difficult to navigate when numerous large crystals obstructing the path. This would not be a hindrance to Cadance, but Twilight lacked wings and the princess doubted she had enough energy to fly extensively. The mares were thus forced to take detours through other caverns.

Twilight occasionally took charge when it they ran into a dead end. She was always the one to backtrack and leave special markings on places they already explored. After almost an hour the mares made significant progress, but the light was still vastly beyond their reach.

"Twilight," the princess began, "there's something else you should know... Before you came along there were a few others who came to rescue me, but we were caught and I got separated from them. I don't know what happened to those guys, but they told me to forget about them and do whatever it takes to save Canterlot."

"Are you saying you want to look for them?"

"It was a last request to leave them, Twilight. I want to honor it, but I just can't bear the thought that I'm leaving them for dead..."

"Can you at least tell me their names? If worse comes to worst, we can at least honor their memory..."

"I didn't catch all of their names, but one of them definitely knew you. I think he just called himself Doctor."

"The Doctor...!?" Twilight looked away for a few seconds, but soon faced Cadance with a confident expression. "Don't worry! The stallion can take care of himself and anypony else he's with! Right now, let's just focus on getting to the castle before it's too late. We have a wedding to crash!"

"You seem to have a lot of faith in him..."

"Of course I do. He's the Doctor. All he needs is a little push."

Action

"Hey, how long are we supposed to stay here?"

The Changeling guards were sitting by the dungeon's exit, each taking turns to check on the prisoners before sitting down again. They were still disguised as Canterlot guards, even continuing to imitate their usual deep gruff voices. However, their behavior was far from proper as they bickered over trivial issues.

"Her Highness will return shortly after all the ponies have been rounded up. We just have to be patient."

"Ugh! But I'm starving! What about that other one? I'm sure the Queen won't mind if I feast off of him!"

"No! She specifically said to not lay another hoof on him!" He then turned his head towards the middle cell. "And would you quit doing that before I make you!"

Vinyl was pacing back and forth by the cell's doors, repeatedly knocking her head against the wall. The mare had been constantly mumbling to herself to the annoyance of the guards. She had received several threats of being beaten senselessly, but none of them ever came to fruition. Vinyl stopped periodically to check on the others, but they were not doing much either.

Octavia sat against the wall, eyes closed and arms crossed with her head leaning back. She had not spoken even once since everyone regained consciousness. Bon Bon was opposite from her. Her body lied on the rough stone floor with her eyes wandering aimlessly. Thoughts about a green-eyed Lyra repeatedly flashed in her mind. Was her best friend all right? What was she doing right now? Is it too late to save her? Bon Bon wanted to act, but there was no action to take, only sighing heavily.

"Lyra's all right." Octavia said. "I can assure you that."

"How do you figure?"

"The Changeling Queen was boastful. She took too much pride in herself. Someone like that would never waste her victims until they've served their purpose."

"And that would be?"

"It's obvious, don't you think?"

"I know... I just thought you could've just said something to lighten the mood..."

"That's...not exactly my specialty. But at least you're doing much better than that stallion friend of yours."

The Doctor sat in the farthest side of the room. He was facing the wall, head lowered with a sullen expression. Like Octavia he had also remained silent for a long time. Derpy was sitting by his side, gently holding him with both arms and occasionally patting him on the back. The mare was using her feathers to wipe tears from his eyes.

"I had that dream again..." he said in a quiet, broken voice.

"And like I said before," Derpy replied with an assuring tone, "it wasn't your fault."

"But...I was right there! Couldn't I have just-?"

"You know what would've happened if you did. We all have to make tough decisions, right?"

He nodded slowly. "You'd think I'd know that by now... Derpy, can I ask you something?"

The mare let go of the Doctor and properly faced him. "What is it?"

"Why do you continue joining me on my adventures? After I let him... Is it because you just see me as a substitute for him?"

"Substitute?"

"I know you don't like talking about Six, but do you see me as nothing more than a replacement for him? He brought you adventure and excitement among other things. And I-...! Is that really different from you and me?"

Derpy turned around unresponsive. The Doctor reached out to her shoulder, but he ceased midway and stared down.

"Well, Derpy?"

"...You really are an idiot sometimes."

"Excuse me?" he said defensively.

"C'mon, Doc!" she said shaking him. "You're my friend! So what if you and Six were a lot alike? Friends stick by each other no matter what! Besides, I thought Twilight already taught you that?"

"I..." The Doctor did not know how to respond, but he soon chuckled. "Well Twilight's taught me a lot about Equestria, and I'm very grateful for her assistance...and her support." He sighed. "I just hope she's all right..."

Silence was dominant once again until Vinyl began trashing on the floor, this time more violently than her previous outbursts.

"Ugh! Does anypony have any idea on how to get out of here!"

"They can hear you." Octavia murmured.

"Hey, Doc! Don't you have anything?"

The stallion shook his head. "I'm afraid my screwdriver doesn't work on Equestrian locks. I could explain, but you would probably ask somepony else before-"

"Bon Bon! 'Tavi! Derpy! C'mon!"

"The only way we could get out is if the Queen commanded it." Octavia said. "Or in this case, anyone imitating Princess Cadenza, but I don't think either of them will-"

"Wait..." Bon Bon interrupted, "Cadance...?" She shifted her eyes towards Vinyl. "Quick, do you know any memory spells?"

"Er... Uh... Just that one spell that helps you remember what happened the last half hour ago since I kinda tend to forget the playlist order at some of my gigs. But I definitely know that Beat knows a couple of them."

"It's true," Octavia said, "but why do you need a memory?"

"I only heard a few words at best from Cadance," Bon Bon said, "I need more to work with!"

"The Doctor can do it." Derpy said plainly.

The mares all turned their heads towards the stallion. Sweat ran down his face as their stares became more intense. He was soon backed into the wall while Bon Bon gazed intently at his eyes.

"Is this true?"

He gulped. "Y-Yes, but why-?"

"No time! Give me everything you saw of that faker and I'll show you! Now!"

The Doctor sighed and told the mares to give him some space. He then seized Bon Bon's head and pressed his forehead against her own. Bon Bon eyes then widened, paralyzed with wonder as a surge of memories flowed into her mind. Within a few seconds, she relived the Doctor's entire encounter with Changeling Queen from his own eyes. She could even feel the Doctor's emotions which were..."complicated" to say the least. The flood of memories ceased once the stallion released her. Bon Bon stumbled back, but the Doctor quickly caught her.

"There. That's all you'll probably need. Now what?"

Bon Bon did not respond as she moved towards a corner next to the door, a blind spot for the slit used to peek inside. After clearing her throat, she began spouting a random series of words, each with a different pitch and tone. With each phrase the sound was deviating from the mare's natural voice until it was not even recognizable as her own.

"You fools!" she exclaimed in a near-perfect imitation of Cadance's voice. "What in the world are you doing? Help me, this instant!"

The guards looked at each other strangely. One rubbed his head while looking around. The other opened the exit door and peeked inside the hallway.

"Your Highness?"

"Yes! Who else would it be? One of them used magic to disguise herself and switched places with me! You've been following an impostor!"

"But then how did she know where-?"

"Stop asking questions and help your Queen!"

"You better do what she says." Octavia suddenly added. Her face was covering the slit. "I really don't want to get my hooves dirtier than they already are. Doctor, would be a dear and help me 'bond' with our new friend~?"

"Certainly!" the stallion happily exclaimed.

"W-Wait," Bon Bon said still using the princess' voice, "you not going to-! Open that door before they-Aaaugh!"

The Doctor and Octavia both kicked the wall on cue. Bon Bon coughed heavily and feigned anguished moans which was followed by only more rapid kicks against the hard stone.

"D-Don't lay another hoof on our Queen!" a guard exclaimed.

The door swung inward as the Changeling leaped inside, but he was perplexed to find no one but the prisoners. However, it was too late for him as Octavia already seized the opportunity the moment he came into her sight. The mare tackled the creature and held him against the wall with a powerful grip.

"Alright!" Vinyl exclaimed. "Way to go, Octavia!"

"Urgh! Pay attention! Behind you!"

Vinyl turn around to see the other guard trying to pounce on her, but he was knocked aside in a combined effort by the Doctor and Bon Bon. Meanwhile Derpy grabbed the unicorn and pulled her to a safer spot.

"Marvelous talent you have there, Bon Bon." the Doctor said as he retrained one of the Changeling's arms. "Hurgh! Is it natural to you or did you develop it?"

"Uh, kinda both I guess." She giggled while rubbing the back of her head. "When we were younger, Lyra and I were messing with some spells that we...shouldn't have been messing with in the first place. One of the spells backfired and Lyra ended up accidentally hit me with it. Long story short, my voice got messed up in a way that I could only speak in the voice of whoever I was thinking about."

"And you never sought medical attention?"

"I did, but the doctor said the circumstances mutated Lyra's spell, and it would be extremely difficult to undo. The best he could accomplish on his own was giving me better control of my own voice."

"Ah, so you've been refining this ability since then?"

"A little. Though I never thought I would actually need to use it like this!"

"Haha! A lot of ponies I meet tend to think that way regarding something about themselves. Now could you hold the door open for me?"

Bon Bon nodded and ran under the doorway calling for Vinyl and Derpy to follow. Once they were safely through, Octavia and Doctor faced each other with their respective captives. They both pushed forward, the Changelings' armor clanging upon impact as they dropped to the floor. The remaining ponies retreated with Bon Bon locking the door behind them.

"Dang," Vinyl said, "you two barely know each other and already make a good team."

"It's was the most logical thing to do." Octavia replied.

"And I trusted Octavia shared a similar idea~" the Doctor added.

"Yeah, yeah." the unicorn said. "Can we get outta here now? We still have an evil queen to stop!"

"Right you are! Shall we go then? Bon Bon, Vinyl, Octavia, Derpy... Derpy?"

The group's pegasus was the only one not present. Everyone soon turned to find her opening the door of an adjacent cell.

"Hey," Derpy said, "are you okay?"

Inside was a gray unicorn stallion lying on his side. His jet black mane was slightly overgrown and covering a small portion of his face. His cutie mark was a simple expressionless mask equally divided into white and black halves. The pony was dressed in a heavily torn black coat. His buttons were either missing or hanging loose and his red golden-laced collar was partially ripped off. The only piece left intact was his blue belt but even that looked like it was starting to wear out. The pony's condition was no better. Dark bruises covered his body, a majority of them centering around his face and culminating in a black eye. He was still conscious and began to stir after Derpy finished speaking.

"Ngh? Who-? What are you-?"

The pony was barely able to stand and on the verge of collapse, but Derpy quickly caught him and aided him through the doorway. She handed him to Octavia who began assessing his injuries.

"How did this happen?" Octavia asked as she began moving a hoof across his shirt.

"I'm...a member of Princess Cadenza's personal guard." he whispered. "My name is Onyx..."

His voice was weak. It was clearly difficult to utter anything more than a few words. Vinyl approached him and began casting magic. She did not know any healing spells besides a basic First Aid, but it was better than doing nothing.

"When the Changelings came," he continued, "I tried to protect her, but we were outnumbered. I fought back as long as I could. I think you can figure out what happened next...Urgh!"

"Don't push yourself!" Vinyl exclaimed. "Doc! Can't you help him?"

"I'm not that kind of doctor." the stallion replied. "Pony biology is still relatively new to me. I doubt I would be of much help."

"Then let's get him to a real doctor!"

"Even if we do take him," Octavia said, "I doubt there would be enough time to treat him. The Queen's plans are probably going to commence very soon."

"Then we'll split up again." the Doctor suggested. "Octavia, you obviously know your way around Canterlot the most out of any of us. You and Vinyl take this stallion to safety. Derpy and I will attend to the Queen. Bon Bon, what about you?"

The tan earth pony stared at both of her choices. Neither side cared for which one she chose, but rather that she did it quickly. Lyra was bound to be close to the Changelings. All Bon Bon had to do was search the castle for her. However, Onyx sounded like he was dying. Another pony would definitely speed up his transportation. Would two mares be able to protect him? Bon Bon figured that the Doctor and likewise Derpy were clearly experienced with these types of situations. Would she just be a burden if she joined them?

"Just bring her back, okay?"

The Doctor nodded. "I'll do my best."

The group agreed to stick together until they reached the castle's hallways. Onyx was carefully placed on Bon Bon's and Octavia's backs. Vinyl and the Doctor took the lead using magic and the sonic screwdriver respectively to light the way. The female earth ponies galloped closely behind them while Derpy hovered above Onyx, quickly grasping him if he ever began to slip.

Sunlight made a gracious return as the basement doors burst open. The pair of royal guards that had been guarding it were sent tumbling into the walls. Bon Bon and Octavia hurried past them with Vinyl now following and using her magic to keep Onyx steady. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Derpy approached one of the dazed guards. The stallion was still trying to steady his vibrating helmet.

"Sorry about that," the Doctor quickly said, "but where's the wedding being held?"

"Urgh... North part of the main courtyard, but its entrance is around the back."

"Thank you, sir. Let's go, Derpy! Allons-y!"

"Your welcome, sir..." He removed his helmet and grasped his head, rubbing an area he felt a bump starting to form. In a few seconds, he realized what had just occurred. "H-Hey! Wait! Stop!" However, it was too late for him. By the time his comrade recovered, the two ponies were gone.

Derpy flew beside the Doctor as they headed down the long corridors. They followed the progressively louder voices echoing down the halls. After a few turns they found some ponies a few meters ahead who were entering the wedding chamber.

"There it is!" Derpy exclaimed. "What now?"

"Blend in and do not draw attention to yourself."

The pair proceeded inside the chamber to find a large number of ponies already gathered inside. They were divided into two sections though it was clear family and friends were closer to the front. It appeared the rest was mostly determined by social standing. All of them were lined up, eagerly anticipating the bride's arrival.

The chamber itself was not large, but the towering height and tall, pointed-arch windows lining the walls gave that impression. There was not much variety in decorations, but they stood out once paired with the crowd. Large yellow tarps hung from the ceiling and converged on the chandelier in the center. Others also formed a bridge between the pillars on each side connecting the mounted flowerpots. Additional light came from the candelabras, two hanging from each pillar. The center had a long red, golden-lined carpet extending all the way to wedding gate adorned with flowers.

The Doctor and Derpy joined the group towards the right near the back of the room. They carefully distanced themselves from the entrance behind a few nobleponies. Peering above the others' heads, the Doctor spotted Twilight's friends wearing bridesmaid dresses.

"Hm? If Twilight's friends are there, then where are Lyra and the others?"

The new bridesmaids stood across from four of Shining Armor's aides-de-camp. The stallions were dressed the same clothing as Onyx although obviously not as heavily damaged.

"But it seems they never found a replacement for Onyx... Did he ever say exactly when he was captured?"

Finally, Princess Celestia stood atop the platform smiling as she gazed upon her subjects. Unlike the others she wore no formal attire. She retained the same look as any public appearance: her golden tiara, necklace, and shoes. The only thing that could add to this occasion would be the presence of Princess Luna, but it seemed she was absent for this occasion.

The groom himself stood in front of the wedding gate. Still wearing the same outfit from the previous night, he stood facing away from the crowd. However, the Doctor noted something peculiar. Shining Armor was motionless. Aside from rhythmic breathing, he did not seem to react to any stimulus. Not a single pony noticed this strange behavior, seemingly too preoccupied with anticipation.

"Derpy," the Doctor said nudging her, "keep an eye on the groom. Something is definitely wrong with him."

"Got it."

In a few seconds, a brigade of unicorns raised their trumpets to announce the arrival of the bride. The doors swung open as a trio of filly flower girls trotted down the aisle leaving a path of fuchsia petals. The Doctor recalled seeing them numerous times around Ponyville, mostly in strange antics in failed attempts of gaining their cutie marks. Seeing them sometimes made the Doctor feel a little guilty. He never actually "earned" a cutie mark yet he still had one. Of course he was never originally a pony to begin with and had already known his "special talent" beforehand. However, he still sometimes wondered about the "feeling" of receiving one.

Following the fillies was Princess Cadenza, but it was clear who she really was. She was dressed in Rarity's specially made wedding dress. It was still the same design the seamstress had originally but now with a purple bodice.

"Doc!" Derpy whispered. "Shining Armor turned his head! His eyes are green! In a creepy sort of way, I mean."

"The Queen must have entranced him. Shining Armor has no idea what's he doing."

"What now? I'm as fast as Rainbow Dash, but definitely think I could tackle her before even she notices."

"No. It would be useless to attack her right in the open. We'd just be arrested for assault. And I doubt many ponies would believe us revealing the truth."

"But Princess Celestia knows you! She could get everypony to listen!"

"I know that! But even the Princess has to play within legal limits too. She has no physical evidence. Forcing it out of the impostor would risk inducing massive panic. The only way we can move forward is getting the Queen to purposely expose herself."

The ceremony was proceeding uninterrupted. Princess Celestia stood between the false princess and bewitched captain reciting their oaths. It seemed Shining Armor retained some form of awareness as he responded with "I do" although with a dull monotone voice.

"Princess Cadance and Shining Armor," Celestia finally began, "it is my great pleasure to pronounce you-!"

"Stooooop!" a familiar voice exclaimed.

The Doctor turned his head and was both surprised and relieved to find Twilight standing beneath the doorway. Meanwhile the other ponies were discussing the mare's sudden intrusion. It appeared even Twilight's friends were annoyed by her presence. It seemed Twilight had recently garnered some notoriety.

"Ugh! Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother!" the impostor exclaimed as she stomped her hoof. She soon realized her uncharacteristic behavior after drawing a strange look from Celestia, "Why does she have to ruin my special day?" she asked feigning heartbreak.

"Because!" another familiar voice exclaimed. "It's not your special day! It's mine!"

The true Princess Cadenza appeared beside Twilight to the surprise of everyone, even more from the Doctor and Derpy. Many ponies gasped at these turn of events. Derpy was about to fly over and join her, but the Doctor held her back and shook his head.

"What! But how did you escape my bridesmaids?" the impostor angrily asked.

Twilight and Cadance exchanged knowing smiles. They explained their encounter with the original bridesmaids in the underground caverns and how they were easily able to distract them with the bouquet.

"Huh! Clever, but you're still too late!"

"I-I don't understand." Applejack said. "How can there be two of 'em?"

"She's a Changeling!" Cadance explained. "She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them!"

The Queen eyes glowed a ghastly green, furious now that her identity was revealed. She used her magic to surround herself in a circle of green fire which soon evolved into a bright spiraling pillar. Everyone nearby recoiled while the rest observed in fear. The impostor's wings molted to reveal insect-like wings as the rest of her body decomposed to reveal her true Changeling form. Compared to a pony she rivaled Princess Celestia in stature, and unlike her subordinates she had hair and a proper tail although they were made out of the same material as her wings.

"Hahahaha! Right you are, Princess! And as Queen of the Changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects."

Recalling Octavia's earlier statements, the Doctor took the chance to contact Cadance through telepathy.

"Princess Cadance, can you hear me?"

"D-Doctor! Where are-?"

"Keep you eyes on the Queen!" the stallion commanded. "Yes, I'm alive, but you must not let the Queen become suspicious."

"Equestria has more love than any place I have ever encountered." the Queen continued. "My fellow Changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we gain more power than we ever dreamed of!"

"Keep her distracted." the Doctor told Cadance. "We have other important business to take care of. I'm sure Twilight will be enough to handle this."

"They'll never get the chance!" the princess exclaimed at the Queen. She quickly glanced over to the Doctor and Derpy who quietly sneaking out of the room through a window. "Shining Armor's protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us!"

The Queen laughed. "Oh, I doubt that. Isn't that right, dear?"

The Changeling turned around with her glowing deformed horn. Shining Armor pupils glowed as he gave a simple nod. Cadance gazed at her manipulated groom in horror. She soon regained herself and charged forth but was quickly stopped by the Queen.

"Ah-ah-ah~" she said with her magic ready. "Don't want to go back to the caves now, do you?"

Cadance did not respond but still yielded to her threat.

"Ever since I took your place, I've been feeding of Shining Armor's love for you. Every moment he grows weaker and so does his spell. Even now my minions are chipping away at it!"

Still observing the conversation, Derpy looked up to see a swarms of black dots around Canterlot. Most of the Changelings were flying in place, but there was still a considerable number slamming themselves into the shield. No visible damage had appeared yet, but a weakening user also reflects his spell. It would not be long before it breaks. The pegasus dove towards the brown stallion and flew beside him as he was making his way towards the city.

"Hey, Doc! Why didn't we stay and help them?"

"She was stalling, Derpy."

"Well, duh! A little more time and an entire army's gonna invade Canterlot!"

"That's not it. With Shining Armor under her spell combined with the power gathered from his love, the Queen could have easily dispelled his magic, but she didn't. There's something more to this scheme than taking over Canterlot..."

"Like what?"

"I'll explain my theory later! Right now we need to speak with Onyx. He might be able to provide some missing links."

As the pair reached the outer edge of the city, there was the sound of glass shattering overhead. Shining Armor's shield was falling apart. The Changeling Invasion had begun.

"Let's just hope we get to him first..."

Author's Note

Reasons for delay:
- school work
- midterms
- college applications
- multiple illnesses in a row
- holiday commitments
- new videogames
- Steam winter sale
- procrastination