Chapters Twilight and her friends sat on a picnic on a beautiful sunny day, just enjoying themselves and spending time as friends.
"What a beautiful day, wouldn't you agree girls?" Rarity asked the ponies.
"It is quite lovely." Fluttershy replied with a warm smile.
"Sigh, couldn't we have chose to do something more exciting?" Rainbow Dash asked, bored out of her mind.
"Dash, you know we can't all go to see the Wonderbolts perform their stunts. Not all of us can walk on clouds." Applejack told Dash.
"You know I meant something else AJ!" Dash protested.
"Let's just be glad we were all able to take time out of our day to enjoy this beautiful sunny day." Twilight told her friends.
However, they were soon approached by Spike rushing over to the picnic.
"Twilight, I have a message for-" He burped out a letter for Twilight to read.
Twilight opened the letter.
"'Dear Twilight, I am sure you are as excited as I am for the upcoming wedding in Canterlot.' Wedding?" Twilight read out loud to her friends.
"'I will be presiding over the ceremony, but would very much like you and your friends to help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion. Fluttershy, you will provide the music with your songbird choir, Pinkie Pie, you will host the reception, Applejack, you will be in charge of the catering for the reception, Rainbow Dash will perform a sonic rainboom when the bride and groom finish their I do's, Rarity will design the dresses for the bride and bridesmaids, and Twilight, you will be making sure everything in the wedding goes as planned. Yours truly, Princess Celestia.'" Twilight read, before she examined the letter closely.
"But I don't understand, who's getting married?" Twilight asked.
"Oops, heh heh, I was probably meant to give you this one first..........." Spike sheepishly handed over another letter to Twilight.
"'Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and' GASP, my brother?!" Twilight gasped, as she realized her brother was getting married to somepony she never heard of before.
"Well congratulations Twilight! You're gonna be a sister in law!" AJ congratulated her friend as she hugged her tight.
"Yes, to somepony I don't even know! Why didn't Shining Armor tell me in person that he was getting married?!" Twilight groaned.
"But this is still an important moment for him, the least you can do is be supportive." Fluttershy told Twilight.
"But Shining Armor and I have always been so close! Before I moved to Ponyville he was the only pony I accepted as a friend, and now he just suddenly decides to start a new family with princess Mi Amore ca-what's her face?" Twilight complained.
"Twilight, I know how much it means to you, and I know it's upsetting to have things drastically change like this, but I'm sure your brother has a good reason for not telling you personally. The least you can do is be there for him during his big day." Applejack told her friend.
"Sigh......... I guess you're right. I guess I'm just worried he won't have any time for me anymore now that he's going to have a wife..........." Twilight lamented to AJ.
"Twi, you're his sister........ He'll always have time for you." Applejack assured before giving her a warm hug, as Twilight embraced and hugged back.
"Come on Everypony! We have a wedding to plan!" Pinkie rallied her friends, as they headed to the train station to travel to Canterlot.
Chapter 2. A disturbing revelation
Twilight and her friends soon arrived at Canterlot. However, they noticed it was heavily guarded. Not to mention there was a giant shield protecting the whole capital.
"What's with all the tight security around the joint?" Dash asked.
"Perhaps they are taking extra precautions to make sure no one disrupts the wedding." Rarity speculated.
"Whatever the case, I'm going to confront him on why he sent me a piece of paper instead of himself!" Twilight huffed, as she headed inside the city to confront her brother, leaving her friends concerned.
Shining Armor was railing the troops to head to their posts.
"I've got something to say to you mister!" Twilight walked up to the castle, when the guards armed their spears at the unicorn.
"Twily! It's ok she's with me!" Shining assured the guard to lower their weapons, as he headed down to greet his little sister.
"I missed you so much I-" Shining was cut off by his sister.
"Why didn't you tell me in person that you were getting married?! Am I not that important to you anymore?......" Twilight asked her brother, as she teared up.
"Of course you're important to me! It's just that I need to ensure protection for Canterlot. For there's been a.......... Major, disturbance........." Shining Armor stated.
"What disturbance?............" Twilight asked her brother.
"Sigh................... Discord has escaped." Shining Armor dropped the bomb on his sister.
"What?! How?! And when?! Why didn't the princess send us to deal with him?! Where is he?!" Twilight bombarded her brother with questions.
"We don't know! Discord hasn't been seen since he broke out of his stone prison, we were ordered to protect Canterlot so that it wouldn't be tainted by his magic. Ponyville and the other corners of Equestria haven't been tainted, as I'm sure you know. But we don't know where he is or what he has planned.......... Which is why the princess selected me to protect Canterlot." Shining Armor told his sister, as he boosted his magic on the shield on Canterlot, which gave him a slight migraine.
"It is my duty to protect Canterlot to make sure it doesn't fall in ruin, my magic is the only thing protecting Canterlot from turning upside down. You understand, don't you?........." Shining Armor asked his little sister.
"I guess I do............." Twilight said, tearing up a bit.
"I guess, you could always be my best mare, if it could make you feel better." Shining Armor suggested, which gave Twilight a smile.
"I'd love to." She said, as she embraced her B.B.B.F.F with a hug...........................
"But I'm still pretty ticked you're marrying somepony I don't even know! When did you even meet this "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?'" Twilight confronted her brother.
"Twily, Princess Cadenza, is Cadance." Shining revealed.
"Cadance? As in THE Cadance? As in the greatest foalsitter in the history of foalsitters?!" Twilight beamed happily.
"You tell me, she was your foalsitter." Shining chuckled.
"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh! Cadance is only the most amazing pony ever! She's wonderful, she's innocent, she's generous! She's everything I could ever ask for in a foalsitter!" Twilight hyped up, as the scene cuts to show a flashback of Twilight and Cadance when they were foals.
"I'm so lucky to have you as my foalsitter!" A young Twilight told a young Cadance as she pushed her on a swing set.
"I'm the one who's lucky Twilight." Cadance assured.
"Please! You're a princess! I'm just a regular old unicorn....." Twilight lamented.
"You are ANYTHING but a regular unicorn." Cadance assured Twilight, as they began their signature dance.
"Sunshine sunshine! Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Twilight and Cadance sung, as they laughed. Happy to have each other no matter what.
The scene then cut back to the present.
"I can't believe you are going to marry Cadance! You're marrying Cadance! You're marrying Cadance! You're marrying Cadance!" Twilight jumped up and down around her brother, until she bumped into..........
"Yes? You called for me?" Cadance encountered Twilight for the first time in years.
"Cadance! Sunshine sunshine! Lady bugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" Twilight sung, welcoming Cadance back after so long.
"Umm, what are you doing?........" Cadance asked Twilight, looking as though she never seen her before.
"Cadance it's me! Twilight!" Twilight tried to remind Cadance...........
"Right, Sorry Twilight but I don't have time to gallop in the sunshine right now, maybe some other time........." Cadance "assured" Twilight, as she walked over to her groom.
"What?............" Twilight muttered to herself........
"I'll be at my post, while Cadance checks in on the wedding preparations. I'm sure we all feel that it was wonderful that you and your friends get to spend this wonderful occasion with us, right dear?" Shining asked his bride for support.
"Why yes, dear........" Cadance assured her groom, as they both left to their rooms.
Twilight merely looked on, as she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. She just didn't know what..........................
Chapter 3. Wedding nerves
Twilight sat in the kitchen, levitating a checklist as AJ prepared the catering for the wedding.
"Cake, check. Ice sculpture, check. Best darn bite-size apple fritter you ever tasted-" AJ checked the list, as she stuffed an apple in Twilight's mouth.
"mmm, check." Twilight checked, as she tasted the apple fritter.
"I just can't wait for the wedding! I've never been to one of these before. Aren't you excited Twilight?" Spike asked Twilight.
"I don't know Spike, it's just that Cadance acted so........... Different back there..........." Twilight speculated.
"Different how? You've known her for years, what was she like?" Spike asked.
"I know she was always happy to see me, and I know she was always vibrant with personality! It seemed to me like she was............ Trying not to draw attention to herself, but why would-" Twilight was suddenly interrupted by the doors opening.
"Hiya princess!" Applejack greeted as she walked in.
"Please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza." Cadance requested in an over exaggerated regal tone, almost as if she was subtly mocking her own name.
Twilight raised an eyebrow at Cadance's request.............
"Hiya Princess Mi Amore Cadenza! You've come to check out what's on the menu for your big day?" AJ asked the princess.
"Why yes, I have." Cadance answered in a forced delighted tone. As she walked towards the food, she subtly looked around the room as Twilight stared at her suspicious of her behavior.
"Mmm, delicious. You've really outdone yourself Applejack. I think I'll take a few to go." Cadance requested.
"Why it means so much coming from you princess! You enjoy the food, and try not to spoil yourself!" AJ told Cadance, as she lifted the bag and walked out the room.
"Was it necessary to congratulate her by name?............." Twilight eyed Cadance suspiciously, as she headed out to oversee the dresses.
Later...................
"I'm telling you Rarity, there's just something off about the way Cadance is behaving." Twilight told her friend.
"Why it's her wedding day darling! It's normal to feel nervous on such a day." Rarity assured Twilight.
"Yes, but she wasn't just nervous! She wasn't herself! 'please, call me Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.'" Twilight mimicked Cadance's mockery of her own name from earlier.
"Ya rang?" Cadance overheard her name being mentioned,
"Your highness! Let me just start by saying what an honor it is to play a role in such a momentous occasion." Rarity greeted the bride.
"Yes yes yes of course, how are the dresses?" Cadance asked.
"Well, I've been working on it ever since I was given the assignment, and I think you'll be pleased with the results." Rarity beamed with positivity over the princesses approval.
"I was hoping for something with more beading and a longer train." Cadance stated.
"Oh yes, of course." Rarity took notes of her request.
"And those should be a different color." Cadance glanced at the other dresses.
"I think they're lovely!" One bridesmaid stated.
"Me too!"
"I love them!"
Cadance merely coughed a bit, causing the bridesmaids to look at each other confused.
"Make them a different color, please." Cadance politely asked, as she left with the bridesmaids to inspect the reception.
"At least she knows her manners........." Twilight speculated, as she left to check the reception as well.
Later................
"Ok, we've been over the games," Pinkie went over the activities as Cadance watched, she went over and rolled a dice on the board as she gave Cadance a smile.
"The dances," Pinkie activated the music and danced like a chicken.
"Oh! I think this reception is gonna be perfect! Don't you?" Pinkie asked the bride.
"Absolutely! Never change Pinkie Pie." Cadance told the party pony, as she left with a slight grin on her face.
"Thank you!" Pinkie thanked, as Twilight watched from behind a pillar, eyeing Cadance closely..........
Later.................
"Bet I can guess what you're all thinking. Cadance is the weirdest bride to be, ever." Twilight told her friends, as they all looked at her with doubtful stares.
"Twilight, a lot is going on at the moment. I'm sure that any unusual behavior is a result of nerves." Rarity assured Twilight.
"But Rarity, it's not just that she's feeling nervous, it's like she's a completely different pony! She barely acknowledged me, she mocked her own name for some reason, she coughed when the bridesmaids complimented the dresses, and she seems to have a thing for talking to you by name, even though she's never interacted with you before! Doesn't that seem a bit odd?" Twilight asked her friends.
"Well of course she mentioned our names! She may never interacted but she does know them, she's just being polite." Pinkie excused.
"She's probably just trying to relax Twi, It's her wedding and they need to protect Canterlot from Discord. It's probably just a distraction." Applejack assured Twilight.
"I don't know.......... It just seems wrong to me............ Very wrong............" Twilight lamented, as she left the table to confront Shining Armor about his bride.
Author's Note
Cadance's magic aura is blue while eating the fritters.
Chapter 4. Uncalled accusations
Shining Armor was playing with his medallion of the guard, until Twilight knocked on the door.
"Twilly! Come in." Shining Armor opened the door to let her in.
"Your big brother's looking pretty good, don't you think?" Shining asked his sister.
"We need to talk." Twilight told Shining.
"About what?" Shining asked Twilight.
"Have you noticed your bride acting...... Weird?....." Twilight asked her brother.
"Well, a little bit. But she's probably just coping because of Discord, it's stressful times right now and she's probably got a lot going on right now." Shining assured his sister.
"But all I'm saying is that-" Twilight was interrupted by Cadance.
"Oh, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Cadance asked the two siblings.
"No, no not at all.........." Shining assured his bride.
"Good, because there's something I need to talk to you about, in private........" Cadance told her fiance, as she went inside the broom closet.
"Better see what she wants." Shining told his sister, as he went inside the closet.
Twilight couldn't help but sneak and eves drop on what they were talking about.
"Listen, you need to not wear that silly medallion." Cadance told Shining.
"This was my favorite uncle's." Shining told Cadance.
"'Was'. Just take it off." Cadance told her groom.
"I'm wearing it at the wedding." Shining protested.
"Perhaps I don't make myself clear." Cadance stated, as Shining suddenly felt woozy and slow.
"You will not wear that medallion at the wedding." Cadance commanded Shining.
"I will not wear this medallion at the wedding." Shining repeated like a robot, as he took off the medallion and threw it in the trash bin.
Twilight couldn't believe what she was seeing, Cadance had some kind of grip on Shining's mind!
"There, that's better." Cadance stated, as Shining slowly regained his senses.
"She's not just unusual and strange, she's downright evil!" Twilight quietly exclaimed, as she ran off to warn her friends.
"Twilight?" Shining called out to his sister as he saw her running through the door.
"Let her go." Cadance told her groom, as she gently rubbed her head on his shoulder.
Shining merely stared at the door in contemplation..........
Twilight ran into her and her friend's room as she tried to warn them.
"Shining Armor's in danger! We have to help-" Twilight halted her speech when she saw her friends wearing dresses.
"Can you believe it? We're gonna be Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's new bridesmaids!" Fluttershy exclaimed with glee.
"What happened to her old bridesmaids?!" Twilight asked.
"She didn't say, she just stated to us that it would be absolutely wonderful to fill in for them." Applejack stated.
"Oh, I can't wait to be part of the wedding!" Pinkie Pie cheered.
Twilight merely stared in desperation, before slowly walking out the door.
"I really am all alone........." Twilight lamented, as she head out to figure out how to save her brother.
Later................
The ponies plus Spike were now practicing the wedding rehearsal, as the mane 5 headed inside the hall.
"Perfect girls, no need to rush." Celestia assured, as some of the ponies giggled to themselves.
"Then of course, Cadance will enter." Celestia stated, as the guards opened the doors to let Cadance in.
As Cadance approached the alter, Celestia gestured Shining to get the ring from his best mare.
However, they noticed that Twilight wasn't in the room.
"Wha- where is Twilight?" Shining asked the ponies, until the doors opened.
"Right here!" Twilight announced as she barged into the room.
"I'm sorry, I don't why she's acting like this." Shining told his bride.
"It's ok, maybe the rehearsal can still happen WITH her." Cadance suggested.
"No! There is no rehearsal! Because there is no wedding! Because SHE'S, EVIL!" Twilight pointed an accusatory hoof at Cadance, earing several gasps from several ponies.
"She's acted suspicious towards my friends, she's obviously done something to her bridesmaids, and if that wasn't enough, she's able to command Shining to do her bidding through brainwashing!" Twilight stated to everypony, as all of them looked either shocked or angry.
"There is something wrong with her, and I'm not going to let her hurt my brother!" Twilight exclaimed, as she cornered Cadance to a wall.
However, Cadance merely sobbed.
"Wha- why I would never! Why are you doing this to me?" Cadance exclaimed, as she burst out of the room in tears.
"Because you're evil! EVIL! And if I don't stop you, you're going to ruin my brother's life!" Twilight lashed out at Cadance from across the hall.
Everypony looked on in shock at Twilight's outburst.
However, Twilight was soon met with a very angry Shining Armor.
"You have some nerve little filly, I dropped my medallion because I knew arguing wasn't getting anywhere. And she decided to replace her bridesmaids because she found out the only reason they wanted to be in the wedding was to meet Canterlot royalty! And the reason she's been acting weird towards your friends, was because with everything going on at the moment, she's been distracted trying to FOCUS for the wedding! And yet you accuse her of being awful when all she's tried to do is be my bride!" Shining Armor lashed out at his younger sister, who was on the verge of tears over his argument.
"Now, I'm going to comfort her, while you stay out of my wedding." Shining coldly told Twilight, as he left the room to comfort his bride.
Twilight looked back at her friends, who slowly approached her........
"You need some time to calm down Sugercube." Applejack told Twilight, as she and the others left to comfort the bride as well.
"I hope you're happy." Celestia coldly stated, as she left with the others as she shut the door.
Twilight was on the verge of tears, as she was left alone at the alter.........
"Maybe I was being paranoid.............. Maybe Cadance wasn't the one trying to ruin the wedding............. Maybe I was just trying to have my brother all for myself...................." Twilight lamented, as she sobbed on the floor uncontrollably..........
However, she soon heard hoof steps, and she felt a hoof gently rub her head, as she saw Cadance comforting her.
"I'm so sorry." Twilight desperately apologized.
However, Cadance's warm smile slowly turned into a small frown.
"You WILL be." She threatened, as Twilight felt something grabbing her leg.
To her horror, she turned around to see that the ground itself was dragging her into it, and pulling her inside the floor.
Cadance merely watched with a malicious smile.
As Twilight was consumed by the ground, Cadance turned around with a wicked smile on her face.
Chapter 5. The mastermind revealed
Twilight awoke to darkness, everywhere........
She lit up her horn to see her surroundings, and found herself in a dark, crystal cave........
"Hello?" She called out for anyone to answer, but only her echo responded.
"Is someone there?" She called out again, still no answer.
She bumped into a glass that reflected her image, as she heard a feminine cackle echo through the caves........
"Where am I?......" Twilight asked, hoping somepony would respond.
"The caves beneath Canterlot, once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside." The image of "Cadance" on the glass shards revealed, startling Twilight.
"And now.......... your new home." "Cadance" stated with a sadistic grin.
"Help! HELP!!!" Twilight called for anypony to come help her.
However, "Cadance" merely laughed evilly.
"It's no use! No one can hear you, and no one would ever think to look for you either." "Cadance" gloated, as "her" image projected through many of the crystals filling the caves.
"I KNEW you were up to no good! Just you wait! I'm gonna get out of here, and you'll pay for what you did to me and my brother, Cadance!" Twilight threatened.
"'Cadance?'" "Cadance" merely smacked "her" lips in disappointment.
"I thought I made it obvious that I wasn't that goody four hooves Alicorn. I mean there were clues everywhere! Hah! And you're supposed to be the smart one." "Cadance" taunted.
"What........ What are you talking about?......." Twilight was confused.
"Oh don't play coy with me Sparkle face, think back to before you found yourself in this predicament, before the rehearsal, the pieces of the puzzle were always there, you just didn't look hard enough." "Cadance" told Twilight, as she thought back to when she arrived in Canterlot.
"Discord has escaped."
"Discord is the mischievous spirit of disharmony."
"We don't know where he is or what he has planned."
"Cadance it's me! Twilight!"
"Right....."
"Pinkie Pie's is a personal favorite of mine, laughter."
"Never change Pinkie Pie."
"So you know who we are, big deal!"
"She seems to have a thing for talking to you by name, even though she's never interacted with you before!"
"You will not wear that medallion at the wedding."
"I will not wear this medallion at the wedding."
"Girls why are you all acting like this?! We need to stick together!"
That last thought echoed in Twilight's head, as she just now realized that she was right for the wrong reasons......
"No.......... No! It can't be!" Twilight panicked.
"Oh, but it IS." "Cadance" stated, as "her" voice slowly turned into a deeper, older, masculine voice. As "her" appearance shifted from a pink pony, to a goat head with a deer antler and goat horn.
Discord merely laughed at Twilight's shock and horror as she realized that it was him the whole time.
"DISCORD! I should have known it was you!" Twilight growled at the spirit of chaos and disharmony.
"But you didn't, did you? And look where that got you." Discord taunted the purple unicorn through the glass.
"Why are you doing this?! I thought your goal was to spread chaos! Not impersonate ponies!" Twilight didn't understand Discord's goal.
"Yes well, while I was trapped in my stone confinement, I was thinking about how little scale my chaos reached the last time I was free. Ponyville wasn't enough, it was only a small little village with small little ponies in a small little crater. So this time, I thought big, and decided to target Canterlot instead. Figuring it would be the perfect chaos capital, seeing as it was a capital already." Discord explained, making sure Twilight was paying attention like a teacher eyeing a distracted student.
"However, the princess quickly took note of my escape, and was able to warn captain Shining Armor so he could spread that little spell connected to the elements, guess the elements of harmony flow through blood, hmm?" Discord stated, as Twilight realized that as Shining Armor's sister, he too is connected to the elements.
"But, what they failed to see is that I can lurk within the city of Canterlot, I just can't spread my chaos to the extended city. That was going to be a huge problem if I wanted to turn it into the next chaos capital of the world, so I had to think outside the box for this one. I knew I had to find a way to cancel Shining Armor's spell.......... Then I realized, Shining Armor has a new loving mare friend, and is going to get married to her on THIS, DAY." Discord stated, as Twilight looked worried about what Discord could have done.
"What did you do with Cadance?" Twilight growled.
"Oh, that's not important. What IS important, is that by Discording your precious brother, it makes him disconnected to the elements, and cancels his chaos cancelling magic." Discord explained, as he waved his paw in front of his face. And when it went over his head, revealed the face of Cadance once more.
"And what better way to get close to him then by taking the image of the pony he's getting married to?" Discord asked in her voice, clearly meant to upset Twilight further.
Twilight had reached her breaking point, the demon had impersonated her foal sitter, tricked her into thinking she had turned bad, turned her friends against her, and was planning on brainwashing her brother until he was no longer himself.
"Don't you DARE do anything to my brother! You-......... YOU MONSTER!!!" Twilight lashed out, however, "Cadance" merely looked amused at Twilight's sudden outrage.
"Only way to stop me is to catch me!" "Cadance" taunted, before disappearing on one set of crystals and appearing on another while laughing maniacally.
"Over here!" "She" called out, as Twilight blasted the crystal "she" was on, bouncing the spell of the walls of the cave nearly hitting Twilight before it dispersed.
"Nope! Over here!" "Cadance" laughed maniacally as Twilight blasted almost every crystal in the cave, she knew he was just toying with her. But it still made her furious.
And once she blasted the last crystal, she saw the form of Cadance. All bruised up and sitting on the floor.
Twilight, enraged, charged to tackle her.
"NO! Wait!" The pink pony begged, but Twilight tackled her.
"Please! Don't hurt me!........................ Twilight it's me........." Cadance assured, but Twilight looked at her doubtfully.
"Please! You have to believe me! I've been imprisoned just like you! I'm not Discord!" Cadance tried to get Twilight to believe her.
"Likely story!" Twilight pouted, but then......
"Sunshine sunshine ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake........." Twilight finished the song, before turning to see Cadance with a warm smile, it was really her......
Twilight smiled before she embraced Cadance with a warm hug.
"You remember me!" Twilight was relieved to have found the real Cadance she had always known.
"Of course I do! How could I forget the filly I love to sit for the most?.........." Cadance assured, as they both warmly embraced each other..............
However, there was no time for celebration. As they heard evil laughter coming from the other end of the tunnels.........
"We have to get out of here, we have to stop him!" Twilight told Cadance as they both rushed to find a way out of the caves and save the wedding...............
Meanwhile, "Cadance" walked up to a mirror and placed a rose on "her" head.
"This day is going to be perfect, the kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small... Everypony will gather round, say I look lovely in my gown. What they don't know is that I have fooled them all." "Cadance" sung, as "her" eyes glowed yellow while "her" pupils shined red.
"This day was going to be perfect, the kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small... But instead of having cake, with all my friends to celebrate my wedding bells they may not ring for me at all." Cadance sung, as she stared into her reflection as Twilight looked on.
"I couldn't care less, about the dress, I won't partake in any cake. Vows? Well I'll be lying when I say, that through any kind of weather I'll want us to be together. The truth is I don't care for him at all! No I do not love the groom in my heart there is no room! But I still want him to be, all mine!" "Cadance" sung, as "she" smiled maliciously into the mirror.
"We must escape before it's too late, find a way to save the day! Hope? I'll be lying if I say, I don't fear that I may lose him, to one who wants to use him! Not care for love and cherish him each day! For I oh so love the groom all my thoughts he does consume. Oh, Shining Armor, I'll be there very soon!" Cadance sung, as Twilight pushed the minecart down below.
When they reached the bottom, they fell off, and Cadance used her wings to fly herself and Twilight up to the top.
Meanwhile, the wedding has officially begun, as the doors opened for the bride to enter the alter.
"Finally the moment has arrived, for me, to be one lucky bride." "Cadance" sung, as "she" made "her" way to the alter.
"Oh the wedding we won't make he'll end up marrying a fake, Shining Armor will be........."
"Mine, all mine. Heh he he he he he he."
Author's Note
Imagine the projection on the crystals is colored yellow, not green. As I imagine that would be the color of Discord's magic.
Chapter 6. The imposter exposed
"Mares and gentlecolts, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and Shining Armor." Celestia's muffled voice could be heard beneath the Canterlot Caves, as Twilight and Cadance ran into a dead end.
"Oh... We're never going to save him!" Cadance lamented.
"We will! We just have to find............ there!" Twilight cried, as she teleported her and Cadance to an upper platform with an entrance to the surface.
However, three Discorded bridesmaids had other plans.
"You're not going anywhere." They all said in unison.
Later................
"Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you-!" Celestia was just about to make it official, until.......
"STOP!!!" Twilight called out, as several ponies either looked shocked to see her protesting the wedding, or simply disappointed in her behavior.
"Ugh! Why can't she keep her nose away from where it doesn't belong?!" "Cadance" complained, causing several ponies to look at "her" concerned.
"I mean, 'why does she have to ruin my special day?'" "Cadance" rephrased it to gain sympathy, while "sobbing".
"Because, it's not YOUR special day, IT'S MINE!!!" Cadance announced, causing several ponies to gasp in shock, as "Cadance" was with them about to get married.
"Wha- HUH?! But how did you escape the bridesmaids?!" "Cadance" asked the two ponies.
Earlier...........
The three Discorded bridesmaids cornered Twilight and Cadance, but Cadance picked up a bouquet and levitated it near the bridesmaids, grabbing their attention, she then tossed it away into the caves.
"I WANT IT!!!" The brainwashed ponies exclaimed, as they leaped towards where the bouquet was thrown.
Twilight and Cadance then made their way to the surface.
Currently......
"Heh. Clever, but you still can't stop me!" "Cadance" boasted.
"I don't understand! How can there be two of her?" Applejack asked the question that was on everypony's minds.
"He's Discord! He imprisoned me in the caverns of Canterlot so he could steal my face and drain my groom's energy away!" Cadance stated to the ponies, as Discord gritted his teeth.
"DISCORD?!" The rest of the mane 5 plus Spike gasped, as Discord gave a menacing chuckle.
"Well I guess the cats out of the bag. Or in this case, the Draconequus is out of the pony." He said, before "Cadance" stood on two legs, grew taller, the Alicorn wings turned into a bat wing and a blue pegasus wing, the hooves turned into a lions paw, an eagle claw, a lizard leg, and a goat leg, the horn separated into a deer antler and a goat horn, as the wedding dress came off, and he pulled off his Cadance face as if it were a mask, revealing his true form.
Discord laughed maniacally as all the ponies before him cowered in fear.
"You madam, are correct!" Discord stated, as he pressed a button as if this were a game show.
"For your fiance shares blood with one of the six bearers of the elements of harmony, making him able to cancel my power. I stole your form so I could get close enough to RIP THE HARMONY RIGHT OUT OF HIM, allowing Canterlot to be consumed by countless chaos! Hah ha!" Discord monologued to the princess of love.
"I won't let you! I'll save Shining Armor!" Cadance threatened the lord of chaos.
"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you. Not unless you want to go back to the caverns, WITH NO FOOD OR WATER." Discord threatened the princess, causing her to step back out of fear.
"Ever since I pulled the switcheroo, I've been Discording the captain to be a weak, pathetic klutz. somepony who is INCAPABLE of protecting a capital!" Discord stated to the princess and the ponies.
"NO!" Cadance cried out.
"And, once Canterlot has gone crazy, all of Equestria will turn on it's head! Hah ha ha!" Discord revealed his plan to the ponies.
"NO." Discord heard a familiar voice scolding him, and it made him turn sour.
"You won't." Celestia stated to the spirit of disharmony.
"Get the elements! I'll hold him off as long as I can!" Celestia ordered the mane six to reach the elements, to which they did.
Discord groaned, as he wasn't powerful enough yet to block the exit.
"You really think you can beat me on your own Celly? Without your precious Lu-Lu to protect you?" Discord mocked Celestia, as Luna was nowhere to be seen.
"I don't need help to take you down now! You might have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have foolishly revealed your true self, I can protect my subjects, from YOU!" Celestia stated, as she fired a laser at Discord, which Discord replied by shooting lasers from his finger tips.
'Please hurry Twilight.......' Celestia prayed in her head, hoping her faithful student will save the day.
Chapter 7. The battle for harmony
Twilight and her friends ran out of the castle and into the streets of Canterlot.
However, they didn't have much time, as the shield began to crack.
Eventually, it became so cracked, it broke into a thousand pieces.
And when it did, everything turned upside down.
Chocolate rain flooded the streets, pianos fell from the sky, houses defied gravity, and pigs flew.
Twilight motioned her friends to avoid the obstacles impeding their path as they dodged countless dancing Buffalo and giant cats.
Then, when they made it to the storage containing the elements, they ran into an even bigger problem.........
The storage was guarded by puppets of the monsters Discord used to corrupt the elements in the labyrinth.
talking apple piles. laughing balloons, Tom clones who had thick muscles, rabid butterflies, and sentient evil storm clouds.
"Not THESE guys again!" Rainbow Dash groaned.
"Remember, we need to get the elements of harmony! They're our only hope!" Twilight exclaimed, as she and her friends readied for battle against the discorded elemental virtues.
Honesty vs dishonesty.
Laughter vs hatred.
Generosity vs greed.
Kindness vs cruelty.
And loyalty vs betrayal.
Both sides clashed and the battle for harmony officially begun.
Applejack destroyed the apple piles while they told her hurtful lies.
"Your friends don't love you!"
"Your family will abandon you!"
"You're weak and pathetic!"
Applejack bit a piece of one of the apple piles as it screamed in agony.
"No one lies like that to me!" Applejack stated, as she devoured the apples to end the apple monsters.
Pinkie pie confronted the laughing balloons as they pulled off mean pranks on her and laughed at her while doing it.
Pinkie merely giggled at the torment the balloons were putting her through, as she now realized that she has to learn to laugh at herself.
She then hugged the balloons so tight they popped.
Rarity was faced with the Tom clones, as they tried grabbing pieces of Rarity's tail, wanting it for themselves.
"Hmph, you want something from me? Let Rarity be generous and give you my LASER!" Rarity exclaimed, as she blasted the rocks with her magic.
Fluttershy was being picked on by rabid butterflies who scratched at her and called her mean names.
"Stupid!"
"Idiot!"
"Worthless!"
"Cry baby!"
"Loser!"
"There there, I know you don't really mean what you say. Because deep down, you all feel that way about yourselves and take it out on others." Fluttershy's un-relenting kindness was too much for the butterflies to handle and they exploded from positivity overload.
Rainbow Dash then confronted the storm clouds, they grumbled lightning preparing to strike................
Until they suddenly fled like the cowards they were.
Dash, with a sigh, flew towards them and kicked every single one into thin air in ten seconds flat.
The mane six all faced their opposites, either by doing the opposite of them or flat out saying no to their corruption, until every single Discord puppet was destroyed and evaporated into nothing.
The mane six were now free to open the storage to the elements and save Equestria.
But when they opened the gates, they found something that made their blood run cold.
A giant wave of chocolate milk flooding the gates and heading towards them.
The mane six were engulfed in chocolate milk, as their vision begun to fade away................
Chapter 8. The element of love
Celestia awoke to find herself in a prison made entirely out of cotton candy.
Discord paced around the room as Cadance had been ensnared by that same cotton candy, with Shining Armor too scared to fight back, and Spike just................ there........
"You won't get away with this! Twilight and her friends will-" Cadance was about to threaten the Draconequus, until those exact ponies entered the room soaked in chocolate milk with no elements in sight.
"No no, please go on. I simply NEED to hear what you were going to say." Discord told the Alicorn, who simply gave him a cold stare.
"Suit yourself. And as for you six, did you really think that you could just 'do do do do do' up there, and get the elements just like that?" Discord taunted the mane six.
"Hysterical! Though I am impressed how well you managed to work together after Twilight's little......... episode......." Discord bopped Twilight's nose as she scowled in anger.
"Who would have thought that all I needed to make the elements powerless was a pony her friends knew nothing about while she knew very well?........ Hah ha ha ha ha!" Discord mocked and laughed in their faces as he teleported to the window to observe the beautiful chaos he created.
"Sorry Twi, we should have listened to you." AJ wholeheartedly apologized.
"It's not your fault, he fooled everypony." Twilight assured AJ.
"But it IS our fault! You knew something was up with Cadance from the start! And we didn't listen to you!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she teared up.
"None of this would have happened if we had been more observant to Cadance's behavior." Rarity stated.
"We're so sorry we ever doubted you Twilight." Pinkie told her friend, as she gave her a hug.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, really! I barged into the rehearsal and accused Cadance of being evil with no proof to back up my claims. You had every right to be upset with me." Twilight explained to her friends.
"No, it's all of our faults! Because we didn't stick together! We let our preparations for the wedding distract us from looking at it closely, and because of that, we lost........." Dash lamented, as they saw that Discord roamed free throughout Canterlot and there was nothing they could do about it..................
"Maybe not.........." Twilight speculated, as she looked at Cadance and Shining who were still subdued.
"I'm going to free Cadance while he's distracted, maybe she can snap Shining Armor out of his spell." Twilight whispered to her friends, as she sneaked over to the alter towards Cadance.
"Quick, go to him while you still have the chance." Twilight told Cadance, as she zapped the cotton candy with her magic, destroying it.
Cadance, now free, approached the groom.
He stepped back a little, as he was still Discorded.
But Cadance assured him it was ok, and embraced him with a hug.
Ultimately, the love Cadance had for Shining Armor was strong enough to bring him back to normal.
"What happened?........... Is the wedding over?..........." Shining Armor regained his senses, much to Cadance and the main six's delight.
"It's ALL over!" Discord exclaimed, as he teleported in front of them.
"Perform your spell!" Twilight called to her brother.
Discord merely laughed at the idea.
"Why even bother?! I've already won! See? SEE?!" Discord exclaimed, as he pointed at Canterlot in utter destruction and madness.
"No!" Shining Armor cried, as he tried to use his spell to cancel the chaos, but he was weak from being Discorded.
"My power is almost......... Useless.........." Shining lamented.
"My love will give you strength." Cadance assured her groom, as they both held each other tightly.
Discord merely scoffed.
"Bah! What an adorable yet REPULSIVE idea......" Discord mocked the power of love, as both Shining and Cadance glared with contempt.
But then, Cadance and Shining's horns begun to share their magic.
It started as a small spark, but then it ignited into an aura that eventually engulfed them both.
They both looked surprised at first, but then decided to just accept it.
Twilight and her friends all looked with adoration as they saw the bride and groom finally re-unite.
Discord turned around and saw what was happening, and his jaw literally dropped to the floor.
Because Shining Armor shared a connection with the element of magic, and Cadance was the princess of love, their combined power was able to create a new element of harmony, an element of harmony they both shared.
The element, of love....
With their element of love, the spell to cancel chaos magic was boosted, as it blasted all of Canterlot with the spell.
"What the-?! Not again! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Discord screamed in fury, as the boost was powerful enough to turn him back to stone once again.
Soon, all of the effects of Discord's chaos had been reversed.
As the spell dispersed, Discord laid still as a lawn ornament once more.
as gravity had affected Cadance and Shining Armor again, they hugged in loving embrace.
Twilight quickly rushed over to Princess Celestia and picked her up from the floor.
"I'm so sorry........." Twilight apologized to her teacher.
"You have nothing to apologize for, I was too shortsighted to notice the signs of Discord's trickery..... I should have put more faith in my faithful student...." Celestia apologized, as she warmly hugged Twilight back.
As they embraced, Twilight formed a smile on her cheeks, as she knew that everything was finally back to normal.........
Aside from her brother getting married of course........
"Now, without further ado, you have a real wedding to put together." Celestia stated, as Twilight and her friends went to prepare the wedding for real.....
Chapter 9. The real wedding
The wedding went off exactly as Twilight had expected a wedding between her favorite foal sitter and her big brother best friend forever would play off.
Cadance was vibrant with joy and positivity while preparing the wedding.
And once the bride and groom had said their "I do's", Twilight felt warm inside, as even though she knew Shining Armor had a wife to look after, he still had time for his L.S.B.F.F.
Which reminded Twilight that there was one last thing to take care of first.........
As Shining Armor prepared to head into the chariot with his wife, Twilight rushed over to give him an apologetic hug.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be more supportive of your love life...." Twilight apologized to her brother.
"Hey, you're my little sister...... You'll always matter to me, no matter what. And I'm sorry for my harsh behavior at the rehearsal, I was partially under Discord's spell and couldn't control myself. But I should have still trusted my L.S.B.F.F." Shining Armor assured his little sister, as Twilight cried tears of joy.
As Cadance tossed the Bouquet to the bridesmaids, Twilight regrouped with her friends to have an awesome after wedding party.
Meanwhile, in the Canterlot Garden..........
Discord sat there motionless, back on his pedestal once more.
As he stood there, he thought to himself........................
'And I thought being beaten by the power of friendship was embarrassing.'
The end.
