About a month has passed since the party, and everypony was busy. After all, they had a wedding to prepare for! A date was set up, a venue chosen, and guest list created. Many a day went by for Spike and Thorax where sleep was skipped, in order to continue setting up for their special day. But despite the stress, they wouldn’t have it any other way. However, as with all things in life, things didn’t go according to plan.

As the clock began to signal that moon was upon them, eight friends begin to set up a picnic. As the blanket was set down, everyone set down an item that they had decided to bring, before sitting down themselves. But before they could get settled and dig in, the sound of flapping wings could be heard approaching them at high speeds. Realizing what was about to happen, everyone braced, before the sound suddenly stopped. Spike, being confused, was the first to open his eyes, and notice Ditzy Doo, the local Mailmare, was stuck in a tree. As she struggled to get out, a muffled voice could be heard through the thick leaves.
”I just don’t know what went wrong!”

Rolling his eyes, Spike takes off, as the rest of the group begins to unbrace themselves. He quickly helps the poor postmare unstuck, earning a thanks from her before she fluttered to the ground. As she lands, the cross eyed deliverer looks into her mail pouch, and rifles within for a moment before pulling out a handful of letters.
”Hey guys! Got something I’m supposed to deliver! Your hands only. Let’s see here… eight different letters, all from Canterlot Castle! Wonder what the princess needs from you this time. Looks like that’s it! Gotta go.”
And before even a single thank you could be said, the mail-courier takes off, buzzing into the atmosphere.

As Ditzy flies off, Spike chuckles a bit as he sits back down.
”Good ol’ Ditzy. Can’t land to save her life.”
everyone shares a quick laugh, before returning their attention to the envelopes each one of them got.
”I wonder what the princess needed to tell us.”
” I hope it’s not another adventure. We’ve still got a lot to do for the wedding.”
”Ah doubt that sugar cube. Probably just needs to tell us somethin.”
”Ooh! Maybe she needs us to plan a party for an upcoming event, like the gala! Or maybe she wants us to try some of her baking! Or maybe that one or more of us have a deep dark secret that could threaten Equestria!”
” Darling… I doubt that last option.”
”Enough yapping! Let’s open these bad boys and see what’s inside!”
As the group opens their letters and pull them out, Twilight begins to read.
”Dear Twilight Sparkle, it is my honor to invite you to the wedding of princess Mi Amore Cadenza and… MY BROTHER?!”

As Twilight continues reading, Thorax is able to sense the emotions of his friends slowly become angrier.
”TOMORROW?! What the hell Shining! We’re already preparing for one wedding!”
”An’ who the hell is this Cadenza varmint? I thought he was datin’ Cadence?”
”Not cool man, not cool.”
But before anymore angry words could be spoken, Thorax speaks up.
”Well what if he didn’t have a choice?”
This catches everyone’s attention, so as they look to him he continues to speak.
”What if he needs to marry this Cadenza pony for a political deal? I mean, he is technically a noble. And what if this was the date that was chosen by the other country? It’s not like him to do that intentionally.”
As Thorax’s logic sinks in, tempers begin to lower. But instead, feelings of pity began to rise
” Those poor dears, forced to break up their love…”
”No one should ever force love, it’s not right…”
”Thats even less cool, on the part of this Cadenza chick.”
Suddenly, Twilight stands up, a look of determination on her face.
”Pack your bags everypony. We’re heading to Canterlot. Let’s see if we can fix this mess.”

It took them combined less than an hour to get ready and meet at the train station. Even Rarity packed light, finding fixing love was more important than packing enough clothes. They quickly boarded and began their journey to the capital, determination in their hearts. The ride was mostly uneventful, giving them plenty of time to chat and eat. But as Canterlot came into view, all their voices died down. The entire mountain was covered in a giant purple shield. As the train approached the bubble, everyone prepared for impact. But as they were about to crash, a small opening appeared, allowing the train through. The girls breathed a sigh of relief, glad that nothing happened. But to almost no-one’s notice, Thorax began to shake. Spike looked to his fiancé worry written on his face.
”You alright hon?”
Hearing Spike’s voice snapped him out of his trance, before he looked back to him.
”Yeah, sorry. I don’t know what happened, it just… felt like a pressure suddenly built up in my head. Weird.”

As the train pulled into the station, the group was greeted by Shining armor himself. Twilight and Spike rushed out, exited to see their brother, while the others slowly exited.
”BBBFF!”
”Shining! How you doing?”
”Hey Spike, hey Twilight. It’s good to see you. I’m doing good, all things considered.”
”Hey man, you okay? You look awful.”
”Yeah, it looks like you haven’t slept in days! Does this have to do with that Cadenza chick?”
”Wha? What do you mean?”
”Y’know, the girl you’re marrying?”
”You mean Cadence?”

For but a moment, all is peaceful. Sadly, the moment ended rather quickly, as an angry Twilight tends to not mix well with silence.
”WHAT?!”
”Whoa, Twi, calm down!”
”Calm down? First, you know Spike’s gonna get married soon, and you set up your wedding for now anyways! Secondly, you you tell me this over letter, and not in person, and Thirdly, you told me JUST ONE DAY BEFOREHAND!”
As Twilight unleashed a verbal barrage, Shining backs up a bit, before defending himself.
”Im sorry, I didn’t have a choice! First I finally proposed to Cadence just a two weeks ago, thinking we could have our wedding a month or two after theirs. But a few days ago Cadence said she wanted to get married sooner, so we bumped up the date a bit. And shortly after that, somepony sent in a threat, causing the city to be put under lockdown! I have to power the shield spell, so I couldn’t tell you guys in person!”
As Shining explained, Twilight began to finally calm down.
”Okay… okay. That makes sense. I’m sorry for snapping on you. I was just stressed. At first I thought you were being forced into a political marriage, and then hearing that you weren’t, it just made me angry.”
”Hey, it’s okay. We all have those days. Now let’s get you and your friends to the castle. We’ve got some carriages ready, to make it easier.”

The trip to the castle was uneventful, allowing the siblings to catch up with each other.
”So how’s your guy’s preparations going?”
”They’re going good. Got a venue picked out, catering’s been planned, and the suits are coming along well. What about you? Have your preparations been going well?”
” I wish. Because of the sudden date change, we’ve had to rush preparations. And not to mention that threat, making it even harder. We’ve been trying to find who and what we need to prepare, but haven’t had much success.”
”Thats awful! Is there anything we can do to help?”
”Maybe. I’d have to talk to Cady first. She’s been really grumpy lately,and has been strict with who we can pick. I think the nerves are getting to her.”

After a few minutes, the carriages came to a stop in front of the castle, before opening their doors. Spike is the first to descend, shortly followed by Thorax and then Twilight. As the girls in the other carriages begin to disembark, Twilight looks around, looking for either her mentor or her former babysitter. As her eyes wander, they soon land upon Cadence, speaking to some castle staff. Ecstatic, Twilight quickly runs up to her.
”CADENCE!”
Cadence turns to look at Twilight, as she stops a few feet in front of her. And then, Twilight begins to dance.
” Sunshine sunshine ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!”
But as Twilight finishes up, she looks to Cadence, who did not reciprocate the dance. In fact, if anything, she looked disgusted.
”I was doing something, what do you want?”

As Cadence speaks to her, Twilight’s ears flatten.
”Oh! Uhm, sorry Cadence. I was just exited to see you.”
”… and?”
”S-sorry Cadence. I’ll just-“
”Upupup! No Cadnece. While you’re hear for my wedding, you call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Now go away, I have things I need to do.”
With a dejected sigh, Twilight begins to walk away, not noticing her younger brother until she ran into him.
”Hey Twi, you okay?”
”Not really. I got too exited to see Cadence, and interrupted something important to try and do our dance.”
” That doesn’t seem like Cadence.”
”Yeah, I know. But it’s her wedding. I understand that she’s under a lot of stress. Well, I’ll go grab out bags.”
As Twilight walks away, Spike gives her a small nod, before looking to Cadence, eyes narrowing. He didn’t know why, but something felt… wrong.

Spike had been suspicious of Cadence. Even if it was her wedding, he knew she would never act that way to Twilight. It’s just not like her. So deep in his thoughts was he, that Spike didn’t notice Thorax until he tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump.
” Are you alright? You look troubled, my love.”
Spike sighed, before turning to Thorax.
”Yeah, just thinking.”
”About what?”
”This whole wedding. A lot of weird things are going on right now. First the sudden date change, then this threat and the shield, and finally Cadence’s shift in personality. It’s all suspicious.”
Thorax’s eyes shrunk a bit, as he took in what Spike had told him. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, he was paralyzed. The strange feeling from earlier had returned, and much more pronounced this time. And for some reason, it had returned as the bride to be walked by.

As she disappeared around a corner, Thorax was finally let go from the pressure in his head. As he came back to his senses, the first thing he saw as he looked around was Spike, a concerned look plastered on his face.
”Thor, you alright? What’s wrong?”
Thorax quickly shook off the rest of the shock, looking to his fiancé with fear in his eyes.
”Thats not the princess.”
”What do you mean?”
”When we first got here, I felt that strange pressure in my head. Well as she walked by, I felt it again, but increased by tenfold.”
”Does that mean it could be?-“
”I don’t know. But it’s too big a coincidence to ignore. We need to keep an eye on her. Otherwise…”
Thorax looked to his friends, all excitedly talking to each other after Princess Celestia tasked them with helping with the wedding. Seeing his family so exited, so happy, and so oblivious… it made him truly hope he was wrong. Because otherwise, he could lose everything once more.

Eventually, Spike had been given a task as well. He was to patrol the perimeter of the dome, making sure that there were no threats. This left Thorax alone. And Thorax, while sad he wasn’t able to spend time with any of his friends or his lover, was ecstatic. For now, he had the perfect opportunity to keep an eye on the impostor. As the day went on, Thorax secretly tailed Cadence and Twilight. And as he watched from the sidelines, he was able to notice things that even Twilight wasn’t able to. From some of the guards acting strange around the princess, to small splotches of green goo left in corners, and even the sudden color change of Cadence’s magic from pink to green. And as he found each piece of evidence, his hope that this had all been a coincidence slowly faded. There was no chance that all of this wasn’t connected. she was here, and her plans were likely already set into motion. All he could do, was try to mitigate as much damage as he could. And that started with finding where the real Cadence was.

As the light began to fade, and the day began to end, eight friends sat outside at a local cafe. As they shared how their day’s went, and joked around, Twilight looked upset. Eventually, the others take notice.
”Hey Twi, what’s wrong?”
”Something’s wrong. I can feel it.”
”What’dya mean? Everything’s going great!”
”I must agree with Rainbow darling. Everything has been going magnifique!”
”Yeah, it’s been going great, but have any of you noticed what’s wrong with Cadence?”
”She just seems on edge. Weddings can be stressful.”
”But this is ridiculous! Throwing away AJ’s fritters, was over demanding with the dresses of her bridesmaids, and insulting Pinkies work. She’s not like this! Something is wrong.”
”Just seems to me that you don’t want your brother to get married.”

As the words leave Rainbow’s mouth, Twilight’s ears flatten.
”Wha-?”
”Yeah sugarcube, it just sounds like yer scared to lose him.”
”It’s okay darling, he’ll be fine. You don’t need to be overprotective.”
As more of her friends side against her, Twilight begins to rethink herself. Maybe she was being overprotective. That is, until Spike, who has been silent for this entire time, finally speaks up.
”Thats all well in good, but do any of you actually know her?”
As everypony turns to look at Spike, he continues to sit there, awaiting an answer.
”Well yeah! We met her during your engagement party!”
”Okay, so you met her a month ago. But that doesn’t mean you actually know her.”
”Whatever do you mean darling?”
”Do you know she hates being called Mi Amore Cadenza? Or that she loves treats from sweet apple acres? Or how her dream wedding had a giant chocolate fountain in it? Or the fact that ever since Twilight was a filly, whenever the two met they did a little dance?”

As Spike lists off more and more secrets of the princess, the others look on, with widening eyes.
”Why tell us all this though?”
”Because you need to know that Twi, Thorax and I have known her for years. Longer than you guys have. And when we notice something off about her, it means something’s wrong.”
”Well in all honesty darling, she is getting married. And she is royalty. It’s a very stressful and important time of her life!”
But before Spike could respond, Thorax proposed a question.
”Let me ask you girls this. Spike and I are getting married. And it’s when I plan to reveal my secret to the world. How much have our personalities changed?”
”That’s not the point we’re tryin’ to make. ”
”Besides, your wedding isn’t for another month. The princess’s wedding is tomorrow. It makes sense to stress out the day before you get married.”
Shaking his head, Thorax just gets up, and begins to walk away, shortly followed by Spike. They tried, but sometimes, glamor clouds judgement.

As the two get back to their rooms, they ponder on what to do next.
”This isn’t good. The girls are too enraptured by planning a princesses wedding, they can’t see the bigger picture.”
”Twilight is at least catching on.”
”But there lies another problem. She’s being to open about her distrust, if someone were to hear it…”
”I should keep an eye on her.”
”Thorax, no. It’s too dangerous. Let me do it.”
”Im sorry Spike, but it has to be me. I know more about changelings than everyone else, and I know how to blend in. Not being able to disguise has helped me get good at not being noticed. While you… no offense honey, but you stuck out like a tree in the desert.”
Spike sighed at Thorax’s logic. He couldn’t argue with that.
”Okay, fine. You keep an eye on her. Just be safe, okay? If I lost you…”
Thorax giggled at Spike’s overprotective nature, before embracing him.
” I will my love.“

As the moon grew closer to its apex, Twilight walked towards the wedding rehearsal, determination in her eyes. It was now or never. She had to expose her now, otherwise she would lose her brother forever. As she grew closer and closer to the ballroom, one could swear the shadows themselves were following her, as if in her support. As she burst open the doors to the ballroom, her friends let out a gasp. It was now or never.
”I here! I’m not going to stand next to her, and neither should you!”

Twilight sat alone within the ballroom. They… they all left her. The friends who were supposed to stand by her side, all abandoned her. After everything she saw, she was sure she was right. But after that, seeing Cadence so distraught, and Shining so mad… Could she have been wrong? And now she had nothing. Her friends probably hated her now, the princess has practically disavowed her, and her brother… her brother disowned her. Her BBBFF, one of her best friends… no longer wants anything to do with her. The only ones she still had were Spike and Thorax, but they seemed to have disappeared. Feeling more alone than ever, she slowly walked to a nearby balcony, before looking off the edge. It was a long ways down. Maybe she should just… But before she could come to a deduction, she heard something behind her. Quickly turning around, she was greeted by a flash of green, before everything went dark. The last thing she heard before being enveloped in unconsciousness was a sinister laugh.

Thorax watched on in horror. How could they just leave her like that? He understood Shining at least, for changeling venom could mess with one’s mind. But her friends? The princess? How could they just… abandon her? Of course, she had just burst in and thrown around accusations of evil, but that was not the point. Weren’t friends and mentor’s supposed to be willing to listen to others concerns? Especially if one is obviously mentally unwell? As he pondered, he almost didn’t notice her walk to the balcony. As he finally noticed, his heart skipped a beat: she was about to make the same mistake that he himself had almost made. But before he could rush to save her from herself, a flash of green interrupted him, before he fell to the floor.

As he lay unmoving, he knew that she had caught him. And soon, she would catch Twilight as well. As he and Twilight were picked up in her magic, he knew he had to leave some sort of trail to follow. And in his panic, he did something he never knew he could do: he began to release pheromones. And as he and Twilight were taken deeper into the castle, a trail was left behind, that the queen somehow wasn’t able to notice. When they eventually made it to wherever they were being taken, she threw them to the ground, before laughing. As Twilight finally began to stir again, she looked them both in the eyes, as an unnatural smile grew on her face.
”Iwin.”
And with that, she slammed the door, locking them in.

Author's Note

The second to last chapter of this story! After this, only one more and the epilogue will be left! What will happen during the infamous wedding? Will Twilight and Thorax escape? Will the mane six regret their actions? And where is Spike? All this and more will be answered in the next episode of dragon ball - I mean final dying roar!