A CANTERLOT WEDDING—PART TWO

Written by Meghan McCarthy

Produced by Sarah Wall

Story editing by Rob Renzetti

Supervising direction by Jayson Thiessen

Directed by James Wootton

Transcribed by Alan Back (ajback@yahoo.com)

Prologue

(Opening shot: fade in to a “Previously on My Little Pony” title card, then to black, then to a scene from the prologue of Part One: Twilight Sparkle reading her wedding invitation. The other five Ponyville mares gather around as she does so; zoom out slowly.)

Twilight: “Princess Celestia cordially invites you to the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and…” (Paper drops; zoom in as she gasps.) …my brother?!?

(Act Two, in Canterlot: as several guards brandish spears over a castle wall, Shining Armor pulls off his helmet with a smile.)

Shining: Twilie! (He gallops down the steps to her.) Ah, I’ve missed you, kid.

Twilight: How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married!

Shining: A threat has been made against Canterlot.

(He casts his spell to augment the spherical force field that encompasses all of Canterlot.)

Shining: (voice over) Princess Celestia asked that I help provide additional protection.

(Cut to the siblings on the bridge where they have talked things out.)

Twilight: But I’m still pretty ticked you’re marrying somepony I don’t even know!

Shining: Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadence.

(Cut to her flashback; the young Cadence enters the bedroom and gets the biggest hug that Filly Twilight’s stubby legs can manage.)

Twilight: (voice over) Cadence is only the most amazing pony ever!

(Present day: Cadence walks onto the bridge, exhibiting a rather more haughty bearing.)

Cadence: (rolling her eyes impatiently) I hope I’m not interrupting anything important.

Twilight: Cadence, it’s me, Twilight!

Cadence: (stepping ahead) Uh-huh.

(Twilight’s hopeful smile gives way to puzzled disappointment as the princess passes her. Cut to a scene in Act Three: she leans in close toward the door of the study where Shining and Cadence have retreated for a private talk.)

Shining: (hushed, muffled through door) And I think I should wear it.

(Twilight nudges the door open a hair; cut to inside the room, putting the couple in the foreground but focusing on Twilight at the back. Shining is now in his red military jacket and blue-white sashes with the pink star crest.)

Cadence: Are you disagreeing with me?

(A moment later; he has gone to the floor, felled by a migraine twinge, and gets hit with a burst of her yellow-green magic that sets his eyes spinning. Twilight recoils in horror as the glare plays over her as well; cut to the wedding rehearsal—her perspective, pointing at Cadence in the hall of Canterlot Castle. The couple stands on the dais next to Princess Celestia.)

Twilight: She’s evil! (Cut to Cadence; Twilight backs her up.) I saw her put a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all…

(She lets them jitter in the sockets as her tongue lolls out; Shining is not amused.)

Shining: Cadence hasn’t been casting spells on me… (pointing to his temple) …she’s been using her magic to heal me!

(Cut to the end of the bawling-out; he faces angrily away from her toward the rear doors.)

Shining: If I were you… (walking off) …I wouldn’t show up to the wedding at all.

(Close-up of her slack-jawed, aghast expression on the end of this, then cut to an overhead shot of her on the dais steps. The background fades to black as she speaks.)

Twilight: (voice breaking) I’ve just lost a brother.

(Cut to Cadence gently patting Twilight’s head, the background again where it should be.)

Twilight: I’m sorry!

(Close-up of the young Princess's face, now grinning insanely against a black screen as the yellow-green flames of her magic boil up.)

Cadence: (voice over) You will be.

(Twilight is swiftly enveloped in the burning force field that drags her through the floor and out of sight as Cadence walks off through the dais’ flowered archway to “backstage.” Fade to black as her narrowed eyes fill the screen.)

OPENING THEME

Act One

(Opening shot: a spot of light that slowly grows in brightness against the black to illuminate the area immediately around. It is on the tip of Twilight’s horn; she is sitting on her haunches in some barren cavern. Zoom out slowly.)

Twilight: (echoing) Hello? (She gets up and begins to walk around.) Is anyone there?

(A few more steps bring her to a head-on collision with her own reflection on a mirror-like wall. From somewhere very far off, she can just catch the sound of crazed female laughter; as she turns away, the camera cuts to a longer shot of this space. Crystal formations jut from the walls and floor, multiplying her image time and time again.)

Twilight: Where am I?

(The reflections disappear and are all replaced by green-tinted copies of Cadence’s narrowed eye. On the start of the next line, these “back up” slightly to frame all of her head and Twilight stumbles away in fright. The voice reverberates slightly.)

Cadence: The caves beneath Canterlot. (looking up; camera follows her gaze) Once home to greedy unicorns who wanted to claim the gems that could be found inside.

(Images fade away; Twilight backpedals.)

Voice of Cadence: And now… (Twilight’s reflection in the wall behind her is replaced by this face.) …your prison.

Twilight: (galloping off) Help! Help!

(The giant visage fades away with a nasty laugh.)

Voice of Cadence: It’s no use. (Reappear in a crystal formation.) No one can hear you, and no one will ever think to look for you either. (Fade away, then appear overhead.) Most ponies have forgotten that these caves even exist— (Switch to another facet.) —which is why they are the ideal place to keep the ones who try to interfere with my plans. (Wild laughter.)

Twilight: Plans? What plans?

Cadence: (smiling mockingly) The plans I have for your brother, of course.

Twilight: (horn flaring) Don’t you dare do anything to my brother, you…you monster! (Close-up of Cadence’s image.)

Cadence: Only way to stop me is to catch me.

(Zoom out to ground level. The single image vanishes and is replaced by dozens of Twilights in every gleaming surface. Cadence’s laughter rings through the cavern as the furious violet unicorn looks here and there trying to pick out a target. Right on cue, the crazed face appears in a crystal.)

Cadence: Over here!

(Twilight fires off a beam, but the visage fades out with a laugh and is replaced by a plethora of Twilights. Her shot bounces wildly all over the place as if it were a laser beam hitting mirrors; it finally scorches the patch of floor directly in front of her, the nearest of misses. Said floor now shows a giant copy of Cadence’s face.)

Cadence: Nope. (Vanish; reappear in multiples behind her.) Over here!

(Now they shift from one wall area to another, laughing all the while, as Twilight cranks off blast after blast. The crystals disintegrate into shards when she hits them; her last target is a section of wall that blows apart in a thick cloud of dust. When the view clears, a second chamber can be seen beyond the opening—and in it is a badly scuffed and disheveled Cadence sitting on her haunches. She wears the gold necklace and shoes first seen in Act Two of Part One, but no tiara. Zoom in quickly to a close-up, then cut to the boiling-mad Twilight and back to one very scared princess.)

Cadence: (scrabbling backward) No! Wait!

(Too late; Twilight hurls herself through the new opening and lays a hard flying tackle on her, pinning her to the ground.)

Cadence: Please! Don’t hurt me! (smiling weakly) Twilight, it’s me! (Hard glare from Twilight.) Please, you have to believe me. I’ve been imprisoned like you. The Cadence who brought you down here was an impostor. (Cut to Twilight.)

Twilight: Likely story!

(On the start of the next line, cut to frame both of them; Cadence goes into the old bit from her foal-sitting days.)

Cadence:                Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake.

(Close-up of two front hooves, one pink and one violet, tapping together, then pan to Twilight. Cadence is o.s. for the next two lines.)

Cadence:                 Clap your hooves—

Twilight, Cadence:        —and do a little shake.

(Through the scramble of tangled mane, grime, and scrapes, Cadence manages to bring up a fragile but reassuring grin. Twilight responds with a gigantic one of her own and leaps into the gold-shod forelegs for a long-overdue hug.)

Twilight: You remember me!

Cadence: (laughing gently) Of course I do. How could I forget the filly I loved to sit for the most?

(The camera zooms in slightly on the genuine article’s face as the faker’s laughter rings through the cavern. Somewhere in the lightless distance, a spark of light flashes out and throws a reflection into the winged unicorn’s pupils, seen in extreme close-up. Zoom out quickly to frame both, having broken their embrace.)

Twilight: We have to get out of here. (She darts across and perches on an outcropping.) We have to stop her!

(Cadence gallops away and vanishes into the inky distance, with Twilight hot on her tail. Pan/tilt up slowly to the echoes of that fiendish mirth, then dissolve to a long shot of Canterlot. Where it was evening time during the preparation/rehearsal sequence of Part One, it is now the following day.)

Subdued orchestral melody, piano/strings/low woodwinds; slow 4 (D flat major)

(A sequence of slow zooms and dissolves takes the camera to a closed door within Canterlot Castle, then to the suite beyond it. Here, several pony mannequins are dressed in assorted formal wear and the fake Cadence—now wearing a gold-trimmed white wedding dress—approaches a vanity mirror. A red rose is magically pulled from a vase and tucked in behind one ear; she wears a wreath of flowers and a veil on her head. A light blue, heart-shaped jewel brooch, the same as the one in her cutie mark, secures the blue/yellow sash across her chest.)

Fake Cadence:                This day is going to be perfect

(twirling away)                The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small

Sinister, forceful tone; timpani sneaks in (to D flat minor)

(making mannequins bow)        Everypony will gather ’round, say I look lovely in my gown

                                What they don’t know is that I have fooled them all

(As she finishes the last line, the camera zooms in on her eyes, which go green and take on snakelike pupils. The rest of the screen fades to black, they disappear a moment later, and the view fades in to a close-up of a large blue jewel that slowly backs up from the camera against a black field. The real Cadence’s galloping image appears on both this one and the smaller gems that circle around it.)

Original tone/instrumentation, with harp and higher winds (D flat major)

Cadence:        This day was going to be perfect

(All vanish; the cavern fades into view, and she drops to her haunches next to Twilight.)

                The kind of day of which I dreamed since I was small

(She is reflected in many crystal facets.)

                But instead of having cake with all my friends to celebrate

                My wedding bells, they may not ring for me at all

(Wipe to Fake Cadence’s hooves, advancing determinedly across the floor of her suite, and tilt up to her vicious grin.)

Sinister tone, with building urgency; strings/timpani/winds (D flat minor)

Fake Cadence: (knocking over an apple basket, caressing a tuxedo-clad mannequin)

I could care less about the dress, I won’t partake in any cake

                Vows? Well, I’ll be lying when I say

Horns in

                That through any kind of weather, I’ll want us to be together

(She knocks its top hat into the air and disintegrates it with a spell.)

                The truth is, I don’t care for him at all

[Error: “Couldn’t care less” is the proper way to indicate a total lack of concern about something.]

(One hoof comes down in the resulting pile of ashes; tilt up past her to the broad shadow she has cast on the ceiling, the camera spinning in place.)

Fake Cadence:        No, I do not love the groom, in my heart there is no room

(Tilt down to the mirror; she glares triumphantly at herself.)

                        But I still want him to be all mine

(She has turned away to present herself in profile. Zoom in one eye, the background fading to black behind it; the cavern fades in as the eye disappears. Now Twilight and Cadence bolt from place to place, looking for any hint of a way out of this crazy house.)

Same building urgency, but without the sinister tone; strings/high brass/percussion

Cadence:        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

(They find an old mine cart on a set of tracks leading into the pitch-black distance. The prospect of using it throws a scare into Twilight.)

                Not care for, love, and cherish him each day

Lower horns in (D flat major)

(Cadence tries to push the cart ahead; no dice.)

Cadence:        For I oh so love the groom, all my thoughts he does consume

(The violet unicorn smiles warmly at this and kick-starts her horn, shifting a few rocks that block the wheels and floating Cadence into the cart.)

                Oh, Shining Armor, I’ll be there very soon

(A heave from Twilight dislodges the last rock and sets the dilapidated vehicle rolling along a spiral track that descends into the black depths. She has no time to climb in and finds herself clinging for dear life to the rear end; when she finally wrestles herself in, the cart reaches the end of its track. It hits the barricade placed here and stops dead, launching both mares in a high arc over the scree of mining debris that has accumulated in this area over the years.)

(Cut to an extreme close-up of Twilight’s face, both eyes squeezed tight shut in full expectation of meeting her maker. When she opens them and finds herself still alive, the camera zooms out to reveal that she has wrapped both forelegs around Cadence’s midsection—just behind the wings that are now keeping both of them aloft.)

(Cut to a set of closed double doors, which swing open to give a view of the Canterlot Castle hall in which the wedding rehearsal occurred. The floor is packed solid with guests on both sides of the aisle, and all of Twilight’s friends save Fluttershy stand to one side of it near the dais at the front, facing four groomsman stallions across the way. The mares are wearing the bridesmaid dresses Rarity designed for them in Part One, and their manes are appropriately styled. Applejack has shed her hat, and their manes are set with the  white pearl strings that went with the outfits. Celestia and Shining stand on the dais, with Spike off to one side in a top hat and tuxedo jacket, and unicorn attendants in full livery blow a brass fanfare. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, sporting their own little dresses, hop ahead to scatter flower petals from the baskets in their mouths before Fake Cadence walks down the aisle.)

Viciously triumphant feel; brass/strings/percussion (D flat major)

Fake Cadence:        Finally the moment has arrived

                        For me to be one lucky bride

Modulate to B minor

(Advancing toward the camera, she turns to one side; behind her head, wipe to the dais, where she now stands alongside Shining to face Cadence. This shot is close enough to pick out the blue sash Shining now wears in place of the blue-white ones he wanted to use. The screen splits vertically, with this view retreating to the left half and Twilight and Cadence winging through the cavern. They land on a ledge.)

Cadence:                Oh, the wedding we won’t make, he’ll end up marrying a fake

(Left side: zoom in to an extreme close-up of Fake Cadence’s narrowed eyes, then cut to Shining as he turns toward her, eyes showing her magical influence. Right side: extreme close-up of Cadence’s teary eyes, zooming out to a long shot of her and Twilight; the background fades to black, leaving them in a spot of light.)

Cadence:                Shining Armor will be

(Everything except Fake Cadence fades away as she walks across in the fore.)

Fake Cadence: Mine, all mine!

(One of the nastiest giggles ever heard in the course of the series to date rings out as the view fades to black.)

Song ends

(Fade in to the hall again, seen from the back. The four bridesmaids now stand to Celestia’s right, two on the dais steps and two on the floor, facing the four similarly positioned groomsman stallions across the red carpet. Lyra Heartstrings and Minuette—two of the original three bridesmaids from Part One—can be seen several rows back in the audience. Shining and Fake Cadence stand facing each other in front of Celestia on their respective sides.)

Celestia: Mares and gentle-colts, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor.

(The camera tilts down through a cutaway view of the floor and the caverns below it as she speaks, causing her voice to become increasingly faint and muffled. Stop on Twilight and Cadence, who have wound up on a not-too-big ledge and are casting about for any way to continue their escape.)

Cadence: Oh, we’re never going to save him!

Twilight: (resolutely) We will. We just have to find…

(A glance up past the edge brings a smile to her face; cut to a long shot of a shaft of light streaming in through a tiny aperture far above to hit a higher ledge. Zoom in slightly.)

Twilight: (from o.s.) There!

(Up at this level, a pop of her magic energy marks their teleporting arrival. Delight turns to consternation as the camera zooms out slightly to frame the entire first-pick bridesmaid trio—Lyra, Minuette, Twinkleshine—wearing the dresses Rarity designed for them. The presence of Lyra and Minuette is a surprise, considering that they were just seen in the hall.)

Bridesmaids: (hypnotized, advancing slowly) You’re not going anywhere.

(A close-up on the end of this picks out the malicious grins and the green-glowing eyes that tell of Fake Cadence’s influence on them. The screen snaps to black except for the eyes, which fade away a moment later.)

Act Two

(Opening shot: fade in to a long shot of Canterlot Castle, zooming in slowly, then dissolve to the hall and cut to a close-up of Celestia, Shining, and Fake Cadence.)

Celestia: Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you—

Twilight: (from o.s.) STOOOOOOP!!

(Quick pan to her, standing in the doorway at the back. Shocked murmurs from the guests, various disgusted reactions from Applejack, Rainbow, and Rarity, and even Spike seems a bit put out at the interruption.)

Fake Cadence: (groaning angrily) Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother? (catching herself, sobbing) Why does she have to ruin my special day?

Cadence: (from o.s.) Because it’s not your special day… (Quick pan to her, now also at the doors.) …it’s mine! (Louder murmurs from the guests.)

Fake Cadence: What?! But how did you escape my bridesmaids?

(The two fugitive trade a wicked smirk; pan quickly to the three bewitched bridesmaid unicorns in the cavern. As they close in, Twilight and Cadence back up uneasily; Cadence looks about and levitates a bridal bouquet. Shaking it in midair to get their attention, she shifts it back and forth and then slings it for distance over their heads.)

Bridesmaids: (diving after it) I want it!

(Twilight throws Cadence a fierce smile to acknowledge this bit of chicanery, and the latter manages a small one as if to say, “I can’t believe that actually worked!” They are off in an instant; pan quickly back to a long shot of the hall, seen from one side. Fake Cadence voices a derisive chuckle.)

Fake Cadence: Clever. But you’re still too late.

Applejack: I-I don’t understand. How can there be two of ’em?

Cadence: She’s a changeling. She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them!

(Cut to an extreme close-up of the fraud’s face on the end of this; her eyes and horn burn yellow-green and a ring of matching flames lances up from the floor to encircle her. These blaze up to the ceiling, the screen flaring white for an instant and all the other lights in the hall going out. As all gasp and recoil from the infernal glare, the shaded wings flex in a sudden convulsion and transform into a tattered, insect-like pair. Next, the pink legs turn into hole-pocked, gray-black limbs, the transformation working down toward the hooves. Finally, the horn’s exterior strips away to expose a gnarled, half-decayed black one underneath; zoom out from this to frame the rest of the head and neck. Long, lank, ragged blue-green mane; a cluster of short antennae on the back of the head shaped to resemble a small crown; coat that temporarily appears dead black in this light; two malevolent, reptilian green eyes; and a set of deadly sharp fangs revealed when she laughs crazily. This is Chrysalis, the changeling queen, whose voice positively drips with smooth malice and barely contained madness.)

(Cut to Cadence, now standing terrified in the creature’s shadow, and zoom out slowly.)

Chrysalis: (from o.s.) Right you are, Princess.

(Cut to her, a buzzing undertone taking hold in her voice. She can now be seen as a gaunt, long-legged, winged unicorn mare, a grotesque parody of the royal family; the ends of her mane and tail are as pockmarked as her legs and horn. Her back is marked with a saddle-shaped patch of green hide or exoskeleton, and a gray-greenish band of skin encircles her belly as if it were a strap holding this in place. The dark hue of her coat is interrupted by a couple of slightly lighter patches just below her jawline.)

Chrysalis: And as queen of the changelings, it is up to me to find food for my subjects. (Cut to the glowering Cadence on the end of this, then back; she descends the steps.) Equestria has more love than anyplace I’ve ever encountered. (To some stunned guests, then back as she continues.) My fellow changelings will be able to devour so much of it that we will gain more power than we have ever dreamed of!

(By now, she has come face to face with Cadence.)

Cadence: They’ll never get the chance! Shining Armor’s protection spell will keep them from ever even reaching us!

Chrysalis: (chuckling) Oh, I doubt that. (over her shoulder) Isn’t that right, dear? (Horn glows; Shining’s eyes flare with fresh green.)

Shining: (hypnotized, nodding) Mmm-hmm.

(Cut to Cadence, who starts into a charge, and zoom out to ground level as a rotting hoof is planted to stop her.)

Chrysalis: (from o.s.) Ah-ah-ah. (Cut to her, horn warming up.) Don’t want to go back to the caves now, do you? (Cadence backs up a step.) Ever since I took your place, I’ve been feeding off Shining Armor’s love for you.

(Cut to the escaped bride-to-be and back during the following, Twilight moving up to join her; Chrysalis bounds up the steps and around Shining as she finishes. On the start of the next line, the view shifts briefly to Shining’s thousand-yard stare.)

Chrysalis: Every moment he grows weaker, and so does his spell. Even now, my minions are chipping away at it.

(Her glance upward is followed by a quick tilt up to the outer surface of his force field—which is now under assault by several snickering little changelings who are slamming their bodies against it. Their eyes are pure blue, and they have short dark manes and tails. Many others hover just above the barrier, and the camera zooms out to frame still more on standby. Back inside the hall, Chrysalis' exultant laughter rings out as her shadow falls over a knot of horrified guests, and she caresses the motionless groom’s chin, turning his face toward hers.)

Chrysalis: He may not be my husband, but he is under my total control now… (Twilight and Cadence gasp; she steps forward.) …and, I’m sorry to say, unable to perform his duties as captain of the Royal Guard!

(The camera cuts toward her in two steps, ending with an extreme close-up of her rage-twisted face.)

Cadence: Not my Shining Armor! (Chrysalis flits past him.)

Chrysalis: Soon my changeling army will break through! First we take Canterlot, and then… (hovering) …all of Equestria!

(Another extreme close-up.)

Celestia: (from o.s., levelly) No.

(The camera pans slightly to one side and re-focuses on the background, where the sovereign still stands on the dais. She works up a head of steam as she continues.)

Celestia: You won’t. (Chrysalis descends to her level.) You may have made it impossible for Shining Armor to perform his spell, but now that you have so foolishly revealed your true self… (They charge toward each other and lock horns briefly.) …I can protect my subjects… (rising into the air) …from you!

(Each conjures a beam from her horn and blasts it toward the other—sunny yellow for Celestia, yellow-green for Chrysalis. They cancel out at the point where they meet; the changeling ruler gasps for breath under the strain at first, but soon adds a few more horsepower to her offensive. Celestia’s eyes widen in fear as the green energy slowly bulldozes its way across and finally touches her horn, casting its glow over her figure before an explosion fills the screen.)

(When the view clears, the jeweled gold tiara is seen tracing out a graceless arc as it tumbles away in slow motion. Normal speed resumes to mark its clinking touchdown on the tiles and the slide of its unconscious wearer, the end of her horn blackened and smoking. Shocked gasps and other reactions from the crowd.)

Twilight: Princess Celestia! (She, Applejack, Rainbow, and Rarity race over.) 

Chrysalis: (to the o.s. Cadence) Ah. Shining Armor’s love for you is even stronger than I thought. (Zoom out slowly; she rises above the dais.) Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia!

(Celestia has begun to come around; all six mares have gathered near her. Fluttershy, seen for the first time on camera since the start of the ceremony, is in her bridesmaid dress and mane style along with the other four.)

Celestia: (weakly, to Twilight) The Elements of Harmony. You must get to them, and use their power to defeat the queen!

(After a determined six-way nod, four bridesmaid dresses are flung toward the ceiling and their wearers, along with Twilight, gallop out of the hall. Applejack has procured and donned her usual hat, and their manes have returned to their everyday appearances. The only one to hang back is Rarity, who worriedly catches the discarded garments in hooves and teeth while still clad in her own.)

Other five: (now o.s., impatiently) Rarity!

(The internal battle between saving her work and helping her friends is short and fierce. It ends when she drops the dresses and gallops after them, hurling her own finery back as she goes. Chrysalis just directs a maliciously exultant laugh after the group while hovering near the chandelier; cut to the courtyard outside as they race ahead.)

Chrysalis: (from inside) You can run, but you can’t hide!

(Twilight cuts her eyes upward and lets them widen with instant fear, and the camera tilts up as well to show the swarm of changelings waiting just beyond the force field. Up above its surface, the minions cackle wildly and watch the gang of six hurry across the Canterlot Castle grounds. As they resume their battering assault on the field, webs of cracks begin to appear at one impact point after another. One last, coordinated mass strike is all it takes to completely shatter the barricade from top to bottom.)

(At ground level, Twilight and company brace themselves against the accompanying ground tremors; once these die down, the changelings go into a nose dive. Their small horns warm up and let go with a volley of yellow-green beams.)

[Animation goof: Applejack is seen both with and without her hat through this sequence.]

Twilight: Go! Go!

(Her rush is cut off when one enemy dive-bombs itself into the street, barely missing her and embedding itself briefly into the resulting crater. All put their legs into overdrive to keep from being hit as well, but stop short when one slams down in front to miss them by inches. It hisses tauntingly up at them, but Twilight simply rears up and brings both front hooves down on the gray-black head for an instant knockout.)

(They continue their rush across the city. Cut to the top of a flight of steps as they mount it and skid to a stop, then zoom out quickly. Another horde of changelings is up here waiting for them, and in no time the heroic sextet is well and truly boxed in.)

Rainbow: (banging front hooves together) Looks like we’re gonna have to do this the hard way!

(Lunging forward, she suddenly finds herself facing down her exact duplicate. Every move and flinch and scowl she makes is copied perfectly—that is, until the fake Rainbow lands a double-hoof punch that sends the real one skidding across the bricks on her back.)

Rainbow: How did you—

(In response, several other front-line fighters transform themselves into wickedly smiling doppelgangers of the sky-blue pegasus. Twilight stares wide-eyed as others change to mimic all six mares.)

Twilight: They’re changelings, remember?

(And they rub it in by presenting a wall of angry Twilights to Rainbow.)

Fake Twilights: They’re changelings, remember?

Twilight: Don’t let them distract you! We have to get to the Elements of Harmony! They’re our only hope!

(All six leap in to face off against an ersatz squad, leading to a massive battle royal. As assailants take hits on both sides, Fluttershy casts her eyes about in a total panic and the camera zooms out to frame three fakers closing in on her. When they are within striking distance, she suddenly copies their fierce stare and body language, even turning away from them and throwing a few punches at the air. The trio stalks past, apparently fooled by the act, and she is left alone to gallop away as fast as four yellow legs can move her.)

(The retreat only lasts for a few dozen yards, though; she skids to a stop before a quartet of Rainbows. As the growling pegasi rear up, intending to mash her into the stonework, one knocks the others away without warning and smiles—the real deal. She pulls Fluttershy up off the ground so that both end up hovering, then gives her the best reassuring smile she can.)

(Quick pan to a Twilight and Applejack as they back up into each other amid the brawl and stand up on their hind legs, ready to throw down. In close-up, the latter winces as a lick of magic washes up just behind her, and a short pan reveals that the Twilight has reverted to changeling form. Both turn to face each other; the adversary screams at Applejack, whose reaction marks her as the genuine.)

Applejack: Okay. This is just gettin’ weird!

(She is swiftly tackled to the ground and several copies sneer down at her. Quick pan to an open patch of ground, where one Twilight pins another down. A burst of magic from the standing, real unicorn strips away the disguise from the fallen one and leaves it badly dazed. Across the way, several inauthentic Applejacks are dog-piling on the real one. One beam after another blasts the impostors away and leaves the last Applejack suspended upside down.)

Applejack: Real me! Real me!  

(Twilight sets her upright quickly enough to let her hat drop back onto her head. Quick pan to Pinkie, who smiles broadly at the changeling standing eye to eye with her. It transforms to Rarity, then Rainbow, then Fluttershy.)

Pinkie: (giggling, hopping in place) Do me! Do me!

(The counterfeit Fluttershy rolls her eyes wearily and fulfills the request, ending up on her hind legs and beaming from ear to ear.)

Pinkie: (dismissively) Meh. I’ve seen better.

(A fast reach around herself, and she has grabbed Twilight and pulled her ahead. One pink foreleg curves under the unicorn’s neck to brace her while the other one starts turning the streaked dark blue tail like a crank. The effort produces a Gatling-gun salvo of beams that plows their attackers away in perhaps ten milliseconds flat. Now the true fighters go on the offensive, punching, bucking, tripping, and shooting every changeling within reach—the last of these being accomplished with Twilight’s horn and Pinkie’s party cannon. The tempo of their assault steadily increases until the screen flashes white and clears to show silhouettes of the six mares surrounded by those of tumbling, insensate changelings. Fade to white.)

(Fade in to a screenful of dust, which gradually dissipates to frame the ponies standing among their fallen opponents. They have only a moment’s respite, though, as the buzzing of uncounted wings above marks the arrival of reinforcements. All twenty-four hooves hit overdrive to stay ahead of the approaching swarm and carry their owners toward a tower’s closed double doors. The ornamentation on either side of them marks this as the entrance to Canterlot Tower, the place of storage for the Elements’ magical jewelry seen in “The Return of Harmony, Part 1.”  Twilight is first to grab the handles; cut to just inside the darkened interior as the doors swing open and they look in. Relieved smiles turn to shocked grimaces as the camera cuts to point up toward the ceiling—and the massed changelings that are already waiting here. A slow tilt down to floor level frames far too many more of them ready for a ground rush.)

(Outside again; yet another contingent lands to cut off the group’s retreat. Twilight and company can only stare in mute fear as they advance, the screen filling with their dark forms and fading to black.)

Act Three

(Opening shot: fade in to an extreme close-up of Celestia’s face. She has passed out again and is wearing her tiara; the eye not hidden by her mane flutters open and snaps to a horrified wideness. She glances to one side, then the other, and the camera zooms out and rotates 180 degrees to frame her upside down with a fully healed horn. Her entire form takes on a diseased green tint, which proves to be due to a translucent cocoon in which she has been encased. It is attached to the ceiling of the hall, leaving her suspended upside down. The changelings hovering around her dart away while Chrysalis paces the floor in front of the dais. Only Shining, Cadence, and Spike are left standing atop it; Cadence’s hooves are mired to the carpet by gobbets of green sludge.)

Cadence: You won’t get away with this! Twilight and her friends will—

(She checks her next words at the sound of the doors opening; here come said unicorn and friends, being escorted in by a platoon of grunts. Two of them carry Rainbow in midair by her forelegs, while the other five are walking.)

Chrysalis: You were saying? (to Twilight) You do realize the reception’s been canceled, don’t you? (to the overhead crew) Go! Feed!

(Tilt up to them on the end of this, putting her o.s.; they clear out as fast as those chewed-up wings will allow, and she magically closes the doors. The camera then cuts to the glowering, foiled rescuers as her o.s. laughter floats over them, then zooms out to frame her on the start of the next line.)

Chrysalis: It’s funny, really. (lifting Twilight’s chin) Twilight here was suspicious of my behavior all along. (The pocked hoof is shoved away; she flies to the dais.) Too bad the rest of you were too caught up in your wedding planning to realize those suspicions were correct!

(Cut to Twilight on the end of this; another vicious laugh, and a contrite Applejack walks up to the violet unicorn.)

Applejack: Sorry, Twi. We shoulda listened to you.

Twilight: It’s not your fault. She fooled everypony.

Chrysalis: (pacing) Mmm—I did, didn’t I?

Same subdued orchestral melody as Act One, with added percussion accents

Slow 4 (D flat major)

(She steps over to a window and looks out; her minions are running amok in the streets.)

Chrysalis:         This day has been just perfect

                The kind of day of which I’ve dreamed since I was small

Sinister, forceful tone; horns in (to D flat minor)

(Street level. Doctor Whooves, Carrot Top, and a filly find themselves cornered in an alley, while two guards are bound to each other and the ground with the same slime that pins Cadence.)

Chrysalis:         Everypony I’ll soon control, every stallion, mare, and foal

(Back to her, seen from the balcony; zoom out to frame the entire infested city.)

                Who says a girl can’t really have it all?

Song ends

(A green explosion boils up from somewhere near her location. In close-up, she chuckles richly at the unfolding devastation; a short pan and focus shift frames Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow visible at the edge of the window frame behind her. She does not notice as the violet unicorn hunkers down and eases across the floor, stopping next to Cadence on the dais.)

Twilight: (hushed) Quick! Go to him while you still have the chance!

(A quick spell strips away the gunk, allowing the young princess to hurry over to her enthralled groom. After a long moment of indecision, she traces a hoof along his cheek and embraces him, tears leaking from her tightly closed eyes. Zoom in on her horn as it begins to spark and glow; a bright pink heart pops out from the tip and, as Twilight and company watch incredulously, makes its way over to stop before Shining’s fixed green-tinted irises. The spell she used during her foal-sitting days flares out, turning the background pink for an instant and fading away to leave a close-up of one very disoriented white unicorn. His eyes, though out of kilter, have returned to their normal blue; he shakes his head in an attempt to clear it.)

Shining: (still dazed) Wh…where…huh? Is…is the wedding over?

(Cadence smiles, as do the six ponies—until Chrysalis' severely perforated legs slam down in front of them on the red carpet. Tilt up to her face; she is facing away from them, toward the camera.)

Chrysalis: It’s all over!

Twilight: Your spell! (Cut to Shining and Cadence as she continues.) Perform your spell!

(This last is directed at her brother, whose brain does not find first gear until the arch-villain rears up with her latest round of mad laughter.)

Chrysalis: What good would that do? My changelings already roam free.

(Out in the street, the hordes are hard at work tearing the place to bits and harassing the fleeing Whooves. Back to Shining and Cadence.)

Shining: No!

(Lowering his head slightly, he concentrates all his will on the single task of getting his horn to turn over. All he gets for his trouble is a feeble glow at the tip, though, and he lets his head drop in defeat.)

Shining: My power is useless now. I don’t have the strength to repel them.

Cadence: My love will give you strength.

(She nuzzles him, prompting a venomous chuckle from the o.s. queen; cut to her, stepping to a window.)

Chrysalis: What a lovely but absolutely ridiculous sentiment.

(That does it. The severely thwarted newlyweds trade a look—grim resolve in his eyes, desperate pleading in hers—and he tries his horn again. This time, it emits a stronger glow and she brings hers close enough for an electric discharge to arc between the tips. They touch, creating a spark that glows purple and white as it steadily grows in size, and a circle of this same energy forms around the pair. Air currents circulate around them, causing Cadence’s mane to billow and sparkle as do those of Celestia and Princess Luna, and she and Shining trade a smile before concentrating again. The scuffs and dishevelment from her time in the underground caverns are gone now.)

[Animation goof: Cadence’s gold tiara suddenly appears on her head when they touch horns.]

(Now the spell slowly lifts them clear of the floor amid a stronger glowing aura. Twilight and company grin and avert their eyes from the brilliance—with the exception of Pinkie, who keeps staring at it straight on. Chrysalis' jaw drops open in total disbelief, and the hall begins to shake from the sheer amount of magical energy coursing through it. Shining and Cadence open their eyes fully, revealing them to be glowing pure white, and the power gathers into them for a moment before exploding outward as a white, heart-shaped shock wave. For a moment before the entire screen fades to white, they can be seen as a pair of white silhouettes whose bodies are positioned to form the two halves of a heart, joined by their crossed horns and entwined hind legs.)

(Snap to Twilight and Fluttershy, eyes still closed and faces still fixed in silent celebration, then cut to a long shot of Chrysalis and zoom in quickly as the wave rockets toward her. She manages only a strangled yelp of surprise before getting her tongue to behave itself.)

Chrysalis: NOOOOOOOOOO!!

(As she holds out this single protracted word, the camera cuts to outside the castle and she is flung outward in a crash of breaking glass. The blast clears away the changelings around the two captured guards, melts the goo holding them, and throws out the ones menacing a family in a street. Finally, in a long shot of Canterlot, one cataclysmic burst hurls both the screaming Chrysalis and every last one of her minions toward the distant horizon in all directions. The last trace of her is a tiny pinprick of light that flares briefly in the sky before she is lost to sight.)

(In the hall, Shining and Cadence float gently back down to the dais. Her mane has resumed its typical, non-billowing appearance; they share a joyous embrace as Twilight gallops across the floor. She reaches Celestia, who has fallen free of her ceiling cocoon and is sprawled on the tiles.)

Celestia: (as Twilight helps her stand) Don’t worry about me. I’m fine. You have a real wedding to put together.

(The faithful student smiles at this, catching the mingled forgiveness and apology in her mentor’s words. Dissolve to Applejack and Cadence in the castle kitchen; the workhorse has switched her hat for a white chef’s toque. In front of them are several of the bite-size apple fritters she cooked up in Part One; Cadence floats one of these up and eats it, enjoying the taste and licking her chops. Zoom out slightly to frame Twilight looking on with a grin. The princess eats another one as an item is marked off on the checklist floating in front of the unicorn.)

(Cut to the suite in which Rarity did her work during Part One. Her rumpled mane, the measuring tape around her shoulders, and the reading glasses perched on her nose indicate the tail end of a serious design marathon. She pulls a full-length mirror up to catch Cadence’s reflection, while Twilight watches with her checklist in easy reach. The winged unicorn is now clad in a gold-trimmed white dress similar to that worn by her evil counterpart, with a couple of changes. One, the heart-shaped jewel brooch at the throat has been replaced by a large yellow rose. Two, the sash is now solid yellow. Three, her forelock has been divided so that it curls back on either side of her horn, which is framed by two more roses. Cadence’s smile is all the approval the two unicorns need, and Twilight cheerfully ticks another box.)

(Cut to a close-up of two singing birds perched on a pink foreleg and zoom out. Now out of her dress, Cadence is holding them aloft and has several others on her mane and tail, being rehearsed by Fluttershy in another room of Canterlot Castle. The yellow pegasus has a conductor’s baton in her teeth to keep the beat. Check. Now Pinkie and Cadence dance across a confetti-and-streamer-strewn reception area whose tables are stacked high with gifts; Twilight walks up after them to check off this task. With every box on the parchment filled in, she magically rolls it up and tucks both it and the quill away, allowing herself a well-deserved grin.)

(Dissolve to an overhead shot of the hall and a slow pan toward the dais. Everything has been reset for the main event—guests, four bridesmaids including a hatless Applejack, groomsman stallions, Celestia, Shining—with the addition of Twilight now standing proudly by her brother as his best mare. Rarity has put away her glasses and set her mane in order. A close-up of the siblings points up both the blue-white double sashes with the family crest that Shining now wears, and Twilight’s magenta dress secured by a star brooch. Her mane has been curled, and she wears a flowered string of white pearls on her head. Noticing that the crest is askew, she gives him a brief scowl and straightens it out with her magic. Their parents—Mr. Sparkle in a tailcoat, shirt, and ascot; Mrs. Sparkle sporting a string of light yellow pearls—watch happily from the audience, and Mrs. Sparkle levitates a handkerchief to dab at her eyes.)

(A drum roll is the cue for Fluttershy, the one bridesmaid not standing in the formation, to give her bird choir the downbeat; she is kitted out in her dress. Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus” rings through the hall as all eyes turn toward the rear doors, which are magically opened by the guards on duty so the Crusaders can enter and scatter flower petals as they did in the first-take wedding. Behind them comes Cadence; the train of her dress stretches at least three times her own body length and requires three pairs of birds to hoist it clear of the floor. In the next shot of the dais, Spike can be seen standing just behind Twilight and off to one side, again sporting his top hat and tuxedo jacket and holding a pair of gold rings on a pillow.)

Twilight: (to Shining) Seriously, though. I get why the queen of the changelings wanted to be with you, but how did you get someone as amazing as Cadence to marry you?

Shining: I told her she wouldn’t just be gaining a husband, she’d be getting a pretty great sister too.

(She gives him a tickled-pink smile, then turns her eyes front again. As Cadence nears the dais, Rarity’s ocular waterworks spring a leak and she has to float up a hanky of her own. Applejack, meanwhile, whips out her faithful brown hat and plunks it on her head. The music finishes as Cadence mounts the steps to gaze lovingly at Shining, and both turn to face Celestia. On the end of this sequence, a large magenta bow can be seen adorning the back of her dress.)

Celestia: Mares and gentle-colts, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza—

Cadence: (with a hint of a chuckle) “Princess Cadence” is fine.

Celestia: Hmm. (smiling) —the union of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. The strength of their commitment is clear. (as they turn to each other) The power of their love, undeniable. (to Spike) May we have the rings, please?

(He takes a step forward and holds up the pillow, the camera zooming in to a close-up of the rings. One is set with a line of four diamonds, the other with a single stone. These are floated away and slid onto Cadence’s and Shining’s horns in close-up, respectively.)

Celestia: (from o.s.) I now pronounce you mare and colt.

(As cheers erupt in the hall, the camera cuts to just outside an open doorway flanked by unicorn guards. Shining and Cadence step out of the hall between them and onto the balcony; the courtyard below them is jam-packed with celebrating ponies under a rain of confetti and streamers. While the newlyweds wave to the crowd, the camera pans slightly to frame Celestia and the entire Ponyville contingent looking on from the hall.)

[Animation goof: Shining’s double blue-white sashes revert to the single blue one and back during the previous sequence.]

Celestia: (to Twilight, laying a hoof on her shoulder) This is your victory as much as theirs. You persisted in the face of doubt.

(Close-up of Twilight, whose expression shifts from uncertain to grateful as she continues.)

Celestia: (from o.s.) And your actions led to your being able to bring the real Princess Cadence back to us. (Cut to frame all eight.) Learning to trust your instincts is a valuable lesson to learn.

(Out on the balcony, Shining and Cadence share a brief kiss, then a longer one as the camera zooms out to frame the gang. They are so caught up in the moment that Rainbow almost does not notice it when Celestia drapes a wing across her shoulders.)

Celestia: (whispering) Rainbow Dash, that’s your cue!

(The blue daredevil cracks off a slightly crazed grin and zips away, shedding her bridesmaid dress and accessories and taking off into the clear sky above Canterlot. She effortlessly produces a Sonic Rainboom whose multi-hued blast wave ripples over the city, then traces a rainbow from one side to the other as the crowds cheer mightily. Close-up of her.)

Rainbow: Best wedding ever!

(She zooms o.s., letting the prismatic light fill the screen.)

Warm and gentle string/piano melody, slow 4 (G flat major)

(Dissolve to a torchlit courtyard under the violet sky of early evening. Shining and Cadence stand face to face in the circular patio/dance floor at its center, embrace, and share their first dance as a married couple. Luna comes in for a landing next to Celestia and the ponies; Rainbow is back in her bridesmaid dress, and Applejack has doffed her hat.)

Luna: Hello, everypony. Did I miss anything?

(A pan across the group shows that every pair of eyes save one is turned her way, several of their owners trying very hard not to laugh at this innocently funny question. The only one still focused on the dance is Pinkie, who gets a nod from Twilight and responds with a huge squeaky grin before zipping away. Pan quickly to a DJ’s double turntable flanked by a set of towering speakers; she stands up behind this rig, holding a set of headphones to one ear, and dips a hoof behind the counter. What—or, to be more exact, who—she comes up with is DJ P0N-3, the off-white, electric-blue-maned unicorn mare who provided the music for Rarity’s first fashion show in “Suited for Success.” The sudden new arrival slaps the record in her teeth onto the unoccupied turntable and drops the needle in the groove.)

Pinkie: Let’s get this party started!

Drums in; thumping dance beat with electric guitar/bass/synth, up-tempo 4

(She grabs a microphone in her teeth and slings it across the courtyard; Twilight catches it with her telekinesis so that it floats in front of her mouth.)

Twilight:         Love is in bloom

(Balloons/confetti/streamers rain down over the crowd.)

                A beautiful bride, a handsome groom

(The newlyweds touch horns tenderly and are swiftly joined on the dance floor by Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Rarity. P0N-3 lifts her violet sunglasses, giving a brief flash of red-violet irises behind them.)

                Two hearts becoming one

                A bond that cannot be undone

                Because love is in bloom

                A beautiful bride, a handsome groom

(As she continues singing, the camera cuts to the following three scenes, each of which is captured on a snapshot with a flash. Pinkie gorges herself on cake while lying on the grass…Applejack saws enthusiastically at a fiddle as her relative Apple Fritter and a stallion tap their hooves…Sweetie Belle and Spike get funky…and now the view flashes directly from one snapshot to the next. Rainbow dances with Soarin’, who wears a short-sleeved blue Wonderbolt dress shirt and tie in place of his usual jumpsuit; his cutie mark is exposed as a winged lightning bolt identical to the one on that suit. Rarity sidles coyly up to Fancypants.)

Twilight:        I said, love is in bloom

                We’re starting a life and making room

                For us

(One more flash shifts the action to a parked carriage. The hour is considerably later, and Shining and Cadence walk to the vehicle and the waiting Twilight. The music continues as the door opens and Twilight kneels to her new sister-in-law.)

Shining: Twilight! (She stands up.) None of this would have been possible without you, little sis. (warmly) Love you, Twilie.

Twilight: Love you too, BBBFF.

(Big Brother Best Friend Forever, that is, as she explained in Part One. The siblings embrace for a long moment; after they separate, cut to inside the carriage as he climbs in next to Cadence. The sound of the door’s closing is heard.)

Shining: Ready to go?

Cadence: Oh! Almost forgot.

(Outside again; she leans out the window, bouquet at the ready, and heaves it backward over the roof. Lyra, Minuette, and Twinkleshine look up eagerly, but Rarity plows them all aside before a single hoof can leave the ground.)

Rarity: IT’S MINE!!

(It lands neatly in her outstretched forelegs, earning her a round of very dirty looks. She laughs nervously and floats it away from herself as if it had just gone radioactive. Cut to the rear end of the carriage, which rolls away from the camera to expose a couple of trailing horseshoes tied to the axle.)

Strings in; background lyrics in square brackets

Twilight:         Love is in bloom

                A beautiful bride, a handsome groom

                I said, love is in bloom

                We’re starting a life and making room

Drums out

                For us [For us]

                For us [Us]

(The previous chorus occurs in time with the scenes described from here until the “Song ends” note. Zoom out to frame Twilight and company watching the carriage go, then cut to a head-on view of her, Applejack, and Fluttershy. She begins speaking on the second line above.)

Twilight: Now this was a great wedding.

Spike: (from o.s.) Oh, yeah? (Cut to Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity; he sits on Pinkie’s head.) Just wait until you see what I have planned for the bachelor party!

(His knowing snicker only gets him a lot of funny looks—the result of his complete lack of knowledge about how and when this particular event should have taken place. All but Twilight promptly break out in a fit of the giggles; she crumples to the ground out of embarrassment, but joins in the laughter a moment later. Zoom out slowly and dissolve to a long shot of Canterlot, from which a volley of fireworks is launched; the last one bursts into a pair of concentric red/pink hearts. After these sparks have faded away, two bright stars twinkle briefly in the night sky.)

Song ends

(Fade to black at the same time, the stars standing out for a moment before they vanish.)

(The usual closing theme does not accompany the credits. In its place is the majestic anthem that played over the credits of Part Two of “The Return of Harmony”—full orchestra, brisk 4, F major transitioning to D major at the end.)